#I mean I get that he’s an untrained 14-year-old

[david-talks-sw]

Debunking more myths in the GFFA: the Jedi and the clones.

I wrote a post debunking the various myths about how "the Jedi condone slavery", a while ago. Something I had omitted (because it's such a big topic) was the following two statements that concern the clone troopers' relations with the Jedi:

"The clones were genetically bred to have accelerated growth, so they're technically child soldiers."

"The clones were slaves of the Jedi."

Both the above statements are inaccurate, let's explore why. 

"The clones were child soldiers"

Let's get the easy one out of the way first, because it's a logic that cuts both ways. If age is our only determination of the maturity of a Star Wars character, then Grogu is not a baby. He is aged 50, and is thus a middle-aged man.

Who cruelly eats the babies of a woman...

... and knowingly tortures animals for his own sadistic pleasure.

Of course, I'm kidding. Grogu's none of the above things.

The narrative frames him as a cute baby who does innocent baby stuff. Him eating the eggs is played off as comedic, as is him lifting with the frog. To this day, some fans still call him "Baby Yoda".

Conversely, despite the clones being 10/14-years-old, their actions, behaviors, way of thinking, sense of humor, morals etc, are all those of an adult.

Like, Ahsoka is technically older than Rex in this scene.

The scene doesn't portray them as peers, though. This isn't written as "a teen and a tween talking". No, Rex looks, acts and behaves like a grown-up and is thus framed as such by the narrative.

You can make the argument "they're child soldiers", but (unless you're doing so in bad faith) you'd also have to argue that "Grogu's an adult".

"The clones were the Jedi's slaves"

Nope. For all intents and purposes, they're in the same boat as the Jedi, who George Lucas stated multiple times had been drafted to fight in the war.

Again: both the Jedi (monk/diplomats untrained for fighting on a battlefield) and clones (literally bred en masse only to fight) are being forced to fight by Palpatine and the Senate.

Though, on paper, the clones were commissioned by Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas, it was actually done by the Sith (who either manipulated or assassinated Sifo-Dyas then stole his identity, depending on the continuity you choose to adhere to). The rest of the Jedi had no idea these clones were being created.

So while the clones are slaves... they're not owned by the Jedi.

They're the army of the Republic, they belong to the Senate. This isn't exactly a scoop, they refer to the clones as something to purchase...

... and manufacture.

As far as the Senate’s concerned, clones are property, like droids. 

Like there's a whole subplot in The Bad Batch about this very point: after the war, the clones are decommissioned and left out to dry because they literally have no rights, they served their purpose.

The only trooper to ever canonically blame the Jedi for the clones' enslavement is Slick, who the narrative frames as having been bribed and manipulated by Asajj Ventress into betraying his comrades.

Also, the only canonical Jedi shown to ever be mean, dismissive or mistreating the clones in any way, is Pong Krell.

And it's eventually revealed he’s in fact a full-on traitor, hence why the story frames him as an antagonistic dick from the moment he's introduced. He doesn’t represent the Jedi in any way.

We know this because the other Jedi we’ve been shown are always prioritizing their clones’ lives over theirs, if given the chance.

Finally, if we wanna get even more specific... as Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), the clones belong to Palpatine. 

Palpatine who is a Sith Lord. 

Palpatine who arranged for the creation of the clones and had them all injected with a chip that would activate upon hearing a code-word...

... and forced them to murder their Jedi without hesitation or remorse.

When you bear all that  ⬆️  in mind and when you read this quote by George Lucas...

"The Jedi won't lead droids. Their whole basis is connecting with the life force. They'd just say, 'That's not the way we operate. We don't function with non-life-forms.” So if there is to be a Republic army, it would have to be an army of humans."    - The Star Wars Archives: 1999-2005, 2020  

... narratively-speaking, everything falls into place.

Sidious knows that:

If he orchestrates a war designed to thin the Jedi's numbers, corrupt their values and plunge the galaxy into chaos...

If he wants to draft the Jedi - peace-keeping diplomats who’d never willingly join the fray - to fight in his war...

... then the only way they won't resist the draft and abstain from fighting is if they think joining the conflict will save lives.

So he creates a set of cruel, sadistic villains for them to face, opponents who will target innocent civilians at every turn...

... and instead of lifeless droids, he prepares for the Jedi an army of men... living, mortal people who, despite being well-trained, will be completely out of their league when facing the likes of Dooku...

... Ventress...

... Grievous...

... Savage Opress...

... or the defoliator, a tank that annihilates organic matter.

Thus, in order to save as many clone and civilian lives, the Jedi join the fray despite knowing that doing so will corrupt their values. 

And as the war rages on, a bond of respect is formed between the two groups.

Clearly, the Jedi don't like the fact that the Republic is using the clones to fight a war, but for that matter, they don't like being in a war, in fact they advocated against it.

However, it's happening regardless of their issues with the idea or personal philosophies. Said The Clone Wars writer Henry Gilroy:

"I’d rather not get into the Jedi’s philosophical issues about an army of living beings created to fight, but the Jedi are in a tough spot themselves, being peacekeepers turned warriors trying to save the Republic."

And bear in mind, the Jedi are basically space psychics, the clones are living beings that they can individually feel in the Force... 

... so the Jedi feel every death but need to move on, regardless, only being able to mourn the troopers at the end of every battle.

We see this in the Legends continuity too, by the way.

(that is, when the writers actually try to engage with the narrative)

Also, if you ask the clones, they’re grateful the Jedi have their backs.

When Depa Billaba voices her concerns about how the war is impacting the Jedi's principles, troopers Grey and Styles are quick to make it clear how grateful they all are for the Jedi's involvement:

So the clones aren't the Jedi's slaves. If anything, they're both slaves of the Republic (considering how low the Jedi's status actually is in the hierarchy).

Only I'd argue the clones have it much, much worse. 

The Senate sees the Jedi as "ugh, the holier-than-thou space-monk lapdogs who work for us"... but a Jedi has the option to give up that responsibility. They can leave the Order, no fuss or stigma. 

A clone trooper cannot leave the GAR! If they do, they’re marked for treason and execution. Again, they’re not perceived as “people”.

And it doesn’t help that the Kaminoans, the clones’ very creators, see the troopers as products/units/merchandise. A notion that the Jedi are quick to correct whenever they get the chance.

How The Clone Wars writers describe the clones' relationship with the Jedi.

George Lucas hasn’t spoken much about this subject aside from the quote from further up. But to be fair... the Prequels aren’t about the clones’ dynamic with the Jedi, so it makes sense that he wouldn’t talk on that subject so much.

He did mention that part of The Clone Wars’ perks is that he could:

“Do stories about some of the individual clones and get to know them.”

But that’s as far as it gets. 

So for this part, I'm just gonna let Dave Filoni, showrunner of The Clone Wars and the upcoming series Ahsoka, and TCW writer Henry Gilroy - both of whom worked closely with Lucas - take the wheel. They make themselves pretty clear on how the clone/Jedi dynamic is meant to be viewed. 

Here’s Henry Gilroy:

"In my mind, the Jedi see the clones as individuals, living beings that have the same right to life as any other being, but understand that they have a job to do."

"The clones see the Jedi as their commanding officers on one hand, but also, at least subconsciously, they look to them for clues to social/moral behavior."    

"Some clones may find themselves getting philosophical leadership from the Jedi that helps them answer some of the deeper questions of life."    

"We thought this was a great opportunity to show how the Jedi interact with clones. Specifically, Yoda in a teaching role of the clones, who were socially new, who kind of grew up— who were created to fight, and he really broadened their horizons and helped them realize there was a great big universe out there that was bigger than just fighting and killing."    

And here’s Dave Filoni’s comments:

"I truly believe that the Jedi try to humanize their clones and make them more individual, as Henry says."    

"I think we saw that in Revenge of the Sith, when the Clones were colorful and named under the Jedi Generals, and then in the final shots of the film with Palpatine and Vader near the new Death Star, the ships are grey, the color and life is sucked out. The Stormtroopers are only numbers and identified by black and white armor or uniforms in A New Hope." 

"The soldiers have become disposable to the Emperor."    

"That is something the Jedi would never do."    

"Yoda teaching the clones much like he taught Luke. ‘Cause that was kind of natural for [the Jedi], a natural instinct to take to these clones like they’re students."    

None of the above quotes from two different writers of The Clone Wars, who had many interactions with George Lucas, frame the Jedi and the clones’ relationship in a negative way. 

How much more proof do we need that "the clones were slaves of the Jedi” isn’t the intended narrative?

My point being that while the clones' ordeal is indeed horrible, the Jedi have nothing to do with it. The narrative of The Clone Wars always frames it as the fault of the Sith, the Senate and the Kaminoans.

If you go by the intended narrative, the Jedi were the clones' teachers and brothers-in-arms. The clones and the Jedi were not just comrades.

They were friends.

#long post #But most of this is GIFs used for evidence #meta #SW meta #jedi #Jedi Order #in defense of the jedi #Clones #The Clone Wars #on the jedi's involvement in the clone wars #TCW #Clone Troopers #Rex #Cody #Plo Koon #Mace Windu #Obi-Wan #Yoda #Dave Filoni #Henry Gilroy #Grogu #George Lucas #flashing gif

[amevello-blue]

I want a crossover with just Rise Leo and 03 Leo... except while Rise Leo is 14, 03 Leo is 10. This means that for about 2.5 minutes 03 Leo finds Rise Leo super cool... until he realises Rise Leo is an untrained idiot. For his part, Rise Leo wants to know why this five year old is trying to boss him around. They have to go on some sort of adventure to get themselves home, all the while being adorably and hilariously insufferable at each other.

This is actually hilarious because 03 Leo is shown being SUPER serious about his training even when he's super little, like 6-8 kind of little. Just. Goofy ass 14 year old Leo having fun and 10 year old Leo like "pLEASE we need to be SERIOUS!!"

Wonderful great dynamic.

[kaedethorne]

Okay, I fricking hate Andre the Ice Cream Man. I don't see anyone complaining about how he's trying to force two people with responsibilities on each other and force them to be a couple to satisfy him in exchange for him never being akumatized. Because, seriously, Andre got akumatized THREE times, and that's because his OTP ain't together.

And also, Lila started in one episode that Ladybug and Cat Noir are children. So, that meant that they appear young in the public eye. So, that means that Andre has been shipping REAL LIFE children to each other to stay together to be a couple. And then he got mad because Cat Noir, a teenage superhero, was trying to have a friendly date with another teenager who he likes and just came in laughing with. And then he claims, "this ice cream is for lovers only." Like, he didn't give Marinette and Adrien separate ice creams that one time and honestly, the double standards of this man.

Can we talk about how problematic this is? How a 40-50 adult is shipping two teenagers who already have a load of responsibility piled onto them so that they can barely glance at their love life? Marine the, Adrien, Ladybug, and Cat Noir are KIDS. Teenagers. 14-16-year-olds have their own lives, their passions, that aren't just about their love lives. This show has honestly strayed so far away from those plots, where Marinette wants to be a designer and stuff and the only thing to her is her love life and being the guardian (that she failed in because she was HIGHLY untrained and unprepared for). Also, in general, SHIPPING KIDS IN REAL LIFE IS GROSS because you're literally pressuring minors to commit acts with each other that they are not comfortable with (this includes kissing, holding hands, and being inside each other's personal space often).

I don't really like today's standards where kids are teased about having boyfriends and girlfriends when they are just kids. They need to learn more other than this romance thing that adults are pushing onto them.

I HEAVILY dislike Season 5 Episode 9 of Miraculous Ladybug because of fricking Andre because he's the person I do not want to run into if I am with a boy that I look good with. Kids are not toys you could ship and pair with, Andre. And leave Ladybug and Cat Noir alone.

I wish the ones who got akumatized remembered their actions because I want them to see how much damage they cause once they get too carried away with their emotions. But, I think that's a post for another day.

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous chat noir #miraculous lb #Mlb #fuck mlb #miraculous season 5 #Ted Talk #ted talks #frick andre #I don't like andre #I just realized how messed up andre was #I don't like him #I am not comfortable seeing him now #I am scared for marinettes safety #ladybug #Cat noir #Chat noir

[cinnademon]

“Who needs fancy ghost powers when you can catch these hands?” (ง •̀_•́)ง

How do you draw someone who is both skinny and muscular??

#I watch some of Danny’s fights and I CRINGE #I mean I get that he’s an untrained 14-year-old #But damn Danny FIGHT DIRTY IF YOU HAVE TO #Ain’t no shame in taking low shots #danny phantom #danny fenton #vlad plasmius #vlad masters #johnny 13 #fight poses #phanart #my art #dinoposts #I'm a gentle soul I swear

[astonmartinii]

lemonade and star-crossed lovers, p1 (JJ Maybank)

Warnings: none yet, swearing? all core characters are aged up to 18, Rafe is 21. 

JJ Maybank x kook!reader (super super slow burn) (this will hopefully be a series) 

WC: 4.0k 

Growing up, Y/N always heard jokes about how the eldest daughter was just the mum in a different font. She never used to believe it, but that was when she had present and dedicated parents. Now, it just seemed that with every addition to the Miller family, the less interested Kevin and Julie Miller became. 

So here Y/N was, practically a mother to her three younger siblings. 

Dylan is only a year younger than Y/N but is no less of a hassle, especially when his useless friends decide to crash at their place. But considering they had the most hectic house of Dylan’s friendship group, the Miller household was usually the last option. 

Then there’s Anderson, he’s in his rebellious phase currently, getting to that point where he’s figured out that acting out could maybe get the attention of his parents. Though Y/N wasn’t sure how well his plans were working out. 

Peach is the youngest and practically attached to Y/N’s hip. To an untrained eye, Y/N often looked like a teen mum as she took Peach with her to the grocery shopping. In fact, Y/N was sure that if the kooks in Figure Eight didn’t know her family, they’d sneer at her with the same ignorance that clouded their entire lives. 

Y/N woke up glad - it’s the last day of school. Summer break looms. The idea of boneyard keggers and hot (but equally clueless) tourons, excited the girl. But she knew her summer reality would be looking after Peach, bailing Anderson out of jail and swatting away the affections of Dylan’s stupid friends. 

—————————————

Dylan is already awake when Y/N comes knocking, taking extra close care to his hair. 

“Oh, you’re up,” Y/N said, moving to ruffle his hair and grab the empty plate on his bedside cabinet. 

“Jesus, fuck Y/N, was that really necessary?” 

“Hey maybe if you spent more time on assignments than your hair you wouldn’t have to take so many summer classes - oh yeah, mum might not remember, but I do, and you will be going.” 

“But it’s summer, surely it’s a violation to my human rights to go to school.”

“I’m sure you’ll survive, and maybe when you finally pass this year, you’ll thank me. Breakfast in 10.” 

Dylan just flips his sister off, going back to admiring himself in the mirror. 

Y/N next goes to Peach’s room to find her awake and rummaging through her draws. 

“Hey, princess, what are you thinking for the last day? Third grade finished already, you’ll be my age soon, wheeling me into the retirement home.” 

Peach erupts into giggles, pulling out a little pink summer dress and grabbing her pink sandals to complete the ensemble. 

“All pink, we love. Breakfast in 10, alright, don’t want you to be late for the last day.” 

Anderson’s room is last, Y/N doesn’t bother knocking on her parent’s door. Kevin is probably already down on Judy - his beloved boat. The room is typical of a 14 year old boy, it stunk, his weed paraphernalia was badly hidden and there was a lump of pillows under the cover instead of a boy. 

Shrugging, Y/N picked up the dirty mugs in his room and moved downstairs. She’d been awake nearly an hour now but was still unsure of what to make for breakfast. Opening the fridge gave her the only possible answer, leftover pizza from the previous night and maybe a porridge pot, though considering there were only two siblings to account for, it would do. 

Dylan and Peach joined her in the kitchen shortly after, each taking a slice or two of pizza. 

“No Anderson and pizza for breakfast? Watch out, we'll be calling CPS as soon as we’re outside.“ 

“You don’t know where the bug is? Why does that boy insist on giving me early onset cardiac issues?” 

“Don’t take it too to heart, I’m sure he’ll turn up by the second period.” 

“Okay, go to school now. Dylan, are you okay to drop Peach off, I’ll pick her up.” 

Dylan nods and ushers the youngest out of the door and to his car. Y/N lets out a sigh when she sees them leave the driveway and makes her way to the back door. Through the sliding door she can see her dad, Kevin on Judy instructing John B, the kid who worked on the boat, what to do. Y/N puts two slices of pizza on a plate and grabs an apple and ventures out to the dock. 

“Morning Y/N.” 

“Morning, John B, can I interest you in an apple? It’s all we have I’m afraid.” 

“No worries, any breakfast is breakfast when you’re a pogue.”

“Oh John B, you know I don’t believe in all that sub-par class warfare bullshit.” 

“Of course you don’t, but that’s very easy to say when you’re on the other side.” 

“Touche.” 

Y/N doesn’t say anymore, but moves to give her dad his breakfast. She liked John B and hoped he didn’t see her like the other kooks. Sure Rafe Cameron frequented her house, but she’s nothing like him. 

“Thanks, squirt.” 

Despite the nickname, Kevin was absent as ever, not moving to look at her. 

“You’re children are off to school, don’t worry.” 

Silence. 

“Oh thank you Y/N, I really don’t know what we’d do without you! You’re such a gem, you’re really unappreciated and we don’t deserve you! Thanks dad, I really needed to hear that. Are you coming later?”

“Where?” Kevin grunted, with pizza in his mouth. 

“My graduation? Did you forget that was today?” 

The awkward silence was enough of an answer for Y/N. 

“Sorry squirt, I promised to go to the mainland to pick something up for your mother.” 

With that, Y/N stormed off Judy, towards the house and into her room. When she sat down on her bed she could think about what just happened. She knew her parents didn’t care about her, but missing their first child’s graduation for a small errand to the mainland? 

Now that the house was quiet again, she could get ready - she was graduating today and as valedictorian she wants to look her best. Julie, her mum, is in Washington on some mysterious job venture, Y/N wasn’t told until she came down in the morning a few days ago and saw Julie with her suitcases. She guessed that one positive of her parents’ absenteeism is her ability to steal Julie’s expensive jewelry to wear. 

Y/N looked in the mirror, she did clean up nice when she wanted to. Her lengthy hair is in a half-up, half-down style, with minimal makeup and a red knee-length dress. The dress hugged her figure and complemented her graduation gown perfectly. Too bad none of her family would be there to see it. She knew deep down that Peach and Dylan would’ve attended if possible, and Anderson would maybe even make an appearance, especially if there was food involved. 

Y/N put her matching red heels on and grabbed her cap from her closet. After one final look in the mirror and putting her printed speech into her bag, the young girl made her way down the stairs. 

To her surprise, none other than John B sat in her kitchen drinking a glass of water. 

“You clean up nice kook,” said John B, a smug smirk on his face. 

“Thank you, John. Don’t you have graduation today?” 

 “Eh, yeah. I’m just going for the food though, school isn’t really my thing…” John B looked closer at her cap. “I’m practically the opposite to you Miss Valedictorian”. 

“Hmm, well at least someone in this house noticed, thank you John B. I’m going now, I didn’t notice your van out front, you need a lift to yours?” 

“Is that really on your way, wouldn’t want Miss Valedictorian to be late to her own event, you got a speech ready?” 

“I do as a matter of fact, but I want to be just on time, minimise the time people have to ask about the whereabouts of my parents. So, do you want a lift or not?” 

“Sure thing, Miss Valedictorian.” 

Y/N doesn’t acknowledge the nickname, but secretly loved it, it was a joke, but at least someone was appreciating her achievements. Peach would, she knows, but she’s not really at the point of understanding what it means and the others really are wildcards.

She led John B out to her small car, a baby blue Beetle. The boy smiled at her choice in car, 

“I’m sure that a kook like you could afford better than this.”

“Don’t insult Shelby in her presence, weren’t you ever taught manners? Now get it and give me directions.” 

The drive was fun, not that John B would tell Y/N that. He enjoyed her music choice, Mac Miller blasting from her speakers and the windows were fully rolled down, damned be her hair. 

Y/N neared the chateau and came to a stop. There were a few people sitting on the porch, looking over in confusion. 

“Yo, what’s with the kook-mobile, John B?” The blonde yelled from his seat on the beaten-up couch. 

When John B only turned to Y/N to say thank you, the interest peaked on the porch. The little gang of pogues moved towards the car. 

“John B, I didn’t realise your job came with a taxi service, why did I have to drop you off this morning?” The blonde, once again. 

“Lay off JJ, this is Y/N Miller, she’s the daughter of Kevin, the guy whose boat I work on. She’s on her way to her graduation and offered me a lift.” 

“Since when are kook graduations on the Cut?” The other boy interjected. 

Y/N decided to speak up, “if I knew an act of kindness would cause so much strife, I’ll just let you walk home next time. Now, I do have somewhere to be, so it was nice to see you, John B. I'm sure I’ll see you again this week.” 

“Bye Miss Valedictorian, good luck with your speech,” John B said, getting out of Shelby. 

“You’re the valedictorian?” Kiara finally spoke, face shocked. 

“Yeah, surprising what happens when you show up for school right?” Y/N snapped, angrier than she intended. 

“Oh yeah, sorry. I guess I thought that maybe Sarah would get it, especially if Ward has anything to do with it.” Kiara grimaced, she didn’t mean to offend the Miller girl. 

“You can’t buy the valedictorian title, well I’m sure you could, but not to flex, but my grades were miles better. If we’re being really ironic though, Ward technically does pay for the valedictorian,” Y/N said with a smile, not meaning to brandish her academic success in their faces. 

A chorus of “huhs?” from the pogues surrounding her car told Y/N that they weren’t catching her drift. 

“I’m Ward Cameron’s assistant. Sorry, I didn’t make that very clear.” 

“You have a job, but you’re a kook?” the blonde, JJ, said. 

“Yes, blondie, some of us do have to look out for ourselves, didn’t your parents tell you not to judge a book by its cover. I’ll see you around. Bye John B.” 

Y/N backed out of the road, heading back to Figure Eight, with her graduation starting in 10 minutes, she had massively overstayed her welcome at John B’s. If she weren’t so busy, Y/N always thought she’d like to be friends with John B and his crew, they had an unmistakable family bond that Y/N craved. She loves her siblings but they are still grappling with the idea of give and take, mainly fixating on the taking aspect. 

Y/N pulled up to school, and took out her phone, dropping a text to Anderson pleading with him to at least make it to two classes today. Even with her phone safely away in her bag, Y/N couldn’t quite bring herself to get out of the car. Happy families surrounded her everywhere she looked, she couldn’t handle the stares when she walks in alone. Well, it’s now or never she says to herself. 

Walking isn’t as bad as she suspects, Mr Morgan, her English teacher, meets her at the door and takes her to her seat, explaining the mechanisms of the ceremony and when she’ll make her speech.  

The hall, however, is the reminder that Y/N was dreading. The two seats she had booked for her parents sat empty, standing out like a sore thumb in the packed hall. She made her way to the student section with her head down. However, before Y/N could sit she was apprehended by an excitable Sarah Cameron. 

“Y/N! Hi! I heard you’re valedictorian, well done! I don’t know how you managed, with all the work and your siblings, you really are amazing.” 

“Thanks, Sarah.” 

The words sting, despite their pure intentions. She’s a kook, she shouldn’t have to work, and she should have parents who care for her and her siblings, but some things just aren’t meant to be, clearly. Y/N sat in her assigned seat and willed the ceremony to go fast, though she wasn’t looking too forward to her speech. The diversion to the chateau meant that Y/N had no time to look over it again. 

The ceremony started and the hall quietened down. Principal Stoney started her opening speech, basking in the spotlight when the hall door bursts open and interrupts. In the doorway stands Anderson. His hair is disheveled and the clothes are torn, probably from the nightly activities with the skateboard he held in his hand. The boy scanned the hall, eyes falling on the empty seats with the name Miller and then Y/N herself. He gives her a small wave and pushes past the Figure Eights families to the seats. 

Principal Stoney just restarts, a slight bewildered look on her face. 

When it was time for her speech, Y/N didn’t even feel real, like she floated to the stage and was possessed. Her speech went well from what she could gather, Mr Morgan gave her a thumbs up and Anderson hollered, much to the dismay of the families around him. But he was even worse when she received her diploma. 

As families spilled onto the field for fancy food and photo opportunities, Y/N wrangled Anderson to the side before he could raid the food stalls. 

“Anderson, what the fuck? First you didn't come home last night and then crash my graduation?” 

“Hey, I’m sorry about last night, me and the boys got carried away skating and I crashed on Oscar’s couch. I’m sorry, I should’ve called. And as for now, you think I’m going to let my smart-ass VALEDICTORIAN sister graduate without anyone being here to holler? You’re dead wrong.” 

The sentiment fills Y/N’s heart with joy and tears threaten to spill. Anderson’s never been good with feelings, it was nice to know that he did care. 

“Mum and dad can go fuck themselves, if they don’t see how great you are then they’re blind.” 

“Thanks, bug. It means a lot. Now don’t eat too much, people are probably already annoyed that you’re here.” 

Anderson shrugs, he couldn’t care less what they thought, he was here to eat and show off his sister. 

“Congratulations Y/N!” 

The voice of Y/N’s boss, Ward Cameron, was easily identifiable. Y/N puts on her confident face and turns to see the whole Cameron brigade, minus Wheezie. 

“Thank you, Mr Cameron.”

“You know, I just don’t know how you get it done, working for us and dealing with your siblings…” Rose says, the last part fading out as she watches Anderson walk back to his sister with his arms piled high with fancy horderves. 

“It’s tough, yeah, but what wouldn’t you do for your family?” 

“Of course, of course, sorry for any implications, where is the old man, I know Julie is off on business, but Kevin has to be proud, I didn’t see him in the hall?” Ward’s voice feigned sincerity, but the Miller siblings saw right through it. Before Anderson could respond, Y/N replied. 

“Dad is also doing business on the mainland, at the last minute. He’s devastated, really,” it's not convincing, even to her. Y/N can tell she hasn’t convinced the Camerons either. Sarah gives her a sad look, Rose attempts to mirror her step-daughter but fails, Ward looks slightly smug, like he’s trying to hide it but Rafe doesn’t even try to hide it like his dad, a massive smirk on his face. 

“What are your plans for the summer Miller?” Y/N is surprised when it’s Rafe who asks the question. 

“Well, I’ll be working for your dad, if he’ll have me, I still have my volleyball coaching in the tourist season and there’s never a dull moment with these around,” Y/N puts her arm around Anderson. 

Looking for a quick exit, she looks at her watch. 

“Oh, if we go now, you can still catch your last two periods. Kids, am I right?” She gestures at Rose and Ward, “we’ll be off now, I’ll see you next week?” 

The Camerons nod as Y/N pulls Anderson away and towards the car park. But before they can fully escape, they’re stopped by Mr Morgan. 

“You think you can leave without a photo and a proper goodbye, I didn’t think you were that kind of girl, Miller.” 

“Of course not, Mr Morgan, here,” she hands Anderson her phone, “take a picture please.” 

Anderson does so, taking about 50 at once. 

“Okay, okay, let's get one of you two, you can’t not have a proper graduation picture, especially not when you’re valedictorian.” 

Mr Morgan takes the phone and smiles at the siblings. When the impromptu photoshoot ends, Y/N is glad, despite it pushing back her escape. 

“Y/N, on a serious note, you are always welcome in my classroom, you’ve been a pleasure, and don’t tell anyone, but you were my favourite. And you, I hope you’ll be just as good next year sir,” he says turning to Anderson, “although considering you’re here and not in class doesn’t bode well.” 

“Thank you, sir, really. But you are completely right, and that’s why we’re bouncing now, so he can get two at least two periods.” 

Mr Morgan smiles at the two when they start to run to the car. He’s always felt sad for the eldest Miller, and her parents absence did not go unnoticed. 

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

“I’ll see you later, I know you guys will probably crash a kegger, but at least come home before you go?” 

“Yeah, yeah, okay, who knows maybe I’ll see you there?” 

Anderson laughs and gets out of the car, he knows his sister won’t especially when Peach will be home. Y/N watches him go into the building and stays a couple minutes to make sure he doesn’t sneak back out when he thinks she’s gone. 

But Y/N barely gets time to breathe, as she’s down to the elementary school to pick up Peach. The girl in all pink is waiting with a gaggle of friends and shrieks when she sees the blue car. 

“Y/N! Y/N! I got the “most improved” in drama!” 

Y/N opens the door and picks up Peach, spinning her round and congratulating her. 

“Well done, bubs. This calls for a celebration, it’s the first day of summer and the boys won’t be out for another couple of hours - what do you want to do?”

Peach doesn’t even need a second to think. 

“Lemonade stand!” 

Huh? Y/N was prepared for an answer closer to maybe a princess party or surfing lessons, but a lemonade stand? 

“Are you sure?” 

“You said we could do whatever I want!” 

“Okay, okay, let’s go then we’ve got a lot to do.” 

Satisfied with getting her way, Peach got in the car and demanded that the next stop was the craft store. 

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

The next 90 minutes were gruelling. Peach spared no expense, Y/N was lucky that she still had the credit card Julie gave her. But she knew it would all be worth it. And it was. 

Peach chose a spot right in the middle of the beach and the stall was already making a profit. Y/N knew kooks just couldn’t resist the temptation to look good and what was better than giving a generous tip to a child’s lemonade stand? 

But with a successful kook-trap came the kook assholes. Namely Rafe, Topper and Kelce. 

“Three lemonades please. Apricot, right?” Rafe said with a smirk. 

“You know it’s Peach asshole.” 

“That’s a bad word, Y/N,” Peach mumbled, clearly upset about being called apricot of all things.

“Yeah that’s a bad word, Miller, you should listen to Apricot a little more.” 

“Maybe, you should listen to your college professors, oh wait, you dropped out, my bad, must be a bit of an open wound judging by the look on your face. I bet daddy wasn’t impressed.” 

“Excuse me, you bitch, how dare you talk to me like that.” 

“Run along, lap dog, we don’t need your money.” 

Rafe goes to say something but Topper and Kelce hold him back. 

“Bro, don’t get it shit with your pops over a fucking lemonade,” Topper warned. 

With a final “fuck off”, Rafe Cameron stalked away to his car, his gang of cowards following, but not without Topper placing a crisp $20 bill in the tip jar. Peach mumbled and thank you and Y/N just nodded to Topper, too tired to say anything more. 

And if her afternoon couldn’t get any worse, the prickly blonde from this morning strolled over to the stand. 

“I’ll have four lemonades please.” 

Peach gasped and accepted his money right away, getting to work on the drinks. 

“I’ve seen many a kook-trap in my time, Miller, but not many operated by Kooks themselves. Impressive ingenuity.” 

“Thanks - JJ, was it? Peach here won “most improved” in her drama class and this is what she wanted to do in celebration” 

“Cute, Miller, didn’t take you as a softy earlier.” 

Peach announces that she’s finished with the pogue’s drinks, he puts another $5 in the tip jar and grabs the drinks. 

“Miller, there’s a kegger at the boneyard tonight, wanna come? I’m sure at least one of your brothers will crash.” 

“Sorry JJ, someone’s gotta look after the little one, maybe another time, if you can stand being around a kook for that long.” 

“I think I can make an exception, especially if they look like you Miller,” he winks, “boneyard tonight, if you change your mind.” 

Y/N blushed, but she knew she couldn’t, she couldn’t leave a nine year old at home, even if Kevin was there, there was no guarantee that Peach would be fed and given adequate attention. 

“He’s pretty, you should go.” 

“Peach, honey, you know I can’t, I can’t leave you at home.” 

“But I could go to Jenny’s, she’s having a sleepover tonight, I forgot to ask earlier, I got too excited about the lemonade stand.” 

“Okay, you can go to Jenny’s, but promise not too much candy?”

“Only if you promise to go with him tonight.” 

Peach was proving to be just as mischievous as her brothers. 

“Okay fine.” 

“Go tell him then.”

“Huh?” 

“I won’t believe you unless you go tell him now that you'll be there!”

 Y/N groans, but gets up to follow the blonde. As she nears, she shouts, 

“Hey JJ! I’ll be there tonight, at the boneyard, I’ll be there.” 

“Didn’t take too long for you to change your mind then, am I just that irresistible?” 

“No? What? Of course not! It’s just Peach - she’s a master manipulator, and she’s only nine!”

“Sure, Miller, if that’s what you want me to believe, I’ll see you later, sweetheart.”

Y/N turned, she should cringe, but she finds herself blushing as she walks back to Peach. 

“Don’t say anything, missy, you’ve done enough, let’s pack up and get you ready for Jenny’s. You young ones are such troublemakers, damn.”  

A/N: I am not American, so I hope that the graduation stuff makes sense, from someone who has no real clue what happens there lol  

#obx #outer banks #jj maybank #jj maybank imagine #obx imagine #outerbanks imagine #john b routledge #kiara carrera #pope heyward #rafe cameron #sarah cameron #ward cameron #jj maybank x y/n #jj maybank x kook!reader #jj maybank x reader

[transmalewife]

Alright, let's talk about attachment

I can’t find clear information on when exactly the non-attachment rule was added to the code. It was either soon before or soon after the great sith war. Either way, for the VAST majority of the existence of the Jedi, it wasn’t a thing. Jedi got married and had families for over 20000 years, then added the non-attachment rule, which ultimately led to their destruction. And before anyone tries to tell me I believe they deserved to be genocided, I don’t. I have never actually seen anyone say that, but I see people argue against it constantly, and imply anyone who doesn’t think the Jedi were perfect and blameless thinks that. I don’t think they deserved to die, I think they needed to change. And Yoda says that himself, many times. The Jedi weren’t prepared for the return of the sith, or the war. They had separated from the military 1000 years before, and the galaxy was in relative peace all this time, so the order’s role changed to one that worked very well with their rules. Detachment meant they could be impartial when overseeing political disagreements, lack of possessions meant they would be focused on the mission at hand and not prone to taking bribes, and distancing themselves from the general population meant they were more or less uniform, and could be trusted not to side with someone for personal reasons.

All of this falls apart once they become an army again. Impartiality is a flaw when they have to defend one side at all cost and not even allow themselves to consider compromise. Lack of possessions and attachment to people means they are prone to taking unnecessary risks, because they have nothing to lose, and do things like send 14 year olds into battle, thinking of the “greater good” over the safety of children. And the order being a monolith, with set rules and philosophy distinct from the rest of the population meant the Jedi trusted Dooku long after they should have stopped, because he used to be a Jedi after all, surely he still follows the code.

Now, I am not saying non-attachment is always bad, I think it served a very specific purpose in the order, and to some extent worked for many years. However.

Humans are a social species. Human babies NEED physical contact and affection to develop physically. Children need a stable, strong, and supportive relationship to their caregiver to properly develop psychologically. And after last year I don’t think anyone will argue that adults don't need connection with other people just as much. And not just shallow interactions, but open affection and love. Love of any kind, because claiming that the Jedi only forbid romantic love is just untrue. I think people tend to forget that "Compassion, which I would define as unconditional love, is essential to a Jedi's life. So you might say, that we are encouraged to love." isn’t the actual doctrine, it’s a literal pick up line that Anakin uses on Padme.

Ahsoka and Obi-Wan both get criticized by other Jedi for their entirely platonic attachment to Anakin, and vice versa. Now, humans are the most common species in the galaxy, and in the Jedi order. Many other species are near-human, so it’s safe to assume at least some, if not most of them also need that companionship and affection to develop and live happy and stable lives. I do believe that non-attachment is a valid philosophy and chosen path in life if done carefully and within reason, I just don’t think we have a single major character that actually applies to. And chosen is an important word here. Jedi don’t get much of a choice. I’m not trying to start the baby-stealing debate here. I hear the argument of ‘force sensitives are dangerous if left untrained, and said training should start as early as possible’. I think finding a way to deal with that problem was an insanely complicated decision, and taking children into the temple as young as possible is not a bad solution. I don’t entirely agree with not letting them see their families later, (especially since in legends Obi-Wan was allowed to visit his family, which implies Anakin couldn’t go free his mother specifically because he was already too attached), but the idea is sound. I do also understand that no one is forcing Jedi to stay in the order and they can leave for whatever reason at any time. But that isn’t exactly a free choice either. Leaving the order means leaving the only home you remember, the only people you know to make your own way in the galaxy, and staying with those people means you can never fully love them. It’s a difficult solution to a complicated question, and for the most part, it worked (not always, and not exactly as intended, but I’ll come back to that.) Children grew up in the order, were trained to control themselves and the force, and became Jedi who were impartial, patient, and balanced. But everything falls apart when you introduce someone who wasn’t raised in the temple.

In The Rising Force, 13 year old Obi-Wan had barely been off Coruscant in his life. He describes himself as sheltered and unaware of all the pain in the galaxy, and says it was done on purpose, so younglings wouldn’t have to face the dark side before they were ready for it. But Anakin had seen nothing but darkness, pain and injustice before he joined the order. He was severely traumatized, and while the temple might have had some ways of dealing with trauma and PTSD in adults, they had no experience in treating the same in a child, because their children were kept safe and protected. The idea of letting go of your pain and fear only works if you know you have a safe place to come back to, if you’ve spent the first decade or so of your life in the most protected place in the galaxy. Anakin spent the first decade of his life as a slave. He couldn’t let go of his fear, because fear was what kept him alive. Fear is not irrational if you are constantly in danger, it’s what protects you, keeps you aware of the limits you can push before you get punished. And that mindset doesn’t fade just because you’re out of that situation, especially if your only family, the closest person to you, is still facing that danger every day.

I’ve seen people use every excuse possible to explain why Anakin didn’t see his mother again to avoid blaming the council, including, and I shit you not, “He just didn’t have her comm number”. But to me that seems disingenuous, when we see in his first meeting with the council that they already consider him too attached. It's one of the main reasons they don’t want him to be trained, so it seems logical that they wouldn’t allow him to see her once he became a padawan. I also want to mention that what Yoda says, “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.” Is just… blatant catastrophizing. Right? Like we can all see that the escalation is not rational there at all. Maybe it could apply to something else, but not to a child who just left his mother for the first time in his life and went from a tiny dustball in the middle of nowhere to the most populated planet in the galaxy, and is now being tested by a bunch of old people with the power to decide his future. Obviously he’s afraid, and obviously he’s not dealing with it the way Jedi younglings do. That, in and of itself doesn't doom him to fall. Also what Yoda misses there is that suffering leads to fear. This is a closed loop, and one that has defined Anakin’s entire childhood.

Let’s come back to how the system doesn’t always work. The way I see it, most of the characters we see are attached. Obi-Wan is considered one of the greatest Jedi of his time. Windu describes him as “our most cunning and insightful Master—and our most tenacious”. And yet, he was not insightful enough to look past his love for Anakin, his attachment, and see how close to falling he was. Ahsoka was so attached to Anakin she refused to listen to Maul on Mandalore, refused to even consider the posibility he could fall. She was arguably the person with the best shot at preventing the empire forming at that point, and she loved anakin so much she doomed him and the entire galaxy. Aayla admitted to thinking of Quinlan as her father, and also, apparently in legends had a long relationship with Kit. Even Mace didn’t follow the code when he decided to kill Palpatine, which directly led to his death and the empire. He also indirectly caused the war to start. According to wookiepedia “Windu viewed Dooku as the shatterpoint of the entire Separatist movement, which meant striking Dooku down would theoretically end the imminent clone war before it even began. However, Windu's prior attachments to Dooku clouded his judgment.” I’m not even going to mention Kanan and Ezra, who are obviously family.

So basically everyone is attached and lying about it. How has no one thought that maybe this isn’t the healthiest way to live and tried to change the code? Well, I have a theory, and it’s Yoda. He was 900 years old when he died, and was on the council for the vast majority of his life. I can’t find when exactly he became grand master, but it’s safe to assume he held some degree of power over the entire order for most of a millennium. At the end of TPM he tells Obi-Wan “Confer on you the level of Jedi knight, the council does. But agree with your taking this boy as your padawan learner, I do not.” Then he reverses that decision by himself. So either he has the power to veto the council’s word, or who gets trained is entirely up to him. Either way, not great, considering his lifespan is so much longer than most Jedi, and therefore his approach to life is vastly different. Humans need love and closeness to live. However, while we don’t know much about Yoda’s species, it probably isn’t a social one. You could count all the characters of this species on two (human) hands, and Yoda lived in complete isolation for 20 years on Dagobah, and only went a little bit insane. They are naturally rare, and therefore probably lead solitary lives in nature. Moreover, Yoda outlived every master who trained him, and almost every padawan he trained himself, (there’s a great post about that here) so even if he wasn’t naturally predisposed to non-attachment, he would have had to learn it to deal with all the loss he had to live through over the years.

A lot of people think that Anakin fell because he had attachments, which is not true. He fell because of how his attachments played out and/or ended. The most obvious example being Palpatine, who used Anakin’s trust and friendship to groom him for over a decade and actively undermine Anakin’s trust towards anyone else, especially the order. (more on that here). Obi-Wan refused to take on the role of a father figure that Anakin tried to shove him into, so he turned to someone who did accept it. It’s not Anakin’s fault that it turned out to be the worst person alive, nor can we expect him to notice when he’s known Palpatine since he was a child. Another failure of jedi non-attachment, because a loving parent or guardian would not let their child be used as a bargaining chip when the most powerful politician in the galaxy blackmailed the order into allowing him to meet Anakin regularly, but a distant teacher and detached knight thinking of the greater good might. The other attachments Anakin had were taken from him (Shmi and Ahsoka, the last orchestrated by Palpatine who was fully ready to give her the death penalty to make Anakin more unstable), or he was forced to lie and hide them, compromising his vows as a Jedi (Padme) or refused to choose Anakin over the order/their principles (Obi-Wan, and again Ahsoka, and to some extent Padme, but he’d already fallen then). All these people had every right to make the choices they made, but it wasn’t the act of loving them that made Anakin turn to the dark side, it was how those attachments played out.

I think everyone agrees that Yoda is as detached as a Jedi should, if not can, be, and that didn’t prevent Dooku from falling. We see that explored in more detail with Barriss and Luminara. Luminara is detached and distant, she’s fond of Barriss, but their relationship is not familial in the slightest, and she repeatedly shows her willingness to put the greater good and the mission before Barriss’ safety and even life. And yet Barriss still falls. A complex combination of events and choices caused each of those characters to fall, not the simple presence or absence of attachment.

And lastly, just as attachment can make you unstable if your relationship with that person is unstable, it can also make you stronger. There is a reason Anakin and Obi-Wan were the face of the army. Not only did their obvious attachment (the strongest between two jedi we are shown) make them more relatable to the public, but they, when working as a team, are shown repeatedly to be more or less undefeatable. They spend half of aotc flinging themselves off great heights because they know the other will be there to catch them. They know from years of experience that they have backup and they know each other well enough (or force bond communicate) that they can trust the other will be where he needs to be to help/save them. Contrast that to how Windu and Palpatine fight in rots once the window breaks- very carefully, clearly holding back to keep themselves safe. Neither of them has backup until Anakin arrives, but until the last second they can't be sure which one he will choose. Anakin and Obi-Wan fight the same way on Mustafar, especially when balancing on that thin bridge. No acrobatics, swinging arms to keep balance, keeping their distance, being almost uncharacteristically careful compared to how they treated heights in aotc, in tcw, and on the invisible hand in rots, because they both know the other won't catch them if they fall this time.

#star wars meta #attachment #star wars #anakin skywalker #obi wan kenobi #yoda #jedi order #mine

[val-aquenta]

Ok so I got asked to talk about sexism in Star Wars. Specifically the judgement from fans being harsher for female characters as opposed by their male counterparts. 

I’m often hesitant to talk about sexism in general because I’m not super well-versed on this topic despite being a woman myself lol. And I’m also hesitant to talk about it in relation to Star Wars because the fandom is so very sexist, but I’ll give it a shot. 

So the big issue is pretty obvious in the sequel trilogy. Rey was, and still is, heavily judged for a multiple things that are ignored for male characters. Off the top of my head, I can think of the whole training thing. Many people say that Rey doesn’t really do any training, meaning she is undeserving of any of the powers she has. While, to a degree, I agree here. (The whole force healing thing was pulled out of thin fucking air ok) I don’t think she deosn’t do training. She knows how to fight with a staff, it’s demonstrated. Despite the fact that a lightsaber is different, the skills do translate over, so it makes sense that Rey is able to weild a lightsaber as good as she handles a staff, which she is hown to be really comfortable with. Main problem is that lots of folks are mad about this, but fail to see similar things happening with otehr characters who are male. Honestly, I see both sides of the story. I think that yes, Rey knows how to weild a lightsaber from her staff, it makes sense. I’m not greatly versed in the OT (I mainly stick to prequel era garbage. I love my Jedi ok) but I do recall that Luk loses his first fight with Vader because he isn’t trained well enough. Similar to that, Anakin loses a hand on the first fight we see with him a decade after he begun training, but imo that was about him being reckless not untrained. Anywas, my point is Rey can weild a lightsaber well because of her staff fighting, and that completely makes sense. what doesn’t make sense is the amount of fucking hate she gets for this. The problem is peopl nitpick so so fucking much at Rey, but then they fail to do the same to male characters who got hrough similar shit. There is this double standard in that men can learn at very fast rates and there be no issue bu god forbid a woman do the same. 

Next part is about Luminara lol. I fucking love her ok. So, there are plenty of characters who are reserved in Star Wars. Obi-Wan is pretty reserved especiall in tcw, Cody and Fox are both reserved. Mace Windu as well is reserved when he has to be, yet they are never called out for it, or they very rarely are. However, when a female character is reserved, suddenly they’re eMoTIoNleSs. For example. Cody is beloved despite seeming pretty reserved (imo especially pre s7) and many people really love Cody. I do too. Obi-Wan as well is one of my favourite characters despite his reserved and calm nature, and especially in tcw for some reason. One of the reasons I love him is that he isn’t like a volcano of emotion like Anakin is, and knows to control himself lest he become a threat to his friends. This is one of the reasons I love Luminara and Shaak Ti, because it is obvious that they do care, but they know that they can not get carried away with it. It’s why I love Jedi traditions/philosophy. Controlling oneself is extrememly important, and I love that there is a group of people who are like that when it’s so often shown that being overly emotional is good. However, for some reason, a lot of people really hate Luminara and blame lots of dumb shit on her. I would probably say a lot of it is sexism because women are ‘meant’ to be ‘emotional creatures’ so when a character breaks that mold and doesn’t fall apart at the idea of possibly losing someone they love, they’re villified for it. And my thing is, why do so many people hate Luminara for being reserved and knowing that being overly emotional is not the best answer, when they like other characters because they’re reserved. Big example is Obi-Wan as he is one of the most liked characters (I think. Lol I’m biased) But yeah. he’s pretty stoic, but no one says shit about him that much, but god fucking forbid Luminara be the same.

And kind of going off on a tangent here, but the sexualisation of women in Star Wars. Yikes. Like of course Padmè had to wear an artuflly ripped crop top version of her skintight white thing at Geonosis. Of course. And putting a 14 year old Ahsoka in a tube top and leggings....? HUH? Kinda yikes. I get not making a flowy nun outfit or whatever, but Obi-Wan isn’t wearing a tube top thing, is he? They could have given Ahsok cool robes like Shaak Ti or Luminara but no... they’re going to give her some ridiculous skintight thing. Anyways yeah. Also the amount of nitpicking over a character is always on a character who is female of a POC or something like that. I don’t see people nitpicking about shit for Kylo Ren, but of course y’all hate Rey for no reason other than existing.

So... yeah. I hope I was able to communicate my thoughts properly? If you need clarification, just ask Sorry if it’s salty, but yeah. 

@jedimasterbailey hope this was good? I’m not super good at articulating my thoughts, but here it is. 

#ask game #long post #Luminara Unduli #shaak ti #rey

[lorata]

How would one of the mentors deal with a young tribute that they didn't pick? But have to mentor? If the volunteer they picked didn't volunteer for whatever reason and some let's say 14 year old girl or boy had to go into the games? Especially if the kid was already in training? I hope this ask wasn't weird!

so I’ve played around with this a little bit, in the accidental no-volunteer Year 30 (Joseph’s grad year) an untrained volunteer went in, and the mentor that year would have treated the kid as fairly as possible -- not their fault, they didn’t deserve this, there’s no point being mean or cruel. they would’ve told the kid to run for the Cornucopia when the countdown ended and made a deal with the Ones or Fours to kill him fast, like they usually do with the meat districts

(this is also the same when the Capitol mandates no volunteers like 53 -- it’s not a surprise, this time, they know it’s going to happen, but same thing. do their job, make sure the kid is fed and knows what to expect with the Capitol, prep, parade, training, interviews, etc, help them feel like they might actually have a decent chance at being okay, and make sure they get a quick death)

if they’ve had a bit of training it’s -- interesting. I have an AU where 14yo Claudius whose mom forbids him from Residential actually gets Reaped in a no-volunteer year, and rather than send him on a quick suicide run Lyme decides she’s going to give it a shot. and he wins! because why not. and he didn’t have the training, but he had the anger and the desperation and he wanted it very, very badly.

I think if the kid has a few years of Residential under their belt and they want to fight for it, that’s enough for a mentor to go for it and devise a strategy to help them win. Is it likely? obviously not -- but outliers win with less, and it’s enough to try, rather than arranging a quick death for a scared kid who doesn’t want to be here. It doesn’t take much for Mentor Brain Disease to kick in, really.

I will say if it’s a last-minute volunteer no-show then there can be a mentor toss-up based on who does get reaped. if Devon is up to mentor but the actual kid going in seems like they’d do better with a Lyme or Misha approach, here’s the one time when they can switch before the train leaves (like with Prosper). 

Hope this helps!

#district 2 #Anonymous #lorata answers #we must be killers: tales from district 2

[comradekatara]

Sometimes I think about how Sokka suffers so much in book 1 to address and actively work on his toxic masculinity. He has to suffer and grow directly so that when blind, powerful, aristocrat baby Toph joins the Gaang he can accept her and become the backbone of the group. Book 1 Sokka would not have been as kind, patient, and TRUSTING of Toph as late book 2 and book 3 Sokka is. AND NOW IM CRYING.

i mean, he didn’t exactly suffer. he hung out for few days with a hot girl, they did some martial arts, exchanged some flirty banter, read some feminist theory, kissed, and then he went on his merry way, totes woke forevermore. there are definitely worse ways to shed yourself of a gender essentialist mindset than a meet-cute (getting your ass handed to you by an untrained 14 year old when you’re a respected elder & waterbending master, for example). and i think it’s actually sokka’s own fear of vulnerability and appearing weak that allows him to empathize with toph and understand her so well. they share many flaws and insecurities, as well as just virtues, and if anything, that strengthens their bond. 

#sokka #sokka&toph #he rly didnt suffer all that much he was humiliated once and then he learned #like yeah. cringe that he thought women couldnt fight but its not like he didnt completely reevaluate that stance the second he was shown o #so... #asks #mewto

[lovelivingmydreams]

A story by heroes and Villains

Season 2: Secrets revealed Logan Anker: Old wounds and worries

Master list book 1

The wounds of the past can hurt. Not just you but your surroundings. No wonder we keep those secret to protect them... or is it ourselves we are protecting mort that way?

Waiting until the end of patrol was torture.

Logan didn’t like talking about the past. At all. He had trouble talking about Hannah and Caleb in any capacity to Virgil, or Patton, or Thomas or even Picani. And the Collector… Logan wanted to forget about him. But he couldn’t. If he was honest, that man showed up in his nightmares to this day. And he likely would keep showing up until he was behind bars. Patton and Thomas did their best to comfort him. A gesture he appreciated even though it wasn’t very effective. Finally Prince arrived. The young hero took in the atmosphere in the room and was clearly annoyed. “Listen, I promise I was safe. But I could’ve been in the middle of talking someone out of making a bad decision at the time. You can’t just shout in my ear out of nowhere. That was dangerous and frankly, I expect you to be more levelheaded BS. Anny other night and Logan would have insisted Prince gave him a detailed debrief on what exactly was so important that he couldn’t even let them know he was okay. But today… “That isn’t what this is about Prince. Take a seat,” Thomas instructed. Giving Logan a moment more to collect his thoughts. “Ok…” Prince said as he sat down, Looking around confused. Logan took a last moment to calm himself before he started his story with an apology. “Prince. I must offer you my sincere apologies. I didn’t want to tell you this right away, and maybe I should have.” Had his decision really been about allowing Prince to live his dream before burdening him? Was withholding the truth for Prince’s benefit? Or his own? “You shouldn’t have gone out without knowing the risks… We talked a little about nemeses during your training.” Prince nodded. Clearly still confused. “Yeah, but I doubt I’ve done anything that warrants one yet. Those come later in a career unless…” Prince paused, frowning. “But you were a villain. Any nemeses you had would be heroes… Right?” Prince was a good student indeed. He’d realized that Logan was telling him he was about to inherit his mentor’s past. And he had a good point. A nemeses of Logan would be on the side of the heroes. “Technically, the collector isn’t my nemesis. At least not in the traditional sense,” he agreed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Ever since he stopped using his powers, high stress situations got him small headaches that got worse over time. “I’ll start from the beginning,” he said, thinking back to a time he’d erase from his life all together if he could. “I became a villain because I needed the money and fast. Plain and simple. Any legal means were insufficient, so I made a name for myself and eventually, when I said ‘give me 10.000 dollars or I destroy this building,’ people handed me the money because they knew I very easily could make good on my threats. I always picked an amount they could easily provide without harming the business or individual too much financially. One day I found myself running from the police force. I had misjudged the time it would take them to arrive,” he had gotten arrogant with success. “And I got helped by a stranger in a haphazardly put together disguise. When we lost them and caught our breath, he introduced himself as ‘the collector’. I fairly quickly understood him to be a fanboy of sorts. He was a big fan of my ‘work’, though he misunderstood the intention entirely. Not that I could get him to understand that.” Everything he said that didn’t fit Collector’s narrative was ignored or dismissed. “He thought I was taking the money as proof that I was superior or something like that. I didn’t listen too closely to his speech at the time. I was concerned with getting away. He said he wanted to help me. Gifted were still considered fairly new. Nowadays most people alive have lived most of their lives in a world with gifted.” The first super powered individuals had appeared around the time Logan was born. “But back then, most of the population still saw it as strange and there weren’t any real initiatives to help train the powers. So the gifted that were around often were untrained and had their powers act up without warning. Which could be quite destructive.” Logan recalled the park bench and every instance of loss of control after that, all the way up to a wine glass in a restaurant less than a year ago. He looked at his pupil to make sure he hadn’t lost his attention. The wide, attentive, green eyes and firm nod told him he still had an audience. “Anyway, the collector thought that people should respect and celebrate our existence. He compared the stigmas we faced to those of people of color, or the LGBTQ+ community, then still called the Gay or Queer community. He said it very nicely, it almost sounded reasonable, if you ignored the slight notes of supremacy. And if I had been trying to ‘stick it to the man’ as they say, I might have been tempted. But I just wanted…” to pay form my sisters treatment and my research for a cure. “I was selfish in my actions and therefore not interested in his big revolution, which turned out to be a good thing in some ways.” He didn’t want to even imagine the kind of person he’d be then. He wouldn’t have Patton that was for sure. And Virgil… No. He was glad Virgil was kept away from that madness. And he intended to keep it that way. “I told him I wasn’t interested in leading any resistance, thanked him for the assistance and left. Shortly after this, I encountered Manifestor for the first time. He blessed one of the people in the building with super speed.” Said gifted was now one of the heroes patrolling the city. He was actually one of the heroes who’s territory Prince shared. Thomas hadn’t gotten the hang of permanent and temporary power boosts yet at the time. It was always a game of chance. Thomas chuckled. “I remember. I was so pleased that it worked.” Pleased was one word for it. “You were insufferably delighted, even though I defeated your champion.” While he and StarBucker were amicable nowadays, at the time, Logan had been thoroughly annoyed at the inconvenience. But thinking back to Thomas’ triumphant smile he could not quite help his own amusement. “You did retreat though,” Thomas pointed out. “I stalled you long enough to make you give up that mark and head out. So it was a win for me.” Logan let out a sigh, he couldn’t argue with that, but they were getting of topic. “I saw the Collector a few more times after that, though I managed to avoid conversation. One day, during a stalemate with Manifestor, he asked me about him. Apparently I wasn’t the only one who’d been approached about his plans. He had actually advanced them. He was now not only collecting gifted, but also individuals worthy of a gift. Be it they joined him out of free will, or got persuaded through different means.” Blackmail, intimidation, manipulation. Those were the collector’s tools. “And he wanted me to ‘grant them that blessing’,” Thomas added uneasy. Logan patted his old friend on the back in support. A conversation with the collector had never been a fun experience for either of them. “Manifestor had enlisted the help of others to free some of his victims,” Logan continued. “The Collector claimed I was championing his cause. I assured Manifestor that I had no intention of assisting in his plans. That is about the time Manifestor started winning me over to redemption.” He thought back to those times with a bittersweet feeling. He’d been so excited by the idea. A nice place for him and Hannah to live. A good job that would let him take care of her and have her be proud of him. Things hadn’t gone quite how he’d wanted, but at the same time, one thing had gone better than he could ever have imagined. “Next time I spotted Collector, I told him in the plainest possible terms that I was not interested…” It should have been a firm ending to this story. Or so he had thought. That was naïve of him, he now knew that. Obsession and fanaticism don’t disappear just because one piece of that craziness did not cooperate. He’d been arrogant once again. Thinking too highly of himself. It took him a moment to continue. “He assured me I would be…” He suppressed a shiver as he recalled the polite, almost pleasant way he’d spoken. Sort of soothing. As if Logan had merely been a child afraid to go in the swimming pool and Collector was indulging him for the moment. “I haven’t seen him since, but that promise… I don’t know what exactly he has been up to in the past 14 years. But one can only imagine how someone like that matures... Or what he has planned for me when he finds me.” Or much more importantly, his loved ones. Thomas, Patton, Virgil, the Bullards who despite the current situation were still family to him, and Prince too if he was completely honest. There was no telling what Logan would do if any of them… Not now. “Prince, the collector will not consider you his enemy. But he is yours. Anyone who meets his criteria of ‘worthy’, is at risk. And he does not take no for an answer.” The words had barely settled in the room or Prince shot up panicked. “Phantom!” he exclaimed. “Phantom might be in danger! What if someone on the chief’s team passes on information to Him? Or what if he has connections to these crime organizations!? I’ve got to go out now and find him…” Prince was clearly about to head out again right away. Admirable, but not very prudent given the circumstances. “Not tonight. Maybe tomorrow you can try again. Even if you find him, you are not in the right state of mind to deliver this kind of news delicately.” Prince paused, clearly contemplating his words. Seeing, or feeling, an opening, Patton added his two cents. “You’ve done great today sport! You just go home and sleep on what you’ve learned. Tomorrow night there is another patrol and you might run into him then.” And to make the set complete, Thomas finished: “I’m glad you are so eager to meet this young hero Prince. Just know that there is no pressure. They’ve been evading unwanted contact for almost a year now. It is okay if you don’t find them right away. And we’ll give you the support you need.” Prince clearly did not like it but he conceded. “Can I ask a favor though? Can I bring him some of that dye and a modulator? I doubt he’ll have a very sophisticated disguise if he’s on his own. It could be a sign of comradery?” he explained awkwardly. Logan nodded. It made sense, and it wouldn’t take him long. He led Prince through a few doors to his lab. Once he got to his desk he put his family picture down. It was a digital picture frame that played an album of family pictures once the camera registered his face in front of the desk. Even if Prince didn’t look at it on purpose he might catch a glance of Virgil, Patton or him in passing. And Prince was a curious person. His territory included Logan’s new neighborhood, he might see Virgil on one of his runs while he was on patrol. Or see any of them in passing. For Prince’s safety and that of Logan’s family, he wouldn’t take risks. He handed Prince a black hairdye stick. Fitting for a gifted who relied on stealth. He picked up a dark purple modulator, the darkest color he had and plugged it in to program it. Prince clearly had an idea of how Phantom’s voice should sound. “Could you make it so it’s like, deepened by an octave and doubled? With an echo effect?” Logan nodded. It fit the moniker Phantom was given, that was for certain. “Thank you. This should help a lot,” Prince grinned as he took the modulator. “I shall be heading home now,” he bid before leaving the lab, followed by Logan who watched him get in the elevator to leave the facility. Logan let out a relieved sigh. “Come on. Let’s go home and see Virgil,” Patton said gently, knowing what Logan needed right now. Logan smiled gratefully and as they headed up, he handed Patton the keys. He didn’t feel clear of mind enough to handle driving tonight. He let Virgil know they were on their way so he would know to expect them. Otherwise he might think they were burglars.

When they got home they found Virgil on the couch with his headphones on. He looked up and smiled as he spotted them. “Welcome back. I gotta ask though. Who’s your fourth guy?” he asked playfully. Logan blinked confused. “What do you mean?” “For your poker nights,” Virgil joked. Patton giggled at Logan’s side, taking the lead. “No cardgames I’m afraid kiddo. We’ll tell you about the project once it’s finished. It’s all confidential for now I’m afraid,” he said. Virgil cocked his head and studied Patton for a moment, then he shrugged. “Okay, Keep your secrets,” he sighed as he stretched and got up. “Night Pat, night Lo,” he said casually as he headed to the door. Logan cringed a little at that. Lately his son, on occasion, used his surname. He was assured by Picani that this was in no way a reflection of Virgil’s affection for Logan as a father. He had no less than 3 fathers now. Him, Patton and an unknown biological father. To differentiate between the three he likely used surnames in his head. Which may slip out verbally on occasion. Even knowing that, it stung a little. “Goodnight Virgil, I love you,” Logan replied, trying not to show his inner discourse. Virgil paused in the door and looked back with a smile. “Love you to dad.” And just like that the tightening in his chest loosened. “Love you three kiddo!” Patton added. “Love ya Pat,” Virgil snickered before disappearing to his room. Logan kept staring at the door for a moment. Patton hugged him from the side. “What do you say I make us a nightcap before bed?” he suggested. Logan nodded. “That would be pleasant,” he told him.

The next morning, Logan woke up to hearing Virgil move about and singing to himself downstairs. That boy never sleeps in. He let out a yawn and stretched, feeling Patton curl into his chest. “Do you regret moving in with us yet?” he teased. “Never,” Patton muttered sleepily. “I smell bacon,” he hummed. “First awake makes breakfast in the weekend. It’s a tradition we have. He was ten the first time I found him trying to fix me breakfast in bed,” Logan recalled fondly. “He made a mess, but it was really sweet. He was following all my rules. He didn’t touch the knives or the stove without me there, which of course limited his options. I helped him make breakfast the that day. After that I made sure to lay some things ready for him on Friday and Saturday nights in case he tried again. Which he did.” “That is adorable,” Patton squealed with a kiss to Logan’s cheek. “Let’s see what our son has in store for us today,” Logan suggested as he got up. He waked to the closet to select some clothes for the day. He felt Patton’s eyes on his back and turned around. “Everything alright Patton?” Patton bit his lip. “It’s just… Our son. I really like the sound of that,” he explained. Logan nodded. “I do too.” Patton bit his lip. “I was thinking of maybe looking into… what it would take for me to adopt him? Make it official?” he suggested. Logan’s heart skipped a beat. Patton had mentioned adopting Virgil in a burst of emotion before. But it seemed like he meant it. He knew that it would mean the world to both him and Virgil to have Patton be an official part of their family. “That would be excellent Patton,” he told him sincerely. Patton’s face lit up at that. “Would you help me figure it out? I want to know what steps I have to take.” Logan walked back to the bed and sat himself next to Patton, taking hold of both his hands. “It would be my greatest pleasure,” he told him gently. Patton’s shoulders relaxed, his gaze still thoughtful, and then he let out a giggle. “May I inquire where your mind has taken you now?” Logan wondered fondly. “It’s just. Look at me being practical. You have rubbed off on me,” he scolded playfully. “Well if it helps, you have changed me too. For the better that is,” Logan assured him with a kiss to his forehead. “Now get downstairs before our breakfast gets cold.”

Breakfast was pleasant. Virgil rolled his eyes and teased them with how ‘cute’ they were being this morning. Logan responded by giving Patton an extra kiss to his cheek. And then Thomas picked Virgil up for their trip to the zoo. Logan and Patton distracted themselves by preparing classes for the next week, answering email and spending some quality time together. Logan had told Thomas that he could tell Virgil about his teenage years. If the topic of parents and siblings came up, he could mention what he knew. Logan knew that he was risking moving up his time table. But part of him hoped he’d be forced to tell Virgil everything tonight. He should have told him long ago. But he kept finding excuses to postpone. He had still not decided whether he’d talk about BrainStorm or not. “I’m home!” Virgil called all of a sudden. Logan glanced up from his book. Time had flown by. Patton was almost done with diner after which they had to leave for Prince’s next patrol. Logan was torn on that subject too. On one hand he knew the young hero wouldn’t need constant supervision for much longer. But on the other, he’d worry about Prince the whole evening if he didn’t personally keep an eye on him. “Dad!” Virgil grinned brightly as he gave him a hug. Effectively ending his inner turmoil. “Virgil? Not that I do not appreciate you seem excited to see me. But is there a particular reason?” he wondered. Virgil let go and stepped back. Logan absentmindedly took note of the fact that the height difference between them was almost gone. Would he outgrow him? Caleb had been a little taller than him. “Uncle Thomas told me about your teen years. I didn’t know you were on the debate team!” he grinned excitedly. Logan was a little flattered that this little bit of information seemed to mean so much to his son. “Well, yes. It was a bit of a hobby of mine, as well as an attempt to get better at socializing,” he confessed. Virgil’s eyes sparked at that. “You were a socially awkward nerd,” he chuckled. Logan frowned at that. “Hey, that’s a complement. I’m a socially awkward artsy kid. Sounds like I’m your son after all,” he chuckled happily. “Speaking off. Uncle Thomas told me you wrote poetry back in the day.” “Really?” Patton exclaimed from the kitchen. Logan was flushing bright red. “I… Experimenting with different forms of self-expression is a natural part of discovering one’s identity as a teenager. It was a phase. I would like to forget about it,” he said stiffly. “Aw, but poetry is so romantic,” Patton pouted. Logan made a mental note of that. Just because he didn’t write anymore didn’t mean he didn’t enjoy reading it from time to time. There was something soothing in the format and he knew of a few poems Patton may enjoy. As far as Virgil was concerned though, poetry was firmly in his past. “That’s too bad. I thought I could maybe make a project around your old work for art class,” Virgil said disappointedly. Oh, that was not fair. “I’ll see if I still have one of my old notebooks,” he allowed. “Just ask my consent before you pick one.” And before he knew it he was once again hugged tightly by his son. “Thanks dad. You won’t regret it. I promise.” Virgil’s excitement was worth any embarrassment that his pubescent ramblings may cause. During dinner Virgil told them about the trip to the zoo and the many sketches he’d made. He also informed them that his session with Picani had gone well. After dinner Virgil bid both of them goodnight in case he’d be asleep when they got back from the university. Patton was smiling the whole way there. “What is on your mind?” Logan wondered. “Did you ever write something for a crush?” Patton asked giddily. He had sort of expected this. “I… Didn’t really have a romantic interest in high school. Thomas was the only person my age I got close to. I was… Well you know what I was going through back then. Between my mother and school… All I had on romance was rather resentful or, once Hannah introduced Caleb to me, from the eye of an observer. Perhaps I can find one of the latter. It might be nice for Virgil to use something inspired by his parents as a base for whatever project he is working on,” he mused. “That sounds like a lovely idea,” Patton agreed.

Half an hour later, Logan was pacing the floor. Prince should’ve called in ten minutes ago. He might just be late, but… Then a beep announced that Prince’s communicator went active. Logan rushed to the comstation. “DreamPrince you are late. What is yours status?” Had he ran into trouble? Was he hiding? Or had he simply forgotten about his com until now? “I am currently debriefing Phantom. I’ll let you know when I’m done here. Tell chief I’ll stop by with a package,” he informed them swiftly. “Radio silence until further notice.” And just like that, the line went silent once again. “He has him…” Logan muttered. Almost in disbelieve. “Oh thank goodness,” Thomas breathed in relief. They’d all be worried about the child out on their own. But it seemed like they were quite a few steps ahead of Collector. An advantage they sorely needed.

Hero au

@cirishere​ @hestianerd1​ @moonlightshow00​ @naturallyunstablegamer​ @alias290​ @meowthefluffy​ @frida0043​ @angelic-cali​ @selenechris​ @theblackveilinreverse​

#sanders sides #ts sides #logan sanders #patton sanders #roman sanders #thomas sanders #virgil sanders #heroau

[system-of-a-feather]

If you're comfortable, I'd love to hear some of the ways you realized you are a system. Im wondering about it myself, but none of the research I've done is helpful on what its like to be in a system, just what it looks like from the outside.

I wish it were that clear cut that I could say much about it XD It was a process and understanding that slowly developed between when we were 14 (6 years ago) up until like... probably less than a year ago. So I guess it took us 5 years after anything notably stood out to actually understand what things were and to make it even more difficult, I have very splotchy memory about that area. 

I didn’t really “realize I was a system” ever to be honest - if you get what I mean. When I came to kinda know of this I didn’t really think of it as “systems” and I don’t think I even knew what a system was other than that I had stumbled upon some like.... median system explanation page cause a friend showed it to me and I was like “Oh I guess that makes sense” cause at the time I was like “Man its kind of scary sometimes when my body burns then I loose control of it and do weird shit”

So I was just like “I guess I have fragments of myself that live with my head and I guess it’s kinda normalish? Enough that there is a page explaining it” and I just kinda forgot about all that beyond it and was like “Yeah I got fragmented parts that exist in my head” and REALLY didn’t think much about it.

Like I probably should have went “Huh wait, I dont think most people have parts in their head” but I was really just like “Oh cool I guess, except for two that kinda scare me” and just I guess treated it like my maladaptive daydreaming. Pretty sure I thought it was just like... really intense roleplay or something XD

At a certain point our system went into major denial and communication went down so we “didn’t have alters” despite anyone from the outside being able to point it out in hindsight.

Then we went to therapy and our first issue made our untrained dissociative therapist go “bro that sounds like DID but I’m not sure and DID is pretty rare???” and we went “hahah yeah we faked it at one point hahaha” and went on with it and once again entirely ignored it / tried our hardest to not have DID because we “faked it”. Dissociation got in the way of therapy with that therapist at a certain point since he was ill equipt for complex trauma and dissociation

Then we went to college and I was like “Okay I didn’t get much of any progress in the last few months with that therapist because he couldn’t handle dissociation well so I need a dissociation therapist” - then we went to a therapist that specialized in complex trauma, adult PTSD, and dissociation 

I explained “Hey I dissociate like a bitch and I need help” and he worked with us and I forgot HOW but I was like “Yeaaaah like.... I kind of... maybe... have people... in my head” because I really still felt bad cause I thought I was just trying to be quirky and fast forward a few weeks and it’s like

“You have DID and you could have mentioned that earlier” and me being like “I MEAN I GUESS BUT I DOUBTED THAT I DID.” Then proceed another year and I’m like “wait I think Im really not faking”

So like XD Thats REALLY informal of an explanation, but I never really I guess “discovered I was a system” as much as I was like.... found out I have DID? I dunno its weird.

I just kind of always had this “Oh yeah different masks, sometimes I can’t control the body, I forget a lot of things, oh and hey I think I met someone that lives in my head” that really just melded in with a lot of my old maladaptive daydreaming issues.

I never really had a “AH HA! I AM MULTIPLE!” as much as I was like “Oh I guess thats a thing some people have” followed by a “Oh shit wait I wasn’t just trying to be quirky and its a REAL mental health condition and not some tumblr fever dream?”

Cause I used to think (due to me coming from the ‘its called medians’ rather than ‘its called DID’) that having seperate parts was “tumblr culture” akin to otherkin, fictionkin, etc.

I dunno, I’m just kinda rambling XD Hope it was entertaining at least

-Riku (Host)

#ask #asks #alter: riku

[emmettsmantiddies]

Hello!!!Can you please tell me about your cats-🐺

Hello Wolf Pal (Every time I see that emoji I think “it’s a wolf thing” lol)

So I have 4 cats! 3 of them are siblings (Junie, Pepper, Wrigley) and one is my baby (Wilbur)

And this turned out super duper long, so below the cut it shall be! (open at ur own risk I’m not kidding it’s long)

Junie is the leader. When we met the three siblings (we call them the babies because when we adopted them we had a senior cat, he has since passed but we still call them that, confusing, I know) she was the first one out. My dad and I were insistent that we get her, my mom and sister wanted the two fluffies. My dad said “get three of them” and we did. Junie is, like most female cats, not the most friendly with everybody. Don’t get me wrong, she’s sweet, but she’s only really bonded to me and my mom, and she only bonded with my mom after I left for college. She likes to play with small plush toys--she’s stolen little milk carton plushies and dumpling plushies from me before. They are now hers. She’s also known for being weird. She scratches around her food when she’s done or if she wants to come back to it later; cats do this in the wild to protect their food. She also tends to clean her brothers--and Wilbur too, on occasion. Her full name is Juniper, but we rarely call her that. Her other nicknames are June, Junebug, BugBug, Buggy, Booba, and Boob (I started calling her Booba for no good reason and it got shortened to Boob lol). She’s a good girl, but a little odd.

Pepper is probably best described as a himbo. He’s very puffy (although to the untrained eye he and Wrigley are practically indistinguishable), and he’s slightly browner than Wrigley and has a longer face and more distinguished nose. He also looks like he’s wearing harem pants. Pepper likes to give love bites. They do not feel like love bites; they hurt. He will try to give you an eyebrow piercing if given the opportunity. Pepper likes to play with balls with bells in them, he also likes strings. Pepper was originally Wrigley because we thought Wrigley was a girl. But, since Pepper was darker at the time, we switched Wrigley to Pepper and Lily to Wrigley (confusing, right?). Pepper is my mom’s cat; although, he’ll settle for me on occasion. He’s very complacent and just loves to sit with my mom and sleep with her at night. He will sometimes “scarf her,” that is, he’ll lay across her neck like a scarf. He likes to watch water coming out of faucets--I say he’s a himbo because he gets surprised by the water every. Darn. Time. He’s the largest in terms of puff, but actually weighs the least. His nicknames include PingPing (I’m not sure where this nickname came from), Pepperoni, and the most notorious nickname he has is PP. I gave him that one, but hear me out! Pepper has two P’s right next to each other in the middle, right? So PP stands for those 2 P’s. 

Wrigley is a grumpy old man trapped in a fat kitty’s body. Wrigley is built like he swallowed a cylinder--a cylinder of fat. He’s stocky, his hair is more gray, and he looks like a frilled lizard in cat form. He has a big belly, but only like the lower half--he has a practically hairless section (it’s always been like this, he’s fine) that’s very pink, and so aptly named (by yours truly) “the pink part.” When he grooms that area, it’s known as “pink part maintenance.” Wrigley is the best at standing on two feet--he looks like a meerkat when he does. He also has a grudge/vendetta/hatred towards my older sister. She left for college when the babies were less than a year old, and when she came back after a while, she brought her cat that she adopted, Salem (also known as Pookie). Salem and (really all of the babies) Wrigley did not get along, and Wrigley started to associate my sister with Pookie and ever since has had a... not so friendly relationship with her. He growls at her, hisses (he has a pathetic hiss, it comes out in spurts), but then he’ll also act like he wants her to pet him. He will also chase people for fun and bite their ankles when they stop (he doesn’t mean any harm when he does this). Wrigley is finnicky. He doesn’t always like to be picked up and will growl/grumble when someone does. But he’s also needy, he will come and demand attention by trying to suffocate me and lay on my chest. He became friends with Wilbur early on--it surprised everyone because of how grumpy he is, we expected he’d hate Wilbur the most, but that title goes to Pepper. Wrigley doesn’t play very often--he’s a watcher. But he likes hairties and milk caps. He’s an odd little guy. His nicknames include Wriggy, Ricky (my sister’s friend misheard us call him Wriggy and now he’s stuck with that name), Richard, Reginald, Rigatoni, Wriggle Piggle, and Rinchy.

Wilbur is my baby. He is actually an ordained minister an emotional support animal. I got permission to bring him with me to college last year, although I adopted him earlier in the summer. He was the runt of the litter and now he’s huge. He doesn’t look like it because he’s muscular, but he’s a whopping 14 pounds! He’s built like a greyhound with a tiny head and lean body. His tail is crazy long and when he runs around the tip of it flops in the air in what I like to call “the flagella tail.” His nose freckle has grown with his nose over time, and my parents (especially my mom) actually didn’t want me to adopt him because of it!! I’m glad I didn’t listen. Wilbur is a momma’s boy, and the only one I will accept in this household. He loves to cuddle me (doesn’t cuddle anyone else), he loves kisses (will seek them out), and he nurses on me. He’s done this since he was a baby, partially because we got him too early (they thought he was 8 weeks, he was six) and it makes him happy and secure. He’s an absolute menace--if he can get into something, he will. We had to put child locks on our drawers in our dorm because Wilbur could open them and would get into everything. He likes paper a lot, so any paper lying around is forfeit to him. He rides on my walker, scooter, and stairlift, and he likes to be near me when I shower. I used to use a shower/bath combo, and he’d sit on the ledge of the tub between two curtains, but now he lays outside the shower. He runs around and chirps a lot, chasing bugs and other things. He also likes straws and will play fetch. He also likes squinkies--those old pencil toppers that came in cute shapes. Junie likes them too. Wilbur is also known to be a thief, he’s stolen my little baggies of gems for diamond paintings and run off with them, determination in his gaze. He’s quite clever and sly, which makes my life very difficult sometimes lol. He runs like a bulldog, with a barrel-like chest, and he has been my rock ever since I got him, as I was dealing with health issues and life issues. I wouldn’t trade him for the world (this extends to the babies as well, but I really feel like I’m Wilbur’s mom). I also call him little man, Wibble, Wilby, Wibby, Wibs, Wilbs, Snoot (there’s a story to this nickname), and one of my faves is Wibby P. Butts, Esquire (no clue where it came from honestly).

Sorry for rambling, but I love my babies! Obligatory pictures below, they’ll be in the same order as I wrote about them:)

#thank you anon!! #wilbur #juniper #wrigley #pepper

[rimalaw]

Why this Non-Trump Voter Thinks Trump Could Win 2020

I am a registered independent and both parties have ideals I agree with, and sadly those I don’t. Therefore, I am always left out and just looking for who will better support some of the more important values that I believe in. I did not vote for Trump, and because I need healthcare (among other things), I cannot support a man who wants to destroy the healthcare plan that I am on, without a real plan in place that will protect people with pre-existing conditions.  Trump says ObamaCare is a horrible program! But what the heck has he offered??? Nothing!  I can't take small talk to the doctor or hospital if and when you take away my health plan, and have to wait for small business enrollment in Florida (1x a year) to kick in and charge me tons of money to cover my pre-existing condition! 

When Bush was President, health insurance was costing me over $1,200/month, and now under the Affordable Care Act (a/k/a Obama Care which is really why Trump hates it... it doesn’t have his NAME!!), I am paying approximately $600.00 a month for a really good plan. Make no mistake, by now my plan would cost AT LEAST $1400.00-$1500.00, since I am 16-20 years older than when Bush was President.  Let me not forget how Obamacare saved the life of my best friend, who would otherwise NOT have gone to the doctor, and not have discovered a life threatening illness, which but for the Grace of God, she did. Because of her health plan, she received the best care and treatment, and thank God survived one of the worst diagnosis one could get.   She got the plan two (2) weeks before she went to the doctor!  This is what Trump wants to take away! Trump wants to take away lifesaving care without a REAL PLAN in place to help millions of Americans.

And make no mistake; sadly, I think people who are on that plan, who rely on this plan, who have family or friends who need that plan, etc. etc. will still NAIVELY and IGNORANTLY vote for Trump. 

Why do I think that enough people would vote for Trump and that he can win?  Well... Let’s think about it:

1-He is campaigning like a high energy Super Bowl Team in all the swing states, bringing with him his own type of electrifying energy, electrifying his base, and those who are still on the fence and can feel some of that electricity as the attendees and media blare their excitement of his visit.  Make no mistake, these visits matter.  When I ran for Judge 14 years ago, I was an unknown an the youngest in my race.  I didn’t have the type of ethnic or Anglo name needed to win in my County.  However, every area that I was able to heavily campaign in, make speeches, meet people, I WON. I didn’t win that election, but I won those areas.  So I realized that meeting people matters, and in this race, make no mistake, these super spreader events excite people.  They don’t care about COVID while they are there, and for the most part have learned to live with it.  They just care that the biggest Super Bowl team came to their town and made them feel GOOD!  I know Biden has toured, but I’m sorry it doesn’t come close. I know he was doing social distancing etc, but the car thing isn’t exciting nor generating the amount of crowds and energy that it needs. 

2-COVID- yes believe it or not, without COVID, Trump might have been up in the polls without issue.  Then COVID happened which threw him down in the polls, and then his apparent lack of handling it, threw him even further down.  Then he got COVID, and believe it or not, even though he didn’t seize the opportunity to come out more contrite, which would have assured him a win, he still earned a lot of points. How: A) because America saw him as human and actually felt scared for their President (even some of the ones that didn’t vote for him); B) America got to see that he BEAT IT!  Yes, he has the best doctors and treatment etc, but America saw that this 74 year old overweight man, who got sick enough to need treatment, still BEAT IT!  So now America sees COVID (foolishly or not) not to be so feared, which deep down everyone wants to believe. These two results of Trump getting COVID actually earned him voters as people felt scared for him and then happy at his beating COVID, signaling the Country and they could too could slay this dragon; and finally C) people are seeing the country economically recover and attributing this to his lack of fear of COVID, and the desire to keep the country out of lockdown which most Americans are fed up with.  

3-Fracking- For the love of God Joe, you don’t denounce fracking like that when you need the swing states in the way that you do.  Instead you CONFIDENTLY say, “don’t worry, our plan is to slowly bring in safe alternate sources of energy while we freely train current workers and so many more (as we will have so many jobs created) to transition into great and even BETTER paying safer jobs. NO ONE WILL LOSE ONE JOB, and I can guarantee even BETTER Jobs for you all.”  But instead, you have Trump in Pennsylvania, and other swing states scaring people that they will lose their jobs.

4-Law and Order-Make no mistake, I believe the police have systemic racism and needs serious training and overhauling.  But Biden and Democrats need to COMPLETELY distance themselves from the anarchist propaganda of defunding the police. That was NEVER a train to ride.  From the first use of those words, BIDEN should have never bitten, not even a nibble. Now with the visual of businesses boarding up, Trump is touting about these rioters and giving the illusion to those voters less capable to comprehend the difference, that this is what the Democrats, i.e. Joe are doing and allowing. From the get go, Dems and Joe should have aggressively, I mean hot tooting crazy like attacked and distances themselves from it. 

5-COVID AGAIN-I wear masks (2), I barely go out, etc, but like most Americans, we are tired of hearing about COVID.  When that is all that you hear, gloom and doom, and Biden talks about dark days, it just doesn’t sit so well.  Strangely enough, to people on the fence now, Trump seems like the guy that wants to give you freedom and a cheery positive outlook of life, while the Democrats, CNN, MSNBC, etc., are painting this bleak picture and more lockdowns, that no one wants to keep hearing about. 

6-The Darn Polls- So many polls tooting a Biden victory whether true or not, are only making on the fence people, the lazy, the unmotivated, the unenergized Democratic voters say, “they don’t need me, ... I’m not so excited.. or Biden will win anyway.” Meanwhile, the Trump supporters are freaking out and making sure they show up in massive droves to help their Super Bowl Team, I mean their guy. Plus, any poll should really discount a lot of points away from Biden, because really, there are a lot of paranoid secretive, conspiracy believing, or seemingly ashamed Trump voters who will not participate.  Remember, a bleeding hard liberal is more likely to be kind to a pollster and answer a poll; and a right winger will say, “I have nothing to say, leave me alone,” hang up, etc...

7-Socialism-Kill this socialism crap- The Dems should have killed this idea long ago, and Biden should have been VERY ASSERTIVE and vocal about how he is for middle of the road values (yes I know this might alienate the Bernie people, but that’s what Bernie is for. And if this party is so crazy to sit out and let Trump win because Biden isn’t left enough, well then the party has bigger issues which no amount of therapy can fix). 

8-The last Debate- Trump basically showed people he is not so crazy, he can have restraint, he wasn’t rude. People who were running away from him after the first debate or on the fence, came back after he showed America and the world that he isn’t so bad. 

9-Strength and POWER- Basically, aside from the fact that Trump often appears to be a bully, lately, more than anything he has shown stamina and strength.  People like that, and want to join the stronger looking team, and the man that never ever seems to stop, and confidently never takes NO for an answer. People, like to support the one that appears to never back down, never accept defeat, never look weak, and never quit!

10-Too many people believe his lies, those of the crazies on Facebook, and the alt right that disseminate the worst of the fake news. Sadly THE DEMS DON'T STRONGLY and DEFINITIVELY ATTACK THEM!! Every talking point should have been hit with a barrage of targeted commercials and aggressive stump speeches. People need to be told for example, “TRUMP brags about the economy, he hopes you have amnesia and forget that OBAMA left him with a booming economy, and only an untrained monkey could ruin it.  All Trump did was NOT destroy it YET, but his tax cuts to the MILLIONAIRES (not you AMERICA making under 400k) will cause us a depression if he is in office four more years because you can only pay so much to help the country without having income we used to rely on coming in.” 

Well, that’s all folks. I hope I am wrong, but if it doesn’t go as the untrustworthy polls show, these are some of the main reasons why. These points are for that small percentage that pick the winner in most Presidential elections, not for the firmly committed of either party. Also, if Biden doesn’t win, then those who protested this summer did not all come out to vote, and that’s shameful! 

#trump2020 #election2020 #2020 presidential election #stoptrump #Trumpcanwin

[jameslockley]

Paul Wesley+ Cismale + He/Him.┊ ❛ ━ hey, is it just me or do you hear ( Bat Out of Hell By Meat Loaf ) playing in the distance ? oh, thats just ( Sunflare ), a ( Chaotic Good ) member of the league of ( Heroes ). i suspect they might be ( James Lockley ), a ( Thirty Two ) year old ( Club Owner ) with the ability to ( Absorb Solar Energy). according to my sources, ( He ) can be ( Charming ), but also ( Hedonistic ) which is probably why they remind everyone of ( Nights filled with debauchery and Mornings spent in confession) so much. anyway, a (Superhero) or not, crystalline city is keeping a close eye on them! (Peanut, 23, EST, he/him)

Personal Stats:

Name: James Lockley

Age: Thirty Two

Date of Birth: June 6th

Place of Birth: Crystalline City

Current Place of Residence: Crystalline City

Occupation: Owner of The Black Marble Night Club

Networth: $50 Million USD

Alias: Sunflare

Identity Status: Secret

Combat Stats: 

Strength: 9/10 (At peak Solar Energy Capacity. See Powers)

Offense:  8/10

Defense: 8/10

Speed:    9/10  (At peak Solar Energy Capacity. See Powers)

Durability: 9/10  (At peak Solar Energy Capacity. See Powers)

Accuracy: 5/10

Agility: 3/10

Stamina: 9/10  (At peak Solar Energy Capacity. See Powers)

Teamwork: 5/10

Stealth: 1/10

Close combat: 7/10

Bladed weapons: 1/10

Blunt weapon: 1/10

Ranged weapons: 1/10

Superpowers / abilities [solar energy absorption]: 9/10

Traps/Setups: 1/10

Medic: 1/10

Powers: 

Main: 

Solar Energy Absorption: User can absorb solar energy into their body and use it in various ways, gaining some form of advantage, either by enhancing themselves, gaining the drained power, using it as power source etc., either temporarily or permanently.

Variant Applications: 

Personal Gravity: The ability to alter one’s own gravity. This allows for flight.

Solar Empowerment: The ability to become faster, stronger, and more durable when one comes into contact with sunlight

Solar Attacks: The ability to project beams, balls, and bursts of solar energy from one’s body

James’ Solar Energy Absorption:

James’ use of solar energy absorption is comparable to that of a Kryptonian from the DC Universe. The solar energy absorbed into his body causes his cells to become more dense, strengthening his physical durability and strength. It also allows for him to alter his personal gravity, granting him the capability of flight. Finally, he can use the stored solar energy in his body and project it into solar energy attacks.

James’ body works like a solar powered battery. He absorbs solar energy into himself, giving him a finite use of all things listed above. At peak solar capacity, he is capable of lifting several tonnes, and is heavily resistant to physical damage. However, the use of his powers causes his solar energy reserves to deplete. The more he uses any of these abilities, the less energy he had stored, and the less effective these abilities become.

As an example, at peak solar capacity James would be capable of stopping a crane from crushing someone. However, if his solar energy reserves were at half or less, then the crane would be too heavy for him to lift. Similarly, at peak solar capacity, James’ skin would be capable of deflecting a bullet, but at half, it would not. 

The use of certain abilities exhausts the solar energy he has stored faster than others. While the use of his strength and durability don’t deplete a lot of energy, the use of flight and solar rays do.

Furthermore, unlike Superman, whose body naturally takes in solar energy on it’s own, James must consciously focus on absorbing the energy into himself.

Weaknesses: 

Lead (direct): For reasons that cannot be fully explained, James’ body has an adverse reaction to lead, comparable to Superman’s reaction to Kryptonite. Lead that comes into contact with his skin renders him incapable of tapping into the solar energy store inside his body until the lead is removed. This weakness is known to very few.

Solar Energy Depletion (Indirect): Because there is a limit to how much solar energy his body can store at one time, and the use of his powers causes that energy to deplete, weakening his abilities over time, James can be rendered increasingly vulnerable if he is forced to continue using his powers for an extended period of time. If the solar reserves in his body run out completely, he has only the capabilities of the average human being, apart from possessing some skill as a hand to hand combatant.

Flaws:

moody | short-tempered | emotionally unstable | whiny controlling | conceited | possessive | paranoid | lies impatient | cowardly | bitter | selfish | power-hungry greedy | lazy | judgmental | forgetful | impulsive vengeful | stubborn | sadistic | petty | unlucky

Strengths:

honest | trustworthy | thoughtful | caring | brave patient | selfless | ambitious | tolerant | lucky intelligent | confident | focused | humble | generous merciful | observant | wise | clever | charming cheerful | optimistic | decisive | adaptive | calm

Fighting Style:

commander  /  duelist  / honorable  /  dishonorable /  would have others do their fighting / stealthy  /  long-ranged  / melee  /  technological  /  sorcery  / superhuman abilities /  has fought in a tourney / a lover of fighting  /  a hater of fighting  /  cowardly  / reckless /  strategic  / uses underhand tricks /  renowned for their skill /  trained  / untrained  / keeps what little skill they have secret /  won a battle  / lost a battle  / merciful / unmerciful

Any lasting injuries from combat?:

A series of scars on his torso from when he was shot with lead bullets

About: 

- James Lockley was born into a rich family, and never found himself really wanting for much of anything, always being granted whatever his heart desired, the moment he desired it.

- When he turned 18, he was granted his portion of the family fortune, and used it to open a night club in Crystalline City called The Black Marble, turning it into one of the premier night clubs that the city has to offer.

- James has always been a lover of the vices in life. He’s extremely hedonistic, and so he gives in to his impulses night in and night out. 

- This has always been a bit of a struggle for him, because he’s always been a devout Christian. And yet, for the past 14 years, he’s been heavily self indulgent and sinful. He’s spent many mornings in confession. He feels guilty for always giving in to his impulses rather than listening to the moral side of himself, but he doesn’t know how to stop.

- The discovery of his abilities two years ago brought about a revelation in his life. He figured since he was unable to bring himself to change, to be better, that God had given him a means to make up for his sins by granting him powers to protect, and save people from danger. James took up the mantle of Sunflare, and ever since then, he’s tried to serve as a symbol of hope, optimism, and bravery, all while continuing to live his sin filled life of debauchery and hedonism at The Black Marble. There is a huge amount of duality to the man, and both sides represent a genuine part of him; the difficult part is getting those parts to reconcile with each other.

Additional info: 

Hi everyone! I’m Peanut and I’m thrilled to be here with you guys. If you would like to plot anything with James, please don’t hesitate to shoot me a message! Same goes for if you have any questions about anything explained here!

#gloryhqs.intro

[elysiumwaits]

I was tagged by @novemberhush which is great because I love to talk about myself. It’s a problem sometimes at work, but it’s great for when I’m in therapy and doing memes on the internet!

Rules: answer 15 questions and then tag 15 people

1) Are you named after anyone?

Kind of. So my name is Emily. My mom had a cat named Emma - my biological father (who was not a good man) was jealous of the cat, and, long story short, Mom did not have a cat because of this asshole. So she named me Emily because she liked the name. I’m essentially named after her favorite pet. My middle name is Marie, it’s a family name - the last person who had it before me was my Great Aunt Marie, and she was, I’m told, the kind of woman who would take no shit and no prisoners. My mother told me it’s a very fitting middle name for me.

That said, please, please, please don’t call me Emily. Em is okay, I go by that in real life, but I actually prefer Eli or Ely most of the time. 

2) When was the last time you cried?

Shit, son, I cry at the drop of a hat. Probably a couple days ago? I’m a frustration crier and a happy crier and a oh-shit-I-dropped-my-fork-again crier, so it just... doesn’t really register anymore.

3) Do you have kids?

No. I work in a daycare, specifically the infant room. I love it, but personally, I don’t feel like kids are currently in the plan. This may change - I love children, but right now I don’t trust anyone enough to share a child with them, nor am I financially or mentally stable enough to raise one. 

I am, however, extremely maternal, so I will probably eventually have one. Just one.

4) Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Mmm, kind of? I don’t suffer fools gladly, which is sometimes a problem because my mouth moves before my brain catches up. I don’t use sarcasm in a mean or mocking way with people who don’t know any better - I will exaggerate it to use it with children so they know, without a doubt, that it’s sarcasm and a joke. Adults who should know better than to do ridiculous things, though, are fair game. 

Take, for example, the woman who told me I didn’t dress professionally enough in the infant room because I was wearing leggings and a comfortable t-shirt.

I used sarcasm with her. “Oh, I’m sorry. You’re absolutely right, I’m sure you put makeup and heels on for [child]’s 4 am feedings, too, right?” And then I pointed out the stains on my shirt from baby food and formula. 

With kids, though, who are old enough to understand what sarcasm is, I’ll do a really exaggerated, over the top eyeroll and be like “Oh, goodness, we never ever go outside, do we? We’ve never gone outside a single day you’ve been here!” or something like that, because they laugh and they know it’s a joke. It also helps them develop critical thinking and communication skills.

5) What’s the first thing you notice about people?

Okay, so, I am a hypervigilant person thanks to a lot of PTSD-inducing trauma, so the first thing I notice about a person is usually how they hold themselves and if they have anything in their hand. I notice body language religiously - someone with an aggressive, threatening stance is immediately labeled a threat, whereas a person walking with arms to the side, shoulders back, and a general open body language is labeled not-a-threat.

That’s how I live my life, day to day. Threat or not-a-threat. Every single place I go.

I don’t recommend it.

6) What’s your eye colour?

Blue - apparently a very striking blue, I’ve been asked multiple times if I wear contacts. I do not.

7) Scary movie or happy ending?

HAPPY ENDING. And honestly, I have to know that beforehand or I have too much anxiety to enjoy the book/film/show/game.

8) Any special talents?

Writing, though that’s less talent and more intense and obsessive devotion to a craft. 

I hesitate to add: I’m also very good with tarot cards. Give me enough time with a person, one of my decks, and I can pry deep into their lives and tell them things about themselves that they’ve never revealed to another soul. It’s honestly terrifying. I have stories.

9) Where were you born?

Missouri. Technically in a helicopter, not actually in a hospital. It was a very emergency C-section, I was a month early, and Mom had actually coded. She likes to tell people that I’ve tried to kill her at least once!

10) What are your hobbies?

Writing, gaming, reading, Youtube videos and shows, crochet (less so lately, I have trouble remembering patterns these days). I write a lot, I read mostly fanfiction right now, I game when I can (usually Skyrim, Dragon Age Inquisition, or Minecraft), I watch a lot of Rooster Teeth and Achievement Hunter, and occasionally I make blankets and washcloths when I get so stressed that I can’t function.

11) Do you have pets?

YES. Okay, so I have Boo, who actually might be my soulmate. I’ve never felt so close to an animal. He hopped in my car one day when I pulled into a parking lot, and I was like “Oh, okay, I have a cat now,” and he’s been mine ever since. In my defense, he was very, very skinny, declawed, and more than likely abandoned. I call him Seizure Cat sometimes because he always seems to know when I’m about to seize, and he’ll climb on me and purr so that I don’t wake up alone. It really helps. 

Then I have Piper, who is my princess. She is 16-17, and to be frank, I stole her. I say I rescued her, but essentially, I stole her. I saw my friend’s dad kick her hard enough she bounced off a wall, and when it was time to go, I just picked her up and took her with me. For a long time, I was the only person she would let near her. She’s mellowed out quite a bit, hangs out mostly in her basket next to the food bowl, and yells when she wants attention - if you try to pet her before she wants it, she gets super angry. So affection is always on her terms!

Last but not least is actually my parents’ dog, Kobe. He is a massive German Shepherd/Treeing Walker Hound mix that we got from a pound in St. Louis. Brought him home at 8 pounds, found out he had distemper (he was the only of his litter to survive it), and 95 pounds and roughly three years later, he sleeps at the end of my bed (or couch when I can’t sleep in the bed). He is insanely smart - he’s officially smart enough that he knows all the commands he’s supposed to, can understand sentences and respond to them. He just doesn’t listen, because he pretty much knows he doesn’t have to. Luckily he’s an only dog, and my parents and I adore him, because he’s pretty much untrainable, simply because he’s so damn stubborn.

12) What sport do you play/have you played?

I can tell you that there is not a single person in this world who has ever looked at me and said “oh yeah, she’s sporty.”

I broke my wrist in a junior high kickball game. I wasn’t even playing. I was walking around the gym, talking with my hands with my friend @artsake-dreams and someone kicked the ball. It was hard enough that it flew across the gym, bounced off my hand, and snapped my wrist. The gym teacher didn’t believe I was hurt, the substitute nurse thought I was faking, so I walked to the office and cried to the secretary (who was my mom’s friend, mom is a teacher in the same district). Mom brought the x-rays in and very quietly and intensely not-yelled at the nurse and the gym teacher.

Later, in senior year, I got banned from playing hockey in the gym because I was too aggressive and almost got a detention for swearing. The only reason I didn’t was because the PE teacher was honestly just glad I was showing an interest in something physical.

13) How tall are you?

5’3

14) Favourite subject at school?

English/Writing. I also really enjoyed the sciences, even if I wasn’t good at the math. I was excellent when it came to the theories, but the formulas were really difficult for me. I also really love philosophy.

15) Dream job

I want to say writer, but that’s a lie because I don’t like people giving me deadlines for writing. I think an editor with a publisher is my dream job. Possibly a college-level writing/English/literature teacher. I’m one of those people who believes that writing is a skill that can be taught (though some are born with an innate talent) and that it’s something that should be taught. But that’s a post for another day.

Uh, okay, tagging some people? @artsake-dreams @sophaoat @thepeacering @icarusthriving UUUH it’s 2 am I don’t know 15 people off the top of my head, sorry, BUT if you see this you’re welcome to do it and say I tagged you!!!

#meme #about me #i love this shit #tag games

[tang-wei]

Ichinose Guren’s World Resurrection at 19  Volume 1 Chapter 2 Part 3 English Translation~

Title: The survivors (part 3)

Translator: @tang-wei​

Raws: My own copy of the LN

The masterpost for the whole story so far, and the translation schedule that I will try really hard to follow! (recently updated)  

T/N: College applications area bitch, sorry for the delay /lies down

From what it was taught, vampires existed, and they are abnormally strong, so 『One should not approach even if one sees it』,『One must not approach』was what he had learned, but he thought that was just a story.

But, the vampire had attacked the girl.

The girl seemed to be alive but she could not move anymore.

"Are you dead?"

"............"

"Well whatever. Heh!"

And he turned to speak to someone behind.

"Yes."

And a man of similar dress came in. It was a white uniform. Vampire clothes.

"It’s still alive. Take it as livestock."

"Did you drink the blood?"

“You can have some. Keep it secret from Lucal-sama.”

“If you drink any more from this one, it will die. I drank from a few children on the way here.”

“Our unit did not kill any, and the quota is met. We can take this child alive.”

They both picked up the girl and left.

That's it.

Furthermore, as the time on the surveillance cameras advanced, they saw themselves enter the convenience store ─

The two of them stopped the recording.

"............"

"............"

Both of them were silent for a while.

Because they understood the reason that there were no children.

The vampires are capturing children as livestock. The reason is because a lot of the human beings have died. All the adults over the age of 14 have died.

It was because they were 11 years old that they survived.

All the adults died.

And the vampires are capturing the children.

Monster-like white insects that they did not know existed are attacking the remaining children.

What is that? He did not know how things arrived to become as such.

"... ... they said something about destruction"

Narumi said, and Shuusaku nodded.

“ So"

"What do you think?"

"I don’t know. But I think the situation is bad."

"Are all the adults at home dead?"

"............"

Shuusaku looked over. His expression showed that he did not want to give up.

It was the same for Narumi. The sorcerers of 『Mikado no Tuskki』 were smart. Always strong, forging their lives and living in discipline.

They may have predicted that something like that would happen.

That means,

"............"

Narumi thought with his arms folded. He watched, thinking,the footage of them walking into the convenience store.

He had a frightened expression on his face.

It was an expression was not calm at all. Thinking that he would be stronger if he were calm. A follower of 『Mikado no Tsukki』. As a sorcerer that serves Guren-sama, he had to be strong.

"............"

He thought back.

To the conversation that happened before he decided to go to the mountains. A conversation with his father. He was motivated after meeting Guren-sama and wanted to train more than before.

Father seemed to be glad about it. Or he had thought about this a little before. So, he said.

Then, how about staying in the mountain for a while? Yeah ? As you continue to aim high, you will need to face challenges by yourself. I will need some time to change the training curriculum, Take Shuusaku and go to the mountains.

He thought that it was a good idea.

So he left immediately.

Five days.

In the meantime, he did not know what would happen, what his father knew, maybe he did not know it, but if he knew, he sent them to escape to the mountain─

His thoughts stopped here, and Shuusaku said.

“The croquettes my mother makes. Was it tasty? She asks. Even though she doesn’t like cooking, she always makes them when she returns. Even though she’s not expected to return yet, she turned up so suddenly.”

It sounded like it was the last time they were going to see each other, so she made croquettes.

Then, was it Father or Shien that caused this?

Or, have they already anticipated this, and let the children escape to avoid the plan.

Anyways, it seems like Father and Shien have anticipated this.

Narumi said.

"If we return home we might find something."

"Let's go home."

"But we can’t go back directly."

"I know."

There were a lot of vampires outside.

There were also mysterious monsters.

The monsters also moved fast. They understood that. It was not an opponent that they could face.

The vampires would kill them instantly if they don’t do anything.

And they would have to move stealthily and hide as they move.

Carefully keeping their breaths as silent as possible, moving towards home.

"It will take a few days"

Narumi said, as Shuusaku took out the clothes that were in the backpack.

"We need to find food too.”

“Yep.”

"If all the adults are dead, but the children are still hidden and left behind, we can go to a convenience store or a supermarket. We can gather all the necessary things."

Even so, Narumi also took out the clothes from the backpack and threw them aside.

"I think it will take six days to get home."

By running, it’s only half a day away. But it takes about 6 days if one goes cautiously.

Shuusaku nodded and started writing something with a pen on the notepad that was close at hand.

“8 days worth of supplies. Food, batteries, water ─”

“Just tell me what you need.”

Narumi said, leaving the staff room. He went outside the counter. He was very cautious, looking for sign of the enemies.

But he did not know if that held any meaning. If there are enemies, the other side is stronger than them.

If they are noticed, it’s the end.

That;’s why they move cautiously.

He left the convenience store.

Just outside, there was the corpse of the monster.

Looking at it,

"......What is that?"

Narumi said.

He did not know if I can approached the corpse. It may be a source of the virus infection.

But still, he approached a little closer.

And again said.

"What's with that"

"Makoto."

A voice came from behind. Shuusaku also came out of the convenience store. He grasped Narumi’s arm and do not let him go further.

Shuusaku said.

"Let's go home, everyone's waiting"

◆

Escaping from the vampires was easy.

The vampires were projecting their voices with loudspeakers to talk about 『protection』 and draw the children to them. Even if he heard that sound from far away, they moved further away.

Or, they escaped to the rooftops of buildings.

The vampires were not so enthusiastic in chasing and capturing children, but to take away the gathered kids to the truck and take them away as livestock.

No, the children who were more likely to be caught were more miserable.

Other than the vampires, a white monster is wandering around and persistently chasing and killing the human kids.

The children cry, scream and escape, but they are killed by the monster.

Children who knew they would die when approaching the monster hid, but their water and food are insufficient. They can’t go out to get them, as the monsters are outside.

Even Narumi was scared. The situation with the young children was already very deliberating. Although he gave them water and food, in the end, he abandoned them as he head home.

It was painful to abandon them.

Because he knew that every child would die if he left them.

Everyone is ordinary. They were all untrained.

A six year old girl cried with a baby beside her mother's body. Narumi was desperately asked to help , but he could not. If he had to move with a baby, they would attract monsters more easily. Then they will all be killed.

So he encouraged her to be captured by a vampire. He did not know what will happen after that─ living as a livestock may have been despair far beyond imagination, but it’s better than dying right now.

Because it's all over when you die.

They are all still children. If they can endure now, there is still a future for them

"............"

The girl and the baby was caught by a vampire in front of Narumi.

During the movement ─ Narumi ran into a group of 3 children about the same age as he was, who protected the younger children.

Kagiyama Taro.

Inoue Rika.

Fuji Yayoi.

These were the name of the 3 people.

They gathered the surviving children, hid themselves and were giving food.

If he had met these three children before, maybe he did not have to hand the baby and the girl to the vampire.

But if he left them alone, these three people could have been dead, the girl and the baby would have died, so maybe he should have let them be caught by the vampires.

Narumi and Shuusaku met these three people - and after moving with them for a while,

"We’re going to somewhere where adults may have survived, and we’re going to return to help"

It was promised.

Rika Inoue said,

"You better! You better!"

She sounded angry.

Everyone looked like they were about to cry.

Of course.

Even he who had been trained was about to cry too.

Narumi answered that he promised to come back to this place.

He did not know whether he could keep that promise or not.

But this time they could move faster.

It is because he knew how to proceed without running into a vampire or a monster as they move.

Four days later.

At last they arrived home.

"............"

The house was ruined.

He could see that the adults did not die due to the virus.

Clearly, due to a battle, everyone had died.

There are a lot of people wearing different combat clothes, not just the battle attire of 『Mikado no Tsukki』 , and they had died with sword cuts to their necks or torsos.

Shuusaku said, looking at the scene.

"This is the battle uniform of 『Mikado no Oni』"

Battle garment of 『Mikado no Oni』 led by Hiiragi family. The house seemed to have been attacked by a unit from 『Mikado no Oni』.

After all, war was happening.

"Well, was the virus set off during the fight?Did Father and Shien knew that this war would happen?"

However, Shuusaku was not here to hear him.

He continued ahead.

Inside the house.

Shuusaku’s home was a Japanese-styled building that was large enough to be called a mansion.

They went in.

There was no Shien. Battle was done everywhere in the house, there was no sign of Shien. The could not find a corpse. Of course, the mansion was overflowing with a tremendous number of dead bodies, so she may be under it.

Shuusaku said in a small voice,

"Mother."

He heard him saying.

But it was a really small voice. If he used a louder voice, if there were still enemies here, they would be informed of his location.

Narumi touched Shuusaku back. There he was.

"Sorry. I’m okay."

Although he said it, Narumi smiled thinly,

"I’m not okay though,"

"... ... Eh ... Should I comfort you back?"

"Yup"

And Shuusaku also stroke Narumi’s back.

With corpses were overflowing both inside and outside the house, they were truly the only two alive.

Narumi says.

"Shien isn’t here."

"There are too many corpses."

But Narumi looked over, into the bloody living room. They played in here often. There was a kind maid who did not get angry at them for playing. The maid’s corpse was there.

"............"

Narumi saw it.

And that, next to the maid.

He found footprints of dried blood on the tatami.

Is it a footprint after the virus had happened? Or is it a footprint after the fighting but before the virus?

He grasped the arm of Shuusaku and point to the footprint.

Shuusaku also looked over,

"Ah."

He said. As he said that, he crouched beside the footprints.

"The footprints are big, they are the footprints of adults"

"A vampire?"

As Narumi says, Shuusaku looked up and said,

"There aren’t any children in the house. If I were a vampire I wouldn’t bother coming here."

Agreed. The vampires had no motivation to protect others.

Then,

"What is this footprint?"

As Narumi said, Shuusaku replied,

"It may be from the battle"

However, they thought differently.

Narumi said.

"But if not ......."

"............"

"If footprints are from after the virus, there are living adults."

The two traced the footprints.

The trace of blood and foot prints disappeared along the way, but they understood where the footsteps are going.

Towards Narumi’s house.

◆

Narumi's house was in the same situation as Shuusaku’s.

Due to intense battle, the house was half-ruined.

Half of the roof was destroyed as if missiles were being shot.

There are only dead bodies in the house.

Uniforms of 『Mikado no Oni』

Uniforms of 『Mikado no Tsukki』

So Narumi noticed it.

"Neh, Shuusaku, have you noticed?"

Shuusaku nodded.

"Yeah I did."

"What did you notice?"

"Well it’s as Makoto says."

“I might be wrong. You say it.”

Shuusaku said.

"There is no corpse without severe injury, perhaps the dead bodies here were not caused by the virus at all."

In other words, it means that everyone had died during the fight.

"Is neither Father nor Shien alive?"

Saying that, Shuusaku sucked in a breath of air quickly.

There is hope. There is still hope.

Narumi headed to his father's study. The room had a desk and a bookshelf. There are books on difficult magic ceremonies and books for managing organizations on the bookshelves.

Among those books, there were favorite books that Father has read over and over, and he took them out. Flipping through pages. Then he threw it onto the floor.

He pick up the book that his father told him to read.Flipping through pages. Then he threw it onto the floor.

Then he forcibly broke open the locked drawer at the desk. There were some of documents and photos of Mother who died when Narumi was three years old.

To be honest, Narumi himself did not know much about his mother, but his father repeatedly taught him that she was a strong magician. She was as strong as Shien. So Narumi also had much magical potential in him.

Mother seemed to have died doing her duty.

That was what he heard.

Shuusaku said from behind.

"Makoto. What are you looking for?"

"Hm?"

"Do you think there is some material that will tell you what happened?"

“Hm─. Probably, I think.”

“I see.”

"If something happened, my father said that he would leave a letter in one of his favorite books"

Besides, Shuusaku looked down at the book thrown away on the floor,

“Not there?”

“Nope.”

"Okay, I will look at another book,"

And Shuusaku began to raid the bookshelf.

Narumi sat down on his father's chair after checking all the drawers. Even though he was 11, his father’s chair was still too big for him.

Someday he wanted to be like Father.

Father knew everything.

He was kind, strict, and strong.

At least that was how a young Narumi saw him.

He looked at the room while sitting in the chair.

Pictures decorated in the room.

There was a picture painted by Narumi. It was drawn at the age of two, when his mother was still alive.

He didn’t know what it was, it was too badly drawn, even if he looked at it himself─Father was told it was a rocket.

Narumi stood up.

Remove the picture from the frame.

Shuusaku glance at him, but he did not stop flipping books and throwing them on the floor.

Flip the frame. Remove the back plate. Take out the inside picture.

Look at the picture. After all, it does not look like a rocket. Even though he claimed it was a rocket, it was probably meant to be a frog? It had a green body and four legs attached.

"............"

But it does not matter. He do not care about such a picture. Father treasured it, but it didn’t matter to him.

Narumi turned over the picture.

There was another pictures drawn behind. He know what kind of picture it is.

The subject was Mother ─

He knew the picture. He also remembered Mother being pleased when he drew it. He did not remember most of Mother, but when he painted this picture, mother was joyful and he remembered that he was hugged.

That made Father happy.

And next to that picture of Mother.

"............"

Next to that unskillful drawing of Mother.

"...... Shuusaku......"

"Huh?"

"A message."

"You must be kidding"

Shuusaku hurriedly ran over.

Lines by the side.

The two looked at the picture of Narumi’s dead mother.

Beside that mother, there were lines written. Father’s script.

『I have my duty. What is your duty?』

The two peered down closely.

Shuusaku said.

“When was it written?”

“The contents were hidden. The destination too. So that the enemies would not see it.”

“So that’s the message.”

“I guess so.”

“What’s your father’s duty?”

“I don’t know. But it’s different from my duty. Father is Father, and I have my own duties.”

And Father’s thoughts were transmitted by those few words.

Certainly, it was transmitted.

Very clearly transmitted.

He had to think for himself.

And so, he thought deeply.

“Shuusaku.”

“Yep.”

Shuusaku nodded, and Narumi told him of their duty.

“Guren-sama is still alive. Let’s go to Tokyo.”

!!CHAPTER 2 END!! 

<< Chapter 2 Part 2 || Buy the translator a kofi? || Chapter 3 Part 1>>

#owari no seraph #makoto narumi #iwasaki shuusaku #ichinose guren #ichinose guren's world resurrection at 19 #guren ln #mushroom translates