#including when you're trying to explain to people why they should vote to make the game less racist

[teaandinanity]

I love it when I encounter people talking about the homophobic horse game in the wild because it reminds me afresh how unutterably BATSHIT everything is.

what the fuck is horse game drama

[s0fti3w1tch]

TMNT POLLS PSA

I've explained this in my reblog tags of this post, please keep the TMNT polls fun and please be sure that the AU/Iteration/Fic creators are actually okay with being part of them.

**Not about polls I've been added in, but polls I've seen, and growing trends me and others have noticed. As always, please don't harass anyone.

Specifically the more popularity-poll-ish ones, ones that teeter on or are straight up serious, it can be discouraging for those who didn't ask for it. Some may fear speaking up about it because other people are having fun despite how they themselves feel about it. Especially when polls specifically put one well-known fanwork over a smaller one. Worse yet when you're dropped into it without awareness from beforehand. Hell, even when the creators have a similar size, it can hurt.

I've recently gotten some anon messages like this. Though I haven't seen that attitude in response to my AU in polls, it's the type of attitude I've seen towards a couple other creators.

Being publicly compared to others by hundreds, sometimes up to thousands, can be anxiety-inducing. As easy as it is to say that "the unpopularity of your work should not discourage you," truth be told, there's truth to the saying "comparison kills creativity."

To have your work being used to put down someone else? Someone who's working just as hard? Who's just trying to share an idea just like you? Or to be dismissed?

As stated by the authors of MMC and OMO, while it may seem like you're uplifting your favorite in this, it's awkward. It can be stressful.

For those with less votes, it's hard not to think that yours is being called "less than." An "I've never heard of the other one lmao" can feel like a punch in the gut.

There's also animosity towards more bigger fanworks because of the pedestal they've been put on.

All that, and not even wanting to be there in there first place.

These things should and can encourage creativity and growth. AUs crossing over, banter, propaganda posts, etc.

Around the time Tumblr first rolled out the poll function, I was included in The Night AU creator's Sep AU polls. Me and the poll creator, Ray, both got last place in 2 respective polls, hence why we call TN!Leo/Green and TD!Leo/Trainee the "Losers Duo." Key part being: there was the awareness that this was simply in good fun. And I enjoyed being included.

Getting to know the creators of The Night, Red Rover, Life Mission, Blood Bath, and SLAU was and still is an amazing experience. The amount of crossover art we've made is evident of how much I've loved its turnout. I'm still planning on making more crossover work in the future.

It was some of the most actual fun I've had in fandom since I was 12. I'm 20 by the end of the year.

TL;DR

Respect the boundaries of fanwork creators and don't be an asshole for fuck's sake.

[hyperlexichypatia]

One manifestation of the oppression of disabled people and young people is the collectivization of what should be purely individual decisions.

This is also why I identify so strongly as a liberal individualist, and why I believe that disability liberation requires a liberal individualist ethic.

I got into an argument with some people about parents "sending" their adult children to college (in the context of the spate of articles/discourse about "Don't send your daughter to college in an anti-abortion state") and, frustratingly enough, I didn't even get a chance to talk about what I actually wanted to talk about, which was educational coercion as a red flag for reproductive coercion (because if parents are sufficiently controlling of their adult daughter's life that they feel comfortable dictating where she's allowed to go to college, it seems probable that their support for abortion rights is motivated less by a commitment to reproductive autonomy and more by wanting the option to coerce their daughter into an abortion whether or not that's what she wants).

But I didn't even get to make that secondary point, because people kept insisting that parents controlling/restricting where their adult daughters can go to college isn't even a thing. I was completely imagining it! Or misunderstanding it! That's not a real thing!

They seemed to think that I seemed to think that parents were hog-tying their daughters and dragging them kicking and screaming off to university -- and that any coercion just short of that is "her choice" and not coercion at all.

And that's not what most forms of familial coercion look like at all -- at least not familial coercion of legal adults who theoretically (but not in practice) have legal autonomy.

Familial coercion of theoretically legally autonomous adults more often takes the form of collectivizing what should be a purely individual decision. Along with financial abuse, it's the go-to tactic of controlling families. Sometimes it's a last resort before pulling the trigger of institutionalization, and sometimes it's just the default way of interacting. Just explain to the person you're trying to control what We As A Family have decided is best. Or maybe you ask her thoughts, make her feel included in the process. She should have a say. You're taking her wishes into account.

It's always a huge red flag when someone "has a say" or is "included in the process" of a decision that should be solely xyrs in the first place.

See, I almost said "that should solely be theirs," because I usually use singular "they" as the gender-neutral pronoun to refer to a general person like "someone" or "anyone." But I avoid it when I'm writing about autonomy issues, because people are so eager to interpret "they" as collective. I have so many conversations like: "Every disabled person should have the right to choose where they live." "Yes, every Special Needs Family should decide what's best for them as a family." or "Everyone should have the right to make their own medical decisions about their own body." "Yes, every care team should decide for each patient as an individual, on a case-by-case basis."

So in those contexts, I choose my words more carefully.

Sometimes this is framed as some kind of "fairness," and people who want complete autonomy are framed as "unfair" or "unwilling to compromise" or "wanting everything your own way" -- which is also framed as "immaturity," and obviously, if you're too immature to just be reasonable about other people trying to control your life, then surely you're too immature to make your own decisions!

But if the topic is your own body and your own life, you should want everything your own way, actually. You shouldn't have to compromise, actually. It's yours. It doesn't get put to a vote! It doesn't get referred to a committee! It's yours.

[hot-take-tournament]

I’m too late to submit, but with the shenanigans happening with takes that dont harm anyone, I’m curious. Are there any takes that you decided won’t be in the tournament?

You're not too late to submit! If there's something you want to get off your chest, the form is still open!

But as for the other part of your question, that's something I've been thinking about as well.

Please read the whole thing - it's important, and there's a poll at the end because I need everyone's feedback.

From the beginning I wanted this blog to be a place where people can share any controversial opinion they have, and that hasn't changed. But at the same time, this is still a light-hearted tournament blog, and even though I've fucked up in the past, I always try desperately to make sure that no one ever feels uncomfortable on this blog because they see something potentially triggering.

And, even though it's been so long that I wouldn't blame you for forgetting, this is still technically a tournament blog, and there'll be a bracket with matchups at some point.

And there's no way I can include serious takes like those in a tournament bracket -

I'm not going to make you guys vote between mental health issues and homophobia, with the winner going on to face chicken smoothies in the finals.

I can't do that. I won't.

But at the same time, I also don't want to tell people they can't submit takes like that. Serious issues still deserve to be discussed, and from the beginning, I wanted this blog to be place where people can share any opinion on any topic, no matter what it is.

I've received a lot of takes relating to a number of very serious topics - including some extremely controversial takes on those issues, that many people would find offensive and/or triggering - and I think having a forum where people can share opinions, debate those takes and discuss more sensitive topics is important as well.

But I'm not willing to post those potentially offensive takes on this blog. I want everyone to be able to enjoy it.

So, here's the problem:

From the beginning I wanted this blog to be two things -

A place on the internet where no one would ever feel unsafe or unwelcome

A place where people feel comfortable sharing any opinion anonymously, no matter what it is.

And now I've come to the sobering realisation that those two things just cannot co-exist.

So, I've been torn for a while over how to deal with this - but now I think I might have thought of an alternative that I want to get everyone's opinions on.

I could create a side blog purely dedicated to submissions that I think are too sensitive for this main blog.

That way, people will still be able to submit and discuss those submissions - and anyone who doesn't want to see that kind of content can just block that blog and enjoy this one without worrying about seeing anything that they're not comfortable with.

When I say purely dedicated, I mean that other than an untagged master post explaining the purpose of the blog, it would only post polls and nothing else. It wouldn't be a tournament - just polls, like the ones we've been doing, except this time it would be about issues that should be taken seriously.

Asks would be closed, and all the polls would remain completely untagged other than a specific tag for the blog and any relevant content warnings. Also, there would be no posts from me, no pictures and no joke responses - just a simple 'Do you agree? Yes/No' for every poll.

It would just be a queue ticking along, posting maybe a poll a day at a scheduled time, and if you want to discuss those topics, you absolutely can - and if you don't want to see it, you don't have to.

Meanwhile, this blog can then be fully dedicated to goofy shenanigans and vicious ratios.

The only alternative would be just to update the rules and ban those kind of submissions outright - but I feel on some level that would go against the reason why I started this blog in the first place.

But I do want to get your opinions on this.

Please let me know what you guys think.

[morogwen]

There we have it, the anti-trans conspiracy theory. "The government has a vested interest in gender affirming care because it" Why trans people? If the goal is maintaining patriarchy, why manufacture evidence trans people? This guarantees a solid chunk of voters voting to restrict the rights of trans people, which defeats the purpose of GAC. If it's for monetary reasons, this is also a problem. You aren't going to make money targeting 1% of the population and only specifically in places where being trans is even legal, especially when you're going up against right wing transphobia that has demonstrably attacked trans care. The entire diatribe about postmodernism is taken straight from Jordan Peterson, and other's have discussed at length his "Postmodern Neomarxism" bit was just "Jewish Bolshivism" for the modern nazi. I've provided the studies showing that conversion therapy does include trying to prevent trans people from transitioning or accepting their gender identity (i.e., trying to prevent someone who is AMAB from identifying as a trans woman). If you're going to just ignore the evidence on that, then I'm just going to have to copy and paste this paragraph. The "follow the money" bit that comes up in a few places is very reminiscent of how other conspiracy theorists argue. Creationism doesn't lack evidence, it just doesn't get studied because money. Climate change isn't real, you just can't get money if you want to do a study that would disprove it. Of course, covid-19 is a hoax, they just won't give doctors money to do a real study. I've heard this a billion times and it's always a dumb excuse. It doesn't make sense when creationists say it so it doesn't make sense when you do. Unless you have actual evidence that the data is being forged for monetary reasons, this is just not worth considering.

I should add: you have to contend with the actual evidence. If you're going to go into a conspiracy theory that these dark shadowy elites are trying to trans people for nefarious purposes, you have to explain why these apparently smartest people ever are doing the dumbest thing they possibly could. If all of these medical professionals are just mistaken, why are you going after trans people over the medical communities incompetency?

A high rate of suicide is often tied to being trans, but I can’t help but wonder if it’s actually the other way around. My friend group in high school consisted almost entirely of severely mentally ill and suicidal young teenagers. As the years went on, more and more of them became trans until it was the majority of the group. They were suicidal and trans, yes, but they were suicidal long before discovering a trans identity. What are the odds that 80% of the people in one group all happened to turn out trans? Is it really reasonable to argue it was an undiscovered trans identity that made them all suicidal long before any of them “discovered” they were trans? Isn’t it more likely that when you are a mentally ill, unstable teenager, you may be more likely to adopt a trans identity as a way of reinventing yourself, rebelling, and gaining instant sympathy and community?

[zu-is-here]

Ok, so...this one might be weird one XD

So yeah, TW about sexual topics

I've been in fandom for a long time, so of course I saw a... Lot of not kid friendly stuff here. Well, some of the best fics on AO3 about Undertale still are the ones with smut in it XD you know, you get in expecting some nice lemon and get some large, really amazing story with it. What can be better???

The problem is, with how much LGBTQ+ were getting bigger those past few... Years(?) I started wondering, if there is maybe some name for it.

Like, it feels different, when you are reading about characters you like, and some random people (real life videos included)

And the worst thing, I think it doesn't match under fictosexualizm, because... Well, it's not attraction to character in this sense? It's not about xReader, when you are supposed to get in role of the guy doing it, but about how those characters interact, this sweet angst you can understand, or just cuddles, or just them doing the thing.

Like, shiping them and them getting together make you riled up? Dunno if I explained it well XD

Maybe there's no name for it. Maybe it's just shiping on higher level. But it got me thinking, cuz... It's hard to tell if it's just me, or others feel similar way. Like, there are people who see themselves in Cross's "skin" or something, so I can see they also enjoyed the story, but can't tell if it's because they made Cross the reader, just liked the story, or also are screaming in their pillow when those two dumbasses talk things out so ship become cannon in story XD

Maybe I got a bit off the topic, well. In short:

Is this weird to get so excited about some fictional characters getting together and making kids, and are there others who feel the same way?

(ps. Why is TUMBLR sexymen voting happening on Twitter??? )

These topics are actually really important, thank you for the ask! ★

A great fic is always the lucky find for the reader, but when it comes to sharing with a wider audience, you realize you can't separate (amazing) safe scenes from (not less amazing) unsafe ones—it comes with it, and that's the paradox :')

But such works are strong in that they raise important—yeah, far from safe yet not always adult—topics to show and to teach something.

(I'm not sure if I understood you correctly after that but here are several options!)

1. If you mean xReader (or Y/n, when you as a character) & Self-insert (when the creator puts themselves/their OCs in), these both are part of the fiction for those who enjoy it╰(*´︶`*)╯

2. If you mean OOC (when a character doesn't act like they should in canon), that's a thin line cause sticking to canon may be hard, especially for those who don't know the character well or want them to act differently (*´∀｀*)

That's where your own experience may take place: many creators put a part of themselves into the characters and create stories based on their real life or dreams. That, actually, is what fiction is also for ☆

3. If you mean getting into the characters & their story while reading it as if you're a part of it, empathize them & worrying about their relationships, that's absolutely fine! ♡

When you're reading, it's hard to be an outside observer—you try on their personalities or endow them with your own traits anyway, and you worry about them as if they were real people, or you lead them through real life difficulties you experienced/are afraid to experience...

(P. S. That's what confused me too! :'D But I guess the reason is that we can't make polls here :')

UPD:

Oh! ☆ Again, there's nothing wrong in enjoying and being happy for the fictional characters you like╰(*´︶`*)╯♡

[kob131]

*looks at the OP*

Figures.

Fatal Flaw of Robyn Hill: 'Doesn't Let People Explain.'

Cool statement. I got a better one.

'Why should she?'

From the second to last examples (blaming Penny for Tyrian's attack, distrusting Yang and Blake, not trusting James, trying to out James, attacking Clover, distrusting Harriet and Vine), no adequate explanation is given as for WHY Robyn should trust someone to explain. He tries it at the parts about Ironwood directly (keep that in mind) but 'because She knows why he's not saying anything' is not an excuse. I can know that my governor has trust issues due to PTSD- That doesn't excuse them from not fixing my roads and hiding why my roads aren't being fixed.

James has been doing this shit since Volume 2 with Penny and Ozpin. It is not Robyn's fault James refuses to follow his own rules.

And I bring up James for good reason. Read the link above and tell me: doesn't something about the framing feel...slanted?

"(Doesn't comprehend Ironwood doing anything but evil things)"

"Depose Ironwood"

"Couldn't afford to let these secrets out"

He's trying to make James look BLAMELESS. As if most of Robyn's actions, including the first example where she really doesn't listen, wasn't caused by James' own actions. As if James is some innocent party being subjected to the nasty Robyn's bullshit. You can even see it from his admissions- where he stops doing them when it comes to James.

Not exactly an unbiased or trustworthy recounting huh?

Especially if you're me and know not only his history but his tangent about Robyn not being used having nothing to do with his 'focus' indicating that he's just being contrarian.

[feelingbluepolitics]

Republicon "legislators at the state level are codifying into law a draft letter written by a former US Department of Justice official in the remaining weeks of [t]rump's one and only term. That draft letter, according to the Post's Philip Bump, was 'a road map to overthrowing the will of voters.' It explained in granular detail how state Republican officials could have pulled off a coup.

"This quiet coup attempt failed mere days before the loud coup attempt failed. The sacking and looting of the United States Capitol on January 6 was a last-ditch effort by an outgoing president desperate to hold on to power but exhausted of choices. Nullification of the democratic will would have been preferable, because it would not have drawn so much attention. When that failed, [trump] had to risk exposing his true intentions with his last remaining option, a violent revolt.

"The difference between loud and quiet is the proper context for recent remarks by Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney. She said her father, Dick Cheney, was 'deeply troubled' about 'where our party is, deeply troubled about where the country is.' She said this after having voted to impeach [trump] and after losing her job as chair of the House GOP conference. With due respect, though, I doubt she and the former vice president are worried about what they should be worried about. They should be worried about state-level attempts to nullify democracy. I don't think they are. I think, instead, they're worried about potential right-wing violence, like what we saw on January 6. It might draw attention to what state Republican officials are doing.

"Dick Cheney's concern about appearances (assuming I'm correct) might sound quaint given the Republicans are less conservative than they are authoritarian. After all, plenty of Republicans and plenty of their media allies are more than happy to shit-can commitments to democracy and democratic values. Tucker Carlson, the Fox talking head, has been talking up Hungary as a model for the future, one that's transparently hostile to pluralism, political equity and democracy. Why not just come out and say the January 6 insurrection was deserved?

"That respectable [sic] Republicans like Dick and Liz Cheney have not said so suggests they understand the importance of political legitimacy. I think the rest of us should understand its importance, too, especially with respect to fears of an authoritarian future in the United States. Even if you're an all-out fascist, you must maintain the appearance among the people who count to you that fascism is totally legitimate. Right-wing political violence, at least for the time being, is almost never legitimate. Right-wing political violence exposes true intentions.

"This is why many of the Republicans lie about the insurrection. The insurgents were 'victims,' for instance. The demands of legitimacy mean they must convince themselves they're the good guys. That makes them susceptible to the fact that they're not. This is why propagandists like Steve Bannon constantly repeat the myth that the former president's supporters represent the 'true majority.' To be sure, the 'true majority' elected Joe Biden. But whether it's true or not isn't the point. The point is even authoritarians understand the importance of appearances. For now, right-wing violence makes them vulnerable, because right-wing violence exposes their true intentions.

"This seems to me the true fault line within the Republican Party. On one hand are the radicals who don't mind everyone knowing the GOP really does have an informal network of paramilitaries waiting to spring into action. On the other are the leaders and the old guard, who really don't want everyone knowing the GOP has an informal network of paramilitaries waiting to spring into action. They don't mind state election laws that nullify democracy, if that's what it takes to control the government, but they also don't want the radicals mucking up complicated efforts to make authoritarianism nice and legal. To be sure, the GOP has maintained this balance for decades. With [t]rump, however, came a genie who won't be put back in the lamp.

"Meanwhile, the Democrats seem to be moving to force that Republican fault line to its breaking point...The difference is the Democrats have all the evidence of the January 6 insurrection on their side. The Republicans can only say they're 'deeply troubled.' House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn was asked recently by Roll Call for his thoughts on new state 'rules about who gets to overrule election results, legislators and other elected officials.' With all of democracy and democratic values beside him, the South Carolina Congressman said: 'I want you to call it what it is. Use the word: nullification. It is voter nullification. … Georgia just passed a law, it's got nullification in it, saying that these, this committee, will have the authority to overturn elections if–they don't say it this way, but this is what they're saying–if we don't like the results' (italics mine)."

"It remains to be seen whether or not Clyburn's statement has any effect on the current debate in the Senate over election reform. My point for now is about normal partisan politics. While I have no doubt that the Republicans, seeing they came very close to overthrowing the republic once, will try again when the opportunity presents itself. But that's no cause for hopelessness. Authoritarianism is like any other political ideology in that it's vulnerable to normal partisan politics. Indeed, as I've argued, it saved us once. It can and may save us again."

The further point to be made is that there is no more room for centrists and moderates at this historical inflection point, because they put the country at risk from Republicons and authoritarianism. Whatever typical political and social issues may retain democratic debate or consensus as values -- and very few of those remain -- this is not one of them. We must have baseline protections for voting if we prefer a democracy for our future. We must keep pro-authoritarian factions out of power, and that includes the entire Right-wing.

Be partisan. Be very partisan. Be afraid not to be.

[archivalofsins]

If this is too long or you didn't want to watch it. The video goes over how in Korea, juvenile law protects minors from being punished for crimes that if not for them being a minor they would be incarcerated for. Along with how citizens within Korea have been discussing changing this outdated law because kids aren't the same as they were all those years ago when this law was made.

They know about the law, they see other kids, they have the internet, they see people their age posting online about exploiting it. B-but that's Korea though-

Okay let's talk about how it would work in Japan and in regards to Muu's case. Since no one really wanted to scrutinize her statement in the beginning.

Japan's Juvenilie Law was just changed to not include 18 and 19 year olds in 2022. However, it's focus still remains on rehabilitating young offenders and having them reflect upon their actions.

"Furukawa explained that programs targeting young offenders following the revision of the Juvenile Law will be amended to include educational activities that will give the offenders skills they will need in adulthood and raise their awareness of responsibilities they will have as adults. Juvenile delinquents will be assigned to individually tailored programs with topics in accordance with the characteristics of their behavior and offenses."

This means in 2020 when Milgram started since Muu was sixteen going on seventeen years old she would still fall under the protections of Juvenile Law. As of 2023 she'd be legally considered an adult as she is now eighteen going on nineteen years old. However, she wouldn't even have been considered that just a year ago.

This means neither would Yuno upon her incarceration since she was only eighteen. It's no surprise that the people who support a more firm handling of juvenile criminals skew younger themselves. Something Milgram displays through both Futa and Muu's cases. I think it says a lot that Futa had a birthday right before being brought into Milgram meaning up until April 19, 2020 he'd only been nineteen making him 20 years and over a week old when Milgram officially started vs still being nineteen when the first video on the channel was put up.

Couple all this with his very just because someone's a kid doesn't mean you should go easy on them mentality and you start to get a clearer picture of what Milgram is trying to do by pairing these two together.

Even I admitted very blatantly that the best way to help Muu be voted innocent wouldn't be by focusing on Haruka or who was actually at fault but highlighting the fact that she was literally a minor when it happened. Possibly much younger than she is now given the writing on the board saying she should be in a detention center. That takes place in an entirely different season than the initial crime based off the calendar.

If Muu was sixteen when she was brought into Milgram and her first MV is literally about the pain she suffered after committing the crime then that would make it possible for her to have committed murder when she was still only fifteen or even fourteen considering her birthday is within the summer months and the altercation happened in spring.

This also ties back into Kazui's why would someone bring a bunch of acquitted murderers together statement. If Muu was given a slap on the wrist for her age and then brought into Milgram a facility that could possibly prove she had every intent of committing murder the only thing she could rightfully fall back on is her age at the time the crime happened and Japan's juvenile law.

However, since Es brings up she's not a juvenile anymore and Muu is to her own admission uninformed of most legal matters outside of that of course she'd get anxious. Es basically goes well you're sixteen now and Muu isn't even certain of her victims name- So, why would she immediately know to go well I wasn't when it happened.

She's arrested in this strange place that's out to prove she's a murderer and claims to be able to extract the information straight from her own mind. The only upper hand she and the other prisoners have is at least knowing what they did better than the machine can interpret it. So, why would any of them ever willfully give more information than necessary?

Muu's family is rich she states in her first trial that she misses her mom and dad which I'm not disputing. However, there's multiple reasons for her to miss her parents. One being they would know how to coach her through this sort of situation and be more than capable of getting her legal counsel. What I'm saying is Muu may give off the vibe that she's the smartest person in the room and of course things should go her way in her second trial song but she's still scared and anxious about the situation she's found herself in.

She's always been the type to overcompensate when she feels threatened. Be it acting sorrier than she feels or trying to give off this idea of being above reproach. All the characters react to stress in their own ways. This has been Muu's way of doing that from the start, and the inability to properly highlight that stress response is literally why she got such a high guilty verdict. It's also given everyone this impression of Muu that to be frank is inherently false and demeaning. Where she constantly flips between victim to horrid perpetrator with no in between.

Could she have taken advantage of preexisting legal systems yes, could she have taken advantage of her looks and financial standing yes, could she have felt she needed to yes, could it have been that dire to her also yes... However, whether what she did was right or not is subjective and not dependent on what anyone other than her has done and the way she's responded to it. Trying to shift it to anything else overlooks Muu as a character entirely.

It overlooks her need for validation from those she views as better than herself. Like her interest in Yuno. It overlooks the very palpable hurt and upset she shows when looked over like in the minigram with Shidou and Mahiru. It especially overlooks how the worst thing to her seems to be being left on her own or ignored.

It would be incredibly simple to politicize both Futa and Muu's cases as being about the failings of Juvenile Law and how, in some places, it lets minors run about doing whatever they please with no repercussions. However, that's only a facet of the conversation, and focusing only on that would be such a small part of the story that's being told here.

One about how the system can and does fail people even if it seems like someone has benefited from or gamed it, how within systems people will always be treated as less than an individual. All while repeatedly asking people to take every prisoner on a case-by-case basis and find that individual outside of the crime just to see if, once that is done, will a person be capable of punishing them?

Or is that level of distance brought about usually by hate and ignorance the only thing that makes punishing someone else an easy choice?

Throwing this out there because it gives some context behind Muu's,

"I-isn't there something called Juvenile Law?"

"There is. However, if you're sixteen or older, you'll be tried under general criminal law. That'll result in penal servitude for you. Seems you'll be able to escape the death penalty though. However, you won't be able to live the decent life you hoped for now, will you?"

"Penal servitude? I don't want to do something like that!"

Conversation within her first voice drama.

It's a pretty long video that goes into detail on how these juvenile laws are exploited by younger individuals to get away with crimes within Korea and Japan. Though it predominantly focuses on a case within Korea. It can be a rather difficult watch though but it did cause me to scrutinize that question more.

I don't know that much about the law but what about the juvenile law though- like miss why would you need to know that specifically, huh?

[rubadubdub3nunsinatub]

I apologize for the rant that is about to come your way but I have a lot of thoughts about Outlander and why I think it's not quite as good anymore.

I think they have what I've seen other people say is an issue with Supernatural after s5, and that is that they built themselves up narratively to this big world-ending thing (Culloden, in OL's case) and then sort of had to find something that's a bigger narrative force than that, which I don't think you're going to do.

Also, nothing seems to have consequences. Claire's (while I love her) magic doctor knowledge seems to get them out of literally every scenario ever, or her knowledge of the future. For instance, her telling Jenny and co to plant potatoes. Also, while I think Jenny and Ian mention it a couple times, I don't think they did the best job at showing Culloden's and the British's impact on Jaime's family, they seem to have escaped a whole lot of it. Or, how Claire went back to Frank through the stones and thinks Jamie's dead, and then she finds he's alive and goes back to him, thus choosing to leave Brianna, and then Brianna comes back to the past, choosing to leave Roger, and then Roger comes back too.

Also also, while I love some of the side characters in the later seasons (like Fergus and Marsali, who DG could barely give any writing to), I don't think they have the same impact/i like them as much as the earlier ones.

There's also the constant use of r*pe in the show and how it's handled, and the fact they killed their best actor twice in Season 3

(I also acknowledge that some of them are book problems)

I also cannot wait until/if they cover the book set during the Revolution, where Claire and Jamie can magically travel to basically every historical event ever

(I apologize if this was incoherent, but this is something I have spent waaaay too much time thinking about)

No worries I love a good rant. I'll try and dot point my thoughts that may or may not build on what you said? (this involves a lot of book stuff idk if you've read them but if not, oh boy)

I agree with the idea 'maybe this shows been on too long and it's just going nowhere now'. I think Outlander should have been a trilogy. And then a sequel trilogy that focuses on the second generation. Focus on Brianna and Roger's family more. This would have given DG a break to really think about things and make tighter plotlines. And we can get more into that 'last descendant of the Lovat line' prophesy or whatever.

I think DG's problem is that Jamie and Claire are her babies and everything revolves around them. So the 20 years apart is what we're meant to get sad about because this is a love story and that's the worse that could have happened to them. Fuck Scotland we have a romance plot here. I genuinely don't think DG cared much about what happened to Scotland during this time? Not in a malicious way but I would have made more sense to have that be a bigger focus considering ya know that's what our protagonists have been fighting for.

Adding to the "Jamie and Claire only story" theory. Another thing that annoys me is later on in the books, people just don't have friends? There was simply more of a cast earlier on and you got to know them and they shared hopes and dreams with our protagonists. Where do we see more of Jamie and Ian's friendship huh? Why did he never tell his brother and sister about Willie? Whhhhy?

There's not enough Fergus & Jamie content after Culludon. Jamie takes him in and then Fergus is raised by Jenny and Ian while Jamie is at Helwater but after? I wish we got to see more moments of their like father-son time.

You can't convince me that Fergus being 30 and Marsali being 15 when they got married wasn't weird for the time? Legal, sure. But I feel like Diana is just throwing around the 'in old-timey times girls got married super young' defence and I don't think the history backs it up. Blugh...

The only thing worse than all the rape is all the child sexual abuse... It's bad. But it ok because no one grows up to have PTSD about it? Jamie? John? Fergus? I don't think the aftermaths of these events are handles well which makes it worse. Like what was the point? "But it was the old-timey times and people got raped more!" Blugh.

And I'll add I wish Jenny was a more feminist character but in an 18th century way. Like she is that bitch in Lallbroch and runs shit. But in the last book, you find out that Jenny made her daughter Maggie lie about being raped by her brother in law for reasons? I guess. And that made me respect her less as a character like wft DG? Just because these things did and do happen doesn't mean you have to include them in your story yikes.

And on a lighter note, I really don't mind them getting swept up in all the historical events because I think that's half the fun of a time travel story but hey. I wish there was more discussion on time travelly stuff. Chapter after chapter of Claire and Brianna explaining toasters, women voting, fridges etc.

I have spent much time thinking about these things too...

[vidimillion]

“You're gonna have to get through me first, and you won't."

hi. i wrote a Jasico AU based off this quote. spent an hour and a half busting this thing out lol. might be part one? of me writing AUs based off quotes? idk yet. enjoy.

let's say it's a highschool mortal au

everyone knows jason grace as the ever-perfect golden boy, who never got less than an A on his tests and never lost a touchdown in a game of football (plus, gets every vote in student council elections)

and far less people know nico di angelo. everyone has heard of the psycho quiet kid who's still goth in 2020 and prone to starting fights. everyone's heard of that kid, but no one's heard of nico

everyone has also been viciously told to stay away from the guy. including jason.

so get this. one day during history class (one of jason's favourites, second only to art class), jason gets a phone call and excuses himself to answer it. no one knows what it was, but everyone in class was silently baffled when the bell rung and he still hadn't come back

meanwhile, nico's skipping class for whatever reason

surprise surprise they bump into each other in the halls. nico notices that something's off about jason's behavior. he seemed jumpy, made up two different excuses about what he was doing or where he was going. nico didn't know shit about jason except for his reputation, but something in his gut told him jason isn't all good right now.

nico thinks it may be related to how jason's sky blue eyes seem too grey to be perfectly fine

one of jason's excuses is that he just wanted to get a snack. nico lets him go but jason heads the opposite way, towards the exit doors instead of the vending machine

nico asks if he's gonna get a snack and jason yells back that he changed his mind

nico calls out to him, heads over to the vending machine and hits it's side. the glass face pops right up, exposing the snacks within

nico says offhandedly that percy once mentioned that jason likes twix bars. nico asks if that's true and before jason can confirm it nico grabs a twix and closes the face again

"don't rat me out for this, okay?" nico says, shoving the bar into jason's arms, "this is my one allotted good deed per day, and something's off about you."

nico begins to walk off, yelling at himself in his brain and shoving his hands into the pockets of his jacket. he doesn't see jason's ears go red or hear jason stutter out a "t-thanks."

the next day percy, a mutual friend of both jason and nico's, hands nico a twix bar and tells him jason told him to give it to him "as a thanks for yesterday"

wondering what nico did yesterday, percy bothers him about it all day but nico doesn't answer

it's a little while later when nico sees jason in the art room after school and stares a little. he'd never say it out loud but he thinks it's a little endearing to watch-- someone so tall and built hunched over a pad of paper, sketching away as he sticks his tongue out in concentration.

he thinks it's a little endearing, watching someone like jason, all tall and scary and serious-looking, look kind of cute

he doesn't realize he's no longer lingering in the hall until he trips over something nearly falls through the door of the art room

he catches jason's shocked eyes and sputters out an apology before moving to leave, but jason stops him

jason suddenly realizes that he doesn't have anything to say exactly. except, he knows he still wants the sweet but scary-looking mystery boy to stay. so that's what he asks him to do.

miraculously, nico ends up agreeing and now he's sat next to jason fucking grace. jason fuckin grace who does his best to continue his drawing but finds that nothing can expel the awkward air between them. not even his favourite activity

normally nico wouldn't give a fuck, just in general. normally, he wouldn't have even said yes to staying. but nico fuckin said yes and now he's gotta pay for that, apparently.

so, hesitantly, nico asks what jason's drawing

jason's face falls and nico scrambles to tell him that he doesn't have to answer that. that since they don't know each other nico isn't entitled to an answer, but even if they did know each other nobody is entitled to share something they may not wanna share, and now nico is rambling and saying that he should probably leave--

jason doesn't let him. jason wants him to stay and tells him that.

jason doesn't know why he wants nico to stay so bad. nico doesn't know what about jason is making him turn into a wreck.

except he does know, even a little

so nico stays and jason tells him that he's drawing a portrait of a cat. his cat, his beautiful cat named tempest who he's had since he was a kid. a gorgeous black turkish angora with brilliant blue eyes.

jason explains how, on the day he and nico had bumped into each other, jason had just gotten a call from his older sister that tempest had died.

and jason finds himself growing sad without his permission, and the feeling of the air around them has changed. nico is the only one around, and he can't comfort a person for shit.

he has to try though, because no one likes being stuck with a sad guy as their only company. and maybe nico feels weird at leaving a sad jason grace to stay sad

the grey returns to jason's sky-coloured eyes and nico doesn't really like it

so he can't comfort people for shit but he finds himself trying. somehow, something he says works.

unconsciously, things start to become a schedule. it starts slowly, bumping into each other in the halls and sometimes nico catches jason still drawing things

and it keeps going like that until they seem to be seeing each other every day. talking every day.

they talk about how nico doesn't like starting fights, but people start them with him and he's always the one to finish them. they talk about how the school activities jason's parents forced him into take more out of him then he lets on.

they didn't intend to get close. they didn't intend to become friends. but neither of them regret it

and additionally, they are always alone. with only each other for company. they didn't quite realize they liked it that way until they came to the art room once and there were still people there, hanging around after the events of rachel dare's school-sponsored art auction. so they move to the roof, and they like it better there.

(though nico will always complain about the heat of the sun, but jason knows nico doesn't mean it)

and one day jason gets there early. or either he's early or nico's late, because there never seems to be an exact time for... this. jason decides to wait and nico still isn't there. he waits a little longer, and then a little longer, until the sun has beaten down on him so hard jason thinks he might've gotten a sunburn

begrudgingly, he decides to return downstairs. before he can decide whether or not he should just leave or look for nico, he hears a commotion down the hall.

jason rounds the corner and doesn't know what he expected. though he didn't expect the group of boys, crowding around someone. and without knowing who it is, jason's blood already begins to boil as he hears the words they're saying

"you're such a fucking freak." one says. "what are you, a fucking faggot?" another spits. and then one goes to shove the boy in the middle, and as the smaller figure topples to the ground, jason sees familiar black hair and black eyes.

jason's vision goes red.

before he even realizes, he'd stalked over and pushed the boys out of the way. he turned his back to nico, doing his best to cover him as he growls at them.

"If you want to fuck with him, you're gonna have to get through me first, and you won't."

[rocksandrobots]

Of Rocks and Robots Ch. 28 - The Club

Once again just a friendly warning that this episode features and discusses teenage drinking

Varian stumbled out of bed and yawned. He looked at the clock and noticed the time. 6:30. Shoot! He was suppose to be up before six!

He threw on some clothes and rushed down stairs to the cafe.

Hiro and Aunt Cass were already down there setting up for the day.

"Sorry.. I slept in." He apologized. "Why didn't anybody wake me?"

"Oh well, I figured you could use the sleep. Besides it's only thirty after. Sit down and have some breakfast." Aunt Cass placed a couple of egg sandwiches on the table along with a cup of coffee and a cup of orange juice and encouraged the two boys to have a seat. While they both ate, Aunt Cass blithely carried on the conversation.

"So how did last night go?"

Varian eyed Hiro who glared at him over his sandwich but didn't say anything. "It went great actually. I even met someone while there."

"Oooh, that's wonderful sweetie. I'm so happy that you're making friends."

"Her name's Carol and she's a freshmen at the Art Institute. She just moved here from Mississippi, so she's new in town like I am."

"Oh, so she's what, 17... 18?"

"I..I honestly don't know. I didn't think to ask. But she invited me to another party tonight. If it's okay, I thought I might go. I could find out then."

"Another party?" Aunt Cass raised an eyebrow. It was a holiday weekend sure, but it was unusual to get invited to two parties in two days.

"Yeah, it's Jessica's birthday. She's Carol's friend and another person I met at the art school. They're all going to some restaurant to go dancing at. I forgot the name of the place, but Carol was going to text me directions if I could make it."

Aunt Cass thought a moment about it and then nodded along. "Well okay, just let me know where and text me when you get there. Also, once again, try not to stay out too late."

"Wait." Hiro interjected. He couldn't believe the ease with which Varian lied, nor could he believe that the other teen had just tricked Aunt Cass into letting him go out again to another wild party. He considered telling the truth right then and there, but the angry glare from Varian reminded Hiro of their argument last night and how Varian held dirt over himself as well. So he came up with an excuse instead. "I...I thought you wanted us all to spend more time together this weekend?"

"Well there's still Sunday tomorrow." Aunt Cass answered. "Why don't we have family movie night again? What do ya say? We could go out to the theater and catch a new release. I think their playing some sort of superhero movie this week."

The boys exchanged awkward glances but in the end agreed. Neither were ready to include Aunt Cass into their current feud. Besides she looked so happy at the thought of them all going out and spending time together as a family, that they just didn't have the heart to disappoint her.

They finished breakfast and Hiro left to meet with the rest of the gang. Varian however stayed to help with the cafe as promised.

"You know," Aunt Cass said while they washed up the morning dishes together. "I know it's only been a month, but I want you to know that we're all so glad to have you here. It hasn't been the easiest thing in the world readjusting, I know, but things are really working out; you're making friends, you and Hiro are really coming together here lately, and most of all you make our family just a little bit bigger and a whole lot happier just by being here."

She placed a loving hand on his shoulder, and Varian felt his heart drop at those worlds. He still didn't feel like he fit in here with the Hamadas and his relationship with Hiro had only degraded over this past week, which was already rocky enough to begin with. But Aunt Cass was so loving and hopeful that Varian only felt guilty for not measuring up to her ideals.

He gave her a small smile but deep down he couldn't wait to get out of here and back to another party. One where no one really knew who he was nor cared. Where he could drown out his intrusive thoughts and self doubt with a stiff drink.

"He went to the frat party?" Honey Lemon asked in worry.

                                                 --------------------------

Hiro was with the rest their friends at Joe's Dinner, recounting his argument with Varian last night.

"And you're sure he'd been drinking?" Gogo also asked with a frown.

"He said so himself and he smelt like beer when he came in." Hiro confirmed.

Gogo's eyes narrowed but she didn't say anything further.

"So what did you do?" Wasabi asked.

"Nothing. I..I wasn't sure how to tell Aunt Cass." Hiro looked around at his group of friends who were all giving him judgemental stares. "Look, I was still in my armor, alright. It was past midnight, and Varian had a point when he said that he covered for us all the time."

"You mean he covered for you ." Fred pointed out. "You're the one hiding your superheroing from Aunt Cass."

Hiro heaved a sigh, but Wasabi added his own opinion before he could offer up a defense. "You should have told her. Both about the drinking and about you being in big hero six. She's going to find out someday anyways and the longer you put it off the worst it's going to be."

Hiro cast his eyes downward unable to come up with a retort to that.

"Where's Varian now?" Gogo asked.

"Working at the Lucky Cat and after that he's going to another party."

"Another one?" Honey Lemon interjected.

"Someone he met at the other party invited him to go dancing tonight. He convinced Aunt Cass that it was just innocent birthday party." Hiro explained.

Everyone exchanged worried looks.

"You need to tell Aunt Cass." Gogo insisted.

"No, wait." Hiro pleaded. "Look, maybe we can handle this ourselves. Varian won't listen to me, but he might listen to all of you. Then there'd be no reason to involve Aunt Cass in any of this."

"And if he doesn't listen?" Fred asked.

"Hiro, why are you so against just letting an adult handle this?" Wasabi added.

"Look, Tadashi would go after him. He'd be there to help and try to reason with him, not be a snitch."

Hiro's explanation only elected more worried glances.

"And did it ever occur to you that Tadashi wasn't always in the right?" Gogo asked.

"What do you mean?" Hiro asked with trepidation.

Gogo sighed, "Look, we all miss Tadashi. He was a wonderful person… but that doesn't mean didn't make mistakes. Just because he kept trying to bail you out of those bot fights himself doesn't mean he should have."

Hiro had no words for that. Never in a million years would he have questioned Tadashi's methods. If it wasn't for his brother he would still have been bot fighting, and would have either been hurt or in juvie right now if not for trying to reach out to him.

He searched Gogo's eyes questioningly before she heaved a sigh in frustration and relented. "Fine. Where is this party?"

"I don't know. We'll probably have to just follow him; catch him before he gets there."

"Then I propose we suit up." Fred said. "To the headquarters!"

                                                --------------------------

Varian stood in line to get into Monroe's with Carol and the rest of her friends. He'd had rushed to find Jessica a birthday card and a small gift and met them all at the restaurant right around nine. Only the restaurant, wasn't a restaurant, it was called a 'club' instead. There was still food and drink to be had, but the real reason folks came here was to dance, and Varian could hear the loud thumping music even from where he stood outside.  

"Must be a really popular place." He shouted to Carol over the music and other party goers. "I don't see how we'll be able to dance with such a crowd."

Carol laughed "Yeah, Monroe's like the hottest spot in town. But there'll be room, the line just makes it look more crowded than it is."

Varian looked up ahead and spotted a large man at the front of the line. People were handing him cards or flashing their wallets towards him. Upon inspecting the cards he would then let them in through the door.

"What's he doing?" Varian asked.

Carol looked at him in surprise. "Checking I.D. They don't let you into the club unless you can prove your 21. That way they don't have to check everybody who wants to buy a drink inside."

Varian's heart stopped. No one here knew his actual age he realized. At the last party it didn't seem to matter so he hadn't brought it up, but here he'd be found out and no doubt made to look the fool all because he didn't meet some abritay requirement.

"I...I don't think they'll let me in then." Varian admitted to the girl.

"Why not?"

"Well, I haven't a license yet, and.." Varian was going to admit the truth but Carol interrupted.

"Oh, cause you just moved here." She nodded her head as if she had just figured out his problem. "Well you have some other sort of ID don't you? A passport or a visa?"

"Yeah I have both those things, but you don't understand.."

Carol placed a hand on his chest to stop him. "Don't worry boo. We got you. We'll make sure you get in." She gave him a smile and a wink.

"Wouldn't be first time we snuck someone in." Jake put in.

"It wouldn't?"

Jessica laughed. "You think we're all 21 one? I mean I am, it's my birthday, but I wasn't always. Besides it's a dumb law anyways."

"If you're old enough to vote and join the army, you should be old enough to drink." Another one of Carol's friends, Daryl, interceded.

Everyone in the group seemed to be in agreement with this sentiment and Varian relaxed just a little bit. Though only a little. He wasn't necessarily voting age either.

"There's no age laws in Corona. Everybody drinks." Varian added.

"That's right, Europe doesn't have the same laws as we do." Carol said as if only just now considering the difference.

"I went to Germany once." Mary said; she was Daryl's girlfriend. "I was in high school and was able to get into a bar no problem. They just don't care over there."

"I'd love to visit Europe someday." Carol said, changing the subject. "I think Ireland would be a cool place to visit."

"I'd like to see Spain." Jessica threw her opinion in. "Would you take me see Spain baby?" She asked of Jake teasingly.

"Sure, if you got a couple of thousands of dollars lying around." Jake joked.

This elected more laughter from the small group of poor college students, and Varian's worry began to wane. Only to kick back up once they reached the front of the line. Panicked he dug into his pocket and pulled out the fake passport that Professor Granville had given him.

"What's this?" The bouncer at the door said incredulously.

"It's a passport." Carol said forcefully before Varian could answer. "Ain't you ever seen a passport before?"

"It's not even in English." The guard threw back annoyed and he flipped the booklet around to show off the I.D.

"Well of course not." Carol rolled her eyes. "It's in Russian. He's from Russia."

"Ok, prove it. Say hello in Russian." The bouncer clearly didn't believe them.

"Um.. privyet?" Varian answered hesitantly. It was a bit of a loaded question as there was more than one way to say hello in Russian, but Varian defaulted to the more informal greeting as it's what he and his dad would use most often.

The guard raised an eyebrow still not convinced.

"I also have my visa and college I.D. if you want that instead." Varian offered helpfully as he pulled out his wallet. He didn't think it'd be enough to let him in but better to be cooperative then to start a fight.

Just then Daryl from behind them yelled, "Hey, what's the hold up!?"

The bouncer took a look at the long line spiraling behind them and rolled his eyes while heaving a frustrated sigh. He didn't have time for this. "Fine." He said as he handed back the passport. "Go on in."

"Thanks." Varian mumbled as he took the I.D. back. He couldn't believe that had just worked.

"Yeah!" Carol added and then stopped to ask Varian in a whisper. "Uh, how do you say thanks in Russian?"

"Spasibo." Varian replied.

"Yeah, Spasibo!" Carol called back to the security guard in very bad mispounation of the word before they headed into the club.

                                                --------------------------

"He's already left. We just missed him." Hiro said as he hung up the phone.

The gang huddled upon a rooftop across the street from the Lucky Cat. They had wanted to catch Varian while he was leaving, but it seemed like they were too late.

"Did your aunt say where he went?" Gogo asked.

"No, and I couldn't figure out a way to ask her without raising suspicion."

"Why not just call him instead?" Honey Lemon suggest. "Ask him himself where he's at and tell him we want to meet up."

"I doubt he'd want to talk to me" Hiro sighed.

"I'm on it." Wasabi said, but after several rings the call went to voicemail.

"Now what?" Fred asked.

"Looks like we'll just have to track him down the old fashioned way." Hiro said as he walked over to Baymax and mounted the robot. "Let's go."

Everyone dispersed to look for the wayward teen.

                                                --------------------------

"Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug!" The merry group chanted as Varian and Jessica competed to see who could finish a whole pint of beer first. The others having given up the challenge before hand. They were neck and neck but the birthday girl sputtered with laughter at the last minute and Varian scored the win. He slammed the empty mug on the the table with a wide grin as the rest of the gang applauded.

"Ok, you win," Jessica conceded. "But beer is easy. I'd like to see you try that with some hard stuff, like whiskey or tequila."

"I don't know what tequila is, but your on!" Varian shouted over the den of noise.

The club was dark and smoky, with the only light coming from the flashing strobe globe twirling above the dance floor. Music blared a thumping beat that resonated in your chest and patrons crowded around to dance, drink, and make out. The little group had taken up a small round table off in the corner so as the better hear each other talk, but even then one had to half yell to be heard.

"Hey, can we get some shots over here?" Jake called to a waitress, then he turned to Varian and said, "Okay, you wanna play? We'll do a round of shots. Most down the hatch wins. Loser pays for the drinks."

"Deal" Varian agreed.

The waitress brought a tray of shots and Varian eyed the small glasses smugly. You could down one in a single gulp. This would be easy he thought. Only to nearly lose with the first sip alone. Whatever this tequila was, it was stronger than either ale or wine and burned the back of his throat as it went down. He finished the drink and tried to suppress a cough.

"Not as easy as you thought it was, hun?" Jake smiled as he picked up his second glass.

Varian however was not one to give up easily, and besides he really didn't want to blow through all of his hard earned money in one night. So he steeled himself and grabbed another shot, and then a another, and another.

On the fourth shot Varian saw Jake starting to slow, his face becoming red from alcohol. Varian too was becoming lightheaded but he pressed on and nabbed his fifth drink. He didn't notice if Jake had drunk his fifth yet or not, he was too focused on winning, but as he reached for the sixth he heard the other guy call out defeat.

"Okay, okay! You win!"

Varian flashed a grin and drunk the sixth anyway in celebration; just to rub it into other college kid's face. This last glass he also slammed hard upon the table in victory as the tiny crowd around him cheered.

Jake pulled out his wallet to pay the tab, both annoyed and begrudgingly impressed that he had lost.

"You're like the scrawniest guy alive; where do you put it all?" Daryl asked incredulously.

Varian shrugged his shoulders as he had no real answer to give.

"Well let's take a break from the booze for a while." Carol interceeded. "I mean we came here to dance after all. That is if you boys can still stand after all that."

She tugged on Varian's sleeve and pulled him to the dance floor and the rest of group followed after them.

Varian stood in the middle of the floor at a lost of what to do. He wasn't a bad dancer persay, but he didn't know any American steps and he doubted any of the more traditional folk dances that he knew would fit with this type of music.

"So..how does this dance go?" He shouted Carol above the music.

She laughed, "Anyway you want it to. Just feel the music." She swayed her hips in time to the beat to give him an idea.

Varian figured he would look silly doing that, it was clearly more of a move for women, but he did see most of the men jumping up and down and so he tried this in time with the music.  

"Yeah, that's right! You got it!" Carol encouraged as she slid closer to him.

"Any luck?" Gogo asked Hiro as the gang gathered on top of a building in the middle of downtown.  

Embolden, he grabbed her hand and gave her a twirl. This enlightened more laughter and they both broke down into giggles before carrying on with their dance.

                                                --------------------------

"Baymax found an energy reading similar to Varian's close by, but it's fuzzy. He's probably in one of the buildings around here, but there's like eight or more clubs just on this street." Hiro explained.

"Well we can probably go in and check while you can stay out here and keep an eye on things." Honey Lemon suggested.

"Yeah, but there's no guarantee they'd let any of us in either." Fred pointed out."None of us are over 21."

"Look maybe we're over reacting here?" Wasabi offered optimistically. "What makes you think Varian could of snuck into any of these places? The kid still looks like he's twelve and he doesn't even have a driver license. Or it could even be that he was telling the truth about it being an innocent birthday par...."

He paused mid-thought as they heard a familiar laugh coming from the street below.

"I have found Varian." Baymax said, stating the obvious as they all peered over the roof to see their friend drunkenly walk out of one of the clubs across the street. He was with a short girl with a dark curly afro and they were giggling over something as they made their way towards the bus stop nearby.

"Or he could be stumbling out of a bar with a drunk girl hanging on his arm." Wasabi corrected himself, clearly disappointed.

Honey Lemon frowned. "I know her...she's in the sorority at SFAI."

"Carol." Gogo confirmed. She had been dragged to the occasional makeup party there, by Honey Lemon herself no less. "But she's a freshman. No way she's old enough to be drinking either."

"Peer pressure can often persuade people into partaking in unsafe activities." Baymax stated as he launched into his health education protocols. "If someone is pressuring you into doing something that you don't feel is safe; say no and walk away..."

"Uh, yes, Baymax. We know." Hiro informed the robot.

"So do we go down there now to talk to him, ooorrrr..." Fred asked, but the arrival of the bus answered for him. Varian and the girl boarded the public transport before anyone could to do anything.

They all exchanged worried and exasperated looks with each other before taking off to follow the tram.

Varian stood in the middle of the bus holding on to one of the center poles. He and Carol were the only two occupants aboard besides the driver, and he could have sat down anywhere, but he was beginning to feel woozy from all the alcohol and standing upright helped to keep him balanced.

                                                --------------------------

Carol however decided to sit down. She sat across from him with her face in the palm of her hand and her eyes sleepily staring out at nothing in particular.

"Do you have to work tomorrow too?" She asked suddenly, breaking the quiet.

"Uh..not sure. Probably. I usually work weekends. Either way though, I know my aunt has been talking about us all spending some 'quality family time' together all weekend long."

Carol smiled. "Responsible, family man, a great dancer, it's a wonder you're still single."

Varian blushed but laughed off her comment. "Responsible? Me? Yeah, no…..but family does mean a lot to me and I did promise Aunt Cass, soooo, sorry I had to bail out early again. But you know, you could have stayed at the party without me."

Carol shrugged. "Eh, I was about done anyways. The guys are fun to hang out with and all, but after awhile you start to feel like a fifth wheel, ya know?"

"Yeah, I know how that feels like." Varian agreed dryly.

"But you do know you didn't have to escort me home right?" Carol added with a laugh.

"I know, I just, I wanted to make sure you got home safe."

"Ever the true gentlemen, hun?"

Her smile grew wider and Varian couldn't tell if she was teasing or flirting. He rubbed the back of his head self-consciously. He was beginning to like this new girl, but he wasn't always the best at picking up social cues and he didn't want to ruin anything by being presumptuous.

"Well, I don't know about that, but looking out for one another is just what friends do, right?"

Carol looked surprised by that comment. "I..I guess…I have a hard time picturing Jake or Daryl doing anything so chivalrous through."

She snickered at that, but Varian tilted his head in confusion.  

"But I thought you guys were friends?"

"Oh don't get me wrong, they're good people and all, it's just all we do is hang out at parties sometimes. I don't expect them to like loan me money or come and bail me out of the slammer or anything. We ain't that close."

She sounded nonchalant but Varian nevertheless grew concerned.

"Then who is?" He asked.

Carol was caught off guard by that question.

"Who do you call when you need help?" He clarified.

She opened her mouth to answer, but no sound came out and she just as quickly closed it again. They awkwardly stared at each other for a few moments before the bus came to a stop in front of the SFAI campus. Carol quickly got up and hurried off the tram. Varian rushed after her.

"I'm sorry! Did I say something wrong?"

She didn't answer him but instead started to storm up the front porch steps in front of the sorority house.

"Look, I didn't mean to offend you." He called after. "I..I just…"

He trailed off and she paused on the stair. She didn't turn to face him, but the very fact that she was no longer running away encouraged him to try again.

"Look, I just, I know what it's like to be on your own, and I know how hard it is to move someplace where you don't really know anybody and nothings familiar and you don't feel like you always fit in. I.. I just meant that if you ever needed someone, for anything, you could call me...you know, if..if you wanted to.. that is."

She finally turned to look at him with that admission. There was a pout on her face and tears threatened to spill from her eyes, but she tried to make a joke instead to distract from this.

"You know most folks don't talk like you do." She half heartedly laughed. "You sound like a character out of a cheap rom-com."

He offered her a small smile. "Eh, well, what can I say? I am Russian remember."

They broke down into soft giggles at that.

"You wanna come inside and grab a coffee?" She asked after there laughter had subsided.

"Oh, I'd love to, buuuut it's after one. I should probably get going soon." He declined.

"Well alright, but you have my number, so don't be a stranger." She said before giving him a wink and another of her charming smiles.

She waved him goodbye before heading inside. Varian waved back and then turned to leave, only to be confronted by the rest of his friends waiting for him at the bus stop.

They were dressed in their armor and stood there glaring at him sternly.

"Hey...guys.." Varian slowly said, confused as to why they were here."What's going on?"

"We could ask you the same thing." Gogo replied.

"Uh...well, I'm heading home from a party, soooo..." He made to leave, fully ready to just walk to the next stop instead of hanging around for yet another argument, but Wasabi placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Do have any idea what an incredibly stupid thing you just did today?" His friend asked.

Varian cast him an angry pout and back-peddled away defensively. He stumbled a little, still feeling tipsy from the tequila, but righted himself before falling.

"You can barely even stand up." Wasabi admonish, further driving home his point.

Varian huffed in frustration and threw an accusing glare at Hiro. He was getting really tired of everyone judging him and he rightly guessed that the other boy had dragged their other friends into this. However before he could respond, Gogo laid into him instead.

"You broke your promise."

Varian's stomach dropped as he realized that, yes, he had indeed went back on his word about not trying to purchase alcohol. Yet, he still wasn't ready to admit fault. Who were they to act so high and mighty? It was just a few drinks? It wasn't like he had hurt anybody.

"So what's it to you?" He threw back."It's not like what I do affects any of you. Me going to a party now and then doesn't harm anyone."

"B..but you could get hurt." Honey Lemon timidly said.

Varian looked at her confused. What did she mean hurt? It was just a party.

"You snuck into a club at sixteen with bunch of strangers." Fred explained. "Like that's just ain't safe, man."

"Fred's right," Wasabi added, "anything could have happened to you in there and we wouldn't have known."

And for the first time, Varian started to actually feel guilty as he realized just how worried his friends were for him. However his defensiveness kicked back up when Hiro added his two cents.

"You need to stop and think about what you're doing first. You can't just keep jumping into situations without…"

" Oh knock it off!" Varian interrupted. "I am sick and and tired of everyone telling me what I can and can't do! I've been on my own since I was fourteen! I know how to take care of myself, alright!"

"No you don't." Gogo pushed back. "You know how to survive, and I hate that you had to, but that's not the same thing as actually being mature. Now just stop and come with us; we're taking you home."

She reached out to grab hold of Varian's sleeve and to pull him along, but Varian wouldn't comply. He wasn't entirely sure what happened next, in his addled state, but she pulled in one direction and he tugged his arm away in another. Either her blades rolled out from under her or he didn't realize his own strength, but either way Gogo wound up lying flat on the ground after their struggle.

Everyone froze in shock and Varian felt his heart race as his anger turned into alarm and shame.

"Gogo!" Honey Lemon rushed to her friend's side to help her up. "Are you alright?"

Gogo refused the help however. Instead she gave Varian a hurtful and angry glare as she picked herself off the ground. His breath shallowed as he waited for her to go off again, but all she did was shake her head at him, turned around, and then skated away.

That was somehow even worse than a lecture.

Honey Lemon followed after her.

"Dude, what is wrong with you!?" Hiro reprimanded and all Varian could do was look at him with wide eyes. What was wrong with him?

"I...I...I don't know!" He choked." I just...I just wanted to forget… just for a little awhile. Forget that I'm...I'm.. b-broken."

"And how does this help?" Wasabi asked, and Varian had no answer.

"Look, I know you've been through some really messed up stuff." Wasabi continued. "More than most people ever will, and I'm sorry you had to go through that, but you can't keep on like this." He sighed in defeat. "Come and gets us when your ready to actually deal with things." And then he too turned and started to walk off.

Fred cast worried glances between Varian and the direction of where their friends were leaving, unsure of what to do. Ultimately, he too turned away and reluctantly made after the rest of the group.

Varian could hardly see through the tears now. They were leaving him. Everyone was leaving him. They always did at some point, and here he had dared to hope things might just be different in this new world. Yet, he had no one to blame but himself.

That's when he noticed Hiro and Baymax still standing there, watching him disquitedly.

"Well, aren't you going to leave too?" He asked accusingly.

Hiro took a moment to find the answer, but when he did he said, "Why should I? We're going to the same place, remember." He held out a hand to Varian. "Come on, Aunt Cass is waiting."

Varian blinked through his tears to see Hiro standing before him with his arm outstretched and a look of concern on his face. Varian's breath quickened and his vision swam. He had felt lightheaded all night and now the added stress of the recent fight only seemed to highlight just how drunk he really was. He was so sure he had been careful, that he hadn't really had that much, but that didn't stop the ground from rushing up to meet him as he fell, nor the darkness enclosing around him as he fainted dead away.

[rjalker]

While trying to find out if there was a furry pride flag or not last night, I went to the wikipedia page for the furry fandom thinking, well, if there's a flag, it has to be here, right? Wrong!

But that's not the important thing about me visiting this page. Nope.

It was this:

(extra paragraph breaks added because fuck walls of text)

The International Anthropomorphic Research Project (IARP), a team of social scientists from various disciplines led by Plante, Reysen, Roberts, and Gerbasi, has been collecting data on the furry fandom using numerous methodologies. Their 2016 publication collects several peer-reviewed and self-published studies into a single volume.[82][83] Among their findings were that the average adult furry is between 23 and 27 years of age, with more than 75% of furries reporting being 25 years of age or younger, and 88% of adult furries being under the age of 30. Minors were not included in the study for professional ethics reasons however IARP estimated 20% were under the age of 18.[83]:  78–85% of furries identify as male, the remaining identify as female; while most are cisgender, 2% are transgender.[83]

Tumblr releasing polls is actually fucking great, because I hope by now, almost the end of April 2023, everyone who's voted on or run a poll is now incredibly aware of the difference between these statements:

"90% of those polled agree with me", with a hundred thousand people voting,

versus

"90% of those polled agree with me", with ten people voting.

If you just tell us the percentages of the answers you got, but not the numbers that make up those percentages, you're not telling us jack shit.

And that's on purpose.

When commercials say shit like "80% of Americans..." your first fucking question should be, "How many Americans got to take this survey? Why wasn't I asked to take this survey? Why wasn't anyone I know asked to take this survey?"

The second question should be "and what kind of Americans /were/ given the opportunity to take this survey, and were they given any incentives to participate?"

How many furries were surveyed for these people to come up with any of these numbers?

How many furries had to be purposefully excluded for these people's results to show that most furries are male, only a few are female, and there's no such thing as nonbinary people, and even assumedly binary transgender furries are the minority?

What kind of people created this survey, who did they ask, and how did they ask? Did they give people the option to identify as nonbinary? Did they personally pick and choose who they were going to let take this survey?

When you're told the results of a survey or poll as just the flat percentages with no context behind them, take them as seriously as you'd take someone on tumblr bragging that 90% of people agree with them, because 10 people voted on their poll, all of whom were their friends or side blogs.

If someone just tells you percentages and wants you to accept them as fact, and refuses to tell you what numbers go into their percentages, and don't want to explain how they went about getting those numbers, they have something to hide from you.

It doesn't take a genius to realize that the numbers quoted above are absolute fucking bullshit.

But hopefully next time you see numbers that are more believable, or match up with what you already agree with, you'll question it a little bit harder and think twice before just accepting it as fact with no evidence.

Please especially note the entire way the first part of the quote is written, as though these are names we should already be familiar with and respect without any more information needed.

so I don't forget in the next five seconds: polls, survey results, misleading statements + propagandaaaa

[todoroki-roki]

Shoto x Fem!Reader

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Hey! Thanks for reading this chapter! Now...Let's get started!!!

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(Y/n)'s P.O.V

"You're going to meet someone one your age today, I want you to behave" mommy said putting me in a white dress.

I wonder who I'm meeting?

She put a white head band in my head. "Okay mama!" I said with a smile, she smiled back.

After she was done getting me ready she picked me up, "Momma where are we going?" I asked her "Well since me and your dad are heros we get to go to important places." She explained.

"Ooh okay Momma, I'll be good!" I said.

"Oh, are you two ready?" Daddy asked momma, she hummed in reply.

"Okay let's go"

Time skip Shoto's P.O.V

My older sister was changing my clothes and fixing my hair, I didn't really know why though...

"Hey sis? Why am I getting ready?" I finally ask "We're meeting the (L/n) family." She said buttoning my shirt up.

*Ding*

"Oh, I think they're here!" She yells "Come on Shoto." She said stretching out her hand.

"Hello. My name is Michiko (L/n), and this is our 4 year old daughter (f/n)." A pretty lady said as she jumped her daughter that was in her arms, I looked at the girl.

She's cute

"We as well have a 4 year old...Shoto? Please introduce yourself." My father said, I nodded.

"I'm Todoroki Shoto" I said, The pretty lady put her daughter down and she walked towards my father and she bowed "Hello sir." She said.

"Hello...now, Shoto go show her around while we talk to her parents." My father said, I took (F/n)'s hand and took her to my room.

Once we were in my room I noticed she turned from serious to energetic.

"Uhh...So Shoto you're my age? Let's go play!" I look at her and gave her a confused face.

"Come on!!" She pulled me and we went to our backyard "What's your quirk?" She asked

"Half ice and half fire. What's yours?" I asked she ran to the middle of the backyard she made a bunch of water come out of her finger. "YES! IT FINALLY WORKED! oh yeah my quirk is water Manipulation? I think I said it right?" She said, she walked back to stand in front of me "How about we play Heros!" She asked, I just nodded.

"Hahaha!! You will never be able to stop me, Hahah!!" She yelled pretending to be a villain.

"Stop evildoer! For the hero Todoroki Shoto has come!" I stopped her with my ice and she pretended to fall.

"Ow..."

Oops.

"Ahh sorry (F/n)!! I didn't think you would fall!!" She looked back at me and smiled.

"Don't worry this doesn-" "Shoto! What are you two doing?" My sister came up to both of and grabbed our hands.

"We were just playing sis..." I said, "when dad said go show her around, he said you two should train." She said.

"Okay..." I said

"Here, I'll let it slide just pretend you're training if dad comes okay? "

I quickly nodded.

"(Y/n)? W-what do y-you w-wanna p-play?" I asked her.

I never really played with anyone my age before so I'm kind of nervous.

"Okay!"

*Time skip 13 years old*

"Sho-sho? Roki? Shoro? Hello?" I was trying to get Shoto's attention but he just stared at his paper.

"Hmm...Oh sorry." Shoto finally looked at me, "Roki? Is that what you call me now?" He chuckled at the new name.

"Yup. Can we go outside?" I asked, I wasn't much fir parties but me and Shoto never went anywhere.

"(Y/n) you know we can't go outside." He said, "Shoto I know that but wouldn't you like to show your dad you don't care?" He thought about it for a second and nodded.

"Sure. Where are we going?" Shoto asked me. "W-well I didn't think to much about it...Oh I know" I stood up from his desk and went to my bag.

"We can go to my parents agency, they have a room filled with cool stuff." I took out the key and waved it in front of his face.

"Okay let's go." He said.

He was about to go through his door when I quickly stopped him. "Roki, we're not going through the door...we're jumping out the window." He looked at me confused, I walked to the window and looked down.

"It's not a high jump, we can do it." I said still looking down, I put my legs over the window and jumped down.

"(Y/n)! Pffft...don't do that, are you okay?" He chuckled, "I'm fine, come on jump! What do you want me to catch you?" I asked sarcastically.

"Come my princess! Jump to my arms I'll catch you!" I said in a deeper voice.

"PFFFFTTT- (Y/n)!" He whisper yelled.

"Okay, okay, just jump!" I told him, he jumped down.

"Let's go-" I was rudely interrupted by Shoto

"Where?" He asked.

"Do you wanna just go get some soba?" I asked even though I knew he would say yes.

He nodded.

Once we were there we sat down and ordered what we wanted, "What a cute couple!  I'll get your orders as soon as possible" the waitress said.

"Oh miss- oh she left, oh well" I tried stopping her but she quickly walked away.

Once we got our soba, we clapped our hands together, well I did it too loud gaining the attention of others.

"Itadakimas!"

We both started eating I took out my phone to get a picture of Shoto eating soba.

"What are you doing?" He asked chuckling, "you never believe me when I say you make a cute face when you eat soba so~" I opened the camera app and Shoto just rolled his eyes, enjoying his soba.

"Ahh shit- It was hot, really hot I burned myself...(Y/n) can you pass me your water?" I gave him my water, and he quickly drank it.

"Promise you didn't get a picture..." he said, I took  pictures of this whole situation.

"I did." I said in a obvious tone.

After we finished our food we thanked the people there, and we walked back to his house.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Nothing..." I continued to draw what I was drawing.

"HAH DONE!" I yelled which I think scared Shoto because I heard him spit out his drink.

"Do you wanna see?" He turned around and grabbed my drawing.

"Seriously?" He asked turning around.

NOT MY ART!!!

"I could only color one, but they turned out pretty good!" I smiled.

"Yeah, they did..." he looked at me handed me my drawing.

"So (Y/n) you think I'm cute?" He said in a sarcastic tone.

"HUH!? WHEN DID I SAY THAT!?" I yelled

"Wait you didn't let me finish" the night ended with him confessing his undying love for me.

Well there's more to it...

"(Y/n) I really like you...and I think you're cute too."

"Wow Roki you didn't include a "really" before the cute." I crossed my arms.

He grabbed my face and brought me into a passionate kiss.

________________

I couldn't find the right ending so I found the easiest one out, request PLEASE it makes my job easier...

Don't forget to comment and vote on this chapter!!<3

[jinxthequeergirl]

Teenage Rebellion's

Steve Harrington x Hopper! Reader

(Mainly a little more of a father daughter reader)

Requested by @melxoxo23 : " A story, where you're hoppers daughter and dating steve.with angst maybe?, but with a happy ending and include joyce too! Please and thank youuuu!"

Warning: swearing/ angst/ a small fight between pops and daughter

Hope you like it?!

~~~~~~~

You crawled through Steve's window instantly catching his attention. "What are you doing here?"

"What aren't you happy to see me, harrington?" you asked a but offended by his greeting as you shut the window.

"Yes I'm just...surprised." He got up from his spot on the bed and quickly moved to place his hands around your waist. "That was the point dumbass." you teased, wrapping your arms around his neck and leaning in to kiss him. He smiled and kissed back.

He lifted you up and spun you around earning a laugh from you before setting you on the bed.

"Your dad is going to kill you if he finds out your here...maybe he'll kill me first." He said from above you. you smirked knowingly at him, and took a glance at the time on his nightstand.

" silly boy you underestimate me!" you pushed him off top of you and sat up. "It's currently 11: 35 meaning Magnum p.I. just finished up an hour ago. I, knowing everything about my father, knew that he goes to bed at exactly ten on the dot! giving me about twenty minutes to make sure he feel asleep before slipping out my window and into yours!" you booped him upon saying the last word, and slung your legs over his lap with a smile. "And your sister?"

"Sleep over with max." you said with a grin. "Now are you complaining about this or would you rather come over tomorrow and deal with three inches?" with out another word he moved in and kissed you.

It wasn't a secret that something had been different with you for the past couple of weeks. You had been pushing to do things you never once wanted to do, you started planing things around your father. Steve started taking note of these things but didn't say anything thinking it would pass. He pulled away scraching the back of his neck.

"What's wrong?"

"I was actually going to ask you the same thing." You looked at him confused. "C'mon you've been acting... different this past week."

"I have not..." He gave an unconvinced look. "I..." you groaned and feel back onto his bed. You pat the space beside you and he laied next to you.

"In all honesty...I Have no idea, like I feel I should but I don't just everytime my dad tells me not to do something it just pisses me off so I go against it! And lately it's worse I just feel like he...well...you get the point for the most part."

"Just a little teenage rebellion never hurt anyone." You chuckled lightly and snuggled into him. "I guess..."

"It'll pass over."you hummed in response and shut your eyes. "Hey don't let me fall asleep, I need to get home..." you muttered already pretty drowsy.

"No..no..I Promise.." he mumbled resting his chin on top of your head eyes slowly shutting. Soon enough you where both asleep.

"I'm telling you it's that harrington kid! He's nothing but a bad influence on her now!" joyce looked at hopper as he paced back and forth in front of her. "Well I think Steve is a nice guy." she said simply looking back down at the cash register.

"That's what he wants you to think!"

Joyce scrunched her noise in conduction. "Why would Steve want you to THINK he's nice?"

Hopper threw his hands up before placing them on the edge of the counter. "I Don't know!"

"I think maybe it's another one of those issues where you just need to talk to her!" Hopper opened his mouth but shut it when Steve's car pulled up outside.

Both adults watched you hop out after giving him a kiss. "Morning joyce! Hey dad." You slid on your blue vest that matched the one Joyce wore. "Where the hell were you this morning!"

"I accidentally slept over at Steve's last night. Not a big deal!"

"Not a big deal? Y/n I didn't know where you went! I thought something happened! When did you even leave?"

"I told you last night."

"When!?"

"God why do you even care!? I'm here alive and breathing! Nothing happened last night either!"

"Listen I don't know what this little teen rebellion thing you have going on but I've had enough! Enough of the disrespect and the lying and just everything from you now!"

You rolled your eyes and started towards the back to start working, but hopper only followed you. "Hey! Do not walk away from me when I AM talking to you! You know I think this Harrington kid I proving to be-"

You whirled around angrily. "You leave Steve out of this! It's NOT his fault I'm acting like this! It's YOUR own!"

He stoped taken aback by this. "What did you say?"

"It's your own damn fault I'm acting like this you are just to...to..ugh dense to realise that! To dense or stupid!"

His eyes widened. "Really? Well if I can't realise that maybe I don't know you anymore! You might as well be a stranger! You might as well not live under the same roof!"

"What are you kicking me out now because of this!?"

"Well I mean you wanna sneak out stay away as long as you can maybe I am." it was your turn to state at him suprised.

"Hop..." neither of you had realised Joyce was following trying her best to cool the both of you off. "Good. Fine! It's not like you'll notice you act like you have one daughter anyways!" you stormed to the front of the store the last part of your scentence sinking in.

"Wait what does that mean!? Where are you going!?"

"Get my stuff from your place! You want me out so fucking bad!" He stopped as the door slammed shut.

"Goddamn it!" He fumbled around for his keys until Joyce came up beside him and took them. "Hopper no! You need to stay here, I will go talk her! You need to cool down...I'll be back."

She quickly pushed the door open and hurried down the street to you.

"Y/n! Y/n!"

"Yes?" you snapped turning to her.

"Are you ok? What's going on with you?"

You stopped and stared at her searching very deep down inside. After telling steve last night something else came to mind something you thought was stupid and selfish. Something you swore you would just ignore but the more and more It stuck in your brain the more It made you want to act out.

"Y/n?.." Joyce moved closer to you and rubbed away a tear that started to fall from your face.

"I'm going to sound like a five year old of I tell you."

"Thats ok..." You both sat down on the curb and you took a breath.

"Every Sunday...dad would make French toast since it was my favioret...we had this silly superstion that if he made the first on properly the rest would turn out bad."

You started to cry just thinking of it and joyce simply placed a hand over yours as she listened. "So he always burnt the first one, that's how I would know he was making breakfast, because I would be waken up by the smell of burning bread." You both chuckled as you paused to wipe away tears.

"And every Friday we would rent a movie every Friday no matter what...It didnt matter if he was tired he would come home and take me to family video and we would pick a movie, we never finished then because we would both fall asleep...but that changed when he adopted el." You sighed using your free hand to play with your shoe laces.

"I love el so much, there is nothing in this world that could make me think other wise. But I get the feeling that nothing I do is ever as good as anything she could do in my dads eyes, I feel like I come on second now! And I miss our stupid old traditons!"

"So you did this as a way to get his attention?..."

You looked at her. "I guess in a weird toddler way of acting out yea.."

"It's not weird...love can make us do crazy things...even make us rebell against the people we love..."

"Yea...I guess it does." you smiled softly.

"But I think maybe you should talk to him tell him You miss doing things like that and miss spending time with him..."

You where scilent. "We could even go back together and tell him?"

So the both of you walked back to the store hopper stood there anxiously before you two came back in.

You both started to speak at the same time. "Let me it's my fault so just hear me out? And if by the end this you can...well you can kick me out if you want?"

He pulled you into a hug. "I don't think that gonna happen kiddo."

~a week later~

"What are you wearing?"

You looked over to your dad with a smile as you stepped out of your room. "What? It's...how would you put it? Cutting edge!" You joked making him laugh.

Things where better, a lot better no more teenage rebellion from you now that things where explained and fixed. There was a knock at the door catching both your attention.

"I'll get it!" you hurried across the room And opened the door. "El there here!" you stepped aside letting steve, Mike and joyce enter. Steve greeted you with a warm hug and kiss.

"Evening Sir." Steve said nervously after shutting the door.

"Relax kid, you can call me hopper. What movie did you get?"

You lead Steve to the couch as he looked through the bag. "Well everyone had different suggestions so out choices are. The breakfast club, ghost busters, American werwolf in london, pretty in pink, and Nightmare on elm street."

"I vote pretty in pink!" joyce said taking a seat next to hopper.

"No girly movie! Nightmare on elm street!" Mike chilled in. "Are you two even old enough to see that?" steve asked. Soon enough everyone started arguing over the movie.

You smiled at hopper and he offered you the same one knowing what would happen no matter what they picked.

"Ok Ok put the werewolf one on! Mike where are the snacks!" Hopper said quickly shutting every one up. Mike handed him the bag full of candy and snack before passing them out.

You curled up onto the couch next to Steve as the movie began

[unicornprincessinthetardis]

My (often relatively reasonable) dad: ...so Enoch Powell was right, what he said has happened.

Me: and you don't think maybe he could've said it without inciting racial hatred and literally saying that in time the rivers might run with the blood of 'native' British people because of immigration, do you?

My dad: no, you're being ridiculous, it had to be said, and there really are areas of cities that are majority black or Muslim now so he was right in his predictions, and it didn't change how things were anyway

Me: *goes away to calm down and read up on the 'Rivers of Blood' speech*

[I already knew some of this but here's a précis for those unfamiliar: in April 1968, in Wolverhampton, UK, a Conservative MP, Enoch Powell, made a speech, about the proposed 'Race Relations Bill' (which subsequently made it illegal to refuse housing/ employment/public services to people on the grounds of race/colour/ ethnic & national origins).

The speech was strongly anti-immigrant, calling for 'voluntary re-emigration' and for moves to be made to stem the tide of immigration, else Britain would be 'overrun' and sooner or later white British people would find themselves fully second-class citizens, and that in some ways they already were. He also talked about a "tragic and intractable phenomenon which we watch with horror on the other side of the Atlantic", which I take to mean immigration in the USA to the similar end of white people no longer being in charge - which in 1968 was so far from the truth, and just horrible baseless fear-mongering, playing on people’s xenophobia and racist prejudice - and compared pro-immigration/anti-discrimination newspapers to the ones that had denied and hid the rise of fascism and threat of war in the 1930s. Plus, he talked about a constituent of his, a woman who lived on a street that had become occupied by mostly black people, who lost her white lodgers and complained to the council for a tax rate reduction because she wouldn't take black tenants, and instead basically got told not to be racist, and presented it as a bad thing that she'd been treated like that.

The speech's common name comes from a phrase he quoted from the Aenid (because he was also a Cambridge-educated classics scholar), 'I seem to see "the River Tiber foaming with much blood"', although he just called it 'the Birmingham speech' and seemed to be surprised by the uproar he caused.]

Me (to self): So it didn't change things did it? How do you explain the attacks against nonwhite people where the attackers literally shouted his name and repeated his rhetoric? Oh, they would definitely have happened if he hadn't made that speech, wouldn't they? And the British people of foreign descent who were so afraid they might be removed from their lives just for not being white they always had cases packed to go? And the fact that experts says he set back progress in 'race relations' by about ten years and legitimised being racist/anti-immigrant in the same way UKIP and some pro-Brexit types have done within the last few years here (fun fact: immediately after the Brexit vote, people were being racially and physically abusive to visibly Muslim and/or South Asian people, telling them to leave because of Brexit, which was of course extreme nonsense because their presence would be nothing to do with the EU, and more likely the British Empire and the Commonwealth, but they were doing it because it seemed suddenly okay to be openly racist, because Nigel Farage and his ilk, and a legally non-binding vote surrounded in lies, said so) and others have done elsewhere, in the US and Europe and Brazil and so many other places.

Powell was interviewed about the speech in 1977 and stood by his views, said that because the immigration figures were higher than those he had been 'laughed at' about in his speech, he was right and now governments didn't want to deal with the "problem", were passing it off to future generations and it would go on until there was a civil war!

He also said he wasn't a 'racialist' (racist) because he believed a "'racialist' is a person who believes in the inherent inferiority of one race of mankind to another, and who acts and speaks in that belief" so he was in fact "a racialist in reverse" as he regarded "many of the peoples in India as being superior in many respects—intellectually, for example, and in other respects—to Europeans." (I mean, I know I can't hold him to our standards but a) that's still racism and b) he did think that mankind was divided into very distinct, probably biologically so, races, which, yes, normal for the time, but the whole 'each with different qualities and ways in which they were better than others' is iffy)

Me: *goes back to Dad to make my point and definitely not get upset* So here are some things that literally happened as a consequence of the 'Rivers of Blood' speech...

So even if he was correct to say what he did (I mean, he wasn't but you have to tiptoe around Dad and I had points to make), he shouldn't have said it the way he did

My dad: so you think the truth should be suppressed? You're only looking at this from one perspective (he thinks he knows better because he was alive at the time and my brother and I weren't despite the fact that we're both into politics and history and, y'know, not into scapegoating, behaving oddly, and laying blame because people are different to us - he and mum also have issues with trans people and we're trying so hard to change their views/behaviours but I'm not sure it's working & that's a whole different story) and there are these areas that really are Muslim-only (because informal lending and wanting to keep the community together is such a crime, right?) and they don't integrate and want to impose Sharia law (only he couldn't remember what it was called right then) and you don't know what it's like (he is an engineer surveyor and travels all over to inspect boilers and cooling systems and all sorts of stuff, and this includes into majority-Black or -Asian (Muslim and otherwise) areas in Birmingham - which is not a no-go area for non-Muslims, I'm a deeply agnostic white woman, it's my nearest big city and I wish I went there more often but it's tricky as I don't drive, public transport is bad/inconvenient, and I have no friends to go with except depression and anxiety [which are worse 'friends' than the ones that I found out only liked me in high school because I always had sweets and snacks at lunch so when I got braces and my mouth hurt too much to eat much of anything which meant I certainly didn't have snacks, they dropped me pretty quickly] so apparently he's the expert on all such matters)

What I wish I'd said: *staying very calm* well, and that's your opinion, I'm going, I've got sewing to finish *leaves*

What actually happened:

Me: have you considered that they are able to buy up areas like that because white people leave because of their prejudice against the 'influx'?

Dad: they buy up great areas because they buy in groups (I think this refers to a sort of community lending thing to be compliant with various parts of Islam? [Please correct me if I'm wrong] which is effectively what building societies/credit unions were, at least to begin with, and he doesn't take issue with those) and want to stay together. Why do they do that? Sikhs don't do that, they buy big houses and aren't bothered about being close together.

Me: different religious ethoses? I don't know... But you do know that they people who want the UK to be a caliphate ruled by Sharia law are just a minority, and that most Muslims would not want that at all, just like you?

Dad: but they still do want it, and it could happen, if there was a charismatic leader,

Me: *incredulous* you know it's about as likely for that to actually happen as for strictly Orthodox Jewish people to be able to make this country into another Israel, right? Besides, there are the police, and the armed forces, and intelligence agencies, not to mention the Government and civil service (thought I'd got a win there, he hates the unchanging upper-class-public-school-Oxbridge nature of the people who effectively really run the government, constant no matter the leaning of the elected party, but no) who have a vested interest in preserving themselves in their current state so would be able to stop anything like that

Dad: yes, but the cutting of funding to police and public services means they might not be able to stop it (I realise now that he's oddly economically left-wing but also really quite socially conservative in some ways)

Me: *getting angry* but it's still an absolute minority, most Muslims would be horrified if it really did happen, and have you ever considered that maybe they wouldn't be so ill-disposed to us and to integration if we didn't demand it of them the moment that they arrive, demand that they assimilate or go away (he often uses the phrase "yes, but they're in somebody else's country, they should make an effort") and maybe young people wouldn't be so easily radicalised and people generally mistrust the people who don't try to understand them, you know, want them to change everything about themselves (for instance, Dad is violently opposed to the burqa etc and not really a fan of the hijab - still doesn't get that it's a choice and people can do what they want because apparently 'anyone could be wearing one of those things' - burqas/niqabs, I presume - and that it must all be forced because who would possibly choose to dress like that - I have half a mind to show him those sites about Christian modest dressing (one was a shop and a lot of their range was pretty cute!) that I once found, just to see if that'll prove to him it is a choice thing) *tries to leave*

Dad: *angry* You stay there and listen to me! You're just looking at it from one perspective and that's not the truth, you're so biased and closed-minded, you only look at things your way!

Me: *furious* Really? Really? Am I? *Scoffs/incredulous exhalation* I'm closed-minded, am I?... *Storms out, shouts as I go* I'm not the one who said Enoch Powell was right!!

This is all heavily paraphrased, because I've been writing this for literal hours now and I was angry and don't remember well at the best of times, it may have been worse than how I'm writing it

Also, going to be tricky to patch up but right now I stand by what I said, because I know my perspective is limited, but at least I actually admit that and try to find out what people different to me think, rather than basing all my opinions and things on my own experiences which can't be universal, as he seems to

Other bs my dad said during the two conversations: "don't get so upset about it, it's only history" (which is bold, considering it was the 50th anniversary this year and he was literally 11 years old when it happened so probably saw/heard news coverage)... "Yes of course far right groups use 'Enoch was right' as a slogan, it doesn't mean anything"... Reiterating the 'nothing changed' thing multiple times... Dismissing the fact that Powell said there'd be a civil war because apparently just because the British/Europeans were aggressive conquerors anyone else who came in numbers anywhere would eventually have that aim and how ridiculous that view actually is... Dismissing the fact that Powell basically incited racial hatred and violence with the inclusion of an irrelevant Classical phrase which spread fear on all sides...

I could go on but I'm so tired and don't want to make myself more upset

I love my parents but I really don't like them very much lately but I don't know if I just put up with it or leave sooner or later and if I do leave I don't know where I'd go because no friends

Basically I'm so sorry for my parents' prejudices which I'm still trying to unlearn myself - I apologise wholeheartedly to all Muslim and Jewish people and honestly pretty much everyone they're prejudiced against