#i was also considering Andrew but i fee he has more things to worry about than his hair | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

xlady-saya · 4 years ago

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Hello! I don’t really use this account a whole lot but I wanted to go ahead and make a pinned post, which I’ll hopefully remember to update frequently lol. Anyways, here’s a collection of the fics I’ve written for aftg, andreil, and others so far ^^

progress comes in small steps series [complete]

and we’re just starting to get it [Rated T, 11.1k]

Neil is nothing and everything all at once, the entire universe for Andrew, however small of a universe that is. Even Aaron is starting to see it, though the pieces still don't line up.

And Andrew is trying to convince Aaron that he's never jealous? Yeah right. You don't spend your entire life being denied, being hurt, going through foster care with nothing to call your own only to be okay with someone else trying to take the one bright piece of life you call yours.

Or, Aaron is done with Andrew's shit and makes it his job to prove his brother wrong.

there’s always more to learn [Rated T, 12.3k]

The subject of Katelyn and Neil hasn't felt like dangerous territory in a long time, but Aaron feels the bomb countdown already coming to an end before Bee even opens her mouth.

"Well, the two of them are so alike," Bee goes on, oblivious to the tension leaking into the space. Her smile is pleasant, teasing. "It just goes to show how you and Andrew have similar tastes despite being so different."

The world freezes on its axis.

Andrew inhales a little too loudly the same time Aaron chokes on his spit. "W-What?"

trust is a slow process [Rated T, 7.3k]

If Katelyn had been stealthier, she could've escaped the crowded dance floor without Andrew seeing her.

But of course, she's no Neil.

Or: Katelyn and Andrew spend some unwanted quality time together, and Katelyn sees things for what they are.

someday there won’t be scowls [Rated T, 8.1k]

Neil finds that even with his mind's best efforts to hang onto the wounds of the past, his opinion of Aaron just isn't what it used to be. He can thank Andrew and Katelyn for a lot of it, but his own observations certainly help.

When he sees Aaron like this, the mix of worry and adoration on his face as he thinks of Katelyn, Neil can't help but feel too exposed himself.

It's a start.

I want this touch to be familiar [Rated E, 38.1k]

Deep down, Andrew knew he would always reach this crossroads, a time where the thought became too strong to ignore.

Going all the way with Neil. It's not something he can continue to avoid thinking about. When Andrew looks back to the days where he held Neil's hands down, when he never got off with him in the same room, he's forced to acknowledge how much he's allowed.

Not allowed. Welcomed. Wanted.

But that’s not all there is to it, and the desire to make a decision finally makes itself known.

if magic exists, you’re the closest thing [Rated T, 16.2k]

The concept of love is not one Andrew understands.

For a long time, it escaped him. It's always fuzzy, always distorted. He'd given up on it long ago, so why is he still chasing answers?

Whatever the reason, he's content to blame Jean Moreau for a lot of things, Katelyn too.

It's their fault he's here, at the happiest place on earth.

this red is for you [Rated T, 10.8k]

Katelyn never considered herself capable of doling out violence.

It has always been a far away thought, dampened by college courses and late night dates with her boyfriend. She lives a stereotypical life, despite everything she's been through with Aaron. Aside from her growing connection with the notoriously troublesome Foxes, nothing much about her life has changed.

Even then, she's learning she's still able to surprise herself. When Katelyn witnesses Neil defending Andrew, her own protective rage rears its head, ready to be explored.

And maybe that's a good thing.

an unconventional crossing [Rated T, 8.1k]

Aaron likes to believe he and Andrew have a lot more practice navigating their conversations now. And he’s right, mostly. But sometimes, challenges arise at the strangest times, and especially when their significant others are concerned.

In which Andrew and Aaron run into each other at the grocery store, and choose not to part ways.

the roads I traveled with you [Rated T, 35.5k]

When his brother gets engaged, Aaron doesn't expect it to send his head spinning as much as it does. Marriage has always felt like a dream, or a nightmare, one he never thought either of them would be able to achieve.

In that moment, Aaron remembers what he's always known, what keeps his head above water. He wants to be with Katelyn forever. That's never been a question. But marriage hadn't been brought up. For so long it was this abstract concept, a fantasy. He'd always reasoned with himself that it would happen, rationally of course it would, but now...

Now Andrew has made the idea a reality, and Aaron has to confront his own wants for his future.

one shots/multichapters

I’ve had a love of my own [Rated T, ongoing]

Despite everything Neil could’ve imagined for his life, he never thought he’d be here, finally giving the world the interview they’ve always wanted.

It’s been decades, but even with his numerous accolades and sports wins, he finds that they’re the least important thing about his life.

Neil can’t help but laugh. Andrew would be so annoyed if he were here.

Of course, Neil only wants to talk about him, and the life they spent together.

slurred [Rated M, 1.6k]

They're not the type of people to give up control, but with each other they're willing to bend the rules.

growing pains [Rated T, 10.6k]

Stuart knows it’s perfectly normal for teenagers to have crushes. That’s why he’s not surprised in the slightest when Neil starts acting strange; lighter, happier. However, what he doesn’t expect is for the crush to leak into his everyday life—or literally take up residence in his house. Or: five times Stuart knew Neil was hiding a nighttime guest, and one time he actually met him.

your hands are mine to hold [Rated E, 6.7k]

It has taken a long time for Thea to accept a lot of aspects of their past. Her eyes track the fear in Kevin's eyes, emboldened by how his own resolve wears it away year by year. She'll never take that sight for granted.

It's hard to ignore the weights on both of them, with their lives so eaten up by the Exy world and memories of the Nest, but one thing has always remained consistent.

Thea trusts Kevin Day with her everything, and she'll never hesitate to follow him into battle.

better than a night light [Rated T, 7.3k]

Neil hasn’t had the chance to examine the feeling of fear in a long time. He’s all too familiar with it though; from the nightmares, to the memories of a cold basement floor, he knows the feeling like the back of his hand.

But this fear is new, loaded with ridiculousness and a complete lack of reason. It’s nothing more than pixels on a screen, far away theories that can’t hurt him like his past can.

Maybe that’s why he’s beginning to not mind it as much. It doesn’t hurt that Andrew is also there to hold him through it.

Playtime [Rated E, 6.7k]

There was a time when Andrew might've questioned being so into this.

Not anymore.

take what you want [Rated E, 5.4k]

Laila has come a long way from her freshman year, past all the worries and pressure to behave a certain way. She never thought she’d realize it here, lounging poolside with her girlfriend.

The urge to seduce Alvarez is just too good to let go.

a product of absence [Rated T, 7.8k]

It’s funny, Andrew thinks, that this would be seen as a curse in any other situation. Two people, thrown apart by time and circumstances, desperately searching for one another.

But Andrew has never doubted Neil’s return. He’s not running, he’s not worried. It’s perhaps the only waiting game that’s been worth it, that he understands, because this bond with Neil has only ever made sense to him.

In another life, Neil made this much clear: they would always find each other in the end.

here I am, there you go again [Rated T, 17.5k]

There's many things about the past Neil chooses to leave behind, and most of the time it's for the best. For some reason though, his brain can't help but cling to the last memories of him.

"My Ex." Neil bites his tongue at the word, because it never feels right. At this point, so many years later, that man is no one. A stranger. He shouldn't presume to know him anymore than his ex should presume to know Neil.

If he remembers Neil at all.

But Neil should know better than anyone that the past always has a way of catching up to him, and this time, he's not as willing to run as he might've initially thought.

losing battle [Rated M, 3.4k]

It's always been Nicky's dream to be closer with his cousins. However, when he opens Andrew's mail to find more than he bargained for, he finds himself regretting the wish. Unfortunately, no matter how much Andrew's warmed up to him in the last few years, Nicky's pretty sure he'll die (literally) if Andrew finds out.

Nicky's mission begins.

temper, temper [Rated T, 3.7k]

"You paid for the deluxe package," Neil says as he scrolls through his payment history to find his client's invoice. His system is simple:

Basic Package: Fuck you. A general statement of displeasure and a brief description of the wrongdoing.

Intermediate Package: Fuck you, with passion. Everything in the basic package, but with additional insults. Customizable for an extra fee.

Deluxe Package: Fuck you to hell. Everything from the first two packages, for an extended period of time, and with extra viciousness.

And it looks like Andrew Minyard is the unlucky soul today.

a new contract [Rated T, 7.2k]

Neil’s request is simple on its face, but infinitely complicated given his history.

“Convince your team to sign me.”

And this was Andrew’s deal: If Neil can prove that he’s serious, that he can build a new life for himself so that he doesn’t end up crawling back to Riko, Andrew will convince his coach to recommend him for recruitment in the fall.

Yes, it was meant to be black and white…

But Andrew should’ve known better. Nothing ever is.

What a Rush [Rated E, 1.6k]

It's always Andrew's goal to stretch Neil's pleasure to its limits, and he's barely begun to scratch the surface.

locked together [Rated E, 8.3k]

Andrew licks his lips and tugs on the tail of the beast inside him, righting it so it can point him in the direction of what he's searching for. Neil looks good on top of him, panting and giddy, and it's rare that Andrew doesn't want to flip them over and make Neil fall apart.

But...every once in a while...

Well, he's relaxed today. He wants to listen, he wants orders, he wants to be controlled so long as the control comes from Neil.

do you like scary movies? [Rated T, 22.5k]

To say Andrew has never seen the benefit in the make-believe would be a lie. However, he finds less and less use for it as he grows older. He especially fails to see the benefits of anything from the horror genre; he’s made plenty of his own mistakes, has seen more than enough to terrify him in his life. He doesn’t need to rely on jump scares and idiotic protagonists.

But when he meets Neil, self-proclaimed horror archivist, he finds that maybe he never gave the genre the credit it was due, and he ends up thanking the dull movies eventually…

They lead him to Neil, the realest thing he’s ever known.

#aftg #andreil #my fics #my writing #all for the game #kateaaron #kevthea #other pairings

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theliterateape · 3 years ago

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Trump Declares Victory in 2024 Presidential Election

by Joe Janes

After winning a CPAC straw vote, Donald Trump has gone one further and has already declared victory for an election over three years away.

The Minutes of Our Last Meeting has an interview exclusive. Trump had this to say about his pending but certain victory.

“This last election was rigged. Everyone knows that. Fortunately, loyal Republicans have put strict laws in place to prevent another election steal. Sleepy Joe can run again, but I’ll beat him, again. It’s a done deal thanks to my Republican governors. And Trump will be back in the White House along with some added on years from missing this term and to make up for the times democrats tried to impeach me. It’s only fair.”

Will Mike Pence once again be your running mate?

“Mike turned out to be a traitor. After all I did for him, too. Nobody knew who Mike Pence was until he became Trump’s vice-president. He should be hanged. Maybe make that part of my inauguration celebration. A military parade, fireworks, and stringing up Mike Pence on the south lawn. Which will also prove I’m not a racist, because who hangs white guys in public?”

Who will be your running mate?

“Ron De Santis is up there. If he survives being governor of Florida, he’s up there. We’re both Florida men. People probably want another woman vice-president. I have no problem with that. I love women. Marjorie Taylor Green and Lauren Boebert are good candidates. They’re attractive enough. They’d do what I say and wear a dress. You see Camila Harris bouncing around in colorful trousers and tennis shoes. What’s that? Is that vice-presidential? At least Mikie never did that in public.”

What do you consider to be his biggest challenge when you return to the Oval Office?

“So many things that Trump will be working hard on. So many things. The biggest is probably going to be shifting blame from Obama to Biden, but I’m not too worried about that. Biden is just Obama - Part Two, right? I’ll also focus on prison reform. By that, I mean leniency for VIPs. Just in case. Prison would be more humane with an omelet station and a golf course. We have a healthcare plan that’s beautiful. Way better than Obamacare. Cancel cancel culture, of course. Shut up those people who try to silence decent Americans using their freedom of speech, like Trump. And we’re coming up with a new flag.”

A new flag?

“I love the flag. Nobody loves the flag more than me. It’s the greatest flag in the country. Bob Ross did a great job sewing it. Him and Paul Revere. There’s always room for improvement though. We did a great job redesigning Air Force One. Air Force One didn’t have gold toilets before we took it over. Nobody talks about how great a job Trump did on that. We’re looking at maybe making the stars into the shape of a “T”. Adding a blue line to the stripey part. There are a few with my face on them. I don’t know about that. I told my people, ‘I don’t know, I don’t know.’ And they said, ‘Sir, the people love you. You brought respect and honor back to America.’ If it’s what the people want, we’ll consider it. You’ll probably see my face on money, too. Who better to replace Andrew Jackson than me? I’m way more good looking than Harriet Tubman, too, who was never a president. Only presidents should be on money. Washington, Lincoln, Franklin, all presidents.”

Will your slogan still be “Make America Great Again”?

“We still have a lot of hats in Trump Tower, so yeah. We make a lot of money selling them. We get them cheap from Chy-nuh and sell them 5-10 times what they’re worth. People love them. I love them. I love people who love them. It helps cover my legal fees when I pay them, which isn’t often, because I’m smart.”

#Donald Trump #2024 Election #Trump Victory #comedy #satire

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coneycat · 6 years ago

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BoRhap knockoff, a snippet

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that I write original fiction and had found myself making up characters based on the characters in Bohemian Rhapsody.

I also mentioned there was a good chance the story would turn into a murder mystery. Well, it’s stretching a point to call it a “story,” exactly, but it’s definitely a murder mystery. At the moment I have a small group of characters and am working on creating an English country house, an unexpected revelation regarding the bass player’s family, and a murdered upper-class twit.

And the following snippet, which I mostly worked out while walking Senna this morning. You may wish to guess which character here matches which character in the movie, but there are no prizes. Also it’s “behind the cut,” so to speak, so as not to subject everyone to my nonsense.

Snippet:

Jamie handed the joint to Jeremy, then closed his eyes and pressed his fingertips to his forehead.

"All right?" Gavin asked, in a slightly-too-neutral tone.

"Yeah," Jamie replied, without opening his eyes. "It's just that my fingers are cold so this helps my headache. I'm fine."

"I'm not fine," Felicity said miserably. "I'm pretty scared, actually."

Roo absolutely concurred, but in the interests of cheering her up he put on a rallying tone. "You? You have nothing to worry about. In horror movies it's always the gays and the black people who die first. And since I'm the one, and the closest we've got to the other, I'm the one who needs to watch myself."

Jamie did open his eyes at that. He turned one of his best don't-be-scared looks, the one that actually usually worked before they went onstage in a new venue, on Roo. "I thought we agreed this was Agatha Christie. Totally different rules."

True, Roo thought. If this was Agatha Christie I wouldn't even be here. He didn't say it, trying hard not to think about being safely at home right now. About all of them being safely home now.

And Felicity still really did look scared, so Roo grabbed for the lifeline Jamie had just thrown and ran with it.

"Really, Fee, you're fine," he assured her, borrowing the nickname Gav called her. "You're the ingenue. The ingenue never dies in Agatha Christie books. Just for God's sake don't get involved in a love triangle, because that spells noble self-sacrificing death for one of these two idiots." This with a flamboyant gesture toward Jamie and Jeremy who, being both straight and unrelated to Felicity, were the obvious candidates for any triangular action that might happen.

Jeremy passed the joint to Gavin and addressed Jamie with slightly forced good cheer:

"Well, that's you fucked, mate. Self-sacrificing nobility is more your line than mine."

"Only if the author thinks the readers will like you better," Roo pointed out. "And I'm not sure you want to make that bet against Kanga."

"Shit," Jeremy said, while Jamie did his I-don't-make-the-rules look, the one with the little closed-mouth smile and the raised eyebrows. Felicity almost smiled.

Gav passed the joint across to her-- she handed it directly on to Roo-- and said,

"Actually, come to think of it, I'm the one who should worry. I'm only your cousin, so I'm pretty much expendable in the interests of the plot."

And also if someone really was thinning out the heirs, so to speak, in which case he and Felicity were both absolutely right to be scared, Roo acknowledged.

And that was the last thing he wanted any of them to think about, so he blew a big show-off smoke ring and announced,

"I've just thought of something. Agatha Christie would probably consider me a deviant who isn't even properly British--"

"Roo," Jamie said, in a tone of mild reproof, which Gav and Jer's faces both mirrored.

"No, what I mean is-- I'd be the killer." His three bandmates all traded he-has-a-point-there looks, and Roo went on, "And that means you lot have nothing to worry about, because I certainly don't want to kill any of you. Or your mum and dad," he added generously to Gavin.

"Or mine, thanks," Felicity prompted, finally getting into the spirit of the thing. This time when Roo handed her the joint, she took a hit off it before passing it to Jamie.

"Of course not yours. Or your grandparents-- in fact, there's nobody left here that I have the slightest interest in murdering. Apologies to the memory of your cousin Andrew--"

"But he really was a shit," Gavin sighed.

"He was," Felicity agreed.

"So we're all safe," Roo said cheerfully.

"Which, unfortunately, is exactly what the police think," Jamie reminded them. "Only with me cast as first murderer instead of you."

"That's Shakespeare, not Agatha Christie," Roo argued, trying very hard not to reflect that it was really because of him that the local coppers were casting such a beady eye on Kanga.

Who apparently knew what Roo was thinking, because he smiled crookedly and said, "Don't blame yourself for him being a bigoted twat. I didn't want to murder him but I would have hit him again quite happily."

Which left them more or less where they'd been when they'd come out to the stables in the first place.

#writing stuff #character stuff #bohemian rhapsody

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andwinterfell · 5 years ago

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"le raison d'être“ characters: Cher Michaels, Darla (Michaels) Matthews, The McCormick Family warnings: implications of parental neglect / emotional abuse / family issues

1981 words originally written 5/26/2017, no edits currently

The small bed and breakfast of Seaside Cove isn't a place most people would find at first glance. It's somewhat off to the side, located on a cliff, it's driveway shielded by trees. One driving through, especially in poor weather, is likely to miss the blue sign that points it's way down that road, or they're more likely to see the yellow diamond that says No Outlet and pass it up completely.

This is what Cher Michaels deals with every time he makes his way into this town. Leaning over the back seat of his Ubers pointing no, no, there it's there… and often sitting back grumbling when they drive past. The small bed and breakfast of Seaside Cove is larger than most houses still. It's old, a tall and skinny Victorian home with with red shutters and a door also painted red. The mailbox is shaped like a large blue whale, and when he steps out of his Uber often his first act is to run his fingers over the details of the metal. Handmade he knows, by the owner's father before he disappeared and became the sort of person who kidnapped rich kids for money. Cher heard he was in jail again last time he talked to his sister. Neither of them knew how to feel about that, all things considered.

There have been a few additions over the years, newly applied paint and a repair of certain parts of the house, a wheelchair ramp and several colorful picnic tables overlooking the sea. The newest thing Cher finds this time is the binoculars sitting at the very edge of the cliff, just before the fence to keep people from falling over. Twenty five cents for a minute, fifty for two. He doesn't know how they keep all this up with prices like that. It's a cheap place to stay too, five open rooms with two beds each at the most and a fee that was far less than most in the area and a house that was hard to find. They get more business in tourist season, but not by much. They have benefactors of sorts, himself semi-included when he can get away with it, but he still can't say if it would be enough. *** Cher Michaels arrives on an off season, bundled up for the cold Friday afternoon after cutting his last class to get here. Accounting, he'd told his sister when she tried to chide him, a class he both hates and excels at so don't sound like such a mother, Darla. “Well, I'm a mother now aren't I?” “You're not mine.” (That phone conversation led to awkward silence, both of them remembering their own mother. Darla makes a sound, probably to ask how Angelique is doing if she's well if she's healthy, but Cher cuts her off before she can. “I'll be there in a bit.”) Now, standing in front of the house, he stuffs his hands into his pockets and shifts awkwardly. He wonders if she's working right now, because he hadn't called her when he got out of class and into the Uber. He wonders if he should have let her ask. *** The small bed and breakfast of Seaside Cove is run by a couple in their late thirties. Junior McCormick and his wife Norelle, their children Andrew and Mia, and Junior's grandfather Reginald. Aside from his sister, they're the only ones who run the house. It's a family business, Norelle had told him, you and your sister are family too. He tries not to think about that. He fails often, it's hard when Norelle McCormick spots you from the window and is suddenly ushering you in, cooing over you like an Aunt you haven't seen in a while even though Cher reminds her it's barely been a month. Darla's not there yet, but his niece and nephew are. Tristan, getting bigger and learning how to walk, chases after Norelle son, a teenager who has the whole angst thing down to a T. Amèlie, nearly five, lays on her stomach at the foot of Reggie's wheelchair, quietly coloring while the old man sleeps. It's hectic as always, and Cher has to thank God that only the bare amount of family is here right now. Thanksgiving had seen this as well as the Winters twins, Junior's half brother with his mother and their childhood friend, and even Junior's father who'd stopped in at the end of the day to cause a commotion and leave again only to be arrested the following month for breaking and entering. “No one else is coming, right?” “Well…” “Other than Darla and Jere.” *** He's playing with Mia and Tristan when Darla finally shows up. It's nearly evening when she comes in with her husband, both of them carrying groceries. She's surprised when she sees him there. “I didn't think you were serious about missing class, Cher.” “When do I lie about that?” “Fine, I hoped you weren't serious.” He shrugs. “I'll make up what I missed over the weekend while you're working.” They both know this isn't true. More likely: Tristan will demand his attention, Norelle will need someone to watch Mia, Amèlie will want him to play her favorite slow piano song a hundred times in an hour, Andrew will need help with math. Cher never considered himself to be good with kids until he found himself with his sister's and Norelle’s crawling all over him. He thinks he likes them now, maybe, sometimes. He thinks he's a decent tutor too, he thinks he's getting better at patience. At least, with children. Wouldn't want one of his own but... well, it's been pointed out he indulges and humors them more than adults, at least. Before that, though, he pulls a few things from his bag. Wrapped in brown paper and again inside a plastic bag. He gives these to Darla. “Fran sent that envelope of money, Jolie sent the champagne God only knows where she got it, the coloring books too. I found that necklace here, in America, it was cheaper than I expected.” (She cries, of course she does. She wraps her arms around his shoulders. She doesn’t ask what about Father and Maman. Cher leans into it.) *** It's Saturday before he sits down with his sister. She's made iced tea, put it in two skinny glasses that she sits between them in the sitting room. He has Mia on his lap, reading some story to her while she points at brightly colored pictures that follow. Darla sweeps her away, depositing her into her great grandfather’s lap before taking a seat next to her brother. “You haven’t even looked at what you missed yet, have you?” Cher slumps back, looking away from her. “I don’t really need to, Darla.” She reaches out, fingers twitching on his sleeve as she tugs his hand closer so she can set her own in it. He lets her, glances at her, tries not to smile. “Have you decided what you’re going to do when you finish school?” she asks, and any semblance of a smile drops from his face completely. She notices, adjusts the question, it’s no better in his mind but at least it’s something he can answer: “How was Tours?” “Same as always.” “Is Maman doing okay?” “... no, I don’t think so.” “... Jolie?” “I can’t tell. She seems happy. I don’t know.” “Francine?” “She and father fought a lot this time, more than usual,” he leans back. “She’s smarter than him. I don’t think he likes that.” Darla can’t hold back a laugh and covers her mouth after, embarrassed. A little shamed. (He knows why, her laughs aren’t very modest anymore. Aren’t pristine, ladylike little giggles. They’re loud, she snorts now. He thinks it’s his fault, because he’s here she laughs just fine when she’s with Jere, when she doesn’t seem to care he’s watching.) “What does she think of everything going on? Have you told her anything you’ve told me?” Cher shrugs. “No, not as much. I think she can tell something’s up, though. I mean, clearly she knows I’m talking to you. I’m sure everyone does, at this point. I haven’t been exactly subtle, but Father--” “Tell me more about Christmas,” she says, cutting him off. When he looks over she has one of those forced smiles on again, pretty and polite, and he wants to sink into the earth when he sees it. It gets easier the more they talk about it, she even laughs a few times at the way Jolie dragged him out at night, hearing he was going out more. He tells her about his classes, his new ones, what he likes and what he doesn’t. He makes her tell him about her Christmas, after he left, the whole motley crew showing up to fill the house, leaving little room for business. “You’re a Scrooge,” she says when he points this out. “I’m practical.” “That’s what a Scrooge would say, Cherie.” “I haven’t been haunted yet.” “Give it time,” she teases, leaning in to pinch his cheek before Norelle calls her away. One couple had found the place, shivering with snow in their hair and grateful for the warmth of a fire. “The fuck do they think they’re trying to do?” Reggie asks Cher when he comes to pick Mia back up. Cher shrugs. “Sounds like they’re sightseeing.” “It’s fucking winter.” “They want to see the natural beauty, not the tourist traps.” “Fucking stupid of them.” Cher laughs, the only sign of his agreement before he leaves the old man to sleep again. *** Sunday evening, just before dinner, Darla sweeps into Cher’s room with her hands on her hips. “You have class tomorrow, don’t you?” He sets down his book, shrugs. “I sent in the homework when I had the free time. I don’t need to be back for anything urgent before one.” “Cher…” “What if I stayed here? What if I didn’t go back?” (And, it always comes down to this. He always backs up the second he sees the look on her face, the worry, the is this my fault the you don’t have to follow my example the we’re still family no matter what he says. It happens again:) “I’m joking,” he lies, and goes back to his book. He only looks up when he feels the mattress shift, sees Darla sitting next to him, leaning over his shoulder. “What’s this one for?” “Accounting, I told you I’d look over it when I had the time.” But, he closes the book and sets it aside when she leans her head on his shoulder. They stay like that until Andrew peeks his head in, rolls his eyes and says, “Hey, dinner’s almost ready and I still need help with this Calc stuff so…” *** What if I stayed here? What if I didn’t go back? He’d be miserable, he thinks. This was his sister’s life, what she chose to do with herself, and he knows very well he’d be unhappy doing this all the time. They’re different, the two of them. She likes to bake and garden and is excited over how rough her hands have gotten over the years, how much less they hurt the more she uses them. He likes the softness of his hands, likes staying inside cool rooms and playing or reading. He doesn’t know how he would survive with no money and a job that barely paid minimum wage, no matter how much he loved the McCormicks. No matter how much he loved his weekends and holidays here. Monday morning, when she’s hugging him goodbye, she says what she always does. “What if you tried something else? What if you found something else you loved to do?” He never tells her that’s impossible he really wants to believe it’s true.

#ch: the mccormicks #ch: darla michaels #ch: cher michaels #source: wtl

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renaroo · 7 years ago

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Wednesday Roundup 11.7.2017

It’s DC week, fellow comic fans! and believe it or not, it was not planned. These things just… happen about once a month. It’s always a surprise to me, too, it’s weird.

Now there’s a lot of good comics out today but I do want to just take the time here to thank DC for memorializing two men I feel never got enough credit from the company for their vast contributions toward DC and its properties, those being the 100th birthday of Jack Kirby, and the passing of Adam West. I wish that more had been done during their lives to credit them the way they deserved rather than for DC to have spent the better part of the past forty years trying desperately to undermine those contributions, but it feels good knowing that the current atmosphere at the company is one of more gratefulness toward these men and what they meant for DC. And seeing the tributes toward them in all of my issues this week made me pretty emotional. I hope more and more exposure to these men’s legacies helps more fans look them up and expose themselves to how great their work was.

That all out of the way, let’s just get right into the comics this week.

DC’s Detective Comics, DC’s Gotham Academy: Second Semester, DC’s Superwoman, DC’s Titans, DC’s Wonder Woman

DC’s Detective Comics (2016-present) #960 James Tynion IV, Alvaro Martinez, Raul Fernandez, Brad Anderson

I have to take a star from this comic’s official score because it had an opportunity of Cass without ever delivering on the Cass, and as we all know from this blog that is considered an inconceivable sin.

One of the reasons I’ve always been attracted to comics as a medium is because part of the fun of them is that you have this weird almost constant shift back and forth from what one creator considers canon to what another doesn’t, so I can say sentences like “I appreciate that this issue retconned back in the retcon that Bruce and Zatanna had a long history growing up together in the retcon that was brought about by the non-continuity animated series that was inspired by a writer’s love for their relationship back in the Bronze Age comics.”

And if you’re in the Know you understand that this is actually something that makes total sense. And if you don’t... hell, I have no idea. It’s been so long since I was ever a layperson in comic book terms that I can’t even accurately tell you whether or not Zatanna is a character known by non-comic fans or not.

In any case I appreciate this issue a lot as a Zatanna fan because I’ve felt like, since the 2011 reboot and Zee’s reintroduction through Justice League Dark (which I was pretty famously not a fan of) there’s been a weird need to have Bruce and Zatanna more separate from each other and make Zee in particular younger and more... I don’t know. It’s been a weird couple of years for Zatanna fans, honestly.

I loved Kate and Luke throughout this comic, they both had a great chemistry with each other and I appreciate that we’re getting more different combinations of various members of the Belfry to sort of flesh out character and, more importantly, provide insight to how they work as a team from multiple angles.

Just wish they’d give me more of Cass from this angle since the Belfry was originally designed to train younger members and she’s the only youth left c’mon.

Jean Paul’s stuff... I’ll have to wait for the story to wrap up fully because I have conflicted Catholic feelings and usually, for me, it’s just better to let that play out as it may.

DC’s Gotham Academy: Second Semester (2016-2017) #11 Brenden Fletcher, Becky Cloonan, Karl Kerschl, Adam Archer, Sandra Hope, MASSYK

The relationship between Maps and Olive is truly the driving force of this series, so it is extremely fitting in a way that the driving force behind the plot to its ultimate story, and really its ultimate resolution, is challenging the foundations of that friendship to begin with.

Everything is coming together slowly but surely, and it’s interesting that Maps gets to live her dream -- to be Robin, a hero, and put on the mask -- but only really by confronting her own biases and misconceptions of her best friend and what mental illness really means for the situation they find themselves in.

I love that Maps is allowed to be flawed and figure this out on her own -- she’s only a child, after all, while the world around her and the voices of reason from all the other children and adults constantly reminds her and us that these are not okay prejudices to have, and that her only way to save everything she’s shown to love in Gotham Academy will rely on her learning that.

I remember two years ago when I was giving some pretty harsh criticisms of Batman and Robin Eternal and it’s pretty epically bad handling of disabilities and people were attempting to defend it with the idea that they were a bunch of teenagers being thoughtless, but issues like this -- really, series like this -- proves how these things should be done. It’s real to life without losing sight of the morally correct position.

I’m missing this series and the unique voice it provides to the DC Universe already.

DC’s Superwoman (2016-present) #12 K. Perkins, Stephen Segovia, Art Thibert, HI-FI

Remember how I used to be very very concerned about whether or not this comic was going to find its stride at the end of the day? Well, consider the concern taken care of because this issue absolutely helped me fee like Perkins knows exactly what Superwoman is doing and how to get us all there because this was tight, it was dramatic, and it was absolutely emotionally worthwhile the whole way through.

I love that the tension of this relationship and the tension of Lana never truly feeling as though she’s found her place even in a family she loves and respects as much as the Irons family comes through without necessitating that anyone is really the bad guy.

They are in a difficult situation involving loss, complicated dynamics, and just a general sense of losing touch with each other after the first arc really made them question how reliable each other’s abilities are. Especially Lana’s.

And I love that Nat can continue to be the good voice of reason and that the relationships between women overall are the most solid and most positive in the comic. Especially women in STEM positions.

I just loved this issue though I’m really hoping we get more Traci 13 sooner rather than later and that she and Nat’s relationship continues to bloom.

DC’s Titans (2016-present) #13 Dan Abnett, V. Ken Marion, Norm Rapmund, Andrew Dalhouse

While I wouldn’t exactly consider Abnett’s Titans a leading and daring change in the industry or anything, I’m kind of sad that we don’t see more of the Rebirth titles at DC attempting to do the very thing that has been so masterfully managed in the Titans comic. There’s this comfortable merger between what history of these characters and relationships we know and love from their extensive pasts with an honestly much needed upgrade and change up in the exact team components and their personal lives.

And yes I could totally do without stupid love triangles we’ve seen before on a team that’s had them for arguably far longer than can be excused, especially when it comes at the expense of either the very important plot of a black woman’s identity and growth or the interesting subplot being brought to the forefront of a traitor in the midst. But I feel, at least for this issue, that it’s not nearly as terrible as it could have been. Especially since most of the issue and its narration was handled through Wally’s perspective and he didn’t seem all that focused on his supposed romance with Donna.

I think it’s telling that in a few issues with far less focus, Lilith and Garth’s budding feelings for each other feels far more organic and interesting than what’s going on with the Obvious Breeding Pairs.

I also love how Dick is characterized in this series. It’s very much the Dick Grayson I remember and love and would like to see it in more current comics’ writing.

DC’s Wonder Woman (2016-present) #26 Shea Fontana, Mirka Andolfo, Romulo Fajardo Jr.

Anticipating this new run of Wonder Woman has had me both excited and utterly terrified all at once, but the thing that has concerned me the most is that we would be met with a run of Wonder Woman that would seemingly undo all the good will that was built up over the course of Greg Rucka’s amazing recent run. I was worried about the Amazons, I was worried about how Diana’s supporting cast would be adjusted, I was worried about her history, about her villains, about the freaking Bechdel Test of all things. I was just, like, a bottle full of worry until this issue came out.

And it came out and it… seems okay!

I know that doesn’t sound like a ringing endorsement but please believe me when I assure you that it is. I mean, the amount of hugs that are in this comic alone are deserving of remark. And I love that we’re diving right into the political statements with opening a brand new run with the defiant and important image of Diana defending Muslim refugees in a Greek camp. Like oh my gosh this is exactly the kind of empowerment and political statements we need from a Wonder Woman in the world right now.

I love that we’re going to concentrate more on Diana’s occupation outside of being Wonder Woman, getting to meet more of the military group she works with and seeing her interact with Etta even more than she does with Steve. And having Steve saving refugees alongside Diana! Diana dealing with her past! Diana struggling to put into words the things she sees on a daily basis! This is all good, humanizing stuff. And while I’m not the biggest fan of the art style, it does a good job of keeping the characters true to form and I love that Diana is still tall and towering over everyone.

I’m optimistic about this run and am hooping for the best to follow.

So. There’s not really a clear victor here in my eyes this week. There’s just a lot of flavors of ice cream mixed together and I’m kinda overwhelmed because my go-to flavor to pick is chocolate and there’s not really a chocolate so it’s basically left to me tallying up nonsense points in my head arbitrarily and then playing a very festive game of eeny menny miny toe. but that didn’t seem scientific enough so I picked Superwoman. It felt like it moved the plot forward the most without being utterly weighed down by being either the new start of a storyline or the issue right before a big finale. It felt like a lot happened and yet it gave me a lot to look forward to. And also I think the art for it and Detective Comics were by far the most consistently good.

In any case that’s just my pick of the week and as you can probably tell I’m not entirely committed to the method by which I chose! So I’m curious to hear some other people’s opinions. Agree with me? Disagree? Think I should pick up something else this week that I missed? I’d love to hear from you.

Now, I’m going to take a moment to also ask something a little strange for those who maybe have been following me for a while. I’m a laboratory technician by day and a comic reviewer and aspiring writer/artist by night. And as a result, the pinch for creating content of any sort — but especially for these personal projects in regards to eventually building the time + materials for producing my own comic including being able to hire a line artist and colorist (who I already have in mind and a verbal agreement with), I will need additional funds to keep things up. I plan on keeping people tuned in as we build closer to more announcements, but I want to start the ball rolling now. So if you’re interested in my opinions on comics and would be interested in supporting what would come of me taking the opportunity to be behind the helm, please help me out by contributing to my Patreon! I’m still figuring out the kinks but I’m hoping that with some of your help I’ll be up and running sooner than expected!

Please become my patron on patreon for more alliterative begging like this!

#Rena Roundups #SPOILERS #Wednesday Spoilers #Detective Comics (2016 )#Gotham Academy: Second Semester #Superwoman (2016 )#Titans (2016 )#Wonder Woman (2016 )

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gordonwilliamsweb · 5 years ago

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Telehealth Will Be Free, No Copays, They Said. But Angry Patients Are Getting Billed.

Karen Taylor had been coughing for weeks when she decided to see a doctor in early April. COVID-19 cases had just exceeded 5,000 in Texas, where she lives.

Cigna, her health insurer, said it would waive out-of-pocket costs for “telehealth” patients seeking coronavirus screening through video conferences. So Taylor, a sales manager, talked with her physician on an internet video call.

The doctor’s office charged her $70. She protested. But “they said, ‘No, it goes toward your deductible and you’ve got to pay the whole $70,’” she said.

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Policymakers and insurers across the country say they are eliminating copayments, deductibles and other barriers to telemedicine for patients confined at home who need a doctor for any reason.

“We are encouraging people to use telemedicine,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said last month after ordering insurers to eliminate copays, typically collected at the time of a doctor visit, for telehealth visits.

But in a fragmented health system — which encompasses dozens of insurers, 50 state regulators and thousands of independent doctor practices ― the shift to cost-free telemedicine for patients is going far less smoothly than the speeches and press releases suggest. In some cases, doctors are billing for telephone calls that used to be free.

Patients say doctors and insurers are charging them upfront for video appointments and phone calls, not just copays but sometimes the entire cost of the visit, even if it’s covered by insurance.

Despite what politicians have promised, insurers said they were not able to immediately eliminate telehealth copays for millions of members who carry their cards but receive coverage through self-insured employers. Executives at telehealth organizations say insurers have been slow to update their software and policies.

“A lot of the insurers who said that they’re not going to charge copayments for telemedicine ― they haven’t implemented that,” said George Favvas, CEO of Circle Medical, a San Francisco company that delivers family medicine and other primary care via livestream. “That’s starting to hit us right now.”

One problem is that insurers have waived copays and other telehealth cost sharing for in-network doctors only. Another is that Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare and other carriers promoting telehealth have little power to change telemedicine benefits for self-insured employers whose claims they process.

Such plans cover more than 100 million Americans — more than the number of beneficiaries covered by the Medicare program for seniors or by Medicaid for low-income families. All four insurance giants say improved telehealth benefits don’t necessarily apply to such coverage. Nor can governors or state insurance regulators force those plans, which are regulated federally, to upgrade telehealth coverage.

“Many employer plans are eliminating cost sharing” now that federal regulators have eased the rules for certain kinds of plans to improve telehealth benefits, said Brian Marcotte, CEO of the Business Group on Health, a coalition of very large, mostly self-insured employers.

For many doctors, business and billings have plunged because of the coronavirus shutdown. New rules notwithstanding, many practices may be eager to collect telehealth revenue immediately from patients rather than wait for insurance companies to pay, said Sabrina Corlette, a research professor and co-director of the Center on Health Insurance Reforms at Georgetown University.

“A lot of providers may not have agreements in place with the plans that they work with to deliver services via telemedicine,” she said. “So these providers are protecting themselves upfront by either asking for full payment or by getting the copayment.”

David DeKeyser, a marketing strategist in Brooklyn, New York, sought a physician’s advice via video after coming in contact with someone who attended an event where coronavirus was detected. The office charged the whole visit — $280, not just the copay ― to his debit card without notifying him.

“It happened to be payday for me,” he said. A week earlier and the charge could have caused a bank overdraft, he said. An email exchange got the bill reversed, he said.

With wider acceptance, telehealth calls have suddenly become an important and lucrative potential source of physician revenue. Medicare and some commercial insurers have said they will pay the same rate for video calls as for office visits.

Some doctors are charging for phone calls once considered an incidental and non-billable part of a previous office visit. Blue Cross plans in Massachusetts, Wyoming, Alabama and North Carolina are paying for phoned-in patient visits, according to America’s Health Insurance Plans, a lobbying group.

“A lot of carriers wouldn’t reimburse telephonic encounters” in the past, Corlette said.

Catherine Parisian, a professor in North Carolina, said what seemed like a routine follow-up call with her specialist last month became a telehealth consultation with an $80 copay.

“What would have been treated as a phone call, they now bill as telemedicine,” she said. “The physician would not call me without billing me.” She protested the charge and said she has not been billed yet.

By many accounts, the number of doctor encounters via video has soared since the Department of Health and Human Services said in mid-March that it would take “unprecedented steps to expand Americans’ access to telehealth services.”

Medicare expanded benefits to pay for most telemedicine nationwide instead of just for patients in rural areas and other limited circumstances, HHS said. The program has also temporarily dropped a ban on doctors waiving copays and other patient cost sharing. Such waivers might have been considered violations of federal anti-kickback laws.

At the same time, the CARES Act, passed by Congress last month to address the COVID-19 emergency, allows private, high-deductible health insurance to make an exception for telehealth in patient cost sharing. Such plans can now pay for video doctor visits even if patients haven’t met the deductible.

Dozens of private health insurers listed by AHIP say they have eliminated copays and other cost sharing for telemedicine. Cigna, however, has waived out-of-pocket costs only for telehealth associated with COVID-19 screening. Cigna did not respond to requests for comment.

Teladoc Health, a large, publicly traded telemedicine company, said its volume has doubled to 20,000 medical visits a day since early March. Its stock price has nearly doubled, too, since Jan. 1.

With such a sharp increase, it’s not surprising that insurers and physicians are struggling to keep up, said Circle Medical CEO Favvas.

“It’s going to be an imperfect process for a while,” he said. “It’s understandable given that things are moving so quickly.”

Abbie VanSickle, a California journalist, wanted her baby’s scheduled wellness visit done remotely because she worried about visiting a medical office during a pandemic. Her insurer, UnitedHealthcare, would not pay for it, the pediatrician told her. Mom and baby had to come in.

“It seems like such an unnecessary risk to take,” VanSickle said. “If we can’t do wellness visits, we’re surely not alone.”

A UnitedHealthcare spokesperson said that there was a misunderstanding and that the baby’s remote visit would be covered without a copay.

Jacklyn Grace Lacey, a New York City medical anthropologist, had a similar problem. She had to renew a prescription a few weeks after Cuomo ordered insurers to waive patient cost sharing for telehealth appointments.

The doctor’s office told her she needed to come in for a visit or book a telemedicine appointment. The video visit came with an “administrative fee” of $50 that she would have had to pay upfront, she said — five times what the copay would have been for an in-person session.

“I was not going to go into a doctor’s office and potentially expose people just to get a refill on my monthly medication,” she said.

Telehealth Will Be Free, No Copays, They Said. But Angry Patients Are Getting Billed. published first on https://nootropicspowdersupplier.tumblr.com/

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dinafbrownil · 5 years ago