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raphianna · 2 years

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A List of My Favourite Perry Mason Episodes

... because I can :] no order, just jotted down from what I remembered, or rewatched, etc., etc. may be subjected to grow

The Case of the Howling Dog

- because Paul got accosted by the dog at the end

- BECAUSE THE DOG DIDN'T ACTUALLY DIE

- still sad a dog got killed in the episode tho ;-;

The Case of the Pint-Sized Client

- the whole episode

The Case of the Romantic Rogue

- Paul slams a shotgun down away from Perry MID FIRE with a SHOVEL, like damn Paul (yes Paul, save your bf)

The Case of the Spanish Cross

- the episode that saved my life

- Perry's speech to Jimmy in the basement

The Case of the Singular Double

- "Oh, Paul, what was all this about a vacation?"

- "Did I say that?"

- "You did."

- "I must have been dreaming."

The Case of the Angry Astronaut

- the staged fight between Paul and Perry

The Case of the Lavender Lipstick

- Paul as 'prisoner' and his face when he sees Perry omg

- "Have a nice lunch, Mr. Helming." Perry, you know just got away with Paul not appearing in court, you madman

The Case of the Nervous Accomplice

- I think this is (one of) the only episode(s) where someone cusses??

- "Did you have to make me use this old truck? I felt like a jackass."

- Tragg getting schooled by Perry at the end

- "Oh, get me out of here before I use this on myself!"

The Case of the Rolling Bones

- the trio's confusion on how Tragg and Hamilton for once always seemed to be a step ahead of them instead

- their reactions when they realised the(ir) office had been bugged

The Case of the Haunted Husband

- one of the first Perry episodes I remember watching

- idk why, but I really liked the close up of Perry's wet shoes

- Tragg's 'Oy, gevalt...' at the end had me in STITCHES when I first heard it omg

The Case of the Cautious Coquette

- Mr. Bates' futile attempt to get his firm's money back and Perry rebuffing him every time

- "But I-I-I... I-I-I—" "Out."

- "Well, my good friends, I give you... Mr. Bates!"

The Case of the Half-Wakened Wife

- the adorable postman awed by Perry at the beginning, omg I wanted to hug him ;-;

- the amount of Paul/Perry moments (shipping brain talking :P)

The Case of the Lazy Lover

- Della running outside in heels

- Perry intentionally confusing Hamilton at the end

The Case of the Angry Mourner

- one of the few times we see Perry get angry; at his client, sure, but I liked it

- the trio working from Perry's cabin—perfection

- "You'll never convince me she was hired just to dust the furniture." damn Della, throwing the shade

- Perry tearing into Marion Keats, and then, '... perhaps Mr. Lansing would like to continue his argument that I'm abusing the due process of this court, that I had no definite plan, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.'

The Case of the Baited Hook

- Perry and Della hiding in a fire escape

- Perry refusing to take medicine for his cold at first at the end

The Case of the Moth-Eaten Mink

- Paul and Perry being woken up by phone calls

- "Paul, this is Perry."

- "I know. Who else would call me at this hour?"

- the amount of time Paul and Perry had together in this episode was AWESOME

- Paul, you never sit correctly, do you?

The Case of the Caretaker's Cat

- the whole episode; I loved Mr. Hing so much

The Case of the Calendar Girl

- I loved the confession here

The Case of the Mystified Miner

- Della called Perry her little brother. I love it. That is all. <3

The Case of the Meddling Medium

- this is technically the only episode where we see the victim die/in the process of dying, rather than just seeing it before being cut off. I thought it was pretty cool

- also kinda difficult to forget this episode since this is the one we watched the night we lost our oldest cat...

The Case of the Slandered Submarine

- Paul: "Anthony M. Beldon. Well, is he a client?"

- Perry: "I won't know that until I get to Terminal Island tomorrow morning at 9:00. I'll pick you up at 6:30."

- Paul: -_-

- Perry: :)

The Case of the Carefree Coronary

- Paul has a 'heart attack' and ends up in the hospital. Angst happens. 'Nuff said.

The Case of the Twice-Told Twist

- IT'S IN COLOUR. I FINALLY WAS ABLE TO SEE WHAT COLOUR PAUL'S EYES WERE!!

The Case of the Dead Ringer

- Raymond Burr played both the lawyer and the murderer, Mr. Grimes. It was awesome<3

#perry mason #paul drake #della street #text post #favourite episodes #i love them so much #they're cuties your honour

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starr-fall-knight-rise · 3 years

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HASO “At All Costs.”

Sorry I didn’t get this one to you yesterday. it required me to read and listen to a bunch of Apollo 11 transcripts and watch more than a few videos to pretend to know what I was doing. So I hope you like it :)

“Did you know that if Apollo 11 Rocket were to explode, that explosion would have the force equal to a small nuclear weapon?”

Captain Richards turned his head inside the confined suit barely able to see the Admiral where he sat, “Serious?”

“Yeah serious.”

“No, I mean are you really talking about the Saturn V exploding when we are, and I might add, in an exact replica of the Saturn V.”

The man shrugged, though it was a difficult gesture to make out in his massive space suit, “Just making small talk.”

Captain Chavez piped up from his other side, her voice strange and tiny over the absolutely ancient radio setup, “Let's hear it Admiral, give us more Apollo 11 facts.”

Richards groaned though it was all in good fun.

“Up to that point the Saturn V was the most powerful rocket ever created, of course compared to the most powerful space ship ever created, The Omen, it can barely rocket it’s way out of a paper bag, but at the time it was a masterwork of engineering. As tall as a skyscraper it requires 4,578,000 lbs of fuel and 7.5 million pounds of thrust. It is 363 feet tall and weighs around 6.2 million pounds. Oh also the UN president will likely have two speeches already prepared, one if we survive and one if we die horrifically.”

“Why did you have to add the horrific part.” Richards wondered

Chavez laughed from the other side of the rocket.

He really was flying with two absolute psychos.

Chavez adjusted herself in her seat, “Hey, Admiral, is it true you survived the vacuum of space… what does that feel like?”

“Yep 12 seconds or less of pure unadulterated terror, and let me tell you it does not feel great. Ruptured blood vessels, severe dehydration etc etc.”

“Can we please talk about something else?”

The other two laughed at him.

***

“All ready for go, engineering?”

“Not yet, command, still working on it.”

“Just let us know when you are ready. Try to make it quick.”

Jade snorted, “I would rather have late astronauts than dead ones, mission control.” Her bluntness seemed to have shut them up for the moment, and she stepped up to examine the outside of the rocket once again.

It was then that she heard footsteps approaching and turned to see the strange starborn returning with a large blue shape in tow. The Drev was a good two feet taller than she was with carapace the color of a bright blue sports car. It jogged up, large silver/white spear in one hand, “What Can I do.”

She held out the little sample of tape the starborn had taken from the ship, “We found this covering a loose bolt in one of the ship panels. It isn’t heat resistant so it would burn up on exit and cause the panel to tear lose.”

The Drev nodded before she could even finish, “Causing it to go into a spin.”

Jade paused then nodded, “yes.”

“So sabotage.”

“It seems so.”

The Drev didn’t look surprised and just simply nodded, “Do we call off the launch.”

“This is an easy fix, and would have been the easiest way to sabotage the rocket in the first place. Everything else is monitored too heavily and tested too heavily to allow for it, but I am going to need your eyes. I only noticed because of the reflective properties of the tape as compared to the paint. WIth your eyes I might be able to find anything else.”

The Drev nodded and stepped back slightly, her head tilted up as she looked at the rocket. “Give me some time, and I am sure I can find them all. Just name the places where a panel tear will be the most catastrophic, and let me know as those will be the first places I should look.”

Jade nodded glancing back at the mission control building.

Her heart hammered inside her chest. She hadn’t intended for things to go this far, but they had. She was caught up in something she didn’t want to be caught up in.

The Drev handed a camera to the starborn, “Go, and make it quick.”

“Of course your royal highness.” He said, though he didn’t waste time as he grabbed the camera and floated back into the air.

****

“Chairwoman?”

She lifted her head turning to examine one of her assistants as they jogged over to stand next to her. She leaned her head down as he stood to whisper to her, using a dialect in their language which was difficult to read using translation equipment, “The launch has been delayed.”

She lifted her head slightly in mild surprise, “Delayed, why would it be delayed?”

He bowed his head, “It sounds like one of their engineers was slow in finishing up their final check.” he leaned in a little closer, “However, I saw the Saint heading over there just a few minutes ago.”

The chairwoman felt her insides churn with worry and anticipation, “Do you think they found something.”

“They might have, I don’t know.”

“Should we send someone over….”

She shook her head, “I don’t want to play our hand yet. We still have options if things go wrong.”

He nodded his head again and stepped away as one of the humans walked closer, “My apologizes chairwoman, the launch has been delayed a few minutes, but everything should be on track soon.”

She nodded tightly though her insides chured.

“Carry on.” She said, dismissing the human and watching him go after a few moments.

***

“What is taking so long.”

“Madam president, it looks like the engineers haven't finished their final checks yet.”

She tapped her nails against the lectern, “Is there any way to speed them up? They have been working on this for years now.”

\The service member looked a little taken aback stepping away slightly, “I…. well no ma’am if something were to happen during the launch because it was overlooked-”

She cut him off and waved him away as she looked over towards the distant rocket, white against the distant skyline.

Inside she was nervous. Something could go wrong at any minute, and more was likely to go wrong the longer they waited. She had to force herself to take a deep breath though. Things would be fine, they had backup plans in place in case something failed. Everything was going to work out.

Still this was Admiral Vir they were talking about.

***

Eris pushed her way gently through the crowd listening to the voices that flooded in all around her. She didn’t usually like crowds, too many voices all at once, but today they hardly bothered her, and she sifted through them like a machine, coming through their thoughts, looking for anything suspicious, anything she could use, anything she could find. She had been ordered by Conn and Sunny to look for someone who knew something about the outside of the ship, which had been tampered with, and so she did inching closer and closer through the halls and towards mission control. She wanted to know if any of them knew something.

No one looked twice at her as they rushed up and down the halls. But then again every time someone tried to notice her, she would turn their thoughts in a different direction. It was not a trick she used very often, but being half starborn and half human had melded and given her the odd ability to influence people’s thoughts as well. It allowed her to go places she wouldn’t have otherwise been allowed.

She pulled her hoodie closer to the sides of her head and paused outside the door allowing the voices and thoughts to well around her, searching for that one threat d that was out of place. She sensed excitement, nervousness, accomplishment. Every mind she sifted through there was nothing to indicate sabotage. These people were genuinely excited and scared about what they were doing. For many of them it was the most exciting day of their lives feeling much the same way that Adam did about what they were doing. She pulled back from the door frowning.

Well, if she couldn’t get the truth from them, she was going to have to get close to the one person she knew was involved.

The chairwoman would know if there were any other issues, as she was the one who had ordered the sabotage.

Eris turned on her feet and began to run.

“Countdown begins in ten minutes.” She heard over the intercom.

Shit, she hadn’t thought it was going to begin so soon.

Eris raced outside pausing on the edge of the balcony as she stared down at the crowd. With her bad knees, it was going to take her forever to get down those stairs….. Of course there was one option.

She grimaced at the thought, but then reminded herself that it was either that or a dead Adam.

Eris quickly pulled off her hoodie draping it over one arm and feeling the starborn ribbons uncoil and fall down around her back. A few of them were long enough to trail on the ground behind her. The open back of her shirt exposed the ribbons to the sun overhead warming her up and making her feel exhilarated.

She reached down to her belt to engage the gravity field before taking a long, deep breath. Ribbons billowed up around her from behind catching the light of the sun. She pulled herself up to sit on the edge of the balcony and then, with the gravity field engaged, she dropped. Her ribbons flared out from behind her, and she was given a sudden strange sensation, and as she played with that sensation she felt herself coasting forward on some unknown power. She floated over the heads of those below, slowly coming down at an angle.

Fingers pointed up at her as she went and she did her best to ignore them as she came to a stop at the edge of the crowd. The people stared at her wide eyed as she gathered up her ribbons and quickly pulled her hoodie back on, ducking into the crowd and elbowing her way through up towards the stage where the chairwoman and the Un president sat.

She was so close.

She could sense.

Eris froze in horror.

***

“That’s it, that’s the last one.”

“Four, seems like a good number, and all on the same panel. If they had put them anywhere else it would have caused suspicion as to why the entire ship tore apart.”

Conn floated down from above and handed off a fistfull of silvered tape.

She reached up to her mic, “mission control you are going for launch, I repeat, you are go for launch.”

The Drev and the Starborn floated after her, joining her in the small jeep as they rolled away from the base of the rocket.

****

“Four minutes and counting we are go for Apollo 11

“Apollo 11's launch operations manager wishes you good luck.”

“ Thank you, we’ll do their memory proud.”

“That’s three minus and 25 seconds in counting. We are still going at this time.”

“T minus 1 minute and 54 ten seconds and counting oxidizer tanks on the second and third stages have pressurized.”

“T minus one minute 35 seconds on the Second Apollo 11 mission flight to remember the first men who stepped foot on the moon.”

“T minus sixty second and counting.”

“Admiral Vir reports that the countdown is going smoothly.”

“Power transfer is complete.”

“All second stage tanks now pressurized.”

“T minus fifteen seconds and counting guidance is internal.”

“12 11 10 9 Ignition sequence starts 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 all engines running.”

A massive wave of fire rolled from the underside of the rocket spilling out onto the ground around it in smoke and flames as the scaffold holding the rocket in place detached against the roaring power of the rocket.

“Liftoff, we have liftoff, Tower clear.”

The rocket spears it’s way into the sky leaving smoke and fire behind it. For a moment it is obscured by smoke before cutting through and piercing the blue canopy of sky above.

***

Adam rocked in his seat pressed backwards by what felt like hundreds of pounds of force against his chest. The rocket vibrated and rolled around him until it was almost impossible to see with his eyes being jarred inside his head. He was mostly defensive, it was, admittedly like nothing he had ever experienced. He was used to smooth transitions in darkfriars and spaceships, but this…., this was something altogether different. His heart hammered as they went higher and higher, the roaring from the fire licking the windows outside clear as they shook their way through the lower and then upper atmosphere. The communications clicked on and off as he kept in contact with ground control below when it was possible, his body rattling a little as he tried to remain steady.

The sky was darkening above him from eggshell blue to that familiar blue black.

“Apollo 11 this is Huston, you are going for staging.”

His hands felt like the bones were going to rattle out of his knuckles. He had never experienced a launch this intense before.

“ll, this is Houston. Roger. You're (0 from the ground at 7 minutes. Level sense arm at 8 plus 17; outboard cut-off at 9 plus Il.”

“Roger.”

They were getting higher.

“Staging, and ignition.”

“Apollo 11, this is Houston. Predicted cut-off at ll plus 42. Over.”

“Shutdown.”

***

The rocket lifted into the sky and she craned her head back to watch it go roaring as it was carried upward on a pillar of flames. Her hand reached down stroking the red folder that lay just under her fingers.

“Tilt nominal.”

She held her breath tight, her chest pounding and watched as it went up and up and up.

No disturbances. Her hands gripped the side of the lectern turning her head to one of the agents who nervously glanced back. She nodded and he rushed away. Her hands were clammy.

“Come on, she muttered.”

***

Chairwoman of the GA kept her eyes locked on the flying deathtrap as it was hauled into the air, come on come on she thought to herself as it rose higher and higher. She turned her head to one of her men who nodded quickly and then rushed off. Smoke filled the valley below them.

***

They had dropped the first stage, and Richards hands were sweaty despite the water wicking gloves under his suit. He was communicating back and forth with mission control when he watched in horror as Admiral Vir cut off communications with ground control. They were in space now and earth was beginning to fold out before them on either side.

“What are you doing.” He hissed in near panic

The Admiral ignored him, keying the coms one more time.

“Red, this is Apollo 11.”

Richards sat in shock as an unknown voice responded over the line, “Is that you in that bucket of bolts cinderella?”

The man’s voice sounded like he was smiling, “yep it’s me, keep your men on standby red, we made it out of atmosphere, but I don’t trust them to let me make it out of orbit.”

“Copy that your highness.”

Richards glanced out the window, watching as a sleek racing jet pulled into formation just outside the window of their rocket. It was so close to them that he could see the silhouette of the driver in the cockpit beyond reminding him that….. Despite the feeling of their rocket. They weren’t as alone as those astronauts had been originally.

The admiral suddenly flipped the mike back

“Apollo 11 this is Huston, DO YOU COPY.”

“Huston this is Apollo 11, sorry comms went out for a second, got them fixed.”

“Roger, don’t scare us like that.”

***

The UN president turned her head down, caught suddenly by the feeling of being watched. Off to her side the Chairwoman was still staring into the sky, but slowly lowered her head as if she felt it too.

She looked down surprised to find a figure staring at them, instead of staring at the rocket. She was humanoid with porcelain white skin and large black eyes.

But the voice that filled the inside of her head was not her own.

“You….. It’s you.”

***

Ten remote operated Rundi drones detached from the space debris and rolled into place around the rocket.

The pilots, sitting safely inside their ships listened to instructions over the line as the chairwoman of the GA whispered.

“Keep Admiral Vir alive at all costs.”

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ninja-muse · 4 years

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i’m trying to branch out and read outside my genre (fantasy) do you have any book recs for someone whose heart is in fantasy but needs to see what else is out there?

Hi anon! Thanks for the ask! Fantasy’s such a wide genre, and this is such an open ask, that I’m mostly going to be recommending books with similar feels or themes from other genres, to push you a little outside the fantasy bubble and introducing you to different genres and types of storytelling. If you have a favourite subgenre or trope or author, I can maybe get a little more specific or offer read-alikes.

Also, I don’t know if you knew this before asking, but fantasy is my favourite genre too, so some of these recs are books that pushed me out of the genre as well, or that I found familiar-but-different.

And this is getting long, so I’m going to throw it under a cut to save everyone scrolling.

Science fiction

the Vorkosigan saga by Lois McMaster Bujold - This is space opera, which means it’ll have fairly familiar plots except with science-y things instead of magic. There’s an heir with something to prove, heists, cons, and mysteries, attempted coups and assassinations, long-suffering sidekicks, and a homeworld that’s basically turn-of-the-century Russia but with fewer serfs. It was one of the first adult sci-fi books I read and genuinely liked.

The Book of Koli by M.R. Carey - I finished this recently, and the second book of the trilogy just came out. This is post-apocalyptic sci-fi, but not grim or particularly complex. (Some SF gets really into the nuts and bolts of the science elements; this isn’t that.) Basically, Koli’s a teenager who wants more than his quasi-medieval life’s given him, and finds himself in conflict with his village (and then exile) because of it. I could see where the story was going pretty much from the start, but I loved the journey anyway.

The Martian by Andy Weir - This doesn’t have much in common with fantasy, but it’s my go-to rec for anyone who’s never read science fiction before, because it’s funny, explains the science well, and has a hero and a plot you get behind right away. In case you haven’t heard of it (or the film), it’s about an astronaut stranded on Mars, trying to survive long enough to be rescued.

Foreigner by C.J. Cherryh - This is an alien first contact story, about a colony of humans in permanent quarantine on an alien planet. The MC is the sole social liaison and translator, explaining his culture to the aliens and the aliens to the human, and working to keep the peace—until politics and assassins get involved. It’s been over a decade since I read this, so my memory’s blurred, but I remember the same sort of political intrigue vibes as the Daevabad trilogy, just with fewer POVs.

Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor - One from my TBR. It looks like dark fiction about women, outcasts, and revenge, which sounds very fantastic and the MC can apparently do magic—but it’s post-apocalyptic Africa.

Speaking of political intrigue and sweeping epic plots, the Expanse series by James S.A. Corey has both in spades. Rebellions, alien technology, corrupt businesses, heroes doing good things and getting bad consequences, all that good stuff. It takes the science fairly seriously, without getting very dense with it, and will probably register as “more sci-fi” than my recs in the genre so far.

Oh, and Dune by Frank Herbert is such a classic chosen-one epic that it barely registers as science fiction at all.

Graphic novels

It’s technically fantasy, but assuming you’ve never picked up a graphic novel before, you should read Monstress by Marjorie Liu. Asian-inspired, with steampunk aesthetics, and rebellions and quests and so many female characters. It’s an absolutely fantastic graphic novel, if you want a taste of what those can do.

I’d highly recommend Saga by Brian K. Vaughan. It’s an epic science fiction story about a family caught between sides of a centuries-long war. (Dad’s from one side, Mom’s from the other, everyone wants to capture them, their kid is narrating.) It’s a blast to read, exciting and tense, with hard questions and gorgeous tender moments, and the world-building somehow manages to include weaponized magic, spaceship trees, ghosts, half-spider assassins, and all-important pulp romance novels without anything feeling out of place.

Historical fiction

Hild by Nicola Griffith - Very rich and detailed novel following a girl growing up in an early medieval English court. It’s very fantasy-esque, with battles and politics and changes of religion, and Hild gets positioned early on to be the king’s seer, so there’s “magic” of a sort as well.

The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry - A widow goes to the Victorian seaside to heal and reawaken her interest in biology. Slow, gentle, lovely writing and atmosphere, interesting characters and turns of plot. Doesn’t actually deliver on the sea monster, but still has a lot to recommend it to fantasy readers, I think.

Yiddish for Pirates by Gary Barwin - The late-medieval Jewish pirate adventure you didn’t know you wanted. It’s funny and literary, full of tropes and set pieces like “small-town kid in the big city” and “jail break”, and features the Spanish Inquisition, Columbus, the Fountain of Youth, and talking parrots, among other things.

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett - A thousand pages about the building of a cathedral in England, mostly focusing on the master builder, the monk who spearheads the project, and a noblewoman who’s been kicked off her family’s land, but has several other plots going on, including a deacon with political ambitions, a war, and a boy who’s trying so hard to fit in and do right.

Sharon Kay Penman - This is an author on my TBR, who comes highly recommended for her novels about the War of the Roses and the Plantagenets. Should appeal to you if you liked Game of Thrones. I’m planning to start with The Sunne in Splendour.

Lady of the Forest by Jennifer Roberson - Either a Robin Hood retelling that’s also a romance, or a romance that’s also a Robin Hood retelling.

Hamnet & Judith by Maggie O’Farrell - A novel of the Shakespeare family, mostly focused on his wife and son. Lovely writing and a very gentle feel though it heads into dark and complex subjects fairly often. A good portrait of Early Modern family life.

Mystery

There’s not a lot of mystery that reads like high, epic, or even contemporary fantasy, but if you’re a fan of urban fantasy, which is basically mystery with magic in, then I’d rec:

Cozy mysteries as a general subgenre, especially if you like the Sookie Stackhouse end of urban fantasy, which has romance and quirky plots; there are plenty of series where the detective’s a witch or the sidekick’s a ghost but they’re solving non-magical mysteries, and the genre in general full of heroines who are good at solving crimes without formal training, and the plots feel very similar but with slightly lower stakes. Cozies have become one of my comfort-reading genres (along with UF) the last few years. My intros were the Royal Spyness novels by Rhys Bowen and the Fairy Tale Fatale books by Maia Chance.

If you like your urban fantasy darker and more serious, and your heroines more complicated, try Kathy Reichs and her Temperance Brennan novels. Brennan’s a forensic anthropologist, strong and complicated in the same ways of my fave UF heroines, and the mysteries are already interesting, with a good dash of thriller and a smidge of romance.

Two other recs:

Haunted Ground by Erin Hart - The first of four books about a forensic anthropologist in Ireland, who’s called in when the Garda find bodies in the peat bogs and need to know how long they’ve been there. They’re very atmospheric—I can almost smell the bog—and give great portraits of rural Ireland and small-town secrets, and since not all the bodies found in each book are recent, they also bring interesting slices of the past to life as well.

A Burnable Book by Bruce Holsinger - This is essentially a medieval thriller about a seditious book that’s turned up in London. I liked the mystery in it and that it’s much more focused on the lives of average people than the rich and famous (for all that recognizable people also show up).

Classics

Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift - I swear this is actually one of the first fantasy novels but few people ever really class it as such. Basically, Gulliver’s a ship’s doctor who keeps getting shipwrecked—in a country of tiny people, a country of giants, a country of mad scientists, a country of talking horses, etc. It’s social satire and a spoof of travelogues from Swift’s time, but it’s easily enough read without that context.

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll - Another, slightly later, fantasy and satire! Even more amusing situations than in Gulliver’s Travels and, while it’s been a while* since I read it, I think it’ll be a decent read-alike for authors like Jasper Fforde, Genevieve Cogman, and that brand of light British comic fantasy.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare - Also technically a fantasy! I mean, there are fairies and enchantments, for all it’s a romantic comedy written entirely in old-fashioned poetry. It’s a pretty good play to start you off on Shakespeare, if you’re interested in going that direction.

On the subject of Shakespeare, I would also recommend Much Ado About Nothing, Macbeth, and King Lear, the first because it’s my favourite comedy, the others because they’re fantasy read-alikes imo as well (witches! coups! drama!).

the Arthurian mythos. Le Morte D’arthur, Crétien de Troyes, The Once and Future King by T.H. White, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain, etc. - I’ve read bits and pieces of the first two, am about 80% sure I read the third as a kid (or at least The Sword in the Stone), and have the last on my TBR. Basically, these stories are going to give you an exaggeratedly medieval setting, knights, quests, wizards, fairies, high drama, romantic entanglements, and monsters, and the medieval ones especially have different kinds of plots than you’ll be used to (and maybe open the door to more medieval lit?) **

Beowulf and/or The Odyssey - Two epics that inspired a lot of fiction that came later. (There’s an especial connection between Beowulf and Tolkien.) They’re not the easiest of reads because they’re in poetry and non-linear narratives, but both have a hero facing off against a series of monsters and/or magical creatures as their core story.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley - The first real science fiction novel. It’s about the ethics of science and the consequences of one’s actions, and I loved seeing the Creature find himself and Frankenstein descend into … that. It’s also full of sweeping, gothic scenes and tension and doom and drama.

* 25 years, give or take

** There are plenty of more recent people using King Arthur and associated characters too, if this "subgenre” interests you.

Other fiction

Vicious by V.E. Schwab - I don’t know if you classify superheroes as science fiction or fantasy or its own genre (for me it depends on the day) but this is an excellent take on the subject, full of moral greyness and revenge.

David Mitchell - A literary fiction writer who has both a sense of humour and an interest in the fantastic and science fictional. He writes ordinary people and average lives marvelously well, keeps me turning pages, plays with form and timelines, and reliably throws in either recurring, possibly-immortal characters, good-vs-evil psychic battles, or other SF/F-y elements. I’d start with either Slade House, a ghost story, or Utopia Avenue, about a ‘60s rock band. Or possible The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, which I fully admit to not having read yet.

Devolution by Max Brooks - A horror movie in book form, full of tension and desperation and jump scares and the problems with relying on modern technology. The monsters are Bigfeet. Reccing this one in the same way I’m reccing The Martian—it’s an accessible intro to its genre.

Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson - Contemporary fiction with a slight literary bent, that doesn’t pull its punches about Indigenous life but also has a sense of humour about the same. Follows a teen dealing with poverty and a bad home life and drugs and hormones—and the fact that his bio-dad might actually be the trickster Raven. Also features witches, magic, and other spirit-beings, so I generally pitch this as magic realism.

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones - Another Indigenous rec, this time a horror novel about ghosts and racism and trying to do the right thing. This’ll give you a taste of the more psychological end of the horror spectrum.

Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia - A good example of contemporary YA and how it handles the complexities of life, love, and growing up. Follows the writer of a fantasy webcomic who makes a friend who turns out to write fic of her story and who suddenly has to really balance online and offline life, among other pressures. Realistic portrait of mental health problems.

Non-fiction

The Book of Margery Kempe - The first English-language autobiography. Margery was very devout but also very badass, in a medieval sort of way. She went on pilgrimages to Jerusalem, was possibly epileptic, frequently “saw” Christ and Mary and demons, basically became a nun in middle age while staying married to her husband, and wound up on trial for heresy, before talking a monk into writing down her life story. It’s a fascinating window into the time period.

The Hammer and the Cross by Robert Ferguson - A history of medieval Norse people and how their explorations and trade shaped both their culture and the world.

A Time of Gifts by Patrick Leigh Fermor - Travel writing that was recommended to me by someone who raved about the prose and was totally right. Fermor’s looking back, with the aid of journals, on a walking trip he took across Europe in the 1930s. It’s a fascinating look at the era and an old way of life, and pretty much every “entry” has something of interest in it. He met all sorts of people.

Tim Severin and/or Thor Heyerdahl - More travel writing, this time by people recreating historical voyages (or what they believe to be historical voyages, ymmv) in period ships. Severin focuses on mythology (I’ve read The Ulysses Voyage and The Jason Voyage) and Heyerdahl’s known for Kon-Tiki, which is him “proving” that Polynesians made contact with South America. They both go into the history of the sailing and areas they’re travelling through, while also describing their surroundings and daily life, and, yes, running into storms and things.

Hope this helps you!

#bookblr #booklr #fantasy #read-alikes #answered asks #book recommendations #rec lists

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im-a-lonelyheart · 4 years

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Second Generation Headcanons

These are my headcanons of how the children from the epilogue would be. I know most folks don´t like the epilogue (For the most part I still don’t know how to feel about it) but I do, however in my head Takari and Koumi are canon (there are people who like the epilogue but don’t like including non explicit canon ships) (I won’t be mentioning them just in case), I really love the design for the kids!!!

Let’s start:

The following fanart is done by the amazing Mishy (who let me use her art for this post) (go check her out x)

Sora and Yamato’s kids: (sorry I suck at naming characters so don’t expect names)

The only ones who were fully planned they waited a while to have kids because:

1. Were busy building successful and time demanding careers.

2. Given their own childhood issues, they both agreed to wait until both were 100% on board and could provide a healthy household for their kids to grow up.

Were scared shitless anyways

Yamato is the cool uncle who is an astronaut, all the kids LOVE him, and he loves all the kids. Always brings every single one of them presents from his travels or science/related ones.

The son:

Tiny baby (the takeru of the group), everyone is so protective of him not only his sister and cousins. His Digimon follows the gabumon line and is really powerful so he doesn’t really need the extra protection (but everyone ignores this)

Inherited the crest of light. He is a ray of sunshine

Ok hear me out. I think the chosen lost/gave up their crest sometime between kizuna and the epilogue and while their kids got the same baby Digimon as their parents, the crest were redistributed according to their own personality traits.

That scared his parents, because they saw how it burdened Hikari. Even if the darkness was placated years ago (whatever was after Hikari is gone), it couldn’t be truly destroyed. Still, this crest carries a lot of power and responsibility.

Hikari came over and took him to the park and over ice cream explained the crest to him and reassured them all that they have nothing to be worried about and they could contact her anytime in case something happens.

The daughter:

Bearer of the crests of Love and Friendship.

Scarily similar to both of her parents.

Loves to play and participate in group activities, but also enjoys being alone sometimes.

Really into art, she is never seen without her sketch book and a pen. All the paintings in her house are painted by her. And her mother also incorporates some of them into her designs or uses them as inspiration.

100% Daddy’s girl. She looks up to Yamato so much, even dresses a little like him and keeps her hair short for a while (she loves it when they tell her she looks like him).

Loves to hang out with Taichi’s son. They are in the same school.

Had an emo phase.

Miyako and Ken’s children:

The babies having babies. I am emo.

They both work a lot, but miyako does it from home (she works with Koushiro, fight me). They still take them to the park a lot and go on family trips all the time.

THE DAUGHTER:

Little shit.

Actual genius. Always doing experiments, don’t be surprised if you see the dog with a phone taped to his collar, she is probably trying something. Loves computers but science is her thing. After all these years they let her be as long as 1. She is home, 2. Doesn’t involve the digimons, 3. Doesn’t involve fire.

One time Yamato gave her a chemistry set. They had to move out to another building. After that, Ken asked him to bring her moon rocks from now on. She also loved the rocks

Loves to roast everyone in the family (mostly Miyako). Ken has to remind her not to be so rude to her mom. She adores her parents, but this brings her joy.

Crest of purity. Mimi is proud of her

Don’t be fooled, she is the goggle kid of this gen.

The son

Actual cinnamon roll, too pure for this world.

Calm personality. It contrasts a little from his sister’s. But if she is up to something, he is the only one 100% aware of it and would follow her to the end of the world.

Miyako thought she was coercing him, but no, he loves his older sister’s ideas and plans.

Crest of Love. He is really in tune with other people’s feelings, it concerns his parents because he can be overly empathetic sometimes and it affects him. He is really open and wears his heart on his sleeve.

He tells everything to his mom, and if something goes wrong, he’s the first one to contact the adults.

Iori’s daughter

Iori was the youngest to have a kid, he knew it, but he really wanted his grandfather to meet his kid and see him happy and married before he died.

He isn’t sappy or overly romantic, but he believes in love at first sight, meet his wife on his first day in college and didn’t look back.

Lives in the same building as takeru. They drink tea together in the afternoons like old british ladies

The kid

Looks like a cinnamon roll but is Little shit 2. Best friends with little shit 1 and Takeru’s son.

Again, Ken has to make sure they aren’t overly mean to Miyako and Iori.

Crests of knowledge. Wants to know everything about the digimons and the digital world.

Has Iori wrapped around her finger since day one, but he is the first one to call her out her BS.

Isn’t into kendo but likes to try different extracurricular activities (still hasn’t found what she likes yet), but Iori is her #1 fan everytime.

Jyou’s son

Jyou moved around the country for a while, so his kid didn’t grow up as close to the others. He still made sure they all hung out together whenever he was in town.

“I have to make sure you don’t miss me”

“oh, it isn’t like you were around much when we were young”

“MIMI-KUN!”

The kid

Gomamon’s biggest fan. He and his own Bukamon were his only friends for a while, he can’t wait for bukamon to digivolve so he can be with TWO gomamons.

When they moved back, He got close to Takeru’s kid. Doesn’t get what the fuss about his father is about.

He knows a lot about digimons but is more into engineering. Doesn’t like blood.

Inherited his father’s lack of chill. Has a little crush on iori’s daughter (hasn’t figured out how to act around her, yet).

Crest of purity/reliability.

Takeru’s son

He is with Hikari and their kids are siblings. Please let me have this.

Takeru really loves his nephew and niece. He totally would spoil them rotten.

Designated Babysitter. Since he is a freelancer, you can say he has a lot of free time (not to his face tho), he likes to take the kids to amusement parks, go for ice cream, etc.…

After his lonely childhood he is loving having such a big family now. I CrY.

The kid.

Grew up listening to his father’s stories every night.

One thing he learned about them was the importance of being prepared all the time and think before he acts. He is thoughtful, so he really related to Jyou.

Not only that, Jyou is his hero. Takeru was really amused at first when his son would ask him questions about him after his bedtime stories. He is fond of his son admiration for his friend, who also saved him when he was younger, and knows that Jyou being away contributed to this.

Carries a backpack with him all the time. You want water? He got it. You need tissues? He has some. Some kid at school is being mean to you? He would show up to walk you home. (doesn’t like violence)

Crests of reliability. The kid was ecstatic.

At first, he got close to Jyou’s son so he could talk about his dad but ended up really liking the kid. (he likes to be friends with everyone)

Best friends with Iori’s daughter. And hella overprotective of his cousins.

Hikari’s son:

Please

Designated babysitter 2. She is really good with kids, tho she also helps organize plans for only the adults.

Tailmon disappeared one day when she was heavily pregnant, she looked for her the whole day and finally found her in her mother’s house. Tailmon told her she was worried that when she had the baby, she wouldn’t like having her around anymore.

Hikari reassured her that she would love them all equally and she will need her now more than ever. They cried and made up, then her water broke.

Taichi totally cried nonstop the day she gave birth. She still teases him about it.

The kid:

Healthy as a horse, athletic and tall. Total opposite from his mother except for his looks. It amuses Taichi to no end.

Behind the scenes leader. He loves to bring out the best in everyone and always makes sure they are all fine. He specially loves to hang out with Miyako’s kids, Daisuke’s son and Takeru’s son his sibling (they have to deal with the shenanigans of LS1 and LS2, god bless them).

Crest of Fate. Hikari always suspected that like her, he wouldn’t get a normal crest, still cautious as to what exactly this one means.

Hates being alone, isn’t used to it. Tailmon slept in his crib with him when he was a baby. He is always with his plotmon and has got in trouble several times for bringing her to school. He hasn’t told anyone but his Nyaromon digivolved because he ran to the street without looking and was almost hit by a car. Plotmon saved him.

Loves having sleepovers at his uncle’s house, despite their age difference he really loves to play with his cousin.

Taichi’s son

Always said he’d rather be a cool uncle than being a father. But the more he thought about it the more he wanted it. He realized he was the only one without a kid, but his travels still made him hesitate.

Still goes over to Yamato and Sora’s house all the time. One time when Sora was pregnant Yamato arrived from work and found Sora sitting in the sofa and Taichi cutting fruit in the kitchen.

Yamato and Taichi sat down, Taichi handed Sora a bowl of fruit and whipped cream and started eating it with her.

“thanks”

“You didn’t bring me a fork?”

“oh, I am sorry, was the baby growing inside you pushing your organs too?” Taichi and Sora laugh.

“no. but then why are you eating?”

“I cut the fruit”

“well, I bought the fruit!”

“GUYS”

“Sorry… but seriously what’s the matter with you lately?”

“I don’t know what are you talking about… hey Sora how did I do it?”

“the fruit? Fine I guess… why?” both Sora and Yamato stared at Taichi waiting for him to spill.

“OHjustfine?ok,bythewayiamhavingababytoo”

One time he got emotional after seeing his little sister’s son taking care of his son.

ANYWAYS, THE KID

CREST OF FRIENDSHIP *not pictured: everyone laughing about it for years.

Baby but doesn’t like being treated as one. Super independent, dresses himself since he is two. Loves to challenge himself.

Instant best friends with everyone he meets. Loves to hangout with the Ishidas. They are his best friends, also his cousin, also is everyone else. Doesn’t mind being around adults as well, often called matured for his age. This amuses Hikari.

Apart from his parents, Hikari is his favorite person in the world. Right now, he wants to be a teacher like her. (Last week he wanted to be a Chef like Mimi)

He and the third Ichijouji kid will probably lead the next gen.

Daisuke’s son

Daisuke travelled a lot, meet a lot of people and ironically, he married one of his neighbors. He went one time to visit his parents and ran into the girl who lived upstairs, whom he knew since he was a kid, but holy shit. He visited his parents everyday for a month until she asked him out.

When she got pregnant, he asked Taichi for his goggles.

The kid:

Prankster. Did you expect anything else? (his chibimon has a really deep voice and he loves to use him to prank people)

Don’t leave him alone with the Ichijouji girl if you value your home or your life.

Crest of Courage. Loves a good adventure, well for him everything is an adventure: from running errands with his aunt to going with his father to one of his restaurants around the world.

He is a handful; however, he has a big heart and is such a happy kid.

Admires the older chosen a lot and it’s always asking them questions about their adventures. Dreams of being an explorer or changing the world. Yamato patiently answers all his questions about space since his own kids don’t seem to be interested.

Mimi’s son:

She totally married koushiro, bear with me on this.

She has a multifaceted career, although not in what you would expect (she wasn’t interested in acting or singing professionally). She ran a lot of business, selling them when she lost interest. Is not afraid of taking risks. This meant she travelled a lot.

Eventually got tired (yes, I know. Mimi, tired? Yes) and came back to Japan. At first, she was promoting her new cooking book in a tv show but she got offered her own show and has been living her best life ever since.

The kid:

He is quiet, introvert but observant.

Ironically, he speaks 4 languages (Japanese, English, French, and Spanish), he is learning german now. He loves reading so that’s why he likes languages a lot.

He bonds with the other kids over the digimons and card games, ends up going to school with most of them and they eventually bring him out of his shell. He and Jyou’s son are kindred spirits.

Calm kid, but if you mess with him or one of his friends… you will see him angry. He is honest and loyal to his friends.

(you know how each baby Digimon has multiple evolution lines? I read in the Digimon wiki that one of Palmon’s ultimate forms is a cherrymon. Imagine Taichi saying something like: “Well kid, one advice: never tell someone to kill their friends” and the kid being like: “…ok?”, whereas Mimi and Yamato glare at him “I’ll fucking end you Taichi”)

Crest of knowledge/courage, of course.

Last but no least:

Koushiro’s Daughter.

By this point You know what’s up

Koushiro first thought when she was handed to him for the first time was: “wow, she looks like me.” What really got to him (even though it shouldn’t) was how he had someone related to him by blood.

He adores her and is really proud of every little thing she does. Remember the “do it for her” scene from the Simpsons? He totally has one like that in his office.

Tentomon didn’t tell anyone that he spent a whole day watching Youtube hair styling tutorials. No, none. He didn’t tell Palmon and Gomamon who told everyone else, no.

The kid:

Actual ray of sunshine. (i know i seem to say this about every kid, but listen they are my kids too)

She is the nicest kid you’ll ever meet. Koushiro says he’s never had to deal with a temper tantrum.

Crest of Kindness. Loves animals, got her dad to donate money to the oceans and animal shelters.

Sora gave her stickers with cute animals and smiley faces for her birthday and now if she sees someone sad, she gives them a sticker. “Dad, you look sad today. Here!” she puts a smiley face on his forehead, he smiles and hugs her. He didn’t take it off and “accidentally” went on a meeting like that. Miyako took pictures and sent them to the group chat.

Closest to Ken’s son and Mimi’s son her brother. Also loves to hangout with Taichi’s son, and Yamato’s kids.

Loves music, actual prodigy. Plays the piano and the violin (she plays violin most of the time). Wants to compose a song for each Digimon. Invites everyone to her concerts.

Ok, this was long. I didn’t talk about the baby, but i think he would be Hope (since he is the last one) (wrote this in an hour and english is not my first language, so yeah. Sorry)

I think these people love each other so much, they might’ve drifted apart in their youth, but with the years they all got close again. Since most of the kids don’t have siblings, they set up playdates, so they don’t feel lonely. They don’t regret the events that brought them together, they knew they had to let their kids experience it when the time came.

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spnfanficpond · 4 years

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January 2020 Pond LiveChat Recap - Writing RPF

We had a great time chatting with Taylor, @impalaimagining! Thank you so much for joining us and sharing your thoughts and experience!

Our topic this month was Writing RPF, and we talked about the legal, moral, and emotional aspects of writing about real people. A rundown of the chat, as well as general Pond news, is below the cut!

We started off the chat with the legal side of things, most of which was covered back when we talked about Monetizing Fan Works back in May. Here are the related links that were brought up:

Wikipedia: Legal issues with fan fiction (The section dealing with RPF is near the bottom under Right of Publicity.) Boiled down, RPF has to deal with a celebrity's Right of Publicity. Famous people have the right to control the commercial use of their name, image, and likeness, sometimes even their broader identity or persona. Most states’ laws on this only apply to uses for commercial gain. So, don't try to get paid directly for RPF, and you're safe.

From NPR: We Stan: Real Person Fan Fiction Comes To Life. This is a fascinating discussion about RPF, the legalities, and how it’s been changing in recent years. This argues that basically since “fiction” is right there in the name, RPF is inherently more legal than regular fan fiction based off of characters. No one is trying to say that the real people involved are actually doing these things, it’s just fiction.

Goodreads Genre: Fan Fiction - Real Person Fiction. When I was researching, this link came up, and I clicked it, not knowing what to expect. Finding that Fan fiction, much less RPF is on Goodreads was surprising to me. (I thought Goodreads was only about books that could be purchased and didn’t touch “unpublished” works, but I guess not?) What I found most interesting was exactly how many of the titles listed on that page are J2-related. There are more J2-related titles than all of the others COMBINED. As a fandom, we rock!

The discussion started with most folks saying they hadn’t considered the legalities of fan fiction, or RPF in particular, when they began writing. Their first concern was just getting the story out of their head and onto the paper. Also, since no one was getting paid for it and it’s so popular, no one questioned the legalities. Also, since it’s fiction, there’s no defamation of character.

@mrswhozeewhatsis (Michelle): Most people know that I generally don’t read RPF, unless it’s an AU. Way way way back, when I first started reading fan fiction, I used to read the occasional RPF. Honestly, before SPN, I never really liked an actor enough to want to know more about them. (I've been burned by some jerk actors in the past.) One of the first RPFs I ever read was from Jared's POV, and it contained a scene where he was on stage at a con, and detailed his thoughts. I forget what the inciting incident was, but suddenly he was thinking, "Great, now they're all thinking about how big my dick is," and it made him spiral. Something about that stuck with me, to the point that I cringe every time I see Jared on stage and anything remotely sexual comes up. That's pretty much what stopped me from reading RPF. I have no problem thinking about how big Sam's dick is, but I can't ponder too much about Jared's dick, or I can't look him in the eye when I see him at cons!!!

Taylor: I definitely think there is a very fine line to be walked when you write RPF, and I generally don't cross into the area of writing from an actor's POV.

Q: Is that how you keep it separate so you don’t stare into their faces at a con during a photo op and think about the smut you wrote about them?

Taylor: It can be hard to keep it separate sometimes but it's actually very easy in the moment of a split second photo op. They move so quickly, I don't genuinely think I have ever had the time to consider the things I've written about them while I was talking to and hugging them!

Q: Anyone else who doesn’t read/write RPF, do you think that the whole not being able to look them in the eye is an internal thing for anyone in your life, or just celebs?

@manawhaat (Mana): For example, I have A. FUCKING. LOT. of sex dreams. With tons of people, celebs and people I know in my real life... and I don't want to say that it's jaded me as far as thinking sexual thoughts about people, but in a way it kind of has. I don't have that moral dilemma of not being able to look Jared in the eye after thinking about his dick. Taylor: I completely agree. I think writing it has made me kind of impervious to it bleeding into my daily life. I see Jared and my heart goes ohmygodwelovehim first and in person, then later when he's not around is when the wowowowbutwhatabouthisdick comes in. Michelle: I don’t think I could write about anyone in a smutty way. Just characters.

Q: I wanted to talk about 'characterization' of rpf. Do other rpf writers out there think of the people as characters and treat them that way, or do you humanize them? Idk if that question makes sense but it's along the same lines of keeping them separate.

@fogsrollingin (Alex): I cast them in other stories when it's rpf. I always write rpf AUs with only a couple exceptions. We know their onscreen mannerisms, so making them astronauts terraforming a new planet with evil aliens on it is like "oh easy". Taylor: Characterization is huge for me. If someone writes an actor outside of the way they portray themselves, it's impossible for me to read. While we don't know these people personally, we know how they act outwardly and in the public eye, and that's enough to get a good idea of the kind of person they would be. Michelle: I have no trouble reading AUs, because it's just another character who happens to look like and have the name of one of my favorite actors. In AUs, they're characters. If they are actors on a show called Supernatural, then it's too humanizing for me. Taylor: See, Michelle, my mind can't separate it to that degree. If I'm reading about someone named Jared who looks like our Jared? It's Jared. AUs give me a lot of trouble, to be honest. Both writing and reading. Alex: I feel like it's no different than if Jared did a scifi movie during his summer break from spn & it's so low budget they just kept his real name for his character name.

Q: Do you feel differently reading ship RPF than reader insert RPF?

Michelle: Most of the RPF stories I read are ships, but I do read some reader inserts, too. It’s not an intentional choice either way. Alex: I don't feel differently about it, rly. I know I prefer reading ships over reader insert but that's just my personal jam. Mana: I have a hard time reading ship rpf mainly because I like the versions of my ships that I've built in my head, so when someone deviates from that it is a little turn off for me. Like, your version of Cockles is not the same as my version, which is totally fine, you do you, but it isn't gonna tickle me the same way ya know. so when I get into like non-mainstream ships it's extra difficult to find writers who represent them in the 'right' ways. Taylor: I feel that way about pretty much everything I read, and I think that has a lot to do with the whole characterization piece of it. I know that my idea of and the way I portray Jared or Jensen is probably a million times different than the way other people, including my readers, think of them. I try really hard to make sure the way the actors come across is "right". Mana: I think the one big piece of characterization is kind of using the way they have presented themselves as a moral compass. Obviously they don't present their whole selves so there's always wiggle room and areas where you are free to project your ideas of them into the fic, but that's also the trickiest area and where so many people drop the ball. Taylor: YES. So, so many people take that wiggle room and take it leaps and bounds beyond what is public (fandom) knowledge.

Q: How do you feel about RPFs that support certain theories about the wives being beards and such?

Mana: I try to not write anything that would feel as if I'm slandering anyone, etc. I wouldn't want to write a Jensen x reader fic where Danneel cheats on him and that's how they get together. If I mention it at all I just say that they've peacefully and amicably parted ways. If I don't mention it then they simply don't exist in the timeline. But never anything negative about anyone, especially the wives. @girl-with-a-fandom-fettish (Kaisha): I don't write smut (only read) so I have a very different interpretation on a lot of the things being discussed. I tend to stick with non-AU, sister/daughter!reader insert RPF fics because I don't feel creative enough branch out beyond that. I feel the same as Mana, and I actually won't read fics that are based on the premise that someone cheated for the storyline to work. Alex: I'm okay if ppl deviate far into fantasy realms tho. As long as it's not too support a real life conspiracy theory about the actors, if ppl wanna write it & others like it, all the more power to them. I mean as long as you're like "I killed the wives during the zombie apocalypse in my fic but I love them in real life please don't kill me" I'm like "cool". Taylor: I avoid bashing fics or beard fics. Admittedly I have one where Jensen and Danneel never got married, but they still had a daughter together and Danneel hid the kid from him until her 5th birthday. That doesn't feel like a bash/slander fic to me because I'm not painting anyone as a bad person - things just played out differently.

Q: The person who suggested this topic mentioned “how to write your first RPF.” Any suggestions?

Michelle: Have Mana finish it for you! (The only one I’ve ever written, she had to finish for me!) Alex: My first rpf was a ballerina!Jared & yogi!Misha romcom. It was so goofy! Taylor: I don't know if I can even answer that question. It literally just poured out of me when I started. I took the tiny little idea I had in my head (my daydream, as it was previously and so aptly named), and put it into words and it ended up being a 10 part series. Mana: How to write your first rpf: READ RPF FROM A LOT OF DIFFERENT WRITERS. find what works for you and for the people you're writing about. do a couple of trial runs with shorter fics. you have room to play, but try not to stray too far from what they've presented themselves as in real life. Kaisha: For me, when I wrote my first RPF (which was also my first fic), I was in a mental place where I was watching a lot of con videos and reading a lot of sister/daughter fics. It was more "I need an outlet for how I am feeling right now and I don't have anyone to talk to"...so I talked to the image of the boys I had made in my head from what I saw of them online.

Q: Does character shipping affect the RPFs you read? Like, if your OTP is Destiel, do you mainly only read Cockles?

Kaisha: I will read almost anything that's related to one of the Js, either RPF or SPN. But I don't have strong ship feels one way or another that changes what I read/write for RPF. Taylor: I don't know if character ships have any kind of effect on RPF ships. Because there are a lot more people involved in cons than we see on the show, and cons are my primary source of RPF inspiration. Like, we see Henry, what, twice in the show? But Gil McKinney is a whole other story. He's all over the convention circuit (or at least he used to be) and also all over fandom twitter. It just feels easier for me to write RPF because I see these actors in my real life, interacting with other real people. I have interacted with them, which makes things feel a lot more real than writing about two hot fictional dudes from my TV screen. Alex: I'm definitely up for Sam/Dean as much as I'm up for J2. Oddly tho it's Mishalecki at real life con panels that's gotten me totally happy to write/read Mishalecki.

Q: (From Taylor) The piece of RPF I struggle with the most is bringing events from the actors' real lives into my stories. Writing about Jensen and the brewery, about their kids and stories they tell about them at cons, that's where my already grey area turns even more grey.

Kaisha: I am right there with you Taylor! My fic started as mostly the reader and JJ interacting and then I remember the twins existed, too. And with my new fic I am trying to figure out if the San Jac and FBBC will work in or not. Mana: I'm interested in this, because I don't seem to have that issue or gray area. It just doesn't exist for me and I'd like to hear more about it from you guys. Taylor: It's so hard haha. I have something coming up that deals with Jared being arrested and of course I didn't post it before that whole event went down so now it looks like I'm taking that part of his life and twisting it for my personal fiction needs. Which feels kinda (adult word for "not good"). Kaisha: For me the gray area thing is because I want to write a believable story. A believable story has realistic details and if I am ignoring or overlooking things that my audience knows to be true, I feel it takes them out of the story. Mana: So it's a case of omit it entirely or commit to it entirely? I ask in regards to like FBBC and the kids. Do you feel differently about incorporating those aspects into your fics? would you be more comfortable writing about fbbc than you would the kids? Or does that gray area cover the same on both? Kaisha: The same thing goes for when I beta read something. A detail that I don't remember or agree with will take me out of the story and send me on a research rabbit trail to know if the author is correct with what they said. I want to stay in the story as much as possible and I want that for my readers too. That's probably a good way to differentiate it. If I state in the A/N that J1 only has 1 kid, then I don't have to consider what year the story is occurring in. But if I tell you it's non-AU, well then everything that is happening in our universe should be happening in my story (otherwise, it would be AU, even to the slightest degree). The kids vs. FBBC thing I think could be very personal on which someone feels more comfortable with. I say that because I know ABSOLUTLEY NOTHING about alcohol. Kids on the other hand I get. Taylor: For me it's the same. Just, actual concrete aspects of Jensen's life are harder for me to write about. Because then - again, just for me - that feels like writing from their point of view, which is something I try to avoid.

Q: Do any of you read/write RPF outside of SPN?

Taylor: SPN is my only fandom. Michelle: I tried to read fics from other fandoms, and just couldn’t get into it. I might be getting sucked into The Witcher fandom, though. Haven’t found any Geralt fics that really align with my image of him, though. Alex: There are CW network RPF AUs I read. Taylor: I feel like, as SPN fans, we have a wonderful privilege and incredible pool of writers to choose from when we want to read. I don't know, because like I said SPN is my only fandom, if any other fandom has this level of talent or dedication.

Q: Have you ever read an RPF fic that changed the way you viewed an actor? Or given you a sense of gained insight into their lives?

Michelle: That's actually why I don't read “canon-compliant” RPF, actually. Because then I might think that idea is real, and won't see that it's not, even when proven wrong. Like, maybe Jared actually loves it when we think about how big his dick is? But I can't stop thinking that it embarrasses him and makes him uncomfortable because I read it in that one fic. Kaisha: @crashdevlin has a Jensen x reader series that also heavily features Tom Hiddleston. My view of Tom has forever been changed because of her story! Michelle: My brain is very malleable. Sometimes, I'm so open-minded, my brain falls right out. I have to be careful what I let influence me. Kaisha: It wasn't something that I intended to happen. Crash just wrote a very compelling character and I think my opinion would have been altered no matter who it was that she used as the face. Taylor: I've never read anything that has changed the way I view the actors. I've certainly read things that have given me new ideas about the things they enjoy (bitey and/or rough smut), but nothing that's changed the way they appear in my mind. I think the biggest part of all of this is just remembering that all of this is 100% FICTION and should never be taken as reality in any way, shape, or form.

To close out the chat, Mana requested fic recs! Here are the recs that were mentioned:

Michelle: If you're into serial killer AUs, There's a J2 AU in my AO3 bookmarks that's genius. Adoration. The other RPF bookmark I have is called Beholder. Jared runs an animal shelter, and Jensen is a homeless man with a TBI who gets dumped at the shelter one night.

Alex: My favorite rpf fic is Tails by keep_waking_up. Werefox!Jared & kitsune!Jensen law enforcement murder mystery AU.

Taylor: One of my favorites to read is by @thecleverdame: Modern Technology. (Jared x reader) This is unfinished but it's quickly becoming one of my favorite Jensen-things I've ever written, AND IT'S AN AU!!! Rockabye. Also, there’s You Saved Me (Jared x Reader). And have a J2 x Reader for funsies! Something is Happening

Kaisha: This is my favorite RPF. Underneath verse (series) - J2 - Jensen is the undercover FBI agent sent to take out Jared, the boss of Chicago. #Self-promo, but I am pretty proud of this one, too: Nanny, Sister, Daughter...Family (Jenneel with sorta daughter!reader)

Mana: Here’s the Cockles x Reader fic that Michelle and I wrote: Rumor Has It And, of course, (Jenneel x Reader) Fools In Love.

Feel free to reblog with your favorite RPF fics!!

Also, the February LiveChat info is still TBD. Feel free to send in your topic ideas and suggest guest speakers!!

General Pond Updates and Reminders

What we’ve got cooking up next: Not much, at the moment, since everyone is busy, so we’re just trying to keep up with the day-to-day at the moment! Our to do list is still long, though, and will not be neglected forever! Next up is organizing the tagging system on the blog to make it easier for readers to find the stories they’re interesting in and for writers to find the help they’re looking for!

Reminders:

Angel Fish Award nominations are accepted all month long! No need to wait to tell us how much you liked a fellow Fish’s work! IF YOU HAVE SENT IN A NOMINATION, BUT HAVE NOT RECEIVED A PRIVATE MESSAGE CONFIRMING WE RECEIVED IT, WE DIDN’T GET IT. Be sure to use Submit instead of Ask!

Don’t forget to submit your stories to be posted to the blog! When your stories are on the blog, then they are easier to nominate for Angel Fish Awards!

Say hi to December’s New Members and January’s New Members! (If we missed someone, let us know!)

Check the Pond CALENDAR to see when Big Fish will be in the Skype chat room/discord general channel and other Pond and SPN events are happening! Know of something that’s not on the calendar, send us an ask or submission with the deets info details! The calendar offers a lot of features, such as showing you when things are in your own timezone! Since we’re an international group, that’s a definite plus!!

We’re getting lots of requests for more Big Fish, lately, but so far, only one applicant! If you know someone you think would be a good Big Fish, tell them to apply!!

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scribeofmorpheus · 5 years

Text

Counterpart [1 / 5]

Pairing: Bucky x Reader x Framework!Steve

A/N: Steve is going to be OOC because in the framework he works for Hydra and they’re kinda like the S.H.I.E.L.D of this world, only still evil. I lost imagination when it came to naming his daughter so I went with his mother’s name.

Warning: NSFW, mild violence, mentions of mental instability, mature themes, etc.

Series Masterlist | A03 | Masterlist

Leave a like, comment or reblog. Ask to be tagged! ☺

PART ONE: SUBMERGED

The record player in your shared bedroom spun an old record seemlessly, the air was filled with the loud music from the retro record player you had bought for Bucky's birthday. Hidden in weaker octaves below the sound of music was yours and Bucky's passionate moans. The two of you tangled together within your summer sheets, early morning sunlight creeping across the ceiling.

Your fingers were knotted around Bucky's as the bed rocked back and forth in a gentle squeak. The vibrato of his moans travelling from his chest to yours as he kissed you deeply. Your lovemaking was slow, purposeful and sensual. The base of your feet moving along the back of his knees as they twitched every time he hit the right spot. His metal arm busying itself between your legs to increase the pressure, vibrating ever so slightly now and again.

You gasp his name as he mumbles yours hoarsely, the creaking of the springs growing louder as his movements become more powerful. And then your womb fills with warmth as both your breaths hitch and you moan into a deep kiss while your muscles spasm orgasmically.

Bucky looked deep into your eyes and you looked back, losing yourself in his warm embrace and heart-melting smile.

"I love you," you kissed the crook of his nose

"I love you too," he said softly just as he disconnected from you.

It was then that noticed the sheets were torn from where Bucky's metal arm had taken purchase towards the end of his climax.

You pouted, "I loved these sheets too, though."

Bucky glanced back at you, eyes falling down to look at the hole in the bedding, "Guess we have to add bedding to the shopping list." He caressed your pout away with his thumb. "Go take a shower, I'll deal with the sheets before I join you."

You stood from the bed on shaky legs, "Don't be long, babe."

After your shower, you and Bucky got dressed and made your way to the large, shared kitchen on the ground floor of the Avenger's compound. You were more than a little self-conscious of the fact your skin was currently sporting the after-sex glow.

"Good Morning," Wanda said as she saw the two of you enter the room hand in hand. "Sam made a fresh batch of coffee before his run if you're interested." She directed that piece of info at Bucky, he nodded in thanks, grabbing his favourite cracked mug he'd bought at some old military vet’s yard sale.

You saw Wanda sip down some tea, the both of you not the biggest coffee drinkers. Wanda said it made her powers go all whacky and you didn't like feeling anxious first thing in the morning.

"Please tell me there is more of that," you pleaded.

"Here, I made you a cup," Wanda tittered before taking down another mug and filling it with the last remnants of tea from the pot.

Bucky stood over the stove, making French toast while you and Wanda brainstormed over how to improve your costume designs since you were both overdue for an upgrade.

"How are my favourite people this morning?" Sam asked. There was a sweat patch on his grey t-shirt from his morning run.

"All good, how was the run?" You replied.

"Looong," Sam's nose took several whiffs. "I smell carbs. Y'all are killin' me with all this gourmet shit while I'm on my juice cleanse."

Bucky laughed with bewilderment at Sam, "I will never understand your strange diets." Bucky commented, less on Sam's current eating pattern and more on the generations.

"Easy for you to say, not all of us got our physique from a serum." He walked to the fridge and took out a pre-made bottle of green juice.

You noticed Bucky's concentration wander out to the empty space of the airfield strip visible through the window opposite him, his French toast burning making your nose crinkle uncomfortably.

"Bucky, babe, everything alright?" You asked from the couch.

He turned to you, "Yeah, just peachy. Why?"

"Your French toast is burnin' man, that's why." Sam slapped Bucky's arm sarcastically.

"Oh, shit!" He swatted at the black smoke.

You stood and walked over to him. Circling your arms around his midriff, placing your chin on his shoulder, needing to stretch on your tippy-toes to do so.

"It's okay to miss him, you know," you reassured him. "I miss him too."

Bucky knew you were talking about Steve.

Steve had been your mentor after he recruited you during the blip. He'd tracked you down after you started to lose control of your powers from accidentally triggering your terrigenesis.

You'd only know Steve for round-about five years. Bucky had known him a life time’s worth, you couldn't imagine how much he missed his best friend.

After the blip was undone, Sam had pretty much taken over as your mentor. Wanda had grown to become your closest friend once Sam decided it was best if someone with abilities similar to yours took you under their wing when his responsibilities as the new Captain America became all-consuming.

"I know," he patted at your hands locked around him. "Toast?"

You looked at the charred breakfast, the stronger burnt smell making your stomach queasy. "No thanks. Eggs and I haven't been on the best of terms lately."

"Oh, I didn't know."

"It's my fault for not saying anything. I'll just make a fruit salad."

Just then the mission alarm chimed and Sam downed his drink, "They're playin' our song!"

"Guess that means I'll have a protein bar," you made your way to the changing rooms.

Bucky sighed and glared at the flashing yellow light, "We can't have one damn, boring breakfast?" He asked himself.

***

"Oh, I see Y/N has an obvious glow," Sam commented while Bucky looked over the monitors on the Quin-jet. Sam was double-checking his ammo stock. "Did you ask her?"

Bucky finished skimming the brief before he turned to Sam, "Not, yet."

Sam looked at him with exasperation, "What's the matter, why are you stallin' man?"

"I'm not stalling!" Bucky said defensively, folding his arms.

Sam let out a sarcastic chuckle, "You are. You're bein' a chicken about this."

Bucky sighed, "I'm waiting for the right moment, is all."

"Right moment? Man, you got an entire jet at your disposal, capable of flying you to some breath-taking places for free, it's like one of the few good perks of bein’ an Avenger, and you’re giving me some bullshit about perfect timing. Admit it, you're just scared."

"Whatever, Bird-man."

"Oh, that's cold, Tin-can."

"Hey, you guys done with your lover's spat?" Wanda teased. "Keep the ring talk down, Y/N is heading this way."

Sam looked at her lack of costume, "You not commin'?"

Wanda rubbed her forearms as though she suddenly grew cold, "I'm… I'm not ready for active duty. Sorry, boss."

"Hey, I don't handle the paychecks, I ain't no one’s boss." Sam put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's alright. It's not aliens or somethin' earth shatterin', just a submarine. We can handle this. Heck, I'm sure Grandpa Barnes over here could handle it himself!"

Wanda laughed before giving the boys a heads up, "Hey, whatever you do, don't comment on Y/N's new suit. She's trying out a new look. It's… different."

Both men made a zipping shut motion on their lips before Wanda headed back into the compound.

“You think she’s doin’ okay?” Sam asked Bucky.

Bucky turned to look at Wanda’s retreating form, she still had that sadness in her eyes, but Bucky could tell the days passing her by numbed the look away.

“She seems better, I think spending time with Y/N has been good for her. But you can never tell with these things,” Bucky said earnestly.

“Yeah, that’s the bitch of it!” Sam sighed.

~South Pacific Ocean

"It's really beautiful down here," you pointed at the swarming school of glowing fish visible through the deep-sea diver’s observation glass.

Bucky checked his rifle before looking to the same school of glowing sea creatures, "It is. If we weren't on an infiltration mission, it would be quite the romantic setting." He smirked at you, his eyes looking almost wistful.

"Who says it can't be?" You retorted.

"Hey now, kids. Keep the comms clear of all that flirting," Sam said over your earpieces.

"Roger," there was an uncomfortable beat of silence. Bucky’s eye flinched but he tried to hide it by scratching at his beard. "I- err… meant, copy."

"Two minutes until contact and then we breach their hull," Bucky informed Sam. "Going radio silent."

"You know what to do if you need back up," Sam said before the comms went radio silent.

"You ready, doll?" Bucky asked.

You stretched your phalanges and smirked like a cocky son-of-a-bitch, "For anything!"

You stretched out your hand for a fist bump. Bucky hesitated for a moment, face showing clear confusion.

"I know Sam taught you how to do a fist bump, Buck. It's his second most favourite way to greet people, second only to high fives," you pointed out.

Bucky sighed and connected his fist to yours.

"See, was that so hard?" You mocked him.

"Excruciatingly," Bucky admitted freely. He hid his smile by letting his hair fall over the half of his face where his lip curled upwards.

You smiled knowing he wasn't as subtle as he liked to think he was.

"Coming up on the hull," You informed him.

"You know what to do."

You nodded then used your abilities to create a vacuum bubble next to where the ships lasers were cutting a hole through the metal so the submarine didn't depressurise. You put on your helmet over your pressure suit and once the door was opened, the both of you glided across the vacuum stream like astronauts in space.

Once inside the submarine, Bucky turned on the force field generator to block the new hole and you closed the vacuum. You both took off your pressure suits before heading for the control room. All the while staying close to Bucky's six.

After tactfully disarming and dealing with several very angry men with guns, Bucky and you finally reached the control room.

"Sam, we're in the control room," Bucky disabled radio silence.

"What is all this?" You asked as you spun around to get a good look at the room.

There were several sensory deprivation tanks filled with green looking water hooked up to a long row of computers that were running a program in the background. In all the tanks were naked bodies, people, floating about seemingly in a deep sleep. Their vitals monitored by EEG and EKG machines. At the bottom corner of each monitor was a name and a blinking notification saying: Synchronisation to Framework at 95%

"It's a lab," Bucky said coldly. "Some sort of bio-mechanical experiment."

You peered at the words scrolling through the monitors catching sigh of a word that seemed familiar, "Ever heard of the Framework?"

"It sounds familiar, I just can't place it."

"What do you think happens once that loading bar reads a 100?" You pointed at one of the monitors.

Bucky frowned, "I'd rather not find out. Let's see if there's a way to shut this down."

"Good idea," you pulled up a chair and tried to bypass the security measures when an anti-tamper device got set off.

Bucky, having quicker reflexes than yours, heard the click, reached for you and pulled you to the floor, his body covering yours as one of the computers sparked in a miniature explosion.

When he assessed it was safe to get up, he helped you off the floor and cautioned with fear widened eyes, "Exercise more caution, please."

"Let's try that again," you dusted off the pieces of plastic and soldered metal wiring from your jacket.

"Safely," he urged.

You disabled the second anti-tamper device and logged into the computers, your satellite key allowing you to siphon data. However, you didn't have enough time to stop the countdown and as soon as the monitors read 100% each of the bodies in the tank flat-lined. The bodies dying out from a lethal injection of a beta-blocker.

"No, no, no!" You tapped at the keyboard.

Bucky watched on in horror as each tank went dead like a set of unstoppable dominoes.

"It's too late," Bucky said softly. "Come on, let's try to--"

And then the room went white. A hot flash pushing you away in a great rippling effect. The metal walls of the submarine groaned as it was forced apart from the inside, water flooding into the room, causing everything to spark.

Your body was rushed by the powerful waves into the wall, and your head crashed painfully against it, knocking you out.

***

Sam pulled Bucky's unconscious body out of the water and onto the shore, his GPS sewn into his tactical suit flashing red as a subtle beeping noise sounded out.

Sam cut off Bucky's bulletproof vest with his army knife, but that didn't help, Bucky still wasn't breathing. He checked for the feeling of air coming from Bucy’s nostrils. Nothing. Then for a pulse. It was there, but just barely.

Sam began to frantically administer CPR, "Come on you Tin-can! Don't give up on me!"

After 30 seconds, Sam took out a small metal device and placed it on his palm before connecting it to Bucky's chest, shocking him with volts of electricity.

Bucky gasped for air, "Gaahhhh!"

He looked around frantically, confused for a second. He gripped Sam's arms a bit too hard and shouted in a croaky, waterlogged voice, "Where is she?"

Sam looked down at the sand.

Bucky shook him harder, "Where is she? Is- is she?"

"Her vitals are still online. She's alive."

"Then why do you like someone just ran you over with a truck, Sam?" Bucky growled furiously.

"Her GPS stopped broadcasting. We think whoever blew up the submarine took her with them."

Bucky pounded his fist in the sand repeatedly, "No! No, no, no, no..."

You gasped awake from your nightmare, surprised to find your bedding in one piece. Your lack of clothing was slightly alarming.

The sound of water cascading out of the showerhead filled the room. You peaked through the open door, but the steam was obscuring the body of whoever was in there.

Your skull felt like it was about to split in two.

"It felt so real," you braced the side of your head where a headache was forming.

"Sweetheart, you awake?" A familiar voice called out from the shower.

Unsure of what to say, you played along. "Y-yeah!"

"Why don't you come join me?" the man asked.

The cold feel of metal on your left finger made you look closer at your hand. There on your ring finger was a platinum wedding ring, a large clear diamond shining with the morning light.

Something about the ring on your finger felt odd. You were about to take it off, examine it closer, when a second migraine hammered at your temples.

Framework>Data Banks> Memories> Memories synchronised: 45%

Flashes of a night in Rome raced through your mind. The colosseum, the smell of rain, a man on one knee. The same voice from the shower speaking out nervously: "Will you marry me?" A red, velvet box. A sparkling ring. A deep inhale of breath. "Yes, yes! A thousand times yes!"

"Ugh," you groaned as you stood to grab your painkillers from your medicine drawer.

On the flat surface of your dresser you saw a framed wedding photo: You and a man who looked eerily like Steve, only his eyes were colder and his hair was darker- less blond and more dusty. Light reflected off the glass and shone directly in your eye, triggering a second hammering pain against your cranium.

Framework>Data Banks> Memories> Memories synchronised: 45%

The memory of your wedding day coming back to you as clear as day. Your hands held affectionately in Steve’s as he slid the ring onto your finger and you smiled through the veil at your fiancé-soon-to-be-husband. Your cheeks dusted with makeup and sore from all your non-stop smiling.

You gripped the dresser, dropping the leather wallet that was placed there. You waited for the pain to pass before you bent down to pick it up. Curiously, not recognising the wallet, you opened it. Turns out it wasn't a wallet at all but a badge. Your picture showed you with short-cropped hair and a stern scowl. Your name printed as 'Y/N Rodgers'. A watermark of a six tentacle skull caused the ink that spelt out ‘HYDRA’ to bleed a little.

Framework>Data Banks> Memories> Memories synchronised: 48%

Suddenly, you remembered the day you had graduated from the Hydra academy. Steve dressed in his official uniform, red and black with the Hydra sigil printed on his chest. You had blushed when he had commended you on being valedictorian. Your hand shaking his on a stage in front of thousands of glaring classmates, faces plastered with fake smiles. A wedding band on Steve's finger but none on yours. His wife standing together with the rest of the honorary alumni. That was the first day you met the love of your life.

The sound of rushing water stopped and the temperature in the room started to drop.

"Hey, Y/N," Steve startled you from your reminiscing.

"Yes, babe?" You looked over at his equally naked body.

"Did you hear what I said?"

"N-no, sorry. I have a hell of a headache this morning."

"More nightmares again?" He asked.

You nodded your head adamantly.

Steve sighed, disappointment on his face. "We talked about this, Y/N. You have to make sure you take your meds."

He handed you a pill bottle from the open drawer.

Your mouth gaped open when you read the label, "These are anti-psychotics."

"The doctor assured us it won't hurt our chances, just take them so I don't have to spend all day worrying you'll get another migraine while at work," He kissed your throbbing temple. "I draw my limit at one injury in the field at the expense of your reluctance to stay on the regimen."

Steve's thumb graced the spot below your breast where a fresh stitch was beginning to heal. The skin still purple and deep red from trauma.

"I don't remember getting this?" Your hand touched the raw skin.

"Doc said memory loss is normal." He made his way back into the bathroom.

You nodded, feeling guilty for making him worry. You popped two pills and swallowed dry. Then all of a sudden a word he used earlier made you ask: "Babe, what did you mean by 'hurt our chances'?"

Steve walked back into the room, toothbrush tucked in his cheek as he stared at you as though you'd said something unbelievable, "For a baby. Remember, we agreed that after the divorce was finalised, and once Sarah was old enough, we'd try."

"Divorce?"

"Oh, yeah, that reminds me. My lawyer called, said to remind you to sign the paperwork he sent over."

"Paperwork?"

"Yeah, since you're going to legally become Sarah's guardian."

You frowned, unable to remember. Your migraine ebbing away into a mild headache since you took the pills.

Steve placed his palm on your forehead as if checking for a fever, "Wow, I haven't seen you have such a bad episode since Budapest."

"I'm sorry, I just need a bath and some breakfast," you reassured him.

Steve swooped you off your feet as he carried you to the bathroom, "How about a massage?"

You giggled at his spontaneity, "You just got out the shower."

"Doesn't mean I can't get dirty all over again," he said passionately as he placed a kiss on his lips, his beard tickling you.

Framework>Data Banks> Memories> Memories synchronised: 50%

Chapters Two: Doppelgangers

Special mention to @500daysofbecky : Thought you’d love some Steve content to celebrate your b-day week! Sorry it wasn’t fluffy... ☺

AFWHI tags: @fangirl-colo @dormousse @smallmarvel @ren-ni @sargentbucket @nikolett3 @wnygirl2012 @jentismyname @evilgeniuslabz-blog @myrabbitholetoneverland @sleepingspacedragon @500daysofbecky @reidreader

Permatags: @gruffle1 @thechickvic @notawarriorjustyet @savethehoneeybees

#bucky barnes x reader #steve rogers x reader #bucky x reader #steve x reader #captain america #Bucky Barnes #sam wilson #wanda maximoff #steve rogers #original character #framework fic #sharon carter #marvel fic #bucky x reader x steve #terrigenesis

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anotheruserwithnoname · 5 years

Text

Thoughts on The Orville 2x03 “Home”

In case you missed the headline, I’ll be giving some thoughts about the latest episode of The Orville, so I’m going straight into a spoiler break since this was a watershed episode for the series. (Also, it’s a long review.)

The non-spoiler tl;dr - The Orville delivers its best episode to date - beautiful, intense and sad. If this was a Trek episode it’d be ranked in the top echelons.

“Home” was the episode some Orville fans were dreading. That’s because since last summer there had been rumours that Halston Sage, who plays security officer Alara Kitan, would be leaving the show early in the season. Lots of rumours as to why - some negative ones connecting it to her briefly dating the show’s creator and star, Seth MacFarlane; other, more realistic ones, suggesting it was due to her being committed to movie work - there was some talk last year about her possibly having been cast as the Dazzler in an upcoming X-Men Universe film (far as I know that has not been confirmed). The rumours were further amplified by reports of new cast members coming on to the show.

Regardless of the behind the scenes reasons, “Home” was the The Orville for the first time arriving at a moment experienced by Star Trek and Doctor Who and others - the departure of a major character who had become beloved by fans. Fortunately, Alara is not killed off. She is given a medical condition that makes it literally painful for her to remain aboard The Orville, but, while her departure is sad, it is still hopeful and of course the door is left wide open for her to return someday (Captain Ed Mercer pretty much says this on screen). So this wasn’t The Orville’s “Face the Raven”, but rather more its “Hell Bent”, to compare with the last departure that impacted me this much, that of Clara Oswald in Doctor Who Series 9.

Except the episode is in some respects far darker than “Hell Bent.” After a first half that proceeds at a leisurely pace and continues the show’s trend towards introspective, character-driven storytelling (which may prove to be its undoing if the ratings are any indication; the Nielsen families appear to be disinterested in a science fiction version of This is Us), the episode does one of the most abrupt 180-degree tonal turns I have ever seen. It goes from a rather straight family-dynamics drama as Alara tries to reconnect with her family - having returned home after learning that exposure to Earth gravity threatens to leave her unable to withstand the crushing gravity of her homeworld, a plot point springboarding from real-life issues astronauts have experienced after spending months in space - to a violent, revenge-horror story straight out of a Stephen King novella.

Viewers are lulled into a false sense of security as we get to enjoy a Star Trek doctors reunion as Robert Picardo (Voyager’s EMH, and here playing Alara’s father for the second time) teams up with John Billingsley (Dr. Phlox from Enterprise) - I have forgotten the character names so I’ll use the actors’ names here. The moment Billingsley is revealed as a villain by forcing Picardo at gunpoint to stick his hand into a vat of boiling sauce (leading to graphic injuries) is one of the most chilling things I have seen - because it was so unexpected (remember this is still technically considered a comedy series, and within the same hour we had Patrick Warburton appear in a thankfully-brief B-story plot as “comic relief alien of the week”). Although I shied away from comparing “Home” with “Face the Raven” a moment ago, the twist in this episode was in many ways as shocking and unexpected as the moment we realized that, after a rather light-hearted adventure, that Clara was going to die. The mood change is that sudden in “Home”, too. And the episode offers several moments where it is legitimately uncertain that Alara would survive. Recall that TNG had its own security chief who was killed off - Tasha Yar - so history could have repeated if MacFarlane wanted to revisit this as he’s revisited so many other aspects of TNG.

The villains’ motivations are clearly defined, if perhaps controversial to some viewers. As previously established in the episode “Firestorm”, Alara’s people are primarily academics, and Alara’s dad caused a scientific report by Billingsley’s son to be rejected. The son committed suicide after, and Billingsley and his wife have plotted to basically murder Alara’s dad and her family in revenge - but not before Alara’s dad publicly recants his rejection and they perform a bit of torture on his loved ones. (Including threatening to cut off one of Alara’s sister’s fingers with garden shears - remember this is still technically considered a comedy series.) Fortunately, Ed chooses that moment to arrive on the planet; it’s a bit of a deus ex machina, to be sure, but it comes across more as a relief than a plot device.

The rest of the episode turns into a fight-for-your-life scenario which has an unusually violent resolution, with Alara and her family pretty much on their own, due to her crewmates being restricted by the gravity of her homeworld. Ed, in particular, is gunned down by Billingsley, rupturing a special suit he wears to keep from being crushed by the gravity. While Alara fights off the couple, it’s up to her dad, injured arm and all, to get Ed to safety in time.

And then there’s the ending. After killing off the bad guys - the show pulls no punches on that - we get a hope spot as the Orville’s Dr. Finn has worked out a way for Alara to stay aboard the Orville (even though its description makes it sound more cruel to Alara than helpful). You expect the episode to end there, with status quo retained, but it continues and we suddenly learn that Alara has decided to stay with her family - having reconciled with them after surviving the attack. This actually felt like it was a last-minute addition to the episode, perhaps supporting the suggestion that Halston’s departure wasn’t planned in advance. But it works really well. For those who shipped Ed Mercer and Alara, there are a few things to hang on to, but for those who oppose the shipping, the episode also provides an alternative interpretation of Ed being seen as a surrogate father to Alara due to her inability to connect with her own. I won’t get into shipping debates right now; I’ll just say over season 1 and the start of 2 there’s plenty of evidence to support both sides.

Regardless, the final scene in which Ed opens a gift Alara leaves him - a jar of pickles - actually made me tear up. The only problem is that the whole running gag of Ed asking Alara to “open a jar of pickles for me” whenever he called upon her super-strength had actually been abandoned by the midpoint of season 1, which aired well over a year ago, though fans had kept it alive through fan art, etc. If they’d had Ed make the joke again in one of the first two episodes of Season 2, or even earlier in “Home” (there’s a scene where it would have fit, or Alara could have mentioned the joke to her family), it might have had more resonance for people who perhaps had only recently started watching. Without the context, it comes off as a bit of a non-sequitur. But, for someone who knows the context, it was a beautiful moment.

One major kudo has to go to the special effects. Xelaya is, without a doubt, one of the most beautifully rendered planets I’ve seen in televised sci-fi, certainly on par with the likes of Caprica on Battlestar Galactica (and that was mostly just Vancouver repurposed; it looks like the Xelayan city was all-CG). I was reminded in fact of some of the beautiful alien cityscapes of the Mass Effect video game series, especially Andromeda. It made me want to see more of the city - I was rather disappointed when they quickly moved the story to a quiet vacation island for the “family under siege” part of the story. My hope is that if they spent that much time, effort and budget on rendering Alara’s homeworld, it’s a sign they’ll be returning there again before long. There is also a beautiful sequence where Alara daydreams about riding the Xelayan equivalent of a wild horse. I mean - this is a beautiful-looking episode, top to bottom.

“Home” wasn’t a perfect episode; I like Patrick Warburton but I did not like his “Alara placeholder” alien character. And I mentioned my issue with the jar of pickles reference. And despite the claim that the episode was airing with fewer commercials it felt like there were more interruptions than usual (this episode probably will play better on DVD or streaming). But I still think this was the best episode the series has done so far. It has set a high bar, and aside from having lost one of its stronger characters (Alara was the heart and soul of "Firestorm”, my previous choice for best Orville episode, and was also involved closely in many of the show’s best moments), the series is going to have to work hard to reach it again. I will say that if you’re still unconvinced that Seth MacFarlane can step away from the whole Family Guy/Ted thing and deliver an episode that, had it been a TNG episode, would have been ranked among the top instalments of that series, “Home” might be enough to convince you that the guy is on to something.

#the orville #home (orville episode)#alara kitan #halston sage #seth macfarlane

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braincoins · 6 years

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Title: Learn By Heart Fandom: “Voltron: Legendary Defender” Summary: It's Allura's first semester teaching, and she's prepared for anything ...except Takashi Shirogane. Ships: Shallura Warnings: N/A Author’s Notes: This is for my @shalluraexchange giftee, @zsyree! I hope you like it even if it wasn't your first-choice prompt.

They're not supposed to be at any particular college/university, but this is me, and I write what I know. What I know is Indiana University Bloomington. So to any IU alumni or students out there, some of this should be familiar.

Before anyone asks - they're the same age. (I even have her say it in the fic.) How is that possible? Welllll, she went to college right after high school, while he enrolled in the Air Force. She's completed her undergrad courses and is just starting her graduate career, and, as such, has been press-ganged by her advisor into teaching. Meanwhile, he's taken a few college-level courses as part of his advancement in the USAF, but he's otherwise been preoccupied with his tours of duty. Then he was injured and he needed time to heal, recover, get the prosthetic and then get used to it. This is his first time in a formal higher education setting.

Fic below the cut (3,600 words - also on AO3)

Allura was logging into the classroom’s computer when she heard a polite, “Excuse me?” from behind her.

She turned towards the smoothly masculine voice and smiled pleasantly even as her stomach flopped. Standing before her was a handsome young man, her age or maybe a little older, with a shock of white hair, a scar across his nose (just under warm, dark eyes), and an easygoing smile. Broad shoulders and chest… she made herself stop and look him in the eye. Remain professional, she chided herself. Aside from the black turtleneck he was wearing, he looked like a military recruitment poster come to life.

“You’re Professor Smythe?”

Her smile widened a little at how surprised he sounded. “I am Ms. Fala,” she corrected. “I’m one of Professor Smythe’s grad students. I’m teaching this section. Can I help you?”

His gaze had been drifting a bit south and he cleared his throat and straightened up again. Well, at least I’m not the only one who likes what they see. “I’m Takashi Shirogane. I was told to give you this when I arrived.” He held out a piece of paper and when she looked down to take it, she realized almost immediately what it was. Not because of the paper, which was neatly folded in half, but because where his right hand should have been was a jet black mechanical prosthetic.

She accepted the paper and unfolded it and, sure enough, it was a notice of need for accommodation. She read it and nodded. “All in order. Do you need this back?”

“Yes, please. I have to show it to all my teachers.” She handed it back to him and he thanked her quietly as he tucked it back into his jeans pocket.

“What sort of accommodation do you require?”

“Not much. I just need to sit front and center with my laptop and mic. It’s not a big setup; it shouldn’t be in anyone else’s way. I can use a mouse pretty well but I can’t really type fast enough to keep up, so I’ve got a speech-to-text program set up to take notes on what you say. I also have a notebook for jotting things down the old-fashioned way, but I’m still getting used to the new hand, and I want to make sure I don’t miss anything important.”

She nodded and gestured to the still empty front row. “I would suggest sitting here, actually, rather than in the center. I spend most of my time at the computer podium or very near it. Also, I do upload my PowerPoints at the end of each class, so you can access those online.”

His smile widened. “Great, thank you. That’s a big help.”

“Do you need a plug? There are several free ones on the podium.”

“Oh, I’ve got plenty of charge, but if it’s not too much of a bother…”

“No bother at all, Mr. Shirogane.”

“My friends all call me Shiro.”

She cleared her throat. “Get your things set up, Mr. Shirogane,” she said pleasantly. Unfortunately, you’re a student, so you’re going to have to stay “Mr. Shirogane.” That was a disappointment, but hey, at least she’d have a nice view during class. STOP THAT. Stop objectifying one of your students. “There’s a plug right here you can use,” she said, indicating one on the back of the podium.

“Thank you, Ms. Fala.” And he went to his seat, already slinging his backpack off to get it open.

She resumed setting up her “first day of class” slides and tried to keep her thoughts professional and on the topic of Comparative Politics.

The first class was standard and boring – talking about the curriculum, where to find the syllabus and PowerPoints online, her grading scale, etc. It was a first-year introductory class, and most of these students were just taking it for the necessary “Breadth of Inquiry” credits that the university required. Still, if she could turn even one of them into a poli-sci major, she’d count that as a huge victory. But ultimately, her job was to relay the required material to them, go over their papers, and compile their grades.

Still, for a boring introductory class on a basic topic, she found Mr. Shirogane alert and attentive. The small microphone clipped to the lid of his laptop was unobtrusive. While other students were barely staying awake, he hand-wrote the URLs, her college-affiliated email address, and her office hour times down in his notebook and never once looked bored.

She let them out early (promising them they were unlikely to get this consideration for the rest of the semester) and began the process of logging off and shutting down. Due to his extra preparations, Mr. Shirogane was quickly the only one left in the room with her.

“Well, it should be an interesting class,” he said conversationally as he started unplugging everything and packing it up.

“I appreciate your interest, but don’t get your hopes up,” she warned with a light chuckle. Be careful not to flirt, she reminded herself.

“I’m not. I’m genuinely looking forward to it.”

“Are you going to major in political science?” she asked.

He shook his head. “Minor. Well, double minor: this and history.”

Her eyebrows went up. Not quite a major, but at least he has a definite interest in the subject instead of just taking it as something to get out of the way. “Very nice. Do you have a major in mind?”

He nodded. “Double major: physics and astronomy.”

“Double major AND double minor?” She whistled quietly at the mere thought of the workload for that. “Well, you’re not afraid of hard work, that’s for sure. And physics/astronomy with poli-sci/history? Unusual choice.”

He shrugged. “Well, I want to be an astronaut, so that kind of dictates my majors. There are a few other options, but those were the ones that were most interesting to me. I can pretty much do what I want with my minors, and I thought it’d be nice to diverge a bit, indulge some of my other interests.”

“An astronaut?” She blinked.

His smile thinned. “I know, but just because I lost my hand doesn’t mean I can’t…”

“Oh, no!” She rushed to reassure him. “I wasn’t… that’s not…!” She cleared her throat. “Of course you can. I was just surprised that I have a future astronaut in my class, that’s all.”

His smile turned apologetic. “Sorry. I’m used to people thinking I’m,” he looked down at his right hand, which closed up into a loose fist, “broken. Like I can’t do anything like that anymore. Everyone talks like I have to give up the dream I’ve had since I was a kid, just because of the hand.”

“So, it’s… recent then?” She realized what she was asking and cursed at herself mentally. “Not that you need to talk about it; I shouldn’t pry.”

He shrugged. “It’s okay. I lost it a year and a half ago. Afghanistan.”

“Oh, you’re in the military?”

He started to nod and then caught himself. “Well, I was. Air Force.”

“Thank you for your service…” She paused. “I’m sorry, I don’t know your rank.”

“I was a Staff Sergeant, but you don’t have to call me that. Medical discharge and all that.” He waved his prosthetic hand. “Finally getting back into the world. I generally prefer Shiro or Takashi to ‘Sergeant Shirogane’ all the time.”

She cleared her throat. “Well, Mr. Shirogane, I’ll see you in class again on Wednesday, yes?”

“Bright and early!” he confirmed. “Did you lose a bet to get the 9 AM class?”

She smirked. “I’m the newest grad student, so I had little choice. And you can’t really complain; you signed up for this section.”

“Well, technically, yes, but it was the only one that still had available seats.” They both laughed and he swung his backpack onto his back again. “See you, Wednesday, Ms. Fala.”

She watched him go, chided herself for ogling him again (I’m not sure how jeans that tight can be comfortable, but bless him for wearing them anyway), and grabbed her things. She had her own coursework to see to, after all.

*****

Coran set aside the work she’d handed him on her thesis. “So, how’s your first semester of teaching going, Allura?”

She barely caught her smile from slipping. “Fine.”

He arched an eyebrow at her. “You know I can tell when you’re lying to me.”

“No, really, it’s going as well as could be expected, it’s just…” She chewed on her lower lip.

He reached over his desk to pat her hand. “Students can be rough, especially on a new teacher. They can smell it, like sharks smelling blood. We’re nearly to midterms; I know it’s probably getting stressful.”

“No, it’s… well, I mean, it is, but not because of that. It’s just,” she took a deep breath, “I think I’m going to need you to grade one of my students’ work from now on. Just the one!” she added quickly. “I know you’re busy and I’m asking a lot of you, but it’s really just the one, and he’s honestly one of the best students, so…”

“Allura, slow down!” Her advisor was clearly confused. “If he’s one of the best students, why are you trying to pawn his work off on me?”

She looked away. “It’s… um…” She risked a look back at him.

Professor Coran Hieronymus Wimbleton Smythe had a single eyebrow arched and the most “Well?” face she’d ever seen. (The mustache helped.)

She sighed and looked down at her hands in her lap. “I am developing an inappropriate attraction. Even though I’m not acting on it, I feel like my ability to grade his work objectively could be called into question.”

“Oh. Yes, that is a pickle. And you’re not acting on this attraction at all, correct?”

She nodded. “I’m very careful, honestly. The only times we’re alone together are just before and after class, and only for a few minutes each time. Well, and sometimes office hours, but they’re entirely professional!”

“He comes to your office hours?”

“Well, so do some of the other students,” she pointed out.

“And comes early and stays late? For a 9 AM class?”

She cleared her throat. “He has a prosthetic hand. He needs the extra time to set up his computer and software and to pack it all up again. And when he comes to office hours, it’s usually because his speech-to-text program misheard some of my words and he needs clarification for what they’re supposed to be. It’s all entirely professional!” She realized she was sounding defensive (and repeating herself wasn’t helping), so she shut up, feeling ashamed of herself. My first semester teaching and something like this happens.

Coran just nodded. “You’re doing everything right then. That’s fine. I’ll grade his work for the rest of the semester, just to be safe.”

She sighed in relief. “Thank you.”

But then he leaned forward and asked, dropping his voice conspiratorially, “So, how bad is it?”

She blinked. “What, his work? It’s not bad at all, he’s working towards a minor, so he’s actually interested in the subject matter and…”

“No, no, not that. How bad is this crush of yours?”

“Coran.”

“I’m just going to be an insufferable git until you tell me,” he pointed out.

She groaned and flopped back in her chair, tilting her head up to look at the ceiling. “His smile makes my heart stop, my stomach flip, and my knees weak.”

“Oh ho! That is bad!” He was enjoying this.

“And he sits right in front of me. He has to, because of the speech-to-text. He can type, but not fast enough to take good notes. So he’s right there all the time, and he’s always paying full attention to me and the lecture, and …”

“Handsome?”

“Extremely,” she confirmed. She lowered her head to look at Coran again. “He was in the Air Force! He wants to be an astronaut! He’s only a few months older than I am. He’s strong and brave and charming and I may die if he wears that one sweater to class again.” She dropped her head into her hands. “Don’t even get me started on my inappropriate staring as he walks out of the classroom.”

Coran guffawed. “Well, the rules are no fraternizing with students, but nothing wrong with looking! You can’t help who you’re attracted to.”

“You’re not helping,” she muttered through her hands.

“Well, I’m helping by grading his work for you,” he pointed out. “Courage. The semester won’t last forever, even if it seems like it will.”

She lifted her head. “But then I won’t see him again at all.”

Coran tsked at her. “Midterms really must be stressing you out. You’re overlooking the obvious.”

She frowned at him, brow furrowing. “What?”

He shook a finger at her. “You’re a bright girl – one of the best grad students I’ve got – you’ll figure it out! In the meantime, send me the astronaut’s work. We’ll see if it’s truly ‘out of this world.’” He chuckled, clearly pleased at himself.

She groaned again as she stood. “Can you try to write any comments legibly? I’m beginning to believe the campus rumors that the anthropology department tricks their students into trying to decipher your handwriting as if it were some long-lost ancient script.”

“I make no promises,” he declared loftily.

*****

“Mr. Shirogane!” she called after him when she saw him in the student union. She hurried up to him and smiled as he turned. “I’m glad I found you.”

“Ms. Fala,” he greeted her. His smile was warm, as always, and elicited that now-familiar feeling of happy sickness within her. But his smile faltered a little. “Is something wrong?”

“No!” She cleared her throat and tried to calm herself down. “No, nothing at all.”

He let out a sigh of relief. “I was worried that there was a problem with my test or my essay or something.”

“No, it’s not about that. Can we talk somewhere a little… quieter?” They were by Sugar ‘n’ Spice – one of the main coffee hubs in the union – and the hallway by it was half-filled with people waiting in line for a hot beverage.

It was full-on winter now, and students had been hiding their increasing finals-induced stress under hats and scarves and bulky coats. Mr. Shirogane had a black-and-purple beanie, black gloves, and the sort of coat she imagined Arctic explorers would wear to find the North Pole. Or, well, models would wear to give the impression they were exploring the Arctic. Maybe that was just her impression of all of his clothes.

He nodded and looked around. “Um…”

“If you don’t mind the cold, we could go outside?”

He snorted. “Well, it will be much less crowded.” He gestured grandly. “After you.”

She headed downstairs and ducked out into a tiny courtyard off a seating area. She liked coming here in warmer weather, enjoying the relative peace and quiet of the usually-unnoticed outdoor spot. It offered some nice benches and a lovely little sculpture, all of it surrounded by ivy-covered walls, with an old, high, wrought iron gate leading to stairs going up to the main street level. It was bitterly cold, so naturally no one was out here. It was also rather dark; this late in the year, it got dark so early, and with the courtyard’s relatively low position, it was already well-hidden from what sunlight there was left to them. The union’s exterior lights were already on, so she could still easily see his curious expression as she turned to face him.

“So, there was nothing wrong with my final?” he asked.

“You did fine. In fact, I just finished submitting all the grades for the class.”

He arched an eyebrow. “You submitted my final grade or Professor Smythe did?”

She fidgeted. “I submitted all the grades except yours, but Professor Smythe has submitted yours, yes.”

“Can I ask why I seem to be the only one in class who has to put up with his handwriting?”

She couldn’t help laughing at that, and it took her a moment to pull herself back together. “Well, if you had asked me before now, I would have told you that it was because I wanted him to see your work.”

He studied her. “Okay. So what’s the real reason?”

“It’s not a lie. I did want him to see it. You’re a very thoughtful and dedicated student. I can tell you’ve been giving this class a hundred and ten percent, and I appreciate it. So it’s not a lie, but it’s also not the entire truth.” She cleared her throat and tried to keep herself from fidgeting out of nervousness. “I had to turn your work over to someone else to grade. Someone who could be objective.”

Both of his eyebrows went up. “You… Why couldn’t you be objective?” His voice sounded hushed.

She bit her lip, then made herself stop that. C’mon. You rehearsed this about a thousand times. You can do this. “I…” You have to do this. “As incredibly unprofessional as it is to say, when I first found out you were my student, I was terribly disappointed.”

He looked like he’d been slapped.

That spurred her on (and also made her speak a bit quicker, sound less smooth and steady than she’d hoped). “Not because of…! Because you were so handsome!”

That transmuted the wounded look into stunned silence. She made herself take a deep breath before continuing.

“I thought it would be okay. There are a lot of very attractive people on campus, and I’ve always handled things well. I thought things would be the same with you. But they weren’t. They haven’t been, ever. My attraction to you only got worse as I got to know you. So, I turned your work over to Professor Smythe, because it was too hard to view your work objectively.”

He blinked and, after a moment’s consideration, asked, “Is that why the professor always sat in on class on days I had to do oral presentations?”

She nodded and stopped herself from fidgeting again. “Exactly. I would never have been able to give you a proper grade on your work. You have a very nice voice and you use it well.” She blushed. “That sounds terrible out of context, but… your delivery is good, and you have such a deep interest in the subject… Oh heavens, it’s just getting worse!” She cleared her throat. “He had to be the one to grade your presentations, is my point.”

He readjusted the straps of his backpack. “So, you’re… um… telling me this now because…?”

“Because soon I won’t be your teacher any more. And I was hoping that we could go out, get some pizza and beer, just talk.”

“About us?”

Her blush was getting worse, she could feel it. “About us, about one another, about… about anything. I love our little chats before and after class. I always want more time to just talk with you.”

He just stood there, looking at her. She wanted to scream, but she held it in, trying not to look as anxious as she felt. Then he held out his forearm to her. “Pinch me?”

She blinked. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Pinch me, because I’m pretty sure I’m dreaming this.”

She laughed. “I am not going to pinch you!”

“Why not?” he demanded.

“Well, for one thing, that’s your right arm; I can’t really make much of a dent in that.”

He huffed at himself and withdrew the arm. “Sorry, I still forget sometimes.”

“And, for another, I doubt you’d feel it much through that thick coat anyway.”

“I’m pretty sure you could do some damage if you really wanted to.”

“Which brings me to my final point: I don’t want to hurt you!”

“You really want to go out with me?” he asked, dropping the levity.

She smiled and nodded. “Ever since I first saw you. Having you sit right in front of me all semester has been driving me mad.”

“I’d like that. Uh, when you’re not my teacher anymore. Speaking of which, when will that be?”

“Well, the grades for the class are submitted, so I will officially no longer be your teacher at 6 PM.”

“What time is it now?” he asked immediately.

A deep gong from the campus clock tower began declaring the hour. Allura silently counted out the booming chimes until the 6th one sounded and the clock tower’s bells fell into silence again.

A wide grin split his face. “So. Pizza & beer then?”

She nodded. “Sounds wonderful.”

“And, just so we’re on even footing, I have to tell you, I’ve never been one for those ‘hot for teacher’ type scenarios until I met you.”

Her blush cranked to full volume as she laughed. “And here I was going to tell you how charming you were.”

Unexpectedly, he reached out and took her hand in his right. He lifted it to his lips to kiss the back of her …well, glove. “You’re the most beautiful and intelligent woman I’ve ever met,” he told her.

“Okay, you can have your ‘charming’ title back. C’mon, I’m starved, and getting a seat at Mother Bear’s is going to be madness.” She grabbed hold of his hand and tugged him towards the gate.

“I don’t mind waiting for a table.” He gave her hand a squeeze. “More time to spend with you, Ms.. uh..” He laughed.

She joined in. “You can call me ‘Allura’ now, Shiro.”

#zsyree #shalluraexchange #Shallura #Voltron #Socks writes Voltron fanfic #modern AU

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debra2007-blog · 6 years

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The Truth About Easter and the Secret Worship of the Anunnaki

April 1,2018 Easter is an annual celebration observed throughout the Christian world. However, there are absolutely no verses in the Bible that authorize or endorse the keeping of this tradition.

Further – the Bible does not mention anything about Easter eggs, Easter baskets, Easter bunnies, or even Lent.

Where did the tradition of celebrating Easter originate?

Easter - Anunnaki Connections The name Easter actually comes from Ishtar / Easter who was worshiped as the moon goddess, the goddess of spring and fertility, and the Queen of Heaven. She is known by so many other names in other countries and cultures that she is often referred to as the goddess of one thousand names.

[Inanna is the Sumerian name of Ishtar, and definitely the most important one. Inanna was the granddaughter of Enlil, who in turn was Anu's son. Anu was the highest ranking Anunnaki and his name translated "Great Sky Father". Anu was revered as 'god of the Heavens' and he was the central figure of mankind's first religion. According to the Sumerian tablets, he only visited Earth twice].

The Babylonian Connections (John 8:44, II Corinthians 11:14, 1 Peter 5:8) Ishtar – the Babylonian goddess – is the one for whom Easter is named. Ishtar is but another name for Semiramis – the wife of Nimrod. This post-Flood festival was part of the false religion Mystery Babylon and was started by Nimrod and his wife Semiramis (also known as Ishtar).

They not only instituted the building of the Tower of Babel, they also established themselves as god and goddess to be worshiped by the people of Babylon. They are the co-founders of all the counterfeit religions that have ever existed.

Nimrod was worshiped as the Sun God. He was worshiped in numerous cultures and countries under a variety of names: Samas, Attis, Uti, Merodach/Marduk, Ninus, Bel/Baal, Moloch, Tammuz - the list is virtually endless. [He was also known as Dumuzi by the Sumerians and as RA by the Egyptians, as I have detailed in this article].

Millions of people are unknowingly worshiping and praying to this pagan goddess today. What is her present-day name?

The Babylonians celebrated the day of Ishtar / Easter as the return of the goddess of Spring – the re-birth or reincarnation of Nature and the goddess of Nature. Babylonian legend says that each year a huge egg would fall from heaven and would land in the area around the Euphrates River.

[The pope's ceremonial clothes copy those worn by the ancient priests of Dagon, and not by coincidence. According to the Sumerian tablets, when the Anunnaki god Enki first arrived on Earth, he landed his space ship on water. He later emerged from water wearing his 'scaly fish-suit' (astronaut's suit?). Thousands of years later, the ceremony of the fish god was still celebrated in Akkadia, Assyria and Babylon, by the priests of Dagon... and seemingly it still is today].

In her yearly re-birth, Ishtar would break out of this egg and if any of those celebrating this occasion happened to find her egg, Ishtar would bestow a special blessing on that person. Does this explain the origin of our modern-day tradition of Easter eggs and baskets and Easter egg hunts?

Other pagan rites that were connected with this celebration and which are part of our modern Easter tradition are Easter offerings to the Queen of Heaven (consisting of freshly cut flowers, hot buns decorated with crosses, and star-shaped cakes); new clothes to celebrate this festival (The pagan priests wore new clothes or robes and the Vestal Virgins wore new white dresses or robes and bonnets on their heads.); and sunrise services (to symbolically hasten the yearly arrival of Ishtar’s egg from heaven - the re-incarnation of the spring goddess).

[The Vatican is secretly perpetuating the ancient pagan rituals and the worship of their ancient "gods" - a.k.a. the Anunnaki. The shadow religion of the world's "elite" is Satanism and all the positions of power are occupied by Satanists].

Related: The Vatican City And Rome: Esoteric Beyond Belief;

The Satanic Connections Easter has its origins in the world of the occult. The Occult / Satanic calender is comprised of four periods of 13 weeks each. Occultists believe that numbers contain inherent power, and many base their lives on numerology. Numerology is also a key component of astrology – another system occultists follow closely. Thus the occult calendar is divided into 4 parts of 13 weeks each. Note that 13 x 4 = 52 weeks – our year.

In the occult system, the number 6 = man, the number 7 = divine perfection or god, and the number 13 = rebellion against authority and depravity. So, in the occult or satanic world, the number 13 represents the state of man’s having reached divine perfection, self-achieved perfection, and illumination.

According to 8th century scholar St. Bede (also known as the Venerable Bede / Bede, the Venerable), the name Easter is derived from the Scandinavian "Ostra" and the Teutonic "Ostern" or "Eastre" - both of whom were goddesses of mythology and were identified with spring and fertility.

Festivals for these goddesses were celebrated on the first day of the vernal equinox – March 21. Important parts of these pagan celebrations included the rabbit, red eggs, and gifts – all of which represented fertility. Easter is steeped in the Mysteries of ancient Babylon – an evil and idolatrous system.

Related: The Secret Worship of the Illuminati: The Statue of Liberty is Goddess Ishtar/Inanna;

The Satanic Ritual of Sacrificing Children Every year, the priests of Ishtar would impregnate young virgins on an altar dedicated to herself and her husband*. The children were born on Christmas (!!!), and the next year they were sacrificed in the Easter's Sunday at the sunrise service. The priests would take Ishtar's eggs and dye them in the blood of the sacrificed children.

*Inanna's husband was none other that the infamous god Moloch or Melekh, to whom children were - and still are - sacrificed in Satanic rituals. Satanism is the religious worship of the Anunnaki, and the human and animal sacrifices were/are part of the rituals.

If you're finding it hard to believe, then here is an excerpt of the Encyclopaedia Judaica, which identifies Ishtar/Inanna and her husband as the gods to whom children were sacrificed:

"(...) The identification of Hadad-Baal with Moloch provides the background to Jeremiah 32:35, which fulminates against the bamot-altars of Baal in the valley of Ben-Hinnom where male and female children were burnt to Moloch, i.e., Baal-Hadad. Furthermore, a series of Assyrian-Aramean documents analyzed by K. Deller showed that Adadmilki or Adadšarru ("Adad the king") was actually the god to whom children, sometimes firstborn, were burned (see below).

"The Assyrian material sheds new light on II Kings 17 where Adadmelech (to be read instead of Adrammelech) is the god to whom the Sepharvites burn/dedicate their children (verse 31). Adadmelech in this verse stands next to Anammelech who has been correctly related by scholars to Anath who bears the title 'Queen of Heaven,' the standard term for Ishtar in Akkadian (šarrat šamê; cf. Sumerian nin.anna.ak = Inanna). The pair Adad and Ishtar, or the 'king' and the 'queen,' are the ones to whom children are dedicated in the Assyrian-Aramean documents quoted above." - The Cult of Moloch, Jewish Library;

Most of the world's "elite" (active and former Presidents, Prime Ministers, Politicians, Judges, etc. and even Royalty), take part at this annual ritual. Notice the fish-god priests conducting the ritual.

More Inconsistencies Our traditional Good Friday to Sunday celebration however only accounts for Jesus’ being in the heart of the earth for two nights and one day. Were the facts of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection purposely distorted? Learn who is not telling the truth -- and why!

There are absolutely no verses anywhere in the Bible that authorize or endorse the keeping of an Easter celebration. Further, the Bible says nothing about the practice of observing Lent, dying Easter eggs, having Easter egg hunts, baskets of candy, bonnets – and so on. Easter has long been known to be a pagan festival. America’s founders knew this.

In the children’s book Easter Parade: Welcome Sweet Spring Time (pp 4-5) Steve Englehaty states:

“When the puritans came to North America, they regarded the celebration of Easter – and the celebration of Christmas with suspicion. They knew that pagans had celebrated the return of spring long before Christians celebrated Easter. (...) For the first 200 years of European life in North America, only a few states - mostly in the South - paid much attention to Easter.

“Not until after the Civil War did Americans begin celebrating this holiday... Easter first became an American tradition in the 1870’s... The original 13 colonies of America began as a Christian nation, with the cry of ‘No king but King Jesus’. The nation did not observe Easter within an entire century of its founding.”

Most people accept traditions as fact because they have been part of our culture for so long.

Unfortunately, most of these traditions are dark and gory Satanic rituals.

Trust me, I am just as disgusted as you are (or should be), but the truth must be known.

Check out these videos: Easter Celebrates Killing Kids and Sex Gods. CHRISTIANS WATCH THIS! Michael Rood Interview. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3HpuZvNASU

Origin of Easter/Ishtar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzQslWHOqgE

Get Rid of Easter! (Pagan origins of Easter and Christmas Exposed) Part 1 of 8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EUAMyTYwno

Get Rid of Easter! (Pagan origins of Easter and Christmas Exposed) Part 2 of 8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnepcFOZY0M

Get Rid of Easter! (Pagan origins of Easter and Christmas Exposed) Part 3 of 8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kZtsskWP7Y

Get Rid of Easter! (Pagan origins of Easter and Christmas Exposed) Part 4 of 8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aNpq1MWB04

Get Rid of Easter! (Pagan origins of Easter and Christmas Exposed) Part 5 of 8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rwFkYFwJTs

Get Rid of Easter! (Pagan origins of Easter and Christmas Exposed) Part 6 of 8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esLKjcnAB6w

Get Rid of Easter! (Pagan origins of Easter and Christmas Exposed) Part 7 of 8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3GhJkPdLKM

Get Rid of Easter! (Pagan origins of Easter and Christmas Exposed) Part 8 of 8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpHKrtb-H4E

Have a blessed day and weekend. May Yeshua the Messiah bless you, Love, Debbie

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the1dcollab · 6 years

Note

when writing our summaries, are we just submitting the description? or would this summary basically consist of lots of points of our writing? meaning basically some spoilers. i will be adding my description but i just want to know a bit more about what do u expect from the summary! (:

super good question, powerblossom, thanks for asking!

short answer: a mild amount of spoilers!

longer answer: the advised format for summaries is as follows!

ships: romantic or queerplatonic, etc, you may clarify! who interacts the most and strongest, any main characters should be listed here.

genre: canon? college? space opera? firefighters tending to a communal garden? just think of it as a netflix category.

rating: commonly used content dividers like lil color tabs, see AO3′s standard [here]

warnings: commonly used content disclaimers to help people be prepared and safe in reading/creating art for your content. be overcautious rather than undercautious here, please!

summary: a moderately detailed synopsis of the expected major events of the majority of your story. essentially this portion is for provided both the feel and specifics of your fic so an artist can feel confidant knowing they can make an art for it and won’t be shocked by the direction of a fic or feel they can’t follow through because they expected different.

-some examples after the cut!-

EXAMPLE 1:

ships: niall/louis. harry/liam/zayn. nick grimshawgenre: 1980s magical realism au.rating: teenwarnings: violence, sort-of not-really major character death, insomnia, body dysmorphiasummary: a long time ago, in a grungy bar by the thames, louis meets a raggedy dog, a warm beer, and a kind stranger that seems to be made of starlight. they share one shimmering hour of honesty under the stars and then louis spends the next 2 years dreaming of them.[[this is where a normal summary would end, maybe. give your artist a bit more to work with!]]louis begins wandering the river at night - not the safest pasttime and eventually stumbles into a knife and then stumbles into a place that’s not quite the afterlife, not quite life. louis’d be more annoyed but this new place has the added bonus of the power to walk through walls, and it seems to be the home of stranger that haunts louis’ head and heart. a right coincidence, that. will o’ wishes, enchantments, werewolves performing water ballet, and pickle incense collide - all that’s left is for louis to decide: is it worth his life to spend an unlife with niall?

EXAMPLE 2:

ships: Zayn/Niall, briefly mentioned past Zayn/Perrie, mentioned Liam/Sophiagenre: non AU, Astronaut!AUrating: slight possibility of it being mature, but it’ll probably be teen and up.warnings: nonesummary: Zayn moves to another country for a change. He’s twenty-five and has been stuck in the same boring small town his whole life, and a decent job working at an art gallery in a place far away seemed too good to pass up. Upon arriving, he moves in with Liam, and then is eventually introduced to Harry and Louis. When he moved, Zayn definitely wasn’t planning on going on a handful of blind dates set up by his new friends in an attempt to find his “soulmate” but that’s what happens.Harry sets up Niall and Zayn over Skype, due to what Harry tells Zayn is a busy schedule and odd hours at work. Despite this, and the fact that Niall apparently doesn’t even have a working webcam, Zayn agrees to go on the date.They click immediately. Niall makes him giggle out loud at his laptop screen and smile until his cheeks hurt, and he’s starting to think Harry was onto something when he said they’d be soulmates. Not that Zayn would admit it. Mostly because Zayn hasn’t actually seen Niall, whether over video chat or in person. It’s fishy to say the least, since Harry says Niall just lives in the next town over. The fact that no one told Zayn that Niall isn’t on Earth, but is actually at the International Space Station makes things a bit more complicated.Featuring: lots of space talk, lots of pining, and some really horrible space jokes just for kicks.

etc etc!!!

hopefully that makes sense and helps a bit. but know that you can always email us and we can help you individually to write one and make sure it covers all the bases! never fear, your mods are here :’)))

- di

#mod posts #asks #the1dcollab #Anonymous #di

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aci25 · 6 years

Text

The Way We Talk About Puerto Rico is Bullshit

Yes, Puerto Ricans are Americans, but not in any way that we should be celebrating.

When we accept that Puerto Rico is only part of America in a backwards, colonialist way, the sooner we can start solving problems:

My intention with this post is to educate those who think that we have a debt of gratitude for the economic help we receive from the USA on a yearly basis. So please bare with me while I prove that it is the USA that should have a debt of gratitude towards us and not the other way around. There is a huge misconception that Puerto Rico is being maintained by the USA! 1) USA sends Puerto Rico $4.6 billion a year for welfare, pell grant, roads, etc. This supports 42% of the population. This amount is not enough to support this population. 2) They send $13 billion a year for Social Security. This is not unilateral! This is money that is RETAINED FROM OUR PAYCHECKS!! Yet the USA reports this as help and money they send. On top of that, our Medicare benefits are the lowest in the nation, even though we contribute exactly the same percentage as every other state in the nation. 3) Puerto Rico buys from the US $22.6 Billion a year in goods, making PR a huge customer for the USA. 4) Jones Act is 100 years old! We do not have the freedom to choose who ships to Puerto Rico! We have to ship in US Flag ships, which happens to be the most expensive in the world! This act 100 years ago was implanted with logic, to patrol the seas! But today it’s just an abuse and Puerto Ricans suffer by it adding huge costs to our products. We spend $1.5 billion a year on this added cost. We are 90% of the business of US ships!!! 5) Out of the business done in Puerto Rico, $34 billion leaves the island toward bank accounts for US businesses. No other territory in the world allows that much money to leave. 6) In summary: USA to PR $4.7 Billion; PR to USA $72 Billion. 7) So, when Puerto Rico gets hit by a hurricane and needs help, USA should send the help. They cannot act as they are doing us a favor. The truth is that it is in their best interest. If you have a gold mine that produces $72 billion dollars a year and it gets hit by a hurricane, you will want to get that gold mine up and running again!! 8) So when Donald Trump states that we "are taking his budget into whack!!", it should be because this year they will be $72 billion short!! As for our $72 billion-dollar debt: 1) This debt starts with the removal of the 936 law that granted tax exemptions to companies in USA. It was done to keep these companies from leaving USA to a foreign land and keeping them in US soil!! Puerto Rico 2) Puerto Rico flourished and then the law was taken away way before its term expired!! 3) Unemployment raised and Puerto Rico started borrowing. 4) Puerto Rico has borrowed nothing near $72 billion!! But interest and foul play by brokers in the US have raised the debt to an unplayable figure. 5) Brokers started selling stocks to subsidiaries (something illegal in the USA) but since it's Puerto Rico, it is allowed!!! 6) Vultures (politicians, well established businessmen) then bought the debt at pennies to the dollar and now wants to cash back!!! On top of that, they are not willing to negotiate the debt even though they would make huge profits if they cut the debt in half!! 7) They want to cut funds for our kids education, and food!! 8) Donald Trump is the person Puerto Rico should ask to pay our debt!! Have him pay the $32 million he took from Puerto Rico taxpayers to build a golf course, bankrupt it and leave the taxpayers paying the $32 million!!! 9) Puerto Rican politicians are also to blame! But the island was preyed upon by a corrupt system. Puerto Ricans are US Citizens that have contributed to the USA for more than 100 years!! 1) We have fought in every war for the USA since WWI. 2) 65th Infantry is all Puerto Rican volunteers. 3) The 65th were the first to fire against Japan in World War II. Why? Because they where always the first ones to be sent in. The Torres’s, the Rodriguez’s, Morales, etc. where the first guys in, clearing the path for the Smith’s, the Johnson’s and Captain America. 4) USA will not grant Puerto Rico statehood!!! To many business interests that would lose money! Puerto Rico would have a huge voice in congress and Presidential vote! Not everybody wants that. So in summary, Puerto Rico contributes greatly to the USA. We have astronauts, engineers, scientists, researchers, musicians, artists, and many other professionals that all contribute. Our parents, grandparents and great grandparents paved the way for us to be US Citizens! So now we have the right to live in USA and vote (if you live on mainland!) and be an American!!! Let us not forget where we come from. Let us not be disrespected and that our perception be that we are maintained, lazy or being helped because of the good warmheartedness of the USA. It's is our right as US citizens!! Let us not speak ill of our island even if you don’t live there!! If you do, you're disrespecting yourself!! "Aquel que no está orgulloso de su origen no valdrá nunca nada, pues comienza a despreciarse a sí mismo."- Pedro Albizu Campos 🇵🇷✌🏽❤️ He who is not proud of his origins will eventually be worthless since he will eventually begin to despise himself - Pedro Albizu Campos 🇵🇷✌🏽❤️

#Puerto Rico #usa #puerto rico and usa #the truth #la verdad #tumblrican #Pedro Albizu Campos #Puerto Ricans #despierta boricua #puertorriqueño #colonias de estados unidos #los estados unidos #colonia #history #education

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whatshouldinameit-blog1 · 7 years

Text

We Are Americans!

FOR MY MANY AND DEAR AMERICAN FAMILY AND FRIENDS, SOMETHING SOMEONE WROTE THAT I FEEL YOU SHOULD READ TO UNDERSTAND PUERTO RICO.

"I would like to clear a few things in relation to my Island of Puerto Rico!! There is a huge misconception that Puerto Rico is being maintained by the USA!

1) USA sends Puerto Rico $4.6 billion a year. For welfare, Pell Grant, roads, etc. This supports 42% of the population. This amount is not enough to support this population.

2) They send $13 billion a year for social security, but this is not unilateral! This is money that is retained from our paychecks!! Yet the USA reports this as help and money they send.

3) Puerto Rico buys from the US $22.6 Billion a year in goods; Making PR a huge customer for the USA, one of its top markets in the world. A captive market.

4) The Jones Act is 100 years old! We do not have the freedom to choose who ships to Puerto Rico! We have to ship EVERYTHING in US Flag ships, which happen to be the most expensive in the world! This act was implanted with logic, to patrol the seas! But today it’s just an abuse and Puerto Ricans suffer by it adding huge costs to our products. We spend $1.5 billion a year on this added cost. We are 90% of the business of US ships!!! 80% OF OUR foood is imported, making it twice as expensive as in the US.

5) Out of the business done in Puerto Rico, 70 cents of every dollar ($34 billion a year) leave the island to the bank accounts of US businesses. Mainland chains have wiped out local businesses (pharmacies,hardware, department stores, etc). No other territory in the world permits that much money to leave, leaving behind the scraps for its own sustenance.

6) Summarizing: USA to PR $4.7 Billion and PR to USA $72 Billion. 🤔 You do the math.

7) So, when Puerto Rico gets hit by a Hurricane and needs help, USA should send the help. They cannot act as they are doing us a favor, but in reality, it is in their best interest. If you have a gold mine that produces $72 billion dollars a year and it gets hit by a hurricane, you need to get that gold mine up and running again!!

😎 So when Donald Trump states that we "are throwing his budget out of whack!!" It should be because this year that 72 billion will be short! He doesn't know what he's talking about.

As for our $72 Billion-dollar debt:

1) This debt starts with the removal of Section 936 of the US tax code that granted tax exemptions to US Companies to keep these companies from leaving USA to a foreign land and keeping them in US Territory!!

2) Puerto Rico flourished for 25 years, and then the law was taken away way before it expired!! Someone said, "It's Corporate Welfare" and boom, in 10 years the pride of our economy, the pharmaceutical, biochemical and electronic industries collapsed.

3) Unemployment rose; professional jobs were substituted by menial service jobs in US stores. Professional class migration soared. Puerto Rico started borrowing to balance its budget.

4) Puerto Rico has borrowed something near 72 billion!! But interest and foul play by Brokers in the US have raised the debt to a unpayable figure.

5) Brokers selling stocks to subsidiaries ( something illegal in the USA) but since it's Puerto Rico, it is allowed!!!

6) Vulture funds now bought the debt at pennies to the dollar and now they want the dollar!!! They are Not even willing to negotiate even though they would make huge profits if they cut the debt in half!!

7) They want to cut funds for our kids education, utilities and food!!

😎 Donald Trump should not be the person telling Puerto Rico to pay our debt!! Have him pay the $32 million he took from Puerto Rico taxpayers to build a golf course, bankrupt it and leave the taxpayers paying the $32 million!!!

9) Puerto Rican politicians are also to blame! The island was preyed upon by a corrupt system that created more millionaires than we'd ever seen before.political cronies were brazenly rewarded with millionaire contracts, without compliance requirements or enforcement.

Puerto Ricans are US Citizens!! That have contributed to the USA for close to 100 years. Citizenship came with the price tag of obligatory military service in 1917, right on time for World War I.

1) They have served in every war for the USA since then. Proportionally, more Puerto Ricans died in Vietnam than any other state of the union. And for what?

2) The 65th Infantry is the all Puerto Rican regiment that was recently honored by Congress for its valor and loyalty.

3) The 65th were the first to fire against Japan in World war II. Why? Because they where always the first ones to be sent in. The Torres’s, the Rodriguez’s, Morales, etc. first guys in, clearing the path for the Smith’s, Johnson’s and Captain America. We call them "carne de cañón," cannon fodder.

4) USA will not grant Puerto Rico statehood!!! We fall under the territorial clause that makes us "belonging to but not a part of." A piece of property with unwanted people in it.Too many business interests would lose money if we were a state! Puerto Rico would have a huge voice in congress and Presidential vote! Not everybody wants that. They prefer that we remain an exploited colony, against international law.

Puerto Rico contributes greatly to the USA every day, both economically and from a human point of view. we have astronauts, engineers, scientists, researchers, musicians, artists, and many other professionals that all contribute to the common good of the USA.

*FEEL FREE TO SHARE

#puerto rico #puertorican #hurricaine maria #we are americans #puertoricorelief #humanitarian crisis #donald trump #mr president #not my president #lily quintero

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moonflowerchilde · 7 years

Note

your shit island needz to pay income tax . you cant really expect aid everytime your shit island is hit by a hurricane. what do you contribute to the GDP? if you go hungry eat someone so theres less of you people sucking our resources

Educate yourself before you speak son:

In the 1750s and 1760s, there was a political slogan popular in America: “No taxation without representation.”

Americans at that time were British citizens. They paid taxes to England, but they had no representation in the Parliament, which was similar to the House and Senate in the United States today. When England passed taxes on sugar, tea, and other items which Americans had to pay, Americans objected to having such laws made by a government in which they had no voice.

The people of Puerto Rico are citizens of the United States, just as the American colonists were citizens of Britain.

Puerto Rico pays taxes to the United States, too. In 2011, Puerto Rico paid $3.3 billion in taxes to the U.S., about the same amount as Vermont. Sometimes Puerto Rico pays more than Vermont.

Some of the kinds of taxes paid by the people of Puerto Rico:

Social Security taxespayroll taxesimport taxesexport taxescommodity taxes

Most people in Puerto Rico do not pay Federal income taxes. However, they do pay local income taxes, and in many cases these are higher than Federal income taxes would be. What’s more, nearly half of the people on the mainland do not pay income taxes. They may have to file, but tax credits and deductions mean that many people in the United States do not pay federal income taxes.

So we can see that the people of Puerto Rico, as a group, pay taxes just as other U.S. citizens do.

What about representation?

U.S. citizens living on the mainland are represented in the U.S. government by a president whom they elect, and by senators and congressional representatives whom they elect. These representatives have a voice in the making of laws that affect the daily lives of their constituents, because they are able to vote on those laws.

U.S. citizens living in Puerto Rico are represented by a single Resident Commissioner. The first Resident Commissioner, Federico Degetau y González, was elected more than a century ago and served from 1901 to 1905. He didn’t even have a chair to sit in while Congress was meeting, and he remarked that Puerto Rico had been better represented in Spain than in the U.S.

Degetau y González spent several years of his tenure fighting to be allowed to speak in Congress. Today’s Resident Commissioner can speak and can serve on committees, but cannot vote.

Just like the Colonial Americans of the 1700s, the people of Puerto Rico do not have adequate representation in the government that collects taxes from them. As a State, Puerto Rico will have the same level of representation as the people living in the 50 states.

—–

About the Puerto Rican debt

There is a huge misconception that Puerto Rico is being maintained by the USA!

1) USA sends Puerto Rico $4.6 billion a year. For welfare, Pell Grant, roads, etc. This supports 42% of the population. This amount is not enough to support this population.

2) They send $13 billion a year for social security, this is not unilateral! This is money that is retained from our paychecks!! Yet the USA reports this as help and money they send.

3) Puerto Rico buys from the US $22.6 Billion a year in goods; Making PR a huge customer for the USA.

4) Jones Act is 100 years old! We do not have the freedom to choose who ships to Puerto Rico! We have to ship in US Flag ships, which happens to be the most expensive in the world! This act 100 years ago was implanted with logic, to patrol the seas! But today it’s just an abuse and Puerto Ricans suffer by it adding huge costs to our products. We spend $1.5 billion a year on this added cost. We are 90% of the business of US ships!!!

5) Out of the business done in Puerto Rico, $34 billion leaves the island toward bank account for US businesses. No other territory in the world permits that much money to leave.

6) Summarizing: USA to PR $4.7 Billion and PR to USA $72 Billion. 🤔

So when Donald Trump states that we “are taking his budget into whack!!” It should be because this year that 72 billion will be short!

As for our $72 Billion-dollar debt:

1) This debt starts with the removal of the 936 law that granted tax exemptions to Companies in USA, it was done to keep these companies from leaving USA to a foreign land and keeping them in US Territory!! Puerto Rico

2) Puerto Rico flourished and then the law was taken away way before it expired!!

3) Unemployment raised and Puerto Rico started borrowing.

4) Puerto Rico has borrowed nothing near 72 billion!! But interest and foul play by Brokers in the US have raised the debt to a unpayable figure.

5) Brokers selling stocks to subsidiaries ( something illegal in the USA) but since it’s Puerto Rico, it is allowed!!!

6) Vulture funds now bought the debt at pennies to the dollar and now want the dollar!!! Not willing to negotiate even though they would make huge profits if they cut the debt in half!!

7) They want to cut funds for our kids education, and food!!

Donald Trump should be the person to tell Puerto Rico to pay our debt!! Have him pay the 32 million he took from Puerto Rico taxpayers to build a golf course, bankrupt it and leave the taxpayers paying the 32 million!!!9) Puerto Rican politicians are also to blame! But the island was preyed upon by a corrupt system.Puerto Ricans are US Citizens!! That have contributed to the USA for close to 100 years.

1) They have volunteered in every war for the USA in that time

2) 65th Infantry is all Puerto Rican volunteers.

3) The 65th where the first to fire against Japan in World war II. Why? Because they where always the first ones to be sent in. The Torres’s, the Rodriguez’s, Morales, etc. first guys in, clearing the path for the Smith’s, Johnson’s and Captain America.

4) USA will not grant Puerto Rico statehood!!! To many business interests that would lose money! Puerto Rico would have a huge voice in congress and Presidential vote! Not everybody wants that.So in summary, Puerto Rico contributes greatly to the USA, we have astronauts, engineers, scientists, researchers, musicians, artists, and many other professionals that all contribute.

@krispenwaahh

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idiopathicsmile · 7 years

Text

so, last week i was thinking somebody should write a comic about a shy teen superhero whose powers are fueled directly by her own sense of embarrassment

then i, uh, wrote a ten-page script for it? and wound up kind of liking it a lot?

so consider yourself cordially invited to read issue #1 of my extremely indie superhero comic, and if you wish, you can illustrate it inside your mind, using the power of imagination!

(A teen girl sits on a swivel chair in her bedroom, facing the viewer. She’s got braces and glasses. Her hair is in a messy braid.)

PONNI: Hi! My name is Ponni Murthy. I’m sixteen, and um…

(We zoom out a little. She’s wearing a T-shit that says “The Moon ROCKS!” She’s holding a cane—covered in glow-in-the-dark star stickers—in one hand, and a stuffed animal cat—wearing a sloppily homemade astronaut costume—in the other. Posters cover the walls: fantasy movies, rocket ships, Ada Lovelace, Aamir Khan, Sally Ride, etc. She has multiple posters of the solar system. She gestures dramatically with her cane-hand)

PONNI: I LOVE OUTER SPACE!

(We return to her face. She looks very earnest.)

PONNI: That’s not, uh, directly relevant to the story, I just—I love it, so much.

(She has now taken on a pensive expression)

PONNI: I love a lot of stuff. But I used to feel a little weird about that.

(She is cheerful again)

PONNI: This is the story of how I got over (some of) my shyness, and rescued a gymnasium full of people, using dark powers I only kind of understand!

PONNI: We begin last year…

(Close-up on her stuffed cat, which is now holding a title card that reads): THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF PONNI MURTHY A.K.A. SHAME-FLAME THE UNCONQUERABLE)

(We are in a high school hallway. Ponni has one hand on her cane, the other hand on a wheelie backpack. She’s wearing a T-shirt with a stylized drawing of Mars on it and the words “Seein’ red.” Hand-drawn arrows and words identify her as “Ponni Murthy, Freshman” “Only South Asian girl in the entire school” “Plays bassoon in school orchestra (entry level)”, “Favorite Mars rover: changes daily”)

(A cute boy is waving. Arrows identify him as “Westley Bolt, senior” “Plays cello (first chair!)” “Those eyelashes! Hot dang” “Favorite movement from Holst’s The Planets Suite: ‘Venus: The Peace Bringer’ (sensitive!!!)”)

(Ponni waves back.)

WESTLEY: Uh, hey…Amanda.

(Ponni turns around. He was waving to Amanda, standing just behind her.) (Arrows identify Amanda as “Amanda Nolan, senior” “Flautist (second chair)” “Favorite space-adjacent detail: unknown” “Probably a really nice person”)

(Ponni watches them walk off together.)

(Close-up on Ponni’s face, which has gone sort of blank.) CAPTION: Engulfed by a white-hot, all-consuming embarrassment, like sinking into surface of the sun! A VOICE FROM “OFF-SCREEN”: Ponni?

CAPTION: Roiling shame-waves blast in all directions, too powerful to be contained in the body of a single American teen! Can it be that my sheer humiliation has gone…supernova? THE SAME VOICE: Ponni!

PONNI: What?

(We zoom out a little. Her friend Vanessa has joined her. Oh, and also…) VANESSA: Your arm’s on fire.

(Ponni looks down and sees this for the first time.) PONNI: OH CRIPES! OH CRIPES, OH CRIPES! VANESSA: HOW DID YOU NOT NOTICE?

(The fire grows) PONNI: (Terrified but also embarrassed) Can anybody see??? VANESSA: WHO CARES, YOU’RE ON FIRE. PONNI: I couldn’t feel it!

PONNI: I still can’t, it’s just kind of warm and tingly.

(Close-up on Vanessa) VANESSA: You’re in shock. Stop, drop, and roll, kiddo c’mon. (Arrows identify her as “Vanessa Delbeau, freshman” “Acts cool but we watch a LOT of Star Trek together” “Favorite astronaut: Mae Jemison” “Threatens makeovers sometimes but so far so good”)

PONNI: I’m not in shock! Look, it’s not even burning my skin.

(Vanessa peers at Ponni’s arm. Sure enough, her skin is fine.) VANESSA: Whoa…what even…

(The fire has vanished.) (Ponni and Vanessa stare at each other)

(They stare at each other for another beat.)

VANESSA: … “Cripes?”

(Ponni’s arm starts to smolder again.) PONNI: If I wanna start babysitting, I need to set a good example!

(Vanessa shrugs. Ponni’s arm fire goes out.)

ANDY: Hey guys! (Arrows identify him as “Andy Shin, sophomore” “Black sheep of the wrestling team” “The only other Asian kid in my neighborhood (we high-five a lot)” “Favorite planet: Uranus (lol)” ANDY: You’re not gonna believe this but they let us out of gym five minutes early and--

VANESSA: Ponni can control fire with her mind.

PONNI (embarrassed): “Control” is, um, a strong word? (Ponni holds up her arm, which is smoldering again) ANDY: Dude! That’s awesome!

(Ponni’s arms are extinguished.) VANESSA: Shouldn’t you, like, go to a doctor? ANDY: You don’t go to the doctor for superpowers! You go to the nearest evildoers and show them your wrath, or whatever!

VANESSA: So just…keep our eyes peeled for all the secret volcano lairs of suburban Michigan? PONNI: I don’t really…have wrath… A VOICE FROM OFF-SCREEN: Stop! Please!

(Andy, Vanessa, and Ponni turn to the other side of the hallway. A boy labeled “Freshman? (not sure)” is addressing two upperclassmen labeled “Bully 1” and “Bully 2.” Bully 1 is holding something above his head.) FRESHMAN: I need to turn that in next period! BULLY 1: Well duh, maybe you shouldn’t have made it out of candy!

FRESHMAN: Don’t eat my homework, come on! BULLY 2 (Affecting a snotty voice, clear from his face he’s mocking Freshman) : Yeah, come on!

PONNI: Is that… VANESSA: A surprisingly good model of a 14th century castle, built out of Starbursts? I think so. I might need new glasses. PONNI: No.

(Closeup on Ponni’s face) PONNI: Evildoers.

PONNI (striding right up to the bullies): Hey! Quit bothering that guy and give him back his castle, he probably spent a lot of time on it! BULLY 1: Or what?

PONNI: Or you’ll regret it. (Ponni holds out her non-cane arm like it’s about to erupt into flames.)

(It does not erupt into flames. Nothing happens. There is a long beat.)

(Ponni still has her free arm out)

CAPTION: Was it all just a fevered imagining? It can’t be, Vanessa and Andy bore witness as well. Unless they, too, are mere shadows, empty projections of my shattered, lonely psyche…

BULLY 2 (to Ponni) : Hey, Unibrow! Out of the way, Tiny Tim!

(Close-up on Ponni. She is almost crying)

(New panel, also a close-up on Ponni) PONNI: WHY DOES YOUR SEXIST, RACIST, ABLEIST BULLCRAP STILL SOMEHOW GET TO HURT MY FEELINGS? IT’S NOT FUNNY OR CLEVER, IT’S JUST MEAN!

(A tear slides down Ponni’s face) PONNI: YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO MAKE ME SAD! IT’S SO HUMILIATING!

(Zoom out. Both of Ponni’s arms are producing fireballs. The bullies are cowering in place, eyes wide.) CAPTION: That’s what triggers this power! My own embarrassment! Whoa, weird.

NEW PANEL: A WHOLE LOT OF SCREAMING AND FLEEING LATER…

(Andy and Vanessa are helping Freshman(?) re-assemble all his stuff. Ponni is no longer on fire) ANDY: Here’s your castle back, Trevor. VANESSA: Nice work on those turrets. (Arrow identifies Freshman(?) as “Trevor! Apparently”) Trevor: Uh, thanks. (To Ponni) Are you…okay?

PONNI: I’m fine. Are you? FRESHMAN(?): Yeah. Uh, I’m Trevor, hi. What should I call you?

PONNI: How about…Shame-Flame the Unconquerable.

VANESSA (whispering): I think he meant your name. PONNI: Oh! Ponni! (She holds out her hand to shake. There’s a flame coming off her palm. Awkward.)

PONNI (putting her hand back down) : Uh, good luck with your castle project! TREVOR: Thanks. Good luck…fighting crime?

(Ponni and Andy give Vanessa huge matching grins) New panel: Later that day, after school… (Vanessa and Andy are waiting outside Ponni’s bathroom door.)

VANESSA: Are you ready yet? PONNI (from inside) : Almost! VANESSA: Never thought I’d get to help design a superhero costume. ANDY: I did. VANESSA: Really? ANDY: Aim high, y’know? VANESSA: Ponni, c’mon! PONNI (from inside): I can’t believe people are gonna see me like this.

(The door swings open to reveal Ponni’s superhero outfit. Labels explain: “my dorkiest bike helmet”, “elbow pads”, “knee pads”, “ancient fanny pack I found in my parents’ closet”, “a wolf T-shirt (with noticeable mustard stain)”, a tutu labeled “(not sure why I had this??)”, a hideous plastic necklace “my least favorite aunt gave me this for my 11th birthday” and “sneakers with black socks.”)

ANDY: If your theory about your power is right, this is like, basically a super suit. VANESSA: The fanny pack’s a nice touch. What’s in there? PONNI: (grimly) Naked baby photos. If we’re doing this, we’re doing it right.

VANESSA: Ready? PONNI: Let’s go save the world.

Caption: For a while, everything went exactly as planned… PONNI (approaching a guy mugging a woman) : Stop right there! MUGGER: What the…what’s this kid doing here?

(PONNI makes an embarrassed face)

(We see the scene in silhouette—Ponni’s hands producing fireballs, the mugger jumping straight up in terror)

(We cut to Ponni foiling a bank robbery) PONNI: Give back that money right now! MASKED ROBBER: Is that a bike helmet? I…are you serious?

(Everybody in the bank stares at Ponni, who looks down.)

(There’s a hint of flames in her eyes)

(The next panel is Ponni grinning, both masked robbers raising their hands in surrender. The wall behind them is singed like she was outlining them in fireballs.)

(Cut to a very fancy-looking office. A wealthy businessman is sitting at a desk, pen poised over some paperwork.)

PONNI (from under his desk): Put the pen down! Don’t you dare put together another predatory subprime mortgage! BUSINESSMAN: Security! Security! PONNI: What you’re doing is wrong and you know it!

(Businessman stares at her. She is still balled up under his desk.) BUSINESSMAN: Listen, kid, do you even know what a subprime mortgage is? Or did you hear one thing on the news, and now you think you’re an expert? PONNI: You’re hurting innocent people! BUSINESSMAN: How long have you been under there?

PONNI: Um.

PONNI: I don’t…um…listen, I’ve got what’s called Juvenille Arthritis? And I was having a really good day this morning, pain-wise, so I thought I’d be okay down here, but now everything hurts and my cane’s at a weird angle. (she winces) Uh, I know I broke into your office, but can you help me up?

(close up on Businessman) BUSINESSMAN: …you’ve got to be kidding m—is your hand starting to smoke?

(Cut to a newspaper headline: MORTGAGE CRISIS AVERTED. The accompanying photo is Ponni sitting in a comfortable chair, giving a big thumb’s up)

CAPTION: But then things began to get more complicated. (Ponni is facing off against a Mad Scientist.) PONNI: Disarm that giant laser, right now! MAD SCIENTIST: Why should I listen to a child in a tutu and gym shoes?

PONNI: Because I’m the best darn hero this town’s got! CAPTION: Wait, what?

CAPTION: I try to summon up that rising, burning tide of self-consciousness, but I’ve done so much in this ridiculous costume, wearing it just feels good. I have to find a new path back to that terrible feeling. PONNI (beginning to panic): Uh…I get super excited when my teacher assigns us science projects! MAD SCIENTIST: Who doesn’t? (Reaches towards the laser.)

PONNI: I cried the first time I watched Shrek! MAD SCIENTIST: …each to their own?

PONNI: Stop! Stop right now, in the name of my 90,000-word Labyrinth/Harry Potter crossover fic! MAD SCIENTIST: …huh?

PONNI: I mean, Jareth had to…learn magic somewhere, right? So why not Hogwarts? The heroine is this seventh-year Ravenclaw student, who, yeah, it’s just me except she’s like, super super gifted at magic and she’s got a baby penguin for a familiar! I wound up naming my pet guinea pig after that penguin! I’ve been writing it for three and a half years. It’s got over a hundred chapters, and all the chapter titles are song lyrics!

CAPTION: I wait for the icy judgment to surface in his face. It does. I wait for the burning shame to overtake me. It doesn’t. Maybe it’s a little silly, but back before my powers took hold, working on that story was one of the few times I felt in control. It was fun to create something purely for myself. And cripes, it’s not like I was trying to destroy the world with a laser or something. I actually feel almost…proud. Uh-oh.

MAD SCIENTIST: Any last words? PONNI: Listen, if you’re going to kill me, can you do it fast? My curfew’s in twenty minutes.

MAD SCIENTIST: …your curfew is seven? PONNI: Well yeah, on weeknights! MAD SCIENTIST: Seven? You have to be home before the bedtime of most first graders?

(Flames appear in Ponni’s eyes.)

(Cut to Ponni walking away from a terrified scientist and a melted laser.) CAPTION: Way too many close calls lately. And now I only have nineteen minutes to get home. Crap. CAPTION: Then, in the middle of a pep assembly, things get worse. (A gigantic crablike monster has burst through the wall of the gym.)

PONNI: Stand down, stranger! Shame-Flame the Unconquerable is here! MONSTER: Then let me just say, Shame-Flame…

(scary close-up of the crab monster’s face) MONSTER: I respect you as an equal. CAPTION: Yikes, word’s gotten around. My foes are getting cleverer.

PONNI: How can you respect someone with a 7 pm curfew! MONSTER: That doesn’t reflect on you; it just means your parents want you to be safe. PONNI: Oh yeah? Well, I’m totally excited to take Advanced Trig next year! MONSTER: You’re preparing yourself for a job in the lucrative STEM field. No shame in that. PONNI: No, I mean, I love math for math’s sake. I’ve written little jingles about all my favorite numbers!

MONSTER: Well, that’s convenient. (Scoops up a handful of band members in one claw.) I hear music is good for the digestion.

PONNI: C’mon! Other than Vanessa and Andy, I’ve got no friends my age! Half the reason I don’t wear makeup is I don’t know how to do it right! Ever since Toy Story I talk to my stuffed animals, just in case! Doesn’t anyone want to laugh at me?

(Ponni looks around. Everyone is just panicking.) CAPTION: Cripes cripes cripes!

PONNI: Gosh, I said I’d defeat you and I can’t even summon the fire to light a birthday candle. Now that’s humiliating, right? MONSTER (pauses with that clawful of band members inches away from its terrible mouth): Not really, Shame-Flame.

MONSTER: It’s just sad.

CAPTION: Well, that’s it. No other way.

PONNI: (cupping her hands to her mouth) Westley Bolt! Hey, Westley! (Westley is sitting four rows down. He turns around.)

PONNI: I’ve had a crush on you since sixth grade! WESTLEY: I know. I was just hoping you wouldn’t bring it up. I don’t like you back. You’re weird. Obviously.

PONNI (smiles, badass) : Oh, I know.

PONNI (turning back towards the monster) And I’ve gotta say, now that everybody knows how long I was hung up on somebody so wrong for me, it’s a little…oh shoot, what’s the word I’m looking for, here?

(The next panel is just flames)

(Then the smoke clears, Ponni’s fire is gone and the monster has fled, having dropped those band kids safely on the ground. It turns out that Trevor was also among them.)

TREVOR: That was incredible! Ponni, you saved our lives! You’re my hero!

(A tiny flame of embarrassment shoots out of Ponni’s hand.) PONNI: Oh, um. You’re welcome? Anytime, sir. VANESSA (seeing the fire) : Ponni, your— PONNI: I KNOW.

(EPILOGUE: Ponni is back to present day, sitting on her desk chair in her room.) PONNI: Nobody was seriously hurt. Not even the crab monster, I don’t think. It took the rest of the school year to repair the gym. Andy got to switch out his PE class with an elective. He took astronomy, thinking it would be a blowoff class, but the teacher wasn’t very good so I got to explain a bunch of stuff to him! Me and Trevor dated for a few months, but he got super clingy when I left for math camp, so we broke up. C’est la vie. Oh, also I went to math camp! It was super daunting at first, and I got nervous and made mistakes. Luckily, my threshold for embarrassment is sky-high at this point, so y’know, I bounced back and enjoyed the heck out of it.

PONNI: Of course, not sure what that means for the next time some sinister force threatens our town. What happens when Shame-Flame gets…shame-proof?

A VOICE FROM OFF PANEL: No way! I found it! ANOTHER VOICE: Found what?

(Ponni looks over at Andy and Vanessa, who have been on the floor, going through a box of Ponni’s old things.) ANDY: Right here! The video of that anti-drug puppet show she did in fifth grade! PONNI: It wasn’t…for a class or anything, I was just really mega- against drugs. ANDY: Am I right in thinking it was a rock opera? PONNI: Uh… VANESSA: Ponni, what are the odds you still remember all the lyrics? CAPTION: Just kidding. That cringey feeling comes for all of us, sooner or later.

(Ponni, Andy, and Vanessa are roasting marshmallows on forks, using Ponni’s burning hand as heat.) VANESSA: Come on, one verse! PONNI: Next crab monster, Vanessa. Next crab monster. CAPTION: I guess it’s just a question of what you do with that feeling.

(Close-up of Ponni’s stuffed cat from the very beginning. It’s holding a card that says “THE END.”)

#and if a few of these characters look slightly familiar to eagle-eyed readers #yes you are correct #these are the novel version of the characters #(in my heart of hearts this story is written by ponni and illustrated by an artist friend of hers #between issues of their cat astronaut comic #in exchange for proof-reading her friend's college application essays)#(he probably had other people he could've asked for help but also knew that he needed a project #to distract from those college application jitters)#(so everybody won i guess)

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