I need a completely rewritten teen wolf series with Derek Hale as the main character. I think it would heal me.

Who is the bitch in the first year hero courses most down for murder, do you think? Surprisingly, despite being the only one to actually MAKE death threats, I'm mot sure Bakugou is all that high up there? When you've got Todo freezing people from the inside out, Mushroom Girl choking people, Honenuki drowning people and dropping industrial chimneys on them etc etc... What would your rankings be?

what better way to spend a Sunday evening than by ranking all of U.A.’s first-year students by murder.

disclaimer: I am doing this for fun and this entire post is ridiculous so please do not take it too seriously. also just a heads up, this post contains some recent manga spoilers as well as a couple of spoilers for Heroes Rising. now then, let’s quantify these bloodthirsty little savages.

okay so despite being entirely too plus ultra for their own good, approximately 99% of these kids would never dream of doing any kind of permanent harm to another living being. so I’m just listing the first thirty in no particular order, and then we’ll get to ranking the top ten.

Aoyama

despite having that brief moment in chapter 167 where virtually everyone thought he was a serial killer, Aoyama is actually a good boy. a bit stalkerish, maybe.

Mina

Mina did dream up that one attack where Ochako floats her up in the air so that she can rain acid down on people, which is slightly homicidal. but she’s not a killer. honestly if she was we’d all be dead already. see: thicc Girl Noumu.

Tsuyu

if Tsuyu had ever killed someone she would have already told everyone all about it because she is open about these things so safe to say she is not a killer.

Ochako

all Ochako wants to do is help and support people. she can be pretty hardcore from time to time but my baby girl would never. not to say that villain wouldn’t be a good look on her. I still get a shiver up my spine remembering that one time Toga turned into her and demonstrated exactly how deadly her quirk could be.

Ojiro

nah. the worst thing Ojiro has ever done was throwing his empty plain yogurt cup into the wrong recycling bin by accident, and he felt terrible about it afterward.

Kaminari

real talk, Kaminari could very easily kill a ton of people with his quirk if he actually tried. but he hasn’t, because he is only two and is too busy learning his shapes and colors and leaving his lego duplo blocks all over the carpet for other people to trip on.

Kirishima

do I even have to justify this at all. duh Kirishima doesn’t murder people sorry to anyone who came into this post all excited to read a big paragraph going off about Kiri’s raw bloodlust. I don’t know what you expected.

Kouda

Kouda is probably deadlier than everyone thinks. imagine him commanding, say, a mob of giant hornets to swarm and kill someone. it’s a good thing he wouldn’t actually hurt a fly.

Satou

I sat here for a while thinking about what I could say about Satou. but just. can you picture him killing a guy? nah, me neither.

Shouji

one of the things I like about Shouji is that he looks older than he is, and kind of creepy, what with the masked face and the freaky tentacle arms and all the like. and so he very likely experienced some of that good old fashioned quirk racism growing up, and people were afraid of him and/or thought he would become a villain. but instead he decided to become a hero. and I think that says so much about Shouji’s character. it reminds me a lot of Shinsou; his desire to become a hero was so strong that he overcame prejudice and circumstances which could just have easily have led to him becoming a villain (and in fact, it’s not all that different from some of the actual villain backstories). anyway so yeah no murder for him.

Jirou

I think she would consider killing anyone who ever hurt Momo or Kami, but aside from that NO because she is a good pure girl who loves music and rocking out and putting smiles on people’s faces.

Sero

poor Sero is so not-murdery that when he does get pitted against someone with more murdery energy such as Todoroki, he basically gets immediately overwhelmed and everyone is just kind of wincing and then timidly applauding him and saying “good try.” that’s Sero’s life. he would just sit there and get murdered rather than going in for the kill. he’s a good bro.

Mineta

needs several restraining orders filed against him, but wouldn’t actually kill someone.

Momo

well one time she did explode a grenade in Aizawa’s face. but no.

Awase

now we have come to the 1-B kids. I will give brief descriptions in case you, like me, sometimes have trouble remembering their names. so, Awase! the welding, Momo-rescuing one. he is not murdery.

Sen

the rotating limbs one. one of the least murdery kids in the fairly murderous 1-B on account of his quirk is just too ridiculous. sorry Sen.

Kuroiro

the Tokoyami one. more likely to bore you to tears talking about death than actually kill someone. which is too bad because he honestly would make a pretty bitching assassin.

Kendou

would say she’s probably in the top fifteen. god I love her quirk so much. just want her to slap some bitches to death. but she probably wouldn’t.

Shishida

the growly monster one. he does get some bonus points for tending to lose control once he goes full beastmode and werewolfs out. and he is fairly deadly.

Shouda

the roly poly double smashy one. it’s actually only a matter of time before Shouda kills someone, most likely. his quirk is way too dangerous, and the thing is, it’s probably hard for him to tell how dangerous a particular impact is going to be beforehand. one of these days it’s gonna be way stronger than he intends and somebody’s neck is gonna get snapped.

Pony

never forget that time Pony stabbed Ojiro and Shouji like a dozen times and everybody was just cool with it.

Tsuburaba

the air platform one. he did try to suffocate Kouda that one time.

Tetsutetsu

only if he’s fighting Shouto. or teamed up with Shouto. then all bets are off as to whether or not he’s going to drill his superheated steel fist right through somebody’s face.

Tokage

the severed limbs one. she just has kind of a murdery vibe to her. stalking everyone with her various body parts. yuuugh. I bet if she did kill someone nobody would ever be able to prove it was her.

Manga

the speech bubble head one. is going to destroy so much public and private property once he’s set loose on the streets. but no deaths.

Bondo

the glue one. and nah, Bondo is cool.

Koudai

the Ant-Man one. doesn’t strike me as particularly murderous, I even went and reread her part of the joint training arc to confirm it. she’s fine.

Rin

the kung fu dragon one. not especially murdery. overall probably one of the least bloodthirsty in class 1-B in fact.

Shiozaki

the vines one. she’s extremely murdery. I can’t be the only one who thinks that, can I? Shiozaki scares the shit out of me. if I were Kaminari I would have nightmares about her.

Monoma

would murder every single member of class 1-A if he could. would be the criminal in a Detective Conan two-parter. would give a long monologue about always being the side character and never in the starring role until one day he finally couldn’t take it anymore and snapped. why does his hero costume make it look as though he’s going to steal a bunch of famous jewels out from under everyone’s noses. nah but I’m just kidding and Monoma would never actually kill someone. but one day he’s probably going to be framed for murder by a villain and Kendou and Shinsou will have to team up to defend him and catch the real culprit.

10. Yanagi

the creepy pale ghost-girl-looking one. contrary to what you are probably all thinking, her high ranking isn’t just because of her general horror film vibe, but also because she attempted to bludgeon Mina to death during the joint battle arc. but also yes it is because of her general horror film vibe.

9. Kamakiri

the stabby one. he’s up here because I’m pretty sure he tried to kill Jirou that one time. like what was he even gonna do if Bakugou hadn’t stepped in. though to be fair I don’t think he actually had his knives out at the time so maybe he was just gonna elbow her in the face or something idk.

8. Bakugou

I agree with you that Bakugou is much more bark than bite, anon. and not only is he remarkably careful and precise with his quirk and good at avoiding any collateral damage (and even better IMO ever since his supplementary training), I think that due to his various struggles with being perceived as a villain and also trying to find his own understanding of what being a hero means, he’s probably more self-aware than most of the other kids at this point when it comes to matters of “is this morally okay.” so in spite of his generally violent demeanor, I very much doubt he ever would or could actually kill someone. but he’s in the top ten because his high shounen protagonist levels do place him in the “would potentially go apeshit if and when something happened to someone he cares about” category, though. and also because he and Deku did basically attempt to disintegrate Nine, and then when Nine just dropped off the face of the earth afterwards, no one even bothered to wonder what had happened to him. which leads me to wonder if Deku and Katsuki straight up assume they did in fact kill him and just dgaf.

7. Deku

see above re: Nine. and also he may have to kill AFO one day. so while he probably wouldn’t be happy about it, I think he could still potentially do it. and also because he absolutely does lose his gotdamn mind every time someone hurts one of his friends, and especially Kacchan, and I could picture him just snapping if something really awful ever actually did happen. I don’t think it would in canon because it’s just way too dark, but I don’t think it’d be out of character if he did.

6. Iida

literally tracked down the villain who attacked his brother with the full intent of personally killing said villain once he got his hands on him. true, Shouto and Deku talked him out of it in the end, but still. that was some real motherfucking killing intent. also I will never forget the image of this kid sitting his ass down in middle of the woods and mutilating his own goddamn body without any anesthesia. listen, everyone. just please, for your own safety, do not fuck with Iida.

5. Shouto

and now we reach the top five. listen, feel free to disagree, but I stand firm in my belief that out of all the non-traitor and non-demon-possessed children in class 1-A, Todoroki Shouto is absolutely the most likely to straight up just kill a bitch one day. this boy froze a man from the inside out until a tower of fucking ice was jutting out of his fucking throat, and was all “go ahead and hibernate for a while” like excuse me, THE FUCK. and the thing is, this wasn’t just a one-time occurrence either; he literally pulls this kind of shit ALL THE TIME. froze an entire fucking building with his classmates in it and was all “feel free to bring it on but fighting without the soles of your feet will be painful.” heh. what the fuck. and do you all remember when he fought Sero and was in a bad mood so he iced half the fucking stadium. nearly killed a few people right then and there. “I got carried away.” whaaaaaaat. and I could go on and on; he nearly burned poor Shindou alive, and basically the entirety of chapter 205 could have been submitted as evidence in a court of law had that training battle against Tetsutetsu gone only slightly differently. basically Shouto is an entirely too realistic portrayal of a very sweet but marginally unstable boy with a completely broken power and a shitload of unresolved personal trauma which he is still working through.

4. Honenuki

somehow more murdery than Todoroki “HIBERNATE!!” Shouto. this is entirely because of chapter 205, formerly the most murdery chapter of the entire series, and dethroned only by the recent chapter 266 for obvious reasons. anyway so during the joint training battle, Honenuki bludgeoned Todoroki in the back of the head and would probably have let his unconscious body slump into the softened ground to drown had Iida not saved him. he then proceeded to drop a water tower on top of the both of them. a whole-ass water tower. this was a fucking training exercise. and Honenuki was the only one who kept his calm throughout the entirely of said exercise. and he was praised for his calm murdering skills afterward. because he was fucking awesome tbh. anyway but the point is this is supposed to be a hero school not an assassin school but I’m not really sure anymore you guys.

3. Tokoyami

my man would have straight up killed Moonfish in that forest and sure did try his best. he’s got the same issue as Todoroki in that his quirk is as powerful as it is unstable. and while he himself is not murdery, when Dark Shadow loses control, though… hooooh boy. I was gonna add something about him also interning under Takami “literally stabbed my friend in the neck for the greater good” Keigo, but I think that makes them both come off as more sinister than they actually are. I do think a big part of Tokoyami’s story is him overcoming his inner darkness and wresting control of it and mastering it, so I don’t think it’s very likely that he actually will kill someone in the story. but he’s got a murdery side, no two ways about it.

2. Toadette

straight up filled Tokoyami’s windpipe with mushrooms during a training exercise. he uses that to breathe, fyi. she then offered him a lozenge afterward. do not fuck with Toadette. do not. just don’t.

1. Hagakure

last but not least! Hagakure “hasn’t killed anyone officially but is also definitely the traitor” Tooru! y’all know how it is! I’m committed to this theory! I’d even be willing to put money on a reveal scene where she does just straight up kill someone, and that’s our cliffhanger establishing that the traitor is none other than! and this is coming up sooner than you might think too, guys. Horikoshi brought up the traitor again relatively recently during the Christmas Eve chapter, and that kind of foreshadowing isn’t for nothing. anyways I’m here for it though so bring on that body count you funky little turncoat.

so there you have it. my not-that-definitive definitive ranking of classes 1-A and 1-B by murderous inclination. there’s really not that much rhyme or reason to it tbh but this was fun, thank you anon!

Don't look a gift horse in the mouth

Feferi 02/16/2019

You're name is Feferi Piexes and as usual, once your lusus heard someone new had moved in she took it upon herself and you to make him a super special gift basket. You consult who ever is in charge of keeping track of who is where in the hotel and then little winged whale beside you as you carry the basket, you head to Darkleer's room and knock on the door.

Darkleer 02/16/2019

Your most preferred name is just Darkleer and after the stress of the move and all new encounters you feel like you need at least a year to recover. But no such luck. Soon after getting about as comfy in your new quarters as you will get, there's knocks on the door. Hnn. The downside of living in close proximity to other people now. You mentally prepare yourself for any encounter you might get and then go to answer the door. Hopefully Redglare. Maybe someone new? You have yet to meet your other superiors. But no, it's her, the small Fuchsia. Not sure if that is better or worse than a new face. "Peixes. ...Ms. .. Peixes.. Officer. Hello."

Feferi 02/16/2019

You smile a friendly smile as you say, "Hi! sorry to bother you Mr. Zahhak but my lusus and I," you gesture to the white winged whale beside you and she trills a greeting and waves her flukes to him before you continue, "We made you a welcome gift!" You hold out the basket which is filled with many tasty baked goods both sweet and savory along with some pretty blue towels you thought he might like and would be useful.

Darkleer 02/16/2019

You'd love to say she's not a bother, but uh. That wouldn't be quite true. You're incredibly bothered. Not her fault. She only wants to be nice. Hn. You glance up at the whale lusus and give her a greeting nod. Despite your age, you're not too familiar with the etiquette of dealing with another's lusus. They were... private companions for a troll's wigglerhood and life, to prepare them and make up for the massive lack of positive social interactions a troll experiences on Alternia. Any lusus outside of a troll's hive would most likely end up dead (LOOKING AT YOU, ORPHANER). Apparently here on Derse it is normal that a lusus will visit other trolls and take care of them. "You didn't need to- Hn. Thanks. Thank you, uh. Both of you." You accept the basket, of course. How useful they will be is yet to be seen. You don't have much need for anything, but you recognize that it's an incredibly friendly gesture, even if the thought of a Fuchsia making something and bringing it to you is... still wild to you. Now you stand there in the doorframe, awkwardly holding a basket of presents. Should you ask her in? You don't really want to.... but you also don't want to be rude. If she'd like to come in, who are you to deny it..

Feferi 02/16/2019

"Whale if you're busy we'll leave you to enjoy your peace and quiet," you say sweetly then offer, "If you want a tour of town and good shops in the area I'd be happy to be your guide. I was hatched and raised here so i know my way about pretty whale." Your lusus nods and makes that long whale song sound in agreement.

Darkleer 02/17/2019

Right, that's... probably a thing you should do. Getting familiar with your surroundings. You had hoped to do it on your own time and terms at some point. But then again, you're dying at the mere thought of having to ask anyone about the location of a certain thing. And she's already offering... "Do you mean... now?" You're about to ask her to do it later, maybe some other day, but you realize you got very little to keep busy, especially now after you just set up, and you'd just spend the hours sitting around and growing more anxious about it. Hn. "Give me a moment... to get ready. Please."

Feferi 02/17/2019

He wants to go now? Oh well if he wants to you have time. "Sure! No problem!" you say cheerfully and step back to wait.

Darkleer 02/17/2019

Oh, that wasn't the wrong thing to say, was it? Well, too late either way. And she seems honestly excited so... okay. "Okay." You linger awkwardly in the doorway for a moment, then turn around and head back inside. And uh. What now? Right, put down the basket somewhere convenient. Besides that you don't have much to get ready besides... yourself. Which means mostly mentally preparing yourself for it. You find your jacket because, while you're mostly impervious to temperature, it is fairly cold outside. Then you check in a mirror (or whatever the next sufficiently reflective surface) if you look presentable enough (which is hard to tell after so many years of voluntary isolation). The only thing left is to remind yourself that she is not a superior by blood caste alone here, but merely a fellow officer and this is just a polite and casual (barely a word you know) excursion. No royalty, no expectations, no  p r e s s u r e. You return to her, fully intent on returning her friendly smile, but at this point your face is probably so hardened it's not physically capable of it anymore. So that's not happening. But you give her a nod. "So. After you. If you please.."

Feferi 02/17/2019

"Shore fin!" you say. You lead him to the exit and your lusus waves you off as she does not like the winter one bit. "So what sorts of places do you like to go?" you ask as you look up... and up some more at him. Wow he was tall. Maybe as tall as Dualscar?

Darkleer 02/17/2019

Not quite as tall as the old fish, though your horns surely are. You definitely keep having to duck down on every doorway you come across, lest you want to risk property damage and a headache. "I will probably need.. some supplies and materials soon. And make some shelves for everything." Mostly to keep the room presentable for anyone else. You don't care much anymore, but you're very conscious of the fact that other people can and will see your living quarters now. Now, a tool shop may not be all that exciting, but you honestly can't think of another place you would need, let alone want to go. Maybe a grocery store?

Feferi 02/17/2019

"Gotcha! There's plenty of hardware stores that should be able to help with that!" you tell him as you walk. "So what brought you to Derse?" you ask with a curious smile.

Darkleer 02/17/2019

You follow along, carefully measuring your steps to keep her pace. "The Neophyte- Uh. Chief. Redglare. She asked me to come..." She literally brought you here.

Feferi 02/17/2019

Oh? That was the only reason? "You are the chief are close?" You can't deny you are as curious about the chief as you are about him.

Darkleer 02/18/2019

Your personal relationship with people and how they rank is frankly not a thing you spend a lot of time on. Especially since it would only make you realize how little there is. "I... suppose. I have known her for a long time. One of the.. STRONGEST bonds I had in the time I served.. Altenia. As close as one could be without engaging in a quadrant. But compared to.. what may be common around here, I premuse it's not very remarkable." Are you oversharing? You're definitely oversharing. "Hng. Sorry."

Feferi 02/18/2019

"I gotcha! You're friends," you smile. Served Alternia? You are unable to stop the question before it jumps from your lips. "You were in the Alternian military?"

Darkleer 02/18/2019

She hasn't heard anything about you yet, has she? That should give you some relief, but it's also very disconcerting, especially with her follow-up question. "Yes.." She's probably just curious and wants to do some friendly small-talk, so you don't want to be rude, but that is not a topic you're very enthusiastic about.

Feferi 02/18/2019

Huh well you wonder if he'll have issues with Mr. Kai. Hopefully not! "I see! Oh! That store right there is one of my favorite grocery stores, Marley's. They have a pretty good selection," you tell him as you point the place out. "I've got a friend there who lets me know when they get fresh fish!" "Got any hobbies, Mr. Zahhak?" you ask him, not wanting to press the other subject since he seems extra uncomfortable.

Darkleer 02/18/2019

You quietly acknowledge the store and memorize its location, as well as the nearby shops and businesses. "I, uh... build and repair things. Machines, mostly. All kinds." You wouldn't call that a hobby as much as just.. the one thing you're good at (that doesn't directly kill people.)

Feferi 02/18/2019

"That's cool!" you chirp. "My hobby isn't reely useful at all. I've been thinking maybe I should get into something that has more working with my hands. When I was younger I tried arts and crafts with shell art but I was super bad at it," you say, laughing a little. "I spent too much money I shouldn't have on those damn shells."

Darkleer 02/18/2019

"Ah. ? What hobby is that?" you ask. Arts aren't really your wheelhouse, but from what you've seen, even a lot of highly acclaimed art seemed just... bad. "A hobby... doesn't need to be useful, right? As long as it makes you feel better.." Look at you, what a MASSIVE hypocrite. To be fair, hobbies and leasure time weren't really concepts you had back on Alternia. Just things you were good at and things you could do for the Empire.

Feferi 02/18/2019

You tap your chin. "I suppose not... Arts and crafts can arts and crafts can be reely fun even if the outcome is a little ugly and not useful," you giggle. "I took some pictures of a few that I had to let go of during the move to the hotel if you'd liked to see them."

Darkleer 02/18/2019

"Uh. Sure.." Despite the hesitant tone, you actually manage something akin to a smile. Conversations actually aren't so bad when the focus isn't on you.

Feferi 02/18/2019

You pull out your phone and scroll through many photos of Eridan expressions which are your prized collection before finally reaching your goal. "Ah! Here we are!" you say chipperly and hand your phone to him.

Darkleer 02/19/2019

You take the phone, carefully cupping it in your large hand to not drop it or squeeze it too much, and take a close look at the photo. "You call that bad? It has a STRONG resemblance to the earthen hootbeasts despite the medium's limits on detail and the evenness of the pattern on the chest shows great dexterity and patience." You hope she doesn't think you're only saying that because she is a highblood. That is.. only part of your motivation. You really do appreciate the skill that must have gone into that (since that is the only thing you know how to measure art by). Ah.. you shouldn't hog her phone any longer than necessary, you realize, and hold it back out to her. "Thank you for sharing your work.."

Feferi 02/19/2019

You take your phone back blushing. "Oh wow. Heh, no one's ever said such nice things about them. Of course I don't show them much since I guess I'm not confident in them," you admit, really surprised by his words. You do have the niggling worry that he's being nice cause of your blood color, but if you constantly worry about that with no evidence that it's even true in every case. You can't let that insecurity eat you and your relationships.

Darkleer 02/19/2019

If anything, you're nice to her despite her blood color, and... apparent ancestry. You wonder if she knows... or if you should tell her. Hn. Things to worry about later. Maybe. "I'm.. I'm sure someone else would find better words."

Feferi 02/19/2019

"Whale I think your words are very nice, Mr. Zahhak. Thank you," you say then point out a hardware store  for him. "So, what kind of things do you like to eat?" you ask, thinking you might treat him to something.

Darkleer 02/19/2019

You just not in response to both her answer and the store. Speaking of thanks, you ought to thank her for taking her time and show you around, right? Which means you need to think about what would be appropriate. How tedious. Oh uh, eating. "I don't eat much.. " You're socially aware enough to know that 'plant oil' would probably be a very odd statement. "Salad is good."

Feferi 02/19/2019

Salad! Not your favorite but you now a place that's pretty good and start leading that way. "Nice! Fresh produce can be a lil pricey here but with the Prospitian population veggies and the like are guaranteed to be in demand. If you like pumpkins you'll probably find there's a lot of pumpkin dishes to try," you chatter away.

Darkleer 02/19/2019

So much information... You appreciate it, really. It's good to get as many details about the planet you newly moved to as possible, but you don't really know how to keep up with small talk stuff. "Derse doesn't have many farms, does it..?" How inconvenient for creatures that rely on it.

Feferi 02/19/2019

"Oh well there are farms. It's just not easy, ya know? Especially this time of year," you tell him. You see the place and grin. "Hmm. I could go for some lunch. Hey, are you hungry?" you ask him. You are trying to be clever and be the first to say you want food so he won't feel weird if he is hungry.

Darkleer Last Wednesday at 9:48 AM

"Ah yes. I can see that." Despite her previous question, you didn't quite catch on to her ploy yet. Probably for the better. You're feeling awkward enough already. "Not really. But.. Do not let me keep you from getting a meal. I can find my way back."

Feferi Last Wednesday at 11:42 AM

Well it was a nice thought. "It's not far back," you tell him, "I took us on a lil bit of a loop so we'd see the general area." You point out a few more shops of note and resume chatting hoping to eventually put him at relative ease. "Winter around here can be really harsh so I like to value days like this where it's cold but still nice."

Darkleer Last Wednesday at 6:38 PM

"I am used to harsh winters... but it is a nice day indeed. I, uh. Appreciate you showing me around." Look at you trying. You're almost managing a real conversation. She points out more places and you listen closely. But as she continues...  you really hope you didn't keep her from getting food.

Feferi Last Wednesday at 6:51 PM

"When I was younger I used to try to build a huge fish out of snow. Every year it would get a little and some years I got a friend of mine to help me so it was even bigger," you chatter on happily thinking of when you and Eridan were young. "We'd get into snowball fights with other kids. We usually won. Hee hee!" "I kinda miss snowball fights," you say quietly with a smile.

Darkleer Last Thursday at 1:01 AM

"Snowball fights... I never tried that.." You've certainly seen them on Earth tv so you get the idea (and you assume you'd be excellent at it since aiming with absolute precision is one of your core strengths). But on Alternia you never had enough snow to engage in such practices, and during your time on earth, well, your situation didn't really allow for it either for so many reasons. It sounds intriguing though...

Feferi Last Thursday at 1:05 AM

You grin excitedly, "Hey maybe we should see if folks want to have one sometime we're off! It's a lot of fun! We could build forts and stuff. Hey we could even call it an excise in tactics!" Fun mixed with something that would sharpen everyone's skills sounds like a great idea in your mind!

Darkleer Last Thursday at 9:17 AM

"An interesting idea.. Do you partake in playful exercises like this often?" What a strange place. Strange but nice. On Alternia, any tactical exercise would actually have your life on the line, motivation and all that.

Feferi Last Thursday at 4:44 PM

"I don't know about everyone else in the department, but I figure if I find joy and fun in my work it'll help me be better for everyone," you smile your optimistic smile to him.

February 22, 2019

Darkleer Last Friday at 9:26 AM

"That is. An admirable attitude to have." Finding joy in your work? What a wild concept.

Feferi Last Friday at 5:16 PM

You beam happily. "thanks!" you chirp. You look ahead and it seems you're not too far from where you began. "Whale we can head back now if you like or walk around a bit more and enjoy the good weather, waterever you'd like!" you tell him, leaving options so he won't feel like he has too one way or another.

Darkleer Last Friday at 5:30 PM

Oh, you're almost back, huh? Well that wasn't nearly as awful as you expected. It was still a lot to take in, and the thought of continuing is overwhelming. "Heading back sounds agreeable. We could. Continue the walk some other day."

Feferi Last Friday at 5:41 PM

You nod in agreement, "Shore fin! We definitely should!" You turn the way to head back and look up at him, "If you need anyfin you can always ask me. I'm happy to help how I can, Mr. Zahhak."

Darkleer Last Friday at 5:46 PM

"Ah. Hmm. Thank you. I will." Such a polite and friendly young lady. So different from... her. That is honestly refreshing, as surreal as the situation may feel.

Feferi Last Friday at 6:01 PM

Another beaming smile and a little more idea chatter and you reach the doors of the hotel. You then realize if he's going to be able to ask you for help, he'll probably need your contact info. "Do you have your own phone?" you ask him as pull the door open.

Darkleer Last Friday at 6:26 PM

"Ah. Yes. Red.. The Chief. Told me to get one." You carefully pull out your phone and an even smaller stylus. This technology was not made with giant metallic troll guys in mind. "Go ahead. Please."

Feferi Last Friday at 6:30 PM

You give in your number. "Feel free to call or text whenever, whatever is most comfortable for you," you  say. "Also, if my lusus stops by with more food for you, feel free to only eat what you want. She's got a bad habit of loading people, myself included, with lots of food and baked goods ehehe. She'll try to figure out what you like best at least, though."

Darkleer Last Friday at 6:42 PM

"Ah.. I see. Thank you for the, uh. Warning. And help." You type in her number, then weight the necessity of being polite and offering yours in return against your need for not having your personal space disturbed. Hn. It would probably helpful for her to have your contact info for emergencies, solely on the base of being co-workers. So you end up pulling up your own number on your phone and hold it out to her. "If you.. need to add mine as well.."

Feferi Last Friday at 6:45 PM

Taking the phone with a smile, you quickly enter the number into your own. "Thanks! If you want I can text you lusus incoming warnings when I know she's on the move," you say with a playful wink.

Darkleer Last Friday at 8:59 PM

"Yes, that.. would be preferable. Thank you." You're still trying to figure out how to parse her demeanor. A little intense, but she seemed genuinely friendly and helpful.

Feferi Last Friday at 9:05 PM

He seems like a quiet sort, you think of how he mentioned having been with the military s you are unable to help adding, "Hey, can I ask, are you combat trained? Like close combat and the like?"

Darkleer Last Saturday at 12:28 AM

Well, that is a change of topic. Huh. "I, uh. Am mare specialized in ranged combat. But I know how to handle myself in meelee." Being able to overpower most enemies with sheer size and strength definitely helps though.

Feferi Last Saturday at 12:36 AM

You smile, "That's great! I've been wanting to learn more about how to deal with hand to hand combat myself and whale, if you have any suggestions on how I should start or tips I'd appreciate them a lot!" It would also be great to not rely on people who are probably gang associated for you education.

Darkleer Last Saturday at 12:43 AM

"That is.. a topic hardly suited for words alone. It depends a lot on physical fitness and practicing techniques so your muscle memory is STRONG enough to react when it is required. A good suggestion would be to find a good trainer or.. at least a reliable partner for training."

Feferi Last Saturday at 12:45 AM

Aw drat. A training partner... Where would you get one? You nod with quiet thoughtfulness. "Okay... I'll look into that. I work out at the gym but I mostly got training on a handgun," you admit.

Darkleer Last Saturday at 1:07 AM

"I wish you the best of luck with that." You find her efforts to be more prepared and suitable for the job admirable. Seadwellers are strong by nature, you're very well aware, but to be able to use that thoughtfully is a skill to be learned.

Feferi Last Saturday at 1:09 AM

"Thanks!" you say brightly.  "Whale I won't keep you any longer. Take care and I'll see you later some time!"

Darkleer Last Sunday at 8:13 PM

You nod. "Uh. Thank you again. For your help. I'm certain working with you will be a pleasure.."

Feferi Last Sunday at 8:19 PM

Aw he's so nice! You beam one more smile before waving and heading off. You think you'll enjoy working with the newest Zahhak quite well. As soon as you're off desk duty that is.

February 25, 2019

Darkleer Yesterday at 9:56 PM

There she goes. You linger where you are for a little bit, undecided about what to do next. You could shop around but.. you didn't even prepare for what you may need. Including the proper finances. But a giant troll standing around in the middle of nowhere for too long seems highly in appropriate, so you decide to head back too, although a couple minutes later and with moderate pace to not risk having an awkard run-in with the little Peixes on the way back.

hold me close and hold me fast || juliette and stevie

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍: chalice wedding // june 21st 2021.

𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: juliette x stevie.

𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐒: none.

𝐃𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐒: juliette has a romantic surprised on a stressful day.

Juliette arrived at the wedding separately from Stevie, but approached her before the ceremony. "Look at you!!" she said quietly with a big smile on her face. To say Juliette was anxious about today was an understatement. Her parents would be here, but she wasn't sure how ready she was to invite them to see her and Stevie together in public. It wasn't insecurity about Stevie, it would be about how her parents acted. "You look so beautiful" said Juliette, blushing at how beautiful the other girl was, "save me a dance later?" she asked, "I assume you're sitting up front with your family". Juliette didn't want to intrude. It was Stevie's cousins wedding after all. "I'm going to be running around back for Katie I'm sure of it" she distracted, not wanting to acknowledge why she didn't want to sit with Stevie exactly. It was just up front and all eyes would hopefully be on the bride, but she didn't want to risk her family ruining this nice event. That would be so embarrassing she wouldn't be able to function. She would definitely have to dig in Katie's bag for her emergency anxiety meds. 

To say Stevie was stressed was an understatement. Stevie Summers doesn't do stressed, but the past week at home had just been a little too much. Her parents always got weird when it came to the rest of the family, but they were able to keep a nice distance from them at all times. Because of this wedding, however, things have been more tense than usual. Her parents weren't going to miss Charlie's wedding, no matter how much they wanted to. They were vaguely aware that he was the only cousin Stevie was close to, and he was kind enough to invite them. It took a lot of convincing, but Stevie somehow got them to agree. It's not that her parents didn't like Charlie, they just really didn't like anyone else in the family, and it was so painfully obvious in the rehearsal dinner. Having everyone together was simply a bad idea. She didn't know how she was going to get through this day, but as always, she kept all those negative emotions bottled up, and slapped a smile on her face. Stevie directed her attention towards Juliette once she heard her voice, and for a moment, her worries vanished. "Look at me? Look at you, Hastings. No offense to the bride, but you just might be the most gorgeous girl here." Juliette always looked nice, but damn, she was absolutely stunning right now. "Of course." she nodded. Stevie wanted to have a nice night tonight, and she hoped being around Juliette would help with that. But she was aware that the girl's parents were here. Juliette had mentioned that her parents, or at least her mom, was a lot more accepting about everything, so there was some hope here for Stevie. She finally got her girl back, sort of, she didn't want to her lose her again. "Yeah ... yeah, I'm sure she's going through it right now." Stevie obviously wanted to sit with Juliette, but it just didn't seem like that was going to be realistic. "I'll see you after the ceremony?" she asked, trying her best to keep the smile on her face.

Juliette laughed nervously when Stevie said she was even more beautiful than the bride, "I think we both know that Alice Altman is about to wow people in a way that has never been done before" said Juliette, blushing a little still. She could see that she had let Stevie down, but it was for the best. Juliette knew she needed to stop making choices like this for them, but she didn't want to bog Stevie down with all this stress that was going on for her. Juliette liked her perfect little world with Stevie separate from all of this bullshit. "Yes, of course" said Juliette giving her favorite person in the world a small touch on the shoulder, squeezing a little. But it wasn't like she was comfortable enough to give her a kiss. She could feel her parents presence on the property. -time jump- Juliette texted Stevie after a horrible dinner of eating at the same table as her parents. Things had started going well with the two of them far after the seating charts were already done. perchancetodream: meet me at the gazebo out back Katie had felt so guilty about making Juliette sit with her family for dinner that she had helped make a little special space for the two of them. You could hear the music coming from the party as Juliette stood in the middle of the gazebo. This is where they had planned to meet back in the day. When Juliette was finally going to tell her the truth. Then everything with Griffin happened, so she couldn't even get herself out of bed. When she saw Stevie approaching she walked down and took her by both hands, walking backwards. "May I have this dance?" she asked as they walked up to the gazebo.

Stevie looked at her phone to see the text Juliette gave her and immediately headed over there. To no surprise, dinner sucked. There were definite pros and cons to being seated at a different table from the rest of the family. She didn't have to hear her cousin's remarks or deal with the stupid looks from her grandparents, but it made her feel so unwelcome. Stevie didn't care if her parents had issues with the family, but she hated being in the center of it all. She was the literal reason for all these problems. The sight of Juliette inside the lit up gazebo was breathtaking. It felt like a scene straight out of a movie. Stevie took hold of the girl's hands and nodded, "Of course." she said as they made their way to the center of the gazebo. She then placed one of her hands on the small of Juliette's back and started to slowly sway side to side. "You got this all set up for me? I'm honored." she smiled down at Juliette before looking around the gazebo. "So, how has your night been so far?" Stevie had to assume things weren't going great if they had to dance privately. She hoped Juliette's parents weren't giving her a hard time tonight. It made her a bit nervous to be alone with her right now, she couldn't imagine what would happen if her parents found her out here with Stevie.

Juliette smiled softly and put her head on Stevie's chest as they danced. Her ring shining on her hand as it held Stevie's. "It's an apology from Katie. She's on the no drama task force. But I saw her running around with Nathaniel Langston earlier?" said Juliette letting a small smile appear on her face. "That's a nice tall man for Katie. He does like business stuff? I'm not sure, but that's not what this is about. I'm pretty sure he got everything finalized out here is what I'm saying" said the girl, distracting from talking about anything real. It was so hard with both of their family stuff coming in and effecting their nights. This all could have been so nice, but of course there was baggage. There was always baggage in this town. "It's not been ... great. But I know what would make me feel a lot better" she said as she took a deep breath. She had asked the band to play La Vie en Rose in 10 minutes from when she came out here, so it began to play. She stopped dancing and took both of Stevie's hands. "I love you so much, and I know I've been a huge problem in this relationship. From stuff that was out of my control, to things that were very much in my control. But if you're willing, I would love to be able to call you my girlfriend again. In public. All the time. Holding your hand. Kissing in the park. I want all of it. Good days and bad days" said Juliette. She took another deep breath, praying that the response was yes.

Stevie smiled to herself as Juliette began to talk about Katie, "Oh shit, a Langston? Look at her go. He seems like a cool dude." Stevie stayed on sus mode, but that was when people gave her a reason to be, and almost every time, she was right about her suspicions. Most people were cool in Stevie's book anyways, and if Katie was into him, he had to be great. "I was kind of excited for us to be her wingwomen, but it seems like she's got things under control." Though Stevie assumed that Juliette was having just as much of a shitty time as her, it still sucked to hear it. She immediately turned her head in the direction where the music was coming from, a big smile on her face formed as she heard La Vie en Rose play. One of the many songs that reminded her of Juliette. Stevie then gently squeezed the girl's hands and listened to her speak. She had asked Juliette to be her girlfriend the first time, and if their situation was different, she probably would have done it again. But this time, it was out of her control. This was Juliette's choice. Yes, they've had issues along the way, and there were things they still needed to work through, but sometimes you just had to take a chance and give things another go, and this was one of those times. Juliette Hastings was worth it. Stevie pulled her in close and kissed her softly on the lips. "I love you too." she said after stepping back to look at Juliette. "I'd love to be your girlfriend again. I just don't want to make things difficult for you and your family anymore. If we need to give this more time, I'm willing to do that." The wait would hurt, but Juliette's happiness and safety came first. She couldn't risk the girl's parents doing something else because of this relationship. "We could always talk to them this time, but you know them more than me. It's your call."

"Katie is worse at dating than I am, so she might still need some parent trap style assistance" said Juliette with a small laugh. Proclaiming her love to Stevie had been rehearsed but she didn't say anything that she had been planning, the gist got across though. Juliette was better with her words in front of a computer or a notebook. That had always been true. Juliette looked at Stevie firmly and confidently, "I don't want time. I don't want to talk to them. They don't talk to me much. I don't owe them anything, my grandparents are in charge of all my finances when it comes down to it. I've thought it through and they can officially ... fuck off" said Juliette, letting the swear come out. It wasn't any kind of religious thing or anything, and honestly she wasn't sure why she chose not to swear. Part of her felt like it was weird coming out of her form. Like she was too delicate for language. It just didn't suit her. She broke into a smile at the word though. Knowing that Stevie would love it. "I don't want to make this wedding about us though. That's my only boundary. But after tonight? We're going to be all over town, just making out like crazy" she joked. Juliette had never been one for PDA anyways. A very private individual, not in the business of being very public. But it would be nice to hold Stevie's hand or get a temple kiss while they were having ice cream. The cute things she was definitely okay with.

Stevie raised a brow and let out a laugh once she heard Juliette curse. It wasn't everyday she got to hear the girl say that, but it was always enjoyable. "Goddamnit, Hastings. I see I'm already a bad influence on you." she joked. If Juliette didn't want to tell her parents anything, then so be it. Stevie hoped they'd eventually come around, but it wasn't fair for Juliette to put her life on hold for others. Whatever her girlfriend wanted to do, Stevie would support. Her girlfriend. It put a smile on her face just thinking about it. "But, I mean, they can definitely fuck off." she nodded. "Yeah, I'd feel bad if we took the spotlight off of Charlie and Alice and officially became the hottest couple at this event. Alice and Katie won't let us live that down." Stevie was simply trying to make light of the situation, but one private night wasn't going to hurt her. She had told herself that she would wait as long as it took for Juliette and she meant that. Now all she had to wait was one day, that's it. "We could stay here for a little, dance a bit, and then head back out to everyone?" she suggested, she just wanted one more dance with the girl.

"It would be very unfortunate to steal that title away from them on their big day. Tomorrow though? They become old news" said Juliette as she hugged Stevie tightly. Like she was never going to let go. And to a certain extent, she wasn't going to. At least not emotionally. Stevie suggested dancing some more out here, "I would love to. I actually had a surprise dance practice with this nice girl I met in the studio. I went to go brush up on some stuff" said Juliette, "her name is Laney. I think you're gonna like her. She needs friends, so maybe we should invite her to your next show". Juliette had surprised herself with wanting to make friends, but being back with Stevie had her confident again. Juliette smiled, "I can lead" she said with a little wink, "I mean I am the top in this relationship. Speaking of, dibs on top it's just me now. I'm the pants wearing heteronormative butch girlfriend. Nothing you can do to stop me" Juliette said as a smirk broke into a strong smile and a hearty laugh. She even let out a snort.

"Those poor souls don't know what's coming." Stevie said before wrapping her arms around Juliette just as tight. They had been at a good place for a little bit now, but nothing compared to actually having Juliette as her girlfriend. Labels did't always matter, but this one felt nice. Now she didn't just have to wear her J necklace around her ankle like she was in this moment, now she could wear it proudly around her neck at all times. She smiled once Juliette brought up a friend of hers, she was glad that she was meeting new people. Stevie didn't want her to regret switching over to Brindleton. "I'm always down to meet new people, and she could meet the rest of the band too, if she doesn't know them yet. It'll be great." Stevie tried holding a serious face, but it was just so hard when Juliette started calling herself a top. She broke out into laughter along with her girlfriend, and probably laughed even harder when she heard her snort, "You're such an adorable bottom, this is why we work so well." she said before giving the girl a kiss.

"Only I'm allowed to laugh at me! Summers!!!" Juliette whined as she gave her a little smack on the arm. Stevie followed it up with a kiss, so she guessed it wasn't too bad to be a bottom. "I am serious about the fact that I can lead one dance. I did practice" she said as they got into position. "If you remember I used to do cotillion and pageants so this is right up my alley" she said as she guided Stevie around the gazebo. Her eyes were shining, "we really are soulmates, you know. I've done a lot of reading up on them, and the fact that we're always finding each other in one way or another is pretty by the book" said the girl, "you are my fairytale, that is for certain. We slay dragons tomorrow, but today is just about us". Juliette was very content in their little world, but she knew for everything to be real they needed to be more than that. To be public, to enjoy life. "Also, if you think you're sleeping at home tonight you are wrong. My tiny house is almost finished but everything works. So that's where we are going. Plus my book is there, and I've got separation anxiety" said the girl, looking at just how beautiful the other girl was. How had she gotten so lucky. Thank god for degrassi and local bands.

"How could I forget the pageant pictures? They're some of my favorites." Stevie got into position and began dancing with Juliette again. As lame as it may be, she got goosebumps when the girl said they were soulmates. It was definitely something she had thought of many times before. It seemed like wherever life took them, they were always meant to cross each other's paths. They lived in a rather small town and never talked in person, yet fate made sure they still met each other. If it wasn't going to be in person, it would be online. Stevie thought she had lost Juliette for good once she got sent to boarding school, and a couple years later, she ended up transferring to her college. Their love was written in the stars. She flashed her teeth as she smiled widely at her girlfriend. "Soulmates, huh? You might be right. We must have been lovers in another life, destined to find each other in every life afterwards." She raised her brows dramatically as Juliette mentioned her tiny house, "Woah, we're on day one of our new relationship and you're already trying to get me to spend the night. If you want sex, all you have to do is ask." she teased the girl. "But I have been excited to see this tiny house, so I can't say no to that." They were back where they belonged, finally.

Juliette leaned into Stevie a little and whispered in her ear, "in the past life, I was the top" she said before letting her eyes crinkle as she smiled innocently. Juliette loved the joke about her being a top. It wasn't anything she was insecure about, she loved her tall and powerful lady. Juliette also just liked being taken care of. She continued to dance with her girlfriend, turning her out to spin her as the girl mentioned sex. "Oh I am most definitely inviting you over for sex and sex alone. Not because I wanted to read while you sat there" said Juliette sarcastically. The song ended and Juliette kissed Stevie's hand, "I mean, we are about to spend a lot of nights apart at camp" she said with a little frown, "I want to get my time in, plus I haven't had sex since we last had sex ... back in high school ... which is kind of embarrassing now that I'm saying it out loud" she admitted as her face grew red.

"If that's what helps you sleep at night, then we can stick with that." Stevie looked down at her girlfriend with a smile, holding in her laugh. The top jokes about Juliette being a top would never get old. She held onto the girl's hand and dipped a little as she was spun around. "You know if sex with you wasn't so amazing, I'd be really offended." she said playfully. The idea of them not having as many nights together because of camp hadn't really dawned on her until now. That ... kind of fucking sucked, but at least they had tonight. Stevie shook her head and cupped the sides of Juliette's face to kiss her quickly, "Oh come on, there's nothing embarrassing about that. Sex is just sex. You do it, you don't, who cares?" she paused as she thought about her comment for a moment. "Well sex can be meaningful too, which is great, but ya know what I mean." she chuckled. "And after tonight, you won't have to say your last time was in high school."

Stevie was doing a good job distracting Juliette, but she still heard the whole sex is just sex thing. She tried her best to not think about how many people Stevie had been with since they had broken up, but the thoughts were pouring in. "Yeah, yeah of course. I gotcha" said Juliette, knowing it was her own insecurities getting to her. But at the same time ... he insecurities were getting to her. "I will be shouting it in town square tomorrow" she giggled as she pulled Stevie into a kiss. "Cmon lets go sit and eat cake while we guess what people's conversations sound like from across the event" said Juliette after the kiss broke. This is what happiness felt like. She cold love Stevie so freely, it was better than any book she's ever read. //END

harutemu said:If you're feeling it, I would love for you to write literally anything related to "Blank Page Waiting".

:DDDDD

For anyone unfamiliar, this is Prowl/Megatron, the fic where Megatron had his mind wiped, was given empurata, and was used/treated as a drone for a very long time until plot happens and he was given to Prowl. The original (ao3 link) is inspired by this gorgeous art by @larrydraws​. 

I hesitate to say this is definitely canon to the original story, but one of the most fun things about the original was thinking about all the moving pieces in play afterwards.I’m still trying to figure out how I’d want to tackle Soundwave, because mindreading makes things wonderful and difficult. But I’m also super weak against Ratchet trying to do his job even in a dangerous, oppressive environment, so that’s what we have here! Here’s an ao3 link, but here’s what I’ve got, 2.3k total.

The fresh repairs are obvious when Prowl comes in for his appointment. Not to the untrained optic, sure, but he should know better than to think you’d miss it, even in just a quick checkup. The one knee’s been rebuilt from the ground up, and that’s clear as soon as you look at the machinery of the joint versus the struts around it and see all the spots where old parts attach to new. And the optic is new too, which you aren’t sure about until you get in close and personal, but once you’ve got that view, the finish of the glass is too clear to be more than a lunar cycle old. Which doesn’t even touch on the fresh patches in his plating.

You don’t want to know. Whatever Prowl is getting up to, you can be plenty sure you don’t want any part in it, you don’t even want to be able to answer questions if someone gets suspicious and comes poking around. Whatever back alley doctor he saw for this— fine. All for the best that he isn’t in your records for repairs. The only thing that would make you happier is if you didn’t know they happened at all, so you can still be privately sour that this other doctor didn’t do his job well enough to make the repairs invisible.

And you don’t think Prowl is stupid enough to think you’d miss it. There’s something about his expression that’s a little too serene and unconcerned, and he holds onto that even as you test the strength of the patch for what must have been a nasty crack across his entire shin.

Enough, fine, you can let it go. It’s better for both of you if you stay out of this. Time for internals now, and if he’s got half-hidden repairs in there too, you’re sure you can find some way to vent your irritation.

When you open up Prowl’s chest, his new pet drone shifts, and you bite on your tongue to stop yourself from cursing. Frag, you forgot that thing was here. It blends into the background too well for your taste. It’s easy to look past drones. Until this one moves, and you’re reminded of how absurdly huge it is.

Although— You try to ignore stories about something that happened to a friend of a friend, and no, you don’t have any evidence, but it’s definitely true, take your word for it. But you keep stealing glances at the drone’s claws, trying to figure out how they’d match up to the kind of damage Prowl got fixed.

It can’t hurt to just be sure. Casually, you ask, “Any trouble with the new drone?”

If you didn’t have your hands inside his chest, you probably would have missed that fraction of a moment where he tenses and forces himself to relax.

“No,” he says, letting boredom leak through into his voice. “Why would you ask?”

You snort. “Small talk. I hear it’s something people do.”

Prowl smiles fractionally, relaxing a little further. “So I hear.”

“You just hear stories. Drone went rogue, hurt its owner, destroyed some property, that kind of slag.” You keep your voice as bland and unconcerned as you can. “One that big, makes you wonder what it could get up to if its programming went haywire.”

Prowl laughs. Which wouldn’t strike you as odd, except for one, it’s Prowl. And for two, you felt how he reacted earlier when you brought up the drone in the first place.

You keep your optics on your work, but on the edge of your vision you can see the drone shift again. And you’re not sure if you imagine you can see Prowl tilt his head the slightest bit to look at it. Slag all, you have no idea what you’ve stumbled onto, but you’re pretty sure that either you’re in danger or Prowl is. Or both? You’re going to go with both.

You wrestle with yourself for a klik, but who are you kidding, this isn’t even a question. Whatever Prowl is doing is dangerous, and knowing him, it’s probably even more dangerous than it seems to you right now. That absolute fragger. It takes you a moment to figure out how to approach the subject. Just think, a few short kliks ago, your life was infinitely simpler. Ah, the good old days.

Eventually, you say, “Heard anything new you can share about those upgrades they’re giving the military? Figure you probably had, given that project you’ve been on.”

“Upgrades?”

“Yeah, you know. The optics upgrades.” You’re staying as casual as you can, but internally, you’re checking and double checking the classification levels on your files. Prowl has the clearance, of course, but once you reach a certain point, you’re only supposed to share information with mechs who have a need to know. If he already knew, this wouldn’t be much of an issue, but, “Been an interesting research and development process. Recording and storing the data internally, that’s basic. But splitting the feed to send it to a central hub at the same time, using only the existing cranial space? Took some time to work that one out.”

There’s a little more of that tension bleeding back into his frame, but nothing as sharp as when you mentioned the drone. “I imagine so. I’ve been busy with other projects, and I’d venture your information is more recent than mine. Have there been any interesting developments lately?”

Thank Primus for Prowl. This kind of thing makes up for how he acts the rest of the time. You shake your head. “After I finished the new optic designs for the military frametypes, I’ve been on standby. I think the mechs in charge want to see some results in the field before they start rolling it out to the rest of the population.”

Prowl’s face looks perfectly calm, and someone would need to have their hands in him like you to feel how tense he is. “True, it wouldn’t do to put in all that work without some proof that it works. I expect designing optics for the entire taxonomy will take considerable time?”

You grimace. Though there’s probably only so long you can get away with those kinds of expressions. “I doubt it. Even moving carefully, there’s only so much variation in optic design out there. Once the designs are proven, adapting them will be quick.” You pause and force yourself to chuckle. “If there are delays, I’ve been reassured that the Council can spare other medics to help me with the work.”

“That is good to know.”

Right here in the government buildings, it wouldn’t be safe to assume any conversation was completely private. Prowl’s tone is perfectly pleasant, but his expression is flat and his mouth is a thin line.

You steal another quick look over at the drone, and you still might not know what’s up with that business, but you think you’ve earned enough goodwill to prod a little.

So your optics are on Prowl’s internals, but all your attention is on Prowl’s face when you say, “If it’s a success, I hear they might roll it out to nonsentient machinery too.”

Prowl doesn’t react much to that. But out of the corner of your optic, you see the drone jerk before stilling again.

Oh, no. Whatever is going on here, you don’t like it. “I get to talk shop all day, don’t mind me. How’s personal life? I hear you made a bit of a stir at Momus’s last event.”

“While you were on shift, I suppose,” he says drily. You chuckle. It’s easy enough to guess. “I thought it was quite a success, but I think I might have scandalized some of those poor, delicate sparks.”

Prowl is actually smiling a little. That’s enough of a shock that you can’t help laughing again. “Well you can’t stop there, tell me more.”

You’ve heard some of this before, gossip does manage to reach you, even as busy as you are. But it’s better than any of the gossip to hear Prowl oh-so-innocently describing the first visit from Decimus.

“I think I just may have upset him,” he sighs. “I do hope I didn’t offend him so badly he’ll refuse to visit again.”

You bite your glossa to stop yourself from laughing, even though you’re grinning widely as you continue with Prowl’s examination. You’ve missed this, you really do forget what he can be like, at his best. Without thinking, you say, “You should come around more often. I never see you over here outside of appointments these days—”

And you catch yourself before you can go any further, but that’s about two sentences too late. You wonder why Prowl is never in the medical wing of the Council building anymore. You wonder why he’s been avoiding the area. The area with the mnemosurgery department. You wonder.

So you’re a bit distracted when Prowl tilts his head to look at the drone again, but you notice just in time to spot the drone turning its head towards Prowl, its optic dilating and refocusing. You peer a little closer at that. You don’t work on drones, you don’t have enough time for the mechs you need to treat as it is, but— The optic isn’t much, but you would have thought it was a cut above what usually gets built into a drone. And a mining drone at that.

“Momus tells me it’s a very high end model,” Prowl says, and you try not to jump. He’s staring at you now. You just shrug, even though you can see the drone’s head swiveling towards you also.

“Makes sense,” you say, trying to sound careless. “If anyone would know, it’s him. Did he say it was that shows the difference?”

Prowl relaxes a little again, just reciting information, bland and casual. You focus on the drone as you wrap up Prowl’s examination. The joints, what you can see of its cranial structure past its optic, the way its plating is fitted together.

After you finally let Prowl’s chest close again, and finish downloading his examination results to a datapad, you jerk your head towards the drone and say, “May I?”

He takes the datapad and waves you off. “By all means.”

At first you just take one arm and manipulate it, testing the elbow and peering up at what you can see of its shoulder. It turns its head to watch you, but you ignore it. And really, it just looks like a drone. You’d say your undefined suspicions are entirely baseless— Except they’re based on Prowl, and the way you’ve been feeling him react since this conversation started.

You peer a little more closely at the drone’s plating. In line with the mining frametypes you’ve seen, which means it should be in line with the design of mining drones as well. It is a well-built model. Some of these drones look like they fall apart as soon as they try to walk, but this one is solidly constructed. Joints are good, responses are good, and its plating design is sophisticated enough you’d almost think it could even handle a transformation.

Wait.

The idea— It’s absurd. Especially since you’ve heard the backstory of Proteus’s gift from multiple parties, and it’s been the same from the start. And the way the drone is shaped, it doesn’t have an alt mode it could turn into. It would be— Something heavy, something suitable for the mines, obviously. But there’s no wheels, no treads, no obvious function, nothing. Of course, a quiet, dangerous voice whispers to you that it would be so easy to add those things on. Or strip them off.

And now that you’re thinking about it, you’re close enough to see all the very fresh patches on the drone’s frame, and that the surface of its optic is so clear it has to be new. Maybe even… approximately as new as Prowl’s.

You can’t stop thinking it. Prowl’s optics are on you now, you can feel them burning into the back of your neck, but you can’t just stop here.

Before you can stop yourself, you say, “While you’re in, does your drone need any repairs? I don’t have time for a full appointment, but I wouldn’t mind running a few quick tests, as a favor.”

You flip up the panel on the drone’s arm hiding its diagnostic ports, and have barely a nanoklik to look at them before Prowl is there, his hand firmly pushing yours aside and closing the panel.

“I don’t think that’s necessary,” he says. Calm but cold. Not angry, perhaps, but you just came awfully close to crossing a line. Which is understandable, because you didn’t have that panel open for long, but it was just long enough to spot the fresh little comms port, tucked away in a corner.

Frag. You don’t have any idea what you’re getting yourself into. But even if you stayed completely out of it after this, you doubt that would protect you from anything. “We should meet up for drinks sometime,” you tell him. “Talk about those optics upgrades. Got some questions about implementation, and I’d like to get input from someone who’ll be using the feeds in the field.”

His expression thaws slightly. “That does sound like a good plan. Though perhaps at my home rather than a bar, if we’re going to discuss that sort of... private information.”

You try not to sigh with relief as you say goodbye and he strolls off down the halls. Looks like you haven’t quite burned that bridge just yet. Though he was willing enough to let Decimus into his home too, so you don’t know if that necessarily says anything good about you. And when you get him in private, you’ll be able to give him a piece of your mind and chew him out over whatever the frag it is he thinks he’s doing. And tell him that you won’t accept any excuses, he needs to take that mech, whoever he is, to get them treated by an actual doctor.

"Il faut chaud ici, ou bien c'est vous?" 

Hyacinth threw the tissue roll in his direction and they both laughed. He knew she'd laugh. His plan worked and he smiled at the small accomplishment of reducing the tension between them. Placing the tissue roll back in the small veranda table, he walked towards her and placed his arms on the cement railing as well, giving her just the right distance she needed. She has always been sensitive with so-called private bubbles and he didn't forget.

"I always hated it when you speak French in that fake Greek accent of yours." It's a woman language. When they say they hate it, they actually really like it. And he knew she'd say it. It was a beautiful Tuscan landscape, full of sparkling green grapes ready to harvest in a month's time. The clouds were almost hiding in the sky, reflecting the bluest Mediterranean sea, flirting with the purples and oranges of the setting sun. His hectares of vineyard were perfectly lined with moist brown soil. Years ago, he bought the villa for the sole purpose of reminding himself that she always wanted to buy a country home with the same exact view. "You're deep in thought, qual é il problema?" "It's nothing," she tried to smile at him but he understood that it might be too personal to discuss. "I just love it here, like the one I have in Bourdeaux." "So you did buy it, that ancient villa with a winery." "Two years later," she didn't want to say after they visited the place together, then continued, "when the executor of the state also died, the real estate agent called me and I just had to agree with the price. You can't deny it was quite an inheritance. Costa un occhio della testa. And he was like 'C'est ma dernière offre!'," imitating an old man's deep bass voice. She laughed lightly, "It's hard to let the opportunity pass, I might never come across it again." The comical mimicry stunt made him laugh as well. He reminisced the embrassing experience. It was perfect timing when they visited the ancient villa located in the south of France, the executor of estate wasn't aware her late ex-husband bequethed the property to her. Having been divorced for nearly twenty years, she thought he has forgetten about her. They didn't have children of their own, she had been married for nearly fifteen years to her childhood sweetheart in the next town, and she mentioned that they had always been arguing about every little thing. For Hyacinth, it was ineffably romantic. She wanted to buy it there and then, even bargaining with the old woman. C'est trop bon marché un prix pour tous les souvenirs de notre mariage de courte durée mais incroyable dans ces murs, the ex-wife complained. Je ne suis pas d'acheter les souvenirs, je veux que la structure et la terre, she countered. Anthony was laughing his heart out at the scene. In the end, she left her card with the agent instead and begged him to call her once the property's up for sale. He tucked his hands in his pockets, what she said was true and he didn't want to dwell with the reality of it then. Having lost his once in a lifetime chance in a blink of an eye, perhaps he could settle with something lesser than what he originally wanted. So he opted for a change in the subject, "We weren't able to catch up when I saw you at The Raines. It was always hard to compete with your admirers. Raccontami della tua nouva famiglia." Her eyes lit up, "Well, I've adopted two more girls. They're Lucia Henriette and Hyamidalla Irish. Because I thought I could never bear kids of my own. But the heavens gave me Andrei Heinrich. He's nothing like his father. I don't know what I did wrong." He wanted to say, "Deine augen sind wie sterne." However, it was too early for the stars to grace the night sky, especially that there was a storm on its way. What a perfectly wrong timing to build a raincloud, heavens, he thought. But he said, "Boys will always be boys. What is he like?" "Andrei?" Non, l'oumo dei tuai sogni, he debated but then he nodded. "Oh you know, maxed out credit cars, too many girls in his bachelor's pad during friday nights, crying girlfriends who come to me for advice, playing video games the whole day, and basketball leagues," she was shaking her head. Anthony smirked at the description she stated, "That is only to deduce that a rare gem such as you have already been tied down by some really fortunate man. Hopefully, a man who makes better political decisions than Putin." He knew that if there was one thing Hyacinth likes, it's political parallelism. She laughed. "Alexandria told me you got married. What happened though?" "Ah, my ever talkative half sister. Is there anything she won't tell you?" She chuckled heartily. He missed entertaining her like that. When she laughs, he couldn't stop smiling. He never imagined the half sister he had a hard time accepting would introduce him to a goddess. "She wanted me to attend the wedding since I was also in Paris that time. Unfortunately, it's not her call to send the invites. She said it was a very intimate moment." His French-Italian late wife organized such a dreamy and elegant wedding to remember. Pastel pinks and purples filled an atmosphere of a remarkable joyous union. She was the happiest bride, full of energy and hope. The multi-talented singer and composer was loved by her generation, touring around Europe during her teenage and early adult years. Before they got married, she published a book regarding women fighting against cancer. "It was, indeed. It was all her idea, the wedding. She had cancer and we had to move here in Tuscany where she passed away five years later." He remembered how his wife struggled with the disease. He was always at her disposal. There was nothing he wouldn't do to extend her life. Until one day it was just too exhausting for her to fight. She extended her hand and tapped his shoulder, "I'm so sorry. It's just always the good news that I hear from her." "Please don't let my tragedy dampen your mood. Your beautiful mind only deserves the good news." He caressed her hand and mouthed a thank you. They looked at each other for a moment. The only consolation he would want to hear is her successful marriage. He still wanted to make her happy, even when that happiness doesn't include him anymore. "Pray tell life treated you well." She smiled sweetly as an appreciation for his pleasant thoughts, "Thankfully so. Marriage is all about hard work. Sometimes though, he thinks I deserve someone better." And sometimes I feel the same way too, she thought. Where would she find someone better when she already have the best? "You may not know this but a woman of your calibre could leave some men with insecurities to question whether they deserve you or not." He sighed and looked away, "I did." The last two words were almost a whisper, she didn't hear them, "Those are flattering flowery words. Thank you." "I don't do flowery words, Hyacinth. Facts are facts," he smirked. "I suppose you're still the guy who likes precision and accuracy in calculations. How's work lately?" "What can I say? Work is my addiction. And my addiction is my therapy. Once a scientist, always a scientist," he shrugged his shoulders. His work has always fascinated her. But he looked up to her endless salvation of the world endeavors. He loved her mostly for her charity and faith in humanity. "Are you still working in the law firm while managing the family business and The New York Times? You have always been busy but making time for your family seemed to be so effortless." When Andrei Heinrich was given to her as a miracle, she retired from work and embraced motherhood. She passed on the leadership positions to her most trusted colleagues. Coming back to New York City when Andrei was six opened up new doors of opportunity in the academe that she gladly accepted, earning her highly coveted positions as a member of the board of directors of Harvard Law School and The London School of Economics. "Non piú, I've retired and now volunteer for the United Nations. It's been difficult to control the media lately. And donations just wouldn't suffice. I think I've reached the point in my life wherein I need to see the world more. To be the one holding their hand and giving them the help they really need, it's priceless. All the money and success in the world suddenly becomes worthless." "A beauty like yours shouldn't work off camera." He couldn't stop gushing about how beautiful she is. A reason why Hyacinth settled down with someone else: Because she wanted someone to see her past the shell of beauty that will remain unchanged for a very long time. "The family's welfare always comes first. I have no choice. I mean, chie voule vivere per sempre?" He does see her more than just a beauty but he couldn't find the right words and she wanted to hear them. What else was there to prove that you want to spend the rest of your life with one person when the universe doesn't allow you to do so? "Io voglio vivere per sempre," he grinned lopsidedly. With you, he could only reckon.

Lesson  3  July  14-20

"The early church’s sense of urgency could not have been stronger. The way that Jesus had answered the question concerning the establishment of the Messianic kingdom, leaving the issue of time open (Acts 1:6-8), could be understood to mean that everything depended on the coming of the Spirit and the completion of the apostolic mission. So, when Pentecost came, early believers thought that everything was fulfilled: they had received the Spirit and shared the gospel with the whole world. Not that the apostles had left Jerusalem and had gone out to the world, but the world had come to them (Acts 2:5-11)."

"What happened next was the church’s detachment from material goods. Sensing that the time was short, they sold all they had and devoted themselves to learning and to fellowship while continuing to witness about Jesus, but only in Jerusalem. The communal life they developed, though effective in helping the poor, soon became a problem, and God had to intervene to keep the church united. This was also the time when they began to find themselves facing opposition. Yet amid it all, their faith remained unshakeable."

"After Pentecost, Luke shifts the narrative to a general description of the inner life of the church in Jerusalem. “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42, NKJV). The four items noted appear to be basically teaching and fellowship. According to verse 46, the teaching was carried out in the temple, while the fellowship was in private homes."

"The temple court was surrounded by roofed porches that were frequently used for rabbinic instruction. That the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching shows that the gift of the Spirit did not lead them to a contemplative religion but to an intense learning process under the apostles, whose authoritative teaching was authenticated by wonders and signs (Acts 2:43)."

"Spiritual fellowship was another distinctive mark of early Christian piety. The believers were constantly together, not only in the temple but also in their homes, where they shared meals, celebrated the Lord’s Supper, and prayed (Acts 2:42, 46). By having such daily celebrations, the early Christians expressed their hope in Jesus’ soon return, when His fellowship with them would be restored in the Messianic kingdom (Matt. 26:29)."

"Private homes played a key role in the early church’s life. The believers still attended the temple’s daily ceremonies (Acts 3:1), and on Sabbaths they presumably were in the synagogues with their fellow Jews (James 2:2), but the distinctive elements of Christian devotion were performed in homes."

"Believing that the end was near, they decided that their material possessions, “private property” (to use a more up-to-date term), was not that important anymore. A common use of their material resources, therefore, seemed appropriate. There was no reason to worry about tomorrow, as the Messiah Himself would provide for their needs in the Messianic kingdom (Luke 22:29, 30). This sharing allowed them to experience a deeper sense of unity, besides becoming an extraordinary example of Christian generosity."

"In Acts 3:1, Peter and John went to the temple for the three o’clock prayer service. This indicates the essentially Jewish character of the church’s faith at this early period. That is, the apostles did not go to the temple only to instruct or make new converts but because Peter and John were still Jews and, as such, were still committed to Jewish religious traditions (Acts 20:16, 21:17-26), at least up to this point. There they performed an astounding miracle (Acts 3:1-10), which gave Peter the opportunity to preach another sermon."

"Five main points characterized early Christian preaching: Jesus was the suffering Messiah (Acts 3:18); God resurrected Him (Acts 3:15); Jesus was exalted in heaven (Acts 3:13); He will come again (Acts 3:20); and repentance is necessary for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 3:19)."

"In many ways, this is the same message we are taking to the world, even if the context has changed. The apostles were still in a Jewish setting, when instead of changing religions the people basically just had to “migrate” from the old covenant to the new one. As part of God’s people, they had to accept the Messiah and experience the new birth that follows a true acceptance of Jesus."

"Now, though the situation is different, the message is still essentially the same: Christ died for our sins, was resurrected, and He will return. This means, then, that we can find salvation in Him. Even in the context of the three angels’ messages of Revelation 14, Jesus Christ crucified, Jesus Christ risen, and Jesus Christ returning must be the center of how we proclaim those messages."

"“Of all professing Christians, Seventh-day Adventists should be foremost in uplifting Christ before the world. The proclamation of the third angel’s message calls for the presentation of the Sabbath truth. This truth, with others included in the message, is to be proclaimed; but the great center of attraction, Christ Jesus, must not be left out. It is at the cross of Christ that mercy and truth meet together, and righteousness and peace kiss each other. The sinner must be led to look to Calvary; with the simple faith of a little child he must trust in the merits of the Saviour, accepting His righteousness, believing in His mercy.”—Ellen G. White, Gospel Workers, pp. 156, 157."

"It was not long until the church’s success aroused opposition from some Jerusalem leaders. The Jerusalem temple was run by the high priest and his associates, most of whom were Sadducees. The high priest was also the president of the Sanhedrin council, which in those days was composed mostly of Sadducees and Pharisees. Because the Sadducees did not believe in resurrection, they were greatly disturbed that Peter and John were teaching that Jesus had been raised from the dead. Arrested by the temple guards, the apostles were put in custody until the following day, when they were brought before the council (Acts 4:1-7)."

Read Acts 4:1-18. When asked by what authority they had been acting, how did Peter reply? What was the underlying message in what Peter said that the leaders would have found so threatening?

"The challenge about authority posed by the Jewish leaders suggests a concern for power. Peter, however, declared not only that the miracle had been performed in the name of Jesus but also that salvation comes from Him only. The apostles were before the highest Jewish body; yet, they were in the service of a much higher authority. These men were simple, unschooled Galilean fishermen; thus, their courage and eloquence struck those who were there. Although the leaders did not realize it, the point was that the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit, exactly as Jesus had foretold (Matt. 10:16-20)."

"Without being able to deny the miracle—the healed man was also present so that all could see him—the Sanhedrin commanded the apostles to stop preaching. They feared the message as much as the increasing popularity of the movement. Failing to evaluate the evidence properly, they allowed prejudice and desire for self-protection to dictate their actions."

Peter’s final words are among the most precious gems of the book of Acts: “ ‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard’ ” (Acts 4:19, 20, NKJV).

"Think about the desire for power and how potentially dangerous it can be, at any level and in any context. As Christians called to be servants, why must we be careful about the lure of power?"

"The pooling of goods in the early church was not compulsory; that is, it was not a formal condition of membership. Yet, there certainly were several examples of voluntary generosity that inspired the whole community. One such example was Barnabas (Acts 4:36, 37), who will play an important role later in the book."

"However, there were also negative examples that threatened the unity of the church from within, right at a time when attacks from without had just begun."

"Read Acts 5:1-11. What are the lessons of this story?"

"Though Luke has not given us all the details, there is no question that the fundamental problem of Ananias and Sapphira was not the attempt to keep the money but the practice of deceit within the community. Their sin was not the result of an impulsive act but of a carefully laid plan, a deliberate attempt “to test the Spirit of the Lord” (Acts 5:9, ESV). They were not under the obligation to sell their property and give the money to the church. Thus, when they committed themselves to doing so, perhaps they were acting in their own interest only, maybe even trying to gain influence among the brethren with what appeared to be a commendable act of charity."

"This possibility may help to explain why God punished them so severely. Even if the church’s communal life resulted from the conviction that Jesus was just about to come, an act like that of Ananias and Sapphira at such an early stage could disparage the importance of loyalty to God and become a bad influence among the believers. The fact that there is no mention of Ananias’s being given the chance to repent, as in the case of Sapphira (Acts 5:8), may be due only to the shortness of the account."

"The bottom line is that, from the beginning to the end, they had acted sinfully, and sin is a serious matter in God’s eyes (Ezek. 18:20, Rom. 6:23), even if He does not always punish it immediately. In fact, that punishment is often deferred should constantly remind us of how gracious God is (2 Pet. 3:9)."

"If the apostles could be used to bring God’s judgment on sin, as in Ananias and Sapphira’s case, they could also be used to bring God’s grace on sinners. Their powerful healing ministry (Acts 5:12-16) was tangible evidence that God’s Spirit was working through them. That even Peter’s shadow, it was believed, could heal people is striking. The closest parallel in the Gospels is that of a woman who was healed by touching Jesus’ garment (Luke 8:43, 44). Luke, however, does not say that Peter’s shadow actually had healing power but that the people thought so. Yet, even if popular superstition was involved, God would still dispense His grace."

"Notwithstanding, the more the apostles were filled with the Spirit, and signs and wonders multiplied, the more the religious leaders were filled with jealousy. This led them to arrest the apostles a second time (Acts 5:17, 18). It was only after their miraculous escape (Acts 5:19-24) and another bold speech by Peter, stressing that they should “obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29), that some of the authorities began to consider the possibility that supernatural influences could be at work."

"Read Acts 5:34-39. How did Gamaliel try to dissuade the Sanhedrin from killing the apostles?"

"The Sanhedrin was controlled by the Sadducees, with the Pharisees forming an influential minority. Gamaliel was a Pharisee and a doctor of the law. He was so highly regarded among the Jews that he became known as “Rabban” (“our teacher”), rather than simply “Rabbi” (“my teacher”). Paul was one of his disciples (Acts 22:3)."

"Gamaliel recalled two other rebel movements in Israel’s recent history that had also attracted followers and caused turmoil. The leaders, however, were killed and their followers were completely dispersed. The lesson he drew was that if the Christian movement was of human origin, it would soon disappear. On the other hand, if it was a divine movement, as claimed by the apostles, how could they hope to withstand it? Gamaliel’s advice prevailed. The apostles were flogged and once again commanded not to speak in Jesus’ name."

"“We are stewards, entrusted by our absent Lord with the care of His household and His interests, which He came to this world to serve. He has returned to heaven, leaving us in charge, and He expects us to watch and wait for His appearing. Let us be faithful to our trust, lest coming suddenly He find us sleeping.”—Ellen G. White,"

Testimonies for the Church, vol. 8, p. 37.

"“The people need to be impressed with the sacredness of their vows and pledges to the cause of God. Such pledges are not generally held to be as obligatory as a promissory note from man to man. But is a promise less sacred and binding because it is made to God? Because it lacks some technical terms, and cannot be enforced by law, will the Christian disregard the obligation to which he has given his word? No legal note or bond is more obligatory than a pledge made to the cause of God.”—Ellen G. White Comments, The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p. 1056."

Is china the worlds “Rich uncle” ?

     I have to say, this episode of RT America was probably my favorite so far, not because they were right, but because they just wrong enough and may ultimately have blind-sided winnie who has been in a bubble of his own.

     Ahh, where to begin. Well for starters, the their first claim was actually correct. There have been signals all across the global economy of a recession on the horizon. So they launched into a tirade about how china bought US debt in 2008, which is true, although when he says “keeping the American economy afloat”, what he means is “keeping wall st. liquid”. They will conflate wall st with the US government several more times during this episode.

     Another reminder, That was all to bail out private banks, not the US govt. The US govt was fine during the 2008 crisis, and the fact that bailing out the private sector banks and passing the lost gambles on to the US tax payer is very different from bailing out the US government, though that is an easy mistake to make since big money has been playing such an active role in US politics.

     What they fail to realize is, a very significant number of US citizens, did not want to bail out the banks, which was not bailing out the US government. They just have a lot of lobbyists that make it appear as if they are the government, that is what unlimited campaign contributions are for.

     This same relationship between big banks and the US government is also precisely why there were no attempts to fix any of the major financial mistakes, and the trump administration actually rolled back the vert few regulations that were designed to prevent that type of crisis from re-occurring. So yes, the next crash will be bigger, because it’s still carrying the debt from the last crash and fixed NOTHING.

     Funny thing about that though, the American people are aware of this, and given how the recent elections have gone, things are not looking good for the neo-cons who are responsible. Buying those US securities is also what is responsible for much of china’s economic boom money. However, the primary reason china won’t do that again, is because they don’t have that kind of money anymore. As Sourabh Gupta said “That well is dry” but also as he said “That primarily benefited their (The Chinese) economy” see, because US govt debt is not “non performing”. I will explain what that means later in this article. However Mr. Gupta was very wrong on one of his assertions, that china has not been providing stimulus internally. The opposite is actually true, because their growth model is heavily dependent on investment, they have actually been addicted to economic stimulus packages, which is the mechanism by which they devalue their currency.

But more importantly:

     The Chinese also have found novel ways to obfuscate their local debts with what are called “Local Government Financial Vehicles” which also happen to be where the Chinese people primarily invest their own money. This video explains the situation nicely https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5SE47Xjx2Q basically, china has had a vast real estate bubble, which is where they store the debt of not only the population, but also most of the local governments, this bubble has been building since before 2008, which is the basis for almost all Chinese debt, which is used to fund their foreign spending sprees. However, there is a catch. Empty homes do not generate revenue.

    So those vast number of home loans, are called “non performing debt” because they don’t produce excess value. Which has lead to a slew of bankruptcies.  That’s right, even chinese state owned corporations can go bankrupt, so hurry and swap debt! if you want some useless debt that only looks good on paper because the party has been pumping them full of finance to keep them afloat, which means they are profitable! On paper at least, since the state has 51% stake in the companies, so any money the party pumps in gets counted as revenu.  And because of the peculiarities of the Chinese system, which is the land under the homes are leased and not owned by the private owners, the property technical depreciates in value instead of appreciating in value, as real estate in the west appreciates in value because they do not anticipate the homes being destroyed. This is why homes are different than cars, which depreciate rapidly, because cars have a “shelf life” which the Chinese system inadvertently creates for Chinese real estate. So china has been sitting on a steadily growing debt bomb of their own. So a credit default swap with the chinese would actually be worse than what happened in the US, because at least those bad loans get underwritten instead of evaporating. Which is how buying that debt paid off for the chineese and gave their economy the investment needed to fuel their rapid development since 2008.

    But WAIT! There’s more, the faltering of the Chinese engine ( https://youtu.be/7gH-V3J2EuM?t=146 ) has already had wide ranging repercussions such as:

     Africa, which has been china’s primary engine of growth in recent years, more because of the resources they provide than products they buy, has been hit hard due to chinese speculation, so much so that the world bank downgraded the credit ratings in south africa and several other countries have seen a drop in currency values, as they are tied to china who has been devaluing it’s currency as a tactic in the trade war.

     This was some seriously bad news for Germany, which has significant investments in China. The situation became so bad, that Germany had to enact negative interest rates.

     Given Germany’s leadership of much of EU decision making as one of the strongest economies, this does not bode well for the rest of Europe. I do wonder if this is a part of china’s Divide and Conquer stratagy.

     I shudder to even imagine what this means for Italy, which earlier this year joined china’s belt and road initiative and started selling some 650 million Euro in “panda bonds” allowing Chinese investors to invest in Italian companies. This also allowed chinese investors to pile onto Italian bonds, which resulted in a temporary rally. The chinese seem to have been the winners in that as well. However Italy seems to be having second thoughts.

    So now we get to the really, to me, funny part. This is where the RT broadcaster starts conflating Russia “rich uncle” which is indeed china, with the size of the American economy.

     First, lets take into account the massive amount of money the US spends on it’s military, this money basically is being wasted, blown up with every 1.3 million dollar drone bomb, into tiny pieces that float away in the wind. Which is officially listed as 650 billion, but in reality is even larger than that. Now a look at the hard numbers according to https://countryeconomy.com/countries/compare/china/usa

     China has a GDP of $1.3 trillion or $13,368,073M and the US has a GDP of more than 2 trillion or $20,580,200. That is by GDP alone and does not include the vast sums that US corporations have in over seas tax havens, like Ireland. Given the vast amounts of US debt is a result of tax cuts for corporations brought on by the Trump regime, and the next president is unlikely to be a neo-con like trump during a financial crisis, a lot of that debt is easy to solve with small tax increases. So the major difference between the US and Chinese economies is that, the US economy has a lot of tax revenues that it can access fairly easily with the right administration, however china does not have that kind of financial maneuverability because they already have high taxes and the government is 51% partner in all the companies. In china the companies are half of the governement and its revenues, in the US the private and public sectors are seperated, so that the public sector (The government) is insulated from private sector crises.

     So I ask you, how in the actual hell can a country with an economy almost half the size of the US economy, be the rich uncle to the US ? The US only has 1 rich uncle, and his name is Sam, not Mao. But hey, that is what happens when you conflate the big banks with the US Gov. while simultaneously mixing up Russia’s rich uncle with Americas. Working at RT America must be confusing.

     So while the US has lowered interest rates, that is true. Those rates are still not in negative territory, as is becoming popular in Europe. However the complaints about manufacturing job losses seems to fail to take into account the falling output of Chinese manufacturing. But even here, the devil is in the details. The primary reason the chinese have been able to undercut manufacturing in most developed countries is 2 fold, first and obviously a combination of economies of scale and industrial espionage (theft of intellectual property) but one thing people rarely think about is, shipping costs from china are very significant. However they have also been obscured because the Chinese government has been footing the bill for Chinese corporations for getting their products to western markets.         

     This is why they have been so eager to buy up various deep water ports all over the world (which incidentally are also a great way to smuggle in goods and drugs, hello new opium fentanyl war) But this is also what allows so many under performing Chinese companies to continue to be profitable.

     In essence the policy of paying for shipping for their own corporations has enabled many under performing companies to remain competitive at great cost to the CCP. So the policy has cost the party vast sums of money. So Gupta is correct on another thing, that many countries will start being more protectionist and making strategic investments in advanced manufacturing.

    The impact of 5G however, is fairly minimal, at least in the EU, where data caps of 6 – 10gb are common. What does it matter if you can download at 1gigabit speeds if you can only download 10gb ? So you can very quickly run over your data limit and be overcharged out the ass ? (my personal gripe after having toured Europe for 4 months) I mean, you could get cell service from “Three” which has the highest data caps of any carrier in the EU, but incidentally is also a Chinese owned teclo which not only does censorship, in the EU via a telco provider. But a vetted source has also revealed that “three” has been actively used for espionage against activists. So sure, you can have data, so long as you are willing to let the Chinese intercept all your communications, in Europe. Good job catching that European regulators, who would be lucky if they could get their head up their ass in the first place.

And then there is the pièce de résistance ( wait for it …)

     Trump says not only is he going to leave the troops in syria which he had promised to pull out, but that they would be protecting the oil infrastructure in eastern Syrian region known informally as “Rojava” what is funny here, is that RT continually refers to this action as “Taking syrias oil” when in actuality, they are only securing the oil fields, in the same way US soldiers are securing the oil fields in Saudi Arabia. This is creating the stability to enable their allies in the region, the SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) to then rebuild that infrastructure and sell that oil, possibly to the US, but I am sure some European powers will be equally interested. If the Syrians in the autonomous region which are re-purposing what was previously ISIS infrastructure, to not only rebuild Syria but also deny those resources to the remnants of ISIS,

    That is not “Taking” the resources. Those resources will be legitimately sold by the individuals who have been occupying that land for over 100 years, and lets not forget the US military is there BECAUSE ASSAD WAS GASSING THE KURDS, like several times. which is not only a human rights violation, but also an international war crime. This behavior strikes at the very heart of the legitimacy of the Assad government, which the people in this region were rebelling against in the first place, before ISIS took over. Which was also a result of the many failures of the Assad government. So the US forces are there as guarantors of peace and also to stem the tide of immigrants into Europe, while also providing support for reconstruction efforts which will enable many who fled and/or are being re-housed in the DMZ in the 30km corridor between Turkey and Syra, to have a place to return to. So the SDF may be the only people with legitimate claims to those oil fields. And Rojava has the only functioning democracy in all of Syria. You really expect the west to not defend a fledgling democracy which has a chance of solving their own migrant crisis ?

Psh they will probably try to find some way to blame this on AI. It’s full spectrum y’all.

Finally, an explanation!

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Heart to Heart- Mimicry

Everyone has a subtle instinct for mimicry.  We don’t do it intentionally, or at least I don’t, but we do tend to mimic friends almost unconsciously.  I’m also sure many of us had that moment when we realized we had picked up some habit or trait from a new friend. Perhaps it’s just a way we’ve learned to ingratiate ourselves with others.  After all most people are afraid of people who are too different, and as the old saying goes, “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” The longer we stay with someone, the more we tend to pick up their habits, their tones of voice, their favorite mannerisms.

We’ve all that that moment when we realized we have become our parents as well.  For some of us it was the moment we let out a laugh that we realized was not our own, or used a tone we’ve only ever heard our mother use.  For some of us the resemblance is nothing more than that, for others we are perhaps spitting images of our parents.  You all know who you are.  Families tend to resemble themselves.  I’m sure we can all agree that this is in part due to genetics.  But who knows how far that goes.  No, I’m sure much of our resemblances come from having lived with our family so long through our formative years.  We resemble our parents because we learned to mimic them.

We are not only children of our parents, belonging to a family of blood; we are also children of the heavenly father belonging to a family in the Spirit.  As John tells us this morning, “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.”  God’s love is not limited to material blessings.  God’s love is not limited to bestowing upon us a sense of spiritual wellness.  God’s love is not even limited to the forgiveness of our sins and entrance into eternal life.  God’s love is of the kind that would adopt us as his own children, make us heirs of his kingdom.  The greatest gift God gives us is the gift of being called God’s own.  God’s grace is not dependent on our striving, anymore than a mother’s love and affection is dependent on her child’s striving.  God’s love rests on us unmerited, without regard for what we have done or what we have failed to do.  God adopts us as his own that as we age in the Spirit we may receive every spiritual blessing, the inheritance of the earth.  The Kingdom of God.

Since it is the case that children tend to mimic their parents, because they love their parents and their parents love them, then we mimic our Father in heaven through our acts of justice.  Now, you may note that the NIV translates “righteousness” here, but I think that’s incomplete.  The word that’s used there in the greek can be translated as justice, it can be translated as righteousness.  Normally, when a court metaphor is in view the NIV likes to translate justice, but when individual character is in view it likes to translate righteousness.  But justice or righteousness here not only suggests individual character, but it also suggests our attitude toward the world, to all of society, and how we act in society.  The Bible doesn’t recognize a difference between what is public and private.  So God is just, and God’s children are just.  God’s children stand for justice, God’s children act justly.  Whether in their personal lives, or whether in their relations with others.  As God is just, and merciful, and loving, so too his children learn to mimic these traits.  Like a child picks up her mother’s laugh.  

At the same time we remain in the world.  I’ve noted already how when John talks about the world he doesn’t necessarily mean this rock that we live on.  John’s “world” is the unredeemed creation, all that which is corrupted by sin and works against the purposes of God.  In our reading this morning John goes on to talk about the world that does not know us, that does not know the children of God because it did not know Jesus Christ.  The world that is opposed to Jesus.  The world that is opposed to righteousness.  The world that is opposed to the Law.  

John draws out this dualism.  There is the Law, there is lawlessness.  There is the children of God, there is the world that does not know God.  There are those who practice righteousness, and those who do evil.  It would be comforting to think that we are in the camp of the mature children of God.  It would be very comforting to think that we are the pure.  Those people out there, the sinners, they are of the lawless darkness.  That would be really simple, and give us a place to stand.  But the line between Kingdom and world does not fall between our church’s property line.  The line between Kingdom and world is found in our hearts, even in the heart of the redeemed.  We too pick up the traits of our friends in the world.  We too are part of this sinful contagion called the world.  I’m reminded of an old G.K. Chesterton quip. Once a newspaper called for answers to a question “what is wrong with the world?”  Chesterton replied, “Dear sirs, I am.”  How true that is, we are all caught up in the world.  Christ is working to deliver us from it.

The Church is in the world, but the Church is also called to not be of the world.  In other words, while we live among worldly people we live just, loving, and merciful lives as children of God, even though this world is so often not just, loving, or merciful.  So Christian fellowship is of the utmost importance.  It is in the Church that grace is found, it is in the Church that the Spirit is active, and it is here that we may learn to mimic Christ and each other.  Us Christians need to gather in fellowship, not just in worship.  We need to speak to one another about our walk with Christ, not just talk about sports and the weather.  To really speak heart to heart, in love and truth, about our failings, our strivings, and our winnings that Christ brings.  And we need to hold one another accountable to our common mimicry of Christ.  I’m not saying we ought to abandon the world, close in on ourselves, and forget others.  But we need to lift each other up, pray for each other, carry one another’s burdens and speak heart to heart with one another.  Christ has given us the Church not as another service institution, but as the gathering of those who he called to faith, that we may learn to mimic him through one another.

Questions for Reflection When did you realize you had become your parents? What traits did you pick up from friends? When was the Church there to bear your burdens? What habits have you picked up from Church?