#i know his editor implied it’s not ending right now but is entering something more final but

[lavenderjewels]

I like this current jjk fight but every chapter that passes I’m just thinking of gege trying to say the manga is ending this year. how

[woodchipp]

Remember my analysis of Aubrey's talk with Hero and Kel (ft. Sunny) on One Day Left? Now, I'd like to tackle what is considered one of the game's highest points story-wise - Sunny and Kel's fight with Aubrey in the church on Three Days Left.

I have Things to say.

Right off the bat, we get a wonderful glimpse of how sweet Sunny is - the game forces you to barge into the church while its attendants are in the middle of a sermon Kel rather wisely advises Sunny to wait out. Of course, you can't actually wait until the sermon ends - intruding is required by the game to progress, and Kel's dialogue right before you are given the chance to trigger the choice prompt ("Yeah, I'd feel bad about interrupting this") implies that Sunny doesn't care much about his friend's opinion nor does he care that he's interrupting something important. the main protagonist of all time, truly

After Sunny enters the church, Kel follows him for some reason (even though he's strong enough to drag his malnourished bestie back out) and the two find Aubrey shortly afterwards. Kel asks her to return the photo album she stole from Basil. As with the fight in the town's park, Aubrey refuses because "it's none of [Kel's] business." He argues it is since all of them used to be friends back in their childhood, to which Aubrey says they're not friends anymore. This time, Kel's response is to mention Mari

...and Aubrey's is to waste what could've been the game's biggest gut punch if it was the actual plot twist.

Sunny doesn't react to this because his Depression is deeper than the Mariana Trench, apparently. You'd think this would be quite the brutal reality check for him after he spent four years living in a fantasy world where his sister is still alive, but nope.

Kel calls Aubrey out for dropping such a bombshell for no reason and says she can't just forget her old friends because she has new friends now. Aubrey replies by revealing the main source of her angst

And you actively made one of said friends' life worse for the past four years because you couldn't be arsed to clear up a misunderstanding.

You have no moral ground to stand on.

Then, the following exchange occurs:

The only rebuttal Aubrey has to Kel's solid point is "well you're Stupid and you don't Understand anything!"

...Huh. I think I see why she's such a fan-favorite.

It's his property and his alone. Also, the album is literally titled "Basil's Memories", you fucking twat.

Kel and Aubrey continue arguing before the latter spells out why she's been attending church. After all, It's not like "Mari's dead." would have allowed the player to infer Aubrey wants to maintain some semblance of normalcy while being devastated by the death of someone close to her, right?

And that is followed up by Kel spelling out Aubrey's internal conflict. Now that's some subtle writing!

You do understand you're basically repeating yourself, right?

"The AUBREY you knew is long gone. And the AUBREY you knew... She's long gone, too."

This game had three editors, by the way.

Kel then delivers a largely insincere apology, which Aubrey rightfully rejects.

Said "apology" doesn't even include any sort of assurance that he will try to stay by her side if they face another hardship. It's less "I'm sorry for not being there" and more "come on, I said I'm sorry, can we wrap this up already? 😒" l know he does genuinely apologize and promise to stick together with her before the group hug on One Day Left, and that just raises the question of "Why couldn't you say that sooner?"

Aubrey tries to walk out of the church, but Kel blocks her way. Sunny is there.

Geez, what is Kel's damage? First he calls her a "scumbag", now she's a "thief"

I may consider these descriptions appropriate because I'm the player, but Kel is Aubrey's former friend. If that's how they interact after their friendship dissolved, I don't want to imagine what kind of "friendship" they had in their childhood days.

Aubrey mockingly calling Basil "poor [and] defenseless" doesn't make sense. The phrasing implies Aubrey has reason to suspect Basil is not the meek and innocent little boy he seems to be... but she doesn't. As far as she knows at this particular point of the story, the most horrific thing he's done was ruining his own photo album for some reason.

1) Given that Sunny's reaction to seeing Basil's cover-up was relief at getting away with the mess he made, Aubrey isn't even wrong in her assessment. the main protagonist of all time, truly

2) Sunny doesn't react to a derogatory label anyone else would take offense to because he has the emotional range of a potato.

There is a big difference between having a bit of trouble with reading the room at times and being an insensitive moron.

Kel falls squarely into the second category.

As for the fight itself, I think the main problem with it is that it occurs way too early in the story. Between the iterations of Aubrey we see in Headspace and Faraway Town, her character undergoes a change so dramatic she essentially becomes someone different altogether, and you don't get to spend much time with the new Aubrey before you're thrust into such an emotionally-charged confrontation with her. This fight feels like it should've occured somewhere in the game's second half and marked a turning point in Aubrey's character arc, but as it is, it's just... meh. It has little impact.

So, since we barely know who Faraway's Aubrey even is but the game needs you to feel bad for her nonetheless, the only way it can think of to achieve that is to make the churchgoers irrationally mean!

There's a violent delinquent with a fucking nail bat fighting two other kids yet the churchgoers only note that Aubrey's drip sucks.

You're supposed to take this fight seriously, by the way.

The churchgoers' reaction to the aforementioned nail bat is to calmly chide Aubrey for bringing a dangerous weapon to the church instead of, y'know, calling the police.

"That girl is a threat to this neighborhood." WHY AREN'T ANY OF YOU CALLING THE POLICE, THEN?

This implies Aubrey's been bringing the nail bat to church all this time and the pastor apparently paid no attention to it. He also seems to be fine with a member of his congregation beating up random people at his church.

Bruh.

Speaking of the pastor! You can actually talk with him after the fight.

So the pastor's reasoning for letting a dangerous delinquent into the church - and consequently endangering the rest of his congregation due to said delinquent wielding a weapon - is basically "she's a poow widdle girl 🥺 pwease feel bad for her okay 🥺"

Amazing.

Oh, and just as cherry on top

Kel, right after the fight: man, maybe we shouldn't have done this? I feel bad for Aubrey :< Kel, half a minute later: WE FOUND THE ALBUM!!! TEAMWORK!!!! LET'S HIGH-FIVE!! :D

The writing in this game is very realistic, nuanced and sophisticated.

[omg-im-such-a-masochist]

PROVE ME WRONG

Prompt: Requested by my sister from another mister @ziasaph I hope I made you proud, babe 😉

Word Count: Long-ish

Pairings: Roman Reigns x Reader (ft. A flirtatious Damien Priest)

Warnings: +18, smut, angst, power play, brat taming, cursing, fingering, blood, jealousy

Editor: @thenightmareismyreality

Tag: @marlananicole , @akiko-tanaka , @waywardwrestlewritingwaif , @sassymox , @nicolewoo , @saccreigns , @wickedsunfire @mindofasagittaruis , @reigns-5sos , @auawdo , @lustyromantic , @yungbludjazz360 , @babydee17 , @drewmcintyrekoccsrocbwdgfan

Notes: *places suitcase down on the floor* Ah, it feels good to be home (aka Roman Reings) 😂 If you’d like to check out my previous works, you can find them on my Masterlist 😉

“Are you looking for someone?” A male voice asked from behind me

I turned around to find Damien Priest staring at me

“Oh no, but thanks for asking” I smiled

“Are you waiting for somebody?” He asked

“Not really” I tilted my head to the side

I wasn’t waiting per say - since Roman didn’t know I was here, it was more of a surprise visit. We hadn’t been able to see each other in two months and I couldn’t stand the distance anymore.

“Do you have a boyfriend?”

“No” I answered and he smiled widely as he scooted closer “But I do have a husband” I laughed

“You’re mean” He joked “But so gorgeous”

“My husband thinks so too”

“He’s a very lucky man” He said, as he leaned into the wall in front of me

“And who’s the lucky gal?” I asked

“I was hoping it would be you” He smirked

“That was smooth” I chuckled “Nice try, though”

“What is it, huh? I’m not your type?” He teased

“You’re a very handsome man. So I’m afraid your looks aren’t the problem” I giggled

“So what is it?” He asked

“She’s taken, that’s the problem” Roman spoke from behind him

“Hi, Ro-“ I began

“What are you doing here?” He spat

“I wanted to see you-“

“Couldn’t you have called first, to let me know you were coming?” He asked abruptly

“Hey man, you don’t need to talk to her like that”

“And who the fuck do you think you are to tell me how am I supposed to talk to my wife?” He stared at Damien “Oh yeah, you were signing up for the lovely ‘new husband’ post a few minutes ago, right?” He smiled coldly

“Keep your fucking dick away from my wife, if you want to keep your manhood intact” Roman pulled me by my arm and made me walk in front of him

“Go to the parking lot” He said

“But the locker rooms are over there” I pointed to my left

“Are you deaf? I said go to the fucking parking lot, Sapphire” He almost screamed

“You better watch your tone with me, Roman-“

“YOU better shut your fucking mouth, go to the parking lot and wait for me there because I’ve had enough of you and Priest for today” He snarled and stormed off

He didn’t utter a single word the entire trip back to the hotel, not even in the elevator

It was only when we were inside the bedroom that he finally said something

“Do you wanna split up?”

“What?” I asked, confused

“Do you want the divorce? Do you want to be single again? Do you want to move on with your life?”

“Of course not! Why would I-“

“Then what was that little flirting scene with Damien back at the arena, huh?”

“Roman, I wasn’t flirting with anyone”

“You’re a very handsome man. So I’m afraid your looks aren't the problem” He mocked me “If that wasn’t flirting, then what is it Sapphire? Please, enlighten me” He stated bitterly

“He asked if I was looking for someone, then he flirted a bit, I told him I was married, he still tried his luck and asked if he ‘wasn’t my type’ I said he was a handsome guy and end of story! There was nothing else”

“Do I really look that dumb to you?” Roman laughed hysterically

“I’m telling the truth!” I answered, completely in disbelief by his lack of trust

“And that was it?” He asked, drying up his tears of laughter

“Of course that was fucking it!” I crossed my arms in front of my chest “What the fuck did you think happened?”

“Do you expect me to believe that nothing happened?” He asked, cynically

“What are you implying? That I fucked him in some dark hallway?”

“Or maybe it was in some empty locker room” Roman tilted his head to the side

“Fuck you!” I spat “I drove eight hours today just to see you, because I miss you! And when I get here I’m kicked to the curb like a sick dying dog? I don’t need this bullshit!” I made my way towards the door but Roman grabbed me by the arm

“I’m not done talking to you”

“But I am!” I tried to pull my arm away from his grip, but he didn’t let go “Let me go”

“No” He said, nonchalantly

“Roman, I’m serious, let.me.go”

“You’re gonna pull out some attitude with me now? Cute” He smiled

“I’m not playing, Roman. I don’t want to talk to you right now” I huffed

He pulled me towards the bed, and shoved me on it. When I tried to stand up and leave, he pushed me down again.

“We can do this all night if you want to” He said, when I tried to leave again

“Fuck off!” I snarled

Roman quickly pulled me by my ankles towards him and straddled my hips, holding my wrists down on the mattress and placing them by the side of my head.

“Sharp tongue today, huh?” He sucked my on bottom lip “I can fix that”

“Screw you!” I screamed

Roman growled and secured my wrists on top of my head with one hand, while the other squeezed my neck

“You’re going down a very dangerous path, baby” He squeezed harder “So you might want to be a little bit wiser with your choice of words”

“How fucking dare you doubt me?” I tried to release myself from his grip “Doubt my fidelity” My knees tried to hit him “Doubt my love and respect for you”

Roman released my wrists and went back to sitting down

“You fucker” I use this new freedom to hit his torso “Get off of me! I want to go back to my house, grab my stuff and leave you alone”

“You won’t do that” He calmly said, as I continued to hit him

“Yes I will! And don’t you worry, when you come back from the road, you will have the house all to yourself! So feel free to bring one of the many road whores with you!”

Roman chuckled “Why would I bring a whore from the road when I already have one waiting for me back home?”

When my attack against him was getting weak from tiredness, he secured my wrists on top of my head once again

“Aren’t you, Saph? My good little whore, so filthy, and all for me” He leaned down and kissed my lips roughly and I took the opportunity to bite his lip harshly, until I felt the taste of blood on my tongue

“Oh, my feisty little bitch!” He smiled at me, with blood staining his teeth “I missed you so fucking much”

Dipping his free hand inside my pants, Roman didn’t waste any time and slid two fingers in me

“My dirty girl is so fucking wet” He began to wiggle his fingers inside of me “You drive me crazy” He growled, biting the top of my breasts through my shirt

“Fuck me, fuck me right now!” I moaned

Roman removed his hand from my pants and shared the juices on his finger between my tongue and his, right after kissing me aggressively as he yanked my pants down, followed by his own.

Holding his length by the base, he slid it in between my folds and teased my clit with his cock’s head

“You want it? Beg for it!”

“Please fuck me, daddy! Destroy me, use me, ruin me, please?”

“That’s more like it” He grinned, before harshly entering me

“Got even tighter without daddy, baby?” He moaned, pounding forcefully “Don’t worry, I’ll fix that for you” He smiled, grabbing my hips and thrusting himself deeper and harder into me

When I was reaching my orgasm, he stopped his actions, which made me look at him confused

“You thought it would be that easy?” He laughed, turning me onto my stomach “No, baby” He slid in me again “I’m very far from being done with you” Roman pulled my hair back, until I was staring at him “You’ll take what I will give you like a good girl”

When I opened my mouth to talk back, he said

“And remember: bad girls don’t get to cum” He chuckled when I kept my mouth shut

And so he began a level of torture that would last all night long...

Please, if you’re comfortable with it, let me know your thoughts on this? Feedbacks are always appreciated 🥰😘

[destieltropecollection]

Destiel Trope Collection Day 25: Slow Burn

The difference between living and existing (WIP) | @lucy-is-alive

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 6052 Main Tags/Warnings: John Winchester's A+ parenting, College AU, Sexuality crisis, PTSD, Childhood trauma, Recreational drug use, Angst and hurt/comfort Summary: As soon as he got the chance, Dean left his father behind and went to college. However, he never anticipated that the absence of the person who had disrupted his entire life would make it worse. With the help of his friends, he tries to navigate through the emotional hurricane that comes with complex PTSD.

Celestial | @deservetobesaved

Rating: Mature Word Count: 10585 Main Tags/Warnings: slow burn, mutual pining, fluff, emotional affair, bottom!dean Summary: Dean is in a less than stellar marriage, but he assumes things will work themselves out. At the same time, Mr. Castiel Novak becomes his new co-worker at school and Dean has to rethink everything he thought he had figured out.

Welcome to the Badlands (WIP) | @cr-noble-writes

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 15386 Main Tags/Warnings: graphic violence, dystopian au, fusion, into the badlands au, slow burn Summary: The wars were so long ago, nobody even remembers. Darkness and fear ruled until the time of the Barons, seven men and women who forged order out of the chaos. People flocked to them for protection. That protection became servitude. They banished guns and trained armies of lethal fighters they called Clippers. This world is built on blood. Nobody is innocent here. Welcome to the Badlands.

Profound Kisses | @verobatto-angelxhunter

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 20700 Main Tags/Warnings: Destiel, post 8x07 canon divergent, mutual pining, explicit sexual content, angst with a happy ending, clueless! Castiel, pining!Dean, Top!Dean, Bottom!Cas, slow burn, love confessions, first kiss, french kiss, Sammy knows. Summary: Dean knows he's screwed. He discovers he is in love with Castiel in Purgatory, and now he can't even have the angel in front of him, because he knows it's a one sided love. It’s Valentine's day and Dean tries very hard to hook up as always, but he can't get Cas out of his mind. So he drives back to the motel, drunk, and he finds Castiel trying to help him. Then, when Dean asks Castiel for some experimental kisses and the angel accepts, Dean starts a very dangerous game… finding in Castiel's kisses the most delicious experiences, but also, his own perdition. Will Castiel fall in love with him? Or will he stay emotionless as always?

Hate me, but love me too | @notfunnydean

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 23310 Main Tags/Warnings: Virgin!Dean,f hate spell, hate curse, younger!dean, older!sam, Grace Sharing, First Kiss, First Time, Hate Sex, Dubious Consent, Mildly Dubious Consent, Cas is cursed, (not really MCD but Cas isn't alive in the beginning), Castiel has sex with somebody else in the beginning(and Dean sees it), Heartbreakbut I will fix it! Summary: Dean’s whole life changes when his mother tells him that John isn’t his biological father and he needs to save the world from his sibling Adam, who is the King of Hell. But he can’t do that alone, he needs the best Hunter earth had, Castiel Novak.

Starstruck (WIP) | @peanutbutterjelly-pie

Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 40860 Main Tags/Warnings: Alternate Universe, Fluff, Slow Burn, Actor Dean, Single Parent Castiel, Pining Summary: From the outside Castiel Novak looks like a regular guy: a good job, two teenage kids, a nice house and a crappy car he’s way too attached to. But there’s one thing no one knows about him: that, over twenty years ago, he used to live next to no other than Dean Winchester – back then a brash and loud-mouthed boy and nowadays a huge movie star and Hollywood’s sweetheart. Castiel never bothered to tell anyone about his childhood friend because frankly, who would believe him? Probably even Dean himself already forgot about his former awkward and weird neighbor, so Castiel seriously doesn’t see any point in mentioning the whole thing ever. But then an interview on national TV happens where Dean reveals way more about his past than ever before … and Castiel - as well as the rest of the world - suddenly realizes that he left a much bigger impact on Dean’s life than he originally thought.

Letter to Dean Winchester (WIP) | @castielsangel-blade

Rating: Mature Word Count: 44182 Main Tags/Warnings: Past Lisa/Dean, Past Aaron/Dean, Past Castiel/Dean, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Mentions of Past Cheating, Mentions of Past Toxic Relationship, Gray Romantic Castiel, Asexual Castiel, Epistolary, Bisexual Dean Summary: Castiel writes and sends a letter to Dean Winchester. He wants closure for the toxic relationship they had in high school.

Falling Apart | @cr-noble-writes

Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 49204 Main Tags/Warnings: minor character death, sam deceased when fic starts, alcoholism, drug misuse, addiction, rehab au, soulmate au, flashbacks, ptsd Summary: Sword & Cross Resident Rehabilitation is a last-ditch effort for Dean Winchester to move past the drug and drinking problems he developed to bury his guilt over the fire that killed his brother. Not to mention the wild visions and smoky, sentient shadows that have plagued him his entire life. It's supposed to be the best Savannah has to offer, but one look at the crumbling tile floors and dangling crown mouldings, and Dean has his doubts. Enter Castiel Novak. He’s rude, aloof, and a total dick from the moment they lay eyes on each other but Dean can’t help but feel a mysterious connection to the man. Maybe he really has lost his mind. But when Castiel starts making appearances in Dean’s vivid visions of the past, he knows there is more to their link than meets the eye. Even if Cas keeps telling him otherwise. It seems everyone at Sword & Cross knows what’s going on except for Dean. Trying to conquer his mountain of guilt and doubt and figure out the connection he is certain he shares with Castiel is only made harder by the “accidents” that seem to follow him. Not to mention his attraction to Gadreel. Whatever secret Castiel is trying so hard to keep, Dean knows he has to uncover it.

Will you be my ten inch hero? | @notfunnydean

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 57468 Main Tags/Warnings: Bullying, Homophobic Language, Abusive John Winchester, Canon-Typical Violence, Smut, giving a baby to adoption (not between Destiel), Rape/Non-con Elements, John kicked Dean out, Virgin!Dean, surprise guest appereance, Minor Crowley (Supernatural)/Bobby Singer, Minor Charlie Bradbury/Jo Harvelle, Minor Rowena MacLeod/Gabriel, two surprise pairings, not Ketch or Mick Davies friendly Summary: When John Winchester kicks Dean out, after he saw him kissing another boy, and Dean sees that Sam has a perfect life at Stanford without him, Dean starts a new life in Santa Cruz. He works at a tiny shop as a cook, has found some friends there, and is overall happy enough. That changes when Castiel comes into his shop and his Co-worker Azara, who has a different man every night, starts flirting with him right in front of Dean. Not that he would be jealous or anything, but there is something about Castiel that makes him weak in the knees. Only that Castiel would never want him back, right?

Roll With It | @saltnhalo

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 72818 Main Tags/Warnings: Fake/Pretend Relationship, Boss/Employee Relationship, Secretary Dean, Alternate Universe - Not Hunters, The Proposal AU, Alternate Universe, Romantic Comedy, Romance, Editor Castiel, Fluff and Angst, Sam Winchester at Stanford, POV Alternating, Geek Dean, Russian Castiel, Sharing a Bed, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Top Castiel, Bottom Dean, Misunderstandings, Tattooed Castiel, Love Confessions, Slow Burn Summary: For two years, Dean’s been slaving away beneath his boss – many label him a secretary, but he fucking hates that and feels like it only applies to someone wearing a pencil skirt, so he insists on his title of Executive Assistant. And for what? In the vain hope that one day he’ll manage to become an editor for Sandover Publishing, and that he’ll see the manuscript that he’s slaved over since college finally realized in print. That’s the dream, anyway. Right now, he’s fucking late. Dean wants to be an editor. Castiel just wants to stay in the country. ‘The Proposal’ – as you’ve never seen it before.

When the Magnolias bloom (WIP) | @flurryflair

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 92951 Main Tags/Warnings: slow burn, angst with a happy ending, mutual pining, human!Castiel, divorce, infidelity, middle aged destiel, explicit sexual content, top Castiel/bottom Dean Winchester, top Dean Winchester/bottom Castiel, POV alternating, unresolved sexual tension, denial of feelings, porn with feelings, anxiety attacks, manipulative relationship, unhealthy coping mechanisms, canon-typical violence, case fic, bisexual!Dean, demisexual!Castiel, semi-canon, minor Castiel/OMC, minor Dean Winchester/Lisa Braeden Summary: It's been ten years since the Apocalypse. Ten years without talking, without knowing one another. Castiel has a company to handle and a wedding to plan, Dean has a broken marriage and a decision to make. They have separate lives, lovers and families of their own, they aren't supposed to meet again, to mess it all up. And yet they do, when they least expect it, and maybe when they most need it. A story about second chances, about hope and resilience, and a love that feels both doomed and inevitable.

Unsung Melody (WIP) | @toomanyships-sendhelp

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 177617 Main Tags/Warnings: Canon Character Death, AU Slaves, Slow Burn Summary: Dean runs a busy bar and grill in Lebanon, Kansas. Semi-retired from hunting, he'll still catch a case when one blows his way or the urge to hunt strikes him again. It isnt until a case that opened decades ago claims another victim and Dean has to get back in the game a little more than he expected.

[hazytaezy]

i’ll show you, if you show me.(m) jk

pairing: jungkook x reader

word count: 2,173

genre: gamer jk, best friends au, slight fluff in the form of (y/n) is literally jk’s biggest fan, smut-ish??? minor nasty-ness, but a general warning that smut is implied and sort of written, humor (to me lmao cause I think I’m hilarious)

warnings: 18+, nsfw, language

“game night suddenly gets a little more interesting when Jungkook forgets to hang up from your video call.”

“Alright, (y/n). We are in the last half of the battle and we just about have it. I’ll be operator, you get my six. Let’s get tactical!”

A soft exhale escaped your lips as you listened to your best friend through your headphones.

Jungkook could be both endearing AND annoying.

Sometimes you wondered how he could accomplish the two at the same time. But he was charming after all.

“Yeah, yeah Jeon. Same old song and dance. I’ve got you.”

The game launched to life and your character quickly rushed off to scavenge for items that could be turned into armor.

You had first come into contact with Jungkook when you were both twelve years old.

It was Christmas Day to be exact. Both gleaming with joy as you hurried up the stairs to set up your newest prized possession- an Xbox.

You couldn’t quite remember which game introduced you to each other, but what you did know is that you beat him.

Tremendously so.

And you never let him live it down.

Ever since that day, you both spent most of your time speaking to each other every night. Eventually teaming up and forming what you called yourselves, “The Indestructible Duo.”

People grew to hate you. Once anyone saw both of your usernames enter the server it was game over.

You both loved it.

It was your typical best friend bond. The only thing separating you from everyone else was that you hadn’t ever met in person.

As time went on, e-mails and phone numbers were exchanged. Graduations were had, colleges were trudged through and brand new jobs were offered.

But one thing remained the same, Saturday game night.

You would always joke that this was the reason that you didn’t have a life, but you wouldn’t have it any other way.

So that’s how you were here today. 2 a.m. on a Saturday with glossy eyes from staring at the screen for the majority of the night.

“How’s the job been going, Miss editor?” You could hear the sarcasm dripping in his voice. Jungkook was a writer and as far as he saw it, you worked for the enemy.

“It’s fine.” You mumbled through your sips of tea. “I keep telling you to submit your novel, but soMEBODY’s too chicken shit.”

Jungkook scoffed as he slew the head off of another forest monster.

“If it’s not good enough for Harper Collins, then it’s not good enough for your publishing house.”

“Dude, you sent your first novel to a major company. All I’m saying is, in the hands of the right editor, ME, that shit would be flying off the shelves.”

You jammed your thumb into the up arrow, drawing your sword to shoo away the oncoming goblins.

“You know I love you, but the only reason you think that is because you are my best friend and you know it.”

“No. I really don’t, Jungkook. Do you remember that bird house you made for your senior project in high school? The one you made out of floss and hot glue? Yeah- it was an atrocity. AND! I told you!!!”

The familiar warmth of his laugh filled your ears and you sat back for a minute to relish in the sound.

“It was really bad, wasn’t it?”

If Jungkook could rank the top ten most painful positions to fall asleep in, sitting upright with his head hanging over the side of his game chair would come in at number one.

This is how game nights would usually end. You slumped over and Jungkook listening every once in a while for your soft snores to come through.

A sound he had grown to look forward to.

One might call it adoration.

He removed his headset and untangled the controller cords from his feet, delicately setting them on his dresser. His body went into autopilot and made the motions to shut down the game, not before saving their progress. You would have his head tomorrow if he forgot to save.

He has made that mistake only once.

Jungkook peered down at his attire, wondering if he really did have to change into new boxers just because he spilled a tiny bit of soda on them.

He could practically hear your voice in his ear, “Men. They are do disgusting”.

It only made him want to defy your thoughts and just wear them.

Opting for the easiest route out, he hooked his thumbs through the waistband and stripped them off. He tossed them to the side watching as they got snagged onto a knob of his dresser drawer.

He had slept like this many times before. There was this one time he had the nastiest flu and any clothing made his fever skyrocket.

Anyhow, he liked the way his sheets felt against his body.

He let his mind wander on what you had said earlier. Ever since Jungkook had expressed that he hoped to be a writer someday, you had been his number one fan.

He almost felt like you were destined to meet because your interests went hand in hand.

He felt a warmth grow in his belly as he thought back to all those video chat sessions while you were both in college.

He would read aloud the chapters he had finished that week as you were working on your homework. You would laugh at the parts he knew that you would and would stop him mid-sentence to tell him to change something.

A characteristic that would annoy some, but Jungkook was grateful for your honesty and how much you cared.

You were just so incredible, he couldn’t believe that he-

fuck

fuuuuUuuUUuck

Jungkook felt the familiar twitch from below.

A betrayal that he had grown accustomed to as of recently.

This had been happening more and more. He would think about how wonderful you were and then all of a sudden he would be sporting a half hard tent in the sheets.

Sure he had thought about you when you were younger, but he always chalked it up to teenage hormones and the fact that he had a girl best friend.

But lately, after every Saturday game night and sometimes throughout the week,

Okay who was he kidding. It was everyday.

Jungkook would catch himself thinking about you.

In more lewd ways than one.

He would get so far as to letting his hand wrap around his length, allowing gentle pressure to relieve the aching feeling. But then he would stop himself.

“She’s my best friend.”

Tonight was different, though. You had spent most of the game convincing Jungkook he was good enough and that you loved every bit of his work.

You had even said that you loved him, which was a new thing they were doing.

Being adults made it less weird to share your feelings and you both knew that you loved each other.

Platonically, of course.

Except all too much recently, Jungkook has had this nagging feeling in his stomach.

Platonic wasn’t a word for it.

He squeezed his eyes shut with a huff and flipped on his side. He could think about his novel. He could do this.

He wouldn’t think about you again tonight.

He just simply wouldn’t.

“Fuck it.”

Jungkook kicked the sheets off of his body and let his hand creep lower on his abdomen. He envisioned your smiling face. One that you had given him a couple nights ago. He remembered how his breath caught in his throat as he watched the strap of your dress momentarily slip off of your shoulder.

A rhythm had finally set in as his hands moved up and down.

He felt the familiar stick, which only made him hasten his pace.

He wondered how your lips would feel wrapped around his cock. You had gorgeous lips.

Most of your conversations were spent with him staring at them.

Just the though alone of you looking up at him, mouth closed around him, coaxed a moan from the back of his throat.

“Jungkook.”

He could practically hear you calling out his name.

“Jungkook”

It all felt so real. He wished that it would be.

“Jungkook???”

Fuck, wait.

His hands dropped as he tilted his head out into his room.

“Are you okay? Jungkook?”

He didn’t understand the expression “My heart fell into my stomach.” until now.

He shot up from his position and leaned forward to see his headset glowing bright green. His hands flew towards his computer and shuffled the mouse around to wake it up.

Hovering over the video call icon, he almost hesitated to click to find out his fate.

Call with (y/n)- ongoing, since 5:50 p.m.

His mouth felt dry.

But he didn’t have any time to dwell on the fact that he felt like he was going to vomit.

He could still hear you calling out his name.

Quickly, he adjusted the headphones to rest on his head and let out a silent, ragged breath.

“Yes?”

“Hey! Finally! What happened? I fell asleep and I woke up to you saying my name?”

Shit.

Had he been saying your name?

Jungkook cursed again under his breath. Damn his imaginative writer brain that caused him to leave this earth for a fleeting moment.

And for it to fucking utter your name while he was pleasuring himself.

“Y-yeah! All good!” He was still trying to catch his breath. He hadn’t noticed he was breathing this hard until now.

“You sure about that? Because it sounded like you were touching yourself and saying my name.” (Y/n) deadpanned into her mic.

He was dead.

Gone.

Here lies Jeon Jungkook. King of the dumbasses of his time.

Why they fuck wasn’t self vaporization a thing?

About 30 minutes ago, you had woken up to delicious moans and someone purring your name.

You would have thought it was a figment of your imagination, had it not been for the blinking video call icon on your screen.

You knew you should have said something. And quite honestly you let it go on for far too long, but the twinge in your stomach made you stop.

Next thing, your hand was sliding into the front of your unbuttoned jeans.

“How-how long have you been listening?” Jungkook nearly spoke in a whisper.

“Does it matter? Tell me what you were thinking about, Jeon.”

He could hear your smirk.

“Are you serious?”

“Serious.”

He froze.

He hadn’t thought about what he would do if you ever reciprocated these feelings. He didn’t even know where to start.

“I- I was thinking about your lips.”

“My lips where?”

You knew what you were doing.

Jungkook leaned back into his chair and let his hands rest back to the position they were in before.

“Wrapped around my cock. How good they would feel.”

Your thighs squeezed together and you didn’t know if you had ever felt a rush of arousal come that quickly from just words alone.

“You know…I’ve thought about this plenty of time. I think I could make you cum in zero seconds flat.”

Jungkook felt like his entire world was spinning.

So, he hadn’t been the only one thinking these things.

“God, I wish I knew where you lived. I want to be able to touch you.” He murmured.

It never felt strange that they didn’t share their addresses with each other. What with it being the digital age, they never had a reason too.

Not until now.

He reached over and pressed the video call button. His body acting on pure desire before his brain and once he realized what he did, he rushed to hit the end call button.

But he was met with a smiling (y/n).

A smiling, pantsless (y/n).

He watched as you rolled your hips up towards your hand.

His brain felt like it was going into overdrive.

Not only was he seeing you partially nude for the first time, but you were also touching yourself.

Thinking of him.

“Tell me how you would have me if you were here, Jungkook.”

He watched hungrily as the fabric of your underwear rose up and down like a guide for your fingers.

“I’d spread those pretty little legs and taste you. I’ve wondered what you taste like.”

“Do you want to see what you’ve been thinking of?”

“Yes. God, yes.”

Jungkook watched as you stood up and slowly lowered your underwear, kicking them off once they were around your ankles. You kept your legs shut and looked towards him with hooded eyes.

“Let’s see you.”

You took your bottom lip in between your teeth and awaited his next move.

Jungkook tilted the camera down to show off his quite embarrassingly fully hard cock.

You sucked in a breath and allowed your legs to be open just enough for you to run a finger over your clit.

“Do you want to see what I do what I think of you?” You tried to keep your voice level, but it came out in a sort of whine.

“I’ll show you, if you show me.”

[supernaturallyobsessedchic]

Only True Mates Know

I know the gif don’t match with what I’m implying in my story, but it’s Jensen fighting....credit due to gif author/editor. 

Pairing: AU!Single!Alpha!Jensen x Omega!Katie/Reader

Warnings: Abusive relationships, Angst, Bar Fights, Implied Smut I think, just kissing at the end hence FLUFF!

Check out my Masterlist for more fics!

Mobile Masterlist

[a/n: MY FIRST JENSEN X KATIE/READER FIC, also my first one that involves A/B/O. though the abo isn’t my first time. It’s an AU where Jensen is single. I love Danneel, no disrespect to Jensen’s relationship/marriage to her. Love the Ackles family. :) Feedback is always appreciated.]

~

A wrap day calls for celebration.

The gang chill at a nearby local Vancouver bar to celebrate another Season down and out. Jensen and Jared were there with the crew, having a few beers.

In walked Katie and her boyfriend John.

Jensen tensed up the second he caught wind of them entering. Something didn’t seem right with the omega.

“Dude, chill out, you’re about to break the table.” Jared said.

Jensen looked down at his hand, not even realizing he had a hold of the edge of the table. As if it was anchoring him in that one spot.

“How can you not smell it, something’s wrong.” Jensen says, motioning to Katie.

“Maybe she’s in heat.” Jared said.

“No, I don’t sense that. It’s something else.” He argued.

He sat there, watching, observing. And that’s when he noticed it. They were seated not too far, and he noticed a bruise on her arm. He can even make out a hand. His heart began to do a flip, not only did it sink at the mere thought of her boyfriend laying a hand on her, but it also raced while his blood began to boil.

His mind was in autopilot, he found him standing next to Katie.

“Katie, can I talk to you…alone.” He says, eyeing John with an evil look.

“Sure,” she says, her voice barley audible.

They get up to head near the restrooms.

“Are you okay?” he asks quickly.

“Yeah, I’m fine, why do you ask?” she says.

“I see a bruise, on your arm. and I can make out a hand.” He explained. And he saw her face drop.

“He hurt you, didn’t he?” he asked. she nods.

John notices, decides to get up and investigate.

“Everything okay here?” he asks. Clearly agitated.

“John, we’re good, go back to the bar I’ll be there in a sec.” she tells him.

“Actually, let me rephrase that, what are we talking about here?” he asked.

“Nothing.” She answers.

“You’re shit liar Katie, now tell the truth.” He rose his voice. Jensen saw her flinch.

“Alright bud, time to back off a hair.” He says, getting between Katie and John.

“Yeah, and what are you gonna do about it, old man!” John shouted. Puffing out his chest, Jensen doing the same, though due to his height John was rather small for an alpha.

“You lay another hand on her, I’ll make you pay and regret the day you ever met her and crossed me.” Jensen threatened.

John being the immature dick that he was tried to grab Katie by the hair despite Jensen being between them. But that sent Jensen over.

Jensen grabbed John’s arm to pull him away, John reels back and punches Jensen in the face. Jensen didn’t even stumble. But he saw the opportunity when John’s guard was down, and he fought back.

John got a few other hit offs’, cutting Jensen’s cheek, bruising his forehead by his temple but Jensen didn’t back down. With John preparing for another punch, Jensen reels back a heavy punch knocking John out.

Jared managed to tell the bartender to have a cop for John, bribing to let Jensen go off the hook.

“Better head out of here man, cops will be here any minute.” Jared said, meeting up with Jensen at an area of the bar away from John’s knocked out body.

“I’ll take him to my place.” Katie says.

“Thank you, Katie.” Jared said.

As they exit and are stopped at a no walking sign at an intersection.

“Was he moved in, or what? How serious were you guys?” he asked her.

“I have a few things at his apartment that I can grab. I still have my place.” She explained to him.

“Well let’s stop by his place, get your stuff and then get to your place.” He says.

“Sounds like a plan.” She tells him.

-

Just grabbed a few clothes, nick knacks and other junk of hers.

Back at her place she grabbed a large zip lock back from her pantry filling it with ice. Wrapping the zip locked bag of ice in a towel and handing it to Jensen for his bruised cheek and forehead.

“You know, you looked like you wanted to kill him.” She said, sitting in front of him, cleaning his cut.

“I wanted to. He didn’t deserve you if all he wanted to give you was pain.” He said.

“I tried to get away from him, but he always found me.” She explained. As she placed a band aid on the cut on his cheek.

“Every time I saw you, I could just sense something was wrong.” He said, looking up at her with empathy and concern.

“It’s okay Jay.” She says.

He places down the ice pack.

“No, it’s not. He could have gotten worse with you; he could have killed you if he wanted to.” He said.

“What’s wrong with me Jay?” she asked, a tear escaping.

“I can never find the right guy for me. One I met is all kinds of messed up and has a criminal record, I can get away from him. But I thought I found the one for me and he was trying to kill me.” She cried.

“Sweetheart,” he says, cupping her cheek, wiping away the tears that fell.

“There’s not a thing wrong with you. It’s them, not you sweetheart. You’re perfect.” He says softly.

“Jensen,” she says. Noticing he is just out of it. And leaning.

“What?” he asks, whispered. He leans closer.

“You’re staring.” She says also whispering.

Before they knew it, their lips met in a soft kiss. That ended quick.

“You,” she trails.

“I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time now.” He confesses.

“You like me that much?” she asks genuinely.

“Let me show you how much I like you.” He says with a smirk.

He leans in for another kiss. When his soft plump lips touched hers, she kissed him back. This kiss more heated and passion behind it. Their lips melded with ease, his tongue brushing against her upper lip asking for entrance. She allows him access, their tongues danced, fighting for dominance. Their hands explored each other’s bodies, his in her hair memorizing how soft and long her brown hair is. Hers combed through his short dirty blond hair ending behind his neck where she clung on tight. Holding him close in the kiss.

They broke for much needed air.

“Wow, you really do like me.” She says, catching her breath.

“Even more sweetheart.” Stealing a kiss below her jaw line, near her neck. Peppering kisses down to her pulse point where he kissed, licked and bit gently. Hearing a moan escaping her throat.

A knock interrupted their make out session.

“It better not be him.” She groaned.

“I gotchyou sweetheart.” Jensen says following her to the door.

She opens the door, revealing Jared in the hall.

“Hey man,” Jensen says behind her.

“Hey.” He says.

“Come in Jared.” Katie says, stepping away allowing him in.

“So, Jensen is off the hook. And John is spending the night in jail.” Jared explained.

“Finally.” Katie groaned.

“Nice hickey.” Jared points.

“Bought time you guys did something. Jensen was driving me nuts, even tonight I thought he was going to hurt himself.” Jared said.

“Yeah, yeah.” Jensen goes.

“Jensen, you said you could smell something was off with Katie?” Jared asked.

“Yeah, or sense. Why?” Jensen asked.

“Gen told me true mates know things like that. When their mate is trouble, hurt, anything.” Jared explained.

“And, even though you and I are like brothers.” He says, stepping close to Katie. Not even touching her arm.

Jensen tensed.

“I’d appreciate it if you take a few feet back,” he says. “Away from Katie.” He adds stepping between them.

“Point proven.” Jared says smiling.

Katie laughing at J2’s antics.

Jensen wrapped an arm around Katie, the two kissing. A quick, loving kiss.

- - -

Copying and reposting someone else’s content is plagiarism and illegal. This work is property of supernaturallyobsessedchic. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. These works contain material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of these works may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher. An electronic reference link to the original posted work may be provided for purposes of promotion or assistance of publication by the readers discretion, if proper credits are given to the author in the re-post. 10/13/19

[isa-ghost]

A Long Ass Theory (7/25/18)

BUCKLE UP KIDDOS, THIS IS A REALLY LONG POST/THEORY AND YOU SHOULD READ IT.

This took me SIX FUCKING HOURS to write out, holy shit.

First of all, I don’t like that title.

“GUNS GUNS GUNS GUNS GUNS GUNS | Enter The Gungeon”

Why? Because...

A certain someone we know and love has experience with guns.

Second of all...

Yeah... this.

Why is this concerning?

Simple.

Last time Chase and Anti were in the same video in any way, shape, or form, Anti was charging at Chase while he was in a drunken stupor at the end of Dark Silence. We never saw what happened after Anti reached Chase, if he even did.

Also, it could just be me (please tell me if someone else has noticed this too back in May) but when “Jack” acts suspicious, especially when the video gives off Chase vibes, he gets this weird sarcastic? tone in his voice throughout the entire video. I’m even more unsure about what I’m about to say, but when he says something he knows we’ll point out as a possible hint, he looks directly into the camera. Maybe its just a few times, maybe every time, or maybe I’m just remembering something incorrectly and he doesn’t do it at all, but that tone in his voice for sure tends to show up a lot every time he acts suspiciously like Chase.

So with all this unsettling information in mind, here’s everything I found suspiciously Chase or Anti-like in today’s upload:

The title, and the intro, as previously stated.

2:14 “Everybody’s dead, I’m happy” Honestly there’s a lot of “death” references through the whole video which while they ARE concerning for paranoid, over-analytical Anti theorist reasons, its hard to say that they’re cryptic hints given the fact that its a game where youre supposed to kill people and therefore the death comments are relevant to the context, rather than being out of the blue “Jack being weird” comments. I’ll keep all the mentions of death I find alarming in the list anyway, just to be safe.

4:52 “What happened? I don’t know but I’m glad you’re dead!”

11:37 “You’re all gonna know the name by the end of this. You’re all gonna know the name of your victor.”

 12:25 That’s a really weird Chase-esque “dude-bro” type person laugh, if you ask me...

13:44 He refers to himself as Jack. I’m only mentioning this because it either confirms he isn’t intentionally being suspicious and we really are just paranoid OR its a reminder that Chase is posing as Jack while he’s in a coma. Or MAYBE this IS Jack after Stories Untold #4, awake from his coma and struggling to remember things. He “doesn’t remember” his intro because “he hasn’t recorded in so long” which could be a joke about how he took a week-long hiatus but could also be a nod at how he was in a coma.

16:52 “I could also die. I could die in real life. If you die in real life, you die in the game.”

17:14 “I’m just doing it for all the people out there to make them feel like I’m a regular bro.“

19:16 “I have to go three dreams deep and meet Leo Dicaprio and bring him back to reality.” (Sounds more like bringing Jack out of a coma to me) Needs to meet his kids. (And this sounds like Chase). I think I’m over-analyzing this one but *screams in paranoia*

19:32 “I just slaughtered a whole bunch of babies. ... It’s what I do. I’m ruthless.” There were a lot of theories that Anti might have hurt Chase’s kids after Dark Silence. Especially after he screamed “WHERE ARE THEY?!”

20:00 “Dope af, as the lit kids would like to say.” This one’s probably me just O/A again. It sounds like a dad trying to keep up with the lingo his kids use...

23:22 He uses the “Chase voice” and drops an iconic “sah dude” that we’ve started to associate with him for almost a minute straight.

24:38 “Because I can’t be trusted. We all know that by now.” *Glares at Sean* yeAH NO SHIT, MCLOUGHLIN.

26:03 “Hi, I’m Jack. I’m a pathological liar. And a piece of shit.” Could this be Anti pretending to be Jack and mocking him? Probably not lmao. Or maybe Chase knows Jack isn’t a very good friend? He said he’d kill/let Chase die first if he had to choose and that he finds him annoying, yet Chase considers him a friend. We DO know from TIE that sometimes if Chase gets too heated, he tends to “break character” and rant to us.

28:58 “My parents may have never told me they loved me, but that doesn’t matter” *Gestures wildly at the “Chase was abused” theories and how when Chase was the one recording the video in Mayhem, he’d make a lot of “my dad”/“my parents” references*

30:42 “I like the little sounds they make. It makes me feel like I’m killing a whole bunch of tiny babies” Ah, Anti harming Chase’s kids vibes again.

32:22 “What I need is love and support” Just like in GNOG, this just gives me Chase vibes... “And also your compliance and your own death.” Aaaaand Anti vibes. Anti talking to Chase? Chase talking to Anti? Anti talking to Jack? *Explodes in theorist*

34:38 “Its just cause... me and my dad” Another damn “my dad” reference like back in May.

36:29 Jack glances behind him for basically no reason. We all know what that meant in May...

37:38 “Don’t hit me, don’t hit me, nooo papa!” *Chase was abused theories intensifies*

44:14 “[My mom] never paid enough attention to me and I had a bunch of time to play video games”

44:50 “Did I have a stroke? Can I remember anything?” Mmmm coma vibes

48:26 (Singing) “Your parents don’t love you”

55:27 “Don’t I look like a guy that deserves good things in my life? I’m not a bad guy.”

58:54 “GET AWAY FROM HIM! Don’t get closer to him, he’s a stranger man! Stranger danger, remember what you parents said!” He highkey sounds like Chase scared/scolding his kids to stay away from Anti... Just sayin’-

59:02 “Actually my parents told me go play in traffic. Suddenly explains a lot.” *Vibrates with abused child Chase vibes*

1:00:55 “Don’t mind me, just going to the store to try and get my life back together.” That last part just... sounds like Chase recovering from the divorce (or maybe after his suicide in Bro Average/Henrik saving him like he mentioned in KJSE?) *coughs in over-analyzing, whoops*

With all this in mind, I also want to make note that I’ve seen some things floating around my dash about the following, which could also imply incoming doom for us ego enthusiasts and theorists:

The anniversary of Antisepticeye vs. Darkiplier is coming up in 3 days. Mark and Jack already confirmed several times that they would not be doing another collab like that one again, BUT--

--Jack mentioned that he and Mark have some cool plans that they can’t talk about.

Mark has the genius skills to make Markiplier TV and WKM happen (with help, of course). What if he’s helping Jack with a video featuring multiple/all egos? Jack DID say during tour that at some point later in the year he wanted/planned on a big video with all the egos. That was sometime in the early spring, and its now almost the end of summer. I think that counts as “later”...

Mark apparently mentioned revisiting some egos. I think he’s referring to the Wilford videos, personally, but I still find this noteworthy.

Robin is apparently going to L.A to hang out with Jack. While this is probably just him being a supportive friend and all that, after what I’ve just said... I trust nothing.

Jack confirmed he planned on doing more skits/sketches/etc while he was in L.A.

We are still waiting on Bro Average 2, which Jack confirmed would eventually become a thing.

With all this in mind, Jack, his god tier editor Robin, and ego video-making genius Mark might all be together at once at some point in the near future. We MIGHT be in for some serious community fires soon, guys. Get your extinguishers ready.

I feel like I might be waaay over-analyzing a lot of this, but the levels of unease in the theorist part of the community have been very high lately. Better to note down what we find questionable than to not take notes at all only to suddenly get slammed with fire, right?

[atruththatyoudeny]

MONTHLY READS | December 2018

Happy 1D Fanworks Appreciation Day! Thank you so much for all the hard work you put into your stories and the courage to share them with us! I am so grateful for all the amazing authors in this fandom! Here are the fics I read this month, as always, Top 5 + 12 more under the cut.

Captain Jack

by jaerie for 1D Fanworks For Charity | DARK DRUG FIC - Please read the tags on the fic page carefully! | a/b/o | 31k Louis has been searching for something and Harry is there to give it to him. Drugs, sex, disappointment, and the tangled web they’ve woven that keeps them trapped in the same cycle.

Better Not Pout, I'm Telling You Why

by runaway_train for Larry Holiday Fic Fest | Christmas | fluff | strangers to lovers | workplace relationship | 24k Niall wipes his hands again with his cloth, jaw tense as his eyes narrow in contemplation at the man in front of him. After a pause, he opens his mouth. “OK, I need to tell you something and you have to promise not to laugh.” Oh here we go, now the truth is away to come out. “Okaaaay…” He drops the towel. “Harry still believes in Santa Claus.” Louis hoots out a single loud chord of laughter. “Fuck off. No he doesn’t.” “He does. I swear.” Niall manages to say it with a completely straight face, but he must be taking the piss. “Niall, he’s twenty two. Do you honestly expect me to believe he’s managed to make it this far through life without someone telling him the truth that Santa isn’t real?” Or The one where Harry still believes in Santa Claus and Louis doesn't want to be the one to burst his bubble.

Santa Baby Honey

by SadaVeniren | Christmas | crack | fluff | humor | BDSM | exhibitionism | 28k “Let’s cut right to the chase,” Niall said, loading the powerpoint, which was just one page, comprised of Louis’ face and the words How do you solve a problem like this asshole? “It’s the beginning of November and Louis is already being a fuckwit. How are we gonna have him knock that shit off this year?” aka Louis is the CEO of a toy company and Christmas is a stressful time of year so his assistant decides the best way to make him chill out is by getting him laid through a Secret Santa

O' Christmas Tree

by Justalittlelouislove for Larry Holiday Fic Fest | Christmas | kid fic | fluff | 15k At a stoplight, he finds himself doing some retrospective thinking of his own. Instead of going over one of his fifty or so mental to-do lists, his mind drifts to Harry’s dimples, the way his whole face changed when he smiled, how some of the pine trees almost matched the green of his eyes perfectly. It’s- well it’s annoying is what it is. He can’t spend all his time thinking about some tree farmer with broad shoulders, he’s got bigger fish to fry. Girl Scout meetings, homework charts, client lists, lots and lots of very large fish sitting around waiting to be fried. or: Louis has a busy schedule to keep and a daughter to raise. He definitely isn't looking for a relationship. Enter Harry Styles, a local Christmas tree farmer that seems just a little too good to be true.

Along The Heather

by noellehenry for HLRegencyVictorianFicChallenge | Victorian AU | Jane Eyre AU | verbal abuse | physical abuse | Minor Character Death | panic attack | attemped murder | angst | mystery | 35k Orphaned Harry Styles grows up with his cruel aunt and cousins, before he is sent away to a boys' boarding school, which teaches poor and orphaned boys. Even though his aunt tries to undermine Harry's experience at the school, he does well in school, and stays on at the school as a teacher after he graduates. When he becomes restless after significant changes at the school, he applies for a job as a tutor at Thorgill Hall, teaching the younger brother of Mr. Louis Tomlinson. Harry develops romantic feelings for his pupil's brother... Thorgill Hall,however, holds a secret; it’s becoming slightly more eerie every day and when his life is threatened, Harry makes a drastic decision…

Your touch is the only thing I feel

by 2tiedships2 | a/b/o | strangers to lovers | fluff | 15k Liam. Liam was finally here. Louis kept his eyes closed and cuddled farther into Liam’s side, revelling in the pheromones Louis’ body desperately needed. He wasn’t sure how long Liam had been holding him, but Louis figured it had to have been at least an hour by the way his body had loosened. The need of an alpha’s touch seemed to have been temporarily lifted from his mind. Louis listened to the sounds of the pub around him. It was louder than before he had fallen asleep and he briefly wondered why Liam hadn’t just woken him to go back to their flat. “Who the fuck are you?” Louis’ eyes flew open at the sound of Niall’s voice, and the arm that had been around Louis shoulders lifted in the same instant. He missed the warmth immediately. Louis looked from Niall’s stormy face over to the person who was definitely not Liam. The alpha Liam impersonator, who smelled a lot better than the actual Liam now that Louis was alert, looked back at Louis with wide eyes and familiar furrowed brows. Or the one where Louis refuses to settle for just any alpha despite intense touch deprivation. Fortunately Harry isn't just any alpha.

Pull your-elf together

by EmmyLouWho for Larry Holiday Fic Fest | Christmas | fluff | pining | 4k Louis looks Harry up and down. “Hang on, aren't you a bit tall to be an elf?” “Alright, Princess Leia,” Harry says, and Niall loses it. “Ohhhhhh,” he says. “Harry, we are definitely going to be good friends.” Or: Santa's Winter Wonderland is a great place to fall in love.

And Touch Me Like You Never

by runaway_train for Larry Holiday Fic Fest | Christmas | implied/ referenced drug use | implied/ referenced alcohol abuse | mildly dubious consent | angst | roommates | coming out | friends with benefits | dom/sub undertones | friends to lovers | pining | 35k “Lets move back a bit yeah?” Harry clutches at his waist with a free hand and tugs him to move through the crowd until they are almost at the back of the group and settles them both beside the far wall. “There. That better?” Louis looks up at him, as if he’s a tad dazed. “Uh, yeah, thanks. Can’t really see much from back here either though.” Harry lifts a shoulder and grins at him, placing a hand on the wall behind Louis to pen him in. “We’ll just have to create our own fireworks then, won’t we?” He says it jokingly with a wink, and Louis laughs but he seems nervous. He must know that Harry is harmlessly flirting. Harry flirts with everyone after all, including Louis. “Do you think this is a good idea Haz?” Louis asks quietly, almost too quietly in the clamour of the room, his head bowed as he scuffs his shoe on the carpet. “Stop over thinking it Lou, it’s one kiss. What’s the worst that could happen?” Or The one where Harry and Louis agree to be each other's New Year's kiss and it ends up being a lot more than they bargained for.

Head Over Heels

by Sasparella76 for Larry Holiday Fic Fest | Christmas | enemies to friends to lovers | 26k Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles are both up and coming editors at Cowell Publishing. Louis thinks Harry is brilliant at his job and beyond gorgeous. It’s just a pity that Harry is also the most annoying man Louis has ever met.

Holiday Greetings (And Gay Happy Meetings)

by 2tiedships2 | Part I of It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year | a/b/o | Christmas | strangers to lovers | enemies to lovers | fluff | 18k "Onwards to drop me off at Robert's before you go to Harry's!" Louis proclaimed when they were safely in the car. Or at least Louis was safely in. Niall was still brushing the snow out of his hair that Louis had accidentally dropped on him. "We're picking up biscuits first," Niall grumbled as the snow melted into his hair. "You can wait in the car." After three times of the car sounding like it was dying a slow and tragic death, it finally decided to start. "This is what happens when you try to change the name of your car after five years," Louis said as a reminder of Niall's stupidity. "You'd be upset too if you were a car named Greased Lightning with a passenger trying to get it renamed to Dusty." "To be fair," Niall explained, "the name Dusty does seem a bit more accurate." "Make sure to leave the car running while you're getting whatever you're getting from Harry," Louis said in disgust. "This car is going to choke for good after that comment and I don't want to be stuck at Harry's place when that happens." Or the one where Niall's dead car and and a foot of snow conspire to force Louis into spending time with an alpha he hates.... or does he?

(That's Just) The Way I Am

by lululawrence for 1D Fanworks For Charity | fake/pretend relationship | lights angst | 17k There was no way Harry would want to bring anyone out for an introductory trip like this. The fighting between himself and his father was sure to be be worse than usual and father still hadn’t accepted Harry’s pansexual identity. Harry wasn’t dating anyone at the moment, but at this point he almost wished he were dating a man just so he could incense his father. The door jingled, pulling Harry’s attention away from the window and to the man who had just walked into the cafe. Now that was exactly who Harry should try bringing home. The man was dressed in ratty black skinny jeans and what was obviously a self cut tank top that used to be a Stone Roses t-shirt. His black chucks had holes in the canvas, indicating exactly how old they were, and his maroon beanie wasn’t in much better shape. The more Harry studied the man’s smoky eyeliner rimmed eyes and the lipstick he had swiped on to match his hat, the more Harry started hatching an idea. What if Harry really did bring this man home?

I Just Wanna Give You Love

lululawrence for 1D Fanworks For Charity | soulmates | famous/not famous | 18k Graham Norton appeared on the screen introducing his guests and out of nowhere, everything in Louis’ world was turned upside down. Louis gasped as he intently took in the man on the screen, smiling and waving from his seat beside Sir Ian McKellen. “Oh my God,” Louis said before it all sank in as to what it meant. “Holy fucking shit!” “Louis William, you watch your mouth,” Jay said. “What has got into you?” Feeling like a madman, his palms to his cheeks, Louis couldn’t help the tears of surprise, relief, and fear as he turned to his mum. “What colour are his eyes? What do you call that colour?” “Louis, are you telling me that the man on the screen, Harry Styles, is your soulmate?” Or the one where the world is in black and white until you meet your soulmate, but Harry is world famous and Louis is...well...not.

This is a Rainbow War

by lululawrence for 1D Fanworks For Charity | famous/ not famous | friends to lovers | fluff | pining | travel | 15k “So what are we doing?” Niall asked as he slipped in. “Harry seems to really like rainbows,” Louis said, purposefully vague. “So let’s go ahead and make sure he’s really in the spirit.” Louis untaped the flag he’d used to hold it together and showed Niall what he had inside. He’d been keeping a wide variety of flags from each show and gathering them until he had enough to cover Harry’s entire dressing room with them. “Oh this is going to be great,” Niall said with a chuckle. “Oh my God,” Shawn said excitedly. “It’s going to look like someone puked pride flags all over a campsite.” “Exactly,” Louis said. Or, the one where Harry's a famous singer, Louis is part of his road crew, and after Harry gives Louis a special assignment regarding rainbow flags, things maybe turn out a little differently than either of them planned.

Naughty or Nice

by noellehenry | Christmas | miscommunication | innuendo | humour | fluff | 10 Louis never intended for his boss, the very attractive Harry Styles, to find out he has a temporary, additional job as a Christmas Elf at Harrods Department Store. When he gets a request to show up in his elf costume at Mr. Styles' office, after office hours, Louis' mind goes wild...

Nobody Likes To Be Played

by rosegoldhl for Girl Direction Fic Fest | Girl Direction | infidelity | implied/ referenced homophobia | fluff | friends to lovers | emotional/psychological abuse | 19k The first thing she realized as she walked into the bar was that there was some sort of gig from an unknown, obscure rock band, the kind of music Louis enjoyed. The second thing was that the place was packed with teenagers and university students, and Harry looked out of place in trousers and a polka-dot shirt. The third was that this outing was destined to ruin her life.

Until I Found You

by dimpled_halo | a/b/o | Cam Boy/ Porn Star | enemies to friends to lovers | slow burn | fluff | 45k Harry Styles is the popstar of the century, or so the media proclaims. He’s linked to every omega he’s seen with, donned as an alpha lothario who isn’t ready to settle down any time soon. His team works hard to publicise him as an alpha who can’t keep his knot in his pants, but not everything is as it seems. Louis Tomlinson, an aspiring musician working as a porn star and camboy, is waiting for his big break. When he meets Harry Styles he can’t stand the alpha that only uses his power and fame to bed as many omegas as possible. He runs into him at a party and hopes to never see him again only to find that Harry’s assistant is dating Louis’ best friend. To make matters worse, Harry’s about to embark on a world tour and is in need of a guitarist at the last minute, an opportunity Zayn uses to put in a good word for Louis. What happens when the opportunity that Louis has been waiting for finally comes, but at the price of having to share the stage with one Harry Styles?

Merry Birthday

by jaerie | Christmas | a/b/o | soulmates | soul marks | 9k Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson have unfortunate soulmarks branded onto their skin. The first words their soulmate will ever speak to them are two of the most common greetings, so common that they don't even notice when it finally happens for real. A Christmas soulmate AU.

[my-imagination-and-other-stuff]

Part 5

You crossed hands on your chest. Except a cool wind on your face and tiredness, you felt pressure in your stomach. Kostya was just going down the stairs from a building of a studio. Artem was going to pick him up home at the same time when he was driving you to work. You didn't think it was a good idea after your fight but it would it be ridiculous to avoid Kostya all the time.

-Hi- he said, buttoning his dark coat. He seemed tired after whole night of working. It must have been childish but as soon as you saw Kostya moving to back doors, you changed direction and took a seat next to driver. Boys exchanged few words but there was long silence for next minutes of driving. You looked away when you caught Kostya's gaze in front mirror.

- We should all go out for drink when we're done - Artem suggested when he stopped on parking.

- Who do you mean?- Kostya asked without any enthusiasm in his voice.

- Who else? All of us. Like always.

- I don't think I'll have time - You added quickly - I won't get free day from my boss so- no.

- I meant evening..

- I'm not in mood- You interrupted Artem, trying to hold your anger.

- Okay. Thanks for picking me up - Kostya sighed like he was tired of listening both of you and he opened doors to leave car - Bye.

- Bye..- Artem murmured. You wanted to yell at him but you kept looking at window in silence when he started car again.

- No free day? Really?

- Really - You snarled - Don't suggest some time together when it's so unbearable for you to see me with Melovin.

- It was annoying when you acted like some lovebirds but I want us to be like we were at the beginning.. - Artem stared after some break for contemplation- But now you're acting weird.

The problem was there was no chance for things to be like they were. And now he was blaming you?

- Because you made me feel guilty and now you blame me for feeling uneasy! - You raised your voice - Like I did something wrong. I don't know how to act to not to make you angry.

It wasn't about trying to make Artem feel more important and not giving him reasons to feel jealous. You was fighting with your own feelings but you also felt that your boyfriend only thought about his own. It's been a while since you started to get irritated by more things that he was doing.

- Okay. I might overreact about your friendship with Mel but I was scared that we're growing apart. I'm sorry. - Artem said calmly, seeing your emotional reaction. He stopped a car in front of office and slowly pulled you close. When he hugged you, it suddenly felt even worse. It was like you was a traitor by letting him comfort you after what you've been imagining about Kostya before.

- I gotta go to work. I'll be late - You said and left without goodbye before Artem did something that might make things worse like kissing you.

***

Looking at your phone and sitting. That's all what you was doing at studio. Things were taking too long time so you stood up and grabbed your bag.

- Did you lost your voice today?- You heard Kostya's voice behind your back - You didn't say a word since you're here.

He didn't talk to you till now. He actually ignored you all this time and it was annoying. You hoped things to be like they were before but for some reason you felt upset and it seemed that Kostya did too.

- Why would I talk? I'm not in mood - You said with anger in voice. You looked at doors. Artem was still away. You even didn't know where he went. He just answered phone and left.

- Who the hell he thinks I am? Some middle school kid that he can take to his job anytime he wants? - Your thoughts turned into words. Kostya putted away his notes and looked at you.

- If you hate coming here, who forced you to come?

- Oh, I'm sorry that I offended you with my presence - You snarled. Your expression must have looked quite scary because Kostya's gaze softened.

- What's gotten into you today?- He asked you very calmly what surprised you.

- Nothing. You're right that I shouldn't come here. I don't even know why I wanted to come here earlier.. I'd rather lie in bed whole day - You said, turning to exit but Kostya grabbed your wrist.

- Hey..- He started, waiting till you will look at him. He seemed worried.- What happend? What's bugging you?

- I'm just tired - You cut off - Please, just tell Artem I went home.

He was going to say something to stop you but his editor entered room. You used this opportunity to get away with conversation and leave but you didn't realised how stubborn Kostya was. Few hours later your phone started ringing. You hesitated to answer at first but you knew that he would eventually call you again.

- Hey. How are you feeling?

Kostya's caring voice caught you off guard but it was so pleasant to hear and you couldn't deny it.

- I'm.. fine.

- I'm on my way.

- What?- You almost coughed up - Are you serious?

- Why? What's wrong about it?

- You don't need to come - You said quickly, walking nervously from room to another room.

- But I want to - Kostya said before you foud another excuse - I want to talk with you.

- About what?

- I'm will be in ten minutes. See you.

You cursed when he disconnected. When you heard footsteps, you came to doors. You had no idea why you opened them before Kostya even rang or knocked but it was just impulse. He was clearly surprised, seeing you.

- Hi.. You couldn't wait to see me?

It seemed like he tried to joke but his laugh seemed forced.

- What's going on?- You asked, closing doors behind him and moving to guest room. Kostya stood in front of high table. You didn't sit either.

- When Artem is still not here I wanted to ask you if everything is fine between you and him..- He started and awkwardly looked away when your eyes met with his- Stupid to ask. It's clearly something wrong. He didn't want to tell me but I can see something is off.

- I told you before. He seemed jealous. I was right. He didn't like us being that close. He felt left out.

- So that explains why you're angry lately.. But maybe he has a reasons?

- Bullshit- You said impulsively. What was he implying? It took him a while before he looked at you again and continued.

- I started wondering when Dasha scolded me - He murmured.

- Scolded you?

- She asked me why I was flirting with you and called me dumbass.

Kostya's gaze was blending into you and it was a kind of gaze you've seen when you talked alone in kitchen at his flat. You was as tensed as you was right now. Kostya followed you when you tried to distract yourself and do something in room. When you moved chair, you felt his hand and your arm.

- Why are you acting this way?

- I mean.. Who cares about some slander?- You said and he grabbed your arm when you tried to walk away. - It's not true. She was reading too much into it. This conversation is just pointless..

- But what if I was really doing it?- He interrupted you- What can I do then?

You was trying to understand if you wasn't wrong. He meant that he intentionally wanted you to feel attracted to him.

- Why did you do this? - You asked him with weak voice, feeling scent of his skin close to you. His hands were warm and his eyes were glowing. Before you realised that he moved closer, sudden touch of his lips stopped on your lips. Your heart beated very fast and your fingers clenched on material of his shirt. You didn't kiss him back but you also didn't want to stop him and your hand stopped on his chest. You moved away and took deep breath.

- Stop..

- I'm sorry - You heard his whisper when you turned away.

- It’s crazy- You murmured, nervously fixing your hair.

- You think I don't know it? I just ruined everything but it was driving me crazy- Kostya started talking and moving to your direction- I only wanted to talk to you but I just wanted to kiss you and I would do it again but..

- Kostya, please..

- Let me finish. I never knew it will end up like this but I started to like you more and more - He continued and didnt get discouraged, seeing you shaking your head with disbelief- I thought it's just a short crush and I tried to hide it but I'm not good in such things. That time when I said I chose wrong number, I lied. I stopped myself but you called me back. I started to feel annoyed when I was seeing you with Artem so I tried to avoid you. It's been long time since I had feelings for someone but I don't think I felt this way for anyone before.

- You..

- I think you charmed me right when we met and I felt we're soul mates. I wanted you to know because I can't stand acting that everything is fine. I feel bad because I hate seeing you with Artem.

- Kostya.. You know it's wrong. I don't know what to say - You said, sitting down, avoiding his gaze.- I would never know it will turn into something serious.

- Me too- He sounded sad. For a second you wanted to comfort him. - But you don't need to say anything. I'm going to move out to other city to not to see you. So since now don't be surprised that I'm not around and let’s not contact each other. I don't want to interfere between you two.

- I understand- You murmured.

- I'm sorry for my behaviour- He said after he slowly stood up from chair- I had no right. I'll better go now.

- I can't tell Artem anything- You added, staring at back of shiloutte. He stopped. - I don't want to hurt him.

- Me neither. I hope you both will be fine soon.

He didn't turn to you and left in silence. When doors were closed, you let yourself to release your feelings. You started to cry.

- No. We won't.

[transparenttreeperfection]

Gpg For Mac Os

I gladly may announce that a new and more active group has taken over the projects that were published on MacGPG. You may find these and new useful projects on

Macos Install Gpg

Gpg Keychain

Windows Pgp

Gpg For Mac Os

Pgp For Mac

www.gpgtools.org.

GnuPG is a complete and free implementation of the OpenPGP standard as defined by RFC4880 (also known as PGP).GnuPG allows you to encrypt and sign your data and communications; it features a versatile key management system, along with access modules for all kinds of public key directories. This one is to help Mac users install GPG on Mac OS X. This is a raw file without trimmings. We are ramping up for some helpful screencasts. This one is to help Mac users install GPG on Mac OS X.

So I highly recommend that you turn to their website, use the tools from there and support them wherever you can. I also would like to encourage you to use their mailing lists in order to ask for support or help or you want to discuss new features.

However, you may find the projects of MacGPG and their sources on the project's site at Sourceforge.

Please find here the HOWTO: Build GnuPG on OS X.

Thank you for all the support so far and keep your information secret!

Alexander MacGPG Project Admin

March 24, 2011

This page and its contents (unless otherwise noted or implied) Copyright © 2001-2014 Mac GPG Project. You can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or any later version. It is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

The Mac GNU Head is Copyright © 2001-2003 Gordon Worley, but is based on the GNU Head Copyright © GNU. Uncle GNU is Copyright © GNUArt.

The Mac GPG Logo is Copyright © 2003-2009 zeitform Internet Dienste.

When I decided to set up my Mac with PGP encrypted communications, I could not believe how hard it was -- not just to set up the software, but to understand how to use PGP properly. There was no 'PGP for Dummies' tutorial for OS X on the internet. So I decided to write one. This is my über simple, nerd-free tutorial for anyone on Mac. In it, I will:

Cover exactly how to install and configure PGP on OS X

Demonstrate how to use PGP in real life

Why this tutorial is the best (ever)

It works with every app. Unlike other tutorials for PGP, this tutorial does not care what program you use. If you install or uninstall apps, PGP will keep working. If you want to encrypt email, you can use any email program -- Mail.app, Thunderbird, Sparrow, Gmail, Airmail. Or, you can encrypt something besides email, you can do that too. You can write an encrypted letter in Word. You can encrypt a formula in Excel. You can encrypt a URL in Safari. You can encrypt a text with Messages. You can encrypt a bash command in Terminal. It does not matter.

It is Mac friendly. There is a certain way of doing things on a Mac. If you're not a Mac fan, you won't understand. (That's okay.) Many of the tutorials I found for OS X are not Mac friendly. Many want you to install bloated, Windows-like software; or, install questionable add-ons. I've done the opposite. This PGP tutorial is super Mac friendly. It's PGP, installed the way Steve Jobs would have done it.

Simple. Above all, this PGP setup is simple. Once you understand how it works, there is nothing you cannot do.

I looked into dozens of ways to set up PGP on my Mac. A lot of them suck for a plurality of reasons. Across the board, this is the best way for 95% of use cases.

Step 1: Install the GPGTools GPG Suite for OS X

This step is simple. Visit the GPGTools website and download the GPG Suite for OS X. Once downloaded, mount the DMG and run the 'Install'.

Inside the installer, you can stick with all default parameters save one exception. On the 'Installation Type' screen, press 'Customize'...

And uncheck the GPGMail package:

Then press 'Install.'

Step 2: Creating your very own PGP key

When the installer completes, a new app called 'GPG Keychain Access' will launch. A small window will pop up immediately and say: 'GPG Keychain Access would like to access your contacts.' Press 'OK.'

As soon as you press 'OK,' a second window will pop up that says 'Generate a new key pair.' Type in your name and your email address. Also, check the box that says 'Upload public key after generation.' Your window should look like this:

Expand the 'Advanced options' section. Incrase the key length to 4096 for extra NSA-proof'edness. Reduce the 'Expiration date' to 1 year from today. Your window should look like this:

Press 'Generate key.'

As soon as you press 'Generate key,' the 'Enter passphrase' window will pop up. Okay, now this is important...

A brief word about your passphrase

The entire PGP encryption will rest on your passphrase. So, first and foremost... don't use a passphrase that other people know! Pick something only you will know, and others can't guess. And once you have a passphrase selected, don't give it to other people.

Second, do not use a password, but rather a passphrase -- a sentence. For example, 'Pennstate55' is less preferable than 'I graduated from Penn State in 1955, ya heard?!' The longer your passphrase, the more secure your key.

Lastly, make sure your passphrase is something you can remember. Since it is long, there is a tendancy you might forget it. Don't. The consequences to that will be dire. Make sure you can remember your passphrase.

Macos Install Gpg

Back to Step 2...

Once you decide on your passphrase, type it in the 'Enter passphrase' window. Turn on the 'Show typing' option, so you can be 100% sure that you've typed in your passphrase without any spelling errors. When everything looks good, press 'OK:'

Will be asked to reenter the passphrase. Do it, and press 'OK:'

You will then see a message saying, 'We need to generate a lot of random bytes...' Wait for it to complete:

Et voilà! Your PGP key is ready to use:

Step 3: Set PGP keyboard shortcuts

Next, you will set up four global keyboard shortcuts in OS X.

Open System Preferences, select the 'Keyboard' pane, and go to the 'Shortucts' tab. On the left hand side, select 'Services.' Then, on the right, scroll down to the subsection 'Text' and look for a bunch of entries that start with 'OpenPGP:'

Go through each OpenPGP entry, unchecking each one and deleting the keyboard shortcut:

Next, you will enable and set four shortcuts:

Enable 'OpenPGP: Decrypt' and set its shortcut to ⌃⌥⌘- (i.e., control option command minus)

Enable 'OpenPGP: Encrypt' and set its shortcut to ⌃⌥⌘= (i.e., control option command equals)

Enable 'OpenPGP: Sign' and set its shortcut to ⌃⌥⌘[ (i.e., control option command open bracket)

Enable 'OpenPGP: Verify' and set its shortcut to ⌃⌥⌘] (i.e., control option command close bracket)

Your keyboard shortcuts should now look like this:

That's it! You're done setting up PGP with OpenGPG on OS X! Now, we will discuss how to use what we set up.

Step 4: How to send a secure email

You can encrypt anything with PGP, but most people will want to encrypt email. So, I will now take a few minutes to explain that. These steps can be transposed for any kind of encryption, from any app on your computer.

To secure an email in PGP, you will sign and encrypt the body of the message. You can just sign or just encrypt, but combining both operations will result in optimum security. Conversely, when you receive a PGP-secured email, you will decrypt and verify it. This is the 'opposite' of signing and encrypting.

Start off by writing your email:

Then, select the entire body of the email and press ⌃⌥⌘[ to sign it:

Next, open the GPG Keychain Access app. Press Command-F and type in the email address of the person you are sending your message to. This will search the public keyserver for your friend's PGP key:

If your friend has more than one key, select his most recent one:

You will receive a confirmation that your friend's key was successfully downloaded. You can press 'Close:'

You will now see your friend's public key in your keychain:

You can now quit GPG Keychain Access and return to writing the email.

Select the entire body of the email (everything, not just the part you wrote) and press ⌃⌥⌘= to encrypt it. A window will pop up, asking you who the recipient is. Select the friend's public key you just downloaded, and press 'OK:'

Your entire message is now encrypted! You can press 'Send' safely.

N.B. You will only need to download your friend's public key once. After that, it will always be available in your keychain until the key expires.

Step 4: How to receive a secure email

With our secure message sent, the recipient will now want to unscramble it. For the sake of this step, I will pretend I am the recipient.

I have recieved the message:

Copy the entire body, from, and including, '-----BEGIN PGP MESSAGE---', to, and including, '-----END PGP MESSAGE---'. Open your favorite text editor, and paste it:

Now select the entire text, and press ⌃⌥⌘- to decrypt the message. You will immediately be prompted for your PGP passphrase. Type it in and press 'OK:'

You will now see the decrypted message!

Next, you can verify the signature. Highlight the entire text, and press ⌃⌥⌘]. You will see a message confirming the verification:

You can press 'OK.'

What does encrypt, decrypt, sign, and verify mean?

Now that you know how to sign and encrypt outgoing messages, and decrypt and verify incoming ones, let us discuss what these terms mean.

Gpg Keychain

Encrypt takes your secret key and the recipient's public key, and scrambles a message. The scrambled text is secure from prying eyes. The sender always encrypts.

Windows Pgp

Decrypt takes an encrypted message, combined with the your secret key and the sender's public key, and descrambles it. The recipient always decrypts.

Encrypt and decrypt can be thought of as opposites.

Signing a message lets the recipient know that you (the person with your email address and public key) acutally authored the message. Signing also provides additional cryptographic integrity: it ensures that no one has tampered with the encryption. The sender always signs a message.

Verifying a message is the process of analyzing a signed message, to determine if the signing is true.

Signing and verifying can be thought of as opposites.

When should I sign? When should I encrypt?

It is unnecessary to sign and encrypt every outgoing email. Well, then: when should you sign? And when should you encrypt? And when should you do nothing?

You have three rational choices when you are sending a message:

Do nothing. If the contents of the email are public (non-confidential), and the recipient does not care whether you or an impostor sent the message, then do nothing. You can send the message as you've sent messages your whole life: in plain text.

Sign, but don't encrypt. If the contents of the email are public (non-confidential), but the recipient wants assurance that you -- not an impostor -- actually sent the message, then you should sign but not encrypt. Simply follow the tutorial above, skipping over the encryption and decryption steps.

Sign and encrypt. If the contents of the email are confidential, sign and encrypt. It does not matter whether the recipient wants assurance that you sent the message -- always sign when you encrpt.

I do nothing for 90% of emails I send; security is just not necessary. The remaining 10% of the time, I sign and encrypt. Whenever there is confidential information -- business plans, credit card numbers, bank numbers, social security numbers, corporate strategies, etc. -- I sign and encrypt. I define confidential information loosely, because I'd rather sign and encrypt unnecessarily than do nothing and leak sensitive information. As for the third option, I rarely sign, but do not encrypt. Your profession may warrant radically different usage of PGP.

Why don't you use PGP MIME attachments? Why don't you use the Mail.app PGP plugin?

Some PGP nerds prefer sending PGP with attachments (a.k.a., PGP MIME type), instead of using plain text (a.k.a., PGP INLINE).

Conversely, some PGP n00bs want to know why I don't recommend using a PGP plugin for their email client (i.e., the Mail.app PGP plugin).

Gpg For Mac Os

Here's why:

Attachments are a pain in the ass.

People who use mail plugins for encryption have no idea how they work; the result is a false sense of security.

Inline text works places where attachments don't (the shell, Facebook, iMessage, etc.).

The majority of people who have sent me MIME test emails using the Mail.app plugins sent undecryptable messages, because they have no idea what they're doing or how it works.

When a plugin generates an attachment and sends it before you can see what is going on, you have no idea what is happening or if it is working.

Lots of applications and email clients do not have PGP built in, so you need inline anyway.

Try it out! Email me.

My email address is jerzygangi@gmail.com. Try sending me an encrypted, signed email. I'll reply.

Pgp For Mac

If my tutorial was helpful, please send me a small donation through PayPal!

[gibsongirlselections]

The 1619 Project is Wrong on the 1965 Immigration Act

In the opening essay of the New York Times’s 1619 Project, Nicole Hannah-Jones highlights many of the contributions African Americans made to our country’s democracy. She rightly notes that, thanks to the Civil Rights Movement, we live today in a country that guarantees full rights to all of its citizens, regardless of the color of their skin.

The sacrifices of men and women like John Lewis, Andrew Young, Fannie Lou Hammer, and Pauli Murray ensured the passage of the Voting Rights Act and Civil Rights Act, legislation that gave the federal government the power to combat racial discrimination and unequal treatment under the law. 

But she also posits this movement as the central force that liberalized America’s immigration laws; she uses this as an argument to imply that Asian Americans owe a special debt to African Americans, and suggests that there is something untoward about Asian Americans objecting to admissions systems that may discriminate against themselves:

But the laws born out of black resistance guarantee the franchise for all and ban discrimination based not just on race but on gender, nationality, religion and ability. It was the civil rights movement that led to the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which upended the racist immigration quota system intended to keep this country white. Because of black Americans, black and brown immigrants from across the globe are able to come to the United States and live in a country in which legal discrimination is no longer allowed. It is a truly American irony that some Asian Americans, among the groups able to immigrate to the United States because of the black civil rights struggle, are now suing universities to end programs designed to help the descendants of the enslaved.

There is some truth to Hannah-Jones’s description of events. The Civil Rights Movement did help move the conscience of America in a more progressive direction, one that helped soften the hearts of lawmakers in a way that made the passage of the Immigration and National Act (INA) of 1965 more likely. Importantly, the Civil Rights Act barred discrimination by national origin; the passage of the INA helped bring America’s immigration controls into line with the spirit of the Civil Rights Act. Thus, it cannot be argued that the Civil Rights Movement was unrelated to the passage of the INA. It certainly played a role.

But is it true that it was solely because of “black Americans” that “black and brown immigrants from across the globe are able to come to the United States”? 

A good way to start investigating this question would be to read a book written by another Times journalist, Deputy National Editor Jia Lynn Yang. Her book One Mighty and Irresistible Tide: The Epic Struggle Over American Immigration, 1924-1965, offers insight into the forces that shaped the immigration reform debate in the United States. One passage in particular deals with the relationship between civil rights and the INA:

To the extent that the  law’s significance has been discussed at all in recent years, it is typically treated as a footnote to the landmark civil rights legislation of the same era, and assumed to have been swept into existence by the undertow of the fight for black equality. While the civil rights movement did popularize a moral framework and contribute political momentum for the law, the Immigration and Nationality Act was the culmination of a distinct, decades-long struggle with its own set of players: the descendants of Jewish, Irish Catholic, and Asian immigrants who saw the country’s immigration system as a painful system of of nativist prejudice.

She goes on to list a few individuals who formed the basis of this group. They included liberal congressional lawmakers like Emanuel Celler and Herbert Lehman, as well as the Kennedys. Also included among this group were immigration activists “including Japanese-Americans whose families suffered in shameful internment camps during World War II.” Contra Hannah-Jones’s telling, the groups who advocated for the INA were diverse, and included even the Asians she implies are so indebted that they should accept discrimination in college admissions.

Americans of Italian and Eastern European descent formed a core contingent of immigration reform activists because the pre-1965 system was designed to benefit Northern Europeans, the descendants of people who founded the United States. That pre-INA regime was based on what was called the nation-origins quota system; under this system, immigration visas were doled out “to two percent of the number of people of each nationality in the United States as of the 1890 national census,” and excluded Asian immigrants altogether.

Italian-Americans made overturning this system a priority for their community, organizing themselves through the American Committee on Italian Migration (ACIM). Americans of Eastern European descent, Jewish Americans, and others organized their own efforts, demanding a change to a system that was preventing their friends and family from joining them in the United States. 

In January of 1964, President Lyndon Johnson, who ultimately signed the act into law, met with immigration reform activists, he made sure to note how unfair the system was to Europeans outside of Northern Europe; he pointed out that Britain had a quota of 65,000 immigrants but had used less than half while Italy had a quota of only 5,645 and had a backlog of almost 300,000 people; Greece had a quota of just 308 with a backlog of over 100,000.

Long-time immigration journalist Margaret Sands Orchowski offers a more precise look at the forces that shaped the INA in her book The Law that Changed the Face of America: The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965.

“It took years for civil rights to build into the nationwide public and political movement that eventually led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the many associated acts of the Great Society in 1965,” she writes. “But immigration reform was not really a part of that movement. Even today in all of the historical events commemorating the Civil Rights Act and LBJ’s great society, the INA is hardly ever mentioned.” 

Orchowski highlights the aforementioned Celler, a Jewish congressman who was leader of the House Judiciary Committee for around 40 years. “He did more than anyone to lobby for the repeal of the National Origins Quota Act,” she writes, pointing to the restrictive regime that governed the country prior to the passage of the INA. In addition to being Jewish himself, Celler represented a district with a large Jewish population, and the laws that prevented many Jews from fleeing Germany’s lethal anti-Semitism by coming to the United States weighed on his heart. 

One day, a rabbi in a black hat and long coat appeared at his home. “Don’t you see, can’t you see?” the rabbi asked. “Won’t you see that there are millions—millions—being killed? Can’t we save some of them? Can’t you, Mr. Congressman, do something?” 

Celler told him there was nothing he could do. The rabbi replied, “If six million cattle had been slaughtered, there would have been greater interest.” The congressman began to weep when told this.

For years, immigration issues had been handled in Congressional committees dealing with labor—immigrants were seen largely as a labor pool. Celler helped change that.

“Manny Celler managed to get immigration into the Judiciary committee,” Orchowski told TAC in an interview. “That changed the whole focus on immigration from a labor thing to a justice [thing].”

Following the conclusion of the war, Celler worked to liberalize American immigration laws. He helped pass a bill that allowed 339,000 Displaced Persons to come to the United States, including many Jews. 

Over the next few decades, he continued to work to liberalize American immigration laws, pushed by Jews and others who were discriminated against by the current system. That culminated with him writing and passing the INA, which is also known the Hart-Celler Immigration Act of 1965.

While Hannah-Jones’s telling excludes the work Jewish Americans and Americans of Eastern European descent did to pass the INA, it also fails to consider the motivations of the lawmakers who passed it. If the INA was nothing more than a direct descendant of the Civil Rights Movement, you might assume that the lawmakers who passed it did so in the name of racial equality. But the INA focused on national origin, not race, and Members of Congress who supported it bent over backwards to insist that it would not change America’s ethnic makeup.

The right-wing Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), which advocates for severely restricting the number of immigrants allowed into America, cites a series of quotes from lawmakers insisting that the bill would not change the makeup of American demographics. 

Those lawmakers include Celler himself, who stated that “with the end of discrimination due to place of birth, there will be shifts in countries other than those of northern and western Europe….There will not be, comparatively, many Asians or Africans entering this country.” 

Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy, the stalwart liberal, vowed that “the ethnic mix of this country will not be upset.” 

“They mainly thought it would be Europeans and Jewish families [who would benefit],” Orchowski told TAC.

To the chagrin of CIS, these lawmakers were wrong. The INA considerably changed America’s ethnic makeup, particularly by increasing immigration from Asia. But the fact that lawmakers who supported the bill swore up and down that it wouldn’t change America’s racial makeup suggests that the spirit of the bill was not focused purely on equality among all races. 

As the son of immigrants who came to the U.S. after 1965 myself, I know I owe a debt to Martin Luther King Jr., and other Civil Rights Movement activists, some of whom never became famous and whose names we will never know. African Americans who struggled in the face of the brutality of Jim Crow struggled bravely for the rights of the descendants of recent immigrants like me by helping pass the Voting Rights Act and Civil Rights Act.

But so did Emanuel Celler, the American Committee on Italian Immigration, and the many Jews, Asian Americans, and Americans of Eastern European descent who were part of the same struggle to overturn America’s once-discriminatory immigration laws. History isn’t as simple as black versus white, despite Hannah-Jones’s desire for it to be so, and we certainly shouldn’t distort history to try to justify discrimination that may take place today.

Zaid Jilani is a freelance journalist who in the past has worked for UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, The Intercept, and the Center for American Progress. 

The post The 1619 Project is Wrong on the 1965 Immigration Act appeared first on The American Conservative.

[destieltropecollection]

Destiel Trope Collection 2018 Day 13 | Fake Dating

Roll With It | @saltnhalo Rating: Explicit Word count: 72,818 Main Tags/Warnings: Boss/Employee Relationship, Secretary Dean, AU, Romantic Comedy, Editor!Castiel, Fluff and Angst, Russian!Castiel, Sharing a Bed, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Misunderstandings, Love Confessions Summary: For two years, Dean’s been slaving away beneath his boss – many label him a secretary, but he fucking hates that and feels like it only applies to someone wearing a pencil skirt, so he insists on his title of Executive Assistant. And for what? In the vain hope that one day he’ll manage to become an editor for Sandover Publishing, and that he’ll see the manuscript that he’s slaved over since college finally realized in print. That’s the dream, anyway. Right now, he’s fucking late. Dean wants to be an editor. Castiel just wants to stay in the country. ‘The Proposal’ – as you’ve never seen it before.

Let’s Pretend (We’re in Love) | @blueascend Rating: Teen & Up Audiences Word Count: 2,191 Main Tags/Warnings: AU Summary: Sam rubbed the back of his neck. “You were gonna come and visit me in Lawrence this summer anyway, right? So when you think about it, this really doesn’t change anything.” “Except your family will think that we are romantically involved.” “Right.” Sam laughed nervously. “Except for that. Obviously.”

The Exception to Every Rule | @mittensmorgul Rating: Mature Word Count: 58,784 Main Tags/Warnings: Modern Setting, Actor!Dean, Bodyguard!Castiel, Stalking, Hollywood, Mutual Pining, Friends to Lovers, Sharing a Bed Summary: When Sam was accepted to Stanford, he finally convinced Dean to move to Los Angeles to pursue his acting dreams after sacrificing for four years to support Sam throughout high school. Dean never imagined landing the starring role in a Hollywood blockbuster film franchise, but in just two years he’d gone from obscurity on the Lawrence Community Theater stage to become one of the fastest rising stars in the country. He’s adapting pretty well to this new life in the spotlight– until one unhealthily obsessed fan prompts Dean’s agent to hire a specialist from Seraphim Security to watch over him. Enter Castiel, one of Seraphim’s newest “Angels,” and the only one available to take on Dean’s case a week before Christmas. With Dean’s life on the line, Castiel does his best to maintain a professional distance, but with every passing day they’re both finding themselves making more and more exceptions to their rules.

Smoke and Mirrors |  donovanspen Rating: Mature Word Count: 19,998 Main Tags/Warnings: Human!Castiel, Case Fic, Protective!Dean, Dubious Consent Summary: Sam and Dean head to the Poconos to investigate strange occurrences at an inn that specializes in romantic getaways. However, nobody’s talking and the only way to get access to the inn is as a guest. Unaware that Dean and Cas have been deliberately avoiding each other, Sam asks Cas for help.

A Study in Fake | @sternchencas Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 4,933 Main Tags/Warnings: mutual pining, bed sharing, fluff Summary: Although Dean has a job, he’s always looking for some extra money, so he’s bummed out when he can’t take part in a lucrative couples study at the local college. At least until Castiel Novak steps into his life out of nowhere and a throwaway joke turns into a serious relationship. Well, a fake one, but nobody needs to know that, right?

a dangerous thing | @reallyelegantsharkfish Rating: Explicit Word Count: 46,489 Main Tags/Warnings: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Sex Worker!Dean, Camboy!Dean, Alpha!Castiel, Omega!Dean Summary: Dean spends all his time being desired by others – makes his living that way – but being lusted after isn’t the same thing as being wanted, and he’s never felt wanted. Which is why he ends up answering an email that starts with “Dear sir, I hope this letter doesn’t offend you…” and ends with “You will be compensated generously for your time. Sincerely, Castiel Novak.” The email says Castiel is looking for “the boyfriend experience,” as they call it in Dean’s profession. He wants a live-in, someone to hold him at night, someone to make him dinner and greet him after a long day of work with a smile, someone to play pretend with.

like an april flood | @alexdamnvers Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 4,540 Main Tags/Warnings: Sam Ships It, First Kiss, High School AU, Friends to Lovers Summary: Dean’s date quits on him days before the annual family Christmas party, and he asks his friend Cas to fake-date him. Thing is, the feelings between them are anything but fake.

Peak Homosexual | @thebloggerbloggerfun Rating: General Audiences  Word Count: 3,791 Main Tags/Warnings:  Roommates, Homophobia, Homophobic language Summary: You know that thing that happens where you hear something really homophobic in public so you gay it up as much as you can? This is that story.

Do It For Science | @robotsnchicks Rating: Explicit  Word Count: 4,941 Main Tags/Warnings: College AU, Roommates, Humor and Smut Summary: When Dean finds an ad offering to pay $500 to committed couples willing to test and review condoms, it seems almost too good to be true. The only catch is that Dean’s been without a partner for a while now. When he convinces his roommate Cas to pretend to be his boyfriend it seems like a perfect solution, but he soon realizes that he may be in over his head.

Everything Comes Back to You | @scones-and-texting-and-murder Rating: Explicit Word Count: 32,970 Main Tags/Warnings: fake/pretend relationship, couple for the case, bed sharing, trapped/isolated, hurt/comfort Summary: Dean knew better. Of course he did. But Cas seemed so charmed by the antique-filled bed and breakfast that Dean went along with it when the proprietor mistook them for a couple. Telling himself it gave them a strategic advantage to be so close to the crime scene, he agreed to the weekend special she offered them. When the case ended up being a bust, they stuck around anyhow because hey, the second night was free…

After All These Years | @all-i-need-is-destiel Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 83,056 (WIP) Main Tags/Warnings: Alternate Universe, Fluff, Reunions, Single Parent Dean, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn Summary: In which Dean finds himself at a wedding as Jo’s fake boyfriend against his will, groaning and complaining the whole time, but still trying to appear all handsome and perfect and utterly in love since he’s an awesome friend like that (and since Jo would make his life a living hell otherwise). And just when he begins to think that it won’t be so bad to eat tons of free food and let his daughter Emma enjoy the festivity, his gaze suddenly meets the two bluest eyes in existence and the world stops to move for a moment. Because of course the groom’s brother turns out to be his old high school crush Castiel – the only person Dean was never able to forget – and things start to become really freaking complicated all of a sudden.

What’s Another Word For “You”? | @ltleflrt Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 3,839 Main Tags/Warnings: Writer!Dean, Editor!Castiel, Fluff, Pining, Friends to Lovers Summary: When Castiel offers to protect Dean from his adoring fans by going with him to a convention, he intended to act as an unofficial bodyguard. But Dean misinterprets his offer in the best kind of way. 

[forthesakeofpride]

Kubo’s New Interview

>Out the gate I'm surprised to hear that Kubo is actually married, and he lives in Roppongi hills which is basically Beverly Hills Japan.

>(His voice is also not what I thought it'd be.)

>(The radio announcers are surprised that at 40 he's able to afford living there.)

>He actually walked to the studio to do this interview since he lives so close. And he's been living there for 10 years, (lol they're applauding for him.)

>His wife is a big fan of the show and wanted to come but couldn't make it, poor lady. (She's 37 by the way.)

>They're talking about Rukia's bangs and how cute looking they are. (Ngl, those are her best features.)>Kubo grew up in Hiroshima -- specifically Fuchu-cho.

>Kubo got his start in mangaka-ing when during his third year in high school he entered a contest after telling his teacher he wanted to be a mangaka. He didn't end up winning despite getting to the final round, but someone in Shueisha contacted him to be his editor.

>He comments this was before summer vacation of his third year in high school and the radio hosts are surprised he was contacted like that.

>He wanted to be a mangaka since elementary school but didn't actually draw much of anything till high school. lol, while you'd *think* he'd be apprehensive to take it since he was a student at the time, that wasn't the reason. It was more like Kubo has a very concrete vision of what he wants to do and therefore doesn't want people to boss him around.

>He has actually been considering going to school for design before going down the path of drawing manga.

>His folks neither encouraged him to do it or said not to, apparently. I've heard stories about how some parents of mangaka were vehemently against it, but his seemed pretty laid back. They apparently didn't even know he *wanted* to draw manga, lol.

>But yeah his favorites as a kid were Gegege Kitarou, and he discovered jump in elementary school where he enjoyed Saint Seiya.

>His first editor was pretty chill, and didn't ask him to change too much, and even when he did, if Kubo didn't want to change it he didn't.

>The interviewers comment that they heard a lot of stories about mangaka clashing with the editors but Kubo refutes this with his 1st. At the same time he doesn't remember much since there wasn't anything of note that happened at the time.

>He implies he became a mangaka because a lot of that work is done on one's own. He's the type of person who would rather work on his own, though he did enjoy working with his assistants. But he'd keep the time that they work together short.

>He also was one to eat on his own --up until he got married anyway. They ask if he was the type to eat out at chain food places or at home, and he answers at home, lol. Dude really likes his "me" time.

>Kubo debuted in a special issue of shounen jump, where the ranking preferred veteran artists over newbies. This was back in 1996. Veterans would take the top spots while they'd rank newbies after that. 

>Wow, so apparently this issue was the one where Oda debuted with Romance Dawn, in 3rd while Kubo was 4th with his oneshot.

>Not sure if he's joking or actually throwing shade, but after debuting below Oda, he says he started to dislike him, lol.

>After this, he was "lucky" (his words) to not have to work very hard for three years -- he just did oneshots during that time. Kubo was more or less forced to do oneshots although he really didn't want to -- and they brought folks in to help him with them.

>I guess as a sign of rebellion, he'd turn them in just baaaaaarelly before the deadlines, lol. So they'd call him down to Tokyo, put him in a room with assistants and essentially make sure in the week before release he'd finish. But because these assistants were typically older than him, he found it difficult to work with them. Combine that with his preference to work alone and it was a pretty unpleasant work environment. Often they'd not draw things to his preference and he'd go behind them to fix it later.

>And Torishima returns, crushin' them youngster's dreams. Essentially he told Kubo during his one-shot period that his manga is bad and gave him a copy of Dragon Ball and Fist of the North star, and told him to read it and draw a manga like this. (The way Kubo tells the story, it sounds like Torishima slammed the books on his desk and was like "Go home and don't come back till you read these").

>Anyway Kubo's thinking to himself "screw you!" and doesn't read the manga. Though to be fair they're both pretty big deals so there's no way Kubo wouldn't know of them even if he doesn't read them.

>So now we're getting to Bleach. His first series --Zombie powder ended in 2000 and Bleach began in 2001 so only a year off for Kubo. He regrets not having more time off between the two, but his editor at the time was like "You'll be forgotten if you're gone too long". The hosts comment that it's more normal to have a 3-5 years off between series, but for him it was a year. And that's because the editorial staff really wanted him to do something else and thus reserved a spot in the next special issue of jump. (The more I listen, the more it sounds like poor Kubo is the poster child of what people think of in regard to Jump business practices.)

>He didn't have anything in mind but since they had asked him to draw something, he remembered a notebook of characters he had that he was going to use for something else, and quickly put together a story for a oneshot which became the Bleach prototype. (So essentially Bleach was a happy accident of sorts.)

>Rukia was the first character he came up with, and it was because of her that he went in the direction of Shinigami. Although Kitarou was an inspiration, it was more Kubo's fear of death, hell and the afterlife that pushed him to pursue the path the story took.

>The zanpakuto are a package deal with the characters, so he didn't have a tough time designing individual ones. t wasn't like "design a character and THEN the zanpakuto" more like "design everything together.?

>And now the thing people probably wonder the most about Bleach -- yes the ending was something he thought of from the start. He had always wanted to end Bleach with a scenario where the new generation takes over for the old guard. And that the entire story was building links from the start to the eventual end. So he just sort of expanded things as necessary just in case the series ever got cancelled. He also confirms that sometimes he'd sort of let the series glide along on autopilot, but he does say you can serialize a manga like that without thinking at all.

>The interviewers bring up Otokojuku as a manga that's enjoyable in spite of all the inconsistencies. (I've never read it though.)

>Nakano and Kubo worked together -- Nakano was his second editor. While Nakano was harsh on Matsui, he was more..."arrogant" toward him, lol. (Kubo's words.)

>Lol, while Kubo was of course happy when Bleach's anime was announced, his other initial reaction was "Why did it take so long?"

>Generally speaking Jump manga get adaptions usually a year and a half or two years after they start. Bleach took three. (Hey at least you're not in Sunday where anime seem to never happen, buddy.)

>As for the anime, Kubo wasn't too thrilled with the changes they made to his script, to the point that it'd give him stomach aches. So he essentially demanded to be sent the scripts so he could correct them as his name is on the product and he wants it to reflect his work. He got really mad with some things, lol. (No specifics tho.)

>They're talking about Gegege Kitarou now... It sounds like Mizuki allowed certain things to fly in the anime version of the manga, even if they contradicted he original. The interviewer notes that even as a kid in kindergarten he noticed --something about one demon walking normally when they shouldn't..

>Back to bleach. It was running for 15 years but Kubo never felt pressured or anything as he had more or decided on how things would go. He'd be planning for the next week while writing the current week's chapter, so that's how he kept things moving. Kubo is one who is very precise with how he spends his time, so he would have a strict schedule, one he kept until his health declined. He's the type of person who would do their summer homework at the start of vacation to get it out of the way.

>He had about 7-8 editors during Bleach's 15 year run, though he's not sure of the number since they'd come and go frequently. Generally speaking, he got along well with everyone, but he'd get on their case if there was a mistake or misprint in the volumes. Still he'd say he got along pretty well with them.

>When Bleach ended, his initial reaction was basically. "I'm so tired." >He decided (not the editorial staff) that he'd draw Bleach to his desired conclusion, so even though there were times where he'd want to end the series prematurely due to his declining health, he kept going in order to reach the end he was satisfied with.

>It's not as if Jump chained him to a desk, he just wasn't one who had an interest in vacations or things like that. If he had somewhere to go --like to be a guest somewhere he'd take the time off and go and that would be that.

>And now some listener letters. This question is essentially something like "do you cry at impactful scenes or get happy at ones that come out well when you draw?" His answer is no, though he would get goosebumps when a scene he draws comes out better than he expected. He feels like every mangaka gets this --though it's something one can only understand if they draw themselves. You have to go into a scene thinking "This is awesome" or else the readers won't understand what one is trying to convey.

>There's apparently a "deep darkness" they haven't been able to touch in Kubo, that they will next week. (Before the conspiracy theories start, I'm almost positive they're joking.)

>Also, no, he's not working on anything right now and doesn't seem to have anything in the works.

>And that's it. I'll see if I can hit up part two since people really liked this (as indicated from my exploding notifs.) Though I admittedly am not the biggest Bleach fan. Still I like making people happy so I'll do my best.

Source: Bleach Asylum...credit to Sandleaf

[cesarllim845-blog]

10 Wrong Answers to Common data mining bitcoin Questions: Do You Know the Right Ones?

As humans we find solutions to reduced the level of question concerning each other To ensure we can exchange profit. Now, one of many very first people that definitely explored The reasoning Institutions for being a Resource from the economy To scale back our uncertainties to each other And have the capacity to do company He was a Nobel laureate economist (Douglas North). He died at the conclusion of 2015, But North was the initial to introduce the so-known as "present day institutional economic climate." What he meant by institutions was seriously just official regulations Such as Constitution, And informal constraints, which include bribery.

Institutions are actually oily make any difference That allow the wheels of our financial system to work, And we could see that occurring in the course of human history. If we expect back to when we were dependent on the economic climate of hunting and gathering, We have been trading only in the boundaries from the village framework. We experienced some informal limitations, But we ended up carrying out all our trade by violence Or social pressure. As our societies have grown to become a lot more elaborate Trade routes turned far more distant, We've created much more formal establishments, Institutions like financial institutions and forex, Governments and firms. These institutions assisted us manage our trade As uncertainties and complexities grew, Our personalized Management happens to be significantly less. Eventually, with the arrival of the Internet, we put those self same establishments on the web. We constructed searching platforms like Amazon, Ebay and Ali Baba, Just quicker establishments that work as intermediaries To aid human economic activity. As Douglas North sees it, Institutions certainly are a Instrument to lessen uncertainty We can easily communicate and share all types of benefits in the Group.

I think we have been entering now A larger and more radical progress In the best way we deal and trade, Simply because for The 1st time, we will decreased doubts Not merely in political and financial establishments, Like our banking companies, our organizations, our governments, But we could do that with know-how by yourself. So, Exactly what are databases? Sequential database technological know-how is really a decentralized database It suppliers a record of belongings and company operations Via peer-to-peer network. Are basically a community report Who owns what and who has carried out any operation. Business processes are secured by encryption, After some time, that course of action heritage is mounted in blocks of data which might be then joined with each other and secured by encryption. This produces an immutable or counterfeit history For all operations throughout this community. This log is copied to every Computer system that works by using the network. It isn't really an app. meridiandlt.com It's not at all a company. I feel It really is closer in The outline to something like Wikipedia. We can easily see every thing on Wikipedia. It is actually a posh scene that is consistently altering and updated.

We also can observe these changes after a while on Wikipedia, And we are able to create our individual databases, For the reason that at its Main, it is just a data infrastructure. In Wikipedia, it is actually an open platform that stores words and phrases and pictures And variations to that knowledge over time. In sequential databases, It may be regarded as an open infrastructure It shops a lot of different types of assets. It merchants the custody day, Home and placement For assets such as Bitcoin, And various electronic belongings For example an IP address.

Is often certification or deal And points from the true world, And even personally identifiable details. You can find, certainly, other specialized details relevant to serial databases, But in essence, that is how it works. It Is that this public report that outlets processes inside the community It is copied to become quite protected and tough to govern. Which brings me to my primary concept About how sequential databases lower uncertainty So how do you assure to transform our financial units? In innovative methods.

So doubt can be a wide expression In economics, But I wish to order a few kinds of it that we deal with in Nearly all of our day-to-day transactions, Sequential databases can play a job. We facial area suspicions including not recognizing who we've been handling, Not enough clarity in company procedures And there is no way out if things go Erroneous. Acquire the very first instance, not being aware of the individual we're addressing. Let's say I would like to purchase a applied smartphone from eBay. The very first thing I will do is search for the vendor. Could it be a trusted person? Does he have great reviews and ratings, or does he not Possess a profile in any respect? Opinions, scores, indications of self-assurance: These are the things which show our identity That we are Placing together today We utilize it to cut back suspicion about the individual we have been managing. But the trouble is that they are very fragmented. Consider the amount of profiles you've got.

Serial databases enable us to generate an open global platform It shops any certificates for anybody From any supply. This enables us for making Consumer-managed moveable ID. In excess of a profile, What this means is you can pick out what to indicate Of your respective various traits That assist aid interaction or business enterprise conversation, As an example, an identification issued to you personally by a governing administration, Or getting in excess of 21, By displaying an encrypted directory That these aspects exist and so are verified. Get that sort of portable id While in the concrete world along with the digital world It implies that we can do an array of human trade In a complete new way. I discussed how serial databases can minimize question Inside the people we are coping with. The 2nd form of uncertainty that we often confront Is The dearth of transparency within our dealings.

As an example you may ship me that smartphone by mail. I want a degree of transparency. I need to know which the products I bought is the same as it'll get there from the mail You will find a report of how he obtained to me. This is certainly real not simply with electronics including smartphones, But with quite a few sorts of goods and knowledge, Things like medicines, luxury merchandise, Almost any details or products that we don't desire to get manipulated. The problem in lots of companies, Primarily people who deliver a little something as intricate as a smartphone, Is they deal with all those diverse suppliers Cross horizontal provide chain. All those who make a product, Would not have the databases by itself. Not utilizing the exact same infrastructure, So It truly is genuinely hard to see an item evolving over time Obviously. Applying serial databases, we can make A common reality between entities that don't belief one another. I suggest it, That every one the meeting details while in the network don't have to have to know each other Or trust each other, Mainly because each has the chance to observe and validate the string by itself.

Imagine again to Wikipedia. It is a shared databases, Although it has many audience And various editors simultaneously, She has one particular truth. So we could create that making use of sequential databases. We can easily develop a decentralized databases with successful trade monopoly Without having basically having that central authority. So, all those distributors, all kinds of firms, They could connect utilizing the very same databases without needing to rely on each other. Therefore for The patron, we might get much more transparency. Though purpose travels in the real globe, We can easily see his electronic certification or his symbol shifting on the chain of blocks, Which provides to the value.

It can be a complete new environment concerning our power to see. I talked about the opportunity of serial databases to scale back uncertainty about id And exactly how they modify what we necessarily mean about transparency In distant and sophisticated company transactions, such as what happens in the supply chain. The final type of uncertainty that we regularly encounter Just about the most open up-finished issues is backtracking. What if you do not deliver me a smartphone? Can I get my a refund? Block chains make it possible for us to write down a cryptographic program, Binding contracts, Concerning persons After which you can make sure the implementation of People contracts Without the need of being imposed by a 3rd party.

If we glance at the example of the smartphone, you can think of Escrow. You fund that cellphone, But you don't need to launch The cash So you're able to be sure to Check out many of the terms. I have received a phone. I believe that's The most fascinating ways that the chains of masses lessen our suspicion, As it usually means to some extent That we will eradicate institutions and their hypothesis. It implies that numerous human economic routines Is often enhanced with assures and operated electronically, And pushing many human intervention on the periphery, Sites exactly where data moves from the real globe to a knowledge collection. I believe something which Douglas North could possibly get rid of harmony Relating to this technologies Is The point that it will make them efficient, Which retains the chain of blocks Risk-free and specific, Is a typical mistrust. So as opposed to creating all our doubts Within our slowdown And the need for establishments Like banks, our governments or our firms, We can in fact harness all Those people collective doubts And also to make use of them for larger, a lot quicker and much more open cooperation and exchange.

Now, I don't want you to find the impression That databases are the solution to every thing. Even though the media reported it would end entire world poverty, It may even remedy the trouble of counterfeit medicines Rainforests are prone to be saved. The truth that this technology continues to be in its infancy, We will require to find out loads of experiments becoming used And infrequently are unsuccessful Right before we really understand all of the use scenarios For our economic procedure.

But there are many people today working on this, From monetary establishments Two engineering companies, startups and universities. One cause is that it's not just an financial advancement. It is also an innovation in Pc science. Sequential databases give us the technological functionality To create a history of human Trade, To exchange currencies, For an array of Actual physical and digital assets, As well as for our own personal attributes, In a whole new way. So someway, It has grown to be a technological business It's many Gains Supplied by conventional institutions that we utilized to use in Culture, Nevertheless it does so centrally. It does this by turning loads of our doubts To certain. So I think we need to begin making ready ourselves, Mainly because we are about to encounter a globe Where unbiased dispersed institutions It has a extremely critical part.

[neuxue]

Wheel of Time liveblogging: The Gathering Storm ch 7

Nynaeve casually challenges authority structures, Rand tries to delegate, the Aiel continue to live the story of Rhuidean

Chapter 7: The Plan for Arad Doman

Poor Ituralde.

“A storm is coming,” Nynaeve said

Very observant, Nynaeve. Has there been any point in the last eleven books or so when there hasn’t been a storm coming? Hell of a time to have meteorology as a superpower.

The weather was always there, in the back of her mind. She could sense the rain, sun, or snow in the wind’s whispers.

Lately, however, the sensations hadn’t been like whispers at all. More like distant shouts, growing louder.

Between Nynaeve’s symbolic weather sense and Mat’s brain-dice, we’ve pretty much got alarms ringing 24/7 (er, 24/10?). No wonder these people are on edge.

Daigain says okay fine there’ll be a storm we’ll get wet it happens, and Nynaeve’s like no you don’t understand, the rain symbolises endless tears and the lightning is the actual end of the world and the dark clouds represent the all-consuming nothingness of the void and—

And now Daigian is no doubt wishing she had a better umbrella.

Her name is really hard for me to type, for some reason; I always end up writing it as Daigain.

Nynaeve could still remember the sheer joy – the awesome euphoria, strength, and sheer feel of life –that had come from drawing that much power.

So I know this is absolutely me nitpicking the prose excessively, but this keeps happening, where a non-trivial word appears twice in the same sentence (In this case, ‘sheer’). It’s not the end of the world or anything, but it catches my attention every time it happens and I’m trying to figure out why it’s suddenly a thing, as seems more like an editorial issue than an authorial one. Was there a deadline on the publication of this book that caused the editing process to be rushed?

(For the record, I tend to notice and occasionally get irritated by this sort of copy-editing-level stuff in just about any book; it’s not just me being unfair to Sanderson. I promise. It’s part of why I have such a love of beautiful prose, and why reading Twilight was like having an unanaesthetised root canal).

(Yes, I know these liveblogs are full of typos and sentences that go nowhere and enough other errors to make any editor cry. I’m a hypocrite, what can I say?)

She was glad the ter’angreal she’d used to touch that power had been destroyed. But the male ter’angreal was still intact

So that’s good. I mean, barriers to unity between the two halves of the Power have always ended well, right?

The Choedan Kal, as we have been told a number of times by even those who desire power over the entire world and everyone in it and are working towards chaos and destruction, allow one to channel enough power to potentially destroy the world. Rand spent several books terrified of even touching the ter’angreal. And we’ve seen what he can do with just half the power of one. Or with Callandor, for that matter.

He and Nynaeve used the Choedan Kal to work a miracle and give the Light probably its greatest victory in three thousand years. But the whole underlying point of that was that it was accomplished with saidar and saidin together, unified for the first time in millennia, cleansing one half of that whole so that they could be unified in truth.

Now, only the male half of the Choedan Kal can be used. Which means torrents of unbalanced saidin, in the hands of a single person rather than a link. And that, given how important unity and balance are in this story and how many problems result from division and discord, seems like a recipe for disaster.

So that’ll be fun.

She’d told Rand that he needed to forget about the access key.

I mean. A for effort?

Daigian is still grieving for Eben Hopwil, which of course makes Nynaeve think of Lan, which…

Lan would be fine. Only at the end of his journey of thousands of miles would he be in danger. It was there he intended to throw himself at the Shadow like a lone arrow

It’s hardly even simile. He does quite literally intend to throw himself at the Shadow. He always has. And he has always intended to do it alone, knowing full well what the consequences will be. Knowing that there is no way to win, that all that awaits him is an unmarked grave in the Blight, in the land that has always been his inheritance, his burden, and his home. One last, lone strike from the ghost of Malkier, falling forty years late and ultimately accomplishing little but fulfilling what he believes to be inevitable; he will fall as Malkier fell, standing against the Shadow and fighting to hold back the tide until he is overwhelmed.

Of course, Nynaeve has other plans, and I am so very excited to see how this plays out. Last stands in almost any variation are well up there when it comes to my favourite tropes, and this adds in an extended march towards death, a final journey, likely a steadily gathering army, the potential sort-of-resurrection of a nation…and then something that is both conflict and cooperation between two characters of phenomenal though differently-manifesting willpower, working towards this end. One embracing death, one doing everything to ensure a chance for life.

Nynaeve has accepted that Lan must go, that he has to do this. Now it is perhaps time for Lan to accept that Nynaeve is right, that he doesn’t have to do this alone, that Malkier still has something to give, that his war against the Shadow maybe does not have to be unwinnable.

Tl;dr: I am here for every single aspect of this. In… case that was somehow ever in doubt?

Nynaeve’s constant struggle with authority continues. Her own, other people’s, entire institutions of heirarchy – you name it, she struggles with it.

Oh, interesting. Daigian’s teaching her the hundred weaves of the test for Aes Sedai. I know the main set are all Aes Sedai by decree or technicality already, but I do hope we get to see at least one of them take it. Maybe Elayne, since we didn’t get to see her Accepted test.

Nynaeve waved an indifferent hand, repeating the weave exactly. “Honestly,” she said, “that one seems the most useless of the bunch! What is the point of all of these?”

Someday when this is all over, Nynaeve, you should go find Thom Merrilin and ask him to explain the idea of the ‘party trick’ to you.

The problem was, this placed Nynaeve in a situation where she was all but treated as a student again. She did see the use in knowing the hundred weaves – she’d spent far too short a time studying them, and virtually every sister knew it. However, by accepting the lessons, she hadn’t meant to imply that she saw herself as a student!

*shakes head fondly* oh Nynaeve. She is in a bizarre situation in terms of how she fits into the Aes Sedai hierarchy, and it combines so well with that aspect of her arc as a whole. Not entirely unlike how she was regarded by many as too young to be Wisdom, and then how she left her village and entered a world where being village Wisdom meant very little. So much of her path and her growth as a character has related to figuring out who she is and where she fits in, balancing exceptional power and intentions with insecurity and stubbornness. How she can grow and change and learn and still be herself, how she can be village Wisdom and powerful Aes Sedai and sometimes even uncertain young woman, how she can both surrender and command – in essence, how she can trust in and remain true to the core of herself, even while everything changes around her and she changes and grows with it.

Bah!

I challenge you to find me a single Sanderson character who hasn’t said this at least once.

Nynaeve is barely thinking about the weaves she’s copying, and Daigian is thinking a lot about Eben.

A youth of only sixteen, Nynaeve thought, dead. Did Rand have to recruit them so young?

Rand wasn’t all that much older himself, when this all started. And Egwene was what, a few months past sixteen? Blame the genre, Nynaeve, not Rand.

“This pain you feel, it has to be an effect of the bond, and therefore something to do with the One Power. If the Power causes your pain, then the Power can take that pain away.”

“And why would I want that?” Daigian asked, in control once again.

“Well…well, because it’s pain. It hurts.”

This reminds me of one of the many times she tried to heal the wound in Rand’s side – “How can it be enough when you’re still bleeding?” Nynaeve is a healer to the core; this is what she does. She sees pain and she wants to ease it, wants to fix it, and hates it when she cannot. “At least let me Heal you,” she said to Rand, when she had no idea what else to do, or how to help him. And then with Lan, she saw how it was tearing him apart to remain here, and so she took him to the Borderlands, because that was the only way to even possibly heal him. And so many others. She can’t see pain and not want to help.

“It should,” Daigian said. “Eben is dead. Would you want to forget your pain if you lost that hulking giant of yours? Have your feelings for him cut away like some spoiled chunk of flesh in an otherwise good roast?”

[…]

would Nynaeve want that pain taken away? She closed her mouth, suddenly realising the honour in Daigian’s words.

She is a healer, but she can absolutely still understand the value in some kinds of pain, in grief. It’s as if wanting to heal is her instinctive reaction, but this is a more conscious degree of wisdom. Which says something about her, really.

“There is something wrong with this system, Daigian,” Nynaeve said absently.

Back to Nynaeve and systems of authority. I’m with her on this one; it is absurd that someone like Daigian has effectively no opportunity whatsoever to rise from the very bottom of the rankings. She seems experienced and intelligent, and her extremely low strength in the Power has likely made her resourceful in how she uses it, but she’ll always be little more than a servant to other Aes Sedai. Which is kind of bullshit.

“With the testing? It seems appropriate that there should be some kind of test to determine worthiness, and the performing of difficult weaves under stress strikes me as fulfilling that need.”

Not what Nynaeve is talking about, but Daigian’s point is reasonably sound. The problem is…they aren’t difficult weaves for someone at Nynaeve’s level of strength. Likely even someone at Egwene’s. Various Forsaken have derided the Aes Sedai of this time as half-trained children, and while they’re perhaps more dismissive than they should be, they’re not exactly wrong. Having a test isn’t necessarily a bad idea, but is this test going to stand up to stronger candidates? Or even to weaker ones, who have less strength in the Power but more strength in other ways?

I could almost see Nynaeve just demonstrating the hundred weaves in the same offhand dismissive way she’s learning them now, not even in the test but as reasoning for why she shouldn’t have to take it. She can do the weaves without difficulty, and she’s proven herself in any number of situations that most would agree meet the criterion of ‘stressful’.

“There you sit,” [Nynaeve] said, “knowing as much as any other Aes Sedai – knowing more than many, I’d wager – and the moment any Accepted just off apron strings gains the shawl, you have to do what she says.”

Daigian’s blush deepened. “We should move on.”

It just wasn’t right. Nynaeve let the matter drop, however. She’d stepped in this particular pit once before in teaching the Kinswomen to stand up for themselves in front of Aes Sedai. Before long, they’d been standing up to Nynaeve too, which had not been her intention. She wasn’t certain she wanted to attempt a similar revolution among the Aes Sedai themselves.

And yet, she’s Nynaeve, so no one is going to take that bet. I do love that she’s bringing this up so un-subtly, though. She is one of the strongest Aes Sedai in centuries, and she hates it when people challenge her authority in general, and here she is, going off unprompted about how this system is fucked. Which it is.

Sure, she’s in this weird position where she doesn’t actually gain much rank or advantage from her strength, because the Aes Sedai around her don’t actually see her as one of them, so the whole notion of authority and heirarchy is on her mind already. But still, she just goes ahead and calls it like she sees it, even if in all likelihood it could easily end up the way her talks with the Kinswomen did. But someone has to do it, because again, this system is so many kinds of ridiculous. And it’s just so classic Nynaeve that she would be the one to point it out this way (and in all likelihood have it come back to bite her later).

Cadsuane’s going somewhere so Nynaeve immediately assumes there is a Secret Meeting with Rand and leaves to go join in. As you do.

Ah, the clan chiefs have arrived.

She would have thought that after all this time, [Rand] would have realised the importance of getting advice from someone a little more experienced than he. How many times now had he gotten himself kidnapped, wounded or imprisoned because of his rashness?

Well, she may have a point there.

But mostly I’m laughing because, while she does have something of a point, he does have people with more experience giving him advice. Bashere. Cadsuane. Also sort of arguably Lews Therin Telamon (though that facebook relationship definitely merits a solid ‘it’s complicated’). Sometimes he even deigns to listen.

All these others in camp might bow and scrape and dote on him, but Nynaeve knew that he was really just a sheepherder from Emond’s Field.

The fact that she still sees him that way is one of the most important things about her dynamic with him, even as it can also blind her to some things. Rand can no longer afford to ‘sit, and remember a shepherd named Rand al’Thor,’ but Nynaeve does remember, and holds stubbornly to that memory, even when he cannot.

(It reminds me of Elayne, thinking ‘there had been a boyishness about him sometimes, but it was gone as if burned away. She mourned that for him. She did not think he did, or could.’ He has lost or left behind so much of himself and who he was, but those who love him hold on to some of those pieces).

Only now instead of flustering the village girls he could throw entire nations into chaos.

I love this.

The way it’s presented, it becomes both a similarity (he’s still the village boy who could get into trouble) and a striking contrast (he was harmless, and now he is a force of devastation). And it almost seems to emphasise how young he still is, and how quickly this happened, and how much has changed. How much he has changed, though she still sees him as Rand, still draws these similarities rather than looking at him as a different person, even as she does see what he has become. She just doesn’t see his current state in isolation; she sees it through the lens of memory and of love, and even perhaps of faith that he is still Rand, that the boy she knew is still there.

It’s also an excellent line, just on its own.

She doubted that Aviendha would be with the group

Maybe stick to the weather in your predictions, Nynaeve.

Nynaeve still felt guilty for leaving them, but somebody had needed to help Rand cleanse saidin. That wasn’t the sort of thing you left him to do alone.

Nynaeve al’Meara: casually performing miracles since TGH. “but I didn’t mean to Heal Logain!” “but someone had to cleanse the taint!” “I didn’t know what would happen, but I fought one of the Forsaken and kind of captured her, I’m sorry.” I love her.

Rand stood inside, wearing black and red

Red and black, hmm? Dyeing your hair black and trying to save a man from falling off a building wasn’t enough for you, Rand? What’s next, a sha’rah board?

When had he started looking so much like a Warder, with that instant glance of assessment?

Somewhere mid-TDR, I would say. Possibly as early as TGH, though at that point he was mostly faking it.

But…yeah. He has changed, and she can see it, but even so he is still Rand.

I should never have let that woman take him from the Two Rivers, she thought. Look what it’s done to him.

He is still Rand, and she hates what has been done to him, hates how much pain he has suffered. She doesn’t dismiss him, or decide that he is no longer Rand and therefore no longer someone she can or should care about. She wants to help him.

And she also recognises very quickly that her thoughts about Moiraine there aren’t fair or rational.

If Moiraine hadn’t come for Rand, he’d now be dead. With him would have gone the light and hope of the world.

She has come a long way.

“I was about to send for you. Rhuarc and Bael are here.”

Nynaeve raised an eyebrow, folding her arms. “Oh?” she asked flatly. “And here I’d assumed that all the Aiel in the camp meant we had been attacked by Shaido.”

His face hardened at her tone, and those eyes of his grew…dangerous. But then he lightened, shaking his head, almost as if to clear it. Some of the old Rand – the Rand who had been an innocent sheepherder – seemed to return.

She is one of the few who can bring that out in him, it would seem. Probably because she still sees that Rand in him, where so very few other people do. Where even he doesn’t always, anymore. It’s why he needs people like her, and people who see him as human, and people who will to speak honestly and bluntly to him, and people who are unafraid of him, and people who love him,.

Nynaeve eyed him, surprised at how tight her own nerves had become. He was just a wool-headed villager, no matter how much influence he’d found. He was.

But she could not shake away that look in his eyes, that flash of anger. Holding a crown was said to change many men for the worse. She intended to see that didn’t happen to Rand al’Thor, but what recourse would she have if he suddenly decided to have her imprisoned? He wouldn’t do that, would he? Not Rand.

These moments, when she can’t help but see how dangerous he is, and can’t help but feel a little bit of fear, much as she doesn’t want to, are so sad. She still sees him as Rand, and holds stubbornly to that perception, but even she can’t keep it perfectly. He has gone too far for that. She doesn’t want to be afraid of him, or to doubt him – she wants to protect him – but there are these flashes of moments where some element of her subconscious mind betrays her. Rand al’Thor would never hurt her, but the Dragon Reborn…and she can’t quite banish that hint of fear and uncertainty, and it’s just a little bit heartbreaking.

(And then there’s Lan referring to him as ‘al’Thor’ that one time; I am still not entirely over that).

Semirhage should have been stilled the moment they captured her…

It’s a shame no one talks to anyone, or they would know that Semirhage is the third Forsaken who has been captured in the last year or so, and thus this is not a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get information. It is a valuable one, but how much are they realistically going to be able to get from her, that Rand didn’t get from Asmodean – or the memories in his own head – or Egwene and the others from Moghedien? And at what potential cost?

Of course, it’s a moot point because Rand won’t let her be harmed, and it’s ALL GOING TO END IT TEARS, YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST.

Well no, you probably read the books and therefore actually know how it ends, but that is beside the point.

Hi Aviendha. Still being given shaming punishments, I see.

“Tell me of your work in Arad Doman,” he said to Rhuarc. “My scouts inform me that this land is hardly at peace.”

Rhuarc accepted a cup of tea from Aviendha – so she was still considered an apprentice – and turned to Rand. The clan chief did not drink. “We have had very little time, Rand al’Thor.”

“I don’t look for excuses, Rhuarc,” Rand said. “Only results.”

In which Rand takes a level in CEO. Seriously though, let’s have a chat about realistic expectations and demands, shall we?

Rhuarc himself displayed no anger, though Nynaeve did think his hand tightened on his cup. “I have shared water with you, Rand al’Thor,” he said. “I would not think that you would bring me here to offer insults.”

Does it feel cold in here to anyone else? Rhuarc may not be displaying any anger, but…yikes. He’s been one of Rand’s strongest supporters and allies for a long time now; he hasn’t just shared water with Rand but stood by him at Alcair Dal, administered a city and fought battles for him, and went to Dumai’s Wells to rescue him with little hope of surviving. Not to mention advised him, taught him, and befriended him.

Bael is rather less subtle about his irritation.

“This land is broken, Rand al’Thor,” Rhuarc said, his voice calmer than Bael’s. “It is not making excuses to explain that fact, and it is not cowardice to be cautious about a difficult task.”

Have I mentioned lately that I love Rhuarc? He’s great. He’s one of those solid, utterly dependable types. 110% badass, but not flashy or reckless about it. Just…there, unafraid and unflappable and steady like a brick wall.

“We must have peace here,” Rand growled. “If you can’t manage—” “Boy,” Cadsuane said, “perhaps you want to stop and think. How often have you known the Aiel to fail you? How often have you failed, hurt, or offended them?”

Harsh, but all too true. It’s not just that they haven’t failed him, with the exception, I suppose, of the Shaido. They have also given up so much for him. They have left the Three-fold Land, following a man prophecy says will destroy them. Many have been destroyed already, either fighting his battles or lost to the Bleakness. Even the fall of the Shaido could be obliquely attributed to him; he caused the schism as much as Couladin did.

And he knows all of this. It may not all be his fault, exactly – prophecy makes blame difficult, sometimes, and they made their own choices – but he knows full well what role he is set to play here. He knows he will be their destroyer, much as he does not – did not? – wish to be. Because of that, he knows he has a certain responsibility to them. And usually he recognises and remembers this. It’s hard to know for certain what’s going through his mind here, since we’re not in his POV, but I do wonder. It seems Cadsuane’s words have hit home, at least.

“I apologise, Rhuarc, Bael. It has been a…wearing few months.”

Well. I mean. That…yeah. You could say that. Oh, Rand.

It seems a rather Sanderson thing for Rand to say, but I’ll happily take it. It’s easy to criticise a lot of what Rand’s doing, and to see that he’s on a dark path right now, and that he needs to come to terms with some things and deal with others, and all the rest. But he’s also just so tired. He’s exhausted, and he’s desperate, and he’s just trying to hold himself together, literally and figuratively, long enough to hold everything else together. And of course things slip, and pieces get left behind, and he stops caring about anything he doesn’t see as absolutely essential. Of course that view gets distorted. Of course his path looks dark, because he has nothing left to give and everything left to do, and it’s too much and there’s no time. His demands of others may be unreasonable, but the demands on him aren’t any less forgiving, and too few characters see that. Which doesn’t necessarily excuse him, but it does make a lot of what he says and does very understandable.

So anyway, Arad Doman is a mess.

Rand starts musing about Graendal and Nynaeve’s disturbed by the familiarity with which he speaks of her. I suppose I, too, would be slightly worried about anyone on first-name terms with Graendal, because she’s terrifying, but I don’t think that’s exactly Nynaeve’s issue.

Rhuarc just wants to fight Ituralde. Rand’s like this is not the time for a pissing contest.

“Not while I live, at least.”

Yeah, so, ‘over my dead body’ statements tend to sound a lot less flippant and hit rather harder when most people – including Rand himself – expect him to die in the very near future.

It reminds me of when he said that, after he dies, everyone can go back to fighting the Seanchan to their heart’s content if they want to. It’s a sad kind of resignation and something almost like despair, fighting so hard for peace and stability now, and having little hope that it will last, even as he plans to die to give it the chance.

How thoughtful Bashere seemed, as if he were indeed considering engaging this Ituralde. Men!

Damn it Bashere, not you, too!

Offer [men] a challenge, and they’d be curious, no matter that the challenge would likely end with them spitted on a lance.

This from Nynaeve “nothing is impossible” al’Meara. Bless.

“There are few men alive like Rodel Ituralde,” Bashere said. “He would be a great help to our cause, for certain. I’ve always wondered if I could beat him.”

Guys. Everyone. Please. If you could all just set aside your massive crush on Rodel Ituralde for a moment, while we figure out a strategy…

Though on a more serious note it puts me in mind of last chapter, when Ituralde and the Seanchan general exchanged genuinely respectful words and advice, despite the fact that one had just defeated the other, and one was dying. Turan wanted to talk tactics with Ituralde, find out how he had done what he had done, rather than rage at him for defeating Turan’s army. This is what they do, and who they are, and there’s a sense of ‘may the best man win’ about it all. So it’s not surprising – and is in fact rather entertaining – that everyone wants their turn at Ituralde.

But still.

Rand repeats that NO ONE IS FIGHTING ITURALDE, that means you, Bashere, and you, Rhuarc, and you, Gareth Bryne; you’re not here but if you were you’d probably be asking for a shot at him too.

Instead, Rand wants them to kidnap the Council of Merchants. White Tower style?

“IF Graendal really has taken Alsalam, then getting him back will do us no good. He’ll be so far beneath her Compulsion that he’ll barely have the mind of a child. She’s not subtle; she never has been.”

Er. I hope you just mean she’s not subtle when she decides to use Compulsion heavily, because otherwise you have made an error.

“We are not kidnappers,” Bael said, frowning.

“You are what I say you are, Bael,” Rand said quietly.

“We are still free people, Rand al’Thor,” Rhuarc said.

Oh.

Okay, that is excellent. Wow. Chills.

Such hard words, such strong statements, spoken so very softly.

And this is the core of it, isn’t it? He will take you back, and he will destroy you. They have given themselves to him, knowing destruction is fated for all but a ‘remnant of a remnant’, and they have accepted that fate, but they are still free. And this comes down to the whole concept of identity, which is such a central part of their history as a nation. It has changed drastically over time, but at each point… “I am Aiel!”

“I will change the Aiel with my passing,” Rand said with a shake of his head. “I don’t know what you’ll be when this is all through, but you cannot remain what you were.”

And so their story continues as it has since they left Paaran Disen. Change, and breaking, until they are all but unrecognisable. Already this could be another chapter in the story Rhuidean told. But, while they cannot remain what they were – and it’s such a beautifully sad statement, especially because Rand and the clan chiefs know it so deeply as truth, having seen the past – they can hold to the very core of that identity. They are still Aiel, even when everything changes but the word itself. It is theirs, and their identity to claim, and he can change everything but he cannot change that.

In other news, the Rhuidean story is clearly still A Problem for me. Who’d have guessed?

Of all those who follow me, I trust you the most.

Rand’s trust is both a gift and a burden.

“Once you take the Council of Merchants,” Rand continued, apparently unconcerned about their worries, “move the Aiel into the cities where those merchants ruled. Make sure those cities don’t degenerate. Restore order as you did in Bandar Eban. From there, begin hunting bandits and enforcing the law. Supplies will soon arrive from the Sea Folk. Take cities on the cost first, then move inland. Within a month’s time, the Domani should be flowing toward you, rather than running away from you. Offer them safety and food, and order will take care of itself.”

Well. Uh…at least he’s learned to delegate? Is all I can really say about that. No pressure or anything.

Actually, what I can say about that is that it sounds almost exactly like what the Seanchan have done. They have taken cities in turmoil, established order, and offered safety and food. They came as invaders, and there are certain Issues with what they do, but they did bring peace as they conquered. It’s a large part of why the ordinary people don’t seem to resent them.

Now Rand is sending the Aiel to do almost the same thing. The Aiel may not come from a half-forgotten continent, but they’re widely seen as foreign and threatening, and they are being sent as essentially invaders, to take over cities and establish a new order. From that perspective, it’s eerily similar. Which is kind of interesting to think about. I wonder if Rand sees it.

“And what of Ituralde?” Bashere asked, looking back at the map. “There won’t be peace for long once he realises we’ve invaded his homeland.”

Just as the Seanchan did. And to Ituralde, how will this be any different?

Rand tapped the map softly for a moment. “I will deal with him personally,” he finally said.

Poor Ituralde. He was ready for anything…short of the Dragon Reborn appearing in front of him…

Next (TGS ch 8) Previous (TGS ch 6)

[artificialqueens]

Coming Home Chapter 2 (Shalaska) - Jem

AN: Hi, it’s Jem. I’m so grateful that you guys like this story. Here’s the next chapter. Now that I’ve got two stories going on I’m trying to alternate posting from each but we’ll see if I can keep that up.

Story Summary: Sharon and Alaska are girlfriends and decide to foster a teenage Violet

Chapter 2

Alaska and Sharon took Violet to the mall the next morning after breakfast. The girl had arrived with only one suitcase since she didn’t have many belongings. There were a couple outfits to work with, other than the ones she’d outgrown, but very few childhood items. They supposed that’s what happened when you move around so much.

They took her to Bed, Bath, and Beyond first, to pick out some things to make her room much more individual. She picked out some pink fairy lights, a cork board, some organizing boxes, and a couple pillows to make her bed less plain. As for the walls, the teen didn’t seem to care for movie posters or anything like that. Instead, she asked if they could go find some fashion magazines. Alaska made sure to pick up some scissors and sticky tack so Violet would be able to cut out any page she wanted to decorate the walls.

“Can I get this one as well? It has an amazing spring collection that I’ve been wanting to see.” The teen asked as she grabbed an edition of Vogue off the shelf at the bookstore.

Sharon nodded and Alaska smiled in reply.

Violet wasn’t unlike Alaska’s young self, who had been obsessed with models, beauty, and fashion. It was nice to see her becoming passionate about something when she’d been rather quiet since her arrival. Alaska would be sure to get her some magazine subscriptions to be delivered to the apartment.

After picking up the magazines, they started in the direction of clothing stores. Sharon and Alaska were in no way rich, but they were financially stable and willing to buy Violet anything she could need or want. However, the girl seemed to shy away from the designer stores. They ended up wandering to Target, where she found her way to the boy’s clothing section.

“You can pick out anything you’d like.” Sharon assured Violet after a moment of the teen staring nervously at the racks and racks of clothing. She nodded, but seemed unsure.

Eventually she grabbed two black t-shirts, a grey hoodie, a pair of dark jeans, and some sneakers. The items were tossed into the bright red cart that Alaska was guarding. Sharon raised her eyebrows at her partner, nonverbally communicating her surprise. These choices were fine, obviously, but they seemed plain for the teenager who’d just a half hour ago, been admiring fashion magazines with fervour.

“Are you sure these are all you want?” Alaska asked Violet once the girl had paused, obviously finished. “Really, you can pick anything.”

Violet bit her lip and nodded. Sharon and Alaska exchanged a look, but figured they shouldn’t push it.

——

Violet was called out from her bedroom by Sharon, who knocked and told her that dinner was ready. She put down the magazine she’d been reading, and made her way to the kitchen.

“Come on and sit down, Violet. You can serve yourself.” Alaska gestured to the empty chair across from her.

Violet tentatively took a seat, obviously a little uncomfortable still.

“Me and Alaska are both vegetarian.” Sharon told the girl. “But I’ve not had a chance ask you about it, so I’ve prepared something that’s not vegetarian as well. In the future, you can let me know what you like.”

The dining area table was covered with a mixed greens salad, and huge pot of spaghetti. Sure enough, there were two pots of sauce for the girl to choose from. There was more food than necessary, but Alaska and Sharon had wanted to make sure there’d be enough.

Violet wasn’t used to all these choices. Most of the time she was forced to go along with whatever the rest of the family did, which made sense as she was never in a permanent situation. However, it made her feel cared for.

“I haven’t ever been vegetarian, but maybe in the future I’d like to try it.” She said as she grabbed some spaghetti, looking to Alaska to see how much she should take. The woman just smiled at her as if to reply that she could have as much as she wanted.

The food was not in any way gourmet, and Sharon and Alaska both expressed that they were really not very good at cooking. However, it tasted great to Violet. Sure, it was almost bland, and they’d burnt the bread meant to go with the meal, but it was better than anything Violet had eaten in a long time. She could see how hard the two women were trying to make this good for her.

“So, Violet.” Sharon began, swallowing a bite of spaghetti. “I’m working tomorrow, but Alaska is going to drive you in for school in the morning.”

Violet froze in her seat.

“It’s not going to be a full day.” Alaska assured her. “The guidance counsellor wants to take you around the school and introduce you to some of your teachers. Then you’ll be able to pick your classes and such.”

Violet had known she’d have to go to school, obviously, but hearing the words she couldn’t help but dread it. She was smart and did well in her classes, but meeting all the students was never her strong suit.

“Hey.” Violet’s thoughts were interrupted by Sharon’s voice. The woman shared a look with her partner before speaking. “I know it’s a lot of pressure, but it’s gonna be ok.”

Violet took another bite off her meal, but she couldn’t shake the nervousness pooling in her stomach.

———

Everyone was staring at her.

It had only been 20 minutes since Alaska had left after properly registering her for grade 10, and Violet was alone with the guidance counsellor who’d begun their tour of the school.

It was just like she knew it would be. Even without any introductions, every student she passed followed her with their eyes, silently judging her. Violet could feel her anxiety building as she was led through the hallways, to the library, the theatre, and the gymnasium.

Snap out of it, she told herself. If they were going to judge her, she was going to have to stop acting like she wanted to disappear into the walls and never return. She lifted her chin up, pushed her shoulders back, and finally, pursed her lips into a pout. She was impenetrable, confident, and she exuded ‘don’t fuck with me’ energy. At least, that was her goal.

Violet wasn’t really listening to what the guidance counsellor was saying, but she made sure to remember, for the most part, the layout of the school so she wouldn’t have to be confused or lost on her first day of classes.

Finally, the tour came to an end and despite being at school for a mere three hours, Violet couldn’t wait to get out of that place.

———

“Good morning.” Alaska greeted Violet as the teen entered the kitchen. She was sitting on a stool at the island in the kitchen, nursing a cup of coffee between her hands.

“Morning.” Violet mumbled, yawning slightly through the word. She looked around the apartment, searching for signs of her other foster parent. “Where’s Sharon?” She asked Alaska.

“She’s at work, she left pretty early this morning.” The woman gestured to the stool across from her, implying that Violet could sit down.

“Where does she work?” She asked, joining Alaska at the counter. “I feel like I should already know that by now, but I guess I’ve never asked.”

“Well, in the day she’s an editor for an online journal. In the evening she has a gig performing downtown.”

“That’s really cool.”

Violet grabbed herself some cereal from the box Alaska had set out on the counter, not bothering with milk.

“So, I’ve got some errands to run this morning, and I’ll want to get to my studio tonight, but is there anything you want to do today?”

It was Alaska’s first full day alone with Violet, and though rationally she knew that nothing could go wrong, she couldn’t stop herself from being a bit nervous. She wanted them to do something fun together. Violet had mostly been cooped up in the apartment, and Alaska was sure there were many things she’d never had a chance to do around the city.

“Um… I don’t know.”

“We could go on a walk, do some sightseeing, or even the zoo?” The zoo? What was she thinking? Violet was a teenager not a toddler. Alaska berated herself for even suggesting it.

“Are there any museums?” Violet asked, not scoffing at the silly suggestion. “Like, art ones?”

They decided to visit the Andy Warhol museum after Alaska finished her errands. Violet tagged along while her foster mother went to drop off some mail at the post office, and bought some groceries. It was exciting for her to be included in even the mundane routine. Clearly, Alaska was used to doing it alone, but Violet thought it must have been a little easier with extra hands to carry grocery bags from the store to the car.

The museum was in a large building on the north shore, and it was just amazing. Every wall, right from the entryway was completely covered in paintings. Violet and Alaska opted out of the audio tour; Alaska just explained everything instead. Violet was enthralled with all of it. There was something so interesting about Warhol’s pop art style. Most art that Violet had seen, and there hadn’t been much, was almost boring. She didn’t care much for paintings of flowers or shapes on office walls, nor did she love bland portraits of royalty she’d seen in history textbooks at school. This stuff had content that was accessible to her: Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, the Campbell’s Soup can. She even liked the more abstract pieces and the performance art.

Alaska did a great job explaining it all. She seemed so much less serious and controlled here, giving fun facts about Andy Warhol’s life as they walked around. Violet found herself wishing there had been more paintings than the whopping 900 within the museum just so they could have stayed longer.

———

Things began to get more comfortable. As one week wore by, the anxiety and tension around the family began to melt away. Alaska stopped looking like she was afraid she’d break the teenager by saying one wrong word, and they all fell into a routine of work, school, and family time.

Sharon worked a lot, that was the problem with having two jobs, but she tried to spend time with Violet whenever she could.

She was kind of amazing. There was no other word for it, really. Violet was beautiful and confident and strong. Sure she was shy, but she knew how to handle herself. She’d obviously had to be independent for most of her life, a fact that showed in how she never asked them for anything, instead taking the initiative to get whatever she needed herself. Sharon had needed to remind her to stop using her own-and she had very little-pocket money to buy necessities like soap, shampoo and conditioner.

“You are allowed to use anything we have in the house, but if you need anything else, just let me or Alaska know and we’ll buy it for you. Or we’ll give you money.” Sharon had told her one afternoon when she’d seen Violet coming back from the convenience store on her way back from work. “Your money is to keep and save, ours is to take care of you.”

Violet had seemed to understand after that.

She was also incredibly mature for her age. Neither Sharon or Alaska had to skirt around issues with her. She was intelligent and could understand things many teenagers wouldn’t. Sharon didn’t know if that was a result of her childhood or if it was just her personality.

The problems they knew had been a possibility with foster care never seemed to occur. Violet wasn’t hard to handle; she never acted out, and seemed to adjust rather smoothly and without resentment toward her new family.

As far as she was concerned, it was almost too good to be true.

——

“Do you ever think she’s too quiet?”

“Violet?”

“I’m worried about her, Sharon.” Alaska admitted.

“Don’t be.” Sharon told her, brushing her fingers through her girlfriend’s hair from her spot next to her on the sofa. “It’s normal for her to be shy.”

“She’s sweet, and she never causes trouble here but she also never talks to us.”

“It’s gonna take some time.”

Though Sharon agreed that Violet was extremely quiet, her walls had started to come down gradually. Sharon had come home to her and Alaska sitting on the couch watching tv one night, and the teen had been yelling at the screen, very invested in Project Runway. She didn’t get super excited very often, but when she was passionate about something, she could be loud. If Sharon was honest, it was kind of adorable to watch her frustration at one of the contestants choosing a combination of orange and lime green for their ensemble.

“Do you think she’s doing ok at school?”

“Her teachers emailed me this week, they said her attendance has been good, as well as her grades. She seems not to have had anything trouble catching up from what she missed.”

“I don’t just mean the academic stuff though.” Alaska shifted in her seat turning to face Sharon more directly. “She hasn’t asked to bring home any friends, and she never goes out with them.”

“I don’t think it’s easy for her.” Sharon began. “She’s had to move schools so many times, and she isn’t the warmest kid ever. But she’s a great person, and I’m sure the other kids can see that. It’s just gonna take time, and we can’t push her.”

“You’re right.” Alaska agreed shaking her hair as if realizing she was wrong. “I’m being silly, I know. And she’s been warming up to us, it’s true. I just don’t want her to feel like she can’t talk to us, that she can’t be open up if something’s wrong.”

“Baby, you need to stop doing this.” Sharon told her. Her tone was warning but gentle.

“What? Caring?” Alaska asked bluntly.

“No. You need to stop worrying that if something goes wrong, it’s gonna be your fault.” Sharon had hoped that once they’d brought Violet home, Alaska would stop having these doubts. Luckily, she hadn’t been too overbearing on the teen, but Sharon could see that she still worried so much about fucking it all up.

“But won’t it be, though?” Alaska blurted.

“No.” Sharon said honestly. “You have to stop trying to control it all, because you can’t. Bad shit might happen to Violet, and we might both make mistakes and we won’t be able to control it.” She grabbed Alaska’s hands. “You are a good parent and Violet isn’t going to hate you.”

Alaska looked into her eyes and Sharon could see she wasn’t going to fight anymore.

“You know me too well.” The blonde said with a smile. “It’s scary sometimes.”

“I love scary.” Sharon joked.

“I love you.” Alaska countered, moving in close enough that Sharon could feel the warmth of her breath against her skin. Their lips met in a gentle kiss and the tension in Alaska’s body slowly seeped away.

“I love you too, baby.”