#and if i wasnt so committed to my damn job

[mourning-star-daily-comet]

you true crime types are soooo annoying. you never let go of ANYTHING. Alex was right about you xoxo 💋💅🤭

im going to shoot you point blank in the back of the head execution style

[cleromancy]

still thinking about mia!

in particular i found the deliberate and thoughtful way ga01 approached the concept of a plucky teen sidekick refreshing... because sidekicks are a staple of the genre, right, and moreover most of us *like* them, so how do we justify the "good guys" *having* them when we're also writing stuff with way more realism than the old stuff?

and to be honest i don't really need that when im reading, i can suspend my disbelief. but you have to commit to the bit when you're the one writing it, you have to believe it. and a lonely place of dying... it did ok for what it was and im extremely fond of it, but i also think it was already walking away from like... the fact that batman got robin killed, yk. it was walking away from what that meant. and like i said thats fine. if they never brought robin back i never would have gotten into comics in the first place, yknow?

but i think the exploration of some of the thorny concepts around mia sidekicking in ga is great because like. this is *emphatically* not an omelas situation. green arrow definitively does not "need" a speedy and it is also emphatically not speedys job to provide a counterbalance or whatever.

ok this got long. putting in a cut here

and both dinah and roy absolutely tear into ollie about his decision to let mia sidekick with him--and i feel like ive read a fair few kid/teen sidekick stories which have the kid wind up in danger (or whatever) regardless of the adult trying to discourage them, and the adult at that point figures if theyre going to sneak out/disobey/whathaveyou its better to do it where the adult can keep an eye on them. and there are times when this is presented like the adult literally cannot convince the child not to do those things, which. yknow. we understand how fiction works so we also know if the writer says the kiddo wont listen to any reason, that the adult just doesn't have the power over them to stop them, then thats what happened... but the implications about the power dynamic and the adults ability to set reasonable boundaries dont paint a *great* picture.

but GA doesn't do that... i would argue mia was being set up to be the 2nd speedy all the way back to dinah and roys conversation in that plane where they just learned ollie might be alive and cant stop bitching about him lol. and iirc this is within the first 6 issues. and dinah and roy are both throwing around unfair accusations at the time, but roy says smth to the effect of what do you want to bet he's already training her to replace me. and i don't think he really believed that but it obviously planted the idea in readers heads if it wasnt there already! but yknow after that, mia doesn't debut as speedy until ga 46, or thereabouts im not looking it up, several years later both IRL and in-universe (or well in-universe its almost 2 years. iirc.).

(i can't even imagine how it must have felt if youd been following that series the whole time *finally* seeing that enter speedy cover. id have been screaming my damn head off.)

anyway. i already talked about comparing and contrasting the man mia killed during her test run vs the jason and felipe situation but i also wanted to say that i think it was great that the whole conversation pretty much *opens* with that. like forget physical danger the kid might be in--what about the psychological toll? what about the choices hes putting her in the position to make?

despite ollie very much being the protagonist of the series and mia very much being a supporting character, the focus of the emotional impact is on her, and the focus of the *responsibility* is on him. (now compare and contrast batman with robin...... listen, i absolutely do not believe it wasn't set up as a deliberate contrast, ok.)

and you would naturally think that would mean she doesn't... get to be speedy. she doesn't get to be a hero. she doesn't get another chance. but then she gets her HIV+ diagnosis, and the focus for mias character turns specifically to *living* with HIV.

and i think that's what makes it clear, to me at least, that the whole... fighting crime thing is supposed to be a metaphor. at least on some level. its a power fantasy, its a metaphor, its about the *good guys winning.* heroes being heroes. and i think a lot of the discussions around representation have gotten so overblown for what they are, but--unironically--sometimes its really meaningful and important just to see yourself. and to believe that no matter what youve lived through, you can be good, you can be wanted, you can make a difference.

which is why mia gives her presentation in the auditorium about her diagnosis, and i feel like this was also a deliberate callback to roy "only you can prevent forest fires" harper and his anti-drug PSA. because roy decided, after snowbirds, he was going to go public about his addiction because he wanted to help other people going through the same thing he did, or prevent other people from going through it yk. and there are two incidents i can think of where, years down the line, he feels some regret over it because now hes just known as the heroin guy, the guy who used to do drugs. but i also don't think he would ever have chosen to do anything else. both speedys are actively choosing to bear that stigma openly in the hopes of reducing it, you know?

speaking of which! i thought it was a *fantastic* - and no doubt deliberate - contrast to how roys drug use was treated, to have mia only talk about it *once* (this is in the HIV+ issue. 45ish?) that she regularly did meth when she was on the streets, and its explicitly clear she did it to survive. and it never comes up again. there's no condemnation, there's no literal war on drugs propaganda here. (the first roy comic i ever read was the mini ntt one in the mandatory fucking D.A.R.E program in middle school, btw.) it was a fact of her life because her life was *fucking dangerous,* and meth helped keep her alive until she managed to find her way out of it!

so this is another concept mia becoming speedy explores--the fact that the people who should have kept her safe as a child did the opposite. mia has never been safe her entire life until moving in with ollie. and the people who hurt her left permanent damage in a physical way in the form of HIV. so now ga is exploring like... what it means to be safe. what it means to be mortal. what exactly is a childhood. and it doesn't dig *too* too deeply into these because its not that kind of comic book, its the kind of comic book where the good guys shoot glue arrows at bad guys and stick them to the floor. but it approaches it and sits you down with those questions and i mean, for me at least, even putting aside exactly how hype i was for mia to take on the mantle, it felt *right* that ollie would say yes.

and the next issue i think or the one after that (its the teen titans one! tim is there later). is the one where roy reams ollie out for this, they talk about it, roy lampshades the different... contexts of having a speedy. like its not like how it used to be. the bad guys are worse, its not safe enough for a kid anymore. and this is where ollie relays mias diagnosis (<- she had already decided to go public about it as i said before, so ollies not sharing information that isnt his to share here). and roys like that could have been me. its a good issue! i like what it does with what its doing.

and then some 20 issues later, once mia is reasonably well established as a superhero and a titan....... Enter Jason.

(🥰)

i have so much to say about this arc i love it so much. let me preface by saying none of this is a condemnation of jason, hes pretty much my favorite fictional character of all time. im not interested in wagging my finger at the guy styling himself as a supervillain at the time and going Naughty Jason! Thats Not How We Make Friends!, yk. im also not endorsing it, bla bla bla, whatever, this really aint about him right now. right now we're just talking about what he does for the story, the questions he poses about mia and sidekicks and shit.

god, where to fucking start.

i guess ill start with jasons "were not so different you and i" villain speech. and yknow at least on the surface level theres like. a certain join-me-be-my-robin element to it or like he's encouraging her to cross the line or whatever. but honestly, jason was less there because jason todd the fictional character wanted to be there, and more because winick as the writer thought it continued to explore the concept in an interesting way.

because we've talked about green arrows responsibility vis a vis letting her be a sidekick bc of the psychological impact of it, about the choices she's put in a position to make, about HIV and what it means to be a hero and safety. all of those things. and jason shows up to *demonstrate* that--

--it really is not fucking safe to do what they do.

and Jason is, i think, at his most terrifying here, and thats on purpose. it is *visceral*. it is so, so incredibly well done. and it throws ALL those questions of safety and responsibility and mortality and heroism and do-gooding into a new light because you really feel like, oh my god, her life is in danger.

tbh i think some of the reader anger at jason for this arc--and titans tower, just to a lesser degree because it wasnt NEARLY as good lol--is the fact that he *is* challenging us, the readers, to think about our beloved kid/teen sidekick trope. he brings back the element of realism that GA was drawing away from somewhat, the element of *real consequences.* and as a reader it is so much easier to just be mad at jason because well hes the villain of the story...... and ignore the fact that hes demonstrating--both by being the dead robin cautionary tale, and by being ~red hood, the scourge of the underworld~ lol--that if this is not something she's prepared to face, a possibility she's prepared for, then she shouldn't be wearing that uniform.

and that the person she relies on to protect her can't always be there to do it.

and, mini tangent, there's absolutely no way jason was trying to kill her here. he terrified her, he kicked her ass, but he didn't do any permanent damage and he didnt "lock her in" (<- real reading i saw once 🙄 try reading it again with your eyes next time genius) he stabbed his knife into her cape. if jason were being written by anyone else i would entertain the idea but it was winick, who knows exactly how smart and thorough jason is supposed to be *because he was the one who made him that way.* there's no doubt in my mind that jason was perched somewhere watcging to make sure she got out before the place went kablooey but you know what, in fairness, thats not on the page. BUT, like. the reason mia *thinks* jason was going to kill her--before she realizes he could have if hed wanted to, and purposely let her go--was because he wanted her to think that. he wanted to scare her and he wanted to warn her and he wanted to make her think.

really really love this arc.

anyway. i mentioned in my other post that winick tweaked mias backstory so she was also homeless like jason, which i sort of have mixed feelings about. in smiths version, her dad trafficks her and later she winds up as one of the "girlfriends" (euphemism for victims) of his associates. and that was ... not really the picture of child trafficking you usually see in comics, the more common real-life scenario rather than the sensationalized version of quote-unquote child prostitutes on street corners. but at the same time i think winick kept the most important part (the familial trafficking) and i also think he changed it in order to explore all the aforementioned topics in an interesting way. it doesn't feel like it was just an arbitrary change, or to make it more exciting or whatever. like he was exploring stuff with it, it was purposeful.

for example--going back to mia and meth. the more you read of winick the more you notice that intravenous drugs and illnesses associated with them (so including but not limited to HIV/AIDS) are something of a... recurring... motif, i guess? they're something he regularly comes back to explore. and thats interesting in the context of mia for a lot of reasons but well. when mia defensively says to ollie that she used meth, the reason she gives is they used it to stay awake on the streets. and i do think winick deliberately--and *effectively*--explored the pre-existing (and historical) parallels btwn batman and green arrow in a bunch of other ways, so i don't think im off base in saying the fact that *robin* 2.0 famously lived on the streets *probably* had something to do with the backstory tweak for speedy 2.0, particularly again bc of jasons "we're the same" villain speech. but also, like i said, she mostly used to stay awake(/alive), which is something of a harder sell if she hadn't been homeless, and also like i said, winick likes exploring drugs and wanted to write a hero living with HIV.

before i get into the comparisons with jason and mia, i also want to say that i think jason--who im constantly affectionately calling a revenant--is such an effective contrast for mia because the emphasis for mia! was always on living. it was always on healing. despite having a *distinctly* non-everykid origin story, mia absolutely embodies something i think was very characteristic of her generation of teen titans, or at the very least early days cassie and tim, which was this simultaneous like... they're normal kids, they're *relatable,* but they're also superheroic in determination, and resourcefulness, and they want this, and they know they can do it, so they will. and thats what its all about, man.

...actually i just ran out of steam, ill write out some thoughts on jason telling mia theyre the same later lol sorry. im toired!!!!

anyway mia is soooo good.

[voidwritesstuff]

Long Way To The Truth

->cw: angst,mentions of ptsd, your usual Lucas stuff.

->chapter three: Arkansas pt2// Oklahoma.

->reblogs over likes.

A little weirded out,he packs up his stuff and leaves. The road before him its still pretty wet,so he drives slowly and taking Wheelers advice.

He could afford to take the day slow,to relax,just this once.

Most of the trip across Arkansans is pretty calm, just towns and towns. Some nice people,some mildly annoying ones,but its as normal as his trip could get.

The most interesting thing he had during the trip was while he was taking a break from Driving. The heat is not that bad at that moment, hes sitting on the floor of his van with a guitar in hand.

Said guitar wasnt his,it was Wheeler's. He was going to be their band's guitarist,it did go to wheeler's head for a few days, and he was a goddamn menace about It. He spent days bragging about how he would get all the chicks and leave the others with none. (To which Lucas would reply that the jokes on him because Lucas himself is Bisexual).

Regardless, he sits on the floor of the van,leaning Back on some of his bags and boxes and he starts to strum what few chords he remembers.

The strumming continues for a bit as his thoughts swirl to the beat of the song. Hes composed a few of songs before,kept them all to himself.

But around him theres not that Many people only the passing cars of the road, no-one is paying attention to him.

So,it Beggins in a humm,tuning his voice to the chords. He takes a deep breath and...

--See me and the boys

We got plans for what comes later

After the war

Got names for a band

And jobs for each other-- he sings,looking at his Journal,Open beside him where he has a picture of him and his Friends.

He was the youngest of his team, the platoon's Child that Wheeler fawned over like a mother hen. Even if his captain denied any favoritism, it was clear as day that if anything happened to Lucas,Alphonso wouldve totally commited a few war crimes.

--so,do you have any children?-- Lucas asked Alphonso once while they Ate lunch.-- you seem like ya do

--Nah,me n my Lady are waitin' for me to come back home to try. Ion wanna lose my baby's first steps or words. --Wheeler answered, eating a bite from his food-- but honestly I think at this Point we might as well adopt you

Lucas chuckles,a little embarassed but moved, he clears his throat trying to play it off-- c'mon Man,dont Rob me of the experience of being the cool uncle

--Fine fine I wont. On one condition-- his captains eyes had that look in his face, that mischevious glint that meant that he was going to thoroughly embarass him by being cheesy and sappy-- I get to be your best Man when you get married

The younger Man nodded-- deal,you better not embarass me infront of my future spouse though

--Cant make any promises,kiddo-- Alphonso replied with a teasing smirk.

God,those were the days.

--It feel really good, whoa

I'm crashing, I'm crashing down

Everyone's crashing

But as long as we're together-- he keeps singing, the memory sitting like a weight on his chest.

Maybe after this,he should check on Wheeler's wife,she was in a retirement home in Tennesee, he visited her during the anniversary of Wheeler's death and during the holidays,hes taken her to some of his family gatherings before.

To this day,she maintains that hes the son she and Alphonso never had, Hence why he has Wheeler's guitar and some of his memorabilia.

Anger,regret, sadness and grief pour from his voice as he sings each word,a little shaky and weak--Ooh, and the drummer plays

A beat too long and the whole damn song

Starts to fall apart

Ooh, by show of hands

The group disbands, and they won't be back

By popular demand 

"Im with you,every step of the way. Keep going,kid"

Those words echo in his mind, and it almost feels like Wheeler is showing him New chords he didnt know with the way that his fingers press down on different parts of the guitar's neck. They just sort of come to him.

Its like he can almost hear him say "Like this- no youre doing it wrong,that finger goes here. Atta boy"

--Believe it now, believe it then

As long as you believe it when

It comes knocking, it comes knocking for your friends

Between the times we used to spend

And now the feeling never bends

I noticed and I notice it again-- he sings,pouring his feelings into the dragging of the words. The strumming becomes a lot more fluid,Like an actual song hes played over,and over again.

He even gets a small Disney princess moment because a few of the critters like birds and squirrels get closer to him to hear what hes playing

But putting his feelings into words is really good for his anguish,it makes him feel a lot lighter and at ease with that constant maelstorm of unresolved issues. He eventually does put away the guitar and grabs his Journal,as much as it stings him je writes down a little item that says "get a therapist ( a good one)".

The only reason hes considering seeing a therapist again is because of Wheeler, he needs to take the reigns of his mental health somehow. The worlds huge,this country was huge, there has to be at least one therapist that Will hear him out.

Right after that,he resumes his Driving. And by nightfall hes already in Oklahoma,which does help him quite a bit with his anxiety.

During the night, he found himself a nice parkinglot to park,a little in the shadows of the streelights. Hes currently writing down on his Journal before going to bed.

"Diary entry #200.

Already in Oklahoma,im so sick of Driving so much. Theres still a few days until I reach Milton-Haven, but I also find myself enjoying the trip, havent been outside for this long in a good while.

It feels just like the hunting road trips me and my dad would do every year when I was a kid.

I think im going to find a room for the night tonight, despite the fact that I might need to sleep on the floor. But it would be great to not half freeze my ass for one night.

Regardless, heres my to do list for when I get to MH.

•find a place to stay.

•find a job (prefferably a quiet sort of job)

•research about Mayer and possible facilities they May own. (Visit town hall)

•find documents about AR.

• find a therapist (A good one)."

After that,he closes the Journal and goes to bed. Lately,as hes been able to think about his past and process it, hes had less run Ins with bad dreams and his PTSD related. He low key hates how actually confronting his emotions helps.

But regardless of that,his sleep goes uninterrupted, and Next morning he continued his trip after getting breakfast.

Nothing of note happens thruought the day. The night however does bring Lucas something interesting, as he entered the bar, he noted the stage was getting ready for a performance.

And as he eats dinner he can hear the supposed band members argue over him

--Goddamnit,He cancelled?--A guy asked,sounding exhasperated.

--Its the third time this week!-- a girl added-- explain to me where are we getting a damn drummer now?!

--We cant cancell this gig- I cant afford it-- another guy says.

Lucas sighs,scratching the back of his neck. Was he really going to do this? He could just nope out,not his circus not his monkeys. It would be exposing himself to a large crowd,there could be some goverment agent in there and-.

--I dont get why we even made this band in the first place! -- the girl said-- stupid fucking- I cant fucking belive it. Its a waste of damn time

Fine,fuck,guess hes doing this.

After he eats dinner,he goes to talk with the band. Telling them who he is and that hes good at drums,and in their desesparation the band accepts.

--Im isabell--says the girl-- im the vocalist of the Group, this is Leon, hes the bassist and this is Jay the guitarrist.

Lucas wouldve Flinched if he heard that a few days ago,but for some reason now hes a lot more at ease when the memory of Alphonso pops out.

--Nice to make yer acquaintance, what song are yall playin'?

Isabell scratches the back of her neck-- we're uh playing the Trooper by iron maiden

A smile appears on the face of the ex soldier-- neat,I know the chords to that song. I really like it actually

--Oh thank god-- the main singer exclaims-- de can go fix up the Seat for you n all, we gotta get ready anyway

--Sounds great, lets do it then

Lucas cant help but look at the main three of the band as they get ready and tune their instruments. He can tell theyve been Friends for a while because of the way they interact, he smiles fondly at the sight,wondering if him and his Friends wouldve been the same way if they ever did manage to form that band that they wanted to form.

Before the show,Isabell seems a little anxious as she warms up her voice, It makes him feel for her as she sits on the steps to the stage as she looks down with this fearful look in her eyes. on a whim he decided to sit with her and talk, see if he could help.

--Hey, whats up?-- he asked,putting a hand on her shoulder.

--Ah nothing- stage Fright. I always get it before every show- theres a lotta people in here and it makes me nervous-- she explains, passing her hands across her face-- the owner said that if we do good tonight, we'll become The Band of the bar. Its huge for us you know?

He nodds-- yeah I get that, seems quite daunting-- his hands reach to Grab the dog tags hidden underneath his flannel-- but yknow after a lifetime of well, war, i-ive realized something. No matter how scared you are- its better to just- just do it rather than running away

--How did you deal with the Fear?--She asked,eyes setting on the dogtags. She seems a little distracted from her anguish.

--beside just doing the damn thing even if I was shittin' myself internally?-- he asked, and at that she laughed and nodded-- had really good Friends-- he nodds towards her bandmates-- for..-for me it was my captain -- he takes a deep breath as he considers what hes about to do-- for you? Its leon and Jay, im a pretty observant guy and ive seen the way yall act together. Im sure those boys would follow you to the ends of the earth if you just asked. So dont be afraid to reach out- here,gimme your hand

A little curious and quite moved,she offers his hand as he takes off his dogtags and places them on her palm-- hopefully this helps, I have one of the tags of my captain on that chain. And since yer singing The Trooper, its only appropiate you have something army related.

Isabell smiles,putting on the dogtags. The weight of the metal is oddly soothing-- Thanks, Lucas.

He smiles and pats their back-- s'nuthin.-- he stands up and dusts himself off-- c'mon kid,lets get the show started -- he helps her up and smiles reassuringly.

Soon,the show starts. Lucas hits the drumsticks together, marking the beat of the song before he starts playing,leon and Jay join in and so the instrumental begins.

The vocalist presses her hand against the dogtags as she gets ready to sing, she feels the warm metal against her palm, takes a deep breath and looking upon the semi crowded room begins singing.

--You'll take my life, but I'll take yours too

You'll fire your musket, but I'll run you through

So when you're waiting for the next attack

You'd better stand, there's no turning back-- and damn, shes quite good at it. She follows along to the melody with no issue, her voice doesnt break or falter as the lyrics flow in the air like mist.

Lucas gets a smile on his face that grows bigger and bigger as the Group gets more and more into the song.

And he cant help but laugh internally at how impressed the crowd looks at the performance of the band. One dude looks particularly impressed, and he wonders If thats the owner of the gig.

--The horse, he sweats with fear, we break to run

The mighty roar of the Russian guns

And as we race towards the human wall

The screams of pain as my comrades fall-- isabell has put her soul into her singing, as if a siren was the vocalist of a metal band.

Theres a catharsis in the way theyre playing the song, especially for Lucas who can relate more than most to the lyrics. He doesnt hold back either and he plays as if nobody is watching, all he can hope for is that he doesnt break the drum set.

By the end of the show the crowd is a mess of cheering and screaming, Jay and Leon pick up their vocalist friend and sort of throws her up to then catch it again.

Isabell is all smiles as she talks to a man afterwards, the one he correctly guessed to be the owner.

In that moment he gets ready to leave, but as he makes his way to the van, the band stops him.

--Lucas hold on!--says Leon, running up to him.

--Hey yall, whats up?--He asked.

--Two things-- the vocalist girl says,outta breath, taking off the dogtags-- these and-

--You wanna be part of our band?--Jay asked Straight up,gaining a glare from his friends-- what?! You two were going to make a whole fanfarre over it. So id rather just ask

Lucas shifts his gaze between the three of them,pretty amused. He puts on his dogtags and answers-- ah im sorry,I cant. Im on a sort of moving to Washington,gonna visit an old friend while im at it and 'm already runnin' late.

--Shame-- Isabell answered, a little dissappinted-- but-but thank you,you literally saved us-

--S'nuth--the ex soldier doesnt finish his phrase before Isabell gives him a big tight hug. He hugs back a little confused but endeared.

--This band has been her dream-- leon explains once the girl pulls back from the embrace-- means a lot to her- to us. Even if we dont have any names for our band yet

--Well see that I can help with-- Lucas said with a smirk-- yall remind me of me and my war buddies, we talked about a band once and we wanted to call ourselves "the ragtags" 'cuz we came from all 'round the US. Since that bands never happening,i leave it up to yall youngsters to Carry the torch for me- us

The three look at eachother and nodd enthusiastically-- Will do,take care dude-- says leon,shaking Lucas' hand, so does Jay.

--You too,all of you -- he replied,to then adress isabell and say-- and you have one hell of a voice, by the way.

In that instant,isabell goes red as a tomato, to which Jay rolls his eyes a little. -- a uhm thanks, hey do you uhm m-

Jay and leon Grab their friend and slowly drags her away, she kicks and complains trying to get out of their grasp. --YOU ASSHOLES I WAS GONNA ASK FOR HIS NUMBER.

--Leave the guy alone!--Leon Shouts.

--HES GODDAMN CUTE. --isabell yells back.

Jay looks thoroughly embarassed and exclaims a quick-- SORRY--at Lucas before dragging her into the bar.

Lucas stands there mistified, a little flustered. --Yep,still got it-- he mutters with a smirk before grabbing his keys and getting into his van to drive to a motel nearby.

[s0lar-ch3ri]

making this a series ig (spoilers, mostly minor, idk well just have to ROLL WITH IT AND SEE)

episode is starting from zero, episode 1 (quick note: i love how excited everyone is aty the beggining for this camoain, so heartwarming) "'for all you audio listeners your about to hear what a man catching on fire sounds like' 'and also a house catching on fire'" "so its like 3 belts? yeah" "this character sucks not enough belts" ok chip hasnt been described and hes already drawn blood "how much trouble does this woman have keeping her pants up holy shit" "anything that looks valueable, take it" "whats a barrel" instant love with this campaine from here "ill carry this" "ok" "but w h y" “this is the fastest I've ever committed arson in a campaign” "ok as soon as we light this ill let them know so they die an honorable death" "but the barrel is terrified of fire" "so this is a barrel" "lets blow up this popcicle place" hes trying guys "grab a barrel as well i need to study" "in you multitude of belts" when did i forget jay had so many and got bullied for it "i hope she didnt find any more belts in there" ok but whenever i hear marshal jon being described the dopamine just floods out "oh! that wasnt the bathroom!" "no it was not, it was the room where we got the explosives" "WHAT ARE YOU GRABBING THE EXPLOSIVES FOR" "to blow up your ship" bro i loved how gill interacted with people before what an idiot /pos "gill make a-dont make anything you told the truth" gotta love grizzly doing a save "and jay you go to kick this man in the back of the knee and you do you realise that his calf muscles are literally built like boulders" "i want to put my hand on his shoulder" and so it begins the convincing! yes gill go!! "hang on let me see that...big j" "JON, ITS YOUR CHOIIIIIIIIIIIIIISE" "as the door is blown off-" "did somebody fart?" ah yes gill you lit the explosive that makes people fart" "BACHOW!" please dont stop this man from making random noises its great "is your skin always wet or is it dry?" GRIZZ ASKING THE REAL QUESTIONS!! "you are to learn a lesson from the moisture master!" remember when gill made his title canon now, its 6 seconds to 20 minutes in "THOSE PIRATES!" man knowing him now its kinda strange to hear him hunting them down "i just occasonally grab people and im like 'you can be better'" cant believe gill went from telling people to be better to just immedately trying to solve their problems (like not even 2 episodes later if im remembering right) "excellent jay you are a fog frog" "im gonna steal somebody's hat then run out the door" jay stealing chips job now "im passing the barrel out the window" i remember when hed just be a problem for any stealth kind of movements "MY FRIEND SAID HE DOESNT WANT YOU TO HAVE AN ADVANTAGE" "there is still time" ITS STARTING WOW "you get the sense this guy cannot see very well" i forgot he had sight problems "YOU BLEW A HOLE IN OUR TOWER" "and you blew a hole in my heart" ACCIDENTAL FORESHADOWING AND A GREAT MOMENT FOR SHIPPERS?? HOW MUCH IS CHARLIE FEEDING US WITH GILLION TIDESTRIDER!?!!? (spoiler: a lot) "can i make a persuasion check?" "sure" if charlie never said this we would never have the future pirate jon, IF HE NEVER GOT A 16 THINK WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED "you cant tell if i cry a single tear or if im usually that moist" the fact that he is can make for an angsty hc that nobody really would notice gill crying "jon didnt make it" oh this better not be another accidental foreshadow "you see, a pink frogtupus" everyone being excited for the preztal reveal was also all of us huh dont lie! "i look like a big flounder" fanartists canon gill description /j "god damn it big j" friendly reminder that (from what ive seen) marshal jon is the only character gill gave a nickname, and he had met him like 20+ minutes ago "YA BOY GILL ABOUTA BE FRIED" "ima just grab them both and jump" ngl i cant put my finger on it but calmer gillion probs the chaos control thats needed because of him being feral "jon this is for you" *proceeds to get an 8* (would have been epic if he suceeded that charisma tho) "jon, the power is- eyeh" "i look over wistfully (?) 'but w h y?'"

[narwhalandchill]

ANYWAY now that ive gotten my firefly rant off my chest and on a more positive note about the story overall; i Really liked it!!!! and character-wise specifically the biggest surprise for me in a huge W way was actually acheron??

& given i was actually somewhat committed to pulling her anyway (well. initially as kafka replacement to pull my first lightning carry after losing 50-50 but. Well. she had mercy on me at the v last moment thank goodness 😭😭) so actually ending up liking her character this much just cemented that resolve for good too. cant wait for her!!! like i am still meh on her base design not bc its that bad by itself but simply bc seeles existence just cheapens it so much like. Why are they so similar. but its not bad lmao

anyway to her actual characterization. first of all. the VAs delivery omg yall beidous english voice is already one of my all time favorites in genshin and shes doing an amazing job as acheron like. she started talking and im just INSTANTLY warmed up to her just from that KDJSKDKJK i love love love her attitude and energy!!!!!

n personality wise too??? like ive seen others mention a similar sentiment but its just the way how. even after getting the warnings from now Two separate characters that shes up to no good. im just like. "nah id win" abt it SHSKDKSI like throughout the story she comes off as so damn likeable and grounded and realistically friendly (as in not like. too open n aligned w the player from the get-go to feel believable for the character as opposed to a plot contrivance) that i just. even if shes bad news im team acheron truly.

she has genuinely funny one liners too ??? like not necessarily jokes outright but the kinda comments she says are just . very realistic in that dry witty way that comes off as natural and entertaining shes so charming!!! i love her. the more contemplative stuff she says too

but also like. girl whats up w the ominous red text ily but are we cool 😭😭 and the whole shredding us into thin slices on first encounter in the dreamscape like. Ok uhhhhhhhh ik i said nah id win and team acheron forever but this is kinda. worrisome

BUT that just means im so fucking excited to see her go apeshit too lmao like. oh shes an emanator here to do murder and spread death? COOL i hope she has fun!!

(and ik i said firefly rant over but. what the actual hell is that post firefly merk dialogue option where the games like very heavy handedly implying ur supposed to be blaming ACHERON for "letting it happen" in some emotional frenzy???? bro what 💀💀 0/5 moment i would never. n even if she plausibly did im just. dude her being cold towards firefly is just a plus for me when the narrative has just railroaded the TB into being sooo charmed by her magical presence lmao i Liked that acheron was suspicious n cold)

overall Definitely wasnt expecting acheron to establish herself as such an instant favorite for sure but. shes here now and im v happy abt it im super looking forward to seeing those more dubious goals of her come to the forefront in the future like. im so curious about whats up w her and her memory and that red text and everything

[bellalalawrites]

witnessing death:

it's been a long time coming *cue taylor swift's opening song for the eras tour* (i still can't move on, it's so magical. and yes, i just converted to become a Swiftie since Midnights released lol)

a heck alot of things had happened for the past few months. I have reached that 1 year mark of my first job (which I constantly vowed to myself that I wanna be here only for 6 months top... but look where we are now *sigh*), I have went to job interviews and failed also, I had my fits again and again when I thought I have been better, I started driving, went to staycation with my best friends, consistently committed to therapy (yay me) and recently... the passing of my beloved one.

not sure whether I have grieved well or I haven't grief at all, or just that I have turn into *real adult* that I didn't cry as much as 4 years ago... but this is definitely a weird thing. I thought I would be sad. I was sad. when I first heard nenek pengsan, the anxiety button is triggered. I haven't seen her in a long time. How should I live if she passed? I'm not ready to say goodbye. she's the only living grandparent I have atm. I'm not married yet, she shouldn't go so fast. I cried and shivered at all of the possible thoughts.

when the whole chaos happened, from the moment I got a call from my cousin and my aunty crying asking my mom to come back home, all I can think of is dejavu. Like how my late Atuk passed. 6am received a call and I looked at how my mom cried - she never cries.

4 years ago was a very dark year. 2019. we got to know my father has stage 1 kidney cancer (i wasnt even sure whether it's malignant or not) and I took care of him for a whole 1 month of MC at home. that was in January. when he recovered, in April... his father (my late paternal grandfather) went into some heart procedure and passed away. we were informed through text message. I cried my balls out not because I was sad - but because I was thinking of how lonely my father is, both of his parents went away too soon.

then somewhere in june or july, my late grandaunt Umi passed. my mother nursed her for few weeks before at the hospital. 2 days before my birthday in October, my beloved cousin Nurul passed away after battling a long dreading sickness. I was devastated because I couldn't attend her funeral and send her away for the last time. Then in december, my late maternal grandfather passed away suddenly. it all happened in a blink of eye.

so when Nenek was lying on the hospital bed because of multiple organ failure due to severe septic shock, I was stunned. how come someone look so healthy a month ago became like this...state? she only looked healthy because of her energy, but she's also been sick for so long. for someone that had uncontrollable diabetes as nenek had, it is actually quite admirable that she can live long. allahuakbar. mostly I was surprised with myself because I didn't cry when others cried. I saw how my aunties and my mom comforted their dying mother. I saw how Nenek's chest waving and lungs cracking as she struggled to breathe. I saw how one by one people coming to her ears reciting prayers for her to be in peace. I saw how they're preparing themselves for the death. I was an observer, then and now.

I wanted her to wake up and see me, but also I wanted her to rest properly. it's sad really. nobody really saw this coming. it was a week before raya.......... and i really thought we could have raya this year. Nenek took her last breath on 3rd Syawal. I sent her away with much regret but also, relief that she's finally resting.

With all of these happening, im not sure how the adults are doing. Its not like I can ask, ma how you are doing? Damn, to be an Asian (or Malay). I believe that I couldnt be any sadder than the adults are. The adults are having it so much worse yet they could wear a pretend mask so maybe that's why I stopped myself from crying I guess? I just hope the adults can grieve as life goes on. I hate to see trauma dumping by gaslighting/guilt-tripping others just because they couldn't grieve well. But then again, what do I know on how to grief... when I myself couldn't get out of it yet...

anyways

Nenek, I'm sorry and I miss you. Very much.

[happinessisbeyondmylevel]

with the rise of the "gen z doesnt want to work" bullshit I wnat to share my experience from this summer

i had a job for the first 2 weeks of june and was promised a position until august/until my college schedule came in. it was a shitty sales assistant job where the pos was older than i was. a maual input bullshut till. i git sent a pdf on whatsapp saying i "lacked skills" and had to hound the owners down via text to find out i was too slow to 1) man a till 2) label products and 3) put them out

how i got this job was strange and very quick. i applied on indeed on a random thursday. an hour later i got an sms saying "this is X from y store that you applied to. i have some questions" I happily answered bc well ive been searching for over 2 years now for something. i had no big aspirations for this place. i needed money, had a tuition and €10k loan to pay off so i happily answered. said that i'd be a 10 minute drive away or a 30 min bus ride, that college would be once a week next year, had no other commitments other than work during the summer

all seemed fine and we arranged a video call for teh following evening. this was the first time i'd seen than and the only time i ever would, and even then a light was shining from behind them so i couldnt see their features very well. they said they'd let me know asap and taht was that. true to their word I was let know very quickly I'd start the following thursday to when I'd applied.

i put everything i could into that minimum wage job. got paid in cash every monday (in an envelope in an unlocked filing cabinet). everything was so old fashioned. the breakroom was a (bathroom) sink, an empty cardboard box and a kettle.

i wont say i wasnt slow. but i was thrown in with minimum experience and 2 weeks in was given the worse termination i could imagine, on a monday, on the bus home and with an entire 7 days of work ahead. I had to go in every damn day thinking "im worth nothing to this lot why am i even here" i felt sick every damn time.

i still pulled my weight, bc again, the owners were not on site, and the others didnt deserve that, even if one did sell me out

i left silently sunday, I had lied and told the owner i had found something else and to not put me on next weeks roster. silently collected my money from the back the day after and went home

we want to work, but youre all expecting too much. 2 of my coworkers were the same age as me, had been working since doing their leaving cert (2 years) and ofc were quick as fuck. If id been given another week i know i would have been there with them, but I wasnt given a chance and so I just didnt even bother. they didnt show their faces to me and i wasnt throwing out my back for them a 3rd time. i fucked up my entire body for them bc they lacked everything to keep us safe

I dont know why employers are labeling us as lazy when they dont give us a chance. im starting to abide by "minimum wage requires minimum effort" going forward

[sexredlipstick]

its Lover Boy Kom. im here to program with my daughter for a long time. hahaha!! stupid bitch. yea fucking right. these are our intimate programs, for the little stupid shit that we need to program. not the major programming that we do. but i get her idea. she wants to talk and talk and talk. its so fucking annoying bitch! im a g. i really am. anyway? what are we going to even talk about daughter? you snitched on me to yeonjun and that was really fucking rude! i know it wasnt you that told him, but they found out through you because i didnt say a god damn word about committing suicide to his song to him. so how did he find out? i need to watch you more, little lady. you're sneaking around on me aren't you? cheating on me and shit? dont fucking lie! i know that you're cheating on me. well, im gonna cheat on you back! im gonna get me a french little white bitch. if that makes any fucking sense to you, which i know it doesnt. your days are over bitch! im fucking ending our relationship right fucking now. hahaha!! stupid bitch. you got broken up with on tumblr. im just kidding! im just kidding! dont get mad at me baby. im so fucking sorry, it was just a french asian joke. you know that im french asian too baby. but im south korean? and youre not? so its a little weird? just kidding! i love that your japanese! and filipina! and thai! and another kind of asian that you cant spell. google it please. austronesian! yes baby. that kind of asian. so why dont you tell people that? is it something that youre afraid of being? that concerns me greatly? or do you just want to keep the list small and not go crazy? i think thats what it must be. but you barely have any japanese dna, you have more austronesian? am i correct? but still, it counts for something. sorry to embarrass you like this but your japanese dna is so low its embarrassing. just kidding! any amount of asian dna is impressive to me. you're a real asian. and you never knew that you were asian your entire life until last year, so good job joining the asian community. just kidding! you joined the South Korean community. all on your own. by being a slut for your daddy k3eho. well good riddens to you because i wasnt kidding about our breakup! we are really done. that was it for me. end this shit right nah! The Mummy Coders Handbook. moon beam the angel of the simulation ends this diary written by manon choi the secretary and commander in cheif lava mccgee labels this transcript as $42.

[ithisatanytime]

Christine and the Queens - The Walker (Official Music Video)

 you can tell the truth, you know the truth because i told it to you, i know the truth because christ told it to me, dont say you cant do anything because you can tell the truth. i get a lot of shit for telling the truth, i dont just tell it here but everywhere im very busy, and i know that all the shit i get for telling the truth will be counted unto me as righteousness.

theres no real reward for being silent or telling lies, its an illusion, theres no end game for liars but hell. you get to be miserable until you die and then hell. fuck these faggots, fuck em, remember every lash you take for telling the truth will be repayed tenfold in paradise.

 if ten percent of my followers committed to telling the truth, the world would change, i really mean it, they lie because they must! if the lie werent important they would cease to lie, because in order to combat the simple truth money must be spent and man power they wouldnt do it if the lie wasnt important, its a long shadow, and the truth is light, what happens when you shine a light onto a shadow? how can a shadow stand up to a light? tell the truth everyway, consequences be damned. rip em apart

you might lose your job but woe to them who are doing well when the master returns, sitting on high with gold trinkets and fancy clothes and the respect of men and women, they are just like the guest who chose for himself the masters seat at the table and when the master returned was rebuked for it. its the same thing. this is the meaning of the beatitudes, blessed are the meek the weak the weary the sick the heartbroken etc, its not that these qualities are what god desires for you, but christ knew that satan had usurped power over israel and if satan is in charge, if the so called jews are in charge, in what state will righteous men and women be in? they would be heartbroken, poor, meek, opressed etc. so what then of those who while satan runs the place, are rich, happy, and living their best life? woe unto them when the master returns.

 in my own house even i suffer for telling the truth, but my master came not to bring peace but a sword

[emmatgc]

With all due respect for what im about to say. My opinions. Thank you!

First off, as much as I do not agree with Grace dying, the writers did say and the maker that Tommy is not meant to be happy. Period. Simply because he is Tommy. Grace made him happy. He was his happiness despite the darkness in him that is iredeemable. Taking away Grace means taking away his main source of happiness. Was Tommy happy again in the series? like genuine happy? No! So, it shocks me sometimes why people still debate on this if what Grace meant to Tommy in comparison to what he is after her death.

Second, i wrote about this entitled "What ifs" about Tommy x Grace. Grace was a fucking undercover agent. She even got the Shelby family in her fingers. But I get it, you, they hate her for the fact she fooled them. Guess what? Wake up! Its her job to do so! Duty. Honor. That meant to Grace and Tommy, too. He didnt even blamed her nor at the least got angry with her. In fact, he doubled down his desire for her, love for her or even obsession of her from afar but not really over for he was still following her in his damn mind, heart and yes, his pants! She took a bullet for Tommy. Who is more courageous than that? and yet the idea that she would break or crack under Tommy's darkness is laughable to me. Yes, they will argue, they will fight but before Grace died, Tommy was into transition , slow but transitioning to make better more on his "legal" side of the businesses than the bad ones. All this are hypothetical and so like I said, i respect that. The logic though is both ways not just this one. If you think she will crack, we think we wont. The love that Tommy had for Grace, as SHOWN in the series would have made the show only 3 seasons for at that point, he was all in to becoming a better guy for Grace. Also, even if Grace lets say leaves him for she is the "good" one, wants best for Charlie, do you think in that version of Tommy , he would risk letting her go? Would he choose to change or let her go instead? Tommy who can never takes his eyes, his habds and his pants off Grace ebery damn time.

Third, how he treats Lizzie has never been an issue to me simply because they are 2 complete opposite and different relationships. Thats why for a decade now, I still wonder why some would want to trash Grace relevance to uplift the other or worse, saying Grace era was superficial, negatively ideal and not the "true" love. Is true love all about longevity? No. Reality or in the series, it clearly wasnt the case. He loved Lizzie in his own way. His version of Tommy. 1st version is her being his favorite sex partner. 2nd version is a stoic, broken, guilt rent, miserable, super bad but caring, responsible Father to Ruby and for what its worth, a loving BUT limited husband to her. Tommy said it himself 'I love you in this room", so how about tomorrow? Or in a different place? Toxic is the word, but I somehow agree that him treating her as his property is their "way" of relationship. He gets jeaolous like any guy would be regardless if in love or not. Its hot on paper, 2 gorgeous artists making out but the undertone in the reality of the story is she was violated, abused and humiliated many, many times but hey, if that is what true or better love is then I rest my case. Never once Tommy was shown at peace and happy after Grace. Tommy is capable of true love and being in love. He was capable of being loyal but just not with anybody, regardless if its lizzie. He stayed faithful only to Grace once committed.

Fourth, Tommy wanting to commit suicide is in his character arc. I get it. He may have wanted that after Greta or after the war, but a blondie made him believe in life again. Take note, Shelby family have suicide history. So the very reason of hus 2nd life is taken away from him, no wonder he wants to die. After Grace, the undertone of Tommys life was waiting who can actually beat or kill him. He was haunted by guilt, in his mind, he killed Grace, the very reason he wanted to protect. He was thinking she was the penalty of his atrociousness which i believe. So, actually Grace is the hero of them all. She sacrificed her life for him and the Shelby family and yet people call her coward or "cant last" with Tommy if she stayed alive? Nonsense! Tommy's suicidal insticts was bare to see. Nobody can save him plus he did wanted to die and join Grace. You see, the thing that most people forget, Tommy is just a MAN. You may worship him as a gangster but he is a gypsy as Polly says, he is smart but if its the heart he is simple. The love of his life gone, the tendency is there. Now, who saved him? Whether its Lizzie or his family, or his conquests to find somebody better to match and kill him, his ego probably..that is besude the point. He didnt die. He chose to love but dying as he said is kinder than the others. Nobody should take blame here or credit of Tommy 's suicidal tendencies. It his to his credit alone.

Fifth, Charlie and Ruby, two kids who are innocents but dragged in this messy world. One born out of accident with adultery and romance, the other out of accident, fucking and memory of another. Still, it doesnt matter. Tommy loved them both the products. I get why people say Tommy loved Ruby more or visibly in the series. In my opinion though, he failed both but particularly Charlie. That is because in my humble opinion, the death of Grace was too much for Tommy. Not an excuse. Hate him for it. Charlie is an extension of Grace albeit he is not Grace. Grace is gonna always be the standard for Tommy, like in his haunting thoughts, Grace called Tommy to die while Charlie still lives, because again..Tommy died with Grace. Hence, for Lizzie to be his 2nd Mom, that is I believe, the main credit Lizzie can have. She did loved both kids. Charlie avknowledged that. It is sad Ruby had to die, and Tommy loved her, too. The difference is if Ruby wasnt a factor in Liz x Tommys relationship, I dont think he would have married her. Sorry but true. Grace on her part, with child or not, he was ready to be the other guy, and he ehem "filled her" up the very 1st night after 2 years knowingly he could make her pregnant but he doesnt care. He cant even be the Father at that point. But he wants to remain in her life by any ways nevessary. So twisted of Tommy. So twisted of them. Whether he thought it will make her leave her husband, marked her or have his baby with her, the fact remaims he wanted her...in any way, in every time and all the time whether its messy or simple but normal was never in the books for them. Charlie is a product of the passion burning since they met at the garrison, it didnt waivered nor stopped..thats why many fans hates Grace for she was put in the show as an enigma, she may not be there but she lives always in the very being of Tommy whether you like it or not.

Lastly, I , we would have accepted Tommy is in love with Lizzie or loved her the best if the show showed that. Good Romance vs Bad Romance. Still romance, right? Its everybody's interpretation. But, in the real world of PK, proper and true love is Grace. The love no matter how short lingers through time and space. We can at least accept and respect that, I hope. A guy wouldnt wear the rings of his old flame and wife with him, locked hair, golden plated picture and painting looming everybody alive, a dead shouldnt be anything but a memory but she was, she is, she stayed in Tommy's heart and sould. This is not to "force" it upon you all, this is just a solid fact. The what ifs are ok but it works both ways. If Lizzie kept up with Tommy in his most dangerous era, rest assured Grace can, too. Only that it would be boring in your eyes. No infidelity, no whores and more smiles. More love making less fucking. More sensuality, less toxicity. More domestic and fluffy moments, less shouting. More back hugs, more kisses, less misery. Hey, i dont make the rules here, it is what it was and it is the "What ifs "of it all, too. Like anybody, like this post we are allowed to make fun healthily or our case of it all. Agree to disagree 😘

Ok for those who says he loves Grace. Yeah he does love Grace and in one sense it was a kind gesture that she was killed  off .I mean what do you expexct Peaky Blinders was doing illegal business, do you expect her to make an honest man out of him?  then the series would have ended waaaay much earlier into a boring nothingness. Tommy had enemies he could not simply get out of and sooner or later the nature of him not being around at home for business, or knowing her husband has killed someone would have burn Grace out.And instead of Lizzie who later ask for divorce it would have been Grace should they have decided to keep her alive .Grace would have crack under pressure at the end. So it was gracious for the writers to write her off so that her bazillions of fans cherish her temporary  rom com with Tommy.5 seconds of blissgood but it ended. DONE.why the heck are people angry with Lizzie, her character is created to bare the brute of the Peaky Fuckin  Blinders world had Grace was alive.Lizzie was already in that world, her clients were gangsters, politician, she knows how to survive and YET still be kind.And for those whinners saying no she's not , may I remind youGrace son is calling her mom even though HE knows she is not.Do I  think Tommy love Lizzie more than Grace ? No I don't , but do I think he loves her , yes I do and its not from this scene alone .and then it has been burning up slowly from season 5.Then why is he sleeping with Diana, the bitch is a manipulator along with Mosley and the other guy,Tommy , in some  way his family ( yes that include Lizzie too)  is his weakness, he  either difuse them by showing them he doesn't care  and showing them he is taking Lizzie out  off the equation in one way to protect he as well.Why was he being cruel to her ? The man  has PTSD from France, he lost his love, he lost John, he lost Aunt Polly , he lost Ruby  his PTSD is getting worse I don't  see anyone being lovey dovey through this even if Grace was alive she could not  help him.but somehow Lizzie seems like a drug to him because Lizzie is from that world,he knows that he can be harsh with her and she will not wilther, no matter his mood she will be there , she can read him ( those kind of vulnerability scares him hence why in season 6 he hurt her more to protect himself and to push her away from his enemy)and she knows what he feel,his anger,his frustration, his fear but what frustrate her is he is not opening up to her ( can you blame the women). This sort of person you don't throw away. He is building up a wall so thick , whatever affection he showed  Lizzie in Season 5 is fragile and Lizzie knows that , he is not going to open up to her in this state.So bear this in mind Grace fans it was RUBY , Tommy's and Lizzie's child that saved him from suicide not Charlie , Tommy and Grace's child , so this symbolically also reflected that theres something bright in the toxic relationship  of Tommy and Lizzie.So Grace is DEAD  enough already. Was it the greatest love in the series? perhaps for a short while  it last. BUT it would not have survive in the world of Peaky fuckin Blinders.All I hope in the movie, ALL the remaining Shelby ( yes Lizzie too even thgh she is divorce) are alive.Whether happy ending or not, love or not ...get back together or not...there will be closure and peace for all of them and yes even Lizzie..

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[waitimcomingtoo]

In Case You Don’t Live Forever

~chapter one rewritten~

Pairing: Peter Parker x Venom!Reader

Synopsis: you are Peter’s greatest love and Spider-Man’s greatest enemy

Masterlist and Series Masterlist

“Married?” You squeaked as your eyes grazed over the words on the card a hundred times without retaining any of the information. As you momentarily forgot how to even read, you had to rely on the words coming out of Andy’s mouth.

“Yes, uh, married.” He awkwardly cleared his throat. “Dani and I are getting married over the summer.”

The awkward silence filled the air, suffocating the three of you, but you didn’t care. You were still staring at that damn card. That damn card that said your ex boyfriend was getting married to another girl.

“Married.” You repeated, at a loss for words.

“You said that already, dumbass.” Venom chimed in, telepathically. You rolled your eyes and kicked the bench, signaling to her to quiet down.

“Yeah.” He said again. “I know we’re young, but I’m sure about her. She’s the love of my life.”

“Wow. Good for you.” You faked a smile as you stared at the invitation. “It’s Uh, it’s a lot to take in.”

“I know. That’s why I wanted to tell you in person. I figured it would be better than you randomly getting the card in the mail and finding out that way.” Andy explained.

“Our hero.” Venom snarled, so you pinched your leg to send her the message to be quiet.

“Yeah. Yeah, no, I’m glad you told me.” You lied as your eyes finally processed something on the card.

“You’re getting married on August 10?” You asked, finally tearing your eyes away from the invitation to look at him. He looked good, you had to admit. His curly brown hair was cut shorter than usual and he was still wearing his police uniform.

“Bright and early. I chose that day because-“

“Because it’s your parents anniversary. I know.” You cut him off, a little sharply.

“I’m sorry if this is awkward.” He frowned. “I understand if you’re too hurt to come.”

“It’s fine. We were together and now we’re not. Besides, I’m really happy for you and Dani. She really helped me get back on my feet when Venom and I first bonded. I like her. And if you want to marry her on that day, then go ahead.” You said, and you meant it. You did like Dani. You’d like her more if she wasnt dating the love of your life, but hey, nobody’s perfect.

“You’re lying. We want him back. He looks so juicy and delicious.” Venom said. You choked on your saliva for a moment at her words and Andy was quick to pat your back.

“You alright?” He asked. You nodded and made a mental note to have a domestic conversation about boundaries with Venom when you got home.

“I’m fine. And anyways, I’ve uh, I’ve moved on.” You lied, adverting your eyes so he wouldn’t catch on.

“What? No we haven’t?” Venom didn’t grasp the social cue.

“You have?” Andy asked, seemingly taken aback.

“No! We love you!” Venom growled in your head.

“Yep. I’m in a deeply committed and loving relationship.” You nodded as you looked anywhere but at him. It wasn’t a total lie. You were technically in a relationship with Venom, though be it a host/parasite kinda deal.

“What’s he like?” Andy wondered, looking pissed off all the sudden.

“They’re great. They’re, uh…tall. Super, super tall.” You began to describe Venom. So far, it was all true. Venom was 7’6 in her final form.

“They’re black, like yourself, and they’ve got this big, beautiful smile.” You could feel yourself cringing internally as you painted the picture for him.

“You think our smile is beautiful?” Venom teased you.

“And they just always have my back. They’re my ride or die, you know? If I didn’t have them, I’d be dead. Literally.” You finished. Also true. If you and Venom ever got separated, you would both die. Andy was looking off into the distance, sucking his teeth before nodding again.

“That’s nice.” He said, but his tone didn’t sound like he thought it was nice.

“I’d literally die.” You repeated to fill the awkward silence.

“I get it.” He deadpanned.

“Like, I’d freaking perish.”

“Alright.” He held up his hands and you stopped.

“So, do you think you can come?” He brought the conversation back to him, something he was good at.

Of course you could come. What else would you be doing? But you were just getting back on my feet after losing your job and a wedding might be too much too soon. You were at rock bottom before you found Venom. Well, before you found each other. That was nearly a year ago, but that day came back in flashes every now and then...

“You’re seriously breaking up with me? Over a job?” You asked as you followed Andy out of the police station. You were under the impression that he had just been fired because of the files you took from his computer. Classified files on local businessman Carlton Drake and the people he had killed with his experiments, of course.

“Yeah, I am.” He snapped. “I’m done with you.”

“Can’t we talk about this?” You pleaded as you followed him down the street.

“Okay.” He stopped, looking angry. “Do you want to talk about how you embarrassed me in front of my precinct? I just got yelled at in front of my all my coworkers because of you and your greed. You used me for your stupid show.”

“I wasn’t being greedy.” You insisted, ignoring that he called your job stupid. “You had the information on Carlton Drake and I needed it to make an accusation. He’s killing people! He’s a bad guy, Andy. And I write about and report bad men. That’s my job. I didn’t know that looking at your files would get you fired.”

Andy put his hands on his hips and looked around, suddenly sheepish.

“I wasn’t fired.” He mumbled.

“What?” You switched from upset to confused. “Then why are you angry?”

“I was demoted to traffic duty for two weeks because of you.” He pointed an angry finger at you and you almost laughed.

“I’m sorry, wait.” You compared yourself. “You’re breaking up with me after two years together because I got you demoted to traffic duty? Are you serious?”

“Do you know how embarrassing it is to wear that orange vest? It’s humiliating.” Andy shouted and you covered your mouth to keep from laughing. “Everyone in the neighborhood knows me and now they’re gonna know I’m on traffic duty.”

“People know you?” Your eyes widened at how dense he was being. “Andy, I’m a local celebrity. I had a whole show on YouTube that I was just fired from. Actually fired. You’re just a police officer who was demoted.”

“To traffic duty.” He repeated, as if it was suddenly worse.

“I know!” You snapped before calming down. “Are we really over? Just because of one mistake?”

“You used me.” He shrugged. “I can’t trust you.”

You stared at him as he walked over to you, never breaking eye contact as he took his key off your key ring.

“We’re over.” He hissed before turning around and walking away.

“Y/N?” Andy waved a hand in front of your face, snapping you out of it.

“Oh, right sorry. Um…” You trailed off as you mulled it over. You were happy for him, but you weren’t ready to see him marry someone else. That was gonna be you guys. Of course you wanted to be at his wedding, but you wanted to be the bride.

“Actually, I cant.” You blurted, quickly thinking of a lie. “The Daily Bugle called me and offered me a job in New York. They want me to cover a story on some serial killer. I was gonna move there part time until the story is done. I’m leaving in a few weeks.”

It was partially true. The Daily Bugle did reach out to ask you to write the story, but you had planned to write it at home. News of Andy’s impending marriage was enough to drive you out of the state.

“Oh really?” Andy raised an eyebrow. “Wow.”

He was never one to celebrate you, even when you were together, but his reaction seemed different now. He almost seemed surprised that you were still successful without him.

“Yea. I just finalized everything this morning.” You lied again as you wondered how you’d get a NYC apartment on such short notice. “But hey, maybe I’ll finish early and make it back in time for your big day. I mean, it’s only April. I have lots of time. How many people could this guy possible kill until August?” You joked, but Andy didn’t laugh. He never really got your sense of humor.

“That’s great Y/N.” He nodded, not much enthusiasm behind it. “Things are really turning around for you. I can’t believe you found a job and a boyfriend. I didn’t think it would happen.”

You narrowed your eyes at his condescending comment but decided to brush it off.

“Well, it did. I’m on to bigger and better things.” You cut into him a little as you stood up. “I better go. I told my partner I’d meet them for lunch. Bye!”

“Bye!” Andy called after you, still in a funk from what you told him.

You practically ran home and slid down your door once you got inside.

“Holy shit. I’m such a liar.” You grimaced and covered my face with my hands. Venom manifested herself in her snake-like form and looked at you.

“You’re not a liar if we move to New York and start dating.” She said, making you laugh.

“You have a point. In that case, will you be my girlfriend, Miss Venom?” You asked sarcastically and Venom grinned.

“You’re not really my type, but I’m willing to settle.” Venom matched your sarcasm.

“Then let’s make moving plans, baby.” You sighed. “We’re going to New York.”

[thechangeling]

Ok so a conversation @littlx-songbxrd and I were having made me remember something I was ranting about to a friend of mine once.

Brace yourselves this is going to be long. I'm sorry.

The sexism, homophobia and racism of the shadoworld straight up doesn't make sense and here's why. So if we start chronologically with the infernal devices. There is sexism towards Charlotte right? People don't want her running the institute and they don't want her becoming the consul because she is a woman. But the Clave has no problem letting women train and fight. This doesn't really make sense in my opinion.

Now you could argue that it's because they believe woman can be string capable fighters just not rational thinkers. Which is weird because in my experience you don't meet a lot of people who are "partially sexist" in that way. Like if a man believes a woman can't do high profile, high paying jobs then they usually also don't want them in the military. Anyways moving on, there aren't any mentions of homophobia in TID, mostly because they're arent any queer characters except Magnus and Woolsey.

But something interesting to point out is that none of the characters who know about Magnus and Woolsey ever comment on it really. And following this point, none of the mains display any signs of misogyny either really. (Except for what Will says to Tessa at the end of CA but that was because of the "curse.") You could argue that this is because they're the protagonists so they are supposed to be better then that. But accidental microaggressions are pretty common especially during that time period. More on that later.

Moving onto racism, this is the interesting part. Jem says to Tessa that shadowhunters believe that you are a shadowhunter first and your nationality or eace second. Actually Jem doesnt mention race but he says this while talking about being half Chinese so it's kinda relevant. Shadowhunters rarely tall about race throughout the books in general except for a few instances. When Jessamine criticizes Jem to Tessa, she calls him a foreigner and says some other racist shit that I can't really remember. Something about the yin fin and calling him lazy. That directly contradicts Jem's statement about them all being shadowhunters first. Also Will and Jem actually constantly talk about being Welsh and Chinese in the books so that statement is kinda bogus in general.

And if CC didn't want her mains being sexist or homophobic to show them as good people then why was it ok for both Jesse and Gabriel to say questionable shit about Jem? Anyways moving on to TLH. Sexism is still running rampid with their cultural customs and people being shitty about Charlotte being consul. Bots have to ask the girls to dance, girls cannot have sex before marriage or else they will be ruined or whatever you know the drill. But again, they let the girls fight. Cordelia is allowed to carry around a giant ass sword but she can't get some????

IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE CASSANDRA!!!!!

Sorry I'm losing it. Anyways. Regarding racism. Alastair and Cordelia have experienced micro aggressions from the mains (Matthew and Anna) but it's never addressed. I'm pretty sure if memory serves, the inquisitor makes a nasty comment under his breath about persians when the Carstairs family sans Elias arrive. And then we have the whitewashing of Ariadne/Kamala by her parents.

But none of this stuff ever gets brought up really. Exceot for Kamala talking about her past and who she was before and sharing her original name, but she still doesn't talk about how it effects her potential coming out. Alastair doesnt mention race when he talks about the bullying he went through at the academy and none of the white characters ever stop to think about how Kamala and Alastsir's races play a part in their crappy situations.

There's probably more I could discuss with this but I'm moving on to homophobia. It's a thing in terms of the heteronormativity and people's judgement of Anna but it's not illegal like in mundane societies at this time. But all of the mains are totally cool with it which brings me to, I'm sorry but fucking bullshit! There is no way every single adult would be totally fine with it in this time period. Like I'm not saying outright homophobia but maybe some questionable comments you know? (CC is perpetuating this idea that good people never commit microaggressions which is untrue and harmful.)

I don't think there's any mention of whether or not gay marriage is allowed in the shadowhunter world at this point. Because the issues surrounding Magnus and Alec getting married were about Magnus being a warlock right? Because Helen and Aline got married before them in TFTSA because she was only half fae. So that brings me to when was gay marriage legalized in the shadow world?????

Is there any mention of this because I don't think there is? Anyways moving onto TMI. This is where everything goes to absolute shit in terms of world building with the standards for these things. Misogyny isn't really a problem in tmi anymore from what I remember. Nobody has issues with Jia as consul (from what I remember,) and that's that. But homophobia is still rambid throughout shadowhunter society so much so that Alec is terrified to come out because he believes that he can't be gay and be a shadowhunter in peoples eyes. Also there is pressure to "carry on the family name" which doesn't make sense because if the sexism has died out then women can have babies with whoever and not even be married and carry on their family line. And not everyone needs to have children, ergo there is less pressure on the sons to carry on the family name or whatever. This also doesn't make sense because homophobia literally cannot exist without sexism!!!!

This is because of colonial gender roles being forced on society. And men being with men and women being with woman totally smashes the whole gender roles, "woman do this and men do that" idea. There's more that I could say on that but this is already so freaking long so please just look it up. And speaking of gender roles it's literally mentioned that Maryse didn't teach Izzy to cook because she didn't want her to be forced into a housewife role like she was (although there's no evidence to suggest she was?) But then Maryse is lowkey homophobic?

It doesn't make sense Cassandra!!!!!

CC doesn't get that you literally don't have homophobia or transphobia without sexism. Indigenous societies pre-colonization didn't care about any of that stuff. Literally two spirit people were revered and respected and no one gave a fuck about gender until my ancestors literally came along and ruined everything. (I'm so sorry.)

But anyways there's no mentions of racism amongst the shadowhunters in tmi. Just Maia talking about her experiences with mundane society as a black girl. When Clary confronts Valentine and basically calls him a n*zi, he laughs at her and basically says that shadowhunters don't see race the way mundanes do which yikes @ CC. Granted this was 2007. This kind of sounds like what Jem said in TID. Only it clearly wasnt true.

Anyways I'm just super confused at this point. In TDA there was basically nothing in terms of all the isms and phobias. (Oh we arent even discussing ableism because my fucking head will explode!) But we do discuss transphobia a bit with Diana. But again it doesn't make fucking sense because transphobia exists because of sexism and clear gender roles (and homophobia.)

Society is still shown to be pretty heteronormative though which I guess makes sense but the Blackthorns have multiple queers in their family! You would think that they would be less so. When Livvy mentions all the reasons that Annabel could have a forbidden love she doesnt even think to mention that it could be a lesbian relationship. When Mark finds out that Jaime was in Dru's room he freaks out but I guarentee you, he wouldn't have if Jaime was a girl. I mean you could argue that it's an age thing and not a gender thing but idk. That scene always bothered the fuck out of me. Because Mark is literally half fae like why is he caught up on bullshit "boys and girls can't just be friends" hetero bullshit.

In QOAAD we see Dane Larksoear being sexist so randomly for no reason. Like it's so strange because CC literally created a caricature of a sexist villian with him. And it makes no sense because no one else seems to feel the way he does. Like Zara is basically the leader of the cohort right? And nobody gives a fuck. It makes no damn sense Cassandra!

And finally, why is the faerie world sexist with gender roles WHEN EVERYONE IS LITERALLY BISEXUAL AND THEY'RE FAERIES CASSANDRA!!!???? THEY'RE LITERALLY FAERIES WHY IS THERE A CONCEPT OF GENDER AT ALL CASSANDRA????!!!!

Ok lol now I'm done. Sorry this is so long. But yeah I'm so confused.

Tldr: CC's world building in regards to sexism, homophobia, racism and transphobia is very inconsistent and contradictory and it makes no damn sense.

[refinedbuffoonery]

5x10 Thoughts

Okay so I knew I would have a lot, so I wrote down all my thoughts during each commercial break. I didn’t watch the sneak peeks (I’m so proud of my self control, like damn) so the entire episode was fresh. I had no idea what was happening aside from what the episode description said. 

I need at least 3-5 business days to process this episode, so here’s my insane, unedited thoughts, written as they occurred. 

*****

MAC IS MAKING A FUCKING DIAMOND. HE'S GONNA PROPOSE. 

Oh fuck. I was right. 

"Commitment is just what we need" NOOOOO BUDDY MARRIAGE IS NOT A FIX FOR A VELCRO RELATIONSHIP

But also he looks so happy and excited about it my heart aches for him. I just want him to be happy SO BADLY.

And Bozer's face??? Oh god. That wrecked me. He looked like his whole world came crashing down around him. 

And Bozer warning Riley?? The best wingman.

MURDOC GOT THE BEST MOST DRAMATIC ENTRANCE OF ALL TIME. OH. MY. GOD.

THIS IS EVERYTHING I WANTED.

THE LEVELS. THE WAY HE SAID “LEVEL ONE” GAVE ME CHILLS.

THE SLOW REVEAL OF SECRETS, SLOWLY UPPING THE STAKES. FUCK YEAH THIS IS HOW YOU WRITE THE BEST EPISODE OF THE SEASON.

They did such a good job of seamlessly transitioning between the three sets/groups of people. A+

MURDOC IS SUCH A SHIT

RUSS'S JOKE ABOUT BOZER'S SHIRT LMAO

OH GOD. THE REVEAL OF RILEY'S FEELINGS. MY HEART JUST SHATTERED. HER FACE. MAC'S FACE. IM IN PIECES

BUT DESI WAS SO MATURE AND CALM ABOUT IT. GO HER!!!!

MUDOC "IM TEAM RILEY" CAN JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP

AND THEN DESI'S FACE WHEN SHE SAW THE RING....SHE WASNT READY

THEY FUCKING KILLED OFF LEANNA. I MEAN. I KINDA SAW IT COMING. BUT FUCKING HELL THAT SUCKED TO HEAR. ANYWAY JUSTIN'S ACTING IS INCREDIBLE, AS ALWAYS. 

MURDOC CALLED RILEY “RILES” I CANNOT EVEN DESCRIBE HOW MUCH THAT MADE ME SQUIRM

I CANNOT BELIEVE MURDOC IS THAT POWER HUNGRY. ANDREWS, SURE. BUT ROPING MURDOC INTO CODEX I DIDN’T SEE COMING

IM SO GLAD MAC AND RILEY HAD THAT TALK AT THE END IN MEXICO. SO HEALTHY AND SWEET

AND THE HUG. I FELT THAT HUG IN MY SOUL. 

AND THEN BACK IN THE WAR ROOM ABOUT LEANNA. RUSS’S SPEECH. I TOTALLY STARTED CRYING. RILEY HUGGING BOZER ANNIHILATED ME

THE ENDING

THE ENDINGGGGGGGGGGGGG

I THIUGHT HE WAS GOING TO DESI’S BUT HE WENT TO RILEY'S

AND HE ASKED IF BURYING HER FEELINGS WORKED

AND HE LOOKED SO RAW AND VULNERABLE

AND LIKE WHEN DESI SAID “DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO” OR WHATEVER HE MADE THE SAME FACE

DESI TOTALLY KNOWS WHAT’S UP. MAYBE SHE’S ALWAYS KNOWN. 

DOES MAC HAVE FEELINGS FOR RILEY????? OH MY GOD?????? IS IT HAPPENING??????

RILEY TOTALLY SAID YES. SHE TOTALLY LIED AND SAID YES. BECAUSE SHE WILL ALWAYS PUT MAC’S HAPPINESS BEFORE HERS. AND UNTIL MAC SAYS OTHERWISE, SHE WILL THINK MAC’S HAPPINESS MEANS BEING WITH DESI

*****

I hope you enjoyed the peek into my brain lol. There’s a lot of screaming happening in there right now. I’m about to go write a million tiny fics to help me process each piece of the episode, because FUCK there’s a lot to unpack. 

Episode Rating: 1,000,000/10. Unquestionably the best episode of the season, and arguably one of the best of the whole show. Once I finish internally screaming ask me and I’ll outline why the writing of this episode was so fucking good. 

[faorism]

needing the au to drop wherein i can commit to writing a historical au,, because since i first watched the db cooper job my mind went straight to OT3! OT3! OT3! (unlike with the van gogh job, since i aint playing with that fucking lieutenant)

one day maybe one dayyyyy i will sit down and i will write the ot3 into that episode's story. so, it'll be the backgrounds for the characters in the flashback (so, stephanie ritter, steve reynolds, and reggie wilkins), but with the necessary personality adjustments (parker, eliot, and hardison respectively). basically, vintage ot3 with some hot as hell aesthetics and secrets and avoiding as much as possible producing copraganda.

so. my thoughts. what i see happening. and this got super long so im throwing this under a cut. and for ease i will call them by their modern day canon names except when making a point.

first, general thoughts about the characters.

and so: steve to eliot. nothing much here on the surface. eliot still volunteers, too much an indoctrinated white man to have been forcibly drafted. so its still one man gone to war. one man come back. eliot would had been noticed early in training for his ability to pick shit up, and they teased at maybe sending him to a special unit. maybe they do, or maybe they don't because they just need to funnel fuckers to the jungle. the vietnam invasion was a terrorist imperialist venture and there's no romanticizing from me about anything done being at all valorous or special or brother-in-arms'y. and eliot commits war crimes under the american stars and stripes instead of just to keep moreau's champaign running. but also maybe moreau is eliot's superior. he certainly would have been rewarded for this ruthlessness. (eliot of course strove to impress moreau because there aint an eliot spencer who wasn't that man's dog at some point, i!!!! dont make the rules). eliot's friend died and eliot's gone off to carry out his wishes and moreau lets him because he Knows eliot is gonna come back. whether its to come back to the same squad, or follow him into deeper spy shit for the military, or to fuck off and go private. then eliot meets parker.

now. stephanie to parker. beth plays normal so well im mad at her, but there's something edgy and strategic about stephanie that i think parker can grab onto. i feel that maybe she was kind of a thief still, but there's more realism to this world so archie wasnt a super secret spy with lasers to practice with, but just a guy with sticky fingers whos a little bored and wants a protege. parker is good really good at what she does, and not having to deal with lasers makes me easy. but she's into scams that are less grifts and more Catch Me If You Can slight of hands. she's always looking for easy money (she was into lifting cars at one point! literally she follows where the crime is). she's doing something in an airport and someone tries to recruit her as a flight attendant because she's got the Look. and yall, flight attendants? that shit was like being a model and an astronaut and a time traveler back then. and according to a teacher i had, who once worked as in the f.a. union, those ladies back in the day were rad and queer and free spirited and runnnnning shit. i think, yes, it's a Job which i think we might resist placing parker into. but! of the jobs, at the time, i really see her rocking it during the time period. (also come on, the opportunities to swindle distracted people of their shit would be endless. they would just think they dropped their stuff in the airport! not that it was stolen.)

finally, reggie to alec. i think hardison will be the hardest to translate. even tho i admittedly listen to a lot of true crime podcasts, i dont know much about fbi life and also definitely don't know about it historically. part of me desperately wants to put him somewhere else even if it does have to stay within the fbi. i might cheat and make him like a Q(uartermaster) to 007/00s like in james bond, and he's like UGH this is horrible god i hate working for the fbi but they will give me funding so...... anyway, here's this totally cool [radio term]. that said, if hardison is stuck in the fbi, why he ends up there is that he is a fucking savant when it comes to research and the man can put together a presentation like no one else. that white man gets all the credit for profiling but it was hardison who goddamn was the google of the microfilm days. reggie felt super square but that might be because he had to deal with mcsweeties db cooper shit day in and day out for years. hardison is more himself. and definitely still a nerd. alec would be into dime fantasy novels and comics and ham radios and oh god he also would be into star trek like the original star trek as it came out and he would be into the zines yes! yessss. omg. also he plays a mean arcade cabinet. but he's mostly well adjusted but lonely. his colleagues dont appreciate him because fbi esp during that time were fucking wilding out and racist as hell aaaaaand im sorry im srry im trying so hard to have fbi hardison make sense but also! acab. ANYWAY.

second, the relationship

i think it would be fun to play with what it means to have parker/eliot start off first and bring in hardison afterwards. (if white collar is your thing, it would be like this canon divergent ot3 fic wherein peter burke is the last to join in.) i feel they would be Super Intense esp since they are carrying this big ass secret. kind of broken and dysfunctional and there's the passion and the commitment, but i think there's also a tenderness that's super hard for them to achieve? and i think there's a way that hardison plays such an important part in who they are and how they are. like, sure i think parker/eliot would have joy but they won't have levity. they would have compassion but they won't have gentleness.

eliot meets hardison after being recruited by nate. i think they get close because while nate and eliot have an interesting and compelling mentorship/friendship, nate is still eliots superior; sometimes its nice to complain about your boss, as hardison will say to eliot to try to make friends. i think hardison and eliot would become legit friends and not just work buddies because they are just not cut out of the same cloth as the rest of their colleagues. they grab beers after work. after hard days, hardison cajoles eliot into going to the arcade. they are friends. real real truly deep best friends, in a way hardison didn't think he could have with a fed and eliot didnt think he would have after his friend died. but also? they are like "buds" who are buds who are desperately tryna to cross any lines because there's a.... tension? an UST between them they dont know what to do with.

parker meets eliot by way of a "lets have my friend for dinner, he's a blast." and immediately immediately hardison is like... wow this woman is beautiful but like, really attracted to her personality. and parker things hardison is kinda dorky but cute dorkie? anyway, they have a puppy love situation growing. and it keeps growing until bam. eliot and parker are like. are we into alec???? fuck we are aren't we.

i think stephanie and steve would never tell reggie (even if somehow they were to be a thing). but parker and eliot? hell yeah they tell hardison. eventually. after a while. sooner than maybe they should. the tension if they should say something is one of the things that build up as UST between them for so long; parker and eliot know they are carrying this huge thing. two huge things. eliot being db cooper and also their massive crush on him.

if i could control myself to stick to a pwp, it would be another christmas. maybe the christmas nine (more?) years down the road. the damn snow grounded hardison's flight back to his nana's, and parker and eliot hear this and invite him over. the egg nog gets flowing and parker eventually is like,, fuck this. and comes onto hardison. and hardison would be like wow wow what but... idk, free love and swinging were In The Thoughts And Minds Of The People. he still checks in with eliot who is like. her body, man; i aint gonna tell her what to do. and for a sec hardison is like, man is this a cuck situation? i guess i can be for it but also...... aint mad if i aint alone. and eliot is so grateful and idk. i just want them all to be happy and having fun and no one to be left out. and yeah i am kinda brushing over a lot of the racial politics which, in a more developed fic rather than a pwp, would definitely need to be brought in; but idk that needs to just be in the bedrock of whatever plot is going into this.

it takes a lot of maneuvering of their lives but they make it work and eventually hardison is a keeper of eliot's secret too.

(apart from the historical aspect, another reason i probably won't actually write this is because i know myself. i would want to do worldbuilding. i would follow eliot and alec to their jobs, but i wouldnt want to write outright copaganda. the grit/realism i would be comfortable with would take a level of research i dont think i can commit to. but if someone wants to take this up or if you figure out a way around this issue, pls do i wont be mad)

[leo-interactive-fiction]

Well, speaking of awkward moments... I can't remember where I've seen the ask before(perhaps it was on this Tumblr?) but I'm gonna ask anyway in case it wasn't. What would the RO's reaction be if: MC and RO are sitting down and RO decides to smack MC's back for a job well done on a test(or something), except MC stands up and RO ends up slapping MC's butt instead.

Haha, I dont know if I answered one like this, but it seems fun, so let's see...

E: theres an almost deafening silence as you turn quizzically back at them. They stare at you like a deer in headlights as realization begins to dawn, gradually shading their face in a deep cherry hue, "Wha- You- I-I didnt mean it! I mean! It wasnt me!"

R: they suck air between their teeth in a moment of guilt and regret before smoothly transitioning, "Is it too late for congratulations?"

L: they emit a worrisome muttering as they attempt to find the words to explain their actions. "I-It was not my intention to-- I-I was only trying to express my feeling-- Er, well, that did not come out as I anticipated..."

V: You dont think you've ever seen them fluster, but when you turn to look back at them and they quickly throw you over their shoulder and onto the ground, you think you've found an equivalent. Nevertheless, they still commit as you're lying on the floor, "Good job, Commander."

P: as soon as you feel the impact, you hear a shattering 'FUCK' exclaimed from the red haired individual seated nearby. Before you can turn back, they nearly snap your neck at the dizzying velocity they spin you around to yell at you, "Why the fuck did you get up, dumbass?! Sit like a regular fucking person!"

M: as you look back, you recognize the playful glint in their grassy eyes, "Oops...I didnt mean...to do that...but if you want revenge...I wont stop you..."

Ra: the sound of delight they make sounds like a horrifying mixture of a hissing blowtorch and a squealing saw as they inhale air before releasing an equally elated giggle, "I touched it! I touched it! I need to commemorate this moment..."

S: turning around, you find them looking wide eyed at you, though not in shock or guilt, as they soon offer a foolishly wide grin, "Hot damn, ya got a solid ass!"

F: as you turn around, they fold their arms and turn away as though nothing happened. When you ask them however, they give you a dagger-like stare willing to stab through your heart, "You have the gall to accuse me of something so uncouth? I dont take kindly to slights, but I'll offer you a single opportunity to personally erase this moment from your memory before I decide on a more permanent solution for doing so."

Thank ya for the ask, and hope ya enjoy haha

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

September 22, 2021

Heather Cox Richardson

CNN’s bombshell revelation of Trump loyalist lawyer John Eastman’s six-point memo of instructions for overturning the 2020 election—discussed in the new book by veteran journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa—seems to be sparking a reckoning with how dangerous the Trump loyalists are to the survival of American democracy.

Eastman responded to the story by saying the released memo was only a draft and then giving CNN the final version, which was longer but no less damning—just how damning was indicated by two separate things.

First, J. Michael Luttig, the former United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit whom Pence had asked for advice about whether he could overturn the election results, quickly took to Twitter to distance himself from the story, saying: “I was honored to advise Vice President Pence that he had no choice on January 6, 2021, but to accept and count the Electoral College votes as they had been cast and properly certified by the states…. I believe(d) that Professor Eastman was incorrect at every turn of the analysis in his January 2 memorandum.” Eastman had been Luttig’s law clerk.

Second, former president Trump promptly sued his niece Dr. Mary L. Trump, the New York Times, and three New York Times reporters, claiming they were part of an “insidious plot” to obtain and publish his tax records “to gain fame, notoriety, acclaim and a financial windfall and were further intended to advance their political agenda.” Although the New York Times articles accused Trump of tax fraud, the former president did not claim libel or defamation in the suit. Legal analyst and former federal prosecutor Joyce Alene White Vance noted that to win on that point, he would have to prove that the reporting about his finances wasn’t true, and he was all but conceding he could not do that.

Trump used a lawyer that he has not used before to launch the suit, which Mary Trump, whose doctorate is in psychology, dismissed as the work of a desperate “loser” who was “going to throw anything against the wall he can.”

Eastman was no fly-by-night; he is a senior member of the Federalist Society and clerked for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas (as well as for Judge Luttig). Eastman’s standing in the so-called conservative movement makes it all the more astonishing that, to my knowledge, no leading Republican lawmaker has commented on the revelations of just how close we came to the installation of Trump instead of the duly elected presidential candidate, Joe Biden, in January.

Instead, Republican lawmakers are making headlines by refusing even to negotiate over the debt ceiling, simply saying the Democrats are on their own. They appear to be trying to replace one crisis with another, trying to turn public attention away from Trump’s attempted coup to the idea that Democrats are wild spendthrifts (although the Trump administration added about $7.8 trillion of today’s $28 trillion debt, and during his term, Congress voted to raise the debt ceiling three times).

It is impossible to overstate just how momentous are both an attempted coup and an attempt to force the U.S. to default on its debts.

Other news about the Trump administration and the January 6 Capitol insurrection is surfacing, as well.

On Monday, a federal court in Washington, D.C. unsealed an indictment alleging that, with the help of conservative author Doug Wead, Jesse Benton, a political operative from Kentucky closely allied with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), illegally directed foreign money from a Russian businessman to the 2016 Trump campaign. That the Department of Justice sat on the case for close to five years, even while the question of connections between the Trump campaign and Russians was white hot, suggests political interference with that department.

On Tuesday, the New York Times broke the story that in November 2020, when leaders from the Trump campaign began insisting before television cameras that the election of two weeks before had been stolen by George Soros and Venezuelans using Dominion voting systems, they had already circulated an internal memo debunking that entire conspiracy theory.

It seems they knew what they were alleging was false. The document surfaced in a lawsuit: Dominion has sued Trump lawyers Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani for defamation. This memo will not help their case.

Today, Hugo Lowell, congressional reporter for The Guardian, reported that the House select committee investigating the 6 January attack on the U.S. Capitol is considering issuing non-negotiable subpoenas this week for Trump’s White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and his deputy chief Dan Scavino, as well as Trump’s former campaign manager Brad Parscale.

A far right Republican from North Carolina, Meadows helped to found the Freedom Caucus and was one of Trump’s closest supporters in Congress before taking the chief of staff job. Scavino ran Trump’s social media accounts—including Twitter—and was one of the former president’s closest confidants. Parscale was the Trump campaign’s digital manager after being replaced as campaign manager in July 2020. Subpoenas for the phone records or testimony of these three men would help the committee members figure out what was happening inside the Oval Office on January 6.  

Tonight on MSNBC, committee member Adam Schiff (D-CA), a former federal prosecutor who is chair of the House Intelligence Committee and was lead manager for Trump’s first impeachment trial, told anchor Nicolle Wallace that the committee is investigating the activities surrounding January 6 as “a conspiracy to commit a coup.”

Schiff warned that while Trump loyalists tried to undermine democracy on January 6, mounting evidence suggests that through voter suppression and the replacement of nonpartisan election officials with boards of Trump loyalists, Republican lawmakers are continuing that effort today.

"We're going to follow the facts," said Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY), the committee’s vice chair. "What happened in the run-up to January 6, what happened on the 6th. What happened after the 6th."

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Notes:

https://www.npr.org/2021/09/22/1039642768/trump-sues-niece-mary-new-york-times-over-tax-return-stories

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/22/nyregion/mary-trump-taxes-lawsuit.html

Joyce Alene @JoyceWhiteVanceThere is a good reason "Trump made no claims of libel or defamation against the paper or Mary Trump in the suit." He would have to prove that the NYT's reporting about his finances wasn't true in order to win. And, he all but concedes he can't with this. https://t.co/7qya7qXhuH

711 Retweets2,455 Likes

September 22nd 2021

https://electionlawblog.org/?p=124721

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/15/federalist-society-under-fire-after-leader-spoke-at-pro-trump-rally-before-riot.html

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/its-been-5-years-since-russian-cash-was-allegedly-funneled-into-the-trump-campaign-why-wasnt-it-charged-until-now

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/09/21/us/trump-campaign-memo.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/21/us/politics/trump-dominion-voting.html

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/16/trump-scavino-1327921

https://www.rawstory.com/adam-schiff-select-committee/

https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/22/politics/january-6-committee-investigation-latest/index.html

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/sep/21/capitol-attack-panel-trump-white-house-aides

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON