#ok enough ship analysis i should go to bed

[silversoulstardust]

rereading my fav lawlu doujinshi bc I want to make myself cry to sleep

[nightswithkookmin]

IS JIKOOK REAL?

In light of everything that's happened over the course of the month: Taekook in the Soop, the missing birthday post on Jimin's birthday and the following silence that's ensued in its aftermath- we are all still waiting for Jimin's birthday VLive; every Jikook fan past and present, deep and shallow, I feel, is left wondering whether Jikook was ever as real as bigfoot and the Easter bunny, a figment of our imagination. Is Jikook real, we all wonder.

Now, I can't answer the later with Vim and Vigor without opening myself up to all kinds of law suits under the sun- I don't care much for the skepticism and ridicule that usually follows. Nor can I in good conscience come out here and outrightly out these two that I feel are in fact a couple and dating. That would be very hypocritical of me.

The best I can do in this instance is to stream my consciousness and share with you why I believe them to be a couple? Let the records show, I am full on delusional. *smiling.

I think when it comes to Jikook the universal consensus within the fandom is that they have a really special bond. We can all agree on that much. Their bond is unique and just plain beautiful; the days of disclarity and obscurity over whether they even like each other long gone.

Thus I refrain from indulging in any conversation that calls to question the intentions of either party towards the other when either act in a certain way that most find displeasing. Such as, questions about why JK didn't promote Promise or Friends, why he didn't wish JM a happy birthday. Is Jk envious of Jimin or vice versa, etc.

Such questions as simple and as innocuous as they may seem are always hard for me to answer. JK promoted Promise, had the funniest reaction video to it. He promoted Lie, every chance he got with teasing Jimin's dance moves in Lie, literally had a gun to Jimin to perform Lie in run and that hand on his heart said it all. Is that not promotion enough?

We heard serendipity, you are me, I am you and the many tireless times JK has talked about it- he won't shut up about it. What more does he need to do to show he loves and supports Jimin's career?

I find when people ask these kinds of questions that they are operating on the mentality that JK doesn't love Jimin *enough* or worse that Jikook ought to love each other in a certain kind of way, their own arbitrary ways and to their own satisfaction.

I keep reiterating that this is their love and their relationship. Ours is just to observe how they are choosing to express that love for eachother and uWu while we are at it. Lol

That's not to say that we shouldn't have certain expectations of them if we believe them to be a couple. Expectations are important and necessary to sustaining our belief in them as a couple. But that expectation should be reasonable and should be determined by the patterns of behavior we see in them towards eachother, towards the group and with consideration to their values, culture and beliefs- stay with me.

If our expectations of them is that they are not loving eachother enough or in a way that satisfies and appeases our spirits then that's no longer expectations. That's projecting.

Thus, I'm often discombobulated by the questions i recieve on the quality of love they express towards each other because quality is relative and highly subjective.

Jikook only have so much room to express their love and affection for eachother since they are not out yet and so we may not fully be privy to the extent of the love they express for each other much less to ascertain its quality.

The space they inhabit is a working space and when the cameras turn on it is work and business...

That being said, what they are not doing within this constricted space they have is equally as important as what they are doing within this space. Whereas questions of the quality of their love is irrelevant, to me as an Alt shipper at least, I find questions of the degree of love between them highly important.

Jikook's special bond is indisputable. The conflict then has always been about labels, whether or not that bond they share is purely platonic, romantic or something in between- the degree of love between them.

And I see there are different schools of thought on this matter. There are those who operate on the assumption that Jikook are just special friends and reserve the possibility that they could be something more to them.

Then there are those who believe they are real or could be real but reserve the possibility that they could also not be real.

These are the conventional shippers. They play it safe. Good for them. But then there are the full on delulu folks such as myself who are risk takers and go all in or nothing- alternative shipping.

To me Jikook is real or I am not shipping them in the way that I ship them at all. Lol. Chileee, I prefer Yoonmin, Minimoni, Jihope, Vmin, Jinminkook, Vminkook as conventional ships for fun and what not. Jikook has always been that alternative ship for me.

And as an alternative ship, what Jikook do for eachother is equally as important to me as what they do not do for eachother. If Jikook are real then I think it's imperative that we have reasonable expectations of them in the way that they behave with eachother, enough to distinctify them as a couple within the group.

Couples are expected to behave in a certain way marked and defined by the couples themselves but that also set them apart nonetheless. Some people choose to be in an open relationship, may be friends with benefit etc but will still exude certain patterns of behavior definitive in itself that it distinguishes them from mere friends.

If Jikook are a couple they will define their relationship in a way that sets a standard for them such that this standard sets them apart from the rest of the group. And I think I have mentioned some of those standards as intimacy, speaking eachothers love language, exclusivity and the right to claim amongst others.

Yes JK loves JM and vice versa but are they loving eachother as friends or lovers? What are the patterns of behavior they put up or not put up to distinctify themselves as a couple within the group if they are one?

Yes Taekook are friends, but are they putting up distinctive characteristics that set them apart from Jikook? The answer is a resounding no- atatattatatatat, no buts. I'll bitch slap you. Lol

Tae cuddles Jimin and shares a bed with him but that is ok because they are besties soulmates. Vmin cute. Tae cuddles JK and suddenly the fandom is in uproar? Chilee, what's y'all on?

This is why I shy away from conventional shippers- well, some. The tendency they have to dismiss certain certain moments when they happen or import standards into Jikook's dynamics based on their own understanding of intimacy and romance without taking into consideration what Jikooks understanding of romance and intimacy is baffles me.

These are the people who would scream why is Jimin blowing kisses at Suga here, why is Jk cuddling Tae there without considering whether skinship with others is a deal breaker for Jikook. JK does skinship with Jin, Tae and suddenly they are questioning whether Jikook is real- I really can't relate.

If skinship is not a deal breaker for Jikook then such reactions to moments like these are nothing but censorship of JK and Jimin's behaviors and goes to question the quality of their love which as I said is irrelevant to the determining of the realness of Jikook.

If you think these skinship they do with others are disrespectful towards eachother then indirectly you are saying Jikook's relationship is toxic- but toxic relationships are still relationships and so that doesn't invalidate Jikook's relationship or disprove it.

If you expect JM to behave in a certain way because you think he is in a relationship with JK or vice versa that is no longer reasonable expectations of them but blatant censorship.

Put censorship aside, the question of the quality of their relationship aside, our own personal idiosyncrasies aside and hopes- what do you see?

REASONABLE EXPECTATIONS

I mentioned above how it's imperative to have reasonable expectations of Jikook if you believe them to be a real couple because without these expectations Jikook is no different from any other ship in BTS.

I talked about what constitutes reasonable expectations though and attempted to outline what doesn't count as reasonable expectations but allow me to shed more light on it for the sake of dissolving any ambiguity around the term.

Unreasonable expectations are those expectations we have that result in us questioning the validity of Jikooks relationship without cause. They often result in us assuming something is wrong between Jikook because we feel there is something we ought to see in their interactions because we are used to seeing them in Jikook dynamics.

Unreasonable expectations is drilled in us by false conditionings. Some of these false conditionings are external to Jikook, such as our exposure to analysis videos or edited videos. They often condition us to think Jikook are in BTS to screw eachother seven ways through the roof all year round. We tend to forget quickly that when the cameras turn on it's all work for them.

The worst part is, we get used to the slowed down gazes, the two seconds lingering stares and touches that go on for minutes in these edited videos and so whenever we are exposed to actual content from BigHit in real time we feel JK didn't stare too long, JM didn't laugh at JK's Jokes therefore something is wrong.

Some false conditionings are induced in us by Jikook themselves.

Take for instance, Jimlous and Jeonlous. Are these something to be considered reasonable expectations for us to have of Jikook because we see them do this all the time? Absolutely not.

While jealousy is an integral part of the Korean dating culture- allegedly, it is subject to the mental state, personal values and growth of Jikook.

As they mature, they may outgrow certain behaviors not limited to Jimlous/Jeonlous. It is thus unreasonable to expect these of Jikook all the time.

Coupled with long exposures to edited videos, we soon become conditioned to expect Jk or Jimin to react strongly to when the other seemingly crosses boundaries with others- aka skinship.

If you expect JK to pout each time Jimin smiles at another member and they don't, it simply means you are stuck in the past and aren't growing with them on their love journey. It doesn't mean something is wrong with Jikook or that Jikook is not real.

That doesn't mean Jeonlous is not important. It is a distinctifier. In my opinion.

Jikook are able to enforce boundaries with each other because they have the right to. I keep saying they are the only pair in BTS that has and exercise this right of claim over eachother. Jimlous/ Jeonlous is how we know they feel a boundary has been crossed and depending on the situation or environment they would often exercise that right of claim.

I have said, the only times I feel they don't and can't exercise this right of claim is if they are not a couple and just friends- when they are broken up. I saw this because even in official settings they seem to have this right of claim even if they are not exercising it.

What I'm trying to say is certain behaviors and patterns of behavior in Jikook are distinctifiers in that they set them apart from the other pairs and those distinctifiers can be reasonably expected of Jikook and so if we don't see those in them- over a period of time mind you, then questions and brows ought to be raised as high up as possible. If Jikook is not real then frankly I want to know. I'm not about to believe in bigfoot.

What I'm saying basically is, whereas Jeonlous and Jimlous are not a distinctifier perse as such shouldn't be reasonably expected of them, right of claim is a distinctifier and should be reasonably expected.

Skinship is not a distinctifier- if I have to repeat this one more time I swear to god imma wield JK's pan on y'all. Lol but deadass.

Now, is JK wishing JM a happy birthday openly on social media reasonable expectation? Come now, Y'all don know I had a complete meltdown over this on my TL. Of course I'm gone bring it up. Lol

Jikook wishing eachother a happy birthday on social media is reasonable expectations to have if it is a distinctifier or something that sets Jikook apart from the rest of the members. Is it? The answer is a flat ass no.

I mentioned that one of the reasons I believe Jikook is real is because I feel out of all the pairs in BTS they are the ones that speak eachother's love language.

Jimin loves to be made to feel special. Jk makes Jimin feel special. I mean he did gift JM a present without doing same for the others so it's safe to assume he gives Jimin special treatment on his birthdays- as should he. Mr Park set the standards high for his man.

Y'all know I was on my personal agenda with this whole JM birthday thingy. I was hoping Jk was going to post but only for Jimin and make a statement with it- a girl can dream.

The fact that he didn't post doesn't mean he didn't make JM feel special on his birthday. Had JM and BTS not talked openly about JK buying JM a present when he didn't do that for the others, frankly we wouldn't have known he ever did that for JM.

It sort of leaves you wondering what goes on behind the cameras. I mean if memories 2019 is anything to go by, Jikook is closer than we think.

Jikook show us a lot but there are a lot more we don't see.

In their early dynamics he used to do alot for JM that he seemed uncomfortable showing openly. We only knew of those moments through Jimin who seemed giddy and excited about them and would often overshare those information.

Personally, I feel whatever they did for Jimin on his Birthday is going to show up in a Bangtan Bomb or something in the future.

Due to BTS' inability to hold physical concerts due to the virus, I feel BigHit are on an agenda to increase demand and patronage for BTS content online by creating scarcity and making BTS less available and accessible- demand and supply, economics 101. They ain't slick. Bless them.

Social media is an outlet for Jikook. In my opinion. It is one of the means through which they express themselves individually and as a couple. But it's my understanding that Jikook use these outlets in different ways.

While JK uses it as an outlet to express his feelings because of his introvertedness, Jimin uses it as a means to connect with his fans and build their platform.

What I mean is, if JK is feeling happy he is going to come on here and tweet, cup of milk let's rock and roll. When Jimin doesn't pick up his calls, he's gonna come here and tweet it's hard to love. And when JinMin leave him out of a VLive he's gone drag his man's ass to film an impromptu live with him- bless him.

Jimin I find doesn't show up on social media on impulse as JK does- we all know what happens when he does. Thats when the multiple tweets and misspelled names roll in.

Jimin's presence online is often curated, in my opinion. He will often make time to talk and share his thoughts and feelings with Army to connect with them. It's the quality time love language bit in him.

Together, they use social media as an outlet to tease their relationship as a means to relieve the stress that comes with hiding their relationship. Their relationship. They do this through the flirty banter thingy they do on line- posting after eachother, responding to each other's messages etc.

An example is the recent Weverse thingy JK did which I posted about. And more recently, the D5/D4 posts they shared on Twitter where JK posted a picture of his mic on stage, an Army Logo and a purple heart. Which together read, JK purple's Army.

Jimin responded with a complimentary post of himself performing in a black and white photo with the hashtag Jimin, I miss Army. Now you don't need me to tell you what that means and if you think it's a coincidence- sorry to you.

When JK does these things, he is often connecting with Jimin, reaching out. Not every post he sends is about Jimin or intended for Jimin. I find usually the ones that are about Jimin, Jimin responds to them through his own posts or that they will have something in them that indirectly points to Jimin.

Like the 123 song recommendations or even recently the pinky ring, sky and cup of milk photo he posted after his birthday VLive.

A lot of people kept saying perhaps the chrome heart ring he wore on his pinky was a gift from Jimin. It could be. But I think the pinky was reference to the pinky ring Joke he shared on stage when he took Jimin's ring and put it on his pinky.

The blue sky reference, well... you know. But I was more concerned about the blurred out yet visible tags on the buildings in the background- this is weird for me to say out loud but I felt the message of that post was we are not hiding. Don't mind me.

Jimin loves to flaunt their bond and flex it on social media. He gets giddy and excited when Jk shows his affections, interest and attraction to him.

I have said JK and JM have two different personalities and while often Jimin is loud, open and overwhelmingly affectionate, JK is equally intense with his affections but at his choosing. They both have intense feelings and passions for eachother but they express it in different ways due to their different personalities.

Jikook are together but they are on their own unique personal journeys of growth as well. And as much as they start certain traditions, they also end certain traditions. This is especially true for JK.

He is the one who started their 123 coded flirty banter and he is the same person who ended that tradition with the ending scene post he shared on Twitter.

Because JK likes to retract and conceal aspects of himself, often I value and pay more attention to the things he does share than the things he don't.

And because Jimin is very loud and forward with his expressions, I value and lay attention to the things he does not share more so than the things he shares.

Often I hear people say Jimin acts the same with everyone, he is so openly affectionate so certainly his love for JK doesn't go beyond platonic feelings nor can it be exclusive to JK.

That's just the thing with JM's persona. It is so loud it blurs the line between his true self and his idol self.

The boy in love with Jungkook is a facade. That is the role Jimin took on at debut. If you don't know this you've been played. If you dislike JK's brand of love, his way of expressing his love for Jimin because of this persona Jimin has you owe Jk an apology.

That one person who loves Jungkook unconditionally in BTS is just a performance. All BTS were given roles, a marketing role to sell the bromance and sell the fans. Most of them have since out grown those persona's and those kinds of performances- especially JK.

JM still holds on to his persona compared to the others in my opinion: that hypersexualized, aigyo cute persona, a bit brazen, confident, shameless etc. He projects a lot of himself into this persona but I feel often he injects bits of this persona into his real identity as a way to break himself out his limitations as Park Jimin-That never mind tattoo is there for a reason.

And so when he is being loud and daring and a tease that's not when I find his love for JK. His love resides in the calmness of his storms. In his moments of quiet when he isn't screaming and disappearing while he laughs; when he is staring at JK, taking in his visage as if he is the most beautiful thing on earth- that's when you see all the love he has for him in his face. He never does this with any of the members.

When JK is injured and he switches off his loud persona, that's when you see the real park Jimin.

I don't know which is worse, people who believe this sick persona of his is real or the people who see this persona for what it is but fail to look deeper than that.

Then there are those who believe they are dating but then dismiss certain questionable things when they happen in their dynamics. Isn't that why some people believe Taekook is real? in spite of Jikook? How can you believe a ship to be real when the existence of another ship calls into question the entire ship and not just aspects of it? It beats me.

Are they any ship in BTS that calls Jikook into question? I'll leave you to answer this.

If your answer is wrong, I'm blocking you.

Signed,

GOLDY

[space-helen]

Hydration

Words: 1638

Pairing: Riker x Reader

A/N: I’ve never personally had dehydration but my sister did when she was younger so I drew from that plus some online sources. I hope it’s ok!

Request: For an open request slot. While trying to be an asset to the ship, the reader overworks and lets themselves get seriously dehydrated—to the point where it affects their performance. Will’s there to pick up the pieces. - Anon

______________________ “We need a full analysis of all of the samples by the end of the day tomorrow.”

“I’ll get on it.” you dragged the box of samples across the table and peered inside, there was way too many to process and you doubted you’d get them all done by tomorrow night but you had too.

You’d been running samples non stop for the last couple of days, you came to the lab earlier than your shift and left later, knowing that not many other people would have the same knowledge as you when it came to the nature of the samples. Alone time and time to look after yourself was optionally scarce as you’d decide to work through most of your breaks, running down to the mess hall and shovelling food inside your system before going back to the lab.

Your mouth was dry as you looked at the clock, it was getting late and you should probably leave soon to get some sleep. 

“Y/N? I thought you’d still be here” Will crossed his arms across his chest as he spoke.

You looked up from the table to see him standing near the doorway “Yeah. I was about to leave though I just need to wrap this up.”

“I think you’re overworking.” “But there’s work to be done.” you gestured to the desk in front of you. “But once this is done I’ll have plenty of time on my hands.”

He approached your desk and slid onto a stool “Is there any way I can help?” 

You smiled “Can you put the box away in the cabinet?”

“Anything for you.” he picked up the box and moved past you before sliding the box into the cabinet and returning to your side. He placed a hand on the back of your stool and one on the desk, leaning over as he watched you pack away the rest of the items. 

“Was there something you wanted?” you teased before turning back to the task at hand.

He leant in and quickly placed a kiss on your cheek. “Nothing in particular, I really just came to make sure you didn’t stay here all night.”

“You’re not going to leave until I leave are you?”

“Nope” 

You sighed and pushed everything neatly together on the table, you weren’t going to put up too much of a fight you were exhausted after all “Ok then, let’s go.” 

The man smiled as the two of you walked together out of the room and navigated the corridors together. The two of you slipped into your quarters and you moved straight to the replicator to get a glass of cool water, your body ached with thirst, so you downed the entire glass too quickly.

The speed at which you drank the water brought on a bout of nausea, walking into your bedroom you stripped out of your uniform and into pyjamas before brushing your teeth and crawling into bed to join Will. His arms instantly wrapped around you and it didn’t take long for your tired body to be enveloped into sleep.

When you woke up Will was already getting ready for his shift, sitting up you felt lightheaded and grouchy but nothing you couldn’t handle. Will was rushing out of the door before you could even say good morning, it looked like the two of you had slept better than you thought.

 You stood up and went through the motions of getting ready for your shift. Before grabbing some breakfast and getting to work, a slight dizziness was present in your head but you shook it off.

Time seemed to roll at a snail’s pace yet it was moving at the blink of an eye. Periods of time were merging together.

You’d run to grab some food at lunch but you could feel that you were exhausted. The dizziness in your head getting worse slowly. 

You slid back into your seat and looked at the remaining samples, you only had a handful left and you’d be able to get them done within the next couple of hours. Your eyes and mouth were dry as you worked. You tried to blink through it but the increased blinking was making you gradually feel more tired.

A headache was forming as you finished the last analysis. Tapping your comm you called for the Captain in order to hand over your findings. While you waited for him to arrive you rested your head in your hands and finally concentrated on your body. Something definitely wasn’t right but in an hour you would have some time for yourself.

You noticed how dry your throat was and tried to remember the last time you had something to drink. No memories from today came through and you realised the last time was before you’d slept last night and the time before that? You couldn’t recall.

Just as you sat up and prepared yourself to stand to get a drink the Captain and Will walked into the room. “Y/L/N what’s the verdict?”

“Captain.” you mustered a smile “I’ve managed to do a full analysis on all of the samples and I found some interesting information.” You handed him a PADD “I’ve written up a full report but while you’re here I’ll go over some of the key elements.”

He nodded and tucked the PADD under his arm. “Firstly these samples, C136 to C147 are all harmless, there were some interesting properties in a few of them but nothing to worry about. At most humans with sensitive skin might have a small reaction to them.” you gestured to everything on the table. 

“The most interesting samples were samples C115 through C129” you went to stand up from your stool to get the samples from the cabinet but a wave of dizziness hit you accompanied with a pain in your head, stumbling Will instantly put his arms out to steady you, his hands coming to your waist.

“Are you ok?” his eyes searched your face, you looked tired and worn. 

“Yeah I’m ok.” You quickly turned your head away from the man but the dizziness was extreme and before you knew it everything went black and your knees were buckling from beneath you. 

Will instinctively supported your weight as you slumped forward onto him. “Y/N?” he gently pushed you forward and could see that your eyes were closed. 

The Captain quickly pressed his insignia “Picard to Sickbay. Prepare a bed. Lieutenant Y/L/N has unexpectedly collapsed.”

Will didn’t hesitate in scooping you up into his arms and rushing you down to the sickbay, gently putting you onto a bed and letting Doctor Crusher get to work. 

Picard scrolled through your report to look for key information, calling out possible hazards and causes for your collapse while Will nervously paced.

“Jean-Luc will you just be quiet for one second?” Beverly scolded.

Will whipped his head up “Do you know what’s wrong with her?”

“Yes and it’s nothing to do with any of the samples. Just a side effect from overworking. Miss Y/L/N here is seriously dehydrated. She’s going to be ok though, I’ve administered plenty of fluids and she needs to rest. She should probably take a couple of days off as well to fully recover.” she turned to Will “I’ll keep her for a little bit after she wakes up but she’s going to be tired and possibly hazy.” 

She moved away with Picard at her side to discuss other matters.

Will slid into the seat next to your bed and rested his head back and closed his eyes “I knew something was wrong.” sitting forward he took your hand in his and gently stroked his thumb over it. Patiently waiting for you to wake up.

His wait didn’t take long, you were soon stirring and opening your eyes. Your throat ached with thirst “Will?” your voice was dry and scratchy and your head felt cloudy.

“Yeah it’s me.” you shuffled up the bed into a sitting position as he passed you a glass of water “Drink up, doctors orders.” you weakly smiled and he pressed a kiss to your head “I’ll go get Doctor Crusher.” 

You sat and sipped at the drink while you waited for the Doctor. “You really need to pay more attention to your water intake.”

You smiled at her sarcastic tone “I’m aware of that now.”

She quickly checked over your scans while Will hovered behind her. “I want you to stay here for another couple of hours so I can keep an eye on you but by suppertime I want you having a proper meal and a good night's sleep. I’m sure your boyfriend will make sure you drink enough.” She teasingly raised her eyebrow and Will blushed red behind her “I’ve signed you off duty for the next couple of days.”

“Thank you. I’m sorry to scare you all like that.”

“It’s fine we all have our moments. Just keep those fluids up.” she gave you one last smile before disappearing.

“So it looks like you’ll be looking after me.” you laughed.

“It seems to be that way. Picard was convinced that you’d been exposed to something hazardous in the samples.” 

“Very poor timing to collapse on my part.” your eyelids felt heavy and you attempted to blink through the tiredness. “But then again it could’ve been worse. I could’ve given the Captain the shock of his life by fainting onto him.”

“I can already picture his face.” Will laughed, your signs of being tired didn’t go amiss “Sleep, I’ll be here when you wake up. You’ve had a tough couple of days.”

“Tell Picard that there was nothing seriously life threatening in the samples.” 

He smiled as he stood. Leaning down to place a kiss on your forehead “I will.”

Tag List: (open)

Riker:

Star Trek: @morganofthecoves1​ @sophiasescape​ @livenerdyandprosper​ @allthetrek​ @deeppandanerdbatty​

[waynedunlaptheorgandonor]

ok, if i don’t write this im gonna lose my mind -cue dmx ‘party up’-

here is a ridiculously detailed analysis of why i am bordering on near certainty of caryl endgame, and how everything that’s been set up from the start of s9 (yes, even c@rzekiel and d@nnie) has been leading up to this

spoilers and long-winded analysis under the cut

let’s take this step-by-step, okay? starting with:

The Titles:

i have said this about a million times now, but the very first indication of caryl came from the new opening credits, where mmb’s name was very strategically placed above the graphic of daryl’s crossbow, what’s meant to symbolize henry’s pike, and a bunch of cherokee roses. it was foreshadowing, not only of henry’s death, but also how her relationship with daryl was going to unfold, and, bear with me here, the downfall of c@rzekiel. speaking of which, let’s go there

C@rzekiel:

i have also rambled about this, too, but the way that kang designed this relationship between zeke and carol was so brilliant, because it was never supposed to be real, but you weren’t able to fully see how until the whole story was laid out before us. (which goes with my belief that kang tells stories over long, connected archs, and not just “you know what would be fun to toss in here rn for some drama?” 

carol

1. denied zeke’s proposal

2. never once told him she loved him

3. explicitly told those saviors she could have done without her ring (a line that had absolutely no need to be in there)

4. continuously rejected the title of queen

5. regularly visited daryl in the woods

6. said herself that all it was, was a fairytale. something i’ll delve into more when i talk about carol’s ptsd

but let me touch on how daryl plays into this. we know she regularly went out into the woods to be with daryl, and she did it because he was her tether back to reality. she was living a fantasy life, and knew deep down that it wasn’t real, but had to do it, for henry’s sake, and for the sake of her mental health, because at the time of the relationship, she had not remotely begun to deal with any of her grief

the first scene we get with her and zeke is directly after daryl saves zeke’s life, which is telling. and the first time we hear her talk about her feelings about zeke’s proposal she turned down it’s with daryl, and let us not forget that the script notes stated that daryl was experiencing jealousy about it. he never asked her not to, though, because he thought she was happy, and that was more important to him than her being with him. he was willing to give her up if it meant she was happy, like what kind of angst trope suffering is that?? -chefs kiss-

and we can’t forget that zeke canonically views daryl as a threat to his marriage (i mean, rightfully so). he literally tells daryl to back off his wife so that he can fix their marriage, because he knows carol is starting to go back to him

next!

flowers:

flowers have been being used as symbolism between these two across the past two seasons a bunch. flowers are in mmb’s title card. the first scene of carol/daryl in the time jump shows them seeing flowers. daryl brings carol a flower on the dinner tray. one of the upcoming episodes is “look at the flowers”. obviously the cherokee rose scene is iconic between them, and flowers to carol represent this weird dichotomy. on the one hand, they represent daryl comforting her and giving her hope, and on the other hand, they represent her downfall mentally from the grove. interesting that one of the threads throughout this current season is carol grappling between trying to stay grounded with daryl, and her losing herself to her grief

speaking of grief!

Carol’s PTSD:

people have bitched that kang is just telling carol’s same storyline all over again, to which i’m like, tf show are you watching?? here’s what kang has done. gimple dealt with carol by literally just locking her away in a house to mull over how terrible she is a person, while never once actually dealing with her grief, and then handed that over to kang as a boiling slop of diarrhea, and somehow kang managed to take that, perform alchemy, and turn it into delicious loving carol juice.

she had henry killed off to parallel sophia, yes, that’s true, but the /reason/ she did that is because she’s righting the wrongs that were done to carol by essentially rewriting her storyline the way it should have gone. carol has lost So Much. more than most, i think, and kang is like, “that would fuck someone up pretty fucking bad, i think, so let’s see her actually have to grapple with that.” kang stays true to the carol gimple created, in that her instinct is to run away (think boat), but she’s using daryl as a means of forcing her to confront her demons. the two of them, at any given time, are running away from their struggles, but daryl is finally at a place of stability, and so he’s taking carol by the hand and saying, “no. i’m not letting you do this again. you have to stay,” and carol does, because she loves him, but consequently she’s having to actually feel it (something she explicitly stated she “can’t let herself do”), and is now experiencing the consequences of it, and poor daryl is stuck trying to handle it. his entire plotline this season has revolved around trying to help carol heal her wounds so that they can finally be together the way they should have been ten years ago.

they should be together, and daryl shouldn’t be with anyone else? glad you asked, because that brings us to:

D@nnie:

i actually think that kang never meant to make daryl/connie a ship, bc nothing in season 9 really indicated anything more than a mutual respect, and part of me truly believes that she saw the reaction to the two of them, and was like, “you know what? i can work with this.”

carol is pushing daryl towards connie because she wants to take alpha down and knows she might go down with her and she needs to know daryl won’t be alone. that’s it. period. end of sentence.

but okay, let’s extrapolate. she asks him if he’s interested in connie, and daryl very, very bluntly says no. you can’t tell me that his answer was meant to be evasive. he delivered that line like straight up “no.” no room for debate about his feelings. if they wanted to leave room for doubt they would have had norman redo his delivery, because it is too obvious. he is shutting it down completely. and carol is like, “why not?” and /that’s/ when daryl gets evasive. very “don’t worry about it, why are you worrying about it, i’m not in love with you, shut up.” 

fucking kills me, guys.

now the current spoilers about carol telling daryl to get angry at her for (supposedly/probably) killing connie furthers this belief that she wants daryl to pull away from her. because he’s her tether, she loves him, and as long as he still wants her around she can’t leave. she wants him to hate her, and daryl refuses. he’s pissed as all get out about what she did, sure, but he doesn’t hate her. also, the idea that daryl going back to try and save connie and magna means he’s in love with connie is absolutely baffling. have you met daryl? his instinct is to save people at all costs. he wouldn’t leave his friends stuck in a fucking cave, are you serious? just because connie is a woman doesn’t mean daryl wants to fuck her. he’s allowed to care about his friends.

but anyway, the point here is that every “d@nnie” spoiler has been music to my ears, bc not once has it been actually shippy. that first episode with the asl book and them together? it was supposed to juxtapose zeke and carol, and how carol and daryl immediately forgot about connie and zeke in order to be with each other. every other thing with connie has either been very cute and platonic, or has been carol trying to push her on daryl. -chefs kiss- my dudes, you’re worrying about nothing

Misc bc I’m Late for Work:

here are just a handful of other indicators that caryl is on the horizon

-the dream where she dreams she’s MARRIED TO DARYL, and the scenes where she wakes up in bed and looks over and he’s not there. why set that up if the end result isn’t going to be them together in bed?

-the bracelet/the acorns and what they symbolize 

-the use of “we” (”we don’t sleep” “it was like that for us before all of this” “since when have we never been enough?” etc)

-their parallels to alpha/beta (see my other long-winded text post on that one)

-ten years worth of history between them!!! that kang understands and references (carol’s claustrophobic, look at the flowers, etc)

so anyway, i don’t have time to tie this up with a nice bow bc i really have to get to work, but this is all to say that i am very very confident about the caryl endgame. i think it’s being drawn out bc kang needs to right the wrongs done by gimple first, but that caryl is where she’s eventually headed. every spoiler has been 100% caryl positive to me. i am zen af, and i think you should be too.

i’ll add to this if i think of anything i missed, but here you go. caryl is endgame and they gon fuck

the end,

-diz   

[gayregis]

I read “A Little Sacrifice” and now I am a MESS

fun fact: i read the books out of order on purpose because i am very focused on instant gratifaction, so i read all of the hansa parts first and then went back to all of the rest of the books, thus i read the assault on castle stygga before a little sacrifice

so when i backtracked and read a little sacrifice, i had a very spiteful look on my face, like sapkowski fucking did it again, huh...

a little sacrifice has a lot of depth and it has a beautifully written sad ending but the first time i read it (with the fan translation from reddit) i didnt quite know what was being translated and what wasnt so i didnt know if i was missing any context, plus when i read, i skim and then go back a thousand times to reread it if i liked it, so i was just extremely confused as to what the fuck the relationship geralt and essi was supposed to be like, and then you get to the end and it’s like well i guess their relationship doesnt even matter after all because she’ll never show up again

also i remember being physically nauseous at reading that essi couldn’t be over 18, especially since i was like 17-18 when i read it a couple of years ago. yeah that basically was the closest i ever got to leaving the witcher fandom entirely, i had like this whole conversation with myself at 2 AM about the decision to stay in the fandom if i have to deal with this being canon, the solution i have come up with for it is that i simply do not acknowledge that part as canon and essi is like 25 in my mind and also she never fell in love with geralt

on one hand i think the story of unrequited love/doomed romance is interesting solely because it is something that you’re not meant to be like “aww cute i hope they get together” at, it’s a terrible fucking relationship in context. and geralt mentions this multiple times because he’s So Monogamous all he wants is yennefer, and this was an interesting way to develop your main romance, sapkowski does this like ten times in the series, where geralt and yennefer are fucking miles apart but somehow their romance gets developed during this period. i think it’s the embodiment of “absence makes the heart grow fonder” and it’s something that realy flew over CDPR’s heads, like they didn’t have a “hot and cold” / “on again off again” relationship, they both had a lot of issues relating to intimacy and committment and self-image which prevented them from true intimacy even though they had become very vulnerable with one another

on the other essi’s purpose in this story is literally just to fall in love with the main character and then die. like. i was genuinely mad because it wasn’t even a valorous death for a symbolic reason, such as with the hansa who die to demonstrate that an exchange of lives has occured. essi just dies because it’s sad and there’s not much place for her later in the series. i was genuinely mad because she had this really great relationship with dandelion and seeing that expanded on was something i felt we got cheated out of. all of the geralt and essi scenes we got i think should have been proportioned in a 1:2 ratio with scenes with her and dandelion / her and dandelion and geralt as a group, because she really didn’t get enough development of her own but had a lot of potential. 

plus sapkowski was just like “actually dandelion isn’t always incredibly self-absorbed and blinded by arrogance, let me demonstrate situations in which he cares deeply about the people involved and acts appropriately” and then immediately tossed that concept out of the window until we get to the end of time of contempt/roll into baptism of fire. like you’re really going to throw away the potential for depth and development for one of the main characters that’s the constant contrast to your main character. idk it was just nice to see how dandelion’s character changed to be more mature with essi in the room bc that’s his little sister ;w;

also can i just say the subplot with sh’eenaz and duke agloval annoyed me to no end. the message of the main plot is supposed to be that a little sacrifice for love is actually a really large sacrifice, and geralt refuses to hold any resentment against yennefer anymore because he realizes that she has sacrificed a lot for him and he hasn’t in return:

“A little sacrifice isn’t enough here; you’d have to sacrifice everything, and there’d still be no way of knowing if that would be enough (...) Now I know that a little sacrifice is a hell of a lot.” 

but then sh’eenaz loses her fishy tail for duke agloval ON TOP of all of the sacrifices she has made for him before? i can’t deal with this, i call bullshit. the duke has NO redeeming qualities and i still can’t see them as a couple because he was such a dick. so this relationship being part of what demonstrates “a little sacrifice” really just serves to muddle the message of the short story

i have an idea to rewrite the whole thing so to make essi x sh’eenaz real (there is potential in this ship) and the message clearer. i think there should be no romance between essi and geralt because it’s weird and for a character who is basically just Younger & Female Dandelion to immediately fall hard and fast in love with geralt is eye-rolling. i get that it’s about the message and themes of the story and not about the characters, i understand this, the characters actually matter very little, but the message would even be clearer if sh’eenaz had left the duke for essi, because it would show that sh’eenaz has already sacrificed, she’s already done so much, and because the duke never reciprocated, she left him and found love with a better person. and that could be geralt’s wakeup call that a little sacrifice really is a hell of a lot, it would send him hightailing to apologize to yennefer or at least communicate to her that he appreciates her sacrifices that she has made for him, because if you don’t appreciate the sacrifices, you will lose your loved ones.

also ofc i’d involve gerlion and all of this because i feel like there is this weird, buried trail of gerlion vs geryennefer running throughout the sword of destiny, here is my “im looking at this too closely” analysis of the path of how gerlion and geryennefer both get to exist:

bounds of reason - geralt is of course still on good terms with dandelion, but needs to mend things with yennefer, and he manages to do so by the end of the story, also dandelion and yennefer are mildly antagonistic to each other (i also cross out That Comment/Joke/Scene from my mind just fyi, its really just horrible and out of place so i cant consider it as canon)

a shard of ice - geralt and yennefer still have feelings for each other but end up separated by the end of the short story because of insecurities relating to their capacities for love and their relationships with others: there is this contrast between yennefer and istredd, which is a long relationship of friendship and istredd is someone yennefer goes to when she needs security that she will be loved, geralt is someone in contrast that she is very passionately in love with and isn’t really thinking about longtime reliability with

eternal flame - geralt and yennefer have called it quits for now, dandelion also just broke up with his girlfriend, geralt and dandelion meet in a city and decide to get smashed together. that situation alone calls for a single eyes emoji. but id like to point out the parallel here between yen/istredd and geralt/dandelion, dandelion is someone geralt goes to for security in that he will be loved, that his company will be liked and appreciated. also one of the stupidest things ive come up with is that “eternal flame” does mean some romantic interest who’s been in your life seemingly forever and you’ll always love, and the story IS called... ok anyways.... at the end of the story we are presented with this weirdly emotional scene as dudu changes into dandelion because from being geralt for a few seconds, he knows his thoughts and knows that geralt will never use violence against him & that he’ll let him go... this is a very interesting scene because of how comic the rest of the story is in tone

a little sacrifice [rewritten] - so my take on this would be that geralt and dandelion have unresolved and unacknowledged closeness and it’s eating at the both of them. geralt is just annoying because he doesn’t think he’s ‘normal’ enough for love, basically nothing really needs to change except the last 3 to 4 chapters... they still have the argument in bed, they still go to investigate the dragon’s teeth together. just instead of essi randomly confessing the all-consuming, obsessive romantic feelings for geralt that she developed in less than 35 pages, dandelion and geralt are the ones sitting down just discussing what is going on with their relationship that has been developed in-depth for i guess five short stories now (including the voice of reason) and around 15 to 20 in-universe years that have not had any affect on their ages because that’s narrative for you. instead of geralt having to console a lovesick girl crying over him and thinking that he can’t make this little sacrifice, the theme of sacrifice for love is carried over by a discussion of how much they have already sacrificed for one another over the years, and contributes to the redux theme of “sacrifice for love needs to be reciprocated.” simultaneously, after sh’eenaz leaves the duke for a better option, geralt realizes the meaning of a little sacrifice and realizes how he has acted poorly towards yennefer, and seeks to make things right with her again. THUS we can have both ships and they wont conflict.

the sword of destiny - holy shit none of this romance drama shit matters AFTER ALL. actually it’s the CHILD which has been important all of this time, and it’s time to be responsible or invite doom across the threshold... ah wait okay doom has already entered the house. doom is eating tostitos and bean dip.

something more - following consequences of the end of the sword of destiny. obviously about ciri but yennefer and dandelion also have incredibly significant scenes in this short story and i think it’s just to represent that they’re also important in geralt’s life

beginning of blood of elves - yennefer and dandelion actually have a good conversation about everything including geralt and they basically matrue up and agree to never be hostile towards each other ever again. they both see that the others give him something that they cannot, and they’re not in competition with each other at all

tl;dr

[racefortheironthrone]

I’ve been reading your chapter by chapter analysis and something you’ve really emphasized is Neds failure to harness the institutional power of his office. And while you suggest a whole heap of interesting courses of action, I wanted to know exactly what you would have done in his place the night Robert returns from his hunt (dying) and he’s given the will and renly and littlefinger make their offers. Because Ned basically just goes back to bed.

This is a relatively difficult scenario, because by this point Ned has already made a lot of errors of commission and omission. 

However, I still think there are some manuevers open to him:

Publish the will. Have some scribes copy out a bunch of copies and have them nailed up around the city; hire some criers to announce the will in the market squares, in front of the septs, etc. Establish it very clearly in the public’s mind that Eddard Stark is now Lord Protector and Regent. 

Summon the Small Council that night. In OTL, Ned waits until the morning, which gives Cersei time to get her whole crowning Joffrey/tearing-up-the-will plan into action. Summoning the Small Council and getting them to acknowledge the King’s will as legitimate is a major constitutive move in unifying the anti-Lannister faction, since Ned can then call on Renly’s support by right instead of as quid-pro-quo. It also has the advantage of getting Ser Barristan Selmy and at least a couple other members of the Kingsguard backing his play, and this is a situation where every sword counts.

Purge the Small Council. Even with only 27 men, Ned has enough men to arrest Pycelle (to shut down Cersei’s communication to the other Lannisters, and eventually sweat him until he testifies against her) and “accompany” Littlefinger to seize the royal treasury. This ensures that he has the monetary base to do what comes next, and that Ned can now send a raven to Stannis rather than sending a letter via ship. 

Establish military ascendency over Cersei. As I said in my essay, “the military balance of power was finely balanced at this precise moment.” Cersei has 120 men to “hold the seat of government, defeat opposing forces, secure the gates and the port, maintain public order.” Ned has 27 men, Renly has 100, and there are roughly 100-200 “king’s men” who were in Robert’s retinue (as opposed to Cersei’s). Ned needs to bring all of them together and at least keep the Gold Cloaks out of the fight. 

This can be done by arresting Janos Slynt and his chief cronies in the middle of the night; ideally, Ned should replace the officer corps of the City Watch with his own men, but with only 27 men and with Renly, Renly’s allies, and the “king’s men,” he may have to settle for a portion of the office corps. However, it’s not ultimately necessary to recruit the City Watch into his own ranks; without an officer corps, the Watch isn’t going to do anything as a group, and that’s enough. 

Once that’s accomplished, the next step is to bolster his own military position. Take that treasury he seized in step 3, and use it to hire every man with a sword in King’s Landing into the “Lord Protector’s Guard.” We know from Tyrion XI of ACOK that there’s 800 men available for hire, and that should be easily enough for Ned to overpower Cersei and overawe Renly.

Hold the Red Keep. Contrary to Renly’s plan, Ned doesn’t actually need to rip children from their beds to “win” the “game of thrones,” just pin them down. As long as Cersei can’t take him or his daughters prisoner, it’s perfectly ok to keep her under siege for an extended period of time, as long as you….

Reveal the truth and acclaim Stannis as King. Here’s where we pivot back to the importance of public legitimacy. It matters a great deal whether Stannis’ public letter comes by itself during a civil war, or whether the Lord Protector and the Small Council make a public statement, lay out their evidence before the court, and hail Stannis as king…especially if Stannis can get the lead out and sail for King’s Landing immediately. 

[trueishcolours]

My siblings and I accidentally write a Ron/Victor Krum 4th year fix it fic in the group chat

Isabel: guyS

Rewatching goblet of fire

And I have to say

How amazing would it have if

It was a LOT less gendered

And also

If Ron and Krum had got together instead of Krum and Hermione

Thomas: Oh yeah there's so much Gender  

Isabel Ron already basically has a crush on Krum

Would have been great  

Thomas: idk, he's more jealous of him in my opinion  

Isabel: Nah

He has the action figure

He says he's an artist

It's definitely there

Thomas: Tru 

Clare: I mean on a superficial level I liked the Hermione/Krum part because it made me relate that a girl who is usually uninterested in 'feminine' things might still have some anxieties and take some interest now and again, and 'this super hot guy will like You, the Nerd' is standard wish fulfilment, but honestly I could take it or leave it. A grumpy feminist could equally well read it as 'EVEN smort girls like Hermione want to be feminine REALLY uwu'

And that would be a boring analysis but the whole feminine versus not argument is boring and not what we're here for

Anyway

The Krum drama kicks off the Romione subplot and honestly I hate Romione as a ship, to me it feels forced from beginning to end

But Ron/Krum would tie in really nicely to the whole character arc for Ron that JKR started in the first book and then forgot about where he evolves into an amazing intelligent badass without noticing it

Picture: He is dooting along, vaguely bummed because he's nothing special compared to his older bros, then in book four he realises wait he DOES stand out from others because he's gay/bi/whatever but he's not sure he WANTS that because standing out for being a minority is a fucking hassle but by the seventh book he is war hero, chess master and gay icon and vaguely confused about it

Hell, you could even have Hermione go to the ball with Krum, get her girly character development in and have Ron freak out and both of them /assume/ it's about her when it's not

It would just

Be better Thomas: Queer theory saves the day once again

Clare: :D  

Isabel: JUST BASICALLY RON, ALL THE TIME, WITH A BETTER CHARACTER ARC

Thomas: I love this  

Isabel: Honestly decades later I am still just so salty about Ron's lack of development, hell, anti development. I just want everything for him

Clare: Like, not to make it automatically angsty just because it's gay but Ron being Not Straight ties in so well with his typical theme of qualities that he think make him less than Textbook Perfect actually being his great strengths (I read a great analysis that Ron actually achieves all his brothers' goals without trying or noticing)

Ron just utterly stalls as a character in the books

And Harry is a shitty friend to him by the end

She kind of pulled it back with his deathly hallows arc but it was bungled and could have come across as just bashing him

Isabel: HE IS. Ron is so taken for granted.

Clare: God, Ron is SO much less of a dick if his yelling at Hermione in book four is coming out of Sudden Repressed Realisation, not just 'woman I like is doing something I don't like'

Isabel: I watched film 4 last night and just everyone??? Is so horrible to each other??? All the time??? I swear in the books it's so much better handled

Other reasons why bi/gay Ron headcanon is important: - most masculine of the trio/ has a million big brothers so dealing with toxic masculinity/ bucking queer stereotypes in there too - an extra 'fuck you' to the whole pure blood thing which I reckon is really homophobic as it means your bloodline won't get continued or some shit - Krum coaching Ron on Keeping in bad English. Tell me it's not cute. - Ron's a linguist (he learnt parselmouth on like 2 listens)!! Tell me he wouldn't learn Bulgarian?! - just, chaotic bilingual Quidditch talk, all the time, forever?!

Clare: UM your pidgin Quiddich is now my new fave headcanon forever????? You're SO RIGHT Ron is smart, he's just not academic. He would DEFINITELY pick up a language fast if he was using it to talk to his boyfriend/about quiddich

Isabel: EXACTLY

Clare: Plus all the stuff you said about toxic masculinity and purebloodism.

MAKE THE SUBTEXT TEXTUAL, YOU COWARDS

Isabel: #giveRonaBoyfriend2k18

Also not around for the lowkey weirdness of Ron and Harry dating CANONICALLY IDENTICAL AND BORING non white girls to the Yule Ball

I know that you can overdo all this stuff but seriously the fuck

Clare: It is a bit odd and icky   

Isabel: Ok so this is what happens

Krum asks Hermione to the Yule Ball and it's like she gets her cute moment with him

But then instead of spending the whole evening being a whiny bish Ron shows un-JKR-characterisation-characteristic maturity and puts a brave face on it and talks to them both

He's upset but doesn't full on ruin their evenings

And then Hermione after the ball, (gradually realising with slight horror that she and Krum actually have literally nothing in common) kind of keeps... asking... Ron to hang out with them

And at first Ron's like lol no way am I third wheeling

But then the temptation to hang out with his literal idol becomes too strong

And he and Krum start hanging out independently of Hermione

(who's probably in the lib helping Harry study for the second task at this point anyway)

The weather is still too cold for Quidditch

Ron thinks

But somehow Ron ends up playing anyway

IN THE SNOW

WITH VICTOR

HE'S GETTING COACHED BY AN ACTUAL WORLD CUP FINAL SNITCH CATCHING PLAYER AND HE IS NOT CHILL

Clare: Hoooooly fuck this is perfect

(except he actually is because it's like -10 and snowing what the fuck Krum) Ron putting his big boy panties on and dealing during the ball, leading to him actually having an in with Krum via Hermione

I love the dynamic of Hermione just...awkwardly asking her friends to hang with them...just to break the silence...

Isabel: YEAH EXACTLY

And then them all actually having a nice evening

Clare: I mean the point of Krum with her was to get that 'YASSSS I'm dating a hot guy!' moment WHILE ALSO showing how easily it fizzles, so nothing needs to change there

Hermione could even do her 'ugh, quiddich and BOYS' routine

Isabel: Awkward because of course it is awkward what is a teenage party without angst but also, fun

yeah exactly! the slow dawning that fuuuuck, I've just brought another stupid quidditch boi into my life oh god why

Clare: Ron still knows more about the history of the game and all the technical terms than Harry so has more to talk to Krum about

Isabel: And then you know Ron and Krum stumble back into the castle with Ron wearing Krum's hat à la Chad and Ryan, and Skeeter doesn't bat an eyelid because it doesn't fit her trashy narrative

Clare: RIGHT I've got to sleep I'm getting a cold but I love this

Isabel: ok go sleep

OK ONE MORE POINT

we almost certainly get the insanely awkward 'think you're in luurve Ron' or 'lol if you love Krum so much you should date him not Hermione'! moment from either Fred or George or maybe Ginny

And there's just a kind of... missing step moment

Clare: I think all of them would do that

I mean they're pretty mean to Ron anyway, especially about love

Isabel: Exactly they're all horrible but MAYBE this would teach them!!

Clare: Exactly! It would rip the rug out from under them and they'd be like wait shit

Isabel: We are actually mean to Ron... a lot

Clare: Especially because in this timeline Ron still gets the hassle from his sibs but unlike in the main timeline where he is just butt monkey forever he has the trump card that he's got a boyfriend who's a world famous quiddich player

Like, if you're Fred, George, Ginny or even Molly you can't really come back from that reveal. Ron wins.

Isabel: Krum actually being a laser focussed guy who gives people he cares about 300% of his attention

And middle child syndrome attention starved Ron just soaks it up like a blooming Icelandic kid under a sunlamp

Ron win evertiem

Clare: Yeahhhhhh. Being a prodigy who's trained from such a young age he's got to nail that work life balance and it's like 90% work 10% life but that life is INTENSE, he's seen too many people lose their relationships because they won't switch off their metaphorical phones during dates, he gets one (1) month a year and about three (3) important people and when it is Person Time it is PERSON TIME

Right bed for eal I'm dying

Isabel: BED FOR EEL

UGH ALL I WANT IN MY LIFE IS THE 50K+ SLOW BURN QUEER 4TH YEAR REWRITE

BUT I LEGIT DON'T HAVE TIME TO WRITE IT AND I DON'T TRUST MYSELF TO GET RON POV RIGHT ANYWAY

Clare: Bebs I wish you could write it

The raw chemistry my goodness

I ship it now

Is there going to be 'you are treating me like an idol not a real person please stop' angst at any point?

Isabel: OF COURSE THERE IS

Clare: Also Krum is like 'I knew I could trust you because you are bffs with Harry Potter and you treat him like he's totally normal you must be so mature and cool he is so so lucky to have a friend like you

Or well, Krum insecurity that people only like him because of his celeb status anyway

Which is probably why he went for Hermione in the first place because she didn't give a shit

'WOULD WE EVEN BE TOGETHER IN THE FIRST PLACE IF IT WASN'T FOR QUODDICH?'

'... I love you.'

'Bro I wouldn't care if you were the worst player in the world as long as we both are fans of the sport together.'

'Bro.'

Isabel: BRUH

Also can I just ask...?

What happens in the second task??!!?

It's already messed up enough under that lake, love triangles all over the place

This would just be the final straw that resulted in everyone just shrugging and teaming up

Clare: Holy shit

Krum just doots along, takes Ron and goes

Harry's like...wait what...OK...um I guess Hermione and Ron are equally important to me so I'll just take her kk

Isabel: Krum and Ron appearing on the surface of the lake like 'fuck'

The most dramatic declaration of intent ever

Turning yourself into a shark and rescuing them from the bottom of a lake

Clare: Everybody in the stands is SHOOK

Dumbledore like dang I did not predict this

With their hair soaking wet they are both at maximum hot

Isabel: Rita Skeeter's quill combusts

Clare: Krum doesn't point her out as a beetle in Hermione’s hair he's too busy with Ron

Isabel: Yeah she's like where is my gossip at??? Nothing is happening over in Hermione's hair

But yeah I feel like Dumbledore would be like, oh darn, looks like I'm gonna have to show queer solidarity with Ronald Weasely or something

KRUM AT THE BURROW VERY SERIOUSLY COMPLIMENTING MOLLY ON HER FOOD AND ASKING FOR BRITISH RECIPES AND WINNING HER OVER IN A TRICE

Clare: Would Krum charm Molly straight away though? He's very surly and shy and, in the books, not very handsome. Wouldn't Molly start out yikes who is this quiddich yob my son has taken up with?

Ginny on the other hand. Comes out as bi a couple of years later, tells Ron she only started to realise thanks to his example, apologises for being a dick about his love life

Isabel: Yeah I guess actually

I think Molly can get fierce

Clare: She's probably got a bit of pure blood/homophobic anxiety that she cloaks as objections about THIS PARTICULAR boy

Isabel: Either she loves you and adopts you right away or she is like /pulling shotgun down from the shelf/

EXACTLY

She's like

Blaming herself, oh I should have paid more attention and NOW look what's happened

Poor Ronald, always neglected

And Ron's like... mum... this is great

I am happy

Is not problem

Clare: Ron is like I AM NOT DOING THIS FOR ATTENTION JESUS CHRIST

I mean he's probably enjoying having the attention of a quiddich super star and I bet he'd even enjoy the celebrity status of The Boyfriend a bit (best friends get sidelined but romantic partners are news) but he's not doing it FOR attention

Isabel: Yeah, and I think the suggestion that he is would just make him so mad

First confused and then mad

Oh the ANGST

Clare: Especially since that's Krums biggest anxiety

Isabel: Mr Weasely would be chill. I feel like in this whole equation he is the chillest

Clare: What would Percy say? Would social climbing or doing the done thing win out?

Also the attention thing is a way for parents to make their child's relationship all about them. Oh you want me to LOVE you more! No mum I'm growing away from you this is normal

I think Ron would get jealous around Bill and Charlie because they'd swing in all oh our brother is rebellious and has a cool boyfriend? Well we are cool rebels also welcome to the family Victor

Isabel: Yeah... I think Percy is probably pretending to be chill with it and being a bit smarmy to Krum then says something awkward and homophobic and it's worse than if he'd just said it straight up

Clare: I think a lot of Liberal but still pure blood families would take the line of, 'it's fine that you're gay...because you're the sixth son so your blood line isn't in danger and making a socially advantageous match is probably more important for you anyway! And Ron is like Y I K E S

Isabel: Yeah exactly, well I suppose you have enough sons Molly amirite

What do we think about the Krum family?

Are they just happy that their son is forming human relationships

Clare: Hmm. How do they feel about celebrity? Do they think Ron is Not Good Enough or are they actually quite a normal family and are glad Krum has an ordinary guy to keep him grounded?

Isabel: I kind of don't want Ron to have to deal with random Bulgarian disapproval

I think maybe a quite normal family who had a kid who was a genius and has been at boarding school/ travelling for years and years

Maybe Krum already came out to them so that drama is in the past

Clare: Yeah and when he brings Ron home for dinner they're just delighted that Krum is home at all and that he's happy

Yeah maybe he did

He's probably had a lot of time to introspect because of his image and maybe he's an only child?

Isabel: And Ron speaks accented but ok Bulgarian by this point and they're like !!!

Clare: I think one aspect of the large family thing that WOULD affect Ron is its just that much harder to have a private word with your parents so confiding about yourself, especially when you're not 100% sure, just isn't part of the family culture

And there's no time for introspection when you're jockeying for position with six siblings

So Krum is out to his parents while Ron isn't even out to himself

Plus Krums just that bit older

Isabel: No, when you ask for a word it's all 'yes Ron' a bit exasperated

Clare: Krum’s family are just delighted that Ron speaks Bulgarian and is a normal guy who likes their son for himself

Isabel: Maybe they have some kind of cool engineery job and Ron goes out the back and is like well my dad likes cars I will try and help

Uses his mathsy chessy knowledge

Clare: Re. Homophobia I think it is important that it's not all YOU'RE GOING TO HELL like the Muggle brand but instead is very focused on producing pure blood children. Also with the smallness of the pure blood community I bet there's a lot of, not official arranged marriage, but kind of assumed marriage, like in Pride and Prejudice or what may have happened with Prince William and Kate, like, there's three girls your age who your family's on speaking terms with who aren't your first cousins and it'll massively throw off everybody's plans if you don't marry one of them

Yes Ron helping with engineering

Isabel: Headcanon of the Krums as magical engineers with a side passion for quidditch

Clare: I bet he picks up arithmancy that way. Can't learn it in the classroom, can learn it in the garage. And he comes home from the holiday able to actually help his dad with the car and thenceforth Mr Weasley is on board

Isabel: Yeah exactly... they're a bit 'sigh ok this means you're not gonna marry bertha from the bakery but hell at least it's not a veela'

Clare: Also wizarding society is inherently conservative, they haven't even updated their writing system, so anybody doing anything different is looked askance at unless they can play themselves as a genius eccentric like Dumbledore

Isabel: So yeah then Ron turns out to be WHOLESOME af and Krum’s family are like... ok fine. this is fine. In fact yay!

Ok I have to go do some work but this has been almost as good as having the fic itself

Clare: Maybe I'll put a summary on my tumblr and see if anybody wants to adopt it

[storiesabouthumanandthings]

The Martian and The Jilted Lover

Chapter 14

Iris helped Martha to the chair and pushed her to the lobby. There was still a mess and Martha felt guilty knowing Iris would have to clean up. Iris brought breakfast for them and played the new message. Again, it was more instructions but now there was a deadline. The university wanted Iris back in 6 months instead of the 2 years. It was explained that there was just too much data over on Mars for Iris to process alone. Plus they wanted to send better equipment to Mars to get better conversations going between New Earth and Mars as well as better analysis equipment to study the plant life on Mars. Iris was instructed to complete outdoor reports as well as lightening the shuttle to add the original earthling (Martha) and the data files and the seeds. Supplies like food and toiletries were to be left behind as they weren’t needed in cryo. Martha laughed to herself.

 “What’s so funny?” Iris asked. 

 “Well I was just thinking of your joke of me living in the museum. How are they going to react that you let the original earthling injure itself?” Martha did air quotes which she had had to explain to Iris days ago. 

Iris pushed Martha gently, “Oh good point. Do I need to lock you in your room? Or maybe that’s not enough? Tie you to this chair?” Iris laughed at the ridiculous thought.

They finished breakfast and having her new instructions Iris started to clean and catch up from yesterday. 

“I’ll go put the dishes away,” Iris stood up to take the dishes to the kitchen, Martha caught Iris’s arm and pulled her down slightly, enough to cause Iris to bend over a bit. 

Martha quickly kissed Iris. Iris stood there in shock, still bent over. There was a space between their faces, both analyzing the other for the reaction. “I am sorry about that. It just been so long and I really like…” Martha was interrupted by Iris leaning down a bit more and kissing her back. They kissed deeply, hands stroking each other’s hair and back. Iris was the first to break the kiss. Martha almost let slip a disappointed moan, frowning slightly at Iris. 

Iris breathlessly said, “I have work to do, lots of work, especially with you coming back with me. So let me work for now and we will talk about this later, Ok?” 

Martha nodded, “Is there a way I can help for now?”

Iris laughed, “No offense, but you’re not in any shape to help. Just sit here and play some music for us. I’ll clean the mess and start bringing stuff in from the ship.” Martha pushed herself away from the table and put in a new to Iris music disk. It was a song about a girl named after a drug. Returning to the lobby after washing the dishes Iris asked, “Who would do that to their child?” 

Martha was confused, “Do what?” 

“Name their child after a drug and such a powerful drug as Amphetamine?” 

“Maybe cause once you get a taste of her, you’re addicted?”

Iris was still confused but continued to clean as more songs played. She got the broken glass first and then her samples to the lab. Next came cleaning out the ship. This took all day. The lobby seemed to almost overflow with food and things. Iris left one table open for them and grumbled, “Whoever comes next can deal with this mess since they are calling us back early.” 

Iris dropped into the chair next to Martha who was bored out of her mind. There are only so many times you can push yourself around before it gets tiresome and Star is a horrible sled dog. Martha was able to get dinner ready by the time Iris was done. “So what are your plans for tomorrow?”

 “Well, I’ll need to load all data discs, plus a screen and player into the ship. Plus all the seeds I’ve collected and old earth food I saved from you eating.”

 Martha was appalled. “But that’s my food. I can eat it if I want.” 

Iris pointed back, “And you did but I had to save some so somebody else can review it and hopefully remake it. Like with the pie-za you made.”

 “Pizza.”

 “Whatever. The point is that your food is off limits, we have the food I brought and what was grown here to last us the rest of the trip.” Iris poked Martha’s shoulder before starting to eat. Martha groaned at the thought of weird future food. Something she knew she would have to get used to.

They finished the rest of their dinner in silence while watching a tv show Martha put on. It was about a space cowboy that lies, cheats, and steals but is also generous and helps when he can. Martha said it is like a combination of Robin Hood and Billy the Kid with spaceships. None of which made sense to Iris. 

Once the show was over, Iris leaned into Martha and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “I like you and it’s obvious that you like me too.” 

Martha cringed, she knew what was coming, “But…?”

 Iris became confused, “But?” 

Martha became a bit defensive, “Yeah But. But what? But I am not your type? I know you are gay cause of Jordan so it’s not like I made that mistake, again. Or is it you’re worried you’ll get some old earth disease? Or”

 Iris cut her off with a kiss on the lips. Holding Martha’s head, looking at her eyes, “It’s nothing like that. If I were going get some old earth disease, that would have happened months ago. I was going to say I worried about you. I want you to feel safe. That if it ever becomes too much, me, the relationship, that you know you can stop it. I also don’t want you to feel pressured to be with me since I am helping you off Mars. Even if there wasn’t this, um, connection, I would still help you.” 

Martha was shocked. In all of her relationships on Earth, never had it been so open. There were always rules involved she could only do certain things or she would get hurt. But here is Iris, letting her off free, giving her a get out of jail free card should anything happen.

Martha began to cry, “Thank you.” 

Iris pulled her in for a hug and held her till she quieted. She then kissed Martha’s closed eyelids. “There, all better now?” 

Martha nodded as her throat still sore and didn’t want to let it show. 

“Good. Now find us a new movie to watch before bed?”

Martha nodded, “I still can’t believe it that you’re here some days. Why are you being so nice to me?”

 Iris fake thought about it, her finger on her chin like she was thinking super hard. “I don’t know, maybe you’re right. Maybe I am not thinking clearly from that first hit to the head. Or maybe that cupid baby got tired of arrows and started using shovels.” 

Martha laughed, “It was a hoe, you hoe.” 

Iris flipped her off as she cleaned the table. 

Martha started the movie once Iris returned. She turned awkwardly to Iris, “Hey, I know this may not be the best idea but do you mind sleeping in my room again? I know the bed is small but I slept better with you last night.”

 “Are you sure that wasn’t the pills?” When Martha shoved Iris lightly she continued, “I’ll  sleep with you as long as you promise not to snore again.” 

“Again?! I don’t snore!” Martha began shaking Iris playfully, poking her armpits, trying to tickle her. “Take it back!”

 Iris pushed Martha’s chair hard to send Martha sliding across the room. “No way. Now settle down and watch the movie.” 

Martha grumbled playfully as she pushed herself back over, “I don’t snore. You snore.”

 Iris wrapped an arm around Martha’s arm and pulled her in the rest of the way, placing a kiss on Martha’s head. “Shush and just watch the movie, Dr. Crazy.”

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[cryptovalid]

Star Wars Episode VIII: the Last Jedi...

...is not going to go the way you think. Ended better than it started. I honestly can’t tell anyone if they’re going to love or hate the movie. I understand why it’s so divisive, and I’m not even sure how much I do like it, all told. But I appreciate its ability to surprise me, at least. My only concern in this analysis is the story, and making up my mind about it is harder than I want to admit. SPOILERS under the cut.

Ok, here’s a quick synopsis of the plot:

After the events of the last film, the first order have discovered and attacked the last rebel alliance stronghold, prompting Leia, Poe, Finn and all the other survivors to flee in a small number of ships. Their problem is that the first order has technology that can track their fleet even when they jump to hyperspeed. During the chase, the Rebel leadership dies, with the exception of Leia, who uses the Force to FLY UNAIDED IN THE VACUUM OF SPACE, barely surviving.

This causes a rivalry between the new leader (Laura Dern as Admiral Holdo), and Poe Dameron. Holdo insists that the fleet keep moving forward, while Poe begs her to do something more, as their fuel is running out. Ultimately, this leads Poe to conscript Finn and Rose to recruit a codebreaker so they can disable the First Order’s tracking tech. He even stages a mutiny against Holdo to make sure this plan succeeds (it doesn’t. This entire subplot ends in disaster for the Rebellion).

Meanwhile, Rey meets up with Luke Skywalker, who doesn’t want to join the rebellion, stating he can’t save them. Luke refuses to train Rey at first, fearing she will turn out like Kylo Ren. He implies that there is an inevitable hubris in the Jedi, and it must end. We later discover that Luke, suspecting Ben Solo had already turned to the dark side, had to suppress the urge to kill Ben. Seeing his mentor standing over his bed, lightsaber drawn, is apparently what drove Kylo Ren to join the Sith. 

Rey discovers that she has an involuntary psychic link with Kylo Ren, through which she feels that he is conflicted about his evil deeds. Failing to convince Luke to join her, Rey seeks out Kylo Ren and allows herself to be captured by him. Supreme Leader Snoke then orders him to execute Rey after interrogating her, but Kylo tricks Snoke and kills him instead. 

Rey then attempts to persuade Kylo to return to the light, but he chooses to take Snoke’s place, Rey and Kylo fight to a draw. Rey escapes and Kylo chases the Rebel Fleet to their destination. It is then that we see Admiral Holdo’s plan: to take small, undetectable craft down to a remote rebel base, while their remaining cruiser lures the first order away. And it would have worked if the codebreaker Finn and Rose recruited had not betrayed them. In order to save the Rebel ships, Holdo stays on the cruiser and rams it into the First Order flagship at lightspeed, sacrificing herself.

This only buys them a little time, as the few survivors of the rebellion are now trapped on a planet, assaulted by ground forces. Rey arrives, but is unable to stop their bunkerbusting canon. Finn is ready to sacrifice himself to save the rebellion, but is stopped by Rose. Luke shows up and confronts Kylo, buying Rey enough time to sneak the rebels out of the back of the bunker. In the end, Luke dies. The Rebellion is still on the run, and Kylo Ren is leading the First Order.

First, let’s start with some things I liked, since they are less complicated than the things I disliked.

I like the idea that Luke is disillusioned with the Jedi Order and doesn’t want it to continue. Honestly the movie could have done more to dive in to his criticisms, as I feel they could have made the movie a great deconstruction of the Jedi’s commitment to authority and violence, or their messages about healthy relationships and emotions. It even has the potential to comment on political attitudes toward violence in the real world. As it stands, it seems like the only reason Luke is initially hesitant to join Rey is his fear of her power, fear that she will betray him like Kylo Ren did. Which is not a criticism of the Jedi, but a criticism of his own mistrust of Kylo. It’s not a bad arc, but I would have liked to see a more strident critique of Jedi teachings. 

i like that the movie has an egalitarian message at its core: The Jedi aren’t really special, and Rey’s parents are not tied into the history of Star wars at all. I think the idea that the Force is a power passed down through a couple of bloodlines really undercuts the message that it connects all living things. It’s good to change it up and imply that anyone could tap into the Force, that it belongs to everyone. 

Leia, Finn, Rose and Poe all survive the movie, even though their deaths seemed almost certain at times. The stakes are up for the entire movie, and anything seemed possible. Deaths are numerous but meaningful.

The climactic battle with Snoke is a nice subversion of the expected ‘Lightsaber duel’, and I really like how it did not redeem Kylo Ren, underscoring his emotional immaturity, alienation and deep need for control instead.I also enjoy how this movie shits all over the First Order’s dignity, without trying to make them look cool.   

I really enjoyed the actual plot twists in this movie. Sadly, I spent most of my first viewing frustrated by my own expectations. At times I was convinced that Finn and Leia would die, and that Reylo would become canon. This mercifully did not come to pass. 

The plot elements I did not like are a bit more complicated. I was particularly frustrated with the power struggle between admiral Holdo and Poe. It was very convenient from a plot standpoint. From the beginning, it was obvious that Holdo had a plan she was not sharing with Poe. He doesn’t trust her, so he even goes so far as to stage a mutiny against her. Because of the framing, I spent most of the movie frustrated with both characters. Either one could have communicated a little bit better to prevent most of the movie’s drama. The subplot about finding the codebreaker felt useless anyway.

The movie also isolates Finn and Rey from each other completely. Considering how fun their dynamic was in TFA, this is not an improvement. The whole subplot with Finn and Rose meandered around, and didn’t really reflect the urgency and tone of a high stakes death march through space. Ultimately, nothing Finn and Rose did actually had a positive impact on the Rebellion. This isn’t necessarily an objective flaw in the story, I just dislike that Finn has become a secondary character. Also the Kiss from Rose at the end was completely unexpected. Unlike Rey, Rose doesn’t really get a chance to form a bond with Finn, since their subplot doesn’t involve any real choices to define their characters in contrast with each other. Given how much I like the actors and characters, this is a waste. I was sure, given the context, that Finn and/or Rose would die. Small mercies, I guess. 

Comparatively, the movie spends a lot of time trying to make Kylo more sympathetic, which really rubs me the wrong way, especially because of the way his character parallels real life bigots and spree killers. He fits into a growing real life trend of white men who become desillusioned with basic decency when they don’t get what they want, and lash out violently in retribution. Episode VII made it crystal clear that Kyle Ron has spent his entire adult life murdering and torturing unarmed people, participating in a explicitly fascist regime that enslaves children and commits genocide. All the while, several people give him ample opportunity  to opt out, and he threatens to murder them every time. The only time his supposed ‘conflicted’ nature actually stops him from murdering is when he’s emotionally invested in his victim already. Redeeming a nazi-analog is not impossible, but it is also not cheap. Making minor exceptions to your violent outbursts is not a sign that you’re a good person at heart. It’s typical abuser behavior. How much slack are we supposed cut this asshole? Did he really turn to the dark side simply because Luke thought he already turned, contemplating killing him? Sure, this is traumatic as fuck. Is Rian Johnson aware of what this means for the nazi analogy? Will this be dealt with in more detail in the next movie?

It is no secret that there are many Kylo Ren apologists out there. People downplaying his own agency and the severity of his crimes. Shipping him with Rey, a woman he has kidnapped, threatened, assaulted and violated. It’s hard not to see this movie as vindicating or at least baiting them. It matters, in the end, how Kylo’s arc wraps up. And honestly, I can’t think of a way to redeem Kylo Ren that wouldn’t be gross. How could Kyle realize that murdering people was wrong all along, given the chances he’s been given? What message does that send to victims of abuse? That no matter how many times he’s shown you that he feels entitled to hurting you, you have to keep being compassionate because he will eventually, when things look really bad for you, make a sacrifice to save you, redeeming himself? Is it even possible for a murderer as wilfull and committed as Kylo to make a heel turn, given that he’s already tried to kill everyone he cares about?

I’m also a bit confused about this movie’s message about the Jedi. Luke hems and haws about continuing their traditions, but there’s no actual attempt to get into a discussion about it. Yoda tells Luke to teach Rey, but destroys the texts when Luke hesitates to. And then Luke dies without speaking to Rey. Maybe I shouldn’t expect a thesis statement here, but I think strong opposing arguments would make it clearer what the movie is trying to say.

So it should be clear why The Last Jedi is so polarizing. It doesn’t go the way anyone expected it to, and it deliberately steps away from anything that came before it. Whatever you think Jedi used to be is now obsolete. Anyone can tap into the Force, and it doesn’t come down to special blood. That’s bound to alienate long term fans who are really invested in canon. I actually like this, and the way it sets up future stories to have their own meaning.  

On the other side, the movie really focuses on building expectations for Kyle Ron’s redemption and makes Finn, Poe and Rose partially responsible for the death of the rebellion, sidelining them in the process. Again, this isn’t an objective mistake, but I do not like it at all. I really like Finn and in particular, his relationship with Rey, which is absent in the movie.

Kyle Ron is a good villain, but trying to build empathy for him actually backfires. Yeah, discovering your mentor uncle thinks you’re evil and wants to kill you is fucked up. Feeling seperated from your parents sucks. But it doesn’t excuse Kyle’s many crimes. Trying to redeem pseudo-nazis is a bad idea both in-universe and as a story to tell in 2017. It should have something more substantive to say if it wants to go that route.

All in all, this movie was a mixed bag for me. I think it will be for a lot of people, depending on what they’re looking for. If you aren’t really invested in Finnrey, Poe, the Jedi Order and the Skywalker Dynasty, or Kylo Ren being recognized as entitled and awful, you’ll probably enjoy this movie more. 

[cksmart-world]

The completely unnecessary news analysis

by Christopher Smart

March 3, 2020

GOP OK's FREEDOM OF MASTURBATION

In a public session of the Utah Senate last week, an anti-masturbation amendment was shot down, figuratively, of course, by Republicans. Now, before you jump to conclusions, the political analysts here at Smart Bomb explain that masturbation remains legal, as long as it's done in a house or motel room. Cars and theaters are out. The dustup occurred during a debate on abortion, where senators voted along party lines to approve legislation that would outlaw abortion in the event that Roe v. Wade is overturned. Sen. Luz Escamilla, a Democrat, looked to do one better than Republicans, who believe life begins at inception, rather than at birth. She introduced an amendment that would prohibit any male ejaculation outside of a vagina (sperm but no egg). OK, Wilson, it was pretty funny, but Republicans weren't laughing. First of all, many Utah Republicans don't like hearing the word “masturbation” because, well, you know why. And another thing: they don't like the utterance of the word “vagina.” It's enough to take all the fun out of banning abortion.

GET THE TAR AND FEATHERS — CHRIS MATTHEWS IS NEXT

The Political Correctness Police are out and you should be careful not to offend them or it could be curtains or banishment to San Salvador. Oh yes, it's dangerous out there. Just ask Chris Matthews, the veteran broadcaster and 27-year host of “Hard Ball,” who just got a very public brown helmet from MSNBC. He had the temerity to compare Bernie Sanders' win in Nevada to the Nazi takeover of France. He was referring, of course, to Hitler's rapid Blitzkrieg attack — not concentration camps. But someone was offended. And in a GQ story last week, journalist Laura Bassett complained Matthews said, “Why haven't I fallen in love with you yet.” She continued: "Another time, he stood between me and the mirror and complimented the red dress I was wearing for the segment." OK, that does it, take the bastard out and shoot him. There is good reason for the #MeToo movement: Harvey Weinstein is exhibit #1. But piling Matthews in with former NBC Today host, Matt Lauer, who raped at least one assistant and coerced many more into sex, is simply bullshit. So, tar and feather guys like Lauer and ride them out of town on a rail. But when people like Al Franken and Garrison Keilor are similarly set ablaze for “inappropriate” behavior right along with the rapists, something isn't right.

TRUMP HAS EPIDEMIC IN HAND  

In the 2002 movie “28 Days Later,” a virus kills practically everyone on Earth. Sound familiar? The survivors have to steal beer from 7-11 in order to survive. But the clerks are zombies. Not to worry, President Trump and VP Mike Pence have things totally under control. A special feature of Trump's border wall is that it stops viruses. Who knew? Also, Pence has deployed the new Space Force to shoot lasers at the Chinese, Italians and Iranians, thereby slowing the spread of Coronavirus. The White House also has ginned up its PR machine so Fox News will report the pandemic is a hoax perpetrated by Bernie Saunders and the Bernie Bros. In theory, that will help the stock market reverse direction so Trump can get reelected. Although everyone's 401-K has gone to hell, there is some good news: futures of hand-sanitizer are up. Viewers of MSNBC, of course, will hide under their beds with N95 masks covering all orifices. But anyone wearing a red MAGA hat will be protected from the virus, according to the White House. Among other things, that will allow college students to go on spring break without fear. Hopefully, those half-naked girls at Daytona Beach won't be zombies. But who knows.

REPUBLICAN: CHUCK MITT ROMNEY OUT

Mitt Romney's torture ain't over yet — not by a long shot. The rabid representative from Florida, Matt Gaetz, last week called for the Mittster to be expelled from the Republican ranks in the Senate. “He is not acting like a Republican,” Gaetz said on Fox. “He has shown no interest in working with this administration, or with Republicans who are eager to seize the opportunity of the Trump presidency.” See there, one person's tragedy is another's opportunity. Like, when will there be another chance to destroy the institutions that hold this country together? And look what's been accomplished already — a gigantic tax cut for the wealthy and big spending boost for the Military. And, of course, cuts to social services, including slashing Food Stamps, where hungry children are ripping taxpayers off. But we digress. Who the hell does Mitt Romney think he is — voting to impeach the president simply for trying to coerce a foreign government to mess with our elections. Utah State Rep. Phil Lyman beat Gaetz to the draw recently by sponsoring a resolution to censure Romney. Although it died, the resolution was meaningless, except to send a signal to Trump that Utah still has his backside — or in this case, his big, fat German ass.

Post Script — Well, that was the week of the Coronavirus. And, no doubt, there are many more to come. People were dying. People were panicking. People were buying out N95 face masks and hand sanitizer. Crowds disappeared from Venice. (By the way, there are some good deals right now on Italian vacations.) The virus is bad news for the cruise ship business, too. Imagine being quarantined with 3,700 white people in Bermuda shorts. If that isn't hell, we don't know what is. Of course, all the made-in-China parts needed for stuff we buy here in the U.S. are running out because Chinese workers have to stay home. When they are depleted, there will be no refrigerators, washing machines, phones, TVs, microwaves and just about everything else. Our economy — and way of life — is so intertwined with China that we couldn't unravel it if we wanted to. That, of course, is a big, bad realization for Trump and his nationalist conservatives who want to roll up the welcome mat and pretend Americans are the only people on planet Earth. The brunt of the pandemic has yet to hit us here, but the anticipation is anything but pleasant. It's like vacationing on the beach at Banda Ache when the Tsunami warning sounds. All you can do is grab the hand sanitizer and hope you float.

  Well, Wilson, here we are biding our time until Coronavirus hits, so what can you and the band give us for a little piece of mind:

Sitting here in limbo / Waiting for the dice to roll / Yeah, now, sitting here in limbo / Got some time to search my soul / Well, they're putting up a resistance / But I know that my faith will lead me on...

[aboyandhisstarship]

yo would you be willing to give us what you had for that AU sounds interesting?

uhh sure...i got about 2000 words into it i think? note it is not done and has been abandoned so errors/the end is it.

well here it is 

Gwen woke up in her motel room in the shitty county…honestly she was a techy, Intelligence and analysis so she figured she would never have to leave the office, but nope Agent Fronds needed someone with her skills in the field and here she was, she poured herself a cup of coffee, before thinking she should probably meet up with Agent fronds…Jasper she corrected herself with a shake of her head as she pushed open her room door.

What happened next was not something she would ever forget; as she swung the door opened a lynched body moved with the motion leading in front of the FBI agent who jumped dropping her coffee. The face was burned and bloody with a black cross tattooed on his forehead…the same Tat they make the new cultists wear, but Gwen recognized the puff of blond hair, and said quietly “Agent Fronds?” before turning around and vomiting hard.

Gwen cleaned herself up before coming to the logical conclusion “if they knew about him…they knew about me.”

She grabbed her gun with shaky hands and a sat phone and made a break for it.

Clearing an hour later:

Gwen sank against a tree still dressed in her pajamas a gun in one hand and a phone in another, she took a deep breath pressing the redial button and a voice answered “director Philips.”

Gwen took a deep breath saying “sir…it’s agent Santos…” and then started to freak out “they killed him! They lynched him! Tortured him, FUCCCCKKKKK”

The director said quickly “slow down Agent…who…are you ok?”

Gwen answered in a half shout “Agent Fronds…oh god they killed him…sir it was brutal…every time I close my eyes.”

Philips sighed “ok Agent stay calm…are you ok?”

Gwen nodded “uhh yes sir…I’m still in my pajamas…they left the body on my door step I grabbed my gun and my phone and bolted.”

Philips nodded “Agent stand by…these guys are well armed…but we can get the National Guard out there and shut them down.”

Gwen yelled “SIR YOU CAN’T!”

Philips asked “why not agent…?”

Gwen sighed “sir…Agent Fronds had my look over some Intel some locals got…it is nothing confirmed…but the cult may have access to nuclear weapons within the region.”

Philips paused before saying “Agent… get somewhere safe…we will be in touch.”

The Director hung up his phone saying “Get me the Pentagon!”

Fort Griffith, Missouri:

David lay in bed in his apartment, he has had a blissful few days off and was enjoying getting full night’s sleep for a change when his phone started to beep, and he rolled over with a grown saying “go for Greenwood,” Into the cursed device.

His CO returned “Davy…an urgent Op just came up…so get to the cave…time is short, so you and your team are being briefed then you are wheels up understood?”

David was already in motion grabbing his go bag “already in motion Sir.”

 Safe house:

Gwen supposed the word House was subjective…it was a spot her and Jasper used to monitor Cult activity…no one knows about it but them, and if the cult did they would have destroyed it already…so she felt mostly safe. She had food, real clothes (Jeans, a shirt and her FBI jacket) and her bosses were getting back to her soon…hopefully with an escape plan.

Then as if on cue her phone beeped and she answered shakily “Agent Santos…”

A Voice answered “Agent Santos…My name is General Casey.”

Gwen blinked “General…”

Casey spoke simply “Agent…help is coming four of our finest will be coming in VIA parachute to assist you and any other assets in the region…this is your Mission so just point them in the right direction.”

Gwen said “Sir…I’m barely a field agent surely there is someone else for this…”

Casey answered “you have your ear to the ground Agent… these men are pro’s trust them…”

Gwen nodded “ok sir…”

Casey finished “by the way no Names Agent…the leader is a red head…call him Nomad.”

And with that Casey hung up as Gwen cruelled into a ball and cried.

  The cave:

The team relaxed it was about 9:00 AM local time so it was like sleeping in for them, Campbell burst into the room and the man shot up as he said “as you were…” Campbell rolled his eyes as he said calmly “sorry to pry you away from whatever it is you were doing but something big has come down the pipeline.”

David said “what is it Sir?”

Campbell explained  “3 hours ago, General Casey got a call from the Director of The FBI requesting a couple of operator’s for a job…our names came up.”

David frowned “Sir?”

Campbell sighed as he carried on “Intel is spotty at the moment…they want you boys on the ground asap, to be briefed on sight…however what I can tell you is that a cult may have hijacked nukes out in the Bonnies.”  

The team sat up straighter “when do we leave sir?”

Campbell sighed “ten minutes ago…your plane is standing by you are parachuting in…we don’t know how extensive the cult coverage is…so assume hostile on all save for your local Fed…a Gwen Santos…we will get you a picture in the air…happy hunting gentlemen.”

And with that the wolves grabbed their bags and headed for the tarmac.

Safe house:

Gwen w was curled into a ball mumbling “I have an ear to the ground…really! This Is nuts…and who on earth are they sending! No names! They can’t be good…”

She sighed “just stay cool…these guys are pros…whoever they are.”

Just then she heard a thump, followed by 3 more thumps. Gwen grabbed her gun taking a deep breath as a voice knocked on the door saying “Agent Santos?...it’s Nomad.”

Gwen lowered her gun carefully and opened the door ready to fire, what she saw was a red head about her age dressed in black, with a black hat covering his hair, he was armed with a suppressed Assault rifle and a pistol strapped to his leg, the rest of his team was similarly dressed and armed.

Nomad smiled at her gently saying “Holt,Midas Burry the chutes…Agent…we were told you would give us the run down.”

Gwen nodded gesturing into the odd Bunker with the Solider behind her. Gwen tried to stay calm as she briefed “This morning I found my boss Agent fronds…dead…the cult offed him.”

Nomad reached out gently “Agent Santos…”

Gwen said simply “call me Gwen…Nomad.”

Nomad smiled “Ok Gwen…this is hard for you…your file says you are rather new to the agency, that is part of the reason why my team were brought in so quickly. We are here to help you, but we need to know everything you do.”

Gwen sighed “right…the cult is built more like a militia…they own the entire county and have it divided into four regions one is central and where that snake Daniel is…the other 3 are run by his ministers…”

David smiled gently as Gwen explained “Agent fronds and I referred to them simply as A,B,C the cult has some name for them…but I’d rather call them A, B,C…A is run by a punk by the name of Pike man…he was military, no idea what happened to him…but he ended up here and runs the cult training center…and they train hard. there forces are an army in every sense of the term it is nuts…B is run by an Ex Con known on the streets as dirty Kevin…he is the reason the bureau got interested in the cult to start with…we think the cult and Dirty Kevin are using his drug connections to produce and ship massive amounts of a designer drug called Haze… Haze maybe how the cult is funding there other…areas, Area C is the intro area it’s there where new cultists and brainwashed and assigned there new jobs…the region is run by Daniel wife… a woman named Jen…I have next to nothing on her…so there you go that’s the run down…”

Nomad touched her arm gently saying “thank you…we were also told about a group of locals some rebel types?”

Gwen nodded “Sleepy Peak county fireballs…local bowling league before all this… the leader is an old tough guy type…I think he was a marine.”

Nomad chuckled “figures”

Gwen rolled her eyes as she kept it going “they got guns and the motives to fight the cult…and have and do…me and Agent Fronds made contact…Quartermaster likes me…I think.”

Nomad nodded “right then Gwen…just remember we are not here…that means the locals did everything understood?”

Gwen nodded “right…”

Nomad smiled “we should make contact and start coordinate…”

Gwen asked gently “I can do that…but you sure you want to go dressed like that.”

David blushed asking “do you another option?”

Gwen pointed to the back as the rest of his team chuckled amused.

David came out wearing a pair of jeans and a red plaid shirt he concealed his pistol under his shirt, he shoved his hat into his pocket asking “shall we?”

Gwen nodded stunned honestly he looked cute…enough she could almost forget he was a trained killer who was here to literally destroy an entire cult.

The pair left the safe house climbing into a jeep with David driving who said calmly “Gwen…if anyone asks my name is Michael…I was camping and came down and stumbled into you in the woods…you then filled me in on everything.”

Gwen frowned testing the name “Michael…is that your name?”

David chuckled lightly “do I look like a Michael?”

Gwen paused before conceding “No you do not…then what do you look like?”

David shot her a wink “Nomad…”

Gwen rolled her eyes “I should have seen that coming…well your entire team has cool call signs…do I get one?”  She half joked.

David kept driving asking gently “do you want one Ma’am.”

Gwen was rocked back into her new position she mumbled “right my op…uhhh do you think it is wise…Nomad?”

David slowed down slightly looking at her directly “Honestly Gwen…You don’t need to worry about our coms being tapped…and they likely already know about you…but if it makes more comfortable than absolutely.”

Gwen nodded “can I get back to you on this Nomad?”

David nodded “anytime…alright we are here…Sleep peak…the town of.”

The jeep pulled over into the small town some locals looked at him with looks of vague fear before seeing Gwen and there expression’s turning into relief, Gwen sighed “QM should be in the local bar…come on, Nom…Michael.” She corrected herself.

David fired her a smile “relax…the others are nearby…if things get hot they will be able to back us up.”

[thecoroutfitters]

Written by Pat Henry on The Prepper Journal.

Cliché alert!!! – Someone once said (don’t really care enough to google who) that “You should only look back to see how far you have come”. A lot of what we do in the world of prepping is a comparison and contrast. We look at what the guy writing the blog has and turn to look at our own survival preps and judge some of our worthiness/readiness on how we add up. It’s a different take on keeping up with the Joneses but I think most of us still look to others as a yardstick to see how we measure up.

//

I know that I certainly looked at the stated supplies of others when I first began to get into prepping and maybe that is a natural trait of us humans – some extension of our social or survival instincts. Imagine a caveman walking around and he sees his buddy walking around with a new saber tooth tiger pelt wrapped around his hairy butt and thinks to himself, ‘hey, I could use one of those’. Then somebody thought of putting Molle pouches on that pelt to hold the caveman’s fire making stones and Boom, the survival market was born.

And maybe there is nothing wrong with comparing yourself to other people, at least as long as you don’t feel inferior if you don’t have what someone has or covet what they have in order to take it from them. I personally see gear I would like to have all the time and have since I started prepping, but I don’t compare myself to other preppers as much anymore. I don’t feel like I have anything to prove when I discuss my personal preps. Maybe it’s because I know you can never win that game.

Lessons from a Prepper

I thought of this topic today, like I do so many other topics in a completely random fashion. Sometimes I have to ponder several hours or days for an idea. Other times, like today, they just pop into my head walking down the hallway. I thought that maybe it might be of some value to share some prepping lessons that I have learned in my personal preparedness journey that hits 10 years old this year. It is my hope that some of these lessons will resonate with you and give you comfort, ease any disquiet you have or maybe a laugh. If all else fails, you can look at how silly I am and feel better about yourself. Caveman!

The world is not ending tomorrow

Preppers and survivalists (small S) come to this site and the subject of Preparedness/Self-Reliance for a lot of reasons, but I will propose that most reasons for prepping have Fear at their root. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t consider fear a bad thing at all. We are given the gift of fear so that we will be cautious when we need to. We have a sense of danger that warns us and I have relied quite successfully on this many times in our life. I prepare because I don’t want bad things to happen to my family. Now, that doesn’t mean I walk around scared but it did prompt me to action. You should take whatever motivation you have and act on it, but relax more often that you are uptight. I lived with the near certain expectation of doomsday, economic collapse or government tyranny for the first few years and guess what? We are still here. Don’t get so wrapped around the axle that you alienate family or make bad decisions. Chances are you have plenty of time to get ready.

Unless it does

But, now that I have said that – it’s easy to fall into Analysis Paralysis. For those who don’t know what that means, it is taking too long to make a decision or take decisive action. You have to poop or get off the pot. I know some preppers who have made extremely lengthy and detailed spreadsheets with tabs broken down in all the categories of their prepping supplies – hundreds of rows long. They have calculated the difference from one item to the next in price (shipping included) over 4 vendors. What’s worse is they keep this spreadsheet updated frequently but never purchase any of those prepping supplies. They know what they need to start with, but can’t seem to pull the trigger. The prepper that has nothing but a really great plan won’t be much better off than the person who is caught completely by surprise in a disaster. I recommend starting small, but obtain the basics you need to weather bad events and build as you can. You don’t have to purchase 3 years of freeze-dried food on day one, but don’t sit there and wait for that awesome survival knife to drop another 55 cents. You need to ensure you have the basics.

‘Two is One’ is a clever saying to get you to spend more money

And since we are talking about purchasing prepper supplies – you have all heard this one before: Two is One and One is None. That just means if you only have one of something, let’s say a headlamp, and that goes out or is lost, you have nothing to fall back on. Logic says, that makes sense, right? Redundancy is another word we love to throw out there which means essentially the same thing and I am not saying you don’t need redundancy, or even more than one headlamp. What I am saying is that you shouldn’t apply this to your bug out gear. I have a YouTuber that I really like who shall remain anonymous, but his bug out bag weighs 65 pounds!!! Why? Well, for one thing he has A LOT of redundancy in there. Many knives, saws, clothes, methods of food preparation, etc. Use your judgment on this.

Your Bug Out Bag does not have magical properties

And speaking of Bug Out Bags, they are not a get out of disaster free card. A bug out bag in a best case scenario just gives you options. Simply having a bug out bag doesn’t mean you get to live and everyone who doesn’t have one dies. I fully expect many preppers to have their bug out bags taken off their lifeless bodies because they got cocky, or just unlucky by some opportunistic soul if the worst happens. Bug Out Bags are a means to an end, not the end all be all. Prepare with them, but take their life-saving properties with a grain of salt. They can only hold so much and real disasters suck no matter what you have on your back.

You will never have enough stuff

I wrote a post a while back titled, Are you Ready for the End of Prepping. It’s basic message was that no matter how much water you have stored, how many pallets of MRE’s, tins of survival seeds or cans of Beanie Weenies you have stocked under your bed – eventually it all runs out. If we really go through a real-deal SHTF incident, your supplies are only going to last so long – so the smart money is on planning now to live without all your food storage, electrical tools, generators and anything else you won’t be able to maintain without the assistance of outside help. Yes, start prepping with the basics you can purchase at the store. Begin with a week, but I don’t think you need to sink a year’s salary into food. Start planning a garden instead or look at taking that money and buying a piece of land far outside of the city.

Prior military service doesn’t necessarily make you better qualified to survive

And this is coming from someone who is ex-Army. Yes, when you enlist in the service you get different types of training and much of this has ties into the world of prepping. Depending on the Service Branch, you learn marksmanship, weapons maintenance, team tactics, first-aid, navigation and how to generally break stuff and blow it up. That doesn’t make you a survival expert and doesn’t make you a natural leader. I know some preppers who like to lean on their past service and we aren’t all created equal. Would you give someone who never saw combat the same authority on ambush tactics for example as someone who did 4 tours of Afghanistan? No. But on the flip side, that soldier that did 4 tours (thank you) might not survive any easier than the single mom who is prepared. Different skill set? Absolutely, but that doesn’t guarantee survival or that they know everything. Now, would I love to have 4 Navy seals in my personal circle of friends if SHTF? Of course, but don’t believe for a second that you can’t survive because you have now “official” training. Personal will is a HUGE factor in survival. If you have that, you are in good shape.

Plan on self-reliance, but don’t turn away help

The Lone Gunman is the image a lot of you think of if some disaster happens. You will walk stoically out to the small clearing overlooking the smoldering ruins that used to be the city you live in, taking in the scenery you will turn and walk into the bush – those fools didn’t know what hit them. It’s a good movie plot, but as a society we survived by banding together. Yes, you can survive on your own for a while, but in order to thrive you will need others and it’s better to learn to start playing nice now. Think about how you can survive with as many people as possible. You will be stronger, more capable and you will have more people to talk to when the internet is gone.

You will never know as much as you should and maybe that’s OK.

If I was independently wealthy and didn’t have a wife or kids, or a dog I could devote myself to learning every day. There are so many subjects I wish I had the time to learn. Maybe it’s an excuse, but with a job and simple responsibilities of mine, free time is a luxury I don’t get much of. But, just because I can’t take Krav Maga classes 5 days a week, compete in a CrossFit marathon, learn Morse code and small engine repair while I practice the finer art of leatherworking and blacksmithing in between classes for my EMT certification – that’s OK. I have a pretty good bit of life ahead of me and I have time to learn as much as I need. I won’t get hung up on what I don’t know because I won’t compare myself to other survival experts.

I have said it before and I’ll say it again. Prepping is a lifestyle, not a destination. You can never be Prepared as if that was a mythical position you could obtain. Can we all be more prepared for a wider array of things? Yes and can that mean the difference between life and death? I think so. But you can’t buy the complete package of Prepping on Amazon. It’s a journey we are all waking and it will take forever to get there.

I’m glad you are with me. Let’s keep looking forward.

The post A Prepper Looks Back – 10 Years of Prepping Lessons appeared first on The Prepper Journal.

from The Prepper Journal Don't forget to visit the store and pick up some gear at The COR Outfitters. How prepared are you for emergencies? #SurvivalFirestarter #SurvivalBugOutBackpack #PrepperSurvivalPack #SHTFGear #SHTFBag

[storytimefromthecreed]

Half Blood

(Part 8)

If the Half Bloods didn’t kill her, the Kenways would. (Y/N) removed her hood, thankful for the breeze. It was a hot and humid summer day, two weeks into Alistair’s abduction, and she was anxious. Haytham had agreed to let him live through the month until she found a ship to send him back, and Connor wasn’t happy about it. After his torture sessions, Haytham would ask Alistair a question. If he answered, he was free to go, if not, then Haytham would renew the torture the following morning. She sighed. It had been two weeks.

The other Half Bloods were easy to dispose of after that. Without leadership, Connor and (Y/N) finished them quickly. After that, Connor went to rejoin the war front, but not without leaving her worried. He was angry at her alliance with Haytham, and not without reason. He was still bent on his mission.

“But can’t you see that he’s better? He’s doing good.” She had objected, but he shook his head.

“For now, but mark my words, Haytham will do something to convince you I am right. I just hope I am around to help you end him.”

“Ratonhnhaké:ton, give him a chance.“

He paused, boring his brown eyes into hers. “I did, for you, but not again. I would like you to respect that.”

Now she paused, taking in a breath, thinking. Connor needed a friend, a good friend, and a good friend was understanding. “I understand.” She said, and he visibly relaxed.

“I will see you within two weeks time. If not, feel free to join me.” Connor smiled. She had missed that smile. It was warm and safe. Now she took into account his face. Though less than a year had passed, he had aged so much. His eyes were heavy and his skin held fresh scars. They’d been through a lot together, and she felt they really knew each other.

She knew he would regret killing his father.

“I’ll see you then.” They parted ways, but she found herself looking over her shoulder and watching him walk away. To her surprise, he did the same thing. He blushed a little, and stopped moving, looking at his shoes.

“This could very well be the last time I see you.” He muttered, “I just wanted a good mental image.”

“Get over here.” She extended her arms, and he practically ran to her. Connor wrapped his arms around her waist, she buried her face against his chest, and he slouched down to rest his chin on her shoulder. He smelt of pine, dirt, and sweat. She smelt of leather, dust, and grass.

“I’ll see you soon.” She said.

“I hope so.”

••••

(Y/N) was always slightly proud of her ability to be patient, but now she felt it running low. Haytham was also losing his cool, but he wouldn’t show it. All Alistair had to do was answer a simple question, a question Haytham didn’t fully understand but asked anyway. A question that would end this.

“It’s been too long.” Haytham said one day after he completed a session and returned to the outside of the fort, to her. She handed him water and he drank. The sun beat down on them, insect song rung around them, and the silence of the lack of population made her sleepy. Connor had been gone a week now, and Haytham wasn’t looking forward to the idea of torturing Alistair on his own.

“Let me help Connor finish his mission, and then he’ll be available to us.”

“You really believe that?” Haytham rose a brow. She had to stop herself from laughing. He and his son had too many similarities.

“I do.” She said, “And if you need me to watch the prisoner for a few hours, then so be it.” Haytham paused, looking away to examine the treeline while he chewed his bottom lip. “What?” She joked, “Don’t you trust me?” He gave her a side eye, and she drew away, mouth aghast. “You don’t trust me!?”

“Now don’t get so emotional.”

“Haytham!”

“(Y/N), do you blame me? I’ve done everything you’ve asked, and we’re not closer to ending this than when we began, and it feels,” He took a deep breath and spat it out. “It feels like there’s an ulterior motive. I mean, you haven’t even told me what this Apple is.”

She got tense.

“See. You refuse to even acknowledge it. Why? What is it and why are you all fighting over a piece of fruit?”

“It’s a long story, Haytham.”

He readjusted his hat. “That’s what I thought.” He sighed, “ I think you should join my son in battle. I will do better guarding our prey here. Alone.“ With nothing else to say, he returned back inside. Leaving (Y/N) outside with her thoughts.

��•••

Shells hit the ground, spraying dirt into the air. The dust made it hard to breath, and she coughed. From her place behind the crudely stacked boxes she was an easy target, so she moved. A rain of bullets buzzed past her. Men cried around her, in pain or in courage.

She was tackled.

A RedCoat grabbed her legs, sat on her, and aimed his musket at her face. He grinned, blood dripping down his mouth, then he fell on her. The air was knocked from her lungs, and she struggled to move the weight from her. Upon pushing him off, she found a tomahawk protruding from his back.

“That’ll do it.” She said, grabbed the weapon and looking for the owner. Connor was grappling with at least five men three yards from her, and had a handle of the stituation. His men had disarmed the RedCoats and they were falling back, so she ran to join him. Connor was finishing off the last men, and when the last fell to the ground he turned to her.

“I need you to pay attention.”

“Thank you for the assistance.” She handed the tomahawk back to him, and he cleaned it against the grass. He looked especially grumpy today, but this wasn’t the place to discuss it.

“Pay attention.” He simply said, searching the field. It was clearing, and the men in grey and brown cheered. They had gotten guns, ammo, cannons, maps, and hostages.

“Good plan with disarming the cannons first. It was risky, but very smart.” She said, and he nodded

“Do you know where Washington went?” He asked.

“Oh. I don’t know.” She searched too. “Maybe-”

“Of course you do not.” He muttered, and she was taken aback. She hadn’t seen Connor in two weeks, and she thought they were on a good page now.

“I have to go find him.” He walked off, leaving her in the field of dying men. She ran to catch up with him, cursing Connor’s long stride. Attempting to peer at his expression yielded no results as his face was hidden under his hood and he wasn’t looking in her direction.

He wasn’t one for physical contact, but he was usually ok with her, so she risked it. She touched the warm, worn cloth on his arm and he glared down at her.

“Uh, are you ok? You seem,…on edge.”

“I just fought in a war. I am sure it happens.” He said, taking off again. “I have work to do, (Y/N), I can not entertain you today.”

“I don’t need to be entertained, Ratonhnhaké:ton. I want to help.“ She couldn’t hide the hurt in her voice. Connor looked at her once, about to say something, but thought better of it.

“I’m sorry.“ He said, inhaling and exhaling slowly. “It is unfair for me to take my frustrations out on you. I am sorry. Now, I’m really in need of Washington.

“He’s over there with his lieutenant.”

There was Washington, standing against the sunset in an every so stoic way, with men surrounding him. Men were rushed to the medic, bodies were taken and buried, and hauls like ammo and the cannons were taken to the blacksmith for proper analysis. Washington retreated to his tent, followed by, what looked like Alexander Hamilton.

(Y/N) and Connor entered quietly. A large topographic map was laid on the table, there were chairs and a cot, some food, but little else. Hamilton wrote furiously while Washington spoke. When he finished, the bid them goodnight, and Washington acknowledged them.

“Connor! How nice of you to stop by.”

“Who else would save you?” He scoffed, joking,….she hoped.

Washington laughed. “This is true.” He grew serious. “I suppose you’re here to talk to me about the land again.” Washington stood before them, and she gave him a once over. He looked like how everyone expected he did, intelligence, strong eyes, strong facial features, and healthy; but you could see the wear in his skin. Aged from stress and war, the man looked like his skin was paper. She wondered if it would break of she touched it.

“Connor, I’m sorry, but my answer is the same. The businessmen who now own the land will not return it. Not even to me.”

“They do not own the land! It was stolen!” Connor said, “I will do what it takes to return it to who it belongs to.”

“Then what? You kill the men who hold the deeds and it goes to their sons, or brothers. Then you kill them too? Also, last I checked, aren’t your people gone? Scattered? So, if you did return the land as you say you would like to, who would you return it to?” Washington tried a gentler tone, “Connor, we can not thank you enough for the aid you have provided during this time. We are debted to you, but what you ask is impossible. I’m sorry.”

“This is not the end. I will be back.” Connor stormed out of the tent, and she followed. He made his way out of the campground, past the bonfire, out of the warm, safe glow of the light, and into the cold, dark woods. If he thought he was losing her, then he was wrong.

“Ratonhnhaké:ton, slow down.” She called. Her eyes weren’t as suited to the dark as his, and she found herself stumbling and reaching out. His footfalls were farther away, and she ran after him.

“Ratonhnhaké:ton?” She asked, but there was no answer. No footfalls either. She was alone.

A light flickered in the break of the treeline ahead, and she unsheathed her blades and followed it. Her wrist, still technically on bed rest, was well enough to defend herself if need be. Stepping into a clearing, braced for combat, she found Connor making a fire. The fire formed quickly, and Connor sat beside it. From his body language, she could see he was pouting.

Returning her blades, she went to him. They were silent as they watched the flames.

“I am sorry for my attitude. It was wrong of me to speak to you like that.” He said. "I have just been under a lot of stress lately.”

“What’s been going on?”

Connor lowered his hood. His brown eyes watched the fire, but she could see he was looking at something else entirely. “Washington will not help me fight for the land of my people. After all I have done for him, for these people, they will not right their wrongs. It makes me angry.”

“What was your home like?”

A ghost of a smile appeared on his lips. “Beautiful. My friends and I would climb trees, hunt, fish, and listen to our Elders tell stories on nights such as these.” Now he looked at her. “Do you see now why I need this? My people are scattered without a home. No child will enjoy the love and life I experienced in that village ever again. I just…I would not be able to feel like I did any good in this life if I was not able to do this.”

“That’s why you went to Achilles.” She remembered the story well. “You didn’t want this life, Ratonhnhaké:ton, but maybe it was given to you for this reason. Maybe you were supposed to be an Assassin to change the tide of the war.”

“At what cost?” His eyes were welling, and she gave him a hug. He allowed her to hold him. Her words were meant to move him, but she had moved him in the wrong direction.

“Is that all that is stressing you? Is there anything else” She wasn’t sure if it was because of her words or the cold wind that swept through the clearing, but he tensed.

“No. Nothing else.”

He was lying.

“Are you sure?”

He was quiet a moment before pulling away. His eyes held hers and he chewed his bottom lip, just like Haytham did when he was deciding something.

“What?”

“I just…" he chewed his lip again. His eyes became more guarded and watched hers for any change in emotion. “You were almost seriously hurt (Y/N), and I…I did not like it.”

“I don’t like when you get hurt either, Ratonhnhaké:ton. I’m sorry I worried you.”

“I know, and it is ok. I just…” He took a deep breath and exhaled. “I do not know what I would do if something were to happen to you, is all.” He said nonchalantly. “I do not like to think of what my life would be like without you in it, and that is because I have feel-”

An explosion rumbled through the night, shaking (Y/N) and causing her and Connor to flinch and look towards the campground. A fire roared where the soldiers were camped. Sparks flew in the air, disappearing into the stars.

“Oh my god.” She leapt to her feet, running towards the men. They needed help. Something was wrong. From as far as she was, she could hear men crying out in pain and for help. The fire’s heat warmed her before she reached their clearing.

“Find Washington!” Someone cried.

“Where’s the medic?”

“Run!” So she did. The Colonies needed Washington, she thought as she leapt over a fallen branch, and she needed the Colonies. Her boots kicked up dirt, and she was sweating. It stung her eyes and, paired with the intensity of the fire in both light and heat, momentarily blinded her. But she ran.

“Ratonhnhaké:ton, do you see him anywhere?” She asked when she stopped by Washington’s tent. It was aflame, and she should hear a muffled voice. “Ratonhnhaké:ton?” She turned to find that Connor hadn’t followed her. Pushing that aside, she kicked the flaps in, they were too hot to touch, and ran inside. Smoke choked and blinded her, so she closed her eyes and followed his voice.

“Help.” He coughed, his voice weak. (Y/N) reached around for him. She remembered the placement of the table, the chairs, and-

A hand grabbed hers, and she pulled with all her might. Washington held until they went out of his tent. The air was easier to breathe out here, but not by much. He coughed, his face was grey from smoke, and he was clutching something in his hand.

“Thank you.” He coughed, attempting to stand straighter. He hid the paper in his pocket, and she pretended she didn’t notice it. Her throat burned. She felt she was about to throw up.

“Not yet.” She grabbed his arm and pulled him to run. The trail she had made before was now covered in fire. She stopped, looking away wildly. Which way was out? Washington coughed behind her, and fell to his knees. Her head swam. It hurt like a dull headache getting stronger with every breathe. She salivated and her lips tingled. She was going to throw up.

“Come on.” She said, or thought she said. She fell to her knees despite herself, and her vision became fuzzy with each blink. Washington wasn’t speaking anymore. It hurt to breathe.

[darkcloud-kcalifornia]

Well I wanna get another Nanoha episode down before this day off is over with, so let’s get started with StrikerS episode 10, “Riot Force 6’s Day Off (Part 1)”.

* And seriously, just on the title alone, it’s nice to see that even when you officially join a military organization rather than doing freelance work, any attempts by a super to take a break are doomed to failure.  The “(Part 1)” part of the title alone gives heavy suggestion that crap is about to go down.  That or extended fluff/fanservice, but come on, we all know which it is.

* Tea has apparently come to the conclusion after her complete failure at personal training that one of the lessons she should take away is that mornings are evil.  Which they are.

* Nothing like a little morning molestation to help get ya out of bed!  Seriously, Subaru, what the heck, girl?!

* And Subaru likes it rough I’m guessing.  I bet Tea would have a far different reaction if she knew her punishments weren’t helping matters.

* While Fried deciding to perch on Erio’s arm is cute and shows the amount of trust they’re all building… I would not want a dragon, even a smol one, grabbing onto my arm with it’s talons without some kind of brace or armor there.  I mean, he didn’t even have a sleeve.  Just bare skin.  OW.  I’m hoping he had some kind of a shield up to toughen his skin.

* After the morning workout/beating season they call mock battles Nanoha tells the kids they passed their level two training, and can now get some of the limiters on their Devices turned off by Shari.  Hooray!

* And as an added reward, they get the rest of the day off!  Which I’m sure is Nanoha’s way of giving them some more real battle experience.  She’s been a hero long enough to know what days off mean.

* While the adults (relatively speaking, hard to know how to classify Vita) are having breakfast the news is playing, with stuff about fights over budgets and taxes (ugh, please don’t remind me of the tax crap we’re having to put up with right now…), and one guy they don’t particularly care for, Lt. General Regius Gais, clamoring for a bigger piece of the pie for the military/police.

* And apparently the TSAB’s Chief of Staff is an old woman named Midget Crowbel.  Midget is not something to name your child.

* Seated beside her are two other elderly VIPs, the Honorary Marshal of the Armed Forces Largo Kiel (who sports a most impressive beard) and the Judicial Advisor Leone Phils. Together they’re known as “The Three Legendary Admirals”.

* I’d like to comment on the rest of Gais’ BS speech, but the subtitlers apparently decided that part wasn’t really important.  To be fair, most of it was background noise to the conversation going on in the mess hall.

* Is Vice letting Tea borrow his motorcycle?  I may not know how she is at riding, but given the paint job on that thing I’m surprised by that decision.

* Dawwww, lokkit Fate being all motherly with Erio, making sure his clothes are nice and neat and that he has everything for his day out with Caro.  Fate makes such a good mommy.

* Caro arrives and gets a bit of the treatment too, with Fate making sure her clothes are the right size.  Wait… is Fate shipping her foster kids?  I mean, I know they aren’t related and haven’t grown up together either (at least until Riot Force 6 formed), but that still strikes me as a little weird.

* I don’t think Erio and Caro have to worry about the normal dangers of a city at night given, you know, military trained wizards.  With a dragon even.

* So, Nanoha and Fate… any plans now that the kids are out for the day?  Wink wink, nudge nudge.  Well, OK, they don’t really have the day off, even if Vita and Signum are taking care of some of the negotiations for them.

* Shari and Rein are modifying everybody’s Devices, including Nanoha and Fate’s.  Oh, and Rein herself too.  Which apparently necessitates her stripping.  I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised there was loli panties in this series.  I’m just wondering where they go to get them in pixie size.  I mean, I know magic can form barriers into something that looks like clothing, but given how she’s actually disrobing in this scene I’m thinking they’re real cloth.  Do they shop for doll clothing?  I imagine that might not actually be comfortable given that they aren’t actually meant to be worn by something with nerves and self-movement.  Or do they have somebody who specializes in tailoring work and willing to do it that tiny?

* Tea is riding too close to that center line for my comfort.  I swear she momentarily passes it a time or two.  Slow down on those turns young lady, especially when they’re blind like that!

* Holy crap Shari actually plotted out a plan and schedule for Erio and Caro’s day out together. The kids are a little unsure about all of this, and while I don’t think they were thinking of it as such it seems pretty obvious that the rest of Riot Force 6 decided these two were going out on a date.

* So in the way of random background info, Caro has a second dragon she can call on named Voltaire, but he’s all black and huge and an ancient guardian thingy and thus not likely to be seen outside of a battle sequence.  Fried on the other hand is one she’s raised from an egg.  …Why am I wanting to see him and Spike interact now? Fried can’t even talk.

* You know, I’ve honestly never seen the appeal of the large stacks of ice cream like Subaru has.  I mean, I get wanting great quantities, but they’re also usually presented as multi-colored as well, which implies multiple flavors.  And while some flavors work well together, like Tea’s vanilla and chocolate, I find it hard to believe that all of the varieties Subaru has would.

*  Of course Subaru can nom an entire scoop in a single bite, so the stuff might not have the opportunity to melt and mingle, even with that much.

* Out in a park Erio and Caro exchange notes on how Fate raised them, and come to the conclusion that yes, she’s pretty good at the whole mom thing.  Also…

* …oh my gosh Arf’s puppy mode has it’s own accompanying human form.

* Holy crap, Shari actually put, “watch sunset on the beach” into their schedule.  No doubt about it now, Riot Force 6 is full of shippers.

* Wait, is that chatter coming off of the police intercom in English?  *listens again*  Yeah, that’s English.  I can’t make out most of it, but there was something in there about a 74 year old male. Really it sounds like they grabbed a soundbite from something that was originally English sourced rather than try to record it themselves.  Oh well, I suppose this is more evidence that the people on Midchilda really are speaking English, and that all the character’s speaking Japanese is for the original audience’s benefit.

* Anyway, at the site where the police scanner was used as background noise Ginga has showed up to help with an investigation on a truck that suddenly overturned.  The driver is freaked out and was attacked by something, and an explosion had come from the back of his truck.  Inspecting the wreckage shows both a destroyed Gadget as well as the shattered remains of something Ginga identifies as a “life pod”, suggesting somebody was using this guy’s truck to smuggle living cargo. That isn’t there anymore.  Even the music is going DUN DUN here.  No, really.  Not making that up.

* Elsewhere Jail receives a report that the 6 Gadgets he had pursuing a possible Relic have all been destroyed, and not by the TSAB.

* A mostly unseen girl named Nove wants to get in on this, but both the Doctor and his assistant shoot her down.  Her equipment isn’t ready yet.  The assistant offers to send in the best of her sisters for this one.  The Doctor also calls up Lutecia to see if she’s willing to lend a hand.

* Down in the sewers a little girl in rags is dragging along a couple of boxes that have been chained to her.  She stumbles in her slow shuffling and one of them comes loose and falls into the water, but she doesn’t seem to either notice or care.

* Erio hears something and races into a nearby alley, where he and Caro see the girl crawl out from a manhole.  Caro calls the rest of the team while Erio holds the apparently comatose girl, and informs them that the case chained to the girl looks like it belongs to a Relic. Vacation just ended, kids.  Eior and Caro are ordered to stay put and provide both protection and first aid, everybody else is to either scramble to the location or man their stations.

 But the actual fallout for this is going to have to wait until Part 2.  We got some decent character interaction in this one, and some not so decent on Subaru’s part.  But this is so obviously set-up that it’s in the title, so detailed analysis beyond my nitpicking the minor points for fun is going to have to wait until next time.