#The young generations like Gabe’s have NO reason to hate her

[lieutenant-amuel]

It feels like people really forget sometimes that Shuriki has been ruling for 41 years, there are two generations that have grown up under her and have no idea what life looked like before she came

[emersonfreepress]

okay so is there content that you had planned for the ROs and story in general but then scrapped cause there wasn’t a good place in the story to stick it in? and if so, can you share what it was? 👀 👀 👀

yes, definitely. *rubs hands together* oh man, you done asked THE question today xD I can't wait to get into this 😁

Academics. I almost decided to have classes and grades be a minor part of gameplay, but the more time I spent designing it the more I realized I wanted nothing to do with it 😂 I haven’t really enjoyed academic gameplay in other interactive fiction because I 1) hate having to choose between studying and interacting with awesome characters, 2) have terrible short term memory, and 3) hate school in general!! So instead I just opted to have the MC be really good at school, point blank period so I could focus on social drama and relationships instead! 😆

Physical skills. I spent literal months crafting the catering scene around setting up stats for stamina/endurance, dexterity, and strength instead of just magnetism, confidence, and persuasion. They had their own backstories with the MC’s parents being overly invested sports parents instead and I think the background choices were like... martial arts, gymnastics, and track? But yeah, I ended up scrapping it all because I was spending hours on research about those individual sports so I could integrate them into the MC’s narrative organically but like... when I tried to think of what use they would be in the actual story, I came up blank. Best decision yet, esp since it means a lot less coding!

Skin tone customization. For one, I noticed that a lot of my favorite IFs don’t offer that customization and it hasn’t impacted my experience at all. For two, I originally realized I might as well not implement it since I am striving real hard not to introduce any customization that won’t actually be mentioned in interesting or meaningful ways in-story. I don’t think it’s really all that common for real life friends (esp in high school?) to comment or compliment each other’s skin and like... when it comes from someone who doesn’t share a similar complexion or ethnic background, that type of commentary gets... d i c e y. So then I wanted to be sensitive to that but what’s the pay-off? An RO mentioning how they love your skin tone once? Awkward sentences with the MC referring to their own skin color? Idk, just wasn’t vibing with it. I’m open to revisiting it in beta or something but for now it’s scrapped.

Singing, Rapping, and Gaming as Hobbies/Talents. I feel bad about scrapping these, honestly 😂 They’re great and I really wanted to incorporate them but it just came down to already having a lot of stuff to code. Plus, I know I can write the Hobbies/Talents I stuck with far better. And for Book 2 purposes, as well!

Leo. as @sourandflightypeaches ​​ asked me about a long while ago, I had to scrap an entire RO 😢 His name is Leo, he was the nephew of wealthy west African diplomats residing in Emerson, and I love him dearly! His backstory was largely based on my mother’s childhood and the circumstances she lived through after immigrating to America. and... ok, i’m about to go on one hell of a tangent so buckle up and bear with me if you can 😅

my intention with this story, aside from writing things that I personally enjoy (graphic violence, spooky woods, social drama, romance, conspiracies 😚), is to explore greed, wealth, and how the ways people and families interact with those two things influence young people and who they grow up to be. here i go sounding pretentious af 😝 and here’s where I apply a cut for those who want to preserve a little mystery to the main characters!

With Gabe, we’ve got someone who grew up with very little stability or financial security but who has found unscrupulous methods to gain status and money, with both noble and selfish motivations.

Kile has some of that childhood experience in common with Gabe, having been in the foster care system since infancy, but they lucked out when they were adopted into massive wealth by a caring, loving couple—a couple that uses their wealth and privilege to be far more lenient and protective of Kile than is actually reasonable or responsible.

Jack comes from a prestigious wealthy family on his dad’s side who he loves dearly but there’s no getting around the fact that they love him back as much as they despise his working class mom.

Jessie is a spoiled sweet heiress (being the baby of her family and the only girl) and while she lives blissfully ignorant of the harmful source and impact of her father's income and career, she bears the weight of the expectation to fulfill very traditional gender roles, including her behavior and appearance, but also extending to her career and life plans.

Rain's wealth led to them growing up sheltered and isolated but also extremely accommodated, giving them maximum freedom and opportunity to discover and develop their personal talents and interests. However, they have almost no positive relationship with their parents who have essentially decided to give up on a kid that couldn't be exactly the accessory they tried to mold them to be—both in terms of their identity and personality.

Rupan/Rohan, at their very core, rejects everything about conformity, self-importance, and excessive luxury—which means they have never, ever truly fit in with their peers. Going full non-conformist, however, has resulted in them becoming alienated from much of their family, as well, despite them all loving each other very much. Their history with false friends and betrayals has led them to over-indulge in their vices and reckless behavior to compensate for that isolation. Sometimes, they just get in over their head and many times, they know better. Every time, it's just that the feeling of finally belonging is utterly intoxicating.

Vivian/Vincent has two extremely successful parents who didn't inherit but instead built up their wealth and they aspire to be just like them, to a degree that is well and truly unhealthy. Their mother specifically is an over-achiever and applies mountainous pressure for them to follow in her footsteps, especially academically. Vi is completely capable of achieving what their mom expects of them, but they were already an extremely sensitive perfectionist so this has made them intensely critical of themself. This is a large part of why they are such a rigid, no-nonsense person and that in turn has made them one of the most disliked people among their peers—which is a huge personal failure to them since their father is a very well-liked and socially successful person in town.

And the Emersons are peak privilege: inherent high social status, brains, looks, charisma, athleticism, and massive wealth. They could never have been anything less than extremely popular, just by virtue of their last name and the nature of the town's social dynamics and politics. And they do enjoy that privilege (esp Curt lol). However, it should go without saying that being so high profile, even (or maybe especially) just in the isolated scope of your hometown, isn't always a boon. Their family's and their own perceived failings are widely discussed and privately mocked and/or celebrated. Real friends are scarce while fake ones and snakes are plentiful. Plus their dad is a gigantic dickhead who sees his kids as extensions of his own status and reputation and not much else. Public shortcomings make for an unbearable time at home and the world outside the estate is at once overly accommodating, full of assumptions, and even subtly hostile at times—all unrelated to their own actions or character.

And with the MC, I think the narrative will make it clear there are several ways that story can go. You start off with irresponsible parents that have lost their wealth due to their own mismanagement and material ambitions—how that affects any individual MC should differ based on choices and consequences!

So why bring any of that up when I was supposed to be talking about my cut OC? 😂😂

Leo was going to be the unwelcome recent addition to his uncle’s household, the son of a brother his aunt hates for (petty af) Reasons, and she took that resentment out on him directly by restricting his access to nearly every aspect of the family's wealth. Especially material goods and living conditions. He was basically treated like the help, tasked with playing nanny for his many younger cousins and burdened with doing the homework and providing academic cover for his dumb as rocks cousin in the same grade as you all. To sum it up, he was basically a victim of trafficking at the hands of his own family with his uncle out of town enough to feign ignorance to how bad his wife was treating his nephew and his aunt going out of her way to keep him busy, at home, and isolated. This is sadly a super common form of trafficking in Francophone African cultures (although I don't think most people view it as trafficking. and I’m sure the same is true of other cultures but I don’t want to speak outside of my purview). And like I mentioned above, it’s how my own mom's (and idek how many cousins') child/teenhood went.

It’s a perspective on modern wealth, privilege and greed that I really, really wanted to tell. I am confident in saying it hasn't been explored in interactive fiction yet (though correct me—and direct me 👀—if I'm wrong) and out of all the wealth/greed explorations I came up with, it's the one I have the closest personal ties to and the strongest feelings about. The characters and plans I had for it were detailed and I'm proud of them but at the end of the day... I just couldn't find a place for Leo in the story at large.

Leo was, in fact, the last main character I came up with, when I had already designed and fleshed out the larger story and started crafting the timeline of major events. I think the worst thing I could have done for a story and perspective that I care about this much is shove it into a plot that didn't have room for it at the very base level, regardless of how well the character or his story is written. Shoe-horned characters always stick out. I didn’t want to disservice Leo by having him be the character that did nothing or could be removed from the main plot without affecting it at all, y’know? That’s so much worse than just forgoing the indulgence, imo :((

ugh.... Leooooo 😭 I'm so sorry bb, I failed youuu 😥

[its-called-wit-ya-git]

percabeth adopts.... a theory:

idk this just hit me as reasons why they wouldn’t conceive their children.

-annabeth feels distant from motherhood and pregnancy. when she and percy grow up she understands that she DOES want to be a mother but still feels distant from pregnancy.

-her mom wasn’t pregnant with her, the time her step-mom was pregnant was the real beginning of the coldness and neglect she recieved from her dad.

-annabeth is a working woman and the idea of being out of commission sounds terrible when there are other options.

-neither percy nor annabeth like the idea of her being more vulnerable to attacks when she’s pregnant, and the baby could suffer from it.

-they realize that a kid with their blood and direct scent would be an absolute magnet for monsters. the danger of the kids with powers drawing attention + the double godly blood is a huge risk for their family.

-and while any children of them will have their scent because the live together, they consulted with grover who confirmed that YES it would be safer for their children to not be biologically related to them.

-just in general percy hated how things went wrong for him because of powers he couldn’t control or know about because if sally told him, more monsters would come. he doesn’t wanna risk passing that on.

-they KNOW there’s kids out there who need homes, and the same characteristics that make people think Percy should be a social worker are the same reasons why adoption would be on his mind.

-after seeing all the displaced kids in the hermes cabin and all those young demigods who defected, they feel a strong call to help kids like that out.

-percy knows that if he didn’t have his mom or she hadn’t been so involved in his life, he could’ve and probably would’ve ended up in juvie. and if something happened to sally he’d go to gabe or maybe the foster system. it easily could’ve been him.

-they know that blood does not a family make and blood relation does not mean someone will be a good parent. they each have different relationships with biological and step parents alike, and know that all that matters is the heart and dedication of a parent. which they will have oodles of.

OVERALL, idk it seems like they’d want to help kids out, mortal kids who don’t have a place like camp to fall back on. they understand the risks and refuse to put their kid in danger. and so they have kids in a way that is less dangerous for them, that simple.

[miraculous-ladybec]

Strong Girl Bong-Soon AU

In which Marinette, as Ladybug, is hired to protect Adrien with her superpowers.

Being the son of a world famous fashion designer was tough enough, but becomes dangerous when cryptic letters arrive at the Agreste mansion threatening Adrien’s life if his father doesn’t comply with their wishes.

Even though he hates to, Gabe figures hiring the local superheroine was his best bet at keeping his only family left alive. Plus maybe an opportunity to learn her identity for Hawkmoth purposes.

Adrien already has a huge crush on Ladybug so he’s more than okay with having a personal bodyguard for once

Marinette agrees, of course, because she “must protect all parisians”, at least that’s what she tells Tikki. We all know she wants more time with Adrien, and keeping him safe is top priority.

Adrien is allowed to be at school without protection because he’s in public and under the surveillance of his teachers and school security, so he has time to talk to Nino about how excited he is to see Ladybug all the time now (at least, more than he sees her as Chat)

Marinette figures this is a good way to learn more about her crush, even though she’ll have to be careful not to reveal too much about herself

She tells her parents she’s gotten an after-school job babysitting for one of her teachers for the next few weeks, in hopes that the authorities will find the people who are threatening Adrien by then

She goes after school to the Agreste Manor where the place is practically on lockdown mode. Adrien isn’t allowed to do photo shoots for the time being, and he’s definitely not allowed out of his father, Nathalie, or Ladybug’s sight.

She and Adrien are left alone in his room since Gabriel is always working, and he doesn’t handle stress very well (clearly)

At first, both parties are super awkward and giggly with each other. Mari is a little more confident behind her mask, but still blushes fervently if Adrien even looks at her for too long.

They find they can pass the time by playing through all of the games Adrien has in his arcade of a bedroom. Some of them multiplayer, some of them not. When they play single player games, they make a combination of their names for the playable character to be called. They trade off control while munching on snacks and making strategies in game.

Once Marinette calms down around him, she learns that Adrien has a lot of dorky interests that she finds rather endearing. She browses his collection of Shojo Manga and they even watch some anime together.

Of course, Adrien has to be careful not to make too many jokes or be flirty with his Bug. He can’t have her figuring out that he’s Chat Noir, and she’d be furious if she learned she was hired to protect someone who truly could protect himself.

The days go by and no more suspicious notes are left by the manor, so Adrien is cleared to go back to photoshoots, so long as Ladybug goes with him to keep watch. Luckily during this time, there haven’t been many Akuma attacks

Marinette doesnt complain about being toted along on photoshoots because she could watch Adrien all day, and she’s also super interested in seeing all of the designs being modeled.

The photographer instantly notices how “Senior Adrien is looking exceptionally happy these days” to which Adrien blushes, knowing full well that he shouldn’t be enjoying having a full time private bodyguard so much, given the circumstances

But honestly, he’s just happy that for the first time since his mother passed, he can come home and know he’ll have someone to talk to and spend time with who will smile genuinely around him and listen to his problems

Marinette notices Adrien looking happier in class and can’t help but hope she’s the reason why

That day after school, Marinette rushes to the manor to find Adrien asleep on his bed when she gets there. She sits on the edge of his bed with a manga to read, while she watches over him, but he reaches out in his slumber and pulls her over to him.

Blushinette

Mari let’s him spoon her while he naps and she finds herself drifting off being smothered by the smell of his sheets and cologne around her

ALARMS

There’s a break in at the manor, the power has been shut down internally.

Both teens wake up at once, not having enough time to process the position they had both been in, before Mari is in protect mode.

She curses under her breath about not having night vision like Chat, but Adrien supplies his cell phone flashlight

Full emergency shutdown goes into effect and all of the manor doors lock automatically with the backup generator, locking Ladybug and Adrien in his room, and hopefully anyone else out.

Ladybug decides it’d be safer for Adrien, and everyone else, to try to evacuate the manor and let the authorities swarm in to catch the intruders.

She uses her lucky charm to bust open Adrien’s bathroom window, and carries him bridal style to the safest place she can think of on the spot, her family’s bakery where he can hide in the back.

(Mari quickly detransforms and recharges Tikki)

She goes back to get Gabriel and Nathalie to find the perpetrator tearing apart Adrien’s room

“Looking for something?” Sassinette

She apprehends the intruder rather easily, since she’s used to fighting superpowered Akuma victims, and goes into full interrogation mode

She manages to learn that it’s an underground mafia trying to scam Gabriel out of money, by threatening at first, but that this mission was to actually capture and try to ransom Adrien off.

And she’d played right into their hands

In the case that she left with him, several men were waiting outside to follow her to wherever she hid Adrien, and they found him right where she left him

Of course her parents tried to protect the boy, but backed down when faced with real weapons

She hands the scumbag over to the authorities, now in full rage mode. If there’s anything Marinette hates more than liars, it’s people who put her friends and family in danger.

She steals the guys phone and manages to track it back to the headquarters of the mob, finding that they’d prepared for her to possibly come, but not expecting the level of ferocity to come out of such a usually peaceful heroine

Ladybug hands their asses to them for touching Adrien and even THINKING about harming her parents, and leaves them all bloodied on the floor when she calls the cops to come get them

Adrien is beaten up slightly from fighting back against them to the best of his abilities. He’s strong for a young teen, especially with his fencing training, but he’s no match for multiple full grown men with guns.

Ladybug takes him to the hospital to be checked over, he took a knife to the gut at one point in his struggle and she can’t help but feel like it’s all her fault, letting maybe a little too much Marinette show through while she kneels next to his hospital bed crying. Assuming he’s asleep, she detransforms to let Tikki rest after all the fighting.

He’s not asleep

She quickly passes out in the chair next to his bed

Of course Adrien is really injured, but it’s not nearly as bad as she perceived it to be. It’s not a deep cut, and it didn’t puncture any organs. He bled out a little and needed stitches, but it’s definitely not life threatening.

He suddenly finds it so easy to connect the dots between his lady and his princess now that he knows the two are the same.

Plagg makes an appearance finally to say “I told you so” as Adrien realizes he’s had feelings for his classmate and friend all along, pushing them down to maintain his love for Ladybug. But now that he knows they’re the same, he’s never letting her go again, so long as she wants him too.

He eventually doses off and has sweet dreams where Ladybug and Marinette are interchangeable in the most romantic of settings

Mari wakes up around 4 am and transforms back, heading home, unaware that Adrien discovered her secret.

The news the next morning show that Ladybug uncovered a major terrorist group that was behind all of the mob violence and the threatening of local celebrities and politicians

Mari feels awful and decides to fake sick to stay in bed, she manages to turn into ladybug around 3 pm to go to the hospital to see Adrien.

He’d actually been sent home that morning, so she swings by the manor where Mr. Agreste thanks her for her help and let’s her know she can go since it’s all been taken care of. She sees Adrien and that he’s doing fine and feels much better learning he’ll be able to return to school the next day provided that he doesn’t develop any symptoms around his injury.

Mari goes home, unable to sleep, she stays up making a new shirt for Adrien since “his old one must have a hole in it now”

This new shirt is a very soft sky blue material with a chest pocket with his initials embroidered on the inside. She stitches her signature on the internal hemline of the shirt after adding some final tweaks to make sure the striping across the chest is the same as his old shirt was.

She finally passes out with three hours left before class

Marinette wakes up late again and runs to school with her present for Adrien in hand

Just as predicted, he’s in his seat when she gets there. His eyes are glued to her from the moment she trips through the door.

He even tries to bolt from his chair to catch her, but the pain in his abdomen keeps him from getting up completely.

Mari waits until everyone has asked Adrien how he’s doing at lunch before approaching him with her gift.

She stutters way less than usual given that she’s spent the better part of two weeks getting to know him more

He opens the gift and starts tearing up at how thoughtful this girl is and “when did she have the time to do this?”

Unable to control himself, Adrien pulls a very stunned Marinette into a hug and whispers “How did I get so lucky as to have an angel like you in my life?”

Later at patrol, Chat decides he’s going to reveal himself to LB

They’re sitting on a roof together when he tells her how much he admired what she did to take down that mob group by herself and that he wishes he could have helped

She jokes about how he really should have been there to help, but she managed on her own

He gets serious, then tells her how much he appreciates what she does

LB brushes it off since it’s “Chat flattery”

But he looks her dead in the eyes, holds her hands and finally

FINALLY

Detransforms

“Do you get it now? Everything you did for me is more than I could have asked. You risked so much for me and singlehandedly saved my life.”

She’s stunned

“I love you, Marinette.”

She’s MORE stunned

“I-I love you too, Adrien.”

“BUT IF YOU EVER PUT YOURSELF IN HARMS WAY AGAIN WITHOUT TELLING ME YOU’RE CHAT NOIR FIRST—“

[pandemicthestory]

13: ghosted

Emma wanders down a busy virtual street, barely able to keep her jaw from hitting the digital concrete.

She had been expecting a video game, something with pixels and glitches, but what was in front of her seems so much more real. It's almost disturbing.

Skyscrapers are tall, as she has known them to be in the real world. But here, they are round, and they aren’t perfectly straight--they are shaped like an off-balance layer cake. And the lights shine so much brighter. Holographic advertisements cover surfaces. Except, she notices that they’re not for Chipotle or cars, they’re news spots. 

“The death toll in the state of California rises to 12,000, a 200% spike since last week” 

She sees that holograms are delivering news from the real world. 

A car zooms way too close to her, and she jumps back--shaken from her stupor. Well, it looked like a car. However, it has no wheels. Emma smirks to herself at how Madison would react: “I’m already aware that the Camaro is a piece of shit, I don’t need these turbo spaceships to rub it in my face even more.”

Emma marvels at the size of the city and the people around her. Some of them are talking on devices like the one she was handed on the beach--though instead of holding it to their ears like cell phones, it’s at more of a distance from their faces and projecting holographic video. Some people are walking in groups, conversing in a very familiar way. Some people are staring straight ahead, alone, like Emma.

Where is Isabel in all of this? And where to even start looking?

Emma thinks to herself, if she has one of these devices, her sister must have one too. There’s gotta be a way to track her.

“Thanks for nothing, Mason.” Emma mutters to herself, trying to figure out the odd contraption in front of her. She went from being intrigued by this guy, to fascinated, to absolutely fucking pissed. After she finds her sister, she’s gonna find him too. And get some answers.

Emma sits down on a bench on the side of the road, reviewing her device. While very high-tech, it’s surprisingly straightforward. She finds an option to search for other players, typing “Isabel Bradford.” 

While exact coordinates aren’t provided, a green dot appears on a map of the city.

* * * 

Night sits at his desk, staring at his computer screen in front of him.

He’s trying to repress the feelings of guilt that are buried in the back of his mind. Sugar will be fine. He probably left right after Night did. And anyway, Night wouldn’t have left him if it wasn’t important. He’d be having a grand time cutting class even if he was in jail. Night keeps telling himself this.   

Night seems to be playing Universe without wearing a headset, merely with a 2-dimensional view of the game. This version looks older and simpler than the version that Isabel and Emma are playing on--most likely the original from the 80s. 

Night stares at a map in the game and sees the red dot representing Emma lingering not far from the beach. 

*ping*

He keeps forgetting to turn off external notifications, ugh. Oh. He’s just received an email from his teacher, and the beginning of the message is shown in the notification…

“Hello Night, checking in on your absence…” 

Teacher would be surprised that he wasn’t there. It’s not like him to miss class, or really to do anything unruly or “wrong.” Night is expected to come and go quietly, to be somewhat odd, but overall non-disruptive. Like a ghost. 

At some point, he couldn’t remember when exactly, his education had become arbitrary. He saw what was going on...building was all that mattered. All classes had been shifting their focus and slowly morphing into one industry. If you can’t code, you’ll get left behind. If you can’t contribute in one specific way, you’re disposable.

At the beginning of this school year, it had been announced that graduation from the Academy would be pushed forward one year. The board gave the reason that young people were spending too much time sitting in classrooms, gaining information they had no need for, when they could have the opportunity to “get started in life.” 

Some saw this as exciting, but Night knew what it really meant. There were whispers. This change was not for the benefit of the students. It was not so students could be free, it was so they could be put to work. 

Well, Night has no intention of falling in line with the others who mindlessly build. He craves other knowledge, other opportunities. And he believes that the right person can help him achieve this. Her. It’s time for a disruption. 

Night sees the red Emma dot begin to move on screen. She’s walking through the streets now, heading towards the school.

The blinking dot with his name on it stalls in place. He settles into his chair for the search. 

He’ll just have to meet her there.

* * *  

In Zoe’s bedroom, Julian sits in a chair on the opposite side of the room from her bed, where she and Gabriel are sitting. They are at least 6 feet apart, properly socially-distanced. 

Julian’s wearing a bandana that’s covering most of his face. Which is great for Zoe, who kinda despises the sight of it.

“She’s not answering any of my calls or texts. I want to know what’s going on.” Julian says to them, with his trademark entitled tone. 

“Well, there’s a reason for that…” Gabriel starts. But Zoe hushes him. 

“Gabe, we’re not telling him anything. Not unless it’s necessary to protect Emma, which it sounds like it isn’t. Julian, ever considered that she’s ignoring you because you cheated on her, broke her heart, and are generally kind of a scumbag?” Zoe’s temper is rising. 

Julian doesn’t like this. He laughs condescendingly. 

“What the hell is so funny? Wait why haven’t I kicked you out yet?”

“You think Emma’s hiding from me? You don’t know anything about what she’s hiding. Hate to break it to you, but you don’t know her like I do.” 

Zoe’s about to respond, but hesitates. This dude IS a pathological liar, but, why does he sound so convincing…

“You’re lying. As per usual.” Zoe’s smart, she knows that the best way to get a manipulator to spill his guts is through manipulation. She rolls her eyes, for effect. 

“Tell me what’s going on, or you’ll regret it.” 

“You don’t know shit, Julian. We don’t negotiate with terrorists. There’s the door. Buh-bye.”

Julian stands up out of rage. Right on cue. 

“Did she tell you where she’s going next week?” Julian spits out. Bingo. 

“Um, yes, obviously.” Zoe’s lying now, but her genuine curiosity is making it difficult. Meanwhile, Gabriel lies down on the bed and rests his head on a pillow--withdrawing from the conflict. 

“Yeah fucking right. And you know how I know you’re full of shit?” 

“Please, enlighten me.” 

“Because if you’re as good of a friend as you pretend to be, you would have tried to stop her by now. But you haven’t. And I don’t think it’s because you’re not some fucking psycho weird sisterhood obsessed, I think it’s because Emma didn’t trust you enough to tell you that she’s going to start a new life. With me. And far from you.” 

Zoe sits, stunned. Julian is a bona fide liar, so why was she even dignifying this with an iota of her energy? He’s the one who’s full of shit. Obviously. 

Unless. Well, there is that constant curiosity that lives quietly in the back of her mind. Emma had grown a bit different over the past few months. The four best friends knew everything about each other, to perhaps a sickening degree, but yet...there were so many hours of Emma’s time that weren’t accounted for. Not that she isn’t entitled to those hours. But Zoe does wonder. 

“I...um…” Zoe starts.

“She’s leaving. And if you think you have any chance of talking her out of it, you better help me find her. Otherwise, you might just never see her again.” 

“Her phone is broken. That’s why you haven’t heard from her.” Gabriel says softly. 

They both turn to look at him. 

“How do you know that?” Zoe asks.

He takes a few deep breaths. “Because I was with her when it happened. We broke into Best Buy because she needed gear...it was to help her sister somehow...Madison was there, she knows more than I do…” 

And that’s all he has to say. Julian has heard enough to head to his next destination. He briskly walks towards the door. 

“Hold on a second, what happened to working together?” Zoe asks. 

Julian sighs a fake sigh. 

“I think what’s best for Emma will be to have as clean a break as possible.” 

He leaves and shuts the door behind him. Zoe groans out loud, furious. How could she have listened to this monster??

But then again, there’s a part of her that needs to know if what he’s saying is true. She has so many questions… Why would Emma want to leave? Why couldn’t she be honest with her best friends? What happened to Isabel? And where is Emma now?

Zoe lies down next to Gabriel and wraps her arms around him. She thinks to herself about how there were so many bad guys out there, and she had somehow scored one of the few good ones. She feels blessed yet torn apart. 

“Zo, I feel like hell.” he says. 

Zoe realizes the heat of his body, and puts a hand to his forehead. Burning up. 

She can’t let her mind go there. 

“Don’t think about it Gabe. You haven’t seen anyone except me. Okay and Emma and Madison for five minutes, but you were totally safe, weren’t you?” she asks, starting to panic. 

He doesn’t respond. 

“Gabe?”

“Well yeah, the only thing I can think of is…Madison wasn’t wearing a mask.” 

* * * 

Emma keeps walking. The Isabel Bradford dot is getting closer and closer. 

She’s in such a state of disbelief that it will take a lot to shock her even further at this point. 

What will she say to her sister when she sees her? Hi, what the hell is going on? Why is your limp body chilling in our house? What are you doing here?

Isabel has been acting so weird lately. But then again, her family probably thinks the same about her. They’re probably wondering why this emo introvert is even more emo and introverted than usual. Or maybe they aren’t wondering at all. And it’s the lack of wondering that has driven her to run away with someone who may or may not love her.

Where is Julian now? The eternal question. Although one that has plagued her a bit less over the past couple of days. It’s legitimately insane how much has happened in that time. 

And what of Mason? 

Her blood began to boil. Emma has been massively fucked over by a guy before, and she feels that it’s unacceptable for this to become a pattern. Julian cheating and lying and manipulating...ok she can chock that up to a learning experience. Right? Ehhh. But if two guys play her in a row, well than she’s a bigger fool than she could have ever imagined. And she deserves what happens to her.

For a moment, Emma marvels at the fact that somewhere, she is in a closet on a pile of laundry. She can feel no trace of that reality, only absorb every hyper-realistic facet of what’s around her. She continues on these roads that only exist on a hard drive but feel solid under feet.  

Once Emma finds Isabel, who probably knows her way around this game, she’s going to force her to help her find Mason. Like a, “I saved your life, now you owe me one” type of situation. Hopefully Isabel will see it that way.

And soon, she’ll be able to ask her. 

According to the map on her device, she has arrived at the school. 

It’s quite tall--taller than any school she’s ever seen before. It looks more like the other buildings around it than a place where young people would typically go to learn. But this is a game, so, she’ll roll with it. 

But how to get inside..? Like is there even a door? Where’s the front? Hm. 

Emma rounds a corner, and realizes that this is definitely the front.  

Glassy, a giant arch over massive front doors, seemingly thousands of quotations inscribed on the reflective material. It’s somehow modern yet historic. It’s incredible, and Emma is utterly entranced.

“Emma?” 

Emma has a near heart attack. She is abruptly pulled from her stupor by a voice behind her, a smooth voice that says her name like it’s familiar. 

She turns around to see a boy around her age. Dark hair, slim, ghostly.

[prxschxo]

[ JORDAN CONNOR, 24 , MALE , HE/HIM ] welcome to the du pont institute for the young & gifted, [ PRESTON CHAO ]. you have been accepted as a [ SCHOLARSHIP ] student from [ USA  ], going into your [ SENIOR YEAR ] and majoring in [ SPORTS MEDICINE ]. your peers at the institute say that you are [ +STRONG WILLED  & +CHARMING ], but being [ -HOT HEADED & -BOLD] may be the reason why the police are asking about you. did you think they wouldn’t find out that you were michael’s [ EX-BEST FRIEND ]? [ DUCKIE, 23, SHE/HER, CST ]

Get ready for a muse! Much different than Gabe I am positive that Preston will be fun because he gets in a lot of drama. I really love Preston and I’m sure you will too !! Please feel free to message me if you want any plots or connections!

GENERAL

Name: Preston Morgans

Age: 24

Place of birth: Northchester, New York

Spoken languages: English, learning ASL, chinese

Sexual orientation: heterosexual

Occupation: Student

Eye color: Brown

Hair color: Black

Height: 6′4′’

Scars: Chest after car accident

Tattoos: back of both hands; rose on one and wolf on the other.

FAVOURITE

Color: any of the colors that associate with fall; brownish-reds, deep oranges

Entertainment: watching 80′s movies, cooking, listening to crime podcasts, parties

Pastime: beer pong, movies, flirting, reading

Drink: peach soda and double shot espresso

G E N E R A L -

-To be born under a wealthy man might be a blessing to many but for Preston he’d consider it a curse. He is the product of an affair and lives uncomfortably under the roof of a huge secret.

-His mother had become a young cleaning lady for Bruce Langston; leader and CEO of the economical department in the city. He is a huge deal and any scandal can lead him to lose his position, apparently he didn’t care about that when the man had sex and impregnated Preston’s mother despite having a wife. Once she found out she was pregnant Preston’s mother made absolutely sure that she used that for her advantage and so she became a live in maid, had her life paid for and when it came to her child everything that Preston would need would be taken care of. Even if it meant that Preston would forever be casted into the shadows of the family like an ugly scar. 

- This was agreed upon after Bruce’s wife found out and bitterly accepted so her husband would keep his title and money. That was all that the woman carred about after all; not having to give up her rich and lavis lifestyle. But that didn’t mean she was at all accepting of the boy especially when just a few weeks later she became pregnant herself and now there would be two babies under the household that would have to know they were different.

- And the wicked mother she was. She purposely spoiled Preston’s half sibling making sure they had everything. Preston was set for live but they still lived as middle class people so no suspicions were made. Preston always knew he was never going to be treated equally and that was why in his teen years the boy began to rebel in hopes to get caught by his father. 

- Bruce hated the fact that Preston was all just a huge stick in his life. And didn’t exactly treat him all too kindly, even though living in the house was nice Preston was treated just as the secret bastard. Even to his half sibling that was born two years after him they were close, little diana not letting her parents hatred come between her and her only brother. 

-it was sad, the only other person preston loved more than anything and they had to act like they didn’t like each other. but it didn’t stop his young sister from taking care of him and any moment they were able to have together they made sure they had fun. all until they were in public and had to act like they had no relations at all. how hard it was for preston and diana to at like they hated each other but it was what was forced upon them. 

- This led to a few rebellious streaks in his life growing up, hanging out in the poor sections of town, dealing with boys who were not part of the Langston Aesthetic and even getting in a lot of trouble by fighting. This only caused more of a hate for him in the household but as long as he was only seen as the maids boy to the town he got away with it. This family secret was deep. So much so when it came to schooling and his mother’s push that Bruce send Preston to the same schools as his other child, daisy, there was a fake scholarship created in the company that Preston was put under. No one suspected a thing and didn’t have to question why the Langston’s were paying for some no-good maid’s son.

- while in school Preston found the life of underground fighting. Getting bets and fighting in a ring with no rules. Due to his size and build he trained and soon became a top competitor. He was getting the spotlight and loved it, plus there was no better way to get a rush and release his anger then fighting in a ring. 

MEETING MICHAEL VALMONT- 

-Preston always had a hard time setting in with the fact he was a burden and shadow to his father and would lash out. He didn’t know why Michael liked him so much but once Michael found out Preston’s secret he took him under his wing and they practically became brothers. 

-always close, preston didn’t exactly agree with everything Michael did and the two would fight but after a few hours it would be brushed under the rug and forgotten. Except for the final straw. 

-Michael started dating a girl and Preston was instantly drawn to her. Falling for her hard and quick. It wasn’t until Preston and the girl started to hook up that Michael ended their friendship and threatened preston’s secret which meant Preston had to stop seeing the girl and he was down a best friend. this has always been hard on the boy and even after trying to fix it with michael the two would only end up fighting again.  

PERSONALITY &&. HEADCANONS  -

-  Being the literal mistake in the chaotic family Preston is a bit of a bitter person. Eye rolling, stubborn, hot headed, and quick to defend himself.

- He’s had no one to stick up for him at home and he learned to do this on his own; he is hated at home and only has been told to never speak of his family ties, even being forced by his half brother to never speak to him in public. This makes him pushed away. The tall boy in the back of crowds; out of the spotlight. Preston is not allowed to be seen. Not wanted and that affects the way he is motivated to show off his actual skills.

-his mother has been his biggest teacher and he has an everlasting respect for woman because of it. He will find himself too ashamed to ever mistreat a girl in fear of his mother finding out. 

-As much as preston respects girls, he really loves to hook up with them too, not that he wont show them a good time but if he finds his chance with someone he takes it. 

- If he was allowed he’d want to be in art, he’s been a lover of arts since he was a child and he is very good at it but of course he is far too self contentious on being forced down. Preston isn’t even allowed to use his size to play sports and as a result he sneaks off to other cities to fight at night. It’s not safe and he uses a fake name but people cheer for him. They see him it’s the only time he feels at peace… even if that peace is dangerous, illegal, and leaves him in bruises that lead his mother to worry.

-  He loves to party; going out and living the life away from that home of his where he is seen as a burden. It’s fun unless his brother is around and the whole time he just gets hard glares to not embarrass him.

-  Find him sketching in his books, doodling along the pages or in sketchbooks in the halls of courtyards. Don’t be surprised if you become his muse. He loves drawing people.

-  Anger; he’s quick to it no matter how much he doesn’t want to be. He just has been pushed to the side so much that he takes things seriously and any insult will trigger him. Sorry if he fights you, he just finds it easier than anything else. -  Aside from being a hot head though he has taken interest in girls and as most boys do tries to test out his flirtatious ways as much as he can. He might not be the best flirt, as he has been told his scowl and serious attitude seems to drive a pretty girl away at times but he still tries.

C O N N E C T I O N S -

Muse: preston seen this girl around and every time he just... feels something. She makes him happy and even though it might sound creepy... he gets caught more then once sketching her; Fallon Kingsley 

I’ll scratch your back you scratch mine: They don’t really get a long but always help each other out when they need it: Alice

Crush; they are always one moment from hooking up and yet it always ends with one of them pulling away with a nervous smile, could be the girl that ended michael and preston’s friendship; daisy

You annoy the hell out of me; always butting heads and yet they hang around the same people; Alice 

you’re weird but I kinda like you: preston finds him awkward but nice so he still talks to him from time to time; Hugo

Party buddies/wingmen: Preston is a terrible flirt and at least he’s got; cristian

Friends: just close, eats lunch with, drinks peach mixers at parties;  william

Rivals: this person is more than annoying, Preston can’t be in the same room with them without fighting with this person; 

hookup, fwb, one night stands, exes; analyn (he was her first time)

the little sibling he never got; she was one of michael’s ex’s when Preston and Michael were still friends, Preston hated that Michael would brag about sleeping with the girl and preston never felt Michael treated her right, he found she was a good girl and deserved to be treated much better. He still is very protective of her and thinks she’s too good for dupont. soshanna 

his cash cow; The girl has been a past hook up but now, the only thing she hooks up with preston for is the percentage she gets off his winnings. She tells him where to fight, who he’s fighting, and how to win... and preston hands over some of the money he makes. it’s a good thing they have just... don’t tell her they are friends, she denies it every thime.; Sabina

Preston’s half-brother (or sister): this person got everything from his father that he didn’t and it’s all because his father could, and did, show them off to the world. Preston can’t hate his half-sibling but just once he wants to have his father view him as more than just the “maid’s son”. they are close though, and when they are alone they treat each other like the close siblings they with they could be; diana langston

should be girl: her and preston have a strange relationship. they are close but in a way that hurts him every time. They were a strong thing in high school and he got every attached to her, to this day he would do anything for her... which includes being her booty call every time her and her boyfriend break up. He wants nothing but to keep her happy but he knows that she and her boyfriend will always get back together and he would be stuck waiting for the call to drop everything and go to her when she was crying over her boyfriend; Maddy

the girl who changed it all: she was dating michael, and at this time preston and Michael were still at brother status, best friends no matter how much they fought. But when she came into the picture Preston fell head over heels for her and she had her eyes on Preston as well. They snuck around for the whole time saying they just hung out at the gym or were studying. When Michael found out he and preston fought so bad it ruined their friendship for good and even though Michael was no saint he was greedy and knowing preston loved this girl he wanted the boy to suffer. So to make sure of that he told preston that if he still saw his ex he would tell everyone how much more of a relation he has to the towns big bad political CEO. and no one could know that preston was his son. so preston tried to stay away... only to keep hooking up with her on the down low; 

the secret high school hookup: she stole his crayons when they were young and that sparked a feud between them. but a heated feud that had its breaks when the two seemed to be alone... he kissed her in the slide and that opened them up to years of secretly hooking up in high school just for the fun of it. they still act like they hate each other but the door is always open for good memories in between the times they are saying they hate each other; Calla

[autumndear]

hello hello !! it’s lucky back at it again !! i j wanna preface this by saying my last intro was compared to drunk history and i was also asked if i was drunk when i wrote it ( but in the nicest way y’all ). i wasn’t that time. i’m still not that drunk, but ya girl a little tipsy. there’s the answer 2 future questions. ONTO THE SHIT THAT MATTERS:

disclaimer: honestly everyone involved in mommie dearest ( 1978 / 1981 ) cld totally sue me for this.

background.

triggers: child abuse, mention of illness and death, brief mention of infidelity

ya girl is too invested in classic era hollywood and she hates herself for it so that said autumn’s mother, not based off of joan crawford just set in a slightly different time period, was pretty much considered one of the last greats. as a part of the patty duke/sharon tate/etc. generation when paparazzi were just beginning to get involved in personal live ( we stan elizabeth taylor for this ), she was pretty much... as i said... one of the last classic actresses

and she KNEW IT!!

irene caeden was a hoe for publicity. although never confirmed nor denied, autumn has always highly suspected the only reason irene adopted her was to make her look good.

autumn was made to call irene “Momma Hen” what do u mean mommie dearest?

that said, irene wasn’t... a good mom... honestly at the beginning, her intentions were pure. however, as autumn began growing up and learning how to be more resistant, irene began worsening her punishments

“y’ain’t gonna keep racing me until u win?? ok ig i can lock u up if u want me too....”

“y’ain’t gonna keep playing this game of strategy against me until u win?? ok ig i can force u 2 stay up all night and day staring at that board not sleeping with a surveillance camera placed right by u.”

“y’ain’t gonna finish ur meal? fine. starve.”

irene could have the best night of her life. she could win an oscar for best lead/best supporting and just be in a total state of euphoria which would pass to autumn. then she would find one thing wrong in autumn’s room in an attempt to reminisce and all hell would break loose.

that’s when the abuse that one typically associates the word with begins – when all hell breaks loose after reminiscing. 

then her mother would grow irrationally paranoid over something that didn’t exist – usually a stain because we’re not original – and would force autumn to work on it with her. she cleaned her rooms perfectly. there was no stain. but she helped her mother, now vulnerable for some reason, nonetheless.

their best moments of connection were when irene was putting autumn through hell, because she was going through her own.

that’s fucked!!

naturally, the older she got, the worse their battles became.

when she graduated high school, she was proposed to by a young man named charlie (i accidentally called him mark once in the biography oh my god i hate myself). she planned to move in with him and begin studying away from home. 

irene didn’t like this plan. she made sure a tempting young woman introduced herself to charlie and and proceeded to seduce him.

charlie took the bait.

when autumn and charlie broke everything off, her mother reminded her that she always knew best!! (ok to be fair... he did cheat ok we’ll give her that even if she set it up he still cheated by his own volition) 

still, autumn wanted to leave the horrible environment, the only good people in her life being the live-in maid and nanny. unfortunately, irene is a very good actress.

irene told autumn that she had been dropped by her studio and that her contract had been lifted – that she was back where she started and didn’t know where to go, financially or career-wise. 

ultimately, she manipulated autumn into staying.

their battles continued to grow up until irene fell fatally ill. autumn took a sort of sadistic pleasure in watching her mom slowly deteriorate,,, and tbh she hated herself for it but,,,

their shared fear made them connect over it.

when she died, autumn was essentially the only person at the funeral who knew her for her. irene had always complained about people loving the idea of her, but not her – the only valid complaint she’d ever made. autumn wished she could’ve been that person, but she was essentially just like every other person there.

when she learned she’d literally inherited zero (0) in the will except for an acknowledgement of all the ‘lessons’ irene had taught her, she decided she would get the last word by writing a tell-all mommie dearest who.

following the book’s success, she decided she didn’t want to live a life of fame and harassment. she moved to boot hill and thought she could become a brand new person!!

-kathy bates vc- LIIIIEEES -end vc-

-marina and the diamonds vc- liiiEEEeesssss -end vc-

working at the funeral home (we stan) reminded her of her past, present, and future. 

marrying the local pastor, a horrible match for her, echoed charlie.

having to be the stern parent of three children reminded her of her own mother.

AND BOY HOWDY THERE IS NOTHING SHE FEARS MORE THAN WINDING UP LIKE HER MOTHER!!

ofc she’s convinced if she ever even shows signs, the one good thing about her marriage to gabe is that he would intervene.

wow i should be ernest hemingway my intros are so much... less drunk sounding than they are when i’m 110% sober.

personality.

wine mom. lives for the gossip. basically helen lovejoy from the simpsons.

a lot more serious than ophelia (in part bc she’s never high lbr). she generally understands situations much better and actually... gauges them appropriately.

has a compassionate side. although she’s largely rational, she is quick to recognize emotion and act. 

has to be the stern parent out of her and gabe. she doesn’t know why they continue having children. they have no passion and she’s afraid she’ll wind up being like her mother.

sad bitch bad bitch (tbh ophelia too but)

honestly the epitome of almost every single lily allen song.

we stan.

wanted connections.

considering i can only come up with unique connections when i have a theme going (like classic movie lines for ophelia’s), i can’t think of anything very unique, but:

someone she cheats on gabe with (gender doesn’t matter)

friends?

people she gossips with/wine buddies

???????

STAY TUNED!!

and then we also love brainstorming.

N E WAY. LIKE THIS OR HMU IF U WOULD LIKE 2 PLOT !!

[tisfan]

If you're still doing the holiday prompts, I have a weakness for QuakeRider, and I'm terribly interested in seeing what you can do with 23. Pinecones!

“There’ssome reason, I assume, that we’re in Virginia?” Robbie sighed. Daisy touchedthe quinjet down in an abandoned field and shooed him out.

“In general, or specifically?”

“Girlfriend, ‘fess up. What’s thedeal?”

Daisy didn’t answer him, she juststrode off in the direction of a distant barn. The closer they got, the moreRobbie could see bits of what appeared to be an actual farm. Outbuildings andfences and horses and fields full of crops. The whole nine yards. Just like goddamnSesame Street.

“Where are we?” Compared to L.A.,where they’d been a few hours ago, it was cold. Not that cold bothered Robbie,exactly, but he did notice that Daisy had pulled out a scarf and hat and hadher hands shoved deep in her jacket pockets.

“Goochland county,” Daisy said.

Well, that was decidedly unhelpful.

“Why?” He had to jog a little tokeep up with her. Daisy was shorter than he was, but she hauled ass when shewanted to.

“Look, I was just digging around –bad habit, can’t seem to break it – and I… well, consider it an earlyChristmas present, or something.”

“Consider what an early present?”She’d gotten him a present? “I didn’t get you anything.”

Daisy kicked a pinecone out of herway. It rolled and bounced along what seemed to be a horse trail of some sort,a rut of dust and trampled grass. She caught up with it and swung her legagain. A moment later, she veered to kick it back toward the path. It was…oddly endearing.

“You don’t have to, I just,” Daisysaid, then looked up. The farmhouse was coming into view, white sides and awide, covered porch. “I uh… found where SHIELD’s been hiding him. I don’t know,he might still be mad. But it’s Christmas Eve, and it’s a time for families.”

“Found who?” But Robbie alreadyknew, didn’t he? His heart was beating faster, and the door swung open. Amoment later, a slender young man in a wheelchair rolled out onto the porch.Gabe had a knitted orange hat on that clashed terribly with his skin.

“You should at least try to talk tohim,” Daisy suggested. “He’s a good kid.”

“The best,” Robbie said. He groundto a halt, reaching out to snag Daisy’s hand. “I can’t talk to him, girlfriend.He… he hates me.”

“He doesn’t hate you, Robbie,”Daisy said. “I know, because I felt the same way about my father. He wants youto be better. The Rider…”

“Yeah.” Robbie stared, drinking inthe sight of that face. Gabe hadn’t seen them yet, maybe. He certainly wasn’twaving, or leaving, the two options that Robbie would have thought he’d pickbetween. There was nothing Robbie could do about the Rider. He’d made a dealwith the devil, and it had cost him everything.

“Not everything,” Daisy said. Shetwined her fingers with Robbie’s. “Gabe is still alive. Where there’s life,there’s hope. Let’s go talk to him, okay?”

Robbie took a deep breath. “Yeah.Yeah, okay.” 

[ywhiterain]

@anotheralix wrote a post that can be summed up as “how about we ditch the double standards surrounding how we talk about female and male protagonists.” She even admit she does this herself with Clarke Griffin (100) and Elena Gilbert (The Vampire Diaries). It’s not a particularity nuanced post - but it wasn’t meant to be. It was a vent. A vent, in particular, how women are judged differently than men.

This is not a shocking rant. This is a self evident perspective shared by many women across time in different cultures. Look, I could get into the science and cite different articles and meta-analysis that back up the idea women are held to higher standards than men. But not everything is about meeting high standards when creating an argument. Sometimes you want to make short rant on your tumblr about sexism and move on.

But, see, @candyumberella responds to this post. Not a problem in itself. But how and what she says reveals that her issue is not with creating inter sectional spaces for women to talk about feminism. No, I think she hates that female fans sometimes really love female leads.

I’m going to take apart some of her arguments under the cut.

“I think it’s pretty telling that whenever people get uncomfortable with seeing a female character (espically the most privilaged white female character in a ‘verse whose narrative is based on and constructed around her privliage) criticized in any way, they knee-jerk respond with, "You wouldn’t do this with a white man!”

Let’s unpack this. There are two claims in here that I disagree with: female leads are constructed around her privilege and being critical of the knee-jerk response. I’ll with the second first, because it’s easier to address. Yes. Women, particularly women who have been influenced by feminist thought, tend to get frustrated when women are held to a higher standard than men. It happens. It’s annoying. And I believe it’s understandable. The fact that @candyumbrella doesn’t acknowledge that female heroines are held to higher standards is a glaring omission. If she took into account how misogyny and sexism hurts all women, her arguments about how women are treated in fandom would fall apart. I mean, even more so than pointing out the existence of The Golden Girls and its large fandom does.

The second part is that her claim, espically the most privilaged white female character in a 'verse whose narrative is based on and constructed around her privliage is not backed by any evidence at all. Now, @anotheralix doesn’t give powerful evidence herself, but that’s because it was a short vent about sexism. @Candyumberlla takes issues with this vent because of a weird ass Interpretation of All TV Based On One Sitcom. If you’re going to take issue with someone complaining about sexism, and how this post complaining about sexism is a problematic trend in fandom as a whole, you need some convincing arguments. Otherwise you look like a sexist apologist.

But here, I’m going to argue against her claim by pointing to Buffy. White female lead - skinny and blond to boot! But the premise of the worldview of Buffy isn’t that she’s the most privileged character in her world. She spends a good portion of it struggling against the Watchers Council (aka patriarchy) in order to use her own power on her own terms. Buffy being pretty and tiny and girly is the fucking point - because society sees women who look like her as empty shells. Buffy being the undisputed heroine of her own story is and was an attack on that worldview.

Buffy didn’t do great about race. It’s treatment of Kendra Young has not aged well, to put it politely. It’s peek manufactured whiteness. As for queer issues, while Willow/Tara was groundbreaking, but there’s as much to critique as there is celebrate. Fans of Buffy do this all the fucking time. There is nuance to be had and Buffy’s got plenty of academic and fannish work exploring that nuance. It’s failures and it’s successes.

But

It’s not about the injustice of misogyny so much as people wanting their female fave to not be criticized and using her gender as a catch-all reason why she shouldn’t be.

That’s a pretty unfair statement. Loving and being fannish about female characters can be an exercise in frustration in fandom. I don’t know how many times I went in the tags for Elena Gilbert only to see fans calling her a two-faced and manipulative in very gendered ways. Slut. Bitch. Whore. I’m glad a dude is beating her up and putting her in her place. Speak true to that ungrateful bitch, male character I like! This exists in fandom. It puts a lot of people on guard.

Critiquing a character like Elena is not as easy as doing one like Klaus. Because there is baggage there. Misogyny is a thing. It informs how women are framed and treated in the text. It informs audience expectation and reaction. Elena being white didn’t stop her from ending up with her rapist.

So actually, I see plenty of people accusing male characters of making everything about themselves–usually when they want to deflect from criticism directed against their One Special White Girl and do so by perpetuating the lie that ONLY White Men are the REAL Enemy, We Are All Allies Against Them, blah blah.

Because, shockingly, men and women are treated differently in both canon and fandom. I’ve seen @candyumberlla spend more time talking shit about Clarke, Elena, and Donna (Suits) than Oliver (Arrow), Angel (Angel), or Sam or Dean (Supernatural). Even Ted, the privileged white dude who informs all of her meta these days, is not treated with such distaste. She is gleeful about her interpretation of Clarke (she’s being humiliated and dethroned!) She gushes about the Fall of Elena and the Rise of Caroline. She might mock, say, Stefan Salvatore, but she doesn’t the same use belittling and angry language.

Misogyny is informing her meta. Because misogyny is a threat. It’s real. Her attack on female characters is built on centuries of female oppression.

Also:  –usually when they want to deflect from criticism directed against their One Special White Girl

Women and girls can’t just be tired as hell of white male dominance in their world? Critiques against male dominance in media are About Protecting That White Women. 

MOST privileged woman in a ‘verse appropriating and parasitizing those LESS privileged and LESS institutionally elevated than she–so she’s not the victim in this scenario, she’s the oppressor.

Prove it. When and how did Clarke, Elena, Veronica, Buffy, Rey, or any other white female characters target more vulnerable women. Hard mode: look their stories in context of a male dominated society with white dudes being the ones who generally created their stories. Remember internalized misogyny is not just those Bad Female Fans Who Like The Wrong White Female Leads and how much female creators in Hollywood and TV have to balance to just get women to talk to each other without it being about a dude. Honest mode: take into account how the leads have both built up and torn down the women in their lives. Put the narrative into a cultural and historical context.

so this parasitic stanning impulse is just white male worship transmuted in a different form that ~feels more like ~feminism and thus more morally acceptable ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Tell me more about how Clexa fans just love Finn. Or Xena/Gabe fans just thirsting for that dick. Bias is a thing. It influences how we think, feel, and react to things. There is no story that doesn’t fail on some level when it comes to systems of oppression.

But people finding personal power, meaning, or joy in female lead stories doesn’t mean they just really want the dick. Korra/Asami fans don’t tend think too much of Mako. Buffy/Faith shippers may have an opinion about Angel and Spike, but they’re generally more interested in the charged relationship between Faith and Buffy. Sailor Moon fandom does have a good chunk of het, but lesbian content and focus on friendship between women is one of the reasons it’s still beloved by many people.

Or, hell, maybe actually allow for the idea that maybe a het shipper is more invested in the female half than the male half and it’s not due to her status as a guy who was killed off and the fandom as a whole cheered. 

[marv-s-orginal-stories]

The Resistance: Chapter 1

*disclaimer I apologize in andvance for these character intros they are super similar to other character intros in an other story but I pronise the characters branch out* Chapter 1: An Introduction to the Activists It is said that spring is the time of rebirth but if it is why do we start our years in winter, why are world leaders elected in fall, and why do revolutions take place in summer. That was the question set to ponder on the chilly February day. It was a gray day the kind of sent to remind you that it was still winter and not yet growing warm. The icy sheets of rain had let up just long enough for people to walk from their homes or for tourists to spend time outside. This February day was quite different from any other cold almost spring days for today was valentine’s day, a day for love to prosper but the world then was filled with hate, pure hate. Love, now that was needed and sadly that was in very short supply. The people of the United States had trouble with loving anything for too long. They had trouble loving each other.

Down the street in the village below the Georgetown campus was a coffee shop and above that coffee shop was a loft of sorts in that loft was a pretty sight there was a tubby wood burning stove in the corner that everyone worried would cause a fire. It was packed with students well, packed might have been an exaggeration. It held at least fifteen people today.  The room was used by no one most of the time but when it was being used it was being used by a group of students. They were loud and could be heard out the well lit window on summer nights but during days like these the window was locked shut and sound did not leave the room. Everyone was silent. Their heads bowed over something, for some home work for others it was personal project, and for the majority it was publications for a newspaper/web news site. ‘The Activist Paper’ as it was known on campus. It was actually called The Student Sentinel. It was a collection of bipartisan articles, even though all of the people who wrote the newspaper were liberal shmiberals.

The newspaper was not the only export of the room. This room was like the tavern where the sons of liberty met, like the salons where the Jacobins discussed the happenings of Paris, The Play Royale, it was where the great liberating minds of the times met. That room was, pardon my reference, the room where it  happened. In it was the planning of rebellion in a time where everyone  wanted to rebel against the government they felt was looming on becoming oppressive. The group was known by many names. There official name was the Coalition of the Friends of the Discriminated. They were more commonly known as The Activists of DC. The DCs as they were referred to in casual conversation, much to the displeasure of  one of the two leaders . The room had six booths three on each wall of the rectangular room on the other side of the room was a few wooden tables in chairs. The members sat quietly in a thick tension between the two leaders in the room.

The first was Gabriel Saint Louis, otherwise known as Gabe. Gabriel was a beautiful young man whose charm and charisma lured even the most hesitant in yet he was neither warm nor patient. He could be terrible in many ways. Gabriel however fair of appearance, had no tolerance for anything that stood in his way. The 22 year old Political Science major’s pure blue eyes never seemed to be completely present they often seemed to be looking at something that only he could see. In them you could the history of the men like him before him, you could see Robespierre, Adams, Washington, Hamilton, Lenin, and Danton. You could see the desire for revolution that lurked in the heart of the handsome Gabriel. His blonde curls fell onto his tan forehead above his puppy dog ice blue eyes. Though he had men and women thrusting themselves at him constantly he rarely noticed them. Gabe was not looking for someone to love, he was looking for people to help him make a change. His atypical behavior had gained discussion around the room and the campus. He was the priest, the saint, the protector of the revolutionary flame, the priest of the movement.

The other leader sat slammed in a booth. That was Mathilde Brennan-Boivin. Mathilde, or as her friends knew her Mat, was ruthless and strong but she unlike Gabe had patience, she had a human level of compassion. She was stunning as Gabriel but unlike him she used her beauty. Her fair appearance was used to seduce the best minds even if she didn’t sleep with them, they still were drawn to her. She shone like a beacon of light to all the activists. Her passion was evident  and it inspired everyone including the Patron Saint of the movement Gabriel, even though he would never admit it. Mathilde looked very different from Gabriel. She had green gray blue eyes that reminded one of an ocean in a storm and that was what was in her eyes a coming storm, a flickering flame, that light and power showed through;those eyes could cut you like knives or welcome you like an old friend. Mathilde had both sides in her character. Her dark hair was often worn down hanging around her pale face and onto her shoulders. The black curls that hung around her face gave her a further air of mystery. Her face had a cold look to it. Despite her smiling eyes, her high cheek bones, danity, slightly upturned button nose and the way the corners of the her lips always found a down turned position. That gave her the look of Gabe, that look of unadulterated devotion and cold emotions. Mathilde was not the saint or the nun of the ideals. She, like Saint Just, really embodied them; she represented what the idea of revolution was. Mathilde was ruthless and could be cold. Passion burnt in her eyes. She also had compassion for the people who were the most vulnerable. Most importantly, Mathilde, like the enticing flame of revolution, drew great people to her. She and Gabriel were more similar  than they liked to admit. Gabe and Mathilde challenged each other. They had no reason to the both of them were equally as worthy as the leadership position. However both had a strange want for each other. The man devoted to his ideals and the woman who embodied them.

Mathilde slapped a sleeping man next to her. It was her adopted brother Jared. Where Mathilde had this passion and conviction to her belief in her ideals Jared lacked; he had beliefs but he had not the desire to fight for them like his younger sister.  

Jared was handsome and charming when sober but when not he was crude and brash. He drank often more than his precious little sister wanted him to. Jared had a deep love of his sister and felt the one of the few things he was good at was protecting her from the dangers of life, when he was not high or intoxicated. The alcohol and drugs were driven by some degree of self loathing. Jared had deep affection toward his sister but he had none for himself. Jared sat up quickly and looked at his little sister. He looked sloppy, with his maroon t-shirt covered by stains. His sweatshirt lay on the table as a pillow. Jared’s dark curls were oily and slightly matted but he hid it extremely well with a beanie. His face had a thin layer of stubble around it and although he got more than 8 hours of sleep each day his blue eyes resembled someone who had not slept for days. Dark ikea bags outlined the bottom of his bloodshot eyes. Jared shared an apartment with Mathilde. They often said it was them against the world. Their parents not very attentive to Jared and over attentive to Mathilde their perfect baby girl that did not come from them. Jared was five when Mat was adopted. Mathilde was still an infant when she had been adopted. Jared had vowed that day to protect his little sister to always be there for her. To do her hair, to help her with anything from dancing to homework. That was his purpose.

He had met Gabriel Saint Louis in his Senior year. He had been given the task of showing the kid around campus but he and Gabriel never became great friends. However, he was the first person to dwell in this back room; he had brought Gabe here on their first day of showing him around. Well, he brought Gabriel, and Gabe’s two friends Christopher and Conrad. It was his way of showing them the hotspots. The trio had planted roots here and the boy who had showed them never really left. Jared graduated stayed to get his masters and let his little sister move in with him. It was better this way he could keep her safer in general.

Christopher Wiatt sat next to Gabriel reading, simply reading. Christopher was Logos in the equation of the group. He was logical, calm, cool, and collected. His face was fair and prone to reddening when frustrated. He had black rectangular glasses that framed his sapphire eyes, eyes that seemed deeper than the darkest ocean. The boy was quieter but inquisitive. He troubled his head with Marx, Locke, Voltaire, Rousseau, Plato, and Proudhon. Enjoying reading them and sharing what had learned with other especially  Gabe and Conrad. Chris did not have many friends but with Gabe and Conrad he could be himself and even though he was dreadfully awkward and quiet Conrad and Gabe sure weren’t. Christopher combed his sandy hair out of the way of his glasses. He ought to get it cut; he hated when it got past his glasses. It became a nuisance then. Christopher dwelled in a collection of cardigans, sweater vests, and geeky t-shirts. His dorky smile perpetuated his asserted nerdiness. He was the proofreader of all articles, he was also the official organizer of the group. Mathilde, Gabriel, and Conrad were not always the most organized of people no matter their other stunning qualities.  Chris liked binders and spred sheets, he also liked folders, those were just a few of his favorite methods of organization. The tall nerdy boy was the essential, he was the coolant. When everything went up in flames he put them out, with them help of Conrad, sometimes. Conrad and Christopher had been friends first.  Gabe had moved to their street when he was 10. They quickly gained the title the three musketeers.

Conrad the final member of the trifecta sat trying his hardest to make Chris laugh. It wasn’t working extremely well. Conrad was the only one who seemed to have some humanity in him. He was not socially awkward like Chris nor was he unreasonably harsh like Gabe. Conrad was charismatic because he connected with people. He was extremely emotionally intelligent and was an emotional sponge. Conrad had a warm smile that he often wore to show that unlike his friends, one of whom did not give a shit about you unless you were holding a demonstration, he was a normal human.  Conrad cared, he cared for every single person on the planet. His heart was always in the right even though sometimes he went too far with his antics. Conrad had a knack for trying to set couples up and it seemed to everyone a massive waste of time, everyone was mostly  Chris, Laurent, Gabe, and Mathilde. Jared didn’t mind. Hell he liked seeing his friends being shoved at each other as the Beatles song “All You Need Is Love” played in the background. It was only when he tried to set Mathilde up when Jared freaked out. His sister would never, ever date someone in this God forsaken little group.

Conrad was now pulling up the front of his swooshy brown hair off his forehead and trying to make it into a horn shape. Chris was still refusing to break.  Conrad’s warm bright brown eyes crossed as he looked as his nose that was wrinkled in frustration. He always looked very nice and presentable. Not in the nerdy Christopher way, but in his very own way. Conrad liked sweaters, he liked flannels, and he liked patterned button ups the most. Today he was wearing a navy blue button up with white polka dots. He was also a sucker for expensive shoes. If you looked inside the boys closet you would find that he had stashed away at least 20 pairs of shoes. Today he had gone with his black shiny doc martins with the sunshine yellow laces. They thumped on the floor. Conrad had for a long time been the tallest in the group until Gabe and then finally Chris shot up to tower above him. He liked that the doc martins gave him a little height so he did not seem so small besides his friends. Though anyone standing besides Gabe looked small no matter if they were a giant. Conrad was still trying to get Chris to laugh still no luck. He was confusing the hell out of his cousin Laurent though.

Laurent was sitting next to the other female in the room. The other female was named Esmeralda but her introduction is coming latter. Laurent was Conrad’s cousin and a friend to the rest of the group. He was lanky but not unattractive; he had that artsy slim look going for him. He was a shameless freckle face with jade green eyes and blonde hair. Laurent was naive, he had grown up in the bourgeois suburbs in Southern California. His mother and father took great care to protect him from reality. It was this naivety that made him valued. His innocence and his wide eyed enthusiasm. It was hard for him to be independent. He was glad to have Conrad as a faithful cousin to help him get adjusted to life outside of his immediate family’s thumb. Laurent had come into his own though.  He had made friends with everyone in that room.  Esmerelda fiddled with the collar of his green dress shirt as he smiled fondly at the pretty girl leaning into him.

Esmeralda, or Essie, was a beautiful girl. She was a lovely thing with soft brown eyes and chocolate curls a top tanned skin. Esmeralda was slim and elegant with a bit of shape to her. Her name had been taken from a Victor Hugo novel, by her mother, a professor of French literature. Esmeralda was not as passionate about the cause as Mathilde was but she was a believer in what the people in that room stood for. Essie was from a family that wanted their daughter to experience everything. So she did. Esmeralda Keeper had seen wealth and poverty, sickness and health, death and life, despair and joy, and so much more. It was what gave her, her character. Esmeralda was witty and sassy but she was also a bit prone to jealousy. Not that it ever showed. Emeralda was a beautiful girl often covered by some hand made garment. She made her own clothing most of the time using scraps from her own and goodwill. She also helped run a cute bohemian clothing shop. Esmeralda often wore these unique colored clothing and one eye catching piece, today it was a light pink silk scarf with cherry blossoms on it. Her eyes were often framed by white eyeshadow and dramatically winged eyeliner. She was beautiful. Laurent whispered something into her ear causing her to smile. Laurent Morel had met Esmeralda when Essie was still sixteen. They had become friends. Esmeralda often worked as her mother’s errand boy. Laurent knew who her as the girl who dressed in patches and walked around campus barefoot. She had helped him get to his classes on time, sadly Laurent’s sense of direction was lacking. They did not really become friends until after Esmeralda joined the ranks of a college student. It had been just recently that Laurent and Esmeralda had decided to date. Everyone agreed that Essie was perfect for Laurent.  

The final booth was louder than the others. Laying basically on the table was Jakub. Jakub was mixed race his father was Polish and his mother was African American. They had raised him in an apartment in New York city and with a deep love of history. Jakub was not quiet about his adoration for history in general. His frequent trips to the UN also gave him an immense interest in foreign policy making him a champion in Model United Nations club as a kid. He was reaching for the letter from his mother that Blaise had taken from him.

Blaise was a flame haired boy with a calm yet slightly intense demeanor. Blaise was a football player and all in all tough. He was intense, very intense, when it came to the cause or anything else in life. He was like drinking hard alcohol from a shot glass intense. His attitude was generally pretty positive and people generally liked him.

Next to him, was a man name Jehan. Jehan Hugo was small in stature and a very pretty person. He was the kind of person who could pass as a beautiful girl if he really wanted too. Jehan liked all sorts of things most importantly he liked the arts. He worked part time in the gift shop at the main art museum at the mall. He and Esmeralda often shared clothing pieces and was very fond of her scarves. His hair and face always looked perfect. He had taken to the trend of drawing on freckles to his face and his own trend of purple guy liner. It looked great to everyone though no one dare admit they wished they could pull off little eyeliner hearts under the corners of their eyes.

The final boy was named Felix and he was the kind of person with a sweet demeanor about him. He had orange hair and sparkling green eyes that showed a level of insight. He seemed the kind of person who should wear glasses although he never did. Felix studied medicine with Chris here on campus. Felix took it much more serious when it came to implementing that training into practice his christmas gift to everyone was hand sanitizers from bath and body works. He also took it open himself to be the human dispenser of advil and cold medicine. He even carried around some of his friend prescription meds in order to remind them to take their meds. Together the entire bar was quietly working and all because Mathilde and Gabe had gotten into a pissing match.

When the two clashed it was an intriguing display, for the fact that Gabe represented the protector of the ideals and Mathilde the ideals themselves. When they fought a sexual tension lingered between them and it made everyone uncomfortable, except for Mathilde’s brother who was usually drunk or stoned out of his mind. The substance of their quarrel was the location of the rally they were planning. It was a common enough bickering point and everyone knew that Mat and Gabe loved each other too much to ever do lasting damage.

Mathilde and Gabriel were not dating. They were co-leaders, co-leaders that had an abundance of sexual and most likely romantic attraction that showed when they argued or were working super well together. Gabe constantly eyed Mathilde. His blue eyes drifting from his plans to Mathilde and her brother.

Gabe had always found Mathilde beautiful, but he never acted on it. His attraction for her had grown as she had gained her footing as the co leader in the group. Jared had first brought his sister when she was a sophomore after she had spent a year basically leading a feminist group. Jared brought her to the meetings to keep a better eye on her, even though he usually got too drunk to take care of her at this place.

Jared liked Gabe very much, he found the man noble and highly moral. Gabe seemed to have a zeal about him that Jared admired. Whereas Jared seemed to have no nobility or anything to be zealous  about. Jared was the kind of person who appeared  to have nothing going on. Jared was a smart and could have done even better things in his life.  When he was a high school student he got into the party scene. He had played lacrosse and too dance aswell, but something happened. Parties and stupidity and pressures of society had driven him into a jaded state. He had been driven into such a pit of self loathing. His sister had tried to help him but it was hard for her. She was five years younger and could only do so much.

Mathilde had dragged him out of bars, out of friends houses, and literally any place where one could party and get high/drunk. It was a sad sign when your ten year older sister had to literally pull you home in a wagon on her beach cruiser.  By the time she was 13 Mathilde had been driving for two years illegally getting her brother home. It was rough but Jared did care very much for her and did try his best to be there for his little sis. He had helped her practice her dancing, drove her to class when he could, and came to every single competition. When ever he found her stressed out of her brain doing homework, crying because she was overwhelmed, or was feeling down in general he would distract her, help cheer her up with music blasting/ watching bootlegged musicals/musical movies. When he got his car he would take her out for whatever food she wanted and they would sit and eat together while he joked around to make her feel much better. He took care of her like a big brother should care for a little sister.

Gabriel, then turned his eyes away and noticed the loving glance that Conrad was giving Chris. It was so annoying the fact that both his best friends were madly in love with each other and had been since highschool but never ever did anything about it. He cleared his throat causing Chris and Conrad to snap their heads to look at him.

“Yes?” Chris perked up at the opportunity to take on a new task.

“Have you finished the organization of those past articles to add to our archive?” Gabriel asked his organization happy friend.

“Yes, anything else?” Chris sighed. Gabe wrinkled his forehead.

“Can you and Conrad work on figuring out the next location for our protest?” Gabe ordered

“Yes, of course,” Conrad smirked and tugged on Chris’s cardigan. Chris smiled and opened his binder and Conrad rolled his eyes.  Conrad had fallen in love with a nerd, a goddamn beautiful nerd. A nerd he wanted to date.

Gabe looked back at Mathilde who was chatting with her brother. He frowned a bit and looked at the memo on his laptop a text from his mother warning him about his activities and his funds from his parents.

Younger generations tend to see the world as it could be not as it is. Students want to change the world more than many of their parents who were content with their bourgeois existence.  In the youth you find the vision of how the earth should be and not as it was. That is different in their predecessors who can no longer see that view their lives adjusting to the problems they live with. They assimilate to the problems and begin to forget about them even justify their existence. Then there is the matter of religion and how many people find it truly latter in life. Religion has been the reason for wars and laws for years and when someone has found it they use it justify even the worst kind of laws. That was essentially why Gabe found his funds under threat by his parents.

Gabriel Apollinaire Saint Louis belonged to a prominent and wealthy family resting comfortably in the top one percent. Gabe had opportunities for everything growing up, he attended multiple high brow boarding schools. Gabe’s family  lived in a large house in Connecticut. It was sandwiched between the houses of the Philander and the Wiatt family. The homes of Conrad and Chris. The boys stuck together in their high class, very posh lives. Their large back yards and game rooms gave the three relatively well behaved boys enough entertainment for the summers and holidays in which they were home from their boarding schools and exchange programs.

It seemed that no place would be more unlikely for a young revolutionary to be spawned. That was his background Mrs. Saint Louis was a well mannered woman who had a very strict idea of how things ought to be done. It must be mentioned that the surname Saint Louis, was pronounced San Loui, at her discretion. She could not stand when someone pronounced it Saint Lewis, like the city. She dressed in highly fashionable and simple clothing with delicate elegant jewelry. Her favorites were pearl necklaces and sapphire earrings. The woman kept the appearance as neat as possible with perfect modest makeup. Her blonde hair that had to be dyed regularly to hide the gray that was showing itself more and more with age was always swept off her face and done perfectly never frizzy and with no hair out of place. She looked perfect constantly as if nothing in her life had ever been wrong.

Mrs. Saint Louis, or Reinette, was a strictly catholic and pious woman. She had been born in France to a well of family, that raised her in a slew of religious schools around the world. Reinette dragged her small family of three to church every Sunday, unless they were sick or had a conflict that could not be ignored. She was known as a leader of book clubs, charity galas, and countless bible studies. Reinette loved gardening and had a beautiful garden that was maintained by her and the staff of three grounds keeper. Although, she seemed strict she would never lay a hand on her son if not in a loving embrace. Her little angel, her Gabriel, whom she had named. From the second he was born she had made sure her only son had every advantage in the world. She constantly insisted her son was a genius and fancied him a successful high power lawyer and maybe a senator. Her love for her son knew no bounds but it did not mean she was not willing to be strict with her little angel.  When he did things in which she disapproved she did not hesitate in punishing him with taking away things.

When it came to politics she had very firm opinions. Most of the time Fox news played through the home although Gabe most often changed it to CNN which was as liberal as Mrs. Saint Louis was willing to allow in her tightly run ship of a home. However, when Gabe had tried to watch MSNBC on the living room tv she had a fit and blocked the channel as if it were something nasty like porn. Her dismay at her son’s new radical opinions was very evident. Yet she could never do anything as cruel as cut her son off.

Mr. Saint Louis, or Charles, was a charming man with wit that was used sparingly. He dressed constantly as if he was in the public view his blonde hair always neatly combed and his clothing well ironed and crisp, his shoes were always shined and he had a liking of expensive fine watches. His hobbies included attending sporting events, besides basketball, through box seats that were always high class and comfortable. He also liked painting and art in general. That was how he had met Reinette.

He had traveled to France to study art for awhile, where he met Reinette Lebelle. She had met him at a cafe they both frequented. They had married fairly quickly after that meeting. Then they had Gabriel and he became their world. In Gabriel, Mr. Saint Louis saw his replacement as the leader of his company. In Gabriel he saw a brilliant and charming young man capable of wonderful things. His son’s upbringing meant the world to him and he parented Gabe the best way he knew how. He parented him with the goal of raising his replacement and a mini version of himself and his wife.

When he had figured out that Gabriel was an activist for causes that he,  himself had considered a threat to the family’s own well being, he had been furious and constantly made Gabe show them his finances. What he spent his generous allowance on mostly, every time they saw that he was spending a sizeable amount on his revolution they threatened to cut him off. Gabe worried sometimes about it. As much as he wanted to be independent of his family, he did need their money to go to school, to help pay his share of the rent, and it allowed him to plan protests most of the time. That was the only reason he even took their money.

So yes his family while they ment well were the least likely people to raise someone like Gabriel.

That brings us back to the earlier statement about the youth seeing more for what they want. That is what Gabe saw, it was what everyone in that room saw. That was what they stood for revolution. They stood for the spark of rebellion that existed in the youth who could strive to create a change.

Still the debate over where they were to host their rally hung in the air and Gabe kept looking at her expecting for her to apologize. The more she sat without giving him even a glance. Gabe would furrow his brow. Then he would turn back to his two other friends.

“She is as stubborn as an ass,” Gabe swore.

“Hmm…” Chris looked out pushing up his glasses. “I do assume you have her all wrong if you think that she will just concede.” He scoffed in his own thoughtful manner.

“Ah…Mademoiselle petit Saint Just,” Conrad laughed in his usual mischievous tone.  The boy quite adored French; he found it absolutely lovely. He had taken it in school with Latin as required. Chris chose to study Chinese and Greek along side, Gabe was brought up speaking French but ended up studying Latin, Russian and Arabic. Gabe winced when he  heard the French language because it reminded him of his mother and that brought him some small form of shame. “She is a strong one.” Conrad finished. ‘Little Saint Just’ was Gabe’s  nickname for Mathilde who adored the revolutionary Louis Saint Just.

“Ugh…” Gabe grunted “She is getting on my nerves.” He tightened his fists.

“Oh leave her be, go talk to her if you feel so strongly that she is too stubborn.” Chris pointed out slamming a binder closed.

“No!” Gabe exclaimed “Then she will have won!” He swore.

Mathilde did not share this feeling toward Gabe. She did not want to apologize but she sure as hell did not expect Gabe to come up to her and apologize. She did not care what Gabe thought and it was a spectacle  because Gabe desperately wanted her to care what he thought. Gabe’s life as an only child had made it hard for him to share.

“Jared,” She swatted her brother again.

“What!” He snapped in annoyance then immediately realised who he had snapped at. “Sorry Matty,” he sighed.

“Jared, do you want me to drive you home?” She asked softly.

“Not unless you wish to go home too.” Jared returned. Mat smiled gently and gave him a nod.

She turned back and caught Gabe staring at her. She knew he was angry with her for debating with him about how to run the next protest but he didn’t need to keep glaring at her.

“Actually, let’s go get ice cream  and call it a night, come on Jare…” She smiled and gathered her stuff. She pulled her red rain coat on and waited for Jared to get ready to go. She snatched the flask from her brother’s bag. This area was for almost only storage and so alcohol was brought by the participants. There were nights in which Gabe would confiscate the drinks that were brought  in. Tonight was one of those nights. Jared always brought a flask and  Gabe never found it.

“Alright,” Jared followed his sister out.

“Where are you going?” Gabe asked as she made her way past the table. She froze and turned back to him.

“I am leaving, Jared and I are going to get food and then I have to study.” Mat shrugged at Gabe. It seemed a harmless comment but Mat stood with the authority of someone who had come for a fight.

“But we have not resolved the topic  of location,” Gabe said sternly.

“Gabe, I must go but I may be willing to compromise, goodbye.” Mat smiled at him and left the loft. Gabe realised then that Mathilde had won.  She had won even though she didn’t know that she was competing.

[paranoid-fighter]

Chapter 7: Gabe teaches | Jesse learns

And Jack laments

Author’s notes: 1) My apologies for the delay - between work and my own health, it’s been hard to sit and write.  2) Feedback is welcome and appreciated 3) I hope you enjoy this chapter. 

Update: Here is the table of contents for the Gabriel Reyes stories: http://paranoid-fighter.tumblr.com/overwatchReyes

Word count: 4840-ish Overwatch and all its characters and settings are property of Blizzard. Original characters belong to me. 

Reyes nodded calmly. In truth, he wanted nothing more than to scream. He wanted to tell Jesse to run far away from the base and to never look back. He wanted to keep him safe from the disaster that he and Jack were about to unleash. He wanted to spare him from the fate that he had just brought upon himself. He knew that Jesse had just signed his life away...

...and he had given him the pen.

   "Good man," Gabe said; his voice was filled with a resolve that he himself did not have. "May I see your phone, Jesse?" "My phone?" Jesse raised an eyebrow as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. He handed it over to his commander without question but sputtered in surprise as Gabe quickly took the case apart and removed the battery. "Boss! What're you doing?" "Now we can talk freely." Gabriel met Jesse's gaze. "Jesse, Jack, take note of the time. Ten thirty seven on Tuesday the 24th. If anyone asks, we were discussing a drill that will be conducted upon the Blackwatch base. It will be a security drill where a red team will infiltrate the base, with the end goal of breaking into my office. Do we all understand?" "Yes." Jack nodded. "Boss, I don't--" "Jesse, memorize what I just told you. In case anyone asks what we just discussed at this time, we all need to keep to the same story." He ran a hand down his face. "What Jack and I are planning is treason, on a global scale. We're trying to keep to a specific story for now, to avoid any and all suspicion if we start getting questioned.” He gestured down to the disassembled phone. “At this point, I don't trust our phones to not be bugged." He watched as Jesse stared in horror at his phone. "If we're caught," Gabe continued, "we'll be lucky if all they do is kill us." The commander ran a hand down his tired face. "Jack will be buying us new phones - they will have only two numbers in it. We will be able to communicate with each other on those phones. Anything related to this," he waved a hand between himself and Jack, "will only be discussed on those phones. If someone sees the phone we will give you, you must let us know and then confiscate the phone. It will be used to only communicate with us or anyone else that we explicitly involve." "It should go without saying," Jack met Jesse's gaze, "that no one else knows about this, nor will they. Do not tell anyone about this unless we both tell you to involve them. This is to be handled with the utmost secrecy--" "What?!" Jesse spluttered as he looked between them. "What the fuck are you two goin' on about? Look at you! You're talkin' like spies! I don't get it. What's hap--" "Jesse," Gabe sat up in bed as he looked to the young soldier, "you know exactly what this is about. You have seen the reports on my desk, I know you have. I made sure you saw them." "Well, yeah, but..." He sat back in his chair as he tried to get his thoughts to stop spiraling. "I went from agreein' to helpin' you to findin' out about treason. I mean, I ain't a stranger to that, but..." He shook his head. "You're sayin' that all the shit Overwatch has done, that we've done, hasn't been for, y'know, the benefit of the world?" Jesse blinked at the naivety of his own words before shaking his head again. "Ain't no one free from corruption, huh?"

  "No, no they are not." Jack sighed. "I had my suspicions, but Gabriel's research just confirmed it. I was in denial, I'll admit," he did not look to his lover, "but I cannot refute it anymore. Overwatch does do some work for the betterment and protection of the world, but it also works to the favor of the men and women who ordered its creation. Blackwatch is the exact same way." He met Jesse's gaze. "I--no, we--are tired of being used. We signed our lives away to become soldiers to protect the world in which we live. We did not go through the horrors of the SEP to become pawns, nor will we continue to risk the lives of our soldiers or ourselves for anything but protecting the innocent. We did this for the betterment of the world - not to line the pockets of politicians." Jesse frowned up at Jack, thinking that the man's words sounded perfect for a press release - or an omission of guilt. "You're talkin' like you've already been caught." He looked over to Gabe. "So what're we going to do?" "For now, exactly what we have been. This isn't something that we can hastily act upon. We need proof. More proof. Completely undeniable proof. We're going to keep doing what we have been, documenting everything along the way. When we have a case that cannot be refuted, we will act." "And do... what?" "We'll release the information to the world right after we disband our armies. We will not have our forces in place when we release this information - soldiers will be scattered across the world on different 'missions' that we'll order them to go on. As soon as that information is released, we'll go into hiding. All of us." Gabe fought to keep his expression as neutral as he could; he did not want Jesse to see the fear in his eyes. "And I am afraid that we may have to spend the rest of our lives in hiding."

  Jesse saw Jack flinch but he himself only shrugged. "Not like I've not done that before." He looked between the two commanders again. "So, for now it's just business as usual?" "Yes." Jack nodded. "Gabriel and I will be discussing this more at length during the rest of his recovery. We will determine the proper course of action for us to take." "Jack, go ahead and get the phones. It’s late enough that no one should question you leaving the base for a while. Do you have enough cash on you to get them?" "Yes." He pushed himself away from the wall. "I will see you two soon." He gave a curt nod before leaving the room.

    Gabriel remained motionless until the sound of Jack's retreating feet had faded into silence.

 He reached out to his soldier. "Jesse," his voice was as unsteady as his hands, "why did you agree to this?" "Because you asked me for help. You're my commander," Jesse held Gabe's hands. "You're my boss." "You've just followed me into hell..." "At least I'll be in good company." He gave his commander a small, crooked smile. Gabriel, despite the situation, returned the smile. "Indeed." He squeezed the man's hands once more before leaning back. "I'm going to call Lori in here. There's something that I need to do and I do not want to let it wait any more. You can take your phone back, but don't put the battery back in until after Jack returns with the new phones." "Alright." He returned the pieces to his pocket as Gabe pressed the call button.

 It took only three minutes for Lori arrive.

 She threw open the door and rushed inside, followed by two other scrub-clad men. Security guards, Jesse figured, judging by the outlines of the concealed guns. He watched as Lori came to Gabe's side before shifting his gaze back to the guards. They were standing between themselves and the doorway; both men looked like they were ready to jump into action at the slightest provocation. "Gabe, what's wrong?" Lori asked as she checked his vitals. "Nothing; I'd like to leave." "You ripped your stitches just a few hours ago!" "Yes, I know." Gabe's lips quirked into a grin. "But I'd like to leave now. Is there any real reason for me to stay here?" "Yeah - for rest and recovery!" "I'd rather do that in my own bed." Lori sighed. "Pain in my ass, I swear." She shook her head. "Gabe, I don't think you should leave just yet. You need to rest. At the very least, let that course of antibiotics," she gestured to a mostly-empty IV bag, "finish up, okay?" "There's about ten minutes left in it, yeah?" "Yeah. When that's empty, give me a call and I'll discharge you. But!" She poked his chest. "You better get your ass back in here bright and early! We gotta keep those antibiotics in you if we want to cure that infection, alright?" "I'll be back here at 7 am, sharp." "Fine." She looked to the two guards. "Go on; go back to your stations." They hesitated, not moving until she began to shoo them out of the room.

  Lori looked to the commander as she stood in the doorway. "Give me a call when the bag empties and I'll unhook you, okay? I shouldn't, but I know Jesse'll bring you back here if you get worse." Jesse gave a playful salute to the nurse as she closed the door.

  When the two could only hear the silence of the mostly-empty bay, Jesse looked up to his commander. "What are you gonna do?" "I want to change your duties. I want you with me at all times now. I have the feeling that I am going to be needing a body guard and I trust you more than I do anyone else." He gave a half smile. "I hope you aren't upset that we won't be announcing your new rank to the rest of the forces, though. "New rank?" "It wouldn't be right to have a sergeant standing at the side of a General, now would it?" "No...?" "Exactly. Congratulations, Major Jesse Gabriel McCree." Gabe's smile reached his eyes. Jesse mouthed the words in disbelief as he stared to his commander--no, his General. He knew Gabe hated the title, but it's what he was; Gabe wasn't just his commander...

  He was General Reyes of Blackwatch - one of the most powerful men in the world.

  Gabe watched Jesse processing this new development, all but laughing at the way he was blinking owlishly in confusion. "Jesse, when you find your feet, can you return to my room and bring me a change of clothes? I don't want to walk through the base in scrubs." "Yessir, Gener--" "Don't fucking call me that." "Sure thing, boss." "Much better." Gabe smiled as he settled himself down into the uncomfortable bed.

  His smile vanished the moment the door closed...

  Gabriel stared into the dark room as worry and guilt filled his heart; he had known that Jesse would agree to help him, had known that the kid would do anything he asked. He had held onto the vain hope that Jesse, for once in his life, would have told him no.

  He carefully drew his legs up to his chest and sighed. None of this was what he had signed up for when he had enlisted into Overwatch. He had thought he was simply going to be another grunt soldier, a standard Joe with a gun and a rucksack. He had not expected to ever rise to the point of leading troops, let alone to the point of commanding Blackwatch. And yet, he wasn't surprised that this had happened.

  He had dedicated himself to Overwatch all those years ago, just as he still did. Overwatch kept a roof over his head and food in his stomach. Hector's home had long since been sold and his mother refused to speak to him. His cousins, too, were not fond of him - he couldn't prove it, but he was certain it was because of his estranged mother. Overwatch was all that he had and he did everything he could to ensure that he wouldn't lose it.

  And yet, he chuckled darkly, funny how fast things change...

    Jesse passed Lori in the hallway and gave the frazzled woman a grin. "Take care of him," she grumbled as she gave Jesse a quick hug, "he's as ornery as they come right now." "How's that a change from the usual?" Lori gave him a half-smile as she went to go check on her other patients.

  Jesse stepped into Gabriel's room and closed the door behind him. He placed a change of clothes down on the bed and stepped back. "Want me to leave the room so you can change?" "I don't care." Gabe said as he pulled off the hospital gown. "Thanks for bringin--Jesse, what the fuck?" "What?" "These are not mine. Where the fuck did you find these?" "What?" Jesse asked, trying and failing to sound innocent. "Mijo, one of these days, I swear I'm gonna kick your ass." Reyes found himself staring down at a pair of black sweat pants with the word 'JUICY' emblazoned across the seat. He grumbled as he pulled on the pants and the shirt before sliding out of bed.

  Gabe hurried out of the infirmary, grateful that Lori was with a patient and couldn't see him. He knew that she'd demand pictures and the last thing he wanted was to have his pant-clad ass be the background on her cellphone again.

  Jesse followed behind him, grinning from ear to ear as he followed his commander - it took every ounce of willpower he didn't know he had to not wolf-whistle. Gabe might be his boss, but he could still appreciate a nice ass when he saw one...

    After a blessedly uneventful walk through the base, the pair found themselves frowning as they stood within Reyes' room. The blood had dried on the floor and the papers were still scattered across the entire room.   "Jesse, clean up the documents." He sighed as he went to fetch a towel. "Don't worry about putting them back in order right now. I'll take care of the blood." "Yessir."

  They worked quickly and silently to put Reyes' room back together. Jesse gathered the sheets and righted the upended chair as Gabriel cleaned up the dried puddle of his own blood. He did not comment on the way Reyes' hands were shaking as he saw the man's tight-lipped expression. He knew Gabe well enough to know that the man was fighting to keep his composure and he wasn't about to press the issue. If Gabe wanted to talk, he would do it on his own time.

  "He nearly killed me, Jesse."

  He just hadn't expected Gabe to talk about it now.

  "He nearly killed me." He said again. "He admitted it. He admitted he shoved me on purpose. He admitted he nearly killed me because I knew too much." Reyes was sitting on the floor, right next to the cleaned tile and the bloodied towel. "The man I love nearly killed me. I wanted to have my life with him, and he with me, and he nearly killed me." Reyes stared down at the blood on his hands - his own blood. "Jesse, I don't--I mean," he sighed, "that isn't Jack. The man you saw today? That's not Jack. I don't even know who that is, but I know that's not my Jack." He closed his eyes. "Just as I'm not his Gabriel anymore." "Boss?" Jesse's tone was low, eerily calm. "Are you honestly telling me he tried to murder you?" "Mijo, you are not allowed to leave my side right now." "What?" "For all of our sakes, you are not allowed to leave my side." "...Fine." "You're not allowed to lay a hand on him, either. Not yet." "Com--" "No, Jesse. No. Not yet." Reyes slowly pushed himself to his feet and picked up the towel. "When all this is said and done, and we're all safe, then I'll give him a ten second head start before I let you go after him. But, for now, we need him. He needs me, I need him. I need you. I need everyone to work together, because if we have any sort of rift between us, we'll all swing from the gallows." "...Fine." Jesse huffed. "Fine. But you better promise me that I'll get my licks in one day." "One day, yes. But not now." Jesse nodded, seemingly placated. "So what now?"

  "Now, I'm going to change out of these fucking sweats and we're going to go to my office." Gabe said as he made his way to his small dresser. He pulled out a pair of nondescript pants before pushing the sweats off of his hips. He went to step out of them, only to bite back a scream as he felt his newly-stitched incisions pulling. Jesse ran to his side and grabbed him, holding him steady as Gabe tried to clear the stars from his vision. He guided Gabe back to the bed and helped him sit, his young face contorted with worry as he saw Gabe paling from the pain. "Boss? Do I need to get some oxy?" "No." He hissed. "I need my wits about me. I'll take some ibuprofen, though. Eight hundred milligrams." "Sure thing." Jesse hurried into the small bathroom and began sorting through the pill bottles.

  He rejoined Gabe a moment later and handed him a large pill and a cup of water. He watched as Gabe swallowed the pill with only a sip of water before he closed his eyes. "We'll go to my office in a few minutes." His voice was thin. "At your leisure, boss."

   The two men made their way through the base, neither talking as they walked to Gabe's office. Most of the soldiers had settled in for the night, with only a few men and women milling about the halls. Jesse watched as Gabe unlocked the door to his office and followed him inside. He blinked at the alien sight of Mrs. Ramanaja's empty desk; he had half-expected her to still be there. "So, where does Mrs. Ramanaja live?" "On base." "What? Really? I never see her." "That's because she doesn't want to be seen." Gabe smiled wryly. "She's going to be a part of this too, Jesse. No way for her not to be. She sees everything we do." "But she's just a secreta--" "Before you finish that statement, do you want to know why it took me so long to find a replacement for Andrew?" "Yeah." "Because I wanted someone with a background in the Special Forces. Mrs. Ramanaja was a career soldier, but I'm not at liberty to disclose the full details or what army she served in. All you need to know is that she's a force of nature," his smile grew, "and she also makes a good cup of tea." "...understood." Jesse threw one final look over his shoulder as he followed Gabe into his office. He swore he saw the butt of a rifle strapped to the underside of the desk.

  Gabe sat at his desk and drummed his fingers on his knee as he waited for his computer to wake up. "The password changes every week," Gabe said without looking to the soldier, "every Monday morning. I'll tell you how to find the password later. For now, come here." He looked up to Jesse. "Follow what I do. If something happens to me and our operation is blown before we're ready, I want you to delete the records of this entire base. I'll show you how to do it. And I'll keep showing you until you can do it with your eyes closed." "O-okay," Jesse swallowed as he stood next to Gabe, watching as the man pulled up a terminal window and began to type. "I can't get to all of the backup copies from here," Gabe continued typing, "but I've got a contingency plan to take care of them. We'll go over that later and I'll tell you what you need to do to set that plan in motion." "Understood." Jesse's voice shook slightly. "If you can't do this, Mrs. Ramanaja can. She knows how and she knows when she'll need to do it." "Good." His tone grew a little stronger with the reassurance that he wouldn't be the only person saddled with this responsibility. He watched as Gabe began to walk him through the databases and how to navigate the tables...

   The next three days passed without much fanfare. Reyes began a new course of antibiotics and spent most of his days sick to his stomach and knitting in an attempt to keep his blood pressure down. Jesse spent his time sitting next to Reyes, talking with his commander as Reyes relayed everything he knew. Jack spent his time doing work within Reyes' office, managing both Overwatch and Blackwatch with the help of Mrs. Ramanaja.

The only interesting thing that had happened was the one thing that Jesse wasn't privy to.

  Gabe and Jack had changed their sleeping arrangements on the night they received their new phones. After plenty of arguing and a stern hand on his back, Jesse left the pair as he went to go get Reyes' medications from the clinic. When he had come back, he noticed that Reyes' room was nowhere near as crowded as it had been before. "Jack is taking a room elsewhere in the base." Gabe did not look up from his knitting. "Good." Jesse sat on the edge of the bed. "It's safer that way." "Indeed..." Gabe's tone was firm as his eyes were dour. "I am considering moving your room to be adjacent to mine. I will talk with the agents in the morning to see what we can do." "Alright." Jesse looked to the hat. "Y'really want me close, don't you?" "You do me no good as a bodyguard if you aren't here." "Yeah..."

  Gabe glanced up at the young man, his expression softening as he saw Jesse's glum face. "It's more than that, you know. I want you around me - now, more than ever." He lowered his needles. "This is a stressful time and we don't know who our enemies are. We need our allies and our family and we need them close." He nudged Jesse's leg with his foot. "Smile, mijo. We're fine for now." "How can I, boss? I mean, look at what happened! Jack nearly killed you and we're plottin' to overthrow Overwatch. Shit, next you're gonna tell me we're gonna go capture the president of England!" "England doesn't have a president." Gabe returned his gaze to his knitting. "And yes, it's bad, but right now, everything's fine." He shook his head. "Enjoy it while you can, mijo. I don't know how much longer it'll last..."

     The peace lasted for three days.

 Jesse stared down at the ball of yarn as he idly rolled it between his hands. This wasn't at all what he had expected when Reyes told him he'd be his new bodyguard, but he wasn't really complaining. He could hear the quiet hum of the ceiling fan, the gentle music that filled the room and the rhythmic clicking of Reyes' knitting needles. Jesse let his fingers comb through the unwound yarn as he exhaled. His head came to rest against the wall behind the bed. He found himself nodding off as he was soothed by the susurrus.

For right now, he knew, everything was safe.

  Here, in the quiet bedroom, there was no Blackwatch. There was no Overwatch. There were no unseen enemies, no fear and no threats of death. There were no monsters lurking in the shadows and there was nothing here that could jeopardize his life or the life of his commander.

  He glanced over to Reyes and found himself smiling. Reyes was focused on the hat he was knitting; his normally intense gaze had grown as soft as the cashmere yarn that wove between his needles.

  There was only peace here, he thought; peace and the steady sound of Reyes' knitting.

  Jesse's smile grew dewy as sleep settled itself onto his shoulders...

  He was pulled back to consciousness a moment later as a knitting needle poked his side.

  "Jesse," The young man bolted upright, his eyes wide and searching as his hand reached for the empty holster on his hip. "I did not officially change your duties so you could fall asleep beside me." "...sorry, boss," Jesse mumbled as he rubbed his eyes, "I just, uh..." He glanced down to the red yarn he still held. "I mean, can y'blame me?" Reyes chuckled as he resumed knitting. "Perhaps I should teach you how to knit. It might keep you occupied - and awake." "I dunno. I mean, if y'want me to be occupied, I could read--" "You fall asleep on your books on a regular basis." "--or I could help with the paperwork--" Reyes glanced over to him. "Are you telling me you want to do paperwork? Because that can easily be arranged." "...so, how 'bout that knitting?" Jesse turned to face Reyes, staring intently down at the needles he held. "How's this work? Hold two sticks, wiggle them a bit and then stuff appears?" "More or less." He smiled. "You're just wanting to learn so you can get away from paperwork, aren't you?" "Maybe." Reyes sat up a little straighter. "Do you really want to learn?" "Yeah." Jesse nodded. "I mean, you seem to enjoy it and I figure if you can do it for hours on end, it's gotta be pretty relaxing. Y'don't tolerate bullshit or tedious stuff for long." Gabe laughed at that. "Alright then. Go to the closet; there's a bag just inside the door. There's plenty of yarn in there and some extra needles - grab whatever yarn you want." "'kay." He did as Reyes told him and hummed to himself as he rummaged through the large bag. "Why do you have all this stuff, boss?" "Sandy gave it to me." "Did she know you knit?" "No. I didn't know how until about a week ago, actually. She gave me all of it and she taught me how to use it - she said it'd be something good for me to do while recovering." "Oh." Jesse picked up a ball of thick blue yarn and some needles before making his way back to the bed. "You're really good at it, especially since you just started." "Practice." Reyes yawned, "I can't sleep on these medications, so I knit." "Oh..." Jesse sat down beside his commander and looked up to him. "Y'know you can text me, right? I mean, I'd come keep you company if you can't sleep."  "I know, mijo, but I'll be fine." He glanced over at the yarn Jesse held and nodded. "Good, that'll be easy for you to work with. You ready?" "Yup." Jesse grinned.

    Jack ran a hand down his tired face as he made his way slowly to Reyes' room. It was only Friday, but he was utterly exhausted - he honestly didn't know how Gabe could manage the amount of drudgery with just himself and Mrs. Ramanaja. Yes, the woman was amazing at what she did, but she was just one person and Reyes was just another. How did they manage to have time to do anything besides paperwork? Hell, he had an entire clerical staff at his base and he still spent most of his day stuck behind his desk!

  He continued to grumble as he walked through the halls, his dark mood leaving him just long enough to return the salutes of the soldiers that he passed. They were respectful, at least, but Jack was still reeling from culture shock as he walked through the Blackwatch headquarters. This place was so very different from his own base. Everything at Zurich was done by the books and on a very set schedule. Here?

  He shook his head as he passed by the recreation room, trying to ignore the sounds of the Mockingbirds and the Hellcats. The Mockingbird unit was trying and apparently succeeding at defending their title of Foosball champions.

  For the tenth time that day, he swore that the Blackwatch base was nothing more than barely organized chaos...

  At long last, Jack reached Gabriel's room.

  He pushed open the door to Reyes' room and paused as he stared at the scene before him.

  Jesse and Reyes were both sitting on the bed, their backs against the headboard with knitting needles dangling from their limp hands. Jesse's head had fallen onto Reyes' shoulder; Reyes' head had come to rest on top of Jesse's. Both men were sleeping soundly with their laps covered by various balls of yarn and half-knitted pieces. Jack blinked at the sight of a poorly made blue hat on Reyes' head but remained silent as he pulled out his phone. He took a picture of the resting pair before he cleared his throat. "Look alive, gentlemen. We've got a mission to sabotage..."

[vanilla--blossom]

***WARNING: SPOLIERS AND A SUPER SUPER LONG COMMENT!***

I loved this episode, it was an emotional roller coaster. Although this post is going to include thoughts on the whole series in general, mainly on Javier’s relationship with Kate and with David and Gabe too. Also just opinions of the characters individually. (It’s going to be a long post, sorry). The ending I got was Javier, Kate, Gabe and Conrad surviving (thank god) and David being bitten so Gabe has to shoot him to prevent him from turning. I chose to save Tripp in episode 4, therefore Ava came along with the group before she died, which was pretty much the only scene I didn’t like in this episode, it was very sudden and I think my game glitched so it cut some dialog or really small scenes so it was over very quickly.

It’s sad because I did like Ava and it was a hard decision on who to choose to be shot (when it came to that scene in ep 4, I didn’t choose either the first time and then ended Javi ended up getting shot lol, I DIDN’T WANT EITHER OF THEM TO BE KILLED AH and I was so shocked when Joan ended up killing the opposite person you wanted to save, such bullshit).

Anyway, on Kate and Javi’s relationship, when I started playing this season I was completely against the intimate/romantic relationship between them, every time some dialogue came up where you could flirt back with Kate, or kiss her or whatever, I didn’t choose those options and when it came to either rejecting her or sharing her feelings, I rejected her. She’s married to David, like you don’t go for your brothers wife? They’re brother and sister in law, bit incest? What about Gabe too? Bit weird for his uncle to start dating his farther’s wife? Plus I knew that David would NOT be happy when he found out, I kept rejecting her so David didn’t have any reason to want to fucking kill Javier and I always saw David’s good side so I wanted to be a good brother to him.

All that changed though when I watched a YouTuber’s Let’s Play of the episode. I don’t know, as soon as I saw them kiss I was just like yes. Instant support. Maybe it was Kate’s awkward confession, and her little excited, “oh my god! Really!?” reaction like she actually couldn’t believed Javi shared her feelings? Ahh it was just too cute. I went back and replayed the season, keeping all other choices the same expect the romance between them. It got me thinking, Javi and Kate have been on the road together for years, they thought David was dead, it was more than hinted that David was an abusive husband as well and Kate was really unhappy with him. They’ve been raising Marianna and Gabe all this time like they were practically their own children and have you seen the way the interact with each other? They have a great dynamic, Javi is so sarcastic, he’s got great banter and Kate can handle it and give it back, they’re always making each other laugh and smile and feel better and clearly they’re just way better suited for each other than Kate is with David. I chose the option for them to kiss after their reunion at the junkyard when I replayed and all Marianna says is “Gross.” Like she’s not at all bothered or angry her step mum is smooching her uncle? Because she can see how much they love and care for each other. Plus it’s a fucking zombie apocalypse, if you love someone, go for it, because you don’t know when your last moment will be with someone, no matter how fucked up the situation is, they were both really really happy in that moment at the junkyard and in the van, plus at the end of the episode too.

This brings me to David and Javi’s relationship. Apart from the Kate thing, I still tried to be a good brother to him, I took his hand after the fight when their dad died, I supported him in his decision to go to the army and promised to watch over Kate and and the kids. I hugged him in the quarantine cell, I stuck by all his plans (not to mention about Marianna & to stay and fight in Richmond, not siding with Kate), I even shot Joan for him. David was a fucking arsehole I admit that, but I did have a little soft spot for him, I always wanted him to redeem himself and for him to show the good person I believed he was inside, I get really attached to the characters, and I think the main way to enjoy the walking dead game is to not focus too much on the lack on character development with a few of the characters or the crappy pacing, even the bad dialogue selections sometimes. I try to put myself in each and everyone of the characters shoes and feel what they are feeling and try and understand.

So when it came to the scene when David found out about Javi and Kate’s relationship and started beating up Javi and was trying to kill him, I chose Javi to say “I love you” 3 times. The final “I love you brother” absolutely broke me. During this fight I was literally crying my eyes out, I could not stop crying, it was so intense and so emotional, it hurt me so much inside because Javi does love his brother and deep down, David loves Javier too. I started crying after the first “I love you”, because of David’s reaction to Javi saying that. He looked so shocked, like he couldn’t believe he heard that from him, which leads me to believe that was the first time Javier ever told David that he loved him. What makes it even more sad is that was the last time he ever said he loved him and also the last thing Javier ever said to David was “I love you brother”.

Other things that made me cry even harder during that scene, when Gabe rushed in to try to get his Dad to stop and David just hits him with the wrench. Like could you imagine your father doing that to you? Especially how much Gabe respected and loved his Dad, Gabe stuck up for David and was on his side throughout the whole season, and then to have everything you thought about your Dad to be proven wrong? After all that, he still chose to go with David because he is his Dad. He is family, he is blood. It’s heartbreaking. Also the little notification that you get if you choose to say I love you three times “you kept your promise to be a good brother”, like holy fuck shit. There I go, I was already broken in half, now I’m broken into quarters. Fuck my life, I was emotionally unstable.

I know a lot of people hate Gabe, just like they hated Duck in season 1 and I just don’t understand why? For both of them. Duck was just a special little boy, he didn’t understand everything was going on, in my opinion I think he had some sort of mental disability, or he was just really dumb who knows. But he was just a little kid, who talked too much and made bad decisions but how was he supposed to know what would happen? Being so young, so naive, he was such an energetic optimistic boy, ignorance is bliss they say right?

Anyway, enough about Duck, back to Gabe. Gabe was 14 years old, he was growing up and going through a really tough time, he has to deal with puberty, hormones, mood swings, testosterone levels are soaring, he wants to grow up. He doesn’t want to a little kid anymore. But the thing is he doesn’t know how. And imagine how hard it would be in a zombie apocalypse to do that. He thinks he’s saying and doing the right thing but he’s not, he wants to prove himself capable, he wants to prove that he’s smart and he can fight and protect himself and protect others, he believes he can. No one else does and so obviously that makes him frustrated that no one will take him seriously. It’s especially hard for him because his role models are Javier and David, two badass, lean mean fighting machines. He wants to be like them and he wants to be like them now but he can’t. Bless Gabe. He was an annoying little shit yeah but he’s a good annoying little shit. It’s all about seeing things from his point of view, imagining if you were him.

Which leads me to Gabe and Clem’s relationship. Disregarding the crush they both have on each other for a second, pretend that doesn’t exist. I love Clem and Gabe’s relationship. Oh my god, how can you not? I’m sorry but how long has Clem gone without a friend her age? Since fucking forever that’s how long. The only kids she’s ever been with is Duck and Sara throughout the entire series. Clem has been through so much shit, she’s been through hell, she’s lost Lee, Kenny, Luke, AJ, all the most important people to her throughout the series, she’s the toughest little girl in the world, she was forced to grow up so much quicker than she had to. Lee taught her to shoot a gun at 8 years old okay. She’s more intelligent and strong and brave and mature than anyone ever has to be at 14 years old, if it weren’t for her appearance you would think Clementine was a fully grown adult. She raised AJ, a toddler, thought of herself as a mother, a real mother to AJ and she’s just still a kid herself.

This is why I fully support her friendship with Gabe, in the van and they were playing euchre together, Clem just got to be a normal teenage girl for a couple of minutes having fun and joking with a teenage boy. Like Kate said it’s just so normal? It’s nice to see, and I can’t remember who said this in the game but “life doesn’t mean much without people you can relate to”, Clem and Gabe relate to each other, they’re in the same boat, Clem understands Gabe and makes him feel better as Gabe does with Clem. I’m sure all of us know how it feels not to be understood and when someone comes a long and shows you that they do understand it’s a relief.

Back to the crushing part between the two, it’s again NORMAL AND FUCKING CUTE! It’s a little harmless crush, of course they’re going to have a crush on each other, it’s the first teen girl Gabe has ever seen since the outbreak, and Clem is really pretty and nice, of course Gabe is going to have a crush on her. It made me smile at the end when Javi was like to Clementine “you know the guy has a crush on you right” and he was all like “oh my gosh you have a crush on him too!!” and then Clem got all embarrassed and flustered and exclaimed “I DO NOT!”, again this is so funny and just adds a bit of lightheartedness and normalcy to the game, yes they’re in the middle of a zombie apocalypse but characters get to be happy once in a while and just pretend that world hasn’t gone to hell. All in all, loved the season, especially loved this episode! Phew what a rant, you have reached the end, props if you read all of it.

[gokinjeespot]

off the rack #1172

Monday, July 24, 2017

 A rainy and windy morning here in Ottawa with thunder storms circling the area. I'm glad to be safe and snug here at home and not out on the lake. It's been a wet summer so far but our garden has never looked better.

 Star Wars: Darth Vader #3 - Charles Soule (writer) Giuseppe Camuncoli (pencils) Cam Smith (inks) David Curiel (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). Vader sees a man about a light sabre but Master Kirak Infil'a won't be giving it up that easily.

 Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #9 - Kieron Gillen (writer) Kev Walker (pencils) Marc Deering (inks) Antonio Fabela (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). So now we know what the bad Doctor is going to do with that old Jedi A.I. That rascally Triple Zero has plans of his own though. The two deadly droids are my favourite Star Wars characters now.

 Batwoman #5 - Marguerite Bennett & James Tynion IV (writers) Stephanie Hans (art & colours) Deron Bennett (letters). A flashback story about how Kate first came to Coryana. Very dramatic.

 Invincible Iron Man #9 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) Stefano Caselli (art) Marte Gracia with Israel Silva (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). Big battle in Latveria with the super villain Lucia Von Bardas. It's winner take all.

 Astonishing X-Men #1 - Charles Soule (writer) Jim Cheung (pencils) Mark Morales, Guillermo Ortego & Walden Wong (inks) Richard Isanove & Rain Beredo (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). The latest mutant team book to hit the racks gathers together Angel, Beast, Bishop, Fantomex, Gambit, Old Man Logan, Psylocke and Rogue to battle the Shadow King. Get ready to be astonished by the last page, although I saw that surprise twist coming 1.60934 kilometres away.

 Aquaman #26 - Dan Abnett (writer) Stjepan Sejic (art & colours) Steve Wands (letters). I would recommend this book for the art alone but the royal court intrigues would keep me reading too. I'll be drifting along until we find out who the new guy is at least.

 Lazarus X+66 #1 - Greg Rucka & Eric Trautmann (writers) Steve Lieber (art) Santi Arcas (colours) Jodi Wynne (letters). This 6-issue mini will feature secondary characters from the series. This issue has a soldier going through the process of becoming a member of an elite unit. She's more than just a G. I. Jane.

 Ms. Marvel #20 - G. Willow Wilson (writer) Marco Failla (art) Ian Herring (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). This is a timely story about corrupt politicians. I hope that young readers will get the message about greed and community. The interrogation of Kamala's brother made me wonder about the present state of the world.

 Batman #27 - Tom King (writer) Clay Mann (pencils) Danny Miki, John Livesay & Clay Mann (inks) Gabe Eltaeb (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). We take a break from the War of Jokes and Riddles to meet Kite Man, the new bad guy with a gimmick, and see if he's team Joker or team Riddler. I love the bad Bat guy names.

 Bettie Page #1 - David Avallone (writer) Colton Worley (art & colours) Taylor Esposito (letters). Colton Worley's Bettie may not be as wow worthy as Dave Stevens's but he did an adequate job in this new comic book about the raven haired beauty. I fell in love with Bettie Page when I saw that full page spread of her in the photographer's studio in the Rocketeer comic book that hit the racks in 1982. I bought the t-shirt, action figures, bust and any copies of Bettie Pages I could find. Here we have a Bettie who goes to Hollywood in 1951 to escape the F.B.I. in New York City. Why the feds raided the studio isn't explained but being in California means that Bettie can be featured scantily clad, which is what she was famous for. The story is campy and I wish the art was nicer but these guys did a pretty good job of portraying a spunky, independent woman who is full of life and ready to experience it all.

 Generation Gone #1 - Ales Kot (writer) Andre Lima Araujo (art) Chris O'Halloran (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). This new book is about three millennials who hack into the computers at DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) and will get the surprise of their lives. I like Baldwin and Elena but Nick is a dick. A scientist at DARPA has written some code that can change the human body and these hackers are fed the code. This type of giving regular people super powers comic book has been done before but I like the art and the characters so far so I will see what happens next.

 Totally Awesome Hulk #21 - Greg Pak (writer) Robert Gill (art) Nolan Woodard (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). Part 4 of WMD has the bad guys going ahead with creating a Hulk-like super soldier and the good guys deciding how to deal with the bad guys. For fans of such things there's a cool fight between the Totally Awesome Hulk and Sabretooth.

 Super Sons #6 - Peter J. Tomasi (writer) Jorge Jimenez (art) Alejandro Sanchez (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). "Planet of the Capes" starts here when Damian and his Teen Titans run into trouble fighting a new team of super villains. Jorge Jimenez's Starfire is hot.

 Archie #22 - Mark Waid (writer) Pete Woods (art & colours) Jack Morelli (letters). I was on the verge of tears throughout this issue. I can't imagine feeling those emotions if even Dan DeCarlo drew this since his classic style, as pretty as it was, might not have conveyed the sadness inherent in this issue. Pete Woods did an excellent job here. I've loved Betty Cooper longer than I have loved Bettie Page, so seeing what happens to her affected me deeply. I don't hate Mark Waid for what he's done. I look forward to seeing what comes next.

 The Mighty Thor #21 - Jason Aaron (writer) Valerio Schiti (art) Veronica Gandini (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). This issue features War Thor. Old Volstagg never looked so lean. The last caption made me scream NOOOOOO!

 Dark Days: The Casting #1 - Scott Snyder & James Tynion IV (writers) Jim Lee, Andy Kubert & John Romita Jr. (pencils) Scott Williams, Klaus Janson & Danny Miki (inks) Alex Sinclair & Jeremiah Skipper (colours) Steve Wands (letters). Holy mackerel there's a lot of blah, blah, blah in this comic book. I think I got the point in the first few pages with Carter Hall. I didn't need to see Batman's quest or Green Lantern and Duke/Robin's blah blah with the Joker to get that a Dark Crisis is a-coming and it's all sooooo mysterious and uber dangerosus. Let's get on with the story shall we?

 Royal City #5 - Jeff Lemire (writer art & colours) Steve Wands (letters). This issue shows Tommy interacting with all of his family. It's cool how each member sees him differently.

 Luke Cage #3 - David F. Walker (writer) Nelson Blake II (art) Marcio Menyz (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). This issue proves once again that nobody stays dead in a comic book.

 Superman #27 - Peter J. Tomasi & Patrick Gleason (writers) Scott Godlewski (art) Gabe Eltaeb (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). It's too bad this issue didn't hit the racks before the July 4th holiday. There's a lot of rah rah American patriotism but it's the family bonding Peter and Patrick put in their stories that's the reason I like this book so much.

 Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #2 - Chip Zdarsky (writer) Adam Kubert (art) Jordie Bellaire (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). Chip almost lost me in the first three pages with the dumb captions. Maybe he thinks they're cute but I think they're juvenile and annoying. If his Peter Parker gets any more goofier I'm outta here.

 Wild Storm #6 - Warren Ellis (writer) Jon Davis-Hunt (art) Steve Buccellato & John Kalisz (colours) Simon Bowland (letters). Six issues in and we've met many characters. It starts off with an action-packed sequence featuring Deathblow. The Force is strong in that one. Then Warren spells out what the different factions are all about. It clears things up considerably so that the rest of the series should be more fun times and less who the heck are these people?

 Defenders #3 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) David Marquez (art) Justin Ponsor (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). Holy fornication the last panel will wake you up. Everything leading up to that shocker was sorta casual, even the fight with Frank the Punisher Castle. Two comic books that I read this week ended the same way and both shocked me but each one shocked me differently. Each shocking thing happened to characters that I cared about for a very very long time. I don't know what's going to happen next but I can't wait to find out.

[toldnews-blog]

New Post has been published on https://toldnews.com/world/kamala-harris-and-the-us-state-looking-to-take-down-trump/

Kamala Harris and the US state looking to take down Trump

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Kamala Harris is an early front-runner for 2020, despite criticism of her record

The propulsion of senator and lawyer Kamala Harris to front-runner status among the Democrats hoping to take on President Donald Trump in 2020 has underlined the resurgent political power of her home state.

A California senator is one of the front-runners for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.

A California congresswoman is Speaker of the House of Representatives.

California’s new governor is a young, progressive champion promising to offer an alternative to the “corruption and incompetence” of Donald Trump’s White House.

The so-called Golden State has become solidly Democrat blue, and its politicians are flexing their muscles on the national stage. But this golden opportunity doesn’t come without risk for the progressive cause.

Big predictions for Harris

A campaign kick-off is a political show of force. It’s a chance to demonstrate that a candidate’s appeal exists beyond op-ed think-pieces, lines on a fund-raising report or clicks on a social media post. Nothing drives home the potential of ballot-box success quite like a throng of faces in a cheering crowd.

On a warm Sunday afternoon at a public square in Oakland, California, Kamala Harris made just such a statement, packing in an estimated 20,000 people as she officially launched her presidential bid.

“These are not ordinary times, and this is not an ordinary election, but this is our America,” the California senator said. “At stake is not the leadership of our party and our country. It is the right to moral leadership of this planet.”

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Thousands of people watched Kamala Harris officially launch her presidential bid

Her speech, carried live on US cable news networks, was geared towards a national audience, including promises of universal healthcare and pre-kindergarten childcare, debt-free college, a working- and middle-class tax cut, and an immigration system that welcomes refugees and provides some undocumented migrants a pathway to citizenship.

The choice of this northern California city across the bay from San Francisco to launch her campaign, however, was no accident for the woman just two years into her first term in Washington.

It’s where Ms Harris, the daughter of immigrants from India and Jamaica, was born. It’s also where she first held public office, as a deputy district attorney.

Image caption The consensus is that Kamala Harris is the front-runner among the Democrats hoping to reach the White House

Oakland, she notes, is where she stood before a judge as a prosecutor for the first time and said “five words that would guide my life” – “Kamala Harris, for the people”.

It’s a line she has now adopted as her campaign slogan.

Ms Harris would go on to rise through the ranks, first as San Francisco district attorney and then California attorney general, before making the leap to the Senate.

“It’s exciting to see someone from California, from the Bay area, run for president,” says Danny Marquis, a dentist from San Francisco who brought her 11-year-old son, Gabe, to the event.

“She represents some of my values, somebody who’s hardy, who has been out there and who has walked the walk that I’m on right now, who will fight for and represent people like me.”

Image caption Danny Marquis (second from left), next to her son Gabe, says Kamala Harris represents some of her values

Ajay Bhutoria, a Fremont, California, business consultant who served on the national finance committee for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, says the turnout on Sunday shows just how desperate people are for change.

“California is the leader in innovation, and they’re sending a message today,” he says. Bhutoria adds that while he’s still keeping an open mind over whom he will support, Ms Harris is a “great candidate”.

The senator’s potential was being heralded on the national level even before Sunday’s choreographed launch in front of her hometown fans.

Liberal cable news host Rachel Maddow recently said Ms Harris had a “good chance” of being the 2020 Democratic nominee. An analysis on the election forecasting site fivethirtyeight.com said she “comes out looking stronger than any other potential candidate”.

New York Times columnist David Leonhardt wrote a piece titled, simply, “Kamela Harris, a front-runner”.

Given the size of the field – and the fact that the first nominating contest is more than a year away – these kinds of predictions are risky. At this point in 2015, many Republicans were busy fitting Jeb Bush with their party’s crown, after all.

The conventional consensus, however, is that Ms Harris is at the head of the pack – and California is a big reason why.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption California state capitol in Sacramento

The state is a fund-raising power base with little parallel. In the 24 hours after Ms Harris announced, she reported $1.5m (£1.1m) in donations, breaking a record set by Senator Bernie Sanders in 2016.

Last year her campaign committee and related fund-raising organisations brought in more than $23m, with six-figure contributions from individuals associated with entertainment giant WarnerMedia, the University of California, Los Angeles based Creative Artists Agency and the parent company of Bay area tech giant Google.

California’s primary also has an influential spot in the 2020 calendar, having moved from June in 2016 to early March.

If Ms Harris can stay in the race that long – and it certainly seems she will have the money to do it – the senator could be poised to reap the mother lode of Democratic convention delegates in her home state.

A golden month

Ms Harris may be seeking the top prize, but her presidential announcement was only the capstone on a month that thrust the state of California firmly onto the national stage. It began with San Francisco Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi returning as Speaker of the House of Representatives after eight years in the political wilderness.

It wouldn’t take long to demonstrate just how much power the San Franciscan now wields, as she faced down the president in the 35-day battle over border-wall funding and the resulting government shutdown.

In November Democrats picked up 40 seats in the chamber – seven from California alone, primarily in what was long thought to be the solidly conservative Los Angeles suburbs of Orange County. Mr Trump’s unpopularity in California essentially eviscerated the state’s pro-business, socially moderate Republican Party in the land that once helped vault Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan to presidential success.

Media playback is unsupported on your device

Media captionThe return of the woman Republicans love to hate

“There was an old Reagan quote that ‘I’m from the government, and I’m here to help’ were the scariest words,” says Bill Whalen, a fellow at Stanford University’s conservative-leaning Hoover Institution. “Those words don’t scare people in California anymore.”

For the first time the largest state in the US both in terms of people and economic muscle speaks almost entirely with one political voice. And the message it’s sending stands in stark contrast to the Trump-style conservatism that has dominated the national conversation for the past two years.

A few days after Ms Pelosi used her gavel to usher in a Democratic-controlled US House of Representatives, she flew back west to have a front-row seat at the inauguration of California’s newly elected governor, Gavin Newsom.

Under tents erected to ward off the rain at the state capitol in Sacramento – just over an hour’s drive north of the Oakland square where Ms Harris formally started her presidential bid three weeks later – the 51-year-old former California lieutenant governor and mayor of San Francisco had his moment in the spotlight.

He used his inaugural address to lash out at the “corruption and incompetence” of the White House and position his state as the liberal counterweight to Donald Trump’s America.

Media playback is unsupported on your device

Media captionGovernor Gavin Newsom’s sleepy son invades the stage during his inauguration speech

“The country is watching us,” he said. “The world is waiting on us. The future depends on us. And we will seize this moment.”

Outside the tents, Mr Newsom’s spirit was contagious.

“California is the resistance to the Trump administration,” says San Jose schoolteacher Andrea Reyna. “We’re the fifth-largest economy in the world by having strong leaders who are voices for equality, who are voices for freedom. It gives us a privilege and thus a responsibility to take a lead.”

The California boom

This idea of California’s special obligation as a progressive beacon permeated the inaugural proceedings in the state capitol.

“As everybody has been saying, California has been the place where policy experimentation has created amazing results,” says Jennifer Granholm, the former Michigan governor who now teaches at the University of California – Berkeley and served as master of ceremonies for the inauguration of the state’s lieutenant governor. “This is California’s moment to shine.”

It’s hard to dispute those claims right now, as California – and the Democrats in power – are riding high.

Democrats in 2020

The state has been the engine fuelling the record-breaking US economic expansion, accounting for a fifth of the nation’s economic growth since 2010. In 2017 its gross domestic product expanded by 4.7% – more than twice the rate of the US as a whole.

Per-capita income is rising faster than any other state, and its government budget is running a multi-billion dollar surplus, giving Mr Newsom flexibility to enact sweeping new social programmes.

“Think of everything Democrats want to do in Washington but can’t – universal healthcare, more entitlements, more rules, more regulations – without backlash from an opposition party or the public,” says Whalen. “California is really the Democratic dream in that regard, and the Newsom administration is putting that dream to the test.”

Image copyright Alamy

Image caption There’s an aspirational quality that few states can match

In his inaugural address, the newly sworn-in governor did, in fact, talk about dreams, although he styled his progressive priorities as the “California dream” – of good jobs, quality education and a comfortable retirement.

“Not to get rich quick or star on the big screen, but to work hard and share in the rewards,” Mr Newsom said. “To leave a better future for our kids.”

After the speech, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti – who is contemplating his own presidential campaign – expanded on the governor’s thoughts.

“Certainly people dream in other states, but nobody talks about the Missouri dream or the Alabama dream,” he says. “This is a unique place that almost the whole world knows, even if they’ve never been here. They feel California as at once an idea and a place.”

As if to drive home the point that California politics and the Trump administration are headed on an ideological collision course, just a few days after Mr Newsom’s inaugural salvo, the president lashed out at the state via Twitter, threatening to withhold disaster relief funds for victims of the state’s recent spate of fatal forest fires “unless they get their act together”.

A golden age for Democrats

California Democrats dreaming big – and holding their state up as an example to the rest of the US and even the rest of the world – could seem in some ways inevitable. The most formidable state in the US, run by progressives under progressive policies, would appear destined to produce ambitious politicians intent on translating the success of their state into national prominence.

This sense of inevitability, however, is a relatively recent development.

“California is a funny place,” says UCLA lecturer and former Los Angeles Times reporter Jim Newton. “You don’t have to look back very far for it to be fairly reliably Republican. This notion of it being an absolutely rock solid Democratic bastion is a relatively new phenomenon.”

Mr Newsom’s inauguration, in fact, marked the first time since the 1870s that two Democrats in a row have occupied the California governor’s mansion. Ms Harris is the first California politician to seek the Democratic presidential nomination in a quarter century.

Part of the reason for this is generational. Jerry Brown, California’s governor for the last eight years, was in his 70s during his second stint in office, after serving two terms in the 1970s and early ’80s. He had already run for president three times, in 1976, 1980 and 1992, and his national ambitions were long since dimmed.

Image copyright Alamy

Image caption Jerry Brown campaigning in 1992

Dianne Feinstein, the state’s senior senator, is in her 80s, and Ms Harris predecessor, Barbara Boxer, never showed interest in a White House bid.

With a new cadre of Democrats taking the reins comes new ambitions.

It’s more than that, however. For long stretches over the past three decades, California has been an economic basket case. The state was devastated by the recession of the early 1990s, the tech bubble collapse of 2002 and the Great Recession in 2008.

“In 2010, the conventional wisdom was that California was headed the way of Greece; that it was ungovernable” says Newton. “People were openly debating the question of what would happen if a state the size of California declared bankruptcy. It was called, quite literally, a failed state.”

Part of the reason California suffers so grievously in times of economic downturn is because the state is heavily dependent on income and corporate taxes as a revenue stream. When people and corporations make less money, once bursting government coffers quickly go empty.

And so while California Democrats are touting the opportunities that California can present as a model of progressive success, the flip side of this opportunity is danger. If California fails – if it slips back into an economic morass – it will quickly become a conservative cautionary tale instead of a liberal beacon.

The Gray ghost

In a front row at Mr Newsom’s inauguration, like a ghost of presidential ambitions past, was a man who provides a telling example of just how quickly California fortunes can change.

Democrat Gray Davis was elected governor of California in 1998, breaking a Republican hold on the job that stretched back to the end of Mr Brown’s first stint in 1982. The Golden State was booming, and government spending shot up. The milquetoast Davis was even being bandied about as a future presidential contender.

Shortly after Mr Davis’s 2002 re-election, however, the dotcom collapse eviscerated California’s economy. Revenues plummeted, and Mr Davis’ attempts to raise state fees to compensate led to a voter rebellion that ended in his 2003 recall election and replacement by actor-turned-Republican-politician Arnold Schwarzenegger.

After Mr Newsom gave his speech, Mr Davis reflected on his experience.

“Recessions can take a $15 or $20bn surplus and make it a $15 or $20bn deficit,” he says. “I think [Mr Newsom] appreciates all the hard work and tough decisions that led to this phenomenal surplus, and I don’t think he wants to be the person who squanders that.”

Image copyright Alamy

Image caption Memories of California’s boom and bust past are still fresh

Already there are some dark linings to the silver clouds of Californian prosperity. Profits – and stock valuations – for high-profile Silicon Valley companies like Apple, Facebook and Tesla are down.

Property values, which have been skyrocketing, are starting to soften. And in major metropolitan areas where they aren’t, working-class families have long since been priced out of desirable homes and neighbourhoods.

While the state leads the way in economic growth, it is also tied with Louisiana and Florida for the highest poverty rate in the US, at 19%. More than 130,000 Californians are homeless, with Los Angeles second only to New York City among US cities.

“It’s a complicated story,” says Whalen. “I can take you to parts of California, and you will fall in love with it. But there are problems with the blue paradise, as well.”

If the economy falters, the problems that Whalen suggests – homelessness, a lack of adequate healthcare, overcrowding and traffic in the cities, and an uneven quality of public education – will get worse as the money dries up.

Risk and reward

The progressive challenge over the coming months will be to find a way to enact their priorities on healthcare, the environment, education and immigration while insulating the state from the business cycle’s inevitable downturn.

Their success or failure will clearly impact upon the national ambitions of men like Mr Newsom and Mr Garcetti, but even Ms Harris – whose presidential campaign will try to cast a broader net – could be tarnished.

Already the senator is taking heat for her time as the state’s attorney general and a San Francisco city prosecutor, during which critics say was she was not sufficiently supportive of criminal justice reform. If the Democratic regime in California, of which she was recently a part, oversees a budgetary train wreck in the coming year, it will be difficult for her campaign to emerge unscathed.

Whalen doesn’t think Democrats are up to the task. UCLA’s Newton, on the other hand, sees this as the party’s biggest challenge – and opportunity.

“There’s going to be a downturn, and how Newsom handles that really will help send the message of whether this state is something different or just better than most at riding an upward business cycle,” he says.

Image copyright Alamy

Image caption Apple has endured a tough time

And even if the things stay stable, the cadres of ambitious California Democrats – including Ms Harris, Mr Garcetti, Mr Newsom, and others – will have to prove that their state really is a model that can be applied to the nation as a whole.

“For this state to be meaningful beyond electing liberal leaders,” Newton says, “it has to show that there is something qualitatively different about what it’s like to live under this government than it is under a Trump government.

“If this is a state that can manage wealth, that can handle downturns, it can balance economic growth and environmental protection, that can be welcoming to immigrants at a time when the rest of the country is unsure of that, that’s a genuine counterproposal.”

In the days and months ahead, this progressive counterproposal will be put to the test – in California and among Democratic primary voters across the US.

Follow Anthony on Twitter

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[myrelevantwriting-blog]

The Wild, 18-Minute Ride That Is Daydream Believer: A Review by a Former Teenaged Girl

Every generation has its “coming of age” movie: the movie that sees its main character through the naivety of adolescence to a catalyst that makes them realize they’re *gasp* growing up. The ‘70s had American Graffiti, the ‘80s had The Breakfast Club, the early ‘90s gave us the tearjerker My Girl (I’m still holding that vigil for Thomas J). All of these films had characters nearly everyone could identify with. Maybe you were the Cameron to your best friend’s Ferris Bueller. Perhaps you knew exactly what Jim Stark’s deal was in Rebel Without A Cause.

But then, in 1998 came a little known short film with a character so damn relatable it brings up memories you thought you buried so deep in the soil of your brain, it could only be unearthed by years of intense therapy.

Ladies and Gentlemen: Daydream Believer!

Let me start off by saying when my friend Rosie posted this movie to her blog I had no clue what the hell I was getting into. The 1970s film grain and the awkward silence (save for the chirping birds) when we meet our homegirl Susan made me half-expect one of those “What’s Happening to my Body?” filmstrips they made us watch in the 4th grade.

“Are you there, God? It’s me, Susan. All my friends are getting their periods except me. What have I done to anger you so?”

Right away we know Susan is different. She does weird things like…walking (especially when she has a perfectly good Schwinn on the front porch).

God, look at this freak.

“Look at her using her legs for non-jump-rope purposes like a fuckin’ loser.”

So it turns out that Susan’s a loner because she’s always daydreaming about her fab marvy crush…because she’s 11 and this is what 11-year-olds do: daydreaming and hurrying home and catch her fave rave on TV.

To be honest I was expecting it to be Davy Jones...the pirate, not the Monkee.

Yeah, Little Susie’s got fuzzy feelings for Mike Nesmith of the Monkees, to the chagrin of her concerned-yet-not-concerned-enough-to-actually-talk-to-their-kid parents. Susan’s mom is looking at her daughter like she didn’t wet herself over Sinatra back in her day.  I mean, Susan can’t be that obsessed, though. She’s only got like, one album and a single pinup on her wall like she’s some kind of amateur. And she’s pretty reserved in her screaming at the TV so that’s considerate of her.

Her disappointment over lack of mammaries perfectly mimics Mike’s face which in turn perfectly mimics how I feel about this movie so far.

The film then takes somewhat of a weird turn and becomes from here on out a wild rollercoaster ride of “What the actual fuck?” We take a journey into Susan’s brain as she sees herself as a 45 year-old woman teenager, getting ready for her date with-…oh my God.

YOU DON’T SAY

I’m somewhat flabbergasted by their casting decision to go with a paunchy, late-30s Ashkenazi Mike Nesmith but whatever. I’m not gonna judge Susan. She’s 11. When I was 11 I wanted to hang out with Gabe Kaplan circa ‘75. It’s a weird age.

So after her date with Mack Nussbaum we find Susan back at school, going for one of her weird daydream walks and completely oblivious to a group of bitches talkin’ shit behind her back.

“I bet she doesn’t even listen to the Banana Splits. Dweeb.”

“Joke’s on you! Me and Marc Nesbitt are gonna go closed-mouth kiss behind the JFK Memorial Tree. Hope I don’t get pregnant!”

I’m not even going to comment on this next scene. There’s nothing I can add to how utterly perfect it is in its understanding of the pre-teen girl’s brain so I’m just gonna let the caps do the talking.

But trouble rears its ugly head in the form of Susan’s teacher, glaring at her disapprovingly and telling her she’s “a much better writer than this [homework],” before proving this to be a bold-faced lie as we cut to a scene in which Susan writes in her diary:

Mike is so beautiful. He has lovely brown eyes. His hair is so soft and silky. I want to run my fingers through his beautiful hair. He has a sweet Texas accent that is so beautiful to listen to. I could listen to him read a book for hours and hours. He’s divine enchanting!!!

This nonsense reads like a 1st grade primer. Girl, I know you’re 11 but this is clearly not your first day at the Mike Nesmith Rodeo. This should all have been covered on page one.

Also, I hope Susan asked for a thesaurus for Christmas. 

So homegirl’s studies are suffering because she can’t keep her mind out of Mike’s pants and daydreaming about going on a romp with Mork Nerfherder to the song Papa Gene’s Blues. As you do…

“Whatchu thinkin’ about?” “Oh nothing…just statutory stuff.”

…that is until your cockblock of a teacher calls you out for not paying attention and embarrasses you in front of the entire class (a situation I knew all too well, so I actually empathize with her here). Susan goes home to complain to Raggedy Anne and delve into yet another daydream in which Mike takes her home to meet “the guys.” Oh boy, I can’t wait to see what small town community theater actors they got to play the Monk-…..wait what?

They look as confused as I do right now.

After an awkward introduction to the roommates (we’ve all been there. College, amirite?!) Murk and Susan go up to Mulk’s room…

I’m suddenly feeling rather uncomfortable and it’s not for the severed clown head in the corner.

…where Malk puts on bossa nova music and they start making out…

Oh my God, No….

NO!!!

NONONONONONONONONO!

YOU’RE GONNA CUT BACK TO THE CHILD ACTRESS AND MAKE THIS MORE AWKWARD THAN IT IS?! WHAT ON EARTH IS WRONG WITH YOU?!

Those lines under Raggedy’s eyes are from all the internal screaming.

No…………………….this is not how I wanted to die.

OUR FATHER WHO ART IN HEAVEN HALLOWED BE THY NAME….

…AS I WALK THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH….

HAS THIS BEEN A PORNO THE ENTIRE TIME?!

BRB SETTING MYSELF ON FIRE…

There isn’t a word for how unnerved I am right now, so I’m just going to make one up. I am extremely floopnozzled, I am totally and immensely…wait a second…

As I breathe a gargantuan sigh of relief, Bra-vo!

After Susan has finished violating her poor Raggedy Anne doll, her dad barges into her room and in a very ominous voice says they need to talk.

The clown in the back but on a brave smile but what his eyes have seen cannot be unseen.

They go to a parent-teacher conference to talk about Susan’s failing schoolwork and conclude it’s Mike’s fault, so they ban her from the living room and the TV. And for whatever reason I don’t quite understand, there’s a scene where Susan has to listen to her parents bone on the couch. I guess as part of her punishment? I dunno.

Girl, same.

EDIT: @legrandennui has informed me that it’s possible the voices she’s hearing aren’t her parents but her daydreams distracting her again. I still think it’s the parents, though.

And even though her parents think she’s obsessed with Mike and forbid her from watching The Monkees, her enabling Mom comes home from the grocery store and gives her flowering junkie a hit of the hard stuff via Teen Life magazine with the Monkees on the cover. I heard this was how Sid Vicious died.

At first Susan is overjoyed, until slowly her smile fades as she reads an article. She storms off into her room and screams at her magazine “WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME YOU WERE MARRIED?!”

Lol wut? Child, where have you been? How are you going to be all up on Mike’s dick but not know anything about him beyond his brown eyes and silken hair? That’s like, page 1 in How to Obsess.

So we get one last daydream sequence in which Susan tells Mike she’s leaving him because she’s grown and wants to move on…

…which I guess in this case means getting back to her schoolwork and keeping her grades up…amongst other things.

“Wait, does this mean Shatner doesn’t make her want to bone? Is that the lesson here?”- @legrandennui

I’ve watched a lot of movies about adolescence in my years but this was the first one I’ve seen that had perfectly nailed it in terms of being a young girl with a fave rave. I had gone through nearly everything in this movie: the nonstop daydreams, the constant writing about the object of my surging hormonal lust, not paying attention in school, the concerned look from my parents, and I’m not ashamed to admit my pillow had gotten the Raggedy Anne treatment. My room was a bit more intense than that, pin-up wise but I can’t imagine they had a lot to dress the set with in 1998. This was like looking straight into my own past and as uncomfortable as it was to see what I was like from a 3rd party view, I have to say at the same time it’s incredibly amusing to watch someone flip out over a teen idol while sitting back with a knowing, sympathetic nod. 

If you want to watch the film it’s here on Youtube.

[midoridragonuus]

who hates who and why: a reference

- x -

Schwartz =/=> Chloe

Schwartz honestly hates Chloe for being the respite Werites needs in his time of need. Every inch of her crawls with jealousy and rage. She hates herself when she’s near this kind, pure woman and cannot deal with the envy. If only she could be Chloe and be the object of affection again - if only she wasn’t the cold person she was, and then perhaps she could show more compassion. If only her time wasn’t wrapped up in finding a cure, she could spend more time with him. If only she could be someone else, and she hates Chloe for reminding her of a life she could have had.

Schwartz <=/=> Victoria

If there's one thing Schwartz cannot stand, it's disloyalty. Victoria seems to keep sticking her nose where it doesn't belong, and Schwartz feels she needs to learn a lesson. After a violent confrontation, Victoria was seemingly put in her place, although this has only caused the woman to dig in her heels. Victoria feels there's much more to SI than Schwartz wants to let on, and she hates the obstruction of justice the C.E.O. constantly puts up.

Ellie <=/=> Majhreenah

Majhreenah is Schwartz’ biological daughter, who, gifted with an innate ability to brew poisons and plants, has found a home back with Schwartz Industries after years of exile. Majhreenah is useful. Talented. Important to Schwartz’ goal. And most importantly, is her true daughter. The sheer amount of jealousy has turned into an unbridled hatred and Ellie - normally a rational and logic-based person - snaps at a moments notice when it has something to do with Majhreenah. She’s gone from a confident and well-meaning professional into an insecure basket case all because she cannot control her feelings of inadequacy at being the adopted daughter.

Conversely, Majhreenah despises the girl for usurping her position as a worthy daughter. Blinded by her hatred for Schwartz, it often spills over and centers on Ellie.

Galadriel =/=> Schwartz

Galadriel does not care about business. He does not care about anything but money and a life of debauchery where he can drown his sorrows in a bottle. His one, small vice is his daughter, which although he knows he has no place in her life, he still supports financially. He kept the farthest distance he could, often accepting jobs overseas and in other districts, because that’s what was best for the both of them. He initially refused Schwartz’ contract - stating he found her repulsive and her company “a flaming piece of corporate shit.” It wasn’t until Schwartz used his daughter, Dorothy, as a pawn to force his cooperation, and his loathing for something other than himself began.

Majhreeenah <=/=> Schwartz

How could you love a mother who told you how worthless you were every waking minute? How could you love a mother who never gave you the time of day? How could you love a mother who left you in another district because you were too much of a distraction to her research? How could you love a mother who was incapable of loving anything but herself? Majhreenah’s childhood was nothing more than resentment for a mother who was never really a mother at all. And the only reason she lived was to see her suffer under the strain of work after all these years.

Irkalla =/=> Abaddon

The only thing Irkalla lives for is the memory of his daughter. The only thing Abaddon lives for is to play with her brother’s feelings. She finds his weeping heart weak, and to try and toughen him up, has done unspeakable things concerning his daughter’s death. He will never forgive her, and wishes every day she chokes on her own arrogance.

Irkalla =/=> Schwartz

She’s used him for his company. Brutalized him for her selfish gain. Caused him endless suffering under contract. And he could understand it all. Business is business, after all. What he could never understand was Lilac’s death. Schwartz was directly responsible for her death, and the woman has no remorse. She sees no reason to dwell on the death of a pawn. And he can never forgive her for that.

Alita =/=> Victoria

Victoria is nothing more than a sensationalist reporter, and she doesn’t care about the repercussions of her work. As long as she can expose what she believes to be an important, society changing news pieces, then she will. And that’s exactly what happened when she did a piece, exposing one of the Light District’s most prominent underworld families. Alita Tiala’s father was put away. Her fortune gone. Her lavish lifestyle ripped away. No family. No job. Nothing. All she had left was a ravishing flame that burned deep inside her for Victoria’s fall.

Yukiteru <=/=> Olivia

There is one thing Yuki cherishes most of all: her older neighbor, Renoir. Of course, Renoir doesn’t notice her, and that’s okay. She’s not old enough or pretty enough to grab his attention. Yet. But Olivia does, and it’s petty. She knows it’s petty, but she can’t stand it any time the woman so far as looks at her Renoir. And Olivia? She thinks Yuki knows more than she lets on. Is more dangerous than her young appearance belies. Is so much more than the girl next door. And Olivia’s suspicious. And Olivia’s right.

Manzanita =/=> Mahouji

A petty childhood rivalry has never been more one-sided. Both Mahouji and Manzanita grew up in Plague. They attended the same school. Had the same classes. Excelled in the same things. And although Mahouji’s life was never easy, Manzanita always thought that it was better than being invisible. Negative attention was still attention, and she craved it badly. To everyone else, she didn’t exist. And when she did she was number two. It ate her up inside - to be forgotten even by the lowest rungs on the ladder. She thought graduation would change everything, and for a while, things were looking up. She focused on career building. She got a make over. Had a son, multiple husbands to pay her way into anything she wanted, until her sister passed, leaving Manzanita to take care of her niece. She was bitter and angry at being forced to mother someone so imperfect, especially when her niece joined a LARP group with none other than her unknowing rival. She seethes. Burns. Wants nothing more than for him to disappear. Her scars run that deep. And the worst part is, he doesn’t even remember who she is.

Pruzaan <=/=> Stacy

God he hates her. He hates her so much. How dare she exist and not want him?! He’s done everything he can think of to be nice. He’s sent her flowers, showed up with a car at night since walking alone can be dangerous, left expensive jewelry on her doorstep, and the best she tells him is, “Get lost, creep!” What a bitch!

Yet inversely, Stacy sees him as a stalking twerp who can’t take no for an answer. He’s clearly not dangerous (she could easily take him out), but she hates him with every fiber of her being. He needs manners and a barrel for all that sleeze.

Akira <=/=> Manzanita & Pruuzan

After her mother's death, Akira had nowhere else to go. Her father disappeared long before, and the only people willing to take her in were her aunt and cousin. Unfortunately for her, Manzanita is absolutely bitter about the whole ordeal. She wouldn't even have taken her if it wasn't for her reputation. God forbid if it get out that she spurned family. So she keeps Akira out of obligation, and her treatment towards the girl shows just that. Pruzaan is absolutely hateful about the whole thing. He can't believe he has to share attention, and will insult Akira any chance he gets. Akira, likewise, doesn't love (or even like) her family, and though she never says anything to his face, will spend her time sabotaging Pruzaan's things.

Weyoun <=/=> Pruzaan

An ugly, mutual rivalry. They both compete for Ellie’s praise, and won’t stop at the low bar to get it. They’ll sabotage, start rumors, and even hurt one another to get ahead. A tried and true competition of “who’s better?” (It’s neither of them).

Gabe =/=> Carlos

While on a dinner date with Ellie, Carlos showed up out of the blue. He was rude, dismissive and condescending to his precious Elliepop, and his smug attitude deserved a fist to the face. He finds Carlos a massive threat (not  romantically, but in general) and if there’s one thing his paranoia is good at, it’s being right.

The Prophet =/=> Noah

Though the Vessel is personable, the Prophet is not. It does not find pleasure in spending time with others outside of a very select few. It finds Noah a complete waste of a being, going as far as using its powers on the priest simply so it does not have to speak to him. The Prophet has been known to sabotage its works so Noah cannot read them. It deems the man 'unworthy' and refuses to move from its position, despite Noah's worship.

Robin <=/=> Herself. :((

Every time Robin looks in a mirror, she sees a different version of herself. Her past is always there, reminding her of what she used to look like, sound like, parroting the cruel words spoken behind her back and to her face. No one hates Robin more than she hates herself, and that only fuels the hate between them.