#accountant honolulu

[9823678]

Pokemon summer has come on my phone.

wallpaper by @screamtailvgc i like your arts.

summer | 🌴

[mapsontheweb]

US cities by skyscrapers per capita

by u/LivinAWestLife

Sources: Wikipedia (tallest buildings lists), CTBUH, and the SkyscraperPage database. The 100 m figure for NYC and Chicago are educated estimates instead of an exact count, using the figures obtained from the sources. This map does not take into account any high-rises which are shorter than 100 meters (328 feet). Here's the data I collected.

I used Datawrapper and Canva to create this visualization.

The top 12 for 100m+ buildings are NYC, Honolulu, Chicago, Miami, New Orleans, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Seattle, Austin, Houston, Denver, and Nashville.

The top 12 for 150m+ buildings are NYC, Chicago, Miami, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Seattle, Houston, Boston, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Tulsa, and Austin.

It appears that as cities get bigger they can absorb more skyscrapers for a given height relative to their population To my knowledge, this trend holds worldwide as well, up to a population of ten million.

[tieflingkisser]

The U.S. Navy has been polluting Hawaii’s lands and waters for years. Most recently, it leaked more than 1,000 gallons of raw sewage near Honolulu. Just days before that, Hawaii’s Health Department had fined the Navy more than $8 million dollars for committing hundreds of safety violations. As Trisha Kehaulani Watson, Vice President of Hawaiian social and environmental justice organization ‘Āina Momona put it, “it’s incredibly important that there is accountability and that accountability begins with the Navy assuming responsibility for the actions and the situations they’ve created.

[setra-studies]

heyyy, since you said youd like to tell me more about that japanese occupation thing, i am here requesting anything else about it just cuz you seem to have lots of fun explaining it!! :3

1940s : a filipino perspective

∘₊✧ ─── • ✧ • ───✧ ₊∘

oh my god !!!

thank you SO much for this ask!!!

alr alr i'll actually get started now

TWS: blood, war, injury, bombings, rape, murder, general war-crime stuff, HEAVY torture

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 1941: the start of fear

japan, aspiring to unite the countries in asia into the greater east asia co-prosperity sphere, called GEACOPS for short, had occupied manchuria already by the 1940s, and the philippines was the next thing japan wanted.

but the philippines was already occupied and colonized by the americans -- so this lead to the famous bombing of pearl harbour on december 7, 1941. in my textbook, here's an excerpt of the news in the honolulu star bulletin:

this was very strategic, as this was the largest american military base in the pacific, therefore cancelling out america disrupting japan's takeover as they were recovering from the bombing.

USAFFE (united states armed forces in the far east) were an army of filipino and american soldiers organized by general douglas macarthur, but were no match for the japanese forces. marching from north and southeast, the japanese moved toward manila and occupied the city.

an account of the pearl harbour bombing in the philippines by lourdes reyes montinola states:

on december 8, 1941, feast of the immaculate conception, we were on our way to church when news of the bombing of pearl harbour came. that same evening, a piercing siren warned us of an aerial attack--the first of a hundred we were to experience. we crouched in fear as the enemy dropped the first bombs, and our defenders fired anti-aircraft guns . . .

we remained unaware of impending tragedy until the day manila was declared an open city. we did not realize how bad things were going to be until we saw enemy soldiers carrying white flags with the red sun slowl passing through taft avenue . . . soon after, our house was commandeered by the japanese as were many other residences on vito cruz and taft avenue . . .

general macarthur declared manila an open city on december 26, 1941, which means it has been abandoned by its defenders. the japanese invaders, however, continued bombing, until vital installations and buildings of manila were gone. on new year's day 1941, USAFFE retreated into the hills and forest of bataan in the west, foreshadowing an even which will eventually be called the most inhuman atrocity in world war ii -- the bataan death march.

in the afternoon before christmas day, december 24, 1941 amid heavy bombings in the city the national government headed by quezon* and osmeña* were evacuated to the island fortress of corregidor. secretary of justice jose abad santos, general basilio valdes, and colonel manuel nieto were with them. manila was left under the care of jose p. laurel, the acting chief justice and the city mayor, jorge vargas. at the malinta tunnel in corregidor, quezon and osmeña took their oath for their second term as president and vice president of the philippine commonwealth*. after a few days the group left for australia and then for the united states.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ surrender and the open city

moving on to the horrific death march in bataan, soldiers were imprisoned by the japanese. but with no provisions, they were then ordered to walk to camp o'donnel, a concetration camp in capas, tarlac, and their march reached a whopping total of 126 kilometers.

but before that could happen, first, on april 9th, 1942, the 75,000 strong USAFFE soldiers in bataan laid down their arms, surrendering to the japanese. may 6th, 1942, the last remaining stronghold, corregidor, was also surrendered by general wainwright.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ the horrors of bataan

to understand the terrible nature of this event, you must understand that no one had water. no one had food. no town could offer the dehydrated, starving filipino and american soldiers food or water or risk being beat by the japanese. escape was impossible, as the japanese shot down whoever attempted to do so. not even dirty canals or wells were available to men for drinking water. the dead were left to grow hot in the sun by the roadside, and if you were nearly dead the japanese would just shoot you and end it already. watches, rings, fountain pens, everything was looted by the japanese soldiers from the USAFFE men.

of the group that started in bataan, 10,000 died. more died in the concentration camp.

from san fernando, surviving prisoners were densely packed into boxcars with no ventilation and brought to capas. as the trains moved to their location under the hot sun, the boxcars became ovens that cooked the men inside alive.

six kilometers were left after their trip, that were once again agonisingly walked by the soldiers. 15,000 died of hunger, malaria, diarrhea, and more executions. a war veteran by name of quirico v. cadang shares his experience in his memoirs:

the earlier mentioned jose p laurel now acted as president of what is called the puppet government -- named after the japanese's puppetry of the new president. laurel was actually doing well in regards to running the country and reducing harm done, and allowed philippine history to finally be taught in schools. this government, the japanese-sponsored republic, was inaugurated on october 13, 1942.

beheadings, cutting of throats, and casual shootings were the more common actions of japanese war atrocities--compared to instances of bayonet stabbing, rape, disembowelment, rifle butt beating and a deliberate refusal to allow the prisoners food or water while keeping them continually marching in tropical heat. falling down or inability to continue moving was tantamount to a death sentence, as was any degree of protest.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ the state of the government

economy was at an all time low during the occupation -- food and water scarce, as money was used to repair bombed buildings and such. prices soared in result.

the japanese kempeitai raided houses with unregistered radios, whos owners were then imprisoned in fort santiago, and inhuman punishments were meted out to them as a daily exercise.

failing to bow to the japanese sentries stationed at street corners resulted in harm to whoever had done so -- but that was not the main source of fear. the spy was.

filipinos could also be spies for the japanese -- called the makapili (literally meaning "choosy" or "the one who chooses"). he was to identify rebels (called guerrillas) and those identified would become targets and would be executed accordingly.

many years after the war, the abuses done to filipino women came to light. the "comfort women" were used to relieve soldier's sexual urges, and were often gathered into houses, even schools to be raped over and over every day. the infamous pulang bahay (red house) is the most well known place where this happened.

remedios fellas, 72, presented her story in a book entitled "the hidden battle of leyte: the picture diary of a girl taken by the japanese military." i will not describe anything in the book, as i deem it perhaps too graphic for this blog and i don't want people to get scared off. but i will say that stories like these were truly horrible, and no woman should ever suffer like this as spoil of war ever again.

by 1945, the americans were ready to return. after a bit of island-hopping (and subsequent victories), the leyte gulf war commensed. the american fleet, composed of 650 ships and 4 army divisions, cleared the area and subdued the japanese troops. from october 24 to 26, the battle for leyte gulf took place. the battle at surigao strait ended with the japanese annahilated. the battle of samar, after an endless day of fire and shooting, the americans had the upper hand. leyte, liberated on october 26th, 1945, was now the temporary capital.

the guerrilla / resistance movement was the main source of rebellion, monitoring enemy activity and reporting to general macarthur, to carry out assaults against the japanese military, and to kill japanese sympathizers and spies.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ freedom in reach

manila's liberation finally took place on january 9th, 1946, as the americans surprised the japanese with a landing of troops in lingayen gulf. on february 3, the troops entered manila. freeing prisoners, over 1000 were saved from the bilibid prisons -- and these prisoners were those of bataan and corregidor.

seeing the futility of their situation, the japanese committed a final horror before the battle begun -- the manila massacre. violent mutilations, rapes, and murders took place. filipinos were gathered into houses to be shot or burned down, and women were mass raped. a japanese battalion order dates february 13th reads:

when filipinos are to be killed they must be gathered in one place and disposed of with the consideration that ammunition and manpower must not be used to excess. because the disposal is a troublesome task they should be gathered into houses scheduled to be burned or demolished. they should also be thrown into the river.

about 100,000 of the one million residents in manila died in the absolute massacre. 1,000+ us soldiers were also part of the casualties while 5,565 were wounded. 16,000 japanese soldiers died as well, mostly sailors. the battle of manila was recorded as the fiercest urban fighting in the entire pacific war.

when in class, we watched a video of this massacre -- manila was gone. razed to the ground. on february 23rd -- my own birthday -- the fighting stopped. buildings gone. ground dirty with blood of filipinos, americans and japanese alike. the past six years culminated into a battle of the greatest intensity, and it ended in a city destroyed completely. the beauty of manila nowhere to be seen, the filipinos won back their independence at a cost too heavy to carry.

in malacañang palace, macarthur gathered the filipino leaders, finally declaring a statement that brought joy to the nation, that allowed the deaths of thousands of rebels to have come to use:

my country has kept the faith. your capital city, cruelly punished though it be, has regained its rightful place--citadel of democracy in the east.

∘₊✧ ─── • ✧ • ───✧ ₊∘

thank you for reading. feel free to request other historical events.

if you read through this and feel very traumatized, play tetris. you'll likely forget most of the traumatizing details. i apologize in advance.

[incorrect-jojolands-quotes]

so, update and possible hiatus

As many of y'all know, I worked on a JOJOLands fandub project in which I was the main writer and editor of the series. I also created a series called "Honolulu Hot Takes" that was also posted on the channel the project resides on. Today, I made an announcement on the server and on the Twitter account that that project is now over due to what the founder, main director, and voice actor of Jodio Joestar has done.

There is no plans on reviving the project as many of the voice actors involved do not want to be associated and the project itself will forever have this mark regardless of who takes over. As of now, the channel and server have been deleted by him. Many of the team and I have left the server prior to it as well.

I just want to apologize to the fans, the people in the cast, and the people on our crew for the inconvenience of this announcement and for ending this project due to it. I know there were many awaiting for new opportunities to work with us and many anticipating new content to come from our team, but the journey ends here. Nonetheless, I appreciate you all for supporting this project up to now and wish you all the very best.

I'm going to continue trying to post my own JOJOLands content here and my other accounts like before- like my yap sessions, incorrect quotes, and whatnot- but it currently feels weird if I'm being honest. Part 9 can't be enjoyed like before due to this event now overshadowing everything I used to love about The JOJOLands and other events in my life also occurring; timing works in strange ways. It may take a while for things to get back into the groove and maybe things will never be the same.

Nonetheless, thank you all for being a part of the journey. Up until now, you guys have been the reason why I stayed and did what I did.

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from Mother Jones:

Advertise with Mother Jones

The Chevron refinery in El Segundo, California.Genaro Molina/TNS/Zuma

This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.

Far-right fossil fuel allies have launched a stunning and unprecedented campaign pressuring the Supreme Court to shield fossil fuel companies from litigation that could cost them billions of dollars.

Some of the groups behind the campaign have ties to Leonard Leo, the architect of the right-wing takeover of the Supreme Court who helped select Trump’s Supreme Court nominees. Leo also appears to have ties to Chevron, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

“He’s really crafted the Supreme Court,” said Lisa Graves, executive director of the progressive watchdog group True North Research and an expert on Leonard Leo’s network.

Honolulu is one of 40 cities and states suing big oil for an alleged decades-long effort to sow doubt about the dangers of burning fossils. If successful, the case could force the defendants to pay for climate damages.

In October, the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that the suit can go to trial. But oil companies petitioned the US Supreme Court in February to review the state court’s decision; they argued the cases should be thrown out because emissions are a federal issue that shouldn’t be tried in state courts.

Supreme court justices met on Thursday to consider whether or not to take up the fossil fuel companies’ request, and the justices could grant or reject the petition in the coming days.

If granted, the request could catalyze the dismissal of the wave of climate accountability lawsuits against big oil—a major win for the defendants seeking to limit their liability for the climate crisis. But it’s the kind of ask about which the Supreme Court would not normally offer its opinion, advocates and legal experts say.

“The court would probably not think this request is important, unless someone told them it was very important,” said Kert Davies, a director at the Center for Climate Integrity, which supports the litigation against big oil.

Some conservatives have been telling them exactly that. “I have never, ever seen this kind of overt political campaign to influence the court like this,” said Patrick Parenteau, professor and senior climate policy fellow at Vermont Law School.

In recent weeks, conservatives have published opinion pieces in Bloomberg, The Hill, the Wall Street Journal and the National Review calling on the court to grant the petition. “Honolulu is attempting to use the law of one state to dominate the others,” wrote Carrie Severino, president of the conservative dark money group JCN, formerly known as the Judicial Crisis Network, in the rightwing National Review.

JCN is a trade name for the Concord Fund, one of many nonprofits led by Leo, the powerful far-right judicial activist who also co-chairs the rightwing legal advocacy group the Federalist Society. Justice Clarence Thomas once quipped that Leo was the third most powerful person in the world.

Asked about the influence campaign, Severino told the Guardian: “Liberal dark money groups…are freaking out because the Supreme Court is being asked to step in and correct the damage those dark money groups are doing with their massive campaign to subvert the law and the constitution with a radical climate agenda.”

[jackredfieldwasmyjacob]

the other day i was thinking about how i would want to travel the world when i have money of my own but that long flights sound like a nightmare (my longest flight ever was like 3 hours i think) so i came up with this fun game in which i looked up how much it would take me to circumnavigate the world using exlusively short flights.

so, that's what i did. first of all, rules and disclaimers:

-all flights have to be around 3 hours long (so no longer than 4 hours).

-they also have to be direct flights

-i more or less counted travel time between connections to make it as realistic as possible, tho with the final schedule i would barely get some rest and it would be cool to visit some of the cities i'd fly to so in an ideal world where this would be feasable, i'd make it longer and with more time to sleep and do tourism i think.

-despite trying to follow everything, unfortunately i didn't take into account how freaking large oceans are, so the flights in the pacific and the atlantic will unfortunately be over 4 hours long. i tried looking for the shortest flights tho, so they're not ridiculously long either.

anyways, the schedule i would follow is below the cut:

in total, i would have to take 18 planes in 10 days:

madrid (MAD) - athens (ATH): 3 hours 25 minutes, Aegean Airlines, 12:40-17:05.

athens (ATH) - tbilisi (TBS): 2 hours 40 minutes, Aegean Airlines, 00:10-03:50.

tbilisi (TBS) - almaty (ALA): 3 hours 35 minutes, Air Astana, 22:20-02:55.

almaty (ALA) - delhi (DEL): 3 hours 25 minutes, Air Astana, 10:05-14:00.

delhi (DEL) - dhaka (DAC): 2 hours 25 minutes, Air India, 17:05-20:00.

dhaka (DAC) - kuala lumpur (KUL): 3 hours 55 minutes, Batik Air Malaysia, 23:00-04:55

kuala lumpur (KUL) - brunei (BWN): 2 hours 30 minutes, Royal Brunei, 12:10-14:35

brunei (BWN) - manila (MNL): 2 hours 15 minutes, Royal Brunei, 11:55 - 14:10

manila (MNL) - guam (GUM): 3 hours 55 minutes, United Airlines, 22:25-04:20

guam (GUM) - pohnpei (PNI): 2 hours 30 minutes, United Airlines, 20:25-23:55

pohnpei (PNI) - majuro (MAJ): 2 hours 10 minutes, United Airlines, 15:20-18:30

majuro (MAJ) - honolulu (HNL): 4 hours 40 minutes, United Airlines, 19:30-02:10

honolulu (HNL) - san francisco (SFO): 5 hours 01 minutes, United Airlines, 07:00-15:01

san francisco (SFO) - dallas (DFW): 3 hours 35 minutes, American Airlines, 17:00-22:35

dallas (DFW) - new york city (LGA): 3 hours 35 minutes, Spirit Airlines, 05:33-10:08

new york city (JFK) - reykjavik (KEF): 5 hours 35 minutes, Iceland Air, 13:00-22:35

reykjavik (KEF) - paris (CDG): 3 hours 25 minutes, Iceland Air, 00:45-06:10

paris (CDG) - madrid (MAD): 2 hours 10 minutes, Iberia, 12:40-14:50

[freehawaii]

KE AUPUNI UPDATE - JULY 2024

Hawaiiʻs First National Holiday Next weekend Hawaiian Nationals will be celebrating the 181st anniversary of Lahoihoi Ea, “Sovereignty Restoration Day”. On February 11, 1843 a British naval officer Captain Lord George Paulet arrived in Honolulu to investigate a land dispute complaint filed by Richard Charlton, the British Consul to Hawaii. When negotiations with King Kamehameha III did not go his way, Paulet’s cavalier colonial response was to seize control of the Hawaiian Kingdom and place it under the British Crown. But unbeknownst to Paulet, three envoys from Hawaii — Timoteo Ha’alilio, William Richards and Sir George Simpson — were already in Europe negotiating with the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of France for formal recognition of the Hawaiian Kingdom as a sovereign nation. Upon learning of Paulet’s brazen action in Hawaii, they filed a protest with British authorities. On July 26, 1843 British Admiral Richard Thomas sailed into Honolulu harbor on his flagship HMS Dublin to put an end Captain Paulet’s illegal occupation. Reserving the right to protect British citizens, Adm. Thomas clearly affirmed Great Britain’s respect for the sovereignty of the Hawaiian Kingdom. On July 31, 1843 a ceremony lowering the British flag and raising the flag of Hawaii was held at a site now called Thomas Square in honor of the admiral and the occasion. The ceremony acknowledged Hawai‘i’s sovereign stature and restored King Kamehameha III as the rightful ruler. A phrase from the speech made that day by Kamehameha III at Kawaiah‘o Church, Ua mau ke eā o ka ‘āina i ka pono (The sovereignty of the land is preserved through righteousness), remains the official motto of the Hawaiian Kingdom to this day. Even the usurper State of Hawaii has adopted it as their state motto. Lā Ho‘iho‘i Ea For 50 years, from 1843 to 1893, Lā Ho‘iho‘i Ea, was celebrated as a week long national holiday marked by Hawaiian patriotism and all the best that our islands have to offer including music, crafts, games, food and community events. In 1893, Hawai‘i once again came under illegal occupation (this time by the United States) and Lā Ho‘iho‘i Ea, was banned in Hawai‘i, along with other national holidays such as Hawaii Independence Day, Lā Ku‘oko’a. Unlike the illegal occupation of 1843, the one that began in 1893 continues until today. However, Lā Ho‘iho‘i Ea experienced a rebirth in 1985 when Hawaiian national scholar, patriot and activist Dr. Kekuni Blaisdell resurrected this holiday to honor and celebrate our continued independence and sovereignty, despite the nearly century-long American occupation. This Hawaiian Kingdom holiday is now celebrated by a huge gathering at Thomas Square in Honolulu, and by numerous gatherings and activities throughout the islands. Happily, this year, even the US-installed puppet government, the “State of Hawaii”, is recognizing Lā Ho‘iho‘i Eā and Lā Ku‘oko’a, as two of the Hawaiian Kingdomʻs most important national holidays. Another sign that a Free Hawaii continues to rise… 

“Love of country is deep-seated in the breast of every Hawaiian, whatever his station.” — Queen Liliʻuokalani ---------- Ua mau ke ea o ka ʻāina i ka pono. The sovereignty of the land is perpetuated in righteousness. ------ For the latest news and developments about our progress at the United Nations in both New York and Geneva, tune in to Free Hawaii News at 6 PM the first Friday of each month on ʻŌlelo Television, Channel 53. ------ "And remember, for the latest updates and information about the Hawaiian Kingdom check out the twice-a-month Ke Aupuni Updates published online on Facebook and other social media." PLEASE KŌKUA… Your kōkua, large or small, is vital to this effort... To contribute, go to:   • GoFundMe – CAMPAIGN TO FREE HAWAII • PayPal – use account email: info@HawaiianKingdom.net • Other – To contribute in other ways (airline miles, travel vouchers, volunteer services, etc...) email us at: info@HawaiianKingdom.net All proceeds are used to help the cause. MAHALO! Malama Pono,

Leon Siu

Hawaiian National

[sailor-scribbles]

Patron

Mamoru was puzzled. Sitting on the table was a parcel that Usagi had excitedly brought in just a moment ago. It was about the size of a toaster and wrapped in brown paper and twine. The package was addressed to Mamoru but had no return address or markings.

“I wonder what this is.”

“Eh? I thought you would know. Like maybe you ordered a new coffee maker or some books.” Usagi picked up the box and shook it a little. It seemed fairly light. The contents just sounded like paper shifting around inside.

“I don't remember buying anything.”

“Maybe it's a gift!”

That seemed possible. Just last weekend, Mamoru turned a nice round 20 years of age. The official age of adulthood according to Japan. He celebrated appropriately – a night out with friends from college, punctuated with a special surprise when he came home… Usagi wrapped in a bow.

It was a good birthday.

But who else would be sending him something this late?

Mamoru pulled off the twine and started to unwrap it as Usagi looked on curiously. The box seemed oddly scuffed, but ignoring that he pried open the top.

They were photos. Just an huge cache of photos – loose, mostly candid Polaroids, a couple of framed ones as well. Mamoru turned the box over on the table to look at them. As he spread the contents out, he noticed a small envelope along with them.

“They're all of this man and his son.” Usagi had picked up a handful of photos and was flipping through them. And she was right, they were mostly of a dark-haired man and a boy, smiling and waving at the camera. But something tugged at Mamoru's mind as he stared at them. A stack of family photos addressed to him…

“Hey, Mamo-chan, he kinda looks like…” She trailed off, looking from the photos to Mamoru and back again. The unsaid implication hung in the air.

He had already realized it as well. The man looked familiar. The shape of his face, the color of his eyes… were very much like Mamoru's.

“Dad?”

~~~

Mamoru didn't know how long they sat there, slowly sorting through the pictures. Neither he nor Usagi said a thing. Before today he had no photos of his parents. Growing up at the children's welfare center, he had the same as everyone else: food, clothes, and roof over his head. Not much else. Not even memories.

It wasn't until he was old enough to leave the center that he was confronted by an attorney, who told him about the Chiba inheritance. The woman said that, coupled with the insurance money, the accounts had been handled by a private party and kept safe for the day Mamoru turned fifteen. She assured him that he would be well taken care of: an apartment in Tokyo and already registered to attend the prestigious Azabu High next spring. Besides a few assets that were locked away until he was an adult, the rest of the money was his to do as he pleased.

But it was the first item she handed to him that was the most important: a simple one-page family registry, his parents' names typed out neatly on the sheet:

Father: Chiba Ishiei Mother: Chiba Hiyo.

For nearly five years that was all he needed. Mamoru kept it tucked away in a book among many on his shelf, away from prying eyes. After confronting his visions and meeting Usagi, there was never any question about what he left behind.

Until today.

Now his past was laid bare on this small kitchen table. There were so many photos. All of them were of Mamoru and Ishiei – or should I call him Dad he wondered – doing various things. Going to the park, attending a festival, Mamoru's first steps…

He didn't remember any of it.

Mamoru took a closer look at the mailing box, which he now noticed was much older than he first thought. The cardboard was scuffed and scraped, like it had been shipped many times. Various postmarks were stamped all around it, overlapping once there was no room left. He ran his finger over the faded ink. Okinawa, Honolulu, London, New York, Paris… He could just barely make out the full name of the package's original recipient: Chiba Hiyo. His mother's name.

If these photos were his mother's, then who sent them to Mamoru?

His gaze fell on the little yellow envelope that had tumbled out of the box with the pictures. It looked newer than the rest, crisp and bright. Blank.

A sudden panic clenched his heart. Mamoru was six again, waking up alone and confused. Who was he? Did anybody know? For nearly a decade he had waited in that facility for someone to remember him. And only now was there a response. A distant relative? A stranger? Weren't those both the same thing at this point? An unknown person who knew more about Mamoru's childhood than he did.

Was he afraid?

Before he could be overwhelmed, a gentle warmth enveloped Mamoru from behind.

“Mamo-chan. I'm here with you.”

Usagi had at some point gotten up to embrace him, her arms wrapping protectively around his shoulders. Cradled to her chest like this, he softened as her heartbeat steadied his own.

Mamoru reached up for one of her hands, bringing it to his lips to kiss it. He didn't trust himself to speak yet, but hoped that was enough to tell her how much it meant to him. With his other hand, Mamoru finally picked up the envelope and opened it.

Inside was a letter. He read it silently as Usagi looked over his shoulder, still keeping him in her arms.

Chiba Mamoru

These belong to you. I think it's about time for both of us to have closure. If you'd like to meet, I'll be waiting at Cafe Toujour, August 30th at 3pm. This will be last and only time.

Your benefactor, Kusaka Toshie

It was short, almost terse.

“Kusaka Toshie…” Mamoru repeated the name under his breath. It didn't ring any bells.

“Do you know him?” she asked softly.

“I don't recognize it but…”

He remembered what that attorney had said those five years ago. “A private party” had handled Mamoru's funds while he was at the welfare home. Was it this Kusaka person?

“….it's complicated,” Mamoru sighed. His brain was exhausted from running in circles. It wasn't that he didn't want to share this with her, but Mamoru himself didn't understand that part of his life very well. Somehow, it seemed a lot scarier than fighting aliens or evil. At least he had practice with that.

Usagi didn't press it, instead kissing the top of his head comfortingly. She picked up one of the photos and smiled at the scene: Ishiei giving toddler Mamoru a piggyback ride.

“You look really happy in these.”

She held him closer as he kissed her hand again.

What to do about the letter could wait until tomorrow.

(an extra fanfic bit from this.)

[protege-not-protagonist]

Criminal Minds: The Protégé Chapter 1

Ch 1: Please, Not Another Auditor.

Blurb: After deciding to leave the BAU, Spencer is now a full time professor at the FBI Academy, teaching profiling and criminology. Spencer is struggling to live life without the BAU, but that is to be expected when it has been all he has known for almost 2 decades. The BAU meanwhile, struggled to find someone to fill the genius shaped hole in the team when he left, and they still are struggling. At least, that's how the newest profiler, Agent Grace Matthews feels. Grace is good at what she's good at, it's why the bureau accepted her earlier than most. But how could anyone live up Dr. Reid's legacy? So, when Grace answers a call intended for her desk's previous owner, she jumps at the chance to meet her predecessor and ask him for some advice. Together, they find a kinship… but unfortunately, they also uncover a disturbing pattern in the deaths of inmates and patients the BAU have helped put away.

Masterlist

Audience: recommened mature audience for depictions of violence and sexual references

Author's Note: You might have recognised this story from it's previous iteration on Ao3. I had a bit of a personal crisis and deleted my account. So I am re-editing what I have saved on my computer and reuploading it with some fixed continuity errors now that I finished CM Evolution. Will be cross posted here and on Ao3. This fic is dedicated to giving Spencer a happy ending, serving my desire to write crime/mystery and getting my horrific idea's for unsubs out of my head. Set in 2023, and mostly canon compliant. Sorry this is all plot, no peen. But promise there will be a love interest for Spencer, and Grace acts as a wingman for. This more a found family/ give Spencer a smol bean to mentor fic.

TW: murder, prison, criminology terms

Five years ago: Honolulu women's state penitentiary, Hawaii, April 29th 2017

‘So, what do you think detective?’ Rossi asked as the guard buzzed them through to the observation room.

‘Chief thinks based on the evidence before this fourth victim showed up, we caught our girl.’ Detective Fahnu sighed.

‘That’s all well and good, but I asked what you think Mark, cause this is a real bad time to call in a favour. Back home, a real spaghetti stick of an FBI agent, who happens to be like family to me, is in the clink, and we’re busting our asses trying to get him out before he dies. And you calling me here means I had to ask my boss if I can fly off to Hawaii for a weekend. It looks real bad, okay? So you better have a gut churning reason to keep me here, or I’m gone.’

‘It’s more head spinning than gut churning,’ Fahnu nodded through the mirrored glass window at the inmate sitting cuffed to the desk. ‘It’s just never sat right how fast we closed this one. Kauai is a small island, Li’hue is an even smaller town, people are terrified and out for blood, it’s been bad for tourism, and the local government is calling for heads Dave. Chief wanted this case solved fast. We made a profile, and she fit the bill.

‘She’s a loner, got the whole Wednesday Addams thing goin’ for her, spends her free time in cemeteries, works at a funeral home, no friends at school, quiet, never had a boyfriend or anything like that. But had a good family, didn’t so much as sneeze out of turn in public, school, work, even here she is a model prisoner after the first month. We all knew her at the station, not from any trouble, but she was a paper waster, reporting dead animals, reporting goddamn rocks being moved, cats that went missing, insisting there was a serial killer out there… well what do you know, one turns up, and she inserts herself into the investigation, you people said they do that. So with no other leads or suspects, she starts looking promising. So we got a warrant, and we found… well you know what we found and then there was the internet history.

'And here we are eight months later. I’m not sure what to think Dave, cause I know her family and character witnesses, they’re good people, they don’t lie. But neither does evidence and until this new victim showed up, all of it pointed to her. Someones playing games and I don’t know who it is.’

‘And she plead guilty?’ Rossi asked.

‘I’m not even sure about that anymore, you have the case file there?’

‘Yeah?’

‘Does it have her records while in Kauai Jail?’

Rossi flicked through it again, he saw her 3 weeks here in solitary till she turned 18 and could be placed in a cell in E block, but strangely her transfer and county jail records were missing. ‘No.’

Detective Fahnu passed him a yellow envelope. ‘These somehow never made it across my desk until this week after number four showed up.’ Rossi opened the folder and winced. ‘As soon as I saw those… I knew I made the right call asking you to come. I can’t sleep Dave, I gotta know we caught the right one.’

‘Well, either way you’ve got someone else to catch, the new victim had traces of Semen still on them?’

‘You’re right, we’re running it now hopefully it'll give us a lead, I'm sorry I can’t stay for this, we’re conducting family interviews in an hour, I at least need to be there on conference call but, let me know how this goes. I appreciate this a lot.’

‘Don’t sweat it, I’ll call you tonight, when this is done. Take care Mark.’ Rossi waved the detective off and took one more look over the files, especially the new ones from the county jail.

He observed the girl in the interview room. Her head hung over the desk as she leant on her elbows and bounced her leg. Her buzzed cropped hair now starkly different from the long curly mane in the mugshot that had been taken in November last year. She looked up and peered at the glass, only able to see her reflection, but somehow she sensed his stare and met his eyes.

It was time.

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Quantico FBI Academy, VA Thursday July 2023 11:15 am

‘And it is this repeated and obsessive element of an M.O. that can indicate a paraphilia. Paedophilia, necrophilia are well known paraphilia that are criminal in nature. Now paraphilia can be anything, it doesn’t have to be a criminal act, but it can form part of a signature. Can anyone name what type of paraphilia dendrophilia is?’ he asked.

Blank faces met him. Well, the faces that looked up from their notes frantically were blank. The two auditors of the class always disconcertingly looked like their minds were elsewhere. One day, Spencer sighed quietly to himself. One day someone would know. ‘It’s…’

‘Trees,’ a quiet, unfamiliar voice called out hesitantly from the back row. ‘It’s an attraction to trees, dendro from the Greek dendron meaning tree, philia also Greek, meaning strong fondness and love amongst equals.’

The voice was not one of his students this term; he was certain. He could pick their voices. Spencer swiveled his head, scanning his students to get a glimpse of the first person to answer that question since he started asking it. His suspicions were confirmed; she was not supposed to be in this class. The voice belonged to a young woman, probably early twenties, with dark hair in braided pigtails on either side of her head. She fidgeted with her glasses before stuffing her hands back into her cardigan pockets. Their eyes met and she gave him a small smile.

‘…Yes, that’s right, trees. Any ideas what kind of behaviour might be displayed in a signature if a criminal has dendrophilia?’

‘They might like to perform their crimes outdoors in wooded areas, or bury victims under trees so they can revisit crime scenes and get off on the fact the trees are being sustained by a victim's decomposition. Or they might hide bodies in hollow trees, it would depend on an unsub’s preferences,’ she suggested, he could see she had a lot more to say, but she sat there, nervously looking at other students, as if prompting them to say something.

It was then Spencer placed her. He was right; she wasn't a current student. She had been in a few of his classes when he was teaching part time, two years ago. He couldn’t put a name to her face or much of her cohort to be honest. It bothered him. They had switched to online correspondence in the first semester of 2020. Only the first two classes with her cohort were in person, in which she had been silent. But, she should have graduated by now. Why was she here? Oh God, please not another auditor, he thought.

He cleared his throat, turned his attention back to the class. ‘Does anyone who's actually in this class have something to add?’ His gaze might as well have been poisoned the way some of the young students avoided it. ‘No? Okay, I know I blindsided you with that one, but, our guest is right. It may seem inconceivable to some of you that people would actually become aroused by trees, but in my experience paraphilia can be developed from anything and everything.’

He glanced back at her. Now she was clutching a canvas messenger bag tightly against her chest with one hand, and texting with the other. She obviously wasn’t here for the content or to audit him. So, he deduced that she was waiting for him to finish. He tried his best to continue as normal, now hoping that she wasn’t one of his fans that his lectures seemed to attract. ‘Now the assigned reading for next week will go further into how a paraphilia can be imprinted on a person, but I thought the basics of paraphilia would be an important background for the case study this week because it interacts with the stages of development and the importance of a love map. This is a case study from 1995…’

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Spencer concluded the class five minutes early and packed up his things, warily glancing at her. The canvas messenger bag she had with her had a few pins on it for personalisation, but the way she gripped it so tight made him dread what was in it. She didn’t appear armed, but she seemed dressed in a way that would convey she was non threatening. It was not unusual, but it was certainly unique for a woman her age; a plain beige cardigan over a pale-floral-patterned collared blouse, navy culottes, and smart, vintage-style, leather loafers. Paired with her youthful hair style, it made him wary. It screamed sweet and innocent, like it was a purposeful statement. If she had consciously decided to dress that way, it was bad news for him.

As she stood, he observed she was on the tall side for a woman, at least 5'9 was his estimate from measuring her against the door frame. She smiled at the students file past her as she held the door open for them. She glanced at him expectantly as the last student left the hall. Suspicion turned to dread. He needed to go. He had no more classes for the day, but she wouldn’t know that. He power walked toward the door.

She smiled at him politely. ‘Dr Reid, I'll only need a few minutes of your time-’

‘I’m sorry. I have a class across the other side of the academy, I have to go, another time perhaps-’

‘Umm… No you don’t, it's Thursday,' she said with a chuckle.

He stilled. How would she know that? Had she been stalking him? His heart hammered, and he started to walk again, quickening his pace. He had to get to a populated area. Now.

‘Dr Reid?’ she called after him. Her shoes made no sound behind him. How was she so quiet for someone that tall? He glanced behind him to see she was two steps behind. ‘Dr Reid, I'm sorry if I spoke out of turn back there. Please, I just want to talk!’

‘I really must go.’

‘Okay, maybe we can sit down and have coffee some other time? I know you like a double espresso and double-choc-chip muffins. They're my favourite too, though I prefer tea.'

That chilled him to the bone. He began jogging. How long had she been watching him?

‘Doctor, where are you-’ He glanced back, and she was right there, her long legs striding to keep pace with him.

Oh God, she was chasing him. He didn’t have a gun right now. He didn’t carry one while he taught. This hall had cameras and hundreds of FBI cadets in classes behind doors right now. Would she really be that bold? He turned to face her. Perhaps he could reason his way out of this.

‘Look, this won’t end well for you. I don’t know what you think you can do to me, but there’s no way you can get away with anything here-’

‘What?’ She stepped back. Her eyes widened. ‘Oh no!’ She took another step back, ‘Oh no, no no… I’m not stalking you, I’m so sorry! Oh, the schedule and the muffin thing—God I must have come off so creepy, please don't freak out okay? I just… I’m so sorry,’ she fumbled out an apology. Her hand slowly went to the front pocket of her bag, but he didn't panic; the pocket was too small to hold a firearm. He kept his distance, ready to run if he needed to.

Her body language had changed completely. Before she seemed excited and nervous, but now she was utterly, and unmistakably, mortified. Spencer almost felt sorry for her.

‘I’m just grabbing my badge, sorry I-I tried calling to let you know I was coming, but Garcia said you were a technophobe, and I couldn’t wait for snail mail-’ He tilted his head, Garcia? ‘-she also told me your coffee preferences if I needed to bribe you… And I rang the criminology department secretary to see what your office hours were. Vivian, booked me an appointment in your calendar… but that… runs… on email… So you mustnt’ve seen it—you had no idea I was coming did you? God I was really early and weird… I-I- didn’t mean to scare you.’ She held out a familiar leather card holder to him. ‘I’m Special Agent Grace Matthews, I’m a profiler with your old unit, I’m new. I-I-we‘ve met before but, um… You might not remember me. Sorry I really wanted to meet you for a while now, I really admire you… and oh God this has gone so wrong… I am so sorry, I can come back later,’ she finished rambling and stood there, looking as if she wanted the earth to open up and swallow her.

It was like he was seeing himself at 22, struggling to fit in a crowd of suits and stern faces knowing full well that if it weren't for his intellect, he would not be there. He inspected her badge. He noted the birthdate of 12/25/1998. Considering it was a requirement that an applicant be 23 for admission to the bureau, and Grace was currently 24 and already a profiler, he suspected that she might have a similar skill set to him. He remembered both JJ and Garcia mentioned they had a new unit member earlier this year. He remembered JJ saying, “Oh Spence, you’d get on like a house on fire. Never met anyone else who could talk about cholera for 30 minutes, and then say they’re not an expert, they just dabble.”

Spencer offered her a smile. ‘Edward Leonski,’ he said.

‘Wha-Oh,’ she nodded sheepishly, ‘Yep, that was me. Eddie Leonski, “The Brownout Strangler”, I mean, I wasn’t the strangler… That was my final paper… you’d probably remember it cause of the spelling and grammar errors.’

‘No, I have an eidetic memory. I remember everyone’s term papers, but I remember yours particularly because I felt awful only being able to give you a distinction… because of the grammar and spelling mistakes. But the case you analysed, I’d never heard of before, which is always a welcome surprise. It gets a bit boring reading papers about the Zodiac, Bundy, Dhalmer over and over. But you chose a challenge, using original court transcripts, statements and archived letters as sources. And I agree with your theory that he was a narcissist with gynophobia, yet an erotic fascination with women's voices at the same time. The mimicry and self-soothing talk he practiced under stress was especially intriguing, and then added the element of the political tensions of the case. It was a really fascinating read. I had to look into it myself. I agree it is a shame that they declared him sane. There was a lot that was unique about his case that could have been learned if he wasn’t executed.’

‘I know right,’ she grinned. ‘But then again, Sanitariums in the 1940s are not something I would ever wish upon anyone.’

‘No, that’s true,’ he nodded.

Gone was the stuttering and fumbling. Good, he’d hoped a shared interest would make her more comfortable.

‘I'm sorry for scaring you Dr Reid, can I start again?’ she asked hopefully.

‘I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions, and not checking my calendar—through my email? I didn’t even know that they were connected. So sure, we can start again, you apparently have an appointment. So good morning Agent Matthews, did you enjoy the lecture?’

‘I did enjoy the lecture, both times actually, but it’s way better in person. I had some spare time today, and I wanted to meet you cause I have some questions for you and… um some news, not official FBI business but, we might want to go somewhere that is not going to get flooded with students in about… Now.’ Doors to the other lecture halls opened and chatty students filled the hallway.

If he was honest with himself, he had nothing better to do today, and genuinely he missed having people he could enthuse with. Students were intimidated by him, most faculty members were solely academics and they often were disturbed by his anecdotes, and well auditors made him nervous. Not to mention Matthews’ suggestion of muffins had him hungry now.

‘You know what, I actually could really use a coffee. There is a van that parks close to the Eastside of the academy. Their muffins are usually fresh around now too.’

‘Awesome,’ her shoulders relaxed, and they began walking together through the crowd of students, ‘I’ll shout then, after the scare I gave you, I think it’s only fair.’

Next chapter

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NOTES: I haven't marked this mature yet. not sure how it works cause it has been ages since I posted a fic on tumblr, have no idea how it's going to handle a criminal minds fic. But oh well.

ALSO GRACE AND REID ARE NOT GOING TO BE THE ROMANTIC FOR EACH OTHER. IN THE TAGS I TRIED TO MAKE THAT CLEAR BUT I KNOW SOME PEOPLE DON'T READ THEM…. but don't worry I have someone else in mind to pair Spencer with, and Grace might go a bit "Operation parent trap" style to get them together. Also Grace will get a love interest to… Hopefully though she won't be too much like Reid and end up with her very own Graeve.

With this fic, I think I'll put specific trigger warnings a the start of each chapter because I plan to have sort of breather chapter in between cases and each case will have a variety of different stuff depending on the unsub. These first few chapters are intended as a bit of fluff and an introduction to Grace. if you love it leave a comment, like it, reblog, ask a question, whatever, it is much appreciated and it really motivates me

[kp777]

By Edward Carver

Common Dreams

June 10, 2024

A monumental case against Big Oil could go to a jury trial. But the industry has undertaken a "stunning and unprecedented campaign" to have the case dismissed, according to the The Guardian.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday asked the Biden administration for its position on a climate lawsuit against Big Oil following a pressure campaign the industry has mounted to have the court dismiss it.

The case, brought by the city and county of Honolulu, is one of dozens of state and local lawsuits seeking to hold Big Oil to account for the climate impact that its products have had and for the deception and disinformation used to sell them. The industry could be found liable for many billions of dollars if such cases reach jury trials, and so a group of companies has filed a petition, supported by legal briefs and a public advertising campaign, to the Supreme Court to hear their case for dismissal.

The Center for Climate Integrity (CCI) wrote Monday that the solicitor general, the administration lawyer who will handle the request, should advise the Supreme Court that states and municipalities can file these cases in state courts—to ignore Big Oil's petition, effectively.

"Big Oil companies are fighting desperately to avoid trial in lawsuits like Honolulu's, which would expose the evidence of the fossil fuel industry's climate lies for the entire world to see," Richard Wiles, the group's president, said in a statement. "Communities everywhere are paying dearly for the massive damages caused by Big Oil's decades long climate deception. The people of Honolulu and other communities across the country deserve their day in court to hold these companies accountable."

In November, the Hawaii Supreme Court rejected a previous Big Oil effort to stop the case, which set the table for a potentially momentous jury trial—none of the climate lawsuits have yet reached that stage, and City and County of Honolulu v. Sunoco et al. could be the first. The industry had tried to argue that the lawsuit sought to regulate interstate and international carbon emissions, which states don't have the right to do, and thus the case couldn't be brought in state court. The court ruled the case wasn't about the regulation of carbon emissions.

Big Oil then filed its Supreme Court petition, backed by a major campaign: right-wing groups have not only filed amicus briefs with the court but also mounted an unusually public campaign calling for the court to dismiss Honolulu and other such cases.

"This looks to be the most aggressive campaign yet to influence the court on behalf of Big Oil," Kert Davies, CCI's director of special investigations, toldE&E News. "The fossil fuel industry and its allies are clearly threatened by these legal efforts to hold them accountable, and they're going to unprecedented lengths to send out distress signals in the hope they'll be rescued from standing trial."

"Far-right fossil fuel allies have launched a stunning and unprecedented campaign pressuring the Supreme Court to shield fossil fuel companies from litigation that could cost them billions of dollars," according toThe Guardian, which tied the campaign to Leonard Leo, the so-called architect of the Supreme Court, thanks to his influence in conservative legal circles and over Donald Trump, who appointed three of the current justices as president.

An ad produced by the Alliance for Consumers, a nonprofit that has ties to Leo, posits the Supreme Court as the "solution" to the overreach of "left-wing officials" who are pushing a political agenda through the courts by misusing public nuisance lawsuits.

Conservatives have also published opinion pieces in favor of the Big Oil petition in outlets such as Bloomberg Law, The Hill, National Review, and The Wall Street Journal, which titled its piece "Honolulu Tries to Mug Energy Companies."

"I have never, ever seen this kind of overt political campaign to influence the court like this," Patrick Parenteau, a professor at Vermont Law School, toldThe Guardian.

The fact that the Supreme Court asked the solicitor general for the administration's position indicates that some justices are interested in the case—the court throws out thousands of petitions a year without asking for such input.

CCI, like the Hawaii Supreme Court, finds no merit in the industry's legal argument that Honolulu is an attempt to regulate emissions.

"Lawsuits like Honolulu's are not seeking to solve climate change or regulate emissions—these plaintiffs simply want Big Oil to stop lying and pay their fair share of the damages they knowingly caused," Alyssa Johl, the group's vice president of legal and general counsel. "The solicitor general should make clear that federal laws don't preempt the ability of communities to hold companies accountable for their deceptive claims under state law."

In a similar case last year, Biden's solicitor general sided with Colorado municipalities that had filed suit and rejected the arguments in a Big Oil petition, urging the Supreme Court not to take up Big Oil's petition. The court followed the administration's advice on that and a few related cases. Roughly 40 states and municipalities have filed such suits since 2017.

There remains the possibility that the federal government itself could bring a case against Big Oil for propagating disinformation and blocking a green transition. Last month, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) called on the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the industry for those alleged crimes, following a three-year probe that their congressional committees had conducted.

Monday's Supreme Court request of the solicitor general notes that Justice Samuel Alito didn't take part in the considerations of the case—"probably because he owned stock in ConocoPhillips, a defendant in the case," according to The Guardian.

[louise-ella]

A review of "Good Riddance" by Gracie Abrams!

I discovered Gracie Abrams a year after her ‘Minor’ (2020) EP release. My original favorites were “I Miss You, I’m Sorry” and “Brush Fire”, but the rest of her songs stockpiled so well that those are now ancient history to me. What struck me about her initially was the brutal honesty of her lyrics.

True to what Abrams told listeners prior to the ‘Good Riddance’ release, I listened to the album for the first time in the tracklist order with earbuds in. I was also in Honolulu that night, so I sat on a balcony and stared at the skyline. A year and a half later, here’s what I think.

This album commits to representing anxiety in leaving someone and leaves few crumbs. Abrams talks about doubt, fear of restarting, navigating nostalgia, FOMO, guilt, and the harsh realization that it’s time to go. Many choruses in this album (“Best”, “Where do we go now?”, “Amelie”, “I Should Hate You”) are the hook repeated, symbolizing the incessant repetition of anxiety. For the first 10 tracks, she’s mostly talking about breakups and fear, and in the last two tracks, she is fully immersed in a new love, that in “The blue” she states, “came out of the blue”, explaining the abrupt mood change.

Abrams pictured on the album cover

“Best”: Abrams said in an article before the release that this is one of her favorites on the album. It’s somewhere in my top 5. My initial impression was that it reminded me of ‘Folklore’ by Taylor Swift. ‘Good Riddance’ was produced by Aaron Dessner, so this makes sense, but I would’ve noticed this whether I knew that or not. This song was gut punch after gut punch. I could’ve been out at “when I could come to life I didn’t”, but “you fell hard, I thought ‘good riddance’” was the first line that truly killed me. She made me feel like I had commitment issues.

The entire chorus of “Best” is “I never was the best to you” repeatedly. In the bridge she beats herself up, singing, “I feel terrible ‘bout how I handled it” and “I’m alone, sitting here, staying home/all of my self-control kind of got difficult, but I deserve it, though.”

I appreciate the accountability in the song, as well as the feeling of released tension that I bet came with writing and releasing it. As a songwriter, I’ll write 30 songs about how upset I am with someone, but it only feels useful once I’ve finally made one apologizing or taking accountability for my own end of the spectrum.

The lyric that makes me feel the most seen (the most valuable part of a song for me): “Go ahead, we can just call it conditioning”

“I Know It Won’t Work”: This is another favorite of mine! Partially because it’s the one that blew up, which I always get some excitement from on behalf of the artist.

Firstly, I love the intro. I have no idea what it was meant to intend, but to me, it feels like the line “You’re a flashback in a film reel” from Taylor Swift’s “This Is Me Trying” (2020). It feels like a flashback in time, and that’s particularly because of the hook “Part of me wants you back, but I know it won’t work like that”.

This song helps build up the idea of this album being mostly about a long-term relationship ending. She sings “It’s a lot/the shine of half a decade fading”.

Another motif throughout this album is lyrics about the awkward moments when you know something is over but aren’t ready to say it – so you just lie even though you know it only makes it worse. Some of my favorite instances of that include – in this song – “in case this year, I come back and stay throughout my 20s/what if I won’t? How am I supposed to put that gently?”, “I hate to look at your face and know that we’re feeling different”, and “I’m thinking everything you wish I wasn’t/the call was tough, but you’re better off/I’m being honest/so won’t you stop holding out for me when I don’t want it?” In other songs “You look hopeful like we’re supposed to work somehow/can’t you tell our light burned out?” (“Where Do We Go Now?”)

I don't love the two verses at the start of the song. I think there are great lyrics in both verses, but by the time the chorus comes, I’m a little bored. Nonetheless, my disliking of this is small, and I think both verses are very well written.

The lyric that makes me feel the most seen: “I’m thinking everything you wish I wasn’t”

“Full Machine”: this one is probably my favorite on the album. It’s full of somewhat submissive lines, but she writes them from a place of control. She sings, “Say something nice to me/and you don’t have to mean it” but also “I’m a shameless caller”, using the word “shameless” to change the meaning. I adore juxtaposing lyrics. She isn’t saying “I would die for you and I’m so sad you left me”. She isn’t saying “You better know who you just lost, screw you”. She’s saying, “I hope you know who you lost because it means a lot that someone is so devastated that you’re no longer in their life”.

The lyric that makes me feel the most seen: “It’s just that I’ll always choose you”

“Where Do We Go Now?”: When I say I fell in love with this song when it came out, I mean it. I love how she references specific places – “24th street, where you held me, grabbed my arm”. I love how she expresses feeling like her trying was never noticed – “You don’t know how hard I tried/had to fake the longest time” and “What a brutal way to die, but you choose it every time”. Then, she shows that she too wasn’t perfect – “We had no control when it fell through/it was one-sided, hate how I hurt you”. Meanwhile, the instrumental feels timeless and is never too overwhelming or underwhelming.

I just need a moment to acknowledge the bridge. The long schpeel ending in “but I miss you”. I heard that for the first time and I was like, this song is perfect.

The lyric that makes me feel the most seen: “You look hopeful, like we’re supposed to work somehow”

“I Should Hate You”: “I Should Hate You” would be my favorite if it didn’t make me feel physically unwell. I’m looping these songs while writing this, and even two sentences in, I’m pausing because of instrumentals that put a pit in my stomach. Over the acoustic guitar, there’s a whistling instrument that reminds me of how the intro to “I Know It Won’t Work” makes me feel. This song feels like when you’re so exhausted that you feel like you will never sleep. It gives me the feeling that one day something that is so important to you now will mean absolutely nothing anymore, and even if that is what you want to happen, it still feels wrong. You begin to think “I should hate you because you were so important to me, but I realize now how much you really messed with my head”.

This also reminds me of “Full Machine”, in which she sings “if you asked me to run away, I’d go easily”. In the second verse of “I Should Hate You”, she sings “I just drank something strong to try to forget, but it wasn’t right” – saying she does things that she knows are bad for her just to let go of someone. To add meaning to that, she sings in the first verse “I wasted my breath when I tried to console you, didn’t I?” She yet again appears submissive, but also fully aware of how she needs to let go of her sadness and be mad. This is a very powerful thing to do in writing. Finally, perhaps the best part of the entire song is the bridge.

The lyric that makes me feel the most seen: “I feel stupid like I almost crashed my car driving home to talk about you at my table in the dark” (never actually gotten close to this happening but I've had this feeling for so long and was shocked to hear it in a song)

“Will You Cry?”: This song has a few standout lines for me. My personal favorite is the set of lyrics “It’s kind of funny when it goes from all to nothing/you have to laugh before you start to cry/cause now I stop myself from holding onto something that makes me feel a little less alive”.

However, that's basically the only part of the song I like. I can’t figure out what this song is about, and I don’t like anything about it enough to really want to figure it out. I think the melody is beautiful, but it feels like a melody I would’ve written when I was 13 (not meant as a diss at all, I wrote plenty of songs I love to this day at 13), so it annoys me a little but otherwise just makes me feel nothing.

The lyric that makes me feel the most seen: “I don’t follow, I don’t want to"

“Amelie”: This song, prior to its release, was highly anticipated by Abrams’ fandom. She played it on her 2022 tour for her second EP, "This Is What It Feels Like" (2021) on piano, and many people loved it. However, Abrams is one of the few artists who I don't care much about the unreleased songs of. When I heard this song upon its release, the lyrics were the only things even remotely keeping it going for me. That was until I heard the interpretation that it was about her past self. Now when I listen, I imagine that I'm trying to figure out what caused someone (be it myself or someone else) to become someone they aren't anymore.

The lyric that makes me feel the most seen: "She had her hair up, she cried about her obsessions" (literally me in 2019)

“Difficult”: This song is really cool to me because the chorus moves the way a good cry does. The song feels like you’re crying while on a freeway full of small potholes. I love the spinning feeling of the chorus and how she lowers her voice on certain lines in the verses. The song details how she feels like her lack of mental well-being is breaking a relationship apart, and she wishes she could fix it, but it feels like a part of her.

The lyric that makes me feel the most seen: "I hope I wake up invisible" (so simple but so, so real)

“This is what the drugs are for”: this is one of the only unreleased songs I’d hoped would appear on this album. She posted it on TikTok in 2021, and I was immediately struck by the line “What am I supposed to do when you used to be my lifeline?”

While this song, like “I Should Hate You”, is a little too sad for me to listen to, there are a couple things I adore about it. This song seems to be about a relationship that’s been officially over for a while, but she’s beginning to realize moving on won’t be so simple. She expresses this with lines like “Now I feel you in my room, haven’t seen you in a lifetime”, “I’ve counted all the days since you walked away”, and “Though I’ve tried, I can’t pretend that I don’t sit around and think about you”.

The lyric that makes me feel the most seen: "She appears in dreams chasing after me"

“Fault Line”: I was excited to hear this song when it first came out because I’d seen a friend of Abrams' saying it was her favorite song ever. I initially thought it was fine. It felt like a combination of the topics of “I Know it Won’t Work”, “Will you cry?”, and “Difficult”. She describes the feeling of being aware something might not work out, being okay (I think?) with leaving, and feeling like her judgment is bad. I kept waiting for something in the song. I hoped during its four minutes that it would have some cool beat drop or a key change but to no avail. Luckily, it has since grown on me.

The lyric that makes me feel the most seen: "Most nights I will pretend I left this sooner"

“The blue”: I saw on Twitter before the album release that there was one love song on the album and that it was the one you’d expect the least. That proved true. After all the breakup songs on this album, it shocked me a little, given that I’d become a little emotionally attached to her sadness (which is partially the point and partially not the point, I guess.) Because this song confused me given the sheer sad power of the rest of the album, it took a moment to get my head around it. But once I did, I began to love it. The part of the song that I felt really gave it life was the line “What are you doing to me now?” The lack of trust helped its spot on the album make more sense. She’s falling shamelessly in love with someone and provides enough parallels to the rest of the record for this song to fit into its puzzle.

The lyric that makes me feel the most seen: "I kind of think you should just drop it all and call me" (such a Taylor Swift thing to say)

“Right now”: This is a really beautiful ending to the album. Abrams is still unsure, but she expresses the same confidence as the rest of the album. Going from, “I was bored out my mind/lost my whole appetite/when I could come to life I didn’t” to “I feel like myself right now” is the journey of the record.

The lyric that makes me feel the most seen: "Look at me, I feel homesick/want my dog in the door" (this plays in my head every time I leave my city)

I'm very excited to see what will happen now that Abrams' sophomore album, "The Secret Of Us" is out. You can listen to both the standard version and the deluxe version (featuring "Block me out", "Unsteady", "405" and "Two people") on all streaming platforms.

Some lyrics I love that I didn’t mention in the review:

“you still tried to stay while I’d self-isolate/and I knew but I stayed hidden”

“now I bet you resent all of me, all of it, angry, blocking me over the internet”

“I know we cut all the ties but you’re never really leaving”

“I'm a forest fire, you're the kerosene/I had a life here before you and now it’s burning”

“when I kissed you back I lied”

“we could meet down the line after all of the time and give an actual try”

“guess the space was the thing that I needed, but I miss you”

“pulled the knife out my back, it was right where you left it/but you aimed kind of perfect, I’ll give you the credit”

“bet you’re doing alright and you don’t even know it”

“why’d it feel louder when all of it went unspoken?/all I can do is hope that this will go away”

“I meant to tell you how I hated how we left things when it feel through”

“I’ll break too, cracking at the same time, does it shock you?”

“you could go and I bet I’d recover overnight/finish hurting each other/you feel light years away, if I met you today/I would run to the arms of another”

“I know I’d let you in on all my bad decisions/you’d make them feel less terrible the second that you’d listen”

“this is somebody’s hometown”

[gusty-wind]

Over 2,000 Children Missing From Lahaina Public Schools Two Weeks After Maui Fire: Report

The Hawaii State Department of Education issued a report Thursday stating that 2,025 students are not accounted in the Lahaina public school system in the wake of the August 8 fire that ravaged the town of Lahaina on the island of Maui. The four schools, two elementary, one intermediary and one high school that comprised the Lahaina school district had a total of 3,001 students enrolled before the fire. The schools are closed due to damage from the fires, with one elementary school heavily damaged and not likely to re-open for some time. The other three suffered damage from high winds, debris and soot. The report does not mention whether--or even the likelihood–many of the missing children were killed in the fire.

The report states that as of August 21, out of the 3,001 students enrolled as of August 8, 538 have “re-enrolled in other public schools”; 438 have “enrolled in the State Distance Learning Program (SDLP), English and Hawaiian language immersion”; and says of the 2,025 not accounted for: “Remainder of students who have not re-enrolled in another public school or opted for distance learning (may have moved out of state, enrolled in private schools)”

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported one private school on Maui has received about 1,000 new applicants since the fire. However the article also mentioned a private school with 200 students had been destroyed by the fire (excerpt):

Meanwhile, Maui’s private schools also are in flux. Maui Preparatory Academy recently received a surge of about 1,000 applications for new openings the school made to accommodate displaced students, officials posted online this week. “We shuffled, rearranged the entire campus to welcome 110 new students (a 40% enrollment increase from last year). It is only a drop in the bucket. So many students not in classrooms today,” the school posted Monday on Instagram.

Sacred Hearts School has posted on its website that its campus faced a “devastating fire that has left our campus in ruins.” A Hawaii Association of Independent Schools report shows the school enrolled about 200 students.

Government officials have not been forthcoming on the number of children killed in the fire. Two weeks out they still only report 115 official deaths and anywhere from 850 to 1,100 people of all ages missing. Officials have not released a list of those presumed missing.

School children in Lahaina were kept home that day due to high winds from an offshore hurricane, with many home alone because their parents were at work.

[solannecontinuum]

I really loved how these came out, so here they are! ♥

The full icon and header I made for my DeviantArt account that I'm in the process of reviving. There's me and my Host fragments!

MEDIUM/TOOLS: COPIC Multiliner pen (0.1), Ohuhu Honolulu alcohol markers (brush nib).

[ncisfranchise-source]

The team behind NCIS is bringing a new book to fans of the show, true-crime followers, and history buffs alike. Mark Harmon and Leon Carroll Jr., who worked together on the CBS drama NCIS for many years, have penned the non-fiction book, Ghosts of Honolulu: A Japanese Spy, A Japanese American Spy Hunter, and the Untold Story of Pearl Harbor. 

It is the first narrative non-fiction title from the pair and is set to be released by Harper Select on Nov. 14. 

Harmon famously played Leroy Jethro Gibbs for 18 seasons on NCIS while Carroll served as the show's technical advisor due to his background as a real-life NCIS special agent. Harmon exited his role as Gibbs in 2021 after first appearing on the show in 2003, but his character was neither killed off nor officially retired, leaving an opening for him to make a return appearance. 

Courtesy of Harper Select, an imprint of HarperCollins Focus

"I feel compelled to take part in opening up the history and real story of what became NCIS[Naval Criminal Investigative Service]. When I first started this show, there was not much information to be found by research," Harmon said in a statement. "NCIS agents are public servants at the highest level and many have come and gone through this life with no one knowing anything about who they are or what they do. And now that story gets told. All because of a TV show."

Carroll added that the book is "intended to be the first in a series," highlighting the inner workings of the organization's role in the nation's security. 

"Even through all of the fascinating storylines of NCIS over the last 20 years, Mark Harmon always knew that the most amazing stories in naval intelligence were the true accounts in decades past. He had long desired to tell those stories, and we are honored to help take this first book to the world. Together with his longtime collaborator, Leon Carroll, they have brought the past alive in a true story that reads like a novel but shows the great debt we owe to so many who paved the way for our freedom," Matt Baugher, publisher of Harper Select, shared in a statement. 

Ghosts of Honolulu will be available in hardcover, eBook, and audiobook. You can pre-order today. 

[incorrect-jojolands-quotes]

Mun, give me your shot on Usagi Headcannons :crying & fire emoji: the world needs it

Of course! Here's what I got so far in terms of backstory and tidbits about him too:

Usagi's parents are Robert Alohaoe and Donna Therese Alohaoe (née Nakashima). Both are Japanese-Hawaiian descent and Usagi is their only child. Usagi had a twin sister that didn't make it to term but neither of his parents told Usagi her name or that she existed, not wanting their son to feel guilty or sad about the matter in any way.

Robert was a construction worker who was also the local construction union's president. Donna works as a receptionist for a retail tax office in Downtown Honolulu. After Robert's death, Donna quit her job due to grief and now stays at home. She's able to manage the payout for Robert's death so she and Usagi could live comfortably and more and is rather frugal too.

Growing up, the Alohaoes were a close, loving family. They were actually involved in a local church in Honolulu and Usagi's early years were him being involved in things like the children's choir and plays done in celebration of Christmas and Easter. The church itself was a nondenominational Christian church that the Alohaoes met through and got married in.

Both parents wanted Usagi to have some exposure to the arts but lacked the resources to give him professional classes or have him try out auditions for agencies, so Usagi's time in the performing arts involved him taking free community classes or attending volunteer-run events. It's there that he learned how to dance, sing, and act.

Usagi was a rather popular kid with many friends from church, despite his father worrying that being a theater/dance kid would mean kids were going to bully him. His rise to fame among the church kids was when he showed that he could do the splits during a free ballet class. He was also, at the time, strong enough to lift the girls trying to pretend to be ballerinas.

Robert's death threw more than just a wrench into things. Despite the church doing what they can to help and comfort, both Donna and Usagi lost their faith and stopped attending services like before. Usagi briefly stopped doing theater stuff and stopped seeing his friends at church. He became a loner in school that people thought was weird. He often brushes off his father's death as a means of coping with it. But, secretly, he misses his dad a lot.

Usagi himself isn't religious anymore as he started getting involved in scientific research and not agreeing with sentiments that various religions have towards marginalized groups (women, lgbtqia+, indigenous, etc.). But, when he misses his dad or really needs divine intervention, he will say a little prayer and hope it gets answered.

To satisfy his itch for performing later in life, he turned to learning Kpop choreography and making Kpop content. He has a secret social media account where he dresses up with his face and body covered and films himself doing dance covers. He would also attend Random Kpop Dance Plays anonymous as well to talk to other stans. Everyone knows him as his dance persona but no one really knew who he is under the all-black fits and surgical masks he wears.

He's massive in the forums related to BTS. Online, ARMYs knew him as an i-lovely with wacky theories about the BTS universe and his love for Suga. His biaswrecker is Jimin and he eventually bonds with Charming Man over BTS as the two start to become more friendly with each other. Usagi also runs an anonymous stan twitter account to help him keep up with Kpop news and is really involved in voting during awards season.

Since his father's death, Donna has been way more overprotective than before. Usagi himself was a sheltered kid and sometimes feels suffocated by her actions. He does understand that he is arguably the only physical reminder of Robert and her intentions are well-meaning, but it has caused him to rebel secretly. It's part of why he accepted work from Meryl Mei and experimented with drugs. He does it behind her back because he doesn't want to disappoint his mom in the end.

Usagi wishes to be a researcher of sorts after high school, but he's not sure what field to go into. He's considered being an ornithologist because he loves birds but also a pharmaceutical scientist, hydrologists, research physiologist, and, when he was younger, he thought about being a marine biologist. His passion in being a researcher led him to learn a lot of stuff online and that's why he has so much information.

His experimentation with drugs came from his initial desire to be a pharmaceutical scientist and curiosity on how chemicals can affect a body's function. He also wanted to see which drugs would enhance his academic performance the most, so he extensively researches on the drugs and how to safely use them before actually trying it on himself. It's also where he gets his extensive medical knowledge.

Donna used to be someone who wanted to make sure Usagi has a home cook meal and the family used to bond over cooking. However, since Robert's passing, Donna stopped cooking out of grief and Usagi can't bring himself to cook for similar reasons. He's mostly eaten takeout fast-food or quick meals like instant ramen since then. Donna is trying to get back into cooking meals again for Usagi's health but it's still a struggle.

Usagi doesn't know much about his dad's past but is interested in Robert's dadlore; Donna herself only knew so much. The bits and pieces of the lore Usagi knows is that Robert used to be close friends in high school with some guy name Dean. The two separated after a terrible fight but reconnected months before Robert passed away. Usagi knows it was this friend who helped his family receive the insurance payout but he doesn't know Dean's full name.

Usagi only knew Dean by the nickname Robert supposedly gave to him and the two had nicknames for each other; Robert was called "Fripp" and Dean was called "Belew". However, Usagi misheard these names and thought the nicknames were Pink and Blue.

Usagi vowed to be like Dean, someone who goes out of their way for others, and hopes to find his own Pink that he could help the way Dean did. What a coincidence that that Pink ended up being Dean's own child: Dragona.

That's all so far. I hope you enjoy it. :3