#and like i know that prisoners in the us r still citizens but they have such few rights they lowkey become citizens in name only

[hihhasotherfixations]

Changes in the Forest - R!Quaritch x Na’vi!Reader | Part 4

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Word Count: 2648

Sitting in the barren room, you were calmly up against the wall.

After arriving at what Quaritch called ‘Bridgerhead’ you were led inside by the recombinants, getting either horrified or disgusted looks by the humans around – it was clear that most weren’t a fan of Na’vi.

Yet you noticed that it wasn’t just you. The recombinants were getting those looks just the same.

Footsteps outside of the room caught your attention as you felt your ear turn to the noise, keenly aware of the double sets of prints. Yet they walked past the room you were in and you huffed silently, leaning your head back to lean against the wall, your eyes closing.

You just hoped No’gue and Yalai made it home safe.

-

“Colonel, I cannot authorise this.”

Swallowing softly, Quaritch stood before Ardmore, his ears angled slightly back and twitching ever so nervously.

“You bring one of the people who kill my men here.” She chastised, an angry look on her face as she turned a screen to directly face the recom, showing a scan of your face from within the prison cell, dots of the face-tracking program matching to the still image beside it – taken from one of the shipment raids.

“I think-“ “I don’t care what you think, soldier.” Ardmore interrupted, her gaze stern. “Not only has she reportedly killed good men and women, you have also just returned with a dead recombinant. That is five billion out of the RDA’s pocket. Thrown down the drain!”

“Rowan-“ Quaritch emphasised the name, “-was killed before any of us could react. With all due respect, we were sent out there by your order, general. That was a casualty of the forest before it was any mistake of mine. You wish to do this the hard way? That’s what happens.”

Crossing her arms, Ardmore couldn’t fight with that, looking from the colonel back to the hologram of Bridgerhead as she picked up her coffee mug.

Shifting slightly, Quaritch then breathed out sharply before he put his hand on his hip and bent forward, turning the screen in his face back to be right in front of the general. “Look. A soldier is precisely what we need. Sully is still the greatest liability. He was conducting the raids. Now from this native-“ He pointed at your face. “-we’ve learnt that Sully’s fled. Since then, no raids have occurred.”

“What are you saying, colonel?”

“You wanted my team to try and trick the immune response of the planet. We now know the animals won’t attack us directly but any transport we take? Doesn’t change; it will get taken down.” Quaritch spoke, standing back up straight as he crossed his arms. “Making an alliance with the Na’vi – she can teach us how Sully does it, making us able to get in his head and find him. Not only that, I say we rehash the plan from fifteen years ago.”

Putting down her cup, general Ardmore narrowed her eyes, looking up at the recombinant. “Explain.”

“We sent Sully into the Omaticaya clan so that he could get them to move.”

“Which resulted in your- and hundreds of soldiers’ deaths, if I recall correctly?” Ardmore spoke, her brows furrowing angrily.

“Correct, ma’am.” Quaritch responded, walking over to the hologram of the hallelujah mountains. “However, if we want to bring earth here, we need to make sure hostiles aren’t attacking soldiers, let alone normal citizens.”

“You want to learn their ways to… what? Know what they do in a day?”

Closing his eyes, Quaritch breathed softly to try and keep himself stoic, the general’s stubbornness getting on his nerves. “Taking out Sully is step one. But once that is done, then what? We need to make sure no other natives pick up his mantle. Like it or not, we cannot murder every Na’vi on the planet. If we know how they tick, we can figure out how to best integrate human life. If I know they like to bathe in mud, we can build our cities away from their mud ponds.” He spoke, moving his hands while he talked to point to a proverbial pond and city site.

“Are you suggesting co-habitation, colonel?” General Ardmore questioned, straightening up a bit.

“Yes I am.” Quaritch nodded, turning a little more professional as he straightened up. “Ma’am.”

“And you want to be the pioneer of that project?” Ardmore raised a brow but the recombinant shook his head.

“Negative, general. As I said, Sully comes first. Yet using this plan, it is simply two birds with one stone.”

Sighing, the general turned to the control panel in front of her, leaning on it as she inwardly conceded, turning back to the colonel. “Alright. What did you say the condition for this was?”

-

Playing with your own fingers by slowly moving and squeezing them, you sat, bored out of your mind. You’d been stuck in this forsaken room for who knows how long. Your thoughts felt slow and you didn’t know what to do. Yet despite all of that, you hadn’t gotten any less alert as you instantly heard the heavier steps approaching.

Moments later, the door opened with a soft hiss and you had a good view of Quaritch crouching through the doorway, both your heights not made for the smaller sized room.

“Afternoon.” He hummed, his posture more relaxed than you’d seen him before and your eyes squinted slightly as you took him in.

Keeping his stance open and relaxed, the colonel analysed you back while the door closed behind him.

You’d gathered yourself at the far wall, curled up on the ground. From his point of view, you were sitting just beside the table, the corner of his mouth lifting just a bit as he thought about it. You looked comically big compared to the table and chair, reminding him of how small Spider had seemed just a few days earlier, fitting perfectly between the furniture. It made sense why you’d chosen the floor and wall over either of the metal contraptions – your knees lifted up as you sat.

If he didn’t already know, it was clear from your outfit that you were a warrior back in your clan, the hunter cummerbund around your midriff and the knife sheath evidence enough. Yet as his eyes moved up, he noticed something very different. Furrowing his brow in confusion, he tapped at the oxygen mask hanging around his neck, seeing it permanently around your mouth.

“Why are you wearing that, darling?”

“It was put on.” You grunted back, seeming unamused by his presence and Quaritch briefly bit the inside of his cheek. He’d been having to do way too much diplomatic talk lately.

“You’re not supposed to keep it on permanently, the battery pack will run out.” Turning slightly, he showed the black device hanging on his hip, tucked into the waistband of his pants.

“It. is. stuck.” You repeated, demonstrating as you lifted your still tied hands up, pushing at the thing yet being unable to budge it even a single bit.

“What goddamn idiot did that?” Huffing in exasperation, Quaritch put his hands on his hips and you were a bit taken aback. “Can I come take it off?”

Swallowing softly, you then nodded, keeping a keen eye as his taller figure approached, crouching down to one knee right after he passed the table, scooting a little bit closer before he motioned you over with a reassuring smile.

Not entirely comfortable, you still did as he said, scooting closer, feeling how cold the floor was now that you were no longer sitting on the part that you’d heated with your own body.

“Thank you.” Quaritch hummed, leaning forward so that he could reach behind your head. Having him at such a vulnerable spot, your eyes were wide while your heart was racing in fight or flight, yet the man worked carefully, un-tying the knot before loosening the straps of the mask.

Leaning back, he then carefully took hold of the mask for you and pulled it down, cringing slightly as it stuck to your face, revealing deep creases in your skin from how tight it had been.

“There.” Smiling a bit at you, the colonel then let go of it, sitting down on the floor as he held up his hands, showing he meant no harm. “I think we got off on the wrong foot.”

“You threatened to kill my family.”

Your deadpan response made Quaritch kiss his teeth, looking down briefly as he grabbed his own mask and took a breath, lowering it back down before sighing out softly. “And that threat still stands.” With his words, he raised an eyebrow while your own brows furrowed, your tail swishing in agitation behind you. “But I have a different proposition.”

Narrowing your eyes, you said nothing but nodded, waiting for him to speak.

“You teach me and my team the Na’vi way, you get us to Jake Sully, and I will make sure any search for the Omaticaya clan stops.” Tilting your head slightly, you looked at the colonel, seeing no deceit in his eyes. “As long as they stop raiding our shipments and trains, I’ll make it so that no one there is in danger anymore. You see, I really don’t wanna hurt kids if I can avoid it.” He smiled slightly, motioning with his right hand.

You were silently for a moment, processing his words. “I teach you and the clan is safe?” You questioned, your eyes taking him in while you thought.

“I swear.” He nodded, that small smile once again present, though you didn’t know what to make of it.

“Why should I trust your words?” You then asked, Quaritch raising his brows as he nodded in thought, slightly looking up at the ceiling.

“That’s a fair question” Looking back down, he then held out his hand for you. “Let me properly introduce myself. My name is Miles Quaritch.” He spoke, pausing for a bit before he continued. “I know I’m a lot of things, but a liar I am not. If you trust me, I will trust you.”

Furrowing your brows in confusion, you looked from him, down to his hand that he reached out for you, only for him to lower his thumb and push up a black device that had been resting in his palm, now held between his fingers – the same one as on the aircraft.

Understanding, you lifted your arms and he put the unlocking mechanism to the cuffs, to which they instantly snapped straight, magnetised to the key and leaving you free to move for the first time in hours.

“You can trust my words. Can I trust you to not kill me or my men first thing?” The colonel asked, leaning forward a bit to look at you with a small, teasing smile.

“Yes.” You breathed softly, pulling your arms back to your chest.

“Well that’s good. Can you tell me your name at least?”

“Y/N.”

- - - -

The next time Quaritch came to your cell, he had a small shadow.

“Y/N!” Breaking off from the man, Spider jogged over, stopping in front of you with a little smile on his face as he looked up at your standing form.

“You seem happy.” You smiled back, purposefully ignoring the colonel, to which he fully knew that you were doing yet let it happen anyway, simply crossing his arms as he watched you two.

“Happy to finally see someone normal in this place.” Spider joked back and you chuckled, nodding in agreement.

“I’ve never been to a place like this.” You mused, walking over to the table and sitting on top, keeping your back to Quaritch. Spider’s eyes darted to the colonel, failing to stifle a laugh as he took in the man’s annoyed stance and expression, his tail flicking.

“It’s pretty similar to the homes back at the mountains that were built.” The boy then answered, turning back to you, pulling out the chair and jumping to stand on it, making him on eye height with you.

You’d never actually been inside one of the human settlements back at the clan so you’d have to take his word for it, simply humming a bit. Yet with that out of the way, your expression softened slightly as you looked at the striped human in front of you.

“How long have you been here, what happened?” You asked softly, tilting your head a bit, which made some of your braids fall down your shoulder and clack together.

“Asshole over there held me and Jake’s children under gunpoint. There was a fight, they got out. I didn’t.” Spider mumbled, your brows furrowing as you looked at him. He was just a kid still. Human or not, he was alone in a world he shouldn’t be in and a protectiveness flared in your chest – the same that you felt back in the forest when you first spotted him, right before your own capture.

You were about to answer when Quaritch instead stepped up. “I might not be fluent but I have learned some actual Na’vi. Watch what you say about me, kid.”

Immediately, a scowl took over Spider’s face as he – even though he was standing on the chair – looked up at the taller man.

Huffing silently in amusement, you shook your head before taking a breath through your mask while turning to look back at Quaritch. “Can you blame him?”

At that, the colonel smirked a bit at you and shook his head. “I can’t and I don’t. I can still warn him though.”

Puffing out his chest a bit, Spider glared, though you knew it wasn’t truly genuine.

“Anyways, I came to take you out of here.” Quaritch then spoke, resting one hand on his belt nonchalantly while you turned to him in confusion. “We’re rolling out into the forest tomorrow. But given there’s not much of a room or space here to sleep, might as well take you to the barracks and introduce you to the team properly.”

Looking from Quaritch to Spider, the boy smiled encouragingly and you turned on the table, now permanently facing the recom.

“I can even get that checked out for you.” The man pointed at your left arm, where the graze shot still sat, only hastily tied with a cloth before.

“Alright.” You nodded, not particularly feeling like staying in this room.

Smiling slightly, the recom stepped over and you scooted back a bit, your ears angling down in warning. “I need to put this on, sweetheart.” The man hummed, holding up a black circle.

“What is it?” You questioned and Quaritch – embarrassingly enough – felt his ears perk at your accent.

“It’s a tracker. We’re gonna let you out into the forest but we do need a little insurance that you’re not gonna run.” Holding out the device for you, you tentatively took it from him, inspecting the strange looking – metal, you assumed. “It goes around your wrist.” Quaritch then spoke, making you look up and watch as he held his right arm up, wrapping his left hand around his wrist to emphasize.

Making a little disgruntled click with your tongue, you slipped it over your hand on your left arm, only for it to beep softly.

Pulling your hand off of it like it burned you, you watched the small circle unfold, rolling down your wrist and tightening around your flesh, looking more like an arm guard than a bracelet now, covering your entire wrist.

Hissing in surprise, you then snapped a glare up at the colonel who quickly held his hands up. “Need to make sure it stays on. It’s flexible so you can still move just fine.”

Narrowing your eyes, you then glanced down slightly, rolling your wrist a bit before huffing. You were stuck with it now.

“Let’s get going then.”

-

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[militantinremission]

Ok, Donald Trump's Indicted... Now What?

So Mainstream Media & their Democratic Shills R celebrating the 37 Count Indictment against Donald Trump- R they being premature? What exactly R the odds of Donald Trump getting convicted of a Felony Act, let alone dozens? Government & Mainstream Media have been busy keeping The Masses 'Emotional' over the last 20Yrs; all the while, giving up Our Freedom as Citizens for empty promises of Security. This fearfulness has led to an American Society where there are more incidents of Mass Shootings & Mass Killings, than Days of The Year.

This fearfulness has also been weaponized to cause the equivalent of Human Stampedes over Non- Issues, like The Debt Ceiling & Donald Trump. America was NEVER going to default on Its debts; the unnecessary game of Chicken was a waste of Time. The Issue of Donald Trump is an ongoing Saga. Democrats have used Trump to scare their voters to The Polls, but Dems haven't offered a viable alternative. Joe Biden has created hundreds of thousands of (Part Time) Jobs that still don't pay The Bills. His Administration has fostered a steady rise in The Cost Of Living, but Mainstream Media's attention is focused on Donald Trump.

For The Record, I don't see Donald Trump getting convicted. He may finagle a continuance that allows him to campaign throughout the 2024 Election Cycle, but I don't know if he will need to go that far. People are so quick to put Trump in Leg Irons, that they forget the precedent ANY CONVICTION of Donald Trump will set. If American Courts see fit to convict a former President, what will stop The World Court from going after American Politicians, Diplomats, & their Aides for an assortment of War Crimes? Afrikan Governments are expressing frustration over watching their Leaders Tried, Convicted, & Imprisoned, while European & American Leaders commit atrocities, yet remain free.

Lindsey Graham's tone towards George Stephanopoulos on 'This Week' may have been a Tell of sorts. Despite obvious bad behavior by Donald Trump, Republicans appear to be Circling The Wagons around him. Chris Christie, John Bolton, & Bill Bar are getting their 'shots' in, but they also sound like they're hedging their Bet. Does anyone believe that Trump could serve Decades in Prison? In a Case tried by a Judge that he appointed? I feel like saying 'The Fix is In', is an overstatement... I have more concern for his former White House Valet & current Personal Assistant, Walt Nauta.

Mr. Nauta is reportedly seen On Camera moving boxes to Donald Trump's Residence from a storage room, during the same period that The National Archives requested the Presidential material. When asked, Mr Nauta denied moving the boxes. His Indictment may be more worrisome. Donald Trump is keeping Walt Nauta close for now, but Michael Cohen can attest to the length of Donald Trump's Loyalty... Walt would be wise to keep a couple dollars stashed for his own Attorney.

-Just Saying

[sunkissedpages]

instead of you [part seventeen]

pairing: [best friend’s brother] tom holland x college!reader

summary: you didn’t expect to spend your summer pretending to be your best friend’s girlfriend- then again, you didn’t expect to fall for your best friend’s brother, either.

warnings: swearing, mentions of alcohol +sex

word count: 1.5k

series masterlist

The flight from Naples to Tokyo took fourteen hours, not including the two and a half hour layover in Istanbul, meaning you had sixteen and a half hours to sit in awkward tension-filled silence next to Sam. The tension was one-sided, of course, but it was still agonizing to endure.

You had been able to push your anxiety aside during your last day in Italy because it had been so busy. There had been a power outage in the middle of the night, causing everyone to oversleep and miss the ferry for one of your tours that morning. It had been a scramble to get back on schedule and do as much as possible with the time you had left. The boys had been hungover and their parents were tired of wrangling them. You had dozens of photos on your camera roll of Sam and Harry bickering when they were supposed to be posing for a nice picture, and even more of Tom flicking them off. 

But now you were stuck alone with your thoughts, unable to use distraction as a means to escape. You tried reading your book, but found yourself unable to concentrate on the words on the page. After staring at the same paragraph for over fifteen minutes Sam noticed and asked if you were okay and you finally decided to call it quits. 

You almost wished the Hollands hadn’t scheduled in a day and a half to adjust to the time zone change. You’d rather exhaust yourself with the nonstop tourist bullshit than have to cope with the reality that you had gotten off to thoughts about your best friend’s brother. Not to mention living with the secret that the same best friend’s brother had kissed you not long before that. 

If Sam noticed anything was off, he didn’t mention it. He probably chalked it up to lack of sleep, or perhaps was too tired himself to care. 

“Which one of us do you think will be randomly selected in customs today?” Harry asked, stretching his arms above his head. 

You were standing in the aisle waiting to deplane, placing bets on who’d get searched by border agents this time. Somehow each time you traveled to a new place one of you was always chosen to get pat down or have your carry-on searched. Tom had yet to be the lucky winner, and you suspected it had something to do with his celebrity status. 

“Y/n,” Tom answered easily. “She has the U.S. passport.”

You rolled your eyes. “Like England has a squeaky clean record with Japan.”

“At least we didn’t-”

“Bro, you can’t say the b word on a plane,” Harry interrupted.

“Even when the plane’s on the ground?”

Sam shrugged. “Better safe than sorry.”

“Whatever,” Tom continued. “It’s definitely going to be y/n.”

-

“Would you mind stepping out of line, ma’am?” 

You sighed, not even bothering to look back at the boys. You already knew they were grinning like idiots and you didn’t want to give them the satisfaction. The agent ushered you to the side behind a glass partition, but not before you heard another agent repeat the same question to one of the Hollands. You smiled to yourself, happy not to be the only one singled out.

Behind the privacy screen another agent greeted you and asked you to take your sweatshirt off, explaining that it was too baggy and needed to be checked. You saw other people in baggy clothes who weren’t getting pulled out of line, but assumed they didn’t have the red flag of “U.S. Citizen” printed on their identification that would be cause for any additional suspicion. You complied with the agent’s request and pulled your sweatshirt off for them to further inspect.

You were glad you’d worn a sports bra underneath your sweatshirt because you usually didn’t wear anything underneath them. As soon as your head was out of the pullover you immediately met by Tom’s polite smile. 

He averted his eyes as soon as he saw you, pausing his conversation with the official to mumble a quiet ‘sorry’ to you as he was shown to the spot next to yours. 

You zoned out as they spoke, only aware of him again when he started unbuckling his belt. You caught his eye this time. 

“Forgot to take it off,” he explained.

“Sweatshirt’s too loose.”

You both faced forward as the customs officials proceeded through the motions. You were stuck standing there half-naked with your arms wrapped around your chest self-consciously while an agent pat Tom’s legs down. 

“Dad said we can meet them at baggage claim,” Tom said after a few moments of silence between the two of you. “They went on without us.”

“Okay,” you squeaked back in response. 

You knew it wouldn’t take long, but it still made you nervous to be alone with Tom. Sam was like a safety blanket, or a buffer between you and him and without him you were afraid it would be painfully awkward. 

The woman handed you your sweatshirt back and you had to wait for Tom outside of the screening area. He joined you a minute or so later.

“They find any dirt on you?” you asked from where you were leaning against the wall across from the exit. 

“Nope, you?”

“Yeah, actually I’m in custody right now. Can’t believe you missed the handcuffs.”

“Man, what’d they get you for?” 

“Identity theft,” you sighed. 

“Damn, that’s a bummer,” Tom replied, false sympathy rolling off his words. 

He cocked his head in the direction the rest of his family had went, indicating that you should get going, and held out a hand to pull you upright. You took it hesitantly and let him help you. 

“I was actually hoping you could bail me out?” you went on, continuing with the bit. 

Tom made a sound through his teeth and grimaced. “I’m kinda broke right now.”

“Aren’t you an actor?”

“Sorry, but I think you have me confused with someone else.”

“No, you’re definitely the guy!”

“You’re thinking of Tom Hiddleston,” he insisted.

“Remember that IOU you gave me? I’m cashing it in now.”

“That’s not how it works!” 

You laughed. “No, but if I ever actually get arrested I’m using my IOU to get you to bail me out of jail.”

“I don’t think that a kiss and getting bailed out of prison are comparable, but I didn’t put any conditions on that postcard, did I?”

“Nope!” You smiled happily.

“Well that’s on me, so...”

You took the shuttle together to the other side of the airport where the rest of the Hollands were waiting and finally found them with all of your luggage at the furthest carousel from the entrance. 

“It’s about time!” Harry yelled over the crowd as soon as he saw you. 

Sam grinned when he saw you and you couldn’t help but grin back. He wrapped an arm around you instinctively and you relaxed into his shoulder, relieved to be with him again. It hadn’t dawned on you until that moment just how attached you were, but you didn’t have time to dwell on it because the other Hollands were all looking at you expectantly.

“Did everything go okay?” Nikki asked. 

Tom nodded. “They made y/n strip, but it was uneventful otherwise.”

You pursed your lips, cheeks burning. “It was just my sweatshirt!” you hissed to Sam. 

“Yeah, but you never wear anything under your sweatshirts!” Sam hissed back.

“I had a bra on this time.”

“Oh, so it was just another night at the bar for you?” You wrestled yourself out of Sam’s grasp at that and glared. “Am I wrong?”

Sam’s dad cut in before you could respond. He had a habit of calling “family meetings” in the middle of public spaces to finalize plans and get everybody on the same page, which was always an experience. 

“Alright, gather up, gang!” he said, beckoning you all closer. “So we’ll be staying at... this hotel,” he explained and turned his phone around to show you the name of it. “And the thing is, we have two rooms to share between the six of us. One for your mother and I, and another for you four.”

“What?” Sam asked. “You’re going to make us stay with them?”

“I thought we were getting three rooms like every other time,” Tom chimed in.

“We were meant to, but I made a mistake when booking it,” Dom clarified.

“How?”

“The entire website was in Japanese, Sam. I don’t know Japanese!”

“Dad, Google has a translate webpage option!” Harry groaned.

“Well no one told me that while I was booking this entire trip by myself!”

You traded a look with Tom, who looked just as panicked as you felt. But it would only be for a week. You would find a way to manage. You didn’t really have any other option.

“I’m sure it’ll be fun,” Sam tried, forcing a smile.

“That’s the spirit!” Dom cheered. “We’ll make it work.”

sorry she’s short this week :( but lmk what you think i always appreciate feedback!!

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[roselyn-writing]

Hey! can i ask for Selviya x Kuai Liang Kinky Smut/NSFW?!

Slave Selviya! X King Kuai Liang! Kinky Smut!

Selviya is a Beautiful girl in her 19s. She works as a florist in her tiny shop. She likes Flowers, roses and plants as a whole. She is born with magic. And its ice (Still a cryomancer). She knows that magic is hated in here. People afraid of magic. Selviya is in another Country. And King Kuai Liang is from nearby country. He rules his country with strict hand, laws and rules. He is just. And he is loved by his subjects. He has an unstoppable army. And he is powerful himself. Rumors say that he uses magic. But she doesn’t believe rumors.

One day Selviya was in her shop. Her Country had been Conquered by the nothern country. King Kuai Liang country. She was so afraid and hid under her table. She didn’t realise that her magic is spread and revealed her hide-out. She was roughly Taken by the enemy army and as Many of the womens and girls. Her country lost the war and the Merciless King won over them.

“From now on you belong to Our King. king Kuai Liang.” The soldier Says.

“Dedicate yourselves to our Bīng dìguó empire! Or you will be executed!” The soldier Growls at the girls/womens.

“We .. we dedicate ourself to our new empire!” They replied fearfully. Except Selviya she was silent.

“And you girl? Why won’t you dedicate yourself to our empire?” The soldier Asked Selviya, she was scared. But still she won’t grovel to the enemy.

“No!” She firmly shout.

The soldier look to each other. And they have the same thought. Which is to break her into submission. And that is R*pe. Yup. They Took her down and Took of her clothes. Revealing her beautiful and irresistible body. The womens and the prisoners were shocked and scared. They could not do anything.

“Fine then. You will be our toy!” The soldier replied, taking of her bra’s and touching her everywhere. She screams and screams. But no one came to save her. All the prisoners Let their head down in fear and regret.

One of the soldiers firmly grope her breasts and the other her private part. They continue to do so until they heard a voice that made them stop. It was their King Kuai Liang.

“What is the meaning of this?” He says roughly. Eyeing his soldiers with his piercing blue eyes.

“Your majesty! We were disciplining this Ungrateful Brat. She disrespected me and she was rude!” The soldier replied, fearfully of him

“Even if she was disrespectful, you have no right to do this. I’m ashamed of my soldiers. Who thought they can be lustful animals, Leave her and get the hell out of my sight before i make an example of you!” He commanded, the soldier Flee out of the place.

The King look at the girl. She was scared, she is looking down in shame. She couldn’t look into his eyes. To her shock he smiles at her

“Come here girl. Don’t be afraid little one. I won’t harm you” the King Says. His voice is soft and gentle.

She quickly wore her clothes and came to him. She is timid and scared. She shyly look at his face and his piercing blue eyes. They weren’t kidding when they say he uses magic. He gently raise up her chin. Kissing her cheek. Moments later he licks her cheek in lust. She is bothered but what she will do…

“Whats your name beautiful?” He Asks. Can’t get his eyes off her

“Its .. Selviya” she shyly responded.

“What a beautiful name for a beautiful creature like you~” he chuckles. She blushed at this.

“Th..thank you for saving me..” Selviya shyly says.

“You’re welcome..” the King replied, he extend his hand.. she hesitated.. but she puts her hand in his… he magically calls for his royal carriage. And it came. All of the prisoners were taken to his country. Making them the new citizens of it. Their country doesn’t exist anymore.

There are aloft of Girls. And womens. The King let the womens work in Bakeries, Sewing. And lot of things. Unlike the girls who are to similar to Selviya age.. he let them work in his palace.

The servants in the palace, gave the girls the Clothes of a female Servant of the palace.After they wore it. The King calls for them to come.

“Why hello. My beautiful creatures. I am King Kuai Liang your new king. Unlike the old pathetic one of yours. I am a just king. I Wrong no one. And i will make you work here. Because the soldiers … will do the same thing they previously did to the Beautiful girl over there” The king Says. Firmly yet gently. They know who he refers to. But he didn’t say her name so that he won’t rub the salt on her wounds.

“You girl.. you will be my concubine!” The King declares. As he points to Selviya. She is shocked and embarrassed… but she knows that he won’t harm her.

She walks up to him. He looks at her. Its the first time he has a concubine of his. He knows that she will be enough and enjoyable.

“Sudru lead her to my chamber. And let her wait for me” Kuai Liang Orders his servant. His loyal and faithful servant obliges, Out of respect and loyalty to his king.

“Yes your majesty!” The servant responded, as he leads Selviya to his chamber.

It was a Huge, wide chamber. It has a blue colour like the Snow. The place include furs. As a mat and the mattress of the bed. Its cold inside and Its looks like a room from a frozen palace. Fitting to his cold nature.

“Stay here and wait for the King” the Servant says the left.

Moments later the King came, with his fully glory. he was fully clothed. When he came near her. He took off his attire. She did the same. In fact she want to do this. She is not forced or anything. She just want do this.

“Come here little one” he commanded, she obeys

He snaked his arms on her waist. Hugging her then possessively kissing her. She kissed back.. after a moment of kissing. He hastly took off her dress. Naked in front of him. She is blushing..

He headed to his huge chair, she is looking at him. He gestured for her to come. She comes to him.

He sat on the chair. Putting his arms on its chair-arms. She understands what he wants and she came to it. Doing it before he even ask.

“Good girl! You even know before i say! Mhmm wonderful~” He added, chuckling afterwards

She is on her knees near him. Taking his member in her Mouth. Sucking deeply on it. Not forgetting to bobb up her head while sucking. She completely Let go of his memeber. To breath some air. He tapped his finger patiently for her. She licks his tip to tease him. He moans as he put his hand on her head to encourage to do more than licking. She sucks more and more until she reached his whole length. She is panicking. She didn’t wanna choke on it.

“Ahh yes.. oooh.. F*Ck yeah..” He moans. He pulled his member out of her mouth. So that she can breath again.

“Hmm your good at it. Still i crave more than a few Bjs” Kuai Liang replied, smiling to her

“Yes sir!” Selviya responded, then continue to suck on it.

He is enjoying this moment. Enjoying the pleasure she gives him.

He knows that she is a Cryomancer like him, and he will breed her for more Cryomancers. And his lineage will rule. This Kingdom forever. Seeing his only will done across the centuries. But he didn’t know that she is more than a Cryomancer, she has magic powerful magic, she can grants immortality. And she will give him this. Because she loves him..

Feeling himself closer to orgasm.. he stopped her. She obeyed him. He gestured to his bed and she goes there. She sat on the mattress. Her back against the bed.

He took the usual intimate position. He gently rubs her private part. Fingering it to become wet. So that his member easily slip inside.

After mere moments. Her Vagina becomes wetter and wetter. He knows that she is now ready..

He gently penetrate her Vagina. Penetrating her virginity as the blood droplets slipping through her thighs. And soaking the mattress. He stops so that he let her adjust to his size. After minutes he started to thrust into her. It was Slow and deep. She moans. She is enjoying this. After that his thrusts becomes harder and deeper. She moans louder this time

“Shhh shh honey” he shushed her, putting his hand on her mouth to muffle her cries.

After more thursts of his. Both came together.

Selviya panting heavily, and so does the king. He panting heavily and stopped to breath.

“This is so…enjoyable!” He muttered happily.

She thought that it is over. But to her surprise its not.

“We are far from over” he amused, Using his power to create an ice chains. To bound her to his bed.

“Be ready for round 2” he chuckles darkly.

[wisehq]

Mission Debrief: Chapter Forty-two

...It's all coming together.

I'm just going to come outright and say it; I had no idea what to write for this review- not because there wasn't anything to discuss, but rather this chapter gave us so much that I didn't know what to focus on first. Chapter forty-two has single-handedly thrown open the doors to a hundred different theories, and believe me when I say that after a whole night of redbull and theorizing I couldn't come up with any clear answers (the folks over at the Strix discord group can attest to that).

So here's what we're gonna do; I'm not going to focus on the chapter itself.

It was cute. Cardshark Anya is hilariously awesome. Damian is a little shit (whom I adore), and the chapters where the kids can just be kids are- in my opinion- the best.

That's all I'm going to say on the matter. For the rest of this review, I want to go over all the facts we know so far about the story and setting. All of the things Endo has been slowly building up in the background and the pieces that we can stitch together from them, starting with this chapter. Two key things stuck out to me.

In the entirety of the story up till this point, this is the first time we have heard mention of a royal anything- and not only that, but this chef is a former royal chef. This of course implies that a) said chef was fired (not likely given that Eden wouldn't likely associate with someone who was disgraced like that) or retired, or b) that there is no royalty anymore. Ostania is a totalitarian state and the main power of the government- from what we've seen- lies with the ruling political party, i.e the National Unity Party, a.k.a Desmond's party. Such a political structure would have no room for royalty in a governing capacity, and therein begs the question; is there still a royal/noble class- albeit in a non-governing sense- or was it abolished sometime in the recent past?

Classical language is not proper speaking and diction like I had originally thought. Classical language is a specific term typically used to describe a dead language or dialect (think Latin, or Hebrew before it was revived). I find this particularly interesting because under no circumstance would a child as young as Anya know anything about a dead language unless- as Loid points out- she was exposed to it as a toddler. It would have had to have been when she was very young, as she herself doesn't realize she knows this information. This would mean she likely learned it from her birth family; Anya was old enough to remember the lab and scientists, meaning she became Subject 007 later on in life- otherwise she would have remembered knowing classical language.

These two concepts are incredibly important to keep in mind, both now and later on as the story progresses. We now know that a royal class plays a factor in the political game that Twilight and everyone else is playing, and we know that Anya knows information that she shouldn't know otherwise (even with her mind-reading powers). So where does that leave us?

Honestly, for the first time...I'm kind of stumped?

Let's look back at the story and see what else we can piece together- maybe there's something in there we can extrapolate for our purposes. Another clue to point us in the direction that Endo is seemingly funneling us towards.

From chapter forty-one

Franklin Perkins was a man who believed in making his country a better place to live. In his eyes and from what he saw, Ostania wasn't going in the right direction- but why? He blames his lack of money for his mother's death, and we see him hold resentment towards the government over socialistic policies. Wealth is something to be shared with others, not hoarded for ones self. That seems to be where Ostania's moral compass is pointing towards, but is that really the case?

From chapter 39

Mr. Green mentions that people have been fleeing to Westalis; from the way he says this it sounds like this is happening currently- not in the past- and people are going so far as to travel through a third country just to get to Westalis. Such a journey isn't without its perils, so anyone attempting to crossover from Ostania would likely be taking a huge risk in doing so. Not only that, but most of what we've seen in the story is Ostanians loathing Westalins...so what would compel people to do this in the first place?

From chapter three As Anya reads the minds of people gathered at a politcal rally near the start of the manga, we see their disgruntled thoughts behind her. There's multiple mentions of losing jobs and not having enough money- some people are even hungry. Most of these people blame Westalis for their troubles, though not the leader of the rally, ironically.

Also from chapter 3

We find out (and often forget) early on that there are multiple political parties in Ostania. Donovan leads the National Unity Party, whereas the political rally we see here is hosted by the Nationalist Party. The latter preaches peace with the west, but many of the people gathered reject this outright. This is important; the N.U.P is the most successful political party in Ostania, which means a majority of the country's citizens approve of their platform. If we're to assume the Nationalist Party's platform is to advocate for peace with Westalis, then we must also assume that the N.U.P stands for the opposite; direct aggression with the west.

From chapter 31 The Zacharis Dossier, though ultimately a bust, hinted at rumors that have permeated East and West since the start of the cold war. We know for a fact that human experiments did indeed take place in Ostania, so it also stands to reason that there is at least a kernel of truth to the claims of P.O.W (prisoner of war) massacres conducted by the west. It's a heinous crime, and also one that leads to another question; why would any country go through with it in the first place? In addition, piggy-backing off the former point;

From chapter 19 While Loid details Project Apple, he uses the word 'regime' to describe the former Ostanian government. The literal definition of a regime is a government, especially an authoritarian one (Oxfrod Dictionary). I won't highlight all the specifics of what is and isn't authoritarianism, but essentially the point I'm trying to make here is that the current Ostanian administration is still very much a regime. Donovan acts as the authoritarian ruler (or would-be ruler; we don't know if he's actively in charge or is looking to usurp power for himself) and continues on the legacy of the former government. We know for a fact that this is the case because Anya is only at most 6 years old, likely even younger. That would mean the experiments being run on her had to have been recent, which fits with the time frame that we established at the beginning of this rabbit hole- it also aligns with what we know about what Donovan has been doing on the back end of things. Those who have kept up with my reviews know what I'm talking about; gloom pharmaceuticals, the truth serum, OSO-R, etc. All of that, which then leads us to...

...right back where we started. So...what then? What can we conclude from all this? At least a few things;

Anya is tied to Desmond- either directly or indirectly.

Anya's past is also Ostania's past; she's familiar with a dead language that's no longer spoken, and there's definitely a reason why no one speaks it anymore.

Ostania is in a period of political and economic turmoil. This also comes on the heels of a (possible) former monarchy, and the struggle of a country willing to embrace authoritarianism so long as it means staying alive.

WISE and Westalis are not innocent in this game of chess with Ostania and the SSS, and more than likely have committed atrocities that may or may not be directly tied to Ostania and- possibly- Anya's past.

And...this is as far as I can go. I've hit a wall, as have other people I've talked to. We're still missing pieces to the puzzle. Endo will of course provide us with more clues and theory fodder as the weeks and months progress, but for now this is as far as I can go on my own. On the one hand I feel defeated because I can't come up with a meaningful explanation for everything and present it in a neat little bundle for you all to read, but on the other hand I'm thoroughly enjoying this. I'm more engaged with this manga and story than any other I've read before; I'm at the edge of my seat every week, and I'm sure most of you are, too. For now, I'll leave the review here. I find it fitting to leave it open ended, just as Endo did with Loid's self-imposed question. Hopefully, like him, we can find answers in the near future.

Also, BONUS...

...No fun panel with a snappy comment this time. Instead, I’m going to humbly ask for your help.

If you have any ideas about where you think the story is going, theories as to how everything fits together, or just really want to discuss the manga with other fans- please check out our forum and share with us. We’d love to hear what you all think; not only that, but a lot more heads makes theorizing both more productive and a whole lot more fun. Check it out if you have the time, or- if you don’t feel like clicking on any links- you can always leave a comment either on this post or send us an ask or message. Anytime, any reason, we’d love to talk SxF.

Again, thanks for reading, and we’ll see you all next chapter!

[carewyncromwell]

[Ficlet] Gonna Hit Rewind

Hi guys! So this is a little drabble inspired by a prompt by my friend @drinkyoursoupbitch​, where I show what my MC, Carewyn Cromwell, was up to during a certain scene in the Harry Potter series! 

Before we begin, just a couple of notes --

Post-Hogwarts, Carewyn becomes a lawyer for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement -- you can read more about her life as an adult here, if you’d like! When it comes to the Order of the Phoenix, Carey-Bear doesn’t formally join, instead providing covert assistance while staying autonomous from Dumbledore (who she doesn’t really like as a person) and looking “subservient” to Fudge’s wishes. Later on, this becomes very useful after the Death Eaters take over the Ministry in 1997: when the Battle of Hogwarts begins, Carewyn actually helps take back the Ministry by placing Umbridge under citizen’s arrest and temporarily taking charge until Kingsley Shacklebolt is officially appointed Minister. Carewyn’s outfit in the sketch enclosed below is inspired by this design. Musical accompaniment for this ficlet were “Leave Me Alone” by Michael Jackson (for Carewyn’s conversation with that...certain family member in the aforementioned sketch) and “Turn Back Time” by Derivakat (which inspired the title of this drabble!). And in regards to Carewyn’s negative attitude toward Time Turners...that is 110% my mother talking. When we read Harry Potter and the Cursed Child together, she absolutely hated that it involved time travel, as she found the whole idea ridiculously confusing and illogical. (The whole climax of Prisoner of Azkaban was even her least favorite aspect of the original Potter books. 😂)

Hope you enjoy -- and much love, Soup dear! xoxo

x~x~x~x

“Down here, down here,” panted Mr. Weasley, taking two steps at a time. “The lift doesn’t even come down this far…why they’re doing it there…”

They reached the bottom of the steps and ran along yet another corridor, which bore a great resemblance to that which led to Snape’s dungeon at Hogwarts, with rough stone walls and torches in brackets. The doors they passed here were heavy wooden ones with iron bolts and keyholes.

“Courtroom…Ten…I think…we’re nearly … yes.”

As Arthur Weasley rushed down the hall toward Courtroom Ten, he was unaware that in Courtroom Seven, the door of which was left slightly ajar, Carewyn Cromwell was speaking to her estranged uncle, the new head of the Cromwell Clan, at that very moment, nor that their conversation would ultimately determine Harry’s fate in that courtroom happening just three doors down. 

“You’re not supposed to be here, Blaise, and you know that full well.”

“I merely wished to speak with the Minister, little Winnie -- you are aware of how much our family still supports the Ministry and, by extension, your career, are you not?”

Carewyn fixed Blaise with a very cold blue eye. “And I suppose Lucius Malfoy speaking with the Minister down here mere moments ago had nothing to do with you making an unscheduled visit?”

Blaise cocked his eyebrows, his identically colored and shaped eyes narrowing under them.

“I can sense you trying to enter my mind, Winnie,” he said very softly, his eyes rippling like light blue flames despite the hardness of his face. “It won’t work. You couldn’t reach my thoughts when you were a girl, and you can’t reach them now.”

His voice became cooler, to the point of sounding condescending. 

“Whatever questions you have, you know your uncle would be more than willing to answer them, if you merely ask nicely.”

‘Answer’ -- ha! Carewyn thought to herself scornfully. Lie your face off, more like. But even so...if I’m going to get what I need, I need to keep him talking...

Carewyn went very quiet, considering Blaise carefully and her next words even more so. 

“...Are you or are you not associating with Lucius Malfoy?” she asked softly.

“You might recall that he and Father were business associates back in the day.”

“Of course I do. That’s why I’m asking. Or have you forgotten where Grandfather’s activities sentenced him -- where they sentenced you, until you were able to bribe the Minister to reduce the rest of your family’s sentences?”

“Our family, little Winnie,” Blaise corrected her, a notable, fiery edge to his voice.

You all may be related to me by blood, but you are not my family, Carewyn thought fiercely, but she once again bit her tongue. If she provoked his temper the way she was tempted to, he’d be less likely to talk to her. 

When she didn’t respond, Blaise continued. 

“Lucius Malfoy has always had a working relationship with the Cromwell Clan. It’s only natural that we speak from time to time, as two patriarchs of prominent magical families.”

“Magical families with certain reputations, you mean,” Carewyn said very coolly. 

“Cornelius Fudge thinks very highly of Lucius Malfoy.”

“And of you, thanks to your impressive acting. But that doesn’t extend to everyone else, and you know it.”

“Of course,” said Blaise with a very cool smirk. “That’s something we have in common, isn’t it, Winnie? Putting on a charming face to get what we want, and not caring who hates us for it?”

Carewyn didn’t care enough to argue this point -- she’d already had this sort of discussion with Rakepick several times back in the day, and she knew that it meant Blaise was not only trying to divert the conversation, but also was absolutely full of it. 

You’re acting like this fact makes us just as bad as each other, Blaise, but it doesn’t. Even if we have some similarities in our methods, that does not make us the same. I’ve never terrorized people to try to advance myself. I’ve never manipulated or forced anyone to join a criminal organization. I’ve never masqueraded as my nephew in order to try to manipulate my niece into selling her soul and her freedom just to save him. However much I’m not perfect, I’m head-and-shoulders above you, when it comes to the moral high ground.

But honestly, there was no point in arguing with people like Blaise. It wasn’t like she’d ever convince him that everything he thought was wrong -- that Muggles weren’t inferior, Charles Cromwell was an abusive monster, and everything he and the Cromwell Clan did to try to get Carewyn, Jacob, and Lane back under their control was reprehensible rather than justified -- and she didn’t feel enough passion to try. Especially not when there were more important things happening at that very moment...

Harry would be in the courtroom by now. She had to hurry.

Although Carewyn tried to keep her face stoic, her brain was working very fast. Her eyes drifted away, off toward the far wall of the courtroom where the Wizengamot benches were lined up.

“...Look,” she said slowly, her voice becoming a little softer, “my Legilimency has become very sensitive, in this line of work. It allows me to read people’s intentions and feelings very quickly, even when I’m not actively trying to. And Lucius Malfoy...he doesn’t see you as an equal, but as a pawn.”

Blaise’s eyebrows came down over his eyes, but he didn’t respond.

“You and the rest of the Cromwell Clan only got out of Azkaban because you were able to appeal to Fudge,” said Carewyn, “but if you’re associating with the wrong people, that could very quickly sour. Your position will become uncertain again, and you won’t be able to protect them -- especially if Fudge gets the kind of control over the Wizengamot that he wants...where charges and judgments are laid down based on favoritism more than legality. We’re already seeing it with how Fudge is now treating Dumbledore and Potter, after how much he always sucked up to them. End up outside of Fudge’s good graces, as they did, and the same might befall you. I realize that you and Malfoy...”

Are Muggle-hating bigots.

“...have similar politics,” she said at last very stiffly, “...but Lucius Malfoy’s politics are far more extreme than yours, and although the courts decided there wasn’t enough evidence to prove his methods were also...we both know that’s also true. If he falls, he will drag you down with him -- and if you take the fall for his actions, he won’t lift a finger to help you.”

Carewyn forced herself to look Blaise in the eye. 

“Grandfather’s dealings with R got you all in enough trouble. You bought yourself and the rest of...our family a second chance -- something many others did not get. Are you sure you want to endanger that?”

Blaise considered Carewyn very carefully as she spoke, his blue eyes boring into hers critically. By the end, they’d actually widened.

“...Are you actually expressing concern for us, Winnie?” he asked very lowly. 

Carewyn scoffed. “Don’t misunderstand me, Blaise -- I don’t really think you all deserved a second chance in the first place, after everything you’ve pulled.”

Her blue eyes became a bit more solemn. 

“But truthfully...I’m not that upset that you were released from Azkaban. Dementors...they’re wretched creatures. I’ve seen what they can do to people.”

Her expression darkened.  

“...I wouldn’t wish that on anyone, however terrible they are.”

Something confused and almost disgusted rippled over Blaise’s face, making his nose wrinkle.

“Ugh -- and here I’d thought you’d actually weeded out that weakness in your heart...”

Carewyn’s red lips came together tightly, but she didn’t reply. The two stared each other down for a moment, before Blaise finally exhaled.

“Very well, Winnie -- you want to know why I’m down here?”

He reached into his scarlet robes and pulled out a gold chain, on the end of which dangled a tiny gold hourglass. 

A Time Turner. 

Carewyn’s eyes narrowed upon it. 

“Lucius Malfoy has expressed quite a bit of interest in my old department, when we’ve spoken,” murmured Blaise. “One sub-section in particular -- one where records of magical predictions are kept.”

Carewyn’s eyebrows furrowed. “Prophecies?”

“They are truly a fascinating thing,” said Blaise, his voice sounding rather airy. “So much value is placed on them -- too much, one could argue...just as one puts too much value on all attempts at ‘future sight.’ Alas, the section of my old department that Malfoy was interested in was not my area of expertise -- my area was in the study of Time, specifically backwards-facing. We did occasionally dip into the study of forward-facing time magic, but more in the sphere of inevitabilities -- things that evolve naturally in nature, every season -- not human affairs. Unfortunately when I was there, there was an employee monitoring the perimeter of the section I meant to enter -- I couldn’t have explored further even if I’d wanted to.”

“So Malfoy wanted you to stop by your old desk and pick up something that might help him or someone else enter the Department of Mysteries?” Carewyn asked. “Why?”

Blaise shrugged. “He didn’t say.”

“And yet you have a suspicion as to why?”

Blaise’s eyes narrowed upon Carewyn’s face, not angrily, but almost darkly. 

“I may no longer work for the Department of Mysteries, Winnie, but I cannot discuss the more classified branches of their work too deeply. That is part of the Vow I made when I first joined the Department -- it forces me to speak in hypotheticals and vague descriptions more than specific details. But I fear no random stooge using this tool to try to enter my old department, whether Malfoy or otherwise. In fact,” he added with a smirk, “I would frankly love to see them try.”

He ignored Carewyn’s critical, confused expression and pressed on more seriously. 

“You’re not a stupid girl, Winnie. I know you know what’s really going on, under the surface. Me offering assistance to Lucius Malfoy early on is merely how I intend to earn enough favor to keep my family safe, should the worst happen.”

“And what is that?” asked Carewyn.

Blaise cocked his eyebrows again. “Ask your mother. She remembers the First Wizarding War just as well as I do -- how it all started before.”

He turned on his heel and headed for the door.

“Blaise.”

Carewyn speaking his name and sharply grabbing his arm holding the Time Turner made him stop. 

“If you wish to provide Lucius Malfoy useful information,” she said lowly, “you can tell him that that employee was not there by accident.”

Blaise looked back over his shoulder, startled. Carewyn closed her eyes tight, trying to block out the intense nausea rippling over her. 

“He’s there to make sure Malfoy’s superior can’t reach what he wants,” she murmured. “There are many more, just like him, all with the same goal. It doesn’t matter when you go there -- there will always be someone there who will keep him away from what he wants.”

Blaise stared at Carewyn, his eyes narrowing in bewilderment. 

“...Why are you telling me this?” he whispered. 

Carewyn swallowed back the lump in her throat. 

“I haven’t worked with time magic like you have...but people aren’t supposed to be in two places at once. That I do know. A lot of problems have been caused by people trying to mess with time. Mum told me that once in the 19th century, a whole bunch of people’s lives were erased out of existence, all because someone messed around with a Time Turner...”

“Ah, yes, Eloise Mintumble,” said Blaise, sounding as darkly amused as a bully might upon seeing one of their usual targets wearing a particularly obnoxious dress. “Tried to go back more than a few hours and ended up changing things so dramatically that she both erased 25 people out of existence and aged her body five centuries and died upon return trip. A rather fascinating case study.”

“You’re disgusting,” Carewyn said coldly. But she got back to the task at hand, her voice hardening. “Even if Malfoy couldn’t get what his master wants from the Department of Mysteries with that Time Turner, he could still do irreparable damage with it. If all Malfoy needs is assistance, to believe that you’re helping him and for you to earn enough esteem that the Cromwell Clan stays safe...then give him the intelligence I’ve given you. Don’t give him that Time Turner.”

Blaise raised an eyebrow, his lips spreading into a rather condescending smirk. “Why? Because it’s wrong, little Winnie? Because it’s illegal and immoral, and ‘not the right thing to do?’”

“I’m not foolish enough to appeal to you with morality, Blaise -- I know you don’t have any,” spat Carewyn. “I’m asking you not to do it for your own self-preservation. For the Clan’s. ...For your family’s.”

Blaise’s smirk actually slid off his face. Carewyn held his gaze as best as she could, even with how ill she felt. 

“I may not be one of those who takes turns standing watch in your old department,” Carewyn said very softly, “but Jacob is.”

Blaise’s face went rather white, and Carewyn knew she’d struck a cord. For as cruel, selfish, and immoral of a person as Blaise was, he still saw his family -- all of it -- like his personal belongings. And he “took care” of his belongings. He wanted complete control over them and, like Charles before him, he never respected them as people, nurtured them, or gave them any freedom...but Blaise didn’t want anyone touching “his things.”

The older man’s jaw clenched as a rather dark glint flashed through his eyes.

“...I see.”

His teeth still bared, he extended the hand holding the Time Turner’s gold chain and, very slowly, lowered it into Carewyn’s hand. 

Carewyn’s eyes softened in relief.

“Thank you.”

Blaise exhaled heatedly through his nose.

“Jacob always was a fool,” he growled, his voice full of resentment. “Risking his life for people like that Muggle filth who abandoned you and your mother -- ”

“Better than selling his soul and freedom to serve the person who locked my mother and all of you up like prisoners,” Carewyn shot back rather coolly.

Blaise’s eyes flashed angrily. “You will not speak ill of your grandfather, Winnie! Everything he ever did in his life was for us, including you, your brother, and your mother, and I will not have you forgetting that!”

“Crow that lie as much as you want -- it won’t ever make it true.”

Blaise seethed as Carewyn pocketed the Time Turner in her robes. Slowly, his temper cooled enough that his lips spread back out into a rather vindictive smirk.

“For the record, Winnie...Time moves in a loop. If Lucius Malfoy were to use the Time Turner after I give it to him a half-hour from now, the effects would’ve already been felt by us by now. We would have heard about someone having broken into the Department of Mysteries before our conversation even started. The fact that we are not hearing that means that he never receives the Time Turner from me. So, in fact, it was already clear that I would give you the Time Turner before I actually did -- ”

“Oh, shut your trap,” Carewyn said tiredly. Just listening to Blaise wax on was giving her a headache. “I don’t even want to try unpacking all that time travel rubbish. All I care about is that Malfoy and his ilk can’t try to mess with time, now or ever.”

She turned on her heel and strode for the slightly ajar door. Pushing it further open, she then looked back over her shoulder at Blaise. 

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some business to take care of. Stay out of trouble, or I will not hesitate to prosecute you.”

Blaise’s eyes were very cold even around his smirk. “If there’s anyone who should be warned to stay out of trouble, it’s you, Winnie. I’m not the only one who’s aligned themselves with people who could drag them down, if they fall.”

“Perhaps,” said Carewyn mildly. “But my friends will catch me if I fall, just as they have before. Just like I always catch them. That makes all the difference.”

She walked away, her heels clapping against the black tiled floor as she strode to the end of the hall, listening at the door of Courtroom Ten. She could hear several voices talking inside -- after a moment, she recognized two as Amelia Bones and Cornelius Fudge. 

“...certainly described the effects of a dementor attack very accurately. And I can’t imagine why she would say they were there if they weren’t -- ”

“But dementors wandering into a Muggle suburb and just happening to come across a wizard! The odds on that must be very, very long, even Bagman wouldn’t have bet -- ”

“Oh, I don’t think any of us believe the dementors were there by coincidence,” said a very misty, serene voice from inside the Courtroom.

Carewyn’s shoulders relaxed, even as her eyes rolled up toward the ceiling.

Dumbledore. He’d made it in time. 

Exhaling heavily, Carewyn quickly turned back around and walked briskly back down the hallway, back upstairs toward her office. On the way, she walked by Blaise, who was now deep in quiet conversation with Lucius Malfoy, and Carewyn and Malfoy coldly stared each other down as she passed.

x~x~x~x

Carewyn hated keeping the Time Turner in her desk. She wanted to be rid of the thing immediately, but she knew she had to be patient. 

Around 11:00, just before lunchtime, Carewyn asked to borrow a Dungbomb from Tonks and covertly dropped off it just outside the Auror Department on her way back to her tiny office. The resulting smell resulted in the entire floor clearing out, until someone could deal with the smell. Carewyn herself, however, stayed in her office and powered through, spraying some Muggle air freshener to try to mask the smell. 

I forgot how much I hate Dungbombs, Carewyn thought dully. Oh well...desperate times call for desperate measures, I guess.

Keeping the files on a case she was working on open on either side of her, Carewyn read through them every-so-often as she pecked away at a letter she had to write. This letter had to be concise and to the point, if its recipient was going to know it was safe and exactly what she had to do, to help keep Harry Potter from getting unjustly expelled. 

Right on time, three hours after Harry’s hearing, Carewyn’s Legilimency picked up the feeling that someone was approaching her office. A moment later, there was a knock on her door. 

The ginger-haired lawyer exhaled heavily, her eyebrows knitting together. 

“Come in,” she said. 

Although she kept her voice level, she already felt a headache coming on. She knew who was on the other side of that door -- and sure enough, when it opened, in came tall, silver-bearded Albus Dumbledore, dressed in long midnight-blue robes. 

Carewyn’s eyes hardened as the Hogwarts Headmaster closed the door behind him.

“Hello, Carewyn,” Dumbledore said pleasantly. 

“You got my message from Tonks, then?” Carewyn asked. 

“To come straight to your office as soon as I arrived, but to not let anyone see me entering? Yes. Though I daresay the evacuation of this floor thanks to the smell of Dungbombs helped with that considerably,” said Dumbledore, and his light blue eyes twinkled. “I presume it has something to do with why some members of the Wizengamot were asking what I was doing back here so soon, and why Cornelius looked even more sour at my presence than usual.”

Carewyn’s face was twisted in a deep frown as she finally took the Time Turner out of the drawer and put it on top of her desk. 

“The time and place of Harry’s hearing was changed three hours ago, with no notice,” she said stridently. “The hearing originally scheduled for 11 o’clock instead was moved to 8 o’clock at 7:58 this morning. The letter was sent by owl to Privet Drive at 7:59, right before a second letter informing Harry that because he didn’t show up for his hearing, he was presumed guilty and therefore expelled from Hogwarts. Both letters arrived at 8:52. The Order wasn’t informed of the change until a little after 9, but was also informed by Arthur Weasley that you’d had the matter well in hand and had arrived miraculously early.”

“And so they felt no need to send me any post regarding the matter,” presumed Dumbledore with a dewy smile. “But in order for all of that to have happened, I will have to go back and ensure it does happen -- isn’t that so?”

Carewyn nodded curtly as she handed the Time Turner and a sealed envelope to Dumbledore. 

“Three turns back should be enough -- you don’t want to risk changing too much, by arriving too early, and I have a closed-door meeting with Chester Davies prior to that. Give this letter to me as soon as you arrive in the past. As soon as she...escorts you out, head straight for Courtroom Ten. You should arrive just after Harry does -- it shouldn’t raise as much suspicion if you make it to the courtroom after Harry, since he was already in Arthur’s office when he first received word of the change...”

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled with some mischief. “Clever as always, Carewyn, my dear. You do the Order very proud.”

Carewyn’s eyes flashed. “I’m not doing this for you or your ‘Order,’ Dumbledore, as you know full well. Jacob was completely at R’s mercy after he was expelled from Hogwarts, and I don’t want to even think about where Potter might end up, if the same thing happened to him. And if Jacob’s guarding something in the Department of Mysteries, I don’t want to make it any easier for You-Know-Who and his goons to get the drop on him.”

Dumbledore’s calm didn’t shift, though his eyes did turn a bit more solemn. “And as always, Carewyn, your cleverness is only rivaled by your caring for others.” 

Rising to his feet, the Headmaster tucked the envelope inside his robes and then picked up the Time Turner. 

“I’ll be seeing you,” he said cheerily, “or, should I say, ‘I will have seen you?’”

And with three turns, he’d disappeared.

Carewyn gave an exhausted, groan-like sigh.

“I hate Time Turners,” she muttered to herself.

x~x~x~x

When Dumbledore appeared in Carewyn’s office out of the blue at 8 o’clock that morning, the ginger-haired lawyer reacted with a lot of irritation and suspicion. Those feelings weren’t helped when Dumbledore handed her the letter addressed to her, and yet written in a hand identical to hers.

Carewyn,

First of all, yes, I know you recognize this handwriting. This isn’t a trick -- it’s just the work of a Time Turner: specifically the one Dumbledore’s holding. On that note, ask him to hand it over and then smash it. We have more than enough problems in the here and now: no sense in adding more time travel rubbish to the pile. 

Now that that’s been taken care of, let’s get to business --

The time and place of Harry’s hearing was moved just a minute ago. It now starts at 8 o’clock in the morning in Courtroom Ten. Don’t worry, Arthur’s already been notified and is ferrying Harry as we speak, but Dumbledore needs to get down there right now. Kick him out of your office, nice and loudly -- there are people outside who could overhear, and you don’t want anyone to think you and Dumbledore are on good terms. Which, fortunately, you’re not. 

Now that Dumbledore’s out of your hair, let’s go over what you need to do -- 

Blaise has sneaked into the Ministry, specifically the bottommost floor near the Department of Mysteries, on Lucius Malfoy’s direction. No, Blaise isn’t a Death Eater -- just short-sighted and self-serving as ever. The point is that he has a Time Turner on his person, which he cannot be allowed to walk away with, under any circumstances. You’ll be able to catch him leaving the Department of Mysteries if you go downstairs in the next fifteen minutes. He’ll be meeting Lucius Malfoy around 8:30, in the middle of Harry’s hearing, so don’t let him walk away without getting that Time Turner away from him. Don’t come at the issue straight-on, though -- you can appeal to Blaise to give it to you willingly. Just keep him talking. Once you have the Time Turner, you can hold onto it until Dumbledore arrives in your office at the time that was originally scheduled for Harry’s hearing, so he can use it to go back far enough to arrive at Harry’s hearing on time. 

I know, this Time Travel stuff is absolutely bloody ridiculous. But at least this way Malfoy won’t be able to use the Time Turner Blaise stole to cause even more havoc. 

Burn this letter as soon as you’re done reading it. We don’t want anyone coming across it. 

Good luck. 

As for Dumbledore himself, he arrived at Harry’s hearing right on time, all according to plan. 

“Ah,” said Fudge, who looked thoroughly disconcerted. “Dumbledore. Yes. You --er -- got our -- er -- message that the time and -- er -- place of the hearing had been changed, then?”

“I must have missed it,” said Dumbledore cheerfully. “However, due to a lucky mistake I arrived at the Ministry three hours early, so no harm done.”

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

October 6, 2021

Heather Cox Richardson

Today, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) backed down from his obstructionism, agreeing to let the Democrats raise the debt ceiling by a simple majority rather than by the 60 votes they needed when the Republicans kept filibustering their bills.

A quick recap: the issue at stake was whether the United States would default on its debts, which it has never done before. The threat to default was purely a political ploy on the part of the Republicans to try to force the Democrats to abandon their very popular infrastructure measure.

Here’s the backstory: Congress actually originally intended the debt ceiling to enable the government to be flexible in its borrowing. In the era of World War I, when it needed to raise a lot of money fast, Congress stopped passing specific revenue measures and instead set a cap on how much money the government could borrow through all of the different instruments it used.

Now, though, the debt ceiling has become a political cudgel because if it is not raised when Congress spends more than it has the ability to repay, the country will default on its debts. The cap has been raised repeatedly since it was first imposed; indeed, the Republicans raised it three times under former president Donald Trump. Once again, it is too low, and by October 18, the Treasury will be unable to pay our debts.

To meet the nation’s obligations, Congress needs either to raise taxes, which Republicans passionately oppose, or to raise the debt ceiling so the Treasury can borrow more money. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has voted to raise or suspend the debt ceiling 32 times in his career, including the three times under Trump, refused to allow Republicans to vote to raise the debt ceiling.

Although the ceiling needed to be lifted because Trump added $7.8 trillion to the debt (which now stands at about $28 trillion), in part with the huge 2017 tax cuts that went overwhelmingly to the wealthy, McConnell tried to tie the need for more money to the Democrats’ infrastructure plan. This was false: the debt ceiling is not an appropriation; it simply permits the government to borrow money it needs to pay debts already incurred.

But McConnell and the Republicans want to dismantle an active government, not to build it. They hope to convince Americans that Democrats are racking up huge debts—even though it is the Republicans on the hook for today’s crisis—and that they should not be permitted to pass a bill that supports children and working parents and addresses climate change.

The Democrats insisted that the Republicans should join them in raising the ceiling, since they had been instrumental in making it necessary, but McConnell and his caucus refused. Finally, with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warning that defaulting would crash the economy and with financial services firm Moody’s Analytics warning that a default would cost up to 6 million jobs, create an unemployment rate of nearly 9%, and wipe out $15 trillion in household wealth, the Democrats tried to pass a measure themselves.

Republicans wouldn’t let them. They filibustered it, trying to force the Democrats to save the country by raising the debt ceiling through a bill that can’t be filibustered, a process called reconciliation, which would make it harder for them to use reconciliation for their own infrastructure bill since Congress can pass only one of that type of reconciliation bill per year.

It was a remarkably cynical ploy, risking the financial health of the country and our standing in the world to make sure that a Republican minority could continue to hamstring what the Democratic majority considers a priority. Republicans have played chicken with government shutdowns since the 1980s, refusing to pass measures to fund the daily operations of the government and thereby stopping paychecks and government operations.

But defaulting on our obligations was a whole new game of brinksmanship. The greatest international asset the U.S. has right now is its financial system. To bring that to its knees to score political points would be interpreted, correctly, as a sign our country is so unstable it must be sidelined.

Midday today, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin highlighted this international doubt when he took the unusual step of weighing in on politics. He warned that a default would “undermine the economic strength on which our national security rests.” Paychecks for 1.4 million active duty military personnel and veterans’ benefits for 2.4 million veterans, as well as payments on military contracts, would stop. Equally dangerous, defaulting on loans would devastate the nation’s international reputation "as a reliable and trustworthy economic and national security partner."

Democrats said they could not guarantee the country would not default, and they were clearly starting to consider getting rid of the filibuster, at least for this particular issue, to enable them to pass a debt ceiling bill by a simple majority rather than by 60 votes.

Then McConnell blinked (although he didn’t cave). In a scorching statement that laid all the blame for the crisis on the Democrats, he offered to “allow” Democrats to use normal procedures—that is, the Republicans won’t filibuster them!—to extend the ceiling into December. Democrats indicate they will take that deal.

There is one major takeaway from this manufactured crisis: McConnell was willing to come right to the verge of burning the nation down to get his way. In the end, he stopped just before the sparks became an inferno, but it was much too close for comfort.

Still, he stopped. Trump and his supporters did not. The former president has been pushing Republicans to use the threat of default to get what they want, and he was not happy that McConnell had backed down. He issued a statement blaming McConnell for “folding” and added “He’s got all of the cards with the debt ceiling, it’s time to play the hand.”

Trump’s willingness to burn down the country is ramping up as the January 6 investigation gets closer to him. Tomorrow is the deadline for four of his aides to respond to subpoenas for documents and testimony from the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol: former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino, adviser Steve Bannon, and Defense Department aide Kash Patel. Meadows worked to overturn the 2020 election results and was in the thick of things on January 6, Scavino had met with Trump to plot to get congresspeople not to count the certified votes on January 6, Bannon strategized with other officials on January 5 to stop the count, and Patel was part of discussions about the strength of the Capitol Police.

The four are expected to defy the subpoenas at Trump’s insistence, a defiance that suggests they think he and his people are going to regain power. According to Glenn Kirschner, a former U.S. Army prosecutor, contempt of Congress earns a year of prison time; obstruction of Congress, five years; and obstruction of justice, 20 years.

The rest of the former president’s statements today were unhinged attacks on the committee.

A final note for October 6: U.S. District Judge Robert L. Pitman has temporarily blocked enforcement of Texas’s S.B. 8, the so-called “heartbeat” bill prohibiting abortions after six weeks, when most women don’t know they’re pregnant. The Justice Department had sued to stop enforcement of the law. Pitman stopped it on the grounds that it deprived “citizens of a significant and well-established constitutional right.”

—

Notes:

https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2021-10-06/pentagon-warns-of-national-security-fallout-from-debt-ceiling-crisis

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/oct/06/trump-aides-capitol-attack-house-select-committee

Glenn Kirschner @glennkirschner2Contempt of Congress - 1 year. If prosecutors bring obstruction of Congress charges - 5 years. Or obstruction of justice charges - 20 years. https://t.co/1UXtetgiMa@glennkirschner2 Glenn, how much jail time can they get for not answering supoenas?

Deeheart4 @Deeheart99

2,055 Retweets5,855 Likes

October 6th 2021

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/live-blog/gop-sens-ready-to-blow-up-debt-crisis-in-nakedly-political-gambit

https://www.justsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/show_temp.pdf

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/texas-abortion-lawsuit-decision/2021/10/06/ae70d946-22e7-11ec-9309-b743b79abc59_story.html

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[richmond-rex]

Speaking of Easter, there is a memoir of Henry VII’s first progress to the northern provinces in 1486 that goes into detail about how he kept his devotions that year. After departing from London, riding to Waltham and visiting Cambridge, Henry VII arrived in Lincoln on Holy Week:

“. . . and ther his grace kepte right devoutly the holy fest of Ester, and full like a cristene prince hard his dyvyne service in the cathedrall chirche and in no prive chapell. And on Sherethursday he had in the bisshops hall xxix poore men, to whom he humly and cristenly for Christez love, with his noble handes, did wesshe ther fete, and yave as great almes like as other his noble progenitours, kings of England, have been accustumed aforetyme. And also on Good Friday, after all his offerins and observances of halowing of his tinges, after dyner yave merveolous 2 great summes of mony in grotes to poo[r]e people, besides great almes to poore freres, prisoners, and lazares howsez of that countrey. And oon Sherethursday, Goodfryday, Estereven, and Esterday the bisshop of that see did the divine service; and everyche of the iij dayes folowing the principallest residencers ther being present did ther divine observance. And the king him silf kepte every day thus, during both the high masse and evensonge in the saide cathedrall chirche.”

The account relates two important ceremonies. The first one is the washing of the feet of a select number of poor men, one for each year of the king’s age, on Maundy Thursday (Shrethursday), that was meant to imitate the actions of Christ and demonstrate the king’s humility. The second, which Henry VII performed on Good Friday, was the ‘hallowing of the rings’ aka the blessing of cramp rings (against cramp and falling sickness). Those two ceremonies, plus the lavish giving of alms, were important to demonstrate to any reluctant subjects that Henry VII was intent on following in the traditional footsteps of his predecessors in the exercise of kingship, especially his late uncle King Henry VI. What really called my attention was the extremely public face of his personal devotions which, as the herald commented, could have been kept in a private chapel.

Instead, Henry VII performed his Easter devotions in Lincoln Cathedral, spending the entirety of Holy Week in daily rounds of services (both high mass and evensong). It is interesting to remember how throughout his whole reign, though especially at the beginning, Henry VII was willing to advertise his connection to Henry VI as an additional way of legitimising his rule. As Henry VI’s spiritual heir, it was important for Henry Tudor to show his willingness to emulate the virtues of his saintly uncle, as well as his adherence to the requisite princely qualities of piety and magnanimity according to his uncle’s example. In contrast, A. J. Pollard has observed that Edward IV does not seem to have been particularly or frequently engaged in acts of public piety. 

As Emma Cavell points out in her thesis (2001), Henry VII’s journey in the spring of 1486 was an important opportunity to put himself on display for those subjects who still did not know him.

“The journey was to be an exercise of princely and pious display, and of the advertisement of the strength and credibility of the new regime among those men and women less eager to except his rule.”

However, I would like to point out that, as much as Henry VII was willing to shine light on his connection with his Lancastrian predecessor, so were the cities and subjects who were seeking his favour or pardon. A good example is the city of Worcester whose citizens sought to ask Henry’s mercy in face of a recent local rebellion against his rule. The pageants organised to meet his visit had a saint Henry (Henry VI) asking his nephew to, among other things, be merciful as he once had been:

And, gentil cosyn, sith thou hast this chaunce To be myn heire, use wele my governaunce; Pytie with mercy have alwey in thy cure; For by meknesse thou shalt lengest endure.

And now, swete Henry, doo somewhat for me: I stod for vj and now ye stande for vij — Faver thoos folk that fele adversitie; God wille rewarde the therfor high in heven.

[duckie-baby]

let's talk about s02e08: the sins of the father.

let's talk about how this could've been a pivotal point in arthur's character arc, if the writers of this show weren't fucking cowards.

let's talk about how it was completely unfair on merlin's part to lie to arthur, because arthur deserved the truth goddamnit and it wasn't merlin's place to take that away from him.

of course, this is later justified by merlin saying that he knows arthur and that he wouldn't be able to live with himself or the guilt of it if he had gone ahead and killed his father. and of course, like every other potentially life-changing event, all of this is never mentioned by the show again.

magic is damned even further in arthur's eyes, uth*r threatens everyone who knows the truth into silence, vaguely implies that he's totally chill with his son fucking his manservant as long as they're all of the same anti-magic ideals, the episode ends in all smiles.

but whew! at least arthur's been protected from the harsher sides of reality, once again! god forbid this character gains any sense of self-awareness!

my point is, if all of this was to keep arthur from killing daddykins bc it would weigh on his delicate conscience, to preserve the Goodness Of His Character As A Man And King, why the fuck should merlin have to lie to him about it?

consider, instead of:

Morgause is lying! She's an enchantress. She tricked you. That was not your mother you saw. That was an illusion. Everything...everything your mother said to you...those were Morgause's words.

we could have had something along the lines of:

What your father did was wrong, Arthur, but is this man the man you want to be? The king you want to be? Would you be able to ascend the throne even as your father's blood glistens, still fresh, on your sword? Would you be able to live with yourself if you made this decision?

if he kills his darling father anyway, honestly, Good For Him. he has every right to. uth*r went through with a dangerous spell despite knowing the risks, then commited genocide in its name whilst lying about his reason as to why.

uth*r has commited genocide.

he is not a good king or father either, as proven several times throughout the show. he deserves no mercy, no pity.

but the choice should've been arthur's to make. this scene should've been a testament to arthur's character.

if he kills daddy dearest anyways but then feels Super Guilty about it later, we know he wouldn't have made a good king. you can't head a country when you're prone to making drastic decisions without thinking them through bc you were throwing pissy fit at the time.

so if he still goes through with it, he must not been shown to regret it.

but say he does let uth*r live. maybe for whatever love remains for the man who raised him. but he renounces him as his king, as his father.

arthur starts publicly going against his policies and decisions. bc if uth*r could have been so wrong about this alone, what else is he wrong about? arthur refuses to carry out his orders if he believes it’s against the interests of the people.

raising taxes? how about No. oh, he can’t knight commoners? just Try and stop him. he learns to trust in the counsel of merlin, gwen, morgana, people who we know interact direct directly with the citizens of camelot and want what’s best for them; builds his own circle. he routinely breaks out prisoners from the dungeons he believe have been punished unjustly.

especially the people who use magic. he openly speaks out against his father and his persecution of it.

uth*r can try and stop him, alright. but there is a clear rift in the kingdom now, two distinct factions. those who believe in the king that arthur will be, and those who believe their loyalty is still to the current monarch.

and look at these people, from the execution scene from s01e01:

look at their faces (and also hnfvbdjh colin morgan and his obscene fucking cheekbones jesus christ). they don't seem to appreciate uth*r saving them from the evils of magic much. how many of them have lost their friends and family to his crusade? how many of them remember a time when magic was still allowed in camelot and the kingdom flourished?

these people will stand with arthur pendragon.

yeah. the ones who still believe in uth*r’s authority are few and far in between. and they know where they can shove it.

arthur learns. about magic, about its history, the old religion. merlin finally reveals his magic to him, so does morgana. he goes to the druids and he falls to his knees and he begs for their forgiveness. morgause begrudgingly allies herself with him, seeing his determination to right his father’s mistakes. he still struggles with the little boy within him who just wants his only parent’s approval, sometimes. but he is slowly but surely becoming his own man.

arthur becomes king long before he takes the throne. uth*r is forced to watch, a meaningless figurehead, as everything he worked to achieve comes undone at the hands of his own son. no attempts to make the viewers sympathise with him. he is angry and miserable and wasting away and there is nothing he can do about it; and it’s exactly what he fucking deserves.

and merlin? merlin finally realises kilgharrah’s word isn’t gospel. morgana is redeemed before she ever loses herself. but they must learn to trust each other again, bc merlin left her to face her fear and self-loathing alone when she needed someone more than ever (you might be cute, merlin, but not enough to get away with THAT). he finds himself taking young sorcerers who don’t know how to control their power under his wing (gilli, daegal, oh god the endless opportunities here), including mordred. MORGAUSE TEACHING MERLIN AND MORGANA MAGIC.

he and arthur are equals now, partners in destiny; the world is theirs.

and for the love of god, give me villains whose entire personality and motivations don’t boil down to I Hate Uth*r Pendragon And Also His Son.

give me kings who are afraid of camelot’s growing power, give me bandits and slave traders who realise they have no place in arthur and merlin’s albion. give me uth*r apologists scrambling to maintain their position in court, hell, give me anarchist organisations if that’s what it takes to spice things up a little.

give me the golden age of albion we were promised.

of course, all of this requires characters acknowledging and growing from their mistakes, and making their actions have lasting consequences — so i suppose it really is a bit too much to ask of the writers.

[rocinawanda]

WandaVision - 1x09 FINALE

It’s over I want to cry. As someone who has wanted Wanda to be at the forefront of an MCU story for years now, getting this? I cannot go back. I need MORE. I want a Wanda MOVIE or another TV series, my baby is nuanced, she has depth and power and can carry a series with ease. Marvel feed me. Elizabeth Olsen deserves so much praise👏👏👏 SPOILERS.

So much happened, Hayward you DICK you’re going to prison. He deserves death he tried to shoot Billy and Tommy OOF I felt rage, prison is not enough I wanted Wanda to rip him apart. But we got another glimpse of Monica’s cool powers essentially taking the bullets for the boys and stopping them which was amazing. That combined with the post-credit scene hello Captain Marvel tease, Monica in space tease I am so ready for it!

Let’s talk about Vision VS White Vision okay so there was a lot of pushing and shoving but ultimately they talked out their differences and White Vision aka his real body got his memories restored???? So he’s still out there somewhere? Vision is back somewhat? Many questions and I am curious how this will affect the Avengers down the line and other films.

Onto Pietro, who was really Ralph!? I caught on when he said the ‘missus’ but also what... Not much explanation there he just also lives in Westview I guess and obviously WE as the audience know his face as X-men Peter but in this particular universe he is just Ralph.. I guess.

Moving to Agatha! She is trapped in her role as Agnes. I loved the back and forth between her and Wanda in this episode even going back to Salem which was creepy as fuck when the dead coven started to rise and point at Wanda I was like nope, okay nevermind. It really was just introducing us to the myth and how powerful Wanda really is as the Scarlet Witch.

They got me, with the runes bit. I was so worried saying Wanda what are you doing feeding her your power! But then she emerged as the Scarlet Witch! Let’s talk about it my baby Wanda. First of all, the world is just so cruel to my girl. When the citizens of Westview were all begging her to let them go or kill them, whew that was heavy. She almost lost control and choked them!

But then the world is yet again cruel and forces her to choose between letting the citizens go or having her family disappear. Oh my god Vision and the kids disintegrating was horrible to watch I feel so much for her. Putting the kids to bed was even worse!!! It reminded me of Titanic I’m just glad we didn’t have to see it. I kept yelling NOT THE CHILDREN. Cruel.

Ultimately, we watched Wanda come into her own as the Scarlet Witch, crown and all with her gorgeous new outfit, but she’s lost everything again. Reverting everything back and yep she’s just standing in this empty house lot, its brutal man. Now she’s off as we saw in the Post-Post credit-scene at some isolated cabin reading the Darkhold aka the Book of the Damned 😰 and we know damned well ;) that this will be focused on in Doctor Strange 2 because whilst there is one whole chapter on the Scarlet Witch in the book, nothing good can probably come from her reading the whole thing.

Overall, I have loved this show I have loved WandaVision so much. I’m pretty sure its a mini-series but I wouldn’t mind there being a second season because Wanda deserves the spotlight there is just so much potential with her character that deserves to be explored.

[coreastories]

Queen in recovery; villain in prison

Her Majesty giving the media and well-wishers a small but radiant smile before leaving CorGen

The queen has been discharged from CorGen and will spend the rest of her recovery in the winter palace in Pyeongchang, along with the king and members of the Royal Guard 

This author is weak with relief. I loved writing that headline! The queen is fine. The royal baby is fine

Unbreakable Sword Jang Mi-reuk, who bore the brunt of the crash on the left side of the vehicle, will also make a full recovery

So will Park In-yeong, the queen’s only female Royal Guard

Details on their injuries will not be disclosed. 

Both Mr Jang and Miss Park weren’t seen exiting the hospital, precisely so the public won’t know the extent of their injuries

We did see the bandage of the queen’s airbag burn on her left cheek (not visible in the photo) and she was using a scarf as a sling which supported her left arm by the wrist (not visible in photo)

While the royal family and the royal guard get some R&R in the mountains, Corea’s justice system is reeling from several moves the king made in serving justice to the man who could have cost us the queen and royal baby

The 43-year-old man from Gijang-gun is Kim Ae-go. 

According to my Corean staff, he’s a notorious drunk. On the evening of November 12, he gatecrashed the Lee-Kim engagement party in Busan, had a “nightcap” at a bar, and then plowed into the queen’s car with blood alcohol concentration so high he should have been catatonic, not driving. 

Circulating police reports now confirm that Kim is also charged with assault and battery for attacking the server in his persistence to get his car key, which had been confiscated according to the bar’s house rules. 

Apparently a menace in Corea’s high society, Kim is also infamous for his acquittal from manslaughter in 2006, when another car crash he orchestrated killed two innocent bystanders aged 17 and 10. 

The king reopened the case. 

Prosecution evidence that had mysteriously disappeared in 2001 and 2006 resurfaced. Witnesses turned up. Kim Ae-go was found guilty of two counts of murder by unanimous jury verdict and sentenced to two counts of life imprisonment, and one count of six months of imprisonment, the (measly) penalty for unknowingly injuring the king or queen. 

In Corea, you are charged with murder if the following are true: 

You commit DUI manslaughter and found criminally negligent

You are a repeat DUI offender 

You have been reprimanded and educated of the dangers of DUI

This was what was controversial in 2006, because instead of being charged with murder, Kim was charged with involuntary manslaughter instead, even with his priors. 

That is all water under the bridge now that Kim Ae-go is finally put away.   

For the full report on Kim Ae-go’s crimes, our staff put together a timeline here, with accounts from all the witnesses and victims

Statute of limitations removed 

The king also removed the statute of limitations for murder and manslaughter.

Previously, Corea had a rather questionable 25 years statute of limitations for murder and manslaughter, something you didn’t notice or mind in this peaceful country until you realize creatures like Kim Ae-go walked around getting acquitted and waiting for the statute of limitations to apply. 

Judicial immunity to be reduced?

The king also announced that the Office of the Sovereign Justice (that’s the king) is reviewing cases and is studying legislation where the kingdom’s justices can be disbarred and punished if found negligent of their judicial duty by an appellate court. 

While this is controversial and will probably not become law, the announcement is enough. I bet some judges are quaking in their shoes. The king has taken notice.  

Kims exiled

Kim Ae-go is the grandson of Kim Ae-ho, and the son of Kim Ae-ro, the now ex-Minister of Finance. Stripped of their ancient family title of Gong (equivalent to duke), both senior Kims and their wives are exiled forever from the kingdom. 

According to the Royal Public Affairs Office, this is voluntary exile, with the king’s sanction. 

Public opinion is favorable about this-- some ahjummas have emailed me details I can’t publish because it’s hearsay, but let’s just say this author is also happy the nonagenarian Kims are being evicted from the kingdom. I did like Minister Kim, however. That’s a shame. 

But I’m sure he takes solace in his daughter. 

Kim Eun-chae appointed new Minister of Finance

In a stunning turn of events that has the kingdom’s full approval because of her popularity, the king nominated Kim Eun-chae to fill the position of Minister of Finance. The nomination was unanimously assented by Parliament. 

Kim Eun-chae, 46, is the older sister of Kim Ae-go. Unlike her brother, Kim Eun-chae used her family’s influence for good, serving in many committees in the queen’s and Parliament’s charities and projects. She also worked for her father as the ex-minister’s deputy minister of finance. 

Once her term ends, she can run for re-election, and this time she’ll need to be voted into office by the citizens of Corea. 

Mercedes Benz S-Class 2021 madly popular amongst Coreans

This one’s not stunning at all. After we’ve seen a rather horrifying but still effective demonstration of its collision defense technologies, Mercedes Benz is probably in shock at the high demand for the luxury sedan, not just from Coreans, but from all the royal and presidential (and mob) families of the world. 

And all because this author published it during our panic over the queen. Should we expect royalties? 

[gloves94]

Sunburn [Prince Zuko] 16

Warnings: None   Rating: PG-13   Pairings: Zuko/OC   Summary:  “You have everything you’ve ever wanted.” “No.” He said softly. “Not everything…”  His golden eyes looked at her with a melting intensity she had never witnessed before. “I guess not.” She responded with glassy eyes as tears welled up threatening to break the dam of her eyes.

My fanfiction: M A S T E R L I S T

Ba Sing Se was like flipping the fresh page of a new book. It felt clear, this new world was welcoming and lacked the violence that seemed to trail after the Fire Nation trio.

She had promised herself there would be no ill thoughts about the Avatar, her lost family, revenge or anything pessimistic of that matter. She took in a deep breath as she reminded herself that this was a clean slate. A place where she could make a life with no obligations and judgement. Yet there was a thought - no - it was more of an ambition that lingered in the back of her head. What about her dream of seeing an equal united nation and her future as a diplomat?

She raised her head to attempt to see the Upper Rings of Ba Sing Se but failed to, the walls and bridges were too high and blocked her view of the palace. In another life she dreamed she would've been welcomed as a guest. Then again she would've been a guest from the Fire Nation which was an obvious impossibility. With the war raging and the Nation of Fire consuming everything in sight she could bet this land would belong to the Fire Nation soon... She looked around the crowded streets and suddenly felt sad. She felt for all of the Earth Kingdom citizens. All of these people would lose their jobs, their homes, their nation, lives and maybe even their families... It wasn't fair. But then again there was nothing she could do about it. There was no way to stop or end the war. It was just another one of those things that were out of her control.

Ba Sing Se was a clean slate! With a determined head shake she tossed those pessimistic thoughts to the back of her head and focused on the current scents of onions being fried, pork and bitter pickled goods wafting thought the air. Merchants shouted over each other as they negotiated and marketed their best offers.

The trio presently walked through the bustling streets of the Lower Ring of Ba Sin Se. The Lower Ring was were the most humble of the three. It was were the cities merchants, artisans and most of the serving class lived. It wasn't the best neighborhood to live in, but then again. They had slept in worse.

Tsai liked Ba Sin Se. Out of all the cities and nations they had visited it was the one that reminded her the most of home. The sun was welcoming and the weather was mostly pleasant . The people in the market were kind and smiled at her whenever she approached them.

Maybe it wasn't home, but it almost felt like it. Here she was with her new family Uncle Iroh and his nephew the banished, scarred prince of the Fire Nation, Zuko. Here she wasn't a vice-royal brat she was just another girl living and turning a page for a better life.

Never in a million years did she imagine spending her life here, like this and with such peculiar company. The street was busy and Zuko appeared to be in an even more bitter mood than usual as he waited for Tsai to stop bargaining with a merchant for the best price on some pork bao buns. His uncle had disappeared going off to god knows where.

The prince had been confused. Haunted by insecurities, confusion and disbelief he had gone into an emotional shut down mode after the train arrived to the city in an attempt to shut out the red-head that kept pestering him and knocking at the door of his heart.

It was never going to happen. There was no realistic scenario in which a creature such as her would ever notice him. Besides, he had already tried once and had gotten flat out rejected. It was best to let it go. To let her go.

"Want some?" The red-head approached him with a cheesy grin carrying a dozen or so buns around her arms before taking a large bite out of one of the chewy large white buns.

He ignored the tug he felt in his heart and instead crossed his arms over his chest a familiar annoyed expression on his features. "How can you eat that crap?"   He eyed the girl happily eating the cheap street food. "You're going to get sick."

"How can you be so spoiled?" She raised an eyebrow and lifted a hand holding a bun over his mouth. It hovered there for a moment and he realized she wasn't going to stop nagging him until he took a bite and so he did taking the bun in his hand eating it as well. He'd never admit it to her but it was actually really good.

"Pretty good huh?" She said after almost swallowing one whole like a boa constrictor.

'Don't look at me like that...' he pleaded in his head before silently turning away.

"Iroh!" Tsai acknowledged as the older man suddenly appeared in the market once again rejoining them. He was carrying a massive porcelain vase filled with several tall orange flowers.

"Oh! These are so nice!" Tsai said as she approached him and touched the orange blossoms gently with her free hand. Truly appreciating the beauty in the small gestures. Zuko rolled his eyes and finished eating his bao bun.

'What a perfectly good waste of money...'He thought dourly.

"I just want the place to look nice," Iroh said with a broad grin acknowledging his nephew's disapproving looks. "In case someone brings home a specialfriend!" Iroh said.

He momentarily flashbacked to how he had seen the two teenagers sitting next to each other in the train holding hands, heads resting on each other's shoulders affectionately. He couldn't help but be a fanboy and support this ship wholeheartedly. He wanted nothing more than for his nephew to find happiness and maybe she wouldn't be the answer to that but she could help. Since there had been a heavy tension between the two. Iroh figured maybe he could help with that.

He playfully nudged Zuko with his elbow then flashed Tsai a sly smile, "Lady or gentleman!"

"I don't think Jet was the kind to stick around," The colonial girl said rubbing the back of her neck nervously. She was slightly embarrassed she had even been involved with such person.

"This city is a prison." Zuko mumbled bleakly with a scowl, "I don't want to make a life here."

Tsai frowned in his direction. "Why can't you everbe happy?" She snapped. The tension between them back at its fulltime high. "The three of us are safe, we don't have to set roots here, but we should be more grateful. Specially at the little blessings in our lives," she scolded. He fought the urge to heavily roll his eyes at her.

"I'm never happy," he retorted dramatically.

"Wherever life plants you, bloom with grace," she quoted wisely. Remembering her grandfather's wise words.

"Life happens wherever you are, whether you make it or not." Iroh replied in his calm, wise voice agreeing with the girl from the colonies, "Now come on, I found us some new jobs, and we start this afternoon!"

Tsai stopped walked and glared intensely at Zuko. He did the same starring intensely at her. And bystanders swore they could see a bolt of electricity clashing between the two.

"What?" He snapped his voice hard and tense, he threw his hands at his sides in confusion and frustration. He didn't even know what he was feeling anymore.

She would never admit it but the feeling was mutual.

Without another word she turned sticking her nose up and following after his Uncle.

'What was that all about?' He thought throwing his hands up in the air in exasperation. Why were women so confusing? One minute she was all sunshine and sweetness to him and the next- she would pull stunts like this?

Zuko ran his hands through his hair and tugged at the ends still riding that wave of frustrated emotions. His brain a scramble.

xxx

Jet stepped out of the alley he had been standing in, his dark brown eyes narrowing angrily on the trio's retreating backs.

"Look at them," He growled with a huff, "Firebenders living right under everyone's noses."

Longshot and Smellerbee stepped out of the alley and stood beside their friend, with skeptical looks painted on their faces.

"Jet, you saw a man with a hot cup of tea." Smellerbee said in slight exasperation, "It doesn't prove he's a Firebender. And what if he is, are we supposed to attack them? I thought we were starting over here, changing our ways."

"We are." Jet replied firmly, "When I get the evidence I need, I'll report them to the police and let them handle it. Okay?"

Smellerbee and Longshot exchanged looks behind Jet's back while he continued to glare in the direction the trio had gone in.

xxx

Iroh and Tsai met Pao. The inexperienced owner of a local teashop in the Lower Ring of Ba Sin Se who very clearly did not know much about tea. He was more than charmed after meeting the two tea-lovers who wooed him with their knowledge and passion for the art.

Zuko leaned against the wall and glared, his arms crossed over his chest.

'Those two, they were just the same,' he rolled his eyes. 'Two peas of the same fire-pod.'

xxx

Jet leaned casually against the wall of a shop in the Lower Ring with his trademark piece of wheat hanging from his mouth. He watched a few people walking along the street then he nonchalantly peered through one of the open windows he was leaning again, his dark eyes narrowing in on the two men and the girl he'd been following.

"Well, you certainly look like official tea servers." Pao, the owner of the small tea shop that Iroh had gotten the three of them jobs at said as he looked at the trio in their aprons, "How do you feel?"

Tsai laughed lightly as she watched Iroh struggle to tie his apron out of the corner of her eye.

"Ridiculous." Zuko growled lowly in annoyance. "This is cute!" Tsai said doing a little spin with her apron. "This is great! Thank you," she slightly bowed her head at their newest boss. Grateful to for once have a steady job that did not borderline on anything illegal or illicit.

"Uh," Iroh grunted as he continued struggling with the string, "Does this possibly come in a larger size?"

"I have extra string in the back." Pao replied lightly, "Have some tea while you wait!"

He poured some tea into three cups and he handed them to Iroh and the two teens and after he headed towards the back of the shop. Zuko stared at the teacup in his hand in annoyance. It was just one of those days in which everything seemed to irritate him.

"I propose a toast," Tsai the ever optimist said suddenly rising from her seat. "Because we lack nothing and have everything," she said slightly raising her tea cup. Iroh beamed and with a broad grin raised his clinking it against hers. Zuko made a displeased sound and just barely lifted his off the table.

She sat back down and took a small sip of her tea at the same time as Iroh. Both of their expressions morphed into ones of disgust as they put the nasty tea back in the counter.

"Blech!" Iroh muttered in repulsion and he looked down at the teacup with disgusted face, "This tea is nothing more than hot leaf juice!"

Zuko gave his uncle a flat look, "Uncle that's what all tea is."

This reminded her of that conversation they had had the first time they met. Had he learned nothing? Tsai was about to snap. He looked at her and at her insulted expression. Again sparks flew between the two and not the good kind! She had to calm down, it's not like she had brewed this tea herself. Instead she exhaled a hot headed breath.

"How could a member of my own family say something so horrible?!" Iroh demanded angrily as he gave his nephew a stern look, "We'll have to make some changes are here."

"I agree." Tsai said with a sniff and she handed Iroh the teapot, ignoring the way Zuko rolled his eyes at her and his uncle. "Which is why I've decided to make you my tea apprentice!" She declared boldly.

Iroh let out a slight chuckle before taking the teapot from her and ambled over towards the window at the front of the shop to dump the tea out before the Pao returned.

Zuko simply raised an eyebrow, a scowl still on his features.

"It's obvious," she said matter of factly. "You can't appreciate good tea because nobody has ever taught you how to, so I will take the strenuous task upon myself. I'll teach you just like my grandfather taught me," she smiled at him.

Zuko once again crossed his arms and looked away from her. Slamming a door on all of his emotions before they even managed to get a foot out of his well guarded heart.

Jet sucked in a quiet gasp and he moved away from the window quickly just as the old man dumped the tea out the window. The dark-haired teen narrowed his eyes and slowly stalked around the corner of the shop, disappearing into the alley as his thoughts raced with how to get proof that those people were Firebenders.

"Maybe I could get Homura to say something?" Jet muttered to himself thoughtful then his eyes narrowed further, "I have to find a way to talk to her."

xxx

Jet perched on a shadow balcony and spied on the old man and two teenagers in the small apartment across the street, a clothesline keeping him hiding from view.

"Would either of you like a pot of tea?" Iroh asked kindly.

"Let me help you!" Homura said with a broad smile as she appeared besides the old man and took the pot from his hands and began prepping the herbs. He nodded at her with a smile then she disappeared from Jet's line of sight.

"We've been working in a tea shop all day!" the teen Jet knew as Lee snapped in annoyance as he sat by the small kitchen table bickering, "I'm sick of tea!"

"Sick of tea? That's like being sick of breathing!" The old man squawked indignantly at the young man as he rummaged through the cupboard beneath the counter he was standing in front of, "Have you seen the spark rocks to heat up the water?"

Jet smirked and watched the man straighten up, a confused look on his lined face.

"They're not there." Jet whispered smugly to himself and he glanced down at the emerald-colored spark rocks in his hands, "You'll have to firebend, old man."

He watched as Iroh disappeared from his line of sight and his eyes narrowed.

"Where're you going?" He muttered to himself and his eyes narrowed further when the old man reappeared.

"I borrowed our neighbors'." He heard the old man say pleasantly, "Such kind people."

Jet sucked in an irate breath as the old man struck the rocks together near the pile of twigs below the teapot, creating a flame. Jet scowled as he ducked behind the clothesline and left the balcony.

The apartment they had rented was humbling. Yet it was better than sleeping in caves and in the ground between alleys and woods. Each one of them had their own bed and the apartment had one bedroom, one kitchen and living room area and a storage nook above which Tsai had claimed as her own. It was either that or the living room and Zuko didn't want her in his room with his Uncle. Not only was that really weird, he wouldn't be able to sleep between BOTH of their snoring. How was it possible for someone to be annoying, even in their sleep?

The Fire Nation's Prince was currently sitting on an uncomfortable sofa in the small living room the three shared.

Tsai handed Iroh his cup of tea and moved to the living room plopping herself down right next to the grouchy prince. "Here," she said handing him his cup of tea. Zuko felt the corner of his eye slightly twitching. The sofa was big, it was big enough for four people to sit tightly squeezed on it and yet she just hadto sit right next to him. Her knee pressed up against his as they sat shoulder to shoulder. He awkwardly inched away from her.

Iroh hummed quietly as he walked over to the two teens. A small smile creeping on his face.

"It's getting pretty late for an old man like me," he did what Zuko felt was the most exaggerated yawn he had ever seen in his life. "I'm going to call it a night," he smiled at the two teens slyly before heading to his room with his cup of tea.

They both said their goodnights to Iroh and Zuko stood very still when he realized he was alone in the room with the red-head sitting rightnext to him.

He wondered if this would be like the train ride to Ba Sing Se... His eyes darted as he looked at her hand. It was close to his, only a nudge away. He wanted to hold it in his badly. All it would take as a slightly push. He stretched out a finger-

"Alright," she turned to look at him. Her eyes were gleaming with determination. "I hope you're ready," she said to him. He looked at her befuddled. "This is going to be your last ordinary cup of tea. I'm going to teach you everything I know about tea. It's going to change your life!" He let out a sigh before tossing his head back on the cushion.

"How do you do that?" He asked, his eyes fixed on the ceiling. "Do what?" She asked before taking a sip of her tea calmly. "Stay so positive all the time?"

"Well," she relaxed her back into the sofa seat. "I don't know..." She said after a moment. "I have everything that I need. Food, clothes, a shelter, you-" he lowered his eyes to look at her and felt his ears burning when she smiled at him. "Uncle Iroh." She added thoughtfully. "Sure, I miss my family- and my home, and I'm worried about my brother and miss grandfather dearly, but- there's nothing I can do about that. So, might as well keep an open mind."

He processed her words with thought.

"What about your honor?" He sat up slightly gazing at her intensely.

Tsai knew Zuko was... well for less for a better word obsessed with honor. With his, with hers, with his family's. Ba Sing Se would be a new start for her. A clean slate in which there would be no more Avatar, no more troubles and no more treachery to anyone or any nation. She had managed to let go of these thoughts and had never felt better. It was something that was important to him. She had to handle this carefully.

"There are more important things that honor." She answered after a heavy silence.

xxx

The next day. Jet watched suspiciously as a man walked through the door of the teashop the old man, 'Lee' and 'Homura' worked at.

"Jet, we need to talk."

"What?" Jet questioned in surprise and he turned around to look at Smellerbee and Longshot, "Oh great, it's you guys. Where have you been? I could use some help with surveillance here!

"We've been talking," Smellerbee said carefully as she shifted slightly, "And we think you're becoming obsessed with this. It's not healthy."

"Oh really?" Jet asked his tone becoming cold as he regarded his two friends, "You both think this?"

Longshot placed his arm around Smellerbee's shoulder in a show of agreement to her statement.

"We came here to make a fresh start." The girl said, almost desperately, "But you won't let this go. Even though there is no real proof!"

"Well, maybe if you'd help me..."

"Jet," Smellerbee said quietly, "You gotta stop this."

"Maybe you've forgotten why we need to start over." The dark-eyed boy snapped angrily and the two looked down with guilty expressions as he continued, "Maybe you've forgotten about how the Fire Nation left us all homeless. How they wiped out all the people we loved. If you don't want to help me, I'll get the evidence on my own."

Longshot and Smellerbee watched in despair as their friend stalked towards the teashop.

Tsai was very popular with the clients at the teashop. She carried herself with the upper class grace she had been educated with when growing up and made sure to smile and be kind to every single client she attended, just like she would've liked to be treated. It was no surprise that she would get the best tips, easily pulling in twice as much as Zuko. 'Thank you,'  she would say with a bright smile before tucking a strand of lose hair behind her ear. 'Thank you,' Zuko thought mockingly as he glared at her. Why did she have to do it like that? When she looked so- so-

"You're spilling my tea!" A client complained. He cursed and snapped out of his thoughts.

- so unbelievably annoying.

Both worked handing out cups of fresh tea or refilling customer's cups with more of Iroh's delicious tea. Iroh smiled at Tsai happily as he walked over to another customer and poured him a fresh cup of tea. She really didn't have a problem with this kind of provincial life.

"This is the best tea in the city!" The man praised Iroh happily as he took a sip of his tea.

"The secret ingredient is love." Iroh replied and he gently waved a hand through the steam coming from the teapot then he walked towards the back of the shop where the owner was, ignoring the disgusted look his nephew's face.

Tsai deposited an empty teapot on the counter, a content smile on her face. Pao smiled as he turned to look at Iroh, "I think you're due for a raise."

It was then that somebody strolled in.

"Homura," A familiar voice said. She turned around and almost lost the balance of the tray with tea she had been carrying.

All eyes turned to Jet who had entered the teashop and was standing in the doorway with an angry look on his face. Despite it he held a large, colorful, colorful bouquet of various hyacinth flowers with him.

"J-Jet," she managed to let out in surprise. Iroh's eyebrows went up high as he turned his attention to his nephew who was gripping a tray so hard it dented.

"These are for you," Jet said as he walked up to her. His voice however, was drained of any emotion. There was an angry edge to it instead. "I...." She looked at the colorful bouquet. "I can't accept these," she said. "I'm sorry. They are beautiful, really."

His face twisted into a frown as he glared, both of his eyes had turned into slits. "I know you picked him over me," he nudged a hand in Zuko's direction. "But I'm still taking you out princess." He spoke in a demanding tone.

"I'm really sorry," she said dully, her eyes void of any emotions at what she had said. She turned away and he reached for her arm.

"Hey!" Zuko couldn't just sit and watch idly anymore. "Don't touch her!" He stepped in between them.

A twisted smirk made way to Jet's face as he tossed the flowers aside. "I was going to play the waiting game and wait for your girl to tell me, but I'm sick of waiting," he growled furiously. Raising his hand he pointed an accusing finger at the three teashop workers standing before him, "These people are Firebenders!"

Jet didn't hesitate in attacking and unsheathed his hook swords and shifted into a fighting stance. Iroh, Zuko, and Tsai exchanged surprised and uncertain looks, each of them unsure of how to proceed.

'Me? A Firebender?' The little voice inside of Tsai's head laughed a little.

"I know they're Firebenders." Jet continued furiously, "I saw the old man heating his tea!"

The customer's around all eyed him with bewildered looks.

"He works in a teashop you blabbing idiot!" Tsai challenged as she stepped forward. Zuko who was standing next to her stretched out his arm in an attempt to shield her behind him.

"What did you expect?" One of the customers commented bleakly and his brows rose.

"He's Firebender!" Jet roared, "I'm tellingyou!" He insisted.

"Drop your swords, boy." One of the customers ordered firmly as he and another man stood slowly, "Nice and easy." "You don't have to do all this just because the pretty girl won't go out with you," another customer added.

Jet ignored him and he stared at Zuko maniacally.

"You'll have to defend yourself." The brown-haired teen taunted, "Then everyone will know. Go ahead, show them what you can do."

Tsai's hand twitched eagerly. It had been a long time since somebody had pissed her off and she wasn't about to let some fuckboy ruin her day. Jet slowly stalked towards the trio with his swords drawn. The customer that had ordered Jet to lower his weapons moved to draw his swords, but Zuko walked forward and grabbed them instead.

Tsai watched Zuko pull the dao swords apart.

Zuko ignored her as he faced Jet, "You want a show? I'll give you a show!"

He slipped into a fighting stance, the dao swords held expertly in his hands. Zuko pulled one of the tables in front of him with his foot, about to kick it towards Jet when a flash of red brushed passed him. Jet swung forward in a bold strike only for his hooks to be halted by a pair of hidden blades. Jet's eyes went wide in surprised.

"This is my fight," Tsai said through gritted teeth as she glared at the Jet. It was too risky to let Zuko or Iroh fight. One wrong slip and it would all be over. Taking advantage of the element of surprise she raised her leg and with a mighty kick, literally kicked him out of the teashop. Making him tumble onto the street.

Then she paused and looked at Zuko's wide eyes and Iroh's gaping mouth over her shoulder. "I'm not going to stay and clean up his mess," she huffed before walking out.

It took Zuko a moment to compose himself and exit the teashop only to see both of Tsai's blades clashing furiously with Jet's hook blade weapons. Jet kept coming at her with everything striking with fury. However, she quickly deflected every swing.

"I used to think you were hot, but now?" It was then that his swords and her blades stuck together. "Wow." He let out a low whistle making her grow even angrier. "Stay away from me and my family!" She growled out ferociously and attacked landing a good slice on the side of his torso.

"You must be getting tired of using those blades." Jet taunted with a sinister grin and she gave him an annoyed look, "Why don't you go ahead and firebend at me?" He continued to taunt.

Iroh and Zuko stood in the door way of the teashop. Zuko was fired up and ready to go. Iroh watched with a worried expression a hand tightly gripping his nephew's shoulder holding him back.

"Please, son, you're confused!" Iroh called out desperately, "You don't know what you're doing!" He didn't know for how much longer he would be able to hold his nephew back from fighting.

Zuko was gritting his teeth so hard he could feel a migraine coming in. Jet was holding onto his wounded side. When she stepped back.

"Haven't we had enough violence?" She pleaded with him. "Enough is enough," she sheathe her hidden blades. Lowering her guard.

Ba Sing Se was a clean slate. It was a chance for a peaceful life. She wasn't going to let Jet ruin this for her.

However, he ignored her. He swung his blade at her and she managed to barely dodge it as it sliced off a strand of hair. It was then that she realized that Jet wasn't going to back off. Coming to her senses she lowered her body and spun her leg knocking him off his feet in one swift move. In one fluid motion he jumped to his feet.

"Bet you wish you could use a little fire blast right now." Jet said mockingly and he swung his swords at Tsai. He really wasn't going to quit. Jet would go on and on until he proved that the three of them were Fire Benders. Tsai turned and looked at Iroh's concerned expression and at the rage on Zuko's eyes. It was then that Jet did a forward trust with his body and in one swift motion she grabbed onto his arm and using his own strength against himself pulled his arm down. Everybody stared in disbelief as she twisted his arm and flipped him over her shoulder coming slamming to the ground with enough force that he coughed up an aggravated breath eyes wide.

Both Zuko and Iroh's eyes were comically wide in shock, borderline in fear as they witnessed her wrath.

"D-Did you know she could fight like this?" Zuko asked in a small voice as he made a mental note not to piss Tsai off in the future. "No," Iroh marbled in the same surprised tone.

"Give?" She said through ragged breaths as she looked down at her opponent. "You wish," Jet growled and hooked his blade to her ankle dragging her off her balance and to the floor. He leapt to his feet and turned the blade being directed at her neck. Both Iroh and Zuko were getting ready to jump into the fight when a massive cloud of thick white smoke exploded. It had been a smoke bomb! But how?

The smoke cleared out and Jet stood before the crowd that had gathered with his blades both buried into the ground. He glared at the dirt in annoyance and with anger pulled them back when he suddenly felt a blade being pressed against the skin of his neck, his hair jerked back.

"You need help," She snapped angrily her hidden blade pressing against his neck even tighter. Making him gulp stiffly.

Tsai didn't have any time to work on a new skill that would allow her to attack from a long-range distance. Instead this would be her best bet. Temporary blindness. (AN: Let's make sure Tsai never pissess Toph off. She'd wreck her in a heartbeat.)

"I'm not going to hurt you," she said after a moment. Jet's blood was boiling he was heaving in rage as he stood very still thinking of his next move. "I don't want to hurt you. I'm going to let this go, but you have to promise to let this go as well," she nodded. He couldn't see the expression on her face but could hear an edge of fear in her voice. She really didn't want to hurt him. Jet looked at the firebenders who were standing a couple of feet away watching with concern. Specially Lee. Jet put two and two together and gathered that if he hurt Homura. Lee wouldn't hesitate to strike with a fiery inferno. There was no question about it. Slowly Jet raised his hands as if in defeat and Tsai stepped back, still wary about her enemy. She did not trust him.

"You see that!" Jet shouted at the crowd of bystanders. "The Fire Nation is trying to silence me!" he shouted and Tsai glared at him with her narrowed caramel colored eyes. He gave a look at the auburn haired girl from over his shoulder and lowered his attack, her posture relaxed as she sheathe her blades and began walking back towards the teashop.

"Watch out!" Iroh shouted. She turned around in time to see Jet come at her with a backstabbing attack. She raised her hands but the attack never came. She winced in pain at the slicing sensation in the palms of her hands. Zuko was more than halfway towards them when she caught both of his blades in her bare hands and snatched them away from him.

Jet starred shocked, eyes wide as he lost his weapon.

It was then that he was pushed back, he stepped back collapsing on his behind. This time two dual blade swords were pointed directly at his face. It was Lee standing between them, his eyes burning in a fiery rage.

"Try anything I won't hesitate to kill you," he threatened menacingly right before lowering his blades.

Just like that the fight was over.

Jet's hook blades slid off Tsai's palms and hit the ground stained with her dripping blood. She winced as she inspected both of her palms both of them had matching deep horizontal slashes running across them.

It was then that Dai Li agents, also known as the local law enforcement, pushed through the crowd and came upon the scene. Jet was breathing hard as he glared darkly at Zuko who was shielding the red-haired girl behind him.

"Drop your weapons." One of the Dai Li agents ordered as they reached the trio.

Zuko's eyes narrowed and he lowered his swords to his sides. Jet scowled and pointed towards Iroh, Tsai and Zuko with his hand.

"Arrest them," Jet demanded, "They're firebenders!"

"This poor boy is confused," Iroh said peacefully as he walked over to stand beside Zuko and Tsai, "We're just simple refugees." He explained before placing a hand on the girl's shoulder, leaning in to inspect her wounds with concern.

Pao stepped forward and pointed an accusing finger at Jet, "This young man wrecked my tea shop, and assaulted my employees!"

"It's true sir, we saw the whole thing." One of the customers said as he stepped forward, "This crazy kid attacked the finest tea maker in the city. He went mad because the girl rejected him." "People that don't understand that "No means No!" are a problem!" another customer quipped.

"Oh, ho, ho." Iroh chuckled modestly as he blushed faintly at the comment of him being the best tea maker in town, "That's very sweet."

Zuko rolled his eyes in aggravation at his uncle, but Tsai couldn't help but smile a little at Iroh's happiness.

The two Dai Li agents walked up to Jet, who was glaring at them angrily.

"Come with us, son." One of the agents instructed firmly once he and his comrade had reached the young man.

Jet scowled and eyed his hook weapons that were quite a distance away from him. He attempted to fight with his hands, however was quickly seized with his arms behind his back, binding his wrists together using their stones from their rock gloves.

"You don't understand!" Jet shouted as the guards dragged him toward a wagon designed for holding captured criminals, "They're Fire Nation! You have to believe me!"

The crowd slowly began to disperse as the young man was thrown into the wagon on his knees. Jet looked up as the doors began to close, catching sight of the auburn hair girl looking at him with hurt as she held her open palms close.

The people left in the street watched quietly as the wagon began moving down the street. In the remaining crowd, Longshot and Smellerbee watched the entire scene unfold, hidden from view then they turned and slowly walked away.

"Are you alright?" Iroh asked as he touched her closed fists, wincing she opened them and saw the gashes. "You're lucky these are not too deep. Come on, let's go inside and bandage you up," he encouraged placing a hand on her back gently guiding her in. "And tell me- where did you learn to fight like that? And that smoke bomb? Remind me not to make you angry," Iroh laughed lightly.

Zuko stood outside anger coursing through his system. It took him a moment to cool down before he returned to the teashop. Inside Pao was thanking the girl for taking the fight outside so that nothing was destroyed. Jet's flowers had been discarded and Iroh sat on a table carefully bandaging her hands.

Zuko could feel his insides twisting. Why did it bother him so much? Why did it hurt him so much to see her wounded? Why couldn't he stop starring? Why couldn't he think of anything worth saying?

"Don't do that again!" He snapped angrily slamming his hands on the table. "It was my fight," the other dead panned. "I didn't want to hurt him," she said sadly. "There's already so much pain, violence and war around us." "Don't be stupid!" He repeated angrily before slamming a fist down. "You got hurt!" He exclaimed. "Aw, don't tell me you're worried about me?" She teased slightly wincing through the pain as Iroh continued to bandage her hand.

He didn't find it funny in the least.

Zuko removed himself from the table. He looked at his Uncle who was starring at him intently. Turning away he stormed out of the teashop.

Xxx

"Ouch," Tsai winced as she kept busy washing the teapots and cups at the end of the day. It was a mindless task but she enjoyed washing dishes. It was odd but she found the motions and the lukewarm water in her hands to be relaxing. Iroh was doing the closing duties counting the money earned and expenses of the business day. Zuko was... Well who knows. Neither had heard from him since he stormed out of the shop in an angry fit of rage. Her best bet was that he went to hunt Jet to destroy him. She couldn't help but laugh a little at this. He really was something else...

"I don't think its funny." A dark voice suddenly said.

She wiped her wet hands on her dirty apron and turned to see Zuko leaning against the kitchen's door frame. His arms were crossed over his chest and he slightly slouched as per usual. He carried a small bag which dangled off his right hand.

How long had he been standing there watching?

He had been watching her for a while, wincing at the feeling of the water on her open wounds every once in a while. Her short hair was tied up in a messy bun kept away from her face, she wore her apron over her Earth Kingdom tunic and shorts.

"Aw," she cooed mockingly sarcasm dripping from her words. "You are so cute when you're worried," she grinned playfully splashing some water in his direction.

"I'm serious Tsai!" He said sternly approaching and standing next to sink, next to her. "You need to lighten up. Nothing happened." She rolled her eyes and brushed off his concern returning to attending the unwashed teapots.

"Move," He instructed bumping his hip against hers, tossing the bag he was carrying on a nearby counter. "You shouldn't be washing dishes." He picked up some cups and started rinsing them. "I'm fine- really," she insisted. But he looked at the crimson gashes that peeked from underneath the now wet bandages that his uncle had wrapped around her palms. "You're missing the point!" He snapped savagely dropping the cups back into the sink making them splash.

He felt a terrible sense of duty and guilt which twisted his insides. He reached for her hands pulled her wrists out of the water holding them tightly exposing the gashes.

"I know you're strong." His grip loosened around her wrists, holding them with care in his hands. "But something worse could've happened. And I-..." He paused trailing off.

He looked away. He struggled against himself pushing back against that door that was attempting to toss wide open in his twisted insides. His face felt hot. He looked at her perplexed expression, eyes wide in what he interpreted as confusion.

"I..." He looked away again and saw the bag he had brought into the rum. All he had to do was say it and get it over with. Vomit the words. The grip around her became stronger, more possessive. "...You?" She arched an eyebrow attempting to help him with his linguistics.

"I got you this!" He exclaimed abruptly and reached for the bag handing it to her. It wasn't quite what he had to say, but often his uncle had taught him that actions spoke louder than words. "I went to the apothecary. The vendor said this would be help with the cuts," he trailed off once again being unable to meet her warm gaze.

He never wanted to see her hurting. The sole thought of it. It killed him inside.

"If you want to help you can sweep the front. I'll take care of this." He lowered his gaze not wanting to meet the loving gaze she was giving him. He could feel it on him. On his face. He felt as if his heart was going to explode inside of his ribcage. His palms became terrible sweaty

Tsai was moved. This was so thoughtful... She was not expecting this.

He turned to face the sink and without another word got to washing the remaining teapots, cups and dishes. He swallowed the knot that had formed on his throat. He was taken back when he felt what he felt to be a peck to the side of his face.

"Thank you," she said to him gratefully before giving his arm a squeeze and leaving.

And just like that- the door he had been fighting and struggling to hard to keep shut burst open.

xxx

FIRST https://gloves94.tumblr.com/post/621142853126602752/sunburn-prince-zuko-1

NEXT https://gloves94.tumblr.com/post/621304928429834240/sunburn-prince-zuko-17

PREV https://gloves94.tumblr.com/post/621294466625617920/sunburn-prince-zuko-15

CHAPTER MASTERLIST

[booksbookssomemoviesandbooks]

Book Recs

Hello! so for my first post, I'll recommend some books, so y'all can have a closer look at some fandoms I'll post about! enjoy!!

1.  

Harry Potter By J.K. Rowling is definitely an interesting, well-written series! there are 7 books however, and the books get bigger as the series progresses. It's sometimes difficult to know the exact order, so I'll list it below:

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Although the movies are great, they don't include all the amazing details, as with all movies. A short summary:

Harry Potter, a young boy who’s being constantly abused by his uncle Vernon and aunt Petunia, gets a peculiar letter from the magical school of Hogwarts, where he spends most of his time, becoming his home.

Quotes:

“To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure." ― Albus Dumbledore

“You’re just as sane as I am" - Luna Lovegood

“Mischief managed" - Fred and George Weasley

It is Important to know that j*r is a huge transphobe, along with other things, and is currently being erased by the fandom itself.

2.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians, along with the other series by Rick Riordan, is a definite must-read. With each book, you can really notice the character developments and a lot more! There is loads of representation in this one, with lgbtqia+ characters, black characters, Muslim characters and more. It's very action-packed and addicting, sucking you into the magnificent world of Half-Bloods and Demigods within the first page. The first series consists of 5 books, in the following order:

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters

Percy Jackson and the Titan's Curse

Percy Jackson and the Battle of The Labyrinth

Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian

THE MOVIES ARE TRASH SO I DEFINITELY DO NOT RECOMMEND WATCHING THEM BEFORE READING THE BOOKS!!! There were many changes and the movies aren't nearly as good as the books. A short summary:

Percy Jackson, a 12 year-old who lives with his mother, Sally, and step-father, Gabe, attends the private boarding school Yancy Academy. While on a school trip, his teacher, Mrs. Dodds, turns into a fury and attacks him. This, in turn, triggers a series of other problems and adventures.

Quotes:

“If my life is going to mean anything, I have to live it myself.” - Percy Jackson

“With great power, comes great need to nap. Wake me up later." - Nico Di Angelo

“Even strength has to bow down to wisdom sometimes." - Annabeth Chase

3.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is one of my most recommended series! With everything it deals with, from the Capitol to the districts to the champions, the books are amazing! 

Order:

The Hunger Games

Catching Fire

Mockingjay

Starring the movies is the amazing Jennifer Lawrence, but with all books, the movies have slight differences, although I definitely recommend watching them when you're done with the books.

A Short Summary:

In what was once North America, the Capitol of Panem maintains its hold on its 12 districts by forcing them each to select a boy and a girl, called Tributes, to compete in a nationally televised event called the Hunger Games. Every citizen must watch as the youths fight to the death until only one remains. District 12 Tribute Katniss Everdeen has little to rely on, other than her hunting skills and sharp instincts, in an arena where she must weigh survival against love.

(FILM SYNOPSIS)

Quotes:

"May the odds be ever in your favor." - Effie Trinket

"Fire is catching, and if we burn, you burn with us!" - Katniss Everdeen

“Hope is the only thing stronger than fear.” - President Snow

4.

Divergent is another book with a huge fandom, and rightfully so. This book is amazing, and you honestly can't live without having read it!

Order:

Divergent

Insurgent

Allegiant 

Surprisingly, I haven't watched the movies yet, but I hear that they aren’t that bad, so you should give them a go!

Summary:

In a world run by fictional classes known as factions, children who reach the age of 16 begin to choose which factions they wish to call home for the rest of their lives. Each faction comes with its own ups and downs, so it's definitely a hard choice, especially for someone as unique as Beatrice.

Quotes:

“Becoming fearless isn't the point. That's impossible. It's learning how to control your fear, and how to be free from it“ - Four

“We believe in ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage that drives one person to stand up for another.” - Dauntless Motto

"We are not the same. But we are, somehow, one." - Tris

5. 

You might have heard of this series, and it's really addictive, trust me! The Mortal Instruments is one of the most astonishing books I've ever read, and it's most definitely my go-to when recommending a book series!

Order:

City of Bones

City of Ashes

City of Glass

City of Fallen Angels

City of Lost Souls

City of Heavenly Fire

Again, (I know this is rather disappointing) I haven't watched the movies, but do check them out!

Summary:

Clary Fray's search for her missing mother leads her into an alternate New York called Downworld, filled with mysterious faeries, hard-partying warlocks, not-what-they-seem vampires, an army of werewolves, and the demons who want to destroy it all.

via: https://shadowhunters.com/shadowhunters-novels/the-mortal-instruments/#:~:text=Clary%20Fray's%20search%20for%20her,want%20to%20destroy%20it%20all.

Quotes:

“Heroes aren't always the ones who win. They're the ones who lose, sometimes. But they keep fighting, they keep coming back. They don't give up. That's what makes them heroes.” - Clary Fairchild

“If I cannot move Heaven, I will raise Hell.” - Sebastion Morgenstern

“The descent into Hell is easy.” - Motto of the Nephilim

6.

Gay. What more needs to be said?

SADLY, there isn't a movie yet, but I think they're working on one, or sure though

Summary:

Set in a world in which a female Democrat from Texas wins the presidency in 2016, Red, White & Royal Blue chronicles the illicit romance between the president's son, Georgetown senior Alex Claremont-Diaz (Dad is a Mexican-American senator), and Prince Henry of Wales, his childhood nemesis.

Via: https://www.wsj.com/articles/red-white-royal-blue-book-summer-beach-read-11565285001#:~:text=Set%20in%20a%20world%20in,of%20Wales%2C%20his%20childhood%20nemesis.

Also, classic enemies-friends-lovers arc and honestly it's amazing

Quotes:

“As your mother, I can appreciate that maybe this isn’t your fault, but as the president, all I want is to have the CIA fake your death and ride the dead-kid sympathy into a second term.” - Ellen Claremont 

" 'that’s because you can’t hear all the menacing gobbling.' 'Yes, famously the most sinister of all animal sounds, the gobble.' " - Harry and Alex

"History, huh? Bet we could make some." - Alex

7.

I’m sure you've heard at least a little bit about this book. While not nearly as famous as ones mentioned above, it's still just as good, of not better. I'd say this book is one of my favorites, to be honest. It speaks about a lot of topics people usually find disturbing, and it makes me so happy that it's there, it's written, it's amazing. PTSD, coming out issues, abusive relationships and more, this book is truly awesome.

TRIGGER WARNING 

Summary:

A young boy named Charlie usually dissociates, and pushes other people away. He’s afraid of beginning high school, until he meets two other students who show him how bizarre and amazing the world is.

Quotes:

“And in that moment, I swear we were infinite” - Charlie

“We accept the love we think we deserve” - Mr. Anderson

“You can't just sit there and put everybody's lives ahead of yours and think that counts as love" - Sam

8. 

This book is honestly pro-feminist and I think that's much more than enough

Summary:

Kaur explores the true impact of sexual abuse and harassment, as well as the difficulties of immigrating, being a female, and depression.

It's also a poem

TRIGGER WARNING

Quotes:

“what is stronger

than the human heart

which shatters over and over

and still lives”

“you do not just wake up and become the butterfly 

- growth is a process”

“on the last day of love

my heart cracked inside my body"

9.

This book isn't very well-known, which really sucks because I really love how it speaks about the consequences of WWII from the German point of view. And about the Germans who did not believe in Hitler's ways. It's also based on a real story, and it's so cool

Summary: 

A nurse working in a nursing home meets a peculiar old lady who decides to tell her her story when she meets the nurse's younger son, Karl, who reminded her of her brother. Lizzie (the old lady) speaks about life in Dresden before the war, and even after it. She also tells them the story about the strange, magnificent elephant in her garden.

Quotes:

“That was the only way of keeping our hopes alive, by looking beyond all we were seeing around us, and the shadow of disaster that hung over us.” - 

“I think I have always had a strong sense of justice, of fair play, of what is right and what is wrong.” - 

“Our home should be an oasis of peace and harmony for us in a troubled world.” - Lizzie (Quoting Papi)

10.

This book is pro-blm and it's ahead of its time (by like 2 years but still). 

Summary:

Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. via: https://socialjusticebooks.org/the-hate-u-give/#:~:text=Sixteen%2Dyear%2Dold%20Starr%20Carter,hands%20of%20a%20police%20officer.

Quotes:

“Sometimes you can do everything right and things will still go wrong. The key is to never stop doing right.” - Lisa

“Daddy once told me there’s a rage passed down to every black man from his ancestors, born the moment they couldn’t stop the slave masters from hurting their families. Daddy also said there’s nothing more dangerous than when that rage is activated.” - Starr

“Everybody wants to talk about how Khalil died,” I say. “But this isn’t about how Khalil died. It’s about the fact that he lived. His life mattered. Khalil lived!” I look at the cops again. “You hear me? Khalil lived!” - Starr

[multiverseforger]

Helmut Zemo (aka the 13th Baron Zemo) is Heinrich Zemo's son who was born in Leipzig, Germany. His father taught him the idea that the Master Race should rule the world. Helmut was originally an engineer until he became enraged when reading a report about the return of Captain America and his father's death. Helmut would ultimately follow in his father's footsteps as a supervillain using his family's money and his own scientific know-how to recreate his father's work.

He first surfaced under the alias of the Phoenix, and captured Captain America to get revenge upon him for the death of his father. He was presumed deceased when he fell into a vat of boiling, specially-treated Adhesive X. As he had not been wearing his mask when he fell into the vat, his face was hideously scarred by the boiling Adhesive X, giving his face the appearance of molten wax.[5]

He resurfaced years later as Baron Zemo, first allied with Arnim Zola's mutates. He allied with Primus I and the half-rat/half human mutate Vermin, and kidnapped Captain America's childhood friend Arnold Roth in order to lure Captain America into a trap. He forced the Captain to battle hordes of mutates before revealing that he knew Captain America's secret identity.[6]

Zemo later encountered Mother Superior and the Red Skull.[7] Zemo underwent tutelage by Mother Superior and Red Skull, and then kidnapped Captain America's friend David Cox and brainwashed him to battle Captain America.[8] Zemo then kidnapped Roth again, and directed a shared mental reenactment of Heinrich Zemo's last World War II encounter with Captain America.[9] Zemo then battled Mother Superior, but was psychically overpowered.[10]

Most notably, he formed a new incarnation of the Masters of Evil. This fourth Masters of Evil was formed to strike at Captain America through the Avengers; they invaded and occupied Avengers Mansion and crippled Hercules and the Avengers' butler Edwin Jarvis. Zemo captured Captain America and the Black Knight. Zemo battled Captain America, but fell off the mansion roof.[11]

Zemo later hired Batroc's Brigade and psychic detective Tristram Micawber to help him locate the five fragments of the Bloodstone in hopes of restoring his father to life. Fighting Captain America and Diamondback, Zemo's plan backfired, as he instead turned his father's corpse into a vessel for the demonic forces that lurk inside of the Bloodstone. The reanimated corpse was destroyed by Crossbones (who sought to steal the Bloodstone for Red Skull) and a distraught Zemo fell down an inactive volcano in Japan trying to retrieve it.[12]

Zemo survived the fall, though his right hand (which was not protected by a glove) was horrifically burnt and mangled. Driven insane by the destruction of his father's body, Helmut took control of an army of mutates and tried to re-enslave Vermin. He was defeated by Spider-Man and Vermin was freed.

Broken and beaten, Zemo was taken in by a female scientist calling herself "The Baroness" who modeled herself after Heinrich. The two married and began kidnapping abused, neglected children to serve as their children. Zemo's sanity returned and he even created a new realistic face mask to hide his disfigured face from his adopted children, whom he nurtured and swore to protect from those who might return them to their abusive foster homes. The couple's peaceful life was ultimately shattered when Captain America discovered their home, while searching for the evil super-scientist Superia. Superia and the Baroness (who revealed that she had pretended to be Heinrich Zemo reborn in a clone body during a fight with Silver Sable and Spider-Man) mocked Helmut and his newfound domestic househusband status as they plotted to kill him. Zemo turned on his wife and Superia, before turning his attention to dropping Captain America into a vat of Adhesive X. The plan failed and Zemo (now wearing his trademark hood) fell into the container instead, with the Baroness (hoping to curry favor with her husband), falling in after him. The two were rescued by Captain America and Helmut bemoaned that like his father, his face now was permanently hidden by his mask. Captain America responded by revealing that the Avengers had since found a way to dissolve Adhesive X and would use it to free Zemo from his costume and hood, a fact that drove him further into a rage due to Captain America never offering to share this adhesive remover with his father.



Helmut Zemo as Citizen V. Art by Mark Bagley.

Zemo ultimately escaped prison, though his wife the Baroness died shortly after being sentenced to prison for her role in the abduction of the children they were raising. During this time, Zemo discovered that Goliath was imprisoned in the Microverse and formed a new version of Masters of Evil to free Goliath. But after rescuing Goliath, the Avengers and The Fantastic Four disappeared during the Onslaught crisis and were presumed dead. After overhearing the Beetle (Abe Jenkins) and Goliath talk about who would replace the Avengers and The Fantastic Four, a distraught Zemo soon found a new purpose for his team: the Masters of Evil would take on new heroic identities as the Thunderbolts.[13] Zemo would lead the group under the alias Citizen V (a twist of irony as Heinrich Zemo had killed the original Citizen V during World War II) and planned to have the Thunderbolts gain the world's trust in order to conquer it.[14] The public took a liking to the team much more quickly than Zemo, or any of the other Thunderbolts, expected and soon most of them came to like the feeling of being heroes.

When the missing heroes returned, Zemo had the Thunderbolts' true identities leaked, forcing them to flee with him into deep space to assist his plan to conquer the world through mind control.[15] However, most of the Thunderbolts rebelled and with the assistance of Iron Man foiled Zemo's plan.[16] Zemo went into hiding and plotted revenge on his former teammates (who were trying to win back the public's trust by being true heroes).[volume & issue needed] After another of Zemo's plans was foiled by Captain America and a new Citizen V (Dallas Riordan),[volume & issue needed] Helmut was killed by the new Scourge of the Underworld,[17] though his mind was transferred via bio-modem technology into the comatose body of John Watkins III.[volume & issue needed] Now in possession of Watkins' body, Zemo again played the Citizen V role, this time as a member of the V-Battalion,[volume & issue needed] until the Thunderbolts' final battle with Graviton, during which his consciousness was removed from Watkins' body and transferred, in electronic form, into his ally Fixer's mechanical "tech-pack".[volume & issue needed]

On the artificial world Counter-Earth - the same world to which the Avengers and The Fantastic Four had previously vanished - the Thunderbolts encountered Zemo's counterpart, Iron Cross, in that world.[volume & issue needed] Fixer transferred Zemo's mind into his double's unmutilated body.[volume & issue needed] Zemo then took up leadership of the Thunderbolts who were on Counter-Earth;[volume & issue needed] when this group was reunited with their teammates who had remained on the normal Marvel Universe Earth,[volume & issue needed] Hawkeye briefly resumed leadership,[volume & issue needed] but then left the team to return to the Avengers.[volume & issue needed]

For a while Zemo remained the leader of the Thunderbolts.[volume & issue needed] In 2004's "Avengers/Thunderbolts" limited series, he attempted to take over the world again — this time with the belief that he could save the world by taking it over.[volume & issue needed] Zemo now seems to be motivated by a twisted altruism rather than his original selfish desires; he feels he has grown beyond his father in that regard.[volume & issue needed] However, the Avengers foiled his scheme, his teammate Moonstone went berserk, Zemo's new body was blasted while he attempted to protect Captain America, and he left the team and went into hiding after obtaining Moonstone's twin alien gems, two artifacts of great power.[volume & issue needed]

Zemo had been manipulating the United States government, the New Thunderbolts, the Purple Man, the Squadron Sinister, and a host of other relatively obscure Marvel characters.[volume & issue needed] His goals are unknown, but he is clearly still motivated by a desire to save the world by taking it over, or at least manipulating it towards what he perceives as a beneficial future. Zemo has also, apparently through trial and error, learned how to use the power of the moonstones in various ways, from simply generating raw energy, to transporting himself and others through time, space, and dimensions, to viewing possible future events through dimensional rifts—and, apparently, to repair his damaged face (or, at least to create the illusion that it was undamaged).[volume & issue needed] He has also recruited members of both his original and subsequent incarnations of the Thunderbolts to his cause, as well as eventually bringing the current team of Thunderbolts around to joining him.[volume & issue needed] The group resides in what Zemo calls his "Folding Castle", a structure that he has connected to various other places around the world by dimensional portals.[volume & issue needed]

As a result of The Civil War storyline, Iron Man asked Zemo to begin recruiting villains to his cause, which Zemo had already been doing, unknown to Iron Man.[18] However, he met up with Captain America and informed him that he really had reformed. He showed Captain America his face, once again scarred, to remind him of his earlier sacrifice, and gave him a key that would allow him to escape from the super-human prison being constructed if Captain America would allow his Thunderbolts to fight the Squadron Sinister.[volume & issue needed] He also gave Captain America all his old mementos, destroyed by Zemo in 'Avengers Under Siege', which he had gone back in time and rescued with the help of the Moonstones. Finally, Captain America agreed.[volume & issue needed]

Zemo, was always told as a child that he was superior, he now believes his father's Nazi ideals to be untrue, and that the only way to become superior is through righteousness. After helping Captain America, he remarked to his father's portrait that the man would be displeased with today's good deeds. Zemo—once again wearing his unscarred face—then revealed that Songbird was going to betray him and he was going to sacrifice himself in their upcoming battle with the Squadron Sinister. He told her that he would not die, but that he would become superior through his sacrifice "by living forever".[volume & issue needed]

Zemo revealed his true nature when he saved the Wellspring of Power from the Grandmaster planning to use it for his own ends. Believing that all of his visions were subject to the flow of time, and that nothing was set in stone, Zemo defeated the Grandmaster, and boasted to his teammates that the power was now all his—and theirs. He insisted that he would use it to help the world, despite the consequences of doing so. Songbird, having temporarily lost her own powers during the final battle, was told by Zemo "...now is when your betrayal would have come". However, the vision of Songbird's betrayal turned out to be true after all. Using a simple opera note to crack the moonstones, Songbird sent Zemo into a whirlwind of cosmic space/time. Just before he was completely sucked into the vacuum, he screamed out that he "would never have hurt a world he worked so hard to save".[volume & issue needed]

The limited series Thunderbolts Presents: Zemo - Born Better (2007), written by Fabian Nicieza and drawn by Tom Grummett, explores the history of the Zemo barony. Helmut, sucked into the vacuum, wakes up in medieval Germany (1503), witnessing Harbin Zemo's death and his succession, while in the present academic Wendell Volker and Reed Richards deduce that Helmut has traveled in time. Captured and taken prisoner as a leper, Helmut manages to inspire Harbin's twelve year old grandson Heller Zemo to kill his own father Hademar Zemo and fulfill his destiny as the third (and most enlightened and progressive) Baron Zemo. Heller goes to the hidden cell to free his "muse", discovering that Helmut has somehow disappeared. Helmut makes a jump to 1556 where he fights alongside Heller's son Herbert Zemo, then later jumps to 1640 where he slays Herbert's son Helmuth Zemo, and later arrives in 1710 where he narrowly escapes being killed by Helmuth's son Hackett Zemo.[volume & issue needed]

Meanwhile, in the present, Volker reveals that the Zemo bloodline is not just limited to Helmut's immediate family. In fact Harbin's descendants are spread out all over the world. Wendell visits Miss Klein, a descendant of a bastard child of Hilliard Zemo, the eighth Baron Zemo and Jewish lover Elsbeth Kleinenshvitz. Hilliard becomes baron after the death of his father Hartwig Zemo in the Seven Years' War. In the past Helmut sees Hilliard and Elsbeth in love, realizing that the residual energy of the Moonstone is drawing him into the present, but forcing him to stop and live every key moment of Zemo's lineage. Helmut manages to save Elsbeth, who is sentenced to die by the Diet because of her Jewish ancestry and her wealthy family, but in the present Volker kills her distant descendant, convinced that his actions can pull Helmut to his proper place in the time stream.[volume & issue needed]

Helmut next ends up in 1879 where he stays for several weeks working his way up to be part of the travelling guard of Hobart Zemo, the tenth Baron Zemo. Hobart is killed during a civilian uprising shortly after German Emperor William passes legislation to curb the Socialist party. Helmut jumps forward in time before he can save his own great-grandfather. Helmut arrives during World War I in a battle between British forces led by the original Union Jack and German forces led by his own grandfather Baron Herman Zemo, the eleventh Baron Zemo. Helmut witnesses Herman's men slaughter the majority of the British forces with mustard gas. Later, Helmut goes with Herman and his men to find Castle Zemo reduced to rubble by the war. Helmut travels forward in time again to his father's tenure as a Nazi during World War II.[volume & issue needed]

Back in the present, Volker discovers that Castle Zemo has been restored in the present. Wendell tours the castle with a local German police man and Interpol agent Herr Fleischtung, Wendell murders both men. Wendell has apparently murdered several Zemo relations in the belief that this spilling of Zemo blood would bring Helmut back to the present.[volume & issue needed]

After battling his own father in the past, giving him the inspiration to take up the Zemo mantle, Helmut returns to the present and manages to convince Wendell not to kill him as well, instead taking what is discovered to be his cousin under his wing, as he sets out to do something new for the world.[volume & issue needed]

Following the events of The Siege crossover as seen in the Heroic Age storyline, Luke Cage assumes control over the Thunderbolts and has Fixer impersonate Zemo as a test to see which of his new teammates would betray the team if offered a chance to escape.[19] Later on, it was revealed that Fixer was keeping in secret contact with Zemo while working on the Raft.[20] During the Fear Itself event, Zemo gave Fixer key info on the mutant army threatening Chicago.[volume & issue needed]

Having spent his time on the sidelines, watching Norman Osborn's rise to power with the intent of waiting to see what Norman would do with control over the Thunderbolts and later S.H.I.E.L.D., Zemo reappeared following the events of the Siege when Osborn was ultimately defeated by The Avengers. A chance encounter at the Thunderbolts' former base in Colorado with the Ghost led to him learning Bucky Barnes was the current iteration of Captain America. Zemo confronted his rival and discovered how the man had survived his father's death trap only to become the Winter Soldier, a trained Soviet assassin who killed scores of people for several Russian handlers. But most alarming was the fact that Zemo discovered the original Captain America had not only forgiven his successor for the crimes, but had actively covered them up even after Winter Soldier blew up a huge chunk of New York, killing several dozen S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in order to restore power to a Cosmic Cube fragment.[21]

Zemo recruited Jurgen "Iron-Handed" Hauptmann (of Red Skull's Exiles), as well as Fixer and a new female version of Beetle to expose the current Captain America's sins to the world. This included drugging Bucky with nanites that caused Captain America to behave irrationally and attack police officers and leaking to the media, not only detailed files revealing Winter Soldier's acts of terrorism committed as a mind-controlled pawn of the Russians, but video footage as well of him being trained by handlers. Zemo ultimately kidnapped Bucky and took his father's victim to Heinrich's island which is where Bucky's original "death" occurred. There Zemo confessed that he did what he did, not out of a desire to finish the job his father started, but out of jealousy over how Captain America and his allies quickly forgave Bucky for his crimes, yet continue to scorn the reformed Helmut who had saved the world on numerous occasions.[22] Zemo then forced Bucky into a similar deathtrap as the one his father put Bucky in, modified though in order to allow Bucky a chance to escape. Zemo then escaped from the island unharmed.[23]

Zemo has since turned his eye towards Hawkeye, who he blames for usurping control over the Thunderbolts from him. Zemo makes a deal with Hawkeye’s former mentor Trick Shot (whose cancer had returned) to train Zemo’s mystery acquaintance to become a master archer in exchange for medical care. When the training was complete, Zemo reneged on the deal. Trick Shot (on the brink of death) was delivered to Avengers Tower to serve as a message to Hawkeye. Before he died in his former pupil's arms, Trick Shot warns Hawkeye of the threat he will soon face.[24]

In the pages of Avengers Undercover, Zemo has become the new leader of The Shadow Council's Masters of Evil following the death of Max Fury.[25]

Zemo later becomes the new leader of Hydra and enters into conflict with Sam Wilson, the new Captain America.[26] Using the toxic blood of an Inhuman boy named Lucas, Zemo plans to sterilize the human race and distribute a cure to only a small portion of those infected, thus forcibly solving the planet's problems with overpopulation and lack of resources. He later kills Ian Rogers, the new Nomad and Captain America's partner, by slashing his throat and sends a photo to Steve Rogers.[27] He later fights Wilson to a standstill until Lucas escapes via jet plane to spread his blood in the world.[28]

During the Avengers: Standoff! storyline, Zemo appears as a prisoner of the S.H.I.E.L.D. established gated community called Pleasant Hill where the technology Kobik that was derived from the Cosmic Cube turned him into an amnesiac man named Jim who later discovered that Pleasant Hill is surrounded by a forcefield. He briefly witnessed an eerie girl bring a bird back to life until she is taken away by some adults. Then he encounters a mechanic named Phil who arranges a meet-up following his arson activity. On Day 40, Jim met Phil who had created a device that enabled people to return to their true selves. Phil also stole a training video where Mayor Maria Hill gave a video tour of Pleasant Hill describing to the S.H.I.E.L.D. cadets watching this to be the future of supervillain incarceration where they are turned into mild-mannered civilians using reality-warping technology derived from the Cosmic Cube called "Kobik". A demonstration was shown when Graviton was turned into a Pleasant Hill inhabitant named Howie Howardson. As Phil uses the device on himself and Jim to restore their true selves, Jim was restored back to Zemo while Phil was Fixer once again. Both of them vow to use the device on the other brainwashed supervillain prisoners and reduce Pleasant Hill to dust.[29] Zemo and Fixer started working on restoring the memories of the inmates one by one. Then Zemo led a coordinated assault on a S.H.I.E.L.D. outpost that serves as the Pleasant Hill City Hall.[30] After Kraven the Hunter captures Kobik, he loads her into Fixer's machine where Baron Zemo plans to control Kobik. During the Avengers' fight with Baron Zemo's villain allies, both Zemo and Erik Selvig tried to get Kobik to come with them. Kobik ended up teleporting Zemo and Selvig away from Pleasant Hill. They were last seen in the Himalayas trying to make their way back to civilization. Zemo brings Selvig with him as he's crucial to his next plan.[31]

After leaving the Himalayas, Zemo begins to form his "New Masters" group, he starts by recruiting Firebrand, Flying Tiger, and Plantman II. They later encounter Steve Rogers, the original Captain America, Free Spirit and Jack Flag. Zemo then tries to escape with Doctor Selvig until Captain America enters his plane. Before he could kill Steve Rogers, Zemo is defeated by Jack Flag.[32] After Rogers pushes Jack Flag out of the plane, he makes the plane crash into a building to kill Doctor Selvig and Zemo.[33] However, it is later revealed that Rogers kept Zemo in a cell.[34] Rogers then manages to convince Zemo that they were best friends since childhood, since Rogers's reality was rewritten by Kobik to believe he has been a Hydra double agent since childhood, and recruits him in his mission to kill the Red Skull. Zemo then starts to recruit all the supervillains who escaped from Pleasant Hill.[35]

After Rogers kills the Red Skull's clone in his mansion during the "Opening Salvo" part of the Secret Empire storyline, Zemo arrives with his team of supervillains called the Army of Evil.[36] After the Army of Evil disappears after attacking Manhattan, Helmut Zemo uses the Darkhold to enhanced a brainwashed Blackout into covering Manhattan in a Darkforce dome while trapping the heroes there.[37] During the Underground's battle with Hydra in Washington DC, Zemo goes to awaken the Army of Evil from their stasis as Winter Soldier arrives in time to free Black Panther. Both of them apprehend Zemo before he can awaken the Army of Evil.[38]

Helmut Zemo leads Hydra into occupying Bagalia. In his shared plot with Dario Agger and Roxxon Energy Corporation to have the United Nations recognize Bagalia as an independent nation, Helmut Zemo selects Mandarin as the public face for Bagalia where Mandarin uses the alias of Tem Borjigen. As part of his revenge on Hydra for manipulating him, Punisher finds Mandarin making a speech at the United Nations and fires a special bullet. After using his rings to slow down the bullet while trying to deflect it, Mandarin is struck in the head with the bullet which is witnessed by Baron Zemo and anyone watching his speech.[39]

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

1st March >> Mass Readings (Except USA)

Monday, Second Week of Lent 

   and 

Feast of Saint David, Bishop (England & Wales).

Monday, Second Week of Lent

(Liturgical Colour: Violet)

First Reading

Daniel 9:4-10

Yours is the integrity, Lord; ours the shame

O Lord, God great and to be feared, you keep the covenant and have kindness for those who love you and keep your commandments: we have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly, we have betrayed your commandments and your ordinances and turned away from them. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, our ancestors, and to all the people of the land. Integrity, Lord, is yours; ours the look of shame we wear today, we, the people of Judah, the citizens of Jerusalem, the whole of Israel, near and far away, in every country to which you have dispersed us because of the treason we have committed against you. To us, Lord, the look of shame belongs, to our kings, our princes, our ancestors, because we have sinned against you. To the Lord our God mercy and pardon belong, because we have betrayed him, and have not listened to the voice of the Lord our God nor followed the laws he has given us through his servants the prophets.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 78(79):8-9,11,13

R/ Do not treat us according to our sins, O Lord.

Do not hold the guilt of our fathers against us.    Let your compassion hasten to meet us;    we are left in the depths of distress.

R/ Do not treat us according to our sins, O Lord.

O God our saviour, come to our help.    Come for the sake of the glory of your name. O Lord our God, forgive us our sins;    rescue us for the sake of your name.

R/ Do not treat us according to our sins, O Lord.

Let the groans of the prisoners come before you;    let your strong arm reprieve those condemned to die. But we, your people, the flock of your pasture,    will give you thanks for ever and ever.    We will tell your praise from age to age.

R/ Do not treat us according to our sins, O Lord.

Gospel Acclamation

Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus! The seed is the word of God, Christ the sower; whoever finds this seed will remain for ever. Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!

Or:

cf. John 6:63,68

Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus! Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life; you have the message of eternal life. Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!

Gospel

Luke 6:36-38

Grant pardon, and you will be pardoned

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge, and you will not be judged yourselves; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned yourselves; grant pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and there will be gifts for you: a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap; because the amount you measure out is the amount you will be given back.’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

------------------------------------------------------------

Feast of Saint David, Bishop 

(Liturgical Colour: White)

First Reading

Philippians 3:8-14

I look on everything as so much rubbish if only I can have Christ

I believe nothing can happen that will outweigh the supreme advantage of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For him I have accepted the loss of everything, and I look on everything as so much rubbish if only I can have Christ and be given a place in him. I am no longer trying for perfection by my own efforts, the perfection that comes from the Law, but I want only the perfection that comes through faith in Christ, and is from God and based on faith. All I want is to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and to share his sufferings by reproducing the pattern of his death. That is the way I can hope to take my place in the resurrection of the dead. Not that I have become perfect yet: I have not yet won, but I am still running, trying to capture the prize for which Christ Jesus captured me. I can assure you my brothers, I am far from thinking that I have already won. All I can say is that I forget the past and I strain ahead for what is still to come; I am racing for the finish, for the prize to which God calls us upwards to receive in Christ Jesus.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 1:1-4,6

R/ Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.

Happy indeed is the man    who follows not the counsel of the wicked; nor lingers in the way of sinners    nor sits in the company of scorners, but whose delight is the law of the Lord    and who ponders his law day and night.

R/ Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.

He is like a tree that is planted    beside the flowing waters, that yields its fruit in due season    and whose leaves shall never fade;    and all that he does shall prosper.

R/ Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.

Not so are the wicked, not so! For they like winnowed chaff    shall be driven away by the wind: for the Lord guards the way of the just    but the way of the wicked leads to doom.

R/ Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.

Gospel Acclamation

John 8:31-32

Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God. If you make my word your home you will indeed be my disciples, and you will learn the truth, says the Lord. Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God.

Gospel

Matthew 5:13-16

Your light must shine in the sight of men

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘You are the salt of the earth. But if salt becomes tasteless, what can make it salty again? It is good for nothing, and can only be thrown out to be trampled underfoot by men.    ‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill-top cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp to put it under a tub; they put it on the lamp-stand where it shines for everyone in the house. In the same way your light must shine in the sight of men, so that, seeing your good works, they may give the praise to your Father in heaven.’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.