#I Will Say Though ���️I Have Most Of Them Already Figured Out... So You Will All Just Have To Wait And See What I Do With This AU ;P
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You mentioned how ace's dream was like a vague fanfiction addressing some fun fandom theories and ideas but I think whats the best part about it was how the progression up to that point made sense. Theyve dropped so many moments showing ace caring dearly for yuu to the point where this dream as fanservicey like that it was it feels natural for ace to have such a dream if that makes sense WAAGH I LOVE HIM SO MUCH
What did you think of the dream though ms raven? The dream made me wail so badly ough hes finally cried too m sure hes been through a lot 🥹 seeing cater talk to ace so sincerly it hits me so hard in the feels im so glad hes finally got to cry (a little anyways)
Ace’s dream felt like fanfiction, but at least it felt natural or like everything up to this point was leading up to this being his wish. I unfortunately cannot say that for several other dreams. Certainly ones definitely felt egregious or contrived. Some were largely fanservice (Savanaclaw Rook, dorm leader Cater, delinquent Deuce) or just excuses to make new cards (merform twins), even if it didn’t make complete sense for the character to wish for it.
dgjswvizjsowk I know you’re probably expecting me to comment on Ace in his own darn dream, but I actually have a lot more to say about Cater. Ace’s motivations + butting heads with the rescue squad were what I expected them to be (though I give him props for being the only character so far to resist waking up right away). More on my precursory thoughts in this post (but based the exact wording of your ask. I’d be tired to guess you’ve already read it 😅)! But CATER????? TELL ME WHY HE WAS THE GOAT THIS UPDATE 😭
Cater does SO much???? First he suggests the third years help Trey cook BBQ so the darkness is distracted while the others can isolate Ace and try to wake him. When that attempt fails, Cater pretends to agree with Leona’s proposal to leave Ace behind to bait Deuce to come after him to play as his support. Cater sitting down to have a heart-to-heart convo with Ace??? And then mercilessly using his UM to gang up on Ace and beat him up??? 😭 Him reminding Ace about his courage facing off against OB Riddle… Cater confessing he wanted to run, but being encouraged to join the fight because aaaaah his kouhai looked so cool and dashing!! Thanking Ace??? Finally verbalizing some of his feelings???!?!?!?!???! CATER PULLING ACE OUT OF THE DARK????? MY GOD… OTL ThE biG BRoTHER EnERGGY WaS SO DTRONgGGGGGggGGGGG
And he kept this up even into Trey’s dream???????? Where Cater once again does a TON. He volunteers to investigate since makes the most sense (he is a Heartslabyul student so it’s not shady to be in the dorm and his UM is useful for combat). Cater also the third years with him into the kitchen to have a look around. Him saying he’s impressed with Silver’s will and how he would’ve given up so much sooner if he were him???? Dropping interesting lore about Trey??? Cater admitting that he has always been a spectator and now realizes he should have done more than just watch events unfold???
CATER CONSISTeNTLY puTTING hIMSELF AnD THE THirD YEARS IN hARm’s WAy FiRST… StRAtEGIzING… mAnIPULATING… AND ACTUAL SELF-REFLECTION AnD SINCERiTY????
Cater got to shine SO much this update, especially in Ace’s dream. He really came off like a big brother figure to Ace. A little mean, but also able to be so very vulnerable with him. Him not wanting to give up on Ace even though he later says if he were Silver, he’d have given up on everyone a while ago… MAN. CaTER cARES SO muCHHHHHhhh 😭 This might actually bump him up a little in my tier list… I didn’t like him much before 💦
#twisted wonderland#twst#disney twisted wonderland#disney twst#Ace Trappola#question#notes from the writing raven#book 7 chapter 12 part 2 spoilers#Cater Diamond#Rook Hunt#Deuce Spade#book 7 spoilers#Tweels#Jade Leech#Floyd Leech#Leona Kingscholar#Riddle Rosehearts#Heartslabyul
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Placements I like the most ~
Venus in Capricorn: Venus in Capricorn is known for taking life seriously, but they also have a fantastic ability to laugh at life's minor failures, particularly their own. If something goes wrong, their reaction is often more, “Well, that was expected,” followed by a chuckle. It’s like they’ve already calculated the odds of success and know that it’s okay to laugh off the imperfections.
Libra moon : When arguments or tension happen, a Libra Moon might not react immediately. They prefer to process their emotions and figure out what everyone else thinks first. By the time they express their thoughts, the conflict might already be over, and they’ll come in with, “Okay, so here’s my analysis of everything… and I think we should compromise.” Their late-but-thoughtful take is often both hilarious and surprisingly insightful.
Virgo sun:Virgo Suns can be surprisingly adventurous with food, even though they come off as practical and "healthy" eaters. They love trying out new food trends.they love recommending obscure restaurants or dishes no one else has heard of. You might not expect a Virgo Sun to be a connoisseur of anything, but food? They know their stuff.
Mercury in 10th house/mercury in Capricorn: They often have a knack for inspiring others, usually in a low-key, almost accidental way. It could be something as simple as giving you the perfect pep talk when you're stressed at work. They’ll calmly explain, “It’s all about managing expectations and breaking down the project into bite-sized pieces.” And suddenly, you feel like you can conquer the world. They don’t try to be a motivational speaker, but their logical, practical advice often has this surprising, uplifting quality. It’s kind of funny how they can turn a simple conversation into a full-on career inspiration session without even realizing they’re doing it.
Uranus in 12th house: They can heal in ways that feel totally unexpected and even a bit unusual. Whether it’s through sudden insights or unconventional methods, Uranus in the 12th house people have the power to help others break free from old patterns or traumas. They may not even realize they’re doing this at first, but they have an innate ability to help others shift their perspective in profound ways,sometimes without ever saying a word. They might just show up with an idea or suggestion that completely changes someone’s outlook on life.
Cancer moon : Cancer Moons are incredibly intuitive about people’s emotional states, but they tend to pick up on subtle, less obvious cues. They might be able to sense if someone’s having a bad day just by the tone of their voice or the way they hold themselves. However, the funny part is that they might not always verbalize their empathy. They might just quietly offer a cup of tea, a hug, or a homemade treat as their way of saying, "I get it." It’s their way of giving comfort without making a big deal out of it.
Aquarius rising/Sun : While Aquarius risings are known to be social, they do it on their own terms. You might catch them hanging out in a crowd of people but also deeply absorbed in a conversation with just one person about an entirely random topic . They can be surprisingly selective about who they connect with, preferring people who stimulate their intellect or share their unconventional interests. They might be socially active but with their own peculiar style, sometimes standing apart from the crowd but still very much part of the scene.
#astro community#astrology#astro observations#astro notes#astro placements#astrocafecoffee#vedic astro observations#vedic astro notes#vedic chart#vedic astrology#astrology chart#astro content#astro chart#astrology community#natal chart#astrology birth chart#birth chart
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Okay, so this is the Tarsus IV post I vaguely threatened alluded to a few days ago. I wrote most of it before last night's grumbling about movie Kirk, btw, so it's not a result of that; I was already thinking about what we know about Kirk and the Tarsus IV massacre from TOS, and what speculations and headcanons make the most sense to me in the context of TOS. I just waited until today to post it because I wasn't quite done yesterday.
Anyway, I was going over the finer details of "The Conscience of the King" to figure this out, and ended up with a ton of thoughts about the Tarsus IV backstory. So here are my (many) personal takeaways:
Firstly, there's a vague reference to some kind of local coup or uprising that put Governor Kodos in power, I think shortly before the food supply crisis. We don't get any details about the uprising from TOS, though the next to last version of the episode's script did mention Kodos setting himself up as a messianic figure once the coup succeeded. In any case, his power grab was certainly reinforced by the starvation crisis, as revealed by Spock's research:
"there were over eight thousand colonists and virtually no food. And that was when Governor Kodos seized full power and declared emergency martial law."
As far as we know in TOS, the crisis was set off by chance: an exotic fungus happened to destroy most of the colony's food supply, and it wasn't clear when relief would arrive. In fact, the Federation did send relief to the colony, per their usual practice, but it took them long enough to get there that the situation had become dire by then. Nearly all food was gone and the colonists were starving; the episode implies that some had even started committing suicide. Nevertheless, the Federation relief force arrived sooner than expected.
Kodos tries to argue in "The Conscience of the King" that the Federation's relief showing up so soon was just luck and he couldn't have guessed it would happen. But given what we know about the Federation as an institution, and given the urgent pressure the Federation puts on the Enterprise crew in multiple episodes to get food/supplies/medicine to some colony or another, it seems like there is a pretty competent, long-established Federation infrastructure for addressing crises like this. In reality, Kodos used the circumstances to justify something he already believed in and wanted to try implementing.
That thing was eugenics. This isn't ambiguous; the aired episode explicitly describes his atrocities as based on eugenics. The starvation of the colony gave Kodos the opportunity to put his theories into action.
He declared that half the colony would be executed, and the remaining food distributed among the other half. Moreover, the assignment of each colonist to either group was determined by Kodos's conception and judgment of genetic superiority. The genetically inferior half of the population, according to Kodos, was executed, and the genetically superior survivors (again, according to Kodos) were given all the food supplies. Kodos's exact words at the time to those slated to die included these lines:
"Your continued existence represents a threat to the well-being of society. Your lives mean slow death to the more valued members of the colony."
Kirk says of Kodos's full speech to those chosen for death:
"I remember the words. I wrote them down. [...] Are you sure you didn't act this role out in front of a captive audience whom you blasted out of existence without mercy?"
In the episode, Spock condemns Kodos in similar terms as "without mercy" and "ruthless," and is clearly horrified by what he's discovered:
"Children watching their parents die. Whole families destroyed. Over four thousand people. They died quickly, without pain, but they died."
The means by which Kodos had thousands of civilians killed isn't stated in the episode. As we see in the above quote, though, it seems to have been done very rapidly.
In an earlier draft, there's mention of some kind of re-purposed anti-matter chamber as the mechanism, and Kodos deliberately "sparing" Kirk while making him watch as the chamber switch was flipped. In that version, Kirk seems to be personally targeted for some reason, where in the episode as it is, he's just one of several random eyewitnesses who survived. I personally prefer the episode's version, which I think better fits a narrative around a mass-scale atrocity.
Anyway, there's another take on the massacre where the thousands of civilians slated for execution were gunned down with phasers, but I find that more difficult to reconcile with Spock's description, which sounds more mechanized and efficient to me. I do think there's reason to believe phasers or some other form of advanced weaponry did get used in the course of events, but not in the executions—more on that later.
As I mentioned in my poll, Kirk is established in TOS as being only 33 during "The Conscience of the King," and thus was only 13 when he personally saw all this (the episode repeatedly insists the atrocity took place exactly twenty years earlier—I think the emphasis on this time gap is important). There is no explanation in TOS of why 13-year-old Kirk seems to be the only member of his family who was present for this—and certainly the only one of the Kirks to personally see Kodos—though earlier drafts do have various explanations that make sense.
For instance, there was an idea floating around the drafting process that Kirk might have been a young midshipman stationed on Tarsus IV during the massacre, not a child. His exact age in TOS was up in the air until the second season explicitly established his then-current age as 34. So that idea is not at all canon, but did internally make sense, since there'd be no reason for his relatives to be posted with him.
There's also a fairly late script in which Kirk's father was among those killed. I believe Kirk Sr was already envisioned as a Starfleet officer at that point, and had been assigned to a post on Tarsus IV some time earlier, which is how a boy born in the Midwest ended up living in a remote colony as a child. However, as I understand, the writers were forced to remove the reference to Kirk's father getting killed because higher-ups didn't want to nail down Kirk's history too much in S1, in case they later wanted to take his family in a different direction.
IIRC, TOS never did do anything with Kirk's parents and we're never even told in the show if they're currently alive or dead, much less told anything about their roles during the massacre. His brother Sam Kirk was envisioned as 10 years older than James (I think the new shows shrink this, but that's irrelevant to the TOS production process), so it also made sense that Sam wasn't there, since he'd have been in his 20s and early in his own career elsewhere. (Sam and his family are mentioned in both earlier and later S1 episodes, so "they hadn't invented him yet" isn't the reason for his absence.)
Beyond all that, another detail I find interesting is that Kodos's speech announcing the impending massacre is preserved in some kind of audio file that Kirk has access to on the Enterprise. Kirk gives "Karidian" a copy of the exact words of this speech and orders him to read it aloud, and has the computers run a vocal comparison between that reading and the original recording. The computer analysis strongly indicates that both speeches were delivered by the same person, but lacks 100% certainty—perhaps due to vocal changes over the last 20 years, perhaps to a difference in the quality of the recordings or some other reason.
However, we don't actually know who recorded the original speech; since so few survivors ever got near enough to even see or hear Kodos in person, maybe the recording was done by Kodos himself or one of his people, and recovered later by Starfleet. The speech only addresses the colonists slated for death, suggesting that the 4000 chosen for survival had already been separated out. But it's possible that it was one or more of the colonists themselves who managed to record the speech.
Only nine of the survivors ever personally set eyes on Kodos (this seems to again imply that those selected for survival were mainly not present during the speech). There's a preserved photograph of him from that era, but that's all, and one of the reasons he's able to evade discovery for so long is because of the vanishingly few people involved who had ever seen him—this is not only canon but a major plot point in "The Conscience of the King."
I read on the wiki that there's a book about the whole thing, and in that version, Kirk never actually saw Kodos and just found a picture in a database, which honestly I think is stupid as fuck and makes no sense in terms of the episode as written (though very typical of corporate franchises watering down the horror of some element of an original, less sanitized story in later byproducts). In "The Conscience of the King," though, Leighton, Kirk, and Riley are explicitly stated to be among the nine survivors who saw Kodos personally.
It's never explained why they were among this small group of eyewitnesses, especially considering that Kirk and Riley would have been children at the time and Leighton was quite young.
Another intriguing data point is the fact that half of Leighton's face is very heavily damaged, and it does seem strongly indicated that this happened during the massacre. We don't know why, though, or how old he even was at the time—he seems older than 33-year-old Kirk, but they're good friends and rough contemporaries, so not that far apart in age.
There's also some interesting phrasing in the episode:
"There were nine eyewitnesses who survived the massacre, who'd actually seen Kodos with their own eyes. Jim Kirk was one of them."
This description is also from Spock after his research dive, someone unlikely to be loose with his phrasing. The general assumption, I think, is that the nine eyewitnesses (who I'm going to call the Tarsus Nine for convenience) were among those chosen for survival for eugenics purposes. The reason such a small number of them had ever seen Kodos is, presumably, that most people who'd seen him were deliberately assigned to the genetically unworthy group and killed. The Tarsus Nine were just the tiny fraction who flew under the radar.
That was my original impression, and it is possible, but there were some things I found puzzling about that scenario. For one, if the Tarsus Nine were separated with the other survivors, why are they persistently presented as the only eyewitnesses? If Leighton was separated into the survivor group, why was his face so heavily damaged in all this? Did he try to fight? Would he have been spared from death if he did? And the episode is clear that Leighton, Kirk, and Riley all heard Kodos's speech and witnessed the massacre in person.
Leighton:
"I remember him. That voice. The bloody thing he did [...] Jim, Jim, I need your help. There were only eight or nine of us who actually saw Kodos. I was one, you were another."
Kirk:
"But I remember. [...] I remember the words. I wrote them down. [...] All I understand is that four thousand people were needlessly butchered. [...] I saw him once, twenty years ago. Men change. Memory changes."
Riley:
"He murdered my father, and my mother. I know that voice, that face, I know it. I saw it. He murdered them."
I had been considering possible explanations for the uniqueness of these nine people as the only direct eyewitnesses among some 4000 survivors + the fact that the three eyewitnesses we meet would have been so young at the time (and Spock talks specifically of children seeing their parents die) + Kirk saying he remembers hearing the speech and that he only ever saw Kodos that one time + the Tarsus Nine knowing that nobody left alive except themselves saw Kodos as governor + their very accurate estimates of how many eyewitnesses survived + Leighton's facial scars.
And then I tripped over an ancient post (on livejournal of all things—I was linked to a post unrelated to the massacre and then followed another link) that collected some of the relevant Tarsus IV quotes and offered a very simple and elegant solution.
What if the Tarsus Nine weren't assigned to the "genetically more valuable" group? What if Kirk, Riley, Leighton, and the other six were in fact considered genetically unworthy and assigned to the group slated for death? What if they're the only direct eyewitnesses because everyone else was either removed from the massacre (and never saw the speech) or killed, and that's why there are so few of them?
me: oh damn, I didn't think about that and ... whoa, I don't think the episode ever does say what group they were actually assigned to. It's possible. Holy shit.
So, here's an alternate possibility/headcanon:
4000-odd colonists including the Tarsus Nine were gathered without any knowledge of the intended massacre. They didn't know where the other colonists were or what was going on beyond starvation and martial law. None of them had ever personally seen their reclusive governor. They were just waiting with their families to find out what was going on. Kodos came out to speak to them, at last, and delivered his speech to those slated for death (hence Kirk saying in TOS that he only ever saw him once, 20 years earlier). The "survival" group didn't hear it and never saw him. But Kirk, Leighton, and Riley did—because they were supposed to die.
Kodos's description of 33-year-old Kirk is, uh, let's say intriguing in that context:
"Here you stand, the perfect symbol of our technical society. Mechanized, electronized, and not very human. You've done away with humanity, the striving of man to achieve greatness through his own resources."
Kodos's murderous daughter Lenore, similarly, says:
LENORE: Are you like that, Captain? All this power at your command, yet the decisions that you have to make— KIRK: Come from a very human source. LENORE: Are you, Captain? Human?
It's likely that these colonists and other residents didn't all go meekly to their entirely unexpected deaths. If we go with the concept of Kirk's father as a Starfleet officer serving on a post on the colony, some of these people were in Starfleet and might well have still had weaponry of some kind. They were just as hungry as the rest, but I suspect would have fought to the death against an undisguised atrocity. I think others also would have fought back against Kodos's people, despite being starved and much less well-armed (if armed at all).
In all probability, none of them expected to win, but hoped to buy time for others, especially their children, to escape (hence the conspicuous youth of the eyewitnesses). The resisting residents would have been massacred by Kodos's troops as he took control of the situation, even before thousands of more people were sent to their executions, but I imagine this resistance created enough havoc for nine children and young adults to escape with their lives (Leighton's face getting seared in the process—perhaps by a phaser set to kill that barely missed him).
Most of the literal children among the Tarsus Nine had seen their parents killed as Kodos's people took control, as had other children who didn't survive (hence Spock's description of children watching parents die and of the nine eyewitnesses directly surviving a massacre). The Tarsus Nine may have seen the other colonists forced into the execution mechanism, whatever it was, either during their escape or if any snuck out afterwards to see. Regardless, I headcanon that the Tarsus Nine found each other and hid out together (I'm assuming they ended up cooperating because they're so accurate about just how many of them there were and because I'm guessing literal children wouldn't have survived alone).
We don't know a whole lot about what was going on psychologically with them at the time. But something else I've been thinking about is the interesting ambiguity in Kirk's statement to Kodos about the original genocide speech. Kirk says, "I remember the words. I wrote them down," which seems a reference to Kirk writing the speech down during the episode to force Kodos to read it. However, something I find fascinating there (/Spock fistbump) is that Kirk's statement that he himself wrote down the speech follows so directly from "I remember the words."
I think the implication is that he wrote down the exact words of the speech from memory (indicating that Kodos's genocide announcement that Kirk heard at age 13 is still seared into his mind). Or possibly, the causality is reversed: he perfectly remembers Kodos's speech because he wrote it down at some point in the past (likely not long after surviving the massacre). The former seems a bit more probable to me, but either case would suggest quite a lot about how deeply this affected him.
But whatever the Tarsus Nine were up to, they lasted long enough for Starfleet to arrive and take charge of the situation. We don't know the details of how that happened from TOS, either, though the fact that Kodos got the hell out of Dodge and left a burned body to be misidentified as him suggests that it was obvious enough what Starfleet's arrival was going to mean well before any fighting began.
Afterwards, well ... some of the Tarsus Nine maintained ties, for sure. Kirk and Leighton seem to be trusting friends; they address each other by familiar nicknames, Kirk knows Leighton's wife, and he regards Leighton's deception as something of a personal betrayal. Kirk is a bit vague on Leighton's professional life and dismisses his suspicions at first, so I don't think they're super close, but it's a trusting and familiar relationship in general.
Meanwhile, others among them lost contact. Kirk clearly has no idea that the Lieutenant Riley he knows on the Enterprise was a little boy among the other eyewitnesses, which seems probable enough. Riley likely ended up with caretakers who wouldn't have been all that keen on him being reminded of the horrific trauma he'd experienced. Him ending up on the Enterprise by sheer chance is a hell of a coincidence, but that's not unusual for Star Trek, let's be real.
A minor point: I'm guessing Sam Kirk had a hell of a week as the information about what was happening on Tarsus IV leaked out. I'm guessing from the outside, there'd be the official alert of the food crisis -> the colony's communications going dark -> Starfleet arriving and discovering what had happened -> their updates as they searched for survivors and those responsible -> their reports of finding the 4000 chosen for survival and the Tarsus Nine.
Moving forwards chronologically, we don't know that much about the longer-term effects on the Tarsus Nine apart from Kirk, though Riley is clearly haunted to some extent. Thomas Leighton has a respectable career, though his wife says after his death:
"At least he has peace now. He never really had that before."
As for Kirk, I think the next "version" of Kirk we know anything about via TOS is him as a very young man at Starfleet Academy. This Kirk is repeatedly described as bookish and solemn. In "Shore Leave" (which follows very shortly after "The Conscience of the King," though it's far lighter), we get this exchange:
KIRK: I know the feeling very well. I had it at the Academy. An upperclassman there. One practical joke after another, and always on me. My own personal devil. A guy by the name of Finnegan. MCCOY: And you being the very serious young— KIRK: Serious? I'll make a confession, Bones. I was absolutely grim.
Yeah, I wonder why.
Even as late as his time as an instructor at the Academy, when he was Lieutenant Kirk, he seems pretty recognizably "that" Kirk. He taught a notoriously challenging class (the subject not stated, but implied to be philosophy) and was known as a demanding teacher. In "Where No Man Has Gone Before," his friend and former student Gary Mitchell says:
"Well, I'm getting a chance to read some of that longhair stuff you like. Hey man, I remember you back at the Academy. A stack of books with legs. The first thing I ever heard from an upperclassman was, watch out for Lieutenant Kirk. In his class, you either think or sink."
Mitchell jokes about how he only passed by orchestrating the campaign of a "little blonde lab technician" to distract Kirk from his usual severity. And even this was not a fling; Kirk's relationship with the lab technician reached the point that he almost married her. So even that suggests someone who was taking every part of his life deadly seriously.
The personable, dutiful-but-easy-going charm and good humor of Kirk in much of TOS seems to not have been much in evidence for many, many years of Kirk's life. And even by the time we meet him, this runs much less deep than his powerful sense of responsibility and his commitment to the ideals of the Federation and his own philosophical convictions. We often see his outwards charm switch off like a light when it doesn't serve his purposes.
This is especially apparent in "The Conscience of the King" itself, which includes one of Kirk's most cold-blooded charm offensives—he can't immediately reach Kodos, so instead he deliberately charms Kodos's nineteen-year-old daughter Lenore in order to dig up information on him (not realizing Lenore herself is a murderer). There is a chasm between this calculated charm and his manner when he finds Kodos and drops the front:
The last thing I wanted to say about "The Conscience of the King" and this particular backstory for Kirk is that, after all of this, what exactly is the point of the backstory revealed in this episode? It's Star Trek, there usually is one, even when it's executed badly or clumsily. What is it gesturing at?
There's a repeated emphasis on the twenty years between the present moment and Kodos's atrocity. He is now an old man living a normal life, and doesn't seem to be a particular threat to anyone. One of the major subplots involves Spock trying to figure out what the hell happened twenty years earlier, then trying to convince McCoy of the threat, then Kirk and Spock and McCoy having this fraught discussion about it.
Spock is not dispassionate; he is horrified by both the past atrocity and current threat to Kirk, and quickly reaches a point of certainty about Karidian's/Kodos's identity and what should be done about him. Kirk is more anxious and unsure about getting it wrong and about his own motives, despite simultaneously wanting to just kill this guy on the spot. McCoy doesn't want to believe at pretty much every turn, and even when he does, is wary of acting out of potentially questionable motives so long after the fact. It leads to this great scene between all three:
SPOCK: Why do you invite death? KIRK: I'm not. I'm interested in justice. MCCOY: Are you? Are you sure it's not vengeance? KIRK: No, I'm not sure. I wish I was. I've done things I've never done before. I've placed my command in jeopardy. From here on I've got to determine whether or not Karidian is Kodos. SPOCK: He is. KIRK: You sound certain. I wish I could be. Before I accuse a man of that, I've got to be. I saw him once, twenty years ago. Men change. Memory changes. Look at him now, he's an actor. He can change his appearance. No. Logic is not enough. I've got to feel my way, make absolutely sure. MCCOY: What if you decide he is Kodos? What then? Do you play God, carry his head through the corridors in triumph? That won't bring back the dead, Jim. KIRK: No, but they may rest easier.
Of course, the matter of "oh hey, we keep finding elderly people who committed atrocities some 20 years ago and we've got to navigate how to deal with them now in a way that honors their victims" was not at all metaphorical at the time. In the 60s, the architects of atrocities who made their escape twenty years earlier and were discovered as ostensibly normal aging people were just literal Nazis.
While the Tarsus IV massacre is on a much smaller scale, obviously, Erin Horáková has a good explanation of the topicality here:
In “The Conscience of the King”, we learn that Kirk is a survivor of a colony-world genocide that occurred during his childhood. As an adult, Kirk attempts to determine whether an old man, now an actor, is actually Kodos, the mass murderer who perpetrated this genocide. “Conscience” is a complex, shifting episode made in the wake of the arrest of aged Nazis in South America by Mossad agents (again, it’s subtextually important to this episode that Kirk is played by a Jewish actor).
For further context, plenty of people involved in TOS had themselves fought in WWII, so "what do we do about elderly Nazis" was not a distant issue. Also, while Roddenberry himself was unfortunately antisemitic (a quality presumably related to "Patterns of Force" ever seeing the light of day), there were a lot of Jewish people working behind and in front of the camera on TOS, most famously including both William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy (both are/were Jewish actors from Jewish communities, though this tends to be much more present for many fans with Nimoy—it's hard not to think that is at least partly related to their physical appearances). So the whole premise is complex and fraught in real world terms, as well, which I felt was also worth mentioning as a significant element of what's going on here.
#anghraine babbles#anghraine's meta#star trek#star trek: the original series#kodos#spock#james t kirk#kevin riley#thomas leighton#star peace#cw genocide#cw eugenics#cw mass murder#cw holocaust#leonard mccoy#long post#(very long)#anghraine's headcanons#cw nazis#lenore karidian
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STARRY MY LOVE I HAVE THE BEST FUCKING UDEA
Can you do headcanons of the MW crew of when they find that the reader has drawn the most down bad positions of them and the member of the crew? Then When they're asked about it they try to just write it off as anatomy practice?
YES YES YES!
C/W : Suggestive! Smut for goonsuke... Fweaky sex positions and yeah!
Daisuke:
your major was art, times were tough so you got an internship at pony express. when you boarded the tulpar you brought a sketch book so you didn't get bored. you became very close with daisuke almost instantly, he matched your energy so well he was literally you but a male, anyways, you were on the couch in the "living room" one day and you were drawing.. Drawing freaky stuff.. You liked to practice anatomy but you feel like you spaces out and drew two figures 69ing...while standing up.. And then you looked really closely at it and the male figure looked like daisuke and the women looked a bit like you.. Then as soon as you came to that Realization, daisuke walked in
"Hey dude! Whatcha up to? " you quickly sat on your sketch book and started a conversation with him
An eternity went by and you guys were laughing
"I gotta piss" you said abruptly, you sat up and skipped to the bathroom then he notices the sketchbook sitting on the couch and got curious and flipped though it
He flushed a bright shade a red when he saw the detailed position on one of the pages.. Then he looked closer and closer and saw that it kinds looked like.. HIM?! Shit.. What would he say to-
"DAISUKE! PUT THAT DOWN!! " you ran and hopped on top of him in an attempt to get him to put it down
"S-sorry I-i- got curious!! " he said as you hop on him
"That's - it was just- anatomy practice!! I swear!! "
"I-i- believe you !! "
Goonsuke:
"Is that me "____"?? If you wanted to do something like that with me then you could've just said so~"
So with your consent he waited till everyone went to sleep and did that EXACT position with you, just because he's young does NOT mean he lacks arm strength. He literally used to beat his shit everyday before the tulpar(and he's a baseball player 😻😻)
"Fuck you taste so fucking goo- ah-! "
Curly:
If you're being honest, you're terrified of curly, He is a really big guy and he looks like he could totally pound you into the concrete if he wanted to but your perspective on curly changed the second you accidentally walked in on him changing.
you drew as a hobby to pass the time and you thought you were pretty good at it, you definitely liked realism more than anything else and you kinda... zoned out? and when you looked back at your sketch book it was a RAUNCHY position,, specifically of you and curly, he was holding you, like up while slamming you onto his cock, you had to hide this before anyone could come snoop-
"_____? you in here?"
shit
"U-uh no!!"
But it was to late.. He was already in here
"Whatcha drawing kiddo? "
"NOTHING!? "
"Nothing?? C'mon lemme see" he snatched your sketch book and his eyes widened... Oh you're cooked
"C-captain! Put that down please!! " he just ignored your pleads and continued to examine the drawing
"... That me sugar? " he looked down at you with a lustful look in his eyes
"I-it was just anatomy practice!! "
He set down the sketch book and and grabbed you by your waist and hoisted you up on your desk like it was nothing
"Curly?? "
"You wanna recreate that with me baby? "
Anya:
You were anyas intern, she was a super sweet lady, you and her got along well, you enjoyed her company, when she wasn't all shy and quiet she was super sweet and funny, at the moment you and her were sitting in the medical room chatting late at night and you brought up your drawing hobby and she wanted to dabble in it! So you got your sketch book and showed her some of your sketches, then... She flipped to one page....
"Ah! Uhm!! S-sorry "___" I didn't mean to flip to-"
yet she continued to stare at it, and she purposefully moved into a position to where you couldn't retrieve the sketchbook
"A-anya! give it back"
"Im looking! gimme a sec!'"
you hop on top of her, causing her to fall back on the medical table
the sketch in question? just you. and anya! ,,,,,scissoring and she was just enamored with the drawing, even when you kept trying to take it
Now, anya was feeling bold, she hooked her legs around your waist and brought you closer
"So? Is that how you really feel about me? "
Jimmy:
Jimmy hated you and you hated him. It had always been like that, he was a dick, the LAST thing you wanted was to be his friend, especially on the tulpar.
He would constantly make fun of your art. He thought of you as "mediocore" so you'd usually only draw when you were alone because Jimmy was EVERYWHERE!
You were at the tiny little desk in your quarters and you were drawing what came to mind, you didn't really know but you could wing it.
Finally!! You were finished!! Leeeets take a loo-.... What is that.. AH! WHAT THE FUCK!! YOU DREW YOU!! AND- AND JIMMY HE WAS ON- ON TOP OF YOU WHILE YOUR LEGS WERE OVER YOUR OWN SHOULDERS- damn. You were NOT that flexible. You didn't really realize this before but..jimmy was actually really- attractive?? Before you could comprehend... Jimmy walked in
"Hey! My laundry got mixed up with - dude what the fuck is that?? " he pointed to the sketch book
"Nothing!! "
"Nothing my ass! Is- is that me?! "
"NO! GET OUT!! "
"What the fuck??.. Is this who you really are? Just some slut? " well that was actually really hot and you didn't even know you were into that
"I-it was just anatomy practice! "
"Bullshit... You really are a slut" he moved closer and backs you up against the desk, hands on either side of you
"Yknow.. You've never looked as good as you do now.. I guess it's when you're being a little pervert.. Now..we're gonna do that"
A/N FINALLY!! I'M DONE!! I'm sorry it's taken me forever to get this out because oh my god. I've been so freaky sick, we have a bug going around😣😣 and I've had to get back into therapy so I haven't been doing all that great 😮💨 BUT I'M ALIVE! I'M SORRH!! ENJOY! N
#mouthwashing smut#smut#idk what im doing 😔#mouthwashing#please request#curly x reader smut#daisuke mouthwashing#daisuke smut#anya mouthwashing#anya x reader smut#jimmy x reader smut#jimmy smut#jimmy mouthwashing
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Sims In Bloom: Generation 2 Pt. 135 (Heather's Home!)
Conrad was sitting in the kitchen with Lavender when Heather returned from Selvadorada. "Mommy!" Lavender squealed.
Heather beamed. She'd missed their joyful smiles, but she moved slowly, feeling nauseous again as her body still recovered from the spider bite. "You look a little green," said Conrad with concern.
"You should have seen me a few days ago," she mused. "It looks like the contractors finished the upstairs bedroom while I was gone."
"The snow melted just long enough for them to get it done," said Conrad, showing off the space where Ash would sleep once he returned from spending Easter with the Landgraabs. They both glanced out the windows, noting the falling snowflakes beginning to gather on the ground all over again.
Heather smiled. "Even if the snow doesn't want to leave the Bay, it feels like a new beginning. George and June's murder is solved and the town's doing okay. I'm back from vacation. New season. New bedroom."
"We've got new problems...."
Heather cocked her head in confusion. "Rafa still won't cooperate? We didn't have any trouble with cartels in Selvadorada."
"As relieved as I am to hear that, I'm worried they might've gotten to Rafa and it's holding him back. He won't give up Ximena, but I keep trying. I sent Felix to try to talk to him in Sulani after convincing Melissa didn't work."
"Felix is pretty persuasive," she said hopefully. "I saw on Social Bunny he has a new girlfriend."
"He charmed Lilith without much trouble," Conrad agreed with a nod. "But the same lines won't work on Rafa."
"You could always arrest him and force his hand," she reminded him, but she knew her suggestion would fall on deaf ears.
"It's not just Rafa and his sister," he said carefully. He didn't even know where to begin with John Brindleton's town history lesson, so he skipped it - for now. "I talked to Ash about Ben and his dog and he figured out by himself that his accident as a toddler made it possible for him to see ghosts. Felix confirmed it's the most likely explanation."
"Because he was...Oh my Watcher...So he just sees ghosts? Plural? What if they frighten him?"
"He's not even worried about it. Says he's never met a ghost that he didn't think was living. Doesn't even know if he's ever met more than Ben and Captain Whitaker." She leaned into him, feeling dizzy, and Conrad held out a hand to support her. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Maybe I should lie down. Jet lag hit me on the way into the jungle, and it'll probably hit me again now that I'm home."
Conrad kissed her and put her to bed, taking Lavender to daycare on his way to work. Heather napped for most of the day, calling her parents to cancel plans to go to Henford for Easter dinner because the thought of spending an hour on the speedy Simmerloop made her feel as green as she looked. "I know Hazel's already in town for the weekend. That's good in case this is a flu or something."
"We're sorry we won't see you, but we just want you to rest if you're sick," said her father, Neal. "We'll miss your cooking, though."
"Maybe we'll make it to Henford for Mother's Day, if things aren't too hectic with the clinic rebuild."
"Get well soon, Buttercup. We love you."
"Love you, too."
She hung up the phone, content after a quick chat with her beloved dad despite her guilt over cancelling holiday plans. But she couldn't dwell for long on her feelings before she raced to the bathroom to be sick.
At work, Conrad was in the break room. While his coworkers talked about plans to celebrate his old partner Josephine's retirement party at the Salty Paw, he pulled himself away when his phone rang. "Felix! How's the beach?"
"It's not Felix." Rafa's tone curdled down the line. "He let me borrow his phone to tell you to screw off."
In the tropics, Felix rocked uncomfortably in his flip flops. "He didn't tell me that's what he wanted to say! I told him he might avoid prison entirely if he gives up his sister and he said he wanted to call you."
"And who the hell are you to promise something like that? You're just some weird lawyer who sounds a hundred years older than he looks!"
"Listen to Felix," Conrad urged, careful not to mention Rafa's name in front of his coworkers. "He's the most experienced attorney I know."
Even though Felix had passed the bar only recently, Conrad was telling the truth. He didn't know any other attorneys who'd practiced law as far back as the early 20th Century.
"If I get off with nothing but a slap on the wrist after selling my own sister up the river, the cartel will come for me, for sure."
"You said yourself they're not concerned with Sulani. I know what I'm asking you, and I wouldn't ask if I didn't need your help. She's been all but abandoned by the cartel. I'm sure of it. No one's visited her since she was put behind bars, but you know what she's capable of. You could keep her there, for your benefit as much as mine. Yours and Melissa's."
"You shouldn't have sent her here."
"But you weren't this mad when I did."
"Screw you, Conrad. And stop telling the Ngatas to spy on me. Oliana and her son come by every other day now."
"Maybe they care about you. I know what that's like."
The call ended with a click, and Conrad sighed. He was beginning to think he'd have to bring in the cartel to pressure Ximena, after all, but he didn't relish the possibility in the slightest. ->
<- Previous Chapter | Gen 2 Start | Gen 2.1 Summary
Gen 1 Start | Gen 1 Summary
NOTE: There was already a sneaky shot of the new bedroom in the Love Day installment because making spring crafts were the only way I knew how to make Valentine's-themed artwork without mods, and I'd already done the reno in the spring save when I wanted to put that shot in.
WCIF Pose: @novapark's Incoming Puke for Heather's bathroom shot. Love it even if Heather is suffering for it; thank you for sharing!
#sims 4#sims 4 gameplay#sims 4 screenshots#sims 4 legacy#sims in bloom#ts4#ts4 gameplay#ts4 legacy#ts4 screenshots#sims 4 story#ts4 story#legacy challenge#sims legacy#ts4 legacy challenge#gen 2#brindleton bay#felix psyded#lilith pleasant#sulani
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Sakamoto Days 199!!!
They're so dumb and in sinc already. True father and son duo.
This page and the following panel. What does it all mean? That the JAA was already after Ando when Shin was a baby (and him?), before Ando dropped him of with Asakura? Although Shin does say that Ando is saying bullshit, we don't know what Shin means with that since we don't actually got to see what Ando was thinking about. (Except for trying to flee the country, which is already Andos plan.)
I do gotta add a theory I've had for a bit now. Which is that Shin was actually born with the powers, and that Asakuras chemistry simply activated them earlier than they would have otherwise. Don't know how likely that is though.
Ando points out the hypocrisy in telling someone who you can't kill while being an Assasin. Which is honestly fair, and Sakamoto doesn't even fight it, just asks where the bomb is. (And promptly goes to a straight attack.) And Shin does seem to know where the bomb is, like Taro points out later in the chap. Except maybe, could it be, that the bomb is just a bluff? Or Ando already figured out/knows that Shin can read minds after his reaction before (previous pic) and said something else? No idea. Again we are once not shown what Shin can read in Andos mind. Probably for a more emotional scene later, but who knows.
Sunglasses, Ikari, from the previous chapter attacks (with an anchor, of course, we are on a boat. Should have expected an anchor as a weapon, lmao.) And Taros instinct is already to just pick up Shin and run of with him in his arm. The fatherly instincts in him are to strong.
Meanwhile Shins trauma from being abandoned at a young age without any answers shines through strong. With, for now, the set believe that blood relation goes over anything. I can't tell if the panel of Taro is only him noticing Ikaris next attack, or if he's already thinking about what Shin is saying here. Never the less. He still immediately protects Shin, who at this point isn't a bystander, but still a kid and (for Taro at least) one that has got nothing to do with the job.
ALSO IKARI IS A CREEP. EWWWWW. GET AWAY FROM THE CHILD.
And while Taro is like constantly making sure that Shin doesn't die in all that chaos, ever since he meeting him, Ikari has no fucking issue to strangle (and assault because omg) a child. Just from the start of this flashback it's clear that Taro never liked killing when it wasn't neccesary, if at all. He saved him at first by just saying he would get rid of him infront of the thugs. He then keeps saving him over and over, even though Shin is a little shit and sends the shop owners after him. Telling him to either stay away from trouble in his way, "I'll be right back" - "don't get thrown overboard again" - from last chapter. (Even asking him if he's okay) I just really like this, seeing how despite the killing itself Taro always had something genuinly nice at him. Killing is work for him, nothing more. Not harming innocent bystanders isn't just a rule to follow, but something he deems right. Keeping a child safe in a fight, asking him "What's wrong?" and "you okay?" when the child looks sick? Even though he has obviously no idea how to act with a (traumatized) child?Just a natural instinct.
Between all that he even decides to apologise to Shin because he can't understand his feelings. He doesn't understand Shins internal struggles. However he's not just bursting out anymore that he's gonna kill Shins dad, because it made Shin upset before, and instead says that he's gonna keep the enemy busy and for Shin to escape. Again, telling him to get to safety. And In a way even telling him to just stay away from the underworld I think.
So in summary. Sakamoto Taro is an assassin here, killing is his job. But he so obviously believes that innocence exists. That other people are innocent. He also believes that you shouldn't harm children (after all children are supposed to be the most innocent). But Taro also doesn't see himself to ever be part of that. At least not yet I think.
#But Aoi saw the good in Taro and decided to bring it out#surprisingly this turned out to be more about Sakamoto than Shin#who would have thought#Taro just trying to not let a child die#VS Shin with his abandmonment issues#Taro being send to kill Shins dad#-> Taro ending up as a teen dad 🤣#sakamoto tarou#sakamoto days manga#taro sakamoto#sakamoto days#sakamoto days shin#shin sakamoto days#shin asakura#asakura shin#me: waiting for the lab arc anime episodes impatiently
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Saw a fic from an author who make a harbingers x reader testing lip stick thingy and uhh suddenly have a thought of fragile!reader when one time they're spending time with a segment, had an ABSOLUTELY GENIOUS IDEA,(Reader's words) which is to wear a lipstick and bombard the segment with kisses whenever the segment do something for them. Safe to say that segment was left a little speechless(I imagine it was Alpha who is left speechless and red face bombarded with lipstick stain LMAO) And after that, reader start to do it to every other segments, and that caused a teeny tiny competition between the segments of who gets the most kisses. But at the end of the day, it's of course gonna be prime who got the most kisses (ugh, that man..😣 i love how you write him)
Have a nice day
(x) Although you didn't wear lipstick that much, when Columbina gifted you a pretty shade out of nowhere, you just had to try it out (obviously you had not seen the devious smile on her face). It was too lovely not to show off to the others too! You'd surely distract them from their work when your lips looked this appealing!
Alpha was the first on your list - he was always the sweetest to tease. Needless to say, the first kiss sealed the deal instantly. He acted grumpy at first and didn't meet your eye until he felt residue on his cheek, and upon rubbing the color off of him and realizing what it was, it was already too late. Your arms were in a death lock around him and he was left woozy after you were finished with him. Poor guy. He is also trying to figure out whether to continue working like this with the lovely reminder of your kisses or risk being seen like this.
Beta is more than happy to receive your kisses. He didn't even notice at first because as soon as you came to visit him, he immediately let go and started telling you his latest grief. But when he does notice, he gets up real close and personal and even smudges it a bit - he's just very interested. You also probably stained his white coat a bit from the kissing session. That's okay though! But please also leave a little kiss on one of his robots. It will motivate him whenever he's working.
Omega already knows what's about to happen when you waltz in, lips sheening with an unusual color. This hasn't been the first time you've come in showing off something new, after all. He's very teasing, letting you kiss against his hand before you get tired enough to pull him by his harness for a real kiss. When he finds out you've already shown the others though, he will get a bit peeved though. Next time, come to him first, okay?
Zandy didn't want to be left out of the party either, so you put a kissy stain on one of his drawings that he hung up in his room (along with all his other works of art).
Prime is pleasantly surprised and amused by the gloss on your lips. Did you miss him that much to doll yourself up like this? He'll let you give him kisses - just out of sight of what others can see. Which means, sometimes Dottore takes off his shirt and sees the residue from the lipstick you left and he smiles. Of course, no one will dare to comment if a kissy stain peaks out from the collar of his shirt. You will have to ask Bina for some more products at this point...
(Said lipstick was actually a Fontainian product that was quickly recalled after it was discovered the effects caused hypnosis when it came into contact with another's skin. However, it was ineffective on the segments and Dottore as they are already under your spell. Columbina was just curious about if it'd work. She is a lil instigator.)
#smooches talks#dottore love notes <3#fragile reader <3#zandy bb <3#i love that person they make peak art and writing their hands are BLESSED#ARGHSREFBREK doter creating make-up for u is just the cutest#ALSO IM VERY HAPPY U LIKE HOW I WRITE HIM ANON!!!#regardless. akademiya zandik covered in kiss stains. we all agree.
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Hey Lauren! Do you have a schedule and/or process? You have stories lined up weeks in advance, while I'm struggling to figure out what I'm doing Tuesday. What's your secret?
I'm so happy you asked as it gives me a chance to talk about my favorite piece of software in existence, Obsidian.md. I apologize because where some people probably just have a "I'll post this today" mentality, I am mentally ill and need to build complex systems to keep my brain in check.
Obsidian is how I organize absolutely everything in my life, including my bills, my law school notes, and of course my stories and publishing schedule. I don't mind giving you a little peak behind the curtain of my absolute organizational mania (nor do I mind giving everyone a tiny preview of the things in the hopper).
I have a second blog where I keep all the images that I like that I might one day incorporate into a story, tagged to high-heaven so I can find the thing I'm looking for easily (say, topless and outside). Then once it's ready to work on, I save it to my Obsidian vault.
This is what my workspace looks like where I'm writing:
I typically start with a picture and let the story grow out of it. It's much harder to match a picture to a story that's already grown. Thus the in-depth tagging in my storage blog. I rarely edit, which I KNOW is a bad habit, but it's not one I really intend to work on. I fix typos when I see them though. (Or when people point them out to me.)
All the data about a story is logged in the front matter so it can be analyzed by the vault. Then, based on the Status, and the Publication Date, it's put into the scheduler that's run by an Obsidian plugin called Dataview, which has changed my life (not an exaggeration):
Blue is for anything already out. Green is for stuff finished and in the queue to be published. Yellow is stuff that's done but not scheduled yet. Orange is stuff I've started but am not happy with. Red is stuff that has a title and a picture and nothing else. (Black is stuff Tumblr hid. Sad.) There's also White, which is for copies of my old stories that I've managed to recover from other people's blogs.
The other columns are the Original Publication Date, the Notes (last I checked) and the Rebloggability (calculated by how many times I've reblogged it already and how long it's been since that happened). And there's a special area for the multi-post stories.
I also use Google Calendar:
More color coding. Green for reblogs. Yellow for new posts. Orange for reposts of stories that were on my old blog. Blue for chapters. And Grey for Special.
That's it as far as my process. But if you remember all that frontmatter on the story... Obsidian, Dataview, and another plugin called Charts can team up and give me some dazzling data analysis.
There's about thirty graphs on my Analysis page, so I won't share all of them, but here's what you freaks are into:
I also have some compelling data that you all have short attention spans:
Because that's the most goddamn perfect reverse exponential function I've ever seen, and also the reason I posted zero long story updated in January.
So that's THE PROCESS and by way thereof, THE VAULT. Hope you enjoyed this deep dive into my particular brand of bullshit. I know here in this corner of the world we like spirals, but to me, the sexiest shape is a little box with a little piece of data in it.
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How 2 Phone
I often see my fellow neurodivergent and/or younger friends absolutely crippled by the inability to make even simple phone calls, and it was perplexing to look at myself and find that for the most part- despite all traits indicating I SHOULD struggle with this too (as I struggle deeply with in-person convos)- I do not. Then I realised that this is because at a very young age my mum sat me down and TAUGHT me how to do it, step by step, so I'm going to relay what she taught me and hope it will help somebody the way it helped me.
DISCLAIMER: this was learned originally in the context of the UK and it's something I still use effectively for german calls in Switzerland. I don't know what americans do maybe they have secret phone codes I don't know, adapt as needed I guess
---
First thing to remember is that, if you are calling some kind of office or support or business or organisation of any kind: they are doing this ALL DAY, even if you fuck up as spectacularly as it's possible to fuck up and stumble over every single word, you are still just a blip in their workday of many many many calls. they will not care.
Second thing to remember is that because they're doing these calls all day, all they actually want from you is the information to complete the task you give them. You don't have to be a ~conversationalist~ or even particularly friendly. Generally speaking you can just apply the following template to every call, and just be a very basic level of not-rude and say your thankyous and that's all you need
Third thing: Though not necessary, it's useful to develop a "phone voice" where you sit up straight and speak extra clearly and brightly, like you're in a theatre play. This makes you easy for the other person to understand (especially on bad lines), and reminds you that it's all a repetitive sequence of lines like a script and this is NOT a social situation.
THE TEMPLATE:
(a possible step 0 is getting through the auto line, which is just pushing buttons so I'm gonna assume we've got through that already as well as the deep fried hold music and a real person has now answered the phone)
"Hello, my name is [firstname lastname] and I'm calling because [reason]." --- Reason for this step: they need your name because they need to know how to address you on the call, and telling them the context for the call will help them know what to do next. They too have "templates" and have usually done them many many times, they just need to know which one they need to select for this call. I say this exact phrase the same way every time I make a call like this: a strong opener can help your confidence and you can practice it off call if you like. Don't treat it like a conversation, just say the whole thing and move to step 2
Stop and wait for instructions and/or questions --- Reason for this step: Now it's the other person's turn to figure things out, and you are in the passive role. This is when you get asked things like customer number, date of birth, doctor's name etc., all the things that they need to look up on their computer. This will go on until they have all the details they need and then they will move to the next step.
They will ask you again about your reason for calling, answer in exactly the same way as before or go into greater detail as needed. --- Reason for this step: The first time you did this was like the movie trailer that let them vaguely know what to expect, this one is where you have their full attention and they will begin to handle your task. You didn't mess up the first time they just needed to get all their questions out of the way first and are now clear for your queries.
More details, figuring out stuff, getting transferred --- This is the most chaotic and unpredictable step because it will be different for every call and varies depending on what you're trying to do. Good luck, and repeat steps 2 and 3 as needed (or start again from 1 if you get transferred)
When done, they will ask you "is there anything else I can help you with?" --- Reason for this step: Sometimes people will call with several things they want to do at once (open a credit card account AND check their balance, for example) and so this is part of their call template. Feel free to give this a few seconds of consideration: I like to pretend to think even when I know I have nothing, because sometimes I DO randomly think of a question I'd like to ask, or it's just a nice cooldown moment to gather my thoughts. A common question I find myself asking is "do I need to bring anything?" for when I make appointments. 99.9% of the time I don't need to bring anything, but having the confirmation of "no, you don't" gives me some extra peace of mind.
"Okay, thank you very much, have a nice day!" --- Reason for this step: This lets them know that you're going to end the call, and they'll respond in kind and (usually) hang up first. Sometimes they may jump in with a "you may receive a rating form/call/whatever to rate the service you received on this call", just let them get this out of the way (they are required to say it), say "okay, thank you, I will!" and repeat your goodbye a second time. This closing farewell is another thing you can say exactly the same way every time, and you can practice off call if you like.
That's it! In my experience very very few official phonecalls will deviate from this format, and even if the person on the other end is being unusual you can generally just barge ahead and impose it on them and they will fall in line lol
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"Terpsichore...Kira..." Brook repeated, trying to figure out how Kira could be a nickname for that. Maybe it was an alias or something; this movie was sounding wilder and wilder the more they talked about it. Deciding not to worry about that now (it seemed like he'd be finding out soon anyway if River had anything to say about it), Brook refocused on his new friend, laughing at how forward he was. It was actually nice to see someone so sure of themselves (or at least pretending to be), and the attention was definitely flattering. "You like to flirt, don't you?" Brook asked, smirking at River. "It's okay, it's not a bad thing. Is this your way of asking if I want to watch the movie with you?" The answer would be yes, though Brook felt like River would find some way to persuade him even if he tried to say no.
As he continued listening to the other, Brook looked at him sternly, pretending to be perturbed. "Hey, I'm already past 40 you know," he said gruffly, but then Brook started to laugh; he knew River hadn't meant anything by what he had said. "40 was actually my benchmark for when I'd have my life straightened out, and, well...I'm about to be 42, so I've missed the mark a little." Or possibly a lot - Brook's life was pretty far off from what he thought it would be at this point. "Let's just say we're both still young enough to find out bliss," Brook decided. "I guess everyone is unless they're dead." He just hoped they wouldn't always be searching for it. Grinning at River, Brook replied coyly, "It's an okay outcome, sure."
"It's really nice of you to help your aunt," Brook said as they continued along. "I hope she appreciates it." He hated the thought of someone taking advantage of a kind soul like River. It made him sad to hear the other talk about being lonely, and the truth was that Brook could empathize. "I've been spending most of my nights alone too," he replied, realizing that that was a sort of loaded comment to make, some unspoken suggestion just below the words, but really Brook didn't mean them in any particular way. "It's been hard for me to really find my place," Brook went on somberly, not realizing how much this bothered him until now. "I don't really think I'd found my place back in Salem either, but I'd been so busy all the time that it hadn't really bothered me. Here though...I think about it a lot more." Suddenly feeling a little melancholy, Brook sighed, apologizing, "I'm sorry. I'm really bringing the mood down."
River nodded "She is, shes actually the muse Terpsichore, but simply goes by Kira..." They rambled and then stopped themselves again, getting too excited. "Well, I'm always game for movie nights..." They mused, even if they knew that they were unlikely to pay attention in the company of such a hot guy- though they for once kept their lips zipped at that admission. "I can of course, I'm extremely flexible in what I can show off..." They purred, unable to help themselves. The witch sighed "But it's only 9 years away from 40 with literally nothing to show, it's crazy" The blonde whined at the thought, though they then shrugged it off- such was their nature. "There's nothing stopping you from finding the right one, it should never be based on age, what matters is that you continue to enjoy yourself, at least indulge in the pleasure of others from time to time, hm?" They mused, a small smirk on their lips as they spoke. "I'd like to think that's a very excellent outcome..." They mused, their tone still flirtatious, unable to help themselves with it. "Hm, perhaps..." They chuckled, giving a playful grin at them "It's mostly about reading people in their expressions, trick words, making them express their desires to you subconsciously and then you pick up on them" They explained. "Oh my aunt is a real tough gal, I'm mostly here to just help with groceries, fixing up her home...You know, just an extra set of hands. Plus, free room and board for me to save up for the big leagues" They joked. "Well, I'm not sure. It's been lonely I must admit, I'm used to sharing a bed with people either nightly, or for short bursts....I've had no actual action in this sleepy little town" The snickered, finding it easy to be honest with Brooke. "But I can admire the quaint, pretty nature of the town?. You should totally go and meet your family!" They then chided playfully. "I'm glad you have your place here though"
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so like imagine Undertale characters but they're all crafts supplies Part Two Electric Boogaloo (Sans and Papyrus) (Toriel and Asgore) (Frisk and Flowey) (Napstablook and Mettaton)
#undertale arts & crafts#undertale arts and crafts#<- ive decided maybe this is a better name for it#craftstale#<- i worry that this name might give people the wrong impression... like Minecraft?#these are fun to make... i have so many ideas for them already-- not just as individuals but the whole underground ;P#BY THE WAY!! I READ ALL OF YOUR TAGS AND IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY WHEN YOU GUYS COMMENT ABOUT THEM AND MAKE SPECULATIONS!!!!!!!!#I Will Say Though ☝️I Have Most Of Them Already Figured Out... So You Will All Just Have To Wait And See What I Do With This AU ;P#i hope you guys like what i have come up with...#Undyne is a push pin and Alphys is washi tape :]#undertale#undyne undertale#undyne#alphys#alphys undertale#push pin undyne#washi tape alphys#undertale au#utmv#cheese draws
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listen I know everybody makes Orpheus and Eurydice quest aus of Nico bringing Jason back BUT we already did Orpheus and Eurydice in canon like at least three times (Nico bringing Percy to the Styx, Nico bringing back Hazel, and Piper in general is Orpheus as an Argonaut) AND we are missing the much simpler canon-established method.
Remember the whole soul-trade thing Nico was doing in BoTL that got dropped completely? Even though it was like the entire subplot with Minos?
The requirement is a soul that has cheated death for a soul that has died. Now, quickly ignoring the convenient emperors running around who very much cheated death and the entire main conflict in TOA is Apollo trying to get rid of them. There are a ton of escaped souls from the whole Doors of Death/Thanatos getting captured thing. They're just kind of around. A lot of them were in the Giant Army but not all of them and a good number of them are random mortals and they're just. Somewhere.
So that's two loose plot threads: Nico is 100% fully aware of a completely Underworld-Legal method for bringing people back from the dead and there's an absolute ton of random souls-who-cheated-death running around who knows where completely unaddressed. Also, we know from BoO that Nico has changed his stance since BoTL and is now completely down for some murder.
Now, is there a very compelling plot within there about Nico and his sense of Underworld justice/Nico's morals and how he views the situation (insert the "That word ['please'] didn’t make sense to Nico. The Underworld had no mercy. It only had justice." quote from BoO of Nico killing Bryce while he's begging for mercy here.) vs Jason's own sense of justice/morals and the knowledge that Nico 100% actually murdered somebody to bring him back. THAT'S FASCINATING. It's a good conflict for a story and it ties up loose threads! We don't need to invent new mechanics the worldbuilding writes the plot all on it's own.
#pjo#riordanverse#nico di angelo#jason grace#not tagging as ship because it does not inherently need to be though most versions of this plot are#and i will say this plotline does have a FASCINATING secondary conflict if you go the ship route with it#because Nico is Ghost King! Jason was A GHOST! NICO CONTROLS GHOSTS!#Ghosts are inherently drawn to Nico and respond to his emotions/commands/etc even if he is not consciously controlling them!#So you could *absolutely* have a secondary conflict of Nico and Jason trying to figure out their feelings for each other#but both of them worrying about trying to parse if their feelings *are* actually mutual#or if Nico accidentally influenced Jason while he was a ghost into reciprocating his feelings and that stuck when he was revived#which is like. extra sucky for Jason to figure out because HE ALREADY WENT THROUGH THAT WITH PIPER. This would be the second time!#can you tell i started writing this once#i never finished it but i stand by it's SUCH a great compelling plot if you wanna go the revive-Jason route
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well boss said reese has no indication of any uti or crystals only a tiny amount of red blood cells which can be caused by the manual expression. coworker insisted there was no point in taking rads to see if he's blocked from the string so going to try some laxaire and hope 😬🤞🏻also then my boss gave me a ride to the bus stop so i didn't have to carry the huge crate which was uncharacteristically nice of him 🤨
#already plotting in my head how trying to get him into emergency surgery on the weekend would go and its not great#on account of the fact that i simply do not have enough thousands of dollars for the er proper. or a way to get there but i could probably#figure that one out but not so much the money#he had a god awful time he had to see a d*g and that was horrible he hissed at it (chihuahua less than 1/3 his size)#he was SO scared i feel horrible and i almost cried a lot of times just from looking at him 😭#anyway i'm glad we did a ua though that does help some of my anxiety but now the problem is the string#it probably had a big knot in it so i'm not totally convinced it would even be able to exit the stomach but if it did thats terrifying#i don't think it was super long just the big knot#coworker also insisted strings cant cause blockages only intussuseptions which does not sound right to me particularly if it was a bulky#but not long string such as this one. but what do i m#*know#i'm still really stressed and we have to move tomorrow ugh#i forgot to grab the laxaire at the clinic so i'm going to have to go out and get some but i have to go drop off a goodwill bag anyway#ugh also while my coworker was trying to get pee from him she said “if you bite me i'll smack you in the face i dont care if your moms here”#and i didnt say anything but if she had done that i think i would have lost my mind. what the fuck is wrong with you#she is like that with all of the animals and it drives me insane or like she'll brag about how her rottweiler lifted his lip at her so she#beat him and stepped on his head (???) like some would accurately identify this as animal abuse and yet youre a vet tech???#like these animals are all having a horrible day why the fuck don't you have two seconds of patience instead of immediately going to#“oh you threatened to bite me let me force you into tonic immobility”. again what the fuck is wrong with you#same woman who justified hitting kids in the face btw. of course#my boss is actually much nicer to them for the most part than she is he's just a total douche to people (me) its weird#like i just think you should not have made your lifes work being a vet tech if you think its cool and fine to smack dogs and cats around for#not immediately doing what you want or for expressing discomfort or fear#and they are almost all fear reactive i think there have been maybe two cats that i would describe as aggressive and not just fear reactive#and i'm probably wrong honestly! theres always a reason#anyway. please everyone pray or vibe or whatever that my cat doesnt get his guts tied in knots because i dont have $10000 and his insurance#doesn't kick in for two weeks i think (i got it last night in a panic having intended to do it months ago but thought he had to have a vet#relationship in order to get it)#i'm still really scared lol. god bless#me
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guy who has been listening to 'water the roses' by flavor foley every day for the past week voice: thinking about giving my ocs a divorce arc
#rambumbles#yes bee you do already have so many problems. but does your wife really deserve to deal with them ??#she's obligated to stay by your side yes but you'll just keep feeling worse the more bitter she seems about it !#probably non-canon though. I am playing with my touys#legtimately though. exploring/considering even outlandish scenarios is good for figuring out characterization#learn where the “they would not fucking say that” boundaries lie & whatnot#I love writing it's like puzzles to me (most of their favorite things are like puzzles to them)
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btw similar to the whole "if you try adderall at a party and it calms you down, get an adhd test" thing, if at some point in your life you try microdosing shrooms with a friend and end up feeling like a functional person for the first time in your life, get tested for depression. like yeah hallucinogens come with elation so youre probably gonna have some "this is the best ive ever felt in my life" vibes regardless, but like. if that in and of itself feels like finally breathing in for the first time in years, thats for sure a sign that something is up with your ability to process serotonin most of the time. feeling better than ever before should be a nice bonus, not a crushing weight off your chest
#fun fact there are currently multiple ongoing studies vis a vis the effectiveness of psilocybin on depression#both on its own and as a companion to ssris#psylocybin targets the 5ht2a serotonin receptors which wikipedia tells me are more numerous in the brains of those with depression#so like. if you spend most of your life feeling like your brain is an aquarium with a leak in it and serotonin is the water and your default#state is 'slightly damp gravel grinding painfully against itself' thats ummm not normal 👍#and on the flipside of that if you have depression that no other med has worked for and know a guy. its 1000% worth it#origibberish#also i say 'wikipedia tells me' as if i just looked it up but that all comes from a long night of spite filled research after i asked my#psychiatrist if we could use the fact that psylocybin worked for me as a basis to like. narrow down which legal antidepressant#might work instead of basically just throwing darts at a board every time#and after several minutes explaining to her that i was not just asking her to prescribe me shrooms but in a legal way she went#'ohhhh yeah no unfortunately theres been no research into that‚ yeah.... sorry......:)'#which. as far as 'lies you come up with on the spot to avoid having to say i dont know' go‚ that is. maybe the worst one to pick#like. 'no‚ thats not an option'? alright fine maybe theres some internal rules or something who knows#'theres no research' though just. immediately tanks any and all credibility 100% even on its own but considering the subject matter?#youre telling me. that humans. the famously curious species that researches fucking Everything. and also Loves playing with drugs. when#trying to figure out how to make drugs that make brains feel good. would not start with the drugs they already knew made brains feel good.#youre telling me that not one (1) singular scientist tried shrooms and went 'oh my god wait. i dont feel like im dying for the first time#ever. holy fuck i need to study this'#complete misplay. absolutely legendary fumble. there were so many ways to fuck it up and somehow you found the worst. congratulations#om the other hand though. really was an excellent setup for the punchline that is the voicemail i have from them saying she'd been fired LOL#they didnt say what for specifically but yknow. based on my own experiences i certainly have theories jebfksbfk#it was annoying in the moment but at the end of the day i have shrooms and she doesnt have the job so. whos laughing now emily KSBFKSBFKDN#this is what i mean though like. rn i feel fine. not on top of the world‚ not like a god#just. fine. i just dont feel like shit. i feel like i can do stuff if i want to‚ or chill peacefully and have it actually be. relaxing.#i dont feel like gravel right now‚ i feel like a person.#and god what a fucking relief it is#really i guess the moral overall is that if at any point you react to trying a new drug the same way an addict craving a hit for days would#then there maybe is something up with your brain chemistry because that means your default state of existence is comparable to that#of withdrawal. a famously shit experience
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insane 2 me that eiyuu senki has a translation b4 fate/stay night does
#it's literally EXACTLY what most ppl think fsn is....#plot-light eroge with a 'historical figures (+ knights of the round table) but they're cute anime girls' gimmick#tbf though i've said it b4 and i'll say it again. i am the exact target audience for what ppl Think fsn is from the outside#and one of these days (read: after i get a pc and play through a million other (better) games i have on my list) i'll def play it#if only to analyze it as an arthurian adaptation bc going through conceptually inch resting arthurian adaptations is my hobby#(and when i say that i mean there is a Reason the term 'girlboss arthuriana' was coined (i should know. i coined it.) and the genre is#Oversaturated. i don't want to read another young/new adult novel about an arthurian woman by some1 who Clearly was seized w the need 2 be#mzb 2..... the sequel!. heard the most baseline description of this random lady. and ran w it!#i already know every single plot beat and every single cliche and major arthurian misunderstanding they'll run straight into#and it'd be redundant to point them out or analyze how or why they made certain decisions so i. don't read them anymore!#i refuse to touch anything girlboss arthuriana or openly derived from th white/game of thrones. i will have a much more enjoyable time#trying to figure out how arthurian gacha number 42069 or self published novel abt a minor character you'd have to read med lit#(or at least more than 1 wiki page) to even know or obscure 70s narrative song than touch a single nyt bestseller wannabe)#(*when i say arthurian gacha i don't just mean fgo it's just the most famous example. king arthur is a v popular gacha character and#i've yet to figure out why)#also eiyuu senki has palomydes AND didn't whitewash her so like. !!!!! . i am predisposed to like it more than other adaptations#(<<< has a fave knight of the round table (and it's by a Lot))#+ i'm generally weak 2 knight girls. you should know this abt me already. and percival has a nice 1/4 scale figure so like ....#let's just say i Really want to like it#romeo.txt
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