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padfoot-and-prongsie · 3 years

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Sneaking Around || Fred Weasley

Character: Fred Weasley

Word Count: 4.3k

Requested: No, but feel free to send some in!

Summary: Your Slytherin friends would never approve of your boyfriend, but then again, who said they had to know?

Warnings: Fluff, swearing, Umbridge, Slytherins being bullies, sexual innuendos

Disclaimer: I did not make this gif, credit to the lovely person who did

A/N: School has certainly kept me busy, but this is finally up! This fic was written for @theweasleysredhair 9k writing contest with the trope “secretly dating” and the prompt “I could kiss you write now”. I hope ya’ll like it <3

PLEASE DO NOT COPY OR STEAL MY WORK. REBLOGS ARE JUST FINE :)

The throng of students going back to the school was filled with loud chatter over the results of the Quidditch match, but you weren’t joining in. No, instead you were frantically scanning the crowds the moment you stepped out of the locker room, hoping you could catch a glimpse of red hair.

Montague was beside you, a sickly grin on his face despite the loss. In his and Malfoy’s opinions, the match had been a success, as last they saw George Weasley and Harry Potter they had all but been dragged off the pitch by McGonagall.

“Try to aim a little better next time, L/N,” Montague said. “With Weasley defending the goal it shouldn’t be that difficult to score points.”

“Well tell Goyle to get a bit more accurate,” you snapped back. “I can’t do anything with fucking Spinnet on me the whole time.”

Though it hurt to spit that out, Montague didn’t notice. None of them ever did. You really would deserve an award for the incredible acting you had done over the past year.

Montague made a face. “There’s only so much I can do with that oaf. Just step it up, L/N.”

You mock saluted him as he walked away, before quickly restarting your search for the all to familiar Weasley.

But once more you were stopped short when Malfoy caught up to you on the grass path back to the school.

He was quietly humming Weasley is Our King under his breath, an action that made you desperately want to punch him in the face. He already had a wad of cotton shoved up his nose from the last person who did that, and you could see some light bruises beginning to form on his arms. If he was in pain, he didn’t show it, though you had a feeling he would have the act ready for dinner that night.

“I’m looking to add some new verses to the song, any ideas?” he asked, falling into step beside you.

You shrugged hoping your shoulders weren’t as tense as they felt. If he had asked you last year you would have had a long string of words to call the Weasley family, but now you could hardly bring yourself to even hum the tune.

“I don’t know,” you finally answered, hoping he would get off your back.

Draco didn’t take the hint. “I need some rhymes for ugly and loser,” he said, a sadistic smirk on his face as he brought up the words that had sent Potter and George over the edge.

“How about you’re a real loser so talking to you is quite a snoozer,” you muttered, “and I know you’re already to begin with quite ugly, but you need to upgrade your fangirls, they’re a little to fugly,” you finished, eyeing Parkinson a few yards away who was bouncing up and down on her toes as she waited for Draco.

“Fuck you,” Draco said, rolling his eyes. “You're terrible help, you know that right?”

You ignored him, not even bothering to look back as he stepped off towards where Parkinson, Crabbe, and Goyle were waiting. Merlin you hated Draco Malfoy and tried to make that plenty obvious when he was around, but for some reason he kept coming back. At least you managed to take a few jabs at his ego. You were rather pleased with your little poem, if you did say so yourself.

You were all the way up to the castle when a small paper bird fluttered over to you, it’s delicate wings flapping wildly as it battled the wind. It landed gracefully on your palm, neatly unfolding itself to reveal the scrawled out message inside.

7th floor, back corridor, behind the tapestry of the One Eyed Witch

8 o'clock

It wasn’t signed but by now you were well familiar with the messy handwriting and a smile lit your face as you thought of the Weasley you had been looking for earlier. Glancing quickly over your shoulder to make sure Draco and his goons were far enough away, you hastily shoved the parchment in your pocket and continued on your way.

By now you were well used to the odd meeting choices, the cramped alcoves under the stairs and the dusty long forgotten classrooms. Yet as unpleasant as they could be sometimes, the exhilaration of sneaking around, the thrill of not getting caught, left your heart racing.

You could hardly focus during dinner that night, trying your best not to send too many glances over to the Gryffindor table. The red and gold were all in different stages of gloom, their eyes dull and smiles non-existent ever since they heard the recent news about the state of some of their best quidditch players. Potter, George, and Fred had both been banned for life on Umbridge’s orders, which had led to a buzz of glee around the Slytherin table as they gossiped excitedly over the news.

You did your best to sound just as thrilled, laughing over the Gryffindor’s bad fortune, pitying Malfoy when he dramatically limped over to the table, and snickering with the rest of them as Pansy and Draco worked on more verses to their song. But anyone who looked close enough could see the white of your knuckles as you gripped your glass of pumpkin juice, they way you had to restrain yourself from crushing the glass as they laughed at the expense of the Weasley family.

By 8 o’clock you were so fed up with the Slytherins that you were more than happy to flee from the common room, pounding up the many flights of stairs to reach the seventh floor.

You followed the instructions you had been given, navigating your way through the halls until you found the large tapestry that had been mentioned.

You slowly pulled it aside and immediately got hit by the strong stench of dust and mold. But you didn’t care about the smell, for almost instantly a strong pair of arms were wrapped around you and let out a giggle as you were spun around, before pressing a kiss to Fred’s lips.

Fred Weasley was grinning back at you, the light in his eyes that had been lost at dinner back as he took in your smiling face.

He kissed you again hard, pouring all his frustration and stress that had built up in the last week into it as his mouth moved roughly against yours.

When you pulled back for air, you were finally able to take him in. His cheeks were flushed red, and his hair had already taken on a tousled appearance from your fingers running through it. Fred’s eyes were bright with happiness as he looked back at you, his lips quirked up in the Fred Weasley smile you loved so much. But as you glanced down, you could make out the subtle hue of bruises forming on his arms from where Angelina, Alicia, and Katie had been gripping on to him for dear life to prevent him from attacking Draco just hours earlier.

Fred followed your gaze. “I got banned you know,” he finally said, the sadness creeping back into his eyes.

“Yeah, I heard,” you replied downheartedly.

“I didn’t even do anything to that prat,” Fred continued. “If I knew that hag would ban me anyway I would have punched every inch of Malfoy’s fucking body.”

You could see the anger spike in his eyes and you quickly placed a hand on his chest.

“Calm down, Freddie,” you said softly, waiting for his heart rate to return to normal. “I should have made them stop,” you whispered, “all I did was sit there and watch, I feel horrible.”

“Don’t apologize love, there’s nothing you could have done without anyone getting suspicious.” Fred said, absently running his hand through your hair.

“Suspicious of us?” you laughed. “I think we do a rather good job if I do say so myself.”

Fred’s smile returned. “Yes we are pretty secretive,” his lips quirk into a smirk and he pressed his mouth against yours. “Abandoned classrooms, ducking into alcoves,” he whispered against your lips. “There’s something sexy-” at that word his hands slipped lower, giving your bottom a squeeze “- about sneaking around.”

“Are you groping my ass?” you asked, humor dancing in your eyes.

Fred’s smirk widened and he placed another kiss on your lips. “What would you do if I was?”

“I’d tell you to stop wasting your time talking when you could have me up against that wall,” you whispered, biting your lip.

Fred’s eyes darkened in lust. “You really are little Slytherin, so coy at getting what you want.”

You smirked. “What can I say? That Sorting Hat picked right.”

“It sure did,” Fred agreed huskily, walking you back towards the wall.

As your body pressed against the stone you jumped, wrapping your legs around his waist and dragging his mouth down to meet yours.

Needless to say, you and Fred snuck out forty five minutes later, well passed curfew and both looking rather disheveled.

“Don’t get caught going back,” Fred whispered, glancing both ways down the hall.

“I won’t,” you assured him. “Besides, if I do Umbridge will probably get me out of it, she seems to have taken a liking in me.”

You gave him a pointed look. “It’s you I’m worried about, one bad step and she’ll expel you.”

Fred shrugged. “I’ve stopped worrying about that ever since she came to town.”

You sighed. “Just don’t do anything stupid yet, okay?”

“Okay okay,” Fred agreed grinning. “Just for you I won't.”

“Thanks,” you smiled, standing up on your tiptoes to kiss him. “I’ll see you later.”

Fred pulled you in to kiss you once more, then let you go, being sure you were well down the corridor before he himself snuck off in the other direction.

You managed to make it back to the Slytherin common room undetected, only running into Mrs. Norris, who you stunned, then slipped by before she came to. The Slytherin common room was still bright with life at 9 oclock on a Saturday night, but no one questioned you when you walked in. Most students had snuck out past curfew their fare share of times, so they wrote you off as being no different then themselves

Doing your best to hide the grin on your face that usually came after being with Fred, you slipped upstairs to the girl’s dorms. Only one of your roommates was there, sorting through her trunk, but after exchanging pleasantries she left to go downstairs.

Falling onto your bed, you let out a sigh, the smile finally getting to appear on your face. Merlin this boy was going to be the death of you.

You had met Fred at the beginning last year after you both landed yourselves a week's worth of detention with McGonagall. At the time you had thought the redhead was the biggest prick you knew, and in turn, he saw you as a stuck up brat. Somehow though, amidst trophy cleaning, quiz grading, and classroom organizing, you had taken a liking to him. There was something about that easy smile and stupid sense of humor that got to you, and in turn, your quick wit and dry sarcasm had left him smitten.

It had been over a week after your time together in detention when you had seen Fred again, this time when he had come up behind you during passing time and, with a firm grip on your wrist, proceeded to pull you behind a statue in one of the more quiet corridors of Hogwarts.

“What the hell are you doing Weasley!” you had hissed, frantically looking around to make sure no one was near.

Instead of answering, Fred had gently placed his hands on either side of your face, fixing you with an intense gaze that left your heart racing.

“What are you doing?” you had whispered again softly, unconsciously stepping closer to him.

“For some idiotic reason, I can’t stop thinking about you,” Fred had said.

“Really?” you’d breathed, your heart starting to pound more fiercely.

“And for some even more idiotic reason,” Fred had continued. “I really want to know what it’s like to kiss you.”

The speed of your racing heart increased and you unconsciously found yourself glancing at his lips

Fred noticed, a smirk spreading across his mouth. In one flourish of motion you were pressed against his chest with his lips only inches from yours.

“But our houses,” you had whispered, looking up at his dark eyes.

A smirk had slowly spread across Fred’s face. “Who says anyone has to know?”

And then he had kissed you, hard, and from that moment forward you had completely and utterly fallen for Fred Weasley.

“Professor Umbridge wants to see you in her office,” a voice behind you said, causing you to jump violently, dropping the book you had been reading.

Turning in annoyance, you glared at Draco, who was behind you snickering.

“Prick,” you muttered under your breath, reaching down to pick up your book with the intention of continuing it.

“She really does want to see you,” Draco said.

Instantly you froze, your mind drifting to Fred.

“Why?” you managed to squeak out.

Draco gave you a suspicious look. “I don’t know,” he finally said. “She wanted me to round up a good lot of us. Your name was on the list.”

You let out a sigh of relief.

“Okay then,” you said, getting up from the couch, your demeanor returning to normal again. “Her office?”

Draco nodded. “I have to go tell Zabini and Montague, but I’ll meet you up there.”

“Sounds good,” you responded, stepping past him to leave the common room.

When you reached the office of Professor Umbridge, you were rather surprised to find its door ajar. Tentatively pushing it open, you were greeted by an extremely pink room and at least fifteen other Slytherins looking just as confused as you were.

“Ahh, Ms. L/N, thank you for coming,” said a high pitched voice that made your blood boil.

“Of course Professor. Thank you for inviting me,” you replied, a fake smile on your face.

She let out a little giggle. “Oh do I have a treat for you.”

She quickly ushered you over to stand with the rest of the group, then, once Draco showed up with the rest of the recruits, quickly clapped her hands for attention.

“I have received some shocking news,” she started, a grave look on her face. “It seems Harry Potter has formed a club. A club which wasn’t approved by me, and a club to teach others illegal and dangerous magic.” She paused dramatically.

For effect, you raised your eyebrows in surprise, though inside you were suddenly filled with a deep sense of dread. Anything Potter was involved with had a high chance Fred would be there too.

“Now, from a source we have learned where these meetings are being held, and it turns out there is one tonight. You all have been chosen by me to come stop this atrocity and give proper punishment to those involved.” Professor Umbridge's sickly smile widened. “Your services will be greatly rewarded by the minister himself.”

Around you, you could feel the Slytherins buzz in excitement, their smiles widening at a chance to get the Gryffindor's into trouble. Your smile was equally wide, but inside your nerves were piling up.

“They’re on the seventh floor, in the left corridor, across the painting of Barnabas the Barmy,” she said, jumping up and down on her stubby legs, a look of glee in her eyes. “Go catch them.”

There was a flourish of movement as everyone made for the door, pushing up the stairs and trying to be the first to catch the wrongdoers. You too were pushing to the front, but not because you wanted recognition from the ministry, but because you desperately wanted to be the one to catch Fred in hopes that you could find a way to get him out unscathed.

As you reached the seventh floor, it seemed the Gryffindors had been given a heads up, as swarms of people were running out of a doorway you had never seen before. Upon closer observation, you realized that there were far more than a few Gryffindors, as Umbridge had suggested, but in fact there were more than fifty people from a wide range of houses sprinting down the hall.

“Get them!” Umbridge shrieked from behind you, and you instantly took off, shoving your way through the chaos.

Fred and George ran from the Room of Requirement, for once not joking about their predicament. Behind them, Harry was quickly running around, trying to usher everyone out as a mob of Slytherins filled the corridor.

Together with George, Fred ducked down one of the side corridors, hoping he could make it to the boys bathroom that was only another turn away.

But before he knew it, his legs locked together and he tumbled to the floor, quickly shouting at George to run as he tried to squirm away from his captor.

Fred felt a hand grip tightly to his shoulder, pulling him up from the floor as another jinx whizzed by him towards his brother. George managed to duck it, but from behind Fred, Montague came running by, his wand in hand as he chased the other redheaded twin.

Fred reached for his wand to hex the Slytherin, but someone behind him got to it first, shooting a jinx that caused Montague to stiffen up, before falling face first on the floor.

The grip on Fred tightened, and he felt the spell on his legs release as he was suddenly able to walk as his captor pulled him down the other hallway.

Fred, sensing an opportunity, kicked his left leg back, trying to throw the Slytherin off balance, but they easily dodged it, dancing out of the way of his weak attempt at escaping.

“Merlin Freddie, that’s the thanks I get?” they asked, and Fred quickly turned in surprise to see you looking at him in amusement, a smirk playing at your lips.

“Love?” he asked, his eyebrows shooting up. “What are you doing?”

“Trying to save your arse,” you replied, a slight grin on your face.

Fred looked at you as if he were seeing you for the first time. “Damn that was so hot,” he breathed, “I could kiss you right now.”

Your heart gave a little flutter, but you tried to keep your expression neutral. “Let’s put a pause on that for right now,” you said, as Ernie McMillan ran by with Theodore Nott hot on his heels.

“I’ll hold you to it,” Fred grinned.

You rolled your eyes, then glanced around the hallway, but amidst all the chaos you hoped nobody had noticed your quick exchange.

“Just do me a favor and look pissed off and try to put up a bit of a fight,” you instructed. “I know a place where we can hide.”

Fred didn’t respond, instead quickly reverting his expression to one of anger as he pretended to pull away from your hold, though making sure he didn’t do so hard enough that you couldn’t drag him down the corridor.

Once you were out of sight of the madness of the main hall, you pulled Fred in after you into one of the secret passageways he had shown you last year. It was cramped and not well lit, but the tunnel was suited well enough for the two of you to stay in until the corridors cleared.

“Were you the one who hexed me back there?” Fred asked the instant the passage was sealed.

You shrugged. “I had to make it look convincing.”

“But why? Couldn’t you have just let us run off?” Fred pressed.

“Crabbe and Goyle had circled around to block that end, I couldn’t risk you going that way,” you replied.

“George went that way though,” Fred said, his eyes filled with concern for his brother.

You sighed. “There wasn’t much I could do in the moment,” you admitted, “I was more focused on you. I did jinx Montague for him, so hopefully that gave him enough of a head start,” you added with a laugh.

Fred grinned. “That was a rather good one.”

“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to do that,” you said, amusement dancing in your eyes. “It’s probably the highlight of my year.”

Fred put on a face of mock hurt. “You mean I’m not the highlight of your year?” he asked dramatically.

You rolled your eyes. “You make a close second,” you teased.

A smirk creeped across Fred’s face and he suddenly pulled you up against his chest, his lips brushing against yours.

“Let’s see if I can get myself into first,” he said cockily.

It wasn’t until after the Easter holidays when you saw Fred again, and this time, due to a new Educational Degree (number twenty nine if you were being exact) you had a silver I hooked to your robes and about the same amount of power as the teachers.

“How’s that Inquisitorial Squad going for you?” Fred asked, the moment you stepped into your latest meeting space.

“It’s so stupid,” you complained rolling your eyes. “It just inflates Malfoy’s head more than it already is and gives Slytherins a chance to pick on everyone.”

Fred wore an amused smile on his face. “It seems you’re taking advantage of this new found power too,” he commented lazily.

“Zacharias Smith is a twat and everyone knows it, so I don’t particularly care how many points I dock him,” you stated bluntly.

Fred snorted at your response. “Bloody hell I love that about you.”

You raised your eyebrows. “Love what?”

Fred laughed, pulling you towards him so he could kiss you once on the lips.

“How when somebody pisses you off you are so determined about getting back at them,” he finally said.

“Most people say it’s one of my worst traits,” you managed to get out as Fred’s lips began attacking your neck.

“It’s actually rather adorable,” Fred hummed against your skin.

“Fred?” you asked quietly, a thought suddenly popping into your head.

“Yes love?”

“Was there something you needed to talk to me about?”

Fred detached himself from your neck to properly look at you.

“It’s just that you said you wanted to see me and we only just got back two hours ago,” you stuttered quickly, suddenly feeling you had gotten the wrong idea. “Not that of course this isn’t a good reason,” you motioned between the two of you.

A slight smile spread across Fred’s lips. “Your two observant for your own good,” he said jokingly.

“What is it then, what’s wrong?” you asked, every possible reason filling your mind.

“Nothings wrong,” Fred quickly reassured you. “But you told be not to do anything stupid yet at the beginning of the year,” he paused, “that ‘yet’ has finally come.”

Your eyes widened. “What are you going to do?”

“Harry needs some help, so George and I offered ours, though I doubt we’ll get through this without being expelled,” he said, pausing to gage your reaction.

Your eyebrows had shot up and your jaw dropped. “What?! Why would you do that?”

“Because love, George and I don’t see the need to continue our education-”

“But what about-” you tried to interrupt.

Fred held up his index finger. “Just give me a minute to explain.”

“Okay,” you agreed, though your face still held a look of concern.

“We bought a shop,” Fred continued, “Harry gave us his Triwizard winnings so we bought one in Diagon Alley. You’re the first person that knows, and well, we were going to wait until after this school year but now with Dumbledore gone and that hag taking over the school, you’re the only reason left for me to stay.”

Fred looked you in the eyes. “That’s why I had to ask, can I do one last stupid thing? I am so in love with you Y/N, and you know that and if you want me to stay I will, and I promise nothing will change. I’ll be happy either way because I have you. I just knew I could never leave you here without first asking if you would be okay.”

A swell of love for the boy sitting across from you filled your chest and the concern had left your face. In its place, a single tear rolled down your cheek as you looked at the boy who had just told you he would leave all his dreams behind for you.

“Of course you can go Fred, I could never hold you back from that,” you said, letting him pull you against his chest. “But what about-” you looked up at him “-what about us?”

Fred grinned, kissing you once on the lips. “We’ll get to finally be together,” he answered softly. “There’s a flat above the shop, George has his space, we’ll have ours.”

“But George doesn’t know about us,” you protested. “What if he doesn’t-”

Fred cut you off by placing another kiss on your mouth. “If I have to marry you with only the two of us and the official at the service, then that would be enough. I don’t care about what he thinks about you and me.”

“Marrying me?” you whispered.

Fred interlaced his hand with yours. “The moment you graduate if you want love. Then we’ll never have to be apart for more than a second.”

You looped your arms around his neck, kissing him hard. “I love you so much Fred Weasley,” you whispered against his lips.

“And I love you a thousand times more,” he replied, his mouth barely leaving yours.

Fred tugged your thighs and you jumped up, wrapping your legs tightly around his waist.

“Now,” Fred said, and you could feel his smirk against your lips. “Why don’t we make this a night to remember.”

Taglist: Ask to be added! @missmulti @girl-next-door-writes @28cnn @thedarlinghufflepuff @rocket-svt

#twrh9kwritingchallenge #fred weasley #fred x y/n #fred x reader #fred weasley x y/n #fred weasley x reader #fred weasley one shot #fred weasley x slytherin!reader #fred weasley x you #fred weasley fanfiction #Fred and George #fred and goerge weasley #fred weasley imagine #weasley family #weasley twins #hp fic #sneaking around

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didanawisgi · 3 years

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Martin Luther King Jr., Guns, and a Book Everyone Should Read

BY JEREMY S. | JAN 15, 2018

“Martin Luther King Jr. would have been 89 years old today, were he not assassinated in 1968. On the third Monday in January we observe MLK Jr. Day and celebrate his achievements in advancing civil rights for African Americans and others. While Dr. King was a big advocate of peaceful assembly and protest, he wasn’t, at least for most of his life, against the use of firearms for self-defense. In fact, he employed them . . .

If it wasn’t for African Americans in the South, primarily, taking up arms almost without exception during the post-Civil War reconstruction and well into the civil rights movement, this country wouldn’t be what it is today.

By force and threat of arms African Americans protected themselves, their families, their homes, and their rights and won the attention and respect of the powers that be. In a lawless, post-Civil War South they stayed alive while faced with, at best, an indifferent government and, at worst, state-sponsored violence against them.

We know the Supreme Court’s Dred Scott decision of 1857 refused to recognize black people as citizens. Heck, they were deemed just three-fifths a person. Not often mentioned in school: some of that was due to gun rights. Namely, not wanting to give gun rights to blacks. Because if they were to recognize blacks as citizens, it…

“…would give to persons of the negro race . . . the right to enter every other State whenever they pleased, . . . and it would give them the full liberty of speech . . . ; to hold public meetings upon political affairs, and to keep and carry arms wherever they went.”

Ahha! So the Second Amendment was considered an individual right, protecting a citizen’s natural, inalienable right to keep and carry arms wherever they go. Then as now, gun control is rooted in racism.

During reconstruction, African Americans were legally citizens but were not always treated as such. Practically every African American home had a shotgun — or shotguns — and they needed it, too. Forget police protection, as those same officials were often in white robes during their time off.

Fast forward to the American civil rights movement and we learn, but again not at school, that Martin Luther King Jr. applied for a concealed carry permit. He (an upstanding minister, mind you) was denied.

Then as in many cases even now, especially in blue states uniquely and ironically so concerned about “fairness,” permitting was subjective (“may issue” rather than “shall issue”). The wealthy and politically connected receive their rights, but the poor, the uneducated, the undesired masses, not so much.

Up until late in his life, MLK Jr. chose to be protected by the Deacons for Defense. Though his home was also apparently a bit of an arsenal.

African Americans won their rights and protected their lives with pervasive firearms ownership. But we don’t learn about this. We don’t know about this. It has been unfortunately whitewashed from our history classes and our discourse.

Hidden, apparently, as part of an agreement (or at least an understanding) reached upon the conclusion of the civil rights movement.

Sure, the government is going to protect you now and help you and give you all of the rights you want, but you have to give up your guns. Turn them in. Create a culture of deference to the government. Be peaceable and non-threatening and harmless. And arm-less, as it were (and vote Democrat). African Americans did turn them in, physically and culturally.

That, at least, is an argument made late in Negroes and the Gun: the Black Tradition of Arms. It’s a fantastic book, teaching primarily through anecdotes of particular African American figures throughout history just how important firearms were to them. I learned so-freaking-much from this novel, and couldn’t recommend it more. If you have any interest in gun rights, civil rights, and/or African American history, it’s an absolute must-read.

Some text I highlighted on my Kindle Paperwhite when I read it in 2014:

But Southern blacks had to navigate the first generation of American arms-control laws, explicitly racist statutes starting as early as Virginia’s 1680 law, barring clubs, guns, or swords to both slaves and free blacks.

“…he who would be free, himself must strike the blow.”

In 1846, white abolitionist congressman Joshua Giddings of Ohio gave a speech on the floor of the House of Representatives, advocating distribution of arms to fugitive slaves.

Civil-rights activist James Forman would comment in the 1960s that blacks in the movement were widely armed and that there was hardly a black home in the South without its shotgun or rifle.

A letter from a teacher at a freedmen’s school in Maryland demonstrates one set of concerns. The letter contains the standard complaints about racist attacks on the school and then describes one strand of the local response. “Both the Mayor and the sheriff have warned the colored people to go armed to school, (which they do) [and] the superintendent of schools came down and brought me a revolver.”

Low black turnout resulted in a Democratic victory in the majority black Republican congressional district.

Other political violence of the Reconstruction era centered on official Negro state militias operating under radical Republican administrations.

“The Winchester rifle deserves a place of honor in every Black home.” So said Ida B. Wells.

Fortune responded with an essay titled “The Stand and Be Shot or Shoot and Stand Policy”: “We have no disposition to fan the coals of race discord,” Thomas explained, “but when colored men are assailed they have a perfect right to stand their ground. If they run away like cowards they will be regarded as inferior and worthy to be shot; but if they stand their ground manfully, and do their own a share of the shooting they will be respected and by doing so they will lessen the propensity of white roughs to incite to riot.”

He used state funds to provide guns and ammunition to people who were under threat of attack.

“Medgar was nonviolent, but he had six guns in the kitchen and living room.”

“The weapons that you have are not to kill people with — killing is wrong. Your guns are to protect your families — to stop them from being killed. Let the Klan ride, but if they try to do wrong against you, stop them. If we’re ever going to win this fight we got to have a clean record. Stay here, my friends, you are needed most here, stay and protect your homes.”

In 2008 and 2010, the NAACP filed amicus briefs to the United States Supreme Court, supporting blanket gun bans in Washington, DC, and Chicago. Losing those arguments, one of the association’s lawyers wrote in a prominent journal that recrafting the constitutional right to arms to allow targeted gun prohibition in black enclaves should be a core plank of the modern civil-rights agenda.

Wilkins viewed the failure to pursue black criminals as overt state malevolence and evidence of an attitude that “there’s one more Negro killed — the more of ’em dead, the less to bother us. Don’t spend too much money running down the killer — he may kill another.”

But it puts things in perspective to note that swimming pool accidents account for more deaths of minors than all forms of death by firearm (accident, homicide, and suicide).

The correlation of very high murder rates with low gun ownership in African American communities simply does not bear out the notion that disarming the populace as a whole will disarm and prevent murder by potential murderers.

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimated 1,900,000 annual episodes where someone in the home retrieved a firearm in response to a suspected illegal entry. There were roughly half a million instances where the armed householder confronted and chased off the intruder.

A study of active burglars found that one of the greatest risks faced by residential burglars is being injured or killed by occupants of a targeted dwelling. Many reported that this was their greatest fear and a far greater worry than being caught by police.48 The data bear out the instinct. Home invaders in the United States are more at risk of being shot in the act than of going to prison.49 Because burglars do not know which homes have a gun, people who do not own guns enjoy free-rider benefits because of the deterrent effect of others owning guns. In a survey of convicted felons conducted for the National Institute of Justice, 34 percent of them reported being “scared off, shot at, wounded or captured by an armed victim.” Nearly 40 percent had refrained from attempting a crime because they worried the target was armed. Fifty-six percent said that they would not attack someone they knew was armed and 74 percent agreed that “one reason burglars avoid houses where people are at home is that they fear being shot.”

In the period before Florida adopted its “shall issue” concealed-carry laws, the Orlando Police Department conducted a widely advertised program of firearms training for women. The program was started in response to reports that women in the city were buying guns at an increased rate after an uptick in sexual assaults. The program aimed to help women gun owners become safe and proficient. Over the next year, rape declined by 88 percent. Burglary fell by 25 percent. Nationally these rates were increasing and no other city with a population over 100,000 experienced similar decreases during the period.55 Rape increased by 7 percent nationally and by 5 percent elsewhere in Florida.

As you can see, Negroes and the Gun progresses more or less chronologically, spending the last portion of the book discussing modern-day gun control. It’s an invaluable source of ammunition (if you’ll pardon the expression) against the fallacies of the pro-gun-control platform. It sheds light on a little-known (if not purposefully obfuscated), critical factor in the history of African Americans: firearms.

On this Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I highly recommend you — yes, you — read Negroes and the Gun: the Black Tradition of Arms.

And I’ll wrap this up with a quote in a Huffington Post article given by Maj Toure of Black Guns Matter:

https://cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/huffpo-maj-toure.jpg”

#books #black history #history #american history #Guns #civil rights #constitution #supreme court #gun control #martin luther king jr.#dread scott #concealed carry #concealedcarry #everydaycarry #gun confiscation

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osakaso5 · 3 years

Photo

Banri Ogami Chainana Travels Rabbit TV Part 1: Everyone's Well Wishes

Part 2 | Part 3

Tsumugi Takanashi: Yes, yes..! Thank you! I'll tell them!

Tsumugi Takanashi: ...Please do! Goodbye.

Banri Ogami: So, what did the Chainana Town executive want?

Tsumugi Takanashi: He was just letting me know that business has been booming since the introductory project IDOLiSH7 participated in!

Banri Ogami: Ah..! That thing they did with TRIGGER, Re:vale, and ŹOOĻ.

Tsumugi Takanashi: Yes! They're also going to send tickets to the agency, so that even we managers can visit the town...

Tsumugi's Thoughts: Ah..! Come to think of it, it's almost September, which means Banri-san's birthday is coming up..!

Tsumugi's Thoughts: Maybe we could set up a surprise party for him, using the Chainana Town visit as a pretense..!

Banri Ogami: It's so nice of them to send tickets! I'll let the boys know.

Tsumugi's Thoughts: Maybe I could invite Okazaki-san and Anesagi-san again, too...

Banri Ogami: ......? Tsumugi-san? Are you listening?

Banri Ogami: Hellooo. ...Earth to Tsumugi-san.

Tsumugi Takanashi: Waagh!?

Banri Ogami: Whoa! No need to yell. I guess I finally got through to you.

Tsumugi Takanashi: W-w-what is it?

Banri Ogami: You weren't responding to anything I said... Almost like you were too busy thinking of something else.

Tsumugi Takanashi: I-I wasn't thinking! I wasn't thinking at all!

Banri Ogami: Haha. I get it, no need to flail around like that.

Banri Ogami: ...Are you hiding something from me?

Tsumugi Takanashi: I, uh...

[Door opens]

Tamaki Yotsuba: Heeeey, Ban-chan, Manager!

Riku & Nagi: Hello!

Tamaki Yotsuba: .......? What's with the awkward silence?

Tsumugi Takanashi: Wha!?

Riku Nanase: You two weren't arguing, were you!?

Banri Ogami: Say what now!?

Nagi Rokuya: OH, Banri. Whatever have you done to this poor little lady?

Banri Ogami: Absolutely nothing!?

Tsumugi Takanashi: ...Oh, I just remembered it's time for Kinako's walk!

Tsumugi Takanashi: Banri-san, would you mind taking care of that for me?

Banri Ogami: Me? ...Uh, alright then.

Banri Ogami: I'll get going! Call me if you need me!

[Door closes]

Tamaki Yotsuba: ...What's going on?

Riku Nanase: Did you really have a fight!?

Nagi Rokuya: What in the world was that..?

Tsumugi Takanashi: N-no, we didn't have a fight! I just needed Banri-san to leave for a moment...

Tsumugi Takanashi: Could you go call the rest of IDOLiSH7 here?

- - - -

IDOLiSH7: A surprise party in Chainana Town!?

Tsumugi Takanashi: Yes! We received tickets and an invitation from them, so I thought we could hold a birthday celebration for him there...

Riku Nanase: Oh, so that's what that was! You had me worried for a second there...

Iori Izumi: Hm? Worried about what, exactly?

Riku Nanase: N-nothing!

Yamato Nikaido: Sounds good to me. Last year, you took him to Taiwan, right?

Mitsuki Izumi: Oh yeah! All of you managers got together for a trip abroad.

Tamaki Yotsuba: Maybe you four could hang out again this year?

Nagi Rokuya: It would be a waste not to use your free tickets, after all!

Iori Izumi: Exactly. Consider it a much needed break from your work managing us.

Tsumugi Takanashi: A-are you sure..?

Riku Nanase: Of course! ...Ah, but we want to do something for his birthday, too!

Iori Izumi: Agreed. I'm sure we'll be able to enlist the help of our fellow idols, as well.

Mitsuki Izumi: ...I know! We could totally make use of everything we know about Chainana Town!

Mitsuki Izumi: Why don't we plan out a tour for him, so he can make the most out of Chainana Town?

Nagi Rokuya: A wonderful idea, Mitsuki! Banri shall have no idea that all of his entertainment has been carefully planned by each of us!

Yamato Nikaido: Alright, I guess we better call up the guys we did our segments with.

Tsumugi Takanashi: Thank you, everyone..!

Riku Nanase: Ah, I can message Toma-san right away and ask if he can help!

Yamato Nikaido: ...I doubt the guys from ŹOOĻ know what we set up last year, and you probably shouldn't be the one explaining it to them, Riku...

Yamato Nikaido: Sou, you're friends with Mido, right?

Sogo Osaka: Um... I wouldn't exactly call us friends, but I do have his contact information.

Yamato Nikaido: Uh, my bad. But can you still reach out to ŹOOĻ for us?

Sogo Osaka: Alright. I'll message him.

Tamaki Yotsuba: Hey, Yama-san! I've got Isumin's contact info, too!

Iori Izumi: I-I do, as well.

Nagi Rokuya: Do you not have Natsume-shi in your RabbitChat contacts as well, Yamato?

Yamato Nikaido: Yeah, but there's no point in fighting over who gets to do it now. Sou's on ŹOOĻ duty, and that's that!

Yamato Nikaido: Then there's TRIGGER...

Riku Nanase: Me, me! I'll do it! I can totally let Tenn-nii know!

Mitsuki Izumi: Riku's acting like the kid in class who likes answering questions almost too much...

Yamato Nikaido: Okay then. Riku's on TRIGGER duty.

Yamato Nikaido: As for Re:vale...

Mitsuki Izumi: That's obviously on you, geezer.

Yamato Nikaido: ...Or, we could throw a curveball their way by making Ichi do it instead.

Iori Izumi: And just what good would that do? You're closer to Yuki-san than the rest of us, so you should do it.

Yamato Nikaido: T-Tama..?

Tamaki Yotsuba: I don't wanna. Every time I message one of them, the other one gets jealous and starts sending me messages, too.

Sogo Osaka: Hey, T-Tamaki-kun..! You don't seem to realize how incredible it is that such highly esteemed idols are so personable with us!

Nagi Rokuya: I know your pain very well, Tamaki. When I discussed a certain foreign brand's newest line with Mister Yuki, I received this from Mister Momo...

Tamaki Yotsuba: Whoa, that's some freaky stuff.

Sogo Osaka: C-c'mon, you two...

Mitsuki Izumi: Yamato-san it is.

Yamato Nikaido: ...Re:vale's really something, huh...

- - - -

Torao Mido: ...What's this? Sogo..?

Torao Mido: Guys, gather 'round. I just got a message from Sogo.

Haruka Isumi: So? You guys friends or something?

Torao Mido: We go way back, so pretty much. Anyway, read this.

Toma Inumaru: What..?

Toma Inumaru: "Hello. This is Osaka from IDOLiSH7. I'm contacting you to discuss the Chainana Town project our groups collaborated on."

Toma Inumaru: ...He's so formal! Are you guys really friends if this is how he messages you!?

Torao Mido: That's just how Sogo talks.

Minami Natsume: Oh, Mido-san... Should I engage in some light-hearted banter with you over RabbitChat later?

Torao Mido: What do you mean, light-hearted banter?

Minami Natsume: I could talk about the ramen restaurants I've visited, for example.

Torao Mido: Our chatlogs aren't your personal notepad, you know.

Minami Natsume: Ah, you've seen through my intentions.

Haruka Isumi: ...So? What does he want, anyway?

Torao Mido: Apparently he wants us to compile a list of our most recommended spots from Chainana Town.

Toma Inumaru: Wow. ...Ah, and they're gonna give MEZZO"'s manager a tour of those spots!

Haruka Isumi: What for?

Torao Mido: Seems like his birthday's coming up. They probably wanna surprise him.

Haruka Isumi: ...They celebrate their managers' birthdays.

Toma Inumaru: We're gonna be doing plenty of stuff like that too, now that we've learned what it's like to wanna make people happy.

Haruka Isumi: ...Yeah...

Minami Natsume: We could start out by sending out detailed reports of ramen restaurants.

Torao Mido: Haha. Yeah, maybe he'd like that. ...Ryo-san, that is.

Toma Inumaru: In any case, it sounds like they really need our help! Let's get thinking!

Toma Inumaru: I'll get together whatever I can from that fortune-teller I went to!

Haruka Isumi: Okay... I guess I'll do the buns I ate with Yotsuba.

Minami Natsume: And I'll compile information on the spices.

Torao Mido: And I had that foot acupressure therapy showdown with Gaku Yaotome.

Toma Inumaru: Alright! Once we've compiled our stuff, let's send it to Tora, so he can forward it to Sogo!

- - - -

Tenn Kujo: ...Guys. Riku messaged me just now...

Gaku Yaotome: What's up with him? He doing good?

Ryunosuke Tsunashi: His condition hasn't been flaring up lately, has it?

Tenn Kujo: ...Since when did you two become his older brothers?

Gaku Yaotome: Since never. I'm still an only child.

Ryunosuke Tsunashi: It might be kind of nice to hear him call me "big bro", though!

Tenn Kujo: ...In any case, it seems like they need our help preparing for MEZZO's manager's birthday again.

Gaku Yaotome: Oh yeah, Anesagi went on a trip with him last year!

Tenn Kujo: Right. They want us to compile our recommendations for the things we introduced in Chainana Town.

Tenn Kujo: They'll use our recommendations to set up a tour for him, Anesagi-san, Takanashi-san, and most likely Okazaki-san as well.

Gaku Yaotome: Sounds great! The managers get to wind down, and Ogami-san gets a birthday celebration.

Ryunosuke Tsunashi: Anesagi-san's not the only manager we've been working with, after all.

Tenn Kujo: Right. We should give them a hand.

Ryunosuke Tsunashi: Yeah! And Chainana Town was such a fun project to work on! I have so much stuff I want to recommend!

Tenn Kujo: Heh. I'll be on tea duty. I just need to make sure nothing I write overlaps with Mitsuki Izumi's recommendations.

Gaku Yaotome: And I'm on foot acupressure duty! I had that heated showdown with Mido and everything.

Ryunosuke Tsunashi: And I went to that photo studio with Yamato-kun! Do you think the managers would like dressing up in costumes, too?

Gaku Yaotome: We might actually be done with this pretty quickly. Let's get our recs to Nanase ASAP!

- - - -

Yuki: Look, Momo. Yamato-kun messaged me.

Momo: Whaaat!? Yamato's messaging you for once!? What does he want?

Momo: Don't tell me, he secretly wants to be nicer to you, but he's too shy to admit it, so he's sending you messages and hoping you'll take the hint..!?

Yuki: I feel like if that was the case, I wouldn't even be telling you about it.

Momo: ...What's that supposed to mean, Darling!? Are you planning to do something with Yamato behind my back..!?

Yuki: Just read it.

Momo: W-what..!?

Momo: ...They wanna give Okarin and the other managers a tour of Chainana Town..?

Yuki: Yep. MEZZO"'s manager's birthday is coming up, so they're looking for Okarin to go on a hot date with him.

Momo: ...Like that trip last year...

Yuki: Exactly. We did those introductions for various spots in Chainana Town, remember? And now Yamato-kun's asking us to compile our recommendations for them.

Momo: Phew..! In that case, I'm totally down! Let's get compiling!

Yuki: Haha. You introduced that antique appraisal place, right?

Momo: Yep! Nagi was there, too! It felt like a pretty unorthodox place to go, but it was a lot of fun!

Momo: Meanwhile, you made rice porridge with Riku!

Yuki: Yeah. He did the stirring.

Momo: I'm so jealous. I wish I could've been there to stir your porridge, too! Should we make some for Okarin together!?

Yuki: Do you even know how to make rice porridge?

Momo: Uh... You put rice in water and boil it..?

Yuki: ...I think we'll have to do a few practice runs first.

Momo: F-fine! I'll go catch a cold, so I can eat all our failed attempts!

Yuki: Hehe... Momo, I think you're taking this a little too seriously.

Yuki: In any case, we should start planning for a tour that'll make Ban, Kaoru-chan, Maneko-chan, and Okarin happy.

Momo: Yeah!

Momo: I hope they have the best break ever!

End of Part 1.

Translator’s notes..?

Rabbit TVs courtesy of @rabbit-library

#idolish7 #banri ogami #chainana travels #translation #rabbit tv

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mostlysignssomeportents · 3 years

Text

Corruption

“Corruption” conjures images of bags of cash changing hands in deserted parking garages, but I’d like to propose a simple and concrete definition that goes beyond that: “Corruption” is when something bad happens because its harms are diffused and its gains are concentrated.

Here’s what I mean. West Virginia is known as coal country, but coal is actually a small, dwindling industry in WV; WV’s biggest industry is chemical processing, dominated by Dow — chem processing, like many industries, is heavily concentrated into a few global monopolies.

WV has a water crisis, with frequent “boil water” advisories. Its origins are in the chemical industry — specifically, in a regulatory proceeding where state regulators sought comment on whether to relax the EPA’s national guidelines on chemical runoff into drinking water.

Dow, acting through the manufacturers’ association it controls, argued the people of WV could absorb more poison than the national average because they were much fatter than the median American, and when they drank, it was mostly beer, not water.

https://washingtonmonthly.com/2019/03/14/the-real-elitists-looking-down-on-trump-voters/

No, really.

Here’s the thing. I’m not qualified to set the safe levels of different kinds of runoff in water-tables. It’s probably not zero (at least, not for most chemicals), but it’s also not “anything goes.”

It’s a question that requires subtle, interdisciplinary expertise: chemistry, health, environmental science. It’s an area where people of good faith can disagree.

These thorny, high-stakes technical questions that cross disciplines are the norm, not the exception.

Even if you have the technical knowhow to evaluate whether wearing masks fights covid, that doesn’t answer questions about vaccine safety, or whether zoom-school will turn your kid into an ignoramus.

Answer those questions and you’re left with still more: should you get in one of Southwest’s recertified Boeing 737-Max airplanes? Is the code specifying the reinforced steel joist that holds up your roof adequate, or is your building gonna collapse?

Should you eat carbs? Will your 401k preserve you through a dignified retirement? Answering all of these questions definitively for yourself requires earning 50+ PhDs, but also, people who have those PhDs don’t all agree with one another.

In a technologically complex world, there will always be official advice whose technical arguments we can’t understand. Our only reassurance is the process by which that advice is arrived at.

We may not understand the arguments, but we can recognize an open, independent process refereed by neutral regulators who show their work and recuse themselves if they have a conflict of interest.

We don’t always understand what goes on inside the box, but we can tell whether the box itself is sound. We can tell judges are financially interested in outcomes, whether they publish their deliberations, whether they revisit their conclusions in light of new evidence.

That’s all we’ve got, and it depends on a balance of powers that arises from a pluralistic, diffused set of industrial interests.

When an industry says with one voice that West Virginians are so fat that we can poison them without injury, it carries a lot of weight.

(so to speak)

It’s a stupid argument. It’s a wicked argument. It’s a lethal argument. It’s the kind of argument that might get you laughed out of the room if it is filled with hundreds of squabbling chemical companies looking to dunk on one another.

That’s the thing about conspiracies (and Dow was, in fact, engaged in a conspiracy to poison West Virginians to enrich its shareholders) — they require a lot of discipline, with all the conspirators remaining loyal to the conspiracy and no one breaking ranks.

The bigger a group is, the more it struggles to keep a united front. That’s why there’s so much billionaire class solidarity. Sure, it’s hard to maintain unity among a clutch of grandiose maniacs, but it’s much harder to maintain unity among billions of their victims.

Monopolization is corruption’s handmaiden — not just because it lets Dow hire fancy lawyers and “experts” to dress up “fat people are immune to poison” as sound policy, but because the industry can sing that awfful song with one voice.

Dow spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to win a policy that will save it millions — and cost the people of WV hundreds of millions or even billions in health costs, lost productivity, and, of course, the intergenerational trauma of ruined and lost human lives.

The reason millions in gains can trump billions in losses is that that the millions are reaped by just a few firms, who can wield them with precision to secure the continued right to impose costs on the rest of us, while the losses are spread out across the whole state.

For Dow to corrupt West Virginia’s legislature, it need only tithe a small percentage of its winnings to political causes and dark money orgs.

For West Virginians to fight corruption in the cash-money world of political influence campaigns, they have to overcome their collective action problem and outspend Dow — all while bearing the human and monetary costs of Dow’s corruption.

America is a land of manifest, obvious dysfunctions, and close examination reveals their common root in corruption.

Take the health-care system: Americans pay more for worse outcomes than anyone else in the rich world.

Their healthcare is rationed by faceless, cruel bureaucracies. They ration their medicine or skip necessary procedures. Patients hate this — but so do doctors and nurses, who have to hire armies of bureaucrats to fight with insurers.

Everyone hates this system. Everyone knows it’s rotten. Everyone — except for a handful of pharma, hospital and insurance monopolists, and the propagandists they pay to busily race through the crowd, busily swapping hats and shouting, “SOCIALISM! BOO! SOCIALISM!”

But while the US healthcare system is terrible at providing healthcare, it’s very good at jackpotting for monopolists. They reap billions while costing the public trillions, and they hand around millions to keep that situation intact.

We can see that in action right now. Nina Turner is running to take over a Congressional seat in northeastern Ohio vacated by Marcia Fudge when she joined Biden’s cabinet.

https://www.dailyposter.com/dems-launch-proxy-war-on-medicare-for-all/

For 30 years, every Congressional rep for Ohio’s 11th supported Medicare for All — a commensense measure to end the long waits, price gouging and cruel bureaucratic rationing of for-profit care. Unsurprisingly, Turner also supports M4A.

https://twitter.com/ninaturner/status/1404793650895331337?s=20

In response, a group of corporate, establishment Congressional Dems have launched an all-out attack on Turner’s candidacy, joining forces with health-care lobbyists to raise vast corporate fortunes to support her primary challenger, Shontel Brown.

The seven Dem lawmakers attacking Turner have collectively taken in $5m from pharma and health-care monopolists. James E Clyburn alone has pocketed $1m from pharma. He’s leading the charge against Turner.

https://twitter.com/TaylorPopielarz/status/1405121330433957888

Before Clyburn accepted $1m worth of pharma money, he co-sponsored Medicare For All legislation. Now he’s its most bitter opponent, insisting that it’s political poison (a majority of his constituents support M4A).

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/live-blog/south-carolina-primary-live-updates-democrats-vote-2020-candidates-n1145296/ncrd1146076

One million people in Ohio lost their jobs — and health care — during the pandemic. The system is murdering and maiming people. It’s a wasteful boondoggle that’s bad for everyone except a tiny minority of shareholders and the corrupt officials who accept their blood-money.

It’s not just healthcare. Think of Exxon Mobil’s crime against humanity and Earth: the 40-year coverup and disinformation campaign to delay action on the climate emergency. Exxon spent millions, made tens of billions, and cost us all trillions.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/30/climate-crisis-crime-fossil-fuels-environment

The megadroughts, once-in-millennium heatwaves, raging wildfires, annual floods-of-the-century and zoonitic plagues Exxon bought with their millions were objectively a very bad deal — but their concentrated gains beat our much larger diffused losses (so far). #ExxonKnew.

But corruption creates policy debt, and the interest on that debt compounds — in a degraded environment, worsening health, precarious work, and a collapse in trust in institutions. The corrupt have a structural advantage, but it’s not a sure thing.

Take Ohio (again). The GOP-dominated Senate passed legislation to ban Ohio cities from offering municipal broadband. Now, municipal broadband is the best internet in America: cheaper, faster and more reliable than anything the telecoms monopolists offer.

There are ~900 (mostly Republican) towns and counties where people get their internet from their local government:

https://muninetworks.org/communitymap

And they fucking love it, just as much as their Comcast-burdened peers elsewhere hate their service:

https://web.archive.org/web/20180808223947/https://www.consumerreports.org/phone-tv-internet-bundles/people-still-dont-like-their-cable-companies-telecom-survey/

Muni networks are better at everything to do with the internet: connection speeds, price, and customer service. There’s only one area in which they underperform relative to telecoms monopolies: generating profits for shareholders by overcharging and underinvesting.

There’s only a tiny minority of people who’d trade good internet service for profitable internet service (namely, the people receiving the profits). But the pro-monopolists have concentrated gains, while the public experiences diffused losses.

That’s why the Ohio Senate passed its budget bill banning municipal networks. But when the budget was reconciled in the Ohio House, the measure was killed, thanks to an all-out uprising led by the people of Fairlawn, who stepped up to defend Fairlawngig, their muni ISP.

The victory for muni broadband is a triumph of evidence over corruption — proof that the diffused nature of corruption losses can be overcome. It’s cause for hope, especially in light of this week’s collapse of the antitrust case against Facebook.

https://www.wired.com/story/ftc-antitrust-case-against-facebook-very-much-alive/

Facebook escaped justice by citing the theories of Robert Bork, Nixon’s chief criminal co-conspirator and Ronald Reagan’s court sorcerer. Bork insisted that anittrust law had but one purpose: to keep prices down.

https://pluralistic.net/2021/06/28/dubious-quant-residue/#incinerators-r-us

Any other consideration, especially political corruption arising from market concentration, was out of scope.

The court agreed. No surprise; 40% of the US Federal judiciary has attended a lavish “Manne Seminar,” junkets where they are indoctrinated into Borkism.

But the absurdity of ruling that Facebook isn’t a fit subject for anti-monopoly law is the beginning of the end for Borkism, prompting bipartisan calls — led by Elizabeth Warren — to explicitly redesign American antitrust.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/facebooks-surprise-antitrust-victory-could-inspire-congress-to-overhaul-the-rules-entirely/ar-AALCJz8

Corruption has many costs: monetary, human, environmental. But every bit as important is the cost to institutional credibility. Remember, none of us are capable of understanding the technical nuances of the dozens of life-or-death decisions we face daily.

If we can’t trust our institutions — if we don’t believe that regulators are neutral, good-faith experts in ardent pursuit of the truth and the public good — then our very idea of shared reality collapses, as Snowden has written:

https://edwardsnowden.substack.com/p/conspiracy-pt1

It’s hard to overstate the sheer, reeling epistemological terror of institutional collapse. When the EPA allows the chemical industry to poison America, how can you know whether the products in the store can be trusted not to kill your family?

https://theintercept.com/2021/06/30/epa-pesticides-exposure-opp/

Remember, the Flint water crisis came about as the result of corruption: the promises of “experts” that taking shortcuts to save money would come out all right, despite the copious evidence to the contrary.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flint_Water_Crisis

What parent of a permanently damaged child, poisoned by lead deliberately introduced to save pittances for a tiny group of people, could ever trust any “expert” process again?

Michigan Republicans saved millions at the expense of billions, but the gains were concentrated among the wealthy white taxpayers of the state who enjoyed cuts to the top marginal rate, and the costs were born by the Black families of Flint. That’s corruption.

#pluralistic

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emilycollins00 · 4 years

Note

Hey! In honor or spooky season and my recent haunted world trip, may I have the A3! Boys (any assortment up to you) reactions to a s/o whos terrified before going into the haunted house like completely horrified but then once they go in the S/O isn't afraid of anything? I found out recently that anticipation absolutely kills me, but like a actual good spooks from a quality haunted house does little to nothing to scare me lol.

Thank you for the request, dear! 💕 I wanted to do something since the begining of october but couldn’t think of anything. Fortunately this came up!

Happy pre-halloween everyone, enjoy! 💕

Troupes with not scared! Reader in a haunted house

All righty! Here we are going to divide the whole dorm into three big groups:

The ‘I was kind of worried about you some more than others, but if you say you’re okay...’ group: Yuki, Misumi, Tsuzuru, Omi, Tasuku Juza, Sakyo, Tsumugi, Hisoka

Yuki

He would never understand how you can go from being terrified to okay

Just a few moments ago you were almost stopping the circulation in his hand? Now you are looking around humming, geez

After glancing at you, seeing you really are fine, he focuses his attention on the next thing he loves most: clothes

He’s SO disappointed though

“Those are some low-quality clothes, is this their way to scare us?”

“Yuki”

“They won’t fool me even if everything is dark”

“Yuki, please just… act scared”

“Why should I, it’s only their mix of red and pink what makes me shudder”

Mizumi

Smiling and swinging his arms the whole time

Misumi’s so happy you are not looking so horrified anymore!

Grabs you by your hand

He’s so excited to be with you because??

IT’S TIME TO LOOK FOR TRIANGLES IN THE DARK

“Look! That man has a big triangle in his chest, let’s ask him if we can take it!”

This ball of sunshine knows no fear

“MISUMI, NO”

You both get scolded by the actors on your way out

Tsuzuru

Tsuzuru is good with haunted houses but doesn’t want you to force yourself

You assure him you are okay and so, when he sees you are calm after entering, looking around even slightly excited, he smiles

Is he really going to keep smiling though

Everything is cool until someone in a clown costume jumps at his face??

Just like the next one, and the next…

“Why do they keep jumping only on me?!”

“Tsuzuru, calm-”

Another shriek comes from behind him

“DON’T ‘TSUZURU’ ME Y/N, WHY ARE THEY LIKE THIS”

He ends up exhausted as you pat him in the back on the way out

Omi

Yes, you are not scared at all now, but this one still goes full mom-mode, taking your hand through the haunted house.

“Look Y/N, that’s an awesome decoration, right?”

“Omi, I’m fine, don’t try to distract me”

He slightly scolds the actors with a smile when they shout and holds you close to him

“Omi, we are dating, you are not my caretaker”

“Haha, you are right”

“...”

“Would you like to go to eat after this? It’s been-”

“OMI”

Omi protection squad 24/7, whether it’s necessary or not

Tasuku

Thinks the whole concept of entering even if you are scared is stupid, but agrees to enter

Surprised to see you better the moment it starts but doesn’t comment on it

A monster appears. You tilt your head. Tasuku hums

“I see… but I still think coming from behind and surrounding us would have come across better”

"Tasuku, stop focusing on the acting for once”

There’s an awkard silence between you three

Tasuku stares at you, and then at the confused monster

“...I’m just saying the reaction would have been better if-“

Juza

He was worried about you as you both waited in line

You really looked horrified

Now… you are fine? You are not making it up are you

He tenses at the shrieks though, trying to remain composed to save face

“Juza, are you breathing?”

You almost can’t walk with your boyfriend so close

“...yeah”

End up laughing as he holds you so he doesn’t beat up anyone that randomly appears by instinct

Sakyo

He dragged entering inside because you looked too scared

Why would you even do that to yourself, are you an idiot? You pressed you just needed to do it

“I won’t be waiting for you to caught up, understood?”

“A-all right!”

After seeing you are okay though, he’s low-key glad you are enjoying it

Plus, he doesn’t have to deal with any shouting

You discover nothing phases him??

“As expected from my lovely yakuza”

“Care to repeat yourself”

After one glare from him, the actors are also quick to back off

Tsumugi

Tsumugi kept telling you to leave the queue, you didn’t have to do it

But after entering you look fine?

“Are you sure you are okay, Y/N? We can still...”

You laugh, “I’m fine, Tsumugi”

You convince him to relax and enjoy the attraction. Maybe he follows your comment too much

“That murdering scene was really well done!”

“Y/N, look the way they try to fight the killer in such a tiny space”

“I need to remember how great they...”

You are not sure if you are in a haunted house with your boyfriend or watching streets acts in a closed place

Hisoka

You both just walk like it’s a walk across the park until one monster appears

He looks so deadpan you are glad you were not scared

Who knows what would have happened if you had had to drag him around the place scared

“Hisoka, you okay?”

“Mhm, this place just… makes me sleepy”

“Makes you what now”

Hisoka just leans on you every chance he gets

You both unconciously damaged the ego of the actors

Not a single scream from any of you

The ‘Aw, weren’t you supposed to be scared?’ group just what’s wrong with them: Kazunari, Itaru, Chikage, Masumi, Azuma, Homare, Banri

Kazunari

Makes an instablam live out of it to record you.

What? He thought it would be cute, you holding onto him scared!

Instead, he realizes you are so damn cool??

“Sup y’all~ we are in a haunty house, say sike! And with me is…” he shows your face, you glance at the phone

“...Y/N?”

“Brutal. How are you doing, mysterious hunter?”

“Uh…Good now”

“SO BRUTAL. Hear that everyone?? My partner is just too epic to get scared!”

He’s so focused on you that barely takes notice of the scariness of the place

Itaru

Itaru keeps asking you if you are okay after you both enter

“I told you I am! You don’t have to worry”

He sighs “Ah... was hoping to see a scared Y/N, guess that’s still unlocked”

“...You had the chance to follow what I said with a smile, you know”

He laughs under your deadpan stare

After a while you notice he’s not near you anymore?? “Itaru? If you try to do something weird...”

“Y/N, this looks just like the zombie armor of my last gameplay…GG”

You have to actually DRAG him out I swear this man

Chikage

He’s curious to see how you would react because before entering it looked like you were on your way to death

Glancing at you now, everything looks fine? He’s sad he can’t tease you

Becomes somewhat of a tour to entertain you

“See, Y/N? That’s wrong. The whole blood bath is better to do it in the shower because…”

“Chokers like those really do nothing to…”

“Maybe I should tell them how to make murder scenes more accurate?”

He chuckles under your stare

The haunted house isn’t the one who’s scary

Masumi

He’s sad you aren’t as terrified as you looked at first???

“Why the hell do you look betrayed”

Masumi just really wanted to protect you

He decides he can still do that

Doesn’t stop dragging you and holding you close every chance he gets

“Masumi let that death grip go, I told you I’m fine”

“I’m taking precautions”

“But I’m-“

“Precautions”

Azuma

He looks at you, smiling in silence for a while “You look better than before, I’m glad”

“Yeah! I don’t know, guess it was the whole anticipation thing”

He stares at you blinking. You narrow your eyes, what-

“Y/N, Is that a real cocroach on your back?”

You turn around horrified, what the...?!

There’s nothing there

He laughs

“Azuma what the heck!”

HE IS STILL TRYING TO GET YOU SCARED IM-

Also, Azuma calling cute at every single monster that appears

Homare

Homare is intrigued about how you would react inside

He was hoping to do a poem about the beauty of fear

Glancing at you, he sees you are not afraid, to which he ‘hums’

Well, it’s fine, you did look georgous smiling

“It doesn’t matter if you are not afraid dear Y/N, let us enjoy this ghostly and dramatical affair before us!”

“Homare? This is not the time to-“

There’s nothing that would stop him now, you had given him enough material as you waited anxiously on the line anyway

Banri

You swear, you can’t take HIM ANYWHERE

He thought you would be scared so somehow gets bored when you don’t jump what the hell Banri

His solution? entertain himself with the place

Pretends to get a panic attack and flips off the actors

You both are banned from the haunted house for misbehavior

“Y/N, come on, I said I was sorry”

“No, you are not”

“… pfff, yeah you’re right”

Finally, the ‘I was supposed to protect you or enjoy our qualitity time but ended up screaming too loud and/or ragging you around’ group: Citron, Sakuya, Muku, Tenma, Taichi

Citron

Forget about being horrified, excited or whatnot, the second-hand embarrassment is real with this man

“DO NOT BE AFRAID Y/N, I KILLED AN EVIL DEMON ONCE IN MY HOMELAND, I KNOW HOW TO DEAL WITH THIS”

You try to speed up the pace

Citron is blindly hitting and kicking thin air as he screams ‘who is it’

He didn’t even notice you weren’t scared honestly

“I protected you well, yes, love?”

“Uh… yeah”

Sakuya

He jumps a lot, admiring how well you end up managing now

“Y-you sure you are okay, Y/N?”

“Yup! How about you, Sakuya?”

“Oh, I’m… UGH!!”

He doesn’t try to run because it looks like you are enjoying the attraction.

Also, still wants to protect you if something happens to you? my heart

Sakuya holds on to your hands for dear life. He makes you promise you that you won’t leave each other’s side.

Poor boy has gained a few years but he’s so proud of how cool you looked

Muku

Insert big shriek anytime something moves, poor boy had never experienced something so scary at this big scale

Well neither had you, but you looked fine now??

He keeps trembling, doesn’t let go of your shirt

You said you both were going to face your fears, why is he the only one horrified now??

“I’m sorry Muku”

You both end up having a break afterward to calm his nerves. He’s so embarrased

“W-was I brave…?

And this. This is were you lie and say yes

Taichi

Man, he is SO excited because??? He can hold you if you are afraid!

It’s. His. Chance

Or not

Why is he the one who hides behind you it wasn’t supposed to be like this

“GAAAAAH!!”

“You okay, Tai?”

“I JUST SAW SOMETHING MOVE, I SWEAR LET’S GET OUT THE ROOM PLEASE Y/N!!”

You become his knight in shiny armor, he’s so awestruck

For nothing really?

Taichi is too loud, no one is even bothering you anymore

He still clings desperately on to you

Tenma

Fakes being fine to keep appearances although he’s not fine and absolutely all of us know this

Sweats so much as you both wait in line and just why are you going to do this to yourself and to him

“I-I guess if you are THAT afraid we can leave, Y/N”

“No, I want to try it at least once!”

Containing his breath until a gross spirit appears murdering people

Tenma doesn’t scream, the boy IS DESTROYING HIS THROAT

He doesn’t care if you are now okay with this. If he goes down, you are going down with him

“S-stop. Tenma stop grabbing me!”

“SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!! YOU KEEP MOVING Y/N OR WE ARE GOING TO GET KILLED!”

Never again

________________________________________________________

Tag yourself because I would SO be Tenma if this was real life.

Have a wonderful day! 💕

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amphtaminedreams · 3 years

Text

Farewell to Spooky Season, AHS Style: Lookbook no.12

Hi to anyone reading,

Happy belated Halloween!

I capitalise it because if I'm gonna recognise any day as sacred, it’s the spookiest one of the year! Halloween 2020 obviously hasn’t been as exciting as usual, parties and club nights being banned has meant there’s been far less opportunities to dress up, but I still managed to get out for the night before they announced the upcoming second lockdown and do a couple of spooky movie nights (and carve a pumpkin!)!

I originally intended for this lookbook to be last minute halloween costume inspo but I was lazy and didn’t manage to get it out on time-a lot of these looks minus the makeup and maybe an accessory or two could work on any day or night out so I thought I’d go ahead and post it now anyway. Celebrating the fashion moments of American Horror Story is something I’ve wanted to do for a while; it’s probably not the first show you’d think of for sartorial inspiration but Mr. Ryan Murphy has fucking fantastic taste in stylists and the first five seasons of AHS in particular, which I’ll be focussing on in this post, have given us SO many amazing looks. The man may be guilty of many things-subjecting us to the character of Will Schuester, trying to turn Richard Ramirez into a thirst trap, embarrassing everyone who raved about how good Scream Queens was when he wrote season 2-but costume related laziness is not one of them. We see more consistency in a Ryan Murphy character’s wardrobe than we do in their story arcs and I respect that because honestly, as much as I love joining in when it comes to ripping into his ability to cohesively bring an AHS season to a close when it airs, I’d probably be the same; if you put Lady Gaga in front of me and told me to write her lines I’d probably end up getting overly invested in what her character was going to be wearing in the scene too.

So! Enough Ryan Murphy bashing from me! I’ll get on with it! Starting with 3 season 1 inspired looks:

Murder House: Elizabeth Short, Tate Langdon and Violet Harmon

-striped jumper from caitlinlark on Depop, kick flare jeans from ellagray-

When it comes to reflecting on season 1 of American Horror Story, all I can say do is thank the internet overlords that Tumblr has moved on from the romanticising school shooters and wearing normal people scare me tops phase to instead collectively taking the piss out of the “GO AWAY, TATE!”, “YOU’RE ALL THAT I WANTTT! YOU’RE ALL THAT I HAVEEE!” exchange.

In terms of fashion *moments*, whilst season 1 doesn’t stand out as much as the seasons that come after, Violet and Tate’s wardrobes did give birth to a bit of a 90s grunge renaissance with their oversized knits and faded jeans and layering of textures. It did also give us good costumes in the form of Alexandra Breckenridge’s Moira O’Hara and Mena Suvari’s portrayal of the Black Dahlia, Elizabeth Short; unfortunately, I didn’t have a slutty maid costume lying around so I did the best I could at giving the outfit Elizabeth wears when she makes that fateful visit to the Murder House a modern, more party appropriate update.

In terms of season rankings, Murder House isn’t my favourite. It starts off really great but lulls a bit towards the end and I could never get behind Violet and Tate as a couple because you know, one of them is a school shooter who sexually assaults the other’s mum, and that’s a hurdle that I think most couples might struggle to get over irl. That being said, it was the season that started it all and showcased some of the most innovative writing and directing on TV, and it opened up a spot for horror on primetime television which as far as I know was kind of unheard of before then. Back when I first watched it, I had no idea what to expect not only because I’d never seen horror in a serial format but also because it seemed to be able to get away with the kind of storylines you’d expect network executives to fire people over. It introduced us to Jessica Lange and Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters and Denis O’Hare who would go on to make the show what it is today and more importantly, through Jessica’s glorious portrayal of Constance Langdon, provide us with an endlessly versatile meme format for this trying time.

Asylum: ‘60s Lana Winters, ‘70s Lana Winters, and Sister Mary Eunice McKee

-afghan coat from louisemarcella on Depop, red AA skater dress from julietramage, pink gingham co-ord from zshamim-

I think we can all agree: Asylum would’ve been a perfect series of television if it wasn’t for the completely unnecessary alien storyline. Like, I get that they fit in with the whole good vs. evil theme as a kind of non-biblical alternative to the idea of a higher, all-powerful being but there was already so much going on that it just wasn’t needed. Aside from that, I think the general consensus amongst watchers of the show is that Asylum has the best writing of any season and I think I’d tend to agree. It’s not my favourite because it’s too depressing to rewatch but if we’re talking the first time round, this is the series that had me hooked. Lana Winters?

Iconic.

Sister Mary Eunice? Iconic. The Name Game? Iconic. Remember when you couldn’t go a day on Facebook without seeing that one photo of Naomi Grossman as Pepper used as the go to “what I really look like” photo in one of those “expectation vs. reality” style posts on your newsfeed? Those were simpler times.

Because this season was mostly situated within the hospital, we didn’t get that many proper outfits but when we did, they were stunning; if I had to state my absolute favourite AHS character of the entire show I’d probably go with Lana Winters and the part her wardrobe played in her characterisation would 100% play a part in that. The late 60s/early 70s was such a wonderful period for fashion and through her character we get to see both of those explored a little. Of course there’s also *that* Sister Mary Eunice scene with the red slip dress and suspenders too which yes, could be a perfect halloween costume, but I also strongly believe should be a perfectly acceptable outfit for any day of the year.

Coven: Misty Day, Madison Montgomery, and Zoe Benson

-chiffon dress from rags_to_riches on Depop, pinstripe corset from hanpiercey, and tennis skirt from mollie_morton-

I hate to be a basic bitch but I have to say it: Coven is my favourite season of American Horror Story. Once you get over the complete waste of Evan Peters’ acting capabilities that resulted from the *choice* to have him play Kyle, the unnecessary rehash of the Evan/Taissa pairing from season 1 in what I can only assume was an attempt to capitalise on the popularity of the questionable Tate/Violet relationship, and the subsequent sacrifice of any interesting character arc we could’ve foreseen for Zoe Benson beyond her obsessing over a resurrected, non-verbal frat boy, it’s a perfect season. A supreme (heh) balance of horror, humour, and character drama, as well as the stunning aesthetics and forever quotable dialogue, make it my go-to season if I’m ever considering a rewatch. And if you disagree, let me jog your memory with the most mainstream (not to get all “normal people scare me” and suggest AHS is not a mainstream show, I literally just mean in the sense that even those who have never watched the show will have seen this) reaction GIF set any FX show has even spawned:

Buzzfeed employees had a field day, Emma Roberts enthusiasts (I mean me) finally saw her cemented as the pop culture icon Scream Queens has since showed us she deserves to be (because not enough people have seen Unfabulous, Nancy Drew or Scream 4) and the gays everywhere rejoiced at the year’s worth of meme fodder they’d been provided with. It was Madison Montgomery’s world and we were truly just living in it.

And the fashion! I mean, Stevie Nicks meets 21st century teenage witches! Come on!

Freakshow: Dandy Mott, Maggie Esmerelda and Elsa Mars

-olive green satin skirt from morganogle on Depop, headscarf from tonijordan, platform sandals from elliefewt, PVC skirt from bethpin_, corset top from sadieflinter, beret from house_of_erotique, flame detail platform boots from mad_rags_vintage-

When people talk about the declining quality of AHS, they usually point to Freakshow as the beginning of the end, but I have to completely disagree. I wasn’t a fan the first time round but on rewatch it’s probably the most emotional season of them all; no, there aren’t as many “horrifying” moments as in other seasons and Elsa is probably Jessica’s worst performance (which is still an incredible one by anybody else’s standards), however it makes up for it with the most sympathetic bunch of characters yet, and on the flip side, also one of the most amusingly depraved with Finn Wittrock’s Dandy Mott. Fans usually argue that the season went downhill once *SPOILER* Twisty the Clown was killed off but for me, he really primarily served as the catalyst for the far more interesting devolution of Dandy, who, imo, is the show’s strongest villain to date, rivalled only by Bloody Face. Then there was the episode Orphans too which made me cry buckets, the sole AHS episode to do so.

We got a lot of great fashion content in this season too: the theatrical opulence of Elsa Mars’ wardrobe, “Maggie”’s nomadic fortune teller costumes, and all those twee suits we saw Finn Wittrock in. Highly underrated if you ask me. It seems an odd choice for me to use Elsa’s Dominatrix look as an inspiration for one of my looks here when we have that Life on Mars performance outfit and all the extravagant robes Jessica got to waltz around in for reference buuuut I didn’t really have anything to do the vibrancy of either of those justice so I went with the black leather option which is much more me. Am I saying I moonlight as a dominatrix? Maybe. Lol, no. I wish. It’s not for lack of trying. WHERE ARE ALL THE GENUINE TWITTER PAYPIGS AT!? Your girl wants to insult creepy men and get some new clothes out of it xoxo

Hotel: Hypodermic Sally, Liz Taylor, and The Countess

-silk white bralet from xlibby_maix on Depop-

Hotel is another season that I liked a lottttt more upon rewatch, once I knew I was okay to tune out the (completely predictable and utterly nonsensical) Ten Commandments Killer storyline that so much of the season initially seems to hinge on. I love Chloë Sevigny but the fact that her and Wes Bentley’s wooden John and Alex Lowe are positioned as the protagonists at the expense of the far more interesting Liz Taylor, James March and Hypodermic Sally really does a disservice to what is an otherwise great season upon initial viewing.

The visuals this season are magnificent and I think if I had to pick one character’s wardrobe to steal from the entire cast of AHS characters, it would be The Countess (a toss up between her and Misty Day tbh, so I kinda just settle for low-key channelling both). No fucking idea where I'd wear any of her clothes to but I’d make it work. Liz Taylor and Hypodermic Sally have some amazing looks too-there’s just honestly so much to choose from; that being said, this post wouldn’t be complete without a specific ode to the vampire goddess Elizabeth Bathory, who is everything I want to be in life minus the murderous qualities:

Everything. EVER-Y-THING. LOOK AT HER!

Lady Gaga is really a fucking goddess isn’t she. And people were claiming before they’d even seen it that she couldn’t act? A patriarchal society doesn’t like women that can do it all. Just saying.

Anyways!

That’s it for now! I hope you enjoyed the post if you did read til the end! Sorry I couldn’t get this out before Halloween, I was typing and Picmonkey-ing madly from 2 in the afternoon on the 31st but I taking fucking forever to get ready and had to abandon all hope of getting it out on the day by 4PM. I’ve got so much content planned and it sucks because a couple of them are lookbooks which now feel completely redundant given we’re heading into a second lockdown, but maybe I should just do it anyway? The grunge inspired moodboard I just did seemed to get a good reception too so I’ve got some more of them planned.

As always, hope everyone is keeping well, and feel free to inbox me with any suggestions, queries or even just to say hi if you need someone to talk to! I check here quite a lot so I should see it. Lots of love to everyone in this time!

Lauren x

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spartanxhunterx · 4 years

Text

So late the party has left.

Ok, I've had this submission from @starmage2 for ever and just got around to it now.

As a heads up I've changed the 'Alien invasion ' to Gorilla Grodd invasion instead. Same general thing though.

Paris was not a place the flash visited often or even with purpose. A city of calm and peace that was unaffected by the world's crazies, maniacs and supervillians. There has never been a reason to be in Paris, for anyone from the league. Aside from maybe taking a superspeed shortcut or flying well above the city to make time to ones real destination.

But now Flash, or Barry Allen to those close to him, feared that the millennia long peace was going to be broken. News had spread that Gorilla Grodd, One of Flash's Rivals, had snuck his way to Paris, France, with plans to use De-evolution devices to regress the human population for his own uses.

That was Not something the justice league was going to ignore, it would be like ignoring an upstart villain or a call for aid. Such things were not taken lightly.

he had long since past Paris' border and was making his way to the Eiffel tower, Where the rest of the Justice league members that were joining him would be meeting up with him. It was considered the most neutral and hidden spot in Paris after dark.

Still, he indulged himself by taking the long scenic route, confident that he would beat everyone there. Except for maybe superman but who cares about that?

So it was a huge surprise, when passing the Louvre, that a large portal opened in front of him and before he could redirect himself he was already through to the other side, his feet skid against the oiled floor as he tumbled into a pre-placed net. The trap triggered and the next thing he knew he was tied up and dangling a foot off the floor.

Ignoring the oncoming footsteps he tried twisting his limbs, if he could move just the slightest amount he could friction burn the ropes around him to free him. It wasn't until he felt something pointy touch his chest and a hand guide his chin that he looked at the perpetrators. There were three, one female, two males.

one guy looked like he was dressed up as a monkey with a Bo Staff, the girl like a bee and the other guy... Well he wasn't sure up he was going to guess a horse due to the horseshoe they had.

"Watch it speedy." The girl talked, a hint of smug laced in her voice. "Try to vibrate your way out of that and I'll stick you to the spot."

" do you have any idea who I am? What kind of trouble you'll be in for doing this? " Cause he knew the rest of the team would be suspicious if he wasn't at least the second person there, these three were playing a dangerous game and he wasn't in the mood to deal with more wannabe villains.

"The Flash," the horse? Started , gesturing to his tied up self. "Fastest man alive, scarlet speedster, defender of Central City. And if my suspicions are correct, Barry Allen. "

flash sputtered slightly, voice cracking with his next words. "W-What, No!"

" Ha! Instant denial! " The monkey exclaimed as he pointed to him before clapping the other guy on the shoulder. " You got it right on the head Pegasus."

OK, Pegasus, one name down. "So, you the ring leader here?" He turned to him and Barry realised he couldn't make out his expression due to his dark glasses, who wears sunglasses at night?

"No. I'm more of the... Tactical analysis type. Information provider and long term planner." He pointed to the other two. " My cohorts here are Abeille and roi singe. "

"The more important thing here, is why is the justice league here in Paris when you've been banned from entering."

" What! When did this happen!? "

"Six years ago."

Flash stared dumbfounded at the three, all attempts to escape forgotten. The JL was banned from Paris? And had been for six years? "Why?"

" Oh please. " Abeille scoffed as she picked up her discarded coffee drink, taking a slow sip to force tension to grow. "Don't act like you don't know why, you're fully aware and if not?... Ask Green lantern."

Roi singe's Bo Staff let out a chime and he slid open the panel to reveal the communicator. "Anything on your end yet?" The voice on the other end was feminine, the three Parisian heroes easily recognized Ladybugs voice.

" Yeah actually, managed to bag the Flash, trap worked like a Charm. "

"The Flash? Interesting. See what he knows, we've got reports of odd noises coming from an old abandoned warehouse. Me, Viper And Ry are gonna check it out, Chats on the way to you and so are some local Officers, let them deal with the Flash. "

"So, what are you doing here Speedy wonder?" Pegasus smacked Roi on the chest before turning his critical gaze to the tied up hero.

"What he means is, why are you hear and who else should we expect, I doubt you came to Paris for a holiday. You shouldn't have been caught by this trap, you react too fast, you were occupied with something."

" The JL had received reports that Grodd, Gorilla Grodd, has made his way to Paris. Nothing good had ever come from him being anywhere near humans so we sent a team to deal with it before too much damage can arise. "

The three of them looked at each other skeptically, since when did the JL care about collateral damage?

"Ok, meet up point, now."

" You think I'm gonna tell that to a bunch of upstart villains? "

There was a moment of silence before the three of them burst out laughing, Roi had to prop himself up by his staff while Abeille almost doubled over. When she was done she splashed the remains of her, now cold, coffee over the heroes face.

"Villains? Really?" She sneared pulling the heroes face closer to hers. "We are the heroes of Paris, Defenders of France, part of the Miracle team. If you ever get the chance, ask Diana what a Miraculous is... And she will know, any statement to the contradictory is a lie."

"Now, meet up location?"

" Eiffel tower. "

" Who will be there? "

"Batman, Superman, Wonder woman, Green lantern And Robin."

"Good. Officer Cuff him and give him a cell." Unknown to The Flash several officers had arrived, they quickly slapped on some anti-meta handcuffs before removing him from the net , shoving the 'hero ' into the police car before driving away.

"Chat's on his way to the tower, let's give him some back up."

It was twenty minutes later, the use of two vemons, one uproar and the combined might of Pegasus, Abeille, Roi singe, Chat Noir and Carapace to subdue the heroes who had been waiting for the Flash.

Not that the flight was difficult, not while Green lanterns ring was on the Fritz and couldn't form a single thing, Superman was Frozen in place, Along with Robin, Batman was being held in a restraint by Carapace and Diana had been given a fright by being teleported way above them for a few moments before she and Green lantern were tied up in Abeille's Wire.

it was a good thing the team was well within their mid twenties, had they been teens their miraculous would have run out by now. Instead they could cast their powers as much as they wished while only gaining some exhaustion if they went too far. Without the fear of de-transforming.

"Well... That was easy." Roi Singe leaned against the frozen Form of Robin, not bothered by the fact that the violent vigilant was frozen mid-strike.

"I don't think..." Carapace grunted as he tightened his grip to Batmans arms , keeping a hold above his elbows so he could keep the man's arms behind his back. "Getting the drop on unsuspecting people AND freezing their power player," his head jutted to superman, where Chat Noir was happily sitting on his shoulders as he played with his tool. "Can be considered a fight, more like a slaughter really. "

"I agree." Abeille nodded as she tugged her two captives closer to her, without missing a beat she sat on the Amazonian's back before propping her feet up on Green lanterns head. "So, greenie, recognise us?"

"Should I?" He tried to move his head from under the bee hero's foot but was quickly met with the heel of said foot impacting the back of his head. "Hey, what was that for!?"

" You really don't recognise me Hal Jordan? " Chat Noir growled out as he leaped off supermans shoulders before lifting the other others face with his baton.

Said hero stiffened at his name and the Cat Hero took it as his cue to continue. "The justice League receive, over a period of three years, a large amount of calls for aid from France, Paris specifically."

Both Batman and Wonder woman ceased their resistance as they heard this, why was this the first time they were hearing it?

"From two, young, barely teen, kids. Who had far too much responsibility thrusted onto them, who had to fight a maniac who mind controlled and powered up people who were experiencing negative emotion. "

"He targeted kids... A lot."

" What? " Despite their age and experience many of those present flinched at the harshness in Batmans voice, Pegasus turned to him, emotion hidden behind his darkened glasses.

"The butterfly Miraculous of Transmission is able to find people who experience strong emotion, be they negative or positive and empower them based on the current circumstances, like say... "

He paused as he tried to find a viable scenario to use.

"Ok, if you say someone falling from a tall tower and you really wanted to save them, a butterfly weilder could empower you and give you flight, either by giving you wings or... Making you like him." He pointed to superman.

"Hawkmoth, however, would wait until you had negative emotions, being dumped, bullied, fired so on and so forth normally caused these things and he would make it possible to get revenge, with the exception being that they HAD to get Ladybug And Chat Noirs miraculous to pay off the 'debt' they were in. "

"They never remembered the things they did, fortunately, can't say the same for those who died and came back to life though."

Those present Blinked, Batmans mouth opened and closed for a moment before his steely gaze landed on Hal.

"Paris once Flooded, an estimated 87% of Paris drowned that day... The other 13% wasn't purely kids."

"Hal."

" I didn't know ok! " Hal was recoiling from the glare that Batman was sending his way. "I thought it was a prank, ok! I didn't think it was real, how can you take two kids who dress up as a Ladybug And a Cat seriously?"

"You should have investigated, met up with them and assessed the situation First, not assumed."

" I know. " Hal's head hit the floor beneath him with a sigh. The Paris hero's looked at him like he was worth less then the dirt under their boots.

"If you help us tonight, we'll help you afterwards." The looks returned to Batman where after a moment a few of them scoffed.

"Hawkmoth's in jail dude." Carapace shook the vigilante's arms. "Has been for... Four years now, we've already reclaimed the lost Miraculi and the book, now we just deal with petty crime and... Well, your mess, it seems."

"Stick to punching Gotham's nutbags, we'll deal with Paris." No one objected to Chat's words, though Batman defiantly seemed to slump at them.

The cat hero shook his head at the older hero before his baton rang, his flipped it open and a moment afterwards Ladybugs voice came through, the Paris hero's were able to pick up on the urgency in her voice.

"Chat, I need you, Roi, Bee, Pegasus and Rena here now."

" on it, " He looked up as he closed his baton. "You heard her, let's go, Pegasus, get Rena, Carapace, keep an eye on these lot."

" got it dude. " He let go of Batmans arms as Abeille released both wonder woman and Green lantern from their bindings. Simultaneously both superman and Robin were released from the effects of venom as it was released. The other Paris heroes leapt away.

"So... Carapace right?" Diana extended her hand out to the turtle hero, who had leant against the railings with his arms crossed.

"I know who you are, and Tikki is not happy with you right now." She flinched at that. "For twelve years you ignored us, four years after we beat Hawkmoth do you finally show up and it's to deal with one of your own. I think I speak for all of Paris when I say, We don't want you here. "

"Since when do you have the authority to do that?" Both Robin and Carapace had a small stare off before Carapace rolled his eyes .

"Since France voted to ban all Non-miraculous heroes, which includes the justice League. You didn't care before, why care now?"

" is there anything that can be done? "

Carapace shook his head at superman. "You are far too late on that dude, there's being late to a party then there's turning up after the hosts have cleaned up. "

"You guys turned up for the party days after it was over, so save some face, wait for them to come back, get the Flash then leave. "

"The Flash is here?"

" Dudes spending his time in a cell tonight. "

#miraculous ladybug #ml fic #ml x dc #Ladybug #Chat Noir #Carapace #rena rouge #Viperion #ryuko #Pegasus #roi singe #Batman #Robin #wonder woman #Superman #The Flash #Green Lantern #Justice league salt #gorilla grodd

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sharperthewriter · 3 years

Text

Chapter 12 of Possible-y Utah

Chapter 12 - The Agreement II

(2:18 pm)

A pink convertible pulled up into the driveway of Richard's house and two girls, both seniors, got out of the car.

The girl who was driving the car was Genna Majenta. She, whom had recently graduated from MHS, had long shoulder-length black hair, brown eyes and was slightly taller than Kim. She was dressed in a blue croptop shirt, a silver star necklace, Club Banana dark baggy denim overalls with the bib folded down and straps hooked and a belt to hold them up and white sneakers. She was co-captain of the Middleton Golden Dancers dance team in her senior and the girlfriend of Richard.

The other girl whom was the passenger of the car was Jeanna Montana, the girlfriend of Jack. Like Genna, she was approaching her senior year at Middleton High and was also on the Golden Dancers. They were also of the same height. But whereas Genna had brown eyes and black hair, Jeanna had blonde hair and blue eyes and had a tattoo of two starts on her midriff. She was wearing a pink tubetop, silver hoop earrings, black carpenter jeans, and pink sneakers.

"Ugh...do you wonder why Richard called us here, Gen?" Jeanna asked while popping her strawberry bubblegum.

"Dunno. Maybe both he and Jack could get lucky with us tonight!" Genna replied, texting away on her phone.

"You wanna take Jack upstairs or in the basement?" Jenna asked, popping a medium-sized bubble.

"Since I went upstairs with Jack last time, I'll take the basement for a little 'extra-session' with him!" Genna replied with a very vapid grin, licking her lips. "I am wearing my 'special' panties for him!"

She opened the door to the house and saw that, to her surprise, that Bonnie and Rebecca were sitting on the couch.

Jeanna reacted with disgust at the sight of a cheerleader in her boyfriend's house.

"What is this...?" she asked with a slight growl.

Richard gasped in horror at his girlfriend appearing. "It's not what it looks like, Jeanna! They were the ones who called us up to come here.

Jeanna stomped to the living room with her left hand clenched in a fist.

"I am going to give Miss Rockwaller a piece of my mind!" she exclaimed.

Bonnie saw the approaching, and very POed, Jeanna but she stood her ground. She jumped out of the couch right in front of her.

Rebecca exclaimed, "B! Please!"

"If you even dare come closer to me..." Bonnie insisted, her shoes digging deep in the carpet, "...I will make sure that my mom will give you a good paddling with her Swatter!"

Genna also intervened, "Jenna...I'd hate to say this, but Bonnie's right! You do NOT want to cross paths with her!"

Jeanna stopped herself in her tracks. She knew all about the reputation of Veronica Rockwaller and her infamous wooden paddle.

"You're lucky that your mom is the head disciplinarian of the entire school district, Rockwaller! I would've given you a black eye if I had the chance!" Jeanna sneered.

Richard tried to intervene.

"Ladies! Ladies! Let's chillax!" he nervously chuckled, "Let's not fight here! Let's be reasonable before someone calls the police on any of us!"

Jenna unclenched her fists but turned her anger to her football-playing boyfriend.

"Richard, I am going to have a very long talk with you after this..."

"You know, this may be just be a mistake...just like what you two losers did with 'The Incident'!"

Rebecca, however, was still confused.

"Okay, I'm totes mixed up."

"What is it now, R?" Bonnie asked.

"Why do you have beef with the Golden Dancers?" Rebecca questioned.

"It all started about six months ago. We were about to hit the showers after cheer practice one day." Bonnie began to explain "The Incident."

Jenna then smirked, "Oh yeah, now I remember! One of our Dancers turned off the hot waters to the showers!"

"I have never taken a shower that cold in my life...about as bad as the time Possible pulled that same trick on me last year at Wannaweep." Bonnie muttered. "Good thing we had our towels on."

"That was only Part 1 of our little 'fun' against you cheerleaders!" Genna giggled.

"Oh yes, the other part of their prank against us!" Bonnie continued, "Another one of your little Dancers poured Stoppable's Mad Dog banana cream foam down our cheer skirts!"

"We had a very good laugh after that!" Jenna grinned. "Celebrated at Mr. Swirley's that night."

"I, along with the rest of the squad, had to wash my uniform thoroughly to get rid of Stoppable's gunk!" Bonnie bitterly complained.

"He should have stored the foam in a more...secure...place!" Genna cackled.

Bonnie huffed before saying, "I wish if I had punched you in the face right then and there...but Possible, being the Miss Goody-Two-Shoes she is, banned the squad from ever engaging in violence or any criminal acts against you Dancers. And your little Dancer who poured the foam in our skirts got kicked off!"

Genna sighed, "Yet, a couple weeks after that, someone on your squad disobeyed Kim's orders! Stole our hairsprays for an upcoming dance competish! To my recollection, didn't Kim kick her off the team?"

"Truth be told, yes!" Bonnie replied, while darting her eyes around.

Jenna then turned to Rebecca. "So you see, due to 'The Incident' , a brawl was inevitable between the Dancers and the Cheer Squad."

She then continued on the aftermath.

"A few days after that, me and Kim agreed for the Cheer Squad and the Dancers to set up a truce that we won't carry our rivalry on the school grounds during school hours. It's now pretty much limited to mean glares and taunting. No practical jokes or physical contact that would draw the ire of the school board."

"It's a controlled rivalry, then?" Rebecca asked.

Jeanna, Genna, and Bonnie all nodded their heads.

Genna then intervened on Rebecca and Bonnie's intent of visiting.

"So now that we've got the deets of 'The Incident' out of the way, I am going to ask again, Rockwaller. Why are you and..."

Jeanna then whispered in Genna's ear on who the other girl was with Bonnie.

Genna gasped, "That so can't be! That's Rebecca Starlet, the billionaire heiress to the Starlet family oil fortune!"

"OMG! I totally loved your reality show about what's it's like being rich and all..." Jeanna exclaimed breathlessly before having a forgetful moment. "Oh man...what's that show called again?"

"Being Rich with a Starlett?" Rebecca guessed with a smirk.

"That's the one!" Genna said in between breaths. "Oh man...I'm so amazed that we have a celeb here that I forgot what we were talking about!"

"You were about to say, 'Why are you here', Genna!" Richard corrected his girlfriend.

"Oh right!" Genna replied before taking a deep breath. "Forgive my fangirling, but why exactly are you and Miss Starlet here for, Rockwaller?"

"We're here because we need your BF's help to not only humiliate Possible, but also break the loser couple up for good!" Bonnie replied on their real intent of their visit. "Since he has already graduated from Middleton High, he won't have the threat of Barkin dangling over his head."

"Yeah, before I met this lovely lady here..." Richard said, turning his head towards Genna, "...I did have a blind date with Kim last year...only to be rejected by her dad, all because I was 18 months older than she was!"

"And I also only had one date with that redhead around that same time..." Jack snarled, "Just because I made a pass at Jeanna does not mean that she has the right to splash water in my face!"

"So we have at least something in common...hatred against the wannabe for at least something" Bonnie grinned, "Well...except for Rebecca because she's not on Possible's radar...yet."

"Yes, but what is in it for me and Jeanna if we go along with your little plot of breaking up the couple?" Genna asked.

Bonnie shifted her teal eyes to Rebecca.

"R, would you like to demonstrate?"

"I sure can, B!" Rebecca grinned as she took out two credit cards with a $100,000 limit on each to Country Club Banana.

Jeanna gasped, "That is genuine Country CB?"

Rebecca nodded her head.

"You would have to pass a credit card check just to even get in the place!" Genna exclaimed, her jaw dropping.

Rebecca continued, "My daddy gave it to me last Christmas, but I still haven't figured out to do with them. So may as well put them to good use!"

"Rebecca will give you the Country CB credit cards IF the plan to break up Possible and Stupidable is successful." Bonnie explained. "If you fail, you get nothing!"

"In exchange, me and my Dancers will not play any practical jokes on you or any of your cheerleaders for the rest of summer except for the intended target of Miss Possible!" Jeanna replied.

"Do we have a deal?" Bonnie asked grinning, extending out her hand.

Jeanna also extended her hand and shook hers with Bonnie's, sealing the agreement.

"Now..." she began, "...here's the plan."

And the six teens began to discuss at length Bonnie's vile plan to break up Team Possible.

#kim possible #fanfiction #bonnie rockwaller #ocs

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didsomeonesaydaddydraco · 4 years

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Quiditch World Cup | Draco Malfoy one shot

Hey you! Thank you for being here. I really hope you'll enjoy reading this imagine storie about Draco Malfoy. If you have a story request, feel free to message me, giving me the most important details. (e.g.: your name, hair and eye colour, a few words about what you have in mind).

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- You know, you might be known as the stone cold Slytherin Princess at Hogwarts, but you shouldn't be acting like one at home - my brother looked at me from across the dining table and tried to throw a piece of bread at me. Our Mom glared at him as a warning to behave at the table, but didn't say anything. She was too busy trying to follow dad's storytelling about his last trip with his friends - Would it really be that terrible to come to the Quiditch World Cup with me?

- You know that I'm not the biggest fan of that game - I rolled my eyes and continued playing with my salad. Summer outside of Hogwarts was a nightmare. At least for me. Our parents being gone for most of the time due to their jobs, I was left with my brothers for weeks - Besides, I really should be preparing for my fifth year.

- Oh bullshit - this time he aimed right, and hit me straight in the face with a slice of tomato. I automatically reached for my wind, but when I remembered that Mom banned magic during family time, I changed my mind and throw a handful of salad at him.

- Kids - Dad warned us again - Stop with this childish behaviour right now. Both of you are grownups if I recall it correctly. If you expect your Mother and I to treat you such as, I truly believe the least you can do in return is not playing with food like a bunch of toddlers.

- Sorry Dad - we both apologised.

- Y/N - Dad looked at me - You are going to the World Cup with Elvin and you are bringing Rune with you. Your Mother and I have a lot of work, besides, it won't kill you if you spend some quality time with your brothers.

I didn't argue back. I knew that he had the last word in these kind of questions, so I just finished my dinner is silence and went to my room. Before I went to sleep, Elvin and I planned our visit to the Quiditch World Cup and told Rune about it. He was so cute with his adorable smile and excited voice. He hasn't been to any World Cups before and being only 7, he was over the Moon when he realised he might going to see some real magic tomorrow. We might had been a pureblood family, but our parents were rather strict about wizardry at home. They wanted us to have a normal childhood as long as we could. Well, at least until we turned 11, and first Elvin that 4 years later I received our letters from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

*Next day at the World Cup*

Elvin and I held Rune's hand as tight as we could so he couldn't slip away and get lost in the sea of wizards, witches and other magical creatures. We stopped a couple of times to have a little chat with our friends and introduced Rune to them. He was happy to finally be at an event for the magic world. Elvin was happy because he could see his beloved Quiditch matches. And I was devastated because I had to be here. At some point, I left the boys behind and went on my own way to wander around the small village where the fans had their tents. When I thought my day couldn't be worse, I caught a glimpse of a very blond hair. Fortunately I could disappeared before he could see me.

Or at least I thought so.

- Are you hiding from me, Princess? – his tall frame appeared right in front of me and his signature scent of cologne mixed with peppermint hit my nose. I rolled my eyes, but failed to hide the small smile on my lips.

- I think we both know it’s impossible for me to hide from you, Malfoy – I stepped away before anyone who had known us from Hogwarts had the chance to caught is together – Somehow, you always find me..

- Oh yeah – he smirked down at me – But you could successfully hid all your letters…or you just didn’t want to send me any with your owl?

I pinched the bridge of my nose. Draco and I were the Slytherins’ IT couple. Well, the only problem was, we weren’t dating. Only shared a couple of night together, sneaked out of the Slytherin Dorm rooms when everyone was asleep and made out in the dark corridors of the School, or at our favourite spot, at the Astronomy Tower. We both agreed on one thing. We keep our relationship a secret from everyone.

- Was I supposed to send any? – I asked with a playful tone, but when he kept a straight face I sighed – Draco, we made a deal. We have fun, but no deep feelings. Besides, my brother would have found the letters. You know how gossipy he can be and we don’t really want people from school to find out so…

- You know – he took a step closer – Now I get the Ice Queen nickname – his voice was cold and it cut me like a knife – I have known you since our first year at Hogwarts. All these years, you swore that you didn’t care what others think or talk about you. But suddenly, when it comes to being in a relationship…no, no wait. Not go that far. When it comes to show any kind of emotion apart from being sassy, cold or mean, you suddenly care about those things. But I tell you something, Princess. Maybe you should get off of your high horse, put away your damn pride and realise that having feelings for someone is not something you should be ashamed of.

- Malfoy – I tried to say something, but he cut me off by pushing something in my hands.

- Or you would be ashamed being with me? – his voice was filled with pain and I saw the usual dangerous flame in his eyes fading away. He turned on his heels and left me there alone. It was the moment I realised, quite a few of our schoolmates gathered around us and tried to pretend like they weren’t eavesdropping.

Draco Malfoy wasn’t afraid to talk back to me. He wasn’t afraid to get into a heated argument with me. He wasn’t afraid to confront me. He wasn’t ashamed of hiding his feelings. And he was right. All these years, I tried to be someone they thought of me that I was, that I completely forget who I really was. I wanted to keep my reputation as the Slytherin House’s Princess, and I thought I could only do that if I turn off my emotions and turn into ice. I had no regrets, apart from one. I hurt the only person who could saw through my act.

- Oh for Salazar’s Sake – I looked down at the thing Draco had pushed into my hands. It was his Quiditch jersey, with his name and number 07 on it. It smelt exactly like him. I forgot there were friendly matches beside the stadium. Of course he was going to play. He loved that stupid game.

- Everything okay? – Elvin and Rune finally find me – Were you really fighting with that Malfoy boy…wait, is that his jersey?

I only smiled faintly at my brother, who was clearly confused. I speed walked towards the much smaller ring, where two teams were already warming up for a game, checking their brooms and talking about their new strategies. Elvin was running after me with Rune in his arms so he didn’t lose him again like last summer.

- What are you doing young lady? – he asked with concern in his voice when he saw me stripping down my shirt and replacing it with Malfoy’s jersey. By this moment, he totally lost control of the events happening around him. I bet he regret dragging me with him today.

- Trying to make the right thing for once in my life – I flashed him a smile and jumped over the cordon which separated the viewers from the players. There were a couple of minutes before the start of the match so I had to be quick.

Draco and his friends were standing the other side of the field, chatting and warming up. I felt nervous and I was afraid of throwing up in front of everyone, but I had to get over it. I shouldn’t care what people think or say. A sudden foreign feeling went through my body and I started to run towards that arrogant asshole.

- Malfoy – I shouted his name and he immediately looked at my voice’s direction. He had a confused expression on his face, but when he realised what I was wearing, he started to run towards me as well. We met at the middle of the field and when I reached him, I pulled him in for a kiss by his shirt. I missed his lips on mine. I missed his hands pulling my as close to his body as possible. I missed feeling his heartbeat against my chest. I missed feeling him smile during the kiss.

- You look really good in my jersey – he whispered in my ears and placed a soft kiss on my shoulder as he hugged me tightly – And not to mention, my name suits you very well, babe.

I laughed and shook my head at him. Arrogant asshole.

- Just for your information, I would never be ashamed of being with you – a played with his platinum blond hair at the back of his neck – Sorry for being a bitch. I hate to say it out loud, but you were right. I had to get off of my high horse. I need a man who can put me in my place sometimes.

- Lucky for you, I’m quite good at it – he winked at me.

- Speaking of it – I stood on my tippy toes and kissed him again, but this time with even more passion but not as quick – This is for a good luck – I placed another small kiss just under his ears – And if you win this game, you can get even luckier tonight.

That night, we both get lucky. They were incredible on the field and we were finally working on our relationship. Gossip flew around Hogwarts quickly, so when we get off the Hogwarts Express, everyone was talking about that day at the Quiditch World Cup. And the first night, we walked into the Great Hall with pride, determination and most importantly, with each other. Hand in hand. And in love.

#draco x reader #draco imagine #draco malfoy #one shot #harry potter #quditich #harry potter imagines #hogwarts

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welcome-to-afterlife · 4 years

Note

I just read the obey me after life ell crossover and I'm so excited to see the next post because it was 🔥🔥🔥 but now my brain at 3 am is chugging out a custody battle for mc fanfic that I'll never write and I'm holding you accountable for it

Finally finished! This is a lot longer than I thought it would be, but I still had a lot of fun writing it.

AFTERL!FE X OBEY ME CROSSOVER

The air was buzzing with tension. Hushed voices filled the room as spectators poured into the courtroom, both from Devildom and the Otherworld. Humans and demons sat in the audience, waiting for the historical decision made today. No human from the Otherworls had ever been sentenced to work at Devildom, but that was about to change.

Both the defendants and plaintiffs sat at the front of the room. On the left side, the Morningstar family were checking over all their belongings to make sure they hadn't forgotten anything. Besides them was the future king of Devildom, Diavolo, and his butler, Barbatos. Lucifer was talking to Diavolo with great concern, pointing to Solomon, who was shuffling through the endless papers on his desk. Although the sorcerer had never touched a law textbook in his life, the Otherworld laws had a strict human-attorney-only (dead or alive) policy. While Lucifer insisted on contacting his lawyer contacts in the human realm, Diavolo opted for Solomon. The future king of Devildom claimed that Solomon had the best understanding of their situation and that his slithery tongue would be the cause for their victory. Lucifer could only hope that he was right.

On the right side was noisy chatter from Nyang Lead Manager, Housemaster Sei, and the soul reapers from the 14th Department. Unlike Lucifer, the reapers were confident and relaxed. They had the upper-hand in the situation as Youssef, the lawyer with an record-breaking winning streak, was their attorney. The only being that was anxious was the Lead Manager, who was too busy hissing at Youssef to notice the judge entering the room.

As the judge walked into the room, the crowd became silent. Behind her was the manager of the 14th Department-- the focus of the case. The judge stood at the center podium while the manager positioned themselves behind the left podium.

"Welcome everyone. Today we will begin the formal proceedings for the civil case Morningstar vs. The 14th Department." The judge slammed the gavel on the podium. "I will decide whether the manager of the 14th Department should transfer to Devildom or continue their activites in the Otherworld. We will begin the proceedings by asking the plaintiff to state their case."

That was Solomon's cue. He stood up and cleared his throat. "Your honor, the Morningstar family-"

"Make it quick, dumbass. You guys are gonna lose anyways," Quincy shouted from the opposite side.

The entire court turned to him, including the judge. "Sir, I highly suggest that you compose yourself in this professional environment or else your will be forcibly removed. Mr. Solomon, you may continue."

Ethan rolled his eyes and whispered, "Great going, you brat."

Mammon and Levi snickered as Quincy crossed his arms and glared at them.

Solomon glanced at his papers once more, before continuing. "As I was saying, the Morningstar family believes that the 14th Department's manager is best suited for Devildom. They have already spent an entire year as an exchange student and returned for an additional amount of time. We believe that their managerial expertise would benefit the exchange program as the manager would be in charge of guiding new exchange students. As a human, they would be able to provide emotional support and act as a resource for information....."

The brothers watched in amazement as Solomon handled himself with poise and grace. Diavolo grinned and elbowed Lucifer's ribs. I told you he'd be great.

"Wow, he's almost as good as Lucifer," Satan said.

"Who knew that academia could be so sexy?" Asmo whispered.

"Looool so you're into nerds now?" Levi asked.

"I'm hungry," Beel groaned.

"Shut up, all of you. Or else I'll hang you from the roof by your feet," Lucifer hissed.

"Hey, I didn't say anything! Why ya threaten' me?" Mammon exclaimed.

Meanwhile, the soul reapers began to worry. Solomon was a lot more throughout than they had expected. The longer he talked, the more likely the judge would agree with him. Ell, in particular, was so anxious that he went on another sneezing fit. Although Licht tried to assure him that everything would be alright, Ell couldn't ignore the possibility of losing the manager. He was supposed to be their guardian angel. What type of angel was he if he couldn't protect them from other people? Fortunately, Housemaster Sei anticipated this, so brought a noise-canceling mask for the angel.

Once Solomon finished presenting his case, the judge spoke. "Thank you, Mr. Solomon. Now we will ask the defendant to speak."

Yousseff shuffled his papers. He took a deep breath and stood before the court.

"Your Honor," he started. "The 14th Department believes that the manager should not transfer to Devildom. This the first manager in the soul reaper history. Consider it a test run, if you will. With the manager, we will be able to determine whether having a manager is effective in soul reaper activity, especially purification rates."

He took a paper filled with graphs and charts. "According to this report from the Reaper Archives, the 14th Department had the lowest purification rates last 5 years."

"What the hell? Is he trying to embarrass us?" Sian shook his head.

"Have some trust in him. After all, he's the lawyer," Nine shrugged.

"With this in mind, the department leaders believed that we would benefit from additional managerial support. And ever since then, our purification rates have increased by 30%. Furthermore, we are the only department to have such a large in increase in rates while maintaining the ethical aspect of purification." Youssef continued.

"If that is the case, why not take another human as the manager? Mr. Solomon made it clear that the manager was the first exchange student who has extraordinary magical capabilities, so their presence is important in Devildom. What makes them so special that you cannot retrieve a replacement?"

"Yeah, why can't y'all just pluck another human from your Otherworld thingy?" Mammon leaned back in his seat.

"How about I pluck your glasses and shove them up your ass," Quincy snorted.

"Why use glasses when there are a whole variety of toys? That's much more fun, no?" Asmo said.

"Sir-" The judge started.

"There are children in the room, you filthy, narcissistic freak," Ethan snorted.

"Order!" The judge shouted.

"Don't talk to my brother like that!" Satan shouted.

"Then stop trying to steal our manager, or else I'll bite you!" Kati growled.

Mammon laughed. "Listen pipsqueak. You see Beel over here?" He patted Beelzebub's muscles. "He'd swallow you whole and eat the rest of your team."

"Well I'll be happy to inform you that I've got a whole magical book on how to control demons," Ghilley held up a golden book in his hands.

"Order in the court!" The judge shouted again.

Lucifer glared at the soul reaper, his wings slowly unveiling themselves from his back. "Where did you find that?"

The judge sighed. "Sir, didn't I just-"

Quincy snickered. "What? Now you're scared of some tiny book? I thought you were supposed to have big ego. You know, after God kicked you out of-"

Lucifer lunged for the younger demon. Mori pulled out his cards and threw them at Lucifer's direction. The Avatar of Pride dodged, shifting his target to Mori. But before he could cause further damage, Diavolo and Barbatos grabbed his arms.

"I'm so sorry for Lucifer's outburst. However Quincy, that's a large statement from a demon with a major inferiority complex," Diavolo's smile was tight and thin.

"Alright let me at this motherf-" Quincy ran, but Ethan and June held him back.

"Order in the court!" The judge slammed the gavel. "The next person to speak out of turn will be permanently banned from this establishment."

Everyone sat back in their seats, sending glares to the opposition. The judge looked at Youssef, who continued his case.

Once Youssef ended presenting his case, the judge thanked him and reexamined the paper on their desk.

After a minute a long minute of silence, the judge removed her glasses. "Well both sides make compelling arguments with the manager's prescience needed at both locations. However, we're missing the most important part."

She turned to the manager. "My decision is entirely based on your response to this question, so I'd like you to answer it with some thought."

The manager nods. "I'm ready."

"Do you want to stay in the Otherworld or live in Devildom?"

#afterl!fe #obey me #afterl1fe #obey me swd #afterlife

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brightershadows · 3 years

Text

Euphorically Honest-- Euphoria, Teenagers, and the Realities in Hardship

OVERVIEW

Euphoria is brutally honest about the hardships of life. Focusing on the stories of a group of teenagers in modern-day California, it navigates through issues of drug addiction, sexuality, masculinity and femininity, violence, and depression. It can be tragic and liberating. But it is honest. Created by Sam Levinson, a screenwriter for Assassination Nation and The Wizard of Lies, the story reflects on his own experience with drug addiction as a teenager, as well as having a loose basis in an Israeli show of the same name (Stack, 2019). The story follows a group of young people of varying genders, ethnicities, classes, and sexualities, including the drug-addicted narrator Rue, new-to-the-suburbs Jules, Cassie, beautiful but easily manipulated, her kind and easy-going sister Lexi, Kat, who embraces her body type as she gains confidence through sex, Nate, a manipulative and dominating male with control issues, and his girlfriend, Maddy, who battles her self-identity and her reliance on Nate (Levinson, 2019). Euphoria can be seen as overly graphic, or critiqued as too sexual, but its mature nature allows it to unearth the ugly truths about life, living, and loving, and the beauty behind the hardships too.

EPISODE TWO REVIEW

In “Stuntin Like My Daddy,” Nate discovers his father’s sex tape collection at a very young age, videos of his father having sex with several people. This is where Nate’s disdain male sexual anatomy stems from. Nate quickly becomes infatuated with Maddy. Whether disturbing or romantic, he fantasizes about hurting or killing the person who dares harms her. A series of flashbacks from Rue’s summer shows her consuming various drugs and getting high, fighting with her mom, waking up in the hospital, and singing in the car with her mom and sister, highlighting what she has gone through as well as her relationship with her family. On several occasions, Rue relapses. Reluctantly and unable to say no, she takes a dose of fentanyl. Unaware of the consequences, Jules is called to take care of Rue. Their friendship further develops. Kat learns that an explicit video of her has been posted to a porn website. When the video’s view count continues to grow, Kat is intrigued and signs for a web cam streaming account. Obsessed with Maddy, Nate begins stalking Tyler, Maddy’s most recent hookup. Maddy, still wanting to get back together with Nate, tells him that she was blacked out and did not mean to do what she did. This causes Nate to believe that Tyler had raped Maddy. Furious, Nate breaks into Tyler’s apartment and beats him half to death. At the end of the episode, we learn that the guy Jules has been texting is named Tyler but it actually turns out to be Nate.

Nate Jacobs is the typical football jock, yet he exhibits anger, aggression, and sociopathic behavior. Rue Bennett struggles with her own psyche as she suffers from ADHD, bipolar, general anxiety, BPD (borderline personality disorder), and drug addiction. Jules Vaughan is unapologetically herself, although she seems to seek attention, approval, and sexual relationships from men who are undeserving of her. Maddy Perez is the popular cheerleader who knows she is attractive and she goes after what she wants. She stands up to everybody else except Nate. Kat Hernandez may seem like a side character, the fat best friend, at first, but she finds her confidence grows as an individual. Fez/Fezco is Rue’s main drug dealer. Although he supplies her, he also cares for Rue and does want her to get mixed up with a worst crowd.

Although there are people of color in the show, there could always be more representation of race. Rue and her sister, Gia, are mixed, with a Black mom and a white dad. Maddy is Latina as both of her parents are Latino. Kat Hernandez is also of Latin descent but we do not see much of her parents or family. Every other (main) character in this episode is white, this includes Nate, Jules, and Tyler. This show, and episode, is not particularly making any waves or strides with their representation of race. And with the representation of race that they do have, there is no portrayal of racial identity, culture, or heritage. Jules definitely stands out as she is a transgender woman. She is currently taking hormones and her father and closest friends accept her for who she is. Jules goes on to have sexual encounters with older men as well budding romances with boys her age. Nate is a stark contrast to Jules, with him being set in his heteronormative, gender binary ways. Most, if not all of the characters identify with the gender that they present. The males, Nate and Fez identity as male. The females, Rue, Kat, Jules, and Maddy identify as female. The main characters mainly fall into one of the two binary genders. All of the romantic or sexual relationship aspects in episode 2 revolve around a male and a female, such as Nate and Maddy, or Maddy and Tyler, or even Jules and her mysterious texter (a man). To my knowledge, there is no presence of a non-binary or agender character. Jules, a transgender woman, challenges Nate’s notion of the strict gender binary system.

Euphoria definitely relies on stereotypes because the writers of this show intend on having the characters break said stereotypes. Kat is initially insecure and self-conscious. After she has sex for the first time and the video of the act gets leaked, she redefines herself. Her sexuality blossoms throughout this show as she also begins to have casual sex which normalizing women having and enjoying sex. Kat becomes comfortable with herself by wearing clothes that are considered more edgy, outfits that she would have never worn before. Kat’s character breaks the sexuality stereotype because the media hardly ever sees a plus-sized woman be expressed in a sexually positive light, even though it may not have started out that way. Nate’s character is embodiment of the toxic, cis-gendered white masculinity. He describes the perfect girl as dressing more feminine, acting like a “proper lady,” and overall more “girly” as opposed to “tomboy.” Because he is so uncomfortable with the male sexual anatomy, and even disturbed by how comfortable others are, he may have some issues regarding internal homophobia. Nate does not really defy this stereotype, his character is the epitome of this stereotype. Maddy, a cisgender, heterosexual female, understands the delicate nature of the gender constructed society. She has prioritized Nate and his needs sexually by watching porn in order to mimic what the porn actress does so that she can please Nate. Her sexuality is rarely mentioned, it only rises in conjunction with other boys. Jules’ character as a transgender person challenges the conventional gender roles and constructs. Jules is very comfortable with herself and her sexuality and is proud of who she is.The concept of a non-binary gender system perplexes many people. With the current administration, transgender rights are not protected. In fact, transgender people are continued to be discriminated against. The Trump administration has played a major role in “withdrawing regulatory protections for transgender children in schools, fought recognition of transgender people under federal employment laws, banned transgender people from serving in the military, rolled back protections for transgender people in prisons, and threatened to cut off funding to schools that let transgender girls participate in sports” (Thoreson). Although Jules is able to be who she want to be and live the life that she wants, this may not be the case for many transgender people in the real world outside of the show.

Today people are often quick to criminalize or shun drug users and addicts. They are quick to judge and want the most severe punishment to be given. But medical professionals know that addiction is a very serious disease, one that requires “treatment, compassion, and support” (Siegel). Euphoria attempts to destigmatize and humanize addiction. The legal system should not be punishing people who have abused drugs by putting them into a jail cell where they are isolated from society, instead these people need real help through rehab and various treatments. Due to the fact that Rue had several relapses once she completed her rehab program, one may say that these programs do not work; however there is no singular timeline to get better. It may take weeks, months, or years, and the journey is difficult. But society cannot give up. Social and political reforms concerning drug use/abuse and addiction is very much needed.

EPISODE THREE REVIEW

In ' Made You Look,' Nate meets Jules on a gay dating app disguised as Shyguy118. Although Nate doesn't identify as gay, Jules reveals being transexual and quickly falls in love with Shyguy118, oblivious to his true identity as a classmate at the same school. Maddy becomes skeptical of Nate and searches through his phone and, in shock, learns of Nate's involvement with a gay dating app and nude sending with Jules. Jules's heightened obsession over the mysterious Shyguy118 leads Jules to agree to meet Nate for the first time in person near a lake at night. While all of this unfolds, Rue, who is Jules's supportive best friend, at first, entertains Jules's fantasies by helping Jules send pornographic images to Nate. However, tension arises when Rue exposes her worries for her best friend and undeniable attraction for her as more than just friends. Unfortunately, Jules did not reciprocate the kiss they shared. This sent Rue spiraling into a frenzy and falling back into the addictive habit of taking pills and getting high, undoing Rue's 60-day clean streak. Embarrassed, Rue runs straight back to Fezco, her drug dealer, in hopes to illegally obtain more drugs to numb the humiliation she felt. Fortunately, Fezco doesn't give in to Rue and shuts the door on her, leaving Rue to look toward Ali, an omniscient man she met at a therapy gathering for drug users to seek guidance.

Kat, a Tumblr fanfiction queen, masks herself while exploring her curiosity for explicit content and webcam streaming. She exposes herself to lingerie and twerking on her account; she agrees to perform a private camera meet with a man who falls in love with Kat's powerful and sexual dominatrix persona. Originally insecure with her weight, Kat eventually learns to embrace her curves and dives into a new and unusual world of femdom. This episode also introduces Cassie. She displays as a bold, open-minded party girl that isn't phased by frat party endeavors. McKay, Cassie's crush, invites her to his frat-hazing event, and they both fall deeply in love with each other, foreshadowing potential problems to come from concupiscence for one another.

This episode involves various races but is primarily white-dominant. Cassie is blonde and white, represented as audacious and open-minded. Maddy is a cis-gender Latina and, in this episode, victimized by Nate, a white playboy who cheats on Maddy. Rue and her sister are a mix from a black mom and a white dad. Despite various races represented, this episode minimally illustrates heritage background and racial and cultural distinctiveness. There are very minimal cultural representations and race diversity besides the racially represented individuals such as Rue, Maddy, Kat, Ali, and Fezco. Although the film is predominantly white race influenced, there is still a general race narration awareness displayed in the show.

Sexuality representation is a flourishing topic within each episode in Euphoria. Arguably one of the most influential characters in this episode, Rue, a lesbian half black teenager, finds herself falling in love with her openly transgender best friend. This tricky love triangle is demonstrated between Rue caring for Jules while she cares for Nate. Jules is head over heels for her classmate, Nate, who hasn't announced is gay but is chatting with Jules on a gay dating site. Moreover, Nate's girlfriend in this episode, Maddy, is only now beginning to question if Nate is straight like he demands he is.This episode centers around redirecting the audience's view of how a character's sexuality is initially perceived to how each character's sexuality is either nonchanging or questioned and altered due to more self-awareness. For example, Jules, from the beginning, identified as transgender and unchanging while Rue begins to question her sexuality and feelings for her friend after kissing her. Male, female, and non-binary characters speak and act quite differently in Euphoria. Male actors such as Nate, Ali, and Fezco are very much dominant and slightly manipulative in this episode. Nate is a controlling and manipulative character fueled by curiosity and confusion. Ali is a mysterious, omniscient figure who sees past Rue's addiction. Lastly, Fezco shuts Rue out when she almost dies from the drugs he gave her. The females include Maddy, Rue, Jules, Kat, and Cassie. Non-binary characters were not present in this episode; however, Nate being on a gay dating site and taking an interest in Jules knowing her being transgender urges the question of what Nate's sexuality may be.

Cassie, in this episode, played an essential role in breaking gender profiling stereotypes. When Cassie was at the weekend frat-hazing party with McKay, she stood up to the guys at the party and took a shot of water with a live goldfish in it without hesitation, while McKay was hesitant and wanted to reject the challenge. Cassie taking that shot was significant because she didn't abide by her gender role limitations. Instead, she proved that she could equally compete alongside the frat boys at the party.

Illegal drug use for underage teenagers is very much a political issue. The creator of Euphoria, Sam Levinson, opens up about his struggles with addiction growing up. He talks about how his personal history of drug use as a teenager animated Rue's similar struggles in Euphoria. It's essential to recognize that Rue was not using drugs because of peer pressure but because she was struggling with "obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), attention deficit disorder (ADD), general anxiety disorder, and even bipolar disorder" (Health, 2020). Many teens go undiagnosed with disorders like these and spend their teenage years fighting addiction and going to rehab centers, sometimes more than once in hopes of ending the addiction. There are other situations where undiagnosed individuals who don't fall victim to drug addiction still live a life of struggle with their mental illness. Euphoria sheds light on addiction and mental health and de-stigmatizes mental illness, a topic that should be further normalized and empathized with.

EPISODE SEVEN REVIEW

“The Trials and Tribulations of Trying to Pee While Depressed” tackles a lot of issues. In many ways, this episode is openly candid about the hardships of life and the modern influences of distraction and avoidance. The candor of this episode is heartbreaking, revelating, and so, so real. The episode before the season finale follows multiple characters, including Jules, a trans woman battling confusion about her relationship with her best friend and her changing life; Cassie, a beautiful blonde teenager facing an unplanned pregnancy; and Rue, a drug addicted teenager battling a major low in her depression (Levinson 2019). This episode follows many differing plots that do not intersect in its time; however, at the root of the 59 minutes is the juxtaposition of two teenagers, the structures of family, and the deconstruction of femininity.

As a whole, this show is unapologetically divergent from the stereotypes of society. It does not hesitate to tackle hard issues, easily addresses controversial issues regarding race, sexuality, and gender, without negating their seriousness. It makes normal the darkness we all battle in our private lives, especially in this episode. In it, characters from all walks of life get a say in the plot. Not only is the narrator and main character a gay Black women in love with her best friend, we also follow the story of Jules, a trans women, and hear from Cassie, a straight cisgender blonde girl who falls victim to the confines of the patriarchy, allowing herself to be sexualized and invalidated as a possession by the men in her life (Johnson, 2014). My only criticisms regarding this episode’s diversity is that there is little male influence or perspective on the storyline, and further, that there is little diversity outside of “black and white.” That is to say, while there are many Black characters given voice to this episode (and, by default many white characters as well), there is little representation of other ethnicities. We do not hear, for example, from the perspective of an Asian-American. That, to some extent, is an area that can be improved as the show continues.

Earlier I mentioned the juxtaposition at the core of this episode, and I want to dive a little deeper into that. Cassie and Rue are, in many regards, polar opposites. Rue is Black, gay, struggles with drug addiction and is a social outcast. Cassie, in comparison, is blonde and blue eyed, gorgeous, and popular. Rue is an older sister; Cassie is the younger in her family. But this juxtaposition highlights the conditions of the patriarchy that define familial dynamics, such as sisterhood and motherhood, both amplifying and deconstructing those norms. For example, at the end of the episode, Rue and Cassie both go to their moms, the caretakers, for help when they reach rock bottom. Those mothers show up, and they do their job: care. However, at the same time, these mothers have taken up the role of being the breadwinner for the family as well, defying the stereotype of reliance on the male for prosperity and survival. Rue’s mom, however, is portrayed as more successful and put-together than Cassie’s mother, whom we see to be an alcoholic and basically a hot mess. This is contrary to racial stereotypes that typically portray the black community as one falling apart and the white suburban mom as picture-perfect. The gender and racial norms that society and time have produced throughout our history in America are blurred as these two realities are expressed in this show (Scott, 1986).

This episode also attacks femininity. Speaking with her friends from the city, Jules, says, “In my head, it’s like if I can conquer men, I can conquer femininity” (Levinson, 2019). This conquering, or, as Jules later says, obliteration of femininity is addressed throughout the episode. Cassie, conforming to societal expectations, allows herself to be objectified and sexualized by all the men in her life, using that perception of beauty to define her over the course of her life. Rue, on the other hand, does not conform to femininity at all, as we see in the way she dresses, and even the persona of the masculine “detective” she took on in a manic state. These three approaches to femininity contrast each other, as each one represents a different sector of diversity: race, sexuality, and gender identity.

Euphoria is inherently political. It brings to light the reasons why the personal is political, especially in the midst of an election cycle where the rights of those who don’t conform to societal norms are under threat. This show creates an avenue for those rights and the real people behind those laws to speak and tell their own stories. Not only that, it represents mental illness and drug abuse, revealing the realities of living with these issues and bringing to light the struggles of the individual and their community through addiction and mental health crises. The show helps create empathy; empathy creates connection. And connection, more than anything else, is something we deeply need right now.

CITATIONS

Euphoria creator Sam Levinson on his controversial show: 'I hope it opens up a dialogue' [Interview by T. Stack]. (2019, June 16). Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2020, from https://ew.com/tv/2019/06/16/euphoria-creator-sam-levinson/.

Health, A. (2020). How HBO’s ‘Euphoria’ Depicts Teenage Drug Addiction Accurately. Retrieved 14 November 2020, from https://amhealth.com/2019/09/25/how-hbos-euphoria-depicts-teenage-drug-addiction-accurately/

Johnson, A. G. (2020). Patriarchy, the System: An It, Not a He, a Them, or an Us. In 1046495481 799935172 G. Kirk & 1046495482 799935172 M. Okazawa-Rey (Authors), Gendered Lives: Intersectional Perspectives (Seventh ed., pp. 62-70). New York, New York: Oxford University Press. (The Gender Knot: Unraveling Our Patriarchal Legacy, (2014))

Levinson, S. (Writer). (2019). Euphoria [Television series]. HBO.

Levinson, S. (Writer). (2019, June 23). Stuntin’ Like My Daddy [Television series episode] In Euphoria. HBO.

Levinson, S. (Writer). (2019, July 28). The Trials and Tribulations of Trying to Pee While Depressed [Television series episode]. In Euphoria. HBO.

Scott, J. (1986). Gender: A Useful Category of Historical Analysis. The American Historical Review. doi:10.1086/ahr/91.5.1053

Siegel, Z. (2019, August 06). Euphoria Doesn't Have a Drug Problem. Retrieved November 12, 2020, from https://www.vulture.com/2019/08/euphoria-hbo-drug-addiction-overdose.html

#euphoria #zendaya #GWSS assignment pleasedon'tjudge

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newstfionline · 3 years

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Friday, February 19, 2021

NASA rover lands on Mars to look for signs of ancient life (AP) A NASA rover streaked through the orange Martian sky and landed on the planet Thursday, accomplishing the riskiest step yet in an epic quest to bring back rocks that could answer whether life ever existed on Mars. Ground controllers at the space agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, leaped to their feet, thrust their arms in the air and cheered in both triumph and relief on receiving confirmation that the six-wheeled Perseverance had touched down on the red planet, long a deathtrap for incoming spacecraft. The landing marks the third visit to Mars in just over a week. Two spacecraft from the United Arab Emirates and China swung into orbit around Mars on successive days last week. All three missions lifted off in July to take advantage of the close alignment of Earth and Mars, journeying some 300 million miles in nearly seven months. Perseverance, the biggest, most advanced rover ever sent by NASA, became the ninth spacecraft since the 1970s to successfully land on Mars. Over the next two years, Percy, as it is nicknamed, will use its 7-foot (2-meter) arm to drill down and collect rock samples containing possible signs of bygone microscopic life. Three to four dozen chalk-size samples will be sealed in tubes and set aside to be retrieved eventually by another rover and brought homeward by another rocket ship.

Share of U.S. workers holding multiple jobs is rising, new Census report shows (Reuters) The share of Americans working more than one job to make ends meet has been growing over the past two decades, and the pay from second jobs make up a substantial share of workers’ earnings, according to a paper published by the U.S. Commerce Department on Wednesday. An estimated 7.8% of U.S. workers had more than one job as of the first quarter of 2018, up from 6.8% in 1996, according to new data unveiled by the Census bureau. The earnings from the workers’ second jobs make up an average 28% of their total earnings, showing that workers are likely relying on that pay, researchers said. In general, women were more likely to have multiple jobs than men, with 9.1% of women holding multiple jobs as of 2018, compared with 6.6% of men.

Desperate for Light and Warmth (NYT) Halfway through the week that Texas froze over, everything seemed to be in a state of frigid chaos. Some homes had no water at all while others watched it gush from burst pipes into their hallways and living rooms. On Wednesday more than 2.5 million people were still without power [now down to 330,000], while at least twice as many were being told to boil their water. In Houston, Catherine Saenz and her family, like most of their neighbors, have had no power or water for days, as the city remains in the grip of the fiercest winter in memory. But they are fortunate: They have a fireplace. Even fireplaces have to be fed, though, and to keep the two parents, two daughters and two grandmothers from freezing, her husband has spent hours in the afternoon scouring the neighborhood for fallen trees and rotten wood. “I never imagined that we would be in this situation,” said Ms. Saenz, who grew up in Colombia but has lived in Houston through Hurricanes Ike and Harvey. “No one is prepared, it is dangerous and we are very vulnerable.”

A silent killer inside: Carbon monoxide (Washington Post) With no electricity in their home for hours, the Houston family tried to fight off the freezing cold by running their car in the attached garage, authorities say. When Houston police officers entered the property to conduct a welfare check, they found the two adults and two children, police said in a statement Tuesday morning. The woman and girl did not survive, and the man and boy were taken to a hospital. The deaths are among a rising number of reports of people being poisoned by carbon monoxide as Texans face a deadly winter storm that has brought record-low temperatures and demands for electricity that overwhelmed the state’s grid, leaving more than 3.2 million people in the dark and with no heat for more than 24 hours. As more reports of poisoning emerged Tuesday, government officials sounded the alarm. “SPREAD THE WORD: The number of people being admitted to local hospitals for carbon monoxide is rising at a disturbing rate. Do not bring any outdoor appliances (grills, etc.) inside, or run your car inside the garage,” Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo wrote on Twitter.

Word of flight to Cancun from frozen Texas lands Senator Ted Cruz in hot water (Reuters) U.S. Senator Ted Cruz faced widespread criticism on social media on Thursday after images went viral online that a journalist said showed him flying to a resort in Cancun while his home state of Texas struggled through a deadly deep freeze. Photos circulating on social media appeared to show the Texas Republican in airport line, in a passenger lounge and aboard an airliner. “Just confirmed @SenTedCruz and his family flew to Cancun tonight for a few days at a resort they’ve visited before. Cruz seems to believe there isn’t much for him to do in Texas for the millions of fellow Texans who remain without electricity/water and are literally freezing.” former MSNBC anchor David Shuster tweeted shortly after midnight.

Rare Earths (Financial Times) It takes 417 kilograms of rare earth minerals—more difficult-to-obtain bits of the periodic table that have uses in elaborate semiconductors and instrumentation—to build one F-35 fighter jet, a critical set of components that are about to be much harder to find. China is considering an export ban on rare earth minerals, and given that they control about 80 percent of the global supply, that would put Lockheed Martin, which makes the aircraft, in a bit of a pinch. As it stands now, even ore mined in the United States has to be sent to China for refining.

Migrants on the move again in Mexico and Central America (AP) In the first Mexican shelter reached by migrants after trekking through the Guatemalan jungle, some 150 migrants are sleeping in its dormitories and another 150 lie on thin mattresses spread across the floor of its chapel. Only six weeks into the year, the shelter known as “The 72” has hosted nearly 1,500 migrants, compared to 3,000 all of last year. It has halved its dormitory space due to the pandemic. That wasn’t a problem last year because few migrants arrived, but this year it’s been overwhelmed. Latin America’s migrants are on the move again. After a year of pandemic-induced paralysis, those in daily contact with migrants believe the flow north could return to the high levels seen in late 2018 and early 2019. The difference is that it would happen during a pandemic. The protective health measures imposed to slow the spread of COVID-19, including drastically reduced bedspace at shelters along the route, mean fewer safe spaces for migrants in transit.

Weary of COVID restrictions, Finns take up running in deep snow in socks (Reuters) Finns keen to avoid gyms and other indoor sports venues this winter because of the coronavirus pandemic have found a new way to keep fit—running in the snow wearing no training shoes, just thick woollen socks. Finland has seen particularly heavy snowfall this winter and running outside in just socks provides great exercise as well as a sense of freedom, said Pekka Parviainen, a helicopter pilot and an avid barefoot runner. “This is traditional Finnish crazy stuff, I think we all agree,” said Parviainen. In Finland, where taking a sauna in winter and then running through snow to jump into an ice-cold lake is a traditional pastime, barefoot running has become popular in the past few years during the warmer months. Running in socks through heavy snow, now about half a metre deep in many places, takes this to the next level. Parviainen recommends wearing at least two, preferably three, pairs of woollen socks to get the most out of the run.

Two journalists jailed for two years in Belarus for filming protests (Reuters) A Belarusian court sentenced two Belarusian journalists from Poland-based TV news channel Belsat who filmed protests against President Alexander Lukashenko to two years in prison on Thursday. Katsiaryna Andreyeva, 27, and Darya Chultsova, 23, were detained in an apartment in November from where they had been filming protests taking place over the death of a protester who was killed several days earlier. Both women pleaded not guilty after being accused of orchestrating the demonstrations by filming them. Neighbouring Lithuania urged Minsk to end a “spiral of repression” while Poland said Belarus should end its persecution of journalists. More than 33,000 people have been detained in a violent crackdown on protests against Lukashenko’s rule following a contested election last August that his opponents say was rigged to extend his rule. He has been in office since 1994.

Protesters out again in Myanmar, police use water cannon in capital (Reuters) Protesters were out again across Myanmar on Thursday to denounce the Feb. 1 coup and arrest of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, with police resorting to force to disperse crowds, using water cannon in the capital and catapults in a northern town. The daily protests and strikes that have paralysed many government offices show no sign of easing despite a junta promise of a new election and appeals for civil servants to return to work and threats of action if they do not.

Facebook blocks news access in Australia (AP) In a shocking act of retaliation Thursday, Facebook blocked Australians from sharing news, a milestone in the increasingly frantic jockeying between governments, media and powerful tech companies. Australia’s government condemned the decision, which also blocked some government communications, including messages about emergency services, and some commercial pages. The digital platforms fear that what’s happening in Australia will become an expensive precedent for other countries. Facebook took the drastic action after the House of Representatives passed legislation that would make Facebook and Google pay for Australian journalism, said Treasurer Josh Frydenberg. Facebook said the proposed Australian law “fundamentally misunderstands the relationship between our platform and publishers who use it.” Both Google and Facebook have threatened retaliation if Australia enacts the law, which the government contends will ensure media businesses receive fair payment for their journalism being linked on those platforms.

Jerusalem’s Old City turns white after rare snowfall (Reuters) Jerusalem woke up to the rare experience of seeing its holy sites covered in snow on Thursday, with the Dome of the Rock and the Western Wall under a layer of white after an overnight snowstorm. Before dawn children were up hurling snowballs at each other outside the Old City gates, as the faithful trudged to sites holy to Judaism, Islam and Christianity. The snowstorm began on Wednesday evening, leading the authorities to shut down public transportation and block the main road to Jerusalem.

After delay, Israel allows vaccines into Hamas-run Gaza (AP) Israel allowed the Palestinian Authority to deliver the first coronavirus vaccines to the Gaza Strip on Wednesday despite objections from Israeli lawmakers who suggested they be used as a bargaining chip for the release of captives held by the territory’s militant Hamas rulers. Israel has faced international criticism for largely excluding Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza from its highly successful vaccination campaign. It held up the shipment for two days as the government faced questioning from a parliamentary committee before ultimately approving it. The dispute highlights the Palestinians’ reliance on Israel even as they struggle to combat the pandemic on their own.

#headlines #news

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phroyd · 4 years

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Trump knew about the virus the entire time from day 1. - Phroyd

More than a dozen U.S. researchers, physicians and public health experts, many of them from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, were working full time at the Geneva headquarters of the World Health Organization as the novel coronavirus emerged late last year and transmitted real-time information about its discovery and spread in China to the Trump administration, according to U.S. and international officials.

A number of CDC staffers are regularly detailed to work at WHO in Geneva as part of a rotation that has operated for years. Senior Trump-appointed health officials also consulted regularly at the highest levels with the WHO as the crisis unfolded, the officials said.

The presence of so many U.S. officials undercuts President Trump’s charge that the WHO’s failure to communicate the extent of the threat, born of a desire to protect China, is largely responsible for the rapid spread of the virus in the United States.

The administration has also sharply criticized the Chinese government for withholding information.

But the president, who often touts a personal relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping and is reluctant to inflict damage on a trade deal with Beijing, appears to see the WHO as a more defenseless target.

Asked early Sunday about the presence of CDC and other officials at the WHO, and whether it was “fair to blame the WHO for covering up the spread of this virus,” Deborah Birx, the State Department expert who is part of the White House pandemic team, gently shifted the onus to China, and the need to “over-communicate.”

“It’s always the first country that get exposed to the pandemic that has a — really a higher moral obligation on communicating, on transparency, because all the other countries around the world are making decisions on that,” Birx told ABC’s This Week. “And when we get through this as a global community, we can figure out really what has to happen for first alerts and transparency and understanding very early on about … how incredibly contagious this virus is.”

Following a Trump-hosted video conference of the leaders of the Group of Seven industrialized nations on Thursday, a White House statement said “much of the conversation centered on the lack of transparency and chronic mismanagement of the pandemic by the WHO.”

The group’s focus on the global health organization during the call stemmed largely from Trump’s announcement two days earlier that he was freezing all U.S. funding for it, saying donors would be discussing “what do we do with all of that money that goes to WHO.” The United States provides up to $500 million a year in assessed and voluntary contributions, significantly more than any other nation.

In statements following the G-7 call, however, other leaders emphasized the need to build up the WHO, rather than tear it down.

French President Emmanuel Macron “expressed his support for the WHO and underscored the key role it must play,” according to a statement from his office. German Chancellor Angela Merkel “made clear that the pandemic can only be defeated with a strong and coordinated international response,” her spokesman said. “In this context, she expressed full support for the WHO as well as a number of other partners.”

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas warned that the WHO “cannot be weakened or in any way be called into question politically. … Every inch that the U.S. withdraws from the wider world, especially at this level, is space that will be occupied by others — and that tends to be those that don’t share our values of liberal democracy,” he said.

Canada, Japan and the European Union — all of whom participated in the call — also issued strong statements backing the organization.

A G-7 statement issued after the call supported the need to review WHO performance. “We cannot have business as usual and must ask the hard questions about how [the pandemic] came about,” British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, standing in for virus-stricken Prime Minister Boris Johnson, said. But he stressed a post-crisis review should be “driven by science.”

In announcing the funding cutoff, Trump charged last week that the WHO parroted incorrect Chinese statements and “failed to investigate credible reports … that conflicted directly with the Chinese government’s official accounts.” He criticized “the inability of the WHO to obtain virus samples” that China continues to refuse to supply.

A Senate aide who has tracked the issue said “there was clearly an effort” by China “not to provide transparent date and information” in the early stages of the outbreak.

“We were looking to WHO to provide that information, and they did not. It was unclear as to whether they didn’t get that transparency from the Chinese, or that they chose not to share what they did get under pressure from the Chinese,” said the aide who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter.

But some noted that the WHO has no power to compel member governments to do its bidding.

The organization “has no intelligence capabilities, and no investigatory power,” said Daniel Spiegel, who served as ambassador to the United Nation’s Geneva-based organizations, including the WHO, for the Clinton administration. “They should have been more skeptical about what the Chinese were telling them, but they’re totally at the mercy of what governments provide.”

Among his complaints, Trump seems most aggrieved by the initial WHO failure to support his Jan. 31 decision to partially ban incoming travel from China. Days later, at a meeting of the WHO executive board, Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said there was no need to “unnecessarily interfere with international travel and trade” to halt the spread of the disease. That message reiterated what he had said before Trump’s announcement, after meeting with Xi in Beijing.

Trump called Tedros’ statement “one of the most dangerous and costly decisions from the WHO. … They were very much opposed to what we did,” he said last week. “Fortunately, I was not convinced and suspended travel from China, saving untold numbers of lives.”

International public health experts have long debated whether border closures helped stem the spread of infectious diseases, or worsen the situation by blocking cooperation among countries. But many, including Antony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases and a leading member of the administration's coronavirus task force, have said it was probably helpful in this case as the efforts of individual countries to contain and mitigate the virus were outpaced by its rapid global spread.

On Saturday, Trump said without elaboration that “we’re finding more and more problems” with the WHO. Speaking at a White House virus briefing, he said the administration was “doing some research” on “other ways” to spend money originally intended for both the WHO and the National Institutes of Health, which he said was “giving away $32 billion a year.”

The meaning of Trump’s reference to NIH, whose fiscal year 2020 budget totals $41.6 billion, was unclear.

The administration’s 2019 Global Health Security Strategy advocates increased cooperation with the WHO and other international health organizations. But although the United States has a three-year seat on the WHO executive board, expiring in 2021, the post has remained vacant. Last month, Trump nominated Assistant Secretary for Health Brett Giroir for the position.

U.S. participation in the range of Geneva-based U.N. organizations is supervised by the State Department’s Bureau of International Organization Affairs, whose assistant secretary left office last November after the department’s inspector general issued a sweeping condemnation of his leadership, including “political harassment” of career officials deemed insufficiently loyal to Trump. It is currently headed in an acting capacity by a deputy.

But below the level of political appointments, communication between the U.S. government’s public health bureaucracy and the WHO has continued throughout the Trump administration.

In addition to working at WHO, on assignments first reported Saturday by Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank, CDC officials are often members of its many advisory groups. The emergency committee advising the organization on whether to declare “a public health emergency of international concern” during deliberations in mid to late January included Martin Centron, director for CDC’s Division of Global Migration and Quarantine.

When China eventually agreed to let a joint WHO mission into the country in mid-February, it included two U.S. scientists among 25 national and international experts from eight countries, although the Americans were not permitted to visit the “core area” in Wuhan.

From the beginning of the outbreak, CDC officials were tracking the disease and consulting with WHO counterparts. A team led by Ray Arthur, director of the Global Disease Detection Operations Center at CDC, compiles a daily summary about infectious disease events and outbreaks, categorized by level of urgency, that is sent to agency officials.

Arthur, according to a CDC official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, has participated in the CDC daily “incident management” calls, discussing information he learned from WHO officials.

Information is passed up the chain of command from CDC to the Department of Health and Human Services in daily reports and telephone discussions, this official said.

Any information of a sensitive nature about the growing outbreak was and continues to be shared by CDC officials with other U.S. officials in a secure facility located behind the CDC’s Emergency Operations Center at its Atlanta headquarters.

In the early days of the virus response, those officials included HHS Secretary Alex Azar. Information about what the WHO was planning to do or announce was often shared days in advance, the CDC official said.

Anne Gearan and Yasmeen Abutaleb contributed to this report.

Phroyd

#trump #covid #who #information

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scribbles97 · 4 years

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Left Behind - Chapter 4

This thing just keeps going and keeps going some more! I blame all your wonderful comments and feedback thank you so very much to everyone!

Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5 / Chapter 6 / Chapter 7 / Chapter 8 / Chapter 9 / Chapter 10 / Chapter 11 / Chapter 12 / Chapter 13

Read On Ao3

John didn’t often visit the den, it was more of a space for the younger of the five of them to sit and play games or watch films away from the main hub of the lounge. Scott and Virgil could be found in there often enough, normally distracting the youngest two when the lounge became a communications hub for International Rescue.

It wasn’t any surprise that he found Scott there.

If it had have been earlier in the day, the eldest would have probably set off on a run around the island. The ground was tretarous though and Scott knew there was good reason for a ban on night time runs.

It was equal parts fortunate and unfortunate that Virgil was there to be on the receiving end of big brother’s rant.

He took the beanbag between the pair, lounging back as Scott’s rant trailed off.

“She’s grieving too Scott,” Virgil murmured softly, “Plus she’s having to keep everything else going. I don’t imagine she meant to have a dig at you specifically.”

Scott shook his head, “She doesn’t want any of us on the teams, Virgil. Not if she can find a way to stop us and that’s exactly what she’s looking to do with me.”

“Oh would you listen to yourself.” John rolled his eyes, looking to Scott, “It’s not that she doesn’t want us to be part of this.”

Scott’s glare turned on him, but it didn’t scare John, it hadn’t for a long time.

“Then what, John? What else could make her so damn determined to screw me over?”

Virgil was watching him too, brown eyes wary.

“You’re the only one of us already in service with IR.” He shrugged, Scott had no reason to get angry with the facts at least, “We’ve lost Dad because of him having a role within IR.”

The look Scott was giving him was still hard. It hurt John to think how much like their father Scott looked when he set his face like that. Yet there was something about that face that he could see wasn’t right. The set of his eyes wasn’t one of anger, there wasn’t that spark of passion there that Scott always had when something had made him angry.

“So?”

Virgil huffed, “Come on Scott, you’re not thick.”

John shook his head, “You know Scott. Don’t act like you don’t.”

“Screw that.” Scott spat, looking away from John to the balcony that looked out over the island’s runway. His voice softened as his shoulders fell slightly, the anger having ebbed slightly in just that moment,

“Dad built those ships for us. He always said it. Five original ships. Five of us.”

None of them looked around at the sound of rushed footsteps across the wooden floor. John winced as Alan announced his and Gordon’s arrival,

“I wanna fly Thunderbird three!”

Scott’s glare focussed on the youngest, “Go away Alan. You weren’t invited to this talk.”

Virgil reached out to their little brother, frowning at Scott, “Hold up there. He’s as much a part of all this as the rest of us.”

Gordon threw himself to the floor at John’s feet, folding his arms as he looked between his three older brothers.

Please don’t ask. John thought to himself, the last thing he wanted was Scott all riled up again.

“He’s just a kid!” Scott exclaimed, flinging an arm towards Alan.

“I am not!” Alan shouted back, “I told Mommy, I’m not a kid!”

“Mom thinks we’re all kids Alan!” Scott snapped, sitting straighter in the bean bag, towering over the youngest, “Now Dad’s gone she’s not going to let any of us do anything because she thinks something's going to happen to us like it did him.”

“I don’t care!” Alan pouted, shouting back just as loud as his big brother, “I don’t want anyone to leave ever again! I don’t want anyone else to die!”

It was his final word that shocked them all into stunned silence. All four of them looking at the one stood in the centre, cheeks red and suddenly tear stained.

Scott always did have a soft spot for comforting upset siblings.

John caught Gordon’s shoulder, stopping him from going to the youngest before Scott could. It earned him a glare from the swimmer, but as Scott pushed himself up from the beanbag, John knew he was right to make the call.

“Hey Allie,” Scott cooed as he wrapped the youngest up in his arms, “It’s okay kid. Nobody else is going away.”

Alan pushed away from him, not completely but just enough to wipe at his eyes with his arm.

“You don’ know that Scotty,” He sniffed, “Nobody knew Daddy was gonna die.”

John’s chest hurt as he watched the pair, wishing he could say something but knowing he had to keep quiet.

“What if you go?” Alan continued, “Or what if Mommy goes? ‘M scared that she might not come back.”

He saw the moment, the second that the hard look that had been on Scott’s face all afternoon fell as he pulled Alan back close to him. Yet it wasn’t what he had been waiting for.

Scott had rested his head against Alan’s, John saw the elder brother swallow hard as he screwed his eyes shut.

“I’m scared too Allie.”

Releasing his hold of Gordon’s shoulder, John gave a slight nod, “None of us know what happens next.”

“No,” Scott agreed softly looking up to him, “We don’t.”

John would take the look his big brother was giving him as an apology. It was likely about all that he would get in terms of how Scott should have listened to him, not that he would complain. It seemed that he had taken a step forward at least by admitting that he was having the same feelings as the rest of them.

“But we can’t let that fear dictate our lives,” Virgil added, wriggling off of his beanbag to wrap an arm around Alan’s shoulders.

Scott nodded in agreement, “V’s right, we have to trust Mom, and each other, that we will come home. Otherwise we’ll be so busy worrying, we won’t be able to focus on the stuff that really matters.”

“You’re all going to make me sick with this sentiment,” Gordon uttered, shifting to stand.

John smirked as Virgil grabbed his shoulder and pulled him into his side, “Says the one about to leave us for olympic training.”

“Gerroff!” Gordon protested, struggling against Virgil’s arm, “Alan, help!”

The youngest giggled as he watched the pair, shaking his head, “You’re on your own there, Gordy.”

As Gordon wriggled out of Virgil’s grasp and launched at Alan, John caught Scott’s eye. A raised eyebrow and a lift of his chin was enough to ask the silent question he needed an answer to.

Just as discreetly, Scott nodded in return, his smile fading briefly along with the laughter that had been in his eyes.

Maybe they weren’t okay in that moment, but given time, John knew they would be.

***

She wanted wine, but being on duty meant she had to settle with juice.

Juice didn’t get rid of the bitter taste in her mouth.

Leaning forward she set the glass down on the pile of papers she didn’t particularly care about at that moment. John had walked out and left her drowning in her own thoughts.

“Did I give up too soon?”

Val rolled her eyes from where she had been leaning against the wall, waiting for Lucy to answer whatever had been asked when she and Lee had arrived in the office. Folding her arms she shifted to stand straighter, “You couldn’t warrant the resources any longer. Not when there are other people needing our help.”

Warranted resources or not, what use was International Rescue if they couldn’t save one of their own?

“Luce,” Lee drawled, crossing one leg over the other in the armchair in the far corner of the room, “Stop it. You did what you deemed necessary and them boys need to accept that.”

Except her boys weren’t kids any more. Three of them were legally adults, old enough to make their own decisions and lead their own lives.

If those decisions lead them to IR, who was she to stop them?

Their mother.

A widow.

The new CEO of the organisation.

“Those boys,” Val started, glaring at Lee, her tone of voice giving away that she didn’t approve entirely of his statement, “have the stubbornness of both you and Jeff in them, they were never going to want to give up on him easily.”

She looked to Lucy, arms folded as she shrugged, “If Scott and John have something they think they can trial, it might be worth looking into.”

Val wasn’t wrong.

Lucy’s gut had been to look into the program John had described.

Fear had got her hung up on how the redhead had known about the specs of the space station.

“It scares me that they want to go into this,” She whispered, eyes distant, not really seeing the room in front of her, “Not only what’s happened,” She swallowed hard, screwing her eyes shut as she tried to block the thoughts from her head, “But, how many injuries have we had this quarter alone? Despite the safety measures.”

She knew that she couldn’t count them on two hands.

“They’ve wanted to be part of this since the start.” Val told her immediately, “We always said there was a ship here for each of them.”

“Ships for them or not,” Lee cut in, “They need to respect those above them if they want to be part of this, family or not.”

“No,” Lucy found herself murmuring, her thoughts escaping as she continued to gaze at nothing, “Val’s right, Lee. If they each went to one of the other teams, maybe we wouldn’t have a problem.”

Taking a breath she refocussed on the room, looking between her brother and her best friend, “But I couldn’t send them away, not now, not after this.”

Lee sighed, shaking his head, “If you do that you’re asking for trouble.”

Yet she couldn’t see another way.

“I have to keep them safe Lee, somewhere I can keep an eye on them and not have to constantly wonder if they’re safe.”

“And what about the program? Everything that we have all gone through along with every other member?”

Lee had never been a stickler for the rules, he had always picked and chosen what he listened to. The problem was, the things he picked to stick by, he stuck by religiously.

“We would still put the boys through it,” Val shrugged, “Scott’s already gone through it all, it wouldn’t be fair if the rest of them didn’t.”

Perhaps it wouldn’t be a perfect solution, but she supposed it was the best of all the options.

Pursing her lips she leant back in her seat with a sigh, “I just hope they don’t see it as me trying to keep them under my thumb.”

“We would have to do it the right way,” Val murmured in agreement, ignoring Lee’s huff of disapproval, “Find a way to manage them as their own team.”

Lucy knew that wouldn’t be an issue, “They’re good as a team, they always have been. Whenever we went on--” Her voice caught, breaking off the memory of family camping trips.

“Hey,” Val murmured, rounding the desk and spinning Lucy’s chair so she could crouch in front of her, “it’s alright Luce, what is it?”

She shook her head, wiping at the tears that had sprung to her eyes so unexpectedly.

Loneliness that had been twisting her stomach for days had finally knotted itself there, leaving her feeling sick and hurting. Jeff was gone. Their bed was half empty and cold. There was suddenly nobody there at her side, stealing subtle glances, knowing smiles, and the most tender of touches.

It was like half of her had been ripped away and she had been left to bleed out.

“I don’t--” She choked out through a sob, “-I don-- know if I can do this… not without him.”

Val squeezed her leg, waiting until she met her eye to shake her head, “It’s alright Luce, I know it’s hard. None of this is going to be easy, but you’ve got us, and you’ve got the boys. We’re all going to help you through this. Just tell us what you need?”

Throwing herself into work hadn’t helped. Sitting and processing hadn’t either.

She wasn’t sure what else she could do.

Lee’s grunt as he stood from the armchair drew her attention. He looked to her with a slight nod before looking to Val,

“She needs time. We all just need some time.”

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds fanfic #thunderbirds 2015 #Scott Tracy #John Tracy #Virgil Tracy #Gordon Tracy #Alan Tracy #Lucille Tracy #Lee Taylor #Aunt Val #thunderbirds AU #scribbles writes #Lucy AU #Left Behind

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anjellion-drawthings · 4 years

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About all my F-Zero FCs so far, and their lore

Normally I don’t usually have the time or energy to create several FC bios, but… I think this once, I’m going to reveal history about all of them?? (Except for Jill because @huskynator did a better job than I ever could! ;; )

Warning, very long bios and connections to canon characters!

Chief Ann

Because of her position at the Galactic Space Federation, she oversees everything that Jody, John Tanaka, ands Lily Flyer do. She frequently has to scold them also if they do something that could harm the Federation’s reputation.

As expected of an alien creature, she’s actually really old, her age is listed to be over 200 years! To that extent, it means that Ann has witnessed the horrible F-MAX accident, which put a start to her wanting to ban all Grand Prix races, as she deemed them too dangerous. It may also be connected to the destruction of her home planet; Dinea.

She did manage to successfully suspend the F-Zero Grand Prix following another terrible accident (which led to Captain Falcon being hospitalized and Pico taking the blame), but the Arrows managed to rectify it. Since then, Ann has had a grudge against them.

When Jody Summer’s father died, Ann pretty much took the pilot under her wing, so they are particularly close. Unlike John Tanaka though, Ann is overly protective to the point of annoyance. Doesn’t mean that Ann won’t take a bullet for her team, she’s willingly gotten herself harmed for innocents.

In spite of this, Ann’s reputation is very negative. Her and Pico have a natural spite for one another given their alien species (leeches vs. snapping turtles) and occupations. Samurai Goroh’s bandit group also has a strong distaste for her, as do residents of Takora due to an incident that occurred.

The Skull also doesn’t agree with her since he (un)lives for racing, Kate Alen, Princia, and Spade also find Ann to be a “killjoy”. Her and Captain Falcon though... they agree to disagree, so to speak. Ann recognizes Douglas as a former officer of the Internova Police Force and actually hopes he’ll return.

Although she comes off as harsh and cruel to criminals, Ann ultimately has some soft spots. Because she is the last of her known species and has a rather negative rep, Ann gets extremely flustered about… intimate matters. She’s used to being disliked.

Ann’s favorite drink is A+ blood and wine, while her favorite snacks are ice cream and jelly-filled donuts. Did we mention she’s extremely tall and can probably grow her body parts back?

Kevi

A knight from the planet Popopo, sometimes known as “the twinkling planet”. It’s notably very cold there, which is why he has such cozy-looking attire, gifted to him by the king of the land he originated from. Just about everyone there upbeat and friendly.

About less than a year ago, Kevi had triumphed in the war against a cult on his planet, so he decided to take up F-Zero racing until duty calls for him. Kevi had raced in the past, but it wasn’t on the scale of a Grand Prix, it often played out more like training for warfare.

Kevi is actually a transman, and plans to use the space credits in prize money to complete his “heroic appearance”. He had always wanted to be a knight and went through with changing everything about himself to achieve that dream.

He loves the idea of being a powerful, macho hero and often flexes this in front of other racers. Not in an attempt to seem cocky, but because he loves competing with his heroes! He’s a fan of just about all of the racers, and I do mean all of them! Because Kevi is so friendly and genuine, even the more cold characters find themselves opening up to him rather easily.

The normally cold and calculated Pico finds himself at ease around the knight, while even Black Shadow himself is humored by Kevi. The only one who detests Kevi and doesn’t hesitate to knock him down is Deathborn, of course. He hates Kevi even more for actively taking up Black Shadow’s time and hanging out with him, leading to the chance of Black Shadow’s fearsome reputation diminishing… or even worse, a relationship.

Kevi doesn’t even care about the whole crime thing, because he views these as small potatoes compared to a cult that straight up wants to destroy everything. Captain Falcon was worried at first, until the knight said he’s dealt with things far worse than the criminals of F-Zero.

Now, if push comes to shove, Kevi will most definitely drop his friendly personality and show that he’s a strong warrior. Not too bad for an F-Zero fan-boy with pink hair. He’s probably capable of taking someone down in arm wrestling despite how petite he is.

Kevi loves energy drinks, and his favorite food is usually anything with tomatoes! He’s very fit and never takes a break from exercising his body to become stronger. However, under that visor, Kevi does have a particularly adorable gaze, it’s said his eyes are like looking at stars.

Lanos

A sarcastic destroyer of worlds, times, and universes. He’s a silver-tongued entity, able to manipulate others to act out their innermost desires. Lanos is ageless, his origins unknown, just traversing to wherever he pleases. Where exactly is he hiding? And in what time period?

Probably the distant future, which is why he’s considered Phoenix’s #1 enemy. The time traveling detective has gone after him nonstop, but is often unable to pinpoint Lanos’ exact position. In fact, more often than not, Lanos manages to get away from Phoenix, whether a horrible crisis is averted or not.

He definitely has some connections to Don Genie. In another part of the future, Lanos apparently runs a night club (he always running away yet manages to keep a club!?), so they probably had some sort of deal. After all, Lanos gives people whatever they want, usually without strings attached.

Why does Lanos go around causing problems? It just happens usually whenever he goes anywhere, doesn’t even raise his hand. He often just lands on any planet in the form of a green jewel. People who cave into lust, wrath, or greed will often actively seek Lanos. Any downfall of the worlds is their fault and not his, something he constantly points out to Phoenix. “Why should it be the bomb’s fault when someone pushed the button?”

In terms of documented incidents, Lanos participated in F-MAX accident that burned several racers alive (including the Skull), the F-Zero race that got Captain Falcon hospitalized (with the blame pinned on Pico), and the destruction of Ann’s home planet. The war on Zou is most likely also started by Lanos.

Lanos most definitely has his own personal enjoyments, usually in the form of racing or any thrill-seeking activity. No one can really stop it, because if Lanos feels threatened, anyone who gets close will pretty much get their skin melted off.

Because of his history, not only does Phoenix intend to destroy him-- but so does Captain Falcon, Pico, Ann, Jody Summer, even Leon. Should they have any particular desire though, you bet that Lanos will try to wring them out.

Lanos speaks with a stoic, deep tone. To someone like Mr. Zero (who has to unfortunately interview him at times), it’s frightening, but when Lanos sweetens his words, it turns charismatic.

Cierlok (Princia’s servant)

(Credit to Huskynator for the name, which I slightly altered it to sound more exotic ;;)

Princia Ramode’s servant hails from the desert kingdom on Planet Magica. He is extremely protective of the princess, having known her since she was just a toddler, and will fly into a fit of rage if anyone tries to lay a hand on her. Don’t expect mercy either, since he’s a user of magic.

Since it’s impossible to reason with Princia’s stubborn personality, Cierlok is responsible for having an F-Zero machine made for the princess, and it was him she snuck off with. Unlike her, however, Cierlok has a very low opinion of the other F-Zero racers, especially Samurai Goroh and anyone associated, viewing them as lowly bandits. His opinion of bounty hunters isn’t much better.

But whenever Cierlok is confronted by someone physically stronger than himself, he’ll quickly chicken out, usually by running away or stammering. This same personality is usually witnessed when Princia is dragging him into something dangerous or risky.

Cierlok was actually a fortune teller in the desert kingdom, once a mere peasant himself. This all changed when Princia’s father needed a court magician and a bodyguard for his daughter. Evidently, the position has gone to his head over the years. Cierlok still does tarot card readings and all that other stuff though. Lower class individuals in Magica do not have a last name, while royalty does.

He had absolutely no interest in joining the F-Zero races so long as Princia remained unharmed. This changed when another magician began participating, Cierlok wished to prove that planet Magica has the best sorcerers in the universe-- mainly himself.

Since entering, he’s formed quite the rivalry with Spade and the Skull. Black magic and circus performances? “No, the pure magic of my planet is the greatest to exist!” Cierlok truly believes that his sorcery and fortune telling is above all of those.

Before planet Popopo went to war, they allied themselves with Magica. During that time, before Kevi had transitioned, he had gotten into a relationship with Cierlok. It didn’t last though, mainly because Cierlok was too much of a coward and wasn’t exactly strong, not to mention his ego got too grating. (He hasn’t even taken the message that he’s been dumped)

Cierlok’s favorite drink is champagne, and he loves calamari. He’s considered trying takoyaki but didn’t want to incur the wrath of Octoman. Probably for the best that he doesn’t try to make anymore enemies.

#f-zero #f zero #f zero gx #my fcs

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