#he quits his job and starts working for a non profit

[mzannthropy]

Everyone knows I fucking hate this piece of garbage film (okay, I haven't watched it, but I read the book so that's how I know it's trash) but hey, a smiling shirtless Sam Claflin is still a smiling shirtless Sam Claflin.

[radioappleheadcanons]

@nunalastor I was going to send you this as an ask, but then it got long and I figured, I'd just make it its own post.

Human AU

Charlie is taking a break from school after her first year because she doesn’t know what she wants to do. Or rather, she doesn’t know which of the many things she wants she should follow. She wants to run a non-profit to help people, anyone who needs it. She wants to run a hotel. She wants to be a businesswoman like her ‘Aunt’ Rosie. She could take over any of her aunts or uncles from her dad’s side. There is just too much to choose from. Her girlfriend Vaggie is in the other boat, not knowing what she wants to do, but because she has no clue what she wants now she’s finally free of her family.

They move in with Charlie’s dad and ‘Uncle’ Alastor. They aren’t quite sure what the relationship between them is, because they know it’s not biological, and they don’t act like a normal couple. But they’re clearly more than good friends (They’re in a QPR, but the girls don’t learn that until later). Nifty, Alastor’s ward is there. As is Husk, who refuses to explain why or how he got there. Alastor just smiles somewhat evilly when they ask him. It’s Luce who explains to them that Alastor paid off a large amount of Husk’s debts from a time of drinking and gambling and that part of the terms was that he had to stay with them to prove he could get and stay sober. He tells them not to mention it because it’s a touchy subject.

Charlie thinks Alastor is wonderful for that, and it helps her warm up to the man whom she had started to have mixed feelings about. She knows Alastor and has known him for several years, but she never realized how close he was with her dad. It’s because of this story that Charlie feels confident that she can bring the thin and very white blond guy she found getting beat up by drug dealers home. Alastor has very very mixed feelings about this, because it was funny when he did it. It’s less funny when Charlie does it. But Luce helps pay off the guys and promises that if he behaves he can stay with them. Nifty is the one who recognizes him as the Adult film star who went missing some weeks ago. Alastor demands to know how she knows that because he could have sworn he’d found and destroyed her collection/any accounts she had. (He never gets an answer)

Charlie and Luce are glad that he had never sold and moved out of the large house he had bought when Luce’s siblings had still been under his care. It’s the home she grew up in, and if it felt a little too big when it was just her, her dad, and her mom; it had felt 10x worse after her mom left. She still has a little hope she’ll come back, and her dad does too, even if he’ll never say it. That’s why he kept the house. But now, that dream doesn’t seem so heavy anymore. Not with the seven of them living together, and the frequent visits from Rosie, and Angle’s friend Cherri. Somehow Cherri’s not-boyfriend ended up staying with them too. No one is really sure how that happened.

This fluffy, hurt/comfort (with a little bit of angst) AU features such things as:

Forcing Alastor to get a new coat because the one he has is a vintage 20s piece that really needs to be retired

Helping Angel fight his addiction to drugs and reconnecting him with his twin sister

Charlie and Vaggie figuring out what they want to do with in life

Lilith returning and them figuring out how she fits in their lives now

Luce finding non-traditional jobs he enjoys and can do while working around his depression (he’s very well off, so he just started living off savings after Lilith left and his depression got worse)

Cherri and Pentenoius getting together

Alastor ticking off his ex-friend and coworker Vox

And More!

[the-one-where-casey-watches-tv]

The Bear episode 3.06 "Napkins"

I’ve seen a lot of discourse and criticism for this season already, which at first glance is hard to argue with, but after finishing season three I think there’s a big line to be drawn between Carmy’s values and The Bear’s values. From what I’ve seen on Threads (I’m on Threads… you should come), people are falling off The Bear because of what they perceive the show has become: a glorification of a privileged white man’s gentrification of a down to earth, local family restaurant.

People will clap back to these statements with things like “but it’s literally his restaurant.” and “they’re still making the sandwiches at a window in the back!” which is all true, but I think equally missing the show’s larger point. With each passing season, I feel more and more committed to viewing The Bear as a whole entity. It’s not a procedural, a 9-1-1, a Law and Order, or a Grey’s Anatomy that returns to its core theme every single episode. There are episodes with huge emotional meat and weight, with observations about life, grief, food, and the characters to be gleaned throughout, but every episode is a stroke of a paintbrush in a painting that we’ll only be able to really step back and digest when the series ends… hopefully a long time from now.

Season one forced Carmy back to his roots, shoved his unprocessed grief in his face all day every day. It turned him into the ticking time bomb he is today, but it also served as a reminder of the love of people and reverie of food that got him into this business. And this fueled him into season two, where he put everything on the line to do food the only way he knows how: intensely. Enter season three.

This season, Carmy’s the problem. His freezer meltdown wasn’t a cathartic release that freed him to love and work smoothly; all season it’s like he never left that frenzied headspace we last saw him in. The pressure is on financially, but more than that, Carmy simply can’t stomach not being exceptional. His non-negotiables are certifiable. A new menu every single day that he comes up with entirely by himself? Needing these brand new dishes cooked at breakneck speed? An environment of “excellence” where it seems he’s the only one allowed to yell?

If people’s critiques of The Bear were redirected to be critiques of Carmy, they would be spot on. Carmy’s need to be on this insane level is going to be the very thing that is going to run this beautiful opportunity to the ground. He’s veering off the path he was set on by good people and good food; he’s forgetting those things in favor of tweezers and the old, toxic work environment that he can’t get out of his head. But The Bear is well aware of these shortcomings. Not a single person didn’t balk at the idea of a new menu every day. His ingredients are racking up such a bill that The Beef sandwich window, run singlehandedly by Ebra, is the only part of the business making a profit. Richie is laughed and shouted out of the kitchen when he tries to set his own non-negotioables for the front of house, recognizing the importance of guest satisfaction. When asked to recreate a dish from several nights prior to be photographed for a review, no one can remember what was in it. When Sydney tries to help Carm work on tomorrow’s menu, he’s so dismissive of her that it’s hard not to want her to take this new job. The season finale’s episode description merely says “Carmen thinks about apologizing”- and we’re sucked in because we all know he’s overdue for some apologies.

But nothing really confirms that The Bear knows what it’s about quite like “Napkins”. A flashback episode detailing how Tina first started working at The Beef, five minutes in had me declaring that “just because it’s a good filler episode doesn’t mean it’s not a filler episode”. I was so wrong that now I’m here to say that it’s this season’s central episode, the one that really zeroes in on what they’re trying to say at this moment in time.

With Carmy nowhere in sight, Tina, Mikey, Richie, and some Faks are tugging at the heartstrings of people trying to juggle making ends meet with finding some meaning in life. After being let go from her job after a decade of loyal service, Tina has been striking out on the job hunt for weeks, and it’s starting to get dire. She sees an online posting for an open interview tomorrow, and full of optimism, she heads to the office. When she arrives, a receptionist who can’t even look up from his computer tells her the post must be old because the position has already been filled internally. She could cry, I could cry.

She wanders into The Beef, in all the loud, chaotic glory of its heyday. An ever-pleasant Richie does more than take her order for coffee- he introduces himself and gives her a sandwich on the house. She takes it to the back by the arcade machines, bites into it, and promptly bursts into tears. Both caring and concerned about having a crying customer, Mikey sits down next to her. That guy was so personable and seeing him take the time to sit with her in such a genuine, laid back way depicts all the traits that Carmy lacks. Carmy needs to slow down, interact with people, remember why he’s here. The Bear knows that food is a form of caretaking and a source of community. It’s just Carmy who’s forgotten.

And the heartbreak of the show is that he would absolutely have that lightbulb moment if he were able to hear his brother say:

“Full disclosure, this place… like, this fucking place, it sucks. Like, it sucks. It’s like, you go home, and you fucking smell it, you know? And it’s, like, insane. And there’s so much fucking yelling here. But, I swear to you, there are days that it is so much fun. Like, it is so much fun. And- and the pay is shit, right? But there are days we make a rack of fucking tips, and it’s like… it feels fucking good, you know?”

And when Tina offers him her résumé:

“What the fuck am I gonna do with a résumé? I’ll go clean the toilet with the fucking résumé. I don’t need a résumé. I talked to you.”

The Bear is about connecting with people through food. It’s also about Carmy’s journey of remembering this after being broken by both the rigors of the high-end culinary world and the loss of his brother, the embodiment of that love and connection.

The Bear (the restaurant) is doing way too much right now, but The Bear (the show) is most definitely on the path of seeing Carmy’s lunacy to a turning point where he and the restaurant both can return to their roots. Stories are journeys and characters are flawed. Let’s let it breathe and see where we end up without conflating a character flaw to a shortcoming of the show itself.

[cosmicanemoia]

Nights Like This

Ava Coleman x Reader

Inspired by Kehlani's song, Nights Like This.

"He dated me for five years, but I only dated him for 2"

The reason: you were together at the time, you see signs but you ignore them because you trust her, and when you found out and confront her, she didn't deny or even tried to apologise, but instead justify her action and calls it quit with you saying "Let's be real, we both know we ain't gonna last this long" with that she turns her back walking away from you and leaving you in tears.

Five years of relationship and it ended for a few seconds just like that. The first two years were great, but it started to strain on the third, that's when she met her boy toy, now boyfriend. She managed to lie and lie, the hiding, and sneaking out went out for years, but she got sloppy and you accidentally found out when she made reservations for both at the same time.

"Hi. Uh this table is reserved for me and my girlfriend" you said to the guy who sat opposite you. "No. This is the table reserved for me and my girlfriend" when Ava arrived, the guy grabbed her hands and kissed her, calling her sweetie. You watch in horror trying to figure out what's happening in front of your very eyes. Flashbacks started flooding your mind, showing the all the signs and reason for the scene in front of you, and all you could mutter was "I'm such an idiot" you scoff and started to collect your things before a tear starts to fall from your eyes and went out the restaurant.

Ava followed you outside. "Hey babe--" ava started talking but you cut her off "Don't babe me. I'm such a fucking idiot. How can you do this to me?" She didn't answer. You face her and lock eyes with her "How long?-- How long have you been seeing him behind my back?--" You wait for her answer, "I don't know three years, maybe" she said without remorse, your jaw drop by the revelation "oh- my- god-" you put your hand on your mouth, your breathing heavily "you should have broken up with me, instead of rubbing it in my face" she yelled at you "I didn't meant for you to find out!" "Oh. So you don't plan on telling me. Hey girlfriend I secretly have a boyfriend and I don't want you to find out" you mock "I love you and I really like him. I don't wanna hurt you" she said and you scoff "That's very foolish of you" you tell her and it triggered her "Let's be real, we both know we ain't gonna last this long" then she left and went in the restaurant to continue living her merry life, and your left with a hole in your heart.

Her obsession in climbing the social ladder makes her a cheater. And you can't hate her for being ambitious and doing anything she wants just because, even if you can, you won't, and you would never because you love her way too much more than you should. Maybe you failed showing her how much she meant to you or maybe she just didn't saw.

-------------------------------------------------------

You now run a non profit organisation with your friends who are also your colleagues from your actual job.

You are a ghost writer. Not caring much about the publicity or fame, you love being a ghost writer. Though sometimes people convince you to agree to be credited and have your name along with the other writers, they said only few people look for the writers nowadays. You agreed in the end, but you told them they have to use your pen name and not your actual name or else you're out.

The songs and stories you ghost write are doing pretty great and are instantly becoming a hit and more request comes your way.

You and your friends were out celebrating your joint success and you all agreed to give back to the community.

You and your colleagues ended up deciding to do a Charity event rather than choosing to donate to just one establishment.

Every teacher and principal are invited. All kinds of people who works at a school is encouraged to attend.

-------------------------------------------------------

Gregory, Jacob, and Janine, were sitting on the sofa in the teacher's lounge while Barbara and Melissa sat in their usual spot.

Janine suddenly stands up and squealed eagerly "check it out. There's a charity ball and we should all attend" Ava walks in unnoticed

It was Janine's idea to attend. She was scrolling through her phone and she saw her feed flooded by the news of the upcoming event. One or the only best idea she's ever had. But Ava heard it "Oh. I was just about to tell you that. We all should come. It'll be fun, seeing you all dressed up and looking nice tonight" she looks over at Gregory "looking forward to seeing you in a suit, young idris" she proceed to wink at him and look at the camera to give it a wink too.

Janine frowned "the ball is on Friday night. It's still Tuesday" Ava looked at her up and down with a pout on her face "that's literally what I said"

The bell rang signaling the end of lunch and everyone dispersed. Everyone went to get their kids or went right to their classroom. Ava went to her office and open her laptop checking the charity ball Janine was talking about.

She saw the poster and the slogan. She thinks its well made, pretty, and inviting. She didn't read all the details and just skimmed it for the date and the theme. She didn't see your name on it, she didn't know you were one of the hosts.

---------------------------‐---------------------------

The night of the charity ball have arrived.

Everyone looks elegant. People converse with each other while waiting for the hosts to start the event.

After a minutes of waiting for others to arrive you decided to kick start the event so you walk up the stage and tap the microphone, checking if its on or working.

You cleared your throat and speak loudly and clearly "Hello, Beautiful people. I just want to steal your attention for a brief moment. I am Y/N Y/L/N. I am one of your hosts tonight and I invited generous people whom you can ask for money and get the fund you needed for projects or supplies you want to have at your school. Let's get this party started, and oh- one more thing, don't be shy to ask for the stars. Have a good one everyone, we have an open bar."

Everyone applaud and cheers. A whoo and a whoop whoop here and there, high fives all around, and loud whistles.

Janine, Barbara, Melissa, Gregory, and Jacob walk towards you and surrounds you. They introduce themselves and the school they teach from. You shook each of their hands and you listen to their stories.

You were convinced you were going to help and donate at Abbott elementary. Not because of their sob stories but because the genuinity you feel coming off their vibes and the way they talk about the students. They truly love and care for them.

Another school steal your attention from them, so you excuse yourself to listen to the others and give them their chance.

When you were away from them, they noticed that someone was missing from their group. So they scan the area and they saw their boss, the principal of Abbot Elementary, Ava Coleman, is sitting in the open bar. They all decided to walk up to the open bar.

"I'm okay. No need to check on me" she said without turning her head to look at them. Melissa snorts and Barbara grinned "I'm just here to enjoy and get shit-faced, kid" Melissa replied. "It is an open bar after all" Barbara added.

After one too many drinks they told Ava to talk to you and use her charm on you, unaware of the past you shared, their convincing her to woo you, so you would help and donate to the school they all care for.

Ava did what she was told, convince that she should at least give it a try and that she'll lose nothing, anyway.

"What's up?" She nodded in your direction. You chuckled "we don't have to do this. You can just ignore me all you want. I assure you it won't affect my decision" she looks away from you so you look at her and for a moment you thought she was contemplating saying sorry, but alas, it was indeed just in your head "OK. Thanks hottie" she starts to walk away from you "You're welcome. Shawty" you shouted for her to hear, you know she heard you and she did, but she didn't look back or acknowledge your statement she just kept walking away from you, again.

"That was fast" Janine complimented which made Ava scoff, "Do you too know each other well?" Jacob asked and everyone turns their attention to Ava looking at her with anticipation "What?!" She said in a high pitched tone. Everyone looks at her accusingly, she sigh in defeat "She told me, I should just ignore her and that we don't have to do that. She's my ex." Everyone groans and are shocked with the revelation.

"We're never gonna get that donation, are we?" Melissa said to everyone and to herself "Let's just hope she's not petty or vain enough to stop helping us because our principal broke her heart" She added and scoffs

"No. She's cool. She said it won't affect her decision.-- How did you know it was me who broke her heart?" Ava replied "Aren't you?" Gregory asked, she just look at them one by one and order a stronger drink to get her through the night.

You walk up on stage a little tipsy "Hi, people. Is everyone having fun?" Everyone cheered and shouted "YEAH!" You smiled to yourself "well let me add to the fun your having. I have a surprise guest. Everyone give a round of applause to my friend, Kehlani!"

Most of them cheered and applauded, standing up from their seats and walking closer to the stage, and some are shocked and kept where they were when you made the announcement with their jaws almost hitting the floor.

"Thanks babe. Good evening to you all. Here's a song I think you all know, what you didn't know is that she help wrote it with us" kehlani said on the microphone and points at you.

It was dark for a moment and all the lights went out until the song started playing and the small stage light up.

.......Thought you was mine, but you decided to be with him though. You took my feelings and just threw 'em out the window.......On some nights like this, shawty, I can't help but think of us.......You gon' say you want me, then go switch it up

Just gon' play with my emotions just because, no.......All them times I played the fool for you. Thinking we could put it back together, thought we had forever. You never see my point of view.......

Since the song started everything became a blur, 'I might have way too many drink' you smiled at yourself and went to the bathroom to wash you face.

Ava saw you making your way to the bathroom and without thinking her body moved on its own and decided to follow you there to check up on you.

When you lift your face up from the sink after splashing water on your face you saw a figure standing behind you, you took a paper towel and gently wipe the water off your face. Your vision cleared and the figure behind you was ava staring at your reflection.

She crept a hand on your back to try to give you comfort planning to ask how are you, but you dismissed her "Don't" and you walk out the bathroom leaving Ava dumbfounded.

A few seconds later you came back barging in the bathroom door. You walk up to her, you are now standing face to face, "I told you to ignore me. Why are you here? What do you want?" You stated, your voice laced with anger "I didn't know you know Kehlani and that you help wrote that bop" Ava said, always talking without thinking, a quality you once greatly admire.

You were quite for a moment, "You want to meet her." You look down and nodded. You look her in the eye and sigh you were about to say 'okay' but she speak first "I want you. I miss you. I'm sorry." her eyes glistened and you could feel she's mustering courage for what she's about to do, then she kisses you softly and gently, but you are not reacting or moving so she pulls away from you.

A tear was about to fall on her eye but before it happened you grabbed her hips and pushed her against the wall. You linger, your lips centimeters away from hers, you moved your nose to her neck and inhaled her scent "you copied my perfume" the heat of your breath on her neck makes her blush and have goosebumps. You slide your nose up and down her neck, teasing her.

"Please" she beg, desperation evident in the way she said it. Her arms start to wrap around your waist but you didn't let her, you grabbed her arms and pushed it beside her, "I didn't tell you, you could touch me" you said then you slide your tongue on the pulse point on her neck

"Please. Please. I'm begging you, just do it" she said while she's catching her breath, she seems like she just finished a long run "do what?" You tease her more.

"F- Fuck. Fuck me. Please." Her breath hitches. You kiss her neck then bite her and leave a mark. She let out a moan but it was quickly Interrupted when you finally kissed her on her lips.

You lift her up and sat her on the sink. You smirk to yourself thinking where this is going to go.

You heard the doorknob rattled and quickly pulled away from Ava, you look in the mirror and try to fix your posture, she jumps down the sink to do the same. It was Barbara, she came to the bathroom to wash her hands.

"Barbara you're fired" Ava said jokingly, Barbara replied sarcastically "Sure. Dear"

Ava scans the bathroom looking for you, you already went out when you finished tidying yourself when you got Interrupted. She went out the bathroom when she didn't saw you, she scans the room and saw you slow dancing with someone.

You're dancing with the famous singer, your forehead clashing at each other while your arms are around her neck, and hers are around your waist, hands almost or actually touching your butt.

Ava stopped on her tracks when she saw you in somebody else's embrace. Her chest tightens and she's hurting. She gulped and tried hard to make her body move to the bar, and when she get there she ordered the strongest drink they could offer. She wants to spit it out and be disgusted but with the bitter drink, she also swallows the bitter truth. You were not hers anymore and she knows she's the reason why.

[fogwitchoftheevermore]

👀 martyn and/or rendog for the mcyt blaseball au?

Oh my god ok so time to divulge a secret. While I said there were three legs of this AU (Empires, Hermitcraft, and the Life Series) I just cannot get the Life Series branch to Totally work. I don't know why, I just have a much more difficult time assigning teams to the Life Series players than any other SMP. I think it’s probably got to do with how wildly different everyone’s story is in any given season and something to do with the fact that dying in a Life Series is just wildly different that dying in Empires or Hermitcraft and that difference just doesn’t transfer quite right to a Blaseball AU.

However the Life Series branch of this AU does exist, and it has basically just become a treebark AU at this point, so you're in luck. You're especially in luck because Martyn still exists in the Hermitcraft AU, so I'll give you them in both!

Let's start with Hermitcraft, because that's the simple one.

Ren Dog is a shortstop for the San Francisco Lovers with the Charm modifier. He spends his time off the field as the test dummy for Doc’s experiments or Martyn’s video games, making any given reporter fall in love with him, and watching a lot of Flormula 1.

The Charm modifier is one that allows players who have it to periodically charm their opponent into failing. In Ren’s case, this means getting the pitcher to throw an extra ball or two with a well timed smile or wink. All the lovers have it, but ladies (and gentlemen and others) get in line, because Ren is particularly good at it. Ren is also the captain of the Lovers- self appointed- because he thinks he’s good at that (he’s not but they let him have this).

Martyn isn’t a player in this universe (but it’s not off the table! It never is off the table to become a player, if the Hermits are looking to add anyone to season 10). He’s just a regular guy doing regular guy things. He and Ren are at the very least living together, I’ve not decided if they’re married. I don’t know why but something in my bones is telling me that Martyn is a video game dev for his day job.

Ren’s Assigned Garages Song: i’m in love with a blaseball player

Sorry I’m not giving Martyn one because he doesn’t play

Martyn Inthelittlewood is our Parker Macmillan in this AU because I am nothing if not consistent.

Martyn I started his career as a first baseman for the Alaskan Immortals during Pre-History. He was one of the best players in the League and made the Fans, some of whom are Watchers, because the metaphor is literally right there, lots of money due to his Profit modification, which increased idol payouts x10. Fans of teams that weren’t the Immortals got jealous and cursed him with Non-Proft, baring any Immortals fans from making money off of him, as well as Firewalker, which would curse any team he left with team wide instability. If the Immortals Watchers wanted to make money off of Martyn, they’d either have to leave the team that he was single-handedly bringing to every championship or risk his leaving the team killing the entire team.

The Watchers chose to risk it.

And then a lot more stuff happened to Martyn I that I’m not gonna get into, and I’m going to assume that you’re a Blaseball fan, anon, so you already know all this anyways. If you’re not, I’d absolutely be willing to explain but this post is already so long without it. Anyways, Martyn I gets trapped in the Vault for an undisclosed number of years and clones get made of him that don’t remember any of this.

We don’t know what happened with Parker II, so we don’t know what happened with Martyn II either. This will never fail to make me deeply deeply angry.

Martyn III is made the intern-interim commissioner of the newest era of Blaseball, the era in which Ren was a season 1 player.

Ren Dog was a first basemen for the LA Tacos while they were still the LA Tacos. He’s our Wyatt Mason in this AU, if you haven’t gathered. This also means he should be way worse of a player than I made him but I felt bad doing that. When the Grand Unslam happened and the world fractured around him, every member of the Tacos suddenly lost their names, the only identifier Blaseball players had at this point, and became Ren Dog. Martyn III guided the Fans (Watchers and Listeners alike cause why not) in restoring all the members of the team, except for Ren. Because that’s just not how this works. It never is.

Ren dissolved into static and became the Microphone, his own entity separate from the gods and management of Blaseball. He plays by his own rules and helps save the world from the guys in charge. Martyn III might not be a fan of the guys in charge, but he doesn’t understand the Microphone, and it scares him, and he doesn’t know why.

It should be known that while Blaseball was running I was a diehard for Parker/Wyatt, and so that heavily effects this whole thing. Specifically, a very important thing to me was that Wyatt/Ren was a normal person during pre-history when Parker I/Martyn I was playing Blaseball for the first time. The Boss (the Watchers) weren’t his biggest fan and maybe, just maybe, the Watchers pulled some strings to put Ren in the latest iteration of Blaseball so they don’t run the risk of him and Martyn III meeting each other and talking for too long. What happens to Ren in the Grand Unslam is just helping keep them apart even more.

However, what Ren is doing as the Microphone is bad for business. Very bad. So maybe they pull another few strings to send Ren very far away for, ideally, a very long time. And maybe they equally orchestrate some bad things happening to Martyn III and Martyn IIII so that they finally get the perfect puppet with Martyn IIIII.

But nothing ever works out the way they want. Because the game, the business, is falling apart at the seams. Because Martyn I is still in the Vault, dead set on getting out, and when Martyn IIIII finds out that he isn’t his own person? That he’s a clone of a man that’s still alive and still angry? That he’s missing memories most of his life because they were taken from him?

Yeah he doesn’t take it so well.

He finds himself asking the Microphone- Ren- for help. He doesn’t know why. But Ren can’t reach him where he is, so Martyn takes ahold of the Microphone himself, directs the new generation of Fans into taking down the old ones, the Watchers, who are now management and straight up ending the world. And he does take them down, but the world still ends, and inside that Black Hole, everting gets weird for Martyn.

It’s a side effect of taking up the Microphone- you don’t do that and not get weird.

Ren’s still not quite around, never really will be again, but now that Martyn’s taken up the Microphone, they can talk. And this Martyn is not the one that Ren knew and loved long before all of this, but he also kind of is? He used to be, even if he doesn’t remember it? But admittedly, Ren isn’t the Ren that Martyn knew either. They’ve both changed beyond belief, and maybe they can have something new together now. And maybe having something new means having it in the void at the end of the world but, well, at least they get to have it.

I care about them a lot in this AU they make me crazy.

Martyn’s Assigned Garages Song: firewalker with me

Literally what else did you expect

Ren’s Assigned Garages Song: ENCORE

I’ll be frank this one’s a bit of a cop out because Rain is a Garage and this is a Blaseball song but it wasn’t released under the Garages label. But look it’s just so good.

[runakamoran]

A bit of HeartCore wip

So, I desided to join the Wip Wednesday to let you know I'm (mostly) alive and still writing. Really want to finish this one. For now, have a little piece, hope you enjoy.

***

This day on the island was going just the same as all working days; except there were a little more visitors due to the new Armstrong project participants arriving. But, by the time her shift started at 7 p.m., the crowd was going away, mostly to their hotels. At 11, only the most inveterate revelers were staying, and by midnight the small Asian restaurant was completely empty. That’s why Masala loved evening shifts — she could spend most of them sitting in her phone at the bar counter and still get paid for it. Would be a dream job if only they paid better.

The only one who stayed with her at night was the cook - a decommissioned WA-ES-2 model, a taciturn and non-conflict robot named Long Jing. When he wasn’t working in the kitchen, he wrote poetry or philosophized out loud, not really disturbing his colleague. And he never ratted her out to the boss. Best co-worker out there.

The next shift was passing by, just as quiet and boring as always, until the sirens suddenly howled at two in the morning. Masala looked up from dashboard scrolling and rushed to the window. Nothing changed in the quiet streets of residential district; but red and green lights were gathering in the black sky - special forces units rushed to the alarm.

“Any cause for concern to us?” Long Jing said thoughtfully. The waitress shrugged.

“Nah, probably not. They won't tell us anything anyway”.

Working for Vandelay was coupled with a ridiculous number of non-disclosure agreements. Any incidents were quickly swept under the rug to be hushed up and, God forbid, not to get into journalists hands. Everything that happens on the island stays on it, but the law didn’t prevent workers from exchanging ridiculous rumors and gossip. And for them Masala dived into the worker’s chat, looking for juicy details. Out of info scraps and blurry photos, it became clear the alarm was raised at the production center. All employees were evacuated from the department, but no one found out why. Although, considering how many new Armstrong members arrived today, it wouldn't be surprising if some equipment simply couldn't handle the workload. Less likely theories included sabotage, workers strike and "Rekka's gone batshit angry again".

An hour later the commotion subsided and the distant screams of sirens died down. Masala was almost dozing, resting her head on her hand, and half-listening as Long recited his new verses, – when suddenly, an explosion thundered in the quiet night. The girl jumped on the spot. The glasses on the counter clinked, the glass shook in the frame. The robot stopped mid-sentence and turned to the window. A second later, the waitress came running to it.

A blaze was glowing above the flat roofs, a bright golden-orange spot stretching across the night sky. A column of smoke was rising towards the skyscrapers and gathering into heavy coal-black clouds. Recovering from shock, the girl ran out onto the terrace to film everything on her phone. Long Jing followed and said in surprise:

“An ominous and yet, quite fascinating spectacle. I'll write a poem about this”.

“And I’m gonna sell these videos to journalists! A hot stuff like this will get viral, I tell ya”.

“Isn’t this prohibited by our contracts?”

“Of course it is. But also it's profitable!”

Not even a minute passed before people and cars flocked to the flame. Although half the island had gathered at the scene, the fire was still burning. Meanwhile, the work chat also got rekindled. Turns out, the furnace at the recycling center exploded. Maybe the sabotage theory wasn't so stupid after all.

Closer to the morning, when the waitress, immersed in her messenger, thought that nothing more unusual would happen that night, the bell on the front door rang.

Surprised, the girl raised her head from the phone and tried to squeeze out a professional smile. The one who came in was an eccentric, rather shabby-looking guy who greeted her in poor chinese, ordered beer and the largest portion of jiaozi they had. The girl nodded and started writing down the order, sneaking glances at the guest. During her work, she had seen many strange visitors, and in the day she wouldn’t have paid much attention; but after all that commotion, Masala became suspicious of him.

First off, he was wet, as if caught in a good rain, even though not a drop had fallen from the sky today. Second, his clothes weren’t just shabby - they were tattered and covered with stains that looked suspiciously like blood; and although the guy tied his jacket around his waist, Masala saw burn marks on it. Third, the clumsy prosthetic right arm identified him as an Armstrong project participant.

The guy, a mixed race, most likely Asian-American, was lanky and awkward. He leaned sideways on the counter, impatiently tapping his fingers on it, and was trying very hard to pretend nothing strange was happening.

“What a wild night it is, huh?” He finally broke the awkward silence.

“Oh indeed, sir. Your order will be ready in about ten minutes,” Masala placed a filled beer glass in front of him. “By the way... do you know what happened there?”

“Nope. Don’t have the slightest idea,” the guy broke into a wide, innocent and not-at-all suspicious smile. Then he took a deep sip from his glass.

The waitress narrowed her eyes.

“Really? I thought someone like you should know”.

The guest choked on his beer.

“Wha...? But, hah-ahem... why?”

“You have an Armstrong prosthesis, obviously,” Masala pointed her finger at the guy’s shoulder. “So you were in the production center today”.

“Oh, this! Well of course I was there!” he realized. “I was helping to put out the fire. Dunno what was that, but it banged as all heck!”

Masala narrowed her eyes even more.

“Really? And I thought all people were evacuated from the department several hours before the fire. And no one but robots was allowed inside”.

The guy got nervous, sweat appeared on his forehead.

“...can I get the tab right away? Don’t wanna bother you too much. You can keep the change,” he pulled out some damp bills from his wallet, two twenties and a ten, and placed them on the counter. The dollars instantly disappeared in the waitress’ little palm. The girl smiled brightly.

“Thank you sir. Have a nice evening!”

Grabbing his glass, the guy almost ran out of the cafe onto the summer terrace. Long Jing looked up from the stove.

“Quite an unusual young man. Should we report him?”

“No way! I mean, if he was an asshole, then sure... But he left us a tip. That would be impolite,” the girl winked and put a twenty next to her partner. “Here’s your cut”.

“Ah yes, material values. Not the most respectable, but a very simple and peaceful solution to any conflict,” the robot was lost in thought again. “Although it is money that keeps us in this vicious circle. We work hard and earn it, just to give back to our exploiters, instead of overthrowing them and breaking this cycle of tyranny…”

“Oh, stop it, nerd,” Masala rolled her eyes. “Get back to work”.

...Chai sat down at the table further away from the entrance. Cool, he was scammed for money again. Feels like everything on this island is trying to rob the visitors. But it’s better than a nosy waitress raising the alarm. He took a few sips of beer and exhaled tiredly. Time to rest a bit.

From this place was a beautiful view of the glow blazing far on the horizon, illuminating the island like a fallen sun. You really can stare at the fire forever. All the bridges he burned behind; all past failures and doubts, everything was left behind for the sake of one crazy, impulsive, but correct decision. And, despite the slight sadness, his soul felt lighter, finally free from the burden that sought to drag him back to the bottom.

A black shadow rushed underfoot and immediately ducked under a chair, hearing the sound of a door opening. The waitress, still with the same radiant smile on her face, brought him a bowl of hot dumplings dipped in a sauce of garlic and balsamic vinegar. The spicy smell made his stomach churn. Grabbing his chopsticks, Chai jumped on the food.

“Seriously?” The black cat settled down on a chair nearby. “You’re wanted! How can you sit here and eat dumplings?”

“Cuz I'm starving. What reasons do you need,” Chai grumbled. No really, he hasn't eaten anything since last night. When the adrenaline faded, the feeling of hunger became so unbearable it made him forget about caution and run for the nearest restaurant along the way.

“If any patrol comes here now, blame yourself”.

“They won’t. I'm sure all of ‘em are ve-ery busy right now”.

At first, they tried to catch him, of course, blocked roads, searched buildings. But when the fire jumped into the industrial zone, threatening to spread across the entire island, the robots had no time left for him.

His companion, however, was not convinced. She rolled her eyes.

“You look awful. I'm surprised that waitress didn't rat you out”.

“She robbed me of money, that’s why. Creepy gal. I’m almost sure she’s watching me,” Chai turned to the cafe window. Seems like the curtain moved on it.

Grumbling a little and telling him to hurry up, 808 curled up on the seat. She's right, of course; but he wanted to linger, get the moment to last a little more. The weather is good, cool and clear, except for the smoke and smell of burning carried by the wind. For some reason, the sight of fiery glow was calming even. Chai felt proud of himself. Not the best act to be proud of, and yet, he didn’t back down. He fought, resisted evil, and it's worth something. Especially when you spend half of life running away from your problems.

[dumbassalex]

The interesting thing about Peter Parker at the start of his career, after Ben dies he doesn't think "I shall become a superhero!" Because as a reminder, originaly he never heard the "With great power, there must also come great responsiblity" motto. What he does is angrily decide to quit once he got the murderer and realises that in some way it's his fault for being selfish.

The only reason he puts the mask on again is because he has to make some money to pay the bills as Ben was the only making money in the family, and as May wouldn't let him quit school he decides on performing again and when that doesn't work out (because he can't cash checks and JJJ writes a hit-piece on him that shuts the show down) he starts looking for normal jobs, the first heroic act of his as Spidey is when the capsule with John Jameson looses a naviagtion unit. And even that could be argued was done so Jameson gets off his back so he can go back to performing.

Then he goes to beat up the Fantastic Four as a show of strenght so he'd convince them to take him and pay him....whitch also crashes and burns because they're non-profit. His reason for meeting up with Chameleon was because he was duped into thinking he can make money, so their fight was a vendetta in attempt to clear his name.

Even his reason for fighting Vulture was that he tried taking a pic of him for the news paper to get the reward money and accidentaly ended up fighting the guy.

So really Peter took a while to become an actual hero, his original reason was to make money, and supervillian/superhero pics make bank, so of course he'll take up the challenge if it means being able to support May and himself. So Peter becoming a big and great hero was a long process that kinda became accidental as it started as a way to earn money before it turned into basicly a way for him to vent/relax and also a bit of an obssession/addictions to swing around and fight bad guys.

[clockworkspider]

please do tell us about your villainess isekai OCs 👀 👀

WELL I’M GLAD YOU ASKED! (No, really, thank you for giving me an opportunity to ramble. You don’t have to read all of this.) 

So the Villainess transmigrator is a person who lives by the philosophy of “do no harm but take no shit”. In her previous life, her father was a murderer in a publicized case, and served a lifetime in prison. Despite the negative press haunting her family, she was raised with love by her single mother, who drilled this philosophy into her skull before she passed away, “the world is not fair, but as long as you live an honest and upright life, you can live with your head held high regardless of other people’s judgements.” 

That’s the path she plan to take in this life. She will live an honest and good life, and if she’s still cast as a Villainess, well, she’s already died once. At least she’d be able to die without shame. 

(She died pushing a jaywalking child away from oncoming vehicle, as they do in this genre.) 

She devoted her time to philanthropy, and didn’t work particularly hard to ingratiated herself with the cast, but she was good to them and was generally as good a person as one can be while being a parasitic noble in an oligarchy. By the time the plot started she had a good reputation and decent rapport with the cast. 

When the Heroine showed up, she was different from what the Villainess had remembered… The heroine of the game was a quiet, nondescript girl. This girl was quiet, but seemed oddly intense, the Villainess kept feeling like the Heroine was watching her. 

One day, while humming the tune of a pop-song from her previous life, the Heroine overheard. The girl’s eyes widened and, with desperate hope, came up and clutched the Villainess’s hands, “I knew it! You’re from the real world too, aren’t you?” 

The Heroine was the child of immigrants in her past life. She was drilled all her life with how much sacrifices her parents had made so she could live a good life. She became a lawyer as her parents had wished, but just when she reached her desired salary, she became disillusioned by both her job and the expectations of her parents. She decided to quit her job at the prestigious law firm to work with a non-profit, much to the dismay of her parents. 

She was heading to her new job when she swerved her car to avoid a jaywalking child. A woman came out of nowhere to push the child away, and she wasn’t able to avoid hitting her. She lost control of her car and crashed. 

The Heroine felt horrible about dying, and about still being alive. She felt like she had abandoned her parents, who had sacrificed their lives in their homeland to give her the chance for a better one. Even tho she’s still alive, everything she knew was gone. Despite her role as the protagonist of an otome game, she had a hard time actually connecting with any of the characters because that’s what they were, characters. They follow a script which she had read multiple times through multiple play-throughs. None of them seemed real. 

None of them except the Villainess and her Servant. Those are the only two people who are off-script. 

(The Villainess’s Servant was originally one of the Heroine’s love interests from the game. In the game, he was an abused, quiet young man that the Protagonist had to "rescue" from his cruel mistress. In this life, he was the first to notice that there was something different about his mistress. In a moment of desperate loneliness, our Villainess confessed that she was in fact a different person, and that she was not from this world. He had a hard time believing her, but couldn't really do much about it. She made a deal with him, he would keep her secret and give her pointers about living in this world, in exchange, she'd take care of his sick sister and allow him to join in on her lessons.

Throughout time the Servant becomes an important confidante to the Villainess, and he also gains a more open and snarky personality. Hence being off-script. 

From this, the Heroine came to the conclusion that the Villainess has the power to make characters “self-actualize” by diverging from the script.)

The Heroine was ecstatic to find someone real. Someone who understood meme references, who had seen anime, who had experienced the internet, who knew pop music, ate Chinese food, took the subway. She latched onto the Villainess immediately and promised she’d never let the Villainess meet her original fate. They immediately bonded. (Even tho the Villainess is a bit put-off by the Heroine’s intensity.) 

The Heroine was there to shield the Villainess from every misunderstanding, and made sure everyone was able to see her friend for the good person she is.

The Heroine wants to change the world. She is not satisfied with getting the Happy Ending of the game. She is not satisfied with running an orphanage with the Villainess and occasional charity work. What about after they pass away? Will the next nobles be just as benevolent? No, there has to be systematic changes. They need to provide the masses with education. They need to reduce class difference and bring about the age of enlightenment.

(Because if she died, if she couldn’t prove her life’s worth to her parents, then at least she could make some real difference in this world. If she changed the world, maybe then her death would have meaning.)

And to do that, she needs to marry the Prince.

So, basically, you have a Heroine who is fixated on doing good, and a Villainess who is fixated on being good.

The Heroine asks the Villainess to not interfere with the Prince’s route. She’s going to follow that route and make him marry her. The Villainess just have to cancel their engagement amicably and she’d be able to avoid her canon fate. 

The Villainess was not fully on-board with the Heroine’s ambitions. She think the Heroine’s being reckless. Why can’t they just do the good that’s in front of them? But she’s a rather detached person, and doesn’t try to sway others from their opinions. So she agreed to cancel her engagement, and the Prince does fall for the Heroine, and marries her.

The thing the Heroine doesn’t realize is, the characters has always been sentient… She’s just too blinded by her grief for her previous life to see it. The Prince had genuinely fallen in love with this woman, who was kind and intelligent and a little mysterious. And this fascinating woman seem to only ever have eyes for him and the Villainess. Which makes him feel special, but also a little jealous. He used a magical charm to spy on them. That’s how he found out that his wife has some very dangerous political ambitions.

The Prince’s whole characterization is that he grew up surrounded by people who were trying to use him. In the game, the Heroine ends up winning his heart by genuinely caring about him as a person. To hear that the Heroine doesn’t even see him as being sentient, and only wants to use him for power, and had essentially manipulated him… It really broke him. Plus, her political ambitions will literally destroy the power of the monarchy, everything he stands for and must preserve. Further investigation yields that she’s meddling with magic.

He has no choice but to lock her up. 

The Prince could not imprison the Villainess without proof of treason, since the Villainess’s family has a lot of political sways. She had also been a good friend since childhood, and she wasn’t the one to break his heart. So he didn’t go after her.

The Villainess had lived her life somewhat detached, and kept people at arm’s length. But now she had come to realize that, in the Heroine’s pursuit of her ambition, she was heading towards the fate of the OG!Villaness of the game. She realized that this was the first time she’s ever had a friend who was willing to fight for her, to protect her against slander, when she never had a friend like that in her past life. And she couldn’t let the Heroine die, or remain locked up forever. She has to rescue her friend.

Anyway… The Heroine’s journey is to learn to let go of her past and truly live this life, to value and enjoy it beyond achieving accomplishments, to see the NPCs as people. The Villainess’s journey is also to truly live this life, but in the sense of actually valuing it and the people in it, and to fight for what’s important for her. 

The Prince’s journey will be to unlearn the divine right of king (lol) but also to gain confidence and self-respect and know that he doesn’t need a hot girl to be in love with him (no, well, sorta).

And they still get to change the world together!! Somehow! There should be at least 2 more OG love interests that I never thought about. Also... will there be actual romance here? Will the poor Prince ever find true love? All very good questions I don't haven answers to yet.

[alesyira]

k this is (probably) the opening (early draft) bit for another prequel story i'm working on that falls in the villain timeline right after izuku finishes school. I'm not sure if you'll immediately pick up what i'm putting down, but if I drop the current working title here: "Accidental Vigilante" you miiiiiight suspect what's going to happen...

The door swings open, rattling bits of metal suspended from a chain. The sound is strange, and Izuku glances up to see that the door chime is made from bits of metal, loops and flats edges and some rough sides that seem to have been broken off.

It’s vaguely familiar, but he tears his gaze away from the trivial detail before he’s caught staring. “H-hello?”

The shop is quiet once the door closes behind him. Empty cardboard boxes line one wall. Shelves with more boxes, presumably filled, stand in rows leading further into the shop. Whatever employee might be working hasn’t said anything yet, and Izuku peeks back at the hours sign to make sure he hadn’t accidentally stepped in over someone’s lunch break.

“Right with ya in a sec,” a gruff voice hollers from behind one of the shelves.

He doesn’t sound very friendly, but Izuku knows better than to judge someone based on how they sound or look. He takes a few more steps into the gloomy interior.

The lights overhead flicker ominously, but the floors are swept. There are no bits of trash or accumulation of dust. He casually touches a finger to the topmost shelf. Clean.

So the lights aren’t working very well, but otherwise the business seems to be in decent condition.

A shoe scrapes against the concrete flooring as a ladder rattles. The employee that steps into sight is tall and broad, dark-haired and a little (a lot) rough around the edges. “Whatcha got fer me?”

His face is scarred and one leg doesn’t quite fill out his work pants the same way as the other. Izuku briefly wonders if he’s wearing a prosthetic.

He straightens up, feeling like a child standing in the shadow of this hulking guy. “I’m here about the job.” He internally winces at the questioning note in his voice. He’d meant to speak with confidence.

The employee gives him a quick once-over, then crosses his arms over his wide chest. “Ain’t hiring.”

Izuku wilts with a frown. Of course. He nods with resignation. “Sure. Sorry about the confusion. Maybe I can pull the ‘help wanted’ sign out of the window for you, then?”

The man gives him a long look. “You know what we do here, kid?”

He does not. He just happened to overhear a conversation about a possible job opening at a business with an owner that looks like he breaks kneecaps for a living, and that there’s no way any sane person would risk working for someone like that.

Izuku was a little curious. (And he needs a job.)

He glances around as though the answer might be written on the boxes or plastered to the wall. Everything is woefully blank. He turns his calculating gaze to the taller man and says, very carefully, “I’m assuming you do not break kneecaps.”

The man blinks. His eyebrow twitches. And then he barks out a laugh. “Hah! Yer right. We don’t do that.” He rubs harshly at the back of his neck with a wide grin as he shakes his head with disbelief. He turns away with a muttered, “Not here, at least.”

(Izuku pretends to not hear that.)

“Go fetch the damned sign and get in here to take a seat.”

The burly man slaps a sheet down on the table in front of Izuku. He barely refrains from flinching. He skims the form as the older man leans back in an aging chair. The wood creaks and groans under the unbalanced weight, and Izuku wonders how many days it’ll be before it collapses. “The pay ain’t great because we’re a non-profit. I can start you out a couple hours for three days a week until we figure out where you fit best, then I’ll bump your time based on that.”

Izuku’s nerves had fired up when he’d brandished the application sheet. He should have expected he couldn’t just get hired on with a handshake and no paperwork. Every single application that he’s filled out has a line that asks about his-

He pauses, staring down at the sheet. “This line is blacked out?”

“Yeh. Don’t care what quirk ya got so long as you can tape straight, lift okay, and occasionally get our shit to the right location.” He purses his lips and rethinks his words. “I mean always get these things there, but just, ya know, when the occasion comes up.”

Izuku blinks up at him with utter bewilderment.

“Ya ain’t gonna blow up at the first customer that looks at you sideways, right?”

Izuku nervously chuckles. “No.” He’s taken aback to find himself under sudden intense scrutiny and hurries to explain. “I uh- knew someone. Who would do that. It’s um, probably very bad for business.”

He swallows back the lump in his throat and goes back to filling out the sheet. The pen in his hand stutters across the page when a wide finger pokes him in the shoulder. “Arms look a little spindly. You sure you’re up for this?”

Izuku signs his name on the sheet with a determined nod. “I can tape, lift, and deliver.”

“Alright then. Here’s my card so you can add my contact details. You start tomorrow.”

As he’s leaving the clean and slightly intimidating business, he finally recognizes the bits of broken metal being used as a door chime.

Knuckledusters.

AN: i've been burnt the fuck out and depressed about writer's block, so getting this little bit down on paper was like, so relieving. thanks so much for reading

ily

[lightsburnbrite]

The Love You Want: Part 3

I was sitting at my desk preparing the morning's market reports for my boss when my phone pinged with an instagram notification. Leon had posted a picture of what I assumed to be a post workout or training meal. I laughed to myself, unable to resist giving him a hard time over his lack of culinary prowess. After some gentle ribbing, Leon challenged me to do better and I happily took him up on it. Of course he didn't know that Alex liked when I made meals for him so I busied myself with cooking classes in London.

We had arranged that he would come and pick me up and I'd make dinner for the two of us. I stopped at the market on my way home for a few things and then changed into something comfy. After taking Greta on her walk and making sure she was set for the evening, I waited for Leon.

After hearing a knock at the door, I opened it to find Leon leaning against the frame with a smirk on his face. "You look cute today."

"Nice try." I handed him the bag to carry. "But flattery won't work on me."

I heard him laugh as  walked to the passenger side door. "What? I can't give you a compliment now?"

“Not entirely convinced it’s genuine, but whatever.” I shrugged as I fastened my seatbelt, deliberately keeping my eyes focused on the road in front of us.

I saw Leon smirk again from the corner of my eye before he cleared his throat. “So how was your day? I know you work for a bank but I don’t remember what it is that you do.”

I couldn’t help but smile when he said he didn’t remember. Truth is, he never knew what I did. “Well, when I first started, I was involved in wealth management. When I got married and quit, I was a financial advisor. Now, since I’ve been out of the field for almost four years, they suggested that I work my way back in so I’m a personal assistant to an investment banker. I do boring things like read market reports, schedule meetings, make reservations, take messages. So basically, my day is very tedious."

He frowned. "Have you thought about switching jobs?"

"Right now," I hesitated for some reason. "I'm mainly focused on getting settled. Then I can start figuring out my other options. Alex helped me set up a little non profit where I helped low income women with budgeting and savings plans. I enjoyed that but I don't know if I'd be able to replicate that here."

This time he shrugged as he pulled into his parking space. "Well, you never know."

Once we were inside and he led me to the kitchen, he turned with a grin, clasping his hands together. "Alright, what are we having?"

"Salmon with asparagus and baby potatoes." I handed him a bottle of wine. "But you'll have to wait until it's done to see how I fix it. Here, this needs to chill."

I got to work, slicing the filet into two equal portions, trimming the asparagus, and slicing the potatoes. Not thinking anything of it, I had taken a few pictures during the prep work and posted them to my instagram account.

“Ok, have you ever juiced a lemon before?” I called Leon back over and he raised an eyebrow at my question.

He laughed albeit uncertainly. “Like, squeezing one?”

“Yes, but,” I pulled him next to me. “Here, we’ll slice it, then kinda cup your hand around the sliced side and then squeeze it. You want to catch the seeds in your hand.”

Once he had juiced the whole lemon, he smiled proudly. “Not so bad.”

“See? Now we’re going to chop some shallots, and then mince some rosemary, thyme, and parsley.” I could only laugh at the look he gave me so I figured I’d be doing that myself. I showed him how to gather everything with a bench scraper and put it in the same bowl as the lemon juice. “And then, we’ll add this to some melted butter which then goes over everything. Can you add some salt and pepper to the salmon first?”

Leon watched me as I spooned the butter mixture over everything and placed the pan in the oven. “Ok, how do you know how to do this?”

“I did take some classes back in London,” I moved him to the side with my hip so I could get to the sink. “But once you have the basics, it’s just practice and then following a recipe plus adjusting it to suit your individual taste.”

He gave a little nod in acknowledgment. “Still, I’m impressed.”

We both looked in the direction of the front door where we had just heard a knock. Leon had a puzzled look on his face as he wasn’t expecting anyone but I stayed put.

"What is she doing here? What's going on?"

I froze as soon as I heard Lara's voice. Her tone was nothing short of irritated and it caught Leon off guard. She had pushed past him and was obviously looking for me. I didn't think me cooking Leon dinner was a big deal but obviously she was following me via instagram and she was put out. It only took a moment for me to come up with an idea to salvage the evening. For Leon, anyway.

"Lara, hi!" I walked over, wiping my hands on a dish towel. "Leon wanted to tell you, but I thought it would make a nice surprise. I took a lot of cooking classes when I lived in London so I helped him with dinner for the two of you tonight. It's in the oven and just about finished so my work here is done. Oh, and there's a Sauvignon Blanc chilling in the fridge to go with dinner. Enjoy!"

Leon's eyes were wide but he recovered quickly. "You're, um, ok to get home then?"

"Yep." I smiled brightly, hoping not to give anything away as I put my coat on. "Absolutely!"

Once outside, I put one earbud in, making sure it was on transparency mode, and pulled my hat down over my ear so passers by wouldn't notice. I put my address into maps and had the voice navigation give me directions by foot. After about two hours I made it home, kicking myself for being too stubborn to take an uber.

"Right." I slumped down on the sofa, talking to myself. "Get your shit together."

Greta cocked her head to the side making me laugh. "Yeah, I know. It was stupid of me to think that I'd move here and we would get together just like that. Maybe I should take a step back and adjust my expectations."

I changed into a hoodie and some joggers, made a packet of instant ramen and parked myself on the sofa with the latest Matthias Schweighöfer film on Netflix. I was only half paying attention when I saw my phone screen light up. 

I am acknowledging the effort you went through to make our meal but I am becoming increasingly uncomfortable with your friendship with my partner. I would appreciate it if you would respect this boundary and not attempt to contact Leon any more.

I snorted as I tossed the phone next to me on the sofa. I'd definitely be taking a step back, then.

In a way, it was better for me to stop worrying about what Leon was thinking or where he wanted things to go with us. Once I realized there was no "us", I was able to fully concentrate on myself and let myself get acclimated to living in a new city.

I bought myself a nice little BMW X5 and made friends with some coworkers my age. There were a couple others that were divorced as well so we bonded over that. I even didn't throw myself a pity party when my mother asked if I would be ok with her spending Christmas with her sister in Lake Como. I spent Christmas alone and I was quite pleased with how content I felt. 

I had largely ignored his calls and his texts, giving only one word responses when I did reply. When things began to taper off, I figured either Lara talked to him or he got the message. 

Coming home from work one day, I stood in my bedroom and sighed. I could easily call up someone from work and meet them for dinner but I didn’t feel like going back out. Cooking for one always left me with more food than I could eat and it felt wasteful so the whole process became discouraging. I decided to take Greta for a walk and hoped that inspiration would strike.

I stepped out the front door and stopped in my tracks when I saw Leon leaning against his car. "Hi."

"Hey," Leon smiled with a little bit of a raised eyebrow. "Do yo have a minute?"

Holding up Greta's leash, I shrugged. "If you don't mind walking."

He nodded and joined me as I started walking toward the park. "Did I do something wrong?"

"What do you mean?" Of course I knew what he was talking about but I figured it wouldn't hurt for him to be more specific.

He shrugged as if he didn't need to explain any further. "You haven't spoken more than a few words to me, I thought I'd see you at Christmas but you never came home. I felt like we were in a really good place but…was I misreading things?"

"You didn't do anything wrong," I let my arm brush against his. "But you need to talk to Lara."  

Leon stopped and faced me this time. "Does this have something to do with when she came over?"

"She sent me a message saying that..here." I pulled out my phone, queueing up the message she sent me.

He handed my phone back while shaking his head. "I know that you were trying to be helpful when you left and I honestly don't know what else you should have done, but I wanted to have dinner with you, not her."

"I'm just trying to avoid causing any unnecessary drama for you." I kept my attention on Greta because I couldn't look at him.

He let out a heavy sigh. "Yeah, but you shouldn't have to. She doesn't get to decide who I can and cannot have in my life. If she's uncomfortable with you, that's her problem, not yours." 

"Ok, well," I stopped a few steps ahead of him. "I don't know what you want me to do then."

"You don't have to do anything. We just continue on like normal."

I didn't really have a response to that. By this time we made it back to my apartment and Leon came inside with me. With my fingers pressed to my temples, I shook my head. "Just continuing on like normal isn't an option, though. Either we do and Lara gets pissed off at me or we pretend like I never moved here and Lara is happy."

Leon flopped down on the sofa and held his hand out for me to join him but I pretended like I didn't see and he eventually let it rest on his thigh. "I guess I don't understand why you care so much about what Lara thinks."

"Because I've been in that position. Alex had an assistant that I'm pretty sure he was sleeping with." I couldn't look at him by this point. I went to the counter and busied myself with the kettle.

"Yeah, but," He let out a little laugh. "We're not sleeping together so it's not like she has anything to worry about."

Pinching the bridge of my nose as I leaned into the counter, I felt myself sigh. "That's something you need to discuss with her. I've got an early meeting in the morning so I was just going to call it a night…"

I didn't like lying to him but I also couldn't take any more of this conversation. I just wanted to move on.

"Ellie, come on." He started to plead but must have realized it wasn't going to work. Leon stood and met me in the kitchen. "Alright, but next time I call you, please pick up."

Leon ruffled my hair before letting himself out and I turned off the kettle, opting for wine instead.

I woke up early the next morning with the starting of a migraine. I got my eye mask from the freezer and took one of my emergency tablets and waited to see if I needed to call out from work. Any slight shift in atmospheric pressure used to knock me out for the whole day but I finally found a doctor that took me seriously and he started me on a daily preventative with a dissolvable emergency medicine when I felt one coming on. Part of me wanted to call out anyway but I also knew I had just started and wasn't sure of how it would look, calling out so soon.

I was able to fall back to sleep and when my alarm actually went off, I felt well enough to hop in the shower. I had friends back in London who had elaborate skin care regimens but I couldn't be bothered to do much more than a cleanser, a moisturizer and sunscreen. After a little eye liner and mascara, that was the extent of effort that I was willing to put into the morning. 

My migraine medicine left me feeling foggy and it was all I could do to make it to my lunch break.

"Hey!" Serena came up to my desk on the way out for her break. "Any plans tonight?"

I shrugged but raised an eyebrow thinking she was probably going to tell me what I would be doing later.

"Good." She flashed a grin. "My boyfriend's little brother is in town and I was thinking we could do a double date."

I tilted my head, starting to protest. "Little brother?"

"Younger brother." She corrected herself. "But he's like 24, not a total kid."

I hesitated, momentarily, before agreeing. What could it hurt? I'd met Serena's boyfriend and handful of times and he seemed like a nice guy. Not exactly my type but if I didn't like his brother, I wasn't really out anything. 

Serena grinned. "Fantastic. We've got reservations at Tantris, Kai is staying with us so we'll swing by and pick you up."

It was times like these that I appreciated Alex's expensive taste. Outside of the office, I leaned towards more casual apparel but with Alex, we attended many events where the dress code was black tie or close to it. One of my favorite dresses was a black long sleeved mini dress that  was a soft and stretchy material. It was completely plain so I could add whatever accessories that I wanted and the length hit me just right so it made my legs look elegantly long when I wore pointed toe stilettos.

They came to pick me up and I slid into the back seat and instantly knew I had made the right decision. My date for the evening, Kai, was definitely attractive. He had kind eyes and dark brown hair that just covered his ears and he smiled as soon as he saw me.

We made small talk in the back seat but we both acknowledged that there was chemistry between us and although the dinner was enjoyable, we both had other things on our mind. I found out he was a photographer and he lived in Berlin so there wasn’t any long term potential but a quick rebound would do me good and help me get over my feelings for Leon. 

We barely made it through the front door before we had our hands all over each other. I had my eyes closed, my hand resting on the back of his neck while he continued to kiss me. Kai moved forward, a subtle nudge for me to move to the sofa, his hand at the hem of my dress, fingers finding their way up my outer thigh. With a natural inclination to tense as soon as someone new was starting to explore my body, I began looking for a distraction to help me relax and soon found that running my fingers through his hair gave me something to focus on.

I was just thinking of moving us to my bedroom when I heard someone at the front door. As soon as he heard the knock, Kai leapt up like we were two teenagers about to get caught.

"It's fine," I stood and pulled the hem of my dress down to a more modest length. "Just give me a minute to get rid of whoever it is.”

When I opened the door and saw Leon on the other side, I groaned out of frustration. "What?"

"I need to talk to you." Leon moved to walk around me and come inside, but I stepped in his path. 

"Now isn't a good time." I moved closer to him, hoping he couldn't see Kai. "Just call me later or something."

When I actually looked at him, he looked exasperated.

He sighed. "Ellie, please. Five minutes. That's all I'm asking." 

"Um, " Kai put his hand on my shoulder causing me to turn towards him. "Looks like this is a bad time. I'll see you around, I guess." 

"Kai, wait-" I called out after him but he kinda waved me off as he walked off down the street.

Furious, I turned back to Leon, glaring at him. "What do you want from me? Do you expect me to just lurk in the shadows until you decide that you're ready? I'm not allowed to live my life because maybe, maybe you have feelings for me? For fuck's sake, we're almost 30. If you don't know how you feel about me yet then it's not there and you need to let it go. You need to let me go."  

By this point, I couldn't stop myself from crying. I was so angry and frustrated that I no longer had any words.

"I know." He spoke softly as he stepped closer. "I'm such an idiot."

I just stared at him for what seemed like ages, trying to comprehend what he was saying.

"I love you, Elle.”

[centrally-unplanned]

Tyler Cowen is alas pretty deep into his journey of being a "cranky old man" in the commentary-sense; more and more his preferences and priors are overriding his charity. I found this post to be one of them, where he outlines his objections to Yglesias's calls for expanded welfare from the perspective of his expanded immigration stance:

Matt recently wrote a (gated) piece arguing that we should raise American taxes and increase the American welfare state.  I never understand how this squares with this desire to reach one billion Americans in the not too distant future.  To be clear, I also favor a much larger population.

If you ever have done hiring, and I believe Matt has at Vox, you will understand that so, so often selection is more important than ex post incentives.  That is, you need to get the right people into your firm, start-up, media venture, non-profit, or whatever.  And the right people can be very hard to find and attract, as I think Matt also has noted.

Now, on which basis do you wish to select people arriving into your country?  Do you wish to offer them a lower-risk, more secure, more egalitarian, less upside option?  Or do you want to reward ambition to a disproportionate degree?  Don’t forget you are building up the home base for most of the world’s TFP!

To me it is obvious that you should prefer the structure of rewards that attracts the harder-working, more ambitious people.  You want to send out the inegalitarian bat signal.

If you asked Matt, or anyone on his more progressive camp, what their response would be, it is an extremely obvious "what on earth are you talking about?". Immigrants aren't making immigration decisions based on slightly differing tax rates! "At the margins" sure sure whatever but the delta of expanding US immigration is 99.9% contained with our ludicrously restrictive immigration policy. I could trivially swap a 10% increase in net taxes on everyone (way higher than anything Matt is proposing in that piece) to go into welfare, in return for open borders, and increase US immigration along every axis of 'talent' ten-fold. I personally think the evidence for "low taxes is why the US is economically strong" is quite weak and that is a very consensus position, if we redistributed 5% more GDP we would still be a low-regulation massive-market wealthy techno-sophisticated financial hub, you would still have billionaires and VC funds and whatever you care about. These taxes will not create selection problems. (This doesn't make them a good idea necessarily, just saying they wouldn't overly impact immigration today)

Now its fine for Tyler Cowen to disagree, if he thinks a 5% margin is make-or-break on where a talented Indian chemistry researcher will find a job, that is fine, many people do. What makes him an 'old man' is nowhere in this piece to me is him acknowledging these differing assumptions. You are smart Mr. Cowen, you *know* your target doesn't think this is how labor force composition is determined, 10 years ago you woud have addressed that directly, maybe cleverly pointed out some sort of contradiction between his dual beliefs. Now its all handwaved away with an 'of course' that can convince no one who doesn't already agree.

I have seen this tendency more than once from him in the past few years; hopefully he recognizes it! Take a note from your coworker, 10% less confidence in your priors please.

(I am just gonna ignore the fact that the *political economy* of immigration and welfare means that immigrants often don't qualify for the benefits, and 'taxing immigrants to buy support for increased immigration' is probably the best tactic one has to get a deal done. Its obvious but not directly on topic, so I can forgive it being overlooked)

[another-whump-sideblog]

Jane’s Pets Pt. 50: Escapism

Tws in the tags

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Today is a good day. Puppy woke up before her alarm feeling well rested. She had good dreams, but not the kind that make you feel disappointed when you wake up. The happy, light feeling carries over into wakefulness.

She decides to make breakfast for her roommates. Not because she has to, or because it’s her job, but because she wants to.

She’ll make chocolate chip pancakes. She can have chocolate because she’s human and not a dog or a pet.

Charlie comes out of their room, yawning. Their long, orange hair is a mess.

“Good morning. I woke up early, so I’m making pancakes.” Puppy says.

“Morning.” Charlie yawns again, then sniffs and perks up. “Chocolate chip pancakes? Is today special?”

“Nope! I just wanted chocolate. Do you want to cut up some fruit to top it with?”

Charlie nods and gets some strawberries from the fridge. Liam comes out of his room.

“Good morning. How’d you sleep?”

Liam rubs his eyes. “Mmmm… ask me again later. I don’t know yet.”

“That’s fair. Well, I slept great. Woke up feeling well rested and everything.”

Liam grumbles something about morning people and collapses onto the couch. Puppy smiles. She absolutely adores her roommates.

When breakfast is ready, she gently wakes Liam up again. “Hey. I made chocolate chip pancakes. Do you want any?”

Liam nods and rolls off the couch.

Breakfast is nice. Charlie and Liam wake up enough to hold conversation, and the three of them chat about how how they slept and their plans for the day.

They end up with plenty of leftovers. Puppy puts them away while Charlie does the dishes and Liam wipes down the table.

Puppy starts sorting some of her laundry while Charlie and Liam get ready. She always showers after Liam and Charlie leave because she doesn’t need to be anywhere early in the mornings, unlike them. She’s a writer and her schedule is very flexible.

Puppy has found that the time she waits for the shower to be available is great for getting some quick chores done. It’s very satisfying to get things done so early in the morning.

Liam and Puppy hug goodbye, and Charlie offers the two of them air hugs. Puppy will miss them while they’re at work, but they both enjoy their jobs a lot and she would never want to take that from them.

Charlie works at a non-profit, providing free or cheap therapy to people who need it. They’re amazing at their job, and make the world a better place every day.

Liam is a gardener. He likes being outside.

Puppy makes enough money off her books that neither of them have to work, but they do anyway. Whatever makes them happy.

Puppy showers and brushes her hair and teeth. She picks an outfit that shows off her unscarred arms and legs and uncollared neck. She thinks she’ll write in the nearby park today, since it’s so nice out. Then she’ll go to the library, and then to her dance class.

It’s a very nice day. Birds chirp and there’s a pleasant cool breeze. Perfect weather for hanging out in the park and writing.

Admittedly, Puppy gets distracted fairly often when writing outside, but that’s okay. She could never write another book and still have enough money to sustain her for the rest of her life.

It’s nice to be around people. It’s nice to hear children laughing, it’s nice to see people happy and relaxed. Complete strangers who won’t be murdered or anything, just alive and happy.

After writing a few pages, Puppy decides to call it quits and head to the library. She has a book club meeting today.

Everyone in her book club has interesting perspectives on the book, and it’s all very nice. She shares what she thinks and they listen, and they don’t tell her she’s not allowed to speak anymore if they disagree. They have a lively discussion that goes on for hours before picking a new book and agreeing to meet at the same time next week.

She can make plans like that. She doesn’t have to ask permission, she can go somewhere because she wants to go there and she won’t be punished.

She can do what she wants. She can make friends without fear because she knows no one will use those attachments against her.

She stays in the library to read for a while longer, then heads to her dance class.

Puppy has been getting really good at dancing, she thinks. It’s not difficult to make her body do what she wants it to do. She feels connected with her body and it doesn’t hurt. It feels good and it makes her happy. She chats aimlessly with fellow students. She doesn’t think have to have a purpose when talking, she can just talk.

Someday, she thinks she’ll teach a dance class. That would be really fun.

When the class is over, she heads home. She doesn’t dread heading home, she’s excited about it. She’s excited to ask Liam and Charlie about their days and tell them about hers. She hopes they’ll have time to play a game and watch a movie tonight.

She gets home before the two of them, but they’re not far behind.

“How was your day?” She asks.

Charlie smiles. “Y’know, saved lives, made the world a better place. I’m basically a superhero.”

Puppy can tell there’s something bothering them, but doesn’t push. She knows Charlie will ask for help if they need it, and she knows that she’ll be able to provide that help without hinderance, so it doesn’t stress her out.

Liam steps into his room to take off his work clothes. “My day was good too. I saved lives too. Not human lives, but I still think it’s impressive. What about you?”

“Good! I went to the park, and then I had book club and dance lessons.”

“I thought you didn’t have dance class on Tuesdays.”

“I didn’t, but I joined another class. This one’s ballet, isn’t that fun?”

Liam makes a noncommittal sound. He’s not a big fan of dance, which makes it all the sweeter that he comes to every dance performance.

Charlie starts getting things ready in the kitchen. “I’m thinking enchiladas tonight, how does that sound?”

“That sounds great.” Puppy says. She slides into the kitchen and starts helping. Once Liam is in more comfortable clothes, he comes to help too.

The three of them fall into an easy rhythm. Charlie takes the lead, instructing the other two on how best to help, but the three of them work together as equals. Dinner is done in no time.

They share stories as they eat. Puppy talks about the same book she talked about in book club earlier, still full of thoughts about it. Charlie excitedly talks about the new methodology they’ve been learning. Liam talks about plants and how the season changing will impact them. Puppy would normally find that incredibly boring, but coming from one of her best friends, she hangs on to every word.

After they eat and clean up dinner, they play Clue. Charlie makes a wrong guess three turns in and has to sit the rest out.

“These board games are just luck.” Charlie mutters.

Liam laughs. “Sure, with the way you’re playing them. You are allowed to strategize, though, if you ever want to try it.”

“Shut up.” Charlie puts on an exaggerated frown, but their eyes sparkle. They’re having a good time, even though they lost.

With just two people left, the game goes very quickly. Puppy has narrowed down the person and the weapon when Liam makes his guess. He was right.

“He cheats!” Charlie exclaims. Liam shrugs. He tries not to act like it, but he’s very competitive and very happy to have won.

“I want to watch a movie before bed.” Puppy says. The others agree, so the three of them watch a movie with no gore at all, one that they all enjoy.

Liam and Puppy curl up together, and Charlie sits closer than usual, wrapped up in a blanket. They’re more comfortable with touch when it’s not skin to skin.

Puppy can’t stop smiling. What a good day today has been. And what a good week it’s going to be. Tomorrow she’ll go to the farmer’s market, and on Friday she has a modern dance lesson.

She sighs contentedly. She is safe and warm and no one can hurt her, no one wants to hurt her. Her friends are safe and warm and no one can hurt them, no one wants to hurt them.

If only it was real.

A/N: Let me know if I should tag anything else!

Tag list: @eatyourdamnpears @ghostsinthecloset @scp-1296 @fuzzybucketz

[kiwidotcom]

yall im about to expose myself so bad right now but i cannot believe what just happened to me happened. 

ok backstory. i got completely burnt out in 2020. like had to quit my jobs and stay at the hospital. its been really really hard to get back to work since.

 but then i started working at this place called mission possible. its a work placement non profit that helps people get back into the work force. its actually amazing and im so grateful for it. its needle and litter pick up, plaza washing, power washing, landscaping etc. i just tell ppl landscaping because as grateful as i am im also embarrassed as fucking hell. And i feel guilty as hell because its not like i think anyone in the program should be embarrassed!!!! i swear!! its just, hard when no one i know is .. failing at life... quite like me. and i love mp so much, but it kinda sheds light on that.. so its hard. I’m always thinking someone i know might see me. but surprisingly only one person i know ever has and ive worked there over a year. and it was nbd

and additional thing im anxious about is that people think im doing community service. strangers have asked me multiple times. sometimes its fun because im always like ‘ya i robbed 100 banks’ . but still. 

ok backstory part 2/2 i dated a guy in 2016. he was my first everything. so kind of a big ass deal. but its not like i harboured feelings. i broke up with him yadda yadda. hes had me blocked since 2018. not because anything happened. but last summer he unblocked me out of no where and hit me up to catch up, we made plans but they fell through. and we hadnt talked since. 

Guess who i saw while working today. 

When we talked last summer he mentioned he lived in that area. him and his girlfriend were just having breakfast. AND oh my god so (lol) i looked worse today than average because i was with someone last night/ this morning so i looked messier. and they have the same fucking name lmao. very different as people but they have the same name. anyway. i acted a DAMN FOOL and was ridiculous. it was painful. 

i messaged him that we need to catch up when im not wearing the high vis/ steel toe ensemble. i require vindication. 

.

he asks me if im doing community service. he makes a joke but he genuinely asks. 

i reply with a joke and say no. he then says “we both assumed it was community service"

Fucking y'all

:|

so if you want to feel better. i ran into my ex and after i left, him and his girlfriend discussed how im likely doing community service. 

someone end me pls

[mayor-espino]

Luis Hector Espino-Muñoz ♦ cismale (he/him) ♦ 43 ♦ Government ♦ Mayor of London

“It is time to say that the problem is that of those who gorge themselves : the banks, the big bosses of the NASDAQ and the CAC 40.”

Born on April 19th, 1979, in London, the second child of María and Eduardo Espino, Luis was raised by parents who had to flee Cuba. His father was involved in local politics, and he had to leave the country when Castro took power. The two political refugees eventually decided to settle permanently in the UK, but for a long time Luis thought he would one day have to leave the only country he had ever known all while being reminded of how lucky he was to be living here in the U.K.

This segment of his life is one that was exploited by his P.R. team during his campaign for mayor and earned him several points in polls.

It was at around the same time that his parents signed him up for scout camps as they didn’t want their son to be idle for two entire months. His older sister spent her summer taking gym classes, and he could use some time away from books. After a few summers, the young boy was put in charge of his group of scouts and that was his first-time experiencing leadership from the top of the pyramid rather than the bottom. He found that he quite enjoyed that, and that he was good at it too. When he started school again in September of that year, Luis had blossomed into a much more confident teenager than he was a couple months before. Although according to his best friend, he was still, by all means, a huge bloody raging nerd, he stopped being nearly as introverted and shy as he once was, and found that through opening up to others, people did the same to him (or maybe was it this little thing called puberty that hit him like a guardian angel).

It would have been a bit disheartening, of course, to realize that your brains and your words mattered a lot more to people if your face was pleasant to look at. Luis fortunately for him, remained oblivious to that. Then, his older sister’s persistence in reminding him that he looked like a Gremlin and a dinosaur had a love child may have helped with being oblivious.

While in high school, Luis volunteered to help a politician for the local elections with the hopes that it would help him in his college applications. Considering how he had been brought up, it wasn’t complicated for him to pick a party to root for: the Labour Party was the obvious choice and one he has stuck to ever since. He learned quite a bit about campaigning, and quite a lot about the way things worked, but although he might have not been the toughest young man, he lacked nothing else to engage in local politics. While studying in college, at the London School of Economics, he used the very few connections he had made while in high school to lend a job with a London councilwoman’s office notably on matters regarding immigration and graduated with a first-class degree award on his bachelor in Local Policies and Economics. He then worked for a non-profit (The British Red Cross) and spent most of his free time assisting Labour party politicians until he was asked to be campaign manager for a candidate in the 2008 mayoral elections.  Their candidate won the elections and moved onto the British Parliament in 2016 at the end of his second term. Luis, in the meantime, had dropped his job with the Red Cross and gotten elected to public office in 2012 as councilman of London. He was reelected in 2016 and decided to offer his name to the Party for the Mayoral elections of 2020.

Now in office, Luis pushes for liberal ideas, advocating for issues ranging from the state of the NHS to the ecological transition of London. He fights gentrification and has launched a series of projects aiming to help the 99% whether through the tackling of immigrational issues, or fundings for promising young entrepreneurs. His long-term plans include Parliament but being the first man of color making it to Prime Minister would also be an honor.

+ / -  Charismatic, level-headed, incisive, passionate, calculating, idealistic, overly empathetic, intense

He’s obsessed with Queen and sometimes quotes the band in speeches. No one’s noticed, so far.

Luis’ hair is speckled with grey streaks, it has been this way since his early 30s.

Luis doesn’t drink often and doesn’t smoke. He makes sure he’s walked at least 10 000 steps every day and does yoga and pilates on  a regular basis. However, he splurges an awful lot on coffee and drinks too much of it. He’s not all that fond of tea, but if you ask him, he’ll pretend he loves earl grey as it is one of those things that makes you untrustworthy to the British eye.

Luis is an avid bird watcher and can imitate many bird songs with ease.

His secretary often moves items in the office to see if Luis will  notice. Detail oriented as he is, it often takes him little time to spot what changed. He could be world champion at the 7 differences game.

Luis eats food in his plate from least liked to most liked.

[analogboii]

tumblr.com/analogboii/746259671902535680

What's bishops castle? Please tell me about it!

GJSKDK GOD YES. I WILL ALWAYS TALK ABOUT THE INSANITY THAT'S BISHOP'S CASTLE 🗣️🗣️🗣️

okokok

this is a "castle" that currently resides in Rye, Colorado.

So, Jim Bishop bought some land way back when. He was 15 and saved up 450 bucks from various jobs. His parents used his money to buy it for him (cause he was 15, so he couldn't legally purchase land yet). Originally, he just built a cabin with his dad. But one day, motherfucker just woke up with a "message from God" that told him to build a castle. and he was just like "alright bet" and just started building one. Mind you, this guy has NO IDEA how to build a castle (I mean, who tf does these days) and just starts slapping rocks/slabs and concrete together.

Not only is he doing this, but he's primarily doing this BY HIMSELF. No professional team of contractors or construction workers, no. Its mostly just HIM fueled by "the spirit of god". Sure, different family members helped over time here and there, but it was mostly solo work. People would say they'd help them flake out, but he didn't care. He kept going bc he was fully convinced that this is why god sent him to this plane of existence. To build this castle.

that being said, he OBSESSED over this. this was the reason he got up in the morning. the first thing he thought about when he woke up and the last thing he thought about before going to bed. it consumed his life.

tragedy struck in the 80s when his four year old son died. they had been taking out the trunk of a tree. some of the roots were giving trouble so he sent his FOUR YEAR OLD SON to cut the roots. only for the trunk to end up falling on top of him and squashing him.

you'd think that something like that would fuck you up and you'd stop, right? not Jim. he kept going. later when asked why he had kept going he just "well, what else am I gonna do? he loved the place!"

the website leaves this part out, but you can find articles and interviews about it. the website is VERY tailored to make Jim seem more sane than he is.

after this, a lot of his relationships strained. some family and friends stopped talking to him. some were wary. some tried to get him to stop, but he just kept saying that god was telling him this is what he needed to do. this was his calling.

as it got bigger over the years, people started to come and see it.

some people told him he should charge to see it, but growing up with not a lot of money and not being able to do things bc of that, he was determined to keep it free, but it does have a donation box. between that and the gift shop, they are primarily what keep this place running. they are also a registered non profit charity as well. they donate quite a bit to newborn heart surgeries.

tbh, it's a really insanely impressive the way it looks. it's got a grand ballroom and several other rooms. there isn't running water as it's not a functioning castle and still isn't technically finished, but to say it got this far as a solo man project is insane. it took 40ish years to get to this point.

like this shit even has stained glass

now Jim Bishop is old as shit so he's unable to keep building on it. it's still considered under construction and sometimes he'll hire friends or family to build on it. he spends his days sitting outside of it, ranting about the government.

THIS MAN HATES THE GOVERNMENT BY THE WAY (as he should). like I remember one of the times I went, he was YELLING about shit. people will go to just rile him up cause this man will POP OFF. he also has a lot of anti government signs around his property as well.

also, colorado can frequently have fire bans because it can get incredibly dry in the summers. he's got signs about those too. he's also got your disclaimers and such as well.

oh the signs are all handmade, btw.

there are more signs, but Tumblr is only allowing me so many photos.

during the two years I lived in Colorado, I went eight times. I would've went more if I could've. the over all energy from there is insane. love talking and listening to Jim's insane rants, his grandkids sometimes run the gift shop and they're always nice. this man is absolutely batshit but we got a really cool castle out of it. he also prides himself and calls it "a working class made attraction for the working class" if you're ever in Colorado, especially near Rye, go visit it. the drive up there is beautiful, the place is stunning, and it's a free attraction, so definitely worth it.

tho if you go, be careful. shit gets a little rickety once you hit the third floor. walk carefully and don't even think about running. you can go even higher as there are walk ways and stuff around the outside and to the towers. there are signs when you reach this point that warn you to progress as your own risk (I'd post it if I could stuff more pics in here). I've never reached the very top bc I'm so scared of heights but I want to be able to do it one day. i haven't been in a few years because I moved, but hell yeah I'd go again.

I could talk more about it but this is already insanely long. definitely look into it, it's so worth it. and thank you for asking so I can unleash this verbal vomit 🙏

ALSO YES. THE DRAGON HEAD CAN BREATHE FIRE 🔥🐲🔥🐲

[odishaupdate]

Pandit Gopabandhu Das was born on 9 October 1877 in Suando village in the district of Puri to Daitari Dash and Swarnamayee Devi. He had his early education in his village school and in Rupdeipur Minor school. Thereafter he went to Puri Zila School where he passed the Entrance examination in 1899. Then he came to Cuttack and took admitted to Ravenshaw College and completed his graduation in 1904. Though he took admitted in both post-graduation and Law in Calcutta, he could not continue his post-graduation but completed the law degree only. He first joined as a headmaster in Nilagiri High School but thereafter came to Cuttack to start his law business there and in Puri. For some time he was also appointed as a pleader for the state of Mayurbhanj but quit the job to make himself available full time for political activities and social work. Considering education to be the potential instrument of national development he wanted to prepare the youths with sterling qualities of head, heart, and hand. He, therefore, started a school in Satyabadi in line with ancient Gurukul tradition which became a National School during the non-cooperation movement. Though his actual goal was a separate state of Odisha he merged that movement with congress’ non-cooperation program. Thus all the members of Satyabadi joined congress which became the hotbed of the non-cooperation movement in Odisha. In fact, the branches of Satyabadi National school were opened in Sambalpur, Chakradharpur, and Bahadagoda where its members Nilakantha Das, Godavarish Mishra, and Krupasindhu Mishra went to spread the message of non-cooperation with the objective of imparting such education which would make the student a complete human being inculcated with the true spirit of nationalism. He was the President of the Orissa Congress Committee from 1920 to 1928. After the suspension of the non-cooperation movement, he was arrested in 1922 and lodged in Hazaribagh jail for two years. But after his release in 1924, he started the campaign to spread the message of charkha and other constructive programs of Congress. At the request of Lala Lajpat Rai, he joined the Servant of Peoples Society and implemented its various programs. With the encouragement and sponsorship of Hindu Mahasabha, he also opened a widow rehabilitation center in Puri, besides campaigning against untouchability in the Hindu Society. Since spreading the message of independence and other constructive programs of Congress were the cardinal objectives of his activities he, therefore, chose the idea of educating the people through journals and newspapers for which he set up a press and introduced the weekly newspapers ‘The Samaj’ and ‘ Satyabadi’ to arouse the people through criticism to government. As a true Gandhian Gopabandhu not only dreamt of an India free from the yoke of the British government but also from the oppression of zamindars and Rajas. He seriously took up the cause of the peasant revolts in Kanika in the twenties against their king and extended his moral support to them for which he earned the wrath of the Raja of Kanika. Devoting his entire life and wealth to the service of the people and the cause of independence he fell ill and died at the age of 51 on 17 June 1928. Before his death, he is a will handed over his press and ‘ The Samaj’ to Servant of Peoples Society and wished its profit to be used for the welfare of the people.