#lets talk building code violations

[polysyndetonaddictsupportgroup]

For the questions for fic writers, 49 and 50 please?

49. What are you currently working on? Share a few lines if you’re up for it!

I've been bouncing back and forth between the last chapter of toy rosaries and the next chapter of nhthcth. Here's a few lines of toy rosaries:

Not two seconds later, they notice him gawping down at them like a fool. The man in the mask freezes. Claire jabs a finger at him like she’s tattling to the recess monitor. 

“He says this guy kidnapped a kid and we need him to tell us where he is.” 

Oh, so there’s where he kept the Devil. He hadn’t felt it in some time. But it’s right there, next to the pit in his chest. It seems comfortable as it finds its way up his pulse. 

“I’ve got a pair of pliers,” says Jack, jerking his head back from where he came. “If that’ll help.”

50. Answer any question of your choice, or talk about anything you want to talk about!

Let's do this one: 17. What highly specific AU do you want to read or write even though you might be the only person to appreciate it?

Okay so I have one for TMA and one for Marvel.

TMA: Danny, Jon, and Gerry Buzzfeed Unsolved AU. Jon runs into Agnes Montague while at Oxford, and it changes things. He goes on the run from the Web, picks up an amnesiac man he semi-accidentally rescued from some fucked up circus freaks, starts running even faster. They find a kind goth who joins them in their scooby adventures, because Jon is HIGHLY susceptible to serial killers and Gerry is kind enough to help him escape being bookified. They end up starting a ghost hunting YouTube channel, Ghost Hunt--not to be confused with Ghost Hunt UK, who hates them on a profound level--to cover up their monster hunting supernatural shenanigans. It gains immense popularity--because of Jon's skepticism about the existence of supernatural.

Marvel: the idea is that there are many Peter Parker's in the Multiverse, and the Collector just wants the one that no one would miss. A very lonely version of Peter gets nabbed right when he's starting off his Spider-Man career, before anyone even knows the name, by a Collector who's decided he's the centerpiece of his collection. This one is so dramatic. There's TRAUMA. There's SPACE. There's a GLADIATOR ARENA. There's MIND GAMES. the REVENGERS are there. And, Yes, I found a way for the Frank Castle's dead family to be there too. This is yet another one of my defridging the castle family stories. I am obsessed with this AU and it is so ridiculously niche. If anyone wants to ever read a space odyssey featuring Peter Parker and the Punisher's dead family, by fucking god, i have you covered.

#i want you to know in the buzzfeed unsolved au there's a meme about how the ghost hunt boys are actually secret monster hunters #because of all of the people who insist that the ghost hunt boys saved them from supernatural monster #and jon and the rest are fucking sweating #danny is the camera man on account of there's a bunch of fucked up clowns who want his spectacular skin #they don't want to give clues as to his location #the web knows where they are at all times no matter what they do #and gerrys mom doesn't know how to use a computer #so jon and gerry get to be the hosts #melanie is absolutely VIBRATING becuase these guys are besmirching the ghost hunting profession #and also people keep confusing the names #meanwhile jon and gerry in peter lukas's apartment complex trying to save the world: sometimes the real horror is capitalism #lets talk building code violations #*in a haunted building that's trying to bring the apocalypse* this isn't haunted we just need to marie kondo this space and sue the manager #in the peter parker one peter stole mjolner from the collector #ned gets it every second tuesday and on christmas to keep in his room as the world's sickest knickknack #thor's like 'haha are you. are you not using it for anything else. is it. could someone else maybe use it better. maybe--' #and everyone's else like 'thor stop trying to wheedle mjolner back from the plainly traumatized child' #i don't know why i'm so obsessed with the castle family but maria castle has a space gun and a bestie relationship with matt Murdock #matt's a smug asshole about it to #he comes over and maria's like 'MATTY' and Matt's like fully picking her up and twirling her around like HI BEST FRIEND and franks like >:( #i am so fucking convinced that matt and maria castle would be best fucking friends and i will put it in everything i can #why do i care so much about these two universes

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

I've got a way more fun and much less racist conspiracy theory if anyone wants it: the whole show is Ed and Stede telling the story of how they met and got together to their grandkids while they're babysitting. That explains the over-the-top nature of it, they're trying to keep kids interested in a fun pirate tale.

In real life, Ed and Stede opened up coffee shops right next to each other. Stede's shop had multiple chandeliers, one time Izzy went in and Stede told him to fuck off and Ed was obsessed with that. Ed saving Stede from the Spanish was actually him swooping in to fix Stede's many, many health code violations.

Izzy is still equally as intense as he is in the show ("I was honored to work for the legendary Blackbeard, the most genius part-time Starbucks manager I'd ever known"). He still tries to kill Stede (tries to hit him with his 2006 Chevy Malibu) so Ed fires him. Izzy then just straight up calls the cops on the coffee shop, which is annoying but ultimately doesn't go anywhere because, again, they run coffee shops. Stede has his crisis after Ed admits he's thinking about selling his shop because running it is just stressing him out so he goes back to Mary; they end up finalizing their divorce papers after like 30 minutes.

Ed's feeling bummed and can't reach Stede on social media, so he feels abandoned and reaches out to the crews of their shops for companionship. Izzy threatens to call the cops on him again and he freaks out because he realizes this mean little White guy is totally willing to weaponize that against him.

Ed's "kraken era" in "real life" is just him firing Lucius and then "marooning" Stede's crew by changing the locks on Stede's coffee shop so they can't get in. He tries to force the crew to unionize against him and force him out of the coffee shop he hates running by making them work overtime. He starts talking about making them work a big Black Friday-esque sale and Jim just throws a bag of coffee beans at his head with expert precision and knocks him tf out.

Stede finds the crew loitering outside his shop and they go to sort things out like five minutes later. He finds Ed just fucking face-down on the kitchen floor. They take him to the hospital, Ed has to pretend to let Lucius be his boss for like a week, and for the rest of their lives every time Ed suggests something Jim doesn't like they say "don't make me bean you again, old man."

The rest of the show is them trying to translate how they navigated building their relationship into their pirate fantasy. Characters like the Badmintons and Ned Low are blatant wish fulfillment on old bullies. Season 2 feels rushed because the kids' parents are coming to pick them up soon so they have to hurry. Izzy dies in the show because they just fired him in real life but they wanted to give the kids a moral story but panicked and had to think of an out so the kids don't ask where he is now.

Do I have hard evidence for this? Don't worry about it. Yes, I know I'm a genius, please hold your applause.

#ofmd #our flag means death

[kayuripax]

Valve news and the AI

So. I assume people saw some posts going around on how valve has new AI rules, and things getting axed. And because we live in a society, I went down the rabbit hole to learn my information for myself. Here's what I found, under a cut to keep it easier. To start off, I am not a proponent of AI. I just don't like misinformation. So. Onwards.

VALVE AND THE AI

First off, no, AI will not take things over. Let me show you, supplemented by the official valve news post from here. (because if hbomberguy taught us anything it is to cite your sources)

[Image id: a screenshot from the official valve blog. It says the following:

First, we are updating the Content Survey that developers fill out when submitting to Steam. The survey now includes a new AI disclosure section, where you'll need to describe how you are using AI in the development and execution of your game. It separates AI usage in games into two broad categories:

Pre-Generated: Any kind of content (art/code/sound/etc) created with the help of AI tools during development. Under the Steam Distribution Agreement, you promise Valve that your game will not include illegal or infringing content, and that your game will be consistent with your marketing materials. In our pre-release review, we will evaluate the output of AI generated content in your game the same way we evaluate all non-AI content - including a check that your game meets those promises.

Live-Generated: Any kind of content created with the help of AI tools while the game is running. In addition to following the same rules as Pre-Generated AI content, this comes with an additional requirement: in the Content Survey, you'll need to tell us what kind of guardrails you're putting on your AI to ensure it's not generating illegal content. End image ID]

So. Let us break that down a bit, shall we? Valve has been workshopping these new AI rules since last June, and had adopted a wait and see approach beforehand. This had cost them a bit of revenue, which is not ideal if you are a company. Now they have settled on a set of rules. Rules that are relatively easy to understand. - Rule one: Game devs have to disclose when their game has AI - Rule two: If your game uses AI, you have to say what kind it uses. Did you generate the assets ahead of time, and they stay like that? Or are they actively generated as the consumer plays? - Rule three: You need to tell Valve the guardrails you have to make sure your live-generating AI doesn't do things that are going against the law. - Rule four: If you use pre-generated assets, then your assets cannot violate copyright. Valve will check to make sure that you aren't actually lying.

That doesn't sound too bad now, does it? This is a way Valve can keep going. Because they will need to. And ignoring AI is, as much as we all hate it, not going to work. They need to face it. And they did. So. Onto part two, shall we?

[Image ID: a screenshot from the official Valve blog. It says the following: Valve will use this disclosure in our review of your game prior to release. We will also include much of your disclosure on the Steam store page for your game, so customers can also understand how the game uses AI. End image ID]

Let's break that down. - Valve will show you if games use AI. Because they want you to know that. Because that is transparency.

Part three.

[Image ID: A screenshot from the official Valve blog. It says the following:

Second, we're releasing a new system on Steam that allows players to report illegal content inside games that contain Live-Generated AI content. Using the in-game overlay, players can easily submit a report when they encounter content that they believe should have been caught by appropriate guardrails on AI generation.

Today's changes are the result of us improving our understanding of the landscape and risks in this space, as well as talking to game developers using AI, and those building AI tools. This will allow us to be much more open to releasing games using AI technology on Steam. The only exception to this will be Adult Only Sexual Content that is created with Live-Generated AI - we are unable to release that type of content right now. End Image ID]

Now onto the chunks.

Valve is releasing a new system that makes it easier to report questionable AI content. Specifically live-generated AI content. You can easily access it by steam overlay, and it will be an easier way to report than it has been so far.

Valve is prohibiting NSFW content with live-generating AI. Meaning there won't be AI generated porn, and AI companions for NSWF content are not allowed.

That doesn't sound bad, does it? They made some rules so they can get revenue so they can keep their service going, while also making it obvious for people when AI is used. Alright? Alright. Now calm down. Get yourself a drink.

---

Team Fortress Source 2

My used source here is this.

There was in fact a DCMA takedown notice. But it is not the only thing that led to the takedown. To sum things up: There were issues with the engine, and large parts of the code became unusable. The dev team decided that the notice was merely the final nail in the coffin, and decided to take it down. So that is that. I don't know more on this, so I will not say more, because I don't want to spread misinformation and speculation. I want to keep some credibility, please and thanks.

---

Portal Demake axed

Sources used are from here, here and here.

Portal 64 got axed. Why? Because it has to do with Nintendo. The remake uses a Nintendo library. And one that got extensively pirated at that. And we all know how trigger-happy Nintendo is with it's intellectual property. And Nintendo is not exactly happy with Valve and Steam, and sent them a letter in 2023.

[Image ID: a screenshot from a PC-Gamer article. It says the following: It's possible that Valve's preemptive strike against Portal 64 was prompted at least in part by an encounter with Nintendo in 2023 over the planned release of the Dolphin emulator for the Wii and Gamecube consoles on Steam. Nintendo sent a letter to Valve ahead of that launch that attorney Kellen Voyer of Voyer Law said was a "warning shot" against releasing it. End Image ID.]

So. Yeah. Nintendo doesn't like people doing things with their IP. Valve is most likely avoiding potential lawsuits, both for themselves and Lambert, the dev behind Portal 64. Nintendo is an enemy one doesn't want to have. Valve is walking the "better safe than sorry" path here.

---

There we go. This is my "let's try and clear up some misinformation" post. I am now going to play a game, because this took the better part of an hour. I cited my sources. Auf Wiedersehen.

#kayuri writes #infodump #valve #tf2 #portal 64 #team fortress source 2 #ask to tag #long post

[unclewaynemunson]

@flowercrowngods got me thinking about the Munsons keeping an eye on Max when she moves to the trailer park and Wayne basically adopting her, and it wouldn’t leave my mind so this happened

Wayne had been sitting in the chair for so long that his butt felt like it was becoming one with the metal of the seat. He stood up again to pace back and forth, but it was still way too crowded so it only took him a couple of steps before he resigned himself back to his chair.

It had been hours, but the chaos in the hospital still hadn't decreased one bit and he continued to be surrounded by all kinds of people in various stages of distress: crying on each other's shoulders, quietly staring at their own hands, sleeping with one eye open in a corner... There were probably more gnawed off nails and bouncing legs in one space than Wayne had ever seen before in his life.

'Is this seat taken?'

He looked up to find a tall man towering over him, gesturing with a pale hand towards the empty chair right next to Wayne's. Wayne couldn't quite place where he had seen him before, but there was something vaguely familiar about him: big mustache, neatly combed dark hair, a sharp nose and a mole on his right cheek. The look in his brown eyes was uncommonly kind, making Wayne suspect that the man had no idea who he was talking to.

But he nodded and gestured for him to take the seat.

'Who are you here for?' the man asked.

And that was all the confirmation Wayne needed that this man indeed did not recognize him as the infamous serial killer's uncle.

'Some family members,' he answered vaguely.

'How are they doing?'

Wayne tried to suppress a frustrated sigh; not because of this random man who showed him nothing but genuine kindness, but because of the situation – because of the fact that he had been sitting in this waiting room for hours on end and still hadn't been able to see Eddie or Max, no clue how they were doing beyond the information that both of them had been badly injured in the earthquake that tore apart his home.

'I dunno,' he said. 'They won’t let me see them.'

The frown that appeared on the man's face made him feel like he should explain himself. 'One of 'em is in custody and the other's not officially family.'

'I'm sorry.' The man looked like that explanation had sparked about a million questions.

'What about you?' Wayne asked quickly in order to avoid having to answer any of them.

'I've been lucky; I'm not here on any personal business,' the man answered. 'But I'm a teacher at Hawkins Middle School so I’m here for my students. I just wanted to help in whatever way possible. I talked to a lot of them, just needed a quick break to get my own head right again. Some of them have suffered truly terrible losses today.'

And Wayne finally realized why this man had looked so familiar to him: he had crossed paths with him almost ten years ago, back when Eddie was still in middle school; when the teacher didn't have that frown line between his eyebrows yet and before his own hair had turned gray.

'You're the science teacher, aren't ya?'

'Oh, I'm sorry, I haven't even introduced myself properly,' the man answered while holding out his hand. 'Scott Clarke. Indeed the science teacher.'

Somewhat reluctant, Wayne shook his hand; it felt so soft against Wayne's own rough calloused palm that he felt an odd sense of embarrassment wash over him.

'Wayne Munson.'

And exactly as suspected, Mr. Clarke's face dropped at hearing that name.

'You're Eddie's uncle,' he stated flatly.

Wayne merely nodded.

'They have him in custody?'

'He didn't do it.' The words almost reflexively fell out of his mouth.

'I know.'

And, well, that was pretty much the last thing Wayne had expected Mr. Clarke to say to him.

'What?'

'I know,' he simply repeated. 'I remember him crying when he had to dissect a frog in one of my lessons. And if I recall correctly, he got in trouble multiple times for violating the school health codes by taking sick birds inside the building.'

Wayne couldn't help but chuckle at that memory; he could still clearly picture a much younger Eddie, with shorter hair and chubbier cheeks, giving him a teary-eyed rant about how mean the school nurse was for refusing to patch up the near-dead pigeon he had carried to her office in his bare hands.

'I'm really sorry, Mr. Munson, for how this town has been treating your nephew.'

It sounded a little bit too genuine and all of a sudden Wayne found it difficult to keep looking into those brown eyes that were gazing at him so intensely.

He released a breath of relief when the nurse he had spoken to earlier walked up to him at the exact right moment.

'Mr. Munson, we finally managed to get a hold of Mrs. Mayfield. She's been stuck by the road collapse on the other side of the center, but she confirmed that you're family so you can go see your niece now.'

The words “family” and “niece” had Wayne stunned for a moment. He never quite knew whether Max's mother was okay with him and Eddie basically forcing themselves into their lives, couldn't get a feeling about whether the meals he delivered at her doorstep made her grateful or uncomfortable, whether she thought the Munsons to be meddlesome or appreciated their help. This was more of a confirmation than anything that he had been doing the right thing: this woman trusted him to look after her injured daughter when she couldn't. They were family.

'Are you alright, Mr. Munson?' A gentle tap on his shoulder made him realize that Scott Clarke was still sitting right beside him; he looked up to meet an inquisitive brown-eyed gaze.

'Yeah, of course, I'm – 'm fine,' he stammered, shaking off the emotions that had caught him off-guard and hastily standing up. 'I um, I'll see ya around.'

'Wait.'

Wayne didn't know Scott Clarke very well, but he could swear there was something resembling nervousness in his tight smile.

'I know someone who works here. I could try and ask if they're willing to help you get permission to see Eddie?'

Wayne grimaced. 'I don't think that's gonna work. They think him responsible for triple homicide. I saw they got two armed guards stationed at his door.'

'Well, we can always try; nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?'

And Wayne realized that Scott Clarke had something that he himself had unlearned many years ago: optimism.

He nodded. 'Thank you, Mr. Clarke.'

'Please, call me Scott.'

'Alright. Thank you, Scott. I appreciate it.'

'It's the least I can do.'

And while Wayne walked through the sterile gray hospital hallways, torn between hope and dread for both Max and Eddie, that nervous smile kept lingering in his mind, nudging him to shake the dread and for once choose hope instead. He needed it now more than ever.

#dio i swear this was gonna be about max and wayne but scott just showed up and it completely derailed from there lol #and then i tried to make it about max again but it felt too crammed soooo #have some clarkson instead i guess #don't mind me rambling about stranger things #clarkson my beloved #wayne munson #scott clarke #eddie munson #max mayfield #stranger things #fruity ficlet

[dana-chan-the-control-brain]

I rambled this thought about The Monty and Foxy show and it's been a pretty long time coming and I know some of my mutuals share a similar opinion, so whatever. I'll throw it out there.

But I do NOT care for Vegeta-animatronic.

There's just a lot of characters that serve a similar purpose narratively.

Vegeta just looks so out of place with a majority of the cast it's just kind of hard to take him too seriously

Most other characters can be replace Vegeta in a scene and not much would be lost.... and MORE would be added.

Vegeta giving Eclipsev4 his pep talk on who he is as an animatronic, could have easily come from Jack instead trying to find his purpose and it wouldn't be out of place. Because Jack is also struggling with his purpose and as of now he is an errand-boy and more or less scrap from Solar and Moon's code. So Eclipse would connect more then that then a DBZ animatronic.

But here's what bothers me the most:

Vegeta is a Retcon.

(Like… Retcons aren't good or bad things. They are neutral things. There are such a thing as good "retcons" if the retcon benefits the story. Like, Dazzle from LAES is a good Retcon, because them being in the walls the entire time since Sun and Moon separated does not completely destroy backstories of other characters. And it works because no one knew of Dazzle's existence before then and nothing else needs to change much, unless they dip toes into the Creator, but the Creator is a mysterious evil character so his backstory and things he's been doing off-screen is very malleable.)

But let's think to Vegeta-animatronic's backstory. Monty made him as "practice" for building Lunar because he never built an animatronic body before and he wanted to make sure he get it right. But the thing is…. Monty put the nano-machine of Lunar that survived into a program in his space station and the body Lunar was made was mostly auto-constructed by the computer, because Eclipse was preventing Monty from going into space.

Monty was also grieving about what happened to Lunar and the threat of Eclipse hanging overhead. He was upset he couldn't oversee the process and wasn't sure if Lunar would come back. He even bashed Foxy's head in and gave him amnesia cus he was drinking himself to death over all of this…………….

So Where in the hell would he have to make Vegeta????

"I was into dragonball memes then…"

Oh… when you were just… lying low and doing the best you could for the "kid" you cared for so much at the time. Monty didn't even physically build Lunar's body, Monty's computer did. Monty just picked him up later.

Vegeta also doesn't add anything other then to call Monty his Dad/Mom, make Earth uncomfortable by calling her mom, forcing family dynamics that he doesn't understand, and just annoy Monty, and monty doesn't deactivate him cus…. he's attached.

Also, can I mention how much I hate that Earth has voiced how repeatedly uncomfortable she is with him calling her "Mom" and he still does it??? I get that Vegeta is lonely and wants to belong, but he keeps violating people's boundaries with titles. Like today. Solar is not his grandpa. Lunar is not his brother. Monty isn't even Lunar's dad, only like... step-father if you want to put it that way. This family tumbleweed does make a logical throughline of sense but forcing titles onto people until they eventually agree with you is not the way to do it. Monty had to agree to the dad/mom title more not as acceptance, but just because "he wouldn't stop, so why bother to correct that behavior." Vegeta just forces family titles on everyone until they reluctantly agree to them, and that is like "found family done wrong" and it just never sits right with me whenever he does it.

Also, if Monty DID make Lunar's body… how did making Dragonball Z Vegeta's body prepare him for that at all? Wouldn't you think he'd practice by making a celestial animatronic looking thing without a conscious AI in it, if he's just extracting Lunar's code from the nanomachine he possessed.

There was no reason to make Vegeta sentient. Okay, argue that Monty was piss drunk when he made him… It's still a damn stupid excuse and Vegeta serves very little narrative purpose and looks out of place with the other cast.

Anyway... it's fine if you like Vegeta-Animatronic, find his antics charming, or think he's a sweetheart.

However, I just feel his role is better narratively served by other characters, and every time he's given focus over someone else who would use the spotlight more, I die a little inside.

However, at the end of the day, it's Davis and Matt's show.

And I do think they need more characters that they're just not adopting/stealing from Tsams/laes. So.... yeah... That's the only narrative purpose Vegeta really serves to me.

#tsams #mafs #the sun and moon show #danachan's rants #no shade to the v-animatronic likers or voice actors ofc #I just had to ramble this

[enjoythesilentworld]

Wille's Month - Revolution

or, (Dance Dance) Revolution

day 4! @youngroyals-events

post-s3. the gang celebrates. Wille gets his first glimpse at normal. rating: T (99% fluff, 1% light angst)

read below the cut or on ao3.

So, maybe they can’t just drive to another country straight after graduation. Linda is expecting Simon and Sara home at some point, and technically Wille is still the Crown Prince. Apparently, the fact that Kristina hadn’t sent the cavalry to chase him down didn’t actually mean he was totally off the hook just yet. 

They don’t get very far, anyway. Wille – and apparently Simon, too – had been too upset to eat anything that day, so they stop at a diner for an early dinner. The server barely gives them a second glance as their little crew occupies a booth in the back. Wille slides in and only lets go of Simon’s hand for one second so he can wrap it around the other boy’s shoulder, instead. Sara and Felice are occupied with their own conversation, so the two boys tuck themselves into the corner, touching at every possible point that could still be deemed appropriate in public company, and smile at each other like idiots. 

“Wille.” 

“Simon.”

“I am so proud of you.” 

Wille grins wider, pressing his nose into Simon’s curls and inhaling deeply. He has never felt so carefree, so happy. 

“I love you.”

“I love you,” Simon mumbles back, pressing a kiss into the back of Wille’s hand, “but I am also hungry.” 

Wille laughs and pulls a flimsy paper menu closer to them, leaning over Simon’s shoulder to browse. It all feels so normal, so perfect.

After the lake, he’d done everything to swallow the truth. To somehow come to terms with the fact that he may never see Simon again, never touch him again. He’d been grappling with that, the heartbreak of losing the love of his life again, and didn’t know how he was meant to move on. It was Simon though, the love of his life, who had made him brave enough to face the truth. Brave enough to speak to his mother with calm words, brave enough to step back from something he’d only held onto to please her, to honor Erik. He knew, because of Simon, that choosing himself, choosing his own life, was what mattered in the end. And he had. 

And now he sat here, a first taste of a normal life, in a dirty booth with flimsy menus and underwhelming food and probably a few health code violations. It is perfect. It is everything Wille had been hoping for his whole life and now he got to share it with Simon, too. 

He orders a big, greasy burger. He spills ketchup on his white shirt and does not care. He laughs wildly and kisses Simon’s cheek and does not care. For the first time, he is unconcerned about the stares, by the nagging voice in his mind, by his lack of table manners. It is perfect. 

Felice and Sara both look so happy, too, and have not stopped talking to each other. Simon keeps staring back at Wille with a dumb grin, disbelief in his eyes. Wille can’t believe it either. The relief he sees reflected there, too, means everything. He knows it hadn’t been easy for Simon to end things. He saw, on the gravel road behind the idling car, that Simon loves him just as much, just as deeply. Like a normal couple, they share drinks and feed each other fries and are generally disgustingly in love for all to witness. 

Somehow, they end up at a local arcade. Wille had been too distracted by Simon’s hand in his to notice much of the drive. The building is mostly empty, somehow, but machines ring out across the whole room in a symphony of color and sound. Wille has only ever been to one arcade; which was a crime, he thought, looking around the room. This, too, felt like a normal activity. Something you did with friends after school, a way to avoid your homework and nagging parents. 

“Come on,” Simon says, pulling Wille’s arm toward a big black box with a curtain — a photobooth. They squeeze in next to each other, Simon half on Wille’s lap. In the first picture, they both smile wildly into the camera, baring all their teeth. In the second, Wille plants a big kiss on Simon’s cheek. In the third, things begin to devolve as Simon pulls Wille in for a real kiss, and by the fourth they are too distracted to notice the flash. Eventually, they stumble out, laughing and flushed. 

Nothing but happy to follow, Wille lets Simon pull him around the arcade to a full lineup of games: air hockey, Mortal Kombat, skee-ball. Simon kicks his ass in every one, ever the competitor, and Wille doesn’t mind one bit. 

Simon gasps. “Oh, Wille, we have to.” 

He lets himself be pulled, again, to a very large machine in the back of the room. 

“Dance Dance Revolution?” 

“Yes! Get your ass up here. I want to see your moves, your Royal Highness.”

Wille rolls his eyes, but steps onto the platform, nonetheless. “You can’t call me that anymore.”

From where he’s squatted down to insert a few coins, Simon turns to look up at Wille. His smile looks almost sad, somehow. He stands back to his full height and wraps his arms around Wille’s neck.

“And thank god for that,” he smiles, pressing a quick peck to Wille’s lips. Wille hums and goes to pull Simon closer but is quickly pushed away. “Prince or not, I’m gonna destroy you.”

“I don't know about that. Some may say my dance moves are revolutionary. That’s what won you back at the Valentine Ball, isn’t it?”

“Sure, you keep tellin’ yourself that, baby.”

Wille lets Simon pick the song, something called ‘Right on Time’, and a fast beat begins pounding through the speakers as the machine counts them down. While Wille is taken aback by the sudden barrage of colors and arrows, Simon jumps right in and nails the first few steps perfectly. 

Don't you know Don't you know I'd been waiting for you? Don't you know Baby, you just showed up Right on time

Wille swears and jerks into motion, stumbling to catch up. From beside him, Simon throws his head back and laughs wildly; the most beautiful sound Wille’s ever heard.

But you have made me Feel so good Just by pulling me closer to you I close my eyes in your arms The life is simple again with you

It’s so surreal, being here, dancing to a silly upbeat song when just hours ago he thought he was doomed to love Simon from a distance for the rest of his life. Beautiful Simon, who is here now, too, grinning wildly, curls bouncing, shouting teasing words at Wille for his bad coordination. In retaliation, Wille sticks out a hand and pinches at Simon’s side, trying to throw him off balance. Simon yelps and pushes back at Wille, accusing him of cheating. He just grins wildly and tries to keep up with the beat of the song; half watching the screen, half watching Simon, like he always is. 

Can't you see Can't you see I'd been waiting for you? Can't you see Baby, you touched my heart Right on time

By the end, they’re both gasping for breath. Wille does not win the game, but he still feels on top of the world. He pulls his boyfriend into his arms, both sweaty and still breathing hard. 

“You’re so talented,” he says, smiling into Simon’s curls. 

Simon giggles and nips at Wille’s collarbone. “I can be your dance dance revolution.”

#look at them being boyfriends and in love! #i probably should've saved this for day 6 but here we are #this was the first thing i thought of and just had to #willemonth2024 #wmday4 #wilmon #yr drabbles #yr fic

[artmunstudios]

Okay, 18+ TRON fans- this is TOTALLY random but I'm legit curious.

What are some NSFW/sexuality headcanons you have about programs? This can be physically or on the psychological side like what programs may find attractive, etc.

l'll list a few of my own but since it's NSFW in nature it'll be below the cut.

-100% believe that on the new system Flynn built, sexual encounters are more User-like than more almost a metaphorical and/or code exchange experience like how we have learned of in the old system based on Tron and Yori’s deleted love scene based off of the script and scene itself. For several reasons, but two in particular:

•Flynn himself doesn’t/can’t understand the old system’s sexual advances/encounters because, well—he’s a human! Its not exactly a shock.

•In Uprising especially, it seems pretty evident with the way Paige and Beck “flirted” with each other while fighting in the pilot, Mara’s physical body language in State of Mind, Lux’s behavior in seducing Beck, etc, that sexuality is a lot more physical than it was in the old system. Hell, Tron and Yori didn’t even know what kissing was until Flynn decided to lay one on Yori (okay I get he legit thought he was gonna die and she looked like Laura who was an ex he probably still had feelings for at that time but COME ON MAN REALLY??????)

(ASSAULT TW FOR THIS NEXT POINT)

-Because of last stated headcanon, I honestly don’t think Beck even realizes that Cyrus assaulted him. Do I think Cyrus knows? 100%—Absolutely he does. He’s predatory by nature and he probably knows a little more about the old system because of just talking and hanging out with Tron. Beck probably felt, and maybe still feels, gross and violated in a way he can’t really describe. He was put through torture and pain, but somehow it doesn’t feel like the same kind of emotional distress he felt when being in trouble when taking hits. It feels personal, internal, and I think that’s a big reason why Cyrus scares him. It’s not just his ability to read Beck so easily. It’s because he did something to him that has changed him forever, but he can’t figure out or understand what that was. And that probably scares Beck even more.

-Physical sex and code exchange must genuinely be a mind-bending experience, and probably a very emotional one, too.

-Because of that, I genuinely think the few programs who know/discovered that aspect of sex probably will only reserve that for long term/really close counter.

-AIGHT LETS ADD ANOTHER LAYER TO THIS—I always wondered if programs could connect their disks via a wire much like ghost in the shell. I bet it’s not exactly sexual in nature, more of a emotional thing, but the idea of programs connecting and meeting in an internal lobby and sharing memories/data is goddamn romantic. Probably can feel each other’s physical experiences too which can potentially be either overwhelming or maybe a really sweet experience

-I think it was kinda hinted at in Legacy/Uprising, but I’m willing to bet Sirens aren’t just assist programs but probably are prostitutes too. It seemed like Uprising was kinda indicating Colbolt was her pimp and not just an abusive panther but that can just be me.

-Having said that, you wonder if prostitution/brothels are legal in the Grid? I do a lot, because I think it says a lot about the Grid and Clu’s ruling more than I think people probably think.

-Okay, building on that too why not—1000% Clu visits these clubs all the time taking in who knows how many sirens back with him. I don’t think about sex headcanons usually in a “damn that’d be hot” kinda way, I think sexuality and sex culture genuinely just says a lot about society—the good and bad. I just think that Clu is so obsessed with being worshiped he can’t even be sexually pleased without having a whole ass crowd praising/worshiping him.

…FUCK IT LET’S TALK ABOUT DYSON TOO I JUST THINK HE’S INTERESTING (imo the most interesting character to dissect in Uprising but again that’s just me) this is stuff me and @stemgalhatesmath talk about ALOT

-Dyson is 100% emotionally and sexually stunted and you can’t convince me otherwise. His mind is always in work, or Clu. So you know, not a lot else on the mind when it comes to relationships, even on a surface level.

-Also fairly certain he’s gay (pretty sure that’s the consensus all around) BUUUT I think Dyson either doesn’t realize he’s gay, or is deliberately ignoring that fact because. You know. The man can barely get a grasp on his own emotions I don’t think he can get through understanding his own sexuality without help and we all know DAMN WELL Clu ain’t gonna give that shit to him.

-HOWEVER, I do think the second Dyson experiences ANY form of relationship he’s gonna cling on so damn tight you better believe that man will have no escape. Nope. None whatsoever.

-I’m just gonna say it. I think Dyson has rizz. I’m not even joking. I just think he’d be naturally good in bed (totally not because he’s afraid of failure in ANY WAY so he’s going to keep himself as adaptable as possible nah no stop what are you talking about)

In conclusion: Dyson—Bad man? Yes. Probably the best partner you will have once he learns/understands how relationships romantically work? Absolutely.

#artmuns rambling #tron uprising theory #tron headcanons #headcanon #tron uprising #tron

[gwydionmisha]

I am having to limit my Middle East/Western Asia war coverage, because I am having to limit my news intake for mental health reasons on this subject.

Not for the first time, you'll likely have noticed. Let's talk about that a little so you can understand the whys of it and how i decide what sorts of things I cover. I don't close cover most wars for the same reason I don't close cover most mass shootings. There are exceptions. These are also for reasons. I am trying to figure out how to explain. I generally do postings for 1. a big thing happened (war, shooting, disaster). (With shootings and disasters, I will often show a lot of things in this categories for different types of events, in part because of the event itself and the loss of life, in part to show just how systemic the thing is and the need to make systemic changes). 2. Here are why this big thing happened. 3. Here is some things we could do to stop this thing happening. 4. Here is a particularly big thing during a long ongoing war or disaster. 5. Somebody did something particular people need to know about and there needs to be an accounting. (war crime, police deciding to let the shooter kill as many brown kids as he likes instead of intervening in Uvalde, the egregious and deadly code violations in building Grenfell Towers, how neglect of infrastructure made the natural disaster worse, how a particular disaster is man-made rather than natural and who's to blame, etc…) 5. Here is a thing you can do to help people who experienced this terrible thing.

Number 5 is why there tends to be more natural disaster follow up than granular war coverage. Generally there is fuck all I and most of can do to help except say fund refugees or humanitarian aid, and doing the research I need to do to post war coverage eats away at my ability to do much of anything else. I can post how to help links for humanitarian things for both natural disasters and refugees, but I can't for every war or disaster or man-made disaster. I do what I can, but it's very limited.

There are other people who cover wars way better than I can. I'm one disabled person in frail health. I can't remotely do everything I want to in this space. I have been forever drowning in links I prepped and didn't have time to post since… I'm going to say 2015. The type of stuff I mostly cover is in areas where I can work with passion and often fury, but never despair.

Wars chew me up so very, very fast.

I will keep posting what I can, but it's always going to be heavier on things that are actually in my areas of expertise than outside of them. It's always going to be heavier on things we can collectively change than things we can't.

I have been trying to figure out how to talk about what's happening right now since I saw what happened during my final meds snack before bed Saturday morning Us time. I keep trying to work out how to explain with nuance and historical context and world politics and the weight of the dead. I keep failing. I am sorry. I can not see a way this turns out well in the long run for either side or the people who always get the worst of things.

This is why, in general, I don't write much about Israel and the Palestinians. The people who can actually make things better tend to be the people with the least say in what happens. The people who do have the power to make things better for everyone seem to absolutely not want that most of the time. Every time there is a window to really fix things, it's rejected or ignored. Anger, justified anger, makes things worse, because it entrenches the sides.

I know that things can be fixed if enough people on both sides want it to be. When I was a kid the 21st border relations between Ireland and Northern Ireland seemed impossible. I still look on all that progress with a deep sense of wonder. Healing and progress are so incredibly hard and so worth it.

I don't see that happening in Israel without massive change. I have been rooting for that change my whole life. I am worried more countries will get involved. I am worried this war will harden positions further and kill chances of improvement for another generation or more. The status quo has been untenable for my entire life. Longer. Diplomacy can't work if every agreement is quickly violated by one side or the other. People are dying right now.

I'm not good at covering things I can't see a solution to. The only solution I CAN see, can't happen without massive change for the better and the trend's been going the wrong way.

Do not think skimpy coverage means I don't care.

#Israel #Palestinians #War

[guess-my-next-obsession]

Boss — Chapter 20

pairing: javier peña x CIA!OC

warnings: angst, pregnancy & symptoms, feelings of inadequacy, narcos stuff, very fluffy ending

words: 3.9k

series masterlist

The mission had proven to be a disaster—and a mildly dangerous one considering the precious cargo Valeria was carrying in her stomach.

Miguel Rodriguez was nowhere to be found, the agents Javier boasted about seemingly taken for a run by their “insider”. She oversaw the destruction of the condo, the agents desperate to find anything that might help save face with their boss.

Valeria stood in the messy living room of the condo, her hand on her stomach over her bulletproof vest, the anti-nausea meds she’d taken that morning now worn off.

“Hey Chief,” Fiestl stepped into the room holding a book. “Think we found something.”

“A book?” She sighed and reached out for it, the agent giving her a worried look as he took in her pale and sweaty face.

“Are you okay, Chief? You look sick.” She rolled her eyes and nodded, definitely not about to tell Feistl about her pregnancy before she told her fiancé.

“I’m fine. What—ugh—what is this?” She fought the vomit that was creeping up her throat as she opened up the book, eyes scanning over the nonsense. “This is code. Is this—“

“Their ledger.” He smiled proudly as he watched her nod, am impressed smile making its way onto her face. A loud banging interrupted the moment, her eyes shooting up in a squint.

“What the hell is that?” Valeria groaned and walked towards the sound, spotting Agent Van Ness tearing into the shower wall. “What the fuck is happening?”

“I’m being thorough.” He continued at his task, her fingers reaching to rub at your temples.

“We don’t have enough time for this. We’re already—“

“Chief Hernandez,” the attorney general walked into the room and demanded that her agents quit what they were doing. “You’re in violation of article 22–“

“Violation of what? Arresting a fugitive?” Feistl spat at the officer, Valeria’s hand raising to calm him down.

“Feistl—“

“No, fuck that. Miguel Rodriguez is in that wall.” Van Ness raised his sledge hammer once more but she called out his name to stop him from doing anything.

“I demand that you cease your search and leave the premises.” Valeria sighed at the officers orders, eyebrows furrowed together as she looked at her two eager agents. Although she admired their drive and tenacity, if they continued to do anything at the current moment, they’d be shipped back to the US and taken off the roster completely.

“Let’s go.” She watched as they threw a fit, her temper suddenly becoming much more difficult to control now that there was a human being built inside of her. “That’s enough. We’re going.”

“Fuck this.” Feistl mumbled under his breath as he passed her to walk out, Van Ness giving her a glare as he followed him.

She felt like shit, not only for failing to capture the godfather, or the fact that her agents now resented her, but because she’d been holding in her vomit for the past hour.

She barely made it outside the building when she doubled over by a bush, the crew of agents and officers giving her odd stares as they watched her throw up. “I’ll shoot whoever I catch staring at me right now.”

All the agents around her dispersed into their vehicles while she wiped your mouth and stood up. She walked to the jeep she came in, Feistl and Van Ness waiting in the front of the car while she climbed into the backseat.

“If we want to catch him and keep him, we have to follow the laws. If it wasn’t for the officers, I would’ve picked up a hammer and joined you, but this all means nothing if we’re shipped back to Washington.” She spoke through labored breaths, the men nodding and mumbling their apologies. “Let me talk to Peña about the fuck up before you guys call him, okay? This is on me.”

“Well, he’s less likely to strangle you given the upcoming nuptials.” Van Ness attempted a joke, but she gave him a stare that even she could acknowledge looked exactly like Javier’s unimpressed glare. “Two peas in a pod.”

“Can we go now? Or are you going to keep trying out new material?” The agent said nothing, simply pulling out and heading back to the airport so that she could catch her plane back to Bogota.

•••

Javier stood in the humid heat of the Colombian jungle, surrounded by a militia and his old Narcos leak, Don Berna. He couldn’t have imagined a place he’d like to be less, but their company was necessary if he wanted to get Jurado’s wife back after she was kidnapped.

To make matters worse, his bulky cell phone got no reception out in this wilderness. He walked around the camp like an idiot, holding his phone up to the sky in hopes of being able to make a call to Valeria to let her know he was safe and to ask how the op went.

“Good luck with that.” Don Berna spoke in Spanish, chuckling at him and watched as Javier shot him a glare, lowering the cell and putting it in the holder on his tactical belt. Javier walked into the wooden shelter, irritated and desperate to get away from his company. “Look at us, Peña. Who would’ve thought we’d both be bosses. Did they give you a nice house?”

“It’s okay.” He mumbled back in Spanish, checking that the extra pistol he kept on him had bullets in it.

“You should see my house. Everyday I take my shits in a different bathroom. My wife loves it.” Javier shot an amused look over at Berna, chuckling at the thought of him finding love.

“Your wife?” He chuckled and turned back to the gun.

“I’m a family man.” He replied sternly. “I bet you’re still living out of a suitcase.”

Javier tensed at the mention of his past reputation, though he equally was uncomfortable at the thought of correcting him and talking about Valeria with a man so criminal. He slammed the clip into the pistol and walked off, Don Berna chuckling at how well he was able to get under his skin.

Right now, he needed to focus on the upcoming rescue mission—not his ever-present worry for his fiancé. He was about to be walking into the jungle at night, armed men everywhere looking to kill him and the woman he was sent to rescue. The best thing he could do to protect Valeria was to not get himself distracted and killed—even if it was next to impossible to rid her well-being from his mind, he had to try.

•••

“You’re a piece of shit.”

Christina Jurado’s words played over and over in Javier’s head as he sat at the airport, waiting for their flight back to Bogota after having successfully rescued her from the jungle.

Though he’d just risked his life to save her, she showed little appreciation for it—though, he didn’t blame her. It was partially due to him that she was kidnapped in the first place, and it was completely due to him that her husband was locked up in jail.

Still, the words struck him hard—the sentiment having been played over and over in his own head for years now, never verbalized by anyone until that moment.

Javier stood up and walked out of the room, his hand scratching at the back of his neck as he tried to think about better things, happier things—like Valeria. He found a private area in the airport and pulled out his cellphone, dialing her apartment’s phone number and listening to the dial tone.

“Hello?” Her voice was eager, as though she’d been sitting by the phone for the past two days. And little did he know, she had.

“Hey, baby.” His voice was immediately soft, a smile growing on his once sour face at the sound of her voice. It had been a long time since he’d gone two days without speaking to her—the last time being their breakup.

“Javier, thank god. I’ve been worried sick, trying to call you but it never went through. I started to think…nevermind.” Valeria didn’t want to verbalize the fears that filled her over the past two days. “How did it all go?”

“We’re at the airport now, gonna catch the next flight.” He turned his head to look into the room Christina was sat in, sighing at the remembrance of her words. “God, baby…I can’t wait to see you. It’s been…been a hard couple of days.”

“Are you okay? You sound…I don’t know. Sad.” Her brows laced together as she listened to him, desperate to have him in front of her so that she could see through whatever lie he was about to tell her to downplay his feelings.

“It’s just been a hard time. And I miss you.” His eyes closed for a moment as he focused on her breathing. “I miss you a lot, mi vida. Not leaving you again.”

“I miss you too, baby.” She frowned at the pain in his voice, wishing she could reach through the phone and hug it all away.

“Agent Peña, there’s a call for you. It’s urgent.” She heard his secretary speaking to him in the background, Javier’s sigh sounding out through the line.

“I gotta go, baby. I’ll be home in a couple hours.”

“Be safe. I love you.”

“I love you.” He ended the call and put his cell phone in its holster before grabbing the one his secretary was holding. “Peña.”

“Ambassador here. Jurado’s dead. Stabbed in the neck by an inmate.” Javier felt the wind getting knocked out of him at the news. Not only did he lose his best witness, but he also was to blame for putting Jurado in that position in the first place. Now, he had to go tell his wife that her husband was gone—for good.

“Peña, the plane is boarding.” Javier’s secretary was ushering Christina out of the room she was sat in, his face pale as a ghost as he lowered the cellphone from his ear and hung it up. Christina looked into Javier’s sorrow filled eyes and instantly knew what happened. She shook her head and tears welled in her eyes as Javier opened his lips to speak, but nothing could come out.

“No…” She shook her head and began to sob, Javier’s arms reaching to pull her in for a comforting hug but she pounded her fists against his chest. Crying hysterically, the guards had to hold her back from Javier as she screamed at him. “This is your fault! Your fault!”

As if he needed her to let him know. He already felt it deep inside his bones. She was now a widow because of his choices. All because of his choices.

•••

Valeria was sitting on the couch watching a local news station when Javier came home. Her head whipped over at the sound of the door opening, quickly getting on her feet and walking over to him. Javier had managed to hold in his tears all the way home, but the minute he saw her, his composure completely slipped away. His eyes met hers and that was all it took for him to break into a sob, falling into her arms, his head resting against her chest as she held him tight.

“Javi, whats wrong?” She’d never seen him cry like this before, his hands gripping her close as though he was a terrified little boy. She walked him to the couch and turned off the news, pulling him closer into her arms and rocking him as he wept into her shoulder.

“J-Jurado…he got killed…his wife…it’s all because of me.” He buried his face deeper into her neck and clung on tighter, his body shaking against her. She was glad he couldn’t see her face—pure grief, shock, and concern all over it.

She knew just how much of an impact these deaths had on him, no matter how hard he tried to hide it. Her heart split in half as she thought about the thoughts that must be running through his mind—guilt, shame, inadequacy. It hurt the most because he wasn’t anything near the monster his brain convinced him he was. But she knew nothing she could say right now could fully convince him that he was a good man, so she just held him tighter and kissed his head in hopes that actions would speak louder than words.

“I’m a piece of shit. She said it and…it’s the truth. I’m a fucking piece of—“ Javier was cut off by Valeria’s lips on his, kissing away the salty tears that fell down his cheeks and gathered there. He fought it for a moment, trying to repeat himself over and over, but soon he melted into her like her kiss was his only saving grace. His hands on her waist gripped her so tight it nearly hurt, but she happily welcomed his desperation. “You’re the only thing…only good thing I have.”

Her heart ached for him, pulling his face away and looking into his red eyes, eyelashes wet and clumped together from his tears. It was a startling sight to see such a strong and perhaps emotionally calloused man falling apart right in front of her. She ran her thumbs over his cheeks before kissing his brow bone, eyes closing as she rested there and breathed him in. “I’m not the only good thing you have…anymore.”

He pulled back to look into her eyes, his still full of tears as he watched her begin to shed a few tears of her own. She smiled and chuckled, wiping the tears away as she looked down at her stomach. Javier’s eyes followed hers and looked lower, a broken gasp slipping from his lips when she rested her hand over her stomach. He furrowed his brows and chuckled out a sob, a look of pure disbelief all over his face.

“Surprise,” she offered with a shrug, studying his frozen state of shock carefully. Javier’s hand shook as it reached to rest over hers on her stomach, a smile finally growing on his wet face as he lifted his eyes back to hers.

“Is this for real? You’re really—“

“Pregnant? Yeah, baby, yeah I am.” She nodded and let out another chuckled sob, Javier’s hands reaching for her face and pulling her deep into another kiss. Their tears mixed together on their lips as the two of them kissed all the pain away, overwhelmed by the immense and sudden joy of the news. When Javier pulled back, he shook his head, eyes dropped back to her stomach.

“I…god,” he chuckled and wiped his tears off his face with his palms, lifting his eyes back to hers and furrowing his brows. “I love you. I wish there were bigger words for the way I feel about you…about you both.”

She chuckled through her tears and felt her life’s purpose suddenly shift. Now, the only thing in the world that mattered to her was the man in front of her and the product of their love inside of her.

“I’ve…I’ve been doing a lot of thinking since finding out—“

“Yeah, when did you find out?” He interrupted, his tears now fully dried, his eyes red and tired as he relaxed into the couch more.

“The morning you left for the op.” He nodded before remembering that morning’s interaction, his lips parting as he looked at her.

“Wait—when you said you were ‘pooping’, you were actually finding out that you were carrying my child?” He chuckled as she looked away with a guilty smile, his fingers coming to pinch her chin. “Why didn’t you tell me then?”

“Because,” she smiled bashfully as she came to rest her head on his shoulder, her hand dancing against his jean clad thigh. “You we’re about to leave, and I was about to go on my op, and I knew if I told you you wouldn’t allow either of those things to happen.”

“Fair.” He chuckled and squeezed her closer, kissing the top of her head. “Anyways, you were saying that you’ve been thinking? I hope you’re not about to break-up with me, cariño. The baby brewing inside you is gonna make that a little complicated.”

She chuckled and shook her head, lifting it off his shoulder so she could look him in the eyes, their faces only an inch from each other.

“No, never gonna break up with you, Javi.” She delighted in the softness of his smile, her words providing a necessary reassurance. “No, I, uh…I thought being back in action was what I wanted. Thought it would make me feel fulfilled, but during the op…all I could think about was our child and…it all just felt so insignificant—being out in the field.”

Javier’s eyes bounced quickly between hers, his heart beating solely for her as he listened to the softness in her voice.

“And, so…I’ve been thinking that maybe it’s time for me to resign. End my contract early.” Valeria sighed out as she got to the point, feeling nervous as though he’d be disappointed in her. “But if you don’t think that’s a good idea, you know, I’ll stick with it and finish out my contract, but I just feel so consumed with love for the two of you that I can’t focus on anything else—”

“Cariño, mi vida,” he chuckled softly and shook his head, his eyes softening with absolute tenderness and affection. His hand reached to rest on her cheek, her head tilting into his touch as she gave him a shy smile. “I’m done too.”

“What?” She chuckled and lifted her head from his palm to study him better.

“I’m done with this. After tonight, after…” He trailed off, still not quite ready to visit those feelings of remorse and guilt again. “I’m done. I don’t want to do anything involving this shit anymore. Guns, drugs, death…I don’t want it anywhere near either of you.”

Valeria felt her chest rumble as a surprise sob hit her, a smile on her face as she began to cry. He gave her an adoring frown as he wiped her tears away, his other hand coming to rest on her stomach.

“All I could think about in that fucking jungle surrounded by evil, awful men was you. And now that I know that you’re carrying our child—that we’re starting a family? There’s no way I can go back out there and do this shit. No way.” She nodded and leaned over onto his chest, his lips pecking the crown of her head. “Tomorrow, I’ll be handing in my letter of resignation to the Ambassador.”

“Yeah?” She lifted her eyes again to watch him nod, his eyes lowering to her lips. He placed a soft peck to her swollen lips, lingering there and giving her a few extra kisses out of sheer need. “Guess we can hand them in together.”

“What are we gonna do after we tell the government to fuck off, hm? Where do you wanna raise our family?” He accepted her as she climbed onto his lap, his fingers combing her hair out of bee face, eyes darting across her features to sear this moment in his mind for the rest of his life.

“I’m not close to my mom, and truthfully, I don’t really care to be. But you are close with your dad, and I love your dad too. What do you think about staying close to him in Texas?” She watched as Javier smiled widely, chuckling to himself. “What’s so funny?”

“I just never thought this dream would come true for me.” She was rendered speechless under the weight of his sincerity.

“It’s happening,” she nodded and lowered his hand from her face and back to her stomach. “What do you say to us raising our baby in Laredo? They can grow up with their abuelo…hear him tell stories about their abuela. And when they get old enough, maybe we can tell them all about the silly fight that made their parents realize that they couldn’t live without each other.”

“God, baby…you’re going to make me cry again.” He chuckled and wiped the tears in his eyes away before speaking again. “I…would love that. Is that what you want? I don’t want you settling down somewhere just because—“

“I felt more at home in Texas around you and your dad then I ever did around either of my parents in Arizona. I want this.” She pressed her lips to his in a soft peck. Javier cradled her face and pressed his forehead to hers as she sat on his lap.

“Why didn’t you ever tell me about your dad passing?”

“I don’t know, I just…I don’t know how I feel about it, so…it never made sense to bring up.” She pulled back and shrugged, her heart racing in her chest at the change in topic. “My dad was not a easy man to love. I don’t really want to talk about it.”

“Okay,” he nodded and stroked her hair back, his tone softer than the world’s finest cashmere. “We don’t have to talk about it, cariño.”

“Thank you.” She offered a weak smile before climbing off his lap. Javier grabbed her hand before she could walk away, pouting his lip out. “Where are you going?”

“Turns out morning sickness happens all day.” She chuckled before tugging her hand away from his, the urge to vomit growing stronger with each passing second.

“Oh, shit. Do you need anything? Meds, food…anything?” He stood up and followed her to the restroom, watching as she shook her head and gently pushed him out of the doorway of the bathroom by his stomach.

“Just for you to not listen to me throwing up.” He rolled his eyes and shook his head at her request.

“Cariño, you really think a little throw up is going to scare me off?” Valeria shrugged at his question, her hand covering her mouth as her vomit began to make its way upwards. There was no time to argue, her body lunging over to the toilet and letting it all out. Javier sat down on the edge of the tub next to her, rubbing his warm hand over her back as she remained doubled over. “My mom used to tell me that boys were an easy pregnancy, but girls sucked the life out of the mother. Guess we’re having a girl.”

“Hooray.” She croaked from where you sat, Javier’s chest rumbling with laughter at her unenthusiastic tone.

“I’m so proud of you, cariño.” It was the sincere truth, and it went far beyond the fact that she was carrying his child and dealing with the sickness that came along with it. He was proud of her for every single thing she did, all the time. “You’re a one in a million kind of woman, I hope you know that.”

“I would cry if I had the energy.” She sat back against his knees, her head resting on them as she panted. “I love you, Javier. More than I’ll ever love anyone.”

“God, cariño, I love you. More than anyone. Forever.”

taglist: @joelmillerscoffee @ajeff855 @wildemaven @axshadows @sherala007 @browneyes-issac @tooflef @mariasabana @tae27 @kimm4710 @stxrrylunatic @sara-alonso @paulalikestuff @jbh-castaway @oceandolores @mandomover @chxpsi @auberosier @mashomasho @vanemando15 @wickedmunson @marvel-sw-lover @jediknight122 @harriedandharassed @star-wars-fan-2005 @alwaysdjarin @jalobro @trickstersp8 @mccn-bcys @manuymesut @tanzthompson @jlmaddinson (sorry if your tag isn’t working!)

#javier pena #narcos fanfiction #javier peña x you #javier peña angst #javier peña fluff #javier peña x y/n #javier peña x reader #javier pena fic #javier pena fanfiction #pedro pascal #pedro pascal fanfiction #pedro pascal fic

[firespirited]

Yeah actually to throw another spanner in the works more than any art 'theft' I hate AI because of the underpaid real people acting as mechanical turks for it to all actually work.

Datasets have to be curated and fully tagged which means people acting as mods seeing horrid things and people doing mechanical turk work of tagging 5000 pictures a day of cat with collar facing right because everyone uploaded their pictures as ginger or black cat but not important details like how many paws are visible or what direction the cat is looking.

There is a building filled with people looking at your Tesla's live camera and tagging each misread sign, railing and pedestrian. It'd be more ethical to hire a human to be your driver, even a remote person in Mumbai driving from their computer at local taxi rates.

You've heard about machine learning trained on AO3, let's talk about the people who were paid pennies to read bad smut to exclude idk, spelling mistakes or bad idioms or find words that mean one thing irl and a pairing in fandom.

I learned yesterday that for every piece of normal my little pony art: screencaps merch and fanart there are 4 pony porn arts. If they scraped a user curated gallery, there will only be a small percentage of smut that is marked safe. If they scraped deviantart, twitter or reddit. Some poor bastards were paid less than a dollar a day to remove the bad stuff so typing my little pony into those generators doesn't have hentai or a toy being violated.

That's the real price of 'AI', schoolkids tagging pictures as unpaid internships, housewives and disabled people transcribing audio for pocket money, code monkeys and moderators with untreated PTSD.

I know someone who was working on integrating machine learning into twitter for hate speech detection: it involves human labour and tons of it because machines can't tell the difference between brothers ragging on eachother and a stalker. They can't tell when an oven is for baking or antisemitism.

That's what they're working on right now, automating moderators which is just outsourcing cheap moderators who aren't called moderators because they're training a machine learning model except they're doing everything a moderator does and worse.

#saf #ai #Ai art #Ai generated #The theft is labor you idiots #Not your art style

[neonarboretumart]

Idea 3: Pizzaplex is an engineering disaster waiting to happen.

An idea that I don't see brought up at all, is the idea that the Pizzaplex is not constructed well.

Remember in FNAF 6 when the tutorial unit said this?

"There may be times when you purchase something of questionable quality, and we don't blame you. Cutting corners is just good business."

Keep this statement in mind while I bring up my next point. As someone who's taken an engineering class, when you are constructing a building, there are a VERY large number of codes (rules) that you need to follow for every conceivable part of it.

Fazbear Entertainment would probably find it a lot cheaper just to pay off the people inspecting the plex than to actually put money into making sure everything is up to code.

They would also try to construct the building as cheaply as possible, trying to "cut corners" wherever they could. They use substandard materials and contractors that don't double-check their work. They built the mall itself over the subterranean remains of their old restaurant, despite this making the ground very unstable.

This all works in my mind because Fazbear Entertainment has been proven to follow the "be as cheap as possible" and "maximize profits by any means necessary" approaches many times in the past.

Here is just one example of a code being violated, according to Section 1006.2.1.1 of Utah Building Codes, "Three exits or exit access doorways shall be provided from any space with an occupant load of 501 to 1,000. Four exits or exit access doorways shall be provided from any space with an occupant load greater than 1,000." We only see 2 public exits in the game, and the Pizzaplex likely holds well over a thousand people at any one time. What's worse is that one of the exits, the only one designated for emergencies, requires a VIP pass in order to be used.

If Fazbear Entertainment is willing to do this to cut costs, who knows what else they have done?

It's why, in my mind, I don't have Gregory live at the pizzaplex after the 3-star ending. Freddy would calculate that it is statistically safer for Gregory to live in his box than at the plex. He instead lives with Vanessa, creating opportunities for them to grow closer.

BTW This has happened in real life, even down to the shoddy construction and profit maximization. It was the Sampoong Department store collapse. Link

Honestly, all of these sound like pretty great ideas, but this one interests me the most. I’ll be super honest, the Vanny/Vanessa arc isn’t top of my interests besides the idea of possession/Agony/corrupting energy. I think the mechanics are interesting, but I find the characters dull. That’s not to say your ideas around them don’t have an audience! I’m just not them. I do like the question of whether glitchtrap’s energy/influence ever really leaves Vanessa even in the 3 star ending. I think Afton’s own agony and rage is too powerful to go down so easily, and she’s a compatible vessel.

But anyway, THIS one really captures what I love about security breach. The pizzaplex. Comfort me would like to believe that it would be an alright (if not wildly overpriced) place to go. (Personal comfort headcanon is that the pizzaplex is pandemic-safe bc hey no human staff plz just let me go there) but also this is Fazbear we’re talking about, this place is safety violations up the wazzoo. Even the freeroaming animatronics without human minders is a lil iffy!

I won’t even start on the INSANE madness that is the Book Version pizzaplex, ik that the books aren’t canon, only canon-adjacent, but that shit is WILD. And also really graphic, just, plain graphic, tw for anyone planning to read/listen to HAPPS especially. A lot of it calls into question whether we can really put it all down to simple corner-cutting. There’s sections of the books at the very least that make me wonder whether the true goal underlying some of the design decisions isn’t the same one that’s been at the heart of fazbear designs, or at the very least Afton Robotics, for decades.

And while I don’t believe glitchtrap is TRULY William in all his former complex glory, I think he’s still driven by the same thing that drove him to…whatever the hell he became in the first place. He’s now a thing driven by Agony, rage and the sheer determination to Continue at all costs. He’s like a memetic virus, and I don’t see a reason why, with him at the heart of so much, that wouldn’t seep into everything around him. I doubt Vanny is the first to be influenced, even if she was the most overt.

Basically I think the in-canon gaming company (the name escapes me) and Fazbear entertainment are sus for more than just heehoo capitalism reasons. I think it was made to be quietly dangerous, whether than was the initial conscious plan, or more likely something subconscious that evolved over time, assisted by FE’s willingness to cut corners.

Idk I’m not good at all this stuff and I don’t really write about theories or anything, but that’s my two pennies worth. Thank you for sending me your cool ideas!!! I hope they all become fics someday

#fnaf #fnaf security breach #fnaf theory #tales from the pizzaplex #pizzaplex

[daviddshiki]

The Adventures of David Dashiki-Story of an African American Hero-Year of the Black Man

I am the leader and we have not started anything yet; we have not done anything yet. Up to now we are just good Sabbath school children; and if acting like good Sabbath school children we create an unrest amongst other folks, what will happen when we start to behave like men? There is no doubt about it that the man who is doing right is never fearful of anything. - Marcus Garvey

What are we? Punk Daddies or African American men with a vision of change for the Future? Here again is the importance of reading highlighted. We have never been weaklings or cowards. We have fought and struggled for our rights in the face of insurmountable odds. guns, dogs, inhumane living conditions, laws which violated our rights, physical attacks, threats to our family and homes, illegal incarcerations, even destruction of our homes by fire by the KKK, Still, we never quit. We supported each other. We sought help and assistance through legal channels, the courts, to no avail. We never stopped appealing to our government for relief. However, to this very day, we are not free. Through these encounters, it was abundantly clear to us that foreign countries in need of aid will find relief from the compassion and generosity of America.

In our battles for relief, we were offered strategies not solutions. Black people in America attend segregated inferior, low performing schools. America has never sought to integrate the whole of the country. The books our children read are outdated and second hand. Our children attend the lowest performing schools in the nation. Yet we have never stopped believing in the American dream. For how long do we accept the fact that what we honor and respect, has not included us in that dream? Therefore , Brothers, it is time to push forward. For our children are our future. We have to develop strategies ourselves so that they are not abandoned or left behind. We have to start building a new mentality in our children. We start with limiting the hours of television. To see the white images n television for hours a day, makes our children absorb the fact that white people and children are the only achievers on the planet. We will replace most of those hours with computer skills acquisition and reading about our history and heroes or men of Big Affairs. If you are not in a private residence at the moment, decide today that your next purchase will be a home. Keeping our children living in ghetto conditions will only produce children with low expectations and aspirations. We encourage all to build a library of black books for our children. We read to them and they read to us If it recommended to anyone of us, we avoid special education as if it was the plague. Honor them when the positive academic results of said placement are clear and visible. We talk to our children about their daily experiences in school. If something is strange, odd or non -educational, we , immediately, get our hips up to and into the school to inquire about it. Ask! Why do our children not have music and art classes, science and physics instruction, technology education, coding, an advancement placement program. In general we want to see a full and complete academic curriculum and a dynamic and motivational enrichment program. We want to know our schools' reading and mathematics scores. If anyone of us is somewhat queasy or shaky about the terms or the intricacies of reading or mathematics, form a group and approach the school for information. Always take some women to accompany you on the visit. Black women know everything and are fearless. They will simply say, " I gave birth to them. I am their first teacher and I need to know.

Black Brothers, We must be brave. We don't need more docile and dormant brothers to lead us, We want men with cojones who will question everything or who has a wife who will.

Black Men ! This is our year. Act like it. Let's get our house in order. We will be macho in our household, tighten up the rules about study, homework and the wholehearted love for learning. The children will have to earn the cell phone, new outfits, sneakers, dresses, computers. What good is the new drip if they are dumb as doorknobs.

We will plan our activities in our home and teach the children about Malcolm X , Shirley Chisholm, Michelle Obama, Barack Obama and Marcus Garvey. We will never allow these histories to go wanting. When we go down south or the west indies. we take our children. They will play in the soil of the seniors and the ancestors. They will listen to the stories. Our responsibility is to help them make the connections and relish in the fact that the seniors are still here.

Your children, our children must be prepared for life. It is our duty, Black Man.! Everyday, they leave the house for school, they must look good, smell good expect good and be ready to do GOOD. We are a great and mighty people. This is evident by the fact that we have survived the attacks of the enemy in our homeland. Those facts have been hidden from us with a purpose. We will retrieve and recapture the essence of our greatness and our zeal for scholarship...All of us working together in 2024, the Year of the Black Man

#culture #education #politics #quotes

[ribbondee]

My Tiny Genius, a SpongeBob SquarePants ficlet

After a long day of once again trying and failing to steal the Krabby Patty Secret Formula, Plankton is feeling down in the dumps. It's up to Karen to cheer him up.

Fic is under the cut!

There were many words to describe the Chum Bucket, and pleasant certainly was not one of them. Overall it reeked of filth, grime and all sorts of health code violations. A certain musty odor seemed to always linger in the air, no matter how much air freshener one used. Truly, it was a wonder this place was still in business. There were many theories as to why, but truly no one except for the restaurants’ owners really knew.

One of said owners was in the lobby, waiting as she always did for her husband when he was off with one of his schemes. Karen was standing in the room in her mobile apparatus, her screen blank as she waited ever so patiently. Best case scenario Plankton would simply fail as usual. Worst… the Chum Bucket was blown to smithereens again. Neither outcome was good, but it was obvious which one was more favorable.

Finally, a small tapping sound came from one of the doors. He was back. Karen wheeled over to the red double doors and let the poor man in. He was a mess. He was covered in ash and some bruises, and she was immediately concerned. “Plankton-” she began.

“Not now honey.”

Plankton sulked off, no doubt on his way to the lab. “Plankton!”

The tiny organism turned around to face his computer wife. “What?”

“I have dinner ready.”

“I ain’t in the mood for holographic meatloaf.”

He turned back around and went on his way. Karen put her robotic arms on where her hips would be and rolled on after him. “What kind of attitude is that? At least let me patch you up! It looks like it hurts!”

“No it- ow. Ok fine.”

Karen bent over and picked up the creature in her metal palms and gently lifted him up and began to wheel him into the lab area. She set him down on a counter and got out the first aid kit that was for this sort of thing.

“How’d it go”, she said as she began to clean his wounds.

“OW! Easy!”

“Sorry sweetie. But how did things go? Didja get that formula this time?”

“What does it look like? Nope. I failed again. Always.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I… I can’t do this.”

“Can’t do what?”

“What do you think?! I can’t get that formula! Krabs is always one step ahead!”

“Oh hon, surely you’ll get it next time”, Karen said, giving Plankton a little pat on the back which caused him to fall flat on his face.

“Ow.”

“Sorry.”

Plankton stood, and sighed. “That’s what you always say. I always go for it again, and it blows up in my face! Literally! Look at all these inventions. Failures. All of them.”

Plankton’s eye was beginning to tear up.

Karen felt her circuits beginning to tingle with pity. Poor little fella. She remembered all of the earlier formula-nabbing schemes, and how motivated and eager her husband was. With each failed plan Plankton grew ever more weary, which was odd as he was usually quite the tenacious type.

“Oh Plankton”, Karen said tenderly.

“Oh Karen! I’m a failure!”

Karen gasped in horror. “You are NOT!”

“How?”

“For starters, you build all these amazing inventions that are way ahead of their time! You’re brilliant!”

“Go on.”

“You went to college!”

“Yeah!”

“And you're gonna GET that formula!”

“Yeah!”

Plankton made sure to say the last year extra loudly, clearly filled with his usual overinflated ego once again. It usually never took too long to reignite his drive via a small pep talk, something Karen was very happy to provide for her beloved single celled spouse.

“I am going to get the formula, and make Krabs eat dirt!”

“I know you are, honey. But I think you should rest or eat first.”

“No I- ow. Yeah alright.”

“That's the spirit, little guy. Now let's go and relax for a while. You've earned it.”

Karen picked up her now relieved husband, and began to wheel them towards their living quarters so the poor little thing could rest.

“I love you, my tiny little genius.”

“Heh, love you too babe.”

And so the pair of strange lovers were off, for now they would relax and perhaps discuss oh so evil, diabolical and lemon scented plans for the future.

THE END

#spongebob squarepants #fanfic #ficlet #fluff #sweet #i love these two #nickelodeon

[macpkghallofshame]

Graphically Obtuse

Let's not talk about package managers in general, but you may think of nix as a solution when you desire more problems. 'Measure twice, cut once' is a saying, and you'd think a shop with the name Determinate Systems wants to be measurable. But here we are, the 'Universal' nix installer package they've released has no payload and runs everything in the postinstall script, with a separate 7MB binary for Apple Silicon and 8MB for Intel.

!/bin/sh args="--verbose install --no-confirm --diagnostic-attribution=PKG-3C6F9A5D-5AD1-470C-94B2-CF4734B2128A" if /usr/sbin/sysctl -n machdep.cpu.brand_string | /usr/bin/grep -oi "Intel"; then exec ./nix-installer-x86_64-darwin $args else exec ./nix-installer-aarch64-darwin $args fi

Installer.app therefore has no idea what the size of the actual payload is, but that's only to stay on the measuring theme, there's way many other violations of logic where the people they've asked could've enlightened them/they could've taken hints and learned about Proper Packaging Principles.

Let's start with their recent announcement post which states it was created for these two benefits: a signed package 'for secur' (obvs), and since it's in the distribution format you can push via MDM (lol).

Why the snark? (Besides the fact very few people in their right mind trust MDM a.k.a. mgmt over UDP with software installation.) Why are those two points not obviously highest-value to have for the nix community? Well when what's really happening under the covers is shelling out to the binary you delivered, your process is not noticeably more advantageous than copying and pasting from the nix-installer README. Yes, you signed a script and sped up the process some amount by not needing to curl ~8MBs before the process begins. But that's not what made this first try at a 'graphical installer' post-worthy. (Hello, soon to be 2024! small 3-ish year slumber for ye olde tumblr).

It's the claim that ~I need to join YET ANOTHER DISCORD to provide feedback~ installation packages cannot 'provide custom parameters' - sure, if you want to build a graphical experience then you need to do more than deliver bits to disk. It's not like they didn't decide to code some stuff, there's two JS functions that run before you even decide to go ahead with the install, because they want to avoid conflicting with a previous install of nix-darwin or something. How folks have handled this is providing a GUI (via an installer plugin or a first-run experience) that takes whatever responses you want to prompt about and writes to an artifact on disk that the installer can also check for to supply defaults (and even enable enterprise distribution if it writes to either preference domains or uses standards like AppConfig).

We're rooting for you, nix friendlies, you're in the MacAdmins Slack... help us help you!

#nix #macos #macadmin #notanotherdiscordffs #scripting

[megankilmerrealestate]

Selling Your House with Not-So-Friendly Neighbors

Neighbor Troubles and Wild Real Estate Stories

Selling your house should be an exciting and rewarding experience, but sometimes, there's one obstacle standing in your way – your not-so-friendly neighbors! Fear not, my fellow home sellers, for I've had my share of wild experiences as a housing professional, and I'm here to share some epic tales and useful tips to conquer those pesky neighbor challenges!

Apology on Ocean Views: The Building Crunch

Picture this – a breathtaking multi-million dollar property with stunning ocean views in Aptos, Ca. It was a new construction, and we were all racing against the clock to get it prepped and ready for the market. Admittedly, we weren't the most courteous neighbors, working around the clock like busy bees. But hey, we had a tight schedule to meet! So, what did we do? We threw a colossal open house bash, filled with scrumptious treats, and issued a heartfelt apology to the entire neighborhood for our crazy working hours. We thought we had won them over, but oh boy, were we in for a surprise! One neighbor across the street never forgave us! Every showing, she'd swoop in with tales of things "not to code." Talk about a thorn in our side!

Reconciliation and Lessons Learned

But you know what? I don't back down that easily. Oh no, I rolled up my sleeves, marched right up to Negative Nancy – no, that's not her real name, but she sure acted like one! Anyway, I personally apologized and asked how I could make things right. Surprise, surprise, she wanted a good ol' fashioned face-to-face apology. Lesson learned – communication is key! Next time, I'll involve the neighbors from the get-go, making sure they're on board with our plans and progress. Smooth sailing ahead!

A Tricky Park Manager 

Now, let me regale you with a tale of a tricky park manager I had to deal with. We had a mobile home property sale, and this manager was one tough cookie. When I sent her the park application through with eSignatures, she declared she doesn't do computer stuff. I had already seen that she opened the document and was asking her to sign and approve my clients. Alrighty then! I printed and drove her over a physical copy, but two weeks went by with no response. Time was ticking, and people's lives were on the line – the sellers and buyers had their whole lives planned around this! So, I pulled out my secret agent moves, gathered all the evidence, and wrote a fact-based document showing how her silence was a violation of Fair Housing Laws. That got her attention, and the green light was given! Victory!

A Neighbor of A Kind 

Oh, but the adventures don't end there! We had a nosy neighbor who seemed harmless at first – just being friendly and curious during showings. But, one day, as I was locking up, I spotted them INSIDE the garage. Major red alert! Turns out, they were living there, sneaking around like a ninja, hiding their stuff in the backyard bushes! Can you believe it? I called for backup, meaning my lender or broker tagged along for extra security. Turns out, they just needed help, so we offered resources instead of calling the cops. After all, in California, there are many people priced out of housing, and sometimes, they just need someone to lend a helping hand instead of judgment.

Turning Neighbor Troubles into Neighbor Triumphs

Folks, when it comes to dealing with not-so-friendly neighbors while selling your house, there's no one-size-fits-all solution. But with some creativity, a pinch of courage, and a willingness to communicate, you can conquer those neighbor beasts and turn those troubles into triumphs! Remember, it's never a bad idea to consult legal experts when needed or call the police if your safety is at risk. Each situation is unique, but with a positive attitude and a dash of resilience, you can navigate these wild real estate adventures and emerge victorious! So, go forth and sell that house with confidence and a smile! Happy home selling!

#homeselling #homesweethome #santacruz #realestate #monterey #neighbors

[carsonwest]

ABOUT.

Name: Carson West FC: Mason Gooding Gender & Pronouns: Cis Man | He/Him Sexuality: Bisexual Relationship Status: Single Age & Date of Birth: 26 years old | June 7th, 1997 Where Do They Live: West End Time Living in Nashville: 26 years (minus college) Occupation: Firefighter/Paramedic Positive Traits: Jovial, motivated, outgoing, caring, easygoing, fair-minded Negative Traits: Overcompensates, prone to tunnel vision, more self-conscious than he lets on, sometimes overly talkative

QUICK FACTS.

Jeremiah West, Carson's father, is an executive at Applause Entertainment Group.

Carson likes cooking and often cooks for the fire house.

He's an animal lover. The fire house has a Dalmation named Roscoe who is their mascot and Carson loves him to pieces.

He completed his degree in Miami before moving back to Nashville to finish his certifications and paramedic training. He's been back in town about 3 years.

Carson played football in high school and college but he never intended to make it a career and always had his sights set on becoming a first responder.

CONNECTION IDEAS.

Siblings (adopted, but cousins by blood).

Friends.

Colleagues.

Know each other through Applause Entertainment Group where Carson's dad works.

High school classmates (would have gone to school in Nashville).

Met Carson when he was responding to an emergency, as either a firefighter or paramedic.

Flings, exes, etc.

They walk their dog in the same area Carson walks Roscoe the fire house dog.

BACKGROUND.

TW: Death, Building Fire, Parental Loss

Carson wasn’t born into wealth, but that didn’t stop him being lucky from a young age; at least, that was what people always told him. He was born Carson Scott. His father was a plumber by trade, hard-working and earnest. His mother came from a wealthy family, but while her sister, Carson’s aunt, married Jeremiah West, a wealthy record label executive, she had other plans. She fell in love and married outside her family’s approval, turning away from their money to forge a simple life.

Carson doesn’t have any real memories of his birth parents, but when he looked back into his family’s case years later, the reports said the fire was the result of faulty wiring. The building had dozens of violations and nothing was up to code. The landlord went to prison for negligence, but not for long enough, if you asked Carson.

Sixteen people died in the apartment fire, including his parents, but a firefighter managed to carry two-year-old Carson out wrapped in a baby blanket. That was where the ‘luck’ came in. To this day, Carson doesn’t understand how so many lost their lives and a child of barely two years old made a full recovery.

After the fire, his aunt and uncle, The West family, took him in and adopted him as their own. The Wests were always honest about his birth parents but he also got the impression they didn’t want to dive into the gritty details. It wasn’t exactly something happy to talk about at the dinner table, and with his birth mom’s side of the family, Carson always got the impression there was a little sorrow and resentment over things left unsaid, a loss they felt could have been prevented.

Carson had always had a vision in his mind of the heroes who saved his life, along with so many others. The family thought he would grow out of wanting to be a firefighter when he grew up. After all, that was just something kids said, right? They wanted to be a Firefighter. Cowboy. Race Car Driver. Then they grew up. With Carson, that desire never faded, and rather than Business Management, Politics, Law, he decided to get his Bachelor of Science in Fire and Emergency Services at the University of Florida, going on to complete his EMT Certification, Fire Suppression Certificate, and eventually his Paramedic training. His family insisted that if he was going to go into this line of work, at the very least, he was going to pursue it with as many qualifications as he could get.

Now, Carson is a fresh-faced young first responder stationed in his hometown of Nashville. He gets the feeling not too many people take him seriously, but just because he tries to keep a smile on his face and bring levity to his work, he’s determined to prove that doesn’t mean he’s a joke. After all, he’s always felt he has something to prove.

#about #nahq.intro