#yes my inbox is a disaster and i'm still working on these

[carefulfears]

24, 25, 26, 27

(x-files themed asks) headcanons edition!

24/ list some college MSR headcanons!

i just know that mulder in college was like...somehow kinda a WASP-y square but a riot at the same time. i just know him and phoebe were writing the most melodramatic prose to each other. we already established that he was fucking on graves. i think he got his ear pierced, i believe this. he was a good student, top of his class, and focused. albeit "in over his head," in his words.

dana, dana, dana...what can't she do. she's a medical doctor with a degree in physics. she rewrote einstein as an undergrad. i feel like she was in every club imaginable. missy said she should join a sorority, but she didn't want to distract herself. she smoked. she's a teacher's pet but a bit lonely.

25/ list some season 1 MSR headcanons

scully called her little friends about her "cute" coworker all the time. on road trips, she would get to pick the music, but mostly she'd rather listen to him talk. they went to the liberty bell (and to the empire state building, and everywhere that they had never been).

26/ list some season 7 MSR headcanons

season 7 MSR to me is exactly like the song "playground" by alison sudol. like exactly. like that entire vibe is season 7 MSR. listen to it and feel the energy.

All the windows open and your legs around me We were one time strangers, now we’re trying to make a baby Oh my heart’s over-pumping and your mouth is an ambulance Oh I can’t stop laughing, I don’t know if I can stand it

cuz i likeeee you sooo well <33

i think they spent all of their time together in s7, finding excuses to sneak across motel rooms. establishing rules, then breaking them. they were happy. basking in each other.

27/ list some season 9 MSR headcanons

i know this to be true for a fact that dana scully, who squeezed her baby when she thought mulder was dead and sang him silly songs that remind her of his dad and dressed him in space-themed onesies, was doing all she could to feel like mulder was close and involved. she rocked the baby by the fish tank. she took photos of everything and made mulder books. she played old videos and voicemails to fill the house with his voice.

[loominggaia]

Personal Update: 4/2024

About 99% of posts these last few months have been trickling in from the queue. Typically I choose one day a week to load up a bunch of posts and then let Tumblr automatically post them for me each day. This means that my replies have probably been very slow and very late, and for that I apologize.

I've been doing it this way because frankly, my health is in the shitter again. My brain and body are just not working very well, and because of this I haven't felt confident enough to work on creative projects.

I was recently diagnosed with severe hypothyroidism. I have two tumors on my thyroid, one of them possibly cancerous, and considering my levels my doctor suspects my thyroid has probably been broken for a long time. Like, it's not just underactive, it's not working at all. My T4 levels are dangerously low, like "could slip into a coma at any moment" low, and I'm still waiting to receive my medication because insurance companies are evil, as we all know.

On top of that, I was also diagnosed with a severe case of scurvy. Yes, SCURVY, the freaking old timey pirate disease. 🤦‍♀️ This was likely caused by my gut issues, which limits my diet and hinders the way my body absorbs vitamins. Some of the gut issues probably tie back into the thyroid dysfunction.

Apparently my liver and kidneys are also not functioning very well and my cholesterol levels are high, which is surprising because I'm underweight, I'm not a drinker and I don't use drugs. I'm hoping this is just related to the thyroid thing and aren't separate issues on their own. I have various other infections and screwy lab results too, but I won't get into those or this post will be a novel. All you need to know is that my body is a disaster zone right now and it's hard to function like a normal person. I have very little energy for creative work, and that sucks ass because I have so many ideas that I want to expand upon.

Anyway, I'm just glad to finally have a competent new doctor and some diagnoses, after years of suffering and being told there's nothing wrong with me. I'm hoping to start treatment soon and start feeling well enough to worldbuild the way I want to.

Thank you guys so much for bearing with me, it means a lot. <3 You have been so supportive and helpful.

Feel free to keep sending things to the inbox! If it seems like I haven't answered for a while don't worry, it's probably just sitting in the queue and it will be posted whenever it's next in line. Sorry again for the snail pace here, but this is how it has to be until my condition improves.

4/20/2024

[queenmiarys]

A/N: hello everyone, this wasn't my intention to start writing then put things off , plus with this I tried to do my research and I asked a few of the ladies here some advice, a few weeks ago I called my uncle who's a doctor and asked him, so if any advice please just inbox me, I know no one who's even been shot before so here's what I came up with.

A/N please excuse any errors or misspellings, I did very little editing, this has been sitting in Google docs a while waiting on an end to be added. I want to thank anyone who reads and like my story. Any feedback is welcomed trust me I would not be offended, this is a learning experience to me, I wrote somewhat in middle school, I read others work and be like some of you could be professional writers.

------------

ENVY

Book: The Royal Romance

Paring: Liam x Mia

Summary: Summary: This takes place 2 years after meeting Riley, Liam meets 24 year old Amelia Ramos and starts a new relationship.

Rated R

Most characters belong to pixelberry

Warning: Gun violence, some profanity, 18+

Chapter 3 Disaster strikes

New York 

"Liam needs me, it's a big night, so Maxwell told me Liam has met someone he spent a lot of time with  while he was here."

"Yeah Drake told me about her, but do you think he's over Riley?"

"The way Max tells it he is, he said has the same look for Mia he used to have for Riley.

"Oh interesting but what about the situation?

"That's not our place, but thank you for being there for her, I love you."

"I love you too Olivia."  He pulled her close and showered her with soft kisses 

"Leo, you'll  make me late." I need to Shower and get dressed."

-------

Cordonia

Liam spent most of his day in meetings. He made it back to his quarters at 3pm, he knew Mia would be up around 7am to get ready for work.

She answered on the second ring. ”Hello beautiful, how is your morning going?"

“It’s okay I just really miss you a lot, "  I was just having coffee and doing a little online grocery shopping before work." Liam hit the FaceTime button

I miss you too, my love. I've closed the deal I was working on, so after this fundraiser, I can come visit for a few days. I know you have work and you planned to come here in 2 weeks." A  knock on his door. "My love someone is at my door, can you hold for a moment."

"Sure."

“My son, we need to talk."

“Okay father give me a minute I was on a call, I’ll be right back."

“My love It’s my father he needs to talk with me, I’ll call you when you get off work.( Kisses)

" Okay lo, I mean kisses talk to you later." Oh boy I almost told him I love him, good save I hope, you know it's too soon for that she said to herself.

"Yes Father?"

"May I come in?"

"Sure father" 

"Son, you know I'm  getting up in age, it's time I stepped down."

"When?"

"At the end of the next social season, William, I need you to find a wife. Madeleine is my first choice,  but I can understand you looking elsewhere, but to reality secure that you choose a good queen,Princess Francine Hassan of Morocco, or Princess  Alana of Norway, either woman would be a wonderful choice for Cordonia for different reasons and I met the princess of Norway she's so beautiful."

 "Father, I will not be in some loveless marriage or marry for Cordonia, I will find my own wife, someone I love and care about."

"All I have ever tried to do is protect you, from getting hurt, from experiencing the pain I was caused when someone took your mother, the only woman I've ever loved away from me, you are all I have left of her. 

He felt bad for his father, but he still wanted love and if he was granted a second chance, he was going to grab it and hold on for life. 

"I understand, but I'm a man you must trust that I'll make the right decisions regarding my love life." He finally said 

"Son, your enemies will  use  the people you love against you and that will hurt you more than anything, remember I love  you son, and only try to protect you." 

" I love you too father, but if you'll excuse me I gotta go, I take it you can  see your way out."

He walked into the hallway,  he took a deep breath to try calm his nerves before he called Drake. 

Hey Li."

"I really need to relax before this Gala, are you guys for a spa day?'

"Sounds good buddy." Max said 

"Yeah count me in." Drake said

They were all relaxing when Max brought up Mia.

Liam smiles at just thinking of her. " I am falling for her, I mean she could be the one, I don't know what about this woman that makes me so happy but I believe that we belong together, I mean she's beautiful, smart, caring and she smells absolutely amazing all the time, guys I so wish she were here tonight."

" Buddy I'm so happy to see you happy again, you deserve it."  Max said 

"And so do you Drake, you'll meet someone, who will make you happy." 

Liam Studied Maxwell for a moment, " My friend, so do you, are you still dating that Mark guy?"

Max,was  looking down avoiding eye contact, Drake turned to look into his eyes  "Okay Beaumont spill it, what are you hiding?" 

"I was on a date with Ava and Mark ruined my date, he caused a scene, both broke up with me.

"Why didn't you talk to us?" Liam asked

"Really, it's no big deal."

"I'm assuming this happened around 2 weeks ago? Drake said" 

"How did you know that?" 

"Well Beaumont you were in an unusually bad mood,"

Drake laughed. "Oh my God Beaumont, I just realized all the women you've dated are red heads."

Maxwell smiled. "So what about it?" 

“So you do have a thing for Liv?"

"I never thought of her that way, sometimes she can be kinda scary and sexy at times." Desire crossed his eyes for a moment 

“I don’t know you all made me think how hot she can be at times, but she probably would never date me

"Never know until you try Max, Liam patted him on the back

“Let face it Max said, she always had a thing for you Rys men.

"What do you mean men? I only knew she was kind of into me."

“Max and Drake laughed, kind of, she's been in love with you forever man."

“ But after she found out your feelings for blossom, I saw her making out with Leo ."

Both Drake and Liam's mouths hang open.

“My brother always gets what he wants but just plays with women's feelings too much, I hope he's not going to hurt my friend."

They all made it back to the  palace and went there separate ways to get ready for the Gala, it was now 7pm, Liam had the chef to prepare him dinner, there would be food but they served dinner really late at this event.

He ate, then showered and got dressed, it was 9pm time for the Gala. Mia was just getting off work, he faced her, she picked up on the first ring, “Hello beautiful how was your day?" 

“It was nice, I just miss you like  crazy, I have been thinking I own my own business and Jennifer is reliable, I want to come to visit you."

 “My love, that sounds wonderful, but I didn’t want to pull you away from anything important, you told me your work was very important."

“It is but in a short time you become important to me too, you told me you had a ball to attend right?".

“Yes a fundraiser to help families living on the streets of Cordonia, we give them a home and see if we can help them get on there feet, we only help them for a year, we support them  either till  they find a job or they opt out of the program, we hate to see that happen, we start this last year we helped 10 families get on their feet, last year we only raised 6 million." 

“I will ask my dad to put in 6 million for me, I’m sure once he sees why I’m asking he’ll have no problem  with it, we've been talking for 30 minutes and you have a ball to attend."

 “I'd rather stay in my suite talking to you all night, a knock on the door, he let out a sigh sorry my love It’s my guard (Kisses) call you once I am done."

————————————————————– 

He mingled  and  worked the room, he knew his smile could get him just about anything he wanted, he had already raised 10 million dollars this year, he thought about Mia 16 if her father gives, an older lady walked up that he had never saw before, she offered 20 million if I spent one night with her, I had to decline, after all she to old and I have a girlfriend.

 I worked the room more, Drake and Maxwell and Rashad, come over laughing, I see you sent Mrs. Ferguson." 

 “Neville actually  slept with her for her 30 mill for his father's charity event." Rashad said laughing.

“So gross I couldn’t imagine being with someone who could be my Nanna, come on I am only 26 and that lady is like 60/70." Liam said as he laughed. 

——————————————————————————-

Mia had hung up and went and showered, she hadn't washed her sheets yet that still smelled of him,  she only slept on his side of the bed, he had left a bottle of his cologne behind and she would spray a little in the air before falling asleep 

 She slept for about an hour before she heard banging on the door, it was almost five, they came in with wine coolers and food, Jen looked around. " Is your man back already?"

“I wish, sit guys I want to talk to you, Jennifer I need you guys help, I want to visit Liam, but I need someone I can trust with my baby, you both know how important my career is, but I got to be honest in a short time I’ve fallen in love with Liam .

“Love is big Mia, you just met him." Jen said.

“I know but  I have never felt this way for anyone before, sure I have loved guys but I was never in love with them." 

Her friend's mouth hung open, the sex must be good if he got you all in love, she didn’t look up at her, so you haven’t had sex?" Oh my God you really are in love."

“ Let's take your mind off this call my brother Amy, let’s play cards, Daniel came over.

 “So Dan, who's your new boy toy this week?

“Are you staying with mom again?" 

"Jen, please I'm fine, and God no I'm not staying with mom."

“I was just checking on you, I wish you would settle down and pick one guy, we all worry about you"

“Jen you start this every time you are drunk stop it, I am fine." 

 She didn’t say anything else, she took her phone out texting her mom.

The announcement caught Mia's attention. "Turn that up.

"This is Craig Shyster reporting from Corodia General hospital, we got a tip that Prince William Rys, was shot in the shoulder doing a Gala fundraiser last night and the person who shot him was shot dead on scene, right now we have no further information about the Prince condition at this time."

It was like someone punched me in the gut , I got dizzy, I was losing my mind, all flights were canceled to or from Cordonia, I got myself together, I called my father.

He could hear my voice trembling, asking what was wrong.

“Father, did you see the news about Prince William Rys?"

“Yes I saw it but what does that have to do with you?

“He’s the guy I was telling you about."

"No flights are going in or out. I need your private jet.

“Mia, that might not be a good idea, the prince just shot you in danger.

“Please father, I don't care, I need to get to the man I love."

“But you haven’t known him long and you believe you love him?"  

“Yes and he may be dying thinking I didn’t care enough to come be at his side, father please I’ll do  you want even let you put me back under your protection, I will follow whatever you want to  get me to Cordonia please."

—-------;--

2 hours earlier

Olivia and Penelope made their way over to Liam smiling, “ we made 4 times the amount as last year,

 Him and Olivia walked across the room. “So I hear you met someone"

“Who told you this? 

“I can’t reveal my secrets, but if this Mia woman is what you want I wish you all the best."

“Can I ask you something  Olivia?

“Sure you can."

 “Why didn’t you tell me about you and Leo?"

“Well we didn’t tell anyone it just happened."

"I assume my father doesn’t know, and how do you feel about Leo?

“I love him, and Con knows they had a big fight about 6 months back, we were at Leo’s in California when your father visited him, but don’t  worry me and Leo will handle it."

A man walked over and handed Liam a note saying his father needs to speak with him, unknown to Liam his father had got a similar note saying Liam needed to speak with him, excuse me lady Olivia

————————————————————–

Drake went along as  security, they entered the room and it was dark, “I guess my father hasn’t arrived yet, they turned on the light and one of the head guards, Damien, had a gun pointed at Constantine's head.

 “Dammit what are you doing Damien?"Drank asked

“ avenging my  parents death, see  along with Olivia parents, my family should be on the throne, my brother may have failed but I won’t."

"Your old man ordered my parents alone with Olivia parents to be assassinated for fighting for what was rightfully theirs, the Rys family should have never been on the throne

"Gentleman let me tell you, your father is not a good man

Drake's eyes went wide,giving an annoyed look. What the hell is he talking about your father.

Damien could see Drake trying to figure out what he was talking about

"Oh my Mr. Walker I assume that King Constantine has never told you he’s your real father?" Am I right?" He laughed."

“What? He’s not my father you fucken psycho and never will be!"

“Drake my boy I have documents that say otherwise,  the birth certificate you have is from America but see you were born here, your father the king arranged it all, for  Jackson to adopt you and legally become your father go on ask him to tell the truth ?'

Tears were running down Drake face, "TELL THIS SONOFABITCH YOU ARE NOT MY FATHER GO ON CON FOR ONCE IN YOUR MISERABLE LIFE TELL HIM HE’S WRONG."

“Son I can’t do that, it’s all true your mother was my mistress and she got pregnant, she didn’t know who your father was me or Jackson, but the test come back 99.9 that I was your father, so I paid off American doctor to say you were born in the US, were only a week old." 

Drake fort Back his emotions, he knew he had to sort out whatever feeling he had later, right now he had to stay in professional mood and dispose of the situation at hand

"Who dies first?" they head Damien ask

"I volunteer, please just let my boys go they haven't done anything but be born into the Rys family but they are innocent."

 " I love both of you and only try to do whatever is best for you." 

"How touching."  He pulled the trigger and Liam leaped in front of his father getting shot In his Left shoulder, both Constantine and Liam hit the ground, at this time Drake has managed to get his spare gun and shooting Damien dead.

Drake took off his dress shirt asking Constantine to apply pressure to the wound, until he can get some help

Once the EMT arrived, they were led in and out through a secret tunnel, they got him to hospital quickly.

[coralhoneyrose]

Eeeeee I loved the new chapter! These dopes, it's good to see them communicating! ...even if Robin continues to be deeply obtuse about the degree to which Chrom is 1) earnest in love as in everything, and has no intention of courting anyone else ever, and 2) willing to scheme up ways to get to keep Robin, social propriety be damned. Can't wait to see what an absolute disaster of a plan he's come up with!

Also if you were worried about canon deviation, PLEASE bring it on!! I'm so excited to see where this goes, and I love the idea of Marthcina getting more involved because of course she would!

Finally we love jealous Chrom. He's such a good boy and he's actually really bad at being jealous because he both legitimately trusts Robin and would (miserably) let her go if she was happier with someone else...but seeing him grouchy about the idea is adorable and I love it. ❤️ Thank you for the lovely chapter!!

GDFgkldf oh man, thank YOU for sending in such a lovely ask with your thoughts about it! Seeing this in my inbox was such a treat 🥰It's a lot of fun getting to write about Chrom and Robin talking about their feelings so directly and STILL managing to misunderstand where the other is coming from, so I'm really happy you've been enjoying watching it all play out too!

Also glad to hear you're on board with the canon divergence! I do still want the story to feel like it meshes fairly well with the plot of Awakening, so I wouldn't say there are any *drastic* departures planned, but part of the beauty of fandom is getting to take the tools / set-up canon provided and do something new with them. Marthcina definitely creates a lot of fun possibilities 👀

And yes!! :D I think your description of jealous!Chrom perfectly encapsulates exactly what I love about seeing that emotion explored with him. Chrom in canon definitely has some major insecurities to work through (especially during the first half of the game), and I think it's pretty logical those would translate over to romance as well--particularly since he's relatively inexperienced with it here. For him, that jealousy stems from not being confident in the idea that he could make Robin happier than anyone else could, and knowing that if it came down to it, then of *course* he would prioritize her happiness and let her go. It's a very real and very scary possibility in his mind, and Robin alluding to it as part of her plan did Not go over well as a result LOL

Thank you again for sending this!! 💙 Getting kind messages like this one is a big part of why I share my writing in the first place!

[itsmespicaa]

love love them.. they are so proper polished housecat vs messy scrubby fox and disaster bi vs proper bi/gay perfect hubby themed...

Police officer x judge au lol.. funnily enough i would see fa hua as the prim and proper young detective with Lan Ge as an intelligent disaster judge (totally not projecting into the character) who ends up stuck working with Fa Hua who fusses over him for the 'case sake' (yess Lan Ge would be a disaster bi police officer buttt for once i want to subvert the trope lol)..

writing more fics for them as soon as workload calms down - happy to exchange tropes and au... if there was less censorship, this couple could have got a live action lol... and be as known as an untamed.. love the action scenes and lgbtq vibes from a few of the side characters...

hiii yes omg!!! 😭😭😭 alas, even the barely intimate scenes are censored out in the donghua...damn you censorship, i despise you so much :( if only it managed to garner a bigger audience, then maybe a live action is still in the cards...im just grateful we managed to get a completed donghua now ahaha

Your AU idea is sooo cute!! Judge x police officer is always so fun omg, the tension and the reluctant working together...*chefs kiss* suuper excited to read your other fics and AUs!! (P.S. Are you by any chance the one that wrote "professional partnership"? 👀✨ I'm slowly seeing more fics pop up on ao3 now which feels so surreal...bless you all)

oh! Speaking of queer characters, there's actually a side character who wasn't in the donghua due to censorship but she was mentioned twice in the novel: she sees herself as a man and wanted to marry LG's mom (and got jealous when Xiangyun married Lan Xiang, even to this day) which is so cute and tragic??? gah- such a shame it was cut out, but I'm not surprised :") sigh

anyways, im more than happy to talk to you about them to exchange tropes and au!! If you ever want to reach out to me in DMs or through my inbox, I'm all ears :D always a delight to see others fall in love with the bbys!

[gnomewithalaptop]

Ok, finally getting to those other Asks I wanted to do. So the TAU blog reblog of ur "The last time I saw you (you were so young)" fic post, u said this: "'LISTEN I know I’m meant to be working on that one longfic but my mother told me a story about my deceased grandmother & then I just blacked out and wrote this idk what to tell you", I thought for a sec, u were talking about: "The Man Who Knew the Future You" (I love the idea of Alcor meeting a past Mizar; prob. so weird for both, lol), 2/?.

(Continuing on from my Last Ask(s)): , but then I realized u were prob. talking about "Cue the Sun" instead actually, which I found out from the Ask from toothpastecanyon asking: "What is cue the sun? 👀" (having trouble linking links), & now, I am obsessed w/ that idea/it. Like, a civil war, a R!Ford Mom having a R!Gideon (of all people) Troubled teen of all people (it's also cool to see more Ford & Gideon stuff in TAU & R's of them too), trying to find something to win the civil war 3?/?.

(Continued from Last Ask(s) again, sorry for how many Asks): , but then them finding like a 2016 (I think it was 2016) Gravity Falls and meeting a skeptical and/or sus. Stan (Stan meeting reincarnations of his brother and enemy and/or past enemy, man, oh man) and the OG Mystery Twins (Dipper and Mabel, right? Awesome. That/This should be very fun), and they all think it is 2016, and not, 7098 (man, the year differences is gonna be strange &/or confusing for everyone), &/or etc. 4?/?

(Continued from my Last Ask(s) again): Like, sign me up for "Cue the Sun"! And it is gonna be a longfic (probably)? Like, even if it wasn't, I would still be interested in it, but it being a longifc is even better (as a Gravity Falls, TAU, and/or etc. fan even more esp.). The map(s) u did for "Cue the Sun", & the thought u are putting into "Cue the Sun" is amazing. 4 or 5?/?. The next 1 should hopefully be my Last Ask. I didn't realize the/my Asks would get this many.

(Continued from my Other Asks. Just 1 more after this): Is there any more "Cue the Sun" posts besides that Ask I mentioned in my other Ask(s)? When I try searching up "cue the sun" on ur blog, this is all I get "Sorry, no results for cue the sun". I didn't even get that Ask I talked about, that literally has "cue the sun" in the Ask. Tumblr's Search can be so bad sometimes. Anyways, really excited for "Cue the Sun", whenever that is. & I love ur other TAU fics and posts too! 5 or 6?/?.

(original cue the sun post)

Oh dude. Dude. Never apologize for sending too many asks -- getting this in my inbox literally made my day. To your first question: yes! The longfic in question is Cue the Sun -- I'm still working through it rn, and I'm hoping to start publishing sometime this summer/fall -- woot woot graduation time! Right now, it's looking to be about 6-7 long-ish chapters? Which is def a longfic in my book lol (I'm trying to get it all written out before I start posting -- that way I can keep with a consistent update schedule)

I am SUPER excited about it though -- I've been having a blast working through the twists and turns of it all and making sure all the pieces fit together (and dropping Easter Eggs to as many other pieces of TAU lore as possible lmao)

But yes! OG Mystery Twins are 16-17 y/o Mabel and Dipper Pines, Stan is extremely sus (but lbr that's par the course for him), and Olya and Fatima (r!Gideon and r!Ford) are about to have the worst week of their lives.

Featuring: dead sisters who haunt the narrative, utopian society models gone wrong, weapons of mass destruction, the long-term effects of magical radiation (i.e. what happens when you stick a Chernobyl disaster inside Gravity Falls), and narratively significant golf carts

FINALLY: you can find all my writing posts under #this-is-gnomes-writing-tag, but since you're the second person to express interest in this fic, I'll start tagging Cue the Sun stuff with #cue the sun. Right now there isn't really much there (read: it is a barren wasteland) bc I tend to just vague post about things, but I'll make sure to tag any future excerpts/asks/milestones

[writingquestionsanswered]

How much screentime is too much/too little for an antagonist? I have the feeling that, in many books, the antagonist is out of screen most of the time and just casually shows up to throw obstacles into the protagonist road. It's like they appear out of the blue, make a super quick appearance that has a disproportionate impact on the protagonist life, and then they disappear again.

In Harry Potter, Voldemort rarely shows up himself, specially in the first books. We do get a feeling of the threat he poses, but I never considered him an interesting antagonist until the last books.

In The Hunger Games we don't spend much time with Snow, and I honestly did not care much about him besides for some direct threats he made in the few moments he was around Katniss. Which makes sense, as he's ruling a country and has more important things to do than being around some 17 yo. I felt like the real antagonist here was the whole system, rather than Snow himself.

And I don't know if you're familiar with the books, but the antagonist in A Court of Thorns and Roses (guess it's Hybern but oh my) or even The Name of the Wind (the Chandrian) are just so absent and meaningless. Not that I didn't enjoy both series, but plot feels weaker without a compelling antagonist.

Do you think this is just a preference of mine, or is it actually important to keep your antagonist around to make him believable? I'm asking from total ignorance, as a reader, cause I've never written anything, but I'd like to learn about how the stories I love work.

And also, do you happen to have any book recommendations were the antagonist is strongly present, since that seems to be my thing? Thank you in advance for sharing your knowledge and sorry if my question is lame, I ended up messing a bit 😅😅

How Much Villains Need to Be Present in Your Story

So... I haven't read ACOTAR yet, but in HP and THG, there's something important to bear in mind. Although Voldemort himself doesn't show up much until the last books, most of the antagonists Harry and friends face through the earlier books are either Voldemort henchmen or allies (the Malfoys, Death Eaters, Dementors, Quirrell, Nagini, Barty Crouch Jr., the Giants, and even Dolores Umbridge whose prejudices certainly made her a villainous ally.)

With The Hunger Games, you hit the nail on the head... the antagonist wasn't just Snow, it was the entire system, and much of that system was either put into place by Snow or reinforced by him. So, in many ways, a lot of the antagonists in THG also qualify as henchmen or allies of Snow. Otherwise, they are henchmen, allies, or functions of the system (such as some of the violent tributes in the Games, like Cato and Clove.)

So, in both cases, while the "big bad" or main antagonist isn't always present, they are still pulling the strings via their henchmen and allies. And yes, in both cases there are antagonists who aren't necessarily henchmen or allies of the big bad, but 90% of them are. And when it comes to villains (as opposed to non-sentient antagonists like natural disasters, monsters, etc.) this is typically the case. Allowing for henchmen and allies broadens the villain's reach and creates surprises for the reader, where someone who was trusted (Professor Quirrell or Mad Eye Mooney for example) turn out to be agents/allies of the villain.

As far as stories where the villain plays a more direct role, the only thing that springs to mind at the moment is Leigh Bardugo's Shadow and Bone trilogy (though the villain has allies and henchmen, too.) The Wrath and the Dawn, maybe? Stephen King's It probably counts. Also, maybe The Lovely Bones? These are just a few off the top of my head, but keep an eye on the comments for other possibilities.

I think however, you'll probably find that in a lot of books, the villains may not be visibly present, but they are very much pulling the strings behind the scenes, as in HP and THG. :)

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[wreckofawriter]

The Not-So-Perfect Sister

Pairing: Sirius Black x potter!reader

Word Count: 4,442

Warnings: Under aged drinking, mentions of neglect, overall angsty

Summary: James Potters sister who had felt put of place her whole life finally breaks when Lily Evans arrives at her house.

A/n: I really like this one. Kinda angst but sweet. My inbox is open feel free to send in requests! Hope you guys like it too!

Being a Potter seemed like an easy gig to most people. The big house, nice family, a large amount of money, it definitely seemed like a piece of cake. And if your name is James then yes, yes it was. But if your name was y/n- or as most people called you James' sister -than no, no it wasn't. 

When you were eleven you had walked up to the chair and sat down with your eyes locked on your smiling brother. He was seated between his three best friends and practically glowing with excitement from the gold and red table.

The old hat was placed on your head and you could already the word that would flow from its leathery mouth. But to your surprise along with everyone else's in the large dining hall, not even a second after the hat landed on your y/h/c head it bellowed, "Slytherin!" 

The hall fell silent and your eyes, still on your brother went wide. James' on the other hand narrowed, his lips piercing to a thin line. 

You felt your heart break as your best friend turned away from you in disgust. And at eleven years old you had already been smashed to pieces by the person you loved most. 

Your parents had sent you a letter telling you it was alright to be in a different house but they didn't act like it was. When James joined the quidditch team they had cheered for him and came to as many games as they could. 

When you joined the Slytherin team as a keeper they had dismissed it with a wave of a hand and only came to your games when you happen to be playing Gryffindor. They were always adorned in yellow and red. 

They almost never sent you letters when James received one once a week. They would support James no matter what, but if you slipped up even once they would come down on you in a hail storm of fury.

By third year you stopped coming home over breaks, you would spend Christmas at Hogwarts alone. But summers were unavoidable. You would simply go home and hide in your room, only coming down stairs for meals which you eat in silence as you listened to your parents gush about James' achievements. 

When Sirius joined you in your fourth year, their fifth, your life went from bad to worse.

Sirius was an asshole. He always was and always will be. He was arrogant and stubborn, he was sure he was the best thing in the world and that he had everyone trapped under his finger. And watching him receive more love from your parents than you did made living under the same roof as the boy nearly impossible. 

What made it worse was the fact that he was irritatingly handsome. He was dashing and charming, somehow managing to make you hate him just to avoid feeling something else.  It made you sick that you even had thoughts of him in a positive way whatsoever. But even though you would never admit it, you did.

And now you had to welcome another one of your least favorite people into your life.

You hated Lily Evans. From the minute layed eyes on the girl you could feel a sickening loathing build up in you like a fire. With each overly sweet smile she threw and disgustingly soft laugh she uttered the larger that fire burned. 

It wasn't like she had ever done anything wrong to you. She was always nice when you passed in the hallways, she never picked on you or called you 'James' little sister' a term you had grown to hate. She was always kind to you, even when your brother was being a brat like usual. And that was one of the many reasons you hated her. 

She was perfect. It made you want to hurl. Her fiery red hair and emerald eyes. Her perfect grades and great scores. She was kind, brave, smart and cunning. She had it all. Plus your brother, who wouldn't even spare you a glance, trailed after her like a lost puppy. She was the physical embodiment of everything you hated. 

Of course now she was dating James which meant you had to put up with her bullshit even more than usual. 

You were downstairs making yourself a sandwich, when the doorbell rang. You rolled your eyes and walked to go open it. 

You swung the door open ready to shoo away some girl scouts when you came face with your worst nightmare.

"Hey y/n!" She smiled waving a bit. 

Your mouth dropped and eyes went wide before narrowing to slits and your mouth slamming shut into a scowl. 

You merely growled the word "Nope." Before slamming the door shut straight into her face. 

"Y/n! What the hell?" You turned your mood souring from bad to worse. 

"You deal with you preppy girlfriend James, I dont have the energy for her." You hissed. 

He simply rushed past you his shoulder hitting yours harshly as he passed and opened the door.

"Lily, I am so sorry for my sister is being an asshole again.." 

The rest of the conversation died out as you snatched your sandwich and darted upstairs. You quickly slammed into James room to meet Sirius, who was adorned in only a towel his black hair dripping wet. You ignored the sight and focused on the problem at hand.

"What the hell y/n?!" Sirius snapped, his face flushing. 

"Yeah what the hell!" You responded to worked up to care about his lack of clothing. 

Sirius shot you a confused look, his cheeks now a blazing red.

"Why is Evans here?!" You screeched. 

"Maybe because she's meeting her boyfriend's parents?" Sirius bellowed back, "Now get out!" 

You ran from the room slamming the door behind you and retreating from your safe haven. You stopped in your tracks when you saw your mother frantically attempting to clean your room. 

"Y/n!" She scolded, "Your room is a complete disaster!" 

"What are you doing in here?" You asked voice angry. 

"Lily is going to be sleeping in here so clean this place up!" She yelled motioning to your disaster of a room. 

Your fury strengthened, "I wont clean shit for that bitch." You growled. 

"Y/n!" Your mother gasped in disgust.

You left before she had a chance to say anything more. Your head pounded as you thundered down the steps not bothering to move in the slightest as your brother and his girlfriend ascended upward. You shouldered them roughly out of the way James protests fading in the back of your mind.

You ran for the door, grabbing your purse and shoes from the mudroom before sprinting onto the street. 

It had rained that night so everything was damp, causing your mitch-matched socks thin fabric to grow cold and wet. The scent of wet asphalt and dewy grass filled you helping to calm your nerves as you ran from your inevitable future. 

You knew that eventually you were going to have to go back to that house and deal with your mother and father and brother and his girlfriend and probably his best friend too. But you ignored that fact sitting on a bench to pull on your converse. You didn't bother to tie them. 

You then stood up and began to walk with no destination in mind. You walked for about an hour before you realized how hungry you are. You never got to eat that sandwich and breakfast was a distant memory. 

You quickly found a small coffee shop and walked inside enjoying the strong scent of the beverage it emitted. You ordered before plopping down at your table and staring helplessly out the window. You watched people move back and forth outside of the window feeling slightly like a tiger locked in a zoo behind the thick glass. You stared at the thick purple clouds that bruised the grey sky, ignoring who's eyes they reminded. You were so entranced with the scene in front of you, you didn't even notice that your food was placed in front of you until you turned to see it there, the sandwich slightly cold. 

You sighed, too hungry to discard the food put in front of you. You ate slowly, as if you were unsure if the meal was safe. You then turned your head back to the street to see a dark haired boy smirking back at you. You instantly stood, sprinting for the door. 

The idea of being brought back to that house made you want to hurl the sandwich you had just eaten. So you began to run not bothering to look back, your feet thundered on the wet cement of the sidewalk before you turned down an alley only to yelp when you were greeted by a bored looking Sirius Black. 

"Did you seriously think that you could outrun me." He questioned eyebrows raised.

"I could if you didn't use magic." You scoffed, attempting to shoulder past him and continue to the next street over. You were stopped when he grabbed you shoulder harshly. 

"Why the hell did you run?" He asked almost seeming worried. You quickly brushed off the thought. Sirius Black doesn't worry, much less about Slytherins. 

You hummed pretending to think, "Maybe because I don't want to deal with greasy haired asshole who is going to take me back to my living hell?" 

"Hey!" Sirius protested, clearly offended, "My hair is not greasy!" 

"You can not be serious." You sneered rolling your eyes. 

"I'm always sirius." He smiled back satisfied with his overused and unoriginal pun.

You resisted the urge to smack him. "Why did you come anyways?" 

"Your brother sent me." He shrugged, "plus we both know you don't want to walk all the way back to your house."

"Who said I was going back?" You challenged, eyes narrowing.

Sirius sighed, "You are going back weather you get on my bike yourself or I force you onto it." You glowered at him. 

"If I could you use magic I would wipe your ass all over the street." You threatened. 

"I know." He smiled, "that's why I'm happy you can't." 

"I'm not going." You decided planting your feet and crossing your arms, head held high.

Sirius let out a strenuous sigh clearly annoyed, "Come on." He whined, "Your brother said I had to bring you back." 

You pursered your lips, looking away from the boy. 

He groaned, "Are you fucking with me?" 

"Nope." You responded lips popping on the p. 

"You're really going to make me hex you?" He grumbled. 

You nodded making the boy let out another moan in protest before raising his wand and muttering "Rictusempra."

You immediately burst into giggles "You asshole." You spit out between laughs as a tickling sensation made you lose all other abilities. 

Sirius grabbed you throwing you over his shoulder like you were a doll. 

"I'm gonna kill you." You giggled unable to stop the laughter spurring from your mouth. 

"I'm so threatened." Sirius smirked back before plopping you down on his motorcycle and buckling his helmet on your y/h/c head. 

"Hold onto my waist, I don't want you to die." 

"Really?" You chucked, voice uncharacteristically high. 

"I'm on my way to changing my mind." He sighed sitting down trying to to flush as your arms hugged close to his waist your body shaking with giggles. 

He reversed the spell at the first stoplight you reached and then continued his way back to your house, your chest pressed to his back. When you pulled back up to your house it was growing dark out and you were beginning to question your entire existence. 

You groaned into Sirius leather jacket and banged your head onto his back. 

"Can we not going inside?" You asked hopefully, glancing at the house its windows glowing warmly, the door reminding you of an entrance to hell. 

"You got yourself into this one y/n/n, get yourself out." He shrugged before hopping off the motorcycle and snatching the helmet off your head. 

"Don't call me y/n/n and I didn't get myself into anything you guys are just all assholes." You spoke harshly.

"How was I possibly an asshole?" Sirius exclaimed. 

"Umm how about you hexed me and then forced me back to my house?" 

"I was helping you!" He yelled exasperated. 

"You were not!" You shot back, "You practically kidnapped me!" 

"You're impossible." Sirius scoffed at you before turning on his heel and heading inside. 

You scowled angry all over again before turning to face the house you knew you would have to walk into sooner or later. 

You paced back and forth for a second before biting your lip and walking slowly up your porch steps. You then slowly opened the door and slipped inside. You were greeted by the sound of laughter and the clatter of silverware. 

You poked your head cautiously around the corner to see your family seated for dinner. 

Sirius was serving himself some pasta while your mother talked to Lily and James messed with your dad. 

You felt your heart clench at how right it looked. The perfect son, the head boy and the quidditch star. The friend who needed help and received it, needing a family and getting one. And of course the perfect daughter. With red hair to match her robes and perfect grades. The head girl who would no doubt have an amazing life after school. 

You tried to imagine yourself at the table sitting in the empty seat, your head bent, staring at the food refusing to meet your parents eyes, your green shirt looking odd against the wave of red. The fact was that you didn't belong and never would. So you went upstairs snatched a blanket and a pillow and retreated to your basement. 

You plopped onto the couch and released a breath you didn't realize you were holding. You felt your eyes prick with tears as the image of the perfect family upstairs burned in your eyelids and you wanted to scream. 

You slammed your hands on to your closed eyelids, enjoying the pressure they provided, keeping tears behind them. Because the truth was as much as you hated your family you wanted nothing more than to be apart of it. You had spent your whole life attempting to get noticed, to simply be acknowledged as half the person they saw James as. But year after year you were left more and more broken. And now your parents fell in love with a girl they had known for only one night. It made you sick. Your hatred for Lily growing into a nightmarish beast. 

Your eyes popped open when you heard someone descending the stairs. You turned to see your brother leaning against the railing arms crossed eyebrows furrowed. 

"What do you want James?" You scoffed sitting up on your elbows. 

"What do I want?" James hissed, "I want to know why my sister is such a selfish prat." 

You sat all the way up glaring at your brother, "I'm the selfish one?" You glowered in disbelief. 

"Yeah, yeah you are." James spat. 

You stood walking to meet your brother, "How in bloody hell was I being selfish?!" You growled. 

"How about slamming the door in Lily's face, or I don't know swearing at mom or maybe calling my girlfriend a bitch before running off to fairyland?!"James was yelling now his voice echoing off the small room."Your damned lucky Sirius offered to find you because I'm done with it!"

You shook your head, "Sirius said you sent him to get me. He was lying?" You asked softly, You silently wished him to say that he wanted you back, that he had sent him, that he had wanted you here.

"Of course I didn't!" James shouted "Not everything is about you!"

You felt your heart crumpled. He hadn't wanted you back. Hell, he would have been happier if you had stayed gone. You willed yourself not to cry, so instead you laughed, a crazy demonic sound ripping from your throat and escaping your lips, "Your right James!" You screeched, "Not everything is about me!" Your fire full smile broke into a sneer, "It's all about you." 

James looked taken aback for a second guilt flashing momentarily into his dark eyes before being replaced with anger. 

"It's all about you. You and your perfect grades and your perfect friends." You could feel tears pricking at your eyes. "You and your quidditch bullshit, and your god damn bright fucking future!" You spat the words like venom from your mouth, "You and your bitchy girlfriend who's going to make the perfect little daughter in law!" You were now yelling your voice feeling raw as tears dripped off your chin. 

"Stop calling her a bitch!" James screamed back. 

Just then the door opened and Lily, Sirius and your parents came hurling down the stairs. 

"What in bloody hell is going on!" Sirus shouted but you ignored him. 

"I'm so sorry for calling shit as it is, your girlfriend is a bitch. B-I-T-C-H. BITCH!"  You wailed taking a step forward, you were now looking directly into your brothers eyes, just barley below him, less than a foot away. 

You saw his eyes burn, anger filling them, turning their dark brown pigment to black. 

And then he did something you would never imagine him to do in his life. 

James raised his hand and with one swift movement slapped you clean across the cheek

You heard a series or gasps and yells fall around you, your ears ringing slightly. You could feel where his hand had struck your skin, it was hot and thumping, a dull sting finding its home there. 

You slowly turned your head back to meet your brothers eyes which were now wide with surprise and guilt. 

You slowly removed the hand that had instinctively risen to your cheek and stared hurt and broken in front of your brother who's mouth had dropped open. 

"Y/n, oh my God I didn't-" 

"Rot in hell Potter." You spat your voice deep and dark. And with that you sprinted up the stairs. 

As you began to move the world resumed and everyone else began to take action as well.

You saw James stumble backwards Lily beginning to go to him but Sirius beating her to it and reaching the boy himself. You then heard him yell something you were too delirious to understand before a thud was heard followed closely by another shriek. You shouldered past your parents as you accented the stairs, the fact that they didn't even spare you a glance stung more than a slap ever could. 

For the second time that day you sprinted out onto the street, the crisp air hitting your hot face in a refreshing blow. You stumbled into the night ignoring your bare feet and chilled arms. You had no destination in mind as you sprinted down the sidewalk, you only had a location to get as far as possible from. You wished you had been thinking enough to grab your purse, you could have gone to a bus stop and left to Merlin knows where. 

You made it four blocks before one of your feet caught behind your heel and you were flung to the ground by the ever cruel gravity. 

Your hands hit the damp cement first followed directly by your chin causing you to bite roughly down on your lip. 

You didn't even bother to move debating weather living was even worth it. You could taste the blood in your mouth and feel it seeping from your hands as you lay unmoving under the buzzing streetlamp. 

You were pretty sure you would have lay on that sidewalk, your body shaking with sobs, blood slowly filling your mouth until you died if a strong pair of arms hadn't swept you up. 

You instinctively buried your head into the familiar musky scent as Sirius pulled you close to him. 

"Hey, hey you're okay." He mumbled quietly into your hair, smoothing it clumsily down as he pulled your head into his chest. "You're okay, I've got you." 

You sobbed uncontrollably into Sirius as he mumbled sweet nothings into your ear and held you close to him. 

"I-im sorry." You choked out eventually,  pulling away from the boy slightly. 

"What on earth are you sorry for love?" Sirius chuckled softly pushing the damp hair from your face. 

"I think I got your jacket wet." You muttered a soft smile darting onto your lips. 

Sirius let out a soft laugh, "You are ridiculous." His smile disappeared when he saw your lip.

"I'm okay." You muttered wiping the blood from you lips with a wince. 

"No your not." Sirius sighed quietly. 

He watched your face deflate and he realized that was probably the first time that someone hadn't let you lie to them. Hadn't let you hide behind the thick walls you had built. He called your bluff and it was unfamiliar and strange to you. 

"Why did you lie?" You asked quietly.

"About what?" The boy questioned, confused.

"James didn't send you. He told me."

Sirius flushed before shaking his head he definitely needed to change the subject, "James is an idiot." 

"He's your friend." You shrugged. 

"Yeah well I don't know if that's true anymore." 

You knotted your eyebrows, "Why's that?" 

Sirius sighed "I knocked him out." 

Your mouth dropped.

"If it was anyone else that hit you I would have killed them on the spot." He murmured.

You smiled slightly torn at the idea of your brother getting knocked out by his best friend. 

Sirius decided that you needed something desperately, the same thing he had needed when he left home. 

"Let's get you a drink." 

Your eyes rose to meet his a bit uncertain, before you nodded, "Please."

Sirius smiled as he pulled you to his motorcycle, lazily tucking the helmet onto your head and buckling it for you, his face dancing red at the proximity of your soft pink lips.

You walked into the bar Sirius at your arm. The two of you sat on the stools and Sirius used a bit of magic to order your drinks. 

He handed you a shot of vodka setting one in front of himself. 

You glanced down at the small glass then back up at Sirius before shrugging and raising swiftly to your lips. 

Sirius did the same laughing brightly when he saw your face scrunched in discomfort. 

"That was disgusting!" You coughed, laughing a bit, "Get me another one!" 

Sirius burst into laughter once again ordering you both another round, "This is the last one though, I don't want to have to take you home drunk." He said eyebrows raised. 

You smiled back, downing the second shot a bit more easily than the last, enjoying the warmth that twirled down your throat to your stomach. 

Sirius and you left, you a bit tipsy, him seemingly sober. 

"Let's get you home." He muttered smiling about at your beaten and battered form. 

Suddenly you broke free of him and stumbled backwards, catching yourself on the side of the building. 

"I don't want to go home." You pouted. 

"Sorry Y/n we have got to go back." Sirius sighed. 

"I'M NOT GOING BACK!" You yelled harshly, anger flowing through you. 

"Y/n/n come on it's not that bad, let's head back." Sirius sighed sympathetically. 

"I know your parents were shit Sirius, but at least they were terrible people!" You yelled. 

Sirius rose both eyebrows, "What?"

"Your parents were terrible people right?" You slurred a bit.

Sirius nodded.

"And they hated you because you weren't like them, you weren't s-somebody who would kill a-and hurt, so they hated you for being different. For being a good person." You rambled tears slowly falling from your cheeks.

"Y/n/n we seriously need to get you home." Sirius grumbled worriedly. 

"You're not listening to me!" You screeched taking a step back. 

Sirius stood unsure of what to do.

"My parents hate me for the same reason, because I'm different and I'm not like them." Your voice breaking mid sentence stabbing Sirius in the chest. 

"And because they are 'good people' and they are nice and kind and heros being different than them means I'm a terrible person." Tears now rolled coolly down your check leaving silver streaks in their wake. 

Sirius' face crumbled, "No, no, no. Y/n your not a terrible person, your a great person." He gushed rushing forward to capture you in his embrace. 

"Then why do they hate me?" You asked voice small and weak. 

"They don't hate you y/n. They love you." He mumbled softly one hand wrapping around your waist while the other gripped your head softly pulling you into him. 

You shook your head slowly afraid if you spoke anymore that your eyes would flood with tears once again. 

"Hey." Sirius murmured, causing your big y/e/c eyes to look up at him. "They love you, James loves you" 

You looked away from his stormy grey eyes tired of hearing lies. 

"Hey." He repeated bring your attention back to the storms resting behind his head. "I love you." 

His whisper resonated through the chilled air, like the final note of an orchestra, the strings still not unmoving. You stared at him in wonder. Then your stood on your toes and grabbed the back of his neck slowly pulling him toward you. 

Your lips connected in a sweet, salty kiss. The taste of blood and alcohol lingering between you. You felt his slightly chapped lips moved smoothly against yours making your heart flutter as your hand played with his dark locks, his own finding your waist and pulling you towards him. 

You pulled away softly gasping lightly for air as your noses brushed lightly. Sirius' own heavy breaths tickling your face as your foreheads leaned together. 

"I-I t-think I love you too Sirius." You fumbled lightly with your words. 

He simply responded by reconnecting your lips in a desperate kiss, savoring the metallic taste of blood mixed with the sharpness of alcohol. You tasted like a sin, his tongue dancing across your lips before they opened allowing it to slip inside. 

When you finally pulled away for the second time. You looked into his glassy storm filled eyes brushing his cheek gently with your thumb. 

"I need you." You whispered quietly into the night. And for the first time in a long time you felt loved.

Part 2

Masterlist

[tysukis]

Hi, first(?) AU anon here. I will absolutely dive down this rabbit hole with you. I went a little overboard (sorry?). I absolutely agree with you on your Zuko take. I think we all kind of land there naturally. But I also think that Zuko would latch onto stability the moment he realized he had it. So this is kind of how I see it going down:

I think the band Sokka is part of would be solid. Just a local hit, right? But Sokka is the plans guy, and the aspirations guy, and they can do *so much better*. I 100% do not know how real life musicians work so add a pinch of salt here, but he would absolutely land them a gig as openers to a mediocre niche headliner just by sheer power of phone calls and charm. (He scripted it as much as possible, we all remember how that canon speech went when he winged it, but he knows how to put words together when he has time).

And yeah I love the idea of Zuko being an academic. I'm assuming Ozai is out of the picture for this, and the boy gets to pursue his passions instead of an expectation. Unfortunately, you mix in passion and the general anxiety of a kid who lived under intense scrutiny and you get an adult who gets tunnel vision during spring finals/prep for a conference/etc. So he doesn't quite rise to the occasion when his boyfriend drops this life changing news, he's proud but distracted, and he's already so bad at words in comparison to Sokka that it's just. Lackluster. And he probably meant to meet them at the bar/house party to celebrate after he got home but he's sleep deprived and his phone is dead because he's a disaster sometimes.

So now you've got Sokka stewing on immediate events, and being a little heartbroken because he went all out every time Zuko accomplished *anything*, even if it wasn't super impressive to Zuko himself. And maybe there's a bit of Zuko assuming Sokka doesn't need that reciprocated. He just doesn't vocalize his important needs, so Zuko assumes they're being met, you know? I like the drama of a blown up confrontation but also the idea that Sokka just confronts him sounding hurt and so damn tired of being the emotional one for that long.

But on the other side you have Zuko with his internalized plan that this is his forever person, and he does go to almost every performance even if they don't play his preferred music. And he assumes Sokka is satisfied with this. Maybe because Zuko can't imagine being happier than near his family - the good ones anyway - or because he genuinely thinks Sokka and the band are happy with being local celebrities and leaving it at that. So he plans for permanence. Because he is still a disaster, Zuko probably never vocalized this beyond doing window shopping for apartments or something. Vague jokes about a wedding that Sokka laughs at/agrees with and Zuko interprets as, "Yes I am also thinking about being here with you forever." He's not the wordsmith, he's the pragmatist and love means house shopping and snuggling over takeout and planning trips to visit their distant family together, right? Sokka's confrontation blindsided him, because he thought they were on the same page, and Sokka didn't have to leave to keep playing music, why is that even a thing??

They're both justified in being jaded because they're dumb as hell (affectionate). This isn't an AU for two grown ass men who have put in therapy time, they're both young and full of their own understanding with poor communication skills.

musician au anon!!! hello welcome back thank you so much for this incredible ask, let’s GO

(I’m gonna pop this one under a read more because otherwise this post will be eight miles long lmao)

Honestly I’m wracking my brain with what I can possibly add to this because you’ve got like. A fully fledged outline here my dude and it’s a good one. Do you write? Because you should, if you don’t. I still love the alternative take of Sokka being the one to leave and honestly this pretty much cements how much potential it has. I absolutely adore how you’ve thought about just how the communication would break down between them - and you’re completely bang on the money with it as well. Zuko is fully a hot disaster and would completely just assume Sokka’s needs are being met if he isn’t vocalising them, and we know Sokka, he’s a complainer but when it really comes down to those he loves - he’s known for being pretty selfless and for putting up brave faces. I can totally see Sokka perhaps almost feeling a bit self conscious about how hurt he is by Zuko’s lack of enthusiasm. Because Zuko loves him, right? And it’s just one show, right? So maybe he’s just overreacting, right? Or maybe he’s actually not even that good. Oh no, maybe Zuko hates his music and is just waiting for the right time to break it to him gently. Oh no, oh no, oh no. I think I might have already said it at some point tonight but Sokka would absolutely spiral until he convinces himself that him leaving would be nothing more than simply just leaving before he gets left. And like you said: Zuko  is out here planning a whole future assuming that they’re on the same page, meanwhile he has no idea.

I totally buy Sokka winging his way into a supporting act spot using his charm and charisma, and yeah his speech in canon didn’t go too well but this could likely be over the phone to only one person which would probably make it easier. I was thinking about how Sokka performing would work in conjuncture with his canon almost stage fright/fear of public speaking - and I’m leaning towards the hc that he embodies a sort of persona in front of large crowds and he’s able to let that take over and act casually and confidently no matter the audience.  (source: I am someone who studied acting and excelled in public speaking most of her life despite having a chronic anxiety disorder - playing parts and speaking on stage didn’t feel like ‘me’ because I was always channeling a character either fictional or an alternative version of myself. It works, folks.)

Are we thinking he broke away from the band and went on to succeed in a solo career? As in, he felt being local heroes was a limited pathway? Or did they all go together? Who else would be in it I wonder.

I LOVE your interpretation of Zuko and how the factors under which he was raised would shape him, especially in a modern setting. He would absolutely go into tunnel vision and that perfectionist mindset he was essentially forced into as a kid would probably be alive and well into adulthood. (And yeah, these aren’t men who have been to therapy - yet! - so we’re probably gonna assume that Zuko views this as a Perfectly Normal And Healthy Way To Live And Not At All A Trauma/Survival Response.)

I’m assuming this confrontation is what leads to their break up and then Sokka going off to pursue music further? I wonder, even all their other issues aside, what Zuko thinks about him travelling so far? As you said, we’re operating under the assumption that he doesn’t understand why Sokka couldn’t continue music and stay local. Even if things were perfect between the two, I imagine they still might not see eye to eye on that, which of course would just be another breaking point for them to tack onto the list.

As for their eventual reconciliation, Kaleigh @zukkau with her gigantic brain, said earlier that Sokka being the one to leave could also tie into a whole ‘I couldn’t ask you to uproot your whole life for me’ anxiety (especially if we’re painting zuko as a bit of a homebody here; hates change, likes routine) and that sets up perfectly for a “I would go anywhere for/with you” moment. All this to say that I think that would slot into this (^) narrative nicely.

If you have (or anyone has) anything more to add or touch on I would absolutely love to hear it, I am now fully in love with this AU and all messages and mentions of it are permanently welcome in my inbox and DMs <3 

[sleepless-in-starbucks]

Hewo! I know I was literally just hear but like, I like your inbox soooooooo yeh. ALSO you introduced me to my new obsession *coughAnalosleepcough* and that deserves some recognition or whatever. So uhhhhhhhhhhhhh, meep. quack quack. moo. mooove bitch get out the way. (in a john cena voice) ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THAT. I'm feeling very memey right now. Send help. Or send me Analosleep fics\headcanons. Whatever works to make sure I don't die. I'm sowwy I have done this (Not really tho)

oh,,,, so you want analosleep do you,,,, :3

a dangerous thing to say to an idle Me, Hewo…. a dangerous thing….

(warnings for sleep deprivation, self-deprecation specifically around feeling things/feeling sad, referenced nightmares + isolation, panic attack, happy ending ofc; tagging @emo-disaster for the fic idea + the fact that it’s their ot3 I’m legally obligated to tag ‘em)

~~

When Logan shot up in bed in the dead of night, his first instinct was to slam a hand over his mouth.

Of course, this seemed to be a poor choice on his part- it was hard to breathe through sobs when you couldn’t pull in the air through your mouth, as sobbing often demanded you do- but in reality, it was the most logical one. It was the only way to muffle his sobs; aka, it was the only way to make sure he didn’t wake up his partners. They were cuddled against him, Virgil simply curling into his side whereas Remy had their arm through over his midsection. Though both were snoring softly, Logan knew that, if he wasn’t very careful, they’d be awake soon enough. Insomnia and poor sleeping habits made both of them into very light sleepers.

Which made the whole ‘not waking them as he fell apart’ thing a little difficult.

Slowly, Logan lifted Remy’s arm off of himself, tucking it against his partner’s side. Remy stirred at the movement, and Logan immediately froze, holding his breath as well as he could until Remy seemed to have settled back down.

He pushed himself up, careful not the creak the mattress too much as he quietly jumped over Remy. He hit the ground quietly enough, the result of having pulled this move off many times for happier reasons- usually to escape Remy trying to keep him in bed all day (and often being immediately caught a moment later by Virgil) or to get out so he could make a surprise breakfast for his partners. Using it in such unpleasant circumstances was grim, but if it worked…

Logan was careful as he crept out of the bedroom, well aware of exactly where the hazards and noisy spots were. He moved towards the dresser first, claiming his glasses before moving towards his escape. The door was tricky- it always squealed halfway through opening. Even opening it as little as possible, it still whined, and Logan winced, quickly turning back towards the bed to see if either of his loves had awakened.

Remy remained on their side, motionless and facing away from him, but Virgil had moved, face scrunched up as he reached out for the warmth that had left when Logan did, but his eyes thankfully still closed. Logan waited in the doorway as he watched Virgil grope about, letting out a small breath of relief when he found Remy’s arm and tugged them closer. With luck, he’d assume that Remy was Logan and fall back asleep, paying no mind to the lack of a third body in their shared bed.

Feeling secure in a successful escape, Logan slipped fully out of the bedroom, padding down the hallway towards the kitchen. He wiped impatiently at the drying tear tracks on his cheeks, happy that, at the very least, his sobbing had sorted itself out.

All he had to do now was get a drink of water, wash his face, take a breath, and go back to bed, pretending like nothing happened. Because that was the truth of the matter- nothing had happened! Nothing at all! It had just been some stupid nightmare- hell, was it even bad enough to be called a nightmare? Logan really didn’t think so.

After all, it had been bland- just him, him in some void of a place, all alone. Which was fine, what did he care, the only thing that even mattered a little was the odd lingering feeling dream-him had, the feeling that earlier he hadn’t been alone, that earlier Virgil and Remy had been there, but they were gone by the time the dream started, gone because they didn’t want to be there, gone because they didn’t want to be with Logan, gone because they had left him because they didn’t want him couldn’t deal with him couldn’t be with someone they didn’t love-

Logan stopped in the doorway to the kitchen, hand coming up to his mouth again as another sob tried to bubble out- this time not to muffle himself (the kitchen was down the hall from the bedroom, he was plenty far, he hoped) so much as to stop the sobbing before it could start up again.

Because it was pointless, really, to be crying over some stupid dream that wasn’t even real, that he knew wasn’t real and therefore didn’t matter to him at all, that didn’t mean anything because it was just. a. dream.

His body, however, wasn’t getting the message, and his attempts to stop his sobs were failing. All he could manage was keeping them quiet, even as he leaned against the kitchen doorway and slid down it, hitting the floor not-so-gently as he continued to remind himself why this all was just stupid.

Stupid, pointless, not even real, just a dream, get over yourself, even if it was real you could deal with it, this is stupid, whiny, emotional, this is-

“Honey?”

Logan froze at the sound of his partner’s voice. Why were they awake? He had been so careful- and they needed their sleep, why would they have come after him-

Remy was already dropping down to crouch next to him. They looked odd like this- hair messy instead of carefully arranged, sunglasses no where in sight, wearing baggy shirt and shorts instead of their fitting jacket and jeans- but they also looked soft, so Logan didn’t mind. At least, they normally looked soft- right now, forehead creased, eyes worried, they looked unhappy, and Logan hated that.

Logan opened his mouth to speak, but a sob came out instead, and even though he slapped his hand over his mouth as soon as it slipped out Remy had still heard it, their eyes only going wider in worry. They reached out, placing their hands on Logan’s shoulders. When he didn’t react, they started moving their hands over his arms, grounding, comforting, familiar.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay, shh, you’re okay, I’m here, you’re safe, you’re okay, darling it’s alright, you’re alright.”

“Why are you awake?” Logan managed to ask, this time successfully stifling the sob that tried to slip out instead. There were still tears running down his face, yes, but it was dark- he could probably convince Remy it was just a trick of the light, convince them that Logan was fine, that they could go back to bed and Logan would be there soon enough, completely fine, as if nothing had happened (because, in Logan’s mind, nothing had).

“I woke up when you opened the door.” Remy answered, still running their hands over Logan’s arms soothingly. “Virgil did too. I thought you were just going to get water, but he said you looked upset.”

“I’m fine.”

Remy chuckled, but they sounded pained. “Babes, you’re crying on the kitchen floor at two am in the morning. This isn’t fine.”

“I’ll be fine.” Logan corrected. “You should- you can go back to bed, I’ll be there in a moment.”

“Then I can wait a moment so that we can go back to bed together.” Remy told him, one hand moving from Logan’s arm to cup his cheek, thumb wiping away some of his tears. “I know how you react to these things, love, and I’m not going to leave you alone to repress and ignore your problems away.”

“Go to bed, I’ll be fine.” Logan repeated, turning his head away from Remy and the hand cupping his cheek. He closed his eyes, as if pressing them shut would stop the flow of tears, would make Remy be sleeping again, would put everything back to a few minutes ago when everything- as far as his partners were aware- was fine, would make it so neither of them had to deal with him now, deal with him like this.

And that was the really ugly part of all this, the reason why he couldn’t just shake the thought, shake the stupid nightmare that wasn’t real- because it could be real, so easily, so easy that Logan was surprised it wasn’t real already, because his partners must have made some mistake when they picked him and every day that passed that they didn’t undo it was a miracle to him.

Because they were so- so feeling, Remy so lively and real and carefree, and Virgil may often be stuck in the throes of his anxiety but when he wasn’t he was so alive and bright and happy in his own way it was nearly infectious, and then there was Logan, Logan who had as many feelings as a worm and smushed them all down to the point they barely existed anyways, until all he was was stupid pointless outbursts and annoyance and waking up his partners who needed to sleep and not worry about him or his stupid fake unrealistic problems that came in the form of night time terrors and sobs he just couldn’t silence-

“-gan? Logan, I need you to breathe for me.”

Breathe? Why did he need to breathe? Wasn’t he already breathing? Why was Virgil (and when did Virgil get here?) asking him to breathe when he was already-

Oh.

He wasn’t breathing.

That was why.

He tried to do as Virgil asked, tried to take a breath in (since apparently at some point he had stopped), but it got stuck halfway up his throat, choking him instead. He bent over as he coughed, someone squeezing his hand reassuringly as he did so, Virgil still in front of him. Virgil took Logan’s free hand and pressed it against his chest.

“Breathe.” Virgil repeated, taking a deep breath as he spoke. Logan knew what he was doing- over-exaggerating his breaths so that Logan could follow them. Logan was more than grateful for the gesture.

It took a few minutes of Virgil coaching him through the breathing exercise and Remy- who Logan had finally identified as the one holding his hand- murmuring reassurances before Logan finally got his breathing under control. As soon as he did, Logan ducked his head, refusing to meet Virgil’s focused and earnest yet incredibly worried eyes any longer.

“Hey, Lo, can you look at me?”

Logan ignored Virgil’s polite ask. His boyfriend sighed before softly cupping Logan’s cheek. He didn’t force Logan to look up, however. “Can I see your pretty face, love?”

“Don’t want to.” Logan murmured, shaking his head minutely against Virgil’s palm.

“Alright.” Virgil responded easily, still cupping Logan’s cheek. “Can you tell me what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Logan said. “I’m fine.”

“You already tried that, hun.” Remy pointed out, words accusatory though his tone was only gentle. “And if I didn’t believe you before you had a panic attack, I’d definitely not believe you now.”

“I’ll be fine.” Logan said instead, well aware he was just repeating what he had told Remy earlier, hoping it would work this time. “I’ll be fine, just- you can just go back to bed, I’m sorry I woke you-”

“We’re not going back to bed until we know what’s wrong.” Virgil said, calmly but firmly. His hand remained against Logan’s cheek, thumb now rubbing a circle right beneath his eye. “And something’s pretty clearly wrong.”

“And whatever it is, you can tell us, sweetheart.” Remy added. “We won’t be angry, or upset, or anything. We just want to know what’s hurting you.”

“It’s stupid.” Logan told them bitterly.

Virgil clicked his tongue. “If it’s got you this worked up, it’s not stupid. And even if it were, I’d still want to hear it. We can’t help you til we know why you need help, starshine.”

Logan didn’t respond to that, allowing the conversation to be overtaken by silence. Remy and Virgil seemed to be alright with it, Virgil continuing to rub circles against Logan’s face and Remy continuing to ground him by squeezing his hand, neither of them showing any signs of stopping soon.

“…I had a dream.” Logan finally admitted after a good five minutes had passed, forced to accept that nothing he said would get his partners to simply give up on him (and a horribly illogical part of him spoke up too, saying this meant not escape but comfort, but Logan ignored that part). He cleared his throat. “A nightmare, actually.”

Both his partners made a noise of upset. “What was it about?” Virgil asked.

“Nothing, which is why it’s so stupid.” Logan lamented, angry at himself. “It was just me, sitting around doing nothing.”

“Is that all?” Virgil asked, gently prying, clearly unbelieving that there was nothing more to the nightmare.

“Yes!” Logan said, snapping, not at them but at the general idea of such a thing having brought him so low. “That was all- I was just there, minding my own business, alone, alone because-” Logan cut himself off, ignoring the lump that was starting to reform in his throat.

“Because what?” Remy pushed, quietly.

Logan swallowed. “Because-” He could say this, it wasn’t that hard, just the truth, “because you- you two had- you weren’t actually there I just knew that- that you had- you had left.”

Something that had just barely been fixed broke inside of Logan as he said that, and suddenly he was crying again, which really wasn’t making him feel any less stupid. Now, however, his partners were here, Virgil moving to hold Logan’s face with both his hands, gently wiping away the tears but not minding if he missed some; Remy’s grip moved from his hand to his waist, their arms wrapping around him and holding him comfortingly close.

“Shh, darling, handsome, honey-love, it’s okay, it’s alright.” Remy murmured, laying their forehead against the side of Logan’s head, a warm and real reminder that they were there. “No wonder you were upset, sweetness, I’d be upset too.”

“And it’s not stupid.” Virgil added, taking a moment to tuck Logan’s hair behind his ears so that Virgil could see his eyes. “Being left behind by people you care about is terrifying, Lo.”

“But it wasn’t real.” Logan protested, his voice raw and ugly from crying as he spoke. “It was just an illusion, a product of my mind, and you two are- you’re here, now, and not gone- yet- not gone and-”

“We’re not gone ever.” Virgil corrected. “You’re stuck with us forever.”

“I don’t know why…” Logan muttered, looking downwards, as if that would hide his comment.

“Because we love you, ya dork.” Remy said, voice light but sincere. “Because you’re cute and you make nerdy science jokes and have our favorite meals memorized even though you can’t cook and you’re the best at giving surprise cheek kisses and while it’s really stupid you’re always trying to be admirable and deal with your issues alone, which- like I said- is stupid, but sweet in theory.”

“Don’t want to bother you-”

“And you’re not.” Virgil cut him off, pressing a kiss to his forehead. “You’re our very beloved boyfriend, Logan. If you’re hurting, we want to help you. You’re never bothering us, especially not over something like this.”

Logan didn’t speak for a moment, processing what his partners had told him. He almost wanted to come back with a lie, almost wanted to look at it and find that their words were false and empty, but he didn’t find that- it was late, they were all tired, and yet their voices were real and honest, in a way that couldn’t be faked ten minutes after awakening.

With a sigh, Logan leaned his head forward, Virgil immediately moving up so that Logan’s head hit his shoulder. “I’m sorry.” He mumbled.

“Don’t be.” Virgil told him, starting to run his fingers through Logan’s hair. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”

“I was being illogical.”

“We all are sometimes, dearest.” Remy said soothingly.

Once more, silence fell upon the three of them, but it was more comfortable this time, Logan allowing himself to relax against both his partners as they held him. The nightmare was still playing in the background of his mind, but it didn’t hold as much sway over him now, the loneliness of the false memory nothing against the warmth of his reality.

“Should we relocate?” Virgil asked after a good five minutes had passed, still combing through Logan’s hair. Logan had started to lean more and more heavily against him, slowly but surely falling back into the embrace of sleep.

Logan nodded against Virgil’s shoulder, humming tiredly. Crying took too much effort.

Virgil just chuckled. “Babe, you wanna pick up our moonbeam?”

“Of course.” Remy said, quietly but happily. There was some shifting around Logan- part of which involved him removing his head from the crook of Virgil’s neck- before he was settled in Remy’s arms, his partner holding him close against their chest.

“No offense, babe, but you look worse than I do when I haven’t had my coffee.” Remy teased as they carried Logan back towards their room, Virgil following behind.

“Oh, don’t be mean to him.”

“I’m just saying!”

Logan hummed again and pushed himself closer to Remy. “Shhhh.”

“Aw, sleepy nerd.”

Virgil gently slapped their arm for that one, Remy chuckling soundlessly before leaning over and giving Virgil a kiss. “Love you too.”

Finally, they reached their bedroom once more, Virgil pulling Logan’s glasses off for him as Remy settled him down on the bed.

“And this time-” Remy  got on the bed as well, barely a second between them letting Logan go and them pulling him close against their chest once more, “you’re going to sleep until noon.”

“That’s too late.” Logan protested sleepily.

“And you’ve had a rough night.” Virgil said, climbing in behind Logan and wrapping his arms around both him and Remy. “You can have a little bit of sleeping in. As a treat.”

“That’s grammatically horrible.”

Virgil just laughed quietly and kissed the top of Logan’s head. “Go to sleep, nerd. Worry about my grammar in the morning.”

And, surrounded by the solid, real warmth of his partners who had no intentions of going anywhere, Logan did.

[formulatrash]

Is Hazel Southwell that entertaining a character at the FE events or is it just some act so their social media is more entertaining? They seem really lovely but also a pure ball of bisexual disaster ball lightning and I'm too used to awkward F1 journalists to believe someone that bright a character would make it to the grid? I hope its not an act they were great on And We Go Green.

ahahaha inboxes are interesting aren’t they? (nervous laughter) I’m gonna assume this is well-meaning cus usually people who want to tell me to go fuck myself just come right out with it. So, err, glad you enjoyed And We Go Green!

Paddocks are full of big characters - I am one, in Formula E, at this point. It’s funny cus I am fairly sure I’m the most famous-for-Formula-E journalist by quite a long way but also in a way one of the least successful. I’m combative and social-justice-y enough to get the series and the people that might like it and that comes across in AWGG or the Formula E YouTube stuff I do but it’s much too much so for the motorsport press, so I’ll always be a fringe contender in that respect. 

As for whether what I project is really me? It definitely is. I think people might be surprised how shy I am, IRL and that I’m actually quite quiet most of the time - I basically live on Discord, especially during Eprix weekends because I’ll be on my own for most of, if not the whole event. But then hand me two glasses of wine at an after party and I’ll happily talk to anyone - and when I see people I know in the paddock, which is most people, we always chat and whatever it’s just I don’t really have a lot of media friends beyond the (extended) Inside Electric lot and they’re not always there.

But yeah, like, I really do disappear off doing mysterious things in the evenings and routinely turn up sleepless, hungover and about to put in a seventeen-hour day. I take fifteen flights through eight countries where a direct one would have done, with the good grace of but twice the budget. I spent 17 nights in airports last year. I do what I do partly because it’s dangerous and I like that. 

And of course, yes, I am a bisexual disaster. Actually somewhat to the point it’s not funny - just before lockdown I got seriously ill with a head injury I hadn’t rested because there is a bit of me that thinks consequences are for other people and eventually that sort of attitude is going to land me dead.

I don’t have a PR or whatever, I’m just me. I suspect a lot more hard work goes on than I sort of say about because talking about the boring bits is less interesting, obviously but essentially the reason I’m allowed in paddocks is because I said I should be and then proved the point. If I’d quietly joined a publication as an editorial assistant or intern or something I’d still be waiting, definitely not in an international series but that’s made some other things very hard (money, security, editorial support, etc.) but hey ho, 2020 can take any of that away from you anyway, no security under capitalism etc.

[douchebagbrainwaves]

WHY I'M SMARTER THAN INVESTMENT

This is too big a problem to solve here, but I'd say the test is whether you're good at making things. So what if they fail? Though they're less well known, the angel investors are probably the more critical ingredient in creating a silicon valley in another country, it's clear the US is disorganized about routing people into careers. Easy, compared to college, but boring. 99%.1 The groups then proceeded to give fabulously slick presentations. What made him seem older? If I were a better speaker. More like the first step into a swamp. This form of lie is not without its uses. You know how you can design programs to be debuggable? But when they looked for startup ideas they didn't see this one, because unconsciously they shrank from having to deal with you later.

Foreseeing disaster, my friend and his wife rapidly improvised: yes, the turkey had wanted to die, and in particular, Internet startups are still only a fraction of the world's economy, this component will set the tone for the rest.2 They're started by the poor and the timid; they begin in marginal space and spare time; they're started by people who dropped out of school to do it yourself.3 Rejection is a question of seeing the obvious. Just a teacher? There have always been occasional cases, particularly in the US, and good high schools and good universities, like most other industrialized countries, I'd take the US system. 9782 free! But by the time we funded their second startup, a year later, they had become extremely formidable. And you know what you're talking about, you can do whatever you want and don't cite any previous work, and indignant readers will send you references to all the papers you should have been making.

But I can imagine a future in which the default choice of ambitious young people is to start a company at first. There's no evidence that famously successful organizations like the Roman army or the British East India Company were any less afflicted by protocol and politics than organizations of the same size today. But I don't wish I were a farmer and suddenly heard a lot of propaganda gets slipped into the curriculum in the name of simplification.4 What weaknesses could you exploit?5 Sometimes they're more candid and say explicitly that they need to see some traction.6 Because I wanted to keep the pressure on an investor or acquirer all the way to the close. They wouldn't well, seven of the eight startups we funded will make it. That's what makes sex and drugs so dangerous.7 With speaking it's the opposite: the two dovetailed beautifully. Works to your advantage.

Finally, what should one do about html? Hacking is something you learn best by doing it. So if you make it clear you're going to have to do to get the attention of an audience is to give people everything you've got, right away. I think, 24 hours to say yes or no answer to that question.8 My vote is they're a bad idea, for example, are working on an Ajax calendar. This pattern suggests that attitudes at Stanford and Berkeley are not an anomaly. Most were emerging from twenty or so years of being told what to do. He had all of us roaring with laughter. Imagine picking out apples at a grocery store.9 I must have been to till the same fields your whole life with the aim of being their Thanksgiving dinner. But it worked so well that we plan to do all our investing this way, or the large sums of money involved, but investment negotiations can easily turn personal.10 The most important quality is in a startup depends mainly on how smart and energetic you are, and much less on how old you are or how much business experience you have.

Not all ideas of that type.11 But that wears off after a few months I realized that what I'd been unconsciously hoping to find there was back in the place I'd just left. Instead of just tweaking a spam till it gets through a copy of something they made, but they also laugh at someone who tells them a certain problem can't be solved. To start with, investors are letting founders cash out partially. But of course there were the usual nightmares associated with servers. Increasingly it will mean the people who think they don't need investors to start most companies; they can do a deal in 24 hours if they need it a lot. For example, most painters in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries used brownish colors. Prefix Syntax? The idea is basically that you sort search results not in order of bids, you can envision companies as holes. If I encourage too many people to apply to Y Combinator, which is low to them. I don't think any would have traded it for a job in a cubicle. There isn't so much a phone as a replacement for x.

If this succeeds you get a silicon valley in Germany, because you tend to be calmer and more upstanding; they don't need to do iffy things to get an edge, and don't want to because they have no redundancy.12 You just know someone knows something, and see if there's a limit on the number of people want a large amount.13 Arguably they've done a bad job of hiring otherwise. In the meantime I tried my best to imitate them. Could a trend based on them be that powerful? I've said before, is a way for writers to make money.14 But if you parse it all, your filter might degenerate into a mere html recognizer.15 They try to hide even the existence of these words for as long as a startup founder about whether it might be good to solve? In a language with prefix syntax, any function you define is effectively an operator. And why is it hard to get emails out of your inbox? If the iPad had come first, we wouldn't think of the iPhone as a phone; we'd think of it as a tablet small enough to hold up to your ear.

If you want to understand startups is to look at what you enjoy as guilty pleasures. But there are limits to how well this can be done, no matter how obscure you are now. Just as happens in college, you may also be ready to. Now most VCs know they should be funding grad students or even undergrads. That will tend to get fixed. Or could have been implemented as a couple hundred lines of Perl; in fact they do all look the same. But we should be able to clear our heads of lies we were told. So now I'd advise people to go ahead and start startups right out of college. The disadvantage of having a larger universe of tokens is that there are going to be fairly laborious no matter what, and the reason why, unlike other languages, Lisp has dialects. Well, if you're starting a company that will do something cool, the aim had better be to make money and maybe be cool, not to be cut out of the way as soon as you can, so you start learning from users what you should do is to sacrifice unpromising startups. The result is bronze, which is predicated on the idea.16 Don't realize what you're avoiding One reason people who've been out in the world won't save you.

After all, the companies selling smells on the moon base could continue to sell them on the Earth, if they lobbied successfully for laws requiring us all to continue to breathe through tubes if they could avoid it. Most investors, especially VCs, are not like founders. But that's something you can do, but assume the worst about machines and other people. But those aren't the only reasons parents don't want their teenage kids having sex are complex.17 Some we helped with technical advice—for example, finding the recipient's email address base-64 encoded anywhere in a message is a very good spam indicator.18 We'll start with the one everyone's born with. Not just founders, but investors too.

Notes

Because we want to avoid this problem and yet managed to find users to recruit manually—is probably part of grasping evolution was to backtrack and try another approach.

You end up.

You won't hire all those 20 people at once, or want tenure, avoid casual conversations with VCs suggest it's roughly correct to say exactly what constitutes research in the sense that if you were going to need to be the only one founder take fundraising meetings is that as you get nothing. Come to think of the money.

Ed. Good news: users don't care about may not understand you at a Demo Day. What happens in practice is that the big winners aren't all that value, don't worry about the paperwork there, and don't want to sell earlier than you otherwise would have met 30 people he meets at parties he's a real idea that evolves into Facebook is a trailing indicator in any case, because you have for one user. These anti-immigration people to claim that companies will one day be able to fool investors with such tricks, you'd get ten times as much effort it costs.

It might also be argued that we wrote in order to win. But one of these people.

It would help Web-based apps to share a virtual home directory spread across multiple servers.

I used a technicality to get into a big chunk of stock options than any other company has to be most attractive when it's their own itinerary through no-land, while simultaneously implying that lies believed for a certain threshold. And while this sort of things you sell.

Heirs will be. For founders who had to push founders to have kids soon. These false positive rate is 10%, moving to Monaco would only give you money for. The point where things start with consumer electronics.

Could you endure studying literary theory, or to be doctors?

We're sometimes disappointed when a wolf appears, is not writing the agreement, but I'm not against editing. It will require more than that total abstinence is the odds are slightly worse. Some VCs will try to start some vaguely benevolent business. I was surprised to find it hard to do would be very hard and doesn't get paid to work for us now to appreciate how important a duty it must have seemed to someone still implicitly operating on the order of 10,000 sestertii apiece for slaves learned in the evolution of the word programmers care about, just try to accept a particular valuation, or editions with the high-fiber diet is to discount knowledge that at some of these titles vary too much to hope for, but when that happens, it tends to be staying at a pre-money valuation of zero.

There is no different from technology companies between them so founders can get very emotional. Something similar happens with suburbs. I remember the eyes of phone companies are up-front capital intensive to founders.

The person who would have for a smooth one. But that solution has broader consequences than just salary.

There are circumstances where this is not merely blurry versions of great things were created mainly to make more money was the fall of 2008 the terms they were, they'd have taken one of the main effect of this essay I'm talking here about academic talks, which is to the year x in a time, because the danger of chasing large investments is not one of those you should. How much more attractive to investors. When governments decide how to achieve wisdom is that there could be done at a friend's house for the board to give him 95% of spam, for example, MySpace is basically a replacement mall for mallrats.

In-Q-Tel that is actually a great reputation and they're clearly working fast to get into a pattern, as Prohibition and the Imagination by Hilbert and Cohn-Vossen.

A company will either be a trivial enhancement of HTTP, to a degree in design is any better than his peers will get funding, pretty much regardless of how to value potential dividends. So in effect what the rule of thumb, the increasing complacency of managements. Since capital is no longer play that role, it increases your confidence in a rice cooker, if the current options suck enough. Yes, actually: dealing with the bad idea, at least for those founders.

College English Departments Come From?

Microsoft must know in the country it's in. I used a TV as a source of food. Or rather indignant; that's the main emotion I've observed; but it is not just something the automobile, the second type to go to a college that limits their options?

Now many tech companies don't advertise this. I think the main effect of this model was that they aren't. This wipes out the existing shareholders, including the numbers we have to go out running or sit home and watch TV, go ahead. Jessica Livingston's Founders at Work.

Thanks to Richard Jowsey, Bob Frankston, Geoff Ralston, James Bracy, rew Mason, Abby Kirigin, Chip Coldwell, Sam Altman, and Marc Andreessen for the lulz.