#deep state’s plan to enslave

[awesomecooperlove]

Former DARPA director and now Google executive, Regina Dugan, wants you to swallow ID Microchips.

She goes on to explain how the microchip works once inside the body. The pill has a small chip inside of it with a switch, when you swallow it, the acids in your stomach serve as the electrolyte and that powers it up. And the switch goes on and off and creates an 18 bit ECG wide signal in your body and essentially your entire body becomes your authentication token.

Just FYI this video is from 2012, so you can imagine the tech they already have.

Join @Nesara Gesara - Secrets

👿👿👿

[moltengoldveins]

so we can all agree that the newest 2WEI song (take the crown) is the trailer song for an Antarctic Empires Emerald Duo pg14 movie where Techno is a gladiator who earned his freedom and has vowed to destroy the government that enslaved him and Philza is an old demigod banished to a solitary plane of existence for five decades after attempting to run a coup against the ruling class.

They meet on a battlefield, Techno having joined up as brute muscle and Phil having used some minor illusions to pass as a quirky avian and join the bombardment team. Combining some similar plot beats as Oceans 11 and Atlantis: The Lost Empire, they gather a specialized team of insurrectionists, anarchists, battle mages, and warriors to take down the imperium from the inside, eventually planning on restoring the nation to the democracy it was in Phil’s earliest memories. But will they manage it, or will their bloody pasts and violent present seat Technoblade on the throne as the Antarctic Emperor, with Philza as his right hand, the Angel of Death? (Spoiler, the second option. It’s the most controversial film finale decision of the decade.)

The movie is filmed in a style somewhere between Dune 1, the Prince of Egypt, and Topgun. (denis villeneuve is too busy and too expensive, but it’s clear they’re taking inspiration. Bold colors and lighting and a lot of shots of the sky, wildlife, architecture, or of characters’ hands.) It’s scored by an up and coming indie musician, working under the consultation of Ludwig Gorannson in his spare time as a pet project, though his association with the film doesn’t really come out until it Smashes the expected theatre income in the first two days of release and critics start Raving about it. Techno’s actor is nominated for an Oscar for one of the most compelling intricate portrayals of ptsd and platonic devotion in modern cinema, but doesn’t actually get the Oscar.

Tumblr is flooded with gif sets of Techno in the Obligatory No Armor After Gladiator Fight Scene and the Late Night Vibing With Phil In A Loose Poet Shirt scene (firelit, lots of closeups of his eyes, the film is obviously attempting to express his complex emotional state and his deep relationship with Phil, and is failing miserably at doing Anything but making him hot. The internet is ✨gay✨ about it, because when is the internet not?) Also most of the simps are calling Phil a dilf.

Fit MC is the fan-favorite side character, his four scenes and nine lines of dialogue are clipped and edited and giffed and memed into the dirt. (His armor and prosthetic, the makeup and costuming department say, were the hardest thing to do in the entire film, which is why he isn’t in too many shots.) Though, a close second is Niki, who is played by a woman built like a brick house who doesn’t wear sleeves, so…. Yeah. We all know what the response is there. The effects, including Phil’s wings, are almost entirely practical and the only real places it gets iffy is Steve, the giant war polar bear that’s pretty clearly clipping through a few snowbanks here and there. Nobody can agree on which characters are morally reprehensible.

Within a few years, very few people outside a dedicated fan base have seen it and a few assume it’s made up like Goncharov. It’s also, for some ungodly reason, been labeled a Christmas film. (most of the plot happens in the ice and snow, hence ‘Antarctic Empire.’) I guess nothing says ‘Christmas spirit’ quite like ‘unmitigated violence, platonic yearning, and overthrowing oppressors.’

[snorange]

far too long of a response to @highly-invested 's excellent post and some frankly sickening takes from @breadguyyy . Seeing Moash defenders is always strange as it is not enough for Moash to be a someone who survived horrible circumstances and regained a place in society, but ultimately failed at forgiving the world that created his suffering. Instead they invent lies about him with the only apparent reason being that being a contrarian is more interesting than actually discussing the books. Moash is constantly making choices he knows are wrong because he wants the emotional reward without the emotional consequence of guilt. Moash wants to kill Elthokar because of the perceived justice in doing so despite the fact that Roshone is more directly responsible. Seeing Moash defenders is always strange. Moash is constantly making choices he knows are wrong because he wants the emotional reward without the emotional consequence of guilt. Moash wants to kill Elthokar because of the perceived justice in doing so despite the fact that Roshone is more directly responsible.

If Moash truly believed Elthokar deserved to die for his part in Moash's grandparents death he would have slit his throat one of the many times he was guarding Elthokar, but he doesn't. He is convinced of the "righteousness" of the cause when he joins the diagram. Only once there is a large organization on which for Moash to place the guilt upon does he try to kill Elthokar.

The only noble thing that Moash has done is protect the enslaved singers in the caravan to Kholinar. It is no coincidence that this happens during the time between him being separated from the diagram and before gaining Odium's attention. This is the only time Moash's pain is his own. Thus the most important part of every Moash discussion comparing him to Dalinar. Both have done terrible things, both have taken help from gods to go on living having done these things. However Dalinar is on the path of redemption and Moash isn't. This post and the ones screenshot are in response to a wob with the most important line being, "if Dalinar got redeemed, Moash has gotta go further than Dalinar. At the same time, he is certainly not looking for that." This is the most interesting discussion about Moash and Dalinar, as they are separated because of intent. Dalinar killed Evi without intending to and Moash intended to kill Kalidan, but failed doing so. Both Moash and Dalinar are knowingly and intentionally violating their moral code due to emotion but have the consequences increased by circumstance. Moash is made aware of this increased stake and with his actions state that no price to high to pay. Dalinar is not made aware and both the reader and Dalinar are left with hope a small fleeting hope that if Dalinar knew Evi was capture he would have stopped the slaughter.

Another really interesting point of comparison is the boon that they each received. Dalinar sets out for the Nightwatcher planning on asking for the boon of peace, but ultimately asks for forgiveness once there. Peace has very deep positive connotations in our culture being treated as synonymous with other positive traits such as empathy, compassion, kindness. However peace is the boon given to Moash as well as what is offered to Dalinar by Odium. This peace is what make Moash so hard to redeem. Peace is antithetical to change and growth the most important requirements for redemption.

What really gets me about @breadguyyy's comments is that he decries this series as "liberal Mormon moralizing". The most liberal thing in series is Dalinar learning to fucking read. And I know liberal does meaning any on the Internet its just a buzzword to say you hate the status quo. But even then this book series is so firmly anti-status quo. We got breaking gender norms, dismantling the feudal system, appropriations for slavery in the past, learning how to truly understand and connect with people of other races. All of which is set off by the end of the world.

[reality-detective]

The infamous... "They"

The most obvious sign of someone that has not been down a single rabbit hole, is when they ask you ‘Who are ‘they’?’ The answer can only be: ‘How long do you have?’

The truth is, that in most instances, the answer is simply too long, too complex and probably too ‘incomplete’, to properly address the matter. How far back or deep should one go?

I’ve been able to distill the concept of ‘They’ to: ‘Satan’s Ambassadors on Earth’, but depending on the audience, I usually sum it up as ‘Those who rule the world, the cabal, deep state, illuminati, government, the rich and elite, the world economic forum, the UN, and as George Carlin put it the BIG club.'

‘They’ is not only made up of the pinnacle of the pyramid, it’s also their executive branches, their puppet leaders and all the useful idiots that knowingly or unknowingly help to further their agenda of absolute control and enslavement of humanity.

At the beginning of this journey, when you first realize the depth of the deception and the satanic nature of their plans and means, you are overcome with an overwhelming need for justice and revenge.

You pray that one day there will be divine justice, for the only punishment that would fit the crime would be to rot in hell for eternity.

I still pray that it will be so, and I will continue to work to raise awareness to the manipulation and the crimes, but as you keep evolving along this path towards truth, you realize that our mission is not to kill the ‘beast’, but simply to stop feeding it.

Our mission is to unplug, to disconnect, to disengage from the ‘system’, from the matrix, until the ‘beast’ implodes from within.

Counterintuitively, our only ‘attack’ strategy, is to withdraw. Withdraw our focus, withdraw our consent, withdraw our cooperation, withdraw our compliance and most of all, we must withdraw the energy it feeds from: our belief and fear.

Their power is an illusion fed by our own ignorant belief that they have it, but the most important truth you will uncover along this journey, is that WE hold the power, we always have, we just didn’t know it. But now we do.

The ‘They’ are doomed the day more of us finally understand what 'They' are doing.

[lunarbreaksblog]

Arcade, Boone, Vulpes X Male!Reader

Note: reader is not the courier in this

You were a simple bartender in the atomic wrangler— they joked that you were a saint since you never gambled, nor did they see you drink or ask someone to bed. You kept to yourself.

However, you had the ability to know everything since most customers assumed you were just a bartender and told you things.

Now, you weren't a snitch but if it was for the greater good or a load of caps, you would give your information.

Soon, everyone came to you for things: Gossip, news or even dirt on someone's ex.

You simply smiled and waved.

Arcade:

He thought he was smooth when he came to you, he never really set foot in the atomic wrangler before. He just stayed in the fort really but he had heard that knew someone that knew someone else that could fetch something for Arcade, which he desperately needed.

He just wasn't ready for you. How handsome you were, how your white button down seemed tight around your pecs and your rolled up sleeves that made the muscles in your arms look so enticing to the doctor

Oh god, he had a crush now and hadn't even spoken to you!

He needed to be quick, he'd ask you the name of the contact and leave! Very quickly!

"Can I help you?" You spoke, your eyes putting him on the spot.

Arcade then proceeds to make of fool of himself and bolt out the door. You are very confused.

Boone:

The courier had left him in the wrangler to go get acquainted with a prostitute. Boone just grunted when the courier told him.

Now, Boone was sitting on a bar stool, nursing a beer while you chatted away with a strange awful familiar face. He couldn't put his finger on it, he had seen the man before.

Soon, you left the uncannily familiar man, you returned to Boone, thinking he had finished his beer. You saw that he didn't but you could tell he was deep in thought.

"You alright?" You ask as you stood in front of him.

He looked at you...and just stared. You got uncomfortable, you feel this man's covered eyes searching your entire body.

"Ay, I don't like being oogled" you grunted.

"sorry" was all he muttered before going back to his beer.

"You didn't answer my question" you stated.

"Mhm"

"Is that good or bad"

Boone knew that you wouldn't leave him now.

Vulpes:

He nearly got caught by that damned sniper that sat a few sets besides him. He was having a pleasant chat with you. Gaining information while planning to enslave you.

You could be his pet project— turning a filthy man into the perfect man for him. Yes, the legion was homophobic but they didn't have to know that he personally took you nor that he favoured you.

You finished you last sentence with a smile and turned to head to horrid sniper. Vulpes frowned. You have information away at the smallest cost yet you tried to outway your sins by being kind.

How complex Vulpes thought.

You'd make a horrible legionnaire, but a good slave.

[koko-doodle]

Demon Vamp AU: Chapter 1

Heyo! I’m excited to share this FNAF x Undertale story mash up with you guys, I think it will be quite a doozy. This is the humble beginnings of your tragic life when everything changed. There are some depictions of violence (fighting monsters) but the most graphic scene of this chapter involves decapitating a hellhound. Nothing explicit, I’d say it’s like PG to PG13ish. I don’t write gore stuff, grosses me out but this is just a warning in case it might bother someone.

Summary: 500 years ago monsters were banished to a deep crater called The Pit and confined by an impenetrable barrier. About 450 years later, the barrier is suddenly no longer in tact and humans are once again fighting against the monsters. You are a knight, a protector of humanity but you died one dreadful night near the barriers edge where you shouldn’t have been. Strangely, you wake up not dead, in a place unfamiliar to you, and under the “protection” of demon-vampire brothers. After confronting your new reality, you end up facing the obstacles of deciding what is really true and what was a lie.

CHAPTER 1: LIFE’S END

Chapter 2: Life Anew

Words: 3,841

AO3 Link or continue down bellow

“This is a bad idea Jeremy” you state nervously, thumbing the hilt of a small knife that rested in its sheath at your hip.

“Oh come on, you need to learn to live a little. Nothings happened for two weeks, I think those monsters have given up on this town.” Your partner replied triumphantly.

“Just because nothing HAS happened doesn’t mean nothing WILL.” You emphasize.

“Ugh, you’re no fun when you’re focused.” Jeremy grumbles, rolling his eyes before he forges ahead.

“Focused on keeping us alive, we wouldn’t want to be caught unaware of any monsters lurking in the dark you know.” You rebutted and watched him wave an annoyed hand at you without turning around. You shake your head with a slight chuckle, if there was anything you knew about your partner it was that he, Jeremy Fitzgerald, was as stubborn and determined as they come. He was committed to crossing into enemy territory just to get a glimpse of any creatures lurking around the edge of The Pit. His plans always seemed like he was trying to get you both killed, or worse, captured.

Your enemies were not exactly known for being the most kind to humans, you had been taught about the horrors of the War of Ages that came to an end just over 500 years ago. Monsters and humans never got along very well before the war but when the monsters decided they were the superior race, humanity was on the brink of being enslaved. You grew up knowing the story by heart; how a brave group of warriors, inventors, and sorcerers brought their talents together to fight against the monsters and free those humans who had been in bondage. They founded the Knights of the Dawn Age, noble warriors who fought against monsters for the freedom of humans. Humans could never truly eradicate the monsters however, so they were sealed in the deepest pit by a barrier that no monster could cross. Lives were sacrificed to create the barrier but in the end, humans prevailed.

Or so humanity thought.

About fifty years ago around the time your parents would have been born, there were reports of monsters attacking villages located near the outskirts of the barrier. It was thought to be a rumor at first but when attacks started happening more often and with undeniable video evidence, it became clear the barrier was no longer intact and that monsters did in fact exist. The Knights of the Dawn Age never dispersed after the original war, their knowledge and artifacts were passed down from generation to generation and the role of a Knight was opened to any who sought to protect humanity from threats. The continual advancements in technology were preparing humans for the day monsters might return and all that preparation was proving effective in the current growing war, however, humans were not the only ones who had been finding new ways to arm themselves for battle. With a new war came new threats in the form of new monsters unknown to humans, deadlier than before. While the sorcerers and inventors sought to find a way to repair the barrier, humanity still needed protection from the ravenous beasts emerging from The Pit.

As you both walked through the dark night, the only sounds you heard were gravel shifting from your footsteps and the peaceful melody of crickets singing. This forest was just outside a small town and was a beautiful place, despite being so dangerous. Your thoughts shifted to the day you were enlisted into the Knights of the Dawn Age. You were merely an orphan whose parents had been killed by a monster raid while they were attacking your village. You had nowhere to go, no one to turn to, that is when a Knight brought you back to the capital city at the heart of the mainland and you began your training. You trained hard, learned everything you could about every race of monster including the new ones, and passed every test you were given. You were a good warrior, a well trained soldier, and loyal to the Knights of the Dawn. Some thought you were too invested into your role as a Knight, unhealthily loyal, but no one could ever understand your drive to please those who had saved your life and given you purpose. You fought hard because you wanted to ensure that no child would have to grow up in fear or without parents like you had.

“Hey, earth to the killjoy” Jeremy says, elbowing you in the ribs to snap you out of your thoughts. “You okay?”

“I’m fine” you reply, you hadn’t realized how much time that had passed in silence. “Just wondering how I always get stuck with you on your ‘I’m trying to get us killed’ expositions.”

“How rude! I wouldn’t call them that, they are explorative expositions! Knowledge is power you know, the more we have the better. Besides, how many times have we really been that close to death huh?” He pauses and shakes his head. “Don’t answer that…” You stifle a laugh.

“And what exactly are we looking for tonight Indiana Jones?” You tease.

“Well, Laura Croft” he teases back, “we are on a reconnaissance mission. Looking for clues or hints to any recent monster activity.”

“Yeah right, you just want to see the edge of The Pit don’t you? There could be monsters guarding it, you know. That’s why the Council warned against anyone going near it. Or did you already forget that rule after training?”

“Maybe” he nods slightly, “but aren’t you at least a liiiittle bit curious as to what it looks like? I mean come on, there’s a giant black hole in the ground that spans for miles and you don’t want to see it? What’s wrong with you.” He argues playfully.

“I don’t have a death wish, unlike you.” You say, smacking him lightly against the back of the head, to which he flinches and laughs. “Haven’t you ever heard of the saying ‘curiosity killed the cat’? We are supposed to be on night patrol around town, not the woods outside of town.”

“So we’re taking a little detour, no one will even know we left. Unless you tell them of course because-“ he begins walking backwards in front of you holding his hand against his forehead like a distraught maiden and his voice shifts to a high pitched tone in an attempt to mimic you. “‘It is my duty to please the Knights of the Dawn Age. All I want is for them to recognize my skills as a valiant knight and dub me a member of the Barrons.’”

“Ha ha very funny.” You shove him lightly away from you, resisting a giggle at his horrible attempt to make you loosen up. He moves to walk beside you and pulls your hand up to his chest by his heart.

“‘Then maybe I’ll finally get Mike Schmidt, my best friend and the man of my dreams, to notice me because I’m too much of a wuss to tell him how I feel” he continues.

“Oh shut up Jer!” You playfully shout and sneak your foot in front of his, causing him to trip forward and face plant right into the dirt. You find yourself giggling at the thud sound he makes when he hits the ground.

“Ouch.” He grumbles, rolling onto his back and staring back up at you with a very fake looking frown. “Betrayed by my own partner and tossed into the dirt, how could you?”

“Maybe next time you’ll learn not to bring up topics I wish I had never told you.” You remark, bending over his head to block his view of the tree line.

“Double ouch! I’m your partner! I’m supposed to know everything about you, its protocol!” He disputed as he sat up and started brushing the dirt off his chest.

“I think you’re confusing professional and personal again. The rule is to know your partner’s skills, not secrets.” You jested.

“I disagree, how are you supposed to sync with your partner if you don’t know everything that defines them as a person. Knowing your crush falls under that category, for your information.” He refutes.

“Just stop talking, please.” You grumbled but the distant sound of a twig snapping attracts your attention.

“I don’t get what the big deal is about personal stuff with you-” He says, standing up to wipe the rest of the dirt off.

“Stop talking.” You interrupt, your eyes searching the dark trees for any movement.

“Sharing how you feel does not make you weak, it makes you human.” He added.

“Shut up Jeremy.” You quickly respond, your posture tensing up.

“I’m not done, and I’m saying this as your friend and not your partner. I think-“

“Jeremy!” You whisper shout, slapping a hand over his mouth and holding up a finger to hush him. He follows your gaze as you both scan the area around you.

“Oh no, you are not doing this to me again. Are you just trying to get out of the conversation?” He whispers after removing your hand.

“Shhh! Listen.” Your eyes don’t leave an area behind you, straining your vision to pick up any movement.

“I don’t hear anything.” He retorts, frustrated.

“Exactly. The crickets stopped…” You quietly unsheath the spear like weapon on your back, the retractable hilt extending to its full length making it a foot taller than you. “It's dead silent in the middle of a forest at night.”

Jeremy seems to realize the situation and slowly draws his sword from its sheath. You move into a back to back formation, preparing for an attack from any direction. What felt like minutes was only a matter of seconds when a dark figure jumps out from behind a bush and launches itself at Jeremy. He quickly dodges the beast and turns to slash at its legs. The beast lets out a horrible screech while it turns to face you both. The creature was four legged and about the size of a large Great Dane, it’s skin looked like dried lava rock with spikes protruding from the spine while the head held the skull of a dog but with ears. The creature growled and its chest, eyes, and mouth began to glow red and yellow hues like magma heating up beneath the skin.

“Hellhounds!” You exclaim as three more emerge from the bushes at full speed, snarling grotesquely with every step.

“Aw come on!!!” Jeremy shouts raising his sword and activating the plasma edge of the blade, the sword edge began to glow a dark red. “I was in the middle of a serious conversation and you just had to ruin the moment!!!”

You activate the plasma blade on your own weapon, the blade extending to make the cutting edge of the weapon twice as large as its original form. You swing the glaive around in front of you and slice the face of a hellhound as it launches at you, missing your side by a matter of inches. You flow into another attack and catch the ribs of another beast while it runs past you, falling to its side and sliding into a nearby tree. Jeremy swings his sword and severs the legs off of one beast and twists into another maneuver, blocking the claws of a second hound from digging into his side. You bash the head of that beast with the end of your glaive and send it rolling away a few feet, you jab your glaive straight on into the chest of one going after your partner for a second time and rip it out as the beast crashes to the ground.

“Well this is turning out to be an exciting night, huh!” Jeremy hollers, catching his breath.

“That is not the word I would use!” You exclaim, examining the four bodies surrounding you. You pant, your heart racing with the adrenaline kicking into your system. The four lump creatures begin to shift as molten lava oozes from their wounds and reforms their bodies, they stand up and bark threateningly at you both.

“Ugh, we could be here all night! I forget these things don’t die easily!” Jeremy complains, raising his sword to prepare for more attacks from the beasts. “Could be worse I guess, at least there’s only four.” As you both defend yourself from the gnashing teeth and claws coming towards you, two more emerge from the dark from behind a tree.

“You just had to ask, didn’t you…” You accused, whacking away the jaws of a hound before it bit you.

The hounds all make their moves, lunging, dashing, and gnawing in an attempt to get their prey but you and your partner were always faster than them and anticipated every attack. Some hounds would fall to what seemed like fatal wounds but would get back up moments later completely healed, snarling with more ferocity. You both fought with equal fierceness however, returning every attack they gave with a plasma blade embedded into some area of their body. Their attacks began to slow but the hellhounds showed no sign of retreat anytime soon. One was too focused on Jeremy and came inches away from biting his arm but with a swift move you managed to sever its head before its teeth could make contact with his skin. Its body fell to the ground and began fading into ash as it died, the ash flying away in the breeze.

“Whatever you do, do not let one bite you Jer! A scratch is excruciating but a bite will kill you!” You shout in a panic.

“I know, I know! Let’s just get rid of these things already!” He hollers back.

It is not easy to kill a hellhound but it is not impossible either as you just proved. The hellhound has to be weak enough or else a blade will not cut through the neck completely. Difficult, exhausting, and incredibly dangerous to do; there was a reason people nicknamed them devil dogs, most don’t survive the attacks unharmed. You had the advantage of being together but the odds would have been better if there were at least three of you. There were still five hellhounds left fighting and getting a shot at their neck without being bit was a task within itself. You managed to pin one down with your glaive as Jeremy brought his sword down like a guillotine and sliced the head clean from the body. You pulled your weapon away as the beast began fading but were tackled to the ground by a leap from one of the remaining creatures.

The beast snarled and growled viciously while you held the pole of your glaive in its mouth to prevent it from biting you. The stench of its breath smelled like burnt flesh and radiated heat, you could see the metal from your weapon begin to glow as it was being superheated by the mouth of the beast. You tried to toss the creature to the side and off of you but it stood firm. You had a moment of relief when Jeremy kicked it off you with as much force as he could muster and sent it rolling to a skid a few feet away. Your partner reached out a hand to help you up but was tackled just before you could grasp it.

“Jeremy!!!” You shout in horror while you watched him struggle on the ground. By the time you got to your feet, the beast had somehow gotten its claws through a small area of his leg armor and was digging them into his skin. He shouted out in pain, defending his upper body from the ravenous bitting with his sword firmly embedded into the neck of his attacker. You rushed over and skewered the hound in the chest so hard it was almost sliced in half, its body slumped just beside Jeremy as his hand quickly fell to the wound on his leg.

“You’re okay it’s just a scratch, you'll be fine! You gotta get up!” You exclaim, looking around to see the four hounds recovering from their current wounds. Jeremy just lay there shouting through gritted teeth and you did your best to help him up but he seemed consumed by the pain.

“Hey, we have about sixty seconds before they recuperate and come back for another round. They should relent soon, they can’t have that much fight left in them. Come on, get up!”

“It hurts….” He hissed.

“I know but you can do this! We are not going to die here, you hear me?!” You grab his arm and wrap it around your neck in an effort to help lift him from the ground. He shouts out in pain but you both manage to get him standing, his hand still shakily holding his leg. You get him stabilized enough to stand on his own and hand him his weapon. “We’re gonna get through this, I promise. I’ll carry you back to town when this fight is over and you can tease me all you want then, but right now I need you to-“

You began to say but were suddenly dragged to the ground by your leg. A hellhound with a partially healed back had your limb in its mouth and was dragging you away. Luckily your armor prevented its teeth from getting a hold on your skin but you could feel indents forming in the metal where teeth should be. You kicked at its head with your other foot and its grip on you loosened enough for you to remove your leg and scurry to your feet but just before you fully stood up the creature lunged at you knocking you forward onto your stomach. As you tried to catch your breath that is when you felt it. A burning, excruciating searing pain began to radiate from your shoulder. You screamed but no sound escaped your throat, you were paralyzed from the pain that was starting to spread to your whole body. You felt like you were burning from the inside out, you knew you needed to get out of the grip of your attacker but your muscles wouldn’t respond no matter how hard you tried. Suddenly the source of pain was ripped from your shoulder and sent crashing into another hound, yelping loudly in the process. You felt a pair of hands roll you onto your back and the figure of Jeremy loomed over you, fear and pain covering his expression.

“J-Jer…” was all you managed to get out. You felt tears welling up in your eyes uncontrollably and streak down your face while you looked slowly down to your shoulder. The distinct shape of a bite mark covered the armor and the metal indents from the teeth marks were glowing from the super heated metal. You grunted in pain from simply trying to move your hand. Everything still burned, your muscles, your bones, even your skin started to feel like it would melt off.

“No… it didn’t. Please tell me it didn’t.” He asks, panic filling every word. You grit your teeth hard and force yourself to sit up. The more you moved, the more painful it became but you tried to collect yourself and form a solid sentence while you stared at your horrified partner.

“G-Go… You need to go, g-get out of here.” You stutter.

“What?! No! You told me we weren’t going to die here!” He exclaims.

“WE aren’t, I am… You can still make it back to town.” You use him as a crutch while you both stand up unsteady and shaking. He holds onto your forearms tightly, refusing to let

“I am not going anywhere, I won’t abandon my partner!” His grip tightens.

“I’m not asking you, I’m telling you. GET. BACK. TO. TOWN.” You hiss.

“N-No! I can’t! We stick together, that's the first rule of being a knight!”

“I’m already dead Jeremy!!!” You holler, the physical and mental pain clouding your ability to think straight. “There’s no reason for you to die too, just GO!” You rip your arms from his grasp and grab both of your weapons, connecting the hilts together.

“But I-“ He takes a step back, every emotion crossing over his expression all at once and his breathing beginning to sound more like gasping for air. He watches the four remaining hellhounds shifting as they heal, moments away from attacking again. “I can’t! You can’t-!”

“Hey” you said, locking eyes with him. “It’s okay. I’ll make sure they don’t follow you.” The weapon in your hand shifts as it interlocks itself together forming a dual ended spear. “You were the best partner I could have ever had, don’t forget that okay?”

Jeremy collects himself and straightens his posture, he gives you a knight’s salute with a shaky hand. “Fight with honor…” he quavered.

“Die with glory.” You nod and watch as he runs away limping.

—————

You dropped your weapon, breathing hard but it honestly felt like you weren’t breathing at all. You limp over to a tree and lean against it as you slide to the ground, watching the last pile of ash fade in the wind. You coughed, the taste of blood and tears filled your mouth but you didn’t care. You had managed to slay every hellhound, you fought with everything you had left and survived despite scratches and bite marks covering your entire body. Jeremy got away safe, he was alive and that was all you cared about. The searing pain had faded into complete numbness after the adrenaline in your body went into overdrive while you slayed the first hellhound by yourself. The other three were easier since you could barely feel anything they did to attack you.

The numbness was slowly fading into heaviness. Everything started to feel like it was turning to stone, your limbs feeling heavier and heavier with each passing second. Your heart rate was slowing down fast while your shaky breathing became shallow. This was it. This was the end. The hellhound bite was quickly shutting all your organs down, not that your other injuries weren’t contributing to your death as well. Your vision began to blur and the ringing in your ears began to fade but you vaguely made out the shape of a figure approaching you. The black figure moved slowly, closer and closer to you.

If that’s you Jeremy I’m going to come back as a ghost and haunt you for the rest of your life. You say, or at least attempted to say if any part of your body still worked. You grunted softly while one last cough escaped your chest just as the figure approached you, they bent down and lifted your chin. You heard the figure speak but by this point your lungs refused to take in any more oxygen and your heart made its last attempt to keep you alive.

Everything faded to black.

[ausetkmt]

Black Residents Of Gullah-Geechee Enclave In Georgia Angered After Zoning Changes Pose Threat To Their Community

This small enclave is home to a majority of Black residents who are members of the Hogg Hummock community, which is also sometimes referred to as Hog Hammock. According to The Cultural Landscape Foundation, “Hog Hammock was one of fifteen African American Saltwater Geechee settlements on Sapelo Island, Georgia.

The Geechee are descendants of enslaved West Africans brought to work on Sea Island plantations along the Atlantic coast.” Sapelo island is located approximately 60 miles south of Savannah, Georgia and is only reachable by boat.

Almost three decades ago, the county adopted the zoning restrictions, “with the stated intent to help Hogg Hummock’s 30 to 50 residents hold on to their land,” the Associated Press reports.

But the McIntosh County’s elected commissioners recently voted 3-2 vote to change the restrictions. Now, Black residents fear that wealthy buyers will be prioritized over them, which could lead to increases in taxes.

Residents also anticipate this could cause them to be pressured to sell their land, most of which has been in their family for generations.  Atlanta resident Yolanda Grovner originally had a plan where she would ultimately retire on her island native father’s land that he owns in Hogg Hummock, but now she worries this might not be able to happen. Yolanda’s father George Grovner attended the meeting wearing a sticker, which read “Keep Sapelo Geechee,” in defiance of these planned zoning changes.

“It’s going to be very, very difficult,” said Yolanda, continuing, “I think this is their way of pushing residents off the island.”

In recent years, the population on Hogg Hummock has been shrinking because some families have sold their land to outsiders. David Stevens, Chairman of the Commission, said he’s been a visitor on Sapelo Island since the 1980s, and places the blame for these changes on those who are selling their land.

This could be partly true, as the vote followed new construction builds. The commissioners ruling “raised the maximum size of a home in Hogg Hummock to 3,000 square feet (278 square meters) of total enclosed space. The previous limit was 1,400 square feet (130 square meters) of heated and air-conditioned space,” per the Associated Press.

Stevens stated, “I don’t need anybody to lecture me on the culture of Sapelo Island.” “If you don’t want these outsiders, if you don’t want these new homes being built...don’t sell your land,” Stevens concluded.

But the remaining residents have vowed to keep fighting these ordinance changes, and it’s not a new phenomenon for them to fight with the local government either. In 2012, dozens of residents and landowners were able to successfully appeal property tax increases.

In addition, many have spent years “fighting the county in federal court for basic services such as firefighting equipment and trash collection before county officials settled last year,” writes the Associated Press.

Maurice Bailey is a native of Hogg Hummock whose mother Cornelia Bailey had deep roots to the island. Bailey was a Sapelo Island celebrity, keeping the community’s voice alive with her storytelling before she died in 2017. Maurice said, “We’re still fighting all the time,” adding, “They’re not going to stop. The people moving in don’t respect us as people. They love our food, they love our culture. But they don’t love us.”

Some legal experts have hinted at due process violations as well as concerns about encroachment under the equal protection clause.

This issue becomes more complicated given the racial demographics of the county. Hogg Hummock is on the National Register of Historic Places, and in order for the Gullah-Geechee community to receive protections “to preserve the community, residents depend on the local government in McIntosh County, where 65% of the 11,100 residents are white,” says the Associated Press.

[thiswaycomessomethingwicked]

3, 9, 10, and 49 for Grima?

Two Grima anons!! Because you all are amazing and know me and the way to my heart

3. Obscure headcanon

Honestly, I feel like I've talked enough about Grima that all my headcanons have been exhausted in the "Grima Thoughts" tag and the "Grima Wormtongue" tag more broadly on my tumblr.

I suppose one that I've never voice too much, and haven't played with (YET. GET READY.**) is that I headcanon him as distinctly Not Cis but he's very convoluted and vague about what that means. The whole seidr aspect I read onto him adds different layers to how you can interpret that, especially given some views that seidr-working might have been viewed as an alternative gender, or an additional aspect to gender, or something in that ballpark of being different from man and woman.

I just enjoy that, aside from Eowyn, he is one of the characters you can make the strongest argument for being Outside the Gender Norms of Their Respective Society. This makes me very pleased and happy.

Grima just wants to be queen. Let him be one!!

--

**this only applies to people reading What Makes a King

9. Scene that first made me love (or hate) the character

For the movies it was the tear-drop scene in TTT after Saruman sends the uruk-hai off to Helms Deep. So much regret and realization of the scope of the impact of his actions captured in a single emotional moment. And it's fleeting! But so well done. No words are needed. Just dawning horror and that stomach-dropping-out-from-your-body feeling of What The Fuck Have I Done - This Was Not How It Was Supposed To Go.

In the books it's 100% when Grima is sassing back at Treebeard. He is Peak Drowned Rat and a GIANT TREE is telling him: You need to go to Orthanc. It's voer there.

And Grima. Who has been on a horse for two days straight, riding through the night, and probbaly hasn't eaten in 48h, and is now stinking soaking wet becuase Treebeard dropped him in the muck and mire of the waters around Orthanc. That man. That man looks at the Giant Tree, the stuff of childhood legends in Rohan, and his instinctual reaction is to be the sassiest most lie-filled bitch on the planet.

What the fuck Grima.

Grima: Well, since you don't think I was here on behalf of Theoden which was My Quickly Thought Up Plan Because I DID NOT Expect This. I will now just be super sassy at you as my fall back. Seems reasonable.

Tree Beard: ????

Love that deranged bastard so much.

Grima: [sees a being way, way more powerful than him. Gandalf, Treebeard, whatever] What if I just said some sick burns and was a petty bitch for fifteen minutes??

Eomer: . .... ..,, , as a treat?

Grima: As a treat!!

10. Best moment on screen (or in the book)

I loved his seduction scene in the film. That whole speech is masterfully rendered by Brad Dourif and Miranda Otto is also fantastic in that scene. Seeing her tempted, truly tempted, then pulling back like: nope, nope, nope, I can't. Grima's face when she leaves. Absolutely phenomenal.

I also love the "These Men Don't Know What Personal Space Is" scene with Eomer.

Nothing to see here. Move along everyone.

In the book, the best scene is everything in the Scouring of Shire. The wanting to take Frodo's offer of a helping hand. The desperation for that salvation from himself and the situation he is in - yet, he is so trapped in whatever it is he feels for Saruman. That quasi-enslaved state by the time we get to the end of ROTK. It's so fucked up and such a fantastic representation of the push/pull of abusive situations. I want out/I can't leave/I can see a future/I can't see a future. So well done.

(And I think Saruman-Grima dynamic is something Tolkien didn't know he had - at least in terms of the potential that is in it.)

While I have gone on before about Grima's death being a let-down in terms of thematic satisfaction, I do love, love, love that he gets to kill Saruman. He gets to put the knife in Saruman's back. That is so fantastic as a full circle of all the traitors betraying each other. ALSO, of course, Grima gets to kill the man who has spent the last eleven months torturing him for shits and giggles. We love to see it.

16. Deepest darkest secret they won’t even admit to themselves

I think Grima is very afraid to look at a lot of things about himself. He cannot look into the mirror straight-on. All truths about himself have to be captured in peripheral vision - which is to say, only ever faintly brushed against.

I don't know what the darkest secret is that he can't admit to himself. I suspect, for him, it's several. He's done so much harm in his life, and he's been also denied so much too, and wants so much, and has broken so much - it's all a tangled mess.

I think for Grima, what drives a lot of his actions post-Helm's Deep is a two-fold sunk-cost fallacy (that's the thing he can't admit to himself - it's not all lost. He can and should walk away. "If it's shit, hit the bricks" was not something he ever learned) and the inability to be able to see a life outside of Saruman. A path away from Orthanc. (Granted, no one was being helpful in that regard until Frodo. Literally no one. Not in any meaningful capacity.)

24. Most annoying habit

Maybe stop stealing things from people?

Probably, though, the sycophancy. The whole "oh my lord" this and "a wise/brilliant thing you said my lord" that. Ugh. Miss me with the verbal dick-sucking there, Grima.

I get why he does it. I 100% understand. I still find it grating. This is something, I will say, that turns up in fanfics more than canon. I've written it, myself, because it works for his character! It's what he would do! It makes sense post-Saruman that he would be like this! If he wasn't it would be weird! But my god Grima, get a spine and a sense of self-worth!

(Grima: shall not.)

For proper canon things, we don't really see enough of him to have specific habits to pick on. Because frankly, I find his thieving delightful and funny, if not a little whimsical. In fact, he should do more. Steal more things! Steal more things!

(Grima: Shall!!! Right now!!)

32. Something guaranteed to make them smile/laugh

Scathing commentary on people he hates. This man is a gossip and a first-class professional Bitcher. He can bitch with the best of them. Hearing dirty things about people makes him so happy.

Also, I think he likes word play and clever jokes. Riddling games and the like, especially ones that are terribly, terribly clever are near-guaranteed to make him smile.

I don't know that he laughs all that much. I think he does that snort/exhale as a form of "laughing" but I don't think he does full on laughing. Save very rarely, and I think it's a shockingly warm sound for someone who is a walking glacier in many respects.

49. Favorite toy as a child

Oh gods. This is hands down the toughest question. If only becuase I have only ever envisioned Grima's childhood as fairly toyless. But he would have had toys - even in the bleakest versions he would have had toys.

I can see little Grima, as a four/five/six year old, being partial to a small, carved cow. He likes the gentle eyes and is familiar with cattle and they smell like home. I can see him also having a small wagon as a boy and he would go out to a small copse and pretend to be a runaway who has joined up with a band of robbers or highway men. In the wagon he'd pack food and water and such, also his bow and a small knife.

Practicing a quick get-away since he was eight.

----

Thank you both so much! <3 <3 <3 This got long but 0 regrets. Grima deserves it.

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Middle school students in Florida will soon be taught that slavery gave Black people a “personal benefit” because they “developed skills.”

After the Florida Board of Education approved new standards for African American history on Wednesday, high school students will be taught an equally distorted message: that a deadly white mob attack against Black residents of Ocoee, Florida, in 1920 included “acts of violence perpetrated against and by African Americans.”

Dozens of Black residents were killed in the massacre, which was perpetrated to stop them from voting.

According to members of the board, that distorted portrayal of the racist massacre is factually accurate. MaryLynn Magar, a member of the board appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, said at the board’s meeting in Orlando on Wednesday that “everything is there” in the new history standards and “the darkest parts of our history are addressed,” the Tallahassee Democrat reported.

The majority of the speakers who provided public testimony on the planned curriculum were vehemently opposed to it, warning that crucial context is omitted, atrocities are glossed over, and in some cases students will be taught to “blame the victim.”

“I am very concerned by these standards, especially some of the notion that enslaved people benefited from being enslaved,” state Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando) said, per Action News Jax.

“When I see the standards, I’m very concerned,” state Sen. Geraldine Thompson said at the board meeting. “If I were still a professor, I would do what I did very infrequently; I’d have to give this a grade of ‘I’ for incomplete. It recognizes that we have made an effort, we’ve taken a step. However, this history needs to be comprehensive. It needs to be authentic, and it needs additional work.”

“When you look at the history currently, it suggests that the [Ocoee] massacre was sparked by violence from African Americans. That’s blaming the victim,” the Democrat warned.

“Please table this rule and revise it to make sure that my history, our history, is being told factually and completely, and please do not, for the love of God, tell kids that slavery was beneficial because I guarantee you it most certainly was not,” community member Kevin Parker said.

Approval of the new standards is a win for the DeSantis administration, which has effectively sought to create a new educational agenda that shields white students from feeling any sense of guilt for wrongs perpetrated against people of color. The Florida Governor signed the “Stop WOKE Act” last year to do just that, restricting how issues of race are taught in public schools and workplaces.

In keeping with the administration’s crusade against “wokeness,” Education Commissioner Manny Diaz defended the new standards against criticism, saying, “This is an in-depth, deep dive into African American history, which is clearly American history as Governor DeSantis has said, and what Florida has done is expand it,” Action News Jax reported.

Paul Burns, the Florida Department of Education’s chancellor of K-12 public schools, also insisted the new standards provide an exhaustive representation of African American history.

“Our standards are factual, objective standards that really teach the good, the bad and the ugly,” he was quoted as saying Wednesday by Florida Phoenix. He denied the new standards portray slavery as beneficial.

Although education officials say teachers are meant to expand upon the new curriculum in the classroom, critics say teachers are unlikely to do that for fear of being singled out and possibly punished for being too “woke.”

The Florida Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union, called the new standards “a big step backward for a state that has required teaching African American history since 1994” in a statement after Wednesday’s vote.

Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, also condemned the new curriculum, saying in a statement: “Our children deserve nothing less than truth, justice, and the equity our ancestors shed blood, sweat, and tears for.”

“Today’s actions by the Florida state government are an attempt to bring our country back to a 19th century America where Black life was not valued, nor our rights protected. It is imperative that we understand that the horrors of slavery and Jim Crow were a violation of human rights and represent the darkest period in American history. We refuse to go back,” he said.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

US Supreme Court takes up another reactionary cause.

         It has long been the dream of reactionary conservatives to “dismantle the administrative state.” In the current iteration of what passes for conservative philosophy, the federal government is the problem—never mind that it creates the physical, economic, and regulatory infrastructure that allows American businesses to flourish in the most stable, least corrupt markets in the world. The reactionary majority on the Supreme Court appears poised to supercharge the “dismantling of the administrative state” by overturning a long-established rule that defers federal agencies when they interpret their own regulations (the so-called “Chevron deference” standard).

         On Monday, the US Supreme Court granted review in a case that directly challenges the Chevron deference standard. As Mark Joseph Stern tweeted,

Killing Chevron will be a major victory in the conservative legal movement's war against the administrative state. It'll shift a huge amount of power from the executive branch to the judiciary, allowing totally unaccountable, unelected judges to resolve statutory ambiguities.

         Justice Gorsuch has made overturning the Chevron deference standard a centerpiece of his judicial career. Among the people filing “friend of the court” briefs urging the Court to overturn the Chevron deference standard is John Eastman—who was last seen trying to convince Mike Pence that he could single-handedly reverse the results of the 2020 election. That tells you all you need to know about the alignment of interests in overturning the Chevron defense standard.

The next battle in education: “The American Birthright” curriculum.

         A reader sent a link to an important article in Salon, Right's new social studies plan vows to fight CRT, wokeness and the "overthrow of America". As explained in the article, Christian nationalists have developed and are marketing a thinly disguised Christian nationalist curriculum for adoption in public and private schools. The American Birthright curriculum is Critical Race Theory from a white nationalist viewpoint.

         As explained in Salon,

[T]eachers who attended the first training, in Broward County, emerged with deep concerns. Some said the new civics standards appeared to promote "a very strong Christian fundamentalist way" of analyzing U.S. history. Others recounted that trainers had claimed that America's founding fathers opposed strict separation of church and state, had compared the end of school-sponsored prayer to segregation and had downplayed the history of American slavery in misleading ways. (Slides from the training presentation noted that enslaved people in the U.S. only accounted for 4% of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, which both minimizes the number of people ultimately enslaved in America and suggests that other countries' slavery practices were worse.)

         If states are the laboratories of democracy, then public schools are incubators of citizens. We cannot cede the public school system to a curriculum based on Christian nationalism. Tell a friend about the danger posed by the “American Birthright” curriculum.

[Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter]

[awesomecooperlove]

⛈️👿

[jinlizz-dragondrama]

Chapter 16

Battle Nexus R Us

(Don't watch video til you see the bold words)

Dear Diary,

Ah, Another day here in New York. It's a quiet peaceful day, the sun is shining, freshly cooked pizza wafts in the air, and pigeons feed hungrily on bread that old ladies and men feed them. Yep so relaxing City...

"Guys, guys, get a photo of me dropping a Hibernator on Big Spikey and Big Blinky and Jolly Green Torch guy" Raph sat excitedly while posing in front of each building/monument.

Ugh, which is what I would be saying if I wasn't on top of the Empire State Building observation deck.

I close my diary quickly after Raph's body slams a trash can and gets trash juices all over my hoodie.

"Ew gross...April why are we up here anyway?" I say slightly annoyed.

"This family needs to learn more about its hometown, which is why I entered us in a citywide photo scavenger hunt. And we're gonna WIN!" April says sure of herself.

We head into the elevator and take a look at the scavenger hunt list.

"So what do we win? When we win?" Asks Mikey

"Street Cred. The only currency that matters in this city" Splints answers

"And we'll do it with our special brand of teamwork-- where my brothers do all the work but we share equal credit," Leo says

I roll my eyes and punch him in the shoulders playfully.

"Not gonna happen this time buddy," I say while folding my arms

I feel eyes on me and I look back to see Donnie looking at me. When our eyes lock he pulls his hood down to cover his eyes. The past couple of weeks have been a bit awkward between us. Donnie isn't big on talking about his feelings not even Doctor Feelings could get him to cough it up.

*Flashback*

⚠️Trigger warning mentions of violence, guns, and blood⚠️

(Re-read chapter 13 if you need a refresher)

"Let's get to work," Donnie says after pulling down his mystic goggles

"Give me all you got Don Tron" I smirk

"Oh I plan to, my sweet Aqua" He chuckles

We go into a deep part of the lair where Donnie tests his more or less lethal experiments. A huge soundproof room, titanium encased, several stories high, with several stairs, ramps, poles, entrances, and tunnels.

"Ready when you are," I say while getting into a fighting stance.

He pulls out his tech bo and presses a button, it turns into a rubber bullet gun and he starts shooting. Before I could react my body took over and my body became elastic catapulting the bullets back at Donnie. He easily dodges them and the ones he misses he walks away with his tech bo.

"Interesting, indeed." He ponders

"Let's kick it up a notch, let's pretend I'm an evil alien race that wants to enslave Earth and all the planets in the galaxy and beyond" Evil laughs.

"Well you asked for it," Donnie says while pushing another button and starting to shoot lasers at me.

I dodge the lasers and what I don't dodge my body can absorb and shoot back at Jim 10 times more powerful. It was fun to see how much my body could take. I end up tripping and tumbling into Donnie, knocking him over and falling on top of him. Our faces are close together, and we both blush darkly as we realize the position we are in I take notice of his hands on my hips to catch me as I fall. His large hands were cold but not the freezing kind and they felt nice on my hips.

Author-chan POV

Kiss him, kiss him, kiss him. Oh um *clears throat* continue.

Aqua POV

I hurriedly get off him, pull him up, then push him over as I jump away.

"Catch me if you can" I shout as I hop away

"Oh here comes Donnie" He shouts close behind me chuckling.

We go for hours and hours testing all of Donnie's inventions til we are both covered in sweat and breathing heavily.

Collapsing onto the ground trying to catch my breath, Donnie falls to the ground not that far from me.

"Looks...like...I'm...indestructible...." I say between each breath

"It...would...seem...so..." Donnie says equally out of breath

"Well, I need a shower, and so do you I can smell you from here," I say while waving my hand in front of my nose jokingly swishing away the non-existent stench I smell from Donnie.

"Hardy, har har" His metal arms emerge from his battle shell to help him up.

I slowly stand up, I concentrate on what my human form looks like, and my body starts to shift into my familiar form.

"Ah, it's good to be back..." I say while hugging myself

"Race you to the showers!" I shout while running toward to exit

"What happened to being tired?" Donnie asks as he starts to chase after me but something catches his eye. He reaches down and grabs a folded white piece of paper. Curiosity consumes him, so he checks to make sure the coast is clear and opens it. Seeing the drawing he smiles at how cute and well-drawn it is but something sticks out.

Donnie POV

The drawings are of my brothers, myself, April, Aqua, and Cass. Who is that? But the drawings depict a much older gang with a little turtle tot added to the mix. His mind starts to rave with many questions and theories.

"Did Aqua draw this? No that doesn't make sense if she did she wouldn't be carrying this around with her. Something about this is special and she keeps it close to her. But why? To study it? It is a bit worn out on a very specific part of the page which means she's been looking at it often. I should return this. But how?"

Something else catches his eye a small curl of hair is stuck where the little tot's drawn feet are. He makes his way to the lab making sure I'm not around, quickly entering he grabs a test tube, with a pair of sterile tweezers plucks the hair, and places it into the test tube sealing it with a cork and labs it "unknown DNA specimen".

"Thinking back on the science fair Aqua has been acting off. More off than usual I couldn't get anything out of her after she ran out of the gym. She seemed she was looking for something but what?"

"Not only that, but the incredible armor she created was Ah breathtaking. Little on that later once I figure out what's going on. She has also been wearing that mysterious comb, probably a gift from that infuriating..." sighing and pinched the bridge between my eyebrows.

"This girl is going to be the death of me"

But before analyzing the DNA components even crossed my mind I could hear my dumb dumb twin brothers' voices through the security camera which isn't out of the ordinary. But what ground my gears was him trying to "flirt" with Aqua. I use quotations because his flirting has never worked and it's very....ew.

Looking at the security cameras, seeing Leo say something while Aqua is grabbing a glass of milk. After she takes a sip, Leo whispers something in her ear and she proceeds to have milk shoot out of her mouth and nose which causes her to start coughing. It then makes my brother laugh, and run away, and Aqua chases after him.

"Flirtation attempt failed, Aqua well infinite and Leo 0"

"Get your your shell back here, you...you....oooooo"

"Catch me if you can"

*Sigh* "I should go help him but, he deserves it so I'm going to get a better look"

Putting the test tube in a secure specimen lock, inputs a code, and walks out of the lab to see the chaos just in time to see the duo run past. I smirked and had the brilliant idea to stick my foot out to trip him, chuckling and folding my arms quite amused.

"You son of a- oh boy..." Leo trips and does some cartwheel rolls and looks up to see Aqua gracefully jump into the air stick her elbow out and dish out the people's elbow into Leo's exposed plastron which causes him to splutter and his eyes almost bulge out of his sockets.

"Ah yes, the sweet sweet smell of revenge," I say while making my way to my unconscious brother and anger-fueled friend.

"I swear to the gods above if you utter a single word to anyone...ESPECIALLY HIM! I will turn you into turtle soup!

"Yeesh, she means business"

"If you wanted to take me out to dinner why didn't you just say so?" As soon as those words came out of my brother's mouth all I could say was

"WHAT?" I shout but also hear Aqua's voice shout at the same time as me

We ended up looking at each other and I could feel my cheeks start to burn.

"Aha ha ha *clears throat* I'll um just dispose of him my lady and I shall return"

Extending my mechanical arms from my battle shell I drag Nardo to his room.

"Why did I say that? Ugh, she probably didn't hear the last bit, I mean I called her that multiple times before but...but...*sigh* you're overthinking Donnie just get rid of your brother and go back to her and act normal."

I tossed my brother into his room and left a very tasteful sticky note that read "I'm with stupid" with an arrow pointing at him

"I'm so good and for the final touch, as soon as he tries to leave his room water balloons full of paint will get thrown at him...EVIL LAUGH!"

Turning back to the direction of Aqua when I returned to her current location I saw that April had joined her and they were speaking in hushed tones.

*Back to the present*

Did you see that our grades have been posted?" April says while looking at her phone

"So let's see what we have here," Donnie says while looking over my shoulder as I look up my grades

"Hey, no peeking you, dork." I giggle and then go quiet

"Uh, Aqua? Are you ok?" Raph asks me concerned

Leo snatches my phone from my hand and rolls his eyes

"These are perfect grades, Aqua!" Leo says

"Woohoo, that's my girl!" April high-fives me

"Oh wait, what's this? I see here," Leo smirks

I feel a sweat droplet start to slide down my forehead, and I make this face (😳)[ I don't know how to describe it...] Donnie takes the phone out of his twin hand and gasps.

"A B- in theater!" He shouts

"What? Why?" Mikey takes a look as well

"Let's open up the grades and see the breakdown..." Donnie opens up the assignment tab and sees the B- is from my musical performance.

Soon, everyone surrounds my phone, and they all gasp and start talking at once

"WHAT THAT PERFORMANCE WAS AMAZING?" They all say.

"You sounded like an alto angel," Mikey says

"It brought tears to my eyes, I would have hired you to be a star in one of my movies," Splints says while whipping a tear away.

"I can hack into the school grading portal and change it for you," Donnie says while tapping away on his wrist gauntlet.

"No, no, it's ok," I say sadly

"Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps," Raph says excitedly

*Flashback to a couple of weeks ago*

SIX (The Musical)

(Imagine this is the outfit you're wearing, also art by me)

I peel from behind the curtains, and I start to panic as I move my wig bangs out of my face.

"Oh God, it's a full house, I hope they found seats," I say quietly as I scan the crowd for my friends it's finally my turn for my solo. Everything has gone well so far, but this is my big moment.

"Don't screw this up, Y/N!" I say exile, slapping my cheek, which stings pretty bad and brings a small tear to my eye.

A backstage crew member walks over to me, attaches my mic to me, and makeup does one last check to make sure everything is in order.

"This is so exciting," a castmate whispers

The house lights darken, and I scoop up the skirt of my dress and rush to my spot on my throne. Fixing my dress and hair, taking deep calming breaths, and getting into character. The curtain starts to open slowly

"Showtime," I say quietly to myself as the music starts to play and I start to sing.

*Before the Performance*

Donnie POV

"Alright, everyone has their tickets?" I look around as they show me that they indeed have their tickets.

"Excellent! Now, being the genius that I am, we should have arrived early enough to ohhhhh, " Donnie says confidently until he sees the line into the theater

"Well, Donald looks like your plan didn't work out," Mikey says

"No matter, Aqua gave us VIP tickets so we can still get good seats," Donnie says as he fixes his jacket.

All of us were in our disguises but fancier as it was a semi-formal event, and April was wearing a very tasteful signature green dress. Papa cleaned up pretty well. We finally made our way into the theater and looked for available seats.

"Oh, oh, guys over there," April says while pointing at reserved seats.

"Are you sure this is for us?" Raph asks

"Oh yeah, one of the drama kids owed me one, so I was able to snag the best seats in the house!" April says while giving a thumbs-up.

I took a seat and admitted to myself that April had indeed got the best seats in the house. Lowering my mystic goggles, pressing a button, and changing to theater binoculars.

"Really Dee? Binoculars?" Leo annoyingly says

"You gotta look and act the part, dear brother," I say while looking through them

"Gimmie, those"

"No, next time, get your own Nardo."

"Boys! Have some class, " Papa interjected

"Yes, we must be on our best behavior," April says while fanning herself with her green fan.

"Ugh, fine," Nardo says, defeated

I open up the program to see the order of events and see that Aqua has a solo. I couldn't help but smile as I thought about her singing. I've only heard her sing when she thinks no one is listening and dare I say she's really good.

The lights start to dim, and the show begins. There is a slight intermission. We decide to stretch our legs and grab a quick snack at the snack bar.

"Well, I think that King Henry guy has a serious problem with commitment," Mikey says while taking a bit of a cookie.

"It's more to it than that Mikey, it's also history. King Henry VIII married each of the women to produce a male heir to the throne but none of them produced one and the character that Aqua is playing which is Anna of Celves, the King didn't find her pleasing to the eye so he annulled their marriage."

"Well, I think that King Henry DOES like Anna," Mikey says

Everyone gives a knowing look and nods their head in agreement.

*sigh* "Were you guys not -" (notices that everyone started walking back to their seats)

"H-hey guys, wait up." Rushing back to catch up with the gang and wondering what's up with them.

No matter. I know Nardo will probably spill the beans later.

The house lights darken once more, and the musical begins.

Aqua POV

I start singing my heart out and acting like a boss-ass bitch. In the middle of my singing, I lock eyes with Donnie. I was blushing slightly and continued singing. The rest of the musical went on without a hitch. Once we were finished, we took a bow, and Josh, the guy who played King Henry VII, held my hand while bowed. When we are backstage, the castmates and I congratulate each other's amazing performances. The gang comes in, I wave at them smiling, and it looks like Donnie wants to say something but Josh steps in front of me to hand me a bouquet of roses.

"For you my queen!" Josh says while bowing them and handing them to me

"Oh uhhh thank....you...Josh....they're lovely?" I say as I awkwardly accept them

I see Donnie's expression harden slightly.

"How curious," I say to myself

"So if you don't have a date already, would you like to go to prom with me?" Josh asks me

"I...uh..." I stutter a bit as I'm taken aback by the ask.

"Of course, you don't have to answer now, here's my number shoot me a text," He says while handing me a piece of paper.

Taking the piece of paper, I look from the paper to the gang, their mouths are agape and they slowly look at Donnie. His fists were clenched behind his back but he put on a brave face, walked over to me, grabbed me by the waist, picked me up, and spun me.

"An excellent performance my dear, I say I think we'll make a star out of you. You should audition on Broadway, although you'll have some tough competition." He says while he puts me back down

"Oh and who is this competition?" I ask sarcastically

"But me of course" He smirks and folds his arms.

"Oh, Dee don't you have something to give our rising star?" Mikey says

"Something for me?" I question

"Uh yes, well I made you this" He pulls a single purple rose

I take it and I don't know if it's possible but my smile got bigger.

"No way is this made from the same metal as-" I start to say

"My tech-Bo but of course" Donnie finishes proudly

"It's beautiful thank you" I study the handy work, it must have taken him a long time to expertly and beautifully create this for me. Looking up at him from under my eyelashes I can tell he's kind of embarrassed.

Well let me get changed out of these ridiculous clothes and we can go celebrate!" I say excitedly as I hand the flowers to April and rush to the changing room.

Once I was out of earshot the gang bombards Donnie.

"Alright game plan you need to ask Y/N to prom" April states

"what why?" Donnue asks.

"Uh because if you don't I will," Leo says

Everyone glares at Leo.

"Ugh fine because if you don't that nobody is gonna swoop in and steal your girl!" Leo says

"She isn't my girl and she's free to go with who she pleases," Donnie says while shrugging

"Aw come on bro you know you wanna go with her" Raph points out

I finish changing into comfy clothes I step out of the changing room gear them talking and decide to eavesdrop. Donnie's back is to me but everyone else is facing me.

"Besides dances aren't my scene and I doubt someone like her would want that....can we just drop this" Donnie says

April notices me eavesdropping and stealthy elbows Mikey and he also looks in my direction, I quickly whip the tear I didn't realize that ran down my cheek, smike, and skip over to the gang.

"Come on guys pizza waits for no man!" I shout while grabbing my flowers and running out of the room.

*2 weeks after the performance*

"Oooo what are we looking at?" Mikey seemingly coming out of nowhere

"Oh just prom dresses," I say nonchalantly

"You still haven't picked one yet?" Mikey asks

"There are just too many to choose from," I say slightly defeated.

"Well guess we have to go dress shopping!" Mikey and April say.

"Wait wait wait, how about you take the boys' tux shopping and home girl and eye check some dresses!" April sings

"Let's do it!" I shout happily as I giggle

"Alright, bros let's go topside" Mikey shouts and grabs Donnie as he runs to grab the rest of the boys.

(Watch the video above the title now)

While the boys have their montage. We girls tried dress after dress after dress all hope was lost as we walked around the mall. As a last-ditch effort, we went into one last store. Looking around I couldn't find anything I liked.

"Ah, young lady can I help you with something?" The shopkeeper asks

"No, I'm just looking," I say while looking at the racks of dresses

"I just may have the dress you're looking for," she says

I look at her intrigued and smile a bit hopeful. She scuttled away to find the dress and quickly returned. April appears at my side with heart eyes.

"Girl you have to try this one!" She says giddy

I go to the changing room, put the dress on, and zip it up. There was no mirror in the room so I stepped out of the room and all eyes were on me. April's mouth is agape and she slowly raises her phone and takes a picture.

"I look ridiculous don't I?" I say shyly

"Are you kidding me, you're gorgeous!"

"I have the perfect shoes and earrings for this dress," the shopkeeper says.

Trying on the shoes and earrings I smile at myself in the mirror.

"So have you decided if you're going to prom with Josh?" April asks

I think about Donnie, then about what he said shaking my head and smiling.

"I guess I could go with Josh as friends, but it doesn't hurt that he's mildly attractive," I say while texting him saying that ilk go with him.

I pay for the dress and accessories. Looking at the shopkeeper she looked very familiar, but besides I could fully recognize her April pulled me out of the store to the direction of the food court.

*Present time*

We are still in the elevator, it finally dings and we are on the ground level. Looking at Donnie again I start to say something as we step out onto the New York street it's eerily quiet. The sky is red and there is a huge black hole in the sky.

"Donnie, what did you do?" We all ask

Then we hear some cackling

"Big mama?" We all say

"Ladies and gentlemen it's the moment you've all been waiting for my long-promised, fantastic, whiz-bang 'Battle Nexus: New York'!"

"I'm sorry, 'whiz-bang New York' what what what?" Donnie asks

"Wait where is everybody?" I asks looking around

"Oh looks like we have a new contestant!" Big Mama says

"A who now?" I say looking up at the hologram Big Mama is projected on.

"Looks like it has decided that you should stay and participate my little darling. Defeat my champions and you win your city back. Fail and you lose it all." She says while evilly rubbing the glowy orb

"What?" We all shout

"I have only one question for you. How dare you?" Donnie says

I face palm myself and sigh loudly

"Well here we go!"

Author Note

Merry Christmas guys!! I hope you enjoy this two-chapter present! Sorry it took so long life got a bit crazy with the holidays and such. Thank you for being so patient. I have a few treats coming soon hope you guys can wait a bit longer.

Love you guys 💜

[tiredandcaffeinated]

Okay so there are four districts with different Fae aka people with powers.

We have Somnia (Latin for dream) who's power is basically that they can travel and creat things through dreams.

There's Sanatio (healing) who can heal others and themselves, and also have a calming energy.

There's Crescere (growth) the plant district, who can grow and reverse the growth of plants. If there was a wooden table or door, they could also return it to the tree state it came from.

Then there's Imperii, with raw destructive power, who can basically kill anyone with a glance, if they employ their power. ( All Fae from Imperii were wiped out however)

The story happens 15 years after something called 'The Culture Wash' where the ambassadors for the rights of Fae were each killed, and now the Fae have no defence against humanity.

They are too afraid to use their powers, and most Fae are enslaved and locked up.

Our female MC is a black woman with pale yellow hair and freckles/patches that are also pale yellow. Her name is Esryn. She's a Sanation, and was thirteen when 'The Culture Wash' took place.

She's in the possession of a human man named Alwin, who had married her at thirteen and uses her (yep) for his own pleasure and for household activity while he 'tends to' his slaves.

(don't worry he gets killed by an assassin pretty early on)

There's this one scene where she's spilled something, and he ties her to a bed and drags rose thorns down her naked body. This is her tipping point. When he leaves, she uses her power to heal herself.

Here Alwin is killed by a half Sanation named Amali, a hybrid, with the dark skin of her mother but the features of her father. She, and a few other hybrids, are working against humans.

(btw these lovely ladies are both 🏳️‍🌈)

Leore, a Somnian, with pale blue skin and deep blue hair, is Alwin's slave. (One of them who works in fields and farming) also has a breaking point, and uses his power. He is stopped by a dream creature called a night maiden, and the night maiden takes him to the edge of a forest. Amali finds him, uses her healing to purge him from the dream.

Different povs for each chapter, so this is all happening simultaneously, and Amali joins in chapter 8.

Esryn realises that Alwin is dead/not returning, so she escapes, huh, through the forest Amali and Leore are in. They meet and discuss some stuff.

That's all I've got so far, but I'm planning for some slow burn Amali and Esryn and the most beautiful platonic relationship between Esryn and Leore as Esryn learns to trust men again. Leore teaches Amali to love herself as the hybrid she is.

Oh damn that's alot hehe....👍🏻

ok this is super interesting!!! i love the combination of fantasy with a dystopian-esqe society for the fae. and the representation?? amazing! also, i love platonic relationships they're super underrated so i always love it when there's a focus on them as well. and personally im now the founder of the leore fan club, as well as the alwin hate club. thank you for sharing this with me!!

[wehavecomeforyourprivateschools]

“Drax is fabulously wealthy today. The Drax family is the central family in the whole story of enslavement in Barbados. They are the architects of slavery-based sugar production. They have a deep historical responsibility. The process has only just begun and we trust that we will be able to negotiate. If that doesn’t work, there are other methods, including litigation."

Who gets the dosh, that's the question. Individuals, the state, wealthy barbadosians?

[puelluna]

“Alright, everyone, I know today is an exciting day, but please, be calm,” Arya smiled as the other gods filtered in, watching them take their places around the table that had been prepared for them all. She’d decided to call the other gods to attend this meeting by simply stating its purpose, a set of words that the others had been waiting years to hear:

“It’s time to go home.”

That had gotten her siblings moving. Some of them out of curiosity, others out of a genuine desire to return to Yrdea. Whenever Arya spoke of “home,” that was where she had so often meant. The world upon which the gods had been born.

It did not surprise Arya that, when she saw her siblings join her at the 14th Parlor, they all seemed to be wearing festive attire.

As they all trickled in and settled down, Arya’s eyes drifted over each of them, a sense of warm pride filling her. They had all become creators of their own worlds, with children and people to call their own. They had all come so far.

And it was time to finish this.

“Well,” she breathes, “It appears everyone is here…so, we can begin.” She leaned over a lectern before the others, hands guided to the sides; she was nervous about this. How could she not be? Even if it had been a long while coming. Especially if it had been a long while coming.

“Welcome, everyone. As you all well know by now, the threat of the Abyss is now gone, and what was left of the demonic threat has been dealt with; converted into protectors and guardians of the manaveins. Mother's plans have been fulfilled in their entirety, which alone has been cause for celebration. This has led to the question among some of us, however; namely, “when will we get to return to Yrdea?”

“Now, that started because, a long time ago, I promised you all that once the Abyss was dealt with, we would be able to do just that: return to Yrdea, and take up residence there, if we wish to." Her smile grew wide then, and she took a deep breath, before clearing her throat and saying,

"And I am deeply pleased to say that this is still my intention. Starting from this moment and going forwards, I am lifting our restriction on going home, and while you’re there, I will not impose restrictions on what you can or cannot do, with the obvious exception that, if you attempt to enslave mortals or return to the old ways, I will do what I must to put a stop to that. Do I make myself clear?”

Nyr was the first to speak up, raising a slow hand before talking,

“U-um…w-what if we don’t encourage them, but mortals attempt to worship us anyways? I-I am the goddess of oceans, after all…” nervous as ever, but Nyr had an unmistakable air of excitement to her today. Understandably so. Arya smiles in reply, before explaining,

“Those situations in which there is mortal worship involved will be discussed on a case-by-case basis. If it is chosen of the mortals’ own free wills, then I will not stop it from occurring, but if the situation becomes dangerous--if a bunch of mortals have gotten into a fight over which god is the best, if mortals wish to kill the god themself, or other such similar examples-- we will discuss removing the god or goddess involved for the safety of the mortals. The last thing we need is a bunch of zealous crusaders on our hands.”

That seemed to placate the others; Arya had ever been careful about how she handled these things, and it seemed that this would not be an exception.

Smiling, she then continued,

“Very well, if there are no more questions--then you all will be able to exit the bar onto our home island, and from there, you may go where you wish, and proceed as you wish. I expect to meet many of you out there, just please, do try and recall that they’ve been without us for a very long time, and so they may not accept you as divine, which, honestly, might be for the best. And…” she breathed, “...Welcome home.”

...

Arya stood, silent as everyone prepared to leave, carefully watching them go one after the other. Until, at last, it was just her and the girls, Elation and Grace, who in this moment, gathered close to her.

"My lady?" Grace spoke in that soft, motherly tone of hers, "Are you…ready to depart, yourself?"

It was the question Arya had been asking herself basically on-repeat ever since she had finished off the Abyss. Was she ready to return?

One of Elation’s hands came to rest on Arya’s arm, and Arya smiled, placing a hand gently upon her fox-eared retainer’s. Slowly, she nodded to Grace, and the Twins’ Reach began to shift. The transforming substance was at her whim with a simple telepathic command, and the normal, regal black dress she wore melted into a simple, black leather outfit, with a black cloak coming to rest atop the outfit so Arya’s body couldn’t really be seen. Arya extended a hand out, and from her fingertips, the black metallic substance formed a walking stick as well.

“...I’m ready,” she breathes, smiling at them both softly, “I trust you both will be able to handle the bar while I’m gone?”

That had been their agreement; that when Arya left for Yrdea, Grace and Elation would watch the bar, and keep the 14th Parlor in her stead. They didn’t mind, of course--it was hardly the first time they had done this. But it did mean Arya would be going home alone for the first time in ages. Not even with intent or purpose, just…to wander.

Both Elation and Grace nodded, and bowed to her. Which meant it was time to go.

Slowly, hesitantly, Arya stepped towards the door of the 14th Parlor, and turned the doorknob, stepping out and letting the door close behind her.

...

She emerged into a world at sunset.

Golden grass beneath her feet blew in the evening sunlight, and the sounds of gentle waves could be heard in an even rhythm that Arya knew as though it were engraved in her mind. Her hand around the walking staff shook, and as Arya glanced up at the mountain atop the island, tears began to stream down her face.

She sank to her knees, and began to do something between a sob and a laugh. She could feel, deep below the ground, the manaveins shifting and shivering at her presence, as it had likely done with the other gods’ arrivals, too. Arya let out a shaky sigh, and closed her eyes, looking upwards. The manaveins had likely nurtured mortals, as had been Arya’s hope, but she knew that this world had been made for them. The shivering, that was the manaveins calling out to her, saying “welcome home.”

With a wide smile across her face, Arya stood up and began to walk towards the shoreline. She knew this home, and knew it well, but it was time to see what mortals had come up with in her absence…

[lotus-flower-writes-history]

The Unofficial Black History Book

"The crate escape"

Henry "Box" Brown (1816?-1897)

Writer's Note: This story was a bit harder to write. While researching, I came across several sites that gave me different facts, some less than others. So, it took longer to fact-check.

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The man who escaped to freedom by hiding in a crate and mailing himself to Philadelphia.

This is his story.

Henry “Box” Brown was born Henry Brown in Louisa County, Virginia around 1816.

His exact date of birth is not documented.

Although plantation owners kept records of slaves, they didn't always accurately record births.

In 1808, a law was passed in the United States that prohibited the importation of slaves, resulting in a requirement for slaves to be born within the country.

Slave breeding was actively promoted in numerous Southern states, with the enslaved being treated as commodities, akin to cattle.

Virginia was notorious for being one of the harshest slave states due to its reliance on forced labor and extensive tobacco plantations.

Slave owners in Virginia prohibited enslaved individuals from gaining literacy.

Henry, along with his parents and seven siblings, were enslaved on a tobacco plantation close to Richmond, Virginia. After the death of their first owner, former Richmond mayor John Barret, his family was sold to multiple slaveholders and forcibly separated.

John Barret's son, William Barret held Henry in slavery. Brown's narrative reveals that the horrors of slavery went beyond mere physical abuse.

His life as a slave was filled with countless trials and heartbreak.

Henry started working in a tobacco factory in Richmond at the age of 15. He also attended the First African Baptist Church.

In 1848, Brown married a woman named Nancy, another slave from a neighboring plantation. Henry needed the approval of both slave owners in order to be formally married.

Marriage was not legally allowed for slaves, and their unions did not involve any government paperwork or marriage licenses at that time.

During their marriage, Nancy was sold off more than once.

Sam Cottrell, one of Nancy's owners, accepted money from Henry in return for a promise not to sell Nancy or their children again. However, Cottrell betrayed his word and sold Brown's family in August 1848. During that time, Nancy was in a state of pregnancy.

Henry's family cannot be found in any existing plantation records, even after all this time.

This triggered Brown’s escape to freedom.

He hired Samuel Smith, a local Abolitionist and storekeeper. And James C. A. Smith, a free black man to help plan the escape.

To accommodate Henry's weight of 200 pounds, a wooden crate measuring three feet long, two feet wide, and two feet six inches deep was built. It also features two air holes for ventilation.

Henry needed to find a way to escape to the fields, but it was not as simple as it sounded.

Only extreme injuries could keep you from working, so Henry was willing to do whatever it took.

He took oil of Vitriol, also known as Sulfuric Acid, and poured it over his hands, burning them to the bone. With newly wounded hands, he found himself without any means of tending to his injuries while on the move.

The Philadelphia Abolitionists played a crucial role in helping him secure a legal freight contract with Adams Express, a freight company that had the ability to transport his package labeled "Dry Goods" to Philadelphia using both railroad and steamboat options.

On March 22nd, 1849, 33 year old Henry Brown loaded himself into the crate in Richmond, and moved via horse carriage to the to the rail depot of the Richmond-Fredericksburg-Potomac Railroad.

Henry’s freight car was off-loaded 56 miles north on the Potomac River’s Aquia Landing and then placed aboard a Potomac River steamboat and shipped 40 miles upriver into Washington D.C.

Then he was transferred to the Washington and Baltimore Train Depot and passed by railway through Baltimore, arriving 149 miles later in the port of Philadelphia on March 24th, 1849.

A local Philadelphia carting firm delivered Henry to the ‘Philadelphia Anti-Slavery Society’. After 27 hours, Philadelphia Abolitionists led by Underground organizer, William Still delivered and welcomed Henry.

During the period of the transit, Henry carried a bladder filled with drinking water and a gimlet if he needed to drive more air holes into the box.

Being transported by drayage men on a steamship, he was jostled and turned upside down. In his narrative he wrote that “veins on his temple grossly distended with eyes swelling and popping pain.”

Unaware of the human cargo within, a passenger, fatigued from standing, up righted the box and seated themselves.

As soon as the crate was opened at his destination, Henry enthusiastically began singing a song.

Henry’s story of escape was published in the newspaper and was asked to speak at anti-slavery conventions, where he was given the nickname “Box”. Immediately upon gaining his freedom, he embraced the cause of abolition.

While his story made him a hero in the eyes of many, not everyone saw him that way.

Abolitionist Frederick Douglass had repeatedly voiced his criticism towards Brown's publicizing of his escape from slavery.

Douglass' dissatisfaction with Brown primarily arose from his conviction that, had Henry not publicized it, other slaves might have been able to utilize the same strategy to escape.

In fact, there were slaves who made genuine efforts to be transported in crates by Samuel Smith and James C.A. Smith, but their plans were thwarted by people who were already suspicious and knew about Henry's escape.

Henry "Box" Brown actively participated in speaking engagements and events organized by the Anti-Slavery Society to raise awareness about the atrocities of slavery.

Arthur Tappan and William Lloyd Garrison were the founders of the Anti-Slavery Society.

Prominent Abolitionists, such as Susan B. Anthony, Lucretia Mott, Robert Purvis, and Frederick Douglass, were among its members.

When Henry addressed their conferences, he was regarded as one of the top members. Together, he and James C.A. Smith created a comprehensive display of scenes depicting slavery.

The panorama was made up of numerous pictures, printed on large canvas pieces that rotated, enabling viewers to see all the images without needing to move.

Henry and Smith started to call their show, ‘The mirror of Slavery’.

In his 1851 autobiography, Henry detailed his strategy to eradicate slavery in America. He desired strong action from the Northern states against what he referred to as “The spoiled southern states”.

In addition, he expressed his wish for the election of a new President of the United States. The president of the time was Millard Fillmore (13th president").

The most significant change that Henry pushed for was granting slaves the ability to vote. He held the belief that granting enslaved blacks the right to vote and hold public office would lead to the abolition of slavery.

In 1850, the U.S. Government passed ‘The Fugitive Slave Law’. In compliance with the law, any individual recognized as a fugitive slave could be apprehended in states with freedom by slave catchers, who were authorized to subsequently return them to the southern territories.

Because Henry did not have legal freedom, he was identified as a fugitive slave. He escaped to England, where he was able to avoid slave catchers. He also brought along 'The Mirror of Slavery', which caused a disagreement with James C.A. Smith.

While he was in England, Henry married a Caucasian actress named Jane from Cornwall in 1855. They had one daughter named Annie.

Henry started pursuing a career as a circus and stage performer. He and his wife and daughter all took part in shows together.

Henry "Box" Brown's last profession was as a magician or mesmerist, which is now commonly referred to as a hypnotist.

He referred to himself as the 'African Prince' and would occasionally appear on stage by emerging from the same crate that had brought him to freedom.

Abolitionists criticized Henry for ‘abandoning’ the cause for freedom.

However, after enduring the hardships of slavery and the devastating loss of his family, all he desired was to live life on his own terms and move on from his past.

Henry wrote two different autobiographies. The first being “Narrative of Henry “Box” Brown, who escaped from slavery Enclosed in a box three feet long, two wide, and two and a half high.”

Written from a statement of facts made by himself with remarks upon the remedy of slavery. Henry wrote the book with the help of Charles Stearns and published it in 1849, shortly after arriving in Philadelphia.

He titled his second memoir 'The Narrative of the Life of Henry "Box" Brown'. Written by himself and published in 1851, it contained primarily similar material to the first book.

Having spent several years in England, Henry and his family relocated back to the United States, but they ultimately decided to settle in Ontario, Canada.

During this period, the civil war drew to a close and the eradication of slavery was accomplished. Nevertheless, he found greater ease in dwelling out of the states alongside other emancipated slaves who had fled.

Until his death in 1897, Henry remained a magician in Canada.

"I entered the world a Slave-In the midst of a country whose most honoured writings declare that all men have a right to liberty." - Henry "Box" Brown.

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