#most people aren't really plugged into it. and of the governments that would go to war about it none of them will

[void-botanist]

Thinking about the world that starts to take shape around Tirias's refusal to travel outside of majority-rooted areas. There's an implication that she has been there and got burned so bad that she'll never go back. She can hear but she can't speak and communicates primarily through sign language. Despite the fact that most other species do learn Osbok sign language in school, there's a much stronger culture of sign language usage in rooted areas than beyond them. You travel through the Forests, you know you'll be taken care of and taken seriously. You step outside of them, who knows what'll happen. Humans are already intimidated by her height, and asking them to use their half-remembered SOSL is apparently a step too far.

Oh, to be Ysa, even more intimidating but somehow able to put people at ease with just thons voice.

Which makes me wonder: is there a fear among human societies that the culture of the Forests - which itself is not homogenous - will take over the rest of the world? There must be on some level but it has to be harder for it to coalesce because there's an enormous population of roots that live outside of the forests, and have for pretty much ever, and nothing has happened to "human" cultures except that a lot of them also have roots participating in them, not to mention nawwenn. Some people think they're playing the long game - they live twice as long as humans, you know - but I would suspect your average human knows enough roots to reject that particular conspiracy.

So then, out of all the other species in Winchester, why has Dez only met humans?

[sweetteaanddragons]

And How Can Man Die Better: Director's Cut

I had lots of worldbuilding thoughts that didn't make it into the story for @saturniiids beautiful artwork, so have them here! (Spoilers ahead.)

"Thorin had never met a hacker quite so dedicated to pretending to be on the legal side of the fence as Master Baggins. It was reassuring, really; it spoke to a level of discretion he appreciated."

As you might have guessed, Bilbo is actually 100% sincere here. Thorin remains blissfully unaware of this throughout the entire story.

"They knew they had already been earmarked for Mahal; that he needed their service in his great foundries and machineries to make his constructs for the Last Great War. What would become of them all when the end days came and Dagor Dagorath struck if they had denied him the souls of centuries of dwarves? The government had not been impressed with this argument . . . " The government here is Sauron. Also his minions, but ultimately Sauron. The dwarves do not, of course, know this - he's switching between his personas as Annatar and the Necromancer - but unsurprisingly, Sauron was not impressed by the argument that the dwarves needed to be allowed to go to Mahal's Halls so they could create weapons to use against him and Morgoth at Dagor Dagorath. If the dwarves had realized, they would have tried a different argument.

"The government had not been impressed with this argument, any more than they had been impressed with the dwarves’ furious insistence that Mahal was not, of course, in any way connected with one of the Forbidden Ones. Who was this Aulë others spoke of? Certainly they knew him not. They followed Mahal and Mahal alone; surely they could not be faulted that his name and that of one of the Forbidden Ones rhymed." Sauron is genuinely unsure if the dwarves telling him this - perfectly straight faced - are as unaware of the truth behind this as they were with their previous argument or not. A lot of knowledge has been lost! (A lot of it has been deliberately suppressed.) They might not know - or they might, and they might be laughing at him.

Most of the dwarves genuinely don't know and are making this argument with indignant righteousness. There are a few (like Balin) who know better. Regardless, they end up having to follow Mahal in secret because all mention of any of the Valar, much less any devotion to them, is being violently suppressed by Sauron, who is violently afraid that the Valar are going to show up to topple his little house of cards. The Valar showed up because the mortals were penitent last time and because the mortals asked for help; he can't risk that happening again.

The Valar are, unbeknownst to him, very aware of what is going on and very eager to intervene, but toppling his house of cards is exactly what they're worried about; Mordor has so consumed everything that they aren't sure how to save people without accidentally destroying the planet in the process.

"Just as they were also faulted for just how many dwarves had been, tragically, dying in conflagrations so intense that no brain matter was left for Dol Guldur." Dol Guldur's brand of afterlife nastiness in this story was borrowed from the Mechanism's album, Ulysses Dies at Dawn. Like in that world, all brains are plugged into a horrible mass computer system after death; any attempt to render your brain unsuitable for this is punished horribly.

But if there's anything that could make a brain truly, entirely, unpunishably unsuitable, it seems like being consumed by fire would do the trick.

"The concrete didn’t switch to marble; there were no trumpet calls summoning them home. Still. He almost thought he could feel it, like a buzzing in his chest." And here we have the first mention of the buzzing that we will eventually learn is the madness-inducing tone coming from Smaug! This was also inspired by Ulysses; Erebor takes the place of Ilium. This seemed particularly appropriate to me given the gold madness that awaited Thorin in the original.

"In the old days, Balin had told him once, their people had buried their dead in stone. Fire had been too impermanent a monument . . . 'From the fires of Mahal’s forge we came,' Balin said quietly. 'And to them we pray to return,' the rest echoed." I thought a lot about the dwarves canonically having to burn their dead after the battle of Azanulbizar; how it was against their traditions, but they did it out of need and made it an honor.

In this AU, I imagine this necessity initially was deeply upsetting to the dwarves that took it up, but by the time the story takes place, they've successfully mythologized it to make it acceptable to themselves.

"The City had not always just been the City, of course; once, before it had conquered and bargained and slowly consumed all else, up to the top of the breathable atmosphere and down to the roots of the earth, once there had been other cities and so it had needed a name.

Once, it had been Mordor."

In this AU, Celebrimbor helps Annatar create a wonderful potion of immortality for their mortal friends. Why shouldn't they be able to delay the Gift of Men for awhile as the Numenorians already do?

The Numenorians, of course, are enchanted by it and use it to extend their own very live longs (and, like in Ulysses, this has unfortunate consequences for the world around them). There's the potion for those who can afford it . . . and Annatar's promise that eventually, even the very poorest will be guaranteed to live forever.

Hello, Dol Guldur.

Annatar uses the potion to seduce some countries into willingly joining his banner and sets out to conquer the rest.

Celebrimbor, once he realizes how it has all gone wrong tries - and fails - to stand against him.

Somewhere in this AU, Pharazon is very much still alive and enjoying his wealth and power.

“'Skulls are intact,' Fili said quietly. 'Most of them.' It was true, he saw. Some few were smashed, but that was easily enough explained, whatever they had been fighting. Most were intact. Which meant that even after the Necromancer had won, he had not sent in drones to collect minds for Dol Guldur. Not even from the bodies that had not been burned." So, in Ulysses, some people's minds are deemed unsuitable for harvesting due to insanity. To keep this from seeming like a preferable alternative that people might be tempted to feign or induce, these people are forcibly kept alive through immortality inducing drugs . . . but kept in absolutely horrible conditions. Presumably, though, this did not happen to the people of Ilium who were driven to kill each other through Ulysses's weapon.

 “Hobbit ears must not be as keen as their dwarven fellows.” Which Bilbo will have ample cause to be thankful for shortly.

"The next door was the one Thorin had been unable to find anyone qualified to open on his own; the one he had nearly despaired of until he had once again stumbled across Gandalf, who had hemmed and hawed over the danger of the journey before admitting it might be worth the risk and saying he knew just the man for the job." Gandalf is still one of the Istari in this AU; five undercover Maiar sent by the Valar to try to figure out a way to help. As per canon, Radagast has gotten sidetracked by his absolute horror over what has become of most of the plant and animal life in this world spanning city, Saruman is slowly being corrupted by fear and the promise of power, and the blue wizards are . . . somewhere. Gandalf has lost track of them.

He, however, is still desperately trying his best.

"'Of course outside of one of their terrarium blocks you haven’t got much of a prayer of getting anything to grow.'

'Not much of a prayer!' Master Baggins said indignantly. 'Why, all you have to do is - '"

As you might guess, there aren't any Ents left in this AU. There are, of course, still hobbits; they weren't particularly seduced by the lure of immortality, but they were conquered easily enough. Their knack for growing things has fewer opportunities by far, but they still grow what they can.

There was so much blood on his hands. Obviously, Thorin and his nephews ended up mortally wounding each other. Their brains are scrambled enough though that they can't remember who struck which blows. At this point, only Mahal could tell them - and he definitely has every intention of keeping that to himself.

“Thorin, are you - I promise it’s just me, totally harmless - “ The trap was calibrated for dwarves. Bilbo was totally unaffected except for having to run from everyone.

"Thorin, at least, would die sane. Surely Mahal would accept Thorin’s tribute at least, and if he did - surely Thorin could convince him. They had died in Mahal’s service; surely Mahal could find some purpose for them even if they had not died sane. Surely there must be something he could offer to convince -" Thorin is aware that Dol Guldur does not accept the insane, and he assumes that Mahal's Halls will be the same. The dwarves' understanding of their Maker has been corrupted over time; mostly, they assume that working in Mahal's Halls will be much like their current (horribly inhumane) factory jobs. This is still preferable to Dol Guldur, because Dol Guldur is awful, and also because they are genuinely convinced they are needed to prepare for the apocalypse.

The dwarves are, of course, very wrong. Mahal accepts them regardless of their condition - and in Fili and Kili's case, they were fine once the sound's ability to influence them ceased.

Dwalin was there, blood thick on his own hands, but Dwalin was there, and Dwalin understood. I regret to inform you that Balin was also a casualty of this AU. And probably some of the others.

Fili: . . . and with a productivity increase like that, you really can't afford not to assign the three of us together to whatever doomsday weapon you want worked on.

Kili, in iglishmek, from where he's currently smushed against Mahal's shoulder: Do you think it's working?

Fili, from the other shoulder: I don't know. I've never had to give this speech to a supervisor that was hugging me and crying before.

Mahal is just. So happy. Whenever any of his children manage to find their way home.

[theladyofbloodshed]

You’re a teacher in UK (I’m assuming based on a few posts from before). Rishi Sunak (the new prime minister) is making plans to make maths compulsary for kids upto 18 years old.

All over social media, british people have different opinions about it. Most are however against it. The most common reason is that they believe it kills creativity, and that the cirriculum could use some other useful subjects.

What is you opinion on the matter as a teacher?

(Sorry if you only take fandom related questions. You can totally ignore it if you don’t like non fandom related questions)

I think it is ridiculous. Long post so I'll put under a read more

If everybody studied maths to 18, it wouldn't make anybody more employable because all would have that qualification. The majority of jobs do not require you to use maths. So often my kids will ask me why they have to learn something and the honest answer is that the government told me I have to teach it.

The shift between GCSE to A Levels was hard. That was ten years ago for me, but it was hard. It's a big jump in terms of depth of learning. In order to study maths to 18, either students have to drop a subject they had wanted to take to fit it in (in the UK, you generally take 4 subjects for AS Level then drop one for the final year. I took biology, chemistry, psychology and philosophy & ethics then dropped the latter) or will have an extra subject wedged on top which gives them less time to focus on each class - or they won't actually care about taking maths so won't put effort into it.

I work in a primary school and how it works here is you teach the same 30 children every subject for a year. My role is slightly different as I am a cover teacher and cover all across the school so when a teacher has the afternoon to plan, I'll teach their class which means I can teach from 4-11 years old in the same week. We already have children who declare they hate maths and its hard. We have parents who when we ask them to support their children's learning will say that they were bad at maths so it doesn't matter if their children give up on it. I had a child last year who at 11 years old was greater depth for writing and reading (the highest level you can be) but wasn't secure in her number bonds to ten so massively struggled with all areas of maths. Number bonds to 10 should be secured at age 5. Our curriculum is so big that sometimes we run out of time to teach everything or children have absences and they have so many gaps. She was missed every year as somebody who should have been higher and I spent so much time trying to catch her up by filling in all of her gaps on number bonds and times table knowledge which filter into every strand of maths. We had 2 years of covid so maybe if that hadn't happened, the gaps would be apparent sooner, but she's not the only child like that.

Maths isn't valued here. Partly that comes down to the way it is taught. It's not a criticism of teachers, but the syllabus is so massive that you have to hit everything at pace and for those who can't keep up, they end up with massive gaps in their learning. If they've struggled with fractions for the 3 weeks they've studied it, too bad we're onto area and perimeter now, you'll do fractions next year!

In the mornings, I tutor a group of children who have fallen behind and I have to plug any gaps and try to catch them up to age related expectations. This past week, I taught them bus stop method for division because that was what I was told to teach by their regular teacher. I then found out what we aren't supposed to teach that method until next year.

But they had understood it, because they know how to exchange from subtraction because we ensured they really were secure and understood what exchanging means rather than "you add a 1 to the next number".

So then we had to go back a step because the government said they need to learn how to partition it into a whole part model... which is actually harder because they didn't know how many tens or ones they should be splitting it to. It's just so ridiculous. They completely understood the one on the left and will be taught that next year and will use that method forever. But the one on the right has confused them - and they won't need to do that ever again after this year - but we have to teach them like that because that's what the government says?

I didn't really enjoy maths. I never gelled with my teacher and I had the same one for 4 years and I knew I wasn't taking it beyond a compulsory level. I got a B at GCSE which was bad in my school so I had to go to a remedial math class at the start of year 12 because there was maths in biology/chemistry which I had chosen. But in the first lesson my teacher was like "why are you here?" because the small branch of maths that I needed for my science subjects was secure. I've not needed trigonometry or the quadratic equation ever in my life.

I've needed maths to teach maths but actually my understanding of fractions and place value has only become secure since I've had to teach it.

That time would be better spend in teaching young adults how to apply for jobs, for understanding taxes and insurance, for developing contacts in careers etc. The average grade for maths at GCSE level is around a low B/high C. At my school, if you received a B in a subject that you wanted to take for A Level, you would be warned that it would be difficult. If you had a C, they'd advise you against taking that subject because it would be too hard.

It would be better for the government to look at the national curriculum and see how many hoops educators have to jump through and how many boxes we have to tick to please them first. It's so stupid!!!

[lastoneout]

A bit more of an extreme take but also insurance and/or the government should pay for people who need wheelchairs to purchase vehicles and/or vehicle add ons that can transport them. We should also ofc fix public transit in every conceivable way and add sidewalks to roads and all that but rn there are a lot of disabled people who cannot get places because scheduling for rides through insurance or the public transit system or outreach centers/charities is a fucking nightmare and on top of that many of us would like to be able to go places those systems can't/won't take us, and also even if you do have a chair that can travel long distances outside there are like 50 billion reasons that can be unsafe including drivers just not being able to even see us because cars and trucks are so fucking big these days we're basically invisible to them.

As for the other 50 billion reasons, safe accessible sidewalks are rare in most places and get blocked by assholes or snow or just aren't maintained, weather exists and it's really hard to properly protect yourself from it in a chair and depending on the weather can make it 500% more unsafe to be out there, power chairs run out of battery eventually which strands you out who fucking knows where(plus the chargers aren't exactly easy to carry around, and even if you do have it you have to find somewhere to plug it in which is hard if you literally cannot move), like I could go on for hours.

I mean like, my mom currently doesn't have access to a vehicle that can fit her power chair and she is quite literally trapped at home because of it. She can go places on the bus, but her apartment is on a steep ass hill and we live in AZ where it's 100F+ for like a solid third of the year, if the battery runs out she's fucked, and the systems that do exist to help her get places are inconvenient and unreliable and are often late or just don't fucking show up which makes her miss important appointments(which leads to no-show fees and also her not getting the help she needs) and most of them won't take you anywhere that isn't for a medical reason, no leisure trips, so if she wants to go do anything fun she has to have someone drive her and use a folding hospital transport chair that she cannot get around in on her own, which limits what she can do even further. It's completely fucked.

And hell, even if you live somewhere that has a retailer for these sorts of vehicles/add ons, the prices are ABSURD which makes them inaccessible to people who don't have tons of money, which like, the government sure likes to make sure disabled people aren't allowed to have any fucking money!!

Cars suck, and we need to make public transport safer and more accessible and reliable, but right now we should be doing what we can to not only get wheelchairs into the hands of people who need them, but also vehicles that can take us AND our chairs where we need to go. Both are SO unbelievably important. We deserve to not be stuck at home because our ability to live our lives isn't important to abled society.

wheelchair users deserve a minimum of three wheelchairs to meet different needs. like, bare minimum of indoor chair, outdoor chair, and off road chair. chairs that meet different needs for transport, activity, positioning needs, energy levels, etc.

there is not "one chair" that can meet every need. wheelchair users deserve to have multiple chairs that meet specific needs, no matter how complex their seating/positioning needs. we deserve to at least have a backup if our chair breaks that is just as suited to our needs.

[nightshade-minho]

3021:Starless

-(1)-

Warnings: Nothing much for this chapter. Scenes of mild violence. Future smut. Please view the teasers before reading this part.

Word Count: 2.9k

Hyunjin x fem! Reader, Minho x fem! Reader, Jisung x fem! Reader

A rainy summer’s day. 

Oxymoronic, yes...but what was Neos, if not a city of oxymorons? 

The larger part of the city was crammed with skyscrapers, packed atop each other. The streets were filled with rich cyborgs and their androids, chatting away on their neodisks and living their glamorous, expensive lives. 

The rain definitely wasn’t affecting them too much. Water-resistant metal plating and advanced technology made it possible for them to live their lives as usual, despite the heavy downpour.

However, things were different out here. The outskirts of the city were a lot quieter, the streets empty and deserted. There were no skyscrapers here, just sad-looking buildings and dilapidated abodes. Here, nearly everyone was made of junk and scrap metal dating back to 2032- the rain was a huge inconvenience for most.

As you walked down the street, you made sure to wrap your cloak around you tighter. You couldn’t afford any repairs at the moment. 

Though that would change soon, once you finally manage to earn your Phantom license. You smiled as you thought about the crescents you’d win with each bounty. You’d finally be able to buy a new arm...

Two fingers in your right arm had stopped working years ago- you’d made do with it till now, but being a Phantom meant that you would need your bionic arm to be fully functional, since it was your dominant one. You’d learnt to use your left hand to carry out most tasks- though it was flesh and bone, and weaker than your right, it was definitely more reliable. It never glitched out on you. 

Sometimes, you wished you were entirely human. Being one of the 98% of Xaliens who were technologically advanced definitely had its perks- but it was also expensive. You were glad for Mr. Han’s discounts. 

You continued walking, the icy cold air biting at your skin, and making you shiver. It was supposed to be summer. You sighed, humming a tune to yourself as you made your way to the shop.

Beep.

Fuck.

That sound could only mean one thing. You paused, the low beeping resonating in your head as you inhaled deeply.

1...2...3-

You swivelled around, slipping your dagger out from your waistband in the process and swinging it at the spindly-legged automaton that had been creeping up on you. As soon as the knife made contact with its large, blue eye, it started glitching, convulsing for a few seconds before dying.

Your chest heaved, eyes wide as you stared at the dead machine. Inching closer, you ripped your knife out of its metal, tucking it back into your pants as you crouched to inspect it closely. 

Your suspicions were correct. You pulled your neodisk out of your pocket, scrolling through the news. It only confirmed what you already knew. 

It was a Zenx, though it seemed to be a newer model...it looked a lot more advanced than the ones you'd seen photos of. The arrival of the mysterious, hostile androids had been all the news were filled with, recently. Nobody knew where they came from, who was controlling them or what their purpose was. The royal family had offered the people in the poorer areas of the city a generous amount of crescents if they caught the Zenx and sent them along to the palace for observation. The ones who would sign up were to be called the Phantoms.

It was the very reason you were walking down the street to the workshop, despite it being past curfew. Tomorrow, the applications to be a Phantom would have to be filled and submitted. If you wanted to be a cyber-assassin, you’d have to have two fully functioning arms.

You flipped the machine over onto its side. Unlike most androids, these weren’t humanoid. They were strangely creature-like. You took note of the numbers and symbols on its plated metal belly, mentally jotting them down. Wrenching the plate off of it, you pocketed it with a groan. Maybe Jisung could take a look at it, tell you what you needed to know.

You stood up, sighing as you turned around- only to be met with a dark figure standing right in front of you.

Your eyes narrowed, tilting your head at the hooded man and rolling your eyes.

"I know it's you, Minho."

He let out a grunt of frustration, whipping the hood of his cloak off. "Its unfair, really. You're literally scared of nothing...you sure you're a cyborg and not an android?"

"Hmm...You had your hood on. Maybe I would have been scared if you'd shown me your face."

"Har di har." Minho chuckled. "You know you like my face, baby."

You wrinkled your nose. "Don't call me that. And I don't...like your face-" You stammered a little as he came closer, nose almost brushing against yours.

"Yeah? Why are you blushing, then?"

Your eyes widened as you tried to keep your composure. "I am not blushing." You put your hands on his chest and pushed him away slightly.

He shrugged, looking past you at the upturned machine.

"Woah. Is that a Zenx?"

"Maybe."

"You killed it? Alone? Without any government issued weapons?" He asked incredulously.

You glared at him. "Why is that so hard to believe?"

"It's just a little surprising, that's all." He smirks at you. "You're a bit of a badass, hm? But all I have to do to get you flustered is lean a little closer."

You frowned at him. "That's not true." 

Your watch suddenly let out a beep, and you grunted, standing up and scowling at him.

"I have somewhere to go. Leave me alone." You started walking away from him, sighing as you heard his footsteps follow you. Whipping around, you crossed your arms.

"Honestly, do you have nothing better to do? Are you stalking me or something?"

"You wish, princess. I just happen to be in the same places you are."

You pressed your lips together, rolling your eyes and turning away again, walking a little faster...but he was still right next to you, strolling along beside you as he hummed under his breath.

You stopped, making him stop as well.

"Fucking leave."

"No can do. You think I'm just going to leave you alone, especially after you just got attacked? These streets aren't safe." There was no teasing lilt to his words anymore, and his voice was firm as he looked at you. "I'm walking you to wherever you're going."

"No you're not." You said, trying to keep your tone chilly. "I can take care of myself, okay? I don't need you. I don't need anyone." You snarled.

"Calm down."

"You're lucky my middle finger isn't working." You grumbled under your breath, turning away and walking as fast as you could. 

A minute later, you looked behind you, but he was gone. You pushed down the slight disappointment in your heart, and continued on your path.

A few minutes later, you were finally there. You knocked twice on the shutter, tapping your foot impatiently.

Seconds passed by with no response. You couldn’t shout, since you were supposed to be inconspicuous. About four whole minutes passed before he finally opened the shutter.

“Finally! What the fuck, Sung? You knew I was coming at this time.”

He fiddled with his fingers, avoiding eye contact. “I know. It’s just...I feel like Dad’s getting worse. I was feeding him.”

Your glare disappeared, your expression softening. “Oh...sorry.”

Jisung looked up at you. “What are you apologizing for?”

“I just...feel guilty. I could have signed up earlier, if I hadn’t spilled coffee on my hand...I’m so fucking careless.”

“Y/n. You’re doing more than enough to help.” He met your eyes, sighing and looking away again.  “Seriously...you don’t have to do this.”

You shook your head firmly. “I will. Mr. Han’s the closest thing I’ve had to a father. I’m not prepared to lose him yet. Besides, once I become a Phantom, I’ll have more crescents than I know what to do with.”

You moved closer, slipping your hood off and brushing a hand through your hair as you gave him a soft smile. “I’ll have more than enough money to take him to the city, and get him admitted in one of the best hospitals. We can finally move out of this shitty neighborhood. I promise you.”

Jisung gave you a weak smile, watching you as you pushed past him, making your way to the reclining chair in the corner of the workshop and collapsing onto it. 

You held your hand out. “But in order to make crescents, I need to become a Phantom. And to do that, I need my hand to work right, and I need to be fully charged to pass all my tests tomorrow.”

He chuckled, rolling his sleeves up and flopping onto his chair, rolling over to you. He took your arm, turning it slightly and inspecting it closely. 

“Hmm, you really do need a new arm.” He hummed under his breath, grabbing his oculus from the table and peering through it. He held your arm with one hand, using his other to lift each of your fingers individually. 

“Hmm, okay. I think I have replacements for your fingers lying around here somewhere...” He rolled to his desk, rummaging through a drawer and pulling out a box filled with prostheses. He scoured it for a few minutes before finally pulling out the appropriate parts.

Coming back over to you, he cocked his head to the side.

“What’s wrong? You look...sad.”

He felt his heart beat a little faster as you looked at him, making eye contact with him. “I’m not sad...just a little nervous, that’s all.”

“You don’t need to be. You’re going to be great. I’ve never met someone so strong, powerful and badass as you.”

“Yeah? Well, I’ve never met someone as kind and funn-”

“Can you lovebirds get a room or something?”

You looked up, laughing as you spotted Jeongin enter, his apron streaked with soot. Jisung’s cheeks turned redder than a tomato, his grip on your hand loosening a little.

“Seriously, though. Jisung, you’re supposed to be working on her, not gushing over her-”

“Hey! Remember you’re supposed to be my a-assistant!” He stuttered. “So instead of running your mouth, come over here and hand me my tools.”

Jeongin smiled, walking forward and lifting the wire up from the floor. Plugging it into the socket, he handed the other end to Jisung.

Jisung stood up, gently brushing your hair behind your ear, heart jumping in his chest as he did so. Exposing the circular socket on your head, he attached the wires to it, turning to arrange his tools as you made yourself a little more comfortable. The whirring sound combined with Jisung’s humming had a calming effect on you, your eyes slowly closing. 

Jisung watched as you fell asleep, sighing as he got to work, detaching your arm with his screwdriver as gently as he could. 

“You’re so fucking whipped.” Jeongin called, handing Jisung the prostheses.

“Shut up.” Jisung growled, adjusting the oculus attached to his eye as he unscrewed your middle finger and thumb, attaching the new ones with some difficulty. Your arm was an old make- how he wished he had the crescents to get you a new one. 

You’ve always been his...guardian angel, for lack of a better word. He wished, for once, he could be the one to protect you. Jisung admired your strength, your tenacity and determination. However...sometimes, just sometimes, he wondered why he couldn’t be the same. 

“Seriously though, Hyung...you really need to stop giving her those heart-eyes and just confess, already.”

Jisung looked up at Jeongin, frown settling on his features. “It’s not that simple.” He glanced over at you, eyes still closed as the machine charged the processor embedded in your brain. “She’s not the type to be bothered with things like romance. We’re just friends. In fact, I’m pretty sure she once said I’m like a brother to her.”

Jeongin stayed silent, not wanting to say much more. 

There wasn’t really any point in protesting really, because what Jisung said was true, more or less. Love just wasn’t on your agenda. 

Jisung shook his head at the boy’s silence, affixing your arm back to you and humming as he did so. He stole glances at your peaceful face from time to time, his heart jumping in his chest.

Maybe one day.

You blinked repeatedly, trying to get your eyes to adjust to the light in the room. Sitting up a little, your eyes landed on Jisung, his back facing you as he worked on something at his desk. You cleared your throat, causing him to turn around and look at you.

“Ah! I didn’t realize you woke up...” He came over, unplugging you. “How are you feeling? Fingers?”

“Yeah, I feel so much more refreshed now.” You lifted up your arm, moving your fingers and making a small sound of delight. “Thank you so much.” You smiled up at him, getting up to wrap your arms around him, hugging him tightly. Jisung felt his heartbeat speed up, hesitating as he let his hands rest on your waist. All his senses were flooded with you...he almost forgot how to breathe for a second.

It felt too good to have you in his arms. It was scary.

When you finally pulled away, you went over to the corner to grab your cloak, fastening it around you as he felt his heart drop. He didn’t want you to leave yet.

“Hey...wait, let me walk you home.”

“Oh no, I’ll be fine, Sung. You don’t have to do that...besides Mr. Han needs you.”

“Um, Dad’s asleep. Please? Jeongin already left...and I just wanna talk. We haven’t had a proper talk in ages.”

You sighed, pausing. “Fine.”

Jisung walked alongside you as you kicked a small pebble with your foot. The subway tunnels were long abandoned, and you often came here for some peace and quiet. It was also the safest place to take a walk, considering it was after curfew.

“So...how nervous are you? For tomorrow?”

“Just...a little.”

“Don’t be. I know you’ll do great. I can come watch, right?”

“Yeah, I think it’s open to the public...which is why I really don’t want to mess up. I don’t want to embarrass myself in front of so many people.”

“Hmm...don’t worry, it’s going to be a piece of cake for you. I’ve seen you train, Y/n. You’ll be able to handle any challenge they throw at you.”

Suddenly, you remembered the weight in your pocket, eyes widening. “Oh wait...um. I almost forgot to show you...before I came here, I crossed paths with one of them.”

“Them? What?”

“A Zenx. I killed it.”

“Wha...what!?” Jisung spluttered, shocked at the nonchalance with which you uttered those words. You pulled out the piece of metal from your pocket, handing it to him. He stared at it with wide eyes, hands trembling a little as he took it from you, turning it over as he inspected it. 

“Y/n...this looks so different from what I’ve seen online...”

“Yeah. They seem to be getting more advanced. I wonder who’s upgrading them...”

“Hmm, it doesn’t have to be a who...but it’s possible. Y/n, you really killed it alone? That could have been dangerous.”

You rolled your eyes. “Please. You’re the one who said I was capable enough.”

“Yeah, but...” He sighed. “I’m sorry. Just a little concerned, that’s all.” He smiled at you. “Now I’m even more convinced that you’re going to be amazing tomorrow.”

You smiled, looking at the floor as you continued along the tunnel.

“So?” You gestured to the plate in Jisung’s hand.

“I left my oculus back home.” He pocketed it, “I’ll inspect it at the workshop... I’ve been reading up on the Zenx lately. Very little information....not much to go off of, but I suspect that...”

You squinted a little as Jisung went off on a tangent, gesticulating as he talked...you tuned him out. Your eyes had noticed something. You blinked, wondering if it was a trick of the light. 

Something...was lying on the tracks. Humanoid, it was panting....you stopped Jisung with your arm stretched out, staring at the body that was a short distance away from you. Jisung looked at you with a confused expression, following your gaze and gasping as he noticed it too.

“What the FUCK is that-”

“Shh!”

The figure was lying facedown, writhing a little as it struggled to get to its feet. 

You and Jisung shared a look, considering what to do. Putting a finger on your lips, you slowly approached the body, carefully trying your best to not make a sound. Jisung followed, trying his best to be quiet...but as he took another step with his heavy boot, the stones crunched beneath his feet.

The figure looked up, eyes landing right on you, who was closer to it.

Beautiful, onyx eyes..shiny hair and plump lips...you recognized it. Him.

He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. His face twisted into an expression filled with fear and confusion. “P-please...help me...” He begged, crawling a little closer. Jisung grabbed your wrist, trying to pull you away a little, but you stayed put, eyes trained on the man in front of you, brain going into overdrive as you tried to figure out what was happening.

“I- Y/n, he’s-”

“H-hwang Hyunjin.” The man choked out, his voice glitching a little as he collapsed right in front of you, eyes closed as he fell unconscious.

H88.

[toloveawarlord]

Hi! I was wondering if you could tell me how in the world you come up with your stories?! I am planning to make my own webcomic, and I just can't think of anything to do with my characters. I know how they act, what they do, who they are, but I just can't seem to come up with a plot! I know that comics and stories aren't exactly the same thing, but I think your stories are really well written, and it would help me a lot if you could give some tips on how to make a good plot?? Thanks so much!

Hey young padawan!

I squealed with delight when I got this ask! I shall try myhardest to answer this as best as I can!

First off, lucky for you, I am also in the business ofwriting webcomics! On the 11th, my artists best friend and I entereda comic into a comic contest, but I digress.  Webcomics and written stories are not thatdifferent, save for the fact that webcomics have a visual element that writtenstories do not. A lot of the “written” part of a webcomic will be translatedinto panel images instead of simply being written. Dialogue and narration arethe only written words that go into a webcomic.

Plot on the other hand, works pretty much the same in kindof storytelling.

The first thing that I would suggest in creating a plot, isdeciding what genre you want the webcomic to be written in. For example, a Fantasycomic’s plot will revolve around some kind of adventure/journey and maybe a bigvillain to be battling against. While on the other hand, a slice of life webcomicwill deal with more day to day problems, like relationship issues, jobproblems, and more mundane and localized plot.

Writing advice is hard because what works for one person,might not work for another. Most of my stories come from years and years of reading both written novels and even other fanfiction and writing so manystories. This is probably said a lot by authors, but my plots mostly just cometo me from daydreaming and working within the stories that have already beenestablish, like my fanfictions that I write.

Plots are essentially made of a few things:

What the maincharacter(s) wants/needs to achieve

How is the maincharacter(s) going to work towards getting that?

What is standing in themain character(s) way?

How does the maincharacter(s) overcome that obstacle?

What are therepercussions/end result of the actions taken by the main character(s)

There are many other sub-plots that can be weaved into thestory, but I would say that those are the main things that need to be addressedto begin working toward a good story. Once you establish a basic plot line,then you begin to weave in smaller obstacles and sub-plots for the charactersto have to face along their way to the biggest obstacle in the story.

 For the webcomic that I wrote called “Glenn Haven”, the basisfor it came from my desire to write about a serial killer and how he gets awaywith his murders. That was the very first idea that I had, and then I justbuilt on it from there. Working out his personality, I learned that he used womenwho had a twisted enough personality and desire to kill but hadn’t ever actedon it, thus my second main character was born!

Though, that was still not enough to link the two characterstogether and have a solid plot line, and I brainstormed more ideas of exactlyhow he justifies the murders to a girl who has never acted on her desire tokill, because although it’s possible for her to just jump on board, most peoplewouldn’t do that without good incentive.

Along my research journey, I chose to make him a prophet ofa cult, as that would allow him a place to stay outside of the law, as they aretheir own governing body outside of the city that they kill in, and the cultused religion to justify murdering people because it was a ritual of “cleansing”the outside world.

 That’s how I do my stories, really. Start small, and build.Ask lots of questions about how this will happen, and what the results are ofany choices that the characters make. Brainstorm to make connections betweenthe details.

I hope that this was a little helpful. I’m not that great atadvice! Stories are something that come from inside me and a lot of the time, I hadzero idea where that idea originated. But breaking it down like I did my own webcomicexplains a lot of my thought process.

If I knew a little more about your comic, then I might beable to offer more solid advice geared specifically toward it. If you ever wantto reach out and talk one on one, I’m here ^_^

And this little plug goes out to anyone who follows me andwants a place to talk and brainstorm with others who are writing original work,there is The Writer’s Guild that I run on discord! Come in and chat with us,ask for beta readers, and brainstorm ideas! Shoot me a message if you want an invite!

-Ruka  

[the-firebird69]

They're a huge sales globally from China and he's competing with Max and retards over there trying to get them out of his hair and they're in the factories making the parts huge numbers of them fire today cuz they suck p**** disappear gigantic numbers and their shipping them already huge numbers these electric motorcycles and Biden has started installing tons of his charge stations in rest stations it costs money you put in $0.50 a minute and most electric motorcycles if they need to be charged will take a probably 10 minutes maximum for an entire battery and sometimes it's better no it doesn't make a difference but a lot of people charge them there and it comes in handy if you need to if both batteries are down for some reason and at 10 minutes it's not much money and you charge both at the same time you can charge them in probably 15 minutes full charge if they're fully empty so it's only like $7.50 it's really the same as a tank of gas but really it really ever have to do it unless you're not paying attention or like chaste and you can't put on the PTO and it's not like gas it is like gas if you don't charge it you can't go anywhere and yeah you can bring a portable transformer with you and we're going to make a multi transformer so you can hook into different types of power we'll have a 1:10 and a 220 and a 200 and all sorts of different electrical configurations and different in Europe and China and other places do it DC it's kind of a great idea to bring the charger too A lot of people have outdoor plugs and they charge their phones and e-bikes and stuff people don't care some people charge a fee and something much money in the story of all these charging hunts like you drink drive and it's a great idea cuz it be a shelter and you go in it and you just park it and you can sit in there it will tables and eat and drink and stuff and take long to charge but other stuff does so buying is calling all his friends he's trying to get you stuff... And we're wondering why this stuff is trying to get you is normal so we're not to worry about it and he says I deal with them would be great yeah the idiots would go after it so he's starting to rethink it it the people who say that they're good government guys go after and get caught a simple business deal is not illegal that's what all these morons are thinking they put way too much emphasis on it as well it's weird way too much way out there so he's trying it's really good finally sorry trying and so many people against you this ridiculous.

We're trying to, much harder. We put in about 10 bases today there and putting 10 more in and we use the mega computer balls and other things that they mind out they're a bunch of smaller iron work asteroids and we might them out and there's about 50 bases going in and they're huge and they're comparable to the shadow domes so going to have something and we're going to work on the Brazil shortly it's coming up and only hours because bja is going to go up and he's going to go up there and he will try for the stone chips and fail and not even get into the construction is just going to not going to do that way I guess and Trump will try for the tomorrowlands ship and fail I think it's big enough and they'll keep doing it through several movies Star wars 2 you can see them fighting over it lando calrissian and Luke and lando calrissian is actually Trump not many people know that so it's going to be a hell of a deal that's what he says.

We're going forward with this idea is stupendous I've never seen so many people volunteer for this duty and outside all over the world they're volunteering we got factories going up faster than you can blink it took over tons of area so we have tons of factories and they're going there too you know to do there and also work and their people in our people are happy huge huge huge numbers of jobs and we make s y m m here too and she knows that but she's exporting it here to Florida and California in places where we aren't it's tons of business for her it's huge huge business and we know how to say what it was and what it is and how to compare it because the volume is increased cuz everyone wants to drive around so it's not the same thing thank you for that thankful not thanking me it is a great day we're getting all sorts of help we have all sorts of business and he and she kicked it out of the park again and he's blaming her of course she's doing it too and we planned this though it is something that we plan together and we couldn't kind of had to and feed her circulation so we need him to have a rest and he didn't go too far today yeah he went far enough but up and back and that was it so that's good wow this factory is everywhere the stuff everywhere

This might be the number one selling bike in history and it's the superbike is selling trillions of them now the fastest one I wonder what the hell that is I'll send I figured out something they think they can outfit with AI and he says not likely won't stay up but you can zoom out places silently I don't know. Who's buying them and they're trillions of people's my question our son says and I say it's the higher-ups and that's who it is they're buying trillions of these fastest bikes it's cuz they're silent and the people who are buying the other bikes or everybody under them and yeah they're selling a lot more of those but it's because they're buying the the fast super bike so we have ads up already and some guy across the country it says on one tank of gas and he heard it's something like that but it wasn't true before but this is true and he he filmed a lot of it and his tank and stuff was monitoring his electric they put a monitor right and they had the following and all the people are professing that that's what he did and also attract the attention of the oil industry so we're going to try and defend them to a degree and take over the oil deposit so we can pull them out and put any basis and we're doing it all over the world huge huge we're also making gas from the oil and taking over the network because their attitude is really bad and yeah Ken was sitting on it with nothing can you believe that and he had an evike he doesn't even bother you cuz he's not a Mac it's going to losing it looks like it was bothering him but he wasn't so we're going to have a good time now it's a lot of fun my son says it's kind of like taking a break for him just wondering if we should put a factory here or they have assembly plants for assembly plants for the fast one and it's going on now anyways already oh wow okay and it's going all over. An idea when time to put a factory on Cuba or Dominican Republic and nobody wanted it said the workers are worse than here but the workers are worse in China you just keep firing and won't come in

We're going to go ahead and do that we're going to make a mega plant out there a new one and one of our real fast buildings goes up real fast they don't have any built we're going to go pull bunkers and make one I only need one biker it's not true we need a few places a huge when this all said and done it's like 50 miles but 50 miles they're making complexes and they don't have any difunct motorcycle companies out there

We're heading out there with the team now and assessing it and we have land and we're going to do a study to do for a foundation and teams go ahead and do it now with soils and everything and demographics and all that reports are getting done and we're putting up notices that we're looking for people to go to work and we can put a fireball borrowing so Savage your present called and said that's impressive that's our area and we need to be out there and he understands why the factory that's a great idea and that's going to be for the little bear

[renton6echo]

Have to reply to @nightsidemelody bc they brought up so many interesting points in the tags:

#do you think it would just accelerate paps' plan?#a little light panic as the movement gains steam#so he activates order 66 faster than he intended#then he's got the jedi dead AND can declare the clones as defect/insane/a danger en masse#so he gets rid of them too and can use their massacre of the jedi as part of his appeal for every day citizens to step into the military#BUT#i'd imagine his haste and the changing landscape would mean more jedi survive

A legal battle would force Palpatine to re-think his plans. The use of Order 66 and the transition to an Empire is dependent on a disinterested and compliant general public, and their continued distance and distrust of the Jedi Order, the GAR and the war effort.

By the end of the war, we see in the show there is a general resentment and mistrust of the Jedi so by the time Order 66 is issued and Palpatine claims the Jedi attempted to take over and assassinate him, it doesn't take much for most of the public to believe him and accept imperial rule.

Now, I am not a SW wonk by any means but I get a sense that Palpatine is able to retain in his power in the senate and is seen positively by the public due to their distance from the war effort. Not every Republic system see the frontlines of the war, especially the more powerful and influential systems in the inner and mid rim. EVEN more so with the systems who are actively profiting from the war.

Most importantly the Republic army is not made up of soldiers from different systems, they are clones who aren't citizens, who don't have a representative voice, don't have an actual home planet and who don't have families who take an interest in their well-being. War efforts fought by democratic governments don't last long if you don't have two elements: a just cause to solidify public support and lots and lots of soldiers.

Since the Republic can just order more soldiers to be produced, a majority of citizens really don't see how devastating the war effort is. They aren't burying family or friends. Villages, towns, communities and local economies aren't be torn apart because their youth are fighting elsewhere. So, there isn't a lot of scrutiny or questioning over how the war is impacting its citizens because, in many ways, it's not (at least for the majority).

A dispute between the Republic and Techno Union over Arc Trooper Echo, would put the Jedi, Senate, GAR and Kaminoans under a microscope, putting the whole war effort center stage, forcing its citizens to contend with what it means to send mass produced living beings to fight their war. That barrier between the general public and it's military machine would have to come down.

The Jedi, who have been so busy fighting, would actually need to contend with what they are perpetuating and why. The Senate would be forced to publicly state if their clone army is just what the Separatist propaganda machine says they are "meat droids", or sentient beings who work, fight and die for a system they have no representative voice in. What a fun PR nightmare for them… The Kaminoans would need to explain how they produce and program their clones, which could bring into question why they need to implant clones with inhibitor chips.

I think it would absolutely snowball into a movement that would put the Republic, Jedi, GAR and Kaminoans under so much scrutiny that Palpatine would not be able to throw up the smoke and mirrors he's hiding in. He is banking on a disinterested public to just go along with what ever the Senate (and by extension the Chancellor) wants to do. His plan doesn't work if the people he represents are plugged in and asking questions.

Okay, okay, I need to stop or I will keep rambling lol!

Star Wars: The Clone Wars AU fanfic…

Where a legal battle between the GAR and Techno Union over Arc Trooper Echo sparks the movement for clone rights across the Galactic Republic.

So I recently watched the deleted scenes from the Clone Wars season 7 and there was an interesting scene between Anakin and Wat Tambor around how Echo ended up in the hands of the Techno Union. According to Wat Tambor, the neutral system “legally purchased” Echo after his capture at Lola Sayu, where he was pronounced KIA. Now, in the show the Techno Union just takes the loss and doesn’t actually try to “recoup on their investment” as Wat Tambor says at the end of the third episode. BUT could you imagine if they decided to fight the legality of the GAR swooping into a neutral system’s territory and stealing their property?!?

Like, imagine the Techno Union initiating a whole legal campaign saying that the Republic stole Echo from a neutral system and was therefore in the right to demand the return of their property.

Imagine, the Jedi and the GAR arguing that Echo cannot be legally purchased by anyone because he is a sentient being and purchasing a sentient being is illegal. Imagine, the Techno Union and Separatists trying to take the moral high ground by pointing out that the Jedi/Galactic Republic purchased the clones for warfare and were never naturalized as citizens of the Republic. Cue Anakin, having the biggest existential crisis wherein in he realizes he is part of a system that has rubber stamped slavery. Cue the legal and ethical pissing match between the Republic and Techno Union sparking a movement to naturalize the clones as citizens of the Republic. Cue the entire GAR questioning their role in the war when the Galactic Senate is totally divided over the naturalization of the clones.

- Fox and Corrie Guard just yeet their way to a full labor strike on Coruscant

- Obi-Wan, Cody, Rex and The Bad Batch take Echo to a far of Jedi temple and claim sanctuary

- Anakin leading a full standstill of the Outer Rim sieges because he refuses to participate in legal slavery and taking full dive into investigating just why the fuck Sifo Diyas commissioned a clone army 10 years before the war (sooo annoyed that was not picked up on after that one throw away episode in season 6!)

- the Jedi Council actually start to question how this war started, which leads them on the trail of Darth Sidious

- Plo Koon adopting his Wolfpack and hyperspacing them all to safety

- Bail Organa, Riyo Chuchi and Padme Amidala write up a Clone Rights bill so fast that Palpatine has no idea how to keep all his plans from going off the rails

- Ahsoka rallying Coruscant citizens into a full on movement to make clones citizens and ending the war

OMG do I wish I had the writing chops to pull this story off….