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pucksandpower · 1 month

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I have so many thoughts on why this is a horrible idea and not enough words to properly describe it.

The age regulations were put into place for a reason — just because Toto Wolff is obsessed with finding the next Max Verstappen does not mean that Kimi Antonelli should be granted an exception that will only serve to rush his development.

The fact of the matter is that only Max Verstappen is Max Verstappen … forcing Kimi into a struggling Williams team with barely any time in Formula 2 under his belt after completely skipping Formula 3 will only serve to hurt him.

Kimi Antonelli deserves time to develop. He deserves time to at least finish a feeder series season before being thrown straight from the frying pan into the fire. There are very few cases in which rushing young athletes does not ultimately cause more harm than good.

On the other side of the coin, dropping Logan Sargeant (and doing so in the middle of the season) has the potential to massively hurt Williams from a business standpoint. They are finally in a trajectory to recover financially after years of struggle thanks in large part to the many American sponsors who ended up signing thanks to — you guessed it — them having an American driver in Logan Sargeant. This comes at a time when Williams has already taken numerous hits to its image throughout the earlier races of the season. Considering Formula 1 is just as much about business as it is about what actually happens on the track, I would be concerned about the repercussions that such a move could have.

Now, on to Logan Sargeant himself. It is no secret that he is far from the best driver on the grid, but improving performance requires support from your team, something that has unfortunately been quite spotty to start the season despite the pretty words James Vowles often spins. Logan has been given the short end of the stick race after race after race at a crucial time for his development, the opposite of what any driver that has to prove themselves needs at such a point in their career.

Last, but certainly not least, James Vowles famously said that he is not looking to turn Williams into a “mini-Mercedes” … but is that not exactly what dropping a driver from Williams’ own development program in favor of doing Toto Wolff’s bidding would mean for the team? Williams has no hope of moving away from being viewed as Mercedes’ B-team if their actions directly counteract these words.

I’m sure there is so much more I should say about this, but I hope I managed to adequately explain why I think Williams dropping Logan Sargeant in favor of Kimi Antonelli in the middle of the season has a lot of potential to backfire for all involved.

#everyone involved deserves better #logan deserves better #kimi deserves better #even williams themselves deserve better than perpetually being stuck under the thumb of toto wolff as the junior team of mercedes #i just truly don’t see who this actually benefits #f1 #formula 1 #formula one #kimi antonelli #logan sargeant #ls2 #williams racing #williams f1 #james vowles #toto wolff

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the-nosy-neighbor · 6 days

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Bug-a-Bye and Goodnight

As always, I have edits:

This will make more sense at the end.

I came across some theories about this song, and wanted to look at it in depth.

We are reading with the understanding that he may be referring to Eddie.

[A gentle piano and bassoon track begins playing.]

The sun is low, it’s cold and dark,— end of season, but could also be a reference to night and danger after dark

Just wind and snow, I must remark,

The bugs all head to slumberland,—interesting given the use of toyland, also the commercial about remderem/insomnia (some must sleep but Wally is in the opposite state. Too aware?), but could be a reference to death, like “the big sleep”

Some might find it sad, but I understand,—on face value, he will miss his friends, but knows that it is inevitable.

Even if I might not be able to see you,—can’t see Eddie because he is gone/buried

I know it’s for the best, I can’t keep you,—Eddie staying would lead to serious consequences for Eddie

It’s time for all of you to get some rest,—after what we saw Eddie go through, I bet he would be better in a different state

To tuck you all into your arthropod nests,—bug stuff; also Julie's hibernation?

At this point, those last few lines could refer to a sort of death for Eddie. Almost like frank can preserve him in some way by giving him a death in this universe. If we are talking puppet world, which we did see in commercials, most of Eddie’s anxiety happened in that state. So, can Frank give Eddie a suspended or death like state in one of the layers of reality and he is preserved in storybook world or our real world?

With one last check, that nothing is amiss,

I can see you safe into your chrysalis,—this reads that he will put Eddie into a different state of being that he can come back from. The coming back is my interpretation only at this point because I assume frank wouldn’t choose death for him or would for sure be hurt by Eddie’s death. Things would have to be very bad if true death is a better option for Eddie.

Also, it hearkens back to the horror butterfly image. Another also, caterpillar to butterfly, an insinuation of emedging into a new form. I don’t see allusions to Howdy in here, but I suppose it is possible that this could refer to more than one neighbor and Frank is taking them all out.

As you snuggle down into your dirt,—reference to being buried?

I want to assure you that I won’t be hurt.

This clarifies that it is a sleeping type state, not death. Ok, here is we’re Eddie’s Halloween costume comes in. Frankenstein, changed from the Scarecrow in earlier art (presumably from wizard of oz). Interesting thing about scarecrow vs. Frankenstein is that we see scarecrow taken apart during that film and Frankenstein is famously assembled from parts of different people. Interestinger is the fact that they are both afraid of fire. (I love that Young Frankenstein shows up more than the original in a search.)

Frankenstein (and scarecrow) are both put back together, but for Frankenstein it seems more of a new being, not just a reassembling. Frankenstein (aka frankenstein’s monster) is a thinking, speaking individual that was horrified at the situation he was in. Frankenstein in the book murders to punish his creator for the immorality of creating him and the resulting loneliness that the monster feels. As such, the choice is very interesting. If the puppets of welcome home come to be aware or sentient, I wonder how they would feel about Ronald Dorelaine or their situation?

If the movie version is the focus of Eddie’s costume choice, then he would be a potentially thinking and feeling being (he is afraid of fire), but without further evidence we don’t know his thoughts.

Scarecrow is a guy without a brain, with the power of speech, so a kind of opposite. I think they all end up just needing to be confident, which is why some shyster from the Midwest is able to help. This almost seems to be more in tune with Eddie's character--Eddie has a tendency to appear kind of ditsy, is constantly being dismissed by others. In the end, we find out he is actually smart but lacks confidence. I can see that being true for Eddie as well.

If I had to pick out a character for Frank, it would be the Tin Man. Poppy is the Cowardly Lion, Wally is Dorothy. Home is Home. There are more parallels here than I was expecting. Howdy is the Wizard, Julie can be Glenda, and the Wicked Witch...is kind of no one? Sally can be a flying monkey. She works my nerve. Also, the whole spying thing was done by the monkeys in the movie.

But now that I am thinking about it, this comparison makes a lot of sense, in terms of the complex relationships, as well as the levels of reality that you find in Wizard of Oz. A big event leads to a shift in the understanding of reality, and the lead finds themselves in a very colorful world that doesn't much resemble their own, but is very flashy, has songs, beloved characters, and a sense of danger. There are some things when thought about in the context of real life, or the black and white portion of Wizard of Oz, would be truly frightening.

Of course, Wizard of Oz shares a lot of parallels with Alice in Wonderland, which also seems somewhat related. In terms of source material, the Wizard of Oz is considered to be a parable that expresses the thoughts about US economic policy in the 1890's. This is a theory that you can read more about here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_interpretations_of_The_Wonderful_Wizard_of_Oz

It isn't super related, and not everyone believes that this is the case. However, it seems to be a very American type story, no matter what you believe, that touches on the experience of normal people while much larger forces lie and fuck around with everything.

As the holidays begin to approach,

I gently kiss, each and every roach,—kisses for Eddie. We have seen a realistic roach on the secret page with the mishmash of one script where Wally is deciding what to draw

I made sure to keep, my garden cozy,

So you can safely sleep, in fallen posies,—this whole stanza shows a desire to and promise of a quiet death and maybe even a maintained grave. I looked up posies to see where Eddie could potentially be buried. Posies refer to a nosegay, or small bouquet of flowers. It was a Victorian secret code thing, a way to declare love or even reject people based on flower and color. One that sticks with us in the form of red roses signifying love. On the map, there is a cluster of yellow flowers to the side of Frank’s house. Not sure this counts as his garden, since it is on the other side of the house. Julie has a group of flowers behind her house, but once again, not his garden. No fallen flowers that I can ID.

When googling posey, this is what comes up. I felt that there was a flower called a posey, and these do look like the big yellow flowers by Frank’s house. If any flowers fall in updates, I am going to assume someone is buried there.

There is also the ring around the roses rhyme, which could relate, but I don’t really see a correlation.

It’s time to get comfortable in your honeycomb,

take your winter intermission in your garden loam,—dirt, burying again

neatly nestled from the cold in roots and rhi-ya-zomes, — cozy dead

sleeping side by side under stately stones,—2 dead? Headstones is the link I make there--OK, now look at the pic! (I know, it's a reach.)

…And I’ll be inside of my home,—frank is staying to oversee something. It reads like calming the person who will die. This seems to bolster that arguments that I addressed in the post about bugs on the previous website, that Frank is working against, or at least parallel to Wally. With the bugs, the whispering to Eddie, and using his first name, I think it is reasonable to suggest that Frank is working against Wally and/or Home.

Another potential clue is the hidden video with the clothespins where 1 is upside down. I have theorized that it is a reference to Barnaby dying, but it could be Barnaby and Eddie. Only one clothespin is shown upside down though, so Barnaby or Eddie?

Regardless of how I feel you need to go away,

I’ll be the one to tell you, you just can’t stay,—he likes bugs but this is extreme of Frank, if he is talking about actual bugs

Thankfully I lack a sentimental sensibility,—true that, he generally seems calm.

I enjoy my Methodical Mundanity,—why is this capitalized? I looked and looked but I can’t find the origin of this phrase, though it came up a few times in random posts and articles. Clown does have a tendency to capitalize things that seem random. Me below is also capitalized. I listened as well, and I have to wonder why the singing is so bad? I don’t think the voice actors are bad at singing, seems like a deliberate choice to have reedy and unsteady vocals, pitch issues and pacing problems.

Where all that’s left is… Me.

So, this is a bit extreme for a song about hibernating bugs. I think that given our many references to bisecting or otherwise putting people into pieces (Eddie butterfly horror, frank in a pile of body parts, look I made a dog, and slinky Barnaby, now Frankenstein and Scarecrow) that we could be looking at death in a sense that works in one layer of reality. You disassemble a puppet, it is no longer a puppet. So what if Frank = Frankenstein and Eddie is Frankenstein’s monster? Frank can take him apart and put him back together in puppet reality?

If I had to guess, I am sticking with my working theory. Frank, as the smartest guy in the neighborhood, is the resistant force in the neighborhood. Wally/Home is/are the catalyst for the scary stuff. They are central to everything, physically and otherwise.

I have mentioned that in the last update, Sally and Poppy have the appearance of spies or managing Eddie. Given that Poppy doesn’t attend to party, I am anticipating that Eddie was isolated and watched by Sally during this planning period, where Wally and Barnaby walk the neighborhood to find out what Homewarming is. Given that it is said that Wally and Home instigated Homewarming, it is strange that everyone knows what it is except for Wally. It reads more as an attempt to achieve a goal, despite everyone knowing about the holiday. Even Julie is at the party, and she is supposed to be hibernating. Well, they don't say exactly when Julie hibernates (maybe there was something about her doing it after the holiday?) Anyway, Poppy isn't at Homewarming. She could be at home, but the book stating that they are all here seems like an attempt to cover up her absence. What is she doing? Snooping in the Post Office while Sally watches Eddie? Does Eddie want to go home for not feeling well or he has an idea of what is happening while he is gone?

Maybe Frank sees his boyfriend and comrade at arms about to get hit with something bad, so to preserve him and the opposition, he is going to disassemble him (cue Johnny 5) for protection.

In the past, Sonny (the Brazilian bird) was cast as the opposition to Wally, and included in a relationship with Frank. This work in particular comes to mind:

Clown has stated that they removed Sonny from the project due to the story changing from one with a hero, to one without, as that wasn't the story that they wanted to tell. What if, though, instead of Sonny being written out for the hero reason, there was another reason? What if we are seeing Frank taking on being the neighborhood's savior? He is just snarky enough to make it seem less like a hero situation and more because it was impacting his garden.

#welcome home #welcome home theories #welcome home arg #eddie dear #frank frankley

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ms0milk · 11 days

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I will be participating in the absolutely amazing @ficsforgaza initiative!

PROJECT GUIDELINES.

kindly review these links for detailed answers to any questions you have about the initiative (or send me an ask) overview | how-to | FAQ

HOW DOES IT WORK?

make a donation, (including eSims) send me a redacted screenshot for proof via dm or ask, and make your request :) you may put your donation towards one or more of the below wips, or spend it on a specific request. you will receive credit in published pieces!

**AGE IN BIO PLS. ALL BLOG RULES APPLY. ANON MAY NOT REQUEST NSFW

LET'S WRITE

you can sponsor wips or make individual requests (sfw/nsfw alphabets, drabbles, headcanons, multi-char, one-shots, etc etc)

rate | $1 = 100 words. I will write individual requests up to $100/10k, but don't let that stop you from donating more or multiple times

fandoms | bnha, jjk, kny, hq!, & aot

when wips are 50% sponsored, I will get to work. requests filled immediately

brand new secret wips and all kinds of request details below :) thank you for directly supporting such an important cause

WIPS

Sparks x Fly | bkg x winged!reader

recent graduate and new rookie agency owner, Dynamight, is anxious to get into the field and bloody new gear, but a moving-day collision with some shitty winged civilian turns into his own feathery nightmare when she shows up at an established agency– as their new chart-topping rookie no less. fist fights, shoujo manga, bathroom surgery, hawks as your terrible boss, hyperhidrosis, wings are kind of a hassle, fire escapes, hearing aids, drunken rescues, feather care, a hero ball, and secrets kept under oath of death. (rivals > lovers)

cw: varies by chapter, in general: violence/injuries, inevitable smut, kats has mellowed out some but isn't a peach, reader has dapple brown wings but is otherwise not described in detail. i love personality hire x grouch w too much in common

0/30,000 words sponsored

a simple show of treason | sanemi x reader

sanemi's tsuguko no more, your hashira promotion is just over the horizon! one more untimely death and you'll have the job security you've longed for. nightmares, injuries and lost time, a lost life safe at home, unrequited love– soon it'll all be worth it. your mentor doesn't share your optimism however, and you find him near at all hours of the day. no more or less moody than usual but overbearing and always on the precipice of saying something.

cw: nsfw, mdni. part three of my sanemi/tsuguko series, ie the smut™. long-waited confessions, starving love. reader w vagina, teasing, banter, penetration, oral (reader receiving), clingy nems.

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we're so bad at our jobs | mechanic!choso x writer!reader

writing is a famously lucrative career field, it's why you're only $30 short for the oil change that cost $35. the quiet mechanic shrugs at your short change and tells you not to worry– not that you hear him. not when he shakes his hair out of its messy bun and wipes at the grease on his cheek with the back of a big fist. you find yourself at the car shop a lot suddenly, never stopping once to think why a mechanic would be so blood-spattered.

cw: nsfw, mdni. down bad reader, deer in headlights choso. car sex, reader w vagina, penetration, fingering, oral (giving/receiving), moisture on all conceivable surfaces. i just think choso is weak for strong-willed women.

2,100/5,000 words sponsored !

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what happens after Takoba? What do Aldera and the world have in store for our royal captain and her prince? dragon nests, oaths, a promotion of sorts, and the need to always be near.

cw: varies by chapter, in general: violence/injuries, periodic smut, two idiots in love & situations. a continuation of Hymn to Black Water (+80k) which is coming to a close soon (hardly acquainted > begrudging teammates > enemies > bewildered friends > lovers > soulmates)

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the rest is up to you! get creative my loves >:)

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chain boarders by the inimitable @cafekitsune !!

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glyhpsrfvckincol · 1 year

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Hi! Could you please do an Emperor Belos x reader where the reader and Belos used to be good friends in the human realm and When Belos and Caleb found the Demon Realm Reader tried looking for him but died in the process and somehow ended up in the Demon Realm? Then Belos found them and took them to the castle and helped them and then they kiss lol srry if this is long

History || Emperor Belos

Synopsis - Emperor Belos, who you once loved as Phillip, finds your corpse and restores you.

Warnings - Mentions of death. Old ass Belos. Cannibals.

A/n - I have a love-hate relationship with this dude.

Requests are opened; headcanons only

↳ Ahh, young love.

↳ Your families had betrothed you to one another, as he had been born only a month after you.

↳ Either that, or it’s childhood friends to lovers. Cause ✨ Gay ✨

↳ Despite that, you fell for one another by 15.

↳ You know that trope, “She fell first, but he fell harder”? Yeah, that’s you both.

↳ Philip, who you affectionately call ‘Pip’, discovered the demon realm while he, you and Caleb where off sneaking out of the village for a few hours.

↳ The 3 of you were famously known around the village for your reckless adventures. Many of these adventures had worked out in favour though, considering you had caught a few mountain lions heading towards your town and were able to warn the towns folk before any real harm could be done to gravesfield.

↳ You actually moved with them to gravesfield, as what had killed their parents was a mistimed house fire that took your parents as well.

↳ Being only the short age of 19, you decided that instead of messing with fate, you travelled back home, pretending as if you all had all been out picking berries.

↳ Or some bitch lame activity.

↳ But, as fate happens, Caleb came across the portal to the Demon realm again, and y’know what they say, right?

↳ Curiosity killed the cat.

↳ Philip finds out, mainly cause Caleb actually planned his trip by writing it down in his diary.

↳ Caleb had been missing for a few days and both of you were worried.

↳ So Philip actually informed the town that he was travelling into the Demon realm.

↳ You assumed you would be going with him. You were not.

↳ Let’s be honest, there is no way in hell he would let you go with him. He genuinely loves you bro.

↳ So, you begrudgingly stayed. Obviously not without him proposing, in secret as it is the early 1600’s, giving you a pretty ring.<3

↳ So, off he traveled into the demon realm, with the promise of coming back safely with his dear brother.

↳ You never saw him again.

↳ He had promised he would come back to you within weeks. You waited years. The ring he gave you remained on you finger, hoping he’d one day come back to finish the end of his promise.

↳ When you were nearly 30, you gave up waiting for him to come back, and instead searched for a way to get to him.

↳ The portal you had found with the Wittebane brothers had closed long before you had seeked it without them.

↳ So, instead you would search the forest in hopes you would stumble across a gate or door of some description by chance.

↳ That wasn’t where your luck was.

↳ You fell through the earth, which turned into sky and landed on hard, yet simultaneously soft rock.

↳ Though, you still broke a leg when you hit the ground.

↳ Bone poking through the leg.

↳ And unfortunately for you, barbaric witches could smell the blood from your fucked up leg.

↳ They ate you.

↳ They ate and left no crumbs bestie😔✊

↳ They buried what was left of you. Your clothes, bones, hair, 1 eyeball and your ring.

↳ And around 350-ish years later, a random coven scout, managed to find your remains.

↳ He was on a mission with the GG prior to Hunter, who was barely out of training.

↳ He pointed out the pile of bones and dirt covered clothes to him, and the GG recognised them as the love of Belos’ life, the one he had heard a few stories of.

↳ Belos talked about you so often, to all the previous Golden Guards with such details, it was no wonder the GG could recognise you. Belos also had a small painting of you, cause it was the 1600s when you knew each other.

↳ He also saw the similarities between the ring your finger held to Emperor Belos’.

↳ So, he ordered the other coven scouts that had been assigned on the mission to bring your bones back with them to the castle.

↳ During his mission report, he mentioned the pile of bones he had discovered. He also told Belos himself, figuring that if it were you, he’d want to know immediately.

↳ Belos had demanded to know where you had been placed, and sought you out the moment the GG told him.

↳ He too recognises you, noticing how you had been wearing one of your favourite outfits and the ring he had given you.

↳ And so, like he had done with his brother a multitude of times, he was gonna make a Grim Walker of you.

↳ Belos is a psycho, I don’t know what you expected. 🤷

↳ Belos gets to work immediately, and seeing as he has done this process several times before, he finished quickly and then just had to wait.

↳ Eventually you crawled from the dirt, around the age he had left you back in the human realm.

↳ Though all your memories of him or anything, weren’t existent.

↳ So you know the memory thing Luz and Willow did back in season 1? Yeah that, but to himself.

↳ Belos is a psycho but a psycho in love with you.

↳ He talked of all the memories you two had together, how you fell in love and when tragedy struck.

↳ But none of it worked.

↳ So he asked Collector to just restore your memories and fake ones of how you got to the Demon Relam

↳ Belos wanted to be your saviour, to be the one person you remember.

↳ He knew he’d have to be careful with how he treated you, worried that you’d remember how he had abandoned you and become cold to him.

↳ Belos only had these fears due to Caleb’s ghost constant remarks about how shitty Belos was for leaving you alone, filled with hope based on fake, empty promises.

↳ Belos kisses you when he sees a fit opportunity, which is a lot, scared that he’d have to restart the process of getting you to love and remember him again.

↳ Constantly bribes you with lavish gifts and promised riches.

↳ Also, a lot of gaslighting, he’s a tad bit very toxic.

↳ He loves you, he’s just incredibly mentally ill and hella misguided by 1600’ Orthodox Christian’s.

↳ Back when he was Phillip, he loved you in the way he thought he’d go crazy without you. But now, as Belos, you make him insane beyond all reasoning.

#the owl house #toh #toh belos #toh emperor belos #toh emperors coven #the owl house x reader #the owl house emperor belos #toh philip #toh phillip wittebane #toh belos x reader #toh emperor belos x reader #emperor belos x reader #belos x reader #philip x reader #philip wittebane #philip wittebane x reader #emperor belos

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corpsebasil · 5 months

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Short Drabble of !Dragon Rider reader and Sir Nikolai

Allow me to indulge myself because I love dragons

Sir Dominik, your elder brother, had been the only true authority in your life since birth.

Your brother, Sir Dominik, who taught you the ways of dragon riding. Of bonding with the beasts that legends were made of.

When you were sixteen and you rode your first dragon you screamed, terrified for your life, but soon instinct kicked in and you were screaming out of pure joy, hands high in the air as your dragon roared beneath you. Surprisingly, your dragon was the same age as you. A gorgeous creature that seemed as much of a teenager as you were, often playing fetch with tree branches or mocking you with hide and seek.

WAIT WAIT— SORRY A CUTE SCENE JUST CAME TO MIND WHILE EDITING—

^thats who your dragon thinks he is HAHAHA

“Come out, come out, wherever you are..” You cooed, pretending not to see the giant dragon hiding behind the skinniest tree in the entire forest. The beast was almost comically still, wings tucked in as if that would help. “Where arrrre you, sweetheart?”

The nickname sweetheart made the dragon grumble lowly. He was not a sweetheart he was a—

“GOTCHA!” You yelled and your dragon growled loudly in protest as it scrambled away.

Silly beast.

ANYWAYS

Dominik who, when battle struck Ravka, chose you as his second in command of the few riders that existed. Barely enough to count on one hand but still, the results were devastating.

Until you’d entered the final battle over the seas, your eyes meeting his for a fraction of a second before a bolt hit his dragon, then him, sending two of the most precious beings in your life tumbling dead into the ocean.

…yeah

And the scream you let out was so loud and anguished that your own dragon let out a roar in response, your face streaked with tears as you burned the rest of the enemy’s army to the ground.

They never found his body.

Sir Nikolai was the first to approach after the tragedy, his presence one of the only you’d allow after what had happened.

“My lady,” he greeted you, even if you weren’t titled. “Dominik was…is…the best friend I ever had. A brother to me. If there’s anything I can—”

“He was my brother.” You snapped, turning that gorgon gaze of yours to his. “Mine.”

“I understand.” He said after a brief pause, his expression tight. “But I’m still here for you.”

You ignored him, turning to stare out the window at the far distant sea, recalling the shouts and cries of battle, of your own reaction to your sibling’s death.

You’d ran that night. Ran for what felt like miles before you finally tripped, rolling several times along the ground before you crouched, fingers digging into the earth, and wailed your pain out into the open air until you thought your lungs would cave. The sound was so awful you couldn’t recreate it if you tried.

(Cue IM IN THE WIND IM IN THE WAAATER NOBODIES SON NOBODIES DAAAAU)

Years passed—three exactly—before you gave Nikolai the time of day. You slowly taught him how to ride a dragon, the beast frightened of the intimidating knight’s lethal armor until you convinced him to lose it, stating that the armor wouldn’t help him if he fell anyways.

Months after that he was as skilled as you not and accompanied you for morning and evening rides, the two of you just gliding and swapping stories until the sun went down. You grew to trust him, albeit only a bit, and ventured to spend more and more time with the knight.

Then came the evening of the summer solstice when dragon riders famously performed night shows, blasting fire into the skies and racing one another. Nikolai, for the first time in his life, found himself invited to the ceremony. He himself rode the brother to Dominik’s dragon, the beast having had seemed to bond almost instinctively to the knight.

Afterwards, once the two of you were sweaty and exhausted from performing for the crowd along with your fellow riders, you let the dragons into their (rather expensive) nesting areas and let yourselves dance.

And boy did you dance.

While he never kissed you—had never tried to—you found yourself wishing more and more for that touch as Sir Nikolai spun you from dance to dance, the night sky and the warm breeze wrapping around the both of you like a acción.

Coaccioné

WHAT THE FUCK IS THE WORD

sorry Author’s Note it’s cocoon* but I’m too lazy to edit that much and my keyboard is not English LMAO

Anyways

ANYWAYS so that night if anyone saw him kiss you outside the castle before you went to your gorgeous cottage in the village, no they didn’t.

If anyone saw you take him home, no they didn’t.

If anyone witnessed the two of you married a year later, yes they did.

#dragons #nikolai lantsov #shadow and bone #nikolai lantsov x reader #nikolai x reader #shadow and bone imagine #knight nikolai lantsov #fluff #nikolai lantsov angst #knight nikolai #knight x reader #sir nikolai lantsov

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emmitaaa4 · 4 months

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"As if the city view held some answer." On visions, heartbeats through stone, and the Dusk Court.

I'm but a procrastinating engineering student so this is going to be a bit of a messy post/theory, but here we go.

HOFAS spoilers:

Others have probably already theorized about this, but we know that Bryce ended up giving back TT and handing the Starsword (Gwydion) to the acotar folks... could it be that the Gwydion is destined to be Elain's? Or used by Elain, perhaps in the revival of the Dusk court? After all, as @bright-side20 and others have pointed out we already know that she likely accessed TT's powers in acowar (stepping out of a shadow to kill Hybern; if I am not mistaken TT leaked a darkness that even Az was surprised to witness in HOFAS).

sidenote: if you are curious about the link between Avallen & the Dusk court, I encourage everyone to go read this theory/breakdown!

Could this also be why the fact that Elain returned TT (which was an obvious action) was emphasized in ACOFAS, where SJM said she planted seeds for future bookS? Cause I find it interesting that it is Mor of all people that hums pensively as she points out that Elain gave TT back to Azriel: does she know/sense something with that power of hers? Does Elain perhaps See something too, given that she supposedly moved away from it very assuredly? After all, Mor was the one to say that "there is a reason that Elain is seeing these things" (acowar).

ALSO... I believe it's been pointed out already that the heartbeat through the stone that elain famously heard in acowar could have been a literal "beating, vibrant heart locked away far beneath"; i.e. the heart of the Dusk court (hofas). I find it all the more interesting, then, that Gwydion is described to have its light like a heartbeat (paraphrased from hofas, I dont remember the exact quote).

After all, it is looking away from Lucien, towards the windows, that she tells him--or rather, appears to be telling him:

“When I sleep,” she murmured, “I can hear your heart beating through the stone.” She angled her head, as if the city view held some answer. “Can you hear mine?” “He wasn’t sure if she truly meant to address him, but he said, “No, lady. I cannot.”

I repeat:

as if the CITY VIEW held some answer.

What if it did? And what if that answer is found in Gwydion's light and/or the Dusk court's beating heart?

In fact, what else do we know happens (or happened in acowar at least) when she sleeps? Visions, most likely: before she gained the understanding she needed to free herself from the murky-realm she was trapped in (thanks to my man Az), she was lost in a dream-like state. And those dreams often including the trashing sea...

"I can see so very far now. All the way to the sea." Indeed, the sea beyond the Sydra was a distant sparkle. (...) “I can hear your heartbeat—if I listen carefully. I can hear her heartbeat, too.” (who is her? is she hearing her sisters' literal heartbeats, or someone/something else's?)

“I can hear the sea. Even at night. Even in my dreams. The crashing sea—and the screams of a bird made of fire.”

These quotes have been dissected countless times already, but what I'd really like to add to the conversation is that there is something interesting from a passage from HOFAS I referenced earlier:

“And in that moment, the mountain—the island—spoke to her. Alone. It was so alone—it had been waiting all this time. Cold and adrift in this trashing grey sea. If she could reach out, if she could open her heart to it… it might sing again. Awaken. There was a beating, vibrant heart locked away, far beneath them. If she freed it, the land would rise from its slumber, and such wonders would spring again from its earth (…)”

I am about to make the mother of all reaches (call me delulu idc idc), but all this talk about Elain being “blooming spring” and “a promise of spring”… and here we have a slumbering, barren Island (not unlike the way she herself has been forgotten, has been lost in dreams) in the trashing sea (crashing sea, anyone?) which could spring anew.

Just to wrap this up, you cant tell me that this passage isn't extremely Elain "gentle-grower-of-life" Archeron coded:

Dusk, twilight—that’s what the island was in its long-buried heart, what her power bloom into, the lands rising with it. It was, as she said, as if the island had a soul that now blossomed under her care, nurtured by the court she built here.

-------

Voila :) Hopefully I didnt get things mixed up and this made at least a little bit of sense. Ok so done with my procrastination and now back to thermodynamics (send help)(please).

#hofas spoilers #elain archeron #pro elain #dusk court #hofas #truth teller #gwydion #acotar 5 #acotar theory #kinda messy but bear with me #i needed to brain dump #mor acotar #elriel

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team7-headquarter · 6 months

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Naruto and Sakura are so babies to me BECAUSE they are fucked up off-putting little menaces.

They're the same and it's so funny how they can't recognize it. There's literally no reason for it, there is no connection between them except that they are both protagonists so the story went "Listen, I'm gonna make a pair that is sooooo ridiculously enjoyable to watch because they are sooo weird."

They listen to voices in their head?? Canonically? Both of them were bullied as kids for not being like the rest?? Naruto has freaking whiskers and Sakura pink hair!!! They are so bright and colored it's like a joke to know they want to be ninjas!!!!!!!! They are impossibly loud and bitchy, always up to beat anyone including kids and old people, don't hold back when it's time for mean comments or rejecting people they find ugly or weird, share a total of zero braincells between them sometimes, refuse to see themselves as being less than other people—

I genuinely laugh so hard with them. Remember that time after Kaguya got sealed when Naruto and Sakura panicked over how they'd go back to the real world? They had just saved the world and somehow still had time for their silly antics.

Their summons are (let me check ...) MULTIPLE frogs and a giant snail that can divide into many little versions of herself. They got those summons from their mentors, who happened to be an old man perverted to no one famously known for his erotica writing and a woman known by all for her alcoholic tendencies and being a giant loser that refuses to stop gambling.

You need more convincing? Okay.

Naruto and Sakura are a little perverted as teens and spend 70% of the manga crying. They are so lame in some of their speeches, epic losers from the very beginning because they were the dead last shinobi and kunoichi of their class. When they face a problem, their solution is "I'll beat it up with my own hands". Them in Naruto classic? For sure the stupidest duo around.

Half (or more) of their plans are the worst plans ever and the rest miraculously work so well you have to admit they were cool. They are obsessive and short tempered and even when they are the strongest shinobi and kunoichi duo around, you can't trust they will complete the mission without making it worse first.

... I correct it, they will make it worse first.

On the other hand, you have to win their respect, because they sure as hell won't give it to you out of the goodness of their hearts. They are the best representation of the Will of Fire of the younger generation. No one ever thought Naruto would befriend Kurama like he did, no one ever counted on Sakura becoming a world renowned medic nin, no one thought they would reach that far. They're naive to a fault and they don't fit the shinobi life at all and if they weren't the protagonists, they'd be the first to die or something, but they are the mcs and they are absurd as they come.

I love them sooooo much for all they are and all they are not.

#naruto #sakura haruno #naruto uzumaki #team 7 #team kakashi #og team 7 #naruto classic #naruto shippuden

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imakatperson22 · 2 months

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Hey Congrats on your Ao3 invite. I saw you were looking for prompts. Would you consider the fire fam, Athena and Josh finding out about Bucks Bisexuality either on purpose or accidentally, and then being really fluffy and happy for him about it?

Definitely something I’d be interested in. Maybe a series of short lil one shots. I think Josh would be a little smug about it like “I’m so not shocked” and Buck is like “well I was!” And Josh is just like “No straight man does one armed push ups singing eye of the tiger karaoke on his own free will. It’s too extra.”

I think Athena would be very nonchalant about it. After what happened with Michael, she’s all too familiar with how people can come to terms with sexuality later in life so she’d just take it in stride. I think Buck would come out to Bobby first and Bobby would relay the message to Athena. Like Buck tells Bobby he’s bringing Tommy to a cookout and later Bobby tells Athena to cook for one more person and she’s just like “Buck’s bringing a date named Tommy?” And Bobby is like “Yep.” And she goes “as in, Thomas?” And Bobby continues with “yep.” And she says “huh. Just wanted to make sure I heard you right.” And then cut to the cookout and she introduces herself to Tommy and is very keen on getting to know him and they get on famously and later in the evening she goes to Buck and tells him she likes this one better than the redhead.

So yeah. I definitely will now be writing that lmao.

#911 abc #911 #911 on abc #evan buckley #bi buck #911 fox #911 show #evan buck buckely #911 fanfic #athena grant #josh russo #coming out #bisexuality

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boghermit · 3 months

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Pointing Out the Historical Inaccuracies (and Some Accuracies) of Ridley Scott's Napoleon 🤓

The only interesting parts of this film are the costumes, and maybe one or two music tracks. The rest of the movie is just awful. The story can hardly be called a story. It's just miscellaneous boring scenes duct taped together. None of the characters are developed beyond a single trait, if that. A period this broad shouldn't have been crammed into a movie this short. I honestly wouldn't have disliked the historical inaccuracy so much if it had been sacrificed for the sake of a good narrative, but this is bad. Even if you don't know about the era enough to nitpick it, I wouldn't recommend this film to anyone.

TL;DR go watch Waterloo or The Duelists instead.

Accurate Historical Details

There were some minor details that made me perk up like, "Ah, yes! It did happen like that!" The rest of the movie is so inaccurate that these details stuck out.

Napoleon tugged on peoples' ears as a sign of affection. You see this in the movie with Tallyrand and Josephine. He also did this a lot with his soldiers, which we don't see in the film. In fact, he doesn't interact with his soldiers much at all in the film.

The French fired a 101-cannon salute after Napoleon's first son was born.

Napoleon famously bumbled at the Coup of 18 Brumoire, and his brother Lucien had to step in to direct the French grenadiers.

It's contested whether or not Robespierre actually shot himself in the jaw, but I think at this point it's mostly accepted as truth? In any case, someone screwed up his jaw before he was arrested.

The British loved publishing political cartoons about Napoleon, including cartoons of him being cucked.

Joséphine did actually meet Tsar Alexander shortly before her death. I didn't know about this one and was happy to learn something new.

The depictions of line and square formations were okay.

Historical Inaccuracies

This is, in spite of its budget, one of most historically inaccurate pieces of media I've seen on the era, and on top of that it isn't even good.

There is so much historical context omitted from this film that I feel like anyone who doesn't have an interest in the time period will have NO idea what's going on. You are never really given the how and why of history other than "the Europeans are fighting and also Napoleon is there."

The overall characterization of Napoleon is just bizarre. Napoleon was smart, egotistical, ambitious, hot-tempered, and had a magnetic charisma and human charm that inspired a kind of blind loyalty in his soldiers. This is why he was so successful - and so dangerous. Napoleon never feels threatening or sinister in this film. He's just kind of there, slouching and sweating and mumbling under his breath as history unfolds. Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure does a better job of depicting Napoleon than whatever the hell is going on here.

Napoleon was not present at the beheading of Marie-Antoinette.

He didn't have his horse shot out from under him at Toulon, and he didn't send gore-spattered cannonballs to his mother, as far as I know.

The movie casts a younger actress to play Joséphine de Beauharnais, but Joséphine was actually older than Napoleon.

I'm pretty sure that Napoleon didn't find and return the sword of Joséphine's ex-husband, although there is a legend stating that he attempted to confiscate it and was persuaded by Joséphine's son to return it.

The French army never shot their cannons at the Pyramids in Egypt. They also didn't loot the Pyramids, although they participated in a lot of heinous looting elsewhere.

Napoleon didn't leave Egypt because he found out he was being cucked by his wife - he'd already known about that for some time. He left Egypt because the campaign was failing and because the political situation in France was becoming untenable.

Jacques-Louis David attended the coronation of Napoleon, but didn't start his studies for the painting during the coronation itself. (At least as far as I know.)

The lake scene during the Battle of Austerlitz is a bit of a legend, but probably not true. The gigantic lake was more likely a series of shallow ponds, if it existed at all.

Napoleon did not lead cavalry charges, and he sure as shit didn't lead cavalry charges at the Battles of Borodino or Waterloo. In fact, Napoleon infamously sat a safe distance away while watching the bloody Battle of Borodino unfold.

Napoleon was not exiled following the Russian campaign. He was exiled after the War of the Sixth Coalition, in 1814.

Joséphine died in 1814, when Napoleon was still at Elba, not in 1815.

Trench warfare and scoped muskets were not used at the Battle of Waterloo.

Napoleon never met the Duke of Wellington.

That's uh. The cut version of my complaints.

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supercap2319 · 2 years

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Meet the Parents

Sky x Male Reader

A/N: The reader finally meets Sky’s parents, who are quite famously known.

“Blue Eyes, I changed my mind. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all,” Y/N said as they drove closer and closer to their intended destination.

Sky took his eyes off the road for a second to glance at his nervous boyfriend. He was fidgeting with his fingers as snowflakes began to dance around him. It only happened when Y/N was upset or stressed. Tonight, he was stressed. Sky was taking his boyfriend, Y/N Peters, to meet his parents: Steve Grant Barnes and James Buchanan Barnes. Aka Captain America and the Winter Soldier. “What? Oh, come on, Baby Boy. Tonight's going to go fine. My dads will love you.”

“You mean when they find out that their son is in love with a freak who has wings coming out of his back and is basically a real-life Elsa? Yeah, I'm sure they'll be thrilled,” Y/N sarcastically said.

“You're being dramatic. My parents are just like everyone else. They have jobs. They make dinner. They do TikTok videos.”

“Right. Because everyone has parents who are literal superheroes. Your dads are Captain America and the Winter Soldier,” Y/N said.

“Former Captain America and Winter Soldier,” Sky corrected. “Besides, they know you're a good guy. I practically brag to them about what a Saint you are.”

“Really?”

“Really.” Sky smiled. “More importantly, my brother, James, likes you, and he doesn't like anyone but himself.”

“Yeah, after he threatened me with a gun or a knife shoved up where the sun doesn't shine if I ever hurt you in any way.”

Sky growled. “When we're alone later on. I'm punching him in the dick.”

“Don't do that. As funny as that would be. Don't do it on my account,” Y/N said.

“See. You are a good boy.”

“Yeah, you tell me that all the time when we're alone,” Y/N blushed as Sky smirked at the mention of their bedroom experience.

Eventually, Sky pulled into the driveway of his home as Y/N glanced at the twinkling lights inside of the house to the apple pie his mom had baked for Y/N to take over tonight in his hands.

“Are you sure they like apple pie? Is it too basic? Maybe we should head to the store and get something else?” Y/N rapidly fired his questions.

Sky put his hands over Y/N’s in order to calm his boyfriend down. “It's fine, Y/N. It's actually their favorite kind of pie.” Sky brought Y/N’s hands to his lips and gave it a gentle kiss as Y/N blushed. Sky opens the door to the driver's side and comes around and opens the door for Y/N, like a gentleman.

Sky guides Y/N towards the door of the house as it opens up and Y/N freezes in place. At first, he thinks it was Sky’s parents, and he prepares to be turned away immediately, but it wasn't. It was Sky’s younger brother, James. James had dark brown hair and had blue eyes like Sky, but his were more of a cold stormy blue. Sky’s we're like a calm, clear ocean wave.

“Dad sent me to come to check on you,” James said. He looked at Y/N and smirked.

“H-H-How are you, James?” Y/N squeaked.

“Better than you're gonna be in a few minutes,” James teases. “My Pops is sharpening his knives as we speak, and my dad has his shield ready.”

“That's it, I'm leaving!” Y/N turns around and tries to bolt, but Sky grabs the back of his shirt. “Oh, no, you don't.”

Sky turns and glares at his baby brother. “Stop it, James. Otherwise, I'll post your diary online.”

James looks pale. “You wouldn't dare.”

“Try me.”

“Fine. You win.” James turns on his heel and walks back into the house.

Sky turns to his shorter boyfriend. “Are you ready for this?”

“No,” Y/N sighed.

“Maybe this will make you feel better?” Sky wraps a strong arm around Y/N’s waist and pulls him closer until their chests are touching. Sky leans down and places a kiss on Y/N’s lips as the younger boy blushes as Sky kisses him silly.

They probably would have stayed like that if not for someone clearing their throat. Sky and Y/N quickly broke apart as they looked up the stairs at an older-looking version of James. It was Sky’s dad, James Barnes Sr. His metal and regular arms were crossed over his broad chest. He wore a black buttoned-up shirt.

“Hey, Pops,” Sky greeted awkwardly.

“Sky. Your dad says dinner is ready,” James Sr. says as he looks at Y/N. “You must be Y/N.”

“Nice to meet you, sir. My name is Y/N Peters.”

Sky giggled at that. “Sir? Since when are you all proper and polite?” Y/N glared at Sky. “Believe it or not, Blues eyes, but I do have my moments.”

Sky’s dad smiled. “You may call me Bucky if you like, young man.”

“Thank you, Mr. Bucky Barnes sir.”

Bucky smiled. “Just Bucky. That ‘sir and Mr.’ stuff makes me feel even older than I already am.”

Sky and Y/N walk up the stairs as they enter the house. Y/N tries to keep his powers in check as he feels them rush to the surface. Stay calm. Breathe in. Breathe out. Sky grabbed Y/N’s hand and led him to the kitchen, where they saw a man with blonde hair dressed in a patriotic apron over a blue button-up shirt.

“Dad? This is Y/N. Y/N, this is my dad, Steve.” The blonde haired blue eyed male turned to his son and his boyfriend, a gentle smile on his face. “Nice to finally meet you, Y/N. Sky has told us all about you.”

“It’s nice to meet you too, Mr. Barnes. You have a lovely home.”

Steve smiled. His blue eyes were shining with amusement. “Thank you, Y/N. You’re quite the gentleman.” Y/N blushed at that. Captain America–no–the former Captain America just gave him a compliment.

“Is it almost ready?” Sky asked.

Steve nodded his head. “Almost. Why don’t you guys go sit down and tell your father and James to come sit down as well?”

“Sure, Dad.” Sky grabbed Y/N’s hand as he gently led the younger boy away from the kitchen and into the dining room.

Steve watched them leave with a smile on his face. Looks like his eldest has found himself a keeper.

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richincolor · 1 month

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We've got a little something for everyone this week! Have you checked out these new releases yet?

I'll Be Waiting for You by Mariko Turk Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Natalie and Imogen are inseparable, and wildly different—Imogen is infuriatingly humble and incredibly intelligent, while Natalie is brave, jumping into danger and new adventures. Still, one thing ties them their love of the supernatural. Every summer, they vacation with their parents at the famously haunted Harlow Hotel. Imogen is a true believer, while Natalie sees ghost stories as nothing but pure fun. Then, Imogen suddenly passes away from an undiagnosed heart condition that no one saw coming, and Natalie is left to take on the summer before senior year alone. Without Imogen, Natalie throws herself into her senior project. Her passion is still horror, so she plans to spend her summer back at The Harlow Hotel recording fun fake footage that will get her on the teen ghost hunting show of her dreams. And her plans would be a lot less complicated if Leander, her irritatingly attractive arch rival from school, wasn’t working on his senior project at the very same hotel. The longer Natalie stays at the Harlow Hotel, the more she realizes that Leander might be helpful for her project. After all, she could use an extra hand to help record her fake footage. But, when strange things start happening at the Harlow, Natalie wonders, could there really be something to these ghosts after all?

The Notes by Catherine Con Morse Crown Books for Young Readers

Claire Wu isn’t sure that she has what it takes to become a successful concert pianist. It’s the fear of every student at Greenwood School of Performing becoming a washed-out performer who couldn't make it big. And Claire's no Rocky Wong, the ace pianist at their boarding school. Then Dr. Li shows up. She’s like no other teacher at mysterious, sophisticated, fascinating. Under Dr. Li’s tutelage, Claire works harder and dreams bigger than ever. And her crush Rocky finally seems interested. Maybe she’ll even be "Chinese enough" to join the elusive Asian Student Society. Everything is falling into place until eerily personal notes about Claire’s bond with Dr. Li appear. Claire starts to feel the pressure. But she isn't the only one. Everyone is feeling the strain. Especially Rocky, whose extreme perfectionism hides something more troubling. As the Showcase tension crescendos, Claire must decide if she’s ready to sink or swim. She may discover who she really is as a Chinese American and learn if she’s ready to give her all for a shot at greatness.

The Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptiste Sourcebooks Fire

In a country divided between humans and witchers, Venus Stoneheart hustles as a brewer making illegal love potions to support her family. Love potions is a dangerous business. Brewing has painful, debilitating side effects, and getting caught means death or a prison sentence. But what Venus is most afraid of is the dark, sentient magic within her. Then an enemy's iron bullet kills her mother, Venus’s life implodes. Keeping her reckless little sister Janus safe is now her responsibility. When the powerful Grand Witcher, the ruthless head of her coven, offers Venus the chance to punish her mother's killer, she has to pay a steep price for revenge. The cost? Brew poisonous potions to enslave D.C.'s most influential politicians. As Venus crawls deeper into the corrupt underbelly of her city, the line between magic and power blurs, and it's hard to tell who to trust…Herself included.

Prom Babies by Kekla Magoon Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)

A compelling, multi-generational novel from the Coretta Scott King and Printz Honor-winning author of How It Went Down, Light It Up, and The Minus-One Club, Prom Babies chronicles the stories of three teen girls who become pregnant on prom night. Eighteen years later, their three babies, now high school seniors, are headed to prom and facing their own set of complicated issues and questions. Mina, Penny, and Sheryl have the typical expectations of prom night in 2005: dresses, dancing, and of course some coming of age moments. None of them plans to get pregnant, but when all three do, they band together as they face decisions that have the power to shape the rest of their lives. In 2024, their three children--Blossom, Amber, and Cole--are high school seniors, gearing up to go to prom and facing some big decisions of their own. As they seek to understand who they are and who they want to be, they grapple with issues that range from consent to virginity, gendered dress codes, and the many patriarchal, heteronormative expectations that still come along with prom. A generation later, will this prom night change lives too?

Sound the Gong (Kingdom of Three #2) by Joan He Roaring Brook Press

From New York Times and Indie bestselling author Joan He, comes the dazzling and sweeping conclusion to The Kingdom of Three duology, Sound the Gong, the breathtaking sequel to the critically-acclaimed Strike the Zither. All her life, Zephyr has tried to rise above her humble origins as a no-name orphan. Now she is a god in a warrior’s body, and never has she felt more powerless. Her lordess Xin Ren holds the Westlands, but her position is tenuous. In the north, the empress remains under Miasma’s thumb. In the south, the alliance with Cicada is in pieces. Fate also seems to have a different winner in mind for the three kingdoms, but Zephyr has no intentions of respecting it. She will pay any price to see Ren succeed—and she will make her enemies pay, especially one dark-haired, dark-eyed Crow. What she’ll do when she finds out the truth—that he worked for the South all along…

The Vanishing Station by Ana Ellickson Amulet Books

Eighteen-year-old Filipino American Ruby Santos has been unmoored since her mother’s death. She can’t apply to art school like she’s always dreamed, and she and her father have had to move into the basement of their home and rent out the top floor while they work to pay back her mother’s hospital bills. Then Ruby finds out her father has been living a secret life as a delivery person for a magical underworld—he “jumps” train lines to help deliver packages for a powerful family. Recently, he’s fallen behind on deliveries (and deeper into alcoholism), and if his debts aren’t satisfied, they’re going to take her mother’s house. In an effort to protect her father and save all that remains of her mother, Ruby volunteers to take over her dad’s station and start jumping train lines. But this is no ordinary job. Ruby soon realizes that the trains are much more than doors to romance and they’re also doors to trafficking illicit goods and fierce rivalries. As she becomes more entangled with the magical underworld and the mysterious boy who’s helped her to learn magic, she realizes too late that she may be in over her head. Can she free her father and save her mother’s house? Or has she only managed to get herself pulled into the dangerous web her father was trapped in?

What's Eating Jackie Oh? by Patricia Park Crown Books for Young Readers

Jackie Oh is done being your model minority. She just hasn’t told her second-gen Korean American parents yet. They would never understand her unconventional dream to become a professional chef. Just ask her brother Justin, who hasn't heard from them since he was sent to Rikers Island. For now, when she isn’t avoiding studying for AP World History, Jackie is improving her French cooking techniques and working at her grandparents’ Midtown deli Melty’s. Then the most unexpected thing Jackie gets recruited for a casting audition for the teen edition of Burn Off!, her favorite competitive cooking show. Even more unexpected, Jackie becomes a contestant. Jackie is thrown headfirst into the cutthroat competitive TV show world filled with psych outs, picky mom critiques, and dreaded microaggressions to lean into her heritage. All Jackie wants to do is cook her way. But is her way to cook traditional French cuisine? Lean into her heritage? Or is it something more? To advance through the competition, Jackie must prove who she is on and off the plate.

Where Was Goodbye? by Janice Lynn Mather Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

A teen girl searches for closure after her brother dies by suicide in this breathtaking novel from the author of Learning to Breathe and Facing the Sun. Karmen is about to start her last year of high school, but it’s only been six weeks since her brother, Julian, died by suicide. How is she supposed to focus on school when huge questions Why is Julian gone? How could she have missed seeing his pain? Could she have helped him? When a blowup at school gets Karmen sent home for a few weeks, life gets more things between her parents are tenser than ever, her best friend’s acting like a stranger, and her search to understand why Julian died keeps coming up empty. New friend Pru both baffles and comforts Karmen, and there might finally be something happening with her crush, Isaiah, but does she have time for either, or are they just more distractions? Will she ever understand Julian’s struggle and tragedy? If not, can she love—and live—again?

#i'll be waiting for you #prom babies #sound the gong #the notes #the vanishing station #the poisons we drink #what's eating jackie oh #where was goodbye #mariko turk #kekla magoon #joan he #catherine con morse #ana ellickson #bethany baptiste #patricia park #janice lynn mather

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chaosology · 1 year

Text

somebody else

— spencer reid x reader

pairing: spencer reid (criminal minds) /fem!reader

genre: angst part ii here | masterlist

content warnings: none? just bad writing, this is my first post :)

summary: heartbroken over maeve’s death, spencer snaps at the reader who happens to be in love with him, causing her to rethink her relationship with the resident genius

At only 24, Y/N had managed to become the youngest surgical intern at her hospital. She skipped grades and spent years of intense study in university completing her degree, all while juggling a psych class on the side. She had only taken it for fun of course, it was an interesting subject but it wasn't as hands on as the the thrills of surgery. Naturally, she had graduated top of her class with "record breaking" high marks, setting a scary new standard for the generations to come.

Half way through her intern year she was approached by FBI representatives, who were combing through the top 1% of potential candites. They assured her that the unit's headquarters were local and that she could come to the hospital three to four days a week, but would assist a team in tracking down and analysing potential criminals (or 'UnSubs" as the man so vehemently stressed). She was cautious at first, but they promised that it would look great on resumes and she could back out at any time. Eventually, she caved and agreed. Her friends and collegues at the hospital all supported her - after all, this was a once in a lifetime oppurtunity.

Before she was introduced to her new team, she was sent letters instructing her of what was expected. She was to complete a certain amount of hours at the gym, complete a fire arms assessment, a physical and a mental competency test. Probably to make sure I'm not a serial killer, she thought, but wouldn't that be ironic? She passed them all with flying colours (as to be expected) and was sent an email inviting her to an introductory dinner with the group. Whether they did this for everyone she didn't know, but she hoped they would welcome her with open arms and notthink less of her because of her age.

Immediatly when she met them she knew they were good people. They were walm and close and all around comforting . The biggest shock of all, however, was the young doctor Spencer Reid. She had never expected someone so close to her age to be working alongside her. She had heard about him from one of her professors in med school, who raved about one of his dissertations from Caltech. She never bothered to read it of course (who really cares about engineering, anyway?) but had always thought about the boy who had managed to capture the attention of her famously cold hearted teacher. She had assumed he would be cold, arrogent and stuck up, but instead her was awkward and clumsy. He told nerdy jokes that made only him laugh and treated her as an equal from the moment they met. From then on, she was consumed.

She eventually fell into a groove while working two jobs, balancing both her lives while simultaneously falling harder and harder for the boy who worked across from her. At first she thought it wasn't mutual, but as time passed she picked up on how he would often stay late to escort her to the bus stop and make sure to text to see if she was home safe. Or when he bought Doctor Who movies and sugary foods when she lost a beloved patient at the hospital. Or when he let her cry in his arms on the jet after a particurly tough case. She had overheard from Penelope that this was particurly unusual for the boy genius, who tended to avoid contact when possible (and if he did hug, there had to be a lot of years of trust and friendship built up mutually). When she pieced it all together, a thrill was sent through her body. Did he really like her back?

She never really had much luck with love. In eighth grade she recieved a rose on valentine's day in her locker from the boy she liked. As it turns out, he got the locker number wrong and intended it for her best friend. There was also her first year of college, where the boy she met on the orientation day insisted on walking her to and from all her classes. She brought him back for family Christmas and then noticed how he gravitated towards her older sister, wanting to hear all about her, leaving Y/N to sit at the table next to cousins she hadn't spoken to in months. It was always like this. A few months ago she thought she could pursue something with an attending at her hospital. He was a neurosurgeon that she clicked instantly with, but then she walked past the on-call room and heard him in an arguement with his girlfriend. Of course he was in a relationship, she had thought. Just her luck.

But of course, they didn't matter now. Spencer could be her everything. She knew it was important for the significant others of agents to understand the demand of their job, whic she did! They understood each other and would look at each other when they though the other wasn't watching. She didn't want to get ahead of herself, but the more time they spent together the more she thought about their future. Maybe he would shyly ask her on a date while they sat through a movie marathon. Myabe he would pick her up from the hospital at the end of her shift and tell her all about his day, his hand resting on her thigh while they sat at the traffic lights. Maybe he would grab her hand while they sat at the table where they first met and get down on one knee, asking her that one important question. Maybe he would tell her about the toxic properties in the paint she flicked it at him as they painted the bedroom the same light purple as his favourite shirt. Maybe, she thought. It had to be coming soon, his not-so-subtle glances were becoming even more obvious.

But then it slipped. It always slipped.

She first noticed his distraction while she told him all about the surgery she performed that day. Usually he would nod animatedly and interrupt to tell her a fact that even she didn't know. But as they stood outside the hospital entry (he offered to carpool every thursday), she couldn't help but wonder why he kept looking over at the payphone across the road. Maybe it was a one off? A tough day in the FBI isn't unheard of afterall, she thought. However, he continued his strange behaviour all the drive home. Uncomfortable silences followed by some unprompted facts about genetecists and their work. When he dropped her off outside her door, he told her he could no longer go through with their Thursday rituals. Something about scheduled phone calls, he said. He didn't make eye contact, either.

After a while, it was just her stealing the glances. She could no longer feel his gaze burning into the back of her head. When she would look at him, he was always smiling down fondly at his copy of 'The Narrative of John Smith'. In fact, he was always smiling. It was that same lovestruck smile she would recognise on herself when she looked in the mirror. A smile that definitley wasn't for her.

It was a windy day when Derek had finally called him out on it. The "Hey pretty boy, who's painted that smile on your face?" ringing out in the almost empty bullpen. She stiffened, looking up from her coffee and notes on the desk while discretely eavesdropping. "It's... It's nobody. Well, not nobody. Her name is Maeve. But don't say anything about it." He had whispered back. She had cracked. Her vision blurring the paper below her as she slowly stood and excused herself to the bathroom. Nobody had noticed her leaving.

She was the other girl. The somebody else.

She had always been a sacraficial person, which explained why she tearily offered herself as hostage instead of the beautiful Maeve Donovan. Like in eighth grade, when she sadly handed the rose back to her best friend. After all, she just wanted her to be happy. Or when she told her boyfriend to “go for it!” with her sister, even when they were still in a relationships. More than anything, she wanted the people around her to be happy. And as a doctor, she had a responsibility to keep those around her alive. So she threw herself in front of Spencer and towards the two women, landing unsteadily as she pleaded and cried. She couldn’t even here what she was saying, all the words a blur among the tears and rush of adrenaline. But what she dreaded most came next. The shrill cry of a bullet, the thud as Spencer fell to his feet in tears. Y/N stood still as time stopped. She looked around the room, feeling her breaths shorten by the second as the room started spinning. And then it all went black.

She had heard from JJ that he was ignoring everyone’s calls, only taking in gift baskets once he was sure the owner had left. In typical Spencer fashion, he was bottling himself and his feelings up. Surely for a man of his intelligence he knew it had to be a bad idea. She cared too much about him to let him suffer alone, and while she knew that facing him would cause her grief, she just had to see him. She knocked slowly on his door, calling out a soft “Spencer... It’s me. Y/N.” There was no answer, so she hesitantly took his spare key from his pocket and clicked open the door.

The apartment was dark, but she could still make out his figure wallowing on the couch. He was sitting upright surrounded by pillows and tissue boxes. There was the faint sound of the tv in the background, though she couldn’t make out what was on. “Spence... hey”, Y/N muttered. Her hand running up along the couch and onto the back of his neck. “Look, I know things are awful. And I can’t offer much, but if you need someone to cry on, to sit in silence with, I’m here. I know how it feels to live someone you love”. Her voice broke over the last few words but he didn’t notice. Or if he did, he didn’t care. “She was amazing, Spence. Just let us help you. We can do whatever you want, just let us in... Please?”

He stayed silent. And as her hand started to move up his back, he snapped.

“Let you in? Let you in so you can do what? Get Maeve killed. You’ve done enough already, Y/N. Leave.” He yelled, standing up with enough force to send her scampering back. He was never the kind of guy to have a temper, and the slightest raise of his voice sent Y/N into a spiral. “It wasn’t the team that got her killed, Y/N. It was you”. The way he spit her name brought tear to her eyes, as if she was disgusting and worthless. “You walked in without backup. You, with no experience in negotiation. It’s like you wanted her dead.”

“Spencer, you know I would nev-”

“I don’t want to hear it, Y/N! Her blood is on your hands, her parents lost a daughter because of you. It should’ve been you.”

“Please, Spence, you don’t mean that. You’ll work yourself up over it later, just please-”

“I do mean it. I wish it was you. Now leave”

“Spence-”

“Enough. Just leave. You’re no longer welcome here. You’re nothing to me.”

She had tried so hard to keep it together, but the venom behind his words was too much for her to take. She sobbed, grabbing her keys and walking towards the door. He had made himself clear.

“And on your way out, leave the keys. I don’t want you coming by again, Y/N.”

She paused, not daring to look back as she dropped them next to his wallet on the chest of drawers. She left without a word, holding it together until she got to the elevator. As soon as the doors closed she let out a loud sob, her hand coming to her mouth in an attempt to stay quiet. She knew he didn’t mean it, that he was overcome by grief and anger that was bottled up for too long and she just happened to be the victim. In a way, maybe it was better it was her so the others didn’t get their feelings hurt. It cut like glass, the way he referred to her as if she was so worthless. It cut deep.

Spencer had lost his love. And she had just lost hers.

She sniffled her way home and collapsed on the couch. She was too sad to cry, too tired to be angry. She almost felt nothing. She slept a dreamless sleep, feeling time pass her by as she later motionless in the dark room. It was peaceful in some ways.

When she awoke the next morning, she made sure to get there early. She marched straight into Hotch’s office and turned in her resignation. He could sense something was wrong but didn’t want to crack her already fragile state. When she was done clearing out her desk, the others had started to arrive. She embraced them all and promised to keep in touch. It had been an eventful few months she had told them, but it was time for her to go back to the hospital where she belonged. After all, it sounded better than “the man I love just shattered my heart into a million pieces by telling me I should have died, and now being around you all makes me physically sick.”

She looked back to her empty desk as the elevator doors shut. Maybe one day she would see Spencer again, when they were both healed, but for now she just had to grieve.

Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone - we find it with another. — Thomas Merton

#spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x fem!reader #criminal minds #criminal minds x reader #criminal minds fanfiction #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid angst #spencer reid x you #spencer reid fluff

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amazonworrier · 6 months

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Any chance for snixmas we can have head cannons of santana and quinn in the future and how their jobs intersect with their relationship?

Merry Snixxmas!

*Since there are sooooooooooo many possible Quinntana futures out there I’m going with a personal fave: Publicist Santana and Author Quinn get together as adults after not seeing each other for like ten years. I also made this up as I went along & accidentally spun it into a mini fic rather than just HCs which is totally not what you asked for sorry sorry sorry…

Their jobs are actually how they reconnect again. Sort of. Santana’s at an event for one of her clients (asshole actor) and Quinn happens to be dating said asshole actor. Santana does not realise this at the time, because the actor is an asshole and failed to tell his publicist he was dating someone new (a famously devout Christian author, at that!) before bringing her to a highly publicised industry event. It’s a whole thing. Quinntana end up squabbling in front of the press and a picture of them yelling at each other makes the tabloids.

They meet up to do damage control. Asshole actor (let’s call him Adam) is a no-show. Quinn is impressed by Santana’s entourage of assistants and how far she’s come in the ten years since they lost touch. Santana reluctantly admits the same of Quinn, even if she’s not buying the whole ‘born-again’ religious thing. Quinn neither confirms nor denies that she’s using her religion to make a name for herself as a writer. They make peace once Santana explains why she reacted the way she did, make a plan to manage the bad press, then end up going out to lunch afterwards to catch up.

The plan goes out the window immediately when another photo of them at lunch makes the tabloids - specifically, of them hugging goodbye for a little longer than they probably should’ve. Speculation abounds for different reasons this time…

Adam is not happy. He tries to fire Santana over it, which gets her into trouble with the higher ups because he’s a major account. She goes to his house to make amends but Quinn opens the door and they get snapped by the paparazzi again. What a mess.

Adam is stupid and believes all the rumours. He breaks up with Quinn, drops Santana as his publicist and outs Quinn to the media as a lesbian. Quinn is shook. Particularly when it jeopardises the upcoming book tour for her latest novel: ‘Straight & Narrow: My Journey Back Into Faith.’

Quinn’s publisher is furious, but at Quinn’s insistence they believe her when she says it’s all a big misunderstanding. Santana meets with the publisher to assure them that Quinn is telling the truth and offers her services pro-bono. They reject her offer and make an obtuse, incredibly offensive comment about her sexuality in the process. Santana looks to Quinn, but Quinn doesn’t defend her. They have a very tense goodbye and stop speaking after this.

Meanwhile by sheer coincidence, Quinn bumps into Rachel Berry, of all people, at another writer friend’s birthday party. They too have not seen each other in years but Rachel is promoting her new autobiography ‘Barbra and Me: How a Legend Inspired an Icon’ so they have friends in common again. Rachel pretends not to see Quinn at first (in a very obvious Rachel way where she absolutely DID see her), and when Quinn finally catches up with her admits that Santana is actually her publicist and she knows all about what went down between her and Quinn. She’s firmly on Santana’s side in all of it, and politely informs Quinn that straight women don’t have sex with their female friends on Valentine’s Day. Let alone twice. Quinn is floored.

Life goes on. Quinn’s book tour is a success but she very quickly begins to feel like a fraud. During a bookshop Q&A someone asks her what it’s like to be mistakenly associated with someone ‘like Santana,’ and when she realises what they’re getting at something inside her snaps. She outs herself this time. Owns her sexuality for the first time in her life, says she’s been with a woman, that the woman was Santana, and that she had such a great time they did it twice. She voices her regret about a lifetime wasted on the Adams of the world to a room full of press, then walks out. Book sales be damned.

Obviously, Quinn’s publisher drops her. But she doesn’t care. She starts writing a new book almost immediately, an honest one this time. A fiction piece about a girl from a Christian household who spent so long trying to be good she lost sight of what good really was. Good is integrity, good is kindness, good is… a made up word determined entirely by the subjective opinion of the individual. It’s also the working title of her new book until she thinks of a better one.

Santana hears about Quinn’s Q&A epiphany through the grapevine (Rachel) and is quietly impressed. That is, until she hears another rumour that the new work Quinn is shopping around to publishers heavily features a lesbian character from the wrong side of the tracks who serves as both best friend and antagonist to the main character. Seeing red, Santana has her executive assistant secure a copy of the manuscript at all costs.

Santana doesn’t have time to read, so she has her assistant do it for her. What she doesn’t expect is to walk into her office the next morning to find said assistant sobbing over the final chapter. He tells her it’s something she should read for herself, and between that and all the crying Santana is sufficiently disturbed enough to decide she will ABSOLUTELY avoid reading it altogether. She snatches the manuscript, tracks down Quinn’s address and ambushes her after work that night instead.

Quinn gets an offer from a small independent publisher for a limited print run, which she celebrates by opening a bottle of wine and drinking alone in her apartment. When there’s a knock at her door, the last thing she expects is to find Santana standing there, red-faced, waving her own manuscript in her face. She lets Santana rant for a while about betrayal and exploitation and the like, then politely requests that she read the book before passing further comment. Then, she closes the door in Santana’s face.

Santana goes to see Rachel that weekend, who is surprised because honestly Santana never makes social calls anymore. She then sits there while Rachel reads the book all day instead (Rachel actually had other plans that day but you try telling an angry Santana that...). When she reaches the final chapter Rachel starts tearing up, and when Santana asks her WHY, begins reading aloud. It turns out Quinn’s book is a tale of lost love, of the ‘could’ve been’ - of a brief moment in time with the one that got away, and the years long struggle that followed the main character as she continued to deny the truth of who she was and who she loved. By the time Rachel finishes reading it is abundantly clear that the ‘one who got away’ is based on Santana.

Santana goes to Quinn’s apartment again. This time, she’s furious for a different reason. How dare Quinn misrepresent their friendship like that. How dare she misrepresent Santana??? She says Quinn is just as much a fraud as she always was - she’s just swapped manipulating Christian readers for sales to manipulating vulnerable teens instead. Shame on her, she says. Shame. On. Her. Quinn shuts her up by kissing her.

They start dating, slowly at first because Santana is still waiting for the other shoe to drop. Six months later, they finally make it official. Quinn’s book is a hit, in part thanks to the whisper campaign Santana sets up in her spare time because her publisher can’t afford to promote it properly and Santana simply cannot sit idly by while the best book she’s read in years flops. They become a bit of a power couple after that - Santana continuing with her day job as a publicist to the stars but using her skills and connections to quietly support Quinn’s career wherever she can too. Quinn holds her own just fine though. She carves out a lovely little niche for herself as a YA author, and is a regular guest at talks, panels and fan conventions across the country.

It’s a good life. Their careers are adjacent enough to one another for them to have things in common but far enough apart not to make their world feel too small. Some (Rachel) may say the situation still gets a little chaotic at times. After all, Quinn has and always will be Quinn, and Santana remains Santana. There’s going to be some bad in amongst the good... But they soon determine that being good all the time doesn’t matter as much as being honest with each other; as being kind even in those moments when it’s easier to be cruel. And by that definition their relationship is good. It is. Always. It’s so good in fact, that Quinn will probably write a book about it one day.

#anon #quinntana #this is soooo long omg I’m sorry everyone else but hopefully whoever asked for this enjoys it at least #santana lopez #quinn fabray #writing things

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foone · 2 years

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Hi I'm Foone Turing. I've been here a while but never really did an introduction post, so...

Hi. Yes, that's my name. I'm an asexual trans enby (they/them pronouns), I'm married, and I'm both older than you expect and younger than you expect, depending on what you know me from. I'm a writer and programmer. I'm better known on Twitter, at the moment. I'm well known for being severely ADHD and I'm also on the autism spectrum, somewhere near ultraviolet. I live near Oakland, California, USA, but I grew up on a farm in the south. I'm a furry, but I don't have a fursona yet.

I'm big into retrotech stuff, especially floppy disks. 80s and 90s PC stuff mainly, but I have a passing interest in everything else. I loves me some weird tech that you have no idea ever existed. I'm also big into analog media. VHS tapes, laserdiscs, that sort of thing.

Fandom wise, I'm a Trekie from way back, primarily in the TNG/DS9/VOY/ENT era. I haven't yet gotten into the new stuff, and I have only a passing knowledge of the original series. I'm also a big fan of Babylon 5, Red Dwarf, and Doctor Who (4th doctor, and new who doctors 9,10,11). I watch a bunch of British panel shows: HIGNFY, Mock the Week, Nevermind the Buzzcocks, 8 out of 10 cats (primarily the countdown spinoff).

I am a Big Hater on crytypocurrentseas and AI art. I used to be famously mad at the JWST, but now that it's in space and functional, I've calmed down. They just need to rename it and I'm golden.

I'm currently splitting my social media presence across three sites:

* Tumblr, obviously. Shitposting, jokes, queer stuff, and queer joke shitposts are all going here.

* mastodon: I'm putting my tech stuff here. Teardowns, building new death generators, fun historical weirdness.

* Twitter: formerly my primary platform, but now I just use it to keep in touch with people and make fun of the impending collapse of Twitter.

Stuff I do and have done after the readmore.

(I'm on mobile now but I'll get back to this on the desktop and add more links)

* I run lettuce.wtf, a webcam showing a lettuce to see if it will outlast Twitter. (My money is literally on the lettuce)

* my long running site The Death Generator: a tool for making fake video game screenshots, with user supplied dialogue.

* I run some Twitter bots, one of which is more popular than me, and all of which will need to be migrated soon: Gay Cats, WinIcons, Print Shop Deluxe, and Every Clue Line.

* I got Microsoft 3D Movie Maker open sourced

* I got rickrolled so hard that it ended up on national TV

* I ran doom on a pregnancy test

* I have made many horrible and weird keyboards. Keyboards with hair, keyboards which write poetry, keyboards that take 5 hours to say "hello world", keyboards with randomly placed keys, keyboards with 7 toggle switches instead of buttons, and many more.

* I tear down random electronics and try to figure out and explain how they work. (originally on Twitter, but moving over to mastodon now)

* I pissed off the FBI on more than one occasion. They tried to get me fired, they delayed my wedding by over a month, and they mentioned my 4chan nickname in a federal trial.

* I used to work for 4chan. I was a moderator and coder, I created /rs/ and /r9k/, and I convinced moot to destroy the original politics board (for obvious reasons). Things went further to shit after I left, but I am still glad I left. Oh and I also inadvertently prevented the creation of the 4chan dating/meet up site by being too ADHD to actually complete development of it. You're welcome.

* I ran a windows 95 machine for the maximum amount of time. There's a bug where it crashes after 49.7 days of uptime, so I let it happen. I livestreamed the end on YouTube.

* I've done exhibits at the Vintage Computer Festival on the history of floppy disks and optical discs.

* I've worked with the Video Game History Foundation (and others) to preserve old games and game development resources (source code and such). I'm big into archival!

* I wrote a really famous Twitter thread about the surprising way our vision works, which is still circulating in screenshots (including on Tumblr!) something like 5-6 years later.

* I made my old apartment play the Zelda Ocarina of Time shop music when you walked I the door.

* I run the Tumblr animefloppies, collecting screenshots and GIFs of floppy disks in anime.

* I run several other sub-tumblrs for collecting weird things, but I'll have to link them later.

* I am technically a speedrunner. I did the TAS of Duke Nukem 1, episode 1, and a joke speedrun of Solar Winds, where I beat the game by ignoring every single possible objective and just flying to the end, which takes over an hour.

* I used to make games. Some of them are available for download.

* but it still do, too: I'm working on a (currently unnamed) game about managing a dairy farm. Both the developers have ADHD. This is going to take forever before it comes out, if it ever does.

* I'm currently working on three books. Two are compilations of stuff previously twitterized, one is a novel:

- Always Screaming Forever: non-fiction, stories about my career in the tech industry and various other tech/science/history stuff I love ranting about.

- The Other Side of Screaming: fiction. My short stories.

- Mundane Kaya Sona (placeholder title): a linguist gets pulled into an FBI investigation into a car crash. An unknown language leads to the discovery of a wizard living in a forest in Oregon, and an interdimensional plot to smuggle nuclear weapons to another world, and break a cold war stalemate we (the planet earth) didn't realize we were in. I've been working on the setting for this story since I was about 7 years old, and I'm excited to finally get it out of my head and into yours.

* I'm probably forgetting like 5-10 major things I've done but ADHD is a hell of a drug. I'll add more as they come to me.

#Introduction #Foone

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redundant2 · 1 year

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I got Valentine Low's book Courtiers!

It's here, it's finally here!

Part 1

There is a lot about Meghan and Harry in the book. Here's an excerpt detailing specific instances in which they bullied the staff at KP:

"Relations between Meghan and the staff at Kensington Palace were beginning to fray even before they got married. In late 2017, after the announcement of their engagement, a senior aide discreetly raised with the couple the difficulties raised by their treatment of staff. People needed to be treated well and with some understanding, even when they were not performing to Harry and Meghan's standards, they suugested. Meghan was said to have replied, 'It's not my job to coddle people.'"

"Meghan wasn't dealing with the more junior staff, people that William and Kate -- and Harry, before Meghan came along -- had been quite happy to engage with. It seemed she wanted respect, and having to talk to someone a bit further down the pecking order -- in a small office, where there wasn't much of a pecking order -- wasn't treating her with respect. 'She would take it as an insult,' believes one source."

"Organising any wedding is stressful, of course. And perhaps a royal wedding is more stressful than most. But Harry and Meghan's proved to be partucularly challenging. There were rows about scheduling, rows about wedding announcements, rows about the gospel choir. Most famously of all, there was the row about the wedding tiara, discussed in Chapter 7 (I'll excerpt in a separate post),when Harry shouted at the Queen's dresser, Angela Kelly. At around the same time, Meghan spoke partucularly harshly at a meeting to a young female member of the team in front of her colleagues. After Meghan had pulled to shreds a plan she had pulled up, the woman told Meghan how hard it would be to implement a new one. 'Don't worry,' Meghan told her, 'if there were literally anyone else I could ask to do this, I would be asking them instead of you.' Later, Prince William, who had heard of some of the treatment that she had been subjected to, came to find the woman. 'I hope you're OK,' he told her. 'You're doing a really good job.' She promptly burst into tears."

"Other members of staff came under fire, sometimes from both Harry and Meghan. The journalist Robert Jobson recounted how Harry became 'petulant and short-tempered' with members of staff during the preparations for the wedding. He wrote, 'Raising his voice on occasion, Harry would insist: "What Meghan wants, she gets."'Once, when Meghan felt she had been let down over an issue that was worrying her, she rang repeatedly when a staffer was out for dinner on a Friday night. 'Every ten minutes, I had to go outside to be screamed at by her and Harry. It was, "I can't believe you've done this, you've let me down, what were you thinking?" It went on for a couple of hours.' The calls started again the next morning, and continued 'for days,' the staffer said. 'You could not physically escape them -- there were no lines or boundaries--it was last thing at night, first thing in the morning.' Not to mention the 5 a.m. emails from Meghan. Relations between the couple and some of their senior staff became so fractious that Miguel Head, William's private secretary, had to step in to try to keep the peace."

"Perhaps nothing they could do was ever going to be good enough. 'She (Meghan) was looking for examples of us failing her from the beginning,' believes one former staffer. 'We were having to prove that the institution would bend over backwards to make her happy. That wasn't what she wanted. She wanted to be rejected."

--from Courtiers by Valentine Low, pp 267-269.

And this is just the bullying that took place BEFORE the wedding. Oh em gee.

In later parts, I'll share what Low says really happened with Tiaragate, Harry's treatment of staff before he met Meghab, and the scandal over Meghan wanting to keep all the gifts and freebies.

#harkles #Courtiers #bullying #british royal family #british royal family tea

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