#i also apparently read 35 million + words so

[veeaziel]

so i did bothermione ' s ao3 wrapped and turns out the fic i most read was real enough to get me through and yeah it makes sense considering it be my #1 comfort fic

#thank u marriedzukka #retgmt was probably the best gift of 2021 and 2022. #being able to go back to it and read my fave chapters whenever i could #love #i also apparently read 35 million + words so #AND bokuto koutaro is the character with most appearances in fics i read this year #veeaziel rants #ao3 wrapped

[lalazeewrites]

RETURN OF TAG GAMES

i know i have been gone for what in fandom time is 'forever', so thank you a million for tagging me @celestialmickey @heymrspatel @tanktopgallavich @vintagelacerosette @energievie @stocious @metalheadmickey @gallagher-milkovich

name: lala/larisa

age: 35 but i’m permanently stuck at 25 in my head, i always forget

where in the world are you? 📍 an hour north of chicago, near the wisconsin border

the meaning behind your URL: very self explanatory, i’m not creative with names hehe. but lalazee is my nickname and zee is because my last name is a z name. again, not creative lol

your second favorite color: pink!

any pets? one cat with the personality of a soft bunny & another cat with the personality of a surly dragon

favorite season: autumn!

last thing you read: ‘the only good indians’ by stephen graham jones

last song you listened to: ‘so much (for) stardust’ by fob is playing as i type! i am a true blue lifelong feral fan from ‘take this to your grave (2003) album fan onwards. i’ve already listened to this album so much that my almost ten year old knows most of the words to most of the songs lol

what are you wearing right now? grinning skeleton holding up a coffee cup w a smiley face on it that says ‘STAYIN’ ALIVE’ & pink shorts

a hobby of yours: writing! singing! hiking! camping! cooking! all things horror!

your comfort show or movie: i feel like your comfort movies & shows might not be your all time favs, but more like movies & shows that are easy on your brain to absorb when you’re skull is feeling soupy. as a true 90’s kid, i gravitate for comfort toward those big box office action or disaster films like jurassic park, twister, independence day, the mummy (and 2), men in black, jumanji, matrix, anaconda, etc. . . i have a thing for big monsters & big battles, so also count pacific rim as one of my favorite movies ever too haha

and finally, what are you up to today? it’s spring break! but my spinal surgery blah blah is still healing so i’m relaxing at home while my mom takes my kid to the arcade and candy shop! they’ve been gone four hours, so i can only assume they’ve had a good time lol

FANDOM EDITION

your first fandom(s): First fandom on the INTERNET would have been Star Trek XI. First media that i was unhinged about: X-Files, X-Men, Xena, Sailor Moon (apparently I couldn’t find another X related interest LOL)

your current fandom(s): My Hero Academia, Shameless, Stranger Things, Attack on Titan. . .I actively read for about 5 other fandoms other than those (Supernatural, Witcher, FMA, LOTR, Star Trek), but I’m currently actively writing in these.

how did you first get into fandom? Back when I was living in Glasgow, Scotland, it was my 21st birthday, and my friends and I were going to see a horror movie. Turned out, the tickets were sold out, so we decided to see Star Trek XI. I’d NEVER watched Trek in my life, didn’t know a thing about it, and when I walked out of that theater I was a totally changed human and now I am a Trek Encyclopedia LOL

how long have you been engaging with fandom spaces? Since 2009, so like 14 years.

how often do you read fanfics? Every day, if my brain is healthy enough that day! I sometimes take breaks of a couple months and only read published books though, I feel I get a different experience from both that I can equally appreciate.

top 3 characters from your current fandom(s): Mickey Milkovich, Bakugou Katsuki, Billy Hargrove. Angry disaster babies, I guess.

have you ever written a fic for a fandom? I’ve written 167 fics, not including those on my Patreon. So, over 170 fics, at least.

have you ever drawn fanart for a fandom? No! Funny that I got accepted on scholarship to NIU for Theater & Art, partially on my art portfolio, but I never create any art for anything!

share a personal headcanon that you feel very strongly about: Ian loves his mom more than he feels comfortable saying, because he feels like it's a family and even personal betrayal. I think it’s impossible to accurately describe how to feels to grow up with an abusive parent who vacillates wildly between adoring and abusive, but there’s no feeling quite like loving and hating your parent, desperately wishing you could be what they wanted so they’d stay, and hoping you never see them again. I know we’ve seen Ian follow Monica more than any other kids, but I think that any time he curses her out to his siblings or whoever else, each bad word is also like a self-cut.

you’re trying to convince a friend to get into your current fandom(s) If for My Hero Academia, I would have them watch the Heroes Rising movie, for Shameless I don’t even KNOW where I’d begin tbh LOL

and finally, what does fandom mean to you? Fandom is family! I’ve been in fandom for fourteen years, and I have so so so many real life friends who have been with me through literally the hardest parts of my life. My divorce, my ex husband going to prison, the birth of my child, me being a single parent, moving back to America, my coma, my kidney transplant. My fandom friends from across the world have uplifted me and been my support system through every single high and low. I don’t know how I’d be here without them, quite literally.

#tag game #about me #thanks for not forgetting me guys #sorry for my wall of text

[unionize-aromantically]

Norwegian newspapers and "pressestøtte"

[unchronological introduction: basically I started this as a "how does the state pay newspapers" but it also is a description of a couple notable Norwegian newspapers, or rather, the ones the state considers notable, but also don't have enough money I think. introduction end, enjoy the "me actively researching while writing" format]

i was looking into something else, but now I'm confused by how newspapers in Norway work.

I already knew the average newspaper is owned by a political party. or like, is related to one. and many, if not all, have a clear center geographically. - NRK is kinda the exception to both, but they basically just have different geographical sections, and they're supposed to be politically independent afaik. (obviously excluding debate articles).

But then I saw some newspaper talking about (not getting) "pressestøtte", which is like, monitory support from the state to the press. and so, I asked myself why they weren't getting it.

[this is long, but it should be formatted well so I hope someone reads this lol]

the requirements are apparently:

[Norwegian to keep the wording]

produksjonen har dagspressekarakter,

har en ansvarlig redaktør,

tar betalt fra leseren og

selger mesteparten av opplaget til abonnenter.

Videre settes det krav til opplagets størrelse

og hvor ofte avisen kommer ut

[translation]

the production (i.e. newspaper) has the character of a daily newspaper

has a responsible editor

takes payment from the reader (i.e. it costs money)

sells most of the papers* to subscribers

Furthermore, requirements are set for the size of the circulation*

and how often it's released

*(translation note: I can't translate this confidently because I don't understand it, but its like what they print, not sure if "size" is pages or number of papers)

considering they said "how often" (Norwegian : hvor ofte) as the last point I think they meant that the news are about current events when they said "the character of a daily newspaper" (Norwegian: dagspressekarakter)

so I took this info from this subjekt.no article, but it's probably just a law, I'll cite that when I'm on PC.

but yeah, they go on to point out this:

There are a total of eight newspapers that receive more than NOK 10 million, while three newspapers receive between NOK 5 and ten million. In total, these 11 newspapers receive more than NOK 220 million in 2021.

The others - a total of about 140 newspapers - share the rest, i.e. NOK 140 million.

(the conversion rate for most major cash to NOK is like 10 NOK = 1 [insert valuta], but lately NOK has been weakened, so it's more like 12 to 1 € etc)

this is not the only monitary support newspapers and such get, but it's like a big one, if I understood correctly.

I don't know exactly how to translate this section but basically you see a name then the amount they get

Klassekampen får cirka 42 millioner kroner. Bergensavisen får 35 millioner kroner. Dagsavisen får nesten 35 millioner kroner. Vårt land får 31 millioner kroner. Nationen får 21 millioner kroner. Dagen får i underkant av 18 millioner kroner. Fiskeribladet får nesten 12 millioner kroner, og Morgenbladet får vel 11 millioner kroner.

[disclaimer for the below statements, I used Wikipedia as a source, the articles seem well-made (especially the tone), but obviously they're not guaranteed to be flawless.]

[second sidenote: I decided not to talk about the WW2 stuff, but obviously when the nazis (upon the request of the Norwegian traitor Vidkun Quisling) invaded/controlled/operated in Norway they made certain newspapers illegal (Norwegian: illegale, as opposed to ulovlig), or every? idk. but yeah. that's a whole 'nother thing. ] [also: Norway in WW2? I'm probably massively misinformed (i.e. seeing Norway in an overly positive light) due to my biggest source of info being the Norwegian education system]

Klassekampen is a leftist newspaper, "the class struggle" / "the class fight" / "the class war". according to Wikipedia they were started as a marxist-leninist paper (not clear whether they're still that, I don't know enough to determine that). they used to belong to the socialist people's party, now they're owned by the party called red (rødt/raudt). they have people in Oslo (capital, east), Bergen (second largest city, west) and Trondheim (third largest city, middle). but yeah, they get the most from this system, 42 million Norwegian krowns (kroner / kr / crowns / NOK).

[link to the Wikipedia article for the above paragraph/newspaper, read 2 september 2023]

Bergensavisen is an explicitly local newspaper, "Bergen newspaper". often shortened to BA, originally titled "Bergens Workers magazine" (Bergens Arbeiderblad). The newspaper was originally belonging to the party that has since been divided into NKP (unpopular communist party, zero seats nationally, some local), and AP (recently less popular and more centre, but previously very popular left party, currently in charge nationally together with the protectionistic centre party SP, previously known as the farmers party). That was a mouthful, but yeah. they get 35 million NOK.

[link to the Wikipedia article for the above paragraph/newspaper, read 2 september 2023]

Next up, Dagsavisen, "daily newspaper" / "day paper". Oslo newspaper. it has been owned by various unions (fag-foreninger / subject-area organizations) historically. This party was also owned by the party that used to be NKP & AP, but this one got kept by AP, because there was little communism (Leninism/ML) in Oslo. If I understood correctly they've been party independent since 1999.

[link to the Wikipedia article for the above paragraph/newspaper, read 2 september 2023. sidenote: this article is long as fuck (in Norwegian at least) so I barely included a fraction of what it says. also there's some repetition cause there's a lot of shared ownerships between these, at least historically]

Vårt land, "our country" (technically could also mean "our land"). this one's a christian newspaper. the Wikipedia doesn't say much more. Their recent news are mostly related to church election thing. And they use viking symbolism in their logo, according to them it's to represent freedom. They're owned by mentor media.

[sources: Wikipedia (barely), their website. september second 2023 still]

Nationen, "the nation" is a newspaper that describes themselves as the districts' (i.e the less populated parts of the country)'s business paper. they have offices in Oslo, Trondheim and a lot of freelancers. They used to be owned by SP (centre party, previously the farmer's party). they're politically independent, and focus on district politics (as mentioned, this basically just means non-city politics, places people live far from each other), agriculture, food production and food security, business and the EU. they used to be right leaning, but now their against centralization, moving from villages and EU-membership. I think that still means SP-like in terms of politics, usually considered centre on the political spectrum and protectionistic. (all/most leftist parties in Norway are against the EU cause of worker's rights* & Norway first thinking).

*an example is that leftist parties like Red don't want temporary employment. (which they managed to work against in the Fylke (political area) around Oslo (Viken) within builders. basically workers (employees) over customers/demand/economics/capitalism.

oh and btw if you're not aware, Norway is currently in EØS/EEA which is like EU-light. basically we get to say no to laws we don't want (for our country only), but we don't get to vote.

[link to the Wikipedia article & Store Norske leksikon [big Norwegian lexicon/encyclopedia] or the above paragraph/newspaper, read 2 september 2023. definition of "district" is from SNL (lexicon).]

Dagen "the day" is a christian newspaper from Bergen. originally made by like two (christian) missionary groups. They are also active in politics. (but don't belong to the christian party (KrF)).

[link to the Wikipedia article for the above paragraph/newspaper, read 2 september 2023]

Fiskeribladet, "the fishing magazine" is a fishing magazine, a "coastal business magazine" (fishing, it's fishing, it's just fishing, and economics & politics of fishing) for the entire country. they print papers thrice a week, but online it's daily.

[link to the Wikipedia article for the above paragraph/newspaper, read 2 september 2023]

Morgenbladet, 'the morning magazine' is a national weekly newspaper for society, culture, debate and research. [direct quote from Wikipedia]. Owned by Mentor media. an old newspaper (like many others on the list). It's a right-leaning paper, being run by Christian Friele for a bit (the Friele name is also a coffee brand and a gay activist's (like 100 years later), it's very Bergen, originating in Germany (Hansa and that) (I still don't know if they're related though)). They seem to be associated with the Steinar philosophy (steiner schools as such, which are freer schools, basically organize your time yourself, but they're private to be clear, people who go there are considered weird by the mainstream) (there are few of those, 43 total in Norway) (apperantly known as "Waldorf schools" other places).

sorry this went on tangents I have been writing this for like 2 hours idk.

[link to the Wikipedia article for the above paragraph/newspaper, read 2 september 2023]

translation note: there's technically "magasin" which means "magazine", but "blad" is also kinda magazine. "avis" is newspaper. "blad" I think can be both idk.

#long post #Norwegian newspapers #norske aviser #pressestøtte #ink.post

[sweatykittenpeace]

Million Dollar Replicator

Popularity

4 Stars

Click Here

For video click Here

#1 MAKE MONEY ONLINE OFFER!

Top Converting Offer that converts all types of traffic - Biz Opp, Personal Development, IM, MMO like nuts. Make Up To $500/Sale.

Only $17 front end for massive commissions.

Offer created by a vendor with $15M of online sales selling digital info products in the MMO niche.

Test 300-500 clicks and be surprised!

What Is The Million Dollar Replicator?

Basically, the Million Dollar Replicator is an automated system that allows its members to make the best of their earning abilities.

Keep in mind – the program will not teach you how to make $1 million in a year – it will do it for you.

Michael Sachs and his team of developers and digital marketers have spent years working to create outstanding software. That software is capable of finding the most profitable opportunities and replicating them for you.

Allegedly, the Million Dollar Replicator has earned Michael over $35 million in three years. Even the beta testers managed to cash in $1 million each for a little over a month of work.

So, we’re talking about a money-making platform anyone can join to grow an incredible wealth fast.

Apparently, you don’t need any tech skills or previous working experience to become a member of the Million Dollar Replicator.

Now, the product seems almost identical to the Millionaire Society and Easy Retired Millionaire.

Unfortunately, both of these products are low-quality systems that don’t work as advertised.

Does this mean that the MDR is just as bad?

Keep reading my Million Dollar Replicator review to find out:

Click Here

For video click Here

How Does The Product Work?

There is no need to visit the official web page of the platform – it won’t tell you a lot about your working process once you join it.

Sure, you’ll read again that the system operates on autopilot – you’ll barely have to touch it every day.

Also, you’ll be reassured that you’ll earn with the Million Dollar Replicator even if you have no marketing experience.

However, the product’s website doesn’t say a word about what line of work you’ll need to commit to earn that first $1 million.

As you probably can guess, that’s a marketing tactic the owner is using to push you into a purchase before you have any clear idea about the program’s content.

Well, you’ll learn from me what Michael is supposed to be telling you himself:

The Million Dollar Replicator will not ask you to create a digital product or start an email list.

How To Make Money Online As A Beginner

By all means, you should never rely on products like Million Dollar Replicator to build a sustainable online income, in my opinion.

After reading this Million Dollar Replicator review, you already know why that is!

Such systems tend to disappear as quickly as they pop up on the web. And they will take your business with them when they go.

So, a better way to earn online is to start your own business.

These days, anyone can do that – even if you have no previous experience building a source of passive income from nothing.

How do you go about launching an online business?

Well, you’ll need some guidance – that’s for sure.

I suggest reading my Free Guide To Starting A Business.

It will walk you through all the steps I took when I was working on this business of mine.

The steps are easy to follow, and you’ll have no problem taking action on them.

My Closing

Hopefully, this Million Dollar Replicator review will be of great use to you when you’re working online.

Knowing which money-making systems to avoid at all costs can’t be bad for the balance of your bank account, correct?

As long as you remember that there is no such thing as easy money with no work, you will be safe online.

Now, it’s time to give the word to you:

What are your thoughts about the product?

Do you find something that might be worth the try?

Or do you share my opinion that this system will only waste your time?

Click Here

For video click Here

For sale page 

Affilitate support page

#makemoneyonline #makemoney #onlinemoney #moneyonline #makemoneyathomeonline #makemoneyfastonline #dollar #dollars

[drarrily-we-row-along]

Day 34: Using The Following Prompt

Here's the original prompt- I changed it a bit.

"So are you in love with Astoria, then?" Ron asked.

Draco downed a shot of... something. He honestly had no idea what it was. It was strong, whatever it was, and it was getting him drunk and that was enough. He pushed the shot glass away, "Nope," he replied, steadily not looking at his auror partner and gazing aimlessly at the bottles of alcohol lined up behind the bar.

"Then what's going on?" Ron asked, bumping Draco's shoulder with his. "Come on, we've been partners for three years and you've never even sat down for a beer with me this early in the day."

He motioned for the bartender to pour him another shot.

"Seriously. It's okay if you're in love with her, she was your fiance. And a right bint for leaving you for your best mate, if you ask me."

"Honestly," Draco groaned as he took the next proffered shot, "It's not about bloody Astoria. I don't give a flying fuck what she does with her life. I never wanted to marry her anyway." He swallowed the burning liquid and glanced over at Ron, "You know I'm gay, right?"

Ron shrugged, "I had my suspicions, but you were getting married."

"Yes, I'm quite an unsuitable candidate for a straight marriage," he agreed as the bartender poured him another shot and he tossed that one back as well.

"Seriously," Ron said, "You have to slow down or you'll end up at St. Mungo's with alcohol poisoning."

"Do you think Potter would come visit me?" he asked miserably.

"You like Harry?" Ron asked, voice unbearably loud and incredulous.

(Read more below the cut)

Draco shook his head, "Of course I don't. Because that," he said, stabbing at the bar top with his finger for emphasis, "would be ridiculous."

"Right," Ron said. "But for argument's sake what would be ridiculous about it?"

He sighed and traced his finger through the ring left on the top of the bar, "Well, for starters he's the savior of the world and I am a death eater."

"Were a death eater," Ron chided. "Mostly you were just a child, though, and we all know it."

Draco inclined his head, oddly touched by Ron's defense. It had taken them an extraordinarily long time to get here but Ron really was a good friend. "Well he's also so handsome," Draco said, then added, "If you're into the rugged, strong, man bun type of guy. And he's got that constant stubble, imagine how that would feel on your skin," Draco murmured, getting quite lost indeed in imagining that way his stubble would scratch the tender skin of his neck, his belly, his thighs-

"Draco," Ron said, snapping his fingers rudely in front of his face. "Look, you know I love you and you know I love Harry, but I have absolutely no desire to think about whatever it is you're imagining."

"I'm imagining nothing," Draco replied with a sniff, tilting his head up. "I said if you were into that sort of thing."

"Right," Ron said, nodding sagely. "What else would you be into, if you were into Harry?"

"I mean, he has those eyes, doesn't he?" Draco asked. "And he's really sweet and kind, but then once in a while, those eyes get that twinkle of mischief," he sucked in a breath. "Imagine having that mischief aimed at you in the bedroom. You think you're just going in for the usual and suddenly a well placed incarcerous has you tied to the bed, and-"

Ron cleared his throat, "Right, hypothetically speaking of course, are there things you'd like about him other than," he gestured vaguely, "Bedroom related activities?"

"Are you kidding?" Draco asked. "If I liked Harry," he paused, "Potter, that is," he corrected himself, "There are a million things to like. He already makes my tea perfectly," he said, "And he has like a sixth sense for when I'm in need of a good cuppa. He laughs at my jokes and he doesn't mind that I'm a sarcastic, prickly pain in the arse; he actually seems to enjoy it. And he's the type of bloke that would give you his jacket if you were cold."

"That's true," Ron agreed.

Draco nodded, "And he likes to play quidditch and he likes to watch quidditch. He's got decent taste in food; he likes his Indian food too hot though." He sighed, "I mean, what's not to like about him?"

"There are definitely a few things," Ron said. "But, hypothetically speaking of course, if he felt the same about you how would you feel?"

He shook his head, "He doesn't."

"But if he did," Ron pressed.

"I'd say we ought to check to be sure he hasn't been imperiused, or hasn't had a love potions slipped to him, or that he hasn't had a nasty fall and given himself a concussion, or that-"

"Right," Ron interrupted, "But say that all of those things checked out and he felt that way about you, too, how would you feel?"

"Honestly?" Draco asked.

"Yeah, mate."

"Like I'd won the lottery. Like every good thing that has ever happened to me was completely meaningless in the face of this revelation. Like I am the most undeservedly lucky man in the world. And I will never in a million years be good enough for him, but if somehow he wanted me, I would spend the rest of my life trying to be."

"Huh," a voice said behind him. "I would have said pretty much the same thing."

Draco scrunched his eyes shut, "Please tell me that I am experiencing auditory hallucinations."

"Afraid not," that voice replied once more and he was going to kill Ronald Weasley.

"Traitor!" he exclaimed, trying to slap Weasley. "I thought you were my friend!"

"I would have thought the same," Potter said, sliding onto the stool next to him.

"Leave me alone," Draco groaned, dropping his head onto the bar. "Just leave me to die. Bartender," he shouted, waving his arm, "Another shot, please."

He felt a wave of Potter's magic wash over him, feeling the pleasant tingle before the sobering charm crashed over him like a tsunami.

He groaned, "What the actual fuck is wrong with you?"

"Sorry," Potter replied unrepentantly. "I just don't fancy having this conversation when you're drunk enough to not remember it."

"I hate you," Draco growled, feeling mad and prickly, feeling betrayed and vulnerable. Really this day could not get any worse. "And I hate Weasley."

"That's a pity," Potter said, "because I feel quite the opposite."

"Yes, Weasley is your best friend. He's such a good friend to you, true and loyal-"

"I meant about you," Potter interrupted. "Obviously I love Ron, meddler that he is," he added with a little chuckle, "but I was talking about you."

Draco sat up and stared morosely ahead, "Don't do this, Potter."

"What?" the other man asked in confusion.

"The pity. I know you're feeling sorry for me because my engagement's been broken off, and-"

Before he could finish, Potter stood up and spun him around in his seat until his back was pressed against the bar, then he cupped his cheek and kissed him.

Draco groaned into the kiss because it felt even better than he'd imagined as Harry's stubble rubbed against his chin, his calloused fingertips caressing Draco's cheek before sliding into his hair and re-angling his head so he could delve deeper into his mouth.

He spread his legs, allowing Harry to step closer to him and the hand Harry hadn't threaded through his hair came to rest on Draco's neck, his thumb stroking over his jaw and his throat.

He clenched his fingers in Harry's jacket, tugging him closer, his entire body blazing.

When Harry pulled back, Draco almost tipped out of his seat; he certainly would have fallen if Harry hadn't caught him. "It's not pity," Harry said, his voice seemed to have dropped about an octave and when Draco opened his eyes to meet Harry's gaze he saw his pupils were blown wide. "It's a lot of things, one four-letter-L-word that's not so scary and one that is, but it's not pity."

"Fucking finally," Ron muttered.

"I don't even want to hear it," Harry said, looking over at Ron but not moving even one inch away from Draco. "How many years did I have to watch you and Hermione pine after each other?"

"Right, right. I'll just be," he looked around, "Anywhere that isn't here."

Harry turned his attention back to Draco and Draco realized that he still had his fists clenched in the other man's jacket. "I really like you Draco," Harry murmured.

"I really like you, too," he replied, feeling a bit dazed.

"I'm glad you're not getting married to Astoria."

Draco laughed, "Not as glad as I am."

Harry combed his fingers through Draco's fringe, brushing it back off his face, "Could I take you to dinner sometime?"

"Are you free tonight?"

Harry smiled at him, his bloody adorable dimples revealing themselves, "For you? I'm free anytime. And I promise not to take you for Indian."

Draco groaned and dropped his head forward on Harry's chest, "How much of our conversation did you hear?"

"Came in right around the bit about a well-placed incarcerous," he confessed and Draco could hear him grinning.

"You're not going to let me live it down are you?"

Harry laughed, "No," then he tipped his head down so his lips were pressed against Draco's ear, "Especially since I would be more than glad to tie you up and have you at my mercy. Or vice versa."

"Well," Draco said, his cheeks heating as he leaned back so he could look up at Harry, "My bedroom is only an apparation away."

"Dinner first," Harry insisted, tugging Draco up from the bar stool, "I have a feeling you're going to need your strength," he added with a wink.

Draco followed him out of the pub, feeling for the first time in a long time, that things were starting to look up.

Day 33: Chocolate | Day 35: Tears

#100 drarry drabbles in 100 days #drarry #getting together #pining #Ron's a good friend #idiots in love #drarry drabbles #drarry ficlets #my writing #day 34 #Thanks so much for the prompt #I hope you enjoy it!

[jamiemackenziefraser]

All That Was Fair 

Chapter 35: What Comes Next

Summary: The day after their reunion, Claire and Jamie begin to come to terms with what happened

Read on AO3

Read chp 35 on tumblr below the cut

Previous, master list, next

A/n: *Deep breath* Surprise! 🤗🤗 I’m back :))

More a/n: Hello.... it's me :) Remember these guys?

If you need a quick "previously on ATWF"... After discovering that Claire was cut off from her energy source on the human plane, Jamie sent her back through the stones and began to face life without her. Several weeks later, Claire miraculously appeared in his garden. By giving up her place among the fair folk, she had received an opal that connects her to the fair plane, allowing her to go back through the stones to the human realm and back to Jamie. And finally, there was the reunion and long awaited wedding night.

I've missed you all and I've missed writing these two precious bbs. Thank you so much for sticking around for these past two months!! Without further ado, let's begin with the intermediary chapters before arc III picks up!

Chapter 35: What Comes Next

***

Jamie Fraser’s wife was perfect. Laying beside him in bed, her features relaxed in sleep and bathed in the soft morning light, Jamie couldn’t take his eyes off of her. His gaze trailed down, taking in the softness of her bare skin covered only by the sheet. Skin like pearl. 

She was exquisite. The memories of the night before flooded his mind, and he couldn’t help but smile to himself. 

It took all his willpower not to reach out and touch her. Claire was a light sleeper, and his touch would certainly wake her. But after all she had been through, Jamie couldn’t possibly have disturbed her rest. He would simply wait and content himself with the image before him of his wife… his wife… safe in bed beside him. Perfect. Even the simple rhythm of her breaths was music to his ears.

The heartache of the last few weeks seemed so distant. As if he was invincible and nothing could touch him. That was all in the past, and nothing could shake his contentment at present. 

He would have happily stayed there and memorized every wrinkle and freckle and divot on her perfect face, but his bladder had other plans. Gingerly, Jamie slid himself out from under the sheet and off the bed before padding his way into the bathroom. He went about his business with the lazy contentment of someone who had all the time in the world. 

His heart felt so full. 

As he returned to the bedroom, he stretched out his arms, feeling his muscles ache with just the slightest amount of soreness. The gardening of the previous day felt like a lifetime ago. He sighed and let his eyelid close in a contented heavy blink. 

He had just rounded the corner into the bedroom when the serenity shattered around him like a balloon popping. 

The bed was entirely empty. 

His heart leapt to his throat and panic brought the blood rushing to his ears. 

Claire wouldn’t have left his bed. There was no way. She never rose before him, and especially after the separation, she would never have left without him. There was nothing for her to do in the house without him, no possible explanation....

His stomach lurched and bile rose in his throat. 

The grief that had felt so distant crashed down around his ears in an all too familiar wave. He found himself staring once again into the darkness, and it stole his breath. 

Staring at his bed, the sheets tangled only on one side and no imprint of Claire on the second pillow, the tears began. 

His head was shaking back and forth without conscious decision. 

Panic seemed to freeze his body and steal his mind. The only thought in his head was “gone. She’s gone.” 

He couldn’t survive being alone again. He’d barely survived sending her back, and to have lost her so soon after getting her back... he would simply lay down and die. 

His limbs wouldn’t move beyond the tremors that had started to travel through his muscles. He couldn’t seem to tear his gaze from the room, its emptiness heavy and apparent. The perfection of Claire’s light was gone, leaving the world in monotone greys and blacks once again. That brokenness in the pit of his stomach...

Alone. 

He whirled on his heel, his body suddenly bursting into action with the need to do something— anything to run from the debilitating chasm that lay in front of him— when he came face to face with a wide-eyed and startled Claire at the top of the steps. 

The air was punched out of him, and immediately he was in front of her and crushing her to his chest. He squeezed her to him with enough force that it was probably extremely uncomfortable for her, but he couldn’t seem to stop. His lungs were hitched in panicked breaths as his hand found the back of her head and he pushed it against his chest, holding her safe against him. 

She was there. Real and whole. In his arms. 

Claire was quite apparently startled. She had only just brought her hands up to hug him in return and was beginning to slide them up and down in back in confused reassurance. 

He buried his teary face in the top of her curls and let out a shaky exhale, trapping her even closer to him. 

“Jamie?” came her muffled voice from against his chest. 

He felt her body was tense with concern, and he had to force himself to calm the raging storm of emotion inside before he overwhelmed her. Her hands were flat on his back now, and he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was sensing his turmoil and worried out of her mind. 

“I came back to find you gone, and I…” 

“You thought you’d lost me again,” she whispered in understanding, sounding sympathetic without any judgement. 

They were both quiet for a second, and she melted against him, allowing him to hold her close. 

“I’m sorry I scared you,” she breathed, “I just woke up and you weren’t there, so I went downstairs to look for you.” 

Jamie shook his head, his face brushing against her curls. “It wasna yer fault. I jes’ lost my mind for a minute,” he chuckled breathlessly. His fear betrayed him, causing his voice to tremor. 

Claire drew back, and his knee-jerk reaction was to tense in alarm. 

“Come here,” she said softly, taking his hand in hers. 

She led him back into the bedroom and sat him down on the edge of the bed before joining him. Claire never once let go of his hand, and her thumb brushed across his knuckles as she looked into his eyes with a searching look. 

“You didn’t lose your mind,” she said, voice thick with understanding, “these last few weeks… they must have been torture for you.” 

She went quiet then, intentionally leaving space in the silence, and looked at him expectantly. 

“It was,” Jamie breathed in barely a whisper, dreading sending his mind back to that dark place. But he knew he needed to get it out, and she knew it too. “I... “ he couldn’t continue as his voice caught in his throat. He swallowed and tried to start again. “I was alive, but I wasna living. I didna want to go on.” 

She was trying to keep herself under control, but his words had sparked fear in her eyes. And rightly so. 

“I didna hurt myself...” Jamie tried to allay her worry, “but I wanted to. I wished I could end it all sometimes....” 

It was like he was standing in that darkness once again, facing down his loneliness with nothing more than the memory of her to keep him going. 

Her free hand moved to stroke up and down his bicep. Warm and comforting. He took a breath. 

“Losing you and continuin’ on… was the hardest thing I’d ever done…” Jamie said shakily, “and I dinna ken… when I came back to the room and ye werena there… it was like I was in that place all over again. I jes’...” 

“I understand,” she said gently. 

Her whisky eyes were soft and warm, inviting him into a place of safety. He felt himself crumble like some ancient wall, and his body slumped forward. 

She was ready for him, opening her arms and bringing him close. His face pressed against her chest and his arms came around her waist to hold on tightly. He felt her hands hold his head against her for a second before they began to card through his curls. 

He cried then, releasing the pent up emotion— the heartache of her loss, the fear of going through it again, and the overwhelming relief of her presence. He let it all out as his tears stained her dress. 

All the while, Claire was whispering to him and pressing intermittent kisses to the top of his head. 

“It’s alright,” she was breathing, “I’m here. We’re here. And I’m not going anywhere. Nothing could take me away from you now. Nothing.” 

He found himself squeezing her tighter as he relished her closeness. The scent of her— like roses under the morning dew— filled his senses. It soothed him in a way words never could because it was such a concrete reminder of the reality of her. 

Holding her close, he could dare to breathe. The wall he’d hastily rebuilt in those jarring few minutes where he had thought he’d lost her came down piece by piece. He listened to her heartbeat under his ear and focused on the feeling on her hands running through his hair with such gentleness. 

She was with him. She was safe. 

After a long while, when his tears dried in his eyes and the darkness had faded back into only memory where it had no power, he drew back. 

To his surprise, when he straightened up, he found Claire’s eyes to be red-rimmed and tears leaking down her cheeks. 

“Oh, mo nighean donn.” His heart broke into a million pieces, and this time, he was the one reaching out for her and pulling her against his embrace. 

“I’m alright,” she said, but her voice was choked, “I'm okay.” 

“You dinna have to be okay,” Jamie replied gently as he tightened his arms around her, “ye ken that?” 

She was quiet for a while, seeming like she wasn’t ready to argue with him but also didn’t agree. So, she would need a little prodding… 

“I wasna the only one who had tae face the world alone…” 

Claire shook her head where he had it pressed against him. “But I had something to hold on to, hope for going back. I was on a mission.” 

“That doesna mean ye werena sufferin’,” Jamie countered. 

He felt her resolve weakening. Her tears were wetting his shirt collar and her hands were clutching his sides, betraying the truth of her hardship that she was holding inside herself. 

“I was so scared,” she whispered after a long moment, “so scared that I wouldn’t be able to do it. That it would all be for nothing.” 

He let her speak, stroking his hand over her curls and trying to keep his breathing steady. 

“I thought sometimes… that I wouldn’t be strong enough. And that I would just lay down and never get up again and that would be better than spending another moment without you,” she finally said. 

“You did do it, mo ghraidh,” Jamie responded, his voice cracking under the weight of his emotion, “thank Christ, you did it and you made it back.” It was a wash of relief to say those words, and he hoped Claire felt the same. Or at least that she could feel his relief. 

She didn’t make a move, just quietly rested in his embrace. 

Jamie couldn’t help but speak aloud the guilt that was weighing down his heart. “Your people…” he whispered, his voice low and barely audible, “ye lost your place and your people too. That isna a small matter.” 

“No,” Claire whispered in agreement, and Jamie could feel her heartbreak in the tenseness of her body, “but I would make the same choice over and over again. I belong with you. I wanted to come back more than anything.” 

“Aye,” he had to stop himself as his tongue seem to tie itself together in his mouth, “I ken we’re meant to be together. And I’m so incredibly grateful that ye’re here. I jes’... I dinna want ye to ignore the pain jes’ because you believe it was the right decision.” 

She didn’t speak, but she nodded against his shoulder and her breath began to hitch in small sobs. 

“That’s it, lass,” he gently coaxed, “Let it out. It’s alright.” 

As she cried against him for all she’d lost— for good this time— Jamie allowed his own heart to break with hers. He wept for the pain she’d endured and the bravery she was showing. And he wept for himself too, and for those lost days of his life where he’d lived in despair. 

But in the midst of their weeping, there was a sense of comfort. Jamie no longer cried alone, but with the love of his life wrapped in his arms. 

Despite everything, they both had the promise that they would never be alone again. 

After a long while, after her crying had slowed, his wife looked up at him, drawing back enough to fix her eyes— still glistening with tears— on him. 

“We’re a mess, aren’t we?” she suddenly laughed, reaching up to wipe the moisture from Jamie's cheeks with both thumbs. 

“Aye.” 

He brought his own hands up to frame her face and went to work on clearing the tears tracks. 

And there they sat, clinging to each other as if they might slip away at any moment. But they were together. 

Alive, whole, safe, and together. 

Where the darkness had no place. 

***

A/n: I wanted to greet you guys with some gratuitous fluff after the heartwrenching end to the first arc, but I couldn’t move on before exploring the trauma of the separation. We walked with Jamie through an intense period of grief, and it wouldn’t be right to move on without more closure and dealing with the repercussions for them both. This is by no means the end of their coming to terms with what happened, but it is a promise that they’re moving forward together. So now… how does some fluff next chapter sound, eh?

As always, thank you so much for reading, and an extra thank you for your patience and for sticking around!

***

Next

#why does it feel like I’m posting for the first time I’m that nervous #hope you enjoy!! #all that was fair #outlander fanfiction #claire x jamie #update #fae claire #outlander fanfic

[1358456]

Names

I’m suddenly curious how many of you have this issue, where someone asks for the name of your relative, and you don’t have an answer because you don’t know if that relative has an English name, and you don’t want to say the real name because you know they’ll f*ck it up badly.

I know the Korean names of every relative from my mom’s side. But English names? Hmm. My parents have English names. I do, obviously. We kind of need them because otherwise, the employees and regulars in our store would have one hell of a time pronouncing our names. My two cousins who live in Canada have English names. Their mother also has one (that I found out last year). Everyone else... I don’t know. I think we have a “Maria” somewhere. And an “Alice”... I think.

You’d think it wouldn’t be a big deal. Especially with Korean names, since they’re at most three syllables, including the surname. And yet, those two syllables cause so much trouble somehow... I was once marked absent in high school because the supply teacher called out my legal name for attendance and f*cked it up so badly that I did not recognize it. And in the four years of high school, my student card had a different name on it every year. First in grade 9 they put my English name. Okay, but I’m in high school, so they should use my legal name. Then in grade 10, they put just the first syllable of my legal name. Okay, they got half of my name and apparently registered the other half as a middle name. Then in grade 11, they separated the two syllables as different words and put a hyphen in between, which is wrong. It’s one word. And then they finally got it right in grade 12. Two freaking syllables caused all this.

Heh. If we didn’t have English names... oh boy. The store employees and regulars would have to memorize three vastly different names than what they’re used to, and pronounce and apply them to the right person? Impossible.

And the inadvertent discrimination in online security questions. “What’s your mother’s middle name?” ... Koreans don’t have middle names. “What’s your grandmother’s maiden name?” ... Korean women don’t change their surnames upon marriage (so my friends used to ask me if my parents got divorced because they have different surnames). So I put in my grandmother’s actual surname, Kim. “Your answer must be at least 5 characters.” ... Who the f*ck has a Korean surname that’s more than 4 letters?

And in novels or movies whenever Korean characters appear, the other characters refer to them by surname. It works for westerners because everyone would have a different surname unless they’re siblings or something. I think I saw in one program that there are about 5000 different surnames in all of Korea, and that also includes the very infrequent ones, such as the 4000 foreigner ones that cannot be written in Chinese (kanji/hanja). 100+ million people (North + South), 5000 ish surnames. ... See the problem?

But then because the writer is also American, the Korean character refers to himself by surname. “I am Kim.” ... Yes, you and half of the platoon. No Korean would ever refer to themselves by surname, especially if they are in Korea, surrounded by Koreans! A North Korean soldier in a North Korean barracks in the middle of North Korea is not going to refer to himself by surname! Heh. I saw that and another issue and I immediately thought “this writer did not properly research his material”. A Korean transmission that was intercepted translated as “...venteen”, and was later found out as “Site Seventeen”? Interesting. Except “Seventeen” in Korean would go as “Ten-Seven”, and is two syllables (sip-chil). So if it was truly partially intercepted and translated, you would only get “seven” followed by “Site” so you wouldn’t know if it referred to Site 7, 17, 27, 37, etc. Even if you got the “ten” part. A number like 35 is read as “three ten five”. So “ten seven”, if it’s just partial, could still be 27, 37, 47, 57, etc. But it wouldn’t be 7 or 107!

Anyways. There’s my needlessly long language ramble. Who knows, maybe it’ll help someone at some point. ... Also in China/Korea/Japan, your surname comes first. Family name first, then your name. Family > you. You are a member of the family, like how a branch belongs to the tree. Heh. So if I write my English name, my surname goes last. But if I write my Korean name, the surname goes first.

[yiling]

I posted 235 times in 2021

32 posts created (14%)

203 posts reblogged (86%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 6.3 posts.

I added 229 tags in 2021

#xiao xingchen - 54 posts

#xue yang - 32 posts

#wei wuxian - 25 posts

#mine - 23 posts

#songxiao - 18 posts

#wangxian - 18 posts

#xuexiao - 16 posts

#lan zhan - 15 posts

#mdzs - 14 posts

#cql - 14 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#sexy times with wangxian...the sangcheng troll the xiyao troll...the tragedy of wangxian+fan...ao3 getting banned in china..................

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

daozhang (affectionate)

xiao xingchen (derogatory)

197 notes • Posted 2021-02-04 01:06:27 GMT

#4

you know what else is something? the fact that xiao xingchen’s affection was not enough to make xue yang better, but that losing him was enough to make xue yang worse

221 notes • Posted 2021-03-09 03:28:42 GMT

#3

when we were watching cql with my friend, my sister said that “wen ning is like a golden retriever who is actually very powerful but can hold an egg in its mouth without breaking it” and we had to pause to tell her how accurate it was

300 notes • Posted 2021-03-11 03:34:11 GMT

#2

quick hot take for the night: song lan is xue yang’s victim to a far greater extent than xiao xingchen is

417 notes • Posted 2021-02-06 03:13:35 GMT

#1

What is the deal with 'Sexy Times with WangXian'??

ohhhhh man my guy, what isn’t the deal with sexy times with wangxian

it’s this fic, which as far as I can tell is your bog standard post-canon wangxian live in cloud recesses and have a lot of torrid sex fic. the extraordinary thing about it, which you will quickly notice if you click that link, is the amount of tags.

The additional tags alone (excluding pairings and character tags, which are also pretty bulky) are WELL OVER A THOUSAND WORDS (1,449 as of this writing, in fact). the tags by themself are longer than some fics. and this thing has been constantly, constantly at the top of the wangxian page, the MDZS page, and the CQL page, because it’s 269 chapters and the author wouldn’t stop updating it. (completed, it is over a million words.)

now, there are a lot of fics with big tagsets, although not this big, and they’re usually this type of fic - porny longrunners where the author feels the need to tag every individual sex act. but the tags on sexy times with wangxian are...beyond that. aside from what i can only assume are some fairly bizarre fetishes (”Penis Measuring”, “Talking Vagina”, “Heartbeat Kink”, “Blow Jobs With Teeth”), there’s a lot of very mundane stuff, thing you wouldn’t usually tag. other tags include: “Flowers”, “Campfires”, “Mangos”, “Pants”, and “Sleep.”

might the story include all these things? who knows, it’s 269 chapters of not-good porn, so I haven’t read it. but i feel like we can agree this is excessive.

it wasn’t always thus - as far as I can tell, there were originally way less (though still a lot) of tags, again, mostly sex acts. a couple people commented to say the size of the tags made browsing frustrating, some politely, some not so much. the author, someone by the handle of virtual1979, took umbrage with this, and eventually pulled the charming move of adding more and more tags out of pure spite, turning into a vicious cycle where the more tags got added, the more angry people commented, which made the author add more tags. this thing came to my attention when the author decided to put it in the songxuexiao tag. whether it actually contains that ship, i cannot say.

the story is complete, but the author may or may not still be adding tags. they have also apparently been on a comment deletion spree - there are screenshots of this thing drifting around with >500 comments, but as of this writing there are 71. i wish i’d archived it so you could see for yourself, but you’ll have to take my word for it. i suppose the author got tired of antagonizing their haters.

so, that’s what’s up with sexy times with wangxian. may it please fade into obscurity, so that i don’t have to scroll past it anymore

718 notes • Posted 2021-02-10 01:40:14 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

#my 2021 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #you can tell I pretty much stopped posting after a couple months #sorry guys I am employed

[topsyturvyworldtwistedtwice]

OK. Massage Relaxes. But It Does MORE?

I'm hooked on learning more about massage therapy now. I figured out that the information about its efficacy is suppressed because it would cut into the number of prescriptions and surgeries performed. No doubt about it. So how shocked was I to find that pediatric massage is also a thing, and it's actually also well-researched! There are answers!

I could not believe that children actually get massages. But, it's true. Kids get stressed. Kids do sports. Plus, apparently, some kids need it because they are in hospice during cancer treatment. It's a real eye opener. I can't imagine how much it's changed my perspective to find out that such a non-invasive therapy can actually do so much.

My suggestion is to do the research and look for yourself for massage for kids  studies and articles. You'll find that there aren't too many people out there actually advocating for this. One is Tina Allen, a massage therapist who pioneered pediatric massage in the United States.

There's a meta-study about massage  that concludes that it all looks promising, but that more research is necessary. It's funny how a new drug gets approved, then taken off the shelves five years later, put back on, and millions suffer or lose their lives, and here there's this treatment that is simple and risk-free, and it's always, "We need more data!"

And looking on the wikipedia entry on Pediatric Massage I find the same thing: "Like many other complementary and alternative medicine modalities, many research studies reporting benefit from pediatric massage have been small in scale and vulnerable to bias. Comprehensive medical reviews of the existing pediatric massage research reinforce the benefits, but ask for larger-scale, scientifically rigorous studies.[38] Physicians are recommended to educate themselves and their patients about the empirically validated benefits and precautions associated with pediatric massage"

So, in other words, these studies mean little, and just go back to your physician and get those pills and surgeries!

My cousin's daughter is a stressed-out kid. She's 12, but she thinks like a 35-year-old. She is so nervous her hair falls out. Literally. I called my cousin and asked her about getting massages for Evelyn, and my cousin thought it might be helpful. That doesn't mean they're going to do a thing, but at least I did my part and told them about it.

Evelyn is a smart girl, but she doesn't have a balanced life. She studies too much, and doesn't do sports or any extra-curricular activities. Her brother is the exact opposite and he does like five sports and is on a bunch of clubs, but his grades are Cs. Where is balance to be found?

* * * * *

My cousin just called me back and said her three kids are all getting massages next week! So I had an impact! Yes!! I still can't believe the world we're living in. I wish my parents had known about this. I could have used a massage as a tween or teen. I really had a stressed-out time, being a lesbian and knowing I was since I was ten.

My cousin is loaded. She isn't struggling, and so I am happy that she shares her wealth with her kids. I know so many parents who DON'T think of the kids. Ever.

I was also reading that these kids end up with all kinds of help for serious conditions. Here's a YouTube video with Tina Allen. It's about children in hospitals and how it's been shown that massage therapy is helping these kids. Tina Allen sounds like a kid herself! She is well-spoken and knowledgeable. She is a living legend who helped so many kids around the world to bring another option of a modality, pediatric therapeutic massage, that can help them in life.

Massage for children with special health care needs is a thing. Kids massage ranges from the sessions my cousin is booking to sessions in hospital for terminally ill children. Pediatric Massage is all about promoting the health and well being of children, of all health levels. Healthy well children and infants can benefit. But so can kids with special health care needs. The American Massage Conference Massage Therapist of the Year for 2011 was Tina Allen. There really is no one living that is doing what she is.

I like trailblazers like Tina. People who are real, people with a goal, a goal of helping others. Massage for children was at one time just an idea, and now it's offered at many hospitals. Your pediatrician may even recommend pediatric massage nowadays! It's come a long way. I just wonder if everyone in the world but my sister will end up getting a massage. (If you don't understand that reference, read a few of my blogs!)

A pediatric massage therapist is a special kind of person. Of this, I am sure. I've thought a lot about this in the last 24 hours. I also realize that geriatric massage, something that I've known exists my entire life (a great-aunt used to get sessions right in her bed), also requires a special kind of person.   Firstly, there is the issue when working with older populations of your client dying. I mean, it's inevitable. So there's that. But for kids, it's different. My cousin can't get her kids to do ANYthing. That a pediatric massage therapist could get a young patient to stay still for an hour is in itself a miracle.

I think the same about elementary school teachers. The fact that they don't have a meltdown, jump in their Jetta, and leave school after lunch is another miracle. As you can tell, I'm not a motherly type, and I am not really thinking about that changing any time soon. I hate family gatherings because my cousin's kids crawl all over me. I'm not your momma! One of them even pulled my boob! WTH?! Doesn't anyone teach children freaking MANNERS, anymore?

A children's massage therapist dealing with very ill kids has got to have it worse, even, than a geriatric therapist. I guess it's like any other health care practitioner, and you just get a thick skin over time dealing with it all. I can't seem to understand a lot of how people get through these grueling jobs. All I can say is, thank God there are other kinds of people besides me. Because if it were just me, we'd all just be watching Netflix, writing a blog no one reads, and yes, spending a lot of time by myself, keeping myself...happy.

[horansqueen]

You & Me : chapter 38

A Niall Horan fanfiction ; rated MA

Sequel to AM CONVERSATIONS

CHAPTER 1 || CHAPTER 2 || CHAPTER 3 || CHAPTER 4 || CHAPTER 5 || CHAPTER 6 || CHAPTER 7 || CHAPTER 8 || CHAPTER 9 || CHAPTER 10 || CHAPTER 11 || CHAPTER 12 || CHAPTER 13 || CHAPTER 14 || CHAPTER 15 || CHAPTER 16 || CHAPTER 17 || CHAPTER 18 || CHAPTER 19 || CHAPTER 20 || CHAPTER 21 || CHAPTER 22 || CHAPTER 23 || CHAPTER 24 || CHAPTER 25 || CHAPTER 26 || CHAPTER 27 || CHAPTER 28 || CHAPTER 29 || CHAPTER 30 || CHAPTER 31 || CHAPTER 32 || CHAPTER 33 || CHAPTER 34|| CHAPTER 35 || CHAPTER 36 || CHAPTER 37

NOTES:

-one chapter is her pov, the next is his -4.3k - 4.9k -im sorry, i never proofread, i hate it. -there WILL be smut. but not only smut. -this is a romance, comedy, smut story. -for the summary, check my MASTERLIST.

READ AM CONVERSATIONS AGAIN ON WATTPAD HERE

- notes: nothing happened yet things happened? idk how i feel about this, i just hope you enjoy it, thank you guys for sticking up to this story ilysm!! oh and i chose this gif just because hes sweating lmao youre welcome! i hope this chapter gets more notes than the last haha

if you want to be on the list of blogs i notify when this is updated, just message me :)

requests! : i added as many as possible lol i even got one WHILE i was writing and added it lmao!

TAKE A LOOK AT THE CHARACTERS HERE

Chapter 38 : Her chapter

OLIVIA

April 17th, 2018

"You know what people say when they see a fat girl run." I just let out, raising my nose in a grimace as I tied up my shoes.

"I'm not really the type to listen to stupid people's opinion." Niall replied, making me roll my eyes and sigh before getting up. "And you shouldn't either."

He had convinced me to go run with him and I regretted my 'yes' half a second after agreeing but the way his face illuminated told me that it was too late to go back. I hated running and he knew it, and I was pretty sure he was aware of the sacrifice it was for me. I normally always quote the movie "The Faculty" when he mentions running, because i believe there's no truer words than Casey's line at the beginning of the movie when he says 'I don't think that a person should run unless he's being chased.", even if it's sort of ironic since the characters end up running away from an alien who wants to infect them the whole movie. Well, I would probably run if an alien was trying to infect me, too. And apparently, I would also run if it made Niall happy.

"It's easy for you. You've always been popular and cute and all the girls were in love with you."

"That is a big load of bullshit." he chuckled, shaking his head. "I've been told 'no' many, many times."

"I would like to see the statistics of the number of girls telling you 'no' versus the number of girls telling you 'yes."

This time, he's the one who rolled his eyes but he still had a cute smile gracing his lips and it made mine curl, too.

My parents were spending the whole day at friends' house. It was planned before I told them I'd come and visit them and even if they told me they'd cancel, I insisted that they'd just go. I didn't want to ruin their plans, I knew it was some anniversary or something similar and I could spend one day alone with Niall. Easily. Hell, I wanted to spend way more than one day with him.

"The only statistic I care about is this one." he started, clearing his throat. "How much do you love me, on a scale of 1-10."

I let out a genuine laughter and it made his lips curl. "That scale reaches the sky and it's too far away for me to see any number but there's like, 10 digits."

He took a step closer and I moved my chin up as he bent down to press his lips against mine. It felt so good to be back into this, to have a routine together, and to be happy without stress. I wouldn't go as far as saying it was exactly how it used to be but If I took the time to really think about it, it was even better. Back then, he was a bit immature and I was extremely insecure. Those two flaws sort of clashed together and made our relationship so much harder to handle. Now, I was not as insecure, and he didn't seem immature anymore, and I really felt like it could work between us.

We walked out but started running as soon as we were down the stairs. I let out a short groan of annoyance and it made him laugh. I knew he was going slowly just for me and it made me feel a bit guilty. At the same time, I was doing this for him and because he insisted, so the least he could do was wait for me, right? I don't know how long we ran but I hated it. I hated the burning sensation and the dry feeling in my throat, i hated the sweat on my back, and i hated the pain in my legs. God, I hate running. But then I turned to look at him and something twisted in my stomach and I bit my bottom lip. I loved watching him sweat. There was something sexy in watching him like that but it was not really the time and place to jump on him, unfortunately.

"How's your asthma?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Tolerable." I said, glancing at him again. "How's your grandpa knee?"

He chuckled and shook his head, making me smile more. "Could be worse."

After a while, I just stopped, feeling a cramp hurting like hell on my side, and held myself on my knees. He stopped next to me and bent down to look at me. He looked amazing, how did he fucking look so good all the damn time?

"You okay? Enough for today?"

I nodded and he smiled but I held my breath when I felt his hand on my back. I was in it so deep but I secretly hoped that I would never have to hurt again. I had new limits that I wanted to respect but I wouldn't ask him about every single girl gravitating around him, or cry myself to sleep because of a comment online. However, I would still get pissed if he let an other woman who clearly wants in his pants put her number in his phone, and I wouldn't accept him flirting with random girls at bars. The first time we dated, everything seemed to get to me but this time, It would be different. I would choose my battles and not get insecure about every little thing I see. I believed in myself more and I was convinced it helped me believe in him more, too.

We walked back home quickly and from time to time, I could feel his fingers brush against mine. It's in times like these that I really just wished we could be a normal couple. I knew he would be unhappy if he didn't do music for a living, and it would be a shame if his talent and songs weren't heard by millions of people, but selfishly, sometimes, I wished we could just walk around hand in hand without being scared of the comments, the articles and the hate.

I unlocked the door and when I took my shoes off, I grimaced and groaned low, moving my toes and quickly pulling on my socks., leaving them by the door.

"Petal, you reek." he let out before I turned around, raising my eyebrows. He chuckled and shrugged. "It's true, you smell so bad right now."

"I know!" I finally admitted in a laugh.

"But hey, you don't smell as bad as I do." he added, making me laugh more.

"That's practically impossible." I joked as he stuck his tongue out at me.

I watched him bend down and rub his knees and I bit my bottom lip as I felt a wave of intense love for him wash through me. I took a step closer and he moved his body up before looking in my eyes. I tilted my head, nibbling on my lip again and reached for the bottom of his shirt, finally pulling it up. He moved his arms up to help me as we kept staring at each other. A small smile draw itself on my lips and I just licked them, letting his shirt fall in the floor. Slowly, I let my hands run on his chest, my fingertips brushing against his nipples and moving down to his stomach. I felt my heart hit so hard against my rib cage that I thought it was going to escape. I could feel the sweat on my fingers and for some odd reason, it turned me on even more. My hands stopped at the top of his shorts and he raised his eyebrows.

"Are you gonna take them off, too?" he asked in a low tone.

"You know what I really want?" I asked in a low tone, ignoring his question as my forefingers hooked in the sides of his shorts, pulling them down slowly. He raised his eyebrows to incite me to talk and I smiled more. "Your dick in my mouth."

He didn't answer anything but his lips parted slightly and I slowly got down on my knees, bringing his shorts and boxers with me. I took his cock in my hand and when I got closer, he quickly stopped me.

"Wait!" he let out. I frowned and looked up but he just sighed. "We really need to get in the shower, first."

I stared at him for a few seconds and finally let out an amused chuckle before finally getting back up. He smirked and moved his upper body closer, his lips dangerously close to mine, before reaching for the bottom of my shirt.

"I honestly don't want you to be disgusted by my dick forever." he let out, making me chuckle again.

"Can't happen. But you're right, we should get clean first. Then fuck. And then get clean again." I proposed, making him raise his eyebrows up and down.

"And then maybe fuck again, yea?"

I smiled more at his words and nodded. "Yes."

He moved closer and kissed me, taking a few steps my way and forcing me to move back. He took my shirt off, throwing it on the floor, and I started laughing against his mouth when I accidentally stepped on something and ended hitting my back on the wall.

"Fuck, I love your clumsy ass." he whispered, slithering one of his arms around my waist as the other reached for my breasts. "And your tits, too." His hand moved down and slipped in my panties, making my eyes roll back as I leaned my head against the wall. "And your perfect little fanny, too."

He crashed his mouth against mine too as he flicked his fingertip on my clit a few times, making me whimper before he just took his hand away to pull on one side of my pants. I helped him with the other and stepped out of them. We were both just making out naked against the wall at my parents' house and I couldn't remember the last time I felt this horny. Was that adrenaline or something?

"Mm, your parents aren't coming back soon, right pet?" he asked in-between kisses as he pressed his body against mine. "Because they probably wouldn't enjoy the trail of our clothes on the floor that leads to the bathroom."

I laughed and shook my head as he pulled away. My eyes roamed on his face and It just hit me again how much I loved him.

"No, they'll be gone until very late tonight."

"Good."

He kissed me again and after a while, he pulled me to the bathroom and I tried to keep my mouth against his in a failed attempt as he bent down to start the shower. We laughed against each other's lips and ended up under the stream. I shivered as he grabbed the soap and poured some in my hands before doing the same in his. I washed myself quickly, staring at his hands moving on his body and when he reached his half-hard cock, I felt my heart jump in my chest.

"Sit on the side of the bath." he told me, making me obey immediately.

I was grateful that he didn't ask me to get on my knees because there's honestly nothing more uncomfortable for the knees than a bath. He moved closer and I smiled more when I realized his cock was at the perfect height. I felt like I hadn't had his cock in my mouth for so long and I took it as deeply as I could, making him groan low. I felt him swell on my tongue and spread my knees apart, bringing one of my hands between my legs.

"Mm, don't stop darling, do that thing you always do."

I chuckled low and pushed on the skin of his cock just to run the tip of my tongue between it and his tip, making one of his legs shake slightly. I used my fingers too, touching exactly the same spot and his head moved again to look down at me.

"That feels like I'm just cumming over and over again, fuck!"

I kept going for a while and finally ran my tongue on his length until his balls. He grabbed his cock in one of his hands and started stroking himself. I stuck my tongue out and felt his balls rub and bounce on my tongue with every jerk of his hand. I moved closer and sucked on one of until he grabbed my hair and pulled my head away gently.

"Open your mouth."

I did as asked and gently, he pushed his had cock in my mouth until I choked and pulled slightly away. I could feel him throb on my tongue and I let two of my fingers rub my clit gently as I sucking him harder.

"Stick your tongue out."

I looked up at him a bit innocently and opened my mouth, sticking my tongue out for him. He kept jerking himself hard, brushing his tip on my tongue as he did, and after about a minute, he let out a low groan.

"Fuck, I missed cumming on that tongue."

My eyes closed for a few seconds when his cum spurted on my cheeks, lips and tongue but I moved closer to suck on his tip again, my hands reaching for his balls as he kept stroking himself until he got down from his high. I never really enjoyed the taste but Niall’s orgasms were different, and I knew it probably only had to do with the love I felt for him, but it didn’t matter. He tasted good and I loved pleasing him. He panted for half a minute and finally grabbed my arms to pull me up gently.

"Even if you look really good like that..." he started, bringing me under the stream. "Let me help you."

Slowly, he ran his fingers on my cheeks before moving down to my lips, taking the vestige of his orgasm off. My heart jumped in my chest when he kissed me deeply and I moaned in his mouth as his hands ran on my breasts.

"You need an orgasm too." he pointed out as I nodded. "Sit back down."

I did what he told me to and frowned a bit when he got on one knee, knowing how much it hurts. We could both feel the water falling on us but when he moved his lips to my neck, I let my head fall back and closed my eyes. Two of his fingers slipped inside me as he nibbled on the skin of my neck and he started fucking me slowly. His mouth moved down to my breast and the way he sucked and licked my nipples made my fingers rub against the bath in a weird and annoying sound.

"You're gonna let me fuck you hard later today, won't you princess?"

I shivered, realizing I hadn't heard that nickname in a while, and finally nodded. "Mmhm, whenever you want, wherever you want, for as long as you want. You know I'm all yours."

"Fuck, say it again."

He started finger fucking me harder and I felt my breasts press against his chest as he bit my neck harder.

"I'm yours, Niall, I'm all yours." I let out in a mix of a whimper and a whisper.

"Get up."

I felt a bit too weak to do it but I still managed and when I felt his mouth crush on my pussy, I leaned my head against the cold and hard shower wall. I brought on of my legs up on the side of the bath and focused on the way his tongue skillfully sucked and licked my pussy until I felt an orgasm hit me without warning.

"Oh fuck! Niall!"

I reached for his hair and pulled on it hard, making sure his face stayed between my legs and It took me all my strength not to literally let myself fall at the bottom of the bath. When he got back up, he wrapped his arms around me and I allowed myself to get weak close to him, making him laugh.

"Good?" he asked. I nodded, brushing my nose against his wet neck and whimpered low. "Hungry?"

                                                   ----

The park was not too crowded and the sun was slowly setting. We started eating the lunch we had prepared together and I surprised myself wishing every day would be like that. It was ridiculous and impossible, but a girl could dream, right?

"What do you think would have happened if we never broke up?" I asked, staring at my water bottle before looking up in his eyes.

He was staring at me, his eyebrows raised and his lips curled into a pensive expression. He looked adorable and I smiled fondly at him. He shook his head slightly and grabbed his fork, playing with his food for a few more seconds.

"I don't know. I like to think I would have matured anyway and wouldn't be a prick but you never know." he explained with a shrug.

"You think you would have cheated on me?"

His head snapped up to look at me and he shook his head harder this time. "No. I was a flirt, but I was not a cheater, I promise."

Obviously, we would never know, and from what I had seen of Niall, he normally broke up with the girl before giving in to anyone else... well, except with me. It made me realize he had cheated on two girls with me and I tried to push away the guilt invading me. After all, I had cheated on Dylan too. The fact that he knew and had decided to ignore it didn't make my action less painful, or okay. We both had cheated and there was no excuse for it.

"You cheated with me. I did too. We both cheated. On Heidi and Dylan, and that was so wrong."

"I know." he sighed. "We can't go back. I mean I wish I could say I regret it, but I don't. It lead us here."

I sent him a sad smile and nodded. I wanted so much for us and even if I still had a few doubts, I wanted us to work. I wanted us to make efforts into this, but I couldn't make them for him. All I knew was that I was going to do everything I could to make this work, and from the way he had been acting with me lately, I was pretty sure he would do the same.

"So what's gonna happen to us now, Niall?" I asked softly. "What's our future together?"

He looked down immediately and it made me frown. Did he have something to hide? I couldn't start thinking like that again, I couldn't start analyzing his every move. I breathed it and let it go, simply tilting my head.

"We'll love each other, become official whenever you're ready, maybe even start attending galas and shit together, perhaps." he proposed, shrugging a shoulder and making me laugh.

"Yea, that's not really your type of things." I pointed out.

"Well it's different with you. Everything is different with you. In a good way. In the best way."

Without thinking, I held myself on the grass between us and leaned my upper body his way to reach his lips with mine. He kissed me back and after a while, he deepened the kiss. I didn't feel nervous, or stressed, and I didn't give a fuck about who could see us.

"I love you. I want to spend my life with you." I whispered. "I know these words used to scare you... how do they make you feel, now?"

I pulled away enough to be able to look in his eyes and his lips curl into a genuine smile.

"Like the happiest man in the world."

My lips curled into a happy smile as something stirred in my stomach. "You're so full of shit, Horan."

He brought one of his hands to my cheek and I leaned against it without thinking.

"I mean it Liv. Trust me." he murmured as I felt his breath hit my chin.

I breathed in deeply and pressed my lips together before whispering too. "I do. I trust you."

                                                        ---

We ended up watching tv together in the living room after the sun was set and I knew my parents could be back any minute, making me wonder if we had time to fuck or if we should just wait until they would be in bed.

"I wish you'd come with me in Germany." he let out randomly, taking me out of my thoughts.

"You... you know I have to go back in California soon." I explained, feeling my heart sink in my chest. "I mean, we can survive a few weeks away, yea?"

He turned his head my way and sighed. "Of course we can. But we shouldn't have to. And.. I don't really want to."

"I know." I said in a low tone, trying not to cry and looking down at my hands playing with the fabric of my shirt. "I mean, I don't know what else we can do. I'll try to get more weeks off but I don't know when that will be. When's your next week off?"

"Uhm, mid may, I think, but then I have to go back to the UK for that radio show thing."

"Oh." I brushed my palms on my face, suddenly tired and a bit scared, not knowing when I could be with him again. "Tell me the exact date and I'll try to fly there for a few days."

"That's in like... a month, Olivia." he let out a bit annoyed or disappointed... or both.

"I know." I whispered, swallowing hard, trying not to cry.

He sighed again and made a quick head movement. "Come here."

He didn't have to ask me twice : I threw myself against him as he wrapped his arms around me and I buried my face in his shirt, letting out a sob that I desperately tried to suppress without success.

"Hey, it'll be okay." he whispered, kissing the top of my head. "We can do this. We're stronger than ever together. Distance is alright. A month is nothing. Remember my trip to Asia?"

It's not that it was a bad example but it was a rough memory and I sniffed, shutting my eyes tighter as I tried to move closer to him. I didn't want to be a month away from him but I knew it was probably going to happen and I didn't know how to handle it. I was about to answer something when both our phones beeped and I groaned. It couldn't be a good thing and we both knew it.

"I don't want to look." I admitted low as he rubbed my back gently.

"We have to. Let's do it and then go to bed."

I sighed again and nodded as we both grabbed our phones. The problem was apparently Heidi, who had posted a bunch of song lyrics on her instagram stories, and people started speculating about who it was about. After checking, though, I knew it was about Niall. And about me a bit, too.

SHAKIRA - DONT BOTHER She's been to private school And she speaks perfect French She's got the perfect friends Oh isn't she cool? Hey, hey So don't bother I won't die of deception I promise you won't ever see me cry Don't feel sorry And don't bother I'll be fine But she's waiting The ring you gave to her will lose its shine So don't bother, be unkind

THE WEEKEND - CALL OUT MY NAME We found each other I helped you out of a broken place You gave me comfort But falling for you was my mistake I put you on top, I put you on top I claimed you so proud and openly And when times were rough, when times were rough I made sure I held you close to me

JUSTINE TIMBERLAKE - CRY ME A RIVER You don't have to say, what you did I already know, I found out from him Now there's just no chance With you and me There'll never be Don't it make you sad about it?

SAM SMITH - IM NOT THE ONLY ONE I have loved you for many years Maybe I am just not enough You've made me realize my deepest fear By lying and tearing us up You say I'm crazy 'Cause you don't think I know what you've done But when you call me baby I know I'm not the only one

DRAKE - MARVINS ROOM I'm just sayin' you could do better Tell me, have you heard that lately? I'm just sayin' you could do better And I'll start hatin' only if you make me

KATY PERRY - PART OF ME I just wanna throw my phone away Find out who is really there for me You ripped me off your love was cheap Was always tearing at the seams I fell deep, you let me down But that was then and this is now, now look at me

LITTLE MIX - SHOUT OUT TO MY EX This is a shout out to my ex Heard he in love with some other chick Yeah yeah, that hurt me, I'll admit Forget that boy, I'm over it I hope she gettin' better sex Hope she ain't fakin' it like I did, babe Took four long years to call it quits Forget that boy, I'm over it

TAYLOR SWIFT - SHOULVE SAID NO You should've said no, you should've gone home You should've thought twice before you let it all go You should've know that word, bout what you did with her Would get back to me And I should've been there, in the back of your mind I shouldn't be asking myself why You shouldn't be begging for forgiveness at my feet You should've said no, baby and you might still have me I can't resist, before you go, tell me this Was it worth it Was she worth this

SUGARLAND - BABE What a waste Taking down the pictures and the plans we made, yeah And it's strange how your face doesn't look so innocent Your secret has its consequence and that's on you, babe Since you admitted it, I keep picturing Her lips on your neck, I can't unsee it I hate that because of you, I can't love you Babe What a shame, didn't want to be the one that got away How could you do this, babe?

BRITNEY SPEARS - PERFUME Do I imagine it, or do I see your stare Is there still longing there? Oh I hate myself, and I feel crazy Such a classic tale Current girl friend, ex girlfriend, I'm trying to be cool Am I being paranoid, am I seeing things? Am I just insecure?

I read her stories twice, three times, and I swallowed hard until I heard Niall curse under his breath next to me. It caught my attention and I sighed, licking my lips.

"She's right, you know. I don't know how she found out but, we talked about it earlier. We did cheat on them, Niall."

"Alright, but did she need to expose that on instagram?" He closed his eyes and groaned, throwing his phone on the couch and rubbing his eyes roughly. "Are you ready for the storm? You know our social medias are gonna fucking explode."

"It doesn't matter. As usual, we're just gonna stay quiet." I replied, shrugging and sighing an other time. "You should have never dated that girl."

"I know. I didn't know back then but now, I know." he confessed, shaking his head. "I didn't think she was that kind of girl."

I started laughing next to him and his eyes met mine. He raised his eyebrows an I pressed my lips together because chuckling more.

"I mean, seriously, Niall? She was always like that."

He remained quiet and moved his arm on the back of the couch before I leaned my head against it.

"I should have dated you when I was 13 and I tried to match you with Rian for no reason. I should have dated you when I was 16 and horny. I should have dated you when I joined One Direction and you messaged me all the time. I should have dated you after the Take Me Home tour, when I came back home and noticed how much you had changed. I should have dated you during our last tour, before you got attached to Harry. I should have dated you last year, when we were both miserable. I realize it's you I should have dated all those times. Whenever I dated an other girl, it should have been you."

I teared up but tried to swallow the emotions inside me but they were drowning me instead, making me dizzy and happy at the same time.

"Yea, you should have." I whispered, scared that my voice would crack. "What about now, Niall?"

"Now?" he asked gently, raising his eyebrows but his gaze never leaving mine. I felt his fingertips play with a lock of my hair and it made my heart twist in my chest. "Well now I'm here. I'm with you. And I don't intend or want to be with anyone else. Ever again."

#niall horan #niall horan smut #niall horan fluff #niall horan fanfic #niall horan fan fic #niall horan fan fiction #niall horan fanfiction #niall horan story #niall horan writing #my fanfics #yam

[princeescaluswords]

Evil Deaton Rant #35

Sometimes, I subconsciously bristle when I see emotional reactions of oppressed minorities to white supremacy on this site.  In the end, I keep my mouth shut because while I don’t agree with all the policies they want, I recognize the validity of their experiences.  Arguing with them is the least productive thing I can do.

Especially when I can see that white supremacy infiltrates and corrupts even the most innocuous and trivial things, including -- and it seems, especially -- fandom.  Since I’ve chosen to focus my experience on this site on a particular fandom, I’m going to keep talking about it.  Here’s today’s experience: a blatant and disgusting white power fantasy in fanfiction.

There’s a story that got past my filters, labeled with ‘fix-it’ and promising to heal what is broken with Teen Wolf.  It promised to correct what Jeff Davis screwed up.   And the way to do that seems to be a White Power Fantasy. I won’t provide a direct link in this post, but I’ll provide it to anyone who wants to contact me privately.

The first thing you have to realize when reading this story is that Deaton is Evil, because of course he is.  He’s jealous of Stiles’s power, criminally negligent, and he was an accomplice to Kate and Gerard when burning down the Hale House.  Why did he do this?  Because cutting down the tree would hurt Talia enough so that she couldn’t protect his family.  You mean his motivation?   Oh, well apparently he wanted magical power for himself.   Though eight years later -- the story picks up after Strange Frequencies (5x07) -- he still hasn’t gained any magical power.   It seems an ill-thought out plan.

So, having murdered the Hales out of animosity and intending to stifle Stiles’s superlative magical abilities -- as you do -- he decided to run an animal clinic for most of a decade. He didn’t bother to eliminate Peter in the hospital ward when he was helpless and in a coma for six years, he didn’t silence Derek when he had him at his mercy in Fury (2x10).   Why he risked his life to save Derek in Season 4 or Stiles in Season 3 is ... well ... not explained. He waited around to be discovered by the Druid’s Council (which is going to punish him for being cryptic and not doing enough) or by the Other Hale Branches.  (We’ll get to the Hales Are the Most Powerful Thing Ever in a bit, just remember that the Hale control of the Nemeton is important to the world.)   

He’s the most incompetent yet successful villain in history -- he knew that Stiles’s power would manifest but didn’t follow the correct rules and let other people know.  Stiles wouldn’t even know about his power if Deaton hadn’t told him in canon, but he must have had a reason for revealing it to him so he could stop it, however that works.  His complicity with the Argents could be sniffed out in days by a super Hale, yet he didn’t have any plans to counter it.  He was just a Sinister Black Man, who hated his benevolent white overlords, and desires their power, but he can’t actually take it ‘cause he’s bad.

Now, of course, there could be his side of the story, if he ever got to tell his side, but no, the Powerful Hale Alpha from White Europe is able to figure everything out without any investigation or interrogation. Deaton says two words in 35k of story.  They Just Know That The Black Man is Evil.   

And if you are wondering whether this animus extends to other black characters, it doesn’t!  You see, Braeden doesn’t exist.  Mason doesn’t exist.  They’re not important.   Boyd is only mentioned as a source of Derek’s manpain.  Isaac and Jackson and any number of Pearly White OCs do matter, because they all love and support Derek and Stiles and the Hale Supremacy.  

But don’t worry, it’s not just black people who are evil.  It’s Asians, too.   Noshiko is only referred to as “Kira’s Mother” and she is scolded for not training her daughter and getting her act together -- even though you might think that as a 900 year kitsune she perhaps might have more experience in kitsune, no, it’s Stiles and the Hale UberAlpha who know better how to take care of Kira.  Not that we get Kira or Noshiko’s point of view as they never even show up on the page, they’re dispatched off screen so as to not get in the way of the white people.  

You know what’s really interesting?  Even with -- as a dying Theo confesses after trying to take on the All-Powerful Hale Pack by himself -- “the Hale Territory is the ultimate power,” except we’re not sure why that is or why they haven’t driven Satomi Ito and her pack away, but she’s Asian so who cares?

And Scott, well Scott is a stupid, lazy, short-tempered, ignorant Latino who doesn’t know his place.   He should have only listened to Stiles, and not Theo or that Super Mysterious Evil Black Man.   Malia leaves (she’s not a Hale, of course, because she defiled Stiles’s pure virginal flesh and that’s for Derek) and Kira is sent packing, and Scott is a fool for caring for them instead of focusing on Stiles the Great.  He doesn’t train his betas (unless you count the physical training of lacrosse, which doesn’t seem to occur to the author ‘cause it’s not a Hale thing) and the Hale family are all happy and well-adjusted and Isaac and Jackson love each other and love Derek and love Stiles.  I mean, the first thing that Jackson says to Stiles is how handsome he is.   The first thing Isaac says to Scott is to scold him for not holding regular training sessions.  No explanation is given as to why neither Isaac nor Jackson informed the Hale Super Wolves about what was going on in Beacon Hills -- but it’s Deaton who is evil.

You get the point.  You see, the Hales are the most powerful werewolf pack in the world, and they are unstoppable -- even though it took eight years for them to figure out that the North American Hale Pack was destroyed.   They’re also capitalists, controlling industries all over the world.    Dalia Hale -- Talia’s cousin, get it? -- is going to fix everything, though no one bothers to ask her why Derek didn’t call her in 2011 or 2012.  There’s no mention of the Dead Pool and Scott being worth $25 million dollars, which might draw the attention of the Hale Corporation.   Only Deaton is the culprit here for not doing what a good house servant should.

And this story is super popular.   Really, really popular.   Scott and those ignorant teenagers are going to get taught by this woman who walks in and takes command even though she’s never been in Beacon Hills for any of the other shit, because well, you know Rich and White.   

I seethed at this story, and I can’t imagine what it is like to be a minority fan of this show and see everyone who looks like me treated like garbage, but Stiles is, to quote the story “like Gandalf” and Jackson is wonderful and Derek is a poor sad woobie, and that’s WHAT THIS PERSON SEES AS FIXING TEEN WOLF.  Latinos are stupid and unworthy; Asians (and I’m using the generic word on purpose) belong elsewhere; and Black People?  Well, evil.  Evil. Evil. Evil.  Or Dead.  Or gone.    

Which is why sometimes I know I need to keep my mouth shut.

#teen wolf racism #white supremacy #teen wolf fanfiction #scott mccall defense squad #power fantasy

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

December 4, 2020

Heather Cox Richardson

While coronavirus continues to burn across the country, Trump is focusing instead on continuing to contest the election results and on the Pentagon.

The main story in the country continues to be the coronavirus. As of tonight, according to the New York Times, more than 14,441,700 people in the U.S. have been infected with the virus and at least 278,900 have died. Official daily death counts are well over 2000.

As several states continue to count votes from the November election, President-Elect Joe Biden’s popular vote margin over Trump is now more than 7 million. Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Nevada, Georgia, Arizona, and Michigan, all states in which Trump contested the vote, have already certified their election results for Biden. In all six of those states, judges have ruled that Trump’s lawyers have provided no evidence of fraud. They have used words like “baseless,” “flimsy,” “obviously lacking,” “dangerous,” and “not credible.”

Trump’s obsession with winning an election he has clearly lost has brought into relief the struggle for control over the Republican Party. Trump is clearly trying to turn the party into a vehicle for loyalty to him and him alone. He has always turned on those who no longer serve his interests: Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions was one of the first elected Republicans to support Trump’s 2016 presidential candidacy, giving it an air of legitimacy. He left the Senate to become Trump’s first Attorney General, only to have Trump turn against him when he recused himself from the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, because he had lied about his own contacts with Russians. Trump forced Sessions to resign, and when Sessions ran again for the Senate, endorsed his rival and attacked Sessions on Twitter. Sessions lost his primary.

Now Trump has turned on men who similarly sacrificed their careers for his. Three days ago, Trump’s loyalist Attorney General, William Barr, undercut Trump’s election fraud arguments when he said that he had not seen such fraud. This apparently so infuriated Trump that he is considering firing Barr. Then, this morning, Trump turned on loyalist Louis DeJoy at the head of the United States Postal Service, who removed mail sorting machines and changed USPS rules to slow mail-in ballots expected to be for Biden. Trump tweeted that the USPS “is responsible for tampering with hundreds of thousands of ballots” and thus stole the election from him. He called the USPS a “long time Democrat stronghold,” although DeJoy is a major Trump supporter and donor.

While Trump is talking about running again in 2024, his turning against his most loyal supporters in the Republican Party will not inspire others to rally to his banner. Instead, it may simply be that he’s keeping the idea of his candidacy alive because it keeps money flowing in. Since the election, he has raised more than $200 million in donations.

While he is fighting over the election results, Trump has done very little else except to replace civilian employees at the Pentagon with his own hand-picked loyalists. This is unusual in a lame duck period, when presidents usually try to smooth the transition to the next administration.

Far from trying to smooth that transition, Trump is making it as bumpy as possible. His appointee at the General Services Administration delayed the start of the transition for weeks. Now that Biden’s team finally has access to Trump’s people to learn about their planning for the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine, it turns out there hasn’t been much planning. Biden today noted that “There is no detailed plan that we’ve seen, anyway, as to how you get the vaccine out of a container, into an injection syringe, into somebody’s arm…. It's going to be very difficult for that to be done and it’s a very expensive proposition…. There’s a lot more that has to be done.”

Also disturbing is that the Trump administration has denied the Biden team access to U.S. intelligence agencies that are controlled by the Defense Department, including the National Security Agency (which is the nation’s largest U.S. intelligence service), the Defense Intelligence Agency, and other intelligence services with a global reach. The Biden folks have, though, been able to meet with their counterparts at the CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

The refusal of the Pentagon to meet with Biden’s people comes at a time when Trump has been shaking up personnel there. Immediately after the election, Trump fired his fourth Defense Secretary, Mark T. Esper, and replaced him with an acting secretary of defense, Christopher C. Miller. Miller, in turn, has presided over the installation of a number of Trump loyalists both in the Pentagon leadership and on the Defense Policy Board, a group of advisors who consult with the Defense Secretary on specific issues when asked. Pushed out were about a dozen advisers, including former Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Henry Kissinger, as well as former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.

Today, there was another major purge at Defense, this time from the Defense Business Board, a nonpartisan group of about 20 volunteers from the business sector who are appointed to give business advice to Pentagon leaders. The White House threw nine people off the board—informing them with a terse email—including its chair, Michael Bayer. Trump replaced them with his former 2016 campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, and that year’s deputy campaign manager, David Bossie, among other loyalists. Both Lewandowski and Bossie are outspoken Trump supporters who have led the fight to contest the election.

So has another Trump nominee for a Pentagon post, Scott O’Grady, who has endorsed the idea that Trump won by a landslide and that Trump should declare martial law. Trump has nominated him to become an assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, overseeing operations in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Exactly what Trump is doing with this packing of the Defense Department is unclear. There are, though, three major issues on the table right now that may or may not be involved, but are worth keeping in mind.

The first is that Trump is trying to remove many U.S. troops from around the world before he leaves office, and had gotten serious pushback on that from the people he has now purged from the Defense Department. Today, he ordered nearly all of about 700 U.S. troops out of Somalia, where they have been training local soldiers to hold ground against terrorists. They will not come home, though; they are being sent elsewhere in Africa.

There is also still hanging out there the administration’s sudden announcement of a $23 billion sale of arms to the United Arab Emirates, including a number of advanced F-35 fighter jets and Reaper drones. Lawmakers of both parties object to this sale, concerned about risks to Israel and that the UAE could transfer the technology to China and Russia. The Senate will vote next week on banning the sale.

There is also the effort by the White House to force the Pentagon to lease its airwave spectrum to a private company, Rivada Networks, to create a nationwide 5G network. Rivada is backed by major Republican figures, including operative Karl Rove, but established Pentagon officials have little interest in the project, pointing out that there is no proof that Rivada knows what it’s doing or that the plan would be legal. It’s also not clear that the use of this spectrum for private carriers wouldn’t impact its use for national security. The Defense Department spectrum the White House would like to lease to private investors is worth between $50 and $75 billion.

I always believe in following the money, and that’s especially true now as Trump’s years in the White House, which have given him access to huge sums, are drawing to a close.

—-

[FROM COMMENTS]

Scott M. Krasner

I waver between bewilderment and rage when reading these daily summaries. I can almost "understand" his more political moves - installing loyalists, withdrawing troops, even trying to sell access to the Defense Department's wavebands. I don't agree or condone these actions, but they're consistent with his approach to governance to date.

What's comprehensible is ignoring - in any and every way - the coronavirus and its impact. Unconscionable doesn't begin to describe his failure to acknowledge the deaths of 280,000 Americans, or to endorse any means of protecting each other as best possible. It's inhumane. It's devoid of empathy, morally vacuous, and ethically deplorable. It is unequivocally and unalterably wrong.

And yet 74,000,000 thought it acceptable to return him to office. McConnell has personally obstructed any efforts to extend relief for 8 months and counting. It's Hobbseian in its social brutishness. Even Hobbes might be appalled. And Republican leadership is mute.

I'm almost beyond shock. Since the beginning, many thought each of Trump's transgressions would be the last straw, yet nothing happened. The only apparent imposition of accountability is his having lost the election. Court losses haven't swayed him. Our perverse campaign finance laws have given him license to steal despite the misleading fine print. His Cabinet, always incompetent for the task, is asleep, silent, or in on the game. Each day goes by with no visible effort to limit his efforts to salt the earth in advance of his successor. And Republican leadership ignores or enables him to proceed unhindered.

He's unmoored. He's looking to preemptively pardon family and loyalists who are most likely would be criminally liable but haven't yet been charged. His most ardent supporters are almost insane (read Giuliani and Powell) or seditious (read Flynn and Lin Wood). And still the Republican party watches with bloodless faces and dead eyed stares, saying not a word.

What is one to think? How does one explain this to children? How can one reason with any family, friends, or acquaintances who somehow believe Trump is in the right, brought low only by a grand, silent conspiracy of wrong minded citizens and foreign actors?

Perhaps history can look upon Trump's reign of terror more dispassionately. Today, however, I and many others feel like we're helpless, our minds and sensibilities best represented by the visage of horror in Edvard Munch's The Scream.

*

Linda Mitchell

Hannah Arendt's book (based on her reporting for The New Yorker), "Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil" encapsulates the issues TCinLA and the people who posted replies to it raise. I have read only bits of it but what she presents is a picture of evil that is stripped of glamour and that indicts everyone. As she says about Eichmann, "Except for an extraordinary diligence in looking out for his personal advancement, he had no motives at all." If you have access to JSTOR (you can read online for free but not download if you don't have access through a library) there is a great short article in The History Teacher (1981) that discusses Arendt and her book in clear and concise terms. https://www.jstor.org/stable/493684

Miller and most everyone else surrounding the Deranged Cheeto--including the criminal enablers in Congress--fit Arendt's description perfectly. They are not monsters. They are not (most of them) pathological narcissists. They are sterile, unoriginal, uncreative people who have decided that personal advancement through doing terrible things is fine with them. It is actually harder, in our modern world, to be a good person than to be an awful one. Empathy, emotional maturity, awareness, and wisdom all require effort on the part of the individual. One has to engage, one has to become self-aware, one has to be brutally honest with oneself. Evil simply requires reaching down to that lowest common denominator of the id: a desire for self-advancement by any means necessary.

This is why they all seem so petty, so puerile, so childish, so joyless. This is why their tantrums are so infantile. And this is why Biden and Harris seem, by contrast, so refreshingly mature, so willing to allow joy. Both have been radically affected by what Hegel referred to as the "slaughter-bench" of history. The subhumans surrounding the Unelected Ex-President have not got enough imagination to be affected by anything except their own hunger.

[LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN]

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

#Letters From An American #Heather Cox Richardson #political #election 2020 #corrupt GOP #criminal GOP

[starstress]

MCC Aqua Axolotls Live Commentary!

Hello, as said, I will attempt to write down my thoughts and reactions during the MCC. 

Stream links!!

False: https://www.twitch.tv/falsesymmetry

Ren: https://www.twitch.tv/rendogtv

Grian (yes, he’s streaming): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjkgnEi4t9g

Pearl: https://www.twitch.tv/pearlescentmoon

Updates will come as edits, so be sure to check this again every once in a while if you’re interested or just curious! 

To all fans, please be kind to everyone, no matter the team or who you wish would win. You will only embarrass yourself if you harass others or act immaturely and will gain no brownie points with those you follow and watch.

For now, may the games begin and the best team win!

-

Edit 1: Peeps are running a bit late, apparently, Ren is the only one on the team with no aqua colour XD Grian recoloured the headband that Smajor had made for him last stream XD

Andddd, we’re kicking off!!

-

Edit 2: The gong makes an appearance!! Also, the story of the gong!! Grian had bought it as a gag for whenever he and Mumbo record! The team loves it!

Countdown has finally started!

-

Edit 3: The first game is Skyblockle(?)!! Team ain’t feeling too confident about it, but we’ll see! I think they’ll be okay at this. Gri is reading the instructions and getting nervous XD

From now, everything will be under the cut. Warning, it’s really long.

Oof, wood fell in the lava. They still have more :)) They’re sharing tasks pretty nicely, I have to say, but they keep changing plans. Things will heat up quickly, tho, and I’m glad this game is gonna be out of the way soon.

First death in Skyblockle for the Aqua Axolotls: False! Second: Grian!

Doom is on the horizon XD

Rip, Ren has died too, and Pearl has gotten a couple of kills!! 

And the Axolotls are out!

First gong after a game. Rn we’re all watching the other teams. Dream team is holding up well. Techno’s team is out too. Last bid!

Endgame: Pearl has won the most coins, team is a bit disappointing by last place.

-

Edit 4: They have the Uno Reserve card as they were the worst team. 

Game: Bingo but Fast!

Gri is reading the instructions again. Someone in Pearl’s stream is watching 25 streams holy dandelions.

The team is again sharing tasks. This is pretty speedy!

Hearing Gri lament how speedy it all is is so funny. Also, they’re all like headless chickens and a lot more disorganized now. Poor team.

Endgame: Ren’s sweating in unspeakable places lol, but they’re not last anymore!

Pearl’s game just crashed, oh goodness.She’s back in, wooo!

-

Edit 5: Game: Battle box!

Gri is going for the middle. Pearl got so many kills!

First round won!!

Second round lost!

Third round won!!

Ren’s having a hard time breathing, and I gotta say same! 4th place rn.

Game was paused to stop the animations of the NPCs and we got another gong! we chilling for a few mins lol.

WE’RE ON AGAINST THE DREAM TEAM. Aww, the game needs to be reset or smt. 

Oh wow, draw for every team. Fourth round was skipped.

Fifth round - uh SERVER CRASHED

Wowie, the map looks really strange without the resource pack.

First hiccup in 7 event, dang. 

Starting again. Resource pack might no re-appear again. And now I’m laggy, lol

Round 1: lost!

Round 2: won! Gri with the tnt :D

Round 3: lost! tnt did not work this time

Round 4: unknown due to lag, oof.

Round 5: lost

Round 6: unknown 

Round 7: unknown

Round 8: unknown

Round 9: unknown (prob lost)

Place: Last.

Everyone’s laggy, including me lol.

The viewers are being encouraging, which is really great and wholesome!

-

Edit 6: Game: Big Sales at Build Market!

Team is confident about this one, wooo!!

Grian ended up in plants lol. Ughhh, diorate. Communication is key, and it’s very well done!!

They’re building fast and getting resources pretty fast, that’s good.

Grian listing what they need is *chef kiss* False being alert is *hearteyes* and the chats are the real mvps 

Endgame: Place 7. It was pretty intense indeed.

Break time!

-

Edit 7: Audience takeover!! Pearl wants Rocket Spleef, so does Techno. Dream wants Hole in the Wall.

Game: Rocket Spleef!!

Grian’s reading instructions :))) 

This will be intense as all heck. Countdown has stopped, huh.

Oof, apparently it was supposed to be Hole in the Wall, but can’t change. Gri’s prob not gonna have as great of a time as I’d hopped :P

Round 1: Rainbow map, False is out! :o The very first time! Team’s out right before tnt time! Place 6, nice.

Round 2: Uhh, Atoms map?? Grian and Pearl are struggling. Pearl’s out! Gri’s out! Ren’s out! False’s still going.

Round 3: Grian’s finally got the rocket jump. Jump and then launch :D Or maybe not XD Tnt time! Pearl is waiting down at the bottom. She fell, oof. Grian’s having cramps in his hand and, in his words, he’s ‘a goner.’

Endgame: False’s the master of Rocket Spleef! And place 6! Team really enjoyed it, I’m so glad :D

-

Edit 8: Team’s hoping for Ace Race, and it looks like it might be!

Game: Ace Race!

Grian is narrating for all of us, nice! “This is totally Sonic!” he says!

“’Your first time will probably suck’. Yeah, that’s been happening about the entire time!” lmao

Omg, the map is so cool!! Def a fan favourite!! The entire team is having so much fun yesss

All of them are really doing good, Grian and False are placing good.

“Techno, get outta my way!!” -  Gri, and I have to say, mood.

Grian got place 15! Right behind Techno, nice!!

Pearl is 32!

Ren is 35?

False is somewhere behind Gri, but way before Pearl.

Endgame: Everyone had one heck of a time and now they’re trying to find out how to make it in Vanilla Minecraft XD

Place: 9 

-

Edit 9: They dunked the Lime Llamas XDD

Game: Sands of Time

Oof, this one’s gonna be a maker or a breaker.

Oh goodness, they have no one watching the time D:

They’re banking coins, thankfully. 

Oh no, Pearl!! Sand is needed. Grian to the rescue!

Phew, three sand left, thank you Pearl for topping up!!

Intense, gosh, i’m really nervous about the sand!!

Oof, Pearl’s stream froze. It ended, oh no. Actually, it might just be me that has enormous lag (not smt new lol). 

There we go, slow but it’s something.

The sand!! Aww man, right as Pearl got the sand!! They’re out! At least they banked a lot of their coins.

Endgame: We got a nice gong. Place: 5! Overall place: 9!

-

Edit 10: My wi-fi is beating me up with a stick, and it’s unrelenting. Lag is my life now.

Last game: Hole in the Wall

Ren’s gonna have a bad time XD

Round 1: Pearl’s fallen, from what my laggy video will show me. Gri as well. They’re out!

Round 2: Pearl’s still alive, woo!! Glitched right through one, so cool XD

Round 3: lag.

Endgame: Ren’s raging, Grian is really amused by that XD Nice game!! 

-

Edit 11:

Overall place: 9

Time for the final battle!! Gong! Ren wants the gong as stream sound effect :D

Green Guardians vs Orange Ocelots! 

Grian supports Techno bc Techno said he liked him lmao!! The others are Green. 

Also fun fact: Grian could coach a match of dodge ball!

Round 1: Green wins!

Round 2: Orange wins!! Techno’s taking them out!

Round 3: Orange wins!

Round 4: Orange wins!

Grian: “It’s like one of those anime moments!”

Round 5: Green wins!

(Gri went off holy heck)

Congrats to the Green Guardians!!  

- 

Last edit of the night!

That was extremely fun to watch!! The lag and my own wi-fi made it a bit irritating at times, esp since I had to split my focus, but it was pretty good nonetheless.

It’s really sad that the Championship itself lagged so much, I have a feeling it left both a lot of viewers and players feeling frustrated as well. 

However, the new mini game was lots of fun and I have a feeling we’ll be seeing it a lot in the future. I really hope we will.

The team was really good, they managed to coordinate very well, but like many groups who’ve just started working together for the first time, there were times where they could’ve slowed down a bit and reconsidered their plans. Still, the important bit was that they all had a great time together.

Overall, I really hope Grian and Pearl will participate again, even if not on the same teams. I also hope that there will be more Hermitcraft members joining in, even if only for one Championship. I had tons of fun writing this as well, but I think I’ll switch back to occasional posts about amusing things that happen during the games, as it really took a lot of my attention from the mcc itself.

Hope whoever kept up with me or reads this later enjoyed/enjoys this. I’m off to bed now, I’m sleepy and I’ll prob wake up, read through this, and find 10 million little mistakes that I’ll die over. Future me, I deeply apologize, but, uhhhh, no regrets!!

Starstress out!

#minecraft championship #mcc #hermitcraft #hermitblr #falsesymmetry #rendog #grian #pearlescentmoon #technoblade #dreamwastaken #dream team #mine #mcyt #mcytblr

[therainroguefanfiction]

⁂ Moving Metal #1: Highway 35

📑 Table of Contents

Genre: Comedy, Friendship ☁

Word Count: 1,728 ☁

Pairing: ?? ☁

World: Acceleracers ☁

━━━━━━༻🌧️༺━━━━━━

I stared at the passing scenery of the coast road, mouthing the lyrics to the song filling my right ear. The left was empty in case Taro had something to say. It wasn’t very likely, seeing as he’s the quiet type. I’d rather not take my chances though – the last time I listened to music and he tried to talk to me, he got so annoyed that he broke my music player. Getting him to buy me a new one took a lot of convincing and even took getting our leader involved to guilt him into doing it. Thank you, Tork!

I glanced over at Taro before moving my eyes to his window. From the way he was driving, the view of the ocean was on his side of the car while I got to stare at a large rock formation. I offered to drive just for that reason, but Taro isn’t too keen on letting other people drive his car. Or sit on it. Or touch it in general, really.

My eyes shifted to the side mirror where Monkey’s car, Rolling Thunder, was close behind us. A few feet behind him was our infamous leader, Tork. He’s the king of the show tonight, taking on the leader of our rivals, the Teku. To be honest, no matter who wins, it’s not going to take away the anger Nolo has for our leader. Long story short, Tork raced Nolo’s older brother a while back. Nolo’s brother got cocky and made a mistake. The price? His life.

Ever since then, Tork has been hiding feelings of guilt and doubt. On the other hand, Nolo goes out of his way to show his hatred for Tork. Kinda pisses me off, but I’m always told to stay out of it.

“Hey,” Taro smacked my arm. “Turn that off, we’re almost there.”

A small patch of land stretched out from the road, overlooking the water. All of the Teku drivers were there, waiting for us to arrive. Well, I assume they’re waiting, though it seems more like they’re having a party.

With a scowl, I shove my music player into the pocket of my hoodie just as Taro comes to a stop on the side of the road, Monkey right behind. As we stepped out of his car, it became apparent that there was some serious tension between Nolo and one of his members, Vert.

Despite being on the rival team, I was actually pretty cool with Vert. Taro would never admit it nor act like it, but he also has nothing against the blonde teen.

“Hey! Are you Teku here to race, or to fight?” Taro called. It was soon followed by the screeching of tires as Tork made his entrance. Nolo’s attention immediately went to him. Even if I didn’t know about the rivalry, the head-turning really wouldn’t surprise me.

The Metal Maniacs are full of huge, burly guys with the exception of myself – since I’m a chick – and Monkey – since he’s a twig. However, Tork is the largest of the group. When I first met him, I actually thought he was going to kill me.

He stepped out of the car and the two leaders stared each other down. It was pretty typical, really. I moved to sit on the hood of Taro’s Road Runner, checking my watch for the time. I knew that Mark had to be on his way up here even though we made sure that no one told him about the race tonight. It’s not that he’s a bad driver or that we hate him, it’s just…

Well, to put it simply, Mark is a lot like Nolo. He has a grudge that he won’t let go and it fuels him to make bad decisions. Plus Mark is like a wild lion, there’s no taming him OR telling him what to do. He just won’t listen to reason.

After a few more minutes passed, Taro shooed me off his car and the two leaders lined up to begin the race. Monkey had a light device to let them know when to start and he was also in charge of making sure the road was clear of pedestrian drivers. Street racing is always fun, but when you add civilians to the mix… well, it can get pretty messy.

A car zoomed past Monkey at break-neck speed, squealing to a stop between Nolo’s car and Tork’s. Mark had arrived and he was pissed.

“Why didn’t you tell me we were taking on the Teku?”

Tork didn’t spare him a glance, used to the younger man’s antics. “Me against Nolo. That’s how we handle it.” He moved his car forward, but that didn’t stop Mark from yelling after him.

“I want ‘em, Tork, I want ’em all! You knew that from the start!”

I sighed, shoving my hands into my pockets. “You know he’s gonna cause a problem, right?”

Taro didn’t respond, so I sighed again and headed over to where Vert was leaning against his own car, the Deora II. The other Teku glared at me as I came closer and I could feel Taro staring at my back. He didn’t approve of my friendliness with Vert for obvious reasons, but he never said anything about it, either.

I could tell Vert was annoyed that he wasn’t the one racing, but he offered me a smile anyway. I leaned next to him close to the road and threw him a grin. “So, who’s gonna win?”

He held back a grin of his own. “The Teku for sure.”

“Hmm, I dunno. Tork’s pretty good. Plus – ” I paused, staring at Mark sitting in his Spinebuster. “ – I don’t think this race will end how anyone expects it will.”

He looked at me questioningly but was quickly distracted when the race finally began.

Just as predicted, Mark swung his car around and took off after them. Taro yelled his name but it was swallowed by the sound of roaring engines and squealing tires echoing off the rocks. I caught his eye and he shook his head, climbing into his vehicle.

I patted Vert’s shoulder. “You might wanna follow.”

Again, he sent me a questioning look but didn’t say anything as I ran back to Taro, climbing into the passenger seat as the engine roared to life. Monkey and the other Teku followed suit, sensing that something wasn’t right.

We reached the site of the crash fairly quickly. Nolo’s car was sitting on top of some rocks, while Tork’s was half on the guardrail and half on the road. Seeing the guardrail broken a ways down, I rushed after Monkey to the side of the cliff to see Mark’s car dangling from his grappling hook that was embedded in the rock.

“Wylde’s okay!” Monkey announced. “He’s cranking back up.”

I sighed in relief but stopped short when I finally noticed the small floating machine in the middle of the road. I guessed it was the cause for Mark crashing… but what in the world even is it?

Kurt and Vert approached it. Vert addressed it. “What are you doing here?”

“Dr. Tezla needs you.” It spoke.

“Oh really? What about after the World Race when we needed him to give us more Nitrox? He wouldn’t even talk to us!” Kurt sounded like a druggie that had gone too long without his fix. I found myself rolling my eyes before I even realized it.

Huh, maybe Mark’s hatred for his big brother is rubbing off on me.

“Dr. Tezla needed all the fuel for his research.” It spoke again.

“Well we wanted to go through the portals again – ” Vert didn’t sound angry like his teammate, just disappointed. “ – and race in Highway 35.”

I wasn’t around back then, but Taro and Mark had each told me stories about the infamous World Race on Highway 35. Apparently, it’s a race track in another dimension or something and this Tezla guy offered 35 racers a crap ton of money to get the wheel of power found at the end of the track. The story gets kinda fuzzy from there. Something about an evil woman, a spy, and robots built to race? I don’t know. I kinda dozed off during their recollection of the events past.

“No one can go through the portals now.” It explained. “Gelorum and her racing drones have taken the wheel of power.”

I stared at the thing blankly, not even blinking. Huh, so they were telling the truth. And here I thought they were just insane, or in Taro’s case, had too much to drink. I guess I owe them an apology… too bad Metal Maniacs don’t apologize. Ever.

Monkey, who stood on Taro’s left, moved closer. “Hey, Taro, What’s this wheel of power business? What does it mean?”

“Trouble,” Was all he said as he headed back to his car, motioning for me to follow. Since it’s always easier just to do as he says rather than not, I followed silently, sending glances over my shoulder as the woman from Teku started to talk to it. I was too far away by now to hear what was being said between them, but I was close enough to see Nolo throw a hissy fit.

“Give me a car!” He limped toward Kurt and Vert. “I want to finish this thing tonight!”

“There’s something we have to do, Nolo.” Vert sounded annoyed now, and honestly, who can blame him? Just look at his teammates, okay.

“What’s he talking about?!” Nolo screamed. I fought the urge to cringe. God, this kid is annoying. “Nothing’s more important than the Teku!”

“This is.” Kurt insisted, and with that, the Teku took off, leaving their leader in the middle of the road screaming his lungs out.

“Hey, Taro.” Monkey ran up to us as we made our way to the car. “You know this Tezla dude. Wylde told me he paid like millions of dollars to some of his drivers.”

Damn, do you know how much soda and anime I could buy with millions of dollars? Maybe this won’t be so bad after all.

Taro looked at him in disbelief. “You’re coming?”

“You think Tork would mind?” Monkey and I both looked at our leader who was punching his hood repeatedly and growling in frustration. We shared a look before scurrying after Taro. “Hey! Wait up, Taro!”

━━━━━━༻🌧️༺━━━━━━

▸Next 

📜 Read more by checking out my masterlist 📜

#moving metal #acceleracers #comedy #friendship #series #writing #creative writing #fanfiction #fanfic #fanfics #scenario #scenarios #hot wheels #first person #writeblr #hot wheels acceleracers

[mageicalwishes]

A Smashing Summer - Chapter 3

Read on AO3: here

Read the previous chapter (On Tumblr): here

Summary: “I’m egging your house for a dare, but you’re parent is a cop and now they’re yelling at me, so I told them you were my ex and you wronged me, and now you’re coming outside, so please just go along with this, I really don’t want to go to jail” AU When Simon Snow agreed to egg some posho’s house, he never thought he’d find himself here - The only thing standing between himself and a criminal charge, the word of a handsome stranger.

Chapter: 3/?

Words: 1,694

Simon

I slide down against the sofa, pulling my phone out of my pocket, with a smile.

ME (19:57): Hey, hey, hey, Bazaroo!

ME (19:57): I’m super glad you liked the scones! They’re my absolute faveee

ME (19:57): I’ll bring enough to share next time :)

ME (19:58): How are you today?

To my delight, my phone buzzes with a response, almost immediately.

BP (19:58): If you ever call me that again, I will block your number. I’m not even joking.

BP (19:58): And, I’m pretty good, thanks. Yourself?

ME (19:59): Aw :( Imma just have to keep trying different names till I find one you like, then :p

ME (19:59): I’m great! Had a pretty good day today :)

ME (20:00): Sorry I didn’t message earlier btw - It’s been a busy day! Me and the lads went into town and played some footie, and then I had to do some dumb history essay (Idk who told my history teacher she could set homework in the holidays, but I wanna fight them!)

ME (20:00): I fucking despise the Tudors. I mean, why the fuck would I care about socio-economic policies from like a million years ago! Grrrr!

BP (20:01): No worries, Snow. I understand.

BP (20:01): That is unfortunate - But, you got lucky with the Tudors, to be honest. I’d rather that, than the bloody Industrial Revolution. That is mind-numbingly dull!

BP (20:02): But, I hate to break it to you - If you think the Tudor dynasty was a million years ago, then maybe you should reconsider your subject choice. You’ll definitely fail the A-level, if that’s your level of understanding.

ME (20:03): Aha trueee. Sucks to be you :p

ME (20:03): And stfu!! I know it wasn’t actually a million years ago, you tosser! I was BEING dramatic - You should've realised, you know ALL about that, Mr. Roll-your-eyes-every-two-fucking-seconds.

BP (20:04): I’m unconvinced.

Stupidly, I scoff aloud - Drawing Nathan’s attention away from the television and over to me. He stands, trudging over, and plopping down onto the sofa besides me.

I groan, frustrated.

“What do you want?”

“Nothing. Nothing … Just wondering who you’re texting,” he drawls, the mocking amusement clear in his tone. “Got yourself a new girlfriend, or something?”

“No! I’m just talking to Penny,” I defend, my voice rising suspiciously. Fuck. I’m such a crap liar.

“You know, I know you’re lying, right?”

“Obviously,” I drone. “Just … Butt out of it, though, yeah? Please.”

“Alright, alright” he laughs, throwing his hands up in a mock surrender. “I’ll leave you be. But, if you wanna keep your little buddy a secret - I’d advise against laughing at their messages in the bloody common room, you divvy.”

“Noted,” I sigh, turning towards the door. “Don’t tell Josh though, yeah?”

“Sure, Simon. If that’s what you want, your secret is safe with me.”

“Cheers, mate.” I smile. “You’re the best.”

“I know, I know. I’m amazing. Just go and text them, you mug!”

I do (Obviously). Quickly jogging upstairs, and locking myself in the bathroom - Where I’m safely hidden from prying eyes. Laying myself down in the bathtub, I hammer out a reply, sending it off Baz immediately.

ME (20:13): Whatever, dickhead!!

ME (20:13): Also soz I didn’t answer. Nathan was being nosy lol.

ME (20:13): Anyway … You been up to much today?

Baz

Just as I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I won’t be receiving a response, my phone buzzes loudly against my bedside table - My chest swelling pathetically, as I reach out and grab it.

Typing out a response, I find myself smiling - Unbridled joy melting away my impassive neutrality.

ME (20:14): No worries, Snow. It’s not as though I’m just sitting here, desperately awaiting your every response. I do have a life outside of you, you know.

That's not exactly true ... But, he doesn’t need to know that.

ME (20:14): And, no, not really. I’ve mostly just been reading. I did try to teach Mordelia how to play chess, though - Which was fairly disastrous.

SS (20:15): Lol! Sounds good :)

SS (20:15): Who is Mordelia, though?

SS (20:15): Is that your girlfriend?

I stare at my phone, blankly - Trying to formulate a response.

ME (20:17): Seriously?

Barely a second after I've send it, my phone starts buzzing furiously - Message after message, pouring in.

SS (20:17): What?

SS (20:17): That’s a perfectly valid question!

SS (20:17): You haven’t mentioned anyone called Mordelia, I swear to God!

SS (20:18): I’d remember, for sure.

SS (20:18): It’s not exactly a common name

ME (20:19): I know that, Snow. I was referring to the girlfriend question!

ME (20:19): I thought that we had already established that, a girlfriend isn’t exactly on the cards for me - Given the whole fake ex-boyfriend situation.

SS (20:20): Bi people exist, you moron!

SS (20:20): I’m Bi. Lol.

SS (20:20): I didn’t wanna assume you were only into guys … Or that you were even really into them at all.

SS (20:21): You totally could’ve been Bi!

SS (20:21): Or straight! The whole ex-boyfriend thing was a lie, remember? - You could’ve just been a straight bro, pretending to be into dudes, to help me out.

SS (20:22): It aint a dumb question, really. So … Don’t be annoying!!

Oh. Okay.

Newly nervous, I begin typing out my response - Ensuring that I sound perfectly unphased.  

ME (20:22): Christ, Snow! You seriously have to stop sending so many texts in a row. My phone is going to have a meltdown, if you keep it up.

Hesitating slightly, I continue.

ME (20:23): But, you’re right. Sorry. I didn’t mean to make it to sound as though Gay and Straight were the only options. I could’ve been Bi … Or Straight, I suppose. But, to clarify - I’m definitely not. I’m gay.

ME (20:24): I guess that - Where I’ve known since I was eleven, and I stopped trying to hide it a while ago now, I sort of forget that it isn’t immediately apparent to everybody else. Everyone in my Family knows. Everyone at College, too. So, I just, sort of, forget that I can still be perceived as anything other than what I actually am.

SS (20:26): Hush you! I like multiple texts!! It’s easier to keep my track of my thoughts, like that. If I try to put it all in one text, I forget what I wanna say.

SS (20:26): And dw about it, it’s chill! I know you didn’t mean it like that, I was just teasing :)

SS (20:27): I get what you mean tho. Coming out was so scary … But now I sort of forget that not everybody knows. I just like to assume they do lol. It’s stopped being such a big thing, now that I can just, like, relax about it.

Unsure of how to respond, I type out a simple …

ME (20:28): Yeah.

SS (20:28): Yeah :)

SS (20:28): Seriously, tho. Who is Mordelia? You never actually answered me lol.

ME (20:29): She’s my little sister.

SS (20:30): Oh lol! That’s crazy! I didn’t think you had a sibling.

SS (20:30): You don’t give off doting big brother vibes.

SS (20:31): More like … Spoiled only child, ones. LOL! :D

SS (20:31): Is she your only sibling?

Unable to help myself, I chuckle, quietly.  

ME (20:32): Very funny, Snow. But I never said I was doting! I may be their brother, but I still have standards.

ME (20:33): And, no (Unfortunately). I have three more - Two sisters, and a brother. They’re my step-siblings technically, though. And they’re quite a bit younger than me. So, I was an only child for quite a long time.

SS (20:33): Cool!

SS (20:34): Do they all have stupidly posh names, too?

SS (20:34): And, do you like having siblings?

SS (20:35): I always wanted a brother, when I was little!

ME (20:36): Yes. Unfortunately, my family are incapable of picking normal names.

ME (20:37): And, yes. Most of the time, anyway. It’s nice to always have somebody to talk to - Or to play with (Although, I think I would’ve appreciated that more, if the age-gap wasn’t quite so wide). But, they do drive me up the wall, sometimes! Mordelia has taken to drawing all over my revision notes, recently - I’m sure you can imagine how I felt about that!

SS (20:40): Aw, yeah. That sounds nice!

SS (20:40): LMAO! THAT’S HILARIOUS! I feel bad for her tho … I’d hate to have your wrath turned on me! You'd probs make me cry lol.

ME (20:41): Yes, well. Despite what you think - My wrath was, evidently, not strong enough! She’s still bloody doing it!

SS (20:43): Aha lol! I like her! She sounds as stubborn as you.

————————————————————————————

A soft rap on the door, disturbs me from my conversation with Snow.

“Baz, Honey? Are you in there?” Daphne calls, her voice sweet and cautious.

“Yeah? You can open the door. It’s fine - I’m decent.”

“Okay,” she hums, pushing the door open slightly, and peeping her head in. “I just wanted to let you know that I'm about to start plating up dinner.”

“Alright,” I smile. “Thank you. I’ll be down in a minute.”

“Perfect. See you then,” she sings, turning and leaving the room.

Hastily, I rattle out a text to Snow.

ME (21:14): As much as I am enjoying this, I have to go now, Snow. Sorry.

SS (21:14): Aw :( How come?

ME (21:15): I’ve got to go and eat dinner.

SS (21:15): At nine ?!?

ME (21:16): Yes, Snow - At nine. I must compliment you on your time-telling abilities!  

ME (21:16): My Father insists that we eat dinner together as a family, but he was working late tonight … So, nine P.M steak it is.

SS (21:17): Aw fuck! You have steak! I’m well jel :(((

SS (21:17): But, okay, no worries! Hope you enjoy your dinner.

SS (21:18): TTYL :D

ME (21:18):  Will do! Talk to you later. Goodbye for now :)

#carry on #wayward son #snowbaz #snowbaz fic #simon snow #tyrannus basilton grimm pitch

[skepticraven]

Dear Trump Fans,

I keep hearing you say that Trump has done so much for America but you never elaborate on that, even when I ask you to. So, I’m asking again & my question is simple. What has he done that you think is so great? Aside from insulting people you don’t like, I just don’t see any achievements. This is what I do see:

-Trump didn't end the overseas wars like he promised. Instead, he got us involved in Syria. And he has nearly started a couple new wars with Iran & North Korea

- It seems you don't have your giant, waste-of-money wall. You have a small amount of fencing that anyone could cross should they want to. And Mexico won't EVER pay for it. Now, I’m fine with no wall but you shouldn’t be. 

- Trump is trying to cut the CDC budget by almost 20% amidst a pandemic. 

- Trump fired the pandemic response team last year.

- Trump is already saying he wants everyone back to work by Easter & all of the churches full on Easter- except every doctor & all his medically educated advisors are advising Trump against that. The cases of coronavirus are still increasing rapidly. Sending people back into such close proximity to one another will only inflame the problem, increasing the number of infected & dead tenfold.

-Trump has violated the emoluments clause of the constitution by failing to put his assets in a blind trust & thus is charging foreign leaders & American politicians inflated prices to stay at his hotels to win his favor & get private access to the president since he goes there all the time

- Trump is guilty of blatant nepotism. For example, he appointed Jared Kushner to negotiate peace in the middle east, handle diplomacy with China & Mexico, address the opioid epidemic, manage the wall construction process, etc. Jared isn't qualified for any of that, he only has that job because he bones Trump's daughter. Jared wouldn’t be qualified to manage a Pizza Hut. He was born rich and has done nothing but lose billions when he landed in his father job because his father went to prison for tax evasion, witness tampering, & illegal campaign contributions.

- Trump, who claims to be tough on terrorism, signed a multi-billion dollar weapons deal with Saudi Arabia RIGHT AFTER they murdered & dismembered an American journalist. Not to mention the genocide they were waging in Yemen. There is a reason that 80% of the 9/11 terrorist were from Saudi Arabia.

- Trump has eliminated funding for programs that work to de-radicalize people in extremist groups/organizations & help them escape that life.

- Trump cut his own taxes & that of his rich buddies & corporations BY 40%. Due to all the tax loopholes & shady financial dealings (like equity swapping or offshore tax havens) which the wealthiest Americans & corporations do, they already historically weren't paying anywhere near the marginal tax rate they should be on paper. Trump cut the corporate marginal tax rate from 35% to 21%. So after the loopholes & their shady bullshit, they're very likely paying a lower effective tax rate than you are. Thanks to Trump, many paid no income taxes at all in 2018 like Amazon, Netflix, Chevron, IBM, Delta Airlines, General Motors, Whirlpool, Goodyear Tires, etc.

-Trump promised to reduce the deficit but he has actually raised it by a lot. When you decrease the amount of taxes coming in that drastically & you increase government spending that much, the deficit is going to increase. The Caronavirus situation has only exacerbated that problem but the problem was already there.

-Trump pulled out of the Iran deal, solely because Obama did it. And Mr. Art of the Deal did not even try to negotiate a new deal. 

- This great healthcare Trump promised hasn't happened. Less people have insurance now than when Trump first took office. Drug prices have only gone up. There have be cuts to Medicaid as well.

-Trump appointed a judge who clearly lied to congress & whom likely sexually assaulted someone. Why Trump did not pick a different conservative judge to nominate, I will never understand.

- Trump cut all the social safety net programs that help the poor & disabled: SSI Disability, Food Stamps, Medicaid, HUD, etc.

- Like it or not, Trump was technically impeached. He just wasn’t removed from office by the Senate because there are a bunch of scared Republicans who are too scared to do or say anything against Trump. Tribalism saved him. That’s it. Because he admitted on national television that he talked about Biden & his son on that phone call- you can even see the exact moment when he realizes he shouldn’t have said that. So, he did do what he was accused of.

-His administration is a revolving door of hiring & firing/quitting. Trump said he knew the best people so why would he need to fire so many of them? Think about how many people have come & gone. These are just some of the big names who left the administration but there are WAY MORE than I am listing: Rex Tillerson, Mike Pompeo, Scott Pruitt, Steve Bannon, John Bolton, Jeff Sessions, John Kelly, Anthony Scaramucci, Reince Priebus, Sean Spicer,  Sarah Sanders, James Mattis, Rick Perry, Nikki Haley, Dan Coats, Alexander Acosta, Scott Gottlieb, Bill Shine, Tom Price,  H.R. McMaster, Ryan Zinke, Mick Mulvaney, James Comey,  Sebastian Gorka, Omarosa Newman, Gary Cohn, Don McGahn, Rod Rosenstein, Michael Flynn, Sally Yates, Tom Homan, Ty Cobb, Tom Bossert, K.T. McFarland, Rob Porter, Dina Powell, Rick Dearborn, Matthew Whittaker, Ezra Cohen-Watnick, Hope Hicks, Brenda Firtzgerald, Rob Snyder, Michael Dubke, Sean Doocey, etc.

-This is kind of a minor point but it does illustrate Trump’s hypocrisy.  Trump criticized Obama for golfing so much & then Trump turns around & plays 2.6 times more golf than Obama in his first 2 years and 91 days & has cost the tax payer an estimated $74 million more than Obama. 

- Does it ever embarrass you how little Trump knows about anything? Ever notice how he never goes in depth talking about anything? Its all vague because he doesn’t know enough about healthcare or the Iran Deal or climate change to address it in any kind of depth. You still see that idiocy spill out regardles. During an interview for SiriusXM’s P.O.T.U.S. channel, Trump said that former President Andrew Jackson was angry about the Civil War. The only problem is, Jackson couldn’t have been angry about the war. He died in 1845. The Civil War was in 1861. Another example would be during a call with Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, Trump claimed Canada burned down the White House during the War of 1812. Canada didn’t exist as a country until 1867. That was the British... Trump also claimed General John J. Pershing dealt with Muslim terrorists by shooting them with bullets dipped in pig’s blood. That did not happen. The story began circulating the internet around the September 11 terrorist attacks. Apparently Trump believed it was factual, talking about it during his 2016 presidential campaign & again after a terror attack in Barcelona. Then, speaking to the conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, Trump confused the Quds Force, a unit of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, with the Kurds, the minority group battling ISIS in northern Iraq (who he would later abandoned). Maybe that confusion could be forgiven for an average Joe but if you’ president, you need to know stuff like that (especially given the region these two groups are in). Hence why most presidents study political science, law, or economics in college or at least, they bother to read up on this stuff. But Trump doesn’t really read. The only book he claims to have read was a biography about Andrew Jackson whom, he thought was mad about a war that happened 16 years after his death & he also seems to have missed the whole Trail of Tears thing.

-  By pulling out of the Iran Nuclear Deal & the Paris Climate Accord, Trump has isolated us from our allies. Our word means nothing anymore. And who can blame them for being pissed? Whether Iran has a nuclear weapon effect more than just us. Given the size of our nation, our refusal to take the looming threat of climate change seriously is a detriment to the entire world that can & likely will have devastating consequences for everyone. Furthermore, Trump trash talks our closest allies & has placed tariffs on nearly all of them. For example:

AUSTRALIA: Shortly after taking office, Trump reportedly berated then-Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull over an agreement between the U.S. and Australia involving refugee resettlement. 

CANADA: Trump also attacked Canadian President Justin Trudeau as “meek, mild, dishonest, & weak” during a conversation on trade at the G7 summit in 2018. He also threatened to withhold the U.S.’s signature from a joint communique from the meeting over the feud. Trudeau he also found it “insulting” that tariffs were placed on Canada under a rarely invoked law that allows levies to be placed on a country in the interest of national security. Since when is Canada a national security threat? 

DENMARK: Trump also went after Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen after she refused to sell him Greenland. She called the idea “absurd,” & Trump referred to her as “nasty & inappropriate.” The people that live there don’t want to become American. You can’t just buy a country on whim. Greenland belongs to Denmark but its semi-autonomous. 

FRANCE: Trump threatened to slap tariffs on French wine & called French President Emmanuel Macron “foolish” after he signed a digital services tax on tech companies making at least 750 MILLION EUROS annually, a figure which meant U.S.-based tech giants like Apple, Google, Facebook & Amazon would be included. 

GERMANY: Trump has had a particularly tumultuous relationship with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The president has repeatedly threatened Germany with auto tariffs, saying if companies like BMW and Mercedes wanted to sell cars in the U.S., they should build them in the country. German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday criticized President Donald Trump's tweets about four Democratic congresswomen of color telling them to go back to where they came from. She said that the president's tweets contradict "the strength of America." "I distance myself firmly from this & feel solidarity with the women who were attacked," Merkel said. (Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau also criticized Trump for the same thing).

JAPAN: Trump has lamented the U.S.’s responsibility to defend Japan if attacked, saying the alliance between Washington & Tokyo is uneven. Trump has also threatened Japan with auto tariffs, though it announced in May it was delaying any levies for six months. 

MEXICO: President Trump has repeatedly torn into Mexico, slamming it on trade but focusing much of his ire on the country over immigration. Trump has threatened America’s southern neighbor with tariffs over its alleged inaction in working to stem the flow of undocumented migrants in the U.S. And let’s face it, he doesn’t exactly talk about the Mexican people in the nicest way and stroked racial tensions.

SWEDEN: President Trump feuded with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven after American rapper A$AP Rocky was detained in Sweden & charged with assault following a June incident in Stockholm. Apparently Kanye West told Trump about it. 🙄 The rapper was ultimately released in & returned to the U.S AFTER he was convicted & had to pay a fine (plus time served).

UNITED KINGDOM: While Trump has bashed the United Kingdom over trade practices, threatening tariffs on one of the U.S.’s closest allies to rectify what he sees as an imbalance, he has directed much of his criticism toward the country’s handling of Brexit. He also attacked the UK's National Health Service, claiming it is "going broke & not working." That’s not true but its not really his business either way. Trump is so disliked in the UK that at one point, 75,000 protestors gathered in central London’s Trafalgar Square to protest U.S. President Trump’s visit to the U.K

SOUTH KOREA: The Trump administration is reportedly demanding South Korea pay 400% more for U.S. troops in the region- despite the fact that having a base in South Korea is essential as much for us as it is for them. We need a base near North Korea should we ever have to attack. Maybe raising it some is reasonable but raising anything 400% overnight is a little absurd.

I see failure & corruption in Trump. I see a danger to America. Feel free to try to change my mind.

#politics #conservative #liberal #democrats #republicans #explain #political blog #PoliticalQuestions #potus #potustrump #failure