#which . some are interesting and would ~further my hypothetical career~ more

[halfagone]

I posted 1,050 times in 2022

That's 1,050 more posts than 2021!

98 posts created (9%)

952 posts reblogged (91%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@ocearnawrites

@gilbirda

@floralflowerpower

@captain-krow-drozdov

@impyssadobsessions

I tagged 1,007 of my posts in 2022

Only 4% of my posts had no tags

#danny phantom - 461 posts

#dp x dc - 298 posts

#dc - 199 posts

#batman - 81 posts

#jason todd - 59 posts

#danny phantom fanfiction - 56 posts

#batfam - 55 posts

#xdd - 44 posts

#bruce wayne - 43 posts

#relatable - 43 posts

Longest Tag: 122 characters

#i hate relating to all the adhd posts so much just as im about to decide you know what maybe i imagined it maybe im normal

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

From Chapter 43 of lex luthor's ascent

Death Record Institutes or Facilities:

Essentially, these places record the deaths of every person who has ever died, and they include facts such as any possible Taboos they might have committed or any other major mortal crimes. Theft and robbery would not count; assault and murder would. Even if you got away with such crimes in life, they have branded you in death.

These places also mark whether the dead had become a spirit or a ghost. All of this is for multiple reasons. 1) People who had died earlier than the rest of their family or friends could check in at a later time to find out if their loved ones are still alive or have passed on. 2) If serious accusations come about between two spirits who had known each other in life, you have irrevocable proof.

Ghosts can change their names in death, and sometimes they might even forget about their past. You cannot change these records, however. But… this also means if one were to possibly fake their death… they would not show up in a Death Record Institute. Which... might come into play in another fic later on.

I don't know that much about Death Note, but I guess? this is a bit inspired by that? I'm not entirely sure, but I though I ought to give it credit just in case.

If you like the idea, feel free to include it in your own fics! Eventually, I'll get to show what it actually looks like or how it actually functions, but for now, I thought I'd name drop it and see the reactions. Who knows, I might just get inspiration from you all too.

This is first included in chapter 43 of lex luthor's ascent from supervillainy to fatherhood. This post is subject to change assuming further chapters and storylines include this subject matter.

122 notes - Posted September 17, 2022

#4

What would Danny do for work?

I have a quick question to my fellow Danny Phantom fans... When you imagine Danny picking a career/job, what do you headcanon for him? And this is if he can't- for whatever reason- be an astronaut. This is a hypothetical question, it's not- like, going to affect any of my stories in the future or anything *chuckles nervously*

For me, it's always depended on the headcanon I choose for any particular story/AU. But that gets complicated when I have multiple headcanons that could offer opportunities for him.

For example:

Astrophysicist/Aerospace Engineer - He can't be an astronaut, but that doesn't mean he can't still do some kind of work that involves his love for space.

Engineer - In a similar vein, he could be a regular engineer. Especially if he takes after his dad, Jack, more and maybe even creates his own prototypes and inventions.

In a subset to engineer, in my story weekend wonders, Danny is majoring in biomedical engineering. This is because in this AU, the accident gave him chronic pain, and that's how he gained an interest in this field. This could also work great if he gets attention from the Justice League in a DP x DC crossover, or the Avengers in a DP x Marvel crossover; Danny could just as easily work with heroes who have disabilities or chronic pain from many decades of work as heroes. It helps that he personal experience with the same struggles, after all.

Translator - If you headcanon that Danny can understand a lot of languages (or maybe even them all) due to ghost speak, then Danny could totally use this to his advantage with work. Plus!! This offers many different avenues that could be used to your advantage. Want Danny to be connected to the UN in some way before debuting as Ghost King? Have him be a translator that works there. Want Danny to be busy often with his royal responsibilities/ghost fighting? Have him be a translator; he can work remotely or stay self-employed/on contracts.

Teacher - Danny doesn't have great experience with educational staff, so I could imagine him going into this field of work due to nothing but spite. And! He could teach ectobiology, or just ghosts in general. He could do so many topics: Biology, government, history, hell he could do a whole semester on how physics work in the Ghost Zone.

Blacksmith/Ironsmith - Okay, this one is more self-indulgent, but imagine if Pandora teaches him how to fight with a sword and then he gets obsessed with the sword itself that he wants to make one that's perfectly suited for him and this just dominos into going full-blown into this field. (Trade skills are still important, and sadly, don't get as much attention even when they can usually offer fairly decent pay without the thousands of dollars worth in student debt.)

Writer/Author - If you wanted him to be more artistic, he could be a freelance author/novelist or something similar. I feel like being an author would be one of the better choices for him because, again, if you were writing a story where Danny would be busy with a lot of other responsibilities, then he could largely work on his own schedule. Plus! I can totally imagine him hanging out in Long Now with Clockwork when his head is just full of ideas for a story but he wouldn't have the time to write it otherwise. So he kind of uses Long Now to get that time, but he can promise it's for a good cause, stop laughing, Clockwork!

Actor - I really love the concept of Danny being an actor, just for the laughs if nothing else. While this could be a pain if Danny does actually get famous, since that's a lot of media he would probably prefer not to deal with, the concept alone offers a great deal of shenanigans. And... if he does get a good movie deal, he could very well be set for life afterwards. He could be one of those one-hit wonders in television or something.

If anyone has other possibilities, feel free to add! My head is constantly spinning with even more ideas, I might just add some myself.

134 notes - Posted November 17, 2022

#3

DP/DC Week 2022: Day 5

“Have you come to stop me, heroes?” Unnamed villain number 24 of the week cackled with evil glee. His smile began to wane when he noticed the assortment of Justice League members standing around at the bottom of the podium, just… standing there. Watching him. More than one of them looked resigned, in fact. Superman looked a little tired, if the villain were being honest. Was the man not getting enough rest? And Wonder Woman! She looked so bored in his presence, the villain felt a little offended.

“Have you given up and accepted me as your new ruler?” He chortled with a wide smirk. That garnered no reaction either. In the corner of his eyes, he could see the beautiful, powerful Crown of Fire resting innocently upon its pedestal. Oh, how he longed to place it upon his head and showcase the strength of someone who was truly worthy-

“If you can put that crown on your head, and it actually stays,” Green Lantern began, lifting his hands in a peaceful gesture. “I will literally give you fifty- no, a hundred dollars.” Then, the Green Lantern crossed his arms across his chest, looking at the villain expectantly.

170 notes - Posted November 17, 2022

#2

DP/DC Week 2022: Day 3

When Bruce had opened the door to greet John Constantine, he had not expected to have a child suddenly thrust into his arms. He looked down at the boy, maybe two or three years old. The boy blinked back at him. Black hair, blue eyes.

He looked back at Constantine with alarm.

“He’s not yours,” Constantine reassured him with a roll of his eyes. “He’s a kid I work with. He’s usually a teenager but he got de-aged when we ran into this bi- witch, this witch.” Bruce sent Constantine a glare for his near mistake, propping up the young boy onto his hip. Strangely enough, the child didn’t seem to mind being held by a stranger, happily clutching Bruce by the neck with his small little hands. So cute.

Someone really needed to stop Bruce before he whipped out the adoption papers again.

297 notes - Posted November 16, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Danny's death mark/scar

I've seen a lot of renditions of this idea/headcanon that I absolutely adore, there are versions where it's on one of his hands, or even on his back. There are so many ways that it can be done, which I've always soaked up and enjoyed. But version of this hc that's really stuck with me is:

What if it was on his chest? Right over his heart?

In this version of the hc, that would mean all the power of the portal-which, again, is the equal to ripping a hole in the fabric of the universe- was directed towards his heart. This would instantly kill him, while all this power would simultaneously revive him. Causing him to become a halfa. You could even argue that that's why Danny is just that powerful. All that power was directed at his chest which, as most of us headcanon in the phandom, is where his core would also be located.

A lot of us have always argued that the reason that Danny is so much more powerful than Vlad, and growing in power so much quicker, is because his death was instantaneous. While Vlad's was slower and over the span of many years, most likely.

And if all the power of an entire different dimension was directed towards the creation of his core, how powerful would that make Danny?

This is a concept I'll likely introduce in down the rabbit hole (goes the throne) eventually, and it's an idea you'll see in !!SPOILERS!! chapter 34 of lex luthor's ascent from supervillainy to fatherhood.

But more than anything... I just like it for the angst :P

1,019 notes - Posted September 2, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #on one hand #that's not a lot of posts now #on the other hand #i only joined like half way into the year #and i'm prone to disappear for days at a time #every once in a while #so you know what #i'll take it #i have also discovered #i am a chronic tagger #i cannot help it

[cosmicdreamt]

Excerpt from Chapter 10: Lunar Eclipse - The Hanged Man and The Wheel of Fortune

Chapter 1 || Chapter 2 || Chapter 3 || Chapter 4 || Chapter 5 || Chapter 6 || Chapter 7 || Chapter 8 || Chapter 9 || Chapter 10 || Chapter 11

He watches her as she speaks, watches those gears inside her brain continue to turn as they always do - imagining the hypotheticals - yet not lingering on them or overthinking them like she used to. She’s able to catch herself more before she goes on too much of a deep dive. Still has a habit of overexplaining herself but it’s something that can’t be helped as that’s just how her mind works.

“I see. You’re not wrong at all. I can see how you’ve altered how you process your thoughts. You seem more sure of yourself. More confident. Are you content with your current progress or do you still feel like things could be different?”

“I think I’ve learned to appreciate where I am when I think about where I’ve been. There’ll probably still be moments where it gets to me and I start feeling bad again, but I think it’ll be easier to break out of that mindset now. Life is always going to be…a lot more difficult for someone like me. For people like me who have brains that work in ways that seem to cause more problems than anything. But the person I was shaped the person I am now. It’s because of all that I’ve been through that I’m able to…what’s a good way to explain this?”

Lips purse to her side before she reaches that ‘aha’ moment. 

“So you know how people use the analogy of doors you can open to choose your path? And they ask you which one you’d pick to go through? For me it’s realizing that I have the option to open a door and look through it to see what’s on the other side before choosing. My life up to this point has allowed me to think outside the box even in situations when most people wouldn’t consider to do so. I think that’s a good thing to come out of it that probably wouldn’t have otherwise. With experience comes learning and growth and adaptation, and I’d say that thanks to people like you and Fenn and his parents and my grandmother…that the progress I’ve made is just fine. I’ll continue to grow, continue to adapt, continue to learn, because what’s the point of measuring something like that? Life isn’t a competition. Comparing ourselves to other people is a self-inflicted poison that pushes you back even further from what you’re truly able to do. I think there’s a difference between being inspired or motivated by someone and forcing yourself to try to live up to standards that aren’t meant for you in the first place. When your driving force is anxiety, those thoughts of ‘if I don’t do this then I don’t have as much worth’, you’re not really doing anything for yourself. You’re trying to prove yourself in a way that isn’t beneficial to your own growth.”

He nods his head as he listens, making some notes during this conversation. She’s become more self aware with much less focus on the parts of her she feels she has to fix. She’s finally seemed to have accepted herself as she is.

“Would you elaborate on that for me? I’d like to hear more of your thoughts.”

“Well it’s simple! I think people should do things because it’s what they truly want to do, not because it’s expected of them or because they think they need to do certain things by certain ages. I think it’s impossible to know what you want in life by the time you’re eighteen. They tell you to have your career figured out and ask you where you see yourself all these years in the future. How would we know? What is the guarantee that life will turn out that way for us? Who’s to say we won’t change our minds at some point? Some people know what they want to do from the beginning, and for some people it takes trial and error. Some people end up doing something they never would have thought they’d have interest in. How many people end up telling you things like ‘If you told my past self this is the life I ended up with I never would have believed you’? Which people are the happiest with their lives? These are all things to consider. I mean, look at me. I went to school for art and sure I do it on the side, but I think I’d want to open up my own café in the future, too. It’s a lot of work and I’ll have a lot of extra studying to do on what it means to own a business, all the licenses and permits I’ll need - and who knows. Maybe I’ll end up giving up on that halfway through. But it’s something I’d still like to try, and if it works out then great! If not, I can at least say for sure I gave it a shot. No regrets about any ideas of ‘what could have been’. I know people are worried about only having one life and to do as much as you can in it. And that’s why I say even more reason not to force yourself to try to do things that might not be meant for you just because they’re seen as ‘worth more’ or whatever. Why waste your life like that? The only thing that matters is if you’re content with it or not.”

“And do you think it’s possible for everyone to be content with their lives?”

She looks like she’s about to speak, but hesitates. She takes a moment to really think about it.

“You know what. Yeah. Because here’s the thing. There’s always gonna be things in life we’re not gonna like. Maybe it’s hard to find a stable job or any job at all, maybe it’s hard to find a new place to live, maybe you’re in a position where it’s not easy or possible to be where you truly want to be. What’s important to remember is if it’s not within your control, it’s not your fault. There’s always something that can be done to make life just that much better, and if we as people can be happy with even just those small things? Being able to do even just one thing we want? I think that’s more than enough to be content with.”

He nods, makes a few more notes, and smiles.

“You’ve come a long way. I’m proud of you.”

#⋡☆《drabbles》—how is a raven like a writing desk

[yesterdayiwrote]

I think he didn’t choose Haas or Williams because after his pretty disappointing and lacklustre time at McLaren (overall), he sees them as even further steps back considering how far behind everyone else on the grid their cars are. Plus it’s an ego thing, like he’s “too good” for the back marker teams and he probably still expects to be paid a significant salary (even tho McLaren is footing a lot of the bill next year rip), cause they damn sure wouldn’t be able to afford his regular one. In a way, Haas and Williams have become branded as the “end of career” teams for those that have already had a previous seat elsewhere on the grid. Like yeah they need to get their act together, but it’s not like they’re shit on purpose. It would still give you opportunity to maybe help improve the team, or even jump ship the following year. But then again, after all the shit he’s had to go through with McLaren since last year, maybe he just wants a break from it all. Wouldn’t blame him

I think he’s maybe looking at the immediate opportunity they present rather than looking at the long term. That Haas hasn’t looked bad in some tracks this year and it’s not so much of a disaster anymore and Williams still has a way to go to catch up but looking at what Alex has produced again there’s opportunities. A p12 in one of those cars will always be lauded more than a p12 in a McLaren. He would only have to be producing the same results as he already is to be looking impressive again and that could help him get his confidence back.

But instead of playing it cool, he made a public comment that he wasn’t interested and so now he’s burnt two more bridges. Add those to McLaren and Alpine and then add in the fact that Merc/Ferrari/Red Bull are unlikely to give him a first team seat and Alpha Tauri passed on him this year, that leaves Aston and Alfa Romeo as the only teams he seems to have a realistic chance of getting a seat with and they don’t have spaces immediately on the horizon. Even if he did want to sit out this upcoming season, he’s shrunk his opportunities somewhat for the future.

I wonder if his sponsors have had a hand somewhat, and don’t want to lend their name to specific teams which has stifled his chances. Williams or Haas would have been a pay cut for sure but I think writing them off is a big mistake.

My guess is he knows it’s slim pickings for 2024 as well and the sabbatical line is a bit of PR coming into play. That way he can dabble next year and then say he’s found a great new opportunity for 2024 as a new start if one arises. It does mean he probably won’t get a proper send off though which is a shame. He had his scripted series in the pipeline, maybe he’ll commit time to that. He could hypothetically make more money from treading the media circuit than he gets driving.

[dravvingtreasurexmaps]

Published 11:58am monday, April 8th

By Cameron Logsdon

===========================

Have you ever seen movie footage of a different planet? Would you like to see some real photographs taken by scientists and sattelites?====================

I would live to discuss a hypethesis of mine that"s been bugging me for a long time.

Did you know as Saturn is the second largest planet in the mily way solar system next to Jupiter. Multiple variables fall into place in reguards to the homeopathy and general status and charchteristic of the flora and fauna locale.

In every sci fi movie. They document how it may be possible to travel to another planet with the use of a flight craft or some sort of jet. Which will always be the case in reguards to space exploration, the final frontier. This is because a jet(especially a large one) would provide optimal conditions as well as making the proper nessessitiess available and provide comfort for long term travel and hyper sleep in the confines of space. Now that i've finished stating the obvious.

The term "space" being the inherently obvious term for all the blackness you see as you look out of the front of the jet windshield(cockpit; flightdeck) is quite accurate in fact. As all that blackness is basically just dark matter in a scientific allegorical sense.

If you pay attention to the surface of take mars for instance, in the new 2022 movie "Riddick". Mars , or the "red planet" is actually simplistic enough in it's own right to make for more of a simple ecosystem. We're actually quite scared to think of what may exist or be able to survive there because it is entirely possible to meet extraterrestrial life. The term extraterrestial meaning: sciences not indigenous to Earth. From it's simple martian atmosphere. It's atmosphere is even similar to that of Earth. lf you This term meaning, sciences not indigenous to Earth.

To back up this theory. Here's a collective of real photos taken by the hubble telescope, numerous sattleite photos and even rover photography from the 20'and xx rover mission Curiosity that landed on Mars in 2014. and yes I can absolutely show these phots and its legal because i ive in America and i know my basic human rights. This information is clearly available to the public and has been in conjunction with the United States first ammendment which states freedom of the press. This is a blog, I'm the one blogging. These photos are actually so easy to access even a child could access this information if he or she indeed felt so inclined.

What's even more interesting with the help of these very clear hd photographs is the view of the sky behind the moutains. It seems to have a greyish white tint to it. Indeed it could be a dust storm of sand. Or a micture of red earth. Maybe it's methane or perhaps nitrogen and helium mixture. Either way it would behoove most in the scientific community to reveal that a gas is present. But what if hypothetically Jupiter could be considered an alternative light source(like the sun, or more specfically, a sun) throughout the day being it is closer than Earth. And jupiter is technically in the way inherently based on its numerical proximity and celestial path. It is much larger than the sun relatively.

Think about it. If saturn can be visible as justa. Tiny dot to the human eye. Imagine have earth must look from saturn. Just a tiny little blue dot probably.

At certain times of the day any sort of blueish hew could suggest oxygen and even h20 may be attainable. Further delving in of resources suggest that polar ice caps may be forming there as well although, which would suggest that lakes could be found or maybe even a fresh water springs inside of caves could be possible hypothetically. The only way to find a cave though of course, would take a master rock climber and/or cave spelunking enthusiast.

Mars has been and continues to be a marvle among scientists and scholar alike, and continues to inspire and baffel many who wish to persue a career in space exploration or the profession of flying, or piloting a aeroplane(a pilot).

All sources found through microsoft image searches. Thanks for reading.

#spaceexploration #starship #aeroplanes #spacetheory #relativetheory #blackmatter #themoon #laluna #solarsystem #themilkywaygalaxy #realflightenthusiastjournalism

[louehvolution]

I believe the lack of media about the festival is a result of the negligence of his team. His profile is low at the moment and as an independent artist the media interest in his career will decrease further. Many fans here (I'm not talking about you) believe that 1D's fame will last forever but it's not true, new talent is emerging in the industry and having a good team as well as label support and high profile are important. Louis has been invisible to the gp for almost 2 years.

And just to complement my ask about his team's negligence. I think the festival is a super cool idea but it won't attract exposure from outside the fandom. He needs exposure to a new demographic and I think the festival will just keep him inside the bubble. It would be great if the "fixer of problems" could get him a big festival to perform this year. Sorry for the long ask.

Anon, not at all! Sorry for the long answer!

A result of deliberate negligence—which is sabotage—and blacklisting, in my opinion. That blogger pal of Simon Jones would have fans believe they got the exclusive about the livestream numbers because no one else wanted it. Biggest livestream concert for a male solo artist and third overall in 2020 only behind Dua Lipa and BTS… Who can seriously believe that? Yet it received no attention except by the Independent.

The thing is, Billboard knew Louis again for an article about the album anniversary a month later. And many more knew him for the round of press about the hypothetical management company. So, seems like selective interest.

Louis has created opportunities for himself—the livestream, this festival—that should, under normal circumstances, work to precisely raise his profile and create media interest in his career. But no matter what he does, it makes no difference if his team doesn't push it, or the media is better served not reporting it.

And it seems calculated, because what never gets widespread attention is what concerns Louis as a solo artist, as a singer, especially if it’s anything that will positively set him apart.

What was it got him the most press in the last year and a half? The idea of a management company, which conveniently distracted right when the fanbase was united and focused on his music with Project Defenceless. And before that Father’s Day, wasn’t it?

And one can argue about a certain inertia from the media, used to reporting in that line. But then the point is that this will not change on its own, work is needed to change it. Instead, it continues to be reinforced. Like when you have an exclusive—on the Telegraph—to announce a livestream concert after months of silence, and it introduces him as a 'fringe member of 1D who spent more time analysing contracts than singing solos, known for chain-smoking and swearing,' and dedicates a paragraph to his living arrangements with his girlfriend, model Eleanor Calder, and explaining that his son lives in LA with the mother, stylist Briana Jungwirth... it matters. What could be harmless for some other artist is only contributing to maintaining the status quo and impeding growth for someone with his history and in his position.

Regarding the reach of the festival, it is, realistically, limited. It’s a small opening to another audience, though, with the involvement of two bands and the DJ. Nonetheless, it is worth noting what anyone will encounter right now if they check him out on social media. On Twitter he is 1/4th of a dead band—agreed that interest in 1D dwindles, as it is history and that bio is nothing at this point but an erasure of him as an individual artist with a solo career. You go to his You Tube and the last update was over a year ago. Why not upload a couple of performances from the livestream? The main issue with his IG is the long periods of nothing; after the livestream—which, despite the lack of press, one might have supposed a key moment that could attract people to his page—it went four months inactive. No one is asking for daily content, but how can such long stretches of total silence while his music is not played anywhere and he is pretty much invisible, be good? And it extends to within the fandom too. To see him only on his girlfriend’s IG for weeks on end?

In my ignorance, I would think this festival would serve as a good springboard for a single/EP release, with promo in the fall, building up to some performances in the November/December festivals? But even supposing he doesn’t have new music ready, the point stands that an artist’s career doesn’t exist only during single releases or big moments, and even favoring that pattern, what about building up to these and capitalizing on them?

#anon #solo louis #I keep thinking how even considering a career exclusively focused on the established fanbase... it is not ideal? #it could be better. and there is no reason why it shouldn't be #I just... want things to be EASIER for him. and for him to be justly treated and recognised for what he does :/

[theartofdreaming1]

Partners - Part 8: The Breakthrough

Rating: T

Pairing: DickBabs

Summary:  Looking for ways to take down corrupt Chief Redhorn, Dick and Barbara make a surprising discovery. My DickBabs police officers AU.

You can also read this chapter at AO3 or start from the beginning on my blog

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Over the course of the next weeks, their regular jobs and their work for the Circle claimed most of Dick and Barbara’s time. While they were making good progress building their case for the feds, there was still one thing missing - even with their combined efforts, they had not yet managed to get anything substantial on Chief Redhorn himself.

“As long as we have nothing to charge Redhorn with, we can’t make our move,” Amy had explained in their last meeting with a grave mien, “it’s too dangerous - by the time something might come up to indict Redhorn as well, he could have figured out who supplied the FBI with the info necessary to take down his cronies and knowing him, he will have made some ‘arrangements’ so that won’t ever happen again - and frankly, I’m not willing to take these chances.”

Barbara’s “digital hunting expeditions” hadn’t yielded anything of interest either.

“Ugh,” she’d grumbled irritably after yet another attempt that left them with nothing to show for but an evening wasted,”this is pointless; Redhorn is of the old school - probably does everything face-to-face that isn’t already well-established in this syndicate he has been building up since the 90’s! He probably doesn’t even know that his computer has a calendar function!” 

Barbara had closed her laptop with a huff.

“If we want to get our hands on some incriminating evidence, we’re gonna have to track down some good old-fashioned paper trail - and finding that is going to require a freaking miracle.”

***

“Hey, remember that miracle you mentioned a week ago?”

Barbara looked up from her laptop, her previous frustration from another pointless try morphing into confusion, “uh-huh?”

She looked at the bags with their takeout in Dick’s hand, amused: “Why, did you find our miracle while getting Chinese?”

“Maybe,” Dick replied, visibly excited.

“How so?” 

Barbara stowed away her laptop in the compartment of the coffee table, while Dick was setting up their food on the table top.

“Well, I actually dropped by Hogan’s before getting our food and he told me something that could be a potential lead,” Dick explained, handing Barbara some chopsticks and her dumplings before plopping down on the couch.

“Spill.”

“Well, Hogan’s heard some rumors of Redhorn being in a pretty bad mood recently and that he seems to be on a pretty relentless search for someone…”

Barbara’s heart lurched. 

“Well, that doesn’t sound exactly good for us, does it?”

“That was my first thought as well,” Dick admitted honestly, taking a bite of his spring rolls. “However, according to what Hogan picked up, it seems to be related to something or someone super personal to Redhorn - apparently Mac Arnot complained about getting told off for asking “too many damn questions”; and well, as you know, Arnot always prides himself on being all chummy with our dear Chief.”

“Ugh, terrible sycophant that man.” Barbara said, her disgust displayed plainly on her face.

Dick let out a chuckle.

“You don’t have to tell me twice - he was actually enrolled at the academy at the same time as me; despite rarely attending our lessons, he surprisingly managed to start off his career as an inspector, which is not even an official position at the BPD - but we’re getting off the track here. The real question is: Who is Redhorn looking for? If he’s that secretive about their identity and connection to him that he won’t give plain orders and explanations to his lackeys, it must be someone really close to him…”

Dick trailed off with a knowing look in his eye, clearly creating a pause for dramatic effect as he was preparing to drop a bomb on her.

Barbara couldn’t help rolling her eyes fondly.

Always with the theatrics.

She gestured for Dick to move on, almost dropping the dumpling that was wedged between the chopsticks she was holding in that same hand.

“Well, it’s conjecture, but Hogan remembered that, way back, when he was still in harness, there had been rumors of Redhorn having gotten married- what if he’s looking for his wife?!”

“His wife?” Barbara echoed, surprise evident on her face. In her mind, she combed through the scarce information she had gone over during her research, but she drew a complete blank on the chief’s marital status. To be fair, she hadn’t considered nosing around in such private, familial matters (she might act as an information broker, but she was no creep) and Redhorn didn’t exactly strike her as husband material or a family man, but now that she was looking back on it, the complete lack of information on his marital status was kind of odd-

“Now that you mention it, I don’t recall having seen any information on Redhorn’s marital status whatsoever,” Barbara said carefully.

She noticed the excited spark in Dick’s eyes.

“At the very least, it sounds suspicious, doesn’t it?”

Barbara nodded, “Definitely worth checking out.”

“Of course,” Dick mused, clearly trying to rein in his excitement over this new potential stepping stone in their investigation, “even if Redhorn is looking for his wife, there is still the question of why - has she been kidnapped by other criminals who could be blackmailing him? Has she simply left him and he’s trying to get her back?” He gestured vaguely, as if to illustrate the endless possibilities.“But my point is, if Redhorn is married, his wife could potentially have information that could be useful to us.”

“Well, how useful that could end up being for us really depends on how attached she is to her husband,” Barbara pointed out, “she could invoke marital privileges and refuse to testify against her husband even if she knows of his wrongdoings... If she wants to leave him, however, she might be more inclined to help us…”

Dick nodded, a grin on his face: “Should that hypothetical wife exist, that is.”

Barbara chuckled, already shoving the half-empty take out container to the side to make space for her laptop.

She snatched her computer from the table’s compartment, opened the lid, and booted it up: “Let’s find out, shall we?”

***

Now that she knew what she was looking for, it didn’t take Barbara long to unearth the sought-after information:

“Here we go: 23 years ago, Delmore Redhorn, age 31, married Mary Wallmer, age 20, in a private ceremony in the small fishing town of Snug Cay-” a few clicks on her touchpad and a couple of strokes of her keyboard later- ”Mary was born and raised in Snug Cay, born to Albert and Lucille Wallmer, recently deceased, no siblings.”

Barbara’s eyes raced over the texts and documents, sifting through them for relevant information.

“While in high school, Mary worked at the nearby summer camp as a counselor. After high school, she enrolled in an office course to train to become a secretary… Then worked as a secretary for a small housing firm in Blüdhaven for a while… until the owner of the firm was assaulted and shot dead in his office in broad daylight, with Mary right in the next room.”

Barbara felt Dick next to her shudder. What she read next did nothing to allay her own contempt for the perpetrators of this crime:

“Apparently, the firm had had a few properties over at Avalon Heights, in Freddy Minh’s territory, something the mobster hadn’t appreciated.”

Dick let out a sound of disgust.

Barbara read on: “First responder to the crime was a certain Officer Delmore Redhorn… the wedding took place six months later.”

Scrolling through the data, Barbara tried to find any other entry of employment for Mary. Nothing.

“Doesn’t look like Mary took up another job after that.”

“Not that surprising, considering...”

“From the wedding onward, there is very little info on Mary herself… hmm, a nearly dormant facebook account, maybe that’ll yield something later… oh, wait, here’s something!”

Barbara’s eyes widened.

“Oh.”

When no further elaboration followed, Dick shifted closer, trying to catch a glimpse of what she was staring at.

“What’d you find?!”

Barbara moved the laptop so Dick could get a better look at her screen: “A birth record.”

Looking up from the screen, Dick looked at her uncomprehendingly: “So?”

“It’s not Mary’s birth record - it’s from thirteen years ago; it’s the birth record of her son.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“And the father?”

Barbara tapped her screen, “Redhorn.”

“Huh.”

“Yup... A wife and a son would definitely qualify as “close connections”, don’t you think?”

Dick grinned: “Kinda.”

Barbara smiled back, buzzing with excitement, now that this angle opened up a whole new perspective.

“Give me another hour to figure out whether this is connected to Redhorn’s troubles,” Barbara declared confidently, about to dig deeper into the piles of data ready at her fingertips. She paused briefly, looking at Dick, who had moved to the edge of the sofa, about to get up, “would you-”

“- put on some coffee?” He finished her sentence for her, smiling.

”Way ahead of you.”

***

About one hour and two cups of coffee later, Barbara was ready to present Dick with the findings of her latest cyber expedition:

“Okay, so let me show you this online chat: It’s mainly frequented by well-to-do middle class moms in the Gotham-Blüdhaven-area and their exchanges are mostly a mix of discussions on the deficits and benefits of local schools, challenges of achieving a good work-life-balance, complaints about their unruly offspring, and tips on where to find an excellent yoga instructor - but one thread stood out among the rest: A concerned user talking about how the recurring rumors of corruption in the police department and mayoral office are worrying her because she’s afraid her husband could be wrongly accused of being “mixed up in such dreadful things”. The user name? SnugCayfish78.”

Dick let out a whistle.

“Sounds like you’ve struck gold.”

Barbara grinned triumphantly: “Right? And there is more, my friend… Aside from recurring mentions of her concerns, SnugCayfish78 also dropped this bomb two weeks ago:

“He doesn’t tell me much of his work (I know that he doesn’t want me to worry), but I can tell that ever since another of his subordinate officers was arrested, something is weighing heavily on my husband… If only there was a way for me to ease his burden. Has anyone any ideas? Maybe the social calendars I’ve been keeping all these years will finally come in handy! Being able to show that my husband has only ever been in contact with the upstanding members of the public that have been so deeply invested in building up the Blüdhaven we know and love now, must certainly prove that my darling would never associate with such dishonorable policemen that are involved in corruption! Hopefully, this will be enough to lay my husband’s worries to rest.”

… and that’s the last entry from this account. Coincidentally, that is also the date Redhorn’s son posted his last picture on instagram.”

Dick gave her a meaningful look.

“Sounds to me like Mary just realized that her husband might not have been some innocent bystander in the sea of corruption that makes up Blüdhaven’s elite and decided to go underground. As an added bonus, Summer break started last week, so even if Mary just grabbed her son and left, there’s no danger of inquiries from school.”

“Would fit with what we have found out so far,” Barbara agreed, “of course, there is still the question of what Mary’s planning on doing with the information she has at hand and what Rehorn’s planning to do once he finds her…”

Dick hummed in agreement, a thoughtful expression on his face.

“Considering how her entire world view has been turned on its head, she probably doesn’t even know what to do now that she has discovered her husband’s vest is anything but squeaky clean,” he reasoned,”but maybe she’d be open to handing over this evidence she’s kept unintentionally all these years.”

“Maybe,” Barbara agreed, “nothing I have found suggests that Mary had been involved in Redhorn’s illegal activities in any way; I guess she was truly ignorant of them until now. As for Redhorn - keeping in mind how he appears to be unwilling to deploy his goons in the “usual” manner, I guess we can assume that he actually does care about Mary and doesn’t want her and their son to get hurt… That being said, I have no idea whether his love for them wins out over his sense of self-preservation,” she finished grimly.

Dick nodded, steely determination displayed openly across his features: “Which is exactly why we need to be the ones to find her first.”

“Agreed.”

“You think you can find Mary and their son before Redhorn does?”

Barbara gave Dick a confident smile: “Even if Mary was a Luddite like her husband - she’s in hiding with a teen; I’ll find them, don’t you worry.“

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

to be continued.... here.

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

Notes:

Nightwing #33: Mac Arnot talks to Dick in the cafeteria of the police academy and Dick finds out that they are supposedly in the same class although he hasn't seen Arnot attend any of his classes; Arnot just shrugs it off, explaining that he's "kinda advanced"

Nightwing #42: Chief Redhorn makes Mac Arnot an Inspector (based on shifty recommendations), while Dick gets turned down when applying for a job at the BPD

Nightwing #47: Chief Ebersol (who was appointed Chief while Redhorn took off for some time, hiding from Blockbuster, I think) points out that the BPD doesn't have an official position of Inspector, while Arnot lets Ebersol know that *he* will be running things in the background until Redhorns gets back... oh and he vaguely threatens Ebersol's family (I flipping hate Arnot, ugh)

Nightwing# 71-74: Mary Redhorn (née Wallmer) is important in this story arc; she's Redhorn's wife and is from Snug Cay (although they got married 33 years ago in the comics), Dick followed her all over Europe when police and Blockbuster's goons were coming after her for having a journal that detailed Redhorn's social contacts with plenty of questionable characters; in the comics, Mary's just super naive and probably wanted to use this journal to clear his name, having no idea how closely her husband was entangled in the corruption that is running rampant in Blüdhaven - I wanted to make Mary a little less clueless and give her a bit more agency/motive by having her be protective of a son that I made up

Nightwing #59: Dick wants to drop by Freddy Minh's in Avalon, only to find that Freddy Minh has been dead for some time, his empire now run by his wife, Madame Minh (I assume Chuck Dixon is referring to Avalon Heights and not Avalon Hill, because Avalon Hill is on the outskirts of Blüdhaven, basically in the middle of nowhere, whereas Avalon Heights is situated a bit more centrally, with access to some docks, according to the map in Nightwing Secret Files and Origins #1)

#dickbabs #dickbabs fanfiction #dick grayson #barbara gordon #dickbabs fanfic #I write sometimes #my fics: partners

[veronicamarsconfessions]

When Hulu announced it was reviving the cult favorite Veronica Mars for an eight-episode fourth season, the new episodes were initially referred to as a limited series. But in the year 2019, the phrase "limited series" also holds no meaning. If a show is successful enough, a network or streaming service will find a way to bring it back. Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas has been vocal about his desire to continue Veronica's story beyond this new season, which Hulu refers to as Season 4, while series star Kristen Bell would be happy to play the show's eponymous sleuth until "until everyone in Neptune is dead." And for most of Season 4, that felt like a real possibility.

Although the show may never again reach the exciting highs of that first season, for a little while, simply being in Veronica's orbit again was enough to keep viewers happy and entertained. However, in the wake of the shocking, and frankly unnecessary, death of Logan Echolls (Jason Dohring), whom Veronica married in the finale and who was a key part of the show's enduring legacy, it's difficult to see how the show can continue with the same level of fan support that twice brought it back from the dead. And yet, Thomas is still hoping it will.

"The hope we have going into these eight episodes is that we get to do more of them. And my belief is that those will be better with Veronica Mars as the lead of a noir detective series who does not have a boyfriend or a husband," Thomas explained to TV Guide. "In order for us to keep doing these, I think it needs to become a detective show — a noir, mystery, detective show — and those elements of teenage soap need to be behind us. I sort of viewed these eight episodes as a bridge to what Veronica Mars might be moving forward."

Thomas said he wants to continue Veronica Mars as a Sherlock-esque series, one that can hopefully return with new seasons whenever Thomas and Bell can make their schedules align. This hypothetical version of the series would find Veronica solving different cases around the country, and a significant other for the show's heroine apparently doesn't fit into that plan. But the power of the Logan-Veronica relationship and what it meant to fans of the show should not be underestimated. To assume that viewers would even be interested in a Logan-less Veronica Mars almost feels like a fundamental misreading of the fandom.

Of course, this isn't meant to suggest that Veronica Mars cannot exist without Logan — that would be to belittle Veronica and her many achievements; although Logan clearly left an indelible mark on her, Veronica has accomplished plenty on her own without him, and she will no doubt find similar success in the future, especially if she stays in therapy and learns healthy methods of coping with her trauma. But at the same time, Logan is still a major character who was both deeply loved by Veronica and greatly beloved by a number of the show's fans. His sudden death and the reasoning behind it feels like a betrayal that becomes even more painful when you consider Logan's secretive military career would have been an easy way of writing him out of future installments without piercing the hearts of fans everywhere.

Further explaining the difficult decision to kill off Logan, Thomas revealed he worries that whenever a show reaches a romantic conclusion — like, say, a wedding — it also reaches a finale of sorts, and he's not ready for Veronica Mars to be over. This argument not only feels a bit dated, but it also feels a little misguided when a show like Friday Night Lights has already proven that a happy couple in a lasting, loving relationship can make for compelling television, or when series like Bones, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Parks and Recreation have shown us that will-they, won't-they couples can get together without signaling the end of the road.

Knowing this, Logan's death feels needlessly cruel like it was a narrative decision seemingly meant only to further torment Veronica and leave her cold and isolated. While you can argue it serves to once again show just how resilient Veronica is in the face of adversity, how she always gets back up after the world has knocked her down, how much pain and heartache does Veronica have to go through before saying enough is enough? It's honestly exhausting. So, if fans are tired of seeing Veronica constantly having to endure a painful existence to somehow prove she's a great heroine and they choose to no longer watch the show because of this latest development, it's perfectly reasonable. And if fans are angry that Logan is dead and choose to no longer watch Veronica Mars because of this, it is pretty understandable too. However, even if fans can somehow stomach the idea of a Veronica Mars without Logan Echolls, Thomas' vision for the show's future raises more issues. Mainly, new seasons would find Veronica alone, separated from the town she knows and the people who call it home, and this would mean erasing yet another fundamental part of the show.

For four seasons (and a movie), Neptune and its inhabitants have added depth to its rich and rewarding story. Creators love to describe the location of a series as if it's a character in the story, and this is most often a frustrating sentiment that has lost all meaning through overuse, but Neptune is truly an example of a location that has played a major role in shaping not only the show's characters but also its ongoing narrative. Although the town is no longer the same as it once was — the class war and accompanying social commentary that dominated the series from the start is over after these eight episodes, as the town's wealthy elite have succeeded in pushing the working class out — that doesn't necessarily mean the best course of action is for Veronica to skip town and solve cases around the country. Like many shows before it, Veronica Mars is the story of a specific place, and if the show is to continue beyond these eight new episodes, it probably should remain committed to telling the stories of Neptune — at the very least Southern California — if for no other reason than the fact the show owes a lot to the exceptional supporting cast that calls it home and has brought its story to life since 2004.

After all, if Veronica leaves Neptune, where does that leave her father, Keith (Enrico Colantoni)? Thomas said the character may not make an appearance in hypothetical future seasons of the show, and that almost feels incomprehensible. Veronica's relationship with her father is the bedrock upon which the series has rested since the pilot. Even when the show was at its most uneven you could count on Veronica and Keith's powerful family dynamic to ground the story emotionally. And although Veronica is now an adult in her 30s, their relationship is the single most important relationship in her life in the wake of Logan's untimely death. To remove him from the equation entirely threatens to disrupt far more than the status quo, which is what Thomas's intention is by taking Veronica on the road. A Veronica Mars without Keith's stabilizing presence would make for a shell of a series, one that would only be further harmed if Veronica's chosen family — Wallace (Percy Daggs III), Mac (Tina Majorino), and Weevil (Francis Capra) — were to suddenly disappear from her life as well.

Now, the show hopes to minimize this instability by essentially skipping over Veronica's grieving period. As Thomas said, one of the reasons the season includes a flash-forward is so the series doesn't have to spend time actually depicting Veronica's grief. "Our bread and butter is being quick and funny, and I'm not sure it'd be to our benefit to living a year in Veronica's grief on our show," Thomas said, noting that by the end of the season Veronica is actually getting her feet back under her.

But even if Veronica has recovered from her latest trauma, Logan's death is still raw for viewers, and it's painful enough without having to consider that every familiar source of comfort could be ripped away at once in the potential next season. Even beyond the show's core supporting cast, Veronica Mars is home to a memorable motley crew who have brought Neptune to life, and their presence in future installments, no matter how small, would be a cool balm on fresh wounds. Plus, what does the show look like without them? Ryan Hansen's self-centered party king Dick Casablancas, Max Greenfield's charming Leo D'Amato, Ken Marino's skeezy private detective Vinnie Van Lowe, and Daran Norris' reliable public defender Cliff McCormack have all become fan favorites. They each play a necessary role in the show's ecosystem, much like the Fighting Fitzpatricks or the PCHers have done over the years.

Veronica Mars has excelled at building out its little corner of the world by populating it with unique but believable characters, and it's not to suggest that a version of the show that exists outside the world of Neptune won't be able to successfully reach the same depths or recreate that magic in the same way, but it will have to work a lot harder to do it, especially if future seasons once again have a limited episode count. Furthermore, even if new seasons turn out to be good, the truth is that a Veronica Mars outside of Neptune, one without any familiar faces in sight, would feel like a very different show, one that threatens to not feel like Veronica Mars at all.

Veronica Mars helped to usher in the tidal wave of revivals and reboots that is still washing over Hollywood some five years after the fan-funded feature film hit theaters, and when this second revival was first announced last year, I wrote that the show should also be the series that puts an end to that trend too. It was a plea in favor of originality at a time when original ideas felt about as impossible as a unicorn. I still believe this should be the end of the revival trend, but now it's because this is a classic case of the writers thinking so much about whether or not they could do something that they didn't stop to consider if they should. In the end, we got eight more episodes of Veronica Mars, but it came at a deadly cost, and now we live in a world where Logan Echolls is dead and Veronica Mars is leaving Neptune. Was it really worth it?

#Veronica Mars #Kristen Bell #Rob Thomas #HULU #Logan Echolls #news

[ask-jumblr]

Goy Asks For Help Un-Fucking a Video Game

The game in question is “Crusader Kings 2: After the End,” which takes place in a post-apocalyptic North America which has regressed to a medieval state due to a deliberately-unspecified global disaster some six centuries ago.

Its an overhaul mod, with “Crusader Kings 2″ being the base game which takes place in the actual middle ages, but I’m only concerning myself with “After The End.” For clarity’s sake, I’ll be referring to the base game, which I will not be concerning myself with altering, as “CK2,″ and I will refer to the mod, which I am altering, as “AtE.”

So CK2 has a lot of baked in Cultural Christianity, much of which is carried over to AtE. I am creating a Submod, and as part of that I want to get AtE’s depiction of Judaism to be less, you know, christian. I want to carve out the ingrained antisemitism so that neither I, nor any Jewish players of the game, will have to look at it anymore.

I’ll be cutting this post up into several parts, each one dedicated to what I, as a gentile, think is probably an issue with the way the game portrays Judaism and my best idea of how to fix it. I’m posting this here with the hope of being corrected about everything I’m definitely getting wrong, and help figuring out how to go about actually fixing things.

Mod of @ask-jumblr briefly interjecting: (1) Putting the rest below the cut so this doesn’t clog dashes, and (2) submission is from @frustratedasatruar because tumblr doesn’t credit submissions once they’re posted.

Part 1: Orthodox, Reform, and… Meshichist?

So the way CK2 handles religion is cut up into a few tiers. The largest categories are the so-called Religious Groups, such as “Christian” or “American-Native” or “Muslim.” Judaism comprises one of these groups.

Then there’s the Heresy mechanic, which exists with the intent to model Catholicism’s whole snake-eating-its-own-tail thing with them, especially back in the middle ages. The way the mechanic works is that you’ve got one Religion that is considered the “main” religion with several others associated with it which vie for control. If things are shaky for the main religion, members of that faith may be prompted to join one of the Heretical movements.

I actually think the way AtE applies this mechanic to Judaism is fairly representative in practice. “Orthodox” is granted the position of main religion, with Reform relegated as a Heresy. But! Both Orthodox communities and Reform communities are scattered across the map at the start of the game. Further, Orthodoxy’s position at game-start is very fragile, so a Reform player can fairly simply supplant them as the dominant branch without even needing a military confrontation with any Orthodox factions.

This combination of factors creates a situation where Jewish communities within the game can ebb and flow between the different sects over time, which wouldn’t be possible if the two religions weren’t tied together with the Heresy mechanic.

One problem though, at least as far as I can see; there’s a third sect in the mix. Again, I’m a gentile, so correct me if I’m wrong, but its really weird for the Meshichists (explicitly the people who believe this man to be the Moshiach) to be depicted as a major faction within Judaism, literally on par with Orthodox and Reform, right?

As far as I, as a gentile, can tell from my research on this subject, the Meshichists are a subset of Chabad, which is itself a subset of Hasidic Judaism, which is a subset of Haredi Judaism, which has a complicated relationship with Orthodox Judaism.

So, assuming I’m not out of place in my assessment that the Meshichists are the odd man out, my question is if I should simply remove them from the game, leaving in-game Judaism to Orthodox and Reform. Or if I should replace them with a different third faction, and if so whom? I understand that Conservative Judaism is another major faction, but I know absolutely nothing about them, including how I would distinguish them from Orthodox.

Help, please.

Part 2: Zealous/Cynical

So CK2, as mentioned, has a lot of structural Cultural Christianity.

Individual characters in the games, that is to say Rulers or associated courtiers, have a list of traits, each one modifying their aptitudes and how the AI will direct them. Things like “Gluttonous,” “Charitable,” “Craven,” “Shrewd,” and so on. There’re hundreds of them.

Some of these traits are set as opposites of one another, which means that if a character has one the game won’t allow them to have the other. You cannot be both “Just” and “Arbitrary,” that sort of thing.

Further, one trait can have more than one opposite. “Slow,” “Quick,” and “Genius,” are all inter-incompatible, for example.

Which brings me to the Zealous and Cynical traits.

Their descriptions are thus:

Zealous: This character burns with religious fervor and cannot tolerate heretics, infidels, or heathens.

Cynical: This character is a cynical unbeliever, disliked by the clergy but good at intrigue.

I’ll shy away from describing their exact in-game modifiers and just leave it that Zealous is considered an overall very desirable trait, while Cynical is undesirable unless you’re playing a spymaster. Zeal makes you more popular with priests of your religion, while cynicism makes you commensurately less popular with the same.

Furthermore, unlike Cynical, being Zealous also precludes you from having any of the “Sympathy for [Insert Other Religion Group]” traits.

Now as I understand it, Judaism rather encourages questioning everything, which feels like a third pole on that little alignment graph. I’m essentially asking if I should try and create a “Pious Skepticism” trait to represent Jewish characters who don’t mindlessly-accept-writ-dogma-and-hate-unbelievers but also aren’t unbelievers themselves, while at the same time arguing with and about established scripture.

This hypothetical “Pious Skepticism” trait, name subject to change, would also allow for characters to be both on good terms with religious authorities and still have access to the Sympathy traits.

I feel like the current system of Zealous/Default/Cynical probably doesn’t represent the Jewish experience, but as a gentile I obviously need advisement to be sure.

TLDR: I feel like CK2 lacks a way to represent the whole arguing-about-everything thing that, at least from what I’ve read following Jewish blogs, is considered so important to your community. Then as an addendum on that point, is my proposed solution of making a new trait to represent it, and slotting it into the zealous/cynical dynamic.

Part 3: Depicting Antisemitism in the Game

CK2 has a limited system for dynamically depicting sexism. For what I feel pretty safe to assume are reasons regarding processing power, the degree of sexism within your in-game territory is boiled down to the “Status of Women” modifier in your nation’s lawcode, with five options.

“Traditional: Women are prohibited from holding all [government] positions. Some government types will be restricted to Agnatic inheritance law.”

“Marginal: Women are allowed to hold some power, occupying background positions behind the people in charge.”

“Significant: Women have been granted official power and are allowed to hold public offices.”

“Notable: Restrictions on female power have been officially repealed. All career paths are open for prominent women.”

“Full: Powerful legislation removing old restrictions has finally had the effect of affecting the general opinion on women in positions of power across society.”

These laws are pegged to different benchmarks in the game’s technological progression system, which has the effect of spacing out the reforms over the coarse of your game.

As you try and move women’s rights forward, powerful men in your nation will fight you tooth and nail to prevent that from happening.

As things stand in the game, antisemitism is represented as identical to every other form of xenophobia. Which obviously downplays the the shear length and breadth of impact antisemitism has on society.

Essentially, my notion to represent the special form of bigotry that is antisemitism is to apply a similar system to the one already applied to sexism.

In the sexism system, your nation is quantifiably better off for every step further you advance down the road to equality. The only real reason not to pursue equality is the hope of placating powerful special interests within your state who want a larger slice of the pie for themselves or have other ideological motivations, at the expense of weakening your nation as a whole.

Which I think would be a pretty good angle for representing antisemitism. I’m not advocating for a 1=1 switchover from the sexism system, of course, indeed one of the things I’d want help with is determine what the five stages would be in a similar antisemitism system.

Anyway, for all that this system is really incapable of handling the magnitudes of sexism or antisemitism, its something I can implement without crashing the game and, I think, a significant improvement over the current situation.

But before I started into the in-depth process of trying to code this, I wanted to seek out some Jewish voices to run my thoughts by first.

Part 4: Ethnoreligion

CK2 has a very christian perspective on the relationship between culture and religion, to the extent that I as a pagan am repeatedly jarred by it. And I’ve learned that Judaism’s view of the subject is even less like that of the christians. Making it, I presume, a bigger problem with the game.

So in the game culture and religion are considered completely distinct from each other, the conversion of one not having any effect on the state of the other. The only direct connection of any kind that I know of honestly just makes the problem worse: if you find yourself in control of a county which is both a different religion and culture from your own, you must actively convert the religion before it will be possible for culture to passively convert.

Which can result in situations which, given my knowledge that Judaism is specifically an ethnoreligion, are very strange. Like Anabaptist Yiddish counties.

Or the way any prospective Jewish rulers, if they want to ensure a firmer political position in a majority-gentile kingdom (if they manage to establish such a thing), demographic shift is fastest achieved not by, say, some mechanism to attract Jewish immigrants from neighboring countries, but by relentlessly proselytizing until the goyim convert, and only then the process of cultural shift may start.

Can you tell that this system was designed for the catholics.

I’m not really sure what exactly I could do to fix this, but I believe I can:

Disable the proselytizing mechanic for Jewish characters. I’d need to replace it with a “dispatch debate team,” or something, mechanic so that Jewish players won’t be left helpless in the face of grassroots Heretic movements.

Code a new system for gentile-counties-with-Jewish-rulers to passively convert culture and religion at the same time, but at a slower pace. And maybe, if I’m feeling ambitious overconfident, some mechanic by which you can try to inspire immigration by Jewish populations, potentially causing a brain-drain in nearby Kingdoms if you invest enough into it.

Create an opposite system, so that if a county of both Jewish religion and culture is converted to a different religion group, the county’s culture will autoswitch to an off-brand version of itself. If I’m feeling cheeky, I’ll call the off-brand culture “Goyim” or something.

I think that these three things in conjunction with each other would adequately solve the problem.

But, you know, I don’t know, because I’m not Jewish.

Part 5: Education

The game’s current system has it that as a monarch you can offer your vassals to have their children educated in your court, which usually results in them adopting your culture and religion if they haven’t already.

I feel like Jewish rulers would be less blaze about that than everyone else. Because, you know, experience. I want to set things so that Jewish rulers will either auto-decline those offers or maybe set it so Jewish characters are ineligible for the events that cause culture/religious conversion during childhood. I don’t really need a perfect solution, I just want to stop the phenomena of the idiot AI selling out to the big homogenizing power every single time.

Unless I shouldn’t do that, and I should leave things as is for whatever reason, or do some completely third thing.

Part 6: Logo

So in CK2, religions have their own individual logos so you can tell at a glance what religion a character is affiliated with. Heresies of the same main religion share a logo between each other, which will be a red version of the main religion’s logo.

Should a Heresy grow powerful enough to usurp the main religion’s position, the former-Heresy will get the full color version and the former-main-religion will get the red version.

Long story short, Judaism is represented by a Menorah. Because I learned that gentiles massively over inflate how important Hanuka actually is, I was wondering if that was a good pick, or if it should be replaced with the Star of David, or some other third thing.

Part 7: Terminology

This one is essentially Part 6: Part 2. The game has a shorthand way of copy-pasting in default terms from the different religions, so that a generic piece of in-game text can vaguely refer back to the character’s religion without needing to be rewritten for each religion.

For reference, here’s what that looks like for the christians:

Scripture Name = The Bible Priest Title = Priest High God Name = God God Names = God, The Lord, Jesus, The Blessed Virgin Evil God Names = Satan, Lucifer, The Devil

So in-game text in various places will be coded to say something like “We found a secret chest of gold, praise [Insert=god_name]!” and the game will insert something from the appropriate category at random.

You’ve probably guessed where I’m going with this: as a gentile, I want to double check that the terminology assigned to Judaism is actually appropriate.

However, as the game’s name lists for the three “god” categories drops several names I don’t recognize, and I know that Judaism is against copying certain things in this regard down, to be safe I’m not going to post the specific list unless asked. Instead, I’m just going to ask how those three categories should be filled out.

What I assume to be safer to directly repeat is that the priest title for Judaism is entered as “Rabbi,” and the scripture name is listed as “The Torah.” At least as a gentile, the only question that leaps out to me between the two of those is if “The Torah” might be better switched to “The Tanakh.”

End:

Thank you all in advance for your patience and assistance! I will of course answer any questions.

My thanks to @queerdo-mcjewface, @terulakimban, @miriams-well-of-jewish-thoughts, and @hermione-walked-out-of-a-yeshiva for helping me already when I couldn’t figure out how to submit this Ask.

#video games #help #Christian-normativity #submission #cursing

[hedwigstalons]

High Expectations - Ch3

In the spirit of experimentation I tried out a different art programme that was recommended to me.  I’m not sure I’m a fan and it took me far too long to work out the basic functions (most of which I still haven’t figured out) but it does have cool star stamps.

Thank you to @willow-salix​ for putting up with my wobbles over this fic and for all her help, editing and suggestions.

Earlier parts: One, Two

Chapter Three

John tiptoed back to the room he had been allocated to share with Alan, his head buzzing with ideas.  Before, everything his father had mentioned had seemed hypothetical but with all four of them in the room together it looked like this plan could be more than just a pipedream.  Their father obviously thought they had the skills between them.  With all the potential operatives together the discussions had continued long into the night.  A rescue organisation with first responder, transporter, space rocket and communications satellite.  

For him it would be the chance to live amongst the stars.  A career in space was something he had been striving towards.  Every extra credit course.  Every summer camp and internship.  Each had been a steppingstone towards his dream of working for the World Space Agency.  And then his father had dropped the bombshell that there could be an alternative.  He would still need to complete a training course at Tracy College, as would Scott and Virgil, but he was being offered a golden opportunity albeit one that would take several years to come to fruition.  Never usually one to give in to flights of fantasy John found himself daydreaming.

The door latch clicked closed and John was half way to his bed before he realised anything was amiss.  The room was dark and still.  

Too still.

There was no restless turning of a sleeper disturbed by his return.  No heavy breathing of a brother at rest.  The room was silent and disconcertingly empty.  

He didn’t panic.  John had never understood the point of panicking.  It rarely achieved anything and was often a hindrance.  Panicking was something other people did.  John didn’t panic, he used logic; he found it much more effective.    

Alan’s bed was not only empty of his missing sibling, it was also bereft of its coverings.  The mattress stripped of its duvet and pillows.  The floor length curtain fluttered slightly and a gentle breeze broke the heavy stillness of the room.  John stepped over to investigate.

Alan was stretched out on his back on the balcony, the duvet forming a barrier between the teen and the hard planking.  At first John thought he was asleep.  The room itself was stuffy and he could see the appeal of retreating to the balcony even if it made more sense to just adjust the air conditioning.  He was debating whether or not to wake Alan up and move him back inside when a voice spoke from the floor.

“Finally finished then?”

John chose to ignore the question.  Jeff had made it clear that the plans were not to be discussed with the youngest two until things had progressed further.  There was still a lot that could go awry, not least espionage, and secrecy was a pivotal concern.  

“Trouble sleeping?”

“Something like that.  Never had the chance to see the southern stars before.  I was hoping we could look at them together.  Thought you might finally have time now.”

There was an accusatory edge to Alan’s voice and John felt a stab of guilt.  Ever since he had got back from college Alan had been asking him for an astronomy session but there had always been some excuse.  His college work.  Meetings with Dad.  Or sometimes just wanting to be alone as he missed the freedom and solitude of his own apartment.  Alan had latched on like a shadow.  He’d even protested against having to share a room with Alan for this Olympics trip even if Scott and Virgil were also having to share, the penthouse apartment not being equipped with enough rooms for them to each have their own.  All his little brother wanted to do was spend time with him.  John realised he hadn’t even given the younger boy a chance.

“Budge over.”

Alan shuffled across on the duvet, making room for John to stretch out beside him.  They lay close, side by side.  Both were of a similar build and their lithe forms fitted easily on the impromptu mattress.  Alan was still several growth spurts shy of reaching his full potential but it looked like he too, as had happened to all his brothers except Gordon, would one day exceed 6 foot.  Under the stars they both loved the similarities were more marked than their differences.

“Seen anything interesting?”

“You missed Jupiter but to be honest the light pollution is almost as bad as L.A.  I’d love to head out to the dark sky reserve and take a proper look but I guess this this will have to do.  I don’t know when I’ll next be in this hemisphere again.  Even Crux is hard to make out against the glow.”

John followed the arm of his pointing sibling and could just make out the constellation that was one of the defining features of the southern hemisphere.  Alan was right, the light pollution of the city meant the stars were barely visible.  John had to bite his tongue over one thing though, if Jeff’s plan came to fruition then the southern skies could soon become the norm for Alan.

The pointing arm began moving about.

“So if Crux is there.  And Centaurus is there.”  There was a pause as Alan consulted his mental map and made a few calculations.  “Then home must be over….there.”

“You’ve worked out where L.A. is?”  He made his own rapid calculations and came up with a similar answer.  He couldn’t help but be slightly impressed.  Alan had always shown a similar interest in the stars to himself and it looked like this interest hadn’t waned.

“Well I wouldn’t trust it as accurate.  I just like to test myself whenever I go somewhere new.  I was thinking of Kansas though.  L.A. isn’t really home.  Never has been.”  There was a pause then, barely whispered, “You guys aren’t there.”  

John looked across but Alan was still staring resolutely up at the sky.  He knew he didn’t associate Los Angeles with home.  He had left for Harvard just before the move to California.  To him the apartment in the city was just somewhere to visit between semesters.  But surely Alan should have been more settled by now.  He had lived in the city for several years with Dad and Gordon.  

He thought back to his latest visit.  With the exception of the bedrooms the apartment looked like a show home; devoid of personality.  It was a place where individuals coexisted rather than somewhere that a family lived.  It was a stark contrast to the slightly run down farmhouse with the mismatched furniture collected over the years.  The marks on the walls that each told a story; the stain from when Alan got hold of Virgil’s paints, the dent in the doorframe from when Scott threw a baseball inside.  The apartment had no such stories.  No memories.  Alan was right, it wasn’t a home.  

“I doubt we can make it out to the dark sky reserve, the schedule is pretty tight, but if you want we take a trip out to the mountains when we get back.  Take the telescope.”

“Really?”  The eagerness was barely disguised.  

“Sure.  I’ll still have a couple of weeks before I have to head back east.  I’m sure we can wrangle a few days away.”

They lay side by side staring up at unfamiliar skies until they drifted off to sleep, lulled by the perpetual murmur of the city below them.

xoxoxox

John awoke to the sun in his eyes and cramp in his foot.  In a moment of disorientation he couldn’t work out why his bed was so hard or the room was so bright as he clutched at the offending limb and attempted to stretch out his toes.

His startled flailing woke the figure to the side of him.  Alan stretched, bounced up off the floor, then held out a hand to his incapacitated sibling.  John grasped it gratefully and levered himself up.  The cramp might have eased but his whole body felt stiff from the unintentional slumber on the decking.  He wondered how on earth Alan was able to move about so freely.

“You want first shower?”  Alan asked as they headed back into the room.

John nodded gratefully.  He hadn’t meant to bed down under the stars and as such was still wearing his clothes from the day before.  After travelling across continents and then sleeping outside the outfit was decidedly rumpled and worse for wear.

He stepped into the en-suite and shucked the dirty clothes onto the floor.  The shower was hot and powerful, the steady stream of drops beat against his aching muscles.  He could have stayed there all morning but the sound of Alan rapping on the door reminded him that this was a shared space and there was a schedule to be adhered to.

Breakfast was a quiet affair in the lounge area with plenty of coffee to fuel the day although Alan stuck to juice and water, commenting that he couldn’t understand why they all felt the need to drink the bitter brew.  This just drew amused smirks from his elders, sure that one day he would discover the delights of the bean.  Coffee was treated with reverence by the other Tracys.  Virgil didn’t like to venture outside before his second cup.  Jeff insisted on a fresh ground beans of single origin.  Scott and John were less particular in their tastes but even they liked to start the day with a strong fix to kick start the senses.

The morning was spent pool-side watching a mixed assortment of heats and races.  Alan had the whole schedule memorised and counted down the events until Tracy four was due to take his turn in the water.  He seemed to know every statistic of every competitor and chattered away to any brother that would listen. 

At last, towards the end of the session, the men’s 200m butterfly was announced.  The family sat forward expectantly.  Gordon was tipped to do well but his heat was a difficult draw.  Both the Australian and Dutch competitors would be in the water with him and all of them had their sights set on medals.  Three medal hopefuls but only two places available in the final.  There could be no saving himself; every lap mattered.

At the sound of the gun Gordon launched himself into the water.  Five sets of eyes tracked him from above, barely daring to blink.  Five hearts thumped as the battle was fought.  Five collective breaths were released as the timing board announced what they had all thought they had seen; second place for USA.  Gordon would live to fight another day.

Emerging into the bright sunshine of early afternoon the family found themselves basking in the refreshing breeze that wafted through the Olympic Park.  The gallery had suffered from the intense heat and humidity common to swimming pools the world over.  The echoing acoustics had made the cheers of the crowd deafening and it was a relief to step back into outside world.

“Well, that’s it for today” Jeff announced to his assembled brood.  “There are some taekwondo and athletics tickets for tomorrow and then Gordon’s final is the day after.  For now though I’ve got to head back to the hotel and catch up with some work, don’t make plans for me for dinner.” 

Leaving them to sort it out amongst themselves Jeff turned and headed back to the hotel.  The brothers knew their father well enough to read between the lines.  He evidently didn’t want to be disturbed and the expectation was that they would stay away from the hotel, at least for the next few hours and preferably until nightfall.  

Scott was about assume responsibility for the group when John spoke up.

“I thought I might take Alan out to where the mountain biking is taking place.  You don’t need tickets for that.”  Alan’s eyes lit up at the prospect of spending time with his favourite available brother and watching people hurtling at speed down steep hills and over rocks.  “You two don’t need to come if it’s not your thing.” 

“You sure you’ll be ok with him?”

“Seriously Scott, we don’t need a chaperone.  Alan and I will be perfectly fine by ourselves.”  

Scott shrugged in an ‘if you’re sure’ sort of gesture.  As much as he knew Alan would love to see people risk life and limb in the name of sport he also knew it most definitely was not John’s usual choice of activity.  Still, if it got him out of an afternoon of playing sheepdog he wasn’t going to question John’s motives too deeply.  

He turned to Virgil.  “Looks like it’s you and me then.  Unless you also want to watch the mountain biking?”

“Not really.  I’d rather stay central.  Maybe head over to the marina.”

“Sounds good to me.  You’ll give me a ring if you need anything.”  John just rolled his eyes in response.

The siblings split into pairs; one set heading off to the taxis that would take them to the artificial hill course, the other set heading to the waterfront.

The harbour area was packed with visitors and a little too crowded to be comfortable.  Scott and Virgil headed away from the Olympic area, following the esplanade until the crowds thinned out.  They had had enough sporting hype for one day and were ready to just relax.  Scott’s leave was only a few days for the duration of Gordon’s events and he knew he would soon be immersed back in Air Force life.  Best make use of the opportunity for some rest and relaxation while he could.

They walked in companionable silence until, as if by mutual accord, their steps led them to a waterfront bar.  The sun was starting to dip towards the horizon but the evening was still warm and the parasols at each table gave some welcome shade.  The brothers found themselves drawn to an empty table.  They were soon comfortably settled, the ocean glittering in front of them mirroring the sparkling condensation on their beer glasses.

Scott took a deep pull and sank half his drink before Virgil had barely sipped an inch earning himself a disapproving look from the younger man.  Scott chose to ignore it.  He rarely got down time.  There were always so many responsibilities.  His squadron.  Younger brothers.  But John had taken custody of Alan and Virgil was old enough to look after himself meaning Scott could enjoy not being in loco parentis for a while.  If he chose to enjoy that freedom by drinking a little too much a little too quickly then so be it.

A second drink swiftly followed the first and the conversation flowed just as freely as the beer.  Of all the sibling bonds Scott’s and Virgil’s was probably the strongest despite them rarely getting time together any more. 

As the glasses stacked up Scott beckoned to a nearby waitress who was collecting empties from the outside tables.  He beamed at her causing the dimples in his cheeks to appear like craters.

“Hey beautiful, could we get another couple of drinks over here?  And maybe some scotch chasers?”

She nodded and Scott turned to watch her as she headed back inside, his eyes raking up and down her body.

“Put your tongue away” Virgil commented.  “You’re practically drooling.”

“Can’t a guy appreciate the finer things in life?”

“Not if it means perving over the locals.  She’s just trying to do her job.”

“I am not perving.  I’m admiring.  I thought you were meant to be the artist seeing the beauty in everything?”

They arrival of said waitress with the next round of drinks soon put an end to their argument and cause the re-emergence of the dimples.  He fixed her a look with his startling blue eyes that he knew most women found irresistible.

“Thanks.  Say, are you working late tonight?”

“Late enough.”

“Only I was hoping someone with local knowledge could help show me the sights.”

“Sorry boys.  No moonlighting as a tour guide.  It’s company policy.”  She stacked the empty glasses onto her tray and headed back inside.

“Well that shot you down.”  Virgil smirked.  “We’ve barely been here twenty four hours and already you’re trying to get laid.  Can’t you keep it in your pants for one trip?  We’re here to support Gordon, not so that you can add more notches to your bedpost.  And had you forgotten we are sharing a room?”

Scott snorted.  “So what if I fancied having a little fun, it’s not like I get much chance back at base.  The Air Force isn’t exactly awash with opportunity between postings and combat missions.  And if Dad’s plan actually happens and we’re all dragged in to it it’s not like any of us will have much of a life.”

“What do you mean ‘dragged in’?  I thought you were on board with this whole rescue business?”

“Well you thought wrong.”

By this point yet another beer had been drained, swiftly followed by the scotch.  The burn of a cheap blend hit the back of Scott’s throat with a kick.

“Seriously, what does he hope to achieve with just four of us?  All that bull crap about saving the world one family at a time.  The world already has rescue services and the World Security Patrol.  It doesn’t need us sacrificing ourselves too.”

“But surely if we can make a difference?”

“I already make a difference.  I like my life Virg and I’m good at what I do.  Dad is asking me to give up the career I’ve worked hard for just to fit his idea.  It’s not easy being a Tracy in the Air Force; everyone always has some story about Dad but I’m finally making it in my own right.  And now he’s talking like this is some foregone conclusion.”

“You’d really rather follow the orders of some Air Force brass than help save lives?  Your unit isn’t exactly a humanitarian force.  What about doing it for Mom?  He said this was her legacy.”

“Of course I want to save lives but sometimes the defence of our nation calls for a more forceful response; eliminating the few to save the many.”  

“Yeah, you keep telling yourself that.”  This was one area where Scott and Virgil never had seen eye to eye.  Scott was proud to serve his country.  Some days though, when the intelligence was flawed or the benefits didn’t seem to justify the costs, he found himself wondering if the family pacifist had a point.

“Even if I did leave the Air Force I’d still be following orders, they would just be Dad’s orders.  I can’t see it being run by committee, can you?  And he can leave Mom out of this.  Her legacy was Dad burying himself behind a mountain of paperwork or at the bottom of a scotch bottle while we picked up the pieces.  Or have you forgotten having to juggle school work around getting the kids to swim meets and after school clubs?”

“He isn’t like that any more.”

“Ok, so there are fewer empty bottles in the recycling but there was still a massive Alan shaped hole in his plan.  You know what Dad is like when he gets his teeth into something; anything not directly necessary gets pushed to one side and that includes his own family.”  There was a drawn out sigh as the fire burnt out.  “I don’t think I’m ready to take that on again.”

Virgil knocked back his own scotch as he considered Scott’s words.  His elder brother was right; Gordon and Alan were conspicuously absent it the run down of how the organisation would operate.  Ok, Gordon wasn’t so much of an issue but Alan still had several years of school ahead of him.  He just had to trust that there was some plan in place in the background for the youngest.

He shrugged and shivered slightly as the wind changed direction and blew in off the now black ocean.  Around them tables were being wiped down and lights were being dimmed, a clear indication that it was time to call it a night.  The pair hailed a cab and rode in silence back to the hotel, each lost in their own thoughts.

#thunderbirds #thunderbirds fanfiction #high expectations #future plans

[cat-scarr]

The Overlooked Reality of Being a Superhero's Significant Other

(Specifically, in the case of Ben 10)

"But I guess that's the deal when you decide to date a superhero." - Julie Yamamoto (Ultimate Alien - "Duped")

And this is the deal when you decide to be a superhero.

It is one thing to say that your significant other is a superhero, and it is another thing altogether to realize and accept exactly what that entails.  

First and foremost, something which has surprisingly been overlooked by many of Ben’s canon love interests is the fact that dating Ben 10 would mean that they would be agreeing to date someone who has chosen, voluntarily, to continue to make saving the world his priority. It goes unrecognised that Ben, since Alien Force, arguably even since the original series, he has chosen voluntarily to take all of the following factors and consequences into what should be his normal life. Regardless of whether it is assumed by some that he continues to be a hero for the thrill or in the interest of helping others, he has still chosen to deal with all of this. 

While the saying goes that, in every healthy relationship, both partners should sacrifice things for each other, it is almost impossible to equate any kind of sacrifice the girlfriend/significant other of a superhero can make for him in comparison to what he is voluntarily “sacrificing” everyday of his life. 

The Ultimate Alien episode “The Perfect Girlfriend” tries to handle this idea. The episode opens with Ben driving Julie to the airport, and before he can walk her up to the gate, Ben's car picks up a police report about a suspected hostage situation involving an alien criminal. The following is that report word for word:

“Ssserpent has escaped from prison...Police believe Ssserpent is holding a hostage. Negotiators are tying to reach him by phone. But how do you bargain with something like that?”

Immediately, as expected, and as indicated by Gwen’s attempt at hiding the situation from Ben so that it doesn’t get in the way of his relationship with Julie again, Ben decides to go handle it. Both Gwen and Julie are obviously upset with him for this decision. And, as I have stated multiple times when discussing these types of conflicting relationship situations, it effectively makes Ben look bad for choosing to deal with a serious call for help instead of continuing to spend time with his girlfriend.

Before I continue, I’d like to point out that we can not really balance the importance and urgency of a hostage situation and a tennis tournament. 

During this scene, Gwen also states that she could handle it instead. And, while I do not doubt that she absolutely should be able to, the last time Gwen and Kevin were up against Ssserpent in Alien Force’s “Vengeance of Vilgax” they were having a really hard time defeating him until Ben showed up. 

This only further encourages the idea that Ben has to ultimately find the solution to every problem, because, if something goes wrong, and he doesn’t stop it like they expect him to, it is automatically his fault no matter how many people are in charge of handling the situation. 

Whereas, in terms of his relationship with Julie, Ben’s decision to prioritize innocent lives which might be in danger as soon as he hears about a hostage situation, will not affect Julie’s freedom to live her life, which is what she seems to personally value the most in these types of conflicting scenarios. 

Julie: “My life is just as important as yours!” 

Returning to the episode plot, Julie, who, for the majority of this episode after the initial airport scene is actually Elena disguised as Julie, is shown “sacrificing” the things she enjoys for Ben so that their relationship would be “perfect.” 

Gwen brings up an interesting point about sacrifices within a relationship, challenging Elena-disguised-as-Julie’s point of view. 

Gwen: “I wanted to talk to you, about not going to Europe.”

Julie/Elena: “I already told you. It was an easy choice.” 

Gwen: “But it shouldn't have been.”

Julie/Elena: “Look. I love Ben. That’s all there is to it.” 

Gwen: “Fine. But that doesn’t mean you should make such a big sacrifice for him.”

Julie/Elena: “That’s what you do when you love somebody.”

Gwen: “No. You both make sacrifices for each other. What’s Ben giving up?” 

I understand where Gwen is coming from. In terms of her relationship with Kevin, they have both made sacrifices to be together, and, at this point, been through countless difficult situations which tested how far they were willing to go to stay together. Dating their former enemy, accepting their past, changing themselves for the better, and then watching each other struggle with their powers and private lives, respectively, just to name a few.

There are some people who are actually not in favour of how the build up of Gwevin was handled, or, according to them, lack thereof. Within the context of the universe they exist in however, the opportunity to form a strong connection with people who have taken you in and shown you a better way to live will have a profound effect one oneself, namely Kevin. And, just to state the obvious, one of those who helped him find a better place to be and heal was Gwen. 

Throughout Alien Force and Ultimate Alien, Ben, Gwen, and Kevin were not just a simple group of friends. They were team mates. They've been through life and death situations together. Gwen and Kevin’s bond comes out of the loyalty and strong friendship which they up kept while going through countless traumatic situations together. 

Unfortunately, this is not the same situation with Benlie.

When it comes to Ben and Julie, making these “sacrifices” for each other is not a common factor because of the disconnect and misunderstanding which divides and differentiates them. This is saddening to type because it could have absolutely brought them closer together if they could sympathize or empathize with each other, and, in turn, sacrifice things which would benefit their significant other. 

I don’t want to constantly put Julie on the spot, but I believe the “issues” she had within her relationship with Ben were unnecessarily made into a big deal. Just like us, the viewers of this show, she should perfectly capable of understanding a superhero’s reality. 

“Be careful, Ben” - Julie Yamamoto (”War of the Worlds” - Alien Force)

We were not directly there to experience what Ben has, however we can still sympathize or empathize with the human emotions he feels. Why else do we become so emotionally invested in a character such as Ben? 

You make those “sacrifices“ for another person out of the empathy or sympathy you feel for them. That is, by definition, love. And, in regards to being the significant other of a superhero, that empathy or sympathy should come out of an understanding of the things they have already sacrificed in order to obtain the title they have. Because, as I stated previously, it is difficult to equate any kind of sacrifice you can make for your significant other when their job may lead them to sacrifice their own young life in exchange for the lives of others. 

In regards to Ben, I would argue that part of what drives him to continue to try to help others is the fact that he feels empathy and sympathy for them. A superhero saves lives simply because he cares they they do not suffer. And, in order to care that others do not suffer, you must know what pain feels like. 

(”Back with a Vengeance” - Original Series)

By “pain”, I am referring to both the literal sense and the psychological sense. There have been moments in his life which have caused him either or both, and even in spite of this, he still chooses to go on with his perceived duty to be a hero so that he may prevent that kind of suffering from spreading to others. Painful moments like this would include alien criminals trying to cut his arm off, rip the watch out of his skin, or even having his family threatened to be killed. 

(”Max Out” - Alien Force)

Obviously, getting physically involved in these types of scenarios may even leave him with injuries, bruises, or scars, whether they be from fighting or potentially, in the hypothetical case that no amount of Azmuth’s ‘perfecting’ of the device can prevent it, from rapidly transforming. 

(”Showdown: Part 2″ - Omniverse)

And, I think there’s no question that anyone in Ben’s place could develop a level of PTSD, indicated by how Ben often responds when others are vulnerable to dangerous alien technology, for instance. Such as they were in the Alien Force episode “Pet Project”, where Ben refused to let his unarmed and inexperienced girlfriend go on a potentially fatal mission. 

Before I begin to explain the more serious aspects of this lifestyle which may be over looked for various reasons, I’d like to point out something Julie might have had an easier time understanding in terms of sacrifice, since, she very obviously wanted others to value her life and her tennis career.

Tennis is a sport which she is obviously very invested in and loves to play. In the first episode of Alien Force, Julie is shown approaching Ben after his Soccer match. This indicates they had something in common from the beginning - an interest in sports. 

However, since then, Soccer is something he has seemingly needed to give up when his hero work became a much bigger part of his life, and, subsequently, took up much more of his time. It is still probably something he enjoys, but he can no longer be a part of a soccer team. 

Unlike an alternate Ben, No Watch Ben, who was immediately shown playing soccer to indicate that he still had the time for it from his lack of hero responsibilities. I bring this up to show that it is also the little things which he has had to somewhat “give up” or “sacrifice” in the name of the universe’s safety. This is possibly why, when he does have “free time”, it results in him being quite invested in a video game or a movie because he finally has the chance to actually enjoy it. This kind of behaviour can be seen in pretty much every Ben 10 series. 

(”Pet Project” - Alien Force)

Perhaps the most notable instance was Omniverse’s “It’s a Mad Ben World.”

“Doors: locked. Privacy: ensured. Phone: off. Omnitrix Comm link: disabled. I must not be disturbed under any circumstances. The fate of the entire universe is at stake...

The Sumo Slammer’s Universe, that is. Ah, my first afternoon off in weeks. Nothing can possibly ruin it.” 

You know, the episode where Ben freed people from slavery and all he wanted was a little break from his demanding full time job?

It is easy to call him a “bad boyfriend” for being distracted with a video game while conveniently getting a call from his girlfriend, who is clearly upset his attention is not completely directed at her.

But did you ever consider what he might have been doing while his former girlfriend was supposedly enjoying her tennis career, and meeting new boys such as Hervé?

She seemed to want all of his attention. And, interestingly, even though many see Ben as someone who loves attention, he never really demanded much from her.

He let her be independent long enough for her to find someone new.

Julie: “I’ve been busy. Living my life and all.”

Someone like Ben probably would not even look at his work as something of a “sacrifice” because he is primarily motivated by the idea that it is what he has to do since it is the right thing to do. This is something he has believed from a young age. 

“You think I don’t know? When it’s hero time, if I mess up, somebody could die. From what you told me, if we mess up this time, everybody could die.”

“Maybe that’s too much to have in your head when you have to win. Maybe if I pretend everything’s a big joke, when the time comes, I’ll be able to do what I have to do.” - 10 year old Ben (Ultimate alien: “The Forge of Creation”)

Please realize that a ten year old boy thinks this is something he HAS TO DO.

Not “wants to.” Not “might be expected to.” 

He “has to.” 

Cartoons, such as Ben 10, created primarily for a younger audience, already slightly gloss over the more serious and scarring parts of this concept. While it is not ignored completely, realistic attributes and side effects of this reality such as graphic battle damage are not usually drawn in detail. One can only infer the trauma that is caused by many of the scenarios presented within the series. That is part of why it is so easy for younger, inexperienced, and uninformed viewers to point towards Ben and claim he is a “bad boyfriend” for not making Julie’s interest in tennis his first priority every single time. 

His “hero” persona is often made out to be fun, not serious. Even Ben himself claims that he “pretends everything is a big joke.” 

I would like to compare this to something more understandable in real life - being a military girlfriend. 

Just like a soldier, Ben is susceptible to unfortunate circumstances as a side effect of his job. Which, is important to mention because he doesn't even seem to like to call it his 'job' or his 'work.' To him, it is, more accurately, his lifestyle. This lifestyle often puts his own life on the line, as well as just his general mental and physical well being. He's very susceptible to injury, trauma, PTSD, and death. 

I would even argue that it is not entirely correct to compare him to only one soldier. He literally has the ability to be the entire army. And not just any army - a super powered, alien army. 

At the age of sixteen. 

"One man superhero team." - Professor Hokestar ("Have I got a Deal for You" - Omniverse) 

He could literally become multiple Echo Echoes, as shown in Ultimate Alien’s “Duped”, and then those individual Echo Echoes can turn into any other alien he has available to him...making quite literally, an army. 

Not to mention, as admirable as this work may be, and how easy he may make it look, that does not undermine the fact that it is still extremely dangerous and often demanding. Take Omniverse's pilot episode, "The More Things Change", for instance. 

The scene where we are shown our main trio chasing after Zombozo takes place while it is supposedly still night time. A little while later, we can see that the sun is starting to come up - it looks to be sunrise. Needless to say, another short time skip shows that it is now daytime. 

Does this imply that our heroes were up all night taking down bad guys? Or did they just get up before the sun? 

This is interesting because, as a number of other fans have speculated, it implies they might have irregular sleep schedules. The same kind of situation can be found throughout Alien Force and Ultimate alien as the series progresses, with many of the events taking place during the night while normal teenagers should be asleep. 

(”The Creature from Beyond” - Ultimate Alien)

Some have even speculated that Ben may have insomnia, possibly caused by nightmares, which, are a common side effect of PTSD - an unsurprising condition to have when this is the reality you live in. 

Throughout the rest of “The More Things Change”, Ben and Rook are shown searching for the "big bad" in charge of the recent attacks, and eventually are led to Psyphon, as well as his gang. A fight breaks out, where Ben and Rook split up taking on different opponents. 

Before I address what concerns me regarding Ben, I'd like to point out that Rook is not only armed with what seems to be quite the useful and tactile Plumber tool, but he is also wearing special armour. This isn't to say he can not be injured, but, it definitely adds some protection if he were to be in dire circumstances and unstable environments. 

Ben, very obviously, is armed with the Omnitrix - a very powerful device, one of, if not the most powerful in the Universe. However, throughout the previous events of this episode, there is a constant running gag where the Omnitrix doesn't give Ben the alien he wants. Regardless if this is his fault or not, keeping in mind this is actually a new Omnitrix and that it can still time out at this point, it makes his tool quite unreliable sometimes. And, unlike Rook, he does not wear any armour whatsoever in his human form. 

Here he is earlier, as Spidermonkey, alone, in a huge crater in the ground, which another building just fell down on top of, trying to fight Crabdozer (Zed as the Nemetrix alien).

Speaking of which, was sent after him with fatal intentions. 

Look. At. Those. Teeth.

They want to rip Ben’s face off. 

Without an alien transformation, he is barely protected from scenarios like this. (Following images from “A Jolt From the Past” and “Showdown”, respectively.)

Returning to the scene I would like to bring attention to, Psyphon effectively disables Ben's arm, as Armodrillo. 

Which, then leads Ben to throw himself into an electricity outlet, electrocuting himself to turn back to human so that he may prevent any damage potentially being caused by the out of control drill on his arm. 

This leaves him visibly disoriented and vulnerable for a minute while he is lying on the ground still recovering from being electrocuted. 

Psyphon can be shown preparing to shoot him again, now that he is human, but, this is also conveniently when Khyber's dog attacks him, and, once again, pins him to the wall.

My reasoning for including these examples is not to say that Ben 10 should somehow be seen as incompetent or weak, because that is not the case at all. 

My point is that being the girlfriend of someone who is expected to deal with situations such as these in his day to day life should include caring about how this would affect him emotionally and physically, regardless that he is capable of coming out of it alive. Just because he survives doesn’t mean he is unaffected.  

Can’t you see the look on his face in most of those screenshots?

Wouldn't it be nice if there was someone he could lean on and be vulnerable to, without having to fear them selfishly finding him guilty of not being there for them enough? 

Such as that which I have suggested in my earlier example, a military girlfriend is often expected to be their boyfriend’s “rock” - “someone you can always rely on to help and support you.” (source). 

If, even in spite of all I have already mentioned, you still insist that Ben neglected his girlfriend for some selfish reason, I’d like to remind you that he was shown trying to make it obvious that he notices and cares about how his responsibilities have affected her side of their relationship. 

Ben: It feels like I'm always running off somewhere, doesn’t it?

Julie: It’s starting to.

Ben: Can we get together tomorrow night? For sure?

Julie: I’d like that.

(”Revenge of the Swarm” - Ultimate Alien)

When lives are on the line, for him, it’s hero time no matter what. He is not only a solider in the war. He is the first, and expected to be the strongest, line of defence. He is, more often then not, the universe’s only hope. This is especially important to remember when there are often circumstances where his back up, namely The Plumbers, are rendered defenceless, such as in the scenario presented in the Omniverse two parter episode, “The Frogs of War.”

In that particular episode, the Incurseans decide to send Ben into space in order to get him off the planet, leaving Earth enslaved without a hero. 

Emperor Milleous: “I see you anywhere near this system, and I mean ANYWHERE, my mutated To'kustar pets destroy everyone and everything you ever cared about!” 

Max agrees to their terms only because he believes it will save Ben’s life.

It is quite sad to realize that Ben’s Grandpa Max has to worry about losing him at a young age since he is, quite literally, fighting wars at the age of sixteen. 

Max: “I already thought I’d lost you once today. At least this way, I’ll know you’re alive.” 

Max is referring to this explosion from earlier, which was caused by Ben and Rook crashing into an Incursean ship. 

To add to it, Ben is very adamant about helping to fight off the bad guys. Even if Max were to force him to stay out of a battle due to a malfunctioning Omnitrix, he won’t listen. You could see this as stubborn, but, for the universe which depends on him, he is always reliable. He seems to care more about stopping the threat than his own safety.

Or in other words, he never backs down. 

Ben: “I can’t let them win! I never let Vilgax win, or Aggregor! I've never backed down and I'm not about to back down now!”

I know from experience that it is one of the most heart shattering things in the world to watch grandparents bury their (far too young to be dead) grandchildren.They haven’t even been around that long, their life had only begun, but, unfortunately, it is already over. 

I don’t mean to make it seem as though we should pity him for all the things he has had to “give up” in order to be a full time superhero, but I do think it should be acknowledged, especially by the one we are going to call his significant other. 

Why? Because Ben’s love interests really wanted to make a point of the things they were supposedly giving up and undermining by being asked to value Ben’s reality.

“Try Harder! Not everything’s about you, Benjamin Tennyson! This is important to me!” - Kai Green (”The Secret of Dos Santos” - Omniverse)

When he chooses to prioritize saving the world from whatever threat may come it’s way, he is also saving the life of his supposed “significant other” because they are a part of that world and therefore they would be in danger as well. 

It would make no sense to consider it right to shun him for trying to make sure there is still a world in which he may continue to spend time with his significant other. 

#imagine having a boyfriend like this and not being able to appreciate him #or better yet #imagine being told he's gonna be your future husband and then become even more unappreciative #anyway if u want to be appreciated then show ur SO some appreciation #simple... #ben tennyson #ben 10 #ben 10 alien force #ben 10 ultimate alien #ben 10 omniverse #julie yamamoto #kai green #gwen tennyson #kevin levin #max tennyson #rook blonko #benlie #benkai #essay files

[elle-eedee]

dcom daddies: ranked

whats up sluts i’m here to give you the content you did NOT know you needed: a foolproof algorithmic ranking of a mild selection of disney channel dads!

beast (descendants)

hotness scale: extremely tall (over a foot taller than me! this is Very Important to the scale) and he seems to be a mere thread’s width away from Unhinged at all times, which i love. i also think it’s very sexy of him to still have such a monstrous way about himself (what with the roaring and the growling) 20something years post-curse.... makes me wonder very vividly if such energies carry to the b*droom........ *clears throat* 10/10

quality of character scale: it eternally amuses me that beast seems to learn almost Nothing over the course of this trilogy. he’s literally pro-isle the ENTIRE time jsjdndjdjd..... not great considering it puts him directly at odds with his son (and, like, with social progress) but he Does seem to act the way he does with the kingdom’s safety in mind! plus when he’s not accidentally supporting magical fascism he’s super dorky. i love his goofy dance moves 7.5/10

total score: 17.5/20...... with this score alone you can tell this system isnt rigged bc if i had it my way he’d be winning

hades (descendants)

hotness scale: i hate his party city clown wig but i’m a total sucker for guys in makeup (EVEN THOUGH A DECENT SHADE OF LIPSTICK WOULD HAVE BROUGHT HIS ENSEMBLE TOGETHER. WHY DID THEY PROPOSE IT ON THE CHARACTER DESIGN WALL IF THEY WERENT GONNA FOLLOW THROUGH!!!) and i think the fact that hes Very Sleepy and doesnt own a dog makes him my dream guy 9.5/10

quality of character scale: he literally sings a song about how cool he thinks it is that he’s a shitty dad............ but he DOES come through when his kid needs him, so that’s nice i guess. i would have liked to see more of him but i’ll settle for reading and writing intricate fan works that delve into a hypothetical personality for him that’s mainly conjecture 7.25/10

total score: 16.75/20 i wanna see him in some preppy auradon clothes

jafar (descendants)

hotness scale: i wish i had nicer things to say about this man. he just....... bears so little resemblance to the original jafar it makes me :( maybe if he was more gangly, or if he carried himself w the same potent gay energy that og jafar has? itd also help it he wasnt a racist caricature. 4.5/10

quality of character scale: again, very much a racist caricature. jafar doesnt steal!!! why would This be what he chose to do with himself! but he does seem to be, perhaps, the least bad of the core four’s parents, which counts for something i suppose. 3/10

total score: 7.5/20 sorry bud

dr facilier (descendants)

hotness scale: listen. it’s dr facilier. what am i supposed to do, NOT give him a perfect score on the sexy scale? 10/10

quality of character scale: he just loves his daughter and wants to make sure she’s getting what’s hers!!!!! his dynamic with celia makes me really happy they seem so fun! though i guess you could argue it sucks that he’d send his darling babey dohter to do errands for big mean scary hades considering that Everyone on the isle seems to quake at the sight of him. but im sure facilier only does that to ensure that celia can hold her own! 8/10

total score: 18/20 and it’d probably be higher if we’d seen more of him

mr smee (descendants)

hotness scale: not only does this man fuck, judging by the ages of his kids he fucked RECENTLY. get it baby live your truth 7/10

quality of character scale: he seems to be SO kind and sweet to his baby sons..... holding their little hands and such!!! and judging by how nervous the kids are i’d imagine it was primarily smee’s idea for them to go to auradon. extremely noble sacrifice for their benefit even though he’ll miss them 10/10!!!!!

total score: 17/20 i want to kiss his hand, if he’ll have me

zevon necrodopolous (zombies)

hotness scale: every time i look at this man i think of this post. he’s the perfect amount of frumpy for my tastes and his voice is so unique!!!!! i’d let his z-band malfunction so he could *** ** ***** * ******* **** 9/10

quality of character scale: really really cares about his kids and wants them to be safe!! he raises his voice once which im not a huge fan of but i suppose it was justified given the circumstances. also that shot of him goofing about with d*le in the end scene shows remarkable capacity for forgiveness after decades of trauma and discrimination! what a guy. 9/10

total score: 18/20 an absolute dilf!!!!!

dale (zombies)

hotness scale: looks like an uncrustable. 0/10

quality of character scale: a fucking cop. die bitch! 0/10

total score: 0/20 get in since you wanna act clown

coach jack bolton (high school musical)

hotness scale: honestly pretty young for my tastes. and i literally Always swipe left on athletes, so..... fine looking, but not for me. 5/10

quality of character scale: obviously he grows as the series progresses but i feel like jack is Always in the way of troy getting what he wants, which sucks. i like that he’s kinda goofy on his off hours with his family exactly as much as i Hate how much he yells when hes on the job. i do wish we lived in the timeline where he and miss darbus actually had that duet about their disagreements, though. 5/10

total score: 10/20 truly an Average dcom daddy

vance evans (high school musical)

hotness scale: due to personal reasons i will be having bad taste. however, this man’s fashion sense in IMPECCABLE. i mean, the colors??? the unbuttoned collar???? come on now. there is also the gratuitous use of the d-word to consider......................... anyways 7.5/10

quality of character scale: it’s hard to tell how much of his interest in furthering troy’s career is out of sincerity and how much of it is sharpay nudging him. but either way the result is a man who supports his daughter unconditionally! he could be nicer to ryan, though (plus he’s an evil capitalist) 6/10

total score: 13.5/20 i feel like he and fulton have had Relations

mr gifford (lemonade mouth)

hotness scale: listen, i’m a simple guy. i see a basic-looking man pursuing age gap romance in the midst of a mid-life crisis, i support him unconditionally. also i am just Really vibing with that oversized denim shirt on him!!! there’s an egregious amount of arm hair poking out that just works. good for him! and this is a small moment but i’m very flustered over his natural Touchy Feely instinct after wen pokes out his eye... however: man has no eyebrows. 8.5/10

quality of character scale: i’m not a child of divorce so i don’t know how this stuff works, but i feel like he springs a lot of major decisions on wen? not ideal. on the other hand, we DO stan that he has sydney move in before they’re married. this is not a christian home!!!! 6/10

total score: 14.5/20 probably my favorite lemonade mouth dad, but mostly because he’s like the only one paid any attention by the narrative

mr banjaree (lemonade mouth)

hotness scale: men really have beautifully sculpted noses and we just let them, huh. i’m definitely overusing the word Handsome in this list, but in this case? i’m justified. mr banjaree’s beard suits him SO well and his hair looks so soft...... and we love the implicit cleanliness of a man who wears socks in the house! 8/10

quality of character scale: i super SUPER dont agree with this man’s Smothering-Adjacent Methods (and also i know firsthand that strict parentage just drives kids to be more rebellious, lmao) but all things considered he really just wants the best for his family PLUS he’s willing to meet mo halfway at the end! :’) 6/10

total score: 14/20 the way i feel about him is the way i feel when i get crushes on pastors in that You Are Complicit In My Trauma But We’re Gonna Kiss About It way

mr delgado (lemonade mouth)

hotness scale: OOOOH GLASSES! 5/10

quality of character scale: it’s sort of implied that the Wacko Energies of charlie’s family are mostly the fault of his mom so it’s cool of this man to distance himself from that. he is, of course, still complicit in Whatever The Hell Her Deal Is unless he is constantly fighting with her offscreen 6/10

total score: 11/20 would have loved to see more of him

mr yamada (lemonade mouth)

hotness scale: another chapter in the saga of unbuttoned collars! doesn’t get a lot of opportunities to show off his strengths but i appreciate that he is not the thinnest dad in town 6.5/10

quality of character scale: WOW fuck this guy. very dismissive of stella’s aspirations!!!!! i don’t like that he feels the need to talk Over her to her mom when he’s asking about her vegetarianism. dude she is right there.... however it’s a lil touching when he holds her guitar up at the end, so... 4/10?

total score: 10.5/20 *thinks about his slightly protruding tummy in his last scene* *thinks about his slightly protruding tummy in his last scene* *thi

bob duncan (good luck charlie: it’s christmas!)

hotness scale: in keeping this Specific to the feature-length xmas special, i will say that bob duncan is QUITE handsome! disappointed that he was wearing a shirt in the scene at the pool.... ill bet if this movie came out post-workout/makeover he’d have been shirtless >:/ i feel robbed... spare tummy, sir? spare tummy? additionally i love a man who rolls up his sleeves AND a man who stans kaiju movies!! also i love that he, quite literally, canonically fucks 8.5/10

quality of character scale: he’s about as charmingly incompetent as he is in the show, but the difference here is that he literally did not do a damn thing wrong! all he wanted to do was be civil with his inlaws and he frankly deserves MUCH better. its clear from his banter with the kids that he loves them very much (also i love how frequently he feels the need to jump/dive for things in this movie. silly slapstick icon) 8.75/10

total score: 17.25/20 this man’s mere presence oozes nostalgia

jerry russo (wizards of waverly place: the movie)

hotness scale: this man was MADE for me. the bottomless collection of hawaiian shirts....... the TWO tummy out scenes..........the fucked up evil thing his voice does when the kids try to steal the spellbook!!! he really has it all. also i love that he is truly just trying to have some beach intercourse 9/10

quality of character scale: i love that even when he doesn’t remember the kids he still maintains a little dadly rapport with them? the instincts...... it’s also incredibly good of him to relive his decision to give up his magic without hesitation once he realizes the severity of the situation :’0 10/10

total score: 19/20 i’ve never seen an episode of the show but im really about to start

neil morris (dadnapped)

hotness scale: handsome....... mr morris makes me feel simultaneously like a sapiosexual AND a morosexual because although he completed enough schooling to become a dentist, he also threw it away for a writing career like an absolute champ. also i find it unbelievably charming how Along For The Ride he is about the idea of being kidnapped. a man after my own heart 8.25/10

quality of character scale: this is a tricky one...... neil DOES show active concern for his daughter’s safety when push comes to shove, but he also has my least favorite type of redemption arc: “you THOUGHT i was neglecting you, but actually i was thinking about you the whole time and just never expressed it! we good?” so like. bleh. but he’s pretty mild mannered which i deeply appreciate in a man! 6.5/10

total score: 14.75/20 maybe talk to your daughter instead of writing a macgyver ripoff, dumbass

major joe mason (princess protection program)

hotness scale: prime dad bod, very believable for his line of work. also he has such a Gentle Way about himself when he’s around princesses....... i love all the hand holding when he’s escorting rosie. absolutely my type 8.75/10

quality of character scale: gosh.... where do i even BEGIN!!! his whole dynamic with carter is so ideal... i was apprehensive at first because his job would require him to be Absent a lot of the time, but upon reflection it’s clear that he’s raised carter well enough that he can totally trust her to be on her own, and also she’s only sad to see him go because she sincerely enjoys his company. everything about his profession is so noble and i love the way he can carry himself as casually or as politely as a given situation calls for. worst thing he does is say “i might have to stop calling you ‘pal’” because his daughter is wearing a pretty dress. i wish he was my dad but i’ll settle for him being my husband 9.75/10

total score: 18.5/20 i almost made a ppp self insert this morning specifically for Him

ted thompson (zapped)

hotness scale: athletes arent sexy!! this guy’s face screams The Only Websites I Know How To Use Are Facebook And Reddit and also he’s a dog person BUT he is sporting quite the tumbey if i do say so myself and for that i shall let him live. 4/10

quality of character scale: ok i know the whole point of this movie is Boys Bad but i hate men who are loud and i hate dads who get Weird about the inherent femininity of their daughters. when he calls zoey “sport” and then cringes like he’s made a mistake? dumb and unnecessary. HOWEVER all of his efforts to bond with zoey are really really sincere. like when he fixes her music box? that has NOTHING to do with the app he just Does It!!!! the movey mightve rubbed off on me a little too much but there are multiple ways to show love and just bc im not used to his way doesnt mean it has no worth! 6/10

total score: 10/20 mr thompson sir im sorry i doubted you at the start of the film

rob adams (radio rebel)

hotness scale: this man dresses 5-10 years younger than he looks and i respect that for him. but i was expecting him to be a bit more of a slimeball considering how tara talks about him in the opening scene... and you guys know how much i love slimeballs. regardless, pretty handsome! 6.5/10

quality of character scale: it’s nice that he goes to such a Public and Corporate effort to connect to his stepdaughter! even if it’s in a way that financially benefits him, it’s pretty clear that he cares about this family and wants to do right by them. nothing exceptional, though 7/10

total score: 13.5/20 i GUESS i’d be down to smash if he asked

ralph bartlett (read it and weep)

hotness scale: ok i was gonna say something mean about the fact that he’s balding but honestly he has really nice arms........ in addition he’s really quirky and optimistic which i am going to admire into my grave!! when he gets excited about having customers during the finale his voice quirks with an almost charlie day-esque charm. handsome. ALSO he calls jamie “princess” which is!!!!!!! something 7.5/10

quality of character scale: the way ralph parents his kids is Very 2000s in that he kinda babies his daughter but gets to pal around with his son, but i guess both dynamics come from a place of love and he could be doing much worse. plus he’s an honest hardworking small business owner! i support him 7/10

total score: 14.5/20 i would definitely go out for pizza with him

dr james hartley (how to build a better boy)

hotness scale: THIS. THIS IS WHAT DCOM DADDIES ARE ALL ABOUT. gosh..... this is truly the Most dad ive ever seen in my life. i love how his hair is always mussed..... how he’s so Desperate to relax that he falls asleep after Fifteen Seconds of smooth jazz..... and also. like. hes a scientist?? hello??? pretty sexy of him. i want to give this man the relaxation he deserves 10/10

quality of character scale: ok so,,,...,, kinda fucked up that he lied to his whole family (with the possible exception of his wife—sidenote, WHY did they make dr hartley married? his wife never comes up except when bart says she’s out of town. let him be single so i can slide into those dms) and EXTRA kinda fucked up that he works for the government? what a scab. BUT it’s very very clear that he cares about his kids (and gabby) and prioritizes their safety above all else! also, did you SEE how happy he was when mae won homecoming queen....... he loves her so so so much! :’0 8.5/10

total score: 18.5/20 i thirst tweeted about this man and roger bart replied ‘Aw, thanks!’ so i dont know where to go from here

#my worst post. look at it everybody #descendants #high school musical #disney channel #lemonade mouth #wizards of waverly place #good luck charlie #zombies #princess protection program #read it and weep #zapped #dadnapped #radio rebel #how to build a better boy #the term 'dcom daddy' was coined by poddin this together so nobody's allowed to get mad at me for it. also im right about each of these

[therachelperspective]

BOOKS | Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)

[[&]]  Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling

For reasons unbeknownst to me, I’ve always liked Mindy Kaling. I didn’t watch the American version of The Office (I know, what is WRONG with me?!)... I would sometimes watch The Mindy Project reruns in the middle of the night many years ago... but not once would I say that I actually followed her career enough to take interest in her memoirs. But alas, I liked Mindy and I found myself with her memoirs on my bookshelves. Thanks to this ever so lovely situation the world has found itself in, I’ve finally made it around to reading them (along with many others that have been lingering in my TBR pile).

At first, I was going to write about Mindy’s books separately as I would a normal review on here, but after finishing them both, I think writing about them together is really for the best. They are such extensions of each other, of which I would probably make the same commentary about them both anyway. So their discussions here are joint. 

When I started Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, my hopes were high. I even jotted down a note that, forty pages in, so much of what she has discussed has been similar or has outright matched some of my same experiences and I loved it. And really, that statement did hold true for both IEHOWM? (it’s such a long title, you guys!) and Why Not Me? – I finally found a celebrity that I can say I really relate to, who shared the same struggles and exploits as me in our young adult lives. Furthermore, I also wrote a note saying that Mindy has a unique humor in both her acting and this (her first) book that I enjoyed. Plus, you’d be lying if you said you didn’t love the adorable photos of baby Mindy scattered throughout EIHOWM.

But I think, sadly, everything was short-lived.

I completely understand that Mindy’s career is rooted in comedy and that’s how she built a name for herself. In her early years, she and a friend created and starred in their own Off-Broadway production (about Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, no less) that gained quite the audience during its run. She then became a writer for The Office, then a star of the The Office, and well... so on and so forth, the rest is history. But I read non-fiction novels to learn more about people and his/her inner thoughts amidst stories of their life. That did happen with Mindy, but those peeks into her childhood, teens, and twenties were scattered throughout some pretty unnecessary chapters and what I perceive to be Mindy trying too hard to be funny. If I wanted fictitious ramblings, I would have just read a fiction novel. Not once did I feel that, for example, an entire chapter about fictional revenge stories that she concocts during her workouts had a place in her first book. Nor did I feel a good chunk of the second novel required fabricated emails (that were waaayyyy too thought out) between her and her imaginary coworkers she created had she lived another life and hypothetically become a Latin teacher at a private school. And – though it is known that I love a good list – she also included list upon list about the most random of topics (i.e. in IEHOWM? she included two pages worth of different iterations and levels of “chubby” people. Yeah Mindy is bigger than the average actress, but come on). In my mind, these books would have been a lot shorter had all the bullshit been removed. During Why Not Me? I literally wrote down the fact that, at some point during both of these books, I made it a point to read more quickly/more often, just to get them over with.

What became even more disappointing to me as I continued to read through these books was that... much of Mindy’s view of “comedy” was actually in poor taste. Granted these books were published in 2011 and 2015 respectively, and maybe had I read them back then I would have flew right past some of her commentary without a second glance. But in the here and now, in 2020, a lot of her comedic jabs left a bad taste in my mouth. In IEHOWM?, during a discussion about the people in New York City, while I find it perfectly fine that she says most people “function daily while in a low grade depression” because that’s at least mildly true, thirty-something pages later she makes a comment about how people with depression are “boring” and “tedious to deal with.” Maybe I didn’t enjoy this because I myself deal with some level of depression and always have a fear that I’m bothering people... but regardless, I still would not find those statements in the least bit comical. To further illustrate, when Mindy was on a “Curvy Celebs We Adore!” list and was smaller than the others included, she called the other female celebrities “porkers” and in more or less terms said how dare she be lumped in with these women on a list. And lastly, in a chapter about her characteristic requests for a boyfriend, she says she thinks she should date an older man, because they are more secure and have the immaturity out of their systems. She then, however, continues by saying that she doesn’t care if that man has kids, as long as those kids are away at college and (direct quote) “his wife is dead.” I believe my literal thoughts here were “WTF?!?!?!?!?!?” and I just really... lost interest, but continued reading just to finish the book (thankfully this was towards the end). Don’t even get me started on that Dartmouth’s 2018 commencement speech she gave, included in Why Not Me?

Despite everything I just said... I still enjoy Mindy, I do. I just can’t bring myself to fully disregard her. Even though she is roughly a size 8 to 10, she is still a better visual representation of the average woman in her roles that viewers find more relatable (though she made another ridiculous comment in Why Not Me? about how she does try to conform to societal norms of beauty but she just isn’t successful at it). Likewise, the character of Mindy Lahiri also does so much to showcase a professionally successful woman (and even more, a woman of color) at the helm of The Mindy Project. All of this is similarly what Mindy herself does as a whole in the industry – she is praised comedienne in (let’s face it) what has always been a male dominated field. It is because of her depictions and stature, as well as the undeniable similarities in our life narratives, that I can’t help but maintain a fondness for Mindy Kaling. Now it’s just... slightly subdued.

I have pages of quotes that prove that she does scatter her novels with solid advice and insight. But on paper, I mostly find that Mindy tries too hard and blabbers too much for my palate. There’s being funny, and then there’s taking it too far. Maybe because I read them back to back, it was just all beyond me. I just had a hard time getting past some of it. So they’re just another set of books that finally made their way out of the TBR pile and into “try and sell online for spare cash” pile. It is what it is.

#book #books #read #reading #literature #novel #quarantine #quarantine reading #mindy kaling #is everyone hanging out without me? #the office #the mindy project #kelly kapoor #mindy lahiri #review #reviews

[jinterlude]

What A Cliché (Prologue)

↳ story aesthetic made by @today-we-will-survive for the BA’s Summer Content Creator Exchange!

» Pairing(s): Kim Seokjin x OC (female) [feat. the rest of the BTS & OC best friend)

» Genre(s): Parenthood!AU, Veterinary!AU, Business!AU, Enemies turned Lovers Trope, Romance, Friendship, Humor, Fluff, & Slight-Angst

» Keyword for Event: Carnival 

» Warning(s) & Rating: Swearing / PG-13

» Words: 5.2K (5260)

» Summary: When people hear the phrase, “Well that’s a first...” it’s usually because something shocking or amazing has occurred. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case for one Park Sumin. Going from working in an office to visiting the local carnival, she had some rather interesting first experiences. Ranging from trying out some carnival food to questioning her engagement to Lee Seonghwa (AOMG’s Gray), never in her life did she think that she would run into someone her brain had blocked out for years. Can you say a fun filled summer that not only would change her life but his as well. 

◃ Previously | Next Time ▹

Prologue: Meet the New Neighbor

“You know…I have a feeling that you two would make the perfect couple someday…”

“By perfect, you mean that I’d want to kill him every waking moment I can get, right?”

“Nah, my precious little ray of sunshine. I mean that one day, you two will make gorgeous looking children to the point that I’m going to “borrow” one of them to pick up guys.”

A look of utter and complete disbelieve washed over her face as she felt her eye twitch just a smidge from her best friend’s remark.

And just as she opened her mouth to retort, an annoying voice rang in her ears. The one voice she took years of practice to block out him from her memories. Until that evening, she had long forgotten the prick that made her life a living Hell, but fate had an interesting idea of entertainment and unfortunately, she had become the main character of this stupid little sitcom.

God help her…

“You should learn to smile more often, princess! You might land more dates that way!”

“That’s it! Listen here you annoying fucking gnat!”

Eight Hours Earlier…

Letting out yet another long, exasperated sigh, a visibly tired young woman rubbed the sides of her forehead, trying her hardest to not only ignore the unbearable heat that lingered in her office but her rather extra chatty friend. The poor girl had honestly forgotten why she invaded her workplace in the first place. That was how long the rather one-sided conversation had become.

“Okay, Sowon, I love you, but please for the love of God get to the point.” Said the exhausted girl.

A tiny groan escaped Sowon’s lips as she narrowed her eyes onto her friend.

“I did get to my point, Sumin.” She flashed a bright smile further irking Sumin, “Now, I’m just rambling since I noticed you zoned out around the five-minute mark.” She stated, smiling sweetly.

Her bottom lip practically disappeared as Sumin suppressed the growl that brewed in the back of her throat. Did Sowon seriously ramble her ear off just because she tuned her out twenty-minutes ago?

If she had more friends, Sumin would’ve had honestly dropped Sowon years ago but alas, she didn’t. The career driven young woman had no time for herself, let alone go out and meet new people. She had always been like this ever since high school. She dedicated her time to her studies and a few extracurricular activities.

And that was exactly how she liked it.

She had seen her fellow classmates become a social mess. She had witnessed physical fights, loud, obnoxious arguments between love sick individuals, and that only scratched the surface of her high school experience and she gladly kept it that way.

She never dated. She never went to any of the sports games that were played at her school. Shit. She never attended any of her school dances, especially prom. Instead, she researched universities that had the best business program and weighed the pros and cons of attending them.

After days and nights of agonizing over which university to attend to, she finally settled on applying to USC because their business program was on par with those out of the country, and the rest was history.

Now, here she sat in her office chair while Sowon, who she met during her sophomore year of college in biology, stared her down. Her gaze intensified with each passing moment. That was Sowon’s superpower. Sumin didn’t know how Sowon does it, but with just one simple stare, Sumin submitted easily.

And quite frankly, she both despised it yet was thankful for it. It was because of her best friend that she slowly came out of her shell. She actually became more aware of her surroundings.

Go figure?

A few more minutes passed by and tiny whines left her lips as Sumin clutched important documents that contained hypothetical numbers of the projected money flow for the next six months.

“I can keep this up, sunshine.” Sumin heard Sowon taunt. She could practically hear the smugness radiate from her words.

Finally, the poor girl had enough. She slammed the paper down on her desk, unleashing the pent-up frustration that settled in the pit of her stomach.

“Fine! I’ll go to the stupid summer carnival with you! Now, will you please stop staring at me!?” Sumin practically roared, secretly thankful that her office was soundproof.

Sowon smiled proudly as she leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Done.”

Meanwhile…in a different part of the city…

Brows knitted together. Tiny drops of sweat trickled down his forehead. The sound of heart rate monitors mixed with his heavy breathing filled the operating room. This bright, luminescence bulb emitted this heat that felt like the sun was directly above the man’s head. However, he didn’t let it deter him from the task at hand. He quickly asked the nurse for his water and took a few sips through the straw before resuming the surgery.

“Sir,” The man heard one of his assistants speak, “Have you thought about the possibility of reconstructive surgery instead of removing the shard fragment?”

The determined man sighed before a small smile appeared on his handsome face.

“I have thought about it, but that would be the effortless way out. This innocent creature doesn’t deserve something that would only complicate her life some more, “He paused, wiping away a bit of sweat from the side of his forehead, “Besides, I think of this a big “fuck you” to that evil, cruel person that could harm a defenseless puppy. I’m going to save her if this is the last thing I do.” He finished with this sense of purpose flowing throughout his veins as he resumed operating on the puppy, praying that he wasn’t too late.

But luckily…

He wasn’t…

It took him the rest of the day to the point that he had his receptionist unfortunately cancel the remaining appointments, but he saved the puppy’s life. The last shard fragment was wedged in an area where one false movement with his knife and tweezers, the puppy would've died right on the operating table. That specific situation had been every veterinarian’s nightmare, but just like with any nightmare, it sometimes fades away and soon replaced with a relaxing dream. A dream where resulted in this state of euphoria and great night’s sleep. That was why he took this job as a veterinarian. He wanted to ensure that the animals that came into his office left with a peaceful state of mind.

And so far, so good. His track record remained spotless. He could now go home with a bright smile knowing that he saved yet another brutally injured animal.

Currently sitting in his office, the tired yet happy veterinarian typed out something in the body of the email message. He muttered a few words as he read his paragraph repeatedly until it sounded right.

The sounds of clicking of the keyboard bounced of the four walls until this knock joined in.

“Come in.” He said quickly.

“Hey, Seokjin!” greeted the stranger cheerfully.

Seokjin’s eyebrows raised as he peeked around his computer monitor. He knew that voice, and that particular voice didn’t usually visit his office unless the person wanted something.

His eyes flickered back to the screen as his fingers resumed typing away, hoping that this email would be sent out before 7 o’clock in the evening.

“What do you want, Jungkook? Can’t you see that I’m busy?”

Jungkook chuckled, shaking his head as he flopped down on the chair in front of his friend’s desk.

“Yeah, I can see that. I’m not blind…well…not yet.”

Seokjin snorted, “I’m honestly surprised that you’re not actually. All those years of playing video games with the lights off,” He pushed up his glasses just a bit, “Guess I wasn’t blessed with a strong eyesight to begin with.” He said; the corners of his mouth turned slightly upwards.

Jungkook playfully clicked his tongue, “Yeah. I guess not,” A short chuckle left his lips, “But, I was wondering if you wanted to come with me and the rest of the fellas to the summer carnival that’s currently in town?” He asked, flashing Seokjin an overly sweetly smile combined with his signature innocent, charming gaze. One gaze like that and his older friends were practically putty in his hands. It came in handy during their high school years. Well…up until his sophomore year…his friends graduated one by one, so he had no one left to use it on.

Sad day in the life that was Jeon Jungkook.

“You do realize that this isn’t high school, and I’m not this 18-year-old teen that you can easily manipulate, Kook.” Seokjin stated bluntly, fully aware of his purely innocent “stare”. He didn’t even to peer over his computer screen to know. Jungkook’s tone of voice gave it away.

Though, that didn’t deter the young lad. It was rare for all seven of them to be in town for the summer, so he wanted to cherish it. As soon as Seokjin graduated high school, everyone just went their separate ways. Sure, they had their group chat that had constant activity whether it was from someone sending random memes or simply asking how their day was. But it just wasn’t the same.

Even though his friends didn’t know this, Jungkook needed them. He couldn’t quite establish a bond that matched the one he shared with Seokjin and the rest of his little motley crew.

They were definitely one of a kind…

“What’s with that smile, Kook? Last time you smiled like that it was because you found a lamb skewer stand with Yoongi.” Seokjin’s voice forcibly pulled Jungkook out of his peaceful thoughts.

“Oh, this smile?” He pointed at his lips, “It’s nothing…say…when is that little ray of sunshine coming by?” Jungkook asked vaguely, drawing out his sentence.

Seokjin hummed in response as his eyes scanned the last remaining sentences of his email. He could see the light at the end of the tunnel.

“Oh, according to her mother, she’s dropping off Areum this evening,” He quickly checks his phone, scrolling through his messages from his ex-wife, “Around 9 o’clock in the evening.” He announced, locking his phone once again.

Jungkook gasped; his eyes beamed from excitement. This was perfect. He and friends could spend a few hours at the carnival and then hang out with their “niece”.

“So, you’re telling me that you have time for the carnival?”

“I guess I am Kook…”

“Perfect! I’ll let the fellas know!”

“Don’t let me regret this…”

“When I have ever done something that you’d regret?”

“I can name a few things…”

At the Summer Carnival – 7 o’clock in the evening

Walking down the busy row of stands, Sumin’s eyes remained glued on her phone. Her brows furrowed as her thumb scrolled up while she read the contents of an email that she had received minutes before arriving to the carnival. Soft mutters left her lips as she homed in on an incredibly important section of the email. She reread the same two sentences twice before this unsettling, heavy sensation settled within the pit of her stomach.

The color practically drained from her face. Her breath hitched. She halted in her steps, ignoring the grumbles of the many bystanders that were forced to go around her.

A low groan escaped her as she immediately locked her phone and shoved it in her back pocket. Did she really want to be at this stupid carnival? She needed to be back in the office and working on soothing this rather extreme angry client, that was “miraculously” bestowed upon her thanks to her supervisor. Why was she even here again?

“Sumin! Check out this stand, they have those churros that you’re basically obsessed with!” She heard Sowon shout with glee, waving her arms sporadically.

Oh…

That was right…

She was here because of her dearest friend…

“I think I’m going to call it, Sowon. I have to get up pretty early tomorrow, and—”

“No ‘and’. I know that look on your face, my little sunshine, and I’m not completely oblivious. I saw you on your phone and your eyes widened with each passing second.” Sowon interrupted, leaving her spot in the line and walking up to her completely distressed friend, “Which means in the world of Sumin, you’re extremely stressed and about to leave this relaxing sister-date to head back to the office and work on something that can honestly wait until tomorrow morning.” Sowon finished, smiling brightly. “Did I hit it right on the nail, my soft princess?” She added; her smile grew wider.

Sumin made a face; her eyes narrowed on her smug friend.

“I hate it when you do that…”

“I know you do…”

Meanwhile, while one crisis was averted, on the other side of the carnival, two fellas bickered over the last game ticket while their mutual friends watched both sides make excellent arguments on why he deserved the last game ticket. The only thing they missed, to make this verbal battle amusing, was some carnival snacks.

Stuffing his hands in the pockets of his black jacket, a gentleman with black-rimmed glasses and faded silver hair – that was swooped to the right – leaned against the wall; an amused smile painted his lips.

“Are you going to stop them, Namjoon?” asked a young man with chestnut brown hair. His eyes sparkled with such innocence that many people forget that he was indeed in his mid-twenties.

“Nah. They’re fine Jimin. Besides, remember the last time we intervened on an infamous Seokjin-Jungkook argument?” Namjoon replied, shooting Jimin a knowing look. But just as Jimin opened his mouth to answer, someone else beat him to the punch.

“Oh, that was a fun evening!” shouted a cheery voice; a few chuckles escaped him. “They turned their wrath onto us, and even told Yoongi to shut up.” A sigh of content left his lips this time as he folded his hands and rested his head against the palms, “What a memorable evening.”

Namjoon nodded in agreement as he turned his attention towards a paler looking fella.

“I was honestly surprised that Jungkook told you to shut up, Yoongs.”

Yoongi pried one eye open, having checked out of Jungkook’s and Seokjin’s marital bickering thirty minutes prior.

With a lazy voice, he said, “That boy is lucky for not fearing me.”

“After being friends with you for so long, none of us fear you, my dude.” Chimed in the same cheery voice that spoke earlier.

“Hm. I guess I’m losing my charm, Hoseok.” Yoongi shrugged, shutting his eyes closed again. One of the many “joys” of being your own boss. He didn’t have a set work shift.

Hoseok beamed; his smile could light up any dark alleyway, before adverting his attention back to Seokjin and Jungkook, who still refused to back down.

Two hours had passed and not only did the bickering duo slowly ran out of the counterarguments, but their friends were extremely bored and wanted to enjoy what was left of the carnival.

Finally fed up, Namjoon pushed off from the wall and then walked up to Seokjin and Jungkook, pulling out his wallet as he closed the gap between their bodies.

“Tell you what,” He began fishing out a few bills, “Take my money and buy you guys some more damn tickets, so you guys can finally shut the fuck up.” Namjoon stated bluntly before slapping the bills in both Seokjin’s and Jungkook’s hands, knowingly hurting them in the process. He then walked away from them, gesturing for their buddies to follow him.

They were determined to enjoy the carnival before it closed for the night.

As their closest friends walked away, slowly disappearing from their line of sight, the squabbling duo turned to each other; this mischievous gleam sparkled in their eyes accompanied with this scheming smirk.

“That took longer than expected.” Jungkook laughed, flinging an arm around Seokjin’s broad shoulders.

Seokjin chuckled in response as he allowed Jungkook to direct him to the nearest game stand.

“I know, right? We must be losing our touch since before, Namjoon usually settled our “arguments” in less than an hour.” He stated as his eyes scanned the prizes at the booth. His lips pursed while his brows became knitted together as Seokjin contemplated which prize would Areum love the most.

This faint hum exited his lips as his eyes drifted between a huge stuffed alpaca and a huge stuffed panda bear. Then, after much deliberation, he finally settled on the alpaca since she loved to remind him that whenever he ate, he looked like a happy alpaca, especially whenever he munched on a salad. He could honestly hear her faint giggles in the back of his mind.

God, he would do anything for his daughter. She had him wrapped around her dainty pinky finger.

With a determined smile, he slammed down a few dollar bills and waited to be handed some darts.

“Alright, prepare to be amazed, Kook.”

Back with the ladies, who now held onto plates with delicious carnival food, they journeyed towards the exit, talking about everything and anything that came to mind. Ranging from the topic of their love lives – or lack thereof – to the ever so fun work politics that occurred during their daily lives. However, the most popular topic was their time in high school. While, yes, they went to two different schools, they loved hearing about the other’s experience. Hearing such stories made the other feel like she was there as well.

“So, whatever happened to the guy that stupidly stood you up at homecoming, Sowon?”

“Beats me. All I know is that he asked for me at my school’s little reunion event. From what an old friend told me, the way he asked was very creepy. Borderline stalkerish if you ask me.”

Sumin shuddered, “Things like that makes me glad that I didn’t have a social life in high school.”

Sowon chuckled softly as she quickly tossed her empty, Styrofoam plate and jogged back to Sumin.

“Yeah, but it is because of said social life that I know who my loyal friends are and know how to handle myself in certain situations.” She pointed out with a knowing gleam in her eyes.

Sumin rolled her eyes in response, signaling Sowon that she had won that argument.

“Let’s get you home, princess. I believe it is passed your bedtime.”

“What are you? My mom?”

“I might as well be, Min.”

Sowon then flung her arms around Sumin’s shoulders as the two ladies head for Sowon’s car and begin their journey to Sumin’s place.

Faint muffles filled the spacious car as flashes of light illuminated the darkness every other minute. Resting her chin on the palm of her hand, Sumin stared absentmindedly out the window; her eyes focused on the happy couples. Each face painted with the brightest and most loving smile ever to grace them.

Soon, a soft sigh escaped her as she pried her eyes away from the window. Though, while she no longer saw them, her mind was filled with thoughts of them. Thoughts of envy? Longing? That had been yet to be determined.

Which was strange to her as for the obvious fact that she too was in a relationship.

But…

“I just now realized that you are not wearing your luxurious engagement ring that Seonghwa gave you, Min.” Sowon’s voice broke into her cloudy thoughts.

Sumin’s eyes trailed down, landing on her empty left ring finger.

“I knew I forgot something.” She lied, faking a playful smile.

But Sowon knew better.

“Is everything alright?” She asked as she slowed the car to stop as the traffic light went from yellow to red.

Sounds of the turn signal cut through the awkward silence. Sumin hoped that the light would turn green so that she’d be closer to home but alas, it wasn’t the case. This was a timed light, and the timing of it was abnormally long for a traffic light.

She could stall, but that would only annoy Sowon, so why should Sumin even try? Her closest and dearest friend wasn’t stupid. If anything, she wouldn’t be surprised if Sowon knew that she was thinking of backing out of the wedding.

“Do I want to get married, Sowon?” asked Sumin, phrasing her question a bit oddly.

Sowon raised a brow as she shifted her foot from the brake pedal to the gas pedal, lightly pressing as she turned on to the street where Sumin’s house resided at. A house where she lived with her doting fiancé.

The poor girl looked unsure how to answer such a question. If it was a question that asked her if she wanted to get married, then the answer would be plain and simple. No. No she didn’t want to get married or at least, not right now. She so much desired to live her twenties to the fullest. Then, once it was time, she would gladly settle down with the right person.

And yet with Sumin? Sowon was quite surprised that she was having doubts. Out of the two them, Sumin would be happily married first with kiddos running amuck and then Aunty Sowon would help wrangle them and/or create more chaos for their parents.

But with this sudden 180, Sowon grew even more confused.

Did she have to kill Seonghwa? Because she totally would. No one was allowed to hurt Sumin under her watch.

No one.

Pursing her lips, Sowon hummed in response, as she pulled up to Sumin’s driveway, where both Sumin’s and her fiancé’s car were currently parked.

Before finally answering, Sowon killed the engine, and the two girls now sat in complete and utter silence.

“Alright, to answer your question, I know that you want to get married, however, is it to Seonghwa? Only you can answer that, love. But you did say yes to him for a reason, so that has to mean something, right?”

Sumin sighed heavily; her shoulders slumped just a bit.

“I did, I mean don’t get me wrong, I do love him with all my heart but—”

“But you don't know if it’s enough to meet him at the altar, correct?”

Instead of answering, Sumin gave Sowon a thumb’s up before exiting the vehicle and as she stepped out, a car pulled up to her neighbor’s driveway. A neighbor who she had never seen since their schedules always had them missing one another by a split second, so this was a first. Well, overall, this night was filled with firsts, so this wasn’t too much of a shock factor.

Seconds later, Sowon too exited the vehicle, shutting the door and alarming it. She then leaned against the door; curiosity slowly bested her as she noticed Sumin’s body language tense just a smidge.

“You alright there, sunshine?!” She hollered, cupping her mouth, though, she didn’t have to do that since they were not that far away from each other.

However, she received no response from Sumin for a good minute or two.

Until…

“YOU!!”

“YOU!!”

Two voices shouted simultaneously.

Alarmed, Sumin’s fiancé came running out of the house dawning his work clothes still.

“Are you okay, honey?” he asked, closing the gap between their bodies, as he gently rested his hand on her lower back.

“Yeah, I’m fine, Seonghwa. I just got startled by a familiar face is all.” She lied flawlessly, smiling sweetly.

Seonghwa hummed in response, not fully believing her, but he knew it was best to drop it.

“Okay. I’m gonna head back inside and finish up this project. Holler if you need me, okay, love?” He said, pressing a sweet kiss on her temple before disappearing inside the house.

The second she heard the door shut, Sumin’s sweet demeanor melted away and was soon replaced with the fiery rage that engulfed her body and soul moments prior.

“Wow. I’m amazed. You actually tricked someone into dating your strange self,” The intruder began applauding slowly with a sarcastic smile etched on his face, “I’m completely inspired by your story now.” He added, further taunting poor Sumin.

Sowon raised her brow, slowly going into defensive mode but held back as she wanted to see more of their reactions. In her life of knowing Sumin, Sowon only ever saw her little sunshine become this spitfire with her only. So, who the Hell was this handsome gentleman that easily riled her soft princess up?

She had to find out.

And maybe…just maybe…he might be the answer to Sumin’s tricky question.

A low – almost animalistic – growl escaped Sumin’s lips as she stomped over to her neighbor; their chests practically touched each other.

“Listen here, Seokjin—”

“I’m sorry. Can you repeat that? You might have to speak up, short stuff.” Seokjin cupped his ear as he leaned downwards; their noses merely inches away from bumping into each other.

Sumin’s jaw clenched and through gritted teeth, she said, well shouted,

“Can you hear me now, huh, you prick?!”

Seokjin groaned, jolting his body away, as he rubbed his poor ear while this ringing sensation echoed throughout his now muddled mind.

Damn that woman had a pair of lungs on her.

“I think you busted my eardrum…!”

“Well, that’s what you get for standing so incredibly close to me, dumbass!”

Tensions arose between the two as their blood slowly came to a boil. Seokjin and Sumin had history. A rather long history that remained in the archives until this evening.

Again, a night filled with firsts.

Just as Seokjin opened his mouth to retaliate, a laughter cut him off. He was secretly glad that someone else intervened. He honestly didn’t have to time to entertain the spitfire that stood courageously in front of him. His daughter was to arrive at any moment.

The last thing he wanted his six-year-old to see was him shouting at a woman.

“You know, we got to work on you playing nice with others, Sumin.” Chimed in Sowon as she walked up to the pair and rested an arm on Sumin’s shoulder.

“And may I ask who you are?” Seokjin questioned, looking a bit unimpressed.

Sowon held out her hand and quickly introduced herself, shaking Seokjin’s hand with her signature thousand-watt smile.

“Ah, and how do you know the pain in the ass?”

“I can ask you the same thing, Jinnie boy.”

“Jinnie boy?” He questioned, directing it more towards Sumin.

Sumin simply shrugged, “Just go with it.”

“Well, I’ve known her since middle school believe it or not.”

Sowon raised her brow; her eyes roamed all over his body as if she tried to decipher his hidden secrets.

“Interesting. Well, as much as I’d like to continue this conversation, I don’t,” She then turned Sumin around, “Time for bed, Min.” She stated firmly before guiding them both back to Sumin’s house, leaving behind a flabbergasted Seokjin.

“You know…I have a feeling that you two would make the perfect couple someday…” teased the taller woman as they crossed the threshold between Sumin’s house and Seokjin’s house.

Sumin grimaced, nearly wanting to gag, “By perfect, you mean that I’d want to kill him every waking moment I can get, right?”

“Nah, my precious little ray of sunshine. I mean that one day, you two will make gorgeous looking children to the point that I’m going to “borrow” one of them to pick up guys.” Sowon clarified, grinning from ear to ear.

A look of utter and complete disbelieve washed over her face as she felt her eye twitch just a smidge from her best friend’s remark.

And just as she opened her mouth to retort, an annoying voice rang in her ears. The one voice she took years of practice to block out him from her memories. Until that evening, she had long forgotten the prick that made her life a living Hell, but fate had an interesting idea of entertainment and unfortunately, she had become the main character of this stupid little sitcom.

God help her…

“You should learn to smile more often, princess! You might land more dates that way!”

“That’s it! Listen here you annoying fucking gnat!”

However, before Sumin could storm over to Seokjin again, Sowon blocked her path.

“Alright, young lady, someone’s getting cranky. You march to your room and tell Seonghwa that you want to cuddle.”

“But!”

“March!”

Sumin frowned before submitting to her friend, of course, muttering a few profanities as she stomped up the stairs that led to the front door.

Once Sumin was inside, Sowon waited a few seconds before walking up to Seokjin, who appeared to be texting someone.

“So, how do you truly feel about Sumin?”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me.”

Seokjin’s face remained blank, “I tolerate her existence. Why?”

“I asked how you truly feel about her, not lie about it.” Sowon stated, shooting him a knowing look.

Seokjin, on the other hand, grew unsure. What did she mean, exactly?

“Sleep on it.” Sowon suggested before walking to her car and finally head home for herself.

Seokjin watched the strange woman drive out of his neighborhood. Her words repeated in his mind. He was almost certain that he just tolerated Sumin’s existence. Sure, there had been a time in his life that he harbored romantic feelings for her, but he had been long married since then. Well, now divorced, but that was beside the point.

It was through that marriage that he had Areum. The light of his life.

Yeah, he didn’t need any other leading lady in his life.

Right?

Before he could fully dive into those thoughts, a bright light nearly blinded him followed by this obnoxious honking.

“Dad!” shouted a voice. A voice Seokjin knew all too well. The same voice that easily brought a smile to his face.

“Areum!” He greeted back; his face practically beamed. He happily waved as the car came to a stop and this little girl came running out of the backseat and towards him.

Seokjin knelt down, ready for the biggest hug ever. And just as she slammed into him, he protectively wrapped his arms around her petite body as the two fell onto the grass.

“Remember to behave for your dad, Areum!” chuckled an older woman, shaking her head as she walked up to the loving duo with a tiny suitcase.

“I will mommy.” Areum smiled as she became smothered with Seokjin’s fatherly kisses.

“Yeah, don’t worry Eunji, our little girl is an angel.”

“Whatever you say, Seokjin. By the way, did you know that our old friend Sumin lived right next door to you?”

Seokjin instantly became alarmed. How did his ex-wife know that? So, naturally, he asked.

Eunji laughed softly, “Just because you had a falling out with her, doesn’t mean that I did, so I saw it on her social media account that she moved to that house.”

“And you didn’t tell me this while I was looking for a place to live because?”

“Because I love seeing you make a fool of yourself in front of her.”

But before Seokjin could say something, refuting his ex-wife’s claims, Eunji had entered her car and clicked on her seatbelt. Then, he saw the reverse lights turn on and watched her pull out of his driveway.

She was always an interesting woman…

“Why is your mom weird?”

“I don’t know, probably for the same reason as to why she called you coward on our way here, daddy?”

“She what, now?”

A/N: I am back! Cue the fanfare and confetti canon! I’m honestly both surprised and proud of myself for not only picking up writing again but starting another series (low key crying because Our Second Chance isn’t done yet, but I am working on it LOL)! At first, I wanted to take the word carnival and incorporate the movie Sandlot and A League of Their Own into it, but sadly, I hit a bad writers’ block, so I just scrapped that idea completely and with the help of @softjeon who helped me with some overall story ideas, this came to be! Plus, it helps that in BTS World, Seokjin’s another story line is so cute, especially with the little girl (who of course makes an appearance as his daughter in this short series <3) being kind of hard to please. Yes, make Jinnie work for it! 

But anyway, as of right now, I don’t have a set schedule for this as I like to write whenever I have both the time and inspiration but knowing me, I’ll start releasing updates over the course of Autumn/Winter along with the last chapters of Our Second Chance! 

Don’t forget to leave a like/reblog/comment/ask in my inbox! I love hearing your thoughts! :)

- Kim

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[janelledarling]

Coming together.

This is my contribution to @hoopshoney and @purple-apricots Valentine’s Day Fic Fest, With Love, From Wakanda. I had a lot of fun writing this! I hope you enjoy it, and sorry in advance for any spelling/grammatical errors. Let me know what you think! My character is BLACK.

My prompt: “I told you not to get me anything”“And I’m smart enough to know that meant get you something.” 

Pairing: Erik ‘Killmonger’ Stevens x Black! OC

Warnings: None, just a lot of fluff! 

Word Count: 4,500+

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“Hello, is Ms. Graham available?” an unfamiliar voice spoke politely into the phone.

“Yes, this is she. May I ask who’s calling?” Absedi Graham said pleasantly. Normally she didn’t answer calls from numbers she didn’t know, especially at work. Absedi worked at a large jewelry store where she specialized in Men’s Luxury Watches. Her work day was winding down and she happened to be locking up early as the customers were slow today which was odd since it was Valentine’s Day. Absedi was more than ready for her upcoming week off, whoever was calling just happened to catch her at a good time.

“This is Veronica, with Ross Horology Worldwide. I hope you are doing well.” the woman continued.

Absedi immediately paused her progress of locking the display cases in the watch section of the jewelry store, eyes going wide and mouth falling open at the sound of the company Veronica said she was with.

“I am, thank you. I hope you are as well. To what do I owe the pleasure Ms. Veronica?” Absedi said confidently even though she was so nervous her palms were starting to sweat.

“Well Ms. Graham, upon review of your Resume, background check, and the few phone and in-office interviews you have done in the last few months. We would like to extend an offer to you. That is, of course, if you are still interested.” Veronica explained.

“Wow! That is amazing! I am most definitely still interested!” Absedi exclaimed.

“Wonderful! Your orientation will start on Monday, 2 weeks from now, at the headquarters where the in-office interviews were located. Please arrive at 9am, and check in with the receptionist upon your arrival, she will provide you with your itinerary and tour. Did you have any questions for me?” Veronica asked.

“Nothing is coming to mind.” Absedi remarked.

“Ok perfect! I will send you an email with all the details. Welcome to the team and Happy Valentine’s Day, Ms. Graham!” Veronica advised.

“Thank you so much! See you in 2 weeks!” Absedi replied as she ended the call.

“HOLY SHIT!” Absedi yelled excitedly as she jumped up and down and danced around the display cases.

She grabbed her purse and keys from under the counter and finished locking up all the display cases in her section of the Jewelry store.

As she made her way out the the building her rude ass co-worker called out behind her “Bye Abby! You have a good weekend, Sis!”

“That’s not my name, and I’m not your Sis, we’ve went over this! Bye Brock. Have a Happy Valentine’s Day.” she responded putting on the fakest smile she could muster.

“It’s Blaine, girlfriend!” he said as she made her way out of the store.

“I’m well aware.” she mumbled under her breath, rolling her eyes.

She grabbed her phone to call her friend with her good news with one hand, as she walked out of the large double doors of the building and into the busy city with an extra pep in her step.

Just as she thought the call was going to be routed to voicemail, a deep voice answered, “Wassup Princess?”

“ERIK! GUESS WHAT!?” Absedi screamed with excitement. “THEY CALLED ME! I DID IT! IT’S IN TWO WEEKS! HOLY SHIT ERIK! I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS, I’M SHAKING RIGHT NOW! MY HANDS ARE TREMBLING!” Absedi shouted into the receiver, startling the people walking down the sidewalk as they turned and gave her passing stares.

__________________________________________________

Absedi and Erik had been friends for well over a year. When she met Erik, he had come into the jewelry store looking for a new piece to add to his collection of watches. After showing him the new collection of Cartier watches that came in earlier that week and answering his questions on which models were self-winding, quartz, or manual winding, Absedi left him to view the collection while making her way over to another customer who had recently came in. Just like most of the other middle aged men that made their way to her section of the store, this particular customer was worried less about the watches and more about whether or not Absedi had a man and when her shift ended. When the older gentleman grew tired of Absedi denying all of his advances, he left the store without making a purchase and she made her way back to Erik.

When she walked over to see if he had any questions or if he needed any additional assistance. He took her for surprise when he spoke up and said. “Yeah, actually, I do have some questions. First one is does shit like that happen often? I didn’t think ole dude was gonna take no for an answer. I didn’t wanna have to cause a scene, but I would have with his ole nasty ass.”  

“Yeah, more often than not unfortunately.” Absedi said as she stifled her laugh. “But I’ve gotten used to working around them and deflecting. Tricks of the trade I guess.” she shrugged.

“Hm.” Erik nodded. “Second question, do you work on commission?” Erik continued.

“Yes…? Why?” Absedi answered hesitantly.

“Just making sure if I drop a grip in here the commission would go to you and not that grimy ass colonizer over there.” Erik explained motioning to Blaine.

Absedi couldn’t hold in her laugh when Erik motioned to her co-worker on the other side of the store.

“Yeah, Chadthaniel never comes over here, so you good.” Absedi giggled.

Erik laughed loudly, shoulders bouncing. “Chadthaniel. That’s a good one! I’ma have to use that shit. Ok in that case, I’ll take the Clé De Cartier Mysterious Hour. The Manual 18K Pink gold. Clé De Cartier Automatic Skeleton Gem-Set. The Automatic in Palladium.”

It took everything in Absedi’s power for her to keep her composure. Those watches were some of the most expensive she had in her cases. Everyone would look at those two in particular, but she would rarely make a sale. She nodded and walked away to make sure the watch bands she had in stock would be the right size and fit him properly. He handed her his black card and she went to the register to process his payment. Finally seeing his name. Erik Stevens. Absedi started getting them packaged up for him. These watches were expensive as all hell. Her commission alone was about to be at least $10,500.

After processing his card successfully for over $210,000 and packaging up the watches. She called out to him to let him know she was finished.

“Mr. Stevens?” Absedi called out behind the counter.

“Wassup?” he said turning around from another display he was looking at and walking toward the counter.

“I’m all finished up. Here is your card and your bag. Did you want your receipt with you or in the bag?”

“In the bag is cool. Thanks. Now, before I leave I have one last question.” Erik smirked.

Trying not to get too caught up no the effect his dimples and pretty ass smile were having on her, she cleared her throat before she answered. “Sure, what is it?”

“What’s your name? I might have to come back for some more pieces and I wanna make sure I ask for the right person. If that’s cool with you...” Erik said.

“Sure, that’s fine.” she said quickly.

Like she was about to miss out on another big commission sale like this. Tuh! Momma didn’t raise no fool.

“Here’s my card, it’s got my name, our store hours as well as the store phone number on here, should you happen to need anything.” she added handing him over her business card.

As she watched his eyebrows furrow, she added before he could ask. “It’s pronounced AB-S-IH-Dee. Absedi Graham.”  

“Absedi Graham” He repeated for clarification as she nodded. “Alright Ms. Absedi, it was nice doing business with you.” he nodded as he turned to walk away.

“You too Mr. Stevens. Have a good rest of your day.” Absedi added as he walked away.

“Call me Erik.” He yelled back over his shoulder throwing her a million dollar smile as he left the store.

Ever since that day, Erik would come in at least once a week. They would make light conversation about the new collections coming out with different brands and get to know each other a little bit more.

After 3 and a half years of being in a dead-end job at the Jewelry store, realizing her position was getting her nowhere. Absedi decided it was time to move onto bigger and better things with her career. She applied to a few of her favorite watch companies but had yet to hear back from any of them. Erik came in while she was checking her email for the 12th time that morning for a response from any of the applications she sent over. When Erik asked what she was doing, Absedi told Erik she was looking for another place to further her career and if everything worked out the way she hoped it would, she would probably be leaving the jewelry store in the next few months but maybe sooner. Erik asked her hypothetically if he had questions on some upcoming collections and she isn’t here anymore who was he supposed to ask, because he sure as hell wasn’t asking Chadthaniel shit. Letting Erik know she could still answer any of his questions whenever he had any, she wrote her cell phone number on the back of her business card and handed it to him. Erik ended up texting her right after he left the store. From then on, it seemed like they were constantly in contact with each other. Whether it was sending each other meme’s, talking about politics, or just how their day was, there wasn’t anything the pair didn’t feel comfortable talking about with each other. Absedi found herself reaching out to Erik more often than not. He was very easy to talk to. So it made sense to her that he was the first person she would call when she found out she got the job or her dreams.

__________________________________________________

“Babygirl, slow down. Who called you? What’s happening in two weeks?” Erik said confused as hell, trying to wrap his mind around the bits and pieces he was able to understand as she was speaking a mile a minute.

“Ross! They called me! They want me to start in two weeks!” Absedi squealed.

“That’s dope as fuck Princess!”

“I’m so excited Erik! Like things are really starting to come together for me, you know?” Absedi reflected as she made her way home.

“It seems that way, huh. So how you wanna celebrate?” Erik asked.

“Erik, it’s Valentine’s Day every place from Oakland to Long Beach is about to be packed and busy as hell.” Absedi assumed.

“I ain’t ask you all that, did I? What’s the move girl? Pick sum. Whatever you wanna do, I got you.” Erik commanded.  

“Hmm… OH! I know! You always talking about how you throw down in the kitchen, lemme see sum.” She said imitating one of Erik’s frequently used sayings. “You know what I like, surprise me!” Absedi exclaimed as she listened to Erik chuckle on the other end of the line. Absedi had never been to Erik’s home, they always hung out in public places. He lived about 45 minutes away from her so it was easier to just kick it somewhere between both of their places.

“Bet. Come through around 7pm. We celebratin’! My girl landed her dream job! Whatever you wanna do or anywhere you tryna go, I got you. I’m proud of you Sed!”

“Thank you! I’m proud of me too. Don’t do anything extravagant though Erik.” Absedi warned.

“Huh? I can’t hear you. You cutting out.” Erik lied.

“Nah, you can hear me just fine. Nothing extravagant and no gifts.” Absedi continued as she rolled her eyes. Erik was always trying to get her something she didn’t need. He had already gotten them matching J’s earlier in the week.   

“Huh? Babygirl, you there? Sed?” Erik said trying and failing to hide his laugh as he hung up the phone.

He is so damn petty! Absedi laughed to herself as she waved down a cab.

Looking out the window on the ride to her studio apartment, she couldn’t stop smiling. Time with Erik was just what she needed to kick off her upcoming week off and to celebrate her new job.

It was obvious to everyone including the two of them that they had chemistry. They both really liked each other and were open to the idea of being more than friends, but never spoke on it directly. Just hinted around the subject. Erik would always call her pet names, and refer to her as ‘his girl’ but Absedi just assumed it was how he acted with his other friends too. Although he hadn’t mentioned any other friends, Erik was fine as fuck and Absedi wasn’t dumb. She wasn’t about to assume she was the only person he was showing interest in. Erik would tell her how beautiful she was and kiss her on her forehead whenever they went out for dinner or to the movies, and he might’ve left a few messy voicemails after one too many drinks with his boys. Absedi had also sent her fair share of drunk texts after clubbing with her girls, and may or may not have sent a few thirst traps she didn’t remember until scrolling through their text thread the following morning. Needless to say she swore off drinking for a good month after that.

Just as she was getting out of the cab she got a text from Erik.

Mr. Stevens: 2232 Westridge Road, LA. Don’t be late.

Scrunching up her face at his commanding tone, Absedi sent out a quick reply.

Babygirl: Don’t tell me what to do. We celebrating ME remember.  

Erik smirked and shook his head at her response when he read it. This girl and her smart ass mouth, he thought to himself as got ready to run his errands and head to the grocery store to get all the ingredients to make dinner for the two of them.

While Erik went to the store Absedi got in the shower, exfoliated and moisturized. Debating between a few different outfit choices and reminding herself it is Valentine’s Day after all, she decided to go all out. Ready to get dolled up and leave the house looking like a snack. Absedi settled on a strappy crushed velvet dress in wine just because she wanted a reason to use her new Body Lava. Pairing it with strappy nude heels to show off her baby pink pedicure and her trench coat. Absedi than began working on her make-up, going with a nude look. Putting her hair up into a high pony with her edges laid to perfection, she began gathering her things to head to Erik's house. Turning off the lights and locking the front door she made her way to her car. After putting his address into her navigation and sending him a quick text letting him know she was on her way, Absedi pulled out into evening traffic.

Turning on her Masego playlist and hitting the highway, Absedi couldn’t help thinking about how everything was finally going her way. She was just offered the job of her dreams and would be able to start making a career out of her passion in just two weeks.  She finally had someone in her corner, encouraging her. Erik was her best friend in every aspect of the word. She could not wipe the smile off of her face if she tried.

Not realizing she zoned out the entire drive reflecting on the days events until she heard her navigation say “You have arrived at your destination.” Absedi parked in the driveway grabbing her purse and surveying the area.

Of course, he lives in this nice ass house. I mean it makes sense, he was dropping like $200K on accessories. Absedi thought to herself as she made her way to the front door. After knocking twice, the door swung open.

“You’re late.” Erik said as he raised an eyebrow in challenge.

“No, I’m not. It’s 7:02pm. I’m on time. You were early.” Absedi responded as she flipped her hair behind her shoulder.

“How am I early to my own damn house Sed?” Erik chuckled as he held the door open for her to come in, taking a moment to look her up and down. “Damn, you really came in here looking like a whole ass meal. Good gawddd!”  

“Shut up Erik. You always got somethin’ smart to say.” Absedi giggled as she walked into the open concept area. The smell of dinner invading her nostrils immediately. Taking off her trenchcoat and hanging it on the coat rack near the door.  

“You always gotta have the last damn word!” he retorted from behind her, watching the sway of her hips as she made her way into his home.

“You damn right!” she snapped back over her shoulder as they both started laughing.

After closing and locking the door. Erik walked up and gave her the biggest hug, resting his chin on the top of her head. “I’m so proud of you babygirl. I knew you could fucking do it.” leaning down placing a light kiss on her forehead. Absedi wrapped her arms around him and closed her eyes, finally feeling at peace.

“You ready to eat? I made steaks, loaded baked potatoes, and salad. Sounds basic as fuck but you ain’t had my shit before. You know ion do anything basic.” Erik shrugged.

“That's a fact.” Absedi laughed as she nodded.

“Princess, you gotta let go of me if we gonna eat.” Erik chuckled rubbing circles on her lower back and shoulder blade with the tips of his fingers. .

“Just give me a minute.” Absedi quickly added holding him even tighter and snuggling her face into his chest, feeling the soft scars of his skin press against her cheek.

“Ight.” Erik responded, not hiding the smile in his voice.

After another moment, Absedi pulled away and looked up into Erik’s eyes taking in his features. Plump lips, deep brown eyes, smooth brown skin, dreads braided back from his face, noticing his dimples appear and his white teeth with a little bit of shine come into view.

“You for real checking me out right in my face, you bold as hell.” Erik chuckled.

“And what about it?” Absedi said as she raised her eyebrow, turning and making her way to the kitchen following the smell.

Erik had made filet mignon pan-seared in butter thyme and rosemary, smothered in A1, and sauteed mushrooms and onions. Alongside salad and loaded twice-baked potatoes that were filled with broccoli, mascarpone, pancetta, bocconcini, cheddar cheese and topped with scallions.

“It smells so fucking good, Erik.” Absedi swooned as she damn near drooled looking at all the delicious food he made.

“C’mere.” he said from behind her.

Turning around she noticed Erik was standing by a small table set for two as he poured two glasses of champagne.  

“We can’t celebrate without a toast. Here.” Erk said handing Absedi a champagne flute.

Raising his flute Erik began “To my girl, landing the job of her dreams and molding her destiny to whatever she sees fit. I’m happy you are in my life Sed and I’m so fucking proud of you Princess. You out here doing the damn thing! Salut.”

Absedi couldn’t wipe the smile off of her face after Erik finished his toast, nor did she have a smart ass remark to add when he was done. She did, however have butterflies and could not get them to go away.

“Here.” Erik said as he pulled out her seat for her. “I’ma go grab the food.”

Erik placed both of their plates at the table in front of their respective seats. As soon as Absedi took a bite she couldn’t help the happy dance or the moan that escaped her.

“Erik this is sooooo fucking good! Oh my gawddd!” Absedi moaned in between bites.

“I told you, I don’t do basic.” Erik stated smugly.

“Shut up and just say thank you, damn. Is it really that hard for you?” she shook her head playfully.

Erik smirked at her before adding “Thank you Absedi. I appreciate that.”

“See! That wasn’t so hard was it.” She retorted shooting him a wink.

“It’s probably as hard as you not getting the last word.” Erik snapped back raising a challenging eyebrow and tilting his head to the side.

Watching Absedi just roll her eyes and just keep eating shocked Erik to no end.

“That’s it? You really don’t have something to say?” Erik said eyebrows reaching his hairline due to his surprise. Slightly shrugging her shoulders and smirking at Erik as she chewed a bit of steak. Erik nodded to himself in fake astonishment, causing both to start laughing.

After finishing her third glass of champagne and liquid courage kicking in, Absedi asked the question that had been lingering in her head for a while.

“Do you call all your friends little cute names?” Absedi asked quietly.

“Nah.” Erik responded slowly, setting his plate to the side. “Why? Wassup?”

“I was just curious. I figured you probably called all of your other friends ‘Princess’ and ‘Babygirl’ and stuff like that.” she said looking at anything but him as she shrugged her shoulders.

“Nah, just you.” he stated smoothly.

“Why?” she asked quietly.

“Why you think?” Erik retorted.

“I wanna hear you say it.” Absedi said tilting her chin up to look Erik in the eye.

“What you want me to say?” Erik asked leaning forward on the table and resting his chin on his fists looking her in her eyes. “You want me to tell you how I think about you from the time I wake up to the time I go to sleep? How I intentionally irritate you so I can see that cute ass face you make when you get mad as hell? Or you wanna know about how many stacks I spent at that jewelry store just to spend more time with you? How about how I was ready to kill that grimy ass motherfucker that kept trying to touch on you the day we met? I mean I can go on and on. You tell me what you wanna hear.”

Absedi was speechless. “Why didn’t you say something! You know how many wack ass niggas I entertained? And you over here just keeping all these damn emotions to yourself. Stingy ass. You won’t let us be great.” Absedi pouted as she crossed her arms.

“I know your ass, Sed. If I’da said something, you would have started that ‘I don’t wanna ruin our friendship’ bullshit.” Erik replied with a shrug.

“Ruin it.” Absedi said with a straight face.

Erik’s jaw dropped and his eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Champagne got you all the way bold huh?” Erik smirked.

“I mean, we being all the way real right now, right? So I’m just gonna put it all out on the table. I like you, Erik. I don’t know if a relationship is something you would be open to, but if you are I think I would be viable candidate.” Absedi finished as she nibbled on her bottom lip.

“I’m open to a relationship. There ain’t no other candidates, just you.” Erik stated.

“Just me?” she inquired while side eyeing him.

“Mhm. Nobody else. Since we putting it all out there, I haven’t entertained anybody in a good minute. I just want you.” Erik confessed looking Absedi in her eyes.

“Hmm… Good to know.” Absedi nodded.

Erik stood from the table and started gathering the plates to take them into the kitchen. Leaving Absedi to sit and collect her thoughts. She was oddly enough no longer nervous, she was content with finally letting him know how she felt about him.

Erik made his way back to the table with his arms behind his back. Knowing he was up to something she furrowed her eyebrows while she looked at him. “What are you up to Mr. Stevens?”

Sitting the large navy square leather box with golden script that read Chopard in front of her with a golden ribbon tied around it, Erik pulled his chair from his side of the table just to sit it right beside her. Erik grabbed her hand an intertwined their fingers.

“Baby…” Absedi breathed her eyes wide in astonishment staring at the box bringing her other hand up to trace the golden boarder around the sides of the box.

“So I’m your baby now?” Erik asked lightly tilting her chin towards him to grab her attention. He was wearing the biggest smile she had ever seen.

Nodding and climbing into his lap not taking her eyes off of the box of one of all time favorite jewelers, Absedi leaned back into his chest as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Pressing a kiss to the side of her head.

“Yeah, you my baby too.” Erik added quietly.

“I told you not to get me anything.” Absedi whispered as she went back to staring at the box in awe.

“And I’m smart enough to know that meant get you something.” Erik chuckled as he rested his head on the side of hers.

“I know how much you love Chopard watches but something else caught my eye. You gonna open it or what?” Erik asked

Slowly taking off the ribbon, and opening the leather box, Absedi saw the most beautiful necklace she had ever seen. A large amethyst in a rose gold setting with diamond accents hung on a 18K rose gold chain.

“Oh my god, Erik...” she whispered gently touching the dainty necklace. “Thank you! It’s so beautiful.”

“Lean up real quick.” Erik said gently taking the necklace from the packaging and gently putting it on for her and sccurring the clasp at the back of her neck. “Beautiful necklace for a beautiful girl.”

“Damn you really feelin’ me, huh?” Absedi teased as she tugged on his arm playfully.

“And what about it?” Erik imitated her from earlier on in the evening light-heartedly, causing them both to bust out laughing hysterically.

“How you feelin’ about all these changes? New job, Me, alla dat.” Erik questioned.

Turning around and pulling her dress up so she was able to straddle Erik’s lap and wrap her arms around his neck and rub smoothing circles into the back of his neck with her fingertips, as he lightly ran his hands down her sides. Absedi thought back from all the changes that had taken place in her life in the last 24 hours. New job, new man, new necklace, and new outlook on her future.

“Honestly truly, I’ve never been better.” Absedi beamed.

Absedi leaned up slightly and pressed a few soft kisses against his lips. As he murmured “Happy Valentine’s Day Princess.” in between them he felt her body melt against his. Erik’s hands tightened around her waist, pulling her closer, he kissed her back deeply until they both pulled away to catch their breath. Neither one of them could wipe away the huge smile that had taken over their faces.

This Valentine’s Day was definitely one for the books.

Taglist: @chaneajoyyy @marvelpotterlove @faatassbitch

#with love from wakanda #erik killmonger #erik stevens #erik stevens x oc #erik stevens fic #black oc #softboi!erik #fluff #erik stevens imagine #my shit #i be writing and shit #black panther imagine #wlfw #fic fest

[virmillion]

Ibytm - T minus 9 seconds

Masterpost - Previous Chapter - Next Chapter - ao3

Words: 1,741

Logan stares out the window, watching nothing, seeing nothing, feeling nothing. No breeze, no leaves, no kids, no backpacks, no nothing. Everything is empty and still, the world having turned in for an early night and leaving Logan in the dust.

“You gonna drink any of your coffee?”

It’s more of an afterthought than actual acknowledgement of the question when Logan turns his head to see Virgil pointing at his mug, untouched on the table. “Maybe.”

“Alright, well, just hurry up, or it’ll get cold, and then I’ll drink it, and then where would we be?”

“Responsibly consuming the goods our hard-earned money went toward purchasing?” Virgil squints at Logan with a strange look in his eyes, and Logan wonders whether now would be a good time to bring up that whole ‘ideal career disparity thing. As he opens his mouth to discuss as much, the door swings open and the bell chimes cheerfully. It’ll have to wait, then.

“Hi, we did a door dash for Patton?” Patton calls, waving to the barista. She smiles and nods and holds up two cups, one of which she passes off to Roman. “Thanks much!”

“Anything exciting happen yet? We miss any significant developments?” Roman asks in lieu of greeting as he plops himself to Logan’s right. Patton perches on the chair opposite Roman, exchanging that same weird elbowshake with Virgil again—backwards this time, since they’re on opposite sides, but it looks strange either way. So.

“Not really,” Virgil mumbles, finally taking Logan’s cup for himself. “I guess this one is on a silent treatment tirade for no reason, so that’s neat.”

“Oh, is he now?” Roman’s voice is much more mischievous than Logan would prefer it to be. “Logan, did you tell him about—”

“No.” An uncomfortable silence falls in the wake of his abrupt answer, but Logan is hardly aware of it as he returns his gaze to the window. A thin layer of clouds has descended, a weak veil to shield the stars from the rest of the world, and he wonders. Not about anything in particular. He just wonders.

“So!” Patton says brightly. “Virgil, you still on for that big-up tour group tomorrow?”

“Yeah, no, for sure.” Logan wonders whether there’s something he’s supposed to notice about the tone of Virgil’s voice, but he certainly has no idea what that would be. “So, what, do they have a huge final coming up or something? The groups don’t normally get that big.”

“No, but there’s some extra credit opportunity that a bunch of the main feeder schools got together to start up, since the students this year haven’t been—”

The conversation falters and fades from Logan’s ears as he watches the clouds floating across the sky. Pretty unnerving, if you think about it, how ‘space’ as most people normally define it is only sixty-eight miles away. He could drive a car straight upward for an hour or so and just be in space. Off the planet. Literally out of this world, and it’s only an hour’s drive away, and he’s stuck here with the suffocating gravity of Earth. His legs suddenly feel very heavy.

“Hello? Mission control to Logan?”

Logan absently turns his head, and he’s pretty sure his eyes land somewhere around Roman’s face, but they refuse to focus. “Yeah.”

“Did you tell them about the follow-up?”

“No.”

“Did, um—did you want to?”

“No.”

That same silence returns. Logan wonders.

“Okay. Um, so, Patton, remember that new assignment I was telling you about, the one Cassidy thought—”

“What would happen if we found life off Earth, beyond our solar system?” Logan asks suddenly. Roman gives him wary look, but the question is already out in the open. Nothing to be done for it now. Logan wonders.

“Um, it would be pretty cool, I guess?” Patton tries. There’s something in his voice that Logan doesn’t know what to do with. “Hopefully it’d be peaceful and friendly?”

“Why do you ask?” Virgil sounds about as interested in this conversation as Logan was in the previous one—which is to say, not interested in the slightest. Maybe he’s looking at the clouds outside. Maybe he’s looking past them, too.

“What would we do if they contacted us? What if they insisted on meeting on their turf, maybe light years away, a guaranteed one-way trip because we don’t know who would walk out of that meeting alive? What if they said no? Would they come here and raze the planet? Is sacrificing one person to the possibility of expansion worth protecting the billions of lives that don’t even know it’s happening? Would it make a difference if you knew that one person?”

“Slow down, Lo, take a breath or something.” Roman’s voice, in an attempt to soothe Logan, only serves to agitate him further.

“What if it was you? What if it was me?”

“That’s not really—” Roman begins, but Virgil has apparently had just about enough of this.

“Then everyone is screwed, and you bringing shop talk to coffee night would have done nothing to prevent it. Is there anything you actually want to talk about?”

“I just—”

“Because if not, then why are we even here? Why did you come out here to sulk and stare out the window and bring down the conversation when Patton and Roman could be doing literally anything else besides listen to you whining about hypotheticals?”

Logan bites at a piece of dead skin on his lip, wincing when it tears off some of the fresh underlayer with it. “Not like I have anything else I can talk about.”

“Because work is your life, that’s right, how could I forget?”

“Oh, like you’re one to talk.”

“Say that again.”

Admittedly, this is neither the time nor place Logan expected to have this conversation, but he’s said it himself multiple times—it does have to happen eventually. No time like the present. “Like you’re one to talk. The only job you can actually claim is as a temporary tour guide who sometimes shows up on alternate days to a museum that can get away with paying you less than you deserve for what you do.”

“The kids pay me, actually, in tips that are neither required nor solicited, because they know how much I care about doing a good job and helping them. How do you know you’re doing a good job if you get paid the same amount every other week, no matter how crappy your work is?”

“Because you’ve so clearly forgotten that I was promoted and given a salary increase, right? Because surely that had nothing to do with the new car, or the likelihood of a motorcycle, right? Because obviously the spare change from those kids is what’s paying for our auto and life insurance, right?”

“That is not fair.”

“You want to talk to me about fair? ” Logan explodes. He can see Roman flinching away in his peripheral vision, but he doesn’t care. “Is it fair that you get to be the emotional one? Is it fair that you always get to get mad about whatever trivial thing crossed you that day, while I suck up my fucking pride and come apologize to you when not once, not a single time in four fucking years, have you realized that maybe, just fucking maybe, you might be in the wrong? Is that not fair? Is it? Because if not, then why don’t you go ahead and tell me what is fair, hm? Is it fair that you live on your own schedule and barely scrape by with what that nets you? Is it fair that you choose to act like a child who still thinks money grows on the trees in the tooth fairy’s garden?”

“It is if that’s the life I chose to lead. I never asked you to start funneling your bank account into my life.”

“But you agreed to as much when you proposed, yes? When you said your ‘I do?’ That’s not exactly a small question and answer combination you just tossed out for no reason, is it? I would even venture that you knew what you were doing, being a grown adult, and you still—”

“Okay!” Patton yells, banging his fist on the table hard enough to rattle the window. Logan shrinks away from it, and even Virgil seems to recoil. By some miracle, the barista—and any of the other coffee shop patrons, for that matter—are nowhere to be seen. “This is absolutely outside the boundary of appropriate conversations to have on a nice coffee night, but if y’all wanna have it, we can have it.

“Logan, you need to lay off Virgil. He was getting by just fine on his own before you, and you need to stop acting so high and mighty about the opportunities your life and upbringing has afforded you, because not everyone comes from a family that can put them through a prestigious college that funnels them straight into a selective and competitive area of the workforce.” Virgil juts his chin out at Logan and crosses his arms, but Patton isn’t done yet. “Virgil, you need to accept that not everything static, and you can’t get by on pennies and favors forever, even if you have distant parents behind the curtain to catch you if you fall. Logan is trying to have a reasonable discussion with you about your futures—which, like it or not, are connected—and you keep shutting him out or shutting him down, plugging your ears and babbling because your pride is too important to consider that maybe, just maybe, it wouldn’t kill you to ask for help once in a while. You’re both acting like children. Grow the fuck up.”

With that, Patton shoves his chair back and stomps out of the cafe. Logan isn’t sure whether he’s breathing anymore. He looks at Roman, who opens his mouth, closes it, opens it again, and shakes his head. Not even offering a farewell, Roman stands and follows Patton out the door.

“Virgil, I—”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Virgil moves for the door. Logan doesn’t lift a hand to stop him. He instead turns his head toward the window again, the world still empty, still passive, still silent. He wonders whether Virgil can see the tears pricking at the corners of his eyes through the glass. He doesn’t wipe them away.

He just wonders.

#labhwrites #mine #i'll bring you the moon #ibytm

[keyfyapmak]

Proud?

When I was 17, my mother and I sat on my bed in my room in Ankara: the wall was covered, corner to corner, with fine art prints. It was the backdrop to my mother as we chatted casually, on some weekend morning. “What would you do if I married a woman?” I had asked, not even aware of not being straight at the time; it was genuinely a hypothetical question. She paused, took a breath, and looked aside thoughtfully. “Well”, she said, “I’d be sad about two things: one, the way that the world would treat you. And two, that I wouldn’t have natural grandchildren.”

And that was that. Two perfectly reasonable fears, one of which doesn’t even apply (Mum you doknow that IVF exists right?). That simple answer, which she probably doesn’t even remember responding with, ensured that I would live my entire life free from insecurity about my sexuality. It cemented itself deep in my brain, and I knew without a single wavering doubt that my mum would accept that part of me unconditionally. And that’s exactly what happened when I accidentally came out to her last month. We were talking about a queer arts event, when my mum offhandedly said ‘but wouldn’t you be the only straight one taking part?’.

Turns out the countless hints I had left over the years never hit home. I have always been content with the idea that I have never had to really ‘come out’, that I just dated as I pleased, and dropped enough hints or casual mentions that everyone probably knew or guessed and that was good enough for me, and if they assumed I was straight I wasn’t really bothered either. For me sexuality has always been more connected to my dating life than an intrinsic part of my identity, so I genuinely have never really cared, or thought much about it. But suddenly here I was, lounging on my sofa in the middle of a conversation with my mum, about to come out. I paused, chose my tactic, and went for it.

“Oh no Mum, I’m not straight,” I replied, with a casual smiling condescension.

“Oh right,” she replied. “But you’ve had so many boyfriends?”

Later I would look back and wish I had replied with “Just because I’m not straight, doesn’t mean I have good taste,” for extra comedic retelling value, but instead I just went, “yeah I know.” I then moved the conversation along swiftly as if we had just discussed what I was planning to have for breakfast. This was exactly how I would have wanted to come out: casually, with no anxiety, no big deal. But my casual demeanour dropped as the conversation came to an end. I blurted out, “Mum! Before you go I just want to say I didn’t tell you because I never bothered to because you never gave me a reason to be scared about it, and that’s why I’m so ok about it, because of you, thank you, I love you.” She paused again, and as I was halfway out the door to let a friend in, she finished with “But you know I would always love you anyways, of course.” And I did. Of course I did.

My mother happened to be visiting my godparents at the time, a gay couple, who called me some weeks later. They told me how she had come down the stairs, sat down at breakfast slightly dazed, and relayed the conversation back to them. “Just like that?!” They had asked her, incredulously. “Yes, just like that.”

‘Just like that’ is how I planned to continue as well. I didn’t like the idea of one one or two people knowing, because now it felt like a secret. I decided to suck it up, and consciously come out to my aunt as well. I did this while putting on liquid eyeliner, with her on speakerphone. “Oh by the way,” I added at the end of a conversation, “I told Mum I wasn’t straight because it just came up, and I didn’t want it to be a secret, so now you know too.” My aunt didn’t even pause before saying “Oh, I kind of figured.” At least someone in my family has a gaydar. I completed a perfect wing-tip, and hung up. Two down. That would do for now.

That casual tone, that implication that it simply isn’t a big deal or interesting enough to warrant a conversation, is how I have always viewed my sexuality. For me, it simply isn’t. Perhaps pride is something that comes from struggle, and I hadn’t struggled. I didn’t feel like I had earned something that I was just born with, and hadn’t fought for. And I suppose that’s why, after a lifetime of safely not caring about being bisexual, I finally encountered the one thing that would shatter that comfort:

Other queers.

I have spent my life moving country, on the periphery of all communities and groups. With the exception of my university friends, who I cemented my heart to in a way I haven’t with any other groups of people, I generally keep at the edges of everything. Last September, in a Facebook thread, I mentioned that I had written a poem about how inconsequential it was for me to be bi. I was surprised that this led to me being immediately booked to perform said poem at the annual Bi+ Ireland Bi+ Visibility Day event. I was even more surprised when, at my first ever queer event, I won the award for bi visibility. Me! The person who at the time had no coming out story, and spent my life comfortably under the radar! I remember meeting new people who I immediately liked, who made me laugh with terrible puns, and with great taste in tropical shirts. It felt strange, being in a room with people ‘like me’. I didn’t really know what that even meant.

After that initial dipping a toe in, I went a step further and joined the Bi+ Ireland Facebook group. I suppose that’s where things started rubbing up against insecurities I didn’t know I had. The group itself is lovely, and supportive. I was drowning in a sea of posts about bi colours, and queer in-jokes, and flags I didn’t know existed. It reminded me of how when I was in the bathroom during the Bi Visibility event, I overheard two people talking about queerness, with a confident and casual hold over terms and references and in-jokes that I didn’t understand. I didn’t feel a sense of joy whenever I see the colours blue, pink, and purple. I couldn’t relate to the jokes, the stories, the coming out tales, or the relationship structures most people seemed to have. It came as a huge shock, after being so quietly confident about this part of myself, to find out that I did in fact have fears about queerness. It was the same fear I’ve had about joining any community. It was the fear that, after all that, after finding ‘my people’, I didn’t fit in at all. Even though the group does everything in its power to reassure people that no matter what, they are queer enough, now that I was in a pool of people ‘like me’, I felt like I wasn’t anyways. My deepest insecurity that informs most of my life is the fear of not being ‘enough’. Suddenly this was tapped in a new way, and ‘not queer enough’ became my new obsession. I finally found something I could relate to with other queers: the feeling that I hadn’t earned my queer stripes.

And I suppose that’s where pride comes in. I’ve never felt proud of being bisexual, because I’ve never felt anything about being bisexual. For me it was like asking me to be proud about my favourite colour. But of course, I’m aware it’s nothing like a favourite colour. It’s intrinsic, and something you choose to act on. The same applied to my nationality, my ethnicity, my womanhood. These are all things I was born with, and so I’m not proud of them. I didn’t work hard to be bisexual, or Indian, or a woman. I worked hard at making a career in the arts, at being an immigrant, at supporting my friends. THOSE are the things I am proud of, because I feel like I have earned them. When I am finally Irish I will be overwhelmed with pride, because I would have fought 8 long years to earn that title. And perhaps I am just that little bit prouder of being a woman since Ireland repealed the 8th, because I knew that despite my mental health and inability to vote, I fought. I put up posters. I wore Repeal merchandise even though I knew it made me a walking target. I still wear an Abortion Rights NI tote bag, because the fight isn’t over. During the Marriage Equality referendum I was deeply unwell in my old job, and so I felt like I absolutely didn’t do enough to canvas, or help, or fight for that glorious outcome. But that’s the thing, isn’t it? The fight? How could I be proud of something I didn’t fight for?

So here I am. On Pride morning, in 2019, trying to figure out what I am proud of. And I think I am starting to figure that out. Yes, pride seems to come from coming out the other side of a struggle, and I realise, there are fights I haven’t fought yet. I am not proud of my nationality because I haven’t begun working through my cultural identity issues and insecurities. I’m not proud of being bisexual because I still am so distanced and a little baffled at my own sexuality that I don’t feel ownership over it. I haven’t done enough work on the things I was born with because I feel like I didn’t earn them. And the fight in this case isn’t on the streets, or with facebook posts, or by canvassing strangers. It’s a conflict I haven’t resolved in myself, and I suspect once I am on the other side of that struggle, a sense of pride will come naturally. I may be very late in the game coming to terms with myself, but better late than never.

In the meantime, I have a very bright pink pair of trousers and a tasteful tropical shirt to put on, and a March to attend. Even that small step might be something to be proud of.

#Pride #pride month #coming out #bisexual #bisexuality #proud #identity #bi #queer #family #friends #insecurity