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crescencestudio · 10 months

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Devlog #33 | 07.26.23

Hi everyone!

It's only been a month (per usual) since the last devlog. But it feels like so long ago! Very weird that last devlog I hadn't even released Intertwine yet. But here we are, back with another one!

Before we get into things, I want to extend the biggest thank you to everyone who has played and supported intertwine!

if you havent played yet, here it is. this is me on my knees asking because i am quite proud of it and what our team accomplished in two months!

in the almost month it's been out, we stand at almost 15k total plays and 200+ reviews which is so crazy to me. i never would've expected that kind of reception for our little game and when i say it has been so motivating for alaris!!! u dont even know!!!

thank you again for all the kind words---i know you are all Sick of me talking about it but i don't know how else to express my gratitude <3 it means so much to me ;_;

I wanted to make sure I inserted an official section for it in the Devlog just to really thank you all for the support. But with that, I shall get into the updates!

But not before a quick belated happy birthday to Fenir!

Writing

I posted it earlier this week, but I HAVE!!! THE MOST EXCITING NEWS!!! At least for me.

I FINISHED DRUK'S FIRST DRAFT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We all know how long this has been in the making. I've been talking about his route for what feels like an eternity. Evidently, it's Very Normal to experience burnout, struggles with motivation, creative ruts, etc. etc. at this point in development. The initial and final stages of development are easier because your motivation is up. In the beginning, it's like Wow!! This is Fun!! And towards the end, it's like Wow!!! I actually Fckn Made It!!!!

And so the middle part of development, aka the stage I just entered with Druk's route, is the slog.

Now that I've overcome that initial hurdle, while I'm not near the end of development, I do feel like I will have a better handle of progress on the following routes since I have a better set of expectations and tools on how to get through this stage (compared to when I initially started Druk's route, and I was like what are all these Feelings?? Why am I Struggling so much??).

That being said, WE ARE OVER HALFWAY DONE WITH THE SCRIPT! It currently stands at 200k words including the demo, and with how each of the routes have been shaping up, we have about 150k left to go. Wow!!!!! It is crazy to know I've written that much for Alaris, and this feels like such an exciting milestone to know that I'm over halfway there for the script!

We also have just about wrapped up Fenir's developmental edits, so that makes Kayn and Fenir's foundational versions of their routes done (all that would be left at this point is line tweaking and/or revisions based on beta feedback)!! Overall, this was a really exciting month for writing updates, and I'm so happy to feel back on track with Alaris development <3 I also finished my dissertation proposal in case anyone is keeping track of that HEEHOO

Art

Most of my attention for art was (un?)fortunately on Intertwine this month AGAIN. I really had anticipated being able to dive right into Alaris and irl work this month after Otojam ended. But the reception to Intertwine made it so I needed to dedicate some time to "marketing" artwork aka the artwork I like to make when reaching certain milestones of support (e.g., 1k downloads, etc.). Obviously these aren't necessary, but I like to show my thanks and appreciation in some way, and the artwork is what feels best conveys my gratitude.

Because we hit milestones relatively quickly, I ended up having to make those pieces faster than I anticipated prior to release. So I spent the first half of this month mostly on intertwine "promotional/apprecation" artwork. Near the tail end of this month though, I've prioritized Alaris artwork and have made progress on both the Kickstarter physical rewards and some CG sketches!

sneaky peeky of pretty mermay Aisa

Vui continues to hit it out of the park with the backgrounds. Most of them are spoilers at this point. But I do have one that isn't too bad of a spoiler! And because you all have been so supportive and patient with me, I show hehe

vui and his bg mastery: a preview of the dragon springs

The demo mentions dragon springs (I..... think......... LMAO), and here is a preview of what those dragon springs can look like. Wonder what the context will be in which we visit them, teehee! I'm in love with the way Vui brings the fantasy world of Alaris to life. I am so grateful for him ^^

Market Research

My wrist was feeling ~delicate~ this month due to Otojam crunch and then post-release pieces. So I don't have any actual art pieces to showcase this month for market research. I did play Otojam games and started Cupid Parasite (ryuki and allan my beloveds). But crescence's wrist needs to relax LOL. So no art pieces more than necessary for this month!

I will send some love to my besties over at Ravenstar Games though! If you haven't heard, they have a game currently in development called Lost in Limbo. It looks sick as hell, and the team is unbelievable talented and hardworking. This month to celebrate Barbie, they were able to sneak this promotional piece in, even while working on their Master's ((Do you see...... a familiar group of people..... heh))

Alaris x Lost in Limbo x Barbie the collaboration of the century

That's all from me for now. Thank you again for all the support and love on Intertwine! I've truly cherished all the fanwork, reviews, kind messages, etc.

That being said, while it was a bit of a struggle getting back returning to the Alaris world initially (I was literally like what.... was the plot of this again... LMAOsazodujf), it's been so rewarding to return to my OG gang. The intertwine release and return to Alaris work has also been strangely sentimental since it's reminded me how far I've come in the two years I've been in this dev Thang. As always thank you for your continued support (and for supporting Alaris since it's inception when I was a Wee Dev), and I look forward to bringing you more updates in the future <3

See you all next month, and stay safe!

#devlog #alaris

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ukiyokki · 3 years

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mars reads too much dreamnotfound fanfiction for their own good

a dreamnotfound fanfic recommendation list by your resident dumbass (me)

this took way to fucking long... i’m tired

below is a (very extensive) list dedicated to all my favorite dnf fics, ranging from quick one shots to 100k+ word monstrosities that devour the storage on my computer, forever incomplete masterpieces to ongoing works of art, you get the idea. i provided links for each fic/series for your reading pleasure. there will be no smutty/nsfw fics on this list, that’s just not my vibe lmao. this list goes in no particular order, and i’ll update it from time to time when i feel like it. now, without further ado, let us begin.

Heat Waves (complete) by tbhyourelame

(wtf else did you expect, looking at a dnf rec list?) amazingly well written, and while it’s not my favorite dnf fic it’s damn near close. in the midst of a brutal heatwave, a suffering dream comes to terms with the fact that he is desperately in love with his best friend. everything i could say about this fic has already been said by nearly everyone who’s read it, so if you haven’t yet caved into the hype, just go for it. you won’t be disappointed.

Gonna be around (completed) by georgescatcafe

(mc irl) my favorite dnf oneshot to date. just read it, i don’t wanna spoil for you :)

Inferno in the Sky (ongoing)by zairielon

(star wars au) an ongoing star wars au currently clocking in at almost 200k words. need I say more? everything about it absolutely slaps, each chapter is amazingly written, and it’s just good. also, can we just appreciate dream and tubbos dynamic in here? 10/10, amazing, must protecc. oh right, a summary: george, an exiled padawan turned engineer, must return to the jedi temple after attacks on it from an unknown assailant threaten the safety of himself and the other jedi.

Like Magic (ongoing) by KangarooKen, NotGra55 (Gra55)

(harry potter au) the unofficial official dnf harry potter au. we watch the young unlikely wizard pair grow up together throughout their years at hogwarts as they battle good old fashioned wizard racism. beautifully written, incredibly fun and suspenseful, and just an overall blast and a half.

GeorgeNotFound, Son of Poseidon, and the League of Minor Gods (ongoing) by Clichewho_69, Cygnvs, Trash_Kinggg

(percy jackson au) percy jackson au? check. “road trip” (technically quest but u get what i mean)? check. enemies to friends to lovers? check. this fic follows the plot of the lightning theif (albeit loosely), but everything is explained enough where you don’t have to read percy jackson to understand what’s going on. basically after moving to the usa, george gets taken to camp halfblood where he learns that a) gods exist. b) he’s the son of poseidon and c) he needs to prove that he didn’t steal zeus’s master bolt.

Protected (completed) by aenqua

(royalty/camelot au) my favorite piece of dnf media of all time. dubbed the official dnf camelot au, where dream is the heir to the throne and george is a servants son with a secret that couldp get him killed. these childhood friends grow up together and learn trust, love, and acceptance. (that summary did not justice to the masterpiece that is this fic) here’s the directors cut

The Hunter (completed) by HederEgo

(mc irl) a choose your own adventure fic with 13 different endings, where dream the hunter must kill george and stop him from beater the ender dragon. enough said.

The official dream team cowboy AU (series)(ongoing) by antsu_in_my_pantsu

(cowboy au) cowboys and outlaws horses and shit. and the big gay. it’s a cowboy au, what else did you expect? fucking yee haw (all seriousness this is a great read, i loved it so so so so much and i can’t wait for the final chapter to release).

This is a Drista moment, let's just accept it (completed) by Qekyo

dnf fic from drista pov. considering its unique perspective, it’s perfectly done. beautifully showcases a sibling relationship through drista and her memories/moments with dream, and it just works, y’a know? also drista supremacy.

Dear Dream (completed) by Qekyo

(wwii au) i don’t cry when watching/reading anything sad. translation: i’m a heartless bitch. however, this fic is the only exception. it caused me to cry so hard my mom walked in my room and asked if i was ok. ‘nuff said.

TECHNOlogical Wingman (completed) by Closeted_Bookworm

techno is the autocorrect ai on dreams phone, and he gains sentience. interesting concept, and the author fucking nailed it. great fic.

It Was Only a Fic (ongoing) by imagineitdear

dream starts reading a dnf fanfic (we’ve all been there buddy).

Teacher’s Pet (ongoing) by niyuha

(teacher au) in which dream is a high school english teacher and george is the new comp sci teacher in room 297.

Saltwater Secrets (ongoing) by earlgay_milktea

(mermaid/high school au) a great example of the shear amount of variety in fics this fandom has to offer. when i started reading dnf fics i would have never thought i’d find one about a mermaid george hopelessly crushing on his human friend, who happens to be his schools star swimmer. yet here i am, and i am far from disappointed.

Smash My Heart (incomplete) by dontrollthedice

george and sapnap are commentators for duper smash brothers tournaments, and george develops a crush on an up and coming smash streamer named dream.

roleplaying in the dark is harder than it seems (completed) by Alienu

laser tag. 10/10

solar system (completed) by quartzfia

(mc irl) george vists dream in pandora’s vault.

Ramblings of a Lunatic (completed) by jungkooksfic

ahh communicating through a notebook left on a shelf in a bookstore- what a perfect way to start a relationship.

Paint me like your French Girls (It's Charcoal, Actually) (completed) by Turtle_ier

(artist au) george is an art student, and dream is a model.

00:00:00 (completed) by isleofdreams

(soulmate au) 00:00:00 is the moment you meet your soulmate, as indicated but the clock ticking down on your wrist until the moment you meet. i’m not a fan of soulmate aus; this fic is the exception.

Blue Skies Smilin' At Me (completed) by kivy

(artist au) i don’t usually cry while reading stuff, but this brought me damn near close. george is a painting conservator and chats it is with the ghost of the artist if the painting he is working on. they fall in a love.

Current Location (incomplete) by hendollana

(influencer au) george simps for a hot american instagram model. who knew he’d actually follow back?

The Withering (series) (series ongoing, 1 work completed) by App1e_Juice

(mc irl) lore and world building and fight scenes and everything i crave. what’s not to love? something starts making the plants and crops around dreams village wither, and must team up with new friends to find the cause of the mysterious disease plaguing the land.

Minecraft, But You Can't Leave (complete) by facadecake

(mc irl) dream and george are sucked into their own private minecraft world together and must beat the game to escape.

Free The Game, Beat the End (incomplete) by goatgoatwasfound

(mc irl) a glitch in minecraft causes thousands of players from around the world to be trapped inside minecraft, with only one way of escape- beating the ender dragon. first dnf fic i ever read, and it’s still 10/10 for me.

Why don't you come a little closer? (completed) by lifeofandoms

george gets stood up by a date, and Dream pretends he’s the date to save george from the embarrassment. simply adorable.

lightning bug (completed) by saintachesP

(band au) while on tour, dream realizes his feeling for george.

Hold me closer (completed) by Treesofmyheart

(mc irl/dsmp) i just,, really like this trope.

Dizzy on caffeine (completed) by GleamingGreenGoggles

(coffee shop au) best dnf coffeeshop au i’ve read. periodt.

living a life of crime isn’t always easy (series) (completed) by itisjosh

(mafia/assassin au) stockholm syndrome except it’s not weird.

Inhibitions Make Interesting Situations (completed) by Ship_On_The_Sea

i pissed myself laughing. it’s just a dream and george being hilariously dense, flustered idiots. serotonin central.

thy eternal summer shall not fade (completed) by gracequills

(high school au) that moment when you recite shakespeare to your crush in your ap lit class instead of confessing (hate it when that happens).

All is Fair in love and Football (ongoing) by graciegirl2001

(college au) #1 favorite college au. in which george is a cheerleader, and dream is the football teams rising star player. this one gets extra points because of the amazing karlnap moments sprinkled throughout. *chefs kisses air*

online love (completed) by andbutso

(high school au) online classes go zoooooooom

Can’t help falling (completed) by isleofdreams

dream re-learns the guitar to sing to george on his birthday. beautiful. fluffy. amazing

dance in the rain and my arms (completed) by lazy_kitkat

george is a rain god, and dream is a wind god

Weather Boy (completed) by DaintyDiizzle

wouldn't you like to know, weather boy? (where dream can control the rain)

The color orange (completed) by anon

(mc irl) dream describes the colors of a sunset

Family Mode (completed)by Strawberry_flavoured_tears

they’re dads :,)

Breathing Room (incomplete) by papercranes

(band an) an amazing band au. the mad lad author wrote original songs for each chapter. above and beyond, mad props :). unfortunately, it’s incomplete

Piece of Clay (completed) by carbonbrine

(artist au) george is a sculptor and his sculpture comes to life- but oh no he’s hot.

Try (completed) by Not4typicalwriter

(royalty au) george must choose a suitor, but none of them are up to dream, his head knights, standards. or dream is hella jelly. also protective dream is perfect

When the Roses Bloom (completed) by HederEgo

(royalty au) close second for my favorite fic. go to royalty au for a quick serotonin bost. it’s all fluff and flowers and crushes, and i love it. criminally underrated.

Heavenstruck (ongoing) by dontrollthedice

george is dreams guardian angel, and dream want to find out more about him and his past life. bittersweet :,)

Bang and Burn (completed) by App1e_Juice

(spy au) george accidentally falls for target number 1 on sapnap’s secret agency’s hit list. this ones great, i love me a spy au :)

Can I get a uhh… (completed) by lemonskies

dream keeps pulling up to the drive through mcdonald’s that george works at drunk.

Pretty Stranger (completed) by anon

when looking for dream in the terminal, george sees a cute guy and decides to flirt.

Take my Hand (completed) by latinbias

(royalty au) another royalty au? poggers. surprise twists? double poggers. love this a lot.

seconds, minutes, hours, lifetimes (complete) by meridies

ROAD TRIP ROAD TRIP ROAD TRIP ROAD TRIP *inhales to compose herself* roadtrip au. unrequited love, ignored feelings, longing, pining, you know the drill. absolutely love this one, its the best roadtrip au i have ever read, in any fandom. (maybe cause i identify with it a little too much, but thats not important. whats important is that you read this fic. right now. im waiting).

Message redacted (complete) by justyouraverageloser

(text fic) dream asks for a girls number and realises hes been given the wrong number. however, an unexpected relationship starts to form between him and the stranger on the other end of the line.

the waves (completed) by anon

(mc irl) this fic was written by the same anon who wrote the color orange, which is up there on my fav dnf oneshot list. dream and george know they have a higher purpose. they don’t know where they came from, or why they are seemingly the only humans in the world, or how they feel about eachother, or even where the skeletons come from, but they are sure of one thing: they have to beat a dragon.

The Dream Doll (completed) by PeppDream (Pep_Pizza)

(voodoo i guess) i’m a real big fan of fics with really out there or unique concepts, so naturally this one makes the cut! i really liked it, it’s really sweet and made me think a lot about what matters to me in the world. george finds a strange doll in an antique shop, and would really like to just stuff it in a drawer and forget about it. sadly (?), the doll has other plans.

last updated February 6th, 2021

#dnf #dreamnotfound #dream not found #dreamnotfound fic #dreamnotfound fanfic #dreamnotfound fanfiction #dnf fic #dnf fanfic #dnf fanfiction #dnf fic rec #dreamnotfound fanfiction recommendations #dreamwastaken #georgenotfound #i’m ok i swear #i read too much fanfiction #i should probably go to bed

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camxlots-retxrn · 3 years

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.. also 🧣?? I need some recs and am curious ab what you like so- ahhshs

🧣 ~ merlin fanfic suggestion i have so many

YES I HAVE SO MANY I have folders upon folders of bookmarks so here are just 6 of my favorite in no particular order :)

btw most of these are merthur! i think some of them are up to interpretation, but I’ve a horrid memory so I can’t recall which akjdkskd

An Ox on the Tongue by seapotato - 21.7k, teen & up

Not for the first time Merlin wondered if he'd been doing too good a job saving Arthur's princely hide. This time, it's because Merlin had realized, belatedly, that the assassination attempt targeted him, not Arthur.

this is in my top fanfics ever. one of my favorite lines from it is, “[H]is magic hummed through him, steady and almost happy, the way it always did when he used it for Arthur.” LIKE AHh beautiful it literally reads like an actual novel

/|\

the scent of rain by TheCourtSorcerer - 410, teen & up

Merlin closed his eyes as the rain splashed against his skin. The cold dripping water wetting his hair, soaking his clothes… He loved it.

He sat back in his patio chair, closing his eyes as he leaned his head back, baring his neck as he faced skyward. He knew he shouldn’t be outside. He should be in, tucked into bed, where it was warm…

this one is just so sweet!! merlin loves the rain & it’s because of this fic that I added that to my headcanons list <3 it’s domestic!! seriously adore it :’)))

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Between by Emachinestcat - 3.6k, teen & up

When Uther finds out about Merlin’s magic, Arthur has already known for some time – and Arthur has no intention of letting his father kill his servant. Written for Febuwhump on Tumblr. Day 17: identity reveal

this one just has a beautiful depiction of the whole “two sides of the same coin” thing. much of Merlin & Arthur being protective of one another (+ Uther getting told off a bit)

/|\

Finding Home by riventhorn - 7.8k, explicit, translations available into Français by Aconit

Written for a kinkme_merlin prompt. When Gaius retires a new physician takes over and quickly kicks Merlin out of his room and takes it for himself. Arthur finds Merlin sleeping in the stables...and it's winter.

much angst much whump much Supportive Arthur(tm) it’s all very lovely :’)

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When You Know, You Know by CaffeinatedFlumadiddle - 4.4k, teen & up

"You can take Daisy out to fetch the cloak-"

"How do you know that?"

Arthur closed his eyes, expression riddled with irritation before turning to look at Merlin expectantly.

"Know what?"

“The mare I use. You know I call her Daisy? I never told you that." Merlin explained. Arthur stared for a few moments. He could see the flicker of emotions pass easily over him. Anger, annoyance, exasperation, indignance, and finally acceptance...AKA the Five Stages of Grief (Pendragon Edition).

"You talk to the horse.” He pointed out. Merlin narrowed his eyes.

“I whisper to the horse.”

"...am I supposed to not hear it?” Arthur asked. Merlin wondered how likely it would be that he also heard him whispering magical spells if he heard him murmuring to the bloody horse. “Also, only you would choose such a ridiculous name.” He muttered. Merlin swallowed. This wasn't a problem at all, right? Right.

Merlin knows Arthur well. Better than he knew himself apparently. What he hadn't expected was for Arthur to know his servant just as well... This causes problems. (also known as "The Time Merlin Had a Mental Breakdown Over Arthur Being a Normal Human")

I honestly read this a long time ago so can’t recall the finer details, but big “two halves of a whole” energy in this one. love it :)

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andddd finally my favorite long fic ever-

and like the cycle of the year, we begin again by kathrynefromphilly - 200k, mature

Set after the Merlin Series 5 Finale "Diamond of the Day". Canon Compliant. In Character. Arthur Pendragon Returns.

———

For many long years Merlin waited.

For the other part of his soul, for the other half of his life. He was born to serve Arthur. So that meant he was also born to wait. Even if it took a thousand years. Even if the wait seemed never to end.

Until one day, suddenly, it did.

When Arthur stumbles from the Lake of Avalon 1,500 years after his death, he finds a world unlike the one he knew. Faced with the loss of everyone he loved, and the threat of impending prophecy, Arthur must learn what it means to be not just a king, but the Once and Future King. Merlin does all he can to guide him, even as he struggles to hide his love for his king, and his fear of losing him again.

Story includes sass, banter, horseplay, & True Love.

words can’t describe this fic & honestly anyone who ships Arthur & Merlin h a s to read this at some point. I don’t usually read long fics (this was the last long fic I read, and that was last year..) but I blew through this in two days. i literally fucked up my grades because I neglected school so much & it took like two weeks to get back to normal & I don’t regret it bahaha

apologies this is so long bahahah, but I hope it’s satisfactory! author’s like TheCourtSorcerer (who’s lovely blog is @tcs-main!), seapotato, & platonic_boner are brilliant author’s so you can really just page through their works for more stuff to read! (that isn’t to say the other listed author’s don’t have more lovely content, I just haven’t looked yet!)

honestly I have a lot of recs so I’ve been considering putting together an actual formal list akfjksfj

from my 100 Followers Celebration

#💫august's 100 follower ask game #bbc merlin #arthur pendragon #merlin emrys #merlin #merthur #fic rec #rec list #ask box #send asks #tireddruid #🧣

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loquaciousquark · 4 years

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I hope you're doing well! I know you posted about a stressful situation last month, and I hope it's resolved itself. Sending good wishes you you and Hamlet!

Thank you so very much for checking in on me! I really do appreciate it. An update to that post under the cut.

Carol, who moved in with me on May 28, is still here. Right now, we have set a tentative move-out goal of the first or second week of August, but this is pending an apartment application that she hopes to finalize on Monday and a job situation that is a complete mess.

Basically, according to my limited understanding, Carol is licensed to teach in Florida. Alabama has a reciprocity clause with Florida, but it must be applied for. Carol has recently begun this process, but her teaching license(s?) is (are?) set to expire in December unless she passes certain exams. She’s already passed one for...general middle and high school teaching, I think, but failed a math exam. She has an art history exam Monday afternoon and expects to pass. I hope so, because she’s been doing nothing but watching Netflix and shopping for houses for the last few days in her new 2017 Jeep Cherokee.

I remain unspeakably grateful to my parents for teaching me financial literacy, because until I witnessed Carol’s decision-making, I had no idea how hard it was for some people to not spend money unwisely.

As a reminder, Carol is dead broke. She has $153,000 in debt across student loans, medical bills, Czech and US taxes, and some personal loans she would like to repay to friends for helping her. She is unemployed and has no support from her family and has relied on couch surfing at friends’ and acquaintances’ homes since last summer for housing. Since moving in with me, she has been trying to find somewhere to live that would accept her with all her debt and her nonexistent US employment history for the last ten years. Based on what she’s said, I think she has about $9k in the bank--or did, until last week.

In short, she needs a car, a job, and a home, and as far as I can tell she doesn’t care which order they come in.

Two weeks ago, she was offered a position in a rural town about 30 minutes from where I live. It’s a small, very country town which desperately needs a special education teacher, something I think Carol really does have a passion for. However, because she hasn’t finished the reciprocity licensure application yet, they’re having a lot of roadblocks with her paperwork, compounded by the fact that when she left Prague last year, she left all her important documentation behind: things like her birth certificate, her social security card, and her letters of recommendation, which for some reason she did not have electronic backups of. The principal has been trying to get what she needs from Carol for two weeks. Carol is constantly saying that things are “in process” but has nothing to show for it.

As far as we can tell, the job is still hers, but the school year starts August 13th and she still hasn’t been approved by the Board of Education because the paperwork is still not finished on her end. She did not attempt to replace her birth certificate or social security card until they needed it for the application. (Her friend in Prague--and I am beginning to realize she uses the word “friend” for anyone she’s met longer than sixty seconds), who frantically packed up all her belongings when she realized she would not be able to go back to the city, cannot ship her belongings or go through them for the important paperwork until next summer, as she and her husband are currently vacationing in Rome for a year.

Carol decided last night she is also going to apply for some online Department of Defense position--I didn’t understand the details and don’t really want to know, except that it’s also teaching and some administration. We’ll see how it works out. She is growing increasingly annoyed at the principal’s requests for paperwork completion, which baffles me.

So, job: shrug? Maybe?

Car next, then, but this whole mess also goes back to the financial literacy thing. My parents have always been extremely frugal (pennywise, as my dad would say), and from childhood they made it very clear to us to not buy things you couldn’t afford. They’ve never had a car payment in my memory, and they paid off their house about ten years ago. This means they drove a lot of junkers for a very long time, and for a very long time we had very few vacations, but now they’re fully financially stable and debt-free and my mom has a car that she drove off the lot brand new that they paid cash in hand for.

If I had been in Carol’s situation, I would have found a cheap, mostly reliable used car that probably wasn’t going to explode on me and drive that as long as I could while saving up for housing. I did in fact drive her to look at several used cars, most of which would have been even outside my expected budget (hers, as it happens, is larger even than that, because one of her overseas friends was willing to contribute $5000 to the cost of a vehicle). (I paid $6500 for my current car, a 2004, in college in 2012 with 70,000 miles on it at the time, and have driven it ever since.)

She rejected all of them because they did not have good “energy” and “feelings.” One she was willing to buy at $3700, but told the seller to go pay for his own inspection (once I explained to her what mechanical inspections were as a concept), so they ghosted her. She also is extremely afraid of head gasket failure--I don’t know why, since she knows nothing about cars--and has assumed all vehicles she has driven are on the verge of it, so after the first week she refused to even look at a vehicle without a warranty.

This means she exclusively limited herself to used dealership options, which I’m just going to come right out and say was monumentally stupid. I don’t know if any car dealers follow me, so I’m sorry if I am misperceiving this, but in my experience almost every dealer I’ve gone to has been aggressive, manipulative, and extremely predatory in their interest rates. I cannot think of a riskier course of action in abject debt than to try to cut a deal with a car dealer for the sake of a warranty I doubt will cover that much truly expensive failure in the long run anyway.

On Thursday, Carol bought a $20,000 2017 Jeep Cherokee from a dealership down the road. I don’t know what she put down. I do know she did not use her friend’s money (why not??) and I know her interest rate on the car loan is 4%, which she is extremely proud of and which horrifies me. She also “persuaded” them into a limited warranty that will cover the vehicle up to 100,000 miles (currently at 42k, and they ~only offer it for cars under 40,000 miles~). I can’t tell you how bad an idea I think all this is.

Thursday night, as she was regaling me with stories of her negotiating prowess, she also tells me she has decided to buy a house. She’s sick of renting, and somehow, someone somewhere managed to get her approved for up to $120,000 in a home loan. She already has $150k in debt, another $20k from the car, and now wants to buy a house. She was delighted that she could make the minimum 7% down payment, even though it would wipe out every cent she has left and leave her less than $500 to her name for moving expenses, utilities, food, title registration, etc. afterwards.

She doesn’t even have a secure job yet.

However, this plan seems to have fallen through. She went out with a realtor several times this weekend and came home the last time in great, heaving sobs, because she can’t find the 3bed 2bath she wanted in her price range. (For reference, most homes in this area go between 200k - 250k right now for 2-3bed 2ba, and the closer you get to the city--I have about a 20 minute commute--the higher it gets. My next door neighbor sold her 3bed 2.5ba for >300k three months ago, and Carol knew this.) She was absolutely devastated that the only things in her range were “tiny little ugly flipped houses” and “the ghetto.” The realtor basically said she wasn’t going to waste any more of her time. Carol repeatedly told me how grateful I should be that I got in at the price point I did a few years back, because no “normal people” could ever afford to break into the market again.

I tried to tell her that it was because I lived in with a roommate in very cheap housing and then a cell of a 1bed 1ba apartment for eight years while I saved money, but if nothing else, I’ve learned I’m not allowed to compare our situations or histories or offer advice of any kind except “go ahead and buy what you want,” because that only makes her cry harder. In the end, she has decided to give up on the house for now and settle for the absolute last thing in the world she wanted, an apartment with a lease.

To be honest, until she has a signed contract in hand, I half-expect this lease to fall through as well. I have tried to offer what I think is sensible advice and been ignored or rebuffed. I have tried to offer a sympathetic ear and ended up with her sobbing uncontrollably on me--heaving, body-wracking sobs--over and over again with me trapped in my own home, providing endless emotional support for a girl I don’t even like. I have tried to encourage her to do the things she wants to do, since she’s going to do them anyway, and when she gets “negative energy” after the purchases (buyer’s remorse, I think, that one little inkling of sense saying maybe it wasn’t a great idea to buy a $20,000 car or an $1100 brand new iPhone without a job), she blames it on the exact thing I said I thought might be good and makes me feel like I have now directly contributed to a negative outcome after poor decision-making.

For the record, when she says these things to me she is not saying, and has never said, them directly at me. She has never blamed me in any way for a negative outcome. She is not consciously trying to manipulate me or abuse me or take advantage of my help. She has never once asked me for money or job connections or for me to use any of my stability to unfairly or unethically get her something she needs. She is just completely absorbed in her own (rightfully absorbing) mess of a situation, and I think just completely unaware of how much of an emotional black hole she has become. There are no problems except her problems. There are no needs except her needs, and everyone around her has to understand how hard she has it at all times.

So, we’ll see. I am praying that the apartment works out next week. The owner seems to want to work with her, which is a hopeful sign. Good thoughts would be appreciated.

Aside from all of this, work has gotten extremely complicated. I’m not going to go into all of it now, but one of my jobs is to create an extremely detailed schedule for students in clinic. This is used to schedule patients in each service--if we have this many students, we can have this many patient slots per half-day, etc. Last week, two students were out unexpectedly, one who broke her arm the day before she was supposed to begin, and one who had a terrible anxiety attack and thought the symptoms were actually COVID. That student was tested and cleared negative, but Student Health requires a two-week quarantine anyway, so she was not allowed to return.

This meant that we now had multiple patients per day with no one to see them. We tried to reschedule as many as we could, but we still ended up with multiple overbooks. This is extremely stressful for me as both a provider, an instructor, and a human being who hates having other people wait on her in a professional capacity. We got through the week, but not without several painful bumps, and it’s looking like there will be more soon.

I also woke up to an email this morning that one of my favorite students (yes, I have favorites, I’m sorry), had a completely unexpected death in the immediate family and had to rush home. This is a very, very sweet, very smart girl who has worked unbelievably hard over the past year to do well in this program and in my courses, and I am just devastated for her. One of her friends is willing to cover her clinic, so the impact will be minimal on that side, but to have this happen during this country’s hellhole handling of this pandemic...I can’t even imagine it.

All of this isn’t even touching COVID. The President’s side has won in that sense--I don’t even register the numbers anymore--but as of last week our dean sent out messaging that implied that with our state’s failure to contain the spread, new discussions were going to be happening soon regarding our August start. We already had committed to full hybrid scheduling: all lectures online, in-person labs only where absolutely necessary to continue advancement in the program, and those labs limited to two per room with full PPE, but if they decide even that can’t happen, I don’t know what the fuck I’m going to do. I cannot make competent doctors over Zoom. I can’t. At some point they have to touch other people and look at other people’s eyes. They have to be able to check real, in-person blood pressure. They have to look at genuine eye movements and ocular surfaces in person and I cannot and will not let them enter clinic until they have the practice and the time and the practicals behind them. I fucking refuse to endanger the public for sixty years because someone in an office somewhere decided a timetable is more important than a patient keeping their ability to see, and I’m ready to fight administration on this if they try to push it.

But if I win the fight, what next? They just...don’t enter clinic next year. They don’t enter my program. I don’t know what they do in the meantime, as this lab meets four mornings a week and the lecture twice. The course is delayed until next year or whenever we have the virus under control again, and suddenly my fall semester sure looks like I’ll be being paid to stay at home and count carpet fibers. I don’t think they’ll fire me--no one else wants to teach my course anyway--but if I win this fight I might put myself right into furlough in the process.

I could be borrowing trouble, I know. They could come back and say that after review, our system and safety protocols (all extremely conservative) are indeed safe enough and we can proceed as we want. They could say that our limited in-person option for lectures (we have several gigantic lecture halls that could easily socially distance) is the only thing that needs to go. They could say that we just need to have smaller lab groups--hellish on me, but doable.

But it’s one more element of stress in my life that I just can’t handle worrying about right now, which is why I’ve been bouncing back and forth between random fics and oneshots (that mermaid one was feverishly written on a single evening Carol spent at her mom’s house) and pouring an ungodly amount of hours into Animal Crossing. At least there I have some control over what happens next.

Sorry, guys. I know this is not the happy update I was hoping for. I’ll try to check in again next month and we’ll see where things end up.

#quark rambles #carol #coronavirus for ts #covid-19 for ts #update post #not a happy one for those who can't handle that right now #anonymous #quark replies

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narcissasdaffodil · 3 years

Note

48 for drabbles, Marisol x MC <3

48: I called you at 2am because I need you

So I lost the prompt list but I’m going to take these from another one, hopefully that’s fine x Also, I hit 200k fic wise, so I’m posting a little something extra from my drafts x

Alecto had decided to visit Abby for 2 weeks in Los Angeles. She had decided to go on a whim after winning Love Island with Marisol earlier in the summer, but it being so incredibly last minute meant she had to leave Marisol behind in the UK.

Abby was still the same as ever, just as obsessed with rare bookshops, coffee and trying out new things. They hadn’t seen each other for years, but appeared to catch up in no time. Abby was writing music and pursuing her dreams, uni was definitely the wrong choice for her all those years ago.

Abby had managed to secure tickets for the Dodie concert, and they were just returning back to the apartment, arms laden with food and drinks. Both of them were high off adrenaline and happiness, their throats were sore from singing at the top of their lungs. Surprisingly, there was an actual queue for takeout food, and they had got delayed. Alecto always left her phone on silent, and had no real need for it throughout the night, apart from taking photos with Abby and experimenting at taking more types of photos. Photography was a passion for her, and she had gained some great shots. She would never do it for a career, her dream was to be a doctor so she followed her destiny there.

She rested her box of food, and her tiny bag on the side table, leaving her phone face up next to it, sitting cross legged on the couch and starting to tuck into her burger. Abby sat next to her, both of them focused on their food. The apartment was silent as they ate, both of them ravenous after the concert. Long hair started to slide out of the clip, making its way down Alecto’s shoulders.

Abby finished her food first, despite starting later, and removed the large hair clip from Alecto’s hair, pushing it out of her way and putting the clip safely on the side table. She heard a loud beep, and retrieved her phone from the table, her eyes drawn to the light coming from Alecto’s phone as she grabbed her own phone.

“Looks like someone keeps trying to reach you there, might be a good idea to check it.” She said, curling up and resting her phone on her knees, checking it.

Alecto nodded, giving her a thumbs up. Her mouth was full with burger, and she was always a very neat eater. She finished her mouthful and set down the empty box, retrieving her phone. She checks the time, noticing it was 2am. Her phone lit up again, and started to ring, Marisol’s name and picture on the display. Wait. Why has she texted you so many times? You do hope she’s okay.

Alecto pressed answer, putting her phone on speaker and turning the volume up.

“Hello?” Marisol sounded unsure, and her voice kept wobbling.

“Hello, are you okay? It’s 2am, but it’s fine.”

“I’m sorry... Forgot about the time difference, it’s 10am here. I haven’t been able to sleep at all, it’s been worrying me. But I don’t want to keep you up.” Marisol’s voice breaks slightly, not as sure of herself as she usually was.

“We came back from a concert not too long ago, we’ve only just had time to have food. That doesn’t matter though, if you need to talk it’s completely fine.” Alecto’s voice was soft and soothing, the sugar and energy from the concert forgotten. She hoped she could do the thing that Marisol did for her: being able to soothe her with just simple words and a warm hand.

“I’ve just been stressed about starting my second year of uni. It’s still a bit off yet, but I’m still nervous. And I struggle to sleep usually, but it’s different with you there, I can actually sleep properly. I kept waking up throughout the night, until I just gave up. I forgot what it was like to struggle to sleep, even though we haven’t been together for long at all. Sadie has been helping though, she loves me quite a lot currently. It’s surprising how much I miss you, and feels so silly.” Her voice sounded watery and kept shaking, getting considerably quieter. Alecto had to strain her ears slightly to hear, and turned up the volume on her phone.

“Do you want to have regular phone calls before you go to bed until I’m back? Will that maybe help a bit with the sleep issues? Also it isn’t silly! The same happened to me, when Abby first moved, and when I first went to uni. My sleeping pattern went out of the window a bit. When you care about someone and love them, it’s understandable to miss them if they’re not there with you constantly. I’m glad Sadie is a good stand in for me though, it’s a miracle she loves you as much as me! That’s so rare, you must be a cat whisperer or something.” Alecto heard a teary and snotty laugh on the other end, and grinned.

“If it’s not too much of a bother, that would be lovely. It’s surprising that I’m actually upset hearing your voice on the phone. I never got homesick when I first left home in the slightest, I was so independent from my family in general that I didn’t really miss them when I left. But you...it’s different. You care about me so much, you’re my safe space, my home. Sadie has been amazing company though, having her has helped a little. I’m not sure if part of my issue here is that...I don’t really have many friends in uni, or in general. I’ve never felt overly lonely, but for some reason, now I do.”

“Not actually surprising. When I first heard my dad’s voice on the phone, I did get pretty upset. Aww, the fact you feel that way about me does warm my heart. I guess if you’ve always been an outcast, it’s hard to deal with other people being different and actually having friends. I was the same when I first got closer to Abby, having two very toxic friends landed me with a shed load of issues and took a lot of courage to let them go. So finally having a healthy friendship and healthy family relationships was strange. But once you find your own friends, you’ll be okay. I understand that scares you, and you prefer to cut yourself off instead and stay at a distance, using the analysis thing as a defence mechanism but I hope that you’ll stop relying on it so heavily with me by your side. You’re not alone either, you still have Hope and Bobby, and both are long distance friendships but still equally as valuable.” Abby prodded her in the arm, trying to hint that she wanted to speak.

“Abby wants to speak to you, let me know if that’s okay.”

“That’s definitely fine.”

“Cool, handing you over now.” Alecto handed her phone to Abby.

“Hi. You clearly mean a lot to Alecto and you’re super special to her, so as her best friend, I’d like to talk to you more and get to know you better. Most of the people she’s dated previously I haven’t been too keen on, but you’re different. I know it might be a little weird, as I did date her before, but we’re still friends and all, and I’d love to extend that to you.”

“Really? I don’t have an issue with you two being friends in the slightest, from what I know, you two were friends first then started dating, so it wasn’t great that people expected you to give that up. Exes can be friends, there’s nothing against it! I’ve never done that myself, but ended up having a lot of messy breakups, even dated my best friend in secondary school and that completely broke the friendship. Olivia did break my heart, so the fact that I could open my heart up enough for Alecto is a big deal. I’m rambling now, but if you’re fine with it, cool.” Marisol was speaking pretty quickly, causing Abby to grin.

“Yup. I definitely mean that, the fact you don’t see me as threatening means a lot. Some people who Alecto’s dated, like only once or twice, had such an issue with it, that it did both of our heads in. I mean, I have a girlfriend now, so I’m not going to ruin anything, like people assumed. I do understand though, and I like you because of the way you and Alecto operate. So that’s all, I just wanted to let you know. I’ll hand you back to Alecto then.” Abby grinned, her voice warm.

“Okay, thank you! It does mean a lot.”

Abby grinned, moving to sort the boxes of food out and sort the mess in her apartment.

“Back to me again. Does that help? You do seem considerably happier, which is reassuring.”

“Yes, I am. It’s sweet of Abby to care about me, so that helps. I’ve never talked about Olivia to anyone apart from you before. So that’s a big deal. But I should probably let you go to bed soon, it’s really late in LA, I know.” Marisol’s voice was still watery, but she had gained enough stability to reassure Alecto a bit.

“Goodnight then. Call you tomorrow, well later today! Let’s organise a time via text or something.”

“Goodnight. See you.” When Marisol hung up, her voice sounded warmer already.

Alecto yawned, getting to her feet. She made her way to Abby’s guest bedroom, getting ready for bed. Once in bed, she dropped off quickly.

#litg #love island the game #litg marisol #marisol x mc #litgs2 #litg fanfic #bubblelaureno

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aethelflaedladyofmercia · 4 years

Text

The Long Walk

(We have a lot to celebrate this month: 30 years from the publication of Good Omens, one year since the series came out. I, myself, have some big milestones: 666 followers, 200k+ on AO3, and 30 fics posted! And I’m about to hit 4,000 Tumblr posts. Naturally, I choose to celebrate with something VERY melancholy

(This fic was inspired by my prompt for @itsthearoway - milestones of Crowley and Aziraphale through history - but was written right after I went into self-isolation. It’s a bit of a reflection on death, life, and hope. I’m not tagging it for death because technically there are no on-screen deaths, but if you are avoiding fic that make you think about mortality DO NOT READ THIS. It’s hopeful, but also very angst.

(Thank you all! I’m working on a longer light-hearted fic about the early days of the arrangement for @itsthearoway that I hope to have the first chapter ready for in a couple of days. Here’s to another 200k!)

The Long Walk - A short saga of the world, two observers, and the question: what is it all for? (1697 words)

Also on AO3

The sands stretch away from the Walls of Eden, eternally in either direction. Endless empty wasteland. Unrelenting heat fills the air, beaming down from the sun, up from the dunes. The kind of heat that nothing can live in.

Through the endless empty wasteland walk an angel and a demon, side-by-side.

“Seems an awful waste,” says the demon. “Build a whole world with nothing in it. If the Almighty is so powerful, why not make everywhere like Eden?”

“Eden was special,” says the angel, sadly. He hasn’t been cast out, not in the way the humans and the demon have. But the Garden’s time is over, and he can move on, or fade with it. “Eden was perfect.”

“Yeah, a perfect prison.” The demon rolls his eyes. “Too perfect for the likes of me.”

“No, not perfect like that. Perfectly balanced.” The angel holds out a hand, tipping it side to side. “The weather, the animals, all life, everything hung perfectly from the slightest thread. The was no…no room for deviation, you might say. No room for evil, yes, but also for good. For knowledge. For choice or free will. Once the humans had that, they had to leave. Even if they stayed, it all would have fallen apart.”

The demon considers as they walked. “That’s your ‘ineffable’ explanation?”

A shrug. “It makes sense, doesn’t it?”

“Not really.” The demon looks at their surroundings. “And it still seems an awful waste. Sending the humans out here to die.”

“Oh, I don’t think it will come to that. They may yet find something outside the Garden. Look.”

Ahead of them, a shape bursts from the shade of a dune, a small lizard, mottled brown, running for all it's worth to cower in the next shadow. “There’s still life,” says the angel. “Still a chance.”

A thousand years.

Frozen winters.

Drought-filled summers.

A Flood covers the land, and recedes.

Through lands scoured clear of any trace of life walk an angel and a demon, side-by-side.

“Not much of a chance, if our sides keep interfering,” the demon says, watching the brown river rush past between barren banks.

“You shouldn’t say things like that,” the angel chides.

A snort. “You’d say the same if it were my side that did this.” Silence, apart from footfalls in the mud. “Well, go on. Tell me it’s all part of the Plan. I can practically hear you thinking it.”

“Well it is. I might not understand it, but it must be.”

“Some Plan. A thousand years of struggle and toil, for what? Just to be destroyed like that.”

“Nonsense.” The angel points overhead at a flitting dove. The first bird either of them has seen since the rains began. “It isn’t over yet. And we can’t know until it’s over.”

Two thousand more years.

Cities rise.

Cities fall.

Sodom.

Thera.

Troy.

They walk together through the empty streets of what had once been the world’s greatest city, past shattered walls and burned out homes and the remains of a wooden horse.

“They’ve learned from you,” the angel says, an edge of bitterness.

“They’ve learned from us,” the demon corrects, but without rancor.

The angel pauses to study the remains of a temple, altar within shattered, blood spattered across the floor from more than sacrificial animals. “Either way, they surpassed their teachers.”

“They did.” In the distance, past once-impregnable gates that will never close again, high-masted ships depart. Not the attackers, returning victorious to kingdoms that have been destroyed in other ways; these are the survivors, in search of a new home. “Do you suppose they’ll do any better the next time?”

“We must hope,” said the angel, looking where white flowers grow through the cracks in the path. “We must always hope.”

Phoenicia.

Persia.

Carthage.

Rome.

Empires grow.

Empires topple.

They walk, tracing the path of an aqueduct, still valiantly carrying water to an empty city, miles away.

“You know, I really thought they had something this time,” sighs the angel, watching the rodents burrow beneath the monumental stones.

The demon tosses his head, looking at the endless span of arch on arch, crossing a continent. “They did.”

“Next time,” the angel says, with confidence he doesn’t feel. “Next time they’ll get it right.”

“They will. For a time.”

“Oh, there is no need for you to be…pessimistic,” the angel snaps.

“It’s not pessimism, it’s – oh, never mind.” The demon saunters a little faster. “I think I see a village up ahead. Probably have something to drink there.”

Wars rage, brought by raiders or kings or desperate humans.

Famine crawls from town to town, spurred on by locusts, by ice storms, by greed.

Pestilence crosses the world again and again.

Death. Death. Death.

An angel kneels in the street, holding a human’s hand. The human isn’t moving.

A demon materializes from the shadows behind him. “Give it a rest. You can’t do anything for him now.”

“I know.” He stands up. “But I had to try.”

All around them, the city stands silent. Not empty. Humans locked in their homes, afraid to go out, afraid to be too close, afraid the plague may catch them, too.

“He should have fled,” the angel says sadly. “Left the city while he still had a chance.”

“Not everyone can run,” the demon points out.

“I know.” After a time, he walks again, the demon beside him. Past empty fountains, abandoned marketplaces, homes boarded shut. “The city has changed so much. Do you remember that lovely restaurant we used to visit?”

“Burned down. Almost a thousand years ago.” The demon shrugs. “Vandals. Or Goths, maybe.”

“Ah. Pity.”

From a nearby alley, the stench of death. The demon tries to look away, only to find himself meeting the angel’s eyes.

“You won’t find anyone in there.”

“I know. But I have to try.”

The demon sighs, but follows him in. “I hate this century.”

“You always say that, dear.”

New continents.

New art styles.

New wars.

New technologies.

Until one afternoon the world ends – and is made anew.

And only one small group of humans will ever know – and an angel and a demon, stepping off a bus together at three in the morning. The city isn’t empty, merely asleep.

Not ready to go inside just yet, they walk around the block, listening to foxes rummage through rubbish bins, watching lights flick on, here and there, where another insomniac has risen from bed.

“What do you suppose comes next?” the angel wonders, when the silence becomes too much. “For the humans.”

“Dunno.” The demon tosses his head, hands stuck in his pockets. “More of the same, I would guess. Life, death, love, hate, good, bad. Human stuff.”

“But something has to change,” the angel insists. “The world nearly ended for…for Heaven’s sake,” he finishes, voice full of irony. “But if it was the Plan, it must mean something. What’s it all leading to?”

“We might find out. Depends what comes next. For us.”

“Ah.” The angel slows. Stops. “Do you…do you suppose they’re very angry?”

The demon turns to face him with a snort. “What do you think?”

“I think…I think…” His hands straighten his waistcoat, smooth his tie. “I think that whatever comes next, however much time we have…I should like to carry on as we always have.” His tone is light, his eyes searching.

A slow nod. “Yeah.” The demon reaches out, gently squeezes the angel’s shoulder. “Yeah. Me too.”

When they start walking again it is, as always, side-by-side.

“And, you know, I would like to see how it all turns out.”

“You and me both, Angel.”

More time passes.

The world grows old. Ancient.

Another war. The Really Big One. Bigger than any seen on Earth or in Heaven.

Everybody fights.

Everybody loses.

When it is over – when all things are over – there is nothing left.

No world, no Paradise, no eternal torment. No Hosts of Heaven, no Legions of Hell.

No humans, no Satan, no God.

Just an endless, eternal expanse of nothing and, somewhere in the featureless plane, an angel in white, kneeling, alone.

Slowly, the darkness around him resolves into another shape. The demon steps forward, fighting back a smile. “There you are. You survived.” As if he hasn’t been frantically searching. “Thought as much. You’re very hard to kill.”

The angel doesn’t respond.

“It sure was a mess, though, wasn’t it?” The demon shakes his head ruefully. “Should have expected it, really, but right at the end when –”

“I was wrong.” The angel hasn’t moved, eyes still locked on the endless Nothing. “Thousands of years, millions of sunrises, and for what? There was never any point.”

“No, Angel.” The demon kneels beside him, rests a hand on his shoulder. “I mean, yeah, you were wrong. Because the ending was never the point. It was the journey – all those millions of days, filled with love and hate and smiling children and fighting with friends and favorite foods and annoying songs and struggles and choices and…and life. Everything they never would have had if they’d stayed in the Garden. That was the point. That was always the point.”

“Perhaps,” the angel tries to smile. “It was lovely, wasn’t it? While it lasted?”

“Yeah. It really was.” The demon helps him to his feet. “And, you know, it’s not completely gone.”

He waves a hand, long fingers trailing through the void as they had at the beginning of time, helping to shape the stars. He gathers together every atom, every wisp of matter, closer, closer, into a ball. The angel presses his hands into it, and together they compress it, tighter, denser, until –

A spark. From neither. From both.

BANG.

The void fills once more.

With chaos.

With potential.

With light.

The demon looks around, nodding with approval. “What do you think, Angel? Time for another walk?”

He gazes out at the disks of galaxies forming in the expanding cloud of debris. “Do you…do you think things will be different this time?”

A shrug. “Only one way to find out.”

Through the glowing crucible of a newborn universe walk an angel and a demon, side-by-side.

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agentangeles · 4 years

Text

Let’s talk about TYAC.

Usually, this blog updates infrequently, and it’s whatever project I’ve got in-progress. The prompt challenge is on temporary hiatus right now, but each individual prompt has been its own contained fic.

I want to take this time to... I dunno, explain this fic? I owe this to nobody, but I still feel that it’s important, because throughout the past year and change, TYAC has been something of a constant for me.

TL;DR for under the read more: no, TYAC isn’t taking over priority for Hallmark Cliches, nor will it be taking priority any time soon.

If you follow my main blog, @implodingcacti, then you might be familiar with this acronym. I’ve tagged posts on my main blog with #still dont have a tyac tag for a while now- yes, I know the tag is goofy, but I never bothered to change it, and it became a running gag. There’s a bit of assorted chatter from last year when progress was really kicking off, and then life hit me during NaNoWriMo and I put it on hiatus.

This fic is, quite literally, the culmination of me deciding that Klavier deserves better than how he’s treated. Capcom has shoved him into the role of a petty cameo, and that’s a damn shame. This fic is me giving him the care and consideration that he honestly deserves. Klavier has so much potential in-canon, and yet he’s let down by a lack of bonds. We know he has a brother, we know that Daryan is his friend, and that’s... it. We know nothing about extended family, or what his time was like at Themis, or the other 3 Gavinners and their individual dynamics. Hell, we don’t even know what happened to Vongole, Kristoph’s dog. Where is she, Capcom? Where did you put our baby?

I’m not gonna pretend that this isn’t an ambitious project. I’m not going to pretend that this fic is going to shatter people’s worlds, too- don’t get me wrong, I’d love to, but I don’t want to disappoint myself. Honestly, I’m not expecting much of anything beyond making him feel as fleshed out as he deserved. I latched onto him after Serenade, getting to see all of those miniature glimpses into his band and recognizing similarities between my own performing experiences, and damn it if I’m not soft on the man. That case really was what sold me on loving him, after all.

That being said- TYAC is still completely unfinished. At the time of writing, my in-doc wordcount is sitting a bit over 100k (103,047 to be exact, in case anyone is curious). This includes scene notes for things I haven’t written, script for in-game cases (because fuck it, I decided I wanted to have the cases in the damn fic), and the fic itself. TYAC is not finished, nor is it close to being done.

If ever I am running a fic that isn’t TYAC, that fic is taking priority. Eventually, I’d love to have TYAC be finished, and I’d love to share it with people. I’m also very aware of my own abilities, and even if I dedicated all of my time to working on it, I’d get quickly burnt out.

I’ve had a lot of estimates about where the fic’ll end up wordcount-wise. Each one has been wrong. I’m setting a rough estimate around 200k, and hoping maybe I land under that. I have no idea if I will.

Another thing I wanted to mention is that I’ve talked about the fic being in sections. Section 1 is its own chapter, and is the shortest so far out of everything. I’m gonna go over the sections upcoming, their names in the doc, and kind of give y’all a rough estimate of what to expect.

Section 2: SEVEN YEAR OVERVIEW; NOW WITH TOURING DRAMA

Takes place where 1 left off, here’s our Gramarye trial and the 7 year gap. Did you like the other Gavinners? There’s a lot of them here. It’s the “developing the Gavinners” section.

Section 3: IN PRESENT TIMES. DISBANDING.

Spans the in-between space of Turnabout Trump and Turnabout Corner to right before the events of DD. We have 3 cases here- Corner, Serenade, and Succession. If you haven’t played AJ, you can essentially read a good chunk of it. The characterization leaks out a bit as well. I know I’m developing Klavier, but there’s someone else who I think would be fun to include...

Section 4: RECONNECTIONS. GOODBYES. A SOLO CAREER THAT KEEPS PAUSING. REPEAT AS NEEDED.

Two games in one- we’re spanning DD through SOJ with this one! One case in detail, though- it’s Turnabout Academy, but this time with less bleh. There’s mentions of other cases, and a bit of overlap, so it isn’t like you’re completely missing out, but there’s a bit more going on with Klavier. Lots of emotional shit. Boy’s gotta react to shit, after all. Capcom, you cannot hide your grieving and comforting from me. Miss me with that shit.

Section 5: TWO YEAR OVERVIEW, NOW WITH TOURING DRAMA, ROUND TWO; ELECTRIC BOOGALOO. (30% more pining edition)

Post-SOJ, baby! Two years of a free and open playground where I am free from the confines of canon and will handle the boy how I see fit. There’s emotional healing in this chapter. Funky friendships. My official promise to the “Do They Know Yet” blog being once-again upheld. I’m tying up loose ends in as many neat bows as I can.

That’s as much as I can touch on without it being spoilers. At any point, please feel free to ask questions about this fic. I am constantly vibrating about this project. Thanks for sticking with me through it all. Hopefully I’ll have new stuff out on it soon!

-Angeles (they/he)

#fic stuff #writing update #TYAC

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evien-stark · 4 years

Text

✧I Need You✧ Chapter 108 [End: Captain America: Winter Soldier]

“-it’s plain as day, SHIELD has been- should be- labeled as a terrorist organization for their efforts in multitudes of operations-”

“Then they’re a government sanctioned and paid for terrorist organization! If the members in the benches want to blush at the fact that one of their top spy agencies got caught, then let them turn beet red. But I will not sit here with my colleagues and listen to you pretend you weren’t writing every single check that came their way.”

“And what of the checks that were issued via Stark Industries?”

“Non-existent. Try again. Stark Industries has maintained itself as an independent business focused on technology and efforts that improves people’s lives.”

“And the Avengers?”

“Brought together under the direction of SHIELD but, rest assured, move of their own agency. While we’ve worked through SHIELD with the US government, we are more than happy to drop the middle man.”

“You’re asking the government to fund vigilantism?”

“The Avengers team was constructed to handle enhanced- and otherwise otherworldly threats that the military has no capacity to handle. And, again, I remind you that SHIELD used to be a government organization, since you all conveniently keep forgetting. That puts us above random lawless people running around in masks. I say we’ve done our jobs pretty well. And we’ll continue to do them- no funding from Uncle Sam necessary.”

“Because of Stark Industries. What was that about being an ‘independent business’?”

“The Avengers have every cause and the means to handle things the government has otherwise decided they can’t. I’d say removing people from fatal danger when the military is unable to do so, and funding relief efforts when the government sits on their hands counts as life improvement.”

---

You and Tony had taken multiple trips back and forth from New York to DC over the past few days. It was to be expected, what with the massive shit storm going on. The two of you were tired, beaten, and worn down, but this was no time to stop. Especially not when you and everyone in your team was being accused of some pretty high crimes.

As you’d expected, the government was not handling the SHIELD leaks all that well. Classified documents spilled to the world in the name of the greater good was not the sort of thing they liked. They would have much rathered everyone kept their mouths shut and allowed Hydra scum to continue thriving. Probably would have preferred a world in which they could quietly direct the Avengers to try and capture as many as they could, while the common American slept in ignorance.

But that was too bad. What had happened, happened. Your testimony in congress, along with Maria Hill’s and Natasha Romanoff’s played on all the 24 hour news stations. Clip after clip after clip in an endless nauseating run. There was so much to digest. So much to pick apart. Or praise. Depended heavily on which station was doing the featuring. From time to time, your press briefing the day after the Battle at the Triskellion would pop in and out.

“-Stark Industries is not a safe haven for Hydra. Rest assured, as we speak, our security personnel are taking Hydra into custody, as I imagine the government is doing with their own staff, and getting ready for trials that will last years. We are ready to expend as many resources as necessary to bring them to the justice they deserve. Justice they should have seen years ago, were it not for overzealous intervention that invited them into our country. Into our homes. But there’s no going back now. Tony and I-”

“Mute.” Silencing the TV as you walked into your office. Having touched back down at Tower after your fifth jet ride in three days. You wanted nothing more than to go upstairs and go to sleep. Take a nap. Didn’t you deserve it, after all this shit?

But Pepper had been trailing your heels since you’d landed on the tarmac, with a long list of things for you to do. As predicted, the government hearings were ending with them labeling SHIELD as a terrorist organization. They’d only been crowing about it the entire time they’d been bearing down on you. With that came its disbanding.

So. Time to sow some wild OATs as Tony had put it, after going over your proposal. It was almost hilarious, that way. As some of the documents you’d read (been forced to read, and brought up during the hearings) had stated plain as day that SHIELD and the government had invited Hydra scientists into their labs. Operation Paperclip. What a wonderful idea.

Thinking they had something to offer that otherwise decent people may not have. Taking a chance. Gambling on that. And, well… after all this you’d have to say it had failed spectacularly. Now, looking on the other side of things, you were about to open a new office to handle the influx of SHIELD agents that were sending in resumes in order to not only keep working but not be threatened by the government they used to work for.

How quickly the tables turned. Ellis had assured you this was best case scenario. And all he could do. If he’d done anything at all. Sure as hell didn’t feel like it. You had to count your blessings and just thank him regardless. You supposed they really could have come after the Avengers much harder. And… to be honest, you really weren’t prepared for something of that magnitude right now. Hopefully it would never come to that.

As you signed your name on ten more dotted lines and then sent her away, you got immediately caught with your head in your arms after Pepper left the office and then seconds later poked her head back in. “Maria Hill is here to see you.”

Sitting up slowly, you ran a hand through your hair. “Yeah.” Despite sharing a table with her for your part of the hearings, you hadn’t actually been able to speak with her at length. It had only been a matter of time before she showed up here.

Pepper stepped aside to let her into your office and then shut the door. Maria came in, head held high, as always with her. She seemed like a very proud woman. Then she put a folder on your desk and took a seat. “Figured I’d come for the interview personally.”

“Your resume?” Arching a brow at her. When she nodded you tried not to jump at the opportunity. “You’re hired. You’re now director of the OAT initiative. Go down to HR. Get a badge, do the paperwork, get an email set up. We’ll give you a phone.”

“...just like that?” At least a little surprised.

“They’re your people. If there’s anyone I can trust to treat them fairly, it’s you.” She was exactly what you needed. Someone you knew who would do right by these poor people so that you could take it off your plate and not micromanage it. Absolutely perfect.

She smiled lightly. “Can we at least talk salary?”

“What was SHIELD paying you?” Folding your hands atop the desk, sitting a little straighter.

“61k a year. ...decent benefits.”

“200k. Fantastic benefits. Holiday bonuses.”

“That’s uh- that’s a solid deal.” Standing up she offered her hand for a shake, so you hid your pain as you stood to meet her with a firm grip. “Just understand, I can’t sit behind a desk forever. Once we’re done with this employee transfer, I’d like something a little more… substantial.”

A grin found its way to you. “Like I told our dear members of congress, Stark Industries merely funds the Avengers. If that’s the next thing you’re about to ask… I have a different office for that.”

She smiled back, holding your shake for only a second longer before letting you go. All too soon the expression vanished, and her voice lowered. “Nick is headed to Europe for now. Laying… as low as someone like him can get. But. ...he’s really grateful. For everything you’re doing.”

Disappointment struck through you very suddenly. Although you didn’t have the closest relationship with Maria, you couldn’t help but let some of your feelings leak out of you. “I really wish…” Sighing, thinking twice about it- and then proceeding anyway. “I just wish he and I could have had a coming together moment or something. Where we finally saw eye to eye. There was a time I shook his hand and it seemed like things were getting better. And then they felt like they got worse. And I don’t know if we’ll ever rectify it all.”

Was that bad? Did you care? ...some part of you must have. After all this time, you wanted to believe things were worth repairing with Nick.

She looked mildly uncomfortable, crossing her arms, and then cast her gaze aside. “I’ve worked a very long time for Nick Fury. He’s a very complicated man. And we don’t always agree on everything. But I know that whatever he’s doing, however he’s doing it, it’s always for reasons he thinks are right. He’s always just trying to do his best. Even when that means making the toughest calls. That’s why I’ve stuck by him so long.” When she looked up at you, she caught you off guard. “You know exactly what that’s like, I imagine.”

You weren’t sure if you wanted to dignify that with an answer. It wasn’t Maria’s fault. And you had no reason to make her feel bad about it, but… comparing Nick to Tony… you weren’t quite there yet. So you chose the worse option, deciding the stay in your position over building a stronger foundation, letting a small silence hang. Then, you just gave her a smile. “Well… anyway. Pepper will show you to HR. Once you’re all set up, I’ll send things your way.”

“Sure. Thanks.”

She was at least quick and efficient, turning and leaving without another word. Maybe ready to go to work. It was one less mess you had to focus on, and for that you’d be grateful. But it was just as the door had shut and you had sat down, for no less than five seconds, that it opened again.

It wasn’t the best look to be barking in the tone that you did, but you kind of just couldn’t help it. “What now?”

Immediately silenced by the door opening wider to reveal Steve standing there. He looked better than he had, lying in that hospital bed, but it still made your heart ache. Just looking at him. Which wasn’t a very good sign. He looked just as upset. “I figured we needed to talk.”

Thoughts of him had been churning around in your head for the past little while now, surely not unduly so. Congress had asked about him multiple times, but you, Maria, and Nat had told them the three of you were enough. He didn’t need to get mixed up in all this.

“Yeah, I guess we do.” This wasn’t his fault. How could it be? The more you thought about it… the more you wondered if it was your own inherent selfishness that had caught him in between a rock and a hard place. You’d told him you’d cared about him, and practically begged him not to… do exactly what he’d done. Get beaten to near death to try and make a point.

But, that’s not all it was. That voice that you’d heard in your head- Steve, calling out for this man. Bucky. It had been so… so sad. Almost unrecognizable.

You wondered. You wondered what your own decisions would have been, had it been you on the other side of something like that. Steve very clearly cared a great deal for this man. That had been his advantage. He loved him, without a doubt. Maybe not in the same way you loved Tony, but for basis of comparison… you’d thought about it more than once.

What if someone got control of Tony? And turned him against you? Would you fight back? Would you kill him, knowing the real man you loved was underneath? Or would you… try and do just enough. Fall to your knees. To make a point. To try and hold out. To try and get him back-

Same as Steve had no doubt done.

He was intensely uncomfortable. “Can we take a walk?”

Despite your aching body and its protests, you stood. “I’d like that.”

---

Before leaving the building you asked Happy to set up a thirty foot security perimeter to keep paparazzi and reporters at bay as you and Steve walked one of Central Park’s paths. Cold as you were even wearing your own jacket, he dropped his over your shoulders without a second thought, and stuck his hands in his pockets. There was silence for probably too long a time before you broke it.

“Tell me about him. About Bucky.”

Sam’s debrief report had come in a day ago, and his conversations with Steve had told you all you needed to know for base information. Steve had fought against Bucky and lost. Steve also thought Bucky had dragged him out of the river after perhaps putting him there in the first place- he’d be right about that, as no one on your team had done it. But after that, no one had a trace on that man. So right now… he was just sort of gone. Which was kind of a problem.

But to really address it, you had to do exactly what you were doing now.

Listening to Steve talk, after his surprise that you’d ask that (maybe about how you knew that name), about James Buchanan Barnes. His best friend. They’d met as kids, when Bucky had defended him from some bullies trying to steal his lunch money, and had been stuck to each other ever since. Steve was intensely fond of this man. Proud of him. Looked up to him. Tried to shape himself after him.

And from the sounds of it, no matter how tough it got, the two of them always looked after each other- Bucky, a little more so, after Steve’s parents had died. Yes, love was no longer a question. Deep and platonic. And then, in the midst of their war with Hydra, he thought he’d seen Bucky killed.

For years he’d carried a sense of extremely heavy guilt over him about it- and had probably never processed it, either. Having to move on so quickly. It made sense. Too much sense, then. Why, when having that gun leveled at him by that man he’d just stood there. And it made more sense than was fair, why Steve would have died trying to break somebody’s control over him.

“Do you think you got through to him?”

He sighed. “Some part of him… I’d like to think so. It’s why he saved me. It has to be. There was a minute there, between punches, when it was just him looking at me.”

The next question became obvious. “You’re going to go look for him.” So obvious in fact, you merely needed to state it, not ask.

“...yeah. I have to. He would have done the same for me.”

The two of you stopped walking, and just stood there. Looking at each other. It was hard to know what to say next. And you wanted to try and… stop being that selfish version of yourself, especially after knowing you’d be in the exact same position. If you were him. “Steve…” Trying to start and then deflating. But when he simply waited patiently, you tried to gather your courage. “I know we can’t compare. And I’m not asking you to choose- I get it. I was… I was wrong, doing that.”

Bucky had been his best friend through thick and thin for years. Years and years. They loved each other. You two had only known each other for a short time, no matter how close you felt to him.

Trying to not lose momentum, you continued. “But… even if that’s true- I’d like to still consider us family. Close. A team. And… no matter what, we’re here, too. For you. You started building something here. I know it wasn’t by choice but… don’t forget that. Please.”

“I won’t.” There was a light twitch of a smile. “...some of it was by choice, you know.”

You found enough strength to smile back. “I know you think you have to do this on your own, like you owe it to him and your relationship- but if you need anything-”

He silenced you by reaching out, laying a hand on your shoulder, giving you a little squeeze. Holding steady on that expression. “Believe me when I tell you that you offering means the world to me. And if I do… I’ll ask.”

Giving him a little side-scrunched pout, you lifted your brows. “No more macho man bullshit?”

And at this his head dropped forward with a little laugh. “Yeah I-... you know, I never thought I’d ever have a label like that put on me. It’s kind of weird.”

“But not wrong.” You huffed out, at least indignant about this. You were right. And you knew it.

“Yeah. Maybe not. I’ll work on it.”

There was still a small sense of hesitation coming from him. Reaching up, you wrapped your arms around him in a hug, helped when he lowered down that small bit to meet you. It was nice. To just have this. “You looking for my blessing this time?” Joking.

“Actually- this time…”

When he let go you settled a gaze up his way, just looking at him. Reaching up, you put a hand just near his shoulder. Not quite over his heart. But. Close enough. “Consider yourself blessed.”

“Thank you.”

---

You gave Steve back his jacket and parted ways amicably. The car ride back to the Tower was short. Once there you headed straight for the labs. Deeper into the private part, Tony was writing some long equation on a holo board next to a few rough schematics, lights dimmed.

Coming in, you settled your arms around his middle, resting your face against his back. One of his arms moved to rest over yours, while he sketched out however the rest of those numbers made sense to him. Once he was finished, and you were content to wait there until then, he set his marker down. “Rogers leave?”

Of course he would know that. It was of such little surprise to you that he did, that you didn’t even think twice in answering. “Yeah. Steve’s out for a while.”

His thumb stroked over your arm. “You okay?”

“We made peace over it.”

“He stopped here, first.” Ah. Well. That made about as much sense as anything else. Why Tony knew and… why he suspected you might have been a little melancholy over the whole thing. ...also why he was checking in to see if that was true. And how things had ended.

You wondered how that conversation had gone. The two of them had been a little weird with each other for too long a time there. It wouldn’t help the team, for them to be like that. Steve wouldn’t be away forever. Whether or not he found Bucky, a strong part of you knew he’d be back eventually.

“And did you two make peace, too?” Couldn’t hurt to ask.

“I don’t have a problem with him, if that’s what you’re asking.” His shoulders drooped, and for a moment, his fingers curved a little more into your skin. Not painfully, but… in a very telling way. “After he explained- I get it. I still stand by what I said. I wouldn’t stand there and let somebody I knew shoot me- but, hey. We’re not all me. Can’t ask for perfection.”

Your lips formed a brief smile against his shirt, breathing out a lightly admonishing noise. “Right…”

“Anyway. I get it. He made a choice. You made a choice. No changing it. And he’s making another choice now. I get that, too.”

It was easy to imagine Tony had been thinking about the same thing you had. Likening his own relationships to try and make it make sense. The lengths one would go to, to drag someone they loved out from underneath someone else’s control.

He let go of you, so you dropped your own arms, allowing him to turn to face you. The bruising around his eye was still slightly prominent, as was the cut along the back line of his jaw on the right side. Reaching up, you palmed his cheek, and he moved his hand to hold yours there.

“We’ll keep his room open.”

Tony’s lips quirked. “But still charge rent, right?” “We don’t charge anyone rent.”

“But we pay them. ...and we’re not charging them rent.” His eyes squinted, brows knitting, but his grin was telling. “How are we making money on this operation again?”

Giggling lightly, you moved to loop your arms around his neck, drawing him in. “Oh, honey, I don’t know how to tell you this. But the Avengers account has been in the red ever since its incarnation.”

His hands came to your hips, leaning in, nose nuzzling yours. “Who’s in charge again?”

“Debatable. What, you don’t trust me?”

“Implicitly.” His warm, amused hum was lost between a press of lips.

But when you pulled back, “In that case, I need to tell you just how much money we’re losing-”

With an even lift, he pulled you up onto one of his nearby work stations, grin touching over your smile. “Please don’t. You know what they say-”

Your giggles continued. “Ignorance is bliss?”

“Money isn’t everything.”

There was a warm purr in the back of your throat as he kissed you again. At the next part, “Says the man who has it all.” Teasing, still.

Delighting in the way his lips curved over yours. Amused. Lovingly so. His next few thoughts came out between slower and sweeter kisses. “There is one thing more important to me than money… and I’m currently trying to seduce her to bed…”

Your reply was just a bit breathy. “Oh… is it working?”

His light laughter against the side of your neck threatened to do you in completely. “You know what, I think so. Lucky me.”

#Tony Stark #Tony Stark x Reader #INY Chapter One Hundred Eight

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heroesofhyrule · 5 years

Note

Okay since seeing the trailer for the new Zelda game, I’ve been really wanting to read some more really good BOTW fanfic. Do you have any suggestions where they have some length to them? Also fics where link and Zelda are raising a family??

Truth be told, I haven’t read many BotW fics, if any, but I’ll compile some here after some searching! There are quite a few here that seem interesting to me or had plenty of kudos.

Please check all of the tags and heed the warnings before starting a fic!

Super long fics (wc: 200k+)

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

T | Novelization | Slow Burn | wc: 473k | Complete

“But courage need not be remembered… for it is never forgotten.”Though struggling with both the loss of memory and the incredible weight of past failure, Link must find a way to recover what has been lost and bring hope back to the land of Hyrule.An epic fantasy-style novelization of Breath of the Wild.Complete, with afterword and deleted scenes!

Champions and Beasts

Hyrule is a strange place, is it not? It has no history, only legends. It has no true heroes, only colossi who have wielded its fate in their hands. The Champions, and the Beasts; the wise, the strong, and the brave. And yet, we are always either recovering from war or preparing for it. How much longer can we endure, I wonder? How much longer can we step through this dance?

In a world this vast, being a hero isn’t always easy.

Champions and Beasts is a Breath of the Wild series that takes a darker and more political look at the world of Hyrule, both before and after the Calamity. Legends are long past, history is mostly lost, the wilds are dangerous but perhaps not as dangerous as the ambitions of its inhabitants; and with Calamity either just over the horizon or still a lingering nightmare, the Hyruleans must fight to attain peace.

This work is centered around Link and Zelda, and their evolving relationship both before and after the Calamity.

Currently there are only two Parts planned (From the Ground Up and The Ballad’s Beginning) but I am considering a third installment!

One Last Year

T | Post-canon | wc: 215k | Complete

Zelda vows to help Link remember the events that lead them to their hard-won victory. In doing so, they must delve together into a shared past and seek to untangle their feelings, their grief and their youthful frustrations to find the things they could control… and the things they couldn’t.

“I don’t know how to remember. Time passes, but nothing comes to my mind… Except you. You’re the key,” Link said, softly. “You have to be.”

A Breath of the Wild fic about Link, Zelda, and the memories that bind them.

Ironic Technology

Ironic Technology is a series where Link loses an arm after a tricky situation with two Guardians, luckily, he is able to receive a prosthesis made of Ancient Technology from his Sheikah allies. He continues on to complete all of the Shrines, meeting his friends from the four nations along the way, before he’s finally ready to take on Ganon with his tech upgrade. Moves into slice of life events with Link and Zelda living together working through their issues with each others support. Very little angst, mostly positive fluff and humour with Zelink throughout.

(A/N Originally I wasn’t going to have DLC2 content but it was a good ancient tech expansion, so expect that in ‘Trial and Error’ which will be rated ’M’ folks!)

The Destiny Collection

A collection for the little BotW universe I’ve created.

Not all stories directly follow one another! At least one spin-off is to be expected.

Long Fics (wc: 100k-200k)

Adrift in Time and Skyward Bound

E | Explicit language and sexual content | wc: 132k | Last updated 11/10/18

Link is her appointed knight. He will do anything and everything to protect her. Always. All ways. BotW. ZeLink. Loosely based on the original storyline.

Love in a Time of Calamity

Zelda awakens her powers in time to defeat Ganon, but there are still major losses. With Central Hyrule in pieces, two champions dead, a king out of commission, and half a metropolitan city turned refugees, Zelda and Link struggle to come to grips with the aftermath of the Calamity. Though neither are prepared, they must nonetheless learn to navigate a turbulent political landscape while a snooping journalist, an overzealous artist, and a power-hungry nobleman’s machinations turn their already topsy-turvy world on its head. Though the Calamity has been defeated, recovery proves a battle all its own; and that’s not even considering the battle raging in both their hearts. BoTW ZeLink AU.

Trouble the Water

Rating varies | Series | Pre/During/Post-canon | wc: 156k | complete

Excerpt from the first entry:

An expansion of canon: a look at why the memories might have happened where and when they occurred (with one slight change in order) and an attempt to fill-in the events and conversations alluded to by diary entries and conversations in-game.“You were a comfort to her,” in particular, needed to be expanded upon, I thought.Begins shortly before the first journal entry in Zelda’s diary, and continues to the immediate aftermath of the last memory.First person: Zelda’s perspective

Still a bit long fics (wc: 50k-100k)

I’ll Walk With You

T | Post-canon | wc: 94k | Complete

‘The battle is over, the Calamity has ended, and everything you knew and loved is gone for good. And yeah, you can’t ever get it back, but… maybe we don’t have to. The path in front of us may be long and uncertain, but it leads to something new, and… Zelda, no matter how hard it gets, I’ll be right here. And I’ll walk with you.’

A collection of moments involving our favorite Hero and Princess as they struggle to adapt. Post-BotW.

It All Must Start With Us

M | Post-canon | Sexual tension/Implied sexual content | wc: 76k | last updated 09/06/19

Set immediately after BotW, this story explores Link and Zelda’s journey together to restore Hyrule. Along the way, a mysterious voice give them the task of reliving memories of a century before: some painful, but all necessary before they can fully move into the next step of their lives.

Since the DLC did not give us a post-Calamity world with Link and Zelda, I’m writing one for myself and anyone else wanting to know what might have happened after! ♪ UPDATES ON SUNDAYS!! ♪

The Golden Age

T | Slow burn | Post-canon | wc: 66k | Last updated 03/05/19

After a century of undisturbed silence, a forgotten princess emerges from the famous ruins of Hyrule Castle. Princess Zelda has returned, and an even greater task than containing Calamity Ganon arises before her; balancing a complex love life while rising her kingdom up from the ashes and restoring it to glory in an age of peace and prosperity.

Post Botw.

A Hundred Years in the Making

M | Pre-canon | Slow burn | wc: 65k | Last updated 05/20/19

The story before the story began. A hundred and one years before, to be exact.

star fragments

G | Post-canon | wc: 61k | Last updated 01/21/18

Being a princess is a life of sacrifice. After beginning their new journey to find their places and rediscover Hyrule after Calamity Ganon, Zelda begins to realize she’s missed out on several experiences her land has to offer. Fortunately for her, Link knows everything.

Rise

T | Canon compliant | Sexual tension | wc: 58k | Last updated 01/10/19

The chosen hero appears. The princess deals with it.

One way it all could have happened.

A Hylian Romance

T | Court poet | wc: 55k | Complete

As are many, I was intrigued by the Sheikah court poet and what his perspective on Link and Zelda’s relationship might be.

Fade to Black

E | Series | Pre-canon | wc: 55k | Complete

A collection of smutty “what could have happened after the memory faded” ficlets each tagged to a different BoTW memory. Every story contains varying degrees of canon alteration and canon divergence, but are for the most part in line with the BoTW universe as we know it.

General disclaimer:I do not advocate for underage drinking, unprotected or unsafe sex, or generally poor decision making. Be smart and safe in real life, y'all!

Okay fics (wc: 20k-50k)

Zelda’s Log

T | Post-canon | Domestic fluff | wc: 43k | Last updated 03/24/19

After defeating the Calamity, Zelda and Link embark on a journey: she wants to get acquainted with the new Hyrule, and find her place again in the world.

The World That We Lost

T | Post-canon | wc: 41k | Complete

After defeating Ganon, princess Zelda goes back to Hyrule, resolved to rebuild her kingdom and make it even greater than it was one hundred years ago. While she feels confident enough to face any challenge and confront any foe that stays on her way, a reality breaks her heart: Link remembers her, but not quite, and his new life has made changes in his personality that even the total recovery of his memories may not be able to revert.

Unconventional

In the wake of the victory over Calamity Ganon, Link and Zelda need time to heal and adjust. Unfortunately, with rising pressure for Zelda to rise into the role of Queen of Hyrule, they aren’t given much time. Couple that pressure with confusing feelings for the Champion of Hyrule, well, her life has never been simple.

A New Normal

M | Post-canon | Memory loss | wc: 30k | Complete

About two years after sealing away Calamity Ganon, Zelda comes down with the same mysterious illness that took her mother away. Purah and the other Sheikah work on revamping the Shrine of Resurrection, and manage to heal her in two years; but she is plagued by the same memory loss that Link went through. The two struggle in their relationship and responsibilities as they try to recover her memory and thrive in Hyrule as they know it.

What wouldn’t I do?

T | Pre-canon | Slow burn | wc: 30k | Last updated 03/10/19

Link is appointed Hylian Champion for saving princess Zelda’s life. She doesn’t seem very fond of him though. Despite his struggle to cope with carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, Link can’t help but wonder if he really is ready to give his life in order to save someone who doesn’t trust him.

Link’s Journal

T | Canon compliant | wc: 30k | Complete

Day 1

I’ve had a bit of a rough day. I don’t remember who I am, a girl keeps talking in my head, I’m supposed to slay Calamity Ganon, a blue bokoblin nearly beat me to death with a stick, and the old man still won’t give me his paraglider.

But, well, I’m still here, breathing and thinking and eating baked apples, so it could be worse. The old man (who is annoyingly enigmatic – I don’t know who I am, the least you could do is tell me who you are) showed me how to write in the Sheikah Slate. I want to keep a record of who I am, right now, because, well, I can’t remember who I was before. If I lose my memory again, this time I will be ready.

[What’s Happening: The author journaled her BotW play through. Every in-game night “Link” stops to write an entry in his journal.]

Observation Methods in Data Collection

I read somewhere that it was obvious that Zelda was falling for Link because she treated him like a science experiment, which allowed her to talk and think about him without really acknowledging that she had feelings for him. I loved this interpretation SO MUCH! So, here is my attempt at filling in some of those details.

On Propriety and Unconventional Avenues of Communication

T | Post- canon| wc: 21k | Complete

(Post BOTW.) In which Link develops a very curious habit and Zelda is confused.

Short fics / oneshots ( - 20k)

Forgotten Knight

M | Post-canon | Sexual Tension | wc: 15k | Complete

Zelda and Link have defeated the Calamity but Link did not regain his memory. They return to Hateno Village to heal and recover, and to not only get to know each other again, but to learn how to love each other again as well.

Risk of Burn

E | Post-canon | Explicit sexual content | wc: 15k | Complete

Three weeks after the fall of the Calamity, Zelda changes her mind.

The Joys of Photography

G | Post-canon | wc: 14k | Complete

The Sheikah Slate has the remarkable ability to capture and archive true to life images. Such a remarkable piece of ancient technology is not something that should be taken for granted. But that doesn’t mean that the Princess of Hyrule and her appointed Knight have to be so serious about every image they capture. The story of five pictures taken on the Sheikah slate.

Son of The Wild

T | Post-canon | Family fluff | wc: 13k | 05/16/19

Link and Zelda’s son reflects on his unusual upbringing.

practical anatomy

E | Post-canon | Explicit sexual content | wc: 12k | Complete

Is the Goddess still testing him? Has he not suffered enough in this lifetime? Was killing the Calamity not enough—now he has to explain morning wood to the Princess of Hyrule?

(in which Zelda discovers an unsavoury image on the Sheikah Slate and Link must face the consequences)

Soldier’s Log

T | Pre/post-canon | wc: 11k | Complete

The events leading up to the return of Calamity Ganon as well as life after his defeat as recorded in the pages of a journal belonging to a knight who would be king.

By the fire

T | Ficlet collection | wc: 11k | Complete

A collection of Zelink ficlets in the BOTW universe. Some ideas were developed for my main fic, “The World That We Lost”, but had to be scrapped because they didn’t fit anymore. Others are explorations of different canon formulas and timelines that said fic doesn’t touch, and some more could come from prompts (send me one, if you want!)

On the Life of Queen and Consort

Few know me. I was the Queen’s left hand and the Consort’s right. I was their first, best and last friend. But above all, I was their advisor, and now that my tenure has ended, it is time to write their story.

After 100 years apart, Link and Zelda finally unite to rebuild their Kingdom. Their reign together is long, with triumphs and heartbreaks as they navigate Royal life, raising children, conquering fears and growing old in a Kingdom beset by peace. Now at its end, their Chief Advisor Larella sits down to write the history of their reign, having beared witness to much of their lives.

Part of Zelink Week 2017 - this is a ten part series that looks into the partnership and later life of Link and Zelda as Queen and Consort of Hyrule.

#link-avalon #zelink #botw zelink #fanfiction

269 notes · View notes

pineaberry · 5 years

Text

ESC: Lover’s Knot

ESC is a series of drabbles and ficlets that were really more like writing exercises created when inspiration struck. They’re labeled ESC because usually, they’re choices that I’d like to explore but immediately hit ‘Esc’ in-game before they’re set in stone. I also like to do little rabbit holes of character development for the Canon Storylines. To celebrate my 250th follower milestone... HAVE SOME AWKWARD CATS!

Feel free to reblog and let me know what you think! (Reading the tags fuels me. FEED THE AUTHOR!)

This fic is dedicated to @cinlat @kunoichi-ume and @sunsetofdoom for their beta-ing and world-building assistance.

Trooper Storyline Chapter 2 (Threats in the Darkness)

Setting: Immediately after the destruction of the Gauntlet. Elara Dorne was injured in the attack and has been transported to a Republic Hospital for her recovery, everyone else is off celebrating.

Location: Coruscant

Players: Sartem Roan (Cathar F!Republic Trooper), Aric Jorgan, Jonas Balkar

Relationship: They’re just friends, but mainly because Aric is so terrible at making the next move. It also doesn’t help that Sartem knows exactly ZERO about Cathar traditions.

Aric Jorgan hated Jonas Balkar.

He hated how the man’s cloying words seemed to reach out and taint the world around him twisting and taunting him to the point where JORGAN was the one who sounded unbalanced. He hated the familiarity and lack of respect the man showed whenever he addressed him. He hated the too-confident-for-his-own-good swagger in which he walked up to General Garza and simply acted as though rank didn’t affect him.

But most of all, he hated how the damn Spook’s flirting made his CO smile.

“Relax Jorgan, its banter. And besides, there’s no need to worry, you’ll get invited to the wedding. I’ll make you my best man,” Balkar teased and Jorgan answered with a feral snarl bordering on a roar that caused every patron in the cantina to flinch.

“Girls, girls, calm down, you’re both pretty,” Sartem said arriving just in time to save Balkar’s hide yet again.

“We’re supposed to be celebrating, Jorgan. It’s not every day we take down a superweapon,” the SIS agent grinned impishly.

“HAVOC took down the Gauntlet.”

“And I helped!” Jonas piped up undeterred by the obvious hostilities.

“Regardless, we all deserve a break,” Sartem interjected before taking a seat between the two.

“I was wondering if you’d stood us up! Congratulations, Major,” Jonas motioned to the bartender and the droid arrived with a bottle of chilled white wine.

“Coruscanti White, twenty years old, courtesy of an inattentive Senator who left their yacht docked at the Star Cluster Casino,” he winked as he unstoppered the bottle with a satisfying pop and poured Sartem a glass.

“Pre-sacking wine? Now that’s a treat,” she mused appreciatively. “I’m surprised you didn’t sell it instead. Bottle like this would easily get you at least 200k.”

“I’d never take less than half a mill,” Jonas scoffed, “but despite what you may have heard Major, my days of hocking pre-sacked finds are far behind me.”

“Mmm. This mean you don’t want the empty bottle back?” she asked as she tasted the pleasantly tang wine.

“Well… it would be a shame for such a pretty, easily refillable bottle to just end up tossed in the garbage disposal. Wouldn’t it?”

“Of course. And should said refilled bottle find itself back on the market...” Sartem smirked all too familiar with the typical Capital City con.

“Well then that’s just upcycling,” Balkar winked cheekily earning a bright laugh. Aric’s piercing green eyes narrowed but he remained quiet. He reminded himself he promised to be nice all the while nursing a tumbler of cheap local whiskey.

“Jorgan, care for a glass?”

“That’s a hard pass...” the Cathar growled.

“Oh come on, Aric, it’s not all that terrible,” Sartem said taking a sip.

“Ah don’t mind him. Can’t expect someone who spent half their life on some backwater like Ord Mantell to appreciate a good Coruscanti. I’m thinking beer, or whatever local moonshine is more up to his speed, eh? Hey droid, another shot of whatever paint stripper my buddy here is drinking!”

Jorgan’s grip tightened around his glass and he gritted his teeth to keep from slugging the sleazy grin off of the agent’s face. He was right, of course, even for a Cathar he was too blunt and awkward for polite society. Back home on Rendili it hadn't mattered and on Ord Mantell the most delicate thing he’d ever had to handle was the pin of a flash grenade. Growing up, his sisters had mocked his lack of finesse by implying the woman who mated him would have to be part-Rancor.

His brow furrowed as he stared at his drink.

Sartem was no Rancor.

But Sartem was no Cathar woman either. She was something else entirely. She was a charming woman from Coruscant who knew her way around a rifle and a diplomatic councilroom. She oozed charisma when she needed to, and at the same time, refused to betray her principles in the name of politics. She was clever, she was fair, she was brave, and gentle and kind…

“Balkar! You rat!”

She was laughing with the idiot whose only intent was to bed her. Aric scowled as he wished for the same ease of words Balkar had. Granted, he wasn’t an idiot, but having a brain filled to capacity with military strategy and tactics did little for his ability to wax poetic. Unlike the Spook, his strength was in actions not words.

Sartem chuckled and plucked off her gloves a finger at a time. It was rare for her to walk around without them, something he chalked up to minimizing callouses. Yet as she flexed her fingers he noted a wrongness to them. His brow furrowed as he absently grabbed her wrist and turned the full force of his glare on them. Her fingertips were wrong, modified. Her claws were dull. No, not dull, flat, almost human in appearance. And then it clicked. They had been removed and replaced with blunted, artificial caps. Someone had torn out her claws. Rage was the first thing to register followed by the intense desire to eviscerate the person responsible.

“Er… Aric?” her voice cut through the anger.

Vivid green eyes blinked and his throat went dry only then registering that he had been staring. He instantly released her wrist.

“Your claws… they’re,” he stammered for a polite way to say mutilated.

“Hm? Oh! Yeah. I had a habit of scratching up things as a kid. It was harmless, but as I got older it became a problem.”

Jonas cleared his throat before taking her hand in hers. “A shame, but it doesn’t detract from your loveliness...”

Aric felt ill. ‘It became a problem’ so they took care of it. Like an errant pet that ruined the furniture. They, no, not some anonymous face, the Republic decided to take it away. With no one to stand in their way, they took away her only means of defense. What did an old Twi’lek know about Cathar pride or heritage? What did any outsider care or understand about a kit’s behavior and the blatantly obvious signs of distress? It was easier to remove the source of irritation rather than mend the problem. What did they expect her to do? Cry like some bleating ape! It was easier to break off, and rend, and tear than to just…

Perhaps if Sartem was weaker, she would have cried for them. If they had broken her she would have sobbed. Maybe that would have pleased them.

How were such procedures still legal?!

Sartem was looking at him, as though gauging what had gone wrong. It happened more times than he cared to count. She took all of her cultural cues from him because- He gritted his teeth.

Because they took everything from her.

“Nothing’s the matter, right? Aric?”

Green eyes flickered to Balkar who was quite blatantly expecting him to say something. Expecting him to wave it all away as though it were normal to cut off pieces that were inconvenient. Such a narrow-minded, oblivious, humanistic point of view to have. Bile threatened to rise in his throat but he swallowed it down with the contents of his glass before standing to leave.

“Yeah, everything’s fine. Thanks for the drink,” he managed to keep his voice below a sneer before he ran away.

No. Not ran away. Tactically retreated. She was looking at her hands before reaching for her gloves. He’d made her feel self-conscious and he cursed himself for it.

Balkar was prattling on about some sordid adventure on Nar Shaddaa before he’d reached the exit and he trusted the man would soon distract her from the scene he had caused.

Aric took the long way back to the ship but the anger refused to dissipate. The ship was empty, save for the protocol droid, allowing him to storm to his bunk without being intercepted. The restless energy bubbled inside him and he gave a loud snarl before taking out his anger on a practice dummy Dorne had set up.

At times he resented her ignorance. He resented the fact that, despite her appearance, she was something so uniquely non-Cathar. She had more in common with Balkar than with him, but resentment was a selfish emotion. If he cared to delve into it, he simply detested having to explain the galaxy’s prejudices to her. He didn’t want to look into Sartem’s large blue eyes and explain how the Republic had failed her. Again. He didn’t want to see the disappointment in them when he explained that the same people who deserted her would reject her. He didn’t want her to know how so many would judge her for what was taken. He didn’t want to explain why some would think less of her; treat her as less. The scorn, the humiliation… he wanted to keep it from her all the while he knowing it would have to come from him. Another Cathar wouldn’t be bothered with her and would certainly be less understanding, less forgiving, and simply less kind about it.

A well placed slash broke the stand and it toppled over crashing onto a crate. He stood panting as his own claws lay trapped in his gauntlets preventing him from causing any real damage. He tore off the gauntlets and threw them aside as though disgusted by them. The rage had faded away leaving him with regret.

Sartem deserved better.

Instead, she was stuck with him, and he’d left her alone with Balkar.

He slouched into his bunk sorely wishing he’d drunk more than just a tumbler of whiskey in order to drown out his feelings of defeat. Idly he pulled out a velvet pouch tucked away in his pillowcase. He tipped it onto his hand and a piece of opalized wood rolled out. It was another failure materialized.

As custom dictated he’d picked out his stone when he came of age. The chocolate brown fossilized wood was riddled with cracks and seams of glittering opal filled the gaps. His sisters had hidden their smiles when he showed them. Opalized wood was too brittle, too soft. Once polished, it would scratch at the slightest graze of a claw. Others had chosen more sensibly. Garnets, amethysts, quartz crystals, and citrines were durable. These could be cut into sparkling gems that caught the light and burned with cold fire. Agates and jaspers were equally tough and easily fashioned into intricate carved cameos. These displayed skill and tenacity, but an opal? They were soft as sand, infinitely finicky to fit, and required a lifetime of maintenance. He could have done no worse if he’d just picked out a river pearl and declared himself a eunuch.

His father had provided little comfort other than to keep his opinion to himself. His mother had been more charitable, stating whoever Aric chose would find the stone perfect. Yet another foolish thought. Cathar men didn’t choose, they were chosen, though the gods knew he’d tried.

Naadia was his first, novice attempt at love. For a while, she encouraged his advances. She was calm and level-headed. He’d thought they made a good match. She took his gruffness with good humor and he entertained the thought of something more. Just as soon as he’d worked up the nerve to make his move, another rival with ‘better people skills’ began lavishing her with attention. Open displays of affection had never been his forte and never would be. She made up her mind rather quickly after that.

Sisa was lovely. It was one of the few times he’d fallen for someone at first glance, well him and several others. When he approached her, she demanded to see a sample of his handiwork, but his clumsy attempts at jewelry weaving left much to be desired. He could break down and reassemble his rifle blindfolded and upside down with an arm tied behind his back, but the infinitely delicate strands of wiring ended up tangled and bent by his fingertips. After weeks of crafting he presented her with a lover’s knot. His best attempt out of the eighty. Despite it all, she took the poor craftsmanship as an insult and refused him. He couldn’t bring himself to blame her.

And then there was Tae-Lyn…

His fingers curled around the stone.

For a long time he had thought her to be his last chance; the last train leaving the station. His love for her hadn’t been borne out naive foolishness like Naadia or fleeting passion like Sisa. Tae-Lyn was special. She was that rare mixture of woman that was both impulsive and patient, she was also notoriously difficult to please. Most Cathar were mated at her age… well, their age. Their courtship had been discreet and surprisingly intimate. Tae-Lyn was the only one to be offered his stone, but by that time Jorgan’s career kept monopolizing his attention. Serving with the Deadeyes meant more and more of their interactions were via holo. Still, he remained faithful to her promising he would take a promotion as soon as it became available; promising that he would make it all up to her if she could only wait. Wait another year, wait another season, wait another month... When a post opened up on Ord Mantell he took it. Despite it all, Aric never got the chance to tell her. The next day after his promotion was made official, he received a package containing his opal and a note he only half-read.

Aric didn’t need her excuses or apologies to confirm what he already knew: He’d made her wait too long.

And yet, rather than toss away the stone and be done with it, he’d kept it. For all his grandstanding about not being interested in such frivolous things, he’d never gone through with throwing away the damned thing. His fingers gripped the smooth polished stone tightly.

What was he hoping for anyway? If he was being honest with himself, what did he have to offer?

A lifetime of single-minded dedication to the republic military had left him bereft of anything that would appeal to a potential mate. He had no home or land to call his own, no social status, no real connections within the clan. He supposed there was his pension, but those were funds intended for the final stretch of his lifetime, not the beginnings of a family.

And still, staring at his reflection upon the glass smooth surface of the opal, Aric knew Sartem wouldn’t care about those things. The way she smiled, how she looked at him, she wouldn’t care if all he had was the armor on his back. Perhaps, if he hadn’t been so quick to abandon her side she would have chosen to spend the night with him instead of that smug idiot.

He stood and walked up to his tool box shuffling the contents a bit before pulling out a spool of magnet wire from his detonator kit. Aric then sat at his workbench, painstakingly, stripping the thin coating of varnish from the wire until the bright copper core was exposed. He hesitated as he stared at the spindly metal strand as though it were mocking him, before setting the stone down and measuring it. His fingers were as clumsy as he recalled. His claws snagged on the soft metal nicking and bending it in unflattering angles.

Aric growled in frustration and dropped the piece before leaning back and running his hand over his face. He took a deep breath before staring at the ceiling. How many years had it been? And he was still blindly stumbling through this. His skill was no better than it had been with Naadia. A lover’s knot was meant to be unique; a representation of everything a male adored about his mate. No two were ever alike.

Emerald green eyes blinked as the thought clicked into place.

Sartem wasn’t Naadia. She wasn’t Sisa. She wasn’t Tae-Lyn.

He sat up and tossed the mangled scrap of wire aside before cutting a new length. Bringing out his detonator kit he turned the wire into coils and the coils into knots. He worked efficiently, forgoing the traditional twists and weaving patterns and instead building the piece like he would a detonite charge circuit. At long last finding his rhythm, he spun the lattice around the opal until it was snugly encased into a pendant. He paused to analyze his workmanship and realized it looked nothing like an engagement piece was supposed to look like. It was too plain to be a proper Cathar gift, but he noted there were no dents or scratches on the wire. The coiling was deceptively simple in appearance, but Sartem would recognize the intricate configurations mimicking the circuitry diagrams in the detonation handbook. She would appreciate the sort of skill it would take to make the stable loops and connections out of a single piece of wiring. She would know that it would take decades of practice to make the curls uniform and the bonded connections invisible to the naked eye. It was perhaps the best work he had ever done.

There was a hiss as the ship’s door opened and Cee-Too gave a cheerful greeting. He stashed the stone in his pocket and reached for his rifle before masterfully dismantling upon the table so it appeared as though he were in the middle of repairs. He knew it was her from the sound of her footsteps and he kept his gaze focused on the table. If he was lucky perhaps she would ignore him and go straight to her quarters.

“You know, one of these days I’ll get you to actually have some fun, Jorgan,” her voice echoed through the barracks and he detected a subsonic purr that meant she wasn’t upset with him. He ventured a glance and saw she was leaning against the doorway smirking.

“Can’t say I’m familiar with the concept, sir,” he drawled sarcastically but tensed as she walked up and took a seat next to him on the bench. Her pupils were dilated as she looked at him. The curl of her lip meant she was amused. She smelled faintly of that expensive Corellian wine and blueblossom soap.

The pendant burned a hole in his pocket at the sight of her.

“That wasn’t why you stormed out though, was it?” she asked leaning casually against him and his gaze kept flickering from the table and back to her as though unsure where to keep his gaze.

“I… that was rude. I’m- I’m sorry.”

“Does it bother you that I don’t have claws?” And there was the question. Direct and blunt like a bolt between his eyes. The silence dragged on and he knew she expected an answer.

“The Cathar value strength. It’s everywhere in our culture. Claws and teeth are symbols of a person’s- of a Cathar’s strength.”

“Do you think I’m weak, Aric?”

“No,” he answered without hesitation, “I know you’re not. It’s just... There is the expectation, the notion that a Cathar without claws has suffered a severe humiliation and I-”

“Does it bother you that I don’t have claws?” she repeated with her typical infinite patience.

“How can it not?” he snarled as Sartem pressed the issue, “Every day I see how much they took from you, how they used you, how they hurt you and I can’t protect you from any of it! You should hate them for hurting you, you should hate us for abandoning you, you should hate me...”

He then felt her bare hand rest over his and it stopped his angry tirade. His brow furrowed as he looked down at her fingers smoothing over his fur in a soothing motion.

“It brought me to you, didn’t it?”

He was rendered mute by her words unable to formulate an argument against them. She was touching him, willingly. His pulse raced as she crept closer and snuggled against him. Was this how it felt to be chosen? No arduous struggle; no harrowing attempts to read her mind; they simply existed naturally. He reached out and held her hand before looking into her deep blue eyes and feeling a connection between them.

“Was it worth it, sir?” he rumbled.

“I’ve managed to meet the most interesting people,” she mused, “Dorne, Yuun, Vik...”

“Balkar,” he growled unable to hide how a spike of jealousy coursed through his veins. “Even got a proposal out of him.”

“Do you really think he has a chance,” she countered with a wry grin.

“I didn’t see you turn him down-mph!”

His griping was cut off when she leaned forward and kissed him. The doubt and shadowed thoughts faded away as she slipped into his arms easily. Aric’s heart swelled as her scent and touch filled his senses. It was part male instinct, part lovesick idiocy, but he never wanted it to let go. The kiss ended all too soon but he gave her a dazed smile.

“Does that answer your question?” she asked.

“You… wanna run that by me again?” he asked cheekily.

Sartem gave a soft laugh before rubbing her cheek against his and once again disconnecting his brain. His claws had extended as he fumbled at the clasps of her armor and she… sweet gods was she purring? He groaned as he felt the soft vibrations. She was going to kill him.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow he would give the pendant an acid dip and give the copper a dark patina. Tomorrow he would wrap it in velvet and place it in a cortosis bit case. Tomorrow he would give her his stone.

Sartem wouldn’t know what it meant to him. She wouldn’t understand how harrowing its rejection could be, but Aric realized it didn’t matter. Customs, belief systems, traditions, they were just a means to categorize emotion. After all what else could he do? It’s not like he could back down now. It was too late. She’d already stolen away his heart.

For all the curious out there, this is what Aric’s opalized wood stone looks like:

#Aric Jorgan #Jonas Balkar #SWTOR #Cathar #Republic Trooper #Sartem Roan #swtorhub

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its-annanguyen · 5 years

Text

Final Thoughts on Experience

INTRODUCTION

As a Bachelor of Applied Science candidate, I am more focused on the interface design aspect, mainly dealing with web + mobile design & development. I enjoy creating digital arts with a combination of computer programming in HTML/CSS. My hope is to become a UI/UX developer at a high-tech company like Google, Amazon, or even Yelp. That is why I am thankful to have interned at One Wave Designs during the summer of 2018 from June 1st to August 31st as a Web Design & Development Intern.

INTERNSHIP PROCESS

Learning Experience

As a Yelp Elitist, I searched up the “Best Web Design Company” on Yelp, in which One Wave Designs popped up as the first search with a 5-star rating! I gave it a shot and emailed the President/CEO/Owner of the company, Paul. He responded back asking for my resume and portfolio where I finally got a response a month later that I got the internship position!

During my time as an intern, I was responsible for mainly 3 things: web design & development, layout concepts, and SEOs. I mainly worked on 8 projects in 10 weeks. I learned that SEOs (Search Engine Optimization) is very important in web development because websites with good SEOs will always appear at the top of the search list depending on keywords that you use. For instance, if I were to type “Hawaii Web Design” in Google Search, One Wave Designs will be the first to pop up under all the other Google ads search. I learned how to hyperlink emails (mailto:) and phone numbers (tel:), which are also important factors in SEOs. Hierarchy, or the way you order the sizes of the header and texts, also matters too. When you’re adding images or links, it’s good to add a title or alt texts to increase SEO keyword searches. Lastly, saving/uploading images that are 200K or less is great for websites because it loads a lot faster.

I learned how to use 2 types of content management system (CMS), DNN Software and WordPress. I am very familiar with WordPress, it was my first time hearing about DNN. Unfortunately, though, DNN is not used as often anymore and non-developers are shifting to easy CMS like WordPress.I really liked using DNN because of how much coding is involved, whereas WordPress is almost dragging-and-dropping... this is more ideal for non-coders.

I learned how to use an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) software called FileZilla. This allows me to be flexible and customize a website through HTML/CSS coding. Basically, I can manipulate a style of the website by changing up the codes - which can only be done by FTPing and coding. It’s very confusing to explain and understand... I never heard anything like it before until I interned here! After taking web design & development course here at UHWO, I learned that it’s always a smart idea to make copies of the original files that I’ll be editing incase I mess up the codings. Don’t want to repeat that mistake again because there was a time where I had to reset the entire website and build it from scratch. :(

Layout concepts were the MOST STRESSFUL projects I had to do when I interned here. I honestly kind of dreaded it. Paul hated doing layout concepts too! Which explains why I always worked on them instead of him. These 4 software helped me a great deal when I had to make layout concepts/drafts for potential clients:

WhatTheFont.com

Google Fonts

Pantone Color Picker

iStockPhoto.com

WhatTheFont.com allowed me to upload a screenshot of a word so that it can identify the font types for me. Once it generates a few options of fonts, I’d download them (for free) using Google Fonts. Fonts that I find on Google Fonts are great for websites because it doesn’t have to be embedded. Another thing with the web is determining the color, so that’s why I always use the color picker on the Pantone website. Lastly, copyrights and permissions on images/videos/etc. are always questionable. That’s why I always look up stock photos on iStock since we have a subscription with them anyways.

Discoveries

I feel like I’ve grown as a person over the years. I used to be so shy and quiet, never being the first person to speak or raise my hand. Through this internship among other things, I learned how to speak up and ask questions when I needed to. If this is an unpaid internship that I am devoting much of my time to, I EXPECT to learn quite a few things. It never hurts to ask questions because that’s how you learn -- this is my motto. I learned that I am not that great at criticisms or taking in constructive feedback. I want to learn how to be more patient because there were times I’d get super annoyed when my supervisors would tell me what to do when I’m already doing it or will do it. Also, seeing how much projects I’ve done in such a short time span, I discovered that I am a very quick self-learner. As Paul mentioned, every client will have different expectations when it comes to building their website, which is why he couldn’t help/guide me as much as he should’ve. But in a field like web design/development, everything to customizable and flexible, so there’s never just “one way” to work on every single project.

Sample Work

Here’s a GIF image I found that totally speaks to me when it comes to designing layout concepts: the struggle with making the sizes exact. I was able to learn what the difference is between changing an “image size” and a “canvas size” on Photoshop because of this!

CONCLUSION

I wouldn’t mind working in a place similar to my internship~ I mean, I accepted a job position with One Wave Designs after finishing up my internship hours so that says something :D until this day (December) I am still with them. After 6 months, I learned a lot from working at a small yet successful company. There’s sooOoOoOoo much stress that comes with it. There were several times when Paul would dump a handful of projects on me despite my limited schedule and time constraint. I would lose my cool with him at times, and that’s where I reached my boiling point and told him I had enough. That’s when I discovered how much courage I had. Just a few days ago, I turned in a 30-day resignation letter to him, planning to resign by the end of this year since my last semester of college will be a stressful one yet. After Paul received my letter, he decided to give me a freelance position and allowed me to work whenever I can and work from home instead of in the office (lolol). This is what I’ve always wanted!

To conclude, it was a great experience interning here, but it was even better when I actually got paid. Sometimes I would question whether the amount of work I’m doing would even equate to how much I was getting paid by the hour. Ultimately, I was in it for the long run to build my experience and resume. I finally learned when/where to draw the line, which I should’ve done a lot sooner.

In the end, I learned that it’s good to build relationships with others and never be afraid to ask questions. Since I showed a lot of dedication and commitment when working here, I was able to earn Paul’s trust and was able to get things my way most of the time. I take internship experience very seriously. I’m here to learn so I’m not afraid to ask questions when I need to.

Whoops, forgot to add my presentation slides here: CM 390 Presentation

#journal

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whereikeepfics · 7 years

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Fantasy Fics: Updated 3/4/2018

Less Than 15K

All The Small Things - kitundercover (fluff) Harry is five inches tall and can’t remember how he got that way, but maybe with Louis’ help they can work it out.

Babe, There’s Something Lonesome About You - anonymous (witch louis) Louis is a hedge witch, who lives a lonely, solitary life. He's quite happy with his shop in Door County, selling New Age magics to the tourists. He also has his cats and his birds to keep him company. But his best friend Liam thinks he needs someone around, and he's got just the person: Liam's friend Harry is coming to the area for the tourist season and since Louis has all this space....

Bite - Tita (smut; vampire harry) Louis is a vampire hunter, and Harry is too happy being his prey.

Gazed - justgotowisharder (cursed louis; fluff; smut; b!louis) Louis Tomlinson is cursed and he can’t look anyone in the eyes, and Harry is just Harry, too curious to avoid wondering why Louis always wears sunglasses.

Ghost of a Good Thing - musiclily88 (hogwarts au; smut) Harry asked Louis to the Yule Ball only to find out he had already invited someone else.

Harp String Hum - ladylondonderry (magic) Louis Tomlinson is starting his seventh year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, with his two best friends Liam and Niall. It's going to be an amazing last year, he'll make sure of that. Except... There's a new student at the back of Potions class who's a bit mysterious. And a wispy dog running around school grounds. It all feels a bit of a mystery.

Packed Lunches, Sticky Fingers and Accidental Levitation - LadyLondonderry (Magic; Single Parent Harry) Harry Styles is a skilled work-from-home potionist five years out of university with a steady job, a house, and... eight kids. He also might be heading towards a breakdown if he doesn't get a bit of help. Enter a meddling pixie and an old university friend he might or might not have had a lot of feelings for.

Read You For Some Kind of Poem - mentalistecbm (highschool au; vampire harry) Louis is human, and Harry is lucky enough to be his vampire boyfriend.

Strawberry Moon - turnyourankle (friends to lovers; body swap) Harry really should have known better than to agree to one of Niall’s schemes. Especially one that involved Irish magic. Then again, how was he supposed to know he and Louis would end up swapping bodies?

Under Me, You - hazzafrazza (superhero harry; friends to lovers; smut; b!harry) Harry wants a lot of things – fame, glory, Louis – but that last one is particularly hard to get when everyone thinks you’re dating your secret superhero alter-ego and suddenly you’ve become your own worst cockblock.

Less Than 25K

All You Can Eat. - harrysprostate (vampire louis; teacher louis; human harry; student harry; smut) Human Harry seduces his hot teacher professor Tomlinson, who happens to be a vampire.

An Underrated Type of Trouble - anchortied (hogwarts au) Harry is the Head Boy, Louis is a troublemaker and they both like each other too much to get in each other's way.

Feels Like Infinity - larrymama15 (vampire harry; professor louis; smut) Louis Tomlinson is an accomplished professor and a published author, all at age 28. He has devoted his life to the study and discussion of the mythological beings known as vampires. What he hasn’t prepared for is, well, meeting one.

I’ll Be Yours to Keep - midnights (enemies to lovers; hogwarts au; fake relationship) Louis should’ve thought a lot more about who he said his fake boyfriend was, especially since he and his “significant other” kinda hate each other… most of the time.

Nocturnal Creatures Are Not So Prudent - patdkitten (enemies to lovers; vampire harry; witch louis; b!louis) Louis is a white witch with a little black cat named Hemlock and a best human friend Liam. When he’s dragged out to a new club Liam’s heard about from a friend, Louis comes face to face with that which witches do not touch: a charming vampire by the name of Harry.

Run and I’ll Give Chase - madalynn_bohemia (vampire harry; vampire louis; smut) Harry is a fledgling vampire without a maker. Louis is graciously offering to fill that role.

Some Flowers In Your Hair - anonymous (camping; enemies to lovers; smut; b!louis) A magical camping AU in which Louis is jealous of Harry's magic, Liam's a little too enthusiastic about surviving in the wilderness, and Niall might have misunderstood the rules.

We’ve Got to Get Away From Here - suspendrs (alien harry; fbi agent louis; angst) Louis is an FBI agent who likes to think himself a paranormal expert, and Harry is alien that somehow ended up in his office.

Less Than 50K

Drowning In Your Eyes - smittenwithlouis (pirate harry; merman louis; smut; b!louis) The Pirates of the Caribbean inspired au where Harry is a fierce pirate who holds the heart of a beautiful merman.

Follow Me Down This Time - supernope (hogwarts au; fluff) Harry first noticed Louis in his second term at Hogwarts, and despite three years of inventing ways to stumble across Louis, he's never managed to actually work up the courage to speak to him.

Give Me a Memory I Can Use - harioandlouigi (fluff; smut; enemies to lovers; vampire harry) Louis is a brilliant, yet broke PhD student, Harry’s a pretentious and arrogant vampire, and first impressions have never been more deceiving.

I Will Never Rust - stylez (college au; vampire harry; footballer louis; smut) Harry wants to suck more than just Louis’ blood but Louis refuses to sleep with Count Dickula.

L'Été en Azur - FannyT/RedOrchid (Hogwarts AU) In which Hogwarts students Louis, Liam and Niall go on a summer exchange to Beauxbatons.

My Heart Lies With You - anonymous (greek mythology au; hades harry; persephone louis) For being the God of Death, Niall has a habit of acting on ideas without thinking them through. It's probably why Harry ends up with an unexpected but entirely welcome visitor in his bed the day after a Mount Olympus party.

My Sweetest Downfall - kiwikero (angel louis; famous harry; angst; fluff) This is a story about forgiveness and discovery, featuring an angel who wants to be a little more human and a human who is so much more than he seems.

Once Upon A Dream - thedeathchamber (enemies to lovers; psychic louis; fbi agent harry; slow burn; angst; b!louis) Louis is psychic and gets caught in the middle of a murder investigation led by FBI Special Agent Harry Styles.

Purer Than The Water (Like We Were) - feelsforbreakfast (mermaid louis) Louis is a merman and Harry is a boy. The lake is a good place to fall in love.

Searching For The Cure (We Found Us) - itsprobablylarry (fluff; smut; b!louis) Louis doesn’t quite know how to handle the fact that his best friend/roommate wakes up as a frog.

The Fragmented Veil - missberrycake (vampires) In which Louis gets attacked one night in the dark. It changes his life, just not in the way he expected.

Till The Heavens Burst - loudippedincaramel (vampire louis; human harry; smut) Harry meets a pretty boy while hiding out in a tree. He's pretty sure the boy is a vampire.

Less Than 75K

It’s A Better Place (Since You Came Along) - phdmama (soulmates; magic) When Harry Styles, a mid-level talent, Finder, and small business owner, sets off on the vacation of a lifetime with his best friend, Niall Horan, he has no idea the changes his life will undergo over the next nine days.

We’ll Cast Some Light (You’ll Be Alright) - fondleeds (enemies to lovers; demon hunters; smut; angst; fluff) There’s a standard procedure for this. Scan, track, kill. But with a solar eclipse and a Greater Demon with unfinished business looming, the path to keeping England safe from harm becomes complicated and shadowed by mystery and secrets.

Less Than 100K

Nocturne in Silver and Blue - tinyweirdloves (louis is a star; friends to lovers) Louis is a fallen star and harry brings him home. Told over the course of fourteen years.

Runaway Land - daggerinrose (greek mythology; enemies to lovers; b!louis) Louis is sure he’s stumbled upon a secret, underground nightclub, though that is far from the truth. He’s also pretty sure he’s stumbled upon Apollo, which… isn’t very far from the truth, actually.

Through Struggles, To The Stars - thedeathchamber (space; enemies to lovers; b!louis) Louis is a Starfleet captain trying to find his place in the universe. Harry is a prince just trying to do what’s right.

Waiting On You - emma1234 (vampire harry; detective harry; fluff; angst; smut) “Vampires,” Louis says with disgust, glaring over at the vampire who is noisily slurping from the woman’s neck nearby. Zayn gives the neat fang marks on Louis’ neck a meaningful look. “Can’t live with them, can’t live without them,” Louis finishes, ignoring Zayn when he rolls his eyes. Louis takes a long sip of his milkshake, presses his fingers against the marks on his neck, and definitely doesn’t think about the vampire who left them there.

Less Than 150K

Cupid’s Defense - rhuubarb (cupid harry; lawyer louis) In which Harry is Cupid, Louis and Liam own a law firm, and they're all getting sued.

Run Like The Devil - benzos (demon harry; demon hunter louis; enemies to lovers; angst) Louis hunts demons; Harry’s the strangest demon he’s ever met, and he keeps fucking meeting him.

Say Hallelujah, Say Goodnight - alivingfire (angel louis; demon harry; smut) Louis is an angel who is just a little too bad to be good, Harry is a demon who is just a little too good to be bad, and they’re both a little too in love to be impartial when angels and demons go to war.

Through Eerie Chaos - MediaWhore (ghost au; photographer harry; fluff; angst) The Ghost Hunter AU where Niall lives to prove ghosts are real, Zayn is a skeptical librarian and Harry gets caught up in a century-old mystery and catches feeling in the process.

Less Than 200k

Love Endless (The Road to Recollection) - wubwubparmaham (Part 1; Vampire Harry; 1970′s fic; b!louis; sub louis) After discovering the mansion was less abandoned than he’d thought, Louis is now left with the most riveting mystery of a lifetime; every new finding leaving him with more questions. Who is this elusive owner, and why won’t they show themselves? Why is there a set of journals in the same handwriting that span over centuries? Why in the world is there a padlock on the refrigerator…and who the hell is Alexander?

Less Than 250K

Love Endless (Path To Permanence) - wubwubparmaham (Part 2; Vampire Harry; 1970′s fic; b!louis) So now Louis’ finally done the love thing, and it’s already in jeopardy? Just his luck.

Greater Than 250K

The Afterlife Fic (The Best I Ever Had in My Entire Life… or Death) - LovingCup (smut; past character death; 491K) On his first full day in the Afterlife, Louis meets Harry Styles, and the two have an instant connection.

#mine #fantasy fics #fic list #larry fic

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ronaldmrashid · 5 years

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The First Rule Of Financial Independence: Never Lose Money

In 2009, I made myself two promises when I started Financial Samurai: 1) write 3X a week on average for 10 years and 2) never lose money again.

We had just gone through a financial beating where my net worth got slashed by 35% – 40% in just six months. The pain was too much to bear, so I decided to take up writing instead of drugs and alcohol.

I knew that worst case, if I stayed committed with Financial Samurai, in 10 years I’d have the option to escape full-time work. When you spend at least 10,000 hours on your craft, you will have opportunities.

Further, I knew that if I never lost money again, in 10 years by simply earning a conservative 5% rate of return plus annual savings, I’d surpass the net worth that I once had before the financial crisis by at least 2X.

Achieving financial independence takes discipline and patience. But once you get there, you’ll realize all your effort was well worth it.

The First Rule Of Financial Independence

The first rule of financial independence states that you should never lose money on your path to financial independence, especially after achieving financial independence.

If you lose 50% of your net worth, you need a 100% gain to get back to even. But worse than trying to recoup your losses is the loss of time. The older you get, the more you realize everything you want to do is a race against death.

Once you’ve experienced financial independence, when your gross passive income covers your desired life’s expenses, you never want to return to the salt mines again.

Ideally, your investments never go down, but we know from history that in any given year, there’s a ~30% chance the S&P 500 will end in the red. Therefore, it’s almost impossible to never have a down year with any of your risk assets.

So what is a financially independent person supposed to do? The solution is to either completely de-risk, diversify, or have alternative income streams beyond your passive income to bolster potential investment losses.

If you cannot avoid losing money in your investments, then you must certainly avoid an annual net worth decline. The solution here is to buffer your potential investment losses with aggressive saving and additional sources of income.

Let me share some examples of various financially independent archetypes I’ve met, and how they plan to always follow the first rule of financial independence.

Financially Independence Archetypes

Archetype #1: 60-year-old couple, $3 million net worth, $90K passive income, $90K total income, $50K expenses

Due to inflation, $3 million is the new $1 million. We’ve got to move past the belief that having a $1 million net worth means you’re a millionaire. A $1 million net worth means you’re earning about $30,000 – $40,000 a year in gross passive income, which does not reflect the traditional millionaire lifestyle.

With a respectable $3 million net worth, however, archetype #1 lives a comfortable lifestyle off a low-risk 3% return or $90,000 a year in net passive income from AA-rated municipal bonds.

The 60-year-old couple has no debt and their kids are independent adults. They could increase their withdrawal rate and eat into principal, but they want to remain conservative.

The couple has no desire to work part-time or consult for money. They are happy with what they have.

Since they only spend $50,000 a year, they get to reinvest $40,000 a year to earn another $1,200 a year in net passive income to keep up with inflation and boost their financial buffer.

Their net worth should never go down because there has been a 0% default history on AA-municipal bonds in their state.

Further, within five years, the couple expect to begin receiving an additional $40,000 total in Social Security for the rest of their lives.

Archetype #2: Late 30s, $10 million net worth, $208K passive income, $80K part-time consulting income, $288K total income, $130K expenses

This couple hit it big when the husband started early at a hot startup that went public after 10 years. At the age of 38, the husband decided to retire and live off the $10 million after-tax windfall after he sold all his company stock.

He married a school teacher eight years his junior and asked her to spend more time with him in retirement to travel. They’re planning to have their first child in the next two years and want to do the crazy dual stay at home parent thing.

Because the couple is relatively young, they feel comfortable taking on more risk. Further, with part-time consulting income of $80K a year, they only need to earn about $50K after-taxes to fund their $130K in annual expenses.

As a result, their net worth is composed of: 20% in the S&P 500, 20% in their primary residence, 50% in AA-municipal bonds, and 10% cash.

60% of their net worth will generate about $180,000 in passive income at a 3% rate of return. The $2 million S&P 500 index position also generates about $28,000 a year in dividends due to a ~1.4% gross yield. Add on the $80,000 in part-time consulting income, and we’re talking $288,000 in annual net worth increase, or 2.8% +/- any increase or decrease in the value of the S&P 500.

With $2 million of their net worth exposed to the S&P 500, this couple can afford to lose 13% in their stock holdings before their net worth starts going down. They are indifferent about the value of their $2 million primary residence because they plan to own it forever.

Their ultimate goal is to grow their net worth by a stress-free 4% a year so that in 10 years, their net worth will have grown to about $15 million. If there is a particularly rough patch in the stock market, the husband will ramp up his consulting work in order to never see a net worth decline. He has the capacity to earn up to $250,000 a year in consulting.

Worst case, they could invest $10 million of their liquid net worth in 10 years in a portfolio of municipal bonds that yield them $300,000+ in after-tax passive income.

Even if their expenses grow from $130K to $200K after conceiving a child, they’ll still have a $100,000 a year gross surplus of cash flow. This couple is unlikely to ever lose money again.

Archetype #3: 40s, $5 million net worth, $150K passive income, $300K active income, $450K total income, $120K expenses

$5 million is the recommended minimum you’ll need if you want to retire comfortably in an expensive city with a child. One look at the budget and you’ll recognize this reality.

Archetype #3 is in their 40s with one 5-year old child who began attending private kindergarten that costs $30,000 a year. The couple’s total after-tax living expense is $10,000 a month.

The couple is financially dependent and are no longer working full-time jobs after 20 years of grinding away. The difference with this couple and the other two couples is that they have an online business where they generate $300,000 a year in gross income.

The wife started her online store selling a variety of women’s goods on the side while working as a Marketing Director.

She read Financial Samurai and thought, why not utilize my expertise at my day job and create something of my own. After all, one of the best ways to get next-level-rich is to grow your own equity.

With a combined $450K a year in gross income and only $120K in annual after-tax expenses, they have roughly a $300K annual gross buffer. Therefore, this couple is willing to take more risks with their investments.

Their net worth is currently composed of 30% in various large cap dividend stocks, 25% in real estate, 40% in AA-municipal bonds, and 5% in a high yield online savings account.

With $1.5M in stocks and a $300K annual gross surplus after expenses, this couple is able to withstand a 20% decline in their stock portfolio before they start losing money.

Using Financial SEER, this couple’s Risk Tolerance Multiple is a reasonable 13.8X if using a 35% expected average bear market decline, and just 7.9X if using a 20% expected decline in their stock portfolio.

This couple’s ultimate goal is to achieve a $10 million liquid net worth by their 50s so that they can generate ~$300,000 a year in passive income and hedge against a decline in their online business.

Never Lose Money Again

Unless you’re risking other people’s money, it’s actually hard to lose much more than 20% in a well-diversified public investment portfolio. Yes, we know the average bear market declines by roughly 35% since 1928. However, that’s for stock performance alone.

Once you construct a balanced retirement portfolio of stocks and bonds, the volatility declines tremendously. Add on alternative investments, and it may be even harder to lose 35% in any given year.

Take a look at the worst year performances of the following balanced portfolios below. Even with a 60% / 40% weighting in stocks / bonds, -26.6% was the worst annual decline.

Major point: If you’ve actually achieved financial independence or are clearly on your way to financial independence, there’s no way you should be risking the majority of your net worth in risk assets without having alternative income streams. You are already comfortably happy with what you have. If you are not, then you have not yet achieved financial independence.

We must also recognize that except for 2018, it’s been easy to make money each year since 2009. Not only have stocks performed well, but so have bonds, real estate and other alternative investments.

Therefore, let us not overestimate our investing prowess. Confusing brains with a bull market is a dangerous mindset. I’ve known too many people to take excess risk only to lose it all and then some.

Historical S&P 500 returns with dividends reinvested

The feeling of never losing money is wonderful. We just need to be aware that there’s a never ending amount of money to be made. As soon as we find a way to let go of our desire for more, we will feel more satisfied and happier.

Finally, the great irony of following the first rule of financial independence is that you may actually end up making much more money long-term. When you’ve structured your finances to be bulletproof, you’ve essentially created your own perpetual trust fund.

It is precisely your financial security that allows you to take more risk. And it is the risk-taker who tends to gain all the spoils.

Related: What Does Financial Independence Feel Like?

Readers, how do you plan to never lose money on your quest to financial independence? What are some reasons why people see year over year net worth declines? If you are already financially independent, what drives you to take excess risk if you are truly happy with what you have.

The post The First Rule Of Financial Independence: Never Lose Money appeared first on Financial Samurai.

from https://www.financialsamurai.com/the-first-rule-of-financial-independence-never-lose-money/

#Financial Samurai

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wetrumpfeed · 5 years

Text

Afternoon MAGAthread: YOUR WEEKLY PRESIDENTIAL RECAP!

HAPPY SATURDAY PATRIOTS!

This is u/Ivaginaryfriend here and I'm back with all things spicy and dank from the past week! For those that missed any past recaps you can check those out here!

Sunday, January 27th:

🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:

58,000 non-citizens voted in Texas, with 95,000 non-citizens registered to vote. These numbers are just the tip of the iceberg. All over the country, especially in California, voter fraud is rampant. Must be stopped. Strong voter ID! @foxandfriends

We are not even into February and the cost of illegal immigration so far this year is $18,959,495,168. Cost Friday was $603,331,392. There are at least 25,772,342 illegal aliens, not the 11,000,000 that have been reported for years, in our Country. So ridiculous! DHS

Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, just stated that because of me NATO has been able to raise far more money than ever before from its members after many years of decline. It’s called burden sharing. Also, more united. Dems & Fake News like to portray the opposite!

(Retweeting ChatByCC) Strong people stand up for themselves—but stronger people stand up for others. Thank you President @realDonaldTrump for standing up for America.

Thank you to Brit. This is a very big deal in Europe. Fake News is the Enemy of the People!

(Retweeting Ken Paxton) VOTER FRAUD ALERT: The @TXsecofstate discovered approx 95,000 individuals identified by DPS as non-U.S. citizens have a matching voter registration record in TX, approx 58,000 of whom have voted in TX elections. Any illegal vote deprives Americans of their voice.

(Retweeting The GOP) “300 people are dying from heroin overdoses a week in this country, 90% of it is coming over the southern border… We’ve got to stop it.”—@KellyannePolls

#HolocaustMemorialDay

BUILD A WALL & CRIME WILL FALL!

Never thought I’d say this but I think @johnrobertsFox and @GillianHTurner @FoxNews have even less understanding of the Wall negotiations than the folks at FAKE NEWS CNN & NBC! Look to final results! Don’t know how my poll numbers are so good, especially up 19% with Hispanics?

After all that I have done for the Military, our great Veterans, Judges (99), Justices (2), Tax & Regulation Cuts, the Economy, Energy, Trade & MUCH MORE, does anybody really think I won’t build the WALL? Done more in first two years than any President! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

Aaaaahaha, Wikileaks putting NYT in their place.

r/politics is propaganda. Their target is us.

Kamala Harris literally prostituted her body to obtain positions of power within the United States government. Then she joined the #MeToo movement and accused Kavanaugh of being a rapist. Now she’s running for President

This is an actual tweet by an actual congressman.... Mark Dice throwing a little shade

🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

In Their Heads. 24/7. Rent Free.

Leftist Are Trash.

Interesting

saw this on the pole of a stoplight down the street from my house, right in front of the elementary school

Monday, January 28th:

TODAY'S ACTION:

Executive Order on Taking Additional Steps to Address the National Emergency with Respect to Venezuela

🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:

Tariffs on the “dumping” of Steel in the United States have totally revived our Steel Industry. New and expanded plants are happening all over the U.S. We have not only saved this important industry, but created many jobs. Also, billions paid to our treasury. A BIG WIN FOR U.S.

Numerous states introducing Bible Literacy classes, giving students the option of studying the Bible. Starting to make a turn back? Great!

Howard Schultz doesn’t have the “guts” to run for President! Watched him on @60Minutes last night and I agree with him that he is not the “smartest person.” Besides, America already has that! I only hope that Starbucks is still paying me their rent in Trump Tower!

“In the Media’s effort to destroy the President, they are actually destroying themselves. Given all of the tremendous headwinds this President has faced, it’s amazing he has accomplished so much.” DEROY MURDOCK @foxandfriends I agree!

In the beautiful Midwest, windchill temperatures are reaching minus 60 degrees, the coldest ever recorded. In coming days, expected to get even colder. People can’t last outside even for minutes. What the hell is going on with Global Waming? Please come back fast, we need you!

How does Da Nang Dick (Blumenthal) serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee when he defrauded the American people about his so called War Hero status in Vietnam, only to later admit, with tears pouring down his face, that he was never in Vietnam. An embarrassment to our Country!

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

'We don't want open borders': Hispanic pastors back President Trump on immigration

NATO increases spending by $100B due to Trump calling them delinquents

'They Treated Me Like El Chapo': Roger Stone Recounts 'Over-the-Top' Arrest | This arrest is such an outrage... Mueller must go!!!

BOOM!!!!! Federal Panel Of Judges Dismisses All 83 Ethics Complaints Against Brett Kavanaugh!

State of the Union address rescheduled for February 5

Border Patrol Wife Invites Speaker Pelosi to See Why Walls Are Needed

PRESS BRIEFINGS, INTERVIEWS, RALLIES:

Press Beating

🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

Just a reminder that Reddit intentionally silences the political speech of 700,000 supporters of the President of the United States

Has anyone seen Ruth?

Accurate as hell

This is why I like a small federal government.

Tuesday, January 29th:

🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:

A low level staffer that I hardly knew named Cliff Sims wrote yet another boring book based on made up stories and fiction. He pretended to be an insider when in fact he was nothing more than a gofer. He signed a non-disclosure agreement. He is a mess!

“Our economy, right now, is the Gold Standard throughout the World.” @IngrahamAngle So true, and not even close!

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

GOOSEBUMPS

Soon to be Fired Johns Hopkins Distinguished Service Professor of Psychiatry: Transgenderism is a “mental disorder”, that sex change is “biologically impossible,” and that people who promote sexual reassignment surgery are collaborating with and promoting a mental disorder.

Tucker Carlson: Roger Stone raid shows that CNN is no longer covering Robert Mueller. They're working with him

Twitter Says Advising Fired Journalists to 'Learn to Code' Is Hate Speech. But when reporters were mocking out of work coal miners and manufacturing workers the same way it was okay

LMAO - Nancy and Cryin' Chuck's choice for the Dems' SOTU response is a tax delinquent with nearly $200k in unpaid college debt.

🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

Al Gore's 10 year Climate Change Challenge

WHERE'S RUTH?

Total disaster

Yikes

Where in the World, is Ruth Bader Ginsberg?

Wednesday, January 30th:

TODAY'S ACTION:

Two Nominations Sent to the Senate

President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Judicial Nominees

🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:

Maduro willing to negotiate with opposition in Venezuela following U.S. sanctions and the cutting off of oil revenues. Guaido is being targeted by Venezuelan Supreme Court. Massive protest expected today. Americans should not travel to Venezuela until further notice.

When I became President, ISIS was out of control in Syria & running rampant. Since then tremendous progress made, especially over last 5 weeks. Caliphate will soon be destroyed, unthinkable two years ago. Negotiating are proceeding well in Afghanistan after 18 years of fighting.. ... ....Fighting continues but the people of Afghanistan want peace in this never ending war. We will soon see if talks will be successful? North Korea relationship is best it has ever been with U.S. No testing, getting remains, hostages returned. Decent chance of Denuclearization... ... ...Time will tell what will happen with North Korea, but at the end of the previous administration, relationship was horrendous and very bad things were about to happen. Now a whole different story. I look forward to seeing Kim Jong Un shortly. Progress being made-big difference!

If the committee of Republicans and Democrats now meeting on Border Security is not discussing or contemplating a Wall or Physical Barrier, they are Wasting their time!

“Three separate caravans marching to our Border. The numbers are tremendous.” @foxandfriends

The Intelligence people seem to be extremely passive and naive when it comes to the dangers of Iran. They are wrong! When I became President Iran was making trouble all over the Middle East, and beyond. Since ending the terrible Iran Nuclear Deal, they are MUCH different, but.... ... ....a source of potential danger and conflict. They are testing Rockets (last week) and more, and are coming very close to the edge. There economy is now crashing, which is the only thing holding them back. Be careful of Iran. Perhaps Intelligence should go back to school!

Dow just broke 25,000. Tremendous news!

Spoke today with Venezuelan Interim President Juan Guaido to congratulate him on his historic assumption of the presidency and reinforced strong United States support for Venezuela’s fight to regain its democracy.... ... ....Large protests all across Venezuela today against Maduro. The fight for freedom has begun!

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

JUST IN: Woman who sexually assaulted Infowars reporter has been arrested.

Brad Parscale on Twitter: "Where it counts @realDonaldTrump is stronger than 2016. The fake news establishment media is not fooling these voters."

NO SHIT SHERLOCK ...

This is insanity. Seems like advocating for Post Term Abortion AKA MURDER by any standard I’m aware of. The only thing worse than what the Democrat Governor of VA said was the fact that there’s zero pushback from the host.

Trump slams Virginia Democrats over 'terrible' abortion stance

🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

Book burnings don't always look like this...

Lion King (NY Progressive Remaster, 2019)

I'm afraid that 2019 is the year that the Supreme Court is going to be RUTHLESS

Judge Orders Release Of Sealed Records From BuzzFeed’s Dossier Lawsuit

Anytime some media company tries to run some sensational headline about MAGA being violent..new rule..always wait 3 days to get the real story.

Thursday, January 31st:

TODAY'S ACTION:

President Donald J. Trump Announces Appointments for the Executive Office of the President

Executive Order on Strengthening Buy-American Preferences for Infrastructure Projects

President Trump's Message on Securing our Border

President Trump Meets with American Manufacturers and Signs an Executive Order

President Trump Meets with the Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China

🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:

So great to watch & listen to all these people who write books & talk about my presidential campaign and so many others things related to winning, and how I should be doing “IT.” As I take it all in, I then sit back, look around, & say “gee, I’m in the White House, & they’re not!

Large sections of WALL have already been built with much more either under construction or ready to go. Renovation of existing WALLS is also a very big part of the plan to finally, after many decades, properly Secure Our Border. The Wall is getting done one way or the other!

Lets just call them WALLS from now on and stop playing political games! A WALL is a WALL!

With Murders up 33% in Mexico, a record, why wouldn’t any sane person want to build a Wall! Construction has started and will not stop until it is finished. @LouDobbs @foxandfriends

China’s top trade negotiators are in the U.S. meeting with our representatives. Meetings are going well with good intent and spirit on both sides. China does not want an increase in Tariffs and feels they will do much better if they make a deal. They are correct. I will be...... ... ....meeting with their top leaders and representatives today in the Oval Office. No final deal will be made until my friend President Xi, and I, meet in the near future to discuss and agree on some of the long standing and more difficult points. Very comprehensive transaction.... ... ....China’s representatives and I are trying to do a complete deal, leaving NOTHING unresolved on the table. All of the many problems are being discussed and will be hopefully resolved. Tariffs on China increase to 25% on March 1st, so all working hard to complete by that date!

Republicans on the Homeland Security Committee are wasting their time. Democrats, despite all of the evidence, proof and Caravans coming, are not going to give money to build the DESPERATELY needed WALL. I’ve got you covered. Wall is already being built, I don’t expect much help!

Democrats are becoming the Party of late term abortion, high taxes, Open Borders and Crime!

More troops being sent to the Southern Border to stop the attempted Invasion of Illegals, through large Caravans, into our Country. We have stopped the previous Caravans, and we will stop these also. With a Wall it would be soooo much easier and less expensive. Being Built!

Looking for China to open their Markets not only to Financial Services, which they are now doing, but also to our Manufacturing, Farmers and other U.S. businesses and industries. Without this a deal would be unacceptable!

Schumer and the Democrats are big fans of being weak and passive with Iran. They have no clue as to the danger they would be inflicting on our Country. Iran is in financial chaos now because of the sanctions and Iran Deal termination. Dems put us in a bad place - but now good!

Very sadly, Murder cases in Mexico in 2018 rose 33% from 2017, to 33,341. This is a big contributor to the Humanitarian Crisis taking place on our Southern Border and then spreading throughout our Country. Worse even than Afghanistan. Much caused by DRUGS. Wall is being built!

(Video)

Just concluded a great meeting with my Intel team in the Oval Office who told me that what they said on Tuesday at the Senate Hearing was mischaracterized by the media - and we are very much in agreement on Iran, ISIS, North Korea, etc. Their testimony was distorted press.... ... ....I would suggest you read the COMPLETE testimony from Tuesday. A false narrative is so bad for our Country. I value our intelligence community. Happily, we had a very good meeting, and we are all on the same page!

Our great U.S. Border Patrol Agents made the biggest Fentanyl bust in our Country’s history. Thanks, as always, for a job well done!

Just out: The big deal, very mysterious Don jr telephone calls, after the innocent Trump Tower meeting, that the media & Dems said were made to his father (me), were just conclusively found NOT to be made to me. They were made to friends & business associates of Don. Really sad!

Nellie Ohr, the wife of DOJ official Bruce Ohr, was long ago investigating for pay (GPS Fusion) members of my family, feeding it to her husband who was then giving it to the FBI, even though it was created by ousted & discredited Christopher Steele. Illegal! WITCH HUNT

This Witch Hunt must end!

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

President Trump warned us 2 years ago that the Democrat party would push for late term abortion.. watch Clinton accuse him of using "scare tactics"

"nO vOters, wE wOuLD NEVER dO tHAT" - 2 YEARS LATER ...

And they wonder why we call them NPC. Behold, the womanoid robot.

House Dems Reject GOP Proposal to Block Raises for Federal Employees Guilty of Sexual Misconduct. Vote was chaired by Democrat Tony Cardenas, who is accused of drugging teenage girl

Graham: We’re Getting Trump’s Ninth Circuit Nominees Confirmed

🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

Press that button!! You know you want to!

Roger Stone Explains How to Dress for Court

Ohio Passes Heartbeat Bill Which Bans Abortions After 6 Weeks

White people in Chicago at 2AM...

Friday, February 1st:

TODAY'S ACTION:

President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Personnel to Key Administration Posts

President Trump Meets to Discuss Fighting Human Trafficking on the Southern Border

🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:

I inherited a total mess in Syria and Afghanistan, the “Endless Wars” of unlimited spending and death. During my campaign I said, very strongly, that these wars must finally end. We spend $50 Billion a year in Afghanistan and have hit them so hard that we are now talking peace... ... ....after 18 long years. Syria was loaded with ISIS until I came along. We will soon have destroyed 100% of the Caliphate, but will be watching them closely. It is now time to start coming home and, after many years, spending our money wisely. Certain people must get smart!

Best January for the DOW in over 30 years. We have, by far, the strongest economy in the world!

JOBS, JOBS, JOBS!

Great news on Foxconn in Wisconsin after my conversation with Terry Gou!

(Retweeting The White House) "We added 304,000 jobs, which was a shocker to a lot of people. It wasn't a shocker to me."

Thank you to Senator Rob Portman and Senator Cory Gardner for the early and warm endorsement. We will ALL WIN in 2020 together!

National African American History Month is an occasion to rediscover the enduring stories of African Americans and the gifts of freedom, purpose, and opportunity they have bestowed on future generations..

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

Governor Who Endorsed Infanticide Received $2 Million From Planned Parenthood

EMBARRASSING - Elizabeth Warren apologizes to Cherokee Nation over taking DNA test to prove Native American roots

Virginia Governor on Blast!!! @GovernorVA Are you the one in blackface or the one in the KKK hood?

Very Fake News CNN falsely labels Northam a Republican.

REMINDER: Cory Booker Groped Someone In High School and Wrote an Op-Ed About It. Then Tried to Destroy Kavanaugh's Life. Fuck Him.

🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

If Fake News Journalists need help coding, I know a guy.

YUGE difference between President Trump and Ralph Northam!

u/Daniel_Wat posted this in r/dankmemes

Northamsgone

New Planned Parenthood Ad Campaign is looking lit 🔥👽

Saturday, February 2nd:

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

(D)Ralph Northam now claims he is neither the blackface or KKK person in his yearbook photo...ok...so why was his nickname “Coonman”?

Planned Parenthood receives about $500,000,000 a year in taxpayer funds. In the most recent election, Planned Parenthood helped contribute $30,000,000 to Democrat’s campaigns. Democrat politicians are buying campaign contributions with your hard-earned money. It’s a corrupt money laundering cycle.

The greatest jobs President America has ever seen! MAGAnomics – January Jobs Report, Massive Wage Growth, Manufacturing Report and Overall Economic Numbers Stun Financial Media…

Don Jr. is a certified spice dealer

🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

The two parties in a nutshell.

Quick Shills are up early. Post pics that make them realize they have no charisma or class

“And I would’ve gotten away with it if it weren’t for you meddling Republicans!”

Definitely not the most convincing apology I have ever seen.

WHAT A SPICY WEEK!

Of course no recap is complete without some tunes for your jamming pleasures:

I'll Keep You Safe

World On Fire

One Dance

It's Strange

Right To It

Imagine

MAGA ON PATRIOTS!

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robgrayofficial · 5 years

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HAPPY SATURDAY PATRIOTS!This is u/Ivaginaryfriend here and I'm back with all things spicy and dank from the past week! For those that missed any past recaps you can check those out here!Sunday, January 27th:🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:58,000 non-citizens voted in Texas, with 95,000 non-citizens registered to vote. These numbers are just the tip of the iceberg. All over the country, especially in California, voter fraud is rampant. Must be stopped. Strong voter ID! @foxandfriendsWe are not even into February and the cost of illegal immigration so far this year is $18,959,495,168. Cost Friday was $603,331,392. There are at least 25,772,342 illegal aliens, not the 11,000,000 that have been reported for years, in our Country. So ridiculous! DHSJens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, just stated that because of me NATO has been able to raise far more money than ever before from its members after many years of decline. It’s called burden sharing. Also, more united. Dems & Fake News like to portray the opposite!(Retweeting ChatByCC) Strong people stand up for themselves—but stronger people stand up for others. Thank you President @realDonaldTrump for standing up for America.Thank you to Brit. This is a very big deal in Europe. Fake News is the Enemy of the People!(Retweeting Ken Paxton) VOTER FRAUD ALERT: The @TXsecofstate discovered approx 95,000 individuals identified by DPS as non-U.S. citizens have a matching voter registration record in TX, approx 58,000 of whom have voted in TX elections. Any illegal vote deprives Americans of their voice.(Retweeting The GOP) “300 people are dying from heroin overdoses a week in this country, 90% of it is coming over the southern border… We’ve got to stop it.”—@KellyannePolls#HolocaustMemorialDayBUILD A WALL & CRIME WILL FALL!Never thought I’d say this but I think @johnrobertsFox and @GillianHTurner @FoxNews have even less understanding of the Wall negotiations than the folks at FAKE NEWS CNN & NBC! Look to final results! Don’t know how my poll numbers are so good, especially up 19% with Hispanics?After all that I have done for the Military, our great Veterans, Judges (99), Justices (2), Tax & Regulation Cuts, the Economy, Energy, Trade & MUCH MORE, does anybody really think I won’t build the WALL? Done more in first two years than any President! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:Aaaaahaha, Wikileaks putting NYT in their place.r/politics is propaganda. Their target is us.Kamala Harris literally prostituted her body to obtain positions of power within the United States government. Then she joined the #MeToo movement and accused Kavanaugh of being a rapist. Now she’s running for PresidentThis is an actual tweet by an actual congressman.... Mark Dice throwing a little shade🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:In Their Heads. 24/7. Rent Free.Leftist Are Trash.Interestingsaw this on the pole of a stoplight down the street from my house, right in front of the elementary schoolMonday, January 28th:TODAY'S ACTION:Executive Order on Taking Additional Steps to Address the National Emergency with Respect to Venezuela🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:Tariffs on the “dumping” of Steel in the United States have totally revived our Steel Industry. New and expanded plants are happening all over the U.S. We have not only saved this important industry, but created many jobs. Also, billions paid to our treasury. A BIG WIN FOR U.S.Numerous states introducing Bible Literacy classes, giving students the option of studying the Bible. Starting to make a turn back? Great!Howard Schultz doesn’t have the “guts” to run for President! Watched him on @60Minutes last night and I agree with him that he is not the “smartest person.” Besides, America already has that! I only hope that Starbucks is still paying me their rent in Trump Tower!“In the Media’s effort to destroy the President, they are actually destroying themselves. Given all of the tremendous headwinds this President has faced, it’s amazing he has accomplished so much.” DEROY MURDOCK @foxandfriends I agree!In the beautiful Midwest, windchill temperatures are reaching minus 60 degrees, the coldest ever recorded. In coming days, expected to get even colder. People can’t last outside even for minutes. What the hell is going on with Global Waming? Please come back fast, we need you!How does Da Nang Dick (Blumenthal) serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee when he defrauded the American people about his so called War Hero status in Vietnam, only to later admit, with tears pouring down his face, that he was never in Vietnam. An embarrassment to our Country!SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:'We don't want open borders': Hispanic pastors back President Trump on immigrationNATO increases spending by $100B due to Trump calling them delinquents'They Treated Me Like El Chapo': Roger Stone Recounts 'Over-the-Top' Arrest | This arrest is such an outrage... Mueller must go!!!BOOM!!!!! Federal Panel Of Judges Dismisses All 83 Ethics Complaints Against Brett Kavanaugh!State of the Union address rescheduled for February 5Border Patrol Wife Invites Speaker Pelosi to See Why Walls Are NeededPRESS BRIEFINGS, INTERVIEWS, RALLIES:Press Beating🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:Just a reminder that Reddit intentionally silences the political speech of 700,000 supporters of the President of the United StatesHas anyone seen Ruth?Accurate as hellThis is why I like a small federal government.Tuesday, January 29th:🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:A low level staffer that I hardly knew named Cliff Sims wrote yet another boring book based on made up stories and fiction. He pretended to be an insider when in fact he was nothing more than a gofer. He signed a non-disclosure agreement. He is a mess!“Our economy, right now, is the Gold Standard throughout the World.” @IngrahamAngle So true, and not even close!SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:GOOSEBUMPSSoon to be Fired Johns Hopkins Distinguished Service Professor of Psychiatry: Transgenderism is a “mental disorder”, that sex change is “biologically impossible,” and that people who promote sexual reassignment surgery are collaborating with and promoting a mental disorder.Tucker Carlson: Roger Stone raid shows that CNN is no longer covering Robert Mueller. They're working with himTwitter Says Advising Fired Journalists to 'Learn to Code' Is Hate Speech. But when reporters were mocking out of work coal miners and manufacturing workers the same way it was okayLMAO - Nancy and Cryin' Chuck's choice for the Dems' SOTU response is a tax delinquent with nearly $200k in unpaid college debt.🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:Al Gore's 10 year Climate Change ChallengeWHERE'S RUTH?Total disasterYikesWhere in the World, is Ruth Bader Ginsberg?Wednesday, January 30th:TODAY'S ACTION:Two Nominations Sent to the SenatePresident Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Judicial Nominees🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:Maduro willing to negotiate with opposition in Venezuela following U.S. sanctions and the cutting off of oil revenues. Guaido is being targeted by Venezuelan Supreme Court. Massive protest expected today. Americans should not travel to Venezuela until further notice.When I became President, ISIS was out of control in Syria & running rampant. Since then tremendous progress made, especially over last 5 weeks. Caliphate will soon be destroyed, unthinkable two years ago. Negotiating are proceeding well in Afghanistan after 18 years of fighting.. ... ....Fighting continues but the people of Afghanistan want peace in this never ending war. We will soon see if talks will be successful? North Korea relationship is best it has ever been with U.S. No testing, getting remains, hostages returned. Decent chance of Denuclearization... ... ...Time will tell what will happen with North Korea, but at the end of the previous administration, relationship was horrendous and very bad things were about to happen. Now a whole different story. I look forward to seeing Kim Jong Un shortly. Progress being made-big difference!If the committee of Republicans and Democrats now meeting on Border Security is not discussing or contemplating a Wall or Physical Barrier, they are Wasting their time!“Three separate caravans marching to our Border. The numbers are tremendous.” @foxandfriendsThe Intelligence people seem to be extremely passive and naive when it comes to the dangers of Iran. They are wrong! When I became President Iran was making trouble all over the Middle East, and beyond. Since ending the terrible Iran Nuclear Deal, they are MUCH different, but.... ... ....a source of potential danger and conflict. They are testing Rockets (last week) and more, and are coming very close to the edge. There economy is now crashing, which is the only thing holding them back. Be careful of Iran. Perhaps Intelligence should go back to school!Dow just broke 25,000. Tremendous news!Spoke today with Venezuelan Interim President Juan Guaido to congratulate him on his historic assumption of the presidency and reinforced strong United States support for Venezuela’s fight to regain its democracy.... ... ....Large protests all across Venezuela today against Maduro. The fight for freedom has begun!SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:JUST IN: Woman who sexually assaulted Infowars reporter has been arrested.Brad Parscale on Twitter: "Where it counts @realDonaldTrump is stronger than 2016. The fake news establishment media is not fooling these voters."NO SHIT SHERLOCK ...This is insanity. Seems like advocating for Post Term Abortion AKA MURDER by any standard I’m aware of. The only thing worse than what the Democrat Governor of VA said was the fact that there’s zero pushback from the host.Trump slams Virginia Democrats over 'terrible' abortion stance🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:Book burnings don't always look like this...Lion King (NY Progressive Remaster, 2019)I'm afraid that 2019 is the year that the Supreme Court is going to be RUTHLESSJudge Orders Release Of Sealed Records From BuzzFeed’s Dossier LawsuitAnytime some media company tries to run some sensational headline about MAGA being violent..new rule..always wait 3 days to get the real story.Thursday, January 31st:TODAY'S ACTION:President Donald J. Trump Announces Appointments for the Executive Office of the PresidentExecutive Order on Strengthening Buy-American Preferences for Infrastructure ProjectsPresident Trump's Message on Securing our BorderPresident Trump Meets with American Manufacturers and Signs an Executive OrderPresident Trump Meets with the Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:So great to watch & listen to all these people who write books & talk about my presidential campaign and so many others things related to winning, and how I should be doing “IT.” As I take it all in, I then sit back, look around, & say “gee, I’m in the White House, & they’re not!Large sections of WALL have already been built with much more either under construction or ready to go. Renovation of existing WALLS is also a very big part of the plan to finally, after many decades, properly Secure Our Border. The Wall is getting done one way or the other!Lets just call them WALLS from now on and stop playing political games! A WALL is a WALL!With Murders up 33% in Mexico, a record, why wouldn’t any sane person want to build a Wall! Construction has started and will not stop until it is finished. @LouDobbs @foxandfriendsChina’s top trade negotiators are in the U.S. meeting with our representatives. Meetings are going well with good intent and spirit on both sides. China does not want an increase in Tariffs and feels they will do much better if they make a deal. They are correct. I will be...... ... ....meeting with their top leaders and representatives today in the Oval Office. No final deal will be made until my friend President Xi, and I, meet in the near future to discuss and agree on some of the long standing and more difficult points. Very comprehensive transaction.... ... ....China’s representatives and I are trying to do a complete deal, leaving NOTHING unresolved on the table. All of the many problems are being discussed and will be hopefully resolved. Tariffs on China increase to 25% on March 1st, so all working hard to complete by that date!Republicans on the Homeland Security Committee are wasting their time. Democrats, despite all of the evidence, proof and Caravans coming, are not going to give money to build the DESPERATELY needed WALL. I’ve got you covered. Wall is already being built, I don’t expect much help!Democrats are becoming the Party of late term abortion, high taxes, Open Borders and Crime!More troops being sent to the Southern Border to stop the attempted Invasion of Illegals, through large Caravans, into our Country. We have stopped the previous Caravans, and we will stop these also. With a Wall it would be soooo much easier and less expensive. Being Built!Looking for China to open their Markets not only to Financial Services, which they are now doing, but also to our Manufacturing, Farmers and other U.S. businesses and industries. Without this a deal would be unacceptable!Schumer and the Democrats are big fans of being weak and passive with Iran. They have no clue as to the danger they would be inflicting on our Country. Iran is in financial chaos now because of the sanctions and Iran Deal termination. Dems put us in a bad place - but now good!Very sadly, Murder cases in Mexico in 2018 rose 33% from 2017, to 33,341. This is a big contributor to the Humanitarian Crisis taking place on our Southern Border and then spreading throughout our Country. Worse even than Afghanistan. Much caused by DRUGS. Wall is being built!(Video)Just concluded a great meeting with my Intel team in the Oval Office who told me that what they said on Tuesday at the Senate Hearing was mischaracterized by the media - and we are very much in agreement on Iran, ISIS, North Korea, etc. Their testimony was distorted press.... ... ....I would suggest you read the COMPLETE testimony from Tuesday. A false narrative is so bad for our Country. I value our intelligence community. Happily, we had a very good meeting, and we are all on the same page!Our great U.S. Border Patrol Agents made the biggest Fentanyl bust in our Country’s history. Thanks, as always, for a job well done!Just out: The big deal, very mysterious Don jr telephone calls, after the innocent Trump Tower meeting, that the media & Dems said were made to his father (me), were just conclusively found NOT to be made to me. They were made to friends & business associates of Don. Really sad!Nellie Ohr, the wife of DOJ official Bruce Ohr, was long ago investigating for pay (GPS Fusion) members of my family, feeding it to her husband who was then giving it to the FBI, even though it was created by ousted & discredited Christopher Steele. Illegal! WITCH HUNTThis Witch Hunt must end!SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:President Trump warned us 2 years ago that the Democrat party would push for late term abortion.. watch Clinton accuse him of using "scare tactics""nO vOters, wE wOuLD NEVER dO tHAT" - 2 YEARS LATER ...And they wonder why we call them NPC. Behold, the womanoid robot.House Dems Reject GOP Proposal to Block Raises for Federal Employees Guilty of Sexual Misconduct. Vote was chaired by Democrat Tony Cardenas, who is accused of drugging teenage girlGraham: We’re Getting Trump’s Ninth Circuit Nominees Confirmed🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:Press that button!! You know you want to!Roger Stone Explains How to Dress for CourtOhio Passes Heartbeat Bill Which Bans Abortions After 6 WeeksWhite people in Chicago at 2AM...Friday, February 1st:TODAY'S ACTION:President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Personnel to Key Administration PostsPresident Trump Meets to Discuss Fighting Human Trafficking on the Southern Border🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:I inherited a total mess in Syria and Afghanistan, the “Endless Wars” of unlimited spending and death. During my campaign I said, very strongly, that these wars must finally end. We spend $50 Billion a year in Afghanistan and have hit them so hard that we are now talking peace... ... ....after 18 long years. Syria was loaded with ISIS until I came along. We will soon have destroyed 100% of the Caliphate, but will be watching them closely. It is now time to start coming home and, after many years, spending our money wisely. Certain people must get smart!Best January for the DOW in over 30 years. We have, by far, the strongest economy in the world!JOBS, JOBS, JOBS!Great news on Foxconn in Wisconsin after my conversation with Terry Gou!(Retweeting The White House) "We added 304,000 jobs, which was a shocker to a lot of people. It wasn't a shocker to me."Thank you to Senator Rob Portman and Senator Cory Gardner for the early and warm endorsement. We will ALL WIN in 2020 together!National African American History Month is an occasion to rediscover the enduring stories of African Americans and the gifts of freedom, purpose, and opportunity they have bestowed on future generations..SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:Governor Who Endorsed Infanticide Received $2 Million From Planned ParenthoodEMBARRASSING - Elizabeth Warren apologizes to Cherokee Nation over taking DNA test to prove Native American rootsVirginia Governor on Blast!!! @GovernorVA Are you the one in blackface or the one in the KKK hood?Very Fake News CNN falsely labels Northam a Republican.REMINDER: Cory Booker Groped Someone In High School and Wrote an Op-Ed About It. Then Tried to Destroy Kavanaugh's Life. Fuck Him.🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:If Fake News Journalists need help coding, I know a guy.YUGE difference between President Trump and Ralph Northam!u/Daniel_Wat posted this in r/dankmemesNorthamsgoneNew Planned Parenthood Ad Campaign is looking lit 🔥👽Saturday, February 2nd:SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:(D)Ralph Northam now claims he is neither the blackface or KKK person in his yearbook photo...ok...so why was his nickname “Coonman”?Planned Parenthood receives about $500,000,000 a year in taxpayer funds. In the most recent election, Planned Parenthood helped contribute $30,000,000 to Democrat’s campaigns. Democrat politicians are buying campaign contributions with your hard-earned money. It’s a corrupt money laundering cycle.The greatest jobs President America has ever seen! MAGAnomics – January Jobs Report, Massive Wage Growth, Manufacturing Report and Overall Economic Numbers Stun Financial Media…Don Jr. is a certified spice dealer🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:The two parties in a nutshell.Quick Shills are up early. Post pics that make them realize they have no charisma or class“And I would’ve gotten away with it if it weren’t for you meddling Republicans!”Definitely not the most convincing apology I have ever seen.WHAT A SPICY WEEK!Of course no recap is complete without some tunes for your jamming pleasures:I'll Keep You SafeWorld On FireOne DanceIt's StrangeRight To ItImagineMAGA ON PATRIOTS! #robgray

#robgray

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