#you can also have this one that was flagged back during the Great Ban

[wlntrsldler]

blurb based on this post.

pre-claiming, pre-betrayal, luke castellan x poseidon!reader, fluff.

while i bathe in cliffside pools with my calamitous love and insurmountable grief.

“rumor has it, capture the flag is coming up,” luke said. he was ripping blades of grass from beside him as his head laid on your stomach. he was facing the blue sky, letting the droplets of water roll off his bare skin.

you’d just emerged from your impromptu dip in the lake to escape the growing heat of summer. you had his camp shirt on top of your body, finding the faint scent of his cologne on the neckline of the shirt comforting. “already? they’re really trying to get us at each other’s throats as soon as possible.”

“yeah,” he scoffed. he rolled his head to face you. “it’s beth’s turn to come up with a strategy.”

there was pride in his eyes, like there always was when he talked about annabeth. you wondered if you had the same sparkle when you talked about her too. it was hard not to be proud of annabeth. after all, you’d known her since she was seven, when you, luke, and thalia found her wandering alone.

you tried not to think of those days too much. those days were painful and lonely; unfair that children were left to fend for themselves. even though you and luke were the oldest of the bunch, you were still just fourteen. at fourteen, you should’ve been dreading the perils of freshman year of high school, not wondering if you’d be fortunate enough to reach sixteen.

“how’s percy holding up?” you asked. your fingers tugged on a strand of hair that was bouncing back into his usual curls. you felt luke soften at your touch.

“he’s doing okay,” luke answered after a beat. “as well as anyone would be after finding out.”

“he’s a tough one, i can tell,” you replied. you attempted to move your hand from luke’s hair, but he held it in place. you complied, starting to rub his scalp. “has he been claimed yet?”

“no, he hasn’t.”

the topic of being claimed was a touchy subject for you as an unclaimed child. the first few months at camp, you had your hopes that your time was coming soon. your godly parent had to claim you eventually, right? but as the months turned into a year and a year turned into five, you lost all hope. somewhere along the way, you convinced yourself that you made peace with it.

luke, on the other hand, never did. there were many things he hated about the gods. most of it were general things that made sense; neglecting their children, having them do their dirty work, making them go on dangerous quests where they’re likely to get killed; but the thing that he hated them for the most was that they made you feel unworthy of being acknowledged.

to everyone else at camp, they saw you as someone who beat the odds despite not knowing who your godly parent was. you became a skilled swordsman, coming second only to luke, skilled at archery, and such an incredible leader, but luke didn’t attribute that to your godly parent. he attributed that to your character. your greatness had nothing to do with the gods.

but luke also knew you better than anyone else. he knew that even though you acted like you didn’t care about being claimed, there was still a part of you that stayed fourteen, that stayed hopeful, that one day your parent would claim you.

luke let his lips linger on your hipbone, a reminder that he was still there, as if trying to convince you that while your parent didn’t care enough to claim you, he did. he would shout it from every rooftop, if he could. in fact, on the trip to olympus, he stood at the top of the empire state building and declared his love for you.

chiron, who was forced to discipline him for his antics, banned him for getting dessert for two weeks, but sent you a sly wink as he was telling luke his punishment. you didn’t comment about how you managed to be given two desserts ‘accidentally’ everyday during luke’s punishment.

“we should probably head back soon,” you mumbled, though you made no effort to get up. luke snuggled deeper into you from where he laid. “it’s almost dinner.”

“yeah,” luke sighed. “you’re probably right.”

neither of you made it to dinner, but grover managed to sneak the both of you a handful of strawberries to eat.

#luke castellan #luke castellan x yn #luke castellan x y/n #luke castellan x reader #luke castellan fanfic #luke castellan one shot #luke castellan blurb #pjo #pjo fanfic #pjo tv show #pjo series #frances writes #frances song fics

[kendrixtermina]

Misleading Claims about Gaza I’ve seen flying around

So I want to speak to a set of claims I’ve seen flying around that, while not 100% lies, get presented in a hugely misleading way.

I, a rando with an internet connection, was able to find with a simple google & wikipedia search that they were severely taken out of context.

1. They threw a gay person off a roof

Never happened.

This is a clear echo off of roof-related execution done by ISIS meaning to conflate the orgs in the mind of an uneducated westerner who doesn’t know how ME political groups are different.

There was indeed one (1) case of a person being accused of being gay & then executed (not by being thrown off a roof) – but that was among a long list of other crimes, & their relatives say it’s a pretext/slander to cover internal hamas power struggle.

Not great, part of a larger tendency to be repressive toward some rival factions, but hardly „systematic persecution and executions of gays“.

While it’s not exactly Amsterdam, there is no systematic or legally encoded persecution. There are cases of ppl being shunned or kicked out by their family, but you can say the same about, say, Alabama.

I’ve come across various posts by LBTQ people who travelled there and were not especially harassed. One even wore a flag pin.

A common thing you hear is that ppl are too busy just surviving & ending their more general oppression to worry too much about stuff like holding a pride march.

2. It’s forbidden to teach the holocaust in Gaza

This should have you very suspicious if you’re aware how little control Palestinians actually have over their education system and how they’re often handed textbooks with pro-zionist curriculums that present the Nakba as good (!) - to the point that arab students in mixed town hear their teachers call them the „enemy“ & younger palestinian educators often have not heard of famous palestinian writers & poets.

Indeed the claim probably goes back to a single dispute about a single UN course on human rights where Hamas officials expressed concerns about a curriculum that might include the holocaust for fear of indoctrination & zionist propaganda.

(Not an unreasonable fear, if you’re aware of the racist textbooks issue.)

During the discourse, there was an individual Hamas official who made some statement to the effect that the holocaust was probably just another lie made up by the Zionist to justify taking their country.

The man hasn’t been in power for years, btw (a good thing, seeing as he seems ignorant & incendiary) – genuine L for that guy & Hamas for hiring him. Not defending him at all, that guy is an idiot. But its NOT a comprehensive ban on the subject at all (indeed many Palestinians you see online seem quite well-informed)

But note how the claim is often presented in a way to evoke western neo-nazis who have long been motivated to explain away the biggest argument as to why their ideology is a bad idea.

Can you really compare these situations, though?

Make no mistake: The holocaust defo happened.

But why do I know this? Because I’ve read books by survivors as well as accounts of US & russian soldiers who found the mess. I’ve been to Dachau on a school trip & the walls of the gas chambers still had nail marks on them. I’ve been to that house in prague where all the walls are covered in victim’s names. My grandmother saw the infamous auschwitz human skin lamp with her own eyeballs. Heck, her father in law narrowly survived by jumping out of one of those death trains.

Now, does an older arab guy in a besieged, impoverished enclave have access to that proof? It’s not like he can travel to europe & go to a museum.

Also, as someone who went to an european school, I remember being told precious little about the middle east and some of it was stereotypic bullshit. So why would an arab guy living under a much worse-funded education system know much more about european history?

He’s used to the zionists spouting 2+2 = 5 lies, propaganda & spin all the time, so if he doesn’t know a lot about europe, he might jump to the conclusion that this thing they use to justify the conquest of his home is probably a lie as well.

Quite different from an european neo nazi denying mountains of proof out of wounded pride. (or because he actually thinks it was nbd but can’t say so publicly)

It’s kinda like the way radfems refuse to believe that men aren’t making up all their problems...

Again, it’s an L for that hamas guy, kids have nothing to fear from learning accurate facts about foreign countries, I'll always be against censorship & pro free information.

But one (1) idiot politician saying something offensive does NOT equal the subject being explicitly banned from discussion in all gazan schools.

The claim also leaves out the context that since Hamas also provides schooling & welfare there’s a bit of a rivalry/power struggle between it & the aid orgs (golly gee, I wonder why a population utterly abandoned by the international community would distrust foreigners...)

Something that was very telling about the post is „liberate gaza so they can finally learn about the holocaust!“ like its this all-important thing - I mean, it IS very important… if you’re european or jewish, cause in that case it massively impacted your civilization and your own family history. But it wasn’t the only mass murder nor the worst by method (rwanda) or number (stalinist purges) & doesn’t have this magic objective value, europe isn’t the navel of the earth & the ppl aren’t wrong not to want eurocentrism shoved down their throats.

I do think everyone should be taught about the evils of discrimination but probably a more natural place to start might be the armenian genocide, since Palestine used to be Ottoman. Or examples of discrimination in the arab world (including against jews)

I mean in that instance the guy was most likely being paranoid & advancing some power strugle agenda, & I’d say he was in the wrong, but the touchiness & concern about indoctrination has a reason & one instance of complaining about one course does NOT equal a general ban on the subject in schools. (many of which, are, after all, run by international orgs)

Frankly, a people living in a walled ghetto probably already know more about the evils of discrimination than anyone who doesn’t.

Also, it’s very ironic for Israel to go accusing others of denying atrocities when even mentioning the Nakba can cost you your academic career.

There’s no Israeli teens going to Nakba Museum and indeed school books portraying it as good that are forced on the arabs as well.

Imagine if a Romani, Jewish or Polish person in modern day Germany were forced to look upon textbooks full of common Nazi apologia like „Hitler built the Motorways“, „But Dresden!“ and „We only lost WWI cause the socialists backstabbed us!“ (For the record, all of those are all bullshit.)

3. When Israeli settlers pulled out of Gaza, the first thing they did is raze the synagogues

Again, this is deliberately phrased to remind westerners or diasporic jews of neo-nazis throwing molotovs and the like (if only our governments did as much against those as they’re presently doing to slander anti-war protesters… ), to trigger immediate sympathy for Israel & portray gazans as a bunch of vandalizing hatecrimers.

As the previous claims, this is „very loosely based on a true story“ as in it technically did happen but there’s a lot of context missing, such as:

Israel demolished TONS of Mosques & Christian Churches during the Nakba, or worse, turned them into warehouses bars & factories.

Settlers did horrific violence to ppl in Gaza. In one example, a house was burned with a toddler still inside. Settlers mocked & harassed the kid’s grandfather

When they pulled out, they destroyed the entire settlement, infrastructure & farming equipment so the locals couldn’t use it

They even considered destroying the synagogues themselves but then left them as the only buildings standing & tried to have them declared unesco heritage (possibly a ploy to maintain a presence in the strip after all or leave a backdoor to return, creating a strategic incentive to destroy them so the settlers wouldn’t have an excuse to come back)

We are talking about blocky cement structures a new as the settlements, NOT historic buildings (unlike the destroyed Mosques & Churches)

religious symbols & cultic objects were removed when the settlers left. Obviously. Why would they possibly leave it?

So what do we have left?

Some people vented their rage at empty concrete buildings that had no religious items in them, had no history and were never going to be used again. - which they were somewhat justified as seeing as symbols of domination leaving their mark on „their“ home, like a cat’s territorial piss markings, so it might as well be interpreted as an act of defiance against colonial power.

Still technically vandalism against a religious building, not very diplomatic, do not recommend etc.

but at the same time rather different from the idea suggested by „the first thing they did is raze the synagogues“… for once thing, there was nothing else left to raze cause the Israelis already did it themselves, it was retaliation for Palestinian sacral buildings being trashed & a response to finding out that israelis would destroy good farm tools rather than let them have it, and it was an interchangeable concrete block empty of actual synagogue stuff. - whereas without the context you are probably imaging hooligans singling out the synagogues out of useful, intact buildings, a unique historic building being thrashed or the cultic objects & holy books being broken & desacrated, similar to historic cases of nazi arson or russian pogroms. That just didn't happen.

The double standard, too, is very telling: This act of vandalism means gazans are evil hatecrimers out to get all the jews & means they can't be negotiated or made peace with, but Israelis’ much more widespread & systematic destruction of churches & mosques is assigned no such interpretation. Golly gee I wonder why.

Again, the point here is NOT to portray local government as perfect & flawless (what government is?) or to say that none of this stuff was bad. But sporadic events are being inflated into nonexistent systemic patterns, as well as misrepresented to appeal to very particular tropes & cliches to blatantly manipulate ya'lls emotional reactions.

#gaza #free gaza #palestine #free palestine #israel #zonism #hasbara

[bllsbailey]

Biden Make Easter Sunday a Transgender Holiday

The White House is under fire after declaring Easter Sunday as "Transgender Visibility Day." It is a direct attack on the holiest day in the Christian faith. 

The Biden Administration also failed to post a proclamation about Good Friday. 

And they banned children from decorating White House Easter Eggs with religious images. As I wrote in my new book, "Twilight's Last Gleaming," I truly believe the Democrats hate Jesus Christ.

"I call upon all Americans to join us in lifting up the lives and voices of transgender people throughout our Nation and to work toward eliminating violence and discrimination based on gender identity," President Biden declared in the proclamation. "Today, we send a message to all transgender Americans: You are loved.You are heard. You are understood. You belong. You are America, and my entire Administration and I have your back."

The Trump campaign issued a blistering condemnation of President Biden's decision to turn Easter Sunday into a holiday honoring transgender people. The White House also drew fire over a decision to ban the children of National Guard members from creating Easter Eggs that included religious artwork. 

“It is appalling and insulting that Joe Biden’s White House prohibited children from submitting religious egg designs for their Easter Art Event, and declared Easter Sunday as ‘Trans Day of Visibility,'" Trump National Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told The Todd Starnes Show.

"Sadly, these are just two more examples of the Biden Administration’s years-long assault on the Christian faith," she added. "We call on Joe Biden’s failing campaign and White House to issue an apology to the millions of Catholics and Christians across America who believe tomorrow is for one celebration only — the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson also condemned the administration. 

"The Biden White House has betrayed the central tenet of Easter — which is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Banning sacred truth and tradition—while at the same time proclaiming Easter Sunday as “Transgender Day”—is outrageous and abhorrent," Johnson said. "This is why the American people are taking note."

As I wrote in "Twilight's Last Gleaming: Can America Be Saved?," the Democrats now worship at the altar of the LGBT religion and they pledge allegiance to the rainbow flag. 

"I have been saying for years that the LGBTQ movement is the religion of many in America," Dr. Paul Chappell, pastor of Lancaster Baptist Church in California, said.

"This declaration from the White House is a mockery to our Lord Jesus Christ. Every Christian should take note to witness with more fervency for our Savior and to live with integrity according to the Word of God. Let us worship the true and risen Christ today and every day,” the California pastor said. 

We are no doubt living in a nation where Christianity is under fierce attack. And the reason why is that freedom of religion is our foundational freedom. 

In “Twilight’s Last Gleaming” I contend that the ultimate enemy we are facing is Communism. And the Communists must eliminate and neutralize the churches in America before they can conquer the nation. 

That’s why there was such a massive backlash when former President Trump endorsed the “God Bless the USA Bible.” It wasn’t the Bible that triggered the Left. It was the president’s call for Americans to return back to God. 

"This Bible is a reminder that the biggest thing we have to bring back America and to make America great again is our religion," Trump said in a video message. "Religion is so important. It's so missing. But it's going to come back and it's going to come back strong, just like our country is going to come back strong."

During my interview with President Trump for"Twilight's Last Gleaming: Can America Be Saved?," the president reiterated the importance of faith in our nation

"Religion and Christianity are the biggest things missing from this country, and I truly believe that we need to bring them back and we have to bring them back fast," the president said in the video posted yesterday. "I think it's one of the biggest problems we have. That's why our country is going haywire. We've lost religion in our country. All Americans need a Bible in their home and I have many. It's my favorite book. It's a lot of people's favorite book."

The president also urged Americans to return to the faith of our Founding Fathers. 

"Let's make America pray again," he declared. 

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R-MS) blasted the Biden White House, calling the proclamation "an intentional attempt to insult and mock Christians across America."

"Shocking - but not surprising," the governor said. "In Mississippi, we will proudly celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the forgiveness of sinners."

"This is a direct assault on Christianity," Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-TN) said of Biden's proclamation. "It’s evident the left is determined to undermine our religion and traditions. This isn’t just blatant disregard, it’s intentional." 

And it is evil.

[streaming-yn]

hi! i'd like to request a platonic MtF trans y/n with Wilbur, and i'd also like to say i LOVE your posts. :D

Of course! Thank you for the support anon!! I'm so glad you enjoy my content! :D (also, I'm not sure if this is important to say but; I'm transmasc [writing this was so,, whoa yk? Not in a bad way ofc] so I know what trans stuff I'm talking about! Just flipped the other way around lmao) also!! HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!!! Kinda neat I got done with this during pride month I think! enjoy!!

Platonic!cc!Wilbur x MtF!reader

Pronouns: she/they

Other information on the reader:

. Variety streamer

. Minor

. Faceless

. Friends with Wilbur (obviously)

Warnings: hate (gets shut down quickly!), Transphobia (they get put in place tho), cussing

Form: headcanons

Summary: you and Wilbur are best friends! Your MtF trans and that can be really tough but it's okay you can get through it and Wilbur is here to help when you need it :)

Genre: platonic, angst (not a lot, just hate and transphobia but it doesn't last long!), Comfort :), fluff (?)

Abbreviations: y/n -> your name, u/n -> username (on twitch, Twitter, and in games!) (No streamer name for this! You're called by your name!)

You: *starts streaming*

LGBTQ+ Community flocking to you: omg hello my new comfort streamer

Okay but can we talk about your chat during the "starting soon!" Screen? It's kinda funny

Your chat on the waiting screen while you finish setting up stuff:

Hello!!!!

Hey lol *louder than everyone else*

Ahaha y/n you're so cool *trips over my enormous piles of money*

Y/N Y/N I WANT YOU TO KNOW I KNOW HOW TO COOK JUST THOUGHT ID LET YOU KNOW :)

I CAN ALSO CLEAN HAHA NOT SAYING THIS FOR ANY PARTICULAR REASON JUST LETTING YOU KNOW <3

Basically they're all just simps, the whole lot of them

At one time your chat was filled with "🎶yes I do the cooking, yes I do the cleaning🎶" over and over

At one point Wilbur was like um hey?? Guys?? That a little weird?? Y/n's a minor and some of y'all r adults.

Chats quick to reassure that they didn't mean in a disrespectful / creepy way and if you ever were uncomfy with it they would stop (most of them anyway, there's always the little bit of really really weird and creepy chat members, but they'd get banned immediately!)

You said that as long as it was 100% a joke, no adults were saying it, and they didn't actually see you as a girlfriend / wife or whatever else that would be romantic then that's fine! :)

Wilbur banned some people from your chat on that stream because adults were getting mad like "if it's a joke who cares if non-minors say it??" "If everyone can't say it then no one should" "I swear minors just hate adults for no reason!" Etc etc, just insulting your boundaries :\ dumb fucks istg bro

It's okay tho bc they're gone now! Now what're they gonna do? Complain on Twitter?? They gonna get their asses handed to them + multiple reports bc that's creepy as hell

Wilbur hypes up your posts all the time!!!!

You post a pic of yourself and he's like yes!!! Guys look at my best friend!!!!!!

Everyone thinks it's really cute :)

At one time?? Some1 tried cancelling him for pedophilia??? Bc he complemented you?????

You, Wilbur, and other users had to explain that compliments don't equal romantic attraction

Like if you can platonically date someone you can sure as hell platonically compliment someone!!

Y'all's dynamic >>>

Because like, it's loving but you're also asses to each other

Like y'all will hype each other up and call each other best friends and stuff

but at the same time, you tease each other, playfully insult each other, etc

and yeah yeah that's normal friend type stuff but look me in the eyes n tell me the whole of the mcyt fandom / fandoms close to mcyt (ex: someone who's friend with one, someone on the dsmp, etc etc) isn't / aren't obsessed with any friend dynamic, you can't (/nm /lh /hj)

by association you're friends with Tommy, Phil, Quackity, and Charlie! :) you record modded Minecraft videos with them sometimes!!

it's a lot of fun!

also when you join vc tommy starts yelling about how you're a woman!! and women are pog!!!! chat look at my friend who is also a women and she's really pog and you should sub to her and donate and just go check her out

it was great to hear :)

also! during pride month, your subtwt is just like

hey guys <3 guess what <3 y/n is trans and really cool so you should sub and follow and donate <33 and if you don't you're transphobic /j

you make sure to address it and say that as long as they add tone indicators to show they're joking and people aren't actually transphobic for not subbing/etc then it's all good! w/o the tone indicators it can cause major anxiety in some and you don't want that to happen

also only trans people are allowed to make the "sub or you're transphobic" joke because a cis person saying that is a little weird yk

but! they can do it with their own thing! like for example, if a pansexual (using this as an example since I'm pan!) that was a fan of yours was super excited for a sub goal you set up or something

then they could post "gift y/n subs or you're anti-pan/panphobic/ you hate pan people/etc /j" because theyre pan so it's not weird ^^

when you get recognized in public it's usually really positive!! :)

also when you're able to, Wilbur is happy to pay for top/bottom surgery if you want it!!

I'm not sure if I said this but Wilbur's really protective of you! you're like his little sister!

if you have a bad day then call him and you can either talk about it just to vent, talk about it while he give suggestions on how to fix what happened, or just him distracting you from it!

the most often form of distracting that he does is talking with you about things you like to get you to talk about them! he'll steer the convo since you're too stressed to do so but he'll steer it in a direction that you like yk?

(actually though! if youre having an anxiety/panic attack or just a stressful day, get a friend to do this!! it's really helpful and a good way to talk about things you probably don't get to talk about much! it's really helpful and relaxing :)! )

never talks about these phone calls unless you talk about them first, also doesn't give any information away that you haven't already said! h knows it's hard to be vulnerable and wants you to feel safe opening up to him :)

and what I mean by "doesn't give any information away that you haven't already said" is that like let's say you had a call with him the night before you streamed and you mentioned it, he would basically repeat what you said but differently, no new information would be available from what he said

example:

you: me and Wilbur were actually on call last night and didn't get off til late! and we started the call after I got home from school!

Wilbur: yeah, it was really late when we got off call, I heard her hold back a yawn or two I swear

stuff like that yk!!

ALSO WHEN YOU, WILBUR, AND TOMMY INTERACT ITS SO :))

cue fans crying over the sibling dynamic, also a lot of people being like "I WISH I HAD A SISTER LIKE Y/N / BROTHER LIKE TOMMY / BROTHER LIKE WIBUR"

yk how Wilbur goes "don't say that I will cry" when tommy says they're like brothers?

add you into the mix and it's like

tommy: we're- we're like brothers, wilbur!

Wilbur: don't say that, I will cry

you: yeah!! we're like a family I think!! :D

Wilbur: y/n- y/n i WILL cry-

also if your parents know your trans and are cool with it he buys you a trans flag for your room or even to hang up out front of your house if you prefer! :)

taglist; @cvsmixplant

#mcyt x reader #streamer!au #streamer!reader #streamer!y/n #fanfic #fic #headcanon #headcanons #wilbur soot x reader #wilbur x reader #trans! reader #trans!reader #mtf!reader #mtf! reader #writing #requested #asked and answered #platonic x reader #platonic #platonic fanfic #platonic!wilbur x reader #platonic!dsmp x reader #platonic!mcyt x reader

[formula-what]

Brocedes time line for a very patient anon

Lewis quotes in orange, Nico quotes in pink, everyone else is blue.

okay first some background knowledge:

Nico is rich as fuck. only child, born in Germany, brought up in Monaco. son of world champion Keke Rosberg

Lewis was born on a council estate in Stevenage and his dad had to work multiple jobs for him to start karting

Honestly I think the difference in their backgrounds is one of the things that pushed them together, they were both isolated from the rest of the kids, but I’m keeping this purely facts rather than speculation.

2000

They’re both 15 years old and are karting teammates for MBB (Mercedes Benz McLaren) in Formula A

Robert Kubica: “there was always competition. But they didn’t fight. It was friendly competition. There was always laughing afterwards.” // “they would even have races to eat pizza”

They often shared hotel rooms at the races which was a “scene of many wrestling matches between them”

Dino Chiesa (their karting boss) – “many times I was called by reception about some problem in the room. It might be noise, or they might have broken something. They would never sleep so they were always tired the next morning”

“they both liked ice cream so much, particularly vanilla. During the night they wanted to eat ice cream always, so I had to go out everywhere to find some and keep them happy”

Lewis would often persuade Nico to buy him sweets

They would have competitions over LITERALLY EVERYTHING

Lewis: “we always had great competition whether on the racetrack or computer games or playing football”

“probably the first bit of competition we had was when Nico used to ride a unicycle everywhere so I thought, ‘I’ve got to learn how to ride this unicycle. Ive got to be better than him.’ I spent all my time outside the go-kart learning to ride this unicycle”

Apparently it only took Lewis 2 hours to teach himself how to do it

In maybe 2013 ish (when they were still friends) Lewis reflected with– “I have never laughed so much than when we were racing together. Nico was kicking everyone’s butt at that time. We had so great races together and built a great relationship”

“we were just arriving and enjoying go-karts and eating pizzas every weekend, fighting all the time and just having fun, whereas now it’s all business.”

many times they would talk about what they would do when they got to f1, made plans hoping to be teammates and become world champions together.

“Nico would say ‘when I’m in formula one’ and for me it was always ‘if I ever get to formula one’. Because obviously Nico’s dad was a formula 1 driver- he knew he was going to make it.”

F1

Nico joined f1 in 2006 with williams, Lewis 2007 with McLaren. And man I WISH I knew what went down with this two when Lewis nearly one his rookie season (missing out by one point to mr fernando alonso) and then WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP in his SECOND SEASON (again by one point thank you mr alonso)

2008 Australia

Nicos gets his first podium, and ofc Lewis is there (he won it) and they are jumping around in the cool down room. Just, two kids who are literally living the one thing they have spent their whole lives dreaming about together. Lewis won the championship that year and oh wow I can only imagine their celebrations together.

2013

They’re teammates in Mercedes!!!

Nico: “every other day there are moments or things that pop up and I can smirk and thing, ‘that’s exactly the same as it was 15 years ago’”

2013 Malaysian Grand Prix gets an honourable mention. This is the race with red bulls good old multi 21 but merc also had their own team orders, stopping nico from fighting for his first merc podium, but Lewis disagreed with it so it didn’t really spark that much tension between them- more the team.

2014

the start of the turbo-hybrid era so y’all know this was good in terms of performance.

2014 Bahrain Grand Prix

They were both fighting for the win and had a collision which prompted a “mock fight” in parc ferme after the race (which I really hope there’s a video of).

Turns out, Nico won because he had used engine modes banned by Mercedes to get a power advantage in the closing laps. which kinda pissed Lewis off

2014 Spanish Grand Prix

Lewis’ fourth win in a row and took lead in the championship. They were fighting till literally the last second and Lewis crossed the line 0.6 seconds ahead of Nico, who says he could have passed him with one more lap.

Lewis defended using the same banned engine modes that Nico had used in Bahrain. Yeah.

2014 Monaco Grand Prix

This is IT. This is peak petty bitch. This is the one people still cry about.

It’s the end of Q3, both of them are out on a lap, Nico ahead of lewis. Nico’s already on provisional pole but Lewis is pretty close.

And then,, Nico just,, parks his car?? He says he made a mistake but the guy doesn’t even crash he straight up just,, rolls to a stop into a slip road. So the yellow flags come out forcing Lewis to abort a lap that was in the makings of pole.

The stewards say it was a-okay but Lewis was convinced it was intentional (and let’s be honest, yeah it probably was) and he even claimed that merc’s data proved it. (low key surprised he didn’t just tweet out the telemetry but I guess he got a stern telling off from mclaren last time)

But *this* is when Lewis tells the world that they aren’t friends anymore. An iconic interview.

Nico then wins the race too, ending Lewis’s four win streak and putting Nico in the lead of the championship.

2014 Hungarian Grand Prix

Lewis has an engine failure in quali meaning he starts from the pit lane, but he does good to make his way up the pack but THEN there’s a safety car which puts him ahead of Nico but on a different strategy.

Nico asks if Lewis can let him past as he needs to pit again before the end of the race, which will give him the place back anyways. Lewis straight up refuses, he’s on a role here. He started from last, and Nico started from pole, why should he slow down to let his title rival through.

Mercedes strongly suggest that his blocking fucked up Nicos race but Niki Lauda is on Lewis’ side so he doesn’t get punished (We stan a supportive father figure) even though he did blatantly refuse to be a team player.

And guys, this is the last race before the summer break so you know Nico was left seething for four weeks.

2014 Belgian Grand Prix

Second lap, Nico attempts a clumsy move and there’s contact, giving Hamilton a puncture and knocking him out of the race.

There’s a lot of controversy but basically it turns out he crashed with him intentionally, not backing out of the corner to “prove a point”. Nico ended up finishing second but was punished by the team, forced to apologise, and even booed on the podium.

2014 Abu Dhabi

For some reason it ran for double points?? The first time in History??? But idk???

Lewis had a perfect start and went on to win it and take the title, Nico had a problem and was told to retire the car but he kept going anyway and finished 14th. Nico went into the cool down room to congratulate Lewis on the championship win, which. cute.

Lewis claimed his second championship. Which not only was huge because of the inter team rivalry, but also because of the large gap between his first win. This guy had lost out on winning the championship in his ROOKIE season by ONE POINT, and then WON it in his SECOND season, and then there was like a FIVE YEAR gap before he won it again.

2015

Damnnn this car was fiiiinneeeeeee.

They do more laps in testing than any other car AND do it on a single power unit. And then. Australia. They take a one-two THIRTY FOUR seconds ahead of the third place Ferrari.

2015 Chinese Grand Prix

Nico is second in a one-two but claims that Lewis kept backing him up into Seb, trying to compromise his race (and help out his boyfriend).

Lewis gave zero shits: "It's not my job to look after Nico's race, it's my job to manage the car and bring the car home as healthy and as fast as possible. That's what I did."

2015 U.S. Grand Prix

If Lewis wins here he could also claim the title with three races to spare (you have to remember back then the title fight often went up to the last race so this was pretty cool)

Lewis very aggressively forced Rosberg wide at Turn 1 to claim the lead, and then there was some sexy fighting between the Mercs and Redbull all race. Nico led in the closing stages but made a mistake, running deep into a corner and letting Lewis past with only a handful of laps to go.

Nico finished P2 and had not only lost the race but the championship title. Nico was fuming, saying Lewis’ move at the start was “one step too far”.

This is the infamous cap throw in the cool down room. Lewis throws Nico his P2 hat, Nico straight up yeets it back at him. I tear up just thinking about it. They grow up so fast.

2016

Nico had came so close to winning and I guess this was just, the last straw. All or nothing. This year he literally gave it everything he had. Lewis and him stopped speaking, Nico gave up literally the rest of his life and even stopped sleeping in the same bed as his wife and taking care of his kids, instead spending every moment trying to get into Lewis’ head. Honestly, I think he might be the only one that could beat Lewis. Just because he knew him *so well*. He literally threw away like 16 years of friendship. But also it’s like, he had to be world champion. He *had to*. His dad was champion and his whole life he’s been preparing to win it too. Tough luck that he raced in the same era as Mr. Best Driver The Sport Has Ever Seen.

Nico won the last few races of 2015, and the first four races of 2016. Lewis had a couple car problems and Nico had a good lead on him in the championship.

2016 Spanish Grand Prix

Gentlemen. A short view back to the past. Nico had made a switch error on the formation lap causing the car to go into the wrong engine mode. So he was running a lot slower than Lewis, who was fighting to claim back the lead.

Nico closed the door to keep him back, and Lewis lost control on the grass, and spins into Nico and taking them both out of the race in the first lap. This is probably one of the most iconic crashes. I’m pretty sure there’s a clip of this somewhere in black and white with the titanic music over the top.

Niki Lauda blamed this one on Lewis (I guess even a supportive dad has to be critical sometimes) "Lewis is too aggressive. It is stupid, we could've won this race".

2016 Austrian Grand Prix

Nico had been struggling with a brake issue all race but was still on the way to win it. But in the last lap Lewis had caught him up and gone in for the overtake.

Typical Nico not taking any shit, refusing to be the guy that backs out and they collide. Lewis took the win and a damaged Nico dropped to fourth. From first. In the last lap.

Both of them blamed each other and tired dad team boss Toto Wolff threatened team orders in future races.

The stewards blamed Nico for the incident, issuing him two penalty points for failing to allow "racing room" and causing a collision.

2016 Abu Dhabi

In the final laps of the race, Lewis ignored team-orders from his race engineer and the technical director.

He deliberately slowed and backed Nico into the pack hoping they overtake him, and there would be enough of a points difference to win the title.

Nico finished second and won the title by five points.

And then,,, Nico announced a surprise retirement during the FIA prize giving ceremony.

Lewis’ response:

"This is the first time he's won in 18 years, hence why it was not a surprise that he decided to stop.” (We stan a petty king)

“But he's also got a family to focus on and probably wants to have more children. Formula One takes up so much of your time."

“In terms of missing the rivalry, of course because we started karting when we were 13 and we would always talk about being champions. When I joined this team, Nico was there, which was something we spoke about when we were kids. So it's going to be very, very strange, and, for sure, it will be sad to not have him in the team next year."

And now they are kind of on speaking terms but not really, they are both pretty private but I think they are at the ‘awkward small talk when we run into each other at the supermarket’ stage of the break up.

#this got a lot longer than it should have been #long post

[theramseyloft]

I revere pigeons. Their care and history is my special interest and they occupy my mind almost all the time. The knowledge that someone is deliberately hurting and neglecting ones they've stolen from caring, safer environments and people that were concerned for their wellbeing has me crying. Imagine being so empty as a person, to go so far as to injure a pigeon for imaginary internet points and attention.

I have been trying to work up the energy to write a post about this for weeks.

Christmas eve of 2018, my business page was contacted by some one looking for birds. 

In January 2019, he let slip that he was a minor, and that his parents were adamantly opposed to him having birds.

Minors whose parents are not fully supportive of their choice of pet are a hard no in my screening process. He kept asking questions as if preparing to care for birds he expected me to sell or adopt to him, and every time, I would ask to speak to his legal guardian. He did everything he could, from telling me his mom would call me later, to eventually calling my personal phone in the middle of the night to try and coerce me into sneaking him birds under the cover of darkness. I got to the point where I would only answer his questions about available birds with "Have your legal guardian ask me." About this time, Palomacy's head, Elizabeth, came to me privately to warn me not to adopt to him. I know she thinks breeders will do anything for a sale, but my screening process for babies I have hatched is every bit as strict as my screening process for rescues. I told her I had no plans to. But confessed that I’d had a troubled history of using rescue as a coping mechanism for an abusive home situation when I was in college, and felt obligated to mentor him. I was also taken in by the charming 'enthusiastic teen who really wants to learn' facade that he's so artfully developed. So, when he used a different name to get into the Small Scale Rescue and House Pet/Therapy pigeon discord servers, and let slip who he was by accident, I was content to let him stay, hoping that the information we share would help him develop into a better care taker. But more and more red flags started popping up.

One pigeon’s bare neck, claimed to have been a wonky molt, but inflamed and bristling with filoplumes (The avian equivalent of whiskers;thin hair like feathers that also fall out during that heavy a molt)

The same bird claimed to have eaten playdough and thrown it up, in a photo with a cage full of green, moldy poop. (Where did the bird get playdough? Why was it allowed to get far enough to swallow it?)

The same bird claimed to have coins and chunks of carrot pulled out of his crop (things a pigeon can’t physically swallow unaided)

In every progressive photo, the feathers are thinner and more bedraggled and the bird himself was losing weight.

That pigeon mysteriously vanished, only got him to get two more, and mention nonchallantly after the fact that “Oh, puff died last week.”

His new pet pigeons, who supposedly lived in their own room in his house, got out while he was moving a couch.

He got, and promptly lost two other rescue birds from the rescue I posted about late in the summer that was shut down by her city and urgently needed homes for their birds.

When told Great Lakes Pigeon Rescue was going to be warned about adopting to him, this is what he posted on my education server:

He had his eye on a bird of mine (Frito), talking him down like he was undesirable or unadoptable, and reasoning that I’d have a hard time finding a home for him because of his bad personality.

Frito washed from therapy training due to INTENSE dislike of his harness.

That, and that he had developed a strong independent streak and prefered the company of other birds to people were the first things I told Brysen when he asked after that specific bird.

In one channel of the server, he would be talking to me about how he didn’t mind Frito just being a pretty house bird and would be ok if he never warmed up to being handled...

While, in another, he would be posting harnesses, asking if they would work for Frito, and asking other residents how to make an independent bird get used to being handled.

When I called him on it, he came into my DMs with this mess:

(The turn around in tone in the 12 hours I was too angry to respond is almost funny..)

Remember that rescue from earlier?

These are screenshots of her conversation with him (used with permission) about the birds that were lost, sent to the person in charge of Palomacy, where he was an active member on their platform at the time, to warn that he was preying on rescues to get more birds:

This conversation clearly illustrates that he was using us and Palomacy only to adapt the way he preys on rescues.

There is a reason he preys on rescues. We are hopeful for people to improve. So he expects infinite chances from us. And he expects that a correctly worded apology will erase any consequences. He preys on pigeons because there are no laws in the US concerning their welfare. Despite being domestic animals (the pigeons brought by Europeans to North America had been domesticated for thousands of years, and there were no natives of the same species or even in the Columba genus to mix back with); Pigeons are under the jurisdiction of the Department of Natural Resources, which governs wildlife, and legally classifies them as an invasive pest. The Department of Agriculture is the one that presides over domestic animals and investigates animal cruelty. They may only act for the welfare of pigeons under the specific circumstance of the pigeons in question being meat breeds bred for squab intended for human consumption via restaurants. In any other instance, killing a pigeon by any means, including torture, is legally equivalent to pest control. There are no legal consequences for it.

After I blocked and banned him, it came to light through several sources in personal contact with him that he maimed, killed, and discarded 25 birds that we know of, and he is still trying to get more.

Several people who denied him birds shared screen shots with us proving that they were also sexually harassed and threatened with sexual violence by him.

Several of the people who came to us told us that they had also tried to warn Palomacy, but their comments were immediately erased.

Brysen was allowed to continue to speak openly on their platform with no consequences, allowing him to truthfully say that he was being mentored by Palomacy to lull smaller rescues into a false sense of security and convince them to give him birds.

They had two articles on their website about what a wonderful young rescuer he was, only taken down after they tried to claim I had doxxed an innocent child, and it was pointed out to them that their public articles had his full current address, date and place of birth, and a photo of him in front of his house. I had beef enough with the organization before this that I will not go into on this post, but I am disgusted by the way Elizabeth silenced her own admins and community members from warning other rescues and individuals and tried to shut the rescue up who sent the above screen shots when she came forward about the birds he tricked her into bringing to Ga who were immediately killed. And then blamed her for their deaths. @tutu.pigeon brought me those screen shots the day after I banned him and one of my server mods took it upon themself to be a voice for his other victims by creating the Instagram @exposing_helluva_duv What ever respect I might have had for Palomacy is permanently destroyed.

You cannot call yourself a rescue if you cover for a serial abuser, actively prevent his victims from warning the rest of their community, and then blame those victims for having been taken advantage of.

The harm that that, combined with everything else I have beef with, has done so out weighs any good that I can no longer, in good conscience, attempt to put aside our differences and meet in the middle.

I’m not gonna waste the energy to start any shit, and I don’t think any one else should either. 

But I’m done trying to be any degree of supportive to them.

Gonna put my energy into encouraging more small shelters so there are better options.

[dreamties]

Slashers W/ a Punk S/O

T/W- q*eer is used a few times- in a positive, self affirming kind of way. But I can add other trigger warnings if needed. :)

A/n- Literally no one asked for this, but I wanted to make more HCs like the soft pastel one...so I just went wild and made them. 

I included a little bit of punk culture into this as well, because it’s not just about the fashion, but since there’s such a vast variety within punk culture I mostly stuck with my experiences in the community, and some bits and pieces from documentaries(mostly live footage from “The Decline of Western Civilization”).

Characters: Billy/Stu, The Lost Boys, Norman Bates, Michael Myers

Will make one(s) for Brahms, Amanda, Helen or Daniel if asked

Billy Loomis + Stu Macher

so early 90s, the Riot Grrrl movement emerges

bands like Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, Heavens to Betsy or Sleater-Kinney

it’s a very female-powered oriented movement, but I notice that a lot of minorities tend to be drawn to this music and community (LGBT folks, people of color, etc).

both boys, and yourself, being outside of the norm and all (polyamorous relationship, gay/bi) are sort of drawn to it!

and sure there’s a lot of really great queercore/homocore bands, and there’s probably a good LGBT+ punk scene out there somewhere, but in a little town like Woodsboro? Hell no. Sticking with this fem punk movement, while again mostly a space for women in music- it’s the most accepted the three of you have felt outside of you’re relationship. 

you’ve always been pretty into the music, stuff like Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, or the short-lived Germs- but it wasn’t until you stumbled upon Riot Grrrl that you really got into it. 

the music, making zines about local-ish political issues(probably not so much Woodsboro stuff, more Cali in general and neighboring towns) and a few ones with queer themes and hand-drawn illustrations of your partners, and DIYing all your clothes

since you’re so experienced with DIYing your clothes and sewing on patches, you’ve helped repair the Ghostface costumes on numerous occasions. they kind of adore this(Stu is the only one that will- and does, frequently- admit that)

Let’s face it, the three of you do everything together- but you especially enjoy when Stu tags along for thrift dates. 

he’s the more fashionable one, and he makes the whole experience more enjoyable- cracking jokes and just being his all-around goofy self.

Woodsboro is a very little town, so they don’t have much...but they do have a few small stores- usually you’ll make a whole day/date out of it though. driving to the next town or so over, since they have more stores and a better selection, and spending hours looking for cheap, old t-shirts, belts, clothes with funky patterns. heading out for pizza after.

Billy’s more likely to get into the music and everything with you(he’s kinda,, angsty, no offense to him)- will definitely go to shows with you.

just- imagine Billy in ripped jeans. and he’d have like one or two patches sewn on to it- one of them is your all time favorite band, and the other is a band that he found on his own time, and actually really enjoyed.

Stu is dragged along with you guys, you can’t just leave him at home- he’s gonna feel left out and sad. :(

He’s mostly there to keep y’all company- he really likes the energy of the shows though!

the two of them are such a chaotic duo though, so much so that you have definitely been kicked out or banned from a few venues. all for varying reasons. good grief these men can not be tamed.

The Lost Boys

as we all know, these vampires are total punks. so they’re gonna appreciate having a s/o who’s also into that whole scene.

How you meet:

you’re a baby punk, and it’s your first show ever, and you look so nervous. you’re dressed up in pretty plain clothes, a single homemade patch for your favorite band barely hanging to your jacket side(you were mid-way sewing it, when you realized you were gonna be late if you didn’t leave asap).

it’s a few local bands, ones you’d never really heard of really. you look anxious. but when they start playing? you look so unapologetically yourself, you’re so in the moment dancing- it’s completely mesmerizing to the boys. the music isn’t even that good, but you seem to be having the time of your life.

they greet you after the show, and you’re a tiny bit flustered- cause gosh, heck, they saw you. dancing. so embarrassing. 

David is the one that introduces himself and the group, and initiates conversation. Dwayne’s a pretty quiet guy, so he just listens to what you have to say. 

Marko’s pretty excited about you, and initiates in some small conversation, he may have complimented your little patch(Marko- patch jacket KING, complimenting your jacket?? more likely than you’d think) 

and oh, oh- Paul is out there being a total chatty-cathy, and is absolutely bombarding you with questions. like, okay, Paul is pretty talkative, but the other vamps are a little worried that he’s scared you off. and you had seemed so cool :(

you end up pretty engaged in your convo with Paul though, even if all the attention is overwhelming. He ends up snagging a date for the five of you the following week.

once you start hanging out/dating:

y’all just hit it off so well those first few days. they all love how sweet & shy you are- but also how much of a badass punk babe you are.

Marko helps make your patch jacket(collecting ones for bands you enjoy, how to make your own, sewing them on, etc). you probably could have done it w/out his help, but my gosh- you weren’t going to pass up this opportunity. Marko gets really soft around you sometimes, since he doesn’t really do this activity with anyone else, it’s saved for you. 🥺🥺

Dwayne likes listening to you talking about the local scene(outside of the shows you go to- mostly about stuff he can’t attend, protests and meetings during the daylight.)

all of them(especially David) are very protective of you. I mean, generally. but also when you go to shows. they let you do whatever the heck you’re gonna do, but the mere second that someone even thinks about starting shit w/ you?? well, y’know. those vampire instincts kick in.

the four of them obviously share a lot of similar tastes in music- but they all have different favorite bands, & fave parts of the community. which, they can’t even fully participate in,, but it’s okay.

they, individually, introduce their favorite bands to you. and they get it in their head that oh, they said they liked it. they must like it as much as I do. and awkwardly coming out to the four of them, as they argue about your favorite band, “Well, actually- this *insert band they’ve never heard of or barely listen to* is my favorite.” and their just kinda like, oh, okay. please tell us more about them. 

so it’s sorta like,, you’ve been learning all this cool knowledge from them, now you get to share cool knowledge with them.

idk. I think it’s cute. 💕

Norman Bates

so first off- let’s just pretend Psycho was in at least the 70s/80s for a moment. because realistically- the punk subculture didn’t really exist back then.

baby boy is absolutely fascinated by the way you dress (mother is less thrilled though)

imagine your jacket is getting a bit weathered, and needs some repairs- so he helps you to sew edges closed, and make sure the patches aren’t on too loose, etc

he enjoys hearing your stories of all the past shows you’ve gone to. you always get so excited about them, and he finds that so endearing. But he pretty much leaves the actual punk scene to you because of these stories.

he was already worried from the stories, and made sure you were well prepared for any trouble every time you left for a show.

but one time, you were able to get him to join you. never again though. he was so nervous!

the music was too loud! and he could hardly understand what they were saying- it was so confusing!

you stayed with him most of the night, standing near the back, holding his hand. he’d gently bob his head to the music occasionally. 

but you accidentally found yourself swept into the crowd, but you looked so blissed-out in the moment, that he figured it would be okay for you to dance* over there for a little bit...right?  

*Norman is still unsure if you’d even call that dancing.

Thankfully, nothing bad happened in the mosh pit.

you gotta give him lots of attention and reassurance afterwards though- you almost scared Norman half to death D:

He’s happy enough helping you out and listening to you though- and that’s okay for you, too. you still love each other lots, even if this particular interest doesn’t overlap.

Michael Myers

he thinks you’re outfits are pretty interesting. 

he’s a little worried at first, when you start experimenting with putting things like safety pins in your ears. cause like- that’s not supposed to be in your ear, Y/n, what the fuck

if you make zines at all, Michael really enjoys watching you make the illustrations for them(not that he’ll admit to it though), and helps to find newspaper and magazine clippings to incorporate into the spreads.

you always show michael the final booklet before distributing it

he doesn’t talk a lot, so he doesn’t ask questions- but he often does the little head tilt once you give it to him. since he’s not very privy to current events, and a lot of your zines are political, you spend a lot of time explaining them in depth.

he has no use for any of this knowledge, but he listens on, intently.

Important note:

dear god do not bring this man to concerts and local shows with you.

it is a nightmare, to say the least

Michael is sort of,, emotionless sometimes, doesn’t really care for people at all, and if he does? definitely not in the same way most people do. 

so imagine combining that part of michael, the fact that he’s also a giant stabby man, with super loud, energetic- almost aggressive- sounding music and a bunch of strangers that aren’t respecting any personal boundaries. 

you need to keep him at the back of the venue- lest your local scene may go missing.

#billy loomis x reader #stu macher x reader #billy loomis x reader x stu macher #billy x reader x stu #slasher x s/o #slasher imagines #slasher x reader #the lost boys #the lost boys x reader #michael myers x reader #scream #poly!ghostface x reader #halloween 1978 #halloween #psycho #norman bates x reader #the lost boys david #the lost boys david x reader #the lost boys dwayne x reader #the lost boys paul x reader #the lost boys marko x reader #marko x reader #david x reader #dwayne x reader #paul x reader #slasher movies #slashers #slasher #slasher headcanons #headcanons

[oh-mother-of-darkness]

Hello. I am, as you know, an American. I turned eighteen in 2014, voted in my first presidential election in 2016, and voted in my second presidential election last week via early voting in the state of Texas. 

I’m reflecting right now on the difference between those experiences. This is going to be a very self-indulgent essay. 

The 2016 election was in my third and final year of undergrad at Texas A&M University. At the time, I was living with a roommate who grew up in a town of 2,000, all of them members of her church. I loved her very much, but she was the most sheltered person I’ve ever met. 

I was only a few years ahead of her. My home growing up was deeply liberal about many of the things that counted, but deeply conservative on equally important things. For me, leaving for college was a radicalization speed-run.

I, a good Memphis girl, moved to Texas and encountered for the first time in my life white homogeny and everything that comes with it. I made most of my friends at A&M through a Christian orientation camp that I attended, then worked at. I went to school at a history department that was overwhelmingly male and war-obsessed. 

My second semester, I was randomly sorted into a writing seminar on the American Civil War and Reconstruction. There were eight other students in that class, all of them Texans. By day two I had gotten into a open fight with one of my classmates after he used the phrases “one of the humane parts of slavery” and “the secession declarations are moving and beautiful appeals, if you read them,” and “well I’m not going to criticize my own state.”

We got into at least one yelling match per week from that point forward. It was a formative experience for me-- not just him but the seven other students that took his side every time because they just couldn’t conceptualize anything outside of their own experiences, and frankly, I couldn’t either. 

It rocked my world to be surrounded by people who told me, among other things, that their high schools flew the Confederate battle flag or Lee was their all time role-model (because he actually didn’t want to secede! He didn’t believe in it, but Virginia did, so he put his own qualms aside and served his country, and that’s what we all have to do). I ran a survey once by knocking on every door in a dorm hall and asking the two people inside why the Civil War happened. 

I feel like you can guess the most common answer I got. Only two said slavery. Six didn’t know what the Civil War was. 

The last week of the semester, my class read a collection of recorded oral accounts of freed slaves during Reconstruction. My nemesis told me that he “didn’t realize black people actually had it bad.” At the same time, I was struggling with my sexuality, my relationship to my religion, my relationship with my parents, and a handful of newly-diagnosed but long-existing mental illnesses. I wasn’t having fun. 

Over the next three years, I tried my hardest to humanize the people that said disgusting things about minorities, poverty, and me personally. I barely won on that one, and I’m actually really proud that I did, even if it took me a few years. I can trace the biggest change in me directly to my nemesis from the history department, the kid that made me so mad that I started arguing back. I was too scared to do that before. 

By 2016, I was in full existential spin-out-- a very suddenly liberal kid fighting my whole family, all of my classmates, and most of my friends in an explosive political climate, the first I had ever participated in. 

I voted by Tennessee absentee ballot in 2016. On election night, I ordered takeout for me and my roommate, who I knew had voted red. Confident, like pretty much everybody, that Clinton would win, I was trying to show her that I didn’t hate her. She went to bed after dinner, also so certain that Clinton would win that she didn’t bother to stay up. 

I sat in front of my laptop sewing a birthday present for a friend (Kenza, actually), while the votes came in. I wasn’t super alarmed when the map turned red. I just figured the blue states hadn’t finished counting yet. 

The map didn’t get any bluer. By 1am, I knew what was about to happen. They called it an hour later, while I was sobbing on my floor. I threw up in the bathroom out of pure anxiety. I got two anonymous messages telling me the asker was going to commit suicide. Neither of them responded to my replies. I don’t actually know what happened to them. 

I remember riding the bus to class the next morning and distinctly seeing that most of the racial minorities there had swollen eyes from crying. The girl with the pride stickers all over her laptop didn’t show up that day, and I’m kind of glad she didn’t, considering the way some of our classmates in the back were loudly talking about “the gays.” Hope she’s okay.

My roommate came home completely unaware that Clinton lost. I was crying in my room when that happened. I remember showing her a demographic map of who voted which way. She got visibly upset when she figured out what races how. I think she really did feel guilty. 

That Thanksgiving, one of my cousins tweeted, “I can’t wait to go argue with my liberal cousin today. The wins. Keep. Coming,” an hour before he walked into my house. Inauguration day was January 20, 2017. I decided to go to law school a week later, the day the president signed the Muslim ban. That’s when I figured out for the first time just how much power the courts have. The last three years have only enforced that. 

I got angrier and angrier during law school, egged on by a few friends but more than anything just... finally conscious of exactly how the American system works and exactly who’s behind it. I still live in Texas, farther west now, and I’m working my first legal job. I’m going to be a licensed attorney next week. 

I went back and forth for months about how this election was going to shake out. I knew there wasn’t going to be an overwhelming red majority this time, but my big fear was an election close enough that the Supreme Court could take it. That fear doubled last month, at RBG’s death. 

I was hoping for a blue enough victory on election night that there wouldn’t be a week of uncertainty, but that was unlikely, and it didn’t happen. I obsessively refreshed my election map all of Wednesday and Thursday, aware that at least some states would flip after mail-in ballots came in, but unsure which would. 

Again, my great fear was a blue victory held down by only one state. Given (I would say “any” chance here, but I don’t mean “any” chance because genuinely jurisdiction or facts or legal merit don’t matter to the Supreme Court) an opportunity to make one (1) decision that hands over a red election, please know that a conservative supermajority would take it. I cannot emphasize enough how true that is and how important it is for all of us to grasp that. 

Watching Georgia flip was one of the best experiences of my life, and it’s a little hard for me to articulate why, but I’m going to give it a shot here. I’m southern. I’m from the South, and for this conversation it’s really important that I’m from Memphis, a black city and a center of black music and culture. 

When people think about the South, they think of the white South, and on some level, they should. It is absolutely essential to understand the white South in order to understand American history. Let me be 100% clear here. That is not a good thing. American majority history is not good. We are not a good country. 

It’s near-impossible to understand why that’s true without knowing exactly what happened in the white South and exactly what is still happening there now. With that, however, is another truth that most folks don’t get. 

The SouthTM is white and needs to die. The South as it actually exists is partially white yes, but it is also everyone else that lives here, particularly black folks. Southern culture is black, not white. Georgia flipped because the people that have always, always been there finally got to crack apart the conservative machine holding the South hostage. 

That’s amazing. It’s fucking mind-blowing. I watched it happen at 3:30 in the morning days after Election Day, and holy shit holy shit, Georgia flipped. Atlanta won. Holy fucking shit. 

I would be terrified right now if only Georgia flipped, because SCOTUS would have found a way to throw out a few thousand votes. Inevitable. Absolutely certain on that one. 

With a few states of buffer, I don’t think that’s going to happen. I really do think it’s over. 

I came home after work on Friday and immediately went to sleep because I hadn’t really done that since Tuesday. I woke up at noon today, checked the map, checked my messages, and saw what happened while I was gone. After that, I went back to bed until 5:30pm. I’m really just getting up now, after most of 24 hours asleep. 

I don’t know if I would say that I’m happy right now, but I am overwhelmingly relieved. I’m under no illusions that a Biden victory will solve everything, but I also do think this is a real thing to celebrate. I’ll take suggestions on how to celebrate right now, actually, since I’m finally awake. 

I’ll be angry forever, I think, but this is a good thing, and I’d like to enjoy it. If you’re happy right now, hey, tell me about it. I’ll be thrilled with you. I want to hear it. Congrats to all of us. Love y’all. 

#that's me rambling thanks and gig em #there are some things to tag here huh #uspol #politics #suicide #this would be a good time to remind everybody that i am white #so take that into account re: Georgia #personal i guess #not comics sorry

[dramaticviolincrescendo]

(How to Break the) Alibi Armistice

So, @gallavictorious and I were talking about the logistic problems with Mickey and Terry (a) wanting to brutally murder one other and (b) frequenting the same places. (Read: The Alibi Room.) Could be sorted by Terry just going the hell away, of course, but where's the fun in that? (Okay, sure, there's some fun in Mickey murdering the shit out of Terry, but that's such a simplistic solution and we're sophisticated women. Also, you can only kill him once, but you can make his life miserable forever.)

Anyway. We're thinking it might go down a little like this:

The first time they see Terry after the wedding is at the Alibi. He isn’t alone, but he’s the only one that matters considering the whole burning-down-their-venue debacle. And yeah, they could probably have played it cool, ignored him —  not like he’d do something with a whole bar full of witnesses, right? But Ian still suggests they go home or come back later, which Mickey is not having.

“I’ve been drinking here since I was fourteen. I’m not fucking leaving. He tries to start shit, I will sink his teeth so deep into that bar that he’ll be shitting splinters for weeks.” 

So that’s that. 

Mickey heads to the bar, but before he can order, Terry does indeed step in to start shit. Mickey doesn’t really pay attention to what he says — something about not serving pansies here or whatever the fuck. He’s too busy cataloguing the various ways he can get Terry alone for a few minutes in the alley before Ian wises up. Then he realizes that oh, they’re already in each other’s faces and oh, they’ve got each other by the collar. The fuck did that happen?

Things would have turned bloody then – which would have suited Mickey just fine – had Kev not stepped in and calmly declared that if either of them started whaling on the other, they'd both be banned from the bar. Forever. 

That actually gives them pause. The Alibi's a shit hole, but it's their shit hole and has been for a long time.

Terry's blood-shot eyes turn from Mickey to Kev; the malevolence remains. “You try to stop me from coming here, I'll come back with a goddamn flame-thrower.”

If Kev is unnerved, he doesn't show it. “I don't wanna stop anybody from coming here. But if you do, you have to play nice. No murdering each other. No violence.”

And of course, Mickey is far from amused because, “You came to our fucking wedding, but you won't take sides when the asshole who tried to murder us picks a fight?” Deep down, though, he gets it. The Alibi Room has always been neutral ground. Besides, it's not like Terry's fucking joking about burning the thing down, so. It is what it is.

And maybe no one likes it, maybe no one is totally happy in the end, but they both reluctantly agree, to everyone else's great relief. Kev doesn't try anything as stupid as making them shake hands; he just waits until Terry has retreated to the pool table before pouring Mickey a beer and a shot and asking Ian how's work. 

That’s how the truce is born.

It even lasts for a while, to the utter bafflement of everyone on the South Side, from the transplanted gentrifying assholes to the lifers. Truth be told, it’s mostly due to neither party having much opportunity, or reason, to break the rules. When Ian and Mickey are at the Alibi, Terry generally isn’t; they assume that he visits during their longer stints drinking at home when the money is tighter and Kev less free with the booze. 

Sometimes, Ian will see him there when he stops in on his own, and they ignore each other like they always have whenever Terry isn’t suspecting Ian of sleeping with one of his kids—or catching him at it. Other times, Mickey’s the one who spots him, but Terry doesn’t seem very interested in forcing a confrontation when Mickey’s husband isn’t standing beside him like the tallest, orangest fucking pride flag in Chicago. Doesn’t mean Mickey isn’t occasionally tempted to stick his foot up the bastard’s ass, but Kev always manages to shoot him a glance in silent reminder and he grudgingly downs his glass before hightailing it out every time.

It works. They drink, and nobody leaves in a body bag. All in all, the ceasefire is a success: Kev gets to run his business in peace, and while nobody really wins, nobody really loses either. 

At least not until peace gets boring as hell. 

It happens on a Thursday, and the evening starts off just like any other night they've managed to ditch their responsibilities at the house: they meet up at the Alibi after work for drinks and a chance to be just Ian and Mickey rather than uncles/brothers/responsible adults. Like any other night, they're talking and laughing and Ian has one beer, Mickey three.

It's not very exciting, maybe, but it's theirs and it's nice – until Terry steps through the door with Uncle Ronnie in tow. It takes the evil fucker all of two seconds to spot Mickey, then spot his husband too, seated in one of the booths at the far side of the room. For a moment, father and son simply stare at each other, and had anyone else dared to look for more than the briefest of moments, they'd have seen the cold rage slowly give way to cunning malevolence on Terry's face. He doesn't say anything; he orders a beer and heads straight for the pool table and tells Uncle Ronnie to rack up. 

And then Terry starts talking. Keeping his eyes on the game, on Uncle Ronnie, on anything that isn't Ian and Mickey—he talks, loudly and at length, of what he did to this queer and that, in prison and outside. 

These...are not nice stories. Not very detailed, true, but...yeah. They're not nice.

There's a hush growing in the bar, as patron after patron falls silent, and their eyes dart between the foulmouthed man by the pool table and his son, still and stone-faced at a table nearby. Behind the counter, Kev stands frozen in the process of wiping down a foggy glass, watching and waiting to see if he should grab the broom now or later. 

“He's just trying to provoke you,” Ian says urgently, and his voice is almost steady in spite of it taking damn near everything he has not to get up and run Terry through with the damn cue stick. “He wants you to go for him. Break the truce, get barred.” 

His eyes are on Mickey's face, intent and ready to jump into action the second Mickey makes his move. 

“Yeah, I know.” 

And here's the thing: Mickey sounds calm. This doesn't reassure Ian, because Mickey calm sometimes just means him taking a second to savor the fact that he's about to unleash absolute hell, but then Mickey shifts his gaze from his utter asshole of a father and to Ian. There's a small smile on his lips; it's a sharp thing, true, but a smile all the same. “He wants fucking queer? We'll give him fucking queer.” And he reaches out for Ian and pulls him into a long, hard kiss.

It takes a second for Ian’s brain to reboot enough to break away, hissing, “In front of your dad?!”

“The fuck’s it look like?”

“He’s gonna kill you. Then I’ll be a widower for three seconds until he kills me.”

Mickey’s eyebrows don’t slam into his hairline, but it’s a near miss. “What, are you scared, Gallagher?”

Ian…isn’t. He used to be scared of Terry back when they were kids and he was this dark, shadowy figure who could make Mickey do whatever he wanted simply by virtue of being his father. But they are past that. Terry, like Frank, is old. Terry, like Frank, doesn’t have any power over his kids now. Terry is a blot on their past, but he has no bearing on their future. 

Which is exactly what Mickey’s getting at. 

So Ian shrugs and Mickey nods like he did at the docks, not having to say uh huh, that’s what I thought.

And he leans back in because hey, if Terry does kill them, at least they’ll make it worth the trouble. 

It’s a little awkward, what with the table between them, but they have long been pros at not being kept apart. Leaning over the table, Ian cradles the back of Mickey’s head; Mickey’s hand is on Ian’s neck and the other on his upper arm, clutching at the fabric of his jacket. There's nothing chaste about this, nothing sweet. It's desire and defiance, lips and tongues and teeth, Mickey's fingers digging into Ian's arm, Ian's twisting in Mickey's hair as he pulls him closer, closer, closer. 

(It's another thing Ian blames and hates Terry for. Mickey loves to kiss, loves being kissed, and yet he wouldn't allow it, not for their first year and not for much of their second. No matter how often they stop for a playful peck or something more serious and passionate now, they'll never make up for those lost years and all the kisses they should have shared then.

They sure as hell can try, though.)

It goes on and on. The initial frustration shifts into something softer and more real as any thought of Terry – or anyone – fades and becomes a faraway thing. There is Mickey and there is Ian, and the taste and the smell and feel of the other, and they've done this a thousands times and yet – 

And yet.

And yet it takes a distant vibration and the sound of glass on wood before they hear Kev clear his throat. “Uh, he’s gone. Been gone for ten minutes.” 

Mickey pulls back first and leans over to see past Ian’s shoulder that yeah, Terry’s gone. Nobody appears to be talking about him or them either, so Kev probably isn’t exaggerating about how long they’ve obliviously been at it, especially considering he’s got that dumb smirk on and won’t meet their gazes as he turns back towards the bar. 

And speaking of dumb, Ian is still staring at him like he did after their first kiss, all gooey and gross as if they haven’t done this so often that none of the Gallaghers even complain anymore. Jesus. Leave it to Ian not to have learned how to play shit cool after all these years. 

But what can a guy do when Mickey’s husband is watching him like he farts rainbows, and like he doesn’t give a shit about why they’d attacked each other’s faces in the first place? Mickey doesn’t blame him; he’s having a hard time remembering too right now.

He dives back in, because why not? Their ceasefire says no violence, so (almost) any and all displays of affection are well within the rules. He puts his hand on the side of Ian’s neck where it’s always fit best and reels Ian in, despite how much easier it would’ve been to get on his side of the booth this time. 

“Thought this was about your dad,” Ian mutters into his lips because of course he can’t shut his mouth to save his life.

Mickey shrugs - “Fuck ‘im” - and gives him something better to do with that mouth.

#shameless us #ian gallagher #mickey milkovich #gallavich #meta ficlet #terry milkovich #kevin ball #this has been a Kee and Noelle production

[sophiamargaux]

𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕱𝖆𝖑𝖑 𝕱𝖗𝖔𝖒 𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕻𝖗𝖊𝖈𝖎𝖕𝖎𝖈𝖊

Hellooo! This is my very first fanfic post and I am incredibly nervous about it lol. I have always shipped Hinawa and Maki so here’s an ode to the HinaMaki ship :) I hope everyone will be respectful and know that you are allowed to ship whoever you want (as long as it doesn’t involve minors, incest, you know the rest). 

BTW the story happened when they were both still in the military.

_____________________________________________________________

The military is not for the soft – hearted. Its hard knuckle fights, intense violence of bombs, guns, and devastating destruction stemmed from a shallow and pointless war, is not for those with kind and gentle souls. Takehisa Hinawa only realized this truth a little too late before he joined the army. His motives?  It was not worthy of an award – winning speech about being faithful to the country. It was not even an illustration of something as heroic as world peace, or to discover the cure for cancer or aids. Motives that most aspiring politicians or doctors would have. But for him, his motives are as blurry as his eyesight. Maybe the military was the only pillar he could rely on for stability or maybe it was merely because he is a second generation pyrokinetic user. Although he only found out about it when he first held a gun during a range practice in his first days in the military. Whatever his motive was, you can say it was tenacious since it made him stay in the army long enough to become a sergeant.

Hinawa was packing an overnight bag for a mission. The night was silent, and it was the customary time where most of the soldiers are already asleep. The mission was mildly dangerous since it required an assistance from two second generation pyrokinetic users, Hinawa being one-half of the assistance. The higher – ups could call someone from the Special Fire Force Department, but they are afraid that it might be all for naught and it would waste their precious time where they could have been protecting the people from infernals. They also reasoned that if an infernal did happen, the second-generation users will hopefully be able to handle the situation just in time for the Fire Force to arrive. But then again, Hinawa is starting to get used to these situations. Especially since he was recently paired with his partner for these kinds of missions. Hinawa and his partner did not have a great start when they were first paired for these types of missions. It certainly did not help that his partner was under his command as a sergeant. But with the aid of time, they started to work in sync with each other. Things would not have worked out if his friend Tojo did not convince him to offer some help to his partner.

 “I’m all packed Sergeant!” A familiar voice rang through the open door.

 Hinawa looked back and saw a young lady dressed in the same military gear and uniform as him standing straight by his door in a salute stance. Private Maki Oze, daughter of the commander of the Tokyo Army and the other half of the second-generation user assigned for the mission. His partner.  To be honest, he was not exactly fond of her when she first joined in the army. During their first drills, she always came last and had no strength whatsoever. He often found her doing extra practice in training rooms, but he still thought all that effort was for nothing. She got in because she was a soon to be heir of the Tokyo Army, so it is safe to say that their partnership did not start off in the right foot. Maki did talk back to him once in a tone that he particularly did not like, and it ended with the whole section running fifty laps because of her. It did not end there. Maki had to run extra five laps and do fifty push – ups. He was not dubbed ‘Sergeant Hell’ by his comrades for nothing. Hinawa was always tough around them, but it was all for their sake. You needed to be hard and unbreakable for a job like this.

Maki specifically was a different story. Hinawa saw the determination and drive. Anyone can grow muscles and be physically strong but not everyone has the mental capacity of a fighter. But he saw that in her. It was not the same fire that he usually saw in other soldiers. It was brighter. It was like her flames were a loud voice in the dark. So, he decided to heed his friend’s advice and helped her. It took a lot of back – breaking drills and exhausting laps to dash the soldier out of her. No matter how much she improved, Hinawa still thought that he is right. She was not meant to be a soldier. Not with a kind heart like that.

 Hinawa zipped his bag and walked over towards Maki, closing the door behind him. He sported his head cap.

 “Let’s go,” he said, as they both started to make their way outside where a military truck awaits them.

 “What’s the mission this time, Sergeant?” Maki asked.

“We were asked to assist Captain Daichi’s troops in their retrieval for military armor and gear from a burnt down building in the south.”

“So why are we needed?”

“They said there might be some bombs in the building that are still active. Just to be safe than sorry, I guess.”

The cold air greeted them when they made it outside. All they could hear was the deafening noise of the crickets and the soft slow rumble of the chilly air that occasionally passed by. If they both listened closely, some mild snoring could be heard from the military truck situated three feet away from them. The military looked peaceful during nighttime. The gloomy atmosphere of the moonlight shone an agenda of rest for the beaten down soldiers. The green light signaled a temporary respite to put down their armors and shields, offering sleep before a new day starts once again. Hinawa would have loved to wave the white flag of defeat and retire to his bed but for now, he needed to be a soldier.

Upon closer investigation of the military truck, Hinawa’s urge to rest grew further. The truck was an old, rundown shackle with a tarp that not only barely covered the last row but had terrible patch work which meant all the good and comfortable spots were already taken. Maybe it was some sort of universal punishment or maybe it just so happened that the other good military trucks were taken but whatever the reason was, Hinawa was too tired to even make a face of disagreement.

“I know, she’s not much to look at but get on.” The vice-captain who was in the driver’s seat bellowed brusquely.

Maki was first to climb on the truck then Hinawa followed. He looked at his other comrades and saw some of them sleeping while the others gingerly engaged in some late-night idle chatter. Hinawa was on the verge of making a bitter face towards the soldiers who first claimed the spots he deemed were nice and favorable but stopped himself before Maki noticed his sour disposition.

“I guess we should have packed and arrived earlier, huh,” Maki said as she sat down, disappointment lacing her tone, as if she just spoke out loud the exact thing that Hinawa was thinking about.

“Well, there’s nothing we can do about it.” Hinawa sat down, facing Maki on the opposite side. They were hardly being covered by the old, craggy, and uneven tarp in a somewhat crowdy vehicle, sitting at the very last row. The last row was not the most unfavorable of all places, Hinawa thought. The view could be amazing plus the breeze that you could feel while travelling felt refreshing but considering that it is the middle of the night and he had barely any rest, he was not looking forward to the cold air.

He felt a sudden jolt from the vehicle and after a few minutes the truck started moving towards their destination. Tokyo still looked busy and bright even at ungodly hours, Hinawa observed as he looked at the scenery behind the vehicle they were on. All he knew about the south is that the building was in the middle of a field, a couple miles away from civilization. He guessed that maybe it was to guard territory of the country, but he was not exactly sure. But he was positive that the fields of the south nurtured cows, goats, and other animals alike. If the mission went well, the captain might agree to stop by a nearby farm to gather raw ingredients for the army kitchen. He would not mind having the chance to enjoy rest time with farm animals. Besides, he did grow up in a small town.

Hinawa swarmed in his own thoughts when he felt the forces of fatigue and exhaustion pull him closer and closer to sleep. He crossed his arms close to his chest to combat the cold air. It was not long before Hinawa completely fell asleep.

 _______________________________________________________________

Hinawa felt the jostling of the vehicle and the gust of the cold morning air.  He slowly opened his eyes to see the sight of his lap. It appeared that he had fallen asleep with his neck facing downwards, and slowly he started to feel the ache gathering at the base of his neck as he tried to look up. Still groggy and dazed from recently waking up from his slumber, he gazed up at the free sky and the rough edge of the tarp that seemed to be falling apart at the seams. The sky was a lovely pool of lilac, pink, and blue. It was dawn at its most beautiful, banned from the shadows and despair that came with nightfall. The horizon painted a muddy picture of black and white, ambiguity brewing anticipation of a stupendous day. But at last, the world was brand new once again.

He looked behind him and noticed that the scenery had changed. Instead of buildings, towers, and a mob of civilians, what beheld him was a beautiful landscape of the countryside. Rice fields, trees, and far-off sights of the forest. It would not be long until he started seeing the fields of the south. He eyed his comrades and noticed that they were still sleeping soundly. Must be nice to not be affected by the cold air, Hinawa judged bitterly. He peeked at Maki in front of him and observed that she too, was still sleeping soundly.

He felt a small tug of his lips at the sight of her small snoring, sleeping form. She had her head rested at her left shoulder and the top of her head was facing the hide of the truck. He could already predict the look of her pained face once the sore on her neck started to settle. It pained him to see her this way, because she looked so lovely, despite the military camouflage clothing and the armor geared with it. She had grown up to be daddy’s princess, and here, a decade and thousands of miles away from that life, here amid the threats of violence from Infernals’ dissolute and unlovely tasks of the army, here was Maki Oze, asleep, raven hair softly dancing with the wind, radiating a gentle glow.

Her eyes slightly wrinkled as the sun started catching up with the moving vehicle. Immediately, Hinawa removed his field cap and gently placed it on her head, careful not to wake her up. It changed everything somehow to see this new facet of her and to be aware of how eagerly she had sought to be a better fighter. It made going through the mission with her a dangerous endeavor. A strange shiver of devotion passed through him and then a corresponding swell of protectiveness. Not that Maki needed much protection.

Hinawa realized that he had been slightly smiling for quite some time, unaware of his blatant stare towards his sleeping comrade. Instantly he dropped his smile and shook his head to be rid of the intricate thoughts he had of his partner. Such fragile, tender thoughts could cause the beating heart to act on its own that might travel beyond logic. Hinawa had to remind himself of who he was and what he needed to be, a commanding officer.

The vehicle came to a halt to signal their arrival. Hinawa stood up and gently shook Maki’s shoulder. Maki still a tiny bit bewildered, woke up from her slumber and looked at the person who woke her.

“It’s time to get off.” Hinawa said, not making eye contact as he immediately went down first. Slowly getting to her senses, Maki realized that there was something on top of her head and upon instant inspection, she noticed that it was Hinawa’s field cap. Or at least it was what she assumed since the sergeant earlier appeared to not be wearing his field cap. She removed the cap from her head and looked inside to find the tag in it beholding the name Takehisa Hinawa. She felt smitten and grateful as she gazed at her walking partner, smiling at his kind gesture.

 _______________________________________________________________

The sun had a blinding glow. Its fiery rays cascaded down the fields of the south border. Soldiers from left to right were moving armors. Half – way through the mission, another military truck arrived to compensate for the number of objects they have retrieved. Maki looked at the ash and soot that covered the building with disdain and annoyance. It had been three hours of back – tiring, back and forth slavery, climbing up and down the burnt building, carrying the surviving heavy equipment, while staying alert for stray bombs, and Maki has had enough. She had been sweating profusely and her arms were starting to ache. She had experienced worse, and it mostly involved Sergeant Hell’s drills and punishments.

Three hours had also passed since Maki felt nothing but scorn and spite towards her partner. She knew all too well the merry feelings she experienced earlier were too good to be true for Hinawa was stricter than usual and Maki was getting a little irritated. To think that he bestowed her his field cap only to be treated this way. Maki was certain, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that Hinawa had her whole respect, but he was treading the line between army disciplinary and blunt rudeness.

Maki grunted and carried the large metal bin, making her way back into the building before Hinawa reprimanded her again about her tardiness – even if it was only a minute, no worse, thirty seconds late. Ever since she woke up, Hinawa was… a touch different. It was not a complete three sixty-degree transformation to the point where he was unrecognizable. It was more like a switch was turned on and out came a side of him that she had never met. She should not interest herself in such mundane and small observations, but she could not help but wonder at the baroque changes that Hinawa was making.  Hinawa appeared as his perfectly normal self to a random comrade at first sight, but Maki would digress. From the first hour of the mission, he had been barking orders at her with excessive intensity than the usual firm but authoritative tone. Lately, it was always Maki, walk faster! Or Maki, pay attention to where you are going! Not once did he even try to make eye contact with her. No matter how hard she tried to keep up to his orders it she was either a minute late or it was not done in the way he would want it to.  

Maki quickly jogged upstairs to where Hinawa was waiting. When she arrived, he already had a pile of different machine guns waiting beside him. She stood up straight and demonstrated her best salute stance while hiding her desperate panting.

“You’re late.” Hinawa said bluntly as he grabbed the bin that she was holding. He promptly dropped the bin and started placing the machine guns inside one by one. Maki swiftly struck her tongue at him when he was not looking, like a little juvenile child.

“Are you helping or not?” Hinawa ordered in firm and harsh tone.

Maki jumped to her feet and started placing the machine guns into the bin as well, scared at the possible return of Sergeant Hell. The mission was already tough on its own, she did not wish to worsen the weight of her burdens. The work was not entirely silent since they could hear other troops outside handling their own retrieved armor. Maki found the background noise pleasant since she could not handle Hinawa’s aggressive aura.

“Why am I always deployed with you?” Hinawa sounded like he was thinking his thoughts out loud after a long time of silence between them. Maki would had given him the benefit of the doubt and assumed the start of his day did not go as great as hers, or he had received bad news, but Maki was not feeling kind after three hours of nothing but boorishness and acrimony from him.

“It’s because we make a good team, you dipshit.” She muttered in her lowest, tiniest voice, silently praying that Hinawa did not catch what she said. She looked up at him just in case, but Hinawa was already staring. Maki’s blood ran cold, and her fingers started to get clammy. It was the stare. It was the look that Hinawa would use that rendered the rest of her comrades meek, frozen, praying for their lives. His face did not contort in any way nor did his eyebrows crease downwards. His face was rather relaxed and devoid of any emotion, but everyone could feel his unwavering motive for severe discipline strongly.

“I-I’m very sorry Sergeant! That will never happen again!” Maki hurriedly stood up and saluted. Without pausing, she picked up the bin and hastily made her way down. The bin was heavy, but she was willing to make that sacrifice if it meant she did not have to witness the wrath of Sergeant Hell. Although, she was fully well- aware that she would face the consequences of her actions when they returned to Tokyo.

Hinawa was left a little bewildered at the sight of Maki scurrying away. He wondered why she would suddenly bolt with the bin knowing very well that it was heavy. He sighed in frustration. He withdrew his glasses and massaged the bridge of his nose to release some tension that he had been feeling lately. Hinawa was not known to be someone who was led by their emotions, in fact it was the opposite. He couldn’t even make decent eye contact without getting flustered for remembering her sleeping face. Hinawa felt pathetic at his disposition. It did not help that she was wearing his field cap. He probably scared Maki away when all she ever did was try her best while he was being a pain in the ass. He put his glasses on and went down to catch up with Maki, in hopes of trying to patch the things that he did.

It was not long before Hinawa witnessed Maki dragging the bin with whatever strength she got left. When Maki noticed his presence, she immediately had her back straight and was about to apologize again when Hinawa stopped her.

“You shouldn’t have recklessly carried this all by yourself.” Hinawa said in a calmer tone. An inconspicuous apology. He held the underside of the bin on one side and ordered Maki to do the same on the other, their fingertips briskly making soft contact. In the count of three, they lifted the bin and carefully tread their way down, conscientious of each step they took.

Hinawa cleared his throat and thought of the perfect words to say.

“I apologize for the way I um… acted earlier.” Still struggling to make eye contact he kept his gaze onwards. He felt stupid for struggling over something so regular and casual. Something he was able to do almost every single day. He could even meet eyes with strangers. But Maki was no stranger. She moved past that title long before Hinawa realized it himself. Finally mustering enough grit, he looked at her direction and there she was, looking at him with her bright purple eyes, smiling.

“You’re a weird one, Sergeant,” she said, simply. In her usual sweet, cool tone. Her eyes returned forward and continued to walk in silence with him, her smile not dropping.  

Hinawa did not want to overthink. He did not want to interrupt the soft mumbling of his heart. He had been too hard – like granite, that something as soft as Maki made him feel ominous towards all things that are delicate and gentle. He did not want to think of what will become of him in the future when the comfort that she gives, became too serene that he would no longer look for peace in anything or anyone else, but her.  But that was for future worries. Hinawa knew that the slope he treaded on was precarious, but for once he wanted to bask in the small joy that he found in this old, burnt, and retired building. When they finally made it outside, it was then that he realized the warm smile he wore the whole way down.

Maki stretched her back and groaned at the pain that came with it. She adjusted her cap and looked at the building. Is that all? She thought hopefully.

A sudden loud boom answered her question. The bellowing noise echoed from the top of the building. Large debris sputtered out with ashes and soot, as the soldiers ducked and took cover.  Hinawa looked around, checking for every soldier, hoping that all the troops were present outside, and none were harmed from the explosion.

Hinawa stood up and decided to go inside to check when he felt someone pull his uniform, crumbling to the ground, just in time when a large rock dropped in front of him.

“And to think that could’ve been you.” He heard a familiar voice by his side. Maki had a firm grip on the collar of his uniform and the other on the ground to support her upper body and his weight. Hinawa’s back was pressed against her chest as he lay in between her legs. They took cover when another wave of cinders approached.

Once everything settled, Hinawa stood up and helped Maki along with him. He took notice of the sight that was around him. Everyone seemed fine and no one looked harmed from the abrupt blast. The captain in charge quickly grabbed the megaphone and assured the troops. Orders were made. Everyone gathered around the center and checked. Hinawa could already tell the mission was going to be delayed for another day.

________________________________________________________________

The night was silent. Tents covered the area where soldiers rested after a long tiring labor. Thankfully, no one got hurt from the explosion, thanks to the great Sol’s mercy. Daylight resigned and made room for nightfall. The crescent moon that hung above the clouds were glistening with pride, silently saying good job for a well – spent day. The campfire placed in the center crackled softly as its tiny embers danced in the wind, its serene cacophony bringing peace to the sleeping soldiers.

Hinawa was sitting by the fire, polishing his guns. It was one of those days where sleep did not befall on him, causing him to gun at the blazing fire with thoughts at disarray. This happened once or twice in every two weeks ever since he joined the army. It was the one possibility he was aware of when he signed up. It did not dawn on him that another soldier also shared the same troubles.

Maki had always known that Hinawa had sleeping problems from time to time. It was a speculation she made on their first mission together and confirmed it when she once saw him strolling around the military campus late at night. She did not know why the information stuck with her. Maybe it was because she too, had difficulties with sleeping.  Whenever restless nights occurred, the Sergeant would come to mind. The cynosure of her thoughts often sloped to Hinawa on whether he was awake as well. She did not know how this circuitous way of thinking started, but it was a guessing game that she very much enjoyed playing.

Maki got up and went out of her tent. She looked around and noticed Hinawa all alone by the campfire. Maki was right again.

She approached Hinawa with careful posture, hoping not to disturb his deep contemplation. Hinawa already seemed aware of the approaching footsteps, then glanced expectedly at Maki.

“Why aren’t you asleep?” Hinawa questioned in a solemn voice while continuing to polish his guns.

“Why aren’t you?” Maki asked with the same solemnity.

“I can’t sleep.”

“It’s the same for me too.” She sat down beside him. Happily warming herself in silence.

Maki would not say it out loud, but she had always loved the silence between them. There was no tension, no awkward air, no rigidity. It was just him. His good old eccentric self. The gap amidst them, in vague estimation, was but a hand’s distance yet for Maki, it was more than enough.

“Thank you for earlier.” Hinawa stopped and turned to her.

Maki was a little surprised with his words of gratitude. It was not every day for her to receive a thank you from him, though still, she replied with a soft small nod. They spent more of their time together in gentle stillness, appreciating the campfire and its warmth. Maki observed his face in her own discreet manner. The mischievous shadows of the fire grazed his features. She suddenly got an idea.

“Sergeant, do you want to play a game?”

“Honestly, you and your games –.”

“This will be fun, I promise.” Maki looked at him with hopeful eyes, prying for a yes. It was late into midnight. Hinawa was tired, and it looked like Maki was in the mood to drop any form of formalities. He had been in this predicament more than once ever since he asked her to play a game of chess with him. From that day forth, she had gradually adapted into the habit of asking. Often a game of poker or go fish. It did not help that his fierce competitiveness would get the best of him. So whenever the chances arose, he’d give in.

Hinawa sighed in defeat.

“What is it this time? Poker?” He set aside his guns. Maki’s excitement increased after his agreement.

“I forgot to bring my deck of cards though. But I have an idea.” Maki’s arm reached out to touch the temple of his glasses. “May I?” She asked politely.

Hinawa tried to ignore the sensation of her fingertips on his face but instead eyed her in suspicion.

“What are you planning?” He asked defensively. When it came to his eyesight, he did not easily trust anybody.

“Don’t worry, I won’t run away with it. It’s a game called How far can Sergeant Hinawa see.” Maki looked skeptically happy for Hinawa’s liking. He raised his eyebrows at the absolute ridiculous made-up game she curated.

“And how is this exactly, fun for me?” He asked, reaching with careful ease to her out-stretched arm.

“You’ll get a chance to teach your subordinate about having bad eyesight? It is all for educational purposes!” Conviction laced her tone. “Well… at least it is for me.” She mumbled her words after, trying her best to convince him, but she knew she was not demonstrating conceivable reasons.

Hinawa stared at her pleading face and considered every possible outcome that could occur if he ever gave in. A bad feeling brewed from the very bottom of his guts, creeping up to his esophagus and felt himself enter an unknown territory.  

Maki cowered under his gloomy stare. Her shyness slowly resurfaced like a bad itch, until Hinawa eventually agreed.

“Try to run away and I won’t hesitate to shoot you.” He threatened.

“Yes, sir.” Maki swallowed back her fear.

When Maki detached his glasses from his face, the once bright and brilliant sight of the campfire suddenly shifted to an orange blur. He squinted his eyes on impulse but to no avail. He still could not see. He heard a giggle from where Maki was seated and tried to look at her pointedly, but his eyesight was too cloudy that he could not decipher her face.

“What are you laughing at?” He tried to scold.

“I’m sorry Sergeant, but I can’t take you seriously when you squint like that.” Maki sought an apologetic tone, but she could not control those small fits of giggles that came out.

“If you’re going to laugh at me, I’m no longer playing this ga-”

“Wait, wait, wait! I’m starting.” Maki waved her hands around in compliance.

Maki scooted a few places away from him, not far but far enough that she became a filmy mess of colors in Hinawa’s eyes.  

“Can you see me?” She asked earnestly, quietly, a small call amid the cackling of the campfire’s flames. Maki knew what she meant when she said those words, she promised no other message but the literal. And yet the chatoyance of her eyes and the comely warmth of her face begged to differ.

“No, you’re a blurry mess.” He said calmly, with a cool and collected composure that Maki was a little jealous.

So, he is nearsighted, Maki thought to herself. She scampered a little closer as the sound of her rustling clothes melded with the fire. She sat three steps away from him.

“How about now?” She asked once again. The tender beating of her heart elevated. Step by fragile step. A dangerous distance separated them.

“No.”

She moved closer. Two steps away. The sight of his face grew nearer. Her fast pulse teetered amidst a minefield, taking precise steps, yet fully anticipating the eventual fall, his succeeding notice. Nothing went past Hinawa’s strict observation, and yet, and yet! How his keen-eyed nature toppled in the face of sweet blatancy. Tension seized her deliberate advance. She mustered enough courage to ask once more, despite how her heart opposed.

“Can you see me now?”

“Maki, you have to move closer than that.”

It sounded like a small dare. A miniscule challenge to scoot closer, or so it seemed at first. Maki closed the chasm. Their bodies touched. And there it was, the fatal flaw. And suddenly his face was one breath away. She felt her heart tightened at the gnawing clarity in front of her. This was not the game she expected to play. The once dulcet juvenile idea was short – lived and it turned into a diaphanous duel of the heart. Regret dawned when her chest constricted, a great effervescent demise waited at the sight of his face only inches away.

If Maki had been brave enough, she would’ve taken another ghastly risk closer.

“How about now?” She inquired in a supple whisper, wordlessly urging him to say yes.

To her surprise, Hinawa drew his face closer to hers. Their noses nearly caressed. Her pulse drummed. Her heartbeat soared. The campfire’s amber glow resembled his orange eyes, brilliant like the shiny coppers and pennies in a treasure box, kindling a special flame of their own. She marveled in awe, staring deep into his copper pools.

Hinawa’s stare penetrated. Really looking at her. With enough fervor, passion, and blithe to ignite a golden unadulterated cinder.

“Now I see you.”

Maki knew with most certainty what Hinawa meant when he said those words. There was no code or hidden message. But across this labyrinth of newly planted confessions, burning novelties, and undecipherable sentiments, a fine piece of thread guided a way for Maki. And for a moment, her what-ifs exulcerated, paving fresh roads for more, knowing that she may be falling because just for a short second, she felt the whole world disappear. All she could see was the soft glimmer of his tangerine eyes.

Upon sudden realization of their proximity, Maki hastily moved her head and awkwardly laughed.

“Wow, Sergeant you have really bad eyesight.” Maki lightened the mood and placed his glasses back into his face. She shifted and moved herself away to create a tiny distance between them.

“You should have them checked.” She weakly added, her hands covering the reddening of her cheeks, completely avoiding his eyes.

“I already did but there’s nothing they can do about it.” Hinawa adjusted his glasses as he said so.

Maki cleared her throat and stood, feigning a yawn as she stretched her body.

“I’ll be going now Sergeant Hinawa, it was nice talking to you.” Maki respectfully bowed and quickly made her way to her tent. As she walked, she peeked him, hoping to find answers about the earlier endeavor. Maybe it was the night’s illusion or her sleep-deprived mind, but she could have sworn that his ears were a tinge pinker than ever before.

________________________________________________________________

Maki was lying in her tent, unable to fall asleep. She tossed and turned but nothing worked. For the past hour, her mind continually travelled to the glasses game that happened earlier. She wondered if she could ever face him again without being flustered. Hinawa must have been dense enough, right? There was no way he could’ve noticed, not when she had his glasses in hand.

But after her attempted conviction failed, she began to panic at the idea of Hinawa seeing through her façade. That her rose blush had been blatant enough for his blurry eyesight.

Maki groaned in frustration and turned to her side once more. Hinawa’s field cap occupied her vision. I must return this to him, she reminded herself. She took the cap and stared at the tag that held his name. Out of nowhere, Maki felt a smile budding. She had never been more confused in this predicament, and yet she had never been happier as well. Her feelings were still an unresolved puzzle towards Hinawa. She could not even begin to untangle her thoughts about him.

Maybe it was homesickness or a glitch in the mind. She could not care less either way, only a mellow delight seeped through the fabric of her confusion. Surely, one could never be in the wrong disposition when such odd joy triumphed.

And just like that, Maki fell asleep with a smile on her face that night. Whatever it was, whatever her heart whispered that evening, she’d had enough time to worry later. It can wait till then.  

#my fic #my ships #fire force #hinawa x maki #maki oze #takehisa hinawa #hinamaki #they're so precious #slow burn #i hope more people will like them lol #i had to write this

[jumukus]

A3! Translation: Spring Troupe’s Interview From Documentary Book’s “Moment of Spring”

Translation under the cut.

First of all, while looking at the photos on the cover, please tell us what happened on the day you took them.

Sakuya: It was a frame of the Spring Troupe's spring!

Chikage: I wonder if Sakuya was holding Hina dolls in his photo.

Citron: Oh, I know that! Isn't that the thing that was born while chirping after you kept it warm for three days and three nights?

Tsuzuru: It's not that "Hina."

Itaru: It's a different Hina.

Masumi: ...These ugly Hina dolls are put in the theater lobby.

Sakuya: Wow, Masumi-kun! You sure have a sharp eye.

Masumi: It’s because Director and I helped decorate them there.

Sakuya: Oh, I see. To tell you the truth, it was all due to Manager saying that the theater lobby felt kind of empty. And given that it's March, we decided to decorate the lobby with Hina Festival-themed items.

Tsuzuru: Not to mention that a lot of the audience members are girls.

Chikage: The Masumi in this photo… Was he about to give a present to Director?

Itaru: That expression is exclusive for Director only. He's so easy to read.

Tsuzuru: If I remember correctly, this was taken during White Day. I remember seeing him grinning ear to ear while staring at the present in our room.

Masumi: I was imagining Director's reaction after I gave her that present. I was sure she'd be surprised but at the same time so happy she couldn't stop laughing… Then, she'd blissfully say, "Thank you. I'll treasure it."

Itaru: Surprised but so happy she couldn't stop laughing?

Citron: Now I'm curious about what your present is!

Sakuya: So was she happy about the present?

Masumi: Not telling. It was a memory that only me and Director share.

Citron: Aw, Masumi is a cheapskate~.

Sakuya: Meanwhile… things seemed to be lively in Tsuzuru-kun's photo!

Tsuzuru: My brothers started fighting when I was making sakura mochi for our cherry blossom viewing. I know I should've just left them be since they're always fighting, but… I couldn't help but speak out.

Chikage: You're truly a natural born big brother, handling this kind of thing by reflexes.

Citron: Is that a carnation you were holding, Itaru?

Masumi: For mother's day?

Itaru: Yep. I was planning to buy flowers and stop by my home. My sister apparently predicted this and asked me to buy her sweets. I was talking to her in the photo. They're all very popular stores that can have people waiting in line. But well, they have pretty tolerable prices…

Masumi: Looking at your expression, you should have found some excuses to refuse her.

Itaru: You could say that because you don't how my sister is when she's mad…

Citron: I want to meet Itaru's rumored sister one day!

Masumi: ...Citron's pose looked weird in this one.

Sakuya: Whoa, the bamboo shoots are big!

Citron: I call it, "ever-growing bamboo shoots" pose~. The greengrocer uncle from the shopping district gave those fine bamboo shoots to me!

Tsuzuru: You really are the idol of the shopping district… As long as Citron-san is here, looks like we don't need to worry about hunger issue. It's already been taken care of without us knowing.

Itaru: Last one is senpai… Huh? Is it really okay to have your photo like this? You were in the middle of doing some dangerous side jobs in this one, right?

Chikage: What do you take me for? As you can see, I was making a helmet with origami.

Masumi: I saw this helmet in the theater lobby. It was so symmetrical and terrifyingly well-made.

Tsuzuru: It felt like that helmet brought out Chikage-san's personality.

Citron: We all were enjoying spring and taking a very blissful shot!

Sakuya: That's right! Spring is indeed such a lovely season!

Then, as we looked back at your plays up until the sixth one, please tell us an event that left the most impression on you.

Citron: It would take forever, you know! We have a loooot of memories together, though I think the turning point of Spring Troupe was during our debut and fourth play.

Tsuzuru: During our debut play, we were all still beginners in theater and were still figuring out everything. Chikage-san joined us during our fourth play and we became a six-member group… I've gotta admit we underwent a major change as a troupe that time.

Sakuya: In addition, it was during the preparation for these two plays that we slept on the stage together!

Tsuzuru: The first time we did it was because Yuzo-san roasted us so bad, so we decided to sleep onstage to understand the play better. During our fourth play, we already invited Chikage-san but since he had work to do, we couldn't do it...

Masumi: But when we headed to the theater for our morning practice, these two were sleeping. Thus, I slept too.

Itaru: We were so noisy at that time so I figured you'd wake up soon, but… you sure slept like a log, huh, senpai?

Chikage: I still woke up in the end since your snoring was too loud, though.

Itaru: Seriously?

Masumi: You do look like the type who snores loudly.

Chikage: Joking aside… back then, I was surprised when I woke up and found you all there.

Citron: Oh, so our prank was a big success in the end! I wanna throw another slumber party with you all~.

Sakuya: Me too! I want to chat about a lot of things with you all!

Masumi: About love?

Itaru: I have a feeling Masumi's gonna monopolize that talk.

Tsuzuru: Heck yeah…

Chikage: That sounds fun. Why not?

Now that all of you have experienced becoming the leading actors, please tell us what kind of roles or performance you want to have.

Chikage: Since we have Tsuzuru here, it wouldn't hurt to say whatever we want, right?

Tsuzuru: You have a point, and it can also be a motivation to act. For the time being, I'd like to hear what you want to do...

Citron: In that case, I wanna appear in a Japanese style play!

Itaru: ...Ah, in that case, don't you think adding fantasy element to the play will be cool? Like a youkai-themed play.

Tsuzuru: Some amazing suggestions came right at the very beginning… But well, given that we rarely deliver a Japanese style play, I think it may turn good.

Masumi: Then, I want to take on a knight role. Obviously, the one playing the princess will be--.

Tsuzuru: Since we already have KniRoun that had similar sense, I don't think we'll do that now.

Masumi: If so--.

Tsuzuru: Not a bridegroom role. If we're going to do a play set at a wedding hall, then we'll also have one of Spring Troupe members crossdress to play the bride.

Chikage: Tsuzuru crossdressing, huh… That's kind of new.

Sakuya: It may fit him, surprisingly.

Tsuzuru: Why me!? I'm banning you all from raising random flags!

Citron: Do you have any roles you want to play, Chikage?

Chikage: A role I want to play, huh… Since I've only performed three plays at the moment, there's nothing in particular.

Itaru: How about taking a non-glasses character once more? All of your characters are wearing glasses except Gawain.

Masumi: Playing a glasses character once per two plays?

Sakuya: But I feel like Chikage-san can pull of any kind of characters!

Tsuzuru: Well, yeah. Since you're good at stage combat… I think giving you another role with lots of action will be a great idea.

Chikage: Exercising is one of my fortes, so I'll do my best if you give me one. How about you, Sakuya?

Sakuya: ...It's not really a role, but I want to deliver a play with everyone in the theater troupe someday!

Itaru: That means the main cast will consist of 24 people.

Citron: Oh, it sounds very fun! I want to do it too!

Masumi: I support that idea. That way, we'll have less lines. Tsuzuru will probably die, though.

Itaru: That'll be Tsuzuru's posthumous work…

Tsuzuru: Please stop saying things that will bring bad luck like that! I do admit I feel like the Sanzu River comes into view, though! ...But well, I want to do that too one day. I have a feeling I can write a piece that I've never written until this day.

Sakuya: Whoa… I'm already looking forward to see what kind of characters and story that you'll come up with!

Chikage: So can I expect this piece to be your masterpiece?

Itaru: This'll be a piece that continues to be handed down in Japan's theater industry.

Citron: Non, non! It'll be a piece that easily sweeps the top categories at International Theater Awards.

Tsuzuru: H-Hey, I haven't even started writing it! Please stop raising the bar!

I'd also like to ask about your personal stories. Given that this book is dedicated to "Moments of Spring Troupe", can you tell us what kind of thing that is currently popular within your troupe?

Itaru: If I have to choose, I think it's Zahra's board game--the one that Prince Tangerine gave us as a souvenir during the sixth play.

Masumi: The game requires each of us to cultivate the uninhabited islands in Zahra, develop it and do some tradings.

Sakuya: The player with the most territories will be declared the winner at the end of the game! The game is so interesting that it has become our daily routine to play it once we're done with rehearsals!

Citron: I'm glad that everyone is enjoying the game! I also have a game that I'd like to recommend to you all, you see! I'll have Guy get it next time!

Chikage: Last time I checked there's also a game in which you become a spices merchant and get rich, right? I'm a little bit curious about that one.

Tsuzuru: No, I don't think the Zahra Kingdom has that kind of ga--.

Citron: I expected no less from Chikage! You even know that game! OK, I'll have them send that too!

Itaru: Wow, it does exist…

Last but not least, please send a message to the fans who are always supporting Spring Troupe.

Sakuya: On behalf of Spring Troupe… I'd like to thank you all for always supporting us! Before we knew it, we already held six plays. It was all thanks to your support that we were able to deliver this number of plays. Even if it's only one, we'll be happy if you have scenes or lines from our plays that are unforgettable to you. For our next play, we promise to give everything we can to deliver a beautiful performance to you all. Therefore--

Spring Troupe: Thank you for your continuous support!

T/N:

*Hina doll shares the same kanji as chick (雛) hence the misunderstanding.

**For those who don't know, Hina Festival is usually held on March 3.

***In Japanese myths, the Sanzu River is a river that people are said to cross on the seventh day after their death.

#a3! #a3! translation #spring troupe #sakuya sakuma #masumi usui #tsuzuru minagi #itaru chigasaki #citron #chikage utsuki

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[calacuspr]

Calacus Weekly Hit & Miss – Carl Nassib & UEFA

Every Monday we look at the best and worst communicators in the sports world from the previous week.

HIT – CARL NASSIB

“I hope that one day videos like this and the whole coming out process are just not necessary," said Carl Nassib, the Las Vegas Raiders’ defensive end after revealing that he is gay.

In making his admission, during Pride month no less, Nassib becomes the first active National Football League player to come out publicly.

Nassib added: "I'm a pretty private person so I hope that you guys know that I'm really not doing this for attention. I just think that representation and visibility are so important.

"I'm going to do my best to cultivate a culture that's accepting and compassionate."

He followed up with a written message admitting that he had “agonised over this moment for the last 15 years” and it was only after he received so much encouragement from family and friends that he decided to go ahead.

“I am also incredibly thankful for the NFL, my coaches, and fellow players for their support,” Nassib wrote. “I would not have been able to do this without them. From the jump I was greeted with the utmost respect and acceptance.”

Nassib is also donating £100,000 to the Trevor Project, a suicide prevention service for LGBTQ youth in America, a creditable gesture which highlights his understanding of the struggles many young people face.

Amit Paley, CEO & Executive Director of The Trevor Project, gave thanks to Nassib for his generosity and said: “The Trevor Project is grateful to Carl Nassib for living his truth and supporting LGBTQ youth. Coming out is an intensely personal decision, and it can be an incredibly scary and difficult one to make. We hope that Carl’s historic representation in the NFL will inspire young LGBTQ athletes across the country to live their truth and pursue their dreams. 

“At a time when state lawmakers are actively trying to restrict transgender and nonbinary youth’s participation in school sports, this news should serve as a clarion call for greater LGBTQ inclusion in the locker room and on the field.”

Of those who have admitted that they are gay in the past, Michael Sam came out before being drafted into the league in 2014, but never played a regular season NFL game.

Roy Simmons, who played for the Giants and Washington in the 1980s, was one of a number of players to come out after retiring. He told the New York Times in 2003 that he did not feel safe announcing that he was gay while he was in the NFL.

“The NFL has a reputation,” he said at the time, “and it’s not even a verbal thing – it’s just known. You are gladiators; you are male; you kick butt.”

Hall of fame quarterback Warren Moon revealed that gay players had long been a part of the NFL. He tweeted: “As long as they helped us win and were great teammates- their sexual preference was never a issue..

“We live in a different time now where diversity is much more accepted. Cheers Carl, and I hope this lets other athletes know, its OK to say who you are...”

The Raiders tweeted: “Proud of you, Carl” while club owner Mark Davis played down the significance of the announcement and said: “He’s a Raider. If he’s happy, I’m happy. It takes courage. I thought we got to the point where this wasn’t (a story). It doesn’t change my opinion of him as a man or as a Raider.”

The NFL was swift to offer their support for Nassib with Commissioner Roger Goodell saying: “The NFL family is proud of Carl for courageously sharing his truth today. Representation matters.

“We share his hope that someday soon statements like his will no longer be newsworthy as we march toward full equality for the LGBTQ+ community. We wish Carl the best of luck this coming season.”

NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith added: "Our union supports Carl and his work with the Trevor Project is proof that he -- like our membership -- is about making his community and this world a better place not for themselves, but for others."

Certainly 20 years ago, Nassib’s announcement may have ended his career based on the macho culture within the NFL locker rooms but the fact that his shirt was the top-selling NFL jersey on its network after his announcement according to sports apparel retailer Fanatics.

Nassib is now a poster boy for a new era in American Football and it is to his credit that he is embracing the challenge.

"I do not know all the history behind our courageous LGBTQ community," he added, "but I am eager to learn and to help continue the fight for equality and acceptance."

MISS – UEFA

The football community has been largely united in support for the LGBTQ+ community recently, from European players donning rainbow laces and calling out blatant acts of homophobia.

However, UEFA have been criticised for not explicitly challenging or condemning homophobia during Pride month.

German captain Manuel Neuer’s decision to wear a rainbow-coloured armband was initially banned by UEFA before they quickly changed their position.

UEFA then last week rejected a request to illuminate the Allianz Arena in Munich with rainbow colours during the EURO 2020 Group F match between Germany and Hungary.

There was suspicion that the proposal was a response to new Hungarian legislation, which has banned the promotion of homosexuality to those under the age of 18.

In a statement posted on social media, UEFA defended their decision by saying: “UEFA is proud to wear the colours of the rainbow. It is a symbol that embodies our core values, promoting everything that we believe in.

“Some people have interpreted UEFA’s decision to turn down the city of Munich’s request to illuminate the Munich stadium in rainbow colours for a Euro 2020 match as ‘political’. On the contrary, the request itself was political, linked to the Hungarian football team’s presence in the stadium for this evening’s match with Germany.”

The major of Munich, Dieter Reiter, was one of many who saw this as a missed opportunity from UEFA and he had hoped that the illuminations during the match would “send a visible sign of solidarity” with Hungary’s LGBTQ+ community.

The Germany and Hungary game finished 2-2 and summed up the mood from the footballing community perfectly towards homophobia and UEFA’s decision.

A pitch invader took to the field with a rainbow flag as the Hungarian National anthem blared out around the stadium, while Leon Goretza celebrated his late equaliser for Germany by running over to away fans and making a heart gesture with his hands, conveying the simple message that homophobia will not be tolerated.

Undoubtedly, UEFA have not a strong and clear position regarding homophobia throughout the EURO 2020 tournament.

Earlier, during Hungary’s opening Group F game against Portugal in Budapest, a set of Hungarian fans were seen holding a sign that read “Anti-LMBTQ”.

UEFA had an opportunity to react instantly to confirm the LGBTQ+ community as equals in society and in football but its delays had the result of many feeling unwelcome.

It took five days for UEFA to release a short statement on their website on the incident and no action has since been taken against Hungary.

The delay meant the message was not instantly dismissed, which suggests UEFA do not take the issue seriously enough.

Joe White, a spokesperson for the LGBTQ+ fans group 3LionsPride, has criticised UEFA’s messaging. In a statement, he said: “UEFA will tout themselves as supporters of equality and rainbow-wash their brand when it suits them, but rarely proactively engage or make improvements for LGBTQ+ people involved in the game.

“LGBTQ+ people across the game are not able to enjoy football when they have to face hatred in stadia and online.

“It’s clear that UEFA once again has its head firmly buried in the sand and is no ally of the LGBTQ+ community. Until UEFA start taking serious action against discrimination, the beautiful game is once again allowing its ugly side to rear its head.”

The rainbow symbol in football stadia reassures to LGBTQ+ individuals watching EURO 2020 that they are welcome in football. It demonstrates that attitudes towards homosexuality are improving within the sport.

Without the rainbow, particularly during Pride Month, those messages are lost.

Germany has led a continental call for greater LGBTQ+ unity throughout football. In the days following the UEFA Allianz Arena rejection, officials across Germany ignored the guidance, as stadia in Frankfurt, Augsburg and Nuremberg, as well as in Belgium, joined Munich by lighting up in rainbow colours.

Elsewhere, UEFA sponsor Booking.com, will use a rainbow outline in all of their pitch-side adverts for Round of 16 matches, including Holland’s game against the Czech Republic in Budapest.

Ahead of the tie in the Hungarian capital, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said that Hungary has “no place in the EU,” unless they retract their homophobic laws.

UEFA have demonstrated that the rainbow symbol will not be universally accepted in football, which is hardly consistent with their own claims to be pro-LGBTQ+.

The inconsistency shown by European football’s governing body during Euro 2020 underlines the fact that they have a long way to go to regain the confidence of the LGBTQ+ community.

Perhaps it is time for UEFA to go back to the drawing board and come up with a consistent policy which allows freedom of expression in the promotion of sexual equality.

#Crisis management #EURO2020 #Carl Nassib #American Football #NFL #New York Times #Trevor Project #UEFA #Germany football #Hungary #Pride

[weirdestbooks]

A Civil Disagreement Chapter 1

The First Compromise

The voices in this chapter are the Territories of Missouri and Arkansas, along with the Unorganized territory.

United States' POV

"We can't let another slave state into the Union! If Missouri is going to become a state, it needs restrictions on slavery!" James Tallmadge Jr., a senator from New York argued. I sighed.

'Or he needs slavery because Missouri relies heavily on it.'

This was the same argument as always. Slavery or not. Ever since the slave trade was banned and states started banning slavery, things have gotten more tense between the states, and not just on a political scale. This issue had to be resolved, which meant that the two sides needed to stop being stubborn.

And if I knew my people that was never going to happen. They didn't know how to back down. It was a great quality in certain situations. And this wasn't one of those situations. Why did everything always have to be so divided?

"If we do that, then the free states will gain a majority in Congress. I refuse to let that happen." A senator from Mississippi argued.

'I agree. There must be a balance.'

"If Missouri's a slave state then we'll have the same situation!" A senator from Massachusetts argued back. I sighed. Both sides raised a fair point. Keeping balance between the free and slave states was important. Without balance the argument over slavery was just going to get worse.

Congress continued to argue as DC and I tried to meditate the argument. I was glad that the states had decided to keep out of this meeting. The arguing was bad enough and they didn't need to make it worse. After a another hour of back and forth arguing Congress ended for the day and me and DC got ready to leave.

"I swear the Senate can be worse than my siblings." DC muttered as she walked out of the room, her face, a dulled version of my flag, alight with frustration. I smiled and laughed.

"They're just stubborn. We'll come to a solution eventually. Besides, I prefer the arguing. It shows people care about what happens in the government." I told her. It was better when they got a voice. I didn't want to be like British Empire, and smother their voices.

'Trust their voices and trust ours. We are you, and will help you.'

'Just make Missouri a slave state and get this mess over with.'

"You may prefer it, but by god can it be annoying. At least the states listen to me. The senators always look down on me because I'm female." DC said. I sighed.

'D's more capable than every Senator there. They're all just idiots.'

Unfortunately, DC was right. While DC had been working with Congress since her birth, the Congressmen didn't always take her opinion into account, due to her gender.  It makes me wish she had been born a man. The she would get the respect she'd deserves during Congress meetings. DC and I made our back to our home in the countryhumans. We walked into our house still discussing ways to allow for Missouri's statehood.

"Is Missouri a state yet?" Tennessee asked from where she was sitting with the newest state, Alabama. Both of their faces were their state seals. I shook my head, causing Tennessee to sigh.

'I wish. This is taking forever can't they just come to a decision already?'

'I wish Congress worked that way, but you know it doesn't.'

"Seriously? Can't they just admit Missouri so we can be done with this whole thing. A free state will be admitted eventually. The balance won't be off for that long." South Carolina said, his face showing his seal. I always found it odd that the states got their seals instead of a dulled version of my flag, but I certainly was glad for it.

I would have to live in a house where 23 people had the exact same face as me. All the states had their seals instead of my flag, which was nice. Aside from Ohio, who still hadn't created a state seal and Vermont, who had his own flag. Louisiana walked into the room, looked at the expression on South Carolina's and Tennessee's faces.

"No pass? Unis, Père, pourquoi devez-vous rendre votre gouvernement si compliqué? Rien n'est fait dans un laps de temps raisonnable." (United, Father, why must you make your government so complicated? Nothing gets done in a reasonable amount of time.) She said. Despite being part of my country for eight years, Louisiana still preferred her mother's language of French, and had not made any large attempts to learn English.

"Vous savez pourquoi c'est compliqué. Je suis un syndicat qui essaie d'obtenir une représentation égale au gouvernement. Cela complique les choses." (You know why it's complicated. I'm a union who is trying for equal representation in the government. It makes things complicated.) I told Louisiana. She sighed.

"C'est juste différent de ce à quoi j'ai toujours eu à faire face, même si ce n'est pas une mauvaise chose. J'aime avoir une voix." (It's just different than what I've always had to deal with, although that's not a bad thing. I enjoy having a voice.) She responded.

"Please clear this up before the Florida's officially join because of they start pushing for statehood and becoming a slave state, Congress is going to lose their minds." Georgia said as she and Massachusetts walked into the room.

"Agreed." I muttered, before Massachusetts spoke up.

"Father!" He said, holding out some papers to me.

"Hello Massachusetts. What's this?" I asked. Massachusetts smiled.

"The District of Maine wants to become it own state. This could help your problem with the Territory of Missouri's statehood. Missouri become a slave state, and Maine can become a free state." Massachusetts said. I stared at him.

'I'm amazed. That's actually not a bad idea.'

I was slightly shocked by what I just though. I shouldn't think that about Massachusetts or any of my children. Why was that thought there? I wasn't turning into British Empire, right? Massachusetts has had good ideas before. Just because he's stubborn and has anger issues doesn't mean he's not smart.

'He's smart. And also just like you.'

"Oh thank god. If this helps end the arguing over the balance of free and slave states in the Union then I'm all in." DC said. I nodded in agreement. The sooner we could get this argument out of Congress the better.

"We'll bring it up to Congress tomorrow. Thank you Massachusetts." I told him, before heading off to be. Hopefully with this proposal we could finally put the argument of the proper balance of states to rest. For now at least.

——————————————————-

The next day DC and I made our way back to the Capital building, ready to propose Massachusetts' plan.

"I hope this works. I don't want to be stuck in the Senate debating this issue forever." DC said. I nodded in agreement.

"Agreed. And this plan can be applied to future situations as well. We let in a free state and a slave state in pairs to try and avoid arguments about how its going to upset the balance in my country." I told DC.

'Or Congress will remain stubborn idiots and this problem never gets solved.'

'They're Americans. Our thing is being stubborn idiots.'

I pushed my thoughts away. While they brought up good points, that wasn't something I wanted to be focusing on today. I was here to present Massachusetts' plan and hopefully, finally, put this problem to rest, once and for all.

"Here to make another claim about how slavery needs to be illegal in the Union?" A souther senator asked a northern one as we walked into the Senate. The northern senator scowled while DC sighed.

"And so it begins." She muttered as we walked into the room.

"United! Glad you're here. Now tell us, which side are you on?" A senator called from somewhere in the room.

"The side that is able to create a compromise, which I actually have. Well, Massachusetts helped create it. The District of Maine wants to become its own state, so he proposed that we admit Maine as a free state and Missouri as a slave state. Then there will be no upset in the balance between free and slave states." I announced to Congress.

"Well...that seems like a fair trade off, but I have some questions. What about the other American Territories? Will slavery be legal there too?" A senator questioned.

'Depends on the need of the territory. That's why there are free and slave states after all.'

"That's not something we worked out. This was jus the basic outline of a compromise for Missouri's statehood." DC explained. A northern senator scoffed.

"Of course a girl wouldn't plan ahead. Why is she even allowed in the Senate? She should be caring for the state while United does the actual work." He muttered

"DC is allowed in the Senate because she is the capital and had more experience than you. Her gender doesn't make her any less capable." I told him. The senator's eyes widened after I said that. Clearly he wasn't expecting to be overhead.

"I apologize." He said, "I'm just frustrated by the lack of results."

I raised an eyebrow at the empty sounding promise, but put it out of my mind. I had more important things to deal with, and I wasn't going to waste today in Congress arguing with a senator over how capable my daughter was. I had done that before, and all it did was prove that that argument was a waste of time.

"Slavery should be allowed in the territories. It's legal by federal law, and therefore should be allowed in the territories. If they really don't want slavery, they can push for statehood as a free state." A senator argued.

'He makes a good point. If slavery becomes illegal in the territories someone will most likely argue that it means slavery is illegal in the entire Union.'

"If we were to use this compromise, than what would be the terms? We have the outline, but now we need to figure out the specifics." Another senator argued.

"So we forget about the territories?" The same senator that wanted slavery in the territories said.

"No. The issue of slavery in the territories will be settled but whatever compromise you are able to come up with." DC said. The senator nodded.

"Well. Let's create this compromise." He said. The Senate immediately erupted into debate.

'Even with a compromise proposed their arguing'

'But at least we're getting somewhere now.'

And we were getting somewhere. It took a few more weeks of debate and compromise, but eventually the Missouri Compromise had been put together. Along with some...questionable... concerns by northern senators.

"The admission of another slave state will increase southern power. The additional political representation allotted to the South as a result of the Three-Fifths Compromise gives southerners more seats in the House than they would have had if the number was based on the free population alone. Moreover, since each state had two Senate seats, Missouri's admission as a slave state will result in more southern than northern senators." A northern senator told me once.

"Yes, I know that, the southern states are bigger and can hold a larger population. They were going to overtake the north in the House eventually." I responded. The senator looked shocked.

"It's the South!" He said.

"And it's also a part of my country. Regardless of whether you believe in their beliefs or not, they're here, and are going to stay as a part of my country." I told him, ending they conversation. That conversation still bothered me. The North seemed to be a bit paranoid about giving the South more power.

But this was just a situation of conflicting ideas. It would die down eventually.

Remember your Revolution. You know what conflicting ideas can lead to.

I pushed that thought out of my head. We had a compromise. We had a new slave state and a new free state. We had the Missouri Compromise Line. Things were going to turn out fine. I was being overly paranoid.

Things were going to be fine. It was just an argument in Congress about slavery. We've been having those since before I declared independence. This situation wasn't new.

So why did this compromise make me feel so uneasy?

#a civil disagreement by weird #weird’s wattpad stories #countryhumans #statehumans #writing

[chiaki-translation]

ACTOR’S CIRCUIT: Event Translation Ch1-4

Hello, I’m back with another event, people have been requesting this event so here I am. It is considerably longer than Power Ranger event so I decided to break it down into 3 parts for the main chapters. Translation will be under the cut, enjoy~

Anyway, just some random thought, the whole story to me sounds like an ambassador of safe driving somehow...

ACTOR’S CIRCUIT Ch1-4 / / Ch 5-7 / / Ch8-10 / / Epilogue

Disclaimer:

A3! is owned by Liber Entertainment

Taichi:

Today’s driving lesson’s finally over!

Then, let’s go back to the dorm—

Ah? There’s a LIME message.

Eh, from Azuma-san?

That’s rare-

Azuma:

Good work today, have you finished your lesson today?

Taichi:

I just finished the course, I’ve just reached the nearby station!

Azuma:

So the lesson venue is in the nearby station.

I’ll come over there with a car, wait a while.

Taichi:

He’ll come here with a car…  Azuma-san will?

<Short Time Skip>

Azuma:

Doggy-kun, sorry for the wait.

Tasuku:

Good work.

Taichi:

So it’s Tasuku-san who’s driving!

When Azuma-san contacted me earlier, I was a bit surprised hearing that Azuma-san will come to pick me up with a car.

Azuma:

We were driving and we happened to be near here.

Tasuku:

We happened to pass by the nearby driving school, then we thought of the one we heard before.

Apparently, it’s the correct one.

Taichi:

The timing’s perfect!

Thank you~!

Tasuku:

Is your lesson going well?

Taichi:

I’ve somehow gotten my temporary license, but I have to try real hard to get the real license.

Azuma:

Even the company will be happy to have more drivers. Do your best, Doggy-kun.

Taichi:

Yes! Ban-chan also got one recently, I’ll do my best too!

<Shifts to Lounge>

Taichi:

I’m home!

Tasuku:

I’m home.

Tsuzuru:

Welcome back.

What a rare combination of people.

Azuma:

It happened that Doggy-kun just finished his lesson, so we went to pick him up on the way.

Tsuzuru:

I see.

Tasuku:

So today, Minagi is in charge of dinner.

Tsuzuru:

Yes. It seems that Fushimi-san will be late due to work today.

Taichi:

Oh~ It looks nice!

My stomachs really rumbling now!

Tsuzuru:

Haha, good work on your lesson today.

It’s already done so you can start eating.

Taichi:

Alright! Let’s eat!

Hmm~ Delicious~!

Director:

Ah, Taichi-kun. Tasuku-san and Azuma-san too, you’re back.

Welcome back.

Tasuku:

Yeah, I’m home.

Sakyo:

Oi, those who can drive a car, come here and read this immediately.

Azuma:

What’s happening?

Director:

Actually, a famous theatrical car race from abroad, “Stage Light Race”, seems to be coming to Japan.

They are planning to hold “Veludo Race” In Veludo Town this time, and it’s going to be broadcasted in TV too.

Tasuku:

“Stage Light Race”, I’ve heard of it before.

Sakyo:

And then, this Veludo Race offers a good amount of money as the winning prize.

Azuma:

I see, so we’re aiming for the prize money.

Taichi:

Oh~ It sounds interesting!

I’ll go call those who have driving license!

<Short Time Skip>

Sakyo:

Everyone’s been assembled.

Director:

Those who have a driver license in the company now are Itaru-san, Chikage-san, Guy-san, Tsumugi-san, and Banri-kun who just gotten his license recently.

Sakyo:

After that is Takato, Yukishiro, and me.

Kazunari:

Right!

Sakyo:

Oi, why is Miyoshi and Ikaruga here.

Director:

Misumi-kun and Kazunari-kun don’t have driver license right?

Kazunari:

Taicchan seems to be talking about something interesting, so I came here!

Sakyo:

You…

Misumi:

I got my driving license recently~

Troupe Members:

Eh!?

Taichi:

Si, since when…!

<End of Chapter 1>

Taichi:

Misumi-san, you have a driving license!?

Misumi:

I got it recently~

Because if I drive, I can search for more triangles in far away places!

Banri:

As I thought it’s for that.

Tsuzuru:

You never change, it stays a mystery as per usual….

Chikage:

Then, why is it that you’re gathering those with driving license here?

Sakyo:

A theatrical car race called Veludo Race will be held this time.

The participation requirement is being a member of a theatre group in Veludo Town and the driver needs to have a driving license.

Director:

From the troupe members, we have to choose 2 people as the driver and the navigator to be in 1 group, it seems that we can register up to 3 groups.

We can rent the car, but it’s okay to use our own car.

Then, there will be special rules for the Veludo Race too.

Guy:

What’s the special rule?

Sakyo:

First one is ‘adhere to the speed limit’.

If you drive faster than the speed limit, you’ll be out immediately.

Second is ‘stopping or starting suddenly is prohibited’.

Whatever happens, safe driving is the most important.

Third is, ‘stop at the designated checkpoint and complete the task given’.

Those are all 3 rules given.

When you complete the task in the third rule, you’ll get points and it seems that the overall winner will be the pair that racks up the most point.

Guy:

So it’s not a competition of speed.

Sakyo:

Yeah. Then, the winning pair’s troupe will be able to perform in the stage along with the other participants from the same troupe.

That’s about the rough explanation of the race.

Tasuku:

So what you mean is if we won, on top of getting the winning prize, we can also do some PR for our company with the performance.

Itaru:

That sounds like a very good deal.

Tsuzuru:

But, the special rule number 3, what does it mean by task…?

Sakyo:

The tasks haven’t been revealed. Practically, we won’t know of the tasks until the actual day itself.

Taichi:

I see…

Director:

Then, I was thinking that we should decide our 3 drivers from the people who have gathered here today, how about it?

Tsumugi:

I’m quite interested, but…

Tasuku:

Tsumugi you better not.

Tsumugi:

I thought you would say so. But either way, it would be hard for me to do it when I’m doing my tutoring part-time job.

Sakyo:

How about you, Takato?

Tasuku:

I don’t mind, but…

How about Sakyo-san, isn’t it better if you do it too?

Sakyo:

I planned to join too, but I have an errand that I can’t just leave behind…

Itaru:

Uhh… Me too, I’m currently very busy at work…

Chikage:

Same here. I think it will be difficult to participate.

Director:

How about you, Banri-kun?

Banri:

I got my license and I want to try it out, but on that day my big sister specifically told me to take her out with the car.

Sakyo:

So Settsu can’t make it too.

How about Guy?

Guy:

I also got some errands. Sorry.

Tsumugi:

Uh…. Guy-san is busy too, that means--

Misumi:

Yes! Me, I can participate!

Sakyo:

Ikaruga? Are you sure you’re fine with it?

Director:

I’ve never seen Misumi-kun drive before, so I’m a bit worried, but…

Tsuzuru:

Is it just me? I feel that the person who drive with you will feel worried all the way through.

Misumi:

I drive safely, no worries!

Director:

(If Misumi-kun says so…)

I get it. Then I’ll leave it to you.

Misumi:

Yeah! I’ll do my best!

Kazunari:

But, does that means I can participate as navigator if I cannot drive?

Then I want to participate too!

Azuma:

Then, let me participate too.

I think I’m good at navigating.

Sakyo:

Then it’s decided, the driver will be Takato and Ikaruga, the navigator will be Miyoshi and Yukishiro.

Chikage:

But if you want to make 3 groups, we don’t have enough manpower.

Kazunari:

Let’s settle with Tsuzuroon to participate as the navigator!

Tsuzuru:

Yes?

I never said anything about participating…

Kazunari:

It’s fine, let’s participate together!

It’s definitely going to be fun!

Tsuzuru:

Saying such an irresponsible thing again… I understand.

I’ll participate too.

Banri:

But even if Tsuzuru participate as a navigator, we’re still missing one driver.

Taichi:

…Actually!

I should be getting my license by the race day!

Banri:

But even so, there’s not much day left before the race.

Are you going to be fine?

Taichi:

We’ll just have to see!

Sakyo:

It will be great if Nanao can help, but you’re a beginner….

Azuma:

…If that’s the case, I’ll support Doggy-kun as the navigator. That should be fine right?

Sakyo:

I see. It shouldn’t be a problem if he’s together with Yukishiro who has a license too.

In case of emergency, please change the driver.

Azuma:

Change the driver…

…Yeah, I understand.

<End of Chapter 2>

Director:

Then, Azuma-sana and Taichi-kun will form a pair…

Let’s try to decide the pair for the other members.

Kazunari:

Right!

Then, let’s draw a lottery!

<Short Time Skip>

Chikage:

Then it’s decided, the pair will be Tasuku and Kazunari, Misumi and Tsuzuru.

Kazunari:

I’ll be Tax’s assistant driver, it’s so lit!

I have to take pictures of Tax’s cool driving skill!

Tasuku:

Do your navigation work.

Itaru:

Tsuzuru, go and collect those beautiful flags.

Tsuzuru:

…No, I actually thought about it too.

Misumi:

It’s going to be fine! I said so earlier too.

I drive safely!

Tsuzuru:

I’ll believe in your words.

This time, pleased to work with you.

Misumi:

Yes! Pleased to work with you~

Director:

By the way, the costume we’re supposed to be wearing will be similar to a real car race uniform.

Taichi:

Seriously!?

The uniform is so cool!

Kazunari:

The vibes getting even higher!

Each pair get their own colour maybe!?

Director:

I was thinking of leaving it to Yuki-kun, but we can discuss that matter with Yuki-kun too.

Sakyo:

Before that, Nanao, properly get your license.

Taichi:

Yes!!

<Shifts to Balcony>

???

Yes, yes…

Azuma:

Hmm?

Taichi:

….Uh…

Azuma:

Doggy-kun, are you in the middle of studying for your license?

Taichi:

Ah, Azuma-san!

You’re right. I’m trying to study to get my real license, but it’s not getting into my head at all…

What if I barely get my license…

I should be fine if it’s just a practical skill exam like during the temporary license, but the real license requires a written exam, so I’m getting worried…

Azuma:

If you’re fine with me, would you like me to teach you?

Taichi:

Are you sure!?

It will be so valuable if Azuma-san can teach me!

Azuma:

I don’t think I can teach as well as Tsumugi though.

Then, let us start.

Taichi:

Pleased to work with you!

<Short Time Skip>

Azuma:

The meaning of this sign, it just came out earlier.

Taichi:

I learned this from Azuma-san!

So the answer here will be 0 right!

Azuma:

Yes, you’re doing well.

Taichi:

Ha~, Azuma-san you said that you haven’t been driving recently, but you’re still so well informed. And your lessons are easy to follow too!

Azuma:

I happened to have the chance, there was a period when I was learning how to drive a car.

I learned those in the past, but I’m happy that I can teach Doggy-kun about those now.

Even after you get your license, I want you to keep remembering them correctly.

Taichi:

Yes!

I’ll make sure to remember the things that Azuma-san has taught me!

But, if you know so much, why do you not drive?

It’s not like you hate driving right?

Azuma:

I don’t hate driving, I just like to be in the passenger seat more.

There’s also the fact that I like to watch the view from the window.

Depending on the driver, the view will be different and it’s fun that way.

Taichi:

You’re right, you would be able to properly see the sceneries from the passenger’s seat.

But for me, I want to see both Azuma-san in the driver seat and the passenger seat!

You know so much, so I think you will be very good at driving.

Azuma:

Maybe.

Then, next time.

By the way, Doggy-kun, why were you thinking of getting a driver license?

It’s great as an identity card, but I thought Doggy-kun is not one to care about that.

Taichi:

That’s…

I, I want to go on a date with my girlfriend riding in the passenger seat one day…!

Azuma:

Fufu, I see. That sounds like Doggy-kun.

Then in order to make it a reality, let’s do our best in your study.

Taichi:

Yes! Azuma-sensei!

<End of Chapter 3>

Tsuzuru:

It’s finally the day for the test.

Taichi:

Yes!

Then, I’ll go to get my actual license…!

Azuma:

Good luck, Doggy-kun.

Do your best.

Tasuku:

Work hard.

Misumi:

Taichi, do your best~!

Kazunari:

Taicchan, you can do it!

Fight!

Taichi:

I’m going first!

Kazunari:

Right! Hey hey everyone, let’s go and pick him up after Taicchan’s test is over!

Tsuzuru:

Ah, that sounds good.

Misumi:

Let’s go let’s go!

<Shifts to Car>

Kazunari:

The test should be ending  soon.

I’ll go and LIME Taicchan…

Tsuzuru:

Eh, a LIME message from Taichi?

Azuma:

It’s addressed to the group with everyone from the troupe.

Taichi:

I passed the test----!

Director:

Taichi-kun, congratulation!

Banri:

Congrats-

Citron:

You did it!

Congratz!!

Sakyo:

You did well.

Muku:

Taichi-kun, congratulation!

Kazunari:

Taicchan, congratulations!!  (*^Δ^*)/

We’re heading over there with a car now, wait for us!

Taichi:

Everyone came to pick me up, thank you!

Kazunari:

Taicchan, show me your driver license!

Taichi:

Hehe, tadaa!!

Kazunari:

Oh!!

Misumi:

Taichi, congratulations!

Tasuku:

That’s great.

Tsuzuru:

You did your best on studying after all. Congratulation!

Azuma:

That’s great. Congratulation.

Taichi:

Hehehe, thank you!

Tasuku:

Why not we have Nanao drive on the way back?

Taichi:

Eh! Are you sure!?

Tasuku:

You got your driving license after all.

Ah, but have you gotten your beginner mark?

Taichi:

Ha…!

Eh umm, I’m sure it’s inside my bag…

There it is! I got it as a commemoration for me passing the driving test in the training center.

Kazunari:

Nice, Taicchan!

Then, let’s drive and go back slowly!

Tsuzuru:

I’m counting on you to drive safely.

Taichi:

Yes!

Ah, Azuma-san!

Can I have Azuma-san to sit in the passenger’s seat?

Azuma:

Me?

Tasuku:

Ah, you two forms a pair for the Veludo Race, it might be good to start practicing.

Azuma:

The first one in your passenger seat won’t be your girlfriend, are you fine with that?

Taichi:

Tha, that’s something that I’ll be looking forward in the future…!

Anyway, from now on, I want to learn a lot from Azuma-san before the actual day!

Azuma:

Fufu, I’m honored.

<Shifts to Car>

Taichi:

…Right, here…

Azuma:

Yeah, you’re doing great.

Taichi:

Hehe, I did it!

Tsuzuru:

You look a bit nervous, but you’re doing really good.

Kazunari:

Yeah yeah!

Taicchan, aren’t you a step closer to being popular with this!?

Taichi:

Seriously!?

Misumi:

Hey hey, next time I want to drive too!

Tasuku:

Then, why not change with Nanao.

Taichi:

I’m good with it!

Then, let’s change at that convenience store over there.

Misumi:

Understand!

Tsuzuru, ride next to me!

Tsuzuru:

Yes yes, I understand.

Tasuku:

By the way, Minagi, you were worried with Ikaruga’s driving at the beginning, is it fine now?

Tsuzuru:

About that, I had to ride with him a few times for practice.

He really practise safe driving.

Misumi:

Right~

Tasuku:

Well, from the beginning if you drive dangerously you won’t even be able to get your driving license.

Kazunari:

Taicchan also got his driving license safely, next one will be the Veludo Race, let’s all practice together!

Misumi:

Ou!

Taichi:

I’ll lead Azuma-san to victory while driving safely!

Azuma:

I’ll do my best as a navigator too.

<End of Chapter 4>

#a3! #a3! translation #a3! event #a3! act! addict! actors! #kazunari miyoshi #tasuku takato #taichi nanao #azuma yukishiro #minagi tsuzuru #misumi ikaruga

[whitherliliesbloom]

The joyous cries of the fae could be heard throughout the Kingdom of Rainbows, as the people tossed popfires and glittering streamers across the sky.

“Hail to the new Queen of Il Mheg!” 

Plentiful offerings had been given to the newly crowned fae that day, gifts of all kinds from both friends and new subjects that sat untouched in the middle of the empty throne room. 

And in the dark of the new Titania’s private chambers, crumpled on the floor, the queen clutched onto the brooch bearing the last king’s insignia and wept by her bedside alone. 

[[ Backstory for Illya, the kingdom of the fae and a bit of lore regarding previous Titanias and Urianger for the fae au! Tagging all the peeps who are involved in the fae au or at least have participated in it once: @ofthesilverlining​, @yumeaino​, @maiden-born-in-snow​, @mintdrop​, @wysteria-ffxiv​,@windupnamazu​, @firstblesssed​, @astralyehga​ ]]

“Am I right to assume that you’ve kept by the queen’s side for long now?” with a clumsy flutter of his glowing blue wings, Alphinaud clutched the stack of books he had graciously offered to sort, flew up and begun sliding them into the gaps in the top row of shelves, spine side out as requested. 

He wasn’t given an answer right away, and he casts a glance backwards towards the elder man, who stood in front of his desk with his arms crossed over his chest. The firefly that buzzed within the confines of the glass lamp did little to light up the room, barely illuminating a circle around the man as he frowned down at the scattered documents on the table. 

When Urianger finally snaps out of his train of thought, he lifts his head to look at Alphinaud, now returned to make another round of gathering up the books that had laid abandoned on the floor and returning them to the shelf they belonged.

“Indeed I have. Moreso, I have served as the advisor for the past many Titanias of Il Mheg.” 

Fae certainly live a long time, but for Urianger to even live long enough to see the coming and going of several generations of rulers, Alphinaud would guess that he is way beyond several times his own age. 

Though Alphinaud has not served for very long for the fae, he has thrown questions about enough to learn a great deal more than he had when he first set foot within the kingdom. 

‘Titania’ is in fact, not the name of the queen, but a title given to the monarch of the fae, whether it be king or queen. The words of Titania hold with absolute authority, and with that authority came an equal status of power to match.  Though time is but a mere concept to the fae, he has been made aware that the Titania of the current is decades younger than those that came before her. For what reason however, he has yet to uncover. 

His knowledge on fae culture, and by extension potential leads regarding the cursed ailment that haunted his kind were gathered by his own merit - a combination of relentless questions directed to the fae, private readings into the scrolls the fae owned, and also a great deal of intuition on his part. His knowledge on the queen however, is limited.. and what little he knows of her has been information so graciously supplied by her very own advisor. 

It would be a lie to say he isn’t even a bit curious about Titania, the faerie he only ever sees fleetingly during respites between both their busy schedules. Titania held a grace and air to her that was befitting of queen, and yet at the very same, her demeanor was not so much different from the fae around her. 

In fact, she was perhaps a tad too gentle. Soft was her voice that she could not even bear to yell when the fuath had flooded the flower beds near Longmirror Lake once again. He saw the way she bit the insides of her cheeks as she overheard the words of a pixie who spoke ill of her efforts to restore the nectarine supplies within the kingdom, and the tragically sad smile she gave him when she caught his gaze trained on her. 

It made him wonder what drove her.. made him wonder what circumstances she’s had to endure prior to his arrival. 

He wondered if he could possibly have the audacity to learn more about her - the girl beneath the shine of her crown and the fluttering of her gown. 

“Then.. Would it be out of line for me to inquire more about Her Majesty?” 

Alphinaud’s words pierce through the silence, and causes Urianger to pause in his moments. His eyes narrow and his gaze slowly trails towards the mortal. And though Urianger had made it a point to sharpen his glare, he could tell by the unflinching stare back from Alphinaud, that the young man had no intentions of taking back his words.. nor did he seem at all unsure about what he was asking for.

“You wish to know about Titania.”

“That I do.. If I may, at least.. I wish to know all about her, and perhaps even what came before her.”

“Pray, why the sudden interest in our history?”

Alphinaud’s chapped lips curl into something of a sheepish smile.

“Is that not what I am here for? To learn? T’would be a waste of her majesty’s blessing if I don’t learn as much as much as I can about the fae.”

With a slump of his shoulders, Uriangers sighs and shakes his head. The curiosity and stubbornness of mortals have always been one of their worst qualities.. And yet, it was through those very qualities that he knew, that he has seen Alphinaud’s sincerity towards their cause.. and the queen. 

How long has it been since he has seen the queen’s eyes glitter as brightly as they do when she lays eyes upon this boy? Or the pride that he senses welling in her bosom when she hears of praises about his kind deeds throughout the kingdom? Even a man, as old as he would not seek to stop the flowers of youth blossoming when he sees one.

Urianger reaches to grab the lamp that sat on the table, and saunters towards the back of the room, where a worn, old flag of the Rainbow Kingdom hung proudly. 

“Thy kind is truly fortunate that the age of our old traditions are far behind us..”

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

The fae kingdom was truly beautiful in all its splendor. From the deepest parts of their oceans, to the highest top of their mountain, did the land of the fae prosper in all its glory. All of fae folk lived in harmony, in no small part thanks to Titania, and the Royal Guards who served under them.

And yet, beneath the beauty of the land came a hidden secret.

Their soil was dyed red with the blood of mortals. Mortals who would dare trespass the land of the fae, for whatever reason it may be. They were all to be brought before the king or queen of the fae and executed without delay, and their bodies are to be used as a reminder of the gruesome fate that awaited those who would dare thread upon land that was not theirs.

For many years, did the fae live in isolation, but peace under this undisputable law. 

Urianger has seen many mortals fall before his eyes - head cut from their necks and their remains to be thrown and forgotten.. and he has seen many others more under the care of his shadow. 

He could not count the number of Titanias he has attempted to convince to abolish this law.. for how could he sit idly by while the lives of potentially innocent mortals were lost to ignorance or perhaps even accident? And when yet another king or queen is crowned who is far too stubborn in their ways to change tradition, he would go behind their backs, hiding the mortals away and helping them escape. 

He isn’t always successful, and the lives of those he could not afford to save always did weight heavy on his mind, and served to deepen the creases that would form into his skin as wrinkles of age. 

There would be no such need for such betrayal, such secrets if Titania were one of reason, if he had more power than a mere advisor, who in reality, truly had no real power.

That is.. until the son of King Everard - Lachlan. The next in line out of many kings Urianger would have to serve.. one he was prepared to have to betray the trust of yet again.

To his surprise, and the shock of the entirety of the kingdom however, upon being crowned the new Titania, Lachlan’s very first act was one that broke the long established rule upon the land - the execution of any mortals who came to Il Mheg. 

Under his new rule, all mortals are to be welcome with opened arms. with no exceptions, no trial and no borders. 

To this day, Urianger knew not the reason for Lachlan’s open mindedness towards the mortals.. what he did know however, was the chaos that befell the kingdom following the order of his law. 

A swarm of mortals that immediately came into the kingdom for a myriad of reasons.. Some had nothing but the purest of intentions - children and the innocent who merely wished to learn about the kingdom and people who has kept themselves in isolate for so long. Some wished to open trade with the fae, some wished to study the fae... and a good majority of the others merely wanted to plunder. 

And plunder they did- from the sap of their trees, the water from their lakes, the crystals from their mountains and even the very roofs above their homes. Wherever the humans went, came the desecration of their once beautiful home, left with nothing but rot and emptiness that the fae were left to handle on their own. 

Lachlan’s law had certainly brought about change to the kingdom, one that his subjects all felt, agreed were for the worse. 

By the time his wife, the queen Cocona had thought to bring upon the ban of mortals once more, the damage had already been done beyond repair. Millennia of prosperity and peace had been swiftly undone in less than a single decade. 

With their land polluted, resources depleted, and their faith in the rulers of the kingdom drained, the fae folk did bid in whispered breath for Titania to be dismissed.  

How could they place their trust in the one who had allowed their home to be destroyed so swiftly by outsiders? How could they bear to serve and smile upon the one who had been the direct cause of their suffering? 

Under traditions, Titania would still have many years remaining to sit upon the throne. 

Sensing however, that goodwill and morale had been utterly lost on him, for the first time in the history of the land of the fae, did King Titania willingly give up the crown early and placed it upon his only daughter, before leaving the kingdom with his wife to never return again. 

Many rejoiced upon the King’s leave, praising the new queen who had sworn to serve the remaining years of her service and what her birth guardians had owed to restore the kingdom to its former glory. 

The new Titania’s coronation should have been one filled with great joy and celebration. 

Few in the kingdom truly saw the deep sorrow the queen felt, however.. a relatively youthful fae thrust upon the throne several decades too early, made responsible for the restoration of the kingdom that her father had been said to destroy.. and above all else, the disappearance of her parents, who had left naught for her but a singular brooch behind for her to remember them by. 

That such a huge burden would be placed upon a singular fae was too much. Urianger knew this, and had thus begun taking a far more involved role than he has in generations in ensuring the queen’s welfare. 

He would deliver her her meals when she forgets to have them, write her missives that she could not handle on her own, teach her many, many subjects that a fae of her age wouldn’t usually already know. 

And he’d quietly listen to her sobs from behind closed doors, wondering if he had perhaps been a better advisor to her father, that he would not have deprived a girl of her youth so cruelly. 

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

“.....For her to bear such burdens alone...” The scowl Alphinaud wore upon his expression was all Urianger needed to see before nodding in agreement.

“And I admit to bearing a part of the blame for her majesty’s plight.. The problems the kingdom faces, even those that were not of her doing, are now placed squarely upon her majesty’s shoulders..”

“Then I would share part of that burden.”  

The elder man is taken aback by the swiftness of Alphinaud’s words, nor did he expect the determined clenching of the boy’s fists.

“You know not what it is you claim. Your lifespan is but a fraction of fae folk.”

“That may be so.. But I can still help her.” His wings carry him towards the door, assured in their movements now than ever before. “For as long as I still have her blessing, I am a fae.. I have every right, and every wish to lighten the burden of my queen.”

The door to Urianger’s cottage opens, letting a flood of moonlight envelope Alphinaud’s form. His wings are glowing brighter than ever, and just before the young man thinks to fully leave, he casts a final glance back towards Urianger.

“If I may trouble you yet another question... What is her name? Her true name.”

It takes a few long moments of silence for Urianger to finally bow his head, lips twitched upwards into a small, barely visible smile.

“The name of Titania, one that has not been spoken to her for years.. is Illya.”

#ffxiv #final fantasy xiv #alphinaud leveilleur #urianger augurelt #illya skawi #fanfic #mine #alphinaud #urianger #fairy queen au #fairy au #we've come so far #wow this ended up one overly long ramble probably nobody will read in its entirety #im so sorry #i just finished studying and i wanted to write the backstory for the fae au...