Baldur's Gate 3 Game of the Year

"C'mon man, I don't wanna be Robin all the time!" Says Stiles

"Well tough luck, because I never asked to be Batman yet here we are. I don't even have Batman MONEY at least, even though Derek could help out in that department. So *shrug* yeah, Batman but without the funds" says Scott

(btw, this isn't me ~hating~ on Stiles for this comment, it's very in character and typical of teenage boys just so stans don't try painting this as me bashing him)

That scene in Pack Mentality (1x03) is actually crucial to understanding what's going on in Season 1 of Teen Wolf, but it also shows how fundamentally wrong-headed fandom takes can be. If people ever wonder what individuals like me are talking about when they complain about about fandom fixating on the nearest white boy to the exclusion of all else, this is a primary example how they take a great scene in a story and turn it into a Sin Committed Against Their White Favorite.

To remind people who might have completely forgotten the context for this scene, which is more common than you might think: the night before, Scott had been summoned out of his bed by the alpha to help him kill Garrison Myers, a bus driver. Scott, in his subconscious state, had turned the whole experience into a dream of him murdering Allison. Allison turned out to be alive, but Scott had been completely freaked out by Garrison's injuries. Was he hurting people? Was he going on killing sprees? Derek, lying to Scott like the manipulative jackass he was, had not only failed to tell Scott about the existence of the alpha at this point, but he had also refused to tell Scott that the alpha was using his mind control powers to get Scott to kill with him in order to bind him to the pack. All Derek said was that he could help, "but it's not going to come for free," but Scott should go back to the scene of the crime and open up his senses.

Got that so far?

So, Stiles drives him to the school and Scott prepares to break into the bus -- now a crime scene -- to figure out if he savagely mauled his old school bus driver, and tells Stiles to wait for him.

Scott: Hey, no, just me. Someone needs to keep watch.

Stiles: How come I'm always the guy keeping watch?

Scott: Because there's only two of us.

Stiles: Okay, why's it starting to feel like you're Batman and I'm Robin? I don't want to be Robin all the time.

Scott: Nobody's Batman any of the time.

Stiles: Not even some of the time?

Scott: Just stay here.

Stiles: Oh, my God! Fine.

Scott climbs over the fence and discovers that he had been summoned by the person (whom he thinks is Derek because that's the only other werewolf he knows about) to kill the bus driver, but Scott resisted. However, Stiles, on lookout, notices the approach of a guard, and signals Scott to get out of there. Scott leaps the fence with his werewolf powers and they successfully make their escape.

In my opinion, this scene serves many functions, but the insight into Scott and Stiles mindsets at this point in the series are the most important. Scott is terrified but still brave enough to confront what might have happened, and as we know, brave enough to confront Derek when he thinks Derek is trying to get him to kill people. Scott is also beginning to become a leader. This argument with Stiles shows that he's beginning to think tactically and seriously about what's going on. Most importantly, Scott is right. They were able to get away without getting caught because Stiles was on watch and he had the jeep ready. If Stiles had been with Scott they might not have seen the approaching watchman and I am absolutely sure that Stiles wouldn't have been able to leap over the exterior fence.

The Batman exchange shows that this has become very real to Scott; people's lives and his life are in danger. Even if he doesn't die, if he murders someone his life will be ruined. It hasn't become real to Stiles yet, and I'm going to argue that it isn't completely real until Peter savages Lydia on the lacrosse field. He's still views this through a lens of comic books, of adolescent power fantasy, of an opportunity to be the star of the show. He's aware that Scott's a werewolf and there's danger, but he think that he and his best friend can beat the odds, like it's another form of sneaking out of the house after curfew. It also hints at Stiles's insecurity about his own nature, which is an interesting and understandable part of his character.

I love the scene. I don't love how fandom treats it.

To give a clarifying example, there's a typical Scott-bashing fanfiction series called "Not Robin All The Time," which looks at this scene and doesn't see Scott's terror at possibly having murdered someone or the fact that he's right about how they have to treat this seriously, but instead argues that Scott is selfishly oppressing Stiles by not letting him do what he wants when he wants. Unfortunately, this isn't a unique perspective. Fandom holds it against Scott that Stiles was Stiles, and not some badass super-detective/spark/archmage in episode three. That's the worst sin to them, that in Season 1 Stiles wasn't given the focus. The terror and violation that Scott undergoes is ignored or worse, turned into something done to him for his own good, while Stiles -- who could have been completely safe if he had just stayed out of it and the fact that he didn't IS his heroism -- is the true victim. Scott selfishly hogged all the attention from the villains.

In addition, you can't count the number of meta posts and fanfiction which looks at this season's entire setup and says the real problem was Scott being selfish -- as one stupid shitty Harry Potter power fanfiction crossover where Harry condemns Scott for lacking empathy before removing his powers and turning him human, though ironically they don't have Scott dancing with joy afterward -- and not putting his own life to the side to serve Manipulative Brutal Fuckup Derek Hale's every need.

And the reason is clear. Fandom looks at a show and finds the Hottest Damaged White Boy and simply stops caring about anything else. I've witnessed the fandom's reaction to Shadow and Bone and listen to them insist that the obscenely rich and powerful Darkling is just misunderstood. I've finally watched RWBY after seeing the discourse and the moment I saw Ironwood, I rolled my eyes, because of course. Of course he would look like that.

Here comes the chorus: "Why don't I just let people enjoy things?"

Because they aren't. They're not enjoying these shows. They're rehashing the same clichés about the Morally Ambiguous Hot White Guy triumphing again and again and again, which play directly into the way they enjoy a culture created by white privilege and supremacy. Then they get offended because people point out that their inability to move out of their comfort zones not only strangles new creative avenues of storytelling but reinforces Hollywood culture paucity. It's a cycle that's not going to stop any time soon.

ummmm hi 😳 who in nctot23 would be into tall girls like tall tall 5’9 tall asking for myself cuz im 5’9 lmao☝️😌 LOVE UR WRITING BTW!!!

Thank you tall person. 

All of them would be into tall girls but for very different reasons and I will list these reasons below: 

Taeil is more than happy to crawl on your back like a baby koala. He might fall asleep and drool against your neck but unlike a koala he doesn’t have chlamydia and his saliva is non-toxic so it’s okay. 

Johnny is happy he won’t get a neck cramp trying to kiss his partner anymore. Made his last girlfriend bring around a step stool because he was at risk of scoliosis

Pick Taeyong up and swing him around in your arms like a princess. He loves it. 

Yuta will go absolutely feral at the thought of being able to climb you like a tree. It’s either sexy or terrifying depending on your perspective. Unlike Taeil, his saliva is toxic so don’t let him drool on you too much. 

Kun thinks it’s especially convenient that you have long legs so you can power walk to the cashier at the grocery store and get ahead of the line. 

It’s nothing personal, but Doyoung will cut off your legs at the knees so he can maintain the illusion of his internet height. 

Ten is going to use you as a pole to practice his routines on. 

Jaehyun is so happy. Finally he can feel small and comforted in the arms of another. At long last he can weep his troubles away while watching The Notebook and being swaddled in a blanket like a burrito of sadness. 

Winwin is the only one I would say to be wary of. The taller you are, the more likely you are to make full eye contact with him and that is a dangerous game. 

Jungwoo can shrink and expand his height depending on what need he has of it so he will always be a comfortable height to give you a little kiss on the forehead while his tentacles caress your lower back. 

Lucas stands behind you in the kitchen with a big dumb smile and asks you to get him things from the top shelf even though he is perfectly capable of doing it himself. If your shirt rides up he is morally obligated to poke your bare skin with his finger. 

Mark loves it because everyday he can ask his “how’s the weather up there?” joke. He thinks he’s so original and hilarious. He laughs for a minimum of 5 minutes every time he says it. 

Xiaojun likes it when you tuck him under your arm and carry him around like a football, but he will spontaneously combust if anyone else is aware of this fact. Now who are you going to use as an armrest? 

Hendery thinks it’s real funny to make lumberjack jokes and he forces you to wear matching flannels 

It’s very convenient for Renjun to have someone to use as a human shield during fights. Invest in some protective gear because he will hide behind your legs like an angry toddler. 

Jeno says love is love. He likes to lay down on top of you lengthwise, completely still, and just breathe. Just let him do it he needs a break. 

Haechan likes to sit on your shoulders so he can keep watch. Will throw hands with anyone that makes fun of you but also mercilessly makes fun of you. 

Jaemin cares not for your mortal form so long as you have available skin he can press his lips to. And since you are taller, you naturally have more surface area for him to kiss. It’s a win-win in his books. 

Yangyang finally has an excuse to wear the platform stripper heels that Haechan gave him for his birthday

Shotaro keeps trying to make puns with his name while he stands next to you. “Shortaro” sticks around for a bit before it gets annoying but he’s smiling so much you feel bad telling him it isn’t actually funny. Please tell him though before he actually legally changes his name. 

Sungchan is also tall and enjoys the appeal of your combined height making you super intimidating to the peasants below you.

Chenle appreciates the tactical advantage of having a tall girlfriend and will climb on your shoulders to use you as both a ladder and a method of escape from the consequences of his jokes. 

Jisung thinks you couldn’t be tall enough. The taller the better he thinks. Please keep growing. He feeds you growth hormones and milk so you can continue to grow. So tall. Tall enough that he can use you as a beanstalk and climb away from the rest of NCT. Finally, he is free. 

ALRIGHTY! LOYAL HERE COMING IN WITH THE CIRCUS HAHAHA

Btw, I’m like 90% sure that I fell asleep while writing so it just stops. Like, there’s no ending/summary/whatever word I’m looking for but can’t think of at the moment and my bird is currently chewing on my phone case oh my god can she please stop—

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I believe the concept of yanderes ft. a isekai-d reader has been mentioned by Shepard and her anons, tho it’s been mainly for Origins SMP. So, I come to you with ideas for the Dream SMP because that’s all I’m familiar with HAHAH—

Also, I apologize in advance because this thing is borderline an essay with how long it is. I’m so sorry—

For example *cue dramatic lighting and a cheesy flashback monologue thingie* oh my god I think I’m losing it, I’m so tired

Y/n and their younger sibling, Frisk, had just finished up another press conference regarding Monsters being back on the surface. All seems to be going well until the ground beneath their feet vanishes and they fall unconscious a few moments later. When they awaken, they notice they’re surrounded by humans—wait they aren’t all humans, what the fuck, since when are there hybrids? They knew everyone from the underground—by name, no less—and had never heard of any currently living hybrids. Only of ones from before the war. Besides, Monsters have been on the surface for a month at most, so there is no way for... oh boy, their head is spinning.

After some very...tense...introductions (“Hi, I never saw you guys Underground, nor have I heard of you, no offense. So, uh, which monsters are you guys related to?” “OI, I’LL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT TUBBO IS NOT A MONSTER!”) they come to the realization that y/n is most definitely not from this world, or even this universe. Y/n’s adamant refusal to fight the “real monsters” that roam this land (“I did not spend countless timelines weeks putting my life on the line to befriend every monster, break the barrier that trapped them Underground, and defend them against my own god forsaken race just to turn my back on them.”) was a pretty big sign, after all. That, along with species of monsters that the SMP members have never heard of and how y/n talked about Souls as if they were a tangible thing.

It’s a rocky start before any sort of friendship is formed: y/n, wanting to be cautious, (and also not having Sans there to CHECK for them) decides to ask everyone what their LV is. It’s risky, and they had no way to prove if anyone is (or isn’t) telling the truth, but it was worth a shot. “Our levels?” A small goat hybrid asked, his head slightly tilting to the side. Everyone assumes that y/n is talking about enchantment levels. “I’m at 26! Ranboo, you’re at 30, right?” “I’m at 37 now, actually.” “Well, I’M at 58. Clearly I’m the superior one here. A real big man, a very manly man, aren’t I?” And a few others pipe in. Color drains from y/n’s face and they take a few steps back, hands shaking as their eyes dart between each person in the room and the exit. ‘How many lives have they each taken to make their LOVE so high? Why do they seem so proud of it?’ Yeah... that was an interesting experience.

- even though they have been reassured multiple times that the monsters of this world are nothing like the ones from their home, y/n still refuses to kill a single one, as I had mentioned earlier. They also refuse to kill animals. It takes a couple tries at explaining LV or LOVE—Level Of ViolencE—along with EXP—EXecution Points—but eventually everyone is on the same page

- Y/n is hesitant to bring out their SOUL when asked. First off, though they’re now friends with those from the Underground, they can’t help but be reminded of every spear, knife, bone, petal, gaster blaster, and fireball that has been aimed at them with the intent to kill whenever their SOUL was drawn into an encounter back then. Second of all, showing your SOUL is something you do with those you trust with your life—after all, you’re literally putting your lifeline out on display when you do so. There are so many different ways that the SMP members can see it

- Perhaps a monster appears

- Eggpire or Dream attack

- Someone forces y/n into an encounter because everyone is too curious to just let this opportunity slip by

- When y/n discovers that the people of this land have more than one life, they’re confused. There is no way that all of these people have SOULS of Determination, and there’d definitely be some issues if people kept rewinding time to their last save point. Besides, only one Determination SOUL—the strongest one—should be able to respawn. Then again, they only know what Frisk had explained to them. They were never able to see the save stars that Frisk would interact with in the different sections of the Underground. So they only have so much to go off of.

- Battle for them is completely different. Despite being in a different world, the mechanics from their world still apply. They can FIGHT, ACT, use an ITEM or show MERCY.

- They use Frisk’s tactic and flirt their way out of a fight or two. They never understood why Frisk did it until now... ‘I mean, I...wow. That was actually effective.’ They’re impressed.

- Oh no, maybe that wasn’t the best idea...they might have some yanderes after them bc of it...

- They probably have accidentally called Philza ‘Asgore’ and Tubbo ‘Asriel’ because both hybrids remind her of the two males from her world. Similar personalities AND Tubbo is a goat hybrid. The poor child is going to be so confused

- If Tubbo’s a yandere oh boy it’s going to be so easy for him. Y/n will probably be constantly at his side and telling him stories about the first fallen child and how they were adopted by the royal family, who are goat monsters! And just explaining the history of the underground and how important the goat family is. Talks about Asriel a lot as well. Probably makes him butterscotch cinnamon pie and tries to recreate golden flower tea to share with him as well. Or, they do that and he’s not yandere and it’s just wholesome.

- If we follow the headcanons that some fans have made, perhaps Frisk (and/or y/n) gave up half of their SOUL to give to either (or both) Chara or Asriel so they’d have another chance at life

- Not only does y/n refuse to kill, which leaves them vulnerable, they also only have half a SOUL, which means they’re incredibly weak. Someone needs to protect them, someone needs to keep them safe, someone needs to—

- Y/n is incredibly agile thanks to all the battles they’ve faced Underground. With their SOUL always out in the open during an encounter and the fact that they refuse to harm anyone, it’s required. I’m imagining them moving like a dancer, using jumps and spins to help them avoid any weapons swung at them.

- This is gonna be annoying for any yandere that wishes to lock y/n up. Even if they won’t physically hurt someone, they WILL put up a fight and make it as hard as they possibly can to be dragged into isolation or imprisonment

- When it comes to who goes yandere, I believe what color of SOUL y/n has (their personality, in summary) would play a big role. Here’s a few of my ideas, feel free to move people around or add to it, I’m really tired and can’t think of many characters LOL

- Red (determination): Wilbur, Technoblade

- Orange (bravery): Technoblade, Dream, Tommy

- Yellow (justice): Sam, Technoblade

- Green (kindness): the kids of the server, Fundy, and Ghostbur

- Cyan (patience): Ranboo, Ghostbur, Karl

- Dark blue (integrity): Tubbo, Philza, Sam

- Purple (perseverance): Dream—this man would love to see how long it would take for your perseverance to run out. I wouldn’t be surprised if your perseverance is the only reason he’s interested.

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From what I saw of the end of what I wrote, it is DEFINITELY cut short. At least I mentioned every SOUL type lolol.

Also, I found a whole other note that’s a continuation of this concept but for y/n being from another game what the hell was I doing—

Expect that to come in another ask once I eat dinner

Sorry i took so long to answer!! I kept getting distracted!

That stuff is so pog man!!!! Puffy might be called “Toriel” once in a while because mom energy and she sheep,,, close to goat!

Gosh all the flirting will bring in so many yanderes or make ppl like “yo wtf??” And there’s a very small amount that are inbetween.

OKAY BUT WITH THE MONSTER STUFF ON THE DSMP- they’d keep the monsters in their house. They’d give them food and everything. Some def become very friendly and will defend. Haha giant spider go prrrrrr

I’d write more but there is so much amazing stuff I don’t think I could add to some of them anyways!!! Plus my mind is just racing other places rn haha

You know, since that lovely anon brought Cape May up again (btw, anon, I agree with you completely — there's no way that Lizzington and Agnesgate aren't real, not after what was said in CM), I thought I'd share my thoughts, too.

Well, not so much thoughts as a question to you and all the other fans.

I just can't help but wonder — ever since I watched this episode — what would happen if Red didn't get high (though evidences show that he does that when the pain he feels is so overwhelming he can't cope with it on his own/while sober) and, therefore, didn't get the chance to see his possible actions play out from a distance as he did with halluci!Katarina? Would he really try to commit suicide? Or would the rational, levelheaded part of him win still, despite all the pain and the heartbreak?

What do you think?

Hello there, fantastic anon!! 😄 Thank you for dropping in to share your thoughts!! (I'm loving all these asks re: Cape May, it's giving me the itch to watch it again 😬) And oh my, what a great, angsty question!! I think it's definitely a tough call... Especially since we know Red has a history of coping with substance abuse (wandering naked in the desert anyone? around the time of Liz's wedding to T*m, wasn't it?? hmmm??? 🤔) but pondering what he would do in the situation of Lizzie's "death" while completely sober is super interesting!! I think, while he wouldn't "see" the repercussions per halluci!Kat - as you say - he still seemed to have very strong feelings about the act itself. His whole speech & parallel about the effects on so many different, extended people were very touching & grief-filled, it really sounded like he was drawing on personal experience.

[Speaking of, I actually always kind of got the feeling he wasn't seeing his own possible actions playing out through halluci!Kat - as you suggest, anon, - but rather his mind was dredging up his own personal experience with the action (he did, after all, think Kat walked into the ocean & killed herself so as not to endanger infant!Liz) and used the drugs & emotional spiraling & perhaps contemplation of committing the act himself as a way to confront his version of Kat, asking her why should would do such a thing, abandon her child, ruin countless lives, etc. (and it also acted as a bit of a "reveal" on the part of the writers to show what happened to Kat, back in season 4 or whenever it was, but that's besides the point.) There seemed to be a fair bit of anger & frustration when he addressed her the way he did... But that was just my interpretation & your take on it is, of course, entirely possible as well!]

ANYWAY, back to the POINT, Red did seem to have negative feelings about the act itself, but then again, Lizzie - his life, his heart - has just "died" giving birth to their her child & his last connection to that child has been rudely snatched away by T*m exactly when he probably needed it most, hence his lamenting speech about never seeing her again, never getting to watch her grow, etc. So, I think it's safe to say he wasn't really seeing a reason for living at that point. BUT, idk... I just find it hard to picture Red actually doing it for some reason... Perhaps it's just bc I wouldn't want him to (even though I am attracted to the Romeo & Juliet Lizzington angst of it, ngl) but he does have a very logical, tactical mind & he has experienced great loss multiple times before (his wife & daughter, Josephine, countless friends like Luli, etc.) So, while you could consider Lizzie's "death" & his estrangement from Agnes the proverbial last straw, I tend to think he would instead spend a few days at Cape May, contemplating & suffering, but then he would think of Dembe & Isabelle & the few people he has left, the few people that would be the most affected by his action - the way he seemingly resented Kat for NOT doing - and he would call Dembe to come get him. At least... that's what I would hope 🥺 At any rate, this was a fabulous question, anon, thank you for being interested in my opinion!! It really got me thinking & I'm curious what our Lizzington fam thinks as well, so anyone feel free to jump in!! Thank you for this ask, anon, & much love to you, of course!! ❤️

Hello!!! May I please request a HC on Bakugou and Midoriya's work ethics? I mean how they study and workout during quarantine or smthing? I really wanted some inspiration so thought I would ask you. Thank you very much😁😁😁🙏🙏🙏

Of course love! I’m sorry this took so long. Here we goooo!

Oh hey, btw, here’s a YT vid I found of Izuku with some lofi to help study if you need it!

TW: Quarantine Mention

Bakugou Katsuki:

-With social distancing and all, Bakugou can’t really see Kiri or the rest of the Bakusquad, which means no tutoring anyone in person unfortunately. 

- Of course there’s always the option of doing it over video/phone, in which case it’s a good thing Bakugou is miles apart from everyone physically because let me tell you, he does NOT have the aptitude for dealing with everyone’s crazy over the phone.

-It started as just him and Kiri studying together. They would video chat and help each other with homework before it turned into gaming or just talking about life in general. 

-Shitty Hair invited Denki and Mina after a couple of study sessions though. Quarantine took a toll on everyone mentally and honestly, they just needed to be in each others’ company even if it was just over the phone. Even Sero joined in a couple times to catch up on notes and lessons.

-They drive Bakugou absolutely nuts during study sessions.

-Definitely tried video chat a couple times before deciding it was just easier to study over the phone with so many people.

-Denki is always saying he doesn’t get it and Mina is always sidetracked with painting her nails or some other activity while Sero and Kirishima try so, so hard to understand what Bakugou is trying to go over with them.

-Bless their hearts. Bakugou is certain they’re all brainless (not to mention annoying), but he loves them none the less. 

-He needs them just as much as they need him. He won’t admit it, but the irony is that the Bakusquad’s insanity over phone calls is, in fact, the one thing keeping him sane while he’s home quarantining with his family.

-Working out is also a good distraction for him while he’s cooped up at home.

-He already was super active before quarantine, but now he’s out on walks or jogs all the time. 

-He’s very aware of his limits though, so while he tries not to push himself too far, he’s definitely working on himself. 

-How many miles can he push it this time around? Bakugou definitely would focus on his long range and distance to try and improve it, whether it was combat tactics, running, or something else. Any weak points that he can see in himself are going to be worked on during his free time.

-Runs the same path every morning and keeps to his routine for the most part. He might change his route during his evening walks and jogs, though. 

-Avid stretcher before he does any physical activity (maybe he should take up yoga??? I mean it could make him a little less angry lmao). He’ll be at home on the couch or floor stretching before his workout or run. 

-Blocks out a portion of his day explicitly for physical activity and training.

-Overall, Bakugou is extremely dedicated to improving himself and makes improvements wherever he can, even more so now that he’s got a lot more time on his hands.

Midoriya Izuku:

-Honestly, this boy needs to be careful or he can start to feel isolated and depressed real fast. Much like Bakugou, he needs his friends more than he might think.

-Can’t study together in person, but he also has participated in a few group study sessions with his friends. Usually they consist of Iida, Ochako, Todoroki, Sue, and sometimes Momo.

-Their study sessions are much more controlled and organized than the Bakusquad’s for sure. They even get to have nice little video chats where they catch up with each other and talk about their day, how everyone is doing, how life is etc. 

-It’s really sweet. Izuku and Sue will check on everyone’s mental wellbeing and Iida and Momo will go over anything that didn’t quite make sense in the lesson for anyone who needs it. Todoroki is quiet for the most part during studying, but as soon as they finish the homework and the topic switches, he’s throwing around all the new conspiracy theories and social skills he’s learned about that particular week. And last but not least, Ochako can also be a bit quiet but that’s just because she’s focused on school work...although, quarantine gets boring, and she surprisingly will join in on discussing select conspiracy theories with Shouto.

-Sometimes Izuku will finish his homework early and leave the video chat on and just listen to his friends banter and talk. It’s kind of like he’s back in the classroom with them, but not quite. It’s familiar background noise that makes him feel less alone.

-After studying, Izuku will take a little break and relax by watching an All Might video or reading an article about All Might while lifting his weights in preparation for his actual work out. He still has to dedicate some time to his favorite hero, you know!

-Since he didn’t work out at gyms or public areas so much to begin with, the closing of them during quarantine didn’t effect him too much, but it did stop him from using the school’s workout equipment, if anything.

-Luckily he has his own weights, but having access to a treadmill whenever he wanted was nice...still, he prefers to jog around outside, so that wasn’t really an issue either.

-Runs every single morning before heading back home and transitions right into pushups and and crunches. This boy already trains so hard, and now he has all this extra free time...what else is there to do but train harder?

-Inko has to force him to take a break sometimes, the train-o-holic.

-But on a positive note, with as much as he trains, he’s really made some improvements. Where Bakugou focuses on long range and distance, Izuku has put a lot of work into timing and speed. Sprints have become a daily practice for him along with some new moves that he’s still perfecting, but it’s pretty damn close at this point.

-Times himself with a stopwatch every morning to see if his speed has improved. He also has a whole notebook dedicated to his previous times and personal bests.

-Too embarrassed to admit it, but definitely tried some home workouts. You know the ones; 80′s style outfits, pump up music, cheesy motivational lines, you get the picture. Honestly, he just wanted to try something new, and can you blame him for wanting to spice up his routine? 

-And while the home workouts didn’t really stick with him...Inko seems to have picked up a new past time, so at least they were a benefit to someone (and Izuku has to admit, he’s glad his mom is staying active and happy during quarantine).

-This baby works so hard on himself during all of the crazy going on in the world, and whenever things start to settle down, his hard work is going to be recognized. Exercising and studying are good at keeping him focused, and while he misses his friends dearly, this has been a huge opportunity to work on himself from the comfort of home.

Hope these were okay!

League of the Corrupt

Juliette Frost, AKA Lady Chan Juan. Mentor of Katherine Kyle, AKA Feline Fatale and Scotty Sorrow, AKA Phantom: She’s the respected leader of the League, and the only woman which is just so fun. Granted she’s being trained herself as a crime lord leader, but she’s always been a strong telepath dog it’s not like she doesn’t have any experience. Kitty and Scotty both like to lurk in the shadows while she’s obviously more showy, so they learn from each other. But Juliette’s still mom to all the kids, she just trains these two a little more.

Kolya Arsenyev, AKA Pitch Black. Mentor of Nina Kozlovsky-Yamisoka, AKA Ms. Massacre and Elazar Sinestro, AKA Yellow Lantern: Kolya was a Russian assassin for hire, now a Black Lantern after being assassinated himself by Nina actually (no hard feelings btw lol-). He trains them both to use their rings, since Elazar was ditched on earth and not taught, while Nina’s obviously new at this. Kolya’s stern and somber, his training methods are the harshest and toughest among the League, but he’s like the dad where after he scolds you he’ll hug you cause he feels bad.

Raphael DeVille, AKA Dr. DeVille. Mentor of Luciana LeBeau, AKA Tactic and Eugene LeBeau, AKA Maneuver: A bokor from none other than New Orleans, a master of voodoo magic. His favorite move is to reanimate the dead, turning them into his voodoo puppets. He was born into a family of con men and criminals so he understands they can be...untrustworthy, and that’s why he empathized with the twins and took them in. He’s the kindest of the League members, not saying that any of them are cruel or abusive, but he’s the most understanding and easy going and less...stabby.

Mr. Lore. Mentor of Caroline Crane, AKA Ensnare and Kendrick Langstrom, AKA Vampire Bat: He’s basically Slender Man, the Demogorgon and Mr. Bloom combined. He has large claws for hands, is 8 ft tall and extremely thin, he appears to have no face until his skin sort of flowers open like the Demogorgon, and those who look upon his true face dies of fear (though Carrie has seen his true face and was fine). He doesn’t speak either, not even any sign language, but Carrie and Kendrick always seem to know what he wants to say and nobody knows how, cause all he does is nod once in awhile.

Warrick Whitlock, AKA Polarizer. Mentor of Sadashi Harada, AKA Silver Samurai and Ronan Lawton, AKA Headshot: Warrick is the heir to a wealthy tech company that specializes in cameras, photography/videography. His entire power is that his eyes basically act as a microscope and photographic memory, he helps both Sadashi and Ronan learn focus and observation skills. He’s a quiet and anti social businessman, he makes miniature dioramas of his crime scenes in his free time using his powers (to be clear, he’s a serial killer that leaves exact dioramas of his crimes at the scene).

Maxx Sixx, AKA Mad Max. Mentor of Nancy Fries, AKA Ice Princess and Bailey Reyes, AKA Wraith Rider: Maxx is a rockstar from the 80s who ODed on his tour bus, and in the after life he became a Spirit of Vengeance. He knew Bailey longer, but Nancy was just as high strung and crazy as them so she fit right in. Plus they’ve got a whole fire and ice aesthetic now. And no his real last name isn’t Sixx, he stole it from Nikki Sixx from Motley Crue and there was a whole drama that was on the news and everything back in the 80s, which Bailey and Nancy did dig up. Yes he haunts Nikki Sixx because he’s a petty jerk off.

🔥 ernest and bertrand perhaps please? (Love your blog btw)

(thank you! this got a bit long so i’ll put most of it under the cut)

“So, you and Beatrice are leaving,” Ernest said. The two of them were standing on the balcony outside his office. “After the wedding.”

“Yes,” Bertrand said, his voice calm and even. “We are.”

Ernest looked thoughtful. He took his time surveying the city streets. It was a busy day, the traffic, mixed with horses and cars, flowed underneath the cloudy gray sky. Then he turned slightly, leaning against the railings and offered Bertrand a smile. “So, you’re willing to leave VFD for her, but not for me,” he concluded, keeping his voice pleasant.

Bertrand’s expression did not falter. “I don’t recall you asking me to,” he pointed out.

“Fair point,” Ernest agreed, his tone cordial but his gaze challenging. “But you wouldn’t have done it anyway even if I had asked … or would you?”

Bertrand shrugged. “You know I’m only ever going to answer that, no, I wouldn’t have.” Because even if I would have, there’s no use in letting you regret - or pretend to regret - that you never asked.

“There you go,” Ernest said lightly. “You wouldn’t have.” He casually met Bertrand’s eyes and held his gaze.

Bertrand didn’t look away. “My apologies,” he said. There’s some sincerity in his voice now, not too much, just enough to convey an acknowledgement.

Ernest waved it away. “Nothing to apologize for,” he said magnanimously. “I’d like to know why though.”

Bertrand studied him. “Well, leaving VFD for you actually meant something different, doesn’t it? It would’ve meant switching sides and joining the firestarters, which I’m not willing to do. It wouldn’t have meant running away from all of these.”

“Because you think I’m not going to agree to actually leaving and not coming back?” Ernest challenged.

Bertrand raised an eyebrow. “Would you have agreed?”

A pause.

“No,” Ernest conceded. “And you know why.”

Bertrand did. It would’ve complicated many things, put his brothers and his own life in danger, and ruined the current balance of the schism. There had never really been a choice for him. “Hobson’s choice,” he murmured.

Ernest smiled faintly. “Yeah.” He leaned forwards against the railings and sighed. “I do envy how you two could just leave, VFD’s just willing to let you go like that? If I knew it’s that easy - maybe I should’ve just waited - ” He whirled around to look directly at Bertrand. “You know, we never properly fought. After the breakup. Well, not before the breakup either. And of course, it’s even debatable if it counts as a breakup in the first place but - we never fought.”

Bertrand looked at him, but didn’t say anything.

Ernest’s lips pulled up, “Don’t you think we should?”

Bertrand tilted his head slightly. “In the name of closure?”

“Maybe,” Ernest said. “I mean, it’s always been fun with you. Pleasant. Enjoyable. And I liked that. Like that still. But you’re leaving, Bertrand.”

“Let me guess,” Bertrand said. “There’s no need to worry about not leaving on good terms if we fought, since we might never see each other again?”

“Exactly,” Ernest agreed. “Plus, it feels … not real without a proper fight. Like it’s never meant to be a serious thing. Like neither of us cared enough to fight.”

It hadn’t meant to be a serious thing. That had been what they’d agreed upon. A fling. Casual, fun, no fights, staying friends after the breakup.

“Which,” Ernest continued. “Was what we intended, so there’s no problem there. But we also chose not to fight because we worried that would ruin the possibility of being friends again - but you’re leaving. We don’t have to worry about that.”

Bertrand arched an eyebrow. “So you want a proper fight, is that it?”

A smile danced across Ernest’s lips briefly. “Are you refusing?”

Bertrand glanced at the city streets for a moment. “Very clever,” he murmured. “I suppose you have a topic in mind. I wouldn’t mind listening to what you have to say.”

“Ever the gentleman, you are,” Ernest said wistfully. “You make it very hard to fight with you.” He paused. “But since you don’t mind listening, I’ll go ahead.”

Bertrand nodded, and Ernest opened his mouth again before closing it. He frowned, deep in thought, as if to prepare himself, and then spoke again. “I’m jealous, actually. Not so much about the idea of you marrying Beatrice, but the idea that you two get to leave VFD - just like that. Easy, no repercussions. You get to be free. I wish I can say I’m not jealous but -” He drew a sharp breath.

Free wasn’t completely accurate, but it was close enough - or so Bertrand hoped it would be - so Bertrand didn’t correct him. The truth was a little more complicated.

VFD didn’t let volunteers go easily, especially not in the current climate. But he’d long wished to leave - and apparently, so had Beatrice. The opera night and the darts shot from their hands left a mark, but that really was just the last straw that broke the camel’s back. They both knew leaving wouldn’t have been easy, not without a good reason, not while they could still contribute to their side of the schism.

Beatrice and he ended up concocting a plan, that even if they couldn’t completely leave, it would help them distance themselves from the more dangerous and more morally questionable missions for a while. With Beatrice’s eloquence and charm and his well known good student reputation, they’d managed to convince the VFD higher ups that at the rate things were going, there wouldn’t be enough volunteers left to raise children who could become the next generation’s volunteers. Sure, they could always recruit outside of the organization, but experience had shown that in the times of the schism, children recruited from outside of the organization, children whose parents weren’t VFD, were more likely to defect to the other side than those from old VFD families. It would be useful to have two volunteers to “pretend” to leave VFD, raise children outside it but teaching them important VFD skills, and eventually provide the organization with useful new recruits.

At least, that was what they had told the higher ups. Of course, it’s also just an excuse for now, to cut ties because some days Bertrand felt he’s quite close to a line that once crossed, everything would change. If he kept going, some day he’s not going to be able to take all these. And that day was getting closer. It’s a delaying tactic, to catch a break for a while.

It was also a lie - or rather, the part about the children was. They would have to keep up pretenses and actually teach the children important skills, just in case someone was spying from a distance. But he and Beatrice both agreed that they didn’t actually want their children to join VFD - at least, not a VFD that was like this. But maybe it would change for the better in a few years, maybe in a decade it would be an organization they could accept. Or maybe VFD would cease to exist in a decade. And worse case, they would move away and go into hiding and get new identities. It’s a lie that they hoped would buy them at least a couple of years. Hopefully even a decade. Maybe even forever, but he knew the chances were quite low and he shouldn’t get his hopes up high.

He and Beatrice had worked well as a team before, and now they’re going to continue working as a team, only for a very different kind of challenge. They both wanted out, and marriage and kids were a perfect excuse. Plus, they liked each other well enough, had been friends long enough, and respected and understood each other. It’s not love yet, but they’d agreed that one day it might be. And they dreamed of kids, too, kids who could be raised in a very different environment than the one they had both been raised. Sometimes one could only choose the practical choice and hoped for the best. This was never a fairy tale, but a carefully concocted plan to earn a certain kind of freedom away from the organization.

He didn’t explain all these to Ernest. He’d always liked Ernest, but heart to heart conversations were rather not their thing. He could only offer an apology. “I’m sorry,” Bertrand said. “I know it’s not fair.”

Ernest smiled bitterly. “Not fair at all.” He looked away. “I think I hate you, just a little. Well, not really, but I’m so angry that you get to leave. I don’t have that choice. I never had that choice.”

“I know,” Bertrand repeated. “I’m sorry.” Because what else could he say?

“You’re so understanding,” Ernest muttered. “So damn polite. Aren’t you supposed it’s my fault that I impulsively switched sides? That I only have myself to blame for being stuck in the current position?”

“That’s not what I think, though,” Bertrand said, which was the truth. It had always been far more complicated than that.

Ernest huffed, exasperated at how amicable Bertrand was, but then he deflated. “Do you love her?” He asked.

Bertrand froze. The only correct answer was of course “yes”, it was what he and Beatrice agreed on to pretend. It was necessary for the marriage, for the wedding all their friends would still attend. But he didn’t like lying to Ernest. For all they were never completely honest with each other, they usually did it by being deflective, by redirecting the topic to side step the questions artfully. Outright lies were never their style, it was an unspoken agreement but it was there. Perhaps he didn’t have to continue following it after their breakup, but a part of him still wished to.

Ultimately, though, the current plan with Beatrice came first, came before anything, including nostalgia brought by ex boyfriends. Still, he supposed he did love Beatrice as a friend, as a mission partner, as a long term partner who was about to go hand in hand with him into this new challenge. He couldn’t deflect this question, because then Ernest would realize he’s hiding something. But Ernest never specified which kind of love, so there’s a loophole there. “Yes,” he said, calm and sincere, if only a beat too late.

The moment of hesitation was too long, his posture was too tense for a minute, and Ernest’s previous frown shifted into a curious expression, and then a thoughtful one, until realization dawned on his face. He looked amused, now. “Aha,” he said softly. “So it’s like that.”

This isn’t good, Bertrand thought. He considered his options on how to bluff his way out of this one.

“Don’t worry,” Ernest smirked. “I’ll keep your secret. Won’t even tell my brothers. I always approve of people plotting against and lying to VFD.”

Bertrand considered denying, perhaps pretending that he didn’t know what Ernest was talking about. But one wrong move could make Ernest decide to not keep this a secret, and he couldn’t afford that. Plus, all that weird not lying unspoken agreement loyalty thing was getting in the way. He should be less sentimental than this but unfortunately he wasn’t.

“In that case, thank you. I appreciate it.”

Ernest smiled like a Cheshire cat. “Not a problem.” He moved close to Bertrand at a fast speed, and gave him a quick peck on the lips - the first (and the only, the last) one after their breakup. “Happy marriage, darling.”

send two characters and 🔥 for an argument scene between them

Ninty Direct Feb 2021 Thoughts

That was uh. Kind of disappointing, actually.

I suppose it was inevitable that we weren’t seeing Pokemon since they’re gonna do their own announcement. But like. Coulda done better here.

(oh no you’re now introduced to my awful awful handwriting, is this better or worse than my cursed interests? you decide)

Anyway I wrote down everything they announced so here we go

Pyra/Mythra in Smash: I don’t give a single shit about the Xenoblade series, but it’s one of like 2 IPs Nintendo has had in the last decade so sure whatever they can have second a character as a treat. I’m mostly just annoyed this wasn’t a third-party character.

Fall Guys Switch: This feels inevitable. It also feels about 5 months too late.

Outer Wilds Switch: I’ve heard some absolutely excellent things about this game, so fair enough. I’m not sure I’d buy it on the Switch, but I haven’t bought it at all yet, so.

Famicom Detective Club: This looks like a Ren’py game if it had an actual budget, but still used Ren’py for some reason. Prooobably not biting on this one chief.

Samurai Warriors 5: The only Warriors game I’ve played is the first hyrule warriors, and the only Nobunaga game I’ve played was Pokemon Conquest (it’s a trip), so. I don’t understand the obsession they have over there for this bloke, like imagine if Australia made like a tv series a year and a large handful of video games about Ned Kelly or something.

Legend of Mana: Shit I should go play Octopath Traveler huh

Monster Hunter Rise: Those monster designs looked pretty kickass, and those human designs made me crack up laughing. I’ve never played Monster Hunter, and I don’t think this is gonna change that.

Mario Golf: Hey look they confirmed Waluigi as playable ahead of time so people wouldn’t complain, good job guys. The multiplayer of this looked silly as hell, but I’m not spending 80 bucks on wii sports tennis for a multiplayer mode ill drag my mates to play all of once before we go back to playing Beetle Adventure Racing.

Tales from the Borderlands: Wait telltale is still around? Ok…? I haven’t played Borderlands and don’t really care for the Telltale style so nah

Capcom Arcade Stadium: They could have made a peripheral like the NES/SNES mini, but they didn’t, and it’s for the best. The fact that one of the games is free implies to me that the rest are going to be overcosted, though.

Stubbs the Zombie: What the fuck am I looking at. Apparently this is a remaster of an old Xbox game, but I’ve never heard of it. Weird as fuck, but sure.

No More Heroes III: No more Heroes is a franchise that I’ve never played, but always wanted to. It seems right up my alley aesthetic-wise, and the gameplay looks pretty solid too- probably gonna try one of the older ones first, though.

Neon White: Speaking of aesthetic. This looks anime as fuck and edgy in a good way, and the gameplay looks real fun. I actually really want to check this out, and no, it’s not just because of the skull masked goth gf on the cover. (Doesn’t hurt, though.)

DC Super Hero Girls Teen Power: Jesus, this looks like a bad tie-in game from the mid 2000s. Not like Battle for Bikini Bottom, more like a Jimmy Neutron. And while I really liked the Jimmy Neutron game as a kid (shame about the show), this doesn’t look like it’ll stand up to that…high bar. Listening to this trailer made me want to die a little bit inside.

Plants Vs Zombies: Battle for Neighbourville: I miss PopCap. Peggle 3, never.

Miitopia: This looks cute, and will probably lead to the same sort of 3am DMs that happened with Tomodachi Life. If it’s a full priced game, it probably won’t sell at all.

Animal Crossing New Horizons Mario items: uhhh sure. Don’t have that game, so.

Triangle Strategy: Aww fuck it’s a final fantasy tactics that looks like octopath and it might have an actually good story, shiiiiiiiiit. I’m gonna give the demo a try before I land on this, but I’m optimistic.

Star Wars Hunters: When was the last time we had an actually good Star Wars game? And don’t say Fallen Order. Yeah, didn’t think so.

KO City: Ah, the bottom of the barrel. Didn’t think it would take this long. At this point, the pseudo-cartoony style everything has because they’re trying to ape Fortnite is extremely grating on me. (I definitely thought this ad was for Fortnite stuff at first)

World’s End Club: OK this one has me actually hyped. I knew that Kodaka (director/writer of the Danganronpa series) and Uchikoshi (director/writer of the Zero Escape series) were working on a joint project, and we’re finally seeing the results. Both of them have multiple excellent games under their respective belts, and this new game looks like a fun spin on what I’m sure a lot of people were expecting from the pair. Literally both of them have made a game where (spoilers I guess, Keara stop reading here you haven’t played VLR yet) there’s a death game going on while the characters are unaware the world fucking ended, so to see the idea of the death game getting interrupted and the characters actually having to live in the dead world is really cool. I’m paying cloooose attention to this one.

Hades (Physical Release): Dang now if I buy hades I can choose to have some of my money go to EB games or JB hifi or something. Cooooooooooooool.

Ninja Gaiden Collection: This just made me wonder why Ryu Hayabusa isn’t in Smash yet. Is it because there’s already a Ryu?

Age of Calamity DLC: I don’t think I mentioned this in my post yesterday, but I would have put money on DLC for this game coming out. I still haven’t played it, but the first Hyrule Warriors had so much fucking DLC so this was inevitable in my eyes.

Bravely Default 2: Uhhh its another JRPG man idk what you want me to say. Didn’t play the first one, apparently its good.

Ghosts n Goblins Resurrection: Kinda funny having this next to the free original in the Capcom Arcade Stadium. Capcom is reviving old franchises, I guess? Where’s Mega Man Battle Network, cowards?

SaGa Frontier: I’ve heard good things about the SaGa series, but this looks awful. Not like gameplay wise, the style for the models and shit in game just disinterests me.

Apex Legends: Is anyone still playing this game?

BOTW 2 (no news): I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed. Next Direct, I guess.

Skyward Sword HD: I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed.

Seriously though, I was expecting 3 of the best Zeldas ever made to get ports, and we got the one that I wasn’t interested in. Fuck you too, I guess.

Splatoon 3: I actually was super interested in this, seeing as the trailer looked like it was gonna be for some like… side game, 3D RPG or something, exploring the origins of the Splatoon world? But then it’s just Splatoon 3. And like, I know people really like that series, but it never appealed to me. The world is neat! But I’m not interested in the series as it is.

And that’s the tea.

ADDENDUM:

shit that’s this weekend? huh ok -New Hearthstone expansions revealed, kinda like WOTC does with magic every so often, just like “here’s the next couple sets btw”. Since they do nothing but plagiarise off each other and MTG is having a set based on another WOTC property this year (D&D), there’s going to be a Starcraft set. -Diablo 4 release date that will not be stuck to since COVID is still a thing -people are hoping for starcraft 3. Blizzard to announce Starcraft 2 Episode 1. -New WoW expansion announced, determined objectively to be “worst ever” before trailer is even finished

Are there any other pairings between characters in Word Up you're willing to share? And you mentioned some new villains show up--are you okay with sharing a lil' bit about them, or are they entirely a surprise?

Firstly, thank you for the question! It did help me last night! Sadly I still didn’t  get a lot of sleep, but because I calmed myself down by typing the response to this, I at least wasn’t suffering through panic attack the whole night! So thank you so much (and if you have any other questions, feel free to share them tonight because I have a feeling I’ll need it tonight too)

I’m now rewriting the response because it was a little disorganized.

I’m not sure what you mean by “pairings,” would you mind elaborating? (We’re going to blame my inability to understand on the sleep deprevation)

Regarding the villains, originally I was going to keep them a secret until each of their reveals. But since I really needed the distraction last night and typed them all up, and because it seems rude to not answer your question when it helped me, that’s going out the window! I’m excited to share these anyway, I’ll just be extremely vague for the villains I want to keep secret for now.

Little bit of background, my original plan was to have a new villain to parallel every old villain. That idea was thrown out for a variety of different reasons, but some of them did survive to the final product! And I noticed a lot of these guys, while not being directly based off any character, often still unintentionally have similarities to some older villains. The villains who have a direct parallel to some of the orignals are the ones I’m wanting to stay secret. Honestly just a complete coincidence that they all ended up being the ones I wanted to keep secret

These are in no particular order.

I have one currently unnamed villain, who’s character design I’m struggling with, who is known as being basically the most useless villain in the city. She can’t commit a crime. (kinda like amazing rope guy, complete coincidence btw) Why can’t she? No one knows for sure, she certainly has the abilities to, her powers are like WordGirl’s, super strength, super speed, and flying. The real reason she’s so terrible at being a villain is because she doesn’t want to be, and she’s subconsciously sabotaging herself by making her too nervous to know what to do while committing crimes. The only reason she’s a villain is because someone is making her do their dirty work for her. Until I eventually reveal who this person is, I will refer to them as her “boss.” I don’t know if you’ve seen the post I did on all the episodes and summaries, I think you saw the original with the first five, but I don’t know if you saw the reblogged updated version with the next five as well. If you haven’t, the sixth story is titled “Theo’s Birthday” and features the kids (mostly Theo) wanting to have a public battle, and being proven that they weren’t ready for itwhen they get their butts kicked. This is the villain for that story and it will be her debut. You’ve got to be a pretty bad super hero to have this girl actually beat you!

Carrie- Is a social media personality, and a shapeshifter! But she can only shapeshift her hair and clothes. This makes her social media presence pretty easy, as she can have all the coolest new clothes without having to by them, and have all the coolest new hairstyles without destroying her hair, and it also makes getting disguises for crimes a lot easier! Carrie doesn’t want to be a villain, but she loves that she has a job as a social media star, and is scared of losing that, so she will do anything her followers want her to. Sadly, her followers think her doing illegal stuff is pretty funny

Immoral- Funny enough, Immoral was originally just the stand in name for this villain until I had their actual names (for example, Carrie’s stand in name was “Shapeshifter” while I was developing her, until I eventually decided on a name for her) but the name ended up sticking. I think this is probably a name Theo gave this villain, instead of them giving to themselves. This villain was inspired by me having a moral existential crisis. I was frustrated about a choice I had to make, in which every option seemed to have some kind of immoral repercussions, and I frustratedly said to myself “what’s even the point of having morals if they’re impossible to keep! I may as well be a villain!” And that’s how the idea for Immoral was born! Immoral has given up on the concept of morality, and just does whatever they want, whenever they want. He’s the villain in “Everything Changes” and that story at this time doesn’t have him present any kind of abilities that would make him a good villain, and I probably won’t change that for that particular story because 1. That story gave me a lot of trouble and I’m not about to change a whole bunch of it 2. I like that it helps show that Julie and Theo have no idea what they’re doing. That being said, he’ll probably gain some more exciting tactics in future appearances. At the moment my plan is to have him be very prepared for whatever he’s wanting to do that day. They make another appearance in what I think is the eighth story, which I believed I titled “The Only Way Out is Through” where they try to cheat in a biking contest, so perhaps they came prepared by bringing things like tacks to pop the tires of their opponents and things like that. I also noticed I freely switched between “he/him” and “they/them” for Immoral, so I guess he/they use both sets of those pronouns

Crazy Cat Lady- I love this one, and she’s not even a creation of mine, she’s the creation of my psychopath of a friend (can’t wait to read this to her hahaha). I told her I was in need of some unique super power ideas (WordGirl the show took all the good ones!) and she told me to give her a letter. I said “C” and she said “C…C…Cats! Okay…how about a lady who uses cats to do her bidding. She’ll need something done and she’ll call forth an army of cats to get things done for her.” And that was too good of an idea to pass up. Crazy Cat Lady has a lot of cats, she loves her cats, she’ll go through a lot for her cats and will get her revenge if you piss off her or her cats. (My friend also came up with a man who can shoot bees out of every orifice of his body. I have no idea what’s wrong with her but that’s a villain I definitely wasn’t going to do because…well because that’s really disturbing!)

Time for our top-secret villains!

One villain I knew, from the second I came up with him, that I wanted him to be the first official villain introduced. (Note I said official, I posted the first page of “Return to Fair City” where a character named “The Rural Burglar” is mentioned, this is not this villain. The Rural Burglar is a one off who’s just a plot devise for that particular story). I’m not even 100% sure why I wanted this villain to be first, it was just really important to me that he was.

Another villain who was supposed to be directed based off of one of the original WordGirl villains, is now in the process of getting a complete personality overhaul. When I’m done he might not be recognizable as being someone meant to parallel the villain for whom he’s based. I’m hoping I will find the perfect balance between the original personality I had for him and the new personality he’s getting. I’d rather wait until after his debut to explain why he got a last minute character overhaul, but I will say while this decision is making his debut a little hard to figure out, I’ve thought of some fun ideas for his future appearances that I hope will make it all worth it.

My final villain (for now. I’m not opposed to adding more as I go along) will be someone who will not be introduced until “episode” #20. I think he will stray a lot from the villain of who he’s based, but his debut will have him using the same methods as his WordGirl original. I do plan to foreshadow who this villain will be up until his introduction as a villain, so keep your eyes peeled for clues.

Thank you again so much!

Sick Kids Group Chat

sonmychest: 🤗 tigerbalm: 👋🧡 tigerbalm: it's been so long! 🙀 how are you?? sonmychest: I know! I suck sonmychest: don't want to be the youtuber spending ten minutes apologizing for not being here though sonmychest: I'm doing pretty good right now, how are you? 😚 tigerbalm: it's a bad day, not a bad life...is what I would caption if I was an instagram influencer or something 😸😸 brainpain: 🦸 speaking for me when I haven't streamed in days LOL sonmychest: 🤭🤭 sonmychest: at least we have reasons for being that #extra that aren't the vague notion of NEEDING a break from taking pictures of our ☕ brainpain: I do spend LOTS of time in a dark room but not for 📸 no flash photography PLEASE 😵 inandout: your feed just updated, Lo brainpain: 👮🚓🚨 sonmychest: stalking or hacking? sonmychest: either way I might need those expertise brainpain: I had a 🌈✨🧁 FIGHT ME, Zachary tigerbalm: it is pretty tbh inandout: friend request, but it's not as if I don't have zero hacking or stalking skills sonmychest: wait, what happened to the anonymity rules??? sonmychest: where's @gotspoons and what have you done with her?! inandout: you missed the overthrowing of a tyrant inandout: not really, but the rule book is gone gotspoons: going to pretend I was summoned by mention, not notification gotspoons: say how you really feel, Zach! 😔 inandout: I said not really, rowboat gotspoons: I have 👀 and 👂 everywhere so you better be nice 😏🤭 gotspoons: but no, hi again, @sonmychest! we missed you! gotspoons: it seemed the whole no names no real life details thing was more of a hindrance than a help to the whole goal of this group, so we came to the conclusion by majority, and the higher ups were all okay with it, providing everyone under a certain age got their parents to sign off and we all used the same common sense we use on other areas of the web gotspoons: so feel free to introduce yourself by real name if you would like, but it's not necessary if you would not 😊 gotspoons: reintroduce, I should say tigerbalm: we shared selfies & everyone was 😻😻😻 brainpain: learned what a sex god @tooexhaustedtolivevicariously aka Rich is sonmychest: 😱😱😱 sonmychest: can't believe I've missed so much sonmychest: need to get better at socialization, my mammy is right 😂 brainpain: an unrivalled love story brainpain: not that he's here to back me up on that inandout: Paris and Helen who? Romeo and Juliet who? Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII who? tigerbalm: wait, those are all 💔😿!! brainpain: he's being a brainpain: insert a swear word of your choice sonmychest: *stage whispers* it's not jealousy though, is it? sonmychest: clearly, fill me in on all the nuances whilst I frantically try to find a picture of myself that's even one 😻 brainpain: he's a 👶 you already know brainpain: but Rich will be leaving me for some uni girl 🤓 so he's not wrong about the doomed part sonmychest: face that launched a thousand ships is a really great insta bio though sonmychest: right, so we have Rich, Zach...who else? gotspoons: Rosie here 🤗 brainpain: Lauren tigerbalm: & me, Robyn inandout: the new girl who started the revolution is Zelda inandout: @ihatemyguts sonmychest: no way sonmychest: a fellow nerd, or at least child-of-a-nerd sonmychest: 'cos I'm Kara and I don't totally hate this photo [selfie] tigerbalm: 😻😻 tigerbalm: you look so like I imagined you, except I thought maybe you'd be 👼 tigerbalm: should we all send new pics? brainpain: [does because any excuse] brainpain: they'll be buried tigerbalm: [a selfie that's even shyer than the first one she sent] gotspoons: [the same photo as before] inandout: if I must [some ridiculous selfie] tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: This is a nice welcome back tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: and I've only been to physio brainpain: NOT ready for another selfie drop from you, boy brainpain: I'll be on my fainting couch brainpain: also hi tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: Perhaps I should save your 🦴s and my pride when poor Kara, hello again btw, has to pretend to swoon too brainpain: 🦸 has great taste brainpain: we all love a shy boy tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: My teachers undoubtedly wish I were shy, make their lives a lot easier tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: [a photo] here we are anyway, I hope you found a soft surface suitable for you, Lauren brainpain: ☁ tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: Ah, so you're the 👼 brainpain: LMAO 😈 brainpain: but you're looking angelic sir sonmychest: how are you ALL so cute sonmychest: this keeps happening, omg tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: 👼 face hides a multitude of 😈 sins apparently inandout: but reading between the lines, who else is making you swoon/stalk/hack inandout: that's my question tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: Well spotted, Zachary 🔎 sonmychest: 🙈 ugh, I'm so embarrassing sonmychest: but we can pretend it's all spilling out now because I played it SO cool in the actual conversation, right 😬😅 inandout: that's the official story, everyone'll confirm sonmychest: thanks, I need the backup so I can also pretend I have lots of friends and a normal social life gotspoons: we are your friends, Kara! gotspoons: though are normal is different from most tigerbalm: & you're coming to my birthday party & even though you have to stand on the other side of the room to Zach, it's still social tigerbalm: OH & we were talking about potentially meeting up!! All of us brainpain: keep it 6ft, children inandout: I'll be in the garden with my date, you can have the indoors with yours inandout: collectively, because we're all speed dating here now inandout: proud of you for picking someone outside this circle sonmychest: GAH so much exciting information today!!! sonmychest: 😁 sonmychest: obviously, I figured no one needed the drama of me falling for you, Zach sonmychest: 💀 not cute inandout: there's already a book and film about it, the chance has been thoroughly missed brainpain: Ignore him, Zelda's nothing but thrilled to find someone else in her age bracket brainpain: 👶👶 brainpain: hit us with your 💞 please sonmychest: well, I didn't just re-log into this chat today, I went on all my old forums because well, boredom, we can all relate, right? sonmychest: what I thought would be the least promising one was the sonmychest: not a dating site, I'm not 100 but you know the kind sonmychest: anyway, the CUTEST boy starts talking to me and he's also really funny and nice ??? tigerbalm: OMG! Did you swap selfies there too? sonmychest: not yet sonmychest: because he sounds so 😻😻 sonmychest: and he wants to talk to me again and he might not if we do tigerbalm: you're 😻😻😻 Kara brainpain: what she said brainpain: + if he's as funny, nice, all of that, as you said brainpain: I doubt he's a shallow jerk inandout: are you a good judge of character or not? inandout: what it comes down to sonmychest: oh, thank you guys! sonmychest: I don't know sonmychest: I think I am sonmychest: he didn't immediately come out with weird requests or weird 📸 of his own and that's a massive start on that site, I was honestly there to 🗑 my account but he changed my mind brainpain: I'll PM you the spooky stories my sister sends me about guys, it'll make you feel better brainpain: you'd know if he was one sonmychest: 🤭 do, can compare notes sonmychest: we honestly just talked about totally normal, nerdy things, it wasn't even a little sketch brainpain: ✉️ + 100000000s brainpain: hold up tigerbalm: that sounds 🧡 & so does this boy tigerbalm: awwhhh sonmychest: [sends the description he sent her slow your roll gal lol] sonmychest: assuming he isn't the archetypal internet weirdo from the 90s scare tactics tigerbalm: WOW inandout: tall, dark and handsome inandout: original sonmychest: okay, I know that covers a lot of bases sonmychest: but someone has to be brainpain: continuing to ignore you, Zach sonmychest: I get it though sonmychest: it's not like I even care what he looks like though, so even if the pics aren't exactly that description brainpain: not every man can be my Rich but doesn't make them 👹/🤡/👻/👽/👥 brainpain: trust your gut, it's not that body part that's failing you tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: 👹 is a solid representation but the hair needs to be longer tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: at the risk of making myself or Zachary appear like overly protective boys, I think as long as you're as sensible as you surely are with this, then there's no harm in the back and forth tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: so if you were going to meet this person IRL, he could perhaps come to the group meet-up, that would be a good way to do it? brainpain: *🧝🏻 that's what needs to be said about your representation tigerbalm: Great idea, Rich! 😺 tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: when the beard comes in I'll look more Gimli than Elrond but I'll take the compliment 👽 babe from outerspace brainpain: who's watching the LoTRs with me? gotspoons: count me out, I'm the worst film buddy ever 😴 ihatemyguts: how many naps could you have in 20hr28mins assuming we're watching everything extended release 'cos duh ihatemyguts: 🥳 go hard or go home 🥳 brainpain: that's you in ihatemyguts: of course ihatemyguts: long since stopped asking for a pause every time I gotta 💩 ihatemyguts: adept at catching up with the plot is a life skill I didn't expect to gain like this but 🙌 gotspoons: 😅 I could do the whole 20hr28mins and that not be a record for how many hours I've slept consecutively brainpain: I'll act it out for you, I can get the 🧝🏼🏹 costume together during the pauses brainpain: dressing up box runneth over sonmychest: 🙋 dibs Arwen sonmychest: my old Katniss cosplay can be repurposed with some bedsheets and a 👸 vibe to it brainpain: that makes Rich your daddy 👀 you, babe sonmychest: 😖😳 nooooooooooo brainpain: I'll be Galadriel if only so I can speak to my man telepathically 💕 brainpain: swerving off book for that love connection ihatemyguts: obviously eye of sauron ihatemyguts: jokes write themselves inandout: hair of a hobbit wig so likewise inandout: and you know, a jew, gonna be the one to handle the 💎 tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: How hairy are your feet, a pickup line that doesn't get thrown about enough inandout: not sending you free feet pics inandout: PM for prices though tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: Respect the hustle, Zachary tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: but I have clearly pledged myself and my allegiance to an e-girl already 🧝🏼🏹 brainpain: changed my Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim name to Galadriel for you, Richard, you've officially made me basic brainpain: will cite it in the divorce tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: as long as I can proudly produce said divorce to every mouthbreather that calls me a freak, I am okay with that tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: devastated, naturally 💔 but okay brainpain: hit me up for multiple re-marriages at your convenience, I like that for us tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: Make a solid livestream 👰💒🤵 gotspoons: I'll get officiated! tigerbalm: imagine if any of us actually did get together cos of this forum gotspoons: You never know, Robyn gotspoons: it would be so adorable 😊 tigerbalm: Kara is giving me hope that online dating doesn't have to be a minefield sonmychest: don't give up yet! sonmychest: you're so lovely, a total catch tigerbalm: there still isn't a blushing 😸 emoji & I NEED it ihatemyguts: a travesty ihatemyguts: who do we need to @ for that brainpain: @fibrofog brainpain: he was a BIG DEAL ihatemyguts: 😏 hoping he comes back and I can 👰💒🤵 him obvs brainpain: 🔺 between me/him/Rich was prime in my life ihatemyguts: glory dayz brainpain: if he doesn't show up to stop our first wedding ihatemyguts: Zach won't even properly date me until we're confirmed #foreveralone at 18 inandout: you don't call this properly dating? inandout: @Kara you've got yourself a hater before your romance has fully taken off ihatemyguts: oi, don't drag me in to your 🧂 behaviour ihatemyguts: I'm very nice, I swear inandout: that's just how I taste inandout: she knows brainpain: if I didn't know my CF facts I'd be calling for a ban brainpain: that sounds filthy sonmychest: first declaring Rich my daddy, now 👅 Zach 😲😲😲 sonmychest: I'm also quite nice but not that kind of nice, I 🤞 tigerbalm: I don't think I wanna know.... inandout: But I'll tell you inandout: when we sweat, we lose too much salt, one of our many flaws inandout: on a hot day, you could lick us and taste it, if we like you enough to let you sonmychest: maybe that can be enough of a selling point? sonmychest: if crush boy talks to me again and it invariably comes up inandout: he might get to see it crystallise on your skin, not 💎 or ✨ but hey sonmychest: such a sexy condition, when you leave out all the mucus inandout: ZZ top is feeling it, she wants to properly date me ihatemyguts: 🧂 is a flavour I can enjoy pretty unrestricted ihatemyguts: let me have some pleasure tigerbalm: do the normies flirt like this too? tigerbalm: Kara you'll have to tell us, when you go further undercover ihatemyguts: don't know how lucky you are to have that pickup line in your back pocket ihatemyguts: just add tequila and a lemon and you've got a good time sonmychest: I'll 100% report back, providing he doesn't go 👻 brainpain: you need a drink when a boy lovingly strokes your hair only to feel the dent in your 💀 sonmychest: but also, to work out if your amazing hair is real or nah brainpain: I have too many split ends to be asked if it's a wig sonmychest: I ✂ my own sonmychest: and not often enough 😅 brainpain: don't reach for the bleach cos Robbie sees you as a blonde, there's my sisterly/old lady advice sonmychest: oh God, with these brows? sonmychest: I can swear I won't do that, along with meet up with internet randos alone brainpain: I'd volunteer to come along but I don't do disappearing into the background brainpain: would wear a trenchcoat for the right 💸💸 gotspoons: Normies definitely TRY to use our disabilities as a way to flirt with us, with varying success gotspoons: the amount of time I spend in bed is nothing to be 😏 about, honestly gotspoons: even if I was also chiming in to confirm blondes do have more fun, when they've had all their vitamins, a perfect amount of sleep, the stars have aligned JUST right... 🤭 tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: as resident ♿ user, they most ask if IT 'works', which is a bizarre level of care for people who aren't concerned about how me getting into their establishment really 'works' tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: and, my dear, you are a terrible third wheel tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: 🔻 suits you better than obscurity 😎 brainpain: but I am a fun time with the TBI having increased the impulsiveness + removing the few inhibitions I did have 😉 brainpain: inappropriate sexual activity is a listed symptom 🤞 boys ihatemyguts: definitely a case of 'okay when I point it out to embolden myself, creepy if you do it' ihatemyguts: think some normies point out their flaws to be endearing but idk, is low-key a disability superpower guys, + 1 for us brainpain: like, what does that mean? Inappropriate for who? Answers on a ✉️ please ihatemyguts: could range from, science, you're being a prude to calling you a master criminal on the low brainpain: so many of my symptoms could describe anyone in their teens or early 20s brainpain: Rich, write a smart boy uni essay on it tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: depending on the bit that gets damaged, could be the same part that isn't yet fully developed in young people tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: checks out 🧠 brainpain: you're SO clever brainpain: you'll be fighting off more than one 🤓 girl tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: I'm not sure about that, on either count tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: though the chair is a useful battering ram when it needs to be brainpain: I'm into it tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: then you can hitch a ride, of course brainpain: reserved™ tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: the parking is unparalleled brainpain: not allowed to drive, you are my transport now, no pressure gotspoons: Me either, who can? gotspoons: need to work out the carpool situation brainpain: my housemate will, she owes me 10000s of favours inandout: + my parents tigerbalm: mine too but they're a lot to inflict upon anyone sonmychest: ^^hard same tigerbalm: maybe we get ourselves there unless someone can't? tigerbalm: & those people speak up sonmychest: That makes sense to me brainpain: ok, is there anyone who needs a lift? ihatemyguts: I'm good tooexhaustedtolivevicariously: likewise gotspoons: I'll make a permanent post where people can register interest in the meet-up, as well as need for a lift gotspoons: so anyone who can offer a lift, can respond there too, sound good guys? 😊 inandout: cool inandout: very un-tyrant like gotspoons: thank you, Zach 😏

Machine Gun Kelly, September 8th, 2019 in Milan (🇮🇹)

I was lucky enough to be able to see my favorite artist for the second time (first time was in 2017 and, although it was one of the best concerts I’ver been to, I only took like four pictures and one thirty-second video for living in the moment’s sake, which I ended up regretting a lot). So this time, I had a goal: to enjoy the concert at its fullest, while also taking a decent amount of photos and videos to look back to and cry about.  I arrived at the venue later than my anxious ass would have liked but, thanks to a mixture of luck and tactic, I somehow got fourth row (it changed a bit during the concert, at some point I was even third !!), which is a waaay better spot that I was expecting. I had an almost totally clear view of the stage and I’ll forver be grateful because, well, seeing the mist beautiful human of all from so close is nothing but a blessing.  I didn’t know anyone at the concert, so I only made some small talk with the people surrounding me, but let me tell you: I think this only made my overall experience better. Now, I know I’m weird by I have a hard time letting go; it’s difficult for me to really just have fun and not give a fuck about what others think of me. And not knowing anyone around me personally meant that nobody I actually cared about me was judging me, so I just went for it. And I had the time of my life. I danced and sang at the top of my lungs for the entire duration of the concert, even though I sometimes couldn’t breathe because of the crowd being so huge.  And Kells was so good. He was incredible. He owned the stage. I could tell that he genuinely loves performing and that’s what he was born to do. It was a sight to see.  His voice feels like home. And his smile is the purest thing I have ever seen in my life, I swear. He’s a softie on stage. And he was so funny, too. He established an incredible relationship with us: talking to the fans, joking around, sending kisses, throwing guitar picks,,,,just being his amazing self. It all felt so real.  My overall concert experience was more than awesome and I could write an entire book about it, so I’ll keep it short and tell you about my favorite three moments.  Well, obviously, one of my favorite parts was the Shout At The Devil cover...for pretty clear reasons ;) Kells playing drums is: beautiful. The energy. The whole vibe. Damn. At some point, to introduce 5:3666, he asked the audience for a joint in the cutest way: he started singing “I love Milano, I fucking love Milaaaaano. And I’d love Milano even more if Milano had some marijuana. Does Milano have some marijuana for me?? Where is it at?” and he made a really cute gesture and, well, I died. And my final favorite moment was when he started singing 27 (which, btw, has the most beautiful scenography) and I literally said “Dude, if you sing this now I’m going to cry my eyes out” out loud and the girl next to me (with whom I had never talked to) heard me and said “Same, I’ve been crying for the whole concert” and while Kells was singing on stage, I was singing with this girl. It was like we were dedicating the words to each other and I just felt such a strong connection. Music unites people. It really does.  It was the best concert ever. It was powerful. It was freeing. It was real.  Kells is a true artist and I will never forget the way he made me and every other person in the crowd feel. God bless Machine Gun Kelly. He deserves all the happiness in the world. 

And if you’re reading this, I hope you see your favorite artist live, too, because it’s one of the greatest joys in the world and you deserve it ❤️

Alex Manes’ Military Career

I’m sure this is going to get Jossed the moment the writers get a lightbulb moment, but here is a possible timeline for Alex’s last 10 years.   (Hopefully I can get the formatting to work this time...)

May 2008 -- Alex and Michael start their flirtation.

June 7, 2008 -- Michael/Alex first kiss/first time/wow they work fast.

June 8, 2008 -- Rosa dies.  (The dates are a little screwy here.  I know Carina MacKenzie said that they would fix them, but for now, I’m making an assumption that Max and Liz had their day in the desert on Saturday, June 7 and that Rosa was killed in the early morning hours of the 8th.  A large part of this assumption is based on the fact that neither one of them would skip school in order to finish the project.)

June 9, 2009 -- Alex goes to see a recruiter.  My assumption is that the Monster Sgt marched Alex to the recruitment office and forced him to sign up.  It doesn’t work that way in real life.  He can join at 17 with parental permission, but he can not be forced to join.  This gives him approximately two weeks to go through MEPS as they require a high school diploma to enlist.

June 21, 2008 -- High School Graduation.  

June 23, 2008 -- This is a very tight timeline.  If they had a Basic (BMT) slot available, then this is the earliest Alex could leave for BMT.  (I guess he could technically leave on a Sunday…  But he doesn’t have far to travel.)  Feel free to adjust anything by a month or more to fit your own timeline.

June 24, 2008 -- Alex signs in at Lackland AFB, TX for processing into BMT.

Week Zero - Processing Week - This week is all about the basics. You will receive a haircut, get issued your clothes, and learn what your life will be like the following 8 weeks. Basically, this week is an administrative week.

Week One - You start training this week with early wake-ups, workouts, and long days. You will continue a few of the military processing issues and tests (medical/dental). Expect to be tired after long days of military training.

Week Two - You will continue regular workouts and many hours of drill (marching with weapons) as they get tougher than previous weeks and attend a significant number of classes on many topics. From career counseling to weapon handling and maintenance to Air Force History, you will receive a full day of training every day.

Week Three - You receive your service dress uniform complete with an all-weather coat, a lightweight jacket, ties, a flight cap, belt and buckle, and low-quarter shoes. Be prepared to quickly get dressed in and out of all uniforms.

Week Four - Tactical training continues and advances as you will start to learn defensive fighting techniques like cover and concealment, as well as lifesaving skills (advanced first aid). Learning to prevent bleeding and keep an open airway are a couple of the skills you will learn that might save a life.

Week Five - BEAST Week. This week is a challenge both mentally and physically enduring long hours of physical training, combatives, and tactical skills tests. Some will recall this as the most fun week of training. Being physically prepared enables you to enjoy this week of applying skills you have learned the first month of training.

Week Six - Testing Week: You will be tested often during training, but this is the week where the PT test, academic tests, and general military bearing all come into question and an objective grade will be given to recruits. This week will determine your class ranking and awards given at the end of training.

Week Seven - Graduation Week. Welcome to the Air Force.  

Week Eight - Airmen's Week: This is the final step before the new Airmen advance to their assigned technical training.

(BMT length was 6.5 weeks and was changed to 8.5 weeks in November of 2008.  Today, they start on Tuesdays and graduate on Thursdays, so I assumed the same for Alex.  I do not know what they lengthened in November to take up 2 more weeks...)

August 14, 2008 -- BMT Graduation   He would be an Airman Basic at this point (E-1).

August 2008 -- Technical training at Keebler AFB, MS.  My assumption is that he signed up as a computer systems guy.  (Currently called Cyber Systems Operations.)  Training is currently 66 days and he would earn college credit towards Informations Systems Technology.  

November 2008 -- Graduation from tech school.  In this general vicinity, at least.  The military has a lot of “hurry up and wait” going on.  So, they might have sent him to Keebler and then he was forced to twiddle his thumbs for 2 weeks while he waited for the next class to start.  

December 2008 -- First duty station and block leave.  Members of the military usually have 2 blocks of leave a year, each approximately 14 days.  One in the summer and one around the Christmas holidays.  There are also 2 weeks before and after deployment and 10 days whenever you make a move to a new Duty Station (in order travel, find housing if you are not living on base, get your household goods, and settle in a bit).  It works out pretty well for Alex to have finished tech school in November, signed into his next duty station for a couple of weeks, before being sent on leave.

2009 -- First deployment.

February 2009 -- Automatic promotion to Airman (E-2) after six months Time in Grade (TIG) as an Airman Basic.  (Making an assumption that he was not on an accelerated promotion program due to JROTC experience or college credit.)

December 2009 -- Automatic promotion to Airman First Class (E-3) after ten months TIG as an Airman (E-2).

2010 -- TACP training.  390 days at Lackland AFB, TX, Fairchild AFB, WA, and Ft Benning, GA.  Earns credits towards Informations Systems Technology.  (A note here: I assume that TACP training is like Ranger School in when they want people to apply.  The Ranger School instructors are more demanding of officer enrollees, which is why I have Alex going through the TACP Schoolhouse as an enlisted airman.  We know that he is part of TACP because he wears the black beret.  What a TACP unit is doing in Roswell…  That is a completely different question.)

Block I Basic Career Knowledge (30 Days)

Portable radio familiarization, basic career knowledge, and associated publications.

Block II Ground Environment Training (30 Days)

Field training exercise, day and night land navigation, vehicle navigation, convoy training, and small unit tactics. Also including training in bivouac setup, site selection, patrolling methods, and day and night navigation on foot and in a vehicle.

Block III Air Support Coordination/Weapons Systems (25 Days)

Methods and means of requesting close air support, weapons effects and utilization, and other coordination procedures.

United States Air Force Combat Survival School – 3 weeks, Fairchild AFB, Washington

This course teaches basic survival techniques for remote areas using minimal equipment. This includes instruction of principles, procedures, equipment and techniques that help individuals to survive regardless of climatic conditions or unfriendly environments, and return with honor.

United States Army Airborne School** – Basic Parachutist Course – 3 weeks, Fort Benning, Georgia

Students learn the basic parachuting skills required to infiltrate an objective area by static line airdrop. This course includes ground operations week, tower week, and "jump week" when participants make five parachute jumps. Personnel who complete this training are awarded the basic parachutist rating and are allowed to wear the Parachutist Badge.

**Note: Some of these courses are unit dependent and not all students may be selected.

Advanced Training Options Post TACP -- 

Military Freefall Parachutist Course – 5 weeks – Yuma Proving Ground, AZ.

Static Line Jumpmaster School – 3 weeks – Ft. Benning, GA.

Military Freefall Jumpmaster School – 3 weeks – Yuma Proving Ground, AZ.

Pathfinder School – 3 weeks – Ft. Benning, GA.

Air Assault School – 2 weeks – Various Locations

Ranger School – 61 Days, Ft. Benning, GA.

Special Forces Combat Diver Qualification Course (Special Operations Diver Course) – 7 weeks – Special Forces Underwater Operations School, Key West, FL.

Special Tactics Advanced Skills Course – 12 weeks, Hurlburt Field, FL.

Combat Medic Course – 16 weeks, Fort Sam Houston, TX.

(I have not seen any of these patches on Alex’s uniform.  Granted, the Air Force might have different standards than I am used to and Hollywood always gets it wrong anyway.  I really want to see his dress blues now, preferably with a nice look at his ribbons.)

Oh, God...  As an aside, I still cringe over the documentation for Static Line Jumpmaster School.  Grammar?  What grammar? The hubby had to recite it word for word despite the fact that it was WRONG WRONG WRONG!  All military doumentation is the same, BTW.

December 2010 - Repeal of DADT signed into law.

2011 -- Second duty station and second deployment, now part of TACP.  Cam mentions that he deployed with Air Expeditionary Groups (AEGs), so he probably was not attached to another branch.  So far the characters have only mentioned Baghdad and Iraq.  With that being the case, the two AEGs that operate out of that area are:

321st AEG 

506 AEG

August 2011 -- Automatic promotion to Senior Airman (E-4) after 36 months Time in Service (TIS) with 20 months TIG, or 28 months TIG, whichever occurs first.

September 20, 2011 -- DADT officially ends.

2012 -- Finishes his college degree in Informations Systems Technology (A degree is a requirement to becoming an officer.  He could have taken classes through an online university.  There are many who cater to the military.  He would have used his GI Bill to pay for it.)

Feb 2012 -- Possible promotion to Staff Sergeant (E-5)  (He probably also attends the NCO Academy, which has 10 locations worldwide.  It is a 1 month long leadership course for E-5 and E-6.)

June 2012 -- Officer Training School (OTS), Maxwell AFB, Montgomery, AL.   An 8 week course to become a commissioned officer from prior enlistment.  (This is assuming that Alex has been a captain for 1 year when the series starts.  He actually could have been one for much longer, as much as 6 years.  Feel free to dismiss the possible promotion to Staff Sgt and adjust the dates forward.)

August 2014 -- Commissioned 2nd Lieutenant (O-1E) upon graduation from OTS.  I assume that he has transitioned to be a Cyberspace Operations Officer.  (As per the note below, he could have transitioned to be Security Forces.)

March 2015 -- Promotion to 1st Lieutenant (O-2E) after 18 months TIG.

June 26, 2015 -- Supreme Court ruled for gay marriage.

2017 -- 3rd Deployment.  I assume he was sent home early due to the injury.  

(If anyone is interested, Alex’s next of kin would have recieved a phone call that Alex was hurt.  They only send an officer and Chaplain if the airman has died, no matter how severe the injury is.  At this point, the military has realized how BAD it is for soldiers to have access to the outside world when something goes wrong.  His AEG would have been put on Blackout status until next of kin had been notified.  That means no phone calls, no social media, no facetime.  Trust me, finding out that a spouse found out that his or her soldier has been injured via people posting “Pray for X’s family” was NOT a fun time for anyone.)

March 2017 -- Promotion to Captain (O-3E) after 24 months TIG.

May 31, 2018 -- The beginning of Roswell, New Mexico.  

Notes: 

This is a possible timeline.  By no means should you take it as canon.  I could be completely wrong about his career path.  He could have done Cryptologic Language Analyst (he did say he was a code breaker), but that training is 8-16 months long.  Plus, I thought Cyber Systems made more sense for the “hacker” portion.  

It also assumes that he was a perfectly “average” airman.  It is possible that he did things like went before Airman of the Quarter boards for his wing, and then Airman of the Year boards if he got Airman of the Quarter.  Achieving this equals promotion points.  He could have been Promoted to Staff Sergeant 6 months early in an “in-house” promotion board if he was considered an outstanding Airman.

He could have gone to TACP right out of Basic (possibly signed up with a TACP contract).  He could have gone to OTS earlier.  He could have deployed at different times (as long as you stick to the 1 year deployed/1 year off schedule, you can have him deploy at any time after Tech School).  

I think the only career option that does not work is the Air Force Academy.  There’s no way that he could have entered right after high school without having been accepted beforehand.  You need things like a recommendation from a member of Congress to enter.

There are options for Enlisted to join the Academy, which is a year of preparing his packet and then 4 years at the Academy if he is accepted.  Plus, possibly a 10 month prep school.  I don’t see how he could have had 3 deployments on that timeline.  I mean…  I guess it’s possible…  It would be tight, though...

That would be…

2008 - Enlist

2009 - Tech School/TACP

2010 - Deploy/Prepare the Academy Packet

2011-15 - Academy (O-1)

2016- Deploy

2017 - No deployments (Promotion to O-2)

2018 - Deploy

2018 - Roswell, NM.

2019 - Promotion to O-3

So, it doesn’t actually work, but for fic purposes, you could flub it.

Links for Research/Further Reading:

How Enlisted promotions work

Officer Promotions

Edited:  

@ Rahjin pointed out that Alex’s beret has flashing for Security Forces, which made me take a better look at his Occupational Badge, which is aaaallllmmmooossttt the Security Forces Occupational Badge.  Which means that I was wrong about the TACP training (probably?  The beret still looks black and not blue to me.  But it HAS to be blue to have the Security Forces flashing...).  

The thing is, Security Forces is sort of an all-purpose catch all for Airmen.  A lot are Military Police and base security, but they also “back fill” Marine and Army mission tasks.  And none of that makes sense for “code breaker” and “hacker”.  

(Also, the Wiki on Security Forces says that as of 2011, the Air Force does 6 months on/ 6 months off deployments, which does not make sense for Alex having only deployed 3 times unless there was a LOT of additional training he was Voluntold for.  And was information I could NOT find before.  Grrr.)

But, here’s the Air Force’s official page about Security Forces careers.

And the Wiki about Security Forces.

He could have transitioned to Security Forces out of OTS.  I knew of a few officers who were Infantry and transitioned into Mech after they became officers.  

So...  It is possible that he did Cyber as enlisted and Security Forces as an officer.  And that I am completely wrong about TACP.  Until it is confirmed in canon, it is all speculation anyway...

The Vital of Great Psychic Readings

Here is the BEST way for you to sign up for and schedule your #Free Psychic Tarot Reading with me:

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BTW, I just gave 15 Free readings today...

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so i inexplicably dove into reading New Canon sometime at the end of last year. it was Leia that really kicked it off. i’d been reading various books as they appealed to me--The Force Awakens and Rogue One novelizations about when they came out, A New Dawn right after Rebels wrapped up, Dark Disciple because Thom was like, “you’re going to like this for x, y, and z reasons and be mad at it for a very big reason.” (and boy was he correct.) after reading Leia i decided, okay, fine, clearly we’re rebooting that time when i was 13 years old and scouring the Barnes and Noble for all the EU books i could find, let’s fucking do this proper.

and damn. it was worth it to get to Thrawn. more blathering, not at all cohesive, and containing spoilers and references to various New Canon books ahead...

my huge hesitance about doing New Canon proper was the, uh. glut of Empire-POV books that i saw on our shelf. (we’ve been buying them for a good six-eight months now to make sure they were all available to us whenever we wanted to dive in.) there was something unnerving about that. i got hit with Lords of the Sith and Tarkin pretty much at the outset of my little jaunt, which was rough at times.

i’m of two minds about these books. i mean, 1) i am definitely interested in anything that gives us more of a look about Vader’s headspace post-lava incident, however narrow. The Clone Wars sold me on Anakin Skywalker in a way no movie has ever managed to, both in making him more interesting and likeable to me and in making his fall seem so much more plausible (don’t get me started on how i would restructure the prequels). so getting a look behind that weird faceplate--finally--is bloody and Very Bad but also interesting. he remembers Ahsoka in Lords of the Sith. he remembers Rex. he thinks on these things, as if he can’t stop himself.

but 2) there’s only so much, ah. rooting. that you can do for the Empire. obviously. i think i’m safe in assuming that’s not the point of these books (and indeed Lords of the Sith gives us a nice look at the early Free Ryloth movement to root for and a truly absurd goal for them to accomplish, so there’s that), but i find myself wondering what the point of these books are. for all that Tarkin cut such an imposing figure (and still does, definitely) my cynicism can’t let me believe that he was more than a good plot tool rather than a particularly complex character--i doubt all this stuff about Tarkin’s backstory, which comes up in the novel, was ever in Lucas’s dizziest daydreams. but i sure got treated to a lot of Weird Tarkin Backstory in Tarkin. is it necessary? is it relevant? i’m having a hard time figuring out how.

but again, the bit of fun i had with this book? it was in Tarkin’s interactions with Vader. specifically his musing on the identity of the creepy fellow in the weird armor, who certainly shares some qualities with Anakin Skywalker. The Clone Wars revealed that Anakin had actually known Tarkin, before the fun trip to the lava seaside. it stands to reason that Tarkin, who at the very least was hailed as Scary As Shit and Good At His Job at the time of the original trilogy, would put some clues together.

so that’s...interesting. maybe its own purpose was to be interesting, idk. i’m probably overthinking what is clearly an enormous cash grab by Disney, or something.

all this to say: this was the kind of Empire-POV stuff i was having a hard time thinking i could get into. because they’re just Evil doing Evil. Vader might think about Ahsoka on rare occasion but he’s not going to stop force-choking people because of it. that redemption ship doesn’t come into harbor for a fair bit.

and then. we get Thrawn.

as i mentioned way up there, there was a time after i’d first discovered Star Wars that i perused high and low for the Extra Content. i think one of the first things i came across (bearing in mind that the EU was not supremely organized or continuous or anything) was the Thrawn trilogy. being that this was nearly fifteen years ago and i haven’t reread them since, all i really remember is that Mara Jade is The Best, Thrawn was a villain like no other villain my child self had come across, and i loved them. a reread is probably in order and will maybe disappoint me, or so i always thought, until Timothy Zahn threw Thrawn and Alliances at me and said, take that, i’ve still got it.

Thrawn sort of gets into some of the same traps as Tarkin, except that they felt way less like traps because i was interested in how Thrawn comes to be part of the Empire. that was always part of what made him interesting, to me; he’s somehow a Grand Admiral, has risen through all those ranks, even though he’s not human. so even though we take these little leaps of backstory through years of Thrawn’s early existence in Imperial space, and it feels like we take a lot of time to catch up to the actual plot--it’s neat as hell, because we’re seeing the Empire through the eyes of not one, but two people who are outsiders to it. and yet, simultaneously have to exist inside it.

it’s so easy to generalize the Empire as this grayish blob of evil. many of the random crew and deck officers in Rebels don’t even have distinguishing facial features; i’ve heard Liam O’Brien’s voice come out of an awful lot of them, with the brims of their caps pulled low over their eyes, their faces cast in an odd grayish light that seems to wash the life from them.

it is evil. it is definitely, definitely evil. but there are so many people in it--people like Eli Vanto, the second individual referenced above--who are just existing in it, trying to make the best of it, because they have no real options (or power) to do anything else. some of these people Get Out and join the rebellion, or just Get Out and vanish, but not many of them have the resources to do that, and that’s the look that, to me, gives this grayish obelisk of evil some kind of complexity worth looking at.

and then Alliances. the neat past-present switch that juxtaposes Anakin/Vader, Mitth'raw'nuruodo/Thrawn. i loved that shit. it showed more new stuff about Vader, probably reminded me of all the reasons i was fascinated by Thrawn as a kid even if i can’t really remember, and best of all, delighted me with various instances of Thrawn just. flat out. trolling. Vader. and not dying. imagine! all these not-at-all-subtle hints that Thrawn knows exactly who Vader is under that mask and the entire book Vader just keeps thinking, no. even this asshole. this tactical genius. cannot possibly know my true identity. it’s impossible. The Jedi is dead. 

(that was another cool thing, btw. Zahn really took how Vader thinks and elevated the shit out of it. having him always refer to his past self as The Jedi was very effective.)

all these dueling loyalties come out to get real ugly on the surface: Thrawn, having sworn to serve the Empire, still manipulating the scene in whatever way he can to benefit his people. (how is Eli doing in the Chiss Ascendancy? I CAN’T FUCKING WAIT TO FIND OUT.) Vader, recalling The Jedi’s past trouble with those dueling loyalties--to his people (the Jedi, the Republic) and to his people (Padme). having now decided that “even rescue” is, as Thrawn once said, not worth sacrificing victory.

but Vader’s loyalties are still in far more flux than he would let himself believe. because he is sure, on the one hand, that Thrawn is walking the line of treason. Thrawn throws every tool he has at this to get his way, to do things and have the outcome he wants, up to and including calling in a debt that Anakin Skywalker owes him--expecting Vader to repay it. and Vader, who has murdered people for far less, lets himself be talked into it, lets his curiosity string him along, lets the probing comments about “the last time we were here” and “we discovered this about cortosis” and all this we, we, WE that refers to The Jedi pass without incident.

all this to say: he sure wishes The Jedi was really dead. that would make his existence so much easier. and i’m probably reading into it, and all, but i think Thrawn and his weirdly opaque analytical mind sees that and is poking at it a-purpose. to what purpose, who can say? Thrawn’s always about a dozen steps ahead of everybody else, by design. he has a long game.

this is just a stream of consciousness ramble at this point about how many Thoughts i have about Star Wars, and it’s very late on a Friday night and i’m tired, so i’ll stop blathering on. TL;DR--i was wary of reading books from Imperial POVs and while not particularly gracefully done in some cases, they surprised me. there are some gems in there.

okay but hear me out: shallura anastasia au

I’m unforgivably obsessed with the concept of Anastasia even though I know all of it is just an urban legend. The whole story of a princess displaced by tragedy who eventually returns to her throne? That trope is my fucking life (see: Allura, Akatsuki no Yona, Daenerys) so of course naturally, I end up with this:

our story begins, of course, with Allura, who has well out grown her stay at the unhoused shelter at Olkarian. she’s of course, reminded of this by one of the shelter mom’s who casually tells Allura this as she reads a tabloid

on tabloid’s front cover: “the latest Allura arrives to Neo-Altea! imposter or nah?”

Allura agrees, although she’s undecided about it — for some reason even though moving out of the shelter seems like the most natural next step for her to take, she doesn’t see feel like it’s her destiny. regardless, it takes her a lot of courage to finally leave, and she eventually accepts the transport pod that she’s given and packs up her few things to go, taking a brief glimpse at the one of the artifacts she’s always had with her — which looks odDLY ENOUGH like a LIONS BAYARD, but anyway —

cut scene: allura is on her way to find work on one of Olkarian’s nearby moons, but at a crossroads asteroid, she is suddenly overcome with the curiosity of what her life could be like outside of Olkarian. she’s always dreamed of something bigger, and she’s always wondered what was beyond the Olkarian orbit

“no need for more astronauts” – she remembers one of the shelter mothers saying to her when she first expressed this. “the galrans made sure of that.” — and so reminded of this, Allura is about to just head to go back on her way but then finds four space mice burrowed in a small crater

somehow the mice inspire her to be brave and venture out of the Olkarian orbit, and willing to risk it all, she directs her pod out, even beyond the boundaries of the Free Sector, convinced that not even the Galra can stop her from doing whatever the hell she wants

eventually out of fuel and trying to hide from a Galra patrol, she crash lands onto a rust-colored planet. but little does she know that she’s not alone in this junkyard planet.

after all, this is the home base planet of two local scavenger-explorers of the universe — expatriots of Earth, Takashi Shirogane and Matt Holt

cut scene: Shiro and Matt stumble upon a lost alien that oddly strikes the very semblance of the last heiress of the presumably dead royal Altean family. Matt immediately recognizes it and convinces Shiro that they should present her to Coran — the last living Altean — at the rebuilt Neo-Altea so that they could make something out of their lives. Shiro doesn’t want to, because of backstory outlined in the next bullet point, but eventually Matt persuades him and the two of them persuade Allura to try and that there was no harm to it

backstory of Shiro and Matt? the two of them were Earth’s intergalactic ambassadors to Altea, voyaging back and forth between the two planets to pass technological innovation and strengthen their alliance.

during one of the visits, Shiro befriends a local Altean when he steps outside to take a break from an argument that erupted between two of the ambassadors at the table (the Galran and the Altean one, actually) over the regulation of quintessence weapons.

after what I’m sure is plenty of shy awkwardness, Shiro eventually gets to know her and when she expresses her love for juniberry flowers and how her parents joked that she should have been queen of the juniberries, he makes her a crown of juniberries — that’s when she’s called back into the castle and he realizes:

oh shit, he just talked to Allura, the Princess of Altea

and even worse? he thinks he might have fallen in love with her

and then one day, the rift between the Galrans and the Alteans gets to the point that the Galrans destroy Altea in one fell swoop.

with the post-destruction of Altea and the ensuing chaos, Shiro is devastated, and Shiro and Matt are both out of work as Earth turns to more defensive strategies to protect itself from future threats. as the universe rearranged with the Galran’s menace, several strong planets (including Earth and Olkarian) created an alliance to maintain several Free sectors of the universe. in one of the further quadrants of that sector, Neo-Altea came to be rebuilt under the direction of last-known Altean, Coran

after the horrific destruction of Altea, Shiro and Matt are disillusioned by their ambassadorial work and become the Earth expats we know and love today in this story’s timeline. as trained astronauts, they find good money transporting people safely from Free sector to another

suddenly a rumor spreads that the Princess of Altea was still alive and stuck on a planet

the first time Shiro heard this, he was ecstatic, keeping his eyes on the news to track where the rumor went. but then the universe finds out that the supposed Allura is an imposter, and Shiro is heartbroken again.

every year or so, news across the universe spreads that “Allura has returned” but each and every time, it’s just another person posing as Allura — and now, ten years later, Shiro is completely disillusioned that his princess still exists, which is the whole reason why he is not into this bullshit (before Matt persuades him)

ANYWAY, with all that in mind, Matt, Shiro, and Allura go on their journey to Neo-Altea, all the meantime avoiding the Galrans

along the way, shiro accidentally discovers that Allura may actually be THE Allura, and well.

“Shiro?” she tells him thoughtfully, suddenly.

“Hm?”

“I remember everything now.”

His heart stops for a long second, and he just watches her eyes as she puts together the fragments of her memories. And there’s a point he thinks that maybe she remembers everything —that he was that human she remembered back in that field of flowers, that he was the one that made her that crown of juniberries —

(she doesn’t remember, btw.)

meanwhile, shiro denies that he should get at all in allura’s way to reuniting with her past and her identity and her rightful place as princess of altea DESPITE HIS feELINGs for her and even matt tries to be reasonable with him: 

“You should tell her,” Matt tells him.

Thoughts interrupted, Shiro looks up. “What?”

“You know, that you were the guy that she remembered in her memory.”

Shiro takes a deep breath in and out. “No,” he says, with a sigh. “I can’t ruin her plans like this. That would be entirely selfish of me.”

Matt puts down the book he’s reading and looks at Shiro. “Listen to me,” he says. “Look at me.”

Shiro keeps his eyes closed for another breath before raising his head to meet eyes with Matt.

“You want her to be happy, right?”

“Undoubtedly.”

“Well…” Matt says. “Maybe she would be happy that you would be able to fill in some more details of her past. She’d be happy that there was someone else there at the time that remembers her past and the time that she was there and was there with her.”

“Maybe.” Shiro considers it, actually, playing it out in his mind, but then he shakes his head. “No, I can’t. She would be so upset that all this time I never told her. And she would be upset that someone else remembers more than her, and that that person kept her believing that she was all alone when that person was right there.”

Matt frowns. “Yeah, exactly. The longer you keep it from her, the worse this is going to be.”

“I’ll never tell her,” Shiro says. “Tomorrow, she’s going to be stay in Neo-Altea with Coran, and then the two of us will go back to being Free Sector transporters and I’ll never see her again.”

“Shiro,” Matt groans.

“It’s for the best,” Shiro concludes. “It’s what she wants.”

“Is it?”

“What?”

“Is that what she wants?”

Shiro’s eyebrows furrow. “What the fuck are you trying to get at?”

Matt puts his hands up defensively. “Nothing, nothing. I just…” he trails off. “I’m just observing.”

“She wants to be reunited with her family and other Alteans, and so she is,” Shiro says. “She’s going to finally reconnect with her ancestry and return to the lineage and legacy that she belongs to. Neo-Altea will prosper under her leadership and the universe will be back in order as if Zarkon had never destroyed it in the first place.”

Matt shrugs. “I’m just postulating if maybe that’s presumptuous for you to believe that’s what she wants for herself,” he explains. “I mean, we were the ones that poached her away and convinced her that she could have been the lost princess of Altea.”

“I know. And now I suddenly realize she actually is. This isn’t a game anymore.”

“Well yeah. Why don’t you go ask her what she actually wants? We’ve just been pushing her all this time and she’s been more or less willing to do all of this, but how could she not? I’m sure we’re not forcing her to do all of this, but, you know, just to make sure.”

meanwhile, the Galran empire hears about rebuilding of Neo-Altea, as well as another rumor about an Allura heading to Neo-Altea. After some further investigation, Zarkon and Haggar realize that this Allura may actually be the real one. Neither Zarkon nor Haggar are pleased about this, and so they both utilize their own tactics to stop the Princess from reuniting with Neo-Altea, which basically will make up the remaining parts of the plot of this story along with the shallura slow burn romance.

anyway, lots of bullshit happens and shiro and allura encounter plenty of obstacles to not only her returning to allura but also their mess of feelings. hopefully this all is resolved nice and happily ever after.

or not

okay thank you for coming to my TED talk.

please tell me to stop before I end up actually writing this. i’m.