#my random stories
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In my heart, Ford once went to an ice dimension and got Really Good at ice skating, and now he's absolutely insufferable about it.
#I think Ford has a bunch of random skills & everytime one comes up he has the most ridiculous yet completely true story to go along with it#in this case it involves picking a lock with his skates while scaled half way up a glacier. (he needed something for the gun dw about it)#I also think Stan would also be good re the 'Stan's Roller Skating in short shorts' lines from Dreamscapers#The difference being that Stan isn't willing to risk breaking his back for it. Unlike Ford who is already mid backflip#I know what ice skates actually look like btw. I know the blade is inaccurate. I promise. I know 🙏#Gravity Falls#Stanford Pines#Ford Pines#Grunkle#Grunkle Ford#Fan art#fanart#artists on tumblr#my art
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what's my biggest pet peeve well it's when someone makes a text post on tumblr dot com in which they are trying to romanticize the notion of the livestock guardian dog but they don't know the distinction between a livestock guardian dog and a herding dog and also they've never met a livestock guardian dog and do not realize what their attitudes towards the sheep that they protect actually are
#a livestock guardian dog does not desire to possess the sheep that it protects I promise that's not the vibe#a livestock guardian dog is biologically conditioned to guard thing. I have heard multiple stories of livestock guardian dogs who#somehow get lost and just decide to start guarding a random deer and her fawn#like hedging my bets found an ungulate. just going to guard it now#I LOVE LGDS THEYRE THE PERFECT ANIMAL.#gourd dog
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Sabotage
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#the getaway skiff#there's a story behind every detail#I need to write them going on adventures I think#trafalgar law#op bepo#op penguin#op shachi#heart pirates#little heart pirates#<- tag in case I make more of them#I shamelessly traced the damn boat from a random photo I found so don't get too impressed by my boat-drawing skills#I have none#I stole the boat and then spent two days imagining these little guys repairing and decorating it and doing more crimes with it#the FUG-U#one piece
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I feel the need to share since my lube post is going around that my life is just like that since I worked at the sex shop. Sex Ed is a very standard topic. People just immediately pick up a vibe from me and even in situations where someone doesn’t know I used to sling dildos for a living they’ll just start confiding sex stuff to me.
Not in a creeper way. But like this weight had been lifted and they can finally talk freely about sexual topics. The energy I put off is just so blasé and accepting that people tell me about their sex lives, usually very quickly after meeting me. They usually then have a moment of panic or regret and apologize but I always reassure them that I used to work in a shop and that I see nothing odd about talking about it.
My go-to line is, “I’m a creature devoid of judgement.” They always laugh. Then the questions get more specific or people start asking for brand recommendations. It’s always been funny to me.
My beloved has always been a little confused by it. “People don’t just start talking to me about sex! I know you don’t bring it up. It just always seems to go there when people talk to you.”
“It’s just my energy.”
The first time I was meeting their mom she was coming to stay with us. We picked her up from the airport and brought her home. My beloved went upstairs to use the bathroom. When they came back down their mom was asking me questions about vibrators and their jaw hit the floor.
In our room later they said, “She doesn’t even talk to me about that stuff! She’s so embarrassed about sex topics, I cannot believe she was asking you about that!”
“What can I say,” I shrugged, “I’m a creature devoid of judgement.”
#ramblies#ffs foibles#funny#story#writing#they also note the amount of times I’m approached by strangers for random stuff#most recently was a woman looking for a hair model for beauty school#afterward my beloved was just like what is your life that people randomly come up to you#I’m getting an A+ in humaning
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#tw: blood#mushyrt#svsss#scum villian self saving system#scum villain#binding the dragon for the empress#caught a dragon become my wife#I finished another novel if that’ll explain the random Fox guy!#it’s from the binding the dragon story and his name is Hu Le!!#I love him so much#BUT OMFG THIS NOVEL WAS SO PAINFUL#I’M NEVER READING IT AGAIN#IT’S LIKE READING ERHA BUT MOSTLY TORTURE 😭😭
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Unforeseen learning opportunity!
(wikitionary to explain the scar)
(bonus)
#for dazai *and* a lot of you probably#and as usual: fill in the context behind the scene as you please#dazai scars: big slash from the old boss' scythe in fifteen + bullet to the abdomen from fyodor + a bunch of random encounters#chuuya scars: top/bottom surgeries + sb bullet/torture + old boss' scythe through the wrist + one random side scar#with thanks to story for having my back during the making of this one kjsdfhskdjhfdsk#bsd#bungo stray dogs#bungou stray dogs#bsd fanart#bsd chuuya#bsd nakahara chuuya#bsd dazai#bsd dazai osamu#skk#soukoku#nawy's comics#scars#cw scars#nothing obviously self-inflicted just accidents/fights and surgical stuff + very stylized
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Imo the best ending to Supernatural would have been to just stop with them alive on a random hunt or them finding jobs and living the life they just wanted or whatever.
And then the story just fucking STOP, because Chuck is not here anymore, so they are no longer part of a story they are finally free. And we could still write and read fanfic about how they live after they won.
#they should have just STOP before fucking killing them all#that might have stopped the story with no possibility for a revival#so I'm not sure#but I would be fine not having any revival if the end was satisfying enough#it would still be better than what we had anyway#an open ending would have been better#because they would be ALIVE and FREE#they deserved to be happy#spn#supernatural#spn 15x20#Carry On#there's no carrying on when everyone is fucking dead#don't mind me#I'm still bitter about that ending#dean winchester#sam winchester#castiel#jack kline#eileen leahy#destiel#deancas#saileen#if you don't ship those no hate please#my random thoughts about spn
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Do Charas that come back to life in au count as anomaly souls.
'Haunting' [Ask]
Yes, An 'Anomaly SOUL' Chara *can* happen, but it's much rarer than the usual Captured human Anomaly SOULs.
But any Chara that's "supposed" to be brought back from the dead in the timeline's storyline wouldn't count as an Anomaly SOUL, since it's SUPPOSED to happen and isn't a glitch.
(basic info on 'Anomaly SOULs' for newcomers )
More info/sketches:
This is just a random Timeline that was affected So I can showcase the idea :]
This Chara is currently around phase 4 > (Appears similar to their original self, can speak, memories somewhat regained)
#undertale#art#soul collectors utmv#undertale oc#my art#ut au#utmv#undertale au#chara#asgore#toriel#chara dreemurr#utau#ask#Canon but These characters dont matter to the story#this is just a random Undertale timeline that was affected by the glitch#so we ain't seein' these ppl again#everyone say goodbye now :]
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countdown to phil’s 38th bday - a year in review [19/30]
dnptit era!phil (so far) (preshow vids: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
#the tweet was essential to add cause like. the way he was so clear about his excitement was the sweetest thing ;-;#also never actually caught up on watching the preshows yet so. fully just clicked through vids at random to find Any moment to gif ssdsfs#catch me watching all the preshows in like 6 months when dnptit era is already over 😔#dan and phil#phan#amazingphil#phil lester#dpgdaily#dnp gifs#my gifs#philgifs38#compilation#dnptit#dnptit preshow#tit preshow#dnp instagram stories#dnp instagram#dnp tweets
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hate when the tags are full of like those “𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓼𝓮𝔁𝔂 𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓭𝓼 𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝓬𝓸𝓵𝓭 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓵𝓸𝓷𝓰” two sentence ass posts followed by the most random list of unrelated characters AND THEN. AT THE END. they say “ + your fav!” YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW MY FAV!!!! what if his hands are short and warm and unsexy. or what if he doesn’t even have hands to begin with
#sorry to be hater on main but those posts always make me sigh like actually i’m sorry i can’t do it#because what do nagi sukuna toji and some random volleyball player have in common for you to be putting them all in the same ‘story’#don’t worry i always scroll and never send hate very respectful and mindful over here#also notice how i’m not tagging this post with any fandom tags?? that’s because i’m not trying to piss people off#anyways that’s all from me don’t mind my complaining i think i’m fairly unproblematic so i deserve a bit of whining every now and again#m’s thoughts
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I’d like to disappear for a while. I don’t want to talk to anyone. I don’t want to know anything.
#spilled heart#spilled ink#spilled words#spilled thoughts#spilled emotions#my words#spilled prose#words#you broke my heart#love#excerpt from a story i'll never write#spilled journal#unrequited love#wlw heartbreak#thoughts#sad thoughts#spilled love#depressing shit#random thoughts#poem#mentally tired#i want to disappear#jean and sidney#novel#fanfiction#reading#wordsnquotes#escape#life#im hurtin
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code switching on set
#sunny set stories#iasip#always sunny#bts#ramblings#kaitlin olson#dee reynolds#she snapped at me im so thankful#do u guys like stories like this i have some more random shit from set this year#idk if ppl care much abt my interactions w them or just want to see my observations of them
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I really feel like one of the best details in “A Scandal in Bohemia” that I never see people fixate on enough is that the story starts with Watson stopping in to see Holmes at Baker Street on a complete whim, because he happens to see that he’s home (and Watson is now married and living elsewhere). Like he doesn’t send word first, he’s not invited, he just shows up and surprises Holmes. Which is not that weird but then Holmes is like “oh good, I’ve got a case anyway, you might as well hang out!” which just makes it funnier when the King shows up and is like “I’d really rather speak to you alone, actually” and Watson tries to leave and Holmes is just like “anything you can say to me, you can say to my best friend John Watson, and if you ask him to leave, I would consider it a grave insult, you would be my enemy and I will not help you ever!!” And the king is like “…ok” and just moves on.
like, that is crazy behavior. Holmes is talking about how there’s probably lots of money in this case, and then almost turns away the client for…not knowing who the fuck Watson is?? He’s not even supposed to be there?? He just came to say hi?? “It is both or none”… girl, GET UP.
#I get it though#sometimes your bestie gets married and you don’t talk to him for weeks?? months??#because you’re normal about him and also have pretty serious adhd#so you forget that communication even exists on top of being very sad and lonely and burying it with work#and then he shows up at random and the object permanence kicks in again and you force him to help#with your latest case because otherwise who knows how long it will be until you get to hang out again#and you know you’ll need someone to throw a smoke bomb through a lady’s window AT SOME POINT#PROBABLY#you can’t commit minor crimes by yourself that’s boring!!#and Watson loves your dumb disguises! he’s always said so!#I know we get distracted by the Irene Norton née Adler of it all#but Holmes is incredibly rare (gay) form in this story#a scandal in bohemia#sherlock holmes#acd canon#acd holmes#acd watson#john watson#it’s giving ‘this is my friend Madison and she drOVE ME HERE!!’#you 🫵 yes you! suffer my holmesposting
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Dynamite and His Player 2
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀𓂅⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Twitch Gamer!Bakugou x AFAB!Reader
.....
Bakugou glances over at the camera, brows furrowed as he adjusts his headset. "Alright, you extras, get ready to shut the hell up," he growls, his voice laced with annoyance. "She’s real. I’ve got her right here, and she’s playing with me tonight."
You laugh off-screen, causing his chat to explode with reactions. Up until now, they didn't believe a word Bakugou said when he claimed he had a girlfriend. After all, this is the guy known for his explosive reactions when things go slightly wrong. He grumbles, trying to keep his cool, but the slight blush on his cheeks gives him away.
The game loads up, some horror-puzzle co-op that requires a ton of coordination. But while Bakugou’s all business—focused on solving puzzles and surviving—you have other ideas. You’re busy teasing him, wandering off to explore the map, or purposely messing up just to get a rise out of him.
"Can you just—dammit! Will you STOP wandering off?" Bakugou snaps as he watches your character take another detour. "We’re supposed to be working together!"
You grin at the screen, purposely moving your character in circles. "Aw, come on, Suki~ We’re just having fun, right?"
His jaw clenches, and he mutters something under his breath about "not having fun if you keep screwing around." But his viewers are eating it up, laughing at his frustration and flooding the chat with comments like "She's brave for messing with him, LMAO😭😭" and "Bros .4 seconds away from exploding his monitor for the 10 millionth time🪦"
Eventually, he just huffs, slouching in his chair and mumbling, "Fine. Do whatever the hell you want. I’ll just wait here." His expression says he's beyond annoyed, but the hint of a smile peeking through his scowl gives away that maybe, just maybe, he's actually having a little fun too.
Grumpy Twitch Gamer Bakugou Headcanons
...
— Every time he messes up, he narrows his eyes at the camera with that “are you stupid?” glare. Chat spams "IT’S NOT OUR FAULT!” and "WHY R U LOOKING AT US LIKE WE DID THAT??" but he just huffs, “If you idiots weren’t DISTRACTING me…”
— Bakugou’s streaming style is brutally honest—constantly throwing out curses like it’s second nature. If he dies in-game, his go-to is, “How the hell am I supposed to win with this garbage game?!” and he never blames himself, ever.
— He has zero chill. Every so often, he’ll pound the desk so hard that the camera shakes, and one time he punched his mic so fiercely that it cut out, leaving chat in hysterics as he tries to fix it, muttering about “this piece of crap gear.”
— After every gaming session, he gives a review of the game he’s playing—most of which devolve into full-on rants about terrible controls, stupid enemies, and “whoever the hell designed these levels.” At this point, it's an entire essay by the time he's done.
— There are moments when he hits the mute button just to scream or cuss off-mic. Chat sees him red-faced and mouthing words, knowing he’s losing it, which makes them spam laugh emotes to annoy him further.
— Sometimes, when things get really bad, he just simply says "Okay." and goes quiet, leaning in close to the screen with this intense focus. Chat knows that if he’s silent, it’s only because he’s plotting to obliterate whatever got him killed.
— It’s become a running joke with his followers—every time he streams, they place bets on which piece of his equipment he’ll break. He’s replaced his keyboard three times already and had to upgrade his camera stand because he broke the last one during a particularly heated rage quit.
— When he finally beats a level, he acts like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “See? Wasn’t even hard, you just have to not be a dumbass.” Cue the smug smirk.
— Occasionally, in his absolute rage, he’ll end the stream immediately after a loss. One second he’s there, screaming at the game, and then—stream offline.
— Despite all the rage, he’s actually insanely good at gaming. When he goes on a winning streak, chat blows up with admiration, but he barely acknowledges it. “’Course I won—who the hell do you think I am?”
— He has zero patience for backseat gamers. “Oh, you think you could do better? Why don’t you go start your own damn channel, then!” The mods know by now to instantly time out anyone who even hints at suggesting how he should play, and the ban count is astronomical by the end of each stream.
— Occasionally, Bakugou gets so into the game that he goes almost silent, and chat jokes it’s an ASMR session because all they can hear is his intense breathing and muttered curses. “Oi, STOP saying it’s ASMR, it’s not ASMR, you freaks!”
— Loading screens are his worst enemy. Every single time, he glares directly into the camera, arms crossed and seething, ranting about the “stupid long loading times” and how he could’ve “beat the damn game twice by now.” and how "a whole child could've been born by now." Chat watches in suspense because they know the rage is simmering, just waiting to explode.
— If he’s playing a console game, the controller does not have a safe future. He’s thrown it across the room, slammed it on his knee or desk, and even threatened it like, “You’re next, you little piece of shit, keep messing up on me.” He’s gone through so many controllers that his sponsor had to send him extras.
— When he loses in a PvP game, he has 1,001 excuses. “Lag. Dumb luck. Exploiter. The devs nerfed my character, obviously.” If chat calls him out, he just scoffs, “You think that was my fault? Keep dreaming.” And the mods instantly clear out any “L” spam from chat because he’s already dangerously close to slamming his keyboard.
— His channel has special emotes for when he loses his temper—explosion icons, angry Bakugou faces, and even one of his own “ARE YOU FUCKIN’ KIDDING ME?!” face. Chat spams these whenever he starts heating up, which only fuels his fire.
— His viewers love to try and provoke him. Someone will innocently say, “Hey Dynamight, I think you missed something back there,” and he’ll instantly pause, glare at the screen, and say, “I DIDN’T MISS ANYTHING, DUMBASS, WE'RE MOVING ON.” It’s like a game within the game for his followers. (He goes back to check right after.)
— “Easy mode?” he scoffs at the suggestion. “I’d rather throw myself into a fire than play on easy mode.” Even if he’s dying over and over, he’ll never, ever change the difficulty. Chat has tried for months to get him to switch, but he’s stubbornly loyal to “the only real mode” (aka Hard Mode, Nightmare mode or above).
— If he actually wins a match, he’s unbearable. He’ll sit there, grinning and basking in his victory, smirking at the camera with a smug, “And that, extras, is why I’m better than every single one of you.” Cue chat sarcastically clapping.
— He once had a bet with his mods that he’d try to do a stream without cursing or raging. He lasted five minutes before he exploded, screaming, “THIS GAME IS FUCKING RIGGED!” after an unexpected jump-scare. The mods were dying, and he banned half of them out of spite (they were unbanned five minutes later, but still).
— Every time he’s about to start a new game, he’s got this exaggerated, dramatic intro: “ALRIGHT, EXTRAS, prepare yourselves ‘cause we’re about to dominate the shit outta this game. And if I see anyone backseat gaming, you’re banned. Don’t even THINK about telling me what to do.”
— Every now and then, when he dies for the tenth time in a row, he just deadpans to the camera, “I swear to God, I’m deleting my channel after this.” Chat knows he’s bluffing, but they still spam crying emojis like “NOOO PLEASE DON’T” just to mess with him.
— Every so often, when he’s focused on a tough level, he’ll mutter something like, “Okay, maybe you’re not so bad, chat. Don’t tell anyone I said that,” and the comments absolutely blow up with hearts and “WE LOVE YOU, DYNAMIGHT.” He immediately goes red and yells, “Didn’t mean it, idiots!” but it’s too late.
— Once, he rage-quit a game so hard that his entire setup fell silent. He’d punched the desk, and the screen went black. Chat watched in shock as the stream just… cut off. The clip went viral, with an entire 30-minute compilation titled “Every time Dynamight destroyed his setup” He came back the next day, reacted to it, and you already know he gave the video a thumbs down and left a long hate comment.
— His mods convinced him to play a “relaxing, casual game” that was secretly full of jump scares. The first time it happened, he almost flipped his entire desk. He immediately banned half of his mods and told the rest they were “on thin ice.” Chat still laughs about it every time he plays a “cute” game.
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#twitch streamer bakugou save us#save us twitch streamer bakugou#🎀・kimmie’s mini fics・🎀#💌・from me to u 💌#˚。⋆୨୧˚ kimmie's my hero academia masterlist#💕・random lil stories・💕#💌・one-shot wonders 💌#🍒・blurb by kimmie・🍒#✧・゚writing from kimmie ✧・゚#💫・diary from bakugou's girl・💫#bakugou katsuki#bakugou x reader#mha bakugou#bakugou x you#bakugou x fem!reader#bakugou x y/n#katsuki bakugo x reader#bnha bakugou#bakugo katsuki#katsuki bakugou#bakugo katuski#my hero academia#mha x reader#mha#boku no hero academia#bnha#boku no hero acedamia#bakugou headcanons#katsuki headcanons#bakugo headcanons
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Person A: "How can you not know that you're dating a fucking deity?!"
Person B: "...I mean, to be fair, before the accident they never really acted like a deity around me. Our life together had been mostly domestic and sappy up until that point."
Person A: "And now?"
Person B: "...Honestly, it's still pretty domestic and sappy, they just don't bother hiding their inhuman nature around me anymore."
#write-it-motherfuckers#writing prompt#writing prompts#writing#prompt#story prompt#story prompts#story#prompts#my prompt#original#random#imagine#story time motherfucker#dialogue prompt#dialogue#person a and person b#incorrect quote#incorrect quotes#deity#pantheon#supernatural#magic#fantasy#monster#love#romance#as always the tags are only ever a suggestion#fluff#fluffy
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I have to talk about Chester Arthur. His story makes me go crazy. A mediocre president from the 1880s who's completely forgotten today has one of the best redemption stories I've ever heard and I need to make people understand just how cool his story is.
So, like, he starts out as this idealist, okay? He's the son of an abolitionist minister and becomes famous as a New York lawyer who defends the North's version of Rosa Parks whose story desegregates New York City's trolley system.
Then he starts getting pulled into politics and becomes one of the grimiest pieces of the political machine. He wants money, power, prestige, and he gets it. He becomes the right-hand man of Roscoe Conkling, the most feared political boss in the nation, a guy who will throw his weight around and do the most ruthless things imaginable to keep his friends in power and destroy his enemies.
Because Arthur's this guy's top lackey, he gets to be Controller of the Port of New York--the best-paying political appointment in the country, because that port brings in, like, 70% of the federal government's funds in tariffs. He gets a huge salary plus a percentage of all the fines they levy on lawbreakers, and because he's not afraid to make up infractions to fine people over, he is absolutely raking in the dough. Making the rough equivalent of $1.3 million a year--absolutely insane amounts of money for a government position. He's spending ridiculous sums on clothes, buying huge amounts of alcohol and cigars to share with people as part of his job recruiting supporters to the party, going out nearly every night to wine and dine people as part of his work in the political machine. He's living the high life. Even when President Hayes pulls him from his position on suspicions of fraud, he's still living a great life of wealth, power, and prestige.
Then in 1880, his beloved wife dies. While he's out of town working for a political campaign. And he can't get back in time to say goodbye before she dies. Because he's a guy who has big emotions, it absolutely tears him up inside, especially because Nell resented how much his political work kept him away from home. He has huge regrets, but he just moves in with Roscoe Conkling and keeps working for the political machine.
And then he gets a chance to be vice president. The Republican Party has nominated James Garfield, a dark horse candidate who wants to reform the spoils system that has given Conking his power and gave Arthur his position as Port Controller. Conkling is pissed, and he controls New York, and since the party's not going to win the election without New York, they think that appointing Conkling's top lackey as vice-president will pacify him.
They're wrong--Conkling orders Arthur to refuse--but Arthur thinks this sounds like a great opportunity. The only political position he's ever held is Port Controller--a job he wasn't elected to and that he was pulled from in disgrace. Vice President is way more than he could ever have hoped for. It's a position with a lot of political pull and zero actual responsibilities. He'll get to spend four years living in up in Washington high society. It's the perfect job! Of course he accepts, and Conkling comes around when he figures out that he can use this to his advantage.
When Garfield becomes president, Arthur does everything he can to undermine him. He uses every dirty political trick he can think of to block everything that Garfield wants to do. He refuses to let the Senate elect a president pro tempore so he can stay there and influence every bill that comes through. He all but openly boasts of buying votes in the election. He's so much Conkling's lackey that he may as well be the henchman of a cartoon supervillain. On Conkling's orders, he drags one of Garfield's Cabinet members out of bed in the middle of the night--while the guy is ill--to drag him to Conkling's house so he can be forced to resign. He's just absolutely a thorn in the president's side, a henchman doing everything he can to maintain the corrupt spoils system.
Then in July 1881, when Arthur's in New York helping Conkling's campaign, the president gets shot. By a guy who shouts, "Now Arthur will be president!" just after he fires the gun. Arthur has just spent the past four months fighting the president tooth and nail. Everyone thinks he's behind the assassination. There are lynch mobs looking to take out him and Conkling. The papers are tearing him apart.
Arthur is absolutely distraught. He rushes to Washington to speak with the president and assure him of his innocence, but the doctors won't let him in the room. He gets choked up when talking to the First Lady. Reporters find him weeping in his house in Washington. Once again, death has torn his world apart and he's not getting a chance to make amends.
Arthur goes to New York while the president is getting medical treatment, and he refuses to come to Washington and take charge because he doesn't dare to give the impression that he's looking to take over. No one wants Arthur to be president and he doesn't want to be president, and the possibility that this corrupt political lackey is about to ascend to the highest office in the land is absolutely terrifying to everyone.
Then in August, when it's becoming clear that the president is unlikely to recover, he gets a letter. From a 31-year-old invalid from New York named Julia Sand. A woman from a very politically-minded family who has been following Arthur's career for years. And she writes him this astounding letter that takes him to task for his corrupt, conniving ways, and the obsession with worldly power and prestige that has brought him wealth and fame at the cost of his own soul--and she tells him that he can do better. In the midst of a nationwide press that's tearing him apart, this one woman writes to tell him that she believes he has the capacity to be a good president and a good man if he changes his ways.
And then he does. After Garfield dies, people come to Arthur's house and find servants who tell them that Arthur is in his room weeping like a child (I told you he had big emotions), but he takes the oath of office and ascends to the presidency. And he becomes a completely different man. His first speech as president mentions that one of his top priorities is reforming the spoils system so that people will be appointed based on merit rather than getting appointed as political favors with each change in the administration. Even though this system made him president. When Conkling comes to Arthur's office telling him to appoint his people to important government positions, Arthur calls his demands outrageous, throws him out, and keeps Garfield's appointees in the positions. "He's not Chet Arthur anymore," one of his former political friends laments. "He's the president."
He loses all his former political friends. He's never trusted by the other side. Yet he sticks to his guns and continues to support spoils system reform. He prosecutes a postal service corruption case that everyone thought he would drop. He's the one who signs into law the first civil service reform bill, even though presidents have been trying to do this for more than ten years, and he's the person who's gained all his power through the spoils system. He immediately takes action to enforce this bill when he could have just dropped it. He becomes a champion of this issue even though it's the last thing anyone would have expected of him.
He oversees naval reform. He oversees a renovation of the White House. He still prefers the social duties of the presidency, but he's respectable in a way that no one expected. Possibly because Julia Sand keeps sending him letters of encouragement and advice over the next two years. But also because he's dying.
Not long after ascending to the presidency, he learns he's suffering from a terminal kidney disease. And he tells no one. He keeps going about his daily life, fulfilling his duties as president, and keeps his health problems hidden. Once again, death is upending his life, and this time it's his own death. He's lived a life he's ashamed of, and he doesn't have much time left to change. He enters the presidency as an example of the absolute worst of the political system, and leaves it as a respectable man.
He makes a token effort to seek re-election, but because of his health problems, he doesn't mind at all when someone else gets the nomination. He dies a couple of years after leaving office. The day before his death, he orders most of his papers burned, because he's ashamed of his old life--but among the things that are saved are the letters from Julia Sand, the woman who encouraged him to change his ways.
This is an astounding story full of so many twists and turns and dramatic moments. A man who falls from idealism into the worst kind of corruption and then claws his way back up to decency because of a series of devastating personal losses and unexpected opportunities to do more than he could have ever hoped to do. I just go crazy thinking about it and I need you all to understand just how amazing this story is.
#history is awesome#presidential talk#i thought about his story again this morning#and was once again struck by the desire to chase people down and make them understand just how amazing this story is#and instead of harassing random strangers i decided to inflict it on tumblr again#my original essay was rather too long and dry and tangled up in too many other details#and didn't quite capture the 'i want to chase you down and look you in the eye and make you freak out about this with me' vibe of this stor#this still doesn't quite capture it but at least it's shorter#and prevents me from rambling to unsuspecting family members#sorry for inflicting this on you again but what else am i supposed to do?
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