#and some adults would be employeers of the place or visiters

[pseudonimobr]

i had a very absurd idea of trying to make a dark lore for star park so that it wasn't just "hey jacky and mike found some weird gems in the mines, what a mess" and more like "oh my god what now?".

[maestro04yayyy]

https://www.tumblr.com/maestro04yayyy/762341715456688128/random-dialogue-exchange-idea-for-like-1-year?source=share

Expansion on the "Drip Fed Poison" exchange/idea; just assume that Lila never found the butterfly or what have you so there can be focused family drama lol.

Its been a little over a year since the resolution of the Hawk Moth 'incidents' and Zoe would like to think her life had been going great. She finally had a parent who loved her and was invested in her, she was a burgeoning actress, she had friends she didn't need to compromise her values for. & hey, being rich was still ya know, nice.

Unfortunately there's been a blooming undercurrent of wrongness she's not quite able to put a name too. Its a lot of different little things.

She's found herself a bit more inclined to how around Andre's money & name to get things (but for nice reasons & her friends) But also sporadically had this blow up in her face. Usually not long after she had some kind of disagreement with Andre about a picture or event, or shot in a film.

She's also found her schedule often conflicting with her friends unless she obscures it from Andre or lies to him, almost like he doesn't want her hanging out with them. & he's very twitchy about her possibly dating, though he says its just to avoid paparazzo.

She briefly floats the concern t Jean who has become an increasingly ever present confidant and enabler of her sneaking out. But he's monosyllabic. Merely saying, he cannot speak poorly of his employer and continue to do good work, while subtly hinting helping Zoe dip out on an event to see her friends is the good work.

Things, don't quite come to ahead so much as she quietly floats the concern at a small friend hang out and Sabrina looks distinctly... Panicked. Made worse, when in trying to encourage her to say anything Adrien get roped in and is also suddenly super uncomfortable.

At first they treat it like its cos discussing Chloe is uncomfortable and it is, but...

Neither one has the full picture, and both are a little uncomfortable as they feel like it may come off as advocating for her, or smearing Andre, and they had both kind of convinced themselves they'd read too much into the relationship and clearly Chloe had to be at fault, right?

Adrien obliquely explains Chloe regarded a lot of wat she did with or for her father as a form of work. He did too. She plays the role of darling, devoted daughter, babysits visiting rich kids and helps out with events and fundraisers and Andre covers for her expenditures and misbehavior. Not that odd... Right? Really the issue is that he enabled her being mean, right?

Sabrina's read is a bit different, with her noting the instances Chloe tended to come over to her place, or be extra foul usually coincided with Andre being particularly clingy or omnipresent. & that he could and would withdraw his patronage of Chloe if he felt she was not acting as her name befit. IE, he is the source of her classism and Audrey impersonation, but it was a mistake, right?

He's better and learned now right?

Well, maybe not, especially if him currently blowing up Zoe's phone with guilt tripping messages is anything to go by, but the only other person who might be helpful is Madame Bustier, who Sabrina says Chloe sometimes spoke with alone.

Zoe is hopeful that a trustworthy adult will help her put all this to rest.

So the fact Caline looks like she might throw up when Zoe broaches the topic and clearly both wants to offer a hug and is trying to make her not panic by getting to close does not fill her with confidence.

As it is,

Chloe only ever really broached things with her once, after a breakdown (Not meltdown, breakdown) in class that involved flipped tables and broken glass after a particularly 'stressful' few weeks.

She'd been oblique over it, names and issues and expectations oscillating wildly and even Mr Agreste somehow got worked in but al of it painted an unflattering picture. One that likely informed her decisions as an Akuma to "Take Andre out" in one form or another.

But ultimately, the only person who can give her any insight into what Andre is like with a daughter besides Zoe herself... Is Chloe.

Ohhhhh i love this!!!!! Well I hate how andre is to zoe!!! But I love her slowly getting more concerned and worried about the situation!!!!! And yeah that would be a really good set up to reintroduce chloe(so I am basically considering this an au now because it's awesome) maybe not phisically because she is in london i think? I remeber it being the usa but the changed it last minute i don't know i haven watched the last season but still as a voice on the phone and talk to zoe and maybe just maybe connect as sisters!!!!! I honestly just love zoe and chloe being good sisters!!!!

[loveallmymoots]

inspired by @mini-wrants's post. check this horrifying shit i did not know about at all out:

7/9: Death due to childbirth

If the death of the policyholder takes place due to pregnancy complications or childbirth, the insurer would not pay the sum assured to the nominee.

can you make the obvious connections here with the rollback of reproductive rights... including letting women bleed out for fear of legal liability for performing an "abortion"? wonder what all the for-profit insurance (health/life etc) have to say about this... i did just find out i have a $3k er visit bill that my insurance paid and will pay nothing for because i hadn't met my deductible yet. helpfully, they said to find a lower one next time. this was the lowest one that was available on the healthcare marketplace. $5900. almost $350 every month. co-pays. does nothing at all because for the 12 hours i was in the er sitting in the hallway because they didn't bother to get me a bed, they billed me $13k for the privilege of... doing some tests i didn't ask for and couldn't really consent to due to being delirious, being berated for my blood clotting "fast" because the nurse didn't bother to take it to the labs who didn't bother to test it in time so she took 9 vials from me and then left because her shift was over mid-sticking and just left them there on the bed, in the hall, where no one noticed for 45 minutes. (she didn't tell me she was leaving btw so no ofc i didn't ask bc why would i think to?) at least they gave me three bags of iv fluid, though of course my mother was irritated at being there (she was the one who took me - to her hospital, without checking whether it was in network (it was) - because she had ignored me for several days until i crawled on the floor to her bedroom, delirious and vomiting, and begged for help. she had previously refused to take me to a minute clinic because "they're not going to do anything". this was my first er visit ever btw and i've never stayed in a hospital before except for when i was born, but i've been in and out of them (visiting) all my life bc my mother worked there for 38 years. apparently this particular hospital, despite being a non-profit, and despite other hospitals in the same network not doing this, is super aggressive with litigation for past due balances and owns its own collection agency. they even garnished the wages of their own workers, one of whom made $16k a year but was now facing $23k of medical debt to the hospital she worked at. garnished her wages at around 25% because she went to the place she worked at for help. even when i told my mom about this she said she knew about it already. but the board members claim they have no idea. we're a major medical hub, btw.

i really liked this part:

That’s especially problematic for people with high-deductible health insurance plans, defined by the IRS as those with deductibles over $1,350 for an individual and over $2,700 for a family. The number of adults with employer-based, high-deductible health insurance nearly tripled from 2007 through 2017, according to a 2018 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Methodist said it is required by insurers to collect copayments and deductibles. That said, the hospital added: “We know some insured patients have high copays and deductibles that place a financial burden on the patient. As a mission-driven organization, we will work with these patients seeking assistance.”

my deductible is $5900. for an individual. nobody ever told me about this. nobody ever told me that was even high, it was the average or even low/lowest among the ones i looked at on the healthcare marketplace, you know, the .gov one. i have no medical problems other than subclinical hypothyroidism (which doesn't even apparently need to be treated) and take lexapro and birth control. and yet!

btw as of this article's publishing (2019) it mentioned we (memphians) had 1/4th of our population living below the poverty line.

hey let's look up the most recent stats on that.

Memphis is currently declining at a rate of -0.89% annually and its population has decreased by -3.48% since the most recent census, which recorded a population of 635,225 in 2020.

The average household income in Memphis is $74,176 with a poverty rate of 23.6%. The median age in Memphis is 34.5 years: 33 years for males, and 36.3 years for females.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Memphis is the poorest city in the United States with a median household income of $32,285, or $37,767 for a family. 17% of families and almost 21% of the population lives below the poverty line, including 30% of people under the age of 18.

The greater Memphis metropolitan area, which includes counties in Arkansas and Mississippi, has an estimated population of 1.33 million, which makes Memphis the second-largest metro area in Tennessee after Nashville. This metropolitan statistical area (MSA) includes the Tennessee counties of Fayette, Tipton, and Shelby, along with the Mississippi counties of Tate, Marshall, DeSoto and Tunica, and Crittenden County, Arkansas. The overall metro area has a higher percentage of white residents and a higher per capita income than the city proper.

interesting little note about white residents there, what's the makeup of memphis again?

According to the most recent ACS, the racial composition of Memphis was:

Black or African American: 64.36%

White: 26.46%

Other race: 3.88%

Two or more races: 3.3%

Asian: 1.65%

Native American: 0.31%

Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 0.05%

thanks worldpopulationreview.com! and look at this handy-dandy little guide i found from the university of memphis:

ok sure don't put the title in that's totally not irritating at all tumblr. it's the 2024 memphis poverty fact sheet. now what was this little interesting bit? after it's broken down everything by area, ofc.

including the metro area where most of the white people live, they have 1/3 of the poverty rates of black people in the same area. ok, narrowing it down...

it gets worse. for the county, the rate of poverty for black people is 4x higher than that of whites. and in the city of memphis itself? a solid 3, give or take a 0.04 or so. is it worth mentioning how deeply segregated this city is? we elected our first black mayor of the majority black city...in 1992. he was also corrupt as fuck but interesting how that's not what people mention when they complain about him. he was technically the second black mayor too, because another man served as interim in 1982. our current mayor is black as were the two mayors after herenton, but not from 2016-2024. we're a majority female city too. all of the mayors have been male, only five black since 1982. btw we're the only american city in the top 10 of the most violent cities in the world and consistently number 1 in america. we also apparently have the worst drivers and a lot of other horrible shit but hey, at least we have good water thanks to the natural aquifer. until elon musk decides to use it all to cool his new supercomputer processing shit he's building here, apparently, or until he decides to dump something in it. either one is a very high probability. we're also long overdue for a horrible earthquake.

A high probability of a moderate earthquake in the near future (e.g., a 25-40% probability of a magnitude 6.0 or greater in the next 50 years), and relatively low regional attenuation (in other words, seismic waves do damage over a greater area in this region than for the same magnitude earthquake in the west) lead to significant earthquake hazard in the Memphis metropolitan area. Memphis lies within the New Madrid seismic zone, which is the most seismically active and well-studied region in the Central and Eastern U.S.

50 years, huh? this study was published in 2019, 5 years ago.

btw our rape kit backlog made national news like ten years ago. it's been going on since the 80s. mayor herenton (first elected black mayor up there) deflected all questions about it back in 2009 by saying only rich white people cared about rape and where was the concern for the two little black boys who had drowned in pools?

if you think that sounds cartoonishly implausible, here it is:

He claimed outrage over mis-management at the Memphis Sexual Assault Resource Center is mis-guided among certain members of the council.  He said the outrage is based on pleasing a well-connected demographic rather than true concern.

He contrasted that with what he observed following the drowning deaths of two children in city pools.

"I didn't see any hue and cry and concern about the death of the African American inner-city kids," said the mayor.

do i need to mention the demographics again or is it obvious whom most of the rape victims probably are. now consider how many are actually reported.

worldpopulationreview again here to the rescue!

In the United States, about 43.6% of women and 24.8% of men experienced some form of sexual violence in their lifetime, according to the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS). About 21.3% of women surveyed reported completed or attempted rape at some point in their lives, with 1.2% reporting completed or attempted rape in the 12 months preceding the survey. About 2.6% of men reported experiencing completed or attempted rape at some point in their lives. About 81.3% of female victims and 70.8% of male victims experienced their first completed or attempted rape before the age of 25.

It is important to note that rape is widely unreported, and therefore statistics on rape are not always accurate depictions of the actual number of incidents. However, the #MeToo movement has helped encourage more victims to report their rape and sexual assault incidents. Rape statistics vary from state to state and can be influenced by factors such as demographics, culture, economics, and law enforcement capabilities. Numbers in this article from the FBI's 219 Crime in the U.S. report.

tn's (reported) rape rate is 41.2 ever looked at alaska? theirs is 148.7. arkansas, whom we neighbor so closely that there is literally a west memphis, arkansas (as opposed to memphis, tennessee and yes that is where the west memphis three are from, not here), has the second highest at 77.2 rapes per 100,000 inhabitants. if you look at it versus inhabitants, alaska had 1088 total, arkansas 2331 and tennessee 2813. i guess we'll never know how many were here in memphis because, shocker, that national attention and that cool $1.9 mil we got to investigate it? well not only did they obviously go nowhere but they're actually shutting down our tbi branch, and we already didn't have a forensic science one.

[bright-tatters]

Tatters #2

Bailey White disappeared at the age of twenty-one. The lanky youth who ran sensitive messages for the Old Kid was named Fortune, and the Old Kid laughed and allowed it.

Before anyone knew it, Fortune was one of Old Kid’s lieutenants, a brisk businessman, a clear communicator. He helped keep things running in Tatters, mostly by visiting people with one of Old Kid’s sturdier agents and making sure they were aware of their civic responsibilities. A lieutenant needed a base, so Fortune took a two-room office on Bygone Avenue. And a lieutenant needed a staff.

The first applicants to his office were a trio of women. Fortune recognized the leader in the middle; he had a good head for names and faces. “Adele, how did those shoes work out?”

“Old Kid might have given me some old shoes, but I know you made sure they were the fashionable ones.” Adele simpered. “Now, this is Oona, and this is Darla—”

Something pricked Fortune’s finger, a little gold ring on his pinky. He felt the glow of mild arousal at exactly the same time. And Fortune knew exactly the only way that a woman would turn him on.

He took his illegal revolver out from behind his desk. “Which one of you is the empath?” he said, very calmly.

Adele tittered, wide-eyed. “I don’t know what you’re talking—”

Fortune shot the mook on the left, then set his sights on Adele. “Which one is the empath?”

“Fortune!”

Fortune pointed the revolver at the mook on the right.

“It’s Darla, you already shot her, you animal!”

“Well, then.” He put the gun away. “You may send for medical attention. There is a doctor two doors east of here. I will not be hiring any of you.” He picked a paper off his desk at random and focused on it. Yes, he had things to do and think about. The empath who had intended to use him would stop bleeding eventually, probably.

That ring was the most precious thing Fortune owned. A generation ago it would have been impossible, and people like him would have been at a permanent disadvantage. He didn’t pretend to understand psionic fields, but detecting tampering with them was worth any cost. There was a set of social rules for those rare people who possessed these powers. Fortune tended to deal with the kind of person that didn’t comply.

Fortune had aimed at the arm and apparently clipped the side instead. After the mewling and the whining were over and the women were gone, Fortune set down his reading, locked up, and walked down to the library. There was always someone trying to send a message there, and the plain labor of running a letter to the telegraph office appealed to him.

The door to the reading room was open opposite the circulation desk. A calm soprano voice was declaiming something in tones so musical Fortune found himself drifting toward the door.

“And then Violetta came to the point: she could not accept a half-life anymore. She had to be with Simonides, completely, or leave him behind. For she didn’t know, she could not know, the responsibilities that pinned him to the rock, every night.”

The story rolled to a close. A room full of children dispersed, clustering around a handful of adults who conducted them out. The raconteur patted her swept-back brown hair and smiled.

“Miss,” Fortune said from the doorway.

Her smoke-couched green eyes widened. “Sir? Can I help you?”

“Getting right to it,” he said dryly. “My name is Fortune. I’m a businessman in O.K. Verity’s employ. I need a secretary, and after hearing you tonight I think I need a tutor. That was really remarkable, that story you told.”

She blushed prettily. “Classics were my life’s work before I moved to Travail.”

“Why move away from them, then?”

Her good mood soured. “I came here with my sister. She has since died.” She delivered this with a blend of class and defiance.

“I’m very sorry to hear it. Have you no other family locally?”

“Not a soul.” She seemed to wear it as a badge of pride.

“Then a well-placed employer could do you a lot of good.”

Her neatly plucked eyebrows rose. “I don’t want any funny business, Mr. Fortune.”

“My business is never funny, Miss…?”

“Le Pen. Marguerite le Pen. Does Fortune have a last name?”

“No. I’d very much like to hear more about the classics from you, and I say that with every platonic intention. Would you come work for me?”

She looked down her nose at him, a maneuver that required a fair amount of leaning backward. “I don’t think so, Mr. Fortune.”

“Very well. Good luck, Miss le Pen. Please don’t stop your efforts here. It’s a good opportunity for the children.” He gave a courtly half-bow and left, not even thinking to check the desk for messages.

That night, two shadowy figures broke into an ill-favored apartment at the corner of Quarts district. They terrorized the resident and stole what few valuables she had lying around. A thunderingly huge man in the street heard the screaming and ran in to pummel the thieves. By the time Tatters police arrived, Marguerite’s apartment was almost back to normal.

“You shouldn’t be on your own,” said the huge and impeccably dressed man, and he sat with her until she dismissed him. She slept poorly, and in the morning she put on a green skirt suit and walked down to Bygone Ave. She never had to ask where the hint came from, and perhaps she was a little desperate, alone in the Tatters.

So far as Fortune could tell, she came to like him, and their reading sessions, and the job where she could spend every spare moment reading, and the expansion to the library he managed to talk the Old Kid into. And Marguerite never had to deal with a Tatters travail without a sponsor.

[donnerpartyofone]

I got up this morning to take my various pills, and remembered that it was time to change the filter in the water pitcher, which I need because I have a sensitivity to copper which is helping to make me insane, but anyway. When I broke down the pitcher, which I clean thoroughly each time I change the filter, I noticed a weird smell. I don't want to notice a weird smell. One of the reasons we were in such a rush to move into our expensive new place (expensive for us, not for New York, but still our best option) was to escape the mold that became so pervasive that I didn't even feel comfortable with our fridge anymore. The smell that came out of the upper deck of the pitcher was familiar; it was the same thing I used to smell at my psychotic grandmother's house.

My mother's mother kept her place as tidy as a showroom, but I have rarely in my life been as sick as I got every time I went there. My brother and father got sick, too. When I visited as an adult I insisted on staying in a hotel, even though it was hard to insist on anything with that grandmother because she was the mommy and you were the baby (no matter who you were) and you generally weren't allowed to have any thoughts or preferences. But I told her I thought I was reacting to mold, and she was horrified. Uh oh, I've accused her of something. It didn't occur to me to be careful; my father has some sort of nameless environmental illness syndrome and I grew up assuming (mostly correctly, let's be honest) that every modern building is full of pollutants and harmful lifeforms. It's no specific person's fault, it's just the way things are. When Todd Haynes' movie SAFE came out, my father was elated. "This is ME!" he said. But anyway, even when I only spent the day and not the night with my grandmother, I was incapacitatingly sick for several days thereafter.

My grandmother made me sick in other ways, too, though even more indirectly. She was deranged from denying that her father was a pedophile, and as a reaction to this contaminant she made my mother deranged by enforcing the strictest most normalizing orthodoxy and social hygiene, and then my mother made me deranged by living as a progressive bohemian artist while insisting that I adhere to a 1950s type of psychological purity. I'm deranged because this is impossible for me, I mean it would be impossible for anybody ultimately, but I can't even do the basics. I struggle socially. I struggle to dress right, speak right, or be interested in the right things. I struggled in school and I struggle with employment. I struggle to cook. I struggle to clean. I'm struggling to scrub the weird smell out of the pitcher. Some parts are starting to smell OK, others do not. I keep hunting for the culprit. Finally I realize the smell is coming from the little module that lights up to let me know how soon I need to change the filter. REMOVE BEFORE CLEANING is printed on its little carapace; I have never noticed this before, I never notice anything like this. I remove it with some difficulty, and I see that it has a seam along the side. Inside there seems to be some discoloration, but I can't break the mechanism down any further. I run a toothpick along this channel, but I can't get in deep enough. I'll need a needle. And I'll need to accept that inside this tiny crevice there will always be this uninvited life, struggling to spread itself out and grow up healthy and strong, and I will just have to keep scrubbing it back and scrubbing it back, for as long as I need clean water.

[happyinjection]

♠️♥️High Card Short Story 3 “Welcome Back, Leo-sama” (3/3)♦️♣️

At one point during the ride, Finn responded to Leo’s endless nagging with a comeback of his own. It turned out Finn had been drinking Leo’s milk without the latter’s knowledge...

Original: https://twitter.com/highcard_pj/status/1535094632798748674

Author: https://twitter.com/poipheno

Artist: https://twitter.com/ebimoji3

Our chatter went on and on inside the car as we ran along the streets. That said, most of it were Leo’s one sided complaints, and I was getting tired of his feistiness.

“In the first place, I should’ve been suspicious from the moment Chris brought you in. Even if he said you’re a player, a barbaric yankee would tarnish—”

“I’m not a yankee, damn it. I don’t get why you keep on throwing those snide remarks.”

It got to the point where I was no longer irritated, just exhausted. Let’s talk about something else.

“Leo, you drink milk often, don’t you?”

“…and even if I do. What’s that got to do with you?”

Keke, I deliberately let out a nasty chuckle.

“Truth is you dislike milk, right. Did you drink it ‘cause you feel short? It is indeed a good habit to drink milk and wait patiently until you grow taller—”

“Hmph. Just you watch. Your frustrated face when I look down on you would be sight to behold. …Besides, why did you suddenly bring it up?”

“You’ve been keeping some milk in the fridge at the branch office, right? I’ve always thought that it’s okay to drink it, but this morning Wendy told me off.”

“Hm... I’ve been wondering why it was running low so fast lately. So you’re the culprit? I’m going to cut your paycheck for that.”

“Huh? But it’s just milk! And you’re rich! If you don’t want it taken from you, write down your name!”

“It’s not about money. Taking something that doesn’t belong to you, even if it doesn’t have a name written on it, such an attitude doesn’t sit right with me. But I’ll let it slide this time.”

“Got it, got it. I’m sorry. I was not raised well.”

‘Write your name on all of your belongings’ was a common rule in the orphanage I grew up in. Since most children had not yet understood the norms of society, the rule was an important part of communal living. If you don’t put your name, you can’t complain if your stuff gets taken away.

Just for a moment, I got lost in thoughts about the guys from Sunfields and trailed off from our conversation. All of a sudden Leo opened his mouth to ask.

“…So, how is it going at the orphanage? Are the children well?” It appeared that Leo had the same thing on mind.

The fact that he cared about such things was a bit surprising.

“…Well, I have work and haven’t been able to visit much, so I don’t really know, but they would surely contact me if anything happens, wouldn’t they?”

“You could at least give them a call.”

“It’s alright. Everyone is growing up and in good health. I’ve already said my goodbyes, so if I show up often they would think I’m lonely and become worried instead.”

“Even so, there are more than a few kids to tend to. If the number of available adults decreases, those who stay behind would have a hard time.”

“My presence there won’t change anything, though.”

“Hmph, now that you’ve left, does that mean some weight is lifted off Lindsey’s shoulders, who had raised you since you were little?”

I understood that his words held no bite.

“Haha. I guess that’s true.”

Turning at an intersection, I made a wide spin of the steering wheel.

“What about you, how’s things with your dad?”

“Call him the president. He’s your employer.”

“I never met him, so I don’t know what he’s like. Come to think of it, what about your mom, I haven’t heard anything about her.”

“I don’t have a mom.”

When the brake lights of a car ahead of us came on, I gently stepped on the brakes. It was a red light. As I waited, I tapped on the steering wheel using four of my fingers alternately.

Here, usually one would apologize by saying something along the line of “Sorry I asked a strange question......”, but I didn’t know about my immediate family either, so I understood his situation.

“Ehh. Well, that doesn’t really matter, right.”

It was normal for me to think of Sunfields as my home and Lindsey as my parent. I had a hunch that Leo felt a similar way. Besides, it seemed that he was rather concerned about his relationship with his father.

“Hmph. Don’t be so quick to judge.”

When the traffic light glowed green, I picked my speed back up.

I glanced sideways to get a look at Leo’s face. He was still facing the window, but I thought he was smiling faintly.

We were getting closer to the branch office.

“Ugh, I’m starving. I’m gonna die of hunger ‘cause someone didn’t allow me to eat.”

“.....Are the other guys still at the office?”

“Surely they are? Today everyone is working indoors.”

“Return to that place from earlier.”

“Huuh? What? Which place from earlier are you talking about?”

“That very same place where your lowly ass liked to eat.”

“That hamburger joint? Don’t tell me you want to eat that.”

“Nonsense. I’m not going to eat. It’s for you.”

“Whew, as expected from the boss.”

“Don’t call me boss only in times like this.”

This is extremely lucky. I had no idea why, but the manager seemed to be in a good mood today.

I said, “aye aye sir!”, and made a U-turn onto the opposite lane. Then, because the setting sun was hurting my eyes, I put on the sunglasses that I had taken out of my pocket.

Leo stared at my face. “Why, it suits you.”

“.....hang on, are those Chris’?”

“You guys really noticed that a lot.”

“What did Chris say to you?”

“Nah, he only said that he bought it with his first paycheck.....also, he got ran over by a car that day. What is it, what’s wrong with them?”

Immediately, Leo started chuckling and his shoulders were shaking in laughter.

“What the hell, you guys! Tell me what’s going on!”

“Ahaha! Isn’t it great, they look good on you. You should treasure it for your entire life.”

“What the hell, man! Explain it properly!”

In the end, when I returned to the branch office, no one told me anything at all. It was my principle to make use of everything given to me, but I was so distraught that I had a hard time falling asleep that night.

♠️♥️♦️♣️

TL notes: I’m in no way a professional translator so if you find any mistakes, please do not hesitate to inform me right away. I love the High Card gang and I found it very unfortunate that while it is meant to be a multimedia project, I can’t seem to find the translated versions of any materials (beside the anime) anywhere (if this is against copyright, I will take it down). Hopefully this small TL would help international viewers gain better understanding of HC universe and characters. The author of these SS himself said that he hoped fans would have their “so that’s what it is!” moments when they watch the anime after reading his short stories. So with that in mind, let’s enjoy High Card together~

[enby-denby]

Seeing as I am in my late 20's, I'll go ahead and do one for the teens out there:

Remember the advice about your job? It is especially true for Part Time jobs. And NEVER work for just "experience". That is not a tangible payment method.

That being said: LOOK INTO TRADE JOBS. The posters glorifying how much more college grads make don't mention the high unemployment rate or the current job insecurity for new grads.

Your teachers are wrong: employers and all but the most elite colleges Do Not Care what your GPA was or what you did for your senior project. Employers will not throw out your application if they see the words "community college" on there either.

Similarly, most friendships and romantic relationships you form in high-school and early college will end up fizzle growing out. This does not make them less real and does not reflect badly on you.

But treasure the ones that don't.

You will have your whole life to develop addictions, including to things like caffeine. Don't start now, while your brain is still growing.

Every cringe moment you have today is going to be a funny story in a decade. Hindsight is funny like that.

You do not have to forgive your parents when you grow up.

You DO NOT have to forgive your parents when you grow up

Let me repeat: if your parents were unwavering in their abuse of you as a child (or did one thing that only a Shakespearian villain would do to their kids) and they start love-bombing you after you move out and set some boundaries, you are not evil or bad for being unwavering in your own self-love by rejecting their attempts to rope you back into a vulnerable dynamic "make amends"

But if your parents weren't shitheads? Call them, visit them, share your interests with them as you grow into an adult. Make the most of the time they have left with you. This goes double for Grandparents.

Don't talk about politics on social media. By this I don't mean don't engage in political discussions online (though be cautious there too), I mean don't discuss any ideas you have for direct action online. The cops can and will get you for digital thought crimes.

You really do need to clean your room, for your own sake as well as for any roommates you may have.

Related to the above: never split rent with a stranger. ESPECIALLY not a studio apartment.

What makes a party fun isn't loud music, alcohol, drugs, or sexy times. Its if one of the following things are there: a gregarious pet, a silly (or spooky) party game, themed snacks, a sports game/obscure anime on the tv, and an outdoor firepit people can throw stiff they want to burn into. The more of these things you can safely do at the same time, the better.

This was mentioned above but PLEASE develop a hobby that isn't a form of media consumption. The best advice I ever got from a teacher was my Spanish teacher breaking her "no English" rule to remind us that consuming products is not a personality trait. And though that was years ago, in the age of Andrew Tate that bears repeating for me.

No, you don't need to memorize the quadratic equation or the cycle of the Heroes Journey to be a functional adult. But they help.

Home Ec and Woodshop classes help a Hell of a lot more in your day to day.

Your parents will probably be more excited than you that you got your license. This is because they had places to go when they were your age and are excited to have a Designated Driver at home.

Speaking of Designated Drivers, here is my short list of Good First Drinks to celebrate your 21st birthday: Moscow Mule, Piña Colada, local craft beers followed by German or Mexican, saké, white wine, grasshopper, cosmopolitan or screwdrivers. A Long Island Iced Teas is NOT a tea and if you want to try only one drink but learn the taste of a lot of different alcohols at once, that would be it.

If you get a letter from a Company called Amway or Vector Marketing, throw it right in the trash. The "job" they're promising is a scam.

And finally: you are not defined by your lack of romantic experiences or the number of friends you have. You are defined by who you choose to be, every day. And you will always get better if you put in even a little effort every day.

I turn 30 next month so here’s what I learned in my 20s:

—don’t work for startups, they’re always one ‘innovative idea’ away adding ‘sell your kidneys on the black market’ to your job description.

—keeping a collection of basic OTC medicine on you will save your life one day. I recommend Advil, Imodium, and TUMS.

—those little single-use glasses cleaning wipes are 1000% worth the money

—overly self-depreciating jokes just make people uncomfortable, wean yourself off of them

—you can buy dehydrated mini marshmallows in bulk online and they’re a godsend for hot cocoa

—people don’t care if you have fidget toys on your desk they just want to play with them

—try to go to bed BEFORE the existential ennui kicks in

[openingpandorasbox1]

AUTUMN PART 2 (1)

AUTUMN Part 2

 The incidents taking place in Autumn Part 1 and Part 2 (this one) were taking place at a similar time frame but I have decided to turn them into two separate blogs to shorten them.

               Autumn was a friends whom I knew from childhood due to her mother marrying my father.. Autumn had a brother named Samuel, father named Karl and my Dad’s wife name Donna (Autumn’s mother) – Autumn, Samuel, Karl and Donna were not blood related to me.

                As children us five kids would go visit Dad and Donna each fortnight (not every fortnight) and this was when I would have been the only time I spent in the company of Samuel. Even though I hanged out with Autumn as an adult I had little to do with her brother. If I associated with Samuel at all it would usually have been only because Autumn wanted me to go with her to some family thing or a birthday, even if we did turn up to something that he was at, I had little interaction with him and we [Autumn and I] usually did our own thing. If I was in the same room with Samuel it would usually be at the same time when many other people were in the room with him as well, I was never alone with him. I never went out of my way to hang out with him and I never had any conversations with him one on one.

                I liked Samuel and I always thought he was a nice and decent guy and he was a bit more classier and better mannered than other people I’ve come across. Autumn and Samuel were brought up in a rough neighbourhood, Autumn and Samuel never smoked, drank alcohol, did drugs, and avoided feral behaviour. Samuel and Autumn worked, however Samuel was able to have stable employment working in the same job for years but Autumn was a lot like me when there were times when we were out of work and looking for work.

Autumn lived with her father Karl and her brother Samuel and she was close to both of them. What I did like about Samuel is that he had good taste in music and we had that in common. He definitely had good taste in music. When it came to relationships I had a few boyfriends over the years and male friends but nothing too serious. Autumn’s love life was all over the shop and Samuel had a couple of girlfriends when he was younger. I thought the reason why Samuel was single for such a long time was for the same reason why I had been single for a long duration of time – because he just hadn’t met the right person to be in a relationship with. Samuel also didn’t go out that much, he never went partying or go out drinking. I just thought he just never had the opportunity to meet somebody.

               Usually over the years I would see Samuel occasionally when he dropped off Autumn at our house or picked her up (Autumn didn’t drive). Sometimes I would see him at a birthday or a family thing. Samuel wasn’t a social butterfly so I didn’t bump into him that often and he was usually working, at home or at his friends place. I felt Samuel was a bit OCD, he was always extremely clean and tidy and even put all his music and films in alphabetical order. He cared about presentation. Samuel definitely had a classy side to him and was well spoken. Samuel was Donna’s pride and joy and she adored him. If I did see Samuel it was usually when we went to see our parents, my dad and Donna but we couldn’t visit them that often because they lived so far away. Once a year (not every year) we would go up to visit them and we would usually do it when we were all together or sometimes it would be just Autumn and I who would go up there by ourselves. If Dad and Donna came down for a birthday celebration or anything else, I would always go see them and sometimes Samuel would be there as well. Dad and Donna would always get me to attend whatever they were attending so we could all catch up at the same time.

Usually when I saw Autumn it never involved Samuel, us girls would go shopping, have lunch, or be at a bar with friends.

[yuna-writes]

What exactly does 'freedom' mean anyway?

I always thought freedom meant I move out of my parent's home and live independently on my own terms and rules. It does feel like freedom but in order to sustain that lifestyle I need to earn a wage to realistically afford rent. So that's what I did. I went and got a job, but I also felt like I didn't really achieve 'freedom.'

I might sound ungrateful because there's a lot of young people who are still living with their parents and they don't have the freedom to live the life they want because they can't afford it. For that, I guess I do feel appreciative I did experience some level of 'freedom.' My parents can't really dictate my life anymore as an adult living on my own. At the same time, I just don't feel like I really achieved 'freedom' whatever that means anyway.

Freedom doesn't mean you get to do whatever you want because I think there's consequences for living a life that doesn't consider bad things too. At the same time, I also find the everyday routines of life seems to be restricting, limiting or flat out boring. I don't know, I think freedom to me means living a life of your own rules where you considered both the good and bad but you found a balance between both.

Sometimes I question whether your job only pays you enough to live just a comfortable lifestyle but you can't really do anything else beyond the limit of a paycheck. It's not that I want to live in a fancy home, or have a fancy car but I do occasionally want to move to different places and experience new cultures but I don't want to just visit there for a vacation. In other to accomplish this, you need a lot of wealth to realistically move often to different places and afford the living cost. That's why I always viewed jobs to not be a source of freedom, even though initially I also thought it might give me some freedom. I would say it can only give a small amount or a 'taste of freedom.' But your still at the mercy of your employer.

It's a subject I'm still thinking about it. It's funny how maybe the definition of it is viewed differently by other people. What someone see's as freedom is like slavery to another person.

[crazynerdmentality]

Top Reasons To Be a Travel Nurse When You're Older

A travel nurse is a single individual in their 20s or 30s who has a few years of bedside experience and wants to travel the globe. Some travelers matched that description, while others went with their families, took nursing as a second job, or waited until retirement to travel. I'll tell you about the benefits of traveling as an adult and why I did it!

Perks of Traveling When You’re Older

Enjoy! You've raised your kids and maintained your home for decades. You're the priority now. I met new people, saw new locations, and tried new things while traveling. When I began, I was worried the younger passengers would think I was the "old nurse." 61% of travel nurses are over 40, according to career experts. Travel nursing has the same benefits for older and younger nurses. We're all nurses because we enjoy helping others, regardless of age. I felt like a teacher, mother, mentor, psychologist, and leader to all the nurses on the wards, which was fantastic.

Hospitals need experienced nurses! Travel nurses are expected to start their new jobs without any training. After mastering the new facility's operations, you're ready to work as a nurse. You've probably gone through a lot and seen a lot. As senior travelers, we may lead and teach. Stress, too. We can manage it much better!

We're self-advocates and ask for experience-based skills. We interact well with colleagues and patients. We're mature enough to know when to give our opinion. Travel nurses need these talents.

Erik Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development from nursing school? Erikson calls the 40-65 stage "Generativity against Stagnation," a time to leave a legacy by producing or nurturing things that will remain or making constructive changes that benefit others. What better way than to mentor future nurses nationwide and make your imprint at each facility? This will set us up beautifully for the next stage in life when we reflect on the successes we’ve made.

Travel is a terrific way to calm down and not work full-time. It gives more time off than permanent nursing employment. Travel nurses work 13 weeks. Take a month or two off after an assignment. Travel nursing simplifies scheduling around life events, seasons, and holidays. You may wish to attend a grandchild's birth or summer camp. You may need to assist a sick parent or a family member undergoing surgery. As a traveler, you might work near your family or visit them. This profession allows more family time!

Unit politics has worn you down, like me. Travel nurses may work in a unit and escape unit politics and turmoil. By the time you learn about unit politics, it's time for your next task!

When things become rough, the tough start moving! Moving to multiple places, being the "new nurse," and treating complex patients may be difficult. Travel nurses must face these circumstances, and your life's resilience will assist you.

Have you wondered, "Where should I retire?" As a travel nurse, you may choose! It's a terrific method to check out a place before committing. If you live there for a few months, you get to know it better than if you just visit. This information will assist you decide where to retire.

If your home is vacant and you want a change, a travel assignment may be perfect. List your house and moving into a smaller one isn't necessary. During vacations and summers, you may prefer to retain your house (and by having the flexibility of a travel schedule, you can enjoy being home and spending this valuable time with them). Then, when life settles, you may accept another assignment someplace you've always wanted to go and leave the home. This is especially appealing if your husband is retired and you can spend your days off together.

As you’ve read, there are perks to traveling at any point in life, and experienced nurses have the skills to take on this new chapter while enjoying life on the road.

[gottaluvus]

🧸; to infinity and beyond | gojo s.

─── summary; love. love is all he ever wanted, all he ever wished for. desire. he desired to be in the arms of his lover, his one and only. “please.. i’ll do anything, everything to make it so you’re happy and comfortable here, with me.” he desperately pledged, now with his knees on the floor with his mascara running down his face. “don’t leave me. not again, please, not again.” he’ll plead and beg as long as he needs to have [name]. and if begging doesn’t work, drugging and kidnapping will do.

— pairing; god!gojo + mortal!m!reader

⑅ cw; lower case, cheating, worshiper gojo, obsessed gojo [IN PT.2] non-con touching, implied sexual advances, paranoid reader

⑅ notes; boy did this change a lot from the first draft

⑅ chapters; II, III, IIII

it was a sunny, bright day in Michigan. even though a teeth chattering breeze flowed through the air and snow fell from the skies, a smile was still on the mortal’s face. a bright, pretty smile.

he hummed the tunes of ‘after the storm’ by kali uchis while the background noise of this afternoon’s supposed weather came from the radio.

“isn’t he just perfect?” the god of, ironically, marriage and wedlock spoke, his index finger trailing along his throne’s armrest. he peered through the cloud’s of Olympus, watching the mortal closely.

it’d been seven years, three months, twenty-four days, two hours, and two seconds since the start of their relationship, the start of his obsessive worshipping. wasn’t it supposed to be the other way around? no. at least gojo didn’t see it in such way. they’d been together for so long, and gojo only cheating thirty seven times! it's shorter than his record of their sixth year, thankfully.

“oh god, he’s doing it again.” nanami, the god of wealth and prosperity, mumbled, taking a sit of his morning nectar while reading Olympus Daily at the eighteen inch marble table. “is he alright? i’m getting worried!” yuji, the god of creativity, worriedly spoke, it came out louder than he intended it to.

“i’m fine itadori, i’m just taking care of the mortals well being since megumi is on leave for the time being.”

“oh! okay, thank you for telling me, mr. satoru!” even though gojo relentlessly told him not go call him ‘mr’, mainly because he’s still in his early thousands and isn’t old like nanami, yuji still insisted that since he was the youngest, he has to respect his elders. elders, he said! elders! gojo was considered to be over 1,379 years old in the mortals eyes! in Olympus, that's considered to be a young adult!

“i’m going to get some nectar.” gojo said, excusing himself from the throne/dining room, supposedly leaving to be in the comfort of his personal realm. fortunately, he has a decent poker face and was a [incredibly good] decent liar. where was he actually headed to? the ‘waking world’, as the Olympians called it. he just called it ‘the mortal realm’.

without a stop in his walk, he was in front of his fianceé’s company, aka the place where he had a job. why? well, because he’s the boss, darling!

“morning, mr. satoru!” is all he heard from his employers as he made his way to his lover’s desk, a cold mocha extreme, extra creme just how he liked it, with a donut with hazelnut glaze; [name]’s favorite. how did he know? stalking! i mean, watching. watching his lover closely, of course! with a lot of pep in his stride, he officially made his first stop of the day at [name]’s desk.

the smile on his face dropped almost immediately.

“where is he?!” he shouted, looking around the room to see who would dare to speak up and tell him the location of his beloved.

a girl. brunette, short, with freckles and long eyelashes stood up, her head immediately facing the ground. “he’s in your office, sir!” she exclaimed, still standing. it’d been a few seconds of thick tension, the room quiet as a mouse. well, that was until gojo had decided to say a quick ‘thank you’ and be on his merry way to visit his forever.

“[name], you should’ve at least told me you were coming to visit! i brought you breakfast by the way, here.” gojo handed the drink and plastic wrapped donut to the man, their hands touched only faintly. for a quick second or two. but it was more than enough for his heart to skip a beat.

“thank you, mr. satoru–”

“gojo. call me gojo.” his boss corrected.

“–gojo” he said corrected himself, “i should’ve made an appointment, i know, but–”

for the second time, gojo interrupted his employee. “you never need an appointment in order to see me, dear! you can visit anytime you please, darling.”

a faint grimace shown on [name]’s face from gojo’s pet name usage, but he needed to tell him the reason why he had came here to his office.

“—but, i came here to tell you that–”

he wants to marry him and live in Olympus by his side forever?! no wait, that’d be too soon. slow and steady wins the race. he’s.. in love! with him, no one else, hopefully. oh that’d be splendid to hear!

gojo gushed at the thoughts running through his mind as he stared holes into [name]’s head.

“.. resigning.” his letter of resignation was slid onto the sleek, oak tree desk.

RESIGNING? no. no, he couldn’t be. he can’t! he just–! he just.. can’t leave. not again. not after all he’s done! no after all the divine crimes he had committed and covered up for this fucking son of a bitch! my god, [name] was just playing with his heart. all these years. seven years. seven fucking years.

“sorry, must’ve hallucinated, what’d you say?”

[name] titled his head a little, like a puppy, at his bosses confusion. however, without hesitation, he repeated the words again. which successfully embedded them into his brain.

standing up, slamming his hands on the desk, fury with a mixture of mass desperation he shouted.

“NO! YOU CAN’T LEAVE!”

flinch. his lover.. flinched at him yelling. he’s never flinched before. not when talking with gojo, at least. oh dear, what has he done?

gojo quickly covered his mouth with his hands before lowering them to his sides. “i’m sorry, my love. i’m so sorry.” he started to tear up.

“i just, i can’t handle this world without you by my side. i just– i just can’t.” he sniffled in the middle of his sentence, chest rising a little. “gojo, i–” before [name] could speak his piece, gojo quickly interrupted. “what is it?! the pay?! your coworkers?! please! just tell me and stay! just.. just stay!” while saying all this he made his way and rounded the corner of his desk.

gojo took [name]’s hands in his own and cupped his face.

“please.. i’ll do anything, everything to make it so you’re happy and comfortable here, with me.” he desperately pledged, now with his knees on the floor with his mascara running down his face. “don’t leave me. not again, please, not again.”

[name] just sat there, stunned. not again? don’t leave him? he’ll do anything? he can’t handle the world without him by his side? what in the world is going on?!

“gojo, please, let me go..” [name] begged, trying to pull his hands away but ineffectively failing. gojo had no intentions of letting go, is what [name] had thought to be true. “i’ll..” he had to say something, anything, to be set free. in all honesty, he could scream and cry. he knows he can. but it would be useless, his pleads and begs would be ignored. everyone knew not to come into gojo’s office, unless you had a death wish. and unless you were [name], his beloved.

“i’ll stay.” [name] declared.

gojo immediately sat up, his tears still flowed and his sniffles still came, he looked better though. happier. brighter. prettier. he was ecstatic to hear such information. “my love, really? do you.. do you promise?”

gojo held out his pink like a child who’d just been promised the newest batch of toys for their birthday, awaiting for their pinkies to lock. it signifies that they’d be together. forever and ever. and ever. and ever.

hesitantly looking down at the man’s slim, pale pinky and locked it with his own. “i promise.” [name] swore, the look in his eyes was filled to the brim with desperation. not to be loved? no. to be let go.

what has he done?

his life is done. forever.

[cowboyjen68]

dear jen, i'm in a little bit of an impasse.

i grew up in the deep countryside and moved to the city for grad school. i've been there for two years now and i can't take more, the big city is too overwhelming and i know i'd be happier back in the countryside.

the main problem is that there's basically no rural queer community in my country, and i'm afraid of being constantly lonely and having to deal with bigoted people all around me- for example, i could never have come out around where i grew up. how did you make the jump away from big cities (if you ever lived in one?)? how do i make peace with the fact that my physical and mental health needs are so distanced from my social needs ?

Ah.. country mouse in the big city. I grew up in a mid range town Cedar Rapids and moved to sort of a suburban rural community between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City in 4th grade. We had kind of a "best of both worlds". Not totally isolated but definitely rural.

I had friends from isolated small towns and after lots of experiences boiled it down to The Theatre. Yeah. Movie theaters. If a town had a movie theatre they had a small grocery store. Those two things meant they never HAD to leave town. Having food and entertainment nearby meant isolation from larger populations. If there was no theatre or grocery the teens and young adults were exposed to larger towns, other people, just out of necessity to get groceries and see movies (which in the 80's were the biggest form of teen enertainment next to malls and roller skating).

I did not go to the University of Iowa. Iowa City seemed WAY too large and distracting. I chose a small college in Kirksville Missouri. My parents (probably knowing I was a lesbian) were like "ARE YOU SURE?" Lol. Yep and off I went.

I did move to Iowa City for grad school (didn't finish) and that is where i met my first girlfriend and the bulk of my lesbian friend circle. Some people will laugh at me thinking Iowa CIty was BIG city. For me it was. In college I took road trips to Chicago, Minneapolis, St. Louis and Kansas City. And in my 20's travelled to New York and Washinton DC for gay prides and protestes so I know a "big" city and I Know I would miserable there.

I chose my house on a whim. That whim being my ex found it and loved it and when my femme girlfriend said "I want this house. Well, we got this house. LUCKILY it is fairly close to CR and IC. While I have only one neighbor (just the right number) who I can see and I live 2 miles from my town of 400 and some I can get to the bigger city in 20 minutes. I work in Iowa City. Isolation is something I can break if I need to or want to.

My suggestion is to seek out employment where you can own rural property but live with in an easy drive to a mid sized city. There is a lot to be said for not so huge metropoliton cities. The midwest, mid sized cities work incredibly hard to create a vibrant social scene. They sponsor art galleries, Artsy Fartsy parts of town for locally owned businesses. Down town enertainment venues etc.

Small town or rural living does not have to mean isolation. It can offer the best of both worlds. When I am done peopling I can drive the 30 or 45 minutes home and see no one from the outiside world if I don't want to. I can sit in silence of my front deck and watch the stars come out.

The internet has opened up the ability to search and explore areas to settle without visiting until you have narrowed the field.

IF my only choice was the big city I think I would seek out neighborhoods where they have an investment in their area. If there are neighborhood gatherings or a clear attempt to share the space as more than just individual homes. In other words, a place where everyone is connected as neighbors and puts time into making it a community. Sometimes pockets of neighbors can create a small town feel within a larger city. It can be nice to know that Carol next door will check on your cats or that Bob down the street waves hello and snowblows the whole side walk just to be nice.

American big cities definitely have these but I don't know how other countries work. Sometimes it is based on sharing an ethnic background but sometimes it is just a lucky gathering of the right types of people.

I know of a few other lesbians in my county. But beyond that all of my friends live within a decent driving distance with two gay bars with in 40 miles. Finding a balance is possible. But it takes research.

Facebook has some pages for rural LGBT+ people to connect and they can be helpful in giving advice on where they live and how it is for them. I bet discord or tumblr might have similar places to "meet" and find out about different regions in your country.

[twilightau]

Congrats on ur milestone! I love ur work and wanted to request striptease by carwash with Jake Enhypen?

hi there anon! thank you so much and whaa thank you for saying that :DD i tried my best and i hope you like this little scenario!!

[discalimer: this is not an actual representation of Jake's family and is purely fictional.]

Jake was a good boy.

He was in his high school football team, went to church every Sunday, and enjoyed going out to the beach with his friends, surfing until their skins burned from the frying sun.

He always came home when the sun sunk into the horizon, and always finished his chores and homework timely.

Jake is a good boy, who feels like his life is getting boring.

One day, he came home, the hues of twilight reflecting on his face as he stood frozen at the doorstep, watching his older brother argue with his mom for the umpteenth time.

"you never listen to me!"

"neither do you! you are already at the age of employment and still mooching off your dad and me?"

Jake did not announce his arrival and went upstairs in silence. Sometimes, the boy likes to sit by his window and stare outside, seeing the cars with careless laughter zoom past his streets into the nightlife.

The boy often wonders how it feels to be able to live a life where the only one who decides for him is himself.

Therefore, the feeling Jake felt once he turned eighteen and moved out was nothing less than rapturous.

The new young adult had planned out several ideas in his mind, varying from the places he would visit the friends he would like to take on the trip. He already had a few invites the moment summer arrived, and Jake could not wait to finally live the life he was never allowed to.

The beach air was like never before when Jake downed his first draft beer of the night, the adrenaline high and nerves sky-rocketing. His friends were making some silly jokes, and Jake laughed without care.

Suddenly, he felt slight bumps from left and right, trying to get his attention as he dozed off a little.

"Dude, that person is totally eyeing you!" one of his friends said, and Jake locks his eyes with yours. It was the beginning of an ending.

Every Saturday, the young man would pick you up in another borrowed car, driving you to parties uninvited, laughing and kissing til the early hours of the morning, drunk in each other's scent.

Everyone around town was familiar with the sound of "Jake and his person," the couple that goes wild and hypes any party up like no other. The couple that is absolutely whipped for one another. The couple is bound to face a nasty breakup.

But if there is one thing Jake and you learned through loving one another, you guys don't give a flying fuck about what others think.

So be it, if Jake will break your heart at the end of summer, and you his.

So be it, if the both of you only like each other because of the raging hormones.

So be it, until the end of this bullshit teenage summer dream.

[bouncehousedemons]

For months I have ignored this near constant defamation in hopes that this person would eventually get bored and stop. They have not. It will never cease to amaze me how, when left unchecked, people can just do and say anything with absolutely no consequences. Now I’m going to share my side.

I don’t know this person. I don’t know their friends. I really have no personal issue with them whatsoever. On my old Tumblr account I blocked them because I did not care for the content they created. When another person I followed posted to complain about this person’s content being all over their dash, myself and a couple of others suggested that they block them too. This triggered a lot of unnecessary drama and I am unsure why.

I think the issue lies with the misconception of the block functionality - it’s not weaponised as a tool of hatred (at least not in my case), it should be used as a mature means of curating your fandom experience. I’m sure most will agree that it is preferable to quietly remove someone from your sphere than to comment “I do not enjoy this” on each of their posts that pop up onto your dashboard.

Regardless, my actions were construed as hatred and I have been accused of some incredibly heinous, triggering things. None of which are true.

The only grain of truth in the screen capped post above is how exceptionally talented my friends are (no quotations needed for friends, we’re solid!) They’ve stuck by me throughout all of this, sending me screenshots of the libellous claims being made against me.

This person has found and combed through all of my social media profiles. Posted about my wedding and honeymoon. Attempted to doxx me. Tweeted my employer. Emailed my employer. And continues to post about me on a near constant basis. All of it is libel. I have deleted several of my socials (my previous Tumblr included) as the magnitude of the stalking was truly terrifying to me. Still, that wasn’t a deterrent for them.

I have enough for a defamation case at this point, at the very least a cease and desist. I haven’t acted upon it thus far as I am simply hoping they will get bored one day and stop. It seems petty to let things go this far over a stupid Tumblr blocking.

I know that this person believes that my friends and I sit around our collective cauldron all day speaking ill of them and plotting their downfall. We don’t. We chat about our days. We share our creations. We spit ball ideas. We poke fun at each other. Most importantly, we support each other.

I am now addressing you personally, Bragis: I don’t look at your content (besides the multitude of screenshots of posts that are inexplicably about me). I don’t visit your socials. I have no desire to. I wish no ill to you or anyone you’re friends with. Any perceived drama between any other Tumblr users and I is nothing to do with you. In all honesty, I don’t have any genuine issues with anyone. I just woke up one day and had been blocked by a bunch of people, with a defamatory post about me and my friends doing the rounds. I am happy to have an adult conversation about any of this. I don’t really understand why that step was skipped in the first place? I’m happy to leave the past where it is though. I simply want to be left alone. Consider this post a white flag. What you choose to do with it is up to you.

[midorree]

How (I Think) Quirk-based Discrimination Works In BNHA

I've seen a lot of claims about how people interpret the quirk-based discrimination from an ableism allegory (not quite) to actually comparing it to Jim Crow laws, which is completely out of pocket. Quirk based discrimination in BNHA is very unique, especially with quirks not existing for very long in the grand scheme of things. Trying to compare it to existing forms of discrimination (that, mind you, exist in the fucking show) is simply put, not accurate in the slightest. Racism has existed for long enough for it to be embedded into our everyday lives and systems. Ableism has existed long enough that it affects how we view disabled people as people and how doctors view their disabled patients. Quirk-based discrimination has not.

PART 1: Comparing and Contrasting: Ableism

I've had this conversation a couple times with my friends, and typically we find that ableism doesn't match up with qbd. First and foremost, let's define a disability.

[Image ID: disability: a physical or mental condition that limits a person's movements, senses, or activities. A disadvantage or a handicap, especially one imposed or recognized by the law. End Image ID]

Quirkless people do not meet this standard definition unless they are already disabled. Being quirkless does not limit movements, senses, or activities in any way shape or form. Being quirkless is not a hindrance in every day life when it comes to these specific criteria.

But why would people thing that being quirkless is the same as being disabled? Let's take a look at accommodations and accessibility.

In the BNHA universe, quirks have existed for long enough that people with mutation quirks that alter their body significantly can comfortably buy clothes as seen with Shoji in some occasions.

[Image ID: Shoji is wearing baggy, patterned pants tucked into laced boots and is wearing a tank top. End ID]

He is able to buy shirts with bigger sleeve holes rather than having to fix his clothing so that he may be able to wear it himself. This is also seen with UA making a uniform so that he can fit without him having to work excessively for it.

[Image ID: Shoji wearing UA uniform. The uniform has no sleeves. End ID]

Why does this matter? Because Shoji is a perfect example of how small accommodations for people mutation quirks exists idly in the BNHA universe. Everyone has a different quirk and require different accommodations, and with Quirkless people, when it comes to buying clothes, or walking up steps, or going comfortably to a restaurant it's never a problem! Assuming they are able-bodied/neurotypical, they truly won't have a problem with getting by in day to day life.

However, there is one thing I will say is similar to ableism in this aspect: how doctors would treat quirkless people. With the opening episodes/chapters of BNHA we see firsthand how a doctor treats a child who is quirkless. Uncaring, cold, and straight to the point as to let them down as hard as they can saying "you might as well get used to it." The doctor had little to no belief that Izuku would become a hero, saying that he should pursue other careers instead. It's not a perfect match up, but I'd say in my personal experience it's pretty similar.

PART 2: Racism in BNHA

I'm not going to dwell long on this one because it's frankly very tone deaf and not very thought out to be comparing qbd to actual racism.

[Image ID: White text on a black background that states: What was worse, he would now be forces to keep his family from visiting or even living in America. It was never talked about openly, but the way quirkless were treated in the States came very close to how they handled different races with the Jim Crow laws of the past. He would never subject his Izuku to that kind of hatred. End Image ID]

There's a lot to unpack here, but let me preface this by saying this: qbd and centuries upon centuries of racial discrimination are not the same thing, especially considering racism exists in the show/manga itself. Big Yikes.

Let's start by defining what Jim Crow laws were.

[Image ID: Jim Crow laws were a collection of state and local statutes that legalized racial segregation. Named after a Black minstrel show character, the laws—which existed for about 100 years from the post-Civil War era until 1968—were meant to marginalize African Americans by denying them the right to vote, hold jobs, get an education or other opportunities. Those who attempted to defy Jim Crow laws often faces arrest, fines, jail sentences, violence and death. End Image ID]

So lets make a hypothetical and say quirkless people were treated like this. Okay, what would be an identifying factor in discrimination? Would quirkless people have to tell employers their quirk status? Possibly. Would the right to vote be revoked? Due to what? Would they be held back in educational places? Why would they be?

There are too many unanswered questions as to why these things would happen. The Jim Crow laws happened due to white entitlement after the enslavement of an entire race. Qbd happens because of inherent power dynamics (which I will get into later), and while racial discrimination has that factor, it has existed way longer and is more prevalent in society. What if a quirkless person was a quirkless person of color? Think on that.

There are also heroes of color that exist in the show, and racist caricatures of people of color.

[Image ID: Pro Hero: Native with a shocked expression and some sweat dripping down his face. End Image ID]

This fucker right here.

The BNHA universe has existing racism in and out of canon, seeing as the black/brown characters are underrated outside of the show, and microaggressed within the show.

PART 3: Kacchan vs Deku 3: How Did Deku Being Quirkless Affect Their Relationship And Why?

The line "not all men are created equal" really stuck with me while writing and thinking about this meta. Deku has understood and worked through social dynamics and understandings since he was four years old. He's understood that since he's quirkless, people with quirks hold power over him that he can't defend himself against. He understands this, and chooses to roll with the punches.

Bakugou also very much understands how social dynamics work, and chooses to use it to his advantage. He bullies Deku as a boast of power rather than a boast of privileged. It's been drilled into young Katsuki's head that quirkless people are weak, and that he is strong, His teachers are seen encouraging this behavior and the adults around him tend to not view him as a person, but as an existing beam of potential. Propaganda probably exists even in his Sunday cartoons. The strongest people he looks up to all have quirks, and he makes that correlation of quirk = strong at a very young age. He learns that quirkless ≠ strong. A part of me feels like this is intentional.

Izuku being quirkless would put him at the bottom of the food chain, in a sense, and anyone who had a quirk would be listened to more than he ever would. Izuku learned that not all men are equal because of the inherent power dynamics that come with having the ability to fly, or create explosions, or use fucking fire and ice on command, because he realizes he will never be stronger than Kacchan (at least for now). Even Izuku's idols who he considered to be strong and amazing and admirable were people with quirks. People with power over him.

When Izuku got OFA, the playing field shifted, and Katsuki was afraid and confused. Just because Izuku got a quirk, that doesn't mean Katsuki's view on quirkless people changed. We don't know if it did because its never addressed. He has made significant character development and is working to atone with Deku, but would that still happen if Deku had stayed quirkless? We don't know.

PART 4: Conclusion

The BNHA fandom has a lot of views on how qbd might work, but these are just my thoughts. These are all my opinions and if you'd like to add something feel free to! I just hate the fact that qbd is being compared to actual racism when that just doesn't apply and wanted to weigh in my two cents. Qbd, in my opinion, is all about power dynamics and how easily that can be abused.