#but at some point i wonder if i'm really doing this to morale boost

[aparticularbandit]

Thing today will probably be very late.

....

Or pulling something unfinished from the archives to finish.

....

Or pulling something old and unposted from the archives.

We'll see.

[fireemblems24]

Golden Wildfire Ch 15 (Final)

Guys, I think this is finally it, the last chapter

MAIN STORY

We're . . . not going to get an answer about Shez, are we? Would I if I recruited Byleth?

Which, now that I think about it, that was really anticlimatic death.

Also, Claude wants Dimitri and Faerghus to survive, but Rhea to die. Edelgard doesn't want Dimitri and Faerghus to survive, but also wants Rhea to die. So why the hell is Claude letting Edelgard right Dimitri while he fights Rhea? What's stopping Edelgard from killing Dimitri and taking all the Faerghus land she desperately wants? He knows Rhea was only an excuse for her.

I guess just another "Claude is an idiot" point or the writers not giving a single shit about him or this route and only caring about Dimitri and Edelgard.

Claude is suddenly reading Dimitri's mind. He thinks Dimitri wants him to dissolve the central church. This is . . . beyond stupid. Claude is literally imagining the enemy wants he wishes the enemy would want. This is such a stupid thing to do in war. Dimitri has never showed signs of wanting the church dissolved.

Also, blaming all of Fodlan's problems on Rhea is so dumb and such childish thinking too.

They really were like, go Claude, we'll give you nothing! in the writer's room.

If I cared about Claude, I'd be livid. I doubt many Dimitri or Edelgard fans are upset though.

Man, the character list is so much smaller in this route.

MAP/SIDE BATTLES

So annoyed this one has a bunch of side quests. I'm sooooo close to finishing this game.

Aww, an Alliance NPC talked about how much she likes Seteth and hopes he survives.

Ouch! Yuri! When he questions the validity of Claude's plans, Shez assures him it's the only way to pave the future, and he has the audacity to say "I guess now isn't the time to be wondering who exactly is included in this future we're dreaming about." He's calling Claude out on his shit big time. Yuri just does not fit here.

Ashe keeps talking about Dimitri. He's miserable.

Hapi doesn't want to kill Rhea :(

Ohhh, interesting, so Raphael doesn't like how we've been fighting. Shez can agree or disagree. I agreed in both SB and GW. In GW, she says their actions are too haphazard, but in SB, she says they're being too brutal and not letting anyone surrender. Curious differences (ofc Raphael just wants to eat and party, that's what he disagrees with, it's Shez's perceptions that made me interested).

Gilbert and Dimitri talking. Dimitri arriving has boosted moral. But it's the same for his enemies.

Dimitri's concerned about Rhea and learns that they're prepared for battle. Dimitri can't help them :(

Dimitri ordered his citizens to evacuate because he's worried about what the Alliance will do, but isn't convinced Claude wants to destroy his Kingdom.

I love Dimitri doubling down on protecting his people above all else here. Gustave is upset about abandoning Rhea. Dimitri is too, but he's willing to be the bad guy if it saves a single life in Faerghus.

A side mission involved defeating Cyril :( And now Flayn :(

SHEZ & RAPHAEL A

Soldiers are happier. Shez can guess war turning in our favor or pay raise.

If you ever needed proof that Raphael is an idiot, he argues that wouldn't make sense because not everyone is motivated by money. Like, seriously, tell me a single soldier there who gives a flying shit about what some king says. The only route this wouldn't be true in is AG since they're fighting for their lives.

Anyways, it's actually the food.

Shez talks about how a good meal rather than scapes is a good motivator. And honestly, good point.

Raphael talks about being an innkeeper. Honestly, he'd be such a fun boss to have, but he'll need to hire someone to handle the logistics lol.

Raphael asks Shez to tag along. I can either be nice and agree or not make promises. Being mean to Raphael is basically bullying.

Shez either way still considers being a mercenary, but I love the idea of Shez and Raphael running an inn together.

LYSITHEA & RAPHAEL A

Wonder why they choose Lysithea of all people to reach A with Raphael.

She studied too long and is out after dark, so obviously scared. She tries to convince herself the weird noises is Raphael.

But it's not this time, bc he shows up and asks what's the creepy noise lol. Poor Lysithea.

Now she's properly freaked out. Poor girl.

It's probably just a cat, but she thinks it's a ghost.

Lysithea goes to investigate too or else she'll be alone.

I guessed wrong. It's a puppy, not a cat. Poor doggy is hungry, and Raphael knows the dog.

Lysithea is like, if you knew the dog, how come you didn't know that? lol.

HILDA & DOROTHEA B

A fan gave Dorothea a bracelet, and she appreciates the support. Hilda wishes she had one too.

Dorothea tells Hilda no one is better in the whole army at makeup and accessories.

The support addresses how Hilda makes her own accessories.

Dorothea talks about plant design trends. So like real life lol.

Hilda asks Dorothea about her makeup. She tries to stick for ones that are actually good for the body. Which, is really good considering what they used to use for makeup.

They want to keep chatting over tea.

Honestly, I love seeing two girls just chat about girly things without anyone putting it down.

It's nice, in general, how the Fodlan games don't put down the women who are really into fashion and the ones who don't care. Everyone is allowed to just exist, and it's great.

LYSITHEA PARALOGUE

Does she get her own because her paired up one is in SB?

She apologizes to Count Glouster for all the chaos Ordelia causes, but he apologizes for not taking care of it. She understands how important it is for him to protect the bridge.

Her father is buddies with Lorenz's father.

Shez comes with news about Ordelia under attack.

No one else can help. Lysithea says she didn't realize how Claude could be so cruel. Shez tries to defend him by saying she's all the way out here, and Lysithea claps back. Team Lysithea here.

Shez thought Count Glouster would we dead weight. She was right. Idiot almost died. Shez and Lysithea were fine.

He looks forward to the day both aren't leaders anymore so they can just be friends and thinks Lysithea would be a worthy heir :( Poor Lysithea, she faltered at that.

Glouster did nothing to help Lysithea's father because he led the pro-Empire nobles.

MARIANNE & YURI A

Yuri sees Marianne out late and worried that she was going to leave like she thought about, but she was just walking her horse.

Then we get the classic "..." and "..." response. Since the ye ole days characters have done that in FE supports.

Marianne is like, why were you worried, then goes off how she's just a burden, and Yuri is like stop that, now.

Yuri is allergic to horses and cats? :((( Poor guy. That would suck.

That's why he was always giving Marianne funny looks, because he was about to sneeze and she's always around horses, lamo.

It's nice seeing Yuri be nice. But if he was mean to Marianne, like how can you be mean to Marianne?

Yuri dreams of being able to spent time with the animals he's allergic too, so he accepts Marianne's offer to use magic to try to help. I hope it works.

HILDA & DOROTHEA A

Hilda is trying to figure out what's wrong with one of her accessories. She thinks it's missing something.

Dorothea offers to help out, and is really impressed with Hilda's craftsmanship. And honestly, there's a picture and it looks pretty.

Hilda likes Dorothea's suggestion.

Dorothea also offers to buy the accessories for the opera, and use that to advertise them too.

Hilda is more than happy with that suggestion.

Hilda actually wants to open her own school to teach people craftsmanship, and thinks she can partner with Dorothea on that too.

MARIANNE & IGNATZ A

A pegasus that Ignatz was helping said "bring me more hay, four eyes." to Ignatz, Marianne interpreted. She rightly called it rude lamo.

Ignatz used to ride pegasus with his mother, she used to be a pegasus knight. I wonder if that's why he wants to be a knight.

He was really impressed with the view, understandably.

It made him want to become a pegasus knight, but they're sexist lol. Women only.

That's why he wants to help with the pegasi so much, it's the closest he can get.

Marianne is like "I can feel your feelings in the paintings" and Ignatz freaks out until she keeps going and saying she can tell how much he loves pegasi. I wonder what he was so worried about . . .hmm . . . Liking Marianne just proves taste though.

Marianne thinks that maybe the pegasus will accept Ignatz. But I don't think it went well lol. She grabbed his clothing with her teeth, not on her back. OMG, poor Ignatz.

It ends with Ignatz begging for Marianne's help lamo.

MAIN (& FINAL) BATTLE

Alright, guys, this is it. 2/3 done once this battle is over. Sadly, I'll probably have to kill Rhea though. But who knows, she got to be the hero of SB in the end, maybe GW too, or is that asking too much?

Rhea's like I should've killed these bitches years ago (rather than protecting them after turning her genocided family into weapons, poor woman has seen some shit).

Rhea thinks she'll have the goddesses' protection. Too bad Sothis is dead :(

It seems like Rhea is expecting to die. She's telling Seteth and Flayn to run. And saying her time is at an end.

It's funny that Rhea also thinks she's fighting for the future and humanity because she thinks she knows what's best. She and Edelgard (and Claude in this route) are really the same. Then there's Dimitri, the only sane one who doesn't have a bloated ego that thinks he knows best for every living soul in Fodlan, in some case, without ever even talking to some people from a particular country (looking at you, Edelgard, ding dong thinks she can rule Faerghus better than Dimitri without ever even having bothered to TALK to someone from Faerghus).

OK, so why did Edelgard only get 40 points, but Claude gets 70?

OMG, one of Claude's tactics is to burn the enemies alive (elite archers turn enemies into ash, not sure how else to see that).

I don't want to kill Cyril two times in one night :( Thankfully, he retreated.

Great, now Alois is here, claiming he'll fight to the death, which seems major OOC even with Rhea under attack. This game really forgot that he had a family, didn't it? I think he, Claude, and Caspar got the biggest downgrades in writing.

Oh, shit, he died for real. And he mentioned his family this time.

I had to fight Seteth too, but he retreated, thankfully.

DON'T MAKE ME KILL MERCEDES!!!!

Oh, fuck, Cyril died :((( God.

Jeritza came to save his sister :(((( So he turned against the Empire in GW. That's kinda touching, much better than in Houses. Seems Mercedes is now flipping, better than having to kill her like poor Cyril and Alois.

Now I have to fight Flayn :( Thankfully, she withdrew.

Now I have to fight Seteth and Flayn again, but on the upside, Rhea did badass magic and took away my captured strongholds.

I'm not clear if Flayn died or retreated, but Seteth is pissed off at me.

Oh, thank God, they're both running away.

Time to kill Rhea :(

Cut scene time. Wow, Claude, that's rich. He's telling Rhea to go walk away. But, to like where? The guy's been hell bent on killing her and blaming her for everything from racism to arranged marriage this entire game?

Why the random flower getting crushed? Usually that's a sign of crushed renewal, not a brand new world like Claude's been blowing smoke about this whole route.

Lololol Idiot just realized Rhea's the Immaculate One.

Lamo, even in the final battle Marianne's not convinced Claude not coo coo for coco puffs.

More cut scene. Shez and Claude killing Rhea. Shez turned into Arval. Wonder what happens if you recruit Byleth.

This was such a watered-down version of SB's final battle. They both had Rhea as a final boss, but SB got Thales too and it was A LOT harder because of that. Either that or Lorenz is really that silly stupid good.

Another abrupt, non-ending.

Claude wanted the war to end, and shock of all shock, killing Rhea didn't work!!! The idiot. All those people died, for nothing. I also predict greedy assholes will still enforce hierarchies and be racist, even without Rhea.

This ending may have been even worse than SB's? Because at least Edelgard still has a goal she's working towards, it just cut off mid-way. Claude accomplished his and nothing changed - he only made the world worse.

Are either GW or SB better endings if you get Byleth? I'm betting that's what happens. Because that can't be the real ending, lol.

MVP time. Wonder when it'll turn into the Lorenz show. As soon as Ch 5, pretty much no one but Lorenz got MVP. He's just absurd, but in a boring way. He's invulnerable to damage, but doesn't play very fun. If I ever did GW again, I'd main Lysithea. She's a unit type I like way more, hella strong and fast, but low defense. Lorenz made GW super boring to play since I didn't have to think at all. He's that good of a unit.

It's funny seeing nothing but Lorenz's face on an endless scroll (except paralogues or like, women units only battles)

I can't believe I'm getting a letter from Lorenz. If I knew I'd get a letter, I would've picked a character I actually liked, like Marianne. Hubert's letter was better. Lorenz's was really generic.

Still pissed there's no paired endings.

And these endings are so bad, wtf. I'm glad I did this twice so I know AG is also just going to randomly end.

xxx

[saltydkdan]

Yo, Salt man. Decided to finally bite the bullet and dive into One Piece. Currently on Volume 4/Chapter 27 of the manga (also episode 2 of the Netflix live-action, really good ngl). I'm excited to read it, but the sheer length of the manga is extremely daunting to me, and I'm starting to wonder if it's even worth reading at this point. Dunno if you got any sort of tips or such to help someone like me through this, or at least boost morale?

Don’t worry! I felt the exact same way. The length of One Piece can feel really daunting when you start. However here is what I tell people to keep in mind:

Get to Arlong Park

This is what EVERYONE SAYS. But it really is true. Get to Arlong Park, and if you enjoy it, then you will 100% love this series. Arlong Park is the arc where One Piece starts to really become what it is known for (and in some senses Baratie too). And what’s cool is that as someone who has caught up, Arlong Park isn’t even my favorite anymore, far from it. Arlong Park made me a fan, but later stuff like Alabasta, Skypeia, and Water 7 especially made me HYPER FOCUS on the series.

Basically if you think Arlong Park and stuff like Baratie is good, it really only goes up from there, as it’s more or less a taste of what you’ll be getting as Oda develops the story. If you don’t like it tho? No harm no foul! You’re allowed to feel however you want! You can move on to something else if you feel like and that’s super okay. Though based on your current reactions I feel like you are def gonna like it LMAO.

You don’t have to binge ALL of it

You are totally allowed to pick it up and read a saga and then put it down to switch to something else for a bit. In fact, if you do find yourself getting too tired at points, def switch it up with another series, TV show, or video game! Nobody expects you to finish reading it in a month or something. It took me a full year to catch up after jumping on and off of it and I had a blast because I didn’t force it!

There’s a reason that the series is broken up into arcs and sagas! The end of a Saga specifically is meant to be a very good break point for you to do something else if you like!

And trust me, if you’re anything like me, you won’t want it to end. After I passed chapter 1,000 I had a sudden violent awakening that I was going to catch up and become a week to week reader and I got really sad LOL.

Being a One Piece reader feels rewarding!

This is something I would have loved to know going in, but reading/watching One Piece (especially nowadays) feels like an insanely rewarding experience.

I have no idea how Oda pulls it off, but there is information that is as immediate as Chapter 1 that is still relevant all these years later in Chapter 1,000+, it really feels rewarding to be into the series for so long.

I’ve never read or watched anything THIS LONG that rewards the reader like this, it’s so fun. And it’s also something that makes One Piece great to re-read or re-watch.

There are so many fun twists, turns, and reveals that are either foreshadowed, or established in a very small way early on. I can’t emphasize harder how fun and connected it makes everything feel.

I call it the opposite of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. Because while Jojo will constantly reset itself with a new cast and characters every arc, instead One Piece doubles down, and is still revealing massive bombshells that we’re hinted at ages ago.

The series does show it’s age at times

I don’t like ending stuff on a bad note, but I like to let people know to keep in mind that One Piece has been running for a LONG time, and this can be both good and bad.

It’s good in the sense that I think it gets better and better over time, but bad in the sense that it does feature a couple of outdated depictions, as well as “Pervy” anime-esque humor that I honestly cannot enjoy personally. Just make sure you’re aware going in because some of it has aged… horribly.

That being said though, when One Piece gets depictions right it gets them SOOOO right.

There’s a reason that there’s an ongoing joke in the community that “Luffy would have died multiple times over if not for the Queer Community” lol it’s extremely correct

Reward yourself with the side content

One of my favorite things to do, is after I caught up to a certain point in the manga, is that I rewarded myself by watching one of the One Piece Films from around that time.

It’s a great thing to use as a rewarding little checkpoint and be like “Omg now that I’m this far, I can enjoy this fun animated film without fear of spoilers”.

And while a good chunk of films are very obviously not canon and don’t clearly fit into the overall story (I.e. there is not a good space for them to canonically exist) some of them actually do fit super well, and in my opinion, even add greatly to the overall story.

A big favorite of mine, One Piece: Baron Omatsuri, fits this description like a glove. Not only does it easily fit between the sagas of Skypeia and Water 7, but it even adds to the later themes of the story, and even foreshadows certain elements later on in a super fun way! Plus it’s one of the only One Piece films to have a very experimental direction, created by the guy who made Summer Wars. It feels very different, but in a super fun way, and works as a great little treat for getting as far as you have in the manga!

Anyway, I hope that this helps you out? Remember it isn’t a race, and you can pick up and put down the series whenever you want! There’s absolutely no pressure at all.

A part of me wants to kind of make a “read/watch list” for people who get into the series based off my own recommendation/experience. Obviously everyone is going to read and watch the anime in order, but it would probably be cool to know when you can check out certain side content like Anime-only specials and animated films during your read-through.

If anybody wants that let me know! (I’ll probably end up making it on my own time anyway I have zero self control).

Anyway yeah, enjoy One Piece!

[matan4il]

A part of me is terrified of what will it take for most of these "anti-zionists" to realize that there has been a large rise of antisemitism, specifically in the left.

Will it be another mass shooting at a synagogue, but this time done by an anti-zionist college student? Will it be another October 7th? Or even worse?

Idk what it will take for these people to realize they're being blatantly antisemitic, evidence won't work, and I doubt every single person here can get a check from reality.

Hi Nonnie!

I'm not sure there is anything that will make them recognize this left wing antisemitism, but more importantly, I don't think anything can make them care about it. Take the Holocaust, did the Nazis need its full scale to be published, to realize that Jew hatred was on the rise in Europe at the time? No, they knew. They just didn't care. It wasn't a problem. If anything, it was a good thing.

The anti-Israel crowd has cast Jews as the ultimate evil in their world view (powerful, rich, capitalist, white, colonizers, oppressors, representatives of the west), so at this point, antisemitism doesn't bother them (except they will still call it out when it comes from white supremacists, and they think this "proves" they're not antisemitic). It's not a problem to them, it's the "right stance" against oppressors. That's why they can look at Oct 7 and justify it, dismiss its horrors, or (when called out on the double standards they're employing to do the former) deny they even happened. And it makes them feel good, they think they're on the right side of history, and that this proves their moral superiority (just like the Nazis' antisemitism boosted their sense of racial superiority).

Oct 7 was... as extreme as I hope we'll ever see the Israeli-Arab conflict get. It was the single bloodiest day for Jews since the Holocaust, but also the single bloodiest day in the conflict. I went back and forth over every event in the conflict, and I can't find a single day that was as bloody as this, not on the Israeli side, and not on the other side. And the anti-Israeli crowd still don't care, showing it's not really about human life to them, or they would.

If Oct 7 didn't get to them, nothing done to the Jews ever would. Maybe if they'd end up being victimized by this same sort of hatred and violence, maybe that would change their POV, though I still wouldn't wish that on ANYONE, and I suspect some would be able even then to employ the kind of mental gymnastics that explain why what was done to the Jews was just, while what was done to them was wrong.

And in the context of the rise in antisemitism globally, outside of Israel, if they don't feel any symapthy upon seeing the vids of Jewish students having to barricade themselves inside a uni library for almost an hour, while an angry mob bangs on the doors, chants "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," and the Jewish kids have to wait for the police to get them out safely, or upon learning about the homicide of a 69 years old Jewish man just because he was out demonstrating, or care about the countless vids with testimonies from Jews the world over talking about how scared they are, or stop to wonder why are there swastikas at anti-Israel rallies, then these people are too far gone. They just don't care about Jews.

What I think matters is to relentlessly call them out on their antisemitism, to make sure they never forget they're vilifying Jews (and the Jewish state), and treating Jews with complete indifference when it comes to Jewish rights, safety and lives. I believe we need to make it socially unacceptable to treat Jews this way under the guise of being anti-Israeli, just like it is socially unacceptable to say they're gonna go "death con 3 on the Jews." And I think it matters that we keep talking to the people who aren't brainwashed, who do care about Palestinians lives, care about those for real (not just as a tool to attack Jews), and at the same time they care about human lives for real, so they're capable of feeling real empathy for Jews. It matters that we remind them, that true compassion takes both sides into account, and advocates for what is best for both in this conflict. And that this IS a complex conflict, one in which there are no clear cut villains, and no easy solutions, but we have to keep striving to make it better even when it's hard.

I'm doing my best. The more of us do this, the more hope there is.

Thank you for this ask, I hope my reply somewhat helps! Have a good day and take care! xoxox

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[ryuichirou]

Replies

Some replies, mostly about miss Jamil Viper! But also some other stuff.

Anonymous asked:

I feel deprived of the twst women, Ryu! Give us something! I can't be only anon asking for more of the genderswap!twst characters!

For the record: we received this ask pretty much as I was finishing up that Jamil drawing we posted yesterday, so Anon, your timing is insane lol Your wish was granted!

But also, we’re going to post some fem!AzuIde soon + I have a couple of asks of genderswap hcs… I hope to get to them asap too.

For some reason I am always surprised when people are so excited to see the girlies. Thank you for reminding us that you love and want them.

Anonymous asked:

My pansexual ass after seeing your latest Jamil art: "I am not okay."

Really hope we're diving back into the twst girls because DAMN are they hot.

I’m sorry, Anon! Stay strong!! <3

Like I already replied to another Anon, we’ll definitely have another twst girl post soon (not sure when though). Not sure if it counts as diving back into them; I feel like it’s always been “a treat every now and then” kind of deal, but I love these girls dearly, so I’m glad that you give us extra motivation to post them more.

Anonymous asked:

miss viper are you single? 🥺 if not, i think i could also make for a good pet...

Anon… I feel you 😔 I wonder how often Jamil encounters people being willing to be her pets lol It’s so easy to picture her confused yet annoyed face.

(Thank you btw!! I’m happy I drew her so...dateable)

Anonymous asked:

Jamil is a great asset to the team

Indeed! It certainly boosts everyone’s morale… until it starts distracting everyone lol

Anonymous asked:

Are those the twst ladies I see? MT EYES HAVE BEEN BLESSED! Please do more of them in cosplay, I'm eating this up!

(this is related to a genderswap cosplay reply from this post)

Thank you!! I wish I could draw everything, but, unfortunately, that would take too much time lol So it’s all up for your imagination!

I have another ask related to this topic, so I’ll post more thoughts about it at some point in the future.

Anonymous asked:

Rook and Vil would be so beautiful as Gomez and Morticia, even though it IS a bit predictable for Vil's taste. But do you think that the boys would get along with the Addams family?

Both Gomez and Kalim are already bottomless pits of energy and friendliness on their own, imagine them together in the same room. Azul and Gomez are also a funny combination. Here's a new rich businessman Azul could try to learn from, only to discover that his approach to making money is mostly luck-based. Sorry Azul, he's just that good.

Or maybe they would all just be put off by Gomes and Morticia's pda                                    

Honestly, I feel like a lot of them would get along with them pretty nicely. For starters, Vil would enjoy Morticia’s company a lot, I think they would genuinely become besties because: not only they’re a pretty good match personality-wise, but also both are into botany/potion stuff + apparently both have experience in fencing… Somehow, their wavelengths align pretty neatly. Of course, it’s safe to assume that Rook would be allured by Morticia too, but let’s be honest, Rook would be charmed and be able to befriend the entire household, Lurch included.

Oh god, Gomez and Kalim would have hilarious friendship. Kalim would look so out of place surrounded by all the grim and spooky goodness of the Addams’ house, but it’s like he doesn’t even notice that he’s sitting in front of a guillotine and on top of a coffin. He’s just laughing because that Gomez guy is so funny and friendly, and he’s happy to make new friends with such a fun family! Also Kalim would feel sudden urge to see Jamil after seeing Gomez’ and Morticia’s pda lol

As I read your reply, it was so easy to imagine poor Azul giving himself pep-talk in front of the mirror. Keep it together, Azul! Yes, he is eccentric, but you have to befriend this man! (but then he’ll learn about the luck thing and dip 😭 very rude guy…)

Hm… I think Lilia would also like Morticia a lot, but maybe it’s just because she kind of seems like his type 😳 And of course because Diasomnia dorm looks like an Addams’ house already lol Actually, all of the Diasomnia boys would probably enjoy their time together.

A lot of the boys would be kind of embarrassed to witness pda though, but especially all the first years (minus Ortho) and Idia. If Idia is for some weird reason present, he’d probably complain about the straight normies :( But I can’t see him hating these two, so I think even he will get charmed to some degree after freaking out a little for some time lol

[my-autism-adhd-blog]

Do you have any tips for making friends in the workplace as an autistic adult?

I find it really tough because the actual work environment is way too overstimulating because I work in a very loud, fast paced environment, so I'm too mentally exhausted to even think about talking to coworkers most of the time. Earplugs or noise cancelling headphones of any kind are banned, and I can't leave my station unless I'm on a break.

Several of my coworkers have tried to talk to me before and I'll only have enough mental energy to give a one or two word response, or sometimes I can't even reply at all. It also doesn't help that they usually ask me small talk things like how I'm doing, and I don't know how to respond to that. I've been working at this place for almost 7 months at this point too, so I've started to build a reputation for being quiet and unapproachable.

I want to make friends, but it feels like if I try then I'd be stressing myself out way too much. I don't know anyone well enough to tell them I'm autistic or ask to meet outside of work, either.

Hi there,

I’ve found some sources that could possibly help:

I really hope this helps. I’ve never been employed, so I’m not familiar with a work environment.

I appreciate the inbox. And I hope you have a wonderful day/night. ♥️

[ghostwithflesh]

A little over a week ago, I spent a whole day making cookies to support the student encampment at CCNY. I've never been so proud to be an alumni from my school than to see these brave students letting the world know that Palestine needed to be free, to be safe, that innocent people shouldn't be subjugated to such cruel and violent oppression, and that genocide is fundamentally wrong.

I live in NYC and it's been a very crazy time here as far as I've seen. I say that because, unfortunately, I haven't spent as much time on the ground working to support these calls to action as much as I would have liked to. Most things I'm seeing from friends online (amazing) and on social media.

But this was my school participating in such a historical movement, and though I've not been stable or strong enough to face, well, the horrors - I still wanted to show my support. So I planned and spent a whole day making these cookies from a recipe that was very special to me, if anything just to boost morale. I also had some supplies that were on NYCDSA's list that I was going to bring along with me.

It's just crazy because here I am, running around for 8 hours making cookies, occasionally watching the escalation happen right on my feed. Police had filled the area. There were scenes of students pushing back the armored and shielded officers who were trying to force them off the campus. And in the moment I'm just thinking, "I need to make more cookies, I'm not sure if I'll have enough".

I finish late with a box full of cookies. I didn't keep count but there were well over 150 cookies in there. At least it was something, right? But I live far from the campus now, and it was practically night at that point. I ask my partner if they can drive me the next day.

Next day comes, and I message NYCDSA to ask how the encampment is doing, and if they still need supplies. They don't get back to me. And I see why, because it turns out that the police did end up clearing up the school. Fuck cops. They're violent upholders of our oppressive systems. The same oppressive systems who fund the mass murder of innocents.

Cut to, now I have this box full of cookies. There were other protests going on, I could send them there maybe. But ultimately, from what I'm seeing everywhere, there were just so many people, all around my city, all calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. People loudly, proudly, calling out our government and our institutions who fail to do the right thing, who use our dollars in ways far against our values.

I cried, because I definitely did not have enough cookies for all the wonderful people doing such a great thing. But also how beautiful because that just meant that there really were just that many wonderful people who cared so much about humanity and justice.

I felt really silly, and also really guilty, because now I had to take care of this box of cookies. I cried, again, and hoped that, idk, even though I couldn't show my support the way that I wanted, that somehow the energy of my intentions could at the very least be a good vibe to send.

I hoped that, well, if me and my loved ones had to enjoy these cookies, then please, universe, send the people something to smile about.

#PrayForGaza #FightForGaza

[1moremilgram-enjoyer]

I'M STILL ALIVE, I bet you thought you were free from my annoyance for just a split second, didn't you? Kiyahahaha! Ahem... So I'm saving Kazui and Amane for last because you've already talked about them. and the only two people that are in front of them is Es and Jackalope ! Triple A battery (Aro/Ace/Agender) and a Minecraft Rabbit. Intriguing

Hey! Was wondering when you would send this in. It’s gonna be real awkward when we’re done here and I actually have to come up with things to post by myself lol. Unless people keep sending me questions about specific theories like with the Shidou Incident :v /lh

CW: Mentions of death and cults.

Starting with Jackalope because- does it even count as a character? It’s more of a plot device than anything. I’m pretty sure I could point to several background characters with more interesting things going on (Rei, Hinako, all the people in Bring it On who I will make a post about one day mark my words).

That’s hyperbole, of course. Jackalope is cool enough, it does what it needs to do, and while I haven’t read all the minigrams yet, it seems like a funny dude in those. It serves well enough as the somewhat-charismatic mascot that guides the audience surrogate (Es) through the insanity of the plot. I… could however do without the weird comments about some of the girls being pretty or whatever. Why are these kind of mascots always oddly horny?

Anyways, I really don’t know what else to say. I think it’s neat only Es hears it talk, that’s just funny. And the fact it cooks all the meals is just a very nice image.

Also if it’s a Minecraft rabbit does that mean I can take its feet and make a jump boost potion? How does this fit into the lore I wonder.

Whatever, who cares about that thing? We gotta talk about the teen, the myth, the legend! No interest in romance (that we know of), vaguely uncomfortable at the mere mention of sex, and uses they/them pronouns! Wow, Es is just like me fr! There is a reason I have them as my pfp, you know.

I love Es. As a concept, it’s already hilarious that the Warden of the Hell Prison is a fifteen year old amnesiac, but the fact they take it so seriously is incredible. Not just because of the very cool philosophical implications of their very peculiar worldview, but also because it’s just objectively funny. They woke up, no idea what’s going on or how they got there, immediately decided they would devote themselves wholeheartedly to the task set out by a rabbit with horns who only they can hear talk. And then sang a banger to kick the series off, Undercover goes hard.

Speaking of songs, I’ve always wondered if we’re ever gonna get another non-cover Es song. I think they deserve it, as a treat. It’d be great to get some more insight on them.

At least the covers are really good, and can be kinda funny at times. I haven’t listened to all of them, but Es’ somewhat emotionless delivery is sometimes really funny. Like, Fuuta will be over there shouting his heart out, then cut to Es like “you’re the crazy one. bang bang bang.” God I love them.

But the main part of Es’ character are all the VDs, where we get to see them really talk a bunch. And wow this kid is so silly! (Read: they’re immensely fucked up). I really want to know more about them.

Their views on morals and justice are especially interesting to me. They have such a blind faith in Milgram and in their own judgement, it’s impressive. It’s especially funny seeing them try to piece together some kind of cohesive logic as to why they voted people Innocent or Guilty out of our dumbassery.

And of course, this pride in their position and their occupation is great for foiling with several of the characters around. I want to see what they do in the Kotoko VD this Trial, I need them to go off on her ass it’s gonna be great. Fuuta’s second VD also was great for them, such an interesting dynamic. Especially because through Es, Milgram can essentially speak directly to us and confront us in our judgements. I think it’s fantastic.

And then Amane. The parallels man. The unwavering faith in a collective of really fucked up people (Amane’s cult or Milgram fandom which is worse?) guiding their actions, the way Amane sees Milgram as a potentially ideal world the same way Es has full faith in it already, the obsession with punishing wrongs, the fact they’re children!

Listen, I don’t think I need to copy paste the Puerto Rico line. You know what it is, I know what it is. It’s the most out of pocket, crazy comeback I’ve ever seen in my life. The fact it’s 100% a total lie just makes it even funnier, like Es really just said that for no reason huh? The sibling dynamic with these two is strong, I love them so much. 00-03-08 found family where the fics at?

Also speaking of Amane, you know that theory that she may have DID? I think it’d be very funny if next trial a different alter rolls up and stabs Es knowing only one of the alters is affected by Milgram rules. This is why we have to inno Amane, so our Warden doesn’t die before the end of Trial 3 you see? I’m spinning the Es post into inno Amane propaganda, how about that?

Anyways, enough Amane. So you know how Es’ amnesia is basically the biggest part of their character after their devotion to Milgram? That’s why I love when we get small indications of how Es is actually like beyond that.

Es: [Talking about Kazui potentially cheating on his wife] It’s a personal dislike of mine. People who act based on their sexual urges like that, that is. Kazui: It’s personal? E: Yeah. That’s right. K: That’s strange. I did think that, despite being neutral as a Warden, you had some things you dislike, but… E: … K: Isn’t it unusual to openly reveal a personal dislike as a personal dislike?

See? They have a personal dislike! They have individual thoughts! What’s the deal with that?! Tell me more Es please I wanna know what your deal is! Why do you hate that kind of thing I am begging hands and knees I gotta know! Unless there is no reason which is also perfectly understandable.

Es: Then…what were you aiming for with…that is…your compensated, dating…. Yuno: Why are you stammering? *Gasp* You're so pure!

Es will talk about shit like murder and organ harvesting without a stutter then get squeamish about dating and sex. Oh they just like me fr fr.

Jackalope: [tongue click and raises head] Es: Would you like me to pet you? J: NO! Open the damn door! You can tell just by looking, can’t you?! E: Ah. [footsteps] I have a question. Even though you can’t open a door by yourself, why do you act like such a hotshot?

I forgot about this line from the Es VD but it’s honestly so fucking funny. Es woke up and was already a snarky bastard, God I love them.

The point is that Es isn’t just an audience stand-in blank slate, not fully. And I love them for that. Especially when sometimes their views very evidently contradict the fandom’s majority.

Es will be like “oh Shidou you are the type of person I hate the most. Anyways let me hit that Innocent button, how about that, how does that make you feel bitch?” And of course there’s the inherent silliness of things like “sure Muu committed violent and near-remorseless murder, but Fuuta has a Twitter. I think the Guilty one here is obvious.” Why does Es even trust us anymore?

I have a lot of thoughts about the Legal Adult in Puerto Rico According to Themselves and Themselves Only, but I kinda don’t wanna go look at every single VD ever released at the moment. Might make a more detailed analysis… some day. Don’t hold your breath though.

Final note is the eleventh cell thing from their VD.

Es: What about over there? At eleven o’clock. In that room… Is there no prisoner? Its door is even older than the others—rusty. There’s no lock on the outside as well.

While I don’t know what the deal with it being older would be, currently what I’m predicting is that someone could eventually die because of Es’ (our) judgement, presumably after their song releases in Trial 3, and then Es would be considered a murderer by Milgram rules. Thus, they would need a cell, and they end up getting judged themselves. I think it’d be very fun, though obviously I’d prefer no one dies. I’m not sure there’s any way to prevent that, though, even if Shidou goes unharmed this Trial I feel there’s enough conflict that someone will eventually die. I’m getting off track.

Anyways, hope that was enough for now! Take care!

[stillness-in-green]

I remember that! And yes, I'm still very eager to see what you came up with, particularly given the inverted ways Spinner has kind of risen to prominence in the story while poor Tsuyu steadily dropped out of it, to the point that she's pretty superfluous even to the plot she's in. (Seriously, if Horikoshi had really wanted Tsuyu to be a factor in Toga and Uraraka's plot, there is so much more he could have done with her, starting with paralleling Toga and Habuko.)

As to the contents of this post, I unsurprisingly have a lot to burble about. Hit the jump for me too, por favor.

O Right off the bat, I dig what you’ve got for Sato and Slidin’ Go.  Like, you don’t mention Hawks, but the idea of SG dealing with feelings of redundancy and inadequacy plays right into Hawks arriving on the scene and immediately capturing Skeptic’s attention where Slidin’ might well have previously been the MLA’s highest ranked Hero!  But how’s he supposed to compete with Hawks?  I felt bad for him already, with those probable feelings of insecurity driving him to try and pull rank, only to get his chops busted by Skeptic, but in a version of his story where he joined the MLA specifically because of the inequality fostered by the Hero rankings, that becomes especially poignant.

And lord knows it’d be great to see more flaws and self-doubt from the 1-A students than we do; Sato is one of many perfectly apt candidates for that sort of focus.  It’s particularly bad for him because he really is, other than Deku, the only one in class who truly has a strength-boosting quirk, yet it never gets any time to shine at all, because—like Iida’s speed—its combat effects (e.g. the only effects that matter to the series, by and large) can be replicated and surpassed by other, more versatile quirks.

      

O I wholly agree that Aoyama and Kunieda should have had more going on.  While my personal bead on them is that Kunieda should have been the hand through which AFO maintained his grip on the Aoyama family (thus explaining Kunieda’s familiarity with Yuuga and giving Yuuga some familiarity in turn, at least with the flowers if not the face behind them), that’s certainly compatible with your idea of Kunieda’s striking loyalty to AFO!  I do wish Aoyama had more complex feelings towards AFO than “terrified of him from Day 1, always knew he was Evil and Bad,” as Aoyama having his own feelings of loyalty he had to overcome on top of the cowardice would make the moral throughline of his decision to repudiate AFO stronger, but hey, in a rewrite, you can have that if you want!

It’s something I desperately wish the story/Deku would think about more in all cases: why, specifically, are these people so loyal to AFO?  Positioning Aoyama to look at that, via both his own experience and what we learn about Kunieda through him, would be a good place to explore it (ideally in addition to similar depth given to the civilian moles, Gigantomachia, and Dictator).  Also too, it means Aoyama doesn't just parallel Deku as a bullied quirkless child miraculously being given a quirk and using it to become a hero, it lets Aoyama parallel Yoichi as well, as a frail, weak, quirkless person with tangled feelings of regret and rebellion about the monster who gave him power.  (That’s, of course, better suited for a story in which Yoichi maintained dignity and agency in the creation of One For All, tragically not the story we currently have.)

      

O Anything you can give Ojiro is wonderful, especially something that lets him answer the single damn joke the series has been making about him from the very beginning!  Tail asphyxiation is good, and I like the metal absorption power because it highlights that Ojiro's very plain costume contains no metal for Fang to use against him (compare to the many, many, many other characters with metal accessories and ornamentation in their Hero outfits).

Might I also suggest that all that martial arts training means that Ojiro isn’t 100% dependent on his quirk in a fight?  An extra prehensile limb, stronger, thicker, and more durable than the rest is great, but it also means he has all his regular limbs free to fight with—block counterattacks, engage in grapples, all that good stuff.  I think Uraraka is the only other person in 1-A we really see engage with that sort of non-quirk-related subdual, and it’s often something people use to critique Deku: that he wanted to be a quirkless hero but doesn’t seem to have even so much as taken a friggin’ judo course to help prepare him for passing a Hero School entrance exam.

But then here’s Ojiro, plain old tail-having Ojiro, and he didn’t have to be taught combat arts on his internship (Uraraka) or in special after-school tutoring sessions (Shinsou); he started the school year already having that knowledge because he’s been diligent and deliberate about bringing his best to this from the start. Compared to people who depend solely on their flashy quirks, it paints him as more versatile, resourceful, and frankly more driven--and that goes for his classmates as much as it does Fang!

      

O I particularly love making Neptune a violent mutant rights activist, given that he’s one of the established Tartarus escapees, and Tartarus is not only an indefinite detainment prison for criminals whose quirks make them to be dangerous to hold via less stringent means, it’s also the prison you get sent to for disrupting the status quo.  [Insert rant about Overhaul here, but I could mount the same argument about Stain and Lady Nagant.]  Love everything about a conflict between him and Shouji being about finding a middle ground between the two of them, increasing the focus on mutant discrimination in the story prior to the endgame, and highlighting that the big problem with the heteromorph uprising in the final war isn’t the uprising itself, but them taking orders from someone who’s just using them for his own ends.

      

Really hope you do more of these! I like seeing anyone try to do better by this incredibly terrible endgame we're in, and I particularly like it when it involves humanizing the villains Horikoshi threw in without bothering to even pretend that they're going to get the same humanization and grace as the League villains.

Some Vain Attempt At Giving Every Member of Class 1-A (plus one more) a 'Nemesis' Pt. 1 of 3 - Jailbreakers...and Slidn' Go.

Now this is something that's been on my mind since like, what, a year now? Back before this blog existed a comment from @stillness-in-green asked why I thought Tsu should have been Spinner's 'Nemesis' instead of Shoji...

However, due to a combination of shyness, scattered thoughts and business, not only did I pretty much hold off on giving my thoughts, I also got hit with an idea that I'm both loving...and deeply regretting!!!

"Say, instead of just doing why I think Spinner and Shoji aren't a good match-up...why not give legit everyone in Class A (and a certain someone else), a Nemesis. Because what I'm doing isn't hard enough to explain as is!"

So I did, and have practically everyone else mapped out. What you see below are basically, most of the tertiary squad of Class A get their due facing against a Villain that I feel would be roughly on par with them and still be a meaningful clash (though not as important to those that got the League/upper MLA executives).

In addition, I added pretty much how I would write their 'arcs' so to speak concerning their clashes with these Villains. Nothing full blown, but just a bit of concepts had in mind that I feel would make their last battle meaningful.

Now, concerning these pairs I did have some rules going in place (because I can't make it easy in myself, why...) First rule is that the Villains chose have to be members of the League of Villains or its alliances. For example, Paranormal Liberation Front or whatever the Hell the Final War villains are called, are game. That said, I can't use Villains from spin-off or movie material, and Nomu's aren't allowed either (the former due to just wanting to contain things to the manga as much as possible, and the latter is more for balancing reaons).

Also, on that note, concerning the likes of Dabi/Shoto, Toga/Ochaco, and Deku/Shigaraki, they aren't going to be listed since...well, they're pretty much established enemies in canon! No real need to re-state them here. Also, AFO is hard locked to All Might if you were wondering, so he's not making an appearance here either. Neither is Gigantomachia or the Advisors (except one), due to balance and just being way too easy to fill up the roster with.

So with that stated, here we go!

Slidin’ Go - Sato

It’s speed vs power with this one, a match between the traitorous Hero who can, ideally, weave himself away from heavy blows against someone who can be stronger to take him down, but has to find a way to get that solid hit in.

Character wise, I want to imagine this being a storyline where Sato becomes insecure over his Quirk’s weaknesses and how unreliable he feels it might be. In a class where people can harness the elements, shoot intense soundwaves, and warp gravity - having a Quirk with a cognitive drawback and intense fatigue + being yet another strength Quirk would actually be a good way to explore the inner doubts of feeling redundant or unneeded.

As a foil to Sato, Slidin Go could be a Villain with heroic intentions at one point. However, Slidin Go was eventually overshadowed by speed/mobility Quirks that were functionally better (like Ingenium) and his popularity dropped to the point he became borderline poor given how low he was in the Hero rankings. S.G. joined the MLA as their man on the inside, in exchange for promoting him to rise higher in the rankings. Because, at his lowest point, all he cared about was just being able to sustain himself. The price to pay for being seen as redundant and how he sympathizes with Sato.

Assuming this takes place in a timeline where S.G. is participating in the Final War, Sato thinks outside the box to best S.G. With the last of his cognitive strength, he shatters the ground to trip SG up before taking him out in one strike. Sure, his Quirk might be ‘redundant’ in the face of others, but what matters in the moment is not caring about one’s status but doing the right thing, in spite of it. A lesson that Slidin’ Go forgot long ago...though maybe, in time, after his arrest he can regain that spark?

Kunieda - Aoyama

Now this is one that, really, already played out in the manga, but will restate it here briefly since there is an interesting dynamic here, if brief. Aoyama and Kunieda offer a unique spin on the ‘loyal ally versus the traitor’ plot. Aoyama is the Traitor, a double agent for the Villains that goes against them for the bonds he made undercover and to make up for his wrongs. In contrast, Kunieda is someone actually loyal and grateful to All For One - his liberator (heck, one of the few that seems to genuinely be loyal to AFO in the Second War) and hates Aoyama for switching sides. It’s to the point Kunieda personally wants to kill Aoyama just to keep up AFO’s streak (which, to me, gives credence to Kunieda being a former associate to AFO and not just a random Jailbreaker).

In media, I always found it interesting when the heroes are people who betrayed their former allegiance for someone else, and their rival end up being someone fanatically loyal to their old group. I think its because, if alignments were reversed, it’d be easy to portray the Traitor as being self-serving and cowardly, compared to those who remain whose loyalty to their boss who would be seen as virtuous. Given both of their personalities, with Aoyama actually struggling with cowardice and Kunieda being fiercely behind AFO, its not an unreasonable thing to consider at all.

Here? It’s pretty much saying that not only is it okay to betray someone who you work for, if they’re as toxic and awful as AFO, but the virtuous thing in this instance is to go against them to save others, with loyalty to the ‘boss’ being a vice that’ll just bring you down. If I were to make their fight stronger storywise, perhaps Kunieda could have been someone that got the better end of AFO giving out Quirks. Perhaps, he was also Quirkless or had a weakish Plant Quirk before running across AFO one day. In exchange for the Quirk he currently had, he swore loyalty to AFO to be a supplier of corpses for him, before being arrested by Endeavor.

Gashly - Sero

At the time of this writing, Gashly is likely slated to be Sero’s opponent. Can’t really get into too much specifics since I don’t know how that’ll play. So I’ll just give brief thoughts on why I think they’ll work, how I’d write Sero to make it evern more appropriate, and what Gashly deal might be.

Sero is the laidback, witty guy of the Class A who provides support and levity to his allies. In contrast, I imagine Gashly to be the type that only wants levity for himself in the form of his crimes: making twisted stories that involve brutal deaths of kids. If I were to write Sero’s arc, I’d probably make his jokey side both his reason to be a Hero and a bit of a front for insecurities of people taking ‘the guy who shoots tape’ seriously (especially after Shoto beats him in the Sports Festival). His victory against Gashly is him proving to the Villain and himself that it’s far more of a threat than people give it credit for.

For the Top Ten that beat Gashly before, I want to imagine Ryukyu did the deed. A fantasy creature Hero beating a storyteller is just fitting.

"Fang"/2nd Hired Gun - Ojiro

Yep, its Ojiro against the second Tartarus Jailbreaker AFO sent after Deku…who got his ass beat so very quickly. Name and power? Nope - just a reminder that Deku is so OP now not many can compare, because that certainly helps brings out the threat of even escaped criminals. Distaste aside, Fang (for lack of a better name) was chosen because, design wise, I feel a gangster type contrasts well against Ojiro being a disciplined martial artist.

Ojiro always had to face people criticizing for fighting ‘plainly’  with his Tail Quirk, and his own arc here could be accepting that, yeah, while not as flashy, as his peers, his Tail is more versatile in its simplicity and incredibly effective. Fang, as a dark reflection, could be what could have happened if Ojiro had a ‘flashier’ Quirk and let the fame of it go to his head. Since he’s a Tartarus Jailbreaker, and had quite a bit of jewelry on him, I’m going to give him something like a Metal Absorption Quirk. Something that, in theory, could pose a problem to Deku (if Fang didn’t get his ass beat so quickly). Whatever metallic substance he touches, his skin reflects it. In this case, befitting his chain around his neck, he skin becomes gold. I like to imagine Fang was originally overconfident and based too much of his pride in his Quirk. So much so that he was a bully that turned to a life of crime as head of his own crime gang. A gang that I imagined was stopped by one of the Top Ten heroes like Edgeshot.

Fang’s downfall, assumign he made it to the Final War, could be that arrogance biting him in the ass. He’s so cocky he fails to realize that, while Ojiro can’t necessarily hurt physically due to his Quirk, he can still use his tail to take him out by other means. Such as restraining Fang and knocking him out by suffocating him with his tail. Is Ojiro’s Quirk flashy as the others? No way, but he doesn’t need for it to be flashy to be effective. He just needs a chance to make that ‘plainess’ work extremely well for him. Leading for Fang to once again be defeated by someone both more humble and creative than him.

Dictator - Hagakure

It’s everyones least favorite clown villain - Dictator! But now he gets to face off against our perky spy!

So what would Hagakure’s storyline be for this? Before Sato and Ojiro's dealt with issues of the world such as feeling of being Outclassed or Plainness. So I figured an interesting contrast for Hagakure is to deal with personality and powers not really mixing. Her arc could be struggling to be an efficient espionage Hero when she longed to be in the spotlight, getting praises and such from the crowd like her friends If I were to rewrite the story, Hagakure's personality would be tweaked to be more of a cocky type, inspired by her bout of overconfidence during her 1B battle.

Early on she'd be extremely boastul & playful concerning her invisibility, blinding her enemies and taunting them throughout her fights...up until people eventually wisened up either by paying close attention to her voice, laying traps to trip up Hagakure or just using AOE moves if they had it. I could see another change could be that she might volunteer to go after Mustard in the Training Camp attack but ended up losing because she overestimated her own ability and her cockiness gave him an opening to knock out her out. Following that, her training under Yoroi Musha could be to grant herself more discipline and find different ways to channel her mischeviousness into being a better spy - one that can get a victory worth celebrating for and cheers at that!

So how would this relate to Dictator? Well, given his Despot Quirk and clown theming, I’d expand on this short guy as him being a ringmaster that wanted to put on the best show in Japan…problem is that he forcibly recruited/enslaved those he saw potential in his ‘circus’ via his Quirk. He’d trained them to Hell and back under very dangerous performances, up until an investigation was enacted. Something that lead to him taking over everyone, cops who came to arrest him and panicking audience, until Crust defeated him. In short he’s a tiny fella that wants to be in absolute full control from start to finish.

A control freak to the core against someone whose a master of surprise, it works out surprisingly well. For their fight, and to show how Hagakure’s grown, she’d silently wallop Dictator who’d be in utter panic over getting hit by seemingly no one. Enough that he loses his grip on Despot and release his prisoners by accident. Thus, giving Hagakure enough time to blind him before knocking him out with an uppercut…and celebrating with an appreciative audience for good measure.

"Neptune"/Hired Gun No# 3 - Shoji

Finally, Shoji would have Neptune, for lack of a better name, as his Rival for the War fight. Now, why? Especially given that Shoji was meant to reflect Spinner. Now, on this end, I have said I disliked their pairing and I think that reason has to do with importance at the end of the day. Storywise, meaning. On Spinner's end, on the Villains side, he's had load of character development from his beginning as our lovable Stain cosplayer, to reluctant leader just trying to help out the one who cares about most. It's actually a remarkably clear and steady growth that leads up to his role in the Final War...

Yet, his Rival in this instance is Shoji. While Shoji's whole arc did have a few crumbs (such as his Pony fight), let's be honest he hasn't had any near enough importance or build-up in the story that really feels earned to be Spinner's Rival, nor do I feel that, given both of their roles in their respective groups, do I think they made even a natural match. Neptune here is meant to be a substitute for him that gives him a climatic finish and Spinner someone different to butt heads with (and will it be Tsu still?! Who knows!!!!)

Neptune here would be a mutant rights activist, though was dubbed a Villain after his protests involved taking a violent stance against those that harmed him and his shipping crew. In his case, I imagine Gang Orca was the one to defeat him, and given Gang Orca’s whole deal with being considered one of the scariest Heroes, Neptune might consider this a betrayal from someone in the same boat.

His role in the Final War arc would be assisting in the freedom of Kurogiri, and intercepting Shoji. Neptune would be the stance of physical rebellion - that change can not occur unless those affected fight back physically and showing their discontentment. Shoji would represent emotional rebellion - that change can not occur unless you show others by your character that you are different. Both aren’t really wrong  in their ideals or their feelings on the matter, but it's Shoji that recognizes that working under All For One, someone who has no one but his own interests in heart, is not going to give the Heteromorphs the better treatment that they yearn for.

For Shoji's character arc in particular, I would change things so that the Heteromorph discrimination would be more out in the open in UA, likely in a history class that covers the great Jeda purge or 6/6 incident, and him being a bit more vocal concerning the reputation of mutants. Have it be a case where the class, naturally, is disgusted by such genocide, but seemingly think that its just a case of evil in a bygone era…up until its Shoji who ends up doing a report on just how many Heteromorphs make up the majority of the arrests in Japan kind and victim reports out in the slums, boonies and even the case of the cities they thought were safe from such prejudice. He isn’t condemning them for not knowing, but it is his words that get them to consider how they’ve been acting towards those who were like Shoji so far (like Shoto and how he treated the police chief). Just something to help boost the plotline a bit more.

I also think Neptune just fits with Shoji given their sea animal/monster theme, too. As for their fight, I imagine it’d go similar to Spinner fighting against Shoji, although in this case, I imagine Neptune’s need for water might eventually make him lose a battle of attrition against Shoji in the end. Though compared to Dictator or Fang, he’d be a Nemesis that Shoji does actually succeed in getting him to stand down and possibly even get rehabilitated for the future.

-

But, yeah, this has been the first part of the series, so far. Hope its been at least an interesting read through, and these match-ups make sense from your views.

I was very conflicted when it came to giving these guys Nemesis since they didn't really fit/other people in the Class were more fitting to get the likes of the League or MLA guys. I originally was going to pair the likes of Sato, Ojiro, Hagakure and Shoji with the High End Nomu, but a combo of the realism concerning them facing one, and just feeling iffy on them had me scrap the idea and put up the Nomu rule in effect. I wanted the Villain they face to not really be a monster like a Nomu.

I also did toy around with the movie stuff, namely the Heroes Rising Villains coming into play, though it would have been just Shoji, Hagakure, and Ojiro going against Chimera, Mummy and Slice, but figured it'd be best to stick to just the manga.

If you're wondering about Slidin Go', he's like the only exception to the Advisors showing up here due to being a thing before the group. He also was supposed to be who remained of Sato, Ojiro or even Sero as like a filler choice if I couldn't find a suitable villain. Sato happened to get the short end of the stick. SG is also here because still writing about the MLA guys, who are next, and had his completed first.

I actually had Hagakure locked into facing Mustard, but once it hit me to use the Jailbreakers, thought it'd be best for Mustard to face someone with more story importance and who could be a better contrast too. Aoyama was considered to but it felt awkward for me.

Here's hoping the next part comes out soon...or at least this year!

[mrsnancywheeler]

the day before you came (part one) - kisses of fire

f!reader x steve harrington, f!reader x eddie munson, f!reader x billy hargrove

summary: during your final year of high school, final summer before college you allow yourself to finally break the facade and run "wild." finding every adventure possible in the shapes of eddie munson, billy hargrove, and steve harrington to enjoy yourself before the looming future. however, your dreams come to a screeching halt when you find yourself pregnant with no idea who the father is. a mamma mia au.

warnings: smut (minors DNI, all characters 18+), morally questionable reader, sweet in love eddie, one sided romantic feelings, unprotected sex (be safe, guys), creampie, mentions of birth control, nicknames : princess, baby, mentions of weed and other drugs implied, gross picnic tables, a little angsty

not edited, feedback appreciated

One month left until graduation, three until you were packed up and out of this town for good. You'd worked your whole life for this and now being able reap the benefits, have time to mess around, it was all paying off. At least that's what you told yourself as you walked behind the school to obtain your favorite destresser. The moment you could see that lovely hair and crappy, old lunch box you were already feeling less anxious.

"You're early, Munson." You said, walking out of the treeline. Laughing when he gave a slight jump at the sudden noise.

"Wouldn't want to leave you hanging, princess." Eddie turned towards you, gesturing to the table he was at. The first time you'd been here you'd refused to sit down, the table being so dirty and unkempt, before you'd realized all the shit you put in your body was just as gross.

"I'm crying at the thought." Imitating the crocodile tears you sat down on the tabletop, knees level to his chest. "How much are you charging me this time, Munson?" You took off your backpack, getting ready to go on the desperate wallet search.

"Less, if you keep giving me that gorgeous view." He smiled, over dramatically miming looking up your skirt.

"You're such a pervert, Eds, last time it was the bending over, now the skirt, will I never be free from the peeping tom?"

"Nope, actually gonna graduate with you this year and forever haunt you."

"Oh not whatever will a poor girl like me do?" You rolled your eyes at him, when you'd been told about him your freshman year all of his unconventionalism had unnerved you, but when you'd later been pointed his way to "take the edge off" you'd come to have a giant soft spot for the boy. You'd miss the banter and of course him always giving you somewhat of an ego boost.

When your mocking glaring and laughter had both died down, his aura changed. The sudden, serious energy made you want to tense up, "So Stanford?" He asked, "Pretty far away from here, know most of us want to leave, but didn't imagine you'd go that far."

"Not as far as I'm planning actually, want to go abroad at some point, see the world, or at least part of it, you know?" You didn't know why he seemed to care so much anyways, all you'd really every done was these exchanges, followed by long winding conversations. Once in a blue moon it could turn into smoking the blunt together and forge itself into odd touches or lips brushing past each other.

Eddie's eyes wondered around the familiar environment, not looking directly at you, these interactions had become such a normal part of his life regardless of whether or not he did actually graduate it would be a shock to the routine once you were gone.

"You're breaking my heart here, princess, gonna have to save every cent for long distance calls if you do that."

"I'm sure when you're still here, next year, there will be some other pretty, young girl to use her feminine wiles on you and flatter down your prices."

He dramatically hits his chest, "Your lack of confidence in me, wounds me! I don't think I'll ever recover." His hands landed on either side of you, "There's still the silver lining that I might pass these last few tests and walk out of here with a diploma, just like you."

You chuckled, "I'll believe it when I see it, Munson." His grades hadn't been great and you'd listened to him vent about it enough when he was high to know a few weeks couldn't save him. "Class of '86 baby, I'll come back to see that one."

"So little faith, y/n." Eddie shook his head, lifting his eyes to meet yours. You stared back, the awkwardness ensuing as he continued gazing and you didn't want to make it worse by glancing away.

'Why should I feel nervous anyways? I'm leaving soon, it would be fun to just do what we've been dancing around for so long.' You debated internally as the silence continued, it was when you watched him glance at your lips and back you thought, fuck it. Finally leaning in you went for it, hungrily pressing your lips against his as he brought his hands to your face kissing you with just as much vigor. Your hands trailed down his shirt as you slid off the table and onto his lap, grinding against his lap.

"Wait, y/n." Eddie pulled away from you, who gazed at him confused. Over the years you'd caught him checking you out on more than on occasion, even gotten handsy with him occasionally, so why didn't he want this now? "I just don't want my first time with you to be here, you know? On a grimy picnic table behind the school where I sell people drugs, isn't good enough for you, princess." He said it reassuringly, fingers gripping around your waist. Those fingers. But, the way he talked about his first time with you sent a pang to your heart. Of course you wouldn't mind doing it more than once with him, but you didn't want him to worry about whether or not it was good enough for you. It wasn't like that and part of your heart told you it was in fact like that for him. If you were a better person you'd tell him now, how you wanted to be with him, but not the way he seemingly wanted to be with you. You weren't a better person though and you finally felt confident enough to get what you wanted from him, it didn't matter what people said, you were leaving after all.

"I don't care about that Eddie," You gave your best puppy dog eyes, shaking off any doubts about your actions, "I need you." You whined as you began grinding your pussy over where you felt him getting hard.

He let a groan out as he shut his eyes, "You're gonna be the death of me, princess." You nodded as you pressed a kiss into his neck as you continued your relentless pursuit on his crotch. "Fuck, baby, can I take this off?" His fingers moved to the hem of your skirt fiddling with it, you nodded, feeling your own wetness more and more as you humped his jeans. "Words, princess, need to here them."

"Yes, Eddie, please, just need you to fuck me." You his your face in his neck, hands gripping the back of his hellfire shirt.

"So desperate," He slowly lifted up your skirt, pushing it up above your waist, "Already soaking though your panties onto my jeans, princess, making such a mess. How long have you wanted me to touch you?" Eddie's fingers began pulling them down, exposing you to the open air. You were so vunerable and exposed, but couldn't care less.

Your hands went to his belt, anxiously trying to remove it so you could get rid of the throbbing feeling urging you on. "So long, Eds, dreamt about when you would finally take me." You lifted your legs so he could pull your underwear down more and he stopped everything to help you as you struggled with his belt.

"Me too, got off thinking about when we'd finally do something, when I could make you mine for the first time." There it was again, first, not the greatest time to be clear with him, but better late than never would be something. You were so close though and had waited for so long you told yourself you were just overthinking when you freed him from his pants and climbed back up onto the table. He stood up, also freeing himself from his underwear. The wind hit your bear cunt as you whined, aching for contact. "I know you're dripping, princess, but are you sure you want all of me right away?" Looking at the size of his cock made you groan, but you were determined.

"Yes, need your cock so bad, Eddie, please." Your hips trusted up into the air, begging for him to hurry up.

He smirked, spitting on his hand and smothering his dick with it. Lining up with your entrance and rubbing his head and precum along your clit causing you to moan. "Wait-" You loudly whined once again, "Just need to look for a condom, sorry, should have thought of it earlier."

"Don't need one Eddie, on birth control, just want your cock tearing me apart now, please." You insisted before he could pull away as you rubbed yourself against him for friction. Every action, every kiss you shared felt like fire, made you burn and ache for more. You couldn't help yourself as you grabbed his neck, pushing his lips against yours.

You whined when he pulled away, "Gonna bring me to the point of no returning, princess." Eddie grunted as he finally pushed into you, causing you to mewl from the somewhat painful pleasure. "So fucking tight for me."

"Don't need you to worry, Eds, need you to be rough with me." He was by no means your first rendezvous, but how long you had waited, how set he was with you, nothing could compare. Eddie began pounding into you, grabbing your face with his hands and pulling your lips back together.

Moaning into each others mouths as he continued pounding into you, bringing one thumb down to rub your clit. The sudden euphoric feeling caused you to bite down on his lip. "Sorry." You managed to whisper out as he continued his assault on your mouth and clit. "Feels so good."

"Don't worry about it, princess." Eddie stopped kissing you, staring at your face as you whined with every thrust and each bit of pressure. It was gorgeous, you were angelic, and all he could think about was doing this to you over and over again. Taking care of you, that landslide of emotions made his hips stutter.

"Need to come, Eddie, so bad." Your eyes were screwed shut as you clawed his back.

"Me too, baby, let go for me." You let out a guttural groan, pushing your head into his chest as you felt your pussy convulse around him. He too couldn't keep his mouth shut as he released into you, your walls tightening around him. For what felt like yours you sat there, both coming down from the high of it all. "Fuck," Eddie exclaimed, pulling himself out of your warmth. You whined at the sudden emptiness, walls clenching around nothing. "Should have pulled out, y/n, I'm so sorry." He looked so genuinely upset with himself that you couldn't help, but feel a tug at your heartstrings. He cared so much and given you exactly what you wanted, but that's all you wanted.

"Don't worry about it, Eds, I'm on the pill. Remember?" You reassured him as you went to pull your underwear back up.

"Doesn't always work, y/n, better safe than sorry." Eddie was mostly reprimanding himself as he also began pulling his bottoms back on.

"A little to late for that and come on, don't worry about it, most guys don't." You smiled at him as you readjusted your skirt, going to stand up and realizing your legs weren't exactly steady enough without the table.

"Woah there, princess." He instantly reached out to help steady you, and your eyes met his once again. Hoping he could say everything he wanted to without opening his mouth he tried to get his eyes to convey it all. Sadly for you it did which is the last thing you wanted. 'Exactly, I'm not like them. I care, y/n, let me care.' So you pulled away from the prolonged eye contact.

"Thanks, um, I should probably go. Mom's gonna get worried, you know." You shakily pulled yourself away from him steadying arms. Grabbing your bag from off the table.

"Oh, of course. Wouldn't want to ignite the dragon, princess. Not exactly a knight in shining armour." Eddie joked, trying to ignore the hurt from this abrupt end you were dishing to him.

"I don't agree, you know you can scale into my tower anytime with that gorgeous steed of yours. You can bring the devil's grass with you as well." Motioning to his little lunch box of drugs as you slowly walked backwards. Of course it might calm you more now, but the guilt was suddenly eating away at you. Couldn't he stop looking at you like he cared? Stop making you feel like you were stringing him along?

"Anytime you need, y/n, I've got you." Eddie smiled and it was so comforting, so sweet, you had to leave then. 'No, don't have me. Please me more offputting, more callous, care less.' You wanted to scream as you gave him a curt nod and walked off. Feeling the storm of self hatred brew as you began pushing down the guilt. If he made you feel so good, like fire, and was willing to continue that what was the problem with not being clear about where you stood? You were leaving after all.

[tanoraqui]

hello wonderful children, it's esoteric scifi/fantasy book rec time!!

Why You Should Read the Paradox trilogy by Rachel Bach, a list by me:

Scifi action-adventure romance

The basic premise of this series is that Devi (Deviana Morris) is a professional space mercenary who really wants to be one of her god-king's elite guard/agents of badassery...but in order to get tapped for a thing like that, she needs to boost her resume. So she deliberately takes a job on an "unassuming" little trade ship notorious for having bad lethally luck.

in narrative terms, this means taking her Book 1 Protagonist self and becoming a supporting character in someone else's...you know the phase late in the series when a Protagonist has made most of their defining moral choices, gathered their team of loyal misfits, and they do more monster-of-the-week adventures than we clearly see on page, until suddenly the series finale starts? Devi walks into that. And then the series finale starts, with her in the middle, completely stealing Caldswell's Protagonist slot.

Devi "there's no point in doing something if you don't commit to it 110%" Morris

Devi "wow, this child soldier thing you've got going is DEEPLY fucked up. thank goodness my military-obssessed planet where we all know it'd be an honor to give our lives for our saint-king is nothing like that" Morris

(Arguably the narrative backs this up, but because it's all 1st person pov, I'd argue Devi just never picks up on the hypocrisy. Also, the others guys ARE doing much more fucked up things than some sketchy absolute monarchy and required military service.)

Devi "shut up, you do NOT get to decide if I forgive you. I decide that, and I do. Forgive you. But also I'm NOT in love, I can handle this on my own but I can't afford any weakness; shut up and stop being hot and dedicated near me" Morris

Relatedly, Rupert "the concept of not committing to something 110% is inherently incomprehensible to me, so I guess now I'm committing treason and following this madwoman's lead to hell and back" Charkov

Tbh in book 1, I was like, "I get why he's falling head over heels for her, but I feel like she skipped right from 'he's badass, usually nice, and REALLY hot' to 'oh no I'm in love.'" But by the end of book 2, I was on board. You see, they're simply BOTH categorically insane.

I CANNOT get over him being named "Rupert" though. This author makes the hottest possible man - tall, thin-but-muscular, soft hair and piercing blue eyes! sexy accent! spoilers but let's just say he's VERY lethal and monsterfucking isn't out of question! And he cooks! And then to balance all of this, she names him the LEAST sexy thing possible.

for those who want The Representation Facts: it's heterosexual romance, nothing too novel about it, but complex female protagonist who fights fiercely to maintain her agency, despite the efforts of most of the people around her. A lot of the plot centered around giving some young women back their stolen agency, actually. There's 2 gender-nonconforming characters, and they're both aliens but they're GNC in ways suited to their own cultures, not human, which I thought was pretty neat? Race doesn't come up, iirc more people are described as pale than not but some are dark-skinned and some just aren't described. Uhh no disability rep except arguing with medical(ish) professionals who think they know best but are just assholes…what else do you want. Woman has guns, armor, flaming sword, rage.

The books are Fortune's Pawn, Honor's Knight, and Heaven's Queen. They're not full of great themes or stunning poetry, but they're full of well-paced intrigue, action, and morally suspect people making what they're convinced in the best choice for the greatest good. I read all 3 in the space of about 48 hours.

Devi "stop trying to explain chess to me and tell me what's actually going on" Morris

Devi "if my beloved armor is marred one more time, I'm going to kill everyone on this ship and then myself" Morris

I really enjoyed that the moral position it landed on was, “doing something terrible to save billions of lives when you have no other options IS okay. The sin is never looking for a better solution, but rather doubling down on maintaining the terrible thing.” I think that’s a wonderful and probably correct gray position. Often the many IS more important than the one, or even than the few…but you can’t just settle in grittiness. You have to hope and work for something better.

Author Rachel Bach is known as Rachel Aaron when she writes fantasy, and I'm gonna go hunt down some of that, now.

[jerzwriter]

I had a thought after reading your answer to the “what would you do to make the fandom better?” ask. And this is just an idea, but it struck me when I read your part about interaction. And this would probably take some putting together to make it work if others were interested and willing to do it, but hear me out.

We know there are corners within the Choices fandom, and I don’t mean that in a bad way, but I mean such as the OH corner, TRR corner, etc. What if we as a fandom had a little challenge as a way to show support for everyone where we step outside of our normal content boxes and read a story by someone we haven’t read before? They can be matched up so to speak (this is where the planning would come in) and then talk to each other (interaction 😱) figure out what might interest the other person and point them in a direction of a story of theirs (one shot, mini series, whole series - dependent on what the other person has the time for).

This sounds much more meticulous after writing it out than it did in my head lol but I think if we could do something like that, it would really boost morale and encourage others, and who knows, someone might find something/someone new they like? Ok going back into my hole now 🙈

Hey Nonny-

I think reaching out to other parts of the fandom is a WONDERFUL idea. But I get where people have limited time, and even reading/participating in their own "corner" can be a challenge. But... you have my wheels turning a bit. Let me let this simmer a bit. Perhaps we could do something through CFWC or @choicesmonthlychallenge (look at me dragging you in Dani lol).

Like I said, I'm fortunate because through CFWC, I've gotten to know people outside of "my corner," and it makes me want to get to know them/their work more. Even if we can't support each other's works all the time because TIME, we can still be encouraging. Let me think about this. :)

[ijustreallylikecaptainamericaok]

Sorry, I'm still stuck on this, so I need to rant.

The function of the compass, first and foremost, is to indicate that Peggy is Steve's sweetheart, because he carries her photo around the way soldiers during the war carried photos of their girlfriends/sweethearts in their wallets, lockers, etc. as a morale boost. It shows his intention of building a life with her once the war is over and how he uses that thought to get him through it. This is also why, post-ice, the compass, like their dance, becomes a symbol of everything Steve lost. What was once a hopeful vision of the future to look forward to then became a bitter reminder of what could've been.

There's also the layer of it symbolizing Peggy as a source of guidance and support, which she remained throughout his films. Even after she dies, it's her words through Sharon that strengthen his resolve to not sign the Accords and it's her photo he looks to when he's at one of his his lowest points post-Thanos.

You can't just replace her photo in it with someone else's, no matter who they are or how important they may be to Steve, without completely gutting what the damn thing means. Peggy was one of his biggest sources of support and guidance, especially during the war. Peggy was his sweetheart. Peggy was the only person he wanted to build a life with, a life he always mourned post-ice. Not Bucky. Not Sam. Not Natasha. Not Sharon. And certainly not his mother Sarah. While I'm the first to say how the MCU treated Sarah is utter bullshit, tumbling head over ass into Oedipus valley is not the solution here, people.

Trying to erase Peggy from the compass is just another example of certain groups trying so hard to tear her down or diminish her importance to Steve and I have to wonder if the people who do this stuff realize how insecure it makes them look and how badly it reflects on their preferred ship. Because if your ship was all it's cracked up to be and you truly believed it's as good as you claim, you wouldn't feel a need to tear another ship and character down in order to prop up yours, regardless of whether or not you personally like them/it.

Let me put it to you like this: I'm a huge fan of Dawson's Creek, but I haaaaaaate Dawson Leery. Like with the power of a thousand suns hate. And I also really hate the Dawson/Joey dynamic. Platonic or romantic. Can't stand it. Pacey/Joey forever. Now... does that mean I'd ever claim Dawson isn't an important person to Joey? No! They're childhood best friends and self-proclaimed "soulmates" and trying to deny their history would be an exercise in futility anyway, given how the show and the characters will take any opportunity to remind the audience of it. (Even if my feelings toward it all can best be summed up by Pacey: "And the reverence that you two treat this little saga of yours with, it's enough to make a guy want to puke.") Point being, Dawson's importance to Joey doesn't in any way negate Pacey's massive importance to her. Both can be true and they are.

Anyway, sorry for the tangent. I don't know where I'm going with this anymore. Hopefully this makes some semblance of sense. I just needed to get that off my chest and not only because of the specific post I saw earlier. Fandom's various nonsense about Steve's compass has irked me for a long time.

Oh, Lord, the ridiculousness that just graced my for you page.

Like, I need to sleep, man, and instead I'm contemplating writing a whole ass essay about Steve’s compass, because folks continue to miss the point and purpose so fucking spectacularly.

[echo-three-one]

Chapter 39

The Road So Far

Is this still worth it?

The SEVEN Inch Wound

Gary 'Roach' Sanderson

Task Force 141 Base - Gym

Roach finally got his seal of approval. After weeks of physical therapy and daily check ups, he was now finally fit for battle and he was lucky enough that Nero was still under the radar. He wouldn't want to miss out on the battle he started. He was lucky enough that they were exonerated when Shepherd surrendered, because if they continued to be fugitives, Roach would not have access to appropriate medical attention.

It has been almost a month after the events in Afghanistan and Task Force 141 was already re-established, Samantha and Maxine were housed on a nearby compound where veteran's families lived under the safety of government protection. During his time in the infirmary, Maxine was always there to visit, telling him tales about dreams she recovered as time went by. Roach was glad she was returning to normal and that no matter how her memories came back, her treatment towards him was the same.

"Good to see you back on your feet, my man." Rocket went up to him and did their fist bump, a series of elaborate claps then finished off with finger guns accompanied by their almost realistic attempt at pistol fires.

"Haha. Yeah? I'm glad I'm back." He waved as Rocket pointed at his back. Roach turned to see Maxine, carrying a packed lunch, waiting at the end of the hallway.

"Hey you. Just in time for lunch as always." He smiled, wrapping an arm around her as they made their way to the mess hall.

"Glad to see you smiling and walking about." She says, as her palms ran across his firm chest, tracing the scar that changed his life.

"Yeah, finally passed the damn physical test." He grinned as they sat down at their usual table, the only table which consisted of two tables stuck together to form an eight seater.

The rest of Roach's closest comrades were already there. Alex, guessing what Samantha packed for him. Soap and France arguing which meal choice was best for them and Ghost, who was already halfway through his lunch while the rest of his comrades haven't even started yet.

"Good to have you back, buddy." Ghost greeted with a wide grin on his face, well technically only half of his face was shown.

"Hey man. I sure am glad. How have you been doing?" he joked. They constantly visit him in their free time, so there was actually nothing to catch up on.

"The rest of the squad proceeded to badger Roach with questions about everything they wanted to know. Roach enjoyed the hot seat as the military mess hall felt like the university cafeteria.

"So, any news about Nero?" He finally asked as soon as everyone was done with him. The table felt awfully quiet.

"None." France was the first to speak up. Everyone else nodded and frowned.

"Shit. Guess our only choice is to wait." He added.

"Shepherd didn't have any leads towards Nero. Their last contact was the exchange of blueprints and after that, he was gone." Soap explained the situation.

"The missing persons?" Gary asked.

"Still missing." Alex commented.

"And there are still a few additions every other day as indicated by the FBI and DHS." Ghost added.

"Is interpol still involved?" Roach turned to Ghost.

"They're still after the traces of EMP equipment from the missing persons. Their new lead is that Nero's team is trying out a lethal kind of grenade. One that explodes without damaging property. If he's planning invasion, this is actually a good idea without ruining too much of the invaded country." He replied. Roach nodded at the theory. EMPs only damage mechanical equipment and this was a good call for the bad side.

"I never knew they'd think of this kind of weaponry. I always expected bioweapons being the last of modern warfare." Ghost muttered.

"Well, that was what happened in Verdansk and we stopped it. We could do that again." Alex tried to boost morale.

"Yeah. We'll do whatever it takes." Roach agreed and they continued lunch.

By the time he started training, Roach focused back on his Sniper techniques. His wound may have affected his previous breathing training and it was only inevitable that he'd train it again. He wanted to master the long ranged rifle as it was vital towards his development as a soldier.

"Back on the scope huh." Ghost huffed as they reached their 200 yard mark, by the hill just outside the base.

"Glad you could help me on this one." Roach unzipped the sniper bag and began scouting the area.

"You sure this is your spot?" Ghost asked, using his hand as a visor against the hot afternoon sun.

"Yeah. This fits."

"Suit yourself." He chuckled as Roach snapped every attachment of the rifle, from the bipod stand to the clicker adjustments.

He peeked at the scope and looked at his target. Five small cans standing on top of a log 200 yards away.

"Remember what I told you." Ghost mused as he looked at Roach steadying his breathing.

"Damn." He added as he noticed the change in wind.

"Yeah, damn. I just was about to fire it." Roach muttered as he took another deep breath and began to hold still as his crosshairs adjusted to the shift.

A loud fire echoed across the hills as dust scattered on the ground where Roach fired. He was about a few inches off.

"Great. Do that again but change your adjustments." Ghost said as consolation.

"Yeah got it." He rolled his dial once again and accounted for the wind, easing his breath and fired again. The loud sound once again echoed through the hills, followed by a soft metal can flying away from the log.

"There you go! A clean hit." Ghost congratulated as he tapped Roach's back while he reloaded his sniper and aimed again.

Roach stayed at that spot until it was too dark to continue and Ghost accompanied him until such time. On their way back, Ghost opened up to something that has been bothering him ever since.

"Roach. Do you mind if I say something important?" He asked and it made Roach stop on his tracks.

"Yeah. What's up." Roach asked.

"I've already sent my formal letter, but I just wanted you to have a heads up on the matter." Formal letter. Roach's heart started to pound as his mind automatically thought of him quitting or leaving.

"Letter about?" he asked. His mouth almost felt dry. He didn't want him to leave. Not again.

"Transferring department. Alexandra offered me a spot on the Interpol. I told you this first because I knew that if you were on my shoes, you'd go too, right? Do whatever makes you happy?" he said, quoting Roach's famous words.

He isn't wrong about doing what makes him happy, but his decision didn't feel right either, or maybe because he just doesn't want Ghost to go.

"Well, you bet I'd go for that option too!" Roach said, trying to validate his decision despite not wanting it. It was sad to see him go, but for the first time in ages, Ghost actually acknowledged the term happy.

"I knew you'd understand." he smiled and continued their trail back to the base where Roach remained quiet until they reached the base just in time for dinner.

After dinner, Roach opted for a night jog around the base to clear his mind off of Ghost leaving. After the second lap, he soon noticed Alex catching up to him.

"Wonderful weather for an evening run, huh?" He asked all cheery as he's quite used to his heavier and more realistic leg.

"Yeah. It is. Good to see you're liking Samantha's surprise." Gary nodded and removed his earphones.

"You know, it's really a surprise when I'm the only one who doesn't know about it." He commented.

"It feels like a real leg, actually. The wonders of modern technology never ceases to amaze me." He mused as they both took the turn.

"Yeah? That's good to hear. Pretty sure Samantha loved the way you thanked her." Roach teased as Alex chuckled, like he recalled some memory.

"Oh yeah, she did." Alex nodded suggestively, the kind that Roach didn't want to ask anymore.

"This your last lap?" Roach asked as Alex slowed down for his cooldown, turning to the set of exercise bars.

"Yep. See ya!" He waved as he started his cooldown.

Gary took three more laps just to make sure he's exhausted for the night, so that once he got in his bed, no more thoughts would assault his mind, hindering him from sleep.

There was only one way out of it. And it was accepting Ghost's inevitable departure from the 141.

The next morning, the 141 was briefed on a possible lead on Nero. This time, Ghost wasn't in the room and that meant that his letter was now approved.

"Okay lads. We've received word on a supply drop activity from Nero. We intercepted an unencrypted call signal to an abandoned port just off the coast of Sierra Leone, Africa. If intel is correct, we're going to be dealing with someone who goes by 'Volt', Nero's bomb maker." Price paced in front of the huge screen showing details regarding their mission.

"Volt is a high value individual who must not be killed. He's our only hope towards Nero. The intercepted call came from the USA, and it's quite impossible that Nero is here, so he must've used a secure line. Jack will be staying in the base as our new Operations Command as suggested by Laswell. Overlord will continue his role as our commanding officer as well." Price added making clear about the jurisdiction.

"Damp and dry Africa." Soap muttered.

"Have you been there?" France asked.

"Only in Egypt. My mom used to tag me along her trips." he replied.

"Recon suggests a high chance of militia activity, so our standard rules of engagement; treat anyone as hostile. Volt's compound will be surrounded by his own personal army and they're willing to shoot any unwanted visitors. He also has access to a port, so I'm sending the Charlie team to stand by the shore and make sure they're not planning an escape." he added.

"I'm leading the Alpha team and our task is to infiltrate his base and secure Volt for intel. Bravo team, led by Alex, will act as our support when things go south. As bonus, we need to destroy any trace of bomb making equipment.

Roach, I want you to man our new air support tools from above as soon as we confirm that there are no SAMs on his base." He shot his glare on Roach and he nodded. Guess he isn't on the ground tomorrow.

"We leave tomorrow at 0300. Make your necessary preparations especially on our brand new comms equipment. Ones that are immune to EMP blasts. Dismissed." He said as everyone got up and went on their way. Gary purposefully left himself behind so he could ask Price about the Ghost situation.

"Hey there lad. You feeling good?" Price approached as soon as he noticed Roach.

"I just have a question about the mission."

"Sure. What about it? Any suggestions?"

"No no. The plan is fine. Where will Ghost be?" Price gave him a worried stare.

"Ah. Didn't he tell you about his transfer?" He crossed his arms and stared at Roach.

"He did… but why did you allow it?"

"Well, it certainly looked like he was happy to go there. And I had no power over his commendations." Price reasoned as they walked out of the briefing room.

"Oh. I thought he was going to have one last mission with us." Roach smiled as he walked back to the room. Ghost wasn't a fan of goodbyes. Maybe because he knew they'll meet again.

0300H

Sierra Leone, Africa

"This is Hunter One-One requesting sitrep, over." Roach phoned his allies who were already on the ground for support. This mission was their vital lead towards Nero. He wished that the guy Volt was here so that they could finally finish the war before everyone else gets hurt.

Before he could man the air support, he needed to confirm that there were no SAMs present on their base so he could safely provide suppressing fire from above.

Next Chapter : The SIXth Ship

Notification Squad my Beloved

@whimsywispsblog @ricinbach @bumblingbee1 @smokeywhalee @samatedeansbroccoli @enderio

[hearthandhomemagick]

Mini Rant;

If you are screaming over the people in need, you are not helping them.

If you use statistics to justify your argument, but refuse to talk to the people in those statistics, you are not arguing for anyone but yourself.

If a person says, "I need a place to stay tonight." and you give them Career Advice and Job Applications, you aren't listening to their immediate needs.

If someone in danger is hanging off of a cliff, and you give them a speech on how not to fall off of cliffs and how to get out of that situation, then refuse to help them physically get off that ledge. You are a piece of shit with a God Complex.

Fucking listen to people. They aren't spewing shit from between their ass cheeks just to blow it up your nose and bother you. Talk to the people around you and people in the situation before you discuss their situation. Hear what they are actually saying. If you plan on assisting, try to help by providing their needs they have expressed, not your idea of what you believe is best for them.

Because here's the thing. Everyone's situation is different and solely individualistic to themselves and their personal life experiences. Therefore, everyone's needs are going to be different. You have to actually listen to people when they are telling you something, you have to get into the conversation and ask questions. Be willing to be ignorant in the conversation so you can learn. You cannot listen to people and then say, "Here's what I believe you need."

If you were Traumatized and were healed via Spirituality, Then that's wonderful! But that doesn't mean other people with that same trauma will benefit from that same healing. Nor do they have to.

Everyone heals differently. You can either respect their choices of healing, or you can stop talking about them as if you know better than they do.

Big example I'm seeing thus far? If a Sex Worker is saying, "I enjoy reclaiming my body via Sex Work. It's healing and boosts my confidence." or "I genuinely enjoy having sex/doing sexual things. I might as well make some money while having fun." You can't tell them, "Nah, you're just traumatized, you aren't really happy in your job! You're a Victim and we need to get rid of the industry all together!"

Like? What? You heard Sex Workers asking for respect, proper funds, legality, Health Insurance and proper Safety Precautions in their Work Field and you decided to....speak over them and gaslight them into thinking they must be traumatized to enjoy their line of work?

It's condescending to assume you know what is best for people. It is ridiculous to assume one Model designed for one country is the best Model for every country. It's appalling to assume that when someone thinks differently than you, like supporting Sex Workers, then you should start a smear post about how they are an evil human with little to no morals when you are the one talking over the people in the job.

My point here, if you aren't involved, shut up and listen. If you aren't in it, ask questions before trying to find solutions. If you aren't a part of the community, don't fucking speak on their behalf when they aren't in the conversation.

It takes little effort to understand that you also hate being talked over, gaslight, or mansplained whenever you are crying out for help or assistance just begging for your needs to be met.

So why the fuck would you do it to someone else.

Seriously. Before getting "behind a cause for justice" you need to understand how that cause affects other people. You need to look at every perspective, not just yours and the movement. Because your need to be morally better does not supersede the needs of the people you are "helping".

You aren't a Feminist, Martyr nor a Hero if you talk over the needs of another human.

And that's a fucking fact.

[mbti-notes]

Hi. thank you for writing this blog, you're really helpful. I'm sorry if my question is weird. I'm physically unattractive and people often comment/mocking my looks. because I was a very sensitive kid, I withdraw from people and become really introverted. now I'm in college but my communication skill got worse. when classmates talk to me, my mind went blank and I always need seconds to answer. I want to know what's wrong in my thinking, is it because I can't accept the reality of my looks?

Not a weird question at all. No child deserves to be mistreated and I’m sorry that you had to go through the bullying. There are two main issues that I think you need to address: 1) the residual effects of being bullied, and 2) your standards for evaluating the worth of people, including yourself. 

1) People get bullied for all kinds of things. It’s missing the point to try to compare what kind of bullying is worse than others. The most important point, in terms of psychological health, is your subjective experience of the bullying and whether it had a significantly negative impact upon your well-being. In children, the experience of constant bullying is a recognized form of psychological trauma. 

When people experience emotional trauma, the way that they perceive and assess situations changes. It has to. All human beings have a survival instinct. When you live your life experiencing constant threats, it is normal and rational for the mind to find ways of protecting itself. Therefore, bullied children are much more likely to feel fearful, anxious, and/or defensive in social situations, since most of their social learning took place in situations that were legitimately threatening, hurtful, and painful for them. Unfortunately, fearful, anxious, or defensive behavior tends to get worse over time and causes problems in life when the original trauma is never properly addressed and resolved. This is why bullied children are more likely to struggle with mental disorders as well as socialization and relationship problems later in life.

Children need care, love, and affection to thrive, but many are thrust into bad situations, and it’s not their fault. As a child, you barely know up from down, so you can’t be expected to know how to fend for yourself in very negative social situations. Try to look at your situation more objectively. Imagine that, today, you were walking down the street and you witnessed somebody bullying a young child about their looks. How would that make you feel? Would you join the bully and ridicule the child, believing that the “ugly” child is worthless and deserves it? A sensitive person is capable of empathy, so I doubt that you’d want to be the bully. An empathetic person would immediately know that the child was being mistreated and want to stop the bully, would they not? A bully wants power over people, and their greatest success is to teach you how to bully yourself. Not only do they make you feel like shit by calling you ugly, they also gain complete control over you once they convince you to call yourself ugly, for the rest of your life. To be more objective, look upon your childhood self not through the disdainful eyes of your bullies but rather through the empathetic eyes of the good person that you are. You didn’t deserve to be bullied. You deserved to be loved. You deserve love.

Everybody needs to go through level 2 ego development in terms of learning how to adapt well to their social environment. If your social environment is loving and full of affection, you’re going to learn that the world is a safe and positive place, so you’ll naturally feel confident in navigating it. If your social environment is threatening and painful, you’re going to learn that the world is a frightening place, so you’ll naturally feel unsafe and insecure in most situations. As a child, you had to adapt to a negative social environment as best as a child could. From being bullied, you “learned” again and again that physically “beautiful” people get praised and physically “ugly” people get scorned. Since you were repeatedly called “ugly”, you’ve come to expect that people will scorn you, and you might even start to unconsciously attract people who confirm your distrustful worldview. Bullying is always worse for children because they have no preexisting knowledge of how to cope with it. The early adaptations that you learn in childhood tend to stay with you because they serve as your “default” mode. Whenever you feel a little bit stressed by a social situation, your psychology tends to “regress” to those early adaptations, even when the present situation poses no objective threat to you. It’s a mental reflex, aka a defense mechanism.

There’s a lot of debate in the psychological community about whether it’s possible to rid the brain of traumatic memories. However, even if you take the most pessimistic position of believing that childhood trauma is written into the brain and stays with you forever, that doesn’t mean nothing can be done about it. If you are able to improve your awareness and understanding of the many ways that your past trauma has impacted your cognitive, emotional, and behavioral patterns, you can then implement some practical strategies for disengaging your past adaptations, i.e., you can learn healthier coping mechanisms instead of allowing your “default” mode to run the show all the time. This is generally what they teach you in cognitive-behavioral therapy. A lot of people are in therapy to try to make sense of past trauma or abuse.

For example: You’re talking to someone new, and you suddenly freeze up. Why did you freeze up? What’s going on? Time to reflect on yourself honestly. Chances are, you are afraid. Based on your past experience, perhaps you’re afraid of trusting this new person only to have them turn around and mock you, and then you’re instantly that hurt kid again. It is a perfectly reasonable fear to have because you have experienced it several times before. Humans are considered smart for being able to learn from their past experience. Once you’re aware of the fear and its source and able to accept it as legitimate, then you have a chance to implement a better coping strategy. Perhaps you take a deep breath and remind yourself that this new person is not the old bully of your past. Remind yourself to give this new person the benefit of the doubt. You can’t develop a good relationship without giving a little trust and being positive. A lot of people can overlook physically unattractive features once they see a nice personality, but it’s a lot harder to overlook a negative and distrustful attitude. Another way to cope better is to work on your people skills and communication skills, which will help boost your confidence.

2) Beauty has a very important place in human psychology. Without connection to beauty, people wouldn’t be able to access all the good, positive, wonderful, and sublime things about being alive. I would never downplay the importance of beauty; however, the fact is that most people’s concept of beauty is superficial and wrong. For a lot of people, beauty is merely about ego: comparing and contrasting, competition and jealousy, self-harm and violence. If beauty is meant to be a human good, then why does it drive people to be their worst selves? There’s something rotten going on. True beauty is NOT about whether you are more/less beautiful than, it’s about nurturing the ability to see the best side of everything in the world. Not many people nurture this ability in themselves. If you did, you’d never ever call yourself ugly, because everything in this world has some beauty in it. If you aren’t able to see it, then the problem lies in your own perception, not the object itself.

Human brains are built to process information about physical appearance very quickly. This cannot be helped. We all make snap judgments based on physical appearance because this ability was very useful for human survival. However, human beings also have the capacity to reflect on the veracity of their snap judgments as well as the intelligence to realize that outward appearance and inner qualities are two different things. Failure to use one’s higher intelligence means remaining very hasty and shallow in judgment. To be shallow isn’t just to care about appearances, because we are all primed to care about appearances, it’s to take appearances as the only/primary standard for JUDGING someone’s WORTH. Shallow people easily become bullies when they feel the need to elevate themselves socially by putting others down. All you have to do is read through comment sections on gossip pages to know that no one is immune to having their appearance mocked, not even beautiful celebrities or supermodels. No matter how objectively beautiful you are, there’s a shallow person out there ready and willing to pick you apart, for their own egotistical reasons. The fact of the matter is that there are lots of shallow people in this world. There’s no avoiding them, there’s no wishing them away, but you can always render their judgments meaningless, and thus very easy to ignore. 

Be brutally honest with yourself, would you rather use the criterion of “physical beauty” or the criterion of “good moral character” to choose a mate/friend for yourself? I’m not saying that the two criteria are mutually exclusive, I’m simply asking which one is more important to you. If you say “physical beauty”, then you must count yourself as one of the shallow people. And if you are shallow, you’re going to care a lot about what other shallow people think. By being shallow yourself, you’re doomed to judging yourself through the eyes of a shallow person - you. If you say “good moral character”, then congratulations, because you understand what really counts for creating a successful relationship. It takes someone of good moral character to recognize another, and when you have good moral character and prioritize it, it’s easy enough to see through shallow people and their meaningless judgments. If you surround yourself with people of good moral character - people who are capable of appreciating you for the good person you are and vice versa - you will exist in a very different social space, a place where shallow people can never get any real foothold.

Many people make the mistake of thinking that they need to be beautiful to be loved. Makes no sense. When you focus only on physical beauty, you turn people into mere objects, and, worse, you turn yourself into a mere object and allow others to treat you as such. Genuine feelings of love don’t come from physical beauty, they come from deep within the heart. What is it that you really want from people? Do you want them to praise your face and body? Is it going to make your life meaningful and fulfilled in the long run? No, because what people really want is love. To experience love, you must be a good person who is capable of love, and then you will have the ability to spot good people who are capable of loving you. If you are not even capable of loving yourself and seeing the beauty in yourself, how can you ask others to? If you are not capable of loving people and seeing the beauty in them, what kind of people will you attract and who would want to be around you?

You are not a passive player in social situations. Children who are bullied often feel passive and helpless for good reason, but that doesn’t have to be the case for the rest of your life, does it? You get to choose your attitude towards socializing (whether to trust or distrust), you get to choose how to engage with people (whether to focus on outer or inner qualities), you get to choose what sorts of people to engage with (shallow or kind), you get to choose who to keep as your long term friends (those who praise your looks or those who appreciate your true beauty). When you always default to the old lessons you learned from childhood trauma, you’ve essentially given up the power to choose, thus remaining a victim indefinitely, trembling in fear in every social interaction. And if the only standard you have for navigating social situations is the “physical beauty” standard that shallow people told you should be elevated as the most important human quality, you’re going to live a very shallow existence, devoid of love, because you’re not using the right standards in your approach to relationships. Do you want to think in the same way that the bully taught you, or do you want to have your own way of looking at the beauty in the world and trust in yourself?