#rocket and while they were wealthy previous to that

[altarfates]

So why DID he leave? :3

severe credit card debt :pensive:

[eaglesnick]

“The world is governed by very different personages from what is imagined by those who are not behind the scenes.”

Benjamin Disraeli

When the nation overwhelmingly voted the Conservative government out of office they did not expect to be electing Tony Blaire as Prime Minister, but that is exactly what they have done. Sir Keir Starmer may be fronting the new Labour government but it is Tony Blair who is Prime Minister behind the scenes.

The signs were there a year ago for all to see. The Financial Times reported that Starmer had told them:

“Labour should stop trashing Tony Blair - a hate figure for many on the Labour left - especially after pushing the UK into the Iraq war. ‘We have to be proud of that record in government and not be arm’s length about it.’ “ (FT: 07/06/23)

In December the same year we have this headline:

“The moment Keir Starmer revealed himself to be a hardcore Blairite”. (Independent: 12/12/23)

The Blairite government of 1997- 2008 did some good things. Sure Start and adequate funding for the NHS are the most frequently cited examples of good Labour policies. But his list of failures is greater.

He tore up the principle of free university education at the point of delivery and introduced tuition fees. Thanks to Blaire:

Almost 1.8m people owe £50,000 or more in student debt” (BBC News:  02/07/24)

That is a collective student debt of £90,000,000,000.

Blair’s legacy of economic mismanagement goes further and has affected all of us. In 1997, when Blair was elected to office, average income was £15,000 a year, while the average house price was £65,000. When Blair left office in 2007, the average wage had risen to £20,000, but the average house now cost £190,000. In short, under Blair, house prices nearly trebled in price while wages only increased by a third.

The sad fact is, Blair, like governments before and after him, failed to make housing a priority and we are all suffering the price of that policy decision today in the form of a chronic housing shortage, unaffordable rents, and property prices beyond the reach of the vast majority of the population.  

At the same time as house prices were rocketing, the Blair government presided over a massive fall in industrial output. Investment Monitor (24/11/20) reported that manufacturing:

 …”declined in importance with regard to its role within the British economy faster under Blair than under any previous prime minister. The industry accounted for more than 20% of GDP in 1997; by 2007 – when Blair left Number 10 to be replaced by Gordon Brown – this had fallen to 12.4%, and when Labour were voted out of office in 2010 the figure was 10%.

More importantly, when Blair came to power in 1997, income inequality, after years of Thatcherite policies, was at historically high levels, and relative poverty was on the increase. Despite 11 years of a Blairite Labour government ordinary working people saw little change in their economic position, yet under Blaire the rich and wealthy flourished.

“Income inequality changed little...those on relatively low incomes did a little better than those with incomes just above average. However, those right at the top saw their incomes increase very substantially with the result that, on most measures, overall inequality nudged up slightly.”  (Institute for Fiscal Studies: 2013)

In short, under Blairite policies the rich became richer at the expense of ordinary working families.

The Labour Party came into existence to better the lot of working class families. This goal was written down in Clause 4 of the Labour Party Constitution part of which states:

“To secure for the workers by hand or by brain the full fruits of their industry and the most equitable distribution thereof that may be possible upon the basis of the common ownership of the means of production..."

Implicit in the notion of “common ownership” is the equal distribution of the wealth generated by those commonly owned industries. This was one of the binding principles of the Labour Party up until 1995 when Tony Blaire tore up this socialist, egalitarian ideal and replaced it with a bland statement that amounted to little more than a wish list but no clear indication how those wishes were to be achieved. Gone was the commitment to secure for workers just wages, gone was the commitment to nationalization, and gone was the Labour Party's commitment to socialism.

Twelve years after leaving office, Margaret Thatcher was asked what she considered to be her greatest achievement and is famously reported to have replied: "Tony Blaire and New Labour". What she meant by this is that Tony Blaire had abandoned Labours historical commitment to socialism and greater economic equality, and had instead adopted her philosophy of minimum state protection for workers, the pursuit of corporate profit at any cost, the deregulation of the financial industry and the privatisation of  public assets.

What resulted was the financial crash of 2008, a massive housing shortage as public bodies were no longer allowed to build houses, the gradual erosion of workers pay while the rich became even richer, and national assets such as water and railways being run for private profit rather than providing a decent public service.

Starmer will pursue the same policies as Blaire because he is an unashamed Blairite: This was Sky news headline on 23/05/23:

“Sir Keir Starmer promises his Labour reform will be like Tony Blair's Clause IV 'on steroids'

So next time you look at our new Prime Minister remember who is the puppet master and who the puppet.

[mtjester]

So, back on the BNHA Steampunk AU bullshit train, here’s what I’m thinking:

Basic premise: Midoriya is an poor, unacknowledged engineering/inventor prodigy who lives in the mountains on the outskirts of a small town, working usually as a sheep herder for the town’s wealthy landowning family (the Bakugous) while he tinkers with his stuff. One day, an airship crashes on a nearby peak, and Midoriya find a sole survivor -- Yagi Toshinori (All Might). He and his mother don’t know who he is, but they rush him back to their house and take care of his wounds. He remains in a coma for a while. Midoriya finds an odd contraption near Toshinori, and he starts to tinker with it. He begins to unlock its potential. Toshinori eventually wakes up, sees Midoriya’s progress with the odd contraption and therefore his potential, and invites him to join him at U.A. Academy of Sciences in the Big City.

Once there, Midoriya finds Bakugou, the son of the wealthy landowners in his small town, whom Midoriya knew well growing up. Toshinori goes to attend to his own business, Bakugou begrudgingly shows Midoriya around, and it comes to everyone’s attention over time that some nefarious Science is happening in the criminal underground. Human experiments, a la Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Amnesia: The Dark Descent. Where science doesn’t have answers, horrendous experiments take place to find out. What’s the goal? Immortality? The Ultimate Human Weapon? A new step in human evolution?

Midoriya and Bakugou along with others in the academy who seek to uphold the honor of Science for Good go to join Captain Aizawa’s airship in the hopes of catching the perpetrators of the Evil Science.

Character Stuff under the cut!

The Academy:

Midoriya: He grew up in a small town setting and is overwhelmed by Big City Life. The contraption he finds near Toshinori is the AU’s version of OFA, and it’s a multipurpose machine that can meld to the body, enhance strength, increase mobility, shoot out tethers, etc. Toshinori was only able to unlock the first of these abilities in his tinkering. Now Midoriya, an otherwise underwhelming guy, is a force to be reckoned with.

Bakugou: The only son of a wealthy land-owning family in the same small town Midoriya came from, Bakugou was used to be being a big fish in a small pond. Now the pond his very large, and he’s the same size. He pursues his studies in explosives at the academy, and he has little clue how much of his research is directly responsible for fueling the Empire’s war machine. If he did, he would be horrified. He is adamant that the future will not be Steam but Diesel. He’s putting his stocks in the combustion engine.

Ochako: Ochako is going to be the first person in space! Supposedly. She’s working with all of her colleagues to create a rocket ship that will break through the Earth’s atmosphere, and she spends a lot of her time training for zero gravity in a gyroscope. She is studying gravity and magnetism. When asked how either works, she replies confidently, “I have no idea!”

Todoroki: Todoroki is the youngest son of a prestigious family in the city. His father is captain of one of the airships and has been on multiple expeditions into the Unknown. Todoroki himself is working on thermodynamics at the academy. He is rather fond of steam technology and has his doubts about the rise of diesel. He is considered one of the more successful and promising up-and-coming researchers there at the moment.

Iida: Iida is working on combustion engines and works closely with both Todoroki and Bakugou. He agrees with Bakugou that the future will be Diesel. Like both of them, he is from a well-to-do family, which boasts a long line of pilots. He has trained from a young age to be a pilot as well and has a natural knack for it, but he’s actually rather air-sick. He prefers to stay on land and work on moving vehicles faster more effectively.

Momo: Momo is from a prominent family and knows everything. She has read the entire library, so the rumors say. Her studies focus on the nature of matter, and her research has been inspired by everything from ancient books on alchemy to the most contemporary experiments. She hopes to create an Everything Machine. She is another of the more successful and promising up-and-coming researchers.

Denki: Denki is involved, not surprisingly, with the newer technology of electricity. He is attempting to harness its power more successfully and to figure out new ways to create bigger currents. Like Ochako, he doesn’t actually know what’s going on most of the time, and his experiments are trial-and-error.

Jirou: Jirou works with sound, and she has revolutionized the gramophone industry with her work. She is also working on devices that can pick up sound from miles away. On the side, she does jazz. 

Aoyama: Aoyama is working on light technology. He envisions a future when a beam of light can be used to cut through anything. Nobody puts much confidence in his experiments, and he’s often forgotten. He gravitates to Midoriya, the new guy, for this reason. Midoriya doesn’t brush him off, and he often shows up to help Midoriya off, acting more like a lab assistant than a researcher in his own right.

Sero: Sero is one of many standby engineers who help the researchers out. His preferred tool of the trade is his own tape (patent pending). It is surprisingly effective.

Mina: Mina is another standby engineer with a penchant for welding and chemicals. She is an aspiring chemist, but nobody will agree to help her with her research because of the haphazard way she handles caustic chemicals. Nevertheless, she is well-liked and popular.

Satou: Satou is a standby engineer whose brawn comes in handy. He is an academy favorite because he spends the time he’s not working creating lovely baked goods. In fact, most researchers call for his help last, since they would secretly rather he be baking sweets.

The Experiments:

Tsuyu: Tsuyu was rescued from a freak show, and the freak show discovery is the first step to uncovering the Bad Science. She is the result of a genetic modification experiment. She doesn’t remember what it’s like to not be frog-like, and she doesn’t really mind. But she is grateful to not be in a freak show anymore, and she’ll cooperate with the investigation to the best of her abilities! She becomes Ochako’s lab assistant.

Shoji: He was rescued from the freak show at the same time as Tsuyu. Like her, he doesn’t remember much of his previous life. He remembers more of the facility than Tsuyu does, and his recollection is a big help in the investigation.

Koda: He was rescued from the freak show at the same time as Tsuyu and Shoji. For a long time, he only speaks to animals. If he remembers much, he won’t (or can’t) communicate to the investigation team.

Hagakure: Another freak show rescue. She’s invisible. Sometimes the investigation team forgets she’s there. She’s quick to remind them, and she’s ready to put her sneaky abilities to good use!

Tokoyami: Tokoyami remembers his time in the facilities well. The experiments haunt him. He doesn’t remember the escape from the facility where he was “created” because Dark Shadow did most of the heavy lifting. He has been in the shadows, working as a vigilante for a while now. When the call goes out for people willing to help with the investigation, he shows up, ready to join Aizawa’s crew.

Kirishima: Kirishima and Ojirou are not found until later, when the investigation team uncovers an illegal underground fighting ring. Kirishima’s skin is tough as rock, and he can take a beating. He also has incredibly sharp teeth, and he has been outfitted with a muzzle for that reason. He doesn’t usually bite, but the harsh world of human fighting has made him somewhat more snappy. He does remember the facilities, but he would prefer not to. It seems that whatever the Evildoers were attempting to accomplish with their experiments came a bit closer to fruition through Tokoyami and Kirishima.

Ojirou: Ojirou, like Kirishima, was rescued from the underground fighting operation. Ojirou’s powerful tail gives him an advantage over his opponents, and the martial arts skills from his life before the facilities also give him a good edge. He survives the fighting operation with more of a level head than Kirishima, thanks to his previous training. It spares him the muzzle. 

This is already a lot, so maybe I’ll just stop at the 1-A group for now!

[reversecreek]

pops hip n winks at the dash. haaaaiiii. me again. i’ve honestly missed playing lana fr a while she’s one of. my most treasured muses bc she’s jst a silly n vivacious ball of sunshine or alternatively? a train wreck depending on which way u turn her in the light..... i actually hv two playlists made fr her n one is rly old bt it’s more like. songs that Remind me of her which u can find here n then here is more like. stuff u’ll most often catch her blasting on her record player as she dances around in her underwear w the curtains open. OH and here is her pinterest 🍓⚡

* kristine froseth, cis female + she/her  | you know lana jameson, right? they’re twenty-three, and they’ve lived in irving for, like, a few hours? well, their spotify wrapped says they listened to play that funky music by wild cherry like, a million times this year, which makes sense ‘cause they’ve got that whole cherry red gym socks worn with nothing else, doodling penises in the condensation of a stranger’s car window, a bumper sticker on the back of a convertible cadillac that says ‘scrappy doo is a filthy slut’ thing going on. i just checked and their birthday is june 2nd, so they’re a gemini, which is unsurprising, all things considered. ( nai, 24, gmt, she/her  )

HISTORY:

lana grew up in a big house in albany, NY. i picture it w dark oak floors n lots of light furniture. albums framed on walls. mayb some rolling stone covers too frm way bk when of the bands her dad’s label signed. kind of like… a rock star palace w no evidence of children at all. i think i described it best in one of lana’s self paras once when i said the garden ws “as big as it was unloved”

lana’s mum victoria (vic) ws a music journalist w a pretty fruitful career ahead of her when she met lana’s dad richard (rich). his record label ws jst starting out, founded on the coattails of his wealthy best friend’s (jensen peters) investment w his other best friend (who he jst calls knoxville). it rocketed to success when they signed poppy injects, a rock band w an electric stage presence, n vic ws drawn to the glitz n glamour of a man tht ws at the helm of his aspiring industry. their love ws very impulsive, all or nothing right frm the start, n it ws almost like she ws mre in love w his accomplishments n what he represented than him.

(DRUGS TW) anyway so jameson records repped a few rock bands bk in the eighties, altho poppy injects r who they’re mostly known fr, namely bc of hw brightly they crashed n burned. they were a big chart success bt the lead singer hd quite an intense struggle w heroin (wsnt rly subtle abt it either while he ws in the public eye as u cn probably imagine frm such an on-the-nose band name) n he ws always in n out of the papers. it eventually brought down his career n it ws a big publicity nightmare

lana pretty much… grew up around figures like this throughout childhood. real characters who wld kind of… b extremely volatile n destructive abt their troubles. the jameson house was an open one as welcoming clients went n a lot of parties took place there. a lot of the time musicians wld b snorting lines in the kitchen when she wnted to grab a bowl of cereal fr breakfast n it was just. a very strange environment fr a child to grow up in. more zoo than home. more shaken snow globe than resting place. (END OF TW)

(ABORTION REFERENCE) her parents always kind of jst… didn’t like her much. her older brother caleb ws unplanned bt they sort of welcomed the surprise more bt… quickly realised they weren’t cut out fr parenthood n then when lana came as another surprise 3 yrs later they didn’t even try to hide their resentment abt the situation. her mum ws actually booked in to have an abortion bt cldnt go through with it at the last minute. once when lana ws a kid she asked her why she’s so cold towards her she jst turned her head frm her dresser, looked at her, told her abt this n said “idk why i didn’t go”. lana didn’t kno wht to say to tht so she jst left her room n closed the door (END OF REFERENCE)

(DISSOCIATION TW) bc of the intensity of her parents ignoring her growing up lana adopted this sense of like…. she didn’t rly kno what it ws bt it ws a delusion of sorts where she thought she ws a ghost bc she gt this strange outside feeling. she’d jst sort of… drift around the halls w no-one acknowledging her n sometimes she ws jst convinced she wsnt actually there or they cldnt see her n she ws jst haunting the house frm a previous family. (END OF TW) her imagination festered an explanation out of smthn she didn’t understand essentially. lana used her imagination to do this a lot growing up. it ws kind of like the band aid she slapped over everything. after all she wasn’t alone if she was sword fighting imaginary pirates dwn the hallway with a poker from the fireplace. 

the one saving grace tho tht sort of?? gt her thru this n made her feel Seen ws caleb. lana quite genuinely hs always thought the sun shines out of her older brothers ass like she jst thinks. he’s the best person in the entire world. wld b rly bewildered if anyone questioned tht. he wld always look out for her n cut the crusts off her sandwiches (he’d cook fr them most of the time bc their parents were too busy/didn’t care to) n sometimes wld even sleep at the bottom of her bed curled up like a guard dog. it ws always lana n caleb n his best friend tommy against the world in tht house (tommy lived next door bt was always over bc he had very strict parents tht he found suffocating)

(ARMY MENTION) SO when tommy announced tht he’d signed up to the army (bc of pressures from tommy’s military dad to fulfil some kind of stupid “legacy” tommy didn’t even care abt) n caleb said he was going with him lana ws understandably…….. completely blindsided. she ws rly upset tht they were leaving n was kind of like “wtf why are u doing this like what do u even think this is gna solve” etc n begged caleb not to leave her there on her own n jst to not sign up in general bc tommy had to bt he didn’t listen. 

ERM i won’t go into it but it didn’t turn out well as u can probably imagine bc the army is a terrible industry n caleb had to return home without tommy. he wasn’t the same after that. (END OF MENTION)

what’d been a rly close relationship before where he ws basically like a surrogate father figure to lana was Not there any more. he ws rly withdrawn n always pushing her away n snapping at her for the sake of getting her to leave him alone. on top of this lana had a lot of shit go down while he was away n rly just shouldn’t have been a kid alone in tht house. regardless lana thought if she kept grinning as wide as she cld she’d convince caleb to join in too. maybe if she seemed fine n happy he’d take the lead. maybe she’d believe it too n start to feel it n everything could go bk to how it was before her world became so different. lana liked the way the sky flipped when she tipped her head back on the swings bt this was different. everything was upside down bt this didn’t make her belly feel like she’d swallowed a butterfly and it wasn’t funny bt still, she kept laughing. always desperate to find something to laugh at n if she couldn’t find it she invented it. as long as ur laughing the world can’t b that bad.

she ws always well liked in school bc she jst tended to treat everyone like they were bffs no matter who like u cld have literally bumped shoulders w her once in the corridor n she’d be like OMG HAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII let’s kiss<3 n like she ws a huge notorious flirt w any n all as well as incredibly impulsive n jst. wild honestly to put it simply too bt things like. changed a bit frm 16 onwards. (HYPERSEXUALITY & IMPLIED TRAUMA TW) she jst became far more reckless honestly n like....... jst didn’t rly seem to care after a certain point abt herself too much.... got herself in a bunch of bad situations.......... kind of jst flung herself to the wolves numerous times without any caution abt the way they’d bite. formed a lot of self destructive habits one of which ws cruising craigslist personals fr random hook-ups n like. she literally cld have wound up in a ditch somewhere honestly it’s a shock she hasn’t. despite various dips n inclines in her journey navigating this side of her it’s very much still present in her life to this day n she struggles to kno hw to control herself at points. sometimes she feels like a melting candle tht needs moulding by thumbs until it can form a person again. sometimes she’s only sure she’s real when she’s being touched. (END OF TW)

ANYWAY. laughs nervously. went to college to study dance bc she’s always loved dance in general bt specifically ballet (despite definitely not hving the discipline for it) n honestly this was both good n bad fr her. had a whole string of terrible heartbreaking relationships bc she tends to fall into those hard n fast n they were w a lot of bad people fr like 98% of the time. she kind of learned more abt what love is during her time there tho which is a gd thing bt she still isn’t very good at knowing hw to believe she deserves it so it’s a process. she hd fun tho. threw 498572598475 outrageous n elaborately themed parties. ws friends w pretty much everyone on campus. 

despite a strained relationship w her brother n having to go home to visit n check on him whenever he got rly bad it ws the first time it actually felt like she’d found a home in a lot of rly loving n genuine friendships n lana will never forget hw much that experience meant to her even if she definitely struggled there too. college felt like a place she belonged n then suddenly she couldn’t belong there any more n there was a big sense of floundering in that. like where do u go now when u’ve never known home elsewhere? how do u happily go out into the world if it means leaving ur world behind?

she applied to a dance company in LA n fell in w a pretentious art scene there full of wannabe andy warhols n the like. became a makeshift edie sedgwick to some guy w dyed white hair n the idea his every concept was revolutionary when rly he jst shot her dancing barely clothed splashing around in a random fountain in his friend’s mansion on an ancient film camera. she’d spend her days floating around on lilo’s and prancing in feather boas and racing with glitter leftover frm last night in her leotard w smudges of faint red lipstick to barely make her job on time. always a sexy train wreck bt this time? make it hollywood. 

(IMPLIED ALCOHOLISM TW) i won’t lie to u lana hs always partied way too hard bt then partying way too hard turned into slurping merlot thru a crazy straw shaped like a flamingo at 4 in the afternoon wearing penis novelty sunglasses n it wasn’t quite so much of a party when u were doing it on ur own. this rly snowballed into place in college bt carried on n wound up getting her fired from the dance company bc she turned up to rehearsals drunk one too many times n they didn’t allow fr sloppiness like tht. it was a “professional operation” that didn’t “accept that kind of behaviour” bt lana was jst like ummmmmmmmm that’s totally dramatic btw way to spank me in the town square like i’m gale w a raw ass n back in the hunger games bt ok sure i’m out ig. BOOP! (literally booped the director on the nose before leaving) (END OF TW)

honestly hd no idea what to do w herself after her job fell thru in LA n was pretty embarrassed actually upon sobering up the nxt day. cldn’t bring herself to tell her friends for a hot minute bc she felt like a failure or smthn n she was meant to be living this glamorous life out there being the classic wild n silly n fun Lana Jameson. cldn’t figure out how to repackage it into a funny story tht wouldn’t worry ppl. eventually wound up jst caving n telling her closest besties (shoutout freya n rosa) bc she ws hving a weird time dating losers n randomly living in LA even tho she didn’t kno why she was there any more after losing the job n they were jst like. fk it then. jst come here. we’re in irving. and so? mizz jameson packed her bags....

PERSONALITY:

always smells vaguely of wild cherries or strawberry starburst or jst the candy aisle in general. if she ws a vinyl record she’d b this one n she’d only play good vibrations by the beach boys, dancing on my own by robyn, play that funky music by wild cherry, femme fatale by the velvet underground n (i can’t get no) satisfaction by the rolling stones

the jameson family r pretty well off n bc of her relation to such a big music industry figure she’s hung out w a fair few relatively high rep ppl thru her teens. mostly kids of celebrities n stuff like tht. she amassed a bit of an instagram following #nepotism bt also fr her style (v penny lane-esque in some aspects. lots of fur cuff trimmed jackets bt then also jst…. a wild combination of everything honestly. pastel faux fur coats, seventies style platforms, bright red cowboy boots, pink fishnet tights, holographic stickers of planets on her cheek n glitter used like highlight, 90% of the time a red lip) n bc she’s not gna make ur eyes bleed to look at or anything let’s b real

growing up lana was always a huge social butterfly. knew everyone n everyone knew her. she ws one of those girls tht ws kind of impossible to ignore or forget. very animated, always made u feel like u were the centre of the universe whenever she spoke to u, always made it feel like u were best friends even if ud only spoken to her once.

deliberately puts on tht kind of Magnetic Alluring Act tht femme fatales wear in movies w most ppl. kind of…. is always playing A Role of the person tht she wants to b seen as. hates being sad n always wnts to be happy / making ppl happy. chameleons to situations. feels like she’s performed as the vivacious n fun loving Lana Jameson fr so long tht she doesn’t rly kno who she is beneath tht bt she isn’t too keen to find out. sometimes gets glimpses n feels the urge to close her eyes.

she’s always been rly spontaneous n adventurous. always doing something weird n wild every weekend. she has ten thousand ridiculously absurd n chaotic stories. she’s like oh ya this one time this guy made me ride him with a daddy saddle like i was woody and he was bullseye. he literally made me call him bullseye. or she’s like. oh ya once i had to run barefoot thru a cabbage patch bc this one farmer wanted to have a threeway w me n my friend tht we met off craigslist n every framed photo in his house was a pig dressed up in cosplay bt honestly they were kind of cute n he was sexy aside frm the murderous vibes n the fact he kept calling me babe which i’m pretty sure means he wanted to dress me up next bt like whatever honestly.... she tells jst the most batshit stuff n the person she’s telling it to is left blinking like. wtf.

uncontrollably flirty. insanely confident. cld make a joke out a paper bag n will try. she tends to laugh when she feels like crying n has a smile brighter than a ray of texas sunshine.

likes to roller skate n hs a red pair she’ll glide around in at night lit up by amber street lamps breath sticky w the taste of wine n lollipops probably heading to a random hookups. who needs ubers?

always dapples her fingers thru the breeze when she’s driving in a car w the window down. honestly likes dangling her whole body halfway out too. she almost always has some sort of sweet on her, whether it’s sour haribo cherries or strawberry lollipops.

luvs bowie (ONLY aesthetically) n prince (wholeheartedly) n madonna (completely) n anyone tht’s a vintage style icon w little care fr what ppl think.

daisies n poppies r her fav flowers bc daisies r wild n overlooked n poppies r the first thing u look at in a green field. she’s had like 8472493874 ‘relationships’ n none of them hav lasted beyond a month / hav been terrible / hav seen her being treated badly / she’s cheated on them. honestly it’s like a burning train wreck but u can’t quite tear ur eyes away. often the heart of many sordid gossip scandals.

PLOTS:

TBA bc she’s only jst arrived in town i won’t lie to u all but i’m gna whip things up on here anyway n link in chat w updates at some point........ that said? lana is insatiable n it isn’t rly unlikely tht she cld’ve bumped into ur muse in a grocery store aisle n somehow a wild spontaneous adventure spawned frm that alone.......... if u have any immediate ideas we can discuss 😋

[hectabdr]

Dragon Raja IV - Chapters 9 & 10 (Abridged)

Hi everyone, in today's update we start learning a little more about Johann's father and that vision that Luminous experienced.

Previous Chapters

Chapter 9

Luminous woke up in a white room. In front of him there was an old man in a white doctor's coat. He explained that once Luminous left the library, he fell and hit his head on the pavement, so his friends brought him to a hospital to check if he had a concussion. Behind the mirror, however, they were being watched by two psychiatrists, next to them, Nono and Finger observed as well. Luminous had to answer many questions, he answered as logically as he could. According to the lead doctor, this wasn't a good sign, a person who knows that they're suffering from some sort of mental disease will always make an extra effort to demonstrate their sanity and Luminous was definitely going the extra mile.

They actually brought him there after Finger threw a rock at his friend's head and knocked him out. Truth be told, they already suspected the doctor's diagnostic, their friend was schizophrenic. Luminous's tantrum didn't help his case either. The young S-Rank was yelling, then threatened the personnel to let him go and almost flipped the table. Minutes later, he was already constricted by a straitjacket, resting on a small hospital bed.

Trying to ignore the other patients with whom he shared a room, he slowly vanished under the effects of a sedative injection. As soon as his eyes closed, his body felt the cold sensation of heavy rain. He was in the number 0 highway all over again, trapped in that same vision, the one where Nono would die in minutes, yet the shadowy creatures were not trying to eat them alive, but frozen like statues, while a small figure walked among them. Carrying an oversized umbrella, the little devil greeted his brother and made an interesting contribution.

The dream that Luminous experienced was not simply a prediction, but a simulation of it, and as such, it could be experienced all over again. In fact, he could repeat the same scenario as many times as he needed to find the one where Nono would survive. It was like the "save" feature in a video game and there was no need to exchange a quarter of his life for this service.

-Odin, what is he?

-You could understand him as a dead soul, trapped in this Nibelungen. He possesses infinite power, yet for some reason, he couldn't leave this place for many years, until now.

Odin's restriction was about to end, after all, he managed to lock Nono with the Gungir lance and it was a matter of time before he could leave the Nibelungen to reach her. Once you're locked by the lance, you're doomed to die, however, it cannot be locked on the same target twice, since theoretically said target should be dead already. Therefore, the solution was simple, if Luminous managed to prevent the lance from hitting Nono, Odin wouldn't be able to try for a second time. According to Ming·Z, someone in the past already escaped the Gungir lance, he just didn't know how. Luminous would have multiple chances to find a way, with a clear objective in mind, he started the second round.

The scenario resumed and the creatures started moving towards them. The pair once again fought for their lives, with a big difference: Luminous performed exceptionally well. Being able to remember the behavior of the servitors allowed him to know exactly how and where to shoot them, leaving Nono speechless. She was particularly surprised when he blew up her car, since he forgot the part where they agreed to escape in the Maybach. Wasting time to explain his course of action, a servitor took advantage of their distraction and cut through Nono's neck with its hands, killing her in an instant.

He woke up in his hospital bed, extremely frustrated. Ming·Z·Lu left a phone in his bed with a message that invited him to try again. The only problem was that he couldn't fall asleep. Luminous threw tantrum after tantrum until the nurse came in and he requested another sedative injection, which surprised her. According to the doctors, these sedatives weren't addictive, so Luminous had little to no reason to want another one. He had to lie about his condition, saying that there were voices in his head yelling to one another. The nurse injected him again and he fell asleep, ready for his third attempt.

In the middle of the battle, he noticed that one of the servitors had a little number next to it, just like the stats in an RPG, and the creature was a "level 600 enemy". According to Ming·Z, a very strong regular human should have a combat level of 100, so this thing had six times the strength of a tai chi master. Enemies that strong should be avoided in close combat and shot from a distance instead. Odin's power level and other stats were displayed as a bunch of question marks. It was a sign of their abysmal difference in strength. When Luminous tried to analyze Ming·Z·Lu, his stats were hidden by question marks as well.

Chapter 10

Days later, Finger and Nono were drinking in Luminous's old bedroom, trying to figure out what to do next. They believed they understood the situation, their friend was mentally ill. He knew about this boy called Lu Mang, who died in an accident and he created an imaginary version of him. He projected most of his own accomplishments into this made up president of the Lionheart club and got two of his former classmates involved in his delusional quest.

Finger suggested giving Luminous back to the college, despite of the risk that it might represent to his safety. If they apologized for their actions and brought back the number one target of the secret party, they might have been able to get pardoned. Maybe Caesar could ensure his well being. Nono still insisted in analyzing the inconsistencies on everyone else's perspective on Luminous and Finger suggested that she just couldn't accept the truth of her sidekick's mental condition.

Finger's suggestion was tearing her apart on the inside, because she knew that she was supposed to be the one who suggested they give up on Luminous, then Finger would be offended and start defending his old roommate, this didn't make much sense, why was she the one who was hesitating? She expressed her disgust at his proposal and left Luminous's old house.

-Even if he's the disoriented puppy that you say he is, it's still mine! I'm the one who picked him up from the women's bathroom!

Meanwhile, Luminous just lost his 46th attempt at saving his former senior. After all of those attempts, he suffered 22 serious injuries, including 12 fractures, 7 deep wounds and 1 broken finger. His previous attempt was devastating, he managed to get in the car with Nono, but the death servitors lifted the car up in the air and they couldn't accelerate anymore. Nono was visibly terrified, while the creatures destroyed the vehicle, they sat down, waiting for their end to come.

Ming·Z tried to dissuade Luminous from pursuing Nono, or even saving her, but his brother refused. The little devil was confused about his brother's feelings and revealed that he had been writing a small webnovel inspired by the real life relationship between Luminous and Nono. His readers weren't particularly happy with her character and wanted her to be more clear about her intentions.

-I learned more about humans to understand the feelings that you have for your senior sister.

-Did you find your answer?

-Yes, your feelings are in all the wrong places.

-Nonsense!

Perhaps there was something he could do. Ming·Z couldn't stop the Gungir lance, but he would be able to kill Odin if Luminous was willing to trade his last quarter of life. As expected, Luminous refused, so he gave him another gift: he would provide him with any weapon he could ask for on his next attempts. Luminous asked for an apache helicopter but Ming·Z forced him to settle for something smaller, a bazooka.

The next round started and Nono freaked out when she saw Luminous's new rocket launcher, where did he get it from?

Back in the real world, Nono arrived at an abandoned building that belonged to the Media Asia Group. The boss of the Black Prince Group was an old acquaintance of hers, a devoted one at that, the same young man who lend her the red Ferrari: the young master Shao. His business card was enough to allow Nono to request information about an old employee: a man whose last name was Chu.

The middle aged man that guarded the old building was curious about this girl and her credentials. She went straight to the point and asked for the long deceased man, Mr. Chu. The guard recognized the surname immediately, his full name was Chu Tianjiao. Long ago they used to be colleagues and drank together from time to time.

Tianjiao was married to a dancer and had a young son, he wanted to earn more money, so he quit his job working as a driver for members of the taxation bureau and became the personal driver of a wealthy man, who owned the Maybach that Tianjiao drove every day.

Nono kept asking for more information, but there wasn't much to say, he loved spicy chicken wings and braised pork belly, he barely spoke unless it was to brag about simple things. But there was something more, Tianjiao lived in the factory, so she asked the man to take her to Tianjiao's room. In her way, she noticed a reflection in the window, powerful flames, but it only lasted a second.

Tianjiao's bedroom hadn't been opened for many years, but the air inside was surprisingly clean, just a little dusty. The furniture was simple, a double bed, a bedside table, a writing desk, a chair and a mini-refrigerator. Some strings in the corner of the room were used to dry his clothes and a jacket was hanged in them. This was everything that Chu Tianjiao had. Nono stepped in, asking to be left alone and she closed the door to allow her profiling ability to fill the missing details. She analyzed every aspect of the small place and came across a photograph. A family of three, a boy who was five at most, a woman with a bright smile and a man in a white shirt and woolen pants combing his hair, hugging his wife proudly. Was the boy Johann Chu? She couldn't recognize his face.

Nono sat down on the bed, closed her eyes and allowed her ability to put her in that man's shoes. She saw him, a man with no name arriving at the town for the first time, carrying nothing but a suitcase. He sat down at a food stand and ordered braised pork belly, but the vision was interrupted by the pain of heavy mental exhaustion. 

Her skills were demanding and she found herself trapped in that state, feeling like the was sinking in deep water as she desperately tried to escape. The experience sent her back to the Three Gorges Dam, where she almost died, a monster came to her aid and yelled "Don't die! don't die! don't die!"

She wasn't completely sure about how she survived on that mission. Caesar and Luminous put a story together, in which Norton approached the diving bell and attacked her, the dragon then attacked the Monach, where Caesar skillfully slayed the monster. Luminous brought her back to the boat, where she woke up in her boyfriend's arms.

But there was more to it, a monster, one that ordered her not to die and saved her with powers that broke the rules of the world she knew. Was that an illusion?

Nono felt the whole place trembling and got out of the room, outside, the rainfall had flooded the building and the whole structure was sinking in the muddy ground in which it was built. Nono tried to make her way out, she was trained for this, swimming as fast as she could, she got trapped by the tons of stored garbage and slowly passed out from suffocation until someone finally grabbed her wrist.

She woke up in an ambulance, where she discovered the identity of her savior: the boring middle-aged man that guided her to Tianjiao's room was in fact an olympic swimmer who almost joined the national team! He even had an 8-pack and all, Nono wondered, when did that old man become so interesting?

Anyway, while everyone clapped and celebrated the local hero, she contemplated the ruins of the sinking building. Her last connection to Chu Tianjiao was now lost.

In a simulated combat situation, inside of his dreams, Luminous was now on his 62nd attempt to save Nono. His routine was well practiced, not a single bullet was wasted. He pushed Nono back into the Maybach and prepared to fire the Bazooka at the death servitors, but the projectile exploded inside of the cannon, killing them both in the resulting explosion. Ming·Z excused himself for the defective product, after all, Luminous already used dozens of them so at least one could be expected to have some sort of flaw.

77th load, by this point he already managed to make it out oof the servitor battle and they drive deep into the highway. He tried to pass through the toll booths but accidentally hit a concrete isolation block.

He woke up again at the hospital and asked the nurse for another sedative. He had been sleeping for five or six consecutive days with the help of those injections, only waking up to eat and occasionally chat with his fellow patients. The nurse was growing suspicious of him but he faked a mental episode and the nurse ran away to ask for the doctor's instructions.

Finger showed up to visit him and brought some apples, he also reassured him about Nono's trust in him, informing Luminous of Chen's quest to find more clues about Johann's dad. They also found more about Chu's mother, who probably developed her psychological pregnancy after the death of her real son.

To lighten up the mood after the arrival of the nurses, Finger turned the TV on and they watched the news together. Apparently the airport was closed due to the incessant rains, and they were showing the departure of the last plane right before the lockdown, but something startled Luminous.

Odin's flames were reflecting in the water, the god swung his lance and the wind and water were quickly turned into a blade that cut through the airplane like butter. The airport was covered in flames and some of the passengers were injured.

Luminous tried to warn everyone in the hospital and begged them to call the police, but his apparent prediction meant nothing to them, after all, the footage shown in the news was a repetition from days before. They pushed him back into his bed and sedated him immediately.

Odin was indeed too much for regular humans, and he was about to start tormenting the city, just waiting to get out.

[cowplant-pizza]

the zodiac legacy challenge

info:

this challenge spans over 5 generations but feel free to stop whenever you’d like or continue onto making your own gens with the left out signs 

ofc i’ve only used 5 signs so im sorry if yours is left out, it wasnt for any reason

some of the traits might seem a little “off” because i tried to not use the same trait twice and so went for something close but not exactly correct

i’ve planned another 5 gens to make the legacy a full 10-gen legacy but i’ll see how this is taken first! 

rules:

your sims can look however you like

all cheats are allowed apart from giving your household extra moneys (yes even free real estate, but ONLY when moving heirs or giving siblings/parents new houses, not in the middle of a generation for a bigger house)

each generation should be completed before moving your heir (or previous heirs) out 

gen 1: aries 

your sim has come from a wealthy family that lived in willow creek. they ran a factory that brought in heaps of money. however, after your father passed away, and your mother became ill, the business fell into bankrupcy. unable to work due to caring for your mother, and being an only child, you struggle imesnley with money. when your mother passes away, you miss her greatley, but also feel a massive weight lift from your shoulders. you can finally live your life again. you decide to start fresh in a new city and dream of living the luxurious life that your parents had.

traits: hot-headed, confident, snob aspiration: fabulously wealthy

make one (1) young adult sim, male or female

move them into the city into a tlc aparment: unfurnished!! 

use the cheat: testingcheats on, and then, money 5000 to set your household funds to 5,000 simoleans. these funds are your starting amount to decorate your house and give your sim their basic needs.*

your goal is to do anything and everything you can in order to make money... within reason

this includes your day job in the business career (either branch) up to level 10

you should have 1 enemy that is a co-worker 

you should marry a co-worker and be married as an adult

once you marry your co-worker you are allowed to swap their job

if they stay in the business career try to have them choose different branches

you have 2 children as an adult

you must reach level 10 handiness and charisma 

you must complete your aspiration

you must collect all snow globes 

you may not move out of san myshuno but you can change apartments 

*this took forever to work for me! i dont know what i did to make it work. i tried simply typing money 5000 so many times (which is what you’re supposed to do), then tried  sims.modify_funds-5000, which didnt work, then sims.modify_funds - "money amount" without the quotation marks and then FINALLY simply typing in money 5000 worked! so idk if theres a need for sims.modify_funds to be entered before typing in money 5000??? who knows.

gen 2: taurus

your parents were very work orientated and, althought they loved you, you would’ve prefered them to show it through nurturing instead of gifts and money. your dream isn’t to have lots of money, but to have a happy family

traits: family oriented, jealous, perfectionist aspiration: big happy family

move out of san myshuno to any other city 

date one (1) sim throughout your teenager years, thinking he/she is the one

break up as you age up (end of teen or start of young adult)

meet your future wife/husband in a bar while you’re still heartbroken

become best friends before entering a romantic relationship with them

marry almost straight away and get pregnant on the wedding night

have at least 4 children

always have a family dog

reach level 10 in parenting, cooking and baking 

complete your aspiration

your children must all be part of scouts

your children must all have good grades

always help with projects and homework

make your money by selling baking goods and occassional paintings and books. your spouse should be the breadwinner 

try to take the kids out to different venues over the weekends 

gen 3: cancer

your parents brought you up very very well. you’re polite and love to make others smile. however, you were slightly bubble wrapped as a child and so you are afraid of scary things in the big wild world. time to start your own adventure...

traits: creative, good, squeamish aspiration: friend of the world

you must have the polite and responsible traits from childhood 

keep up maxed out friendships with both parents 

you must stay at least good friends with all your siblings

voulenteer at least once a week with your family (or alone) or donate to charity

begin in the politics career (your choice of cause), reach level 5, then quit

passivley make money from painting art

reach level 10 painting and singing

go to the flea market every time it’s open and sell paintings 

vist them/invite them over once a week at least

reach level 10 of the artist career (either branch)

marry your first love 

your spouse must be in the entertainment career or arts career

have 1 child 

have your child and grandparents be very very close 

complete your aspiration

gen 4: gemini

your parents had a love of art, but you have a love of... love? and maybe too much of it... but secretley deep down, you just want to find “the one”.

traits: genius, non-commital, romantic aspiration: serial romantic then soul mate

you must complete the serial romantic aspiration and then complete the soul mate aspiration

achieve level 10 in logic and rocket building skills

reach level 10 in the scientist career

visit sixam at least twice

have at least one romatic relationship with an alien (and marry them if possible)

have two children from two seperate partners 

have bad relationships with both of the other parents

once the serial romantic aspiration is complete, you are free to choose who your sim marries

they must propose on a night out on a date (anywhere)

have one child with your married partner

gen 5: Leo

you never got to know your dad too well because your mum never seemed to like him. you trusted her judgement but it still upset you to grow up without a father figure. you became the class clown and dream of never growing up...

traits: cheerful, goofball, lazy aspiration: joke star

reach level 10 in the entertainment career (comedic branch obviously)

reach level 10 comedy and guitar

run a joke-telling/prankesters club

flunk off school whenever you are offered too (i.e, get the phone call to “go play hookie”)

don’t get a part time job or join scouts as a child 

have 5 cats as a young adult

meet your father - you decide what relationship they have

never pursue any romantic relationships until adulthood 

have a one night stand and get them pregnant (you can have more than one if the first does not result in pregnancy, however it MUST be with a different sim)

invite the mother and child to come and live with you 

have two more children with her

marry as elders 

part two coming soon...

[darkpetal16]

Pride & Humility - Chapter Three

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Fanfiction

Genres: Gen, Friendship, Family, Adventure, Hurt, Comfort

Summary: “Friends look the other way. Best friends eat the body.” -Selim B. The story about an innocent and disturbing friendship between homunculus and human. Old soul OC. Surprisingly wholesome.

Warnings: Violence, gore, death, excessive child abuse, profanity

Beta: Taintedletter

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. Elizabeth belongs to Midnightwishes, but I will be borrowing her for this journey.

Chapter One

Previous Chapter

Beta: Taintedletter

✧✧♡✧✧♡✧✧♡✧✧

Several days later...

Dinner that night looked delightfully appetizing.

When eating at the Bradley’s, it appeared no expense was spared when it came to the food. The dining room was a small, but lavishly decorated. The enticing aroma of dinner drifted around the room, enhancing the luxurious feel of the casual affair.

Of course what really made dinner such a treat for Elizabeth, was Mrs. Bradley—although she was starting to insist Elizabeth called her Auntie Katherine. The older woman had an magnanimous personality, and a charm that simply couldn’t be beat. Already the woman had rapidly captured Elizabeth’s admiration.

(Granted, that wasn’t hard at that point since she was the first adult to treat Elizabeth with any bit of genuine kindness.)

To make matters even better, Elizabeth got to sit right next to her best friend.

At dinner, Selim was an infectiously cheerful boy. Elizabeth found it impossible not to smile, or giggle, when he was so plainly elated.

“And who might this be?” inquired an amused voice.

The trio at dinner turned to find führer King Bradley entering the dining room with a serene smile on his face. Mrs. Bradley, greeted her husband with an affectionate tone. “Welcome home, dear. This is Elizabeth Luxanna, a friend of Selim. She’s been having dinner with us this week while you were away inspecting the south.”

Elizabeth politely bowed her head, her cheeks warming under Mr. Bradley’s scrutiny. “G-Good evening, sir.”

“At ease. A friend of Selim doesn’t need to call me sir,” Mr. Bradley laughed, taking a seat beside Katherine and across from Elizabeth. His gaze roamed over to his adopted son and he asked, “And how have you been, Selim?”

“Well,” Selim responded, nudging Elizabeth. “I’ve been having a lot of fun with Ellie!”

“Ah, I see, I see.”

“How was the inspection, dear?” Mrs. Bradley asked.

“Uneventful,” Mr. Bradley admitted. “With so many of our State Alchemists retired, the hunt for more is still in full swing.”

“Ellie’s very good with alchemy,” Selim remarked, purple eyes sparkling with admiration. “I bet she’ll make the youngest State Alchemist in history!”

Elizabeth blushed, nervous pride fluttering inside of her. She averted her gaze, and fidgeted with her fingers. “I-I don’t know about that.”

“I’d bet a month’s worth of desert on it,” Selim crowd.

“Oh!” King exclaimed, reassessing Elizabeth with great interest. “That’s a mighty big bet. Hmm. But I don’t see how anyone would accept a State Alchemist before fifteen, at the very least.”

Selim grinned widely. “She’ll be ready well before then. She’s very smart.”

Elizabeth’s face felt hotter than the sun, and she squirmed under her friend’s praise. She hadn’t received so much positive attention before, and it was making her head spin and her stomach tie itself in knots.

“That’s quite enough,” Katherine Bradley chided, reaching across the table to gently pat Elizabeth. “Can’t you see you’re making her flustered? Honestly, I hope you’re don’t become as clueless about women like your father…”

“Eh? I’m not clueless,” King Bradley protested, but Mrs. Bradley only laughed at him.

The dinner was filled with merriment and laughter. King and Katherine were a remarkably adorable couple, and the two filled the entire room up with amiable hospitality. Time flew by faster than a rocket, and it was far too soon that Elizabeth had to bade everyone goodnight.

Dinner with the Bradley’s became a regular occurrence. Most nights the führer would join them, but there had been a couple times where he was too busy with work.

After dinner, Selim and Elizabeth would play in the gardens for a couple of hours before someone would escort Elizabeth “home.”

Although the heiress wished she never had to leave.

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Breakfast in the house of Luxanna was a bleak affair. The food was carried to Elizabeth’s room, and she ate in silence at her desk in her nearly empty room. It wasn’t that the Luxanna family couldn’t afford niceties, or luxuries—it was an old wealthy family—so much as Grandfather Crow was a minimalist, and believed his granddaughter should be the same.

The only things of note that could be found in Elizabeth’s room were piles of notebooks, and assigned textbooks on alchemy. The stacks were so high they towered over the girl.

Once Elizabeth finished her breakfast, she got dressed for the day and headed down to the musky library to begin her lessons. Mrs. Delve awaited her with a narrowed gaze, and a clipped good morning.

As with every day, the lesson was only made bearable by the fact that Elizabeth had something to look forward to at the end. It wasn’t that Mrs. Delve was a bad teacher, per say—she explained things well enough Elizabeth could follow along—but there a prominent air of disdain in that stuffy library.

No… in that house.

Elizabeth could scarcely think to call it a home anymore. She saw what a home ought to be like with the Bradleys.

There was no warmth, or love in the houses of Luxanna.

There was expectations, and punishments.

Elizabeth wasn’t a granddaughter.

She was a tool. A pet.

Her future was in the hands of a man who did not care for her wellbeing—who probably didn’t even like her.

And what could she do about it?

Run away?

With his connections, she’d undoubtedly be found the very first day.

Refuse?

She wouldn’t put it past him to lock her away until she starved to death, or submitted.

He’d get away with it, too.

Ask for help?

From who?

She didn’t want to bring her only friend into it. Selim was too dear to her, and the very thought of him coming anywhere near her grandfather burned Elizabeth up inside. Mrs. Bradley, Katherine, was a possibility, but Elizabeth irrationally feared that if the kind woman came in contact with Crow she’d somehow become tainted and turn on Elizabeth.

Mr. Bradley? The führer, would undoubtedly support his retired general.

The servants didn’t care.

There was no one Elizabeth felt comfortable asking for help.

Which left her with only one option: comply.

Obey.

So she swallowed her protests, and did exactly that.

Every day she woke up before the sun, and studied alchemy like a good student.

And every day, for just a few short hours, she was able to leave her bitterly cold house, and experience a taste of warmth.

She hoped that warmth would never go away.

✧✧♡✧✧♡✧✧♡✧✧

A couple months later…

“Ara? What’s a cute little girl doing here?”

Elizabeth paused in her afternoon work, looking up to find a man peering down over her shoulder. Being in sudden close proximity to a strange man made her instantly uncomfortable, but since he was in a military uniform she didn’t think he was bad.

He had a bit of a dorky air about him, with an after shave, glasses, and a twinkle in his eyes. He rubbed his chain as he looked down at her work. “That’s some impressive alchemy you’ve got there.”

Elizabeth shut her notebook, and shyly turned around to give the man her full attention. “I-I’m Elizabeth Luxanna. Pleasure to meet you, sir…?”

The man wore a splitting grin. “Maes Hughes! I work in Central Intelligence, and thought I’d stop by our library’s archives. It’s rare to see a child here, though.”

“I received special permission to further my alchemy studies,” Elizabeth quietly explained, resisting the urge to nervously look away. “I-I’m going to become a State Alchemist.”

“Starting young, aren’t you?” the man named Maes joked.

“My grandfather expects me to live up to the Luxanna name,” Elizabeth responded. “A-As heiress to Luxanna, I must not disappoint.”

Maes rubbed at his chin again. “Luxanna, huh? So you’re the granddaughter of general Crow?”

“Yes, sir.” Elizabeth glanced at the clock on the wall, and began to put her notebooks away in her bag. “Pardon me, sir, but I have to meet up with my best friend.”

“Wouldn’t want to keep you waiting,” Maes said with a smile. “If you’re ever by Intelligence, feel free to stop by! I bet I could tell you some funny stories about that old bird.”

Elizabeth didn’t think that funny and her grandfather belonged anywhere near each other. Fun was practically a taboo word to the retired general.

‘What a queer man,’ Elizabeth thought, hurrying away. ‘I hope I don’t run into him again.’

✧✧♡✧✧♡✧✧♡✧✧

Fall of 1908

School was closed for Selim on the weekends, so he and Elizabeth were able to spend the days together.

Although, Saturdays Elizabeth still went to the library before noon, anxious to continue her work. Selim accompanied her per usual. He was a silent companion as she scribbled away in her notebooks.

Near the end of the study session—Elizabeth had promised Selim they would play after lunch—Selim leaned into Elizabeth and asked, “What are you working on now?”

Elizabeth pointed to the top of her list, and while resting his chin on her shoulder Selim read out loud, “Hybrid combinations?”

“Mn. I think that in a month, I’ll be ready to start testing out combining plants to make hybrids,” Elizabeth explained. “Right now I’m working on what would be the best combination for what. I want to keep this to no more than three for now—ideally, in the future I could combine as many as I wanted. Additionally, I want to focus on finding a substitute for epinephrine, and antibiotics first.”

“Epinephrine… that’s adrenaline, right? Why that and antibiotics first?”

“Improved penicillin—antibiotics—should be easier to start with since it was originally derived from a plant,” Elizabeth explained. “Whereas epinephrine should be a lot harder, since plants don’t produce it naturally.”

“I see,” Selim said quietly, frowning thoughtfully. “So something that should be easy, and something that should be hard… you’re testing your limits?”

“That’s the plan.”

Selim peered at the list, reading off what was written down.

Epinephrine

Yerba

Guayusa

Yaupon

Tea

Coffee

Cacao

Guarana

Ashwaghandha

Eleuthero

Rhodiola

Antibiotics

Garlic

Ginger

Echnacea

Goldenseal

Clove

Oregano

Neem

Pau D’Arco

Elizabeth had combinations of each of the lists below, and next to the combinations she wrote out the genetic equations. Once done writing out her math, she would work on diagrams and time tables.

“To be honest, I still have to find a place to grow them,” Elizabeth admitted to her friend. “It’ll have to be a large area, as I’ll be starting the hybrid process at different stages: seedling, sapling, and mature.”

Selim tapped his chin and tilted his head in a cute manner. “Hmm. How about you leave that one to me, Ellie? I might have a place.”

Elizabeth’s eyes brightened, and a sweet smile graced her face. “Really? Oh, thank you, Selim. I can always count on you.”

“‘Course,” Selim said, his smile twisting. “You can always trust me, Ellie.”

✧✧♡✧✧♡✧✧♡✧✧

“El-lie!” Selim sung, rushing to Elizabeth and Mrs. Bradley. Elizabeth’s demeanour lit up like the dawn, affection and sweet tenderness entering her eyes when she saw Selim. Excitedly, she ran to meet him halfway, throwing up her arms and catching him in a tight hug.

Selim accepted the hug in good nature, giving her a small pat on the back. “Ellie, guess what?”

“What?” Elizabeth asked, stepping back as Mrs. Bradley walked up to the two of them. As always, the kindly woman had a sweet, nurturing smile on her face and a gracious glimmer in her eyes.

“I talked with Father last night, and it’s been decided you can use the greenhouse behind our home,” Selim exclaimed excitedly, boyish charm bouncing off him. “It used to be rented out to another researcher, but he wasn’t going anywhere, so we’ll give it to you!”

Elizabeth gasped, excitement making her eyes sparkle. “Oh! Oh my gosh, thank you!”

She couldn’t resist hugging Selim again, squeezing him as tight as she could. “Ach! Can’t—breathe!”

“Oh! Sorry,” Elizabeth apologized, stepping back and bowing. When she looked back up, not a hint of excitement had dulled, however, and she couldn’t resist doing a small bounce. “This is—this is so wonderful. Thank you, Selim.”

“What are best friends for?” Selim looked over at his adopted mother. “Hi!”

“Hi,” Mrs. Bradley responded in amusement. “Let’s head home now, children. I have a feeling we’ll be having seafood for dinner.”

Both kids cheered at that, and Mrs. Bradley giggled in delight, unable to resist their infectious smiles.

✧✧♡✧✧♡✧✧♡✧✧

As soon as Elizabeth told her grandfather about the greenhouse the following morning, he sent her—along with several other servants—out to begin purchasing supplies. Most of the seedlings could be bought at the locket market, but there were some that required to be shipped from far off lands.

Crow took care of that, of course, and ordered the servants to carry all the supplies to the greenhouse.

Everything should have arrived by the following weekend, and then Elizabeth could set up her garden.

✧✧♡✧✧♡✧✧♡✧✧

Two weeks later...

When dinner at the Bradley’s was concluded, Elizabeth politely excused herself for the night. She wanted to get a headstart on her greenhouse. Excitement fueled her actions, and with barely restrained glee, she hurried to the designated greenhouse.

As expected, all of her supplies were stacked neatly outside, and using her designated key she unlocked to find—

—an utter mess.

The greenhouse had three levels, and used aqueducts to evenly distribute water throughout the greenhouse. The first level—the highest level—received the freshest water, with the second level receiving some of the runoff of the first level, and the third level receiving run off from the second and first.

The idea behind this was to distribute nutrients through the water. Plants on the bottom level required a nutrient-rich environment, while the top level plants would get burnt out if they received too much nutrients.

There was also a cat walk with hanging potters for plants that needed arid environments.

But the entire greenhouse was sheer madness.

None of the potters had been cleaned, there was grime, gunk, and grease covering nearly every inch of the building. The windows were covered in a layer of film that Elizabeth wouldn’t touch without gloves, and there was trash scattered everywhere.

Clearly whoever used this place before Elizabeth had issues with cleanliness.

‘No wonder he failed his research,’ Elizabeth thought disdainfully, wrinkling her nose.

She folded her arms over her chest as she thought about her next move. She certainly wouldn’t be able to get any rest knowing her greenhouse was in such a poor state.

‘Well,’ Elizabeth reluctantly thought to herself. ‘Might as well start now, then.’

She might have been able to simply order the janitors to clean it out, but Elizabeth didn’t want to risk them contaminating her greenhouse with unwanted chemicals.

No, it would be smarter for her to do the cleaning so that way she knew exactly what was being added to her controlled environment.

She predicted she’d have to do some clean up, so she had purchased the appropriate cleaning supplies, but she hadn’t expected to need to do such an overhaul.

‘I’ll have to immediately purchase more cleaning supplies tomorrow,’ Elizabeth concluded.

She clapped her hands together, took a deep breath in, and set to work.

✧✧♡✧✧♡✧✧♡✧✧

“Ellie, what are you doing here still?” Selim asked, stepping into the greenhouse. His eyes widened upon seeing it, almost doing a double-take. “Whoa.”

Elizabeth flushed, knowing she had to be covered head to toe in dirt, sweat, and grime. She was able to borrow some rubber gloves from the janitors when she went to get trash bags, but they were already rendered useless after cleaning the windows.

Whatever gunk was on those windows was nasty.

Rosy-cheeked, Elizabeth fidgeted anxiously. “H-Hi, Selim.”

“Do you know what time it is?” Selim asked her, stepping in to the partially cleaned greenhouse, and looking around. “And what happened here?”

“Y-You see, I decided to, um, look at my greenhouse before going home,” Elizabeth began to explain, her mouth dry, and voice cracking. It’d been a few hours since she last had water, she’d bet. “But when I got here, it, um…”

She gestured to the top level that she had yet to clean.

Selim grimaced with plain disgust. “The whole place was like that?”

“Yeah,” Elizabeth admitted, squirming under Selim’s scrutiny.

“And you’ve been cleaning the entire night?” Selim asked, rubbing his forehead. “Why didn’t you just ask one of the servants?”

“So that way I could control the environment,” Elizabeth explained, swallowing roughly.

Selim shook his head, sighing. “You could have just asked them to use specific things.”

“Doesn’t mean they would have, though.”

He frowned, peering at her. “How cynical.”

Flustered, Elizabeth couldn’t get her tongue to work well enough to respond.

Selim then gave her his usual grin. “Since you’re already here, why don’t you clean up and have breakfast with us?”

“Break… what time is it?” Elizabeth squeaked out, dreading the answer.

“Eight.”

All color drained from Elizabeth’s face, and her knees turned to jelly. She fell straight down, dread filling her. “I’m dead. Grandfather Crow must be furious.”

Selim waved his hand dismissively. “We’ll send a messenger over. He can’t complain that you were working, right?”

Elizabeth could only hope he was right.

✧✧♡✧✧♡✧✧♡✧✧

“Oh my goodness!” Mrs. Bradley fretted as soon as Elizabeth walked in. “You’re filthy.”

“S-Sorry, ma’am,” the embarrassed girl apologized.

“Let’s get you cleaned up and into some warm clothes,” Mrs. Bradley declared, taking Elizabeth’s hand and dragging her away. “Selim, dear, would you please tell one of the maids to find some clothes for Elizabeth?”

“Yes, Mother,” Selim said, waving goodbye to a flustered Elizabeth.

Mrs. Bradley tutted, narrowing her gaze at Elizabeth. “What on earth happened to you, Elizabeth?”

“I was working in my greenhouse,” she explained.

“All night? Those are the clothes you wore at dinner.”

“I lost track of time,” she sheepishly admitted.

“Did your grandfather not send for you? No one came by asking if you ever made it home…” Mrs. Bradley’s brow furrowed as she trailed off, her tone disbelieving.

Elizabeth didn’t have a good answer for her, so she remained silent.

✧✧♡✧✧♡✧✧♡✧✧

“This was our last lesson, Miss Luxanna,” Mrs. Delve informed Elizabeth a cold morning.

“What?” Elizabeth said in surprise.

“You’ve gobbled up all I can teach you,” Mrs. Delved explained with a sniff. “It would be a waste of time to continue these lessons when I have nothing else to impart. From what I understand, you’re already well on your way to conducting advance research for our military.”

“Ah—I—I don’t know if I’d call it advance—”

“You successfully transmuted live plants, and are in the process of creating new hybrids that will exceed modern medicine,” Mrs. Delve snapped. “Take pride in your work, girl.”

Elizabeth startled at Mrs. Delve’s harsh tone. “Y-Yes, ma’am.”

Mrs. Delve raised her chin. “You have been a model student, Miss Luxanna. I will inform your grandfather our lessons are concluded. Good luck in your research.”

“Thank you, ma’am.”

✧✧♡✧✧♡✧✧♡✧✧

Winter of 1908

As the days grew colder, snow started to grace Central.

Accompanying the first snowfall was Elizabeth’s first harvest, and her first batch of results.

Using alchemy in mature plants, or saplings, resulted in the plants dying off too soon, or becoming sterile. However, when combining the genetics of seedlings, they grew up into fine, healthy plants.

Unfortunately not all of her combinations proved successful, but those that did work showed very promising results.

There were five hybrids for her epinephrine, and six for her antibiotics.

Her next step was to further combine these hybrids to produce the most optimal plant.

She hoped to have her final products by the end of spring the following year.

She merrily explained her results at dinner the night she finished writing out the next set of genetic equations for her second batch, feeling proud of what she had accomplished.

“Wow! Your first try and you already have a successful batch of transmuted plants,” Selim exclaimed, raising his eyebrows. “That’s super cool, Ellie.”

Elizabeth blushed under the praise, but raised her head proudly. “Thanks!”

“It’s certainly remarkable,” Mrs. Bradley gushed, reaching over and patting Elizabeth's head. “I don’t think I’ve read about any alchemist who can transmute plants.”

“It’s not a field given a lot of notice now a days,” Mr. Bradley responded, smiling at Elizabeth with a twinkle in his eyes. “But those that have tried, haven’t shown nearly as much success as you have in their entire research.”

Elizabeth thought her head might explode from how hot and light it was getting, She buried her face in her hands, unable to handle so much positivity thrown her way. Flustered, she squirmed and said, “I-I just want to help. A-After this, I might work on p-poisons for the military.”

“Poisons?” Mrs. Bradley gasped.

“S-Some poisons can be good, like sedatives,” Elizabeth quickly explained. “Or make people not violent. Or to—to you know, stop bad guys.”

“It’s always a good idea to expand upon our weapons,” the führer reminded his wife.

“I know that,” Mrs. Bradley retorted, giving Elizabeth a worried look. “But you have to be careful working with such dangerous things.”

“I will,” she promised.

✧✧♡✧✧♡✧✧♡✧✧

“Elizabeth?” Mrs. Bradley gently inquired at the end of dinner. “How would you like to stay with us on the weekends?”

Elizabeth’s mouth dropped open, her eyes bigger than saucers. “Wh-What?”

“You always work late in the greenhouse anyway, and come right back early in the morning,” Selim explained with a chirp. “Might as well just stay here on the weekends!”

“Your grandfather already gave his permission,” Mrs. Bradley added, “and we love having you with us. Selim really lights up when you’re around!”

Selim blushed. “I do not!”

Führer Bradley laughed heartily, ruffling his son’s hair. “Now, now. It’s very obvious you like playing with Elizabeth, no need to deny it, son.”

Selim puffed out his cheeks in adorable annoyance, refusing to meet anyone’s gaze as he muttered, “Do not.”

The adults laughed at the cute display, while Elizabeth reached over and patted his hand. He looked up to find her smiling with sweet admiration and she said, “I love spending time with you, too, Selim.”

Elizabeth straightened up, her cheeks rosy as she exclaimed, “I really love being here. I-I would be very happy to spend the nights here on the weekends, if I could. I-I promise not to be a burden.”

“You could never be a burden, dear,” Mrs. Bradley reassured, a sparkle in her eyes. “Oh, how wonderful! You can sleep with Selim until we get a room set up for you.”

“A-A room? You don’t need to go that far—”

“I always wanted a son and daughter,” Mrs. Bradley replied happily. “You’ll let me have my fun, won’t you?”

“Ah-Ah—”

“Eh? She’s our daughter now, too?” King Bradley joked.

“She’s such a delight to have around, might as well adopt her!”

“I think her grandfather might have something to say about that—”

“Fine, then Selim will just have to marry her when they’re old enough,” Mrs. Bradley settled on, causing both children to turn red-faced and make gagging noises. “Oh, I’m only teasing, don’t be so dramatic!”

Selim and Elizabeth exchanged glances, before both burst out into laughter upon seeing the other’s cherry-red face.

“Ahaha, you’re as red as an apple!”

“Am not! You’re redder than a sunburn!”

✧✧♡✧✧♡✧✧♡✧✧

Selim’s bedroom was massive, with a king-sized bed, and luxurious furniture. He even had a beautiful stone balcony that overlooked the gardens.

Elizabeth was given some of Mrs. Bradley’s clothes to sleep in for the night, and the sweet mother tucked both of the young children into Selim’s huge bed. Mrs. Bradley kissed their cheeks, and read them a story.

Then Mrs. Bradley wished them both sweet dreams, and bade the children goodnight.

It felt a little odd to Elizabeth to share a bed with someone, but she was glad it was with Selim. Her cheerful friend immediately rolled over, and pinched her cheek, a spark in his eyes. “Wanna tell ghost stories?”

Elizabeth rapidly shook her head, shuddering. “No, thank you! Ghosts are scary.”

“Like the kraken?”

“The kraken is way scarier.”

“Ehh? How come?”

Elizabeth sat up in the bed and stretched out her arms. “He’s huge! And you can’t escape him.”

Selim curiously cocked his head. “But ghosts are small, and you can escape them?”

“Well, yeah. Just move out of the haunted house!”

“What if it’s haunting you?”

Elizabeth rapidly shook her head. “A ghost would never haunt me! I haven’t done anything bad, yet.”

“Yet?”

“Everyone does something bad eventually,” Elizabeth explained. “That’s human nature, right?”

Selim nodded, frowning thoughtfully. “Yeah. What bad thing do you think you’ll do?”

Elizabeth shrugged, laying back down and pulling the covers up. “No clue! I hope I at least have fun with it.”

Selim made an acknowledging noise. “Mn. I hope so, too.”

✧✧♡✧✧♡✧✧♡✧✧

Answer: Ideally a doctor, but they seem to get kidnapped a lot so something to do with light would be fun!

Question: What position would you like the Amestris military? Who would you like to work the most with?

Reviews are love!

[jemxsims-blog]

                 Sims 4 Sailor Scouts Legacy Challenge

Just a little challenge I put together for fun. Feel free to change things as you see fit. I decided to do the order in planet order rather than scout order, but feel free to change that for your gameplay. Enjoy! 

Gen #01 - Sailor Mercury

Here we start off with Sailor Mercury. You have always been the smart one of your family and taken an interest in how to sim body works and finding ways of curing fellow sims illnesses. 

Colours – Blues, grey, and silver (optional)

Traits – Bookworm, Genius, Perfectionist

Aspiration – Nerd Brain

Career – Doctor

 •Must be female

• Complete aspiration and career

•Max out logic and handiness skills

•Read at least one book a day

•Find love as an adult with a co-worker

• Get married and have 2 children

 Gen #02 – Sailor Venus

You have always admired your parents and their hard work and love for each other but you could never follow in their footsteps. Instead, you have a love of dancing and video gaming. As well as the thrill of going undercover and uncovering organized crime.

Colours – Orange, Red, Yellow (optional)

Traits –Romantic, Ambitious, Geek

Aspiration – Party Animal

Career – Secret Agent – Diamond Agent Branch

 •Complete aspiration and career

•Max out Dancing, Video gaming, Charisma, and logic

•Go to a nightclub or bar every weekend

•Adopt a cat (if you have cats & dogs esp)

•Have at least 5 failed romances, but never reach boyfriend/girlfriend stage

•Have one child from one of the romances

•Have a good relationship with your child

•May get married as an elder if wish to do so or stay single

 Gen #03 – Sailor Moon

You grew up with only one of your parents and loved watching them work hard, but felt sad that they couldn’t find love. You are a bit of a klutz, but make up for it with your friendliness and how cheerful you always are.

Colours – Pink and white (optional)

Traits – Outgoing, Clumsy, Cheerful

Aspiration – Soul Mate

Career – Politician – Politician Branch

 •Complete aspiration and career

•Max charisma and if you wish another skill of your choice

• Find love as a teen with a sim with black hair and marry that sim

•Must have spouse cook all meals

•Adopt a cat and have the cat have a kitten (if you have cats & dogs esp)

•Have at least 10 friends. 5 of which are close friends one of them being your future spouse

•Hang out with your close friends every weekend

•Have a one-time affair with another black-haired sim and regret it deeply

•Have 2 Children

 Gen #04 – Sailor Chibi Moon

Upon seeing how great of a leader your parent is, you are wanting to follow in their footsteps and do something great with your life. Though, you find your head is always curious about the universe and you decide to discover what is out there instead.

Colours – Pink and Red (optional)

Traits - Neat, Good, Loves the Outdoors

Aspiration – The Curator

Career – Astronaut – Space Ranger Branch

 •Complete aspiration and career

•Max fitness, logic and rocket science skills

•Have kitten from previous cat litter (if you have cats & dogs esp)

•Complete crystal collection

•Visit Sixam and collect an alien plant/specimen

•Fall in love and marry an alien

•Have kids

 Gen #05 – Sailor Mars

You know you are different and that people talk about you. That doesn’t bother you as you just ignore them. You aren’t a very big people person and find comfort in meditation, yoga, singing, and writing.

Colours – Red and purple (optional)

Traits – Hot-Headed, Loner, Creative

Aspiration – Best Selling Author

Career – Writer – Author Branch

 •Complete aspiration and career

•Max wellness, writing and singing skills

•Have a failed relationship as a teen making you not interested in love

•Have a few acquaintances, but no close friends

•Have a juiced up one-night stand resulting in you being pregnant

•Have a bad relationship with your child as you regret what has happened

 Gen #06 – Sailor Jupiter

You never had a great relationship with your parent and decide to put all your energy into baking and cooking. Despite your parent not liking people you like to make them happy with your cooking and hope to find love.

Colours – Green and pink (optional)

Traits – Foodie, Neat, Family-Orientated

Aspiration – Super Parent

Career – Retail – Bakery

 •Move out as a teen into an apartment

•Complete Aspiration

•Max cooking, baking and parenting skills

•Own a successful Bakery

•Cook all meals for family and clean house

•Have 2 failed relationships before finding love

•Marry and have kids

 Gen #07 – Sailor Saturn

You knew you were different from your siblings. While everyone was happily helping out in the bakery, you preferred to troll teh forums and mess with other sims. You find joy in the misfortune of others.

Colours – Black and purple (optional)

Traits – Evil, Kleptomaniac, Hates Children

Aspiration – Public Enemy

Career – Criminal then change to Critic – Food

 •Complete aspiration and reach at least level 5 criminal

•Change to Critic career once engaged or married as spouse changes you

•Have only one close friend whom you marry

•Troll teh forums once a night

•Max mischief and vampiric lore skills (if have vampire pack)

•Get turned into a vampire, then turn back to human once engaged or married

•Be disliked by at least 10 sims

•Have one child

Gen #08 – Sailor Uranus

Growing up you had a great relationship with one of your parents, the other not so much. That didn’t bother you as you preferred to spend your time outdoors and getting active.

Colours – Navy and Yellow (optional)

Traits – Active, Loves the Outdoors, Self-Assured

Aspiration – Fabulously Wealthy

Career – Athlete – Professional Athlete Branch

 •Complete aspiration and career

•Max fitness and charisma skills

•Become a celebrity (if have get famous)

•Fall in love and marry a sim of the same gender

•Be romantic with partner every night and go on a date once a week

•Adopt children

 Gen #09 – Sailor Neptune

You aren’t fussed on being in a family that loved being outdoors. Instead, you have a love of all thing’s music. The only outdoor activity your parents could get you to do was swim, even then you much preferred swimming in an indoor pool.

Colours – Deep/Sea Greens (optional)

Traits – Music Lover, Snob, Creative

Aspiration – Musical Genius

Career – Entertainer – Musician Branch

 •Complete aspiration and career

•Max violin, piano, and guitar skills

•Swim in a pool (preferably indoor) once a day

•Play an instrument once a day

•Fall in love get married and have kids or adopt

 Gen #10 – Sailor Pluto

Growing up you found love in discovering the past and wanting to find out more about how it all came together. You have no interest in love and enjoy your work very much.

Colours – Black, Maroon and Dark Purple (optional)

Traits – Genius, Unflirty, Vegetarian

Aspiration – Archaeology Scholar (if have jungle adventure)/Freelance Botanist (if don’t have jungle adventure)

Career – Archaeologist (if have jungle adventure)/Scientist (if don’t have jungle adventure)

 •Complete aspiration and career

•Max Archaeology (if can), fishing, herbalism and gardening skills

•Have a 3 close friends

•Complete any collection

•Enjoy spending time with your friends either going out or having movie nights

•Don’t find love, get married or have kids (this is the last generation!)

[strangcrdoctor]

God damn it. This is the last suit I own - let alone can actually afford - and I so don’t want it to be riddled with bullet holes.

Or, you know. More importantly, I don’t want to be riddled with bullet holes. Which is arguably the much more inconvenient circumstance of the two. And also the more permanent one, if things continue to go sideways.

Though he’d come to the club on a whim, the visit hadn’t been without its own intentions. Each Master of each Sanctum tended to have a pretty unique relationship with the community surrounding them, real and paranormal, legal and illegal, human and non human. They played every end against the middle, so long as balance was one way or another maintained. Though New York was no better or worse than London or Hong Kong for how complex its landscape was, he did feel that it was more than enough of a challenge for him to keep on top of. And one thing he’d been forcibly reminding himself of lately was the importance of presence. If the Master of the New York Sanctum didn’t reinforce that he was an entity to be dealt with, the standing deals made with him would disappear also.

And when he’d inherited proprietorship of the building, he’d also come into possession of a very colorful list of establishments in which sorcerers of the Master caliber were welcome, and in fact encouraged to appear for services rendered to the establishments previously. Many of them were considerably darker in clientele than the pubs and hole-in-the-wall bars Stephen usually preferred, but every once in a while he did pine after a very expensive martini and the opulent decor that surrounded the unimaginably wealthy and threatening.

Apparently, he’d chosen the wrong night and the wrong place. When the gunshots sounded from one of the upper or lower floors - the acoustics of the bar area and all its dancers, private booths, and tower speakers made it impossible to tell - every conversation dragged to a halt even as the music rumbled tinnily on. A bubble of silence followed, and when the gunshots didn’t re-emerge the titter of conversation picked up again, building back up to the previous din. But it didn’t pass by Stephen’s attention that several of the circles assembled around private tables began to genteelly disburse, undoubtedly leaving their tabs paid in cash with little regard as to whether their bottle service went half-finished.

Stephen was debating bowing out after finishing his drink when another ripple of interruption stuttered the flow of conversation. This time it was merely a dip in the volume of the talking rather than a complete stop, shorter than the pocket before in that as soon as the newcomer was parting their way through the crowd toward the bar, there was more than enough new gossip to re-hash. Stephen was surprised when the tall, dark figure made his way up to the bar and to the stool just one seat away from where Stephen had taken up vigil with his back to the wall and the whole spread of the room in front of him. Seemingly ignorant, or purposefully so, of the gossip swirling around them, the man seemed to be focused on ordering his drink in a way that even the slyest eyes in the room didn’t quite match, even if he was not entirely as combed back as the rest of the crowd. His suit was just the slightest bit off-kilter, and his hair a bit too tousled.

It didn’t take a rocket scientist - or a neurosurgeon to take a guess at whether he’d been involved in the gunshot altercation just now - but Stephen had to admit that a good quick toss in the hay could well have the same effect. When the bartender dutifully came back around, Stephen made a split-second decision. He was... curious now, morbidly, and probably fatally as he usually was. “Yes, I’ll take another. And even if I doubt he needs it, you can put that gentleman’s drink on my tab.”

( @babayaegah )

[avegetariancannibal]

“Zombie, Come!” (FINAL CHAPTER )

(previous chapters)

Sunday, 7:44 AM

Hannibal stepped forward to address Sands. Will reached out instinctively to grab his hand and hold him back. "I presume you have infected patients," Hannibal said, "and I presume them to be wealthy or high-ranking individuals if both private and government resources have been combined."

Will saw a small flicker of indecision cross Sands's face as he tried to decide how much information he could divulge.

"There are patients aboard," he finally said. "It's imperative they be treated, and successfully."

"I will examine them, here," Hannibal said, "on the condition that you let him go."

It took Will a second to fully grasp what Hannibal had proposed. Panic and anger flared simultaneously. "That's--that's unacceptable!" He lowered his voice. "If you get on that helicopter, they'll never let you off again."

Hannibal leaned in close to kiss him---first on the lips, then on his cheek just above the wound. "They won't have a choice," he whispered.

Suddenly, he grabbed Will roughly by the waist, grinding their hips together. At first, Will was a little taken by surprise. Was now really the time for frottage? Then he felt it: the hard, curved shape of a blade tucked into Hannibal's front pocket.

Sands grabbed Hannibal by the shoulder and gave him a hard shove over toward the MEDEVAC unit. Will waited for him to look back as he boarded, but he didn't. The copilot shadowed him in.

"Are you going to let me go or not?" Will asked.

"Leaning towards not," Sands said.

A minute or two later, he saw Hannibal glance at him through one of the helicopter's small windows. Will read his expression as telling him to stall for time.

Sands unwittingly gave him an entree: "How'd he do it, huh? Gene therapy? Designer virus? Stem cells?"

"What, cure me?" Will asked. He laughed. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Sands sneered. "You're screwed either way, so you might as well."

"You're the one who's screwed if you want what he gave me," Will said. "You see, he fucked me in the ass raw. Technically it was more of an inoculation than a cure. But basically, his spunk saved me. Although, now that I have the antibodies, I could probably fuck you in the ass if Dr. Lecter's not your type."

Sands's sneer faltered into something between horror and disbelief.

Will pressed on. "He's better at it, though, if I'm being honest with you. More practice, I imagine. I mean, before a few days ago, I hadn't had sex in over five years. Do you know why he has the antibodies?"

“We assumed Sutcliffe dosed him," Sands said, "as part of his experiments."

"You assumed incorrectly," Will said. "You see, what Hannibal is---aside from a surgeon, an imaginative lover, and a pretentious interior decorator---is a cannibal. He eats people, just like those zombies do. Well, with a more stylish flair, but you get the idea."

Sands snorted with laughter. "That's--that's ridic---"

Will cut him off. "He's going to eat you, too, Mr. Sands. Your liver, your lungs...all the tastiest bits of you. And I'm going to help him."

Sands sneered at him again, and rolled his eyes. Will couldn't blame him, really. It would sound like fiction to anyone who didn't know better. It would sound like lies to anyone who had a modicum of sense. Whatever dark parties Sands had allied himself with, he seemed like a pretty sensible guy.

A scream came from inside the MEDEVAC helicopter, and it wasn't Hannibal’s. Sands drew his gun, but it was too late. Whatever Hannibal's plan, it had already been set into motion.

"Don't you fucking move!" Sands barked over his shoulder as he ran for the helicopter.

Will held up his hands in mock obedience and gave Sands his best look of innocence.

Just as Sands reached the helicopter, the copilot came tumbling out, pouring blood from a gash in his abdomen. Sands, rather than catching him, dodged and let him fall to the ground even as he begged for help. The pilot, still inside the cockpit, tried to get to his feet, but a woman in a hospital gown leapt from the cabin and latched onto him. It all happened in a blur, but Will saw the black veins on her arms and the inky ooze pouring from her mouth as she bit into the pilot's face.

Sands shot at her, but the bullets did nothing to slow her down. Black blood seeped through her gown as she feasted on the pilot.

The wide-eyed pilot on the smaller helicopter was perhaps even more sensible than Sands, and got the engine started.

A few moments later, five more infected patients spilled out from the MEDEVAC helicopter. Sands dodged them, too, even as he loaded a fresh clip into his gun. Two of them crawled into the smaller helicopter before it could get off the ground. The pilot shot at them, but they overwhelmed him in no time at all. Will could hear his gurgling screams over the stealthy whir of the helicopter's blades.

Still more zombies came. Will thought he recognized the Speaker of the House and a media mogul among them. There may have been a movie star, but Will couldn't be sure with half her face missing.

Will dropped to his knees and rolled behind a large rock on the patio. There was still no sign of Hannibal. What if... what if he'd sacrificed himself freeing the zombies so Will could make his escape? What if...

Finally Hannibal emerged in the helicopter's open doorway. He stood, framed like the most perfect image of a Renaissance demon, triumphant. Red blood dripped from his mouth, glinted off his teeth. He was breathing hard from some unseen struggle, and his eyes shone with murderous intent. Will thought he might've never seen anything so gorgeous in all his life. He wanted to take Hannibal on the spot.

Then goddamn John Sands had to pop up and remind him they were still in the middle of being in danger.

"Don't you fucking move!" Sands screamed, aiming to shoot at Hannibal.

Will rocketed to his feet, not even knowing how he could save Hannibal but knowing he had to try, but all Sands had managed to do was draw the zombies' attention. The one who might've been an actress jumped him from behind, shrieking like an animal. As she tore the collar of his uniform aside, she revealed an infinity symbol tattooed on his neck. Then it disappeared beneath her gnashing teeth.

Hannibal ran over to Will, gathering him into his arms for an embrace that nearly knocked the breath out of him.

Will held Hannibal's face in his hands. "Are you all right?"

"I bit the medic, then sliced through the patients' restraints," Hannibal said. "I think I may have been bitten myself in the process, but I'll be fine."

Will mashed a graceless kiss against Hannibal's mouth. Then he added another, and another.

"We're fucked, you know," he said. "We can't outrun them for long. We can't take the car. We're going to die here."

Hannibal guided him to the edge of the bluff, glancing back to assure himself of their position.

"Do you trust me, Will?"

Will thought back to the night they'd stopped for fuel, while his fever raged and the dogs slept in the back of the car. He thought of what Hannibal had said to him.

"Did you mean it?" Will asked. "You said you'd always do your best for me."

"For both of us," Hannibal said.

Will glanced over Hannibal's shoulder. The zombies had eaten their fill of Sands and the Army pilots, and had turned their attention to the fresh meat poised near the bluff. First one of them broke into a jagged, limping run, then the rest followed...

"Yes," Will said, "I trust you."

He lay his head on Hannibal's shoulder, and felt Hannibal's cheek come to rest on the top of his head. With the slightest pivot of their feet, they pushed away from the ground, holding on to each other one last time, and fell towards the Atlantic Ocean.

Together.

- the end -

(except for the epilogue to come)

[emma-mayes]

Hey! First of all, you are so inspiring and seem so genuine and lovely! And courageous of course. My question is that... I don't know where to start after high school! What are the job possibilities when you wanna work straight away? Is there? What are your tips? How about volunteer work? I would love to know how you got into traveling and moved into a new country? Thank you so much even little help would mean a lot <3

Well the world truly is your oyster. I went to University straight out of high school because I thought that is what you do… University was not for me and after 3 years I’d had enough. I worked part time jobs during this time as well. There are always jobs you can get with little to no experience in anything. If you want work in a specific field then you can either try volunteering or starting at the bottom and working your way up. I’ve been out of high school for a while but I imagine some of the same kind of job opportunities exist for youth, dependant on your country I suppose… but jobs like waitressing, retail, cafe/fast food, babysitting, call centres, receptionist… stuff like that don’t usually require you to have previous experience. When I went travelling I had no degree and my job experiences had been in retail, waitressing and reception. I found volunteer opportunities and eventually found a health retreat to volunteer at in Portugal. We were meant to do 6 hours a day, 5 days a week. I was a sponge. I wanted to learn everything and try everything so I worked my butt off. I got involved where I wasn’t even really welcome. I wanted more responsibility. Eventually I was put on staff and eventually made manager. I think if you want something bad enough and are willing to go for it, then there is no reason you can’t get or do what you want. I have also used the Law of Attraction to get work. When I still lived in Portugal and decided I wanted to move to London, every night before bed I would tell myself that I was going to get a high paying job in London. Once I moved to London, I decided I wanted to be a Personal Assistant because I liked the idea of the work and you usually made a killing. Well everyone laughed at me because in London, PA work is treated like rocket science and if you don’t have at least 5 years experience in being an assistant then there is no way you’re getting a job. Well I didn’t let that stop me! I continued to manifest. I knew that somehow, someway I was going to get a PA job and I did. I got offered a temp position as a personal assistant for a very very wealthy and prestigious family for 3 weeks, I was only there to cover the time between the old PA leaving and the new one they had hired being able to start. My second day they asked me to stay on permanently. The family decided to not bring on the girl they had already hired for the position and instead gave the position to me! Basically I got the job with no experience, I just showed up and knew that I was going to get it.Getting visas to work in other countries is pretty easy if you are part of the Commonwealth or from the US. I can’t speak for other countries unfortunately. Google will gladly tell you which countries you can and can’t get work visas in.The best thing to do is decide where you want to go and work towards it. The last 5 years of my life have been incredibly random. I never plan I just go with what feels right in the moment. Once you get out there, opportunities arise. Read the book The Alchemist by Poalo Coelho, it’s an easy read about following your dreams and taking action. It’s very inspiring.I hope I somewhat answered your questions as there wasn’t really a formula for how I decided to change my life and live abroad but it’s easier than it seems. Feel free to ask for any more help and I will try my best. 

[newstfionline]

At a ‘Defense’ Expo, an Antiseptic World of Weaponry

By Ben Hubbard, NY Times, Feb. 23, 2017

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates--Serbia showed off armored vehicles, rockets and rifles, and drew in passers-by with a video showing soldiers shooting targets to action movie music.

Pakistan had glass cases full of bullets, mortars, grenades and guns, including a gold-plated AK-47.

And Sudan displayed an antiaircraft missile and its launcher. A salesman in a white robe and snakeskin shoes pointed out that it was an upgraded model. “Now they have a wider area of explosion,” he said proudly.

Such casual sales pitches for lethal merchandise coursed through the carpeted halls of this wealthy Arab city’s convention center this week, where more than 1,200 military technology companies and contractors from around the world convened to hawk their wares.

The event, the International Defense Exhibition and Conference, or IDEX, is the largest show of its kind in the Middle East, and it had the feel of a high-end arms bazaar, a megamall where men in dark suits browsed Estonian drones, Chinese tanks, Brazilian amphibious vehicles and guns from all over.

There was so much weaponry inside that visitors got searched not just on the way in, but also on the way out.

The exhibition served to promote Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, which has distinguished itself as a regional hub for international business at a time when wars and uprisings have upended other Arab states.

It also provided a visual layout of the global arms trade, which is at its most active since the end of the Cold War, analysts say.

International transfers of major weapons over the last five years were 8.3 percent higher than during the previous five-year period, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said in a recent report.

Much of that traffic was in the Middle East, where wars are raging in Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen, and where Persian Gulf states like Saudi Arabia have beefed up their arsenals because of worries about Iran.

Arms deals worth more than $5.2 billion were announced during the five-day event, which ended on Thursday, according to Gulf News.

Regional and international realities lurked not far below the glittering surface.

The United States had the most floor space, befitting its status as the world’s largest arms exporter. More than 100 American companies were present, with elaborate displays showing everything from handguns to armored vehicles to drones.

Iran, referred to by one defense executive as “the big guy across the strait,” was not invited. Nor was Israel, another major weapons producer.

But dozens of other countries were, highlighting how many have expanded their arms exports to earn money and build alliances.

Many at the show noted the size of the Chinese display, where eight state-run companies advertised boats, tanks, missiles and other items. Standing next to a real-life tank, Ji Yanzhao, deputy director for marketing at Norinco, said that his company was targeting the Middle Eastern market, which is why it had brought not one but two armored vehicles to display.

“The real thing always does better than the models,” he said, as another visitor smiled for a photo with the tank.

Tate Nurkin, senior director for strategic assessments at IHS Jane’s, said that many middle-income countries had entered the arms business over the last decade and now provided lower-cost alternatives for states on tight budgets.

That list has expanded recently in the Middle East, where low oil prices have left some Arab states looking for bargains where previously they snapped up top-of-the-line items.

“They don’t need to buy just American high-end equipment,” Mr. Nurkin said. “They can buy from China and it’s good enough.”

As a Middle East correspondent, during visits to Gaza, Syria, Iraq and Yemen I have seen up close the human cost to communities on the receiving end of many of these weapons. So after a few hours of wandering between displays, I began feeling overwhelmed.

They ranged in size and approach, but the marketing language focused on “defense,” as if none of the weapons could be used to invade one’s neighbor, break up families or create refugees.

Nowhere did I see images of blood, injuries or death.

“It’s a very dangerous world and region, and there are things worth defending, and that requires some of this equipment,” Mr. Nurkin said. “But it can be a bit disconcerting for those who have never been to defense exhibitions to see them being traded like iPhones.”

Poongsan, a South Korean company, had bullets of different sizes arranged in lighted glass cases, like jewelry. Glock, the Austrian gun maker, had more than a dozen pistols out for visitors to cock, aim and take selfies with, making it one of the most visited stalls.

“It’s because we have the best goodies,” a woman behind the counter explained before correcting herself. “The best products.”

Many of the marketing slogans made sense only if you knew what the product did.

“Sees with out being seen,” boasted an ad for a Czech-made radar system.

“Your aim is our target,” promised a company displaying swiveling targets for marksmanship.

“Nothing escapes you,” said an ad for an optics company that makes, among other things, rifle scopes.

Sudan’s section featured a two-story fake stone castle surrounded by displays of rifles, rockets and a large, gray GPS-guided bomb.

“It is a very accurate way to hit a target,” said Ibrahim Ismael Bashir, the sales and marketing director for Sudan’s Military Industry Corporation.

In a small room nearby, I picked up a Sudanese machine gun simulator and blasted away at targets on a screen as martial ballads played in the background.

One of the most photographed items was a gold-plated AK-47 displayed by Pakistan. Muhammad Iqbal, the technical manager for weapons at the Pakistan Ordnance Factories, said the rifle cost about $1,000 and was usually bought by collectors or presented to foreign dignitaries, especially from the Middle East.

“They are very fond of this,” he said.

But the show was not all about weapons.

“Come on, I’ll show you the robot,” said Paul Bosscher, the chief engineer for robotic systems at Harris, of Melbourne, Fla., which focuses on communication technology.

On display was the company’s new robot, T7, which stands about six feet tall, moves about on treads and has a single arm with a big metal pincer on the end. Armored, covered with cameras and controlled remotely, it was designed to defuse bombs and, the company hopes, save lives--not just of civilians but also the soldiers and the police who have to cope with the explosives.

As I gripped the controller and directed the robot to stack lengths of plastic pipe, a man posed next to it while his friend took a photo.

“Who doesn’t want to get their photo with a robot?” Mr. Bosscher said.

[xtruss]

Any New US Aid To Israel Should Prioritize Peacebuilding, Not More Weapons

American taxpayers already replenish the country’s defenses; we should rethink how any additional assistance is used.

— June 17, 2021 | Written by Dylan Williams | Responsible Statecraft

In 2016, the Obama administration negotiated a memorandum of understanding with the Israeli government that pledged a historic and unprecedented $38 billion of security aid over 10 years. The figure of $3.8 billion per year was not arbitrarily chosen nor did it reflect a simple bump up from previous level of $3.1 billion in annual assistance. It was carefully calculated by the Obama administration after a thorough assessment of Israel’s real defense needs.

As a result of that deliberative, fact-based process, the MOU now in effect contains a specific pledge of $500 million every year for missile defense alone, included specifically in response to tragically frequent outbreaks of violence and rocket attacks in the years since Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip. The Obama administration calculated and pledged this new and additional assistance specifically to cover future outbreaks of violence in which Israel would need to rely on and replenish missile defense systems vitally important to protecting Israelis like Iron Dome, so that Israel would not have to come back to the U.S. government seeking extraordinary appropriations as it did in 2014.

It is therefore surprising that some in the Israeli government are reportedly seeking as much as an additional $1 billion — on top of the amounts pledged in the MOU — for the exact resupply of materiel already contemplated and covered by the MOU. Some reports have suggested that a portion of a possible request may be to cover the cost of additional munitions such as precision guided bombs as well.

The relevant question in considering such a request isn’t whether Iron Dome or generous U.S. assistance to help cover its costs is a worthy expenditure — the pledge in the MOU and unfailing annual appropriations rightly and definitively answer those in the affirmative. Rather, the question is whether a wealthy country like Israel actually needs an additional $1 billion from a partner already struggling to meet the myriad needs of its own citizens in difficult times to pay for it.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has publicly stated the Biden administration’s commitment to ensuring Israel is able to replenish Iron Dome and that the details are currently under review. The process of making good on this promise provides an opportunity for a real discussion about what the United States’ existing commitments are and what its priorities should be for any additional funding.

The current MOU specifically states that, “Based upon their comprehensive discussions, both sides jointly commit to respect the missile defense funding levels specified in this MOU, and Israel commits not to seek additional missile defense funding from the United States for the duration of this understanding, except in exceptional circumstances as may be jointly agreed” by both countries. It’s a tragic reality that as horrifying as the loss of life in last month’s violence was, rounds of fighting between Israel and Hamas are not exceptional and are often even more deadly and destructive, which is precisely why the current MOU contains an unprecedented commitment of U.S. missile defense aid to Israel. What is exceptional would be the amount of new assistance given to a country with as much ability to pay for its own additional military needs as Israel.

With so many important national security and foreign policy funding priorities — not to mention domestic needs — nearly $4 billion in annual aid is already a generous contribution by U.S. taxpayers to a country with a per capita GDP higher than each of France, Japan, and the United Kingdom. The additional $1 billion Israel will reportedly request would, to put it in context, be more than the United States spends on Nonproliferation, Anti-Terrorism & Demining Assistance globally ($890 million in Fiscal Year 2021), and more than twice what the U.S. government spends on each of direct contributions to NATO ($420 million in 2019) and on the entire Peace Corps ($410.5 million in FY2020). It would be more than three times what the Veterans Administration spends on veterans suicide prevention programs ($310 million in FY2021).

If U.S. taxpayers were to spend an extra $1 billion to help secure Israel from Hamas rockets and other acts of terrorism on top of existing support for its missile defense systems, a priority for additional funding should be programs that address the root causes of the cycle of violence and help erode Hamas’s power. Bold but practical plans to rebuild Gaza’s infrastructure and economy in a way that will empower ordinary Palestinians in the territory rather than Hamas, such as the Center for a New American Security’s proposal, lay waiting to be taken off the shelf and implemented. Peace-building programs that undermine extremism through people-to-people and other civil society initiatives could and should be prioritized for substantial new funding through an international fund for peace based on the Northern Ireland model and envisioned by the historic, bipartisan Middle East Partnership for Peace Act.

The massive gap between what the United States invests in addressing the situation underlying the conflict and what it spends trying to remediate the violence that results from its perpetuation becomes especially clear in light of the fact that a modest $75 million in relief for Palestinians already appropriated by Congress is currently being held up by Republican lawmakers under the guise of supporting Israel’s security. The Biden administration and congressional majorities must break this unconstructive cycle and give due priority in U.S. funding to countering the deepening occupation and other catalysts for unending conflict. Ultimately, there is no military solution to the conflict, and addressing its root causes is the only way to prevent further rounds of rocketfire and other violence.

At the same time, the Israeli government should understand that even strong friendships risk being hurt when one party is constantly giving, while the other repeatedly pushes against agreed boundaries to seek more. It is undeniable that aid to Israel is coming under greater scrutiny by American taxpayers and their representatives. Those of us who advocate in support of funding for Iron Dome and all the aid pledged in the MOU — including more assistance if Israel truly needs it — are facing increasing skepticism from a growing number of voters and lawmakers who wonder why Israel needs additional U.S. money when it is spending vast sums building illegal settlements in occupied Palestinian territory. The new government in Israel should therefore carefully weigh its asks of the United States with a view to maintaining rather than straining the critical strategic alliance between our two countries.

[aion-rsa]

How Flash Gordon Caught Lightning in a Bottle

https://ift.tt/3fN69KK

Flash Gordon still stands alone in the pantheon of comic book movies 40 years on. Colorful, vibrant, kinky, and often absurd, Mike Hodges’ gaudy tale of an all-American boy defeating a powerful villain from space and saving the Earth in the process had until recently felt far removed from the predominantly safe and CG-heavy comic book fare of the last few decades, despite its familiar themes and due in large part to its distinct refusal to take itself seriously. But the film we know and love is a world away from how it began.

Back in the 1970s, wealthy businessman and film producer Dino De Laurentiis held on to the Flash Gordon rights after George Lucas’ attempts to extricate them. A much-less-minted Lucas was forced to make his own space adventure movie instead, a little project called Star Wars. Its success indisputable, De Laurentiis was more determined than ever to make his Flash Gordon movie come to fruition, and he figured he knew just the guy to take the reins – Don’t Look Now and The Man Who Fell to Earth director Nicolas Roeg.

Roeg was a fan of Alex Raymond’s original Flash Gordon comic strips, and he and Enter the Dragon scribe Michael Allin set about creating their vision for De Laurentiis’ proposed adaptation: a biblical epic where Adam and Eve – New York Jets football star Flash and savvy travel agent Dale Arden – would be chased across the galaxy by the god-like Ming the Merciless, a destroyer of worlds who intended to repopulate the Earth after its annihilation by procreating with Dale, the last human woman left alive.

The pair worked on the film for a year, pushing budgetary constraints and straying increasingly further from the playful franchise-starter that De Laurentiis had imagined. Despite the ongoing creative differences between producer and director, De Laurentiis was sure that Flash Gordon was going to be a massive hit. So much so, he started bringing in directors to look at making a sequel, including Mike Hodges, the man behind 1971 crime classic Get Carter.

Savior of the universe

“I’m not sure how that happened with Dino,” Hodges says, speaking to us from his Blandford home on the eve of Flash Gordon’s long-awaited 4K home release. “Why he was letting it go in [Roeg]’s direction, which was a much more serious way than the strip cartoon and the rights that he’d already purchased.”

Read more

Comics

Flash Gordon and Archie Crossover Coming

By Chris Cummins

Hodges was mystified by Roeg’s epic plans for the first installment and largely baffled by De Laurentiis’ persistence in hiring him for the follow up film, turning the project down and telling the larger-than-life producer “Look, I’m completely the wrong director.” But soon, Roeg and De Laurentiis would have a final face off over what exactly Flash Gordon should manifest as, and Roeg would ultimately walk away from the film altogether.

De Laurentiis stopped trying to convince Hodges to make a Flash Gordon sequel and started positioning him as his new quarterback on the first flick. Eventually, Hodges relented.

“After [De Laurentiis] and Nic [Roeg] fell out, he pursued me and I could never really work out why,” Hodges recalls. “I think he felt, well, if I resisted so much what Nic and Michael were doing – because I didn’t understand it actually – then maybe I was the right director. So, he convinced me to do it.”

Ex-Marine, football player and Playgirl centerfold Sam J. Jones was brought in to lead the film – buff, overconfident, and bottle blonde, Jones simply was Flash. Melody Anderson, who had started her career on TV shows like Logan’s Run, was given room to play Dale as much more than a two-dimensional action movie love interest. The booty shorts-clad Jones and Italian actress Ornella Muti as Princess Aura were both about to become the source of some new ‘funny feelings’ for unsuspecting kids everywhere, while Timothy Dalton, Brian Blessed, and Max von Sydow all chewed through scenery as though it were their last meal.

De Laurentiis had decided to bring in his King Kong collaborator and writer Lorenzo Semple, who had developed the kitsch 1960s Batman TV series, to bring Flash back to his comic strip roots. It was everything Roeg and Allin had resisted, and it was escalating quickly.

King of the impossible

“By the time that I came on board for the film, Dino had completely restructured the whole thing,” Hodges tells us. De Laurentiis had also snagged the assistance of Danilo Donati, a production designer who’d worked with Federico Fellini. “I think [Donati] wanted to make it an Italian surrealistic sort of film. I was, in a sense, outside of the circle in many ways. Danilo had taken off on his own and – wonderful designer as he was – I was never quite sure whether he’d ever read the script.”

Like Flash and Dale, Hodges found himself aboard a rocket that was taking off, and he was just along for the ride, which took some getting used to.

“I basically had to survive by seeing what they gave me to work with,” he says. “Normally, through all my previous films, like Get Carter and Pulp and The Terminal Man, and my television films, you have a tight control over every aspect of the film. With this one, I realized quite early, and thank heavens I did, that it was not going to be quite like that. So, I basically just relaxed and let them present me with whatever they came to offer me, and I just improvised. Once I got the hang of it, I just had a lovely time. It was really terrific.”

Read more

Movies

Flash Gordon: Football Career of Savior of the Universe Revealed!

By Mike Cecchini

Donati’s elaborate set and costume designs built a creative funhouse to play in, with the director and his cast trying to make the experience as irreverent as possible. Hodges confirms that even the memorable football fight sequence was never in the original script. Jones had noted that the elaborate eggs being carried by one of the alien races resembled footballs. He wondered, since his character was supposed to be this great football star, whether he should find a way to play with them. The actor and the crew then spent some time planning it out, and we ended up with that incredibly bonkers tussle between Flash and Ming’s guards.

“It was a fight that was in a sense, meant to be taken seriously, but I found it totally impossible because of the story itself,” Hodges says. “I decided that it had to be comedic and fun, and so that’s what we ended up with.”

At a time when big budget comic book movies are often micromanaged by corporate bosses, it’s a little hard to imagine Hodges and co. having such free reign today.

“Dino never stopped me doing whatever I was doing,” Hodges explains, although he admits that De Laurentiis was surprised that the film was turning into more of a comedy than he’d ever anticipated. “When the crew would laugh at rushes, [De Laurentiis] would say ‘Why they laugh?’ I had to ask them not to laugh, because he was particularly upset about it. But Dino, because he was so child-like in many ways, kept me on the straight and narrow. I had to run with the ‘children’s action film, Saturday morning cinema’ element to it, and put my own satirical touch on top of it.”

Another vital piece of the Flash Gordon puzzle was the exceptional Queen soundtrack. The director was experienced with matching rock music to storytelling thanks to a kids TV series he’d worked on in the ’60s called The Tyrant King. But Hodges was initially leaning towards a very different vibe.

“I was contemplating what music to do with Flash, and I was playing a lot of Pink Floyd,” he says. “It was The Dark Side of the Moon, which was an amazing record. When the idea of Queen came up, I immediately went with Queen because I think Queen are better suited for Flash Gordon than [Pink Floyd]. They’re much lighter.”

Though Hodges had been an unlikely man for the job, he managed to catch lightning in a bottle and turned Flash Gordon into a truly mad and enduring slice of entertainment. Unfortunately, the movie had been hooked to the tail end of a shooting star in Sam J. Jones; one that was about to come crashing down to Earth.

No one but the pure at heart

Jones’ naturally energetic and cocksure performance as Flash was key to the film’s spirit, but it came at a price during production. He was a troubled novice who had won the coveted part over the likes of Harvey Keitel and Jeff Bridges. After touching down in London to shoot the film, Jones’ behavior became an immediate problem, detailed at length in the 2017 documentary Life After Flash.

Jones got into fights, arrived late to set, and regularly demanded money from De Laurentiis before performing, effectively holding the film to ransom if he didn’t get his way. After Flash Gordon wrapped, Jones was not invited to take part in reshoots and additional dialogue recording sessions, and was replaced by a stand-in and voice actor. De Laurentiis had put his foot down: Jones would be cut off from any further involvement, even if it was going to affect the film’s box office receipts.

“If Sam hadn’t left the film, I think the film would be more successful in America than it was,” Hodges says. “It was very successful around the world, but didn’t really realize the box office that they’d expected in America. And that was largely because Sam had left the film and wasn’t available to do all the talk shows, which is essential for a film like that.”

Hodges was never really comfortable with what went down between De Laurentiis and Jones, but didn’t have much choice in the matter, even as the American marketing swung behind von Sydow’s Ming as its promotional focus in the absence of a leading man.

“Once it didn’t do the box office expectations, that must’ve put the kibosh on any sequel,” Hodges concludes.

There were certainly contracts in place for two further Flash Gordon films – at one point, Jones even tried to sue when they didn’t materialize – and rumors of Flash Gordon 2‘s story details have circulated for years.

In a featurette included with the new 4K release of the movie, Flash Gordon uberfan Bob Lindenmayer claims that the sequel would have had shades of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’s twist, revealing that Ming’s evil advisor Klytus was one of only many Ming clones, thus allowing both Max von Sydow and Peter Wyngarde to return to their villainous roles. This would have probably delighted Wyngarde, who was said to have objected loudly and strenuously to his spiky death scene even in the midst of filming it.

Hodges describes the sequel rumors as wonderful and imaginative, but admits he was never really thinking about what any further films would be about, despite ending the first one on a tease. “I put the question mark in the hand picking the ring up at the end as a joke. I mean, it wasn’t meant to be taken seriously.”

Read more

Movies

New Flash Gordon Movie Coming From Taika Waititi

By Mike Cecchini

He went on to make a handful of notable feature films after Flash Gordon, including the phenomenal crime drama Croupier, but says his involvement in Flash didn’t lead to a huge amount of additional opportunities in Hollywood.

“I never learned how to capitalize on my success stories, which I should have done,” he says. “But it’s a power game, which I never really understood.”

As filmmakers who grew up watching Flash Gordon find their own path in the industry, we’ve started to see more big screen comic book projects embrace its influence, and never more so than in Taika Waititi’s Marvel blockbuster, Thor: Ragnarok.

Hodges hasn’t seen it, he tells us, as he tends to prefer smaller arthouse films, and comic book movies leave him cold. “I wonder whether I would have gone to see Flash Gordon, if I’m honest.”

After spending about a decade trying to set up two further projects that he was interested in helming, and finding he couldn’t get them financed, Hodges eventually accepted that the industry had changed. He now stays busy writing novels, novellas and short stories.

“I don’t have to bother with anybody. I don’t have to raise any money to pay for my printer and ink,” he says cheerfully. “I’ve got enough money to pay for the paper.”

The Flash Gordon special 40th anniversary 4K restoration is available on Blu-ray, DVD, UHD collectors edition, steelbook and digital from today.

The post How Flash Gordon Caught Lightning in a Bottle appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/2PLjCIl

[meraenthusiast]

The Top 10 Business Quotes to Inspire Success NOW!

The 10 Best Business Quotes to Inspire Success

[Editor’s Note: Today’s article is a guest post from Andrew Herrig the founder of Wealthy Nickel where he writes about all things personal finance. He has a passion for helping people pursue financial freedom through saving money, making money, and building wealth. Andrew documents his family’s journey to financial independence through side hustles while raising 2 kids on a single income]

Take it away Andrew…..

*********************************************************

What makes you successful in business? Is it climbing the corporate ladder? Or retiring early to spend more time with your kids? Turning your side hustle into a full-time gig?

The answer, of course, is up to you. Whatever dreams you set your mind to can be achieved with hard work, perseverance, and yes, a little luck.

The path to success can be made a little straighter by listening to the wisdom of others and learning from their failures as well as their triumphs. With that in mind, here are ten quotes to inspire you to achieve greatness in whatever realm you choose.

10 Business Quotes on Leadership

1. “You don’t build a business, you build people, then people build the business.” – Zig Ziglar

If you genuinely want to be successful in business, at some point, you will need to learn to be a great manager and developer of other people.

It is a skill that must be learned. Most people are not naturally gifted leaders. In my own company, I’ve seen many incredibly talented engineers get promoted to leadership roles for no other reason than that it’s the next step up the ladder. And I’ve seen many become spectacularly bad managers.

The skills required to be a great engineer and a great manager are very different. But if you can learn how to help other people be the best at what they do, you have the key to building a successful business.

2. “Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.” – Dwight Eisenhower

Everyone wants to feel like what they do matters. And while it may seem self-serving at first, convincing others that they want to do something you want done is good for everyone.

Only a true leader can combine an understanding of the business need, human psychology, and deep care for others in a way that empowers your employees to be the best version of themselves and achieve the goals set before them.

Business Quotes on Perseverance

3. “Success is not final; failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill

Life is not always easy. Winston Churchill would know. Comparing your struggles to his should give you some perspective.

Perseverance is the key to moving forward. If every entrepreneur gave up after their first failure, the world would be a much different place. What defines your life and career is more often how you respond to the struggle than whether or not you reach the mountaintop of success.

One of my entrepreneurial ventures, together with my wife, is real estate investing. There are countless stories of times we could have (and maybe should have) thrown in the towel. Here are a few examples.

We accidentally bought an illegally subdivided duplex and lost a lot of time and money trying to make it legal.

When we found the budget on our very first renovation came in over double what we had thought.

When our first contractor stopped communicating with us, and we found out he had skipped town with a large chunk of our money.

But thankfully, we didn’t let those things stop us. We learned how to invest in real estate with no money when we ran out of cash after our first deal.

We figured out how to do better due diligence before buying properties, and formed relationships with some great contractors for future deals.

Despite our setbacks (or even because of them), we are better real estate investors now.

4. “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” – Colin Powell

Everyone is always looking for the “secret” to success.

As if watching a particular YouTube video or taking a course from that one guru that flaunts his Lamborghini all the time will catapult you to the top.

Many people have spent thousands of dollars and countless years of their lives pursuing speakers, seminars, and other get-rich-quick propaganda to try to find the shortcut to Success.

Ironically, that time and money invested in executing a simple idea would have almost guaranteed a greater yield. The smart business owner knows that there is no better teacher than experience and failure, and hard work is a prerequisite for success.

While there are things you can do to make money fast, most of them are quick wins and will not produce life-altering streams of income or the Success that is promised by gurus.

5. “The critical ingredient is getting off your butt and doing something. It’s as simple as that. A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But today. The true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer.” – Nolan Bushnell

In my own business, I help other people find ways to make extra money through side jobs or starting their own small business. It’s not rocket science, and almost anyone can be successful if they try.

But do you know what separates those that succeed and make money and those that don’t? It’s almost always deciding to do something rather than nothing.

I’ve done my fair share of “planning to plan” and “thinking about doing”, but what actually gets results is getting down to business and doing the work.

6. “The competitor to be feared is one who never bothers about you at all, but goes on making his own business better all the time.” – Henry Ford

That is a warning to pay less attention to what everyone else is doing and focus more on how to make your product or service better.

Do you think Steve Jobs was worried about what Microsoft or IBM was doing when he was disrupting the tech space? Or do you think Elon Musk spends his nights researching what General Motors is up to?

In case you didn’t catch the rhetorical nature of the questions, the answer is a definite no.

While understanding your competition is a good thing up to a point, obsessing about them can blind you to your innovative ideas, and distract you from work needed to make your product stand out.

Business Quotes on Happiness and Priorities

7. “The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything.” – Warren Buffett

If you want to fast track your education and learn from one of the most successful businessmen of all time, I highly recommend you read every single one of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholder newsletters.

He gives real, common-sense advice that most people probably already know, but don’t really live their life as they believe it. Warren Buffet is one of those people that became wildly successful by following his own simple rules.

One example of that is the quote above – simple, but not easy. Especially in the modern era, there are a million things always clamoring for your attention.

But if you want to be successful at one thing, you need to tune out the distractions and say no to almost everything else. Even when those distractions could be worthy causes in and of themselves.

8. “My favorite things in life don’t cost any money. It’s really clear that the most precious resource we all have is time.” – Steve Jobs

While pursuing success, don’t forget to live your life. Money can buy a lot of things, but it can’t buy time.

As a father with two young kids, I realized recently that between all of my entrepreneurial side projects and just the general busyness of life, I was missing out on time I would never get back with them. I had to implement Warren Buffet’s advice from the previous quote and just say “no” to a lot of things in my life.

Only you can decide what you define as success, and how you choose to spend your time. But make sure it’s a deliberate choice, and you don’t float along with the current for 40+ years before realizing you are too far from shore to make it back.

9. “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” – Albert Schweitzer

While I don’t quite subscribe to the notion that “if you love what you do, you’ll never work another day in your life“, I do believe there must be some element of passion in your work ever to achieve real success.

It’s hard to do anything over a 40+ year working career, much less something you don’t enjoy.

Business Quotes on… When to Ignore Business Quotes

10. “I owe my success to having listened respectfully to the very best advice, and then going away and doing the exact opposite.” – G.K. Chesterton

Sometimes the best advice is to just ignore everyone’s advice and do your own thing. When the founder of Spanx, Sara Blakely, asked for feedback on her initial idea, most people were critical of it or said if it were a good idea, someone would have done it already.

It turns out it was a brilliant idea, and she became the youngest self-made female billionaire ever.

There are countless stories of entrepreneurs who ignored everyone’s advice and did something anyway to great Success. Sometimes we humans are skeptical of new ideas, and don’t know what we want until we have it (ahem, iPhone anyone?)

Or maybe you’ll venture off into the great unknown and experience spectacular failure, which is just another learning opportunity in the entrepreneurial process.

The motivation for Business Success

Wherever life and business take you, I hope these quotes instill wisdom and knowledge and inspire you to persevere through trials knowing some of the most successful people alive have struggled as well.

As any entrepreneur would tell you, there is no such thing as an overnight success. But with steady, hard work, you can achieve greatness in almost anything – business or otherwise.

The post The Top 10 Business Quotes to Inspire Success NOW! appeared first on Debt Free Dr..

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Investing - Planning for the Following Bear Sector

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Reading through the Investing Tea Leaves

What are the 'Tea Leaves' telling us, "The sky is slipping?" No, hold out, shake the cup yet again ... "The sky is the limit?" Now that's the remedy we want!

If investing and investing had been that straightforward, we could stop by a Reader for a couple bucks and know accurately what the future holds. Sadly, if you ask a few Visitors what their leaves are expressing, you get three thoroughly diverse qualified views. Consistency is not their robust go well with.

1st of all, I have in no way ahead of produced any community prophecies about the upcoming course of the economic system or the marketplace and do not intend to start off now. Moreover, I'm not a stock market Bear, I'm not a Bull, I don't have any foolish buttons to slap that make all kinds of goofy noises to convey to you to obtain - get - get, and my dart board definitely Is a dart board and not a inventory range unit. I don't think Hen Tiny has at any time been a great prognosticator and I don't feel the world will stop tomorrow. But 25 yrs of market looking at experience tells me there are some issues that personal investors should unquestionably be worried about.

Allow's filter out the generalized and sensationalized sounds about every single existing market tick, up or down. We'll leave that to the Conversing Heads with their Tv set cameras and cup of tea leaves It offers them some thing to do and keeps them from frustrating us. We want to emphasis on the massive photograph, the significant occasions, and how these activities are probable to have an impact on the financial state and in the long run the long run direction of the market place. Hopefully, you can gain some perception as to what might be about to occur and how you can put together.

Let's glance at some of the key elements.

For occasion: Unemployment, Foreclosures, Housing Current market, Home loan Crisis, the Dollar, the EU, and Gold, just to name a couple.

It's not Rocket Science, straightforward prevalent sense states the housing sector will not enhance until foreclosures are no for a longer time an issue and foreclosures will proceed to be an difficulty as long as unemployment is not strengthening. With 25% of homeowners now upside down on their property finance loan (owe a lot more than the residence is well worth) the light-weight at the stop of the tunnel for foreclosures carries on to be hooked up to a big shifting item with a incredibly loud whistle.

As you may well know, the home loan disaster did not just go absent. That means, all of those people junk mortgages that have been packaged and farmed out to the unsuspecting, had been not paid in whole by the pleased house owners, the cash is nonetheless owed There was just a minor adjustment in the technique of accounting so they glimpse far better on paper now. Allow's shift on to one more indicator.

With housing, home loans, and foreclosures as a backdrop, now imagine about the cost of Gold. As you know gold has been on a tear and proceeds to hover all-around $ 1400 for every ounce. You have to request your self, what would induce this? Realizing that offer and demand from customers in the long run sets the likely price tag, the clear elevated need for this precious metallic is probably not due to the fact your dentist has been very chaotic filling cavities or your Jeweler has been setting up for amplified holiday break targeted visitors. So that actually leaves only just one logical conclusion. Worry in excess of the forex, the Environmentally friendly back particularly, and a lot more specifically, its benefit. Fail to remember about the handful of beginner traders that leap in buying gold at the latest selling prices hoping the price tag will double right away and they'll get wealthy quick, if they don't get rid of their cash there, then they'll shed it someplace else. It's their destiny. What we are involved about is the major photograph. And the large image tells us this is not a fantastic indicator for the economic system to say the minimum.

There is an previous indicating, "If you want the fact, then adhere to the income."...

Aside from the currency considerations, concerned gold-snatching buyers, or Mr. Bernanke and his proverbial helicopter distributing green backs to absolutely everyone but you and I, what are the insiders undertaking?

You know, the ones that ought to be 'In the know' and have a cope with on what the financial state is possible to do and what result that will have on the industry, not to point out the have an impact on it will have on their business inventory price tag. I may well add that I do uncover it intriguing that giant firms like Microsoft, Hewlett Packard and other folks have a short while ago made the information by exploring for and selecting prime economists away from areas like Harvard. Why would they develop these sudden desire in economic professors?

Moreover, permit's see what the precise insiders are performing with their stock.

Insiders, of study course, are a company officers, administrators and largest shareholders. The kinds who get a initial-hand glimpse at the orders, sales, projections, and so forth. They are also necessary by regulation to pretty much straight away report to the SEC any time they have purchased or offered shares of their providers' inventory.

Effectively guess what? They have been on a providing frenzy. Offering the shares of their corporations' stock at a history-rate not viewed considering that early 2007. Permit me remind you, that this was just a several quick months before the Good Recession began.

Vickers Weekly Insider Report analyzes the insider details each and every 7 days and calculates a ratio of the range of shares that these knowledgeable executives have marketed that week to the variety that they have purchased. Vickers Weekly says, above the last four decades (40 many years) this ratio has averaged between 2 and 2.5 to 1. Any studying earlier mentioned 2.5-to-1 is an above-common tempo of marketing for the insiders, and need to also be an eye -opener for the trader.

Now maintain in head these insiders were advertising at report speed in early 2007 and hold your breath ahead of reading what this offer-to-purchase ratio was as of week two in December, 2010. 7.07-to-1 . In other words, company insiders on stability are marketing much more than seven shares for just about every a single that they are purchasing. Just to show this is not an anomaly, only two months back the provide-to-invest in ratio was 5.29-to-1, and certainly has increased considering that then.

A further aspect the individual investor ought to preserve in head when considering 'huge image' is Bear Marketplaces. I know, no 1 desires to feel about the marketplace tanking and sucking the average of 29% of the price out of your financial commitment account then obtaining to wait around a couple of a long time to get back again to even. But like it or not, for the earlier 100 years there has been a Bear Market on the typical of every single 3 and a half (3.5) yrs. They appear around just like clockwork, they past an average of 18 months, and then depart traders waiting around one more pair of yrs for the expenditure account equilibrium to return to the black. Require I remind you, the previous Bear Industry started out in 2007? You do the math.

So what really should you do? I'm not suggesting you simply call your broker and sell out, and I unquestionably don't want to audio like Chicken Minimal, it's not my style. But I do believe that you should fork out close interest to the industry indexes, tighten up the stops, prepare for the worst, and hope for the most effective. When I authored the publications 'Charting and Specialized Assessment' and 'Popular Sense Investing', this current sector circumstance is specifically what I required to prepare the person trader for. And additional importantly, how to steer clear of the dredging of portfolio decimation caused by industry declines. One more quite vital issue to remember is your Money Advisor will by no means inform you to offer. Shielding your investment pounds is only your accountability. So, both teach on your own on investing and be educated in earning your have investing choices or retain your really hard-gained dollars protected in the bank. It's your preference.

Resource by Fred McAllen