#this was kinda extra but keep in mind i'm a history major so when i get asked stuff like this i get into it

[billclinton42]

Name 5 Presidents that you really like/respect and 5 Presidents that you're not a fan of

5 Presidents I like/respect. 

1. John F. Kennedy (my favorite President and I respect him greatly for how he handled the Cuban Missile Crisis and laid the groundwork for the Civil Rights Act of 1964).

2. William Jefferson Clinton (the last modern president to balance the budget and a master negotiator. I could say more but this blog already is testimony enough of why I respect him ).

3. Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Longest serving president of the U.S. and I respect the fact that he was able to fix the banking system by passing the Emergency Banking Act and then later the 1933 banking act, I won’t get too much into it but he essentially protected bank depositors from losses caused by a bank’s inability to pay its debts when due. He also established a national minimum wage. Then of course there his great leadership in WW2. It should be noted that I only respect the man’s accomplishments but do not like him on a personal level, he was responsible for the Japanese internment camps). 

4. Abraham Lincoln (kept the Union and the United States intact and managed to help pass the 13th Amendment which prohibits slavery in the United States. I respect him in a pragmatic sense but I do think he is over glorified because the Emancipation Proclamation didn’t technically free slaves as people are fond of saying it only freed slaves in the South which Lincoln had no control over. Lincoln also suspended habeas corpus which is the law that says the government can’t hold you for a crime without bringing you in front of a court and allowing you to have a court procedure to able to prove your innocence). 

5. George Washington (First President of the United States. I respect him in that he was a general in the American Revolution for Independence and that he willingly gave up power and started the two term limit. He also established the United States Navy which was important because Britain had the most powerful Navy at the time). 

5. Presidents I am not a fan of.

1. Donald J. Trump. (yeah so his presidency isn’t over but I am not impressed by what he’s done so far. He hasn’t been able to pass legislation and I’ve spoken before about how I think he is emotionally challenged and acts too much like a child to be president. He also didn’t denounce the Unite the Right White Supremacist event that took place in Charlottesville where he could have had a chance to send the national guard to shut it down just like JFK did when they started having riots and not wanting to let a black student, Meredith, go to a white school in Alabama even though the law stated he could. To me that shows a lack of leadership on his part). 

2. Ronald Reagan (I know he had some accomplishments with the Cold War but he failed miserably with how he handled the AIDs crisis. United States citizens were dying at home and he did nothing to protect or help them and said AIDS came from a lack of “morality.” Then there is Iran-Contra where his administration was involved in arming Middle-Eastern countries that were hostile to the U.S.). 

3. Andrew Jackson (he was responsible for the Trail of Tears which forced Native Americans from their home land. He also had his whole drama with South Carolina by raising tariffs on them and making them want to secede. He was also a vicious racist and slave owner). 

4. Andrew Johnson (an incompetent president and a white supremacist who unfortunately halts reconstruction and the progress made by winning the Civil War. He also opposed the 14th Amendment which prohibits any state from depriving citizens of life, liberty, or property, without due process. He basically tries to get things to be like how they were before the Civil War). 

5. James Buchanan (he is usually dubbed by historians as the worst President and it is true to some extent. He called the territorial issue of slavery “happily, a matter of but little practical importance.“ He was president before Lincoln and he did nothing to stop the coming Civil War which if he had taken more action, could have been prevent. Buchanan said he believed the South’s secession wasn’t legal, but the federal government didn’t have the power to stop it. He supported a Supreme Court decision that denied African-Americans were citizens, and he backed the admittance of Kansas to the Union with a pro-slavery constitution

yeah… so that’s it. Lol sorry this was long but I felt I had to put an explanation and not just give the names without giving the reasons. 

[iamwestiec]

June 17: Chengxian 💜🖤💕

childhood friends to lovers/QPPs, ace Jiang Cheng, bi & aro Wei Wuxian, modern AU

(A/N: If you're wondering about a certain other someone, he will have a wonderful, full life of his own in Suzhou in this AU but is not in this story. 💙 There are some brief mentions of offscreen ace-antagonism, not by anyone we know.)

Read on ao3

Jiang Cheng had been Wei Ying's best friend in the whole world for his entire life.

Okay. Well, not quite his entire life, but certainly since Wei Ying’s parents moved to California when he was little little, which was about as far back as Wei Ying could remember anyway. Wei Ying’s baba and Jiang Cheng’s baba had grown up in Wuhan together and been best friends when they were kids, so naturally, when Wei Ying’s family moved into the same neighborhood as the Jiangs, it made perfect sense for Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng to become best friends too.

It was Jiang Cheng who had taught Wei Ying that he didn't have to be afraid of dogs, by introducing him to Princess, Jasmine, and Lil' Love. Lil' Love lived up to her name, coming and quietly sitting in all her fluffy glory on Wei Ying’s lap every time he went over to play.

It was also Jiang Cheng who Wei Ying got drunk with for the first time. They snuck booze from the cabinet where Wei Ying’s parents kept it and laughed at the faces each other made with every shot until they stopped tasting the harsh burn, and then laughing more just because.

(Wei Ying’s mom had not laughed, not at the time, when the two teens had been sick as anything the next morning, but instead made them a gloriously greasy late breakfast and gave them lots of advice about proper hydration.

Then she told Jiang Cheng’s mom and let her scold them.)

It was Jiang Cheng who came out first, their first semester in college, when he told Wei Ying he didn't think he wanted to have sex with anyone, ever, and asked if Wei Ying thought that meant no one would ever want to date him. Wei Ying hugged him tight and told him he didn't know about everyone out there, but he knew Jiang Cheng was the best guy in the world and would be an awesome boyfriend, and he'd fight anyone who said differently.

Jiang Cheng found a group on campus for third culture LBGT kids, and Wei Ying went with him, as a supportive ally.

Which was how Wei Ying figured out that he was not just a supportive ally.

In listening to the others talk about orientation and identity and attraction and cultural expectations, Wei Ying realized that what he'd always assumed was normal—finding all kinds of people physically attractive, regardless of their gender—was actually his bisexuality. So that was kind of cool.

"So yeah, now we can be queer together!" Wei Ying said, when he excitedly shared his newfound realization with Jiang Cheng.

Jiang Cheng snorted. "Yeah, 'all' and 'nothing,'" he joked.

It was Jiang Cheng who'd helped him practice what to say to his parents when he wanted to change his major at the end of sophomore year, and Jiang Cheng who reminded him to eat and sleep and "take a fucking break, Wei Ying," those next couple semesters when he took way too many hours so he wouldn't have to rack up a whole extra year's worth of student loans to finish his new degree plan.

It was Jiang Cheng who graduated first, on a gorgeous blue-skyed sunny day in May, and Jiang Cheng who suggested Wei Ying keep living with him at his new apartment, so he wouldn't have to try to find a one-semester lease until he finished in December.

(They renewed the lease together every time.)

Jiang Cheng ribbed him playfully each time Wei Ying met someone new, but he was always there each times things fizzled out after a few months for reasons that never quite made sense to Wei Ying.

Jiang Cheng occasionally dated too, and Wei Ying was glad he never did have to fight anybody—though he did drive Jiang Cheng to the emergency room the time he came home with split knuckles from punching a guy who, "seemed to think I didn't know my own mind about certain things."

But dating sucked for everybody, right? It wasn't like Wei Ying or Jiang Cheng were in any hurry to settle down and do the whole spouse and kids thing or whatever. Wei Ying tried to imagine it and just... couldn't, though the image of Jiang Cheng with a baby was admittedly pretty cute.

~

It was not Jiang Cheng, but Jiang Yanli, a few months after she proposed to her girlfriend and they started planning their wedding, who Wei Ying finally asked, "Yanli-jie, how does a person decide someone else is their person?"

Jiang Yanli looked across the room to where Jiang Cheng was showing her soon-to-be-wife how to put side spin on a billiards ball and smiled. "I think you just know," she said. "You meet someone and you get to know them, spend time together, then one day you realize you love them and want to build the rest of your life with them."

Wei Ying wrinkled his nose. "I dunno if it works that way for me. Just some random person? I've never met anyone I can imagine wanting to live with all the time. Well, besides—huh..." he cut off suddenly and darted a look over at Jiang Yanli, who just calmly sipped her drink.

"Have you ever told him that?" she asked, after a moment where Wei Ying reassessed his entire life and dating history. "I think he might appreciate hearing it."

"I... huh. Yanli-jie, you're kinda blowing my mind here," he complained.

"I gathered," she said wryly, before fixing him with a smile that made all the hair on the back of his neck stand up. "Of course, I trust," she told him, "that I do not need to explain to you of all people how very dearly I hold my didi's happiness and well-being."

He swallowed and raised three fingers in the salute he'd used ever since the summer that—hah—he and Jiang Cheng had decided as kids that they would make their own oath of brotherhood like the heroes of their favorite show. "I, Wei Ying, swear to you that I would kick my own ass before I did anything to hurt him."

Jiang Yanli leaned over to knock her shoulder against his and nodded. "That's what I thought."

~

Turned out, dating Jiang Cheng didn't suck at all.

It felt easy in a way Wei Ying’s past dates never had, less like trying to keep up with a game whose rules everybody knew except him, more like... well, like spending time with his best friend in the whole world, but on purpose. There was also a tension in the back of Wei Ying’s mind that seemed to have lifted, though he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was that had gone.

It was Jiang Cheng who helped him figure it out.

"I think it's that now I'm able to count on this. On us," he said, when Wei Ying brought it up. "Before, whenever you went out with someone new, I wondered if this would be the time you'd find someone to fall in love with and leave me behind."

"Aww, Chengcheng! I would never!"

Jiang Cheng huffed and rolled his eyes, but his cheeks were pink. "Well, I know that now," he said, a pleased little smile breaking through his attempts at a scowl.

"As long as you're sure—" Wei Ying began, still getting used to thinking about himself with the word "aromantic." Still a so very sure that Jiang Cheng deserved to be fallen in love with.

"Hey!" Jiang Cheng cut him off. "None of that. I know you. And I know you don't see it this way, but I personally think it's pretty damn romantic that you choose to love me, on purpose."

"I simply have exquisite taste in life partners," Wei Ying sniffed, embarassed the way he always got when Jiang Cheng declared something he'd done "romantic."

"You do," Jiang Cheng agreed. "Someone told me a long time ago I was the best guy in the world and would make an awesome boyfriend, and that he would fight anyone who said differently."

Wei Ying laughed. "That's you and your sister I've promised to kick my own ass if I ever break your heart, then. Guess I'll just have to keep you forever."

"Damn right, you will," Jiang Cheng agreed, grinning smug and happy and breathtakingly beautiful. Wei Ying leaned across the couch to give him a sweet, closed-mouth kiss—the kind Jiang Cheng had shyly admitted he actually did like, a lot—and smiled too, at how lucky he'd gotten to be with his best friend in the whole world for his entire life.

🖤💜

Today's (extremely long!) thread was inspired by this WONDERFUL art of ace Jiang Cheng and bi & aro Wei Ying! Go give Midori some love on Twitter!

I spent a nonzero amount of time googling to double check when various terms and flags came into vogue, so if you're wondering, WWX & JC were in college in the early 2000s, before the ace and aro flags were designed. By the time they get themselves figured out, they can get their cute wristbands.

...which, yes, means these dingdongs spent about a solid decade living together before realizing that was what they wanted to do forever. 😉

This also means Jiang Yanli and her unnamed wife here are getting married between when California started recognizing same-sex marriages in 2008 and the Obergefell v. Hodges ruling in 2015! THIS SHIT'S RECENT!!!

Happy Pride, thank you for reading, check out more LGBTQIA+ sweetness on my #PrideMonthSnippets Masterpost!

[i-can-get-extra-with-my-ships]

A Slice Of My Love. Chapter 6. Wait, You Don't Think I'm Insane?

Sup children!! (No clementine my brother did not hack onto my Tumblr and write me a whole fucken chapter.) We be existing on the bean bag again. 

The farthest you will most likely see me venture is to my bed. Or a hotel. It depends how long this book goes for. I mean, we’re almost at 10 chapters. I said like 20-30 most likely. Holy shit. I’m almost ½ to ⅓ done with this book. Moving on before I go on more of a tangent than I already have!!

Pairings: Mentions of the glasses gays (it's toned down for this chapter and in chapter 7 it will be turned up to 11), Prinxiety but it’s best friend mode™ that has been preset to 11

Tw: Cursing, Fourth wall breaks (they be back, but not as bad this time), Virgil being insane, Virgil and Roman being both shippers and BFFs, the lack of sleep finally catching up to Virge, Vee thinking he has just proved a major point.

Virgil’s POV

----

Assuming that you’ve read this whole book, you already know that Pat has been overtaken by the powers of the boop™ and has gone upstairs with Logan. Logan never came back downstairs.

Roman was thinking about something. Well, I knew what that something was. You only have to be best friends with Princy for a year and a half to know what he wants to ask you.

“You wanna ask me about Alonso, don’t you?” Roman looked up at me. Then he went back to thinking.

“You know that as long as you don’t accuse me of being insane, you can ask me whatever the fuck you want.”

He looked at me again and then sat down at the table with a bowl of cereal. “Taking advantage of the fact that dad’s upstairs huh?”

The fuck? Dude, we’ve been best fucking friends for over a year now!! If you’re trying to ask me something just ask me!!

“No shit Sherlock.”

He gasped in fake surprise. “How DARE you!! I hate to inform you, but I am the prince, hence I am royalty. You do not speak to royalty in such a crude manner!!”

So the Roman stans are taking mild offense right now. I’m gonna tell you this once and once only. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN BEST FRIEND MODE™ HAS BEEN TURNED UP TO ITS PRESET NUMBER OF 11!!

Anyways, Roman stans aside, I laughed hysterically at Roman’s mocked offense. He does a really good impression of what I’d like to imagine offended Roman stans to sound like.

Ok, we’re gonna chuck the Roman stans out a window so I can actually move on from them. I decided that I was going to help Princey away from the conversation that He was trying to move away from. (I was really tempted to say spared.) The extra bitch hasn’t left yet, has it Em? (We are NOT doing this now.) Fine.

“Seeing as you’re trying to change the subject, Pat and Lo earlier.”

His face lit up at the mention of the glasses gays, as we’ve dubbed them.

“Looks like someone needs to get more sleep.” Ro did a crappy impersonation of Lo. I laughed some more.

“And don’t forget the boop™”

Roman started snickering “How did I forget the boop™? Uhh… Well, I only have 2 weaknesses: self-deprecation and affection.”

Roman was crappily imitating Pat now. I knew where Roman was going. I jumped up from my chair and ran over. Then I slowly walked by him and booped his nose.

Roman snickers turned into a bit of giggling, then he continued with our inside joke. “Never mind. I have 3 weaknesses: self-deprecation, affection and whatever Logan just did.”

I laughed even more at Roman’s shitty impression job. “Ok, you’re purposely sucking. I have accepted this challenge of sucking at doing impersonations for this joke.” I cleared my throat for the shittiest Logan Sanders impression in the history of the universe. I heard Roman mumble “Oh god” underneath his breath.

Good. You better be bracing yourself for this shitshow Princey.

“Patton, I believe that Roman and Virgil would call that a” I searched through imaginary vocab cards “boop™.”

We looked at each other and then laughed hysterically. I somehow ended up falling over in our laughter. We stopped for a moment and looked at each other again. Then laughed again, only harder this time.

Through my laughter, I managed “Stop laughing and help me you, stupid bitch!!”

He looked at me in disbelief. “You’re sitting there, on the floor, laughing, but I can’t laugh with you?” He lectured me while still giggling.

“I’m laughing at my own stupidity. Only I can laugh at myself.”

“Whatever. I thought I was supposed to be the dramatic one!”

The laughter had died down quite quickly after that. Roman helped me up off the floor. We walked to the couch and sat down.

Well… more he sat down, I lay down, and he was my footrest. It’s an us thing.

“Do you always have to put your feet on me, Virge?”

I scoffed and looked at him in disbelief. “Do I have anywhere else to put my feet? No. Do I want you to sit on my feet? No. Do I want to sit up? No. Do I want to move to the other couch? No. Are you my prisoner now? Yes.”

He laughed a little more. I could tell that he was thinking that I stole his job of being the dramatic one.

We sat there in comfortable silence. The only thing keeping it from being awkward was the light and playful atmosphere. I have no clue about you guys, but with a best friend that you’re almost always loud with, silence is just weird and awkward. (This is a thing with me and my best friend. Normally we just randomly quote Charlie the Unicorn at that point.) 

I decided that I needed to bring up the inevitable.

“You gonna ask me about Alonso any time today? I already told you. You can ask me. I trust you.”

He thought for a moment. “Umm…. Well…. What does he look like?”

I snickered a little bit. “Wow. You’re THAT scared that you’re going to offend me?”

He didn’t share my laughter.

“Oh, umm…. Kinda like Remy, but without the stupid sign that says sleep. But like Remy mixed with someone else. I can’t put my finger on who though.” Roman hummed in response. Then he got a mischievous grin on his face.

OH SHIT!! ROMAN DON’T YOU FUCKING DARE.

He dared though.

“So is he hot?”

I looked at him with my most serious “Bitch what the fuck?” face and asked him a simple question: “Roman, you’re my best friend and I love you (platonically), but why are you like this?”

He looked back at me with a “Bitch what the fuck?” face as well. “Because I’m the literal embodiment of Thomas’ romance. And as your best friend, I want you to find love.”

“That wasn’t cheesy at all Ramen.” I snickered a little bit at the Ramen part. Roman absolutely HATES the nickname Ramen. But he’s still Ramen.

“Don’t think Ramen’s going to get a reaction out of me. It’s not. I’m totally fine with that nickname now.”

My mind went to Someone Gets Hurt Reprise from Mean Girls as soon as Ro Ramen said fine. “REALLY FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE!! GO BE FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEN!!!”

Roman picked up on the reference and finished the song. “And I want my pink shirt.”

I joined him for the extra part that we add every time we sing/listen to that song.

“HE BROUGHT UP THE PINK SHIRT!! AND YOU KNOW THAT SHIT HAS HIT THE FAN ONCE YOU BRING UP THE PINK SHIRT!!!” We laughed hysterically once more.

Once our laughter had died down again, Roman got serious again. Ish.

“Are you gonna tell me if Alonso is cute or not?”

I couldn’t escape this conversation now. “I don’t know. I guess? You know that this isn’t really my department. It’s like 110% yours.”

He snickered a little bit. “So like, when did you notice him?”

I told him the story. “So Pat was lecturing me about how I should be sleeping and all that bs. I wasn’t really listening because of the hypocrite card. I was staring at the counter and he was just sort of chilling there. Existing.”

I looked at Ro to see his “Vee you’re insane” face but it never came, so I continued.

“Then after Pat went upstairs to get Logan. Alonso, at this point in time I didn’t know his name so I was just referring to him as ‘the counter guy’ in my head, started talking to me by quoting Heathers. I was quoting the scene that he started when Pat and Lo came downstairs. They told me that I was being crazy and that there was only a piece of bread. That’s why I thought that you’d think I’m crazy too.”

Roman looked at me. No discernible emotion could be seen on his face. It was kinda scary. He just told me “I don’t think you’re crazy.”

It took me a moment to comprehend that. “You don’t?”

“At least I think that.”

I didn’t fully think out what I was about to do before I did it. That’s very unusual for me. Might I remind you that I was running on two cups short of a full pot of coffee (Pat and Lo drank them) and like 2 hours of sleep?

I lept off the couch, grabbed Roman’s hand and dragged him up the stairs. Once I got to Pat’s room I kicked the door down. We were greeted with the sight of the glasses gays cuddling on Patton’s bed watching a movie.

After I kicked the door down they looked up at me in shock. Still cuddling though, so that’s a bonus.

Pat spoke first. “Virgil, please tell me why you just kicked down my door.”

I could hardly contain my excitement. I moved to the side a little bit and pulled Roman forward. “RoMaN sAyS i’M nOt CrAzY!!!”

Logan looked at Roman “Roman, please explain.”

Roman looked down at his feet. “Well, do I have a story for you guys.”

----

This chapter is the longest by far. The actual chapter part went over 3 pages. That’s a first.

Anywho. I really liked this chapter. It was quite fun to write. However, the next one will be even more fun to write. The glasses gays turned up to 11. God am I gonna have a ball with the next one.

Chapter 7 will most likely be next week. We’re going to Chicago and it’s a 3-hour drive there and back. I write on my laptop which will be left at home, and I don’t have a phone to write on soooo….. I get to listen to Heathers and Mean Girls mass amounts of times though.

                                            The existing internet writing human,

                                                              Em

----

Taglist (if you’d like to be added/removed please inform me): @winterswishing-reblogs @thetomorrowshow @just-some-gt-trash @iixclementine

[progressivejudaism]

1/8 (I'm really sorry, I know this is long). I apologise if this is odd or out of place, I would never intentionally try to come across this way, I'm just genuinely seeking advice. I obviously knew about Judaism in the way I know about most major religions, through other people and school and such, but I never really knew too much about it, considering the country where I live (New Zealand) is more atheist and Christian than anything else, and I attend a Catholic High School myself.

2/8 Last year in June, the two history classes at my school went on a trip to our capital city to visit some World War One exhibits and just have a general excuse to go shopping, and as we were studying world religions in religious studies, one of the teachers organised with a friend of hers so that we could visit their synagogue. I can’t say a lot of the the girls were interested as I think they got a lot of Catholic mass at home and so grew ‘bored’ as such by religion,

3/8 but I was interested because I love learning about new people and ideas. So it was an awful day and when we got into the main foyer I felt a bit awkward and empty because it was freezing cold and echoing, but my teacher’s friend quickly ushered us down some hallways and through a pre-school to the main part of the synagogue and I had the weirdest experience ever. It’s hard to describe, but I just kind of felt drawn? I apologise, but words just can’t explain the feeling I encountered?    

           4/8 In that synagogue I just felt more peaceful and more 'at home’ in a sense than I’ve felt in any Protestant or Catholic Church. Churches and other Holy Places have always held a sort of significance for me and felt like a community, but stepping into this synagogue for the first time in my life I felt this weird kind of sadness because I wasn’t a part of life there. Ever since I was little I’ve always had this inner belief in God, one that my atheist parents never taught me,      

5/8 Yet I’ve always felt awkward at school masses, while I love the singing and the prayers and the readings and the sense of calm that comes with being with God, I’ve never once felt like I belonged there. Somehow though, despite never having any interaction with Judaism or I felt at peace, calm and comfortable, and as the woman talked I agreed with the way she put things. I didn’t want to leave, I just wanted to sit there for as long as possible.    

6/8 I’m only seventeen, so I don’t see the need to rush into any decisions, religious or otherwise, and I keep trying to steer myself away from the notion of converting to any religion, because stuff like that is heavy and big, but I keep getting drawn back to Judaism. If I were to ever consider converting, I don’t believe my parents (or my extended family) would be happy or understanding, and I hate the thought of distancing myself from them. Despite my worries, I keep picking up on that lovely            

7/8 feeling, but then the doubt in my mind turns the feeling stale and empty again. It’s a predicament of sorts, and I believe I would like some help, if you don’t mind. I was wondering if you had any advice, or even some guidance you could give me? I apologise for not messaging you directly, but I don’t feel brave enough to come off anon yet. Going to a Catholic school in a social circle that is mainly 'non-religious’  (not to get into the nitty gritty, but that’s kinda code for Protestant)           

8/8 I’m slightly scared by the criticism I get by those at school for not being a Catholic like them, and from outside of school as well. Nevertheless, thank you so much for taking time to read this monstrosity of a message, and I apologise again for wasting your time. Kia Ora xx            

Hi there,

I apologize for the time in which it took me to write you back.  You put a lot of detail and thought into your response, and I wanted to also take my time in providing you with a thoughtful response.

Thank you so much for writing to me.  It takes a lot of courage to pour your heart out online- even if that pouring was done anonymously.   I am sad that you have received criticism from friends at school for not being a Catholic- that doesn’t seem like an overall good way to treat your friends!  Please don’t feel like you have to apologize for your question– I am happy to reply to it all!  Please know that you are not wasting my time whatsoever.  If you message me personally, I would be happy to share with you directly how answering this message actually has helped me tonight in writing my midterm!

Please know that my response to you comes from love and admiration of your honesty and your passion expressed above.

First of all, I am so glad that you were able to have such an interesting and neat experience with your school!  And for that experience to provide you with someone extra special– a calling if you will- must have been an incredible feeling.  I am so curious if you could further describe that feeling to me.

Sadly, a lot of people share your sentiments of feeling bored or out of place in religious services in general.  I can report on several examples of people in Christian and Jewish settings who do not feel at home with the melodies, the words, or the people.  I am glad that you think that you have caught onto something that might be able to provide you with some meaning.

I think that you are approaching the issue of conversion in a very smart way.  So many people want to *rush* into conversion without thinking about its repercussions first.  I am happy that you are taking some time to really think about some issues that you might encounter as a Jew and during the conversion process.  If you think that familial issues will be a problem, assuming you end up leaning towards conversion, your rabbi or cantor will help you figure out many of those issues during the conversion process.

In regard to your question- you are right in saying that you are young.  You do not need to make any decisions right now.  Enjoy being a kid- you are only 17 and in High School once!   What can you do in the meantime?  Learn!   I have answered several common questions in my FAQ (and provide various links where you can learn more)  But don’t learn out of necessity, learn out of fun and excitement.  Learn because you’re curious about something.  Maybe listen to some Jewish music online, or livestreams of Shabbat services on (or off) of Shabbat.

If you have any specific questions, feel free to send me another message.  I would love to help answer anything!  If you think you would like help in contacting a rabbi or cantor in your area, or if you would like to talk to a rabbinical student- please feel free to contact me directly.  I would LOVE to chat with you directly, friend.

Good luck!

PJ

[dontcallmecarrie]

Hi there! I've got a question, what is Tony's threat level according to other intelligence agencies after all the snafu of TWIFFON? Like does CBI and FBI' opinion differ from Interpol or MI6? And what about SI legal? Do they have specific lawyers on threat watch and Pepper too? At this point I'm even wondering what does Bill Gates and other competitors think of SI legal? Are they crying in opposition? What was president' reaction over SHIELD' fall and Tony? What about FoxTV and Twitter?

Disclaimer: TWiFFON was created with accidental world domination as an end goal long before I posted the first chapter, as a spitefic in response to the fandom’s reaction to Civil War, and Tony’s treatment in particular. I am a very broke student who’s doing this for fun, as stress relief between classes and whenever I have the time. I am not a political science major, or economics, or business. I have absolutely no clue as to how a corporation’s run, or international law, this is just me derping around in the MCU and keeping my fingers crossed that comic book science covers for whatever I’ve missed and hoping for the best. [So if I screwed something up on the legal side, you’ll know why.]

Okay, now that that’s taken care of: the gist of what you’re asking can be found in a post I did a while back, on power dynamics behind the scenes. 

[more under the cut, because you guys know how I roll and RIP whoever’s on mobile otherwise. Because this turned into surprise SI meta.]

To sum up from that post: 

Tony and Co. are pretty damn formidable, but PR’s mostly on top of things to make them seem like they’re harmless. Whether or not it works depends a lot on a myriad of factors, including economics, political leanings, and location, and as I’ve said before the US has a different view on Tony than the rest of the world does. I’m not going to delve into specifics [this was supposed to be crack, dammit!], because of the above, but given that in real life the heavy pull that corporations have, I’d like to think that in terms of suspension of disbelief I’m not doing too badly. 

I mean, sure, there’s always going to be opposition, but a) Stark Industries used to be in the weapons manufacturing business, so they’re used to cutthroat politics even if they changed tracks a while back [and we’ve seen it happen, and will continue to do so in the fic], and b) I haven’t even touched on how comic book science influences things, like how Wakanda’s existence throws a wrench into International politics or Howard Stark’s infamous legacy [which is a story for another post].

I mean, in real life, the US really did a number on Latin America in the ‘60s and ‘70s. Now imagine what could’ve happened if SHIELD was also out there fucking shit up.

Or how Vietnam must’ve been like, because guess who probably got some of the contracts for supplying the military with munitions? Or just what might’ve led to a different sociopolitical landscape, because how would have Captain America’s image have influenced the Red Scare? Would Howard’s influence [via SHIELD, or otherwise] led to a different way of dealing with Iran? He was known to have participated in the Manhattan Project, so that’s already one change felt: how else did he make it into the history books?

Just…I could go on. I haven’t watched any of the tv shows, but…well. You get the idea. How influential was Howard, even before Tony was born? Bits and pieces’ll show up in TWiFFON, and some other things I write, but…well. You get the idea. 

Also: I have no clue how economics work in real life [again, broke student here, statistics’re more my speed at the moment], but…if NAFTA and the TPP can exist, in real life, and royally fuck up international economies because profits, then a fictional company that’s been kicking since before World War II and is currently headed by some of the sharpest minds in their generation is, again, not too far out in terms of suspension of disbelief. 

After all, Stark Industries is a family company. [Well…kinda.]

Sure, at the time it was also for weapons manufacturing, but still: Tony grew up knowing he’d inherit it someday. I cover this a bit in the PR interlude, and I think you guys might be able to see hints of it in the Legal interlude as well, but Tony grew up with Obadiah being a larger presence in his life than Howard was, and I forget if it got cut or not but in one draft the PR representative was also a known face. 

So, Stark Industries’ presence has been a constant in Tony’s life. Stemming from childhood, even, and we can see its influence early on, too: remember how he was 17 when he worked with PR to keep stock prices from plunging and thus avoid layoffs? 

Tony’s very possessive of what he has, when it comes to people. Add in a dash of spite and his issues, and you get a company that hasn’t changed its stance on vacation time in decades, or health insurance coverage for its employees since before the Reagan administration, and offered roughly a month of paternity leave shortly after Tony took over the company. [Daddy issues for the win.]

Sure, it cut into profits a little, but iit wasn’t like he was hurting for money. And Tony always had a patent or two ready to shut up the board whenever anyone tried to complain and the ‘hey our productivity’s way higher than the competition’ wasn’t enough of a reason to keep things as they were. 

Plus, remember how I said it part of it was out of spite? Tony’s mentally flipping his father off the whole time, but he’s also very smug about it because ha, that that, Hammer and your stupid budget cuts! 

And all the while, Forbes and the Wall Street Journal are all but gushing about how SI’s employee satisfaction rates are off the charts. Tony tries to make it background noise, because really, it should not be unusual to offer that much maternity leave, seriously, what is wrong with you people…and in doing, so kinda misses out on some things.

Like, for instance, just how diehard loyal Stark Industries is. 

There’s a reason everyone in SI’s so rabid about corporate espionage, and maybe money can’t buy everything but overtime pay sure goes a long way sometimes and turns out that on-site daycare is a smash hit, who knew? It’s not just the pay, really; it’s the company picnics with a line-item for property damage, it’s the rivalry Legal and R&D have that has the rest of the company eating popcorn, it’s in the top-of-the-line coffeemakers in the break rooms and free entertainment whenever Hammer Industries tries to do a thing and fails epically. 

Add in the way SI’s got some very strict policies on stuff like sexual harassment [because Tony may act like a playboy for the cameras but he respects women and won’t stand for it], and JARVIS’ assistance, plus Pepper being Pepper, and you’ve got a company full of highly motivated, hypercompetent people all united under the same banner and an employee satisfaction rate that makes the competition go equal parts ‘that sounds fake but okay’ and ‘just what the hell do these people even eat?!’ and that’s why, in the legal sense at least, Tony’s all but untouchable. Business-wise, SI’s feared and envied because Legal’s Seen Some Shit and PR’s handled two generations of Starks and good fucking luck getting a spy in. when JARVIS is in charge of background checks and all fellow coworkers are willing to go the extra mile if it means showing up Hammer. [And I haven’t even mentioned SWORD yet.] Again, SI used to be a weapons company. Sure, they’re doing more civilian-friendly stuff now, but that kind of legacy is really hard to erase even if you tried. You don’t get to the top by being kind, in that industry […I think; again, broke student here], and we’ll see that aspect crop up more as we go along in the fic, too.

Just…where other companies took a colder turn, went more for profits and took advantage of the tax cuts, Stark Industries didn’t change a thing. Jobs didn’t move offshore, and the international branches were chugging along well before NAFTA was put into effect. After all, unlike other sectors, they can afford to do so, because Tony takes pride in churning out top-of-the-line stuff [be it bomb, pre-Afghanistan, or the latest tablet or nanoprocessor], and, again, his genius means he can increase revenue without having to do it at the expense of SI’s employees if push ever came to shove.

Plus, I reiterate: this is meant to be self-indulgent stress relief. Suspension of disbelief’s a thing, this is the same universe where we have cryogenically-preserved supersoldiers running around and magic exists. 

To sum up: okay, now what you’ve got is a company of hypercompetent employees who’re diehard loyal and who knows how many resources at their disposal. So when things snowball…well. Really, it was a tiny bit of miscommunication, could’ve happened to anyone!

It’s just. Umm. Just a tiny case of world domination. 

[not going too much into specifics because guess what the fallout-from-AoU/buildup-to-CW arc’s even about, and I kinda went overboard with the meta enough as is.]

[driftingglass]

Do you use an outline when you write your fics? Ive only followed you for a month or so so sorry if you've already explained this in the past. You write so quickly that it seems to me either you are REALLY good at following/expanding on an outline or you're writing by the seat of your pants. I'm having trouble starting a fic, the beginning just isn't working the way I want. I don't know how to get from A to B, and I wanted advice from you since you can zip from plotpoint to plotpoint with ease.

Oh man this is a loaded question. (I live for this stuff.) 

Okay, I’ll do my best to help you out here, Anon. I don’t create outlines for everything I write, in all honesty. In fact, some of my works start out as impulsive pieces and gets spurred out of the moment because I have little to no control sometimes when I want to “ride on the wave of a new idea.”

I can even tell you through and through which works of mine do and don’t have outlines. You can probably tell with the writing and how they’re progressing. And yes I write very, very fast, but this is both a good and bad thing. Sometimes they come out too quickly and could easily use extra time to refocus and rehash certain plot points and details that need further emphasis. 

All of these works have had different processes in how they began. 

Honestly, when it comes to “writing by the seat of your pants” and “expanding on an outline,” a lot of the time it can become a mixture of both because of how the story plays out. 

You may realize that you want to actually take it in a different direction, or change the ending or dialogue, so you have to go back and make changes that suit the new steps you want to take. Sometimes the stories have a mind of their own. They can be rude like that.

I’ll share with you the creative backdrop processes for my more multichapter fics below.

My Hunter x Hunter fanfic, Wayward Souls, was borne from a very extensive outline after I wrote the first two paragraphs. I went off the handle with it, and changed the ending twice to accommodate the changes I wanted to make to the overall story. Now, it’s moving swimmingly, but the conclusion is always the hardest part.

My Hunter x Hunter fanfic series, The Afterschool Library Chronicle, has no outline whatsoever. That’s kind of why it’s split up into a series. I hadn’t intended for it go the direction it went, and as it comes towards its conclusion, I’m glad that it was written that way. Sometimes the story just flies off the handle itself and you have to somehow trust the process. 

My BNHA fanfic, Before Midnight, had a similar process to Wayward Souls. That one just kinda… fell together. The plot points became more prevalent to me after the third chapter. Then, I knew what I wanted for the story. The notes for that one are more scattered and I know the ending and the climax already, but the steps to get there have changed for the better. It also helps craft a decent mystery (not excellent, but decent).

My BNHA fanfic, Alexithymia, has been the least difficult story to outline because it’s relatively simple by comparison. There’s less worldbuilding, but still rules and customs I had to make up in order to do it. It’s similar to the canonical universe of the anime/manga with the already widely understood A/B/O Dynamics. I mostly wrote the first chapter out of spite because I normally hate that particular AU genre quite a bit.

In all honesty, Anon, it depends on what you enjoy writing to begin with. It’s better for me to use outlines in my works because my mind constantly strays and I need a mechanical structure to remind me of where I want to go, especially when one plot thread leads to another one much later. 

Outlines help me mostly because I almost only write pretty broad Alternate Universe stories with my own rules, including self-created magic systems, political systems, scenery, geography, history, and so forth. That’s just part of how I think as a writer. 

So, outlines work better for me to keep track of where the hell I’m going most of the time, especially with these broad, intense universes. 

It can help with consistency and planning, and so, I could recommend several approaches you could take for this process in outlining/beginning your work. 

For one thing, every story has its own pace. 

In this article, well-known author Marie Lu discusses the process between writing two completely different series and how she needed to change up her routine to basically mold her style and process to fit both of them. It’s definitely worth taking a look if you’re struggling with even beginning with your ideas.

Now, when you go back to your story, instead of focusing entirely on how to get from point A to point B, think about what your entire story is to begin with. Craft a graph, or an outline, or even a spreadsheet (all of them help) and visually write down what you want to happen for your story. 

Some keynotes I want to address here before you start this exercise. 

Who is your protagonist? What is their goal? Their motivation? What obstacle are they intending to overcome?

Who is the antagonist? Or what is the antagonistic force? Basically, what is stopping your protagonist from reaching their goal?

What changes will your protagonist go through in your story, for what purpose and for what reason? Every solid story follows a protagonist going through some change and a “point of never return,” so to speak.

What are the rules in your universe? Do these changes need to be thought out more before you start writing? 

Where is your fic/story taking place? 

What are the most prevalent themes and ideas behind your story?

Why do you want to write this fic/story to begin with?

What are the three high points and three low points of your story? (Approximately). These will determine the steps from your introduction, to your rising action, to your climax, to your falling action and then your conclusion. 

There are many, many articles you can turn to to help with this process. Even the most successful authors struggle with this exact thing. 

Also, Anon. Writing is hard. Honestly, it’s the hardest task, yet the most rewarding, depending on your effort and ability to be patient with your setbacks. I’ve spent years crafting outlines and meticulously plotting out points for original works that still haven’t seen the light of day because of either major plotholes I discovered or other mechanical factors that didn’t work. 

Whether you’re outlining or just writing impulsively, the story will move on its own. Patience is an absolute must, and the ability to take and process constructive criticism from both yourself and your peers. 

Start with looking at the overall work you have planned, and then go through to find out how you want to break up each scene and plot point into chapters. 

Again, maybe this process won’t work for you at all, but in order for me to take control of my stories and to write quickly, I needed to spend extra hours building an outline to work off of. 

Plans will change, though, and it may just be out of your control. 

Ultimately, have fun with the process. Writing is meant to be exhilarating, hard, rewarding, but fun. Enjoy it. Let your work speak for you and please you, first, as the writer and creator of this fabulous journey that many people will be so excited to step into when it’s finally released.

I wish you the best of luck, Anon! Thank you so much for the ask!

[diannaagrcns]

If you don't mind me asking, what kind of college roleplay would you like to see? I agree the ideas are unoriginal, but I'm having a hard time coming up with an alternative that's not too bland

Oh man, like I said, I’m not exactly looking to join a college roleplay, but I’m getting kinda desperate in my search and thought it’d be a genre I wouldn’t mind trying again. Not a favourite, but…doable. So I’m not really sure what else has been done recently?

I know there are a lot of Disney roleplays popping up these days, many inspired by Descendants, so they’re either school or university based and focus on either reinterpretations of canon characters (like, the princes and princesses, and all the rest) OR the kids of those characters, and these are usually OCs. 

With Pitch Perfect 3 coming out at the end of the year, I kinda wanna put some more time and effort into my idea for a roleplay focused on various vocal groups at, like, Barden’s rival college. I know PP groups have been done before, and I know Glee groups are still out there – some probably set in colleges – but… There doesn’t seem to anything quite like that in the tags right now.

There are a lot of supernatural town roleplays, and a few ~academy~ groups – so, like, basically private high schools, usually boarding schools, for supernaturals. Maybe something in a higher education setting could be cool? I think I can vaguely remember seeing something like that maybe… 18 months ago? Possibly inspired by The Magicians?? But I don’t remember the details! Something like that could go a lot of different ways, y’know? There’s the classic ‘the school administration has changed recently, and we now accept human students’ or it could be, like, a transitional thing? So in this universe, elementary and high schools just for supernaturals exist and while they do have more “human classes” the big focus is on, like, learning to control their abilities and stuff like that? But these days, they really need more of that “holy shit I know what I am and what I can do as a vampire/werewolf/witch/faery/mermaid/whatever but uhh… I don’t know how to use a computer to apply for jobs to pay my rent” so there are now universities that teach more life skills, how to use those supernatural abilities in mundane settings without getting caught? idk I haven’t thought this through properly!

I’ve seen arts schools before, maybe that’s something you’re interested in? So instead of offering a wide range of majors across different disciplines, the college in your rp might be arts, technology, athletics focused? 

People seem to be super into DC and Marvel stuff, and I’ve seen plenty of superhero school RPs out there. Personally, I’m not into that stuff, and they do seem quite common so if you’re looking to do something more original I might suggest staying away from that, but if it’s your thing? Go for it. I guess sort of in line with that would maybe be like spies or something? And with the new Kingsman out soon, a spy training academy might be of interest to more people!

Ummm I know there’s a group with skeletons based on figures from Greek mythology, which is pretty neat! I’ve had a sort of similar idea myself, but the world-building and selection criteria for specific deities was gonna be very, very different, and there were gonna be elements of that magic still in play. So maybe mythology is something you could try to work in there? But Greek’s kind of…overdone, so branching out could be good! But, like, obviously proceed with caution and be respectful! Greek, Roman, Norse and Egyptian mythology are pretty well-known and open to anyone, creatively speaking, but there others that we may call mythology but like… They’re really still active religions, or religions that people and cultures and trying to reclaim for themselves after colonisation, so you just gotta do your research and be respectful there! But yeah um… It could be a university for reincarnations of deities, and they know that’s who they are. It could be like a greek life type of thing but also sort of… PJO-inspired? (Forgive me if I muck this up but I’ve never actually read the series). So, different houses or dorms accept applicants based on the values that their namesakes (deities) represent? This is probably heading into “been there, done that” territory but whatever.

And not to sound too controversial but uh… What’s wrong with a plain and simple ol’ college rp? No twists no extra layers or unique inspiration for the plot, just… Twenty-somethings going to classes and parties, working part-time jobs, living in shitty dorms and shared housing, falling asleep in the library?

Wait, holy shit, I can’t believe I was about to end this post without mentioning Community !!! So, I really, really, really wanna make/see a roleplay set in a community college like Greendale! It’s weird, it’s whacky, but you can get your damn degree without judgement from other students or staff, and that’s what matters! All ages welcome – college rps often focus on the 18-25 range, and while I get that, damn, would I love to see some older characters in that setting! My idea was to keep the group a small mumu and have the study group thing from Community carry over into the plot and use that to keep things moving every 6 weeks or so, but like… You could do so much! You could actually set it at Greendale if you really wanted to – that way you’ve already got some teachers, classes, locations, and school events to draw upon! Or create your own!! Have a list of compulsory subjects to choose from – idk what they’re called in the US, but how everyone’s gotta get a language credit, and English credit, a science and history credit, no matter what they’re majoring in? Yeah, so actually specificy what those classes would be, and let applicants put one of those somewhere in the app, and that way people are more likely to end up with classmate / potential study-group/study-buddy connections! 

I’m gonna stop now because I’ve kind of run out of steam, but hopefully some of what I said can help get your creativity flowing! If you wanna run any further questions (or plot ideas) by me, feel free to message me again – and please let me know if/when you do end up opening something!