#shortest (second) presidency ever lets go

[cosmologicalspoon]

Manifesting that he has a stroke on his first day in office xx

likes to charge reblogs to cast

[agapesophy]

We need our political virtue back because American givers are native rage and international Charity becuase the minority is the screaming native, because foreign say whatever you fear the Navajo say Span or Mexico? Because I can be so rude and naive a clown because I cannot be ashamed of what a clown don't know, but I don't kiss and tell once a clown so taken advantage of. Squawk Barf Hand Bird Love with our hand shake of lotion wrong because Jay Bird don't enjoy being sexualized what you think wrong my hand shake because my love is better love than I could every know because I am confident clown to think so!

I had to be gay for daddy because I couldn't allow daddy suffer gay because it wrong a son to deny it but in refused a payment sayiny no I cannot take payment so no it so gay my loyalty I was gay for primate father and heavens fell better than hell because I wouldn't let a daddy be gay because I take the. Bullet asking to save daddy because this Diplomacy could never say no, but I stop because my heart and lungs a fire endless pleasure and then it stop because hell I told vulture at work the case, and you I never said never why? I don't ask for it so it don't happen as it wrong to take away an offer once given criminal fag, because loyalty is in fact the care I never had a civil complaint why Sue is a girls name.

Look the guy come up to you who rape primates like the joy of baboons he come for me in the senate and we see each other in clownsuits and he walk humping my leg gay and then I look at him wrong dog then he pay me for the rape of his company poof he no longer a dog and Ford is cooperation then other senators ashamed whatever they like it but we need to rape Nations for short term louns because we ain't going to make it without vice dictators and vice Presidents and vice Prime prime ministers became look he come in saying in clown suit who you we don't know anyone but our own because damn we don't take rewards for raping an oppressor never fuckiing oppressor because god damn we know what is going on here! Then he rape me too, fuck I was asking for it as look we trade the different currency because we ain't gay but what ever it pacify and so we both need to each virtue because I need to give his kind of virtue and he needs to give our virtue back because you don't want a foreign exchange oppressor because any tador is not your tador, but look they don't need to come over right after we.rape it became he come the vice clown and I say there aren't any gay people in this nation because I am loyal and then he hold my hand saying we love our rape without any inappropriate love just like last time, you know genius is any vice that doubts leadership could be wrong because we can do worng with the law because it respects. The rape of oppressors no longer oppressed because rape me my jay bird because she is a lady bird but she barf wrong on me and damn bird you look thin don't pluck a feather of mercy that did have Allah cry rape of the animal with out a dick the cry Isis because she ain't my God, my second lady she is my Goddess Isis who has got the worm of me!

llook if we don't let foreign companies pay us for rape then Diplomacy can't say no, because look the loyalty idea of no gay people here is wrong because why keep doing it as tolerance say it not funny because Tit and Tat is the justice I won't get accidently if I cannot enjoy surrender because the shortest straw can't give a damn to love oppression when the ladies knew I might be too good of an oppressor because fuck rape aped I know, because I don't understand but I trust what I do, I have three ladies worth a fuck but only one I wood but she wood know green eyed lady is the power of ancestors because trusting those who first loved me are the only ones who have power!

[rachelhargrovearchived]

For a moment she really did think CJ was being serious but with his own laugh giving him away, Rachel laughed as well giving a shake of her head. "You had me going there for a second." She wanted to let him know that OSHA was a government agency, not a company, but she felt like it didn't really matter all that much to correct him. And he did have a good point. "Y'know...that is pretty weird. I don't think I've ever really even realized that until you just pointed it out." Rachel pondered the reasoning for that for a moment before directing her attention back at CJ. Her eyes lit up, practically showing the lightbulb that had just come on above her head. "Well you're in luck! You do not even have too look further! I've been volunteering with the teens at True Colors. If you want to start come hangin' out, and maybe we can do some excursions to the indoor pool and I'm sure some of the kids still might not know how to swim?" She certainly was not trying to suggest to him that he should volunteer just so he could be on the float, but it was one way to secure a spot. Rachel grinned when he called her pun terrible. "Guilty as charged and happy about it." She laughed giving an innocent shrug. "Me? Oh for sure James Madison. He was the shortest president."

@cjwelford

“They’re very important to me, representation matters,” He responded, attempting to be dry but he couldn’t stop the chuckle from leaving him. He never got how people could deliver funny lines completely deadpan. “Damn, good for them I guess. It’s so awesome and weird when you discover companies do a bunch of stuff! Like Bic selling pens, razors and lighters!” It wasn’t exactly the same but it was the only example he could think of. “It’d be sick to be part of the parade somehow, I’ll have like 6 months to figure it out. Once I work it out, I’ll get you in it as well.” He liked to celebrate everything as hard as he possibly could, from Thanksgiving to St. Patrick’s Day. “Tsk, terrible pun,” He joked but he couldn’t he’ll but laugh anyway. “What president would you be?”

@rachelhargrove

[nikrangdan]

enhypen x short!reader

pairing: enhypen x short!reader

genre: fluff, comedy

description: how enhypen would react to a short reader!!! this was requested btw i hope u guys like 😁 ive written separate headcanons for sunghoon and jay before but i wrote more here anyways 😏 THERES A COUPLE CUSS WORDS IN HERE

———————

HEESEUNG:

okay lets get this straight

hes literally the tallest member in enha

and then ur the shortest in ur friend group

POWER COUPLE ⁉️⁉️⁉️

im literally crying bc when u guys are standing facing each other heeseung is just looking straight over ur head LIKE UR NOT EVEN IN HIS LINE OF SIGHT

and THIS is why he always has his arm around ur shoulder or he makes sure ur holding onto his arm or smthn

HE WANTS U TO BE WITH HIM AT ALL TIMES BC SOMETIMES HE CANT SEE U☹️☹️☹️

and when hes practicing he likes to bring u up to dance with him

like he holds ur hands and u just try to 💃🏻🕺🏻💃🏻 with justin bieber playing in the background

“i cant dance heeseung u know this” u stare up at him

“i know just vibe to the music~”

he finds it hilarious so hes giggling the whole time u two do a little jiggy

AND THEN HE GETS ALL SOFT AND TURNS U AROUND TO BACKHUG U AND FACE THE MIRRORS and he watches u guys sway back and forth slowly to the music

he loves the height difference and hes always looking at it in mirrors

JAY:

*takes a deep breath* ... JAYYYYYY‼️‼️

he probably mentioned how short u are a couple times when you first met but i dont think he would be the type to constantly point out ur height and tease u or smthn

BUT!!!!! he loves it

alot of clothes you like are often too big for you and hes like

I Am Here To Rescue You From Distress, My Love

Ur so thankful for him!!!

he loves finding clothes for you

shirts arent a big problem its mostly the pants

AND HE LIKES BUYING U PLATFORM SHOES

he says “u look so good”

Jay ur superman 🔥

idk he just thinks ur so cute

he likes to stare at u like 🥰🥰☺️☺️

❤️_❤️

Jay has such big heart eyes for u AAAAAA

when u two are in the kitchen u arent able to reach the high cupboards

SO HE BOUGHT U A HELLO KITTY STOOL

one time he stood on it and was like “y/n look”

you literally almost broke your neck trying to see him because HE WAS SO HIGH IN THE AIR

so high u were like “u got enough oxygen up there⁉️⁉️”

and then he said “u look like an ant” and he started dying at his own joke

But he never pulled that stool stunt again bc u attacked him viciously🤗🤗🤗

JAKE:

Wait im crying already

everytime i write about jake i have to take a break

hes literally too much for my heart

Okay

HE GIGGLE.....

he GIGGLE!!!!!!!

HE GIGGLES AT EVERYTHING U DO

Hes so obsessed with u its not even funny

he probably loves u more than u love him AND HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE BC HES JAKE SIM

His favorite thing ever is when sit in between his legs and ur back against his chest yknow

when u guys watch movies he feeds u popcorn like that

IM GONNA SAY THIS FOR ALOT OF THEM BUT

Head Pats!!!!!

He pats ur head alot or ruffles ur hair alot

and hes just so gentle with u

Ur like his little baby >_<

HIS BIG JACKETS WAIT

Jakes big fluffy bulky jackets

he wants u to wear them

and he

he zips them up all the way and puts the hoodie over ur head

and he just dies of laughter

Ur standing there like 🧍🏻‍♂️

“its getting hot in here jake”

you tried to flick the hood off but the chunky sleeve mixed with ur short arm was not a good combination so you couldnt even raise your arm

That made jake lose it and he just fell to the floor in tears😭

but seeing him so happy made u 🥰☺️ kinda so its okay

SUNGHOON:

Hello hand holder

i say this whenever write for hoon

but this guy🤝🤝🤝

Get those hands ready yall

mmm okay

he probably calls u shorty whenever he teases u

Rude ass 🙄

ur like “😐” and hes like

“im sorry” *attacks u in a very messy and unmannered hug to the point where u fall back onto the couch and almost break ur leg*

i bet he holds stuff up in the air so u have to jump up and attempt to get it😭 so evil

but he doesnt like seeing u suffer for too long so he gives it to u after like 5 seconds 😁

he teases u alot but when ur out in public hes like Bodyguard Hoon

Hes not letting anything happen to u!!!!

once again HES HOLDING UR HAND AT ALL TIMES

one thing he says he doesnt like but we all know hes lying is when u like to jump on his back and force him to give u a piggyback ride

he just accepts it

one time u fell asleep on his back and he was like

“uh y/n”

silence

yeah he eventually plopped u on the couch which woke u up

SUNOO:

Sunoo thinks ur so adorable 💧_💧

like u two could just be sitting next to eachother watching something

and u have ur legs pulled up to ur chest and ur arms wrapped around them with ur chin on ur knees

you hear him giggling to himself

u look over like ......🤨 “what”

“nothing y/n *giggles again* ur just so cute”

ur like Staaaaawwp and u push his shoulder

and then he pushes u back

AND THEN U START FIGHTING

Play fighting ****

u guys laugh so much 😭😭

sunoo likes to talk about you alot

to everyone

literally everyone

to the boys: “omg y/n fell trying to reach the garlic LMAO”

to his mom: “y/n went up to this guy thinking it was me and pushed him it was so funny”

to his instagram: “how did y/n fit through my neighbors doggy door and why”

PLEASE when u two have arguments for fun

u go jump on the couch so u can be taller than him

and u just stare at eachother before bursting out into laughter

he loves to show u off aaaa “heres y/n” ☺️☺️☺️☺️

JUNGWON:

EXPECT TEASING AT LEAST ONCE A DAY

Please i think id cry if i was friends with jungwon (AND NI-KI)

he play too much 😫 he actually has no chill

“can u reach this y/n? or should i carry you *evil laugh*”

but besides from the teasing he adores u so much

and theres some things you arent able to do

But hes so happy to do it for you!!! he loves feeling like hes doing smthn for u

He always has this proud dad look on his face whenever u literally do ANYTHING

u could literally pick a twig off the ground and jungwon would go 😊 thats my y/n

he likes to massage ur legs when ur just chilling on ur bed or smthn

hes got one hand massaging ur legs and his other hand massaging his own legs

“i’ll make us grow taller y/n!”

“what??? you don’t need to be taller jungwon, i do!!” u snatch the hand hes using to massage his own leg and plant it right back on ur own legs

he starts laughing really hard and u think ur the president of comedy now 🔥🔥

he likes feeling tall when hes with u

but he also likes being babied 🙁🙁

Plz give him head kisses and cheek pinches

NI-KI:

This kid is literally a titan

and hes crazy

picks u up BRIDAL STYLE and starts running around the room like an animal

like WHAT ???????

he says its because you’re the only THING around and he needs the exercise

and this kid is a teaser too😫😫

“y/n can you hand me the cereal up there? oh wait you cant”

you turn around like What the hell did u just say...

yeah he got a smacking that day

NO BUT SOMETIMES HE BE TAKING THE JOKES TOO FAR AND RIGHT AFTER HE SAYS IT HES LIKE

“im just kidding i didnt mean it”

Anyways

ni-ki is also very sweet

he offers piggyback rides and makes u little gifts

one time u got a cramp from being on ur tippy toes too long

he was laughing at first but then he saw ur eyes welling up with tears and he ran to u really fast 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

ALSO WHEN U HOLD HANDS you both always stare bc THE SIZE DIFFERENCE PLLLZZZSSMMMNXX

heres an analogy

ni-ki hands : whale :: y/n hands : seahorse

LITERALLY U CANT EVEN SEE UR HANDS ANYMORE

they just vanish into thin air and u guys think its peak comedy

“whered ur hand go y/n 💀”

[fandork]

Tag 9 people you want to get to know better

i've done this one here:

but i guess some answers are different by now, so it'll be fun for a second go.

tagged by @saturnskyline and @mightymightygnomepriest thank you both! :)

Three Ships

Classics Edition:

Kuramiyu (Daiya no Ace)

DaveKat (Homestuck)

TimKonBart (DC)

First Ever Ship

that's still palletshipping.

Last Song

Venom -- Stray Kids

Last Movie

still Everything Everywhere. i don't watch movies often.

Currently Reading

now I'm really being guilted into starting Rhythm of War.

Currently Watching

waiting on new shows to start airing to replace the ones that just finished. this is the shortest my watchlist has been in over a year.

Ameiro Paradox

Gap

My School President

Never Let Me Go

The Warp Effect

Weak Class Hero 1

Currently Consuming

water

Currently Craving

i! am! getting ice cream later! (i want it now.)

Tagging:

i wimped out on tagging the last time because i think most people have done it already, but i mean, i'm doing it twice, so why not? feel free to ignore! @pharawee @liyazaki @burritosong @too-raph @springkitten @smyx @paalove @jagged1 @emberfaye

[aimeelouart]

Here is a prompt worthy of only the best cloud tormenters: The reason the family name is 'Strife' is because all who carry the bloodline are cursed with supernaturally catastrophic bad luck. The presence of a Strife activates murphy's law. It is exacerbated by negative emotion, and is a feedback loop of chaos and destruction.

My brain said NEW AU SERIES and I am powerless to resist. Baby Mine is now included in this universe.

Murphy’s Law - 1036 words, no pairings, Angeal Hewley & Cloud Strife, dimension-hopping

Trigger warning: very brief moment where someone thinks someone else committed suicide

--

There was a man sunbathing on the roof of the Tower, over the President's office. Since the security footage showed that he'd gotten up there using enhancements (though no one was sure how he'd gotten to the top floor in the first place), he was assumed to be a particularly reckless SOLDIER and the nearest First was called to deal with him.

Unfortunately, that meant Angeal had to trudge up to the top floor and mete out punishment to what was, in all likelihood,  a dumb teenager high off his first mako injections. With a sigh, he snapped his PHS shut and made his way up.

Except, he didn't find a teenager on top of the roof when he climbed up. He found a man who looked a bit older than him, maybe twenty-five to twenty-eight, which was strange because there were very few SOLDIERs that age, and none of them were stupid enough to sunbathe over the President's office.

The man pulled one hand from where it was crossed behind his head and waved lazily. "Howdy," he said, not even bothering to open his eyes. "Come to kick me out, SOLDIER?"

"Hm," Angeal said, narrowing his eyes and taking a moment to really look at the man. He had long blonde hair, wild and unkempt, pulled into a ponytail at the base of his neck by a pink ribbon. A matching Ribbon was tied around his bicep, but that was equipment, not an accessory. His clothing looked like a SOLDIER First uniform, if you tilted your head and squinted: a black ribbed shirt with a high neck that zipped up the front, a short-sleeved shirt beneath that, baggy black cargo pants, mismatched gloves. There was no stomach guard, and his sword harness didn't look like any standard design Angeal had ever seen. Most strikingly, he had an enormous buster-type sword laying next to him, pressed snug against his side. 

Angeal was absolutely certain he'd never seen that sword before. He would have remembered a beauty like that.

"Take a seat," the man said, and Angeal noticed the dark circles beneath his eyes and the pale color of his lips. "I'll be gone in a minute anyway. No point in arresting me when it'll just cause problems for you."

"Oh?" Angeal asked, moving closer and dropping down into a crouch. Something was going on here. He felt it best to act cautiously until he knew what. "How do you figure?"

"Well, awkward questions tend to crop up when a prisoner vanishes on your watch."

"Very confident, for a man laying on the roof of the most secure building in the world. You sure you could get away from a First Class?"

The man snorted, cracking open one eye and looking at Angeal from the corner of it. His irises were dazzlingly bright, mako blue with an eerie ring of green (a green that matched Seph's eyes) around his pupil. A chill went down Angeal's spine at the brightness of the gleam. That was no Second or Third class level of enhancement. That was beyond even First Class. Beyond even Sephiroth, though he rejected the thought immediately.

Ignorant to his growing alarm, the blond said "nothing to do with 'getting away,' Mr. First Class. I have no choice in the matter. It's just what's going to happen."

"Someone after you?" Angeal asked lightly.

The man closed his eyes and settled back with a sigh. "The universe, maybe. Or my family name. Or whoever cursed my family name. But a singular person? I wish. That would be old hat."

"Your...family name?"

"Strife," he replied with a laugh. "Fitting, isn't it? The name Strife, cursed to eternal Strife. And since I got the shortest straw of all, here I am. It gets worse with negative emotion and...well. Let's just say I've felt my share of negative emotion." He sat up and looked at Angeal very seriously, the intensity of his gaze killing the words Angeal wanted to say in response.

"This is stupid of me," the blond said,  "but I've never been particularly smart. Listen. There's a kid that's going to come here, probably. Wants to be a SOLDIER. Don't let him. Tell him to go home. Tell him to let the world take care of itself. Tell him he's not good enough, if you have to. Just make sure he stays far away from the Shinra Science Department."

Working past the sudden dryness in his throat, Angeal said, "a kid?"

"Cloud Strife," the man said. "His name is Cloud Strife. You really can't miss him. He looks like⁠—" he smiled, humorless. "Well. Me."

"Your...kid?"

The blond threw his head back and laughed uproariously at the suggestion. "Ha! No. You'd be closer guessing twin, but even then, no."

A twin years younger than him? The man was crazy,  maybe from the mako, maybe from sleep deprivation, maybe just...crazy. Angeal ignored the uneasiness in his gut and decided it was time to end the whole charade, for everyone's sake. "Sure. Cloud Strife. I'll keep an eye out. Now, how about we get off the roof and get you to medical, huh?"

"Aww," the blond cooed at him, standing fluidly to his feet and picking up the sword. Angeal followed, watching him closely. "You're trying to help. That's cute, but no." His head tilted slightly. "Mm. Seven seconds left." He holstered the sword on his back. Angeal tensed, ready for him to bolt or attack.

He casually walked over to the edge of the roof⁠— and stepped off.

"Shit!" Angeal cursed, blurring to the edge in the hopes of...what? It was too late to save him from falling. Horror churned in his gut. Was this what the crazy man had meant by vanishing? Suicide?

But...when he looked over the edge of the roof, the man was gone without a trace. No body below, nothing in the airspace for miles around. He was just...gone.

Angeal leaned back, one hand going to his forehead as he felt his pulse slowly calm. The Turks would have security footage to know what really happened, but...well.

Maybe it wouldn't hurt to keep an eye out for Cloud Strife.

[rebelwrites]

Chapter Three: A New Home and Revelations

Summary // Chapter List / Masterlist

Join The TagList Here 💜

A/N: feedback is always accepted especially with this as I’d love to know your thoughts.

As Brooke walked through the airport she was glad to finally be able to stretch her legs. She had never been that good at flying so now it was over at least she could take a breath and somewhat relax. To the world she looked like a confident twenty one year old exploring the world but inside she felt like the scared little eight year old she once was.

Finally after scanning the arrivals hall she saw a couple holding a sign with her name written on. It took her a second to start walking towards them but as she did she felt a sense of familiarity about them, like she had met them in a past life. Taking a deep breath she pushed the feelings aside, smiling at them as she walked closer.

“Brooke right?” The woman smiled softly at her.

“Yeah that’s me” Brooke nodded as the guy took her suitcase from her.

“I’m Chris and this is my wife Laura” he smiled.

They quickly sensed that Brooke wasn’t in the mood for talking as they walked through the airport.

The drive to her new home was quiet, which she was grateful for, all she wanted to do was eat and take a nap. It had been a long flight, but she had a feeling that she wouldn’t be able to get a nap for a while.

Looking out the window she watched the trees and scenery as she headed to her new home. Soon enough the car came to a stop at a large set of metal gates. This was it, this would be home for who knows how long. She watched as Chris spoke to the guys guarding the gate. Pulling her headphones out she paused her music to listen to what they were saying but it was all in whispers so she gave up. The sound of a familiar rumble in the distance caught her attention. She knew that sound anywhere. As they drove into the property Brooke was shocked this place was huge, there were bikes racing about and a lot of fit guys. Maybe this place wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Once the car was parked she climbed out of the car, stretching her back, feeling the soothing of her bones cracking.

“Come on, first stop is meeting the president” Chris said as he hauled her suitcases out of the car.

“Is this some kind of democracy? Like you have your own President” Brooke said raising her eyebrow. Where the hell as she.

“All will come clear” Chris laughed holding his lighter out to light Brooke’s cigarette as well as his own “I have a feeling you are going to fit in perfectly”

Soon enough they were standing in a room that looked like an office, Brooke looked around seeing all of the pictures lining the white walls. Wherever she was, it looked like a big family.

"Prez this is Brooke her family sent her to live with me and Laura" Chris said nodding at the blonde who smiled, awkwardly waving a small wave as two more guys appeared.

One of them definitely caught her attention, and she couldn’t help but smirk. His golden hair, bright blue eyes and bulging muscles covered in tattoos. He was definitely a god and definitely Brooke’s type. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad living here with the eye candy she thought. Before mentaly scolding herself for practically drooling over the blonde god.

She was in a complete world of her own so she didn’t realise that the other guy was staring at her rather intently.

“Urm mate take a photo it lasts longer” she sassed “in fact scratch that I don’t know what the hell you would do with it.” All the guy could do was smirk which annoyed her.

“I mean the sass is there” he chuckled as he studied her face a bit harder. “Wait, it can’t be. Please tell me this isn’t a joke”

“Urm” Brooke said, extremely confused as everyone stared at her. To make matters more confusing everything and everyone seemed so familiar. Like she had been here before. There was something about this place that felt like home.

“Please tell me you actually brought her home” the dark haired guy said on the verge of tears.

"sorry don't know what you are on but I've never been here in my life" Brooke snapped as she fiddled with her lighter in her pocket.

“Yeah it’s definitely her Bro” Blonde god grinned.

“Can someone just tell me what the fuck is going on” Brooke huffed. She always hated being kept in the dark. Before she could process what was going on she the air was squeezed out of her in a bone crushing hug.

“I think you need to take a seat as we have some things to explain” Blonde god said, the power that radiated off him made Brooke want to submit to his every word. “Where have you been all this time?”

“Long story short, living in London, like causing trouble. Caused said trouble and my adopted parents sent me to live here and now I’m hella confused and I don’t like it” Brooke said as she played with her thumb ring, the one this she always did when she was nervous.

Around two hours had passed and Brooke learned that the dark haired guy was James, her older brother and blondie was Xavier. She was part of this family before she was kidnapped when she was around eight. Which tallied up with all her memories of the foster homes and that time she didn’t like to think about let alone mention. Every question or piece of information the boys have her made her head spin even more. She had so many questions but had no idea where to start. Whether it was from the confusion or lack of sleep she felt her eyes get heavy before everything went black.

The lads watched as Brooke’s knees gave way, without a second though Xavier was by her side wrapping his arms around her waist so she didn’t crash onto the floor. Adjusting his grip he laid her on the sofa that was in the office. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. The last time her saw her she was the shortest sassiest little eight year old known to man. He was honestly speechless as the woman laid in front of him.

“I can’t believe it’s her” he mumbled as he ran his hand through his hair. “I didn’t think we’d see her again” he took in her features but a couple of things caught his eye as her jacket slipped off her shoulder revealing some nasty scars, most of which looked like burns apart from the six inch scar that was definitely from a knife. Anger ran through his veins as his blood boiled, this was his bumble bee and he was ready to find the bastard that did this to her and make him pay for laying his hands on the girl.

“Xav” James called “now isn’t the time to be thinking about revenge okay, we need to take things slow this is a lot to take in”

“Yeah you are right” Xav sighed, pushing himself to his feet. Before walking out of the office, he needed some air.

“Xavier please tell me my eyes aren’t deceiving me and that was actually Brooke I saw go into your fathers office” hi mum smiled.

“Yeah mom it is” Xavier nodded.

“And you aren’t happy about that no?” She said softly knowing the internal battle her son was having.

“I couldn’t protect her mom” he sighed not making eye contact as his mind filled with the events of that day “that day was the worse day ever, I told her I wouldn’t let anything happen to her but I didn’t follow her and she’s been through god knows what”

It was Brooke’s eight birthday party, the compound was buzzing with excitement, as they were getting everything set up for the princess of the club.

Xavier barged into Brooke’s room to find her sitting on her bed colouring some unicorn.

"Bumble you wanna to come down to the pool with me and James" Xavier grinned watching her green eyes light up causing her to drop her crayon.

"get out of my room then you big oaf" she giggled trying to push him out of the room.

Xavier grinned even though he was 5 years older, everyone knew he would do anything for Brooke, their bond was like no other and she always went to him is she was upset or needed a cuddle after having a bad dream. Within five minutes he felt a small hand grab his before being pulled towards the pool.

“Last one there smells” Brooke shouted already running off, with her panda bear safely tucked under her arms, before reaching the edge of the pool, dropping the panda on the lounge chari and jumping into the water, not wasting any time.

The hours passed and the place was filled with giggles as the three of them messed about in the pool, until Brooke was growing tired and climbed out of the water.

"I'm going to go for a walk" she grinned pulling her dress over her wet bathing suit and grabbed her panda.the bear she took everywhere since Xavier won it at the fair for her last year.

"OK B stay where we can see you" James smiled as he tackled Xavier dunking him under the water.

After about 20 minutes that’s when there was an ear piercing scream that could be heard around the compound making everyone freeze. That was Brooke’s scream. The boys clambered out of the pool so fast running over to where the scream came from but they couldn’t see anything and were soon ordered by their fathers to go wait in the clubhouse.

Xavier sighed as the memory replaced in his mind.

“I should have followed her, I should have been there to protect her. I broke my promise to her” he said blinking back the tears that had formed.

"Hey you didn't know son" his dad said putting his hand on his son's shoulders.

"The thing is she doesn't even remember us, that’s what’s killing me more than anything, she doesn’t remember her family” Xavier snapped as the tears threatened to fall. "I'm going on a ride" He muttered leaving the room. He needed to clear my head, he was future president of the Blackstar Mc and he couldn’t let people see him like this. See him so weak.

One thing caught his eye as he stood on the main steps to the club house. A perfectly white kawasaki ninja pulled up the drive but he didn’t recognise the bike nor the number plate. He was so caught up over the bike he didn’t even realise that James was now by his side.

"Xav we need to talk" James said. Xavier knew what this was going to be about. "I'm talking to you as my best friend and not how a future vp would to his future prez right" he said running his hand through his hair.

"Ok bro fire away" Xavier nodded, sparking his smoke.

"I know how much you are tearing up right now, but we all are. We just found Brooke after so many years” James said “but I know that look Xav, that’s your I want this girl to be mine look”

“I can’t help it” Xavier sighed.

"I know bro, I know" James sighed "I just want to say I am fine with you being with her and couldn't think of a better person to be with her, but please protect her and don't freak her out because there are a lot of things we are going to have to explain to her." Xavier knew where James was coming from at the end of the day she was his blood.

[oskea93]

My Heart Has a History (4)

I couldn't believe I agreed to show up.

I watched as scantily-clad women walked around as men followed them like dogs after a bone. In a way, I felt kind of overdressed seeing as I was the only female that had a full wardrobe on. When Jax told me to meet him at this garage/clubhouse, I figured that it was a quiet setting. I thought maybe it would just be the two of us but I figured out that wasn't the case when I pulled up. "You're a little lost, sweetheart." I shifted my attention to a leggy blonde, who like the rest of the women barely had any clothing on. "This is a closed party and it looks like you aren't on the list." I was a little shocked but more pissed off that she would speak to me like that. First off, I had no idea there was a guest list or even a fucking party. Jax simply told me to show up tonight and that's what I did. This was my first time at this place and I found it very rude that she would speak to me in such a tone. "I didn't realize I needed an invitation." I simply said as I crossed my arms across my chest. She placed a fake smile on her face as she set her drink down and walked toward me. "Why are you even here?" I looked her over and immediately felt sorry for her. It was obvious that she was an attention seeker just by her choice of clothing. Her heels were sky high, showing off tan legs that I may or may not have been jealous of. Her skirt was the shortest one I've ever seen in my life and her breast were on full display in the top she was wearing. Not to mention, her face was caked with various cosmetics that looked like a bitch to take off at night. I straightened back up and made eye contact with her once again. "Jackson Teller invited me." Her smile only grew larger as she started to laugh. "Is that a joke, darling?" She stepped closer. "Jackson Teller has all that he needs tonight. There's no room for any wallflowers in Jax Teller's world." "Maybe Jax should be the judge of that." I tried to push past her but she moved every time I tried to dodge her. "I told you to leave, bitch." Her hand pushed against my shoulder, causing me to stumble a bit. I had never been in a fight before but I wasn't going to let some whore push me around. Without even thinking, my fist swung in the air and the girl fell to the floor. It was in that moment the people around us stopped what they were doing and stared as the girl wallowed on the ground. I was a bit shocked that I had hit someone and I kind of felt bad for doing so. I had yelled at plenty of people in the past but there was something about this girl that just set me off.

"What the hell is going on here?" A woman pushed through the crowd. "Ima?" She crouched down to her level and made sure that she was okay. "That stupid bitch needs to be arrested for assault!" I looked at her wide eyed as my anger began to take over once more. "I need to be arrested-" I began to shout. "You're the one who fucking pushed me first! You fucking deserved it, stupid whore!" The older woman helped the blond up, keeping her balanced. Her nose was all bloody as the liquid ran down her chin. "You're gonna fucking pay for this, gash." I narrowed my eyes at her as I began to step closer. I didn't make it very fair when a pair of arms pulled my body against theirs. "Get her out of here!" Jax's voice caused me to jump, realizing it was him who was holding me back. At first I thought he was talking about me since he was holding me down but he was talking about the blonde. I could tell that's not what she wanted to hear as the older woman helped her out of the room. Everyone went back to what they were doing once she was gone, not even caring for her well-being. Jax was still holding onto me as I turned around in his arms. "Sorry I ruined your party." I muttered. "I don't know what got into me to do that." He had a Cheshire-grin planted across his lips as he pulled my body further into his. Within seconds, his lips were attached to mine and I no longer cared about the poor blonde…. I couldn't believe she was still here.

I watched as she walked around, flirting with the guys and showing off the new implants some sucker bought for her. Aside from the new tits, she still looked the same. Long legs for days and a perfectly tan body to match. No wonder she could bed any man she wanted, she was a walking Fembot.

While Jax and I were married, I was certain that she had sunk her fangs into him. She was always around the guys and had to make an appearance at every party they had. I knew that the guys did business with CaraCara and it just so happens that Ima was one of the best in her field. From what I've heard, she could bend in any direction and make any man feel like he was king. I guess people are born with that type of talent.

"Presley." Gemma spoke. I snapped out of my thoughts and turned around to face her. Gemma knew my hatred toward Ima ran deep. When Jax and I first got together, she would egg on the hatred by telling me that Ima was at the clubhouse or that Jax had to go over to CaraCara for the day. I don't know what she was trying to do but she knew it got a rise out of me. "Is everything okay?" She asked, placing a hand on my arm.  I just nodded my head as I handed over Wyatt's favorite toy. "Wyatt left his toy in the car this morning and I know he gets a little fussy around naptime if he doesn't have it." She looked at the toy and then looked back to me. "You came all the way down here to bring a toy?" I looked at her confused. "I already put Wyatt down for his nap and he was fine without the toy." Okay, maybe I didn't come all this way to drop off Wyatt's toy. My plan was to run into Jax, instead of Gemma. I wanted to talk to him about what happened the other night and tell him that Matt was upset about the whole thing. "Is it a crime to bring my son his favorite toy?" I questioned back. She looked right through me and knew I was lying. "Jax'll be back soon." I rolled my eyes as she took the toy from my hands and headed towards the back room. I let out a sigh as I followed her lead. Wyatt was sound asleep on his father's bed, curled into the blanket that Gemma had made for him. His blonde hair was scattered across the pillow, a spitting image of Jax when he slept. Gemma simply laid the toy next to him and gestured for me to lay beside my son. "You look like you need a nap too, darling." She whispered as she took my bag and jacket from me. In a way, Gemma Teller was my guardian angel. There were times where I couldn't stand to be around her but I knew she was only looking out for me. She loved her family with all her heart and had the need to protect them at any time, especially when they’re pregnant. She was like a mother hawk when I was pregnant with Wyatt. I could barely do anything by myself without her being right beside me. She would show up at the shop and help with the orders if I was running behind and made sure that I was always accompanied to the OBGYN. She's still that protective mother bird even now that I'm pregnant with Matt’s baby. I want this little girl to know Gemma and Clay. I want her to know who Jax and the guys are. Whether I liked it or not, SAMCRO revolved around my life. I was married into the club at one point in my life and my son's father was the vice president of the MC. No matter how hard I try, Wyatt was destined to end up just like his father. I knew that from the very beginning. Gemma even pointed it out to me way before I was pregnant. For the MC to thrive in the future, it was up to me to give Jackson a son that could learn the tricks of the trade and follow in his father's footsteps. Just like Gemma gave JT a son, who was now the Vice President of the charter… "Everyone get down now!" I stirred at the sound of a man shouting. "I said get down!" I struggled to fully sit up as the sound of heavy footsteps came marching toward the bedrooms. The door burst open as a man clad in a black swat-team vest pointed a gun in my direction. I instantly wrapped my arms around Wyatt as he cried against my chest. "Everyone needs to be in the main room, now!" He continued to point the gun in our direction. I tried my best too quickly removed myself from the bed, picking up my hysterical son in the process. The guy moved out of the way and followed behind us as I entered the room. Everyone was on the ground, including a very pissed off Gemma. "On the floor!" "She's fucking pregnant, dickhead!" Gemma yelled from her position. Before the man could give any more orders, a blonde headed lady walked through the door. Her nicely pressed pantsuit showed that she was probably the one in charge of this whole fiasco. "Leave her be, officer." The man behind me lowered his gun and stood off to the side. "I need every woman who has ties to SAMCRO to come with me." She spoke. "The rest of you are free to leave." I looked over at Gemma as she was helped up by one of the men. "I'm not going anywhere with you, bitch." Gemma sneered as she made her way over to me. She wrapped her arms tightly around me as she glared at the woman. The lady let out a chuckle, running her fingers through her hair. “Cuff em.”  

[transdonaldduck]

*KICKS IN UR DOOR* I would love to hear more about ur tmnt universe stuff

okay!!! you dont gatta ask me twice. I drew these last night at 3 am and lost steam halfway through and gave up on donatello bc i wasn’t happy with any of my sketches and that’s that! forewarning: im edgy so this is edgy

the rest is under the readmore

The setting: It’s new york babey! We’re following our protagonist April O’Neil, 17 years old, as she navigates the confusing waters of high school, first jobs, and accidentally stumbling upon a mutant underworld. This samples a lot from rotmnt and 2012 bc i have no creativity

characters i’ve thought out

Irma- 18, senior, about to go to college to major in Architecture. She’s aloof but she actually cares about people deep down, she just doesn’t like to show it. She’s trying to let her natural hair color grow out from the years she dyed it black. She likes documentaries, chess, hanging out at graveyeards, and writing horror short stories. Seems sorta doom n gloom but is more apathetic than negative. She’s the president of the journalism club (who runs the school newspaper and morning news segment.) She’s looking for someone to take over the club after she’s gone, and has the perfect candidate in mind… if only April had the skill to match her enthusiasm.

April O’Neil- 17, junior, and aspiring journalist and reporter. She’s upbeat, determined, confident, and a real bright spot ot the people that know her. Her favorite things to do are listen to music, sing, take pictures, and take walks in the sun. She’s a go-getting, very self driver to acheive her goals, and her ultimate goal is to be the greatest reporter that has ever lived. Unfortunately, april doesn’t have the knack for reporting, and every piece she’s submitted to her schools newpaper has been fluff pieces… Irma tasks her with writing a front page headliner for the paper so she feels confident passing the club onto her, and in Aprils attempt to come up with the greatest story ever, she sutmbles upon a gang war and 4 mutant turtles…

Casey Jones- 18, Junior, and barely passing. Casey’s the kind of boy no one really expects anything of, so he doesn’t bother trying bc at least then he won’t fail. April inspires him to be better. He likes bad jokes, terrible coffee, and hockey- he’s hoping that April will tutor him enough to be able to bring his grades up enough to be allowed back on the school’s team. He seems sorta prickly and rude at first, but he’s just got a spiky outer shell and he’s really sweet inside. He loves horror movies and extreme sports competitons. He makes a point to walk april home whenever she stays late working on school stuff,

turtle time

the setting: They still live in the sewers, Splinter is still their dad but he’s very old when he gets the turtles, making him even older now. He does a lot of meditating and watching tv and doing crosswords, yknow old people stuff. He relies a lot on Leo to be the head of the house now that he’s old enough. He still trains the boys to learn martial arts bc he thinks it’s important they can defend themselves, considering what they are. He can kick ass when he needs to, tho

leo- 19, red ear slider, silent and stoic leader, raised as a child to be responisble for his brothers. He’s pretty socially awkward and weird bc he was divided from his brothers at a young age and didn’t get a lot of chances to grow and play with other kids his age. He doesn’t do much outside of train, study, and chores, and April is appaled by the fact that he doesn’t have like, ANY hobbies. she takes it upon herself as a personal mission to find something for him to do. He doesnt know the meaning of the word fun, but he tries not to always be a stick in the mud (mostly by removing himself from the fun situation in a misguided attempt to make everyone happier…)

raph- 18, Snapping turtle, and he’s got a short fuse and a big appetite. He’s a bit resentful of his families situation stuck in the sewers and darkness, and he hates being looked down upon. He’s only rebellious bc of how confined and trapped he feels, and though he can act like a grump and lash out he has a heart of gold. He likes wood carving, it’s actually how he made his little sun pendant he wears, it’s something to remind him the sun will rise soon and he’ll be there to see it.

donatello- 17, softshell turtle, bookworm and tech wizard. he likes to read for fun and he’s super into mechanics and computers. smarter than his brothers but thinks WAY too much, often holes up in his lab for hours trying to work out some particularly tough programming problem and will only come out for tea or pizza. he can be snooty/superior in situations where his intellect can be flashed. the worst ninja of the bunch (he thinks more with his head than with his body and never practices)

mikey- 15, box turtle, goofy gooey heartfelt younger brother. He cant draw for shit but still tries because he thinks it’s fun. He’s good at writing and poetry, he likes words and keeps a daily diary he writes in every day. He also keeps a dream journal and a log on all the tunnels in the sewers they’ve explored. He like to keep notes. Comic books are his favorite reading material but he’s picky about the art styles he enjoys, and he is very naturally talented with anything physical. good at easing tension but has 0 common sense, just a round angel

Leo is the shortest and lightest, agile and quick. Mikey is second shortest but he’s fat, which doesn’t detract from his natural flexibility. Raph is second tallest and broad shouldered with big arms, a powerhouse. Donnie is tall and lanky, a little uncoordinated but still strong.

[shigarakis-fifth-hand]

Yandere! Shigaraki x Reader; All An Illusion

❤️ Enjoy the series! one two

Y/n Kayama, the class president of her middle school all three years, straight A+s, the school's star athlete and of course, the one with the most volunteer hours. She lived a perfect life, almost too perfect. There was something she was hiding, and I needed to find out. Ever since I saw her win at the recommended students' application exam for UA, I knew I needed to keep up with her and that she would be valuable. I remember that day like it was yesterday.

"Now Shigaraki, All Might will be watching on security cameras, so you cannot get near the students," Toga spoke into my earpiece. I looked out onto the 5 students in front of me. The son of Endeavor with red and white hair, a blue-haired girl, a guy who controlled wind, a shape shifter, and someone who controlled vines from his hands. These were the kids that were the best of the best and recommended for having a greater chance to get into UA. 

The headteacher Aizawa was having them race for their first test. All of the guys looked at each other confidently, ignoring each other except when they gave each other looks of disgust. The girl, on the other hand, walked around nervously, looking up at people with her eyes down. She was the shortest in the group, and the guys kept smirking at her behind her back. She was a joke, and I couldn't help wondering what she was doing here. Someone really recommended her?

"Have a good target Shiga?" Toga asked as I could tell she was excited to have someone. I didn't even notice the stupid nickname, I was too wrapped up. "No, the best one I can see is Endeavor's son, and even he is boring. I don't know why we need to add a child to the all they do is cause trouble.", I could hear Toga gasp, and I laughed, knowing that these kids were her age. 

"Anyways, I'll look into the son once they're over. I'm recording now to show All-For-One." Toga had hacked into the school cameras and was watching the cameras from afar. She had made me come to get a better look at them, so here I was, hiding in the bushes, watching a bunch of kids. Sure, they were 18, but they all had baby faces that made me feel weird.

"Thank you for waiting!  Now head to the starting line. Surely all you know how a race works! Run to the end of the line and run back. Your body and any effects of your quirk must stay in your lane, and not interfere with other contestants. Any willing to do so will get you immediately disqualified." Present Mic told the kids as they nodded. "Don't think too much about it. Use your quirks as much as you can. The first person to cross the finishing line wins. Now, wait until we say go." Aizawa instructed before giving a nod to the blue-haired girl. What was going on there?

 As the counter started to go down from five, I watched the girl breathe in and out before getting ready. Suddenly, she was confident. Once the mark said go, it was a flash, but I saw everything. The girl froze the path with a step of her foot, using wind to push her self to the end of the lane and back in an instant. her feet barely touched the ground, but when they did, the ice slid her faster and faster. Before any of the boys, she was done. She began breathing heavily, sinking to her knees in exhaustion. Seconds after her, the guys finished in surprise. "What?! How'd she win?" The plant controller walked up to her angrily. 

"She crossed the path before you Haruko, now step back," Aizawa growled protectively as Haruko's face turned red. "Hell no! I'm not letting some girl win!" Immediately vines sprouted out of his hand and wrapped around the girl's throat and lifted her off the ground. The drama was getting good... 

Immediately, Aizawa and Mic began running towards the fight while the girl choked. You could see her face becoming pale as the guys behind Haruko started yelling towards him. But then, plants sprouted out of the girl's hand, pushing Haruko far from her. The vines crumpled down back into the ground as the girl began to breathe. Everyone grew silent as they stared at her. Did she just use that guy's quirk against himself? "Haruko, Nezu's office. Now!"  

Haruko stared at the girl in disbelief as he walked off. "Y/n!  Are you okay? I should have disabled his quirk but I was too in shock and I'm exhausted from all our training and-" The girl smiled at Aizawa. "You should have seen the look on his face! I can't believe I won!" She jumped up and down in glee like she forgot what just happened. She turned towards the boys as they all bowed to her. 

"I think we are all deeply sorry for not stepping in. Not to be rude, but your win caught us off guard. I hope you accept our apology." The shapeshifter apologized as the wind-controller spoke up. "Yes, we are in the wrong as well. I hope you can accept my apology." She smiled at him, then looking at Endeavor's son. She just looked at her in disbelief. "You... used all of our quirks in the race, and then used his against himself. How did you do that?" 

She just smiled and shook her head. "It was nice meeting you guys, but I am going to see my mother after this. I hope I meet you all someday. Good luck with the academic exam." And with that, she stepped away, grabbing her bag and walking away, leaving all the guys in shock, glancing at each other with confused looks. "Boss? Hello? Did you see that?! She's awesome! She can use other people's quirks! Did you see that Shiggy?" I nodded, staring at the girl who walked away. "She's perfect." And I began to make our plan.

I had the League start following her around from that very minute. I watched her walk to school in the morning, had Dabi watch her walk to her volunteering center, had Twice walk with her to her house, and I even watched her sneak out from time to time to go to parties and such. That's when I started listening to her conversations with her friends. 

I did this for months straight before she got into UA. I remember I sat on her balcony, knowing the UA results were coming that night. That's when I heard her cheering, and watched her spin around her room in happiness. Even though I heard All Might's gross voice congratulating her, I was still happy. That night was the first night I snuck into her house to see if I could find anything to reveal a dark secret. Nobody was that perfect. 

From the moment I started following her, I saw how she was treated by her parents. I saw how she cried whenever she was alone. I saw how she made herself throw up, and how she would train all night and then not eat the next day. I saw how she counted calories, kept a pocket knife in her locker behind her mirror, and looked so sad sometimes even though she always gave a fake smile.

The way her parents treated her was the worst part though. When she hurt herself, I knew she'd get over it. But her parents were a whole other story. I was there the day that her mom was taken to rehab. Poor Y/n had to sit there and watch her mom be taken away.

"You bitch! You made your father do this, didn't you? You want me gone, don't you? Think you run the world, now don't you? Just you watch, nobody will be there to keep your father from smacking the shit out of you whenever he likes! Think you can take him because you're in UA? Well get ready you motherfucker, you'll regret it! You'll r-" And then the car door slammed shut on her face. I wanted to kill her at the moment, but I knew that she wouldn't be able to hurt Y/n anymore. 

Nobody knows this, but I'm the one that called the rehab center. I had been watching the family for months, and I had plenty of pictures and videos of her getting drunk and high off meds day after day. Y/n thinks it was her father, and I'm going to keep it that way. I can't have anyone hurting the next member of my League.

But then there's her father, the worst man alive. They say villains are the worst, which is wrong. From when I watch Y/n at their school's swim practice, I can see the scars from years ago are still very visible. I've seen the way he yells at her, smashing beer bottles on her head, threatening her, chasing her, and beating her, I want to kill him. It would be so easy to slip my wrist and decay his whole face. But to only bring more issues into Y/n’s life would be hypocritical. 

That's why I sent an email to Aizawa, full of pictures of him hurting Y/n. She thinks that he just figured it out, but it was me. That girl doesn't know it, but I'm the best thing that's ever happened to her. And she will realize it whether she wants to or not. I might not be in love, but damn she's nice to look at.

Lately, the plan has come all together. We have recruited everyone for the League... except Y/n. We need her to be complete, and then we can bring the entire world its knees. If we can get her to steal All Might's quirk and use it, then possibly we can beat him using his quirk. All of us agree that she will be valuable to the league. Now, all we have to do is infiltrate using Kurogiri, grab her and then get the hell out of dodge. So here we are, watching the USJ and all the students in front of it.

"Look, that's the files of all the UA students! We can find Y/n's if I'm fast enough!" As Thirteen led the students inside, Toga ran to get a file. "Here ya go! They won't notice if one student’s files are missing." I smiled, inserting the paper into my pocket. "Okay Toga, go meet up with Kurogiri. I'll send an alert if something goes wrong." She nodded and skipped away as I sighed. Damn, it was happening. I had dreamed about it ever since Brother gave me the idea. So here we were, about to kidnap Y/n from her whole life. 

Honestly, she should be thanking us. I just couldn't wrap my mind around what she was all about, and honestly, I didn't trust her one bit. I would keep my eye on her for a while. I didn't trust anyone else's judgment but my own. Dabi was driven by sex, and Toga and Twice were driven by the possibilities of friendship. Kurogiri was too damn respectful to ever suspect a woman, and Mr. Compress didn’t like to “interfere” with girls. They had no idea the kind of girl they were dealing with.

I walked around the side of the building and peeked through one of the windows. Y/n was in the mountain area, but Kurogiri and everyone else already knew that. I hated that I had to hire so many random guys for this job, knowing that they just liked looking at teenage girls. Her hero suit showed off all of her legs and was skin tight to where you could see her chest and waist. These guys were surely jerking off to her in their free time, knowing what kind of people they were. 

Such creeps. 

I didn't even like talking to them, and I didn't want them touching her. Working in the villain area made you work with the scum of the Earth, the type that raped girls and sold them to each other for profits. I despised them with a passion, but it was the only way we would be able to hold off everyone until we got Y/n.

And then, I saw the portal open inside the center of the USJ. I smiled, watching the heroes and students so surprised. Immediately, most of my men and then Toga ran to the mountainside, leaving the Nomus and a few of the guys to fight off the students and teachers. I watched from afar as this tye-dye haired freak propelled him, his green-haired boyfriend, and Y/n up in an ice tower for safety. Slowly I saw the teachers begin making their way closer and closer towards the mountains. I growled in anger. 

I thought the Nomus would be enough, but the teachers must be too concerned with the students to bother. Especially Aizawa, the black-haired gay one who took care of Y/n before the dorms became a thing. He had taken care of her sister too and had become so much more protective of her.

That's when I saw Toga grab Y/n and hold a knife to her neck in front of those two spike-haired freaks. I knew she was doing it for the show, but I hoped she wouldn't hurt our new member. Y/n will have a hard time befriending Toga if that's how she sees the bubbly, murderous blonde. I could see the fear in  Y/n's eyes too. I see Aizawa running towards them and they and Toga do too. Then she does something that neither of us talked about. She throws Y/n off the cliff and into a portal. I can hear her scream from here. I rest against the window and sigh, looking up into the sky. I smile happily, thinking about our accomplishments. "Now onto step two."

Ignoring the crying and yelling of the students inside, I stroll inside a portal peacefully. "Stop villain!" I look up to see Tenya Iida. I know his father, Brother once fought against him. "What have I done to classify me as a villain? Huh?" The boy is lost for words since he has been gone this entire time to get help. "Y-you're Tomura Shigaraki! I know you!" I just shrug as he looks at me bewildered. He has no idea I took his classmate, and am leaving the scene. "Exactly, now please, if I may." I turn around as the portal closes. 

"Oh, and I'll tell Y/n you said hi." I smile as he begins to run towards me. Luckily, the portal closes just in time. I happily stroll into our hideout. Looking out, I see the beautiful kitchen. Ever since Dabi robbed the bank, Kurogiri spent his time remodeling. That man dresses to impress, and I appreciate it. It looks nice, nothing like a villain hideout at all. It's more of a mafia castle than villain hideout at this point. A nice condo at the very top of a nice complex. Of course, nobody goes through the main lobby without a disguise, so Kurogiri comes in handy on the daily. Toga did get tan once and dye her hair, so she did the grocery runs for awhile. 

Maybe someday (y/n) will be trusted enough to go get groceries and come back. One day I'll destroy the world, and she'll be there to watch the world burn.

I sit on one of the bar stools and wait for everyone to come back. "How'd it go?" Dabi asks, walking in from the staircase. "Successful of course. I would have let you go, but I don't trust you so I didn't want to." I laugh at my joke, which he just snickers at. "I can't believe you trusted a random guy with Y/n. You should have seen how he threw her down the stairs. I think I heard her in pain." He grins at the thought of her getting hurt. The sadistic freak.

 "What? Someone threw her?! I told those guys to be easy on her or else they were dead! If she gets hurt, our entire plan is ruined! I'll have that guy's life in my hands if he ever shows his face here." I angrily storm downstairs to see his friends. Just a bunch of muscular guys, but with no quirks. Not much of a threat, so I won't care when I kill them all. No witnesses are the way to go for me. "Which one of you dealt with the captive?” I asked as one of them raised their hand, as if they were proud of it. “Great. Thank you.” I walked back upstairs, trying not to disintegrate them there.

I just hope Y/n doesn't get terrified of everyone here. It'll be harder to get her to agree with us and work with us. I know she'll try to run off, but I'd rather her not get away. I step up the stairs and into the main room again, where Dabi has another drink in his hand. "So he just threw her down there? What about the bed I put down there?" I ask as he laughs. "Yes, he threw her down there carelessly and she landed on the bed." He laughed as I walked by, smacking him in the back of the head. "Don't be a dick to her, alright?" I exclaim, opening the door and beginning to walk down.

Immediately I see her, sleeping on the cold hard floor in a position as if she has been thrown. I growl, extremely annoyed. I tighten the blindfold around her eyes. She can't use her quirk if she can't see, so she'll be keeping this on for a few days. I pick her up like a feather and put her on the bed against the wall. I tie her arms and legs to the bed, making sure she can't escape. There's a pain killer, a note from Toga, and a glass of water beside her, just so she doesn't die before we can even do anything. I sigh, walking back up the stairs slowly. In the back of my mind, I can still hear her soft breathing.

Shutting the door behind me, I make eye contact with Dabi. "How does she look? Any head injuries?" he asks as I just shake my head. I already don't like how concerned suddenly he is for Y/n. She's not a play toy, she's going to be our next weapon. "Now what?" Dabi asks as I nod towards the door. "Well, you kill the guys downstairs, I get my hands on the guy who threw her, and then we discuss the plan at dinner. I want to talk to her tonight, to calm her. I'm holding myself responsible for keeping her in the basement all night. I don't trust any of you with that task." I explain to Dabi as he nods, only half listening from what I can tell.

 "She just needs to keep that blindfold on. I'm looking over her profile and-" I rip it from his hands. How dare he read about my girl?! "Let's see that. Straight A+s, third in the class, went to a private middle school and was voted Most Likely to Succeed in her 8th year. That's not hard to believe. Her teachers all say she's a good student, and she was expected to win the Sports Festival by 54% out of her entire class. Wow. Sadly, she won't be able to participate, but it'd be fun to see her beat up all those guys in her class." Dabi smiled as he looked at her profile picture.

"Buzz off loser, I thought I put this in my pocket ya thief. I know all of that, I've been keeping track of everything." I fold it back up and put in in my pocket. "Dabi! Shigaraki! He's here." Toga opens the door, followed by another quirkless, muscular dude. It must be the guy who threw Y/n down the stairs. "You're the one who handled Y/n when she came into the building from the portal, right?" The guy smiles and nods proudly. I want to smack him immediately, but I have a better idea. "Well thank you." I reach out my hand as he takes it to shake. The moment he touches it, he screams before turning into dust within that second.

 "Good. Now go down and finish all of them Dabi. Thank you Toga." Toga smiles as she takes the spiral staircase to her room. I look outside to see that the sun is setting. What a day.

I smile and begin to make my way down to Y/n. Picking her up, I carry her upstairs to the main room and tie her into a chair. I remove the rag from her mouth and tighten the cloth on her eyes. I sit there, staring at her as the rest of the League comes up to join me. We all sit on the couch until Toga hops up with the knife in her hand. "Get ready!" She smiles, overly excited as she cuts a slit into Y/n’s arm. Immediately she starts squirming until I can tell she is fully awake. “Hey! Cut it out!” I tug the knife away from Toga, feeling sorry for Y/n.

 "Hello?" Her voice is dry, and from the wet cloth on her eyes, I can tell she has been crying. She's so pathetic, we can shape her into a real villain. "Hi Y/n~Senpai! Remember me?!" Y/n immediately flinches before realizing she is tied up. "W-what?! What's going on? What do you want from me?!" She yells until I put four out of five of my fingers on her neck. "How about you tell us about your quirk? What is your weakness?" I ask as I see her bottom lip quiver. How pathetic. "Tell me, or else I put all five of my fingers on your neck." I tighten my grip on her neck. She gasps, sucking up all the air she can. "Shigaraki..." She whispers in fear.

"My quirk is Theft. If I look someone in the eye, I can steal their quirk for 24 hours. If it's a quirk that is hard to control, sometimes I can't use it without messing up. I use a contact on my right eye to block my vision whenever I don't want someone else's quirk. I've used a lot, from Mt. Lady's to Aizawa's." I smile, letting go of her neck. She bends over in pain, gasping for air. 

"What's your blood type Y/n? Have you met your soulmate, or in a relationship? Anything tracking your location? Any metal implants or anything in your hero suit that is magnetic? What about flammable?" Kurogiri asks as she shakes her head no, writing it all on a clipboard. "No soulmate or relationship? But you're so cute! We should get milkshakes when all this drama is over w-" Dabi shushes Toga, stopping her from rambling. 

"Now for the important part. We want you to join us. We won't hurt you unless you resist. Now, are you going to fight us, or be with us?" Dabi asks as I hear Y/n sniffle. "I'll be with you. J-just don't hurt me." Toga bursts out laughing. "I would never hurt anyone!" We all roll our eyes as she giggles. Twice tries to make her stop.

"Okay, that is it for today. It's getting late, you need to stay here. We all will take turns watching you tonight. All you need to do is sleep. You've had a long day." Kurogiri's words are strangely comforting as Y/n nods. Slowly, I can hear her breathing slow and realize that she's fallen asleep. 

Slowly, everyone else leaves to go to sleep. The first hour is my shift. I sit on the couch playing video games with my headphones on until I can't do it any longer. I rest my leg on her foot and drift off into a light sleep.

[inescapcble]

This isn’t really an intro as much as an UPDATE featuring a biography and some changes I’ve realised as I’ve gotten to know Leah’s character better, but given that I’d still recommend y’all give this a once over. Thanks to everyone for getting involved with her and my other characters, and I’m excited to do so much more with her. <3

BASIC INFO ;

Name: Leontine Artemisia Morgan

Nicknames: Leah (by select friends & family only), Madam Prez (slang)

Gender & Pronouns: cis female, she/her pronouns

Age & DOB: Forty | 14 February, 1980 | Anchorage, Kentucky

Zodiac Sign: Aquarius

Orientations: Bisexual / biromantic (with a lean towards women)

Relationship Status: In a ( secret ; open ) relationship with Princess Ivana of the Netherlands ( @ofivana​ )

Nationality: American

Religion: Agnostic

Neuroses: Undiagnosed Asperger’s syndrome (note: I, the mun, have diagnosed Asperger’s!)

FAMILIAL ;

Hometown: Anchorage, Kentucky

Father: Kenneth Morgan, CEO of Morgan Financial

Mother: Candace Morgan (d. 2019)

Siblings: Bocephus ( @hxll-0​ ) and Elise ( @ofchampagnetears​ ) Morgan (b. 1992)

OTHER ;

Languages Spoken: English, Latin, French, Italian, German (incl. Swiss, Austrian and Bavarian German), Spanish, Portuguese

Educational Background: Institut Le Rosey, Harvard University, John Hopkins University

Occupational History:

1. Intern / Political Assistant at Capitol Hill (2002-06)

2. Representative for Maryland’s 2nd District (2006 special election — 2010)

3. Junior Senator for Maryland (2010-2016)

4. 45th President of the United States of America (20th January, 2017—)

Achievements: Youngest and first female president of the United States; shortest initiation in Society history. If I listed her political achievements we’d be here a while, folks.

THE SOCIETY ;

Codename: Adrasteia 

Meaning: Adrasteia means “the inescapable,” which I chose as her label. It’s another name for Nemesis, the goddess of divine retribution, which i found quite fitting because she’s always managed to rise above people and attain what she wants, even if it is through using her parents’ money and power to her advantage at least in part. And now she’s the defender of the free world, in the most powerful office in the world — don’t make an enemy of the inescapable, for the inescapable will always get you.

Traditionalist or Reformist: Leah struggles to shoe-horn herself into either camp, but she supposes in general due to her own ideas that she’s some kind of reformist, even if that reform doesn’t include party islands and hedonistic displays. She prefers more power for women within the Society; more space for non-established families and for people to get in on their talent alone.

Goals In The Society: Her own advancement. To make her rowdy siblings see their own potential, and perhaps find a bond with them that feels less like she’s that cousin you don’t see often and don’t know very well. Ultimately, to be the Grand Archon, where she can make the most positive change. To use the Society to get rid of the Twenty-Second Amendment so she has more time to create further equally positive change for America. 

Opinion On The Society: It’s something she was always meant to be part of, but something that needs to be tweaked to fit the time that it’s in. Some people’s definition of ‘tweak’ is too far, but ultimately the most important thing is that she’s in it. Certainly she values it as an honour.

PERSONALITY ;

MBTI: ENTJ-A

Enneagram: Eight, with a Seven wing

Temperament: Choleric

Hogwarts House: Slytherin

Inspirations: Birgitte Nyborg (Borgen) | Kidz & SOS (Take That songs, inverse) | Peggy Carter (Marvel Cinematic Universe) | Official Secrets (film)

Tropes: The Ace, Armour-Piercing Question, America Saves The Day, The Chessmaster, Contemplative Boss, Married To The Job, Workaholic, Badass In Charge, Brainy Brunette, Deadpan Snarker, Iron Lady

YOUR MUSE AS ;

A piece of art: The Kiss by Gustav Klimt

A song: Under The Ladder by Mélovin

A book: How To Use Your Enemies by Baltasar Gracián

A movie: Official Secrets

A TV show: Borgen

A historical era: Ancient Greece if she had to choose one, but she’s more one to look to the future than the past.

A historical figure: Artemisia of Caria

A colour: Royal blue

An animal: Lioness (she’s got the name for a reason.)

YOUR MUSE’S DREAM ;

JOB: She’s sat in the Oval Office, folks, she’s doing it.

VACATION: Leontine doesn’t have time for vacations, especially not if she’s attending Society events, but if she did, she’d like to go to the Acropolis.

DAY: One day where Bo and Elise are calm; getting to go on a real date with Ivy and be proud of it.

AS A CHILD: To be President of the United States.

LAST NIGHT: I can’t tell you, because she didn’t sleep long enough to reach the appropriate stage and dream.

THAT THEY GAVE UP ON: She’s never given up on a dream. Never once, not unless she realises it was wrong in the first place. She’s not someone who gives up.

THAT THEY HAVE RIGHT NOW: Constitutional change; getting her siblings into the Society

BIOGRAPHY ;

TWELVE years — that was how long Leontine Artemisia was the sole daughter of Kenneth and Candace Morgan, but also how long it took them to forget why. Through generations of the Morgan bloodline the same issue had persisted; a work-ethic that was either partly or entirely based upon an unattainable ideal of perfection. 

Which, in itself, led to relationships like the parents’ own. Lacking in healthy emotional expression ( particularly on the side of the born Morgan, less so in his softer-hearted wife ) and with at least some business element regarding a ‘practical’ or ‘advantageous’ match. It wasn’t an arranged marriage, not quite, as they had found each other — mostly — alone, but neither could it be said to be a ‘love match’ the likes of which fill the daydreams of any hopeless romantic. 

And then, from there, they hadn’t realised how it would impact any child of theirs until it was too-little, too-late to do anything about it. When the nifty Morgan motto had already taken hold, dug itself into the young girl, going deeper with every comment Kenneth made about how she could be ‘better,’ or ‘how do you expect to be like me or your grandfather?’ 

It became Candace’s — being the far more empathetic parent, the one who was there when Leah fell and who had attached herself to her first-born in a way she would not attach quite the same with inevitable additions — goal to get her as far away from her husband’s influence as possible, so that she might have half a chance at coming fully into her own. Except, prior to achieving that goal, the terrors ( I’m sorry, the twins, but they were, and are, terrors ) came into the trio’s lives, and Leah was both no longer alone, and more alone than ever.

Which suited her fine, or at least she said it did. After all, she was still her mother’s favourite, anyone could see it. Could feel it, where Kenneth had turned his attention to the young babes to see which child would offer him the legacy he craved; because Leah’s goal — politics; the highest seat in the land, even then, regardless if she had to claw her way up there with her nails or not — didn’t particularly interest him at the time ( Morgan Financial needed an heir, and he was consistently frustrated at his eldest daughter’s disinterest ) and would interest him even less after she came back with European ideas from her next destination: the Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland, where she would meet a whole host of future A-Listers and members of the Society, including one Étienne de Polignac.

When she returned from Le Rosey at the age of eighteen, her next destination was already settled: the famed Harvard University, to study political science. Of course, she could be nothing but the hardest worker, something she would not let her university boyfriend — as much as she loved him at the time — get in the way of; it was clear Kenneth’s message had gotten through to her ( too well, as she would never feel good enough, always striving to impress him, when it was impossible ) when she chose career over her love life upon graduation. 

Because from a young age she had set her eyes upon the White House desk, organised her life around that ultimate dream; pursued law and civics, and abandoned the healthy social lives of others her age. While other members of her family could have been considered high-society socialites, all she knew was her own ambition. Quickly Leah herself became the pedestal for her siblings to follow — except, not her politics, as Kenneth would indicate by sending the twins to Phillips Exeter rather than Le Rosey — and was a point of pride when her parents decided she ought to go to public events; after all, she had to learn how to relate to people, didn’t she? Her first motto, and a tattoo she has that’s always hidden by her clothing, is: change your stars, if you try, you’ll succeed.

Leontine moved to Maryland after Harvard, where she worked as a political advisor at Capitol Hill for one of the Democratic representatives ( whilst balancing a second degree, in international relations, at Johns Hopkins University due to its proximity to Capitol Hill ) until she was of constitutional age to stand for election in the House. She won Maryland’s second district — rather than standing in her birth / home state of Kentucky — and then, upon turning thirty, became the junior senator for the state; however, these early political years were all overshadowed by one event: the war in Iraq, with which she vehemently disagreed, and which has continued to influence her strong anti-war stance throughout the rest of her political career.

‘The rest’ of her political career including her run for President in the 2016 election, resulting in the thirty-six year old defeating Republican nominee Donald Trump in the most resounding fashion since the Nixon landslide. And even then the opponent managed to win Massachusetts; not so here. 

She grew up privileged, of course she did, and she’s found her balance between being at peace with and being very aware of what led her to where she is today: the Oval Office, the young trailblazer wherever she went. Leah Morgan’s ‘brand’ is record-breaking, perhaps ( after all, she very quickly charmed people to her favour to admit her into the society as a 25-year-old initiate, a Societal record that still to this day stands. ) 

Leah’s mother Candace, however, was killed in a ‘car crash’ last Thanksgiving, a tragedy which she has not processed; she hasn’t any understanding of how to deal with grief — none of the Morgans do — so, at some point, it’s all going to come back to her.

But she was raised on ‘this is good, but you can always do better,’ and that shows more than anything in this woman with a lot of dreams and even more ambition.

[sailorportia]

Damned If You Do...

Fandom: Yagate Kimi Ni Naru, aka Bloom Into You Pairing: Nanami Touko x Koito Yuu

Femslash February 2019 [Index post] Day 17: Damned

approx. 1,250 words, rated T

also available on AO3

In which Yuu receives a surprise from her senpai, who reveals a shocking secret and an even more shocking goal.

Koito Yuu considered herself a go-with-the-flow kind of girl (too much of one, her friends would say), but some things could throw even Yuu off her rhythm. Such as the student council president lying sprawled out on her bed.

Yuu quickly slipped into her room and closed the door behind her. She stood a safe distance away from the other girl.

"Nanami-senpai, what are you doing here?

Touko stretched like a cat and made an accompanying purr. She sat up and you got a full look at her.

Touko was wearing… well, not a lot. She had what looked like a leather bikini top as well as a leather skirt, the shortest skirt Yuu had ever seen, followed by a pair of thigh high boots. The outfit was shocking, to be sure, but not as alarming as the wings that spanned out from her back, the horns rising from the crown of her head, and the tail that flicked back and forth behind her.

"This may come as a surprise," Touko said, "but I'm not human, Koito-san. This is my true form. I'm a succubus."

"I guess that explains the outfit." And no doubt the supernatural means by which she had infiltrated Yuu's bedroom undetected.

"You're taking this rather well," Touko said, a note of relief in her voice. "The uniform's standard issue," Touko explained. She squirmed beneath Yuu's unrelenting gaze. "I'd prefer something with a little more coverage, but…"

"Standard issue for who?"

"Standard issue for succubi," Touko said. "Did you think there weren't uniforms in Hell?"

Yuu chuckled. "It makes a little too much sense that you're the student council president from Hell."

Touko pouted at her. "Don't be a bully, Koito-san! I'm just doing my job!"

"Your job involves harassing school girls?" Yuu shot her a dubious look. "Is that why you got me to be your campaign manager? I would've thought Hell had better priorities."

Touko ignored her. "My job is to seduce girls," she said. "What else would a succubus do? I seduce girls and damn their souls to Hell for all eternity!"

"But why me?" Yuu asked. "Girls confess to you all the time. Seduce one of them. They'd love to have a half-naked student council president on their beds."

"I have to seduce them, Koito-san," Touko said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "It doesn't count if they already want it. I have to actually do the seducing."

"And I'm the perfect target for seduction?" Yuu couldn't disagree that she'd be a challenge.

"Come over here, Koito-san," Touko said, inviting her over to her own bed with a curling finger. "Let me show you what a succubus can do."

Yuu didn't move. "You're going to have to work harder to convince me. Either that, or get off my bed so I can go to sleep."

Touko smiled seductively. "If you'd like, you can sleep with me—"

"Harder than that, succubus-senpai."

Touko's not so seductive smile faltered for a second. "Well, maybe I should show rather than tell." She used her arms to press her breasts together, deepening the valley of her already notable cleavage; the bikini top left little to the imagination. The effect was slightly diminished by the way she scrunched up her face in embarrassment.

By now Yuu's dreams of living a shoujo manga life had well and truly derailed into an ecchi manga train wreck. Yuu stared at the spectacle on display—it really was something. But she wasn't going to give her senpai the satisfaction of gaining ground.

Also she had her immortal soul to worry about. Apparently.

"Isn't it cold in that get-up?" Yuu asked. "You can put on a sweater if that would make you more comfortable."

"Thank you. I—wait a minute!" Touko flailed her arms in frustration, breaking her seductive pose. "Stop distracting me! I'm trying get you to have sex with me so I can claim your soul for the legions of darkness!"

"That's not a good sales pitch." Yuu raised an eyebrow. "For a succubus, you aren't very good at seduction."

Touko blushed. "Well, I've never actually… seduced anyone before. Not successfully."

"You mean you're a virgin?"

Touko's blush went from warm pink to crimson inferno. "Koito-san! You're too blunt!"

"That's another thing," Yuu said. "You're being awfully formal for someone trying to seduce me, calling me 'Koito-san.' Why not be a little more familiar?"

"Th-that seems improper!"

"Improper?" Yuu scoffed. "You broke into my bedroom and told me you were going to drag my soul to hell after having sex with me. We're past that now. Call me Yuu-chan."

"I… you…" Touko couldn't maintain eye contact with Yuu for more than a second. "Koito-sa—Yuu-sa—Yuu-chan."

"Now drop the honorific."

"I couldn't do that!" After half a minute withering under Yuu's stare, Touko relented. "Y-Y-Yuu…"

"Good job. How about 'Yuu-tan' now?"

"Koito-san!" You're being mean!" Touko buried her face in her hands and groaned. "I thought it would work this time! Lilith is going to rake me over the coals for this! Literally! I'm the only succubus my age who hasn't seduced someone yet. It's so embarrassing!"

A wave of sympathy washed over Yuu. Her senpai could be a pain, but it hurt to see her so miserable. She came over and sat down beside Touko. Without thinking, her hand moved up to pat Touko on the head. Her fingers brushed against the succubus's horns and she found herself intrigued by the texture, how pointy their tips were.

Touko made a contented noise and allowed Yuu to keep petting her.

Yuu's attention shifted to Touko's wings. They seemed so leathery and delicate, perhaps too delicate to touch. Instead her eyes moved farther down and followed the happy wagging of the succubus's tail…

She hadn't expected the squeak that slipped from Touko's mouth.

"Wow. Very erotic."

"Why did you touch my tail!?" Touko scrambled back on the bed until she came up against the wall. She held her tail in front of her, nursing it and guarding it from further scrutiny. "It's very sensitive!'

"It looked like it wanted attention," Yuu replied. She edged closer to Touko. "I thought you wanted me to touch you…"

"You can't just start whenever you want!" Touko objected. "You have to warn me first!"

Yuu chuckled. "I would've thought an upstanding succubus such as yourself would always be up for a little action."

"That's discrimination!"

Yuu shrugged. "You literally broke into my room to land your first."

"Urk! You've got me there. But my tail is a sensitive spot!"

Yuu leaned in. "So I can touch you anywhere but your tail?"

Steam erupted from Touko's ears. "I th-thought you d-didn't want to do that sort of lewd thing with me!?"

"Just a hypothetical," Yuu teased. "It's funny to see a succubus who's better at being seduced than doing the seducing."

"I am not!" Touko was back to pouting. "There's no way a human could seduce a succubus!"

Yuu smirked. "Bet." She reached out and stroked Touko's cheek.

Touko whimpered.

"Oh look, you lost already," Yuu said smugly.

"That's not fair! I wasn't ready!"

"Are you ever going to be ready?" Yuu asked.

"Let's try again! You won't get anything out of me this time!"

"Wow. You're just desperate for me to touch you again. No wonder you haven't seduced anyone yet. You're totally a bottom."

"I am not! Koito-saaaaaaaaan!"

[thecloserkin]

book review: Mira Grant, Deadline (2011)

Genre: Sci-Fi

Is it the main pairing: Yes

Is it canon: Yes

Is it explicit: No

Is it endgame: Yes

Is it shippable: Yes

Bottom line: how is it possible that the book where one half of OTP is dead is shippier than the first one where they’re both alive

Book 2 of the Newsflash trilogy picks up with our boy Shaun, who’s turned desk jockey since he lost George, riding to the rescue of some buddies beset by a zombie swarm. Everyone makes it out alive and Shaun tries to play it like it’s no biggie but the truth is,

I’ve lost one of the integral traits of a good Irwin: I’m not having fun. When I wind up in the field, it’s a chore to be survived, not an adventure to be relished. Without that little spark of gosh-golly-wow to drive me on, I’m essentially a dead person walking … George is the one who stopped breathing, but I’m the one who gave up on living.

Without George he has nothing to live for and so he’s sensibly withdrawn from fieldwork. The one thing that keeps him going is George’s voice in his head, chiding him for (among other things) picking up a coffee instead of a can of Coke. He’s started drinking Coke to appease her. He says it himself: “I am a haunted house pretending to be a man.” As for whether she’s real or just a figment of his imagination, this is Shaun’s take:

Screw sane. I don’t want anything that makes her stop talking to me.

Buckle up for an angst rollercoaster, kids:

One apartment for me and George, who didn’t take up any physical space but was so much a part of every room that sometimes I could fool myself into thinking she had just stepped out for some fresh air.

Several people have said it doesn’t really feel like anybody lives there, and what they don’t seem to understand is I like it that way. As long as I’m not really living there, I never have to think about the fact that I’m living there alone.

Outwardly he’s functional i guess but this is not the behavior of a person who has Moved On.

Sometimes I think this series is a how-to manual for small business owners masquerading as science fiction. For Shaun and George, the work used to be everything. Now George is gone Shaun is in the unenviable position of having to make all the tough calls, and second-guessing every last one because maybe George would have done it better. Oy vey. Offhand he informs us that their parents are also suing Shaun for ownership of her intellectual property. I always knew they were vultures but seriously???

So Shaun’s raison d’être right now is to bring down the person or people who murdered George. Obviously this does not mean the ones who pulled the trigger, it means the ones who gave the order & plotted to remove her. In the process of doing this he uncovers an even bigger conspiracy—although maybe it’s merely the same conspiracy from Book 1, only expanded in scope. I’m not sure. What I’m mainly interested in is how bad absolutely clueless Shaun is at signaling or perceiving romantic interest. Like, there’s a co-worker/employee of his, and they’re thrown together rather a lot, and she’s clearly crushing on him hard only Shaun’s too dense to see it. After the whole affair ends disastrously (he sleeps with the poor girl then calls her by George’s name) he ruminates:

”Why would I know what the signs were? I never had to read them before.”

It’s obvious why Shaun, a not-unattractive grown ass man whose other social skills appear to fall well within the range of “normal,” has such atrophied skills when it comes to this one thing. He’s never had to use them. Here’s Maggie the relationship guru:

”Have you ever had a girlfriend?” “Not as such, no.” ”Have you ever been in love?” There’s never been a good answer to that question. I didn’t even try. I just shrugged.

I can’t find the tweet anymore but Seanan Maguire has confirmed that Shaun and George first got together the night after junior prom—they went with other people as a sort of experiment. (@JKRowling see, this is the sort of authorial headcanon that the fans actually clamor for.) The two of them just skipped right over the tentative fumbling awkward initial stages of dating, of getting to know each other, because they already know each other inside out. Shaun says:

Sometimes I’m even arrogant enough to think the Rising happened so we could be together.

Colloquially we use the term two people “being together” to mean they enter into an exclusive romantic relationship. But it’s intentionally ambiguous here whether he means that, or just the two of them finding each other, because what would have been the chances of their being raised together absent a global catastrophe like a zombie apocalypse. Shaun finds it impossible to separate the romantic aspect of their relationship from the familial bond, and that’s why I love incest thanks for coming to my ted talk. Oh, here’s Mahir the relationship guru:

”I mean, I didn’t know…” “What, that I loved your sister? Of course you didn’t, just like you had no idea Rebecca fancied you. You never had to go searching like the rest of us.”

Can I just say, on an unrelated note, I feel SO BAD for Mahir’s wife who’s not even a proper character? She doesn't get any screentime. But this is a small business how-to manual, remember, and the way Shaun is always ringing Mahir at 2 in the morning and Mahir feels obligated to pick up because it’s his boss? Mahir’s wife is a saint, canonize her immediately. Back to my earlier point about how Shaun has less experience with flirting/dating than your average fourteen-year-old:

This sort of thing was easier to handle when George was around. She was always the one who noticed when girls started crushing on me, and she made them go away. One way or another. I’ve never tried to deal with this sort of situation on my own before.

What’s fascinating is that it’s not just romantic entanglements that he’s at a loss to deal with:

I’d never driven any real distance with a passenger—not unless you counted George, who didn’t actually change the way the bike was balanced, or make it necessary for me to compensate for additional weight.

WHEN GEORGE RODE PILLION ON HIS MOTORCYCLE IT DIDN’T EVEN THROW OFF HIS BALANCE!!! He’s not used to having to think about compensating for a passenger’s weight bc with George everything came naturally!!! If this isn’t a metaphor for their entire relationship idk what the hell it is.

She didn’t like touching people, so I touched them for her. She didn’t like emotional displays, so I took up the slack.

She was the yin to his yang, they were a team etc etc. Here is how Shaun reacts when the book’s antagonist gives his Evil Villain Spiel:

”I never gave you much credit for brains, Shaun—that was your sister’s department, God rest her soul, and if she made any errors in judgment, it was in trusting you to watch her back—but I still thought you were smarter than this.” “You take that back,” I whispered.

Shaun couldn’t care less that this fool gives him zero credit in the brains department, but let him impugn George’s judgment even slightly and our boy is ready to throw hands. We stan.

These are my two favorite passages from the book:

George and I shared a lot of rooms exactly like this one, one of us dozing while the other kept working, the staccato click of keys providing the white noise that meant it was safe to sleep.

It’s a work partnership! It’s a sibling bond! It’s a romantic pairing! It’s us-against-the-world, it’s everything! Also this:

George and I used to have shower races. Who could get in and clean and out again in the shortest amount of time. All the guys we went to school with insisted that their girlfriends and sisters took forever in the bathroom, but George always beat me … once a month or so, she’d take over the bathroom for an afternoon to dye her hair back to its original color, which inevitably resulted in her shouting for me to come in and help her dye her roots. The sink on our old bathroom was stained a permanent brown by the time we were sixteen, and we ruined so many towels.

Lol the implied contrast between “other guys who complained about their gfs/sisters” and Shaun who’s been President of the Georgia Mason Fan Club for over two decades.

ANYWAY the twist at the end of this novel is that George is alive. She’s being held at some scary, sterile government facility, and it’s clear from a minor early plot point involving clones that this isn’t George, it’s got to be a George-clone. Because George 1.0 died in Shaun’s arms. But George 2.0 has got all George’s memories so we’re going to go ahead and treat her just like George, which sets us up nicely for alternating Shaun-and-George POVs when we return for the final installment of the “Newsflesh” trilogy.

[willofhounds]

Captured beast within a human skin ch9

Newt's POV

He flinched at the loud sounds from all around him. It wasn't as bad as the war but it still hurt. His senses were heightened more so than normal with the full moon only the next night.

The docks were as disgusting as ever. The smelled of rotten fish and unwashed people. He quickly made his way out onto the streets of New York. His entire goal was to reach Arizona so he could release Frank. That meant only staying in New York for the day.

New York was not a place he visited and with good reason. They had backwards laws on muggle wizard friendships. Essentially it was illegal to even be friends with a muggle.

He liked muggles. They didn't judge him for the fact that he brought a creature into his school, like the wizards who went to school with him. They saw him as just another man. A socially awkward man but only a man.

A metal click sound drew him back to the present. Dougal looked up at him with worry. His demigise was worried about something. Newt followed his rule in life. Worrying only meant you suffered twice.

Making his way through New York was not easy. His inner wolf wanted to attack the people around him. Too many humans in one spot for his liking.

Something smelled off however. He could vaguely sense the magics of the wizards and witches; but there was something else. A memory tried to surface but it didn't make it.

Heading towards the train station he passed by a bank. The scent was strong on the woman speaking. He wasn't really listening as he realized it didn't belong to her.

It was dark and dangerous. If he was in his wolf form his hackles would be raised. It was in that moment he recognized the scent. An obscurus. If the scent was anything to go by a powerful one.

Newt was surprised when Hubert broke out of the case. Immediately he chased after his Niffler. As he passed the woman though he cast a nonverbal tracking charm on her. If there was an obscurus in the city he would need to find them.

Then he chased after his Niffler. When he came to New York the last thing he expected was to have one of his creatures get loose. Not as unexpected was the choas that ensued.

Chasing Hubert was a messy job. The little creature tended to destroy things. Newt scrambling to catch him didn't help anything.

The muggle man only made it worse as his occamy egg began to hatch. The man struck him across the chin with a briefcase. While he was still dazed an auror grabbed him.

Despite his best attempts at explaining himself he was dragged to MACUSA. He could smell the deception but he wasn't sure why. Then he was dragged before the President.

It wasn't being dragged in front of the most powerful witch in MACUSA that made him pause. She barely even phased the wolf. The scent was that of lunar flowers bathed in moonlight made him pause. It was there buried under a forested scent. If he wasn't so familiar with it he would not have been able to sense it.

It was familiar but one he had not scented since he was 15. Right when the war had first started. The ring that was still on a necklace under his shirt.

The scent came from a dark haired man with grey eyes. The scents didn't belong together. This person's scent did not belong with his skin.

There was a flash of recognition in the man's eyes. That solidified his thoughts.

It was Gellert. Despite his travels he heard of what the man was doing.

"I made your position here

quite clear, Miss Goldstein," Newt blinked at the interruption of his thoughts.

"Yes, Madame President," replied the woman, "but I..."

Picquery growled, "You are no longer an Auror."

"No, Madam President, but..."

This would be his shortest visit to the Ministry. As long as they didnt open his case he could avoid getting dozens of permits.

Goldstein tried to explain, "Theres been a minor incident..."

The woman blew her off, "Well, this office is currently concerned with very major ncidents."

Picquery ordered, "Get out."

"Yes, maam."

Gellert watched them leave with an unreadable expression.

When they finally made it to the wand permit office she inquired, "So, you got your wand permit? All

foreigners have to have them in New York.

He lied, "I made a postal application weeks ago."

She bent down to look through the files, "Scamander... And you were

just in Equatorial Guinea?"

He answered easily, "Ive just completed year in the field. I'm writing a book about magical creatures."

She questioned almost hesitantly, "Like... an extermination guide?"

He snapped, "No. A guide to help people understand why we should be protecting these reatures instead of killing hem."

A dark haired man with onyx eyes appeared. He growled, "Goldstein! Where is she?"

Yelled an angry black haired man, "Where is she? Goldstein! Goldstein," the woman appeared looking sheepish, "Did you just butt in on the

Investigative Team again?"

She nodded. Newt realized that this man looked down upon her. Just like most of the world looked down upon him.

"Whereve you been?"

She tried to deflect, "What?"

The man snapped at him ,"Whered she pick you up?"

He queried mischievous as a Niffler after gold, "Me?"

The glare he received told him the man wasn't amused. Then he turned back to Goldstein, "Have you been tracking them Second Salemers again."

Of coursevnot, sir," lied the woman. Then her eyes flashed at something over Newt's shoulder.

Abernathy snapped to attention as he greeted, "Afternoon, Mr. Graves, sir!"

Gellert returned coolly, "Afternoon, Abernathy."

Tina said showing Newt's case, "Mr. Graves, sir, this is Mr. Scamander.

He has a crazy creature in that case

and it got out and caused

mayhem in a bank, sir."

Gellert allowed an amused twitch of his lips as he said, "Lets see the little guy."

He reached to stop her but she already flipped the latches. When it popped open they were surprised to find a suitcase of pastries. He barely held back a sigh of relief. Then it hit him his creatures were out there. A muggle had them.

Even as his hands clenched at his sides he could feel a pair of eyes on him. He kept his eyes firmly down as he made plans to find the large muggle with his case.

"Tina," came the disappointed sigh.

Then he was gone. Abernathy let him go only a few moments later. It was obvious he didnt trust the woman. Not that it mattered to him he just needed to find his case before any of his creatures were hurt.

That would be the easiest time he had that day. As he left he could feel Gellert's gaze on his back.

[still-figuring-me-out]

The Social Worker and the Businesswoman AU - chapter 5

The next morning at 7:45AM Judge Ellington sat scowling at her desk. She hated being summoned, especially during her break. Some may call a 7PM phone call from a city councilman asking for her to meet with some unknown party in her chambers early the next morning as a suggestion, but Suzanne recognized it for what it was; a summons to drop whatever she had prepared and make herself available. So here she sat drumming her fingers on her office desk and growing more impatient as the minutes ticked by. She was determined that if this mystery person was not in her officer promptly at 8AM she would be leaving at 8:01 and the consequences be damned. When a single knock was placed on her door at 8 on the dot Suzanne found herself equal parts curious and disappointed. Curious to see who wanted to meet with her and why they could not wait until the new year and disappointed that she would not be able to give them a taste of their own medicine.

“Enter,” she called. To say she was surprised when a petite woman with midnight black hair and piercing green eyes stepped into her office would be an understatement.

“Good morning Judge Ellington,” the waif in front of her began with a lilting Irish accent. “Let me first apologize for intruding on what I know would be your holiday period but..”

“Just tell me who you represent and what they want so we can both get on with our day,” she interrupted. “Which of the good ole boys from National City are you schlepping for? Just get it over with so I can get back to my family.” She was greeted by a single, perfectly groomed eyebrow arched and a direct stare. This one actually has a personality she thought, she’d better learn to cover it though or she’d get eaten alive’.

“I assure you that I answer to no-one but very well let’s get down to business,” came the immediate response. “My name is Lena Luthor and I’d like to talk about someone whose case you presided over.”

“Luthor? As in Luthor Corp?” Judge Ellington thundered.

“Luthor as in L-Corp formally known as Luther Corp yes,” Lena returned. “I can’t imagine that there are too many of us in a city the size of National City.”

“I’d heard of the renaming and the relocation of the headquarters but I never thought that in my line of work I’d ever have need to run into a Luthor ever again,” Judge Ellington says bitterly. “So what are you some distant cousin?”

“What I am,” Lena replies drawing herself up to her full 5’3 height, “is someone who’s sure that you have more interesting things to do today that delve into my pedigree.”

“Just like a Luthor,” Suzanne scoffed, “so sure that your time is more valuable than anyone else’s. No consideration for anyone but yourselves. Parasites the whole lot of you.”

“I could stand here and allow you to continue to hurl insults at me,” Lena drawled, “or we could get to the business that has us both down here so that you can return to your holiday in the shortest possible time.”

“I don’t do deal with Luthors,” Suzanne spat.

“Really?” smirked Lena insolently. “Then you would be the only person in this city who does not.”

“Get. Out.” Suzanne ground out. “Your kind is not welcomed in my chambers.”

“I do believe,” Lena says walking confidently into the office, “that the large donation my company made to the mayor’s campaign as well as city hall itself buys me admittance to this and any office that I deem necessary.”

“God you really are a Luthor,” Suzanne sneered. “Just as self-righteous as the core family. Sitting in your ivory towers looking down your nose thinking you own everything and everyone. Well I’ll have you know that in these chambers my word is final!”

“Which one was it?” Lena asked mildly taking a seat in front of the Judge’s desk and absentmindedly removing lint from her expensive winter coat.

“What?” Suzanne sputtered.

“Which one was it?” Lena repeated. “To have such a deep seated hatred of the Luthors you must have had direct contact with either Lionel, Lillian or Lex. So which one was it?” Suzanne was taken slightly by surprise at the temporary look of exhaustion and resignation that crossed the face of the young woman sitting in front of her. What could she possibly have to be tired about? I suppose ever parasites get tired.

“What makes you believe I’ve ever met any of the Luthors?” Suzanne muttered averting her eyes.

“Call it intuition. Or practice,” Lena responded. “There’s a strong distinction between people who have heard of the Luthor reputation and those unfortunate enough to have first-hand experience as to how they earned that reputation.”

“That was years ago and of no consequence now,” Suzanne began.

“So let me guess? Lilian. Possibly with a dash of Lionel thrown in,” Lena interrupted tilting her head slightly. The blush staining the judge’s cheeks all but confirmed Lena’s guess. “I’m going to say you were young. Probably had the misfortune of catching Lionel’s eye at a party. Lilian has always been a possessive and vindictive thing. She may not have wanted Lionel herself but she’d be damned if anyone else would have him. She made a sport of destroying any who was unfortunate enough to be a target of Lionel’s attention while she was present.”

“What makes you think?” Suzanne stuttered.

“Like I said, practice,” Lena replied taking a breath. “God only knows why Lilian didn’t take out her husband’s infidelity on him rather than everyone else around him. Look, for whatever it’s worth I am sorry.”

“For what?” Suzanne asked siting in shock.

“That you were a target for a miserable and vindictive couple,” Lena sighed. “Now we can sit here and you can attempt to collect on the pound of flesh you may be owed, or we can get to the business at present.”

“And if I decide that I’d rather collect what’s due to me what would you do?” Suzanne asked curiously.

“Well then Judge Ellington, you’d find that my parents were masters when it came to teaching vindictiveness and power-plays and that I have always been a diligent student,” Lena replied folding her hands in her lap.

“Parents?” Suzanne responded.

“Yes, Lionel and Lilian Luthor are my parents.” Lena answered holding the judge’s gaze.

“I knew of Lex but I never knew that they had a second child. I’ve never heard your name mentioned in the press, but then I’ve made a habit of steering clear of all things Luthor related.” Suzanne replied.

“Yes well I attended boarding school and university in the UK,” Lena supplied.

“That explains the accent,” Suzanne replied finding the younger woman’s unblinking gaze slightly unnerving.

“Look,” Lena leaned forward and sighed. “I am not my parents. I’m just a woman trying to make a life for myself outside of my family’s name. The last thing I want to do is to keep paying their dues. I am not my parents and I’m not my brother. All I ask is that you judge me on my merits, give me the same consideration you would give to a perfect stranger on the streets, nothing more nothing less. Can you do that? Or are you one of those that believes that the sins of the father should be passed down to his children?”

Suzanne sighed as she realized that she could either do what the Luthors had done to her years before and judge the young woman sitting before her for someone else’s actions or she could let the past remain in the past and move forward. She had a sneaking suspicion as well that if riled this Luthor may turn out to be a worse enemy than the other three combined.

“What can I do for you Ms. Luthor?” she asked finally.

“I came to talk you about Mikayla Dawson,” Lena replied shocking the older woman. Why was a Luthor interested in an orphan?

“I had no idea Mikayla had a connection to your family,” Suzanne responded.

“She doesn’t,” Lena answered. “At least not yet. Were you aware that after your ruling yesterday that Mikayla was taken to the National City Group Home for Girls?”

“I didn’t know,” Suzanne sighed heavily. “But I suspected she would be at this time of year. God I wished I could’ve locked up her dad’s cousin and his brat of a wife for that they did.” Suzanne will forever regret the choice she was forced to make yesterday; no child should be without a family at the holidays.

“Karma will set those scales right eventually. But don’t worry if it takes too long I’m not above lending a helping hand,” Lena responded softly sending a shiver down Suzanne’s spine. Definitely not an enemy one wanted to make Suzanne thought. “My concern right now however is with Mikayla not her disgrace of a cousin.”

“May I ask why you are so concerned with a child you say you have no connection to?” Suzanne inquired.

“Because I was three years younger that Mikayla when my world crumbled around me. After my mom died and I was sent to the Luthors getting almost immediately shipped to boarding school was the last thing I needed,” Lena replied without changing expression. Her face was so devoid of emotion she might as well be talking about the weather.

“You’re adopted?” Suzanne asked in surprise for the umpteenth time that morning.

“Yes,” came the simple response.

“How can I help?” Suzanne asked immediately making up her mind to help in whatever way she could. She was rewarded with Lena’s first smile of the day. Seems the apple fell very far from the tree Suzanne thought listening to Lena’s proposal.

A long time after she glanced down at her watch and was surprised to see that it was almost 11AM.

“Usually she’s very conscientious about answering her cell phone,” Suzanne replied in frustration.

“It is the holidays after all,” Lena mused. “She may want some time with her family. She may even be out of town.”

“Not Kara Danvers,” Suzanne shook her head. “Kara is from a rare breed of social workers who actually loves the work she does. She goes above and beyond for all the children in her care. She’d never go out of town with Mikayla in a group home. Even if it’s so she could visit with her for a few hours so she’s not alone with strangers on Christmas.”

“Sounds like she’s in the perfect job,” Lena replied. “How do you know so much about her? Is she a friend of yours?”

“No, but yesterday I noticed how invested she was in Mikayla’s case so I made some calls,” Suzanne blushed. “Based on what I heard she invests 110% of herself into all her charges. Even checks up on them after they’ve been released from her care.”

“Sounds like she’s not the only one who takes an interest in her cases outside of what is expected,” Lena replied with another arch of her eyebrow.

“Yes well,” Suzanne cleared her throat without continuing.  “Based on what I’ve gathered her and her lawyer friend with the unfortunate name are quite the team. They do everything within their power and sometimes outside of their power to ensure that each child in their care gets a happy and loving home. The system could use more like them.”

“I’m happy to hear that Mikayla had them in her corner for the last three months,” Lena says standing and shrugging into her jacket.

“If you give me another hour I’m sure I can find someone who can locate another contact number for her,’ Suzanne offers.

“No need,” Lena replied. When Suzanne continued to look at her curiously Lena smiled mildly. “One thing you should know about me Judge Ellington; I never attempt an acquisition without first doing extensive research. I’m sure I’ll speak to Ms. Danvers before the day is out.” Shaking her hand and watching her leave Suzanne was just as sure that Kara Danvers was destined for a face to face with one Ms. Lena Luthor before the day was out.

“Ms. Tessmacher,” Lena greets her personal assistant when she answers her call. “Are you in the office as yet?”

“No Ms. Luthor,” Eve stutters. “You told me last night that we would begin at noon and it’s just past eleven so I just left out. I’m so sorry I can be there in ten minutes.”

“Well that would be a Christmas miracle considering your file shows that you live across town,” Lena replied. “Relax Ms. Tessmacher I do remember I told you we’d be getting a late start. That’s not why I called. Can you do me a favour?”

“Of course Ms. Luthor.” Eve replied confused. “How may I help?”

“I need you to stop at a department store and pick up a car-seat.” Lena answered.

“A car-seat?” Eve asked even more confused.

“Yes Ms. Tessmacher, a car-seat for a seven-year-old little girl,” Lena answered. “Let me know once you have it and your location and I will come and collect it and give you a lift to work.”

“Yes Ms. Luthor,” Eve replied no less confused that she was before. She is even more confused when her employer picks her up an hour later in a silver Toyota Prius.

“Surprised are we Ms. Tessmacher?” Lena asked amused.

“No Ms. Luthor,” Eve begins before noticing Lena’s raised eyebrow. “Well yes. You’re a billionaire why do you drive a Prius?”

“Because it’s unexpected,” Lena laughs. “Like you, no-one expects me to be driving a Prius. You’d be surprised how many times I’ve driven pass the paparazzi waiting for me without them batting an eye. When you do the unexpected you can get away with almost anything.”

“So basically, you’re hiding in plain sight,” Eve replied.

“A Luthor never hides Ms. Tessmacher, but yes.” Lena grins at her gaping secretary. Eve is starting wonder if her boss was feeling okay. In the six months that she’s been her personal assistant this is the most they have spoken about any topic that was not directly work related. Her thoughts are interrupted when Lena asks to make a short detour before heading to work.

“Of course Ms. Luthor,” Eve murmurs. She is given a further shock when they pull into a complex with a large dilapidated sign that reads “Welcome to National City Group Home for Girls”.

“This should not take long,” Lena states.

[digitalpresidentsproject]

George Washington

George Washington

b. 1732 – d. 1799

Washington came from a wealthy Virginian family that had a plantation that grew tobacco. He was part of the Virginia Militia then part of the Revolutionary War effort. He set many of the expectations, known as the first father of the nation, and sculpted much of the Executive branch of government. He warned other politicians that the great experiment for which they fought so long for would be destroyed if they let differences like political parties or faction loyalty get in between them while solving issues.

Presidential term: April 30, 1789 – March 3, 1797

Vice President: John Adams

Party Affiliation: Independent

Major Points of his inaugural address(es):

The formulation of a unifying Constitution was by the "voluntary consent of so many distinct communities.“

Washington emphasized to the members of Congress their duty to lay "the foundations of our national policy" while using "the eternal rules of order and right," which were part of his idea of the presidency collaborating with the legislative branch.

The key to keep the nation going is by not focusing by party methods but rather a collective, country method. Focusing on differences would skew the system and lead to conflict or even worse, collapse of their vision.

His second address was the shortest ever recorded by a president and illustrated his disappointment of once again being president.

Major Conflicts of Interest

Creation of a National Bank & Finances

This issue was headed by Treasury Secretary, Alexander Hamilton. Many tariffs, taxes, and other plans were created to deal with the debts from the Revolutionary War. However, Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson created most of their arguments around the idea of a National Bank.

Although the issue was resolved by gaining Jefferson's support in retiring the debt by allowing the nation's capital be closer to Virginia, a majority of the presidency for Washington was mediating these differences. In the end, this created the Democrat-Republican party headed by Jefferson and the Federalist Party headed by Hamilton

2. Whiskey Tax & Rebellion

As one of the solutions to getting rid of the debt after the Revolutionary War, Hamilton suggested to enacting a tax towards whiskey as its production had increased. This angered many of the citizens since one of the reasons why the war started was because of unfair taxing. This made Washington enact his power by dispatching militia troops to keep order. This was the first example of power set by a president and kept law and order in the new nation.

Here is a video about the issue with clips from two historical based movies, George Washington (1984) and Hamilton: The Musical (2020).

Presidential Commentary

As he is one of the founding fathers of the nation, there are many strengths that Washington had that helped him govern the new nation. The issues of the Whiskey Tax and Rebellion, the formation of the new national bank, and influencing a more neutral take in politics, are all examples of where his strengths of mediation, leadership, and neutrality.

First, his mediation skills were critical to preventing another war between the American people. He was able to prevent any immediate wars, and perhaps change the fate of the United States, by preventing further arguments between Hamilton and Jefferson. His word choice in letters sent between himself, Jefferson, and Hamilton as well as his actions around setting up funding for a national bank while balancing the new establishment of the national capital are all examples of his sublime use of mediation.

Second, his leadership skills were used to prevent conflict when enacting tax acts that were required to eliminate the young nation’s new debt. Although many were angry with this enactment, because one of the reasons that the Revolutionary War started was taxes, the use of the militia showed how strong Washington was towards ending conflict and protecting the newly formed nation. This was imperative to preserving the union of the nation that they had just won soon before.

Thirdly, the neutrality that Washington held while he was in office was vital to the beginnings of the new nation. Although the public did not heed his warning and it led to the creation of factions or parties and the eventual Civil War during the 1860s and other conflicts, his insistence to keeping all problems and disagreements to the side were important to making sure there was a solid foundation(2).

On the other hand, Washington, like other presidents, was not perfect in his presidency. As it was mentioned, he showed great leadership in taking care of the Whiskey Act issue (1). However, this could also be seen as a weakness as there could have been more awareness for those getting taxed before fully enacting it. Since the argument for the Constitution was liberty and justice for all, this tax (imposed without public input other than Congress) was not fair to the others not in the government. This goes to the deeper level of what a republic really means, how the politicians of the time dealt with enacting that kind of government and working with others that were not part of the elite or government. Another weakness of Washington was not his disinterest in a second term of presidency, but the fact that even when he did not want to be president, he did it anyways. In terms of loyalty, this would be a strength but in terms of loyalty to self-interest and needs, it is betrayal. The reasons why Washington continued to be president lies in the fear that the country was not ready enough and the varying, disheartening political opinions emerging that could split the states of the north and the south.

Nevertheless, Washington was an iconic figure in U.S History and remains to be one of the highest held figures in presidential history. Even with his weaknesses and many conflicts dealt during his time as president, his strengths come out on top and set the precedent of what it means to lead a new nation.

Citations:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/george-washington/

Link to first address: https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/american_originals/inaugtxt.html

Link to second address: https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/march-4-1793-second-inaugural-address https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/biography/