#i feel like we had a pretty good idea of how government went

[quidam-sirenae]

In high school I had a teacher do an activity where he would offer extra credit if we could compromise, but the activity was set up so everyone had to argue different things, and if you didn’t argue for your thing, you lost the extra credit. This was meant to show how political systems worked. We as class figured this out within five minutes and the person with the highest grade in the class took the hit and compromised with us at the loss of their extra credit because they didn’t need it. The teacher then rushed in and told us that wasn’t how the activity was supposed to go and he wouldn’t give any of us extra credit. Like dude.

my dad, trying to explain the concept of money to me: say you have a sandwich, and i need your sandwich. but i don't have anything to give you. you're not just gonna give it to me.

me: i would just give it to you.

my dad:

[novemberheart]

{overview} Kyle and Johnny make it up to you.

{warnings} cursing, some soapxgaz, very spoiled reader, a bit sappy, you being pretty, female reader, poly 141

Chapter 5 <- Chapter 6 -> Chapter 7

“What’s got you all worked up?” Johnny hummed, sliding in right next to Kyle. Kyle scooched back a bit, chasing the warmth the Scot emitted.

“She already wants to leave.” Kyle whispered, like you would be able to hear them. Johnny curled himself tighter around Kyle, his lips brushing against the back of his neck.

“You need to get out of that head of yours.” He murmured, pressing a kiss against the base of Kyle’s neck.

“No, I’m being for real.” Kyle asserted. “I overheard her talking on the phone with- I think Kate. She thinks we’re using her.” Johnny pressed a hand against Kyle’s shoulder so his back was flat against the mattress. Johnny hovered beside him.

Johnny opened his mouth, but closed it just as quick. He went silent for a moment.

“Shite.” He growled softly, laying so he was half laying on Kyle. Looking back he couldn’t blame you. Of course you felt that way. Forced into a new pack and all they care about is their alpha. They didn’t even bother to make sure you had everything you needed. “Now I feel bad.” Johnny murmured. “Think we can make it up to her tomorrow?” Johnny questioned.

“I have a few ideas.” Kyle muttered back.

You were already awake, showered and dressed by the time there was a knock on your door. You trudged up from the floor- finally beginning to unpack your clothes. You twisted it causing the lock to pop up.

“Morning, Bon.” Johnny greeted.

“Morning.” You did your best to smile, deciding today was a new day. He sat down in the doorway, his legs crossed. You stared at him expectantly.

“How’d you sleep?” He hummed, eyeing the neat bed you had made. You had brought a blanket with you, which made him pleased that you weren’t sleeping with the coarse blankets provided by the government.

“Okay.” You answered, turning back to folding your pants.

“Just okay?” He pressed quickly. You looked away from your work, giving him a sheepish smile.

“I mean I had a bit of a hard time, but this is a new place after all.” You justified. That made his nose bunch up. He could imagine you tossing and turning in your bed, upset and maybe even scared. Out of all of them Johnny was the one that was always pressing for an omega. He would often get jealous in the cafeteria watching as other packs were surrounded by their omegas, especially the packs that didn’t deserve to have one. It was almost a pride thing with Johnny. He wanted everyone to see how good of a beta he was- how good his alphas were and how good of a pack they made. One of the clear signs of that would be a happy omega, and judging by the hint of lemons in your room- they had already failed.

“You alright?” you questioned, noticing the distant wince on Johnny’s face. He snapped himself out of it.

“Aye, Peaches. I'm alright,” he assured. “Kyle and I would like to take you out today.” his demeanor quickly changed his eyes to nervous, like was worried you would reject him. You could quickly feel hope rise in you.

“Really?” you asked, almost hesitantly. “What about Simon?” you reminded him. That was the whole reason you were here right?

“He’ll be fine. Cap, says they're going to get him up and walking today. He wouldn't want you to see him stumble around anyway.” Johnny explained.

“Alright.” you agreed. ‘Don't sound too happy’ you reprimanded yourself. “Is what I'm wearing fine?” you added.

“Might break a few necks, but it'll do.” Johnny winked down at you as he stood. “How about we go eat some breakfast, then head out.” he extended his hand to help you up and you quickly took it.

After breakfast the three of you went on the hunt for a suitable vehicle to steal for your outing. You ended up with an SUV. Johnny and Kyle both raced to open the door for you, Kyle won.

“What music do you like, Bon?” Johnny questioned, resting over the center console to fiddle with the radio.

“I listen to a bit of everything,” you responded. It was weird but sharing your favorite music sounded a bit too vulnerable after just meeting someone. “Can you tell me where we’re going now?” you pressed on. Smirks spread across their faces. Kyle's eyes flickered from the road to glance at you in the passenger seat. The excited look on your face makes him hope they won't let you down- again.

“Well, we felt bad about yesterday being your first day. So we figured today could be a do-over. Aquarium then lunch?” Kyle explained, causing you to beam even further. “Then we figured we could stop at the store and pick up anything else you might need. Snacks, shampoo”-

“Underwear,” Johnny interjected. You giggled, making Kyle rethink slamming on the brakes to make the Scot fly through the windshield.

Johnny was able to open the door for you this time. Each movement both men made seemed to be tailored to you. In the parking lot, they positioned themselves so you weren’t exposed to traffic. In line to get into the aquarium Kyle was in front of you and Johnny behind, their eyes both scanning their surroundings in a way that made you wonder what you should be looking out for.

You made your way through the aquarium, feeling like you had entered a whole other world. Kyle and Johnny took turns pointing out fish that looked like each other. (they only compared you to pretty fish).

“You've ever been to an aquarium before?” Kyle questioned, watching the way your eyes followed every flick of a tail. You pulled your eyes away, softly shaking your head.

“I'm afraid there isn't much I have done.” you sighed, turning back to the crystal water. Growing up your family didn't have much money. Not that you were ever bored. You were a fairly easy child, just enjoying spending time with your parents and taking walks. Then after that, you bounced around omega-holding houses. You quickly shook yourself out of your thoughts.

“Well, we can fix that, peaches,” Johnny smirked, nudging you gently with his arm to move you to the next tank. “We are going to have the best date nights.” he continued, watching you out of the corner of his eye. Your eyebrows rose.

“We can do things like this often?” you asked hesitantly looking between the two men.

“Hell yeah, Bon,” Johnny affirmed. “Well, when we aren't being shipped off somewhere.”

It was a realization that hit you like a bolt of lightning. You hadn't really thought about them leaving since you had arrived. You had thought a bit about it when you had first received their files, but that had always seemed so distant- so far in the future. Now your future was colliding with your present.

You chose to ignore the end of his statement and focus on the positive.

“I think these are my favorite,” you mumbled, too entranced to look away.

“Really, sweetheart? Couldn't tell.” Kyle snickered, the joke going right over your head. The two men watched you stare at the jellyfish tank going on for what was five minutes now. Not an ounce of impatience in their bones. They were too busy taking in the way your eyes were round, your pupils taking up most of the space. The blue light reflecting from your eyes adds a bit more of a twinkle than usual. Johnny had to finally break away after he spent too much time staring at your parted lips. His gaze landed on Kyle. The way he was looking at you mirrored the way you were looking at the jellyfish. He’s sure he looked the same. Kyle broke himself away quickly catching Johnny's eyes.

“We got lucky, aye?” Johnny mouthed, which Kyle agreed to without hesitation.

You were finally able to reel yourself back to reality when your stomach started to growl. Kyle looked at his watch. “Couple hours past noon. Ready for lunch?”

You were about to exit the aquarium, when something caught Johnny's eye, making him pull you into the gift shop. Kyle chuckled, following the two of you. Johnny pushed past little kids with little regard until you finally found what had caught his eye.

A row full of jellyfish plushies.

You were a bit surprised he could see them from all the way by the door.

“Which one do you like?” he beamed at you.

“I don't have any mo”-

“I'll buy. Which one?” he interjected. He looked a bit offended that you expected to buy it yourself.

Your cheeks had been stinging all day from how much you'd been smiling, and this wasn't helping. You looked through them carefully. You didn't want one that was big. A small one would be nice to cuddle with at night. You scanned through red ones, purples ones, orange ones, and rainbow ones till you finally found the perfect one for you. It was plain. A off-white color, but it was the softened fabric you had ever felt. The reason it had caught your attention was its eyes, one of them hadn't been sewn on. Yet the fluffy guy still had a little smile on its face.

“I love this one.” you smiled wickedly, pulling it from its hiding place. Johnny’s brows furrowed.

“It's missing an eye,” he said slowly like he was afraid it would break your heart.

“I know.” you hummed, curling your finger around its little tentacles. “He deserves a good home just as much as anybody,” you affirmed. The two men exhaled rather harshly. It wasn't every day they were exposed to such thoughtfulness. It was their turn to get struck by the bolt or reality. Amidst the hell they were exposed to, would there finally be a little ounce of comfort for them?

“Then let's get the lad home.” Johnny smiled.

You all ended up at a nice Italian place for lunch where you ate more than your weight in breadsticks.

After that, you ended up in a store you had never been to to pick up some essentials you might need- well according to the boys snacks were essential. They gave you no limit and actually encouraged you to pick out things. If you stared at anything- or god forbade touch it- it ended up in the cart. You ended up with two pillows, another blanket, your favorite snacks, your favorite movie, a new pack of socks, some lotion, a sweater, a few clothing items they snuck in, and finally a pair of headphones.

“This is too much really.” you started. It wasn't the first time you had insisted.

“Consider it an ‘I'm sorry’ for a shite first day yesterday,” Kyle assured. You wondered if Kate had said something to them. You doubt she would go behind your back and do something like that. Maybe they came to the realization themselves.

“You sure?” you asked. Kyle quickly nodded his head, a playful smile across his pretty face.

A part of you couldn't wait for Kate to call tonight. You almost wanted everyone you knew to call just so you could rub a little something in their face.

You just hoped you weren't getting ahead of yourself.

This chapter is pretty short, but I hope you liked it regardless! See you in two days for chapter 7! 🧡

[qqueenofhades]

The thing that confuses me about the "don't vote" left (not the "I don't want to vote", I'm talking explicitly the "don't vote" left. I don't agree with the "I don't want to vote" left either but I can understand their logic) is they lose me at the final step of the logic. I've tried to connect the logic here, even if I don't agree with a political position I do try to understand where people are coming from (empathy for someones situation is not the same as cosigning it), but I just can't connect the dots here in a way that isn't deeply cruel. Does United States politics prioritize the lives of those in the US (and often white) over those in the Global South? Yes, it's a fucking atrocity. We should continue to make noise about it, cus Biden has used less drones and that shows progress, even if it's not enough. The part where I lose the plot is where the conclusion to this injustice is to let even more people die? Cus that's kinda how I see the idea of not voting: I can pick between shit and more shit, and at the end of the day, I'm picking whoever allows the most people to make it to the next day. Given Trumps stance on everything but specifically climate change, I feel like Biden is pretty significant harm reduction.

I don't think both things can't be true: that every life lost is a travesty we should not forget AND the more people we can save is worth fighting for.

The thing is, I have seen nothing among the "don't vote" far left (and I am talking here specifically about the people who both loudly announce their intention not to vote and try to convince others to do the same) to convince me that they actually care about harm reduction or stopping genocide. They only care about what makes them look the most Correct and/or superior to the Democrats. They yelled bloody murder about Obama using drones, they went dead quiet about Trump using them even more (even when he nearly started WWIII by assassinating the Iranian general Soleimani with one), and then said nothing at all when Biden reduced the drone program to almost nothing and withdrew the US from a failed war in Afghanistan it had long ago lost. Now they will yell all day about Israel/Hamas (something that Biden did not start and has had no direct military role in responding to) but they don't care about Russian genocide of Ukraine and Syria, Chinese threats to invade Taiwan, etc, because those governments are "anti-western/anti-American" and therefore should be defended. Their opposition to human suffering is extremely conditional and rests on whether they can look good out of it, and they never interrogate the hypocrisies of their own ideology.

Likewise: every country in the world prizes its own citizens above those of other countries. It's just a basic fact. Yes, the US has a grim history of intervening in other countries and causing untold civilian damage (especially during the Cold War and then in post-9/11 War on Terrorism). Yes, that legacy is complex and needs to be acknowledged. But literally none of that will be fixed, not to mention all the vulnerable people in America itself who will be punished, by Trump getting into power again. Biden is not just a grudging "lesser evil," but has done a lot of truly good and helpful things, regardless of the Online Leftists' constant lies, misinformation, and misrepresentation. If you spend all your time announcing what a champion you are for non-American marginalised people and/or those undergoing terrible suffering, and then deliberately and knowingly adhere to a course of action that will increase that suffering tenfold not only for those people but your own neighbors, friends, and family, then no, I don't believe you are a brave champion of social justice. You just want to know what categories of people you can gleefully and righteously punish and make to suffer for not believing the same things as you, that makes you just as dangerous as the right-wing fascists, and I can and will call out your ass accordingly.

[onebizarrekai]

Kai don't be shy and tell us the lore abt fatal flaws pretty please :3

sorry I'm too shy… I can't do it…

jk. which lore? I can give you some of my ideas I've been brainstorming. I don't know how many of these are repeats though.

fatal flaws is not exactly modernized; it's very possible they're in an ambiguously semi-post-apocalyptic setting, one that's rebuilt but it's been long enough that people don't remember. their country doesn't have any relationships with the outside world. even if there are other people out there, it's likely believed that there are no other civilizations out there, that the mainland is a barren wasteland.

"being a sorcerer" is the kind of rumor that makes you an immediate outcast. it's not illegal to be a sorcerer, but society has turned against them due to prejudice and the sorcerer parasite. the parasite basically kills sorcerers and turns them into 'zombies', like fungal hosts. it's a contamination; they're not born with it. but regular humans think that they're born with it.

miles and arthur lived in a poor sorcerer district in the countryside that existed under the radar, they hadn't been found by the government yet, but the parasite got in. miles lived with his single father and arthur may have possibly never known his parents. (note the big maybe) when the parasite hit, the military found them. the two of them had to escape.

vick grew up in the capital city and was taught in school that the military is infallible and that sorcerers are dangerous. growing up getting into fights and getting in trouble, she eventually went to training camp and got a job in the city guard due to it being well-paying, but it wasn't a particularly good or welcoming job. they eventually told her she "had to quit" due to her badly representing their government with her temper. she didn't start changing her mind about sorcerers until adulthood.

blue is just Some Guy, there is definitely nothing weird going on with him, nope, totally nothing weird. he definitely isn't trying to hide his backstory or anything. he is just a regular delivery boy.

arthur has very confused opinions about sorcerers. he grew up seeing himself as a normal human, and eventually became ashamed of being one once he realized what it meant. he thinks justice is very important, and people should be punished for wrongdoings, but his desire to take crime more seriously just perpetuated the laws that hurt sorcerers. he's not opinionated like miles about it. part of him thinks, "wouldn't people be happier if everyone was the same?" and the machine happens, "why don't we use people's magic to power the city and make it a better place?" he's… complicated.

hacker's a regular guy, but he lives upstairs in randy's restaurant like miles does, and he works for randy. he does Computer Shit. he did used to be affiliated with a gang and his stupid ex still tries to get his attention sometimes.

bunny is a sorcerer kid who likely lost her family to the parasite. I haven't picked apart her story yet, but randy took her in while vick was working in the guard. he worries a lot about her schooling; he and hacker try to do it themselves because randy's afraid of sending her to public school, since bunny's a sorcerer and she's autistic. vick is sort of jealous because she feels like she never got any special treatment growing up.

crystal comes from a surrounding island where people aren't known to live at. she keeps her identity on the down low, because while she's not technically a sorcerer, what she actually is would freak people out even more.

Once Upon A Time™, Charles L'bard the First arrived on the island we now know as our home. With his Big Might and Big Charisma, he smote the cursed monsters and their henchmen that resided there and became a hero. The people crowned him the Island's Hero, the Lord of the Sun, and he became the first king.

many generations later, the populous demanded an elected official instead. this did not make the royal family very happy……

[reason-with-the-underdog]

so it's a situationship (ND version)

ok but imagine if alhaitham had in his youth dismissed romance novels as "silly" and only as an adult (post-breakup) did alhaitham start finding value in reading them

so kaveh's very much unprepared for haitham bringing a new romantic male lead energy to their "friendship"

alhaitham, in the days and months after their breakup, starts to read romance novels and character-focused fiction as a way to figure out went wrong in their final confrontation & to understand why kaveh cared so deeply for the feelings of other people to his own detriment

meanwhile, kaveh taped together the torn up thesis and then buried himself with work so he could graduate on time, establish his career, build the palace, etc

which is how we get to where alhaitham seems to have grown a lot since their fight (which was his "rock bottom")

while kaveh's been so busy, he never had time to reflect deeply on the fight

...not until he became bankrupt and homeless & alhaitham was suddenly right there holding out a helping hand

which is why we see kaveh's growth in real time!

kaveh needed a more stable and supportive environment to finally realize the changes in alhaitham and in himself and what that means for how they can relate to each other...!

notice how kaveh's always taken aback when alhaitham suddenly behaves differently than expected

backing down instead of continuing to argue over philosophies

overthrowing the government (!!!)

practically begging to be thanked

the thing is: kaveh is so used to his akademiya-era understanding of alhaitham that its startling when alhaitham has in fact grown up from that unsociable little junior who scoffed a little at his senior when kaveh was distraught over the MC's heartbreak in a novel he was reading

because now apparently alhaitham not only reads that same novel series, he has a personally signed copy of the sequel! and has the next book on pre-order! kaveh hasn't even had the time to read the last three volumes he's been so busy

what is this!! when did alhaitham change??

(what else has kaveh missed in those missing years when they didnt talk to each other)

anyways so nowadays you'll find them curled up on the couch together reading two books from the same romance novel series and kaveh is elbowing alhaitham bc "no spoilers!! you know i haven't had time to catch up until now!"

also consider that the focus on all the nonverbal cues of attraction in these romance novels that alhaitham read finally clued him into the fact that kaveh prob was attracted to him back then

and that their "friendship" may have been seen as something deeper by everyone else...

basically:

kaveh liked alhaitham in their akademiya days, and he figured he was SUPER obvious about his crush and pretty much did everything besides straight up confessing "i like you in a way that's more than friends. lets date"

but alhaitham never picked up on the signs.... so kaveh figures that there's no interest on alhaitham's part.

and kaveh would never outright say "i want to date you romantically" to alhaitham bc of his own experiences with feeling pressured after someone asks him out

(he says yes out of pity and then it ends after the first few dates at longest)

...kaveh didn't want a pity date from alhaitham. so no confession, and he buries those feelings deep down because friendship is good, too

meanwhile alhaitham has no idea what normal platonic friendships are like vs romantic friendships vs romantic relationships (also they're literally teenagers here, being geniuses only makes them worse at figuring this stuff out honestly)

it's only after alhaitham reads several romance novels that he figures out kaveh's feelings post-breakup... unfortunately kaveh is no longer talking to him at that point so......

alhaitham spends the breakup period coming to terms with his feelings & accepting that yeah he loves kaveh

its actually fun for him in an intellectual way how his heartrate will accelerate upon seeing that kaveh's published a response to his latest paper or message board note

plus, kaveh is a public figure so its easy enough to keep tabs on his general well being. even thought kaveh avoids seeing alhaitham in person, they are still communicating over text in an academic way so that's good enough

alhaitham at that fateful tavern meeting never expected anything more, but one thing after another and now they're living together

and oh this is so much better.

and worse.

romance novels never include that the love interest hogs the bathroom for hour-long showers. and those love interests also don't start hammering away at models at 3 am

but alhaitham now gets to see kaveh wide-eyed with excitement over his epiphany (even if its at 11 at night), and he's the first one kaveh tells when he discovers a new blend of coffee he likes or when the bazaar vendors give him a special deal on his favorite fruits

it's funny, kaveh complains constantly about all the books alhaitham leaves scattered throughout the house, but he fails to notice that there are quite a few romance novels incorporated into alhaitham's daily readings

now, as an adult who's done his research (so many novels!) alhaitham's more prepared to notice the signs of romantic interest!

...unfortunately he can see that kaveh acts similarly to how they were in akademiya except with more distance...

which means.... kaveh's not interested anymore

& alhaitham can see how kaveh's still led by his guilty conscience, which is why kaveh goes out of his way to do kind things for alhaitham in return

so: kaveh no longer returns his feelings.

it's ok. there's still value in observing his own emotional responses around someone he loves, even if those feelings are not returned in the same way

[sirfrogsworth]

Froggie's (Almost) Very Productive Day

I try to fit as many out-and-about chores as possible into a single day so I only have one set of post-exertional malaise consequences instead of consequences after each day of doing a thing. So any time I decide to drive, I try to find several tasks to accomplish all at once.

My first stop was the Family Services Division in the hopes of getting some help with grocery bills. I am making ends meet, but it seems to be getting harder each month. And maybe I could have skipped my trip to Florida and saved that money, but if I don't do something drastic for my mental health, I fear this first holiday season without a parent could send me into the darkness.

I needed to do an interview to finish applying for SNAP. I wanted to do a phone interview, but the next appointment was in January. So I went to social services where they allow walk-in appointments. I waited in a tiny plastic chair for several hours until they called my name. She yelled out "Benjamin" because when most people see "Grelle" they aren't really sure how to say it. (Rhymes with belly.)

She started my interview and it was going swimmingly at first. But then she started asking questions about the house and my inheritance and my trust. I had no idea what to tell her. It feels like a mistake now, but I have had pretty much no involvement in that process. I have no idea how it works. And I started to panic because she was acting like I was committing fraud or something by not mentioning the trust. But the entire point of the trust was to protect my benefits. Nothing is mine. I own nothing. I have no access. But I had no idea how to explain that.

Maybe my lawyer can help me apply, but I did not want them investigating everything and screwing things up before we even have the estate through probate. We specifically hired a lawyer and went through this convoluted process to make sure everything was on the up and up. But she really made me feel like I was doing something wrong. And that made me panic, which probably made me look even more guilty of something. So I just canceled everything and left.

After a few hours in a crowded government office, I decided to head to a different crowded government office.

I know I didn't need it until 2025, but I decided to go ahead and get my Real ID thingie before my first flight. I was kind of hoping they'd retake my picture because my current driver's license is... well...

And I'm so glad they took my big terrible picture and made it into a smaller, more terrible picture.

People complain about the DMV, but the one near me runs like a machine. It was filled with people and I still only had a 10 minute wait time.

I'm starting to wonder if all of those 80s comedians who were all, "What's the deal with the DMV?" were exaggerating.

Good stuff, Jerry.

I head up to the counter and ask for a Real ID. She asks for two pieces of mail and my birth certificate.

And this disappointed me a little bit.

I did my research. I went to the Real ID website and used their interactive guide to figure out exactly which documents I would need. They gave me this entire checklist and I printed it out and went through all my records and mail trying to find everything.

I had to wait a week for my internet bill to come because it's the only thing I forgot to change to paperless. This took a lot of effort and I was ready to be validated for being so prepared.

And she asks for two pieces of mail.

Any mail.

So I was off to get new tires.

Driving around on 8 year old bald tires was giving me anxiety. I didn't have the money for new tires, but I remember the guy saying they had financing. Recently several of my past debts went past the statute of limitations, and so my credit score lifted itself out of the pits of "poor" and into the realm of "fair." So I decided to take a chance and apply for a Discount Tire credit card. It's a 6 month payment plan with no interest, so that didn't feel as predatory as all the credit card offers I get in the mail with 8000% interest.

We started going through the approval process and I was answering all of the questions and then I saw the name of the bank offering the credit. It was the same bank that tried to sue me and also the bank that can longer collect due to the statute. I was worried they put me on some sort of list and would deny me. But, to my surprise, they approved me instantly. And wouldn't you know it, they gave me almost exactly the amount needed for a new set of tires.

I'm hoping we'll be doing another auction of the house stuff soon, so I plan to pay off the card and then cancel it, but this was the only solution I could come up with to drive safely until then.

I was having a weird day where photos of crusty rich wide dudes followed me everywhere I went. Here is my good ol' boy governor at the entrance to social services.

And at the tire place, I noticed this fella...

Why does every rich CEO think they are a font of wisdom capable of creating compelling quotes?

Does he think no one has ever said "work hard" and "have fun"? And after he said this was he like...

"That's gold, put that in *every* store."

"Oh, and use that picture of me where it looks like a handsome gal just grabbed my undercarriage."

He probably thinks, "Well, no one has put these specific generic platitudes together into a single mega-platitude. I am a genius."

"Be honest, work hard, have fun, be grateful, pay it forward" sounds like he had a bunch of motivational posters on his wall and started reading them all at once.

Like, every line could have a picture of an eagle above it.

In any case, the guy at the tire store, Dakota, was really nice. He made the experience very low anxiety. And he really liked my Thor's Hammer keychain with built in fidget spinner.

He went around showing it to all his coworkers. "Look, it even spins!" And they were like, "Dude, where did you get that??" And I was like, "Amazon." Now I'm just imagining 10 dudes at a tire store all fidgeting their hammers.

As nice as he was, Dakota was still a salesman and had a job to do. He gave me two tire options and tried to upsell me. The cheapest tires had a "1" rating for winter. He said they get "super hard" in the cold... I tried not to giggle. But I explained I drive about twice a month and mostly to the grocery store. If it is a bad winter day, I'll just wait or get delivery. He understood and set me up with the cheaper tires.

He then checked out my car and noticed my tire pressure sensors were dying. I keep getting a warning light on my dash. Apparently they all have tiny batteries in them that die after 7 years. And you can't just replace the batteries so you have to install brand new sensors.

And this is where my social anxiety got me into trouble.

I don't actually need these sensors. They are usually inaccurate. I prefer to test my tires with an actual gauge. But I got so caught up in his sales pitch that I agreed to replace them... at $60 each. For that I could have gotten the fancier tires. I really don't care if an orange light shows up on my dash. And I looked up the price online and a pack of 4 is $30. Though that is without installation.

But still... I wasn't thinking and he was so nice that I was just like, "I want to please Dakota. Saying no might make Dakota sad." Dakota's job is selling me but that doesn't mean I have to buy anything. He would live if I had said "no thanks."

To make my blunder more blunderous, when they finished the tires he asked for my key fob. And it decided that was the time for the battery to die. And in order to reset the system for the new tire pressure sensors, you have to press two buttons on the fob for 7 seconds. Thankfully I had a spare fob at home, but if I want my fancy new $240 sensors to work, I have to return to Dakota and have him initialize them.

I really hope these are the Cadillac of sensors.

Or, like, the ones they use on Cadillacs?

They better be accurate, is what I'm saying.

I do feel safer with new tires. So I am glad I did that. And I gave them a good obligatory kick and felt the tread. They seem nice enough even if they get boners in the winter. It's crazy how bald my other tires were in comparison. Like, I can fit half my finger down into the tread on the new ones—which did not get them super hard.

The way I drive, I probably won't wear them down. They'll probably start to rot before I do.

Before I do, meaning before I wear them down.

Not before I rot.

I am not in a rotting competition with my tires.

I was then off to Sam's. I decided all of my hard work accomplishing 2 out of 3 goals deserved some sushi. So I grabbed some California Rolls and headed home. On my way out, a Hummer and a Porsche nearly collided in the parking lot. And they sort of got stuck facing each other. One of them needed to back up and they both signaled at each other like "You back up, I'm not backing up." And it was just this weird standoff between the two douchiest looking cars you could imagine.

I mean, you have to be a douche to drive a Hummer.

I still remember the mystery Hummer dialysis patient from when my dad was going 3 time per week. We could never figure out who owned the Hummer, but we knew it was not the underpaid nurses and techs. So it had to be one of the patients. And none of them seemed the type. We never solved that mystery.

That hummer started off a delightful safety yellow. (Elon would cry.)

They decided this wasn't extra enough... so they did this...

Katrina and I could never decide... are these cow spots or the world's least effective camoflauge?

There was another patient who drove this old beater...

And I loved seeing this car because we had the same one when I was a little kid. I'm afraid the aesthetics of the 1980s Caprice Classic did not stand the test of time, but it had great sentimental appeal for me.

But this maroon beast that squeaked and sputtered its way from here to there belonged to a very sweet older gentleman. Sometimes he and my dad would be dialysis buddies—sitting next to each other in the recliners. And the worst thing about dialysis was the boredom. All you have to do is watch broadcast TV with 4 channels.

All of the TVs require headphones. They give you your own set of super cheap headphones in the dialysis welcome bag. They were very uncomfortable so I ordered my dad better ones with cushioned ear cups.

His dialysis buddy noticed them and thought they looked nice. And then he revealed that his free headphones broke and he didn't know how to get new ones. He had been watching TV with no sound for weeks. So, I bought another pair with the soft ear cups and my dad gave them to his friend. And it just made me happy imagining the two of them watching The Price is Right in matching headphones.

I do have to make fun of this sweet old man a little bit. When I walked passed his car I noticed he implemented the world's most effective anti-theft device ever created.

That's right... The Club™.

If someone decides they have to have a 40 year old car with an engine that sounds like a dying hyena and a hubcap missing... they are out of luck.

But hey, you gotta protect what is important to you. And if I needed a getaway car and my choices were between his beater and the Cow Hummer, I'd take his ride for sure.

Well, I'd try... and then get arrested because The Club™ is undefeatable.

Do NOT look that up on YouTube. It's 100% true. (And the Lock Picking Lawyer doesn't count due to him being able to break into Fort Knox with a paperclip and then doing it again to make sure it isn't a fluke.)

The dialysis center is in the same complex as my local Tolerable Schnucks and I still see that maroon boat of a car every once in a while. I always smile whenever it is there because it lets me know he is hanging in there and hopefully still has sound for his TV.

Wow, I went off on a mega-tangent.

I didn't even finish talking about my day. Where was I? Oh, the douche standoff finally ended. The Porsche Douche capitulated and backed up. Probably due to the fact the Hummer Douche has 0 visibility behind him.

When I got home I started devouring my sushi. I finally heard back from my lawyer. He submitted the last of the evidence for my appeal. And I was finally able to confirm he got the records of my ECT treatments from 20 years ago. I worked so hard to get those. At first, they forgot to send all records before 2011. I had to call back and figure that out. They shipped them and they didn't arrive until a week before we had to file. Everything was so last minute and my anxiety has been... palpable. It felt like when I did my science fair project on Sunday night.

He's hoping to get a decision at the beginning of next year. He warned me that these appeals are usually rejected. And that the most effective method of approval was a hearing in front of an administrative law judge. But that could be delayed by up to a year. So I might need to figure out how to survive until 2025. As long as my brother does what he is legally required to do, I should be okay. But counting on that also gives me palpable anxiety.

And that was my day.

Every time I go out is always an adventure.

But remember...

BE NICE. EAT YOUR VEGGIES. PET CUTE DOGS. DREAM BIG. KEEP YOUR TIRES WARM... FOR REASONS. 5 LIFE LESSONS -Froggie, Mildly Famous Internet Person

[soaps-mohawk]

The amount of power you hold by making this series is INSANE LIKE I HAVE SO MANY QUESTION AND THEORIES

Like the institute, was it a bad experience? A good one? A mix? Does Omega! Reader have any specific memories that don't seem to leave? Maybe the omega's who had behavioral issues were punished but no one spoke of the punishments? I HAVE SO MANH THOUGHTS

That's what I love about reading fic series is that the readers talk to the writers and I feel like yall just sit and laugh like 'these guys have no idea how much pain I'm about to cause them' LMFAO like your the person behind the slaughter

No but really y'all have no idea what's coming. Even here very soon...y'all have no idea lmaooo

(please don't hate me I promise it has a happy ending 😬)

Institutes are not good places. I'll just clear that up right now, even though that's going to be kind of brought up here in a couple chapters. They are not good places and they never really have been. They were started in the late 19th century as a place to send omegas that had behavioral issues, health issues, all sorts of issues or perhaps were unwanted by families that couldn't support them or didn't want to have to deal with the work that goes into omegas. So think like mental institutions. They were run by "doctors and professionals" that "understood omegas" and could cure/fix/care for them.

Of course as the years went on people started to realize maybe not everything that goes on in them is so good and after some investigations and such there was a huge reform on institutes and they became more like they are in the present day in the fic. Actual institutes that "care for omegas and prepare them for pack life." Originally omegas didn't leave institutes after they were handed over, but then people realized there was money in institutes so naturally, they started dumping money into them to train omegas and then pretty much sell them off. Not directly like selling humans, but most institutes require application payments and then there's fees for all sorts of things like testing, files, anything they can legally charge for, they will.

Obviously we're beginning to realize a bit at this point that not everything the reader learned at the institute is...right. What omegas are taught and how they're taught varies institute to institute, usually based on the types of alphas that are seeking omegas from the institute. So institutes that have higher standing, more funding, tend to teach more subservience and obedience because that's where you have the rich alphas and the politicians and government looking at omegas. Lower level institutes might teach more how to serve and keep a pack since they might have the upper middle class, future family pack omegas. The lowest level institutes might also teach subservience and obedience less in an "I have an appearance to uphold" type of way and more of a "these are not good alphas picking up these omeags and we know that" type of way.

So, the reader didn't have a good experience because there is no real good experience at an institute. They're very strict, controlling, almost abusive in some instances (kneeling for two hours anyone?) Not every omega gets sent to an institute either. Some omegas live with their families until they're old enough to start seeking an alpha themselves. I think I did touch on that briefly in a chapter somewhere.

There's so much I could talk about on institutes omg. This is probably way more than you expected 😅 I just love this stuff so much.

[billveusay]

I watched Gundam Unicorn and...

...and we're back in the hot take zone, probably the hottest yet. Fine, yes, I didn't like Unicorn. I didn't hate it, but I still have a lot of issues with the whole Newtypes concept, at least when it's played straight (I have it on good authority that X does interesting subversions with it). And this is the "oops, all Newtypes" show.

I went into it knowing almost nothing about it, and what I knew wasn't encouraging. I saw gifs of the Unicorn going destroy mode in full CGI, which always makes me feel robbed of pretty 2D animation, and I knew there was an actual char clone named Full Frontal with a ridiculous hairdo and a collar that made him look stupid. However, by the end of the first episode, I was actually pretty invested. Large chunks of the plot were the same as always (young kid finds himself piloting a Gundam while his colony is getting attacked, etc) but the pacing and presentation were much better than F91, really did a favour to Unicorn by watching them back to back. And the first fight was entirely in gorgeous 2D and one of the best choreographed space combat scenes I've seen so far, dynamic but easy to follow.

However, most of my goodwill came from all of the mystery it was setting up. Oooh, what's the deal with this girl? Oooh, what's Laplace's Box? Oooh, political intrigue. Put the problem with catchy set-ups is that the pay-off must not be disappointing. And I was disappointed. In fact, captain something echoed my reaction pretty well.

There is so much wrong with this box.

So. If I got my UC history lessons correct, 60 years before Zeon Zum Deikun made his theory about Newtypes, and 80 years before they turned out to be a thing, every world leader not only agreed, with no basis, that maybe living in space will turn people into mutants, but also that it will probably be for the best if those eventual mutants are given ruling positions.

And... I'm absolutely not opposed to the idea of something impossible or highly implausible happening in sci-fi stories, that's what they're for. I don't mind you telling me that living in space makes some people psychic in your universe for some reason. But even though Newtypes are an integral part of the UC that we and the characters now take for granted, we have internalized that fact only because we were presented with concrete evidence of it in 0079 and all of the subsequent pieces of UC media. But it feels like the writer was so caught up in his grand and deep message about humanity that he didn't realize how much he took it for granted, and how weird this concept sounds when presented as purely hypothetical. And besides...

"Okay, I know that we, the ruling class, have sent you, the underprivileged, into space by force. And I'm really sorry about that. But to atone, I make you a promise: if you evolve into a new, space-adapted race, we will give you priority in government affairs"

"...can you stop oppressing us now instead?"

"Naaaah, you gotta prove that you're worth it. So chop chop, get evolving"

Moreover, the prime-minister decided to add that at the last minute, and every world leader was okay with it? And when they got hit by the terrorists and went "well now I'm not doing it", they managed to erase every trace of it besides the charter? In one of the biggest events in the history of mankind, and therefore one that was probably highly mediatized?

And finally, we're expected to believe that this thing had the potential to uproot the whole Federation and allowed the Vist Foundation to blackmail them for a century? Did they really think that the spacenoids would not only believe that this clause is real (how hard is it to fake a big slab?), but also be convinced to revolt by it?

"Oh my god! I could excuse the Federation oppressing us, but going back on a promise to give us rights if space turned us into mutants, and subsequently hiding it from us?! That I won't accept! To the streets!"

Even after the One Year War, where the existence of Newtypes is proven... well a spacenoid rebellion already happened. And then several more followed. So it's not like revealing the content of the box would have made much difference, people are already revolting against the Federation for much better reasons.

It's absurd on so many levels, I have trouble wrapping my head around it, and because it's the foundation of the entire plot it makes everything else fall apart. And with how pretentious the writing is ("It was a prayer... but also a curse..."), it had a long way to fall.

On that note, again, I have trouble with the points that Tomino and this show are trying to make. Partly because I have trouble understanding them since they're presented in such a messy knot of ideas and themes, partly because what I can understand, I find wonky. Some of it is just stuff that aged poorly, like the idea that colonizing space is the way to save earth from pollution. No better way to know that you're doing something wrong than having Musk give you the thumbs up. As for the other ideas, yeah, I guess that most of our problems come from not understanding each other. But when the proposed solution is "evolving into psychics so we can communicate without misconceptions"... it has to be allegorical since that will straight up not happen, but then what is it trying to actually say? I'm genuinely asking. Because like with Evangelion, there's always a small part of me telling me that maybe I just don't get it. And if I did it, maybe it would be a transcendental experience, you never know.

BUT. I'd still argue that there are better ways to convey your big important message than having whatever character is close to hand shout it out. Then shout it out again. And again and again and agai- I KNOW that people should understand each other. I KNOW that people's souls are weighed down by gravity. Take Disco Elysium. An incredibly intelligent game that deals with an abundance of psychological, political, philosophical and existential themes. At no point does it feel like the characters step aside to let the writer tell you directly all of his very intelligent thoughts. They always feel human, their opinions and motivations coming from their personal experiences and personality, and not the needs of the (gundam) narrative.

Plus, even admitting that the message is profound and meaningful, the Newtype concept still brings a bunch of issues with it. One thing I've already mentioned in a previous review is that the pilot skills just come down to having the good pilot gene. You can just shove Quess Paraya in a cockpit and she'll turn into a weapon of mass destruction. And since MSG, I can't think of a single time a fully-developped Newtype lost to an Oldtype (there's probably some, I've watched a lot of Gundam since then), so it's back to DBZ power levels deciding everything. And overall, it just gives too much power to the hand of the author. They can brush aside any challenge they introduce by having the protagonist yell for 10 minutes. 15 minutes if it's the climax. Then the FX department goes wild with the sparkles, emotional music plays, and everything is resolved. It's not just artificial, it's predictable. I don't feel suspense because I'm just waiting for the moment the VA finally gives himself laryngitis and they have no choice but to move on to the resolution. I know this is a me thing, it's omnipresent in anime so it has to appeal to most of its audience, this is just me explaining why I don't personally like it.

Phew. Okay, I'll admit that all of the above was not just about Unicorn but most of the Gundam stuff that I don't personally enjoy, it's just the show that I found most symptomatic of it, and so it was a good occasion to discuss it. But with all of that out of the way, what's left? Well, mostly stuff that we've seen before, because this show (or the novel it was adapted from) is, like so much of Gundam and especially UC Gundam, derivative as hell. I get that often it's the point, iterating on a similar formula to propose alternative takes. But you know how repeating a word a bunch of times makes it lose its meaning at some point? That's what this reminds me of. We've already seen a teenager finding himself piloting a Gundam developed by his father after his colony gets attacked. We've seen that teenager getting beaten up into a weapon by military officers. We've seen a mobile suit battle in a populated environment wreck havoc and destruction. We've seen the protagonist try to psychically reach out to a brainwashed girl. We've seen the psychic ghosts of every dead secondary character coming together in a climactic moment, etc... and at that point, we've seen all of that more than twice for most of them, so it just doesn't hit the same.

Moreover, while the repetition in some shows could be excused because say, they're from an alternative timeline that you can watch without having watched the rest of Gundam, here knowledge of everything from 0079 to CCA is required. I haven't watched ZZ yet (I skipped it because Zeta was a slog and I wanted to get to CCA and the pretty OVAs, but now it's actually one of the series I'm the most excited for) and even if I could follow the plot without too much trouble, there was a lot of stuff I noticed I was missing because of that. So the ideal viewer of Unicorn, who has all of the necessary knowledge, is guaranteed to have seen similar events play out multiple times.

As for the story and the character themselves, I found Banagher pretty bland as a protagonist. Yes, I'm saying that while Stardust Memory remains my favourite Gundam show, and I am STANDING by it. He doesn't differ much from the previous protagonists, and while there are differences in his backstory and trajectory, most notable being his tendency to get captured and recaptured by the other side at the beginning of each episode (that got a bit funny the fifth time it happened), in practice I struggled to find something that set him apart from his models.

Mineva is probably the most interesting character, and it was nice to see her again after Zeta, but her subplot of inheriting the leadership of a violent and extremist faction while being opposed to war fell into the muddled mess of philosophical concepts and politics by the end, so I mostly think of her as good potential, but not really paying it off.

And then there's Full Frontal. Fucking Full Frontal. No. I'm sorry. I can accept a Gundam with a moustache, I can't get over that hairdo and that collar. I can't watch any dialogue scene where he's involved without imagining the other characters refraining from chuckling. Shūichi Ikeda is doing some heavy lifting to keep him charismatic, but fortunately he's an incredible voice actor so it somewhat works. Hearing his voice echo through the comm systems of the Nahel Argama was very effectively chilling. But... remember when I talked about how I like my mecha stories at least partially grounded in reality? Yeah, so you can guess how I feel about him travelling to the heat death of the universe with his psychic powers, where a ghost tells him to stop being such a brat. This is why I have trouble enjoying even the good parts of Unicorn, because at the end they all devolve into something so over the top and disconnected from reality to the point of meaninglessness (again, this is how I experienced it, can't add "imo" to every sentence) that I can't stay invested.

Same goes for the fight scenes actually. As I mentioned, the first ones were incredible, but that was because they had some restraint, which allowed them to keep it readable. But because they need to up the stakes, they make the mobile suits progressively faster, they add more effects, more sparkles, more funnels, more explosions, more CGI, and by the end... well it becomes visual noise.

Sorry, tangent, back to the characters. Riddhe... I get the point of his character, but it felt poorly executed. He wants to preserve the statu quo because he fears chaos, ok. And he hates Newtypes because of that, but Newtypes represent change in the meta-symbolism, not in the diegesis of the story. It's like if Agent Smith hated Neo because he knew that he was a metaphor for transgenderism (among other things) and Smith was transphobic. Oh, and he also hates Gundams. Why? Gundams are just a brand of high-tier Mobile Suits that just happened to often be piloted by Newtypes. And... did he have a crush on Mineva? Is that why he got so butthurt? Because this becomes wrong on so many levels, least of which being, he went from hating her to helping her escape in- say it with me now -five minutes.

Who else... Marida and her adoptive dad were somewhat interesting, though I wish I knew her backstory from ZZ. Bright is Bright, true to form, a concrete traffic cone. I liked the moment where he chats with the picture of Amuro though. And we got to see my boy Kai Shidan! He doesn't do much, it's pure fanservice, but it's nice to see him well!

Before moving on to the visuals, little side note: man, Witch from Mercury took a lot from this one. The Gund format effect looks like the destroy mode, the main theme sounds similar, and the climax also ends with the Gundam using its weird glowy power to shield a space station from a giant laser. It's far from plagiarism, but it was fun DiCaprio pointing.

Okay then. Animation wise, all of the 2D stuff is gorgeous but as I've said, I don't like the CGI on the mobile suits. I hasten to add that I have nothing against 3D animation in general, I'm in 3D animation school, but cell-shaded 3D mechs don't trigger my dopamine receptors like hand-drawn ones do. The beautiful perspective, the details, the silhouettes, each frame a dynamic pose thought out to have maximum impact. You don't get that with CG, and it always kind of breaks my feeling of a coherent diegesis. But at least it's not on every shots, and the 2D ones are beautiful. As for the mech design... for the non-gundam ones, it threads the line between great and overdesigned. The Kshatriya is just under it, the Sinanju is just over it.

But the Unicorn and the Banshee I really don't like, at least in destroy mode. The red glowy highlights should be drawing the eyes of the viewer toward the important details, but here they just cover every part of the frame indiscriminately, so nothing stands out and it becomes visual noise that doesn't feel dynamic or purposeful. I think the gundams of WfM do it much better. And that's before the Full Armor version where we kiss goodbye to any sense of identifiable dynamic silhouette.

Okay. I feel like there's still a lot I want to talk about, but I'd never see the end of it, so I'm punching out here. One final "just my opinion" for the road and let's move on.

Next is 00, and even though it's flawed on many many levels, I'll have a lot more nice things to say about it. See you there!

My gundam reviews :

> Hathaway's Spark > Mobile Suit Gundam > Gundam Zeta > 0083: Stardust Memory > 0080: War in the Pocket > 8th MS Team > The Witch from Mercury > Gundam Thunderbolt > The Origin > Turn A Gundam > F91 > Gundam Unicorn > Gundam 00 > MS IGLOO > Gundam Narrative

[lickmycoffeecup]

TMAGP 28 spoilers

WHOO BOY, there was a lot going on this episode. It went by very fast. I still need to sit down with the transcript at some point.

First off, YO FUCK THIS VERSION OF TREVOR HERBERT.

Who would have thought being a homeless, vampire hunting, occasional drug addict would make you the more endearing version of yourself? But here we are. I would kill to get a version of TMAGP Trevor’s life, just to compare him and TMA Trevor. Cause damn, something can really be said about how things shape us.

His comment about “someone of quality” made me want to pop his tires.

But it was so nice hearing his VA again, welcome back Trevor Herbert.

Second off, FUUUUUUUUUCK GWEN.

I’ve never liked her, and GURL YOU ARE MAKING IT SO HARD TO TRY. YOU KEEP LETTING ME DOWN. Part of me feels like this might be her acting as a double agent, BUT SHES BEEN SO CAGEY THIS WHOLE TIME, I HAVE NO IDEA.

Either way, snitches get stitches, honey. Watch your back.

But uh, WHOSE THE “concerned third party”?

As someone who works for the government, nah, thats exactly how I thought his visit would go. I loved them all chatting about it after the fact 😂

Pan Celia? More likely than you think.

I’m sad so much was happening, this little reveal went over my head. Shout out to The Yelling Zone server for enlightening me.

Sam has been my favorite pretty much from the start. I’m also a failed gifted kid, and that shit hurts. You get all this hot air blown under you as a kid, about all your talents, and intellect. Then when you don’t meet their standards, and you don’t fulfill all that potential they said you had, they stop feeding you hot air, and you just slowly sink. No one catches you either, they’re not mad, just disappointed. Its soul crushing. I can totally understand why Sam would run towards the horrors, anything to prove that it was something else. And not that he just wasn’t good enough.

His statement helped give a lot of context as to why he immediately got drawn in by OIAR cases.

I also wondered if maybe he might be adopted? His comment about “being what they wanted,” being special, made me wonder.

Always happy to see [ERROR] come back around, but what were you even doing there honey????? I really don’t understand them.

It went by do fast this time around. The dread is mounting for the finale. I’m not ready 😭

I need to do a write up for numbers in alchemy, since my theory of getting a TMA voice in ep 28 turned out to be half right.

Anyway, thanks for reading!

[braveclementine]

Chapter 32

Warnings: None

Copyright: I do not own any Marvel characters or locations. However, I do own a few OCs like Elizabeth, Katherine, Stacy, and Jessie. I do not condone any copying of this.

"Are you sure?" You asked Elizabeth. You, Elizabeth, Jessie, Katherine, Stacy, Y/S/N, and Wanda were all sitting together in the living room. You guys had a sort of tea party vibe going on with the cups and the small sandwiches and cookies.

"Yeah, I mean, I feel ready." Elizabeth said with a shrug. "Vis and Wanda are already married. Hogun's been waiting for a thousand years give or take, and Pietro is ready as well. Besides, I want to make sure I have enough children for this stupid thing, you know? Of course, we'll probably have more than three, I've always wanted a lot of kids."

You nodded, "How soon?"

"Next month." Katherine said with a shrug. "We figured something small. Just family and friends. Nothing like your guys, you know?" She winked at you.

"How'd ya'll get the Avengers?" Stacy grumbled. "Seriously!?"

You laughed. "Luck of the draw."

"How are things between you and Jackson?" Katherine asked.

"Fine." Stacy said and then a shy smile slid over her face, "We're expecting a baby in six months."

"Wait, seriously?" Jessie asked. "What! You waited four months to tell us?"

"Well, I didn't even realize I was pregnant till I went to the doctors." Stacy shrugged.

"That's fantastic." Y/S/N said, genially.

"But I don't understand." Stacy said, frowning and turning the conversation around, looking at Wanda, "Do they expect you to have a child as well? With, well, you know, a robot as your husband?"

"I don't know." Wanda said, shrugging. "Tony is going to talk to Ross and we'll see how things play out from there. Same goes for Natasha."

You nodded. "I don't know how they expect the widows to have any children. They should've put exceptions in the clause."

"I suppose they could move to other countries." Jessie said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, but it's not as simple as it sounds." Y/S/N said. "Kind've hard to uproot your life and move to another house or state. Probably a lot harder to move whole countries."

"That's fair." Stacy nodded.

"Whose Ross?" Katherine asked.

You rolled your eyes. "Someone I really hate. Haven't even met him, but I already don't like him. He's one of the federal agents. Military general I think?"

"Everett Ross or Thaddeus Ross?" Wanda asked.

"Um Thaddeus." You answered. "The one that had Bruce hunted down and then later was the one who came up with the accords."

Wanda's face hardened, "Great."

"Tsk someone should've set fire to those accords a long time ago." Stacy declared. "Stupidest thing I'd ever heard of."

"I agree." You admitted. "The Government should never be allowed to run a group of strong people who have powers."

Elizabeth looked rather thoughtful, "But the idea behind the papers was a slightly good one. There does need to be some sort of order I think. Not necessarily controlled order, but just something so that it doesn't seem. . . to out of control, you know what I mean? Balance."

"Anyways, weddings." Katherine declared.

You checked your watch, "I hate to leave so soon, but I have a date with Rhodey so I will be seeing you guys later."

"Have fun." Wanda smirked at you.

You rolled your eyes, grabbing your purse to sling over your shoulder before you made your way to the front of the house.

"Hey." James said, kissing you on the lips. "Ready to go?"

"Yep." You said, slipping your hand into his before the two of you left the house.

***

"Okay, that one is pretty cute." Rhodey admitted as the two of you were shopping puppies. Steve absolutely loved dogs and puppies. He tolerated the kittens because of Bucky, and he did really adore the rabbits, but he absolutely loved Ginny.

The way that Bucky was with kittens was the way that Steve was with puppies. When he was around them, he lost all sight of what was really important. 'Who cares' was often the words that left his lips.

So you and Rhodey were now searching for the right dog for Steve's upcoming birthday.

"He'll want a dog that he can adore and play with now, but when it grows up can join him on runs." Rhodey said, so the two of you moved rather reluctantly from the white puffballs dogs.

"Maybe a husky then?" You questioned, "Or a golden or black lab. Maybe a German Shepherd?"

"Labs are pretty good dogs." Rhodey said. "What breed of a lab do you think he'd like best? Chocolate, black, or golden?"

"Gosh, I don't know, they're all so cute, look at them." You said and then an idea popped into your head, "I know! He's called America's golden boy! So let's get him a golden boy!"

"Excellent idea." Rhodey grinned at you.

The two of you took turns with the puppies, seeing which ones seemed the most energetic and receptive to people and you both finally decided on a good sized puppy that the shop keepers let you know was a boy.

Rhodey laughed as the two of you left the pet store, "You know what's funny?"

"What's that?" You questioned, letting the puppy leap around on its leash.

"I have just realized that each animal pair we have is one male and one female." Rhodey finished with a grin.

"Oh, that's true." You said, surprised you hadn't realized it till this point. "Mini Loki doesn't really seem to like Alpine though."

"Nope, Mini Loki is exactly like his owner. In front of everyone, he acts like he hates Alpine. But Clint was sneaking through the vents and caught the two kittens curled up together. Mini Loki was even licking Alpine's ears. He got a picture too."

He pulled out his phone, quickly showing you the two pictures that Clint had gotten.

"Oh my gosh." You squealed, taking the phone from Rhodey to look even closer at the pictures. "They're so cute together!"

"Oh yeah, Mini Loki is going to be one proud father." Rhodey grinned. "Gonna be strutting around till the kits are born."

"Alpine's pregnant?" You gasped, handing the phone back to Rhodey.

"Bucky says she is." Rhodey laughed, taking your other hand that wasn't occupied by the leash and the two of you headed back towards the car. "But I swear he's said this multiple times before. Whenever Alpine acts differently, he immediately thinks she's pregnant."

"Fury will freak if Alpine gives birth." You laughed.

"We'll have to catch a video when it happens." Rhodey agreed, opening the passenger door for you.

You thanked him, scooping the puppy up in your arms before climbing into the front seat of the truck.

"Wonder what Stevie will name him." You said, petting the lab who was slowly going to sleep in your arms as Rhodey drove down the road.

"Probably something generic like Pumpkin or Sunny or Buddy." Rhodey stated, driving down the highway now that would lead the two of you back to the house.

"Probably." You agreed. Steve did like simple. Unless it was in bed of course. He was surprisingly rather kinky, only fueled by Bucky and Sam. Loki was rather kinky too, now that you were really thinking about it. Stephen and Tony certainly got up to bondage in bed, especially when Stephen- and Loki- could simply conjure chains from nothing.

So it was always nice to be with Rhodey or T'Challa or Fury, where they were rather simple, but also extremely passionate. Thor was a mixture. Some days he was very vanilla, simple love making and sweetness, and other days. . . well sometimes he let his hammer come to play- literally. Electric shocks- in very light doses- were even better than a vibrator. And he may or may not find it rather euphoric to fuck you with the handle of the hammer. But that was never something you let any of the others know about.

Rhodey parked around back where the cars went, turning the truck off. "Where are we going to hide him until his birthday next week?"

"Oh, Katherine will probably be leaving soon. She's going to take him back to her flat." You responded.

You caught Rhodey's eye and then leaned over the other seat to press your lips to his. His hand trailed to the back of your head. The kiss got more heated as you leaned forward, reaching behind you to snap the seat buckle out.

Rhodey pulled you onto his lap and you could feel him grow steadily harder under you. "James." You mumbled, kissing down his neck.

"Fuck sugar." He drawled, a slight accent pooling as he spoke.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the window and you pulled apart. Katherine was standing there, arms crossed over her chest, a smirk on her face, her eyebrows raised.

You and Rhodey growled in sync before you slid off his lap, throwing the passenger door open.

"Having fun?" Katherine asked as you stepped out of the truck, pulling the puppy out and slamming the door closed behind you. You could hear another door slam as Rhodey got out of the truck too.

"Where's Steve?" You asked, shielding the puppy from any views the house might have.

"Workout room." Katherine rolled her eyes. "He's on his sixth punching bag."

You sighed. "Here's the puppy. He's a boy. Doesn't have a name yet, Stevie's gonna name him."

"Bet he'll have a really fitting name for the dog." Katherine smiled as she took the eager puppy into her arms. "Hey there buddy."

"See you next week Kat." You said, giving her a side hug before she walked over to where her car was.

Rhodey took your hand as the two of you walked back into the mansion that you called home.

"So, shall we start back up where we left off?"

You pulled him down for a kiss in answer.

***

On the Fourth of July, you all bustled around to plan Steve's birthday party. Bucky and Sam had taken him out with Ginny, while all of his close and intimate friends- along with soulmates- came by to help set up.

Elizabeth was busy in the kitchen. She was even better than you at making food- or so it seemed, you were actually rather equal- and she had taken it upon herself to help with the cake.

She stared at the cooled off cake, a dish of homemade frosting next to her.

"Something wrong?" You asked.

She sighed. "I am not. . . the best at frosting cakes, I admit. Why did I decide to make the cake? I should've let a professional do it."

You chuckled, taking the spatula from her hand. "Here, I'll show you."

You took some of the frosting from the bowl, showing her how to spread it on the cake, smoothing it out, covering the edges, so that a nice layer of thick white frosting covered the entire cake evenly.

"Damn." Elizabeth muttered before picking up the red and blue frosting which she used to write: Happy Birthday Steve in cursive. She also used it to make a few decorative stars while you grabbed the candles to put on the cake. They were just numbers 1-0-8, which always made you laugh since he was really in his 40's, having gone into ice at 27, not coming out for 80 something years.

Elizabeth put the cake in the refrigerator when the two of you were done so it would stay refreshed until Steve got back with Buck and Sam.

The party was outside and there were plenty of streamers hanging up in the trees, balloons tied to the backs of chairs, everything in the colours of red, white, and blue. Both as a commemorative to the fourth of July, and also to Steve's soulmate colours.

"You know, I'm kind've excited for my birthday." Elizabeth said, grinning as she helped bring out a plate of hotdog buns for Thor who was grilling.

"Why's that?" You asked curiously.

She set the buns down by the grill before the two of you walked back to get the potato chips. "It'll be Harry Potter themed!"

You laughed, "Of course that's what you're excited about."

After everything was set up, you went and texted Bucky, who let you know that they were almost home.

"Everything ready?" Clint asked, dressed in a purple and yellow Mr Beast shirt with blue jeans cutting off at his knees.

"Yep." You answered, kissing Clint's cheek. "I think so anyways. I feel like we're going to forget something."

Clint smirked a little, drawing his arms around you. "Nonsense. You've been planning this for a while now. You've got the perfect present for him. The only thing I'm worried about is Thor's surprise."

You felt your heart speed up. Indeed, Thor had let all of you know that he was making a surprise announcement for Steve's birthday. Despite your love for Thor, his sweetness, his inability to hurt his friends- on purpose- and his just normally cuddly attitude, you were still a bit scared he was going to say something nonsensical or something that might ruin the atmosphere.

You heard a truck pull up outside. "That's Steve."

Clint kissed you on the lips before disappearing into the house. You quickly grabbed a blindfold, wrapping it around your hand, before you opened the door upon hearing their footsteps come up the walk.

"You're back!" You squealed excitedly, launching yourself into Steve's arms.

"Hey cookie." He said, catching you to kiss and hug you. "What's with all the excitement."

"It's your birthday!" You squealed, before quickly wrapping the fabric around his eyes and taking his hand. "C'mon, I have a surprise for you."

"And no, it's not in the bedroom." Sam quipped behind you guys.

"Yet." Bucky muttered with a chuckle.

You led Steve out into the backyard where everyone was waiting, trying to keep silent. Ginny was let off her leash by Bucky before you untied the blindfold and Steve smiled as he took in the sight.

"SURPRISE!" The others shouted.

"Thanks cookie." He mumbled, kissing the top of your head. He also turned around to thank his boys.

You went around the side of the house where Rhodey was waiting with the golden boy. You picked him up in your arms and you came over to Steve, Rhodey trailing you. "James and I got him for you as a birthday present." You said, blushing.

Steve's grin lit up the whole damn party, taking the puppy into his arms, "Hi Buster."

"Damn." Clint muttered behind me, pulling out a ten and handing it over to Nat.

"That's an adorable name." You said.

"It kind've just slipped of the tongue." Steve grinned, before petting the dogs head. Bucky winked at you behind his back.

You grinned and then after Steve put Buster down, everyone started to settle around the table or on the grass on picnic blankets, eating, handing Steve presents, and just plain having fun.

After a while, Elizabeth finally went to retrieve the cake, very careful to place it in front of Steve before Bucky lit the candles.

He blushed the entire way through the 'Happy Birthday song', especially as Sam, Buck, and Clint made sure to yell inappropriate things in between the pauses, before blowing out the candles.

When Steve opened up the cake, he found that it was stacked in layers of red, white, and blue dyed cake.

"Looks amazing Elizabeth." Steve thanked her, before cake was handed out to those who want it.

"Y/N frosted it." Elizabeth said with a shrug. "That's the only reason it looks good."

Steve grinned, pulling you onto his lap. "Thank you cookie."

You blushed before pecking him on the lips.

You got your own slice of cake, taking shelter under one of the large trees. Loki sat down next to you. "Tired?"

"Hot." You mumbled, watching Clint hit T'Challa with one of the water balloons, making T'Challa jump five feet in the air, before running after Clint with a water gun.

Loki slung his arm over your shoulder, a coolness seeping through you.

"What do you think Thor wants to announce?" You asked curiously, wondering if Thor would have told his brother or not.

"No idea." Loki said, sighing. "Hopefully nothing dreadful. But it probably won't be, he's not drunk."

"He can't get drunk of mortal drink, remember?" You asked with a laugh. There was a bit of beer, though it was mostly sodas that were being drunk at the moment.

"Of course I remember." Loki chuckled. "It's one of the worst things about losing Asgard. Besides, you know, losing our home and all of that."

"I'm so-"

Loki cut off your apology with a kiss. "I don't understand why mortals apologize for things that are their fault."

"Shows empathy." You smirked.

"Are you sad about the wedding?" Loki asked.

"I have gotten used to Elizabeth, Pietro, Vision, Wanda, and Hogun living here." You admitted. "It's kind've nice, actually, to have some other girls here. But all the same, I'm glad that they're getting to move on with their lives. Do you know where they plan on moving after this?"

"Elizabeth wants to move to Florida. Hogun and Pietro don't mind and neither does Wanda, but Vision doesn't like the idea of being so far away from New York and neither does Jessie and Katherine. I'm not sure what they plan to do on that. They'll probably come up with some sort of compromise and just find a farm in New York."

"Right, Elizabeth, Hogun, Wanda, and Pietro all want to live on a farm." You said. "I'm sure everything will be great for them."

"There's also Sif." Loki said thoughtfully. "Hogun and her haven't seen each other for a while, not since he had the bond with Elizabeth, but at the same time, he and Sif have had a long, long time to get to know each other. Plus, Sif still has Fandral and Volstagg."

"What do Heimdall and Kat plan on doing, do you know?" You asked. You had always been curious about the Warrior three and Sif. But Heimdall was just so mysterious and strong looking. Now, without having anything or anywhere to guard, he was happily spending time with Kat.

"Not sure. They might stay in Ohio. Or go to Cali."

You and Loki sat in silence for some time, watching the others mess around. A full on water fight had happened, though no one invited you and Loki into it, knowing that the two of you probably needed some time together. Plus, none of your boys would have dared sprayed you with water. You would've been mad at them.

"Elizabeth has a rather unfair advantage." Loki pointed out as Elizabeth deflected all water missiles, sending them towards her opponents.

"I wonder what it would be like to have her powers." You said thoughtfully. "I wonder how they work."

"I have an announcement!" Thor suddenly shouted and you and Loki quickly got to your feet to join the others at the table.

"Oh for the love of Odin." Loki murmured, low enough for you to hear. "I hope this is good."

You wrapped your arms around one of Loki's and he smiled at you before turning his attention back to Thor.

"And what is this news?" Clint asked on the other side of you. Nat was edging forward, rubbing her fingers together for just Clint to see. They must've made a bet on this as well. That made you roll your eyes.

"It is great news!" Thor said, turning to look at you with blue eyes, "Y/N is pregnant!"

[jessiarts]

Ok, so you guys know by now that I post art, what you may not know is that I also write a little- though I've not posted a whole lot of it here (because I hardly ever finish writing anything 😅)

Anyway I wanted to share some fantasy writing ideas (tips?) with you all- specifically in the oh-so-popular revolution genre.

Like anyone, I also enjoy watching the trope of the Good Guys overthrowing the Tyrannical/Dystopian Government. It's an exciting story, with a satisfying ending! There's a dramatic revolution and The Evil King gets overthrown and the people rejoice. They're stories of hope and resistance, and of standing up for what's right.

However, I do wish more stories would explore the other ways a revolution can happen. I feel like we're sleeping on some really compelling and interesting storylines here!

But before we get into those, let's break down some history and the reason most "Overthrow the Tyrant" movies usually end right after our heroes win and we only get a brief glance of how the sun is shining down upon all the people again before the credits roll. (besides the fact that the Bad Guy is dead the story is over lol) The first thing you'll want to know is that, historically, the violent, dramatic, revolutions typically aren't as successful or sustainable as the movies make them seem. In fact, movies have the unfortunate side effect of giving many rose-colored glasses to what revolution looks like. Hence the reason the movie usually ends right after our heroes win the "glorious battle," because to write what often happens after (historically) would probably put a bit of a downer on the story... Anyway, the afterward usually looks like:

Dramatic overthrow often leads to more oppressive systems:

The leader(s) of said dramatic revolution will often gain all the power for themselves- and that rarely ends well as they are often grossly under-prepared and under-qualified for everything that needs to be done to run not only a stable political system, but a stable society in general.

No one knows who's in charge, and this leads to chaos. Typically said leaders (and followers) of such revolutions have (usually well-meaning) ideas and visions of freedom and prosperity- but no plans on how to make that happen safely- or at all. This can lead to in-fighting from within the new regime as the new government fights over who should be in power- which typically results in further corruption of systems. (i.e: economic, judicial, the military, etc.)

To use the French Revolution as an example, seeing as people love to reference it so much lately, the revolutionaries succeeded in overthrowing the French Monarchy, but the new government they replaced it with only brought about more violence, fear, paranoia, corruption of systems, famine, and the death of tens of thousands of innocent people.

The violence typically does not stop with "Those in Power."

Again, we saw this in the French Revolution. After the beheading of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette came what is known as the "Reign of Terror." To sum up, the revolutionaries' anger didn't end- killing the monarchy wasn't enough. They also came for the priests, anyone with wealth, and anyone else they considered to have "Elite" status. (This included, but was not limited to: People who owned a business, Librarians, Educators, Those who even just had an education and/or could read, writers/artists/musicians) They also went after pretty much anyone else who opposed, or was even rumored to have opposed, the New Republic.

Also, more often than not the most vulnerable (the elderly, the disabled, young children/single mothers, etc) get left out in the gutter as they often depended on the previous systems (i.e: healthcare, food, sanitation, and many others) to survive, even flawed they were under the previous regime. When the systems then further under-perform, or even disappear, because the new leaders are busy figuring everything out, discovering all the intricacies of various systems they weren't prepared for, and/or appointing those under-qualified to run them which often leads to further corruption of said systems, many innocent people do just… die.

The new regime fails and society collapses:

Due to this instability, these new regimes become vulnerable to collapse or external threats, leaving them short lived with a trail of tragedy in their wake.

To once again use the French Revolution as an example, while the New Republic was struggling Napoleon Bonaparte ravaged Italy, Egypt, and other countries. When he returned to Paris, he and other leaders staged a coup. (And, despite him being a fierce Tyrant, many in France still considered him a hero- if that tells you anything about how the New Republic was going)

* * *

(I know that was a lot- I really did try to make it shorter 😅) Now, none of this is to discourage you from writing another Dramatic "Overthrow the King" type of Revolution story! I'm not trying to say any of these stories are dumb or invalid just because they may or may not 100% adhere to our historical reality! They very much do have a place in literature and education- they appeal to hope and standing up for what's right, and that is SO important! But I do encourage you to keep the above points in mind when writing yours! It could make for a infinitely compelling story!) Moving on to that point- if you want to try writing a different kind of revolution or rebellion story, historically the more successful and sustainable ones happen gradually. Again, I know the "glorious overthrow of the evil tyrant" is a very interesting and exciting story- but don't underestimate the drama of a gradual revolution! Sometimes the biggest causes of change happen when no one is looking!

This can look like a combination of the following:

Revolutionaries working from inside the current political systems to make them better.

Yes, these unfortunately do usually take longer than a giant dramatic overthrow of The Evil King, but in the end the result is usually better for those who rely on essential systems (again, like food and healthcare) because the systems improve over time, instead of disappearing completely with nothing to replace it, leaving those dependent in the gutter with nowhere else to turn to. (i.e: those who need medicine won't suddenly find themselves cut off with no way to access what they need to survive.)

I thought this was actually touched on pretty well in Carnival Row- especially in season 2- even if we didn't get to see a whole lot of it (we were so robbed of a third season! 😭)

Picture maybe a young woman who's worked her way into the system finding ways to make the changes she wants to see- and part of the reason it works is because she's able to get the rest of the kingdom to believe and put public pressure on her colleagues and others in charge to make the changes. Or even a man who's basically been handed his position due to circumstances of his birth, coming to see the injustices and, because he knows the ins and outs like the back of his hand, finding ways to manipulate his selfish elder colleagues into doing the right thing.

Everyday, ordinary, people helping each other and getting involved in their own communities.

Townspeople coming together and finding ways to support each other. This can look like the townspeople collectively boycotting certain greedy merchants until they lower the prices of their goods, and trading goods and knowledge among themselves so as to become less dependent on said less-honorable merchants. Maybe they form community gardens and/or collaborate directly with the farmers. They all help to grow the food and feed each other for free, and teach each other how to preserve the food for the oncoming winter- creating a plentiful food bank.

This can also look like things where the people in your story know the laws are corrupt, and they choose not to help their government punish those arrested for BS crimes, or for crimes one might consider justified, like those committed in self-defense on behalf of oneself or others. (IRL I believe we call this "jury nullification"- but you can find something else to call it in your story!) That might look like, I don't know, one of your characters having murdered the owner of the town apothecary for hoarding all the life saving potions (which he didn't even make) for himself and forcing the citizens to fork over their homes in payment if they want even one vial because they don't want grandma to die- and the rest of the town pulling an "I'm Spartacus" moment so that character won't be arrested for the crime because they all know the Apothecary Owner was wrong and was hurting the community.

People watching out for each other, especially for those most at risk of being victimized by a tyrannical government. Let's say a Mad King wants to gather up a certain group of people and force them into work houses. The subjects of said kingdom might decide they won't stand for that, and either help hide them until they can escape, and/or warn them when they see the carriages of the royal guard coming to seize and take said people away. (Remember Anne Frank and her family? Or the Underground Railroad? Kinda like that.) Or, say the citizens are pressured to rat out their neighbors- told to report any "foreigners" to the constable so they could be arrested and sent away. However, everyone instead decides to waste the King's time by reporting the King's Royal Advisor to the constable as a "foreigner" instead, causing the king to give up on that endeavor.

My favorite though might have to be where the characters manage to help reform the oppressive regime through collective tiny acts of weaponized incompetence- probably because this trope is so versatile! (And also funny!)

Picture a man (for some reason Detective Benoit Blanc comes to mind lol) who accepts a position in the royal court as one of the king's courtiers or advisers or assistants. Only he hates the king and everything he stands for- so he just starts making really dumb mistakes- on purpose.

He passes along instructions from the king ever so slightly wrong- or in a deliberately confusing way, so that when the task gets done incorrectly- Oops! The game of telephone has struck again! The cook must have just misunderstood him- they provided Boysenberrys for beggars outside the palace, instead of the Poisoned Sherry the king had requested!

Or he's meant to pass along a letter to the kingdom's best weapon maker, but it never makes it to it's destination. Maybe he accidentally set it down on the wrong pile of papers and it's now been thrown away! Or perhaps it got lost in the mail! Don't worry- tomorrow he'll definitely make sure to get that order in for the new weapons for the king's guards. (Only wouldn't you know it, the best weapon maker in the kingdom left yesterday to visit family three countries over! Oh darn- if only Medieval Benoit Blanc had remembered to pass that message along to the king last week!)

He's got such a charming personality that the King never punishes him for all his faults (at least never harshly)- believing that there's just been a string of bad luck going about. After all, Medieval Benoit Blanc always feels sooo bad that he's practically drawn to tears whenever he realizes one of these shortcomings might have been his fault! Especially that time when the king instructed him to go to the library and tell them to get rid of any copies of scrolls that contained history of the old king- and Medieval Benoit Blanc mistakenly told the librarian that the king requested they give copies away to the public...

Or, picture a woman who's taken on a job as a guard in the prison of a corrupt Queen who throws anyone with red hair into prison, forcing them to perform labor for their "crimes." Our hero knows this isn't right, and decides to take matters into her own hands.

One day a prisoner is set to be executed- but darn, she can't find the paperwork anywhere to tell her which one! Looks like execution is delayed until we can get this sorted!

The next day one of the older prisoners fails to meet her quota of hats knitted. The guard knows the punishment is meant to be a beating- but oh shoot, her club just got snapped in the door. It's useless now. Guess this prisoner gets off easy today!

Then another night a door is left open... must have been that fiddly lock again- this castle is so old, after all! But gosh, that allowed about 15 prisoners to escape into the night right under their noses! The guards are so understaffed, you know- Any of them was bound to doze off during their watch eventually!

Maybe she also has friends among the guards, who begin to quietly follow her lead, also uneased by the Queen's decline into corruption. Oops- a key has gone missing- Oh no! Another prisoner has escaped! Oops- someone forgot to sweep up the horse dung- Oh no! The meanest guard slipped on one pile and fell face first into another, bigger, pile- and is going to be leaving for the day! Oh no- there was a terrible accident near the torch barrels! No one knows what happened, but that one guard who was In Charge of Torturing seems to have accidentally set himself ablaze and will no longer be with us!

In these cases we'd see multiple characters working in various systems subtly weaponizing their weaponized incompetence, of course. It really helps to build a web of overlapping story lines of all these characters failing spectacularly. Bonus points if you add peeks at how the Bad Leader is just pulling out their hair because nothing is going right no matter what they do- there's always something falling apart somewhere!

Or, you could take the funny route, where a guy genuinely is trying his best at his new job- but he just can't seem to get it right no matter how hard he tries! Becomes a folk hero by the end of the story completely on accident. Picture Mr. Bean getting a job aboard the Death Star. Or Mr. Bean getting a job inside The Capitol of Panem. Or Mr. Bean getting a job... literally anywhere.

Paperwork is getting lost or destroyed.

Machines are breaking down because maintenance was forgotten, or done incorrectly.

Computers are rendered useless because he tripped with his coffee- and someone forgot to make backups of the information stored on them.

Servers get unplugged because he tripped on the cord- and they stay down for hours because it never occurred to him to check that everything was still plugged in.

Other workers quit because they just can't deal with his shenanigans anymore.

They would fire him, but they're short staffed so they just can't get rid of him! Also he's somehow the only one who knows how this one specific thing works and it'd cost too much to train someone else.

Somehow he winds up getting promoted- and things only get worse.

Again, I'm not saying the type of revolution stories we're most used to are bad or anything- but I do believe we're missing out on some really interesting storylines by adhering mostly to the model of "Evil King took over years ago with little to no opposition, and ruled everyone with fear until a Group of Special People decided "No More!" and stormed the castle with an Epic Battle, dethroned the king, and now everyone can Rejoice!"

I know there must be more stories that explore other types of revolution or rebellion, but we just don't really see that much of it in the mainstream, and when we do it's not really the main focus, usually written to be more of a b-plot to the Big Boss Battle- and honestly I think we're missing out. (To a point it also almost feels like propaganda- like we're being taught that there's absolutely no way anyone can oppose or fight back against tyranny and win, without "the chosen one" organizing and fighting a big boss battle for everyone.)

I want to see more stories where everyday people are making it hard for Tyrants to even get into power by saying no, and absolutely refusing to comply in advance. I want to see stories where the heroes make the regimes of Evil Tyrants crumble from within simply by making it hard for them to get literally anything done. I want to see stories where the our heroes manipulate their old cronie colleagues into passing laws that help the people of the kingdom by any means necessary, even if that means beating them at their own games and choking them with their own metaphorical red tape. (Again, if I'm remembering it correctly, I feel Carnival Row actually did a nice job of showing this happening as a decent part of the plot)

I want to see Mr. Bean get a job building the second Death Star- and watch it never get built because he keeps losing the building plans, and fucking up the material orders, and losing the keys to the heavy machinery, and accidentally ejecting the assembly droids out the airlock.

Anyway, I know this was all really long. Sorry about that- I got a little carried away thinking about all the different characters and the possibilities for the parts they may play in a rebellion story 😅

I'm going to try to post more of my writings here sometime- let me know if you guys want anymore story ideas along this kind of genre. Maybe someday I'll even turn one of the above ideas into a drabble if anyone is interested lol

[keepmeinmind-01]

long ramble about Theseus and the war incoming:

I was just thinking that, potentially, the war might have been a source of conflict between Theseus and Newt; but I was also thinking that actually, it’s more likely than I previously thought that Theseus would actually be anti war afterwards. if he was a “war hero”, then I assume the Ministry would have deemed that the case only if his position was in line with maintaining the Statue, otherwise surely that would be seen as too outside of the status quo. I don’t think he’d be allowed to express the opinion that ultimately using magic/fighting alongside the Muggles as a Muggle would be a good thing.

Theseus is a “war hero” because he went through it and earned his medals, sure, but then what public perspective would he have to share for the Ministry to keep calling him a hero in line with their values? does that make sense?

like the majority of prominent WW1 veterans were adamantly against it and saw it as a huge waste of life, and the way I’m writing Theseus’s experiences wouldn’t make him any more insulated or different. a few people saw it as “doing what had to be done”, but the psychological after effects were almost universally huge, and I think the return to “normal life” (which would have been even more extreme for Theseus) would only reinforce these feelings. I also write Theseus as not believing in wizarding superiority whatsoever after his war experiences and essentially living as a Muggle in the war (for the Statue).

on one hand, being anti war fits well with the Ministry’s aims, and also Grindelwald’s, in a way. no war means less chance of wizards wanting to help or fight and breaking the Statue. at the same time, if combined with the belief that wizards and Muggles are equal, then that’s anti-Statue, because enforcing a social separation like that relies on fundamental ideas of difference. so where does that go?

thinking this through (and I know a lot of it is based on how I’ve written Theseus and my headcanons), I wonder if Theseus actually would have a pretty unusual and progressive political perspective within the Ministry? I don’t think Theseus plays political games. he strikes me as very earnest and someone who tends to say what they think. I can’t imagine the Ministry would let someone like Theseus say that the war was a “necessary evil”, because then that shows he was right to break the Statue. they’d want him to be against the war

at the same time, this pragmatism, earnestness, and sense of justice coupled with an anti war perspective seem to lend themselves to Theseus having a core belief that cooperation across magical/Muggle lines is ethical and pragmatic. and then how does he present to be called a “war hero” by an institution like the Ministry that’s so against all these ideas, and what might he do with the strong sense of “doing what’s right”/good intentions that I think Theseus has (I’m thinking the “we mustn’t be who he says we are” before the Paris Rally, “get your head out of the sand”)?

maybe none if this makes much sense because my brain is like cotton wool rn. but this kind of brings me to the conclusion…then why/what about the war could be dividing Theseus and Newt?

I think Newt is also highly antiwar but further than that, sees no moral justification for violence. and the dragons being used as a “weapon” in the war I think would have radicalised Newt in that way. but I feel like their perspectives actually have more synergy than I’ve realised (again, in the way I’ve written them perhaps more so than canon) and actually Theseus’s views might make him very much the antithesis of Grindelwald. as Grindelwald wants to “stop” the war while starting a new war and governing Muggles, while Theseus also doesn’t believe in war and also has a more skeptical view of the Statue, but takes that more towards a sense that wizards and Muggles aren’t very different

perhaps it’s because Theseus is still working within the Ministry? because the Ministry uses or filters the “war hero” thing somehow? and Newt is more idealistic than pragmatic? between Theseus, Newt, and Grindelwald, there’s a potentially interesting tension in how “peace” is viewed

[ambrosialdesire]

Happy New Year and hope we all prosper and have good life!

I love your yandere Reiner stories and kept them in my likes collection.

One thing I love about Reiner is how unquestionable loyal he is to someone he loves ( Not Marley, FUCK that nation ).

Can u imagine if he loves someone from childhood and if the childhood friend leaves him to move somewhere else, he will be genuinely devastated?? I feel like he can recall the said childhood friend if he ended up bumping into her a decade later, while he hang out with his friends in a cafe. What do you think? How will Reiner react if he recognize her?

happy new year!

tysm!! i always appreciate fellow yandere reiner stans, that man's potential will always be undermined and he will always deserve the hype haha

his loyalty to marley definitely wavered during his time in paradis from how much he bonded with the training corps and his reflection of that time years after he came back from the island. he's also pretty dedicated into marrying historia even after years of not seeing her so 😭😭

if he found that childhood friend to be a source of comfort, yes, he'd be extremely devastated. all little reiner thought about back then was trying his best in the warrior training to get his mother's approval and to win back his father's love, there would basically be no time for him to be just a kid. having this friend that's not involved with warrior training or his familial issues, he'd grasp onto her like no other since it would be the only time he'd feel like a normal kid. then when she moves, there's nowhere else he can feel free from his burdens.

reiner did try searching for her once he came back from the failed mission since he had limited time left, but the task had to be put in the back burner. when after all is said and done after the rumbling and the peacemaking between the two nations, there's a moment in time where he was attempting to find her again, but was unsuccessful once more. reiner didn't want to contemplate in the idea that she could've died in the rumbling, but he had to resign to the thought that he may never see his childhood friend ever again.

he's in his late 20s at this point, meeting up with jean, connie, and armin in a new cafe that connie insisted would be good, when the waitress comes up to him. "ready to order, or are you still waiting on someone sir?"

reiner glances up, ready to say that he's still waiting on his friends, when he stops, mouth hanging open. it's her, it's undeniably her. it may be years since he last saw her, but in his heart, he knows that who he's looking at is his childhood best friend. he utters her name, she nods in acknowledgement and it's obvious that she doesn't recognize him. he's at a lost of words at this point, every memory together rushing back into his mind, and he probably just starts tearing up from the overwhelming amount of nostalgia coming back. she asks him if he's okay and he just laughs it off, saying that he's just happy to see her again and would start bringing up things they've done together back then to jog her memory.

then she remembers him and almost drops everything on the spot, her own tears welling up in her eyes and down her face. she knew that he had became the armored titan and had to go into paradis all those years ago, but she wasn't able to reach him to say goodbye before he went. then when he came back, she had already mourned at the idea that he wouldn't return, refusing to read anything that the marleyan government said about the warrior program so she had no idea that he was alive still. rumbling era, she was in that crowd pushing towards the cliff edge, praying that in the next life if it's more peaceful, she'd be with reiner again, running through the streets with nothing but joy in their hearts.

after crying in each others arms, they both catch up, forgetting that she had a job to do and he was supposed to meet his friends. nothing is gonna stop them from reconnecting, reiner would never allow it and uses his status as one of humanity's saviors to ensure they'll be uninterrupted. it's a very sweet moment i think lol

[calekinnieplus]

This looks like a fun idea, so here goes! :

What do you think of this guy🙃?

Oh wow! Good character you chose there ahahaha! Roselle Gustav aka Huang Tao!

First impression

Honestly, I was floating in confusion at the start a bit, considering it was my first Chinese webnovel, so I had a period of readjustment to the writing style (or the translation ig?), so I didn't immediately connect the dots that Roselle was a transmigrator or that he's... kinda "dead" lol

Buuuut, once the dots connected, I did find him quite amusing! Bro's self-confidence gave me second-hand embarrassment, but not That bad. But also, Klein was bashing on him so hard, it was kinda hilarious.

I don't fully remember what impression I had of him, since I was reading pretty slow in the beginning and some ideas were lost, but overall, fun guy lmao

Impression now

Hilarious guy, a meme, a legend.

Yet...

Quite unfortunate that his end was just endless suffering (which will hopefully not be endless haha...). Bro made small mistakes in the beginning when he didn't know Anything, when he was transported to a world he didn't know anything about, forced to adapt and live a new life. I don't know, I find him tragic, just like Klein.

At least he had some good times along the road (especially with a demoness heh). The funny stories were nice to read.

Favorite moment

Basic, but his first talk with Klein. I mean, him meeting a fellow transmigrater and quickly having faith in him was sweet. I really wish to see more of them :>

If we're talking about the diary entries, I'd probably choose when... uhhh the corruption thing. Roselle going to the moon. And when he gazed into the Abyss. I remember how the diary entry abruptly cut off after dumping a lot of info and both Klein and I were Flabbergasted. What did it MEAN-!!

(I have a feeling I'm mixing up the moments, but the feelings remain. The confusion, the anticipation and the wonder from some diary entries were Amazing)

OH, and the last diary entry of course. It was so chill-inducing! It was one of those moments that answered a lot of questions while also bringing even MORE questions. It was just- the atmosphere full of fear and uncertainty, putting into question what that fellow transmigrator went through, wowie~

Idea for a story

Well, let me shuffle in the corner of my brain...

I've always been a fan of Time Travel AUs. So the idea of Klein (at a higher sequence but not Saint Level, maybe? Idk, a lot of possibilities here) travelling to Roselle’s time period and the two of them becoming best buddies (Roselle’s words, not Klein's. Klein's facepalming in the background at Roselle’s shenanigans).

Maybe! It could be a young god Mr Fool using his domain over Space and Time and having a misplaced adventure during Roselle’s time.

(We're pretending the Outer Gods and CW isn't as dauting of a problem as they are in canon, aye?)

Anyway, doesn't matter which version of Klein or during what time he's visiting, it's mandatory that he facepalms at least once :))

Unpopular opinion

Well, I don't know the popular opinions, so I'll guess I'll just go with an opinion.

I mean, he totally could've treated his wife better. I can understand feeling a disconnect with this world and humanity in general, but at least don't bring shame to her name by being a known womanizer, mm? At least divorce or smth, man. You overthrew the government, you could definitely do that.

Unless he actually did divorce her and we just don't know. But otherwise, yeah. Kinda dick move there, Emperor.

Favorite relationship

(Platonic, right?)

Again, basic but. Roselle and Bernadette.

The fact that Bernadette spent so much time searching for a father she was on dubious terms with and how much faith she had that he persevered against all odds.

The fact that Roselle’s one and only tie with this new world was his daughter, his beloved child that he loved with all his might. A child he shared a piece of his old world with. A child he remodeled this entire world's structure for. Absolutely heart-warming.

Favorite headcannon

Hmm let's see...

Huang Tao, as a young individual who surfs the internet, would know a lot of memes or jokes. After becoming Roselle Gustav, those memes aren't easily forgotten.

I mean, is it canon, actually? Maybe he made several Chinese meme references and I missed them lmao. That would be funny

Bonus: imagine Huang Tao and Zhou Mingrui bumped into each other one day, unaware that the next time they'll meet each other, it will be after more than 10 000 years, give or take. ...what's the timeline here?

[evita-shelby]

They didn't know we were seeds

Chapter 7

Cw: infidelity, mentions of incest, sex trafficking

@emotionalcadaver @justrainandcoffee @peakyswritings @call-sign-shark

They are in the Justice Hall in his district, laughing and sneaking around like real lovers. They hide in an attic, disheveled and spent as they lay together in a dirty rug. Done in secret because they could die if Changretta knew.

Snow didn’t give a shit what went on as long as it didn’t bring any disruptions in his government. Two victors fucking provided good gossip in the Capitol and at most ideas in those who solicited sex from them, no one in the districts cared about that when they are busy trying to survive.

They began as allies and now they were friends and something a little more than just that. It was just comfort in having sex because you want to with someone who you can be yourself with. Eva was the only one Jack felt truly comfortable being this vulnerable with even if he was pretty adept at the whole sex without feelings shit too.

Despite what she did, Jack cannot help himself like her. He supposed it was because no one could truly understand what he was going through unless they were stuck in the same hell as him.

“I hate her you know, Tigris.” She says when he brings up her winning strategy. “Said it was the strategy the first District 12 victor used to win.”

They hardly talk about Laurie, or the Capitol or anything relating to the games. But he’d noticed her penchant of wearing black ---her new favorite color--- and asked about her former stylist who’s faded into obscurity as a fur underwear designer.

“You hate her because it worked.” He holds her hand as if it wasn’t his brother who died because of it and for her sake doesn’t continue this conversation. “I suppose if Lucy Gray could fall for her mentor and he for her, two tributes could do the same.”

“I didn’t know that; it was back when mentors were Capitol students wasn’t it?” Eva asks and turns to her side with her undivided attention.

“Lucy Gray won because Coriolanus Snow fell in love with her.” Jack then begins a tale so strange she has to wonder if he drank more than he should have at dinner.

The President was Tigris cousin, they were poor, he was Lucy Gray’s mentor at the tenth games, he was best friends with Sejanus Plinth who hailed from 2 from the exact village Jack’s family is from. Lucy Gray had a rainbow dress just like hers and Snow a suit just like Dustin’s at the interview when they won. Snow was made a Peacekeeper as punishment while all records of the games were destroyed because the Head Gamemaker caught him cheating.

Only no one expected for Servilla Plinth to tell her little sister in her encrypted letters home and for said sister to tell her grandson when he confided in her about his plan to kill Eva after the president’s visit.

Snow and Sejanus were stationed in 12th where the latter was tried for treason and Lucy Gray murdered by the Mayor when Snow was pardoned and returned to the Capitol. Snow didn’t want anyone to even remind him of that nor the possibility that he killed his best friend.

It explains why Snow wanted Eva dead, come to think of it. Tigris had reminded him of how he got there, something only people ashamed of their past hated.

And now he shares that secret with her in this dank attic where only the rats and insects can hear and see them.

She is not angry at him for agreeing to kill her, said she would’ve done the same for her brothers and then kissed him like she loved him. Like she kissed Laurie before her failed murder-suicide.

“We should go, they’ll be looking for us.” He says before things spiral out of control.

Eva returns to the Capitol to find her protector dead.

In his place stands the leader of the Peaky Blinders, Thomas Shelby.

Unlike Luca he did not stick to the business world for his cover, Tommy Shelby had bought himself a minor post in the government along with a wife who knew all the right people.

Eva found her grating, like nails on a chalkboard. Her ignorance could be forgiven, but there was just something about Grace Burgess that she just flat out disliked. Maybe her phoniness put her off.

“I do not suppose you will be taking up the arrangement your predecessor and I had before you did away with him?” the victor has no idea what to expect from him. While it was obvious his marriage was as cold as his eyes, not all men liked the idea of sticking to one mistress. The rumors of him and the secretary were true given her boyfriend was found murdered recently and his wife was also known for having her own secrets.

No one was sure who the son belonged to, both men had identical coloring and high cheekbones.

“He protected you from the rest of them, didn’t he?” Shelby lights a cigarette and does this thing where he rubs it against his lower lip that she finds interesting. Sexy even.

Jack wouldn’t like that, but Jack hates most men around her anyways.

“Yes, for the price of not fucking anyone else, I got everything I wanted and some more.” As far as these arrangements went, hers with Luca was perfect. If they had met in better circumstances, they would’ve made a great couple.

“A good thing he never learned about your affair with Jack Nelson.” His lips hide the smirk very well, but his eyes don’t. Speaks more with those eyes of his than his lips.

“Ah, so it was your work that night?” the security footage hadn’t been given to Luca so no one could prove what happened after Jack tore her diamond collar in the balcony. As far as Luca knew, Jack hated her for killing Laurie and was only nice when people were around. “I should thank you.”

“Thank me after you show me who would benefit most from a protector.” He suggests with contempt for the practice in every word.

“Cashmere, some pay for her and her brother and force them together.” Eva let her venom through. No one was supposed to know as incest was still as illegal as pedophilia, but all victors knew the sort of hell the siblings from 1 got. “Would you like for me to make the introduction, or do you think you can pretend this conversation never happened?”

Snow hated when victors meddled and tried to make it less awful for each other. Inspires rebellion, Luca told her once, if the districts knew we can all work together, Snow would fall from his throne.

That day cannot come soon enough.

“I can handle that, but I do have a favor to ask you.” He drinks his whiskey betraying nothing as he hands her his business card.

“Ask away.” These favors don’t work out for her, it’s how she ended up smuggling contraband for Luca in exchange for keeping her off the roster their first year together. But she finds herself trusting this stranger.

“Arrange a meeting with Gamemaker Heavensbee, your stylist and myself.” He doesn’t mean the current one, he means Tigris Snow.

It won’t be that difficult, Fulvia Cardew was a friend of Clemens and he must know how to reach Tigris. In fact, by the time Matty’s traumatic stress appears during fireworks show later that evening, its already scheduled.

Tommy Shelby doesn’t pay her back with flowers, clothing nor jewels, he pays her for the service with a deed to a small farm on the northern border of her district.

So close she could reach district 2 or even 11 by completely bypassing the guard towers along the border. If the fence wasn’t on, nothing would stop her from going or someone going out.

The question is: why?

[ancha-aus]

..hi :) Are these "Ask me soemething" privat or will it be on your account for everyone to see? I'm a little bit shy and doing this for the first time hehe..

Because I really wanna know how do you plan your Storys :3

is the Idea just born of one drapple..

Is it just one moment in this story you really wanna write and everything else comes on the way till there

or just based from a ship you wanna read

or you wanted to know what happend when you put all the charakters in a world you create..

(or you wanted to create a world where Nim is a great parent to drream and night..-ah this is ofcourse not a hint that i plan to write to and need a little bit of guidence for the very beginnig. I have many ideas but unsure ..^^")

..äh that was all.. for now ..NO!

Did you make a checklist for everthing to happend (becuase that did i now) or create the world first or decided who will play a role?

Is this not the same like above?... ah.. Better go now.

Thank you^^

They are open and will be visible for everyone as... euh... you can see. hihi.

At least the way i answer them now. but if you ever feel nervous about being seen and stuff you can press a button that is pretty much ask as anon. (also if you want this deleted after you read the answers just let me know okay? I cna always just make a new post with just the answers and without your name or anything :) )

As for your answers? A bit of everything.

For me personally it depends very heavily on what story i make. Ancients and Champions started purely because i wanted to see more fics with SansXNightmareXError. Turns out I tend to write slowburns and I ended up needing a plot of somekind. I picked the stars as antagonists because it fit and it was easy to go from there. Eventually it grew as i got more ideas for characters and lore bits came to me with other ideas.

Remember, that story? I wrote for it for over a year before i even started uploading it. It was my little project that i just kept playing with and changing things with. It may seem like i started with a goal but i didn't. It was a process of "oh this would be fun." or "ooooh I had a great idea for a scene!" how i went from plotpoint to plotpoint? I just kinda... let the characters interact. The more you write a character the better you get to know their like 'voice' and thoughts. It becomes easier.

And well... even a bad story can work as long as you have good characters :) It is why we love fanfiction to begin with. we love the characters.

As for how I go about world building? I build what i need. I know, sounds strange coming from me with my lore and everything. But in the end... the characters only know so much. I create what they would realistically know. Why would i figure out the whole line of government of a neightbouring country? When my characters would never use it or mention it? As for how i do world building. I just do what makes sense to me. I spend some time thinking about it and use that.

That is another thing that may surprise you. I spend a lot of time just thinking and daydreaming about my stories. even more time than i actually spend writing it. This does have as result in know my things rather well. (though i still have a cheat sheet for my BIG fic. just with a few years and numbers in case i forget)

the other way around. Real Age Au. That is just a drabble series. it means i get an idea and just kinda. write. I don't worry about the over arching plot too much. I write a scene i want to write and call it a day.

The main point of all of my writing? I am playing. and I treat it as playing. I am playing with the characters and see how they react and how that progresses. I start a scene to play it out. I make a world and see how the characters react/change.

It is all about having fun and playing. That is why i can keep up with all the stories i have and ideas i have. because i still see it as playing :)

hihi. as for your little last point? :3 Well. You already have the most important part. You have the fact you want Nim to be a great mother to Dream and Nightmare. It means you have three interesting characters with personalities. and you have the main bond between them. a parent who loves her two sons and, as a great mother, would protect them.

That is your main point at the moment. that is your starting building block. That dynamic. and that can give you nim's main goal, being a good parent for her sons.

From there? You jsut start throwing stuff at the idea and see what happens. You have the villagers who are always a great antagonist, espeically if you want to write baby dream and baby nightmare and protective single mother nim.

You have the bigger universe if you want to use adult dream and nightmare.

It all depends on what idea you want to play with. and it is perfectly okay to only want to write for yourself. Hell knows I wrote Ancients and champions for myself and at first dind't even have the plan to post it.

I have finished two more stories which i do plan on posting but i am also writing another one i may never post.

RealAgeAU as a whole is just drabbles. my playing with prompts and ideas.

hihihi sorry. this got long so i will quickly answer the last part.

Did i write a checklist? Nah. at most i wrote tiny bullet points with random ideas.

I cna give you one tip though! to make it easy to keep a going an have an aim. If you want a longer story with multiple arcs and stuff. never finish a storyline before starting a new one.

example: The goal of the group is to find a gem. setting: in the cave of the gem they meet a mysterious stranger that speaks in riddles before disappearing. next: they find the gem.

What now? They foudn the gem? ... well... you set up a new start. a new mystery to explore.

That is how i made my story keep flowing. I tried to introduce or hint at new important characters or aims before i finished up the arc i was writing on.

This may be a bit hard to get down or come easy :) Matter of practising and feeling out what feels right to you :)

I will shut up now but if you have anymore questions i will try to help!