#none of this is even remotely relevant right now

[paranormaljones]

.

[limbuscompanysituations]

How would the sinners react to the reader (who presumably they care about to some degree or another) distorting? I think there's a lot of potential in a reader distorting and the conflict that would bring (especially if the sinners are close to them) and there's almost none of it so...

God these became so long

Faust: She would like to study the phenomenon of distortion, but not like this. Not when the one she cares so much about is involved. Her mind is racing to find the right questions that would lead to answers relevant to this problem. She doesn't want to consider killing them, but she knows very well how these things tend to go. Her team works hunting distortions, after all. Still, there is a chance, a remote possibility that she can revert this. She's a scientist who sticks to hard data, but this time she has to put her faith on something much more abstract: hope.

Yi Sang: He wishes he could have perceived the circumstances that have led to this. He knows an individual does not distort under normal circumstances. He knows a distorted individual is one who was often pushed to the brink of their sanity by an immeasurable amount of suffering. He feels impotent in the face of his dearest's pain, because if he had been a better person, he could have prevented this. It takes all the other sinners' help to make him realize he can still stop them, and that there is a chance to revert the distortion. He needs all the support to actually face them in combat.

Don Quixote: She's shaken and unsure of what to do because she's used to seeing distortions as foes. She heard all the scientific explanations to this occurrence, but in her mind she simplifies it so she can do her job competently. Now she has to come to face the fact that behind every distortion is a person who is dear to someone else. The world is not so black and white with heroes and monsters. The one that takes a monstrous form this time is none other than a person; a human she deeply cares for. She is uncharacteristically serious and sober, and leans on the smarter sinners to solve this issue.

Meursault: He knows it can be reversed and that's the first thing his mind goes to when it happens. He's compartmentalizing it so bad he can't feel his own body. It's do or die, and he doesn't want the latter to be happening to anybody here. If they can undo this, he can begin to unravel the reason for their distortion, but for now he can only think one step ahead. He needs to bring them back, no matter what it takes. Failure is not an option here.

Ryoshu: The trembling of her hand is almost imperceptible as she listens to the explanations the big brained sinners give her. She knows she will have to face them in battle sooner or later, but for the first time in a while her muse fails her. She doesn't want to lift her arm, she doesn't want to use her knowledge of murder to take them down. Ultimately, she doesn't want to cut down the monster her beloved has become. There's no art in taking the life of a distorted creature, no soul in a brainless abomination. She wants them back. She will have them back.

Ishmael: Not only has she read the manuals about this phenomenon, she has also seen it happen many times before. More than that, she knows it's reversible. She's holding onto hope that she knows them well enough to talk them out of it. She raises her shield and mace, gritting her teeth and bracing her heart and mind for what she has to do. If they are to have a chance, she has to strike them down. She doesn't want to do it, but she also doesn't want to see any of the others do it either. She must be the one to neutralize the threat.

Heathcliff: He knows that behind a distorted monster there is a human being going through unimaginable suffering and grief. He's been there, he knows better than any other sinner what goes in a distorted person's head. He's the most hopeful about it, even if he's not looking forward to taking them down in combat. Heathcliff doesn't want to hurt the one he cares about, but he knows it is a necessary part of the process. He won't fail them, no matter what.

Outis: She's dealt with this before many, many times. Her team's the most competent at handling distortions. Of course, they're a bumbling bundle of fools, but still the company trusts them with these missions for a reason. Still, for all the outer confidence she tries to show while she requests permission to order the sinners around, her voice wavers. Her hand trembles when she has to raise her weapon, and the sound of breaking glass when the others take on their ids make her jumpy and tense. Will it really be fine? Are they really enough? As another identity begins to override her mind, she cannot help but ask herself: is she making the right choice?

Hong Lu: His heart is taken by unspeakable sadness, he can barely bring himself to say a word. He's seen distorted people before, and to them it always seemed like the manifestation of nightmares. To him, a distortion is always a physical manifestation of one's nightmares, and he can't help but look up at them and wonder: is this what haunts them in the darkest, coldest nights? Of course they cannot answer him, they're lost to their own grief. Whether they are capable of words, it's impossible to say unless they are confronted. Regardless of the answer, what he knows is that this event will forever haunt his nightmares from now on. He relies on his comrades to help bring them back, but he feels too helpless to lead the charge. He numbs his heart to the task ahead and waits for Dante's orders patiently.

Rodion: She feels cold, like it's the coldest winter night. She's sure it's only herself though. She cracks a joke about how the weather changed, and tries to smile but everybody knows how hard she's faking it. She's shaken, and among all the low blows life has given her, this is the one that bends her spirit near its breaking point. She tries to keep her smile up, in spite of the deep pain she feels in her chest. She knows if she isn't careful, she'll be the next to distort here. For a moment she wonders if that wouldn't be the preferrable route. After all, then they both could be together again as monsters.

Sinclair: This can't be real, right? This must be a mirror dungeon or something. His mind is being tested, that's all. It is definitely not real. Because after all the suffering he had to face through his journey in hell, why's it that he has to go through this too? Has he not gone through enough punishment to pay for his sins? No. No, maybe not. The mistakes of his frivolous, youthful, immature mind are yet to be paid for, and this is why he has to witness a person so dear to him distort. Deep inside he can't help but feel a deep anger and hatred towards life and this unfair world he finds himself in. He will save them, no matter the cost. He will save them, and FUCK YOU WORLD YOU WON'T TAKE THIS FROM ME. YOU WON'T TAKE ANYBODY ELSE FROM ME. DON'T FUCK WITH ME!

Gregor: Of course some shit like this had to happen eventually. He sort of saw the signs of a greater darkness hiding in their heart before, but he could never... bring it up. He knows that somehow, he's half responsible for their pain. If he was a better man, he would have stopped it in time, but now he has to see them become something else; something out of control. He trusts the others to come up with a solution that could bring the person he treasures so much back, but he's resigned himself to observing and following orders. The best he can do here is let others take over for him. He could never do anything right on his own. He's sorry, deeply so, but knows that his sorrow won't change a thing.

[mysecretlittlelibrary]

What To Get A 19 Year Old Boy For His Birthday...

Pairing: Platonic! Peter Parker & Reader; Reader x Bucky (but that's not really plot relevant)

Word Count: 2.4k

Warnings: none as usual, you yell at Strange lol

Genre: super fluff

Summary: You happen to be the only person who still remembers Peter Parker exists and you are not about to hang him out to dry. So what happens when you take Peter in and basically become his guardian? Well- nothing is simple where super-teens are involved, but you and Peter can certainly handle whatever comes your way. Right?

***

You from to yourself, feeling like you're forgetting something even though you're just watching TV with Bucky. There's nothing to forget that you can-

"Oh shit-" You gasp sitting up suddenly. Bucky grabs the remote and turns the volume down.

"What?" He frowns shifting to look at you.

"I just realized Peter's birthday's next week and I haven't even thought of what to get him or what to do or-"

"Take a breath y/n. You still have a week." Bucky reminds you with a hand on your shoulder.

"What do I get a nineteen year old boy for his birthday?" You turn to him.

"Why are you asking me?" He blinks.

"You're a guy!"

"I'm a hundred and seven?! I haven't been nineteen in like eighty years, do you really think I would have any idea what a modern teen would want? I can guarantee my interests at nineteen were far different." He scoffs.

"Well what did you want at nineteen?" You ask.

"To avoid another world war?" He shrugs and your mouth drops open.

"I can't fucking stand you." You laugh shoving him lightly.

"Oh come on, how could I resist?!"

"You're so irritating! Be serious." You say fighting giggles.

"Alright, alright, what's the kid interested in?"

"I dunno, comic books, video games, nerdy stuff?" You shrug.

"I've never seen him play video games before." Bucky frowns.

"He plays them on his computer."

"He doesn't have a gaming system of some sort?"

"No?"

"Do you own one?"

"No."

"So get him one of those and a couple of games." Bucky shrugs.

"That's a great idea! And you said you wouldn't know what to get him." You smile.

"I'm sure you could've figured that out."

"You'll come shopping with me won't you? I have no idea what games to get for him honestly."

"How about you take care of the system and I'll worry about the games. Split the cost of this birthday thing."

"What do you mean you're going to worry about the games?" You frown.

"Just trust me. How much is the system anyway?"

"Probably three, maybe four hundred dollars. Depends."

"Sheesh. That's- pricier than I expected honestly." He hums.

"Yeah they can get pretty up there." You shrug.

"Alright then if you buy the system I'll take the kid out and get him an equivalent in games."

"You really wanna spend $600 on his birthday?" You blink.

"I mean he's lost his entire family and he never goes anywhere or talks of friends, we're probably the only people he's going to get gifts from. We can take some of the money from the Stark account." Bucky says. When Tony died there were a couple of accounts set up in your name to take over Avengers related expenses. One to be used for the team's avenging related tasks and one to help the team with personal affects- mostly Thor since he'll likely never have a job here but he's not here that much these days anyway.

"I don't want to get into the habit of using that money, in case of an emergency." You say.

"Baby, you're a witch and I'm a super soldier I can't imagine there will be many emergencies where that money is our only solution. Stark died and we ended up with enough money to change our tax bracket. Six hundred dollars would hardly make a dent and if ever we're in a situation where we do have to use that money for an emergency and we find ourselves $600 short I'm sure neither of us will look back and say 'if only we hadn't given that kid we're responsible for a great birthday gift he loved'." Bucky says.

"Very well, we'll use the Stark account and do it big for him." You say.

"There- now you can stop panicking about his birthday." Bucky pulls you back into his side and turns the volume back up on the TV. You don't point out to Bucky how it seems he's bonded with Peter a bit. At least to some degree since he's suddenly advocating for a big birthday gift for him. You know he'll deny it if you bring it up so you simply smile to yourself at the thought and settle back into his chest. You'll head to the store tomorrow to pick up a console and some birthday supplies.

*~*~*

"Bucky can you grab the candles from the bedroom please baby? They should be in the bag on my desk." You shout while carefully removing the plastic covering from Peter's birthday cake.

"On it!" Bucky calls back from the living room. Moments later, he hands you the opened candles.

"Thank you for opening them." You kiss his cheek and carefully stick the 1 and 9 on the cake without disturbing the Happy Birthday Peter written in blue frosting.

"How long do you think it'll take him to come back?" Bucky asks.

"I only asked him to get some salt, he should be opening the door any minute now." You shrug. "Do you think he suspects anything?"

"Nah, I'll bet when you didn't wish him happy birthday this morning or make anything special for breakfast that he assumed we didn't know or weren't going to make a big deal about it."

"Oh- I hope he's not moping through the streets thinking we forgot." You frown.

"I mean I don't-" Bucky stops suddenly. "He's coming down the hall, light the candles." He tells you. You grab the lighter and quickly light the candles, lifting the cake just as the handle turns.

"Hey. Got the salt you asked for-"

"Happy Birthday Peter!!" You shout when he enters the kitchen.

"Happy birthday kid." Bucky nods.

"You remembered my birthday?"

"Of course I did sweetie! Make a wish." You walk the cake over to him and hold it out for him to blow out the candles. He looks between you and Bucky a couple of times before closing his eyes and blowing out the candles quickly.

"Yay!" You say setting the cake on the counter.

"Thanks guys- I- I kinda thought you'd miss it."

"Nonsense! How could I? Oh and before I forget, your gift." You float the prettily wrapped box from behind the island, into the Peter's hands.

"What is it?"

"You know the point of wrapping a gift is for you to unwrap it in order to find out what's in it." Bucky tells him.

"I know- but I thought maybe you'd tell me anyway." Peter shrugs.

"No way! That ruins the surprise! Open it." You clap excitedly.

"Alright alright." Peter says. He quickly tears off the wrapping paper and his mouth drops open when he fully reveals the box. "You got me an Xbox?" His voice is full of disbelief but you can't say for sure if that's good or not.

"Do you like it?" You ask.

"A-are you kidding?! This is like the best gift I've ever gotten!" Peter says throwing his arms around you. You hug him back relieved that the gift was a success.

"I'm glad! Bucky and I had no idea what to get you." You chuckle.

"You did great." He says.

"This is only the first half of the gift technically. A console needs games, so I'm taking you out to buy some." Bucky adds.

"No way- you don't have to this is already plenty I-I mean these things aren't cheap I don't wanna take advantage of-"

"It's not a question kid, we're going. After lunch." Bucky cuts him off.

"Really? Today?" Peter blinks at him.

"You wanna be able to set that thing up or not?"

"We'll go after lunch." Peter nods. "Are you coming with us y/n?"

"I can't hon I've got some errands to run." You say.

"I hoped we'd all be together for my birthday."

"Don't worry, we'll all be back for dinner together."

"Oh, okay, that's fine then."

He's probably nervous about spending extended time alone with Bucky but you think it'll be good for them to find common ground that's not contingent on you. Obviously, they're capable of coordinating if your anniversary is any indicator. You want to give them the chance to build on that.

In the meanwhile, you have something of equal importance to take care of. You push open the heavy doors to Stephen Strange's lair. He doesn't call it that, and he rather hates it when you do, but that's basically what it is.

"Strange!" You shout.

"Y/n! Hello, to what do I owe this visit?" He asks floating down to meet you. You walk up to him and smack your palm against his forehead. "I guess this isn't a friendly visit then." He hisses rubbing his forehead.

"Not quite." You roll your eyes. A quick succession of hand gestures completes the spell that unlocks Stephen's memories of Peter. He takes a sharp breath as his memories return.

"You know- there are less painful ways do that spell." He says after a moment.

"There are also more painful ways to do that spell be glad I just tapped your forehead." You say.

"Tapped is a bit of an understatement, don't you think?"

"I wanted to beat your ass. Count your blessings I didn't come in here and do that."

"I assume this is about Peter, then?" Stephen sighs.

"Help me with the math here, a 17-year-old comes to you and says 'I want to alter reality' and you don't consider- not doing that?"

"Well hang on I definitely warned him it was a bad idea but he was insistent that it was ruining his life."

"Dude he was 17. A 17 year old will think the world is ending because his best friend moves away before senior year of high school. Granted he's dealt with some pretty intense adult troubles but he's still just a kid and you're like pushing 50 he isn't the responsible party in that situation." You say.

"Watch it, pushing 50 is an exaggeration." Stephen points.

"Not. The point. You altered the very fabric of time and space not once, but twice at the behest of a child."

"It wouldn't have been twice if he hadn't totally screwed up the first one."

"You're the sorcerer not him. It was your spell. Your responsibility." You say.

"Hey he kept adding caveats in the middle of my casting and magic is tricky enough as is without that."

"I know how tricky magic is, which is why I wouldn't have an untrained teenager be part of casting a spell of that magnitude in the first place! It was a bad decision on your part and in the end you got to walk away as if it never even happened. And that might be even more egregious, you completely abandoned the kid after all that chaos."

"Well not completely, I knew the probability of you being unaffected by the spell and thus stepping in was almost 100%."

"Almost 100 isn't 100 and that's still abandoning. The moment you decided to do that spell for him you took on a responsibility." You say.

"So what was I supposed to do? Simply take him in?" He scoffs.

"Well when you take away his entire support system with a spell that is the least you can do Strange."

"He knew the consequences, and it all worked out fine. He's got you now." He shrugs.

"I wonder if you just don't hear yourself speak or if you truly struggle with emotional intelligence so severely." You take a moment to really look at him as if the answer will come to you if you stare at him for long enough. "Whatever, I didn't come here just to yell at you."

"Really? I couldn't have guessed that."

"Today is Peter's birthday. I came to fix your memories so you could send him a birthday card." You say.

"Why would I do that?" He frowns.

"Because your botched spell resulted in the death of his only remaining living relative? We're all he's got."

"Hey I fixed that situation to the best of my ability."

"And it didn't bring his aunt back. It also cost him every relationship he's ever developed. Send him a damn card. Today." You spin around and walk back towards the door. "Be glad I won't drop him on your doorstep. He doesn't deserve that punishment." You scoff, waving the doors open and heading back towards your own apartment to get started on dinner. 

"So how did game shopping go?" You ask Bucky and Peter once you're all sat eating dinner.

"Oh we got way more than I would've expected. Mr. Bucky was overly generous I just hope it's clear how greatful I am."

"You've thanked me at least 10 times in the last hour. You've been more than clear kid. It's your birthday so you can stop now."

"I'm glad you had a nice time." You chuckle.

"What did you get up to while we were out baby?" Bucky asks.

"Just some errands nothing interesting." You shrug.

"Nothing interesting?" He raises an eyebrow.

"A little of this a little of that. My to-do list never ends really. Some shopping, I hit the bank, made some visits. You know how it goes."

"I dunno about you but that sounds rather suspicious to me Peter." Bucky turns to him.

"Definitely." Peter nods.

"I clearly made a mistake letting you two spend the afternoon together." You roll your eyes grabbing yours and Peter's now empty plates.

"We will discover your secrets y/n." Bucky warns.

"Good luck with that." You chuckle kissing Bucky's temple before walking the dishes over to the sink.

"Oh no you don't, you cooked, I'll do the dishes." Bucky wraps his hands around your waist and moves you from in front of the sink.

"Fine fine, Petey you want help setting up your Xbox then?" You ask.

"Sure! Is it okay to set it up in my room?"

"Of course it is. It's your thing. Plus if you end up playing all day long I don't want you taking over my living room." You tap his shoulder.

"Cool." He chuckles.

It doesn't take you long to set up the system in his room, it's just a matter of plugging in it and then the rest is for him to do on his own, make an account and such. You're just about to leave his room when a small portal appears in front of him.

"Peter. Happy birthday." Strange says reaching through with a card. You hold back a smile as Peter takes the card with obvious shock on his face.

"T-thanks Mr. Strange." Peter says. Stephen nods and closes the portal without another word.

"I didn't think he remembered me." Peter blinks at you.

"The world works in mysterious was huh." You ruffle Peter's hair. "I'll leave you to get used to your new toy." You add before exiting his room and joining Buckyin the living room.

"Okay, so where did you go today? Really?"

"Honestly I had to go yell at Strange for some magic related things." You say.

"What did he do?"

"It's complicated. Let's just say it'll be a while before I leave our timeline in his hands if ever again." You muse.

"Ah is that why you didn't bring it up at dinner? So the kid doesn't ask about Strange?"

"Yeah basically." You shrug. You're sure Bucky means in terms of Peter not knowing that you're an Avenger or whatever but seeing as you can't explain the real reason you didn't want to talk about it at dinner you see no reason to correct him at the moment. Eventually you'll give him all the details, but today has been good for all of you, you'd like to end on a high.

***

Tagged Users: @mrsbuckybarnes1917 @buchi91

[beemochi-art]

For the Character: twitch 8, thrash 2, nightshade 18, hashtag 20, jawbreaker 21 and slipstream 14.

For the Ship Forte-verse Jazz/prowl D and for the author 🌍

2) First time meeting their best friend

Thrash first time meeting his best friends is when the Malto adopted him. Robby and Mo aren’t just his siblings but his best friends.

HOWEVER! Thrash was ecstatic to meet JB. They are connected to each other through an emotional bond and became friends quickly.

8) First time they took a risk, or the biggest risk they've ever taken

Teaching herself how to fly. None of the autobots fly, Wheeljack tried his best to help her but unfortunately he wasn’t successful at teaching something he doesn’t know. She had to learn herself, and with a lot of practice (and being a bit of an extremist.) she got it.

14) First time facing their fears

Slipstream isn’t necessarily scared of concepts she is instead more scared of certain people. She is afraid of Megatron most of all. She most of the time stayed out of his way. But When Megatron was going to kill Starscream she couldn’t stand by. She shielded Starscream with her body, this decision could have killed her but instead Megatron spared Starscream. She still got hit but at least her dad is alive, though he probably wished he was dead during the beating. Though she faced Megatron she is still scared.

18) First example of real character growth along their journey

(SMALL RANT. I am very upset on the treatment of Nightshade by both the fandom and the writers, l wont start on my issues with the fandom cause those issues aren’t relevant here. I wanted so desperately for Nightshade to be an actual character, and for season one they were but after that it was just over, no more problems, no more contemplating issues. Unfortunately like most Lgbtq characters, they are turned into a place holder, just a box to check on the pandering list. It seems like now nightshade is just the person with the remote that fixes everything, part of the reason why I like Earthspark Expeditions is Nightshades dialogue when you screw up. Nightshade pull no punches on making you feel bad, which is something that happened to me a lot cause I was really bad at those side quests. But even though they weren’t a playable character they still felt like more then a place holder, that bot can be sassy. And I loved it. But alas, it’s probably too much to expect a company to make actual Lgbtq characters like normal character. Regardless I feel like it is important to include lgbtq characters in media)

ANYWAY!! Nightshade came online and was alone, they saw the decepticons destroying everything/ some decepticons seeing Nightshade as vermin and the Autobots fighting back in a brutal way. They recognized that they were a similar species to the cybertronians but renounce they’re ferocity and brutal ways. Nightshade also learn the hard way that humans aren’t that different either. Feeling alone and confused about the world around them, they decided they would just live solitary. Until that option wasn’t available anymore due to the decepticons. Nightshade left with no better option followed Twitch to the Autobot base. Nightshade was stand-offish and sometimes mean. Throughout they’re adventures they learn that the Autobots are here to protect them and may not be right all the time but are trying. Nightshade connected with Bumblebee, they have many similarities. Nightshade also come to sympathies with some cons as well. Nightshade wants gets inspired to want things to change in peaceful way… there has to be a way.

20) First time they felt accepted/welcomed by another character

Hashtag had to be rescued from a M.E.C.H base. Being forced to fight both autobots and decepticons, She was very confused, aggressive and didn’t really know anything. She did know the bots she had an emotional connection with were apart of her in some ways and could be trusted. She didn’t really like humans either, so when Thrash took all the Terrans back to the Malto home she stay around the woods near their home.

It took lots of time but the Terrans as a collective brought her out of her shell and made her feel safe. They told her that technically she was the reason they all were together now. They may have never met if she didn’t call to them.

21) First major change in their life, and how they dealt with it

Jawbreaker leaving the decepticons. He had too. He needed to go find what was calling to him. But that wasn’t the only reason. He knew Megatron is wrong, maybe he was right a long time ago but now it’s wrong. Jb barely understands anything about the War but he has seen people get hurt, he’s been hurt.

Jb took a risk and left without looking back. He mostly keeps to himself about his decision but sometimes struggles with it and wants to go back. He’s not dealing with it too good, but he’s got his siblings to lean on when he needs it. He just hopes those he left behind are doing ok.

D) First kiss

After a couple of dates and Jazz egging Prowl on. Prowl went to kiss him, unfortunately there was more then his nerves getting in the way.

🌍 - First attempt at worldbuilding, or a notable piece of worldbuilding you're proud of

A personal series I have which has OOTALS AND OOTALS of of world building that I am proud of. I love this story and I’ve had it for years, probably one of the early stories I’ve made. It’s called Wolfram.

Tf stuff has definitely helped my world building skill.

[2-the-moon-and-2-saturn]

who we are (and what we’ve done — chapter 10

Events unfold painstakingly slowly.

Then again, that’s probably to be expected when one selects vaginal delivery as their preferred method of childbirth.

If she were using her logical brain, Lena would remember the countless books she read, both from terrestrial and Kryptonian literature, regarding this very moment that will change her life forever. She would think about the fact that these so-called ‘natural’ births (though at this moment, it feels like there is nothing remotely natural about it) typically result in a faster recovery time, which increases her chances of being active sooner and in less pain in the future.

If she were thinking with her emotional brain, Lena would remind herself that she actually chose this, among other things, because she did want the experience, because she wanted to be with her baby through everything since the very beginning, and something in her made this kind of birthing process just feel right.

But none of those scenarios are relevant right now, because Lena does not feel like she is thinking with any brain at all. In fact, her entire brain seems to be dedicated to signaling to her that pushing a baby past her vagina is supposed to hurt (as if she could ever forget).

So all of her well-researched arguments and all of her well-thought out reasons and all of her well-meaning wife’s attempts at comfort suddenly are irrelevant at the momentz Lena finds herself wanting to scream out a litany of all the swear words known to humans and Kryptonians alike, and curse nature or a god or something else that decided that in order to procreate, a person must go through this.

She tries to ignore the fact that the citizens of Argo actually advocated for her to just use the matrix, as has been done for so long, it’s become tradition. Nevermind that Kara offered to carry the child and Lena decided against it.

Right now, she doesn’t even care about the warm and cozy look they’d shared when she first went into labor, knowing that they were going to become moms, together, and nothing about it might ever feel real. Nothing else is relevant, because she’s bringing new fucking life into this world and so she gets to be as bitter and snappy and irrational as she’d like.

And then she is born; six pounds and two ounces of dreams Lena had never dared hope for. Pruney pink skin and fuzzy dark hair, the evidence of a life she had never thought to be meant for her. It’s not like motherhood has ever been a particular vocation of Lena’s, who always thought of herself as a fun aunt rather than a person who raises a child- she definitely has other ambitions in life.

But motherhood is still something she’s wanted, and can’t really believe her little girl is finally here.

Kara cuts the umbilical cord and the nurse cleans their daughter up, then places her in Lena’s arms.Such a beautiful thing — the way this tiny baby with powerful lungs that create the most ear-piercing screams simply becomes entirely content just because of skin-to-skin contact with her. Lena. Lena, who has never felt unconditionally, effortlessly, important to anyone.

The details of what happens next are hazy, probably due to the exhaustion of a seventeen-hour long labor. She thinks she feels lips on her forehead, and maybe the image of Kara’s megawatt smile in contrast with the tears in her eyes, her voice whispering sweet everythings like, “You did it”, “I love you so much”, and, “We’re officially moms”.

There’s something she’s receiving guidance on, and then her baby has latched onto her nipple, and then Lena is falling into the most peaceful sleep she has ever had.

She doesn’t dream — that wasn’t really even in the realm of possibility, considering all that her body has been through in the past day and the remnants of pain medicine in her veins.

She doesn’t dream, but in the next couple of days, she will imagine that if she did, the contents of it would, for a change, be very pleasant. That they would be a compilation of all the best, happiest moments in her life during the past five years.

Kara on one knee, flushed cheeks and held breath

as she waited for the answer that would solidify a bond they’d already known, in their hearts, to be true long before they actually realized it.

The butterflies in her own stomach when the woman she loves kissed her, deep and soft and all-encompassing, in the middle of the terrain where a house would be built to suit their every need. A place to grow old in. A place to belong. A place to call her home.

The glow of the stars when they left Earth, because Krypton’s technology would enable them to safely make a child from two ovocytes and, furthermore, guarantee Lena wouldn’t suffer with the super-strong kicks, once the time for those came.

Allura and Zor-El’s excitement to see her and introduce her to the society of Argo as the brilliant scientist who captured their daughter’s heart.

The moment two ovocytes became a zygote, and that cell split into two, split into four, split into a baby grown inside of her, a baby she loved from the moment they decided to have her.

Kara’s smile. Kara’s smile. Kara’s smile — all along and, most importantly, always matching her own.

Lena will have time to think about all of that in the days to come, when her breasts hurt from being fed on and her head hurts from a new kind of sleep deprivation and her heart hurts because she never thought it could contain this much happiness.

She will reflect on it, and all that’s led her to this, and she will find herself thinking, for the first time, while looking at this little bundle of hope, that she’s managed to build a beautiful life for herself, and that the best is yet to come.

And she will smile as she cries about that, too.

[fastcardotmp3]

Nancy & Mike | no CW | 1k words ***In my heart this is part of the METAMORPHOSES universe but none of that is really relevant to reading it I just wanted you to know

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Nancy's not even out of the car yet when he starts demanding things of her, which shouldn't be surprising but is definitely also not exactly called for. She just got back to Hawkins. It's Thanksgiving.

Mike can can it for a minute.

"Did you get more shrill while I was away?" she asks with a deadpanned tone and a sharp lift of her brows in his direction as she climbs out of the driver's seat and moves around to the trunk for her bag.

Four days, she'll be here.

Just four days and then it's home free back to-- Well. As it turns out, to--

"You've been living in Indy?" Mike hisses, chasing her step for step, hand gripping the hatchback as soon as she has it open so they're hidden from the windows over the kitchen sink where their mother is probably watching and waiting, but also so she can't close it and end this conversation.

"Who told you that?" she can't meet his eye. It's not a choice, she can't do it.

"Not you, that's for sure," he snarks.

It's a kind of guilt-inducing thing, as if she doesn't feel guilty enough already, as if the pressure she puts on herself hasn't always been the greatest pressure she could possibly be leveled with.

"Are you gonna tell them?" he jerks his chin towards the house, barely letting his eyes leave her face like he's watching for cracks in her armor to form so he can start swinging more accurately.

"I take it you haven't already, then?" she lets her surprise show, tries and probably fails to hide the relief.

Mike purses his lips, works his jaw, and huffs out a breath like he's exasperated when Nancy knows he's probably just hurt. He always gets particularly pointed when he's hurting.

She's gotten pretty good at being able to tell when it's her fault.

"You usually have a reason for lying," he says, some of the put-upon sharpness leaving his tone, but all of the frustration still there in the firm grip of his hand keeping the trunk open. She has to look up to watch his face shift. God, when did he grow up so much? "It's usually a bullshit reason, but a reason all the same. I guess."

Nancy takes a gamble and peeks towards the front of the house, this house where she grew up in more ways than one, this house where she was a kid pretending at adulthood and this house where she washed blood from her hair when she really did become it.

Their mother is, predictably, craning her neck to get a peek right back at them, and Nancy exhales with the weight of it. The weight of all of it, really.

"I left Emerson," she admits flatly, crossing her arms more out of self-soothing than defensiveness at this point.

"No shit."

"I fucked up, is that what you wanna hear?" Nancy snaps, something thick at the back of her throat, something strong wrapping around it and pinning her to the wall-- "I couldn't hack it and I fucked it all up and now I'm fetching coffees for real journalists while living in a house that doesn't have my name on the lease because I couldn't do it, Mike. Alright?"

There's not a lot about Mike Wheeler that could be labeled as soft, at least not from Nancy's perspective. From the time they were old enough to hold dissenting opinions, they were doing it, grappling for the remote and fighting over the last cookie and simultaneously keeping each other's secrets while holding them over their heads.

That's the dynamic Nancy is comfortable with, the snarky little brother who gets in the way and has an inflated ego to rival some grown men she's suffered, but something about that dynamic falters here.

Tears burning at the back of her eyes, his face goes blurred for a moment, and when she blinks them away?

"Oh--"

A hug. He's big and gangly these days, and it's not the sort of affection they've ever offered each other outside of smile for the camera! hug your brother! pretend you like each other! but Nancy finds that beyond the initial shock it's almost... nice.

"You were really far away," he mutters, all strung together and quick like he's hoping maybe she won't hear the admission at all but just loud enough for it to have all those anxieties in her chest turning her stomach in a brand new way.

Fondness. For her brother. Who would've thought?

"I was too far away," she agrees. She hugs him back. "Indy is better."

He doesn't say anything to agree with that, but the abrupt pulling away and clear of his throat, the dodging of her gaze, the grabbing of her suitcase for her and yanking it out of the trunk-- it's more a language she understands.

Because they've been bickering since they could talk, they've been prickly and combative since day one, but there's always been a part of Nancy who knows they love each other.

No more secrets, they had promised once, and she's failed at that more than she cares to admit, they both have. Maybe her own fresh start, her own escape from the path expected of her out in Boston, maybe it can be a fresh start for them too.

"Mike," she puts a hand on his arm to stop him before he can run away entirely. "I can't tell them yet," a nod towards the house, "I will, but not yet, okay?"

There's a look on his face, like maybe he understands that sentiment better than she realizes. It's something to potentially bring up during her stay back in time in this place.

"Yeah, I got it," he shrugs. "It's not a bad thing though, you not being there anymore. For the record."

"You think?"

"Sure," he starts dragging her suitcase towards the front door and tosses, "just don't fucking lie to me again," over his shoulder in parting.

Nancy breathes deep.

She shuts the trunk and locks the car.

No more secrets.

She's older now; she can do it this time.

[soraka-in-warhammer40k]

Betrayer (HH Vol. 24)

I completly understand now how people keep this specific author in such high regard. This must have been one of my fastest reads throughout the Heresy so far. My only complaint, really, as always with Heresy books, is the bullshit style-choice for the cover:

You would think this book is about Lorgar and Angron going totally ham on Ultramarines, and yeah that does happen, but this is not what its about. Like, I get it, the mace-swing makes for a nice composition, but all these covers feel like such low-effort shovelware.

Notice the dude on the bottom right. He's not even LOOKING AT THE TWO GUYS ABOUT TO KILL HIM. The Heresy covers in general always feel like such low effort, when a smart stylized image could have captured the book as a whole much better. Anyways, this book is definetly not about who murders who, it's about Angron, a broken man, and the potentially only family-member that might give a shit about him, which is Lorgar - and mirroring those two brothers, it's also about Kharn (not yet named Betrayer) and Argel Tal, a World Eater and a Word Bearer respectively.

Angron is dieing. The nails are slowly killing him, and Lorgar attempts to save him along with his original mission, which is "shroud Ultramar into a man-made warpstorm fueled by the genocide of dozens of worlds to cut the Ultramarines off for the Siege of Terra". The way he managed to combine these goals however is... well... Lorgar might really, from the bottom of his heart, genuinely care for his brutish brother. But Lorgar is also of the "I will manipulate you for your own good" type of person, who is absolutely hardcountered by Angron's thick skull which takes ages of working on the man to get him even remotely walking into the direction you want him to. Their dynamic is quite entertaining, Lorgar's frustration is just so understandable.

Angron on his own is a broken mess of a person. There's not much to say about it, and he's essentially a force of nature that brings murder and mindless rage wherever he goes - by his own words he is already dead. Whatever is here now is essentially the world's longest suicide note that, much to his own dismay, will drag on for at least another 10.000 years. He has his moments in the book, as he is definetly not a mindless animal and still capable of some seriously baller lines, but he's definetly not the star among the cast.

Lorgar meanwhile is a much more interesting character in the book, mostly for the fact how you realize that there is a difference between "serving Chaos" and "serving the Gods". Those two things CAN go together, but they do not have to. What's interesting is that he and Erebus do definetly not see eye-to-eye. He even tried to have the guy killed by Kharn in the end by just giving the World Eater a tiny information that just made the man go into absolute murder-mode.

Which is interesting, because Kharn might be one of the least murder-y World Eaters there is. Note that I said "World Eaters" here and not "War Hounds" (the old name). That distinction is quite relevant in this story. Just like Angron on his own he does not exactly carry the narrative, he's not as absolutely insane or reckless as someone like Sevatar (and that guy manages it without the nails even). He is more of a calm observer that finds his legion-brothers generally less interesting than hanging out with Argel Tal.

Oh and Argel Tal... we met him in "The First Heretic", but I'd like to avoid spoilers here. Let's just say that his bickering dynamic with Kharn is a smaller mirror to their Primarchs' interaction. They are essentially a married couple at that point if you ask me, except none of them has realized it yet.

There's also the support cast around the Legion Audax and Lotara, but they are not the focus here. They are nice to have around however, and none of their segment feels like weird filler. Overall a great book, and I hope there's more of ADB in the Heresy as I go to the next volumes.

[orassian]

/ FOREIGN SYSTEM OVERRIDE DETECTED / / ATTEMPTING REMOTE SHUTDOWN PROTOCOL / / REMOTE SHUTDOWN FAILED: ERROR CODE SSE-RO/0 / / ATTEMPTING STUTDOWN OF RURAL PSI-NETWORKS / / SHUTDOWN SUCCESSFUL / / REBOOTING / / RURAL PSI-NETWORKS ONLINE AND OPERATIONAL / / ATTEMPTING STUTDOWN OF RURAL PSI-NETWORKS / / SHUTDOWN FAILED: REASON UNKNOWN - ERROR 501-DR / / ATTEMPTING STUTDOWN OF URBAN PSI-NETWORKS / / SHUTDOWN FAILED: REASON UNKNOWN - ERROR SE/318 / / TRIANGULATING ORIGIN OF TRANSMISSION / / > Returned Transmission Vector: / > - SB01AL, Orassian Order of Templars / > - RYN7A4, Alari Interstellar Commonwealth / > - R1PDN9, Unclaimed Sector / > - BN264L, Raxing Oligarchy / > - V07KNA, Unclaimed Sector / > - D58KA1, Vegvian Nomad Fleet / > - 001L39, The Elepharchy / ORIGIN POINT TRIANGULATION UNSUCCESSFUL / / HOMING ONTO THE INCOMING TRANSMISSION / / ENABLING CATCH PROTOCOLS FOR VISUAL FEED /

Good evening, Orassian nation. It's 'People's News Republic' once again, delivering to you only the most relevant and unbiased news on the authoritarianism propagated by the Matrirachy.

Today's news coverage concerns the city of Atasaŋ, known for its significance as a mining region for the Orassian economy, where minerals are extracted and purified. There is a lot to unpack here, so let's dive into it.

The entire city, as are many others on Prophet's Promise, is at a full on riot. Civilian protesters are torching military conscription offices where mandatory service for male citizens was being arranged and training centers for aspiring Sisterhood of the Matriarchy. The whole city is on fire and the Matriarch's cloned enforcers are struggling immensely with the situation.

We have an exclusive live interview with one of the protesters. For the purpose of protecting the identities of the interviewer and the Interviewee, their names and likeness have been concealed. Reporter, you can take the stage now.

/ DIVERTING TO ENCRYPTED FREQUENCY /

[ REPORTER ] : Yshiradh, Mr. ▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓. We're glad you could give us some of your time. [ INTERVIEWEE ] : Heard about your agency from my colleagues, but we can't talk about it at work or we'd get arrested. They say it's better than any state news network. [ REPORTER ] : Yes, we do strive for unbiased coverage of important events the current government wouldn't dare to give light to. [ INTERVIEWEE ] : Hold up, I hope I won't get into trouble for this... [ REPORTER ] : Worry not, your face will be concealed in the finished cut. Tell us, please, what has personally spurred you and your peers to protest? [ INTERVIEWEE ] : Damn Matron Council racked up household taxes honest workers in no way can't pay, plus I heard they usin' clones to do their dirty work--them Enforcers recently and ▓▓▓. If that wasn't bad enough, they're keeping them on leash with mind-control or somethin', so the poor sods ain't got no say in what they do or even think... ▓▓▓. (harsh slur) [ REPORTER ] : So, economical woes with the administration of the government, plus personal disagreements were the reason, is that right? No political ones? [ INTERVIEWEE ] : I recently ganged up with buddies on [Popular Psi-Messaging Interface App in Orassian space] in a group, 'Orassian Liberation Front' they called? Anyways, we coordinated our stuff through that psi-net and it's massive, you know. At least a few dozen million people is on it. [ REPORTER ] : So, that's how you managed to get the supplies for incendiary cocktails and received instructions on what to target directly? [ INTERVIEWEE ] : Yeah, we got 'em good! At least none of my relatives gonna get conscripted into any ▓▓▓ the Matriarchy is doing, and if the government repairs those, we just gonna torch 'em again. (Loud sounds of shots are heard on the live feed and cries of people on the streets to flee.) [ INTERVIEWEE ] : ▓▓▓, they're firin' on us! Get down, ▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓ quick! Cover!

(The interview was cut short by gunfires from the law enforcement.)

/ DIVERTING TO MAIN FREQUENCY /

We're receiving word from our reporters on site that the Matriarchy's Enforcers have opened fire on civilians as a final measure. At least seven people have been killed and twelve in critical condition! The fact that they can even consider such a course of action and actually do it... Despicable.

Our agency will contact all respective divisions within the 'Insurgent Priesthood Organization'--they have the best doctors available who will ensure that the protesters harmed by law enforcement will be protected and kept safe from the Enforcers' paws.

Our last commentary after a tragic incident like this relates again to the city of Atasaŋ. Its mayor, Dhir H'Oumukh, has recently been forced to resign and is now facing a felony sentence of fifteen years after openly criticizing the Matron Council.

His story as a previously popular electoral candidate last year have hit the city's community by storm, and no doubt was the catalyst for open riots. His fate at national court still is uncertain, as he remains in custody of law enforcement.

For tonight, that is all. Our agency urges you to stay vigilant and keep your relatives safe in any way you can. If you believe you are in direct danger from the authorities, contact the OLF, the IPO, or even other interstellar states for asylum, shelter, and means to defend yourselves. Brace for the future's hardships and struggles.

This has been 'People's News Republic'.

Truth to the people. Endless rest to the fallen.

/ TRANSMISSION END /

[hydrangeawise]

It's been a week of work, but here is another screeching post about El Cazador de la Bruja because I finally have the energy & time to watch it again the way it's supposed to be watched (with a buddy so that you can yell at each other in the chat during the episode)!

EP22 was something, alright! We got Ellis lovingly looking at a flute that suspiciously looked like the one kid Nadie had in Ellis', uh I don't know what it was exactly when she went through the door and into the corn field so maybe, vision(?). And Camera Guy has been acting more off than ever which apparently is because Glasses Guy remote controls him via his bracelet. Which is honestly kind of weird because now I'm asking myself which of his actions were his own and which were the one's Glasses Guy made him do. Maybe it's hard to tell because they do seem to enable each other's creepiness after all!

I can't quite believe that Ricardo got injured by a puma, mostly because I think he'd be experienced and skilled enough to avoid that (and to avoid worrying Lirio!), but it doesn't really matter because the puma coincidentally* fled in the way Nadie and Ellis were pointed. What a coincidence*! And then the scene at the ruins happened, and man, I kind of get the feeling that Glasses Guy is some sort of religious fanatic with the way he recited whatever text it was that Ellis also said during her witch experience (and didn't her voice sound quite uncanny when she did it, like getting possessed or something even though Blue-eyes said something about her soul being released**). I do want to highlight quite clearly and loudly how much I enjoyed Ellis blasting Camera Guy to wherever he landed! Excellent use of the power! Let me also say quite clearly that I'M SO FUCKING WORRIED FOR NADIE! I'M SO FUCKING WORRIED FOR BOTH OF THE GIRLS! Especially with the preview!! None of this looks like a fun time is about to be had by everyone! I'm also so worried that Blue-eyes noted that Glasses Guy made his move because - how much influence and power does that guy have?! How does it work?! (Also, Melissa probably knew that he wasn't exactly the best person around and still stayed with him so I feel kind of eh about her, but she didn't deserve to be left behind like that!) Oh, and with the design on Glasses Guy's gun, it's pretty much confirmed that he was the one who killed the doctor, right? At least I'm pretty sure that the marking on the gun is what we've seen in Ellis' flashbacks of the scene.

*I'm pretty sure it's not a coincidence. The question rather seem to be: who made it happen and how and why?

**I do have hmmm not exactly questions, but I wonder if this whole thing about "release of the soul" is relevant in connection to Ellis being an artificial witch. I mean, I don't think (or at least I don't remember) that she's supposed to be soulless due to her artificial creation, but hmm. Hmm. I guess I'll see!

[generalherasyndulla]

nothing bad ever happens au kuranushi household movie night

(so for context for literally everyone else besides uh me and Red. "nothing bad ever happens au" is an aitsf/aini au made by me and Red through discord that's basically a world where well nothing bad happens. I'm not going to get into ALL the changes here but the relevant one is Uru never got kidnapped and grew up in Aioen. He and Bibi end up being close and have a sibling dynamic so Boss adopted both of them because they are a set do not seperate)

“Alright,” Bibi said as she carried a bowl of popcorn into the living room. “Popcorn’s ready! So what movie are we watching tonight?”

“Well, I was thinking-“ Uru started before being quickly interrupted.

“If you suggest another goddamn Phantom of the Opera adaptation, I am disowning you and kicking you out of the house. Forever.” Shizue said.

“Technically, Phantom of the Paradise is more of an interpretation than an adaptation so –“

“No.”

Uru slumped down onto the couch with a sigh. Bibi gave her a brother a sympathetic pat on the shoulder as she sat down next to him. “So, what would you like to watch then mother dearest.”

Shizue grimaced. “How many times have I told you to stop calling me that.”

“At least as many times as you’ve threatened to disown and kick me out. You know that threat’s not really all the effective on adults, right?”

Shizue held up her to her chest in mock-astonishment. “The absolute disrespect. Bibi, you’re my new favourite.”

Bibi snorted, earning her a glare from Uru.

“Traitor.” Bibi moved the bowl of popcorn on her lap towards her brother as a peace offering. He sighed and took a handful, indicating all was forgiven.

“Seriously though, what are we going to watch?” Bibi asked shoveling a handful of popcorn into her own mouth.

“Well-“ Shizue started.

“None of your weird adult movies that’s about shirtless guys or whatever. I’m pretty sure they’re R 18+ and I’m only 14. And even if I wasn’t, ew.” Bibi said.

“Ugh, Uru, you’re my new favourite.”

He rolled his eyes, but Bibi noticed the small smirk on his face. Bibi swiftly gave her brother a poke in the side erasing that stupid smug look on his face. Now who’s the traitor, hypocrite.

“I’ve got nothing, since my own child is oppressing me.”

"You'll get over it." Bibi then gave her suggestion. “How about that one movie about magicians committing robbery? That one seems cool.”

“Another heist movie? Should I be concerned as your legal guardian?”

“Don’t worry it’s nothing anyone can prove.” Bibi smiled what she hoped was her most innocent and youthful smile.

Shizue shrugged, completely unphased. “Works for me.”

Uru side-eyed his foster mother. “Are you sure you’re a police officer?”

“Not when I’m off the clock.” Shizue grabbed the remote and began to type in the movie’s title on Netplix. “So, the magician heist movie then?”

“Yes!” Bibi fist-pumped the air.

“Sure,” Uru agreed, smiling fondly at his younger sister’s excitement. “But next week we are watching Phantom of the Paradise.”

“Bibi, you’re the favourite again.” 

[helloneighborfan]

October 14, 1930

Raven Brooks was always a town that was ignored , but in one day, it was finally coming to the world.

A few years had passed since the arrival of the Petersons and the beginning of discovering the anomalies that surrounded the town, they began to surprise the Tavish and the people with the new discoveries they made every day. Tomorrow will define your life and even the reputation of your people, a single mistake and they could make a fool of Raven Brooks but they are NOT stupid.

"Everything will be fine tomorrow," they both say. They spent a whole month (almost) studying the phenomena almost a hundred percent analyzed, still inconclusive but due to the thousands of things they had to do and they left the project forgotten for a while. Adelle then sits in the living room of the house while Roger on the reddish sofa with a small blanket, it was starting to get cold inside.

-Let's take a break, talk about another topic.- then he sees Adelle's tummy. -I've been thinking about our son's name lately, I hope I chose it well because you don't know what a headache it caused me to find a suitable one. -The ultrasonographer said that he is going to be a boy, right?

-Indeed. Now do you allow me to say them? - Of course. Mark, Anthony, Jesper, Erik, Frederick and the last one, Theodore.- Roger's eyes widen. None of them were fitting, but Theodore was unusual and a very good name, I choose this.

"Let him keep the name Theodore," Roger says quickly. I'd know you'd pick that one , that's what I thought when I read the names, it just rhymes a lot for the last name Peterson. Now that it occurs to me, I have one in mind too, it comes from my father may he rest in peace; Masters. Masters. He repeated the last name several times because he wanted to see what was special about him until he decided to put the three names together and the fireworks exploded in his mind.

"Theodore Masters Peterson, it doesn't sound crazy how he thought." Of course it's not something unusual, my dear.

So it will be this.

~°~

The afternoon light invaded the entire town for the first time since the day had previously been too sad, Adelle and Roger were already prepared in the assembly to finally be able to define the fate of the town, it was a fairly large room and it had a stage big enough for seventy people to fit in there; Presenting an idea to everyone was somewhat complicated in remote times because all those who said a single word were torn to pieces, now it was different to express opinions.

You can have your allies on your side or just oppose the ideas of others. -

~•~

The murmurs of the people became more and more legible in the room each time the arguments became more heard there.

-Not only the phenomena that surround the town make it unique, but also its founders, the crows and of course the golden apple. Roger raised his voice more.

-The reason why the town is called that is because of the raven, a bird that is fierce and ruthless, the most powerful people together with the Tavish made Raven Brooks possible-

-What about the Ravens? Will they also continue under investigation?

- Do you know the origin of the- a voice interrupts. - They know you don't talk about crows! someone comment.

Why would they have to do with this?! Another person exclaims only to see a crowd angry and saying things out of line.

The ravens? Adelle thought. She had never heard of the clique or whatever it was, the thing was something relevant in the town. Now instead of a session that talks about the oddities of the town, it was a market that did not stop. It was probably a group that killed and kidnapped people; or worse, they disappeared.

"Order!" exclaimed the judge, hitting the table. A chill invaded all the spectators who were present. Everything was ready to finish with the last argument to establish the town of Raven Brooks.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

After their endless debate, the Tavishes and the Petersons left the room. They commented that they only had to wait for the final results since they say that it can be determined in months or even years, for which they did not say a single word along the way. So they both thought:

How long would it take to wait for the town to be recognized?

Would the town have been just a hidden treasure or a rotten one from long ago? It was something they couldn't answer for themselves.

PD: The next chapter will include someone very interesting ;D

[fantastic-mr-corvid]

Rametto dressed as the [English] Beat's logo 'The Beat Girl'. His and then the original's colour pallet's.

just a quick doodle bc i finalized his stand power and when i realised it was all about reflections i knew i had to call it 'mirror in the bathroom' after the song by the [english] Beat of the same name. i have now been listening to the song on loop for hours.

a lot of details on their stand under the cut:

'Mirror in the Bathroom' doesn't have a humanoid physical form, instead showing as a blue glow/tint on objects affected by its stand power, and in its 'Gems'.

Mirror works through reflections and light, with three skills:

Perception: the user can 'perceive' [see and hear] through a reflective object, as if he was in the same place as the object, as long as that object is in line of sight, This ability can extend its range by 'bouncing' off other reflective objects, allowing him to 'perceive' further away, in exchange for using more stand power & having a worse 'connection'.

E.g. In a restaurant, using the reflections of wine glasses to 'perceive' right next to an important conversation, from the other side of the room. another use is seeing multiple angles of a fight, spreading perception over a large amount of reflective surface to be aware of what you opponent[s] are doing

Recording: if a reflective object has been imbued with stand power, it can record and later replay what it has seen/heard.

E.g. imbuing the shiny metal of a tin of cookies with stand power then replaying it hours later to find out who's been eating them.

Reflection: if a reflective object is damaged, it can reflect that damage back at the person/object showing in its reflection

E.g. if someone is walking in front of a store window, damaging the window where the reflected hand is to hurt the person.

'Gems' look like blue shiny gemstones backed in silver [his earrings], and can be used as power amplifiers or as remote reflective surfaces. they can be created from any reflective object, but work best at a small size.

E.g. placing a gem then moving several blocks away, the user can still 'perceive' through it. Instead of having to stay 'connected' through reflections/physical contact with an object set to record, a gem can be placed next to it and used to power the recording.

i haven't solidified exact ranges/strength/limitations bc that takes brain power, but there is a limit of stand power, and 'gems' can work as stores of it/amplifiers. bc the level of perception/recording/damage can be varied its hard to give a solid or even rough number for all the options.

only sound/only vision can be chosen, and the perceived sound/images can either be very strong, if they are in a safe place, or there but not overwhelming, for when moving or fighting and awareness around the body is nessasery.

if power runs out or concentration is broken [normally relevant when recording] the object/gem will crack and dull, becoming unusable again.

while the reflect damage ability is fairly powerful, its definitely a how you use it power. in a straight up fight he would struggle to stand on his own against a more combat oriented stand, but if able to think and given a little time he can outsmart a lot of users.

main uses: eavesdropping, snooping around, recording conversations & actions, doing untraceable damage, being aware over a large distance, tracking people.

[edited in] my trying to fucking figure out its stats:

Power: C/B [i haven't solidified the level of damage reflect does]

Speed: A [stand ability transmits sound/images to the user near the speed of light]

Range: None[the actual stand bc its an ability] or B [the average range of its ability ~50 meter's, but this can be extended]

Durability: None [ability] [D durability for the Gems]

Precision: A [its performs constant calculations based on the speed of light and angle of refraction, it needs some aim but can largely do it itself]

Development potential: B/C [he has learned a lot about his stand, but it also has a lot of ways he can use it]

[purplesurveys]

1617

1) What’re your plans for the weekend?  I’ve got an event today, so there’s that. I can’t wait for it to be over; I’m supposed to be dealing with 300 attendees today – literally 10 times as much as I would normally deal with – so with me pushing the extrovert agenda for an additional day in the week, I’m pretty sure I’ll be speeding the fuck back home the moment it’s done.

2) Could you ever be vegetarian - why or why not?  I don’t think so. I wanted to start having a vegan lifestyle in the past; but idk I like certain food too much to completely let go of them. Like sushi.

3) Name a quote from your favorite TV show:  “This is not meth.”

4) What time did you wake up this morning?  I woke up at around 7:50 since I had to be at the dentist by 9 to get braces.

5) What chores do you do around the house?  I mop and sweep the floor daily since it gets very humid in the day, making the floor sticky and gross-ish to walk on; I wash the dishes and fold clothes; then I also do the cleaning-up after the dogs. Not so much ‘around the house’ but I’m also mainly in charge of bringing them to the vet and shouldering the bills.

6) Do you like windchimes, or do they annoy you?  I can live with or without them, but I honestly feel like it would annoy me if heard on a daily basis, lol. I would like having them around the most if I was on vacation somewhere remote. 7) How much sleep do you usually get a night?  Anywhere from 5-7.

8) If you could have any outfit, cost not an issue, what would you get?  I don’t have any outfit ensemble in mind; but I would love some new pairs of shoes. It’s not that mine are on the verge of breaking apart; but it’d be nice to just have a bigger variety to choose from. 9) Do you play any instruments?  I don’t and can’t.

10) What song would you say describes your life right now?  Would probably be more relevant a little later, but Hectic by RM and Colde.

11) Do you have snacks lying around your room?  Yeah, I have a bag of truffle-flavored chips in there.

12) Did you get up to much today? If it’s morning, what are your plans? Yep I’ve already accomplished one errand this morning (getting braces), but I will be very busy in about an hour or so, since my calltime to the event venue is at noon. I’ll be manning registration so it’s gonna be the most socializing out of everyone else in the team bleck. I’m so excited to get back to my bed.

13) What’s your favorite animal to see in the zoo?  None; I usually feel a pang of guilt even when I see animals I would love otherwise, like elephants, eagles, and deer.

14) When do you start back to school or college?  I graduated college three years ago and don’t plan on coming back for a masters or doctoral degree.

15) What other social networking sites are you on?  I’m on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and now Bondee lmfao.

16) What was the best year of your life?  It used to be 2014, but it has since been dethroned by 2021. It would be very hard to top it, too.

17) What plans do you have for the rest of summer?  We don’t have ‘summer.’ We just have hot and very hot.

18) How old is the person you like right now?  I’m not into anyone.  19) Do you get an allowance? How much?  Well no, I’ve been earning my own money since I got a job.

20) What games console is your favorite? What about favorite game?  I’m not a big gamer. I enjoy watching walkthroughs, but I never pick up a console or controller myself.

21) If you could go anywhere right now, where would it be and why?  HOME. Be with the dogs, laze around, watch YouTube. The work week had been pretty busy so I wanted to make the weekend a time for relaxing; but I can’t for half of it.

22) Do your parents nag you a lot? What about? It’s more of just subtle callouts/reminders not to spend as much as I do on K-pop and to be responsible with my money. They’re not as naggy as they used to be.

23) What is there on the walls of your room?  Nothing. When I repainted it last month, I didn’t return the posters and frames on the walls anymore. Nothing but fresh white paint on it now.

24) Is there anyone that just really annoys you?  Sure.

25) What are your plans for tomorrow, anything good?  Aside from our usual Sunday mass, nothing. I hope there’s nothing else that comes up; I didn’t have a weekend last week and now my Saturday is also taken. If tomorrow happens as planned, it would be the first time in like 2 weeks that I can get to spend the weekend at home.

26) If you could wake up tomorrow being able to do one thing perfectly, what would it be?  Dance.

27) You have two wishes to make to help the world, and one can’t be “another wish” or anything similar. What wishes do you make?  Clean water and ample supply of food.

28) Do you reckon world peace is possible or are we just too selfish?  History has shown us time and time again that it isn’t. People are always looking for something to gain.

29) Do you listen to Bright Eyes?  I’m afraid I’ve never heard of them. 30) Are you interested in politics, or do you just not care?  Very interested. Those who choose not to care don’t really sit right with me.

[thebigcjart]

Here's Vriska! Lot to talk about with her, she's very relevant to everybody's character arcs.

Vriska is a member of the Noble Ferring Caste, and her mother, House Lady Araxie Serket does not let her forget it. Lady Araxie demands perfection, and she demands pawns. And even though Vriska is unfortunately impure, she is Fortunately a Spinner.

Lady Araxie is personally disgusted to be seen with her child, but the house needs to have a clear line of succession and so she puts on a face of House Serket pride in public, but behind closed doors?

Vriska's role in the House is that of a Snapper. Something that Noble Houses do in Scadrialternia is having a bunch of ill-bred children with inconsequential house servants or Terris steward/esses in hopes of producing a Misting or Ferring that the public doesn't know about and therefore they don't have to treat them fairly; they get agents with powers that are loyal to their Noble House and don't have to participate in stuff like House politics or human rights. Snappers are people who go to the young bastard children who failed to be born Ferrings and give them a specific mix of all 16 Allomantic metals, then inflict great physical trauma to them with the aim that they will Snap into being a Misting of some kind, and they can tell what kind of Misting they are by what metal they end up burning. Vriska's punishment for being born wrong is beating her bastard first second and third cousins for failing to be at least like her. This is where a good chunk of her superiority complex comes from. It also is very traumatic for her, obviously.

Vriska stores Fortune inside Chromium and can tap it later for a boost of luck and good karma. So, it would be Fortunate for House Serket should she succeed in Snapping them, and it would be Fortunate for her so that she does not incur further wrath from her mother. Her Chromiumminds are full forearm bracers that are actually quite thick; a testament to her physical strength.

During a feud with Terezi in her early childhood, she made Terezi snap into being a Tineye, causing Terezi to blind. Terezi got her back at some point after by sneaking into her room replacing one of her Chromiumminds with a duplicate she got from a mysterious figure (this figure IS important, is NOT from Scadrialternia, and will only come back wayy later in the plot of the AU) made of a metal that can detonate remotely through some esoteric mechanism not understood (magic system from a different Shardworld). Vriska put her first one on and began storing Fortune, as she usually does, then put on the fake. Terezi detonated it once she heard Vriska comment on it (using her Tin-enhanced hearing from an explosion-safe distance). The explosion was big enough to take off Vriska's left arm completely, and the shrapnel also got her left eye. She escaped House Serket and got to House Zahhak where Equius could fix her. Equius was going to give her some healing ability or Allomantic Pewter, but Vriska was tapping all of the Fortune she had as fast as she could that the universe decided the best thing would be for Equius to accidentally grab the wrong Spike, and give her a Chromium Spike; giving Vriska a solid chunk of Spiritual Destiny. The Spike was just an experiment for Equius' curiosity, and not intended to be used, but now it is Vriska's Destiny to do... something. Whatever it is, Vriska can't die until it is done, thus ensuring her narrative relevance. Equius isn't a roboticist in this AU though, so her arm is gone for good.

The chat client they use is called Palpuller. Her Pullhandle is anvilsGrasp. This extends the metaphor of her catchphrase "irons in the fire" to convey that she is caught in the grasp of the anvil and is being forged into something new; something better. It also is because she is like a smith herself, being the one who "hammers" the children of her House to forge them into something better as well. Its all the significance of her canon trollhandle with none of the spiders. Even though spiders are the still the House Serket coat of arms.

Her typing quirk is replacing "b" and "eight sounds" with the number 8; multiplying vowels and ending punctuation by 8 for emphasis; using 4 colons for 8-eyed emoticons; and replacing vowels with 8s more liberally when highly emotional.

The symbol on her suit jacket is that of Duralumin, which is the Steel Alphabet symbol for "S", indicating House Serket. She wears a necklace with the symbol for the Tuner, because after talking to Kanaya for a bit, she is drawn to the idea of being proud of her Terris heritage, being a Ferring. She listens to Kanaya talk about Terris myths and legends, and finds wonder with the idea, eventually growing to become a firm believer in the Shelter (and also following Karkat once they meet). The image is of her during the 12 teaming up, long after she leaves House Serket, so she didn't look like that growing up.

House Zahhak insisted on keeping Vriska until she was well enough to be transferred back to the care of House Serket, and her recovery was long and painful. Her mother never visited her, and she had to be tended to by nurses who regularly had to ask Equius about Hemalurgical care. During this time, she became pen pals with Kanaya and started to learn more about Terris culture. It was also during this time she learned that she was trans, and she even had visions of herself--a woman--in the future killing a god. her mother finally came to visit her, she deemed that Vriska was no longer allowed to be seen in public, and that the Spike in her eye made her a freak. Vriska received a package from Kanaya containing the personal journal of her ancestor, the Mindfang. Now that was the kind of woman Vriska wanted to be. Her mother made sure to confiscate her Chromiumminds so that "no more misfortune would come of them" but really it was to separate Vriska from her only source of power. Fortunately for Vriska, the Spike running through her skull is solid Chromium, and she spent every moment she could stand storing Fortune.

Once she could move, Vriska learned that Lady Araxie told the court that she had died. Vriska was livid, and made her way to whatever ball was being held in the House. She was tapping Fortune so that no one found her stumbling through the halls. She made her way to the ballroom, and everyone froze once she made it to the central speaking platform to confront her mother in the middle of a toast. She, with almost every high-ranking Noble in attendance, publicly put her abusive mother on blast for every way she has ever been wronged and went on about the achievements of the Mindfang and the Tuner from Terris lore. Vriska--who had now publicly come out as Vriska--Serket officially disowned Lady Araxie as her mother. Her mother's reaction? Calling a bodyguard to return Vriska (who's gender she fully disregarded) to her bed to rest. Vriska was still tapping her vast storage of Fortune, so no one moved. Vriska, blind in one eye from a Spike and blind in the other from rage, ripped the bandages off of her arm and tackled Araxie. She pinned her to the ground with her knees, wrapping her bloody bandages around Araxie's neck with her arm, and pulling them tight with her teeth, strangling her to death. Vriska looked at the stunned crowd, spit on Araxie's corpse, then left House Serket for good. Not a single damn person followed her.

After that, she went to Kanaya, who took her in and redressed her wounds. She kept the suitjacket she once wore because it now was a symbol of the Mindfang to her. Vriska at some point leads Sollux to believe that... something (I havent quite figured out what) was going on at Aradia's place, which leads him to destroy her house with Allomancy unaware that she was still inside. Vriska also before her injuries started beefing with Tavros and pushed him off a cliff. Generally, Vriska is the reason a lot of things go wrong for a lot of people. But also she's integral to the plot of the AU because she can get people in and out of the Condese's palace and is great at interrogation, and even is the one to bring Karkat to kill the Condese.

Some silly quotes:

GC: W3 W3R3 SUPPOS3D TO B3 L1K3 4 V1G1L4NT3 DUO D1SP3NS1NG JUST1C3 GC: 4ND YOU COULD T4K3 TH3 B4D GUYS 4ND G3T YOUR FRUSTR4T1ONS OUT GC: BUT 1NST34D YOU JUST T4RG3T3D 3V3RYON3 TH4T W4S 4 SK44 GC: 4ND L13D 4ND L13D 4ND L13D AG: Yeah, those were the days. AG: I mean, days full of mist8kes and r8gret! AG: But it was still a lot of fun. Watching you dismantle those petty crime g8ngs full of thugs and coinshots AG: Without even having the Metallic Art I aw8kened in you! Wow. 1GC: M3H AG: Come oooooooon! AG: What do I have to do here? GC: 1 DUNNO AG: Well if you want to know what I think, you should start changing your tune. AG: Cause even though you got all these highfalutin morals and fancy reserv8tions, you know as well as me that a killer is a killer is a killer! AG: There 8n't no ch8nging your ways for good, and one d8y you're going to flail that silly l8ttle cane of yours and not find n8thin to 8ump into, and fall f8ce first into the ash ag8in. AG: And you're going to do something t8rri8le to some8ody and wish you could t8ke it 8ack 8ut you c8n't!!!!!!!! AG: And then you'll work hard to win 8ack their trust, and you'll try and try and tr8, and you'll see how hard it is! AG: You'll seeeeeeee!

EB: i think if you feel bad, it just means you have Honor. which is good, right? AG: No. That's not how it works. AG: I'm supposed to 8e just fine with it. AG: This was sort of like a test, and I'm afraid I might 8e failing. EB: how was it like a test? AG: Well, it was the first time I really hurt some8ody. EB: ok. AG: W8! Ok, that's not really true. What I meant was, it was the first time I beat some8ody I cared a8out. EB: so… EB: you beat up other people, that you didn't care about? AG: Yes. Sort of a lot, actually. 8ut there was a really good reason for that! EB: hm. how many? EB: or… do i want to know… AG: Oh, it doesn't matter. Pro8a8ly up to a hundred m8bye. EB: uhhhhhhhh. EB: stormfather… AG: Rusts, I know how this sounds! 8ut I had to listen to her. My mother I mean. I've 8asically 8een playing this role as a Snapper my whole life. It is what she raised me to do. EB: i guess that is why you didn't get along with her? AG: Hell yes. EB: i see. EB: still, that is a LOT of violence. Almighty above… AG: Yeah, 8ut I never felt anything a8out it. It was just normal life for me. EB: but then you finally hurt someone you liked, and… EB: not so cool anymore? AG: Yeah. OH! AG: Ok, that's not quite right. I also almost paralyzed one of my current friends 8efore all this. AG: Man, I always forget a8out him, he's so useless! EB: uh. AG: It c8me 8ack around eventually, 8ecause the spike that s8ved him wasn't able to 8e used on me when I 8lew up. AG: So I guess we're even! EB: … AG: 8ut man. That was years ago. AG: I think I had a really juvenile attitude a8out hurting people 8ack then. I think I was trying too hard? AG: I was always really o8sessed with 8eing the 8est at stuff, and I guess I was trying to 8e precocious in that respect as well, and prove to everyone how 8rutal I could be. AG: 8ut I was such a confused kid! I didn't know anything a8out what 8eating people within an inch of their lives really means. I was trying to fake it, and it caused me nothing 8ut pro8lems. EB: i guess i had no idea how different we really were. EB: what i am hearing is seriously scaring the shit out of me! AG: Yeah, I know. I wish we didn't have to 8e so different. I'm just trying to 8e honest with you, 8ecause like I said, I have nowhere else to go. EB: ok, well i appreciate the honesty. EB: so… if killing isn't exactly wrong, then what is it? EB: what do you mean by "what killing really means"? AG: I guess I have to admit I don't actually know that much a8out Rosharans either! AG: Other than that you are all a8out honor and promises and seem to 8e on a healthier planet, and think hurting others totally sucks. AG: I really have no clue what it means to grow up as a commoner, either. AG: 8ut I do know what it means grow up as a No8le, and what's expected of us. EB: what does it mean? AG: When a No8le comes of age, you 8etter 8elieve it means they're going to start playing dirty. AG: It's what we do as a Class. We are very effective social conquerors, and as such, we practically domin8 our soci8ty. EB: ...i may know something about that. EB: the alethi are kind of known for their warmongering. or… used to.AG: The ones that don't learn to 8e ruthless? They're going to get dominated, dismantled, and 8ecome powerless. AG: And the reality is, it can happen to any No8le House if the Lord or Lady is weak. That's just life for us. EB: that sounds terrible! EB: i would like to be culturally sensitive, but we're working on dismantling exactly that system on our planet. i hope you don't want to continue that. EB: i have started to really like you guys! AG: Well, thanks John. That's nice of you to say. 8ut let's face it, it doesn't rusting matter anymore, since our whole planet is dying! AG: May8e for the 8est, when you think a8out it. EB: :( AG: 8ut at least the cosmere gave us some purpose 8efore wiping us out, right? AG: At least we got the chance to learn a8out you, all they away across those twinkly stars you get to see every night. EB: yeah, that's true.

Homestuck Beta Trolls X Mistborn AU

Spoilers for Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn series. This is what powers I think the beta trolls would have if they were born on Scadrial

Aradia Megido - Gold or Electrum Misting

Allomancy: ‘Augur’ (Gold: see own Past), ‘Oracle’ (Electrum: see own Future)

Hemalurgy: Cadmium (Placement Unknown: Gold or Electrum Allomancy

It is unknown what her original misting ability was, but the spike from Equius gave her the other one

Tavros Nitram - Cadmium Ferring

Feruchemy: Gasper (Cadmium: Breath), “Bloodmaker” (Gold: Health)

Hemalurgy: Gold (Between Ribs: Gold Feruchemy)

Cadmium compounder; Vriska makes fun of him for having a ‘useless ability’, but doesn’t see the potential that storing breath has. Equius provides him with healing powers to fix his legs through hemalurgy.

Sollux Captor - Born powerless

Allomancy: “Coinshot” (Steel: Push metal) “Lurcher” (Iron: Pull metal)

Hemalurgy: Steel X2 (Left and Right Orbit: Iron and Steel Allomancy)

These spikes were not given by Equius, but instead were applied in a “freak acciident” involving a “jaiilbroken beehiive”.

Karkat Vantas - Copper/Duralumin Twinborn (mutant)

Allomancy: Smoker (Copper: Hide Allomancy)

Feruchemy: Connector (Duralumin: Connection)

I’m not exactly sure why being a natural twin-born is bad in Scadrialternian society, but it is and Karkat’s gotta hide it. Also the castes follow a natural Misting-Ferring-Powerless-Misting-Ferring-Powerless pattern, and Karkat’s caste breaks that so it was completely eradicated through eugenics so im pretty sure he’s the only one.

Nepeta Leijon - Steel Ferring

Feruchemy: Steelrunner (Steel: Physical Speed)

Nothing special, just run-of-the-steel-mill feruchemy.

Kanaya Maryam - Chromium Misting

Allomancy: Leecher (Chromium: wipe allomantic reserves of target)

Her caste is supposed to be powerless, like Equius', but much like how she's a rainbow drinker in canon, she is somehow a misting in this AU. Snapped after Eridan shot her half to death with his “poison wwand strike” (toxic chromium bullets). He did not know that these bullets were Allomantically viable, and neither knew that she would be able to burn chromium. She uses this to sap Gamzee of his massive Zinc reserves, causing him to be distracted long enough for her to kill Eridan.

Terezi Pyrope - Tin misting - Tin Savant

Allomancy: Scout (Tin: Increases senses)

Terezi and Gamzee are the only Savants on the team, which forms the basis of their bond and later kismesitude on whatever this au’s equivalent of the meteor is. She snapped during a feud with Vriska, which left her blind, but she has been flaring tin for so many sweeps that she can basically assemble visual data through her other senses.

Vriska Serket - Cadmium Ferring

Feruchemy: Spinner (Cadmium: Fortune)

Hemalurgy: Left Eye (Cadmium: Destiny)

Forced Equius to use Hemalurgy on her to heal her during a feud with Terezi, but she was tapping Fortune so hard that Equius managed to select the wrong spike and gave her Destiny instead of some healing ability, which is apparently good luck according to the spiritual realm? It’s destiny to be relevant forever I guess so she can’t really die until the plot demands it. She also has Kelsier’s weird metal vision allowing her to peep into the spiritual realm just a little bit. She ended up having her arm fully amputated due to her spirit not being able to accept another spike. Equius in this au isn’t exactly a roboticist, so she won’t get a replacement arm until wayy later down the line.

Equius Zahhak - born powerless

Allomancy: Thug (Pewter: Strength)

Hemalurgy: Between ribs (Steel: Allomantic pewter)

Equius is a Hemalurgist, who was born without allomancy or feruchemy (much like the rest of his caste). He gave himself pewter to make future hemalurgy easier for him (pushing spikes into/through people is physically intensive). He has also given powers to Aradia, Tavros, and Vriska so far.

Gamzee Makara - Zinc Rioter - Zinc Savant

Allomancy: Rioter (Zinc: Riot)

As a Zinc savant, he is so used to being able to fuck with people’s emotions on a whim that he has no idea how to handle empathy without it. He has a very carefree attitude because if someone is saying/doing something he doesn’t like, he can just Allomantic them away. This also means that everyone around him naturally swell with anger and frustration, which leads to the events of the meteor. Rioters and soothers can also gain control of hemalurgic constructs, so I imagine he could take over any hemalurgy users in the party at a whim.

Eridan Ampora - Electrum “Ferring” (Full Feruchemist)

Feruchemy: Pinnacle (Electrum: Determination)

Eridan, like others in his caste, is a full feruchemist, but unlike his other caste members, he only believes that he has one ability.

Feferi Peixes - Mistborn

Allomancy: Mistborn

Feferi, like all others in her caste, is a Mistborn. The Condese is too, actually.

EDIT: Various bits of phrasing and removed the mature label (I have no idea why I wasn't able to before)

[captaincartervalues]

This is everything wrong with that trial bc it IRKS me to no end:

There is absolutely ZERO instances in which Lex would have gotten his trial that quickly. From the time he was arrested last episode (aka yesterday in their timeline) to arraignment would most likely take two to three days. For those who don’t know, an arraignment is where the government formally presents the charges to the defendant in court and the defendant consequently enters their plea, either guilty or not guilty. After the arraignment is the trial, which by law and procedure would never occur immediately after or within the same day. Logistically, scheduling a trial to find days where all parties (judge, defendant, and prosecutor) are available requires time and coordination. Courts’ calendars are booked weeks and months ahead of time. Per the 6th Amendment in the US Constitution, a defendant is entitled to a speedy trial. However a speedy trial never means a trial within a DAY. Though there’s often no set number of days that would automatically constitute a violation of a speedy trial, generally defendants should see their trial start date within approximately 60 days. That is because of the real world logistic constraints but it is also to ensure that BOTH the prosecution and defense have adequate time to prepare for a trial. This preparation includes gathering and disclosing evidence, witness prep, motion filing, and just generally getting your case together. However that 60 days is only if the defense doesn’t waive their right to a speedy trial which many do in order to properly prepare and mount a defense to acquit. Trials in these cases can and do get pushed several months or even upwards of years til the start date. Assuming Lex refused to waive his 6th amendment right and wanted a trial immediately he still would never get it within the same day because A. The prosecution would never agree to that nor would the judge allow it B. The court’s schedule wouldn’t have an opening like that and C. The process of pre-trial takes time. To even just select a jury aka voir dire can take several days by itself. Other pre trial steps that would occur before a trial can start include a preliminary hearing in which the judge determines if there’s enough evidence against the defendant to have a trial, discovery in which both sides have to share their evidence and witness lists with each other prior to trial, and motions filed to the court to exclude or suppress certain evidence from trial. These steps take time and several appearances before the court that would be spread out over weeks at minimum.

Undermining a witness’s credibility like how Lex did with Eve by insinuating she was a scorned and resentful woman does not mean her entire testimony would get thrown out and excluded from trial. It is literally the job of the jury to weigh and value a witness’s testimony with their credibility. The jury could absolutely conclude Eve is not credible and lying BUT they would get to come to that conclusion on their own in deliberations bc a judge would never throw out a witness’s entire testimony unless there was definitive evidence the witness is lying (which there was not). Also, a witness could be deemed less credible and still have their testimony be believed because of supplementary evidence or corroborating witnesses like Lena.

Fruit of the poisonous tree. Related to the above point, Lena says Eve’s testimony was tainted because it was “fruit of the poisonous tree” which is NOT how that works in the slightest. Fruit of the poisonous tree is a real legal doctrine in which evidence is officially excluded from trial because it was obtained illegally by law enforcement. If the source of the evidence (lets say an illegal search without a warrant) is tainted, then anything gained (“the fruit”) from the source (“the tree”) is also tainted and inadmissible in court. Basically, fruit (ie evidence) from a poisonous tree (ie illegal search) is also poisonous and thus not allowed. But Eve’s testimony does not fall into this category at all. Just because her credibility was undermined and therefore the rest of her testimony is also undermined that does not mean it is illegal or excluded from being considered in court by the jury. At most she’s a failed witness bc her testimony is useless in the eyes of the jury but it is not in any shape or form inadmissible.

Just because Lex said a bunch of legal jargon to the judge doesn’t mean it A. had any weight or meaning and B. would actually be accepted by the judge. Lex asked the judge to have Eve’s testimony stricken from the record, her plea deal be revoked, and add a charge of perjury for her lies. All three motions would have been immediately denied because Lex didn’t provide an ounce of evidence that Eve was perjuring herself. See point 2 again because all he did was possibly and not even that effectively undermine her credibility by having her admit she was in love with him and rejected. That alternative theory could potentially be enough to negate her testimony in the jury’s eyes but it is most certainly not even remotely enough to get her testimony thrown out. Just because the defense offers a competing theory (which is literally the job of the defense) does not mean that theory is automatically accepted as fact or true. Again it is the job of the jury to determine that. Not to mention that this case was described as “ironclad” by Lillian and purported to be supported by hard evidence provided by Eve in addition to her testimony according to the prosecutor. Lex’s resentful lover theory wouldn’t necessarily negate that testimony or evidence! Lots of witnesses in real life are imperfect with questionable backgrounds or motives but their testimony can still be compelling to find a defendant guilty. Like this was such a thinly veiled, lazy attempt at a defense. Lex didn’t offer ANY evidence to support his claims other than his own testimony which was not legally admitted and should have been sustained and stricken which moves me to my next point.

Lex’s questioning of the witnesses was utterly objectionable and sustainable. Lawyers are bound by specific procedure and rules when questioning a witness. During cross examination, which is when a lawyer is questioning the other side’s witness, you are afforded more latitude by which to ask your questions in attempts to undermine an opposing witness’s credibility and testimony. You can ask leading questions aka yes or no questions (ex: you framed me because I rejected you, isn’t that right?) and you can even be combative with witnesses. However, what you absolutely CANNOT do is testify yourself and not ask the witness a question. This is literally what Lex did during his cross of both Eve and Lena. The objection that should and would have been raised is “Objection: Counselor (or in this case Defendant bc Lex is representing himself and not a lawyer) is testifying” to which the judge would have immediately agreed, sustained Lex, and have his entire monologue to the jury stricken and instructed them to ignore everything he said. A lawyer and especially someone representing themselves CANNOT use a witness’s time on the stand to testify themselves. That is what opening and closing arguments are for: uninterrupted presentation of your case. If Lex wanted to testify, he would have to take the stand and be subject to cross examination. He does not get to use his cross of Eve as a chance to say whatever he wants. ALSO as a side note, if a witness was so thoroughly undermined during cross, the lawyer who called the witness would get what is called a redirect, or extra time to question a witness to reestablish why their testimony is relevant and credible. Only a terrible prosecutor would choose not to redirect after that.

Also, between the scenes in court and those with Lena and Lillian, the show somehow implies both that Eve’s testimony was thrown out and that it was just merely undermined to the jury but not excluded? They can’t have it both ways lol.

When the judge actually sustains Lex for his improper questioning of Lena, she only says it once and lets him continue on his inadmissible tirade. In reality a judge would keep saying sustained or tell the defendant if they don’t stop now they’ll be held in contempt (aka put in jail until they’re ready to comply with the rules of the court). AND she would most definitely have instructed the jury that all of what he just said was sustained and couldn’t be considered.

Lex says “the defense rests” during the prosecution’s presentation and witness?! Like that’s not how it works. Lex technically hadn’t even started his presentation because he didn’t call any witnesses or present any evidence. He doesn’t just get to decide the trial is over during the prosecution’s case. The prosecution has to rest before the defense can even start let alone also rest their case.

This one isn’t so much a legal note but a weird observation. They have Willy shout “Yes!” after Lex “rests” implying Lex did more damage to himself with his speech and the jury would agree, only to then have Lena look half smug for beating him and half like she failed on the stand. They gave weird conflicting sentiments about the direction of the verdict that I guess was supposed to make the not guilty verdict a surprise but it all just fell flat and was super disjointed. And I’m sorry but Lex going on an unhinged rant would not help his perception or case to the jury even if he said he didn’t commit the crimes. Maybe the men would sympathize or project but those women would be taking that as a big sign of guilt. At the very least the jury should have been locked and unable to render a verdict thus declaring a mistrial which would have meant even more time as a new trial is set.

In conclusion, none of this makes sense nor is it how the courts actually work. I get everything doesn’t have to be über realistic but I would appreciate even a minutia of effort to make it make sense.

AND all of it was just entirely unnecessary for the episode. What they should have done is merely say Lex was awaiting trial and move on!

[jadagul]

People vary a lot in how strictly they define "nation". (I think probably depending on the context they work in?)

So e.g. the OED has definition I.1.a as:

A large aggregate of communities and individuals united by factors such as common descent, language, culture, history, or occupation of the same territory, so as to form a distinct people. Now also: such a people forming a political state; a political state. (In early use also in plural: a country.)

America absolutely isn't based on common descent. That's kind of central to our founding mythos.

A little less than 80% of Americans speak English as their first language. I get about 90% for French in France, 95% for German in Germany, 90% again for English in England and Wales, and 98% for Japanese in Japan. (In contrast, I get 70% speaking Mandarin in China.)

Do we share a similar culture? In some ways yes and in some ways no. I'd lean more toward "yes" here, though.

Common history? Depends on how far back you go. There's a lot of unifying stuff about what "we" did in WWII, say. Or how "we" immigrated in the 1800s. And for that matter, we talk about what "we" did in the American Revolution, even though I think most of us didn't even have ancestors here then. But we definitely have a common mythic history.

Occupation of the same territory: yeah.

So whether we count as a "nation" depends somewhat on the relative weightings there. And here may be helpful and relevant to remember that in the standard historical analysis, there were no nations in the modern sense before about 1800. A "nation" requires a sort of common-history mythologizing that people only started doing in the late 1700s. (Nationalism was an important military technology; France was the first nation to really develop it, and that's precisely why Napoleon was able to roll over Europe so quickly, until his rivals developed counter-nationalisms.)

So e.g. Bret Devereaux thinks the US is clearly not a nation:

So we have our definition of a nation: a people, historically connected geographically coherent territory, with a shared language, culture and myth of common birth-origin. The United States obviously fails this definition. It isn’t even remotely close. ... Common history is likewise a dud here, but that may require a bit more explaining. After all, there are certainly a set of historical events related to the American polity itself – the founding, the American Civil War, the World Wars, the Civil Rights Movement and so on – which form a key pillar of American civics. But these stories are connected to formation of the key institutions of the state; they are not stories of personal origins. While stories of the American founding tends to focus on the role of English settlers, only around 20% of Americans claim British ancestry and about half of those hearken back to Irish immigrants who arrived well after the founding. Needless to say, the ‘common history’ may not seem quite so common for those whose ancestors arrived on slave ships, or many decades after the founding, or the 13.7% of Americans who are foreign born, or, of course, those whose ancestors arrived over the Bering Ice Bridge perhaps twenty thousand years ago. For my own part, my ancestors filtered over the Atlantic during the 1800s and early 1900s; to the best of my knowledge, none of my ancestors fought in the revolution. ... There is no single dominant American story, but a collection of American stories, none of which can claim primacy because none of them represent even a significant plurality of the population’s own personal origins, much less a majority. ... And territory is also a bust. Of course the United States now occupies a defined territory, but as noted, very few Americans have a longstanding attachment to this land stretching into the mists of time. In historical terms, most Americans got here only fairly recently. Moreover, the tale of American expansion is one in which the ‘soil’ of America was repeatedly notional; the United States was where Americans went (and of course we must note that the places they went were not empty, but seized violently from the inhabitants). The United States can travel and indeed has done so. Moreover, ancient claims to the land – either arguments for autochthony or greenfield settlement – for the majority of Americans, are simply impossible; we all know darn well that we weren’t the first people here and that the United States does not have the most ancient claim to this land. Most nations claim to occupy a sacred, ancestral homeland; the United States is fairly open (if quite conflicted) about the fact that it occupies someone else’s sacred, ancestral homeland.

its crazy that so many people say the US isnt a nation. the US is like, way more of a nation than most countries. way less internal diversity. way stronger sense of self-conception. etc. you may be confused, because we're not an *ethnicity*