#Silent Collusion

[slag0000]

明日より6月なので。ヘルシンキから来るOtzir Godotとの共演などなど、いろいろとあり、楽しみです。 で、12日に3年ぶりに再会する予定だったJoseph Mauro、ここのところメールに返事がなく、ツアーの宣伝をしている様子もなかったので、大丈夫なのかと思っていたら、現在、意識不明な状態であることがわかりました。かなり心配な状況なのですが、何しろ本人とコンタクトが取れないので...。彼の回復を祈りつつ、残りのメンバーで予定通りに行います。 ◇2023◇

●6/2(fri) Naoyasu Takahashi electric bass solo @ 江古田 Cafe Flying Teapot 高橋直康(b) https://slag0000.tumblr.com/post/714768484903616512/

●6/7(wed)&8(thu) Otzir Godot FLYING JAM 2days @ 江古田 Cafe Flying Teapot Otzir Godot(dr/from Helsinki) JanMah(g) ノブナガケン(per)  堺原拓人(b.sax) 溝辺隼巳(cb) 高橋直康(eb) 山田邦喜(dr) 文月若(dance) https://slag0000.tumblr.com/post/717621489294327808/

●6/9(fri) Otzir Godot Solo & Ensemble @ 八丁堀 七針 Otzir Godot(dr/from Helsinki) JanMah(g) 高橋直康(b) 文月若(dance) https://slag0000.tumblr.com/post/715500496595599360/

●6/12(mon) Banned in Ekoda @ 江古田 Cafe Flying Teapot Joseph Mauro(Tiwan), 濁朗, YASU EY+斉藤圭祐, 高橋直康 https://slag0000.tumblr.com/post/717085883249082368/ ※Joseph Mauroは、来日不可能な状況に

●6/13(tue) 古川中鉢高橋木村 @ 国分寺 Art×Jazz M’s 古川忠幸(sax) 中鉢洋夫(g) 高橋直康(b) 木村由(dance) https://slag0000.tumblr.com/post/714856504081235968/

●6/24(sat) VARRISPEEDS @ 新宿 NINE SPECES “新宿TERROIR テロワール” w/ TERROTERRO, Evraak, 背前逆族, メルティースマイル, 小仏, 加藤伎乃, 我々, Stardust&Experimentals(砂漠) https://slag0000.tumblr.com/post/715895990512697344/

●6/29(thu) ZOZOZEZE @ 江古田 Cafe Flying Teapot 448(b) 高橋直康(b) 小川新(dr) https://slag0000.tumblr.com/post/714768871287144448/

●6/30(fri) FLYING JAM @ 江古田 Cafe Flying Teapot 深谷正子(dance) 文月若(dance) 高橋直康(b) 山田邦喜(dr) https://slag0000.tumblr.com/post/716739389293756416/

●7/3(mon) Itsuro1×2_6+Topological @ 三軒茶屋 Heaven’s Door Itsuro1×2_6(vo, key) 高橋直康(b) 堀口隆司(dr) w/ TBA…

●7/7(fri) Naoyasu Takahashi electric bass solo @ 江古田 Cafe Flying Teapot 高橋直康(b) https://slag0000.tumblr.com/post/714769192428175360/

●7/8(sat) Silent Collusion @ 江古田 Cafe Flying Teapot 神戸智浩(g) 高橋直康(b) 原口裕司(dr) https://slag0000.tumblr.com/post/709476633648726016/

●7/9(sun) Silent Collusion @ 武蔵境 810 OUTFIT café 神戸智浩(g) 高橋直康(b) 原口裕司(dr) https://slag0000.tumblr.com/post/717930948158799872/

●7/15(sat) VARRISEEPDS @ 名古屋 valentinedrive TBA…

●7/21(fri) FLYING JAM @ 江古田 Cafe Flying Teapot 森順治(reeds) 高橋直康(b) 山田邦喜(dr) https://slag0000.tumblr.com/post/718209393326505984/

●7/23(sun) 万物有情 @ 江古田 Cafe Flying Teapot 橋本英樹(tp) 高橋直康(b) 島田透(dr)

●8/2(wed) TEN JAM @ 阿佐ヶ谷 天 YASU EY(voice) naco(electronics) 高橋直康(b) 山田邦喜(dr) w/ TBA…

●8/5(sat) electric bass solo with liquid light @ 江古田 Cafe Flying Teapot 高橋直康(b) 浅井永久+堀口隆司(liquid light) https://slag0000.tumblr.com/post/718180711160561664/

●8/12(sat) FLYING JAM @ 江古田 Cafe Flying Teapot 坂出雅美(b/ヒカシュー) 高橋直康(b) 山田邦喜(dr) https://slag0000.tumblr.com/post/717931636976762880/

●9/9(sat) FLYING JAM @ 江古田 Cafe Flying Teapot YASU EY(voice) naco(electronics) 高橋直康(b) 山田邦喜(dr) https://slag0000.tumblr.com/post/718581623504977920/

[germiyahu]

I also don't like the assertion that Jews are trying to conflate "criticism of Israel with antisemitism/the Israeli state with Jewishness as a whole" because you... YOU... did that first and you do it more easily than you breathe.

You interrogate every complaint of antisemitism, just to make sure it's not actually whining about someone being mean to Israel. You investigate the person's social media history to make sure they're not a Zionist. You turn around and act so enlightened and wise when you say "Right because Netanyahu wants Jewish people to think criticism of Israel is antisemitic, and he wants Jewish people to think that they have to have ties to Israel and that Israel is the only place they'll feel safe, that plays right into his hands," like you're doing this for Jewish people's benefit. Like you're not one of the people making Jews feel unsafe.

The fact of the matter is that Israel is intrinsically Jewish. By design yes. But also for the fact that it's just logically true? Most Israelis are Jewish. Most Diaspora Jews have friends and family in Israel. It's not a function of flags or national anthems. It's a function of people. Saying "Well conflating Israel with the idea of Jewishness is antisemitic," changes nothing about that. It's words with no value. It's empty air. Because what have you done to advocate for Diaspora Jewry and make them feel like they're not subordinate to Israel? What have you done to assure them that your disdain for a country that most of them have personal familial and cultural ties to is not motivated by bigotry? What have you done to include them and center their safety when advocating against Israel's policies?

Yes, the more people are antisemitic and weird about Israel to Diaspora Jews' faces, the more of them will gravitate closer to Israel. But that's not the point. The point is that if your criticisms of Israel were normal, we wouldn't have a problem. 99% of Diaspora Jews would join you. But you tell them they're not allowed to defend Israel in any context and they're not allowed to defend themselves when your "criticism" of Israel harms them. You don't want to admit that these can overlap. You just want them to silently add a rubber stamp of approval of whatever you say or they can leave.

It's clear you don't see Jews as a marginalized group. This is not how Leftists treat marginalized groups. This is how they treat the oppressor group, the dominant group. Diaspora Jews are at best an ally to Palestinian liberation. Because you don't see them as different from Israelis, you see them as the group that benefits from the oppression of Palestinians, not as a group that has nothing to do with Palestine and is historically and contemporarily marginalized by Western society, the society you live in.

And yet for all you conflate Diaspora and Israeli Jews you clearly want to keep Israel and the Diaspora divided, isolated from each other. They can't show solidarity with one another because that's (((ZIONIST COLLUSION))) and confirmation of a media controlled conspiracy or something. You want Diaspora Jews under your thumb and you want Israeli Jews dead. You're not as subtle as you think you are.

[moonsaver]

You find silence to be quite fearsome, as of late.

There are many occasions Dr. Ratio comes back home in a bad mood, irritable to no end. Always passing snide remarks, commenting on the "gap" between yours and his intelligence, subtly jabbing and snipping away at your self-esteem until it's enough to pamper his own ego.

Half the times, you can only sulk away. You unfortunately had the experience of finding out it is extremely hard to argue with someone who manages to twist and make passages out of meager comments, driving you into a corner, and ultimately delivering the final blow to your ego.

The other half times, his words eventually end up getting to you, no matter how hard you try. Throat constricting painfully to hold in sobs, eyes watery with anger and vulnerability, voice shaking from the pain of his comments jabbing straight into your already bruised heart.

Sometimes, you wonder if he finds it enticing. He argues endlessly with you, droning on about how he's not entertaining this with an idiot like yourself, but still persisting and breaking down each and any arguments you have.

Until you finally break into sobs.

He huffs, almost groans, after silently watching you sob for a minute. He walks over to the bathroom, and prepares a bath. After a few minutes of tinkering sounds from the bathroom, a collusion of sloshing and the dripping on water on the tiled floor, he peeks out. He drapes his eager hand around your waist, guiding your face into whichever body part you decide to fit it in, and comforts you in a rough, coarse manner. Alright, fine, why don't you just join him for a bath? Let him take care of you just as always. You're pathetic, and he supposes he's even less than that, caring for someone as weak as you.. though he won't even deny you're quite possibly his only and favorite weakness.

Those meaningless thoughts only warp and distort and swirl endlessly in your mind, as both of you share silence in the bathtub, his arm always around your waist, snugly holding you well in place. It's almost obvious, the way his hand traces the curves of your body, occasionally tracing the outline of your collarbone, the coarseness of his hand poorly hidden by the hot water and faux gentleness, burying himself into his book, as if his skin doesn't practically crave to intertwine into yours.

And that's how things usually end. Quiet nights where he gives you commands, positions you however he pleases and massages whatever products and body oils he fancied for himself, hoping you don't notice just how needy he is, as he presses a chaste kiss to your jaw, and huffing. He goes to sleep shortly after.

Sometimes, however, it's worse.

Veritas comes home quiet.

He doesn't speak. He doesn't announce his presence with a huff or a groan or a complaint. He steps in quietly, dropping whatever things he carried near the doorstep, as he stares at you from the unlit hallway. His eyes are piercingly quiet, almost tearing through the tense silence as they drink in your silhouette, anxiously waiting for a word from him.

At night, you hear noises from the other room – one which you are completely denied access to, tightly locked to the point it doesn't budge a milimeter.

Clacking, constant clacking sounds, tinkering, tinkering, and a few coughs. A few rare moments of soundly running water, then followed by abrupt silence as the process continues. He returns to bed quietly after a few hours, even deciding to skip his shared bathtime with you, choosing to simmer alone with his own thoughts.

Of course, it still takes a while to clean the absolute ludicrous amounts of dust that emanates from the room, even if it's just a bit that leaks from the bottom slit.

He won't tell you – or rather he doesn't feel the need to. You are his muse; he had told you once already. It's your fault if you didn't pay attention. Fortunately for you.. it's not a lesson you need to remember. At least for now. His fingertips gently run along the clay face, outlining the details of your face he has felt with his own fingers, closing his eyes as he imagines it as you. A muse. A subject. A desire. Whatever it is, he plans to embed it into clay. This time.. he was working on a larger piece, the clay imitating the curve of your waist as he had felt it thousands of times before in the bathtub, the crook of your neck, the eyelashes of your pretty, pathetic, teary eyes..

Perhaps.. You'd remember what he said. Someday. For now, it's his past time, whenever he needs to blow off steam.

He returns to his usual demeanor in the morning.

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

IOTA Reviews: Conformation and Re-Creation (The Final Day)

Well, here we are. The final two episodes of Season 5. It's been a long and complicated journey, so let me get you up to speed on what exactly happened this season, episode by episode.

Evolution: Ladybug and Cat Noir chase Monarch through time, and it's not nearly as cool as it sounds.

Multiplication: Adrien likes Marinette now because the plot says so.

Destruction: Cat Noir accidentally Cataclysms Monarch, and it somehow leads to the most guilt he feels using his Cataclysm on anyone.

Jubilation: Ever want to have the image of Ladybug and Cat Noir being teen parents burned into your brain? No? Too bad!

Illusion: Nino establishes himself as a leader so terrible, Zapp Brannigan would call him an idiot.

Determination: Marinette likes Cat Noir now because the plot says so.

Passion: Nathalie shows she'd rather silently judge Gabriel for his actions over actually doing anything to stop him.

Reunion: Marinette talks with the spirit of Joan of Arc, and it's not nearly as cool as it sounds.

Elation: Someone tries to murder Marinette over ice cream for the third time in four seasons.

Transmission: Yeah, I totally believe you're replacing Marinette and Adrien with two new main characters in the middle of your fifth season.

Deflagration: Because of Tikki and Plagg's terrible decisions, Monarch comes the closest he's ever come to winning.

Perfection: Kagami becomes a giant cloud Akuma, symbolizing her also becoming a total airhead for the rest of the season.

Migration: The writers realize they have no idea what to do with Luka, so they kick him out of the show entirely.

Derision: “How many things do you want to retcon to make this story work?” “Yes.”

Intuition: Gabriel continues to prove how pathetic of a villain he is, even when he has unlimited chances.

Protection: Even after being tricked three times by her, Kagami still thinks Lila is a trustworthy person.

Adoration: “We have Lumity at home”.

Emotion: The episode where Felix essentially commits genocide is somehow also the one where the writers want the audience to start viewing him in a sympathetic light.

Pretension: Felix likes Kagami because the plot says so, and vice versa.

Revelation: Lila only gets as far as she does thanks to Marinette becoming as dumb as the rest of the class.

Confrontation: Our heroes expose the villain's evil plans by spying on them through a bathroom peephole.

Collusion: Remember kids, violent revolutions against politicians are never the answer.

Revolution: Remember kids, violent revolutions against politicians are always the answer.

Representation: To the surprise of literally no one, Felix is revealed to be a Sentimonster, yet the writers still won't tell us that Adrien and Kagami are the same.

Now that you're all caught up, let's get into the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth episode of Miraculous Ladybug's fifth season: Conformation and Re-Creation

After a brief news report showing everyone enjoying the first day of Summer vacation, Gabriel and Tomoe finally decide to launch “Perfect Alliance”. What does this plan entail? For starters, Gabriel transforms into Monarch, detransforms to akumatize himself into Nightormentor again, gives himself the powers of the Mouse, Rooster and Horse Miraculous in order to clone himself and fly around the globe to spread his nightmare dust. Because just akumatizing Sandboy again and giving him the Mouse Miraculous' Multitude was just too complex of a plan.

Marinette is the first to be affected by the dust, we get a dream where she dresses up as a knight to save Adrien from a cheap recolor of Fang in his dragon form.

This is a weird episode of Super Why.

Marinette defeats the dragon, who reverts back to Gabriel, who is accidentally killed by the fight, causing Adrien to cry since Adrien was watching the whole thing. Marinette wakes up, thankful that it was all just a bad dream sequence. She decides she needs to find out just where Gabriel sent Adrien to make sure he's safe, something that won't make sense as I'll explain later on. As she tries to leave, she keeps experiencing sudden headaches, as do her parents and Alya.

Meanwhile, Adrien is still left reeling from the effects of the nightmare dust from last episode, to the point where he has a panic attack, demanding to be let out. Gabriel, seemingly aware of this, decides to give Adrien the “antidote”, an Alliance ring with an app called “Perfect Alliance”. So once again, despite claiming to do this for his son, Gabriel willingly chose to make his life worse as part of his evil plans. Remember this, it'll be important later on.

Plagg suggests Adrien transform into Cat Noir, but Adrien reminds him that there are cameras everywhere, so he can't risk it. Plagg disables the cameras, but Adrien still says no. Whether he was aware that the robot who was sent to give him the Alliance ring with the new app had a hidden camera is irrevelant, because Adrien gives a different reason why he can't transform.

Adrien: I'm not in my right mind. I'm too angry; at myself for falling short of Marinette's love, at my father for sending me here in London, at this stupid app and these rings that use my image... it makes me sick! This nightmare is giving me the horrible feeling that, if I transform, I'll get akumatized and destroy everything with my Cataclysm. Marinette, Ladybug...

Plagg: Surely Ladybug can help you.

Adrien: If I ask her for help, I'd have to give her information that would jeopardize my secret identity... and I can't.

Okay, let me make one thing clear. The reason that Adrien can't risk exposing his identity thanks to all the cameras is a good one, and the fact that he doesn't want to risk exposing his identity to Ladybug in particular is a good sign of character development, but the problem I have is the fact that the writers decided to bench Adrien in the first place.

Yes, you heard that right. In arguably the most boneheaded decision in the show's history since... well, a lot of things this season, Adrien, despite being the son of the main villain, isn't going to get involved in the final battle at all.

There are multiple reasons why Adrien staying put in this room is a terrible idea, and most of them involve the fact that almost none of the in-universe explanations for this hold up.

Adrien is being heavily monitored by cameras? We just saw Plagg was able to disable them with ease.

Adrien can't ask Ladybug for help without jeopardizing his secret identity? The fact that he's at risk of being akumatized as is, with or without the Cat Miraculous, will still blow his cover due to Monarch's mind reading abilities (which we saw when Monarch almost learned Luka's secret in “Migration”), so he really has nothing to lose here.

Adrien isn't in the right state of mind thanks to the nightmare dust? Literally every other character who takes part in the final battle is able to either find a way to fight off the nightmares or keeps going while still under the influence of the nightmare dust.

Adrien's ultimate plan to take off his Miraculous and let Plagg choose a new temporary holder? We saw this exact same scenario play out earlier this season in “The Kwamis' Choice”, and things went horribly, horribly wrong.

Do you see why this makes no sense? Even though the show loves to boast about how valuable of an asset Cat Noir is, the writers are bending over backwards to justify keeping Adrien as far away from the final battle as possible, because they know damn well that they'd have to address how terrible his father really is with the reveal.

And the best part? This is basically the last we'll see of Adrien in this episode. Do you want to know how many lines he gets in the next episode, AKA, the final episode of the season? Three. AND THEY'RE ALL AFTER THE FINAL BATTLE.

But we're not done talking about this stupid idea yet, because unlike the other episodes, I have something else to rant about: The writers' commentary. In November of 2023, around four months after the finale premiered, the writers of this show recorded their own audio commentary, and while I don't have the exact translation (if anyone reading this has a translation of this, I would really appreciate the effort), I have seen one post summarizing the things they said, and all I can say is DEAR. LORD. This is not just shooting yourself in the foot. This is shooting yourself in the foot multiple times with Judas Bullets.

Like, it's amazing. We've always speculated just what goes through the writers' heads that makes them come up with some of the strangest ideas to take the story, and now, we have a first-hand account of why these episodes turned out the way they did. For this one moment, they gave about three explanations as to why Adrien was benched for the finale.

Let's start with the first one, Cat Blanc. I know what you're thinking, wasn't Cat Blanc an Akuma from an alternate timeline that our Adrien shouldn't know about? Not according to Melenie Duval. While Adrien's fear of being akumatized is reasonable, Duval claims that he could become Cat Blanc... which makes no sense as A) Adrien's nightmare was of an entirely different Akuma, and B) The aforementioned nightmare dust never informed Adrien of the alternate timeline where Cat Blanc destroyed the world, it just provided him with a nightmare about a similar scenario.

And in case you weren't questioning this woman's judgment, Duval has done on the record to state that her favorite episode of the entire show is “Derision”.

Our next reasoning is especially stupid, as the rest of the writing team reveal that they had planned to keep Adrien out of the final battle as far back as 2014, nine years before the finished product premiered. Why would they do that? Because they wanted Ladybug to unify with the Cat Miraculous, of course! Sure, you could have just saved this unification for a special or something like that so you don't bench one of your main characters, or you could have at least had Adrien willingly give his Miraculous to Ladybug to unify with in person, but nope. This is seriously one of their defenses— I mean, explanations, for why Adrien isn't allowed to be in the final battle, because they thought it would be more important to give Marinette her 10th new form in three seasons than letting Adrien get some form of closure with his father.

And here's the final reason they gave in the commentary. Remember that dream sequence of Marinette dressed as a knight that was also sort of foreshadowed in “Gabriel Agreste”? Turns out, the writers wanted to, and stop me if you've heard this before, play with the tropes and symbolism of fairy tales. Wow, I've never seen any kind of pop culture do that before... except for Into the Woods, The Princess Bride, Hook, Shrek, Princess Tutu, Ella Enchanted, Hoodwinked!, Enchanted, Tangled, Once Upon a Time, Frozen, RWBY, Ever After High, Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarves, Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, and Nimona. But other than those, that's so original!

Even though the writers are acting like they're breaking new ground, do you want to know what they mean by this? They're just doing another damsel in distress situation but this time, Adrien, the boy, is the one who needs to be saved by Marinette, who is, GASP, a girl?! WOW! That totally changes everything!

Okay, yes, the damsel in distress trope has usually been seen as a misogynistic one due to the fact that the people who needed to be saved are usually women, but like I mentioned way back in my “Gabriel Agreste” review, just swapping the genders isn't enough to breathe new life into a trope as old as this one. It's arguably worse because Adrien isn't just someone who needs to be saved. He's a superhero, and like I mentioned, there were plenty of options to get him out of his room in London.

And I'm guessing that some of you are thinking, “But IOTA! You just want Adrien to save the day by himself because he's a guy!” Just remember that I had this exact same problem last season where the roles were reversed. Remember how I hated the way Marinette's arc about dealing with the stress of being Guardian was hijacked by Adrien complaining about Ladybug not trusting him? This time, we have an arc about Adrien trying to break free from his father's influence that's been hijacked by Marinette needing to save Adrien by herself, robbing him of any agency he had to the plot entirely. This issue isn't about gender. It's never been about gender. I would have the exact same problem if Adrien was the one who confronted Monarch by himself while Marinette was trapped in her room.

This leads to the biggest problem I have with this plot development: It ultimately goes against the core theme of teamwork the show keeps trying to convey. Remember how last season, Marinette needed to learn to let other people trust her? Now, she's going to beat up Monarch all by herself without any help. Remember how last season, Adrien needed to prove he didn't deserve to be left in the dark about everything? Now, he's going to stay all the way in London while his partner gets in the fight of her life. It's detrimental to both of them as characters, and makes everything that happened to them in Season 4 completely pointless.

Okay, now that I've spent five pages ranting about this insane decision, let's get back on track, shall we? As the Perfect Alliance app helps Adrien and Kagami calm down, Marinette sneaks into the Agreste mansion as Ladybug. Meanwhile, Nathalie has her own nightmare about Gabriel winning, AKA, the very thing she could have stopped a long time ago by ratting her evil boss out to Ladybug and Cat Noir.

We then learn just what the Perfect Alliance app really does. Basically, thanks to the technobabble, it helps alleviate the stress from their nightmares. Or, to put it in Layman's terms, Gabriel and Tomoe plan to get the entire population of Earth addicted to cyber crack. We see this affect several of Marinette's classmates, but because Mylene has a sudden disdain for technology that “Was made without respect for the Earth's resources”, she's the only one who sees the problem here. I'd ask why this wasn't established earlier this season, but it doesn't matter, since Mylene gives in anyway,

Because it's a day that ends with a “Y”, Gabriel goes to talk to Emilie's body yet again, and it seems like even the writers realized how tired this got, as Nathalie finally decided to ambush him with a crossbow.

Miss Sancoeur, I served with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I knew Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Buffy the Vamprie Slayer was a friend of mine. Miss Sancoeur, you're no Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Yes, it only took five seasons worth of evil plans for Nathalie to realize just how demented her boss really is.

Nathalie: I can't let you do that... if you make the wish to bring her back, someone will have to go in her place. Emilie would never have agreed to this!

Gabriel: Do you think I'd be monstrous enough to sacrifice a human being?

Uh... yes? That is literally what equivalent exchange means. You really don't know how the wish works after researching it?

Shockingly, the frail woman armed with nothing but a crossbow isn't able to stop someone with superpowers. There isn't even a fight. Monarch just knocks the crossbow out of her hands and she faints. Maybe you should have actually come up with some sort of plan before confronting Gabriel by yourself, dumbass.

Back to Ladybug, she searches through Gabriel's stuff and finally learns he's Monarch... even though she should already know thanks to Felix and Kagami's play last episode. She even looks pretty shocked to see Monarch detransform.

Back to the commentary, the writers justify this with their absurd “Every episode can be watched on its own” rule. Because simply having Marinette say she already knows was out of the equation, I guess. Seriously, earlier in the episode, Tikki (who, along with Plagg, wasn't affected by the nightmare dust for some reason) had doubts that Marinette should break into the Agreste mansion, and it came across like neither of them knew the truth, and this was a reckless decision that wasn't motivated by Gabriel being Monarch at all. Once again, the writers fail to understand the idea of using “Previously On...” segments to help new viewers catch up on what's happening. It's even more confusing when you remember that Tikki knows Adrien is Cat Noir, so his father being Monarch coupled with his sudden absence should be setting off all kinds of red flags in her book.

Ladybug tries to text Cat Noir about who Monarch really is, but chooses not to send it after Gabriel pushes a few of her buttons. Rather than jumping Gabriel while she still has the element of surprise, she only chooses to grill Nathalie for questions once Gabriel is out of the room. And of course, only when she's on death's door does Nathalie tell Ladybug to stop Monarch, but not before telling her to transform back.

We see Gabriel and Tomoe put their plan into action. They create a fake scene of Ladybug and Cat Noir kidnapping Adrien and Kagami in order to rile up the public (who aren't in the best state of mind thanks to the nightmares) in order to for them to use the Alliance rings to transform them into the “Miraculized”. In other words, it's basically “Heroes' Day” all over again. Seriously, think about it. Just like “Heroes' Day”, it looks like Adrien is being harmed by Ladybug in an attempt to push the population to the brink of despair so Gabriel can create an army in the process. Yeah, the public doesn't know the two are the same, but the audience does. Granted, this is a minor nitpick compared to the rest of my problems with this episode, but I hope you can see what I'm getting at here.

Case in point, the reason Nathalie told Ladybug to detransform was because Gabriel has found a way to track her and Cat Noir through their “quantum signatures”. With Cat Noir, it was thanks to the dust from Gabriel's Cataclysm wound, and with Ladybug, it was thanks to the Magical Charm she gave Gabriel earlier in “Gabriel Agreste”... which he shouldn't have since it was destroyed in “Dearest Family”.

Seriously, this is the season finale. How the hell are the writers still struggling to remember important events like this?

Now's as good a time as any to talk about the Miraculized's design. Yeah, they're pretty lame. They all look like they're wearing fencing gear, and don't look intimidating in the slightest. They also now have the ability to use every Miraculous power at once, which breaks the previously established rules about the Alliance rings in that only one ring can handle each Miraculous power. You could at least argue that the robots used in “Confrontation” had more advanced technology that made them capable of using multiple powers, but nothing has changed about the Alliance rings to justify this. And remember, this is something every Miraculized in the world can use, yet the system hasn't been completely fried, and as we'll later see Monarch can still freely use the other Kwamis' power even when they're being shared with the Miraculized across the world. In fact, how can the Miraculized even transform like this? Monarch doesn't akumatize anyone to spread this transformation. Gabriel just tells to say “Alliance, Miraculize Me!”, and now they can transform. Was this always a function of the Alliance rings? Is there a tiny Akuma hidden in each ring? How the hell does any this work?

Ladybug fights off some of the Miraculized who used Voyage to find her, and remembers Nathalie's advice to detransform. So just like in “Passion”, even though she's still wearing her Miraculous, the system specifically designed to track her down isn't able to find her unless she's still transformed. Marinette runs away to a safe place before running into Plagg, who tells her Cat Noir is out of commission. With no other options, Marinette decides to unify with the Ladybug and Cat Miraculous, turning into Bug Noire, revealing her identity to Monarch in the process, and ending the episode.

Bug Noire's design is admittedly pretty nice. I like the balance of red, black, and green, though the hair is a little too long for my taste. Granted, I still don't get why this is the reason why Adrien can't be here to fight Monarch alongside his partner. I'm just saying, was it really worth it, writers?

THE BIGGEST IDIOT OF THE EPISODE IS... NATHALIE

Yep, right before the finish line, Nathalie gets her second award this season. After spending several episodes doing nothing but letting herself rot away, Nathalie only chose to finally do something about Gabriel once he was literally about to enact his final plan, thought she could stop him with nothing but a crossbow, and only begged Ladybug for help when it looked like she was about to die and had nothing left to lose.

“Re-Creation”, the final episode of the season, starts off with Lila watching some broadcasts of people succumbing to their paranoia (and she does it while smirking because the writers still don't think we understand she's evil) and transforming into Miraculized while she puts on a new disguise that makes her look like an evil Edna Mode.

How come Lila isn't even affected by the nightmare dust like the rest of the human population? As always, never explained!

Back in the Agreste mansion, Bug Noire and Monarch are duking it out, and we get some pretty creative uses of Lucky Charm, like when she summons a piano to crash down on Monarch. Meanwhile, after Marinette's friends manage to get the Alliance ring off a Miraculized Ivan, we get to see how the rest of the world is dealing with the Miraculized. In Shanghai, the Renlings help Fei through her nightmares, Su-Han has recruited Jagged Stone, Luka, Penny and Fang to the Order of the Guardians instead of actually getting backup like he said he would in “Multiplication”, Present Bunnix finally decides to do something and uses Burrow to sent the Guardians to Paris, while the United Heroez fight off the Miraculized and learn the true nature of the Alliance rings. Just remember, it was too much for the writers to let Adrien get involved in the final battle, yet all these side characters get to do something in the finale for some reason.

Meanwhile, as if things couldn't get any worse, Nino decides the Resistance needs to get involved after reassuring Mr. Damocles that they never give up. Believe me, not much would change if you guys just threw in the towel, especially now that the United Heroez are here, and have Eagle, a member whose powers work as an instant cure for everyone's nightmares. Hey, while we're on the subject, does anyone know where the United Heroez were this entire season? I can excuse Fei as she's just one teenager in Shanghai, but the Americans have a small army of heroes, including the president, yet they just let two violent coups in France happen last week.

As Bug Noire and Monarch keep fighting, Bug Noire comes up with the brilliant idea to Cataclysm the Butterfly Miraculous, only being foiled by Monarch already having Resistance active. Okay, is a side effect of using the Cat Miraculous this season a taste for blood? Why the hell are the heroes so okay with trying to use Cataclysm on their enemies now? Bug Noire then decides to use her Cataclysm for something far more reasonable, breaking the ground beneath her and Monarch. Because I guess Bug Noire is really gunning for Biggest Idiot this episode.

Back with the Resistance, they meet up with the Guardians, United Heroez, and Ladydragon, who have actually been getting shit done. Wow, it's just like that scene from that one movie where all the characters we've come to know over the years rally together for the final battle! What was it called again? Oh yeah, Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over.

While the other heroes are overwhelmed by the Miraculized, we cut back to Bug Noire and Monarch yet again, now inside the area where Emilie's body is. The two keep fighting as Monarch tells Bug Noire why he's doing all this, all while Lila breaks into the mansion.

Monarch: I want my wife, Adrien's mother, to come back to us! Once our family is reunited, Kagami and Adrien will become the eternal icons of this world! And we will be here to witness their absolute triumph!

Bug Noire: “Your wife”? “Come back”? “Kagami and Adrien, eternal icons”? How many lives are you going to ruin in the name of your crazy dreams?!

Monarch: As many as it takes! In order to bring Emilie back, someone else will have to disappear! In order to heal the wound that Cat Noir inflicted on me, someone else will have to be wounded!

Bug Noire: Someone else? But who?

Monarch: Anyone! No one matters except us! How about you, Marinette? Wouldn't you give your life for your sweet Adrien's happiness?

Bug Noire: Do you really think that's what he'd want? To discover that his father has turned into a supervillain, willing to make innocent people pay the price of his madness?

Monarch: Adrien would do the same thing!

Bug Noire: Never! Unlike you, Adrien has made his peace with it. He's not living in the past! He has a whole life ahead of him!

Bug Noire: You'd know this if you ever took an interest in him. But in reality, Adrien means NOTHING to you anymore! You've locked him in your house! Locked him in your Alliance rings!

Bug Noire: Locked him into a life that allows you to hide behind him in order to justify YOUR madness!

Monarch: All I want is for him to be happy!

Remember all of this, because it's going to be important soon.

Bug Noire uses her Lucky Charm, and gets a tube of glue. She uses some of it on this random boomerang she found (I'm assuming it's the remains of Nathalie's crossbow), sticks it to her yo-yo, and then throws it at Emilie's coffin. Monarch reflexively grabs the sticky boomerang, and loses all of the rings on his right hand just as Bug Noire uses Cataclysm on the elevator to get to this area of the mansion, with the intent on CRUSHING EMILIE WITH IT. Our hero, ladies and gentlemen! Monarch saves his wife, but because he's distracted, he can't stop Bug Noire from throwing her staff at the Butterfly Miraculous, knocking it off and reverting Monarch back to Gabriel. Bug Noire ties up Gabriel's feet, and when Gabriel tries to sucker punch her with Venom, Bug Noire grabs the hand, threatening to Cataclysm the remaining Alliance rings and the two rings she should damn well know contain Adrien's Amok. Either she's bluffing, or we accidentally got the Paris Special universe's version of these events.

Bug Noire tries to reason with Gabriel, who then breaks down crying, showing how deep down, he just really cares about his family. And even though just six episodes ago, Marinette said that it was very easy for idealistic people to be taken advantage of by others, she buys into Gabriel's last-minute sob story, and wouldn't you know it, he stabs her in the back. Congratulations, Marinette. You just doomed the universe. Even when the Dino Charge Rangers accidentally got everyone on their planet killed, they were at least able to fix it themselves.

It's time to go back to the commentary, where we can learn the writers' true intent for this scene. They honestly believe that both Marinette and Gabriel care for Adrien in their own ways, and the whole reason that Marinette chose to trust Gabriel was to teach the lesson that it's important to talk out your feelings with others... a lesson that fails because 1) Marinette had already beaten Gabriel through violence, 2) Marinette trusting Gabriel backfired horribly, and 3) Gabriel won because he took advantage of Marinette's trust! You can't teach a lesson about trust when for all intents and purposes, Marinette once again lost BECAUSE SHE CHOSE TO TRUST SOMEONE!

Even though he had to unify with Tikki and Plagg to try making the wish in “Deflagration” (I really shouldn't have used the “Great Continuity!” clip earlier), we get yet another retcon this season: Tikki and Plagg have to reveal their true forms. Yeah, I know Tikki's true form was briefly seen in “Dearest Family”, but that doesn't change the fact that Monarch didn't do this when he had the Ladybug and Cat Miraculous in “Deflagration”.

Tikki and Plagg's true forms just look okay. I like the otherworldly theme, but they don't really stand out much. They honestly look more like forms Ladybug and Cat Noir would have than anything else.

It's here that we get the culmination of five seasons' worth of lore. After a brief glimpse of it in “Ephemeral”, Tikki and Plagg, the Kwamis of Creation and Destruction will merge their energies to form their true true form, the Kwami of Reality itself, able to grand any wish asked. This majestic, otherworldly being's name? Gimmi. Just... Gimmi. The commentary claims they're named after an ABBA song, and I wish I was making this up.

Like with Tikki and Plagg's true forms, Gimmi has an okay design. They're just a little too pink for something meant to be a fusion of the red Tikki and the black Plagg.

As Marinette begs Gabriel not to go through with this, Gabriel doesn't think twice about it, and instead, gives Marinette the rings containing Adrien's Amok, along with a request, fully aware that his time is almost up.

Gabriel: Marinette, make sure that Adrien never knows about the villain that I was, but instead, that he remembers the times I tried to be a good father.

Alright, we've finally gotten to the most controversial part of the episode: Gabriel's “redemption”, and I put that term extremely loosely.

Put aside the fact that almost a third of this season was spent telling the audience that a certain character who shall not be named is beyond saving despite working alongside him multiple times for the past two seasons, Gabriel's last-minute redemption falls flat because he doesn't even seem to feel remorse for what he's done. Not once does he actually say he's sorry for what he's done, just how Emilie's death affected him. That's understandable, but he doesn't even seem to acknowledge the weight of his actions or how many lives have been endangered. Remember earlier, when Monarch said he was perfectly okay with sacrificing someone else if it means his family can be happy? Yeah, that never comes back, especially now that him making the wish is portrayed as a good thing when every time it's been discussed ever since it was first explained in “Robostus” just how dangerous actually using it is.

In fact, let's discuss the fact that Gabriel is getting to make the wish in the first place. The whole idea of this basically contradicts Gabriel supposedly realizing he's gone too far. Rather than just having Gabriel give up his quest and let Emilie rest in peace, we're supposed to be happy that Gabriel double-crossed Marinette even when the music is making it seem like it's a bad thing... WHICH IT IS! Once again, for a show that loves to go on and on about how powerful love is, it really loves to show people getting screwed over whenever they decide to show compassion to their enemies. Imagine if in Return of the Jedi, when Luke chose to not give into the Dark Side by sparing Vader, Vader took the chance to kick him in the crotch while he was distracted. That's basically what happened here.

Next, notice how Gabriel specifically asks Marinette to make sure Adrien never learns the truth about who he was, and “Remembers the times he tried to be a good father”. After everything he's done, Gabriel isn't even willing to let Adrien learn about what he's done, because he wants him to focus exclusively on the times he TRIED to be a good father. This isn't the matter of Gabriel missing Adrien's fencing tournament because he had an important business meeting. Gabriel was a literal supervillain who preyed on innocent people in order to obtain absolute power, and he wasn't even a good father to his only kid. He was neglectful, controlling, and in the last few months of his life, spent more time trying to ruin his relationship with his girlfriend for no reason other than because he thought his associate's kid was a better match for him. He was a terrible father, and Gabriel even seems to be aware of this, but rather than find a way to repent for everything he's done, Gabriel is basically going to take the coward's way out by forcing Marinette to sugarcoat his life instead of admitting he was, at the very least, a flawed parent, all so Adrien will feel bad when he finally drops dead.

And yeah, let's talk about how Gabriel assumes that Adrien shouldn't be allowed to know the truth... WHEN THAT'S NOT HIS DECISION TO MAKE. Adrien should be the one to judge whether he believes Gabriel was a good father or not. Of course Gabriel would assume he was a good father despite the numerous red flags, but Adrien is another story. By keeping the truth hidden from Adrien, you're depriving him of a potentially important moment in his life where he finally learns to break free from his father's influence. Instead, even though he's a fucking superhero, we're just supposed to accept the fact that Adrien is just a poor, fragile, sensitive baby boy who can't handle hearing any bad news or else I guess he'll explode. It says a lot when, of all movies, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier did a better job handling an idea like this, by saying that pain is a natural part of life.

But let's talk about the biggest problem with this turn of events: The fact that it essentially vindicates everything Gabriel has done, with or without the mask, as well as essentially convey a pro-child abuse message. In case you weren't around before I posted this review, I asked my followers who have been victims of child abuse or poor parenting to share their experiences so I could get an idea of how similar they were to what Adrien has had to go through. And a lot of them were pretty similar.

During almost all of what I read from these people, their parents or guardians shared one thing in common: An inability to admit being wrong. All of them tended to either blame their kids for whatever happened to them, or find ways to justify their poor treatment. As far as they're concerned, it's the kid's fault that they're being treated so poorly. And while I'm sure a handful of people isn't enough to survey the entire population of abuse victims on this planet, the fact that some of these people, as in actual victims of child abuse, were able to see similarities with their own upbringings and the way the main villain treats his son and don't buy the show deciding to act like all of that was perfectly okay says a lot about how much this finale dropped the ball when it came to the lesson it wanted to teach.

Yes, from what I've read from my followers and other things online, some abusive parents do believe that what they're doing to their children is out of a warped view of love, but that isn't enough to validate their actions completely, and it obviously doesn't validate Gabriel's actions during the last five seasons. During the entire run of the show, Gabriel has denied his son a normal life, treats him like an object, and despite claiming that he really loves him deep down, he almost never shows it. It seemed like the show was either going to have Gabriel realize the error of his ways due to how fruitless they ended up being, but having him get the upper hand on Marinette at the very last second ultimately makes it so all of his effort, every evil plan, every civilian endangered, was all worth it. And that's why Gabriel's final moments supposedly acting like he's repented for his actions don't work, and why it turned what was initially just a boring finale into one that was beyond infuriating.

And I'm assuming that you're thinking to yourself, what exactly is the wish Gabriel was so desperate to make that he tricked Marinette at the last second?

We never really learn what kind of wish Gabriel makes using Gimmi, even in the epilogue. I'm also going to talk about this in a later post, but of course Astruc, being Astruc had to give his usual sarcastic remarks to anyone who had the slightest question about what the hell just happened.

I love how someone will ask something like “Do you mind clearing up a few questions I have about the season finale?”, and Astruc will hear what they said as if they just asked, “Is Mylene secretly the reincarnation of the Anti-Christ?”.

So Gabriel makes his wish, somehow reunites with Emilie's soul as he ascends to Heaven... until the angels realize they made a horrible mistake, and send Gabriel to his custom-made Tenth Circle of Hell. Reality itself is rewritten and all of the characters we've come to know over the past five seasons are effectively dead. If that isn't supposed to be a happy ending, I don't know what is.

According to the transcript, it's been a month after the wish is made, we see how Paris has changed since then. Not only has Miss Bustier given birth to her baby, she's also been elected as Mayor of Paris, already passing her first law, the “Eco Rule”.

Miss Bustier: It consists of very simple principles: don't take more from the Earth than what it can give us, distribute its riches equitably and don't pollute more than it can recycle.

Remember when Mylene said that you can't solve climate change with a single law? I guess the writers forgot to recycle that moral too, because despite the vague as hell guidelines, Paris has already adapted to function without plastic wrappers or cars. Just remember, it's only been one month since the wish was made. Even Star Trek needed at least 130 years and a nuclear war before its utopian society could be established. And that's not even getting into the new school she's helped create.

Miss Bustier: In this new school, there will be no classes or struggling to get good grades. Children of all ages will be able to intermix and freely access all kinds of activities.

The fuck you mean “no grades”?! How the hell will that even work?! We're supposed to see this as her being an impressive politician, but it comes across like some grade schooler's “If I were president” essay. And remember, ONE. MONTH.

How else has the Eco Rule been implemented? All of the Alliance rings have been melted down and reforged into a statue honoring... the great hero, Gabriel Agreste.

Yep. This is the ultimate fate of the main villain after five seasons of terrorizing the city of Paris: He gets a fucking statue in his honor. Are we sure this is a victory for the good guys? And no, just surviving the villain's master plan doesn't count as a win.

Even better, according to Adrien, he somehow helped defeat Monarch... even though Gabriel is Monarch, so is Monarch a different person in this world? What about Monarch's previous identities, Hawkmoth and Shadowmoth? Did they still exist in this world? They had to, considering that Chloe and Andre are still nowhere to be seen since the revolution, implying that either she's different in this world, or she also betrayed Ladybug for the same reasons. Nathalie is also back in full health, so did she ever use the Peacock? Was the Peacock ever damaged? We see Felix has it in this new world, but Emilie is still dead, so did she die of different causes in this timeline? Speaking of time, what happened to Bunnix? Did she survive too? Is she aware of the changes to the world like she was in “Cat Blanc”?

To summarize, WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!?

Adrien is hesitant to wear the ring because he's not sure if he can ever be even half the man his amazing father was. Marinette tells Adrien to be himself while handing the ring to him. So... was this an order? If so, was it intentional? Does Marinette even know what she's doing, or because she's a product of Gabriel's wish, she has to do this without a hitch? In fact, when he made the wish, why didn't Gabriel make Adrien, Felix, and Kagami humans instead of forcing them to rely on rings containing their souls that can easily break?

This scene is a great way to summarize Adrienette this season: The writers trying to write a heartwarming scene while hoping the audience doesn't think too hard about all the uncomfortable things it implies.

After reforging the Miraculous she got back from Monarch, Marinette decides to hand them off. Because fuck it, let's break the temp hero rule while we're at it! Chloe who? Ladybug, Cat Noir, Rena Rouge, Carapace, Viperion, Pegasus, Ryuko, Vesperia, Polymouse, Pigella, Purple Tigress, Miss Hound, Rooster Bold, Caprikid, Minotaurox, Bunnix, and even Argos (despite being the reason the heroes lost their Miraculous in the first place) assemble, ready for whatever challenge the world throws at them. Also, there's no reveal between Ladybug and Cat Noir this season because the writers still want to drag this plotline out, even when there's no excuse as to why they can't now that Monarch is gone.

We then learn who got the Butterfly Miraculous: Lila, who plans to get revenge on Marinette. Yep, the girl who has never even touched a Miraculous in five seasons is going to be Hawkmoth's successor. Not Tomoe (who I should mention never answered for being Gabriel's accomplice), not Audrey, not even Chloe. It's Lila. How the hell did she even get it anyway? Did Gabriel intentionally recreate the world to have Lila get the Butterfly Miraculous, or did Lila somehow retain her memories through close proximity to the wish and--

Fuck it, season's over anyway. Thank God...

THE BIGGEST IDIOT OF THE EPISODE IS...MARINETTE

While I can't say for certain what she did with Adrien is her fault thanks to Gabriel making the wish, I can say a good chunk of the things Marinette did leading up to Gabriel winning are on her. She recklessly used her Cataclysm multiple times in her fight with Monarch, tried to crush Emilie's comatose body with debris, once again chose to gloat about how she was going to take Gabriel's Miraculous instead of just doing it the first chance she got, seemingly forgot Adrien was a Sentimonster, and somehow managed to lose even when she had Gabriel at her mercy.

So, yeah... this finale was terrible, if it wasn't obvious from this review.

It was just a complete trainwreck from start to finish. A good chunk of the first part was spent either ignoring the events of the last episode, or coming up with excuses as to why Adrien shouldn't get involved. And that's not even getting into Nathalie's “redemption”, which only really happened once she had nothing to lose, seeing how she was even closer to dying than Gabriel was. In fact, now that I think about it, why was more emphasis given to Nathalie's declining health over Gabriel? You know, the guy who's enacting his final plan because he's supposedly hours from death, yet effortlessly manages to clone himself, fly around the world as an Akuma, and keep up with Bug Noire when he struggled to enact a plan that required him to leave the lair without traveling around the world during “Intuition”? Given how we now know that the writers wanted the final battle to involve Bug Noire, I'm starting to think they also prioritized her opponent being in top shape while ignoring the Cataclysm wound affecting him.

The second half was mostly boring thanks to just how low the stakes felt. We know where Adrien is, and since Bug Noire was fighting Monarch, there was no danger of them taking her Miraculous, so for the most part, the Miraculized fighting the other heroes just felt like padding. Nobody even seemed to look for Ladybug or Cat Noir, not even the heroes. Of course, then we got to Gabriel's wish. I've gone over this before, but it bears repeating. Gabriel's “redemption” just doesn't work due to how little effort is spent actually making the audience feel bad for him other than saying “His wife is dead, and he's sad, so that justifies everything”. It doesn't help that we kind of had four episodes explaining why some people can't change, and it wasn't used when talking about Gabriel, but rather, Chloe and Lila. Because these writers really have their priorities straight.

The ending of the season itself practically falls apart with how many plotholes and unfortunate implications it has. And before you say that stuff like Adrien once again being left in the dark can be resolved next season, here's the thing: This was planned to be the series finale with how everything feels wrapped up. There's a sense of finality that shows all the main characters getting their happy ending, and we're just supposed to not question the new utopia Paris is now, much less the fact that even after eight years, Ladybug and Cat Noir still don't know who the other is. Even putting that aside, the show has always done a poor job of following up on plotpoints established in earlier seasons, as the lunchroom scene from “Illusion” shows.

Here's a summary of all the lessons the finale teaches: We shouldn't hold terrorists accountable for their actions if they just say they love their family, abuse victims should be constantly coddled and shouldn't be allowed to know the truth about their viewers, it's okay to keep crucial information from your significant other, genocide is okay as long as the person who commits it says it's for a good cause, love for others can easily be taken advantage of, so never trust anyone, genocide is the only way to create an eco-friendly world, environmental protection laws can be passed within a month and nobody (not even car manufacturers) will complain, teenage girls are worse than abusive parents who double as supervillains, and even if it was planned for almost a decade, don't let your main heroine be the one to save the day, but rather, the villain.

If anyone reading this is planning on becoming a writer and is worried that people won't like their work, just remember that there are people who get paid to work on this show.

But yeah, this is how the season ends, not with a bang, but with a nosedive. I was mostly pissed off with how Seasons 3 and 4 ended, but here? I'm just disappointed. This was the finale that we waited eight years for. The epic final battle against Monarch, and rather than the ultimate fight to the finish, the writers came with several excuses to not involve one of the two main characters in the final battle, the other main character fails to actually save the day, and the villain is rewarded for all of actions because he chose to turn himself into a messiah. I tuned into this season to at least see how the story would end out of curiosity, but it didn't even deliver an ending that made all the pointless filler, poor writing, and bad characterization worth it. I started this finale off bored, and I ended up furious for how lackluster this ending felt. It says a lot when this finale has been compared to Star vs. the Forces of Evil in terms of just screwing everything up.

THE BIGGEST IDIOT OF THE SEASON IS... MARINETTE

Marinette may not have been able to beat Gabriel in terms of stopping his plan, but she did manage to outdo him in terms of stupidity. Because she got the award four times this season (Evolution, Revelation, Confrontation, Re-Creation), she takes home the title of Biggest Idiot.

And for those who are curious or didn't keep up with my reviews, Gabriel gets second place with three Biggest Idiot Awards (Intuition, Protection, Revolution), we have a five-way tie for third place with Luka (Determination, Migration), Mayor Andre (Adoration, Action), Chloe (Deflagration, Collusion), Felix (Emotion, Representation), and Nathalie (Passion, Conformation), who all got the award twice, and a ten-way tie for fourth place with Alya (Multiplication), Xuppu (Destruction), Mr. Damocles (Jubiliation), Nino (Illusion), Joan of Arc (Reunion), Ice Cream Man Andre (Elation), Kagami (Perfection), Kim (Derision), and Tomoe (Pretension) each getting the award once.

And with that, we're done with Season 5. It's been a long road, but all I can say is...

At least, until the analysis and ranking posts.

[bentosandbox]

have you seen this rat?

now you have :)

translated the blurb from weibo

Proficiencies: Manipulating sand with Originium Arts, managing interpersonal relationships, the Four Arts (琴棋书画)

Lin Yuxia, Gender: Female, Race: Zalak, Lungmenite. About 166cm tall, has long lavender-coloured hair, often wearing a long black and purple dress. The suspect is accused of being involved in financial crime, battery, vandalising public property and other malicious acts. We have released this arrest warrant publicly in order to capture the suspect and eliminate any hidden dangers in society in a timely manner. Residents who are able to provide assistance or clues please dial this private number at xxxxxxx; a reward of 100000 Lungmen Dollars will be awarded to meritorious citizens. Caution: The suspect is able to use Originium Arts and proficient in a number of close combat techniques. Has a impetuous personality, extremely aggressive and highly dangerous. Citizens are advised not to be deceived by the suspect's appearance and to pay attention to their own safety." ...... "See this? The next time you slink off silently, I'll have this plastered all over the city— reward money? Out of my own pocket of course!" "Then you'd best prepare yourself for the possible increase in collusions when we're at 'work', Madam."

I DON'T BELIEVE IT NO WAY SHE'S 166CM NO *LUNGMEN EXPLETIVE* WAY SWIRE YOURE LYING RIGHT ahem anyway

Italicised madam because she says it in english

I still think 诗sir is cooler but I'll yield.....

Chen will always be chen sir for me though 😋 also only 100k LMD??? That can't even buy you the ch5 piano...

re: four arts: doesn't chen also play a Guqin in the AS group or is it a Guzheng I can't tell

also also... I'm sure she's not unskilled but >managing interpersonal relationships?? Lin "doesn't even know how to write the word 'co-operation'" Yuxia? I love unreliable narrators fr fr

[mariacallous]

For years, as Moscow’s intent to challenge the West became clearer, a key question loomed: whether the country as a whole or its leader was at fault—in effect, whether the world had a Russia problem or a Putin problem.

Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began two years ago, analysts have continued to debate the attitudes of ordinary Russians toward the war. Do a broad majority of Russians genuinely support the crimes and atrocities committed by their country’s armed forces? And if not, why do they give every appearance of doing so?

Two books by British historian Jade McGlynn published during 2023 provide uncomfortable answers. Russia’s War gives one of those answers in its title: In direct and conscious contrast to a rash of other current book titles that lay the blame squarely on Russian President Vladimir Putin, McGlynn concludes that the Russian state, with the conscious collusion of part or most of its population, has achieved significant and widespread support at home for its war of colonial reconquest in Ukraine.

The other book, Memory Makers, gives us more explanation of how this was made possible through Russia’s deliberate and long-term program of hijacking history and shaping the public’s memory by recreating the past in order to shape the present.

Together, they paint a portrait of the alternative reality inhabited by Russians, created and nurtured by the state, and explain how it provides a permissive environment for that state’s worst crimes against both its own people and its victims abroad.

Russia’s War will upset a lot of people. There’s a substantial group among Russians abroad—or at least, among those who do not wholeheartedly approve of the war—who make their point that not all Russians are to blame for it by attempting to attach that blame to Putin personally.

But McGlynn firmly rejects the idea that this is Putin’s war alone. “Russia’s war on Ukraine is popular with large numbers of Russians and acceptable to an even larger number,” she writes. “Putin banked on the population’s approval and he cashed it.”

McGlynn’s book is also a direct challenge to those Western journalists, academics, and Russophiles who cling to the belief that the country is a frustrated democracy, as well as the idea that left to their own devices, Russians would install a liberal government that was less inclined to repress its own subjects and wage wars of aggression abroad. That’s a belief that has often been formed in conversation with urban, liberal Russians—the kind who are now largely in exile or jail.

But there’s no reason to think that conversations in Moscow and St. Petersburg are any better a guide to Russia’s population as a whole than similar conversations in New York or London were at predicting former U.S. President Donald Trump’s 2016 election victory or the United Kingdom’s Brexit. When the idea of a country has been constructed on sampling that is as unrepresentative as this, it can be hard to come to terms with the fact that the behaviors that the world has witnessed in Ukraine are entirely within the mainstream of social norms in the further reaches of Russia.

McGlynn doesn’t rule out the possibility that there may be Russians who disapprove of the war. But in addition to describing an instinct for self-preservation that may constrain many individuals from speaking out, she also argues that silent acquiescence is also the easier path inside their own minds.

“Plenty of people believe the Kremlin propaganda because it is easier and preferable to admitting or accepting that you are the bad guys,” McGlynn writes. In the absence of any discernible public opposition, Russians’ attitudes range from complete apathy to the frenzied enthusiasm for the war encouraged by propagandist “Z-channels” on Telegram, urging the military on to commit ever greater savagery in Ukraine. These channels, broadcasting to hundreds of thousands of subscribers—where footage of atrocities receives a joyous reaction—would not be possible in a country where backing for the onslaught on Ukraine was not widespread.

Russia’s state-aligned propaganda, McGlynn argues, does not seek to make everyone a warmonger. Instead, it aims to nudge people along a spectrum: It tries to render those in opposition apathetic, to make the apathetic feel attacked and side with their country whether right or wrong, and to induce quiet patriots to lend full-throated support.

A further twist, McGlynn suggests, is that we should not assume that the ideal outcome for the Kremlin is widespread pro-war activism. The Kremlin distrusts any spontaneous political act even if it is in support of the regime, she reminds us. So it sets clear boundaries for what is and is not an acceptable way to show allegiance, and is content if the support shown is no more than lip service. But still, criticism of the war, where it does exist, primarily focuses on the competence with which it is being fought as opposed to whether it should be fought in the first place.

Many of the state narratives around the West and Ukraine are not Putinist inventions, but instead are excuses for Russian state crimes that date back to Soviet and tsarist times. By tapping into the familiar tropes of Russia’s artificial history, the Kremlin provides the basis for new and still-evolving fictions about the world outside, brought together in what McGlynn calls “a time-worn ritual whereby Russian media and politicians slowly dismantle the truth and then replace it with a forgery.”

That ritual is examined in detail in Memory Makers: The Politics of the Past in Putin’s Russia. Appearing later than Russia’s War, Memory Makers nonetheless lays the groundwork for it, exploring how Russia rewrote its history to provide justification for its present.

History is explicitly defined as a battleground in Russia’s national security strategy and other doctrinal documents. But as ever in Russia’s perverse newspeak, goals such as the “defence of historical truth,” the “preservation of memory,” and “counteraction to the falsification of history” translate to the construction and defense of a fabricated version of Russian and Soviet history, accompanied by the denunciation of news and information from abroad as fake, all intended to protect and bolster Russia’s alternative reality.

As McGlynn explains, Russia’s reworking of history builds a narrative that “distracts from government failings, promotes government policies and reinforces the Kremlin’s view of current events.” The two books together offer an understanding of how Russia fostered the mentality that enables the war. Memory Makers explains how it was done; Russia’s War describes the effect.

Across the two books, McGlynn considers the role of state propaganda in forming the attitude that she describes and the cumulative impact of more than a decade of bombardment with relentless war propaganda that dehumanizes Ukrainians and sells the idea of a hostile West. Her conclusion is that the war propaganda fell on fertile ground. Russians were eager to be guided toward the state-approved attitude that tied in closely with many of their preconceptions about the world and Russia’s place in it.

And this has had practical and tragic results. McGlynn helps explain why Russia’s horrific casualty toll—with estimates varying widely but none smaller than the hundreds of thousands—has had less impact on popular support for the war than was widely and optimistically expected; and why Russia’s soldiers are still fighting, despite their leadership’s palpable indifference to the scale of the slaughter. Meanwhile, the dehumanization of Ukrainians that forms an integral part of the propaganda made atrocities in Ukraine not just likely, but also inevitable.

In contrast with multiple books on Russia that have been produced swiftly after February 2022, both Russia’s War and Memory Makers have long been in gestation. They draw on close to a decade of research, including data analysis of television, print and social media, extensive interviews, and—while it was still possible—firsthand investigation within Russia itself.

Perhaps inevitably, that means neither book offers simple answers. Optimists among academics, journalists, and even government officials cling to the belief that if only Russians could be reached with the truth about the outside world, including the horrors committed in their name in Ukraine, they would turn against their leadership. But McGlynn’s books and a mass of associated research show that far deeper and more radical societal change within Russia would be essential to reverse the effects of two decades of state propaganda.

Since the end of the Soviet Union, early hopes that new generations might embrace democracy and liberalism have faded to invisibility. Instead, Russian social development is accelerating in reverse. McGlynn’s research undercuts suggestions that this is being done to Russians against their will, and instead highlights attitudes ranging from complicity to enthusiasm. The result is that Russia looks almost exclusively to the past to define its vision for the future.

The tragic implication is that Russia’s war against Ukraine cannot be ended in or by Ukraine. Its roots lie in Russians’ political and societal imagination of what their own country is and what it must be. That imagination, McGlynn shows, has been encouraged and facilitated—but not created—by a propaganda campaign that has lasted a generation.

Jade McGlynn has assembled the evidence for a conclusion that will disturb optimists hoping for a better Russia: The campaign would not have succeeded without a willing and complicit population, and too many ordinary Russians are entirely content to back their country’s most horrific actions.

[generalluxun]

Miss Bustier being "concerned about Chloe" in Collusion: "Chloe, you're a fragile teenager who doesn't know love and is simply looking for attention."

Miss Bustier at the end of Revolution seeing Chloe continue to look for attention and continue to live a life not knowing love and continue being a fragile teenager: "Meh."

Ms. Bustier's outreach to Chloé in Collusion served only one purpose: To make Chloé look worse. S5 has systematically attacked every 'good' moment Chloé had and come up with a way to try and explain it away. They couldn't really DO that with the bracelet, because there is no reason she would have given it to Bustier when no one knew. So they just had her be silent, but they still count it as 'Bustier 'trying'(not really) and Chloé rejecting hero... to make everything forever Chloé's fault.

Ms. Bustier never even made any outeach after Zombisu herself. Heck, she wasn't even aware two students *in the front row* were cheating in her class for years... and yet we're supposed to consider her good and right and likely to be an excellent Mayor? It's so weird the bodies the show is willing to leave in order to demonize a child.

They could have left that scene out and missed nothing, Except they would have had one less 'Chloe=bad!' moment, and dear me, why bother going on with the show in that case. 🙄

Man I miss S1-3.

[catgirlcommissar]

"Zhou Enlai spent the month of December in a series of official visits to India, Burma, Pakistan, but he was back to visit Warsaw, Budapest, and Moscow in January. "I told Enlai to give Khrushchev an earful," Mao said. Enlai did.

A heated argument took place. Zhou castigated "great-Russian chauvinism" and "big-power complex" to denounce the actions of the U.S.S.R., particularly the treatment of Vietnam as a pawn in the game of "contention and collusion" which the U.S.S.R. was engaging in with the United States.

Khrushchev was outraged. "You cannot speak to me like that. After all, I come from the working class, while you are a bourgeois by birth." Zhou was silent for a while, then replied, "True, comrade, but we have something in common, you and I. We are both traitors to our class."

The Eldest Son: Zhou Enlai and the making of modern China

[iwonderwh0]

Rupert is the kind of a dude everyone assumes to be mute, all while Rupert genuinely wonders why isn't anyone attempting to talk to him as if in some kind of a collusion (not that he minds it)

To be fair tho, I think he'd prefer wireless silent communication whenever possible instead of the human way

[anonymoushouseplantfan]

I started with JerseyDeanne and jumped on the train with you when you did your posts on Skippy’s Jamaican wedding and Harry’s collusion in it. It took a while but now here we are. And I really hate saying this because I liked and admired the Queen, but we needed a moment in this drama that was a game changer, one where people’s masks really start to fall off. Meghan and Harry would have spent many more years playing we love grannie but hate the grey men around her bull. The narrative changes with Charles and William being promoted. The jealousy and resentment gets ratcheted up, and Meghan and Harry make more self inflicted mistakes showing their faults.

Ah, the good old days.

But you're completely right. It's a different dynamic now. No one thinks the "grey men" control Charles, so Harry can't blame them.

And, let's be honest, that was one of the biggest fibs in the documentary. The Queen's staff wasn't blocking Harry from seeing his grandmother. The Queen's staff has been Charles' staff since the 2017 silent coup that got Geidt kicked out. That means Charles stepped in to keep Harry from asking granny to interfere in their negotiations.

[apopcornkernel]

just one (hold your breath)

[AO3] T, 1.4k words. no warnings apply.

Ningguang/Yelan — An exchange of intelligence between the Tianquan and her topmost spy.

tags: #tension and wanting and the useless repression of desire, #you know the usual poppy fic themes

A knock at the door. “Lady Ningguang.” It’s Baixiao. “A Miss Yelan here to see you.”

Ningguang’s eyes flick up from the report she’s studying, but her expression is passive otherwise. “Enter.”

There’s a murmuring outside the door, and then it opens with grace, the sharp clicking of Yelan’s heels heralding her entrance.

“Miss Yelan.”

Yelan’s smile is oh-so-sly. “Lady Ningguang.”

Behind her, Baixiao has closed the door, but Ningguang maintains her studied indifference for a moment more. Cooly, she says, “What can I do for you?”

“Many, many things.” Yelan’s eyes glitter with amusement. “Although the first would be to properly introduce me to your staff. It is quite humiliating to have to remind them of my name each time.”

Ningguang snorts, abandoning her aloofness at last. “And how are they to remember your name when you, more likely than not, come dressed as a completely different person?”

“It only says something about the incapability of your little ducklings.” Yelan sniffs. “And anyways I own Yanshang Teahouse now. You’d think they’d know me at least.”

“Don’t sulk. And don’t lie either—I know you like the anonymity.”

Yelan rolls her eyes. “Yes, my lady.”

“What do you have for me today, Yelan?”

Yelan grins. “Guess.”

Ningguang sets her papers down and raises an imperious eyebrow.

“...or not,” Yelan mutters. “Fine. Be that way.”

From seemingly nowhere, Yelan produces a narrow sheaf of little slips and hands them over to Ningguang. Ningguang’s gold-wrought nail guards graze Yelan’s fingertips when she grasps for the papers, and Ningguang carefully ignores the shiver that runs through Yelan at the touch.

“Hmm.” Ningguang flips through the crude notes, graciously allowing Yelan time to recompose herself. There is no place for this in the great endeavor of ruling Liyue. “So you did manage to get your hands on proof of Snezhnayan collusion. All signed with their own seals as well. Impressive.”

Ningguang won’t ask how Yelan procured both the documents and the seals. For her peace of mind, and most importantly, for plausible deniability.

Yelan’s smile has returned to its fullest extent of cat-that-ate-the-canary. “Yes. We’ve long suspected that Kandinsky Holdings had a hand in Lu Xiang’s abrupt market domination, and I finally have our evidence. If you give me a little more time, I can make a quick trip to Snezhnaya and dig deeper for ties to the Fatui.”

Ningguang sets the papers down with more force than necessary. Her nails are gouging little indents in the parchment. “I don’t think that’s wise.”

Yelan only laughs. “Relax, sunlight. The Ninth couldn’t even begin to handle me.”

“I am certainly not worried,” Ningguang starts, but Yelan’s already waved her off.

“Your eyes are tight, your jaw is clenched, I could go on—although honestly, I’d rather not tell you more. I like being able to read you so easily.” Yelan rounds her desk, leans her hip against the heavy cuihua edge. “So what will it be? Do I have your authorization or what?”

Ningguang cuts her a look of barely withheld displeasure. “You are well aware that there are official channels for this, yes?”

Yelan huffs. “Oh, please. Since when did we work that way?”

“I just don’t like,” Ningguang says, “you spending so much time in the territory of the enemy. With the enemy. And not one who’s managed to get his hands on your other jade bracelet.”

“Ha.” The smile Yelan gives her is bittersweet. “Well. The things we all sacrifice for this country.”

Some more than most, Ningguang does not say. But she does allow herself to steal a glance at the little copper mirror perched atop her desk, silently mapping out the face that follows her in waking and in sleeping. The copper overlays everything with a gold-brown sheen, but Ningguang can still discern the newly-acquired coat that hangs like mountain snow on Yelan’s shoulders, and the midnight hair that remains resolutely asymmetrical. Yelan brute-forces her way into being fashionable, and she has never ceased to pull it off.

Ningguang blinks, and quite suddenly Yelan is looking back at her through the mirror. No beaten copper surface can stifle those eyes of narrowed, burning jade.

“You know,” Yelan says abruptly, “I never did get back to you about my extra compensation. Hazard pay and all that.”

“You are already paid far higher than the majority of my employees.”

“I am, yes.” Yelan lets a beat of silence pass. Then: “But I’m not after monetary gain.”

Ningguang cannot tear her eyes away from Yelan’s in the mirror. It’s as if she’s being kept in place by some black spell. “Oh?”

“Mm.” Yelan’s hand slides over the low back of her wooden chair, and the shift in position lets her lean closer over Ningguang, whisper into her ear. “There are other ways to reimburse me.”

“Hm,” Ningguang says. “Really.”

“Of course.” Yelan’s fingers touch her chin, tilt Ningguang’s head so that her gaze meets Yelan’s. “You need only ask, my lady.”

“Ask,” Ningguang scoffed. “Me? Ask?”

Yelan shrugged. “I had to at least try.”

“Don’t.”

Yelan smiles, and uses the very tip of her thumb to draw Ningguang’s lower lip down. “We’ll see about that.”

“Nothing of worth will come from this.” Ningguang’s voice is hoarse with all that she denies herself. “You do know this, yes?”

Because Ningguang knows: This way lies only ruin. Ruin upon ruin upon ruin, and the shivering abyss of all that’s been left unsaid between them.

“I do know.” Yelan’s so close that Ningguang can count her lashes. “The difference, Lady Ningguang, is that I am willing to pay the price. Are you?”

Yes, she thinks. “No,” she says.

Yelan lets out a not-quite sigh, hot breath puffing against her lips. “I don’t know what I expected,” she murmurs, almost to herself.

“It’s for your own good.” And mine. But Ningguang has not made any move away. “I have learned that it is best to keep my subordinates at arm’s length.”

“I do think that this is much less than arm’s length, sunlight.”

Ningguang chooses to ignore this, instead focusing on not feeling the rasp of Yelan’s callused thumb brushing her cheek. “Are we finished?”

“Almost.”

“What else is there to—”

Yelan kisses her, hard and fast against the corner of her mouth, and just as quickly retreats backward, wiping at the purple lipstick that’s been smudged out of her lips with the force of the kiss.

“That,” Yelan says. “I’ll consider my hazard pay taken care of.”

Ningguang blinks. Unknowing, her hand has come up to touch her lips. “You...”

“Sorry. It was inappropriate, I know. I won’t do it again.”

Ningguang’s composure almost cracks. That is the exact opposite of what her blood sings for.

“I’ll... I should take my leave now, I suppose.”

“Do that,” Ningguang says numbly. Her mouth still stings with the almost-kiss, prickling with the knowledge that it had been so close.

Yelan hesitates by the door, and Ningguang can tell she doesn’t want to go—this people reading goes both ways, and Yelan’s shoulders are taut, her hand tentative against the door, her eyes begging to be told to stay. “Is there anything else?”

Ningguang should say no. She should turn away, and forget this ever happened.

But—

But she is weakened, her defenses dashed to pieces by Yelan’s surprise kiss. And though she will never beg, this may be the closest she’ll ever come to considering it.

So Ningguang says, throat dry: “There is still the matter of procuring your authorization.”

“Oh,” Yelan says. She looks caught off-guard. As if she didn’t really expect Ningguang to actually say something. “Oh, yes, of course.”

“I have made it clear what I think of the Fatui, and of you involving yourself in their affairs.” Ningguang’s eyes lock onto Yelan’s, and she watches Yelan swallow, the movement of her throat. “I will not be so easily persuaded on this matter. But—”

Hear what I cannot say, Ningguang thinks. Speak what I cannot speak.

For a long, taut moment of silence, Yelan only searches her face, almost desperate. But then at last she must find what she seeks, for her face clears.

Yelan smiles, too bright to be truly wicked.

“Between you and me, sunlight, I’m not above a little bit of bribery and corruption either.”

She stalks over, and Ningguang lets Yelan seize her face to kiss.

[slag0000]

2年ぶりのSilent Collusion、今回も7月8日のフライングティーポットに続き、マレスケさんのお店でやります。マレスケさんのお店ではお客さんが参加可能なアフターセッション有りというスタイルでやることも少なくないようで、今回、初めてそういう形でやって見ることにしました。物は試しに、ということで。どうなりますでしょうか。 ●2023-07-09(sun) 武蔵境 810 OUTFIT café "Silent Collusion"

act: 神戸智浩(g) 高橋直康(b) 原口裕司(dr) from 大阪

open 14:00 / start 15:00 charge 2000yen(+d)+投げ銭 ※セッション有り

[jenwritesnotes]

#kendrils × #happyend

Eng version

First there was Kevin.

He came to Vaymak's house broken, with an open fracture and pleading eyes. All he needed was protection from Rico and his forced ones. And Andrew offered it to him. And he agreed. Only after a long few months it turned into quick kisses at night training, on the roof or in the room when no one was there.

Then there was Nathaniel. He was a distant pipe dream, playing for the Ravens and constantly flashing with Rico and his entourage (or rather with its remnants). This sympathy (he was terribly strong gay and noticed handsome men, nothing more) did not interfere with his time with Kevin in any way. He was very handsome with his red hair and icy blue hair, but he clearly didn't need Rico's henchman (another one, but not about that), and this pain in the ass is definitely not interested in him.

But soon Vesninsky appears on the court, right during training, on the threshold, all wounded and covered in blood. He's a bit like Day in his early days at Palmetto, only he didn't have as much damage as Nathaniel. Renee is one of the first to notice him and runs up to him at an amazing (at least for a goalkeeper) speed, says something, and after receiving an answer picks him up, throwing his arm over his neck.

No matter how amazing it was, he came to Kevin. What is even more surprising is that he categorically refused medical help from Abby until the coach mentioned the hospital and even more so the police. After the examination, he looked better physically and gloomier in person.

Vaymak offers him a place as a striker in the team. He agrees. Andrew, like Kevin, offers him protection. The answer is the same.

Despite Nathaniel's attractiveness, Minyard doesn't even approach him. In addition to the obvious reasons, he thinks (and sees) that the relationship between him and Day is more like a brotherly friendship, and Kevin is quite enough for him.

Everything changes a few months later, a few weeks before the start of the fall season, when Andrew accidentally finds these two in the locker room. Alone. Kissing.

It's enough to set off a mini explosion in his brain as a warning to a bigger one when he's left alone.

He (thanks to his titanic endurance and some skills in silent movement) quickly leaves there unnoticed.

No one needs to know how hard he was gripping the steering wheel when Day and Vesninsky finally show up and get in the car.

And then, after about a week, Nathaniel disappears. Without a trace. Generally. I went out for a run in the morning and didn't come back.

Kevin is on the verge of a panic attack.

He barely explains to the others about his family, past, and his guess where he might be.

And then Wymack gets a call from the FBI in Baltimore.

And the whole team, without collusion, gathers faster than a bullet, goes to the court and gets on the team bus.

A few hours later, after checking into the hotel (helpfully provided by the agents), Nathaniel appears, covered in bandages and blood, but alive. Kevin immediately jumps up to him and starts babbling unintelligibly in French, and Nat pats his cheek and answers, apparently calming him down.

And then the agents declare that Vesninsky, at least for now, is leaving with them. For a while.

Kevin volunteers with him and calls Andrew with a pleading, but not insistent look.

Minyard is powerless.

It is at the FBI headquarters, after several long and exhausting hours of interrogations, that the red—haired guy gets a new name for himself - Neil Abram Josten.

Andrew would never admit it, but he's damn proud of him.

And when Neil whispers "Yes or no?" into Minyard's lips the next day, he barely restrains himself from pouncing on this fucking pain in the ass. Instead, he looks into the eyes of Kevin, whose face is decorated with a light sincere smile and who nods, answering a silent question.

And then Andrew kisses Josten. It's soft, weird and not at all like kissing Kevin, but it feels so right.

And his kisses with Kevin and Neil give him a sense of fullness.

Perhaps they were all he needed.

[ascendantevolution]

Are You a Steward of Light?

Yes. We all are. Unfortunately, look around us and see the many who have forgotten. I think we all do at times. It is easy. The school room Earth is set up to give us tests. Distractions are wonderful for forgetting who we are and why we are here. 

Addictions are yet better. For the longest time, when I was one of the addicts, I was thankful that it appeared that most drinkers gave each other grace. Shared guilt. We are social creatures fulfilling social contracts that say we are okay and that we belong. In short, it is collusion. “I see your addiction and say nothing if you return the favor.” It is easy to stay locked into such an environment.

What is my point? Why does it matter? 

Because every single one of us matters. We are all potential lights in a world rife with raging conflict. It may sound trite, but the truth is anything but trite. The ugly truth is that a battle is raging among forces of good and evil and ranging through levels of realities. 

I do not care for the dualistic terms “good” and “evil” - they sound so simplistic and religionist. And yet, I can feel them for the complex energies they are, seeing evidence of them as a growing chasm between the black and white, haves and have nots, men and women, big business and the little man, industrialization and nature. 

We are meant to be rising out of polarities. Resonating in ways that hum with the ALL would mean an increasing sense of respect for others while simultaneously seeing the other as an integral part of the self. Encroaching on the well-being of others may well be the dividing line.

We are meant to be ascending with our dear Gaia, and we who are awake have a responsibility to not be distracted, to not be addicted, such that we can engage in assisting our brethren as they awaken. Indeed, it sounds like fodder for a fantasy novel, like something out of a Tolkein novel. But, for those who feel it, who resonate with what I am saying, we can take action.

How? 

Tip the scales against the energy that resonates with service-to-self and all of the descending energies that threaten to bring this great, human experiment on Earth to its end. Do this in whatever way we can, no matter how big or small. It could mean countering a service-to-self view point at a dinner party instead of smiling in silent compliance. It could mean offering a smile to someone who is having a bad day and may not have capacity to be nice. For those with influence, it means speaking out - and loudly. 

So, I repeat the question: Are you a steward of light?

Originally written December 12, 2021.

Ⓒ 2021 S’Tara Merit, All Rights Reserved.

[walker-extended-universe]

Devil on Your Shoulder

Relationships: Hoyt Rawlins & Cordell Walker

Tags/Warnings: Alternate Universe- Canon Divergence, Hoyt lived AU, Episode: s01e18 Drive, Revenge, Discussion of Revenge, Implied/Referenced Character Death

Summary: AU in which Hoyt was around during 1x18 and plays the devil on Cordell's shoulder

A/N: Fic purged from the draft by people voting for it in the polls :)

Taglist (if you would like to be added please let me know): @theladywyn, @ihavepointysticks, @klaatu51, @neptunium134, @itsjessiegirl1

----

Cordell held the gun steady while he reached for his ringing phone. He glanced away from Stan for a split second to check the caller ID, answering when he saw it was Hoyt. “What’s going on, Hoyt? Everything okay at the Side Step?”

“Yeah, Mendoza’s in protective custody over here,” Hoyt said. “Geri and Micki are in the back looking for evidence of the Nation filtering money through the Side Step. How are you doing?”

“I’m fine.”

“Stan confess yet?”

Cordell scoffed. “He’s still playing innocent.”

“Because I am.”

“Shut up and drive, Stan,” Cordell hissed.

“You got a plan B in mind?” Hoyt asked.

“What do you mean?”

“If he doesn’t confess, is what I mean,” Hoyt said. “I mean, we can get him for corrupt politics maybe but he still needs to pay for what he did to Emily. What’s the plan if you can’t get him to confess?”

“I will.”

“But what if you can’t?”

“I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.” Cordell still wasn’t sure how he was going to get that confession but he wasn’t giving up.

“That’s a bridge you need to plan ahead for, my friend.”

“Well what’s your bright idea then?”

Hoyt hummed. “I’m thinking you’ve got a gun on the man responsible for killing your wife. If the legal system won’t give him what he’s due…. May be time for a little vigilante justice.”

“Hoyt…. I can’t do that. I-I need to-”

“You don’t have to.”

“What does that mean?”

“I’m saying if you can’t bring yourself to do it, you can hand me the gun and I’ll do it myself.”

“Hoyt, I can’t ask you to do that,” Cordell said firmly. “That’s a life sentence you’re looking at. I thought you were going straight?”

“This is Emily we’re talking about,” Hoyt snapped. “I was ready to shiv Mendoza when your brother made us bunk buddies during his little investigation. He may be in the clear now but that sentiment hasn’t changed. You say Stan killed Emily, he deserves what’s coming to him. If you can’t do it, I will.”

“This isn’t just about Emily. This is about the Northside Nation. Stan needs to be alive to confess to all that and name all the big players. We can wipe out their whole operation if we do it right.” Cordell had to stay focused on that. The bigger picture. Even if he couldn’t get a confession out of Stan for Emily, he had enough to get him on corruption and collusion. If that was all he could get, that would have to be enough.

“If you say so….”

“Hoyt,” Cordell warned. “Do not do something stupid. Let me worry about Stan. You make sure Mendoza lives to testify against this bastard. Is that clear?”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t ‘Yeah’ me. I want to hear you say it.”

The other end was silent.

“Hoyt?”

“I won’t do anything stupid. I’ll just worry about Mendoza for now.”

Cordell didn’t buy that but he had bigger concerns at the moment. Like the sheriff’s vehicles blocking the road ahead. “I’ll get back in touch later. Stay safe, alright?” He hung up before Hoyt could reply and set it on the dash.

“Your friend gonna come kill me or are you gonna take care of that?”

“Shut up, Stan.”