#Which is the correct emotion when faced with allen walker

[frobby]

the fact that yukio reads shounen jump is lowkey funny to me cuz like outwardly he seems like the kinda guy who is above shounen like when u ask him what hes fave manga is he would tell you to get back to studying or something but no he diligently reads jump every month

[jeidafei]

D.Gray-Man Vol.26: Komui’s Lounge (Extended) 3/5

>> Part 1 <<

>> Part 2 <<

Question 13: How is the cover image for the tankobon (comic book) and Jump SQ. RISE (the magazine) decided?

Lavi: The author has full liberty for the comic book’s cover, but in the magazine’s case, the exclusive designer will ask the author to draw it according to their image of the cover.

Allen: You know so much, Lavi. I’d expect no less from the author’s bosom friend!

Lavi: Are you dissing me, Allen-san?

Marie: So the designer is the one who decides the character and their pose?

Lavi: Yep. I heard sometimes they even request color tones as well. Because the cover is the face of the whole magazine, Hoshino’s nervous when drawing the magazine’s covers, unlike the comic book’s.

Link: On a side note, on the cover of this latest Volume 26, General Cross is holding a toothpick in his mouth.

Allen: Do we have to go into such detail?

Link: I thought there might be those who are wondering.

Lavi: That’s because back in Volume 14, she drew General Cross holding a cigarette and got scolded.

Bak: What’s wrong with that? Couldn’t she draw whatever she wants to?

Lavi: Well, after all, this is still a shounen manga 

(T/N: comic written for teenage boys).

Wisely: Grown-up issues, indeed.

Question 14: Link, between English and French tea, which do you prefer?

Link: We’ve received a number of beverage-related questions. For example, How many sugar cubes does the Millennium Earl consume during teatime? and Exactly how delicious is Lenalee Lee’s coffee? As for my preference, I’d probably say English tea. Inspector Lvellie prefers French tea, though, so I’ve had a great deal of that as well. The Earl prefers English, doesn’t he?

Wisely: Correct you are. The Earl has an awfully sweet tooth. He puts in 20 sugar cubes and lots of milk for a cup of tea. He’s such a dear. He’s moping lately after Desires told him to cut back on his sugar intake. What a dear.

Allen: I wonder why he would consider that adorable.

Lavi: There’s more sugar than tea in your tea, too, right Allen?

Allen: SUPER SWEET TEA WITH SALTY THINGS IS A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN!!!

Lavi: Do you really have to yell it?

Link: Make sure you brush your teeth well, Walker. You’re always sleeping right after your meals.

Allen: Roger roger roger.

Link: Only once is enough!

(T/N: In Japan, saying “yes” (hai) more than once is considered rude, as it shows annoyance. I get that a lot from my coworkers.)

Marie: You had tea parties with Lenalee and Miranda sometimes, right Allen?

Bak: WHAT!? Walker! You!

Allen: Eh? Wait! It’s just because they said they’ll give me sweets. There’s no ulterior motive on my part! Besides, it’s more like Link and Lenalee’s tea discussion with me tagging along than a tea party, actually.

Link: What are you talking about? I was the one accompanying you!

Allen: Well, aren’t you the one who did the most talking?

Link: That’s because you were busy eating the whole time, isn’t it? Lenalee Lee seems to make a hobby out of serving the Science Division coffee and tea, so we simply exchanged ideas on tea leaves and brewing. She’s more of an expert than even me on tea, after all.

Marie: Looks like she’s been studying up for the Science guys’ sake. She learned coffee brewing straight from Head Chef Jeryy himself too, and her coffee’s simply awesome.  

Lavi: Plus, you also get to behold that adorable face as she hands you your cup with a smile, and it enhances the experience. Hey, Allen, Lenalee’s been taking really good care of her hands, ya know? Said she wanna serve us tea with beautiful hands. Ah, she really is a lady...

Allen: I’m getting all choked up right now.

Bak: Lenalee-san...you’re wonderful. (in love♡)

Question 15: Does Lavi wash his face with his eyepatch on? Or wash his face in secret?

Allen: He leaves it on.

Lavi: I TAKE IT OFF! OF COURSE I TAKE IT OFF! But yeah, I do wash my face in secret!

Allen: You always leave it on when we use the Order’s communal bath together, don’t you? Why do you have to be so secretive about it? Stop being so stuck-up and let us see it already!

Lavi: Argh! Stop, Allen! Stop yanking! Aaaaaargh! 

Marie: Oi, Allen! Lavi told you to stop, didn’t he?

Link: Walker, stop wasting our precious paper bullying Bookman Jr.

Wisely: There, there. It’s fine, isn’t it? Our readers will get stressed out if we keep it all stiff and heavy. Besides, the boy hasn’t seen Bookman Jr. in ages and he’s just thrilled.

Allen: That’s not it! 

Bak: That aside, why do you need to hide it? Is there some secret behind it?

Lavi: Well, about that...I really can’t say anything.

Question 16: Since when did Supervisor Komui and Head Chef Jeryy become close friends?

Marie: When...? They already seem close by the time Head Chef Jeryy transferred to Headquarters, though. 

Bak: That’s because Komui was the one who recommended Jeryy for the transfer. Jeryy was a cook in the Asian Branch at first, and he went to all sorts of trouble taking care of Komui back when he just joined the Order. Komui was a completely different person back then, you see. He had this slightly dangerous streak about him, so Jeryy probably couldn’t find it in him to just leave him be.

Komui seemed prejudiced against Jeryy for a while there, but then he might’ve lost the battle of wills, and before I knew it, they’ve already become close. After that, when Komui was promoted to Supervisor, Jeryy was the first he called over to Headquarters. It might’ve been to help Lenalee-san who was mentally ill back then, I reckon.

Link: I don’t mind them being close, but calling each other by the likes of “Komie-sweetie” and “Jerry-deary” in the vicinity of Order members is quite out of line in my opinion.

Wisely: That Jeryy-summat lad’s food seems real delicious to me. I’d love to try some.

Allen: Negative. Jeryy-san is mine.

Lavi: He’s not yours...

Question 17: Are Noah Memories comprised of only original memories of the past? Though the Noah Memories are passed on from person to person, can we conclude that the human memories of previous Noah hosts are not passed on to the next Noah host as well? 

Lavi: Now this is an interesting question.

Wisely: Hmmm. Yes, the memories are passed on. When we are awakened as Noah, an enormous amount of memories and data would come rushing into our heads, and among them are also the memories and emotions of those who were previous reincarnations of Noah.

Allen: I had the memories of Suman, who became a Fallen One, flow into my head once. Back then, I felt like I’m going to lose my very self. My head felt like it was breaking apart, and I was really scared. Though you’re all Noah anyway, you guys really are something, living carefree even with memories and feelings of countless other people within you. 

Wisely: We’re not carefree, boy. In the past there were also Noah whose selves were devoured by the memories and were destroyed. In order to keep that from happening, usually most Noah unconsciously suppress those memories. By doing so, we can shut out the memories of the previous incarnations. However, if Noahs are injured by Innocence, they might not be able to suppress it anymore, and those memories would come flooding back. We Noah also have it tough as well. 

Allen: Now that you mention it, the Noah really do seem to become more violent the more we attack them.

Wisely: The profound hatred towards Innocence within the memories is what makes us so. That’s why we’d like you to be gentle with us ♡.

Allen: That tendency to joke about is just what drives me up the wall.

Lavi: Is it true that even among Noahs, the Millennium Earl is the only one who lives for several thousands of years?

Wisely: Correct.

Bak: Do all humans have the possibility of awakening as a Noah?

Wisely: They do.

Marie: And that awakening cannot be prevented?

Wisely: No. Furthermore, once they learn of Noah’s mission, they would accept it with their own free will.

Link: And what is Noah’s mission?

Wisely: Oh dear. That’s a secret~♫

Link: Tch.

Question 18: Looks like Allen’s hobby is saving up money. Was he doing other part-time jobs apart from helping out at the cafeteria as well?

Lavi: Nah, mostly it was just the cafeteria right? ‘Coz you got to sneak some bites.

Allen: It was the best part-time job on earth. At the Order, looks like it’s just the stint at the cafeteria and helping out the Science Division. Actually I’d wanted to earn a bit more, but what with rewriting reports, studying and trainingーeven on holidays I’m still quite busy. 

Link: What’s with that disgruntled look? Fulfilling your duties as an Exorcist is just natural. Besides, you’re being paid to be one anyway, aren’t you? 

Allen: But that’s totally not enough at all!

Wisely: Can’t be helped, with that much debt on your tab.

Bak: Such hardship at such a young age, Walker. Unimaginable to me, though, well-bred as I am.

Allen: If your heart pains for me, then please donate. (whips out donation box).

Marie: “At the Order”, you said. You mean you’ve worked elsewhere before?

Allen: Back when I was still training, I worked with Master as guards for caravans. Functions as battle training, too. It was a rough job, but the pay really was wonderful. To top that, we also got free meals, and debt collectors didn’t pursue us into deserts, too. 

Lavi: You really seem to be able to survive anywhere, huh.

Link: Caravans...? So that’s how you’ve been mingling in and lying low. No wonder we hadn’t been able to track down General Cross.

Question 19: What became of Kanda’s underpants that Lavi hid back in the Weekend Schedule? 

(T/N: From Gray Log. Argh dammit haven’t got round to translating Lavi’s)

Marie: Oi! Lavi! You really are such a pain!

Lavi: Ack! Sorry! But Yu’s always so calm and cool, you see. Makes me wanna see him freaking out for once.

Bak: You must really have balls to try that out.

Link: So uncivilized... (T/N: I feel like I’m quoting Obi-Wan a lot...)

Allen: So? Did Kanda freak out?

Wisely: You seem to be enjoying this, boy.

Lavi: Naaaaah～Actually, he just got dressed like nothing happened then went out to the forest for night practice.

Allen: ーwith NO UNDERPANTS ON!?

Marie: Well, it’s not totally unexpected...or rather...Kanda probably won’t get worked up over such things?

Wisely: I see...It’s the same with Tikky too. Is it just that gorgeous men do not need underpants to be gorgeous men?

Allen: I have completely no idea what you’re talking about here.

Lavi: To top that, looks like Yu just slept in the forest like that with no underpants on, too. It really wasn’t worth the trouble hiding his pants. Ah, bummer.

Marie: It's not just ah bummer, is it!? Give Kanda back his pants!

Lavi: Whaaaaat!? Even if I did return it to him, the way things are Yu wouldn’t remember it anyway. He’d probably just say something like “Huh? What’s this about?” then just stalk off! And I’d be left looking like a dork who bombed a pant-stealing prank! It’s embarrassing!

Marie: You got it backwards. What’s embarrassing here is the fact that you hid someone’s underpants, good grief (weary face).

Allen: Marie, you have to be more seriously angry, otherwise you’ll never get through to Lavi. Gotta look more strict.

Lavi: Youーyou traitor! You were all grins back there when you heard how I hid Yu’s pants, weren’t you, Allen!?

Allen: Was I? Of course not. Unlike you, I’m not a little kid.

Lavi: Ha! You’re one to talk! Whenever you do part-time at the cafeteria, you’re always stealing bites out of Yu’s food before you serve it to him. Think I didn’t know!?

Allen: That’s because Kanda’s always mocking my hospitality skills. Befitting punishment, I say! It’s not like you’re any better, Lavi. I know you’re always stuffing Kanda’s bag full of porn whenever he goes on a mission. And then there’s the time you tampered with Kanda’s toothpasteー

Lavi: You were with me that time, weren’t you!?

Bak: There’s more?

Wisely: A-ho-ho-ho (laughing). Somehow I feel like we can be good friends, boys.

Marie: Would you guys stop it already? Look, I’m grateful that you boys care about Kanda, since you guys are around the same age, but tone down the pranks! He’s still not used to these things. 

Allen, Lavi: Aw, come on~!

Link: We shall not let our precious word count be depleted further by such a nonsensical topic. This conversation ends here!!

>> Part 4 <<

[twicetolivetwicetodie]

4x22 “Think Fast”

Wow. What an episode. Let’s dig into it. 

That opening scene was insane. It was yet another instance highlighting just how terrifying DeVoe is. He singlehandedly took out an ARGUS facility, murdered almost everyone in it. I think that ARGUS scientist was the only survivor? I am still shook that he turned the ARGUS agents he had already killed into zombies and had them kill their coworkers. All while listening to Handel’s “Hallelujah”. The soundtrack made the scene even more chilling. I am super offended that he used Diggle’s face to get into ARGUS. You leave him out of this, DeVove! 

The Harry and Iris scenes were an absolute delight. I can’t get enough of them. That is a relationship I didn’t know I needed to see. It also seems like they’ve switched roles in a way? Iris was more interested in the facts of the situation and taking actions and Harry was thinking more on the emotional side of things. It was a very interesting role reversal that worked really well. It broke my heart to hear Harry say that he didn’t feel useful anymore. But Iris’s compassion and understanding of people, and her including Harry in her search for Marlize, helped him realize, and reiterating what Cecile has said to him before “There is more than one way to be intelligent.” 

Iris’s anger over Marlize. I was right there with her! Yes, Iris technically stabbed herself, but I still view it as Marlize stabbing her, as she wouldn’t have been put in that situation in the first place had Marlize not cornered her with a katana. That wasn’t the main issue though, not even close. Marlize helped ruin Barry’s life in more ways than one, put him in prison which led to him losing his job. That is not something that is easy to forgive. So even though Harry had good intentions when he was trying to view things from Marlize’s point of view, I completely understand Iris’s anger with him at that moment. Her confrontation with Marlize was so good. Calling her out on her role in this and her current indifference to the Enlightenment. And this line “Pessimism isn’t smarter than optimism. In this life, the bravest thing you can be is optimistic.” I just...wow. I just really love that line. I love the parallels between Iris and Barry here, because the both of them together can inspire people to be and do better, and Iris really exemplified that in this episode. 

The Killer Frost development was an interesting one to say the least. I’m glad Caitlin finally went to therapy to discuss what’s going on with her. They should honestly have Dr. Finkle sign an NDA and hire her full time at this point. The diagnosis of Dissociative Identity Disorder. This doesn’t surprise me, as it lines up with what we’ve seen in the past with Frost and Caitlin. Though this is an unfortunate trope in comic mediums I find? @barryandiriswest-allen posted about this, and how DID is very rare, but it seems to be fairly common in comic book mediums, I can name at least four Marvel characters with DID: Bruce Banner (Hulk), Marc Spector (Moon Knight), David Haller (Legion), and Mary Walker (Typhoid Mary), and I’m pretty sure there’s more. It was interesting how we got to hear Caitlin talk about her dad as she rarely mentions him so I’m curious as to how many memories of her father she’s suppressing. The childhood memory that we saw suggested that Killer Frost first appeared after what I’m assuming to be a response to her almost getting hit by a car as a child. I think that was her father’s voice in the flashback? They talked about how it was impossible that KF appeared before the particle accelerator explosion. Which isn’t true. We have seen metas whose powers have emerged in response to other events, it just hasn’t been that common as far as we know. Plus I imagine we will get more into the metagene next season with Dawn’s arrival. Barry and Iris will want to know if their children will inherit Barry’s speed. I was talking to @trashgaryen about this, and I kinda came up with a theory. Caitlin doesn’t talk about her father much. All she says is that he died of ALS and that he was a great dad, but she doesn’t really tell us many memories of him. What if Caitlin’s powers onset early, possibly as a result of the traumatic event of her almost getting hit by the car, and she accidentally killed her father? Maybe her mother covered it up to protect her. Possibly why her mom has a career in cryogenics? Not that I think any of this will actually pan out to be true, I’m just spitballing theories here. 

Barry and Cisco’s scenes were so important and emotional. I have missed them being bros and now they are finally opening up to each other, it was so good. I understand both Barry and Cisco’s side of the argument. Barry doesn’t want anyone else to die because of him. “Losing my two best friends? That’s the end of my world.” I don’t blame him for feeling that way at all. At this point, he blames himself for the deaths of twelve people. The look on his face when it was determined that they couldn’t save Fallout was heartbreaking. But Cisco’s argument was 100% correct. He can’t do this alone. Especially in that frame of mind. It broke my heart to hear, and I honestly expected this, that Cisco also blames himself for the deaths of the bus metas. But he’s been suppressing it for so long probably for the same reasons that Barry has been suppressing his feelings. There are two things that Barry said that are sticking with me. The first “I don’t need another therapist.” Ow? Is Barry ashamed that he has to see a therapist? And that he feels like he pushed Ralph too hard cause he wasn’t there. Now I read that as Barry blaming himself for being in prison, so yeah there are definitely more emotions he’s suppressing there. Barrisco angst. But it was needed and good Barrisco angst. Barry needed that reminder that he is not the only one to blame, and that he isn’t and never has been in this alone. Ugh the fact that Cisco blames himself for everything that has happened with DeVoe, that he might view it as him being selfish for wanting Barry back, and maybe he thinks he’s at fault for putting the city in danger for getting Barry out of the Speed Force? How much does Cisco blame himself for? He’s been suppressing this the entire time cause he’s worried about everyone else. That really parallels Barry and Cisco’s emotional arcs currently. Shelving their own emotional problems cause they consider the well being of others more important than their own psychological well-being. Ow that hurts.

Joe and Cecile’s scenes were really cute and endearing. It is really fascinating that Cecile’s powers have expanded now that she’s close to her due date. Her jumping into people’s minds and exhibiting other people’s personality traits was really funny. Joe being so worried about the baby! Oh my heart. His concerns are entirely valid though, what if supervillains attack the hospital while she’s giving birth and he has to protect them? If she goes into labor in the finale, which I’m expecting, he was right to be worried about it. 

I was starting to get really anxious towards the end there, especially after Barry destroyed the satellite and DeVoe didn’t seem all that concerned by it. I knew he had a backup plan. I was furious when he broke into the Time Vault and hijacked Time Vault Gideon. No one fucks with Gideon, you asshole! Barry’s face once he realized that DeVoe had won absolutely ruined me. 

So I definitely think all of this is going to lead into an anti-meta arc. This episode alone reaffirmed that for me. DeVoe breaks into a hi-tech ARGUS facility disguised as a respected ARGUS agent and easily dismantles their meta dampeners. He slaughters almost the entire facility, and takes hostages. It was particularly significant for me that even after Cisco reassured the ARGUS scientist that DeVoe was taken care of, she didn’t seem to trust him. DeVoe then uses STAR Labs satellites to replace the one Barry destroyed. That, in addition to the citywide panic that appears to be happening in the promo, that may result in civilian casualties, may cause the mayor to say “Enough is enough.” and draft anti-meta legislation. STAR will be hated again, though even though it wasn’t their fault, DeVoe still used their tech to kickstart the Enlightenment. 

Even though the finale will definitely cause my heart to race and probably traumatize everyone on Team Flash, I am ready for the happy part of the episode when Dawn reveals herself! 

[dannyphantom-justiceleauge]

Time and Again

When Bart Allen crash lands in the present, it’s strange, and he’s strange, but Danny has long been used to strange. He bobs his head when the YJ team relates to him what Bart had said about the future; his eyes closing when the knot in his chest releases at the telling of Impulse’s future. He’s not a monster.

Bart screams the first time that he sees Phantom.

Dan glances up at the natural portal over his head, double checking that it was indeed still open, the Infi-map thrumming in his belt. He turns his gaze back to the workers laboring away. 

Blue looks up at him, squinting into the empty space created by invisibility. Dan knows well enough now that the Reach suit can read the ecto-magnetic signature of his core. That had been established decades ago. The psionic cannon whirs, and Dan grins, flickering into view; red eyes dancing with mirth and revenge.

Dan’s howl neutralizes the blast; the air vibrates with the tension of conflicting sound waves. 

Small things here and there trip Bart up. A comment here, a sidelong glance, stiffening abruptly when Phantom phases through the wall, staring a little too long at Danny (both human and ghost) as if he’s trying to catalog the differences. Danny’s skin prickles and flashes of the desolated landscape from his future echo.

He relates these to Tucker and Sam; they vaguely remember the incident through a fog, but they nod and write down the instances that Danny lists. The journal confirms Danny’s suspicions that Bart is lying about his role in the future.

An electric blast from Black Beetle illuminates Dan’s frame, highlighting the glowing scar that sit across his chest, slipping across his collarbones and bisecting the insignia. Dan remembers dying; he remembers the pain and distress at watching GIW and Reach scientists alike poke and prod. He remembered his human side violently rejecting him, barring him control while it slipped out of the black hazmat and into civilian clothes to bleed out and find rest. Phantom, the halfa now dead, remembered their names and faces.

He didn’t kill them. He just worked to be a constant nuisance, a thorn in their side. He was angry, yes, but he refused to become that creature from his nightmares. It was a line he’d drawn. Helping out the workers made him feel better, overshadowing them to share his strength and let them rest for a moment.

That was how he’d found Vlad, actually. The older halfa had been doing much the same. Plasmius’s eyes had echoed the loneliness Phantom felt inside as they discussed how he’d come to be captured, how the Reach tech had learned to corrupt both Valerie and Jazz’s suits. The discussed the era of the fallen heroes. It was nice to reminisce even if those memories were tainted with anger and revulsion from how those heroes had been vanquished. Plasmius asks after the specifics, and Phantom state–as a distraught Vlad had told him in a future so many years ago–that some things are better left unsaid.

Time ticks on. Both are acutely aware of Clockwork’s radio silence.Vlad ceases to aide as Plasmuis now that the Reach follows him everywhere. Apparently, they finally deemed Luthor’s files worth a read. Vlad has not been a young man for years, and now Phantom helps as he does with the laborers, sometimes overshadowing Vlad through the worst of it. He works carefully to avoid expelling him as Point Dexter did so many, many adventures ago (was that even him? it couldn’t have been). 

Dan remembers dying then too, the feel and slide of Vlad’s body tiring, how it felt to lose that last vestige of humanness and how the collapse into a single  wavelength of their two separate ghostly cores rippled across their (his?) being. He remembered how the grief and loss resonated through and that spark of defiance and vengeance hollowly drove at him.

Dan Plasmius was a ghost that killed. He razed the testing labs, freeing as many of the Metas as possible, but ultimately, he wasn’t willing to sacrifice his existence. Dying twice (4 times technically including the accidents) does that to you. There was a speedster there; Dan swallowed down the nostalgia that came from that. 

Bart evades Danny like it’s his job.

Danny hunts him down like he’s freaking Skulker or something. Probably more like Walker honestly. He has to know though. He has too!

He can’t go into this fight not knowing if at any second he’s going to trigger his change into Dan Phantom. Danny can’t go through that again with this family.

Clockwork’s intervention isn’t what he’d expected. Be drastic. Be bold. Be enough of a ‘rival’ bad guy to create a scientific time travel back.

Blatant support to misuse the rule of the Ghost Zone? Granted. Dan doesn’t atriculate the unease in his core as he reestablishes himself as ruler of the ghost zone. His memories as Plasmius call this hollow, but Dan shrugs his discomfort off and works at it. The Phantom memories balk at being trusted with so much power and responsibility, and Dan soothes that away with a reminder that they’re not 14 anymore, that they have experience and know the risks and rewards.

Being a hero is hard. Knowing that this is the best way is even harder.

Under new management. That’s your threat. You challenge and harass the Beetles and the Reach. You talk up how much better the Ghost Zone is doing (which it is). You make sure that the laborers (slaves, Plasmius corrects) can always see your confrontations. You thrum in sympathy because you know that you’re making their lives harder. You know that you have the potential to start an apocalypse, but that’s not who you are.

You don’t care anymore how the people see you; you’re too focused on fighting the Reach. You overshadow Blue Beetle and Jaime’s psyche welcomes you with shock and relief and so many emotions that you can’t even comprehend them.

The scarab changes its electrical signal shortly after and Dan Plasmius is thrown away. There’s a speedster that watches this, and Dan aches in pity of his former teammate. He doesn’t leave the Ghost Zone again.

Getting Bart to talk legitimately takes a trip to Clockwork. Danny taps his fingers while Bart makes his feet thrum on the floor. Clockwork’s been ignoring them, flitting through his castle and choosing to do other things instead. Danny jumps when on one of the passes, the time ghost sets a dented (still sealed, thank god still sealed) thermos on a table just beside them. 

“We’ve been expecting you.”

Dan Plasmius glances around (between the younger half him and the speedster, between clockwork and the sealed thermos, and all around).

“I guess I owe you an explanation,” he directs to the ginger, “Surely, you’ve figured out now, that I’m just 90% talk with the power to back it up.”

[theliterateape]

The American Mystery | Part Two

By J. L. Thurston

Read Part One

Part Two: a Murder Solved

WE LEFT IMMEDIATELY TO EXAMINE THE SITE POE WAS DISCOVERED. Attending us was Constable Jacobs and a man named Walker, who had been the one to find Poe in a gutter outside the polling house.

It had been raining heavily for days, and the road was rutted and pocked. During our inspection of the site, Scott casually questioned Jacobs and Walker.

“What do you say, Scott?” I asked after a quarter-hour. “Was he beaten? Alcohol? Opium?”

“I have a theory, Inspector.”

Jacobs spit upon the muddy road. “Nah, it was cooping, boys.”

I furrowed my brow. “Cooping, you say?”

Just as Jacobs took a breath to explain, Scott gave a thorough definition as he leaned over random tracks in the mud.

“Cooping, dear Inspector, is a voting scheme that is running rampant in eastern America. Citizens are kidnapped, changed into disguises, and made to vote a certain way. After each vote, the victim is given alcohol as a favor in the poll house, then they are cooped again into voting under a new disguise. If done often enough, the victim will suffer extreme alcohol poisoning, let alone any physical altercation — such as a blow or two to the head — sometimes resulting in the person’s death. Poe did, in fact, disappear during the vote for sheriff, and I overheard at the train station that the debates had been heated as of late. However, I am developing a theory of my own, gentlemen.”

At Scott’s request, we sent out another telegram, this time to Richmond, Virginia, to a Mrs. St. Leon Loud. I regret to admit that I was utterly baffled by the matter, but at which point I was far too engrossed in admiring the way Scott worked. Even dear Hamish, who had been Scott’s companion for years, seemed just as fascinated as I.

We remained at the house for the evening, while Poe’s body was being prepared for the coroner and given final rights. Hamish, Walker, Jacobs, and I sat silently beside the fire, sipping tea and fidgeting. But not Mr. Scott. He remained stock-still by the window, gazing into the evening drizzle with hardly a fluttering eyelash.

Within the hour, a final telegram was to arrive. Scott gave it only the slimmest glance and released a shout of victory.

“Aha!” By the light of the gas lamps and the flickering fireplace, Scott bore a devilish mask of shadows. “Here is confirmation to my theory of the kidnap and murder of Edgar Allen Poe.”

“Murder, you say?” gasped Jacobs. “Why, his physician is swearing Poe died of brain swelling!”

Scott rose his fist in the air, clutching tight the telegram. “All I needed was a name, Constable Jacobs. And a name I have received. Poe was kidnapped and killed by failed writer Park Benjamin.”

The room seemed to shrink as Scott spoke his revealing conclusion. “I knew Poe was on his way to Richmond to visit a struggling poet, Mrs. St. Leon Loud, and assist her in editing her latest works. It is well-known that Poe is a shut-in and speaks of his comings and goings to almost no one. So, the question remains, who knew where Poe was and where to intercept him? Mrs. St. Leon Loud knew, of course, and would likely have all but bragged about the honor. Now the question is, who would want Poe dead? What is the motive?” Scott’s voice carried with it now feverish elation. “This person had to have been in Mrs. St. Leon Loud’s inner circle, be a person of marketability in the literary world, and travels between Richmond and Baltimore often enough that no suspicion would arise. This person likely rides in a carriage with wheels set wider than a typical handsome, giving the impression of a private cab. This person walked with a limp and carried a short staff, and depended on Poe’s long history of drug and alcohol addiction to cover his tracks, which makes me believe he has a history of some medical training. Possibly a former military man.”

“How? How could you possibly have obtained all that information in a single day with no resources to speak of?” breathed Jacobs. The grin on Hamish’s face was remarkably proud.

Scott straightened himself. “Common sense, common knowledge, and precise observation are my only tools. With the voting at the poll house long over by the time Poe’s body was found, I could safely assume he was abandoned there after all potential witnesses were long gone. With the heavy rain and low temperatures, traffic by the poll house is at a lull, this I confirmed with the dear Constable on our visit to the site. Thus, the tracks of the suspect carriage were still somewhat discernible in the road, along with a set of shoe prints and the imprint of a short staff that went to the exact spot Poe was found, turned and disappeared exactly where his private cab would have been waiting for him. Though his prints were filled with water, I could see that he was a heavyset man, older, limped, and suffers from arthritis in his right thumb and index finger.”

“Incredible,” I uttered, unable to contain my admiration.

“I sent an urgent telegram to Mrs. St. Leon Loud and requested that she give me the name of anyone she knew who would fit that description. Someone who worked in the writing community. Someone who had just returned from Baltimore. Dutifully, Mrs. St. Leon Loud responded with a name. Park Benjamin, the editor and failed poet of Baltimore. He had arrived in Richmond three days ago and offered to edit her works instead.”

“Three days,” conjectured Jacobs. “He arrived in Richmond the day after Poe had been found.”

“Sorry,” said I. “But what, do you think, could be the motive?”

Jacobs heaved a weary sigh. “I’m sure we won’t know until we interview Mr. Benjamin.”

Scott gave a grim nod. “Many believe Loud could be the next big name in poetry, and I’m sure Park Benjamin would agree. She has many wealthy contacts assisting her, and a chance to cozy up to her should not go amiss. But more so than that, a man who has worked hard for his dreams only to have fame avert him is not a man with much to lose. And Mr. Walker, do share what you told me earlier by the poll house.”

All eyes turned to the ever-quiet Mr. Walker, the man who had found Poe. He unclasped his hands and spoke in a halting voice. “Well, I, only that I follow literature quite fervently, and Mr. Scott had asked me if I knew of anyone who would wish harm upon Mr. Poe. I said no one, but Mr. Poe did write something of a scathing review about an amateur poet quite recently.”

“The poet’s name?” asked Scott.

Walker cleared his throat. “Park Benjamin.”

I resisted the urge to applaud the genius mind of William Scott, but he was not done thrilling us with his knowledge.

“I’m afraid you will find that Park Benjamin had been in Baltimore just long enough to drop Poe’s body off at the poll house to make it seem just another cooping scheme gone wrong. When, in fact, Poe had been kidnapped, tortured, and given an overdose of heroin to send him through the veil.”

“Heroin?”

Scott held his hand up and pointed between his index and middle fingers. “If you examine the body, you notice semi-fresh puncture wounds here on the victim’s hand. Though Mr. Poe was no stranger to drug abuse, he had no reason I can think of to go on a bender while traveling to a friend’s to edit poetry, and so close to his wedding date.”

Having been unaware of this fact, I hung my head in shame. Most of the room silenced at this juncture. Even Scott, who had worked the case with all the emotion of a streamliner, swallowed hard and clasped his hands behind his back.

“Good luck, gentlemen, on finding Park Benjamin, and bringing him to justice. I must now bid you all a fond farewell.”

There was a collective confusion in the room, mine included. “You’re leaving? Now?”

Scott’s eyes turned to me. “Yes, Inspector. My deductive skills have brought you to the threshold of the case, and I will no longer be necessary. You may carry this out to its grim conclusion without my further guidance.”

I almost watched him turn and walk away before I remembered something quite important to the case Scott had not yet explained.

“Wait! And what of Reynolds?” I asked. “The name Poe said before he died.”

Scott’s eyes shimmered and I could see it was a good question to ask. “Ah, yes. That is why I needed a name from Loud. I was expecting to find our murderer’s name was Reynolds, as that makes sense emotionally. But Poe was not just a man of great feeling, he was a man of great intelligence. Reynolds is not the name of his killer, but of the law firm Park Benjamin owns. It seems he was warning us of the kind of man we were hunting down. The kind of man with a swarm of lawyers in his pocket. Poe dreaded, in his last hours, that justice would not come for him, no matter our efforts. And in a way, so far, he was correct. None of this has saved him, and now a great man lies dead. I must take my leave and turn to matters of importance in my homeland. Godspeed, good sirs.”

Just as Poe, in his dying breath, predicted, an arrest and trial never came of the case following the detective’s leave. I was but a spectator on the matter, and I had dubbed it all a failure within hours of my arrival to Baltimore.

I feel that Scott took the case to heart. He, along with the world, was a fan of the writer, and no doubt felt partly responsible for his tragic end. I spent much of my journey home in pity, some for myself, some for Poe, but most for the complex and restless mind of William Scott who must have never known a still moment.

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What the Salem witches can teach us about how we treat women today

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What the Salem witches can teach us about how we treat women today

June 10 marks the anniversary of Bridget Bishop’s hanging in 1692 for being a convicted witch, the first of 19 hangings in Salem, Massachusetts. (Some accounts put the total at 20 people executed.) Thirteen of those executed for witchcraft and devil worship were women, many of whom made people uncomfortable by being “unruly.” Married three times, Bishop was known for dressing exotically (by Puritan standards), drinking at taverns, fighting publicly with her husbands and generally disregarding Puritan societal standards. Bishop declared her innocence at her execution, to no avail.

Centuries ago, the Salem witch trials targeted those most vulnerable in colonial society, forcing women like Bishop to pay the highest possible price for nonconformity. While the legal system has changed since the days of Puritan rule, one thing remains the same: Vulnerable women pay the price for circumstances that are often beyond their control.

The witch trials happened during a period of economic unease, with some Salem families faring better than others. Salem society was permeated by interpersonal conflicts, many of which stemmed from competition over resources. Historian Edward Bever has noted that such conflict included “gossip, insults, scolding, threats, curses, ritual magic, legal action, and various forms of physical assault.”

In this environment, women were consigned to rigid roles – mother, wife, caretaker. They had one job: producing obedient, religious children. Women who stepped outside these rigid boundaries were seen as working with Satan. (Why else would a woman reject her expected role?)

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As descendants of Eve, the original woman to fall from grace, women were viewed by the Puritans as vulnerable to temptations like desire for material possessions or sexual satisfaction. Being homeless, poor or childless was cause for concern, and these were the women targeted by the trials.

Such was the situation for two of the initial Salem accused witches: Sarah Osborne, a poor elderly woman, and an Indian slave named Tituba. Osborne was a widow who, after her husband’s death, took in an Irish immigrant as a farmhand, whom she would later marry. Then by claiming her deceased husband’s estate for herself instead of her children, she challenged the standard practice at the time of inheritance and land tenure. In fact, it was the accusation of witchcraft that ended the legal battle with her children.

While Osborne protested that she was innocent, Tituba confessed that the devil had asked her to serve him, and that she had agreed. In fact, it was Tituba’s claim that there were other witches like her that were working to destroy the Puritans that provided investigators enough evidence to justify launching a witch hunt. That Tituba was American Indian, a culture that Puritans feared, helped lend credibility to her confession.

Sarah Good was another accused woman who did not behave according to the standards expected of proper Puritan women. Like Bishop, Good was unruly. According to some sources, Good and her husband were poor and known to fight with other townspeople, making the couple unpopular in the community. (Continued below.)

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Good was, unsurprisingly, angry and resentful at being falsely accused of witchcraft and the subsequent loss of her family’s land. Her neighbors found her ungrateful and lacking in humility when they offered assistance – for which she had to beg – in the way of food or shelter. Some of them spearheaded the campaign against her, claiming she pinched children, used witchcraft to sicken or kill their livestock and appeared at night naked and covered in blood. Good was found guilty, sent to prison and later executed. But it didn’t stop there. Her very young daughter Dorothy (also known as Dorcas) Good also was subsequently found guilty of using witchcraft to exact revenge on her mother’s accusers.

Being poor, vulnerable, unruly and sexually promiscuous turned these women into targets of the criminal justice system.

Today, the criminal justice system continues to punish the vulnerable women in society. Most women who end up under supervision of the U.S. correctional system, whether through probation, jail, prison or parole, come from a poor background.

They are vulnerable because, more so than their male counterparts, female criminals often have extensive histories of victimization and trauma. A girl facing physical or sexual abuse at the hands of parents, relatives or family friends may opt to run away, thereby becoming a criminal by leaving her home as a minor. Once a runaway, a young girl faces bleak potential outcomes. Many runaways often fall prey to pimps, leading to prostitution. These prostitutes, in turn, make life bearable by retreating into drug and alcohol abuse.

It’s only a matter of time before they get caught up in the justice system, which is traditionally male-oriented and run by men. Correctional facilities are at times ill-equipped to receive female inmates, having traditionally been designed with male inmates in mind. While there are some correctional facilities specifically designed for women (for instance, ones that allow them to have and keep their babies while incarcerated), these are not the majority of facilities.

Like the Puritan witches before them, women offenders are also unruly because they behave in ways that “good” women do not.

As Pauline Brennan and Abby Vandenberg have noted, good women include wives and mothers who are “nurturing, emotional, and non-aggressive … passive, cooperative, chaste.” “Good” women and girls do not run away from home, even if fleeing an abusive home life. They do not turn to drugs to cope with a life on the street that may include prostitution. They do not steal to support a drug habit. Unruly, criminal women do these things. Like Bishop, Good and other accused Salem witches, modern female offenders often get removed from society via arrest, conviction and sentencing.

So what do we do about “witches” today?

Framing women as witches (or in modern thinking, as criminals, convicts or felons) and throwing them away (for instance, by placing them in prison) demonizes women and minimizes the circumstances that molded them. Of course, powerful women who have broken glass ceilings often also incur the title of witch as well, including Hillary Clinton, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, British Prime Minister Theresa May and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

In a surprising turn, however, some women are trying to take ownership of the term “witch,” transforming its meaning into something that extols women’s empowerment and pushes back against patriarchy. In her response to director Woody Allen’s statement that women coming forth with sexual harassment allegations had created a “witch hunt atmosphere,” Lindy West wrote, “The witches are coming (for sexual harassers and rapists) … we have our stories, and we’re going to keep telling them.”

For better or worse, it seems that the intertwining of women and witches, and the legacy of the Salem witch trials, are here to stay.

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Hassett-Walker is associate professor of criminal justice at Kean University and author of “Guns on the Internet: Online Gun Communities, First Amendment Protections.”