Ian Actey

********************************************************************************* An absolutely ordinary twenty four year old from Maine. If you want to hear something interesting you'll have to wait until my book is published. [An OC used for roleplaying purposes in connection to The Manic Heart RPG]

[joe--aldridge]

You’re very optimistic. Not that that’s a bad thing; more people should be. Everyone’s gotten quite jaded and it’s a little depressing, to say the least. You’re right, though. The city’s bounced back from disaster before, hasn’t it? Just have to keep believing this wasn’t the last straw. 

Have you ever thought about writing motivational speeches, though, mate? You’d be quite good at it.

[ianactey-blog]

"I've never really considered myself an optimist. Currently I feel like nothing more than a drowning man just trying to stay alive, and if hope is what keeps me afloat of course i'm going to hang onto it for dear life."

"Haven't ever considered it. Always leaned a bit more towards writing fantasy. Gives you an escape, you know? If I had to deal with real life in my writing on top of everyday life I might actually go insane."

[adelekwong-blog-deactivated2022]

"I hope I am wrong as well, but we have no way of knowing what may happen in the future. Things could go back to normal, or things could go worse. All we can do is take our chances and hope for the best. I think we might. That is what happened after the September 11 attacks; security was tightened. I believe something like that will happen here, although I’m not so sure if it might actually work. Stricter airport measures won’t keep people from messing with the electrical power and cellphones."

[ianactey-blog]

"They'll just have to find different solutions that make it work. Stricter airport measures might not be the solution to work towards this time. Perhaps start putting procedures in place so law enforcement and citizens alike are better prepared and equipped to handle such a situation. They've seen what people can and will do under such circumstances and now they just have to ask themselves what is the best way to counteract that."

[greysonbytrade]

"Well, it might not solve the problem, but it will give plenty of amusement that makes most people forget the problem. In some cases, that can be a start. And getting the public under control might help the government fix the issues caused for them, as well as small business owners who might have lost data. I’m sure you know how it is, when people focus on something else entirely, they don’t bug the people who need to keep calm."

[ianactey-blog]

"I suppose you aren't exactly wrong...Keep those who can't handle the situation distracted long enough so those who willing to bear the weight of what happened have time to start forming a solution." 

"As long as those playing the part of the source of amusement are willing to sacrifice a bit of dignity without deciding to assault- or God forbid, murder- whoever is taking pictures of them while they're drunk, the plan isn't half bad." 

[psych-nurse-joey-deactivated201]

They still haven’t caught the guy who killed our security guard during the blackout. It’s been a disaster. The kids don’t feel safe anymore, and I don’t blame them. 

[ianactey-blog]

"Kids are known to be highly resilient. Stay strong for them, put on a brave face, love on them, and hope it's enough to start replacing nightmares with real dreams again." 

[lakarodriguez]

"I miss you"

one year

Family. They’d been a family. Elisabetta and Liam and Ian and Laka, From the moment it’d all come together, it had been the four of them, easy joy, something that she hadn’t felt since Aria and Toby had left. It was real. It was solid. And then it was gone. She didn’t stop wearing black. She’d been all couture and glitter a year ago, had been couture and glitter the night he’d gone, had let red stain her dress like it had the night she told him he’d be a part of her life if he wanted to. She had held him. Daina had not done his work that night. The building had burned, except for him. A year past, and she was still in black, her scarf around her neck and covering her hair like a cowl. Liam and Elisabetta handled the flowers. Laka had done her job when she mowed down the last man who had touched the plans that took him away. 

five years

There was trace of joy on her face. Her friends missed that, missed it constantly, missed Ian swooping in to add levity, missed the way she lit up when he spoke and made it all so much simpler. For a man whose life had been chaos since he met them, he seemed to make it all so much easier. Laka had barely laughed. She carried on with her work - her business flourished, but it wasn’t the same. Aria and Toby didn’t hear from her anymore. The only people who saw her were her employees and her father. If there were long talks with her mother, they were hushed, late at night, filled with sobs. Was this what it was like, Mama? Was this what it was like for you? No. Not like this. I’m so sorry, baby. 

ten years

Elisabetta ran the company now. It wasn’t weakness, she supposed. It wasn’t as if Laka couldn’t carry on without him. But whatever beauty Laka had seen in it once upon a time was gone. She didn’t have the love left in her anymore. Elisabetta was strong, she’d said. Elisabetta would take good care of the women who relied on them, would manage to carry on what Laka had started. There were occasional calls from Spain, Greece, Portugal, Iceland. Always right before she was going to leave. No time for visits. How are the girls. How is Liam. Goodbye. Elisabetta didn’t handle the flowers anymore. When she went to visit one drizzly October morning, it was covered in chrysanthemums. She knew what it meant. As she turned away, Liam wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulled her close. She supposed they were all that was left now. The story was over. They had been left behind, just like her. 

[darien-reed-deactivated20151005]

You d-n’t even kn-w… You j-st d-n’t…!

[ianactey-blog]

"Uhm- Sir... Those are parking meters.... they can't hear you...."

[lakarodriguez]

everybody wants to rule the world || the rodriguez-harrison clan

[notscarlettohara]

So you were one of those kids who got easily distracted by all elements around the classroom? I can relate, somehow, I could never sit next to a window, I always loved to see the clouds move and disappear in the sky… by the moment the teacher was standing by my side asking about the lesson I knew I was in trouble. 

It’s a good statement, that one of not being a slave of time… But we still are, even if we don’t want to acknowledge it.

[ianactey-blog]

"I'll admit I had my daydreamer, head-in-the-clouds moments, but overall my focus wasn't awful most of the time. It wasn't until a big test or some time-constrained assignment and suddenly that clock was impossible to ignore."

"Time itself passing in unavoidable- there's no getting away from that. Clocks though. Clocks are a very man made idea that I would prefer not to rule over me if I'm somehow able to avoid it." 

[joe--aldridge]

I’m sure there were people who just stayed inside or went back home immediately and made the smart decision to not get involved. London’s a big city, after all. I did say only half of London. I’m guessing you were caught in it? Did you stay inside?

Trust me, to all the rest who weren’t here, it actually sounded like the news was talking about Ghaza and not London. Parts of the city burnt down, people shot in the streets, all the shops looted, tanks moving in, water canons, I can go on. Do you honestly think it will be better? The fact that it came to this in the first place is a bit disconcerting.

Sorry, I don’t mean to be a downer. Guess it’s easy for me to talk since I wasn’t actually here.

[ianactey-blog]

"Of course there were, but beyond that there were those dumb and courageous enough to get involved for the right reason. And those are the people you want to look at to remind you that London isn't quite hopeless.

I was already out when it started. It...I suppose it sounds a bit dramatic but some of the places- the way some people were acting...it felt like hell had literally crept it's way into London. It's certainly not something I'd ever want to relive, but maybe I should be grateful I was out in it. My apartment was broken into and I'm not sure where I'd be if I was there when it happened."

"The blackout ended. The dead are being buried and those who survived are able to contact the one's they love. The injured are starting to heal. Businesses are rebuilding. I know things aren't looking great, but it's already better than it was during the actual blackout. And of course it's disconcerting, but right now I'm alive and willing to take what I can get."

[adelekwong-blog-deactivated2022]

"Racism and classism can be very harmful in this kind of situations because those who are thought to be beneath are the ones that get blamed first. It may solve it, but only for a New York minute. Whoever did this will have another chance to cause some more mayhem and we will be back where we started."

[ianactey-blog]

"There are circumstances that create solutions-even temporary ones- and then there are ones that only postpone or hide a problem for a moment. Racism and classism are usually only involved in the latter, and create a larger problem in doing so. Eventually even the ignoramuses who default to such prejudice will have to realize this."

"I pray that you're wrong. No doubt there are people who would cause just as much, if not more, harm given the chance- but an opportunity like that hopefully won't present itself. After all, a blackout to such a degree isn't an everyday event. And you'd hope we'd be able to learn some new security methods from it happening this once." 

[mcavoyclub]

[adelekwong-blog-deactivated2022]

”I wouldn’t be so sure. I don’t really trust police. I have seen them fuck up so many times and use minorities as scapegoats so I’m not exactly too keen on them.”

[ianactey-blog]

"There's no denying that racism has managed to slip into even the institutions that are supposed to provide justice. It may be ab it too optimistic though I pray London's law enforcement is smart enough to realize a scapegoat of any kind won't solve the type of problem the blackout revealed." 

[joe--aldridge]

… Some people? Uh, that seems like a bit of an understatement to me from what I’m seeing. Seems more like half of London. Yeah, not in this situation, apparently. You know it’s fucking bad when the news doesn’t actually need to exaggerate upon the facts. 

[ianactey-blog]

"You have a fair point; but if I stop acknowledging that there are still good people in London who weren't a part of it I don't know what'll keep me from tucking tail and running back to the states." 

"To be perfectly honest, anyone who was here didn't need the news to say anything at all to know how bad it was. Now there's nothing left but to be grateful it's over and optimistic that the future of this city will be better." 

[adelekwong-blog-deactivated2022]

I like to think that I would have gone down fighting whoever dared to wrong me.

[ianactey-blog]

"If that was the case I don't think law enforcement would have held it against you; self defense is still self defense. If they were even able to find out about it; there seems to be many people who did much worse and seem to have gotten away with it."

[joe--aldridge]

I’ve only really ever been to London a couple of times in my life, but I never remember it looking like it’s only just recovering from the Blitzkrieg. I honestly thought they were exaggerating on the news… 

[ianactey-blog]

"Some people were quite opportunistic. There isn't much to exaggerate on." 

[wontbeforgiven-deactivated20150]

All I do is leave for a couple of months and I come back to London after a complete chaos due to a blackout… wow.  

[ianactey-blog]

"Londons certainly not in the best shape, but it does sound like a minor blessing as to have arrived back after the blackout and not before." 

[greysonbytrade]

What this town needs is a giant cocktail. Maybe a few martinis and some pink champagne. Not the most expensive things, but certainly would calm down the nerves. Plus, if they drink too much, you can have your phone handy for recording them. All too amusing to see their reactions once a video of them downing twenty or a picture of them eating a penis cookie like an actual penis goes viral. 

[ianactey-blog]

"I think there are several situations in this world that giant cocktails and penis cookies can't fix, and this very well may be one of them."

"It could actually be counter-productive as seeing most people don't respond too kindly when they find out you took a pic of them eating said dick cookie."