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sukiglycerin · 3 years

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call it fate (or a christmas miracle) || katsuki bakugou.

* pairing: bodyguard!katsuki bakugou x earthbending quirk!reader (gender neutral!)

* genre: bodyguard!au, fluff, some angst, fake dating, aNd thEre wAs OnE bEd

* words: 10.3k (help)

* warnings: swearing bc bakugou, too much backstory, idk what bodyguards even do, there’s a fight scene (in a similar lieu to the sports festival arc), hunter x hunter? no this is tsundere x tsundere, i want to hug bakugou, yes i imagine mr. tanaka to be the tanaka from kuroshitsuji, christmas is a very minor aspect of the story (but the title was too good to resist)

* original request from @apexqueenie: Hnnnnnnnnnnnngh can I get a Bodygaurd Bakuboi x bratty reader who don’t like to be watched like a hawk cuz she wants to do fun things pretty please? // and from anonymous: if it's ok, can I request Bakugou with a reader who has a quirk like earth bending please? // and from @killkurzyackerman: ÒWÓ UR REQS ARE OPEN can u do a bakubabe with like lil sassy bad bitch vibe reader bc ive seen a lot of fics that sorta like softie or angel type and no offense theyre great but ya know sumthn diff this time please

* a/n: this is a very long fic, to say the least. i combined these three requests! though reader’s quirk doesn’t appear often, it conveys my thoughts on how bakugou would go about with that quirk. moreover, i hope this reader is badass? i realize that that characterization is quite hard for me. so, i hope you don’t see reader as super soft! i made them fight back against bakugou (literally, too) and kinda bratty hehe. i got to explore a lot of new things with this fic, so i hope they reach you well. this is a repost because it originally did not show up in the tags!

* synopsis: things had gotten boring with bakugou as your bodyguard. it was only until an interesting proposal by the man that things would change. well, maybe a little too much would change...

you, to be quite simple and honest, were getting tired of katsuki bakugou. he'd been your bodyguard for years (years! much longer than any other you'd hired!) and he was getting boring. dull. plain. any synonymous word would fit. he was boring like a 24 hour session of watching paint dry, monotone like a professor’s droning that never failed to put you to sleep. (perhaps he was even more spiritless than professor sato at the academy. he caught you sleeping no less than thirteen times in his class. the number didn’t even account for the times he didn’t catch you.)

to the untrained eye, katsuki bakugou is vibrant. he's aggressive, unruly, and ruggedly charming (somehow). he's a wonder in a suit-and-tie and the epitome of an oxymoron with his harsh words, rough hands, and crisp suit. it was that very reason you’d hired him; his personality excited you. it seemed unpredictable and it was a challenge.

like all other challenges, bakugou was not impossible. once the challenge was overcome, time flow was stagnant; you watched the ticking of a clock as the day passed by you. you’d gotten used to him and he’d gotten used to you. these days, he watched you like a hawk. you could never slip past those sharp eyes anymore, no matter what you did. he was not fazed by any of your antics (ticked off mildly, sure, but he could live with it).

“leave me alooooone,” you whined for the fourth time in an hour as you exited a mall. bakugou's hands were full of shopping bags filled with everything from clothing to the latest technological invention. you weren’t sure how he was supposed to protect you in that condition. though, to be candid - in the first place, you didn’t need protection. you attended a private institution designed to maximize the use of your quirk as a child and graduated with absolutely flying colors. on top, you’d taken various martial arts outside of school. you didn’t know why your parents were still concerned about your wellbeing. you handled it fine. around 99.9% of the time, you could easily beat your bodyguard in a fair fight. it was a regular practice for you; so common that there was a reward if a bodyguard could last longer than six months working for you. not that any of them liked to be called bodyguards.

“sweetheart, i would if i could,” bakugou gritted through his teeth. “pay’s too good to- goddamn, what did you even buy?” he’d stopped behind you to adjust his grip on one of the bags.

you hummed pleasantly, continuing at your same, leisurely pace. his question was a rhetoric; he watched you buy everything with your black credit card. you watched as a car pulled up in front of you.

“there’s our ride,” you said, brushing bakugou’s shoulder as you stepped into the car. he grunted in response, loading the car with your purchases.

“fight me with your quirk when we get home,” you said during the ride. “you have, what, a boom boom quirk?”

he made a noise in his throat, voice hard. “my quirk’s explosions. nitroglycerin.”

“dangerous,” you said through a smile. he’d never used his quirk around you, but you were already starting to see possibilities of strategies you could use.

“so says the master earthbender,” he retorted sarcastically.

you clicked your tongue. “we’ll see who wins in the fight, explodo-boy.”

“finally brave enough to challenge me, eh?"

“i was always this brave.”

“oh, give it up already, bakugou!” you directed another wall of rocky terrain toward bakugou, who blew up the land and sent rocks flying. his stance was hunched slightly, forehead matted with sweat. the sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up to his elbows, coat long abandoned on the rugged terrain.

“tired already?” he snarled. he put his hands together, preparing for a bigger explosion. you didn’t let him have this opportunity, slinging a large rock to absorb the impact of the explosion. he dodged swiftly, to your disappointment, but his attack seemed to be subdued.

you used his delayed reaction time to try to trap him with terrain under his feet, but he was somehow a step ahead of you. you heard a popping noise; bakugou was propelled through the air, your rocks blasted already and a cloud of dust forming. you cussed under your breath, already moving yourself away from his estimated landing spot that was too close to you.

he sent crackling explosions to the bottoms of your feet, but you easily dodged them. you created a temporary platform of elevated ground to protect yourself from the small explosions, jumping off it and rolling away. he was already aiming a larger blast toward you, presumably expecting your escape route. you figured it’d be a directed blast to pierce through a wall. you knew that the explosion would be unavoidable. to counter, you created a line of walls resembling dominos. they acted as stairsteps; you quickly ran up to the highest you could conjure in the short time you had before bakugou hit them. you grabbed the closest piece of rock that you could and leapt as bakugou’s blast made contact with your steps, chucking the rock at him and aiming to kick him when you landed. you knew he had no power to counter, being unable to react quickly due to the powerful nature of the blast he’d conjured.

you were about to win when the door to the training facility opened. you froze, literally, in midair and frowned, turning to look at the intruder.

“fighting, young-?” one of the butlers, tanaka, said. he was an elderly man with a gentle voice, but his eyes always seemed to glint with a clandestine humour in it.

“you can call me by my first name. please put me down, tanaka,” you said, no malice in your voice. he nodded, and you softly landed on your feet next to bakugou. you’d known tanaka for far too long for him to use honorifics with you. he’d practically raised you as a child.

“you haven’t fought in a while,” tanaka commented. he conjured a water bottle (you never knew how he had the right things for the right occasions) and walked toward you.

you made a noise of acknowledgement. “and it seems i was just about to win.”

he smiled tenderly. “i’m sure.” he handed you the water bottle, which upon further inspection, you saw was ice cold.

“thank you,” you said, gingerly accepting the beverage. the water flowed soothingly down your throat, easing the aching that had formed due to all the dust you’d kicked up in the fight.

“mr. bakugou?” tanaka asked, offering another water bottle (seriously, where did he get that?).

“thanks,” bakugou took the bottle. he drank feverishly, quickly finishing the bottle in what must’ve been two seconds flat. so undignified.

“y/n, you have an appointment in 15 minutes with-” tanaka said as you capped your water bottle.

“oh, yeah,” you said, waving off the matter. “i got it.”

you brushed off the dust on your clothes and started toward the exit. bakugou was quick to follow you, nodding politely to tanaka.

bakugou stood outside the door during the meeting you had with your father. you were not a minute too late or too early when you stepped into your father’s office, freshened up and dressed in clean attire, the dusty clothing from your fight with bakugou long discarded. the smell of leather and mint enveloped you, reminding you of the days you’d play in your father’s office in your youth. the room was always dim, the light on your father’s desk being the brightest object in the vicinity when the curtains were pulled down. when you were younger, you liked to pretend the room was made of chocolate, as the color was so dominant on the interior. your father was not pleased to find five-year-old you trying to bite the corner of his desk, to say the least.

the sight of his office was ever-so familiar to you, and once held a feeling of endearment in your heart. that was then; now, you only ever entered the room for a business-related matter. your face was blank, lips held in a thin line - you anticipated the topic of the meeting since your father first scheduled it a week ago. it, quite frankly, was inevitable; you could be neither opposed nor favorably disposed to it.

“i’ve found a compatible match for you, y/n.” your father sat at his desk, eyes intensely trained on you. “they’re from a well-off family with a strong quirk.”

compatible. it didn’t mean they got along with you or would be a good partner; no, it meant that they matched the superficial criteria set by your family.

“yes, father,” you said indifferently. he nodded, as if already expecting the answer.

“you’ll meet them soon. we’re arranging the date,” he folded his hands on the desk. “tanaka will alert you of it when it’s finalized. that is all.”

you nodded, taking your cue to leave. giving the room one last glance, you started to push the door open, then paused. door halfway open, allowing outside light to stream into the dark room, you looked back at your father. it was now or never to ask, you guessed.

“father… we wouldn’t happen to be having a family gathering anytime soon, would we? for new years or anything...” you hadn’t had any in the recent years, but you’d figured you’d ask. the scent of homemade food and the comforting chatter of the gatherings always made your heart swell.

he grunted, not looking up from the papers he shuffled around in his hands. “no.”

“ah. okay,” you said, sighing quietly. you knew better than to get your hopes up for such things. you turned back to the light, where bakugou was awaiting you, and shut the door behind you with a thud.

you walked in silence.

“so, no plans for the holidays?” bakugou asked bluntly.

“eavesdropping, i see,” you deadpanned.

“shouldn’t’ve had the conversation in front of the whole damn world.”

you rolled your eyes. “what about it?” you asked. “my lack of plans, i mean.”

“well-” he coughed awkwardly into his sleeve, averting his eyes. “that old hag- my, uh, mom, somehow got under the impression that i’m no longer… single. probably because of my profession - she thinks it’s ridden with scandals like a damn drama - but, uh… she’s expecting me to bring… company home for our christmas dinner…. and i can’t ask any of my friends, ‘cause she knows them… i wouldn’t damn ask you if i had no other option…”

“thanks,” you interjected. you held your tongue from making a comment about how little friends he probably had. “anyway, why don’t you tell her no?”

he slouched. “have you met her?” he grumbled. “the hag won’t listen to me. trust me, i would’ve, but… you can’t refuse her, once her mind is set on something… she’s too stubborn for her damn good.”

“like you,” you remarked, earning a small shove from the man.

“pl-” he choked, “pl - ah, fuck - please can you go to the dinner with me? it’s just for a night and morning, i need you to fake being my date. i can tell her we broke up later or whatever, i just really need…”

your lip curled. a desperate bakugou was a rare sight, and you wanted to relish in it for as long as you could. you feigned further consideration.

“but there’s so much i would rather be doing…” you whined. it was a lie. all you wanted was some variation in your life; a dinner didn't sound too bad. perhaps there was a dark secret within the bakugou family you could exploit.

“like what, wasting money?” bakugou muttered bitterly under his breath. you shot him a dirty look.

“fine, please?” he asked again. “there’ll be some damn good food… and, uh…” you tapped your foot with false impatience.

he cussed under his breath. “i’ll do whatever you want, damnit, just go with me! please!”

you cocked an eyebrow. “whatever i want?”

“yes, for a day,” he groused. “only a day.”

“alright!” you pumped your fist up. your father’s business training came in handy sometimes. “when’s the dinner?”

“this weekend,” bakugou said. “we also need to, uh, figure out how to act more… coupley.”

“...right,” you said. business class had not prepared you for that. “how the fuck do we do that?”

as it turned out, you two were not the best pair to fake a relationship. neither of you had actually been in a relationship prior to this. you didn’t really have time to date on top of your studies and such; you didn’t need to, anyway, because all of the people who were romantically interested in you bored you. their personality traits either consisted of rich or doormat. as for bakugou - well, he was bakugou. you couldn’t see anyone wanting to date that brute.

“i’ll pay,” you said upon entering a cafe. it was a big cafe, nestled in the midst of an even bigger mall. your tone was firm; there’d be no way bakugou would be paying. you looked up at the menu and said to him, “the usual?”

he was silent for a moment, and you almost thought he hadn’t heard you. he cleared his throat. “uh, yeah, sure. the usual.” weird.

you ordered yourself a drink and bakugou his usual order, a decaf iced caramel macchiato with light ice. he looked at you with a strange emotion on his face when you handed him his drink.you practically shoved it in his hands while he was too starstruck about god-knows-what.

the two of you settled at a booth (“table,” bakugou had argued. you eventually won the debate).

“so… trivia about each other, right?” you asked. “i guess we’ve got to get to know each other more.” he nodded. “well, first, you need to stop being so quiet. right now, you’re not my bodyguard or anything. we’re, uh…. dating. we’re partners. datemates. lovers.”

he choked on his drink at the word “lovers.” he sputtered, then gained composure. “yeah.”

“okay, i need to you to be more casual.”

“tch, who said i’m not casual right now?!” there it was; this was the bakugou you’d known when you first met him. he was awkward and amateur-ish, stumbling on his words and failing miserably at being polite. it was a fond memory. overtime, he’d obviously polished himself up (but only in the presence of you and your family).

“that’s more like it,” you said.

“tch.” he sipped his coffee, unrelenting to admit that you’d won.

“well, let’s cover basic facts. your birthday is april 20 and you like spicy food.”

he coughed again, setting his drink down. “yeah.”

“are you okay? d’you need water, or something? are the lights in here too bright?”

he shook his head, eyes still dazed with a certain unclarity. “‘m fine, idiot.”

you weren’t convinced. “...whatever you say.”

he took another sip, closing his eyes then continuing as normal. normal, in the standards of bakugou, of course. “i-i think i know damn well enough about you. don’t need to prove shit,” he grumbled the last bit.

“a little bit too well,” you muttered saltily. “well, this is a learning experience for me, take it or leave it. we need to get along at the dinner, don’t we?” you drummed your fingers on the table, eyes darting around at the cafe. the decor was pretty.

he made a grievance under his breath, but nodded. “there’s my dad and my mom - the old hag - and me. i’m an only child.” figures. he continued, “they both work in fashion… yeah… my dad’s more quiet than my mom, she’s loud… apparently we’re a lot alike - don’t comment - but yeah, she’s my mom. they live in shizuoka, and it’ll be just them at the dinner. you’ll need to stay overnight...”

“seems… intimate,” you commented offhandedly.

he whistled. “you think?”

the gears in your head turned as you stared into the space over bakugou's shoulder at a large poster of some featured drink. it was all small talk to you, but you saw this meeting for what it was. an opportunity. it was your break from the uniform days plaguing you for the past week's - he wouldn’t need to watch over you, now your fake lover. lovers were equal.

love - what was love? you didn’t know, but it didn’t matter. feigned or not, it was different. couples were moody, from what you could gather. one day they’d be hanging off each other’s limbs, and the next, they were bickering their heads off. it sounded fun, to be a couple with bakugou rather than his employer. you could say goodbye to normalcy and tedium.

you felt your lips turn into a smile as a plan developed in your mind, tapping the table at an increasingly faster tempo. who cared about the dinner? you were a fake couple! you could break away from the norm and find the things that made bakugou tick. you could gain a one-up over him. you could pick his personality apart piece by piece until it broke the monotony of daily life. you watched bakugou’s expression grow puzzled and frustrated. you pretended to be deep in thought, aware that bakugou was opening his mouth to make a snarky comment presumably about how the smile on your face was getting unnerving to him.

you didn’t let him speak, instead cupping your face in your hands and leaning in towards him. “how do you think we should become more intimate, kat-su-ki?”

you think you got soft over the years. when you first met bakugou, he was a rough little thing. being the same age as you, he was far less qualified compared to the other candidates to be your bodyguard. he looked out of place in his suit identical to everyone else. call it fate, or what you will, beckoning you towards him. when you first met him, you could’ve never imagined how far into the future you’d be stuck with the boy. all of the bodyguards you’d hired prior to bakugou’s appearance in your life didn’t last long. it wasn’t their fault; no, no, they were very competent. extremely competent - to the point it was boring, scrutinized under their meticulous gaze. you could do absolutely nothing under their watch, and where was the fun in that?

so, long story short, you hired bakugou for his incompetence. you’d low expectations for how long he’d last. you were surprised he could even put on a tie properly. from the way his hair spiked in every which way (“undignified!” your father had complained to you) and how his feet shuffled against the nice, newly polished cherry wood floors (“the scuff marks…”), bakugou was far from the epitome of a bodyguard. he couldn’t sit still and constantly made weird crackling noises (which you later learned were small explosions, not the concerningly incessant crack of his knuckles). the cherry on top to the disaster pie called bakugou, however, was his speech. he was polite, at face value, but also incredibly rough at face value. if you transcribed his words down, they’d be all standard formalities. it was the quirky way in which he presented his words; gritted out like somehow had forced him into this job. actually, scratch that, it was like this job was the be-all or end-all of his life. he was like an extremely tsundere shounen protagonist. he needed to win (“win what?” your father had laughed in disbelief) and be the very best. you'd… appreciate the sentiment more if you were his mentor in becoming a pokemon trainer.

of all the things bakugou was at the time, he was not a stoic old man nor a cold, indifferent boy who looked down on you snottily; he got the job. much to your father’s chagrin, of course. you’re pretty sure he had a backup bodyguard during the first month or so of bakugou’s employment, in case bakugou dropped out mysteriously for any reason.

surprisingly, bakugou was competent, but not infuriatingly so. he had snark, and under any other employer he would’ve been fired in the first week. he did his job, and that was all. it was fun to tick him off, too, and so easy. it was - dare you say it? - cute. you wanted to watch him fall apart and leave, as so many others had. you waited for the day he’d get used to you or vice versa, when you’d wake up with nothing to look forward to. in the end, no one ever stayed with you. you could usually figure that out within the first week of a bodyguard’s services.

these days, you started feeling that way. bakugou was just becoming everyone else you’d ever hired. he was becoming everyone else. for some reason, though, you still clasped onto the thread of hope that maybe he was different, and that led you down a series of events trying to convince yourself he was different.

at the same time, you told yourself he was like everyone else. did you want him to stay or not? you didn’t know anymore. maybe fate would spin something good out of this, or maybe he would. you didn’t want it in your hands anymore.

being flirty was definitely not the best route of plan, but man, it was efficient. what better way to fake being a couple than organically develop that relationship? that was your bullshit reasoning to the logical part of yourself (when it was obviously far from the truth).

yeah, it was definitely not the best plan. you bored of it quite quickly, but couldn’t shake off the lasting feeling of fluttering in your stomach. you supposed it was because it was the most reaction you’d gotten from bakugou in months. you’d never seen him so disgruntled.

he was very, very blushy. you didn’t know how you hadn’t learned of it earlier. his cheeks were dusted strawberry red, matching the hue on the tips of his ears. ah, tsundere bakugou had returned for a short period of time. you wished you could've taken a picture of him.

you tapped the tip of his nose and he hissed at you, cheeks darkening a shade.

“a boop?” he scoffed indignantly in disbelief. “who calls it that? a five year old?” but you could tell that he really enjoyed it on the inside.

“what- what are you playing at, dumbass?” he swatted your hand when you tried to boop him again.

“c’mon, couples need to do coupley things, katsuki,” you cooed. “like overly affectionate pda~”

you didn’t know someone could get so red.

“since when did you call me by my first name?” he grumbled, unable to form any other type of response.

“since we started ‘dating,’” you teased back, realizing that watching bakugou become more and more uncomposed was more fun than you’d expected. he'd never become so open around you; after all, you'd had a strictly professional relationship prior, so bakugou never expressed any hint of a personality other than his behavior when he was first hired. it was a good change, in your eyes.

then, as you did of most things, you bored of it. sure, flustering bakugou was fun because he was so outwardly tsundere, but your attention span was short. he was already starting to recollect himself in record time, face cooling from a startling scarlet to pink and remarks becoming increasingly cohesive.

you're not even sure if he was aware of your gaze resting upon him as you half-assed responses and watched the gears in his head furiously turn. when he got real worked up, he pouted when speaking and occasionally slurred words together. his eyes tended to veer away when he thought of a response and he always got fidgety.

eventually, you stopped teasing him. by this time, the ice in his drink had already melted and you were dangerously close to kissing him on the cheek (it was an impulse thing! you were not catching feelings!).

if there was one thing you learned, it was this: bakugou was truly a sight in his emotional state, though you could argue his unassuming state was equally, if not more breathtaking.

you noticed it as morning light illuminated him through the window of your room, hitting the silky fabric of your bedsheets around him. he was reading some book, dressed in comfortable attire that felt oddly domestic. maybe it'd be the most casual you'd ever see bakugou.

the thought struck a chord in you, making you wonder what'd happen after the dinner. it'd be awkward, for sure. it dawned on you that these moments with katsuki would vanish and things would go back to normal. they'd disappear into thin air, like nothing had ever happened. you weren't well educated in horology, but you were pretty sure that the time you'd spent with him would vanish as well, not to be spoken of or referenced ever again. time would keep trudging forward and you'd only be able to stare back as it disappeared on the horizon line.

you wanted to grasp the time that flooded your hands, encase the moment in glass and hold it in your palm forever.

"oi, idiot, what are you staring at?" and maybe it was the first time you truly heard bakugou's voice. it was rough on the edges with a soft core, you realized. maybe, after these couple of days, bakugou had started to care for you.

"nothing, stupid," you mumbled, returning your attention to your phone, but you couldn't shake off the newfound feeling that holed up in your heart. bakugou didn't care about you, you told yourself. you had a strictly professional relationship with him, and that was only broken for the time being because he needed a favour.

right. this was all for a favor.

nights spent testing each other on the most miniscule of facts and afternoons spent telling each other stories about each other - it was all nothing. it wasn't a big deal, you repeated to yourself.

still, you couldn't help but to look back up at bakugou and let your imagination run. he wore a black shirt and sweatpants, a complete 180 turn from the typical three piece suit he normally wore. maybe this is what he'd look like in the mornings if you were a proper couple, not client and bodyguard - maybe in another universe. you could imagine his bedhead, hair all messy and eyes still worn with sleep, vastly different from the professional persona he had around you. you'd wake up inhaling the scent of caramel and feeling his warmth surround you, feeling secure merely in his embrace. it'd be him and you in your own little bubble, unperturbed by the entire world.

wait, caramel? you wondered. where did that come from?

"you're staring again, dumbass," bakugou grunted, not looking up from his book.

"zoned out on the blandest thing i saw, sorry," you replied.

you sat in silence like that for a while. you weren't not exactly sure how it was bonding time for the dinner (were you sharing telepathic waves?), but it was comfortable like a fluffy comforter on a frigid winter day. it felt secure, like a home you never had in your own bedroom. every now and then there was the sound of a page turning from bakugou and a tap on your phone from you, and things never felt so normal. it was too short an eternity for you; before you knew it, you had some event to attend to for your father, solely there for the image of his company.

you didn't see the bittersweet look on bakugou's face as he watched you leave, or how he hadn't even finished a chapter of his book during the hours he'd sat with you. as his eyes followed your disappearing silhouette, bakugou wondered if he'd ever be able to see you like that again.

a foreign giddy feeling filled your chest as you got ready for the dinner with bakugou’s parents. you’d brought a bag for light travel packed with essentials (pyjamas, toothbrushes, and things like that), having planned ahead. you were typically indifferent to gatherings of any kind, having attended so many for your father. besides, this was a favor for bakugou. you weren’t sure why you were being so indecisive choosing an outfit for the dinner, or why your heart felt light as a feather, fluttering about in your rib cage boundless. this was no big deal, you told yourself. it’d only be bakugou and his parents; you’d spoken at gatherings of far more people with less nerves. you penned it down to only being excited for the food which was so coveted by bakugou. his mother, mitsuki, was apparently an outstanding cook (bakugou was apparently good as well), and you had to admit, you missed the heartening scent of homemade dishes. her specialty was spicy curry - your mouth watered at the thought.

yes, you reassured yourself as you walked out of the door and met the fresh, winter air outside, you were only in it for the food. you had an abnormally fast heart rate and a spring to your step (as noted by bakugou) solely for the food.

shizuoka prefecture was two hours away from your hometown, tokyo, and you forced bakugou to drive. the trip didn’t really feel like two hours, anyway, in your opinion. according to bakugou, that was only because you were sleeping the majority of the time and he was stuck with the dull task of driving and only the low hum of the radio to entertain him.

“well, this is it,” you said to bakugou, approaching his parents’ home, bag in hand. it looked quite elegant on the outside, snow thinly blanketing the well-kept greenery in the front. you turned to look at him. his suit looked nicer than usual, on full display because he refused to wear a coat despite the frigid air biting at any bit of bare skin unsheathed on your body. (“just the perks of having a great quirk like mine,” he’d said. you punched his shoulder.) you huddled closer into the warm padding of your coat, watching your white breath dissipate in the air.

“it is,” he belatedly said. his face was atypically solemn, eyes downcast and seemingly lost in thought. you didn’t comment on it. something about the nippy winter air numbed the atmosphere, as if all warmth had subsided only to your coat.

“do i look alright?” you asked him, trying to wipe away any last bits of drool you might’ve had on the corner of your mouth.

“yeah. you look… really nice,” he commented quietly. you didn’t mention that your bulky coat was covering the entirety of your attire. a heavy silence fell over the two of you.

anyway, the mood was quickly relieved by the presence of mitsuki bakugou, who greeted the pair of you at the door with her husband, masaru. bakugou really was a spitting image of his mother, sharing the same spiked blond hair and annoyingly clear skin with her. they also had similarly loud personalities, you observed later on. they’d often bicker with no real malicious intent. they were both much different compared to bakugou’s father, masaru, who was a gentle, soft-spoken man with brown hair and glasses.

mitsuki met you with enthusiasm, eagerly asking you questions about yourself and your relationship with bakugou. it was strange to see bakugou so quiet; though, at some points in the conversation, he looked like he was going to be sick. you didn’t have time to ask him about it, occupied by his mother’s unending but well-meaning questions. you’d expected to fib for most of them, but the truth easily slipped from your tongue. even compliments about him were half-truths.

"when we first met, he was like a fish out of water!" you recounted to mitsuki. "he stumbled on his words and my father didn't approve of him as my bodyguard. but, i pushed through, and here we are! right, katsuki?"

"r-right," he coughed, unable to look you in the eye and fidgeting nervously.

"it amazed me, too," mitsuki admitted. "i'd never seen our katsuki looking so polished before - it used to be a trouble getting him to even wake up at a decent time." she smiled at you. "you've brought a blessing on him."

bakugou cleared his throat. "don't talk about me like i'm not here," he grumbled.

"oh, katsuki," mitsuki cooed, pinching bakugou's cheek. "masaru, let's prepare dinner." she looked at you and bakugou. "the two of you don't need to worry about a thing - oh, you still have your bags! i’ll put them in katsuki’s room."

upon the absence of bakugou’s parents, the two of you sat beside each other without a word.

“are you… feeling alright?” you asked suddenly, breaking the silence. “you don’t look so well.”

“fine,” he grunted. “i’m fine.”

“are you sure?” you teased in an attempt to lighten the mood. “not nervous meeting the parents?”

he cracked a small smile, but his fingers still nudged each other in his lap. you touched his shoulder, first in an attempt to comfort him, but soon realized that he was very toasty. you scooted towards him; he stared at you with an surprised, indecipherable expression. you linked his arm with yours and leaned into him, inhaling his cologne and bathing in his warmth.

“what?” you mumbled. “you’re warm.” you intertwined his fingers with yours. “warm,” you happily cooed, eyes slipping shut.

“jesus christ,” bakugou hissed. “you’re freezing. is it humanly possible for your hands to be this cold?” his other hand enveloped your hand (still being held by his), rubbing his thumb soothingly on the heel of your palm. a bubble of warmth fizzed inside you, heart effervescing like a carbonated beverage. he held you long after your hand had passed room temperature, and you sensed that maybe the fuzzy feeling jittering about you wasn’t his quirk. it was like some sort of low fire, crackling deep within you. you hadn’t much time to dwell on the thought when your eyes jolted open, smelling really, really good food wafting from somewhere near.

“look at the lovebugs,” you heard mitsuki murmur, standing in the doorway connecting the kitchen to the living room leaning on her husband. “dinner’s ready,” she softly said upon noticing your eyes on her.

your eyes widened, looking down at the hand entwined in yours, and you look at the man next to you. bakugou was sound asleep, tranquil slumber having sheathed itself around him. his head leaned against the top of the couch, mouth slightly agape and chest falling rhythmically.

“hey,” you whispered. reluctant to let go of his hand, you used your opposite hand to tap his shoulder lightly. “hey, sleepyhead.”

bakugou groaned, eyes still closed and body unmoving. “five… more… minutes…”

“sure,” you said easier than you expected. you immediately let go of the man’s hand (he reached out toward you blindly at this) and stood up. “i’ll just eat all of that food you've been looking forward to by myself…” mitsuki and masaru looked at you fondly.

“nice try, dumbass,” he said gruffly, standing up and putting a hand on your shoulder. his eyes were lidded with torpor and his voice was an octave deeper. it sent shivers down your spine - you hadn’t ever heard his voice like that - and a part of you wanted to hear it again. sadly, the effects of sleep passed him quite quickly; by the time he’d said “let’s eat, dumbass,” and made his way to the dining room, his voice was back to normal.

dinner consisted of scrumptious-looking (and tasting!) chicken katsu, curry, and even more conversation. your mouth watered as you spooned yourself the perfect ratio of rice, curry, and chicken in one bite. you politely raved to bakugou’s mother about her heavenly cooking, and bakugou never looked so proud or embarrassed in his life. masaru discussed fashion with you, mitsuki occasionally chiming in and offering to show you pictures of young bakugou modelling. you courteously declined for the fear of bakugou’s face getting any redder than it was already.

“y’know, katsuki really wanted to be a pro-hero when he was younger,” mitsuki reminisced. “he even was accepted at that really prestigious hero school, ua.”

you looked at bakugou with questioning eyes, and he shook his head dismissively, hesitant to the topic. you wondered what he was doing here, as your bodyguard, rather than the hero he aspired to be. it wasn’t like he’d be unable to become a sidekick once out of ua, so what happened…?

at the end, you seemed to have gotten the approval of mitsuki and masaru. your heart twisted in pain realizing who you were and why you were here; this was asked of you, nothing real. you pushed the thought away, returning to the dining room after washing your hands.

“oh, my!” mitsuki exclaimed as you entered the dining room. “it’s getting late.” she turned to you. “we don’t have a guest bedroom, so you’ll have to share a room with katsuki, if that’s alright?”

you looked to bakugou, who seemed lost in his own thoughts. “sure, i don’t mind,” you replied.

“i’m sure you’d love to see bakugou’s childhood room.” this brought bakugou abruptly to his senses; his eyes rounded, face looking like a deer caught in headlights.

a smile tweaked your lips. “i’d love to.”

you didn’t know what you were expecting when mitsuki opened the door to bakugou’s room. certainly, though, you were not expecting this. his room was decorated from head to toe with all might merchandise, carefully collected through the years. it could’ve been worse, you admitted to yourself, but bakugou’s interest in all might surprised you. the level of admiration bakugou had for the former symbol of peace was clear, plastered on the wall posters and figurines which dotted his bookshelves.

“of course,” misuki said, “this is all really from his middle school days. he had to move to a dormitory system in high school, and i’m afraid he didn’t take much along with him…”

you tilted your head at bakugou, who’d taken particular interest in the ground with his hand sheepishly on the back of his neck.

“it’s cute,” you reassured him gently.

“though katsuki’s bed is pretty big, we could pull out a futon if you’d like…”

“it’s alright.” shit. why did you say that? noting the bewilderment on bakugou’s face, you added, “we are dating and all…” you mentally smacked yourself for assuming bakugou would be comfortable sleeping in the same bed as you. “yeah,” bakugou said, much to your shock.

“that settles it!” mitsuki smiled. she winked. “don’t stay up too late.”

after mitsuki and masaru bade you goodnight and closed the door behind them, you were left alone with bakugou.

“hey, is that a picture of you?” after looking around the room, your eyes fell on a framed photo sitting on bakugou’s dresser. you reached for it, recognizing a familiar spiky haired blonde boy proudly holding a trophy.

“wait-” the frame was already held in your hands.

“aw, you were such a cute kid.” you teased, “can’t say the same about now.”

he huffed, ears reddening. “there’s a photo album on the bookshelf,” he mumbled, pointing to a thick looking book on his bookshelf. you eagerly plucked it from the shelf, holding it like a precious treasure in your two hands. he shoved his hands into his pockets and rested his chin on your shoulder, watching you open the photo album.

the first photo was a baby photo, of course, and you could feel that it was taking every part of bakugou not to rip the book from your hands and scorch it all out of embarrassment. the first few pages were those of baby bakugou, eating food with his hands or playing with his parents. as the book progressed, you watched him develop a quirk (blowing up a vase) and become interested in pro-heroes (clutching an all might doll to his chest with a big smile on his face). the photos became more scarce as bakugou grew, but he seemed to grow happier. paging through photos of him in high school, the man’s gaze seemed to grow softer and fonder. his high school pictures consisted of him either standing in front of the famous ua or making an indifferent face with a group of his friends, who looked vaguely familiar from somewhere. upon further inspection, it dawned on you. you could recognize them all - they were young versions of the pro-heroes red riot, pinky, chargebolt, and cellophane. they regularly appeared on your newsfeed for one heroic deed or another, so it came no surprise to you that they attended the famed ua high.

as for bakugou, though? you couldn’t understand what he was doing there, or rather, here. if he graduated ua, he’d be right on track to become a pro-hero, not a bodyguard.

bakugou already sensed your revelation, shutting the book and putting it down. sitting on the bed, he squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“i know what you’re thinking,” he stated. he took a shaky breath. “i’m- i’m not ready to talk about it.”

“okay,” you replied. “i think… we should get some sleep. you have to drive back tomorrow.”

he snorted. “me?”

you nodded like it was a given.

the night was long, dragging in the same manner that you’d trudge through deep snow with weights on your ankles. it wasn’t that bakugou’s old bed was uncomfortable; it was surprisingly plush. you laid awake, though, as the clock ticked by and the house went silent. you felt as stiff as a wooden board, staring at the dark ceiling and thinking about everything and nothing.

your thoughts first strayed to bakugou’s childhood, and how he’d seemed the poster child for an aspiring pro-hero. how could he have given that up? he had friends, dreams, and a path open to his aspirations. yet somehow his life had deviated into this, pretending to date you for his parents’ sake.

it felt strange to lay in his bed in his parents’ house and not to really call him yours. not that you wanted to call him yours outside of this scenario. definitely not. it was just the guilt gnawing at you that impaired your proper judgement - your conscience felt pity. you pulled off a large lie to bakugou’s parents that you were dating when in reality, you’d never even gone on a proper date with the man; for all you knew, he could be a terrible person. he could have terrible dating manners and leave to the bathroom when the check comes in an attempt to force his date to pay. it was hard to imagine, but hey, you reasoned to yourself, it was a possibility.

“can’t sleep either?” bakugou’s deep voice startled you. you thought he’d fallen asleep hours ago.

“yeah,” you snorted. “and here i thought you were in the habit of always sleeping early,” you referenced his mother’s stories of him in middle and high school. you turned on your side to face the man.

“kinda hard with five different all mights staring at me,” he joked, gesturing to his plethora of all might-themed decorations.

you imitated all might’s larger than life voice. “i am here! … to watch you sleep!”

bakugou first snickered, which then transitioned into a full-blown, unrestrained (yet somewhat hushed) laugh. you couldn’t help but laugh too, watching his features crinkle and gummy smile widen. your heart felt peculiar in your chest, but you couldn’t figure out the feeling. in the years you’d known him, you’d never seen him so relaxed or open. you knew you’d miss moments like this in the morning, when you’d drive back and the deal would be over. it sent a bittersweet pang to your heart - why couldn’t moments like these last forever?

you woke up to find bakugou gone, leaving you alone in the bed with only a warm indentation next to you letting you know he’d just left. you rubbed your eyes groggily, sitting up and pushing the covers aside. you swung your legs over the edge of the bedside, standing up and making the bed once again. you padded out of the all might-furnished room to the kitchen, where you could hear quiet footsteps and the sizzling of a frying pan.

“someone’s finally awake,” bakugou’s husky voice remarked. he was standing at the stovetop, wearing an apron over his nightwear and frying eggs. sleep had worn his voice deeper; you swooned at the domestic sight before you. no, it wasn’t swooning, you told yourself. just… appreciation. you really wanted to make a comment on his muscles, bulging from his short-sleeved shirt.

“that looks really yummy,” you said, in no way whatsoever referencing his biceps and definitely referring to the egg in the pan.

“i’d like to pretend that was an innocent comment, but the direction your eyes are looking at beg to differ,” bakugou deadpanned. you looked away, flushed.

“so, whatcha making?” you said, plopping yourself on a chair.

“eggs, rice, natto, miso,” he said. “but nothing for you until you change and brush your teeth.”

you stuck your tongue out at him. “who are you, my mom?” you continued, “i used to hate natto when i was younger.”

“it’s good for you,” bakugou said, moving the egg onto a plate of steaming rice.

“you sound a lot like my mom,” you replied. “but i like natto now, just not too much of it.”

“i liked natto when i was younger,” bakugou said.

“really? all of my friends hated it. they complained about the smell.” you reminisced about your childhood days, when your biggest worry was whether you had homework or not.

“speaking of smell? your breath. go brush your teeth.”

“wh- i’m so far from you, there’s no way-”

“no hygiene, no food.”

“who even says that?” but you were already out of your chair and heading towards the bathroom.

“oh, by the way,” bakugou said as you were halfway through emptying your plate with rice in your mouth, “what do you want?”

“wha?” you said, chewing the egg-natto-rice mixture in your mouth. “what?”

“the deal,” he said. “before my parents wake up.”

“the deal-?” you racked your mind for any deal you’d made in the recent days, as you weren’t much a gambler, then it hit you. the deal. in an attempt to convince you to pretend to be his date, he’d said he’d do whatever you wanted for a day in exchange. you hadn’t thought about it at all.

“um,” you said intelligently. what did you want? you wanted to spend more time with him, but there would be no way…

“take me ice skating.” he choked on his rice.

“what?”

“i really want to ice skate…” you lied. “i’ve never been.” another lie.

“you want to go ice skating with me?”

“pay for me.” you could’ve paid for yourself. “and, you have terrible dating skills. how are you supposed to get a real partner? consider this beneficial for yourself.”

he blinked, taken aback. “...okay,” he agreed, dumbfounded. you hoped he couldn’t see through you. “when?”

“today, duh.”

by the time you finished your plate, bakugou’s parents had woken up to bid the two of you farewell. hours later, you found yourself at an outdoor ice skating rink in tokyo.

the rink was decorated festively; surrounding trees had been wrapped in golden lights and there was something in the atmosphere which bustled with cheer. those skating were either children or couples, laughing and skating together. you told yourself not to pay too much attention to them, but there was something about the way they looked so happy that made you yearn for the same.

you clumsily clomped toward the entrance of the rink itself, clad in four layers of warm clothing and worn rental skates. cold air nipped at your cheeks and your breath was a snowy white before your eyes. patting your cheeks in an attempt to half hype yourself up and half warm yourself up, you tensely stepped onto the frozen water. clunk. clunk.

“you look like an idiot,” bakugou said as you made your way onto the ice with slow clunks. he was surprisingly cocky about his skating prowess once he’d gotten his skates on, despite his lack of experience on the ice. he was unaffected by the chilly weather, wearing a thin jacket and denim jeans despite the vast majority of other skaters wearing winter coats.

“it’s cold,” you responded. slippery ice beneath your feet, you suddenly felt a great deal less confident in your ice skating abilities. it might as well have been your first time skating, in the eyes of bakugou. you took baby steps on the ice, both hands gripping the side rails while bakugou glided breezily past you.

“c’mon, idiot, loosen up~”

easy for him to say. “i’m- trying,” you gritted out, attempting to copy his fluid motions.

“hey, dumbass, take my hands.” bakugou stopped in front of you, both hands outstretched for you to hold. you looked at him warily, then accepted the offer, his hands replacing the railings.

“don’t hold them that hard,” bakugou said. “i’m not going to drop you. relax.”

you nodded, gulping as you released your death grip on his hands. starting to skate backwards (an incredible feat in your eyes), he slowly guided you along the edge of the rink. you spent most of the time staring at your own feet, trying to keep your balance and rhythm in time with bakugou’s. once you seemed to get the hang of it, he sped up ever so slightly, loosening his grip on your hands.

“just like that,” and his voice was much gentler than you’d ever heard it. you looked up to meet his soft gaze. your heart leapt and he quickly averted his eyes. “um,” he coughed awkwardly. “i think you’ve gotten the hang of it.”

“okay.” you started to let go of his hands, testing your balance skating without anything to hold onto. in small amounts at first, you start to let go, allowing your strides to become longer and longer. bakugou matched your pace beside you and eventually, the two of you fell into conversation. you’d both forgotten your own words about how this was for him to gain dating experience; it felt too real to be practice.

“the truth is, i was really, really close to becoming a pro-hero,” he confessed, “but i was injured in my third year. i had to take a break for a year or so, but by that time, i was too rusty for the job.”

“but-” you said, almost stumbling on the ice at the revelation, “didn’t you do all that training-?”

he shrugged. “it’s the reality of it,” he said dismissively, a momentary shadow crossing his face. he recomposed. “i’m over it now.”

you had the slight suspicion that his words didn’t ring quite true, but let go of it. still, you couldn’t help but think about all of his all might decor - he must have idolized the man, only to fail at his dream. his room was like a memento to everything he wanted yet couldn’t reach. “you wouldn’t have met me if you hadn’t become a bodyguard,” you said cheerily in an attempt to distract both him and yourself.

“true,” he smiled. then, almost to himself, he added, “i don’t regret that.”

the two of you skated a couple more laps around the rink. conversation faded and your feet became more and more sore after skating for so long. a chill had settled itself onto your bones as the sky tinted in anticipation of the evening to come.

“we should get going now,” bakugou said. “before it gets too cold.”

“yeah-” your phone buzzed in your pocket. “hang on, give me a second.”

it was tanaka, telling you that you had a date scheduled by your father in two hours. it took you a moment, it really did, to remember who you were and what your priorities truly lay.

you made it a point not to tell bakugou what the call was about on the way back. you told him it was about a business deal, and he pretended to buy it. the car ride was desolate, lacking all warmth despite the heater blasting. you felt guilty; why had you lied to bakugou? you and he both knew you were lying about the business deal. was it pity? why had you felt the need to protect him?

you could only amount it to the fact that maybe bakugou was becoming a friend. maybe bakugou was becoming someone you never wanted to hurt. your thoughts were the only thing you could hear over the buzz of the car’s heater. you looked to the sky with imploring eyes as if some cloud on the lavender-tinged atmosphere listened and could provide you an answer.

you weren’t sure if it was the clouds’ doing or some star hiding behind the sun’s light that washed a sense of solemness by the time you returned to meet tanaka at the gates. it was almost enough to make you forget the sad feeling you held whilst looking at bakugou one last time before stepping out of the car to greet your old butler. the feeling was unfathomable to you; in your daze on the ride back, there’d seemingly been no reason for such a feeling to linger in your heart. why had you felt so much guilt, so much sadness for this man you were supposed to be strictly on business relations with?

not that you’d done this, anyway. your business relationship with bakugou ended the minute you agreed to that favour he’d proposed, and was further broken when you ice skated together. you wondered if he felt the same as you, or if things would return to the way they had been after this date tonight. somewhere deep in you hoped it wouldn’t - hoped he wouldn’t forget it all. (“stay here,” you’d told him when you stepped out of the car. his stare was vacant; would he? you weren’t sure why you even asked.)

“tanaka,” you said stiffly. the air was frigid around you (when had the temperature dropped so suddenly?) and a breeze wrapped itself around your legs. an impulse told you to turn back, look at bakugou, and tell him the things you left unsaid - but you didn’t.

“y/n,” he nodded. it was like a wake-up call. this was who you were, truly. your father’s pawn, his company’s pawn. you were a face used for business and nothing more. you traded your feelings for your father’s wealth - that’s who you were.

yet it was the past two days that made you feel more like yourself than ever before. the time spent with bakugou, of all people, made you feel genuinely happy. he made your name feel more like yours than your father’s. it seemed it was he who could only coax this feeling out of you. you, certainly, couldn’t imagine it being anyone else. there was something unlike anything you’d experienced before which bakugou gave you. but you couldn’t let your father down, could you?

“y/n, we must go now,” tanaka urged.

you didn’t look back.

bakugou watched you leave with an inscrutable expression. as soon as you vanished from his sight, he let out a deep sigh and bashed his head on the steering wheel, then rubbed the spot of contact. that would leave a mark.

he wished he could pretend he didn’t know what your sudden meeting was about. he couldn’t. what kind of bodyguard was unaware of his client’s schedule? you were going on a date, on account of your father’s absolutely superb matchmaking skills. he wanted to strangle the bastard.

god, he was an idiot to have gotten his hopes up about you. just like countless other things in his life, you were unattainable. he was constantly in pursuit of the impossible, it felt, yet none of his endeavours’ ends had quite felt like this. it started when he was a child with a newly developed quirk. constant words of praise fluttered around his ears, all applauding his strong quirk and natural intelligence. it continued when he entered school, winning academic and athletic awards for what everyone called his talents. (he remembered looking up the definition of “talent” in a dictionary in his elementary school’s library and being sorely disappointed. no one had seen the hours he’d dedicated to practicing and studying after school - all of that couldn’t amount to what everyone else had called natural talent.)

in doing so - winning all those competitions - he’d somehow earned the approval of all those around him. it was never something he’d wanted or aimed for, but it soon started to fit him like a custom-tailored outfit. somewhere along the way, he started to seek out the approval of others, flaunting his accomplishments to do so. however, as years went by, one thing became apparent: the tactics used on his peers and teachers would never gain his parents’ approval. he so yearned for a tad of his parents’ praise or satisfaction; even an “i’m proud of you, katsuki,” from them would’ve sent katsuki to the stars and back. he never was quite sure, as a youth, how to gain this prize, so to speak. and so, for the sake of his parents, he became stronger and stronger and thus began his journey to attain the first impossibility in his life.

high school, at once, came knocking on his door in the midst of this endless journey. with it came izuku midoriya, the boy katsuki had bullied in middle school. this time, though, it was izuku who was stronger; katsuki had so wanted to atone for all that he’d done to the boy, but it proved something impossible. on the physical level, izuku had already forgiven him and moved on. it wasn’t enough for katsuki, who’d really done nothing to deserve izuku’s kindness. so katsuki set off, trying to truly deserve the boy’s forgiveness and make up for everything he’d done. in katsuki’s mind, there would be nothing he could do that would balance out the weight of his actions to izuku. hence unraveled the second impossibility katsuki set up for himself.

the third impossibility found itself in katsuki’s third year at ua academy. he was working for his parents’ approval and atonement for izuku; this impossibility, though, would send everything crumbling down. impossibles, unlike any math equations covered during his schooling, could not be cancelled out the more brought into the equation. it was perhaps katsuki’s only salvation and lifeline, his passion to become a hero. fate snatched this very possibility from katsuki’s hand, snapping the lifeline and dangling it just out of his reach. all of it was cruel - the sympathetic words spoken from recovery girl’s lips and the weeks katsuki had to sit out of hero training. even worse was how katsuki watch his grade drop from one of the top in the class to only passable in general studies, no longer sharp enough to qualify for a pro-hero. by the time he healed, he was rendered unable to rejoin the hero course. his goal was thrown away easily, becoming another impossibility.

katsuki trained himself physically for a new job. an acquaintance had introduced him to being a bodyguard, and katsuki figured that was close enough to being a hero. not that he particularly enjoyed the notion of waiting on someone’s every beck and call. but through and through his countless impossibilities and misfortunes, he had to move forward. he was tired, so tired - hearing his parents’ disappointed voices on the phone and looking up to see a billboard of the newest top pro-hero, deku. when he foolishly and naively got his hopes up about you, the logical part in him knew it was doomed. he knew that as he stared at you, illuminated by a golden light in your bedroom, it was ill-fated. you were a miracle opening up a new life to him - but miracles weren’t real.

of all the impossibilities in his life, you were the most painful. why was he cursed in such a way? where had the happiness in his life gone, if not with you as you walked away from him? he stared at his suit cuff, suffocated in the stupid attire. he should never have taken this job.

a knock. another knock. three more rapid knocks, and he finally looked up to see your eager face looking at him from the passenger side window. he hastily unlocked the car door with a click.

“finally,” your exasperated voice said to him, tinged in a happy hue that he’s confused by.

“wh-where’s tanaka?” katsuki stuttered. “your date-”

“i did it, bakugou.” you beamed at him. “i refused. i said no.”

“wha-what? you refused what?”

“the date, duh!” you laughed. you grew quiet. “i realized something. i realized that all i want is you, and it’s… it’s about time i start taking control of my life.”

katsuki cracked a smile. a real one, not painful like so many others he’d faked before. “you’re a dumbass, you know that?” and it was endearment, bringing you close to his heart.

maybe fate had decided to bless him. maybe it was all the impossibilities in his life that had cancelled each other out to give him you.

“oh, and by the way,” you said, changing the topic. “i’ve been thinking a lot about it recently. we need to have a rematch for that sorry excuse of a fight we had the other day. i will have an undisputed victory over you.”

“you’re on, moron.”

it was definitely fate that brought katsuki to you.

#bakugou x reader #bnha x reader #bnha fluff #bakugou fluff #bakugou angst

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camachameleon · 6 years

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Cam’s Voltron Fic Rec 3/∞

VLD Rec Lists: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] Here’s a Fic Masterlist for my other fandoms. ( ** = favorites )

**Recoil/Release by Cheshyr

Word count: 22,387 (13/13)

Summary: When Keith is bitten by an alien creature with venom that causes your dominant emotions to be amplified, the team is ready for a day of dealing with an incredibly angry paladin.

Which means they’re not ready at all for what actually happens.

Comments: The almost stream-of-consciousness writing of Keith’s parts are really gut-wrenching because it’s as if you are experiencing it with him. (Warning for panic attacks- if you are triggered at all by that sort of thing you may want to sit this one out, it gets pretty graphic). A couple good song pairings for this fic to set the tone are Broken Crown and World Gone Mad.

**Synergy by Kokochan & Spanch

Word count: 74,064 (10/10)

Summary: The vines were large, stiff, gnarly, and thick-stemmed, with blue leaves as big and round as dinner plates, but Shiro’s battle-arm was able to sever several long straggles with ease. The vines draped easily enough over the shuttle and hid it quite handily from view. “Good enough, I suppose,” Shiro said, glaring at the empty greenish-blue sky. “Come on, let’s… Hunk? What’s the matter?”

Hunk was staring at something behind him. “Shiro, don’t make any sudden moves just now, but there’s a really big lizard thing standing right behind you. Um. Two of them.”

Surprised, Shiro turned, albeit carefully. He’d never even heard them approach. That was rather impressive, considering the size of the beasts. It was as though someone had taken a pair of Arizonan horned lizards and rebuilt them more on the lines of a tiger without leaving out any of the spikes, then expanded them to about the size of an Indian elephant and added six large, intelligent blue eyes. Understandably, Shiro froze in place.

Comments: OH. MY. GOSH. OK. SO. This bad boy is Part 1 of 3, so far, with a total series word count of 241,404 at the moment. This beautiful titan of a series is named Of The Pack, and it updates with great speed, considering it has two top tier authors working on it. The several OCs in this story are so lifelike and realistic and fit so well into the universe that I forget that they aren’t actually canon and I kind of miss them when I’m reading other Voltron fics. My favorite part is the world-building it does. Everything about this fic is so dynamic and multi-dimensional, from it’s characters to the epic plot - this is the exact opposite of lazy writing. I am so here for badass Pidge, and the matriarchal Galra culture and the dragons. I👏LOVE👏THIS👏FIC👏

Also there’s magic! (with a scientific explanation, of course)

A cool song that I think goes nice with this fic is Heroes by Måns Zelmerlöw.

The Kids Are Alright by pugglemuggle

Word count: 10,430 (3/3)

Summary: Three Garrison Cadets Missing After Freak Satellite Crash

By Mara Garrett, News Editor | The Guardian | Monday, June 13, 2103 7:40 A.M. ET

Two seventeen-year-olds and a fifteen-year-old went missing Friday night after a rogue satellite crashed into the desert a few miles away from the Galaxy Garrison Training Facility, reports say. Garrison officials were quick to cordon off the area, claiming many of the remaining satellite fragments were dangerous and unstable. Government search parties have been sent out into the surrounding desert areas. Details are forthcoming.

—

Her brother is missing. Lance’s sister isn’t about to sit quietly while the Garrison keeps lying to the press. No—she’s going to get to the bottom of this.

(Or: The paladins’ families team up to find their kids and overthrow the corrupt Garrison regime. Told through news articles, prose, the internet, and art.)

Comments: The format of this is very intriguing and fresh. We get to see scenes of our favorite paladins through the eyes of their friends and families, from before they disappeared and the aftermath. The open ending is still satisfying and leaves you with a sense of determination and hope for these characters that you just couldn’t help but get attached to. If you’re big on government conspiracies then this is the fic for you!

**Patty Cake by Froldgapp

Word count: 7,829 (6/6)

Summary: Quiet, aloof, and alone, Keith is distant from the rest of the team. Hunk begins to suspect why, and it’s only when the red paladin pushes himself too far, the Voltron gang realise he’s just as vulnerable as the rest of them.

Comments: Aaaaahhh this fic. Something about this one has me coming back to reread it all the time even though I always cry. It is just so angsty but in a more poignant, sharp, breathless kind of way. Some of the things the characters say send painful stinging jolts into your chest and you can feel your heart cracking and then you get angry because how dare (I mean ch4 tho holy sh*t). I just want to hug Keith so much ugh. Hunk’s protectiveness of Keith gives me the strength to finish this masterpiece every time. Also, this can kind of be Sheith if you squint (or not, if you don’t).

The Message by Shipstiel

Word count: 132,787 (45/45)

Summary: (4:07) okay, but considr this, and hear me out here (4:08) so like, a photobooth u can do with ur pets like there’ll be lil costumes that u can dress them up in, and u can do liek, period costumes and shit with them (4:09) omg, can u imagine, u and ur cat/dog, and theyre in a lil 1800s dress and one of those lace umbrella things omg so cute

(4:15) Why the FUCK are you texting me at four in the morning with this

—

Keith is texted by accident by some idiot one day, and honestly he’s not even sure why he responds. Or why he keeps responding. Yet somehow he finds himself drawn in, and okay, so maybe this fool is mildly entertaining after all. Who would’ve thought.

Comments: Slowburn Klance Wrong Number AU. These two are so cute I just can’t. This is the perfect story if you are looking for something effortless and relaxing to read. Even though this contains some softcore Langst, it is still a very cute and heartwarming story about two dorks slowly falling in love. It features Lance’s mother who I fell in love with here, and the kind of supportive nosy best friends that everyone wants in real life (i.e. Hunk, Pidge, and Allura).

**The Quiet by MilkTeaMiku

Word count: 66,700 (32/32)

Summary: Does he not realize he’s dead?

Keith can see ghosts. As a part of his Garrison training, he’s sent to a hospital to do one year of medical clerkship - it’s there that he meets a charmingly irritating chose who definitely needs to learn what boundaries are.

Comments: Modern Ghost AU with eventual Klance. This fic is the most suspenseful story I have ever read in my life. Idk if it’s just me, but I just have this feeling building up paragraph by paragraph of an impending… something. And it has my heart racing which is crazy because it isn’t even particularly fast-paced. There’s just a heaviness to the words that have the hairs on the back of your neck prickling. I literally have to take a breather from reading sometimes to calm down.

A couple cool songs I think set the mood for this fic is Smother and Mirror.

Finding Home by spacegaykogane

Word count: 26,966 (6/6)

Summary: After the wormhole collapses, Keith finds himself stranded on a strange planet. Alone. Until Lance comes along. With their lions dead and resources limited, Keith and Lance need to put aside their differences and work together to get home. Wherever that may be, now.

Comments: Klance. I love Stranded fics where they have to work together to survive and bond over that. So yeah this one has some whump obviously, bc you know, crash landings aren’t very fun. This one is angsty but its balanced out by the fluffiness in the end.

Cuddle Puddle by nothingwrongwiththerain

Word count: 46,782 (6/6)

Summary: Unexpectedly, Shiro’s hand landed on the top of his head. Apparently with Lance and Hunk taking up all the shoulder real estate, Shiro would settle for ruffling Keith’s hair.

Keith was fairly certain his soul was about to detach and abandon his shaking body on the couch. He was surrounded, in the complete and total sense of the word, by other people. Not once before, not in his whole life, had he dealt with a situation like this one.

Or, five times Keith found himself too close for comfort and one time he couldn't get close enough.

Comments: Klance featuring ace!Keith. Don’t be fooled by the fluffy summary, this is a very angsty fic with lots of Keith whump. Basically, as stated by the author, this story is about ‘Keith struggling with physical contact and learning to accept people care about him’. I love touch-starved Keith stories, like this one. I love the scenes with Kidge bros, featuring a super supportive Pidge.

At the Beginning by Sakuraiai

Word count: 64,203 (12/12)

Summary: Inspired by Anastasia

King Zarkon of the Galra empire lost his only way in to the Kingdom of Altea. In his anger, he put a curse on the royal family. The young, adopted half Galran prince Keith disappeared when the palace was overrun, never to be seen again -- or so it seemed. The only surviving princess, Allura, grieving for her child, offers a reward for Keith's safe return.

Con artists, Lance and his best friend, Hunk plan to pawn off a phony to the princess, hoping to reap the rewards. They hold auditions and choose an orphan man who has a remarkable resemblance to the missing prince -- all the way down to his fluffy Galran ears.

Comments: Can anyone say Anastasia AU?! I waited with baited breath for each chapter to come out and I was not once disappointed. I love the integration of the different alien races in this timeless story, it all works out so well. Keith just wants to find his mommy and I just want to cry. Also Kidge bros are still my fav as always.

out of orbit by rbillustration

Word count: 78,135 (19/19)

Summary: Dragged apart by Haggar’s attack on the wormhole, the paladins and Alteans struggle to survive and find one another again. Luck has placed them all within the same galaxy… but their fortune ends there. Lance is stranded with a badly-injured Shiro and his relief at finding their leader still accompanying him soon turns to terror. Keith may be the only who can rectify the situation - but the Galra have him in their grasp, and they don’t want to kill him. They want him as one of their own.

Comments: ANGST. SO MUCH ANGST. A brainwashed Galra!Keith plus a Possessed!Shiro. This is the perfect recipe for disaster if I ever saw one. If lots of blood bothers you proceed with caution. I love stranded fics.

A good song rec for this one is Darkside.

VLD Rec Lists: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] Here’s a Fic Masterlist for my other fandoms.

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patriotsnet · 3 years

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Are The Republicans Caucusing In Iowa

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/are-the-republicans-caucusing-in-iowa/

Are The Republicans Caucusing In Iowa

Winners Of The Iowa Caucus Since 2000

The 2020 Iowa caucuses, explained

Highlighted names became the partys presidential nominee.

Democrats

Our reporters provided real-time updates from the ground in Iowa.

Trip Gabriel, reporting from Des Moines Feb. 9, 2020

The Iowa Democrats released a new delegate count, but The AP hasnt called the race and the Sanders team says it will request a recanvass. Read more »

Trip Gabriel, reporting from Des Moines Feb. 8, 2020

Theyre still not done counting in Iowa. The state party says it will re-examine 95 precincts after receiving evidence of inconsistencies. Read more »

Reid Epstein, reporting from Manchester, N.H. Feb. 7, 2020

Buttigieg has taken 13 pledged delegates out of Iowa, and Sanders has won 12, according to AP. But theres one left to be allocated. Read more »

Maggie Astor, in New York Feb. 6, 2020

The Associated Press is unable to declare a winner, it now says. We could know the winner of New Hampshire before we know the winner of Iowa.

Reid Epstein, reporting from Manchester, N.H. Feb. 6, 2020

After DNC chair calls for a recanvass in Iowa, the Iowa Democratic Party chair says theyll conduct an audit if a campaign requests it. Read more »

Sydney Ember, in New York Feb. 6, 2020

Sanders declares a very strong victory based on the popular initial vote. Buttigieg has declared victory as well. Read more in our live updates »

Reid Epstein, reporting from Manchester, N.H. Feb. 6, 2020

Jennifer Medina, in Los Angeles Feb. 6, 2020

Lisa Lerer, on a flight to New Hampshire Feb. 6, 2020

Where Are The Caucuses Held

A caucus is usually held at a school or other public building in a precinct, depending on expected turnout. Churches, union halls, fire stations, businesses and private homes also serve as caucus sites.

Find your polling place through the Iowa Democratic Party;or the;Republican Party of Iowa.

Look up Republican caucus locations at the Republican Party of Iowa website

Some locations will host caucuses for multiple precincts on caucus night, so it will;be helpful;to know your precinct number so that you caucus with the right group.;

To find your precinct, go to the Secretary of States website:

Both parties recommend arriving 30 to 45 minutes early. The Democratic Party specifies;that you must be;signed in or in line by 7 p.m. to participate.

Iowa Caucus : Live Results And Analysis

The Iowa caucuses are kind of like neighborhood meetings where people get together and out in the open, with no secret ballot try to win over their friends, family and neighbors to support their preferred candidate.

The caucuses start a months-long process that eventually leads to the selection of 41 delegates, who will vote for a candidate at the party’s national convention. It’s a complex, unique and exhausting process that might go a little differently if done in a place that was temperamentally unlike Iowa.

The caucuses quadrennially come under fire for being overwhelmingly white and not representative of the country, let alone the Democratic Party. But the candidates have spent millions there and over the past 40 years, and it has been very predictive of who becomes the Democratic nominee.

Let’s break down how all this works.

What time do the caucuses take place?

They begin at 7 p.m. CT and are expected to last roughly an hour. The Iowa Democratic Party is trying to expedite the process this year with just two rounds of caucusing, so they may very well be wrapped up in less than an hour.

Who can vote?

The caucuses are “open.” In other words, any registered voter in the state can participate.

But for as much attention as the caucuses get, not many Iowans actually participate. In 2016, for example, fewer than 16% of people eligible to vote actually caucused.

Where do the caucuses happen?

How will we know who wins?

the statewide preference after the first alignment;

Don’t Miss: Republican Flag Pins

Tips For Caucusing With Kids

Yes, it can get heated. I remember seeing a friend of mine with one baby in a carrier, and two girls on each of her hands. She proudly stood in her candidates corner and stood back to listen to the process. She chimed in when she wanted, and her kids watched her the entire time. They were seeing their mother stand for what she believes in.

Changes In The 2020 Democratic Caucus

Two counts: In previous cycles, caucusgoers could realign multiple times. Starting this year, there is only one realignment and people who supported a viable candidate cannot vote again.

Satellite caucuses: For the first time in 2020, Democrats have allowed caucuses at;dozens of satellite locations, both in Iowa and in other states and three other countries, to allow people who could not caucus at 7 p.m. at their assigned precinct in Iowa to participate. Some of those satellite caucuses start earlier or later than 7 p.m. and some require preregistration.

Reporting results: Democrats will make public the raw vote numbers from the first and second alignments, as well as the delegate strength candidates have. In previous years, the party;reported only the delegate strength.;

View the final delegate totals as well as the first and second alignment vote numbers at DesMoinesRegister.com on Feb. 3.

Recommended Reading: How Many Republicans In Congress

A Wild Card For 202: The Trump Factor

Even as potential candidates begin making early moves in Iowa, Trumps shadow looms.

At the Conservative Political Action Conference in February, he continued to falsely claim he won the 2020 election and teased a 2024 campaign, saying I may even decide to beat them for a third time.

Trump remains popular among Iowa Republicans, who voted to send him back to the White House by an 8 percentage point margin. According to a , 89% of Iowa Republicans view him favorably.

And at CPAC in February, a straw poll showed him dominating a field of potential candidates. Trump won easily, earning 55% of the vote. At 21%, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was the only other Republican to crack into double digits.

But Kaufmann said he doesnt believe politicians run the risk of alienating Trump or his supporters simply by showing up in Iowa.

In my conversations with many of these leaders and I’ve had conversations with many of them not one time, not one time did I hear one of these national leaders or a member of their team actually say anything negative or even imply anything negative towards the former president,” he said. “So no, I don’t think there’s any risk whatsoever.

But some Republicans say theyre ready to move on from Trump. Longtime Iowa operative Doug Gross said in January after the U.S. Capitol attack on Jan. 6;that he would personally try to block Trumps rise in Iowa if he were to run again.

It Might Just Be Game Over For The Iowa Caucuses

The states with the most privileged places on the presidential primary calendar are finding their roles more threatened than ever before.

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The siege of Iowa and New Hampshire has begun.

The two states with privileged places on the presidential primary calendar are finding their roles more threatened than ever before most recently in the form of a bill introduced in Nevada this week to move that states nominating contest to the front of the line in 2024.

On its own, the Nevada encroachment would mean little. For years, Iowa and New Hampshire have successfully defended their one-two position from states eager to jump ahead. But the combination of Iowas botched 2020 caucus and increasing diversity in the Democratic Partys ranks has made the whiteness of Iowa and New Hampshire all the more conspicuous, putting the two states on their heels and throwing the 2024 calendar into turmoil.

Theres no reason in the world that those states should go forward so early, because theyre not representative of what 90 percent of the countrys all about, said former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat who remains influential in party politics. America looks different than it did 50 years ago, when these traditions were put in place, and the Democratic electorate looks really different.

He added, Its no longer palatable, as far as Im concerned, for those states to take precedence over states like South Carolina and Nevada.

Filed Under:

Read Also: Are There Republicans Running For President

The 2024 Iowa Caucus Campaign Has Already Begun

Trump’s preeminence in the Republican Party isn’t stopping would-be successors from campaigning and recruiting supporters in Iowa.

06/28/2021 04:30 AM EDT

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WEST DES MOINES, Iowa Former President Donald Trump would be the overwhelming frontrunner for the Republican Partys nomination should he wage a 2024 comeback bid. But thats not stopping his would-be GOP successors from barreling into Iowa.

Only months after Trumps election defeat, Republicans are laying the groundwork for the all-important, first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses. Potential candidates are hopscotching across the state to fundraise, campaign for midterm hopefuls and appear at traditional party dinners that mark the start of caucus season.

And behind the scenes, Republicans are making overtures to influential activists, meeting with party leaders and hiring operatives with deep experience in Iowa, which is still expected to be the first 2024 contest for Republicans even though Democrats are grappling with whether to change their nominating calendar.

The burst of early activity which is set to accelerate over the summer months illustrates how Republicans are maneuvering with an eye toward succeeding Trump. A Trump bid would likely extinguish their hopes of becoming the partys nominee, and at least one candidate has said they won’t run if if Trump does. But would-be contenders are wasting no time preparing for the possibility of an open nominating contest.

Filed Under:

What Is The Iowa Caucus

Iowa caucus: Republicans make presence known at Democrat events

The Iowa Caucus system begins with a group of 1,679 precinct caucuses that start the four-part presidential and midterm electoral process for both Democratic and Republican parties in Iowa. Precinct caucuses are party member meetings held in schools, libraries, churches and similar venues.

Can I participate?

Anyone who is an Iowa resident and of voting age can attend. Those not yet registered to vote, are able to complete registration before going in. If a potential participants registration is for a different party, party registration can be switched at the door. Meeting leaders are chosen, sometimes presidential candidates or candidate representatives briefly speak, the caucus participants discuss the candidates, and voteRepublicans on paper, Democrats with their feet. By the close of the caucus, delegates have been selected to go on to each partys county, district and state conventions.

Don’t Miss: Are There Any Republicans Challenging Trump

Meet Trumps Gop Opposition

Suffice it to say, neither Walsh nor Weld has much chance against Trump. Walsh has already announced that he will not be on the ballot in his home state of Illinois, citing a lack of resources and the need to focus on Iowa and New Hampshire. Ive contacted Weld and Walsh for comment and will update if and when I hear back.

Part of it is that we have to convince a lot of the Republican donors that there is a viable option and theyre going to want to see results before they put money into our organization, a spokesperson told the Chicago Sun-Times. And while Weld has polled well in New Hampshire, his numbers are far outmatched by Trumps.

But victory isnt necessarily the point of either mans long-shot bid for the White House. Rather, their campaigns are intended as signals to Trump-skeptical Republicans that theyre not alone in their opposition to the president.

For Weld, his focus is on restoring normalcy to the Republican Party as a real Republican. When I spoke with the former governor back in August and asked him about Trumps considerable popularity with the GOP, he told me, Im not willing to concede your premise. I will concede that Im a normal Republican, and the implication of that is that Mr. Trump is a Republican in name only.

He believes Republican voters are looking for fiscal conservatism and a small-government ethos from a presidential candidate willing to stand up for the taxpayer.

Weld has a lengthy political history, as I detailed last year:

Chaos As Democratic Party Blames Iowa Caucus Delays On ‘inconsistencies’ As It Happened

Help us cover the critical issues of 2020. Consider making a contribution

Joan E Greve in Des Moines

Tue 4 Feb 2020 07.27;GMT First published on Mon 3 Feb 2020 23.17;GMT

Elizabeth Warren, who had to be in Washington earlier today for the Senate impeachment trial, appeared at a Des Moines caucus site to deliver her campaign pitch in person.

Jess Bidgood

Warren speaks at Roosevelt High School caucus site in Des Moines. Layout of the room means shes making her unity pitch right in front of the Bernie corner. Opposing chants of warren! Warren! And Bernie beats trump as she leaves

Sam Levine

Eighteen Iowans made history Tuesday evening as they became the first people to participate in a caucus hosted entirely in American Sign Language in Des Moines.

Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg were the three viable candidates after the first round of voting. Warren ultimately earned two delegates while Biden and Buttigieg earned one each.

But for many who attended, the significance of the event extended beyond choosing a nominee. It was the first time many had caucused, since the process can be so exclusionary towards deaf people.

Ive been paying my taxes for several years … We should be able to be involved in the political process, but due to communication, not being able to hear, it was a barrier before, August Cordero said.

Sam Levine

Recommended Reading: Why Is The Media Against Republicans

What To Know About The Iowa Caucuses

After months of campaigning, debating, polling, fundraising and eating fried food, Democratic presidential candidates face their first real-world test on Feb. 3, when Iowa voters have their say in the states caucuses. Heres a rundown of important things to know about Iowa and its first-in-the-nation vote.

What is;a caucus, and how is it different from a primary?

While primaries are run much like general elections lots of polling places, a secret ballot, many hours to vote Iowas caucuses are more like neighborhood meetings. Starting at 7 p.m. in each of the states 1,678 voting precincts , Democratic voters will gather, debate issues and candidates with each other, and eventually cluster in preference groups to elect delegates to their county conventions. The precinct caucuses kick off a process which, several months from now, will result in 41 delegates being chosen to represent Iowa at the Democratic National Convention. The whole caucus process, which can take more than an hour, is nicely illustrated here.

Iowas Democratic caucuses are open only to registered party members, not unaffiliated voters or those registered as Republicans or with other parties. However, people can register or change their party affiliation on caucus night if they want to participate.

How many people turn out for the caucuses?

How will we know who wins?

How reliably do the Iowa caucuses predict the ultimate nominee?

How many other states and territories use caucuses?

Republican V Democratic Caucuses

The Republican and Democratic caucus processes are very different. The Republican caucus is conducted by a vote, usually on sheets of paper. I have been to caucuses for both parties. The Republican caucus is often in a lecture hall as it is more conducive for sitting.

The Democratic caucus is a bit more complicated. It is an exciting visual demonstration of democracy. The Democratic caucus-goers congregate in a room based on which candidate they support. Some may be undecided, and they often sit in the middle of the room. Then, the caucus-goers try to sway their peers toward one candidate or another. Ive never been to a caucus with food, but Ive heard a plate of desserts has been known to decide a race.

Recommended Reading: Who Is Better Republicans Or Democrats

‘it’s Absolutely Earlier Than Before’

After breakfast with the Westside Conservatives Club, Pompeo planned;a meeting with the Bull Moose Club in downtown Des Moines with Terry Branstad, the former Iowa governor and former U.S. ambassador to China. The day before, Pompeo met with the Pottawattamie County Republicans at an event in Council Bluffs.;

Pompeo, who was a U.S. representative for the state of Kansas and the director of the Central Intelligence Agency before becoming secretary of state, previously was in Iowa last summer to speak at the Family Leadership Summit hosted by the Family Leader, a Christian conservative advocacy group.

Hes among a handful of Republicans who found reasons to travel to Iowa last year, including Tim Scott, Haley, Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem. Former Vice President Mike Pence was also a frequent visitor to Iowa while serving in the Trump administration.

Rick Scott, who is also the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, will be in Cedar Rapids April 1 for an event organized by the Republican Party of Iowa. And Tim Scott will return to speak at a party event in Davenport April 15.

Kaufmann said the presidential activity is beginning sooner than it has in past years.

It is absolutely earlier than before, he said. No doubt about it.

Would-be candidates followed a similar schedule at the outset of the 2016 cycle, as Republicans made;their first visits to the state in May of 2013.;

Iowa Gop Chair Predicts State Will Keep First

JAMES Q. LYNCH

Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, arrives for a caucus night rally Monday in Des Moines. Cruz sealed a victory in the Republican Iowa caucuses.

Save

Its getting harder for Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel to say its too soon to know whether Iowa will again host the first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses.

Thats because her handpicked chairman of the panel that will set the GOPs national nomination calendar for 2024 keeps telling Iowa Republicans they will kick off the quadrennial process of choosing a nominee.

I’m in Iowa, so weve got to talk about it, but I don’t like getting ahead of my committee, McDaniel said when asked about Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Jeff Kaufmann saying matter-of-factly that Iowa will retain its leadoff status in the coming presidential election cycle.

The final decision, McDaniel said, will be up to the 168 RNC members representing Republicans in the United States and its territories.

I have to remain neutral, McDaniel said, adding that shes not hearing chatter within the party to change the nomination calendar.

Kaufmann feels no such obligation to remain neutral. And hes chattering plenty.

I do have an opinion about where Iowa should be in the nomination process, he said while introducing the chairwoman Aug. 28 to about 700 people at 1st District U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinsons BBQ Bash.

Also Check: Who Has More Billionaires Democrats Or Republicans

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missjackil · 7 years

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Writing Tips for Sam and Dean

I’ll let you all know that Im not a seasoned writer like many of you are, I only have a handful of fics under my belt. Not all are fan faves, some people don’t like the ship (most of my stuff is low smut wincest) or maybe they don’t like the ending, but Sam and Dean are the primary focus of all of my stories (except The One Who Remembers which is all Sam) and I am always told that I kept them in character well, which I take great pride in. For me, if they are not in character, then Im not reading Sam and Dean, Im reading a story about other people with the same names. This isn’t to say Sam and Dean can’t or shouldn’t be written OOC, they can be written any way you want them to be and thats perfectly fine, but if you want to write them, and keep them real, I hope these tips will help. Choose a Season: This is pretty important because both brothers change over the years. Sam especially. Dean changes, but not as rapidly as Sam does. Like, I cant believe that S7 Sam and S8 Sam are the same person, or that they’re even related to S1 Sam, or become S12 Sam. Dean’s character changes, but more subtly and over a longer period of time. So if you’re going to have a silly yet over protective Dean, dial back to seasons 1-3 and choose a Sam from those seasons. (sure, you absolutely can interchange them, I just personally find the story flows nicer if my head is in the same season for both)

Pretend it’s an Episode: Even if you’re going to add language, violence, and smut that would never be seen on the show, imagine yourself watching what you’re writing. What does the scene look like, where are they, what would their facial expressions show. It’s good to visualize the scene. This can help you when you’re stuck for their next line. Take a moment to describe the scenary, and think, “what do I expect would happen next” and go from there. Sometimes, its just the kick you need. Dean is Easier to Write For: He just is. This is not an insult to either brother, it is simply because Dean is an extrovert, and Sam is an introvert. Dean always lets us know how he’s feeling, Sam doesn’t. This is a big reason why I think most fics and even most episodes seem to be more from Dean’s POV than Sam’s even when they’re Sam centric. The original formula for the show was to be Sam’s journey, through Dean’s eyes. I don’t think they’ve stuck to that for the most part, but I do think its why the characters are written that way. Most of the time, for us to have a clue what Sam is thinking, we need to watch his facial expressions and body language.

For an example - Regarding Dean. When Dean is cured and tricks Sam into thinking he still didnt have his memory, Sam didnt say anything, but looked upset. Then Dean laughed, and let him know he was joking, and all Sam said was “Not funny.” But he went through about 5 emotions in his face in 2 seconds flat. Had it been the other way around, and Sam played like he didnt remember Dean, Dean would have been vocal “What the hell?? You said you could fix him!!!” and when Sam let him know he was joking, Dean probably would have laughed, barked at Sam, probably threaten to kick his ass (lovingly of course) and probably hugged him (hmmm now I wish it had been Sam that lost his memory lol) So you’re writing a scene in which Sam is emotional. He may talk about what’s on his mind, but most is going to be left in his mind, and not become words. You can make him say something, but then show what he’s thinking. Maybe he doesnt say a word, but looks at Dean or, something, and then you express his thoughts.[ Sam’s hands were shaking. Dean put a hand on his shoulder “You okay Sammy?” “I’m fine” Sam replied, hoping to hide how terrified he was.] If the situation is reversed, Dean will probably say that he’s scared. Notice their normal speech patterns and habits: Dean uses a lot of pop culture references. Sam does sometimes, but not to the extent that Dean does. Sam huffs a lot. Try to include this the best way you can; words like “huff, breath, breathes, exhales, and sighs are good words to use. Dean uses a lot more words than Sam does to express a thought. This doesn’t mean Sam doesn’t say profound things, he just gets to the point faster, however, when he does use a lot of dialogue, every word has intent, he doesn’t use many extra words like “very” or “really” all that often. He also tends to state things twice, like “I believe you, I do” or “Im happy, I am” and Dean will often use hyperbole “Its been a really really really REALLY long long long long time” and don’t forget, Dean says “awesome” a lot! Romance, Fluff, and Sex: A lot of you wont write Wincest, and thats fine, but you will probably write fluff and bromance. In true SPN character, Dean is mainly dominant, and Sam is submissive, however, this isn’t the case all the time, so in a sexual situation, since they have no canonical sex, theres nothing OOC about making either dom or sub, or switching it up. Since their onscreen life is platonic, the logistics of sex is whatever you want them to be, any kinks or what have you, is all up for grabs, but if you want to keep the brothers in character, try not to change their chemistry and personalities in bed from what it is out of bed. Sam isn’t likely the one to talk dirty, Dean probably does. Sam probably rolls his eyes and pretends he doesnt like it. Dean is naturally less inhibitted than Sam, and Sam naturally over thinks things. Neither are overly needy, but like feeling like the most important thing in the world to the other. Remember they’re brothers, They have spent most of their lives together and have no need to impress the other, so don’t feel like they wouldnt laugh, make jokes, or tease each other during intimate times. They can be heartbreakingly, and painfully honest, and also immature, giant 12 year olds. Even if you arent writing sex for them, this goes just as well for fluff and general bromance. If you are writing sex, dont feel the need to establish that one or both are gay or bisexual. This is not necessary given their relationship. Their sexuality is established as historically straight in canon, so if they DO have sex with each other, they are the only male’s they have ever had sex with..... more than likely. Stay away from making either of them too feminine. Both have natural femine qualities that can be used, but they will go right out of character if one begins to act female, or if the other is treating him as such. Stay away from typical fanon wincest terms like “baby boy” or “daddy”, Sam would probably punch Dean if he called him “baby boy” and Dean’s mood would be lost of Sam called him “Daddy”... face it, their daddy issues are not of the sexual nature, but again, this is only if you want to keep them in character. They have their own things they call each other, like little brother, buddy, Dee (a name only used once so keep that in mind too) brother, big brother, which work pretty well, but theyre not the most endeering, so you can get creative, but, if youre keeping them in character, maybe stay away from “honey” or “sweetheart” I hope these hints help, and if you are writing and need help with writing for this wonderful characters, please dont hesitate to message me, Id be honored to help!!

#writing tips #for keeping the boys in character #sam and dean

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morganbelarus · 5 years

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David Chase on why he wrote The Sopranos: ‘I needed help. I needed therapy’

As his mobster-in-therapy masterpiece is named the best TV of the century, its creator says he was just thrashing out his own issues with his domineering, suffocating mother

The first image David Chase had in mind for the show that became The Sopranos was a closeup of Tony Soprano opening his eyes, waking up for the day. That scene ended up falling later in the pilot. The opening scene, as any of the shows superfans will happily inform you, watches Tony eyeing up a sculpture in a therapists waiting room with baffled rage. The show is 20 years old this year, and if that makes you feel ancient, think how I feel, says creator David Chase, who, at 74, is ferocious looking, with beady black eyes and the intense, long-suffering air of the protagonist whose name has become synonymous with his own.

If The Sopranos was groundbreaking at its debut two decades ago, it now occupies an even rarer category: a show that has become more admired and beloved with time. The Guardian has named The Sopranos the best TV show of the century so far, and its influence continues to be felt across viewing platforms that didnt exist at the time of its conception. The prestige TV series, which unspools like a Russian novel but engages like a telenovela, set the tone for the boom in high-quality binge-programming funny, smart, acutely well-observed and immensely addictive that has reinvented the form.

Chase conceived of The Sopranos after decades of writing for network shows such as The Rockford Files and Northern Exposure. He was entirely unsurprised when Fox turned down the idea. They dont trust their audience at all, he says. The Sopranos was too indeterminate; not a straightforward mob drama but not a mob comedy, either, although it is funny. In terms of character development, its too slow for network tastes. And then there was Tony himself. I think they were afraid of it. Because how could you like this guy?

Tony is too fat, hes too crude … David Chase. Photograph: Ali Smith/The Guardian

The Sopranos ended up at HBO. Surprisingly, Chase thinks it would have a tough time being commissioned today, in spite of the fact that, after six seasons and 86 episodes, it is credited with changing audience tastes. In this landscape? Sure, he says. Tony Soprano is too fat. Hes too crude. Who cares about New Jersey? Ive seen these guys before. There is a long pause. Its not dystopian enough. Everything seems to be dystopian now, and this isnt. Plus, I suggest, nobody in television can predict whats going to work.

Right, exactly. They buy something then they hate it. They hate whatever they buy. Theyre all excited when they buy it, a week goes by and then they hate it. They hated Seinfeld. All that.

We are in Chases office in midtown Manhattan, where he is working on his new project, The Many Saints of Newark: a movie prequel to The Sopranos set in 1967 that follows Tony and the other protagonists as young men. The young Tony will be played by James Gandolfinis son, Michael. Chase originally wanted to work in film; until his own show changed the balance of power, he and almost everyone else in Hollywood considered TV the inferior medium. Now that his wish has come true, he finds himself, with effortless pessimism, missing some elements of the HBO experience. It made me appreciate the fact that we could write so quickly, on command, for a deadline. Sort of like journalism. Crank it out. Is making a movie agonising? Yes it is. I read the other day that Alfonso Cuarn wrote Roma in six days or something. He looks immensely depressed. I could never do that.

Returning to Tonys childhood has been a strange experience. By the end of filming The Sopranos, Chase and James Gandolfini, who died in 2013, were thoroughly sick of each other. He was tired of me, for sure. And I was kind of tired of him. But then we went on to make a movie together [2012s Not Fade Away] and things were fine. It was refreshed. So too, after two decades, is Chases interest in the shows backstory, although revisiting the characters has not been simple. Not only is the film is set in a different era, but the setting downtown Newark, as opposed to the New Jersey suburbs where Chase grew up is unfamiliar. To tell the story of Tonys childhood, Chase is ranging further outside his own experience than he did while concocting some of the shows more outlandish plot lines.

Watch a trailer for Series 1 of The Sopranos

The common factor, of course, is the psychological acuity with which Chase writes. The success of The Sopranos lies in the instantly recognisable relationship between Tony and his toxic mother Livia, which Chase based on his relationship with his own mother. The sense of Tonys mid-career burnout drew on Chases own experience too, although when he rewatches early episodes now, what strikes him is how young Gandolfini was only 35 in the pilot. I see him now and he looks like a kid.

It was Gandolfinis charm, says Chase, that accounted for so much of the shows popularity, particularly the tricky act of getting audiences to sympathise with a killer. I could tell you a million reasons, but one of them, Im pretty sure, is that Jim Gandolfini was a magnet. He was impeccable. His eyes are sad. Theyre alive. His problems are our problems.

Chases mother was already dead when he wrote The Sopranos; he doubts he couldve written the show had she still been around. Looking back, he thinks he went overboard in characterising his childhood as bad. In fact, it was largely happy, a childhood in which he was free to roam and do what I wanted. Break windows. His father owned a hardware store and his mother, although difficult, didnt interfere in his life too much at that stage. He wrote about her before The Sopranos, he says, and she didnt recognise herself. I did an episode of The Rockford Files that was kind of like The Sopranos, about an Italian mother and her son whos a hit man. They were going to give him up so that the mob boss would give her a house. It was a similar tone. She didnt get it.

Was she proud of his TV career? Not particularly. She didnt understand it. My mother was a great one for saying, who do you think you are? I took her to the airport one time in Los Angeles and we were waiting for the plane. I said, Did you ever have Thai food? I was crazy about Thai food at that time. She said no. I said, Oh, its great. She said Chases tone sharpens into sarcasm Oh really? Youre becoming quite a man of the world. He shakes his head. And her last words to me as she got on the plane were: Dont get too cocky.

The doctor will fear you now Gandolfini with Lorraine Bracco as therapist Dr Jennifer Melfi. Photograph: HBO/Rex/Shutterstock

One of the mistakes Chase says he made while writing the original pilot for The Sopranos was trying to make it palatable to network tastes: It was a mob show but I didnt have anybody murdered. And I think that mightve been one of the reasons why it didnt sell. For a while, he had been happy turning out formulaic scripts on hit shows with big mainstream audiences, not least because it was so well paid. I mean, thats the problem: the money. The money was attractive, particularly when youre raising a family. And I was lucky in that I was working with people who made shows that werent disgusting to work on.

And yet, there was always a grain of something else, bugging me. I just didnt feel I was right for that medium. I was very lucky, but I was just never happy, never content.

Some of this was because of Chases ornery nature. But he also chafed against the more absurd notes that came down from network executives. I remember one time on The Rockford Files, we had a meeting before the season started. And the guy who was our new liaison with the network gave us a list of story ideas theyd like to see for the season. One was Jims real daughter, Gigi, is kidnapped and Jim has to go find her. Another was a baby is left on Jims doorstep. Stuff like that. He shakes his head in what-a-world fashion. Its absurd.

Dont get too cocky … Nancy Marchand as Tonys mother Livia. Photograph: HO/Reuters

Most of Chases work is character driven, and his first idea for The Sopranos came from the central dynamic between Tony and the mother who was problematic and sent to a nursing home; she was his real enemy. That was the first thought. I had that idea for a movie, but my agent at the time told me that mob comedies werent happening, so I put it aside. Around that time, he was asked if hed be interested in doing a TV version of The Godfather. Chase refused because it had been done but it revived his interest in his own mob idea. I was thinking, not The Godfather, but I have that thing about the guy going to therapy. Maybe Ill try that.

A mobster-in-therapy was a funny idea, but Chase didnt see it as a sendup. He himself had been saved by therapy; without it, he would almost certainly have driven away his wife, Denise Kelly, to whom he has been married for almost 50 years: She saved my life. He first saw a therapist when he was 31, after his wifes sister died of a brain aneurysm. Kelly was grieving, but on the way back from the funeral, all Chase could do was complain about how awful his mother had been. She had been pretty awful; when he rang her to break the news of his sister-in-laws death, she said, She died from what? I said, A brain aneurysm. She said, You see David? She was too smart.

His mothers response was beside the point, of course. My wife had lost her sister and all I could talk about was my parents and the problems they created for me. I was just totally selfish. And my wife said to me, You need help. He was in therapy on and off for years and says it helped him immeasurably, although he is still constitutionally inclined to be gnawed to death by doubt the main antidote to which is his wife. Its not that she is Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, shes not a Pollyanna. But shes not subject to this endless dismal terror and negativity. She doesnt think that way.

Jim was a magnet … Chase and Gandolfini in 1999. Photograph: Jill Connelly/Associated Press

These days, Chase understands that happiness is a moving target. At the height of The Sopranos success, life was pretty good even the pressure was thrilling, compared to the somewhat problematic ease of his life now. You just had to keep going; you had a deadline. Nowadays, when Im writing, it gets to the point where if I dont like it, I throw it aside and dont finish it. Theres nothing to force me to finish it.

Its one of the reasons he likes directing; it doesnt leave room for doubt. I have trouble making decisions. Should I have the veal cutlet, should I have something else? Waiter! Im going to change my order! But directing, you have to make decisions quickly.

The one thing Chase has no anxiety about is The Sopranos endlessly deliberated ending. It ended the show with a precise degree of ambiguity that honoured the subtleties of the preceding six series, although its lack of resolution left some viewers complaining that they wanted closure. I would say that theres more symmetry than meets the eye, he says. But the whole point of the ending was to avoid wrapping it up too neatly.

Chases bullishness evaporates when it comes to new projects, however, and he looks anxious again. Writing the prequel has been enjoyable and also the usual nightmare. I am like that, he says gloomily. I worry about the future. I worry: is it going to be any good? He furrows his brow with a hint of amusement at his own absurdity and says: That comes from my mother.

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March 4th-March 10th, 2019 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from March 4th, 2019 to March 10th, 2019. The chat focused on O Sarilho by shizamura.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Week Long Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on O Sarilho by shizamura~! (http://sarilho.net/en/)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Remember, though, that while we allow constructive criticism, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic. Below you will find four questions to get you started on the discussion. However, a new question will be posted and pinned everyday (between 12:01AM and 6AM PST), so keep checking back for more! You have until March 10th to tell us all your wonderful thoughts! With that established, let’s get going on the reading and the chatting!

QUESTION 1. What has been your favorite scene in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it?

QUESTION 2. What do you think happened to the ancient people who left their satellites and other lost technology behind? Will the people of the present be able to recover this technology as they strive to do? Alternatively, are they going to find out secrets better left forgotten?

Capitania do Azar

Howdy everyone! I'm Shizamura and I'm the creator of O Sarilho and I'm very excited

varethane

I love all the scenes with the augur

it's such a creepy concept but the way they all handle it as being totally mundane and normal is gr8

Kaldra

agreed ^

varethane

also, the initial scene with the alien waking up, as the eyes light up and then gradually focus before the thing starts moving-- chilling. I love it.

Capitania do Azar

Augur is just a regular job for these guys, he

March 5, 2019

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor?

QUESTION 4. Who or what are Argon and Xenon, the gods in the comic’s world? What do you think their original purpose was? Why do you think only Augur’s can deal with them?

RebelVampire

1) the scene where nikita realizes mikhail is, umm, not going to be joining him for anymore adventures. i liked this scene for two reasons. a-the framing was really great because it was fairly normal. like hes injured, of course hed be resting and of course nikita would have to shake him. no reason to suggest anything is off at first until it was all off. b- the pacing was also great. like everything was pretty speedy and then just wham, its like everything got halted for that beautiful moment of horrible realization. A+ adventure retirement scene. 2) I think the ancient people did what all dumb humans do: war against each other until they destroyed themselves. partly cause that be what humans do, partly cause the sense of war in the story seems very ancient and ingrained and i just get the feeling this has existed for longer than anyone can remember. i think eventually they will recover a lot of tech, but i also think theyre going to find out the true price that tech kind of comes at. and that the universe is more than their brains are ready to accept or comprehend.

3) Franquelim. I find him interesting and just in general I like his portrayal. Like you don't even need to know his job to take one look at him and go "this is the weird employee who doesnt fit in and is potentially hated by his superiors despite probably being good at his job." and to me, that makes him a lot of fun. i think he also adds some shenanigans to an otherwise serious and grounded group. and everyone needs some shenanigans in their life. 4) I want to assume Argon and Xenon are AI's that were created in order to advocate for the prosperity of humanity. Granted, probably damaged AIs or incomplete ones since they don't know everything there is to know. As for why only Augurs, I assume its as it was implied: only they can understand them. Which want to go on a limb and say maybe no because magic? It might just be Augurs got the right studying. Like they learned how to read C++ while everyone else only got taught Ruby.

Capitania do Azar

Ah @RebelVampire , these are all very interesting guesses!

varethane

....Franquelim is my favourite too LOL(edited)

Capitania do Azar

He's apparently a fan favourite I suppose it makes sense, he does have a strong personality!

varethane

he stands out in all the scenes he's in

Capitania do Azar

he loves the camera

stealing the show

snuffysam

I'm on team Franquelim as well

like he's just chillin

plus he's one of the few who (rationally) wanted to avoid getting ambushed by the lusitanians

daria is also a fav of mine too though

just, cuz... look at her. every scene she's in she's got the stage presence of someone who just tied a teammate's shoes together

RebelVampire

yeah i have to agree part of the reason i like franquelim is despite his shenanigans, he also is kind of the most grounded in the way. the dude who is like "maybe we shouldnt get ambushed." the dude whos like "hey maybe we should call for backup given the circumstances." he is the beautiful voice of reason in a world gone mad.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 5. What has been your favorite illustration in the comic so far? What specifically about it do you like?

QUESTION 6. How do you think Nikita came to be a “slave” of the Empire, and what else happened that makes him so sensitive about the topic of his past? Will Nikita be able to overcome this obstacle of his life?

5) http://sarilho.net/en/arquivo/comic/ch03p06 This page in its entirety. The contrast here is fantastic between the clean and normal art and the chaotic presence of the piece of god. It's also a fantastic demonstration of pushing the page and website capabilities to bring about a specific feeling, in this case uneasiness and horror. I also like this illustration because it's very well suited to the dialogue. Franquelim is trying to express his ardent belief they need help and this is beyond them. And this sort of illustration really helps connect you to his concerns because you can see with the imagery why he is freaked out. Thus, emotionally it connects you stronger with his emotional state in this moment and scream "YES YES GET THE HELP GET THE HELP." So all in all, I think this illustration has great contrast, pushes the envelope, and does what I think an illustration should do in a comic: make itself so both the story and illustration are needed together to create the full effect.

Capitania do Azar

Frank has had his share of battles and he's not keen to get into newer ones

Steffano knows that if they are caught (or bring an army in), war is bound to happen (again) and he's got his own selfish reasons for not wanting that. He's also not a particularly experienced leader and has trouble making these kind of decisions

The rest of the team kinda reflects what the empire thinks of itself, as Mikhail puts it "we're better trained, we have better resources and we're more talented". That attitude gotta interfere with decision-making as well

RebelVampire

at least mikhail is "retired" now and can no longer preach that sort of thinking? XD

Capitania do Azar

LOOK WHERE THAT SORT OF THINKING TOOK HIM

They're army kids, it's not like they ever had any change of thinking in other terms

Doesn't change the fact that MISTAKES WERE MADE

RebelVampire

6) Maybe some sort of empire betrayal? Like their dad got found guilty of a bad crime or something. As for his sensitivity, I honestly just think it stems from the fact he wants to move on and create his own path and life. And it doesn't help when everyone keeps reminding you and asking questions. That and if he doesnt talk about it, he doesnt have to face the reality himself. As for overcoming the obstacle, I don't feel it'll be solved in a tangible way? More I just feel like the bigger fish that need frying are going to dominant and more and more ppl will just stop caring. Cause again, bigger fish.

Capitania do Azar

ahha I guess people do remind him of that fact a LOT, I never really looked at it that way

what the other soldiers say about Nikita is right for the most part: he does keep a lot to himself and the part where he clearly can't control a lot of things in his life is a point of stress he'd rather ignore(edited)

(I hope I can bring up in the following chapter just how much he internalized his own social situation to the point that he almost forgets that other people can quit their jobs if they so desire)

mangalho

QUESTION wapy can you do a corno/not-corno alignment chart with your cast?

Capitania do Azar

didn't I do that already rsrsr

mangalho

did you????

Capitania do Azar

wait

keep up mango https://twitter.com/Shizamura/status/1096141513514536960

capitania dos azares (@Shizamura)

@Ulisaypo

mangalho

finally

Delphina

Gahhhh, just finished reading, such a good comic! I really liked Shizuka, even though she stayed behind (which turned out to be a SUPER GOOD CALL BECAUSE HOLY DANG). She seems fun, though!

mangalho

How the FUCK is Pimenta in the Corno area @Delphina SAME shizuka is good and also really relatable

Delphina

Daria's scene around the car (http://sarilho.net/en/arquivo/comic/p032) is my favorite fun scene because I love her whole-hearted quest to torment Timoteo. My favorite serious scene is where Mikhail gets his arm shot off because it was such a shocking transition between "here's a squad of kids making jokes and bickering" to "oh shit oh shit oh shit they are in so much trouble for so many reasons" (http://sarilho.net/en/arquivo/comic/ch02p29)

Capitania do Azar

Daria takes self-assigned clown job very seriously!

snuffysam

5) my favorite illustrations in the comic so far have been this page: http://sarilho.net/en/arquivo/comic/oh-nao and the page following it. not necessarily because of the drawing quality itself (these are good, but there's a couple better), but because of how the emotions are conveyed through the pages literally falling apart.

RebelVampire

the page was too strong and murdered my comp with lag XD

i really liked that page too tho

especially the angle

i think the angle really helps express like a sort of feeling of distance

like in the sense youre no longer connected with a person

Capitania do Azar

OMG maybe I should drop the resolution a bit hehe

RebelVampire

QUESTION 7. Which characters do you enjoy seeing interact the most? What about their dynamic interests you?

QUESTION 8. What do you think happened in Franquelim’s past that has him so terrified of being captured by the Lusitanians “again?” How might this affect his judgement in whatever situations are to come?

ShaRose49

Gah I didn’t realize this had started already I only barely got past the prologue! Really nice art and lots of character profiles

Delphina

The character profiles are SO HELPFUL, I also appreciate the role call at the end of the last two chapters.

Capitania do Azar

eheh I really like coming up with silly descriptions for characters, so figures it's a good idea to add them

ShaRose49

I just made my first character profile sheet a couple days ago and it’s not as in-depth as this one

Capitania do Azar

It's not that hard! I make most of my characters by making up a number of random facts, which eventually become the text

The stats are mostly out of comparison like this character is more talented than this one, but also slower..and so on

RebelVampire

QUESTION 9. What sorts of art or story details have you noticed in the way the comic is crafted that you think deserve attention?

QUESTION 10. What is the strange entity that Nikita and company discover, and what do you think its purpose is? Also, is it really a piece of God somehow? What implications do you think that has for the story in general, especially given Lusitanian involvement?

RebelVampire

7) Well I did enjoy seeing Nikita and Mikhail. I found their dynamic to be interesting due to the contrast. they were just both very different ppl who viewed themselves differently, viewed the empire sort of differently, viewed their place in the empire differently, etc. This kind of made their conversations really insightful into getting two diff perspectives on "the way things are." its too bad mikhail retired. 8) I assume torture at best, hardcore torture at worst. Though for him torture might have consisted of just keeping him eternally connected to god? cause thats be torturous info overload that probably wouldve hurt a lot. As for affecting his judgement, I def think he's the most likely to do something stupid based on it. Like do some drastic thing like set off a bomb just so he doesnt have to get caught again.

9) I want to say i really love the more rampant use of narrative boxes that specify the location in the most recent chapter. TBH, I really struggled to follow the second chapter because the transitions were hard to catch just cause matching uniforms. So in the third chapter this helped out immensely and i think its a detail that deserves to be appreciated. 10) If I stick with my Argon and Xenon are just AIs theory, then yeah, its probably a piece of god. A piece that got disconnected from the network but was original like some waypoint for vast interstellar communication. As for its purpose, I don't think it has one. I think it's gone bonkers cause being disconnected from teh core has made it unable to access primarydirective.exe. As for implications, I think it's going to spark a war at the rate things are devolving. even if nikita and then somehow disappear into the night, the lusitanians are clearly hiding something that cant stay hidden forever.

Capitania do Azar

Your theories are very interesting @RebelVampire!

Also I really appreciate that you enjoy Mikhail's and Nikita's relationship

Capitania do Azar

Mikhail's got a lot less pressure on him, so he gets to be more chill about some things (but not all the things, since he snapped at Dária anyways)

snuffysam

yeah i think you're spot on with the AI theory, rebel. if I may make a prediction - i'm thinking that once this specific incident is over, not only will a war break out, but nikita will be put into action against his will 'cause he never catches a break(edited)

RebelVampire

QUESTION 11. What do you think are this particular comic’s strengths? What do you think makes this comic unique? Please elaborate.

QUESTION 12. What do you think the Lusitanian Eurico wants to talk to Nikita about (or is it a ruse to fight some more)? How might the subsequent events affect the mission further?

Delphina

I think Eurico's goal is probably just to get this squad out of their lands. I expect some level of "you don't know what you're dealing with trying to interact with this God-level technology, so leave now or you're seriously going to get hurt" conversation.

Delphina

Regarding strengths and unique points, O Sarilho's very good at establishing extremely human-feeling characters very quickly. I like the fact that I know Nikita likes astronomy. I like the fact that Daria, Pfeiffer, and Timoteo have a dynamic and history of teasing each other. I like that Franquelim relies on drugs and coffee because he's Seen Some Things. The details brings a lot of personal stakes and heart into what could otherwise be a very dry military post-apoc story, and that's hard to do with a cast this large. I'm looking forward to learning more about the characters! It feels like we're just at the tip of the iceberg for worldbuilding, but I can tell that a lot of thought and care has been put into how technology affects their lives through big things like religious views and small things like what kind of curse words they use. I'm also looking forward to learning about the power/class dynamics that are happening with the military and Houses like Steffano's and Daria's. The integration of web design and animation for impact is also extremely well-executed wherever it's used, but it's not overused to the point where the reader becomes used to it, which is important for giving those scenes emphasis.

snuffysam

For me, the strongest and most unique part of the comic is the visual aspect. Like, even putting the animated and panel-busting pages aside, the colors used are outstanding at conveying the proper emotions. Like even on this early page: http://sarilho.net/en/arquivo/comic/prologo-8 Franquelim's colors are brighter, they're bleeding off his body, and they give off this aesthetic that's the perfect mix of computer-y and mystical. Right off the bat something seems unusual about this comic's universe, yet the other characters barely glance at him. That's great visual conveyance.(edited)

RebelVampire

QUESTION 13. What are you most looking forward to in the comic? Also, do you have any final thoughts to share overall?

QUESTION 14. Given everything that’s happened, how do you feel Nikita’s team will deal with the mission’s outcome so far? Also, will what has occurred affect the peace treaty with the Lusitanians in a negative way? Lastly, are more people doomed to die?

Capitania do Azar

Guys... You're too kind

RebelVampire

11) i agree with everyone else so far in that i think the comic's strengths are the usage of color and the use of animation and web design effects. every choice where these are concerned feels purposeful and really enhances the atmosphere of the moment. i feel they are what give a lot of the scenes their unique punch, as well as also add some visual context to characters' emotions where relevant. 12) Eurico just wants to have a tea party and needs to know if Nikita is game. But joke aside, he probably wants to tell Nikita some truths that Eurico thinks Nikita wasnt told. So that way maybe everyone can leave and nobody else has to die and no wars have to start. Which that last one is wishful thinking imo XD 13) I'm looking forward to more Franquelim doing his weirdo Augur things and everyone being like, "Sure my dude." But really, I just want to see more of that bundle of joy and fun. 14) I think the team is going to deal somewhat poorly. Cause not all of them seemed to take the mission all that serious and I think the hit of seriousness is gonna have some longterm PTSD affects. I mean I'm sure theyll play it off like theyre fine. But itll just be an army of Nikita's in that if they dont talk about it, they dont have to think or deal with it. XD As for the peace treaty, yes and no. I don't think Nikita and company will be responsible, but I think the piece of god might. And yes, yes more people are surely doomed to die. I'd even go so far as to say just assume everyone is gonna die by the end XD RIP

Capitania do Azar

ahaha oh no that is so bleak !!

I can't vouch that they won't die, but I hope they won't

Delphina

If you assume everyone is going to die, you'll be pleasantly surprised when some of them don't!

Capitania do Azar

WELL SOMEBODY'S GOTTA STAY ALIVE IF I WANT THE STORY TO KEEP GOING

(btw thank you for pointing out the big GIF files, I have changed their resolution so hopefully they won't kill more computers with lag )

varethane

Pls dont kill Franq plz plz plz

Capitania do Azar

>:)

Capitania do Azar

your theories are adding years to my life

Delphina

I gotta imagine the peace treaty is going to get affected, though. They're going to try to keep it quiet, but it's gonna get out somehow. Steffano's got a sinister aura around him, so maybe he'd spin the situation in a way that would benefit his political position.

(I could be wrong, but I adore it when people have ridiculously wrong theories about my comic so I'll just throw it out there.)

Also, was it Fausta that the "Foreigner" was trying to communicate through? I wonder if she's got some affinity for that and if she's going to be further used in that capacity

Capitania do Azar

Yes! Fausta is lusitanian-born, so she is naturally empathic and that's why the foreigner picked her out of the crew

snuffysam

it's interesting how the empath was affected rather than the augur. like, from my understanding, fausta's thing is reading people's emotions, while augurs can read the word of the gods/computers. so on the one hand, if the foreigner is communicating with fausta, does that mean the foreigner is human? but on the other hand, franq said that the foreigner's speech feels exactly like what connecting to the gods is like...

Capitania do Azar

I'm gonna throw ash into the fire and say that people tend to compare new things to things they already know ;D

It's past midnight for me, so I guess my time here is over!!

But thank you everyone who dropped by and had the care to read my comic and comment ;u; You make it all worthwhile

Delphina

Thank you for making an awesome comic!

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about O Sarilho this week! Please also give a special thank you to shizamura for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked O Sarilho, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: http://sarilho.net/en/

shizamura’s Store: http://sarilho.net/en/loja

shizamura’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/Shizamura

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dinoblip · 7 years

Text

i found guardians of the galaxy vol 2 a bit shit

I saw it a little less than a week ago and I’m still disappointed.

I prefer to think of this post more of an “analysis” than a rant but itll probably be more the latter.

also these are all just opinions, if you liked it thats fine.

(spoilers ahead)

1. the writing

i mean i wasnt expecting it to be a masterpiece, hardly any sequels are, but the humour of the first film was 100% tied to the clever screen writing.

and here it felt like the writer was hamfistedly trying SO GODDAMN HARD to be funny and it never really seemed to land except in 1 or 2 scenes (the groot button scene and the scene where groot is explaining why he doesnt like hats).

This might just be my dumb sense of humour here, i know plenty of people who did find it funny but so many lines just left me cold or rolling my eyes.

An example is this fruit gag and the set-up is okay.

One of the first things nebula says in the film that she wants a piece of fruit which she is then denied because it isn’t ripe yet. This is fine, its humorous because of the casual tone of the question and the somewhat overly stern and ridiculous answer, the outright denial perhaps being because gamora doesnt want to be charitable to her sister at all. It works.

Then it gets reestablished: theyre now fighting people and the fruit is on the ground in the fray and nebula is still a prisoner. Now she asks Drax for the fruit and Drax yells over his gun “no its still not ripe”. This doesnt work quite as well cause it doesnt make quite as much logical sense and its basically the same conversation as before. So its not funny here.

Then the pay-off doesnt work because its too hamfisted. There is a reveal that nebula has managed to escape and now has a gun in one hand and the fruit in the other. That alone would have been a good pay-off because theres a sense of misplaced priorities, maybe simply because she kept getting denied it she went out of her way to bring it with her. I chuckled at that.

But then the script makes her triumphantly take a bite out of it, spit it out dramatically as if its disgusting and then explain “it wasnt ripe”. And they film it as if thats the punchline. It was too hammy to be funny, it seemed like such a waste of an opportunity.

Like they could have made it more understated like they could have stretched it out a little. Here’s an idea for what they could have done instead. Shes quite a proud character so her taking a bite in triumph fits her character fine but once she takes a bite, she smiles for a bit that sorta slowly turns into a bit of a grimace but continues chewing determinedly, her face a picture of disgust. that could be the end of the scene or it could continue by then having a ravager break the silence to ask if shes alright. she sorta manages to swallow it down but when she next talks her voice could be a bit claggy and constantly sounding like shes on the verge of coughing which would undermine her authority over the situation.

This is one of the few times they attempt a recurring joke and it doesnt work at all (off the top of my head i cant even remember one other one and the first film had so many). Other examples of failed jokes include pretty much all lines said by Drax who only seems to laugh manically and insult Mantis and nothing else including one which doesnt even work within his character (this one: mantis is watching all the raider funeral fireworks and she says that theyre beautiful and drax is staring at her and says “yes, beautiful” pause “on the inside” ITS ESTABLISHED OVER AND OVER THAT HE IS LITERAL MINDED SO WHY IS HE SAYING THAT). And I would also say that alot of the jokes with Groot aren’t very good either and neither is his character in this film but dont worry I’m gonna justify that in a second. I plan on giving him an entire fucking section.

So not only did the jokes not work but even the normal conversations felt stilted. And so often it almost looked like the actors werent sure of how they were meant to say lines in a way that would sound natural. Peter Quill wasn’t sounding like Peter Quill all of a sudden, Gamora didnt feel like Gamora.

It made for a confusing experience. I kept having to question myself for not laughing at a joke or feeling emotionally invested in what was happening. i ended up asking myself alot “this is a guardians of the galaxy film, why arent i having fun?”

2. the story

I freaking loved where they went with the character development of yandu and nebula (she and gamora are my favs) but it made me realise how mindless the main story is. The only thing i found exciting about the main storyline was yandu’s backstory and then his redemption AND THEN THEY KILLED HIM. SO WHATEVER. NEVERMIND. Just so they could have a tearjerker ending.

anyway back on track, the main storyline, starlord’s was pretty standard and you could see the fact that starlord’s dad is evil from the beginning, mainly cause he’s shown to be too cool and flawless at first which is a big warning sign. It was more just boring than anything else. Though the cg for Ego rematerialising in really disgusting ways was amazing. But thats hardly a substitute really.

It’s just: chris pratt goes to find father -> turns out his dads a planet therefore chris pratt is Special™ -> oh no his dads bad what a shocker and he’s wanting galactic domination -> now they gotta fight and they do.

Everything else (which is alot by the way, there is so much “everything else”) is basically unrelated except yandu’s story but even then he has this mutiny happening on his ship for a bunch of the film which has nothing to do with most things. And then after a bloodbath he ends up flying his own ship again so none of that mattered and any consequences of killing an entire crew (that you would guess would be around for some reason like, i don’t know, maintaining the ship so it can fly places) simply do not exist. And then after that up til the Big Fight, yandu, yandu’s right-hand man (cant remember his name) and rocket scream into the camera for a while while they warp through apparently too many warp points or something. cause it seems like they had to fill up 3 minutes.

Meanwhile Chris Pratt and gamora have romantic tension or something while he tries to come onto her and stuff and she isn’t into it and then her development is her coming round to him? She doesnt have any other story except being attacked by nebula sometimes and not doing anything in the Big Fight for some reason????? She and nebula fall off a ledge which they cling to for most of the fight while mantis does her mind-fuckery til she gets knocked out and then the dudes take care of it.

Rocket’s character development is mainly yandu telling him not to push people away and that he knows what its like to be in rocket’s shoes yadda yadda. so that gives rocket some time to be angsty cause they need to fill there angst quota somewhere.

like i said i did like nebula’s character development and her backstory but it wasnt really relevant either. it did flesh her out as a character tho.

my main issue with the story was there was an emphasis on these character subplots which ususally I’m all for. But if there was a main plotline which actually tied it all together then it would have worked. It was all well themeatically of having all these characters choosing their families over their bloodties. But having all these subplots almost occur in a vaccum away from all the other subplots AND the main storyline, makes for a really slowww film. in which once a scene ends, more often than not, you have to ask yourself “and what was the point of that”.

And also once you start giving fleshed out character development for the sake of fleshed out character development and not for the overall plot, it makes the fact that some character’s weren’t given this treatment all the more apparent.

Like Drax, in the first film he was a very well developed character. But as i said earlier, literally all he does in GotG2 is laugh alot and tell mantis she’s ugly.

and then there’s groot’s character develop- HA NO

3. GROOT

there is no character development for groot because groot has no character.

groot has ceased to exist and a vacuous void has been been put in his place. that is the only explanation i can come up with for the way he is depicted: he died at the end of the last film, his consciousness vacated his body and then when he was being regrown, no consciousness was left to get put into it.

look

i really dont like being pandered to and here marvel was clearly pandering to anyone who thought little stick groot dancing at the end of the first film was adorable. and i did, obviously. who didnt? but when you try to replace character and motivation with cute, it wont work.

he is dancing and when he’s not dancing he’s misunderstanding information or being near useless in battles. All while he has that creepy vacant smile is on his face.

the camera freaking loves this idiot. to the point that the title sequence just has him dancing to mr blue sky while looking straight into the fucking camera, WHILE A WHOLE FIGHT IS HAPPENING AROUND HIM THAT I WOULD MUCH RATHER SEE.

for one thing, its an injustice to mr blue sky. that shits my jam.

for another thing, there is no music playing within the scene, its non-diegetic. so why’s he dancing?????

in the first film it makes sense cause not only cause the music matters to starlord but also cause it is happening in the scene, he’s listening to it on his headphones and it goes away when he takes them off. it also serves for conveying his character. and also the cinematography is great:the sweeping camera moves and visual gags really make you excited for the film to come.

Here, not only does it not make sense for him to be dancing as there’s no music, it also doesnt make sense for him to be dancing in the middle of a battle or dancing for a camera that he knows the presence off (this aint no 4th wall breaker or it shouldnt be). also the cinematography sucks cause hes too fucking small now so if you go for a wide shot you cant see the fucker. and also youd get distracted from his dancing because of all the action thats happening and WE CANT HAVE THAT. And the animation is good (i mean of course its good its fucking marvel) but they went so out of their way to kid-ify him that his arms and legs are really quite small compared to his head. Which would be fine, but with a dance-number, big arm and leg movements feel very small and don’t match the big music. I really felt a disconnect between what i was seeing and the music i was hearing. it didnt fit (while in the first film it so totally did).

the biggest issue i have with it is that it prioritises the wrong character. it prioritises groot when groot doesnt even have a semblence of a story. he does 2 things in the whole film: unlock a cage and carry a bomb for a little bit (because they realised that he wasnt doing anything so they threw him a bone).

then youve got the other characters getting introduced by telling him off for dancing. which is fair enough but it introduces them as sticks in the mud which is a weird way to introduce the main characters of a Fun Quirky Comedy film.

like i watched this opening and not only got annoyed at how long it felt but i also genuinely thought “oh i guess this is a groot film”.

I cannot even begin to explain how much could have gone wrong for me to think that.

I kinda hope the 3rd film (which you can bet your ass Marvel is making right now) is better or at least maybe not as rushed cause i did love the first film and it would be a shame for it to get chewed up in the haste to make make as much money off it as possible before it becomes irrelevant.

C’mon James Gunn. you’re better than this. Sometimes.

P.S. the gold people lol

#guardians of the galaxy vol 2 #personal #text #analysis #i hope #long post #real long #ive only seen this film once so if ive misremembered stuff i apologise

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tumblunni · 7 years

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HEYO! oh man now my friend helped me get all inspired again for working on my Cathedral Tower Defense game so WOO lets have another long post of miscellaneous ideasies for storyness! may not be very coherant tho cos i am super tired and ill! but happy!! THANKS SUMMON-DAZE FOR BEING MY ULTRA BESTIE

* Okay now I am super sure that I’m gonna let you choose the gender of the protagonist! And I wanna keep it so that their name is Amity either way, cos that’s kinda stuck in my mind. Surname Amity, player gets to decide the first name, but people will still be calling you Amity a lot at first cos you start off all awkward and formal with everybody. You’re a newcomer to this cathedral town and nobody knows whether to trust you, from their perspective you’re this dangerous person theyre forced to accept just because they need you to help protect them, whether you’re good or bad. They’re all worried what price they might have to pay for this, trying to figure out how to minimize the damage if you turn on them... and its not like they’re bad people for being untrustworthy, they’re just scared people huddling in a church and trying to keep their families safe at any cost. So try and prove your worth to them, and help them learn to protect themselves too, and make this ramshackle settlement into a real home! ....anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, gender selection is a good! And it could be relatively easy to impliment too, cos of the situation. Doesnt even necessarily have to be a menu or anything, it could just be like sir amity/lady amity/master amity. Cos you’re this paladin knighto, itd make sense for them to ask for your title. And it could just be like a shot of protagonist’s badass silhouette in the gateway of the cathedral and then you get the dialogue choice to pick your identity, and its all Super Cool~!

* It also actually gives me more of an idea of what i could do for their design, like I dunno maybe they have some sort of face-concealing helm or headdress or something. I was just thinking of them being dressed like a generic nun or princess but maybe emphasize more on the knight aspect instead of the holy part? So like anyway, maybe they have a very all-concealing outfit and that could be the framing of the first scene instead, its like *pulls off the mask and you’re into the character selection screen* Orrrrrr maybe there doesnt need to be any magical setup for a gender selection and it can just be a menu before the first scene starts XD Or maybe you have a cool face-concealing helmet thing anyway, like all three gender options just have a different one, lol

* More random magical names i got via the cool name generator site summon-daze linked to me! Dunno if I’ll actually use any of these but im writing them down here so i dont forget. Berebath, Betnia, Amurziz, Jetre, Miemahl, Semdach, Batxahl, Sidefarch, Botolohn, Vausach, Thammoch, Droibhal, Lekonach, Zeidhal, Tieloch, Rabrohm, Maesur, Smoiroch, Baelbuhr, Axoth, Jige, Chushou, Hukru, Nejeget, Roucu, Jinah, Aujus, Yekoth, Nugresah, Israfel, Jabriel, Tabris, Douma

* Also I’m remembering Jade Cocoon and how I liked that the different ‘families’ of monsters shared naming traits. Like how all those weird snake/slug cutiepies that i loved best were nushab, rashab, etc etc. And tamatoch and somethingtoch and so on. I think there was at least one where the modifier was a prefix too? I dunno why i’m talking about this, but there you go. I just think if i wanna do full original made up names for demon species then i wanna make em stuff that just... feels like that. I dont actually wanna make like five different elements of each one tho, i wanna have only one per element and then they have like two different higher level finalized forms. Like, the human characters can have two job classes each and the demons can have two specializations within an element. That helps me think about how to limit it down to four or five elements, if we can combine common fantasy elements together! And yeah I was thinking it’d be cool if the demon ‘job classes’ could have their own evolving appearances and new names!

* Thoughts for the ol elemental groupings! The only one I really have finalized is grass + poison = same thing. Florin, why u always the character that gets developed faster than everyone else XD And I’m thinking giving them their own made up names would make it easier! Like how in SMT you have spells being stuff like ‘media’ and ‘agi’ instead of cure and fire. But here (hopefully) it’d be easier to memorize cos its just the element names that’re fantasy words, and the attacks themselves would be a little more self explanatory. i just think it’d work cos like... the idea i had of rock and fire being one single demon type, you could just call that magma. But i mean, what can you call plant + poison? Except.. like.. plant. Cos poison is reasonably often a grass type skill anyway. And i mean, game creators dont often worry about making sense, what with how ‘grass’ is the common element name when thats just one plant in a million. I cant stop thinking about that now I’ve noticed it! I legit thought grass was a synonym for plant when i was a kid, i learned to read from pokemon yellow... ANYWAY IM GETTING OFFTOPIC AGAIN The other idea I had for groupings was fire + non-elemental together? I was just thinking like... aura. Non elemental/physical attack as a ‘magic’ could be fighting spirit! And thematically speaking it tends to be shown as fire effects in anime, i guess XD But then i couldnt put fire with rock and that means I’d have to redesign malachi again. his design ended up looking more firey than rocky :P Another idea is maybe darkness + non-elemental together? like, interpret non-elemental as ‘void’. Or light and dark could be together actually, that could be an interesting way to do it, instead of having them opposing. Like maybe the elements could be colours! Grey element, able to specialize into white or black but neither is any sort of ‘good and evil’. And then the rest could be like green or like.. instead of red maybe fire could be bronze and thats why it has rock skills too? or man, maybe rock and metal could be one element and fire could be grouped with something else. And would water and ice be too ordinary and boring? do they already kinda count as one element? should I throw in something else? GAHHHHHHH

* Ideas for the multiple religious groups aligned with each element! I’m thinking I want one of them to interpret the setting’s absent god as two deities. like, every perspective on this deity is a wildly different character, this one is just even more so! they’d see malahat (tentative name) as two people, but kinda more like a shared soul that can manifest as either a male or female form. But there’d be ambiguity and debates in the mythos over whether this is actually a genderfluid god, or if its ‘twins who were cursed to never exist at the same time’, or various other variations on the story. I wanna make it like real life, where even within (for example) catholocism, there’s different sects and different translations of the same text. And where there’s predjudice against minority groups and people like to twist their faith to ‘justify’ it, even when parts of the original tale could easily justify treating those people with kindness too. So there’d be some followers of the twins religion who are very openminded to LGBTQ people, and historically anyone trans was able to hold a unique position as a priest, being treated as someone blessed by god. But like in norse mythology, this wasnt necessarily a sign that society was 100% okay with LGBTQ people. Its kinda depressing to read about how trans women and gay men were considered the only people able to become a specific kind of witches, but also how you kinda HAD to take this one safety net in society to stop people from making you an outcast. It was like ‘make them fear me so they dont fuckin kill me’. You had to become a medicine person and at least claim to believe in these magic powers, you had to be blessed by the gods to prove you were like.. one of the good ones. Otherwise its like youre saying the gods made a mistake when they made you, or youre choosing to be a deviant against nature. i can only imagine how terrifying it must have been if you believed in that religion and had to like.. be forced to go against it and leave society, or be forced to lie about being chosen by a god for a higher purpose, while believing that any moment you might get struck down for lying. And then I read in other history books about how the concept of homosexuality was far different in that old society too, how male-on-male sex was accepted at sea as long as you were the dominant one and you were forcing something unwanted onto a lesser shipmate as punishment. Like ugh, rape being more socially accepted than consensual LGBTQ relationships! I guess the only solace is that we can never be 100% sure how much of historians’s theories are correct and what might have changed in retellings of history, but honestly I can believe the past is this fucked up when the present is already fucked up in different ways. BUT ANYWAY I wanna explore those themes in my story maybe. And I wanna do more research into the subject to make sure I’m doing it justice, even though its a very sad subject that might be quite stressful. Maaaaan, I remember how I used to obsess about researching norse myth as a kid, it was one of my first Special Interests and I really wanted to see all the different reinterpretations of Loki and write my own fanfic/adaptation/vaguely inspired original story about What If He Stayed A Good Guy. Man I had soooo much sympathy for the poor sod. I mean it depends on the retelling whether he was always evil or whether he was like a comedic neutral ally to the gods who just abruptly becomes evil and gets killed off without remorse in the final story. And gahhh he’s like the biggest LGBTQ bastion in the whole mythos, and how can I not feel sympathetic?? When we get all these stories about him being a literal genderfluid shapeshifter and giving birth to half of his children and just like seriously its like The Story Of the One Trans Man In Homophobic Transphobic Valhalla and he was probably meant to seem Bad and Funny and whatever but im gonna sit here and grumpily cling onto the idea that he was deliberately written as trans, or that if these gods actually do exist out there somewhere then Loki would support me. *pout* I just have a lot of good memories of how this was like the first sign of me realizing my own gender, back when I first learned about Loki in school and then devoured every damn history book about the dude. And got in a million internet pissing matches about how innacurate the marvel version was XD Also it sucks that we like to believe that modern times are always 100% more enlightened in every way, yet its modern adaptations that always censor out the bits about him shifting gender identities and getting pregnant once. ... man this has gone offtopic too much, im really tired but seriously its funny how teenage bunni had NO CLUE they were nonbinary, no clue why they got so obsessed researching gender-defying mythological figures and historians who created gender neutral pronouns in the 1800s. i was so supernaturally oblivious, holy shit...

#cathedral tower defense

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patroncrow · 6 years

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1-69 >:3

i had to turn on my laptop just to copy/paste this all. im putting it under a cut to spare any innocent followers

also you cheeky fuck lol

1. What’s your darkest kink?

completely being dominated. few get the chance or the honor tho

2. How many people have you had sex with?

one. we were together for a long while so i never got the chance.

i might be changing that before long

3. What the most times you’ve ever orgasmed in one night?

i honestly dont know but this did remind me of an embarrassing story lol

4. What’s your favorite sex position?

it really depends on my mood :3

5. Describe the best sex you’ve ever had.

i was drunk, in a mood all day, and accidentally gave a hickey above the collar. his boss gave him shit for it but he couldn’t get me back cause he cant give them (which is a shame)

6. Have you ever had a one night stand?

never had the chance

7. Describe your most desired fantasy.

see #1

8. Describe your darkest fantasy.

see #7

9. What’s your sexiest feature?

ive been told i have a really nice ass

10. Have you ever been to a strip club?

most the decent ones around here you have to be 21, i hear. they dont really seem like my scene tho

11. Where’s the best place to have sex?

where the mood strikes. just lock the doors

12. Where’s the craziest place you’ve had sex?

the living room. in my defense, there were at least 2 other ppl in the house, and it had a walk-in policy. there was a decent risk of someone showing up

but this did lead to an amusing conversation that went something like “what if your dad walks in?” “then ill sit up and say ‘dad im busy, get out!’”

13. Where would you like to have sex, but haven’t yet?

location isnt a big thing for me

14. If you could have sex with one celebrity, who would it be?

ive never really had celeb crushes. i identified as ace until not long ago (im open to giving chances, but im picky about who ill show interest in first)

15. What sounds do you make during sex?

oh, golly. depends how much fun im having

but its not that breathy-ass shit in porn

16. Are you loud during sex?

see #15

17. Describe the outfit you feel sexiest in.

do partial ones count? i like just not having a shirt. cargo pants, skinny jeans, whatever. just without a top.

18. What’s your favorite punishment?

never been punished. ex was a puss lol

19. What’s your favorite position for spanking?

never really had positions for it. i like being grabbed more

20. Do you like to have/leave marks?

yes

21. What’s your favorite thing to clamp nipples with?

never done that

22. How long have you denied/or been denied an orgasm?

0 seconds

23. Have you ever had sex in a “dungeon”?

nope

24. Are you into bondage?

mmmyeah

25. What is your favorite thing to do for aftercare?

never really been in the scene enough to know much about that

26. What’s your favorite thing to tie up or be tied up with?

ive only used cuffs & ties. i liked the latter better

27. Are you a Dom or a Sub? Would you ever consider being a switch?

im a sub but if im in a really big mood i can switch

its a strong expression of desire not to be taken for granted

28. Do you prefer gags or blindfolds?

never used either but blindfolds might be cool

29. Have you ever had a threesome?

no despite a long ass time with someone who wanted nothing more and wouldnt shut up until i put my foot down that i wasnt comfortable with that unless i had gotten close to the other person one-on-one first

30. How often do you masturbate?

maybe like once a month?? but tat was when sex was readily available. id much prefer the real thing

31. What’s your favorite thing to masturbate to?

just whatever does it that time

32. What’s your favorite kind of porn?

i dont rlly watch enough to have a fave

33. What’s your favorite porn website?

dont have one

34. Who’s your favorite porn star?

same as above

35. Would you ever consider doing porn?

it really depends on specific context

36. At what age did you start masturbating?

lmao 18

37. Have you ever been caught masturbating?

nope

38. Have you ever masturbated to a ridiculous video or story then thought “what the fuck did I just do?“

…

39. Phone sex or Camming?

never done either but im not big on taking care of myself for someone else

40. Do you believe in aphrodisiacs?

i havent read enough on them. ig if theres food that can help you be less depressed, there could be food that helps ur libido

41. What’s you biggest turn on?

biting around/on my hips/waist

42. What’s your strangest turn on?

probably the same thing, considering im not into oral and otherwise having a head down there bothers me

43. What’s your favorite sex toy?

i have none

44. Do you prefer your sexual partner to be older than you, or younger?

idc if theyre a little older/younger, as long as theyre close to my age

45. Have you ever broken up with someone because the sex was bad?

no but id totally tell an ex that to piss em off cause im a petty fuck

46. Have you ever posted nudes on tumblr?

nope. ive thought about doing the topless tuesday but ehh

47. What’s your favorite sex blog? (I’m sure it’s his-precious-kitten…but on the odd chance that it’s not…)

not really into those things

48. What’s your favorite pet name?

not necessarily a sex thing, but anything that feels strong like “darling,” “my love”

49. Do you prefer vaginal sex or anal?

never tried full-on anal but what i did try hurt too much to feel good

50. Do you prefer pussies all natural, bald, triangle, landing strip…?

whatever shes into and feels confident with mayn

51. What song would you most like to have sex to?

i like those with the feeling i get (not traditional ones) but this reminded me one time we were getting busy, youtube playlist going, next song came on and it was bring me to life and when i looked up, it wasnt like a lyric video or the official one but fucking luigi and i almost died then and there

52. Have you ever had shower sex?

yes. it was difficult but fun

53. At what time of day are you the horniest?

i dont have a time of day but i accidentally went off my birth control for a bit and in the proceeding week i could barely function. ive been telling myself that was the reason.

54. Girls: What is your bra size?

34b, perfect hand size. sometimes they just make good rests to just hold

55. Girls: Describe your favorite pair of panties.

theyre a teal with a darker blue lace. the back kinda has a sheer part that reminds me of stain glass windows??

56. Girls: Do you ever go out not wearing panties?

nah not into that thing. you could tell me something is meant to be worn without and id be like “nah fuck that”

57. Girls: Can you get off from clit stimulation alone?

ig?? but whats the fun in that??

58. Girls: Can you get off from penetration alone?

who would do that

59. Girls: Do you use birth control or condoms?

i prefer both because i would not be able to handle nine months sober followed by hours of excruciating pain. or getting stds.

60. Girls: What’s the strangest thing that’s ever been inside your pussy?

just a marker. im not lookin to fuck myself up

but my ex is a major whovian with several sonic screwdrivers and at one point he made a joke to which i responded “if you wanted to use that on me you shouldve said something” which made everyone freak out lol

61. Girls: Do you spit or swallow?

never sucked. always had a rise of anxiety prior

62. Subs: Would you rather have a Master, a Dom, or a Daddy Dom?

idk if theres that much a difference between the first two but if i so much as hear an utterance of “daddy” i instantly become dry as the sahara

63. Littles: Describe your favorite stuffie.

n/a

64. Boys: What is your penis size?

n/a

65. Boys: Are you circumcised?

n/a

66. Boys: Do you prefer having sex without a condom?

n/a

67. Boys: Do you prefer oral or vaginal sex?

n/a

68. Doms: Do you believe in aftercare?

n/a

69. Doms: Would you rather own a slave, a sub, or a little?

n/a

lord this took forever i hope ur happy lol

#grown up talk

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nicotineandtears-blog · 6 years

Text

The Prologue.

It's been 2 nights since my whole world came to an burning end. I had lost all 14 of my friends within the matter of a few hours and I had no idea it happened. I found out after they decided to vote me off the island. Why? That’s the burning question in my head.

That may sound stupid and like an excuse, but I promise you, it's not. I don't know what I did, I dont even know what Im being accused of all I know is theyre upset with me and dont want to speak or see me. But I guess before I get to that part I should explain some backstory.

It started last year. I came to college to sort of become “my own” as my mom would say. Did I want to move 8 hours away from all of my friends? leave my family? No. All of my friends were 20 or 21 and going to the university in my hometown. They all were starting their careers and we all shared the same dream. My friends and I spent more time together than we needed to. We were inseparable. But me, being the 18 year old baby of the group, with my mother in my ear, I moved 8 hours away with no friends.

I hated my life, and when I say hate, I'm not being dramatic. It seemed as if no one understood me. I didn't have friends who shared the same ideals and dreams as me (which is actually very important FYI), I had no family, the food was horrible, it was about 15 degrees colder at all times and the beds were extremely small. But anyways, I hated my life. Till one day I decided to get in contact with an old friend from middle school. I saw she was attending the same Uni and I thought it would be cool to reconnect. Which it was, when I went to her dorm room, I instantly felt a connection and group dynamic between her friends and roommates.

That night was the start of a beautiful nightmare.

We all became so close within the matter of months. Me, Jenna, Briana, Donna, Dionne, Joe, Grace, and Rachel. These are the main characters of the this story and my daily diary entry and for privacy reasons I chose not to use their real names. There was 15 of us in total but those are the main ones you need to remember as I vent on here. But anyways, yes we all became a very close knit group, laughing every chance we got, getting dinner together every night, studying together, hanging between classes, walking to classes, going out on the weekend, or even staying in on the weekend. We were always together.

At first it was really hard for me to blend in with the group because they all went to high school with Jenna. Grace and I went to high school together (and eventually got really close but we will get there) and actually requested to be roommates with each other, we just weren't that close on a personal level at first. We were both very quiet and reserved people and didn't like to be public about our feelings. But with the majority of the group having gone to high school together, it was hard to blend easily. They had all these inside jokes and memories. They knew each other so well.

It's not that I was jealous of that, cause I wasn't. I missed my friend group. I didn't want to start over and blend with these people. I barely knew them. I was so different from everyone else. I didn't like secrets and it was apparent that this group had A LOT of them. They hid secrets from each other so easily it was 2nd nature. It was hard to accept and be apart of that. I dont show my feelings very well, I don't like expressing when I'm sad, mad, or something offends me. I have a thick skin and nothing gets to me. It's the way I was raised and brought up.

Group chats was also an adjustment. This group ran and operated under one thing. Group chats. They had group chats for everything and that's how they all communicated. If only a few of us were going to the student union, there was a group chat about that. If someone annoyed the majority of the people in the room, someone would make a group chat specifically about that annoying person. The members of that group chat would then make fun of the person being talked about it right then and there. (DISCLAIMER; Im not innocent of this by any means, I did everything that I will explain about this group but it was an adjustment and chipped away a piece of who I really was as I made it my normal) I hated group chats in high school. I hated all the notifications and how many conversations would go on at once. It seemed like nothing could get done. And that's exactly how it happened with this group. So many messages that it was easy to miss plans.

If someone was left out of certain plans it was the end of the world. Even it was posted in the group chat, talked about for 45 minutes, and made a solid plan, if someone missed the messages, wasnt online, or couldn't make it, we were horrible friends and they would make a scene about it. (This is what I mean when I talk about sensitive)

Now, I was desperate to find where I belonged. At that time, I had no where or no one. So I made sure that I belonged in this group. I changed my views and ideals on things. I put my dreams on hold. All to fit into a group who then later chewed me up and spit me out without a second thought. But I was so blinded by wanting to be accepted, I actually made it in and they became my normal and I became theirs.

Before I move on to a new topic, there is something you should know. The group, one of their favorite pastimes was, shit talking. They shit talked about absolutely everything and everyone, including members of the group. If someone annoyed them, if someone wore an ugly color, if someone looked at us funny, etc. You get the point.

From the moment I entered, I knew there was something off about them and there was shadiness within the group.

I did my best and actually became really close with Jenna again. We were both a mess and didn't want to be in that boring city, if you could even call it that. It was like we were in middle school again, fan girling over stupid boys, making stupid jokes about anything and everything, and spending hours on end together. It was nice to have one of my close friends again. I felt normal and it was like a piece of home. But It was very apparent that other people in the group didn't fuck with her as heavily as I did hence a shadiness that I mentioned earlier. I tried my best to stay out of it. But it got messy a long way. But my point is, they talk so much shit, even about each other.

Now I had a hidden paradise within all of this high school drama madness was, Taylor. I met Taylor at freshman orientation, we were in the same group and we partnered up in a game and dominated together without knowing anything about each other. That's when we knew we were meant to be together. The best part of Taylor was he loved guys just as much as I did. So we were a match made in heaven. We were competitive, stubborn, funny, smart, driven, insensitive, and both loved men. After orientation, I expected to never really see him again, we exchanged each other's numbers but I didn't expect to become close. I never do with those kind of encounters. But turns out we were destined to be together and once again faith did its job. We ended up just a few doors down from each other in the same dorm hall and on the same floor. What are the odds of that. We saw each other everyday and I honestly never got tired of his presence. We think alike and hes is very blunt and honest about everything. He didn't like to express how he felt and he didn't like secrets. So we got along very well. (Now I am actually roommates with him in a house)

He was my escape and my little paradise. I could tell him anything and he would either agree with me or give me his honest opinion. I think what I like most about him is that he reminds me of my true self. Even though I didnt realize this until recently. He reminds me of the old Valerie.

I tried to bring him around the group but they hated him. Taylor is complicated for people who don't have a complex mind. He is too smart for his own good, he literally knows everything about everything, and at times it could get really annoying, but it's charming, he doesn't show emotion and he's very robotic. He doesnt like to be wrong, but does anyone? You could say that Taylor and the group were the same but the group does not admit when they're wrong and anyone who isnt in their inner circle, is irrelevant. They were right and never wrong. But Taylor, he was hardly ever, ever, ever wrong but when he was, he owned up to it. So Taylor was hated for how strong of a person he was, something I was afraid to be around these people.

This group was the death of a girl I use to call Valerie. No thats not my real name. (I refuse to use real names.) I ruined myself and everything I believed in and tried to accomplish, but I'm definitely not innocent in all this either. I destroyed my friendship with them without even meaning to. Its hurt me more than I expected. Their is an emptiness inside me, I feel alone. My whole life for the past year is now gone except for a few pieces. Its like it never happened and they never came into my life. They vanished so quickly and I didnt get the chance to even say goodbye. But after some thinking and long deliberation, I came to the conclusion that they damaged me just as much as I damaged them.

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patriotsnet · 3 years

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Why Do The Republicans Back Trump

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/why-do-the-republicans-back-trump/

Why Do The Republicans Back Trump

Republican Voters Turn Against Their Partys Elites

Why many Republicans are refusing to back Donald Trump

The Tea Party movement, which sprang into existence in the early years of the Obama administration, was many things. It was partly about opposing Obamas economic policies foreclosure relief, tax increases, and health reform. It was partly about opposing immigration when Theda Skocpol and Vanessa Williamson;interviewed Tea Party activists across the nation, they found that “immigration was always a central, and sometimes the central, concern” those activists expressed.

But the Tea Party also was a challenge to the Republican Party establishment. Several times, these groups helped power little-known far-right primary contenders to shocking primary wins over establishment Republican politicians deemed to be sellouts. Those candidates didnt always win office, but their successful primary bids certainly struck fear into the hearts of many other GOP incumbents, and made many of them more deferential to the concerns of conservative voters.

Furthermore, many Republican voters also came to believe, sometimes fairly and sometimes unfairly, that their partys national leaders tended to sell them out at every turn.

Talk radio and other conservative media outlets helped stoke this perception, and by May 2015 Republican voters were far more likely to say that their partys politicians were doing a poor job representing their views than Democratic voters were.

He Didnt Sign The Paris Climate Accord

Speaking of Paris, Trump stood alone among politicians in realizing that a lot of the climate change rhetoric is designed to heavily tax American industry while it lets other countries slide and keep polluting. Hes not pro-pollution, but he doesnt want to sacrifice the American middle class in the process of fighting it.

Hes Not Politically Correct

We are living in an age where most people have to bite their lips to the point of bleeding for fear of offending some delicate soul who will scream bloody murder and call the cops and press if you dare to say anything that hurts their feelings. This is mind control and tyranny of the worst formrepression of thoughts. For all that the media and academics say they want diversity, dont you dare utter a contrary opinion or they will ruin your life. Then along comes Trump and says, fuck that.

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‘combative Tribal Angry’: Newt Gingrich Set The Stage For Trump Journalist Says

All these factors combined to produce a windfall for Republicans all over the country in the midterms of 1994, but it was a watershed election in the South. For more than a century after Reconstruction, Democrats had held a majority of the governorships and of the Senate and House seats in the South. Even as the region became accustomed to voting Republican for president, this pattern had held at the statewide and congressional levels.

But in November 1994, in a single day, the majority of Southern governorships, Senate seats and House seats shifted to the Republicans. That majority has held ever since, with more legislative seats and local offices shifting to the GOP as well. The South is now the home base of the Republican Party.

The 2020 aftermath

No wonder that in contesting the results in six swing states he lost, Trump seems to have worked hardest on Georgia. If he had won there, he still would have lost the Electoral College decisively. But as the third most populous Southern state, and the only Southern state to change its choice from 2016, it clearly held special significance.

Trump Blasts Mcconnell And His Leadership In Lengthy Response To Recent Criticism

Where will the party turn in its hour of crisis? If the past is any guide, it will turn in two directions: to the right, and to the South. These have been the wellsprings of strength and support that have brought the party back from the brink in recent decades.

That was the strategy that led to Richard Nixon’s elections as president in 1968 and 1972, and it was still working for Ronald Reagan in the 1980s.

Solidifying the South and energizing conservatives were also crucial factors in the Republican tsunami of 1994, when the GOP surged to majorities in Congress and in statehouses. That hamstrung the remainder of Bill Clinton’s presidency and presaged the election of Republican George W. Bush in 2000.

It was a lesson not lost on Trump. While not even a Republican until late in life, he started his primary campaign billboarding the party’s most conservative positions on taxes, trade, immigration and abortion. And the first of his rallies to draw a crowd in the tens of thousands was in a football stadium in Mobile, Ala., two months after he declared his candidacy in the summer of 2015.

Whether the next standard-bearer for the GOP is Trump himself or someone else, there is little doubt the playbook will be the same.

Low points, then turnarounds

Perhaps the most discouraging of these for the GOP was Johnson’s tidal wave, which carried in the biggest majorities Democrats in Congress had enjoyed since the heyday of Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal.

Read Also: Trump People Magazine Quote 1998

The Tucker Carlson Fans Who Got Vaxxed

I asked vaccinated fans of the Fox News host what it will take to get more Republicans to get their shots.

Late last month, as the Delta variant of the coronavirus filled hospitals across the under-vaccinated South, Tucker Carlson took to his usual perch as the most-watched host on the most-watched cable-news network, just asking questions about the COVID-19 vaccines. Tonight, congressional Democrats have called for a vaccine mandate in Congress, Carlson said, as if flabbergasted by every word. Members and staffers would be required to get a shot that the CDC told us today doesnt work very well and, by the way, whose long-term effects cannot be known.

Carlsons Facebook followers commented eagerly on the video clip, spreading unfounded fears about vaccination among themselves. Completely disappointed in our government, dont believe a word they speak! Will not get the shot! one person wrote. Together, Carlson and his viewers are a placenta and embryo, gestating dangerous ideas and keeping the pandemic alive.

Its no secret that Carlsons audience, and Foxs, are overwhelmingly Republican and right-wing. And in poll after poll, Republicans are much less likely than Democrats to say they have been vaccinated and much more likely to say they definitely wont be vaccinated. The partisan gap in vaccinations has only grown over time.

The Republican Party Was Founded To Oppose The Slave Power

For the first half-century after the United States founding, slavery was only one of many issues in the countrys politics, and usually a relatively minor issue at that. The American South based its economy on the enslavement of millions, and the two major parties which by the 1850s were the Democrats and the Whigs were willing to let the Southern states be.

But when the US started admitting more and more Western states to the Union, the country had to decide whether those new states should allow slavery or not. And this was an enormously consequential question, because the more slave states there were, the easier it would be for the slaveholding states to get their way in the Senate and the Electoral College.

Now, the issue here wasnt that Northern politicians were desperate to abolish slavery in the South immediately, apart from a few radical crusaders. The real concern was that Northerners feared the “Slave Power” the South would become a cabal that would utterly dominate US politics, instituting slavery wherever they could and cutting off opportunity for free white laborers, as historian Heather Cox Richardson writes in her book To Make Men Free.

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Republicans Fear Trump Will Lead To A Lost Generation Of Talent

The 45th president has brought new voices and voters to the party, but hes driven them out too. Insiders fear the repercussions.

06/01/2021 04:30 AM EDT

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As Donald Trump ponders another presidential bid, top Republicans have grown fearful about what theyre calling the partys lost generation.

In conversations with more than 20 lawmakers, ex-lawmakers, top advisers and aides, a common concern has emerged that a host of national and statewide Republicans are either leaving office or may not choose to pursue it for fear that they cant survive politically in the current GOP. The worry, these Republicans say, is that the party is embracing personality over policy, and that it is short sighted to align with Trump, who lost the general election and continues to alienate a large swath of the voting public with his grievances and false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

Trump has driven sitting GOP lawmakers and political aspirants into early retirements ever since he burst onto the scene. But there was hope that things would change after his election loss. Instead, his influence on the GOP appears to be as solid as ever and the impact of those early shockwaves remain visible. When asked, for instance, if he feared the 45th president was causing a talent drain from the GOP ranks, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush perhaps inadvertently offered a personal demonstration of the case.

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I Think He’s Wrong On This Issue One Republican Senator Said Of Trump

Black Republican women explain why they support President Donald Trump

Donald Trump, Mitt Romney, Lisa Murkowski and Mitch McConnell

It’s finally infrastructure week and Donald Trump is mad.

Trump tried but ultimately failed to stop Senate Republicans from supporting;the Democrats’ $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill. His effort to shame Republicans out of voting in support of the measure was impotent, as the Senate passed the bipartisan bill on Tuesday.

The former president made his feelings known ahead of the vote when he ripped Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., as “overrated.”;

“Nobody will ever understand why Mitch McConnell allowed this non-infrastructure bill to be passed. He has given up all of his leverage for the big whopper of a bill that will follow,” Trump wrote in a statement.;

“I have quietly said for years that Mitch McConnell is the most overrated man in politicsnow I don’t have to be quiet anymore,” the former president said, adding: “He is working so hard to give Biden a victory, now they’ll go for the big one, including the biggest tax increases in the history of our Country.”

Despite Trump’s rhetoric, the Senate minority leader nevertheless remained steadfast in his support of the landmark measure, voting in support of the bill on Tuesday. Although he;made clear that he will not back any Democratic-led effort at budget reconciliation, which would allow the Democrats to pass an additional $3.5 trillion bill intended to target education, health, childcare, and climate action in the coming months.;

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The Partys Core Activists Dont Want To Shift Gears

This is the simplest and most obvious explanation: The GOP isnt changing directions because the people driving the car dont want to.;

When we think of Republicans, we tend to think of either rank-and-file GOP voters or the partys highest-profile elected officials, particularly its leaders in Congress. But in many ways, the partys direction is driven by a group between those two: conservative organizations like Club for Growth and the Heritage Foundation, GOP officials at the local and state level and right-wing media outlets. That segment of the party has been especially resistant to the GOP abandoning its current mix of tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, opposition to expansions of programs that benefit the poor and an identity politics that centers white Americans and conservative Christians.

You could see the power and preferences of this group in the response to the Capitol insurrection.

In the days immediately following Jan. 6, many GOP elected officials, most notably McConnell, signaled that the party should make a permanent break from Trump. Pollsfound an increased number of rank-and-file GOP voters were dissatisfied with the outgoing president. But by the time the Senate held its trial over Trumps actions a month later, it was clear that the party was basically back in line with Trump.;

related:Why Being Anti-Media Is Now Part Of The GOP Identity Read more. »

Republicans Think Democrats Always Cheat

The Republican strategy has several sources of motivation, but the most important is a widely shared belief that Democrats in large cities i.e., racial minorities engage in systematic vote fraud, election after election. We win because of our ideas, we lose elections because they cheat us, insisted Senator Lindsey Graham on Fox News last night. The Bush administration pursued phantasmal vote fraud allegations, firing prosecutors for failing to uncover evidence of the schemes Republicans insisted were happening under their noses. In 2008, even a Republican as civic-minded as John McCain accused ACORN, a voter-registration group, of maybe perpetrating one of the greatest frauds in voter history in this country, maybe destroying the fabric of democracy.

The persistent failure to produce evidence of mass-scale vote fraud has not discouraged Republicans from believing in its existence. The failure to expose it merely proves how well-hidden the conspiracy is. Republicans may despair of their chances of proving Trumps vote-fraud charges in open court, but many of them believe his wild lies reflect a deeper truth.

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How Republicans Made Common Cause With Southern Democrats On Economic Matters

Roosevelts reforms also brought tensions in the Democratic coalition to the surface, as the solidly Democratic South wasnt too thrilled with the expansion of unions or federal power generally. As the years went on, Southern Democrats increasingly made common cause with the Republican Party to try to block any further significant expansions of government or worker power.

“In 1947, confirming a new alliance that would recast American politics for the next two generations, Taft men began to work with wealthy southern Democrats who hated the New Deals civil rights legislation and taxes,” Cox Richardson writes. This new alliance was cemented with the Taft-Hartley bill, which permitted states to pass right-to-work laws preventing mandatory union membership among employees and many did.

Taft-Hartley “stopped labor dead in its tracks at a point where unions were large, growing, and confident in their economic and political power,” Rich Yeselson has written. You can see the eventual effects above pro-Democratic unions were effectively blocked from gaining a foothold in the South and interior West, and the absence of their power made those regions more promising for Republicans’ electoral prospects.

He Gives The Republicans Full Control Of Washington Again

For all you hear about how great Barack Obama was, do you realize that he had promised to cut the national debt in half but actually more than doubled it? Thats righthe saddled you and your descendants with a tax bill that you will likely never be able to pay off. Now, with Republicans in charge, we can roll back some of the excesses of the Obama era and encourage business growth rather than government growth.

Also Check: How Many Democrats Have Been President Vs Republicans

We Must Give Credit To Media And Technology

While the reason Trump voters believe Trumps lies in their psyche, we cant ignore that social media and cable news have created multiple realties in which people exist. According to Fox News, not once has Trump ever said something negative about; military service members .

Of course, Fox News is considered responsible;when compared to the even-more fringe outlets the way-the-f*ck-out-there mental prison camps like OAN and Americas News that are down-right propaganda channels devoted exclusively to milking angry republicans of their last dime, their last drop of empathy, and their last connection to a reality-based existence. They make Alex Jones look sane. Einstein was right just didnt realize at the time he was talking about political discourse.

Grand Jury Convened In Criminal Investigation Of Trump

Only one president, Grover Cleveland, has ever lost a re-election bid and come back to reclaim the White House. In modern times, one-term presidents have worried more about rehabilitating their legacies by taking on nonpartisan causes Democrat Jimmy Carter by building housing for the poor and George H.W. Bush by raising money for disaster aid, for example than about trying to shape national elections. But Trump retains a hold on the Republican electorate that is hard to overstate, and he has no intention of relinquishing it.

“There’s a reason why they’re called ‘Trump voters,'” Miller said. “They either don’t normally vote or don’t normally vote for Republicans.”

Trump lost the popular vote by more than 7 million last year and the Electoral College by the same 306-232 result by which he had won four years earlier but he got more votes than any other Republican nominee in history. And it would have taken fewer than 44,000 votes, spread across swing states Georgia, Arizona and Wisconsin, to reverse the outcome.

Republicans, including Trump allies, say it’s too early to know what he will do, or what the political landscape will look like, in four years. A busload of Republican hopefuls are taking similar strides to position themselves. They include former Vice President Mike Pence, who is speaking to New Hampshire Republicans on Thursday, an event that the Concord Monitor called the kickoff of the 2024 race.

That’s basically what Trump is doing.

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Klobuchar: Trump’s Actions Are Like A ‘global Watergate’ Scandal

Today, as Democrats in the House of Representatives move toward bringing articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, with the next Judiciary Committee hearing of evidence set for Monday, few Democrats are still clinging to the hope that Republicans will reach a breaking point with Trump like they did with Nixon.

“I really don’t think there is any fact that would change their minds,” Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., a member of the House Intelligence Committee, told NBC News.

Why? Two key changes since Nixon: a massive divide in American political life we hate the other team more than ever before and a media climate that fuels and reinforces that chasm, powered by Fox News on the Republican side.

Himes said he was “a little stunned by the unanimity on the Republican side,” especially among retiring lawmakers who don’t have to worry about surviving a GOP primary had they gone against Trump. “We’re in a place right now where all that matters to my Republican colleagues is the defense of the president,” he added.

No Republican congressmen have said they support impeachment. In the Senate, the entire GOP voted to condemn the impeachment inquiry, except for three moderates: Mitt Romney of Utah, Susan Collins of Maine, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. The three have stopped short of saying they support Trump’s impeachment, however, and it would take at least 20 Republican senators to vote to convict him in a Senate trial for removal to succeed.

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