YaYakuza MegaMix: V9

[Yayakuza]

Track One
Matthew-James Monoghan

Another Brick in the Wall (Parts I-III)

"When it comes on it's like a light without a lighter. You can't tell what caused it and you can't turn it off. It just...burns until it dies."

A troubled youth with a mean streak and a lot of emotional baggage, MJ is an alt-rocker with an ear for funk and a taste for the party. Despite a sullen first year and an ongoing battle with depression, MJ is friendly and laid-back to anyone who hasn't convinced him to be anything else. Aesthetically he's a punk, but at heart he's just a kid who has made a lot of mistakes and who wants nothing more than to put it all behind him and be a better person. Unfortunately, he's garnered a reputation as something of a delinquent, and the mental maladies that caused the crime and violence of his youth still plague him. A relationship with MJ is one fraught with his self-pity and mood swings, and constantly in danger of falling apart when he inevitably blows up at you with the abruptness and potency of a shotgun. His life has caused him to erect a wall around his heart, blocking off access to most if not all. If you can get past all that, however, MJ is fiercely loyal and doting almost to the point of clinginess.

Key Points:

• Generally unapproachable. He's got the face and style of a thug, and his hobbies seem to reflect that.
• Not to say he isn't attractive. He has dreamy bedroom eyes and rugged scars, it's just that most are scared before they're attracted.
• Very openly alternative without much care for who that may offend. He decorated himself with anti-authority slogans and pushes back against dress code regulations about as much as he can without getting suspended.
• Was a depressed loner in Freshman year then radically shifted into an extroverted rebel. The switch-up was quite jarring from the outside looking in.
• Has gotten into very public, very rough arguments before. Never anything physical, though he's seemed very ready to go there at times.
• Plays a solo music act in local bars and clubs called The Vivisection. Is open to adding members and turning it into a band, but is very particular about his vision for the music itself.
• Habitual smoker and gambler. Known to play cards with whoever is willing, usually for keeps.
• Involved in high-level art classes and is very passionate about painting. Possible common ground?
• Refuses to associate with people who openly buy into heavily reactionary ideologies and will aggressively grill anyone close to him who he suspects of harboring reactionary beliefs. Those arguments I mentioned before? Yeah, those were because of this.
• Has undiagnosed Intermittent Explosive Disorder. It's better than it was, but there's still the ever-present chance that MJ will just randomly fly off the handle.
• Despite his unequivocal support for queer folk, MJ cares very much about being perceived as masculine. His time in juvie and the people inside really did a number on him, and he associates being seen as effeminate with being seen as weak.
• This is an obvious contradiction with his radical political beliefs.
• Speaking of, he's a firebrand socialist and will respond to any capitalist apologetics with intense argumentation.
• Has serious emotional regulatory problems. He's prone to both under and overreacting at inopportune times.
• Deeply insecure about his future. Don't ask him about tomorrow, he's living for today.
• Heterosexual but perpetually single during his tenure at Red Rock.

My Ideas:

• Definitely at least one straight up antagonistic relationship. MJ is abrasive and willing to speak up against people he disagrees with, quite aggressively at that. Preferably a few of these.
• Other kids in the alternative scene who find MJ more agreeable than most. The lefter you are, the better. Basically a few minor acquaintances/hallway friends. Nothing too deep.
• This is the real fun stuff. Most relationships with MJ should be unspoken and implicit. People he's had short conversations with, who've seen his public displays, who admire his art, etc. Anyone who he's had an effect on that isn't willing to
• express that. Could range from simple bad boy crushes to annoyance to on-principal hate. Anything you want, as long as the two aren't actually regularly speaking.
• A loooooot of folks who've written him off. This is effectively where the NPC student body falls.

Established Relationships:

1. [romantic]
2. [friendly]
3. [mixed]
4. [unamicable]
5. [hostile]
6. [on-sight]

[+] Like a Stone

Heather Klein was a blip in space that gave MJ the single most fleeting sense of hope he'd ever experienced in his life. A hookup that went on for weeks if that, their relationship was largely forgotten by MJ after the fact. After his Junior summer vacation, MJ's introspection led him to reevaluate their time. He slowly realized that, at least on his part, there was very real feeling there. This retroactively made him quite bitter at her later partners, particularly Ray Janeczek as he was the person who she got with directly after their fling ended. The pair still interact fairly regularly, so as these feelings begin to resurface MJ has found himself torn between avoiding vulnerability once again, or risking one of his only friends alongside exposing himself to rejection.

Notes:

• Plays occasional gigs with Heather as backup. Mystery Lover indeed, Monoghan...
• It's important to note that MJ doesn't really have romantic feelings for her anymore. It's moreso the fact that he only just realized he does and regrets not making the most of them.
• Respects her political convictions, but finds her goals of appealing to non-conscious individuals to be largely useless. MJ gave up hope for the others a long time ago.
• Simultaneously jealous and apathetic. It's hard for him to stomach the fact that he'll not only never get closure, but that it's entirely his own fault.
• Needless to say, he's hurdling towards some sort of resolution for this relationship, whether that be good or bad.

[+] Hurts Me

Having spent a life devoid of control, MJ craves it in ways that tend to cause his friends to stop hanging around him. Sometimes, though, people are padded well enough to let all the blows just glance off. At least, that's what it looks like. Ray Janeczek is a boy who MJ considers something of a piece of work. The guy walks around looking scared of his own shadow half the time, and the other half he's doodling some (admittedly tasteful) gay kissing picture. MJ personally has no problem with either of those things, but he thinks others do. So, partially, he feels bad for him. But also, Ray has a habit of taking MJ's volatility with, if not grace, at least endurance. This goes a long way for MJ, but it's impeded by Ray's tryst with Heather. He didn't mind at all prior to Senior year, but now it's a sore spot that just keeps getting sorer.

Notes:

• The person who sees the worst of MJ. To Ray more than anyone, he is an angry, addled kid who doesn't know the first thing about himself. Here is where his worst traits get mixed in with some of his best to create a very, very toxic relationship.
• Both are broadly Marxists. Difference is, MJ is a hands on, grab you by the collar and shake you until you shut up kind of Marxist. Ray, on the other hand, might ask you to stop if you stabbed him.
• Mostly just a school friend, though considering he's one of two, this is actually quite important.
• In terms of functions within the relationship, Ray serves as a very unhealthy outlet for MJ to channel his aggression into. He doesn't even realize he does it, but the annoyed remarks and snap obscenities that he represses in day-to-day conversation flow freely with Ray.
• All this negativity seems like a bit of a downer, so now some good wholesome stuff. MJ genuinely cares about Ray and would get into a fist fight for him, though that's a low threshold. They're boys, it's just that MJ is rougher than he should be and that is not good for either of them.
• No one stole anyone, but still...hard to disconnect you from her in my head.

[+] Hey You

Sometimes people manage to have so little in common that the rare intersections of their interests are magnified, forming a relationship based primarily on on single shared passion. Such is the case for MJ and Ingrid Ivy Briar. With little more to base a friendship on than a shared love of art, on the surface they're an odd pair. MJ doesn't feel close to her, but he appreciates their talks in class and likes being able to talk about art without people's preconceived notions getting in the way.

• She has a crush on him. He's clueless.
• He actually did write a song about her, though it wasn't anything romantic. Mostly a rumination about how far away from other people he felt.
• Would wave if he saw her in public, but wouldn't approach...if that makes sense?
• There's a very specific vibe to how he acts with her. It's like most of the things that he's focusing on at all other times aren't as big a priority because he's usually working on something while around Ingrid. He isn't so well-guarded.

[Dr Adjective]

Remember when I said I wasn’t doing these threads until I have my third and fourth profiles finalised? I lied I love hitting up newcomers whose ideas look tailor made to match mine actually.

So I will actually keep Mercy and LK ideas to a minimum since they’re the not-confirmed ones whose energies are still a little in flux. Luckily they’re also probably in the realm of thinking he’s a bit of a scary asshole and not engaging. Might be something to Mercy being a bit of an unoriginal poser musically speaking though, I dunno.

Now the other two. Yeah I’m linking music too we ball.

Heather Klein
You call this man perpetually single yet our friendly local anarcho-communist exists. Curious. But actually yeah I don’t know if I see them having anything seriously lasting, but they should definitely have non-zero hookups in their past unless his taste is more conventional I guess. Either way they have a lot of common ground on politics and music, so there’s gotta be a bit of rapport there. Possible collabs for The Vivisection with Calluna Vulgaris and/or Finest in Niflhel? He may have opinions on her vibe-switch in senior year into trying to reach out to moderate classmates and build some kind of solidarity when she spent the last three years smugly and antagonistically predicting things would get exactly as bad as they did and castigating The Libs for being asleep at the wheel.

And Hope Hynes
Under other circumstances maybe she’d also fall in the latter two categories of having little to do with him, but she’s complicated. Hope’s the kind of idiot to be five foot nothing with an obvious disability and still stand up to him when he gets aggro, because she’s sure that everyone being a bystander is how we get into so many messes. Ironically she probably actually agrees with him on a lot of principles, Hope’s not particularly politically conscious but while she was raised in a conservative household, she took mostly positive messages from her Catholic upbringing and likes the version of Jesus who said to be nice and share and kick grifters out of the temple. Her parents voted Canon, she feels extremely uncomfortable about it. Feels like a tragedy of two people who probably ought to kind of respect each other getting off on entirely the wrong foot and never getting that chance? She does probably secretly admire his art though.

[Cicada]

Actually never mind, I cannae ignore a new relationship tracking thread. I don't have everything up characters wise on my tracker (2 whole ass kids missing, actually), I can give you some thoughts for the ones who are established!

First off, the three without anything I can see for a close connection (won't be put into writing on my own tracker, this is just as a general note of where things likely stand so you can feel out the vibes at them in your own heads):
Mona - Doesn't really care either way, no overlapping social circles. She generally avoided trying to socialize with kids at school except close friends for the last two years anyways.

Clarissa - Intimidated, generally dislikes talking politics at all times especially with people she barely knows, no overlapping social circles.

Bell - More socdem/demsoc and not very good at articulating their political beliefs so there's probably some mild annoyance on their end from the 'I know I don't really agree with you but I couldn't really tell you why' energy, no overlapping social circles regardless.

Now for my kids that might have some real interactions with our boy MJ:

[+] Ray

Theoretical anarchist, practical hide in a corner and do nothing soft boy. Ray doesn't even talk the talk save for being able to talk theory on demand and being a ride-or-die vegan.

He and MJ might have a complicated relationship. See the above, for starters, but Ray is put together and difficult to alienate (on the surface) so MJ cutting at him and or even blowing up on him a few times wouldn't explicitly kill things between them, Ray can bounce back from that kind of thing (on the surface). On the other other hand Ray is very openly effeminate and queer to the point of drawing SFW yaoi/yuri in public and pulling out a feminine voice on a semi-regular basis. MJs need to project masculinity as a self-defense mechanism might not like that. They are probably not too close overall but definitely are on speaking terms and aware of whats happening to each other in their lives is my take. Ray also loves attending local music shows so he is likewise a fan and supporter of The Vivisection.

[+] Ingrid Ivy

Talented artist of the 'I can draw a whole crowd in detail after looking at them for a few seconds' caliber (this is an exaggeration). The only place their social circles overlap would be in art classes, but because art matters so much to both of them I imagine they'd be drawn to each other to some degree.

The things that would matter besides art connection: Ivy is left in the socdem/demsoc generic blob flavor and only engages to the extent you would expect an intelligent young Gen Z woman to do so, so not quite reactionary but verging on it by the standard MJ holds others to. Ivy's got the poker face and observational skills to likely be able to weather MJs episodes and inconsistency in moods without too much psychic damage to herself.

So I think in the context of their shared classes they probably get along and respect each other highly as artists. I won't front MJ seems like the sort of man who would be Ivy's type so she'd probably have a very well concealed crush/draw him on the regular when nobody is looking, etc.