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currentfandomkick · 4 years

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Marinette did not sign up for this part 7

So i kind of live, and this continues on.

first part here previous part here ao3 here

Stephanie twitched when she finished comparing financial resources needed to handle a covert operation, butterfly garden underground, AND manage to keep it secret from the rest of Paris. Cass checked her numbers and it became very apparent that only—and she stressed the only—someone insanely wealthy and is a recluse could be Hawkmoth. And in Paris, that meant one man—Gabriel Agreste.

Cass was the one to narrow it down to him, and Steph argued with her about it being impossible as “He’s been akumatized!” Honestly, Cass was acting like the Ladyblogger who published one of her early ‘could be Hawkmoth’ theories with Gabriel Agreste as a option with “probably had Mayura as Hawkmoth in her place” argument. It was retracted, and there was a apology put up for it that included: this list was not intended to be serious guys—I put multiple known akuma victims here and ways they could have been Hawkmoth no matter how public the akumatazation was. Did not expect this one to be taken so seriously, my sincerest apologies to M. Agreste and Mm. Sancoeur.”

Steph could smell the ‘I was forced to do this’ off the apology, and did her best not to agree with Cass that it was forced as then Cass would argue it was a serious accusation put in mixed with less serious ones to get people thinking. To get Ladyblog followers to take notes and pass it to Ladybug and Chat Noir for further investigation. Which, would be a good way to contact the heroes. Except…

“She interviews the Miraculous team on a bi-weekly basis Cass, she’d have plenty of opportunities to tell them her theories.”

Cass crossed her arms. While they might heavily disagree on this aspect of who Hawkmoth and Mayura are, there is another aspect that is held in contention between the two of them…

“Plus, Hawkmoth and Mayura are totally a couple, and everyone knows Gabriel Agreste is too hung up on his wife’s disappearance to consider moving on, let alone do it.”

“Professionals.”

Stephanie rolled her eyes. Cass is good at body language. There is no doubt about her being better than most. However—Hawkmoth is an egomaniac. Egomaniacs don’t give up when their goal is in reach for a henchman getting ill or injured. Not unless said hench is, well, romantically involved with them. She knew from watching Gotham’s underbelly for years—their romantic relationship had to be rock solid for it to even be considered. Married or may-as-well-be.

“He’s ended how many battles early for her? Totally bordering on, if not actually, married.”

Stephanie paused when two girls joined them, the ladyblogger herself with a too big grin, and soup girl if Cass wasn’t mistaken.

“Hawkmoth and Mayura relationship debate?” The blogger grinned.

Stephanie nodded, as yes, and this is serious. “Cass is convinced they’re just professionals with standards.”

Soup girl groaned. “Not this again!”

“Girl, I told you, I’m not the only one who thinks they’re a couple, and serious.”

Stephanie grinned as Cass huffed. A vote for Team Hawkyura!

“I told you, Hawkmoth is too obsessed with the miraculous to be capable of human emotions, and Mayura is too smart to fall for him. He’s probably paying her a lot or cancelling out a debt for her to work for him how she is,” Soup girl reasoned.

Stephanie shook her head while Cass rose victoriously, scooting a bit closer to her fellow ‘stop shipping the villains’ teammate. Which is ridiculous—it isn’t shipping if it isn’t even subtext at this point.

“No, no,” the blogger leaned forward, settled into their table on Stephanie’s side. “That means the relationship would have to be healthy, and its perfect possible for it to extremely unhealthy and for Mayura to be in a bad relationship with someone who isn’t wroth her time. Why else would she keep using a broken miraculous that’s making her sick?”

Stephanie nodded at the blogger’s side. “And abusive relationships can happen to anyone. Back in our home city,” Steph gestured between herself and Cass. “A top psychologist went villain because she was manipulated into thinking the guy just needed her love to fix him and fell into a life of crime and wanted to stay by the guy’s side regardless of how many times he hurt her.”

Cass nodded at that, frowning at that. She wasn’t there for Harley Quinn, henchman of Joker. Stephanie was. She did see the aftermath and bits of Harley’s (ongoing) recovery.

Soup girl shook her head. “Its not that, everyone knows the Peacock is emotions so she would know he’s toying with her. She would know she deserves better. She’s staying because of finances or blackmail or maybe even being able to fix something that’s unfixable.”

Cass hummed in agreement. “Needs to survive.”

Soup girl nodded. “There’s no motivator more powerful than that.”

“Um, love,” Stephanie supplied. She may not be the best at all its forms, but loving gotham’s citizens enough to want to save them was part of what drove her to become Spoiler in the first place. Spite too, but that didn’t seem like the best thing to mention at the time.

“Exactly,” the blogger passed Stephanie one of her cookies. “Love makes people do crazy things, or did you forget Hercules.”

Soup girl looked exhausted at that, pinching her brow. “We agreed never to bring Disney logic into these arguments.”

“The quote is true—People do crazy things when they’re in love. And Mayura is in love with Hawkmoth, and he’s in love with her.”

Soup girl rolled her eyes. “Then you’d have to give up the Gabriel and Natalie theory for good. He’s still in love with his wife, and he treats Natalie more like a tablet than a person. No way that’s how he’d treat someone he’s in love with.”

“Are we forgetting how he treats you and Adrien?”

Stephanie and Cass exchanged a look. Stephanie focused on soup girl then. Really looked at her. Tired, twitchy, all signs of needing and not getting a good night’s rest.

“Okay, he goes way overboard with supervising and has control issues, I’m not saying he doesn’t, ever. But he doesn’t let me take commissions unless my grades are up there, hires tutors for me and Adrien regularly, and he’s let up on controlling who Adrien can be safely friendly with to avoid crazy fans ever since I joined.”

“You joined, therefore are something he can control, and are therefore not going to endanger Adrien or Gabriel since it would hurt your career,” the blogger explained.

“Sounds like Hawkmoth,” Stephanie added absently, then froze as Cass grinned at her. back track time, ASAP. “But it can’t be since the guy was akumatized.”

Soup girl looked relieved at what Stephanie said. Though, thinks weren’t looking up much on that front. She might have Batgirl pay the man a visit… after hacking the girl’s schedule and Adrien’s and seeing how much this man really was trying to control them both.

Cass raised an eyebrow at her.

“Thank you—can you get Alya off that train too?”

The blogger leveled Stephanie a look that reminded her too much of Lois Lane that time she tried to interview the Batfam on Gotham crime rates and the effectiveness of vigilantes in a city that was entrenched in corruption and if it was better to just gut the Gotham justice system and start anew with different training and such, to prevent villain strength and intensity escalation. In short—she scared Stephanie. Just a little.

“I think maybe Lois Lane could, but I doubt it.”

“Lois Lane is the hero the world is not good enough for and her word is worth more than all of Metropolis.”

“Not that hard to achieve,” Stephanie said without thinking. There is a lot of property damage there after all, they just have a more white collar-exclusive criminal element. Plus, Lex keeps his bigger projects in other places that are harder for Superman to find.

Soup girl snorted at that.

The blogger took offense.

Stephanie would say all-in-all, not her worst time out on a mission doing detective work in broad daylight.

Marinette was quick to transform into Multimouse and meet up with Rena in the Lourve. It wasn’t the first time either—Alix’s dad took to helping her translate Gaurdian since she hadn’t learned it all before Fu died. Besides her, he was the only one who could read the spell book… though that reduced the miraculous grimoire to nothing but the potions. It held the history of the kwami, how to summon and bind them, and even how to craft weapons for them. It included instructions on how to become a Guardian and what was required of her the sole guardian, and how the Order operated with mentions of ways it could be reformed should it ever vanish.

It was the closest thing Marinette had to a mentor on how to re-build the Order and choose members, and how to make the best choices as Guardian. It even listed allied organizations and how much stock should be put into trusting them.

But right now, she wasn’t there as Ladybug to go over another passage or talk about possible meaning and philosophies (did they really mean her job is to kill to protect the miraculous, or like, be that ready to ensure they remained safe?) or the whole “is the soul splitting a metaphor or actual magic” (magic). No, she was there as Multimouse, with Rena Rouge, as representatives of the Miraculous Team to meet up with the Amazonian Historian sent by The Former Ladybug, Hippolyta.

“Greetings Alwphekion,” the woman nodded at Rena. “Muidion,” she acknowledged Multimouse. “I am Vupyte of Themyscira, and our leading historian on the miraculous. How may I be of assistance, young Champions?”

Multimouse stepped forward, forgetting she wasn’t Ladybug at the moment. This question had been burning in her mind since she was told of the missing pair. “Could you tell us how the ladybug and black cat miraculous would interact with the main five if it wasn’t for Hawkmoth?”

Rena glanced at Multimouse, knowing that something was off. It was possible Marinette may be more involved intellectually than she’d been letting on… though given her unofficial spy-work, it was possible that Marinette was Ladybug’s first choice in help… which lead to questions Rena had to keep silent… until Hawkmoth was defeated.

“Ah, that is both simple and complex. If you wouldn’t mind,” Vupyte gestured for the pair to sit with her. “I was expecting something like that to come from Alwphekion, not you Muidion.”

Multimouse would have been flustered a few years ago. Hell, even a few month ago, before Fu was compromised, she would have panicked a bit. But right now?

“Ladybug tasked me to get any information to help her rebuild the Order. I won’t fail her.” She couldn’t fail the kwami. Especially Tikki who never gave up on her, even when Marinette was ready to throw in the towel a hundred times over and give her miraculous to Alya—the brave one she once had to mimic to handle being Ladybug.

“Ah.” Vupyte leaned back. “No wonder there’s such a storm in your eyes.”

Multimouse didn’t know how to handle that, so she brushed it aside.

Rena put a hand on her knee and squeezed.

Multimouse was glad she wasn’t alone in this.

“That story goes back far beyond when my people interacted with the miraculous. Perhaps I could have a figure you trust help me digitize my research on the history in full for your Ladybug?”

Multimouse nodded. That… “Director Kubdel was vetted by Ladybug previously for his discretion and understanding of how sensitive the miraculous and miraculous matters are.”

Vupyte agreed to use the man at a later date. “For now, I can give you an overview of how the work together.”

“That would be sufficient.” Multimouse did her best to copy M. Agreste’s professional affect. To hide how out of her depths she was at the moment.

Vupyte grinned. “First off, The Savior, your Ladybug, has the role of creation. Her role in the group is to guide them to growth, to safety. She is your strategist in battle and the team’s healer. You know this already. She is the only one able to undo the Destroyer—your Chat Noir’s—abilities. However, she can only undo his damage so long as she believes it needs her intervention. Should she find his judgement—and his punishments for those violating the contract between those under the Miraculous’ protection, the Order, Champion and Kwami—be just, she cannot undo what he did.”

Multimouse felt her heart seize. Plagg mentioned the Atlantians tried to convince a Fox into destroying a rival kingdom, a kingdom that was not doing as the Atlantians’ claimed. When the Fox refused… Plagg never said what happened after that.

She knew only a third of the Atlantian’s survived the sinking from what they’d released to the public about their history.

“A ladybug is given all the creative force that exists between her and her black cat, while the cat is given all the ability to detect danger. Half of each of their souls are swapped to ensure this ability switch remains, and that their bond is unbreakable so long as they are called on as Champions. The cat protects her from harm, and she supplies him with what is needed. They are only ever called on in times of absolute crisis—when the Contract is violated, or when the world’s balance is nearing a breaking point.”

Rena was too still by Multimouse, piecing things together. Multimouse hoped she didn’t pass this on to the others… not until Marinette was certain they were safe to remain in the Order and that they want to be in it—that they don’t feel obligated to out of duty but truly want to protect the kwami. Even if it means never being a hero again.

“The turtle shields them both—the Cat in battle and the ladybug when healing. They can even bring forth another weapon, though what it is, there is no record that we have found reliable.”

Multimouse raised an eyebrow.

“Shelter?”

The Amazonian shook her head. “No Muidion, something else entirely… the incomplete records I found mentioned people being pulled to the turtle, feeling absolute safety and complete trust in them no matter what happened around them. What causes this, is unknown.”

Multimouse felt the need to roll her eyes. she was fairly certain it was a cross between ‘must parent them all’ and the turtle’s capacity to ensure nothing broke Shelter. Possibly making it opaque, or something else. She’d ask Wayzz when Nino was asleep.

“Often the turtle focuses on getting civilians out of the area to safety. They are often aided by the Peacock, who creates a creature from a single emotion and ties it to an object, to direct its actions. The turtle protects those in danger with their shelter while the peacock’s creation and the peacock keep enemy combatants busy.

“The butterfly may check for spies among their ranks, potential traitors too by their emotions but that is often another’s role. They often connect members across distances with those outside of their ranks, acting as a diplomat and choosing new members. At times, they might even make use of their full ability and create a champion of their own, granting them the power to make an army to help the cat while following the ladybug’s plan, or to test a possible candidate’s worth by seeing what they do when given power, and how it is used while having the failsafe of taking it away again.

“The bee tends to fight beside the Cat, at times ordering the butterfly’s champion should their connection fail, and is ready to take down said champion should they betray the group with a single sting. The bee answers to the ladybug and cat alone—following the pair’s vision and ensuring it is executed whenever one or both of the pair is absent.

“Then there is the fox, like you Alwphekion. I assume you have grown fond of your ally,” Vupyte gestured to Rena’s flute. “They let you craft any illusion you want. But I doubt you were told of the true power of the fox.”

Multimouse shifted at that. “The Gaurdian was young when their temple was destroyed. I doubt they hid it intentionally.”

Vupyte paused at that. “I did not mean it like that Muidion, simply that the Fox is given little emphansis by the Order to the point it was given a dishonorable title for their champions to inherit, the Deceiver,” Vupyte spat the title like sour milk. “Alwphekion is the one who sees all in their truth, through every lie one has spoken or believed. A fox is not a crafter of fallacy, merely presenting what one feels or desires. Their greatest gift is in their true voice, the one that none can lie or withhold information upon being addressed by it.”

Rena leaned forward, focusing on Vupyte. “How?”

Vupyte sighed. “The records of that were destroyed in Alexandria’s flames. It is a power a fox can only use with great conviction and motivation. Until then, they can only sense deceptions in shades while the truth rings of their own melody according to legend.”

Rena stared at her lap.

Multimouse put a hand on her arm. “We’ll figure it out.”

Rena leaned into the touch then, sighing. “I have a question of my own, if you don’t mind.”

“Certainly I do not,” Vupyte assured. “I am here to help the Miraculous Champions however I am allowed by you. I owe your predecessors more than I could ever repay.”

Rena nodded at that. “What are the chances a butterfly user could make themself a champion?”

Vupyte opened and closed her mouth, lips pressing and pursing until she found words to her liking. “It is not impossible for them to do so. They would have to drop their transformation to do so, which would prevent proper guidance, and would need to give themself a very limited power.”

Rena took a deep breath.

Multimouse took a sharp intake. That changed the rules. A lot.

“So, hypotethetically, if one’s power could only affect a specified amount of things at a time, say, put into a given space and then whatever new thing was put in was then ejected from said space,” Rena continued, “would that be a feasible power for a butterfly’s champion to use without a butterfly guiding them?”

Multimouse felt her stomach drop at Vupyte’s hesitance.

“That is… rather specific.” Vupyte pondered it for a moment more. “While I can’t be certain of the logisitics, it is one of the safest abilities to give in those circumstances. Tight limitations, a weak ability that lacks army-growing capacity, so no need to use the butterfly champion to connect their chosen champion to their subjects, and it is straight forward so no need for an explanation, or perhaps the lack of one would make their reaction to discovering this limit more genuine.”

Multimouse felt sick.

Things aligned quickly in her head. Finances. Schedules. Timing. Targets of preference—teens at Dupont where Adrien goes and is able to talk about his day to either Natalie or Gorilla, who would report it back to him. Even Adrien’s concerns for them—weaknesses, insecurities, fears…

It made too much sense.

Multimouse stood up. “I have to go, excuse me.”

Rena gawked at her. “Wait, Mul—”

Multimouse ran out quickly, running to an alley to detransform and get Tikki to get her head on straight as Marinette spiraled.

Gabriel Agreste couldn’t be Hawkmoth.

He couldn’t be.

Outside the alley, Tim, Cass and Stephanie froze as the girl Tim was convinced was Ladybug appeared. She was in a grey suit before.

Rena looked back at Vupyte, hoping her girl got the air she needed. She knew Marinette would come around eventually, but for now…

“One moment.”

Alya sent off a quick text to Aurore. The girl was good at keeping Marinette distracted, out of a spiral, and helping her process.

Aurore confirmed she found Marinette in an alley bordering on a panic attack and was taking her home.

Rena sighed in relief.

“Okay, now that that’s settled, there’s something you didn’t spill.”

Vupyte smiled at Rena. “You are a clever Alwphekion.”

Rena raised an eyebrow.

Vupyte sighed. “A ladybug and black cat take the longest to mature in their team. It is no fault of their own; a side effect of half of their being being doubled and the other being taken. Of the two, Ladybug requires the longest time to come into her own as a strategist and healer.”

Rena snorted at that. “Have you seen Ladybug?”

Vupyte sucked in her breath through her teeth. “I have.”

Rena watched her more intensely then.

“She is not even out of her training suit, while the rest of yours have become personalized, implying that you are not being overtaken by your role. That you have blended with your kwami and role, rather than be consumed by it.”

Rena froze at that.

“What do you mean be consumed by it.” it didn’t come out like a question, it fell out like doubt defending fear.

“Ladybugs fill in any holes in their group. Right now you are missing two, and one is injured,” Vupyte noted.

Rena filled in the blanks. “Until we get a Butterfly and fix the Peacock, Ladybug isn’t really Ladybug, is she?”

Vupyte sighed. “She is a child trying to run a home alone until they are both present as allies.”

Rena frowned at that. “Then why isn’t Chat affected?”

Vupyte looked far older then. “Have you not noticed that he can only extend and shorten his staff?”

Rena opened her mouth, only for no words to come out.

“He should be able to turn his weapon into whatever hand-held weapon he desires at that moment to protect your team. He cannot fulfill his role as Judge and Protector proper. He may be his own person within his transformation and within the team, but he lack his full range. Ladybug has her full range of abilities, but lacks her individuality as a Ladybug proper. Her team is incomplete, so she must continue to cover and cover and cover until it is complete with all five of her strongest allies at her side. Until then, whoever is under the mask will give and give and give until there is nothing left.”

Rena swallowed thickly. “How do I stop that?”

Vupyte leveled Rena with a few words. “Find Hawkmoth and Mayura, take their miraculous, and once the miraculous is fixed, hand them to worthy champions—ones who are strong judges of others for the butterfly, and of who is in need for the peacock.”

Rena felt her mind waver to Rose for the peacock—the girl who fought for everyone. She was blanking on a butterfly though—a strong judge of character was hard to think of as a core characteristic of someone she knew she could trust.

“You have one in mind,” Vupyte said quietly. “Good. You will have to find another for the other, or an ally of yours must find candidates. The sooner this is determined, the sooner your Ladybug will come into her own. The only other way… would be dangerous.”

Rena nodded. She texted Chat and Carapace to meet her to talk about what she learned. They’d protect Ladybug. Their Leader. Paris’ Savior. And their friend.

Aurore is many things. Miss Sting is a necessity to keep Paris safe. Aurore of the weather girl duo on KIDZ+. Miss Mandeliev’s favorite to call on for environmental studies and among Bustier’s favorite to read a well researched report. She is also one of poor Marinette’s longest standing friends, and one of the only people who can catch her mid attack and get her to pull out of and process her spiral without setting off a different bout of anxiety.

Which is why she captured the akuma in a jar, hid it in her backpack until Chat or LAdybug could handle it, and nabbed her friend in the first place when Alya messaged her. She is not on the best of terms with the reporter (she might be holding a grudge over Lady Wifi calling her a hack and may have gone on a spree fact checking the Ladyblog in the early days and found holes on a Certain Person who has been since excommunicated by the students of Dupont and left the school in disgrace within a less than a week of attending). Especially since she insisted on being Mairnette’s best friend when Marinette has her already. honestly, the other never has been the best at seeing the obvious…

Like the fact that Marinette’s anxiety up ticked with Ladybug’s issues. Or that around the time Chat Noir took on being Mr. Bug, Marinette was injured. OR that Chat hangs around Marinette a lot when Marinette is around an attack, even covering for her.

Aurore dealth in meteorology and environmental sciences. She dealth with public appearances, PR, and being a child star. It is not her place to point out that Marinette is clearly (a) Chat and Ladybug’s confidant somehow, (b) a member of the team (c) Ladybug or some combination thereof. She didn’t want to make a call, she didn’t have evidence to back it up, and she didn’t run on intuition like Alya.

Aurore is a Bee, and they operate best within rules.

Ladybug made not looking into identities a rule. One she’s certain Rena has been ignoring… but Miss Sting follows Ladybug’s word to the letter. She has not looked into anyone’s identity and actively ignored any possible relveations in favor of working on her civilian life and focusing on capturing akuma before someone becomes akumatized, and bringing her catches to Ladybug or Chat for purification or destruction respectfully. Depending on how schedules lined up for patrols.

Now, Aurore is content listening to Marinette ramble about baking soda and baking powder with buttermilk on her latest recipe and how that connects to their chemistry homework (as they were both smart enough to dodge the math that goes into physics, unlike Adrien or Nino and Rose who were naïve enough to take music theory).

That doesn’t stop her from seeing faint movement on their school roof in reflections.

Ladybug may not have made it a rule to protect Marinette. Chat may not have stated such either, but his actions told her it was a priority. And her duties as Marinette’s longest unstrained friendship demanded she monitor the situation.

Once Marinette went down for snacks, aurore snuck into her friend’s bathroom and transformed to send a single message” I think Chat’s princess has a stalker now. Keep an eye on repeats in her environment.”

Pegasus was furious when he saw the message. Cowboy was hacking camera in the area as they spoke with the other members of the team.

Rena paled and Carapace looked oddly dangerous in that moment.

Chat Noir and Ryuuko were the most deadly of the group… Chat’s suit almost… moving, but it had to be a trick of the light. Ryuuko had the same look Rena did when Carapace did something particularly dangerous—like refuse to flee before his time ran out and somehow stayed transformed beyond the standard five minutes after using shelter through sheer force of will alone.

Ryuuko turned to Chat with a most Peculiar shade of anger. “I will be shadowing her.”

It was not a question, but a demand.

“Shouldn’t we check with Ladybug?” Pegasus asked while continuing to check camera. Nothing. Nothing at all.

This must have been what was setting his friend on edge these last few days. Someone stalking her, but just out of a camera’s reach. Professional…

Pegasus desperately hoped it was some paparazzi after Marinette the Designer’s secret identity, or even MDC. Anything but someone going after her for something… something he wouldn’t let cross his mind.

Chat shot him one look that obliterated the option entirely. Pegasus may not know who his comrades are outside of the mask, but he’d be a fool not to remember that Marinette was a spy on Gabriel Agreste. That she was in constant danger as a civilian.

Was it Hawkmoth?

Mayura?

Someone they hired?

He didn’t know, and he needed to. Needed to protect his friend.

She believed in him when he wasn’t sure of himself. She argued against his worst insecurities (nuisance, annoyance, best left forgotten) and proved she likes Max for Max. For his rambles, for his excitement and passion and his own brand of sass to their friends.

King Monkey appeared with a rare serious expression. He didn’t know of Marinette’s involvement at all—only Chat, Ladybug, Alya and himself did—but King must know Marinette. Because that look on his face reminded Max of a friend he’d seen punch someone a little too hard for their hand to keep Max safe from a pair ready to hurt him for his mumbling as a child.

“Whoever is doing this,” King Monkey stated with an eerily calm. “I’m calling the right to make their life a bit too chaotic.”

“Get in line,” Rena growled, her flute ready at a moment’s notice.

Elsewhere three gothamites were passed out in the same room. They decided to take a break and watch a movie together.

They had no idea the Very Displeased eldest of the batchildren had entered the room and forced them each in a separate bed, or that he allowed a certain “demon spawn” to add a variety of traps that, while they all knew how to escape at this point, were still ass to get out of and made it clear they were in hot water.

Jason hoped things worked out for the best… after his screw up, he figured Dickie and Demon Spawn should at least have a fighting chance. Or at least Nightwing would have a better chance at convincing the Justice League and the Miraculous Team they meant no harm.

He hopes.

---

hope you enjoyed!

BTW we have fanart by @thegreysman!!! here which tumblr is rudely not letting me show off.

@heldtogetherbysafetypins @laurcad123 @raisuke06 @chaosace@jeminiikrystal @toodaloo-kangaroo @kris-pines04 @bisha43rbs @izang

#marinette did not sign up for this #part 7 #maribat #bio!dad bruce #long post #my fic #my writing #can't tag #bio!dad bruce wayne #anyone know how to add a readmore?

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thissimplefeelingzine · 3 years

Note

regarding your inexperienced w zines mod team- do u at least have somebody handling finances that has experience w a completed zine? that’s SUPER important, especially now, and I would urge you to reach out if not and find somebody to handle that positon. looking forward to this zine!

Hello anon,

I am Mod Dogfeathers*, and while posting directly to our socials is somewhat rare for me, I am This Simple Feeling's current Finance Mod, and so I thought it very important that I address your concerns directly, myself. I am very shy, I am neurodivergent, and I have severe social anxiety, and so most of the work I've done for This Simple Feeling thusfar has been infrastructural and supportive, somewhat away from wider visibility. However, I am extremely aware of the awesome responsibility that falls squarely on my shoulders as finance mod, and that the community around our zine– from my fellow mods and our potential contributors to the fans who will be cheering us on and reading issue 6 next year– must be able to depend on me to manage our finances through every stage of This Simple Feeling's production. The success of our project requires the community's collective confidence in me, and I am extremely keen to build that trust.

So, first, I want to apologize for the length of time that you've had to wait for this reply, and assure you we've been taking your concerns very seriously. Much of this time has been spent in deliberative reflection as to whether or not I should remain in this role. I love this project, and I have invested a prodigious amount of time and effort and affection into it since Head Mod @menecio approached me in early November 2020; I desperately want it to succeed. I have never wavered that I want to remain in this role, and my fellow staff have not wavered in their conviction that I should remain here, too. That said, I am aware that the success of our zine does not particularly care about what I want or what feels good, and so I took some time to seriously assess my own capabilities, to strenuously question my resolve, and to seek advice from people with zine experience who I trust. We have determined that I shall remain Finance Mod, but I want to stress that this was neither an easy nor an immediate decision– I did not let it be an easy or immediate decision, because what has always mattered to me is what's best for the zine. In the end, that determination was made based on the work that I've already done and the trust that my team has in my abilities.

Nevertheless, we want to emphasize that we continue to take your concerns seriously; we recognize that my lack of zine experience is both significant and reasonable cause for concern. We are taking additional measures to address that lack, beyond those that I insisted upon when I accepted this role. I will shortly lay out some of my relevant experience, but in recognition that it is limited and that it may not be sufficient to assuage your concerns, I want to make clear one of the additional measures that I requested during this period of consideration.

My husband and my partner of ten years, Tom, is a trained accountant, and he will now be supervising my work for this project directly. He had already agreed to assist me informally, and had– with supreme patience– already conducted a few intense, 6 hour long sessions to explain the ways that double-entry bookkeeping and Microsoft Access can be used to manage a project of this nature. He will continue to do that, but he will also be keeping an eye on my work and checking up that work periodically. I will still be managing our accounts, my name will still be on our books, and this will still be my job, but Tom will be actively present to confirm that I am doing this correctly. He does not have zine experience, he is not involved in fandom, and he does not have fandom-relevant socials– he has no specific pull towards fandom participation, the way I do– but he has worked for several years as one of two accountants for the library of one of the USA's top 40 public research universities, managing the extremely complex and surprisingly variable needs of such a massive nonprofit, and has been responsible for controlling several million dollars of public acquisitions spending in that capacity. (His way of describing this: "Each year we spent about the same amount as the budget for 10 Things I Hate About You, and I was in charge of a little over half of it.")

As part of this supervisory role, Tom is also going to maintain a presence in our server. He is not a mod and plays no part in decision making beyond occasionally giving us financial advice when asked, but he has appropriate server roles to provide direct access to mod discussions, so that he can be present to pay attention when I bring financial data to the team, and to answer our collective financial questions, should any arise that are beyond my personal capacity. When his schedule permits, he is also available to our contributors and mods to answer their questions directly in server.

What follows is a non-comprehensive, but hopefully thorough, summary of my relevant experience.

By training and professionally, I am a studio artist with an MFA, the terminal degree in my field. I manage my own studio practice. This is a complicated, variable job that requires a great deal of flexibility, responsiveness, and skill– most of which does not actually involve the hand-skills necessary to create the literal artwork the studio practice ostensibly produces. As an artist, I am a sole proprietor, and my studio is my business, but with very specific needs not necessarily found in other businesses, and I run it without assistants. I maintain my inventory and my supplies, I purchase and manage equipment necessary to create work, I manage my work through various states of creation and exhibition and– sometimes– publication, I take on clients for commission, I apply to shows (for which there is always a fee), I work with gallerists and curators, I research and make connections with different platforms and specialist logistics businesses (PayPal/money handlers, banks, streaming platforms, printers, data storage). All of those affect my studio's finances, and so they must be managed carefully, in addition to sales of prints and original artwork (thusfar handled privately, as is fairly normal– we are often encouraged not to maintain digital storefronts, because it can dissuade potential gallerists from representing us; I am in the process of threading that needle.) In this capacity, I have no employer: I am responsible for taxes– both knowing what they are and paying them– and fees, I am responsible for my costs, and I am responsible to my business partners. There is no external buffer– if I fail any of this, I am the only party responsible for making it right.

Because I believe in the transformative power of art (and, for that matter, fandom), I try to work with local arts organizations and nonprofits when possible, particularly when it comes to showing my work and engaging in community arts efforts. I prefer to support group projects that elevate multiple artists, and/or organizations that serve diverse communities. Prior to COVID, I was doing a volunteer-intensive residency with local community arts nonprofit whose mission is to bring art and heritage craft skills to communities that would not otherwise be able to access such training; COVID has necessitated a change in my ability to serve them, but I do still work for them in a more limited capacity, usually grantwriting.

Though I prioritize nonprofits, I have also worked as an assistant/intern for urban galleries using for-profit and co-op funding structures, which involved both basic work associated with gallery assistantship (manning desks, running errands, calling support businesses, promotion, show installation, etc), and sometimes work on specific projects that required knowledge of the institution's fiscal state and available funds (from contacting local businesses about the replacement of a gallery's floor and helping to plan the launching of a new residency, to more routine tasks, such as contacting local bakeries about catering or hosting satellite shows, and ordering promotional material from printers.) All galleries run on extremely tight budgets, and having been exposed to a variety different gallery funding structures (with concomitantly different priorities and audiences) gives me an awareness of the work and the precision required to achieve ambitious goals with extremely limited finances. They are why I price things out on three levels: the ideal, the nearly-ideal, and the most affordable that still meets our high bar for quality.

I have experience writing grants, both for myself and (more notably) for the nonprofit at which I am an AIR (artist in residence). The most ambitious of these grants has reached the second stage of consideration, which is notable both because the granting organization is not arts specific, the deciding board is composed mostly of bankers with deep fiscal expertise, and we were asking for funds significantly in excess of what that grant usually offers. That decision is expected in June of next year. Grant-writing is less of an abstraction on the skills necessary for a zine than it might initially seem: both involve my operation as an agent representing the organization for which I requesting money; art grants are usually for very specific projects with very specific constraints; they usually require that our funding comes from multiple sources that are then pooled to enact the project; the projects have a specific lifespan and a schedule on which key stages must be completed; they require extremely precise budgeting; we are directly accountable for both the project and the precise management and tracking of said funding; and we must be ready to provide statements and proof of the project's progress and funding at every stage of the project's active lifespan, as well as a summary report at the end.

I have curatorial experience with local and regional art shows, usually organized by a small independent team working closely with a local, preferably-nonprofit gallery who is lending us their space; those roles are very analogous to the XO/logistical role I am currently fulfilling for This Simple Feeling. Though we worked with local galleries, and could sometimes make use of some of their equipment (such as hammers and nails and– if we were very lucky– leftover paint), we were responsible for every aspect of the actual hosting of the show and associated costs. This included equipment rental, installation costs, costs to repair & repaint to walls from the normal damage of installation, catering, sometimes utilities and space rental, etc. All of those costs were additional to the cost of recruiting artists, hosting calls, managing the artists and their work, managing sales of the work throughout the duration of the show, managing the sales of any prints the artists or merch the artists wanted to offer alongside the work, and organizing any publications or promotional materials released for the shows. Each show had different financial needs, but they all required budgets prior to their beginning, modified when necessary as the project came closer to realization and new constraints presented themselves. The businesses we solicited quotes from and our cost-reduction strategies varied from show to show, but all of the teams I worked with were semi-formal groups of friends and collaborators, similar to the teams that design zines, and so we did not have a pool of institutional capital to use for funding– we had to generate or barter for all of that ourselves. We did it because we loved it and we believed in it, not because it was potentially lucrative (community art shows almost never are, even less than zines; the point is celebration of our community.)

And that, honestly, is one of the most relevant bits of experience I've accumulated to date, tangential but applicable to a project like this: the awareness that this kind of project is done for love, not money. Issue 6 is being produced for charity, but even wildly successful for-profit zines will almost never be able to make enough profit to adequately compensate the cost of the staff's time, which would be upwards of $20k, if you paid them $10/hr, which is below the cost of living in most parts of my country. The cost to hire freelance writers is, at minimum, $.10 a word. The artwork in zines would cost in the hundreds– and, more realistically, thousands– of dollars, in a professional illustrative or fine art context. The writers and artists who contribute to zines absolutely make work that reaches (and exceeds) the professional standards required to participate in those industries. Our contributors have trained for years to hone their skills, and they put those skills towards making work for us, for free; our staff similarly donate their time to accomplish very complex tasks to support that creative work; that time could be spent producing work for those professional contexts, but instead they give it to us, and they do that because they believe in us and our community, and they want to celebrate a fandom and a ship– Star Trek and K/S– that have brought us together, and (with Trek and K/S specifically) have supported fandom engagement for over five decades. They give that work to us, and the only thing they ask is for us to make a zine out of it. I am an artist and a writer, I have formal training in both disciplines, and I understand these costs: I cannot express how seriously I take the gift of their time and energy, and how profoundly I am humbled to be trusted with it.

If I sound zealous, it's because I am, and because I am excruciatingly aware that from the moment our staff begins working on this project and our contributors start making their works, the financial responsibility for taking all that gifted energy and skill and effort becomes solely my own. If I fail as finance mod, I do not fail only myself, as would be the case in my studio practice– I also fail my fellow mods and every single one of my contributors, and I fail the community responsible for the generation of work that has provided me solace for decades. If I fuck up as finance mod, it is solely my responsibility to make it right.

As I said before, your concerns are absolutely reasonable– I share many of them– and all of this experience is tangential, and zines are different projects to those that I've worked on before, with different constraints and needs. I have thus taken action and structured my own work as a mod to assuage these concerns in myself, in ways that I hope will concomitantly assuage some of your concerns as well. I am paying attention to my own inexperience, I am preventing myself from functioning on auto-pilot, I am taking nothing for granted, and I am being actively vigilant for the inevitable gaps in my own expertise.

That's easy to say, but what does it look like? Thusfar, it takes the form of huge amounts of research, and the connection to a extant network of experienced zinesters, both of which are repositories of information with which I am trying to plug some of my gaps. I know well, as an academic who also practices disciplines (art and writing) that are precarious by their nature, that there is a big difference between external research and experience– but if everyone starts somewhere, then I have gone to great lengths to map out the place where I'm starting as thoroughly as possible. I have read (and often annotated) literally every resource on the production and staffing of fandom zines that I could find. When I have a question, I check these sources and I also look for examples of whatever I'm curious about 'in the wild'. To determine the likely price of our zine, for example, I looked through seven pages of tags on popular hub/promotion blogs on Tumblr, and generated a comprehensive Excel sheet from one such session that allowed me to compare prices against the number of pages and the kinds of merch offered alongside the zines in question. To balance the holes in that mode of data collection, I have also sought contacts and tried to build a relationship with communities around zine production: i have close friends who work on zines (and who initially got me interested in this kind of project– you know who you are, and my thanks is infinite for your patience and your willingness to act as resource), and I regularly make a pest of myself by asking strange questions to folks in Discord servers dedicated to the topic (I am also grateful to these communities, in similar terms). When possible, or if the question is specific enough, I try to go directly to the source: when I was uncertain what, specifically, could be used to verify a PayPal account, and found conflicting answers in their documentation, I spent three days talking to various help desk personnel until I found a solid answer on which to proceed. All of this is basic, and deserves no accolades.

If I am anything in my personal art practice, it is a colorist, and so I already had fairly deep knowledge of color theory prior to my involvement here– however, because color accuracy is so important to printed artwork, and depends so much on printer technology, the capacity and setup of individual print shops, and digital color spaces, I have spent time researching this too. I have requested printing samples from 7 different printers, and I have peppered the ones that meet the zine's standards with esoteric questions about what kind of printing presses they use and what ICC profiles their digital presses are set up to handle. I have done this because when it comes time (very shortly) for our Art Mod (@i-drive-a-nii-san) and myself to make some final determinations on which printers we want to use, it is important to me personally that we have the most comprehensive data available with which to make that decision. The zine that we publish needs to be pragmatically affordable– but within the scope of that pragmatism, I want the best quality possible, so as to do justice to the contributions that will live on its pages.

I am aware that all of my experience is tangential, and that the direct relevance that it has on this situation is limited. I am aware that there are gaps in my knowledge. I am aware of the awesome responsibilities I have as finance mod, and that I am a potential bottleneck upon which this project either breaks and fails or through which it passes and succeeds. I am aware of the gift inherent in every work we receive and every moment of staff working time, and the legacies at play with K/S specifically. I am aware that all the book-learning in the world has limited bearing on the actual experience of doing something on the ground. I find my experience lacking, and for that reason, I very seriously considered stepping down. I am humbled by the responsibility required by this position; I decided to stay because the trust my team expressed in me was also humbling.

My experience may be tangential, but there is a final element that I strongly suspect is applicable to my role as finance mod (and mod generally): in a project like a zine, done for love and for community, there are a myriad ways in which trust matters, small enough to overlook but overwhelming in their accumulation. The trust of the external fandom/zinester community matters, and for that reason I am being as honest as possible, and almost ceded my position to someone with greater experience; the trust of one's fellow staff and collaborators also matters in significant ways. An administrative team that trusts each other– that has confidence in each others' abilities and convictions, that understands each others' outlooks and that communicates well, and that deeply believes that that they will mutually have each other's backs– that kind of administrative team is an awesome thing, and their confidence is often perceptible to the contributors in very real ways, who then trust the administrative team to have their backs and to support them as necessary. Collaborators and administrators who have established that trust with each other tend to work together more effectively, and produce stronger work as a result, especially in a creative capacity. Good work requires creative risk-taking, which in turn requires the certainty that administration can support the necessary risk-taking and facilitate its success. The establishment of such trust is not automatic– we must work for it, actively– but the team involved in issue 6 of This Simple Feeling has that trust in each other, and the willingness to build it with both our collaborators and the wider community around our zine.

My confidence in the rest of my team is unshakeable. They have, in turn, expressed their confidence in me, that I am able to do the tasks and handle the responsibility involved with being finance mod on a project as specific and complex as a fandom zine for charity; I will trust them, and I will continue to work to earn their trust. I will also trust the broad community of zinesters around me, and solicit their expertise to help me navigate unfamiliar waters, and I will trust the professional expertise of my partner, who I have asked to donate his time. I will not lie, and so I make no promise that I won't fuck up in this role– but I will absolutely promise that if I do, I will make it right, and I will do everything in my power to prevent such fuckups from occurring in the first place.

I encourage you or anyone else to contact me if you have further questions; I can be reached through the contact forms on my personal Carrds– both linked on This Simple Feeling's staff bio on the Carrd– or alternatively you can request my Discord handle via DM on This Simple Feeling’s Tumblr or Twitter.

- Mod Dogfeathers/42/booleanWildcard/NAB

* I write fanfiction under the name booleanWildcard, and I am known socially as 42 or */asterisk. I post drawings as Dogmachine. I sign my visual work as NAB, my initials.

* We are using Microsoft Access instead of Excel, because Access is more flexible and comprehensive with its ability to cross-reference multiple fields. We will use it to generate reports for release, including possibly ones that can be plugged into Excel/Google Sheets

#tsfzine #ask #mod team

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discovermatrixxx · 3 years

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What are the Important Questions to Ask Best Study Visa Consultants Melbourne?

Study abroad market patterns show that the majority of the planned candidates favor applying through the best study visa consultants Melbourne and a couple of understudies apply abroad totally all alone. Since the interest for the experts is so high, the opposition among specialists is likewise close. They make an honest effort to bait understudies into taking admission to colleges which makes more benefit for them instead of giving well-rounded schooling to the understudy. It gets fundamental concerning the understudy to ensure the expert isn't having a good time with them and tricking them into settling on a stupid choice.

Also, you need to extract all information from the consultant about the course, university, visa, application process, fees, etc. Here are a few questions you should ask your consultant -

How much will the course cost?

The general expense will, at last, rely upon an assortment of elements including your objective city, the average cost for living, individual costs, the charges charged by your college, extra costs like protection, and so forth many state colleges offer quality training at peripheral expenses contrasted with private colleges. A considerable lot of these courses might be inside your financial plan; try to get some information about value examinations between different colleges.

Am I eligible to apply for the course of my choice?

According to the education migration Agents Melbourne, Numerous colleges don't perceive degrees gave by Indian foundations. One ought to consistently ensure that the school acknowledges your instructive degrees and you are not needed to take any extension course to have the option to qualified for the course. Additionally, the colleges abroad change imprints to GPA. The base GPA normally fluctuates between 2.50 to 3.0, while more aggressive projects and chief schools require GPA between 3.0 to 4.0. Ensure you know how is this change being finished.

Is the university accredited?

Numerous consultants allude to applicants to colleges that aren't licensed or are considered 'Fake' by the visa specialists since they offer the experts a robust commission sum for alluding understudies. You need to explore somewhat all alone and search for surveys of colleges and universities by momentum understudies to see how the school positions. A couple of fair reviews will assist you with hearing an autonomous point of view of the school rather than the one-sided picture the advisor is advertising.

What requirements do I need to fulfill?

Abroad, every one of the universities has various prerequisites that forthcoming understudies need to satisfy. You should submit letters of proposal, mission statement or some on work experience may likewise be required. Since the prerequisite of the multitude of courses is extraordinary, you should redo your application likewise. Be obvious from the start about what documents should be submitted.

Are there any scholarships available?

There are numerous grants financed by the school and free corporates for global applicants to empower them to concentrate without stressing over the expenses caused. On the off chance that you are qualified for such grants, you ought to ask the specialist heretofore. Numerous grants expect you to sit for a passageway test and for certain grants your application is naturally thought of. So if any extra readiness is required, you should know the details and complete data.

So, these are the basic questions you should ask education migration Agents Melbourne.

#best study visa consultants Melbourne

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itscookieoverlordtoyou · 4 years

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I want to talk about the play I’m listening to so here’s a detailed resume with commentary

Because of the pandemic(TM), my favorite theater made their latest play available as a podcast. I’ve been listening to it over and over again and now that I recognize the characters’ voice and understand the story well, I have thoughts I’m ready to talk about

So when the TNM released their play calendar, Le Peintre des Madones by Michel Marc-Bouchard interested me.

I discovered this playwriter through school and I’ve loved his work mainly because his main themes: forbidden (lgbt) love and religion. I’ve loved Les Feluettes, Christine la Reine-Garçon, Tom à la ferme and I’m loving Le Peintre des Madones

Set during the times of the Spanish Flu, a young prist commisions a sacred triptych depicting the Virgin Mary in the hopes that it’ll keep their small community from the sickness. The arrival of the Italian painter disrupts the community, secrets resurface, and what was supposed to bring hope condemns.

The play opens with an enticing choir, I fell in love after hearing the first notes. Soon after, a man enounciates his vision for what he hopes to commission for his small community. I can’t describe very well everything he list, but you can feel his hopes as he describes the image of the Madonna.

I like the characters we’re introduced to: The candid Marie-Anne. Marie-Paule the “promiscuous” young girl. Marie-Louise who can read ‘sheets’. Marie of the dead, who helps the dying to die in peace by listening to their ‘secrets’.

The prist enlists the financial help of the doctor to pay for the commission. A very entertaining conversation between a naive young man who expects his act of faith to be enough to keep the Flu away and an older man who’s too down-to-earth to be swayed by words. I find it interesting how the prist talk down to the doctor telling him that by financing the triptych, his soul will find peace and alleviate his conscience. The doctor retorts his conscience is clear and how little rewarding his job actually is nonetheless he hands him the ring he took off the hand he had amputated earlier as his salary. The prist’s words hadn’t swayed the doctor, only his pretty face

The painter always uses a girl among the community to pose as when he works so they hold a little presentation to decide which Marie will be the Madona. Alessandro chooses Marie of the dead, the only Marie who hadn’t signed up to model, but he wants her, he says she’s ‘Splendida’ that her sadness highlights her beauty. She retorts that she is only looked at when one dies, that no one from here talks to her sweetly and that people are afraid of her. Alessandro says she’s the one he wants. Is this supposed to be sweet? I didn’t have enough information to decide so I decided to wait.

Shortly after, Marie of the dead tries to renounce her position as the Madona, she can’t be distracted from her work and she doesn’t like how Alessandro looks at her yet doesn’t paint her face. The prist tells her to suck it up, that her mission is sacred. I don’t like where this is going. Their next session, Alessandro tells Marie of the dead he will paint her face if she tells him a secret, he will tell her his secret if she tells him her secret. Despite her loneliness and her sadness, Marie of the dead is a young girl desperate to be love, and so she falls for his words. She tells him how her mother tried to abort her brother with knitting needle only for him to be born deformed I’m sad for a girl and her mother who deserved better.

While the work is being done, many die from the Flu. The prist is desperate, Marie of the dead is sick, he confides in the doctor his worries, the doctor’s not interested in that, the prist’s pretty face is not as handsome when worried The prist is distraught because the doctor looks at him the same way the painter looks at him when he should be painting.

Marie’s sickness is not from the Flu, it’s more akin to the Madona’s though this conception isn’t immaculate: she’s pregnant. Now when people want her to listen to their secrets before their death, when they want her to tell them how much things are better on the other side than their current pain, Marie of the dead pushes them away coldly. Die, die without me she tells Marie-Paule as she tries to reach her before she dies

Marie-Louise is sad, the dead are envelopped in the sheets she used to read. there are no more sheet. Will there be any for her when it’s her turn to die?

The doctor visits Alessandro to pay him. He’s shown the face of the Madona, the most beautiful face made splendid by it’s immortality captured by the work. Yes, the doctor is quite satisfied unlike Alessandro. The painter shares his boredom, how he had hoped Marie of the dead would be different from all the others he had charmed before. she wasn’t and what an inconvinience to him! The doctor’s not interested, he has work to do, too many dying. If Alessandro needs ‘help with their baby, the doctor knows he’ll know where to find him...

The fever has caught up with the prist, he realises his desire for the triptych might have been a mistake: to adore images is a sin. This scene I’m not exactly sure what happens but I think I understood. The doctor offers the prist morphine, in an earlier scene, morphine is used to amputate a man’s arm. In the next scene the prist’s face is said to be covered in bandages. The doctor tells him that after a little of paradise, it’s quick.

Marie of the dead is happy, free from the heavy secrets that were intrusted to her. She joins Alessandro, her voice is light very different from what it was in the beginning. She loves the baby already and she can picture their lives together. Alessandro says nothing, Marie looks at the painting, those are not her eyes. None of those features are hers. I had to paint a virgin Alessandro says coldly. He no longers talks to her in english, I don’t understand what he says in Italian but I understand when he says Adio Maria. My heart breaks for Marie of the dead as she begs the embryo to leave her body in a voice riddled with anger, as she hopes she’ll knit better than her mother did.

Marie-Anne tells the feverish prist that since the triptych is finished, the war ended, the Flu kills no more. He begs her to close the churche’s door before she arrives, a dark figure holding a deformed cherub leaving behind her a red trace, surrounded by secrets and cursing the living. The wind takes her away, her assumption

Before he dies, the prist asks Marie-Anne to describe the triptych. She does, it’s a maliciously deformed version of his initial vision. It depicts the final fate of all the characters.

“Please , describe me the Madona’s face.”

“It’s yours, your face.”

The play ends in an enticing choir.

Some remarks :

So a lot of things were kinda predictable, doesn’t make them any less impactful when they happen. I wish I could’ve seen this play in theatre but oh well.

This story is set in old Quebec so yeah it’s old-fashioned and it shows i.e. the girls deserved better.

I love how many things came full circle, that’s something I love in stories and this one delivers.

Kinda funny how there were characters with unusual gifts.

I don’t think many if any will read this but idk I needed to share so thank you if you’ve made it this far. DM if you want the link to the play or you can look up TNM Le peintre des Madonnes and I’m sure you can find it, it’s in french tho

#writing about #play #theatre #le peintre des madonnes #michel marc bouchard #describing most of the play with some commentary #enjoy if you decide to read #my writing

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tdemattos18ahsgov-blog · 6 years

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Blog post #7:The 3 Ps Assessment: Parties, Political Interest Groups, and PACs

a and b.

GOP – The GOP platform recognizes that “the digital revolution has transformed how we work, learn, sell, shop, socialize” and this change drives their position with regard to cybersecurity. They state that there is an urgent need for federal government systems to be upgraded and to obtain skilled personnel. They also specifically focus on the vulnerability of our electrical grids to cyber and terrorist attacks, and support efforts to prevent that. Finally, the GOP understands the real threat of “Cybersecurity in an Insecure World” and how it can affect businesses, institutions, and the government. They call out China and Russia as particularly aggressive. They support actions to protect ourselves, including curtailing visas, freezing assets, and pursing criminal action.

I mostly agree with their position, however, some of their solutions might be more drastic than I would propose.

Democrats – The Democrats’ platform recognizes the importance of protecting our industry, infrastructure and government from cyber-attacks. They support a national commission on digital security and encryption and see to take advantage of new technology to help public safety agencies, such as law enforcement, protect the public. They also seek to have more consistency and cooperation between the various federal agencies, and would empower a federal Chief Information Security Officer to enforce this, and the upgrades to federal systems. One key difference between the Democrats’ and Republicans’ platform is that the democrats stress the equal importance of protecting civil liberties and their stand against “warrantless surveillance” of American citizens. They support reforms to government systems that collect and hold “bulk data” so that the government is not in the position of holding individuals’ private information when it is not necessary.

I agree with this approach and think that it is the best and most reasonable solution. It protects from cyber threats, while protecting civil liberties. I takes a defensive approach, while still punishing those who break our laws.

Liberterian – The Libertarian platform does not specifically mention cybersecurity. However, they do speak about the defense of our country, and the importance of having adequate intelligence to detect and counter threats. This platform also stresses the importance of protecting civil liberties, even in the time of war. They go one step further and also state that intelligence agencies must be subject to oversight and transparency, and that the government should not withhold information, especially regarding violations of the law by the government.

I don’t agree with this position. I find it rather extreme and paranoid. It’s also difficult to know where the party stands since they do not specifically address cybersecurity.

Green – The Green platform does not mention cybersecurity. Their stance on domestic security concentrates on the government’s assault on civil liberties, such as authorized torture, illegal wiretapping, indefinite detention without a trial, and widespread government surveillance, and how these need to stop. They support funding and promoting research into alternate internet structures that enhance privacy. The Green platform focuses purely on threats coming from the government itself, but does not mention external cybersecurity threats.

I don’t agree with this position. I find it even more extreme. It’s again difficult to know where the party stands since they do not specifically address cybersecurity.

Peace and Freedom Party – This platform does not mention cybersecurity or any other type of national security. The platform calls for a movement from a military position to peace. It supports the dissolution of the military, CIA, NSA, AID and other federal agencies that have interfered in the internal affairs of other countries. I think the Peace and Freedom Party believes that in this utopian society there would be no need to defend ourselves against cyber or other threats.

Peace and Freedom really had no platform on any aspects of national security. They take a communist approach to the issues, which does not leave us any room to build a defense at all.

c. I think the democrats positions is the most reasonable; it is not too extreme in either direction. I am not surprised by my choice. I don’t know if I would vote for their Presidential candidate. There are too many others issues to consider to determine my choice.

2. Although no one national interest group mentions cybersecurity in their mission statement, the Center for Security Policy most closely addresses my issue of cybersecurity. It was founded in 1988 by 30 national security policy practitioners to “secure freedom.” They promote the national security of the United States, and have several links to articles and podcasts that among other security issues, address cybersecurity.

The Center for Security Policy, located in Washington, D.C., engages in pioneering public policy research to inform and influence government leaders and the public. They also engage in the creation and direction of advocacy coalitions. In its infancy, the Center was famous for its “Decision Briefs” that were faxed to hundreds of national security officials and other policy makers and influential people. Now the Center also reaches much greater numbers social media. It disseminates its own research, analysis and recommendations, as well as others’ innovative ideas.

All events and syposiums hosted by the Center for Security Policy are by invitation only. They seem to invite knowledgeable people in national security, and occasionally hold events to inform the media and the public. It is likely that all events are in Washington, D.C. I did not find any volunteer opportunities on their website.

I found it interesting that the Center for Security Policy feels their President’s Trump National Security Strategy “closely reflects in almost every particular the positions that the Center for Security Policy has fought for over the last three decades.” Cybersecurity should be an issue that resonates with every political party, but the way to achieve cybersecurity varies. All opinions should be respected and heard.

3. There are no state interest groups that represent my issue. I searched under the following topics: Campaign Finance and Elections, Crime, Defense, Energy, National Security, Government Operations, Infrastructure, and Natural Resources and the Environment.

4. Since cybersecurity is primarily a national security issue, I’m not surprised that there are no state interest groups that represent my issue. However, I’m sure that State agencies are definitely concerned about this issue.

5. General Dynamics is a PAC that deals with defense electronics, which is the most closely related PAC we could find. They’ve raised $1,776,846 in 2018, and have spent $1,953,944. They have contributed $1,004,500 to federal candidates, of this, 42% was to democrats and 58% to republicans. Their top contributors include: Maura Dunn of Advanced Information Systems, Charles Corrado of Electric Boat Corporation-Applied PH, David Paddock of Jet Aviation, and various others of General Dynamics Corporation.

These operations would benefit from increased defense spending.

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alexisltwu380 · 3 years

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9 Ted Talks That Anyone Working In We Buy Houses Atlanta Should Watch

How to Sell Your Home Fast into the We Buy Houses Investors

If the current madness in home and also the market unexpectedly have you ever viewing small yellow signs and big billboards that say, "We will buy your house" that you want to market your property quick and may be wondering that these guys behind the hints are all and can they do anything else to assist.

The indications have been in existence for three decades, however like every thing else, you simply see the things which can be of immediate value to youpersonally. While everyone can buy and sell residences within the usa most people just trade the house that they live in or hope to reside in. Acquiring houses minus the anticipation of residing in them-as a company, genuinely started to take off about 30 years ago when a few conference speakers spanned the county selling training in purchasing and selling houses for benefit.

Like any company, you can anticipate several the folks that buy homes to become proficient, honest professionals and others maybe not really proficient and some-that you'd want to avoid. The bottom line is the fact that some of the folks are able to help you sell a house quickly, some times in a couple of days and remedy issues. The others, I've found, will perhaps not actually answer the telephone, or telephone you back in the event you telephone and leave an email. Strange as it may appear, I've discovered that this reluctance to follow up on an outcome comes about in many areas in sales.

Thus, the first thing I'd propose in picking a house customer to bargain with is calling several, see who answers your telephone, and watch who comes out to your home and occurs whenever they agreed to reach. Maybe not high technology, but a great start. Who am I to tell you just how to form through those men? I happen to be just one and have already been doing creative real estate for decades in Florida, was previously a stockbroker and economic reporter to the Chicago Tribune. It's like going to a hacker to learn just how to make your computer system operation safe and sound.

And as among these, let me assure you there are good, competent men and women, who is able to raise the cash needed to buy and therefore so are knowledgeable of the way realestate works where you live.

There are also, and constantly, waves of new Individuals that are Learning just how to buy homes, plus a number of those who need to sell a house fast will be helping these novices know the trade.

Besides watching whether they reply your Telephone and also arrive at The full time agreed to get an appointment, I am going to wish to understand the length of time the individual was buying properties and just how they perform it. At the second installment of this set, we will start looking at strategies for checking out them, and in the third article, we will be studying phrases from the arrangement that they provide that you might need to avoid.

15 Best Twitter Accounts To Learn About Cash Home Buyers

One of the biggest pluses that the finest of these men and Gals can bring into the dining table to help you is that they have been educated that there are many techniques to promote a residence, methods which were used in commercial property estate for many a long time but that are rarely used in real estate.

While a lot of real estate representatives do not like creative real real estate, my broker was proficient and suggested a means to sell my house. We were hurt, but after thinking about that sold, also it worked out nice. There was still a real risk in exactly what I'd afterward and a hazard in any creative solution to a true estate earnings difficulty, however my knowledge was that which sent me we buy houses business and in the next several articles we will tell you the way it could help you and explore the risks.

You may have heard an advertisement on the radio, then you may have seen a advertisement on the local categorized's newspaper, or you might have seen signs posted on street corners. Whether you're mindful of the dwelling buying advertising or never, '' I understand they exist in your own city.

Should they have not captured your attention until they may now. Many of the local real estate buyers utilize similar language within their own promotion. Here are only several you might notice , we buy houseswe buy homes, '' I buy houseswe prevent foreclosure, we will purchase your home in 9 days, we buy houses in almost any place any state any scenario we buy houses in one day.

So, exactly who are those expert real estate purchasers? an average of, real estate buyers ' are real estate traders. They own small real estate investment companies which focus on buying houses out of motivated vendors. What serviced do nearby property potential buyers provide? Commercial house buyers offer to purchase your house fast which means that you are able to get on with your own life. Everybody else understands that life is not always uncomplicated and realestate is not necessarily simple. Sometimes a huge advantage like a house can develop into a large responsibility. Local residence buyers focus on buying domiciles from those who should promote their home quickly.

Why is it that local land potential purchasers exist? They exist because actual Estate is not always that simple to liquidate. At a gradual market like we're in today, selling a house may be long-drawn-out approach. Typically, the more your house selling process the longer funds it would cost you to sell your residence. Property purchasers exist to fix your residence advertising demand. They will provide you with a free deal for the property, of course, when you accept, you're able to proceed with your own life.

Can you trust a local land buyer? Together with the latest downturn in the real estate market on the other side of the nation, you can find increased folks entering your home buying profession. As with any changing economy, there Are also terrible individuals operating cons to take advantage of property owners. That said stated the considerate, expert, neighborhood property buyers that you're able to expect exist inside the nearby location.

Ways to Acquire Help to Boost You Your House Rapid

You have noticed we buy houses hints or heard their own Advertisements on radio stations. Even in a hard real estate industry, they are spreading their message. But who are these persons and how will they always be able to get properties? Where would they get the capital? What do they perform with all those houses? Let us lookat

To begin with , they are investors and investors wish to create dollars. As they have been around for a little while today, even in demanding economic times, their organization version is working to them. They've been making money.

When they approach a homeowner, who is contemplating selling Their property, there is going to soon be https://diamondequity.com/ sure things that are in their demonstration. Here is what You May expect: We will cover dollars. We'll settle immediately. There will be no Fees or commissions to be paid out into some true estate agent. They will inquire how much you owe the residence in pools and additional exemptions.

We will have no contingencies for virtually almost any inspections. We will buy your home in its as is a state. You won't will need to do some repairs. They will walk round and throughout your house performing an apparent evaluation of its problem. Although, they will buy your house as is, they will still find out the things they see wrong with your house. They will cause you to be an offer and they will possess the paper work all set. So far it seems just like a especially excellent path to take. It's a hassle-free way to sell your house. Indeed, in some cases, it's an expedient and beneficial way of a house owner to sell his their house. But this really is not always true. Let us take a close glance.

When you go to the settlement desk, you will get money, Even if it's the case that the buyer is getting a loan to obtain your house. The only way which you aren't going to get funds is if you fund yourself, and this is rarely the case. After the customer is getting a loan, they should reveal a preapproval letter plus so they ought to reveal financing commitment letter from their creditor. When this happens, it's like the buyer having money. Whenever somebody is spending money, then you ought to stick to similar measures compared to that of the buyer by means of a loan. To begin with, they should provide evidence that they will have the income and secondly, they should really be willing before settlement to put it within an escrow accounts, that may stipulate, which the intention behind the money is to buying the house. They is going to soon be unwilling to do thisparticular.

A speedy settlement 15 times. Should they supply a deal which is for a 15-day settlement, and then you should be certain that you may repay that fast. It is much more probable that they will supply a settlement of closer to 60 times. The 2-month settlement date is sensible, however their true reason for achieving so is because they don't need to purchase your house. Should they have money, then then they might easily settle within 2-3 weeks. However, throughout that 2-month stage, they're attempting to come across another customer. If they do find the other buyer, they may sell the house into that Buyer at a value higher than which they are paying for . In this scenario, they would be assigning your contract into some other buyer and also the price difference is to be called an assignment commission. In case each of their prices move just like this, chances are they will never have to produce some cash. However, keep in mind that in some situations a mission isn't allowed, therefore they can undergo using the buy, but generally only if they've some other customer lined to whom they can instantly sell their house. Should they don't have any buyer available to go, then they are going to find reasons to escape from this contract.

They will tell you you will save approximately 7% by not having To pay a real estate broker a commission. Yes, there are some situations where an agent will bill 7 percent to selling your residence and at which it is appropriate, but an average of commissions aren't 7%. They may moderate nearer to 5% and could be lower.

But they will not give you all these economies; but alternatively they are going to ask you to discount the cost tag on the home by 7% as you don't need to pay an agent. So, in the end, your net profit within your house will soon be exactly the same with or with a broker. If you aren't employing a broker, then you definitely have zero one who is searching for the pursuits. You're stopping 7 percent for absolutely no service and no representation.

Just how much you owe on the property should be insignificant into the buyer. He should offer a price is effective because of him personally. If that price is too low to pay what your debt, then you will not accept the offer. The reason for requesting what you borrowed from would be because they may make a deal that is only adequate to pay that sum. In the event the amount that they want to supply will be lesser than what you borrowed from, then they can't make an offer, however they can return to that number. What this does is take the equity which may take your home, which is the difference between what you owe and what your house is worth and also gives it to your buyer. Be careful about contingencies. There is going to be a clause of some type or another that allows them to get out of your agreement.

They will not request you to do any repairs, even however, your house might not desire lots of or some repairs in the first spot. They are not educated, even though they are going to have clever thought about homes because they consider so many. They can appear to learn about dwelling construction, but they're only talking.

Irrespective of what the state of the house, they'll tell You that some thing has to be substituted or isn't up to code. As an example, you may have a 2-year-old roof using 30-year shingles, so and they are going to tell you that the shingles are curling up, therefore they may have to displace it. It's not going to be real, but if you're unfamiliar with just how to appraise a roof, then you might think them. Or you will have windows that are older, that work nice, nevertheless they will indicate that they will need to get changed. Clearly, each one of these things are going to have cost that they will factor into the price that they feature.

When trying to warrant a price, they will use the deficiency of a real estate commission, fixes, which don't have to be achieved, and also corresponding sales costs, which they can provide. Bear in Mind that they do not represent you, however, themselves consequently the comparable sales will likely soon be those that work in their own favor.

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#Cash Home Buyers

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teragotch0638-blog · 3 years

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Can't Acquire A Business Financing? Get Immediate Cash Without Banks!

I. The quicker, the better: As noted, an international advantage of that financial tool lies in the ability to dispense quick cash. Most factors, which offer the service, would pay 80 per cent to 85 per cent of the value of the invoice upfront. Don't hesitate to get help - The longer you wait, the harder it what is factoring to collect. To be able to understand when an account is hopeless and then it's time to switch it into the hands associated with an professional. This should certainly be the last, final stop in your process, don't hesitate to visit. And remember, you have options. Hand calculators sell your invoices to someone else with invoice invoice factoring. You can in calling a set lawyer. Nicely course, carbohydrates send you accounts any collections supplier. Why when you've got to wait to get cash after you're running organization? Sometimes you just can't manage to wait. When that happens, you have to have start thinking creatively to leave the financial crunch you'll be in. After all, you're kind of afford to sacrifice service or speed when you will get a major order to start working on. When you have some unpaid invoices, then you have a stack of cash just on it and hoping for you to tap in it. So what are you still waiting to gain? Your business is free to grow and expand at a nearly unlimited pace when you've got a business factoring company on your side. I find a business that generates containers for wine sun glasses. I sell the container products through catalogs and around the. I am profitable and sales are steady, but I not move a massive amount of application. The biggest accessory company each morning wine industry contacts people. They love my product and wish to go big within the market. We sign a wherein they order 500,000 of my containers with payment due 30 days after receiving the containers. These factoring businesses typically 'buy' your receivables in exchange for a area of the face value [total amount.] For instance, if the company charges 10%, it will probably typically pay out the commission 90% on the face value of the receivables it products. If it charges 20%, you get 80%, and also the. As soon as you could have received payment from the invoice factoring services factoring company, you may no longer ought to worry about them. This can help you you to plan for the future, regarding worrying about the past. Banks are not likely to lend serious cash unless you have significant assets to back it up. Even when they reluctantly grant approval, as if adding insult to injury, banks may charge substantial fees and interest for your short-term financial loan. Plus, the debt will show as being a liability against your books. When seeking such short car rentals then one you can help to save money is to locate a rental company that includes gas in the daily or hourly estimate. Rental companies are much more prepared do this for this particular type of short rental, and definitely will benefit from picking the car along with a full cage. Many short-term companies offer this, but it can be worth checking and factoring this interested in any quotes you receive. In an economy like ours it would appear that banks are telling more and more businesses they can't help. Businesses providing valuable services stay to look after themselves. Owners are stuck having for expenses, and costly surprises on their dime. This leaves almost no room for a business to develop. So now what? The answer is ALTERNATIVE Initial funds! A little known tool in this particular country, but so powerful that it the capacity GROW A profitable business EXPONENTIALLY. Whatever without ever taking out a loan program. But, precisely you do if an individual might be new, growing or just don't possess a lot of funds all of the bank? Get yourself a business credit? Unlikely. Business loans are in order to get. A more ideal option nicely to use invoice discounting. Invoice discounting is a questionnaire of financing that isn't offered with a bank - it's delivered by a Borrow Against invoices. Knowing something about in the very the fundamental principles of investing is fundamentally important if you're planning on getting into that mission. Just as you wouldn't buy home without getting all data on framework and costs, or a automotive without 'kicking the tires', anyone who wants to invest their money either involving stocks or annuities should get understand a few basic terms and herpes simplex virus mean, time Value funds is one of these. The essence behind factoring is really quite simple and straight forward. When you write an invoice and litigant commits to spend for that invoice a few time point all of the future, may an item that could be borrowed next to. Factoring is an arrangement that involves you turning over that invoice to a financing firm. They give that you a certain level of money for your invoice following which they collect the money from the customer. The amount that get for the invoice is less in comparison with the total. The Borrow Against invoices arrives at keep you'd like as their profit for fronting money.

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thebrokenscript · 6 years

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alright finally a writing wednesday this week’s theme was foresight and while non-force sensitive beings can’t predict the future who needs to listen to rules have some rex @finish-the-clone-wars

this was also beta read by the lovely @lesbian-asajj bless her she saved my life

There.

He went very still, everything around him disappearing as he focused solely on her. He gestured for his men to approach silently. They moved as one to where she stood.

Both of her lightsabers burned unnaturally bright. Like a poisonous creature, he noted distantly, warning a horrible fate for predators who dared attack.

But there was no danger.

Not for him.

She wouldn’t hurt him.

She trusted him.

He stopped behind her, leveling his pistol with the back of her head, sensing more than hearing the blasters behind him all focusing on her.

She turned.

Disbelief, fear, and betrayal all flashed across her face.

He pulled the trigger and the world exploded into chaos.

“REX!”

Rex shot awake, Ahsoka’s scream echoing in his ears, blasterfire shredding his thoughts. Lunging for his pistols, he spun, searching for the danger. Nothing. The room was still as a tomb. The nightmare was already falling apart. He couldn’t remember anything but pulling the trigger.

Had he killed her?

Again?

A bitter taste filled his mouth. Just yesterday it had been Anakin. And before that- well. He’d killed them countless times. He’d killed many faceless Jedi. He’d killed his Jedi even more.

He stood, slamming his pistol back onto the stand with more force than he had meant to. His nerves jangled, putting him on edge even though there was no danger. No sleep then, despite the exhaustion dragging at him. He’d just work. There were reports to do. Check-ins. Take stock of supplies.

Anything to distract himself from the cold emptiness that had replaced his heart.

Grabbing the datapad from where it lay on the table, he paced back and forth across the room as he flipped mindlessly through report after report.

A successful win over on Ryloth, Onderon was making great strides with their public militia, there was a reminder from Anakin that they were shipping out to the Outer Rim in two standard days, a message from Echo-

Rex’s heart sped up. Echo. He immediately opened it and set to work deciphering their code.

Something is wrong with the clone army. Someone else has control of the project. I’ve been able to narrow it down to some groups and people, but I don’t have a definite answer. They worked very hard to cover their tracks.

Rex read the message once, then twice, and then a third time just to be sure. Setting the datapad down roughly, he sat down on his bed and pressed his hands into his eyes as if that might alleviate some of the pressure.

The Chancellor was still first on his list of suspects. Ever since Fives’s death Rex had had his suspicions about the Chancellor despite Anakin’s incensed protests against it. The problem was there was no proof. All the evidence Rex had against the Chancellor was circumstantial and the most direct connection he had was Fives’s testimony. Nobody would believe him. Fives had fallen as far as a clone could. He’d been a well respected trooper, but attempting to assassinate the Chancellor had destroyed his reputation. His words were useless.

The rest of his argument rested on how much power the Chancellor had gained over the course of the war and how much he had benefited from it. But that protest was flimsy. He’d done his research. Most of the Chancellor’s powers had been proposed and granted to him by the Senate. According to everything Rex had found, the Chancellor had reluctantly and “with a heavy heart” taken on the responsibilities.

Rex rubbed his head subconsciously just over the spot Fives had claimed the chip was. Could the Chancellor really have orchestrated such an elaborate scheme with the sole end goal of wiping out the Jedi? Even he could see how ludicrous an idea it was. Nobody could have executed such a large scale plan with such perfection.

But even as he tried to reject that idea, memories began to creep up on him. Things the Chancellor had said to him when Anakin had placed him under his protection after Obi-wan’s ‘death’. Whispers from the clones who were around him the most often of stories that didn’t quite line up. How the Chancellor had stared him down during Ahsoka’s trial.

Ice crept through Rex’s veins. He knew something was wrong here. Even if it wasn’t the Chancellor, it had to be someone close to him. But what could he do? The reality was nobody would believe him. He was just a clone. They’d assume the war was finally taking its toll on him. The past few months hadn’t exactly been easy: Umbara and Ahsoka leaving and Fives dying. Anakin was moodier than ever and everyone was exhausted.

It seemed the war was finally taking its toll on them.

Rex groaned in frustration. He couldn’t just going to sit back and watch the Republic fall. He wasn’t going to let anyone live under the evil that might follow. Especially an evil potentially headed by the Chancellor.

Rex’s eyes burned with exhaustion. Sighing, he reached over and grabbed the datapad. He’d at least reply to Echo before he tried sleeping again.

Look into their finances. We need to see if they were threatened to give their technology away or if they were just paid off.

That should narrow it down. Sighing, Rex let his eyes drift shut.

Anakin stood beside him. He was saying something, but Rex couldn’t hear it. Something was screaming inside his head, saying something but he couldn’t make out the words.

Obi-wan approached. He was speaking too but Rex couldn’t hear him either. Some deeply buried rage rumbled in his chest and choked the air from his lungs.

Jedi.

He exploded into motion, slamming his elbow into Anakin’s chest. The Jedi doubled over and Rex’s pistol was pressing against his head.

Screams and blasterfire filled the air. The world flashed blindingly as Rex pulled the trigger again and again and-

Rex shot awake, flinching as the datapad slipped from his fingers and clattered to the floor with a deafening crash. Heart racing and breaths coming in harsh pants, he staggered to his feet. No more sleep tonight. No more nightmares of slaughtering his Jedi.

Shivering violently, he threw his armor on over his blacks and left his room, stepping out into the harsh lighting of the ship’s corridor. He staggered down the hallway, not knowing where he was going or what he would do when he got there.

Fives had said the nightmares were over. Every clone knew about the nightmares. All of them had them. They were universally dismissed as a symptom of war. When one dealt in killing and death, it was only natural to fear turning on your allies. Right?

But that couldn’t be all of it. No there had to be more to it than that. Fives had spoken of a “mission”. What mission was he talking about?

Rex’s thoughts were spinning faster than he could process them.

The formation of the clone army was murky at best. Syfo-Dias had gone behind the Council’s back and commissioned it and then somehow command over it had been wrested from him and given to some unknown party. If his suspicions of the Chancellor were correct, then the clone army was the tipping point. And if Fives was right about the chips-

There was only one way to find out.

Rex stopped short, then turned and began pacing again.

The Kaminoan explanation for the chip was that it mitigated Jango’s natural aggression. Fives hadn’t seemed aggressive, though his case was far from perfect. He had been acting like he’d been drugged. Anybody could see that. Despite Rex’s pleas for an investigation, nothing had come of it and Fives’ body had been destroyed.

A frown deepened on Rex’s face. He knew what the answer was. The tiny thought had come to him before, but he’d always pushed it away.

Maybe it was time to start listening.

Maybe it was time to take his own chip out.

The thought of doing so made his heart pound. It wouldn’t necessarily be treason to do so, though he’d be going against everything he’d been told by the Council and Senate.

And if he was wrong? If the chip really was to stop them from losing it? His thoughts veered to the nightmares.

He stopped short, the frown deepening. Clones didn’t get premonitions of the future. He was no Jedi. His nightmares- all of their nightmares- couldn’t possibly be predicting the future.

But they all had the chip. They all had the nightmares. Was it possible then that they were connected?

He could sense the cliff he was standing on. The question was whether or not he would take the jump. If he did and he was wrong the consequences could be catastrophic. He could kill so many. But if he was right? He could stop a massive deception. He could save millions.

He hesitated. There was a right answer. He couldn’t stand by and let the galaxy fall to darkness. Lifting his head and gritting his teeth, he marched back to his room.

He just needed to find somebody to shoot him if he was wrong.

#swtcw #writing wednesday #just slowly building my own canon here don't mind me #gotta fix what they didn't do somehow #hope you guys enjoyed it!#my writing

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news-ase · 4 years

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enchanted-motley · 6 years

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@dustkid

Thank you so much! :D The act of oathswearing and being mystically bound to keep your word or behave in a certain manner is integral to a lot of Changeling stuff, so it was a lot of fun to get to try my hand at it. I will definitely try to do more like it in the future!!

And since you asked: Espen & Amelia's relationship follows a version of both courtly and romantic love. As denizens of the Dreaming, they are somewhat bound to act in the way humans dream about - not a reflection of how medieval society really was, but the idyllic fantasy of being heroic, noble, self-sacrificing, chivalrous, and pure of heart & love.

(more behind the cut! Also it goes so long, I’m so sorry, I just got caught up in the excitement)

Initially commissioned as Amelia's right-hand bodyguard, Espen distinguished themself in both their martial prowess and for their advice. Amelia came to rely on them both professionally and personally. Espen was privy to secrets Amelia would never breath in public, trusted in a way no one else was.

Amelia declined suitors and dalliances alike. The rumors flew once it came to light that Espen declined them, too.

There can be no doubt that Espen loves Amelia deeply. They would gladly fight for her honor on any given day, even centuries since their last meeting, and genuinely believe she will return someday (and maybe, just maybe, Changeling society will have progressed enough that the distinction between commoners & nobles won't matter anymore.)

Espen does not doubt Amelia's love for them in turn. Despite the rigid social barriers standing between them, Amelia matched Espen's loyalty with her loyalty. No one was honored more highly, no one was trusted so much, no one else got to remain at her side when she went off to be alone. What happened between them was private and precious and timeless.

The Motley doesn't believe in Amelia like Espen does. While most of them (with the exception of Jael) believe Amelia probably loves Espen in return, they also don't think highly of the Marquess abandoning all of them to the human world while she stays safe and glamour-filled in the heart of Arcadia. Plenty of time with mortals & modern reincarnations have given most of the Motley the idea that feudalism actually sucks a lot. And given that Amelia is the driving force behind binding them to the region & to her will despite not making an appearance in hundreds of years, well... her reception won't be the warmest.

Amelia herself has certainly made questionable choices in the past, too. While she and Espen have a very loving relationship, it's very likely that their loyalty blinds them to the flaws in her character. Perhaps the past few centuries of reincarnation will have opened their eyes - perhaps not - only Amelia's return will tell.

In another few months, I’ll do Amelia’s return and then the Motley will really have some soul searching to do!

tl;dr - Espen & Amelia are undeniably in love, but the veneer of courtly love & chivalry are very likely painting the Marquess as more idealized than she is in reality.

AS FOR NOLAN AND RONAN, I’m glad you asked! >:D

They are, in fact, not twins. Nolan is reaching middle age, while Ronan doesn’t look a day over 25. But here’s a fun twist: Ronan is the older brother, by about five years. They were both born in Ireland in the late 1960s, living relatively normal lives until their teenage years. While Nolan personally always considered his brother to be a bit of a stook, when Ronan turned 17, it was like he became someone completely different. (coughcough He Did). Where once he was somewhat annoying and teasing like a typical older brother, suddenly he would disappear from home for days on end, terrifying their poor single mother. He would resurface and promptly ask their mom for money.

Sometimes he claimed it was money so he could travel home, sometimes it was to bail him out of a jam, sometimes it was to fund a brilliant business venture that he would absolutely definitely repay in a few months honest, ma!

And their dear mother would cave every single time for her precious baby boy.

Nolan saw right through him. That bastard was bleeding their poor mother dry and he didn’t even care what it was doing to her! He caught Ronan in lie after lie, at party after party, hooked on this new drug or that new crowd, living well beyond his means and doing whatever the hell he pleased. Nolan was pissed, but he had no idea of his brother’s true nature until much later.

Nolan wanted to take on extra jobs to help out at home, but his mum insisted he make time for his schoolwork despite their financial need and he managed to keep top marks, despite their struggles. Still, he felt the unquenchable need to DO something. To make a difference. He became deeply involved with politics & the punk rock subculture, his views shifting further and further left as time went on. Given that they lived in the Republic of Ireland, he and his mother were no stranger to the violence and unrest facing the country (aka The Troubles), along with their neighbors. He wasn’t satisfied to keep his head down and so he often wound up in protests, counter-protests, and many a dangerous situation in a passionate, sincere effort to make his home a safer, more egalitarian place. Though he was too young to get involved with the Peace People at the time of their marches, they left a lasting impression on him.

He made his way through University to medical school and studied to become a surgeon, eventually graduating and officially gaining the title of doctor, while continuing to attend protests and advocate for peace in his off hours. It was good money, at first, and as he took more responsibility over his mom’s finances, he was able to deny Ronan’s leeching more reliably.

One summer, Ronan came to ‘visit’ and managed to leave with a ten thousand dollar ‘loan’ from their mother. Nolan had enough. He chased his brother down and caught him before he left town - it came to a full on fistfight. Ronan wasn’t nearly as scrappy as Nolan and was pretty clearly going to lose, so he used a little bit of Faerie magic to turn the tide in his favor. Maybe it was the full moon, maybe it was the fact they were duking it out at the foot of the Hill of Tara, but Nolan saw Ronan’s true Sidhe self shining through: bedecked in dazzling finery, wielding a rapier fit for royalty, and wreathed in an ephemeral aura of pale green fire that blazed but did not burn.

Ronan left, assuming his brother would forget the nasty surprise. After all, the Mists of Banality would wipe the memory from Nolan’s mind, right? Never one to forget a slight or willingly admit that he had been wrong, Ronan pulled a few strings, made a few nasty allegations, and let slip Nolan’s political activities (with some embellishment) and in short order, his little brother’s medical license was revoked. Unfortunately for him... the Mists never set in.

Nolan remembered everything and he knew exactly who was to blame for ruining his career (so recently launched, after years and YEARS of hard work). He began to dig. And dig. And dig. Eventually, his efforts brought him to the attention of a hunter cell, who were more than sympathetic to his dreadful tale of a brother stolen & rotten from the inside... and more than happy to bring on board a new hunter who could professionally tend to their wounds after a mission. He’s been with them ever since.

They are funded by a USA based group known only as ‘The Institute’ and - while it’s not the pay of a surgeon - it more than pays the bills. Hard to argue with all of the sweet, sweet equipment they keep providing, too, for the low price of a few samples taken from their fallen foes.

... geez, I really rambled long there. If you read this far, THANK YOU.

Hm. I think I might have to add Nolan & Ronan to this blog. They wouldn’t be a bad fit, even if they’re not involved in the Motley themselves. Gonna have to mull that over for a bit.

#dustkid

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fiblertsos · 7 years

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So! Life took some turns here and there and now I’ll be moving to Japan in around 3 to 4 months! After talking my way out of a lot of troubles in the way, I finally got picked to be supported in my venture!

However, someone else is financing my plane ticket and the roof that’ll be over my head for some time. And, of course, that won’t come for free. Since I’ll get a job there quickly, I’ll eventually be able to pay off the monthly expenses and the services fees from them just fine; what’s worrying me are the first two months.

I’ll have to pay for my uniform, my visa, my inkan (the Japanese stamp that serves as your legal signature), the very few furniture/electronics I’ll have in my new home, the bed... While I’ll be fine after these are paid, I’ll probably spend the first and second months struggling a lot with food and living expenses.

I’ve talked to the people helping me about it, and they recommended me to take around 50.000 yen, equivalent to 500 US dollars, to be able to pass these first months safely.

EDIT: Also, the documents I’ll be needing to request a visa will cost me around 250 US dollars. I can pay for that upfront and not have it taken away from my salary later on, and I’d like to do that since I won’t be paying interest like that.

So, I’m on a (timed) mission now! I’m not going to ask you for your charity money (even though you can give me some if you go to my blog and click on “Tip Jar”, but I’m not gonna demand it from you in any way), you’ll get cool art as a result of helping a young man move into his new home without going hungry!

I’ll always be open to messages and asks, and any details can be negotiated! If you have any questions before commissioning something, you can always have a friendly chat first!

If you cannot help by finantial means, you can signal boost this post and share it to people that might be able to!

No matter what, thanks for your attention!

#steph art #commissions #artists on tumblr #commission

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dcbarba-blog · 5 years

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15 Ps

Hello dear friends, my apologies. I hope this isn't that super late yet. I got hooked up with academic requirements and I happen to stumble upon this. Imagine, I even forgot that I made it as a note already. Yup, this is just a quick flick of my Jakarta adventure.

You might be wondering about the P. Honestly, I don’t really know why P. Would you help me out?

1. Passport

Despite our incomplete documents, and panic and anxiety attacks, God, with His Mighty hand, caused us to get through the processing even until the seemingly unending waiting time of our passports’ release. God in His unfathomable ways chose to stretch our patience and trust in Him and our boats may be tossed by the waves while He sleeps, but He wakes up before it sinks.

2. Partners

Imagine raising an amount good for a semester’s tuition in just one month by me whose financial status is unstable, yeah I'm still a college student. hehe. But God really showed me that I am indeed His child. He led me to people, to believers, who were more than willing to support His Great Commission and He blessed my team and I with more than enough financial support. Indeed, in our weakness, God is strong; in our deficiency, God is always sufficient; and the more that we feel less of ourselves the more that He becomes more in us.

3. Parents

They and my siblings were all skeptical about HYBRID. They were full of inquiries and doubts and they were all enumerating the pros and cons but more so with the cons obviously talking me out of joining. But even then, God continued to sustain and inspire me despite all the discouragements and hurt I got from my own family. But then I realized that they were only very much concerned about me given my weak health condition. Amazingly, when we finally purchased tickets, God caused their hearts to soften and poured out their moral support for me and kept on checking on me through the whole mission trip.

4. Physical condition

I have always thought that having acute bronchial asthma has always been one of my disadvantages and I felt like it has been imprisoning me ever since. Thankfully, God made me realize then that the same is not a disadvantage but it is otherwise, for it had served as a reminder for me to take extra care of my body more so when we were at Jakarta. Being always offered with food I am restricted to consume and subjected to unending troughs of cigarette smoke, the more that God strengthened my self-control and self-preservation. Yes, my body is my gift and offering to the God Most High and it is most certainly right to offer it at its best condition.

5. Plane

HYBRID gave me the first opportunity to fly and it was not just one flight but four flights! The thought of flying excited yet somehow made me nervous. Excited because it was my first time and nervous, on the other hand, aside from the idea of accident but also of leaving the comforting walls of my home and secured limits of my country. But while flying, God caused my excitement to surpass all my other thoughts and I was so occupied with this miracle of a metal floating and flying in the air amidst the fluffy cottony clouds (I could almost touch them!). It was a one-time big-time experience and God wanted me to witness before my very eyes the wonders of His creations.

6. Philippine immigration

We were held up for a few minutes at the immigration and I was, again, caught up with nervousness and uneasiness. But God reminded me once again and proved to me that He was and is with us every step of the way that despite no official document other than our HYBRID Budget, we were allowed to get through! God replaced my heart’s restlessness with unmistakable calmness as what Psalm 46:10 promised (“Be still and know that I am God. My name will be exalted throughout the nations.”).

7. Place

Jakarta, a place unknown to me yet has been beckoning my feet to set on its inviting shores. Born in a small town, I was fixed dumbfounded with what caught my weary eyes – huge buildings of different designs, wide scary streets, varieties of transportation, big billboards, and a lot more! Thoughts of fear, insufficiencies and uncertainties came rushing through me and the more I thought of how big this place is, the more I became smaller and insignificant. But hey, who is bigger than my God? Absolutely and irrevocably nothing! I should not be shaken for in spite of all the unknowns and uncertainties, I have a Certain, Known and All-Knowing God!

8. Provision

Through the mission trip, I saw before me how God, being the Best Provider, worked in everything. He had shown His favor to my teammates and I through His provisions of food, shelter, finances and a whole lot more. Indeed, no one in need is beyond God’s abounding grace and riches. For He is the vine and we are the branches, if we stay joined in Him, we will be well provided and even more!

9. Protection

Being uprooted from my comfort zone, I felt, literally, super lost then and doubts about safety came pouring in my head every single moment. Will I (we) feel at peace in our hotel? Will I (we) be able to get to and fro our assigned campuses sound, safe, unharmed and complete? Will I (we) be shielded from danger or risks? Indeed, at times, we are caught unaware that we are being attacked at the very heart of the place where we feel most comfortable with, but even then, let us always be assured by this – could there be any safer place for us than in the loving embrace of our Father?

10. People

One of the best gifts I have ever received from the moment I stepped foot from the airport were the paths of different lives God had allowed to cross with mine even just for a while but I know this crossroad will forever be etched in life's rugged map! Through my new-found friends, I have discovered a lot about myself, the world around me and how I could influence the latter while the same influences me in return. All the people, the LPMI staff, my friends - in their simple awesomeness, in their loving and thoughtful ways - have carved a mark in my heart, a mark that’s destined to live through time and beyond.

11. Plan

Yes, God was truly with us all the way. He gifted us with wisdom and discernment in the preparation of everything before actually going to our campus. And what we had planned through Him really paid off. We can never know how far the ripples of our actions would go, so with God’s Divine guidance, better plan them ahead before actually doing them. Eventually, given the consequences of the same, it truly is a great privilege to have freewill to choose whether to allow these consequences to either set us back or push us forward towards either more estrangement or intimacy with God! But, of course, we would be very much willing to wholeheartedly choose the latter.

12. Progress report

It has always been in the team’s system that every night during the session, each of us was encouraged to share what we have accomplished during that particular day in hopes of making others aware of some possible strategies or techniques that could be used to be more effective and efficient the next time. Such, indeed, assisted me in filling my inadequacies and insufficiencies. And I learned so much about team effort and team building. Truly praiseworthy to note how God so easily weaves individual differences together to form part of a mat articulated with a variety of complementary colors and designs that perfectly fit.

13. Perfect timing

Right when God says it is the perfect timing, it really is and I have witnessed it myself. God meant it that we meet our contacts at the right place and at the right time. God meant for their hearts to be prepared – longing, hungry and thirsty – just in time for us to come in and fill the gaps. God willed all those events to happen in His own precious time. Through all those times, God enabled me to ingrain in my mind, heart, and soul to be fully dependent and sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit

14. Power of Prayer

This is the strongest, most potent weapon I have ever used all through my HYBRID Journey. It is water proof, fireproof, shockproof, worry proof, evil proof and more! It is impenetrable, unshakable, indispensable. It is the only one you have when the others seem to fail. It will never ever fail you like what JESUS Christ did for you!

15. Praise God

On our end, all we needed to do then was practice with all our hearts, mind and soul "profound inadequacy, profound dependence and profound humility" to Him who made everything possible even before the beginning until even beyond the very end. Truly, all praises, glory and honor are yours Almighty Father who reigns forever and ever, in JESUS' name, AMEN!

There you go folks! My HYBRID Journey in 15 Ps :D

Please help me with the P. Super thanks! :D

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