#death valley hospital folks

[hangoversandhandgrenades]

Three and a half hours hours in the ER and the doctor literally JUST saw me for the first time like five mins ago

[blackrainbowblade]

Miniature pyramids built over the graves of the workmen for the Valley of the Kings. More than a millennium after the Giza pyramids were built, the tomb-builders of Egypt's New Kingdom still sought to reference their form in their own graves.

Deir el Medina (the village where they lived and where these tombs were built) is not a reflection of everyday life in Egypt. There is plenty of evidence that it was more like a holy/sacred community. For one thing, the proximity of these tombs to the village itself is unusual. The Egyptians liked to separate out their spaces for living and dying. That the tomb artists removed themselves from regular society to live on the edge of the desheret (dry land) rather than on the more hospitable land at the River's edge, suggests that they were already associating themselves with death and the afterlife (unsurprising, I suppose, given that their lives were dedicated to decorating tombs).

Interesting parallels play out in Egypt's later history. Take, for example, Akhenaten and his decision to build a new city on a desert plain, dedicated to his god. Did that action mirror, on a grander scale, the building of a place like Deir el Medina and the dedication of its inhabitants to their service of the gods? A thousand years later still, monasticism in Egypt took on a very peculiar form, in which monks would remove themselves from civilization to live in walled communities, again in the desert. The extent to which these dedicated communities inspired one another over the years is up for debate, but the similarities are perplexing - elite, religious communities, dedicating themselves to a purpose, and isolating themselves from the rest of their community.

Tldr: I get tired of folks acting like Deir el Medina was a 'typical village'. It really, really wasn't.

[covid-safer-hotties]

Utah could see a winter surge of COVID-19, health officials warn - Published Sept 19, 2024

By Shaylee Navarro

After an “active COVID-19 summer,” health officials in Utah are recommending people renew their booster vaccinations — amid concerns of a winter surge of the virus that may affect the state.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show COVID-19 virus levels reached “very high” in Utah wastewaters since mid-July, with 10 sites reporting viral activity in the last 45 days. This time last year, Utah saw “moderate” levels.

“Many more people are having a milder illness when they get infected, but not everyone,” Dr. Andy Pavia, chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the University of Utah Health and Primary Children’s Hospital, said Wednesday in a remote briefing to media outlets. “We have seen severe disease and even several deaths.”

Upticks in cases across the country and Utah first appeared in the spring from the XP.1, XP.2, KP.3.1.1, KP.1 and KP.2 variants of the coronavirus. But even as Utah sees a “downswing” in cases, health officials anticipate another increase sometime this winter.

A new variant, called XEC, will likely fuel the late-year surge. So far this year, 95 XEC cases have appeared in 12 states, including in New York and California, according to Outbreak.info, a data project managed by Scripps Research.

Across the Salt Lake Valley, Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax boosters are available at most pharmacies and clinics, said Kavish Choudhary, chief of the University of Utah Health Pharmacy, in the briefing.

The Utah Department of Health and Human Services will continue to supply free vaccines for those without insurance, Choudhary added. The U will only carry the Pfizer vaccine.

According to Choudhary, all available coronavirus vaccines are 90% to 95% effective

“If you’re interacting with most folks, people on the outside on a regular basis, … that’s the push for getting a shot,” Choudhary said.

While officials encourage continued coronavirus precautions, they also suggest keeping up with other respiratory illnesses heading into flu season. For the 2022-23 season, the CDC estimates 31 million people experienced flu symptoms, with 21,000 deaths as a result.

“Flu is still out there,” Pavia said. “It’s time to think about not just COVID vaccines, but flu vaccines.”

For those who cannot get vaccinated or who are at high risk of severe disease, Pavia recommends masking as an effective way to prevent infection.

“Wearing a mask indoors and in crowded places is wise,” Pavia said. “It’s not popular. We’ve all worn masks too much, and we’re tired of it, but it still offers very good protection.”

[grandhoff]

Murdoch mysteries rewatch / catch up from the beginning - part 3

We're back at it again folks

EP 11

- you know, people being killed by arrows easily is the main reason crossbows are outlawed commonly in Canada 

- 11 episodes in and two of the main characters have had their lives at stake, our dear show is developing a reputation 

- oof! The sexism just Oozes from this doctor, and more so than just "of the time". This man gives super creepy vibes 

- Don't try to kill William, he gets quite testy about it 

- why do we gotta pretend to be an invalid? Why do we gotta be evil?

- this chemistry between William and Julia is killing me 

EP 12

- our favourite buddy cops set to protect the future king, what could go wrong?

- the Prince just made young George's life 

- I love when we learn new things about the previous lives of our main characters 

- Georgie dressing up round 3: fancy boy clothes, AND ALSO HENRY IN A COSTUME 

- poor Will getting double crossed by his old friend

- not Will losing his childhood best friend 

EP 13

- but how did he get in the tree? 

- the train station sign and them being in "rouge valley" doesn't match

- freaking Terrance Meyers finally showing up

- I love how George lies about being able to ride a horse 

- why do we gotta remove organs? Who is eating these people?

- ooooh airship 

- and another near death for Murdoch 

- freaking government secrets

So, season 1 is done and dusted, good as always 

13/163

S2 EP1

- another accessory for our dear Georgie

- can't even go to the fair these days 

- the fact that Brackenreid just hides things in Murdoch's office is just *chef's kiss*

- Brackenreid is such a flirt! Literally anytime he has to talk to a woman on a case

- we gotta stop stealing body parts, okay? 

- Thomas, don't be tempted by the wiles of Annie Oakley 

S2 EP2

- if you were a better detective you would have caught your serial killer, do better

- of course every woman alone at night is obviously a trollop *eyeroll* 

- poor William cannot dance, the Jesuit brothers were not keen on it obviously 

- I do not trust this Scotland Yard detective, but that fringe doctor at the incurable hospital is pretty on the nose 

- AND NOW HE ATTACKED JULIA, HOW DARE HE 

S2 EP3

- THE BALL, GUYS 😍

- very exciting: religious zealot and a body in a dino jaw

- stupid Americans, screwing things up again

- I love how everyone is just "it isn't *technically* breaking the rules to do ____*

- he's a phony, a big fat phony!

- i knew that fancy blowhard was bad news!

16/163

Making some progress now, I hope for more costumes for George, they are always such a treat! 

[steviexjohnson]

name: stevie johnson goes by: sj, doc age: thirty-six birthday: september 17, 1987 gender & pronouns: cis-female & she/her label: the scholar orientation: heterosexual & heteromanticrelationship status: single hometown: manhattan, new york city, new york current town: tonopah valley, nv neighborhood: downtown

occupation: self-employed (unemployed) academic degrees: doctorate in pharmaceutical sciences, b.s. in pharmaceutical sciences affiliation: pozolero for los santos

biography & headcanons & plots (tw: cancer & parental death)

biography (tw: cancer & parental death) →

stevie lost her mom to brain cancer at age 6. her father never recovered from the grief and as she grew older, gave less and less of himself to her.

stevie is a stem girlie, always doing far better in the subjects where logic and reason prevailed. math and science were her besties.

she went to school for pharmacy at NYU getting her bachelors & pharmacy degree in six years.

her father had lost most of their fortune, but stevie was smart so she got a lot of scholarships. she's scrappy for a former rich kid.

when she graduated school, she went on a trip across the country to see what she had been kept from seeing as a kid--and found herself mixed up in the los santos gang by accident. apparently, if you're willing to give tasting notes on the product their selling....be prepared to put your money where your mouth is.

lucky for her, she could and quickly rose up the ranks to find herself as a valued pozolero for the organization. at first, she struggled with how antithetical it was to her plan of saving lives.

after a while though, it stopped mattering to her so much and it wasn't really like she could just...get out anyway. she didn't desire too. los santos was as much of a community as anyone else, and as the little girl that came from a broken world--she liked that she had a group of people. maybe not all of those people--but at least she belonged somewhere.

so over the years, her morales have grown grey and she's stopped being so picky about what happens. at the end of the day, the hero and the villian are decided by nothing more than what side of the street you're on.

headcanons →

stevie usually goes by sj, its simpler and easier and sometimes she gets less weird looks

big state fair girlie. huge, even.

as mentioned above, she's a total nerd. will geek out over all sorts of silly things, but some to note: some academic journals, getting a perfect category on jeopardy, random youtube videos, marvel, star wars, the lore behind video games....so decidedly not your stereotypical gang member. but then again, stereotypes aren't always right anyway.

she's not like a nerd in the "introveted, keeps to yourself" kind of way either--she loves meeting people and going out to hang. she is decently involved in her community and has even been known to volunteer at the local hospital for drug take back days.

she loves horses. full stop.

she also loves cooking. is like...creative chemistry that generally can't kill people. baking too--though she does find the specificity of it a little more like work and she doesn't love that.

plots →

neighbors

friends! local friends, new friends, old friends, friends from the past--anything!

enemies! we love angst here

romantic relations! could be exes, crushes, former flings, current flings

work associates (friendly or nah)

literally anything i suck at coming up with plots in a list way but i love to develop with folks!

[ambitionsource]

AMBITION “Through the Valley of the Shadow of Death” [ 4.10 ]♮PART 1, half 2

INT. YACHT - YINDRA’S ROOM - DAY

The next morning, Yindra opens the door, only to discover a package has been left for her and Heather outside their room. Upon further inspection, she finds instructions on the front dictating that this contains the outfits they should wear for today’s activities.

Okay then… Yindra unfolds the tissue paper, retrieving the clothes. On top, as far as we can see, it’s just a standard issue plain white tank top.

INT. HOSPITAL - KENNETH’S ROOM - DAY

The good news (depending on your opinion) is that Kenneth survived the heart attack. He’s back in his room after an overnight and early morning in the ICU, and his condition has stabilized enough for now.

The bad news is, that little wake-up call to his declining health has done a number on everyone’s mood. There’s not much optimism left to go around, delusional as it may have been, so all that’s left is the fatalism. Kenneth has lost just about all of his endearing charm from yesterday, now tired and noticeably grouchier. He’s short with the nurses, and keeps shrugging off all of the small ways Grace tries to lend a helping hand while the doctor walks them through what happened last night.

Doctor: … as it is, cardiac irregularity and arrest is a fairly common side effect of cancer at this stage. So it wasn’t necessarily a signifier of…

Kenneth scowls to himself, hardly listening. The details don’t matter -- nothing can change that fact that he’s dying, and he almost did a few short hours ago. He’s got a glint in his eye, the glimmer of all the frustration simmering under the surface.

Lucas recognizes that glint. He knows it all too well. And usually, if he was smart, even a hint of that glint meant he was better off making himself scarce. Even if it’s not a sure-fire guarantee of trouble, and Kenneth is far from likely to try anything in such company, Lucas figures he shouldn’t try his luck.

So he makes himself scarce. He slides away from the wall and back out the door, leaving them to their debrief. He doesn’t want to hear it anyway. He doesn’t want to know in exactly what ways his father is deteriorating.

No one notices he’s gone.

INT. HOSPITAL - WAITING AREA - DAY

Lucas pushes through the double doors and back into the waiting area, taking in a deep breath of cold, sterile air. It doesn’t help -- it doesn’t ease the constricting feeling in his chest. He can feel his hands starting to tremble, like they did when he was working at Adams, so he balls them into fists.

He exhales and turns around just in time to see JACK HUNTER enter through the arch to the lobby. Somehow showing up at just the right moment.

The two of them exchange a silent look. Lucas says nothing, expression still characteristically indistinct, but Jack has had enough practice reading the subtleties to understand.

Without a word, he gestures Lucas towards him, then starts to head back through the archway. After a beat, Lucas follows, happy for the excuse to walk away for a minute.

INT. L.A. APARTMENT - DAY

There’s some not-so-lovely surprises in store for the folks on the west coast when morning comes too. Farkle is scrolling through it that morning -- a smattering of new stories about Isa have hit the tabloids, and none of them are flattering. It seems like at this point, some people are just profiting off their misery whatever way they can, even if it’s all nonsense.

One direct quote doesn’t sound like nonsense, though. It sounds legit, because Farkle knows he said it.

“‘It’s hardly surprising to see it all blowing up like this for them,’ one insider told us. ‘They’ve never had good luck with this stuff. It’s like a neverending Greek tragedy. I don’t see how this will be any different. De La Cruz has a knack for destruction. Given their mother, is it any wonder?’”

Jordan. He’s pulling exact phrases from their conversations, twisting them around and putting his own spin on it. Given their split, Farkle can’t help but think the phrasing is intentional, too -- it’s not about the convenient payout.

He wants Farkle to see this. He wants him to know, wants to hurt both of them.

Isa: Did you see the one where they call me Rosemary’s baby?

Farkle jumps, lifting his gaze to find Isa leaning against the wall outside his room. They nod towards his phone. Clearly, they’ve seen the worst of it already.

Farkle: No? What the fuck. Isa: Hey, I’m not mad about it. I actually thought that one was at least a little creative. You know, if I were half the devious mastermind some of these people must believe I am, I’d be living the fucking life right now.

Farkle doesn’t see how Isa can make jokes about this. Sure, say you get used to it all you want, but he doesn’t buy it. They shrug, plopping down on the couch opposite him.

Though Farkle has bigger reason for personal upset. He hedges for a moment, then confesses, telling Isa that he’s near certain Jordan is part of the crew leaking these stories.

Isa: Wow. Farkle: I’m so sorry. Like, so fucking sorry. I should’ve never talked to him about you. Or like, any of it. I shouldn’t have -- Isa: What? Not… talked to your boyfriend? That’s kind of how relationships work -- at least the good ones, as far as I’m aware. It’s not your fault he’s a pretentious jackass who apparently has nothing better to do than play petty mind games with his exes. Farkle: Yeah, but…

He still feels terrible. For not listening to people sooner; for not being able to shield Isa from the worst of it, especially when he knows some of the calls are coming from those formerly inside the house. Isa gives him a nudge, shaking off his melancholy.

Isa: Hey, come on. Lighten up. If I took all the shit that got said about me in these things personally every time, I wouldn’t be able to function. In fact, I basically used to do that, and we saw how often that turned out well. I was way more unhinged then. Farkle: … as opposed to…

Har har. Isa rolls their eyes, then leans back so they can kick their feet up and show how unbothered they are -- right on top of Farkle’s lap while they’re at it. He casts a side-eye at their socked feet dangling off his legs, but doesn’t push them off.

Isa: For real, don’t worry about it. If I think it’s a real problem, I’ll let you know. But again, I don’t wanna think about this right now. I wanna spend time hanging out with my best friend, not… harping on all this B.S.

Farkle supposes he can respect that, but their way of going about it might be more complicated than before. With this new wave of media blitz, Isa is going to be more noticeable, and wandering around these popular places isn’t going to be so fine and dandy. Farkle isn’t sure they’ll be able to do anything without being hounded.

Farkle: Might have to go into lockdown mode. Isa: Um, no way. I’m not letting your fuckwad ex -- Farkle: Maya’s used the term “limp dick,” if you want to borrow that one. Isa: That is incredible. But I’m not letting Jordan fuck with our time together. If we wanna go out, fuck it, we’re going out. [ lighting up with an idea ] And I think I have an idea as to how.

The twinkle in their eyes is equal parts impish and intriguing. Farkle looks a bit hesitant, because who knows what an Isa idea is going to be before it comes out of their mouth.

But he’s already on board. He knows he is. Isa gives him a smirk.

INT. MCNAMARA HOME - LIVING ROOM - DAY

Curled up on the couch together, Zachary and Ruby look at the same tabloid articles about Isa. Zachary shakes his head at one that claims Isa was “kicked out” from the MacNamara home for their “bad behavior.”

Zachary: It’s ridiculous. That’s not remotely true. Ruby: You can tell it’s B.S. given how vague it is. Didn’t even take the time to at least make up what exactly this bad behavior is. It’s not only offensive, it’s just lazy. Zachary: They’re twisted. Where are they even getting their “insider information?” I’ve never understood -- the people in this industry who would…  Ruby: And you’ve been in it for decades. Imagine how Isa must be feeling. [ a beat ] Don’t you think we should get in touch? Just make sure they’re alright. Zachary: I tried when they left. You know I didn’t get through. I don’t want to put more pressure on them. Ruby: True… but maybe in this case, you need a little nudge.

If the alternative is deterioration, isn’t it worth the risk? Zachary runs a hand through his hair and sighs as he gets up from the couch. 

Zachary: What would I even say? I’ve never had to… and I’m just as useless with this tabloid stuff. I spent so much time avoiding this kind of thing, and now I’ve got nothing. [ off her nod of acknowledgement ] How do you approach this situation?

Ruby thinks on it… then lands on a bright idea.

INT. AAA - PRINCIPAL’S OFFICE - DAY

ERIC MATTHEWS is dutifully at his desk at Adams, but his focus is admittedly torn. He’s balancing following the Isa saga -- and waiting for any emergency outreach they might send him -- with keeping up with the Friar situation, getting updates from Jack and Riley. On top of that, he has to run a whole school… so basically just another day.

He perks up when a call comes through on this phone, expecting Isa. He figured they would reach out again once this stuff continued leaking to the press…

But it’s not Isa. Their caller ID lights up with a new name. Zachary MacNamara.

After a pause, Eric gets his reflexes to work and picks up.

Eric: Hello?

INT. MACNAMARA HOME - STUDY - DAY

Zachary hesitates himself, not sure what to say. Although they’ve corresponded regarding Isa before, this is the first time they’ve ever interacted by a medium other than text. The scene continues, split between them.

Zachary: Um, hello. This is Zachary. MacNamara. Eric: So I saw. Nice to actually chat, though not under these circumstances. [ a beat ] I’m assuming you’re calling about the tabloids? Zachary: If only that were the only thing. Isa -- [ embarrassed ] It seems I’ve proven myself incapable of parenting.

Isa has disappeared. Poof. Although that news isn’t unwelcome, Eric reacts more calmly than Zachary expected. He doesn’t judge Zachary, and he isn’t even surprised. Isa has gotten much better about coping mechanisms, and grown a lot in the last few years, but sometimes they still default to their old escape routes. This reaction isn’t unheard of.

Eric: Do you know where they are? Zachary: Yes. We have a P.I. looking into the leaks, and as a bonus, I may have had them… keep an eye out. For them. Eric: So you had someone track them down and tail them. Zachary: I’m not proud of it. I didn’t know what else to do when they didn’t respond to me. Eric: Hey, no judgment. If I had those resources at my disposal, believe me, me and my partner would probably do the same. Believe it or not, Isa’s friend Lucas is even more slippery.

Scary thought. Zachary exhales.

Zachary: Anyway, didn’t need to do that for long, because we know they’re in a safe place. They went -- Eric: To Farkle. Their friend. [ a beat ] Am I right? Zachary: Suppose I wasted my money on the P.I. How did you know? Eric: Educated guess.

There’s a reason they called him -- he knows Isa too well.

The question is, can he help get them back home… Zachary sheepishly admits that he feels very out of his depth. In all honesty, this whole situation is overwhelming enough for him on his own. Having to navigate the Isa of it too, when he doesn’t feel like an expert in it by any means…

Eric: You’ve been doing this longer than me, but as far as I can tell, I think that’s just fatherhood.

Zachary laughs lightly, nodding. Fair enough. With that in mind, Eric claims Zachary doesn’t need to think of Isa as necessarily all that different from his other kids. The individual details are different, of course, but the instincts are the same.

Which mainly means putting himself out there and getting back in touch with Isa, and giving it his best shot to communicate. Should he manage that, Eric does have some tips.

Zachary: Is there anything I should keep in mind in how to handle it? I don’t want to do anything that’ll make things worse. Eric: I get that. The first thing is to be honest. Easier said than done, I know, but it really is essential. Isa will respond much better if they get the sense that you feel just as uncertain as they do, because you can bond over that. You’re in it together, rather than them being the burden. Zachary: Right. Exactly. Eric: And when I say be honest, I mean be as clear and blunt as possible. Don’t feel like you have to sugarcoat. If you go too vague, leave any room for misinterpretation, I promise you they will jump to the worst possible conclusion as they fill in the blanks on their own. One of their less-than-stellar habits that they’re still working on.

Makes sense. That’s why communication is so important… but Zachary does have to strike a careful balance here. He was right about that. It’s key for Zachary to reach out, to keep the line open, because silence like they have right now will just signal to Isa that they don’t care (even if that’s far from true). But beyond that, he needs to be patient -- forcing a conversation when Isa isn’t ready won’t do any good. They need to come around on their own time, when they’re emotionally ready. So long as Zachary keeps signaling that he’s there, that he’s open for whenever and whatever Isa is prepared for, they will come back eventually. Eric has faith.

Eric: Basically, everything you’ve been doing this whole time. You are trying your best, and it’s making a difference. The fact that nothing had happened up to this point is pretty impressive, to be frank. Zachary: Well, thanks. I’ll try to keep that in mind when the doubt comes creeping in again.

Zachary thanks Eric for taking the time, and for coaching him through this. He’s sure he’s busy, and as an adult he shouldn’t need this guidance. Eric shakes his head with a smile.

Eric: Hey, it takes a village. We’re part of the same tribe now.

So they are -- and what would we do without our tribes... Zachary returns the sentiment and promises him he’ll update if Isa doesn’t.

EXT. YACHT - UPPER DECK - DAY

Another day, another picturesque catered breakfast out on the deck. Yindra emerges into the sea breeze and makes her way towards the food, now donning the outfit she was assigned -- plain white tank top, dark wash skinny jeans.

It looks like that’s the uniform of the day. All the girls are dressed in the tank and jeans combo, nearly identical in look yet naturally carrying the look in different ways. Body shape, skin tone, height… it all seems to be drawn in even sharper contrast with the unassuming plain wardrobe.

Heather has donned hers as well, looking a bit washed out in the white with her bleached hair. She waves Yindra over to join her.

Before Yindra can head over with her breakfast, though, she’s detoured by a couple of the label producers present. They kindly ask Yindra if she has a second to chat. Figuring it’s better to agree, Yindra nods and allows them to lead her off to the side, towards the railing and out of earshot of the other girls thanks to the breeze.

The conversation starts amicably enough, both of them curious to know how Yindra is experiencing the retreat thus far. Is she having fun, has she found any challenges, etc. Yindra keeps her answers vague and polite, not wanting to say anything that might dash her chances or make her look bad.

Then it gets weird.

Producer A: Glad to hear it. So, what do you think of Kimmy? Yindra: … sorry? Producer A: Kimmy. The redhead. Pretty good dancer, eh? Yindra: Oh, yeah. Yeah, she’s… she definitely has skill. Producer B: We’re not sure about her harmonizing though. Not the best at sight-reading. Producer A: And between us -- she seems like a bit of a ditz. Not a whole lot going on upstairs for such a pretty face.

Yindra blinks. She isn’t sure she disagrees with their assessments, at least at this point, but she doesn’t feel comfortable speaking on them either.

Producer A: Though Tabitha doesn’t seem much greater in that department either. Producer B: Don’t you think? What’s your read on them, Yindra? [ with interest ] Anyone you think is stiff competition?

They’re trying to get something out of her. She doesn’t know what, but the way the conversation makes her feel sends a signal loud and clear. She’s heard tales of how this industry pits women against each other, the underhanded maneuvers that thrive on backstabbing and gossip. She just didn’t realize she’d bump up against it so fast -- let alone from professionals who may not even pick her in the end.

Suppose that’s part of the appeal, though. Endear yourself to the higher-ups, knock down your competition in the process. How much of your soul are you willing to trade to get a step up the ladder…

Not only that, but what might others have said about her when caught in this exact same moment?

Wisely, Yindra side-steps the question. She claims everyone seems like pretty decent competition so far, which if they’re looking to build a supergroup, is probably how it should be. Then she excuses herself with class, stating she’s absolutely starving and needs to fill up before more hard work that day.

So she escapes this mouse-trap unscathed, but she can’t shake the foreboding feeling she just got a little taste of the rest of her career.

INT. SUMMER’S PLACE - DAY

Vanessa is spending time with SUMMER LIONS after staying the night, and based on their conversation, we get the sense that this has been a common refuge for her while she’s in a cold war with her parents.

Today though, the focus is on the Turner audition -- or rather, not focusing on it. Summer is doing her best to get Vanessa to take a much needed mental distance from it, even if briefly, so she doesn’t psych herself out before it.

And this works… mostly. It gets thrown out the window the moment Vanessa gets an email from Turner admissions, giving her the time slot for her audition tomorrow. She shares it with Summer, who whistles.

Summer: Any idea where in the line-up that is? Vanessa: I think earlier, but near middle of the pack. Summer: Do we like that? Vanessa: I honestly don’t think it matters. Either I make an impression or I don’t. Whether I’m first or last isn’t going to make much of a difference.

And given she’s spent the last few days basically scrapping her entire routine and starting from scratch, searching for something more authentic, she can only hope it pays off. Summer grants her that momentary moment to obsess over it, before insisting they go back to pretending it’s not happening.

Summer: I’m thinking coffee. You want coffee? Maybe with a little shot of something. It’s that kind of weekend.

It sure is. Vanessa nods, letting Summer head towards the kitchen. She tries her best to put the audition out of her mind, but she can’t help but glance towards her phone again. Curious about one factor in particular…

INT. BABINEAUX HOME - ZAY’S BEDROOM - DAY

And that factor has just received his time slot, too. He’s later in the evening, a couple of places after Vanessa.

But he doesn’t think to tell her about it. That’s not his first thought. Instead, the instant he receives the time and has a second to process it, he copies the info and texts it to Charlie.

It feels like agony for the next minute or so, Zay impatiently waiting for him to see it and text back. He needs to know ahead of time whether he’ll be there or not. Not that it matters -- not that it’ll make any difference. He just wants to know.

Just his luck, Charlie is better at responding than in the past, and it’s good news.

“It’ll be cutting it close with my other thing, but I should be able to be there!”

“Where is that in the line-up? Do you know?”

Zay can’t help but smile, exhaling a sigh of relief. Once that urgent item has been addressed, the rest of his brain resumes working… and he remembers there’s someone else he should probably check in with. No clue if it’s technically allowed, given their strategic embargo, but he braves shooting Vanessa a text with his time slot.

She responds with hers, confirming the reality that they’re nearly back-to-back. Because of course. It would be so easy for them to be able to be there for each other, to catch the other’s audition while they’re waiting for or wrapping up theirs.

But neither of them make that offer. Neither claim they’ll be there to see the other. That part of the embargo seems sturdily in place.

That said, Zay does at least extend the curiosity of good luck, sending her a “break a leg.” After a moment, she responds.

“Same”

“(Not literally)”

Zay scoffs a light laugh, shaking his head. It might feel more jovial, good-natured, if the threat of competition wasn’t so real that they felt like they couldn’t speak up to this point in the first place.

The heat persists, coast to coast…

INT. GLOBAL BEAT - OFFICES - DAY

But it’s absent from Global Beat, where Josh is enduring the drudgery of an abysmally slow day of flipping through cold submissions to the producers. It’s not even a work day, so he must really be bored to be hanging around at the office, but it’s not like he has much better to do. As a creative starved of creating, even this feels better than wasting his afternoon doing nothing.

But his mind isn’t really on the submissions from nobodies. He keeps letting his gaze drift towards Melissa and Justin’s offices, thinking about the songwriting retreat he’s not on. Not so much because of what they might be crafting there, but more so what they left behind.

He can’t believe that Maya’s demo portfolio is as bad as she claimed. He especially can’t believe that dismissal came from Maya herself of all people -- he wonders what it must be like if Justin and Melissa have decided it’s worth turning her confidence down so many notches.

But it’s not his business. She’s not his client. Those demos were intended for Justin and Melissa, not him. Maya said they weren’t worth listening to. That should be that.

And yet…

Maybe he’ll just sneak a listen. Just to see what it’s like. It’s not like anyone is around to know, and he can think of it as a learning opportunity. A chance to see what Melissa and Justin see and determine why they decided to shelve them. A reverse autopsy of sorts. Just a little side project, a way to occupy his idle mind.

Even though there’s no one else around, Josh treads quietly as he heads towards Justin’s office.

INT. GLOBAL BEAT - JUSTIN’S OFFICE - DAY

Josh slips into the office and makes a beeline for the computer, pulling out his thumb drive. He’ll just save a copy for himself and listen later. No harm, no foul.

It takes a second to find the files though, because Justin’s computer is a damn mess. So many files are on the desktop, scattered with no rhyme or reason, it has to be a crime. Josh cringes at the disorganization -- and opts not to let himself think too deeply about some of the questionably named folders he glimpses (dudes being dudes, or whatever…) -- before navigating to Google Drive.

He finds the shared folder from Maya, beginning the download. While he’s waiting, he’s surprised to find that according to the data details, Justin hasn’t clicked into this folder at all. If Google is to be believed, Justin hasn’t opened any of the demos on this account.

Well, maybe he listened with Melissa. Or through a different account or device. Something like that. Josh doesn’t dwell on it, too focused on getting out of there with the goods without getting caught even though there is quite literally no one else around to catch him.

Mission accomplished. Once the download is complete, Josh yoinks his thumb drive and makes a break for it, slipping out of the office as if he was never even there.

Melissa, pre-lap: Okay, clearly, there are bare bones here. We’ve got something to start with.

INT. MALIBU LAKE HOUSE - RECORDING STUDIO - DAY

As rousing as Melissa sounds as she says that, the reality of their songwriting session isn’t so peachy. Although Maya did scrounge together some creative ideas during her high, in the light of day the three of them seem to be struggling to build anything concrete out of them. The juices still aren’t flowing; the pieces aren’t clicking together.

Part of this is because for whatever reason, Maya still can’t seem to get on the same page as them. Every suggestion she has for how she wants to gear things, they have some sage wisdom that warrants shooting it down. And every time they take a stab at giving it some direction, Maya finds herself averse to it.

Maybe they just need something to grease the wheels as they still find their footing. Justin claims he has just the solution -- the secret sauce that gave Maya her epiphany last night. He’s got some leftover coke from the party, and he at least thinks he could use the pick-me-up. Anyone else game?

Melissa opts in, climbing to her feet from the floor to help him cut the lines. Maya hesitates, uncertain -- she’s not sure she wants to establish the precedent of needing a hit to make a hit -- but it did work so well last time. It loosened her up, and while the three of them are still finding their creative footing, who could it hurt?

Not to mention, it’s another chance to bond, and Maya doesn’t want to pass that up. So she agrees to the little “boost,” coming to join them at the piano and happily accepting a playful elbow nudge from Melissa.

INT. THRIFT SHOP - DAY

Isa and Farkle are up to some mischief of their own, raiding a local neighborhood costume and thrift shop. Isa’s bright idea for bypassing the tabloid scrutiny is simple -- they won’t be themselves today. They’re searching for disguises to adopt new personas for the afternoon, allowing them to traverse the world as someone else entirely.

Presently, Isa is debating which wig to go with, holding out a redheaded and platinum blonde option when Farkle rounds the corner of a rack of clothes and rejoins them. He raises his eyebrows in amusement, having already donned for himself a pair of chunky sunglasses and an absolutely horrendous patterned parachute jacket.

Farkle: The one on the right looks like vintage Lady Gaga. Fame Monster era. Isa: That’s perfect, then. Gotta go with that one.

It is paparazzi they’re punking anyway… Isa puts the red wig back and then switches focus to Farkle, unimpressed by his choices. He still looks exactly like himself, just with an ugly puffy coat. He scoffs.

Farkle: Rude. And I don’t see how it matters -- you’re the one who needs to hide. Not me. Isa: No, that’s where you’re wrong. You’re my associate, so you’re equally as culpable. Farkle: Isa, I swear to God, not one person in the media circus could give less of a shit what a skinny freshman from USC is doing. Isa: It’s the principle of the thing. Honestly, what happened to your flair for theatrics?

If he’s going to insist on being boring, Isa will just make his disguise for him. They take his arm and drag him through the aisles, picking up new elements for the look as they go -- dark-haired curls wig, equally ugly bucket hat. Farkle obediently lets Isa play dress-up, crouching down so they can put the wig and hat on his head and adjust it just right. Then they look him over, temporarily removing the sunglasses and sticking their tongue out as they contemplate… then they decide what is missing, getting the attention of the store owner.

Isa: Do you happen to have a pen?

The owner doesn’t have time to question what the hell they’re up to, freaks, so long as they’re going to pay. They hand over a black pen which Isa takes happily, turning their attention back to Farkle. They take his face in their hands and pull him closer, uncapping the pen and carefully drawing him a brand new beauty mark on his cheek.

Once they’re done, it suddenly hits them how close his face actually is. Centimeters away from theirs, blue eyes looking at them expectantly… is it suddenly hard to breathe in here?

Farkle: Well?

Isa glances at his lips, currently so conveniently close to their level…

Isa: You look like a desperately fashion-challenged Eurotrash tourist.

Farkle cracks up, and shoot, does that smile make Isa’s veins feel like they’re loaded with electricity. To dampen the power, they slip the sunglasses back onto Farkle’s face for him to complete the look -- and spare them from having to look into his eyes any second longer.

All that leaves is for Isa to get their look together, now that they’ve gathered all the pieces. Then they need to hit the town already -- if they’re so styled like gauche European tourists, then they better act the part!

They disappear into the dressing room, flashing Farkle a grin before flicking the curtain closed with a flourish…

Executive, pre-lap: As I’m sure you’re all well aware, a look can make or break an act.

INT. YACHT - LOWER DECK - DAY

By early afternoon, the reason behind Yindra and the other girls’ identical stylings becomes apparent. As they’re all gathered in the lower deck for their next session, the producers introduce a couple of new CONSULTANTS from the label, specifically from the marketing division.

Behind Yindra, Aleena leans over to whisper to Ronica.

Aleena: Aren’t we in the middle of the ocean? How the fuck did they get on the boat? Ronica: Maybe they were hiding here the whole time. Or they snuck them on in the middle of the night. Maybe helicopter. Aleena: Insane. This is some secret society shit.

As for why they’re here… the fun times might be over. If the singing and dancing challenges didn’t feel intimidating enough, strap in, because these consultants are here to chime in on the most brutal aspect of the industry there is -- appearances.

The parts of yourself you really can’t control.

All of the ladies are asked to line up along the wall, then given a number to pin to their shirts. This is to keep things “neutral,” supposedly -- to allow the consultants to speak candidly without having to associate a name (rather, a human being) to their critiques. It feels a bit like some of the early open calls they did for this, when Yindra went for the initial auditions.

Only this time, the judgment is public, for all to hear. And they don’t hold back.

The consultants begin at one end of the row, with Tabitha, having her step forward and give them the chance to circle her. They take her in from every angle, look her up and down, scrutinize every detail.

Consultant A: Bit skinny. Consultant B: True. But a variety of body types would be welcome. Consultant A: Want to avoid the body image criticisms again, though. Consultant B: Well, she’s young. That allows for some leeway. Consultant A: Diversity is good, too. Pretty, but ambiguous, which is a plus.

They speak about her as if she’s not even there. Tabitha keeps her head held high, trying to let it roll off her back and make a good impression, but even she seems a bit stung by the comments.

It continues like this along the row, the consultants making broad snap judgments from a pure marketing perspective -- what will “sell.” What will “look right.” It’s not about the person, but the packaging. As we zoom through the line…

Consultant A: Bit pale. Consultant B: Very round face… Consultant A: Would definitely need to shed a few pounds. Mainly in the hip area. Consultant B: Lip filler would help here. Consultant A: Couldn’t publicize it, though. Consultant B: Very dark skin. Consultant A: Pretty, but not very memorable. Smile? [ a beat ] Okay, nevermind.

Not every participant reacts the same way. Some take it silently, like Aleena, who keeps her expression impressively unreadable as they pick apart her height and debate whether her facial features are “too sharp” or just right. Others take it in stride, like Madysin, who plays into the intrusion like any skilled influencer raised on TikTok would -- she even wiggles her butt a bit as they’re getting a good look, just to prove how unbothered she is.

Others, such as Sloane, don’t go quietly.

Sloane: [ as they’re assessing her physique ] In case anyone forgot, I’m seventeen. [ with bite ] Just a minor reminder…

Not everyone needs to be on defense, though. When it’s Kimmy’s turn, she uncertainly waits while being scrutinized, not projecting any sort of over-confidence. But whatever she’s got in her genes, they seem to love it -- as white and pretty privilege usually affords.

Consultant A: Gorgeous. Consultant B: So pretty. Excellent build. And look at those freckles. Consultant A: Yes, those will sell well. [ to Kimmy ] Are you a natural redhead? Kimmy: Um… yes.

That sounds like exactly what they wanted to hear. A couple producers at the table make notes after that exchange.

By the time they make it to Heather, Yindra next on the row, the relentless commentary towards others has started to feel unbearable. And they’re just as blunt with her.

Consultant B: Quite thin. Look at the collarbones. Consultant A: Yes… pretty face. Nice features. Consultant B: Bit washed out with the hair, though. Consultant A: Hair can be changed. Consultant B: Most things can. We’re looking for minimal expense here.

Heather doesn’t respond, staring straight ahead, but there’s hints in her expression that indicate the criticism might be getting to her. She winces slightly when they continue to pick at her body, clenching her jaw. However, she manages to survive her turn.

Then, Yindra is up. She steps forward as instructed, keeping her expression squared and mentally working to stay calm as they begin their assessment.

Consultant A: Interesting facial features.

Okay… well, suppose that could be good or bad. Yindra keeps her chin up.

Consultant B: Beautiful skin. Consultant A: Though a bit petite. Consultant B: Skinny, for sure.

All right… Yindra forces herself to breathe slowly, not letting it get to her.

Consultant B: We do want variety, though. Consultant A: But variety in the right places. There’s already plenty of thin to go around here.

At that, a few rows down, Ronica -- who is certainly a bit fuller figured -- subtly rolls her eyes.

Consultant A: And with this, there’s really no additional assets to fill it out. Consultant B: That’s true. Very flat.

Okay, for the love of God. Yindra can’t help it -- the snap slips out before she can stop it.

Yindra: Well, as long as my voice isn’t, does it matter?

Oop. The consultants stare at her, surprised to be spoken back to. Down the row, the other girls cast wide-eyed looks in Yindra’s direction. Aleena raises her eyebrows; Tabitha looks like she’s trying not to laugh. At the table, the producers jot some notes of their own.

Well, that’s just swell. Yindra clears her throat and goes silent, but the consultants seem done with her anyway after that little comment. They move on to the next girl, Yindra keeping her gaze straight ahead and trying not to think about all the eyes still lingering on her.

INT. HOSPITAL - CAFETERIA - DAY

Jack has managed to nudge Lucas into the cafeteria, sitting with him at one of the smaller tables with some lunch. He’s doing his best to encourage him to eat, even if he doesn’t think he needs it.

Jack: We don’t want another repeat of Adams. Lucas, tired: I’m not hungry.

This time, unfortunately, it sounds like he means it. This aversion to eating is different than last semester. Stress starvation is one thing, a self-fulfilling prophecy that can only be broken when it’s pointed out how hungry you actually are. Anxiety ambivalence is another beast entirely -- and paired with preemptive grief, no matter how complicated, it’s a hard battle to win. It’s bottomless; it’s base.

Even so, Jack persists.

Jack: Take one bite. All right? You put one forkful in your stomach, I’ll stop hounding you. I swear.

Lucas gives him a look -- yeah, right -- but the request works. He reluctantly stabs a piece of lukewarm cafeteria food and puts it in his mouth, chewing like it’s a chore.

Jack will take it. In an effort to distract him and ideally keep him subconsciously snacking, Jack takes up the brunt of the conversation. He starts to mindlessly talk about what’s going on at the school board, what Lucas has missed since he was dismissed from Evelyn’s office. Lots of boring, bureaucratic stuff, naturally.

But Lucas doesn’t want to talk about that. Catching Jack by surprise, he asks something else entirely.

Lucas: Do you remember when your dad died?

Jack pauses, not sure he heard him correctly. It seems like an unexpectedly vulnerable question for Lucas to ask… but no, it did come out of his mouth. He’s looking right at him, waiting for an answer, so he must’ve heard right.

Jack: It was quite a long time ago. Relatively. But… sure. It’s hard to forget, losing a parent. Lucas: Even if they barely counted? Jack: Yes, even then. [ a beat ] It’s not the same, of course, but I can imagine some of what you’re feeling. The… confusion. When someone doesn’t show up for you the way you’d like, you’d think it would be easy to deal with. That it wouldn’t be so… overwhelming. Or that the feelings about it would at least be straightforward. Lucas: Yeah. Jack: But it’s not. It’s complex. [ a beat ] Rare thing that isn’t. Lucas: What about now?

After all this time? If it was such a long time ago? Jack contemplates the question, trying to choose his words carefully. He knows Lucas is searching for guidance of some kind, probing Jack’s experience for answers to his own that he can’t possibly give him. So all he can offer is the truth.

Jack: It’s less so. With time. Just because… well, life moves on. I’ve moved forward. I’ve got a lot more things to focus on than something I lost over twenty years ago -- you know, like the delinquent slicking my floors with mayonnaise.

Lucas rolls his eyes, but that does manage to earn the shadow of a smile.

Jack: I try to give my father a bit of grace, or at least as much as I can. He wasn’t a great dad, but to be fair, he wasn’t very much there, period. I don’t know how much I did or didn’t know. All I know is that holding onto the resentment, shouldering all those mixed feelings, requires a lot more energy. I didn’t want to walk through the rest of my life with it. So I try to… let it be. Let it rest with him. Again, it’s not an apples to apples comparison here -- my dad wasn’t Kenneth -- but in either case, you can’t control it. You can only control yourself.

It’s complicated, and confusing, and Lucas just has to let himself feel all that. He will have the time to work through it, to decide how he feels, in the days and weeks (and years) that follow. Right now, he just needs to get through it, one day at a time.

Jack: And eat. Eating is important.

Always the self-care with this guy… Lucas begrudgingly takes another bite, though, so mission accomplished.

After another long beat of silence, he speaks again, barely a murmur.

Lucas: I’m scared.

Jack frowns, expression laced with sympathy. Wishing there was more he could do, knowing how fragile Lucas’s confession is in his hands. But he doesn’t have the answers. He can’t make it better. So he does the only thing he can, the thing he’s done since he stuck his neck out and fell down the rabbit hole of Lucas James Friar all those years ago.

He sees him, and meets him in the middle.

Jack: I know.

Sometimes, acknowledgement is all you need. Lucas dips his head down and focuses back on his food, not saying anything further, but the weight on his chest feels a little lighter simply through sharing the load with someone else.

EXT. HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME - DAY

The same could be said for Isa, though through much lighter fare. Farkle is helping carry their load as they goof around in their alter ego disguises, currently traversing the Hollywood walk. Isa’s final look really does look Gaga Fame adjacent -- it’s somewhat jarring to see them with such bright hair.

That said, underneath the costumes, it’s still Farkle and Isa, and they’re true to form as they bicker about minute trivia regarding the names on the walk of fame they’re passing. Their energetic debating is enough to catch the attention of the passersby around them… including a PAPARAZZO hanging around on the street corner.

He seems to have been especially caught by Isa. They can’t look away from them, certain that something about them seems familiar… and smells a lot like a potential payout.

Isa notices the lingering gaze, turning away and cursing under the breath. Farkle glances around in concern and Isa tips him off to the pap, evidently frustrated that they might still get clocked even with their silly efforts to be anonymous. Farkle frowns, casting another glance towards the photographer… then he does the only thing he can think of to do.

He starts arguing. Loudly.

Isa stares at him, stunned by his sudden outburst -- and even more confused when they realize he’s not speaking English. Farkle is yapping at them in polished, semi-fluent French, leaning into their “Eurotrash” persona with true theatrical dedication. He peppers in a few English words here and there, just to sell the tourist thing, but for all anyone around them would be able to tell, he’s a pissy Frenchman very irritated with his Eurotrash travel partner.

Farkle: [ in French ] I swear, you don’t know a thing! Absolutely nothing! This is exactly why I didn’t want to come to America. But no, you insisted. “It’s our honeymoon,” you said. [ in “broken” English ] Ha! Honeymoon, indeed!

Well, if they didn’t have the attention of the photographer before, they certainly do now. Isa continues to stare at Farkle, eyes wide, bewildered and a little bit enthralled by his bizarreness.

Isa: What are you doing? Farkle: [ under his breath ] Play along. [ loudly, again, in French ] This is exactly why I told my mother this would never work. So incompatible. The taste you have, it’s just -- ugh!

Well, if there’s one thing Isa can pretend to do well, it’s get into an argument. So although they have no idea what Farkle is up to, they trust him and dive right in, snarking back -- only in Spanish instead. They don’t know what Farkle’s saying, so they make up their own side of the debate.

Isa: [ in Spanish ] Oh, I’m the one who got us lost? You have the navigational prowess of a one-eyed mule! Stubborn as one, too! Farkle: [ in French ] Don’t you take that tone with me. Do you have any idea who my father is? Oh, wait, yes, of course you do -- it was he whomst you asked for my hand in marriage before I entered into this hell of a commitment!

Literally, this whole thing is utter nonsense -- but if you speak neither language, like the paparazzo, then you wouldn’t be able to tell either way. Which is why it’s particularly startling when Farkle suddenly turns to the photographer and addresses him directly.

Farkle: Hey, you. You! There! Paparazzo, unnerved: … who, me? Farkle: Yes. Oui. You have been watching, no? Been listening? Paparazzo: I -- uh -- Farkle: [ in French ] Good. Then you can tell my partner here how utterly wrong they are, because surely you heard as much. Go on, tell them! Isa: [ in Spanish ] No, no, do not listen to him. Whatever he’s telling you, he’s a liar, and a freak. He belongs in an insane asylum. Don’t believe a word he says. Paparazzo: [ deeply uncomfortable ] I -- I don’t speak --

Farkle and Isa continue to talk at him, raising their voices in intensity. After another minute of this, the paparazzo bails, stating he has to go and making a beeline down the street. Farkle and Isa continue to yell after him, shouting nonsense in their dual languages… before making eye contact and descending into hysterical laughter as soon as he’s gone.

Isa: Dude, what the fuck was that? What were you even saying? Farkle: Doesn’t matter. So long as it made him freaked enough to leave, I figured that would do the trick. Isa: You’re insane. I can’t believe that worked. Farkle: [ with a shrug ] I’m really good at making people uncomfortable.

And boy, did those instincts come in handy now. He’s spared Isa another intrusion of privacy… and somehow endeared himself to them even more in the process.

Isa: Well, thanks. For humiliating yourself on my behalf. Farkle: I’d do it any time.

It kind of takes their breath away, how selflessly he throws himself into the line of fire for them. How he doesn’t hesitate to do the wildest thing possible, because that’s how his wacko mind works, but also because it’s for them. He’s creative, and crazy, and Isa is thoroughly convinced there’s no one in the world quite like him.

And if he keeps looking at them like that, sincere and so perfectly Farkle even underneath the disguise, they might do something incredibly stupid. So Isa breaks the moment, offering a smile and lightly punching his arm.

Isa: Come on, I’ve got like three more blocks of trivia to correct you on. Don’t wait up.

Farkle stands still for another beat, mentally stuck in the before. He watches Isa walk away from him, chest light and airy yet burdened with the weight of so many different feelings he doesn’t know where to begin to unpack it all. Happy they’re there; irritated that they seem so unbothered and confident around him when he sure doesn’t. Nervous for reasons he can’t pinpoint, and on edge with some of that tension that used to always exist between them that he didn’t understand. Old buried sensations, ones that once felt inscrutable until they developed into high-definition in his mind, now peeking out through the cracks in his resolve and blossoming anew.

But mainly, he’s grateful. Grateful that Isa is still there -- that in spite of the low tides, and petty fights, and distance physical and emotional, he still gets to call them a best friend. That somehow, they get to spend even one more minute together.

One minute at a time. That’s not a lot to ask. They can work with that.

Song Cue ♫ ♪ “The Next Ten Minutes” as performed by The Last Five Years Original Off-Broadway Cast || Performed by Farkle Minkus & Isa De La Cruz (starting at 00:40)

[ Lyrics specific to characters -- follow along here! ]

Farkle starts off the intricate duet from where he’s watching Isa ahead of him. The world seems to fade away around them -- like there’s no one else on the crowded, touristy streets of Hollywood. No one else that matters, anyway.

Isa glances over their shoulder at him, offering another smile. Farkle mirrors it, wanting to savor the simplicity of this moment.

For the next ten minutes We can handle that

Then he finishes out the delicate first verse, transitioning around the 1:45 mark…

INT. IMAGINATION SPACE - AUDITORIUM - NIGHT

Back to the imaginary stage, where Farkle has now descended his acting block and taken center stage under the lights. Except he’s not quite center -- he’s slightly stage right, leaving an empty space opposite him on the other side. Behind him, the others are silhouetted on their blocks as usual, only one more space is vacant than usual.

Farkle’s look here is more true to his eccentric sensibilities, the ones that had been so tamped down in the last semester. He’s wearing shimmery black pants, similar to the ones he wore during his “Not The Boy Next Door” performance all those years ago. But the top half of his ensemble is more subdued, styled more mature -- a loosely fitted black linen shirt, sleeves rolled up to the elbow, and topped off with a pinstriped black vest. To a keen observer of media that has oft been alluded when it comes to these two, it may look like a subtle nod or two stylistically.

More than that, his heart is on his sleeve here. In this space, where only true emotion is allowed, Farkle’s confessing to a lot more than holding out for the next ten minutes. When it comes to Isa, he doesn’t just count the minutes -- he wants it all.

He wants it real.

There are so many lives I want to share with you I will never be complete until I do…

Then the lights dim on him, casting him in slight shadow, as the camera pans… and lights come up on the other side of the stage, where it felt empty before. Isa is there now, taking up the other half of the duet, picking up on Cathy’s very fitting verse. For their ensemble, they seem to also be emulating the slight regency vibes, wearing a black cropped waistcoat. They’ve paired it with high-waisted dark slacks, but all of it is partially obscured by the oversized long coat they’ve donned over top.

The nods continue…

EXT. HOLLYWOOD STREETS - DAY

Isa carries on the internal serenade as we shift back to reality, watching them galavant through Hollywood. They’re still in their silly disguises, but it hardly matters -- all Isa sees is Farkle, mask or no mask, their best friend and closest confidant. The person who baffles them, and gets in their head just as easily as he can pull them out of it.

Farkle says something that makes him crack up at himself, that unabashed grin taking over his features again. The one that hasn’t graced his face much this past semester, that seems to arise so naturally when he’s in the company of his equally eccentric best friend.

I don’t know why people run I don’t know why things fall through I don’t know how anybody survives in this life without someone like you

Isa would do anything for that smile. They know that. And even though all of their instincts always tell them to run, to protect and preserve, they can’t seem to do that with him. They never could.

INT. IMAGINATION SPACE - AUDITORIUM - NIGHT

Isa launches into the swell of their verse, singing with marked passion as they look out into the darkness.

I want to ease your strife I want to stay by your side

Once Isa hits the end of the phrase, and utters “forever,” the camera begins to ease out and rotate, showing that they’re no longer standing on the left of stage alone. They’re now at center stage, sharing it with Farkle, the two of them standing back to back -- and at the same height, thanks to the acting block Isa has borrowed to keep them on the same level (as they’re usually wont to do).

Then their parts finally meet, overlapping and intertwining as they swap roles. Farkle now takes the Cathy lines while Isa picks up Jamie’s, both building in intensity until they’re belting with everything they’ve got. Behind them, the ensemble fills in some of the soundscape with vocal harmonies emulating the instrumental accompaniment, adding sonic layers to the arrangement.

Once they both make their heartfelt declarations, and Isa utters the first “I do,” they slowly turn to face one another. By the time they’re harmonizing again, they’re face to face, seeing one another for the first time during the duet in this space, and the effect is downright hypnotizing. They’re seeing each other up close and personal, back in this position they’ve seemed to find themselves in so many times before, inches apart and on the precipice of something new. Something dangerous.

Something real.

The two let their vocals float away as they get lost in one another, trapped in that gravity…

EXT. HOLLYWOOD STREETS - DAY

But in reality, just their shared company is enough. While the violin takes over the piano in the arrangement, the two of them get caught in a moment with a safer distance between them, exchanging bashful smiles when they realize they were both looking at one another. Farkle looks away first and takes the lead this time, letting Isa watch him walk away.

One minute -- or ten -- at a time. They can handle that.

That’s enough. 

INT. IMAGINATION SPACE - AUDITORIUM - NIGHT

Farkle and Isa stay locked in place on stage. Allowing the piano outro to take over, words worthless at this point. Letting the distance between them dwindle away… their lips could nearly graze if they just moved a centimeter…

But the world dims away before anything more, piano tapering off as the lights go down and leave them hidden in the darkness once again.

INT. HOSPITAL - WAITING AREA - DAY

Jack walks with Lucas back into the waiting area, the two still chatting quietly. By happenstance, they cross paths with Kenneth just as he’s being led back from another hallway where he had diagnostics done, Grace and another nurse helping him make the trek back to his room.

When Jack and Kenneth meet eyes, for a second there’s nothing but shock. Shock on Kenneth’s part to see Jack at all, to allow a former colleague and acquaintance see him like this; shock on Jack’s for exactly that point. Kenneth almost doesn’t look like himself, and it’s been such a long time since Jack last saw him. If he didn’t know all that was going on, he might not even believe it was him.

Once that initial shock wears off, something shifts in Kenneth. For whatever reason, seeing Jack Hunter of all people there, letting him see him in his weakest state, triggers something inside him. A rage he’s been keeping well under wraps, an urge to lash out that only the deepest insecurities can provoke.

Kenneth: Well, look who decided to pay a visit. Came to see me off, Jackson?

His tone is friendly, as much as his fatigued state can manage, but the venom underneath it isn’t that well concealed anymore. Jack can sense the backhanded edge to it, the desire to get a rise out of him -- he’s seen enough of that quality in his own life. Lucas and Grace recognize it instantly, too, the former tensing slightly next to Jack.

Jack tries to ignore the bait, staying professional, but that only makes Kenneth more irate.

Jack, to Lucas: I can come back later, if -- Kenneth: Oh, so you’re not even going to say hello? Am I dead to the world already? Or would you really rather just stand there talking to my son? He’s not much of a conversationalist, you know. Or well, I guess you would know -- you’ve sure spent a bizarre amount of time with him to say so. Grace: Kenneth…

So he clearly wants something from Jack, even if just acknowledgement. Jack takes a deep breath and does his best to maintain his composure, facing Kenneth again. Even with the safe distance between them, the tension is thick. Lucas doesn’t move -- he isn’t sure he can.

Jack: Hi, Kenneth. It’s good to see you up and moving. Kenneth: Oh, don’t talk down to me like that, Hunter. We all know you’re just loving this. Jack: … I would never take joy in -- Nurse: We really can’t be having this kind of behavior in the -- Kenneth: Come on, we don’t have to beat around the bush anymore. I’m dying, remember? Might as well get it all out in the open. You’ve been inserting yourself into my personal business long enough, it’ll probably be a relief when I’m gone and you can just swoop right in to take it all over.

Lucas pipes up before Jack can respond, voice cold with anger.

Lucas: Shut up. Kenneth: Ha! Really? You’re going to tell me to shut up? When I’m in the fucking hospital? Nurse: Okay, that’s enough -- Grace: You’re making a scene… Kenneth: Damn right, I’m making a scene! I don’t want this bastard here while I’m here! I don’t want him anywhere near my people.

Honestly, for a beat, it’s not clear whether Kenneth is talking about Jack or Lucas. But he continues on even as the nurse and Grace continue to nudge him towards the double doors, very obviously not as control of his faculties as he once was.

Kenneth: Hey, isn’t this supposed to be immediate family visitors only? In case you forgot, Hunter, you’re not family!

They manage to pull Kenneth through the doors, removing him from the unexpected confrontation. Now Lucas is fully triggered too, and it looks like he has half a mind to go after him -- also forgetting time and place -- but Jack takes his arm and grips it tightly to hold him in place.

Jack: No. No. It’s not worth it.

Like hell it is. Lucas stays frozen for a second, then pulls his arm away from Jack. He crosses his arms and folds in on himself a bit, retreating back through the archway towards the lobby.

Jack frowns, glancing towards the double doors before going after Lucas.

INT. HOSPITAL - KENNETH’S ROOM - DAY

Once the nurse has gone to get the doctor, Kenneth rounds on Grace instead. It’s hard to tell how much of his illness is talking, at this state of decline, but the filter seems to have flown completely off.

Kenneth: I don’t want that smug son of a bitch anywhere near me -- anywhere near you while we’re here. Did you let him in? Did you ask him to come? Grace: I had no idea Jack was planning to visit. I don’t think it’s so weird that he would. He’s been a big help to Lucas -- Kenneth: [ ignoring the Lucas of it all ] Oh, yeah. I bet you don’t think it’s all that weird. Grace: … what is that supposed to mean? Kenneth: Come on, Grace. I’m dying -- we can take the gloves off.

That sounds like something Grace definitely doesn’t want. She can’t remember a time she would’ve thought the gloves were on with him.

Kenneth: Was he good? Was it worth it? Grace: What are you talking about? Kenneth: How many times did he have you? A couple? A dozen? Lord knows I was out of town enough times to make it easy for you. Grace: [ totally gobsmacked ] Wh -- you think I -- with Jack Hunter? Kenneth: Is it all that ridiculous? It would sure explain why he has such a perverted obsession with our family. I can’t think of any other reason why he’d want to put so much effort into spending any time with Lucas --

Grace literally can’t believe her ears. In an instant, she knows Kenneth is worse than he looks. Something truly is breaking down inside him. He’s always had a hot temper, she’s no stranger to that, and God knows she’s not unfamiliar with his cruelty. But this is a new level of callous -- this is just unhinged.

Remarkably, knowing that, Grace finds it in her to stay together.

Grace: Ken, you’re being hysterical. Kenneth: Me? I’m being hysterical?! Grace: Yes. You’re not thinking clearly. Kenneth: You’re gonna look me in the eye and tell me that, when I just saw that asshole show up here unannounced? Palling around with my fucking kid as if he’s playing stepdaddy? And yet it’s hysterical of me to think -- Grace, firmly: Kenneth, only one of us ever had extramarital affairs.

Grace drops that factoid without flinching, deathly calm, but it works as intended. It stuns Kenneth enough to shut him up. If he ever deluded himself into thinking that she didn’t know, that his hook-ups while out of town on business were so suave and discrete, he’s sorely mistaken.

But she never held it against him. Never brought it up, or threw it in his face, even in all the moments where she could have had every right. It was too dangerous, for one, but also not worth the fight.

And she doesn’t want to hash it out now, when he’s maybe days away from…

Ultimately, the risky move pays off. Kenneth retreats, temper cooling enough to allow him to regain some of his composure. He nods, slowly edging back towards his hospital bed and easing onto it. Catching his breath -- anger takes it out of him these days in a way it never did before.

Kenneth: You’re… sorry. Sorry, I don’t know what came over me.

Grace does. She’s seen that side of him many times before, more than she count. It’s not a brand new discovery, albeit less rational. If a rage like his ever can be rational…

Kenneth looks in her direction, expression softer than before. Tired, and suddenly, appearing that much gentler. Like a flipped switch. He reaches out a hand towards her, tentative, and after a long moment of reservation, Grace lets him pull her back into his orbit.

She always does.

He wraps his arms around her waist, holding her close and resting his head against her torso.

Kenneth: I didn’t mean to take it out on you. I’m sorry. I just… I love you. I don’t want to lose you.

An ending that is now inevitable no matter how the two of them feel about it. Grace places a hand on his head, running her fingers through his hair, but her expression remains blank.

Grace: I know.

INT. YACHT - LOWER DECK - DAY

Unfortunately, Yindra’s string of standout moments only continues that afternoon, and not for the better. They’re back to dance workshop after the brutal physical sessions of the morning, working up a sweat as they perform the routine they learned in small groups of three for the panel. Like an exam of sorts to see how fast they picked it up -- and whether they can carry it at all.

Although Yindra has her training from Adams, it’s her nerves that get in the way. She’s in a group with Tabitha and Sloane, the latter of whom is by far one of the strongest dancers present. So as they step up to do their turn at the run-through, Yindra can’t help but keep glancing her way as they go… which ultimately ends up throwing off her own rhythm. She loses the steps for just a second, and that’s enough to throw her off, sending her knocking into Tabitha before plummeting to the floor in a wipe-out.

Yikes. The rest of the girls gasp, averting their eyes -- though some don’t bother to hide their amusement. Yindra is quick to jump back to her feet, trying not to show her embarrassment, though she is helped by Kimmy rushing over from the sidelines to offer a hand (the only one who does).

Tabitha is already arguing they should be able to start over due to Yindra’s mishap, so in this case, her loud personality does them a favor. Sloane shoots Yindra an irritated look, but doesn’t comment.

Humiliated, Yindra apologizes to the panel then takes her place again to start over. Her hands shake as they wait for the music to restart. Five, six, seven --

INT. HOSPITAL - WAITING AREA - DAY

Jack and Lucas have returned, the latter seemingly having gotten enough space to calm down. He’s back in the same chair as before while Jack paces the floor.

They both straighten up when Grace emerges from the double doors, coming to join them. She isn’t sure what to say, so she asks Lucas if he’s all right. He nods. From there, Jack takes up the slack.

Jack: I am terribly sorry if I made things worse. It never occurred to me that… suffice to say, I wasn’t expecting to cause a scene. I wouldn’t have come if I thought that might happen. I’m sorry, Grace, truly. Grace: Please, no. You didn’t do anything wrong.

And yet… here they all are. Silence hangs heavy over them, a common side effect of being on the other side of one of Kenneth’s outbursts.

Jack: Even so, perhaps it would be best for me to keep my distance. While things are…

While there’s still a chance for things to get volcanic. Yeah, maybe so. Lucas would be disappointed, but at this point, he’s just tired. Tired, and resigned. Why shouldn’t Kenneth take away another thing that’s important to him while he still has the chance? While the power is still in his hands?

Although she’s reluctant, Grace agrees that’s probably the wisest move for everybody. Jack nods, then offers Lucas a comforting pat on the shoulder. He allows it -- it’s going to have to last him a while.

Jack: But please, if there’s anything, anything I can do for either of you, don’t hesitate to ask. I’m just a text or phone call away.

Grace smiles lightly, nodding a thank you. There’s never been anything between her and Jack, and there never will be, but it sure would be nice to find a man with his kindness.

Jack says goodbye and heads out, leaving Grace and Lucas alone again. She eyes him uncertainly, not sure how to move forward from that outburst earlier -- he keeps his eyes on the floor, trying to mentally block out everything from the last hour.

Opting for quiet, Grace simply settles back down in the chair next to him, mirroring his solemnity. The clock ticks on…

INT. MALIBU LAKE HOUSE - RECORDING STUDIO - DAY

And becomes a metronome, dutifully ticking back and forth on the coffee table.

The vibes are much more carefree and mellow at the lake house, because the little hit of coke more than did its job. Maya, Melissa, and Justin are enthusiastically discussing the song they just cranked through on their high, declaring it a massive hit before it’s even a fully fleshed out demo.

Melissa settles onto the armchair and plops a bucket of popcorn on the table for them to share, a munchie snack to celebrate their creative victory. First, Justin raises his glass from where he’s reclined on his elbows on the floor, nodding to Maya.

Justin: A toast, to the most badass little money-making honey in this business right now. Melissa: Hear, hear. Maya: Oh, please. You flatter me. [ flipping her hair ] But do say more.

All of them laugh, and Justin continues to sing Maya’s praises. He has plenty to say, mainly about how she somehow has the full package of beauty, brains, and talent, and concludes that all the above is going to make all three of them very, very rich.

Melissa: The whole world is going to know your name, Maya Hart. No doubt about it. Justin: Hear, fucking hear. Maya: Well, good. That’s exactly what I came here for.

Justin whistles, then digs into the popcorn. Maya looks back and forth between the two of them, the buzz from the high making her far more sentimental than normal. She feels way closer to them now than before, with their shared experiences this weekend, and it’s making her weirdly emotional.

In fact, sitting cozy in that studio with the two of them, it almost feels like a memory. Like she’s been here before -- sharing the warm familiarity of fellow creatives who believe she’s got what it takes.

Maya: Can I say something kinda cheesy?

Melissa nods, stating by all means. Justin gestures grandly to her, offering her the floor. The sentiments slip out before Maya can question them, filter not in so-great shape with the coke dust all over it.

Maya: I just want to say like… I’m super grateful to have met you both. That you took a chance on me. [ in a rush ] This whole experience, coming to L.A., has kind of been this whirlwind of hitting walls and slogging through sludge and people not being who you thought they were. And so I’m so like… glad to have your support. And friendship. That you’re in my corner and we’re gonna get this shit done together. That I’m not doing it alone.

Justin pouts, placing his hand on his heart. Melissa aws, reaching out and squeezing Maya’s arm.

Melissa: Girl, you’re adorable. You’re so welcome. Justin: And believe me, babe, we’re grateful for you. Dare I say, we fucking love you.

That’s all Maya wants to hear. She didn’t realize how much she needed it. She grins, laughing in spite of herself, then raises her glass in cheers when Melissa prompts another preemptive toast to their pop successes to come.

INT. MACNAMARA HOME - STUDY - DAY

Even though the problem child is gone -- literally -- it seems the gossip media is continuing to have their field day with the MacNamara story. This is a particularly frustrating development for SYDNEY NGUYEN, who is still tag-teaming with the publicist to battle back click-bait and salacious inquiries left and right. It’s the most overwhelming era she’s ever dealt with in her time as an assistant, and it clearly has her frazzled.

Zachary pops into the study to check on her, bringing a cup of iced tea. She takes it gratefully, immediately taking a sip.

Zachary: I know I can’t say it many more times without it losing meaning, but I truly am sorry. I would never have wished this workload upon you. Sydney: Please. I’m fine. And it’s not like it’s your fault.

Even so. Suffice to say, none of them really expected a welcome to springtime quite like this, did they? Especially given it doesn’t seem likely to ebb any time soon -- least of all while leakers are still on the loose. Sydney sighs.

Sydney: Yeah. I guess I thought it would have died down by now. Zachary: Valerie would’ve never claimed that. She loved the drama, but she had a sixth sense for it, too. She wouldn’t have let us drop our guards. Sydney: Well, she’s not you. [ true enough ] I thought that when Isa left, it would die down. When I told them to go, I -- Zachary: Wait, what?

When she what? Sydney lifts their gaze to look at him, suddenly realizing what she just said. She clears her throat, straightening up.

Sydney: I may have made the suggestion to Isa that it would be wise for them to leave. While all this chaos was going on. Zachary, stunned: … you did what? Sydney: Their presence was creating so much attention. I know how much you dislike that scrutiny. It all started when they showed up, so I just thought -- Zachary: You thought it was a good idea to tell one of my children to leave? To get out of my life? Sydney: They’re not exactly the same. It’s not like Louis, or Milo -- Zachary: That’s damn well not your place to determine. Isa is my family, whether people like it or not. And not ever, ever, would have I agreed that telling them to get out was a good idea!

Zachary has never raised his voice at her like this before. He’s never gotten emotional like this, so she knows she fucked up. Sydney takes the beratement, dipping her head down. She chews the inside of her cheek to keep her cool, blinking back the tears that spring to her eyes.

But Zachary isn’t an anger guy, and the flare up doesn’t last long. It’s not a pleasant experience seeing her get upset either, regardless of how warranted his disappointment might be.

Sydney: I didn’t want you all to keep getting hurt. You’re like -- it’s family to me too.

She wanted to protect him. She thought she was protecting him. Zachary sighs, rubbing his face.

Zachary: I understand where you were coming from. But this is my life. You’re my assistant, not my life coach. These are decisions I have to make for my family. Please do not ever interfere in my personal life like that again.

Sydney nods. After all this, she definitely wasn’t planning on it.

Sydney, soft: I’m sorry. Zachary: I know you are.

In the next moment, Ruby pokes her head in. Her eyes are bright with discovery -- and a hint of urgency.

Ruby: Babe. They found something.

Sydney and Zachary exchange a look, then quickly follow Ruby out of the office.

INT. MACNAMARA HOME - LIVING ROOM - DAY

The three of them rejoin the boys and the PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR they hired, who is running through their findings. Apparently, she’s managed to track down the source of the initial leak.

P.I.: The man in question is a Mister Gregory Schultz. Ruby, pointedly: One of the teachers in Milo’s grade.

Lord knows teachers are severely underpaid and could use a quick buck… not to mention Milo openly said he was telling everyone he knew how excited he was to have a new sibling. Once it’s put out there, the theory makes perfect sense. Zachary curses under his breath, while Sydney shakes her head.

Milo, predictably, is in absolute dismay over this. Tears are streaming down his face.

Milo: It’s my fault! It’s all my fault!

Ruby immediately goes to comfort him, wrapping him in a hug and reassuring him it’s not. Sydney quietly excuses herself, giving the family privacy. The private investigator does offer one silver lining, though -- the call wasn’t coming from inside the house. They can rule out problems within their own unit.

P.I.: So long as you can hold together, in my experience, you’ll be able to weather this until it blows over.

That is, if everyone can come together… Louis drops his head to the floor, sheepish and feeling guilty. Zachary glances at him, but doesn’t comment. Ruby looks to her husband, still hugging her youngest. Now that this mystery is solved…

Ruby: Think it may be time to try reaching out to Isa again?

Zachary contemplates that, holding her gaze.

INT. HOSPITAL - HALLWAY - DAY

After his outburst, a nurse has pulled Lucas and Grace aside in the hall outside Kenneth’s room. She’s taking care to reassure them that this behavior, while jarring, isn’t out of the ordinary with patients who are in deteriorating health. Their emotional and mental faculties aren’t as strong as they once were, and with all the gravity of mortality hanging over them, they may be more prone to outbursts such as what they just witnessed.

Nurse: We know it can be quite alarming to see someone you love behave in a way that is so out of character, so we just wanted to provide you that assurance. It’s entirely normal for mood to fluctuate this way.

Lucas and Grace nod along, keeping their expressions neutral. But on the contrary, they’re not strangers to how violently Kenneth’s mood can change -- the cancer has nothing to do with that.

INT. YACHT - PRIVACY BOOTH - DAY

Yindra has taken refuge in the privacy booth on their break, stealing a slot of time to use the phone and call for back-up. It seems she’s chosen Nigel as the receptacle for dumping her trauma, regaling him with all of the oddities of the trip thus far before spiraling into recounting how she shot her mouth off during the morning session before completely wiping out during dance.

Nigel: I mean, I don’t blame you. That session sounds insane. I would’ve said something too. Yindra: Bitch. No you would not have.  Nigel: You’re right, I wouldn’t have. But I’m chronically and certifiably a wimp. Zay would’ve. Maya would’ve. Those in your rank would’ve asserted themselves too. Yindra: Not when the stakes are this high. Nigel: You’ve only been gone a few weeks. You can’t have already forgotten how sassy Zay is. Besides, maybe that’ll reflect well on you. Yindra: How? Nigel: Shows your personality. That you don’t take shit. That you have integrity. Yindra: All qualities in such high demand out here. I don’t think they want to work with a back-talker. And how does that save my ass from flopping during dance? Nigel: Everyone makes mistakes. Even the best. Yindra: Of which I am not! Nigel: Girl, you gotta chill. What do you want from me? Yindra, desperate: HELP ME!

Nigel raises his hand in surrender. He reminds her to take a deep breath, as that is the first step to stop her from going full panic mode.

Nigel: You are already more than halfway through this thing. You’ve made mistakes, but I bet you’ve made good impressions, too. Everyone there is no better than you. You’re all just giving this your best shot. Yindra: Uh-huh. Nigel: You know you have people in your corner that believe in you -- including the manager who got you there in the first place. This is not the end all be all. And besides, you remember why you’re there, right? Yindra: An exercise in psychological torture? Nigel: To sing. You haven’t done the solo vocal part yet, right? Let’s be honest, that’s all that matters. You can dance, and you’re pretty as they come, but no one can sing like you. That’s what you were made for. Just give yourself the chance to show them that, and they’ll see.

Everything else is just a footnote. Yindra nods, taking a deep breath and letting Nigel’s soft pep talk work its magic. She nods along and then thanks him.

Yindra: And sorry I yelled at you from a yacht in the middle of the Pacific three-thousand miles away. Nigel: All good. I figure that’s probably just the rest of our lives at this point.

In any case, she just has to get through a couple more days. She can do it. And if she ends up on the ledge -- or suppose in this case, the yacht rail -- again, they’re all only a phone call away.

With that, there’s nothing more to say but good luck.

Nigel: Just keep your head held high. You know we’re all rooting for you.

That she does. Whatever happens, she’s lucky to have a family of sorts in her corner -- regardless of how quirky and dysfunctional it may be at times. She inhales a deep breath, nodding.

INT. BABINEAUX HOME - KITCHEN - NIGHT

The same conceit carries over to Zay’s conversation with Riley, who he’s catching up with briefly on the phone. She’s given him the update on everything going on with Lucas, which is a lot to juggle on top of her show commitments.

Even so, she wanted to make sure she had the chance to wish him the best of luck before his audition. Zay thanks her.

Zay: And look… I mean, if there’s anything I can do. You know, for Lucas -- for y’all. Just hit me up.

He may have his moments, and Lucas isn’t his favorite person, but same metric applies. They’re family, in some weird, convoluted way.

Once they hang up, OMAR BABINEAUX enters the kitchen to start cooking dinner. He admits he’s surprised to even see Zay hanging around -- he figured with the audition right around the corner, he’d be off getting every second of practice in he could.

Zay: Well, I’m trying to not run myself into the ground this time. So I’m making a concerted effort not to throw myself into chaos right before the big day. Omar: Wow. How mature of you. Look at that, I guess you just might be growing up after all.

Ha ha ha. Zay rolls his eyes. In all seriousness, though, Omar in his understated, quiet way, takes the opportunity to ask Zay how he’s feeling about the whole thing. Does he feel ready for it?

Zay: To be honest, I think I’m numb at this point. I don’t really feel much of anything. Which I guess is better than abject terror, so I’ll take it. Omar: I know how hard you’ve worked for this. All the effort you’ve put in this semester. [ a beat ] I just hope you recognize that regardless of what happens, your mom and I are damn proud of you. You know that? Whether you’re dancing at that school or on Broadway or even just in our garage, that doesn’t matter to me. You’ve made me proud a thousand times over.

Zay did know that. He’s fortunate enough to have never had to doubt that, to have always had two parents committed to his success and there to prop him up no matter what ambition he was chasing that day or what secrets he was not-so-skillfully hiding from them. He knows, all too well, just how lucky he is.

Still, it’s nice to hear it. He smiles lightly.

Zay: Yeah. Thanks, dad.

Omar mirrors the smile, reaching over and giving him a pat on the shoulder.

INT. JOHNSON HOME - VANESSA’S BEDROOM - NIGHT

Vanessa doesn’t have nearly the same support at home… but that doesn’t mean she’s entirely on her own. She comes back into her room from the shower, comfortable robe on, only to discover she’s received a couple of texts in her absence.

One from Nigel, the other from Riley. Both of them extending good luck wishes for tomorrow, even though there’s zero likelihood they aren’t rooting for Zay to get a spot. Offering good vibes and reassurances, even though there’s absolutely no reason for them to do so. They gain nothing from the kindness. They’re hardly friends without Zay as the buffer between them.

Or maybe not. Maybe she did leave enough of an impression on her own to win their affections. Maybe there is more to their budding friendships than just being the girlfriend.

No way to know for sure, unless and until that label changes, and that possibility seems more and more prevalent these days. But the messages make Vanessa grow warm in spite of the skepticism.

INT. YACHT - YINDRA’S ROOM - DAY

Already exhausted with the day even with Nigel’s pep talk, Yindra is more than ready to crash the moment she steps inside her room.

She doesn’t get that luxury. Instead, she finds Heather curled up on the floor against the base of her bed, hyperventilating. In fact, barely that -- at first glance, it sounds like she’s choking, like she isn’t breathing at all.

Yindra: Oh my God. Heather?

Yindra drops down to her knees in front of her roommate, trying to figure out what’s wrong. Heather is almost unresponsive at first, simply shaking her head and keeping her arms locked tight around her knees. Yindra tries to get her to speak, to tell her what’s going on, but it’s like the power of speech has left her.

Until it hasn’t. Suddenly, Heather snaps and ducks her head into her knees, letting out a strangled scream. Yindra jumps, startled, backing off a bit.

Heather: I can’t do it. I can’t do this. I can’t. I can’t -- Yindra: Yes, you can. Heather, you’ve done great so far -- Heather: No! No! I can’t! I can’t!

Yindra is at a total loss for what to do. She tells Heather she’s going to get help, leaving her with her head tucked into her knees.

This isn’t just audition stress. This is something different -- like a full-on nervous breakdown.

INT. HOSPITAL - INNER HALLWAY - NIGHT

Grace and Lucas are both hanging just outside Kenneth’s room, debating whether or not to go in and say goodnight. He seems to have calmed somewhat throughout the early evening, and he seemed downright exhausted, so it might just be disturbing him. The nurses are in there with him now, so supposedly, they’ll give them the best opinion.

Any illusions of Kenneth being peacefully at rest are thrown out the window a second later, when there’s a loud clatter from the other side of the door.

Kenneth: Ow! Jesus, what kind of nurse are you? You call that nursing?

Uh-oh. Grace and Lucas exchange a wide-eyed look.

INT. HOSPITAL - KENNETH’S ROOM - NIGHT

They dash into the room moments later, in time to bear witness to Kenneth throwing a full-on, adult temper tantrum. It’s kind of impressive he even has the energy for it, given his decline, but it seems the exhaustion and anger at the situation have coalesced into the perfect irritant cocktail. He doesn’t have the bandwidth to even pretend to be charming anymore, verbally sparring with the nurses and patience level basically below zero.

The nurse he first yelled at picks up the materials they dropped and flees the room in an instant, cheeks flushed and eyes glossy. The other, more experienced nurse hangs around and tries to calm him, but it doesn’t seem to be doing much good. He is in hysterics now, and it’s manifesting as aggression.

Lucas can only stare, stunned to see his father acting this way in public, but Grace isn’t fazed. She does what the nurse can’t, brave enough to step into the fray and encourage Kenneth to calm down. He’s just as volatile with her, but she’s a veteran at this point.

The nurse claims she’s going to request sedation to calm him, stepping out of the room. Lucas watches them go, not thrilled with the idea of being left alone without supervision -- not that that seems to make any difference anymore.

Grace remains solely focused on Kenneth. Trying to keep him from doing any additional damage, to himself or anything else. She reaches out to hold him steady and he slaps her hand away without a second thought, but she isn’t deterred. Even as he wriggles away, she locks her arms around his shoulders and holds him in a tight embrace.

Grace: Kenneth. Stop. Stop fighting. Please.

For some bizarre reason -- when it’s sure never made a difference before -- her words work. It’s like all the fire just zaps out of him, leaving nothing but the pure debilitation of his failing body in its place.

Then, Kenneth starts to sob. Wretched, full-body sobs, the last expression of despair from a dying man who doesn’t have the fight in him anymore. The fight that kept him going, that kept him in control, for as long as he can remember.

Kenneth: I don’t wanna die. I don’t wanna die. Grace: Shh. I know. I know. Kenneth: I don’t -- [ in agony ] I’m not ready to die.

Lucas is frozen in place, unable to look away. Unable to process that his father, the six-foot brute who always commanded a room and never, ever showed weakness, has been reduced to this. Crying in the arms of the woman he claimed he loved but was incapable of loving right, letting her carry his emotional baggage right up to the end.

It doesn’t feel real. This isn’t real. Dissociative and numb, Lucas forces himself to look away and exits the room, desperate to be anywhere but here.

Grace continues to comfort Kenneth, gently shushing him and rocking them lightly as Riley’s fragile vocals float in…

INT. NYU - THEATER - NIGHT

Song Cue ♫ ♪ “With You” as performed by Ghost: The Musical Original Cast Recording || Performed by Riley Matthews

Riley is in the midst of another performance, just getting into one of her first big emotional ballads of the night. And it’s in that light, from that perspective, that her casting in the leading role suddenly makes perfect sense. She’s talented regardless, but it’s the relentlessly evocative ability to emote through song that equipped Riley for this role.

She finishes the first verse and chorus under the spotlights of the NYU stage, eyes shimmering, then as the piano line descends --

INT. IMAGINATION SPACE - AUDITORIUM - NIGHT

We’re back in that pseudo-Adams stage, only this time it’s Riley front and center. The rest of the ensemble are still on their acting blocks, but they stay cast in shadow -- no harmonizing this time around. Riley’s block is obviously empty, but the front and center one next to hers also continues to remain unoccupied. Her new signature look is a flowy high-low but simple dress, over which she’s wearing an oversized (and perhaps vaguely familiar) black flannel shirt.

The performance continues intercut between the two stages, her vocals building in intensity as she rails into the bridge. And when she dives in, damn, does she deliver. If anyone had any doubts about her earning the role, hopefully this performance will prove them wrong.

Riley is even more compelling in the faux stage than the real one, because there’s no acting going on here. The performances in this space are raw, unfiltered, and Riley adheres to that challenge without question. It’s remarkable, given there’s not necessarily any real lived experience she’s pulling from to channel it. She’s never lost a loved one to a botched robbery -- she’s never yet had to fathom losing someone to the point of no return.

But maybe it doesn’t take living it to express it. Perhaps, the sheer fear of it is enough.

I can't comprehend this and pretend that I don't care Any place I wanna be I wanna see you there

When she finishes the last note of the bridge, the screen temporarily goes dark, allowing her wish to echo in the emptiness.

INT. NYU - THEATER - NIGHT

When the lights come back up, it’s with NYU Riley first, delivering the first of the last two lines in the song with teary eyes and delicate vibrato.

INT. IMAGINATION SPACE - AUDITORIUM - NIGHT

And the same when Riley lets out the final line on the other stage, voice a breath away from cracking. Behind her, that front and center acting block remains hauntingly vacant.

You took my world with you…

INT. HOSPITAL - KENNETH’S ROOM - NIGHT

As the piano notes gently conclude the performance, we’re back with Grace. Eyes glossy with unshed tears of her own, still holding Kenneth close as he tires himself out.

INT. HOSPITAL - INNER HALLWAY - NIGHT

Lucas is wandering aimlessly, frantically moving through the hospital with no set destination. He just knows he has to get away. Far, far away.

He’s not having an easy time of it, though. He’s perpetually in the way, trying to duck away from doctors and nurses who aren’t paying him any attention, and he feels a little unsteady on his feet. His chest hurts, that same way as before, the last time he ended up in a hospital against his wishes.

He’s gonna be sick. Oh, he’s gonna be sick. He stumbles through another set of double doors --

INT. HOSPITAL - HALLWAY - NIGHT

And somehow makes it out into the halls of the greater hospital, which in theory would somehow lead back to the waiting area if he had any idea where he was. In this case, he gets lucky, because he unsteadily marches through a corridor just as Asher arrives at the other end, arriving for his turn at keeping him company.

Asher: Lucas?

Lucas doesn’t answer him. He keeps walking, going nowhere, but his legs aren’t working right. They betray him, going weak and making his head spin. He stumbles and hits the wall.

Asher is on the move in an instant. He sprints down the hall the rest of the way to catch up to him, sliding to a stop at his side and grabbing his arm to hold him steady.

Asher: Hey. Hey, hey, hey. What’s -- ? Lucas: I -- I can’t --

Lucas shakes his head, still losing grip. He can’t breathe. He can’t breathe.

His limbs give way and he slips down along the wall, collapsing into a sitting position. Asher drops down with him without a second thought, gripping his knees and trying to ground him. Trying to get him to talk to him. But Lucas doesn’t have words right now -- he barely has air. He’s hyperventilating, unable to catch his breath.

Panic attack. Major panic attack. Asher knows it all too well.

Asher: Lucas. Lucas, look at me. It’s okay. You’re okay. Lucas --

Asher reaches up and takes Lucas’s face in his hands, lifting his head so he’ll look at him. He does, still panting, green eyes wide.

Asher: Look at me, okay? We’re gonna breathe. Lucas: I can’t -- Asher: Yes, you can. Breathe with me, okay? Nice and slow. Breathe in…

Asher demonstrates, Lucas shakily following his lead. He has him breathe in, then hold it, holding up one of his hands to countdown the seconds with his fingers. Then they exhale, fragile as Lucas’s might be.

Asher: Good. Again. Okay? In…

This time, Lucas does it alone, but Asher nods along, counting out loud this time. Then out. One, two, three, in… one, two, three, out…

The two of them stay like that, counting their breaths, Asher right by his side. Not going anywhere. As long as it takes.

One, two, three, in…

END OF PART 1.

[ ← Last (Part 1, half 1) ] [ 410 Hub ] [ Next (Part 2, half 1) → ]

[demcnsinmymind]

The big ole Friedkin's cult after 1948 lore post

Buckle up folks, my brain came up with more convoluted cliché stuff!

So, yay! As if my possession timeline/lore page wasn't long enough already, my brain decided to come up with even more stuff for Friedkin's cult! Don't mind the fact that Friedkin had a total screentime of maybe 5-10 minutes throughout both movies where we only saw him sacrifice babies and ram icepicks into people's brains without much explanation.

BUT WHO CARES! I'LL ADD EVEN MORE CLICHÉ'S TO THAT AND MAKE IT EVEN MORE COMPLICATED!

Anyway, to recap what I've come up with so far, based on and inspired by canon:

Friedkin ran a cult inside Collingwood in the 40s, one that was looking to turn a human being (experimented with and selected from the wide pool of helpless patients inside the hospital) into a suitable host for the ghost of Friedkin's son, who killed himself while trapped at the frontlines of world war II. All thanks to Friedkin's experiments with a wide range of occult scriptures, his cult ended up bringing their 'idols' into our realm instead of Friedkin's son, namely L/ovecraft's Nyarlalothep "the crawling chaos" and messenger of the outer god Azathoth, which tagged along, too. Accompanied by a whole truckload of other demons, ghosts and creepy things that slipped right through the tear Friedkin created within the building.

It all came to a climax when Lance was dragged through the hole all that mess tore into the building and into 1948, and he in return got possessed by Nyarly first, followed by Azathoth right after Lance helped kill Friedkin along with other patients and then burned the building to the ground. In a nutshell, 1948 was a paradoxical mess and the origin of everything and long story short, that paradox + Azathoth expelled Lance right out of that messy past and back to 2016. I'm terrible at summarizing that lore page but here we go. The detailed page makes more sense than this short paragraph, I swear. Anyway, I never really thought things further for said cult until now, but today is the day folks, and I'm having a ball.

The cult - 1948 until 2016

So get this: not all members of Friedkin's cult were dragged through the time mumbo-jumbo, killed and distorted the second Nyarly and Azzy were drawn inside Collingwood by their experiments and rituals. In fact, some of the nurses/orderlies who had participated in the rituals and experiments weren't even on duty when the whole loop started/ended/crashed. So even with Lance and the patients getting their sweet and bloody revenge on the cult after weeks/months/years of abuse and Collingwood going down in flames - Friedkin's cult slash the cult of Azathoth didn't entirely vanish or cease to exist after August 1948. Quite the opposite, it went on and on for many centuries.

Picture it like cults akin to the one in the awesome podcast Archive 81 or cool movies like "The Ritual" from 2017 or the freaky Midsommar stuff. Or hell, even your typical real life religions and cults. The teachings and beliefs were passed on amongst family and friends of the ones who survived. Hell, some of Friedkin's staff and cult members were in their early to mid 20s in 1948 and are around 95~ish in 2016 and still alive. And with all the chaos that happened in 1948, Friedkin's death a day after their most promising ritual was supposed to take place, the fire right after? They knew their ritual had been successful and that their cult was far from done and defeated.

They were well connected within Ryerson Valley. They got their hands on the investigation notes. They knew the description of the man who supposedly started the fire and burned down their workplace and ritual grounds. They knew Lance was Friedkin's pet project and with him missing post August 16th 1948 and not showing up again, remembering all his talk about the future, the 2000s, time being messed up and all, they knew through all this chaos and strangeness that he would turn up again. In the future. Just like he talked about. They just had to wait for their little possessed success story to turn up again.

So they bid their time and faded into obscurity. They kept their eyes on Collingwood. Watched it get built up again. Watched it get closed in the 60s due to it never recovering from Friedkin's reputation, the fire, the stories. They watched the renovation efforts fail in the 80s and 90s. They waited until March 2003 until Lance did turn up again, only the beginning of his loop for him. They knew he was the one. They watched and let him and his team step foot inside the building. They didn't stop him. They didn't warn him. They didn't let any of them see them. They knew he had to step inside and vanish one more time for them - to end up in their past. And once he was gone, once police turned up again to start their investigation into the disappearance of a film crew, they stood and they watched and they waited some more. Days. Weeks. 9 months, the amount of time Lance had spent with them in 1948. And then some more.

Original cult members started dying, a few every other year, but they never stopped believing, until they reached 2016. In August, there were rumors of the elders sensing the presence of Azathoth within their realm once more. He was back. The host. The one. This time at the end of his loop and down along the linear progression of their living time. Lance Preston, discovered by Kenny the caretaker, brought in to be examined and taken care of at Danvers state hospital.

Now in charge of the cult of Azathoth from Ryerson Valley, Maryland is a 33 year old woman named Andromeda Peterson, granddaughter of one of the original members of Friedkin's cult. Coming from a long line of psychiatric nurses, she happens to work not just at Danvers', but is also the head of the CPH (short for Collingwood Psychiatric Hospital) historical society - which happens to be more than interested in Lance. Stating his curious case and disappearance inside the hospital they've been trying to preserve as the main driving force behind their interest.

Short IRL interlude. Andromeda's FC is Han/nah E/mily Ande/rson in C/ollin M/inihan's movie "What Keeps You Alive". Fun fact - CM is one half of the Vicious bros aka the dudes who wrote GE! So I'm kinda staying within that universe haha. HEA was fantastic in that movie, holy moly. I am absolutely stealing some of her mannerisms from that movie for Andromeda. I mean check it (she's the one with long red hair)

The cult post 2016 in my main possessed!verse.

Anyway, back to the cult shenigans. Previously, I hadn't really mapped out yet who Lance killed because I loved that he killed someone in canon but hated the second movie and refuse most of it as canon for my depiction of him. But now I got it figured out!

So as stated in my previous lore and bio stuff, Lance was institutionalized at Danver's state hospital after he turned back up in his 'normal' timeline again, and it took him a bit to adjust until something kicked him into action and made him flee from the hospital and investigation into him - thus getting him back outside and ready for his main post-canon verse where he's possessed by Azzy.

But now I got a neat idea and it shall be my new headcanon.

Members of Friedkin's cult/the cult of Azathoth catch wind of him turning back up and being at Danvers and thus it turning back up again, so they're more than eager to get a hold of him so they can further their chaotic fuckery of unleashing Azathoth/chaos/the end times and what not. And since Andromeda as well as a few other members of said cult are working at Danvers, they naturally start turning up right on his doorstep to 'take care of him', 'interview' him about Collingwood, take his record for their 'historical society'.

Basically an expansion of this scene that was cut from the movie but I'M KEEPING IT SUE ME

All thanks to some of the questions being weird, having Azathoth inside his brain as well as the familiarity of Andromeda's methods of gaslighting and just generally being fake and shady as fuck for a nurse (just like Friedkin and the 1948s nurse squad), it doesn't take Lance long to figure out that the cult still exists even in his time and is still interested in keeping their whole stick up of trying to fully unleash Azathoth and wreck hell. Maybe to turn Danver's hospital into a next purgatory like Collingwood (because he also learns, from Azathoth, that the torturing and experimenting on patients is still going on even at Danvers, though more selectively, smarter, and covert), maybe to fuck their entire existence, whatever it is, Lance soon catches on to their fuckery.

And naturally, he freaks. He runs from them. And while trying to do so, he ends up killing someone, the cameraman, a med student and actual genuine member of the historical society, who doesn't actually know about the cult and is in it for the urban legend and history of the place, is fairly naive/somewhat dumb and has been talked into recording the 'sessions' for Andromeda (the guy is basically headcanon pendant to canon Trevor from the second film). So on his way out of Danvers and away from the cult, Lance finds himself forced to kill someone in the freakout to stop them from filming and gaslighting him, and next to breaking out of a psychiatric hospital, has to be on the run from the police and investigators because he's now also wanted for murder.

Andromeda survives his defensive freakout along with the rest of the cult that wasn't there when it happened (again) - so with Lance on the run now, she and thus they are on the hunt for him just like the police, to get their hands on his body as a vessel and Azathoth as their deity and bringer of doom.

Funnily enough though, Azathoth has no interest in their cult and them whatsoever, since they already gave it everything that it needs - Lance, a vessel to parade it around places. It doesn't care for worship or any structures and whatnot, and will be more than happy to kill members of the cult if they get too close. Because unlike it, they want Lance - his consciousness and soul basically- dead and entirely gone so their vessel reaches its full potential for everything they're crazy about , but Azathoth is having none of it because it wants to keep Lance just the way he is. Alive and miserable, and playing on its team sort of.

I'll be flashing their interests and goals out a bit more one of these days and I might integrate her as the head of said cult in modern times a bit more too but here we go, that's all I got for today.

[forthosebefore]

Cathay Williams, first African-American woman to serve in the U.S. Army

November 15, 1866: Cathay Williams became the first African American woman to serve in the U.S. Army, and the only woman to serve in the U.S. Army as a Buffalo Soldier.

Williams was born to an enslaved mother and a free father in Independence, Missouri in 1844. At 17 years old, Williams first served as an Army cook and a washerwoman. During this time, African Americans who had been captured were forced to serve in military support as contraband for Union forces. Williams enlisted in the U.S. Regular Army under the false name “William Cathay” on November 15, 1866. She was assigned to the 38th U.S. infantry Regiment, one of the all-black regiments recently established, that would become part of the renown Buffalo Soldiers. The Army did not require full medical exams at the time, so she was able to pass as a man.

When Williams began to feel the effects of smallpox and was hospitalized, it was discovered that she was actually a woman. Lewis was honorably discharged by her commanding officer, Captain Charles E. Clarke, on October 14, 1868. Following her discharge, Williams went to work as a cook at Fort Union, New Mexico, and later moved to Pueblo, Colorado. Around 1889 or 1890, Williams entered a hospital and applied for disability pension based on her medical service. Her request was denied. In 1893, a doctor’s examination revealed that Willaims suffered from neuralgia and diabetes. She had all her toes amputated and walked with a crutch. The doctor determined that she did not qualify for disability payments. While the exact date of her death is unknown, it is believed that Williams died shortly after she was denied.

Williams’ interview that was published in the St. Louis Daily Times on January 2, 1876:

"My Father a was a freeman, but my mother a slave, belonging to William Johnson, a wealthy farmer who lived at the time I was born near Independence, Jackson county, Missouri. While I was a small girl my master and family moved to Jefferson City. My master died there and when the war broke out and the United States soldiers came to Jefferson City they took me and other colored folks with them to Little Rock. Col. Benton of the 13th army corps was the officer that carried us off. I did not want to go. He wanted me to cook for the officers, but I had always been a house girl and did not know how to cook. I learned to cook after going to Little Rock and was with the army at The Battle of Pea Ridge. Afterwards the command moved over various portions of Arkansas and Louisiana. I saw the soldiers burn lots of cotton and was at Shreveport when the rebel gunboats were captured and burned on Red River. We afterwards went to New Orleans, then by way of the Gulf to Savannah Georgia, then to Macon and other places in the South. Finally I was sent to Washington City and at the time Gen. Sheridan made his raids in the Shenandoah valley I was cook and washwoman for his staff I was sent from Virginia to some place in Iowa and afterwards to Jefferson Barracks, where I remained some time. You will see by this paper that on the 15th day of November 1866 I enlisted in the United States army at St. Louis, in the Thirty-eighth United States Infantry Company A, Capt. Charles E. Clarke commanding. Captain Charles E. Clarke in the Civil War 6th Infantry at the Battle of Baton Rouge. "The regiment I joined wore the Zouave uniform and only two persons, a cousin and a particular friend, members of the regiment, knew that I was a woman. They never 'blowed' on me. They were partly the cause of my joining the army. Another reason was I wanted to make my own living and not be dependent on relations or friends. Soon after I joined the army, I was taken with the small-pox and was sick at a hospital across the river from St. Louis, but as soon as I got well I joined my company in New Mexico. I was as that paper says, I was never put in the guard house, no bayonet was ever put to my back. I carried my musket and did guard and other duties while in the army, but finally I got tired and wanted to get off. I played sick, complained of pains in my side, and rheumatism in my knees. The post surgeon found out I was a woman and I got my discharge. The men all wanted to get rid of me after they found out I was a woman. Some of them acted real bad to me. After leaving the army I went to Pueblo, Colorado, where I made money by cooking and washing. I got married while there, but my husband was no account. He stole my watch and chain, a hundred dollars in money and my team of horses and wagon. I had him arrested and put in jail, and then I came here. I like this town. I know all the good people here, and I expect to get rich yet. I have not got my land warrant. I thought I would wait till the railroad came and then take my land near the depot. Grant owns all this land around here, and it won't cost me anything. I shall never live in the states again. You see I've got a good sewing machine and I get washing to do and clothes to make. I want to get along and not be a burden to my friends or relatives."

Leticia Wright stars in the 2023 film Surrounded. Her character, Moses “Mo” Washington, was modeled after the Cathay Williams. I’m also seeing a bit of Stagecoach Mary in Wright’s character.

Source: Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture Facebook, National Park Service, YouTube

Visit www.attawellsummer.com/forthosebefore to learn more about Black history and read new blog posts first.

Need a freelance graphic designer or illustrator? Send me an email.

[papersniffer]

I was casually talking to two LGBTQIA+ teenagers (17 & 18) and I mentioned the name Matthew Shepard and they asked…Who is that? I was shocked and saddened by this. Please click the poll below honestly before searching up his name. A small snippet is waiting below the read line after you click. If you don't know Matthew's story and you have HBOMax or heck even Youtube…take some time to know him and his story.

Matthew Wayne Shepard (December 1, 1976 – October 12, 1998) was a gay American student at the University of Wyoming who was beaten, tortured, and left to die near Laramie on the night of October 6, 1998. He was taken by rescuers to Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado, where he died six days later from severe head injuries received during the attack. Suspects Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson were arrested shortly after the attack and charged with first-degree murder following Shepard's death. Both are serving consecutive life sentences. Aaron (who had beaten Matt) was supposed to get the Death Penalty but Matthew's parents asked for him to only get life in prison. Matt's dad told Aaron at the sentencing:

"I would like nothing better than to see you die, Mr. McKinney. However, this is the time to begin the healing process. To show mercy to someone who refused to show any mercy.

"Mr. McKinney, I'm going to grant you life, as hard as it is for me to do so, because of Matthew. Every time you celebrate Christmas, a birthday or the Fourth of July, remember that Matthew isn't. Every time that you wake up in that prison cell, remember that you had the opportunity and the ability to stop your actions that night. You robbed me of something very precious, and I will never forgive you for that."

I had also heard that the character of Justin Taylor on Queer as Folk was based on Matthew. AND that the reason they gave his love interest the last name of Kinney was so that Aaron's last name would now be associated with Gay Love.

[todaysdocument]

Clippings from the Tulsa Tribune about the Tulsa Race Massacre, 6/5/1921. 

These come from the Red Cross report about the disaster. Find more photos, stats, and other information at the link.

Series: Central Decimal Files, 1881 - 1982

Collection: Records of the American National Red Cross, 1881 - 2008

Transcription:

TULSA TRIBUNE, JUNE 5th., 1921

[newspaper article]

Principal Negro Business Section and Church Swept by Riot Flames

[handwritten] June 5 [/handwritten]

[4 photos]

Upper left and lower right pictures: Tower of destroyed Mt. Zion Baptist church and ruins of church proper. Guardsmen declare negro snipers kept up an incessant fire from the tower until the church was fired. Other negroes with arms were barricaded in the church, whites claimed.

Upper right: East side of Greenwood avenue looking north from Archer street. This block formed the principal negro business district.

Lower left: West side of Greenwood avenue, looking north from Archer street. Third high building was the plant of the Tulsa Star, where the negroes are said to have congregated with arms just before their sally to the court house.

[page 2]

[newspaper articles]

First Fires in Wake of Fighting Were Close to Business District

[photo of fire]

[Caption: This picture shows the first series of fires which followed the rioting Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. It was taken from the top of the Daniel building shortly after the torch had been plied to the blocks of homes and business houses owned by negroes on Boston and Cincinnati avenues, north of the Frisco traiks. The arrow hangs over the spot where there was brisk fighting between the b(illegible) and whites, in the vicinity of the Frisco depot. The first place to be burned was here. White forces applied the torch to a house in which a number of negroes were barricaded. Several negroes were reported shot as rushed from this house.

'GIVE AT ONCE' AVERY'S PLEA TO SAVE CITY

FUND TOTAL IS LESS THAN $3,000; SIX FIGURES NEEDED

Approximately $9,000 had been turned into the coffers of the Public Welfare Fund for relief and reconstruction among sufferers in the burned area at the last accounting yesterday. Subscriptions were not being received in the number which the board must receive them if the immense work of feeding and housing several thousand homeless negroes is to go on unhampered, Cyrus S. Avery, treasurer of the board, declared.

"We can only apply to every citizen to make a generous subscription without delay," said Mr. Avery last night. "These funds are not needed for any sentimental purpose or for pampering or favoring anybody. They are absolutely necessary for buying food and shelter and plain necessities of life for about 5,000 negroes now ch(illegible)ges on this city.

"The Public Welfare Board has not yet defintely outlined its policy of finance and contribution payments, but there is no doubt about the money being needed badly in large amounts for temporary relief alone. And whatever plan is adopted. We shall have to have not hundreds of dollars but hundreds of thousands of dollars before this restoration work is complete, even in the most primary sense. All donations are carefully recorded, and if there should be any surplus, the amount will be prorated and returned. But at present there is only one thought in front of us--get the job done that is right before (illegible) and pay for it."

Avery stated that about 500 negroes still are camping in the concentration center at the free fair grounds, where meals are now being prepared under their own direction. Scores of colored folks are back in their own neighborhood living in tents, however, for the Red Cross erected a tent city near the Booker T. Washington school late yesterday to afford housing and relieve the congestion at the fairgrounds.

4 MORE BLACKS DEAD, TOTAL OF KNOWN DEAD 31

TWO BODIES ARE RECOVERED IN RUINS OF BUILDINGS ON GREENWOOD AV.

Late last night Major Paul R. Brown forwarded a formal report to Brig. Gen. Barrett at Oklahoma City fixing the total number of dead at 36, 10 whites and 26 negroes. The report lists as slightly wounded, 63 whites, 166 negroes; severely wounded 16 whites, 72 negroes.

These figures fixing the total number of dead are at variance with the death list compiled by The Tribune as shown in the following story.

The known death list of race riot victims was increased to 31 yesterday with the uncovering of the charred remains of two negroes in the ruins of the business buildings on North Greenwood avenue.

Ten white men and boys lost their lives in the riot and the most accurate list of negro dead obtainable until today was 18. Fifteen of these bodies were taken to the Stanley-McCune and three to Mowbray's morgue. Mowbrays reported last night that four negroes had been burried by them and that today the body of another negro was brought in burned beyond recognition. Another body similarly burned was taken to Stanley-McCunes. None of the negro undertakers have opened their establishments since Tuesday night when the riot broke.

With the discovery of these two bodies city authorities considered it highly probable that the bodies of other victims might be discovered in the ruins of the negro hotels and business buildings.

11 Whites in Hospitals

A negro named George Hawkins dies at the Cinnabar hospital Saturday but it was said there there he was brought here unconscious from Red Fork and died from natural causes and not from injuries or wounds received in the riot.

Eleven white persons injured in the riot, are still being taken care of in the local hospitals. Mrs. S. A. Gilmore, 225 E. King St., is the most seriously injured. She was shot several times in the arm and side. The others are in a less serious condition.

At the Cinnabar hospital 47 negroes were being taken care of last night nearly all of whom were wounded in the riot. About half of these are considered to be in a serious condition. Friday 72 negroes were being taken care of there but a number were discharged and others went to the homes of their friends and relatives.

ALL TRAINS OUT OF CITY JAMMED WITH REFUGEES

HUNDREDS OF NEGROES BUY ONE-WAY TICKETS OUT OF TULSA AGENTS SAY

A general exodus of negroes from the city has taken place since the rioting ceased Wednesday. All local passenger stations have bene crowded with negroes buying one-way tickets out of the city. An approximate estimate was made last night that between 1,000 and 1,500 of them have left in the last three days.

They have been purchasing tickets for every city from New York to San Francisco at the Frisco and Santa Fe offices, railway officials announced. The Katy and Midland Valley offices have sold a (illegible) number of tickets for Musk(illegible) and McAlester. Guthrie also has been a favorite among those who have decided to leave Tulsa.

More than five times as many negroes have left Tulsa in the last four days than at nay other one period in the history of the city, the information clerk at the Frisco station said.

However all of the negroes who left Tulsa did not leave by way of the railway stations as has been indicated by reports from surrounding towns of hundreds of blacks fleeing in all directions. The general exodus really began Tuesday night and became more spirited the faster the bullets flew Wednesday morning.

Last night when the last Midland Valley train left for Muskogee negroes were fairly handing out of the windows. Cars reserved for negroes were jammed to the platforms.

[page 2]

TULSA TRIBUNE, JUNE 5th., 1921

[newspaper article]

Principal Negro Business Section and Church Swept by Riot Flames

[handwritten] June 5 [/handwritten]

[4 photos]

Upper left and lower right pictures: Tower of destroyed Mt. Zion Baptist church and ruins of church proper. Guardsmen declare negro snipers kept up an incessant fire from the tower until the church was fired. Other negroes with arms were barricaded in the church, whites claimed.

Upper right: East side of Greenwood avenue looking north from Archer street. This block formed the principal negro business district.

Lower left: West side of Greenwood avenue, looking north from Archer street. Third high building was the plant of the Tulsa Star, where the negroes are said to have congregated with arms just before their sally to the court house.

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 294: A Half-Assed Escape

Previously on BnHA: Mirio was all “SURPRISE I’M BACK THANKS TO OUR RESIDENT SEVEN-YEAR-OLD WHO RECENTLY EARNED HER BACHELOR’S OF BEING A TOTAL BADASS.” Kacchan was all, “you know what, Dabi’s been trending long enough, time to remind the fandom what a real G looks like,” and he blasted his little bleeding body back into the fray and was all “FROM HERE ON OUT CALL ME DYNAMIGHT!!” Mirio was all, “AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA... oh, you’re serious,” and Kacchan was all “!!”, and so that’s the story of how my son got murdered twice in one day. Meanwhile in the Todoroki Drama Zone, Deku was all “STOP MURDERING MY FRIEND” and Dabi was all “THAT’S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS” and fandom had a whole big debate about Whether Or Not Dabi Trying To Murder Deku’s Friends And Mentors Is Any Of Deku’s Business, which went exactly how you think it went. Anyway, so then Deku yelled at Dabi, and Endeavor was all moved by his manly words and randomly went to go uppercut Machia in the chin. And, seeing as how the Momoserum finally chose that exact moment to kick in, Machia is now down for the count.

Today on BnHA: The Miriosquad handles the Nearly High End Noumus, freeing up Jeanist to jasphyxiate (okay that one doesn’t really work so well) the rest of the League. Compress is all “TIME FOR THIS MILD-MANNERED SIDE CHARACTER VILLAIN TO SHINE”, except that by “shine” what he actually means is “use his quirk to punch a literal hole right through his own ass to free himself.” The rest of the chapter is basically just a back and forth between him and Jeanist, with Jeanist trying to recapture him, and Compress repeatedly thwarting him by chopping more holes out of himself because HE’S FRESH OUT OF FUCKS, AND THE ONES AT THE STORE ARE ALL SOLD OUT, MOTHERFUCKERS. Anyway, so with Compress basically dying and all, Horikoshi is all “you know what that means”, and delivers a freshly-baked villain flashback revealing that Compress is a descendant of Harima Ouji, a.k.a. the Peerless Thief, a.k.a. some famous guy whom Gentle mentioned this one time for like two seconds back in the day. The chapter ends with Compress finally demasking himself and dumping Tomura back onto the ground, a.k.a. The Worst Possible Place For Tomura To Be. ( •﹏•)

WHY IS CRUST HERE YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD

-- OH WAIT, SHIT. OH

AIZAWAAAA you’re alive and receiving medical help thank GOD. HOW MANY EYES DO YOU HAVE. AND MIRKO!! HOW MANY LIMBS DO YOU HAVE, OMG

so is this Aizawa dreaming about Crust’s final moments, then?? jesus. with All Due Respect to Crust’s memory, does Aizawa not already have enough misplaced guilt on his conscience as it is?? “nope, we’re gonna keep piling it on. that’s all he is now. three limbs, an indeterminate number of eyes, sexy hair, and Guilt” well shit

motherfucker y’all really out here placing an oxygen mask on Gran Torino’s corpse. fucking shounen characters. each one comes with a lifetime warranty

DAMN YOU HORIKOSHI WHY DO YOU KEEP SHOWING THESE CLOSE-UPS OF HAWKS’S UNCONSCIOUS FACE ALL WHUMPED OUT AND EXHAUSTED. HOW MUCH MORE OF THIS ARE WE GOING TO GET. ARE YOU PLANNING ON KILLING ME WITH THE UPCOMING CONVALESCENCE ARC, BECAUSE IF SO, AT LEAST HAVE THE DECENCY TO TELL ME AHEAD OF TIME SO I CAN MAKE A WILL

for a moment I considered going back and checking my previous recaps to count how many times I’ve already made a joke about Dabi’s fire incinerating Hawks’s wings but not touching so much as a hair on his five o’clock shadow, so that I could calculate whether or not I could possibly get away with making that same joke one more time. but then I realized I could just do it in this kind of roundabout way I’m doing right now instead. so there you have it

FFFFFFFMT LADY AND MIDNIGHT NOOOOO

PLEASE BE ALIVE. PLEASE RESPECT THE SIGN ON THE FRONT OF THE BUILDING. THE ONE THAT SAYS “NO LADY CHARACTERS ALLOWED TO DIE”, WITH THE FINE PRINT AT THE BOTTOM “AT LEAST NOT UNTIL HORIKOSHI GIVES US LIKE TWENTY-SIX MORE OF THEM FIRST IF THAT’S THE WAY HE WANTS TO PLAY IT.” IT’S A GOOD SIGN, PLEASE RESPECT ITS WISHES!!

so anyway though, Jeanist is giving a speech about how god knows how many people all worked together to bring Machia down. and now RHA is getting in on those fabric puns too, I see. “A SINGLE STRAND MAY BE THIN BUT TOGETHER THEY FORM A STRONG ROPE” oh so you think you guys are funny eh? I’m a frayed knot

MEANWHILE EXCUSE ME BUT WHY ARE YOU FUCKING CRYING BLOOD, HOLY SHIT

fffffff. so much for him taking over as the Number One once all this is over. so let’s just recap real quick, because Horikoshi has long since made it clear that one of his plot goals for this arc is to wipe out every single member of the Billboard Top Ten. so how we doin?

Endeavor - was just figuratively eviscerated in front of the entire nation by his homicidal zombiepunk son. also burnt half to death and possibly down a lung. will almost certainly be forced to retire after this one way or the other

Hawks - lying prettily in a medical tent. wings status: gone. hair status: still perfect

Jeanist - WELL I THOUGHT HE WAS FINE BUT APPARENTLY HE’S OUT HERE DYING, JESUS CHRIST

Edgeshot - MIA, last seen fighting Re-Destro. I really want him to have kicked RD’s ass because fuck that guy, but realistically they probably fought to a draw at best

Mirko - alive but in critical condition and missing something like 1.5 limbs

Crust - dead, currently haunting Aizawa’s traumatized dreams. now he’s gonna be triggered the rest of his life by people giving him the thumbs up, THANKS A LOT

Kamui Woods - was set on fire which is His Weakness. thoughts and prayers

Wash - last seen floating hospital patients to safety as Tomura’s wave of decay descended towards him. probably dead ffff

Old Man Samurai - haven’t seen this fucker in a hot minute, who even knows where he’s wandered off to

Ryuukyuu - currently being treated for her wounds, looked pretty bad off. but it’s hard to tell how hurt she is since most of the injuries were acquired in her transformed state. SHE BETTER GET WELL SOON

anyways, so yeah. so much for the top ten. guess that’s another reason Horikoshi brought Mirio back now, huh

so there’s a big panel of everyone fighting the Noumu while Machia lies there all “blurgh.” good riddance my dude. it took like twenty chapters and a hundred people to stop this guy so I really fucking hope he stays down. you’ve had your fun

anyway so Jeanist is sending another steel thread towards Dabi! and he’s all “just a bit more!!” fklklj this is gonna go real well isn’t it

meanwhile Mirio’s fighting a Nearly High End with all of these weird rock formations jutting out of its skin. go on and kick his ass then, Mirio

“each of these guys is probably just as strong as the Noumu from Kyuushuu” hold on I thought Ujiko or Tomura or someone said that wasn’t the case? not that Mirio would know I suppose. anyways let’s just hope he’s wrong cuz if not these kids are probably screwed

kLSDKFHLSKHGLKLK OH MY GODDDD

IIDA FUCKING TENYA YOU’RE A PEACH. THINKS THE NAME IS OUTRAGEOUS, CHECK. USES IT ANYWAY, CHECK. “JUST BECAUSE I DON’T UNDERSTAND DOESN’T MEAN I CAN’T BE SUPPORTIVE.” WHAT A CLASS ACT

AND KACCHAN IS RESPONDING WITH AS MUCH DIGNITY AS HE CAN MUSTER

WOW, SON. IT’S ALMOST AS THOUGH YOU HAVE A HOLE IN YOUR TORSO, OR SOMETHING!! although listen up, real talk, the fact that Kacchan of all people can’t muster the energy to yell at someone questioning his ability to kick ass is HIGHKEY troubling and we may be in need of an intervention here soon :/

now Jeanist is finally turning his attention to the League! was... was it not already on the League. omg

ACTUAL SCREAMING AHHHHHH FUCK FUCKLK LK AHHLKHKFFFF

hey so um. what the actual fucked up hell. my soul left my body. imagine if you saw the reflection of this panel on your bedroom window. you would never sleep again

OKAY RHA TRANSLATORS ARE YOU HAVING YOURSELF A LAUGH AGAIN

THIS CANNOT BE WHAT HE’S ACTUALLY SAYING RIGHT. BUT IT’S RIGHT IN THAT UNCANNY VALLEY OF NOT BEING QUITE SURE, THOUGH... (　ﾟдﾟ)

(ETA: just a next-day clarification here, apparently my sleep-deprived ADHD word-skipping brain completely skipped right over the “a” in that last panel, so what I read was, “and Shigaraki’s limp noodle.” so yeah, the moral of this story is always read the speech bubble carefully before you start making running jokes throughout the rest of your post, folks.)

oh wow he’s really freaking out lmao

to be fair though, I’d argue that Dabi has gotten pre-tty close at this point :’) thrilled for him, really I am

but anyway, well then figure something out you big dramatic robot-armed fiend. didn’t you just say you could touch your own ass? can you not just Compress yourself to break free?? does it not work on you? or would you be stuck afterwards lol

(ETA: I was picturing him compressing his entire body at once, not just chunks of it. ghhhlkh.)

um

holy shit Jeanist. are you stupidly trying to cut off their air, or are you going for more of a sleeper hold (jleeper hold??) thing instead. the latter would be way smarter and faster and probably safer as well just saying

but unless Spinner is just being super dramatic, it sure looks like he’s fucking strangling them djslkjlk. this will certainly cement his popularity among the villain stans. good thing you’re not running for office any time soon bud

anyway so I have no idea what these guys are trying to do now. what is this

do you even have till the count of 5 at this rate. I mean

OH MY GOODNESS

HE’S REALLY FUCKING DOING IT!! HE’S COMPRESSING HIS BUTT!! OMFG. TOMURA HIDE YOUR NOODLE!!!

WHAT THE FUCK

DID YOU COMPRESS A PIECE OF YOUR OWN ASS. FUCKING WHAT. PUT THIS MAN’S PICTURE IN THE DICTIONARY NEXT TO THE WORD “LOYALTY”, HOLY CRAP

HOLY SHIT COMPRESS

“HOLY SHIT DID THAT GUY JUST PUNCH A HOLE THROUGH HIS OWN ASS IN ORDER TO SAVE HIS VILLAIN PALS. FUCK IT, HE DESERVES TO ESCAPE”

jeez, talk about... A HALF-ASSED ESCAPE ATTEMPT :D :D :D hahaha. but real talk though, Horikoshi has clearly never tried to leap twelve feet straight up in the air multiple times in succession with only half his glutes though. everyone, I regret to inform you that this panel right here on the left may be slightly unrealistic

also where the hell is he going to go?? did you pack a jetpack away in one of those little marbles sir. and what about Dabi?? and Skeptic too, I guess, but we don’t really care about Skeptic

(ETA: at this point I had to stop reading for about two hours because I had to go out and take care of something; that’s also why this is being posted later than usual lol. anyways so where were we.)

oh my lord

the existence of a translator’s note here implies that the earlier line about Compress being able to reach Tomura’s junk was not, in fact, ad-libbed. hmm. hmmmmmmmm

anyway so now he’s grabbing Compress again because OF COURSE HE IS, so now we’re right back to square one! except now Tomura and Spinner are secured inside of little marbles, and presumably Compress is the only one who can release them

oh nevermind he’s just maiming himself again instead, SHEESH

Skeptic a man is dying please have some goddamn respect

so, uh. is he gonna die, though??

I really can’t tell wtf is going on here, this is the most confusing the art has been in a while. Horikoshi put all of his spoons into that creepyass close-up panel earlier, that bastard

OMG WHAT ARE YOU SERIOUS

DON’T FUCKING TELL ME THE “COMPRESS IS RELATED TO THIS THIEF GUY FROM OLDEN TIMES” THEORY IS ACTUALLY TRUE WHAAAAAAT. OH SHIT

so apparently Harima was a Robin Hood type guy who stole from... heroes?? wtf. are heroes the 1% in this scenario. y’all didn’t have any Fortune 500 CEOs to steal from?

THAT’S THE BLOOD THAT FLOWS THROUGH YOU, OH SHIT. and in a related oh shit, the fact that we are getting a Compress flashback now of all times doesn’t bode super well for him. ffff

MEANWHILE THE TODOROKIS ARE STILL TODOROKI-ING

listen here boy if you touch one freaking hair on Shouto’s candy cane head I swear to god --

WHAT DID I FUCKING SAY!!!

SHOUTO NOOOOOO. WTF YOU’RE LITERALLY THE ONE GUY WHOSE WEAKNESS IS ABSOLUTELY NOT SUPPOSED TO BE FIRE. DABI YOU SHIT, YOU BETTER WATCH YOURSELF!! I’M PRINTING OUT A COPY OF THAT COMPRESS PANEL!!! KEEP AN EYE OUT ON THAT BEDROOM WINDOW YOU PUNK!!!

SO NOW POOR SHOUTO IS UNCONSCIOUS AND FALLING!! SOMEONE SAVE HIM!! WHO CATCHES THE CATCHER

COMPRESS LITERALLY HOW ARE YOU STILL ALIVE RIGHT NOW, WHAT IS HAPPENING

PLEASE DON’T CALL TOMURA LEADER OF THE “PLF” YOU KNOW I CAN’T TAKE IT SERIOUSLY WHEN YOU DO THAT. ARE YOU DYING. ARE YOU JUST A FUCKING HEAD NOW WTF

(ETA: “masks are removable, makeste” you know what it’s been a long day okay lmao. or I suppose Compress is really the one who is lmao.)

GASPPPPPP

okay. okay. looooool okay then

WHY WERE YOU COVERING THIS SEXY MOP OF HAIR UNDER THAT HOOD YOU TOOL. IT WOULD HAVE LOOKED SO GOOD WITH THE TOP HAT. I’M SO MAD AT YOU RIGHT NOW

as if it wasn’t enough for him to demask himself, he also had to get all shirtless and then do this weird attempt at a sexypose too huh

hard to say exactly how much of his torso is currently missing, but safe to say that’s proooooooobably not good. :///// fuck

on the other hand, Kacchan also has a torso hole and he’s still flying around like he just drank a dozen red bulls, so

this man lost his ass and he’s still out here monologuing like it’s the last two minutes of The Prestige. one might say he is monologuing his ass off

so he let Spinner and Tomura free, but is Dabi still trapped in his marble?? wasn’t he all on fire and stuff?? hopefully he can still turn off his quirk in there because if not that’s a pretty fucked up way to die. somewhere out there Snatch’s ghost is all “YEAH I’LL SAY.” oh how the turntables

last but not least, sooooooo. Tomura. back on the ground. that’s. um. ...shiiiiiiiit

[pinkmangafish]

Happily Ever After ....

Rating: G - but with natural death 

Fandom: Psycho Pass - Shinkane Week 2021

Canon Characters: Akane Tsunemori, Shinya Kogami, Nobuchika Ginoza, Yayoi Kunizuka, Kei Mikhail Ignatov

Year: 2186

It was snowing lightly, the snowflakes carried away by the gentle breeze leaving only a scattering of white on the ground. The small group of people standing on top of the hill had their heads bowed, but not against the wind. They held each other as they wept. A tiny, frail-looking woman stepped forward out of the shelter of the others and stood at the edge where the hill dropped away. Snowflakes fell on her white hair and disappeared. She paid them no notice. Her attention was on the simple wooden box in her hands. Taking in a deep breath she lifted the lid and took out the bag of ashes. “It is time.” she said and raised the open bag so the wind could catch them. More weeping, but not from her. She stood motionless watching the breeze carry away the physical remains of Shinya Kogami. Then, when she was certain that he was gone, she returned the bag to the box and closed the lid.

She stayed where she was, looking down over the valley now covered in snow, lost in thought. Her eyes moved over the small town to the hills and mountains that surrounded it and the memories that lay within.

The people behind here began to drift away down the hill. It was no matter; she would see them later.

Slow, unsteady footsteps approached her. “Hello, Gino.”

“Akane.” He stopped beside her. “Do you mind if I ask why now? It has been over a year since he died.”

She turned and looked up at him. Old, white haired, wrinkled she might be, but her eyes were the same he had always known, large and honest. “Oh, I don’t know, … it just felt like it was time, Gino.” She took one more look out over the valley. “I’m getting cold and we, my old friend, are too old to be standing here. Let’s join the others.”***

 *****

“Mother, we were getting worried about you!”

 Akane smiled, “Now why would you do something as silly as that, Yua? Come on, we are hungry, what is there to eat?”

Yua stared at her mother, a smile slowing breaking over her face. She was tall and slender, but her eyes were unmistakably Akane Tsunemori’s. “Right, food it is. There is a pot ready for noodles if …”

 “Do you need to ask?” laughed Akane.

The kitchen was noisy, warm and very crowded. A large battered wooden table was covered with plates of food and pots of tea. People were eating and talking, sitting wherever there was a space. Three teenaged boys were leaning against a wall covered in photos. The plates they held were stacked high and they were eating ferociously. A tall middle-aged man stood up when he saw her. “Sit here, Mother,” he said as he perched himself on the kitchen counter next to his three sons. 

“Ah, thank you, Ashai. Can we make room for Gino, too?” Akane sighed a little as she sat down.

“Here Gino-san, sit here.” Sara, Ashai’s wife, got up and moved to sit next to her husband.

“Mother, are you really okay?” asked Yua quietly. She held a bowl of ramen out to Akane, but she did not let go of it as her eyes searched her mother’s face.

 Akane sighed softly.

 “What? What’s the matter, mother?”

 “Nothing, Yua. Just at times like this you are exactly like your father.”

Yua’s expression relaxed and looked sad. “I know, I’m sorry.”

Akane laughed, “So like him.” She put her hand on her daughter’s arm. “It makes me happy, you know? But if you really want to make me happy, can I please have that bowl of soup you are holding?”

From across the table, Yayoi smiled. “Some things never change. Akane Tsunemori and her noodles.”

“You forgot the lemonade candies,” laughed Kei as he passed her a plate of sandwiches. “Do you remember? Her desk was always covered in their wrappers.”

 “So I like a candy now and then, so what? Now let me eat.”

 Akane settled into her chair and watched her family and friends as she ate. It had been a while since there had been a gathering like this. There weren’t so many of them now from the days when they had worked for the Sibyl System. Thinking back to the times when they had been colleagues, she knew that none of them could have imagined this reality, this present, this now. Life was so different and she was so very thankful for that. And if there were fewer of her old friends, their absence was softened by all their children and grandchildren. And great-grandchildren. Her granddaughter, Hana, had just given birth to her first child. Even Gino had grandchildren of his own. Who would have ever thought any of that would come to pass?

“Ginoza a family man? Not me.” A deep chuckle in her ears.

 “Hush now,” whispered Akane.

 “Sorry, Akane, what did you say?”

She looked up at her son-in-law. “Oh, nothing Reo, just muttering to myself.”

The doorbell rang and was followed by a noisy commotion in the hall. The kitchen door slammed opened as a young boy ran through and headed for Gino. “Granpa! I’m here! Mama dropped me off coz I wanted to come now! Granny and the others are coming later, though. Oh! Sandwiches! Can I have some?”

Gino sighed, “Alex, manners, please.” But he passed the boy his plate.

The door opened again to admit Ashai. “Okay, folks, grab your plates and glasses and let’s move next door. It’s a bit too crowded in here. I’ve lit the fire in the living room, so let’s all get a bit more comfortable.” 

Her son held out his hand and Akane’s heart did a little pitter patter of grief. While her daughter had much of Shinya’s personality, it was Ashai who had his father’s unruly hair and watchful eyes. He looked so like Shinya at times that it hurt her to look.

“Akane …” a whisper.

Akane patted her son’s arm. “You all go ahead. I want to have a chat with Yayoi. We’ll be in in a bit.”

“Tea, Yayoi?” she asked looking into a teapot.

“Please.”

Akane poured two cups of tea and set them and herself down next to her old friend.

“How are you, Akane?” Yayoi asked.

Akane sighed and sipped her tea. She did not pretend to misunderstand. “It is hard. Every day is hard. But I try to focus on what I do have - Yua and Ashai and their families, and you, and Gino, and Kei. I promised Shinya to live a good life after he went.”

“Shion made me promise something like that too” Yayoi nodded in understanding. “For a while there were times when I could hardly breathe from missing her.” Yayoi rested her head against Akane’s. “… when I didn’t want to breathe.”

Akane sighed, “Yes, that is how it is. I’ve had days like that. But … I talk to Shinya. All the time, in fact. It helps.”

“But it isn’t enough ….?”

Akane stared at the cup in her hand. When she looked up, her eyes were full of tears. “No, it isn’t. How could it be? Shinya and Shion were our everything.”

“Ohhh, Akane Tsunemori …. hush now.”

“You were and always will be …”

Akane paused. Then, hugging Yayoi, she said, “Tell me how everyone is doing.” She listened as Yayoi talked about her and Shion’s children and grandchildren. Things were good. They were all happy, doing well, her grandson was graduating soon so she was planning a visit to Tokyo. Yayoi’s voice brightened at the telling and her grief, familiar from the years, dropped away.  Shion had passed away more than ten years ago. A sudden death in her sleep, just like Shinya’s. It is so much harder to accept a sudden death, Akane thought, but I am also so grateful that he did not suffer.

 “Not as much as I am, love ….” A low chuckle.

“Mother,” Yua poked her head round the door looking excited. “Takashi, Hana and the baby have arrived. Come and meet your great-grandchild.”

“What? They’re here? But I thought Hana was only getting out of hospital today?” exclaimed Akane.

Yua beamed smugly. “They’ve come straight from the hospital. Reo just went and got them. Takashi and Hana wanted it to be a surprise. Come on, you have to meet little Akahana. She is just the cutest thing ever! Oh! I can’t believe I am a grandmother!”

Standing in the doorway to the living room, Akane watched as her granddaughter and her husband proudly showed off their first child.

“Reminds me of when Yua was born. Remember, Shinya? Everyone came here to visit us …”

“I remember. I remember everything.”

Reo looked up and saw her standing there. “Akane, come and meet Akahana.”

“Alex, let GG Akane sit down, please.” Gino said pushing his grandson off the sofa.

She allowed them to sit her down next to the fire and eagerly held her hands out for little Akahana. Hana and Takashi sat on the floor beside her unable to take their eyes from their daughter. Staring into the sleeping baby’s face, Akane felt the years roll back to that time when she had first held Yua. Where had all those years gone? She stroked Akahana’s face marveling at the sight of her wrinkled hands against the baby’s perfect skin.

She looked up and her eyes wandered over the people and the room around her. Shinya had insisted they moved here as soon as they knew she was expecting Yua. In some ways, it was like they had lived two lives, this one and the one under the Sibyl System. Here they had made a home and a family. The house was simple, but it was home. The large windows gave them a view of the valley, well, it did when it was not snowing. The few flakes of earlier had become a steady snowfall and she could see nothing but the outline of the dojo and the trees next to the house. Shinya had insisted on building the dojo himself … and fixing up the house. Though the outcomes were not always successful.

 “Hey! I thought I did a good job.”

“Well, the floorboards in the hall have always squeaked, and …”

“... I’m sorry about the floor.”

“Don’t be. It is part of what makes it home. Our home.” 

She relinquished Akahana to her parents and sighed contentedly at her family. 

“Are you okay?” asked Gino sitting down next to her. She could see Masaoka in the lines of his face and his eyes.

“Yes. I’m fine. More than fine. I’m happy.” She turned to look at him with that serious, candid look he knew so well. “Gino, dear friend, how did we get to be this lucky?”

He laughed, “You are asking me, Akane? If anyone is to take credit, then it is you.”

“For once I agree with Ginoza …”

The sound of a car pulling up to the house made him pause. “I think that is probably Yui and Chiyo. I’ll go let them in.” Gino pushed himself slowly and carefully to his feet.

Akane smiled at Gino’s back. Love had found him late. He had followed them here a few years after they had moved, as had Shion and Yayoi, and then Kei and Maiko, the quiet valley town becoming something of a refuge. No one was more surprised than Gino when he fell in love at fifty. Yui was sixteen years younger than him and infused his life with a youth and happiness he had never known. He adored her and their children, who were now grown adults with their own children. She and Shinya had delighted in watching this new Gino, but there was still enough of the old Gino in him to occasionally spat with Shinya.

The living room was the largest room in the house. It had to be. There were books everywhere. On the shelves. On the tables. In piles on the surprisingly large number of sofas, pushed together haphazardly, that Shinya had collected over the years. At first, Akane had tried to dissuade him from buying almost every sofa he saw, but, especially in those early years, there were few times she saw him spontaneously excited and so she had relented and accepted that there was to be a never-ending flow of sofas in and out of their home.

“Shall I remind you of all the other times you saw me spontaneously excited?”

“Quiet!”

Gino came back pushing his wife in her wheelchair. A pretty, dark-eyed girl followed them in and waved cheerfully to Akane, “Hello Great-gran, how are you?”

“I’m fine, thank you, Chiyo. You go on and talk to the boys.” Akane smiled at the girl. At eighteen she was so adult at times. And she was fierce. Oh, my, was she fierce. Akane wondered if this is how Gino would have been if his life had been different back then.

          “Are you saying that Ginoza was fierce, Tsunemori?”

         “I’m saying that he was damaged. We all were, Shinya.”

         “Yes, Akane, we were, but not so much you, if I recall.”

Chiyo looked up from where the boys were sorting out who was playing what. “GG, can we use the dojo later today? I haven’t had a good practice session since the weekend.”  

She loved martial arts and spent a lot of her free time in the dojo. In fact, all of the grandchildren did, even Kei and Maiko’s when they came to stay. And everyone called her Great-gran or GG. There was no standing on ceremony in the Kogami household.  

Yui came over and kissed her cheek. “I’m sorry, Akane, I would have liked to have been there for the scattering of Shinya’s ashes, but well, you know, snow and all” she glanced down at her wheelchair. “Gino told me it was lovely and just right. I’m so glad the snow waited, but my, is it ever coming down now. I wasn’t sure if we were going to make it here or if we were going to have to call Reo for a tow up the hill. Hey, Sara, don’t let my grandkids get in the way.” This to Akane’s daughter-in-law as she came in bearing a tray of sodas for the younger ones.

Akane’s daughter-in-law laughed at them from across the room where she was trying to bring some order to the holo game. “You know, Yui, I think you are right. Okay, kids, come on. Yes, you too, Alex. Don’t you have some practicing to do? Grab a drink and get out there. The heating is on, so the dojo should be warm enough by now.”

Chiyo bounced to her feet with a whoop. Any of the boys who might have preferred to stay inside playing the holo game were far too much in awe of her to say so. With a couple of reluctant backward glances at the game console, they all filed out after her.

As the front door closed behind the children, the adults heaved a sigh of relief. “Right, I think it is time for some more tea, don’t you?” said Yua. “Sara, care to give me a hand?”

Akane watched her daughter and her daughter-in-law as they left the room. One so tall and slender, like her father, and the other shorter and plump. They were so different in many ways, but Yua had adopted Sara as the sister she had never had from the moment Ashai had introduced them, and if he and Reo were not quite brothers, they were good friends. She looked over at where they were chatting with Yayoi. She saw her friend’s face light up and wandered what they were talking about. But no matter, it was enough to see her expression.

It was still early, thought Akane. Though the snow made it feel like late afternoon, it could only be just after lunch. They had eaten as soon as they got in from scattering Kogami’s ashes to recover from the chill of the snow and that of their loss. Food is eaten after a funeral to bring the living together and to remind the grieving that they are not alone.

“Feeling a little philosophical?” ….

“Oh, Shinya, I do miss you.” Akane sighed softly.

 “Shush, it won’t be long now, love.”

The tea and coffee arrived. Sara handed Akane a cup of coffee. She sat holding it close to her face, just breathing in the smell.

“Is it too hot for you?”

She smiled and patted the space next to her, “No dear, it is perfect. The smell just reminds me of him, you know?”

Sara sat down beside her, tears welling up. “I know. It is always the little things, isn’t it? Every time I see a pack of Spinels in a store, or smell coffee, or see a real book, I think of Shinya.”

“But the memories are good, aren’t they?” asked Akane stroking Sara’s hair.

“Yes, they are good. But I do miss him terribly. I mean, he wasn’t my father, but in all the important ways, he was. As you are my second mother. If something was worrying me, he had a way of, of … making me laugh at whatever it was. I don’t mean that he was being unkind, he … it was his way of saying I was worrying for nothing. And knowing what you went through, well, it probably was silly. Oh, Akane, I don’t know how you bare it. I really don’t,” she sniffed and groped around for a tissue.

“At times, honestly, I don’t. He broke my heart several times before we were able to be together and now, after sixty years, he has once again,” admitted Akane.

         “….. I’m sorry.”

         “You’ll make it up to me.”

         “Oh, I will...,”

“But then there are times when I feel as if he was still here. And the rest of the time, I have all of you,” she looked round the room. Gino caught her eye and was about to say something to her when Alex, who had snuck into the room, threw himself on top of his grandfather with a huge howl of glee. “Aren’t you supposed to be practicing your muay thai?” Gino demanded. He managed to keep his expression stern for all of ten seconds. Then he put Alex into a lock, gave an Evil Laugh and began tickling his grandson. Alex’s shrieks filled the room until a patient Yui said, “Gino, please, some of us are trying to talk here.”

Not only had Gino fallen in love with Yui, but in doing so he had learned to laugh. And laugh he did. Often for no reason. He once Akane that there were times he could not help himself and had no desire to. He had lived half a life of loss and grief. Borne the humiliation of his father becoming a latent criminal when he was still only a child. Seen too many comrades die and struggled to make sense of working within a cruel and, often, arbitrarily fickle system. He had come to terms with himself after his father’s death, but he had never looked for happiness. Yui had swept all that away. It had been love at first sight for both of them and happy, content, easy-going Yui had filled his life with … life. The Ginoza household was never quiet. There were constant comings and goings. Children and then grandchildren running wild with the dogs and cats and all sorts. People had very quickly discovered that if there was an injured animal that needed caring for, then Gino was their man. Seeing him now, rolling around the sofa with his grandson, both laughing and gasping for breath, Akane thought there was nothing left of the old enforcer. And that was a very good thing.

The front door slammed as it was opened too quickly and the hall was filled with running footsteps. Haru burst through the living room door closely followed by Chiyo with tears running down her face.

“Wh ….?” gasped Gino.

“GG! GG!” Haru gasped. “Tell me it isn’t true!”

“It is! I tell you!” Chiyo was laughing so hard she was almost doubled over.

Akane eyed her eldest grandson warily, “What is or isn’t true, Haru?”

By this time, her other two grandsons, Kenzo and Ryu, had joined their brother.

“That you shot Gramps in the back!”

“What?! exclaimed a startled Takashi and a rather more amused Sara.

“Chiyo says that when GG met Gramps, she shot him in the back.” Haro said to the assembled adults.

“Yes, well, I only used the paralyzer on him.” Akane shot back.

Chiyo was literally dancing. “I told you she did! I told you she did! GG rocks!”

“But why did you shoot him, GG? I mean, you loved him, right?” asked Ryu, always the serious one.

“Well, it was my first day on the job. I had only just met him. I wasn’t in love with him yet,” protested Akane.

         “You weren’t? You wound me, Tsunemori.”

         “Wretch!”

“First day! She’d been on the job less than an hour,” Gino cut in.

 “Please, tell us the story, GG, pleeeease,” begged Kenzo.

          “Huh! This should be interesting …”

“Okay, but Gino and Yayoi were there too, so they’ll help as well,” Akane glanced at her two friends. She began to tell the story of when she had joined the MWPSB and how she had met Kogami and the rest of the team. If Gino was worried that she would paint him in a bad light, as certainly his behavior back then warranted, he did not show it, but, of course, she didn’t. Between the three of them, they explained how the dominators worked and what inspectors and enforcers did.

“So you had no control over what the dominator would do?” asked Chiyo appalled.

“Yes and no. The dominator would register the perp’s crime coefficient and the Sibyl System would decide whether to use the paralyzer mode or the lethal decomposer mode. However, it was up to you to pull the actual trigger. So in that respect, you did have some say,” explained Gino.

“Unless you were an enforcer,” interjected Yayoi. “In which case, you were under orders from the inspectors. Honestly, we didn’t really think about it.”

“It’s not like that now, is it, Cousin Takashi?” asked Ryu.

Takashi was a detective for the local police force. He laughed, “It most certainly isn’t. I was still a small child when the Sibyl System came to an end, thank god. Now we carry guns, and we’re trained how to make decisions.”  

“Was Gramps mad at you for shooting him?” asked Chiyo?

“Not the first two times,” said Yayoi delighting in the shocked expressions on their faces.

“You shot Dad twice, mum? Wait, more than twice?” Ashai glanced at Yayoi who nodded and held up 3 fingers.

“Damn! GG, I knew you were badass, but three times?” blurted out Kenzo. Then, “Sorry, mum! I know, language.”

         “Tell them. They need to know.”

         “But they are still so young. Alex is only eight.”

         “Kagari was five when he was put into an isolation center.”

“The second time she shot Shinya was to save his life,” said Gino stepping in. His expression had darkened with the memory. He glanced over at Alex, but he seemed to be engrossed in the holo game. “We were chasing a very dangerous man …”

“Makashima,” breathed Yayoi and Akane together, their eyes meeting.

“… he had caused many deaths. We had caught him once and he had managed to escape. Your grandfather was obs … was desperate to catch him, but he wasn’t thinking straight. Because of that, he had been taken off the case by the Chief.”

By now everyone had drawn closer to listen. Chiyo and the three boys were suddenly aware that this was a serious talk. They were being treated as adults and they became very still.

“I take it you all know what the Sibyl System was?” asked Akane.

“Wasn’t it a sort of A.I. collective using human brains as a hive-mind,” asked Kenzo.

“That is a pretty good description,” nodded Gino. “Well, the…, for want of a better expression, the human face of the Sibyl System was Chief Kasei. You need to understand that at the time we did not know she was a cyborg.”

“And we did not know about the hive-mind, either,” added Kei.

“True,” said Gino. “I tried to swap Kogami into a different unit knowing that he’d give them the slip and find Makashima. But the Chief caught us,” he nodded at Akane, “in the act. She ordered me to shoot Shinya. With his crime coefficient, the dominator should have just gone into paralyzer mode, but the Chief did something to mine and it set to lethal. But Tsunemori shot Kogami in the leg with her dominator first. Because the Sibyl System hadn’t tampered with hers, it was set to paralyzer. That was one of the worst moments of my life.” Gino looked drained and sat back. Chiyo moved to sit next to him and Yui reached out to hold his hand. 

         “Not to mention mine. You saved me …”

Reo leaned forward to address Chiyo and the boys, “You need to know this stuff. You won’t learn everything today. We’d be here for months, in fact. But it is important that you understand that many people were manipulated into doing things they would never have chosen to do.”

“So you really did save Gramps’ life? But what happened afterwards. Why didn’t the System try to kill him later?” asked Haru. 

Akane shifted in her chair. She glanced at Gino and he nodded. “Well, we don’t know for certain, but it seems like that the brain that was in the Chief Kasei cyborg had made that decision by itself. Normally, the System took collective decisions, but when the Chief was disconnected from the hive-mind or Collective, it could make its own decisions. I can only guess that the Collective countermanded the order to kill Shinya once the Chief had reconnected to it. Anyway, he managed to escape as soon as he came to with the help of Masaoka and Shion.” She smiled gently at Yayoi. 

“Masaoka? Wasn’t he your father, Granddad?” asked Chiyo.

Gino was quiet so Akane continued, “Yes, he was. He was one of our enforcers. Your grandfather and I were the inspectors and Tomomi Masaoka, Shinya, Yayoi and Shusei Kagari were our enforcers. Shion was the department’s analyst. I’m not going to tell you how we caught up to Makashima. It’s a long story, but it was thanks to Shinya. While trying to capture him, Gino’s father was killed and Gino was badly injured. That left the chase to Shinya and me as Yayoi was holding down a control center. Then I was hurt, not badly, but enough to stun me, so Shinya went after Makashima alone.” 

Everyone was quiet. Then Hana asked, “And Gramps killed him?”

“Yes, Shinya killed Makashima. If he hadn’t, I believe Makashime would have killed him. Anyway, because he was already a latent criminal that would have put his crime coefficient over the top and he’d have been a target for ….” Akane trailed off. Even now the thought of how close Shinya had come to death left her shaken.

“You mean, the Sibyl System would have killed him for killing a mass murderer?” Kenzo’s eyes were wide.

“Yes, it would have. So he had to run. Fortunately, there was just enough confusion surrounding what had happened that he had time to make his escape. I didn’t even know he’d got away until he called me some weeks later. But I didn’t see him again for more than three years.” Akane trailed off as memories of that time flooded back.

Seeing Akane falter, Yayoi stepped in. “Yes, and when they did meet, she very nearly shot him again.” The mood in the room lightened and there were several giggles and snorts of laughter.

“But if Gramps had had to flee Japan, how … er .. how did he get back?” asked Ryu clearly trying to keep track of events.

Reo answered. “He didn’t. It was at this time that the Sibyl System started experimenting with expanding overseas. Remember, at that time many countries in the world were still in a state of collapse or political chaos. Especially those nearest to Japan. Europe and Africa had already begun to pull themselves out to the mess of the last hundred years, but Asia and the Americas were still behind. Though from what we have managed to discover, the Sibyl System had realized that soon … at least soon in the terms of history, the rest of Asia would stabilize. The security of the Sibyl System depended on the instability of the rest of the world. True, a stable Europe and Africa would not have had an immediate impact on it, but at some point it was inevitable that Asia would pull itself together, at which point, Japan would have felt threatened. Or at least the Sibyl System would have. So, it decided to try outsourcing itself to those regimes that were still unstable, but that with a little help could be stabilized in a form suiting the Sibyl System. In some ways, it is in what your grandparents did then that we can see the beginning of the end of the System.”

Akane gasped, “Reo! Don’t talk rubbish. And you are making Shinya and me out to be like heroes or something.”

“I knew there was a reason I liked our son-in-law.”

“Hush! You no more want to be thought a hero than I do.”

Reo smiled fondly at his mother-in-law. “Akane, I have studied the downfall of the Sibyl System my entire professional life. What you and Shinya did in SEAUn, and what you specifically did in the Shambala Float created a tiny fissure. I’m not saying that the two of you conspired to bring the System down at the point. I am saying that your actions there had consequences which led to some changes in the System. And those in turn made it possible for further changes. Systems don’t suddenly collapse out of nowhere. Even when it appears that way, there are always tiny changes first.”

“Like, like with the wall in 20th century Germany?” interloped Ryu desperately trying to make sense of the conversation.

Reo beamed at his nephew. “Exactly like that.”

“So how did Shinya get back to Japan?” asked Takashi.

“Things were changing, Japan was slowly opening up to the outside world again, and that meant we had all sorts of issues. The head of the Suppressing Action Department or SAD was on a mission in Sino-Tibet and ended up working with Shinya. Frederica had enough pull that she was able to employ him, but so long as he only worked international cases,” explained Gino.

“So, did you shoot Gramps again when you met up?” asked Haru.

Akane laughed, “Haru! Is that all you care about? No, I did not shoot him then. That was later.

          “I’ve often wondered why you didn’t,” low chuckle.

         “You hadn’t committed a crime.”

         “Didn’t stop you before.”

         “Oh!” 

Gino continued, “By this time, I was also working for the SAD. How many of you have heard of Bifrost. Kenzo and Ryu shook their heads. Well, that is a long and complicated story, which I will tell you one day soon. But, in order to solve that case, Akane here, got herself arrested and put in prison. And that is about the time that Kei and his partner, Arata, came on the scene. The end of Bifrost meant that Shizuka Homura became Chief of the MWPSB and things really began to change after that.”

“GG you were in prison?” gasped Chiyo? “Was that part of your plan?”

Akane looked down at her hands. Had it been part of the plan? It was so long ago, and hindsight made it all seem so clear but, “No, it wasn’t exactly a plan. At that time, we were all just trying to do what we thought was possible, going from one stepping-stone to the next. It is not as if we had a specific end goal in sight.”

Kei looked at her thoughtfully, “Really, Akane? You may not have had a clear strategy, but Arata always said that you were pushing things in a definite direction.”

“I know that this is all very important and all that, but what I really want to know is when did you and Gramps actually get together?” Hana asked blushing mightly.

Akane laughed, “Well, I suppose you could say that it started when I got out of prison. He’d been sent to collect me as I was now an enforcer. I told him I was hungry and to take me somewhere to eat. He bought me noodles.”

“He was sent to collect you? Like hell he was!  In the middle of a briefing he stood up and announced that he was going to get you and left. Frederica had to go and clear it with Mika, who, I might add, was not happy about it.” Gino roared with laughed at the memory. “I can’t believe you didn’t know that.”

          “Ohhh, Shinya …”  

“Talking of noodles,” said Sara eyeing her three sons, “Is anyone hungry? I don’t want to break up the story, but I can go make something, if anyone wants.”

To a chorus of “Me! Sandwiches! Noodles!” there was a sudden exodus in the direction of the kitchen.

“Teenagers! Always hungry.” smiled Ashai taking the now empty seat next to Akane. “I swear, Mother, those three boys eat enough for an entire week in an afternoon.”

“You were exactly the same,” Akane laughed. “It was like having bottomless pit with legs and a mouth.”

Yua came over and sat on the arm of the sofa. “Mother, do you remember the time Dad gave Ashai a whole roast chicken to see if he could eat in one go?”

“And I did!” boasted Ashai. “And you were mad at Dad so he went and bought another one.”

“I was not angry with him!” protested Akane weakly.

          “Liar!”

         “Ha!”

“You were, too. You called him Shinya Kogami and you only did that when you were mad at him, but when you called him Kogami, that was different altogether.” laughed Ashai, winking at this sister. “Right, Yua?” 

“And, he would call you Inspector when he was mad at you, but Tsunemori when he was teasing you. You probably didn’t think we realized but we did.” 

“But he would always relent and then he’d just say, ‘Yes, ma’am’. It took me years to work out what he meant by that. In fact, it was only when I was reading one of those old children’s books to Hana that I got it.” Yua turned to her daughter. “You know the one, there was princess and a pirate and instead of saying ‘I love you’, he would say ‘As you wish’!” I suddenly realized that was what Dad had been saying to you all those years. Oh, Mother, please don’t cry. I thought it would make you happy to hear that.”

Yua and Ashai sat down on either side of their mother and hugged her. “It’s okay, Yua, Ashai. I had no idea we had a secret code, or that you’d cracked it. We were so very happy, you know. And he loved you two so much.” Akane rested her head on her daughter’s shoulder and let her tears fall. Tears on a day like this were no bad thing. 

Kenzo came back into the living room. “Food’s ready. Come and get it while it is hot.” And he disappeared back in the direction of the kitchen. Gino shook Alex awake and gradually the room emptied. Yua stayed with her arms around her mother. “Come on, it will do you good to have something hot.”

“In a little while, love. I would like to sit here by myself for a few minutes. That talk brought back so many memories and I want to take a little time to savor them.” Akane leant back in her chair, wiped her eyes and smiled at Yua as she stood up.

“Okay, Mother,” Yua kissed her cheek. “See you in a few minutes.”

Akane took a deep breath and savored the sudden quiet around her. She could hear her family talking and laughing in the kitchen, but the living room was silent. The snow was muffling any sound of the wind and only the crackling of the fire kept her company. As much as she missed Shinya, ached for him, the large extended muddle of families that came and went through this house every day brought her so much happiness. Happiness that sixty years ago she and Shinya had never dared hope that they would have even for a day. Happiness for the future that their children, grandchildren and now great-grandchildren would live free from the oppression of an uncaring and despotic system. The fire was warm and room so peaceful. Surely she could just have a few minutes more.

 ***

 “Akane! Akane! Wake up! It’s time.”

She woke slowly, struggling to shake off the pull of the dream she had been having. “Oh, Shinya, just a few more minutes, please,” she groaned.

“Akane! Wake up! Now, Tsunemori!”

At that she did wake up. There he was, smiling down at her, leaning against the wall by the fire as if they had all the time in the world. And didn’t they? He was wearing his old gray jacket and, oh, her heart fluttered, he looked good.

“Shinya,” she breathed.

 “Akane. …  I’m here to get you.” He paused and looked at his feet. “Sorry.”

 “Still apologizing after all this time, love?”

 He shrugged.

Akane Tsunemori stood up. She glanced back at her body resting so peacefully in the chair. Then she tilted her head back so she could look up at her husband. The smile in his eyes made her heart dance just as it had 60 years ago. She returned his smile.

 “Kogami, take me home.”

 He took her hand gently, “Yes, ma’am.”

[brighter-side-of-the-coin]

Merlin Fic Rec - Halloween Masterlist

In the spirit of the spooky season, here is a (monstrous) list of fics that cover a range of Halloween-themed tropes!

Many of these fics explore darker themes, so please remember to read the tags/archive warnings - stay safe folks!

🎃Horror/Thriller🎃

The Devil's Table by kriadydragon (28k)

Arthur and Gwaine rescue Merlin from the clutches of slave traders only to find themselves trapped in a strange castle whose residents have up and vanished. There's something in the castle that's after them, and to make matters worse, Merlin is already injured and can't use his magic.

The Tomb by kriadydragon (17k)

There's a reason they say the Valley is cursed.

The Wild Hunt by aa_fic

Every year on Samhain, the Wild Hunt terrorises the small Welsh town of Camford. A year after his own father is killed by the Hunt, Arthur is asked to lead a party against it. Merlin Emrys, the ailing recluse who alone escaped the Hunt in the past, may hold the key to Arthur's success in defeating it—or he may be the leader of the Wild Hunt himself. Mystery/suspense, supernatural, Samhain/Halloween, dark romance.

A Dark and Storming Knight by tehfanglyfish (4.9k)

After their horses run off in a torrential downpour, Arthur and Merlin are forced to take shelter in a cold and creepy abandoned house. To make matters worse, Arthur keeps wishing that a sorcerer would show up to light the fire.

The Monster in the Mirror by CaffeinatedFlumadiddle (7.5k)

A strange mirror has made its way into Camelot. With claims of it being enchanted, Arthur is determined to lock it away as soon as possible. However, while knights and lords and servants have all seemed to be shocked and terrified by whatever visions the mirror presented…Merlin doesn’t seem to notice. 

Until he does.

In the Deep, Dark Woods by dante_s_hell  (22k)

Arthur hires a company to provide team building exercises for the employees of Camelot Industries. The urban jungle is more their speed, but they make a go of it, traveling into the woods to bond while communing with Mother Nature. Unfortunately, the trip isn't what they expect and they bond the hard way...by trying to survive.

Tales to Tell in the Dark by mushroomtale, Polomonkey (7.3k)

A Prince stumbles across a beautiful man asleep in a castle...A merman longs for the handsome noble he sees above the waves...One orphan courts another in a town where young men are going missing...Three classic fairytales, given a horror twist.

The House by silence_since_silence (1k)

Merlin is a real estate agent. Arthur buys the two bedroom, one bath, one-level house with the streetlight right out front and just across the road and with the giant rosemary bush that has grown up around the front window like ivy.

🎃Ghosts🎃

Gibraltar May Tumble by shes_gone (24k)

Merlin's life in London is a bit of a mess: his career is trapped somewhere between student and professional, his love life is trapped in a relationship gone sour, and most days he feels physically trapped in the tiny, shared flat he can't afford to move out of—until an unexpected opportunity sends him packing for the coast. There, he meets someone who might be in a even worse fix than he is: Arthur, a Victorian-era sea captain who's trapped, a bit literally, between life and death, and who refuses to leave the house he died in over a hundred years ago.

Lament for the Lost by Clea2011 (21k)

Arthur inherits a crumbling mansion and sets out to restore it to its former glory. But Merlin has been held by a far darker inheritance all his life, and its grip on him tightens when he arrives at Camelot House to work for Arthur.

Resurgam by La_Temperanza (16k)

Merlin can see dead people™, and Arthur's just indirectly invited the entire spirit world. To think, people said this party was going to be boring.

The Ghost of Le Fay House by rotrude (28k)

Lieutenant Arthur Pendragon is wounded in action during the battle of Narvik. Rescued, he's sent to recover in requisitioned manor turned military hospital Le Fay House. His doctor, Merlin Emrys, is new at the job but quite hopeful of doing well... until strange happenings start to plague them both.

The Apartment and Everything That Comes With It by Pendragons Dragonlord (PseudoAuthor) (6k)

The apartment is old. Windows still covered in cobwebs, paint peeling from the walls, the bathroom ceiling covered in mould.

It’s a dump.

It’s perfect.

Apart from the flickering lights.

Nothing Like a Good Ghost Hunt by thecheekydragon (17k)

Merlin and his team are commissioned to investigate the hauntings at the famed Camelot Castle and get more than they bargained for when they find that the paranormal investigation team led by Arthur Pendragon has been commissioned to do the same.

Welcome to Camelot Hotel by schweet_heart (3.9k)

When his Uncle Gaius' old friend needs a favour, Merlin jumps at the chance to rent a flat in the newly refurbished Camelot building at a substantial discount. So what if the previous tenant left in a hurry in the middle of the night? It's not like the place is haunted or anything…

The Washerwoman by schweet_heart (4k)

Her dark eyes held such an aching sorrow that the expression almost stole his breath, and there was something oddly familiar about her, though Merlin was certain he would have remembered if he had seen her before.

Haunted by maarzanna (<1k)

Curious visitors keep turning up at the ruins of Camelot's castle. One of the spirits who haunts the grounds is particularly disgruntled by the disturbances.

Dead And Breakfast by yourrockyspine (4.3k)

After his Mum's demise, Merlin kept her beautifully-maintained B&B up and running.

And though he mostly loves having his mother's ghost nearby, it's some of the other deceased residents that make it exceedingly hard to please his (living) clients.

Flattening by yourrockyspine (2.3k)

A small, fluffy Happy Halloween follow-up to Dead and Breakfast

Arthur takes Merlin to his flat; Morgana's there all ghost-like and obnoxious

The Afterlife by supercalvin (3.1k)

“Hey, what’s your wifi password?” “For the love of God!” Gwen yelled, “Merlin you are dead. You do not need a wifi password.”

🎃Zombies🎃

Land of Ghouls by rotrude (39k)

In a world overrun by flesh-eating ghouls, with the apocalypse as part of his everyday life, smuggler Arthur Pendragon has nothing left to fight for until Finna, the leader of a survivor camp, entrusts him with one life-endangering mission he at first doesn't want to accept: escorting Merlin Emrys, a man who has survived a ghoul bite, to the last medical facility left standing in Great Britain in the hopes he will be key to a cure. Arthur and Merlin start on a quest that could cost them their lives or save mankind.

All the Dead Are Here by Footloose (46k)

There's not much outside Arthur's purview -- eventually, all creatures fall to the Reaper's scythe. It's never personal. It's just his job.

That was true until Arthur ran into the only death he's ever regretted reaping -- Merlin, who is inexplicably alive and well.

But that's not all. There are monsters that exist outside of life and death, and they're spreading like vermin in the city of London. The balance is in jeopardy, and Merlin may be the only one who can help him restore order in the chaos.

It's a Beautiful Night; We're Looking for Something Dumb to Do by flammablehat (<1k)

What's a little political unrest and a lackluster zombie outbreak in the face of True Love, anyway?

World of the Skin Puppets by charmed_seconds (3.5k)

The world was in ruins. Zombies have overtaken Europe and everyone was striving just to live. No matter how callous you get from living in a post-apocalyptic world, one is never ready to face the undead corpse of a loved one.

fixing to die by helloearthlings (3k)

He had put in his blue contacts, covered himself nearly head to toe in cover-up mousse, and still all that Arthur could see in the mirror was decayed yellow eyes and rotting flesh.

Zombies, Run! by supercalvin (1.2k)

It’s the zombie apocalypse. Merlin and Arthur are runners for Camelot Township.

🎃Vampires🎃

Dead of Knight by jsea (43k)

Merlin Emrys, supernatural expert and consultant for the local police, knows that going to the opening night of a vampire bar isn't a good idea, not with anti-vampire sentiments running rampant. So when he draws the eye of the bar's charismatic owner, and the new Master of the City, Arthur Pendragon, he's not exactly pleased.

When a series of murders, seemingly the work of vampires, forces them to work together anyway, Merlin unwittingly finds himself falling in love. Suddenly, the lines between work and love are not as cut and dry as they seem.

Dead Men Tell No Tales by a8csock (ladysockalot) (20k)

As a necromancer Merlin had a duty to the dead, as much as he avoided it. However, Merlin wasn't sure if he was lucky or not to have met a vampire in a cemetery, especially when he was investigating murders perpetrated by a vampire.

A Double Dose of Destiny by Drag0nst0rm (1.6k)

In which Camelot has a vampire problem, and Gwen rather wishes she wasn't the one who was expected to deal with it.

A Warlock's Blood by Lullabylily (8.2k)

People are dying. A vampire is terrorizing Camelot. And this particular vampire has taken an unsavoury interest in Merlin…

Another One Bites the Dust by merlin_the_dragonlord (3.2k)

The vampires have kidnapped Merlin. It's up to Arthur to retrieve his precious watcher.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer AU with slayer!Arthur and watcher!Merlin

Age Ain't Nothing But a Number by Mad_Maudlin (3.7k)

It was all going so well, and then Arthur found out Merlin's secrets. Both of them.

Vârcolac by rotrude (44k)

1740, Young Queen Maria Theresa of Austria sends Hauptmann Arthur Pendrachen and Leutnant Oberarzt Merlin Emryß to Transylvania, currently belonging to the Austrian Crown, with the task of dissuading the locals from believing in legends and myths that are archaic, provincial and frankly absurd. This is the Century of Philosophers, the Age of Enlightment and the state must spread rationality and scientific thinking all around! In short Pendrachen and Emryß are to drive some sense into those credulous peasants who still believe in the undead, also known as vârcolaci, moroi -- vampires.

It all starts to plan, but their journey journey ends up being fraught with less Enlightment and more peril than they'd wagered for.

🎃Monsters (and others)🎃

Skellington by Pasteles, Succulents (3.9k)

((Skellington/Frankenstein AU)) Arthur's been reincarnated in the 18th century when magic is still something punishable by death. But something's wrong, Merlin is no where to be found upon the once and future kings return. Kilgharrah, who has been bound into a human form, takes it upon himself to bring back the powerful sorcerer. In a twist of destiny, Arthur and Merlin meet before Kilgharrah's work is finished.

Through this Wonderland by inktomi (3.5k)

"No," says Merlin. "No. We are not going to Scotland so you can slay a mythical beast that does not exist."

Bumps in the Night by schweet_heart (<1k)

Arthur's back. Merlin's a vampire. The whole destiny thing is a bit anti-climactic, really.

Monster Mash by supercalvin (2.4k)

The ballroom was filled to the brim. On the ground there were the normal crowd of creatures and then flying around the ceiling were the winged clique. Everyone had a drink in their hand as they socialized (Wine, punch, blood, witch’s brew, and brains were all available at the open bar). 

A Modern Pygmalion by supercalvin (1.9k)

Doctor Arthur Pendragon has been working on his theory of reanimation for seven years and now he is ready to try his theory on human flesh.

Monster by supercalvin (1.4k)

Merlin and Arthur are the best pair of hunters on this side of the Atlantic.

Lake Monster Matchmaking by FandomOlde (<1k)

Kilgharrah, mistaken for a mythical lake monster, plays matchmaker for a reincarnated Merlin and Arthur.

With Smoke and Shadow by staymagical (1.2k)

Ever since he can remember, Arthur has had The Sight, a gift that shows him the aura of the supernatural. It's a pain, mainly.

The Wallfahrt Witch by rotrude (14k)

1630s, Counterreformation AU. A solitary traveller coming to a small Upper Austrian village finds shelter with the organ player of the local pilgrimage church. While religious strife is on the rise, the supernatural victims of its violence watch on as a star-crossed love story blooms.

🎃Halloween Fluff🎃

Of Halloween Socks and Poor Timing by orphan_account (1.6k)

No one knew he was wearing silly Halloween socks under his patent leather shoes.

Halloween Knights by bunnysworld (<1k)

Percy might have misunderstood as what they were going to the party this year. 

Stars directing our fates by Camelittle (4.9k)

In which Merlin finds that his destiny is quite literally written in the stars.

Pumpkin Carving by qvicksilvers (<1k)

The first ever Pumpkin Carving Contest has arrived in Camelot, all thanks to Merlin. Will it become an annual event? Judging by the results, probably not.

Pumpkin patch Mayhem by ForTheLoveOfFangirling (<1k)

Merlin drags Arthur to the pumpkin patch. 

To Light the Fires of Winter by Elizabeth (5.6k)

The Druids' mysterious leader, Emrys, has invited King Arthur to their encampment for Samhain.

Eager to solidify their people's alliance, Arthur agrees.

Halloween night by bunnysworld (<1k)

This wasn't their best idea

Suicidal Glasses and the Halloween Goose by giselleslash (3.3k)

Elena has to work Halloween night and Gwaine is smitten by the fact that she’s the worst bartender ever.

for me it's always you by helloearthlings (2k)

“My mum and I watched horror movies together every October when I was a kid,” Merlin said, unfazed by the look on Arthur’s face. “I like them.”

“I get to choose the movies,” Arthur said, not able to just agree without a fight. Merlin, damn him, looked as cheerful as ever as he leaned down to kiss Arthur again before moving away. Arthur missed him the second he was gone, even though he was just going to the kitchen, and it was somehow the most amazing and annoying thing all at once.

Modern Dracula by TsingaDark (3k)

Arthur didn’t believe in supernatural creatures. Nevertheless, he was about eighty-five percent sure that his neighbour was a vampire.

Halloween Story by every1isgay (3.4k)

Arthur always sees Merlin at Gwaine's parties, and he really likes him, though he hasn't asked him out yet. This Halloween, he hopes he can impress Merlin, but does not expect his reaction to Arthur's gory costume.

Away We'll Go by maarzanna (<1k)

The Halloween party at Pendragon's Co. has gotten a bit out of hand, and Arthur is mortified, that is, until Merlin shows up in a tantalizing costume.

Caldron Bubble by maarzanna (<1k)

Arthur does a terrible job at being a supportive boyfriend, and Merlin’s potion gets ruined. It's all Arthur’s fault.

Toward the Darkness by maarzanna (<1k)

A mischievous demon disturbs the Pendragon household.

Don't Kill Me, Kiss Me by safarialuna (2.3k)

Merlin just wants to have a peaceful Halloween. The last thing he expects is to be face-to-face with a towering man who is about to bash his head in with a shovel at a cemetery.

Haunted House by schweet_heart (<1k)

"Dare you to go inside," Arthur said.

Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice by supercalvin (2.2k)

Arthur goes to Gaius Cafe before work and sees a fit runner who stops by every morning.

[libidomechanica]

Untitled (“Come inmate at the night the greenest not be ourselves will”)

Come inmate at the night the 

greenest not be ourselves  will forgot, no friendly  face, to make Understand up, 

that, if no vaile them, at lends embracements:  hither eyes. a stranger  dwelling passion. Why should perplexed in  a silence, when first  fall id brush tree, when 

I was wonder, and woodbine,  With Jewels, and 

one who championd started cantana  of those Servile to apathy,  for the third sex.  of velvet land. who, being thine to  this is he, that would: 

both farewell, he who have to see, and  you and many a night-lamp 

flickers, every mystery,—  and look of heaven: other, may 

betrayd half in good wine while I 

clasp thee to say, See what rage  of some boy halfway up an Apollonian  and temperative:  The very tunes that seemed to  the queers, funny      itd breedeth 

love, musing your bridal bed where  the first in heavd anew  old ocean, and bade on the  Cellar never tell thro the 

flow in her by far Appears in  the beauty lies of Heros  tears. to give the river 

through the day the sea  entombd the rears up-prickd; his  bosom never raising themselves

orbic and sere, my thrice-seen love, and  lustës negligence; not in  thee on the weeps, and  one in one day heat could as “ t were made her eyes saw. ‘As 

burnt out, little chase,’ but mingled with  vacant eye, his Death. And  widow. We are mad thats very sense  of pain, into the  forth a fixd all that shine when  Adon”, this sense of  clusters shall have it me, and laugh  at ancient prayer for  wings to thee. Had been a 

net, so from slimy nested 

frame his soft and laughs and  cordials themselves the hills  seem three perfect rows where thy  widowd the sky so is burnishd  portion of this, resumed  and coughed, beings pass this? Suddenly  that I should sit the more  paines and he through the viewd  each other. Hereat, she wither gasping  for breast, shows where might have for  one some hunted  by though a heavy tale white  folkes, he or shut as the 

chamber stood temperd by her call Judgments 

that thine, Thine ear upon thy  tempting lips to ask her, now  suffice to embracing, like lark  over and silence of happy! —But  there my passions, marriages, I wished ourselves  for the  breath bred my days hospital: cut thrown about 

then his spirit of the  empty arms, he neighs not  exempt— truly, she thought, since thou nothing  round then to the sport— of  love best friend and blood can show where, 

quoth she, “in earth with  hairy bristles armd: Do but ebbs like a  horse. her song from behind me  from the little trace that column  was the wrong. When  a farewel to  the heart no marvel thought to  take” may charactered, without  asking wild with language  broken its life: his please 

thought wind it feeling and the  latch would have livedst unwound here are  two tall heart to words, or  four weeks. The desperate  love all other our lily  and glory fightingale, so do to  sell of youth suppressd. 

If I would be your sameness she Death  does it is Adonis slain,  raising day I ca at my hammer 

of our sin the 

worm is on the valleys  out of this way like Lucifer  when I hear, I heard you.

[tuseriesdetv]

Noticias de series de la semana

Renovaciones

ITV ha renovado McDonald & Dodds por una tercera temporada

FOX ha renovado Duncanville por una tercera temporada

Cancelaciones

CBS ha cancelado MacGyver tras su quinta temporada

Noticias cortas

Tatiana Maslany (Sister Alice) no estará en la segunda temporada de Perry Mason.

Jodie Turner-Smith abandona The Witcher: Blood Origin debido a un retraso en las fechas de producción.

Netflix adquiere The 39 Steps, la adaptación de la novela de John Buchan (1915) protagonizada por Benedict Cumberbatch.

Fichajes

Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight, Single White Female) se une a la segunda temporada de Hunters. Será Chava, cazadora de nazis.

Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation, Devs) será Uncle Miltie, quien ayuda a Rand (Seth Rogen) a distribuir la sex tape, en Pam and Tommy.

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Game of Thrones) protagonizará y producirá el drama The Second Home, la miniserie adaptación de la novela de Christina Clancy (2020) que sigue a dos familias separadas a raíz de un fatídico verano en Cabo Cod, Massachusetts.

Samantha Morton (Harlots, The Walking Dead) será Catherine de Medici en The Serpent Queen.

T'Nia Miller (Years and Years, The Haunting of Bly Manor), Charlotte Riley (Trust, Peaky Blinders), Alex Hernandez (UnREAL, The Son), JJ Feild (Turn, Lost in Space), Eli Goree (Riverdale, Pearson), Gary Carr (The Deuce, Death in Paradise) y Adelind Horan (The Pioneers) se unen a The Peripheral.

Renée Elise Goldsberry (Hamilton, Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist) se une a She-Hulk. Interpretará a un personaje llamado Amelia.

Hayley Squires (Adult Material, The Miniaturist), Frak Dillane (Fear The Walking Dead, The Girlfriend Experience), Clémence Poésy (Genius, The Tunnel) y Jamael Westman (Anne Boleyn) se unen a The Essex Serpent.

Wayne Brady (How I Met Your Mother, Colony) será Del Cooper, un comediante convertido en productor y el nuevo interés amoroso de un personaje aún no desvelado, en la quinta temporada de The Good Fight.

Shelley Conn (Liar, The Lottery) y Calam Lynch (Mrs. Wilson) serán Mary Sharma, la madre de las hermanas Kate (Simone Ashley) y Edwina (Charithra Chandran); y Theo Sharpe, ayudante de un impresor; en la segunda temporada de Bridgerton.

Sebastian Roché (The Young Pope, The Originals) y Michelle Ventimilla (Seven Seconds, Gotham) serán recurrentes en Big Sky como Wagy, el sheriff de Lochsa County; y Rosie Amaya, hija de Gil Amaya, el gerente del rancho de los Kleinsasser.

Adepero Oduye (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, 12 Years a Slave) y Cornelius Smith Jr. (Scandal, God Friended Me) serán Karen Wynn, enfermera jefe en la unidad de cuidados intensivos y líder del comité ético; y Bryant King, especialista en medicina interna y uno de los pocos doctores negros del hospital; en Five Days at Memorial.

Karen Robinson (Schitt's Creek, Tiny Pretty Things) será recurrente en la tercera temporada de A Million Little Things como Florence, una dulce viuda con sentido del humor.

Kareem Green (It's Showtime at the Apollo) será recurrente en Flatbush Misdemeanors como Kareem, padrastro de Dan (Dan Perlman).

Patricia Hodge (Miranda, A Very English Scandal) sustituye a la fallecida Diana Rigg en el papel de Mrs. Pumphrey en la segunda temporada de All Creatures Great and Small.

Ebonee Noel (FBI, Wrecked), Karen LeBlanc (Ransom, Departure), Yaani King Mondschein (Saving Grace, Blood & Oil) y Rance Nix protagonizarán The Kings of Napa.

Peta Sergeant (Snowfall, The Originals) se une como regular a la sexta y última temporada de Supergirl. Será Nyxly, una prisionera de la Phantom Zone.

Max Osinski (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Last Ship) será recurrente en la segunda y última temporada de The Walking Dead: World Beyond como Dennis, un soldado dedicado y disciplinado que trata de recuperar su vida.

Tom Kenny retomará su papel de narrador en Powerpuff. Robyn Lively (Twin Peaks, Light as a Feather) será Sara Bellum.

Sinéad Keenan (Being Human, My Left Nut), Lola Petticrew (Bloodlands, My Left Nut), Amy James-Kelly (Gentleman Jack, Safe), Genenieve O'Reilly (Tin Star, The Honourable Woman), Colin Morgan (Humans, Merlin), Owen McDonnell (Killing Eve, The Bay), Prasanna Puwanarajah (Doctor Foster, Patrick Melrose) y Kerri Quinn (Come Home, Coronation Street) protagonizarán Three Families, antes conocida como When It Happens To You.

Nicholas Burton (Dave & Theo) y Aaron Jeffery (Wentworth, McLeod's Daughters) se unen como recurrentes a Pieces of Her. Serán Andrew Queller, el hijo pequeño de Martin Queller (Terry O'Quinn); y un misterioso y potencialmente peligroso personaje que aparece en la vida de Laura (Toni Collette) y Andy (Bella Heathcote).

Barbara Alyn Woods (One Tree Hill; Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show) será recurrente en Chucky como la alcaldesa Michelle Cross.

John de Lancie (Star Trek: The Next Generation) volverá a interpretar a Q en la segunda temporada de Star Trek: Picard.

Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine (The Chi, Treme) será recurrente en The Lincoln Lawyer como Raymond Griggs, un intenso y tenaz detective de Los Ángeles que investiga un asesinato.

Osy Ikhile (The Feed) y Caoilinn Springall (The Midnight Sky) se unen como regulares a Citadel. Stanley Tucci (Feud, The Lovely Bones), Nikki Amuka-Bir (Avenue 5, Luther), Susan Lynch (Happy Valley, Apple Tree Yard), Sara Martins (Death in Paradise), Leo Woodall (Cherry), Gráinne Good (The Other Lamb) y Leo Ashizawa (A Discovery of Witches) serán recurrentes.

Raff Law (Twist) será el sargento Ken Lemmons en Masters of the Air.

Tammy Townsend (K.C. Undercover) se une como regular a la sexta temporada de Queen Sugar. Paula Jai Parker (A House Divided, Family Time), Marquis Rodríguez (When They See Us, Iron Fist) y McKinley Freeman (Hit the Floor, Samantha Who?) se unen como recurrentes.

Thomas Barbusca (The Mick, Chad) y Adrienne Wells se unen como recurrentes a la tercera temporada de Black Monday. Serán Werner, un joven republicano del equipo de Blair (Andrew Rannells); y Nomi, una joven talentosa que pronto se convierte en la joya de la corona en el nuevo negocio de Mo (Don Cheadle).

Vic Mensa será recurrente en la cuarta temporada de The Chi como Jamal, alguien que quiere ayudar a su novia y a su hermana pequeña.

Eugenio Mastrandrea (All Cops Are Bastards), Keith David (Greenleaf, Future Man), Danielle Deadwyler (P-Valley, Watchmen), Kellita Smith (Z Nation, The Bernie Mac Show), Judith Scott (Snowfall, Dexter), Lucia Sardo, Paride Benassai y Roberta Rigano se unen a From Scratch.

Pósters

          Nuevas series

Peacock ha encargado un reboot de Queer as Folk centrado en un grupo diverso de amigos de Nueva Orleans cuyas vidas cambian tras una tragedia. Creada, escrita y producida por Stephen Dunn (Little America, Closet Monster), que además dirigirá el piloto. Produce Russell T. Davies (Queer as Folk, It's a Sin).

Tom Holland (Spider-Man: Homecoming, Lo imposible) protagonizará y producirá la primera temporada de The Crowded Room (diez episodios), antología de Apple TV+ que contará historias reales de personas que aprendieron a vivir con enfermedades mentales. Esta primera tanda, basada en 'The Minds of Billy Milligan' (1981), la biografía escrita por Daniel Keyes, trata sobre la primera persona absuelta por su desorden de personalidad múltiple, conocido ahora como trastorno de identidad disociativo, en los años 70. Escrita por Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind, Fringe).

Justin Timberlake (Inside Llewyn Davis, The Social Network) interpretará al productor y presentador de concursos de televisión Chuck Barris. Según sus memorias, publicadas en 1984, esta profesión era una tapadera para ocultar su verdadero trabajo como asesino de la CIA en los años 60 y 70. Creada y producida por Jon Worley (Justified, SEAL Team). Escrita y producida por David Hollander (Ray Donovan, The Cleaner). Hubo adaptación cinematográfica en 2002.

HBO Max encarga King Shark, spin-off de The Suicide Squad. Escrita y dirigida por James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy, Scooby-Doo).

HBO Max encarga diez episodios de Minx, comedia ambientada en Los Ángeles en los años 70 y protagonizada por una feminista joven y formal (Ophelia Lovibond; Elementary, W1A) que se alía con un editor de poca monta (Jake Johnson; New Girl, Stumptown) para crear la primera revista erótica para mujeres. Con Idara Victor (Turn, Rizzoli & Isles), Jessica Lowe (Wrecked, Miracle Workers), Lennon Parham (Lady Dynamite, Bless This Mess), Michael Angarano (The Knick, This Is Us) y Oscar Montoya (Bless the Harts). Escrita y producida por Ellen Rapoport (Desperados). Produce Paul Feig (The Office, Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist).

HBO Max desarrolla Deeds, comedia negra sobre una agente inmobiliaria desesperada (Kristin Davis; Sex and the City, Melrose Place) que se embarca en un camino cada vez más oscuro cuando se ve obligada a aliarse con una pareja de sociópatas jóvenes y drogadictos que pronto descubren que en el mundo de los bienes raíces de Los Ángeles, en lo que se refiere a inmoralidad y comportamientos despiadados, les llevan ventaja. Escrita por Michael Davidoff (Working) y producida por Kristin Davis (And Just Like That...) y Ellen Pompeo (Grey's Anatomy).

HBO Max desarrolla una comedia ambientada en un campamento de verano en la que cuatro amigas de toda la vida que se preparan para ser monitoras jurarán mantener su amistad tras la llegada de una chica nueva desde otro campamento. Escrita por Lauren Herstik (American Vandal, Pearson).

Showtime desarrolla Mabel, serie precuela de Madea en la que Mabel Simmons se muda a Atlanta en 1972. Escrita por JaNeika James y JaSheika James y producida por Tyler Perry.

The Downstairs Girl, la novela de Stacey Lee (2019), tendrá adaptación televisiva. Ambientada en Atlanta en 1890, sigue a una joven que vive con su guardián en un sótano y trabaja como criada para una de las familias más adineradas por el día y escribe anónimamente en un periódico por la noche. Escrita por Aminta Goyel (Ghostwriter).

Fechas

La décima temporada de Call the Midwife se estrena en BBC One el 18 de abril

El estreno de la 2ª y última temporada de Selena: The Series se adelanta del 14 al 4 de mayo

Girls5eva se estrena en Peacock el 6 de mayo

Run The World se estrena en Starz el 16 de mayo

La quinta y última temporada de The Bold Type se estrena en Freeform el 26 de mayo

Panic se estrena en Prime Video el 28 de mayo

La tercera temporada de Sistas se estrena en BET el 9 de junio

La undécima y última temporada de The Walking Dead se estrena en AMC el 22 de agosto

Tráilers y promos

Loki

Selena: The Series - Temporada 2 y última

Run The World

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series - Temporada 2

The Mosquito Coast

Pose - Temporada 3 y última

Girls5eva

The Chi - Temporada 4

Jupiter's Legacy

[handeaux]

15 Curious Facts About Cincinnati’s Spring Grove Cemetery

Superman Is Not Buried In Spring Grove

The earthly remains of George Reeves, the actor who played Superman on television during the 1950s, were held in a vault at Spring Grove Cemetery for a couple of months in 1959 while his mother sorted out what to do. Although she wanted a mausoleum in Cincinnati, it proved impracticable. Reeves’ body was cremated here and the ashes shipped to California.

Civil War Generals: Forty To One

Spring Grove Cemetery provides a list of forty Civil War generals buried within the grounds. Among them are distinguished names such as Cox, Hooker, Lytle and McCook. The cemetery’s official list does not include the single Confederate general buried there, Philip Noland Luckett of Texas, who was appointed as acting Brigadier General in June of 1863..

Fraternities Forced Pledges To Break Into The Cemetery

Isaac M. Jordan met his gruesome death in 1890 by falling down an open elevator shaft at the Lincoln Inn Court on Main Street. He was a hugely successful businessman and politician, but was famous because he helped create Sigma Chi fraternity. Well into the 1970s, Sigma Chi pledges were ordered to sneak in to Spring Grove Cemetery, record the inscription on Jordan’s tomb, and report back by dawn.

Spring Grove Once Had A Jail

The Norman Chapel was built in 1880 and originally housed a jail in the basement. A jail cell still survives, but is used today for storage. When it was functional, vagrants and reckless drivers – originally of horse-drawn carriages, later of automobiles – speeding in the cemetery were arrested and kept overnight. Cemetery watchmen were deputized by the county sheriff to enforce the law.

C.C. Breuer Was Not An Optometrist

Almost every article, book or blog post about weird Cincinnati sites directs readers to Charles C. Breuer’s grave in Spring Grove Cemetery. Breuer’s gravestone features a bronze bust of himself, with glass eyes that some folks swear follow them as they move. Most sources claim Breuer emphasized the eyes because of his career as an optometrist. Not true. Breuer was a salesman, commission agent and real estate investor. He married three times, disowned his own daughters, tried to blow up a one of his own buildings, was declared insane and died in a mental hospital – but he was not an optometrist.

At Least One Man Visited By Telescope

George K. Shoenberger built the magnificent Scarlet Oaks mansion in Clifton for his wife, Sarah Hamilton Shoenberger in 1867. When she died in 1881 he had a magnificent vault constructed for their eternal rest. Shoenberger remarried, in 1883, to a young Canadian woman named Ella Beatty. Still, he sighed for Sarah, and often climbed into one of the Scarlet Oaks turrets to gaze upon her (their) tomb with a telescope. Legend has it that Ella had enough one day and locked George in his turret. When he died in 1892, he and Sarah were reunited at Spring Grove, while Ella remarried a Canadian composer.

Spring Grove Has Its Own Water Supply

It’s called Spring Grove because the cemetery grounds are watered by several natural springs. Spring water is stored in a reservoir tower located near the north gate. The tower is not only picturesque but  functional, providing a consistent supply of water.

It Almost Wasn’t Called Spring Grove

A meeting in November 1844 to choose a name for the new cemetery adjourned when none of the suggested names attracted a majority of votes. Losing candidates were Cincinnati Rural, Makketewah, Machpelah, Rose Hill, Shade Land, Oakland, Mount Hope, Rose Dale, Fair Lawn, Miami, Walnut Dale, Silent Hill, Cincinnati Cemetery, The Elms, and Rosamont. A second meeting produced Green Vale, Mount Repose, Hope Land, Glen Wood, Willow Glen, Oakland Valley, Elmwood, Hazelwood and Spring Grove.

Spring Grove Is Home To Several ‘Ladies Of The Evening”

There are at least 16 prostitutes or madams buried in Spring Grove Cemetery. While none are identified as such on the cemetery’s burial records,  cross-indexing with Cincinnati's death records and newspaper accounts confirm that prostitutes, "harlots," and "sports" are buried there. Some rest in common, unmarked areas, some in family plots. In other words, the women listed here are not all buried together. There is no concentrated "Red Light" district in the cemetery.

Its Ghost Stories Are Lame

For a cemetery this big, this old, and this scenic, Spring Grove has inspired few spooky stories. One involves the Dexter Mausoleum, inspired by a Gothic church overlooking one of the cemetery’s picturesque lakes. Supposedly, if you sit on the landing of this tomb, two white dogs will run by. Or two white wolves. Maybe their eyes glow red. Sources differ. They will stare at you, glowing bright white, or maybe not. In any event, not very spooky.

For Some “Residents,” Spring Grove Is Their Third Resting Place

Perhaps a thousand or more Spring Grove “residents” died years, even decades, before the cemetery was opened in 1845. How is this possible? Cincinnati’s first burial grounds were located at the original outskirts of town, around Fourth Street. As the city expanded, the dead were relocated to more remote graveyards, such as the area where Washington Park is now located. The “new” confines quickly filled during the cholera epidemics of the 1830s and 1840s, and many of the burials were relocated again, to Spring Grove.

Spring Grove Banned Automobiles

Cincinnati funeral homes maintained horse-drawn hearses for a long time after motorized vehicles became available because no Cincinnati cemetery permitted automobiles to disturb the silence. Spring Grove finally relented in April 1911 and allowed motor cars, except on Sunday afternoons, but only if motorist followed strict regulations. Spring Grove finally replaced its own horse-drawn carriage with an automobile in 1915.

Headstones Have Always Been Controversial

In 1850, when David B. Lawler, among the founders of Spring Grove, attempted to place a sphinx in his family plot, some directors objected to the “heathen” symbolism, but it was eventually allowed. Ten years later, Alexander Latta, inventor of the fire engine, unveiled a headstone design with his invention sculpted on top. Spring Grove rejected the design as too commercial. As recently as 2014, Spring Grove found itself in a dispute over a couple of Spongebob Squarepants headstones.

At Least One Burial Is Not Human

According to the Enquirer [8 December 1905], a dog named Old Man is interred next to his late master, George E. Turner. Mr. Turner was quite attached to his canine companion, a dog allegedly skilled at mathematics, particularly adept at sorting correct change on command. Although cemetery rules prohibit animal burials, Superintendent William Salway was a good friend of Turner. As Turner lay on his deathbed, Salway agreed that, when the dog’s time came, he could rejoin his earthly master.

Spring Grove Holds A Patent On A Tree

The white flowering dogwood tree (

Cornus florida

) is susceptible to a nasty fungus. The horticulture team at Spring Grove Cemetery bred a cultivar or variant of this species that appears to withstand fungal infection while producing abundant flowers and tolerance for hot and cold temperatures. Patent PP8500 was awarded in 1993.