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marmolady · 3 years

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New Horizons

Main Pairings: Estela x (f)MC, Graleister

Summary: Endless Ending. Liv and Reggie are starting school in San Trobida. Notes at the end!

Word Count: 9695

Chronology: After 'Growing Pains', before 'How the time escapes me...'

Tagging: @saivilo, @edgydepressedchoicesthot, @sceptilemasterr, @greengroove @mauvecatfic

Thanks for reading!

San Trobida, July 2035

“Hey, Auntie Grace!”

Reggie looked up from his book at the sound of his cousin’s voice, and hastily placed aside his shiny new copy of ‘A Guide to San Trobidan History’ so he could rush out into the hallway.

Grace was already wrapping Liv in a hug. “Hello, sweetheart.” She kissed the side of her niece’s head, before her eyes wandered down to a bloodied knee. “Did you have a mishap on your bike on the way here?”

“Yeah… I clipped the kerb and crashed,” Liv said, offering her aunt a better view of her wound. As she heard Reggie’s footsteps, she looked up to meet his eye and smiled.

“Youch!” Reggie offered sympathetically as he came close enough to peer over Liv’s grazed knee.

Liv shrugged. “I’ve had worse.”

Grace, though, was more concerned. “Are you sure you didn’t hit your head when you fell?”

“No, just scraped my knee. It does actually sting a bit.”

“Hmm. Well, I think we’d better put some anti-septic that knee just to be safe.”

The new house was a mess. Boxes and misplaced furniture filled every room, and the twins-- six years old-- had been making forts with the packing boxes that had been emptied so far. The family had been in the house for just over a day, and some good progress had already been made. There had been a lot that had been left behind. Neither Aleister nor Grace put too much value on material possessions, so most of what had come with them and the children to their new home in San Trobida had been essential furniture, and the mountains of photo albums and memorabilia from a life with the kids.

Grace sat Liv down on a wooden ottoman, and, after a little bit of rummaging, found the first aid kit.

“Okay, this might hurt just a little,” she said gently, and she carefully dabbed Liv’s graze.

Liv yelped, “Fuck!”, causing Reggie to gasp, looking to his mother for a reaction, and Erin and Immy to burst out giggling from inside their box-fort.

Grace raised an eyebrow, but her warm smile didn’t shift. “It stings that much?”

“Yeah…,” Liv said, flushing a little. “Sorry about the language.”

“I’m sure I didn’t hear a thing.”

There was the usual bustling around as Aleister got the girls into their shoes; Immy and Erin had decided that swapping one shoe with one another was the peak of humour, but eventually, their father managed to get them each into a left and a right-- even if they didn’t match. Six-and-a-half-year-old sisters, Reggie had come to realise, made just about everything more of a headache than necessary.

Eventually, though, they were on their way. His mom and dad, walking beside the twins as they pootled along on their bicycles, had the address, but Reggie rode ahead with Liv, taking her lead as she zig-zagged through the streets of Valle Brava. Having only set foot on San Trobidan soil as a new resident some twenty-four hours ago, everything aspect of his environment set his senses alight. This wasn’t like being back in America. Perhaps it was the tropical climate, but he was reminded much more of La Huerta-- of home. Liv certainly seemed right at home here. She and her mothers had settled a few weeks before, and Liv had been coming here pretty much all her life. There were just a few blocks between their respective houses, and the wide cycle paths along the bitumen roads made for an easy journey. This, Reggie had been told, was a newly developed area; much had been re-built since the war he knew his Tia Estela had been involved in. The cycle paths ended as they came nearer to Liv’s place, a little way out of the main township. The foliage on either side of the road became thicker, and there was less street noise, more birdsong.

“Beat you!” Liv announced as she planted her feet into the ground, forcing her bicycle to a stop.

Reggie grumbled, pulling up beside his cousin in front of a humble bungalow-style house with outer walls a vibrant azure blue against yellow accents. The sound of a dog barking-- unmistakably Liv’s Robin, was further confirmation they’d arrived. “You didn’t beat me, Livia. I was following you. I didn’t even know where we were going.”

“Jeez, dude. No one likes a sore loser….”

“I am not a--!”

The door swung open.

“Reggie!” Taylor wasted no time in sweeping her nephew into a hug. “It’s so good to see you! I can’t believe you still have the energy for cycling over here-- didn’t you move house, like, yesterday?”

Reggie laughed. “Hi, Auntie Taylor!” There was something about seeing a familiar face in this new environment that made the pieces seem to click into place. Family made it home. “I’m a little bit tired but mostly just excited. I did sleep in today, so I guess I won’t crash until later.” His sisters on the other hand… there was no way they’d last the evening without overtiredness rearing its ugly head.

“I’m guessing your mom and dad are on their way with the girls?”

“Yeah,” said Liv, “but they’re pretty slow. I don’t have to wait to give Reggie the grand tour, do I?”

“Knock yourself out, kid. Hang on, Liv? Walk your bike through the house, please.”

“I was gonna!”

Reggie could only smirk. Like hell you were….

“Aaaand,” Liv finished off with a flourish, “this is my room!” She opened the door to a good-sized bedroom. It seemed to Reggie that what floor-space wasn’t taken up by the bed was piled up with boxes.

“I mean, I can’t say the mess wasn’t a clue.”

Liv gave her cousin a look as she flopped into her bed. “Hey-- moving house is hard. You’ll see soon enough. You get started all excited, but once you start living your life, you kinda get… stuck. Mama Taylor says we’re going to just blitz it all next weekend, and throw ourselves a pizza party as a reward.”

Reggie got up onto the bed and crossed his legs. “Do you like it here?”

“I love it here! I always liked coming here when I was little, so I guess it doesn’t feel like something completely different. I reckon my tio abuelo is over the moon that we’re here for good; it’s like I’ve got a grandparent now.” Liv’s cheeks flushed pink, and she glanced away.

Understanding, Reggie nodded. Together, they’d grown up in a family that didn’t take the traditional shape. There were some things that simply couldn’t be explained to other friends; like why Reggie’s grandma could help him with his homework, but could never come in for grandparents’ day, and why Liv had a whole side of the family with no grandparents at all-- not even dead ones.

“And,” Liv continued, “people don’t really look at my Mama Estela funny. I noticed that years ago. I guess ‘cause of the war, people don’t look twice at someone who’s maybe a little bit banged-up. I got so sick of it back in America. Every time we met someone new, they’d put on that ‘God, what happened?’ face. Maybe Mom doesn’t want to explain the whole ‘revolutionary in a civil war’ thing to every random person who can’t mind their own business. Some people have scars-- big freaking deal. It’s better here.”

“Yeah, that would be a nice change. The amount of times I’ve seen you and Auntie Taylor look at a nosy idiot like you want to deck ‘em--”

Liv burst out laughing. “True, that.”

The sound of excited barking rang out from the backyard. It seemed pretty likely to Reggie that his parents and sisters had just arrived. When he and Liv arrived in the backyard, Erin had already joined Estela at the barbecue, desperate to be involved, while Immy was passionately talking to Nicolas about goodness-knows-what. Reggie made a mental note to rescue him in a few minutes; that kid could be intense, and the poor old guy had come out here for a relaxing lunch with his niece.

Nicely, but firmly, Reggie nudged the wriggling, writhing form of Robin the dog to the side so he could join his mother and Auntie Taylor at the large alfresco table under the porch. And Robin returned to his favoured position at the feet of the barbecue-- Erin was just a kid, surely, she’d drop something….

“Do you need a hand with the salads?” Reggie asked as he greeted his mother with a hug. He’d been seeking a lot of those. With so much changing, familial comfort meant a lot, and he wasn’t ashamed to admit it.

Perhaps more than anything, though, he was grateful to have Liv by his side. It was the way it had always been; from their toddler days on La Huerta, through elementary school, to their adventures in home-schooling. Some things might change-- some things might change immeasurably-- but he always had his cousin.

___________________________

La Huerta, 2028

Liv yelled out as she splashed down into the shallow surf. “Reggie!”

“I got her, Xiraana!” Reggie cried, and soon he was joined by a young Vaanti girl, who helped restrain their victim.

“No, no!” Liv squealed as she struggled. Vaanti kids, she’d long ago realised, were strong. “You’ll never take me alive!”

“Five-- four--- three….” Xiraana counted down, not letting Liv out of her grasp.

“Two-- one!” Reggie finished triumphantly, and he let his cousin fall unceremoniously back into the water. “The klaawyi ate all the meat off your bones. You’re one of us now!”

Liv pouted, but admitted defeat. It wasn’t the worst thing that could happen; she was pretty good on Team Klaawyi anyway. Or, she would have been… had she not seen the figure of her favourite uncle descending onto the beach from the great tree of Elyys’tel.

“Tio Diegoooooo! Hiiiii!” Liv ran across the sand, almost tripping in her desperation to reach him.

“Hey, Livia!” Reggie cried out, indignant at being suddenly abandoned. “You’re meant to help us catch them!”

But Diego had crouched down to wrap Liv in a hug, and Reggie might as well be talking to a pile of rocks for all that was being absorbed.

“Tio, they got me! Reggie and Xiraana got me, and now I’m a klaawyi!”

“You?” Diego laughed. “You’re no klaawyi-- I’ve never seen a klaawyi that was ticklish!”

“Wha--?” Oh no. Once again, Liv was shrieking with mirth, this time dodging the tickling hands of her tio.

Still standing in the shallows, Reggie stomped his foot, which achieved little but splashing himself in the face. The game went on without them; games of Klaawyi Chase didn’t stop for anyone. The usual fun on the beaches outside Elyys’tel would go on like this every day… whether Reggie and Liv were there to join in or not. And Reggie didn’t want to miss out now.

“Come on, Livia!”

She just shook her head, not letting her adoring gaze up at Diego slip for so much as a heartbeat. “Nah,” she said. “I’m done.”

Torn, knowing that whichever direction he ran in, he’d lose out on precious time with friends, Reggie admitted defeat and rushed back to Liv’s side on the shore. He looked back over his shoulder and waved goodbye-- for what he’d been told would likely be a long, long time. Engrossed in their game, his friends gave just the most fleeting of farewells before continuing to race through the small waves that lapped the beach.

Liv, in contrast, had eyes only for her tio. She clasped his hand tightly; if she held on tight enough, perhaps he’d have no choice but to come with her to wherever her mothers were taking her in the big aeroplane.

Where exactly she was going, Liv didn’t quite understand. It was away from La Huerta, but they weren’t going back to live with Tio Nicolas, they were going… someplace else. Someplace with no Tio Diego and Varyyn, where all the other kids would be boring shades of pink and brown rather than blue and green, and where no one knew about the yeti-bear, or the magic crystal alien that made her mom, or about The Story of the Year the World Stopped.

“I want you to come, Tio Diego…,” Liv softly beseeched.

Diego’s eyes grew misty, her earnest words having tipped him over the edge after what had been a long period of emotional build-up. Goodbyes were never easy, and Liv’s family was his family. He squeezed her little hand gently.

“I’ll visit you, Livi-- I promise. Cross my heart. And your mommies will bring you over to visit us here too; you are going to learn so many new games at school that you can teach Xiraana and the other kids.”

“But I’ll miss you…”

Having rejoined Liv, Reggie peered up at Diego’s teary face with concern. “Diego, you’re making your glasses all foggy.”

“Ha. I know, I know!” Diego wiped his eyes. “You might have a point there, Reggie; I want to spend this last night with you guys actually being able to see you!”

Liv giggled and wrapped her arms around her uncle’s legs, only to be peeled off and hoisted into the air. “We can still have fun until bedtime, can’t we? Will you tell us a story?”

On the ground, Reggie danced around, his arms waving. Diego-time was the best story-time.

In the arms of her tio, her playmate since she was a baby bouncing on his knee, Liv was a mess of emotions; of fear and excitement, of merriment that competed with the looming sorrow. It was more than her little self had a clue what to do with. She was only five.

Sensing his cousin’s turmoil, Reggie reached up a hand and took hold of Liv’s, hanging down by Diego’s side. “Don’t worry, Livia! If you worry, you won’t enjoy story-time.”

Liv stuck out her bottom lip. That little nerd-face could be pretty smart sometimes. Tomorrow night, there would be no goodnight story from Tio Diego, but tomorrow night was not now-- now, everything was as it should be. Her wavering grin returned, and to her delight, it brought matching smiles to the faces of her companions.

“Do you think Varyyn, and my mommies, and Auntie Grace and Uncle Alli, and Auntie Grace’s tummy babies want to listen to the story too?”

“Yeah,” Diego said, letting Liv back down to the ground, where she immediately found another hug in Reggie’s arms, “I think everyone would really like that.”

_____________________________

San Trobida, August 2035

“I don’t get it,” Liv said thoughtfully, as the car rolled right on past the turn for her Auntie Grace and Uncle Al’s place. “It’s right on the way; wouldn’t it have been easier for us to pick up Reggie?”

“Hon,” Taylor replied, “I think Reggie wanted his mom and dad to take him to orientation. They’ll probably be better at helping with his jitters than we would be.”

“I guess.” Liv looked out the window, watching the surrounding vegetation thicken once more as the car followed the road up out of the valley. “Orientation Day shouldn’t be too bad, right? Just, like, meeting our teachers, learning where stuff is, that kinda thing?” And you’ll have to try and make friends. That would be a laugh.

By the time they pulled up at the Las Selvas Secondary School, however, Liv fully understood her cousin’s nerves, and realised that was probably why she’d been so disappointed that he didn’t share a car with her. Through every big change in their young lives, his presence had been a reassuring constant.

“Uggghh,” she groaned. “Can I change my mind? Home-schooling was all right; more of that, please.”

Estela leaned from the front seat and gave Liv’s knee a squeeze. “You know, I don’t think he’d ever say it, but I’m pretty sure Reggie would be really scared if he had to walk into this without you. Besides, you were so excited about starting here; you owe it to yourself to at least giving it a shot.”

Again, Liv groaned, this time even louder. “It’s so annoying when you’re right.”

“Story of my life,” Taylor laughed, while Estela smirked.

When they pulled up at the school, Reggie was already waiting, standing beside the car-park while his parents fussed over him.

“You have your phone?” Grace quizzed, checking for the fourth time since they’d set off.

“I told you, yes!” Reggie replied, and he pulled his phone out of his pocket to wave around for good measure. “I’ll send you a message when I’m ready to be picked up, I promise.”

“In that case, you just have a wonderful time, darling.” She wrapped him in a hug-- already Reggie was easily as tall as her. “Go well, and have fun.”

Liv rushed over, all smiles. Her own nerves were a whole lot less bothersome when she had the distraction of friendly faces.

There were a few more rounds of hugs exchanged-- and then, suddenly, Liv and Reggie were on their own.

“You wanna head over? Looks like people are already crowding around-- it’s probably gonna start soon.”

Reggie’s expression brightened, as if he’d been just waiting for a little push for his confidence to surge back forth. “Well, it will hardly be an auspicious start here if we miss the principal’s address. Get a move on, Livia!”

The morning passed relatively quickly. Liv placed herself next to Reggie at all times-- they’d been put in the same Grade Seven home room as requested, making him one of the eldest in the class, and her one of the youngest. The whole set-up wasn’t entirely different to the school they were accustomed to, other than the bilingual approach. They were given a small pile of boring paperwork, and outlines of what to expect in their new classes; as English was their first language, they’d be taking ‘Spanish as a Second Language’, and Liv was also excited about ‘Nature Studies’, a subject she’d never been offered in America.

As far as Liv was concerned, the most traumatic part of the session was being expected to stand up in front of a room of strangers and give a short spiel about themselves. The perfect opportunity to officially balls-up any chance they might have of making new friends, or at least that was how she saw it. She mumbled down into her chest; something about enjoying hiking and gymnastics, something about liking Batman, and animals, and then she hurriedly sat right back down with flaming cheeks. Reggie, she observed, handled the brief foray into public speaking with rather more poise. Even though he was shy-- perhaps even more than she was-- he seemed able to go into ‘school presentation’ mode, and breeze through. When he sat back down, though, his hands were shaking-- but that was for the eyes of his trusted friend only.

When the lunch break came along, Liv was ravenous; a new and challenging social situation could do that to a person. While Reggie sloped off to the bathrooms, she tested out the school canteen, emerging a little while later with a hot empanada. It wasn’t quite as good as her Mama Estela’s, but it was definitely a step up from what was on offer at her old school. Maybe she could get used to this place….

Liv watched this new world go by all around her as she ate, cross-legged beneath the tree she’d told her cousin to meet her by. Kids moved in their little circles, talking loudly, laughing. Most of them coming into Grade Seven had come from the local primary school, and many knew each-other. Liv and Reggie would be starting out on the outside… and that was daunting. She could not be more grateful that she wasn’t taking this on alone.

Or… at least, she shouldn’t be. The lunchtime queue moved on, the gaggles of kids spread out, and still Reggie hadn’t returned.

Damn, constipated on your first day. Sucks to be you, Reggie.

Tentatively, Liv approached the boys’ bathroom and, having ascertained that no one was watching, slipped in. Her footsteps were unheard, drowned out by the loud, frantic breathing of young Reggie, slumped over the sink. Alarmed, Liv rushed over. Tears were spilling down his cheeks.

“Reggie… it’s okay,” she said gently. A little unsure, she reached out a hand to rub his back, and to her surprise, he didn’t flinch away. Slowly, he seemed to regain control of himself.

“Liv…,” Reggie panted. “You know you’re not meant to be in here; this is the guys’ room.”

“Hey! Like it’s my fault you didn’t take your anxiety attack into the unisex bathroom. That’s on you.” Hmph. Ungrateful, much?

Reggie scowled, and dragged his cousin out of the toilet block by her arm. He slumped down by the wall, and scooched over to encourage her to join him.

“You’re a pain in the arse.” He was still shaking.

“It’s been said, yeah.” Liv huddled a little closer. “You don’t need to worry, okay? You’re not going to have any trouble making friends. Did you see they’ve got a chess club, and a photography club as well? At least that’ll get you talking to people.”

“That’s,” Reggie said quietly, “not exactly what I’m worried about.” When Liv looked at him expectantly, he continued. “When I was in a room with all those kids, my head just went back to being at our old school… and what happened. I know this place is meant to be progressive and all that, but that doesn’t mean that everyone’s okay. What if I think I’ve made friends with someone, and they find out about Erin, and they make it a big thing, and then some arsehole finds out….”

“Man, you’re really spiraling,” Liv observed, not especially helpfully. She wasn’t exactly surprised by what was troubling her cousin; getting into a fight in defense of his young transgender sister had completely unseated Reggie from the comfortable life he’d had at the last school. It had changed everything.

“You would too, if she was your sister!”

“Probably. But I think you should at least give people a go. It sounds like they’re really strict on any kind of bullying against minorities. Swinging back hard in the opposite direction after that fascist dictatorship.”

“Those are some awfully big words for you to be throwing around there, Livia; watch you don’t hurt yourself….”

“Hey! I know my stuff!” Liv demanded. “Do you think my tio abuelo would have it any other way? But anyway, I’m right. All the people who didn’t fit in before have come to this part of the country. Probably a lot of the kids have parents who saw really horrible things in the war; they wouldn’t want to send them somewhere that was bad like before. My Mama ‘Stel gave the principal the grilling of her life, and I bet she hasn’t been the only one. People are gonna want to make sure their kids are being looked after.”

A smile quirked on Reggie’s face as he imagined his aunt on a school tour. “I bet Tia Estela left Principal Sanchez quivering under the desk.”

“Yeah… after what happened in the last school, there’s no way they’d let us go anywhere unless they were sure it was a place that treated people right.”

Reggie knew that much. But his parents, and even his fierce aunt, could not shield himself, his sisters and his cousin, from everything. He contemplated silently, grateful for the patient companionship.

“I guess,” he said at last, “if no one gave anyone else a chance to be anything but the worst, then we’d be pretty lonely.”

“Yup. We should at least give it a shot. And if it all goes in the crapper, I’ll sic my moms on the fools that mess with us. And the freaking yeti.”

Reggie couldn’t help but roll his eyes. That had always been Liv’s answer to everything. “Livia, I hate to break it to you, but if you go around threatening people with yetis, everyone’s gonna think you’ve got a screw loose. Except me; I know you’ve got a screw loose.”

“So damn rude,” Liv growled. “Anyway, you really should eat something. It probably won’t help you feeling crap and light-headed if you’ve got an empty stomach. They’ve got arepas!”

“...I could eat an arepa,” Reggie admitted. There was only so much a young boy of thirteen could control; he couldn’t wave a magic wand and guarantee that his little sister would never be hurt by cruel, ignorant words, but he could look after himself, so that he was the best him he could be-- and the best brother.

_____________________________

USA, 2028

“You did a great job, sweetheart,” Taylor said kindly as Reggie delicately placed his knife and fork atop his small plastic plate, signaling that he’d finished. Immediately afterwards, the little boy’s small hand had dropped to his side to get a reassuring touch of his teddy’s scruffy fur. “It was nice of Big Bear to join us for dinner. Does he like lasagna as much as you do?”

Reggie yawned widely as he nodded to his aunt. He hadn’t known it was possible for a kid to be so full of yawns, but living with newborn twins had shown him just how big a tired feeling could be. “Big Bear likes to watch from the floor.”

“That’s nice of him to let you have the whole plate for yourself. We’re gonna have plenty to bring over to your mommy and daddy for them to eat tomorrow.”

Lasagna had been Reggie’s choice. This whole sleepover was to be all about him; giving him a welcome break from the stresses of being a new big brother to two babies at once. He’d been on many, many sleepovers at Tia Estela and Auntie Taylor’s place before, but this time felt different. Reggie knew that at home, his parents were busy with their other children… and in his sensitive state, it took no time at all for him to miss them.

Twins, Reggie had come to realise, were very hard work. They cried a lot… and his mommy cried a lot, and his daddy cried a lot, and he cried a lot. All crying and no sleeping was not a whole lot of fun. Reggie wanted so badly to get away from the babies, but at the same time he longed to be with his parents. However much fun it was to take a break at his aunts’ place, the worry in him just wouldn’t go away.

Side-by-side, he and Liv changed into their pyjamas. Five-year-old Liv, true to form, nattered away to him the whole time. Babies, of course, were the subject of choice.

“My moms say we’re probably not gonna get another baby. Maybe ‘cos you have two I can borrow one if I get lonely. Do you have one that you like best?”

Reggie shrugged.

“Maybe next time your mom and dad will have three. You could have all these babies like a baby army, and if someone’s ever mean to you, you will have like a hundred poopy diapers you can throw at them. No one likes poop.”

“I don’t want lots more babies,” Reggie said softly. I want no more.

“If you don’t like babies, you can come and live with us forever!” Liv suggested brightly, oblivious the the wobble of her cousin’s bottom lip.

When Estela popped her head around the corner to check on the kids, Reggie was in tears and Liv looked totally bewildered.

“Mommy, Reggie’s crying…,” she pointed out, rather unnecessarily, for her mother had already scooped the little boy into a cuddle.

“It’s okay, mijo,” Estela soothed as she gently rocked her nephew in her arms. “It’s okay to cry. This has been really hard. You know what? You have been such a good boy for Mommy and Daddy.”

Liv, not quite sure what to do, but nothing if not well-meaning, draped herself over Reggie and patted him on the back. “There, there. It’s okay.”

Estela took Reggie into the lounge room for some cheer-up time, and Liv took Big Bear. Taylor quickly joined them, and pulled Reggie into her lap for a cuddle.

“Are you feeling a bit sad, sweetpea?”

Reggie nodded. “Uh-huh. I liked it better how things were before. Everything’s different.”

Taylor gently rubbed the little boy’s arms. “Change can be really tough. It’s like you’ve got to figure out how life works all over again!”

“Yeah, it’s not nice.”

“So, it’s okay to have a good cry. We will give you as many hugs and cuddles as you need.”

“Reggie,” Liv piped up, “do you wanna play a game? That could make you feel happy?”

Reggie sniffed and nodded again. Pleased-- she had this cheering-up business down-- Liv plonked herself in Estela’s lap and leaned forward to her cousin.

“Do you wanna play… ‘Klaawyi Chase’?”

Estela intervened quickly. “Maybe something with a little less running around. It’s nearly bedtime, Livi.”

“Okay. Ummmm…. ‘Duck, Duck, Goose’?”

“Livita.”

Well, you’re no fun. Liv gave a soft huff and pondered. By her best guess, ‘Hide and Seek’ would be a ‘no’ too… especially as last time she’d hid, no one managed to find her for a full hour.

“How about,” Taylor suggested, “we have a game of ‘Fortunately-Unfortunately’?”

“I wanna play that one!” Reggie said enthusiastically. “Can I start? Fortunately, we all had ice cream for dessert.”

Liv bounced in her mother’s lap. “Unfortunately, the ice cream was smelly-feet flavour!”

“Livi!” Taylor exclaimed, rolling her eyes. Why was everything smelly-feet with that kid? “Okay, then-- fortunately, Robin Dog likes smelly-feet, so he ate all the ice cream for us.”

“Oh!” Liv cried. “I’ve got a really good one!” Hehe, Robin with smelly-feet farts….

“Unfortunately,” said Estela. “It was Mama Estela’s turn, and Miss Livita just had to wait.”

Liv turned and poked her tongue out at her mom, making Reggie giggle. He snuggled in against his Auntie Taylor’s chest, his mind far away from worries about his new role as big brother to a pair of very needy twins.

“Fortunately,” he said, smiling, “Furball was visiting, and he made us some new ice cream with no yucky flavours in it.”

“Unfortunately….”

_________________________

San Trobida, September 2035

It was the last weekend before school started, and a lazy warm day at the Montoya house. Estela was up a tree, hammering boards into what would soon be a playhouse for the kids. She’d already finished up a two-storey-high climbing wall on the other side of the yard, which, at Liv’s request, would eventually be connected to the new tree-house by a zipline. Then, there’d be a slide, and monkey bars, and a tyre swing, and a fire pole. Basically, Estela had made it her mission to put together the best backyard playground on the Costa Libertad. Taylor, meanwhile, had been busying herself with a vegetable garden, with the help of a fascinated Erin and her parents, who turned out to be quite clever when it came to soil chemistry.

Liv had been up and down her new climbing wall like a yo-yo, leaving her dog, Robin, running rings around the base and all but tripping Reggie up as he tentatively took his first steps towards ascending.

“Are you coming?”

“I’m trying! Your dog’s getting in the way.”

Eventually, Reggie managed to clamber his way up, with a little help from Liv who hauled him over the top.

“See; piece of cake.”

Reggie couldn’t quite agree, and now that he was up twenty feet, he was already dreading his descent back to solid ground. Keen to distract himself from the dizzying height, he passed Liv the rope that he’d carried slung across his shoulders.

“What do you want me to do with it?” she demanded. “You’re meant to drop one end back down….”

“I’m not going near the edge!”

“Fine. Immy! You down there still?”

On the ground, and trying to wrestle a squeaky toy giraffe from Robin’s mouth, Immy craned her neck up.

“Yeah-- but you’re lucky I am, Reggie was so slow.”

“Careful. I was careful. You should bloody well try it sometime.”

Immy rolled her eyes dramatically, but nonetheless took the rope end that Liv had lowered to her, and ran it over to Estela so the distance could be measured.

“There we go,” Liv said, after having marked the rope at the edge of the platform. “Done. Reggie, if you’re just going to look down, you might as well be on the ground. Come on-- check out the view!”

Begrudgingly, Reggie sat up properly and looked around.

“Woah.” Maybe he could see the appeal of being up so high, even if he was immensely grateful for the safety rails around the platform. “You really can see everything up here.”

“Isn’t it cool?” Liv beamed as she pointed her cousin towards the paddock behind the yard. “You wanted to see our horse? Right in there at the side of the sheltery-shed thing….”

“Oh, wow! Okay, fine, I believe you now. I guess she was just hiding earlier.”

“That’s Miel. She’s like, older than dirt; Mama Estela used to ride her when she was a teenager.”

“And she’s still alive?”

“Just about. I think she’s uh… nearly thirty? Pretty ancient. Mom found out she was all on her own after her friend died, and she bought her so she could retire here with us. She’s kind of a bitey asshole. Uh, the horse-- not Mom.” Liv quickly amended, glancing to the in-progress tree-house. “So, we’re keeping her, and if she wants to make friends with the new horses we’re getting, she can, otherwise at least she can, like, neigh rude horse words at them from over the fence.”

Reggie snorted. Weirdo.

“I’m super excited. I know Mama ‘Stel was kind of nervous about us moving over here because of how things were when she was a kid-- but it actually… feels nice. I love our new house. I love cranky Miel. I love that we’re gonna get chickens, and maybe a new friend for Robin. Even the school seems pretty good.”

Swallowing his fear, Reggie joined Liv at the railing, dangling his legs over the side of the platform.

“Yeah, I think I like it here, too. Mom and Dad seem really happy; Dad says he can make more of a good difference in the world here than in America. So, I guess that’s got to be good. Did I tell you we’re going to put a pool in?”

“You might have mentioned it. When you’ve been whining about the heat, for the hundredth time.”

“It’s so humid!”

Liv giggled. It was like being back in the tropics of La Huerta, and to her, that felt right. Granted, it might have been nicer if they could just pop on over into a neighbouring alpine region that was inexplicably right next to the hot, sticky jungle, but she really loved it.

“Well,” Reggie said, “it’s going to be great. And it should be done by the time Quinn and Michelle come to visit.”

“Do we even know whose house they’re staying at yet?”

“It should be my place.” Reggie puffed out his chest, as if to emphasise the rightness of his point. “You’re definitely getting Jake and Sean and Mikey. You can’t take all the visitors. And besides… we’ll have a pool.”

That was hard to argue with. “It’s up to the adults anyway,” Liv conceded. In the end, it didn’t matter; she was going to make the most of having her La Huerta family around even if it meant camping out in Reggie’s back yard. “But, I will be a much better San Trobida tour guide than you. I’m still showing you around.”

Reggie hmphed, and Liv laughed.

“Come on, Reggie,” she said, dropping gracefully down the side of the wall and taking up hand-holds. “I’m getting hungry.”

It was at that point that Reggie made the sobering discovery that going down, was rather more intimidating than going up a sheer vertical surface.

“Um, Liv…,” he said quietly. “I, uh, don’t think I can do that.”

“Oh!” Liv responded. “Sorry, I forgot you’re new to this. Maybe you should’ve started smaller. But don’t worry, I’ll get you down….”

“Okay…,” he murmured, clearly not remotely convinced.

“Mom!” Liv hollered, all but making her poor cousin topple over the edge in surprise. “Reggie’s stuck!”

Reggie felt heat rise in his cheeks as his sisters, hanging out on the grass below the wall at the worst possible time, burst out laughing. Like they could even get up this high to begin with.

Up in the tree-house, Estela looked up and wiped off the paint from her hands. Rescuing kids from scrapes had pretty much become her specialty at this point; twelve years with Liv had seen to that. “I’m coming,” she called back.

“I’m not exactly stuck,” Reggie muttered defensively, as his Tia Estela easily scaled the climbing wall to join him and Liv, who’d already rejoined him to offer moral support. “If I really wanted to, I could climb down; I just feel I should practice climbing up a few more times before I try that.”

“You’ll get there,” Estela said kindly. As far as she was concerned, the fact that her nephew had a realistic view of his own capabilities was only a good thing. “I’ll have that zipline going in no time anyway, so you’ll have no hurry to work it out.”

With his aunt’s back offered to him, Reggie took the cue and wrapped his long arms around her neck, and his legs around her middle. Getting rescued by one of the team of protective grown-ups? Basically, the story of both his and Liv’s lives.

“Hang on, Regito,” Estela laughed.

____________________________

La Huerta, 2034

The frigid wind howled against the cabin door, and it took all of Liv and Reggie’s combined might to wrestle it closed. Both kids were panting heavily-- and shaking like leaves-- as they nervously stepped away.

“Thank god this little hut was here, really,” Liv heaved. “I dunno about you, but I’d rather be stranded in a snowstorm with walls around me.”

Reggie said nothing, and just shivered, wrapping his arms around his own torso. He’d wrapped up-- as if his parents would let him go wandering into the colder pockets of the island without a heap of layers-- but the snow had wet his gloves through, and a chill was now spreading through his body.

“Hey,” Liv said, “we should… we should get a fire going. You look like you’re halfway turned into a popsicle right now.”

As his cousin busied herself at the fireplace-- thank goodness there was some firewood left-- Reggie fiddled with his emergency phone. His heart sank. No signal. His mom and dad were going to be so worried when he and Liv never came home….

“Uh, Liv… I think the storm’s screwed up the reception here. It won’t let me phone Mom and Dad.”

Liv looked up, and for the first time, she looked truly fearful, her usual intrepid spirit extinguished in a flash. “They’re really gonna panic,” she said softly. She shuddered. If their parents came out looking for them, it meant walking out into a blizzard, and all the danger that came with it. If she could just tell her mothers that she was safe, that she and Reggie had shelter… they could wait out the storm. Anything could happen, anything….

“Are you okay, Livia?” Reggie asked, and he handed her a heavy blanket as he sat down cross-legged in front of her feebly burning fire. “You look kind of spaced-out.”

“Hng?”

“They’ll find us; it’ll be okay.”

“I don’t want them to come and find us,” Liv snapped. “I want them to stay where it’s safe. They could get hurt or, or worse because we were stupid enough not to turn around when the weather changed.” She placed a stick too roughly, and her firewood tower collapsed, extinguishing the flame. “For fuck’s sake!”

Reggie, wisely, stayed quiet, letting his cousin fix up the mess and get a new fire started without interference. He watched her with concern as her eyes welled. “Livia…?”

She huddled close to him, but for a long while, didn’t speak.

“Reggie,” she murmured at last, “something really horrible happened a couple of weeks ago. I didn’t want to talk about it with you, ‘cause… ‘cause I didn’t even want to think about it…. It just made me feel too bad. But, uh.... I was… I was playing in the sea with Mama Estela. Just like we always do. We were just goofing off. Then, um, I got all tangled up in those freaking weeds. They grabbed me and held me under.”

“That must have been so scary….”

“Of course, Mom got me out of there. B-but there was a sea-snake in there. It bit her. It happened so fast… I hardly even saw what happened, but she suddenly just... could hardly even get out of the water. I somehow managed to haul her up out the water, but she was all limp and… and I gave her the anti-venom, and she just started having some kind of fit.. Like her body was jerking around, and her mouth was all frothy.” She gasped through a sob. “Then she… she stopped breathing, completely.” Liv shuddered as the memory filled her mind, vivid as if it were yesterday. She could feel Reggie’s wide, horrified eyes upon her. “I screamed. I screamed for help. Mama Taylor was up the beach, she couldn’t hear me. S-so I did CPR. My hands were shaking so-- so bad. And all I could think was ‘I’m gonna screw this up. I’m gonna screw this up and my mom’s gonna die’.” Her voice cracked and she sputtered through hot tears that she wiped away with her arm. Before she knew it, Reggie had his arms around her and was holding her tight. “I don’t know how long it was,” she said. “It felt like forever, but it was probably only a few minutes. Then she started breathing and I just… I cried, and cried, and cried.”

Reggie gently rubbed Liv’s back, and it soothed her.

“I, uh, I guess I always thought Mama Estela was invincible. To me, she always was. There was nothing I couldn't do either, because she would always be there to protect me. It was so close, Reggie… it looked like she was gone.”

“I… didn’t know it was as bad as that. My dad told me she’d been bitten but…,” Reggie mumbled. “You must have been so scared. Have you… have you talked to your moms about it much?”

Liv sniffed, and wiped her face again. “Yeah. You know what my Mama Taylor is like; we’ve talked it through lots, I’ve told them how I’m feeling. But I haven’t… like… had a big cry since it happened.” Until now. Now, she just couldn’t seem to stop the tears from coming. Reggie didn’t seem to mind; he just sat with her, and rubbed her back, and told her it was okay.

After what seemed like an age, her tears slowed.

“It is going to be okay, you know?” Reggie said gently. “Obviously, they’re going to come out looking for us, but they’re smart. They’ll be prepared; just like your Mama Estela was with the anti-venom.”

“Yeah…,” Liv said, her voice small. You could be as prepared as you wanted, but sometimes the world managed to stay one step ahead. The storm outside was wild and furious, battering on the roof and walls… and it was frightening. Liv could only snuggle under her cousin’s arm, and trust that whatever search and rescue party was out there would come through.

The two kids huddled together beneath their blanket, speaking little, but making their mutual support known without words. Just the squeeze of a hand through the most blood-curdling howls of the wind, and the simple offer of presence.

Somehow, the creak of the door shoved open cut through the dull roar.

“Oh, thank goodness!”

“Dad!” Reggie leapt forward and flung his arms around his father, his face lighting up further when Grace followed in behind. “Mom!”

Grace put her shaking hands to her son’s face, gently sweeping hair from his eyes. “Darling, are you all right?” Then she pulled Liv into a fierce hug, and in a moment Aleister had his arms around all three of them. “We were so worried!”

Liv whimpered against Grace’s shoulder. “Are my moms out in the storm?” She knew the answer already.

“Yes, honey. They’re out searching for you. Don’t you stress, okay? We’ve got a flare to set off so they’ll know we found you here-- and Varyyn and Diego too.”

“Woah,” Liv murmured, “you got a whole search party out.”

There was a buzzing, and the flickering of blue light, then Iris materialised.

Reggie beamed. “Hey, Grandma! So, a ‘whole search party’ is pretty much correct.”

“I will say, being able to scan for nearby lifeforms is quite handy in situations like these.”

So, find my moms and Tio Diego. Liv hugged tighter to her Auntie Grace, with no words pleading for help.

“Oh, sweetheart,” Grace said gently, stroking Liv’s face, while Aleister saw to setting off the flare. “It’s going to be just fine. We’re not far from Elyys’tel; we all fanned out from there, so no one is going to be too deep into the mountains.”

That… actually made sense. It was enough, just enough to keep Liv a step above panic-mode. She headed back to the fireplace, but as her backside hit the floor, a guttural roar rocked the cabin, and she leapt back to her feet.

“What the--?”

“You two stay back!” Aleister ordered, his voice shaking. Why, oh why, did the children want to go gallivanting out in the frozen wilderness when there was a perfectly serviceable tropical paradise right outside their front door? He was going to be old before his time at this rate….

Grace, though, was already hauling open the door, to reveal the hulking figure of the Mountain Guardian.

A growl rumbling in her throat, Arktos loomed in the doorway, looking down at Grace with a questioning gaze.

“Hello…?” she said cautiously. The gigantic bear-like creature was generally reasonably friendly…. “Did we… did we disturb you with the flare?”

Arktos grumbled, her furry ears flicking with curiosity.

“Our friends are out there in the storm,” Grace continued, certain that the yeti would understand; her past experiences had only supported the fact that this creature was incredibly intelligent-- and benevolent. “The flare was to bring them to this cabin.”

With a soft huff, Arktos shuffled backwards, and all of a sudden, it seemed as though she was surrounded by a force-field… a bubble that the wind and blinding snow couldn’t penetrate.

Understanding, Grace turned to Iris. “I think we’re going hiking again-- with a little extra help this time. Al, you’ll stay and watch the kids?”

“I--I--” Aleister stuttered. “Well, of course. Stay close to the… the bear thing.” Scrambling a little, he pulled off his outer layer and offered it to her. “I won’t have you catching hypothermia.”

And Grace stepped into the snow, Iris hovering behind her, and found shelter in the yeti’s protective shield. She looked up at the beast, now rearing up onto colossal hind legs to scout for signs of nearby human activity. “Thank you, Arktos. I guess… I guess, you choose the direction, and we’ll start the search.”

The unusual trio headed out into the storm, and within moments, they were invisible for the wind thick with snow. Aleister, a look of dumbfoundment upon his face, closed the door, and again, the cabin was quiet.

“Damn. Auntie Grace is a fricking badass,” Liv breathed, face alight in awe.

Aleister, recovering from his wife’s shock exit quickly-- he’d seen her steely courage in action enough times to just about take it in his stride, nodded. “Indeed.” He brushed the last flakes of snow from his coat, and looked around the room. “Well, I don’t suppose the wait will pass any faster with us standing around here. Reggie, did we leave any board-games here last time?”

“Uh, looks like we’ve got ‘Scrabble’?”

Well, Liv thought, I don’t have a hope in hell against these people. Should’ve left ‘Twister’ here….

Reggie sat himself down in front of the crackling fire and started unpacking the box. “Hey, Livia-- team up with me?”

He was clearly still a little worried about her. If there was an opportunity to thrash her at something, Mr Pedantic-Always-Right would take it without fail. Or so Liv had believed.

She plonked down cross-legged beside him. “Yeah? Yeah, all right.”

The two kids exchanged a high five, and Liv couldn’t help but grin. You are going down, Uncle Al.

___________________________

San Trobida, September 2035

As the car pulled up the neatly paved pathway to Aleister and Grace’s house, Liv excitedly rolled down the window.

“Reginaaaaald!!!” she hollered.

“How,” Aleister wondered aloud, “can such a small person-- and the offspring of Estela and Diego of all people-- sound so eerily like a bloody foghorn?”

A beaming Reggie followed his father out the front door. He exchanged hugs with both his parents-- and his two little sisters-- and then rushed to join his cousin on the back seat.

“Are you ready to go, mijo?” Estela checked in, suppressing a laugh as Taylor all but did a contortion act to give her nephew a hug from the front seat.

He had Liv, didn’t he? So, basically, he was ready for anything.

The short drive to the school saw the return of those pesky jitters, and Reggie knew from the way his cousin jiggled her leg the whole way there that he was definitely not alone in that. The school ground, filled only with kids their own age when they’d been there for orientation, was swarming with adolescents of all sizes-- and just about all of them were bigger than Reggie and Liv.

With an awkward hug and a kiss to her mothers in the front of the car, Liv bit the bullet and, bulging backpack in hand, stepped out into a brave new world. There was only one thing for it; Reggie would just have to take the plunge. He swung his backpack over his shoulder, and followed after his cousin.

“Welp,” said Liv, “here goes nothing!��

Reggie gave a nervous laugh and playfully bashed Liv with his backpack, putting a reassuringly silly grin on her face.

We’ve got this.

_______________________

NOTES

Little Xiraana is @mauvecatfic's baby. Check out her stories; you won't regret it!

If you read 'A Ride to Remember', you might remember Miel. She's the very same horse.

Aaaaand, the incident Liv is recounting during the snowstorm is the one you can read from Estela's perspective in 'Teething Problems: Part Two'.

#endless summer #playchoices #liv montoya #reggie hall #graleister #estela x mc #estela montoya #grace hall #aleister rourke #diego soto

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somethingusefulfromflorida · 3 years

Text

1960: John F. Kennedy/Lyndon B. Johnson vs Richard Nixon/Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.

1964: Lyndon B. Johnson/Hubert Humphrey vs Barry Goldwater/William E. Miller

1968: Richard Nixon/Spiro Agnew vs Hubert Humphrey/Edmund Muskie vs George Wallace/Curtis Lemay

1972: Richard Nixon/Spiro Agnew vs George McGovern/Sargent Shriver

1976: Jimmy Carter/Walter Mondale vs Gerald Ford/Bob Dole

1980: Ronald Reagan/George H.W. Bush vs Jimmy Carter/Walter Mondale

1984: Ronald Reagan/George H.W. Bush vs Walter Mondale/Geraldine Ferraro

1988: George H.W. Bush/Dan Quayle vs Michael Dukakis/Lloyd Bentsen

1992: Bill Clinton/Al Gore vs George H.W. Bush/Dan Quayle vs Ross Perot/James Stockdale

1996: Bill Clinton/Al Gore vs Bob Dole/Jack Kemp vs Ross Perot/Pat Choate

2000: George W. Bush/Dick Cheney vs Al Gore/Joe Lieberman

2004: George W. Bush/Dick Cheney vs John Kerry/John Edwards

2008: Barack Obama/Joe Biden vs John McCain/Sarah Palin

2012: Barack Obama/Joe Biden vs Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan

2016: Donald Trump/Mike Pence vs Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine

2020: Joe Biden/Kamala Harris vs Donald Trump/Mike Pence

The same candidates tend to show up year after year. Not just President running for re-election, but Vice Presidents running for the top slot themselves, incumbents or candidates, successful or not; Richard Nixon (1952, 1956, 1960, 1968), Hubert Humphrey (1964, 1968), Walter Mondale (1976, 1980), Bob Dole (1976, 1996), Al Gore (1992, 1996, 2000)

I would expect John Edwards (D-2004) to try and make a comeback, though he was only a one term senator from North Carolina, so that’s looking increasingly unlikely. The state swung for Obama in 2008, but hasn’t voted blue since (except for governor, but he has no power because the Republicans control the state legislature)

Paul Ryan (R-2012) will be back for sure; he retired from the House in part over of disagreements with Trump, but one doesn’t just give up being Speaker and slink away into obscurity (just look at Newt Gingrich, he refuses to shut up or die), so I think Ryan is just biding his time and hoping the whole Trump thing blows over in the next decade. If the party shifts away from Trump, he might offer himself as a slightly more moderate (“moderate*”) alternative.

Or maybe Sarah Palin (R-2008) will try and reclaim the presidency for herself; she’s a hardcore right wing nutjob, she was a Bush supporter AND a Trump supporter, and she’s still relatively young, so I could see her stepping back into the spotlight to try and “being the country back” to the traditionalism of the early 2000s. Nostalgia is cyclical, so I figure around 2028 or 2032 people will start looking back fondly on the Clinton and Bush years (Clinton more so than Bush, what with 9/11 and the wars and such)

Tim Kaine isn’t even one of the famous senators; there are some senators that everybody knows, even if they’re not from your state, like Chuck Schumer, Joe Manchin, Lindsey Graham, Bitch McConnell, big names with big reputations. Tim Kaine is a nobody, just a bland and inoffensive white dude Clinton picked to be as uncontroversial as possible (she couldn’t pick a woman or a black person because then the ticket would have been “too diverse”). He’s not the future of the Democratic party, but I could see him trying to become part of the Senate leadership. Maybe the whip (vice leader), I don’t think he has what it takes to be leader outright.

I don’t think Mitt Romney (R-2012) will run for president again; that ship has sailed. Moderate Republicans are critically endangered, extinct in the wild, with single specimens in captivity (in Vermont, Massachusetts, and Maryland). After back-to-back losses in 2008 and 2012, I don’t think Republicans will run a moderate candidate ever again. Romney could maybe just maybe become the whip if he so desired, he’s a big enough name with support enough to become their presidential nominee, though he’ll never be the leader; McConnell was their golden goose, he gave hem exactly what they wanted and changed the game to give them an advantage even in minority. They will only ever elect hardliners like him from now on. Romney is too soft; he cares too much about the other side (he’s not liberal by any stretch of the imagination, he’s a Mormon for Brigham’s sake, but he voted to impeach Trump twice which means he may as well be a liberal in the eyes of the public)

Mike Pence has committed political suicide. Democrats hate him for his homophobia, sexism, racism, classism, and weird relationship with his wife who he calls “mother.” Republicans hate him because he didn’t break the law to re-elect Trump. Damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t. He’s ultraconservative and super religious, so under normal circumstances he’d be a shoo-in for the nomination, but after breaking with Trump in January he’s dead in the water (he didn’t even really break away, there was literally nothing legal he could do; if he had tried anything it would have been struck down by the courts). And besides that, Pence is boring as hell. He’s milquetoast, he’s a saltine cracker without the salt because it’s too spicy, he orders plain hamburgers with ketchup on the side, all his steaks are cooked well done, he gets a boner when he sees a woman’s ankle and has to self-flagellate for penance, he sends back water if it has too much ice because it makes his teeth hurt. He’s the sacrificial lamb they’d nominate specifically to lose so they can save a stronger candidate for later when there’s no incumbent.

Kamala Harris is basically president-in-waiting (or rather nominee-in-waiting; who knows if she can actually win?) Biden ran on the unspoken promise that he would step down in 2024, making her the front runner, but he has recently walked this back and says he plans on running for a second term himself, pushing Kamala back until 2028 at least. She has good PR and has convinced half the country that she’s a progressive instead of a cop, so if she runs she’ll definitely have an edge over Democratic challengers. The media picks the nominee, and in 24 or 28 they’ll pick her for sure.

It’s becoming increasingly harder for people to stay relevant over multiple decades. I can’t imagine any 2004 candidates running in 2024, but Bob Dole managed to get on as Ford’s #2 and come back as #1 himself twenty years later (he lost both times, but still). Richard Nixon beat the odds and actually got elected in 68 after losing the presidency in 60 and the governorship in 62; he was pretty much coasting on Eisenhower’s legacy, selling himself as the anti-Goldwater, who lost in 64 to LBJ in a landslide.

Trump is acting like he’s going to run again, but whether or not he’ll fully commit is up in the air. On the one hand, his least insane niece says that he doesn’t want to put himself in a position where he could lose again, his ego couldn’t take it, he’s so embarrassed he can’t even admit it happened the first time. On the other hand, he’s too proud to accept defeat and just let some other candidate take his spot as leader of the Republican Party; the Republicans haven’t had a leader since Eisenhower, every other president has disappeared after leaving office.

Nixon resigned in disgrace

Ford was elected out

Reagan disappeared in the 90s because he didn’t want the country to see him deteriorate from Alzheimer’s

Bush Sr was elected out

Bush Jr was despised with approval in the 20s (record low), and could potentially have been tried at The Hague if Obama had balls

Now Trump wants to stick around, even though he’s older than Reagan and FAR less healthy. He’ll probably be dead in 15 years anyway; no way he reaches 90. His mind may already be going, but unlike Reagan he isn’t self aware enough to know it, so he might try to stay in the spotlight even after the dementia sets in. Wo knows?

What his niece says, and what I think is most likely to happen, is that he will pretend like he’s running in order to scam donors out of millions of dollars to pay his exorbitant legal fees, but then bow out of the race before the primaries. Whichever candidate he personally endorses will become the nominee and go up against Biden. Biden will win the popular vote, but I don’t know if he’ll win the electoral college; if this happens for the third time in a quarter century, I expect nothing less than chaos in the streets, perhaps even civil war (well, I expected civil war after 2020, and we’re still standing, so again, who knows?). All I know is that congressional Democrats will throw a hissy fit but do nothing to stop the Republicans from sneaking their way into office without a mandate AGAIN.

The last Republican to legitimately win the presidency was George Bush Sr in 1988. Jr lost to Gore, and only got re-elected in 2004 because he invaded Iraq the year prior. Democrats have won 7 of the last 8 elections, including the last 4 in a row. There are more Democrats and left-leaning independents than Republicans and right-leaners. If the Republicans lose-but-win AGAIN, I don’t think the county could take it; there would be phony calls for secession on TV and legitimate whispers behind the scenes, there would be lawsuits, there would be an even bigger assault on the Capitol than January 6, people would riot, the National Guard would attack brown people with impunity while peacefully corralling the white ones with shields and loudspeakers.

There hasn’t been an assassination since 1963, and no assassination attempt resulting in injury since 1981. Someone threw a grenade at Bush Jr in 2005, but they wrapped a handkerchief around it so the lever didn’t release. I think multiple politicians on both sides of the aisle might be targeted in the event of another electoral college screw up.

Trump could face jail time for his tax crimes, though given his high profile I think he’d get off with a slap on the wrist. He has never faced consequences before, so why would they start now?

#politics #political #2024 #2024 election #2024 prediction #2024 presidential election #politicians #John Edwards #Sarah Palin #mitt romney #paul ryan #Mike pence #Kamala Harris #Donald Trump #Joe Biden #fuck trump #fuck donald trump #fuck Republicans

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puddygeeks · 4 years

Text

December - The 100 Bellamy Blake/Indigo Sloan AU One Shot (We Come Running AU)

Requested: No

Word Count: 2028

Warnings: None needed :)

Masterlist

A/N: This was my first ever AU, I’ve never gone out of canon before so it was really fun to imagine what The 100 characters would be like in our world. Let me know your thoughts on their jobs/attitudes and how they fit in this :)

Requests are open! I’d love to write more of your ideas <3

My writing is entirely fuelled by coffee! If you enjoy my work, feel free to donate toward my caffeine dependency: will work for coffee

-----

The thumping of the bass was almost deafening as I concentrated on reading lips over the crowded bar. Christmas Eve in New York City was the stuff of nightmares for bartenders, but here I was juggling bottles and straining to balance the work amongst the chaos. It was fortunate that I was experienced enough to manage the crowds and I had the confidence of knowing that at least one member of our security staff was keeping a close eye on me should anything get out of control. There was a cheerful, festive atmosphere filling the space and although it made for a fun shift, I couldn’t help watching the clock as I eagerly awaited going home for my own celebrations. My heart leapt in my chest as I glanced up to discover that it was finally time and I began undoing my apron as my manager rushed over with a frantic expression.

“Oh Indie, you’re not done already?! Is there any chance at all that I could convince you to stay on a little bit longer?” He gasped, seeming thoroughly frazzled by the activity and I dropped my apron under the bar with a satisfied smile.

“I’m sorry but I can’t, I have plans and a certain someone will be waiting for me.” I answered with my hands held up as I squeezed past him in the tight space and although he looked disappointed, he was also understanding. “I only agreed to work tonight for you, you know I wouldn’t do it for anyone else, Sinclair.” I added with a wink and he chuckled as he settled into managing the flow of staff to cover me.

“And you know that I appreciate you for it! Have a great time you lovebirds.” He cheered behind me as I waved over my shoulder and wandered through the old wooden doors to step out into the street. I turned to find a group of bouncers chattering near the entrance and strolled over with a smirk. It was easy to spot my target, he stuck out with his long, curly hair and large stature.

“Come on Mr Workaholic, aren’t you done yet?” I crooned as I tapped Bellamy on the shoulder and he spun around to fix me with a dazzling smile.

“Hey, you’re out on time! It is possible!” He teased and I jabbed at him playfully. We jointly gave our colleagues Christmas wishes before falling into step together through the city. There was a strong breeze and I shivered, shocked by the bitter temperature. I had been dressed plenty warm enough for the bar in my red leather-look leggings, white blouse and black parental advisory jumper but as per usual I had forgotten a coat for the walk home. Without a second thought, Bellamy slid off his heavy work jacket and wrapped it around me, enveloping me in it’s second hand warmth. I glanced over at him gratefully, only to notice that he actually wore a denim jacket underneath and sniggered under my breath.

“Am I that predictable that you need a second jacket nowadays?” I commented and his silent smirk was plenty of an answer.

In truth, I liked wearing Bellamy’s clothes, as they were so huge that I could get lost in them and it gave me a strange sense of comfort. My heeled boots clicked on the pavement as we strolled through the familiar streets hand in hand and occasional pockets of festive music greeted us as we passed the buzzing nightlife. Above our heads, the sparkling lights and decorations lit our way home and I basked in the magical feeling of the date. I peeked over at Bellamy, who seemed equally content and smiled to myself. He wore black skinny jeans with a chain on the side and a deep grey jumper under his jacket, and I was consistently surprised by his ability to make even the simplest of outfits look charmingly stylish.

We neared our apartment building and I followed Bellamy up the cold staircase with relief. I was immediately flooded with warmth as he unlocked the door and we stepped into our small but homely space. I rushed inside and made a beeline for the bathroom as Bellamy chuckled at me from behind. It was my least favourite part of my job that I had to get glamorous for every shift and it had become a running joke between us that the first thing I did when we got home was always to scrub away any trace of makeup. Behind me, he switched on the tree lights and various other strings of fairy lights that I’d spaced around in an effort to be festive, whilst I made myself comfortable. I felt immediately better with a clean face, and tied my hair up in two scruffy little space buns before changing into an old jumper and fuzzy socks. I stepped out of the bathroom to a snort of laughter from Bellamy, who was studying me in disbelief.

“Is that my jumper, Trouble?” He drawled and I looked down at myself with a smile. It was admittedly ridiculous on me, more closely resembling a dress as it hung down by my knees and I returned my attention to him with a gleeful smile. “I wondered where it had gone. Looks better on you anyway.” he conceded as I padded over to him and realised that he had also taken the opportunity to change into his well loved joggers that always made his butt look fantastic.

“I’ve been a terrible influence on you. Remember when you used to go out and party?” I crooned as I indicated toward the trackies and he shrugged carelessly at me.

“And now I’m stuck in with the most beautiful girl in the city, making hot chocolate. Poor me.” He remarked with a genuine smile that made my stomach fizz with excitement.

“Ooh, we’re making hot chocolate?!” I gasped and he shook his head with amusement as he strolled into the kitchen. The truth was, I had once worried that he might grow bored of our simple existence, when I only knew him as Octavia’s playboy older brother, but in the time that I’d come to know him better, I realised that we shared a love for the little things in life and we’d grown comfortable in our blissful little bubble. Sure, we had our disagreements and at times those would get quite heated, but on the whole we worked as a team and supported each other, and I was thankful for Octavia’s meddling to force us together.

We settled down on the sofa with our matching mugs of hot chocolate, each generously topped with whipped cream and marshmallows, and Bellamy set the tv to a classic black and white Christmas movie. I had to move the selection of law books spread across the coffee table in order to make space for our drinks and I cursed myself for dedicating so much time to studying that I didn’t even have space to live.

“Thank god I don’t have classes for a while, this semester has been a real bitch.” I grumbled as I tucked my feet up onto the seat and snuggled in closer to my lover.

“It’ll all be worth it when you’re out there shouting: objection!” Bellamy did a dramatic impression that almost caused him to spill his drinks and I sniggered at him in satisfaction.

“Yeah, that’s exactly it. Maybe you should be the lawyer.” I teased and he rolled his eyes at me. “Did Marcus say anything else about getting you enrolled at the police academy?” I enquired with a warm smile and he seemed enthusiastic as he considered my question.

“Yeah, he’s gonna put me forward for the next exam. He thinks the security experience will really help me to stand out.” He revealed eagerly and I felt a wide grin spread across my lips.

“That’s great Bel! Oh, I’m so pleased for you.” I breathed as I placed a gentle kiss on his cheek and we snuggled up to watch the movie. It was wonderful to see things coming together so well and I couldn’t help feeling that we were starting to build our lives. I jumped as Bellamy suddenly got to his feet and strolled over to the window.

“Hey Indie, look! It’s snowing!” He called and I rushed to my feet to join him looking down at the city being showered in a flurry of thick snowdrops that seemed to have come from nowhere.

“Woah!” I gasped as my eyes widened in wonder and we stood side by side in awe, feeling as if we were inside the perfect tourist snowglobe. “I hope we can get to Clarke and Lexa’s okay tomorrow.” I thought aloud and Bellamy shot me a reassuring look.

“It’s not that far, Love. We’ll walk if we have to, we can’t let the family down.” He asserted and I nodded in response. “How do you think O is getting on with Lincoln’s family right now?” He asked with a mischievous smile and I hummed thoughtfully.

“Probably wishing she was here as normal. I’m glad they decided to spend some time there though, she should get the chance to know them.” I commented idly and he peered at me with a raised brow. “Besides, he adores Tavi more than I’ve seen anyone love someone else, I’m sure his family will love her too.” I added sternly and I chuckled.

“I hope you’re right.” He muttered, before turning fully away from the window to fix me with an inscrutable look. “Well, personally I’m glad that it’s just the two of us this year, as it means I can give you an early present.” He divulged and I examined him suspiciously.

“We’ve never done Christmas Eve presents before?” I drawled as I smiled at him coyly and he led me back to the tree with an excited bounce in his step.

“Maybe I just can’t wait any longer to give you this one.” He suggested as he rummaged around in the mountain of presents that hadn’t been packed up yet to go to our family tomorrow. I waited with a nervous anticipation until he suddenly leaned back and my mouth dropped open in shock. It took a few moments for the reality of what was happening to register in my mind as I realised that he was only leaning on one knee. He opened the delicate box that he was holding out to me to present a sparkling ring.

“Indigo Sloan.” He began and I could hardly get my breath as I took a hand to my mouth and he smiled perfectly in the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree. “Every day since we met, you’ve made my life better. I’ve never before been glad that Octavia got detention, but I’m thankful that she did that day in high school so that she could meet you. You inspire me to be the best that I can be, you hold me accountable, you support me endlessly and you make me smile like no one ever has. I can’t imagine my life without you. Would you make my life complete by marrying me?” His voice shook with nerves as he spoke and I battled to hold back a wave of tears that threatened to escape.

“Yes, of course!” I gasped in a strangled cry and he slid the ring onto my trembling hand. I could hardly believe my eyes until he jumped to his feet to pull me into a sloppy kiss. My heart swelled to the point of bursting as our lips danced against each other and I felt my cheeks getting damp. We broke apart to examine each other with matching grins and I could hardly express the excitement that pulsed through my body. “Oh my god, everyone is going to freak out tomorrow!” I exclaimed as I considered the reactions of our varied family and felt a fresh wave of anticipation.

“I don’t know about you, but I think Indigo Blake has a nice ring to it.” He crooned confidently as he leaned in for another celebratory kiss and I keenly obliged.

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wardencommanderrodimiss · 4 years

Text

Discord of Prosecutors and Detectives

More Bullshit Defense AU fic, and a different Discord server from the other times. Set right after Turnabout Time Traveler.

[A Discord server named “Official Los Angeles Distrinct Prosecutors Office”. The typo has been present since the creation of the server and never fixed. It contains a number of channels, such as “general”, “important announcements”, “unimportant announcements”, “work vent”, “family vent”, “other vent”, “meme quarantine”, and “meme breach of containment”.]

September 24, 2028 4:33pm [general]

Forensics Fuck-O so that’s in short how Fran and I get to go to a fancy rich people wedding

the defendant is Freud’s corpse not to sound rude to prosecutors or anything since I work with you all and am friends with you all but I’m surprised they invited the prosecution like in general it’s not you Frau it’s just like generally why would you invite someone who tried to convict you for murder to your wedding

Literally Royal, Metaphorically Bastard Ah. That may present a future problem.

the defendant is Freud’s corpse well no that’s different we knew you like. before you prosecuted Trucy also that’s different because you weren’t even trying to convict her

Literally Royal, Metaphorically Bastard That is a blatantly untrue statement, Ms. Cykes. I was doing my job to the whole of my abilities.

the defendant is Freud’s corpse right yknow I guess you’re not lying if you consider the job of a prosecutor to be catching the guilty and not just convicting whatever defendant they place in front of you because you were not trying to convict Trucy like in the slightest

Literally Royal, Metaphorically Bastard Well, Thalassa did tell me that the identity of the victim was not the original Mr. Reus, and further that the Gramarye-hating TV producer who committed contract fraud was the original Mr. Reus, and should that not be enough to make anyone suspicious? I could hardly discount critical testimony from my brother’s other mother.

Forensics Fuck-O Isn’t it ‘brother from another mother’

Literally Royal, Metaphorically Bastard Yes and I said what I said, because my family tree is a mangrove swamp.

Surrounded by Fools That is correct because I just realized that we may be related.

the defendant is Freud’s corpse but like Trucy aside I mean like this situation where you’d never met the fancy rich people having a wedding before and you’re the one trying to get the bride convicted and she’s like hey come to my third attempt at a wedding reception maybe this one will work out

Forensics Fuck-O The defense was invited and that’s Miles and Mr Wright and Maya so they kinda encouraged the invite to us Which is fantastic because that catering was dope

FaraGAY I’m so jealous I wanna go to a wedding on a blimp hey @Surrounded by Fools if ur bro and Nick ever get married can they get a “we saved ur asses” discount from the Sprocketts to rent the blimp for their wedding or can you and Emmy get ur shits together and get married on a blimp who doesn’t want a blimp wedding

Forensics Fuck-O lmao you should’ve seen Mr Wright’s face when we went out on top of the blimp he looked like he was gonna hork and just dragged us all back down I don’t think he wants a blimp wedding

FaraGAY hey what about that other part that I said are u ignoring that

Forensics Fuck-O Conspicuously ignoring that, in fact

the defendant is Freud’s corpse I wanna attend a wedding on a blimp or just like any wedding because I remember the food was good at my moms’ and I got to eat a lot of it because we got a lot of food but only invited like ten people

Birdman-dono Which unfortunately meant less people to hear my roast of my sister.

the defendant is Freud’s corpse I don’t care what my mom says about your speechifying I’m totally letting you make a speech at my wedding it’ll be MY wedding so I get to choose to get roasted! anyway @everyone someone get married already!! Blimp time!!!!!

Guilty Love, on the kazoo Mhm, Apollo isn’t fond of heights so I don’t think that’s something we would do.

Literally Royal, Metaphorically Bastard Are y you marrying my brother?

Guilty Love, on the kazoo Huh? No

Literally Royal, Metaphorically Bastard Then why NOT? Either commit or stop stringing him along.

Guilty Love, on the kazoo wait

Literally Royal, Metaphorically Bastard I have been very restrained about not kicking your ass but this is my little brother we are talking about. And one thing I know very well about Apollo is that he prefers stability and certainty because we spent enough of our childhoods not knowing what was coming in the next day or hour.

Guilty Love, on the kazoo wait

the defendant is Freud’s corpse I think there’s a communication issue somewhere in here

Forensics Fuck-O Thanks for that, Sherlock

Birdman-dono lmao

Guilty Love, on the kazoo I am not currently planning a wedding to your brother but I would not be averse to the prospect

Literally Royal, Metaphorically Bastard Oh Well then why AREN’T you currently planning it? That’s a joke this time.

Guilty Love, on the kazoo Danke I was not sure

Literally Royal, Metaphorically Bastard It would not be a joke from my parents but I am not them. I know you were frustrated that Apollo didn’t tell you what was happening back in May in time for you to come to Khura’in with us and help us sort out everything but that was probably better for you that you didn’t have to survive our parents cross-examining and interrogating you on when you plan to propose to Apollo.

Guilty Love, on the kazoo Why am I the one who has to and not him

Literally Royal, Metaphorically Bastard kkkkkkkkkkkkkkk You think they DON’T hassle him about it?

Guilty Love, on the kazoo A h

FaraGAY LMAOOOO

DebestGAY guy entering the room that is on fire with pizza dot gif

Literally Royal, Metaphorically Bastard ‘Where are the grandkids, Apollo? We’re WAITING!’

Guilty Love, on the kazoo They do uh realize that uh

Literally Royal, Metaphorically Bastard ‘Just adopt a dozen, Apollo, what are you waiting for?’

Guilty Love, on the kazoo A DOZEN

FaraGAY LMAO KLAV RIP

Literally Royal, Metaphorically Bastard I am well aware that had my aunt not been a human nightmare, and then the country needed rebuilding after her reign, that I would have at least ten younger siblings.

Forensics Fuck-O So they’re just like the Fran’s dad of the eastern hemisphere like here are the eight young adults who have lived out of the guest room at some point or another

FaraGAY half of the current legal system half of this chat yknow anyway we drifted away from the point of this convo WHICH WAS harassing someone into getting married so we can go party on a blimp

DebestGAY Couldn’t we just rent a blimp and throw a non-wedding party?

FaraGAY get ur logic out of here we want a blimp party and to encourage our stupid friends to stop beating round the bush and just get married already

Surrounded by Fools I’ll tell Maya that you’re planning to propose soon, then, and it can be your wedding.

FaraGAY wait

Literally Royal, Metaphorically Bastard Kurain Village likely has some very specific wedding traditions for their mediums that could not be held on a blimp, no?

FaraGAY yeah think so thx for the out, my dude

Literally Royal, Metaphorically Bastard That was not an ‘out’. That was an ‘obviously your solution is to have two ceremonies’. Hop to it.

the defendant is Freud’s corpse HELL yeah!!! two parties!!! double food!!!!!

FaraGAY o fuck yeah Maya would like that okay maybe if none of u other LOSERS are then I will be the one to get married and have a BLIMP PARTY

September 24, 2028 11:37pm [general]

Literally Royal, Metaphorically Bastard Ms. Cykes, there is something I meant to ask you about your name in this server. And that ‘something’ is: what?

the defendant is Freud’s corpse I’m gonna dig up Freud and put him on trial for crimes against 1. humanity 2. classic literature it’s not like Oedipus WANTED that to happen!! so anyway it’s like you know that one pope who dug up his predecessor and put him on trial and sentenced him

Literally Royal, Metaphorically Bastard NO??

the defendant is Freud’s corpse yeah go look that up you were prob already looking that up before I said but yeah that’s what I wanna do with Freud

Literally Royal, Metaphorically Bastard Thank you for making me hate myself for asking.

the defendant is Freud’s corpse

✌️

September 30 9:43pm [general]

Forensics Fuck-O fancy rich people wedding update: Larry caught the bouquet and you all know what that means so @FaraGAY if you wanna have the first flying wedding of our social group you’ll have to beat him to it

FaraGAY can’t believe Ol Larold is gonna get married good for him he’d better invite me or I’ll break his knees

Surrounded by Fools Larold

FaraGAY ye Ol Larold Butt

Forensics Fuck-O I’m gonna break your knees

#bullshit defense au #bullshit defense fic #i had the joke of that exchange between nahyuta and klavier in mind for a while #but i couldn't think of like. what would be going on that everyone's jsut sitting around talking #what would be happening in between the dialogue #so then i was like DISCORD FIC and here we go again #i haven't been writing much lately so this is kind of a warm-up to get back into it

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killervibe · 5 years

Note

Distracted 😉🤦🏼‍♀️

Here’s 3k of Killervibe, West-Allen and fluff

“Hey, what was it that you saw?” Iris asked him as soon as Cisco got to the Cortex.

He shifted his weight, adjusting his daughter so she could continue snoozing with her cheek pressed against his shoulder as he followed Iris to the monitors.

“It was chaos, like, cars piling up and then this giant thing,” Cisco rambled, trying to remember the bits and pieces. “It was green.”

“No location? Nobody you know?”

“No!” Cisco exclaimed. “Nada. I just know it happens tonight.”

Iris flips on a switch for the coms in Barry’s suit. “Bear, you got that?”

“Yeah. I’m going up the North side, Wally the South.”

“Ugh.”

Ralph swung in his seat lazily, removing his eye mask. “I guess we just wait then.”

Cisco walked out to grab his gear just in case they needed to be on the go. He had to sling his jacket over his shoulder, then bent down to get his shoes very carefully as to not jolt the sleeping beauty. He hooked his fingers into the curve of his sneakers then straightened himself back up, and went back to where the rest were.

“And then she told me she felt like I wasn’t reaching my best potential, you know? So I had to try—“

Cisco dumped his stuff on the table, then glanced at the screens again. “Really. Nothing?”

Iris and Ralph shook their heads.

“Cisco,” Iris said, gesturing a bit wildly, like she was desperate for his help. “You’d say Ralph is an excellent detective, right?” Iris sent him a rather pleading look.

Cisco turned to Ralph who was looking kinda glum. “Oh. Sure, I always liked you better than Sherloque. You knew that.”

Ralph made a deep sigh. “My In-Laws don’t agree.”

“Oh,” Cisco said again, rolling his eyes. “In-Laws. Lord. I know.”

“I don’t have any,” Iris said.

There was an awkward silence.

Cisco and Ralph shared a look.

Iris cleared her throat, and returned to watch Barry and Wally run around.

“Listen, you just gotta tell them what they wanna hear, ‘Yes, Dr. T I’ll consider investing in that company, and maybe next year I’ll get my eyes laser corrected, thanks’, and it gets you off their backs until the next time.”

“Actually that sounds pretty decent,” Ralph thanked, then got up to jot that down. He stretched his hand across the room for his pen and Ralph’s Book on Marriage.

“Where’s Caitlin?” Iris asked eventually after more tense silence. It was never fun waiting for danger, especially when they had no idea what they were in for. Team Flash loved their jobs, they did, and none of them saw permanently retiring anytime soon, but now that they were all settled down, with wives and husbands and children, they had to become exceedingly more careful.

“Pharmacy,” Cisco said, knowing his voice was one inflection away from dreamy. He had a particularly bad case of love drunk he hadn’t seem to have shaken since they found out Caitlin was pregnant again. “She needed to refill her prenatal vitamin prescription. She should be back soon.”

Iris looked up, catching his eye, softening at Cisco’s hand tracing soothing patterns along Amalia’s back. “You two are excited, huh?”

Cisco smiled into his daughter’s hair. “Thrilled.”

“You think baby two will be a breacher like Amalia?”

He settled into his chair and rolled his neck over the back of the leather, closing his eyes and let out a drawn out groan.

Cisco loved his daughter and that she had his powers like nothing else in the entire world, but it was exhausting to take care of a metachild who could more or less teleport. The amount of involuntary hide-and-seek and tag Cisco and Caitlin have to play with Amalia hopping into baby breaches around the house is insane. And he doubted it was stopping anytime soon.

Cisco wasn’t sure he could go through that all over again. “Honestly, I don’t even have the energy to think about it. We’ll worry about that when we get there. We need a vacation. We’re already swamped and Caitlin isn’t even in her second trimester.”

“We’d love to take Amalia if you two would like some time off alone,” Iris offered. Cisco tightened his hold on his little girl, feeling stupidly protective.

Amalia, Nora and Don got together like three peas in a pod, all roughly around the same age of three and a half, but Cisco didn’t want to exchange his daughter for a vacation.

“Thanks Iris, but I think we were thinking more like a family getaway.”

“Oooh,” Ralph goes. “Niagara Falls is a good one. They’ve got this crazy log cabin in Canada called Great Wolf Lodge with a giant arcade room and jumbotron animatic animals who talk and sing to children.”

Ralph pauses to look up from Ralph’s Book of Marriage when he was met with silence. He huffed. “I promise it’s not as creepy as it sounds.”

Cisco tapped against his black leather Vibe pants, thinking.

Iris pulled up an article one of her junior staffers wrote for the homestyle section of the Central City Citizen. “What about Disney World?”

Cisco perked up. “Disney?”

“—GUYS? Are you still there?”

Iris minimized the tab, rolling across the desk back to the monitors. “Just a minute, honey.”

She rolled back, clicking on the article.

“You don’t have to go to California or Florida. There’s also one in France. That seems pretty cool.”

Some cackling came on over the coms.

“Are you guys talking about Disney World?”

Ralph saved iris the trip and flicked on the speaker.

“Yeah. We’re talking vacays. Don’t you think Cisco and Caitlin should go?”

Some wind cut the mic, but then it went still, the woosh of Barry speeding around disappearing. He must’ve stopped.

“I don’t know,” Barry’s voice cut in, giving his two cents. “I think Amalia is too young and it’s kinda pathetic when you can’t go on the rides because of pregnancy. I’d wait a couple more years. Ugh, and the lines.“

Ralph nodded. “Good point.”

“We should all go when our kids are older!” Barry suggested, sounding excited. “Four years from now maybe, when this new baby is no longer too young. 2028?”

They all hummed in agreement, as if they could truly make such a ridiculous plan so far off in the future.

“Whoops. Sorry, gotta check something,” Barry’s line disconnected, but they were all too distracted to pay much attention.

Amalia started to stir.

Cisco checked on her as she grumbled, flexing her curled fingers into Cisco’s skin.

“Hi baby,” he whispered, sitting her upright on his lap. “Good sleep?”

Amalia frowned adorably, taking in her surroundings. She reached up for Cisco’s hair, taking a fistful and yanked.

“Hey now,” he said, jerking his head away and shooting Ralph a half-hearted glare for laughing at him. Cisco grimaced when she smacked her hand over his face.

“She’s being very grabby recently,” he tried to explain, but in all honestly it wasn’t necessary.

He diverted his attention back to her, gently prying her hands off his face.

“Hey mini me. You good?”

She nodded, sucking her thumb. Caitlin tended to give herself an aneurysm trying to stop Amalia’s bad habit, but Cisco didn’t really bother.

“Hey Miss Lia,” Iris cooed, coming over to say hello. She stroked her soft hand. “Is Auntie Iris getting a hi?”

Amalia turned her head, burying her face back into Cisco’s neck.

“Ouch,” said Ralph.

“She’s a grumpy sleepy.” Cisco shrugged. “Don’t take it personally.”

Iris crossed her hands over her chest, pursing her lips. “Mmhmm. I think it just means she needs more toys to remember who’s her favourite aunt.”

“Sue’s her favourite,” Ralph said with pride.

Iris glowered.

Cisco bit his tongue, not wanting to get in the middle of this.

He stood up again and walked around the Cortex, bouncing Amalia a little to wake her up. Amalia’s hair was all mussed, her bangs falling over her eyes, so he gently swept them away, zoning out from the conversation as he focused on being in Daddy mode until—

“I think Sue and I are going to adopt a pig.”

“A pig?”

Amalia immediately burst into giggles, making oinking sounds.

Cisco stared up at the ceiling.

“—Why?” Iris shrilled.

“Okay, first of all, Mrs. West-Allen, I do not appreciate that tone. It’s a thing. Pigs make great additions to a family. Pigs are the new babies.”

“Oink oink oink!”

“And,” Ralph continued stubbornly, “They are very intelligent. You should consider it, Cisco.”

Cisco looked at Amalia, who was very well versed in farm animal noises, which last month he was very proud of but today may get on his very last nerve.

“I’m fine with my baby, thank you.”

Amalia only intensified her pig snorts.

“Is this your idea, or Sue’s idea…?” Iris asked, leaning against the desk with a very amused if not slightly mystified expression on her face.

“Oh it’s my idea but I’m sure Sue would be game. She’s a free spirited woman. I’m sure she’d love a hog.”

“A hog?” Iris repeated faintly.

“A piggie!” Amalia shrieked, beside herself with excitement.

“Yes Amalia!!!” Ralph banged his fist on the table, pumped at his little cheerleader. Amalia only screamed louder, the two egging each other on. Ralph pointed at Cisco. “This kid is going places!”

“Oink! Oink! Oink!”

Cisco and Iris shared a long glance.

“…Uh huh.”

Cisco grimaced at a particularly loud Oink! and held his squirming child out an arm away, trying to set her down. “Okay, Amalia, sweetheart, you’re shrieking in Daddy’s ear.”

She struggled, very opposed to being put down, and climbed up his Vibe pants desperately, digging her nails in trying to latch on, whining when her little socks touched the floor.

Cisco sighed, scooping her back up, feeling a lot like a mother kangaroo. He needed a pouch or something.

“I want a piggie!! I want a piggie like Uncle Ralph!!!”

“You do, huh?”

“I want a piggie!!!!”

Cisco rubbed at his temples with his free hand. “Ralph doesn’t have a pig,” he reasoned.

“—Not yet.”

“I wanna piggie!”

Cisco yanked off Amalia’s right sock, and flung it on the ground in the direction of her little playmat with her abandoned Duplos, tickling her baby toes. “You already have piggies!”

She squealed, wiggling as he played with her, hoping it would divert Amalia’s attention away from demanding a pet that would give her mother a heart attack. Iris stifled her laughter behind her hand watching them two.

Amalia finally wanted to get down, so Cisco let her go and she went running for Ralph.

Ralph met her halfway to him, stretching his arms out to snatch her and pull her onto his lap to chant about pigs as Cisco and Iris slowly backed away—Cisco needing an aspirin—Iris, coffee.

“Hey,” Iris said, “Remind me that I need to leave in fifteen minutes to pick up the twins from my dad’s. Do you think you could breach me there?

“No problem. Think the emergency won’t pop up by then?”

“Probably not,” Iris admitted. “Hmm. Maybe I should call my dad and ask if he could keep Nora and Don overnight.”

They bumped into Caitlin, who had a plastic pharmacy bag twisting from her grip in one hand, and her phone in the other. She was staring down at the device with growing distress, quickening her pace, unaware that they were down the hall.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Cisco said, breaking into a jog to meet up with her. She stopped abruptly when Cisco cupped her face.

Expecting one of her soft glowing smiles, he was very surprised to see her frown deepen, shoving her phone in his face.

“Have you seen the news!?”

“…The news?”

“Barry was kidnapped! Chaos! Pandemonium! All tech was shut down, it was like a Kilg%re 2.0. It caused a pile-up downtown, I was stuck in traffic for a good half hour. Why haven’t you done anything!?”

Iris swore under her breath, grabbing Caitlin’s phone, and sprinted back to the Cortex.

“Are you okay?” Cisco asked automatically. Of course, if the city was in danger he was going to help, but his wife and her safety will always be his number one priority.

Caitlin nodded, leaning into his touch, and he removed his hand from her cheek, to run down her shoulder and arm, then placed them over her stretchy cotton shirt. She was just starting to show.

“You look so beautiful.”

Caitlin put her hand over his on her stomach, her worry disappearing from face as she sighed. “Yeah? I’m finally feeling better. I think the morning sickness is gone for good.”

He leaned forward, lifting her chin to give her a featherlight kiss. She smiled against his lips and wrapped her arms around his neck. The plastic bag with her pills shaking behind him. He pressed their foreheads together.

“Good trip?” he asked.

“Yes. Where’s the little one?”

Cisco chuckled. “In the Cortex with Ralph. Putting on an excellent rendition of Peppa the Pig. That’s banned now, by the way,” he joked lightly.

Caitlin pulled backwards. “What now?”

He grabbed his wife’s hand and tugged her along, telling her she’ll see soon enough.

Amalia noticed as soon as her mommy was there, ditching Ralph to run into her arms. “Mommy listen! Oink!”

“Wow,” Caitlin praised, her voice sweet like syrup. “Did you and Daddy go to a farm?”

“No!” she giggled. She lifted her arms up and Caitlin sighed, putting down her purse and plastic bag to take her daughter.

Cisco went to join Iris, who was desperately trying to reactivate the suit signals. Cisco scooted her out of the chair, flexing his fingers to take over.

“Should we be opening a breach and just go on? Doesn’t Barry need us?” Ralph asked.

“Mama, I want a piggie!”

Cisco was trying to outhack the virus, but paused enough to lift his eyebrows, filling his wife in. “Ralph wants to adopt a pig and apparently now so does our daughter.”

Caitlin laughed, and pulled off her left sock. “You already have piggies!” She tickled her toes as Amalia shrilled.

“Been there. Done that,” Cisco commented dryly. “Hey, what are your opinions on theme park vacations? Barry says Disney World is fun but are you up for that?”

“Mama, can I have a piggie?”

“Um,” Caitlin shot Cisco a helpless look. Cisco made a noise of equal exasperation as he hooked back half of Central City online.

“I can’t give you a piggie, love, but what about a baby brother or sister? And Cisco—I don’t know, theme parks are a drag when pregnant. My feet will hurt from all the walking.”

“Where is Barry!?”

Amalia considered Caitlin’s proposition, but alas, no.

“Piggie!! Piggie!! Piggie!!”

“Yeah that’s what Ralph said. What about a beach? Also they have Disney cruises!” Cisco hummed as his fingers flied over his keyboard, then smacked the counter. “Done. We’re online.”

“Oh! That sounds nice!”

Iris stood in the middle of the cortex, about to pull out her hair. “Is anyone going to help me find my husband!?!!”

Yellow lightning lit up the room as Wally wooshed in with a disorientated Flash.

“Barry!” Iris exclaimed, running to him as he stumbled.

Wally panted, putting his hands on his knees. “Thanks a lot guys.”

“Oh,” Ralph said dumbly. “We forgot about you.”

“You don’t think I noticed that,” Wally snarked back.

He flicked on the TV. Every single channel Wally flipped to as he channel-serfed was showcasing breaking news of Kid Flash basking in glory and saving the day.

“How did you not notice our coms went down?” Barry asked, wincing when Iris gave him a bone crushing hug.

Caitlin put down Amalia to check up on him.

“…Uh.” Ralph said.

Amalia started to spin around in circles, barefoot, oinking.

“The satellites, you didn’t use them?”

Cisco cringed and replied truthfully.

“Couldn’t look at satellites if we weren’t looking at all.”

“What,” Wally’s voice went dangerously flat.

Amalia knocked into Wally’s shin. She grinned up at him when he shot his hand down to keep her steady.

“Uncle Wally will you get a piggie with me and Uncle Ralph?”

Wally eyeballed the little girl, at a loss for words.

Ralph stood up, flexing his fingers. “Well as long as nobody’s too hurt…I guess I’ll go home now.”

“Ow!” Barry yelped from the Med Bay where Caitlin was treating him.

“—Would you just—Hold still—“

“Um,” Ralph said.

“What happened here?” Wally griped.

Iris bit her nails, harried, peering into the Med Bay through the glass window.

“Daddy look!”

“Amalia, stop running around you’re going to trip,” Cisco warned her.

“Piggie!!! Piiiiiiiiiiiig!”

Cisco sent Ralph a death glare. “You did this.”

“Oink! Oink! Oink!”

“You made her,” he shot back.

“Piiiiiiiiiiiiiig—Owie.”

“Was that Amalia?” Caitlin called with concern.

Cisco clamoured over. He knew this was going to happen. And now she was crying, but even a bumped chin couldn’t prevent her from whimpering “piggie” between her hiccups.

“She’s fine!”

He sat on the ground and pulled her close, shushing away her tears, and wiping the wetness away from her eyes, pressing kisses to her chubby cheeks.

Eventually Wally stopped crossing his arms, and let go of trying to size them all up, dropping his arms to his sides in bafflement. “Well?!?!”

Iris, Cisco and Ralph looked at each other nervously, scratching their heads as their eyes slid to Amalia, still screaming for a pig.

“We, uh,” Iris said, tersely. “We got…”

“Distracted,” Cisco filled in.

#the flash #killervibe #westallen #the flash fic #fluff #future fic #tkv fic #Amalia ramon #dante stein ramon #suedibny #elongsue

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wearejapanese · 6 years

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By Emily Yoshida

When the first trailer arrived for Isle of Dogs last fall, I had three immediate, consecutive reactions: One: Oh, no. Two: Wait, I take that back. I’m going to be a good critic and reserve judgement until the week of March 23. Three: This is exhausting.

In the week since Isle of Dogs’ initial limited release, a measured, varied, and nuanced discussion about Wes Anderson’s use of Japanese culture — and other cultures in general — has happened in fits and starts. It’s not a new conversation; it’s been happening over the course of Anderson’s filmography, probably starting in earnest with the India-set The Darjeeling Limited in 2007. What’s louder to me, this time around, is the contingent of people seemingly broadsided by this conversation, and furious it’s even taking place. Justin Chang’s review for the L.A. Times in particular asks more questions than it answers, but thanks to the diligent coverage of everyone from Entertainment Weekly to Fox News (when was the last time Fox News cared about Wes Anderson’s honor? I’m guessing never), it became the central proof that the PC police were out to get America’s most symmetrical auteur.

I’m of the belief that the phenomenon commonly known as cultural appropriation can be benign, even illuminating in the right artist’s hands. The thing is, Anderson hasn’t done anything in a while, if ever, to convince me that those are his hands, but I like to think I’m always down for a pleasant surprise. Darjeeling, which somehow managed to turn an entire country and culture into a prop for white enlightenment, and look really chic while doing it, was a bad example of such appropriation. But for those of us who reluctantly still keep a candle burning for Anderson’s early filmography, and love adorable dogs, there was reason to hope that Isle could do better.

Still … those Japanese-people puppets. And the largely non-Asian voice cast (Yoko Ono was one of a few exceptions, and an extremely Andersonian one at that). American cinema, from schlocky action to critical-darling indies, still has a long way to go when it comes to depicting — or not depicting, as the case may be — Asian people and cultures. It had been half a year since we did the Ghost in the Shell outrage shuffle, but the dots were failing to connect to Anderson’s highbrow doggy-puppet movie. That’s where the exhaustion kicked in.

As it turns out, Isle of Dogs is a kind of perfect artifact for our current-day conversation around cultural appropriation, if it can even still be called that. It’s hard to call it offensive, exactly, and yet, it’s not devoid of a kind of opportunism. It’s not a crime, but it’s certainly something to unpack. Anderson self-consciously uses Japanese-ness — a very curated, Showa-era version of Japan — as a kind of costume, and Isle of Dogs depicts a heightened essence of the Japanese culture as filtered through a Western understanding, the sort of thing your grandpa or Neal Stephenson would call “Nipponese.” (Kurosawa! Sumo! Taiko drums!) There’s a creakiness to its appreciation, but it feels self-aware about the limits of its references; at no point do I think that Wes Anderson is suggesting that his 2028 stop-motion version of a fictional city represents anything real or accurate about Japanese culture. It’s a look. You could swap it out for, say, Finland, and not much would change. If I’m playing cultural-appropriation cop (a terrible job, please don’t make me do it), I’d file it under benign. Maybe too benign! (Spoilers Below)

The exception is the film’s use of Japanese language, which felt bizarre to me, even as a nonfluent (seriously, the opposite of fluent) Japanese speaker. Human characters speak Japanese throughout the film, but it is almost never subtitled, just occasionally translated by Frances McDormand’s interpreter character. It’s clearly meant to echo the fact that the dog characters can’t understand the human characters, but I wondered: What is the experience of watching the film like for a person who can speak and understand Japanese? Is the metaphor just not made for you? Is the film not made for you? Is there a hilarious, enlightening parallel movie happening in the Japanese dialogue, or is it, like Anderson’s painstakingly crafted little shoji walls, punchably paper-thin set dressing?

It was hard for me to answer these questions myself, given my pathetic grasp of the language of the country I was born in. (Sorry, extended family.) So I reached out on Twitter to a handful of native and/or fluent speakers of Japanese who saw Isle of Dogs on opening weekend, to get their impression of the film’s use of language. Their observations were fascinating and occasionally conflicting, as were their critical opinions of the film. What I found, even in this small sample size, was a similar dynamic I’ve seen before in debates about Asian culture as reflected by Western culture — perspectives can vary wildly between Asian-Americans and immigrated Asians, and what feels like tribute to some feels like opportunism to others.

Who I spoke to: Anthony, a Japanese-American translator for a Pasadena tech start-up, who was born in L.A. and grew up bilingual in Tokyo. Lisa,* a Japanese woman working in the entertainment industry, who grew up in Japan and has lived in the U.K. and U.S. as an adult. Beam, a Thai culture writer living in San Francisco, who is fluent in Japanese and lived in Tokyo for five years.

*not her real name

(It should be noted that finding people to talk to was a task in and of itself. The film just opened in select cities this week, so the pool was already small. But several people mentioned to me on social media that many of their Japanese friends living in the States didn’t even know about the film, much less have passionate opinions on its treatment of their culture. Just something to take into account.)

The spoken dialogue is fine. If you’ve ever watched a foreign film in which an “American character” makes a cameo, you know it can sometimes be unintentionally jarring. (My favorite, extremely goofy recent example is in Hideaki Anno’s Shin Godzilla, in which Satomi Ishihara plays the half-Japanese daughter of a U.S. senator, who is the singular embodiment of a trope you rarely encounter in English-language film: Sassy American Friend.) All three people I spoke to said this was not a problem for Anderson’s film. “For what it’s worth, the spoken Japanese made complete sense,” Anthony told me. “There was no accent or awkwardness.” Isle of Dogs employed Japanese voice actors for many of its non-starring roles, and Japanese writer and DJ Kun Nomura, who voiced Mayor Kobayashi, has a writing credit, which probably helped Anderson and co-writers Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman avoid such basic faux pas.

But it’s not really meant to be heard. Anthony reported that there was a muffled quality to much of the Japanese dialogue. “It was very hard to hear — it kind of sounded like they had put cotton balls in their mouth,” he says. “It was distracting, because I wanted to hear what they were saying.” Lisa didn’t quite have this problem, but found herself ignoring much of the Japanese dialogue anyway. “I didn’t exactly find it hard to hear,” she says. “But I didn’t care much about it; I knew it didn’t have much meaning.”

Shocker — there’s some stilted dialogue in a Wes Anderson movie. While Lisa agreed that the Japanese writing made perfect sense, some of the performances, including Koyu Rankin’s performance as Atari, struck her as a little unnatural. “The main [Japanese-speaking] characters, or anyone with relatively more dialogue, like Atari or Major-Domo, sounded a bit weird,” she said. Lisa thought that Nomura’s performance as the mayor worked, but she sensed that the dialogue had been written differently for other characters. “They didn’t try to speak Japanese precisely,” she says of Atari and Major-Domo. “But they had a Japanese ‘cultural effect.’ So it was kind of caricatured.”

Beam also observed a kind of “Japanese affect” that he suspected was intentional in its stiltedness. A scene he liked in particular was one in which the scientists working on the Dog Flu serum make their discovery and cheer their victory with a unison “Kampai!” “It’s what you really see Japanese people do in real life — they’d drink, cheer, congratulate, and say thank you to each other,” Beam says. “It’s slightly robotic which is kind of cute and comical at the same time.”

Tracy is definitely a problem. The lack of subtitles for the Japanese characters is one of the more controversial aspects of the film. While Beam enjoyed the film overall, his biggest gripe was with the film’s use (or non-use) of subtitles, and he felt that the treatment of Greta Gerwig’s American character Tracy provided an instructive contrast to the Japanese characters. “I feel like it uses its self-imposed rule to not use subtitles as an excuse to make that character white, because someone needs to speak English in Megasaki City,” he told me. “Without that rule, the character might as well have been a plucky Japanese schoolgirl and it would have made equal or more sense (or like, just cut her character out entirely).”

The written language is a little spotty. Both Lisa and Anthony noted that the written language, as it appears in the art direction and onscreen text, stood out more than the un-subtitled dialogue. “A lot of it was an awkward, kind of choppy phrasing,” Anthony said. “It kind of made me think that someone had thrown these English phrases into Google Translate. The [characters] weren’t the exact characters you would use in that context.” One example he gave was with the drones that appear in the film, which were referred to as mujinki (literally, “machine without a person”). “People today wouldn’t use the literal translation of drone,” he says. “Most people would just say du-ron. It just makes more sense.”

Lisa also says that the written-out “Megasaki City,” a fictional name which doesn’t mean anything in Japanese, contains a fictional nonsense kanji character presumably made up by the art department. Anthony’s sense was that the art department and graphics department perhaps didn’t consult as much with native Japanese speakers as the writers did. “When something was handwritten in the film, it looked perfect. It was just the graphics that were off.”

There are pretty much no Japanese Easter eggs. I was also really curious about any hidden jokes or gags in the script’s Japanese, but all three viewers agreed that the dialogue, for the most part, is purely utilitarian; when it came to playing to the Japanese speakers in the room, Lisa says, “It didn’t seem like they really cared.” She adds, “There were no hidden messages, [the language] just there to make an atmosphere, like ‘It’s Japan!’”

The exception is the title of the film, which in Japanese is Inugashima, which Lisa says will read to Japanese viewers as a direct reference to the folktale Momotaro (“peach boy”). In the story, which every Japanese child (even me) knows from birth, Momotaro travels to the island of demons, or oni, which is called Onigashima. The parallels end there, but the name will lend a mythical feeling to the film for viewers who grew up with the story.

The reviews are mixed to positive. “All in all, despite a few things that are tone-deaf, I think it’s quite a respectful depiction of Japanese culture,” Beam says. Even when some of the language quirks stumbled, the essence of the film felt particularly Japanese to him. “I love that Atari, a Japanese character, is portrayed as an ultimate hero who values friendship more than anything, which is the same concept (‘nakama’) as what most Japanese animes/dramas, old or current, revolve around.” Lisa also really enjoyed the film, and thinks it will go over well with Japanese viewers when it’s released there in May. “It’s not an accurate reflection of Japan, but it’s based on Japanese fables and a Japanese point of view, and Japanese problems. And we love dogs.”

Anthony, meanwhile, has more misgivings. “There’s a kind of disconnect with the Japanese-ness, which made it feel like Japan was just a backdrop to tell this story,” he says. Then there’s the question of intent vs. reception: Watching the film at a theater in Pasadena, as the only Asian person in the audience, couldn’t help but affect his viewing experience. He described inexplicable laughter from the crowd every time a Japanese character reacted to something in Japanese. “It made me think, What are they laughing at? The fact that they speak a foreign language?”

Still, as someone with a foot in both cultures, he’s been tracking the film’s reception on both sides of the Pacific, particularly the hype on Japanese Twitter. Much of the anticipation revolves around the appearance of Yojiro Noda, lead singer of the rock band RADWIMPS, as the voice of a news anchor in the film. But there’s also a general eagerness to see it. “People are like, ‘I know he’s going to respect Japanese culture,” Anthony says. “Japanese people love Wes Anderson.”

#isle of dogs #cultural appropriation #wes anderson #japan #movies #japanese american #emily yoshida #review #spoilers

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feymorgaina · 3 years

Link

Q: When did you start streaming and why?

A: My first stream was on December 11, 2019, the same day I signed up on Twitch. It was a short test stream from my PlayStation 4.

The PlayStation 4 always had this "Broadcast" feature. At the time I first got the PlayStation 4, I had other in real life pursuits (if you've been on my blog since those days, you'll know that was taekwondo. I'd still like to get back to taekwondo, but we'll see). By December 2019, however, I had moved to a different country (big life change, I know, but one I very much looked forward to) and after spending just over two years mostly at home studying Dutch (yes, I moved to the Netherlands), I felt ready to try something different. I've been on the internet for years (pre-Facebook and pre-MySpace) and have always been interested in and willing to try new forms of social media. Broadcasting (a.k.a. "streaming") was different and I felt it was time to try something a bit more interactive (albeit, more public too) than just blogging, Tweeting, using mobile apps, and whatever else I used in the past (I had stopped using Facebook by this time, though I've started using it again mostly to help promote my Twitch channel).

There I was one day just taking a break from studying so much. From about a year before moving and for two years after moving, I barely touched the PS4. I needed a break and there were games I had on the backlog (I still have a backlog :) ) and there was that "Broadcast" feature still staring at me. I set up my Twitch account that day and once I figured out how to link the PlayStation to my Twitch channel, I did a short test stream. It was for about half an hour. The stream was never saved though (I didn't know I needed to turn that option on) and which game I first streamed will for now remain a mystery for my Twitch viewers (although you can find the stats online for that stream, it streamed to the wrong category accidentally - it's a PlayStation 4 thing).

Q: Why did you continue to stream?

A: It's like what it says on the About... part of my Twitch channel. "Watch me do the things I love and more", but also "Streaming is sharing; 'sharing is caring'". This is just who I am, I like to share the things I like and love. It's like that when I go out to eat dinner with people. I want to order them the food I like and love 'cause I want to share it. Although, there's also this perspective: if the person doesn't like the same food, that's fine with me too. That just means there's more of the stuff I love just for me. ;)

I also figured Twitch's interactive chatting could be a great way for me to practice Dutch (and other languages). Again, if you've been a reader of my blog for a while now, you'd know I've been learning Dutch for a while since before I moved to the Netherlands. After about a month or so on Twitch, I checked and found out there was a Duolingo category. I've been wanting to make language learning videos for a while now, but I didn't want to just make YouTube videos. Recording myself practicing speaking Dutch is a good way for me to judge how I'm doing and I could just do that by recording videos and uploading to YouTube, however, the big appeal for me about doing a Twitch stream is the interactive chatting for the languages. My chat is a multilingual chat even if some days my brain goes on cooldown and I can't even Engl-ish. :D

Of course, I like to meet people on Twitch. Twitch is social media, and that's what I like about social media. I've met some good people on there already. If I really feel a rapport with some people, it'd be nice to meet them in real life. Maybe even have a gaming night where we can sit, chill, be ourselves (not our Twitch selves, I mean), and have fun (maybe even practice talking in different languages too).

Q: Twitch is a monetization platform. Aren't you also trying to make money on there?

A: I think everyone would love to make money just doing the things they like and love. So, sure. Of course, I'm trying to make some money on Twitch as well, but it's not my biggest motivating factor for streaming on Twitch. I just like getting on Twitch and feeling like maybe I'm making a small difference somehow. Maybe someone sees me on there when they're having a bad day and it makes them feel better. Or maybe just knowing that there's always something to watch will make someone feel better about life. Who knows? All I know is the not knowing who I'll meet on Twitch is what keeps me going.

I guess that's easy for me to say. I'm at a point in my life where not everything is great but things feel relatively stable although my residence situation isn't permanent and I no longer have fuzzy-headed "meownsters" (a.k.a. cats) running around (they both died after we moved here; and yes, I brought my cats with me when I moved - I'd never leave them behind). As I mentioned earlier, I would love to get back to taekwondo again and I did do some taekwondo training streams on Twitch. Sadly, I need a bigger living space than I currently have or I need to rent space or buy some other space I could use. Nate, my boyfriend and common-law partner, has been very supportive of my die-hard "work to live" not "live to work" personality. In the past, I worked to make ends meet and tried to "live to work". It wasn't a great life, although I was trying my best. I even had a job as a law clerk which I loved but circumstances out of my control and my boss' control changed that. I felt like life was really trying to tell me something. I was doing things wrong. Not that it's wrong for people to work. It was wrong for me - that whole "rat race". This was about the time I met Nate. After that, he supported my decision (in fact, he encouraged it) to just focus on my taekwondo training. Without his help, I'm not sure I would've been able to continue with the training because of the training fees. Now I'm on Twitch and it feels natural to me (the sharing part, I mean, I don't think I'm the most entertaining or interactive person on Twitch - I'm more of a "get things done" person than "super chatty all the time" person) like I should've been doing something like this all along. It would eventually be nice to make some money on there so I could contribute to the living expenses Nate and I have. Although with Nate, I know this isn't necessary, it's just how I feel about it.

Q: You mentioned games (it's Twitch, so obviously), languages, and taekwondo. What else do you stream on Twitch? And do you have plans for other content?

A: I've also done a few cooking streams. I've been a bit busy looking for a new home to move to, but when I get a chance to I'll try to do another cooking stream sometime. Before the coronavirus lockdowns happened, I intended to do streams outside in the city. I moved to Amsterdam and it really is a great city. It's one of my cities now. :D I'm originally from Toronto, Canada and I've been to New York City before which just felt like a bigger version of Toronto so I felt at home there in a way. Amsterdam is a bit different than both, but in a way I like and need - needed. I love this city so far. So it's one of my cities - those cities being Toronto, Amsterdam, and New York City. Don't mess with any of my cities. I'll send my NinjaBots after you. (Just jokes from my Twitch channel.) Anyway, yes. I plan to do streams out in the city. I'm not sure how that's going to work. We'll see. I'm just not confident we're not heading into The Corona Years - Year 3.

Q: What's your streaming philosophy? How do you view Twitch as a social media platform?

A: This is what I said on my Twitter: "A Twitch stream is the equivalent of an open house party in real life where the channel is the streamer's Twitch home. As streamers, we need to remember that like an open house party, the streams are public and we should conduct ourselves accordingly. (1/2)" (https://twitter.com/feyMorgaina/status/1427760936446840832) "(2/2) Viewers should also remember that when visiting someone's Twitch channel (home), you should obey the rules of that channel and always keep in mind that you may be removed from the premises (timed out) and deemed persona non grata (banned)!" (https://twitter.com/feyMorgaina/status/1427761130257195018). That basically sums up how I view Twitch. I also keep that in mind when I visit other Twitch channels.

As for my streaming philosophy, it's always been simple. I'm awake, I'm dressed, I'm doing something interesting (well, interesting to me) that I want to share, let's turn on the mic and camera. Though at first for the games, I didn't really want to use a camera (Nate convinced me to try it) and sometimes I still don't use a camera. I have days when I'm tired and feeling lazy, but I still want to hammer through more of a game. It's just much easier for me to concentrate on the game if I'm relaxed and not worried about how I look on camera. In keeping with that philosophy of being "awake and dressed, let's turn on the mic and camera", it also means that I like to be able to stream from wherever whenever. I stream from a variety of devices/machines including my mobile phone, Chromebook, the PS4, and the PS5. I feel that if I rely only on my one laptop or that one PC tower to stream, then I'm going to have days where I'm not going to stream 'cause I have to go set up on that laptop or PC tower.

Q: Is that why your streams look... simple?

A: If you mean that I don't have tons of overlays and sound alerts and such... yes, that is why. I like the simple layout and simple setup. For my language streams, it was starting to take a half hour to get set up. It really cuts into the productive time and not necessarily worth it (in my opinion). My streams are about me and the content. Anything else is just distraction, and I want my viewers to watch the content I'm putting out. The content I'm sharing is stuff I like and want to share and it's part of who I am. For those paying attention and those who are perceptive, they'll see that that's me on there (with or without the camera and mic on - I mostly have the mic on, but late at night I might not) and hopefully they can appreciate that. Plus, I think there's room on Twitch for just being yourself. No gimmicks. Just me and whatever I happen to be doing. When I'm streaming, I'm sharing part of my life. It's real not made up. I am who I am.

This is also why I don't use any special filters on my mic. I have a pop filter attached to the mic, that's it. I like my streams sounding full of life, even if it means those loud European sirens (they are seriously loud, tons louder than in Toronto) and motorists with loud engines are heard on stream (though I have on occasion just muted the mic temporarily). Also, if I stream from my phone while outside I can't do much about filtering the sound. It's going to sound much different than if I was at home with special filters on. For some kind of consistency, I figure let's just leave it alone. Like I said, I'm sharing my life, loud sirens and loud engines included. :D

Q: Do you have issues with privacy? How are you handling that?

A: feyMorgaina is my internet personality and has been for years. Sure, I have my private moments. Things I feel don't need to be shared onstream or even online, but I'm generally a fairly open person even in real life. Though in some real life situations, I may be more reserved. It depends - usually on the people I'm meeting. It's always felt much easier to be more outgoing on the internet. If you're wondering about my real identity, well... luckily, no one's tried to dox me yet. I mostly have to be careful not to dox myself. :D But yes, privacy was something I thought about carefully before deciding to stream. I think if you're real smart, you can probably find me in real life, but I think the average person isn't going to go to that much trouble. I'm certainly not popular enough. Plus, I did mention taekwondo training, right? ;)

Q: What do you do when you're not streaming?

A: Lately, it's been trying to find a new home. Otherwise, I spend time with Nate or just chill and do things I don't stream like read this book I've had on the backburner for ages, watch a movie or TV show, listen to some music. I recently cut my stream schedule back by one day. I've pretty much kept a five days a week stream schedule from the beginning, but now I need a bit of a break. I've been thinking of getting back into blogging again or maybe sitting down and actually working on a short story. When it comes to writing fiction, I get ideas for big stories, like a whole universe/world, but I think I should try something smaller just to see if I can focus enough to do it. I've had an idea for a long time of writing a bunch of short stories for a compilation. Perhaps I just need to sit down and do it already.

~~~~~~

This pretend interview was written by Your Local Twitch Streamer, feyMorgaina. Check out her entity-, human-, and LGBT/QIA+ friendly Twitch channel at https://www.twitch.tv/feymorgaina. (Yes, it's "she/her" 'cause they are the pronouns she's used to and even if she's felt "boyish" in the past and did "boy things" as a kid when she should've been doing "girl things" and didn't feel "girlish" at times, she's never considered herself to be "he/him". "They/them" is acceptable if you don't know feyMorgaina uses "she/her", for example, when she pops into one of your language learning streams and says "Hi" in the language you're learning. Also, she grew up with LGBT+; hence, the LGBT/QIA+. If there's any real difference, she doesn't really know 'cause she thought the + included others with similar experiences and of similar open-mindedness; however the meaning of the + doesn't seem to be generally agreed on anyway, but it doesn't matter as she's always been entity-friendly and let's just go from there. Okay, entity? :) )

#twitch #streamer #games #languages #varietystreamer

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n0verias · 6 years

Text

This is for @nyappykid, I was your Ace Attorney Secret Santa! I hope you like it!

Title: Christmas in Khura’in Pairing: Klavier/Apollo Rating: T Warnings: Mentions of crimes/murders, mentions of death Additional Tags: Made-up Khura’inese words, Apollo is a lovestruck fool AO3 Link

December 22, 2028 Justice Law Office

“Horned Head! I command you to help me this instant!” Rayfa shouted as she attempted, with little success, to hold up a huge stream of prayer flags. Her small frame was barely visible with how much she was holding, and Apollo was actually quite impressed.

“I got it.” Apollo lessened the load for Rayfa by taking half the pile in his arms. “I honestly didn’t think Christmas was celebrated here.”

Rayfa let out a pronounced ‘hmph’. “Is that what you call it in America? Here, we call it Khu’khurist. It’s an ancient tradition brought upon by the Holy Mother herself as a means to celebrate all that we are thankful for. And while you selfish Americans demand gift offerings, we hold a giant festival for all to enjoy.”

“And on the day of the 25th, we conclude by lighting the candles of prayer around the giant hal’abad tree.”

Apollo and Rayfa turned to see Nahyuta entering the Justice Law Office with a box of decorations. “And while we generally don’t hand out gifts as Rayfa said, it is not uncommon for couples to exchange a small token of their love for each other.” Nahyuta chuckled as he set down the box. Apollo took a peek and saw that there were a bunch of unlit candles, as well as holly, a wreath, and…oh god, was that what Apollo thought it was?

“Ah, and I did some research on American customs as well. Apparently, Americans hang some kind of plant called ‘mistletoe’ in a doorway, and whoever ends up under it has to kiss someone.” Nahyuta held up the mistletoe in his fingers and tried to find a perfect spot for it. “I thought it would make Apollo feel more at home.”

Apollo grimaced. So it WAS what he thought. “I don’t think something like that is necessary.” Besides, there is literally no one here who he would want to kiss, and he’ll be damned if he had to kiss someone like…Datz. He shuddered at the thought.

Rayfa crossed her arms. “How barbaric. So this is what America is like during the holidays?”

“NO.” Apollo shouted a lot louder than he intended. “Putting something like that up in the office is just asking for bad luck to happen!”

And as if things couldn’t get any worse, Datz Are’bal burst through the door and almost tripped over the rug. He managed to catch his balance as he skidded to a halt right in front of them. “Did you guys hear?! They managed to get some hot shot musician to sing at the festival!”

Nahyuta and Apollo stared at Datz as if he grew a second head. Rayfa in contrast smirked.

“Ah that’s right! I heard from Mother…I—I mean Queen Amara…” Rayfa blushed at her blunder. “That she sought to find a form of American entertainment, since this would be Horned Head’s first Khu’khurist with us.”

Why did Apollo feel so uneasy? “Dare I ask who this musician is?”

Rayfa pondered the thought. “Uh…I believe it was Klavier Gavin…?”

Apollo was stunned into silence. He hadn’t heard from or spoken to Klavier for more than a year…not since that incident at Themis Legal Academy. And if he were to be completely honest, he thought that Khura’in would be the LAST place he would ever run into the fop. Did this mean that Klavier was reviving his musical career? He recalled last time they spoke that Klavier was going to focus more on his prosecuting, especially after Daryan Crescend was convicted of murder and the Gavinners were disbanded. He recalled that to be a dark time for Klavier, and no matter how much the man showed off a smile, it was clear that underneath it was sorrow. Of course, a lot can change within the course of a year. He wondered how Klavier was doing…he didn’t even think that Klavier knew that he was in Khura’in.

“Earth to Apollo!”

Apollo was snapped out of his thoughts by Datz waving his hand ferociously in front of his face. Apollo slapped the hand away with mild annoyance. “Sorry…just that hearing the name Klavier Gavin brings back old memories.”

“Do you know him?” Nahyuta questioned, to which Apollo nodded.

“After a fashion. He’s actually a prosecutor who I fought against on many occasions.”

Rayfa tilted her head. “So he’s a friend? Maybe it’s a good thing he’ll be the one performing, then.”

Could Apollo consider Klavier a friend? Sure they were on good terms both outside the courtroom and inside, but it’s not like they ever took time out of their busy schedules to have a chat over coffee. Apollo sighed. “When’s he supposed to arrive?”

“Actually, he might already be here. His plane landed yesterday and should be staying at Tehm-pul Temple—” Before Rayfa could finish her sentence, Apollo dashed out of the office, leaving behind stunned and mildly amused expressions.

“Something tells me this will be an interesting Khu’khurist indeed.” Nahyuta chuckled.

Apollo panted and wheezed as he stopped in front of the temple. He hadn’t run that fast in a while, it felt like; but his exhaustion soon wore off when he caught sight of the familiar silhouette of someone he hadn’t seen in a long while. The purple jacket, those rings…that platinum blond hair.”

“K-Klavier?!”

Said figure turned around, revealing crystal blue eyes peeking out from behind black shades. The look of shock on Klavier’s face was very apparent.

“H-Herr Forehead?” Klavier rushed to Apollo. “Mein gott, why are you here?”

Oh, that’s right. He…never told Klavier that his new residence was in Khura’in. “I’ve been living here for a few months now, actually.” Apollo explained awkwardly. “It’s a long story…”

“Oh? So you’re no longer employed under Herr Wright? What did you do that caused him to fire you?” Klavier chuckled.

If there’s one thing he didn’t miss, it was Klavier’s sharp tongue. “That’s not what happened! I told you it was a long story.”

Klavier grinned. “Well, we have plenty of time to catch up. Maybe over drinks?”

Apollo wanted to protest, but a part of him couldn’t bring himself to refuse. It was probably that smile. That annoying, pretty boy smile. He didn’t like talking about the events that transpired earlier in the year, but he supposed he owed Klavier an explanation for disappearing from the courtrooms in Los Angeles.

They managed to find a small café that sold different Khura’inese pastries and drinks, which they sat down and caught up. Klavier told him about how he visited Germany for a couple of weeks, and how his music was still very popular there much to his surprise. His prosecuting career is still as successful as ever, making sure that no one was falsely convicted and that only the true criminal was brought to justice. That was one thing he and Apollo had in common, and something that Apollo was grateful of. On a more somber note…Klavier also told him of Kristoph’s execution. Kristoph Gavin, Klavier’s brother and Apollo’s former boss, was finally executed via lethal injection about a month ago. Klavier was present, and while Kristoph had no last words, their eyes locked one last time before the deed was done.

And as if things couldn’t get more depressing, Apollo decided to tell Klavier about his adoptive father, Dhurke Sahdmadhi, and the events that sparked a revolution here in the Kingdom of Khura’in. Which, of course, included the details surrounding Dhurke’s death, as well as his biological father’s murder at the hands of the former Queen of Khura’in. It was still rather difficult to retell the events that haunted his memories, but he knew that he would have to get over it eventually.

“I’m really sorry to hear about Kristoph.” Apollo looked at Klavier with sympathy. “Regardless of what he’s done, I’m sure it must’ve been hard for you.”

Klavier sighed. “The past is past. I can’t waste time feeling sorry for myself.” He smiled sadly. “It’s strange, really…he had done some cruel things that ruined him, and I pitied him. But as his brother, I couldn’t help but feel sad. He wasn’t even a supportive brother to begin with.”

“That’s only human nature.” Apollo took a sip of his herbal tea. “To me, he was just my boss; but to you, he was family.”

Klavier chuckled. “How about we change the subject to something more…cheerful.” He rested his chin on his hands and smiled. “So am I to understand that you inherited your adopted father’s law office? You sure are making a name for yourself, Herr Forehead.”

Apollo laughed awkwardly and scratched his cheek a little. “Something like that. I wanted Dhurke’s dream to live on, so I made the tough decision to stay here…at least until the justice system in this country gets revived.”

Klavier hummed. “Do you still keep in contact with Fräulein Magician and Fräulein Cykes? And what happened to Fräulein Detective? I haven’t seen her in quite some time.”

“Ever the romantic, aren’t you.” Apollo rolled his eyes. Ema was probably over the moon over not having to work side-by-side with Klavier. “It’s pretty expensive to talk over the phone, but I send them letters whenever I’m able to. Trucy apparently promoted Athena to her magical assistant.” Apollo thanked the stars that he no longer had that position. “As for Ema…I think she’s here in Khura’in, actually.”

That earned him a raised eyebrow, so Apollo explained further. “The prosecutor in this country has taken a liking to her, so she’s here for as long as I have helping us with cases.”

“I’m amazed that someone could tolerate the detective for too long without stepping on her toes.” Klavier chuckled.

Apollo shot him a deadpanned expression. “I’m sure she was only like that because she had to deal with you on a daily basis.”

Klavier feigned hurt. “Way to strike me where it hurts, Herr Forehead.”

Of course, Apollo knew that the real reason behind Ema’s sour attitude back then was due to her having failed the forensics exam. Now that she was a certified forensic scientist, she was in much higher spirits.

They spent a few more minutes of small chatter before leaving the café. And who should they run into but Nahyuta and Rayfa carrying more supplies, no doubt in preparation for the festival.

“So you must be the musician that will be performing in a few days?” Nahyuta questioned, to which Klavier nodded. Nahyuta smiled. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance. Any friend of Apollo is a friend of mine.”

Apollo crossed his arms. “Klavier, this is Nahyuta Sahdmadhi. He’s the prosecutor for this country. And the girl next to him is Rayfa Padma Khura’in…crowned princess of Khura’in, as well as a holy priestess.”

Klavier whistled. “You sure have friends in high places, Herr Forehead.”

“Herr…Forehead…?” Nahyuta chuckled, and Rayfa smirked.

“I see that Horned Head has many titles.”

Klavier bowed to Rayfa, took her hand in his, and kissed it. “It’s an honor to meet the princess of this country.”

Rayfa’s face turned a dark shade of red and Apollo thought for a moment that she had short-circuited. And as expected, Rayfa hastily pulled her hand away and pouted. “You will cease this inappropriate behavior at once!” Her voice slightly cracked at the end, which didn’t help her case at all.

“I see you’re still an insufferable charmer.” Apollo rolled his eyes, to which Klavier chuckled.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Klavier then took Apollo’s hand and did the same thing. “Unless it’s working, of course.”

Apollo stood there, frozen like a statue. “N-Now you’re just trying to be annoying.” However, the fact that he hesitated to pull his hand away caused Nahyuta to chuckle. Thankfully, Klavier didn’t notice as he stood up.

“Well, I think I will head back to my room. I think jet lag is finally catching up with me.” Klavier smiled. “Good to see you again, Herr Forehead. Maybe we’ll see each other tomorrow. My number is still the same.” And with a wink, Klavier walked back in the direction of Tehm’pul Temple without looking back.

After a few minutes of saying nothing, Nahyuta cleared his throat. “So…just a friend, you said?”

Apollo snapped out of his trance. “Uh…what?”

“You and Klavier Gavin seemed very close.”

Apollo was silent for a short moment, before looking to the side. “He and I have known each other for a while. And while I hate to admit it, he’s helped me out with my first few cases as an attorney.”

Nahyuta nodded in understanding. “So your relationship is strictly professional?”

“…What are you implying?”

“You reacted the same way that Rayfa did when Mr. Gavin kissed your hand.” Nahyuta smiled sweetly. “And unlike her, you’re not a small child vulnerable to precocious crushes.”

“Hey!” Rayfa pouted next to Nahyuta, but he ignored her.

“Hm…maybe that mistletoe will come in handy, after all.”

Apollo wasn’t impressed in the slightest. “You’re just imagining things, Nahyuta.” However, that did nothing to stop his heart from racing at an unnatural pace. He desperately wanted the subject to change. “So if you two are here, who’s watching the office?”

Rayfa crossed her arms. “Datz, of course.”

The color from Apollo’s face drained away and he rushed back in the direction of his office, all while grateful for that embarrassing conversation to end.

“Whoa, you must be in deep trouble if you’re willing to pay for a long distance phone call, Polly!” Trucy’s voice chimed through Apollo’s cell phone. “You’re not in trouble with the law again, are you?”

Apollo frowned. “No, nothing like that…and what do you mean ‘again’?!” He huffed. “If you must know, Klavier is here in Khura’in. To perform for the Christmas festival.”

He could practically feel the amount of glee seeping through Trucy’s voice. “Oooooh, so that’s where he went! We’re actually babysitting his dog for him while he’s away. I wanted to tell you, but by the time the letter would reach you it’d probably be too late.”

Well, he appreciated the thought, he supposed. Though that still did nothing to calm his heart down. It felt like it was about to explode, and there was no way in hell he would ever admit to the reason for it. “I wonder how Ema would react to seeing him here. She’s been so busy with work that I doubt she even knows about the festival.”

Trucy giggled. “It’s just like you to change the subject like that, Polly.”

“I admit nothing.”

“Well, I’m sure Ema won’t be as grumpy as she used to be, now that she can legally take people’s fingerprints!” Trucy’s voice faltered all of a sudden, and soon after there was a loud crashing noise in the background.

“Are you alright, Trucy?!” Apollo began to worry.

Trucy’s voice sounded distant for a moment, before it came back to the phone. “Sorry about that, I’m practicing a new magic trick but Athena keeps messing up her part. She’s enthusiastic, but she doesn’t have the same charm that you did.”

“And I don’t miss those days for a moment.” Apollo deadpanned. “I hope Athena isn’t bleeding to death right now, otherwise Mr. Wright will not only have to find a new attorney, but also deal with Mr. Blackquill’s wrath on top of that.”

“No no she’s fine! For the most part…” Trucy’s voice trailed off. “Might have gotten a few paper cuts but nothing serious! Besides, Pearl is helping out too. She’s our resident first-aid kit for Athena.”

Apollo sighed. “Stop bringing other people into your convoluted magic tricks.”

“I can’t hear you, Polly!” Trucy sing-songed. “So back to your reason for calling. I think your situation desperately calls for some Christmas magic. Like a clear starry night…or mistletoe!”

“Enough with the mistletoe!” Apollo’s chords of steel made its appearance in the form of a grating shout. “It’s not like that.”

“Are you sure about tha—”

Apollo could hear a commotion on the other end, followed by some protests from Trucy. Seconds later, a new voice popped up.

“Okay listen up, Apollo, I was listening to the entire conversation!”

Apollo scowled. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s impolite to eavesdrop, Athena?”

Athena scoffed. “Whatever, just listen. You can’t keep your feelings inside you for so long. I’m practically on the other side of the world and I can still feel your emotions loud and clear! And if you think I’m not willing to give you a therapy session over the phone, you’re sorely mistaken.”

“Alright, alright I get it. So what are your ears picking up, exactly? Because I have no idea.”

It sounded like Athena grabbed something from the other end. “Glad you asked! Now, as your resident therapist, I suggest you first admit your feelings for Klavier—”

“Wait wait what, WHAT?!” Apollo practically screamed.

“Oh please, Apollo, it was obvious to me since you made that huge tangent about those roses Klavier sent Trucy earlier in the year.” Athena’s voice was flat, and Apollo could just about picture her eyes rolling. “You don’t have to tell the man, but admitting to yourself that you have feelings for him will definitely ease the tight feeling in your chest.”

“………..Goodbye, Athena. Tell Trucy I said goodbye, and if she asks, you are the reason I’m cutting this conversation short.”

Before Athena could protest, Apollo hung up his phone and let out a loud, drawn out sigh. He lied back on his bed and stared up at the ceiling.

(Feelings for Klavier, huh…)

December 22, 2028 Wright Anything Agency

“I can’t believe you, Athena!” Trucy huffed with her hands on her hips. “I didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye to him!”

Athena felt only slightly guilty. “It’s not MY fault he refuses to admit his feelings for Klavier!”

Trucy crossed her arms. “Polly’s a boy, Athena! They don’t admit things like that so easily, if at all!”

Athena frowned. “I would think he would have outgrown that behavior by now, he’s in his mid-twenties!”

“Umm…guys?”

Both Trucy and Athena looked in the direction of the voice to see Pearl standing there with an apologetic smile. “Sorry to interrupt, but I just got off the phone with Bonny. She was wondering if you wanted her to get Mr. Hat ready for tomorrow’s Christmas show…”

“Oh!” Trucy ran to grab her notes that were sitting on the coffee table. “Yeah, if she’s able to!”

Athena toyed with her earring. “…Didn’t Bonny mess up Mr. Hat’s positioning during that one case…?”

“Yeah, but I trust her! Besides, Betty is there too to supervise.” Trucy went back to practicing her magic trick, and Athena grimaced.

(Wasn’t Betty actively trying to sabotage you, too?!)

December 25, 2028 Justice Law Office

It was finally time for the festival, and Apollo was absolutely floored by how beautiful the bazaar was. Candles illuminated every corner of each store; people selling small candies colored in silver and gold. Khura’in even had their own version of Santa Claus, although it was an overly long name that Apollo couldn’t even try to pronounce if he wanted to. Apparently this version of Santa Claus was a holy priest who dedicated his life to making children happy; he awarded those who practiced his religion with devout faith, and punished those by sending them to a dark abyss where they would face eternal suffering. A bit excessive, Apollo thought, but he can’t say he was surprised.

He hadn’t seen Klavier since the other day. He didn’t want to pull Klavier away from his rehearsals for later tonight. Klavier did however text him that he would be performing ‘The Guitar’s Serenade’ after the candles are lit on the hal’abad tree. It was customary for an hour sermon to be recited during the lighting, followed by up to three hours of prayer. Apollo was grateful that he wouldn’t have to participate in that; he wasn’t sure if his back can handle being in a hunched position like that for three whole hours.

He walked through the bazaar, admiring the lights and little trinkets hanging from the rafters with a carefree expression. It wasn’t often that he can enjoy something like this without thinking about a case in the back of his mind. Ever since the abolishment of the Defense Culpability Act, his office has heard no end to cases involving wrongful convictions; and while he was more than happy to right the wrongs done by a twisted government, it was nice to have some time to himself.

His eyes fell upon Nahyuta and Ema by a fruit stand. Ema had a very confused expression on her face while Nahyuta was holding up a bizarre-looking fruit with pink skin and purple splotches, all while making a gesture with his hand. Surely he was giving Ema some kind of lecture about the significance of that particular fruit, and Apollo couldn’t help but shake his head and chuckle at the scene. He walked a little further and noticed Datz selling some…were those lizards? Surely not the same lizards that he had hanging in the office at some point?! Apollo couldn’t walk fast enough when he saw that Datz noticed him and egged him to come over.

When he finally made it to Tehm’pul Temple, he stared in awe at the huge hal’abad tree with what looked like thousands of candles on each branch. This seemed like a fire hazard, but who was he to question a sacred Khura’inese holiday? As he walked closer, he noticed Rayfa standing in front of the tree looking at a piece of parchment. He wondered if Rayfa also had an important part in the ceremony; it made sense, her being the royal priestess and all.

A quick glance to his left, and his gaze landed on that of Klavier Gavin, clad in his normal wear and going over some of the vocals for his song. He even had a guitar in hand. Apollo couldn’t help but think about the conversation he had with Trucy a few days ago, and he immediately felt tense. Is this how witnesses felt whenever he perceived them? It was such an uneasy feeling, and it sent a chill down his spine.

Klavier must’ve noticed him staring, for he called him over with a smile and wave. Apollo feigned a scoff and walked over.

“I’m still surprised they decided to get a foreign performer for such an important day.” Apollo commented, to which Klavier chuckled.

“Believe me when I almost refused the offer…until the queen herself asked, and well, who can say no to royalty?”

Apollo shot him a small smile. “Understandable.” His gaze drifted towards the sky, where a bunch of stars danced in the night. “…You know, we’ve known each other for a while, and while I hate to admit it…” He sighed. “…You were part of the reason for me lasting this long as an attorney. Going against you has taught me many things, and…I guess I’m saying I’m thankful.”

Klavier had a dumbfounded expression on his face for a split second, but quickly recovered. “While I appreciate the sentiment, Herr Forehead, that was entirely your doing. I just pushed you in the right direction.” He smiled. “We were both aiming towards the same truth, were we not?” He looked up at the sky as well. “Ach, I do have to say that I miss our days in the courtroom. It’s just not the same without you on the other side.”

Apollo’s heart made an involuntary leap and for a second, he thought he would faint. “Uh…r-right. And here I thought you only saw me as a naïve greenhorn who needed to be spoon-fed evidence.”

The light laugh that escaped Klavier’s throat was intoxicating. “Of course I thought that at first, but that was before I got to know you. I always wondered what kind of attorney you were, after you bested my bro in court…and I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised.”

“…Of what?”

Klavier looked back at Apollo. “Everything, I guess. But most of all, that determination you had to find the truth, and undying faith towards your client. Despite being your boss, you turned out to be nothing like Kristoph.”

He hated to admit it, but he was starting to feeling butterflies in his stomach. He hated it when Athena was right, especially about something like this. “…Listen, Gav—uh, Klavier…”

Klavier raised an eyebrow, and it was then that Apollo realized that this was the first time he ever referred to Klavier by his first name. And upon realizing this, it became much more difficult to form the correct words—

“Hey, Horned Head. I’m unsure of where to put this, but Nahyuta handed it to me and now I’m stuck with it. What are the customs for this in America, again?”

Apollo turned his head up behind him and saw Rayfa standing there, a blunt expression on her face...holding a bundle of mistletoe in her fingers and dangling it above where he and Klavier were sitting. He was mortified. He dared to glance at Klavier, who was merely chuckling, his chin propped up by his hand and staring at him.

“The fräulein wants to know what people do under the mistletoe. Would you like to help me show her, Herr Forehead?” Klavier smiled, and Apollo couldn’t take it anymore. He grabbed hold of the front of Klavier’s shirt and pulled him in closer, giving him a forceful kiss that couldn’t have lasted more than a few seconds. When he pulled away, Apollo got up from his seat and stormed off, not even bothering to look back. Why did he do that?! He was such an idiot, and the worst part was he couldn’t tell which part he regretted more, the kiss or leaving right after. It wasn’t until he heard someone shouting his name that he came to a halt and turned around.

“You know it’s bad taste to leave without a word after kissing someone, ja?” Klavier panted a little. He must have ran after him shortly after what happened.

Honestly speaking, Apollo acted on impulse. It was a spur of the moment decision brought about by everyone taunting him; first Nahyuta, then Trucy and Athena…he let out a frustrated sigh as he turned his head to look back at Klavier, who was running his fingers through his hair.

“I…I just did what people normally do under mistletoe. It’s what everyone wanted of me, right?” Apollo bit out.

Klavier tilted his head with a mildly concerned expression. “I was just humoring the young fräulein—”

“What do you want from me, Gavin?” Apollo cut Klavier off.

Klavier took a step toward Apollo. “I should be the one asking you that.” Klavier reached out with the intent to rest his hand on Apollo’s shoulder, but stopped when he saw how the other man recoiled. “Is there something bothering you? Ach, did I do something to offend you in any way?” He grew more concerned by the minute. “Please talk to me.”

Apollo hesitated. His gaze darted back and forth between Klavier’s face and the hand that was ever so slightly reaching out to him. There is no turning back once he speaks the words he desperately wants to get out. But really, why would someone as famous as Klavier, the rock star prosecutor himself, even think about reciprocating his feelings? Sure he was making a name for himself in Khura’in, but back in the States he was just a defense attorney working under the legendary Phoenix Wright. Hell, Klavier witnessed Apollo’s very first cases as a defense attorney, and all the embarrassments that came with being a greenhorn.

He never could take rejection very well; his mind was already settling on the worst possible outcome before anything even happened.

“Apollo?”

Apollo was dragged out of his thoughts by Klavier’s voice, and when his eyes focused in front of him, he realized that Klavier’s face was much closer to his own than before. He could feel his own face getting hotter and hotter, despite his efforts to stop it.

“…What do you think of me, Gav…Klavier.” Apollo’s voice broke a little. “Please, I need to know.”

Klavier stared at Apollo for what felt like an eternity, before he finally answered. “Words cannot even begin to describe how I feel about you, Apollo.” His expression was somber as he glanced around at the lit candles illuminating the bazaar. “You remember when we first met?”

Apollo slowly nodded. “I could never forget that case…” Although he would be more than happy to forget about stolen panties. “Trucy noticed you standing in front of your motorcycle, waving to a bunch of your fans.” He let out a chuckle. “You were the one who made it possible for me to investigate the crime scene.”

Klavier smiled. “I probably didn’t look like it to you, but I was…suffering back then. Emotionally, and mentally.”

“…Was it because of Kristoph?” Apollo already knew the answer, but wanted confirmation.

Klavier nodded. “My bro was certainly one of a kind. But behind closed doors, he was just as manipulative and scheming as how he was in the courtroom. Every waking hour growing up with him felt like there was a noose around my neck, and he was the judge, jury, and executioner.” He let out a sigh. “And then…that case happened. Kristoph set me up to destroy Phoenix Wright’s career. I had my suspicions of course, but with all my heart I really wanted to believe that there was no way my own brother could do something that cruel. And then you came along and pulled the covers from my eyes. And thanks to you, I was finally able to confront Klavier on equal footing; I was no longer afraid of him.”

Apollo didn’t know what to say, but Klavier continued. “What I’m trying to say is that, in a way, you saved me back then. Without you there to accuse Kristoph and bring him into the courtroom once more, I don’t think I would have ever been able to face my demons.” Klavier looked at Apollo and smiled. “You mean a lot to me, Apollo…more than I’m sure you can even begin to imagine.”

A small breath escaped Apollo’s mouth as he was rendered speechless.

(C’mon, say something, damnit!)

“I would like to know what you think of me, too…if that’s alright.” Klavier asked thoughtfully. He just gave Apollo an opening, one that he decided to take.

Apollo let out a breath of air. “…If it weren’t for you, I don’t think I ever would have made it this far as an attorney.”

Klavier was about to say something, but Apollo held a hand up to stop him. “Before you tell me how that’s not true, just listen for a second. I was a novice, my former boss was sent to prison on murder charges…I had nowhere to go until the Wright Anything Agency phoned me. And the last thing I expected was to be immediately thrust into investigating a murder from stolen noodle carts and panties.”

Klavier chuckled, which Apollo responded with a chuckle of his own. “…Was it your intention to give me all those hints? When we were in court, it felt like you were guiding me along to finding the answer…I might have gotten a Not Guilty verdict, but at the time, it still didn’t feel like a victory to me.”

“I’m sure you’re already well-aware of this, Apollo, but the most important thing for me was to find the truth…it wasn’t about winning or losing, or a personal battle between attorney and prosecutor. And as a rookie defense attorney, I was positive that you probably wouldn’t have understood that.” Klavier explained, to which Apollo nodded.

“You were right, of course.” Apollo glanced away. “Back then, I didn’t know what it meant to find the truth. I didn’t know what it meant for an attorney to be working together with a prosecutor and share evidence. But you helped me see that the way I was brought up was wrong.” He hesitated to bring up the next thoughts on his mind, but it was now or never. He had to do it.

“…I-I know I always acted like you were the most annoying person on the planet, but I want you to know that I never thought of you in that way.”

(Breathe, Apollo. You can do this.)

When his eyes met Klavier’s, he saw the light shining from the candles reflect on Klavier’s pupils. It was beautiful.

“You mean a lot to me, more than you probably realize.”

Klavier smiled. “You repeated what I told you—”

“I’m not finished.” Apollo bit his lip, and stepped closer to Klavier until they were mere inches apart. Klavier’s eyes widened, but Apollo paid no mind as he stood on his toes and pressed his lips softly onto Klavier’s. It didn’t last long, but he just wanted to get the message across.

You…mean a lot to me. More than you probably realize.”

Klavier just stared at Apollo with his mouth slightly agape, before he finally snapped out of it.

“Apollo…how long?”

Apollo shook his head. “Honestly, I probably couldn’t tell you that. But if I had to guess, it probably started developing around the time you invited Trucy and I to your concert.”

“And you never told me?”

Apollo grew frustrated once more. “It’s not that easy, okay?! For someone like you who has people confessing their love to you on a daily basis, maybe. But for someone like me…”

Klavier watched quietly as Apollo tried to stop his body from shaking. When a few minutes had passed, Klavier took the opportunity to pull Apollo in closer. Apollo’s eyes widened.

“Those people who you say confess their love for me? They’re just fans. They probably say the same thing to their other favorite celebrities. Contrary to popular belief, I’ve never even had a girlfriend or boyfriend.” Klavier smiled as Apollo huffed.

“I don’t believe it. Not even when you were starting out as a rock star?”

Klavier shook his head. “Kind of hard to trust people, you know? Are they dating me because they love me, or are they dating me because I’m famous? Trust is one of the most important factors in a relationship…to me, anyway.”

Apollo looked down. “I see…”

He felt a slight pressure on the top of his head; it took him a moment to realize that Klavier had kissed his head very softly.

“I trust you, Apollo.”

“…What are you saying?” Apollo glanced back up at Klavier, who tilted his head and smiled.

“I’m saying that I feel the same way about you…if you’ll have me.”

Apollo didn’t hear anything else; didn’t see anything else. All of his focus was on Klavier. He wasted no time pulling the other man in and kissing him under the candlelight, just as the snow was beginning to fall once more.

“Happi’raki Khu’khurist!”

A chorus of shouts and cheers as the people of Khura’in witnessed the lighting of the hal’abad tree, welcoming Christmas with open arms and many prayers. The concert was a big hit, with many of the younger citizens practically begging Klavier to visit again, which he was more than happy to oblige…although it was probably mostly due to his new boyfriend being the revolutionary defense attorney in this country.

Rayfa was overseeing the festival of prayers, where everyone knelt down in prayer for hours on end until the candles on the hal’abad tree burn out. It was mildly amusing seeing how serious Rayfa was while looking over everyone, but every now and then she would glance at the children with their parents enjoying themselves and huff. Apollo decided maybe he’ll buy her a festive pastry later.

Nahyuta was helping Rayfa with her duties whenever possible, but for the most part he was done with the festivities and decided to go back to Justice Law Office to rest up. He wasn’t alone, however, as Ema, Ahlbi, and Datz were also enjoying themselves in the warmth of the office. Didn’t Khura’inists enjoy the cold? Or maybe they were just enjoying each other’s company, which Apollo thought was far more plausible.

All in all, the festival was a success. His first Christmas in Khura’in…Apollo now had more memories to share with Trucy and Athena, and everyone else back home in the States. And of course, more memories to come with Klavier.

“So just out of curiosity, Herr Forehead…what did you REALLY think of me when you first saw me up on stage…?”

“OBJECTION! No comment.”

#nyappykid #aass2017 #ace attorney #klapollo #apollo justice #klavier gavin #my writing

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heatherrdavis1 · 4 years

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Bitcoin Halving 2020 THE BULL CASE & THE BEAR CASE | 1.6 BILLION USDT MINTED

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Hey, everybody, Mattie here with coin buys. Happy Sunday. Hope you’re having a great weekend. We’re talking today, of course, about the upcoming Bitcoin having it’s now just over a week away. Old coin Buzz News is tweeting about it on Twitter. We’ll take a look at. All right. Up here on the Web site as well, Bitcoin having the good, the bad and the ugly specifically were going to bring you four reasons why this having may be different. I think it’s always a lagging indicator. As I’ve argued, but for particular reasons why at least a few months down the road, we can expect some very positive price action. Many people are predicting that some good things are going to happen. Will also take a look here on Quain desk dot com. At the oil industry and their ETF, how commodity prices have gone negative. Krypto long and short. How oil going negative could open up the door for Bitcoin ETF exchange-traded funds. And finally, we’ll also look here on crypto potato dot com at the fact that Teather has now printed one point six billion U.S. D.T. excuse me, they’ve minted a democracy printed. That’s not really possible, is it? Teather has minted one point six billion USD t. This is largely been a boon for the crypto sector in April, making up for some of those losses that we saw, some very violent numbers and abrupt drops that we saw back in March. We’ll take a look at those stories. Guys, if you’d like this kind of bitcoin cryptocurrency and blockchain content. Be sure to like and subscribe. Let’s have a look at the market now on Coingate go dot com. We are up one point three percent overall. Two hundred and fifty-three point six billion dollars. Things more or less flat since yesterday. Roughly speaking, Bitcoin at the time of this recording sits at eight thousand nine hundred eighteen dollars with a dominance of 65 percent flat at Outpoint Buzz News tweeting here. The countdown has begun and the excitement around Bitcoin having is growing. Do we have all the cards set? Right. This is what might happen and you can read more about it. We linked to our story here on altcoin buzz dot io bitcoin having the good, the bad and the ugly article here by DPA. We’re under fifteen hundred blocks to be mined before having hits. Will this paint another bookcase for bitcoin or is trouble brewing potentially for minors. The bitcoin having is, of course, a highly anticipated quadrennial event, meaning it happens every four years and there is a lot of optimism in the air. Let’s begin with some optimistic predictions. Firstly by Tim Draper, the billionaire Bitcoin BOE who has predicted Bitcoin will touch 250000 dollars in 2020. Preston pish, Buffett’s books founder says Bitcoin would touch three hundred thousand dollars post. Having Raul Pao, Goldman Sachs G.S. hedge fund manager predicts one million dollars. That’s by 2030. But nevertheless, still an important prediction. And Bobby Li, BTC CEO predicts in 2020, Bitcoin could grow and reach three hundred and thirty-three thousand dollars. However, to be fair and to round things out, we have some pessimistic predictions as well. Kenneth Rogoff, Harvard University economist, believes by 2028, Bitcoin’s value will be one hundred dollars. Now, look, everybody is entitled to their opinions, but for a Harvard economist to make that prediction 100 dollars, it seems like they have to be almost ignorant to some of the mathematics, to the fact that so many Bitcoin wallets and passwords and hard drive storing the information have been lost for all time. So to me, 100 dollars is never going to be possible. Could it be lower than where it is now in 2028? That, OK, I’ll concede, is possible. But one hundred dollars just is impossible. And that’s that saying nothing of the fact that interest would swell for every thousand dollar drop in Bitcoin. You have people coming in and scooping up the deals, trying to buy more. I don’t see that as being likely. So everybody’s entitled to their opinion. I don’t think that’s a good one. You also have Joseph Stiglitz, the Columbia University economist, who’s predicting similarly by 2028. Bitcoin is going to dump to 100 bucks. Not likely, but just my opinion. Well, we’ve seen the first and the second having as we’ve done the numbers, we’ve looked at all those before down the line. Now, several months down the line, there is always a noticeable uptick in the price performance of Bitcoin. But more than anything, what we’re seeing today in the context of Coronavirus, in the context of social distancing and quarantine and isolation, is the fact that that Kofod is really painting a very different picture with the Coronavirus. You’re also having a lot of economic activity, a lot of monetary and fiscal policy that people are kind of clueing into. In many cases, people are disagreeing with actions being taken by central banks like the Federal Reserve. And that’s kind of creating the backdrop now and creating the flavour that we’re seeing in the world of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency during this upcoming May 2020 having. We’re also seeing that since earlier in this year, Bitcoin has, you know, perhaps not totally dis correlated itself from some of the traditional markets, but it’s begun to decouple from things like the S&P 500 from things like the NASDAQ, the Dow Jones and from the Footsie and other traditional financial indices where we’re not quite all the way there just yet. But again. The initial portion of that decoupling has begun. Let’s not, however, look at for specific reasons why this Bitcoin having may be different and why it may suggest some very positive price action in this next cycle. The first reason is, of course, the fact that we’ve had this Federal Reserve Act in response to the crisis that I mentioned. So the world’s strongest economy just witnessed record money printing. And while this was important to stimulate the collapsing U.S. economy, the accompanying debt injected by these six-point five trillion dollar printing cannot be ignored. As soon as the dust settles, inflation and pressure on dollar value will engulf the market. And these unpredictable cycles of deflation and hyperinflation of the U.S. dollar have shaken people’s trust in traditional economic models. More and more poor people, rather, are turning an eye to Bitcoin, perhaps in response to some of these measures being taken. The second reason why Bitcoin is having this time around is going to be even more significant. Bitcoin having an interest is higher than ever. The search volume of, quote, Bitcoin having as of April 16th are 16 percent higher than the ones witnessed in 2016. And this continues to grow every passing day. Guys, don’t forget that. I would say ever since about maybe 2017, Bitcoin really has become a household name because at that time we were battling on a daily basis. And we still do. By the way, we were battling on daily basis publications, media outlets that were coming up with all kinds of FUD. Right, fear, uncertainty, doubt. They were just hammering Bitcoin in the hopes that we’d forget about it. As if that were ever possible. So really, since 2017, that means now we’re in the fourth year where Bitcoin has just become something that’s part of the public conversation. And it’s gotten a lot of press and media attention in a very organic way. And some of the negative press and media attention has not worked. It’s only made us stronger because effectively we’ve been battling those criticisms now for years and are still here, are still representing ourselves. We’re still alive. We would be swimming upstream. That’s the analogy I’ll use. We’ve been swimming upstream for all of these years against adversity and obstacles, getting stronger in the process. Reason number three, why this having is going to be different, flaring micro bitcoin accumulations. We’re seeing many, many more wallets with small amounts, relatively small amounts of Bitcoin are popping up and the numbers support it. So in March of 2020, the number of unique addresses holding at least one Bitcoin dropped from seven hundred ninety-five thousand to seven hundred eighty-nine thousand. But fast forward about a month to April 16th, and the number rose to new highs of eight hundred and 5000. Meanwhile, the number of unique addresses holding at least zero point one bitcoin also soared, and these touched a record of two million nine hundred eighty-four thousand nearly three million. Finally here, the fourth reason why this Bitcoin having is going to be different. We have bullish on-chain indicators that chart by crypto quanta below reveals that since January of 2020, miners have been holding Bitcoin. And that’s because they strongly believe that Bitcoin’s price is up for a massive post having a pump. In simple terms, strong hands are holding onto their bitcoin because collectively there is an anticipation of positive price action and they don’t want to get rid of it just yet. They don’t want to get rid of it prematurely. I’ve made the point before, guys, and I’ll continue to do so that I think mining is what’s going to suffer the most. And you may have a few people that will be shaken out of the system because profitability is already very difficult. Let’s be honest right now for most people. However, this is the challenge ultimately is what makes Bitcoin valuable. If you are, people are able to participate in the mining process, at least really look at the highest levels. You’re going to see that this affects the perceived scarcity of the asset. And the more scarce something gets as a commodity, real as anything, the more value we attribute to it with our collective psychology. So this is part of the formula really. This is part of the economic laws that dictate the price of something like Bitcoin. Let us know your thoughts about the having members of the Outpoint coin buzz army in the comments below. I’m going to continue to contend that it’ll probably take about three, four, five, maybe six months or more to really see some positive price action. It is a lagging indicator, in my opinion. However, once, you know, we resettle, we find a new rhythm. Once the miners get into the new groove, then I think that’s when the numbers start to be more reflective of the reality. And I think that’s when the scarcity factor kicks in. However, that’s just my opinion. Let us know what yours is in the comments below. Let’s take a look at this piece now on desk dot com Krypto long in short, how oil going negative could open the door for Bitcoin ETF exchange-traded funds. We’ve been talking recently about how oil prices, in particular, have gone negative and this has had a major impact. People are using much, much, much less oil right now, pretty much zero oil. Obviously, planes are grounded in most parts of the world. People aren’t really commuting with their vehicles anymore and therefore demand for this commodity, which has been like Ubiquiti. And it’s just been a part of our lives for the longest time. All of a sudden that demand for it has plummeted. And you have a lot of these oil producers that perhaps they’re unable to fully shut off production and they just have these excess barrels, this excess supply of oil, which costs them a lot of money to store. There are costs associated with storing a surplus of oil, hence the negative commodity prices for that good. And in this article here, which is a good one by the author, Noel, the argument is made that if you have an exchange-traded fund, an ETF like U.S. oil, which is the United States oil fund, if that can go down to negative and we can live through sort of what we’re seeing here, which is just blatant manipulation of that ETF, I think there’s a very strong reason to suggest that a Bitcoin ETF is really not at all as bad as we were being told. We are being scared into submission. Effectively. So, as Noel writes, it turns out that commodity prices don’t have a floor. Who knew? To be fair, this is not the first time a commodity has traded below zero. Natural gas prices, for example, have gone negative in the past as logistical problems make it hard to get to buyers. And many refineries see it as a waste byproduct of oil production. And outside the energy sector, dairy farmers across the U.S. are currently dumping excess milk rather than paying consumers to take it away. So U.S. O. United States Oil Fund is the largest exchange-traded fund ETF in the energy sector and holds near dated WTI futures. This week, those futures were trading below zero since they involve physical delivery of oil that no one knows where to store. But the ETF is a financial commodity and cannot be traded below zero. Therefore, it cannot reflect its underlying assets. So this week and this is attesting to the mismanagement and the chaos that we’re seeing, the U.S. so scrambled to save its listing. It announced a reverse share split to push its price back above the Nasdaq minimum requirement. And it changed its investment strategy to focus on slightly longer-term futures. It also applied for authorization to issue more shares since money is pouring in, reportedly from retail investors who hope to ride the recovery all the way up. So here you have an ETF whose value does not necessarily reflect the underlying asset manoeuvring to be able to sell more shares to retail investors in a dislocated market. That is one of the most blatantly manipulated in the world. And yet they say that a Bitcoin ETF and its proposals are rejected for the reason of being too risky to a pake and manipulable absolute nonsense. And we’re seeing it being borne out here in the real world with another example. USL, particularly a Bitcoin ETF, would be based on a financial commodity that runs on a global network accessible to all. Most of the main exchanges have market surveillance, and improvements in market liquidity should enable the ETF price to closely track the market value of the underlying asset, giving investors reassuring clarity and transparency. The same cannot be said of the most liquid listed Bitcoin tracking instruments today, which have lock-in periods during which investors cannot sell and which trade at a significant premium to Bitcoin. This is largely a result of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commissions reluctance to approve liquid and easily redeemable investment vehicles suitable for all types of investors. It’s a very good article, guys, and it goes on to suggest that if the oil industry and the energy sector, an ETF such as USO can get away with the blatant manipulation that they’re doing. There are many different mechanisms. There are many different variables and tweaks and that we can employ here to make sure that Bitcoin is an effective and transparent exchange-traded fund. And there’s no reason to believe that it would be once approved, that it would perform any worse that were then. We’re already seeing here with some of the commodities in the world. It’s a little bit more technical as the article goes along. But I do have to give kudos to Newel for this piece on Coin Desk. Once again, check it out. If you’re so inclined and interested in this kind of content, we’ll link to it, of course, in the description below. And finally today, guys, just in passing on crypto potatoes today, Teather printer goes br. One point six billion USD team have been minted in April as Bitcoin recovers from March loss. So we saw some rather stunning numbers, some very violent drops, of course, going back to about six, seven weeks ago in March of 2020. Largely, we’ve pretty much recovered from those lows and that’s been due in no small part to that. Not Gasca say printing a canut printing has been due in large part to the minting of USDOT, in fact, one point six billion USD. Now the argument could be made that this is reflective of the cryptocurrency problem. The quantitative easing, if you will, in our very own sector, there’s still some debate as to how correlated the price of Bitcoin is with USDOT. However, I will grant that for some of those more outspoken voices. Yes, the minting of billions of USDOT does have an impact. Check out this article for the full information and further analytics. But that about wraps it up for today, everybody. Hey, to be sure, you’re following us on all the regular social media channels and keep checking back into old coin buys. BUZZCUT. Oh, for all the latest, go ahead. Like subscribe, share and hit the belt. Receive notifications if you’ve enjoyed today’s video. Best of luck, guys. If he chooses to invest on this Sunday but have a great tail end to your weekend. Be safe out there. And as always, we do hope to see you again soon in our next video. Take care.

Via https://www.cryptosharks.net/bitcoin-halving-2020-bull-case-billion-usdt-minted/

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scottmapess · 4 years

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Bitcoin Halving 2020 THE BULL CASE & THE BEAR CASE | 1.6 BILLION USDT MINTED

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

source https://www.cryptosharks.net/bitcoin-halving-2020-bull-case-billion-usdt-minted/ source https://cryptosharks1.blogspot.com/2020/05/bitcoin-halving-2020-bull-case-bear.html

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jeffrmayhugh · 4 years

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Bitcoin Halving 2020 THE BULL CASE & THE BEAR CASE | 1.6 BILLION USDT MINTED

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

source https://www.cryptosharks.net/bitcoin-halving-2020-bull-case-billion-usdt-minted/ source https://cryptosharks1.tumblr.com/post/617309794909470720

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