#juls (should not be allowed to) answer

[myrxellabaratheon]

Hello!

I really liked your “We carry on through the storm, tired soldiers in this war, remember what we're fighting for” series on Ao3! So much so that I want to translate it! So, I need to ask your permission, can I please translate it to russian? And then upload to Ao3, of course all copyrights will be respected.

Sincerely, Amako1303 on Ao3

I’d love that! Go ahead as you please ☺️ just please then send me the link so that I can add it to the original work!!

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The meritocracy to eugenics pipeline

I'm on a 20+ city book tour for my new novel PICKS AND SHOVELS. Catch me in PDX on Jun 20 at BARNES AND NOBLE with BUNNIE HUANG. After that, it's LONDON (Jul 1) and MANCHESTER (Jul 2).

It's kinda weird how, the more oligarchic our society gets, the more racist it gets. Why is the rise of billionaires attended by a revival of discredited eugenic ideas, dressed up in modern euphemisms like "race realism" and "human diversity"?

I think the answer lies in JK Galbraith's observation that "The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness."

The theory of markets goes like this: a market is a giant computer that is always crunching all kinds of "signals" about what people want and how much they want it, and which companies and individuals are most suited to different roles within the system. The laissez-faire proposition is that if we just resist the temptation to futz with the computer (to "distort the market"), it will select the best person for each position: workers, consumers, and, of course, "capital allocators" who decide where the money goes and thus what gets made.

The vast, distributed market computer is said to be superior to any kind of "central planning" because it can integrate new facts quickly and adjust production to suit varying needs. Let rents rise too high and the computer will trigger the subroutine that brings "self-interested" ("greedy") people into the market to build more housing and get a share of those sky-high rents, "coming back into equilibrium." But allow a bureaucracy to gum up the computer with a bunch of rules about how that housing should be built and the "lure new homebuilders" program will crash. Likewise, if the government steps in to cap the price of rents, the "price signal" will be silenced and that "new homebuilders" program won't even be triggered.

There's some logic to this. There are plenty of good things that market actors do that are motivated by self-interest rather than altruism. When Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin developed their Pagerank algorithm and revolutionized internet search, they weren't just solving a cool computer science problem – they were hoping to get rich.

But here's the thing: if you let Larry and Sergey tap the capital markets – if they can put on a convincing show for the "capital allocators" – then the market will happily supply them with the billions they need to buy and neutralize their competitors, to create barriers to entry for superior search engines, and become the "central planners" that market theory so deplores. If your business can't get any market oxygen, if no audience ever discovers your creative endeavors, does it matter if the central planner who decided you don't deserve a chance is elected or nominated by "the market"?

Here's how self-proclaimed market enthusiasts answer that question: all Larry and Sergey are doing here is another form of "capital allocation." They're allocating attention, deciding what can and can't be seen, in just the same way that a investor decides what will and won't be funded. If an investor doesn't fund promising projects, then some other investor will come along, fund them, get rich, and poach the funds that were once given to less-successful rivals. In the same way, if Google allocates attention badly, then someone will start a better search engine that's better at allocating attention, and we will switch to that new search engine, and Google will fail.

Again, this sounds reasonable, but a little scrutiny reveals it to be circular reasoning. Google has dominated search for a quarter of a century now. It has a 90% market share. According to the theory of self-correcting markets, this means that Google is very good at allocating our attention. What's more, if it feels like Google actually sucks at this – like Google's search-results are garbage – that doesn't mean Google it bad at search. It doesn't mean that Google is sacrificing quality to improve its bottom line (say, by scaling back on anti-spam spending, or by increasing the load of ads on a search results page).

It just means that doing better than Google is impossible. You can tell it's impossible, because it hasn't happened.

QED.

Google wasn't the first search engine, and it would be weird if it were the last. The internet and the world have changed a lot and the special skills, organizational structures and leadership that Google assembled to address the internet of the 2000s and the 2010s is unlikely to be the absolute perfect mix for the 2020s. And history teaches us that the kinds of people who can assemble thee skills, structures and leaders to succeed in one era are unlikely to be able to change over to the ideal mix for the next era.

Interpreting the persistent fact of Google's 90% market-share despite its plummeting quality as evidence of Google's excellence requires an incredible act of mental gymnastics. Rather than accepting the proposition that Google both dominates and sucks because it is excellent, we should at least consider the possibility that Google dominates while sucking because it cheats. And hey, wouldn't you know it, three federal courts have found Google to be a monopolist in three different ways in just a year.

Now, the market trufans will tell you that these judges who called Google a cheater are just futzers who can't keep their fingers off the beautiful, flawless market computer. By dragging Google into court, forcing its executives to answer impertinent questions, and publishing their emails, the court system is "distorting the market." Google is the best, because it is the biggest, and once it stops being the best, it will be toppled.

This makes perfect sense to people who buy the underlying logic of market-as-computer. For the rest of us, it strains credulity.

Now, think for a minute of the people who got rich off of Google. You have the founders – like Sergey Brin, who arrived in America as a penniless refugee and is now one of the richest people in the history of the human species. He got his fortune by building something that billions of us used trillions of times (maybe even quadrillions of times) – the greatest search engine the world had ever seen.

Brin isn't the only person who got rich off Google, of course. There are plenty of Googlers who performed different kinds of labor – coding, sure, but also accountancy, HR, graphic design, even catering in the company's famous cafeterias – who became "post-economic" (a euphemism for "so rich they don't ever need to think about money ever again") thanks to their role in Google's success.

There's a pretty good argument to be made that these people "earned" their money, in the sense that they did a job and that job generated some money and they took it home. We can argue about whether the share of the profits that went to different people was fair, or whether the people whose spending generated that profit got a good deal, or whether the product itself was good or ethical. But what is inarguable is that this was money that people got for doing something.

Then there's Google's investors. They made a lot of money, especially the early investors. Again, we can argue about whether investors should be rewarded for speculation, but there's no question that the investors in Google took a risk and got something back. They could have lost it all. In some meaningful sense, they made a good choice and were rewarded for it.

But now let's think about the next generation. The odds that these billionaires, centimillionaires and decimillionaires will spawn the next generation of 1%ers, 0.1%ers, and 0.0001%ers are very high. Right now, in America, the biggest predictor of being rich is having rich parents. Every billionaire on the Forbes under-30 list inherited their wealth:

https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/forbes-billionaires-under-30-inherited-203930435.html

The wealthy have created a system of dynastic wealth that puts the aristocratic method of primogenitor in the shade. Every scion of every one-percenter can have their own fortune and start their own dynasty, without lifting a finger. Their sole job is to sign the paperwork put before them by "wealth managers":

https://pluralistic.net/2021/06/19/dynastic-wealth/#caste

Yes, it's true that some of the very richest people on Earth got their money by investing, rather than inheriting it. Bill Gates's investment income growth exceeds even the growth of the world's richest woman, L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, who never did anything of note apart from emerging from an extremely lucky orifice and then simply accruing:

https://memex.craphound.com/2014/06/24/thomas-pikettys-capital-in-the-21st-century/

But Bill Gates's wealth accumulation from investing exceeds the wealth he accumulated by founding and running the most successful company in history (at the time). Doing work never pays as much as allocating capital. And Gates's children? They can assume a Bettencourtian posture on a divan, mouths yawning wide for the passage of peeled grapes, and their fortunes will grow still larger. Same goes for their children, and their children's children.

Capitalism's self-mythologizing insists that the invisible hand owes no allegiance to yesterday's champions. The mere fact that the market rewarded you for allocating capital wisely during your tenure does not entitle your offspring to continue to allocate wealth in the years and centuries to come – not unless they, too, are capital allocators of such supremacy that they are superior to everyone born hereafter and will make the decisions that make the whole world better off.

Because that's the justification for inequality: that the market relentlessly seeks out the people with the skill and foresight to do things and invest in things that improve the world for all of us. If we interrupt that market process with regulations, taxes, or other "distorting" factors, then the market's quest for the right person for the right job will be thwarted and all of us will end up poorer. If we want the benefits of the invisible hand, we must not jostle the invisible elbow!

That's the justification for abolishing welfare, public education, public health, affirmative action, DEI, and any other programs that redistribute wealth to the least among us. If we get in the way of the market's selection process, we'll elevate incompetents to roles of power and importance and they will bungle those roles in ways that hurt us all. As Boris Johnson put it: "the harder you shake the pack the easier it will be for [big] cornflakes to get to the top":

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/nov/28/boris-johnson-iq-intelligence-gordon-gekko

Which leaves the servants and defenders of the invisible hand with a rather awkward question: how is it that today, capital allocation is a hereditary role? We used to have the idea that fitness to allocate capital – that is, to govern the economy and the lives of all of the rest of us – was a situational matter. The rule was "shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations": "The first generation makes it, the second generation spends it, and the third generation blows it."

That's the lesson of the rags to riches story*: that out there, amongst the teeming grubby billions, lurks untold genius, waiting to be anointed by the market and turned loose to make us all better off.

In America, these stories are sometimes called "Horatio Alger" stories, after the writer who penned endless millionaire-pleasing fables about urchins who were adopted by wealthy older men who saw their promise and raised them to be captains of industry. However, in real life, Horatio Alger was a pedophile who adopted young boys and raped them:

https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/horatio-alger-hundred-year-old-secret/

Perhaps your life was saved by a surgeon who came from humble origins but made it through med school courtesy of Pell Grants. Perhaps you thrilled to a novel or a film made by an artist from a working class family who got their break through an NEA grant. Maybe the software you rely on every day, or the game that fills your evenings, was created by someone who learned their coding skills at a public library or publicly funded after-school program.

The presence among us of people who achieved social mobility and made our lives better is evidence that people are being born every moment with something to contribute that is markedly different, and higher in social status, than the role their parents played. Even if you stipulate that the person who cleans your toilet has been correctly sorted into a toilet-cleaning job by the invisible hand, it's clear that the invisible hand would prefer that at least some of those toilet-cleaners' kids should do something else for a living.

And yet, wealth remains stubbornly hereditary. Our capital allocators – who, during the post-war, post-New Deal era were often drawn from working families – are now increasingly, relentlessly born to that role.

For the wealthy, this is the origin of the meritocracy to eugenics pipeline. If power and privilege are inherited – and they are, ever moreso every day – then either we live in an extremely unfair society in which the privileged and the powerful have rigged the game…or the invisible hand has created a subspecies of thoroughbred humans who were literally born to rule.

This is the thesis of the ultra-rich, the moral justification for rigging the system so that their failsons and faildaughters will give rise to faildestinies of failgrandkids and failgreat-grandkids, whose emergence from history's luckiest orifices guarantees them a lifelong tenure ordering other people around. It's the justification for some people being born to own the places where the rest of us live, and the rest of us paying them half our salaries just so we don't end up sleeping on the sidewalk.

"Hereditary meritocracy" is just a polite way of saying "eugenics." It starts from the premise of the infallible invisible hand and then attributes all inequality in society to the hand's perfect judgment, its genetic insight in picking the best people for the best jobs. If people of one race are consistently on top of the pile, that's the market telling you something about their genomes. If men consistently fare better in the economy than women, the invisible hand is trying to say something about the Y chromosome for anyone with ears to hear.

Capitalism's winners have always needed "a superior moral justification for selfishness," a discreet varnish to shine up the old divine right of kings. Think of the millionaire who created a "Nobel Prize sperm-bank" (and then fraudulently fathered hundreds of children because he couldn't find any Nobelists willing to make a deposit):

https://memex.craphound.com/2006/09/07/nobel-prize-sperm-bank-human-tragicomedy-about-eugenics/

Or the billionaire founder of Telegram who has fathered over 100 children in a bid to pass on his "superior genes":

https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/26/tech/pavel-durov-telegram-profile-intl

Think of Trump and his endless boasting about his "good blood" and praise for the "bloodlines" of Henry Ford and other vicious antisemites:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/05/22/trump-criticized-praising-bloodlines-henry-ford-anti-semite/5242361002/

Or Elon Musk, building a compound where he hopes to LARP as Immortan Joe, with a harem of women who have borne his legion of children, who will carry on his genetic legacy:

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/29/business/elon-musk-children-compound.html

Inequality is a hell of a drug. There's plenty of evidence that becoming a billionaire rots your brain, and being born into a dynastic fortune is a thoroughly miserable experience:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/13/public-interest-pharma/#affluenza

The stories that rich people tell themselves about why this is the only way things can be ("There is no alternative" -M. Thatcher) always end up being stories about superior blood. Eugenics and inequality are inseparable companions.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2025/05/20/big-cornflakes-energy/#caliper-pilled

[f1divorcefest]

2024 Formula One Divorce Fest

The F1 Divorce Fest is a prompt meme challenge that aims to shine a spotlight on the teammate pairings that got split up at the end of the 2024 season. It runs from February 12th until July 24th 2025.

How it works

From now until March 31st, you are allowed to submit prompts to the AO3 collection.

From March 16th until May 18th, you can claim one or more of the prompts anonymously. Don't worry - there are open prompts for each ship if none of the ones listed speak to you.

You have until July 3rd to create and submit your work(s). There will be rolling reveals throughout the first "summer break" of the 2025 season (July 7th to July 24th).

FAQ

What ships are allowed for the fest?

The main pairing of your work or prompt has to be one of these:

Alexander Albon/Franco Colapinto Alexander Albon/Logan Sargeant Valtteri Bottas/Zhou Guanyu Pierre Gasly/Esteban Ocon Lewis Hamilton/George Russell Nico Hülkenberg/Kevin Magnussen Liam Lawson/Yuki Tsunoda Charles Leclerc/Carlos Sainz Jr Sergio Pérez/Max Verstappen Daniel Ricciardo/Yuki Tsunoda

Side and background pairings that fall out of line with this list are allowed, but they should not be the focus or endgame ship.

There is a blanket ban on any and all new teammate ships of the divorcees involved in the fest (for example, you would not be allowed to write a fic focusing equally on Charles' relationship with Carlos and with Lewis). Mentions of those other drivers are allowed, but the point of the fest is to highlight the ships listed above! Please use your own discretion.

How long does my submission have to be? What about multi chapter fic?

Minimum word count of 1k, encouraged 1.5k. No Maximum.

Multi chapters are allowed as long as the first chapter fills the word count and you pinky promise to finish them.

Can I prompt and not write? Can I self-prompt?

Yes to both. As both prompting and claiming is anonymous until the reveals, you are free to claim your own prompts.

What if I can't finish my submission by July?

The event is purposefully long, in order to give participants as much time and freedom as possible to complete their works. That said, things can always happen, be that writer's block or IRL, and no one will bite your head off if you cannot fill your prompt in time. Ideally, you let us know so that we aren't in the dark once Jul comes around.

There will be check-ins and writing sprints in the discord, should you want them to hold you accountable. You can also use the channels there to brainstorm and discuss to help your writing process.

What about ratings or darker themes?

As long as the prompt you are filling has not specified any DNWs, you are free to write about any themes, kinks, tropes, and within any ratings and warnings. Remember to tag them properly, and go nuts.

I have a question that hasn't been answered here.

Feel free to send in an ask, DM, or ask for clarification in the Discord.

Links

AO3 collection Discord

The event itself allows both explicit content and minors participating and we trust that everyone moderates their online experience accordingly and appropriately. That said, the discord server is 18+. This is for moderation purposes. You are free to claim a prompt and submit a work without participating in the discord.

[gumnut-logic]

Diary of a Fanboy Engineer

Alexander Sweetapple series on Ao3

What's this? Is this Nuttyfic? Not a nuttyfic reblog? The first in ages?

Why yes, yes, it is.

Consequently, the writing muscles are a bit rusty so don't expect much.

However this was prompted by conspiring Thunderfam on this post.

It is a bit of a 'let's see if this idea works or not', but since most of my fic comes under that category, I'm hoping it works at least a little :D

So we have the beginnings of some possible Sweetapple Diaries :D

Many thanks to the wonderful @onereyofstarlight for proof reading and pointing out the bits that really didn't work :D ::hugs you tight:: And many thanks to the Sweetapple cheering squad - without you, there would be no Sweetapple ::hugs you all to bits::

Warnings for m/m fic and a bucket of fluff.

I hope you enjoy these little scribbles :D

-o-o-o-

14 Jul

We are going to Paris.

Mr Tracy told Virgil in no uncertain terms that he needed time off. I can’t agree more. Hell, all the brothers need time off, but Virgil has been flagging lately. He denies it, of course. Workaholic to the core. I can see where he is coming from, but really, he needs to take better care of himself - they all do.

Paris was an interesting choice. I’ve never been to Europe, but I guess that comes with the billionaire territory.

I am excited, there are so many opportunities in Paris. I’m particularly looking forward to seeing some real Da Vinci. Climbing the Eiffel Tower is also on my list.

But for our next holiday, I think we’ll choose a spot more close to home. I know some quiet seaside towns where we could rent a bach and just lay back and relax.

Maybe France has a few hidden corners we could climb into.

Anyway, it’s something to look forward to. Really, anytime, anywhere, would be fantastic.

-o-o-o-

15 Jul

Today wasn’t a good one. We had multiple failures in the latest prototype.

Erica isn’t happy. She says it isn’t my fault, but honestly, I should have seen at least one of them coming. The effect of vacuum on micro air pockets in a flexible solid is so obvious it was ridiculous. How did I miss it?

Dearest had to cancel out again. Mount Etna tried to take out some tourists.

Virgil isn’t happy. Apparently, he has been warning the Italian authorities about the destabilisation of the volcano’s eastern face, but because their equipment can’t detect what International Rescue’s equipment can, they don’t want to sacrifice the tourism euros to close the tours.

Fortunately, it was only a partial collapse and IR was able to save those caught in the landslide. I have to say though, Commander Tracy was furious in the holoclip shown on the news. I wouldn’t want to be person responsible right now. Scott can get scary.

I did get to see some cool shots of Virgil in action though. That, I could never get tired of. He and Gordon manoeuvred Two and rappelled down to pull people out of the dirt and ash.

They are such heroes.

I do miss him, of course, but those poor people needed him more than I did.

Maybe we can holochat later…oh god, it’s 3am already!

-o-o-o-

16 Jul

Erica woke me up this morning. Really, I love her, she is so good to me, but bloody hell, can’t she knock?

Okay, it was nearly eleven and I had my phone on silent and I didn’t answer the door and…

At least I had my pyjama pants on, I guess.

What if Virgil had been here?

She said that was the reason she barged in, Virgil wasn’t here - no great green ‘bird and Tracy Two wasn’t logged at the airfield, and I was late for work. I might have been dead or something.

She cares and I appreciate that.

She could have held off the laughter, though.

Besides, I wasn’t late for work. Work is on flexi-time and considering I was up until 1am last night analysing yesterday’s screw ups, my sleep-in was natural and totally allowed.

Virgil left me a message with a ‘maybe tonight’. I’m hoping, but if there is one thing I’ve learnt it is that whatever happens, happens. No hoping too hard.

So here I am writing this entry a little earlier to kill some of that hoping time.

We solved two out of the three problems we had yesterday. The third is being a pain in the ass. Erica says I should speak to John as this lies in his speciality. I said, not until we’ve exhausted all our resources because John is a busy man.

We’re all busy, she said, and he offered to help. Gordon helped with the water issues. I could even ask Alan.

Really? It’s not at the point where I have to go to the top to help solve the problem. We’ll give it a few more days. It’s urgent, but not life threatening like the Tracy brothers need to attend to. They’ve got enough on their plate.

But John has such a lovely voice, she said.

I swear she does this just to rile me up.

That or she does have a thing for John. You would think she would have a thing for Mr Tracy, he was the one who saved her from the earthquake. Hell, she and Fireman Fred still have a mutual flirting thing going on.

—!

Virgil is here!

-o-o-o-

17 Jul

The sun rose early this morning. Somewhere in our haste we forgot to close the blinds and the first rays of dawn woke me.

I’m not a morning person, I’m the first to admit that. But this morning…

You’re lying on your belly and the covers have slipped down to your waist. The sun is painting your skin in shades of gold and your hair is glowing.

You are beautiful.

…

PS: I haven’t read anything, I promise. I just needed to write the image down and this book was the closest at hand. Can I paint you some time?

…

He read the above to me when I woke.

Let’s just say I was late to work again.

-o-o-o-

17 Jul (cont.)

Virgil stayed at Māhia today. He helped with the issue we were having with the prototype, though we did end up calling John.

John was happy to help - man, he thinks fast. Don’t get me wrong, I love my math and my physics, but John seems to be able to bend both to his will. It took him a total of five minutes. Five minutes! To design a solution to our problem - in between rescue calls.

It was one of those daunting moments where I could see exactly why they work so well together.

Of course, I am working with V.T. Green. Just let me name drop that right here. And the Voice Who Answers…is my life real? How the hell did I end up here?

Frickin’ bloody amazing.

-o-o-o-

[killed-by-choice]

Beverly Ann Moore, 15 (USA 1975)

On July 11, 1975, 15-year-old Beverly’s parents brought her to the Chattanooga Women's Clinic (the "Lime 5" facility) for a legal abortion. Tuckey Hayes was the abortionist who killed Beverly and her unborn baby.

Beverly’s parents waited for their daughter, unaware of the danger she was in. Hayes told them that Beverly was going to be just fine, and they believed him. 15 minutes later, Beverly was dead.

The facility was riddled with malpractice, negligence and abuse. Even after killing 15-year-old Beverly, it was allowed to stay open. For years afterwards there were dozens of health and safety violations recorded. Here are some of the violations:

•Wrist, knee or foot controls not provided on lavatories used by physicians and nurses (3-8-79)

•No system for referring patients to (actual) health care providers (3-8-79)

•No emergency transfer arrangements (3-8-79)

•Lack of written job descriptions (3-8-79, 10-10-89)

•Lack of documentation of staff qualifications (10-10-89)

•Inoperable emergency lighting (3-8-79, 3-12-87, 3-17-87, 4-5-93)

•Re-use of disposable curettes (3-12-87)

•Medications out-of-date (5-22-85, 3-12-87, 3-17-87, 10-10-89, 4-6-92)

•Outdated IV solution (10-10-89)

•Medications improperly stored (3-8-79, 3-12-87, 3-17-87, 6-18-87)

•Unwrapped speculums stored in examining table drawer (6-18-87)

•Used disposable curettes stored on shelf with clean supplies (6-18-87)

•Blood on procedure table (10-10-89)

•Dirty floor/equipment in lab (10-10-89)

•out of date sterile instruments in autoclave area (6-18-87)

•"Sterile instruments in treatment room observed to have stains" (4-6-92)

•Patient records lacking documentation of required testing for sexually transmitted diseases (10-10-89).

And in 1992 a client sued the facility for the negligent and dehumanizing treatment she had endured while undergoing an 8-week abortion. She tried to use a fake name to protect her privacy, but the facility successfully moved that she had to use her real name in public if she wanted to sue them.

This was ironic and hypocritical considering that during her abortion appointment, the facility had refused to use her name and told her to answer only to “Lime 5”. Her pre-abortion "counseling" took place in a room with 20 other clients instead of in a 1-on-1 session and staff were not available to answer her questions. She was not given copies of any of the papers she was made to sign. When she was on the operating table, the abortionist came in with his shirt unbuttoned. He used repeated profanity, appeared to be fondling the nurse, and told the patient that “Nothing is better in life than sex and money” before injuring her.

This unsanitary, unprofessional and abusive facility should have been shut down long before the 1992 court case. Had they been closed down after killing Beverly, so many people would have been spared from the horrific treatment of the “Lime 5” facility.

MEMORIAL ID 27278635

Ambulatory Surgical Treatment Center Survey Form 3-12-87

Statement of Deficiencies and Plan of Correction 3-8-79, 5-22-85, 3-17-87, 6-18-87, 4-24-90, 4-16-91, 4-6-92, 4-5-93

Licensing Board Docket No. 17.17-D-89-1104A

[akusaimonth]

AkuSaiMonth 2022: How it works

[ID in alt]

One final collection of information!

Check out https://asm22-info.carrd.co/ for a complete overview over Rules & General Information for both tumblr and instagram!

How it works:

The AkuSaiMonth event lasts from July 8 (7/8; IsaLea Day) to August 7 (8/7; AkuSai Day)

This year‘s event gives the prompts as bingo cards with randomized prompt orders

The goal is to get one bingo within the month by filling five prompts in one row, column or diagonal.

There is no official schedule

The goal is just for motivation and fun, you are not obliged to fill five prompts! One is perfectly fine!

Take part as much as you want, whenever you want!

How to „win “ Examples:

[ID: four filled out example bingo cards. Three using a correct bingo constellation (five crossed out prompts in one row, column or diagonal) are marked as “correct”. One card with a random pattern of crossed out prompts is marked as “wrong”]

Everyone who gets a bingo „wins“. Speed has nothing to do with it!

„Winning“:

Again, don‘t take it too seriously!

There is no prize for „winning“

There is no penalty for „not winning“

The format is just for fun, to make the event a little more like a game.

What counts to fill a Prompt?

Every kind of content you can think of!

Writing, art, videos, music, edits, fan games, ...

Just make sure it‘s your own work! No stolen content!

Check out the Rules & General Information overview.

Where do I get the bingo card?

There are two kinds of bingo cards, you can find both on asm22.carrd.co

Interactive bingo cards will be randomly assigned as soon as you click the link.

Text-to-Speech-friendly bingo cards will bring you to a google drive where you can pick one of the three available. I'd recommend picking at random!

When should I post?

Whenever you want, preferably within the month.

One possible schedule would be:

Fri, Jul 8

Sat, Jul 16

Sat, Jul 23

Sun, Jul 31

Sun, Aug 7

That‘s one post a week!

Where can I post?

ASM22 is held on tumblr and instagram, but you can post wherever you want!

On tumblr all posts will be reblogged to the @akusaimonth tumblr.

On instagram I will collect all posts in the stories. It is also possible to invite @akusaimonth as a collaborator to showcase and collect your works on this page as well. All rights to your works remain with you of course!

If you post to other sites (e.g. AO3, twitter, wattpad, youtube, …) you can send me the link in a DM and I can add it to the instagram stories (and tumblr, if you didn't post it here already). Let me know where you want me to post the link and whether it contains NSFW or anything else I should know.

„Is (…) allowed?“

Short answer: It most likely is.

Check out the Rules & General Information for a definitive answer.

So far I‘ve only had good experiences with the AkuSai fandom. I don‘t expect any problems, just act normal and everything will be fine. However, to be safe I do retain the right to not share content I find in bad taste and will ask you to remove it from the #akusaimonth tags as well.

That said, I don‘t take any responsibility for any content created during the event!

Final Information:

Please do read the Rules & General Information. Yes, I've linked it like 87 times in this post, that's how serious I am.

It gives all the information about posting rules, content rules and NSFW rules for both tumblr and instagram.

Please keep in mind that posting rules and NSFW rules differ slightly between tumblr and instagram.

If you have any more questions, please don‘t hesitate to ask!

And finally, I hope you will enjoy the event! Let‘s give the world some more AkuSai! <3

[didanawisgi]

Jul 14, 2021

Not Covid-19 vaccine-mediated but naturally acquired immunity enables herd immunity

“The single most important objective of mass vaccination with Covid-19 vaccines was to achieve herd immunity! Meanwhile, health authorities and their advising ‘experts’ have acknowledged that herd immunity is no longer within reach. They now tend to blame a number of factors for not achieving this goal. Amongst those, they like to cite disappointing vaccine coverage rates, essentially in the younger age groups, and reduced efficacy of the current vaccines towards emerging viral variants. They claim that instead we’re now luckily heading towards a situation where the virus is becoming endemic and where vaccination will be key to ensure individual protection! Unless one is dealing with a pandemic or epidemic, only vulnerable people (the so-called ‘target population’) are getting vaccinated. As also younger people are now increasingly contracting Covid-19 disease, the need for all of us to get the shot remains unchanged and hence, mass vaccination campaigns are to be continued. That’s at least the narrative that is currently used to convince youngsters and children to take the shot too.

From a scientific viewpoint, the above interpretation of the current situation is beyond shortsighted and is lacking every piece of scientific evidence. First, the weak link between the (rising) number of cases and the (declining) hospitalization and mortality rates, as now observed in a number of countries with high vaccine coverage rates, is not reflecting a transitioning of the virus into an endemic phase. Endemicity is not possible without herd immunity and herd immunity is the last thing that the ongoing mass vaccination campaigns will be able to achieve (see below). The weak link is much more likely to result from the fact that in many cases the vaccines still provide protection against severe disease whereas the infection rate is now dramatically increasing due to enhanced circulation of more infectious variants that flourish on a background of increasing spike (S)-directed immune pressure exerted by the (massively vaccinated) population. As already mentioned in multiple previous contributions, increased infectivity rates in the population will make it more likely that younger age groups get re-exposed to the virus at a point in time where they have become vulnerable (i.e. during a temporary window of suppression of their innate antibodies by short-lived, immature S-specific antibodies). As the vast majority of individuals in the younger age groups have either not been vaccinated at all or only received a single shot of a 2-dose vaccine, the level of their functional (i.e., non-suppressed) innate antibodies (Abs) may still be high enough to prevent severe disease. I presume that this situation is going to change for the worse when i) the virus becomes resistant to the current vaccines (which genomic epidemiologists acknowledge is inevitably going to occur) and ii) the number of fully vaccinated youngsters is going to substantially increase. This is to say that the seemingly attenuated clinical symptoms are unlikely due to a shift of the pandemic towards endemicity or diminished virulence of circulating viral variants but merely reflect the impact of growing resistance of the virus to vaccinal Abs combined with a higher level of viral infectiousness. Growing resistance would still grant older age groups some remaining vaccine-mediated protection whereas younger age groups could still rely on some remaining innate immune protection. How otherwise could diminished hospitalization and mortality rates be reconciled with a steep incline in infection cases? This is certainly not a typical feature of a pandemic that is on the path of extinction!

It is, indeed, quite unbelievable that some advising experts pretend that although we won’t achieve herd immunity, we will still be able to exchange the pandemic for an endemic situation. When does that happen? The answer is: never. Neither disappointing vaccine coverage rates nor diminished virus neutralization rates should be blamed for failure of these vaccines to enable herd immunity. From their very first conceptualization, it should have been very clear that these ‘S-based’ Covid-19 vaccines are completely inadequate for generating herd immunity in a population, regardless of the magnitude of Ab titers induced or the rate of vaccine coverage. Why is this? Let’s first have a closer look at the definition of ‘herd immunity’. Herd immunity occurs when most of a population is immune to an infectious disease and thereby provides indirect protection to those who are not immune to the disease. Mechanistically, indirect protection is due to absence or strong reduction of infectious transmission by those who have been immunized (i.e., the majority of the population). So who concluded all of a sudden that herd immunity would only depend on antigen (Ag)-specific (in this case, ‘spike-specific’) humoral (Ab) responses and nonantigen-specific innate immunity (i.e., operated through several different immune stimulatory and modulatory cytokines and chemokines secreted by immunocompetent cells, including noncytotoxic Ag-specific T cells)? If this were the case, a natural pandemic could never irreversibly evolve into an endemic infectious situation. Here is why S-specific Abs and nonAg-specific innate immunity could never force the Sars-CoV-2 pandemic into endemicity, let alone eradicate Sars-CoV-2:

In the course of a pandemic, the virus will eventually circulate in parts of the population that have previously been infected but see their Ab titers decline below a threshold that protects against infection. Although these people will no longer be able to control the infection, they are still capable of rapidly abrogating viral infection and transmission at the portal of entry thanks to their protective effector memory T cells. The latter will, indeed, be readily recalled as soon as pathogen-derived antigens are expressed on the surface of infected cells. Because of the rapid elimination of infected cells at the portal of entry, individuals with such subthreshold levels of functional anti-S Abs can still significantly reduce viral transmission in the host population. This is to say that even in the presence of suboptimal S-specific Abs, previously primed effector T cells will be recalled to eliminate Sars-CoV-2-infected cells and thereby curtail viral transmission at an early stage of re-infection. Elimination of those cells can take place regardless of the Sars-CoV-2 variant they are infected with as CoV-derived T cell epitopes are far more conserved than the S-derived B cell epitopes. This is in sharp contrast to the immune response induced by vaccination of naïve individuals. Although suboptimal titers of functional vaccinal Abs cannot prevent viral infection and transmission, they may still protect vaccinees from contracting (severe) disease. However, as none of the current Covid-19 vaccines induces S-specific cytolytic T cells, vaccinees endowed with suboptimal S-specific Ab titers will no longer be able to abrogate viral transmission upon re-infection with Sars-CoV-2. In addition, mass vaccination campaigns conducted in the heat of the pandemic simultaneously allow large cohorts of subjects with suboptimal Ab titers (e.g., as occurring after the first dose or between the 1st and 2nd dose of a 2-shot vaccine) to become exposed to the virus. This enables naturally selected immune escape variants to evade vaccinal (S-directed) Abs. Conclusively, the transmission-blocking potential of the immune status conferred to the population by mass vaccination is spike Ab-dependent and substantially lower than that conferred to a population that becomes infected by Sars-CoV-2 during a natural pandemic. This is to say that in the course of mass vaccination campaigns large parts of the population are left with suboptimal / incomplete immunity (e.g., Ab titers too low, Abs not fully mature/ functional, no priming of Ag-specific cytolytic T cells) and can, therefore, not control viral transmission upon exposure to the virus.

This, together with the propensity of viral variants to propagate on a background of S-directed immune pressure, prevents ‘imperfect’ vaccines from establishing herd immunity when used in mass vaccination campaigns at the height of a pandemic. As a result, vaccinees are prone to breed naturally selected immune escape variants and serve as asymptomatic spreaders. This is exactly the opposite of what herd immunity is defined as! It is important to note that coronaviruses have evolved a broad spectrum of strategies to also evade nonAg-specific innate immune responses. S-directed immune escape can, therefore, not be compensated by nonAg-specific innate immunity, even if the latter originates – at least to some extent – from stimulation of S-specific T cells (see references 12, 13 in previous critical opinion article: ‘Why is the ongoing mass vaccination experiment driving a rapid evolutionary response of SARS-CoV-2?’).

Overall conclusion: From the very beginning of the mass vaccination program, it should have been clear that because of the intrinsic limitations of S-based Covid-19 vaccines and their deployment in mass vaccination campaigns in the midst of a pandemic, herd immunity was simply the last thing this mass vaccination program could possibly achieve and that moving this program forward would fulfill all the conditions for driving S-directed viral immune escape to eventually result in full resistance of Sars-CoV-2 to the Covid-19 vaccines. Boosting vaccinal Abs with 2nd generation vaccines is not going to solve the issue of immune escape, even if the immunization with ‘updated’ vaccines would be repeated by 6-month intervals. This is because 2nd generation vaccines will primarily recall S-specific Abs elicited by the first generation vaccines (due to ‘antigenic sin’) and not be effective against recombinations of Sars-CoV-2 variants, which are highly likely to occur as a result of co-infection, especially in the most vulnerable (see previous critical opinion article: ‘Why is the ongoing mass vaccination experiment driving a rapid evolutionary response of SARS-CoV-2?’).

The more rational way to control infectious viral transmission in a pandemic of an acute, self-limiting viral infection and to achieve herd immunity is to use live attenuated vaccines. An even more effective approach to immune intervention in a pandemic is to use vaccines capable of conferring sterilizing immunity as those will rapidly and dramatically reduce (asymptomatic!) viral transmission, thereby providing herd immunity at a low vaccine coverage rate and eventually enable virus eradication.”

[myrxellabaratheon]

Hi! I started writing my first GoT modern AU and it will be robbcella and I thought I’d share the link with you. No pressure :)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/57676834

I always love modern!AUs, and I love Robbcella A LOT! Thank you for thinking about me, I’ll read it ASAP 🩷

[welcometothecityyy]

Summary: Julian always seemed to be bothered about something, and Eun seems to notice. What is he hiding? Or...more like what are they hiding?

Character(s): Park Joo-Won/Julian; Huang Eun-hee/Eun (Julian/Eun). Mentions of the rest of the group.

Other Mention(s): Jaxon of WATCHERS (@watch1ngyou)

T/Ws?: None really - besides LGBTQ talk so if you're uncomfortable with any of that, I suggest you don't read ahead. (Though really, why would you be on my blog if you don't like LGBTQ things in the first place?)

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"Alright that's it for today," Hyun-Woo yawned as he stood up from his spot on the floor to stretch out his arms.

"You boys did so well today," Their dance instructor commented as he handed a water bottle to Julian. Julian smiled a bit, nodding slightly. Eun, who stood next to him, noticed his friend's smile faltered a bit.

"Haha..." Julian laughed weakly. "Thanks..."

To the rest of the boys, Julian's weak laugh could have just been him being tired. After all, it was 1 in the morning and they just finished practicing.

But Eun could hear the hint of sadness. There was something wrong with Julian, and he seemed to be a bit bothered by something. The younger one couldn't help but feel curious about what his older friend was hiding.

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As the rest of the group walked back to their dorms, Julian walked slowly behind, sighing to himself. Just as he was about to try to catch up with the rest of the group, he felt a tug on his sleeve. He looked to his side to see Eun walking next to him, holding onto the sleeve of his hoodie.

"You okay hyung?" Eun-hee asked softly. At this Julian hesitated to answer.

Was he really okay?

The answer was clearly no.

He wanted to cry after he was asked that.

But Julian didn't want to burden his friend with his answer.

"Yeah I'm fine," He said quietly. "Why'd you ask?"

"Nothing I just saw you looked a bit down," Eun mumbled. Julian chuckled.

"Haha, you're worried about me?" Julian said. That earned him a soft punch on the arm.

"Of course I do, idiot," Eun-hee said, shaking his head. "You need to take care of yourself more."

"Yeah..." Julian mumbled as the two continued to walk. Eun hummed.

"You know Juls," He said. "I'm here for you if you want to talk."

Julian bit his lip.

Don't cry, don't cry.

"Yeah, I know," Julian answered again. "And thank you for that."

Eun smiled softly, slipping his hand down to hold Julian's hand. Julian smiled at the small affectionate gesture, intertwining his hand with the younger male's hand.

For the first time tonight, Julian smiled all the way back home.

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Eun-hee looked out on the balcony of his group's dorm, looking up at the stars. Though it could be barley seen because of the city's bright light, the stars were still there and sparkling over the sky.

He liked watching the stars at night, even if he should be in bed at this time.

Eun felt a pair of arms wrap around his shoulder.

"Isn't it a bit late to be star gazing?" A familiar voice said. Eun turned around to see Julian smiling at him.

"Shhh don't be too loud," Eun said as he turned back around, looking at the stars. He allowed Julian to continue stand behind him and admire the sky with him. "I just had something on my mind...that's why I'm here."

Julian hummed, "What is it?"

Eun sighed and turned around to face Julian. "I know you were lying to me back there."

Oh crap. Was it that obvious?

"Why?" Eun-hee asked softly. Julian gulped, looking away. "Julian-"

"Shh, I'll tell you," Julian said as he grabbed Eun-hee's hand and pulling the younger boy with him. "Just be quiet so we don't wake up the others."

Eun let Julian pull him up the steps of the dorms to the rooftop. His eyes lit up as he could see the stars more clearly now that they were higher on the building. Julian sat down on one of the couches that was set up on the roof and Eun followed, sitting down next to him.

"So...?" Eun-hee asked. Julian bit his lip. "You can tell me anything Juls."

"I just don't...I don't understand it."

"What's 'it'?"

"Everything!" Julian sighed. "Look, I like being an idol okay, but it's all bullshit." Eun could only hum and continue to listen to his friend rant.

"Boy-group this, and girl-group that, we're all separated by who we're seen as, who we're born as," Julian said.

"But what if...what if there's people who don't identify as being a girl? Who don't identify as being a boy?"

"And what if some people don't identify as neither a boy or girl?"

Julian let out a frustrated sigh.

"And what if I'm one of those people huh?" He mumbled. "Trust me, I love you guys and I love it here in this group, but I hate that we're called a 'boy-group' when not every one of us is a boy."

"And what if-"

"Julian," Eun finally cut him off. Julian went quiet, afraid of what his friend might say.

Did he say too much?

"Juls, you're right...it is frustrating that we're trapped in this gender binary thing. And it's even more frustrating that things are separated by it too," Eun-hee finally said.

"I don't care who you identify as - be it male, female, both or gender-neutral non-binary - I still love you for you. We still love you for who you are."

"But...what will other people think?"

"Well then they can think what they want because you're special, Juls. They can hate you, they can be happy for you, it doesn't matter."

"What matters is if you're comfortable for who you identify as a person. Like I said, whoever you identify as doesn't affect how we think of you. You're still our family. A member. A part of ENTERNAL WONDERLAND. And you'll always be." As Eun finally finished, Julian lunged at him and hugged him. The tears at the corner of Julian's eyes finally spilled out.

This was what he wanted. What they wanted.

They just wanted to be accepted.

"Thank you..." Julian mumbled. Eun smiled softly, hugging Julian back.

"Of course Juls," Eun-hee said. "And I'll always be here by you're side whenever you're ready to tell our members."

"Do you think they'll act positively too?" Julian asked. Eun nodded.

"I'm sure of it," He smiled. "We'll be happy about it. I'm glad I was the first one you told me."

"Well actually," Julian laughed lightly. "I kinda told Jaxon when I first started thinking."

"Well then," Eun said. "I'm glad I'm the first one in the group to know about this."

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Back inside their room once again, Julian smiled as he gently ran his hand through Eun-hee's hair, who was sleeping beside them.

Eun's words played back in their head as they tried to sleep.

Gender-neutral non-binary..

Julian definitely knew that they didn't identify as a female, but being labeled as a male felt like it was too loose for them either.

I guess Eun's right...it doesn't matter who I identify as...as long as I'm comfortable with who I identify as...then they'll all be happy for me.

Closing their eyes, Julian felt themselves slowly fell into their tiredness. And for the first time in days Julian fell asleep with a smile on their face.

[sunset-bobby]

Title: You Mean the Holograms

Summary: Julie invites Carrie over to tell her the truth about her band, and maybe her dad, but what if she already knows

Word Count: 1886

Ao3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27822940

If there was one thing Carrie Wilson was good at, it was acting as if she was not aware of things. People often assume because she is the daughter of Trevor Wilson and shallow, which she is sometimes and is working on it, that she is not in tune with what’s going on in other people’s lives, but she is. So, when Julie texted her to come over saying she ‘needed to tell her something’. Carrie had a pretty good idea of what she was getting herself into. After all her dad is Trevor Wilson, and well he’s a terrible liar no matter how hard he tries. So that is how she found herself at Julie’s studio on a Saturday afternoon sitting on a chair, with Julie pacing in front of her nervously.

“Okay, so I called you here to introduce you to my band,” Julie stated and Carrie nodded along.

“The holograms?” she asked her in a false tone that made Julie believe she was clueless.

“That’s the thing. They aren’t actually holograms,” she paused and Carrie looked at her in anticipation., “ They’re ghosts.” Carrie gave her a look that was a mix of disbelief and confusion, but before she could say anything Julie cut her off.

“Before you say anything, let me show you,” and she heads off to the piano. Now Carrie can’t actually see the ghost, but she is already aware of their existence, so she sends a small smirk to the air and hopes one of them is catching on and finds this as amusing as she is. However if what she already knows about them is true the one most likely to catch on, is freaking out. Julie plays a piano riff that Carrie is familiar with before a faint whooshing sound comes in and before stands the face of 3 teenage boys that she is secretly very familiar with. Julie stops playing and the boys as well. Something new Carrie was not ready for. Point ghost.

“The new abilities are hard to explain as of right now, but they can now be seen after we play as well,” Julie explains and Carrie nods along once more.

“Okay, so Care this is-,” but Carrie takes the opportunity to expose her own secrets now.

“Luke, Reggie, and Alex. Formally of the early 90s rock band Sunset Curve, currently of the up and coming band Julie and the Phantoms,” she says and her tone is dripping with that false innocence she uses to really push certain statements over the edge, and from the looks on both the boys and Julie’s face it seems she has. The blonde one, Alex, is the first to speak.

“H-how does she know that?” he looks around at his shocked friends before looking back at her, “how do you know tha?” She smiles, not fully she doesn’t want it to seem like she’s finding amusement in his obvious sense of panic, but just enough to where they know she’s planned this.

“Did you ask your dad about it?” Reggie, the bassist, asked recovering next, and Carrie decided to add some more to the drama.

“My dad? Why would he be involved in this?” Her smile has dropped giving the illusion that she is serious about her confusion. The boys and Julie blubber out multiple excuses to each other trying to come up with the same story, and she lets them for a while, before cracking. A laugh escapes her lips drawing their attention back to her.

“I’m joking, no my dad told me everything,” she says in between laughs, but the others just continue to stare.

“So you already know everything?” Luke asks and there is a slight emphasis in his voice that makes her realize he is asking for something specific, and she knows what it is, but she isn’t going to let that out just yet.

“Oh do you mean how Alex likes to join me for Dirty Candi performances?”

“How did-”

“I’m pretty sure I’ve walked through you and that chill is pretty hard to miss,” she answers, interrupting Alex’s question. She looks over at Luke and his face is hard to read, but he’s definitely riled up.

“Or are you talking about if I know that you’re connected to Julie because of her mom, whom you met 20 mins prior to your, um….” she trailed off, she didn’t know if their passings were a sensitive topic or not.

“Wait, really?” Julie asked, and Carrie was not aware that she did not know.

“Um, yeah it’s how our parents met. However they didn’t become friends until your mom picked my sobbing dad up off of the streets of Sunset Boulevard, or at least that what he said,” she said nonchalantly. This topic was something her dad discussed multiple times. He was very open with his experience with grief, although she thinks it’s because Dr.Crystal advises him too. She takes another look at Luke, and by now she thinks he can tell she’s avoided the topic purposely. She sighs as he opens his mouth to speak, and talks before him.

“Fine. I know you want know if I am aware that the songs on my dad’s first two albums are Sunset Curves, that he didn’t credit you, and is legally not allowed to discuss it with anyone who doesn’t already know, because somehow his dumb 21 year old self didn’t know how to read through a contract,” she told him exasperated, but was shocked when she did not get an immediate response from the boy in return. Then again none of the others said anything either.

“Oh, you didn’t know about that detail did you?”

“No,” Luke said quietly, “no we did not.”

“Carrie if you knew all of this why didn’t you tell me. At least about the music part when we were friends?” Julie asked, and Carrie did not realize how this would look to her.

“I didn’t know until middle school, and I thought you knew too. I figured your mom was going to tell you.”

“I didn’t know she knew.”

“I’m sorry Juls. Maybe it was for a good reason. I only found out on accident,” Carrie offered and Julie nodded.

“Is there anything else you might know?” Reggie asked her, but the answer was a little iffy. She knew a lot of things thanks to her dad’s shrine to them, which she still finds weird despite the fact he’s also in the pictures.

“Maybe you should just ask me questions, and I can see what I can answer,” she suggested and they nodded. Alex started.

“Do you know anything about our families?”

“Some things, yes. Uh how sensitive is this topic though?” she wanted to make sure she covered all of her bases before continuing.

“It’s relatively sensitive, but we wanna know,” was all she got in response.

“Um okay, well despite the fact he did not credit you guys, my dad still gave money to your families, or at least those who deserved it. I don’t know much about your family, I’m sorry Reggie.”

“It’s okay,” he said, but she had a feeling it wasn’t. She did not want to over step.

“What about me?” Luke asked, “I know Julie and I saw my parents a couple weeks ago, and I try to visit them often, but I-,”

“You know,” she started cutting him off, “Ms. Emily is always telling my dad it does not do well to keep replaying your mistakes.”

“You’ve met my mom?”

“Yeah I saw her earlier in the month with my dad. We were continuing a tradition he and Julie’s mom started,” she explained.

“What tradition?”

“They bring her flowers on special occasions. I think it was a birthday or something. He’s never gone alone before. If Rose couldn’t go, he’d send them by mail, but he says that anniversaries are hard. I think that’s why he took me too.”

“Oh.”

“ Hey, I don’t know your story, but I don’t believe you should keep blaming yourself.”

“I’m not.”

“You are, I am very familiar with that look.”

“What about my family?” Alex asked, however his situation was a little different, and Carrie was not sure when the right time would come again.

“My dad doesn’t really like to talk to all of them. Mainly just my mom, but-”

“Mom!” Alex exclaimed, cutting her off.

“Yeah, my mom is Alyssa Da-”

“LYSSA, she’s like 10 years younger than him. I can’t believe he…” The boys looked at one another in disgust, but Carrie and Julie, just bubbled with laughter, causing the disgusted looks to turn into confused ones.

“What’s happening. Why are you laughing at the fact that Bobby defiled Alex’s little sister?” Luke asked.

“Okay, can we not say it like that,” Alex grimaced.

“Alex, don’t worry, he didn’t do anything with your sister,” Julie stated.

“Yeah, despite the small resemblances, he isn’t my biological dad,” she added.

“Then why-”

“She had me when she was 16, but instead of putting me up for adoption, she gave me to my dad. I don’t really know everything, but my dad told me when I was 7.” Alex nodded.

“Okay, but earlier you were laughing?” he asked, and Julie giggled beside her.

“Because I’m pretty sure we both thought of the same response,” Julie answered, and looked at Carrie.

“He says it whenever anyone asks about his relationship status in interviews,” Carrie also added.

“ Honey, I haven’t touched a woman since 1999,” they both quoted in sync before breaking out in a fit of laughter once more.

“Bobby is gay?!” all three boys shouted.

“Bi actually,” Julie corrected.

“With a preference for men...guitar players specifically,” Carrie continued.

“Not that any of them last very long according to tabloids,” Julie said aimlessly.

“Yeah, well you know dad is always picky. Apparently he has this thing where they have to match his talent,” Carrie said and she and Julie looked at one another again silently confirming if they were thinking the same thing, before turning back to the boys who were flickering.

“I guess this is our goodbye,” Reggie joked and Carrie cracked a smile.

“For now,” she added.

“Do you think you can come back? Tell us more about your dad and what we missed?” Luke asked, and she shook her head yes.

“Yeah, or you guys could come to mine and I can show you my dad’s Sunset Curve room that he likes to cry in sometimes.” That didn’t really get the laughs she thought it would, and she scolded herself for not remembering that joking about trauma was a Wilson thing, but the boys were gone before she could even back track, so she turned to Julie.

“Well I know they’re still here, but I drove myself so if you wanna hang out I could stick around,” she suggested, and Julie smiled.

“Yeah, I’d like that. Besides I think we have some things to talk about.” She led her out of the studio and Carrie happily followed, knowing that there were most likely three teenage ghosts following her. So yes, sometimes she does pretend to be clueless, because she likes being underestimated, but sometimes it’s good to show all of her strengths, because you might be able to mend a couple of friendships.

[studywithdanielle]

How to Study For: Uni Entrance Exams

14 JUL 2020

Hey guys! I’m currently studying for the TSA and I thought it would be helpful for me to consolidate my process so I can look back on it. Then I remembered that I have a studyblr (woop woop 🎉!) and that I can possibly help others by posting it on here.

NOTE: This is a strategy for exams consisting of multiple choice or short answer questions. If you’d like me to cover essay question prep, just let me know 🥰 !

Btw, I’m a conceptual learner that likes formulas so if this sounds like a rocket launch countdown, I deeply apologise ?.

What You’ll Need:

Internet - I mean, what don’t we use it for these days?

Practise papers

Practise questions

Phase 1 - Preparation

Step 1: Don’t panic

Okay you can panic a little, especially if you’ve left it late but not all hope is lost!

Yes, I know the ‘duh, duh, duh!!!’ didn’t help but panicking will only make you feel overwhelmed and will make the exam seem impossible. Here’s what you should do instead:

Step 2: Find out what the university actually wants

Why do they have an entrance exam anyway?

Especially in the UK, most universities don’t have an entrance exam so if they do, there’s a reason and you’re going to be Sherlock Holmes and find out why that is. Whilst it may seem like they’re trying to traumatise you, I don’t think they particularly enjoy marking a zillion papers 🤧.

What do they expect?

For most university courses, there are a grade requirements and knowing what those are is really helpful for setting your own expectations. If your course (likes mine) doesn’t require maths and there are maths problems on the exam, they won’t be at A-level, IB HL or AP standard.

What score should I be aiming for?

This links to the previous question but finding admissions stats for your subject will help you determine a mark that you’re aiming for. Many of these tests are not designed for really high marks so releasing that expectation early will save you a great deal of stress.

What skills are they testing?

For some entrance exams, the university will list out the skills they’re testing in their entrance exam. Practising these skills broadly will help you to develop them. For example, if they’re testing translation in a language entrance exam, reading in the target language and understanding it will be good practise because you’ll be able to convey ideas from another language if you understand them.

Step 3: Master your strategy

The worst thing that could happen in an exam is that you don’t know what to do or what to write. The best way to tackle that? Having a strategy. Sometimes just having something to do in an exam even if you don’t actually know what you’re doing gives your brain some time to stop freaking out and start problem-solving. To master your strategy, you need to:

Find out the question types

For example, the TSA is split into 2 sections (I have to do both 😭), one multiple-choice paper and one 30 minute essay. I know there are about 9-10 different types of questions targeting 2 skills: critical thinking and problem-solving. By doing this, I can work towards perfecting each question type and in theory will be able to do the whole of the first paper.

Figure out the timings

You can do this in minutes per mark or if there’s an advised amount of time you should spend on a particular type of question, take a note of this.

Figure out your process for each question type

Usually at the beginning of a book full of practise questions, there will be a description as to how best to approach each question. If there isn’t or you don’t have access to one, try looking up strategies on the wonder that is the Internet. If you’re still not sure, attempt questions with commentary answers so that id you get them wrong, you can create a strategy of your own using the tips you’ve gathered from there.

Practise, practise practice. Oh, and did I say practise?

When practising questions:

Make sure to practise a block of questions that are all the same type. This will allow you to learn how to identify the question type quicker and also gives you a sign to stop so you don’t spend all day working on these questions because you’re stressed 😪.

1. Attempt the question

2. Mark the question

3. If you got it wrong, try and figure out why yourself - write this in a different colour.

4. Check the markscheme or talk-through (if there is one) and add in anything you may have missed or anything that could be helpful for the next question in another colour. Now you’ve differentiated between what you could figure out and what you couldn’t.

5. Attempt the next question

*This may seem tedious because why would you not mark all the questions at the end? Doing it this way ensures you approach each question with a better idea of what to do and allows you to pick up on nuances that you may not have otherwise realised. Also, you don’t want to instil the “wrong” method or idea because of muscle-memory.*

6. Once you finish your block of questions, make note of something that went well, something that could’ve been better and what to do for next time. I’d advise you to keep this in a table so that you can see your progress over time. Make sure to look at this before you attempt this style of question again.

Okay so now we now how to practise a block of questions, do we do them to time or not.

I’d recommend doing them not to time at first.

This will allow you to focus on mastering your process and approach to each type of question. You should continue to do this (if you have enough time) until:

You’ve perfected your process/approach

You’ve ensured your strategy actually helps YOU get the right answer

Once you know the strategy works, you’ll feel more confident in the exam, especially because you know if you blank, you have something to fall back on.

I say ‘YOU’ because whilst a strategy straight out of a textbook may work fine for someone else, it may not be the best way for you. Don’t be afraid to tweak it to fit you or create a whole new strategy altogether!

Now, if your strategy works, move onto the next stage. If not, let’s troubleshoot your strategy.

Troubleshooting your process:

1. Find patterns: are there a particular nuances you’re always missing or mistakes you’re making?

For example, in the TSA being able to differentiate between premises and conclusions is really important. If I find that this is something I can’t do, I’ve discovered a pattern.

2. Practise on easier questions.

With the example above, I may look up arguments for GCSE RS or psychology students and try and identify premises and clauses.

3. Adjust your strategy as is necessary

You may realise that you should another step to your strategy, such as highlighting key words, after practising on easier questions

Right, so you have your strategy down - now what?

Practise to time.

It’s the timing that’s the stickler for many uni entrance exams and the best way to get that down is to practise doing the questions to time. I’d still recommend doing the questions in their question blocks at this stage or mixing up blocks that are similar in question type.

Step 4: Practice tests

Now you know what to do when you see all the types of questions, it’s time to apply what you’ve learnt to a real paper. This is where you see what has stuck and what hasn’t so it’s important to see this is a learning process - don’t expect to get 100% on your first try.

When completing a practice test:

1. Answer the entire test

Since you’ve got your processes down, it’s not necessary to mark each question individually since it’s so time-consuming.

2. Go through and mark the test

3. Try and work out where you went wrong, do this in a different colour.

4. Go through the mark scheme and add further corrections in a different colour.

5. Make a note of your mark, what went well, what could’ve been better (even better if ...) and what to do for next time in a tracker. Look at this before you next do a practice exam.

6. If you find you’re getting a particular type of question wrong every time, go back to those question blocks and master your strategy again.

As I said earlier, these tests are not designed for really high marks and so even after lots of practise, there’ll probably still be things that aren’t quite right. But if:

You’re getting the scores you want/need

You have your strategy for each question type down

Then congratulations - you are officially ready for the exam 🎉.

Whilst I wouldn’t advise all practise to stop, I do think that at this stage, running through loads more exam papers is a bit redundant. Maybe doing one every week or fortnight will suffice. Plus, if you started preparing early, you don’t want to go through alllll your practice papers before the exam actually comes around.

Phase 2 - Lead Up to the Exam

Congrats - you made it!

Honestly, I think if you’ve prepared properly then doing hardcore practise isn’t necessary and might burn you out in the lead up to the exam. If you take away anything from this really long post make it this:

Consistent practise always wins. Always.

If you’ve been consistently practising, there’s no need to cram too much last minute revision. I will say though that looking over your practice test tracker the night before the exam may be helpful as a last-minute reminder but, of course, if this is just going to stress you out further, don’t do it.

Last-Minute Tips

Don’t make this your whole life - It’s summer! There are so many more actually fun things you could be doing. Even practising a couple of times a week at first is absolutely fine.

Ask from advice from the experts - If there’s anything in particular that you’re worried about, ask someone who’s done or is practising for the test or email the university - they might be able to give you one of their students details so you can ask them directly.

Well, that’s all I’ve got for you ...

I hope this was helpful! Feel free to add your own tips and if you have any questions or feedback, just ask me or message me - my DMs are always open. Of course, you could just leave a note on here but if you want to be a little fancy, hit me up!

Alsoooo, let me know if you want me to a) do this for essay-based entrance exams and/or b) turn this into a mini-series and apply these steps to different tests like the TSA, LNAT, BMAT, UKCAT, STEP etc. Then all the resources will be in one place. Obviously, I’m not preparing for all of them (doctor who? definitely not me 🤧) but I have some friends doing some of these exams so I can get some extra exclusive tips from them.

Now, carrying on with QOTD:

QOTD: How do you get over exam nerves?

For me, acknowledging that I’m nervous before the exam and that it’s okay before I distract myself makes me feel much calmer. In an actual exam, I usually cover my ears and try and focus on what I’m reading to get out of my head 😅.

PS: This is my first informative post - please don’t judge 🙈! And if you’ve found it helpful, please reblog so that others can see these tips too ☺️.

[lovesbitca8]

Reactions to the Final Chapter of The Auction (1/?)

@abitchytrashcan​ said: Thank you so much to the alphabet team and you for creating this beautiful masterpiece, You somehow managed to make me cry while I was reading the ending. You broke my heart into pieces and somehow managed to fix it in record time, A perfect end to a painfully beautiful story, I shall now reread and go back to the canon of TRRTD and ATWT to cope with this empty hole where my heart should be. 👏👏👏

Anonymous said: First of all: Congrats on finishing the wonderful piece of art that is TA!!!! But Juls. How. could. you. do. this. I neeeeeed to know what is going to happen nooooooow?? Are they siblings? Is this magical incest now? Will that stop them? Will Panville happen in this universe? Gaaah! Even if those questions will never be answered - thank you again for sharing this with us. I feel truly blessed.

Anonymous said: I have no words. I really cannot thank you for your brilliance enough. I have been on such a journey with this story for over a year and you have truly ruined me forever in the best ways possible. That said, how could you not give us the reunion sex and Hermione saying I love you!?!??!!!?!?!? (I’m joking but also heartbroken) 💔💔😰😭😭😭😳🤯😠🥺🥺🥺🥺 hoping that appears in all right at some point but still thank you always I will be returning to this fic for years to come 🧡

Anonymous said: You legitimately changed my life with this story. Not me being able to HEAR Draco’s commentary in my head at the very end because you allowed us to know your Draco so personal in all the wrong things. Girl I know he was thinking look at me. 🤭 I am blown away my brain will be repeating this ending for days on end. I will probably reread the entire SERIES this week even though it’s my college finals and I am already suffering. At least let my heart and soul suffer too

Anonymous said: I’ve been reading you’re “Rights and Wrongs” series on ao3 and all I can think about is how much I would love a Hogwarts Era addition. Anything Hogwarts Era—an altered house or an earlier Dramione or even a no Voldemort AU. I’m just so in love with you’re characterization and your dialogue and really just your writing in general! Hope you’re well!!

I’ve written some Hogwarts Era fics (you can find them on my Ao3), but I won’t be doing anything specifically from the Rights and Wrongs universe in a Hogwarts Era AU. <3

Anonymous said: I never want to come across as the demanding or entitled reader forcing you to do anything bc I am genuinely so appreciated that you share any of your writing with us at all. I would literally pay you to write an epilogue or another chapter either in the auction or as part of all right bc I cannot survive without knowing where Draco has been and what he’s been up to, Hermione finally being able to tell him she loves him in person, and that reunion sex BOTH the night before he goes to Azkaban and immediately when he gets out LMAO. I’m sorry as much as I love Draco, YOU, JULES, HAVE BEWITCHED ME BODY AND SOUL AND HEART AND MIND AND I’m permanently incapable of recovering from this 🧡

Anonymous said: Will we get to know what Draco was up to when he was away? Also, I died a little after the grand finale of the auction. Thank you so much for everything and I love you so much.

Lol just kidding. No further stories/epilogues are planned. The story ends there with the intention that the timelines converge with The Right Thing To Do. The HEA is implied. We talked in more depth about where Draco was on the podcast, but essentially he was at an uncharted Malfoy estate with Kreacher. 

Anonymous said: SPOILER WARNING HELLO please..... my soft little heart at the nod to pansy x neville....... i literally teared up i adore them so 😭😭😭 the ending trials were wonderful and sad in all the right ways, you’re brilliant at writing tension! and the bittersweet moment with ron, ugh, perfect. the end of an era!! i almost don’t want it to be so!!!

user062900 said: I’m crying I’m actually crying what a journey wow. I just have no words I’m i just it’s so beautifully written and perfect. Thank you so much for writing the series it gave me an insane amount of joy to look forward to every chapter❤️❤️❤️

Anonymous said: I can't believe that the Auction is over. I started to read it after you updated to chapter 19, first WIP I ever read, and I just finished chapter 41. Your writing is utterly gorgeous and I 'm so happy I competed to reading literally all of your writing. The last chapter was like a punch in the gut, in the best way. There was a happy ending without any sacrifices of plot or character development. But I still really want to know what Draco was up to in his boxers, and where he got his clothes.

Anonymous said: I've finished reading TA (beautiful btw 100/10) & decided to spend the whole night catching up on TRTTD & the pinning - ugh ✨immaculate✨ i love the way you write draco love for hermione & vice versa, to be willing to sacrifice everything for a person without expecting ANYTHING in return nor knowing if the feelings are mutual but that doesn't matter b/c you love them so much.😭😭Sorry for the long ask but TA & TRTTD had me on an emotional rollercoaster that I had to show my love for them. I hope you're doing well!💖

docmartinis said: ahh the final chapter made me cry :( i loved it tho, amazing work !!

mxstyassasxin said: Ahskfhagafskdhshk!!!!!!! I LOVED IT! Thank you so so much for writing such brilliance. The links with TRTTD were perfect 💖 I'm so damn happy right now!!

Anonymous said: I’M CRYING!!!! That ending killed me. This story will haunt me for years

Anonymous said: I love that you had it end at Cornerstone. The dance allusion. Full circle indeed. I am speechless.

puresteph said: Just want to say, I loved the ending! You all did fabulous and although I will miss it, I hope you all have a lovely rest, drink some beverage of your preference, your world has been a big part of my 2020 and has been there when I truly needed it. I will be forever grateful to you for that. I’m totally doing a reread in the New Year! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! 💚

Anonymous said: The ending was beautiful. I was at the edge of my seat waiting for when they would be reunited and it was perfect. The threads and knots that you have woven through the entire universe all met up at a single place. It was fitting in a way of taking a breathe and releasing it! This entire project was filled with soo much noise that the quietness of the ending is truly fitting. It’s like when the background music of a movie quiets out slowly after being loud throughout the whole movie.

[holdingsload4]

Drivers Casio USB Devices

CASIO USB Sync 2003. CASIO USB Sync 2002. CASIO USB Sync 2001. All CASIO smartphones. Are you tired of looking for the drivers for your devices? January 30, 2021 admin Input Devices Leave a Comment on CASIO WK-110 USB MIDI DRIVER DOWNLOAD Casio WK Drivers Download. All the other versions of Windows seem to be supported.

Audio Stream Input/Output (ASIO) is a computer sound card driver protocol for digital audio specified by Steinberg, providing a low-latency and high fidelity interface between a software application and a computer's sound card. Whereas Microsoft’s DirectSound is commonly used as an intermediary signal path for non-professional users, ASIO allows musicians and sound engineers to access external hardware directly.

USB Audio ASIO driver helps you connect USB audio interfaces to music applications via ASIO at latencies down to 4ms. Features: USB-audio support for ASIO compatible applications like Cubase. CASIO USB Sync 2003. CASIO USB Sync 2002. CASIO USB Sync 2001. All CASIO smartphones. CASIO USB Sync 2001. CASIO USB Sync 2002. CASIO USB Sync 2003. Are you tired of looking for the drivers for your devices? DriverPack Online will find and install the drivers you need automatically. F) Click Next to run the Hardware and Device Troubleshooter. Method 2: Disable and re-enable all the Universal Serial Bus controllers (USB) controllers. The USB controllers represent the USB ports in Device Manager. To disable and re-enable the USB controllers, follow these steps: a) Open Device Manager. B) Expand Universal Serial Bus controllers.

ASIO bypasses the normal audio path from a user application through layers of intermediary Windows operating system software so that an application connects directly to the sound card hardware. Each layer that is bypassed means a reduction in latency (the delay between an application sending audio information and it being reproduced by the sound card, or input signals from the sound card being available to the application). In this way ASIO offers a relatively simple way of accessing multiple audio inputs and outputs independently. Its main strength lies in its method of bypassing the inherently high latency and poor-quality mixing and sample rate conversion of Windows NT 5.x audio mixing kernels (KMixer)[citation needed], allowing direct, high speed communication with audio hardware. Unlike KMixer, an unmixed ASIO output is 'bit identical' or 'bit perfect'; that is, the bits sent to or received from the audio interface are identical to those of the original source, thus potentially providing higher audio fidelity. In addition, ASIO supports 24-bit samples, unlike Windows NT 5.x MME and DirectSound which truncate 24-bit samples to the upper 16 bits, whereas Windows NT 6.x mixer provides 32-bit floating point output. Higher bit-depth samples offer the potential for a higher signal-to-noise ratio.

Casio WK Drivers Download. All the other versions of Windows seem to be supported.. I would have a MIDI-file on the tablet that plays through the interface on a digital piano. I’m still unfortunately recording midi-less? Apr 27,

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Needs USB-MIDI Driver For WK 110 Piano for Windows 7(64 Bit)

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Finally, this Christmas, I got around to writing a driver for it.

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Seems to have drivers for Windows acsio Mac only. Visit the product website and obtain the 64 bit version of its driver for windows vista.

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The CTK should as well. Casio WK drivers are tiny programs that enable your Music Keyboard hardware to communicate with your operating system software. The display shows only t t t t t t.

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[myrxellabaratheon]

2,8,22,31

2. What's your shortest fic? What's your longest? My shortest fic is Soul Broken while my longest is It's a person that can see the bright side through the dark times when there ain't one

8. Who are some of your favorite authors in your fandom? I'll answer about GOT/ASOIAF and specifically Throbb and I'll go with @janiedean

22. Do you reply to comments? I try to, sometimes I manage to, sometimes I don't. It generally depends on how much time I have on my hands and what kind of comment is left on a fic because generally I don't like people coming to bash on other ships in my comment section (at least it's a ship I made some not-so-nice comment in the fic itself) and I don't know how to answer to keyboard smashes/emojis in ways which isn't "I'm glad you liked the fic" BUT I love and treasure every comment I receive. (Not so much the ship bashing ones)

31. Do you listen to music while writing? Generally I don't. I mostly write in English which isn't my mothertongue and if I listen to music (which I also listen to in English) I tend to focus too much on the songs words, trying to see if they can fit characters/plots and I lose focus on the fic I'm writing.

[musingsofamurderess]

Again with the Cheating

I just don't understand how/why people can be so possessive of other humans, especially ones they supposedly love. You don't OWN anyone and no one can OWN you, in this country, anyway. Marriage is an agreement of best intentions, not a deed for slavery.

Some people just aren't monogamous, if they can be honest about it. There's nothing wrong with not wanting to be with the same person romantically for the rest of your life. People change, life changes, and while sometimes those things bring people together, sometimes those same forces drive them apart.

Our culture and society teach us that monogamy is "right" but biologically, that's certainly not the case for men, whose bodies are made such that they can produce viable offspring all year round, or even women, most could benefit from 1 or more male caretakers to help raise a child. If they're healthy relationships where everyone is getting what they need/want romantically, what's the problem? (Reference ethical polyamory if you want to learn more about this notion as I don't have all night.) Why can't we each do what we feel is best for our happiness and children and just be happy that everyone else can do the same?

The problem is, some of you strictly monogamous people shame and degrade non-monogamous people who, had they been born into a society that welcomed both these relationships types (mono or poly), would have been ethically polyamorous.

Instead what seems like our entire culture and society feeds into this toxic jealousy-fueled mono-only system that isn't so much about love and the reality of relationships, human nature, and child bearing, as it is about one old book written by men, made of choice documents agreed upon, arranged and edited by men about 1700 years ago.

For these reasons, and MANY more, I always urge people to do some soul searching. Who are you, and what do you want from relationships? What makes you happy and secure in life? And if the answer involves one willing monogamous partner, so be it! If it doesn't...SAME! Whether you need one person, multiple people or no one at all to feel romantically satisfied and otherwise happy and secure in your life, it's a matter of PREFERENCE not RIGHT AND WRONG!

When you call someone a "cheater" although neither of you may be aware of it yet, you're insulting the very base fabric of their being in regard to capacity and type of human interactions they prefer. If you don't want to be with someone who has trouble being monogamous, JUST LEAVE. Stop trying to guilt and shame them for having different basal desires, needs, and standards for themselves.

"Cheating" is sometimes a misnomer used to insult polyamorous people who may not have ever considered that option as valid or viable. Sometimes "cheaters" are just people who have grown apart or away from those they used to truly connect with, and they should be allowed to choose whether to try and "fix" a monogamous relationship, or leave and pursue other options, just as the person who was "cheated on" has the same choice.

If you want to be treated like an equal, stop making moral and value judgements on the people you supposedly love and just make your choice known, it's that simple. Either you can agree like adults to stay together or be separated, OR you can choose to hurt each other by lying about your nature (what you truly want and need), imposing your thoughts, feelings, and opinions on the other person (disvaluing their thoughts, feelings, and opinion), or any other unhealthy way of expressing discontent and not listening and talking to each other honestly, as you are.

********

Religious Monogamists can be such jerks. Some people just love to feel like they can claim ownership over other human beings. Where I come from, that's called slavery.

I see marriage as a mutual commitment of best intentions, if it doesn't work out, so be it. People change and life changes. We should promote relationship culture that allows everyone to seek, find, and enjoy their own romantic happiness with another consenting adult or other consenting adults.

When people who believe in strict marriage requirements talk about it, it's pretty easy to pick out flaws in the "monogamy only and forever" system, ex. when one partner doesn't the another as a true equal.

If you can't allow your partner to be happy, no matter what that means, you aren't in a relationship of equality and you should leave. Period. If you find you're unhappy in a relationship and want to leave, you should leave. Period.

Apparently some people need a lesson in equality and human rights.

Jul 18 2020

AFTERWORD

Just to be clear, I have nothing against monogamy. I dislike anyone who says/thinks their way is the only way and tries to pressure, guilt, or otherwise push/force others to meet their standard of normality.

[tsunnychan]

a change of pace: new year’s celebrations

i can finally rest.... this is the last piece of sylvgrid i’ll write for the next few months to come

it’s been a crazy run (I have never written so much since high school) and every second has been enjoyable

reconnecting and making new friends @shining-jul-of-hope and @nicolewrites to die on the new sylvgrid hill :). i might not be writing or as active, but i’ll definitely be reading!!

ao3 

summary: on the brink of the New Year, Ingrid recounts the friendships she's made and the ones maintained.during the actual countdown, she thinks of something else.

-

It is about five o’clock in the evening on New Year’s Eve, but that didn’t stop Sylvain from bringing out the alcohol and board games. Currently, there’s a rather large gathering around the dining table to watch, apparently, the most intense game of Monopoly to date. Hilda and Marianne stand behind Claude, looking over his shoulder and counting the amount of properties he owned. Meanwhile, Annette is pulling on Felix’s arm as she verbally counts out loud how many properties and railroads Sylvain owns as he casually waves off her concerns, gesturing for Petra to roll the dice, Ashe sitting to her right explaining the rules. Once she does, the sounds of simultaneous glee and frustrated groans erupt immediately after, several hands reaching for their drinks, grumbling as they took more shots.

Ingrid snorts into her drink as she watches Sylvain and Claude exchange high-fives across the table, while Petra holds up a handful of rainbow paper in confusion with Ashe frantically trying to explain the different values of money.

She mutters to herself, “those two should never be allowed to play boardgames together…”

She’s just about to take another sip when a warm arm wraps around her waist and a teasing voice singsongs into her ear, “Ooh, Ingie! Scoping out which boy you’d like to smooch tonight?”

Ingrid chokes and almost spits out her drink.

Thankfully, Dorothea waves off any worried glances sent their way with a wink, patting Ingrid’s back not-so apologetically as she tries to catch her breath.

Face red and still coughing, Ingrid glares at the innocent smile on her friend’s face. “That is not what I’m doing.”

Dorothea sighs dramatically and slides into the stool next to her, resting her elbows on the countertop. “Pity. I’m sure one of them would’ve enjoyed that.”

Despite not drinking anything, Ingrid almost chokes again. Her mind briefly flashes to the jade pendant in her room before she violently pushes the thought away, hoping, praying, the sudden heat on her cheeks is passable for alcohol. She whips her head over to friend, eyes narrowing. “What do you mean by that?”

The mock-forlorn expression on Dorothea’s face melts into one of mischief. “Oh, Ingie. I’m not one to spill other people’s secrets.” She wiggles her fingers at her, the blue gemstone of her ring sparkling under the kitchen lights. Dorothea winks again. “Besides, you know I’d much rather keep you to myself.”

Ingrid sighs, exasperated, but smiles anyway. She sips at her drink carefully, not wanting a repeat performance of earlier. “Well, all of that aside, I’m glad you like the ring enough to wear it often. I’m not very good at picking out jewelry… but I really wanted to thank you. You saved me from a huge headache.”

Just thinking about that disastrous blind date from last year makes her nauseous. At her father’s request, she’d agreed to meet with a potential business partner, interested in bailing out her father’s company and taking over production costs. These requests had steadily streamed in after… Glenn’s accident, so it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, nor anything she couldn’t handle on her own.

So, she went to the meeting alone.

It’d been some distance away from Garreg Mach, closer to Mittelfrank Opera House, and a corner of her mind began sending her warning signals. She stood across the street from the appointed address, and she just couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. Then, a slim arm looped around hers and tugged, a sweet voice gasping, loud and abrasive, “Oh, Ingrid! This is where you were? You should’ve told me you got lost! I would’ve escorted you myself!”

And suddenly, she and this mystery brunette were flying down the street and she was thrust through the doors of the opera house. Ingrid was still busy trying to catch her breath and figure out how this girl new her name and why that gut feeling of hers disappeared.

The doors slammed shut and Ingrid flinched. She looked up, the other girl dusting off her clothes and rearranging her skirt. She looked vaguely familiar… Before she could voice her thoughts, the other girl made eye contact and smiled. “Well, Ingie, I’d say we dodged a huge bullet there. Perhaps, literally.”

Several thoughts ran through Ingrid’s mine, but the first one that came out was, “Ingie?”

She received a coy smile in response. “Ingrid Galatea, right? Sylvain’s friend?”

Ingrid’s head swirled even more. “How do you know Sylvain? Wait, don’t answer that—”

At that, the other girl threw her head back and laughed, so freely, that Ingrid wondered what she’d said. She watched as the other gleefully wiped tears from her eyes, smile wide on her face. “Oh, Ingrid. Sylvain is cute, but…” she winks, and Ingrid feels herself flush. “He’s not my type.”

Seeing her confusion, the other girl’s playful smile turned gentle. “In all seriousness, we worked part-time jobs together. He comes to the opera house now and then to help out and relax. He talks about you all the time”

After a few more moments of silence, Ingrid finally forced out the questions she meant to ask. “Who are you? And why did you bring me here?”

A mixed expression flashed over her face, but it’s not there long enough for Ingrid to recognize. “I’m Dorothea Arnault. I’m actually in the year above you, which is probably why you haven’t seen me around before… and as a Blue Lions’ kid, I doubt you’ve been around the Black Eagles dorms very often. As for bringing you here…”

Ingrid felt a sudden chill as Dorothea’s eyes turned hard. “Let’s just say that scumbag businessman you were going to meet? The only thing he has to his name is blood money.”

She freezes. “What?”

Dorothea scowled and crossed her arms. “He’s a frequent visitor to the opera house, donating this or that. Our company looked him up and we’ve banned him for life.”

“How did you know where I was going?”

Dorothea sighed heavily. “The opera house may have banned him, but we don’t have the power to remove someone from the city. That building you were going to? That’s his base of operations. He’s got this whole region wrapped around his pinky with blackmail.”

Ingrid shifted uncomfortably, dread settling in her stomach with this new information. She was going to have to write her father back. Another thought popped into her head. “I might be Sylvain’s friend, but you’ve never met me before. How did you know it was me?”

Dorothea laughed again, shaking her head. “Ingie, Sylvain paints a very vivid picture of the best friend who cleans up after him.”

Ingrid couldn’t help but scoff and roll her eyes, muttering, “Sylvain…”

Dorothea walked to her side and held out her hand. “As insufferable as he is, he does care. He’d cover my shifts so I could come back here to perform. So… any friend of his, is a friend of mine.”

Ingrid felt the corner of her mouth lift and took the proffered hand. “He does have his redeeming qualities, doesn’t he?”

Dorothea laughed again and linked their arms together. “That he does. Speaking of performances, we have one in a few hours. How would you like to stay and help? As a thank you to your lovely savior?”

Ingrid flustered. “Well, I’m not much of a performer—”

“Then how about you stay and watch? I’ll even give you a make-over, free of charge.”

“I thought you said this was my ‘thank you’ to you?”

Dorothea winked and bowed dramatically, and Ingrid realized exactly why Sylvain and Dorothea were friends. “And it would be such a gift to dress you, Miss Galatea.”

Ingrid wasn’t able to get many other words in edgewise, as Dorothea pushed her to the dressing rooms and threw her a slew of dresses to try on. A few weeks later, Ingrid nervously entered the Black Eagles dormitory for the first time and handed off a little black box to Dorothea. “I know this isn’t much and I’m not the best at picking gifts—”

She was promptly pounced upon after her new friend saw the glittering blue gemstone set in a simple band. She received an exaggerated, wet kiss on her cheek. “Oh, Ingie! You shouldn’t have!”

Ingrid laughed as Dorothea’s hold on her grew tighter. “You’re right. Maybe I shouldn’t have, if it’s going to give you the wrong ideas.”

Dorothea pulled back and smiled innocently. “Me? Never.”

Ever since then, she and Dorothea had met up regularly. She would always run by her father’s requests with her and they would go on the occasional shopping trips where Dorothea urged her to try on far too many clothes out of her comfort zone.

But even then, Ingrid appreciates it. Having grown up with brothers and having three additional headaches to monitor in the form of her childhood friends… it’s nice to be taken care of for the things she never cared about before.

Then, Dorothea reaches over and swipes her drink, finishing it off in one go, breaking her out of her reverie. Ingrid raises her eyebrows, growing apprehensive. Dorothea only ever pulls a stunt like that when she’s ready to talk her into something she will wholeheartedly not agree with. “…What are you plotting now, Thea?”

Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, Dorothea grins. “How about a little make-over?”

Four hours later, Ingrid now sits in her bathroom, fidgeting in a gauzy mint dress, as Dorothea adds another layer of eyeshadow. “Dorothea… is all of this really necessary?”

“Ingrid! Tonight’s a special occasion! Didn’t you say you would dress up for special occasions?”

She wrinkles her nose as Dorothea brushes over it with blush. “I’ve celebrated New Year’s with everyone before and I’ve never dressed up.”

Dorothea sighs and sets down her brushes with a clatter, and Ingrid takes this as her cue to open her eyes. She’s slightly taken aback at her reflection, gold glittering on her eyelids, cheeks rosy, lips glossed… She gulps. “Dorothea… what are you getting at with all of this?”

Her friend sighs again and sets her hands on her shoulders, resting her chin on top of Ingrid’s head. “Ingrid, were you really not scoping out a boy to smooch tonight?”

She splutters, “W-what? No! What does that have to do with anything?”

“Well, some of Fódlan folklore says the first person you meet on New Year’s and how you meet them, determines the rest of your year. And a kiss is for strengthening ties you want to maintain in the future.”

Ingrid’s face is impossibly hot and she wonders how strong the alcohol Sylvain bought really was… “W-what’s your point?”

“Not thinking about Claude or Sylvain?”

The heat in her face instantaneously spreads to the rest of her body and she physically bats away a laughing Dorothea. “No! Dorothea, why would you say that?”

Her friend shrugs, sly smile on her face. “No particular reason, just curious. You seemed so amused looking in their direction. I just wanted to know which of the two you were looking at.”

Ingrid stares at her friend in mortification, but only receives a wink in response. “Or maybe… both?”

Ingrid shoots up from her stool and covers her face, only to have her hands wrenched away. “Your make-up, Ingrid! Don’t smudge it!”

“Dorothea!”

Taking pity, Dorothea sighs and sits Ingrid back down, gently smoothing down her hair. “Relax, Ingie. I’m only teasing… mostly.”

Still burning in embarrassment, Ingrid mutters, “I was looking at them because I was thinking how they should never be allowed to play boardgames together… They’re going to drink everyone under the table at this rate.”

Dorothea snorts and begins to rifle through Ingrid’s jewelry collection. Her eyes land a new white box and she opens it. “Ingrid, when did you get this pendant?”

Ingrid’s eyes dart to the piece in question. “Oh. Sylvain bought that in Sreng for me as my Christmas present.”

Dorothea hums noncommittedly as she fishes out a delicate silver chain from her own jewelry box. She threads it through the pendant and places it around Ingrid’s neck, fastening the clasp.

Ingrid’s eyes widen. “Thea, isn’t this your chain—?”

“Hmm, think of it as a gift. You gave me a ring, and I’ll give you a necklace chain.”

Ingrid’s fingers hover over the jade pendant and Dorothea smiles at her in the mirror. “Pretty, isn’t it?”

  Reminded me of you.

  For the third time today, Ingrid feels herself flush.

Ingrid is two drinks into the night when she finally finds Sylvain leaning against the far wall of the living room, nursing a near empty cup with a similarly empty expression on his face. She joins him, shoulders brushing, only slightly worried when he didn’t so much as look in her direction. She purses her lips. “What, lose all that hard-earned money from Monopoly today?”

Sylvain blinks and his eyes adjust to her. He’s silent for a few more moments, studying her. Then, he laughs and shakes his head. “Well, you know Claude.”

She knocks his elbow with hers. “I also know you.”

He snorts. “That you do.” Then, “is that the necklace?”

Her stomach lurches suddenly and she forces herself to nod. “Yeah, it is. Dorothea gave me the chain for it.”

Sylvain is silent again, before the corner of his lips curl up. “It’s pretty. You look nice, Ingrid.”

There’s a blush burning on her cheeks yet again, and another that starts in the center of her chest. She swallows hard, their conversation on Christmas Eve pushing to the forefront of her mind. Of the words she didn’t say out loud. “Hey, Sylvain?”

“Hm?” His head rolls toward her, lazy smile on his face. The countdown to the New Year fades into the background and Ingrid never realized how golden his eyes could get. She drops her head to his shoulder abruptly, heat shooting down her spine. She’s definitely had one too many drinks.

“Ing?”

His hand is hovering over hers, and before she can overthink it, she grabs it and squeezes. She swallows the lump in her throat, trying not to think about the heat of his palm and how right it feels with his fingers slotted between hers. She forces herself to meet his gaze again. “I’m glad you’re home.”

She can hear Annette and Ashe scream, “Happy New Year!” from the other side of the room, but she’s focused on the pink in Sylvain’s cheeks and wonders if it’s from the alcohol he brought. A tight squeeze of her hand brings her eyes back to his. Somehow, the gold in his eyes melts even further and she’s lost. So lost, as her mouth dries when that small smile, just for her, grows on his lips. “Me too.”

And maybe not for the first time, if she’s honest with herself, Ingrid wonders what it would be like to kiss her best friend with the secret sunshine smile.