#mostly the non-teaching staff but whateve not important

[remidyal]

Bad Ideas of the Day Part 6 - Can't Stop Won't Stop

The monthly-ish roundup of bad ideas of the day! If you haven't seen these, I often put a bad idea of the day into the ideas channel in the fic discord; this is a monthly-ish roundup of them. The prior month's is here and then links further and futher back go.

As always, if anyone does something with one of these lemme know, I wanna see! This month's list is a little bit shorter than normal with fifteen prompts; I've been busy with holidays and all.

Bad idea of the day, you are what you eat edition: After the first day of school, Adaine is shocked to find out that an ancient bylaw of the school states that any student who kills a member of staff automatically inherits their position, and so she is in fact now the lunch lady, sworn to somehow provide quasi-edible meals to the students by the fourth bell of the day.

Bad idea of the day, strength in numbers edition: Fig turns up at the start of junior year claiming to now be a mathemagician, someone who wins in battle through the power of math, profoundly annoying Adaine who knows that's not how that works at all right up until the point in their first battle of the year where she yells out a complex equation, then stabs the person in the face while they're trying to work out what the hell she's doing.

Bad idea of the day, important life lessons edition: Worried that they're going to end up malnourished as adults, or at a minimum living on whatever they can pull from an interdimensional city within a magical jacket, Sandra Lynn, Jawbone, and Lydia start trying to teach the various children of Mordred Manor how to cook, mostly directed at Adaine and Aelwyn (who have 0 knowledge or skill in it) but expanding out to showing Kristen the wonders of various non-corn based cuisine, Fig how to use spice in a slightly more restrained way when cooking for others, and also the three of them going to a great deal of effort to learn the magic needed to cook ghost food so they can teach it to Zayn. (Ragh attends but is already a good cook.)

Bad idea of the day, hearts and crafts edition: Learning that it's a tradition among the devils of the hells to bring any romantic interest they might wish to pursue a trophy of their enemy, Fig drags the rest of her friends into a quest to cut out the heart of Ayda's greatest foe, the ancient pirate treasurer in charge of Leviathan's budget.

Bad idea of the day, winter wonderland edition: A fic covering the first snow day in Mordred Manor, up to and including all-out magical snowball fights, one of the ghosts possessing and bringing to life the snowman that gets made, and Ayda feeling kind of left out because she can't really play in the snow without it melting until, Rudolph-like, that becomes very useful when they really need to shovel the driveway but nobody wants to. (remember, kids, it's fine to make fun of someone for their differences unless that difference has a utility to society (???))

Bad idea of the day, It's 3 AM in a werehouse edition: The month after Tracker has a bad full moon and starts chewing on the walls, the denizens of Mordred manor are extremely alarmed to discover in the middle of the next full moon that a) their house is sentient and b) their house is now a werewolf and they need to go.

Bad idea of the day, class swap edition: Fabian Seacaster arrives at Aguefort hoping to turn around his family fortunes after his father was driven penniless out of Leviathan and off the seas, and is lucky enough to quickly find himself in a party that seems destined for finanical greatness. After all, other than the refugee high elf girl, his party consists of the heir to an invention empire, a girl who has been part of the leadership of a megachurch since she was a small child, a princess of Hell, and Riz Gukgak, son of THE Pok and Sklonda Gukgak.

Bad idea of the day, movie magic edition: The Dream Team has to deal with a sudden sequence of threats from movies coming to life, which is particularly not great for New York which now must deal with threats like King Kong, the alien ships from Independence Day, climate change, and an ungodly number of bad sequels like Home Alone 2 or Friday the 13th part 8

Bad idea of the day, hell is other parents edition: A fic that's just a meeting of the Aguefort PTA

Bad idea of the day, true art is petty edition: Driven by a need to out-do Lucienne's alleged fiancée, Margaret devotes herself to becoming a universe-renowned artist and poet, culminating in her spending the entire duration of the battle of the brands painting scenes inspired by the fight while ducking bullets and plinth mental blasts on-camera.

Bad idea of the day, rat race edition: Learning that New York is planning on putting forth a bid for the Olympics that will include plans to 'clean up' the city by further displacing the homeless without actually helping them, Kugrash decides to be the rat in the soup that will blow up the bid during the olympic committee's tour and presentation of the city. Can he be gross enough to derail it, or will New York City end up with a bunch of white elephant buildings and debt for a brief party at the people of New York's expense?

Bad idea of the day, oh now you've done it edition: Freshman year, Adaine speed runs getting kicked out of her house in one of the fastest ways possible: She befriends Zayn and becomes a goth.

Bad idea of the day, it's im-portent edition: Sometime during the time between freshman and sophomore year, Fabian catches on that his party's wizard is using her limited control over the very nature of fate itself to try to make him successfully meet cute with anyone - ANYONE - who isn't her sister.

Bad idea of the day, the easiest way to elevate your fantasy setting is to make something weird happen to the moon edition: Convinced that Galicaea is behind the eldritch monsters suddenly attacking Solace since Cassandra took up residence there, Kristen talks the rest of the Bad Kids into her plan: Get Gorgug's parents to make a Hangrocket so they can go to the moon and blow it up, shattering both the moon itself and Fallinel's faith in Galicaea to reduce her power enough to make the monsters stop.

Bad idea of the day, I'm Getting Fantasy High Ones Out Here While I Can edition: In a fit of paranoia, Riz decides that his friends are in terrible danger of being assassinated by Fallinel/the Helioic church/Hell/Whitclaw's children/Sam Nightingale and that he needs to keep an eye on them at all times, resulting in everyone else getting annoyed by him doing things like hiding in the secret passages of Mordred Manor

[thesuperthing]

i hate getting a new hobby because the instant i tell someone irl about it they “force” me to do it and pursue it and it sucks All the fun out

[tenthgrove]

Hi!

How would the La Squadra team react to an s/o who loves the paranormal? Like, in their free-time they’ll look up haunted locations to check out, or they’ll read lots of ghost stories, overall just talking about the paranormal often? Would La Squadra join them on their little ghost adventures?

I hope this request is alright :)

La Squadra With A Paranormal Loving S/O

La Squadra x Reader (GN), Romantic, SFW

Formaggio- A fairly big believer in ghosts himself, Formaggio mostly loves it for the stories. He loves any tale of a good haunting, and whenever a mission finds the team together in a dark house overnight, he is always the first to suggest a spooky story-telling competition. If you actually want to go on an adventure with him? All the better. He’ll be glad to come along, even if he is bad at keeping the mood serious and spooky.

Illuso- Another believer. Illuso spent his teen years minding an isolated castle with very few staff and residents, so that sort of background is bound to breed a healthy fear of noises in the night. He likes to think of himself as a bit of a supernatural figure, and adores scaring people with his stand. To go seek out a ghost himself is something he’s never done before, but he’s eager to try it. Just don’t be surprised if he ends up fleeing into the mirror world when things get scary.

Prosciutto- A firm non-believer in the supernatural, Prosciutto is hard to convince otherwise. Yes, stands are certainly real, but he won’t except any other paranormal beings into his world view until he sees them himself, thank you very much. That said, he’s still happy to accompany you on your expeditions, since going to abandoned places alone is dangerous. He’ll also try to keep up a good mood even if he doesn’t expect to find anything. You’re still his S/O and it’s important to respect your hobbies.

Pesci- He’s on the fence about the paranormal. Maybe it exists, maybe it doesn’t. What he does know, however, is that he’s frightened. Fra is working very hard to teach him how to be an assassin, but aren’t ghosts meant to be unkillable? What’s he gonna do against them? Then again, you’re his partner now and boyfriends are meant to protect their partners from anything, so he’ll swallow his fears to accompany you to whatever you want to investigate.

Melone- Very much into the supernatural! A lover of all pseudo (or as he calls them, 'emerging') sciences, Melone absolutely loves paranormal stories and human attempts to rationalise them. You can be he watches buzzfeed unsolved religiously, and had even bought some of the ghost detecting equipment he's seen them use on there. An excellent companion for your ghost hunts, with a good head on his shoulders and a great passion for the task ahead.

Ghiaccio- Another staunch non-believer. Ghiaccio likes everything to fit neatly into sensible explanations and rules, so when it comes to his world view the supernatural is way out. He tries incessantly to convince you of the folly of your ways, telling you whenever it's brought up why the existence of the supernatural makes no sense. He still accompanies you however, since at the end of the day, it's spending the day with you vs not.

Risotto- Morbid to the soul, Risotto believes in the supernatural. Growing up, he enjoyed the folk ghost stories told to him by his grandmother, and later the internet-based ones told to him by his older cousin. He will gladly indulge you in your theories and stories, as well as offering his own. He even has protection charms to keep evil spirits out of his room. As far as helping with your investigations goes, Risotto is limited by his tight schedule, but will gladly participate when he can.

Sorbet and Gelato- Oh they're going to love you. Gelato is an avid supernatural fan and highly superstitious. Sorbet is not entirely convinced, but retains a deep, intellectual curiosity in the esoteric. They will both gladly join you whenever they can, getting very emotionally attached to you investigations. Just be warned, most of the 'ghosts' you find are probably just Gelato making noises behind a door to mess with you.

[pokedashwarrior55]

Ninjobservation #2

Analyzing the Elemental Alliance as a group and uncovering the real reason the Time twins (Twims for short) were "traitors"

So I have rewatched Hands of Time for the 3rd time this past year and Me and my sister Purplefern (She has a ton of good Twims fics on Ao3 ^^) have learned a lot about the old elemental alliance (EA).

THE CLAIM

The EA were a strong clique that did not appreciate the Twim's general attitudes and personalities. Chen saw the growing discourse and manipulated both sides into turning on each other.

[[They be judgin' (””art”” by me) ]]

To start let’s look at all the Leaders of this Alliance

Wu

Wu back before his eventual growth with the ninja was a strict teacher. Morro ran away due to his inability to understand his problems (problems he may have caused with his teachings). He is generally harsh towards the Ninja in season 1, forcing them to train all day because they simply talked during his lesson ("Never trust a snake").

Due to being the son of the FSM he put pressure on himself to always be virtuous and leaderlike (believes he has to uphold order) and he takes this believed expectation of authority to heart. He is no nonsense, yelling at Libber (the Master of Lightning) for simply talking slightly off topic before an important battle. He has a strong sense of right and wrong, according to his own moral standards and does not waver on what he believes is in/appropriate.

Garmadon

Although less righteous than Wu, joining the alliance after the war began, he has also been seen as a strict and serious teacher. Because of the growing venom in his blood I'd argue he was even more strict, less in attitude but more in general rules of law and order. We see in Rebooted that Garmadon set strict rules for himself like "no weapons" to keep his destructive side in check and we know that Young Garmadon is so sensitive to rules as he claims that even reading another's mail is a crime. He joined as a leader and most likely upheld rules not just for the alliance but for his own sake.

Ray and Maya

We see little of them but they are both good friends- and Ray appears to be the right hand man-- of Wu They are such good friends that Ray is the one trusted with the Map to the Golden Weapons. From his tone and diction he seems very dogmatic and if he's anything like Kai, he's quick to assumptions and to attack people who he perceives as bad according to his own strict principles. He just feels like a stuffy guy. I don't have much on Maya but she's a good people person so she gets along with the others really well. Also she married Ray, so that has to say something. They both went along with the Time Blade plan.

Other Elemental observations

 Except for Libber (Lighting), all the Masters are older than the Time twins. (Krux can fight in S7 so he's not older than 70. They are most likely mid to late twenty's during the war)

 The EA is a pre-established group (Garmadon refers to them like they are a pre-existing entity in ToE flashbacks). They were two confident and arrogent twenty year olds strolling into a pre-established clique of old honorable fighters during a war. Not the best time for bonding.

 Ice feels very much like Wu and Garmadon, considering he gave his powers to an analytical robot like Zane is saying a lot about him. He most likely does not tolerate "shenanigans", especially during a war.

They battle in a tight group

Krux and Acronix

These two act like they don't belong in the group. During the party celebrating the end of the war they are seen standing away from the rest and are genuinely happy to be recognized by Wu for their efforts. Although retcon, the two are not seen battling with the rest of the group. They instead most likely are so powerful (and impulsive and difficult to work with) that they are sent on duo missions to protect villages (They are also not the best followers).

It's also a nice parallel to our ninja in ToE. They stuck together like a family and were disliked and excluded from the rest of the EM's. The same could be said for The Twims since they always fought together and were similarly excluded.

Krux

Krux is a planner and a sassy dude. He’s stubborn and will tell people they are wrong to their face. The 16 personalities that matches him best is INTJ (the Architect). This analytical type hates people who are who they consider idiotic, do not participate in formalities, and are aggravated by heavy rules and restrictions made by someone else, especially someone they do not respect (which is most people).

Although we do not see him much as a young man we know that he is prone to grudges and will resort to less kind methods in sake for the means to an end. Definitely not someone Wu and Garmadon would like since they are trying to uphold order and keep a chain of command. But Krux believes in his own plans and his own chain of command. He is not good at small talk and would mostly stick with his brother during group events like meetings and parties, so in general his terrible social skills probably made him pretty unliked.

Acronix

Acronix is quick witted and heavily proud of himself. He won’t admit he is wrong and is very loud in general. This may be a side tangent but Acronix may have ADHD, which would not be understood back in the day and people would regard him as annoying or rude.

EVIDENCE FOR ADHD

-He is shown to stand in a position that suggests hand fidgeting (A LOT)

-Quick to anger over minuscule details

-yeah he's distractible but he's also quick to move through ideas/activities

-impulsive

- During their important battle back in time his attention is on the pretty fusion dragon flying around instead of listening to Kruxs plan of attack.

-His attention shifts to the destiny's bounty and he toys with the ninja despite saying right before he couldn't stay and fight Wu cause he had to meet up with Krux.

- in general he is constantly shifting from idea to idea, oftentimes leaving his original plans completely un-finished

He could have trouble paying attention to meetings and with his bond with Krux and tendency to quick action he would choose his brother's plan and strike independently rather than following whatever Wu is doing. This leads them to fight beside each other alone instead of with the main group, making the elemental alliance think they believe to be better than them. 

In terms of Personality types he’s a hardcore ESTP (Entrepreneur). Like his brother, they are free analytical thinkers who do not respect higher authority simply because they claim to be the leaders and hate rules and regulations getting in the way of their progress. He says what's on his minds regardless of feelings and will defend his opinions despite others sensitivities. He is perceptive enough to pick up on small changes and habits but he is quick to share that knowledge (usually in a snarky remark). I doubt the alliance appreciates what he has to say when he’s blabbering about everything in such a rude tone.

MOE

Now this all may start to look like a silly “Hands of time did nothing wrong” theory. But there is a key factor in this that not many people talk about. The previous Master of Earth (or Moe for short).

We know that Chen manipulated Moe into turning against the alliance so it was not technically his fault. Chen could’ve said that because the serpentine rose from the earth he was entitled to fight for them. Heck he could’ve been 100% hypnotized by Clouse’s dark magic (His eyes were not swirly so it was not hypnobrai like is suggested in WOTD). He is most likely some lovable dummy who was easily swayed and a kind person to apologize once the truth about Chen is revealed (considering that he’s Cole’s grandfather). Moe as a person is fine. What is sketchy is Moe being easily forgiven and allowed into the alliance despite turning on all of HUMANITY. What he did could’ve hurt way more people. He fought with the snakes and attacked innocent people and powerless soldiers (like the rice farmers) and was off scott free! The Twims only fought the elemental alliance and Wu and Garmadon at the monastery. Not nearly as destructive.

They figured out that Chen made the alliance turn on each other after the war and forgave Moe for that, but isn't it strange that they never gave the Time Twins that same benefit of the doubt? We know from “Way of the departed” and general logic that Chen and Clouse helped tip them over the edge. Whether you believe this to be canon or not is irrelevant because if the EA knew that Chen was involved once why would they not assume he was with the time twins too? Seems like they already disliked the two and were just ready for a reason to punish them. All flashbacks we get are told from unreliable sources like Wu and Ray (who both were enthusiastically the ones planning to strip them of their powers.) Speaking of, let’s analyze this example of their “betrayal” shall we?

THE BATTLE IN QUESTION

This is the flashback we get of them fighting against the alliance. The first time you watch it all you really know is that they are fighting against the EA, when Wu is describing their arrogance and the danger of their powers. How evil right? To attack their companions like that? But there is a lot wrong with how Wu phrases the fight and how it actually goes down.

They have Bamboo staffs.

A weapon that is primarily defensive and not a good weapon of choice for a planned ambush or assault. They are non lethal weapons. And Acronix is said on LEGO.com to be quick to learn any weapon so someone as adaptable as he is would not intentionally bring something so weak to a fight unless he had been forced to improvise.

Always on the defensive.

Someone as tactical as Krux and skilled as Acronix would never let themselves be on the defensive like this if they had the first blow. We see that Ray has the first attack in the flashback. Although Acronix is known to jump in without thinking he has his brother who would not just go into a fight just to lose. And even if they did end up on the defensive after having the first strike Acronix has his powers. He would’ve brought both of them out of a situation if things got too hard (which he is known to do in battles HE starts). But they clearly did not start this battle.

They are surrounded.

These two guys with nothing but staffs are encircled? Krux as a planner and Acronix as a quick witted warrior would never let themsleves get into that position if it had been a battle that they had started and had been planning to win. This framing makes it feel like they are being ganged up on.

In a remote location.

The battle takes place on a gravel road no where near a major city. If they wanted to take over wouldn’t they strike somewhere more populated? And if they were attacking the EA...they would have attacked the EA directly. They were probably just walking and talking and got ambushed.

Chen?

Very possible that Chen sent an “anonymous” note to the EA telling them of the Twims plans to attack. They are arrogant, have openly hated Wu’s leadership, and don’t gel with the group so of course they would take a tip like that and attack someone they don’t like. It’s possible they had ideas of taking over the EA but the world seems a bit out of their morality range until provoked.

Now that they have been attacked the two form a real plan to overthrow these fools who don’t like them and have unfairly attacked them (just like Chen had been telling them they were likely to do). They bring real weapons (swords) to an important location (the Monastery) to fight the specific people they do not like (Wu and Garmadon).

The Punishment

Ok so these powerful elemental masters are going to attack the EA. They were once allies and they are too powerful to defeat with their powers. If only there was a way to temporarily suspend their powers so they could talk this out and have an understanding of each other and perhaps uncover Master Chen's involvement-- since the Hands of Time were semi-sensible war heroes who were the sons of a previous master of time who presumably responsibly used the element without issue (and was most likely a samurai since Krux says their helmets are samurai helmets)... sigh too bad there is not such a material… oh wait.

WHAT ABOUT VENGESTONE???

These fools really decided that destroying an important element forever, and violently ripping it out of its users was the only option? There were generations of time elementals before them that had the element. They could throw vengestone nets at them or fight until they get knocked out and then vengestone cage them. But they don’t want to know why they betrayed the alliance. It was not because the element was too dangerous. It was not because they had to strip them of their powers (cause there are less lethal ways of doing so). They just did not give these two any mercy.

CONCLUSION

The Time twins are hard to work with and stuck together no matter what. The alliance is very strict and dogmatic which both Krux and Acronix would hate being trapped in their day to day alliance meetings and group mentality. Chen used their egos and their exclusion to his benefit to keep the fight going after he was banished and sent a letter to start up conflict with the EA. The EA did not like the Twims so they were ruthless and did not give them the same mercy they did for Moe (They also are not Elements of Creation. Wu would do anything to protect the main 4 but he’ll punish these punks). 

[impossiblesuitcase]

The official time in which Kai was kidnapped aboard the Rampion was short lived.

Really from retrospect, one would assume the most significant revelation would’ve been the identity of a certain missing princess, or the ambitious plan to usurp a queen.

Interestingly, the most notable takeaway from the experience was Kai’s lack of life skills. So the dust settles on the Lunar revolution; weddings come and go, the world is explored, a queen abdicates and an empress is sworn in. But of more supposedly more importance is the mission to teach Kai any and all life skills deemed necessary.

Thus ‘The official and completely authentic list of life skills as directed by the Rampion Crew for his Majesty, Emperor Kaito of the Eastern Commonwealth, aka our pal Kai’ is born.

Iko sticks with the lengthy name despite Cinder calling it at best superfluous. The unofficial title of the official title replaces Kai’s name with “Cinder's trophy husband”, which earned Thorne a jab to the side from the cyborg in question.

Most of Winter’s additions are charming but unachievable, such as her advice to dance through the streets of New Beijing on horseback, whilst wearing matching outfits with said horse. Kai declines for the most part but does fulfil the smaller task of wearing matching face paint with someone; he and Cinder don cheek marks on one of their ventures out, even to Cinder’s embarrassment.

Some question the reliability of the bioelectrical lock based on Winter’s eccentricities, but those who know her realise that her quirks are simply Winter being Winter.

While in her satellite, Cress curated lists and lists of things she wanted to try on earth and gives these ideas to Kai. Being incredibly sheltered, a lot of her ideas are ones that Kai has already completed over his life, but he does his best to recreate some of them.

Even with Kai’s meticulously planned diet and nutritionist, Cress's workout regimes are useful. Kai makes an effort to add some of the stretches into his morning routine, even encouraging Cinder to join in (“Your foot can’t be asleep, that’s impossible, it’s metal.” “If it could let me stay in bed for another twenty minutes instead of going to a press conference, I can make it whatever I want”). Cress also recommends that Kai learn ethical hacking, but he takes one look at her coding and variables and assures her that if ever a situation should arise, “I’d entrust hacking to you over myself any day.”

Thorne’s contributions are ignored by everyone but still added to the list by Iko. They consist of everything from “Scale a mountain and plant a flag of your face at the top” to “Transfer 100,000 units to Carswell Thorne.” However, building up flight training is one of his milder and more reasonable suggestions, so Kai takes some time to learn the basics in case of emergency. Kai does not seek his guidance from Thorne himself.

Cress, ever the romantic, finds Thorne's ideas endearing, no matter how bombastic and preposterous they are. One of his more creative schemes is for Kai to build an island right off Jeju where Cyborgs can vacation. It is (unsurprisingly) rejected, but one day Thorne boards the Rampion to find a diorama of the island, complete with sustainable popsicle stick Cinder, Scarlet and Thorne. Thorne scooped Cress into his arms and declared that she can be the honorary non-cyborg invited to the island.

Jacin has no time for Thorne’s or even his beloved Winter’s nonsensical suggestions, and bluntly adds: ‘learn first aid.’ Kai takes this seriously, until Jacin is teaching him a specific technique and mentions “this is what I used to save Cinder when she stopped breathing.” Kai hadn't known that particular detail, and has to take a small anxiety break before resuming the instruction.

Scarlet is better than all of them, honestly when it comes to practicality. Basic dishes and chores are her additions, and Kai completes them, even with some blundering. His palace staff protest the emperor lifting a finger, but he finally manages with Cinder as his scapegoat (“You would let the Empress hang out the clothes!” “With all due respect your Majesty, Empress Selene does whatever she wants”).

Wolf mostly supports whatever Scarlet lists, especially since he learnt his own life skills with unattainable resources from Luna. He does though continue to teach Cinder some practical fighting skills, which Kai observes and attempts to recreate. Their more daring moves are a little too much for Kai.

Human life skills aren't Iko's expertise, and neither does Kai need to know how to reboot an android power cell, so Iko assigns him more frivolous things. Many are cosmetic based such as braiding hair, which results in many sessions where she instructs the flustered but dedicated Kai. He patiently weaves Cinder's hair back and forth until he familiarises himself with the pattern. Cinder obediently stays still as the hair model of choice, usually catching up on comms and royal duties on her portscreen.

When he gets too frustrated, Iko reminds him, “What if you have a daughter, and when she grows up she’s asked: “Princess, what is your greatest woe in life?” and she responds that her father never braided her hair?” Kai quickly learns the skill after that.

Torin’s protective nature over Kai is impervious to time, but his disposition softens a bit with Cinder’s influence. Torin encourages Kai to pursue the skills, knowing how much the approval of his friends means to him. And if Cinder’s singular addition of watching New Shanghai’s most renowned musical happens to be Torin’s favourite film, that’s probably a coincidence.

Cinder doesn’t really need to add to the list. Her skills—ranging from mechanical know-how, ruling a Kingdom 101 and overthrowing a tyrannical queen who is also your aunt—are inconsequential to Kai. He listens to Cinder’s recounts of mechanical problems and solutions but remains hopelessly inept with tools and motors. The ruling of a Kingdom also proves to be a bust, since Kai is the more experienced one of the two. However, he often finds himself intrigued by her perspective on matters, free from the bias of his politically-centred upbringing.

Cinder instead focuses on life experiences over skills. Eating ramen at a convenience store. Seeing the local markets at night. Going down the cramped alleyways, seeing the poor conditions, homelessness and rubbish. It’s a hard pill to swallow for Kai, but one that he needs to understand the full breadth of life in New Beijing as Cinder knew it. Cinder works hard to help Kai, especially as she knows he secretly really cares about accomplishing the skills.

Slowly the revised list is whittled down as Kai completes the tasks. Although some of them are simply not feasible or even plausible, the suggestions are kept for joint laughs and memories. The list never truly fades, with other members of the crew occasionally receiving a skill to try—often the result of an inside joke or dare.

Kai comes to consider himself fairly well-rounded, but he learns more from his friend’s qualities rather than any skill they could teach him. And if all else fails, at least he can talk eloquently enough to save his life.

Except he’ll probably interject with sarcasm.

[littleoddwriter]

Embarrassment | Roman Sionis x Victor Zsasz | ZsaszMask | Smut

"if requests are open can i just get zsasz being really dumb but with some praise and/or daddy kink thrown in?" anon

A/N: I hope my interpretation of this is alright with you. I went with ZsaszMask here, since you didn't specify who Zsasz would be with; and since he wasn't exactly listed as a character for Reader fics, I assumed you were just asking for ZsaszMask. I really hope I got that right. If not, let me know, please! 

summary; Victor commonly mispronounces words, the wrong person hears it and mocks him for it to Roman’s face. Roman gives his boy a treat and then praises him because, yes, he isn’t very skilled when speaking, but he is still such a good boy for him! With it, smut ensues.

notes; TW // Implied Murder (non-descriptive); Very quick, throw-away mention of Child Abuse in the first paragraph. KINKS: Daddy!Kink; Praise Kink; Slight pet play, too; Anal Sex; Quick Prep. PWP/Loose plot; Lemon; Smut; kind of Emotional Hurt/Comfort, too, but like, they are ZsaszMask, don’t expect too much; A little softness in the end, too.

Roman absolutely hated it when someone mispronounced words in any way, shape or form. It made his blood boil. Mostly, he believed, it was because of his parents. If he had said something wrong, even if it was just the pronunciation, then he would be punished. Obviously, he tried to avoid that at all costs as time went on, which made him hyper-aware of when other people butchered a word or even an entire sentence, as a side effect.

Unfortunately, his partner in crime and lapdog had a rather slurred way of speaking and mispronounced a lot of words. He still wasn't sure if he was just stupid and wasn't educated, or perhaps he really was just lazy as all hell.

Either way, it happened multiple times a day that Zsasz would say something wrong. Roman has stopped being truly annoyed with him for it after a while. By now, he just corrected him and moved on. Of course, he had tried to teach Victor, but he just didn't really catch on to it; and frankly, he had better things to do than teach a grown man to speak properly.

Now, usually it wasn't even a big problem anyway, since Roman was basically the only person Zsasz really spoke to. So no one normally witnessed Victor's poor speaking skills. If anything, they were his staff anyway, so it didn't matter, they wouldn't dare say something about it.

Until, of course, one day the wrong person had heard it after all.

Roman had been conversing with a potential business partner, when Victor came back from running an errand for him. It was like clockwork; when Roman was talking, he wasn't to be interrupted, so he waited until he was done to tell him anything important that might have happened on the errand. He only ever interrupted him when it absolutely couldn't wait.

Obediently, Zsasz stood next to Roman and waited. When he was done talking, he lifted his hand and excused himself to the man he was speaking with, so Victor could tell him whatever was burning on his tongue.

"Boss, Johnson's guys have defiantly got the message. Expecially himself. He's retreating now and trying to get on your better side again, but I doupt you want that. D'you?"

Roman didn't even bother to correct him, though he clenched his fists to try and stop the urge to do it anyway. They were in public with someone he didn't trust and he didn't want to humiliate Victor like that. He knew that he tried at least a little, after all. Especially when they were with someone he didn't know.

Before Sionis could even reply anything, a terribly mocking cackle sounded from his right. It was that fuck he had been trying to get a deal with.

"Is he really that fucking stupid or does he just act like it, huh? God, that's embarrassing. I can't believe you let him run around talking like that, Mr Sionis," he sneered.

For just a split second hurt was reflected in Victor's eyes. It was like a punch to Roman's gut. Zsasz was basically never hurt by anything or anyone, only few people, among which was Roman himself, could achieve that.

Zsasz straightened up and acted like he didn't hear anything, assuming his usual position behind where Roman sat, so he could watch over him.

"Well, I believe that business deal we had planning to get going is over now. Thank you so much for coming in, but it's time for you to leave, 'kay?" Roman said clasping his hands together and a big fake grin on his face, his tone strained.

The other man sputtered. "Excuse me? We were just in the middle of-"

"Yes, yes, I am aware. Anyway, I do not want to keep talking to you any longer. So get out!" His anger became more palpable by the second.

Some of his men escorted the fake fuck out, after he whispered to one of them to knock him out and bring him to their closest warehouse.

Then Roman turned around to face Victor, who looked rather dumb-founded.

"Boss?"

"C'mon, baby. I'm having him brought to the closest warehouse we own. Then you can go and have some fun with that stupid fuck, hm? How's that sound, my boy?"

His eyebrows climbing up his forehead in surprise, Victor nodded. Obviously, he knew that this deal was actually a little important to Roman, but nothing seemed to be more important than his pet being happy.

Sometimes, he really despised that.

They went to the warehouse, when it was all set up and he gave Victor all the freedom he could have wanted with the other man. It was beautiful, a sight to behold, really. The way Victor freed people from this awful world was always breathtakingly stunning to him. But when he was also upset by one of those people and had creative freedom? Just marvelous, a true masterpiece that came out of it. Such as the tally, that now sat in the crook of his elbow, always visible, always a reminder.

Eventually, they arrived back at home, aroused from the beautiful way this fake fuck has been slaughtered, and Roman also had the urge to indulge his little boy and praise him for always being so good for him. So he was set on doing just that.

As soon as they came into the bedroom, he grabbed Victor's wrist and turned him around to face him, smashing their lips together in a searing kiss. Zsasz moaned into it, opening his mouth a little. Roman slid his tongue into the other's mouth immediately, fucking it in and out of Victor's mouth, playing with his tongue.

After doing just that for about a minute, he broke the kiss, leaning his forehead against Victor's, panting.

"Be a good boy for Daddy and undress yourself and then lie down on the bed, 'kay?" Roman rasped, kissing Zsasz once more before twirling his finger to signalise him to get going.

Sionis kept watching his boy, while he undressed, folding his clothes and putting them on a nearby chair. He had taught him so well. When he was completely naked, Victor lied down on his back on the soft mattress of their bed. Then he looked at Roman, waiting for further instructions.

Getting rid of his shoes, socks, blazer and gloves, Roman climbed onto the bed and over Zsasz. He was only wearing a plain black shirt and his dark blue suit pants, now. He lifted Victor's legs, spreading them, and kneeled between them, situating them over each of his thighs, pressing his hard cock against the other man's ass. Then he leaned over Zsasz, bracketing his head between his forearms with which he supported himself on the bed. Their faces were merely half an inch apart, breathing each other's air.

"You're my good little boy, aren't you?"

Victor could only nod for a moment. Roman nipped his ear and grinned against it, his lips brushing his ear shell.

"Yes, you are. And you know what? I'm very proud of you, baby. You're always so good to me, always so good for Daddy, hm?"

Zsasz keened in the back of his throat, pushing up his hips. Fuck, he was so easily desperate when it came to being praised by Roman.

"Soon, baby. Be patient, 'kay?" Another nod, another keen. "Use your words, baby, c'mon."

"Yes, Daddy!"

"That's my good boy," he murmured.

Then he leaned back a little again, so he was able to really look at Victor. It was hell on his back, but he didn't care, as their chests and stomachs were pressed together, feeling each other breathe heavily. Victor's hard cock was poking his abdomen, just like his own was pressing against his crack.

"You've done something truly remarkable with this asshole, y'know? What a work of art! Oh, Victor, I'm so lucky, baby."

"Thank you, Daddy," Victor replied the way he was taught to, and fuck, it had Roman's cock twitch.

Roman smiled at him, fondly, adoration clear in his eyes. "I always appreciate how dutiful you are, how you know exactly when to do what, when to speak, what to say. You're so good at it, my boy. Such an obedient little doggy, aren't you? Yes, you are, of course you are."

He leaned down to press a couple of sweet kisses to his lips, smiling into them. Victor gripped onto his bicep and back, trying to keep him as close as possible, unable to not touch him.

"Didn't I disappoint you, though?" Zsasz asked, looking so unsure and like a kicked puppy.

"No, no of course not. Oh, baby, my sweet boy, never you. He was a stupid fake fucking fuck, 'kay? He didn't know you, didn't know to respect me and my assets. And now he's paid for it, hasn't he? Then you mispronounced some fucking words! Now what? He had no fucking reason to talk about you like that, especially not to me. Fuck, I wish we could kill him again, baby. The fucking audacity of this fucker!"

"But I embarrassed you."

"No, you haven't. The only embarrassment there was this fuck thinking he was being funny and saying something of value. Like I said, baby, you're so good for Daddy. Always."

He kissed him again, and again, and again. Then he finally got rid of his pants, underwear and shirt, before diving back in and devouring Victor's mouth with fervor. While he was doing that, he was blindly retrieving the lube from the bedside table and clicking it open, squirting some onto his fingers.

Roman shifted a little, so he could reach down and insert one lubed up finger into Victor's behind, making him moan into the kiss with it. He moved it in and out quickly, stretching him enough to insert a second finger, sicossoring them to stretch his rim for a third finger. It was a quick preparation, as Victor was used to it, but also really liked it when it burned, so they made sure to stretch him enough to not damage him or Roman, and then they were ready to go.

Sionis grabbed the lube once more and spread it on his hard cock, slicking it up thoroughly. Then he guided it into Victor's stretched hole, pressing in slowly but surely. When he was fully sheathed inside of him, they both moaned in unison into their still connected mouths.

Then Roman started thrusting inside of Victor, pulling out and shoving back in, in a quick, brutal rhythm that drove them both crazy.

"Such a good boy. Oh, baby, you're so good for me, look at you. Taking it so fucking well, hm? Ah, fuck! Yes, so tight even after I've been fucking you almost every day for the past decade, huh? Fuckfuckfuck, you're so good, such a wonderful little boy. Just for me, aren't you? You're only my good boy, aren't you? Say it!"

Victor's eyes rolled back, as Roman repeatedly hit his prostate, but he still tried to get out a sentence in-between desperate little moans, "Y-yes, ah, yes! Only yours. Your good boy. Ah, yours! Daddy!"

"Fuck, shit, Victor, ah, I'm gonna come. Oh, baby, I'm gonna fill you up so good, huh? Because my baby deserves the best, hm? Fuck!"

As his thrusts became increasingly erratic, Roman grabbed Victor's cock in his hand and jacked him off in quick movements and a tight grip, making him paint his own chest and stomach after just half a minute. Zsasz moaned loudly and completely unintelligible as he came.

Roman followed him soon after, pressing inside of his partner and staying there, filling him up with his warm, sticky come, moaning and groaning loudly and almost like a porn star.

After a few seconds, in which either of them caught their breaths, Roman pulled out and collapsed next to Victor, their legs tangled, their faces an inch apart and panting.

When they've come down from their orgasmic highs, Roman stroked over Victor's chest, smearing his come over it and rubbing it into his skin, smiling. The scars made it a unique and pleasant sensation to him.

"Don't let that fucker get to you, 'kay? You aren't embarrassing. I don't care that you butcher most words that come out of your mouth. It doesn't make you less of a good little boy for me, alright?"

"Okay, yeah. Thank you," Victor rasped, pressing a kiss to the other's lips.

It was all so fucking soft.

Under different circumstances, it would make Roman feel sick; but even he had a soft spot, which apparently only consisted of this human lapdog called Victor Zsasz. 

[jwillowwolf]

Magic and Miracles - Chapter 2

Sanders Sides Big Bang fic, Chapter 2!

< Previous Chapter | Next Chapter > | Masterlist

Summary: “Did you really teach yourself magic?”

“Yes. I learnt from whatever books it could find on the subject.”

Janus nodded. “Impressive."

Warning/s: food mention, fantasy racism.

Characters: Logan, Remy, OC, Virgil, Roman, Remus, Patton, Janus.

Tag List: @theimprobabledreamersworld @remy-please-come-back

Read on AO3

2 | Getting to Know You

Logan followed the group just barely as he found himself constantly distracted by his surroundings. The paintings, tapestries, vases, and statues, there seemed to be nearly no blank spaces anywhere, yet it didn’t feel cluttered at all. Everything was remarkable and expensive looking. And eye-catching.

In fact, he didn’t notice when the group had stopped moving and walked right into Virgil, which caused him to stumble backwards. Thankfully, Virgil caught him before he fell onto his butt.

“Careful where you’re walking, Lo. you don’t want to end up walking into a door,” Remy remarked from the front of the group.

Logan blushed. “Sorry.”

Virgil just helped him to his feet and nodded.

“Okay, now please pay attention. This hall has all your rooms and this one,” Remy pointed to the first door on the right. “Is mine. They’re all identical and I couldn't be bothered to assign them to you, so take your pick. Everyone has an hour to get settled then we meet back here in the hall for a tour. Good? Good. Farewell.”

And with that, he retreated into his room. Roman chose the room beside Remy’s and Remus took the one beside him, then Patton took the last room on the right side. Virgil took the first room on the left, which left Janus, Logan, and Willow in the hallway.

“Um, thanks, for earlier. With explaining the last-names thing,” Willow said.

Logan nodded. “It was no problem.”

“You would be surprised how many people find it problematic to understand non-humans,” Janus remarked.

“Well, I have no such prejudices. Also, thank you for calling out Roman’s behaviour.”

“Of course. I can’t stand elves who believe themselves higher than everyone.”

“You can’t stand elves in general,” Willow muttered.

“And for good reason. Have you seen Roman?”

Willow winced. “Remus was nice… kind of.”

“She called you a dog.”

“It’s a common mistake.”

“You’re too forgiving.”

Willow rolled her eyes and turned to Logan. “They’re such a hypocrite.”

Janus huffed. “I’m right here.”

“You’re being mean though, so I’m ignoring you.”

Janus rolled their eyes then also turned their attention to Logan. “Did you really teach yourself magic?”

“Yes. I learnt from whatever books it could find on the subject.”

Janus nodded. “Impressive. How did you manage to find a tome that explained pronunciation?”

“I didn’t. I sort of figured that part out from watching the testing ceremonies.”

“In that case, why not replicate the simple performances other mages made beforehand? It’s not against any rules to do the same spell sequence as someone else.”

“I didn’t want to waste the opportunity. Perhaps it was a bit… over the top to do the spell I did, but I managed to leave an impression.”

Janus smirked. “I suppose that’s a good reason. Anyway, it looks like we’re the last to pick rooms. I’m taking the one on the end, see you both later.”

With that, the trio split up into their rooms. Janus taking the one at the end on the left, and Willow leaving the choice between the two doors between Janus and Virgil’s rooms for Logan to choose between. He chose the one next to Virgil’s, allowing Willow to have the room closer to Janus.

Inside the room, there was a queen-sized bed with four tall wooden posts that suspended a silky blue canopy. There was a dresser, a wardrobe, a writing desk, and a half-empty bookshelf. The books didn’t seem to be anything special. Logan’s bag was already on his bed. He only now realised that he’d left it in the carriage. One of the staff members must have brought it here. Thank goodness they brought it to the right room.

Wait, that was his bag, right?

He double-checked the contents and sighed in relief that it was indeed his bag. After that slight scare, he began unpacking his things and sorting the room just how he wanted it. He was delighted to find some fresh blank papers on the writing desk and a few sharp pencils too.

Forty-five minutes later, everything was organised just the way that Logan wanted and he was… bored out of his mind. He flopped down onto the bed and was distracted for a few moments by how incredibly soft it was. After that novelty wore off though, he found himself bored again and stared up at the blue canopy.

His mind once again thought of how frightening this was. He was truly out of his depth with the complexities and splendour of high society. Perhaps there are some books he can find on the subject to help him. ‘How To Fit In With The Upper Class’

He got up from bed to check if there was such a book, or at least something similar, on the shelf. To his dismay, there seemed to only be fictional novels and a dictionary. He’d need to ask Everleigh about looking out for something at the library. Was there a library here? Remy said that they’d have a tour later so he supposed he’d find out then. Wait, when was that tour?

He checked the clock and noticed that… barely three minutes had passed since he went to lie on the bed. Darn it, there were still at least ten minutes to kill before the tour.

He could have read the fiction novels, but honestly, none of the summaries seemed very appealing. He wondered if he could write something but he didn’t have anything to write. Trying to take a nap was pointless so he found himself just sitting on his windowsill.

The view was rather breathtaking actually. Below there was an array of cobblestone paths, lined with green shrubbery, some of which were dotted with white, pink, and purple buds. There was a hedge in front of the iron fence that lined the property, and beyond that was the dark spruce forest that grew high and looked thick and full of secrets.

Logan wondered briefly what secrets really were hidden there in the forest. Creatures? Monsters? Come to think of it, what was hidden here in the manor. Sure, the students had been permitted to explore the entire estate, but Remy had said that they couldn’t go to the tower. What was in that tower? Books full of forbidden knowledge? A porthole to another realm? A gnome that could turn thread into gold?

No, that was stupid, gnomes don’t like being indoors and surely the Royal Family wouldn’t keep anyone hostage in their private estate. But still, what could be there? It must be something important if even Remy wouldn’t let them know what it was.

“Okay, Tour Time, come on out or get left behind!” Remy called from the hallway, causing Logan to practically fall back into reality as he fell off the windowsill.

He groaned in pain as he got up then went out into the hallway to find Remy and the others waiting for him.

“Alrighty, we’ll begin here. This is the east wing, also known as the guest wing. This particular hallway has been cleaned up for us to use this year so please respect your rooms. The other bedrooms are locked so don’t bother looking at what is inside of them. Now if we go this way...”

The tour lasted for three hours and was mostly without interruption as everyone seemed awestruck by the magnificent manor. Logan was glad not to be alone in his awe as they went through the many different halls and passages. There were countless bedrooms in the east and west wings, private bathrooms on the first floor, several studies, sitting rooms, a library [that Logan clocked for later], extensive several acres of gardens, a ballroom, and a large dining hall fit for royalty, which is where they finished the tour to eat lunch.

There was a variety of smoked meats, fresh loaves of bread, tossed salad, a platter of cheese, and lemonade to wash it all down. Logan didn’t know what half of the meats were but tried a little bit of each. He found that he preferred sticking to the familiar beef slices for his lunch and enjoyed them in the form of a little sandwich.

He noted that while Virgil ate the simple sandwich like him, Roman, Remus, and Patton seemed to prefer the salad, while Willow and Janus ate more meat. Willow preferring theirs medium rare while Janus had used some magic to cook theirs further. Logan wondered if this was to do with their race. Willow was part wolf while Janus was part dragon, making them both somewhat carnivores, so craving a lot of meat seemed reasonable. Maybe he could ask about it later if they didn’t mind.

They had certainly seemed the friendliest to him so far, apart from Patton of course. But Patton seemed the type of person who made friends with everyone. Janus, as Willow had implied earlier, was acting cold towards the twins, and Roman seemed to be returning the same cold energy towards everyone apart from Patton. He even seemed cold to Remus, but more in an annoyed sibling fashion. Remus himself seemed indifferent to everyone, just happily chatting with Pat and sometimes blurting inappropriate thoughts. Willow looked still a bit shy though not nearly as tense as this morning, and Virgil was being silent and mysterious as ever.

“Now that lunch is done, let’s have an icebreaker,” Remy suggested.

“It seems quite warm in here, are you sure the ice needs to be broken?” Patton asked.

Everyone was silent for a moment, either cringing or holding back a laugh. Remy looked like that comment had physically pained him as he stared at Patton.

“Just for that, you’re up first, Patty.”

“Oh, um, what are we doing?”

“We’re going to go around and share a fun little fact about ourselves,” Remy explained.

“Alrighty, well, I like frogs. Sometimes, my brother and I go to the marshes and catch a few to just look at them.” Patton stated.

“You have a brother?” Remus asked.

Patton nodded. “Yeah, my little brother Morgan. He’s twelve and likes frogs almost as much as me.”

“That’s so cool. My brother isn’t even remotely interested in what I like.” Remus sighed.

“That’s because you like gory stories about seafaring hooligans,” Roman said.

“They’re not hooligans, they’re pirates. And I’m going to become one someday.” Remus declared.

Patton cocked his head to the side. “Oh?”

“At least I’d want to do the sailing part, I’ll leave the plunder and pillaging to the others. Unless I get bored,” Remus shrugged.

“I suppose we can accept that as your fact, Remus,” Remy said. “You wanna go next, Rome?”

“Roman, and yes, I shall. I am the best swordsman among the nobility. In fact, I’m to be knighted once I come of age,” Roman declared.

“You need to do an incredible deed to become a knight,” Janus pointed out.

Roman huffed. “Well, I will have you know that my great deed was saving the crown prince himself. Single-handedly.”

Virgil snorted at that.

Roman sneered at him. “And what do you find so amusing, Stormy Knight?”

“You lying about 1, becoming a knight and 2, saving the prince. Everyone knows he’s kept protected in the castle so that no one even knows his face. There's not even a remote chance that you’ve met him.”

“Well, I have. He’s actually quite handsome and much more sophisticated than any one of you. He even personally told me about his idea for this school.”

Virgil just shook his head with amusement.

“I agree with Virgil, you’re lying through your teeth. I suppose we’ll all just have to assume you’re nothing important.” Janus declared.

Roman glared at them. “I am the heir of Lycrest Isle, therefore future governor of the Eastern Ocean. I am a very important person, if not the most important here.”

Janus smirked. “Yet you’re so boring you have to lie about yourself.”

“You-”

“Can go next, Janus, since you’re so eager to speak,” Remy interrupted, steeping between the elf and dragon just in case.

“Alright then. Well, I am known in Evergreen Valley as close to royalty, since I am not only a dragon shifter but also the song of the western governor, Declan the fearless.” Janus stated.

“Cool story kid. Wolfie, you’re up.” Remy announced, ignoring the growing tension between Roman and Janus.

“Um, I grew up with Janus, my eight cousins and two younger siblings, with who I am very close,” Willow said.

“I thought you were part of a pack?” Remus said.

“I am. My pack includes my biological family, and many cousins who I was raised alongside,” Willow explained. “What did you think being a part of a pack meant?”

“Well, if you are a part of a pack, then how did you grow up with Janus?”

“I fostered with the Redrunner pack for most of my childhood,” Janus clarified.

“Oh, so you guys are like childhood friends?” Patton asked.

Willow nodded. “Yep.”

Roman looked over to Willow and said. “I’m sorry.”

“For…?”

“How long you’ve had to stand them.”

“Hey!” Janus snapped. “That is a direct attack against my character.”

“And calling me a liar isn’t?”

“Virgil called you a liar, I only agreed with him.”

“Don’t drag me into this.”

“Yeah, can’t you fight your own battles, Dragon?”

“You want to fight me, Elf?”

“Okay, no, that is where I draw the line,” Remy said in a booming voice that instantly silenced the two teens. “You don’t have to like each other, or get along that well, but there will be no physical fighting while you are under my care. In fact, if I see any of you harm each other, then I’ll send you straight home, no excuses. Am I understood?”

“Yes sir,” everyone replied.

“Great, well, that’s enough fun bonding time for today, I suppose. You can all go back to your rooms now.”

And so, that marked the end of Logan’s interactions with his class for the day, since he went straight to bed once he returned to his room. He had not gotten much sleep the night before due to nerves and excitement, so after everything that had happened, he was more than ready to drift away to dreamland.

Now that he had met his classmates, and gotten to know them if only briefly, he sorely hoped that they wouldn’t cause any disturbances to his learning magic. He didn’t want to fail the second test because of some argumentative teens taking up class time. He would be taking the test alone anyway, so he supposed that it wouldn’t affect him if they all failed. But really, he hoped that was the only fight he’d have to witness this year...

---

A/N: thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed this. I'll be posting two chapters a day until the full fic is up, so if you want to be tagged, you can just ask.

I'd love to hear what you thought about the chapter if you wouldn't mind commenting. Thanks again for reading! Here's hoping you have a magical day 💜

[superlinguo]

Linguistics Jobs: Interview with a Community Outreach Coordinator

I often talk about the time I spent working in community radio. Not because I worked there very long (it was only a few hours a week in my final year of undergrad), but because it was a very formative experience, it still influences the way I teach, and the importance of communicating my research to different audiences. In today’s interview, Olivia Fava also shares my enthusiasm for radio. You can follow Olivia on Twitter (@o_fava).

What did you study at university?

I attended McMaster University in Hamilton (Ontario, Canada). Fun fact: I actually started my university career in the chemistry/physics stream! I didn’t know what linguistics was in high school while I was deciding my major, but I realized pretty quickly that the sciences weren’t for me. Once I learned about linguistics, I realized it would be a perfect fit and switched over in my second year of university.

I took a broad range of courses in my first couple of years, but by my fourth year, I had concentrated the most on semantics and pragmatics. Linguistics majors at my university are also required to study at least two languages from two different language families; I studied Japanese, Italian, and American Sign Language (ASL). I also spent a semester on exchange in Japan in pursuit of my language credits, which worked out well because it was both a great experience and one that was very useful towards my degree.

I graduated this past June, but I’m currently working at my university, so I’m still continuing to take linguistics courses that I didn’t have the time or space to take while I was a full-time student. I’ll be starting a course on programming for linguists soon, which I’m very excited for.

What is your job?

I work at my university’s radio station (93.3 CFMU), and my job title is Community Outreach Coordinator. I’ve volunteered there as a radio host for about three years now, so once I graduated I applied for a job and the rest is history!

Day-to-day, I host the morning show and do interviews on local news, culture, and politics. I also plan, oversee, and write and/or edit all of our other news and arts coverage, mostly articles or videos. Communications-wise, I manage a fair bit of our external communications and all of our social media. I also help train and supervise our part-time staff and volunteers. Our staff is small, so I end up wearing a lot of hats, but I’d say most of my work falls under the umbrella of media and journalism.

In a given day, I’ll most likely go from hosting the morning show, to training volunteers, over to editing articles, and then researching ideas for new articles or documentaries (and, of course, there’s always emails to answer in-between). It’s a very fast-paced job that demands a lot of creativity and adaptability. As a campus radio station, we’ve been moving a lot more into podcasting as well since that’s very popular with my generation, so I also spend some time on audio editing. With how popular podcasting has been recently, that’s experience I’m really glad I’m getting now!

How does your linguistics training help you in your job?

It helps me immensely! Being able to pronounce names more accurately in interviews is the one that non-linguists will immediately pick up on, but linguistics training also helps me in subtler ways.

I’m especially grateful for having studied semantics and pragmatics, because picking up on the finer shades of meaning words have can really help in interviews. Listening carefully to the words my guest uses and understanding presupposition and other speech acts really helps me understand precisely what they’re trying to convey, whether they’re experienced speakers or first-time interviewees. It also helps me pick up on how they feel about a particular topic, what they might be hinting at or not saying directly, and what lines of questioning I should explore more for maximum impact. And, most importantly, it helps me do all this quickly.

That quick linguistic analysis ultimately helps me come up with good, pertinent questions to ask as I am met with new information, which is a very useful skill for doing interviews. A secondary part of my job is also training other people on how to do interviews, so I definitely appreciate having the terminology on hand to really break down how spoken communication works.

The other thing about my job is how many different people I speak to every day. Studying linguistics has really helped me quickly grasp how a person speaks, and I find that I’m able to modulate my speech to ‘match’ them when necessary. It might seem like a small thing, but it can really help people feel more comfortable.

Also, linguistics has definitely made my writing more accurate and more interesting. My understanding of semantics, syntax, and pragmatics helps make my writing accurate, well-structured, and interesting. With regards to speaking on-air, I find it also helps me understand how to properly use verbal cues like emphasis. I write my own scripts for radio, a medium without visuals where you need to keep your audience engaged with just your writing and your speaking voice, so linguistics has been very useful for that.

Do you have any advice do you wish someone had given to you about linguistics/careers/university?

I mostly just wish I had known about linguistics in high school. The dilemma for me was that I didn’t feel like I quite fit in with either sciences or the humanities. I was more oriented towards languages and literature, but the analytical framework the sciences appealed to me greatly as well. In short, I wanted to do analysis with words, something I didn’t think was even possible. I spent a lot of time in high school and early university worrying over finding the right major, time I don’t think I would have spent if I had known about linguistics sooner. Regarding university more generally, I really wish I’d been told more that changing your path is an absolutely natural thing to do. I always worried that I had a limited number of years to solidify my life path, so redirecting would mean I had “lost” those years I’d spent on whatever I was doing before. Once I adjusted my perspective and realized that life is more than just a single linear trajectory with set time limits, I became much more adaptable – and happier, as well!

Any other thoughts or comments?

Dear reader: if you’re like me and you appreciate both language and scientific analysis (and/or find yourself studying the etymology section of the dictionary in your spare time), you should definitely explore linguistics if you haven’t already. Even if it’s not as a major or career, it will probably a) fascinate and delight you and b) help you better understand how communication works, which can only serve you well in work, school, and life.

And if you are considering going to school for linguistics, I can tell you from my own personal experience that I’m very proud of my major, I can’t think of a single course I didn’t like, and although I’m just starting out in the working world, I can already see the massive benefits studying linguistics has had on my work. I’m very excited to see where my linguistics knowledge will take me in the future!

Recently:

Interview with a Marketing Content Specialist

Interview with a Software Engineer

Interview with a Product Manager

Interview with a Communications Specialist

Interview with a Learning Scientist

Check out the Linguist Jobs Master List and the Linguist Jobs tag for even more interviews 

[arcticdementor]

In The New Class War: Saving Democracy from the Managerial Elite (2020), building on my argument in The Next American Nation (1995), I offered an answer. I proposed that, while the proletariat is still the proletariat, James Burnham, Bruno Rizzi, John Kenneth Galbraith and other thinkers were correct that by the mid-twentieth century power had passed from individual bourgeois business owners to a new ruling class of technocrats or bureaucrats, whose income, wealth, and status is linked to their positions in large, hierarchical organizations, (i.e. nonprofits, government agencies, industrial and financial firms, and so on).

I use the term “overclass” to describe this group. A similar though not identical concept is what is known, after Barbara Ehrenreich, as the “professional-managerial class” (PMC). Whatever terminology you prefer to use, generalizations about all Western elites need to be accompanied by more granular analysis at the level of each country. Referring only to the U.S., I think it is helpful to go beyond the basic distinction between the overclass and the working class and identify distinct groups within each.

…

But the American elite includes three other groups, in addition to these bureaucratic managers. One consists of hereditary rentiers—heirs and heiresses, born into rich families. Old money types should be distinguished from tycoons like Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos, who tend to be products of upper-middle-class or modestly rich families who happened to become incredibly rich. Only the most primitive Marxists believe that a tiny group of individual capitalists—to the manor born or self-made—controls modern societies from behind the scenes. I will not pay further attention to old money in this essay.

In German a distinction has long been made between the Besitzbürgertum (propertied bourgeoisie) and the Bildungsbürgertum (educated bourgeoisie). The equivalents of these two groups exist in the U.S. today. They are distinct from the big-organization managers and important in American politics out of all proportion to their numbers. Lumping them together as “PMC” confuses matters. Let us call them the professional bourgeoisie and the small business bourgeoisie.

The professional bourgeoisie—made up of lawyers, doctors, professors, K-12 teachers, journalists, nonprofit workers, and many of the clergy—is concentrated in the teaching, helping, and research sectors. Their jobs often pay modestly but provide both status and a degree of personal autonomy that the frequently better-paid managerial functionaries in more hierarchical occupations do not possess.

The small business bourgeoisie consists of the owner-operators of small businesses and franchises, along with genuine contractors (as opposed to proletarian “gig workers”), both those who are self-employed and those who employ others.

…

The working class in the U.S. is divided as well. First, there is the heartland working class—those who work in the industries located in the low-density exurban heartland. These industries include manufacturing, agriculture, energy, retail distribution and warehousing.

And then there is the hub-city working class. This class of workers can be found in metropolises like New York, San Francisco, Atlanta, and Houston. Many of these members work directly for the urban overclass as maids, nannies and other domestic staff, or otherwise indirectly in luxury services that cater to the affluent elite.

(A note: by the “heartland working class” I do not mean the stereotypical “white working class.” Most African-Americans and Hispanics are high-school-educated workers who live and work in suburbs and exurbs. Those areas also contain many foreign-born workers, though first-generation immigrants make up a greater share of the populations of hub cities.)

To the distinct hub and heartland working classes can be added a third non-elite group, often described as the lumpenproletariat—or, perhaps more clearly, the “underclass.” (In the 1990s the speech police of the politically-correct left banned the use of “underclass” from academic and journalistic usage in the U.S., but the term is neither racist nor an insult.) This refers to members of often-broken families caught in multigenerational poverty, particularly those trapped in the grim carceral subculture of public housing, food stamps, petty crime, and the prison-industrial complex. Like the hub and heartland working classes, the multigenerational underclass is racially and ethnically diverse, and found in both urban and rural parts of the U.S.

…

Since this is all very abstract, an image might help. Visualize two horseshoes—a lower horseshoe whose two prongs point up, and an upper horseshoe whose two prongs point down. The lower horseshoe has the underclass at the bottom/midpoint and the hub city working class and the heartland working class as the points of its two opposing prongs. The upper horseshoe has the managerial elite proper as its midpoint/apex and the professional bourgeoisie and the small business bourgeoisie as the points of its two opposing prongs. Arranged in this way, the two horseshoes form a rough outline of a circle, with the managerial elite at the very top, the underclass at the very bottom, and the two working classes and the two bourgeoisies distributed in between.

…

American politics is little more than the internal politics of the overclass, now that the working-class majority has lost the grassroots, mass-membership institutions that once gave it collective bargaining power—private sector trade unions, influential religious organizations, and local political parties. Members of the working-class majority play no role except as occasional voters. They tend to be ignored, except during election seasons, when they are targeted by manipulative appeals based on race and gender in the case of the Democrats and religion and patriotism in the case of the Republicans.

…

At the risk of being overly schematic I would suggest that the “center,” “left” and “right” of America’s top-thirty-percent politics can be mapped imperfectly onto the managerial elite, the professional bourgeoisie and the small business bourgeoisie. In particular, both DSA progressivism and Tea Party conservatism can be understood as different strategies for enlisting the power of government to stave off the proletarianization of the constituents of the two bourgeoisies.

The goal of so-called progressivism in 2020s America is to expand employment opportunities for college-educated, center-left professionals, while adding new wings to the welfare state that are tailored to their personal needs. The slogan “Defund the police” is interpreted by the bourgeois professional left to mean transferring tax revenues from police officers, who are mostly unionized but not college-educated, to social service and nonprofit professionals, who are mostly college-educated but not unionized. The enactment of proposals for free college education and college debt forgiveness would disproportionately benefit the professional bourgeoisie, not the working-class majority whose education ends with high school. Likewise, public funding for universal day-care allows both parties in a two-earner professional couple to maximize their individual incomes and individual career achievements by outsourcing the care of their children to a mostly-female, less well-paid workforce at taxpayer expense.

It is no coincidence that many professionals in the sectors most dependent on their funding on donations from the capricious rich, like philanthropy, colleges and universities, and the media, hate billionaires with the passionate resentment that is reserved for benefactors. In their view, in a just society, the arts program or the NGO would be permanently funded by tax revenues, instead of annual fund-raising appeals to this or that plutocrat’s personal fortune or foundation.

Gore Vidal was known to say that America has socialism for the rich and free enterprise for the poor. Contemporary American progressivism can be succinctly described as social democracy for the professional class.

…

To avoid being squeezed out of existence between big business and organized labor, the small business bourgeoisie has fought for generations on two fronts, demanding subsidies and exemptions from government regulations, while insisting on anti-union and anti-labor legislation and a reliable supply of cheap labor (preferably guest workers or illegal immigrants who cannot vote). The lobbies for the small business sector naturally oppose any “decommodifying” social insurance reforms. Examples are longer periods for unemployment insurance or universal health care, each of which can increase the bargaining power even of non-unionized workers by allowing them to hold out longer until employers are forced to make better offers.

The upper horseshoe schema explains American political factions in terms of different combinations of its elements. When the professional bourgeoisie allies itself with the Managerial Elite, you get Clinton-Obama-Biden left-neoliberalism. When the small business bourgeoisie allies itself with the Managerial Elite, you get George W. Bush-Paul Ryan-Nikki Haley right-neoliberalism.

When the professional bourgeoisie and the small business bourgeoisie unite with each other against the oligopolies and monopolies that dominate modern industry and finance and the managers who run them, you get the neo-Brandeisian, small-is-beautiful antitrust school. Their anachronistic small-producerist ideal, in which everything big has been broken up by government antitrust litigation, is an economy of small shops, artisanal craft breweries and independent doctors and lawyers.

…

The protests associated with the first reopening were led during the early stages of the lockdown by conservative members of the small business bourgeoisie. Many of their undercapitalized storefront businesses, like hair salons, and restaurants, and car repair shops, were threatened or wiped out by city and state shut-down orders. The protests were dominated by petty-bourgeois business owners, and not their low-paid employees—some of whom might have been endangered by a premature return to their workplaces during the pandemic.

The initial response of the progressive professional bourgeoisie was to ridicule and denounce the right-wingers for endangering their own lives and those of others by ignoring the advice of credentialed public health experts.

Then, during the protests that followed the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers, the same progressive professional bourgeoisie concluded that systemic racism was a greater threat to public health than COVID-19, which—mirabile dictu!—cannot be spread at left-wing demonstrations.

…

What does all of this mean for the neglected working-class majority on the sidelines of American politics? A century ago, trade unionists like Samuel Gompers and socialists like Eugene Debs criticized antitrust and praised large industrial combinations, on the sensible grounds that large, modern corporations are easier to unionize and/or socialize than lots of small businesses.

A case can be made that both the professional bourgeoisie and the small business bourgeoisie are relics of an earlier techno-economic paradigm. Each is a leftover pocket of technological backwardness and labor exploitation in an advanced industrial economy.

In American higher education, a dwindling minority of tenured academics, using pedagogical methods unchanged from the agrarian era, lords it over a mass of impoverished guild apprentices, the poorly-paid, insecure, non-unionized adjuncts who now teach most university students nationwide. At the same time, the business models of many small, owner-operated firms in the U.S. are made possible by poor-country levels of worker rights and social insurance—and much of the workforce consists of recent, desperate immigrants from actual poor countries. Because the backward professional and small business sectors have much lower productivity than the rationalized, capital-intensive parts of the economy like manufacturing and energy, they pay low wages to much of their workforces while charging high prices to consumers.

Needless to say, any new cross-class settlement would have to follow the recreation of powerful mass-membership working-class organizations in current and newly-rationalized, sectors, which would permit the transformation of the majority of Americans in the bottom horseshoe into subjects, not mere objects, of American politics. But that is a story for another day.

[shredmytapestry]

about – finnick gustafson

[ FINNICK LUND ] has arrived in Ardere! Under the bonfire light, this [ TWENTY-EIGHT ] year old [ CISMALE ] is sometimes mistaken for [ RICHARD MADDEN ]. Since graduating from [ HOGWARTS ], they have been working as a [ FLYING PROFESSOR ]. The battle is brewing and they must pick sides but who will they choose? In the upcoming election, they will be voting for [ NEUTRAL ]. 

THIS IS SO LONG IM SO SORRY

basic information.

FULL NAME: finnick gustafson NICKNAME(S) OR ALIAS: finnick, finn GENDER: male SPECIES: pureblood wizard AGE: 28 BIRTHDAY: october 23rd ZODIAC SIGN: scorpio HOUSE: gryffindor PATRONUS: non corporeal ARMY AFFILIATION: neutral SEXUALITY: bisexual NATIONALITY: swedish CITY OR TOWN OF BIRTH: lund, sweden CURRENTLY LIVES: lund, sweden (when not at hogwarts) LANGUAGES SPOKEN: swedish & english NATIVE LANGUAGE: swedish RELATIONSHIP STATUS: single and complicated

health.

SMOKER?: sometimes DRINKER?: yes RECREATIONAL DRUG USER? WHICH?: no SOCIABILITY: introvert

house & home.

DESCRIBE THE CHARACTER’S HOUSE/HOME

after hogwarts he never bought a place as he started with the nordic national quidditch team and just lived here and there. at age 23 he moved to london temporarily and started dating maggie weasley, couple months later they continued to date and moved in together. at age 27, they broke and london no longer felt like home. his mother had since passed, but he moved back to lund and only stayed a few months before selling it and coming to work at hogwarts. so currently he’s homeless again.

family, friends, & foes.

PARENTS NAMES: lorre gustafson got pregnant at an untimely time, which shortened her quidditch career. her baby daddy also left because he was a horrid person, so she raised finnick on her own. once finnick was born, he became her love and quidditch didn’t hold a flame. they were really close, finnick never once sought to look for his dad. SIBLINGS? RELATIONSHIP WITH SIBLINGS?: n/a OTHER IMPORTANT RELATIVES: lorre (mother) was a quidditch champion, idk where else to put it deal with it PARTNER/SPOUSE: n/a EXES: magdalena weasley – partner of 5 years, dated for 3 years and engaged for 2. more on this later. CHILDREN: no :/ BEST FRIEND: it was maggie tbh now it’s no one OTHER IMPORTANT FRIENDS: tba. open connection PETS: shared custody of max the ax thrower, but like he’s mostly maggie’s.

ABOUT FINNICK

finnick gustafson was born to a single mother and ex quidditch player. lorre was kind and loving towards finnick, never leaving him wanting for anything. it wasn’t until finn was older than he realised just how much his mother had sacrificed for him. she was only 26, had a wonderful career and could’ve been the best player in the country. she could’ve given him away for adoption or sent him in a day care, but she gave everything up to give finnick a better life. he cried the day he left for hogwarts, but she was so immensely proud of him. unfortunately for finnick, lorre had been hiding her disease from him for a very long time. by the time he reached his fifth year, the effects had taken their toll and he was taking care of her more than she was of him. he was glad to take care of her. she passed away half way through his seventh year and he got through the rest of year with the support of good friends and supportive teachers.

after hogwarts finnick had to become his own person and for the first time in his life, he had nowhere to turn to. he was good at quidditch at hogwarts so he tried out for his mother’s old team. the first year he was on the reserve team and slowly he made his way to the top, becoming a chaser like his mother and team captain eventually. being on the team meant his crazy routines kept him busy and didn’t give him enough time to properly mourn being alone. he didn’t have a real place to call home and that was just time.

then at 22, he met the love of his life and he didn’t even realise for a very long time. finnick and maggie met at a quidditch after party where they hit it off and decided to stay in contact. their first date didn’t happen for another year by which point they were both staying in london. with maggie finnick had finally found love again. he had someone to look after and someone to come home to, for the first time since the passing of his mother. they were happy, they were so unbelievably happy and nothing could get in their way. his career was thriving, he’d proposed to maggie and her little family was his own too.

then the unthinkable happened, once while performing the bjorn blizzard, their team’s special move which was perfected by his mother, he slid off his broom and tumbled down. the healers said his right leg would never be the same again. they weren’t able to find out what caused the fall, whether it was simply finnick accidentally letting go or a deeper cause. the diagnosis didn’t matter to finnick, what mattered were the painstaking four months spent in therapy afterwards only to find out he’d never walk straight. his pain was chronic and without a cure, he needed the aid of a cane and… he wasn’t able to fly like he once was. flying was still easier than walking but he would never fly quite as swift, definitely not enough to make the team again. his career was over, and next was his perfectly happy life.

the change was incredibly tough on him. he hated not being able to give maggie the life he wanted for them, in these dire times, he couldn’t even find happiness in her. depression crept in and it lingered. it destroyed their perfect lives, finnick had begun to hate himself. in their last few months together, they fought a lot.. things became brutal and finnick couldn’t hang on any longer. he wouldn’t stay with her because he needed help. he loved her dearly, but she deserved a better life… so he left.

he moved back to lund and he tried to live a new life. he needed to find a job where he could share his quidditch and flying knowledge, where he wouldn’t have to stand or sit too long… thankfully there was an opening to teach at hogwarts, and though he knew maggie had been working there for a year prior, he took it. it was his home once, and he needed it right now. even if it would hurt maggie, he just needed to be near her, and hogwarts. little does he know, she doesn’t even work at hogwarts anymore. 

so this point in the roleplay, he hasn’t started working at hogwarts and should be widely known as he was a damn good player who suffered a severe accident. honestly he’s just chilling before the festival begins. 

BLURBS

haha oh boy i wrote a lot so sorry but finnick hit me like a train and i just had to get my thoughts out

tldr; disabled boy who destroyed everything is now is an angsty flying teacher

he is neutral to the cause but honestly,,,,, he could be swayed either way. hmu idk

my favourite hc is he hates having a cane,,, so he made it into a fucking staff. LIKE a gandalf style staff that is big and thick and yeah he walks with that and wears big robes, what a gandalf wannabe

literally such a fast flier just not good enough to be pro y’know

is sooosoosososos helpful :( will always lend his ear to talk and will help any one. also hmu this is a fun plot

i mean ideally i’d like him to be a lil slutty but like we’ll see idk HMU IF U WANT THIS PLOT

literally fam whatever u want plz just love me love him

weasleys  ALSO hmu bc he hurt a fellow weasley y’know

[born-inastorm]

CHARACTER INTRODUCTION

THE BASICS

NAME/NICKNAMES: Ororo Munroe

ALIAS: “Storm”

AGE: 34

PREFERRED PRONOUNS: She/Her

AFFILIATION: X-Men

FACECLAIM: Anna Diop

THE DETAILS

FAMILY: N’Daré (mother - deceased), David Munroe (father - deceased). Her parents died when she was 5 years old; a plane crash destroyed their home in Cairo.

THREE FAVORITE THINGS: Thunderstorms, teaching and teamwork.

EDUCATION: College-level courses at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters / Qualified teacher.

SKILLS:

Master Thief: Ororo was, in her youth, one of the most skillful thieves in the entire city of Cairo. Expert Combatant: Ororo is a gifted and formidable hand-to-hand combatant with years of close quarter combat experience. Weapon Proficiency: She is an excellent marksman with handguns and is experienced in the use of various firearms. Ororo is also highly skilled with wielding knives, experienced in the use of the bo staff, and trained in sword fighting. Expert Tactician: Storm has strong natural leadership skills and has lead teams of X-Men for years. She is a highly accomplished and skilled strategist, tactician, and field commander. Expert Gardener: Ororo is also an excellent gardener owing to her supernatural abilities and has her own botanical gardens at the Xavier Mansion. (um hi i love this) Multilingual: Storm is fluent in English, Arabic, Swahili, Russian, Japanese, Wakandan, Yoruba and more. Aviation: Storm has skill in piloting advanced aircrafts. Indomitable Will: Ororo has an exceptionally strong will, thanks to years of practice to control the weather.

WEAPONS: she is the weapon...

ABILITIES:

Atmokinesis: Storm is a powerful mutant who is able to control the weather and all of its forms with ease. She can control meteorological tempests, such as lightning, thunderstorms, hurricanes, blizzards, tornadoes, mist, and typhoons. She can even siphon electricity, causing her to shoot it out as lightning of any intensity. Atmospheric Resistance: Storm is immune to extreme weather conditions like extreme heat or cold, storms and is capable creating a small atmosphere around her, thus this allows her possibly survive in areas where there is a lack of oxygen such as areas of high altitudes. Electricity Manipulation: The ability to manipulate, control, and create pure electrical energy; such as lightning. She’s capable of discharging lightning bolts from her hands, while also summoning a lightning bolt from the sky. Earth Link: Storm is psychically linked to her immediate surroundings, as she can detect the position of fighter jets whilst creating tornadoes to keep them at bay. She was capable of avoiding unintentional causalities when the pilots ejected from their jets. She can also detect if a nearby animal or plant has died or if the weather is about change. Enhanced Senses: When Storm's eyes go white, she can see her surroundings in the form of energy. She uses this ability to see through harsh weather conditions like fog, darkness or clouds. Flight/Levitation: With the power of wind, Storm is even able to fly by making the wind lift her up in the air. She could fly at great speed, allowing her to smash through a wood fence while spinning towards attacking mutants.

THE QUESTIONNAIRE

IN THE LAST YEAR SINCE THANOS WAS DEFEATED, WHAT HAS YOUR CHARACTER BEEN DOING?

Mourning the loss of mutant life especially, finding her faith and hope in a better world again and rebuilding. Storm's first priority for a long time has been the safety of her students and all mutants out there who feel like they don't have a place in the world. Making sure they knew that Xavier's school was still a safe place for them and more so, actively seeking out and offering help and a home directly to them. Staying busy, being proactive and strengthening the community within her own found family has taken up her time. More than hoping a threat like Thanos never came around again, she wanted to make sure it didn't. If it did, at least, she wanted to be ready. Be stronger. So she trained more, pushed herself further and peddled the idea that together, anything could be achieved. Failure is just another lesson to learn and she was sure that they wouldn't falter so devastatingly again, even in the face of that new threat: Galactus.

As always, Storm was ready and willing to help along with the other X-Men who she had missed dearly during the tragedy Thanos had previously brought. She spoke up, gave inspirational speeches, argued and pleaded for everyone to come together. They couldn't bend in the face of hatred. There was a bigger picture now just like there should have been with Thanos. They had to save the world; she had to save the world. And yet.

WHAT HAS YOUR CHARACTER LEARNED IN THE AFTERMATH OF THANOS, HIS SNAP AND EVENTUAL DEFEAT?

That she should have done more. Should have held tighter to her loved ones, should have inspired her students more and above all, she should have protected them. Since coming to Xavier's school, since becoming a member of the X-Men, Storm had held tightly to the rage she was capable of feeling towards humans. She never let it cloud her judgment or control her decisions. Anger was a fuel and at times it knocked hope and faith off the shelf. "Normal people" scared her but she learned to conquer that fear, to not let fear influence her like that at all. She never wanted to lash out at non-mutants although she sympathized with her students who did, who came from experiences that had taught them that same fear she'd known but it wasn't an easy thing to get over. To grow from. And then the slaughter on Genosha happened. Rage suddenly felt like the only option and if it weren't for what little remained of her loved ones (Jean) then she might have done something that she would have regretted.

Living in a broken world was hard but as always, Xavier's remained open and Storm stayed put mostly. She of course would have given anything to turn back the clock and bring everyone back but that just wasn't plausible. Right? Until it happened. A part of her really thought that it might have given the world a new perspective on what was important- truly important. That the protestors and politicians in this world of superheroes and mutants and aliens would progress. With everything, it wasn't all good and it wasn't all bad but still, there were the 'protestors' outside the gates of Xavier's while Charles tried to calm the masses. Galactus was breathing down their necks and they still couldn't get it together. So yeah, Storm learned and re-learned that having hope is hard.

THE SAVAGE LANDS IS A NEW AND DANGEROUS PLACE, HOW IS YOUR CHARACTER COPING WITH THE NEW ENVIRONMENT?

Well, at least half the entire population of living things didn't dust again, right? Ororo is adaptable, she's a leader and a teacher, and not above frying whatever lurks in the long grass if it's gonna threaten to eat someone. She's probably had a cautious fly around, noting the fact that literal buildings from home have been transported wherever the hell they are; including a makeshift Genosha's Castle that has been offering sheltered. Storm is fine, she's more concerned about finding her fellow X-Men and students. Keeping them safe is her top priority.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Storm's past before the X-Men isn't really public knowledge. She's a mystery (which really means I'm taking some inspiration from the comics and mostly following the movies. Her parents death- and the rubble she was stuck under before being rescued- then growing up an orphaned thief in Cairo before Xavier found her in is the bulk of her backstory. Oh, hailed as a goddess? Maybe she’ll tell you about it sometime, maybe not. So if there are any plots you're into that involve her from the comics, let me know!). For her, who she is now began when she found her calling at the school. She could accept herself as a mutant and help others to do the same. Ororo found her purpose, love and family. Plus, she became a badass superhero.

Definitely the Mom™ friend and coolest teacher you ever had. Has a soft, understanding way about her that makes you feel as if you can confide without being met by any judgement (you can). Her capacity for love is boundless. The first to tell any mutant that they are not something to be cured or changed; they're perfect the way they are. Very passionate about that for both mutants and anyone else really. Self-love and care should be a priority for everyone even if she doesn't quite follow that thinking for herself.

Didn't dust during the Snap. Stayed with Jean and Charles at the school keeping things together and leaning on her best friend more than ever. Basically the number one Jean Grey stan in town and she's ready to fight about it.

A loyal friend who doesn't take anyone's crap. An aspiring beam of goddamn light! But finds it difficult sometimes to keep on shining for the sake of everyone else when the weight of the world feels so inclined to come down on her shoulders. Absolutely doing her best. A soft badass. A kickass cinnamon roll.

#white hair don’t care

Let me know if you want to have any pre-established connections with her!!

[punkpoemprose]

December 7th- Matches

Universe: Canon

Rating: G (General Audiences)

Length:1105 Words

Fluff. Also, did I mention I did most of my English coursework with a focus in 19th Century American Board Games? Because on a related note, there’s some educational bits in this one. Thanks English BA!

“If you get out of that bed I am going to finish what that mountain started, so help me!”

Kristoff sighed as Anna left the room. He hated being cooped up, especially when it was so wholly unnecessary. He had a bit of a cold and a twisted ankle, not the worst he’d ever weathered, and particularly lucky considering how he’d been caught up in an avalanche. He wasn’t sure why Anna was making such a big fuss about it, and yet he would be more worried if she wasn’t. One of Anna’s defining characteristics was caring too much. It was how he’d met her in the first place.

He stared up at the ceiling. He’d planned to stay in his own space, the room he’d made for himself in the stables where he could be around Sven and come and go as he pleased, but Anna was having none of it and so he found himself under the canopy bed in her room, waiting for her to return from the library after he’d all but begged her to give him something to occupy his time if she was going to force him into bedrest. He had been hoping for something a little more work oriented, shelling peas for the kitchen perhaps, or maybe even sorting letters for Elsa, but Anna had decided that he shouldn’t get up to anything more arduous than reading and he couldn’t argue with her. He’d never been able to argue with her, deny her, or go against her wishes in any way that counted since the day he met her and she’d chucked a bag of carrots at his face. He simply liked letting her have her way in any situation that wouldn’t certainly get them killed.

“Kristoff!”

He didn’t have to turn towards the door to know that it was Anna barreling through the door. He did look anyway however, mostly to see why she had gone from scolding him like a mother hen to squealing like a young girl. When he saw the reason, he could only cock a brow in surprise.

“Chess?” he asked as she excitedly brought a box toward him. He’d seen the box in the library before, sitting on a high up shelf accumulating dust. He’d only known what it was because Kai had mentioned its being there in passing and Kristoff had simply assumed that it had belonged to some long dead relative of Anna’s and that its lack of use was directly correlated to the time between its owner’s last breath and the time at which he’d noticed it.

“Yes! I used to play against my mother and father all the time when I was young! I always wanted to play against Elsa because they said she was quite good, but I never got the chance. I’ll have to challenge her later, but I didn’t even know we still had this set! I thought you might like to play with me since I’ve got you stuck in bed.”

Kristoff chuckled when she climbed into the large bed and set the board at his side. She was always so full of excitement and when she had a thought, she ran with it. He found it admirable. He’d never played a game of chess in his life, but he knew it was one of the things that people liked to play in their free time, and he had no doubt that with her quick wit, Anna was a force to be reckoned with.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you have me stuck in bed just so you can beat me. It should be easy given I have no idea how to play.”

She looked confused for a moment, and then she blushed. He felt a bit bad, he was forever embarrassing her with how little he knew about even the smallest, most inconsequential parts of her world let alone the bigger and far more important parts. Chess was just another point to add to the ever-growing list.

“What do you know how to play?” Anna asked, her tone non-judgmental as Kristoff watched her trying to figure out how to change her plans to work well for him. He’d long since decided that he’d never deserve her.

“Mostly dice games,” he answered honestly, knowing full well that they were frowned upon in polite society to the point at which most people used numbered tops when they played boardgames just to avoid dice and their association with gambling. He’d never been a part of polite society before he met Anna, and while he’d always try his best to be the man she needed him to be, he would never lie about who he was to get there.

She lit up. He hadn’t expected that, but his Anna was always full of surprises. She gave him a beaming smile and with some obvious excitement leaned in towards him.

“Do you think you could teach me?”

Kristoff chuckled to himself. He wondered how many ancestors she had rolling in their graves at the mere mention of a Princess learning to gamble from an ice harvester. He couldn’t help himself but to nod in affirmation. If she wanted to learn, he would teach her. Again, he could never tell her no.

“I don’t exactly have dice on me right now, and I don’t imagine there’s a set in the castle… well come to think of it someone on the staff probably has some, but that’s a lot of work and a lot to ask of a serving person. So yes, I’ll teach you, but later. Is that okay?”

She nodded happily, and Kristoff melted. She was so easy to please. He never felt like he was good enough for her, but she saw him as perfect and when she looked at him with so much unrestrained joy in her eyes he couldn’t help but feel as though he were on cloud nine.

“I won’t pretend that it’ll be easy to do,” he said with a sigh, reaching for the board still at his side while sitting up a bit straighter, “but I’d like it if you’d try to teach me to play chess.”

When she gave a delighted squeal and leaned in to kiss him on the lips, he almost reminded her that she shouldn’t and that he had a cold, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He simply accepted the kiss, helped her set up the board, and simultaneously prayed to and thanked whatever God was listening that she wouldn’t fall ill and for her coming into his life in the first place.

[craftypeachmiracle]

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Read more: https://translationlocalization488159331.wordpress.com/2021/09/01/bringing-the-best-content-with-japanese-document-translation-services/

[bloojayoolie]

Best Friend, Children, and Click: Hi my name is ELMO Fast learner, g good in doggie play groups, absolutely adorable cutest pouty lips, good walker, a perfectly 120mEboy..not a ,. squirrel chaser. Come meet me andgive me a gentle chance. ove ELMO # 25960-3 yrs old @ Manhattan ACC ****TO BE KILLED 5/3/18**** Handsome Elmo <3 is a friendly and gentle young boy, who was very shy when he was coming into the shelter, but opened up nicely with a little time and some walks. Elmo is doing very well in playgroup - romping with his male and female peers, he loves to go to the park and to watch people (he doesn`t mind pigeons and sqirrels) and he would be the happiest boy, if he could go home with his new parent(s) soon. Please share this good boy for a nice forever-home! A volunteer writes: Elmo is my favorite "Sesame Street" character because, while enthusiastic, he is shy and as genuine as a child, ready to absorb like a sponge whatever you might want to teach him. Our Elmo is a fast learner. At first, he was timid when he arrived at the care center, but with the help of staff and volunteers--and lets not forget his own peers--Elmo began to open up, participating in playgroups, going to the park, and even showing interest in the tennis balls. We are all so proud of him. Elmo is a very handsome young man, slender, elegant and so attractive in his snow white and bright orange coat. I love his slightly upturned nose and golden eyes. He is gentle, and his growing trust makes him such a likable pet. Elmo still likes us and his friends to be soft with him. Elmo is a good walker, polite meeting other dogs in the street, not a squirrel chaser, and now quite a good listener, coming when called and sitting by my feet upon request or for treats. Elmo has come a long way. Imagine what a star he could be in your home as your forever best friend! Come and meet Elmo at the Manhattan Care Center. VIDEO https://youtu.be/I6W4ggS-Xq8 Elmo ID# 25960 Manhattan ACC 3 yrs old, 47 lbs WHITE / BROWN MALE Medium Mixed Breed Cross Intake Date: 04-23-2018 My health has been checked. My vaccinations are up to date. My worming is up to date. I have been microchipped. Behavior Assessment Date of intake:: 4/23/2018 Spay/Neuter status:: No Means of surrender (length of time in previous home):: Stray Date of assessment:: 4/26/2018 Look:: 2. Dog's eyes are averted, body posture is stiff and fearful, tail is low and not moving. Dog allows head to be held loosely in Assessor's cupped hands. Sensitivity:: 2. Dog stands still and accepts the touch, eyes are averted, tail is between legs, body stiff, mouth closed, lip long, ears likely back, may lip lick. Tag:: 2. Dog is not fearful, but is unresponsive when touched. Approaches the Assessor when the game ends (may need coaxing to approach). Dog is focused on stimuli other than the Assessor. Paw squeeze 1:: 1. Dog does not respond at all for three seconds. Eyes are averted and ears are relaxed or back. Paw squeeze 2:: 1. Dog does not respond at all for three seconds. Eyes are averted and ears are relaxed or back. Flank squeeze 1:: Item not conducted Flank squeeze 2:: Item not conducted Toy:: 1. Minimal interest in toy, dog may smell or lick, then turns away. Summary:: Elmo did not approach the assessor but allowed the assessor to approach him. He had a tense, trembling, low body throughout the assessment and flinched away from any quick movements. He allowed all handling. Summary:: Elmo has displayed fearful behavior when introduced to dogs int he care center, though has begun to slowly open up to approaching and greeting polite dogs. Slow introductions are recommended between Elmo and respectful dogs. Summary (1):: 4/23: When introduced off leash to the female greeter dog, Elmo is fearful and does not approach. Summary (2):: 4/24: Elmo is fearful and only keeps to himself. Summary (3):: 4/25: Elmo opens up, follows, sniffs a female dog while displaying a soft body and wagging tail. Summary (4):: 4/26: Elmo keeps mostly to self. 4/27: Elmo greets male and female dogs politely. He play bows and engages in very brief soft play with a select female. Summary (5):: 4/28-29: Elmo keeps mostly to himself today. Date of intake:: 4/23/2018 Summary:: Elmo was hesitant but allowed handling. Date of initial:: 4/23/2018 Summary:: Elmo was very tense and snapped when microchipped. ENERGY LEVEL:: We have no history on Elmo so we cannot be certain of his behavior in a home environment. In the care center, he displays a medium level of activity. BEHAVIOR DETERMINATION:: ADULT ONLY HOME Behavior Asilomar: TM - Treatable-Manageable Recommendations:: No children (under 13) Recommendations comments:: No children: Due to the high level of fear Elmo displays at the care center, we recommend an adult only home. Potential challenges: : Fearful/potential for defensive aggression Potential challenges comments:: Fearful/potential for defensive aggression: Elmo gives clear warnings when she is uncomfortable and does seem to choose to avoid or retreat when given the opportunity, but if prevented from moving away there is a potential to escalate to higher-level warning behaviors and possible fear-based aggression. It is important to move slowly with Elmo, to build positive associations (treats/toys/praise), and to allow Elmo to initiate interactions with new people. He should never be forced to greet or to interact if he is not comfortable and soliciting attention. My medical notes are... Weight: 47.125 lbs Medical Assistant Vet Notes 23/04/2018 DVM Intake Exam Estimated age: 2-3y based on PE. Microchip noted on Intake? scanned negative by LVT on intake. MC placed on intake. History : stray presented by NYPD Subjective / Observed Behavior - QAR, resisted restraint and pulled head away for oral exam. resisted muzzle placement (swinging head around and opened mouth at muzzle), pawed at muzzle when placed. Evidence of Cruelty seen - none Evidence of Trauma seen - none Objective Sedated Exam BCS 4/9 EENT: Eyes clear, ears clean, no nasal or ocular discharge noted Oral Exam: dc 2/5; pd 1/5. PLN: No enlargements noted H/L: No murmur ausculted; CRT < 2, Lungs clear, eupnic ABD: Non painful, no masses palpated U/G: intact male. smooth and symmetrical testicles. MSI: Ambulatory x 4, skin free of parasites, no masses noted, healthy hair coat; multiple healing abrasions along right dorsal digit #2 CNS: Mentation appropriate - no signs of neurologic abnormalities Rectal: grossly normal. Assessment underweight fear / anxiety abrasions - healing. dental calculus Prognosis: good. Plan: await behavior assessment. rec trazadone after behavior assessment cleaned abrasions with chlorhexidine solution SURGERY: Okay for surgery 30/04/2018 S/O -QAR, shy, low growl when approached -sneezing, serous nasal discharge -eupnic A 1. CIRDC P -move to isolation -doxycycline 225 mg PO SID x 14 days -cerenia 45 mg PO SID x 4 days * TO FOSTER OR ADOPT * If you would like to adopt a dog on our “To Be Killed” list, and you CAN get to the shelter in person to complete the adoption process *within 48 hours of reserve*, you can reserve the dog online until noon on the day they are scheduled to die. We have provided the Brooklyn, Staten Island and Manhattan information below. Adoption hours at these facilities is Noon – 8:00 p.m. (6:30 on weekends) HOW TO RESERVE A “TO BE KILLED” DOG ONLINE (only for those who can get to the shelter IN PERSON to complete the adoption process, and only for the dogs on the list NOT marked New Hope Rescue Only). Follow our Step by Step directions below! *PLEASE NOTE – YOU MUST USE A PC OR TABLET – PHONE RESERVES WILL NOT WORK! ** STEP 1: CLICK ON THIS RESERVE LINK: https://newhope.shelterbuddy.com/Animal/List Step 2: Go to the red menu button on the top right corner, click register and fill in your info. Step 3: Go to your email and verify account Step 4: Go back to the website, click the menu button and view available dogs Step 5: Scroll to the animal you are interested and click reserve STEP 6 ( MOST IMPORTANT STEP ): GO TO THE MENU AGAIN AND VIEW YOUR CART. THE ANIMAL SHOULD NOW BE IN YOUR CART! Step 7: Fill in your credit card info and complete transaction Animal Care Centers of NYC (ACC) nycacc.org HOW TO FOSTER OR ADOPT IF YOU *CANNOT* GET TO THE SHELTER IN PERSON, OR IF THE DOG IS NEW HOPE RESCUE ONLY! You must live within 3 – 4 hours of NY, NJ, PA, CT, RI, DE, MD, MA, NH, VT, ME or Norther VA. Please PM our page for assistance. You will need to fill out applications with a New Hope Rescue Partner to foster or adopt a dog on the To Be Killed list, including those labelled Rescue Only. Hurry please, time is short, and the Rescues need time to process the applications.

[impossiblesuitcase]

The official time in which Kai was kidnapped aboard the Rampion was short lived. Really, from retrospect one would assume the most significant revelation would’ve been the identity of a certain missing Princess, or the ambitious plan to usurp a fortified government. Interestingly however, the most notable takeaway from the experience was Kai’s blatant lack of life skills. 

So the dust settles on the Lunar revolution; weddings come and go, world exploration is embarked upon, a Queen abdicates and an Empress is sworn in. But of more importance, according to its initiators, is the mission to teach Kai any and all life skills deemed necessary.

Thus ‘The Official and completely authentic list of life skills as directed by the Rampion Crew for his Majesty, Emperor Kaito of the Eastern Commonwealth, aka our pal Kai’ was born. Iko sticks with the lengthy name despite Cinder mentioning her retina display’s warning of superfluity. 

The unofficial title of the official title replaced Kai's name with "Cinder's trophy husband", which earned Thorne a jab to the side from the cyborg in question.

Most of Winter's additions are charming but unachievable, such as her advice to dance on top of a pony, whilst wearing matching outfits with said Pony. Kai declines for the most part but does fulfil the smaller task of wearing matching face paint with someone, where he and Cinder don small cheek marks on one of their ventures out. 

Many officials question whether Winter's eccentricities indicate faults in the bioelectrical-dampening device, but such proposals are discarded with the realisation that Winter is simply Winter.

Cress is eager to give ideas, much of which is inspired from her time in her satellite. Being incredibly sheltered, a lot of her ideas are ones that Kai has already completed over his life, but nevertheless, he does his best to recreate some of them, if nothing else but for fun. Her workout regimes are unnecessary when Kai's carefully thought out diet and nutritionist are taken into account. 

He regardless makes an effort to add some of the stretches into his morning routine, even encouraging Cinder to join in ("Your foot can't be asleep, that's impossible, it's metal." "It’s a bit more technical than just metal and I could turn it off if I really wanted to." "Would you?" "I mean, if it could let me stay in bed for another twenty minutes instead of going to a press conference, I just might consider it"). Kai also kindly rejects Cress' proposed ethical hacking, insisting that if ever a situation should arise, “I'd entrust hacking to you over myself any day”.

Thorne's contributions are ignored by everyone but still added to the list by Iko, even though they consist of everything from "Scale a mountain and plant a flag of your face at the top" to "Transfer 100,000 units to Carswell Thorne". His idea to build up flight training is taken on board however, although Kai does not seek his guidance from Thorne himself. Cress finds Thorne's ideas endearing, no matter how bombastic and preposterous they are. 

One of his more creative schemes is for Kai to build an island right off Jeju where Cyborgs can vacation. It is (unsurprisingly) rejected, but one day Thorne boards the Rampion to find a diorama of the island, complete with sustainable popsicle stick Cinder, Scarlet and Thorne. Thorne breaks out in an inescapable grin that only Cress can bring and scoops her into his arms. Between his praises he declares that she can be the honorary non-cyborg invited to the island. 

Jacin is nothing if not practical, with two simple contributions: 'Learn first aid', and the weightier 'review medical laws'. In light of the harmful Cyborg Draft, Kai continues to study medical law to find any lapses of justice, although the majority of the inquiry is spearheaded by the ever alert Empress Selene.

Scarlet is the most dogmatic in what is attested to be life skills. Basic dishes and chores are her additions, and Kai completes them, even with some blundering and his palace staff protesting to the Emperor lifting a finger ("Your majesty this is my job! You can't do the washing up!"). 

Despite their refusals, Kai is finally able to break through their fronts with the help of the assertive Iko and the fact that no one bothers to protest what Cinder does in the palace ("You would let the Empress hang out the clothes!", "With all due respect your Majesty, Empress Selene does whatever she wants"). Wolf, having learnt many of his own life skills from farming or with unattainable resources from Luna, mostly supports whatever Scarlet lists.

Iko, being the perpetrator and organiser of the list, adds anything she believes of being the utmost importance. This comes to include an extensive collection of skills, of which Kai only prioritises and endeavours to try a few. Many are superficial, such as braiding hair, which Iko personally sees to it that he learns. This results in many sessions where the android babbles instructions to the flustered but dedicated Kai, who patiently weaves Cinder's hair back and forth until he familiarises himself with the pattern. 

Cinder simply chuckles and stays still as the hair model of choice, usually catching up on comms and royal duties on her port-screen. Although a bit frustrated at times, Kai sticks with learning until his braids are accepted by Iko, further motivated by Iko's reprimand: "What if you have a daughter, and when she grows up she's asked:  "Princess, what is your greatest woe in life?" and she responds that her father never braided her hair?"

Baffled by the suggestions, Kai once asks Kinney what he makes of the proposed life skills, to which Kinney responds that "her Majesty Empress Selene and yourself, Emperor Kaito have no need to consider such ideas. You are the rulers of the Eastern Commonwealth and as such are more than adequately suited to your roles. You do not need to concern yourself with fanciful suggestions". 

Kai chooses to largely overlook Kinney's reasoning, keeping in mind that in the ever-dutiful Guard's eyes, Cinder was already untouchable and practically perfect. Although just as dutiful, Torin is more lighthearted towards the list, his fierce determination and protective nature over Kai having softened with Cinder's influence. Recognising what the approval of not just his people but his friends means to him, Torin encourages Kai to pursue the skills if he “feels it will befit his responsibilities as Emperor”. And if Cinder's singular addition of watching New Shanghai's most renowned musical happens to be Torin's favourite film, that's probably a coincidence.

Cinder adds nothing to the list, barring some subtle requests from a certain advisor, since most of her skills (ranging from mechanical know-how, ruling a Kingdom 101 and overthrowing a tyrannical queen who is also your Aunt) are inconsequential to Kai. That, and the fact that being around her all the time means he can simply observe her work, as he often does with her mechanical labor. 

The ruling of a Kingdom also proves to be a bust, since Kai is the more experienced one of the two, however he often finds himself intrigued by her perspective on matters, free from the bias of his politically-centred upbringing. Cinder works hard to help Kai accomplish the skills, especially since although he would never admit it, she knows he secretly really cares about succeeding in them.

Slowly the revised list is whittled down as Kai completes the tasks to a partial or full success. Although some of them are simply not feasible, reasonable, or even doable, the sometimes sweet and sometimes egregious (Thorne's) suggestions are kept if for nothing else than a memorable laugh. 

Eventually both Iko and Kai deem that he has sufficiently built enough life skills to indicate a significant improvement from his time on the Rampion. Yet the list never truly fades, with other members of the crew occasionally receiving a skill to try, often the result of an inside joke or dare. Kai comes to consider himself fairly well-rounded, but still remembers to imitate the humility and modesty of some of the most notable people in his life.

And if all else fails, at least he can talk eloquently enough to save his life.

Except he'll probably just interject with sarcasm.

[harry-meepmeep-dresden]

[gif number meme for bat-outtamontreal] 6 or 13!

((sorry for the long intro))

Meeting. New Wardens and visiting Wardens whom I have not met yet. Being the Regional Commander definitely began to aggravate my nerves. The pay and the way Luccio cared about people is what kept me in it. The kids needed to learn how to fight, to be trained. I’ve seen more combat than most, even some wizards older than me.

Of course, I couldn’t find anything ‘appropriate’ to wear according to Thomas so he dug through my closet and drawers of my small dresser. He managed to find one pair of jeans he determined would work. Then he trashed my room, throwing everything around before giving up and looking through his own stuff. 

“Thomas, it’s not all that important. I don’t have to look great,” I grumbled and moved to dig through the clothing he’d tossed everywhere. “I mean, not like I’m going to hook up with any of them. They’re like co-workers and subordinates.”

“Well with that attitude you’re not. Harry, I’m sick and tired of watching you and Karrin make goo-goo eyes at each other and not do anything due to ‘work reasons’. You haven’t had a relationship for quite a while and that Luccio Warden is going to be there right? You seemed to like her,” Thomas brought over a black hoodie. A black hoodie which was actually mine. 

“Please stop stealing my clothes,” I said before slipping the hoody on over my t-shirt. Thomas moved in and zipped it up half way before I could complain. “Also, there’s no way that’s going to happen. She’s rather amazing, but doubt she’d be interested.” 

Thomas rolled those silver eyes of his. His hair blowing in the non-existent wind. Sometimes I really, really wanted to just see him not being perfect. Something like that really drags on a guy’s self-esteem, especially if you’re related to it. 

“That hoodie is comfortable.”“So get your own.”“Can’t, I don’t have any money.”That brought out a snort and a little bit of a chuckle from me. 

“Take Mouse for a walk while I’m out? And feed him and Mister? Hopefully, I’ll outstay my welcome among all the old snobs and get booted out, but want to make sure if I’m not...” Look into his eyes. No fear of a soul gaze since we’d already had one. 

“yeah yeah, get out there, meet some hot wizard girls. Put a sock on the door. Maybe she’ll teach you how to say Leviosa correctly,” he rubbed his arm after I punched him in the shoulder for that quip. 

“I’m the clever one, you’re the pretty one. If you take away my cleverness whatever shall I do?” duster, blasting rod, a small ball of playdough, chalk, escape potion, Tylenol, wallet, staff, business cards, and car keys. Patted myself down one more time to make sure I had everything. “See you later, Thomas.”

He waved his hand a bit dismissively at me with a grin on his face. 

Time to drive...

Blue beetle. Break down for the nine hundredth and ninety-ninth time. Snow. Another two miles to the meeting. This night kept getting better and better. Tugging my duster around a bit tighter I started the long walk. I think Gandalf had it right when he said a wizard is neither early or late, they arrive precisely when they mean too. Unfortunately, when it comes to other people viewing it they only see the ‘late’ part. 

Quick in, quick out, being late isn’t even going to matter. 

Then I heard something utterly ridiculous. Being the amazingly grateful person I am, I decided to educate some fools. 

“Uh, excuse me, what did you just say?” I tried to look less threatening than my height allowed. 

“That the brew they got for this shindig is terrible,” the man held a mostly full bottle of Mac’s brew. 

“You most certainly can’t be talking about Mac’s.” I shook my head, not believing this person could be so serious. 

“It’s terrible, probably one of the worst beers I’ve ever had.”

“No one who has taste buds says that about Mac’s. At the very least everyone at least tolerates it.”

“And you are?” the kid- I mean, young adult I guess, rolled his eyes in a far less dramatic version than my brother. 

With a bit of a grin I folded my arms. “Dresden, Hary Dresden.” Pierce Brosnan might have been proud of my impersonation. 

The mention of my name visibly made the two stand a bit straighter. I’m surprised they didn’t know my identity just from my height, but some people are a special kind of stupid. Especially people who don’t like Mac’s. When my feet felt like ice, and I can’t feel my nose at all is not a good time to insult such craftsmanship.