#will my professor think it's bull? maybe

[social-mockingbird]

It is late enough that I am willing to argue that when Oberon put the love potion on Titania’s eyes he turned her into a succubus no I will not explain myself

[sinofwriting]

So Many Reasons - Ollie Bearman

Words: 3,343 Summary: She honestly just wants to go to these two races to see her brother so he won’t complain about never seeing her anymore that is it. She has exams, an internship, and a job, she doesn’t have time for any of this. Note(s): Thank you V once again for commissioning the fic! I had a lot of fun writing it and may or may not have spent an hour researching different business degrees and universities and such. Reader is Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s older sister. Age gap of 3 years between her and Ollie. Not good family dynamics between her and Kimi and their father.

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“Andrea, no.” Her voice is firm, perhaps harsh but she doesn’t care. She was tired, hungry, and had to stay up for at least another six hours. Her last red bull in her bag sounded better every second. “C’mon, sorella. It is my first F2 race. You can miss a few classes.” Her jaw clenches and she forces herself to take a deep breath. Thank god this was just a phone call. “No, Andrea. I can’t. I have exams.” “Ask for an extension.” “Andrea,” she snaps. “Does padre know you are asking me this?” His voice is quiet, “no.” She sighs, pushing away her work. “How is your school work going?” “It’s fine.” “And the sim?” “Good.”

It’s quiet between the two siblings.

“It’s been months since we last saw each other. Do you not miss me?” “We saw each other at Christmas.” She reminds him but softens. “Of course I do. But I’m busy. I can’t take a few days away to go to a race, at least not one that’s not in Europe.” She looks at her planner, at the days blocked out with different colors. Purple for exams, blue for classes, yellow for work, green for work and classes, the dreaded orange for when she had both exams and work. It was filled for days, weeks, and months. “I could maybe make it for Imola.” She’d have to talk to her professors, put in her time now for work, but she didn’t have any exams the day after his feature race. “Maybe even Monaco if you can get me a spare pass.” She shouldn’t go to Monaco, not with her final exams to obtain her MBA starting just the day after the race, but she didn’t have any work those days and she could always bring her books with her. “Really?” She smiles at the excitement in his voice. “Really. Are you sure you want your big sister around?” “Yes. It will be nice to have family in the paddock. Someone other than dad.” She hums, eyes widening as they catch the time. “Let me know about the passes for the different races, okay? As soon as you get them I’ll talk to my professors.” “I will.” “Bye Andrea.” “Bye.”

—

“Mr. Garcia?” She knocks on the door frame. “You asked to see me?” He smiles, beckoning her in. “Yes. Please sit.” He gestures at the chairs in front of his desk before quickly typing something. She sits down, smoothing the fabric of her skirt. “I wanted to talk to you about your plans after you get your MBA.” “I’d like to get a travel position or be able to work remotely half of the time. Then I think after ten years of doing that, I’d like to take a bigger account or two.” He hums, looking at her consideringly. “Why the travel position?” “I like traveling, going to different places, and when I went once before with Maria, I liked what she had to do.” “You're also good with languages.” “Yes.” “And the hybrid?” She fidgets a little. “The same reasons really as the travel position and I like the extended hours.” His lips twitch into a smile, “Maria hated remote.” She nods.

“She said you’d be suited for it.” Her leg that had started to bounce stops. He leans forward, “I’d like to keep you on. I know that your internship with Maria ends the first week of May. And that you’re only supposed to continue to work with us until August. But I’d like to offer you the remote position, starting June 20th.” She looks at him with a slight open mouth. “What,” she clears her throat. “What exactly would that look like?” He pushes forward a folder. “All of the details are in there, but there are two important things. There will only be a few days every month that require you in the office. Those days are always made known at least two weeks in advance, some as much as six months.” She nods. “The second is you will have strict deadlines. Miss two within a three month period and you will be on probation, meaning that for a time you will be spending at least eighty hours in office for the month, until your probation is up. Look over all the details and get back to me next week.” “Of course.” Taking the folder, she stares at it before standing. “Thank you, Mr. Garcia.” “Of course, Ms. Antonelli.”

—

“Andrea!” She calls, seeing him looking around. His head turns to look at her, a large grin taking over his face. “Sorella!” He calls, jogging over to her. “You made it.” She rolls her eyes, pushing him away when he tries to give her a hug. “I told you two weeks ago I’d make it to Imola. It’s not my fault, you don’t listen.” She touches her ears before giving him a quick hug. “How are you feeling?” “Good.” She hums, following him as he leads her to what she assumes is Prema’s space for this race.

The good was false that was more than clear to see, if she wasn’t his sister, she’d know just by looking at the F2 races so far. Round four with no podiums? Or pole position. Her brother was surely smarting. She wondered if it had hit him yet that he wasn’t the most talented driver in this series yet.

Entering the Prema garage she smiles when Rene immediately greets her.

“How are you?” “I’m good. Very good. How are you? How is Angelina?” “I am good, I’m sure you saw the Indycar news.” She nods, watching as Andrea starts talking to either a mechanic or an engineer. “I did. It sounds amazing.” “Very amazing. And Angelina, well,” He pauses, turning his head and calling her over.

“Oh, Y/N.” “Angelina.” She greets back, melting into the hug the older woman gives. “How are you doing?” “I’m doing good. And you are well?” “Of course, it is the season.” She smiles at her, knowing all too well how much everyone loved the motorsport season.

“Kimi!” Angelina calls and she has to stop herself from flinching at the use of his nickname. “You did not tell me that your sister was coming.” He shrugs, “She’s coming next race as well.” “You are coming to Monaco?” She shrugs, adjusting her purse. “It’s my last free time before my exams and Andrea asked when I was going to come.” Rene and Angelina share a look but before either can say anything, someone interrupts.

“Angelina, Dino and Antonio are wondering about the next shoot.” The older woman sighs, “And neither of them could get me themselves.” He shoots her a grin, and it’s the sight of his grin that makes her realize that this is Andrea’s teammate. “I volunteered.” Angelina shakes her head, muttering under her breath but leaves the small group.

“Ah, Ollie, this Y/N. Y/N, this is Ollie.” Rene introduces. She shakes his hand. “Nice to meet you.” “You as well. Are you new to the team?” “No.” She laughs, pulling her hand from his. “Just a guest for this race and next.” “Oh.” He looks at Rene questioningly, but the older man is already in conversation with other people. “I could give you a tour, if you’d like.” “You don’t need to do that.” He smiles, giving a small shrug with his shoulders. “I don’t mind.” “Don’t you have race prep?” She can see just behind him, Andrea talking to another two people, their heads all gathered around a tablet. “I finished mine already.” Her lips purse. “At least let me get you a coffee from Ferrari’s hospitality.” Her nose nearly wrinkles at the word coffee, but Ferrari… She wasn’t into motorsports by choice, but she was Italian. She knew the allure of Ferrari and more so now Charles Leclerc than the team itself better than anyone. “So, coffee?” He grins. She sighs but nods. “Just one though.” She doesn’t think she could stomach another one.

“You don’t like coffee do you?” He asks nearly twenty minutes later as she sips at the coffee he got her and she chooses not to think too hard about the money she tried to hand him that he refused. “No.” She laughs. “But you like Ferrari.” “I’m Italian, Ollie. I think I get kicked out of the country, especially this part if I don’t bleed rosso corsa.” “Yet your brother is a Mercedes junior.” She pauses, “My brother?” His eyebrows furrow. “I’m sorry, it’s just Kimi, he has a picture of you. I asked about it once, because I already knew what his girlfriend looked like.” “I didn’t know that.” She wondered when the picture was from. Not from this Christmas, that was for sure. Ollie stares at her for a few seconds, something dancing in his eyes before turning the conversation back around. “It is a bit funny isn’t it? An Italian choosing Mercedes, while an Englishman chooses Ferrari.” “A second Charles Leclerc in the making.” She muses, remembering an article that said it. He flushes red. “I wouldn’t say that.” She shrugs, “Then other people will for you.”

Her phone buzzing makes her look away and she rolls her eyes at the text from Andrea. “I have to go back, Andrea is looking for me. Thank you for the coffee.” He nods, standing with her. “No problem.” He then opens his mouth again, quickly closing it. She raises an eyebrow and he flushes a bit more. “Could I get your number?” “Ah.” She glances down at her phone, another text on the screen. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” “Why not?” She can think of a million reasons. “It’s just not a good idea.” She settles on. “What if I want it as a friend?” She sends him a look and he grins. “I could do friends.” She shakes her head, “I need to go. Thank you again.” “Anytime.”

—

“You're at a race.” “Padre.” She greets, watching the screens as the sprint race goes into its fifth lap. “Andrea asked me to come.” “You don’t like races.” Her lips thin. “No, I don’t. But he wanted to see me, I made time.” “Have you made time for the interview I want scheduled?” “No.” He starts to say her name and she shakes her head. “No, padre. I’m here for Andrea, to see him. Just like I will be for Monaco, that is it. I have no interest in working for you.” “For the family.” “Or that.” He sighs.

Crossing her arms over her chest, she winces at the way Andrea gets overtaken, can already imagine the way he’ll beat himself up over it if he doesn’t regain the position, especially with the way Ollie is in P2, no battle in sight, as he more than comfortably keeps the place.

An arm wraps around her shoulders and she easily goes into her fathers side. “I miss my little girl.” She bites back on the words that want to crawl from her throat. “Love you too.”

—

“So,” she startles at the sound of a voice and the owner of it grins. “You don’t like coffee.” “Hello, Ollie.” “Hi.” He greets back. “You don’t like coffee.” He repeats. “I don’t like coffee.” She can’t help but smile at the way he grins at her responding to him. “What about,” he pauses looking around, before leaning closer and lowering his voice. “Red bull?” “I’m listening.”

She has to stop herself from giggling as Ollie leads her through Ferrari’s garage. She really shouldn’t be here. And not just because she shouldn’t even be at the race.

Stopping in front of a door, she watches as Ollie knocks, sending her a grin as he does.

“Hello?” The voice is a little confused. “Ollie! Come in, come in.” And Ollie grabs her hand, intertwining their fingers as he pulls her into the room with him. “Hi Charles.” Her eyes widen at the name and she quickly schools her expression though neither are looking at her. “What are you doing here?” Ollie grins at the older man. “I wanted to introduce you to someone and raid your fridge.” Charles rolls his eyes. “At least you don’t ask permission anymore.”

The tease makes her stiffen, this was a lot more than she felt she should be seeing or hearing.

“No, I learned.” Ollie laughs and then he’s tugging her closer. “Charles, this is Y/N.” A bit of tension leaves her when he doesn’t say her last name. “Y/N, this is Charles.” “Bonjour.” She greets, keeping her free hand firmly by her side as she wiggles her fingers in Ollie’s hand, but he just brushes his thumb over her knuckles. Charles’ eyes brighten at the greeting. “Bonjour. Est-ce un accent italien que j'entends?” (“Hello. Is that an Italian accent I hear?”) “Oui. Je suis italienne et je vis actuellement en France.” (“Yes. I am Italian currently living in France.) His grin widens. “Oh, très bien. Votre français est bon.” (“Oh, very nice. Your French is good.”) She ducks her head. “Merci.” (“Thank you.”)

“I didn’t know you spoke French.” Ollie says. She gives him a look. It should make his smile falter a little, but it only grows. “An Italian living in France. A bit uncommon, no?” Charles asks, handing her then Ollie a Red Bull. Before grabbing one for himself. “I study there.” “What are you studying?” Ollie asks, “Ki,” he stops himself. “Andrea never said.” Her eyes narrow at the catch, wondering why exactly he did it. “Accounting. And I’m not surprised. If it’s not something racing related, my brother has no interest.” Charles laughs. “I think Lorenzo and you would get along well. Having siblings that live and breath racing while you don’t.” “Maybe.” “Are you close to getting your degree?” “I am actually. My final exams start Monday.” “And you came to the Monaco Grand Prix?” Charles’ eyes are wide. “Yes.” “My goodness.” He looks at Ollie, winking at him. “This one is a keeper.” “Oh,” she says, feeling blood rush to her cheeks and Ollie is turning pink. “We aren’t.” He shrugs, taking a drink of his red bull. “Maybe not yet.” His eyes then fall to their still intertwined fingers and she gives another tug to Ollie’s hand, expecting him now to let go, but he doesn’t. “No, not yet.”

—

“What race are you coming to next?” Her hand tingles at the sound of Ollie’s voice. “I’m not.” “What?” She turns to face him. “Andrea wanted me at the first race of the season, but I couldn’t make it, so I said I’d come to these two.” She doesn’t mention that the want of her coming was because he apparently missed her. She had her doubts about that, especially after this weekend. “You don’t think he’ll ask you to come again?” She looks around, seeing no one nearby, she sighs. “Even if he did, I wouldn’t come. I love my brother, but not on race weekends, not during the season. I’ve seen you more than him.” Ollie’s face that had looked shocked, turns to understanding. “I’m sorry. I had no idea.” She shrugs. “He’s busy.” Ollie looks like he wants to argue, but he doesn’t.

Instead he leans a bit closer, “so, could I get your number now?” She laughs, shaking her head. “No. Still not happening.” “Oh, c’mon. I won today. This is the one thing I want as the Monaco F2 feature race winner.” She shakes her head. “Maybe, if you actually wanted it as a friend. I’d say yes.” “And why can’t we be more than friends?” He’s closer now somehow and she has to swallow around the lump in her throat. “Ollie,” Her name spills from his lips in a gentle sigh as he leans ever closer. “We can’t.” She whispers, hand against his chest, holding him place. “Why? Give me one good reason why.”

He’s guiding her backwards, down the short hallway and into a room that’s thankfully empty, the door shutting behind him.

“One good reason.” “You’re Andrea’s teammate.” “For nine more weekends.” She lets out a shaky breath, watching as his tongue darts out to wet his lips. “I’m busy with school and work.” “You have final exams this week, which you’ll pass. And I’m busy with work as well.” “You're younger than me. I’m twenty-two, you just turned nineteen.” He shrugs, her eyes following the strong line of shoulders with the movement. “I’m an adult. And I like you.” “Ollie.” She breathes. He’s closer than ever before, their lips nearly brushing. “I’m still waiting.” Her eyes scan his face, his words full of confidence, his body too, but he’s flushed and his nervousness is easy to read. And she delivers the reason that has to make him see reason. Because she doesn’t know if he stays this close to her if she can stop herself from kissing him. “Your parents,” his throat bobs. “Would never approve.” He looks at her and she looks back, holding her breath, waiting for him to back away but he doesn’t, and god when does Ollie ever do things she expects. “They don’t need to.” He whispers and then he’s kissing her.

—

“What are you talking about?” “Andrea,” “No.” He stops her, shaking her head. “What do you mean, you are seeing Oliver?” He spits the name out. “Don’t, Andrea.” “NO!” His face is red and she’s reminded of the times when he wanted candy that she had and threw a fit over not getting it instead. “He is, he is,” he shakes his head. “I don’t even know what he is. He is my teammate, he works in motorsports, you hate motorsports.” She keeps quiet, watching as her brother processes the news. “He is younger than you, barely older than me. And you.�� He shakes his head again. “Does padre know?” She scoffs, now shaking her head. “Does padre know? That’s all you care about isn’t it. If our father approves or not, if you knows what he thinks, because heaven forbid Kimi,” he flinches at the name. “You think for yourself.” “That is not.” “Don’t.” She cuts him off. “Yes, he knows. Don’t worry he disapproves as well. So, you don’t have to think for yourself again.”

She stares at her younger brother, knowing that this is her fault, but she can’t, she still doesn’t have it in her to deal with it, not today. “I will talk to you sometime, Andrea.”

—

“Your fans are lovely.” Ollie makes a humming sound, half asleep. She pauses her scrolling on twitter, unable to stop herself from liking the picture of Charles’ dog in his own personal little car. “Your fans. Very creative as well. They can’t call me a gold digger, but a fame seeker? Well, if the shoe fits.” “They what?” He sounds so much more awake, it makes her laugh. “It’s just hate, Ollie. I’m an old woman praying on the young. Apparently I’m like Piquet.” “Ew.” And she can picture his nose wrinkling. “You know you aren’t though right?” “An old woman?” She jokes. “A predator.” She softens, turning in his arms, so that they are chest to chest. “I know.” “I mean, really if anything I was.” “You were very insistent.” He flushes. “Only a little.” She nods, pressing a kiss to his jaw. “Only a little.”

“I know we talked about it before, but are you okay with everything?” “Yes. I mean, it hurts that Andrea is still not okay with it but my father’s opinion has not mattered to me in a long time. And no matter what the media and fans were never going to give us peace, so I made my peace with that as well. Besides, your parents are okay with it.” “They love you.” “Our friends are understanding.” “They are.” “And you aren’t about to dedicate any more podiums to me.” He grins at her and dread starts to form in her stomach. “Ollie…” “About that last one.” “Ollie!”

@crashingwavesofeuphoria @poppyflower-22 @racingheartsposts @gemofthenight @peachiicherries @lpab @hiireadstuff @iloveyou3000morgan @boiohboii @bibliosaurous @skepvids @elliegrey2803

[yandere-writer-momo]

Yandere Baki Short Stories:

The Hardest Route

Yandere Jack Hanma x Afab Reader x slight! Yandere Katsumi

Yandere Otome Game Au

If one were to tell Jack the phrase, “to be loved is to be changed,” he would have laughed in their face. Love? What was the point in such a silly emotion when all he craved was strength?

It was why he constantly pushed (your name) away. She was a strange woman who randomly appeared one day like a plague. A face that was he had never seen before until recently. A stupidly pretty face always stood before him with a big smile on it. (Your name)’s eyes were filled with stars and her words were always sweet like candy. Jack couldn’t stand her… and not just because the other fighters hovered over her like helicopters.

“Did you eat today? I made you a meal.” And (your name) constantly brought Jack sustenance as if he were a child. Jack was not incapable of taking care of himself. He was just fine…

“Haven’t I told you to leave me alone?” Jack grumbled when his stomach loudly rumbled. How did she know whenever he was hungry?

(Your name) frowned but still handed him the meal. “I know… but I still want to make sure you’re taking care of yourself. You often lose yourself in training-“

“I don’t need you to tell me how to live my life.” Jack pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. He didn’t need her to chide him. Jack was a grown man capable of his own decisions no matter how self destructive they were. “What is it about me that interests you? I wouldn’t be a good lover if you were interested in such things. I train myself to the point of incontinence so unless you have some weird piss kink-“

“Heavens no!” (Your name) blushed at her outburst. “No… my philanthropic efforts are not to try to attain your heart.”

Why did (your name) speak like a college professor? Jack didn’t know big words like that but he was able to piece together what she meant to say. She didn’t love him or harbor a crush on him? Then what was she after?

“Then why do all these things for me? I’m a lost cause, a slave to my desires-“ Jack froze when she wrapped her hand around two of his fingers. His heart stopped for a moment when she gave him that signature sunny smile.

“You are always alone so I thought you might need a friend.”

A friend… a friend?! What on earth gave her the idea that he was lonely? That he was some weak creature that desired the company of others? No. Jack didn’t need such luxuries.

“I don’t need a friend. I don’t need anyone.” Jack snatched his hand out of her gentle grasp, his cinnamon eyes narrowed in a nasty glare. Friend? There was no way she wanted to be his friend. He could see the desperation behind her kind eyes. She must have a crush on him. “So just leave me alone.”

(Your name) gave Jack a sad smile, her eyes filled with pity. “If that’s truly what you want, then I’ll go. Can you at least promise me one thing?”

“I don’t know why you think you’re in a position to make promises with me, but if it will get you to leave, what is it?” Jack snarled like a beast, his large arms crossed over his muscular chest. The heart bar only she could see above his head still stuck at a measly ten percent. Why was he so hard to get through to?

“Can you take care of yourself better?“

Take care of himself? What the hell did that mean? Did (your name) truly believe him to be so pathetic?

“Sure.” Jackie huffed. The blonde turned away from her and began to walk the other way. “Good bye.”

(Your name) stood in her spot until Jack’s silhouette was completely out of sight. Her heart clenched a bit in her chest, but she felt a wave of sadness wash over her.

Maybe one day, Jack would be able to accept love. She needed his affection in order to go home but he was impossible to romance. Jack was mean and stubborn like a bull. (Your name) would have more luck romancing a brick wall than Jack Hanma.

(Your name) would give him his space for now. Maybe he’d come around eventually?

If she would have turned her head, she would have noticed a certain stalker suitor smiling from ear to ear at the news he just heard. He finally had a chance to be alone with her again…

.

.

.

“Hey, (your name)!” (Your name) paused on the street and turned her head in the direction of her name. She quirked her brow at the exuberant karateka that jogged after her. What on earth did Katsumi want? She had just recently spent time with him yesterday…

Katsumi gave her a big, dopey smile once he stood before her. The taller man excitedly rocked back and forth on his heels.

“Did you need something, Katsumi?”

“It’s kind of late and I was wondering if I could walk you home?” Katsumi asked (your name) with a big smile that nearly blinded her from its brightness.

Katsumi wasn’t wrong about it being late, but she found it a bit odd that he was in this area seeing that Shinshinkai was about fifteen minutes away from here… but Katsumi was in casual clothes so perhaps he had business in this area?

“I wouldn’t mind. It is starting to get dark.” (Your name) adjusted her jacket on her body which alerted Katsumi.

Katsumi shed his flannel in an instant to wrap it around her shoulders. The Japanese man’s chocolate eyes filled with adoration for her. The heart bar above his head practically glowed a bright shade of rose red.

Katsumi had been the easiest to ‘romance’ in this ‘game.’ And he was also the sweetest… sweet to the point it gave her cavities.

“Thank you, Katsumi.” (Your name) gave Katsumi a warm smile. She wrapped the warm flannel tight around her body, the comforting scent of oranges and clean linen significantly reduced her nerves. Katsumi always smelled so good…

“It smells just like you…” (Your name) giggled at the karateka whose cheeks were the same shade of cherry red as his flannel. “I kind of needed a bit of sweetness today… I really appreciate you and how sweet you are, Katsumi.”

Katsumi nearly flew to the moon with how happy he was to hear (your name)’s appreciation for him. He loved being sweet to her! Katsumi loved her so much!

(Your name) was surprised when Katsumi shyly took her hand in his, his thumb tenderly massaged the back of her hand. “Let’s get going, okay?”

(Your name) smiled at Katsumi. The two walked hand in hand together towards her home.

.

.

.

A week had went by since Jack had last seen (your name). And it irked him more than he thought it would.

Jack knew he had told her to leave him alone but he didn’t think she actually would… she was too stubborn to give up on him.

Jack loitered in his habitual areas and waited for her to show up. Jack missed her smile and the little meal in her hands… he missed her warmth.

And so Jack found himself in search of the strange, sunny woman who had kept him company over the last few months.

It took another week for him to find her but he caught a glimpse of her at the tournament. The giant slowly tailed after her when he saw that back of her pretty head- pretty? Why did Jack think she was pretty? Strange.

Jack felt himself freeze when he saw (your name) in conversation with Atsushi Suedou and Kiyosumi Katou. Since when did she associate with the karatekas?

Jack hid behind the corner to eavesdrop.

“You used to hang around Jack Hanma a lot, we wondered if you’d ever look at poor Katsumi’s way.” Suedou sighed, the giant man crossed his arms over his chest. “Katsumi has it bad for you.”

“Katsumi is a very nice guy. And he does spend a lot of time with me-“

“Then date him. He’s a hell of a lot better than that asshole-“

“Sure Jack can be a little rough around the edges, but he works harder than any of you!” Jack drowned out everything (your name) said after that. He never had someone defend him… hell, Jack never had someone care about him before. (Your name) care about him?

Badump. Badump. The blonde placed a hand over his heart as it wildly hammered in his chest. What on earth was this feeling?

(Your name) sighed once she realized she had raised her voice a bit. She sheepishly smiled at Katou and Suedou, the young woman bowed her head a bit at the two. “Apologies for my outburst, Katou. It’s just… I just admired him and his work ethic was all, it wasn’t romantic-“

“If I was a man who had a cute girl lingering around me with homemade meals, I would’ve assume she had a fat crush on me.” Katou stated. “And everyone knows Jack doesn’t have an affectionate bone in his body. He has the emotional capacity of a rock.”

(Your name) waved the two men off who kept trying to speak ill of Jack while simultaneously talk up Katsumi.

(Your name) rounded the corner and almost collided with Jack in her haste.

“Oh, I didn’t see you Jack-“ (your name)’s eyes were wide in shock at how the heart bar above his head was now at a whopping seventy-five percent. How on earth did his romance bar get that high?

“It’s been awhile…” Jack managed to grunt out, the giant held out a hand for her. “Would you… like to go for a walk before my fight?”

(Your name) quirked her head at the ginormous blonde. This man, who had desperately wanted her to leave him alone just a week ago, now wanted to spend time with her? She was so confused… but she couldn’t waste this opportunity.

“I’d like that.” (Your name) wrapped her hand around his two fingers. The smaller woman walked side by side with him. “Have you been well?”

“I’m a lot better now that you’re here.” Jack answered with utmost sincerity. “It was strange without you.”

(Your name) was a bit shocked by Jack’s confession but she smiled warmly at the giant tsundere. Perhaps her efforts were not in vain?

“Then do you want to be friends? I can try to come see you more often.”

“Yes.” Jack’s deep voice rumbled out his answer. He stopped in his tracks to bend down to her height. Jack couldn’t find the words for the feelings he felt but he knew he wanted her by his side once more. He enjoyed her company more than he had thought.

(Your name) smiled at Jack who struggled to speak, her hands squeezed his fingers. “Then we’ll hang out again, okay?”

Jack finally noticed how delicate she was compared to him. Her hands barely fit around his pointer and middle finger while her eyes stared up into his. How could someone be so dainty?

“After this tournament, I want to take you out to eat to makeup for everything.” Jack blushed a bit when he realized he just asked her out on a date. A date… his heart fluttered at the thought. The two of them would be on a date.

(Your name) gave Jack a sad smile. “I can’t tonight, I’ll be with Katsumi.”

Jack felt his jaw clench. Katsumi… why Katsumi? Didn’t she like him?

“Oh… then what about tomorrow?” Jack asked in a hushed voice. He felt his confidence buckle a bit.

“Tomorrow should work.” (Your name) smiled warmly at him which made his heart flutter.

“Then tomorrow it is.” Jack was a bit terrified of this sudden change but at the same time, it felt freeing.

.

.

.

Jack felt out of place at the restaurant he usually frequented now that (your name) sat across from him. He was twice her size…

“Are you a regular here? The waiters seem familiar with you.” (Your name) made an attempt at small talk with Jack, which soothed the blonde.

Jack nodded his head, his cinnamon eyes transfixed on (your name) who wore a dress. She truly treated this like a date and that made his heart flutter.

“You’re usually a little more vocal, do I make you nervous?” (Your name) giggled at Jack who clenched his fists. “I don’t bite.”

It took everything in Jack not to say, “I do.” The blonde felt uncharacteristically shy due to her presence. The weird feelings he felt were amplified by how close they sat together.

(Your name) noticed how his romance bar steadily rose up. Who knew Jack could have a shy side to him? She wondered if he was a virgin…

(Your name) studied Jack in thought. He was massive, had bad posture, scars all over his body, titanium teeth, and was quite standoffish not to mention his dedication to his goal of strength… so he probably was a virgin. Yet despite his rough exterior, he was also attractive in a rugged sort of way. He had a nice facial structure and he was strong. Jack’s dedication to his goals was like no other so (your name) couldn’t help but be slightly attracted to him.

Jack blushed under her heavy gaze. His cinnamon eyes checked his reflection in his glass to make sure there wasn’t food on his face. There wasn’t anything on his face… Jack took a sip of his water in thought.

“I think you’re handsome.” Jack nearly choked on his water at (your name)’s compliment. Handsome? She found him handsome?

(Your name) was shocked at how fast the heart meter above his head shot to one hundred percent. His cheeks a rosy red and his palms sweaty. Who knew someone as stoic as him could get flustered?

“W-what makes you say that?” Jack felt hot under her scrutiny. His heart wanted to leap out of his chest and into hers. Did he… did he have a crush on her? Is this what love was? If so, it was terrifying.

“You have a nice face structure and I really admire your determination.” (Your name) smiled warmly at Jack. “You’re just a really admirable man.”

(Your name) smiled when Jack’s hand swallowed hers. He was careful not to crush it as he tried to calm his beating heart.

“I… I think you’re stupidly pretty.” Jack replied with flushed cheeks. It was hard for him to compliment her. She was too good for him. She deserved a man who could take care of her and Jack knew he couldn’t offer that… not like Katsumi could.

“Thank you, Jackie.” (Your name) chuckled with a soft smile on her lips. Jack was adorable… but then she realized that the game should be over now.

She had successfully romanced all the options… so why has she not been transported home yet?

If she would have looked up, she would have noticed the loving expression on Jack’s face. The blonde giant was absolutely smitten with her… he was utterly devoted to her.

Jack was willing to get between her and the other fighters… he noticed the way they stared at her and he didn’t like it one bit. Jack didn’t like the competition and he was especially not the least bit fond of Katsumi.

Katsumi tried to get (your name) to be his every single day. To the point he recruited the members of his dojo to try to whittle down (your name)’s resolve to remain friends. And some of the karatekas were unnecessarily flirty with her… and it disgusted Jack.

She put all this effort into being close to him so why should she be with someone else? Why would she solely give him a nickname? Jack was sure she loved him.

“I love you…” Jack muttered under his breath, his cinnamon eyes filled with boundless admiration for the young woman before him.

“Did you say something? I didn’t quite catch that.” (Your name) tilted her head at Jack who made a face.

“I said you’re making a weird face.” Jack turned his attention back to the bones in front of him to eat. Why did he always say the wrong words? He was such a tsundere…

Jack didn’t want (your name) to be with anyone other than him but he knew he may not be the healthiest option due to his dangerous lifestyle… but he’d protect her. Jack would keep (your name) safe if she asked him to. May god have mercy on whoever tried to harm her.

(Your name)’s presence had changed the entire storyline and now she must lie in the bed she made.

[haitherecaringmonke]

NRC staffs meeting Lucille’s Pokemons

Dire Crowley - Klefki

“Miss Beaumont please tell your monster to give me back my keys !”

Moves: Astonish, Play Rough, Fairy Lock, Flash Cannon.

It can be said that Klefki is one of the strangest monsters that Crowley has ever encountered in his entire life.

While he expected monsters looking like animals, he never expected one to look like a key-chain.

Klefki, like many Fairy types, is rather mischievous. And like many of Lucille’s Pokemons, he greatly dislikes Crowley for all the bs the man had put his trainer through.

Since Crowley decks himself in keys, Klefki felt obligated to steal from him. And just pike any other Klefkis, this one will not let go of the keys he had stolen from the Headmaster.

One time while Lucile was out cold after a long day of doing Crowley’s tasks, Klefki stole one of her enclosure keys and unlocked the gate to a certain padlock.

Crowley’s screams can be heard all the way from RSA as he was being chased by Kleki, who is leading Tyrantrum right to the masked man.

Divus Crewel - Eevee

“What an adorable little pup, and to think you can become one in eight different forms when you grow up!”

Moves: Tackle, Swift, Baby-doll Eyes, Quick Attack

It’s no surprise that Crewel is a fashion icon with the most fabulous outfits, but at the end of the day, the man is still a designer, and a lot of times designers have art block.

This is not good for Crewel, so he went outside to get some fresh air, maybe drop by Ramshackle to see if he can came up with any ideas by seeing the Pokemons.

While the man is scrolling through Lucille’s PokeDex, Eevee came over to him and curiously sniffed his pant leg.

Crewel was quite curious of this little fox dog thingie, he had to admit that it was quite adorable. He was well behaved and let the older man pet him as he pleases.

It wasn’t until Lucille told him how Eevee can have 8 different evolutions did Crewel’s interest piqued.

Upon seeing the eight different Eeveelutions, his mind exploded with inspirations. He thanked Lucille, took her PokeDex and Eevee with him and left.

About a week later, Crewel (begrudgingly) returned a very pampered Eevee to Lucille. She did received some new outfits inspired by the Eeveelutions as well as outfits inspired by the Pokemons on her Main Team as compensation though.

Mozus Trein - Meowscarada (Puss)

“You know, you might be my favorite monster out of the bunch”

Moves: Flower Trick, Energy Ball, Fake Out, Dark Pulse

The first time Trein met Puss is when he wandered into the lecture hall on accident. The professor was about to leave when Lucius spotted the humanoid feline creature lurking behind the door.

Lucius, being somewhat territorial, attacked the poor Magician Pokemon, who could only dodge out of fear. Trein had to step in and intercept.

Despite the scuffle, Puss didn’t stop visiting Trein every chance he get to show off some of his magic tricks and the poor man doesn’t understand why.

It wasn’t until later on when he asked Lucille why Puss keeps visiting him, turns out Trein and Lucius reminds Puss of Lucille’s father and his old and aggressive Purrloin. Trein felt honored at the statement, as for Lucius, it might take a while for him to finally warm up to the Magician Pokemon…

Ashton Vargas - Aqua Breed Tauros (Fernando)

(There’s no gif of Aqua Breed Tauros so please have this gif of regular Tauros instead)

“Hahaha! You have raised quite a fantastic beast Beaumont!”

Moves: Horn Attack, Zen Headbutt, Raging Bull, Aqua Jet

It all started when Lucille asked Vargas if she could have some of her Pokemon out so they could let out some steam instead and the man happily agreed, claiming the more the merrier.

So Lucille let her Pokemon out, mostly the ones that are active and have lots of energy to burn, with Fernando being one of them.

Fernando, other than running with the other Pokemon, also had another mission being chase after some of the students that are slacking off when Vargas wasn’t paying attention.

It worked very well since nobody wanted to be ran over by a water bull.

Fernando received some hearty pets from Vargas while his trainer received a pat on her back (that almost toppled her over)

Sam - Runerigus

“What do you say fellow ghost? Would you like to help me out at the shop?”

Moves: Shadow Ball, Earthquake, Shadow Claw, Rock Slide

Sam first meet Runerigus when he wandered into Sam’s shop on accident because he was curious about the presences he felt coming from the shop.

Had it not been for his friends on the other side, Sam would have thought the Pokemon is a statue/mural of some kind and he might have accidentally sell him to someone.

Sam enjoys Runerigus’ company and vice versa. Runerigus is also very careful with navigating around Sam’s shop as to not damage anything (because Lucille can’t exactly afford to pay for the damages)

Runerigus offers Sam his help whenever the man lets him stay around his shop. As a few unfortunate students have discovered that Runerigus is very good at spotting thieves.

[knight-already]

Why do we think Severus had no friends other than Lily?

Please tell me... before anyone says he was friends with Mulciber and Avery. That was a recent affair which we learn because lily tells Severus, "I don't like the people you've been hanging out with."

It's recent.

We know, also that the werewolf attack also happens before SWM -- and we learn this particularly in the same conversation.

Did Severus join their friend group out of fear?

I know this has nothing to do with my og point, that being : is any Slytherin a good enough friend, for Severus and is Severus a Slytherin good enough to be friends with any other house?

But wait a second;

Severus has always been an out cast, he's at the bottom of school's social ladder; he's poor, not mainstream attractive, he has poor socialization.

He hardly managed to make friends with Lily only succeeding because he had something she wanted; Knowledge about the wizarding world.

Therefore when he joined Mulciber's group; he would have had to been at the bottom of the friend group, as a : go for/ yes man/ nerd that does their homework ect....in exchange for being in the group and possibly getting protection; IF they bothered too, which I doubt they did seeing as no one in that group came guns a blazing to help him in SWM.

That friend group's power wasn't balanced, and if you've never been in a friend group that wasn't balanced then bless you.

When we talk about balance for the peoples that may not understand:

We have our leader: who may or may not be the glue of the group ei, the one who gathered the friends, or they could also just be the loudest, pushiest or just idk has more swag.

Example: James.

Then we have the second in command, the best friends of the leader, these people are the closest -- best friends, possibly has the ability to kind of influence the leader:

Example: Sirius

Then we have the third, close to the outside eye, best friends with the first two but everyone inside knows they aren't as close, if they were walking and one had to fall behind it would be this friend, if they ever stopped talking for a little, this friend would be first to go.

Example: Remus

And lastly we have the bottom of their social ladder, this friend is a follower, not a lot of say in the group, is lucky to be there and to be considered a friend, usually a yes man, a go for, or someone they exploit for their own personal gain, ie studying or help with assignments, or they could have poor social skills but have a rich background and is easy to manipulate. They are in this group for more protection or power of numbers. They need the group more than the group needs them.

Example: Peter & Severus

Originally I made this post to ponder any friends Severus might have had -- but in a environment that already is hostile to Slytherins, would any Slytherin on the same social standing had been his friend?

I mean he already pissed off the biggest bullies in their year so anyone on a similar social standing might not want to be friends with him out of fear of being more on James and co. raider than they already are, plus this is especially true for maybe another Slytherin -- (Slytherins stick together because of their bad rep. Professor's are no help usually.)

Any other Slytherin would be above him, and most likely not spare him the time of day.

Why would other houses help the weird kid with a huge target on his back?

And if magically he made friends, perfectly find friends who don't let Potter's bullying fly or any house's bulling fly and fight back. If they did manage to be Severus' friends, would Lily approve?

I mean, how do we know someone is a threat?

Don't we either learn through the grape vine or our own eyes?

Well, other houses are side eyeing Slytherin, for being death eaters -- so the muggleborns are sticking close together. Maybe even the houses are protecting their muggleborn friends in whatever way:

"Hey this one's family is a death eater..."

"That one's relative is a supporter..."

"Stay away from them."

I mean we know James and co are on the lights side, so obviously, their actions and pranks are cool because they would never stoop to such a disgusting level.

Does that translate to :

If James and co. Don't approve of this person and are acting out against them ----

They are fight the good fight?

I mean, we do know Mulciber and Avery do become deatheaters.

But -- we don't hear anything about James and co fighting them. We hear Lily being weary of them.

is any Slytherin a good enough friend, for Severus and is Severus a Slytherin good enough to be friends with any other house?

Unimportant to the post:

Looking at Harry 's own friend group with Ron and Hermione. I meant to talk about a balance in friend groups, but I just realized you might think Harry is the leader, which is was at a point since Ron and Hermione didn't get along at the start.

But in truth Ron is the glue, while Harry has the leader status.

That's all, this post is long enough.

[galedekarios]

that interview is driving me insane i've been thinking about it for the past hour and i still can't wrap my head around it. i think what really gets under my skin is it just... contradicts with the text of the game. the most positive possible reading of the ending where gale blows himself up is that it was an unavoidable tragedy dictated by fate but even that's a stretch. to say it's a good ending?? or a satisfying conclusion to his arc?? i call bull. it's more infuriating because there is such a clear good ending for gale's character arc and it's the professor ending! his arc was about learning to accept himself as he was, to value who he is as he is flaws and all, and he's done that in the professor ending! and the god of ambition ending is a bad end for him but still ties into his overall arc in a satisfying if sad way (imo). the ending where he dies just... doesn't. which is fine as a tragedy but to imply it isn't exactly that, a tragedy, is wild to me. and it being so blatantly contradictory to the actual events of the game makes me think that whole thing was just catering to people who hate gale which like... why? people who don't like him don't care about his story so why pander to them like this?

uhg. i am sorry for blowing up your inbox like this i just feel like i'm gonna rip my hair out and need to express that to a fellow gale appreciator. i love gale's epilogue SO MUCH it made me feel for a bit like maybe the writers had actually changed how they felt about him but. nope! silly of me to hope for that. wish i could memory wipe that whole interview from my brain dark urge style.

don't be sorry at all! 🖤 i feel the same way in a lot of ways. altho i feel the need to mention that gale's writer, jan van dosselaer, was not involved in this interview.

i started to make a meta post about this yesterday, but reading things like this from gale:

act ii [after elminster] Player: An old man with a craving for cheese. Hardly the great wizard of legend. Gale: A wizard doesn't reach Elminster's age without enjoying their home comforts. Those who seek danger over cheese don't tend to live as long. Gale: For Mystra to have sent him... The severity of her bidding could not be clearer. Or weigh more heavily on me. devnote: reflecting on mystra sending elminster, of all people - a powerful individual, becoming reflective. Gale: Time seems so infinite when you are young... a month is an age, a year is a lifetime... it is a strange feeling, to realise how little of it one might have left. Player: You're seriously considering doing what Elminster said?   Gale: Of course - he offered the clearest solution to our problem. All I have to do is find the right place and time, close my eyes, and let go... devnote: Trying to sound upbeat, not fully engaging with what he's saying (that he's going to kill himself). Gale: Then the slate will be clean, wrongs will be righted, the Absolute will be gone... devnote: Trying to sound upbeat, not fully engaging with what he's saying (that he's going to kill himself). Gale: ...and I along with it. devnote: Still trying to sound upbeat, though this time the reality that this means he will die weighs a bit heavier

and:

act ii [act ii romance scene] Gale: I am terrified - I will not claim otherwise. My face could scarcely conceal it even if my words sought to deny it. nodecontext: Hushed, vulnerable Gale: There is no point in running from the inevitable. Better to meet it, on my own terms. nodecontext: Resigned

as well as this:

act ii [act ii friendship version] Gale: Yes... but there is so much to live for, and so few moments in which to house it all. Gale: Damn you. Damn you for giving me so much to care about. Our friends, our adventures... this would have been so much easier if it was just me. But it isn't. Gale: If there is a way - any way - to save all that's grown dear to me, I want to seize it. I just cannot fathom what that might be, other than to fail Mystra and condemn the world. Gale: Stay with me, will you? I don't want to think of it any more, but I don't want to be alone either.

act iii [before the netherbrain] Player: Gale... I think we should consider using the orb as Mystra intended. To blow up the Netherbrain. Gale: I'm getting rather tired of how often those I care about seem to reach the same conclusion.

when you have this:

and i just... couldn't finish the meta.

it's absolutely beyond comprehension for me how anyone could try to frame this as an ending that is the right one in "many ways", as the "guy who starts off annoying everyone", eating your "most priced possessions", having to "give back to the world".

for the founder of the company to say he wasn't "ready" the "first time", but he's finally "ready" now.

gale's death isn't only unnecessary, an instruction given to him by his former mentor on the behalf of a goddess, who would've sacrificed not only him but thousands of others to achieve her own goals, he doesn't want to die. he's terrified. he wants to live. he is offering this because he believes that his time has run out. because he wants his death to have purpose if it must happen. because he feels he made a mistake far bigger than he can ever make up for. because he doesn't want others to waste their chance at life like he feels he has. the will he leaves behind in the epilogue if he sacrifices himself isn't finished because he thought there would be more time. i could go on and on.

and again, the question is too... for what exactly does he need to "give back to the world"?

being perceived as annoying after coming out of what is presented as isolation and depression? asking for help with a now chronic impairment that feeds on his very soul and wreaks havoc on his body? for making a mistake? by that logic every companion deserves the same fate.

which brings me to the contrast to how most of the other companions are framed in this interview: k*rlach, "the labrador of the party". l*e'zel, "she's so young". ast*rion, "much of what he does it out of fear". sh*dowheart, "the jason bourne" and "victim of religous trauma". w*ll, "the true baldur's gate hero".

the difference is staggering. there's empathy here. there's at least a surface level understanding and/or appreciation of the characters there.

...and then you have gale.

it's alienating and disappointing to see devs have so little respect and care for their own character, as well as for the parts of their fandom who have grown attached to the character exactly for the strengths and flaws he has, for the struggles he faces and for the healing journey he can have if he is helped and lives.

[justicefanged]

Professor Linus Reed. That's what the placard on the desk says, same as the name on the faculty roster. It's just hard to connect 'Professor' to the Linus Reed that Legault is familiar with. The one who's been missing for years—or presumed dead, depending on how much hope managed to flare to life in Legault's heart from day to day. It beats anxiously now, as he rifles through the contents of this mystery professor's desk for any sign that could connect it to the man he once knew. He's not sure what he's looking for—but he hardly has time to find it. Heavy footsteps come down the hall at a pace far too quick for Legault to make a swift exit out the window. With a curse under his breath and a swift excuse about getting lost on the way to the archbishop's chapel forming on his tongue, he prepares himself to face whomever it is who has claim to this room. And when the door opens, he faces Linus Fucking Reed. For a second, he's speechless. Wide eyes simply take in the broad, fearsome man in front of him. Years might've changed some things about them both, but the Reeds aren't a forgettable sort. "Pardon the intrusion," Part of Legault's pre-planned excuse comes forth, practically unbidden. He adjusts the rest, mouth twisting into a smile. "When I heard there was a Linus Reed teaching up here, I thought I'd see who was out here using an old friend's name. Never thought they'd hire a Mad Dog to run a classroom."

Linus is absolutely sure he's at the right room this time, and yet Saints' fucking dangly balls, there's someone already fucking in it! Maybe it's on account of the ass lighting at this time of day, or the fact that someone is clearly in his space and going through his shit -- or maybe it's that the sticky-pawed, sneak thief bastard was talking at him like they knew each other, real and code names alike.

Whatever it is, Linus doesn't waste any further time trying to place the guy; he puts on the heat suddenly and bull rushes the fucker.

He crashes into the slighter body full force, pinning arms against the intruder's sides with a crushing bear hug as they unceremoniously clamor to the floor. Through the still open door, Honk -- still growing into his paws and ears -- barrels on through at the sound of roughhousing, barking and trying to shove his big snout into the thick of things, tail pinwheeling in his excitement.

"Ya picked the wrong fuckin' asshole to try an' steal from, I ain't got nothin'--"

Linus goes horribly still, finally getting a good look at the intruder's face. He lets go as if he'd been burned, mouth working but nothing coherent coming out, before he's leaning in again and keeping the man's head from moving with a too tight grip of his hand on the guy's jaw.

Brown eyes stare into steely gray, and there's a shudder of breath through gritted teeth.

No gold.

He lets Legault go, forehead knocking against the other's chest for a moment in what might have passed as relief before he sits back on his haunches, bringing his weight fully off of the other man.

"...The fuck's this then, huh?" he mutters out, quieter than he'd been in years. He's not sure if he wants to crush the man before him in a hug or punch the daylights out of him. "Thought you'd already seen your way out of the Fang a while back, why ya give a shit now that it's in pieces?"

Linus isn't looking at him, has pulled Honk away from nosing curiously at the new person, rough fingers messing with dopey ears as the dog tries to lick at his hand. It feels stupid and petulant, like a child having a hissy fit, but he thinks he's doing Legault a solid by not beating the snot out of him right here and now.

He snorts, recalling the last thing the other had managed to get out before he'd been brought to the floor.

"Wasn't my idea, you should know better 'an that. Signed up for the wrong fuckin' gig."

[pyropsychiccollector]

Thoughts on Ace Attorney?

Ace Attorney and Professor Layton were the main games I played in the mid-2000's, outside of Pokemon. They weren't bad, although I confess Phoenix wore on my patience a bit (his origin story is very lackluster). He got better in Trials and Tribulations, but I definitely was not a fan of the spirit medium elements in the series. Call me old-fashioned if you like, but I generally prefer grounded court dramas. Stuff that doesn't heavily involve channeling spirits, seeing victims' final moments, or even magical bracelets.

... Although the last one could be explained pretty reasonably, I think. So I tend to cut Apollo more slack than Phoenix, who's more like a bull at a rodeo and goes where he pleases. I'm also in this apparent minority of people that didn't fall in love with Maya at first sight... or thirtieth sight... or... Yeah. lol Don't get me wrong. I'm cool with loveable goobers. There's just... a number of things that I don't like that much about Maya. The medium stuff is one thing, the running gag of getting kidnapped or framed for murder is another, she doesn't help Phoenix understand crime scenes or law better (she's literally a teenager in that first trilogy, and still a kid at heart in Spirit of Justice), and this incessant shipping with Phoenix by her cousin Pearl is one of the most uncomfortable things I've had to suffer through... XD It's just my opinion, but Phoenix feels more like an older brother to Maya and Pearl. They're related to his old boss Mia, and it's cool he wants to look out for them... I just don't ship Phoenix x Maya. That's just me~...

That said, do I have Ace Attorney ships? Ehhh... A few. I'm not too passionate on shipping in AA. I like Phoenix x Iris. I like Phoenix x Franziska. Mia x Diego, of course. I don't mind entertaining Miles x Kay when Kay grows up a bit (for some reason I vibe a lot more with Kay than Maya, probably just the fact she's a 'thief' and not a medium~...). Gumshoe x Maggey is alright. I like Apollo x Ema. Apollo x Athena is fine. I wouldn't mind Bonny and Betty joining the Wright Anything Agency, though I don't necessarily ship them with anyone... Maybe Apollo, if I was so inclined. Rayfa is cute, but she's a kid. No pedos in this house, no sir. (人◕ω◕)**

I honestly have no ships in the Great Ace Attorney duology, though. I'm neutral to Ryunosuke x Susato, I don't object to them. They are cute. I just don't ship them cuz my mind's on the lovely plots and characters of GAA~...

If I had to do a tier list for Ace Attorney games... Let me see...

Tier 1 (Masterful) - Great Ace Attorney 1&2, Ace Attorney Investigations 2, Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright

Tier 2 (Great) - Trials and Tribulations, Spirit of Justice

Tier 3 (Passable) - AA1, Investigations 1, Apollo Justice, Dual Destinies

Tier 4 (Abysmal) - AA2 (Justice For All)

Obviously, not a perfect tier list. A couple titles in the 3rd category are close to Tier 2 level, there's just some aspects of each game that take away my enjoyment somewhat. I loved Rise from the Ashes in AA1, and I liked the ending of Case 4... I enjoyed Edgeworth's flashback case in Investigations 1 (Detective Tyrell B A D D~). Apollo Justice had sleek designs and a more tempered protagonist I thought. And Dual Destinies introduced Athena and had mostly okay cases....

It's just. The rest of AA1 was meh to me, outside the last two cases. Investigation 1's Case 5 was dragged out so unnecessarily. Apollo Justice's Case 4 felt short to me and tried covering way too many bases; not to mention he kept getting shunted to the side by Phoenix, getting led along by the nose. And Dual Destinies, well... Overall, I just wasn't wowed by the writing. Phoenix was brought back, and Apollo and Athena took backseats; they had cases, but they weren't anything to write home about. By the time you hit the case at the space center, I'm barely sold on the bonds they have. XD Although I will say this: Attorneys interacting are much better than spirit mediums thrown into the mix. For all the criticisms we can throw at Phoenix, Apollo, or Athena depending on people's biases, it's nice to see the Wright Anything Agency get a staff again... Athena might not be level-headed like Mia, but I feel she'll get there in time. In her own way. Apollo's rebuilding a whole judicial system in a foreign land, so his arc's pretty much over. lol

I'd love for more Miles adventures. See more Agent Lang, Judge Courtney, even Prosecutor Debeste... But it's up in the air if they'll ever do a 3rd Investigations game. I've already been proven wrong about ever getting an official localization of Investigations 2, so I'll shut up since Capcom's been on a roll recently. (人◕ω◕) Took them some thirteen years, but they finally brought the best Investigations game over. Or will, in a month's time. Honestly, though? I'll probably be stubborn and favor the Scarlet Study fan translation. That's been around for the past decade, and they worked hard on it. I can almost guarantee you their fan translation will have fewer typos than the official one... But I'm looking forward to having Investigations 2 on a portable console. So. I'm sucking it up. (人◕ω◕)

I've rambled on enough, but the gist is that I'm more for plot and characters in Ace Attorney franchise than shipping. XD Not too surprising that what ships I do have tend to stray from the mainstream favorites (Phoenix x Maya, Miles x Franziska, the yaoi and yuri which I don't touch... and yes, I'm aware of the absurd amount of that in the fanfic community...). I'm built differently from most people, I guess. (人◕ω◕)

And I'm aware some people will have different opinions on my tier list for the games, too. Fite me. I stand firm. (人◕ω◕)

[teabutmakeitazure]

When it comes to life balance…honestly with how long my projects are, it's really rare for me or any friends to hang out, since we're all caught up with two or more projects that's due within a week or 3 weeks. I feel I am bad at balancing life. I had a bad family emergency and I tried asking for an extension and most of my professors basically said “oh well life sucks” basically. I haven’t eaten much since I’m so focused on trying to not fail my classes and honestly lowkey try to meet their expectations. I get I’m not Van Gogh or anything but after days or weeks of no sleep, drinking like 4 or 5 red bulls or sodas eating one meal from take out because I'm basically trapped in the art building from 7am to 7am the next morning it’s been hell and stress on my end. I like the friends I’ve made but I can say that this semester is killing my ass. For art students for american art students prob you have to make a art portfolio, I need to have a portfolio of 12 art works from each class I’ve taken and then wrote a 2000 word essay on why I want to major in this there’s no extension too, if you don't get to the due date to pick a major you have to wait till next spring to do it again. I think in general its my assignments and professors that just suck for now but every art student i’ve met are really nice and a lot of them, im sure some of them are doing the absolute best in their class so I cant speak for all student. I just hope that maybe next semester if I survive this one will be nicer ;u; 

-Moonie anon

introducing creative studies into university was a horrible decision made by mankind. i'm not saying there shouldn't be formal education for it, i'm saying that it shouldn't be treated like other subjects. creativity has no right to be judged by a random person with different taste. this is exactly why a banana taped to a white canvas can be sold for millions of dollars. they're tweaking.

[squadron-of-damned]

Find the Words

Search your works for the given words and post the context of what you find! My given words (from @ziskandra) were roast, love, shade & inclination.

ROAST

If you ever get strangled in Thedas and find yourself surrounded by the darkspawn, don't set fire to them. Trust me. The smell is not worth it. That advice goes for electricity too, because it also basically fries them. I had to throw two fire flasks to learn that lesson. Don't repeat my mistakes.

“They smell like lamb roast,” Leliana sighed and kicked a charred corpse.

“Yeah, but don't eat them,” Alistair warned her promptly. “It's practically poison. The taint will get you and turn you into a ghoul.”

I said. “Here is a thought – does that apply to Grey Wardens too? We are immune to the taint... in the very specific meaning of the word.” I noticed Alistair turning very green which meant he now was thinking about it, so I added: “Or maybe forget it. I have a vague idea where these things have been. Not even a ton of garlic could probably fix that.” Besides, I never have grown of lamb or sheep on the table. Most likely because I wasn't really used to it, but it just never vibed with me.

LOVE

“You seem incredibly at ease in our mismatched company,” Viviene remarks as she carefully pours herself another glass of eggnog. The eggnog has been Josephine's briliant idea: Everyone would drink eggnog at least a little so any potential tension would loosen up, but it wasn't wine in which certain people would try to drown, nor it was a beer which would look too informal. Everyone was just the right amount of tipsy.

Anora carefully dabs the corner of her mouth with a napkin. “Well, we both are used to what Master Tethras so aptly described once as a ‘merry band of misfits’.”

“Indeed,” Alistair smiles warmly: “Between a large ominous Qunari, a dark-skinned fellow of foreign morals flirting around the table, a dwarf with undisclosed past in charge of stopping the end of the world, a proficient mage of your cold demeanour, and Leliana I feel right at home.”

“The only change is the availability of cutlery,” Leliana notes at the same time Bull claims that there is nothing ominous about him. “And you no longer smiting people. I miss that, honestly. It would solve so much problems if you did some good smiting.

Alistair chuckles. Perhaps the eggnog wasn't that good idea after all, how much has he had? “You have no idea how much I'd love to! But unfortunately I am married and I have to run a whole country, I can't just sod off to another gruesome adventure.”

Anora pinches his cheek as if to say: “I am so glad you have more sense than Cailan.”

SHADE

Barok slowly turned to him and tilted his head to side: “Are you not a defence attorney, Mr. Naruhodou? I distinctly remember you having a Nipponese badge marking you as one, and the license to practice.”

The crucial moment of every trap is when the pry walks into it willingly. A mouse springs the trap breaking it’s neck when it picks up a piece of lard, a hare places its leg in a snare when pursuing greener grounds. And Professor Kowa…

Professor Kowa spoke to destroy any semblance of Naruhodou’s competency: “He had received his license from a proved murderer. Such a paper holds no weight in the unblemished courts of Japan.”

And now for the final gamble, Barok spoke with a thoughtful hum: “That is… true, yes. I had received my license from the hands of the same man, in fact. It is therefore impossible for me to prosecute. My apologies, Professor Kowa. After all these preparations, this example trial cannot be carried out after all.” He watched as the colour drained from the teacher’s face shade by shade, as Naruhodou’s somewhat reluctant translation settled in for him.

INCLINATION

“Someone is following us,” Javert whispers. 

“Here?” Valjean eyes suspiciously the trees sunk in darkness. It began raining and there seems to be little inclination of it to stop. In a desperate attempt to find some kind of a shelter, Valjean has lead them downhill into the forest. The countless leaves are a poor roof leaking in many places, but it is at least something. 

“Who could be following us here?” Valjean hushes his voice like Javert. 

The diviner looks behind them, although in the darkness he can make out only the most vague of shapes. “I am afraid we’ve crossed the border of Trynton.”

(whew, I didn't think I'd find "inclination" anywhere)

for @timesthatneverwere @sulky-valkyrie and @thiswaycomessomethingwicked: youth, hypocrisy, burrow, and biased.

[thecandywrites]

Kinktober 2022- Day 2- Thigh Riding

Yeah, sorry, had to go m/f on this one. Hopefully this is short and sweet and hot though.

Thanks again to @starsandskiess for her Kinktober prompts. Again, sorry I'm late to the party and still a couple of days behind. But I'll catch up. And if anything, throw some of those roadblocks I've been having in my other stories out of the way while we are at it.

Kinktober Day 2- Thigh Riding. 

This shouldn’t be happening. 

You should not be kissing the very handsome son of your father’s rival and practically his arch nemesis. 

And you definitely shouldn’t be doing so while at school, in the back of the library, while he was in a chair and you were riding his thigh like it was a mechanical bull. And you had no idea what he had in his pocket that was making the experience all that much better for you. But whatever it was, it was only heightening your arousal. It must have been either a worry stone or some keys wrapped in a handkerchief, or something. Hard and solid, like stone. not jagged or rough like keys. But the distinct sound of clinking, which made you think maybe he had more than one thing in there. But whatever it was- your clit loved it.

It had started off innocently, or rather fatefully. 

You both went to the same private school. You both came from very influential familial dynasties. You both had the same rivalry that your fathers apparently had. But the key difference, was- he was a son, you were a daughter. And maybe it was the competitive nature of your relationship, maybe it was the forbidden fruit aspect of it, maybe it was the off the charts chemistry that put you both into this precarious circumstance.

You didn’t know what it was, but something about him seemed to get under your skin just as much as his hands were under your shirt and fondling your breasts over your bra- as much as his tongue was dancing with yours in your mouth. 

But by God, in heaven above, you loved and hated how with just a glance, you felt noticed, with a look- you felt seen. And with those looks, he could incite you and elicit such a wide variety of responses in you depending on the look. With a word, or better yet, a string of infuriatingly ambiguous words- like a strike at you, tempt you, irritate you, to get under your skin just as easily as such words could soothe you, comfort you, calm  you, or make you feel like you weren’t alone, that you had no reason to fear. To feel safe, to feel something akin to affection but never anything to either confirm or deny such a notion. But the most important of such words conveyed that you weren’t fighting this battle with forces so much greater than yourself, by yourself. And that none of it was in vain. That everything you did, every choice you made- meant something, could change something, if only you wanted them to. But how underneath all the heavy burdens placed on both of you by your families, by your teachers and professors, by yourselves, always pushing to achieve perfection or at the bare minimum, the upper hand, if not to the rest of the world, than at least each other. Which was sometimes just as sour of a victory as it could be sweet depending on what it was and what was on the line at the time.

But today, something was drawing you two together like a magnet. Something about him was getting you all hot and bothered and the looks he gave you were searing, the words he spoke were tantalizing. The hints of possible activities he gave were dangerously tempting. 

So here you were, kissing him and venting everything out into such searing, soul scorching kisses. Touches that were just as desperate and greedy as they were wanting and needy that bordered on loving and affectionate. HIs words of praise and desire were stroking more than your body- but your soul and ego too. 

He swallowed down your keen of bliss when- whatever was in his pocket on his thigh that was rubbing against your clit through your tights got you off. And you practically beamed a smile when you felt his hardened length that you had been stroking through his own pants pulsed and then you could only imagine the mess he just made in his own underwear with it. But it did show that you could at least give as good as you got given. 

"Tie." You proclaimed with a pleasured grin.

"Tie." He agreed.

It was then a quick rush to get put back together before he made a dash for the restroom- for what you imagined would be to clean up the mess that was now in his underwear as you- still in the afterglow perused the section of books nearby. 

He got to the bathroom and quickly did try to clean up the cum from his underwear and use a laundry pen to clean up your essence from his pant leg but grinned victoriously when the charms very particular- polished stones were in his pocket. The first stone had a very special property- it was meant to bring your soul mate and true love to you. But the second, was also to bring your destiny to you. And obviously- they both brought you to him. So if you were his soul mate and true love, as complicated and potentionally deadly, if not extremely dangerous as that could be- you were still his destiny. Now, he simply firmly resolved that he needed to do whatever it took to achieve it. No matter the cost or consequences, because he too, couldn’t imagine his life- without you- and all your infuriating- yet endearing and addictive facets of your personality with it that before today, he would be loathe to admit it. But after today- it would be something he would be proud of. Because he was never one to back away from a challenge, even if it meant it would end in a "tie". Especially if it tied himself to you.

[spiderbeam]

lando + 22😇

22. falling asleep on the other’s shoulder

pairing: best friend!reader x lando norris

“HEY, LANDO, HAVE YOU SEEN WHERE I LEFT MY—”

Oscar looks up at the sudden shushing noise, brows pulled together. His forehead creases, mouth parting to respond —because, yeah, rude— before his eyes land on his teammate. The confusion and slight offense vanish in a blink, the corner of lips curving upwards.

He chuckles, to which Lando responds with a low ‘shut up’. Oscar can’t help smiling, biting his bottom lip to try and hide it. “Don’t you look comfortable?”

Lando sits on the McLaren couch with his legs outstretched over a glass table. He looks surprisingly comfortable— given the fact that you’re resting your head on his shoulder, leaning most of your weight against him. Your eyelids flutter in your sleep.

“Mate, what part of shut up are you not getting?” Lando hisses, glancing briefly at you as he feels you shift against him.

Oscar tilts his head at you. “Has she been out long?” he asks, this time in a whisper.

Lando’s jaw twitches. He sighs, nodding his head only slightly. “An hour, I think.”

“You’ve been there for an hour?” Oscar’s voice rises, and Lando’s glare sharpens. He grimaces.

“Told me she’s in exam season. Has been pulling all-nighters for a while.” Lando’s glare drops as he glances down at your sleeping frame. His eyes soften, and Oscar would comment on it, if he wasn’t already toeing the line between Lando’s good and bad graces. “It’s been intense.”

Oscar hums, but he’s not really focused so much on what Lando is saying, but more so how he’s saying it. Because, sure, he’s seen many sides to Lando. Competitive on the track. Funny and supporting behind the scenes. Flirtatious with girls at clubs and parties. This side doesn’t feel new, but it feels… different. A certain softness only reserved for a select few. He wonders if either of you are aware of it.

“Anyways, we were watching my Drive to Survive episode, but she started nodding off like halfway into it.” You shift, muttering a incoherent, barely audible mumble. Lando’s voice quiets. “She deserves a little sleep.”

Oscar is asking the question before he can think better of it. “Isn’t your shoulder tired, like, at all?”

Lando shrugs. “I can’t really feel it anymore.”

Oscar’s eyes widen just a fraction. He doesn’t think Lando’s reading the situation as he is. “So, just to recap, you’ve been sitting there with her, not moving, not making a sound, for a whole hour?”

Lando’s nose scrunches. “Why are you making it sound so weird? It’s fine,” he responds defensively. His jaw ticks, annoyance rippling off him in waves. “Could you get out? You’re gonna wake her up.”

You move on the couch, nose brushing against Lando’s exposed neck. Lando freezes for a fraction of a second. Oscar bites his lips down to prevent the laugh that threatens to escape him.

They both hear you inhale deeply, exhale.

“You guys are shit at whispering,” you mumble, voice sleep-ridden. It takes you a couple of seconds to come to your senses. You blink a few times, lifting your head away from Lando’s shoulder. And even now that you’re awake, Oscar can see what his teammate had been talking about. Your eyelids look heavy, the bags beneath your eyes more prominent.

Lando tilts his head, lips pressed apologetically. “Sorry for waking you up,” he says quietly, softly.

“S’okay.” You don’t seem to register the tenderness to Lando’s voice— or maybe you are simply far too used to it. “Do you have the time? I should’ve gotten started with my research paper a while ago, but maybe it’s not too bad if I just—” you stop, as if finally catching up with your thoughts. “How long was I out?”

“Not long,” Lando lies, and when Oscar meets his gaze, he shoots him a look.

“Oscar?”

You’re staring up at him, expectantly. Oscar swallows. “I— uh, I just came in.”

“See?” Lando says. “You can afford a few minutes of sleep.” When that doesn’t seem to convince you, he adds, “You said your professor is a Red Bull fan, right?”

“I’m not bribing my professor.”

Lando rolls his eyes, but he has that half-smile that brightens up his face. There’s nothing happening, and yet Oscar suddenly feels like he’s intruding on something private.

He clears his throat. “Right. Uh, well,” he watches as both of you turn his attention to him— Lando more reluctantly than you. Oscar throws his thumb over his shoulder. “I was about to head out, so…”

That seems to wake you up, if only a little. You blink a few more times. “Could you drop me off on your way?”

Oscar finds himself nodding. “Yeah, sure, where do—”

“I’ll drive you.”

Both you and Oscar turn to Lando. He’s already standing up as he’s saying it, as if the decision has already been agreed upon. He barely spares Oscar a glance as he tilts his head back at you, as if telling you to follow.

“But Oscar’s already leaving. I don’t wanna be a bother—”

“I’m done for the day too,” Lando shrugs, and Oscar knows that to be a lie. “C’mon,” he juts his head towards the door. “We can get one of those teas you like on the way.”

Any skepticism you would’ve usually shown is nowhere to be found. And though Oscar can tell you want to protest, you relent.

“Okay. Let’s go.”

And as Oscar leaves out the main doors with the two of you, he pretends not to notice you reaching for Lando’s hand— just like he pretends not to notice Lando’s smile.

a/n: i’m writing this after procrastinating on studying so yeah. this was very self-indulgent. en fin. reblogs are always appreciated <3

[creoterative]

My Hogwarts Legacy Experience

Yeah, I've been busy last month. Not this month, this month I'm only busy with Uni, but LAST month, ohhh boy.

The following piece of text and screenshots is my own opinion on this game and also somehow a summary of the story, so spoilers ahead!

---

The ones who know me a bit longer know, that I love Paul. He is my favorite character of all time, of all fandoms, and thus I gotta include him in every RPG that has character customization xD

So, here it is, Paul's journey in Hogwarts Legacy.

Actually, it's just gonna be a lot of screenshots and my comments on them xD

---

Paul looks frikin' hilarious with that hat on, as if he's scared of getting sorted into anything other than Slytherin. Because for some reason he thinks that might happen.

Oh who would've guessed, it's fucking Slytherin.

I forgot to mention the huge dragon that scarred him for life - BEFORE arriving at Hogwarts. At least I have an explanation for Paul's dick attitude other than 'My brother is a Hufflepuff'.

Other thing I forgot to mention. Paul is magic. Like, special magic. He can see the ancient magic powers from the past and use them, so that makes him... a... It makes him stronger than he should be.

This man is what I always wanted as a teacher and very rarely got. But Paul didn't like him that much, soft teaching methods etc.

The motion blur, I can't.

"Feed a stone wall some toast, retrieve old journal, get book pages I need.

What."

Bloody legend, this man.

Even bigger legend, this man.

Lovely woman, was clinging onto her for dear life, talk to me about your bitchy professor, I wanna hear everything. Paul maybe not, but this isn't just about him.

"You do some shit like that again, your arsehole's gonna be stuck on one of these schoolbrooms, I fockin' dare ya." - look

If I ever see Paul do this with a Pokemon, I'll give him an award. A medal. I'll throw a frikin' party for him and his newly achieved honor level.

Got a garden for animals, he doesn't like to take care of. Great.

I mean, I forced him to take care of 'em, I love animals, but still, I don't think he liked the part where he had to fight a big ass squid faced bull.

That one.

Astronomy seems to be more his subject.

Also we are making friends. Somehow. It's the only way to learn unvorgivable curses and Paul needs them to feel powerful, the only goal he has this entire time. THE POWER.

Except for maybe this one. This one is now part of his inventory. Protective senses are tingling literally every time because this girl is actively searching for danger. Literally. And I love her for it. Paul? ...Kinda, give him some slack, he likes excitement and battles, who could blame him.

But THIS one. Very special place in his and my heart.

Ah fuck, it's back.

God, I feel that so much right now.

Don't touch it.

Why'd you touch it.

Damn, what a shot.

Bro just got high on some dark magic.

That is creepy as fuck. I mean, Paul didn't worry one bit, but I did.

Deep conversations with Lodgok.

---

Gah, Tumblr won't let me have more than 30 pictures, so... we won the trophy in the end, mastered the Dark Arts and found the biggest source of power wizardkind ever imagined. Cool.

No seriously, this game was amazing. The beginning was a bit slow, but once you get the hang of it, it's just great. Don't have much else to say, the only sad part is, that we don't really get to know, or decide, the backstory for our character, but that's all.

Have a Nice day and stay safe!

[emperorblargus]

Why Blargus thinks you should Vote Democrat

Why you should vote Democrat.

I posted this on one of my other accounts, but this is closely connected to Twitter so I decided to repost it under my Twitter Handle.

I'm not an American, if I were I decided (long ago) if I were, I'd probably be an "independent" because political parties can and do go bad, but I also didn't see an election in living memory I wouldn't have preferred the (D) candidate save for a few cases where a third party or actual independent candidate might win, and had a decent platform.

Fact is this election is going to affect all of us on the planet because of the influence of American politics (despite everything else), and one option should clearly be better than the rest. And it concerns society and civilization in general.

First of all, regards democracy (small-d): whatever you want to call "this system", it's supposed to run with a constitution of sorts and it also requires standards for structural reasons.

Not all standards are enforced legally, some of them you have to impose yourself. Think, I DO NOT WANT THAT HAPPENING IN MY HOUSE. Just that.

On this metric alone, Republicans should not be elected in.

Because their standards of behavior aren't going to allow supporting a democratic society. Or a society, for that matter.

There's a lot that Republican politicians, and many connected to them, claim to think is destroying society. I'll just lay down the facts, which of course represent what's going on in reality, and reality has a well known checks notes furry, transgendered, liberal, leftist, socialist bias among other things.

-Trans people aren't destroying society. -Homosexuals and bisexuals aren't destroying society. -Polyamory isn't destroying society as long as there is respect for people. -Smoking weed doesn't destroy society, if you moderate.

-Abortions aren't destroying society. -Renewables aren't destroying society. -Immigrants aren't destroying society. -Other races aren't destroying society. -Many religions aren't destroying society

-"Edicating" people isn't destroying society. -Basic reading comprehension, writing, and arithmetic isn't destroying society.

And, I'll just stop at this one: -That it costs $50k to diesel up your yacht, isn't destroying society.

The environmental damage though, maybe, as well as your selfishness.

Now also, society isn't just "having children" it's about having and maintaining the whole thing, contributing, having respect for "other people" (that's a term you'll hear a lot).

It also shows that the Republican "agenda" doesn't seem to have a point to it. On the other hand… -Forcing women to give birth and have children they don't want, and refusing to support those kids from the state end afterwards, IS destroying society.

-Destroying the foundation of common truths IS destroying society. -Attacks on folks fueled by lunatic conspiracy theories IS destroying society. -Climate change denial prevents action required to maintain a liveable planet, and that IS destroying society.

-Disenfranchising folks just because they have a differing amount of skin melanin, IS destroying society. -Tossing people in jail over absolute bull[BLEEP] IS destroying society. -Mass surveillance enables a lot of the above damaging behaviour and IS destroying society. -Starting a bunch of wars, IS destroying society. Will cover later.

-Environmental decay IN GENERAL (be it climate change or dumping garbage in rivers) IS destroying society. -Being unable to maintain critical infrastructure, be it electrical, communications, roads, bridges, ports, airports, spaceports, farming, IS destroying society.

-People having to sleep on the street IS destroying a society, because those people can't think beyond their basic needs for survival. -Destruction of education, be it K-12 or university up to the professor level, IS destroying society. -Destruction of arts IS destroying society.

-Rampant sexism IS destroying society. -Rampant racism IS destroying society. -Rampant bigotry IS destroying society. -Rampant transphobia IS destroying society. -Rampant hatred for other religions IS destroying society. -Rampant hatred for other people, IS destroying society.

On this whole metric, Republicans SHOULDN'T be in charge. At all. They're the party of destruction and decay. At some point you have to kick that out… else you won't have a society of any kind, or civilization.

Note, I did not add "democratic" before "society".

This kind of "Bec Noir" behavior is not conductive to society however you organize it.

In a democracy, you need to vote that out. Completely. Which is supposed to be the advantage of the system.

It means there's supposed to be a level of respect, so you don't need to have a decision taken at the level of some Earl to raise an army and replace someone.

This also preserves institutions between changes of government so you don't start from square 1.

So, yeah, this "democracy" thing is kind of important as is making sure the Republicans, AKA GOP, really the "GQP" don't get a hold of power. Ideally, this should settle the matter 100%.

For the sake of finishing the "other matters"…

The economy IS doing gr8. There's some consequences that come with full employment, but if full employment is the goal you need to deal with them.

Employment is pretty much "full", lower than ever. This also means it's hard to hire people, because now for the first time in 40 years the employer has to compete and nobody wants to work for $10/hr (or for that matter, $15/hr) when they can earn more elsewhere.

And, there's also quality of life stuff so people might take a dollar cut per hour to not be moving stuff around unless they absolutely have to, and that's "state of emergency" level of an event. It means you're invaded and there's a draft, and this is so you keep your freedom or a country in order.

Maybe those whining about the lack of workers should hire immigrants, eh? But that would mean… working with other people, and they absolutely do not want to do that for some other reason. So what DO they want? Put that in your pipe and smoke it. And then answer that question. You won't like what you realize when you work it out.

Hint: They don't like "other people".

Next up, inflation, which has MANY causes. Democrats have done what they can, and what they can WITH the level of control they have.

In part this is because conservatives tried to offload manufacturing to other countries with more authoritarian regimes, overseas at a high rate to avoid having to negotiate with unions.

And that it was cheaper, but then you don't want to put all your eggs into one basket in case something goes wrong, or in case the Chinese people don't want to do that work anymore. Which is quite the privileged take, don't you think? Who'd have thought that, Chinese (and Korean, and Indian, and Vietnamese, and Singaporean people, and Thais…, you know, the other people I keep mentioning) are… people, with their own desires and the ability to go up in life one way or other, individually or collectively?

Guess what the "folks in charge" did, and remember who they are or where the roadblocks came from in America. Mostly: Republicans, who had a stranglehold over government (they used their power as such).

It's almost as though the modern "conservative" (and self-professed centrist, and self-professed moderate) thinks that those people have an obligation to serve the top 10-20% of society (includes middle-class westerners) for the rest of all time with cheap goods, and that social structure should be fixed. It's a neufeudal issue.

And this is completely contrary to any post-enlightenment thought. America isn't supposed to work that way, it's supposed to be a land of opportunity.

COVID came a-knocking, and then China decided not to sacrifice the lives of their citizens and that supply of cheap goods was cut off. Not just that… but also Chinese people (and Indians, and Koreans) were "going up in life", and eventually they have to answer the question why shouldn't they pursue other jobs instead of "supplying the west with an endless quantity of disposable plastic forks and cheap goods".

So there's your long-form, inflation answer. Much likes folks in the west are resigning en-masse, or have been, from jobs that aren't great, in favour of higher-paid jobs (or jobs that have a better quality of life and won't wear you out by the age of 40-50 leaving you at the mercy of underfunded social security systems), Chinese people are thinking the same thing. And the rest.

So the west now has to pick up the slack. Who has a plan to solve this? Only Democrats do.

Democrats' attempts to rebuild industries will solve that… as fast as those industries can be rebuilt. Or built. That takes a long time - more than 2 years. People will have to "stick with the program" proverbially.

Republicans don't seem to have any other solutions to the supply chain issue, except forcibly detransitioning trans people by fascistic means and yelling at women to get back in the kitchen. Sorry, that's just how I'm seeing it, and that's what we're literally seeing.

On top of this you have greedflation. Companies are jacking prices up in lockstep, and reaping profits. This is a "market failure" situation and one where government should step in, and is supposed to, to curb "anticompetitive behaviour" for one.

Normally you'd issue a warning and then use price controls as a last resort, BUT you're dealing with a huge well of bad faith here. These companies just might squeeze the supply, to create artificial shortages. Don't bet against it.

Ultimately, you'd have to use a combination of defense production act, price controls, and establish a whole government agency to oversee this. It requires more democrats in power, not less, to address that.

Regards the price of petrol (gasoline), the US has mostly been able to cope by releasing supplies of crude from the strategic reserve.

Republican commentary on Keystone XL has been utterly irresponsible and contains way too many falsehoods to be even contemplated.

For example: That Keystone XL was intended to supply Americans. It wasn't. The point was to get low-quality oil, which couldn't be handled in American refineries or cost far more (4 times as much), to ports in America and to export it. Not a drop was intended for American consumption, and using it would drive up the price anyway due to the far-higher cost of refining (and retooling refineries to use it, mayhaps).

The last cause of this is the war in Ukraine, and to be honest we didn't start that. The chips had fallen down after Maidan in a certain way, Russia decided to try to disrupt that and it created the Z-war situation with mass-murder of civilians and all kinds of war crimes. This can't be fixed on our end - it's on the aggressor to withdraw.

And Ukraine does have a functioning democracy, for example with Poroshenko stepping down when Zelenskyy won.

These people will continue to fight on with or without western support, the USA should support them as they are the ones being attacked here.

So I don't see much happening that ways besides Republicans ruining America's reputation further.

Regards "progressive issues", it should be self-evident that Republicans withdrawing rights from "other people" (read: LGBTQIA+ community, other races, other religions) isn't good, particularly for them, and it's flat out wrong. Actually this should not be considered such a progressive issue. You're destroying the lives of these people and destroying their ability to partake in our society. This is just wrong.

Hey, I covered that already.

Further points:

Biden has acted on student debt, at least with a stopgap measure. You're getting stuff delivered from the guy.

Biden passed several reconstruction bills with the help of a Democratic congress, mostly. And the Inflation Reduction Act.

Biden has backed the rights of trans people and other minority groups.

Unionization is up, that's been promoted by Biden, much of the action is grassroots, and Democrats have not gotten in the way of the process.

Lastly… you're going to have to make some sacrifices and what's being asked… isn't a lot. Much is being delivered, and is yet to be delivered if you get more Democratic control. I don't see any good outcomes of any period of Republican control of even one house of Congress.

You want to know why the older generation was called "The Greatest Generation"? Because they'd put their self interests aside and come together for the good of the nation. A concept so foreign to most of you, that when you call yourselves patriots, I laugh hysterically.— Melo "Super 8/Evil Institute Director" Dotty (@MeloDotty) January 3, 2022

[captainarchmage]

Why CaptainArchmage thinks you should back the Democrats

This is my first Tumblr post, I thought I'd make it about something else when I created it but anyways I cannot stay silent on this matter.

I'm not an American, if I were I decided (long ago) if I were, I'd probably be an "independent" because political parties can and do go bad, but I also didn't see an election in living memory I wouldn't have preferred the (D) candidate save for a few cases where a third party or actual independent candidate might win, and had a decent platform.

Fact is this election is going to affect all of us on the planet because of the influence of American politics (despite everything else), and one option should clearly be better than the rest. And it concerns society and civilization in general.

First of all, regards democracy (small-d): whatever you want to call "this system", it's supposed to run with a constitution of sorts and it also requires standards for structural reasons.

Not all standards are enforced legally, some of them you have to impose yourself. Think, I DO NOT WANT THAT HAPPENING IN MY HOUSE. Just that.

On this metric alone, Republicans should not be elected in.

Because their standards of behavior aren't going to allow supporting a democratic society. Or a society, for that matter.

There's a lot that Republican politicians, and many connected to them, claim to think is destroying society. I'll just lay down the facts, which of course represent what's going on in reality, and reality has a well known *checks notes* furry, transgendered, liberal, leftist, socialist bias among other things.

-Trans people aren't destroying society. -Homosexuals and bisexuals aren't destroying society. -Polyamory isn't destroying society as long as there is respect for people. -Smoking weed doesn't destroy society, if you moderate.

-Abortions aren't destroying society. -Renewables aren't destroying society. -Immigrants aren't destroying society. -Other races aren't destroying society. -Many *religions* aren't destroying society

-"Edicating" people isn't destroying society. -Basic reading comprehension, writing, and arithmetic isn't destroying society.

And, I'll just stop at this one: -That it costs $50k to diesel up your yacht, isn't destroying society.

The environmental damage though, maybe, as well as your selfishness.

Now also, society isn't just "having children" it's about having and maintaining the whole thing, contributing, having respect for "other people" (that's a term you'll hear a lot).

It also shows that the Republican "agenda" doesn't seem to have a point to it. On the other hand... -Forcing women to give birth and have children they don't want, and refusing to support those kids from the state end afterwards, IS destroying society.

-Destroying the foundation of common truths IS destroying society. -Attacks on folks fueled by lunatic conspiracy theories IS destroying society. -Climate change denial prevents action required to maintain a liveable planet, and that IS destroying society.

-Disenfranchising folks just because they have a differing amount of skin melanin, IS destroying society. -Tossing people in jail over absolute bull[BLEEP] IS destroying society. -Mass surveillance enables a lot of the above damaging behaviour and IS destroying society. -Starting a bunch of wars, IS destroying society. Will cover later.

-Environmental decay IN GENERAL (be it climate change or dumping garbage in rivers) IS destroying society. -Being unable to maintain critical infrastructure, be it electrical, communications, roads, bridges, ports, airports, spaceports, farming, IS destroying society.

-People having to sleep on the street IS destroying a society, because those people can't think beyond their basic needs for survival. -Destruction of education, be it K-12 or university up to the professor level, IS destroying society. -Destruction of arts IS destroying society.

-Rampant sexism IS destroying society. -Rampant racism IS destroying society. -Rampant bigotry IS destroying society. -Rampant transphobia IS destroying society. -Rampant hatred for other religions IS destroying society. -Rampant hatred for *other people*, IS destroying society.

On this whole metric, Republicans SHOULDN'T be in charge. At all. They're the party of destruction and decay. At some point you have to kick that out... else you won't have a society of any kind, or civilization.

Note, I did not add "democratic" before "society".

This kind of "Bec Noir" behavior is not conductive to society however you organize it.

In a democracy, you need to vote that out. Completely. Which is supposed to be the advantage of the system.

It means there's supposed to be a level of respect, so you don't need to have a decision taken at the level of some Earl to raise an army and replace someone.

This also preserves institutions between changes of government so you don't start from square 1.

So, yeah, this "democracy" thing is kind of important as is making sure the Republicans, AKA GOP, really the "GQP" don't get a hold of power. Ideally, this should settle the matter 100%.

For the sake of finishing the "other matters"...

The economy IS doing gr8. There's some consequences that come with full employment, but if full employment is the goal you need to deal with them.

Employment is pretty much "full", lower than ever. This also means it's hard to hire people, because now for the first time in 40 years the employer has to compete and nobody wants to work for $10/hr (or for that matter, $15/hr) when they can earn more elsewhere.

And, there's also quality of life stuff so people might take a dollar cut per hour to not be moving stuff around unless they absolutely *have to*, and that's "state of emergency" level of an event. It means you're invaded and there's a draft, and this is so you keep your freedom or a country in order.

Maybe those whining about the lack of workers should hire immigrants, eh? But that would mean... working with *other people*, and they absolutely do not want to do that for some other reason. So what DO they want? Put that in your pipe and smoke it. And then answer that question. You won't like what you realize when you work it out.

Hint: They don't like "other people".

Next up, inflation, which has MANY causes. Democrats have done what they can, and what they can WITH the level of control they have.

In part this is because conservatives tried to offload manufacturing to other countries with more authoritarian regimes, overseas at a high rate to avoid having to negotiate with unions.

And that it was cheaper, but then you don't want to put all your eggs into one basket in case something goes wrong, or in case the Chinese people don't want to do that work anymore. Which is quite the privileged take, don't you think? Who'd have thought that, Chinese (and Korean, and Indian, and Vietnamese, and Singaporean people, and Thais..., you know, the *other people* I keep mentioning) are... people, with their own desires and the ability to go up in life one way or other, individually or collectively?

Guess what the "folks in charge" did, and remember who they are or where the roadblocks came from in America. Mostly: Republicans, who had a stranglehold over government (they used their power as such).

It's almost as though the modern "conservative" (and self-professed centrist, and self-professed moderate) thinks that those people have an obligation to serve the top 10-20% of society (includes middle-class westerners) for the rest of all time with cheap goods, and that social structure should be *fixed*. It's a neufeudal issue.

And this is completely contrary to any post-enlightenment thought. America isn't supposed to work that way, it's supposed to be a land of opportunity.

COVID came a-knocking, and then China decided not to sacrifice the lives of their citizens and that supply of cheap goods was cut off. Not just that... but also Chinese people (and Indians, and Koreans) were "going up in life", and eventually they have to answer the question why shouldn't they pursue other jobs instead of "supplying the west with an endless quantity of disposable plastic forks and cheap goods".

So there's your long-form, inflation answer. Much likes folks in the west are resigning en-masse, or have been, from jobs that aren't great, in favour of higher-paid jobs (or jobs that have a better quality of life and won't wear you out by the age of 40-50 leaving you at the mercy of underfunded social security systems), Chinese people are thinking the same thing. And the rest.

So the west now has to pick up the slack. Who has a plan to solve this? Only Democrats do.

Democrats' attempts to rebuild industries will solve that... as fast as those industries can be rebuilt. Or built. That takes a long time - more than 2 years. People will have to "stick with the program" proverbially.

Republicans don't seem to have any other solutions to the supply chain issue, except forcibly detransitioning trans people by fascistic means and yelling at women to get back in the kitchen. Sorry, that's just how I'm seeing it, and that's what we're literally seeing.

On top of this you have greedflation. Companies are jacking prices up in lockstep, and reaping profits. This is a "market failure" situation and one where government should step in, and is supposed to, to curb "anticompetitive behaviour" for one.

Normally you'd issue a warning and then use price controls as a last resort, BUT you're dealing with a huge well of bad faith here. These companies just might squeeze the supply, to create artificial shortages. Don't bet against it.

Ultimately, you'd have to use a combination of defense production act, price controls, and establish a whole government agency to oversee this. It requires more democrats in power, not less, to address that.

Regards the price of petrol (gasoline), the US has mostly been able to cope by releasing supplies of crude from the strategic reserve.

Republican commentary on Keystone XL has been utterly irresponsible and contains way too many falsehoods to be even contemplated.

For example: That Keystone XL was intended to supply Americans. It wasn't. The point was to get low-quality oil, which couldn't be handled in American refineries or cost far more (4 times as much), to ports in America and to export it. Not a drop was intended for American consumption, and using it would drive up the price anyway due to the far-higher cost of refining (and retooling refineries to use it, mayhaps).

The last cause of this is the war in Ukraine, and to be honest we didn't start that. The chips had fallen down after Maidan in a certain way, Russia decided to try to disrupt that and it created the Z-war situation with mass-murder of civilians and all kinds of war crimes. This can't be fixed on our end - it's on the aggressor to withdraw.

And Ukraine does have a functioning democracy, for example with Poroshenko stepping down when Zelenskyy won.

These people will continue to fight on with or without western support, the USA *should* support them as they are the ones being attacked here.

So I don't see much happening that ways besides Republicans ruining America's reputation further.

Regards "progressive issues", it should be self-evident that Republicans withdrawing rights from "other people" (read: LGBTQIA+ community, other races, other religions) isn't good, particularly for them, and it's flat out wrong. Actually this should not be considered *such* a progressive issue. You're destroying the lives of these people and destroying their ability to partake in our society. This is just wrong.

Hey, I covered that already.

Further points:

Biden has acted on student debt, at least with a stopgap measure. You're getting stuff delivered from the guy.

Biden passed several reconstruction bills with the help of a Democratic congress, mostly. And the Inflation Reduction Act.

Biden has backed the rights of trans people and other minority groups.

Unionization is up, that's been promoted by Biden, much of the action is grassroots, and Democrats at the House level have not gotten in the way of the process. Expect the opposite with Republicans in control

Lastly... you're going to have to make some sacrifices and what's being asked... isn't a lot. Much is being delivered, and is yet to be delivered if you get more Democratic control. I don't see any good outcomes of any period of Republican control of even one house of Congress.

Or for that matter, state legislatures.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">You want to know why the older generation was called "The Greatest Generation"?<br><br>Because they'd put their self interests aside and come together for the good of the nation. A concept so foreign to most of you, that when you call yourselves patriots, I laugh hysterically.</p>— Melo "Super 8/Evil Institute Director" Dotty (@MeloDotty) <a href="https://twitter.com/MeloDotty/status/1478020636471705612?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[becasbelt]

a hurt comfort fic where beca is just freshly off the completion of a new set setup and her trying to hype chloe up who is just exhausted from all that studying and being the cheerleader all the time for everybody else

curse you wenz.

also on ao3

* * *

The alarm on Chloe’s phone loudly goes off again. Why she still uses the default iPhone alarm to wake up she will never know.

She grabs blindly at the device, swiping it off her bedside table and hitting the snooze button again. The time stares accusingly back at her. 8:18. Chloe had 12 minutes to get to a class that was 15 minutes away.

And yet, she remained in bed.

Maybe if she pulled the covers up over her head, she could forget about her classes and responsibilities get some sleep for once in her life. Because it seriously felt like it’s been years since Chloe got a full night’s rest. Last night it had been because Stacie and Amy had gotten into an argument over who had the most admirers on campus, and Chloe had spent an hour mediating while she slowly watched the time get later and later.

She hears someone thumping down the stairs form the attic and distantly wonders if Amy is gearing up for a round two this morning.

Just as she’s closing her eyes again (just to rest them; of course she wasn’t going to sleep through her class), a rapid knocking at her door makes them fly open again. Chloe remains quiet, half hoping whoever it is will think she’s already in class and will leave her alone. They wait for a few seconds, and Chloe can hear their foot tapping impatiently on the other side of the door, before knocking again.

Chloe groans. “Who is it?”

The door opens and Beca’s grinning face pops through. “You are in here,” she says breathlessly. So she’d been the one running down the stairs, then. “Awesome. I have something to show you.”

She walks fully into the room without invitation, and Chloe raises an eyebrow at the seemingly out of character action before taking in the rest of her appearance. “Are those… the same clothes you wore yesterday?”

Beca looks down at herself in surprise, as if she’s just as shocked as Chloe is. “Oh yeah, I guess I am.”

“Beca, did you sleep at all last night?”

Beca scratches at the back of her head, face screwed up as she thinks. “Uh… I had a Red Bull?”

The corner of Chloe’s mouth quirks up. So Beca was in one of those kinds of moods. “Beca, we’ve talked about this. You can’t stay up all night just because inspiration strikes.”

Beca bounces on her toes a little. “I know. I know, okay? It ruins my immune system and gives me headaches and Red Bull is terrible for me, blah blah blah.” She clutches her laptop tighter to her chest. “But I’ve come up with something really coolthis time, dude. Seriously.”

Chloe pushes herself into a sitting position. “Alright, let’s see it.”

Beca’s eyes flash excitedly and she takes a step toward the bed, already opening up her laptop. She stops short half a second later, brow furrowed as if she’s just realized something. “Hang on a second.” She looks around the room. Glances at Chloe’s clock. “Aren’t you supposed to be in class right now?”

Dammit. Why did Beca choose to be observant and remember things now.

Chloe tries to deflect. “Aren’t you?” she accuses.

Beca waves her hand in the air dismissively. “It’s just my music technology class,” she says, unbothered. “I don’t give a fuck about that class. I know it all. Besides, I’ve literally been making music on my laptop all night.” She laughs a little deliriously. “I’m pretty sure I’ve got it all covered at this point.”

Beca laughs for another minute, muttering something about professors being useless, and Chloe can’t deny the small smile it brings to her face to see Beca with so much energy. Until Beca stops laughing and points seriously at her.

“You have Russian lit right now. You have to go to that.”

Chloe sighs and looks miserably at the time. 8:22. “I have eight minutes to get there, and my professor doesn’t like it when you’re late.”

Beca considers this for a short moment before snapping her laptop shut and tossing it on the bed. She strides over to Chloe’s closet and throws it open, chucking a random shirt at Chloe. “Well, then, you better get dressed in two. I’ll drive you, and I can get you there in, like, six minutes tops.”

Chloe is staring at her as Beca continues throwing clothes at her. When Beca turns around and finds that Chloe hasn’t moved, her eyes widen, and she taps her naked wrist impatiently. “Let’s go, Beale! You’ve got one minute now!”

Thinking distantly that Aubrey would approve of this side of Beca, Chloe jumps out of bed to put some clothes on.

*

When Beca said she could get them there in six minutes, she wasn’t lying. Chloe would almost be impressed if she hadn’t feared so much for her life.

Chloe slides into her seat just as her professor starts the class, Beca sliding into the seat right next to her. Somehow she has another Red Bull in her hand.

“What are you doing?” Chloe whispers.

Beca looks at her funny. “Uh, learning about-” she squints at the PowerPoint slide at the front of the room- “Gavrila Derzhavin?” she finishes, absolutely butchering the name. She looks back at Chloe, as if that had been obvious.

“You’re not even in this class,” Chloe says. “You’re skipping your own class right now. Why would you want to be here? I don’t even want to be here?”

Beca shrugs and takes a swig of her Red Bull. “I wanna hang out with you.”

Chloe’s heart melts at that. She stares at Beca, dumbfounded.

“Oh! And since you probably didn’t have breakfast-” Beca pulls a granola bar out of her hoodie pocket and hands it to Chloe. “It may be a little squished because mayyybe it’s been in my pocket for 24 hours.”

Chloe accepts the granola bar gratefully with a grin and a fond shake of her head.

This girl. This ridiculous, frustrating, wonderful girl.

Chloe wraps her arms around Beca’s arm and leans her head on her shoulder, not hating being in class as much as she thought she would.