#anyway happy to report that the king george job still ruins me

[danburys]

anyway, the fact that season 2 of leverage: redemption picks up on the king george job. parallels it in some cases... opposes it in others. validates sophie's worry that in her white collar crime she left bloody footprints. deals with her guilt over the tangible pieces, the consequences she actually knows, but leaves the rest of it open. the unknown. (and how, ultimately, she can't trace all of it but has to take the redemption she's given by the people who know her now.)

how she tells nate to find them some bad guys. bad guys have money. but then she sees the people behind it, behind the marks she was focused on for the beauty of the grift, the thrill of the chase, the most glamorous lies - and she can't ever unsee it and it's never about the money again.

the king george job and redemption season 2 are one smooth storyline and they tell us that after all these years, sophie still isn't over it. that when she tells harry in the unwellness job that it's different, because she stole from the wealthy and trapped them in their desires, she's only pretending to be that certain. that in fact, she doesn't ever know if she really is better than the grifters she goes up against.

[scaryscarecrows]

Long Live the Knight

AN: I considered tacking this onto ‘Returning Home’, but. Well. Why would I do that when I can hurt you again? For free! Your choice as to whether it’s an alternate ending or canon; whichever makes you happy, my friends.

Happy birthday, Jason!

* * *

Even though it’s technically their fault, Antoine is grateful there’s no emergency services coming. That is one more headache they can’t afford to deal with right now.

(Although they could...maybe...sort of take them hostage? No, no, they can’t, but…)

The rain is doing a fine job of getting the fire under control, but somehow that just makes this worse. With the inferno gone, they can get a good look at what’s left of Arkham. It’s not much. There’s a couple of walls that survived the blast, but at least one of them looks like it’s swaying where it stands. Everything else is a pile of bricks and smouldering wood, with a few broken gargoyles scattered amongst the rubble.

“What do we do?” Jimmy’s whispering. He’s fine, minus the headache; whatever the Bat nailed him with didn’t last long. Or wasn’t enough. Who knows. Who cares. “Do we just...leave?”

He doesn’t know. Nowhere was this possibility mentioned. Even all the way down the list to contingency plan fuckin’ Z, this was not planned for.

“Antoine?”

“I don’t fuckin’ know!” He gestures to the buildings. Or. What’s left of them. “I don’t know, man, just...just give me a minute, okay?”

Okay. Okay. Gordon and Robin are in the car. Gordon wasn’t too happy with being a technical hostage yet again, but he’d shut up about it for the time being in favor of making sure Robin’s okay. He seems to be fine. You know. Given the circumstances. He’s not gonna bleed out or anything awful. But… 

Logically, he knows the boss has to be dead. There’s no way in hell he could have survived that blast, especially not with that gunshot wound, and…

But he’s shrugged off explosions before. And they can’t just leave him here, but…

He has no idea what to do.

“Do a walkthrough,” he says at last. “See if he turns up, and if he doesn’t, we’ll...we’ll go. I guess. I don’t know.”

“Okay.”

Antoine has no idea which is worse; finding what’s left of him, or not finding him at all.

“Somebody stay with Gordon.”

“On it.”

Trent gets Gordon duty, in case the guy tries anything, and the rest of them spread out to search the grounds. Well. As much as they can, anyway.

There’s no sign of the Knight. No sign of Batman, either-what was that?

Nothing. Just. Just wind. Or rubble settling, whatever. Nothing living.

(He doubts there’s anything living under that.)

He should, he guesses, get back on the main line and...and tell people that the Knight’s gone, give the order to pull out and...he doesn’t know. There weren’t supposed to be fatalities.

(There wasn’t supposed to be this fatality.)

There’s a noise and he flails until the flashlight hits a shadow a few feet away. His first thought is a terrified, BATMAN!, but it’s not Batman. No ears.

“Identify yourself!”

Whoever it is says nothing and he moves closer. Maybe Batman lost his cowl-that’s not the Bat. Holy shit, it’s the boss. How the hell…?

Doesn’t matter. 

“I found him!”

“What?”

“Where are you?”

“Over here!”

Frank’s sprinting over here already, Mark not far behind, and Antoine checks-more out of habit than anything-for Batman before following.

The Knight doesn’t see to see them, even when they get close. His hand’s still plastered to his side, but--

--he’s going down. Frank catches him before he hits the ground and he chokes and tries to right himself, legs twitching like an insect’s, but Frank’s already easing him down with a soft, “We gotcha…we gotcha, you’re okay…you’re okay, just don’t move, you’re gonna hurt yourself…”

“Y-you came back.” He reaches up and grabs onto Frank’s arm, the one bracing his shoulder. “You came back, y-you didn’t—”

“Sh-sh-sh.” Frank moves to let Mark close and tilts the boss’s head away from his side. “Don’t. Just don’t, we’re gonna fix you up, just stay still, okay?”

The Knight gags, back arching, and now there’s blood on his lips and dripping down his chin. Frank pulls a glove off to wipe it away and Mark swears.

“Shit-okay. Okay. Sir? Anything I should know about?”

“Mm.” He swallows, face scrunching up in a clear blech, and gasps out, “I dunno. I dunno, it hurts—”

“Shh,” Frank soothes, and the boss whines. “It’s okay, you’re gonna be fine. Just stay still.”

“Yeah,” Mark says, and oh no. He sounds. Not mad. “You’re gonna be fine.” Oh no. “I’m not…okay. Okay. Riley! I don’t care what grandmas you have to run down, get the car here, close as you can get it without hitting us. Today!” Antoine doesn’t hear him leave-didn’t even hear him come up-but that doesn’t mean anything. He’s not the stealth expert for nothing. “Okay, boss, you gotta stay still, and you gotta stay with me. All right?”

“M’sorry.” He swallows again, doesn’t even seem to realize that Frank’s started petting his head. “M’sorry, I-I-I tried—”

“Shh. You’re okay, you’re fine, we gotcha, just stay still, okay? Stay with us, Mark’ll patch you up, good as…” Yeah. “Before.”

Somebody gets out another flashlight and Jesus he doesn’t look good. He’s white as a sheet and there’s so much blood and—

That’s not really the Knight, not anymore. That’s a kid, a hurt, terrified kid, and he looks like he’s about to die.

“M’sorry,” he’s still mumbling. “God, m’sorry, I jus’…I didn’t…”

“Shh.” Frank’s fingers cup his chin to keep him from looking at what Mark’s doing. “Shh, you’re fine, just calm down. Breathe with me, come on…”

“Mm—”

“Shh. Don’t talk, just breathe,” Frank murmurs, fingers still stroking his hair. “In and out, nice and easy…you’re gonna be okay, just stay still…”

“Gimme more light,” Mark barks over his shoulder. Then, softer, “Stay still, sir…okay-no-no, you gotta stay awake, boss, c’mon, look at me.”

He shudders, just once, and whispers one last, “Sorry,” before his fingers slip off Frank’s arm and he goes still.

There’s suddenly headlights, and then Mark’s shouting for Trent to ‘get his California-king-sized ass over here and be useful’. But the boss’s eyes are closed, a-and this wasn’t supposed to happen and—

He’s just so still.

* * *

Antoine’s playing a hidden object game when the boss rasps, “George Washington’s in the clock case.”

So he is. Antoine clicks him, pauses, and sets the laptop aside, out of harm’s way.

“You back with us this time, sir?”

“Mm.” He looks at the IV in his hand and grimaces. “Ev’r’yone okay?”

Antoine is seriously, seriously considering beating the dumbass to death. But he knows he’d regret it later, which means he settles for envisioning it, taking a few deep breaths, and trying to keep a neutral tone when he answers, “Yeah. Everyone’s fine. No sign of Batman, but there’s people on the alert.”

Antoine hopes, he really does, that Batman is still buried in the rubble. He would have liked to handle this mess himself-and has been, to an extent-but the last couple of times the boss was conscious, he’d been mentally back at Arkham and freaking out about that. So he’s been hovering from here, sometimes bullying a private into Skyping him and carrying the tablet through the rubble so he can see things. Not that there’s been much to see.

“Good.” The boss yawns and squirms under the blankets a little more. “Status report.”

He’d regret it, honest he would…

“Mark’s gonna kill you for that stunt.”

“S’that all.”

Really. You know what, screw you, Mark, get in line.

“I’m gonna kill you for that stunt.” The boss grins up at him, because he’s an asshole. “I’ll do it! There’s sharp objects in here, I will not hesitate to stab you with something! You fuckin’ left us in a hostile situation with no way of finding out what was going on, brought a building down on yourself, and flatlined. Twice. Two. Whole. Times! Give me one good reason not to stab you. Sir.”

“Paycheck?”

Breathe. Breathe deeply. Let peace and serenity flow through his veins and prevent him from using a scalpel in a way the Surgeon Gods did not intend.

“Seriously.”

“I think s’a good reason.”

“That-that’s not the-fine.” He huffs and throws his weight back so that the chair tilts onto two legs. “It was still stupid, and Mark really is gonna kill you for it, and I’m gonna be cheering him on in the background.”

“Mm.” He turns his gaze to the ceiling, eyes already fluttering shut. “F-five minutes. Gimme five minutes.”

He knows he’s just gonna pass back out. And he should probably go and get Mark anyway. But…well…nothing’s beeping angrily, and it’s not like Antoine can see the future. The boss might still be awake in five minutes.

“Sure, sir,” he says, leaning back down to collect his laptop. “Five minutes it is.”

So sue him. He’s tired. He can put off his revenge for five minutes.

He really does mean for it to be five minutes, but then he gets very comfortable, and the loading screen is sort of hypnotic, and, well…

It isn’t five minutes. He’s not entirely asleep, either; he registers someone coming in and muttering about family dumbasses, and then the someone (or a different someone?) takes his laptop and replaces it with a blanket, still muttering about ‘dumbfucks with no self-preservation’ and ‘do no harm could mean do no permanent damage’.

He blinks and then Mark’s shaking him and grumbling, “If you have a crick, I’m going to laugh at you and then get rid of it by straight-up karate kicking you in the face.” How will that help a crick. What’s happening. “He wake up at all?”

“Little bit.” What year is it. “Enough for me to yell at him.”

“I wanted first crack.”

“Move your face, lose your place.” 

He cracks his neck, then his knuckles, and realizes it’s been, like, two hours. Wow. Mark scowls at him and huffs, “You’re nice, though. You suck at yelling.”

“I threatened to stab him.”

“And ruin my nice, neat, stitches?” He didn’t think this through. “Stay here. If he has another episode, you get to be the backup.”

Oh, great. Just what he’s always wanted.

“Hey, boss,” Mark says, voice unnervingly soft. “You wanna wake up for me?”

“Mm…”

“Wake up, asshole.”

“Hrm…?”

“You heard me. Rise and shine.”

He’s not intervening, he wants to make that clear. Partly because he doesn’t feel that charitable, partly because he does indeed have a crick and he doesn’t want to draw attention to himself.

“Jones…?”

Mark is silent. From here, Antoine can see the vein in his temple pulsing.

“Do you know where you are?” he asks at last, voice back to the scary-soft tone. The boss is quiet, probably realizing what sort of danger he’s in.

“Med bay,” he says carefully. Mark nods, slow and exaggerated.

“That’s right. And do you remember why you’re here?”

“Yes.”

“Tell me. Just so I can be sure.”

“I’d imagine it has something to do with the bullet wound--”

“THE FUCKING FEAR TOXIN BULLET,” Mark snaps, and then he’s calm again. Or. Sort of calm. The boss, to his credit, doesn’t try to hide under the blankets. Much.

“In my defense, I didn’t know about that part.”

“Of course you didn’t. Continue.”

Antoine fully pretends not to notice the look of ‘please get me out of this’. He’s not doing shit. He’s tired, and this is well-deserved.

“The building collapsed.”

“And why was that?” When the Knight doesn’t answer, Mark steeples his fingers and gazes over the top of them. “What’s that? You’re not remembering? Hmm, perhaps you took a knock to the head when the building collapsed. Yeah, that’s it. So I’ll bring you up to speed, sir, don’t you worry.” Judging from the boss’s expression, he’s...probably wishing he was dead. “Well, the way I heard it, you decided that the best course of action was to lock yourself in with a, if you’ll pardon the expression, batshit crazy Batman and blow up the goddamn asylum.”

“That’s...about what happened, yes.”

Mark gives him the blandest smile Antoine has ever seen.

“Care to tell me why that was the best you could come up with?”

“The good of the many--”

“The many call bullshit. You do not-do not-pull that again, so help me, or I will personally staple a toddler to your back to guilt you into making better choices!” How-no. No. Antoine doesn’t wanna know. “Is that clear?” The Knight’s quiet and Mark sighs. “Lemme see...I’m thinking you got yourself into a pocket when everything came down. Few scrapes. Climbing out made that bullet wound worse, but your armor kept you together enough. Barely,” he warns, one finger popping up. “Do not try and get up, don’t you dare so much as think about doing a damn thing until I say. You still flatlined on me twice, and that toxin did you no favors.” He clicks on his penlight. “Lemme see...that’s cleared out, at least. No more green tinge.”

“Did I...say anything. While I was, ah…” The boss waves his hand a little bit. “Not all here?”

The short, honest answer? Yeah. A lot. Is Antoine going to tell him that? Hell no.

“Not much, boss,” Mark says shortly. “You weren’t really that coherent. Okay, follow my finger, please…”

“Gordon. And. And Robin. They okay?”

Mark sighs.

“Yeah. Only one in really bad shape is your dumb ass. Gordon had scrapes, Robin needed a few stitches. We dropped ‘em off by the GCPD when we were done.”

“Batman?”

“We’re still looking.”

“Great.” He closes his eyes. “Keep an eye out for--”

For the love of God, really?

“Boss,” he says dully, “we are handling this. Maybe shut up and go back to sleep.”

“Old habits,” the Knight murmurs. Mark mimes strangling him, but he doesn’t seem to notice. “S’r’y.”

“Hm.” Mark stows the penlight...honestly, Antoine doesn’t know. It was in his hand and now it’s not. “Go back to sleep. I’ll be in later to make sure you’re not dying.”

“‘ve had worse…”

“Yeah,” Mark says carefully. “I, uh, I kinda figured.”

He leaves and Antoine wonders if he can go back to his nap. Is his laptop battery dead-oh God. The crick is real. The crick is real. Maybe being karate-kicked would help after all. Mark? Mark, come back.

“What did I say.”

“Sir?”

“You heard me.”

Shit.

“Um.” Can he lie? No, no, lying is not his strong suit. “You really weren’t. Um. That coherent. Mostly, er, screaming. Not a lot of words.” It was a little closer to fifty-fifty, but eh. Semantics. “And, uh, you were kinda convinced we were still at Arkham, so a bit of that.”

“What else.”

Damn.

“I wasn’t here?”

“Bullshit.”

It takes all his willpower not to shrink into a puddle on the floor and flow gently out of the room to safety.

“I don’t remember?”

“Drouot.”

Ngh.

“A little bit about the, uh, the Joker, boss. Not much-” Well, that they could understand, anyway, with no context and all. “-but a bit.” Enough. Enough for Mark to explain a couple of scars that he’d had trouble pinning down, and enough to rattle him badly. He’d sent one of his little medical minions to get him a bottle of Jack Daniels when it was all over. “Y’know.”

The Knight sighs and drapes an arm over his face.

“Shit.”

There’s nothing to say to that, and Antoine leans down for his laptop. If it’s dead, it’s at least something to use as a shield against the awkwardness.

Mercifully, the boss’s forcefully calm breathing gives way to the shallow, even breaths of sleep in three minutes. Horrible conversation averted. And his laptop still has battery life.

Not that it matters, really. Nothing’s turned up, and honestly, Antoine’s pretty much convinced that nothing will turn up. Batman is either burnt to ashes or holed up somewhere, hunched over a rat carcass and giggling. And as long as he’s not here, that’s...that’s kind of enough, y’know?

Somebody should probably let Gordon know, just in case, but...later. Gordon’s lived this long, even with all those kidnappings. He’ll be fine.

Antoine doesn’t mean to return to his nap. He really doesn’t. But it’s been a long few days, and nothing’s happening for once, and…

Zzzz.

THE END

[justanoutlawfic]

For once not an a very angsty Detective Snowing AU (largely based off me realising Colin was in the Tudors) - Killian, Snow, and David are all Royals (2 princes and a princess) abused by their parents, they fall in love with each other and run away together to explore new realms on the Jolly Roger ship and try to find one which feels like home

This ended up being angsty, because it’s me, but I love this prompt so much!

Trigger warning: Mentions of child abuse and rape.

Also on AO3

Snow White was considered the fairest of them all byeveryone in the realm, but it was a name she despised. Her father had ruined itfor her, just as he had mostly everything. She had been helpless ever since theday Regina escaped with Daniel. She had thought it was good, that it was all inthe name of true love. Through her adulthood, it wouldn’t be something thatbrought her regret, because if this was how Father treated her…she had no cluehow he’d treat his wife.

She pretended to be asleep most nights when he snuckinto her chambers, she’d dance with as many different people as she could atballs. Yet, he’d somehow find a way. His fingernails digging through the finefabric of her dress. The way his hot breath would go down onto her neck.

She shivered at thethought, but as she packed her bag, she knew she was finally free. She had mettwo men that shared a similar life to her own. Two men she had fallen madly inlove with and was determined to spend forever with. They had bided their time,but as it seemed, that was quickly running out. Her fingers laced over her stomach,shutting her eyes. Soon, she’d be free.

“Snow!” Her father’svoice carried from outside her chambers and she quickly closed her suitcase,throwing it under the bed. A moment later, he walked in. “You have paperwork.”

“Coming, Daddy.” She forcedout the nickname just as she did her smile. Looking out the window one lasttime, she let the breath escape her nose and thought of the message Killian hadsent to her by bird.

Meetme at the docks at midnight, my love. XOXO.

 In just a few hours-time,their lives would be forever changed.

David looked around the palace he had spent half hislife in, holding his breath. His mother had taught him to be good, to be noble.Yet, in that moment, he was doing something that was neither of those things.

He was stealing from his step-father.

The ends justified the means, he had to do it. Snowwas stealing from her father, just as Killian would steal from his own. Theyhad managed to get a ship, but that would mean nothing if they had no moneyonce they got there, wherever it was they were actually going.

He hadn’t always been a prince. He and his brother hadbeen born to two poor farmers who could barely keep their farm afloat. Still,even the days of poverty had been better than those in riches. At least then,they were happy. They were a family. Then Robert died and Ruth knew that she couldn’tkeep it up. So, she revealed something to her sons: she had once been aprincess. When she fell in love with Robert, her parents had given her a choiceand she chose true love. She urged them to never be as foolish as she had.

Her parents didn’t welcome her back with open arms,but her plight caught wind of King George. He couldn’t bear any children of hisown and his beloved wife had also passed away. He made Ruth an offer:everything she could ever want for her sons in exchange for her hand in marriage.She accepted and he adopted the boys, turning them into fine princes. She hadno idea of the abuse and torture that would be in store for her or her children.

David didn’t know the exact circumstances surroundinghis mother or brother’s deaths, but he had no doubt that George played a handin it. James, especially, had been rebellious, he had made plans to run off withSir Maurice’s daughter. Then days later he had died in a “cart accident”. Heknew that his mother had plans to leave but she had gotten caught up in an “arrowbattle”. David wasn’t stupid, so he played the role of the perfect son. Hebided his time. When he fell in love with Killian and Snow, he had to becareful. George wanted him to marry Princess Abigail, knowing that her fathercould offer the kingdom nothing but gold. David loved his significant othersmore than life itself, but he had to be careful. George could end his life.

Things were different now, however. Snow was pregnant.Not that it mattered either way, but a fairy’s magic had told them that thechild was his. He couldn’t allow King Leopold to find out the truth nor couldhe allow his child to grow up in such straights.

So, while George was awayon diplomatic mission, he’d disappear…along with some of his finest jewels.

Killian could hear his father’s snoring down the halland he knew that meant it was go-time. Walking into the hall, he had his duffelthrown over his shoulder and he snuck down the winding staircase to the mainfloor. Men stood guard of the door and it pained him to know what he had to do.These men had been nothing but kind to him and now…well, he told himself it wasn’tpermanent.

“Your majesty,” one of the guards spotted him in thelight of their lantern. “Where are you going?”

“I’m afraid that’s none of your business, lads.”

He threw the dust at them and they became paralyzed onthe spot. According to the Dark One, they wouldn’t be frozen forever, just longenough for him to escape. He rushed out the door and headed through the woodson foot. His kingdom was the closest to the docks, so he knew that he wouldarrive first.

Much like David and Snow, his early life hadn’t beenfilled with darkness. He too had a mother, a kind and gentle queen who had oncefallen in love with a pirate by the name of Brennan. She made him a prince andgave him two sons. They were once a happy family, a family Brennan treasured.Then the plague took Alice and he turned to drinking. The abuse started notlong after and by the time Killian was 14, he had lost his hand and his fatherhad forced him to replace it with a hook.

“It’sall your worth anyway.”

The breaking point for him had been losing Liam, hisolder brother, his protector. Even he couldn’t take everything and had escapedin the middle of the night to join the navy. Two of his fellow men showed up atthe castle months later to report that his ship had gone missing at sea, they didn’tpredict many survivors.

Killian turned to drinking himself not long after thatand would’ve nearly given up on everything��until he met Snow and David. Twomisfit royals that were abused and needed an escape. They slowly fell in loveand spent many nights hidden away together. They knew it couldn’t last forlong.

Until Killian found out that his brother had left himsomething: a ship. It wasn’t just any old ship, though. It had the ability tocross realms. Together, he and his true loves could find a new home, far awayfrom the kingdoms that plagued them. Especially now that they had a daughter onthe way, it was time to be proactive.

He had a tiny stop to make first, however.

When he reached the tower, he climbed it in recordtime. He found his dear child asleep on her bed and let out a small hiss ofpain knowing what she had been through. Brennan hadn’t been the only one tohurt him, an evil witch had tricked him into sleeping with her and his dearAlice was a result. Brennan had agreed to not give the girl away, but lockedher in a tower so no one knew of his sons “indiscretions” (because he refusedto believe that a man could be raped). He made sure Alice was cared for, butshe couldn’t be known.

“Alice,” he whispered. “Love, wake up.”

Her beautiful blue eyes flickered open and looked upat him, a tiny yawn escaping her lips. “Papa?”

“Come now, we’re going to go see Mommy and Daddy.”

Alice smiled, sleepily. “Really?”

“Yes, Starfish. It’s timewe start a new adventure.”

Snow and David climbed upon the ship, hand in hand. Thesalty air floated into their nostrils and the wind blew through their hair.Killian came up from the lower deck, wrapping an arm around each of them.

“I just tucked Alice into the bunks below,” hewhispered.

“Is she okay?” Snow asked.

“She’s fine, she’s excited to go on adventure.”

Snow pulled both of them closer to her. “Where shouldwe go first?”

“I have friends, in Arendelle,” David said. “It’s farenough away that we’ll be safe there for a bit.”

“Do you think it could be home?”

“I don’t know, but let’s figure it out.”

They were in Arendelle by the following evening,welcomed by Princess Anna and her husband, Kristoff, an old “friend” of David’s.(Killian and Snow weren’t stupid, they knew from the looks the two exchangedthey had once been lovers.) Anna showed Alice around, letting her devour allthe chocolates that she wanted, while Queen Elsa assured them they’d be safethere as long as they needed.

They stayed through Snow giving birth to their youngerdaughter, Emma Ruth. It was only then that King Leopold caught wind of wherethey could possibly be, so they boarded the Jolly once again. They traveleddifferent realms, caring for their two young girls and making love in themoonlight. The trouble was, no matter where they went, nothing quite felt likehome.

One night, after finally getting Emma to sleep, Snowsat on the top deck, a magic bean between her fingertips. Killian and David saton either side of her.

“Where’d you get that?” David asked.

“I traded for it.”

“Why would you? This ship can take us to any realm.”

“Any realm in this world.” She gently smiled. “When Iwas a child, my mother used to read to me a story of a place with no magic.Some countries have kings and queens, but it’s not quite like here. Things aredifferent. People are free…they’re happy.”

“That’s where you want to go, love?” Killian tiltedhis head. “A land with no magic?”

“I had this bean enchanted. It’d give us a life there,jobs, a home…we wouldn’t have to run anymore. These beans are so rare, noneof our fathers could ever get one and find us.”

“Is there a catch?”

“We could never come back here. Like I said, it’s aland without magic. Once we were there, the Jolly wouldn’t work like it does.It’d just be a normal ship.”

David and Killian consulted one another. These landshad been their home. They had allies, people that could protect them with magic.Yet, that only went so far. In this new land, they’d be able to protect theirdaughters, they’d truly be free.

“I think it’s time we stop running,” David whispered,stealing a kiss from his wife. “Let’s find our new home.”

In the new land, they wouldn’t be royals like they hadas children nor pirates like they had as adults. Snow would be a teacher,Killian a detective and David was a farmer/stay-at-home-dad. Alice went toschool and Emma was cared for by her father during the day. There were nomythical creatures chasing them about, in fact they learned that their storieswere told in a different way in this realm.

None of that mattered. The misfits had found an islandwhere they finally fit in.

[moisblogs]

I’m Worried

this has been on the back of my mind for a while, and considering what’s going to happen in less than 24 hours from the time of this post, I figured now would be a good time to talk about it. I’m worried. I’m worried about the next 4 years because even though I’m willing to give Trump a chance at the Office, I don’t know what to expect from him. Last thing I want is for millions of people to have their lives ruined because of a piece of paper that they can only apply for through either marriage or a parent/child that meets the requirements asked. Last thing I want is for millions more to be oppressed and denied basic necessities because of their skin color, religious beliefs, or income level(s). Last thing I want is for the one country I call “Home” to come apart because of ideas and political beliefs that our political leaders, and sometimes people themselves, only see as Black or White. No Grey area. Right now, we have a Republican Congress with a Republican President(-elect) and a soon-to-be Republican Supreme Court (I know the Supreme Court is supposed to be unbiased, but it’s human nature to be subjective). I’m not saying in ANY way that all Republicans act the same, but I am worried for those that I believe have lost grasp on what the Party, as well as the Country, was founded on. (From this point out, I will be interchanging “Republican” with “Conservative” from time to time, so bear with me.)

I’ve seen a lot of my Conservative friends post things like how it was Republicans that supported the 13th Amendment, it was Republicans that gave the newly freed slaves a right to vote, that it was Republicans that supported giving every man AND women a right to vote, and that Republicans don’t support the Affordable Care Act (I’m not going to call it Obamacare because they are one in the same) because it was going to fail from the start. Recently, I looked up the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence, and if there’s one thing that stood out to me was how everyone had the Right to Life, Liberty, and to Pursue Happiness. That is the very core of the foundation of the United States of America. Now I’ve seen a lot of Conservatives also bash on Liberals for being too radical, but when you think about it, the Right to Life, Liberty, and Pursue Happiness were very Liberal ideals. Everything about the Bill of Rights were set with Liberal mindsets. Yes, they were set mainly to separate the Colonies from the United Kingdom, but at the same time, it’s what the People demanded. They demanded to be free from King George’s rule, they demanded to have freedoms that were later mentioned when Jefferson wrote the Declaration. You’re probably wondering how does that tie with the ACA, well, if everyone has a Right to Life, why not make certain that the life they have is a healthy one? 

Think about it: the purpose of the ACA was in response to increase in insurance premiums. Nowadays, if someone needed to go to the Doctor’s office, they would need premium because even getting a physical is expensive, so the ACA was written to make sure that people (mainly without any insurance premium) can go for a regular check-up without breaking the bank each and every time. This was the original purpose. What got passed was a revised version that only met part of the original intent. That doesn’t mean that the ACA is a complete failure, it means that it still needs to be fleshed out, but the issue becomes that people want it gone because they only know it as Obamacare, which automatically makes people think President Obama, which a surprising amount people think that he did a bad job as President so no thank you. (I personally believed that President Obama did what he can given he’s a Democratic President with a Republican Congress, but that’s besides the point). The point that I’m trying to make is that if we agree that everyone has the Right to a healthy life, then why is it okay for insurance premiums to charge a significant amount of money for the basic of health coverage? I also want to bring up that I’ve seen Republicans say to their political leaders and even give public speeches that without the ACA, their life would have been over (just something to think about).

“Because it’s costing us tax payers a lot of money.” So is paying taxes to the military which is at a state of creating so much surplus that who’s buying them? The police. That’s another topic entirely, but if it all boils down to money and profits, then hear me out on this one. I get that we are a Capitalistic economy, so we thrive off of wealth and profits, I get that. However, this economy is at a state where the rich get richer and the poor gets poorer, and no one wants to live a poor life. That’s not the American Dream, but it is the reality we’re living in. Call me a Socialist, but I do believe that more rich people should contribute in helping the middle and lower class actually develop in life. “I started with nothing to get to where I am,” okay, but this generation of youth are starting with LESS than nothing. Earlier today, I was in a class where we talked briefly about the average student loan debt. The average student loan debt is about $30k. I’m gonna be roughly $50k by the time I graduate, and I’ve heard of people being hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt to student loans. I’ve also heard of people graduating with $0 of debt, but the common case is that a student is in debt because of college. Theoretically, we do have the resources and “finances” to have free/affordable public college education, but the thing about economy is that if a small group of people hold all the wealth for themselves, then money is not flowing properly in and out of the system. Plus even with the argument of how a Baby Boomer was able to work part time and pay off college that way, the cost of an education was at least 10 times cheaper than what it is now, and wages were well above the federal minimum.

This ties in with the Right to Liberty. You’re not free if you have a debt with someone. I’m not talking about how criminals have a debt to society, I’m talking about civil debts. Debts like student loans and credit card loans. I’ve seen a post that said “College is the only necessity that’s priced as a luxury.” Every generation of people that I know ALL agree that having a college education is important, however the issue with college is a simple one: it’s too expensive. Public colleges and State Universities are supposed to be cheaper options as opposed to Private college, but they’re still too expensive. One semester at my state college is roughly a year’s tuition at my Community College. I didn’t start taking out loans until after I had graduated from said Community College. Once I graduate from my State University, one of the first things that’s gonna come to mind is where can I get a job for the purpose of paying off my debt. Yes, I should go with the field of my degree, but my experience is that no one is going to hire someone fresh out of college. I may have a remote chance if I graduate Suma Cum Laude, but it’s not a guarantee. This isn’t just my case, a lot of other cases are like this where people graduate from college and start off with (or keep) an entry level job like working at a Fast Food place or a supermarket. It used to be that you have a degree, you’re set for whatever life throws at you, but now you need to know what you’re gonna do with your life by Sophomore year of High School, and even then, nothing is guaranteed.

Lastly, the Right to Pursue Happiness. Everyone wants to live their dream job, but in today’s world, if you’re dream job is to be an internet entertainer, which is possible, I know, I’m friends with a YouTuber, then you’d get laughed at because most people don’t believe that’s a real job. People always say “do what makes you happy,” but it’s looking more like “do what makes you happy, as long as it follows our set of social norms.” Happiness is probably one of the most subjective emotions, but it’s an internal emotion. You’re happy because something happened that gave you a joyous sensation. Whether it’s something you did or something someone did for you, you can only make yourself happy. If working in the Industrial Industry makes you happy, that’s fine. If being an Internet Sensation makes you happy, that’s fine. If living the retired life with your loved one makes you happy, that’s fine. If taking family vacations every other month makes you happy, guess what? That’s fine. What you define as happiness may not be what someone else thinks happiness is, and that’s fine.

All of this is what I worry that our Republican political leaders are missing. At one point, Republicans were about being progressive and pushing towards equal opportunities for EVERYONE. That was a long time ago, and I fear that the modern Republican will completely lose sight of that. The Party was created on the notion of following facts and figures, but nowadays, it seems like they prioritize personal emotions over facts. Example: I had to do a research paper, and I partially brought up immigration. I found PLENTY of academic sources saying that everyone should be able to immigrate to whatever country they want freely, but when I tried to find the opposition, basically stats supporting the fears a lot of Americans have for [undocumented] immigrants, the closest that I found was along the lines of “there is no proof [those fears] happened, but they need to be considered anyways.” (I’ll link my paper down bellow if I can). During the RNC when they officially nominate Trump for President, a reporter from CNN was talking about how figures show that America is the safest place to live, and the interviewee (a person running the RNC) said, “yes, but the people don’t feel safe.” I worry that our Republican leaders will also prioritize subjective emotions over objective facts. I worry that Republicans forget that their Party once thought the same way the modern Democrats are thinking in terms of progressive policies.

I just worry......

Research Paper: https://1drv.ms/w/s!AoD9I_rFbbYyiTpmdCPaJysr8uKR