#so like i just wanted to make this post ro acknowledge to the universe that i know something nice just happened here

[marmiteprinter]

Round 3 - Summer 1 (Part 2) - The Neetor Family

ROS for the Neetors states that one of them must study logic and enter a gaming competition. There's nowhere to do that in Wildflats Peninsula as TS2 required more of a LAN party setup for gaming competitions. No one owns a computer yet, as far as I'm aware, so that one won't be happening. But ROS also wants a fire to break out... I am SO glad that Pietro studied Fire Safety because he's now going to be on call when that happens...

Bethany started her round feeling very excited. It had always been her lifetime want to become a top educator and, now that there were children in the town, she was hoping Jennifer would let her become their teacher. She picked up the phone.

"Hi Jennifer! I'm calling to ask if you'll let me become the teacher for Kyle and Ramona's son and Pietro and Lucas' girls. They'll need a teacher now and... wait, what?"

It turned out that Jennifer had already anticipated this situation and had previously employed the miraculous overnight builders to construct a school in Wildflats Peninsula. She had got a grant from SimCity to put towards the education of their youngsters and told Bethany that she could definitely become the town's teacher provided she could stump up the remaining §20,000 to pay the builders.

Bethany quickly and gladly agreed. She had used most of her inheritance lump sum already, but took out a loan and paid the builders for their hard work.

The rest of this post will be a pic dump showing off Wildflats' new school!

It was not my creation - all the hard work was done by @teaaddictyt and she shows this school off on her YouTube channel here (which is where I fell in love with it). She's Australian but I guess their schools are very similar to British schools because it felt very familiar (I'm a primary teacher and it just felt like every school I've ever stepped foot in)!

I had to make a few changes because (although she does acknowledge it's CC-heavy) I didn't realise it would come packaged with all her merged CC files! I had to work out just how much I could safely delete and replace and still keep the 'essence' of the school the same.

Placing the school (which is another community lot) also unlocks 1 more CAS point, bringing the total up to 5. We may have to add a family next round!

Exterior view - the field and basketball courts will be used for Outdoor PE and occasionally for lunchtime play. We have this thing in the UK where, if it's dry enough and the kids won't get muddy, they're allowed to go and play on the big field (most schools have a field). So at lunchtime there will be times when they'll be out here playing rather than the playground.

Classroom 1 - I'm only planning to have one school, rather than a separate primary and secondary, so this will be the kids' classroom. (I know that’s mad in a BACC because it will get big eventually, but at some point I’ll just start rotating days that children come to school!)

Another view of Classroom 1.

Classroom 2 - this will be the teens' classroom. My BACC rules dictate that we can't have a second playable teacher until Bethany reaches the top of the career, a university has been unlocked and our candidate has a degree. That’s a long way off so for the time being, I will probably rotate days as I mentioned above.

Multi-purpose room. It comes shipped as an art room, but can be set up for music, indoor PE, or whatever the day's timetable dictates!

Library (with computer suite at the rear).

Entrance/Office - we won't necessarily have someone on reception but it's here for decoration anyway.

Staff room.

Headteacher's Office.

Canteen - this was an outdoor picnic area in @teaaddictyt's version, but British schools have dining halls where the kids all gather and eat indoors because our weather doesn't suit outdoor dining, so I added this.

Playground - with a covered area for shade in the summer.

[scribbling-sage]

Becoming a Jamaican: My 12-Step Programme 

Imagine waking up one day and being a part of one of the most unreal groups of people. Honestly, if I got a dollar for every time I met someone who was fascinated by my country and culture, I would have… well, about ten dollars, but that’s beside the point, my being a borderline hermit isn’t the issue here. What’s of paramount importance is that you are not Jamaican, and you wish to be, so let’s not judge me. Instead, let me help you begin your journey of becoming an authentic Jamaican.

Though, before we begin, let me just add a little disclaimer. First, these instructions that will follow are very powerful and as such must always be used wisely. Second, while I am aware of the fact that there are several types of Jamaicans, this article will only cover the essential criteria for becoming a general Jamaican. If you are interested in learning the necessary steps to become a “Dung ah Town, Up Town, or Kuntri Jamaican,” you’ll need to look out for my upcoming posts.

Now, with that out the way, let’s begin, shall we?

Whether you’re drawn by the promise of endless sunshine and stunning beaches, a rich history and heritage, or simply just the desire to adopt a more relaxed and positive outlook on life, becoming Jamaican offers a chance to infuse your existence with a bit of island magic.

So, without further ado, let’s dive into the heart of what it requires to become a true Jamaica.

1. Mastering the Art of saying “Yah man / Wah gwan”

Whether you’re agreeing, disagreeing, or just acknowledging someone's existence, "yah man” (yaah mahn) is your go-to phrase. Another greeting alternative is “wah gwan” (waah gwahn) used instead of hello.

2. Develop a love for (if you don’t have it already) “Nuff Gravy”

Gravy is what makes or break any dish in Jamaica. So, demanding (begging) for an extra serving of gravy most popularly oxtail or curry gravy is what sets other wanna be Jamaican’s apart form a true Jamaican. Bonus points if it’s spicy and you can handle the heat!

3. Buying KFC on a Friday.

It is widely known outside of Jamaica that the national dish is ackee and saltfish and that our most popular food is jerk chicken and rice and peas. But that my friend is just false. The quickest way to fit into any group of Jamaicans is to always suggest getting KFC when asked what you would like to eat. Side note, make sure to complain about the long lines and slow service when ordering but never and I mean NEVER leave without your food.

4. Saturday is for Soup

Saturdays are reserved for “drinking” soup, no matter how hot the day is. End of story.

5. Tea and Pain/Gas

Every pain felt is…gas pain and gas should be treated with tea “just guh drink likkle tea and yuh wi feel betta.” Bounce point if you are able to master tea slurping (thhhhhhsuuup) sound. Side note drink from anything but a teacup.

6. Never be on Time

And when I say never, I mean never. To be a true Jamaican one must aim to be at least thirty minutes late. If and when asked for a location status, your answer should be one of the two responses regardless of your location “mi deh pon mi way” or “mi soon come”. This doesn't mean something should happen in a few minutes or even an hour. It simply means it will happen eventually, whenever the universe decides the time is right. Please note, no other answer or clarity should be given.

7. Always be in a Hurry

A true Jamaican is always walking or driving fast and is never able to wait for a long period of time as they are always in a hurry to get somewhere. It doesn’t matter if you have no need to be in a hurry. Bonus point if you are cussing while hurrying.

8. Always answer a question with a question

A true Jamaican always answers a question with another question. For example, “Have seen my bag?” “Which bag?” or “Do you want to join us?” “Mi cah come?”

9. Insults

When in need of an insult regardless of who it is, your go-to should always be “guh suck yuh mahdah.” This should be mostly used while in a road rage situation or at the end of an argument you’re losing. However, please ensure that you have a clear escape route before utilizing this.

 

10. Take Nothing Serious.

Here in Jamaica, we take nothing seriously. This is a bit tricky though as we do not like “bad roads” and will do everything in our power to have this fixed including blocking and sometimes destroying “good roads.” However, almost everything else newsworthy is up for humor. 

11. Teeth Hissing

Yes, this is a valid and adequate answer to any question or statement. When in doubt of a suitable response, a well-toned hiss (coupled with a smile or frown) is almost always acceptable.

12. Celebrate Jamaica and Jamaicans

Jamaicans are very proud of who we are and will do anything to rep for our country. During international competitions an ensemble of black, green, and gold attire must be worn while banging pot covers (avoid glass covers, from experience). Bonus points if a pair of Clarks is added.

This takes us to the end of my list. Follow these steps, and you'll be well on your way to becoming a true Jamaican!

Big Up Yuh Self.

Scribbling-Sage

[kiegotakami]

did some divine energy of the universe tell a bunch of people what a hard time I’ve been having that made them say nice things to me the last couple days or ???

[beetlebethwrites]

1. I'm an American who only fluently speaks English, but I was in a triad at one point with 2 people who were non native English speakers (a German person and an Israeli person, whose first languages were German and Hebrew respectively) and they would occasionally use pet names for me and each other in their native languages, but they a) still regularly spoke those languages, even around me, and b) it tended to be reserved for more tender and intimate stuff, not just thrown out randomly, so it's really really contextual in my experience.

2. Babe is definitely more casual and cute imo, whereas baby feels creepy and kind of syrupy sweet to me?? I think that's just because my friends call me babe and stuff though, whereas I've only heard baby used towards me by creepy sexist and transphobic cis men that I don't even really know (I'm a trans guy so it happens like a lot).

As a side note, I know that this wasn't your intention and the posts weren't originally written by you, but as an arospec person who is very distinctly *not* acespec, arospec people have different concerns in relationships that the posts about A's demisexuality don't really acknowledge, so treating it as a universal aspec issue, when it is very distinctly an alloro acespec issue, felt a little bit alienating, which happens a lot (aspec people are marginalized even from other queer people and then alloaros have no space in the aspec community most of the time). Besides for that, I agree with the posts though and there's a reason I won't touch TWC and its fandom with a 10 foot stick lmao.

Context is key and that's how I'm going to approach it. In an ideal coding world there would be different pet names depending on how well the MC spoke the language of the RO I think, but that sounds like something that might be above my coding level atm. Maybe by the time I get to it, that'll be different and I'll be more confident in my coding abilities.

That's a context for 'baby' I've never considered so thank you for your input! It's definitely creepy when used like that and I'm sorry that anyone has used it to you in that way, let alone multiple people :/ If I could fight them for you, I would 😅

That's 100% fair and ofc it's true and arospec people are something those posts don't take into account at all. I think part of it is that if those posts do get read by their intended market (not people who are arospec or acespec or even properly informed tbh) then it's easier not to break it down and make it sound like it's a really tiny group of people who are hurt and therefore easier to overlook. So as a result they simplify the situation, if that's the right word? I completely agree with you though, and it's why I'm working quite hard to make sure that in my game you can build meaningful relationships that aren't romantic and/or sexual if that's what you want and prefer.

Thank you for your opinions, they really are valuable to me! <3

[silentauroriamthereal]

My female character POV fics

In honour of International Women’s Day, I just wanted to highlight the stories I’ve written from women’s perspectives in this fandom. A lot of Johnlock writers have faced the criticism (particularly from certain corners...) of being misogynist for not liking one particular female character (or even, for some, liking her but reading her as a canonical villain), or even for not shipping Sherlock or John with female characters. This is very much a fandom where the majority of the principal characters are men, so if most Johnlock shipping writers tend to write from either John or Sherlock’s POV, I think that’s to be expected. That said, I’ve had some fun writing from the perspectives of a pretty wide variety of the women in this universe, ranging from characters I adore to characters (well, one...) that I loathe, and it’s always been interesting. :) In chronological order of writing, my female POV stories include: 

The Green Carnations. POV: Janine. Summary: When Janine met Sherlock at John & Mary's wedding, she thought she knew what sort of a man Sherlock Holmes was. So it was a surprise when he called to ask her out for coffee not long after. Set during and after His Last Vow.

Moving On/Making Do: POVs: Mary, John. Summary: Split between Mary's POV (Moving on) and John's POV (Making do), this is the story of a marriage falling apart. As Mary strives to move their marriage ahead from the events of His Last Vow, John tries to reconcile himself with his choice of having forgiven Mary, while also coming to terms with what his choice has meant for his friendship with Sherlock. Post-HLV.

Inappropriate: POVs (lots!!): Sally, John, Lestrade, Sherlock, Mycroft, and Mrs Hudson. Summary: Sequel to In Plain Sight. Five times that Sherlock and John get caught having sex in public and one time that they don't.

Stand-In: POV: Mary. Summary: John is home but nothing is right between them. Mary is beginning to have suspicions about what and who John really wants to be with.

Want: POVs: John, Sherlock, Mary. Summary: Sherlock, John, and Mary each experience a different sensation of want in their lives.

The Red Roses: POV: Molly. Summary: Sherlock pauses. “I don’t need a coffee, but thank you,” he says. “I suppose I’m just bit stuck, I suppose. Not with the evidence. I’ll solve that in the morning. I don’t know how to move forward with something.”

Molly swallows. She knows this very well, but somehow, hearing it said aloud at last will still feel like a bit of a dagger. “You mean with John,” she says, very evenly.

Their eyes meet across the lab. She waits for him to deny it, but he doesn’t. His directness is one of the things she’s always liked the best about him. “Yes,” Sherlock says.

A Satellite Out of Orbit: POV: Ella. Summary: A companion story to Where My Demons Hide. For years, Ella has been trying to get John Watson to open up and talk to her about his issues. To her surprise, his longtime flatmate Sherlock Holmes turns up one day, needing her advice.

Hell Hath No Fury: POVs: Vee Holmes (aka, Mrs Holmes), John. Summary: As John attempts to move forward with his life, newly moved back into Baker Street, Vee Holmes begins to search for some long-missing answers about what happened to her children back at Musgrave Hall. With a kidnapper on the loose and some unanswered questions about the nature of the memory drug TD-12 and its effects, things are far from settled...

The Clouded Eye: POVs: Molly, Sherlock. Summary: Mary has a plan that will restore her relationship with John and bring Molly and Sherlock together at last. In an alternate storyline, Sherlock wonders how he can ever persuade John to see what he's been trying to show him for years now...

Rosa Felicia: POV: Rose (Rosie) Watson-Holmes. Summary: A sequel/companion story to The Book of Silence. Rose Watson-Holmes is eighteen and in her first year of university studying Food Science & Nutrition when events erupt in her life that force her to learn some things about her family's history never previously revealed to her. A coming-of-age story.

Rebuilding Rome: POVs: John, Ella, Molly, Sherlock. The majority of this story is admittedly either John or Sherlock’s POVs, but Ella definitely gets a good chunk and Molly has her own slice, too, so I decided to included this one! Summary:  When a case unexpectedly forces John to acknowledge some difficult truths about himself and his life, he spirals downward, leaving Sherlock to do his best to rescue him from his own darkness and somehow try to build something new on broken foundations.

So, there we have it! I have managed to write from the perspectives of Mary, Molly, Janine, Ella, Sally, Mrs Holmes, Mrs Hudson, and Ros(i)e. I also have a few stories told from the perspectives of Lestrade and Mycroft, but otherwise the rest of my stories are Sherlock or John POVs. I know there are other women in this universe (Irene, Eurus...), but so far I just haven’t felt like writing from their POVs, specifically. 

Meanwhile, happy International Women’s Day! 

[oxbridge-quality-fanfiction-co]

The Spring of Burning Forests: Chapter 8 (Geraskier)

It's a truth universally acknowledged that the fear of death makes the heart grow fonder.

Read on AO3.

For a full summary, see this post. Go here if you want to start from the first chapter.

Big thanks to @booichiboo, @sdmcburney, @goshdraws, Rita, @valdomarx, @carmillacarmine, @thelastsock, @katesierra @ro-the-bard-writer @geraskierficrecs ❤️ Dedicated to @variousnoises.

Updates every Sunday.

Here’s the first scene:

Geralt woke up with a dull headache. One of his ears was ringing from the change in air pressure, and his mouth was dry.

He stood up to get some water, stretched his shoulders, and felt the sunshine on his back. It was another perfect day and another picturesque stretch of forest, as removed from war and plunder as they come.

But there was a storm brewing in the air.

Both Aliya and Lianna were still away, their things scattered around the campsite.

Jaskier, luckily, was where Geralt had left him, wrapped in Lianna’s dress and still asleep. Not knowing how long the trance might take to wear off, Geralt hesitated to wake him. He just kept checking on him, increasingly impatient, slightly worried.

As another hour passed with no change, he sat by him and gently shook his shoulder. Jaskier just turned, still unconscious, now facing him. His features looked surprisingly dignified when expressionless, all muscles relaxed.

It felt bizarre and out of place, in the light of day, to think last night’s events affected Geralt so much. With the sun above his head, all the obvious and inevitable facts of life seemed more bearable somehow.

He tried again, shook him a bit harder, and Jaskier just moaned lightly in his sleep, his face turning away. It felt like nothing Geralt did had any effect. Jaskier was, however, clearly fine, just a bit sweaty perhaps, most likely because Geralt unnecessarily covered him with an extra blanket.

Geralt brushed away a strand of Jaskier’s hair, seeing it was sticking to his forehead, then moved his fingers through his hair, just to make sure it was all in place.

That was a weak excuse, he admitted to himself. Jaskier’s hair was a fucking mess regardless.

Then a thought hit him.

That was it. This was the end, the resolution to their shared travels. All the available paths slowly merged into one. Geralt couldn’t let Lianna die. He also couldn’t defeat Aliya.

He blinked a few times, shocked by the simplicity of that equation.

A wave of sadness came over him. It was much more intense than he anticipated. For a moment he considered that perhaps he was a bit too casual when he explained to Jaskier, all these years ago, that it was inevitable for all witchers to one day find themselves too slow and facing a stronger opponent.

It felt too early. But, then again, was there ever a time that felt right?          

The wind was growing stronger. The tree branches above them were cracking a bit, but the forest seemed calm regardless. The leaves were delicate, fresh and thin. It hadn’t been long since they were still in buds, unwinding slowly.

Everything seemed more vivid somehow. Geralt looked at the play of light on the bark. The bright blue of the sky was clear and striking.

He couldn’t ponder it for too long because Jaskier suddenly shifted in his sleep. His eyes started racing underneath his eyelids. His hands were grasping onto the blanket, and his face lost its tranquil demeanour. For a moment Geralt thought something was wrong but then realised it was just a bad dream.

Jaskier was trying to say something to someone, somewhere else, but just let out a pained sigh instead.

Geralt hesitated at first but then slowly held out his hand and ran his fingers along Jaskier’s cheek, trying to calm him down.

Still unconscious, Jaskier leaned towards his hand, and brushed his lips against Geralt’s knuckles.

Geralt shook his head.

‘You don’t stop… even in your fucking sleep, do you?’

He moved his thumb along Jaskier’s lower lip, stopping where the swelling from Lianna’s bite started.

‘See?’ he said with a sigh, not expecting a response. ‘Exactly as I thought. Pointless heartbreak.’

Keep reading on AO3.

[theresneverenoughfandoms]

D&D/Fantasy Sides

Figured I’d make this its own post because

I had too much fun writing these meme-y little blurbs

For context, this is kind of an au based on an au, where there are doubles to most of the Sides, but that’s not really acknowledged in the story, it’s functionally like if two guys named Kai just happened to be friends, they aren’t connected or anything

Nicknames/name shortenings are for ease of understanding who is who

Rain (Remus) -  Aasimar Barbarian - Said ‘fuck this’ to royal responsibility, ran into the woods and went feral for personal reasons. Is also trans and I think that’s very sexy of her. Kept the moustache because what was she supposed to do? Conform?

Ro - Aasimar Fighter - Dumbass with a heart of gold, also jewelry of gold, probably doesn’t know what a deer looks like but can definitely help you plan an outfit for a ball. Also now he’s next in line for the throne so you know the kingdom is in good hands

Roman -  Elf Bard - You know that one dude who always brings his guitar to parties and plays songs when nobody wants him to? Just sprinkle in a bit of ‘cut off from the family funds’ and ‘thirst for adventure with no real understanding of dangers or consequences’

Virge - Tiefling Rogue - Okay now give all the understanding of dangers and consequences to Virge. ‘Reindeers are better than people’ if by reindeers you mean everything. Tail has a mind of its own, and that mind is only good for tying his legs together and holding him hostage better than any rope at the first sign of danger

Logan -  Vedalken Warlock - Ultra Mega Nerd. Eternally done with this nonsense. Sold his soul for one cornchip and secrets to the universe, sold the cornchip for more knowledge

Pat - Halfling Paladin - Classic paragon hero, good for good’s sake. He’s basically the whole reason this group gets together in the first place because Magic Of Friendship or something (hint hint, it’s Or Something)

Lo - Half-Elf Wizard - Essentially a long-suffering college student who switched majors because he just wasn’t feeling the first one. It’s not because he fucked up a transmutation spell and gave himself hair and eyes that change colours like a mood ring shut the fuck up

Patton - Firbolg Druid - Has already adopted you. No, you don’t get a say, he’s your dad now. Gives great hugs, probably practices on trees. Picked up a cat once and decided it was his child

Virgil/Vi/Violet - Tabaxi Ranger - Can and will scratch you just because you looked at them funny. Can and will try not to start purring the second you touch his ears. But also don’t touch her ears or she’ll probably bite you. Maybe just stay away from zem, actually

And that’s our ragtag band of heroes!

Feel free to ask any questions, we’re still worldbuilding so we might not have answers for everything yet, but that’s the fun of it!

(Also yes there are ships)

[nekoabiwrites]

Ranking Up

I have a very long planning document with backstories for all of the major players in this fic... but who knows what the plot will actually be and if any of that will make it in lmao. 

Anyway, this is based in the Splatoon universe, because I think it’s fun to put the sides in games like this.

Also, what are titles? I am recovering from a migrane as I post this so brain is not really up for creative titles right now.

AU: Splatoon (specifically Splatoon 2) Pairings: None. Words: 2687 Warnings: Deceit, Remus (neither are said to be particularly good or bad), implied graffiting, mentions of battles involving gun-like weapons. Anything else, please let me know.

Summary: We introduce our cast and get to know their teams.

---

The young inkling ducked behind the wall that had already been inked by the other team, taking a moment to catch his breath. As he quickly covered the short wall with his own team’s ink colour, he had a chance to check the timer on the board just to the right of him. It showed the timer and a vague overhead map that updated constantly, along with each of the teams’ participants main weapons and status. The inkling was only interested in the timer, however. The match was almost over, there were only 30 seconds left. He grinned as he heard the unmistakable sound of an oncoming roller. The inkling prepared himself to dive out and attack, but the ground around him suddenly had several circles indicating the incoming ink missiles that were targeted on him.

“Shoot.” He muttered to himself before he dived into the ink and swam away from the attack, just moments before the missiles slammed into the ground and covered the spot in the other team’s ink. One of the last splashes of ink from the final missile managed to just catch the end of his squid-form’s tentacle, causing the inkling to wince slightly. It didn’t hurt exactly, just was uncomfortable to be covered in a different colour ink.

He was still able to get the drop on the oncoming roller, despite the clear indication that someone on the opposition had been nearby to them. In fact, their teammate’s attack distracted the roller and had them turning away from their intended path. This allowed the inkling to circle behind and get a good amount of damage on them before they could even retaliate. The opponent was splatted within seconds. The inkling, after taking a moment to celebrate getting yet another splat, used the last seconds of the match to cover as much of the ground that the roller had approached on as he could.

The buzzer sounded and all of the participants of the match stopped in their tracks. Across the map, the inkling could hear a splat bomb detonate and another set of missiles hit the ground, yet it didn’t faze him as he was sure that his team had won. The Ammo-Knights sponsored wristband pinged loudly and automatically opened its interface before the inkling’s face. All the previous information was currently greyed out and a new squid jump location had opened up. He placed his finger above the hologram map and immediately began the process of squid jumping to the spot. All the other participants of the battle were doing the same.

Their teams gathered and split to either side. The inkling was standing up front before his team, hands already resting on his hips victoriously. An overhead image of Kelp Dome appeared before them, with Judd and Mini Judd standing before either team. The drumroll began and the inkling puffed out his chest ready for his team’s victory.

“Why didn’t you let me get that last splat?!”

“Does it really matter who ‘got it’? Our team won.”

“Yes, it does matter, Logan.”

A long-suffering sigh preceded Logan’s next retort. He was going to regret this, “And why is it so important, Roman?” That set off the red-eyed inkling that stood before him. Logan simply rolled his eyes and sat back in the metal chair, waiting for Roman to be finished.

Their team were meant to be relaxing and enjoying their victory by sitting just outside Jelfonzo’s gear shop, having already purchased some snack food from the Crust Bucket truck. But, of course, Roman wanted to discuss the finer details of their match, and apparently that involved Logan’s “splat stealing” in the last few seconds of the match. He had done no such thing and had simply been trying to help them out in the last moments of the game, by freeing up one more teammate to go ahead and continue covering turf. And it was a simple friendly match, a practice one at that. It wasn’t as if a win or loss would affect their ranking at all; nothing they’d just gotten reflected on them at all or did anything for their current place in the league. Roman really did pull at Logan’s last nerve sometimes. He just wished he could-

There was a light touch on his arm that had his eyes fixing on another inkling who sat beside him at the table. He was kicking his legs back and forth, which was only possible because of his strangely short stature. The inkling that had rested a hand on Logan’s arm was giving him an impossibly soft, reassuring smile, which had him blushing a little before he turned away.

“Are you even listening to me?!”

Roman gathered both of the sitting inklings attention, his hands on his hips as he stared at them both with narrowed eyes. He seemed to be angry, but it was all a normal part of their dynamic.

The shorter of them giggled happily, “Sorry, Ro. I think we’re both a little tired after that match!”

The standing inkling immediately put a hand to his forehead and dramatically cried out, “My own team won’t even listen to my woes. It wounds me so! Especially from my longest standing friend, Patton, betraying me like that! How can I go on in this world?” His display caught the attention of some of the surrounding kids, some of whom seemed to be interested in what was going on.

Logan sipped at his drink, purposefully leaving a moment of silence before he spoke, “I do not believe that having a team is conducive to staying alive.”

That had Roman dropping his theatrics and simply pouting at his stoic teammate, “You know what I mean!”

Before the argument could progress, the fourth member of their team approached and stood next to Roman. The eccentric inkling went to wrap an arm around the other, but he was rebuffed quickly.

“Thomas… what’s going on? You look upset about something?” Patton questioned, cutting across Roman’s insulted rhetoric that he was spewing. Thankfully, the question got the red-eyed inkling to quieten down and pay attention.

“Uh yeah, guys… I just had to tell you something.” Thomas swallowed hard, eyes darting from one teammate to another. Each of them were staring back at him, all with their own level of concern. “Ah, well, uh… I’m going to have to quit. The team, I mean.”

“WHAT?!”

The team all jumped harshly at Roman’s loud screech, which regained the attention of the surrounding population of Inkopolis Square. Only this time, the entire plaza went silent and focused in on the small group.

Thomas awkwardly coughed and avoided eye contact, “Yeah, I’m sorry… I just got, uh… well, you know how my parents took me to that audition thing…”

“No. Way. Shut up.” Roman interrupted, his eyes wide with disbelief. “You got it?!” Thomas nodded lightly, clearly a little uncomfortable, but Roman’s next outburst had him jumping in shock once more, “THOMAS, THAT IS FANTASTIC!”

Across the table, Patton was clapping his hands together and squealing, whilst writhing with glee in the chair, “That’s wonderful news! You’ll be amazing, kiddo!”

Logan simply smiled softly and nodded his head in acknowledgement, “That is a great opportunity for you, Thomas. I am pleased for you.”

The inkling was surprised. His gaze flicked between each of his teammates, “You mean… you’re not mad at me? For having to leave?”

Patton and Logan both shook their heads, while Roman scoffed, “While I may not like that you are having to depart from our small band of brothers, this is a great opportunity for you to rise like the star you were born to be, Thomas. This is what you’ve been working towards all of your life. If you did not leave to pursue it, I would likely have to kick you from this team so you would!”

The four continued to chat loudly, trying to gain every scrap of information they could about Thomas’ next step in life as well as thinking about what that could lead to. Several kids around them were passively listening and dropped by the conversation to congratulate Thomas, despite not truly understanding what it was.

One kid in particular was sitting with their back against the wall of Jelfonzo’s shop, just around the corner from the table were the group were sat. He was listening intently in on their conversation. He’d watched their previous battle as well as several others in the past. Something about their casual nature, their confidence in talking about things so loudly in a public space, about their vibes just drew the young octoling towards the group. They seemed so happy and content, despite their usual bickering back and forth banter. There was something there within him that he couldn’t quite understand, an odd feeling that he felt when looking at them in particular.

As he was focusing on listening in on the other group, a shadow fell across him. The octoling immediately snapped his head up, tensing and fighting not to yelp in fear.

“There you are, Virgil. I had wondered where you’d run off to.” The smooth, silky voice sent unpleasant shivers down Virgil’s back. “What are you doing? Trying to hide?”

He stood and brushed himself off. Virgil crossed an arm over his body and held the other at the elbow nervously, “No, I just wanted to… come and chill out here. Is… is that okay?”

“Oh, it’s definitely okay. It’s not like we specifically said we were meeting up to practice or anything…”

Virgil swallowed hard and went to begin apologising, but an arm wrapped around his shoulder and a new voice stopped him before he started.

“Come on, D. We found him, we’re still early. It’s not a problem.”

The octoling before the pair put his hand over his chest and bowed slightly, a sarcastic smile tugging at his lips. “Many apologies to you both. You are so right. I have absolutely no right, as the leader of this team, to be wondering where my teammates are, especially when we all agreed to a time and place to meet. Obviously I must be th-”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Let’s go.”

The octoling who’d wrapped his arm around Virgil’s shoulders pulled him along, towards the entrance to Deca Tower. Even though the brand new 18K Aviators the octoling wore covered most of his facial expression, Virgil was able to make out the light air of annoyance that radiated from the kid.

They passed by the group who Virgil had been listening in on, watching as Roman gave them both a slight once over. He seemed a little irritated by their presence, which made Virgil duck his head and ignore them all.

“Thanks Remy…” Virgil muttered under his breath just as they passed through the doors into the lobby.

“Whatever. Just don’t push his buttons like that.” Remy tossed a look over his shoulder, watching as their team leader passed them by and began to talk to the receptionist. “You know that’s a bad idea. Just be a good boy and turn up on time. You know what will happen if you don’t, right?” Virgil nodded in response, which seemed to satisfy his friend, “Good. Lets just get this over with.”

The two octolings joined their other teammate at the desk, waiting for the receptionist to tell them where they needed to go. During this moment, the doors opened again which caused Virgil to look over. An unmistakable figure walked through from the outside, looking far too pleased with himself whilst being covered in – and smelling like – paint.

As the other kid approached, all of their gathered team seemed to sense him coming and have their own less than pleased reactions to the scent.

“At least it’s better than the last time…” Remy sighed, wrinkling his nose and sending a side glance towards the offender.

“What was wrong with the last time?” The kid asked, circling around to stand next to their team’s leader.

“Salmonid ink smells so bad.”

“I don’t think so!”

“Yeah, we know.”

As the newly arrived octoling went to rest his arms on the reception desk, the team leader stopped him dead by grasping his shoulder, “Remus. No paint on surfaces that are not outside, or did you already forget that?”

“Of course, I didn’t! I just don’t care!” Remus grinned. He rolled his shoulder, which knocked the hand from it. Instead of returning to lean on the desk, he threw both of his arms around the one that had stopped him before whilst flicking the other’s bottom lip with a paint-coated finger, “No pouting. You love me really, Declyn. Come on, admit it…”

Declyn rolled his eyes, thanking the receptionist who’d seem a little put off by Remus’ actions, before turning and walking towards one of the battle lobbies. Remus was still holding on tightly, but at least the octoling was moving, “Yes, Remus. I most definitely do love you.”

The sarcasm was seemingly lost on Remus, who nuzzled his paint-smeared face into Declyn’s shoulder like some kind of deranged kitten. Virgil and Remy followed at a short distance, both not saying anything about the scene before them.

In the lobby, Remus let go in order to go searching through the weapons cache that was available to them. The other members of the team did the same. Virgil cautiously approached the furthest machine and presented his ID card, which brought up his weapon stock. It was fairly limited, as he’d only recently started battling and had very little money to spare – but Remy had been kind enough to give him enough to buy whatever he wanted as his first weapon. He swiped through and found his Undercover Brella, selecting it immediately. He then logged out of the system and stood beside the screen, watching his teammates.

Remy was already done, sipping on a drink that he’s managed to slip past the receptionist. He was sat on the floor, just relaxing as if he had no cares at all. It made Virgil a little jealous. He wished he could have so little care, like Remy did. Declyn made eye contact with him and smiled a small, yet somehow sinister smile as he crossed the room to see how Remus was doing with picking his weapon.

“I just can’t decide!” Remus said loudly, in response to Declyn’s quiet murmur. He seemed to be stuck between picking the Bloblobber and the Goo Tuber; both weapons which made Virgil’s brow furrow in confusion. Remus seemed to enjoy weapons that did weird things and weapons that most other teams despised, and it just confused Virgil to no end. The octoling was like that generally, in fact, and Virgil was trying to stop figuring him out.

Eventually, Remus decided on his Goo Tuber. Within moments of him picking his weapon, the doors opened, and many small jellyfish came in holding their weapons. Declyn approached the one holding his Dualie Squelchers and took them without a word, before heading to the exit on the opposite side of the room. As he had waited for his brella to reach him, Virgil let out an amused snort as he watched five jellyfish carry Remy’s precious Heavy Splatling over to him. Remy picked it up with a soft thanks, but he turned before he could see the five jellyfish almost melt in exhaustion.

“Thank you.” Virgil muttered to the one who handed him his Undercover Brella. He smiled a little, which seemed to make the jellyfish wiggle in happiness before it turned and left. Virgil felt a small burst of warmth as he crossed the room to join his other teammates at the exit.

Minutes later, Remus had his Goo Tuber in hand and the four were ready to go. They teleported into the spawn point of the long-abandoned Bluefin Depot in their octopus form. Virgil’s eyes darted between his team, their silence – while normal – unnerving him. He didn’t have long to think about what to do, however, as they reformed back into their human forms along with the other team and the practice match began.

---

----- Next >

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[kmelanin]

Permanent Ink \\ 1 // kth

A/n: So lately, i've been feeling almost nervous to post. Because I know that what I post most people don't want. So you've missed out on like five different oneshots. Lolll. But i don't know why I was feeling like that when this is MY blog. Soooooo, the recent request for the Stoner Tae, I was tooooooooooooo excited for, soooo here is part one of who knows how many. Lol. This and Prince J are the only multipart stories i'm working on. Even though I will posting oneshots. Anyways here it issss….

Main Masterlist~

( Permanent Ink ) masterlist~

WARNING- 

word count: 4k+

Request: So tattoo artist stoner tae (I want tae to be intimidating and have an intense aura, bold and blunt) (y/n) daddys girl spoiled brat that owns a fashion company (personality i want her to be confident, honest and daring) she’s brown skin with a fat butt lol that’s it, you can turn it into a series if you want but no pressure. I forgot to say I made their personalities like that so (y/n) don’t walk all over tae, i want her to find him intimidating and challenging and for tae to not be that impressed by her.

three years earlier~

“Wake up! You are so late!” A familiar voice popped into your lovely date night in paris. Your blurred face dream man slowly turned into your best friend in whole world.

“Ro?” You mumble, everything crumbling and reality setting in. Your eyes started to open, regretting it soon after since Rowan opened all of your curtains. The morning sun was seeping in and right into your face. You groan and roll over, covering your head with the closet pillow. You were happier since you black silk sheets somewhat block the sun out.

“No, no. You have a meeting in a hour. You need to get up.” She says yanking the cover off of your body. The sudden cold air made you groan again. But she was right, today was the day. In a hour you were suppose to meet with your father and explain your project to him.

About a year ago he gave you the chance to make your dream come true. To become a fashion designer. Not only did you want to design clothes, but you wanted to own your own company. Your father had quite a bit of money, and he told you if you convinced him with a layout and perfected plan then he will support you financially.

Not only did you draw out amazing sketches and clothing ideas, but you have a estimate on how much you would need.

With your father's company, it allowed us to live very well. And with the help of social media, you were pretty well know, which you hoped would help with your clothing line.

You didn't have time for a shower, and you thanked the universe you took one before you went to bed. You went to the bathroom and did your hygiene routine.

You got your hair done currently. A simple blow and press, with some extensions. You quickly went to your closet and pulled out a strapless tube dress, that went down right to your knees. You then grabbed a leather jacket and some black shin socks. You put it all on and slid on some black ankle booties. You went to your vanity and did a natural glam. You loved having a pro mua come in and glam, but only on days you really felt like looking good. You grabbed your brush and gently brushed your hair down in it's natural flowy way.

Some things you were known for was your fashion and hairstyles.

“Here, here. The car is outside, so eat this because by the time you get there you won't have time for your usual.” Rowan comes in holding a water and breakfast bar. You grabbed your purse and phone and headed out.

You pulled into the private parking ramp of your fathers building. Rowan lead you in, you nod in acknowledgement to the lady at the front desk. You made your way up and to your father's office. When you got to the door. Rowan hands you the binder of all your ideas. You take a deep breath and enter.

You see your father sitting at his desk with his hands folded in his lap with  a big smile on his face that you loved to see so much.

“Hi Dad.” You smile talking a seat in front of him. You instantly start showing him everything that was in your binder. You made sure to keep your voice professional and to let him know what you want. You show him everything from the types of fabric you would be using. You let him know that they would be made towards the warmer weather and also autumn. You also let him know that you want to keep things classy with a tingle of edge and sexiness. You continue to show him other things like how many people you need on the team and the equipment you need.

You were finishing you final sentence and take a deep breath, you smile and nod you head, letting him know you were finished. You weren't really sure what he was thinking, he kept that same smile on his face.

“Already, I'm so proud of you. I'm so happy that you realize that you have to work for what you want. I would be happy to help you financially, but other than that you are all on your own. Don't disappoint me.” He stands up opening his arms. Your heart was beating in your ears, so it took you a minute to process, but when you did, your body automatically ran over to your fathers. You chant thank yous over and over again.

now~

You sat across your best friend and now PA, Rowan, at a nice dinner. In three days, part one of your clothing line is going to finally drop. After three long years, everything was perfected and a two part series will drop slowly as the year goes on. So you both say here in one pieces of the new line.

You had on high waisted, long baggy black pants that's went all the way down to the floor, causing you to have to wear heels. You also had on one of the many halter tank tops on as well. Rowan stuck with the simple rose gold slip dress and some heels.

“So I was thinking, everyone in the world right now is talking about your clothing line. I've read some articles saying how it's a luxury brand. And not trying to brag or anything but I agree.” Rowan goes on as she twists some noodles up with her fork.

“Luxury? I'm not making this brand specifically for the rich.” You say frowning. Some pieces were a little higher in price, that's only because the materials themselves are expensive. But there were pieces affordable.

“I mean come on, you are using silks and jewels.”

“There's only two pairs of diamond earrings releasing.” you laugh at her. “Come on Ro, get to the point.”

“Fine, we need to celebrate, doing something other than eating a over priced plate of noodles.” She sets her fork down and picks her phone up. She goes to a instagram account and hold it up to you. “Here look, I think we should get tattoos and by him.” she says picking her fork up again.

You look at the account and see all different types of styles in tattoos and in different places.

“How many artists are there?” You ask and hand her phone back.

“It's just him and another. His name is Kim Taehyung. He’s Korean and he owns his own shop about a mile from here. And the others name is Soobin” She shrugs. “I think both of us getting a tattoo, would be cute and help celebrate this big moment coming for you.”

“And you want to get it right now? I don't even know what to get.”

“Exactly, which is where my role as your best friend and PA come in, I know you pretty well. Soooooo…” she taps her phone a couple of times then hand back. “Swipe left.”

You first seen a rose with a cute diamond floating above it. Then the next one was a pretty jeweled out snake. Then the last one was a butterfly of some sort.

“These are pretty fucking sexy. I’ll probably do the rose and something else. I think this idea is cute.”

“Ill call the driver. Even though I know how to drive, and have my license unlike you.”

“Hey, chill. Father hired a driver for me, there’s no point.”

You and Rowan met in high school. You both went to a private school and met in english class. You sat next to her and you looked at her once and you knew you wanted to be friends.

You two did become friends, and quiet fast. You found out that she wasn't from here, she was from China. She was chinese and black. She was happy that she made a friend so fast. After meeting that day, you two were stuck to each other. Your father was so happy that you made a friend that you could trust. He gave you and Rowan the best birthdays, since her family wasn't able.

It's crazy how long and stuck still you both were. Which is why you would be willing to get tattoos with her.

“The fuck do you mean you can't pay the full amount.” Taehyung was quickly getting annoyed with the teen in front of him. “The price of that tat is $530, and we agreed. So no, I will not take only $400.” Taehyung's face wasn't moving, it was the same as any other time, emotionless and scary. The way his eyes never leave your, it makes anyone nervous. Taehyung wasn't small either, he was almost six foot, his shoulders broad, his arms thick.

The teen who just got a half a sleeve done, which took Taehyung all morning, sighs. He takes his wallet back out and gives him the rest of his money.

“If you had the money, then why lie?” Taehyung asks, his voice going lower.

“I'm a student, it's habit I guess.” The teen shrugs. His really didn't look like he was a true problem, and Taehyung knew he was telling the truth because they were talking about how ugly his student ID looked. Taehyung sighed.

“Look here, I’ll make it 500 even, stop spending money on tattoos.” Taehyung hands back thirty dollars and the teen leaves.

“Soobin, clean my station up and Ill give you my next appointment.” Taehyung yells back towards where their stations were. He smirks a little when he hears lots of noise and feet running, knowing he ran to do it.

Taehyung was checking the calendar when when the door ringed, letting him know that someone was coming in.

As you and Rowan enter the building, you could easily tell that it was a tattoo shop. Even though from the outside it was a all black brick building. You follow Rowan up to the counter, your eyes all over the paintings hung up on almost every inch of the walls.

“Hi, welcome. What can I do for ya?” A deep voice catches your attention. You turn your head towards the desk where Rowan and the man stood. When you first look at him, you felt frozen for a second. He was fucking perfect. He was taller than you, his jawline sharp, and his eyes intense. He seemed really scary, which is why you were stuck, unable to say anything.

“Um, yes. We are here to get some tattoos, I'm not really sure what she wants, but I know what I want.” Rowan says nodding. The guy behind the counter nods and leans up off the counter, he runs his hands run through his ashy brown hair. He had a long sleeve shirt on, hiding the tattoos you see peeking out on his hands and neck. God, you wanted to see what was under it.

“Soobin!” He yells behind his back, within a couple of seconds another guy comes out. He was a little taller, but also lankier. He had a short sleeve shirt, showing a full sleeve on one arm and a couple on the other. His hair was a dark brown and it was kind of in his eyes

“We have two tattoos to do.” Ashy brown hair guy says. “You can take her, and I’ll take miss quiet over there.” He says, his eyes finally landing on yours. He frowns slightly and his hand drops, he doesn't look away for a second. Soobin speaks up.

“You can come this way, and I can start sketching up.” Soobin waves Rowan over.

“Good luck.” You whisper to her as she walks by giving you a okay hand symbol. Once she was gone, you slowly look back towards him. He eyes were already on you, it was like they never left. But he was leaning against the counter, with one hand on his chin holding his head up.

“I'm YN.” You say trying to break the awkwardness you felt.

“Taehyung.” He says, his voice sent shivers down your spine, it was low and sexy. “So what were you wanting?” he asks leaning up again and walks towards the doorway that leads to the back. He waves you to follow him. You do and follow him all the way down to the last door. Once you were in, he shuts the door and he sits at a desk.

“You can sit here.” He says pointing to the tattoo chair next to his desk. You walked over and sat down trying not to expose yourself in anyway. Once you were comfortable. He pushes a button on the side that makes you sit up some.

“So, what would you like?” He asks getting out some paper and pencils.

“Um, I'm actually not really sure, but I think I want it under my boobs.”  You say trying not to look into his eyes. You could feel his warmth from where he was and it made your cheeks feel warm. “I seen your instagram, so I trust your opinion.”

“And you said under your breasts? Can you lift your shirt up until it's under them?” He asks. Your eyes bugged out for a minute at the straightforwardness. But you nodded and did it anyways. You pushed them up as far as your can and leaned back. He pushed the button again making you lean back a little. He scooches up a little in his chair, he grabs the hangover light and turned it one, letting him see his clean surface. He raises one of his hand up and over your torso.

“Tell me a little about yourself.” he says. His fingers grazed over your rib cage, making goosebumps rise on your skin.

“Uhm, I'm releasing a clothing line in a couple of days. Rowan, the girl who came in, she's my best friend and PA. My father owns a really big company, and he helped me actually make my fashion future even possible.” You say looking up at the ceiling trying to ignore his fingers going over your skin.

‘The typical daddys girl’ Taehyung thinks as you keep talking. ‘Probably going to pay for the tats with her daddies card.’ He tried to keep a scoff in.

“Okay, I think two koi fish would look beautiful right here.” He says tracing a circle into your skin. “Like a in the shape and shaded like the yin and yang symbol, but separated.” he pushes himself away and picks his pencil up to start sketching. You went on your phone to distract yourself as he draws again.

“How long have you been tattooing?” You ask.

“I picked up the gun around age 13.” He says, as his hand was going crazy on the paper.

“Oh, nice.” You say trailing off, unsure on what to say next. Then you get a idea. You go to his Instagram page. You see that he has almost 50k followers. You smirk when you think about your couple of million. You click out and go to your camera. You take a couple of pictures of your legs and shoes in a cute position and you go back to instagram and pick the best on to post. When you chose, you captioned it with the eyes emoji and below it something about the pants being in your clothing line. Then you tagged his account and you post. You turn your phone off and wait, maybe he will notice maybe not. He had some pictures of himself on his account, so it wasn’t just his artwork. Within the next five minutes, you go back into your instagram and see that your post had a couple thousand likes, you quickly edit your post saying to follow him.

Within the next couple of minutes, he was done and he showed the picture to you. As soon as you seen it, you knew that you would love it. He explained that what ever white you see other than the background would be your skin and the rest is ink.

“God, I'm so excited for this.” You say as the chair starts to lean back. You stick your shirt into your bra so it would stay up and he starts to prep. Before he put his gloves on his takes out his phone and pushes himself over to a speaker in the corner of the room. He plugs his phone up and turns some on. You peek over trying to look over his shoulder, the only thing you notice, is he pulling his notification screen down. You smiled to yourself when you see the white rectangles going down super fast.

“Holy fuck.” You hear him mumble.

“I tagged you in my post, I hope you don't mind.” You smile. His head snaps over to you and back to his phone, he had a slight frown.

“Uh, Thanks.” He nods his head and sets his phone on the speaker and scooches over to you and continues prepping. His reaction wasn't what you were expecting, but something is better than nothing. You went to look at his account again and noticed that he had over 100k. You felt like a proud mother, but he didn't seem to be too happy about it.You sighed. You weren't sure what to do, he was so closed off. Keeping things professional. But all you could think about it how fucking beautiful he is.

Once his gloves were on he grabbed a wipe and cleaned off your skin, in the area was going to tattoo. You closed your eyes to try and control your breathing, and calm your nerves.You felt as he transferred the drawing to your torso. As soon as you heard the sound of the tattoo gun buzzed you knew you couldn't go back.

Throughout the whole process, he would hold you down when you flinch when he hits the ribs. He would whisper helpful saying like ‘it's okay, this line is almost over’, or ‘You got this, you're strong.” It wasn't even the sayings that helped, it was how he said it, and his voice was low and rough. You kept peeping down, looking at his neck tattoos, or just how his hair laid on his head.

Your mind finally calmed down when he switched the gun off.

“You did a lot better towards the end, good job.” He says taking his gloves off. He grabs some paper towel and a spray bottle. He sprays the paper and he wipes and dabs it against you. He then grabs some plastic and lays it over the tattoo with a little bit of skin tape. He then bends down and pushes the button letting you sit up. He helps you stand up and pull your shirt down. You went to go look in the full body mirror he had on the back of the door but he stops you and stands in front of you.

“No, I need you to come back tomorrow. I take pictures, so I wanted to take a picture of this with my professional camera. If that's okay?” He ran his fingers through his hair, exposing his brows a little, showing that they were frowning a little, which made his eyes look so intense when his hair cover his brows. “So I need you to keep that covered because I put this ointment on it that will help the swelling go down.”

So he wants you to come back tomorrow? You could do that.

“Okay, sure. But I can't look at it?” You ask, feeling the stiffness of the plastic.

“Nope, I like to show my clients the picture first. It will give you a different feeling when you see it then look at it on yourself.” He says looking down at you. You look back at him and nod.

“Um, time?” You ask. Your throat was suddenly dry, and he felt way to close.

“Whenever.”

“Okay, I’ll come in the morning, I have afternoon meetings.” You say nodding. You grab your purse and walk out behind him. You see Rowan getting her card back from Soobin when you come out. She smiles towards you as you walk up.

“Lemme see!” She says excitingly.

“Nope, I haven't even seen it. We can tomorrow.” You say.

“Oh, well I can show you mine.” She says and lifts her other hand up and on the inner part of her upper arm was a rose that wasn't shaded, it went across the whole space.

“That's so pretty!! I like how the stem goes into your armpit.” You joke. “You don't want a pity rose.” and you both laugh at your horrible joke. Soobin even joined. After Rowan was done, she told you that she was going to wait out in the car. Soobin leaves to the back, leaving you with Taehyung.

You take out your card. You father made sure to get you the black one. You had it to him and rings you up.

“Um, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out sometime?” You blurt out. Your face burned at 450 when his head pops up to yours. He scoffs and looks back down to what he was doing. Once he was done he hands you back the card. But before you can get it back completely he holds it still.

“I don't know if times had change, but last time I checked, you don't try to guilt someone into hanging out with them.” He says, letting the card go.

“What? No-”

“So drooling over me, then give me over sixty thousand followers, then you wanna hang out.” He makes air quotes with his fingers.

“No, I didn't mean it like that…”

“I’ll see you tomorrow. I open around 8am.” He says then he nods his head and heads to the back.

The next day, in the morning, you got up around 7 in the morning and got ready for the day. Since you had two meetings to go to today, you put on some casual clothes, consisting of some leggings and a oversized sweatshirt and some sneakers. You finished getting ready around 8:30. You quickly got into your car and headed back to tattoo shop.

You quickly parked and went inside. You were so excited to finally see your tattoo, but you weren't as excited to see Taehyung. You hated how a simple glance your way made your cheeks burn and your heart race, but yet he was so blunt and rude. You didn't know why you felt like you had to, but you wanted to try a different way. Maybe not do the first thing that comes to your mind.

You just, you just really wanted to kiss him, fuck.

As you walked in, you noticed how much smokier it was in the place. The door dinged as you walked in, so Taehyung was walking out pretty quickly, spraying some febreeze. That's when it hit you, the smell.

You didn't know why,  but the fact that he smokes marijuana, just makes you feel so much hotter inside. When you walk up to the counter and his eyes were so much lower than yesterday.

You’ve always wanted to smoke weed. You did in high school, but after you found out you can't always trust who you were getting it from, you were scared.

“Ah, fuck. I'm sorry.” He says laughing a little. His smile wasn't huge, but since his eyes were low, his eyes went more smiley, making your heart race.

“For?” You ask confused.

“The smell.” He says also confused, did you not smell it?

“Oh that's okay.” You smile to him. “I actually smoke myself. Well once.” You mumble the last part, kind of embarrassed.

“Only once? Why only once?” He asks tilting his head. “What? Did daddy threaten to take away your allowance if you did?” he waves his hands around and scoffs. You were shocked to say the least.

“Um, one, I don't call my father daddy. Two, he doesn't care what I do, as long as I don't end up dead or locked up.” You put all of your weight on foot.

“Ah, sure sure. Let's just get these pictures over with.” He says and turns walking back, you follow. Instead of going to room you went to before, you turn right and make your way into another room. On one side there was a white screen posted up with light in front, and on in the back.

“I have a sports bra on.” You say and pull your sweater over your head.

“You didn't have to take it all the way off.” He says quietly. You look over at him, and his eyes were on you. When you looked at him, he quickly looked down at the camera he was holding.

“Well it's hot and smoking in here Taehyung.” You say in a duh tone.”Plus, I don't feel like holding this is up.” You say, folding your sweatshirt up and setting it on the chair.

“Whatever, go stand over there.” He says pointing towards the screen. You nod, ignoring his rudeness. You stand in front and feel the make sure your bra wasn't covering anything. He sets the camera down, and he grabs a couple of items you couldn't see because of the lights in your face. When he walks in front of you, you notice three different things in his hand. A spray bottle, a towel and a tube of some sort.

He throws you off guard when he drops to his knees in front of you. He puts everything on the ground and reach up. He pulls the plastic wrap off and then he grabs the spray bottle and sprays. You didn't think it was going to be so cold, so the water made you flinch.

“Don't move.” He grumbles. You just rolled your eyes and his attitude. He then grabs the towel and dabs at tattoo. He sets that down then grab the tube and opens it, he pushes some white cream on his fingers and he rubs it between his fingers before rubbing it on you. His fingers were soft on your tattoo so it doesn't hurt. You wished he would bring his hand farther down. His fingers left, and he stood up grabbing the other stuff and he wipes his fingers off.

“I put on some non scented lotion and rubbed it in all the way.” He mumbles and brings the camera up to his face. You nodded and stood still.

Taehyung zoomed in to the tattoo, snapping a couple of pictures. As he did, he couldn't help but to look at you, really look at you.

You were actually beautiful as fuck, and he knew that the first time he looked at you. But he doesn't hate anything more then a spoiled rich girl.

Make sure you like, and reblog if you enjoyed what you just read :) 💜

[mantra4ia]

Expectations coming in to Rise of Skywalker: Star Wars appreiation week (5/5)

Things I Want (although I will try to keep actual preconceptions low)

Get Anakin Skywalker in this movie somehow. If it’s the Rise of Skywalker, you need all the Skywalkers. He needs to be brought back into the fold. It might be interesting if Kylo could somehow see Anakin’s fall (in terms of force ghost or voice), or at the very least when he killed the Padawans, perhaps a parallel to when Luke almost cut Ben down. Or put Anakin’s essence imbibed in his helmet mask, which becomes infused with Kylo’s mask as he uses both kinds of fragments to reforge his own helmet and brings Vader back in that tangential way.

Additionally, give me Luke, Leia, Han, Lando, Yoda, Obi Wan. Their wisdom and voices at least. Bonus if you give me some expanded, in-depth Maz Kenata, not just as a narrator for theme and plot development like TFA and TLJ. I think she could have been an interesting character, but her uses so far have been vastly superficial.

Somehow, someway, bring us back to Jakku. If the new trilogy started there, it would be good to have a touchstone to Jakku somewhere in this film. If not Jakku, Naboo. Cuz if Palpatine is playing a key role, we need to the see his home, post Operation Cinder. 

References to lore and legends material (ex- use it to explain Snoke’s Obsidian ring). Expand the universe, or rather shine a light on the rest of the universe that is already massive and rich with un-cinematically explored history. 

Connect the dots between prequels, original series, and new trilogy. Don’t just Disney canon it.

Make a character-central story. PROBABLY MY NUMBER 1 WISH!

John Williams score. Even if I hate this movie, I know I can AT LEAST rely on the music.

Develop the friendship between Finn, Rey, and Poe. Give us stakes to lose. It doesn’t have to be the Luke-Han-Leia level of friendly back and forth bickering. But it should at least be Anakin-Obi Wan kinship. Give us emotional stakes to win or lose.

If you are going to use Palpatine, do not nerf him or OP Rey

Don’t be afraid to try something new, but use the existing laws of the Star Wars universe as your guide when you ask new questions. Regardless of the fact that I liked the energy of The Force Awakens, I didn’t like how it’s story base was like a cookie cutter remix of A New Hope. However, the parts I most enjoyed of TFA were elements of new what ifs - ie what if a storm trooper turned good? How big of a ripple could that make in a galaxy? Likewise, in TLJ, I like the idea of “what if Luke lost all hope - what would that look like and what would it take to rekindle?” Similarly with Rise of Skywalker, I hope they take the time to fully explore what was teased in the trailer. “I have been every voice you have ever heard inside your head.” If that line is Palpatine to Kylo Ren, think of and illustrate the implication it has on everything we though we knew about his influence and how he uses it to shape future probability so that his force clairvoyance is closer to perfect with each passing day by willing it into being.

Unravel the information naturally through character discovery, not through ancillary exposition.

I hope that “Rise of Skywalker,” if it’s not hinting at Anakin or immediate kin, is an allusion to Ben claiming some ownership to his Skywalker / Solo heritage. I don’t think that he needs to be ‘redeemed,’ in a traditional sense but I do think that somewhere in the course of this film, he needs to embrace who he is for better or worse.

Figure out what is going on between Rey and Kylo, and do it early in the film. I really enjoyed their relationship building, whatever it was, in TLJ. It was interesting. I liked the psychology, the meta. But I don’t want to muddle it throughout this whole new film. Bring it to fruition, and hopefully use it wisely.

Things I Don’t Want

Heavy-handed nostalgia. Yes, acknowledge the past, but don’t make it cheap fan service. I’m not a fan of killing the past, but if it’s a choice between the extremes, I would take letting it die over “same eyes, different people” again. Fans are smart, they appreciate throwbacks more if they aren’t superfluous appeasement, but rather story serving. The former is aesthetic, the latter is Star Wars.

Don’t make it a sci-fi spectacle. Ships are great, battles and lightsabers too, but don’t use the story to serve them, use them to punctate the story of the Force, the mythos. Or think of thing we haven’t seen in a battle before (like wreaking a ship with a Cruiser using hyperdrive to missile at light speed - TLJ). Don’t throw everything all at once against a wall just to get a big but short lived audience reaction

Don’t Disney-fy the villain. If the allegedly deceased Emperor is the big bad of IX, then he’s complex. Be true to the depths of his insidiousness, and do NOT just merc him with a single character.

Killing characters as an act of grand sacrifice to show your appreciation for them. If we learned anything from Luke’s sacrifice in The Last Jedi, it’s that this maneuver does not go over well at all. And while I am at peace with Luke going out that way as long as they continue to grow and use his character in IX (life after death), I would not be okay with this for another character because there’s no next installment to see the ramifications of the sacrifice play out complexly. So if they do this to Kylo (or Poe, etc), I’ll be LIVID.

Ret-conning or undoing the events of TLJ. Whether you like the execution of the plot in Last Jedi, they exist. The best way forward, I believe, is acknowledge, move forward and build. Don’t fixate or plaster over with a new facade.

Things I Expect

Too much action plot, or rather action montage, crammed into too little time. It’s the alleged ending of the core saga, give it time. But I don’t think they will.

I’m reaching for straws, but maybe we’ll see the nightcloak satellites? Maybe that has something to do with the icy clips in the episode IX TV spots. IDK.

I think if this episode pivots on a plot point from TLJ, it’ll be that dark side vision of Rey seeing herself as where she comes from and Kylo later explains as, “your nothing, no one, but not to me.” That scene is one of my favorite moments of Last Jedi visually and metaphorically, but I have a sinking feeling that JJ has rewritten it’s meaning, though I can’t imagine how. Maybe they are going to make Rey a Palpatine or Anakin clone, or some other relation to / pawn manipulated by the Emperor in an attempt to make her extraordinary.That, in my opinion, would be a shame and overkill considering how powerful they’ve written Rey to become in such a short period of time. I like the idea that she comes from nothing, in much the same way as Finn, a trooper among so many alike, could become good.

If I was a betting person, more than likely we’re going to the temple district / Imperial Palace on Coruscant some time in RoS. I’m neither here nor there about that if it serves the stories.

TBC after I actually go to Rise of Skywalker for my post-viewing thoughts.

[welllpthisishappening]

Hi, it's writer appreciation day and I just wanted to remind you that you're absolutely fantastic and I live for your writing. I always look forward to your posts and I am so mad that tumblr never gives me notifications when you update because I literally want to read everything you write, including your tags. You're wonderful and I could live in your Blue Line universe, all your Yankee!Killian universes and YPLAG universe, fuck, just all of your universes. I love them all. Seriously. Much love~

HELLO YOU ABSOLUTE DELIGHT AND MY FAVORITE!! So I don’t know if you know this, internet, but Ro and I are genuinely in love. It’s real. It’s true. CAPITAL LETTERS TRUE LOVE. I cannot tell you what Ro’s friendship has meant to me and she is the reason Blue Line got finished and the reason The PyeongChang Triple happened which means she’s THE REASON Matthew David Jones exists and she’s willing to join me down this Tyler Seguin rabbit hole. Look at him! LOOK AT HIS FACE! Anyway, nothing I write would be anything without @distant-rose to let me flail at her and send her snippets that are just walls of text. 

Earlier today we were talking about Matthew Jones (as we are apt to do) and talking about him getting his first tattoo and, like, this was real nice, so, uh, here’s some words Ro.

It hurt like hell.

A fact he was quick to point out – several dozen times, each one getting louder and more yelpier than the last and that was totally a word Lizzie came up with while she was doing a pretty pitiful job of not laughing in Matt’s face. And Peggy was doing enough laughing for all of them.

Combined.

For, like, the entire world combined.

“MD, this was your idea,” she said, another repeat and more laughter and Matt was pretty positive even the tattoo artist was starting to chuckle a bit under his breath.

“That’s why he’s so mad about it,” Lizzie mumbled. “It does something weird to his brain when he’s not right about every single thing in the world. He doesn’t know how to cope.”

Peggy appeared to be cackling.

“Mar, I swear, if you don’t shut up—“

“—You’ll what, MD? Please, tell me what you could possibly do. From Boston, that I’m going to find so intimidating.”

“Don’t you have something else to do?”

She shook her head, smile tugging at the ends of her mouth. “Not a single thing. I legitimately cleared my schedule for this.”

“What does that say about you?”

“Probably a lot of things I don’t want to acknowledge,” Peggy admitted, eyes flitting towards a clearly amused Lizzie. “You’ve got to stop shaking the phone though, Lizzie, it’s making me dizzy and Mom and Dad are going to know something is going on if Iike…I get vertigo or something.”

“You are sitting down, Margaret,” Matt seethed. He hissed in his breath when the needle passed over what appeared to be the single most sensitive piece of skin on his entire body, and both his sister and his cousin rolled their eyes in practiced tandem.

“Should we point out again that this was genuinely your idea, Mattie?” Lizzie asked. “And you researched this.”

“Almost too much,” the tattoo artist mumbled, and Peggy nearly fell off her bed in New York. Matt groaned. That didn’t have anything to do with the needle.

“Mar, seriously, I’m going to tell Mom and Dad about that time you nearly pushed Chris in front of a cab on Astor Place.”

Peggy stopped laughing immediately. Lizzie cursed under her breath. “Shit, Mattie,” she mumbled. “That’s intense.”

“And patently untrue,” Peggy added. “I refuse to agree that. I didn’t try to push him in front of a cab—“

“—Ehhh,” Matt interrupted. “He was pretty bruised and battered.”

“That’s not true either! Also, he was like six and really enjoyed running away from us and we weren’t supposed to be there!”

Matt widened his eyes, like that answered that, but then the needle moved again and it felt like his entire body was on fire and possibly drowning and he’d take being checked eight-thousand times, directly under the shoulder blades, if this ended quicker.

“God, you’re seriously the world’s biggest wimp,” Lizzie sighed. “Also can someone explain to me why you three were sneaking onto Astor Place and letting Chris run in front of cabs?”

Peggy growled, low and threatening and that was almost more intimidating than whatever the hell the needle in his arm was doing because Matt was well acquainted with that sound. It usually ended with her finding a stick and hitting him, no less than, six times in the ankles. On both feet.

“That’s not what happened,” Peggy promised. “MD is a giant liar who is totally overreacting about the pain of a tattoo in a normal tattoo spot that normal people get every day and worrying because he thinks Mom and Dad are going to be upset about this great, big enormous secret.”

“It’s a secret?”

“Again, because MD is an idiot.”

“And sitting right here,” Matt hissed, grumbling a string of words he’d learned during a particularly emotional game during that final Cup run and both Lizzie and Peggy whistled when they realized what he’d said. The tattoo artist looked confused. “Sorry, sorry,” he mumbled. “I know I’ve got to sit still.”

The tattoo artist hummed in agreement. Peggy had started laughing again.

“So, someone going to finish this story or should I hang up on you, Peg, and just go directly to the Chris-type source?” Lizzie asked archly.

“Oh my God, no, don’t do that either,” Peggy sighed. “He’ll just agree with MD on principle. The highlights—“

“—Or lowlights, as it were,” Matt interrupted, flashing his sister a smile when she flipped him off.

“Highlights,” she repeated. “It was like two days before Christmas, we kind of, sort of, didn’t get gifts for Mom and Dad, we didn’t want to go near Midtown and, well…it was crowded on Astor Place, Chris might have been hopped up on sugar.” She cut herself off immediately, head snapping towards Matt like she was challenging him to object and his smile felt as wide as it had since the needle had started pricking at his arm. It had to be almost over. “There was a lot of sugar involved,” Peggy continued. “And Chris was excited about Christmas and a tree and running and an almost run in with a cab. It was fine. He was fine. He just kind of—“

“—Fell over,” Matt finished. “In the street. A tourist nearly stepped on him.”

Lizzie looked equal parts stunned and horrified. “That’s the worst Christmas story I’ve ever heard.”

“We never guaranteed it’d be a good Christmas story.”

“What did you end up getting your mom and dad?”

Matt considered that for a moment, gaze flicking towards Peggy and she’d collapsed back on her bed at some point. “We got Dad a t-shirt jersey of his own jersey and Mom got some like…trading card thing of Dad that he signed for Steiner sports approximately twenty-thousand years ago.”

Lizzie laughed, shoulders shaking quickly enough that Matt was almost sure she didn’t realize how tightly he was gripping her right hand. “Wow, you guys suck as kids.”

“Ah, that’s not true,” Matt objected. “Something, something, it’s the thought that counts right?”

“And this is way better than any Christmas or birthday or anniversary gift we could have given them,” Peggy added. “Top-tier Jones Line sentimentality.”

“You’re not the one with a needle jabbing your skin, Mar.”

“And now neither are you,” the tattoo artist said, far too much joy in his voice, like he couldn’t wait for all of them and their very loud FaceTime call to get the hell out of his shop. “Done.”

Matt blinked. “Done?”

“Done.”

And, really, Matt knew his parents wouldn’t freak out about the tattoos. Or tattoo – singular, the first one, probably the first of man, but some of his earliest memories were his mom putting his dad’s wedding ring back on over the ink that wrapped around his left ring finger so he figured he was kind of free to do what he wanted.

But Peggy was right too and it was absurd and kind of sentimental and he hadn’t actually told anyone except Lizzie or Peggy he was thinking about doing it.

They didn’t notice at first.

That made sense too, his arms were covered by his jersey and he was on the ice more often than not and there wasn’t really time to come home during the season, but then it was the offseason and summer in New York refused to allow anything except short-sleeve shirts and it was only a matter of time.

As both Peggy and Chris kept muttering under their breath whenever Matt walked by them in the hallway for the few weeks he was home.

His dad saw it first. Figured.

“What is that?” he asked, sitting at the table in the kitchen with a mug in his hands and a pile of papers next to him that probably detailed the incoming rookies strengths and weaknesses.

Matt nearly tripped over his own feet. “What’s what?”

“Matthew.”

“Ah, you just…jumped right into serious, huh?”

He lifted his eyebrows, mouth set in a thin, straight line and he didn’t actually ever put the mug down. That felt more threatening. “Matthew,” his dad repeated. “What’s on your arm?”

“I feel like you already know the answer to that question.”

“And that’s a pretty God awful answer.”

“I figured you’d be cool about it.”

“I’m not uncool about it. I’m curious.”

Matt sighed, well acquainted with that tone of voice as well and he might have mumbled that’s not fair, hooking his foot around a free chair and sinking onto it with a distinct lack of grace. His dad peered at the ink on his arm, a string of black and he didn’t understand.

“Ok, ok, so I totally was going to tell you,” Matt started, already rushing over the words and there were few things he hated more than whatever his dad’s eyebrows did whenever he was trying to explain some sort of ridiculous situation. “But then I kept thinking about it and it’s honestly the dumbest thing I’ve ever done—“

“—I hate to tell you this, Matt, but it’s kind of tattooed on your body.”

“No, no, I’m not regretting the actual ink. I think that’s kind of cool, right?”

The eyebrows got higher. They defied gravity and the expectations of fatherhood. Matt tried not to slink in his chair.

“It’s kind of cool,” he mumbled. “And you’ve got ‘em, so…”

He trailed off, not sure he could finish that sentence without saying something else he’d regret and he probably wouldn’t if he just told his dad I kind of always want to be you, but neither one of them had actually finished their coffee yet. That felt like something to say while properly caffeinated.

“Anyway,” Matt continued. “I, um, I did a ton of research and talked to the artist about font choices and where to do it and it hurt like hell, but it’s—“

“—They’re coordinates,” his dad said suddenly, and Matt could almost hear the metaphorical light bulb. “Aren’t they?”

He nodded. “Yeah, uh, the longitude and latitude of the Garden.”

It took a moment to find enough room on the table for the coffee mug, and Matt wasn’t entirely prepared to be yanked across the kitchen floor in an actual kitchen chair, but his dad’s arm wrapped around his shoulder and caffeine was probably bad for him during the offseason anyway.

“I like it a lot.”

“Thanks,” Matt muttered.

“It hurt?”

“Like hell. Mar laughed the whole time.”

“Was your sister there?”

“You think Mar snuck to Boston to watch me get tattoos?”

“It honesty wouldn’t surprise me at this point. And there was a plural in there. Are there more than one?”

Matt shook his head, lungs feeling less pinched than they’d been a few minutes before and he grunted when Chris flew into the kitchen, jumping into his stomach and kicking both his legs in the process. “God, C,” he groaned. “Control your limbs.”

“Yeah, good luck with that,” his dad laughed. “I think I still have bruises from you.”

“There’s only one tattoo.”

“For now.”

“Eh,” Matt shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe it won’t hurt the second time around.”

“Next time you see Scarlet ask him how loud he yelled when we got the tattoos after the first Cup. I think there’s still video evidence of his inability to cope out there in the world.”

Matt laughed, tugging Chris further up onto the chair and it was only a matter of time before his mom showed up to remind them the chairs can’t hold that much body weight. “Can I get a tattoo, too?” Chris asked, two heads shaking in response and he, somehow, managed to kick Matt again.

“Wait a couple years, C,” Matt grinned, twisting to grab his dad’s coffee mug and grinning when he was met with a decidedly non-English curse. “Then we’ll talk."

[thisweekingundamwing]

This Week October 8-14

After a few edits and additions, here is the revised This Week. Sorry it’s out a bit after noon.

-mod Clara

Fanfiction:

@anaranesindanarie

Dose of Angst

This is gonna be a collection of angst. Yes you read that right. Angst.

angst

Annelda Michelle

The Hidden Pilot Asset

FORMALLY KNOWN AS DUO, I'M YOUR SISTER. Who really starts Operation Meteor? with the love she has for her family Annelda starts on a journey to find her brother Duo and be an asset to the other pilots who have already been sent to Earth. It has love and loss, adventure and mystery. I hope everyone enjoys reading it as much as I have writing it. 

@chronicwhimsy

Smells Like Teen Spirit

Sequel to 'Such Little Things' and 'Schoolyard Blues'. Liangyu is now fifteen, and has two years left of high school. The growing pains are not even close to over, though, but everyone tries very hard.

post-canon

Saudade

The summer following the Barton Uprising, Duo joins Trowa to tour with the circus around Europe. It's an attempt to run away from issues, instead of dealing with them, and Trowa finds that in helping Duo face up to his problems, he works through a few of his own. Things are muddling along nicely, until Duo decides to help with Trowa's love life.Saudade: a Portuguese word for a deep emotional state of nostalgic or profound melancholic longing for an absent something or someone that one loves.PREQUEL TO SALVAGE.

post-canon, underage drinking, mentions of underage sex

@claraxbarton

Even If

It's Heero's birthday, and the former pilot is introduced to a Terran custom.(Okay. That summary is horribly misleading but I have no other idea what to say)

spanking, voyeurism

Diana_Lua

Ónoma Ὄνομα

Sometimes it's necessary to choose a new name to live freely. [AU; 'Where my demons hide' side story (can be read independently of it); Something about Duo's past with Solo; Angst; Shounen-ai; probably yaoi/lemon at ending (Angel incest); Pairing Duo & Solo]

incest

duointherain

A Dark Wolf

It's a long time after the wars. Heero's been missing for a very long time, more than a century, and Duo is still watching for clues, but has nowhere to search for his lover and friend. He's a small town sheriff in the Pacific north west.He thinks Heero's never coming back, nothing ever happens in his town, and he's fucking fine.He's so wrong.

werewolves

@gw-ficrecfriday

The Soul of Outer Space is Dead

Quatre Winner woke up dead one morning, only it was afternoon and technically speaking he was still alive. But they had cut it out of him. They’d sawed through his skull and they’d drilled into his brain and they’d spooned it out of him, scraped him clean.

angst

@helmistress

Mashed Potatoes

Duo didn’t know what it was about mashed potatoes but he always felt better after having some.

comfort food

A Puppy for Heero

Heero gets a new puppy he never knew he wanted.

Tattoo Shop AU

Zechs’ Teeth

WuFei and Zechs have a sword fight. 

The Italian Job

Zechs and Noin have a hitman to take out in Siena but with all the beautiful scenery and unique places to eat, will they be able to focus?

Quitting the Circuit

Heero is a famous NASCAR driver and it makes his boyfriend worry. He's decided to put a stop to that.

Nicknames

Quatre is forever insulting Zechs, and Zechs wants to know why.

Excerpt from Noin’s Stationary 1

A small poem from Noin's stationary.

How to Love an Axe Murderer

Quatre gets revenge on Duo for planting the 'Axe Murderer' criteria in Heero's head before their first date.

Hair Extensions

Duo fulfills the want of Relena Bloom to braid his and his husbands' hair together for Pride Day. WuFei isn't exactly happy about it.

Dinner’s On You

Duo is tired when he is finally able to drag himself home after a long day at work. But his husband knows just how to wake him up.

Alliance Carwash

Zechs gets a summer job at Alliance, the local carwash, and falls for the manager's daughter.

Maxwell’s Water Refinery

Trowa blushed, there was no stopping it. "Sorry, I." DON'T F*ING SAY THAT! HE'LL THINK YOU'RE SOME KIND OF CREEP! His mind screamed at him making him pause. The delicate brow quirked at him had his only true answer spilling from his mouth anyway. "I wasn't expecting you to be so gorgeous." Violet eyes blinked at him, a stunned expression washing over the man's face

@invidiamalice

Skeptics and True Believers

Trowa is just your not-so-average college student that wants to make it big in the music industry with his band. Will his secret test his relationships and hurt his chances in music? Trans!Trowa

Language, explicit sexual content, trans male character

@kangofu-cb

Control

Heero is waiting at home with a much-appreciated surprise for Duo.Kinktober 2017 prompt from Ro, "Rimming"

Kinktober 2017

Practical Demonstration

Prompt response for Kinktober "Deepthroating"Shameless smut, mostly plotless.Duo and Trowa are at a karaoke bar with the others, and Duo convinces Trowa it's time to leave.

Kinktober 2017

Kariana Kusanagi

Gundam Wing: Gemini

A singer from the colonies arrives on Earth for a concert, but when she encounters the Gundams, the very foundation she knows just may be torn apart. Faced with what she knows, will she be able to survive the war? 

Krysnel_nicavis

Episode 01-The Boy With The Green Eyes

Sometimes, fate sucks at her job. Other times, she seems to know what she’s doing. Heero and Trowa have just suffered a tragic loss. Harry is soon to experience a loss himself but, thanks to two former Gundam pilots, his loss won’t be anywhere near tragic. Maybe they'll all learn something in the process.

Mpreg, miscarriage, HP-GW Crossover

Episode 02: Small Matters

Sometimes, fate sucks at her job. Other times, she seems to know what she’s doing. Heero and Trowa have just suffered a tragic loss. Harry is soon to experience a loss himself but, thanks to two former Gundam pilots, his loss won’t be anywhere near tragic. Maybe they'll all learn something in the process.

Mpreg, miscarriage, HP-GW Crossover

Episode 03: Propriety and Planning

Sometimes, fate sucks at her job. Other times, she seems to know what she’s doing. Heero and Trowa have just suffered a tragic loss. Harry is soon to experience a loss himself but, thanks to two former Gundam pilots, his loss won’t be anywhere near tragic. Maybe they'll all learn something in the process.

Mpreg, miscarriage, HP-GW Crossover

@lifeaftermeteor

LAM

Duo Maxwell’s Apartment Brussels, Belgium 207 May 13

Luvsanime02

Some Things Are Ageless

Trowa loves to goad Zechs, especially when it results in times like this.

Kinktober 2017

A Performance to Remember

Trowa asks for a memorable performance, and Duo aims to deliver.

Kinktober 2017

Something Blue

Duo didn't know what he was expecting when Quatre said that he wanted to show off his latest attempt at a Halloween costume, but it wasn't this. Not that he's complaining.

Kinktober 2017

Turbulence

The story about what Agent Frank Parks has been up to between Evasion and now.This is the seventh story in Navigation, a fem!Heero series.

fem!Heero

Maldoror_Chant

The Arrangement

Wufei, struggling with his demons, agrees to a wartime fling with Heero, no affection needed or wanted. But the 'arrangement' lasts and grows as they join the preventers. It could become a source of strength for both. If they let it.

Non-consensual drug use

Nil by Mouth

Preventers get into lotsa fights, and sometimes we get a tooth knocked loose. I'm fine with going to the dentist, but Heero? That's another matter. Fortunately he's got me to drag him over there, because someone's gotta. And yes, I remembered to disarm him first; I rather like our dentist, and there aren't many like him who's willing to take care of us ex-Gundam Pilots for some reason.

dentist things

The Source of All Things

Center, a planet where magic and technology blend. Or more accurately, fight tooth and nail. A planet of Sources, holes in our boring dimension letting through arcane power, chaos and pseudo-deities. In this hot-house of myths and very real dangers, Trowa and Quatre find a mysterious man at the end of a shamanic voyage. Portents suggest this Heero Yuy is crucial to Center’s survival. He’s important enough to have some interesting enemies after him, at any rate: a devious killer and thief called ‘Shinigami’, and a very irate Dragon. Beyond them looms an even greater threat. Indeed, the greatest of them all.(Alternative Universe, far-flung future sci-fi/fantasy. There are elements from the anime that exist here, albeit in very different forms; Gundam mechas, Zero, and lovely G-boys for instance. They are perhaps a universal constant we are not yet aware of. This fic was original started over a decade ago. It has been heavily rewritten and should now be eventually finished)

sex, mild description of self-harm, weird science

Mistaken-Miracles

When The Tides Change

Preventers learn of a new underground rebellion group, along with the arrival of a new ally. Can Heero put his feelings aside to trust this ally or will new discoveries create tension between the Gundam Pilots? Can they work together to keep the peace? Or are there too many complications to control? 

@noelleian

The Pact

After seducing Quatre, the other four ex-pilots brave the uncharted waters of their new abilities and learn to cope with the unintentional gifts they were given. But as always, power requires responsibility and the humbling acknowledgement of humanity's weaknesses. The struggle to stay true to themselves becomes a dangerous and terrifying endeavor as they skirt the boundary where conscience bleeds into chaos and the dark abyss of temptation.

Non-Graphic Violence, Alpha/Omega

orphan-account

Time

Duo resorts to drastic measures following heartbreak, and Wufei is the only there to pick up the pieces. Sometimes, healing just takes time.

suicide attempt, past abuse

Pokeyonekenobie

Bombshells

A misunderstanding drove them apart. Now an emergency will bring them back together. But will they ever manage to repair the rift in their friendship? 

@renmaxwell, @shinigami-of-excellence

We Don’t Belong

Just as the war was coming to its climax, the Gundam pilots were about to take out White Fang in space, when an attack from Earth knocked both parties out of the sky. The Alliance had been in hiding and building a weapon to take out both of their enemies, a massive nuclear beam capable of knocking an entire colony out of space. The Gundam pilots are captured and put on trial for their crimes. Their punishments are as cruel as the new masters of this world, the foundation that had been manipulating world governments secretly for years and who now openly reign. What will become of the Gundam pilots in this reality?

Pedophilia, sexual slavery, forced sex, forced prostitution, canon divergent

ShenLong

Bound, Bonded and Betrayed

Heero is the eldest son of the King of Colonia. His 21st birthday is approaching and as tradition dictates his betrothed is soon to arrive. However he is also bound by tradition to select his own personal slave. The events that unfold lead him down a path that not only tests his sanity but his humanity and love as well.

bondage, slavery, angst, sex, violence

Strawberrywaltz

The Forgotten

The entire universe thinks that Quatre Winner is dead, but when Heero starts having strange black outs he begins to realize the rumors of Quatre's death might not be true.

Implied non-con, non-consensual drug use, temporary character death

sylvieforaday

They Say It Was a Concussion

Duo takes a spill and Zechs is just what the doctor ordered.

AU

@thehiddenbaroness

Resurrecting the Viper

Following a routine visit to Vingolf, Orga, Mikazuki and Merribit are surprised by the sudden appearance of a practically naked, injured woman. Although Artima seems to have full recollection of who she is, she does not seem to understand the outside world. Against Orga's better judgment, the Isaribi is soon entangled in Artima's quest to find and destroy her old mobile suit - and discover both she and it are relics from over three hundred years ago that could hold the key to Tekkadan's future.

Gundam Wing/Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans

The Manwell

May Demons Rest: Shinigami Sleeps 2017

A re-write of my 2004 fanfic "Shinigami Sleeps"To find and free Duo from his demons, Trowa leaves his uneventful life at the circus for the mean streets of an obscure colony in L2.

rewrite of Shinigami Sleeps

Fanart:

@alicia-makes-things

Relena

@bassrocks

Duo

@chronicwhimsy

OC-October- Chang Liangyu

Liangyu, Duo and Wufei

@gundamwing-ellesmith (This was tweaked with this week.)

http://gundamwing-ellesmith.tumblr.com/post/166258263409/gundamwing-ellesmith-the-indomitable-bhg-i

@lbro009

Sally Po and Wufei Chang

Minimony

OC Akane Yora (OC of @cosmostar, art by Minimony)

@sailoriceprincess

OC from Trials and Memories

@shinigami714

Duo

@space-husband

Gundam Wing gunpla

@ssj5toast

Wing Zero gunpla

@vegalume

OC characters from GW fanfiction

Quatre

Duo

Zechs

Trowa

Heero

Snippets:

@claraxbarton

6x2 Snippet involving how to properly eat chocolate

@gundamwing-ellesmith

OC Profile: The villain from Left Unsaid

@the-indomitable-bhg

Drabble: The Piano

Meta:

@claraxbarton

Math Homework: OT3 Metrics on AO3

Calendar Events:

Gundam Wing Eve War Event @gw-evewar

Open Science Fiction Themed Event

(Saturday) December 23, 2017 - (Sunday) December 24, 2017

*** event will be observing Universal Coordinated Time (UTC) ***

Submissions: Fanfiction, Meta essays, Personal Headcanon, Fan Art

Rules: All works must feature a science fiction theme. Alternate Universes, and cross-over fiction are welcome. There are no limits to characters, pairings, audience rating, time frame or universe.

OC October @gwoc-october

For the month of October, we can post everything and anything pertaining to fan OCs in Gundam Wing with weekly themes and perhaps a featured OC every other day or so. This includes fic, snippets, art, OC profiles, headcanons, ships, discussions, and anything you have as long as it’s about an OC. Even if this OC of yours is still in the mulling-stages, we want to hear about it! Let’s embrace OCs and celebrate our collective awesomeness.

Unnatural November @gwblockparty

The entire month of November.

Supernatural, Otherworldly, Spooky, Alien Techy, Unnatural things will all be taken! Join the fun!

Archives/Sites:

Gundam Wing Pod Fics on AO3

Come and take a listen!

Gundam Wing fanfiction Archive List by @vegalume

https://gundamwingarchive.wixsite.com/fanfiction

Talliya’s Domain by @helmistress

https://ayeeshadragon.wixsite.com/talliya/links

Gundam Wing Diaries Fanfiction Archive by ShenLong

http://www.gundam-wing-diaries.foreverfandom.net/gw/main_Updates.htm

[toldnews-blog]

New Post has been published on https://toldnews.com/business/brexit-could-channel-ports-cope-with-no-deal/

Brexit: Could Channel Ports cope with no deal?

Image copyright AFP

With less than three months to go until the UK is due to leave the EU, attention is focused on how to keep vital trade routes across the English Channel flowing as smoothly as possible.

“I am expecting the channel ports to operate normally in all Brexit circumstances,” the Transport Secretary Chris Grayling told the BBC this week.

But in the event of a no-deal Brexit (the UK leaving the EU without any formal Withdrawal Agreement and no transition period), the government’s own advice contradicts him.

A statement issued by the Cabinet Office last month said that cross-government planning assumptions have been revised to show that, in a worst-case scenario, “there will be very significantly reduced access across the short strait [between Dover and Calais] for up to six months”.

The statement noted that, in a no-deal scenario, the EU would impose full third-country controls on people and goods entering the EU from the UK. The impact, the Cabinet Office said, would affect both imports and exports at Dover and Folkestone (home of the Channel Tunnel) because of the “frequent and closed loop nature” of the crossings.

Dover’s importance

So why has Dover become so integral to the UK’s economic system?

It is by far the biggest destination in the country for roll-on roll-off ferries (known as Ro-Ro, which means cargo is driven on and off rather than lifted by cranes). Dover handled 2.9 million units of Ro-Ro freight last year, most of which were lorries with drivers.

It is also the main access route for trade with the rest of the EU inside the single market. Lorries currently simply drive on and off ferries and are on the motorway within a matter of minutes.

But any lorries arriving from a non-EU country, such as Switzerland, are subject to longer delays.

“If customs don’t want to check anything, that would [still] delay the vehicle by about an hour or an hour and a half [while the driver waits for a decision],” Andrew Baxter, the managing director of the freight logistics company Europa Worldwide, told a House of Commons Committee last year.

“If customs wanted to do a documentary check, that could delay it by up to three hours, and if there was an inspection of the goods, that could delay it by up to five hours,” he added.

Even though such checks are in the low single digits in percentage terms, it doesn’t take much for long queues to develop in the tight confines of the port of Dover.

That’s why the government says that, in the event of no-deal, it would minimise checks at Dover to the greatest extent possible and could, in theory, simply wave trucks through. But, as the Cabinet Office acknowledges, it cannot control what the EU will do on the other side of the Channel.

Six seconds

Supporters of Brexit, though, have said consistently that the threat of chaos at Dover has been exaggerated.

The Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg has often quoted a statistic that it takes only six seconds to complete customs checks for goods arriving at the port of Southampton from outside the EU. There is, he has suggested, no reason why ports such as Dover cannot implement similar systems.

DP World Southampton, which operates the container terminal with the Port of Southampton, confirmed that customs declarations are processed in approximately six seconds, but it emphasised that, at that point, the cargo is not customs-cleared.

It normally takes about an hour for customs clearance to be completed after a vessel arrives at port, but crucially that depends on customs declarations and other documents being submitted “typically 2 to 3 days before” the ship reaches Southampton.

It is a system that works well at ports like Southampton or Felixstowe for goods arriving from the other side of the world. If a ship is at sea for several weeks, it gives companies plenty of time to get all their paperwork in order.

The challenge with Ro-Ro freight, which becomes more acute as crossings get shorter, is that you have less time to do that. On the 90-minute journey from Calais to Dover, with the sheer volume of traffic which uses that route, it is something of a non-starter.

Image copyright AFP

Other checks

One potential solution, according to Andrew Baxter, would be to force companies not to use Calais as a customs point for checking industrial goods, but to use inland clearance points instead, perhaps in the EU country of final destination.

“No one wants delays, on either side,” he said, “and we have to be practical.”

But EU law would not allow health and safety inspections for food and animal products arriving from a third country (like the post-Brexit UK) to take place very far inland.

They have to be carried out at designated Border Inspection Posts (BIPs), at the first point of entry into the single market, on 100% of products.

That has led the National Farmers Union to warn that parts of the British food industry could face ‘catastrophic consequences’ as a result.

The Environment Secretary Michael Gove appears to agree.

“At the moment there are no Border Inspection Posts at Calais,” Mr Gove told the Oxford Farming Conference on Thursday. “While we do hope the French take steps to build capacity there, that capacity is unlikely by the end of March to be generous.

“It’s a grim but inescapable fact that in the event of a no-deal Brexit, the effective tariffs on beef and sheep meat would be above 40%,” he added.

“In both cases about 90% of that export trade goes to the EU.”

And much of it is transported via the Channel Tunnel or from Dover to Calais by sea.

Please upgrade your browser

Your guide to Brexit jargon

Rotterdam

If you have a huge amount of space, there are ways to try to minimise the problem of queuing.

Rotterdam in the Netherlands is Europe’s largest port, and some of the freight containers that are shipped there are inspected at a BIP more than 40 kilometres from the furthest arrival terminals, but still inside the port authority area.

Ro-Ro traffic is a little different, because the freight is accompanied by a driver and it is much more time-dependent, especially if lorries are carrying fresh produce.

But the efficiency of the system is – according to a spokeswoman for Eurofrigo, the company that runs BIPs in Rotterdam – one of the main reasons customers use that route for import and export.

Other UK ports

So, can other ports share the load, to take some of the strain off the systems in Dover? That is certainly part of the government’s contingency planning.

The port of Ramsgate has received plenty of attention in the last few days, with the well-documented news that a company which owns no ferries has been chosen to reopen the ferry route from Ramsgate to Ostend in Belgium.

Thanet District Council, which runs the port, believes it has the potential to support up to 24 ferry sailings a day, although initial plans are for far fewer crossings. Dredging of the harbour, to allow the ferry route to reopen, began this week.

Other ports could also increase their capacity for handling Ro-Ro traffic. About 10% of business at Felixstowe, the UK’s largest port by volume of trade, is currently Ro-Ro, and it could handle more.

But the journey time from Felixstowe to Rotterdam is about seven hours – much longer than the Dover-Calais crossing and therefore less convenient for just-in-time manufacturing processes, and more expensive. And even if Felixstowe traffic went up by 10-20%, that would only make up for a 1-2% reduction in traffic at Dover.

“I don’t think that ‘no-deal’ with zero mitigation measures for transport can work,” said Pauline Bastidon from the Freight Transport Association. “There’s no two ways about it. You can move trade to different ports, you can adjust your supply chain – none of it will be enough.”

Other ports are also concerned that they may not be ready to cope with extra traffic if it is suddenly re-routed from Dover.

Portsmouth International Port, for example, currently transports up to 500 lorries a day abroad. But local councils are worried about congestion and delays if extra traffic had to be handled in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

“The distance between the freight check-in desk at Portsmouth International Port and the beginning of the motorway is just 13 lorry lengths,” said a statement issued on Thursday by council leaders in Hampshire, “so a queue of 14 lorries or more would mean queuing traffic on the motorway.”

That reflects a broad consensus within the industry that there is currently no viable alternative to Dover, and that it will take time to change the system.

How long?

“Five to six months would be a reasonable time for things to settle down and for people to get used to new ways of working,” said Andrew Potter, a logistics expert at Cardiff University.

But ports like Rotterdam and Ostend would also have to implement EU checks, and there is also the question of costs. “Extra costs have to be paid somewhere,” Dr Potter said. “They either get passed on to consumers or they hit the profit margins of the companies involved.”

Image copyright Getty Images

No-deal planning

In the meantime, as Parliament prepares to vote next week on Theresa May’s Brexit deal, which includes a transition period of 21 months after Brexit when all the rules would stay the same, businesses are having to prepare for all possible outcomes.

As a supporter of Brexit, Andrew Baxter of Europa Worldwide is relatively unusual in the freight logistics industry.

He believes there will eventually be a Brexit deal to keep trade moving, but he has to make contingency plans just in case.

“I need to have a department with 40 people up and running for March 29th in the event of no-deal,” he said.

“I haven’t got it at the moment, and I’m starting now. We can’t wait any longer.”

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[lionowlonao3]

star trek secret santa

this is my wishlist thing for the star trek secret santa

i don’t know how much i should or shouldn’t write for this, it’s my first time participating in a fandom secret santa (or as i like to call it, “in the confidence of saint nicholas”) so i’m just going to go with it. in advance, thank you for whatever you will create, i’m looking forward to it! :)

note after writing: okay so i ended up writing quite a lot. of course i don’t expect you to go into absolutely all of this, though you’re more than welcome to if you want, but with everything written here and in the things i’ve embedded links for, there’s more than enough that surely something will catch your creative attentions.

if you’re inspired by any of my stories and wish to write a sequel, prequel or spin-off, or make art or graphics, based on any of them or any element of any of them, then i would be delighted

please do not include

graphic depictions of violence, medical procedures, or mentions of klingon or ferengi cuisine. i’m very squeamish

if you’re creating something from discovery, please don’t include klingons, period. especially l’rell

ash being voq/a klingon/spying for them or generally being up to something/not who he seems. i am 100% not here for that.

please keep garak/ziyal far away from me. i like their friendship, and i’m fine with him being like a mentor to her, but any allusion of romance between them makes me uncomfortable

series i like: tos, tng, ds9, voy, ent, dsc, films i-x series i’m not into: 2009 and into darkness. i haven’t seen beyond because their awfulness ruined it, but i’ve heard it was better so i may watch it one day things i haven’t seen: i haven’t seen much of tas, and i haven’t read any licenced novels or played any video games

some characters/pairings i like:

here’s my dear author letter from friendshipfest 2017 in case any of it inspires you 

leeta is my favourite and i ship her with rom and jadzia (some leeta hc) i also hc that mirror!leeta and mirror!ezri get married

guinan is just incredible. i love how wise she is and how great she is at giving advice and i love that she can sense alternate universes. i ship her with uhura, lwaxana and jadzia; platonically i love the friendship between her, ro & picard (more details in my friendshipfest letter)

i ship almost everyone with everyone in the 24th century trio of shows; this post contains a more comprehensive list of pairings (you’ll need to scroll down) (i’ll include a screencap at the bottom of this post)

because that post is rarepairs, it doesn’t include kirk/spock, garashir, tuckerreed or culber/stamets but i ship those too 

vic fontaine and what it means to be a sentient hologram who is happy living in the 20th century but is aware of the 24th, to have friends and a life in both times. also a good excuse to throw some jazz music in there. my vic fontaine tag may give you some insight. i ship him with sisko and i love that he’s like a 3rd dad (after rom + sisko) to nog

i am also a fan of his creator, felix, and have some headcanons about him (and his relationship with julian) in his tag and this fic i collaborated on my co-author has since deleted their account

general story elements:

time travel

cats being there (not allowed to harm them) - also applies to art

i would enjoy a story with a lot of plot and technobabble and adventure stuff going on around the actual relationship aspect

other characters besides the one or two main characters playing sizeable roles in the story

BISEXUAL REPRESENTATION. i can’t stress enough how important this is to me. i’m fed up of characters only every being called gay or straight. i deserve representation too. i’m also tired of characters always assuming they’re one of those then realising they’re not. i realise that happens, and people deserve to see characters realising or figuring out their sexuality, but i and other bi people also deserve to see characters who know they’re bi, who have known for a long time, and have come to and are on good terms with that fact of their identity. it doesn’t need to be a big thing, just a  mention of a previous partner who was a different gender than their current crush/partner. just a nod of acknowledgement. i like that

if music inspires you, here is a small selection of bands i like: delain, nightwish, within temptation, twin atlantic, as it is, tonight alive, three days grace, saint asonia, alteredsky, you me at six, yellowcard, evarose, normandie, fort hope, a day to remember, lower than atlantis, pierce the veil, leav/e/arth, evanescence, we are the in crowd/sainte, foo fighters, catfish and the bottlemen, pvris, panic! at the disco, royal blood

finally the screencap of that rarepair list, as promised:

yeah, there are a lot

end of post. if you have any questions my ask box has anon on, since its anonymous exchange. or of course you can contact the mods

[thisdaynews]

What if Trump won’t accept 2020 defeat?

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/what-if-trump-wont-accept-2020-defeat/

What if Trump won’t accept 2020 defeat?

On Twitter last weekend, President Donald Trump pondered, “do you think the people would demand that I stay longer?” | Evan Vucci/AP Photo

white house

The situations all seem far-fetched, but the president’s comments have people chattering in the halls of Congress and throughout the Beltway.

In 2016, Donald Trump waffled over whether he would accept the election results if he lost.

Since then, Trump has repeatedly joked about staying in office beyond the two terms the Constitution allows. Jerry Falwell Jr., Trump’s most prominent evangelical supporter, has suggested Trump should get two years tacked on to his first term as “pay back” for the Mueller investigation. The president’s own former lawyer, Michael Cohen, has warned that “there will never be a peaceful transition of power” should Trump fail in his reelection bid.

Story Continued Below

The scenarios all seem far-fetched — “It’s almost a question for science fiction movies,” cracked a former top Secret Service official — but the constant drumbeat nonetheless has people chattering in the halls of Congress and throughout the Beltway: What if Trump won’t accept defeat in 2020?

And one scenario in particular has Democrats nervous: the lawsuit-happy Trump contests the election results in court.

“It’s been a worry in the back of my mind for the last couple years now,” said Rep. Brendan Boyle, a Pennsylvania Democrat. California Rep. Ted Lieu, a frequent Trump critic and early impeachment inquiry supporter, acknowledged the same concern but said he trusted law enforcement “would do the right thing” and “install the winner” of the election. Even House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has told her party to prepare for the possibility that Trump contests the 2020 results.

Constitutional experts and top Republican lawmakers dismiss the fears as nonsense, noting there are too many forces working against a sitting president simply clinging to power — including history, law and political pressure.

“That is the least concern people should have. Of all the silly things that are being said, that may be the silliest,” said Missouri GOP Sen. Roy Blunt, who presided over the 2016 inauguration ceremony and expects to do so again in 2020. “The one thing we are really good at is the transition of power.”

Constitutional law expert Jonathan Turley said a lingering incumbent would simply become irrelevant once the new and duly elected president is sworn in. At that point, the defeated president is nothing more than a guest, “if not an interloper,” in the White House, the George Washington University professor noted.

“The system would make fast work on any president who attempted to deny the results of the election,” he said.

But a court battle over a presidential election is not unprecedented. And Trump has shown a willingness to tie up his disputes in winding litigation. The Democratic National Committee and Trump’s campaign were in court all the way up to Election Day 2016, fighting over charges of voter intimidation and ballot access.

“All candidates have a right to contest results in federal court,” Turley said. “It’s not up to the candidate to decide if an election is valid. It’s not based on their satisfaction or consent. They have every right to seek judicial review.”

Even so, contesting the results of the election in more than one state would be “a massive undertaking,” said Bradley Shrager, a lawyer specializing in election litigation who has worked with several Democratic campaigns. He added that “given the time frames to launch recounts and election contests, you’d have to be preparing months in advance to be able to do that.”

There are also deadlines for submitting an official electoral vote tally, Shrager said, so a legal battle wouldn’t drag out indefinitely.

Still, Pelosi’s comments nodded to the Democratic suspicion that Trump will put up a fight. She argued the Democrats’ must win by a margin so “big” that Trump can’t challenge the results.

The sentiment, Democrats say, is fueled by Trump’s cavalier attitude toward presidential term lengths.

Trump continues to talk up the prospect that he could serve past the constitutionally mandated period. On Twitter last weekend, Trump pondered, “do you think the people would demand that I stay longer?” The line mirrored language he used at a rally in Pennsylvania last month where he talked about living in the White House for 20 years.

“We ran one time and we’re 1-and-0. But it was for the big one. Now we’re going to have a second time. And we’re going to have another one. And then we’ll drive them crazy,” Trump said. “And maybe if we really like it a lot — and if things keep going like they’re going — we’ll go and we’ll do what we have to do. We’ll do a three and a four and a five.”

Trump also promoted Falwell Jr.’s line from May that the president should get two extra years “as pay back for time stolen by this corrupt failed coup”, retweeting the Liberty University president.

The president has long casually toyed with the idea that he could stay in office beyond the constitutionally set maximum.

In March 2018, Trump praised the ruling Communist Party of China for abolishing presidential term limits. Then, a month later, he publicly pondered why he couldn’t be in office for 16 years, an apparent reference to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who died during his fourth term. The 22nd Amendment, ratified a few years after Roosevelt’s death, prohibited future presidents from serving more than two consecutive elected terms.

It’s not just talk of extending term limits that have raised questions about the president’s respect for the next cycle. During the 2016 campaign, Trump stoked fears among his supporters that the election would be “rigged” and he refused to state during his final debate with Hillary Clinton that he’d concede to his Democratic opponent if she won.

His crusade extended into Election Day when, just before 5 p.m., Trump incorrectly tweeted that “Utah officials report voting machine problems across entire country.” In fact, the problems were just in one county. And even after being declared the 2016 winner, Trump continued to state without evidence that “millions” of people voted illegally, fueling questions about whether he would have taken this argument to court if the result hadn’t gone his way.

When asked whether Trump would commit to conceding the 2020 election if he lost, the Trump reelection campaign turned the issue back on Democrats. It was Stacey Abrams, the rising Democratic star, who actually refused to concede defeat in her bid for the Georgia governorship, an aide noted.

“This question would be better asked of Stacey Abrams, who still refuses to accept that she lost the governor’s race in Georgia, or Hillary Clinton, for that matter, who still whines that her coronation was stolen,” the aide told POLITICO. “It’s also irrelevant, because President Trump will be re-elected in 2020.”

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

The stakes for Trump in 2020 are high. If he loses, the president will lose his immunity from criminal prosecution the moment his successor is sworn into the White House. And several Democratic presidential hopefuls have suggested their Justice Department would be hard-pressed not to bring charges against Trump for obstructing justice, using the evidence in special counsel Robert Mueller’s final report. Federal prosecutors in New York have also been reviewing potential campaign finance violations.

Confronted with Trump’s past remarks, Republicans remain largely unmoved.

“As untraditional a president as he is, I think he understands if you lose an election you lose an election and the other person wins,” said Ohio Rep. Steve Chabot, a senior member of the powerful House Judiciary Committee. “There’s no chance of anything like that possibly happening. That’s just hysteria. No way would that ever happen.”

Chabot recalled getting similar questions about President Barack Obama holding on to power — serving more than two terms — before the 2016 election. “I didn’t want to laugh it off because these were my constituents. But I’d explain to them there’s no chance of that happening,” he said.

Unlike Obama, though, Trump has fanned the concerns with his rhetoric. He could also put all the scuttlebutt to rest if he wanted to, said John Q. Barrett, a St. John’s University law professor.

“He’s to blame at least in the minimal sense that he doesn’t shoot this down and say all the unequivocal, constitutionally obedient stuff that any president would say,” said Barrett, who served as an associate under Reagan-era independent counsel Lawrence Walsh. “Trump could pour a bucket of water on all this right away.”

The GOP may not take the idea seriously now. But they would be key to convincing Trump to concede in 2020 should the president resist an Electoral College loss, said Steven Levitsky, a comparative political scientist and professor of government at Harvard.

“No matter what the actual mechanisms are (which laws, which police), the key here is the Republican Party,” he said in an email.

The onus, Levitsky said, would fall to GOP leaders including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to “come out and say, ‘Enough is enough, Trump lost.’”

Republicans to date have often given Trump the benefit of the doubt on controversial statements and actions. But Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, said he is confident that even a GOP that has embraced all-things Trump would rebuke a lame duck Trump if he refused to respect the election results.

“Even my Republican colleagues, who are not willing to impeach, have said to me that they would not stand for a president defying a court-certified election result, nor would they stand for a president running for more than two terms,” he said.

Khanna added that he was more concerned with the integrity of the election itself, and “the shenanigans that could happen in the counting of the votes in these states.”

“It’s important to make sure that we have strong election protection lawyers in polling places around the country to prevent further interference, and verification on election night of each state’s results as they come in,” he said.

Despite giving assurances Trump would not cause problems if he lost, lawmakers can’t help but recall the most recent contested presidential election as an example of a close race that could become a model for an upside down 2020 race.

“I feel quite confident that whoever wins the next election will be president,” Chabot said. “Now, of course, that being said, then you have the 2000 Bush-Gore election. That was nuts.”

Read More

[thewebofslime]

ARCHIVE ED MORRISSEY SHOW NEWSLETTERS × About that Podesta ‘underage sex-slaves’ Tweet from Andrew BreitbartSHARE ON FACEBOOKSHARE ON TWITTER About That Podesta ‘Underage Sex-Slaves’ Tweet From Andrew Breitbart LARRY O'CONNORPosted at 10:01 am on December 5, 2016 SHARE ON FACEBOOK SHARE ON TWITTER 0 Nefarious operators on the Internet (as well as some innocent, misinformed individuals) have been freaking out over a Tweet from the late Andrew Breitbart connecting John Podesta to a “underage sex slave” operation. SEE ALSO: Captain Marvel isn’t awful but it’s not top-tier Marvel either (some spoilers) TRENDING: Justice Alito shatters glass before Congressional testimony The reason this Tweet is suddenly getting responded to and re-tweeted thousands of times is because a recent conspiracy theory making the rounds about Podesta and the Clintons accuses the Democrat power-players of running an underage sex operation out of a pizza joint in DC. It’s the kind of story you’d find on the cover of Weekly World News (think “Bat Boy” and “Aliens visit Ross Perot before election” kind of stories) and other supermarket tabloids before the advent of the Internet. There are tons of websites who make a lot of money doing pretty odious things. One of those odious things is to purposely pass along fake stories to suck people in and make them think that even though a story seems completely unbelievable on its face, it’s true because it appears to have a legitimate news organization behind it. I know because once I was faked out for about 45 minutes by a story that I discovered on the Boston Globe’s website. (It had apparently originated on a satirical site) Another odious thing many websites do is to make money speculating about Andrew Breitbart. Some of them pass false conspiracy theories about Andrew being murdered by government operatives. Others spend thousands and thousands of words speculating about what Andrew would have thought, said or done about something happening in the current news cycle. The last thing I want to do is be that guy who tells you what Andrew thought or meant back when he was alive because everyone who interacted with him at the time has their own personal experience and not one of them is the whole truth. However, because of the confusion over this Tweet, I think some context and an explanation is called for. And, for some reason, Breitbart News has not stepped up and delivered it themselves. (I searched, if they have, I will update this column post haste.) Here is the text of Andrew’s Tweet, again: How prog-guru John Podesta isn’t household name as world class underage sex slave op cover-upperer defending unspeakable dregs escapes me. It’s a classic Andrew Tweet. His abbreviations, his invention of words (“cover-upperer”) tells me that this was probably Andrew’s work. I never really knew him to allow anyone to Tweet on his behalf but I suppose it’s possible at some point he did so without my knowledge. So, for our discussion let’s stipulate that it was Andrew who sent this out. What is he talking about? Anyone who knew Andrew well and worked closely in his sphere and knew what he would talk and Tweet about with regard to “underage sex slave(s)” and John Podesta, knows exactly what he is referring to: ACORN If you don’t remember James O’Keefe, Hanna Giles and the ACORN story that broke on Andrew’s Big Government website in 2009, here’s a quick description via Wikipedia,which has a lot of bogus takes on the story, but this brief description is correct: In July and August 2009, Giles and O’Keefe visited ACORN offices in Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Brooklyn, San Bernardino, San Diego, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Miami. Giles dressed as a prostitute, while O’Keefe wore white khakis with a blue dress shirt and/or tie and claimed to be her boyfriend. Giles and O’Keefe recorded the encounters using hidden cameras and pretended to be seeking advice on how to run an illegal business that included the use of underage girls in the sex trade. So the ACORN story that Andrew was intimately involved with, helped define his brand, and catapulted him into the media spotlight was a story about an underage sex slave operation. OK? So how does Podesta factor in as a “cover-upperer” of the ACORN sex slave story? Here’s the explanation from liberal Think Progress in 2009, a site overseen by John Podesta at that time as he was the head of Center for American Progress (CAP): In response to recently released videos of ACORN staff engaging in inappropriate and potentially unlawful activity, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said today that “the conduct you see on those tapes is completely unacceptable.” ACORN President Bertha Lewis released a statement explaining that the advocacy group for low- and moderate-income Americans will now conduct a “thorough review” of the organizations’ operation. CAP President John Podesta, who also sits on ACORN’s Advisory Council, said, “Accountability starts with knowing all the facts. ACORN, which is doing important work in advocating for lower-income Americans all across this country, is taking an important step today by acknowledging its need for reform and demonstrating its desire to take corrective action.” Yeah, talk about the fox watching the hen house. To prove ACORN did nothing wrong in the O’Keefe/Giles videos presented on Andrew’s website they asked Podesta, a partisan hack who sat on their own Advisory Council to investigate them. Here was Andrew’s take at the time in his Washington Times column: The next day, Clinton Chief of Staff John Podesta, the Democratic Party’s top fix-it guy with control over much of the left’s well-funded vast attack machinery (think George Soros, the Tides Foundation, et al.), was among a small advisory group placed in charge of investigating the matter. With the mainstream media continuing to ignore the evidence on the tapes, Mr. Podesta is now clearly in charge of feeding them information about his well-structured investigation into the investigators. The ACORN internal probe is a “war room” aimed at destroying the messengers and is not meant to clean up major corruption. Since Mr. Podesta was appointed to investigate ACORN, the only thing investigated has been the investigators, Mr. O’Keefe, Ms. Giles and the publisher of the journalism behind it, yours truly. Of course, his conclusions were that ACORN did nothing wrong and all the fault in the story lay at the feet of Breitbart. A conclusion picked up by Media Matters for America, a left-wing activist site that made it their goal in life to destroy Andrew Breitbart. MMfA turned the ACORN story into a cudgel with which to beat Andrew over the head, and did so hundreds of times, in an attempt to discredit anything he did. When the Anthony Weiner story first broke it was MMfA who pointed to ACORN as a reason why he should not be trusted and they pointed to the Podesta report as “evidence” for that theory. MMfA, not coincidentally, began their operations in office space borrowed from… wait for it…. John Podesta. So, who is John Podesta? He runs the Center for American Progress think tank, which in 2004 helped launch Media Matters for America, the well-funded watchdog outfit run by ex-conservative journalist David Brock, which feeds the media reams of anti-conservative documents that attempt to diminish the credibility of alternative media outlets. Here are Andrew’s words, again, from 2009: Both the CAP and Media Matters sites are focusing their attention on Ms. Giles, Mr. O’Keefe and me. Does anyone really think Mr. Podesta is investigating ACORN, when his well-greased external machinery is so blatantly investigating us? So get into Andrew’s head for a moment circa Feb, 2011. His entire sphere of reference at that time with regard to Podesta was in the context of his role creating left wing activist groups like CAP, ACORN and MMfA. Podesta had just joined the Obama Administration. Andrew was tweaking the media for giving Podesta a pass and celebrating the man who Andrew saw as his bete noir. And one of the most outrageous things Podesta did to Andrew, that the media never scrutinized, was his white-washing of the ACORN scandal. In other words, from Andrew’s perspective, Podesta was a “world class underage sex slave op cover-upperer defending unspeakable dregs .” That’s what the Tweet means, and anyone who tells you otherwise is up to something. TAGS:ACORNANDREW BREITBARTJOHN PODESTASEX SLAVETWEETTWITTERUNDERAGE SEX SHARE ON FACEBOOK SHARE ON TWITTER RELATED STORIES Eric Holder: Maybe we should pack the Supreme Court with two new Democratic justices in 2021 ALLAHPUNDIT Mar 09, 2019 2:31 PM Here we go. 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