#except for the judges i did not know where to find any information on any of the judges up for election except the attorney general

[icewindandboringhorror]

Everytime I face a new character limit on a website that didn't have them before/used to have really long ones... AUGHHhhh the modern social media world was not made for people like me (lovers of details, rambling, elaboration, thorough explanation, and nuance)

[ivfrankenstein]

DEATH CHERISHES YOU | nuada silverlance x fem!reader;

the bloodstains on the stairs that had brought him here could be compared to breadcrumbs. step by step he was moving away from the original destination, consciously choosing to approach a new one. this one may not have been such an urgent matter for the prince, but another opportunity might not present itself for a long time to come.

farther on, the traces went away from the stairs and into the depths of the hall, from where a familiar dripping sound reached his ears. even at a distance it was effortless for nuada to hear all the breaths in and out of the person in there, so anyway, by the time his presence was noticed and all sounds suddenly stopped, it was definitely too late.

“you are easy to find, even when you're hiding.” he spoke first and purposely omitted the greeting, “shouldn't someone be watching you?”

“do they have to?” the voice from the darkness answered him with a question, “all my caretakers are busy at the moment. why don't you come visit me later?”

he stepped unobstructed around one of the columns on his right side and could now see the one talking to him from the back. it would be a pretty vulnerable position for another even without a bleeding wound on her arm. but he had more than once been able to see that she was not much bothered by this dangerous proximity. y/n was judged to be reckless and at times just a less skilled member of the team, which, nuada could tell, was hardly the truth.

“with seven nannies the child still loses an eye. are you familiar with that saying?”

“i am.”

it was very polite of her to answer him first, and only then to immediately clamp the end of the cloth with her teeth to tear it in two. the injury was deep enough that blood trickled from her hand to the floor, but y/n handled it with a dexterity that a less skilled member of the team could only envy.

“it's all a total waste of your blood.” he remarked, watching the small puddle below where she was sitting. there was all sorts of junk scattered everywhere. and the smell… it alone could suffocate a human victim.

“that troll has eaten over a dozen teenagers, in case you're wondering.” she forced herself to turn around and look at the expression on his face only to see nothing but a slightly raised eyebrow.

“one more ogre, one less.” he also gave her a nonchalant shrug, “there's not enough of you to catch them all anyway.”

“i’m not surprised you're more than okay with that information.” she said to his face before turning away again, continued to bandaging her arm and willfully badly playing the part where she wasn't dying to know what he was up to, “it just proves that an ogre as the only reason would hardly have caught your attention. so in that case, what brought the prince here?”

“the same as you.” it didn't cost him anything to tell her the truth, knowing there was probably nothing she could do about it, “it took me a lot of time and resources to find anything about this place myself.” except that what she wanted to get from him was different from what he'd come to share, “you did a great job, honestly. but it's for sure not the one that impresses me the most.”

it lasted less than a couple seconds, the way she stopped moving altogether, as if one single hint from him had paralyzed her to the bone. it was clear that the slightest interest shown in her ability would be met with the utmost wariness, which proved she was many things, but certainly not reckless.

“do me a favour, given my situation, and instead tell me if i should start worrying or not? it'll take me a while to remember where i left the gun.”

“oh, a gun, how uncivilised,” he said in a bored tone, “you have more delicate weapons with you. but i doubt you'll resort to any of them.”

“and why is that?” she asked, trying to stay focused, “i kept you from dying once because it was fair to your people. but for the second time, i hope your sister will forgive me for my non-interference.” her last words came out floating in a trembling voice. she was for now done with the bandage and turned to his side, with her hand clasped to her chest.

she seemed kind of particularly susceptible right now, and his years of being a corruptor suggested this might be a good moment to get close to her. but nuada's choice was to stay where he stood. from the beginning he was carrying this belief that y/n would want to know more without him seducing her into it. that's why he came. so he could see it for himself.

“by letting me live, you risked the fate of mankind by putting the interests of our race first. it's only fair for me not to fight you.”

“what a noble act. i know a few people for whom to take that chance would be enough to keep them happy for the rest of their lives.”

it might have seemed like an unnecessarily rude response, but it was clear to both of them that she was simply using the language of facts.

“and i will put my sister's name on that list with my own hand.” he confirmed it, “but as we've seen, that's not an acceptable outcome for you.” he paused to allow her to dispute it, but y/n only raised an eyebrow at him skeptically, willing to hear his explanation, “i'm going to guess that you've thought about the possible consequences of this decision of yours so often that you're now equally afraid of it and eager to discover it. you,” he pointed at her with an open palm, “already have so much of me in your thoughts that it's easier to let me go just to finally see.”

for a few seconds they looked silently into each other's eyes, almost like examining that gaze for recognition.

“if so,” then, as nuada assumed she would, y/n found an answer way too quick for someone for whom what she'd heard would be new, “i think it won't sound too presumptuous that to come to those conclusions you must have thought a lot of me yourself.”

the next thing the prince heard was his own laughter. how she succeeded in making a fool of him so easily by saying it caused him to laugh about it absolutely sincerely. it was so human, he couldn't even be prepared for it.

“that was a dirty trick.” she admitted before he could, “in my defense, it's getting hard to keep my attention, so..” she reached for the walkie-talkie fixed to her belt, but before she pressed it, she looked at the prince once more, “if you'll excuse me.”

“please.” nuada only said.

“death jr. to red.” y/n switched, bringing the radio to her lips, “death jr. to red. we have a royal guest in the neighborhood. over.”

he smirked and nodded in understanding, “as a good team member should.”

y/n said nothing more and just watched him escaping casually into the darkness again. from there he added, “i hope by the next time when we get a chance to finish our conversation, you don't have so much blood on you, my dear. although i must say that red suits you well.”

—gif: @amatesura 📿 also, english not my first language. so, i beg you pardon.

[hyperpotamianarch]

So, after seeing @half-shadowgalra's post about what if Bianca stayed alive, I thought of analyzing the topic. So, my take on what might change, following the details of canon I can remember:

Firstly, let us assume that Bianca accidentally drove Talos into the Labyrinth, and just got severe head trauma and amnesia instead of dying. Zoe, Percy and co, however, still think she died and continue under this assumption. What happens next?

Well, as far as I know, only one god might actually know Bianca is still alive - her father, Hades. Who, I might say, is not present for the Winter Solstice council and doesn't seem like he'll inform anyone. He would want his daughter safe, probably, so there's a chance he'll send Alecto to find her and bring her somewhere safe - possibly the underworld. No guarantee that the Erinyes would succeed, though.

As to what we see in canon... In his angry burst, Nico mentions feeling Bianca being judged in the underworld, and having nightmares. I'm going to have to assume his nightmares will be altered. And, well... This certainty of her death, which was another sign of them being children of Hades, will likely not exist. How will it change things? Well, I think Nico will still be angry at Percy and consider him guilty of Bianca's death. Maybe. After all, the lack of certainty he had in another timeline can't actually help him realize Bianca is alive. He can't know he would've felt it if she died - even if he started feeling such things, he probably didn't understand that well enough yet. He might have some doubts, though. That's still a minor change, all things considered.

Next time Bianca's death affects the plot is the Iris-net messages. However, we might need to explore first what happened to Bianca. Especially since she not only fell into one of the most dangerous pieces of magical architecture, she did so in a time it was being explored by a whole bunch of people. At any given moment, she could encounter Luke's forces, Clarisse, Daedalus or one of the creatures looking for her. So, you're Bianca Di Angelo, daughter of Hades, who's trapped in a maze underground and have amnesia. What can you do?

Well, I think her bow and arrows are either right beside her or a summon away - the latter is going to be problematic, because she doesn't remember how to summon them. She'll probably have her hunting knife. Oh, and did I mention that she won't remember her training, whatever amount she had?

I don't think canon gives us much indication on what she might do in such a situation. Part of the question is how much she forgot. And since we're makeing this up anyway, we can go for the option we find the most fun! Oh, and I forgot Nico is joining everyone in the Labyrinth pretty quickly. Either way, I think I'll go (regarding her memories) with forgetting everything except for her brother. And English, though it will be fun to have her speak some Italian dialect for some time. Oh, and her name. Easier that way.

So, Bianca wakes up in a cave. She only remembers her name and that she has a brother called Nico. Who is, for some reason, not present. She hears weird sounds and runs away from them.

Now here's another bit: we don't know what Bianca's powers include beyond the ability to permanently kill skeletal warriors. Incidentally, we have another canonical Pluto kid who can control caves. Now sure, Hazel and Nico supposedly have between them Hades' two dominions: riches and death. No reason to keep them separate, however. Bianca can have some power over underground spaces. We have seen Hazel interact with the Labyrinth in the House of Hades, even manipulate it - though she was using magic instead of demigod powers, so we can't be sure if someone with similar powers but no magic could do it. I do think it's possible, though - especially without anyone directly resisting her. It'd be mostly instinctive and unintentional, though, so there's no telling where it would lead her.

Now, where would Bianca find herself? It's hard to tell. Everyone goes through the arena eventually, but it takes time. Bianca can get to many places, Camp Half-Blood included as well as Geryon's farm or the underworld. There really is no telling. Meanwhile, Nico is looking into ways to find his sister and bring her back. Does he realize she's alive? Or does he still try to learn from Minos? As far as I know, we were never told how he made his way to the underworld. Did Hades send Alecto to collect him? If so, does that mean we'll have a family reunion sooner rather than later? Or maybe does Bianca inadvertently run away from it in effort to stay alive and, ironically enough, find her brother?

One possible change would be that when Hades gets Nico, he tells him (at some point) that his sister is still alive. Not in an attempt to console him - Hades doesn't really know about that - but as a throwaway line when Nico mentions her death. I think I can picture that. Nico still runs away, but this time to find his living sister - all that assuming he somehow got to Hades' palace in the time between the Titan's Curse and the Battle of the Labyrinth. In such a case, he might not turn to Minos, which would significantly change BotL. So... Maybe the best option here is Nico not getting to Hades' palace/Hades being too secretive about it all.

Now, no Percy Jackson story is complete without old myths underlining events: Percy isn't compared to Heracles for naught, there are a couple of parallels between them - at least in monster slaying and such things. Sadly, I can't say I'm an expert in Greek mythology, and I'm not sure I know enough to create a story paralleling any myth. So, I kind of hope someone more experienced could come and give a fitting story - only thing I can think of right now is Atalanta, the huntress who took a vow of virginity, joined the Argonauts for a time and participated in the hunt for the Calydonian boar, drawing first blood and thus winning the boar's hide - which eventually lead to much strife. Now, one would think this boar was used in the past, like in tTC - but nope, it was a different boar, so I'm sure having some taste of the Atalanta myth could work. Kind of. Maybe, somehow, I don't know.

So, Bianca is dealing with her own stuff. Maybe, because I just thought of it, she can also have a taste of Cadmus' story - the guy looking for his disappearing sister who went on to found a city instead. I'll have to think about it for a bit, especially since I think both Atalanta and him had a weird "happily ever after in animal form" thing. Cadmus and his wife became snakes, while Atalanta and the husband she eventually did marry (thus breaking her vow of virginity, though the consequences were somehow unrelated) were turned into lions. Huh.

Anyway, she deals with that while running away from Alecto. Nico tries to find a way to reassure his sister while Minos hides the fact she's actually still alive from him. And maybe Bianca encounters Luke.

Now, the repercussions of Bianca being alive include Percy not getting the Iris-net calls about Nico. Which would mean that, if they meet in Geryon's farm, Percy has no way to convince Nico that Bianca doesn't want what he does. Which leaves us at an impasse, so Nico would head out with Minos straight away... Probably. Here's the thing: Bianca being down there means she can be found by someone. I think Clarisse isn't a good option for that, though. So, what if Luke found her? Would she join him? Or be killed? Well, obviously not the latter, we didn't save her so that someone else might kill her. But since we want her as a hero, we'd prefer her not to serve the titans, right?

So, after some thought: maybe she got to the arena and was forced to compete. Her fighting talent was promising, so Luke suggested she join them. And then... I think she run.

This is just a vague outline, and you may have noticed this is stream of thought writing. So, umm... well, I can only say that next she's probably told to give up the search for her brother and follow a cow, which probably should lead her to the huntresses, but instead of following it she'll keep looking and will find Nico, because I honestly don't like how easily Cadmus gave up on Europa just because the oracle told him. Curses be upon Zeus. Coming to think of it, the myth of Cadmus might fit well with the theme of BotL, because Cadmus is Minos' uncle. Yeah, it's all still stream of thought.

Bianca will probably meet Nico before the whole "king of ghosts" fiasco. I think this should affect the larger story, but I'm not sure how. So, umm... Let's leave it here for now?

So, a suggestion to a more organized outline: Bianca is in the Labyrinth. She runs away from some monster and accidentally finds herself in the company of some half-bloods loyal to Kronos. At first she journeys with them and they slay monsters together. However, after having drawn first blood from a very strong monster, some of the half-bloods became angry at her for hurting their egos or something? So she run away from them? Then she gets the magical cow, maybe Alecto finds her, and then she continues to search for her brother, who she maybe finds on the verge of killing someone to bring her back to life.

I might try to write it at some point, but I'm not very good at finishing stories. So, I guess we'll see.

[goldenblu]

ohhh my gosh that whole mask sanji idea has me REELING. sanji gains emotions the hard way but he's constantly questioning if it's real or not, if it's still an act, if it has ever been an act, who is his loyalty to now, to his country or his crew? which family? and maybe stealth black has been a mask as well, maybe that cruel, apathetic assassin is a product of pretending for the vinsmokes- so is there anything left of him that is not hollow desire to play for affection?

even if there isn't. the strawhats will love every part of him they find. maybe it will be hard at first, maybe they will feel betrayed and lost and angry. but he is nakama, and a mask is still a product of skin and bone. he has always been capable of being sanji.

like no pressure to continue on this idea in fic form but my god, if you have any more thoughts on this or anything like it i would pay to see them <3 it's so beautiful

YOU. YOU GET IT.

asdksfja;lksjf sanji realizes that he’s come to see the strawhats as something more than a target, a tool to use and then cast away.

(he doesn’t dare to think the word family because that would be a betrayal of his real family, wouldn’t it? it would be an admission of his failure, and he refuses to be a failure.)

it’s all part of the act, he tells himself. it doesn’t mean anything. it won’t last.

but it doesn’t change the fact that he remembers all the strawhats’ favorite foods, that he knows how tell when chopper needs a little hot chocolate pick-me-up, that fighting back to back with zoro feels in sync and familiar in a way that it shouldn’t. all of these useless pieces of information and instincts that he shouldn’t have but does anyway.

so sanji panics—and isn’t that a new experience for him, panicking. every time the strawhats look at him, they see someone who doesn’t actually exist, shouldn’t exist. it makes him feel some emotion that he’s never felt before and can’t identify. it’s terrible; he can’t stand to be this person he’s not for any longer.

maybe he’s the one to reveal his true identity and goal to the strawhats. because he knows he’s in too deep; he needs to cut these ties himself and finish the mission he should have finished long ago.

or maybe it’s not up to him at all, maybe judge sends one of his brothers to find him because he’s taking too long. ichiji or whoever shows up on the sunny, gets a laugh out of sanji trying to play house on a boat, and then announces that sanji doesn’t need to pretend anymore, it’s time to deal the finishing blow and return home with whatever information he’s acquired.

however it happens, sanji does the whole “my name is vinsmoke sanji” speech from wci except it’s real this time, and that’s how the truth comes out. which is fine, it doesn’t matter what the strawhats think of him. it’s better this way, it’s better that they know where sanji’s true loyalties lie: with germa.

(right? this has always been an indisputable fact. so why does he feel so conflicted about it now?)

i don’t know how the plot would play out from here but later, when push comes to shove, sanji realizes at the very last minute that all he’s doing is exchanging one mask for another. he can’t go back to how things were before—his father won’t like that one of his perfect sons is compromised with such weaknesses, but more than that, sanji doesn’t want to be the emotionless third prince of germa anymore.

(the thought he won’t allow himself to think: maybe he never did.)

he never realized before that it was possible to have the freedom to choose, but he does now. so he pulls an uno reverse card and instead of betraying the strawhats, he betrays the only life he’s ever known and saves the strawhats instead, very publicly turning his back on the vinsmokes. the details of how exactly this happens escape me but let’s assume he’s successful in telling germa to fuck off. (for now, at least. i imagine this doesn’t last since judge would be unimaginably angry and go after him, but that’s a problem for later sanji.)

regardless, when it’s all said and done, sanji doesn’t expect the strawhats to allow him back onto the crew. he’s not a good person, he’s deceived and killed hundreds of people in cold blood. he lied to them, betrayed them, pretended to be someone he’s not. the strawhats know that now. by all rights, they should want to kill him. most people would. sanji would.

but they don’t. sanji doesn’t know what they see in him, but whatever it is, it’s enough for luffy accept him even after everything he’s done. admittedly, the rest of the crew still has their reservations; it’s clear enough that they’re hurt and angry and wary of him.

you broke our trust, nami tells him.

i know. sanji hesitates, and then says, i’m sorry.

it’s new to him, this feeling of guilt eating away at him, and he almost stumbles over the words. he’s never had to apologize before, not genuinely. stealth black doesn’t apologize. stealth black doesn’t feel regret.

but he’s not stealth black anymore. he’s someone else. he doesn’t know who, exactly, but he does know who he wants to be. black leg sanji, the man who only existed on this ship for these past few weeks/months, the man who was capable of caring and being cared for—sanji wants that to be real.

luffy’s giving you a chance to rebuild it, nami says. so don’t waste it.

it’s hard, at first. sanji has never not had to play a role before so now he’s confronted with the question: what parts of him are the result of the persona he puts on and what parts are truly sanji? he’s worn a mask in some form or another for so long—certain things are so ingrained in him that he can’t tell the difference anymore.

the next time he cooks dinner, he wonders: is this desire to feed his the crew real, or is it a leftover habit from black leg sanji? the next time he kills someone for going after the strawhats, he wonders: this ruthless capacity for violence, does that come from himself or from vinsmoke sanji?

but maybe it doesn’t matter where it came from because he can make it his. because nothing can take away the fact that for the first time, sanji is doing what he wants to do and not just what he’s told to do.

he says as much to luffy, who smiles and responds, i always knew you could do it.

and over time, the strawhats begin to trust him again. usopp stops being quite so nervous around him. nami starts working on her maps in the galley again, and this time sanji doesn’t have to lie when she asks him questions about the islands he’s been to. zoro tells him that he’d better not hold back during their spars, so sanji stops trying to hide it and lets his sharp edges stay sharp and dangerous and deadly. chopper learns the truth about sanji’s physical enhancements but it doesn’t stop him from worrying over him anyway, which makes sanji’s chest feel warm for some reason.

(and that’s a whole other thing—now sanj has to figure out how the fuck he’s supposed to deal with having emotions because holy shit do you people feel this way all the time?? it’s so much, it’s overwhelming.

he keeps having to ask: what is this feeling or that feeling or that feeling?? and everyone teaches him: fear. sadness. happiness. all things that sanji once thought were impossible for him to feel.)

he still struggles to balance kindness and cruelty sometimes—though he’s capable of feeling compassion now, it’s mainly only ever for the strawhats, and he’s still merciless to anyone he considers an enemy. in any case, his crew is there to support him, to help him figure out: who is he in the absence of everything that’s defined the last nineteen years of his life?

the answer? the cook of the strawhat pirates, sanji. just sanji. that’s who he is and who he’ll always be.

[boasamishipper]

writing patterns

rules: share the first line of your last ten published works or as many as you are able and see if there are any patterns!

tagged by the lovely @apartmentsmoke 😘

“I’ll be honest,” Leon informs the rival mariachi bands in front of his bench, “the fact you all got out of that fight without any serious injuries to yourselves or the others in the subway car is pretty…maraca-less.” (from Contributory Negligence, the fourth fic in my Judge Leon 'verse)

Degas woke to the sound of Jasper Briggs shouting at the top of his lungs, which wasn’t unusual. (from won't shake me loose, a pre-canon Degas&Briggs story)

The first time Harry thinks about sleeping with Dan, there’s a blizzard pounding at the windows of his apartment—a blizzard that would have, if not for the fire department, trapped Harry and the others in the courthouse all night with nothing but rough blankets, Twinkies, and Billie’s camp counselor songs. (from Code of Conduct, Harry's POV of the beginning of Judicial Impropriety)

Right about now, Peter really wishes he’d listened to his wife and spent the weekend cozied up at home. (from No Grave Can Hold My Body Down, a 9-1-1 AU where Bobby wakes up with no memory except Athena's name and struggles to find his way home)

Looking at the dishes covering every inch of the dining table, it’s hard to believe that they were all made by the same woman who once couldn’t even scramble eggs. (from Sweetheart Deal, the third fic in my Judge Leon 'verse)

“Look here, darlin’—” (from you should've heard those knocked-out jailbirds sing, my Carole/Goose first meeting fic)

The Hard Deck was packed to the back teeth the first night of the new TOPGUN session, and Hangman felt good. (from Bullseye, my Coyote/Hangman first meeting fic)

In ‘96, Dan left the district attorney’s office for one of the most prestigious law firms in New York. (from Alternative Dispute Resolution, the second fic in my Judge Leon 'verse)

The first time Dan sleeps with Harry, it’s an accident—which Dan knows would get him laughed right out of the courtroom in the case of The People v. Fielding, but it’s the truth, hand on the Bible, so help him God. (from Judicial Impropriety, my Night Court S4 AU fic where Dan and Harry make a bet to see how long they can keep their relationship under wraps)

“For the last time, Ms. Moore, I don’t know a thing about the new judge—” (from Trial de Novo, in which Harry's former foster son Leon becomes the new night court judge and goes looking for Harry, only to find Dan Fielding - Harry's widower - instead. First fic in the Judge Leon 'verse)

well for one i start fics with dialogue a lot less often than i thought i did 😂 i tend towards longer sentences and aim to establish setting and pov right away (if not in the first sentence then over the first paragraph).

tagging @bornforastorm @lookforanewangle @maverickcalf @academicgangster and anyone else who wants to do this

[us-laws-you-should-know]

About The Blog

The short version is:

This blog is to bring awareness to American laws that affect a significant portion of the US population, but that many Americans may not know the details of.

More details about what this blog is, what it isn't, and who's running it below the cut.

What this blog is:

It's about United States laws specifically. Sorry non-Americans. Hey, if this inspires you, I fully encourage you to set up a similar blog for your own nation or area! But fifty states plus federal law is plenty for me.

It's about things that affect a big chunk of the US population. Labor law will definitely come up time and time again, because for something that affects lots of Americans there's a lot of ignorance of the law, or outright misconceptions, floating around about how labor law works. But it won't just be labor law, either. It just can't be too niche of a topic; I want there to be a decent chance that, without specifically tailoring a post to any individuals out there, the audience will include a number of people affected by the laws being cited.

It's about the factual state of the laws in question, as of the time I make the post about them. I'll do what I can to cite sources, especially direct sources, where possible.

What this blog isn't:

This isn't political. We're not taking a stand on whether the law is right or wrong, just presenting what it currently is.

This isn't a news source. Updates might happen, if and when they feel needed. But there's always a chance outdated information will be posted, especially if you're looking at older posts.

This isn't necessarily how the system actually works. Sometimes, people and organizations break the law (citation needed). Sometimes it happens enough that breaking that particular law becomes commonplace in a whole industry or area. Sometimes those breaking the law set things up so that whistleblowers who point out their illegal activities won't do so well afterwards. Sometimes some or all of the individuals involved don't know that what's happening is against the law in the first place. (But as the old saying goes, ignorance of the law is no excuse... which is one reason I hope to reduce that ignorance through this very blog!) "Illegal" is not a synonym for "doesn't happen".

This isn't a business, or a government service, or a registered non-profit. I'm one person sharing some information in my free time, that's all. If you like what I'm doing... well, I did turn tipping on. Maybe I'll break out a Kofi too.

This isn't legal advice. I am not a lawyer, and I am definitely not your lawyer. If the laws presented here affect you, I strongly encourage you to do your own research, and/or contact an actual lawyer, before taking action. Heck, if this blog gets people poking around government websites to find out the details of the laws featured here, that's a win in my book.

About The Blogger:

I may not be a lawyer, but I do work in the legal system. Specifically, I'm employed as and trained to be a paralegal. My usual definition of what paralegals do is "everything lawyers do, except for the things that only lawyers can do", which is a little opaque, so allow me to expand upon it a bit:

Imagine a lawyer at work. Think of all the things that must be done for the practice of law. Going to court and going in front of the judge, sure. Giving clients legal advice, of course. Communicating with the other side, and with clients, and perhaps even with the court. Filing documents. Organizing documents. Researching whether the law's on your side or not. Meeting new clients and getting together the details about their case.

Now, the big two things there that only lawyers can do are representing someone in court and giving legal advice. But the rest of it--letters or phone calls to opposing counsel, or clients, or even the judge; filing documents with the court; organizing documents (so much organizing documents); new client intake; even legal research--can all be done by paralegals, and in practice, a lot of it often is.

I specifically work in the field of family law, though unfortunately a lot of that is likely too niche and too variable to fit into this blog's posts, and have experience with the laws of two different states within the field of family law.

So I'm just another tumblr blogger, yes, but I actually do know a bit about the legal system, both in theory and in practice.

[scoonsalicious]

OKAY I'M HERE. Sorry, I'm late. Funnily enough, we're on opposite sides of the world so your update time is waaaayyy too early in the morning for me so I usually read it when I wake up (shocking I know, digesting this traumatic but amazing masterpiece early in the morning) but since school has started up again and I have morning classes I haven't been able to. So do expect my reports to be a lil later than usual. ANYWAYS ENOUGH ABOUT ME.

Let's start with Steve and Pocket. I totally forgot that both of them were under the influence during that time and while they did get a little frisky (I also find it so funny how Pocket doesn't have much of a reaction. it was all Steve. It was as if she already knew she could never orgasm with this man. like homegirl was dry during that I just know it) I'm glad they didn't go far and were able to actually realize how much of a mistake it would've been because not only for obvious reasons like that's your ex's best friend but also the intoxicated thing. It wouldn't have done any good to Poxket's mental state es; especially knowing Steve's feelings. But hey, he stopped it. Literally the bare minimum for any man but the bar currently in hell (looking at you Benson) so. Good on Steveioli.

Now with the heart-to-heart, I'm so glad Pocket was able to unload all that and actually have a good cry for once. And, for Steve, as much as I still find him kinda fishy (I still do think he has a hand in ruining their relationship, that he isn't as innocent or this knight and shining savior that he's showing. I just know Steve did something and pulled some strings so i don't trust him fully yet), he made some very good points. I do agree with what he said about Bentley. We can only really imagine what he went through with Hydra. And the point too where there are some parts Bison himself doesn't remember at all but his body and psyche do. We can sympathise and everything but we never truly understand it. Do I think Josiah is the only person who understands? I don't think so either. Not to discredit her experience or whatever but I don't think what she went through was entirely the same or close because I still do think she's still a spy got them (maybe that's me not liking her lol). But the fact is, she's the closest person who could understand, in Brennon's eyes anyway. Does that excuse everything he's done? Absolutely fucking not. But does that information change how I judge him? Of course. I still truly believe that there's more to this onion (because layers ha ha) than meets the eye. He still fucking fucked up and he still has so much work to do on himself before he can even have the chance to earn Pocket's trust again. But I can give him some grace, and understand that his mind probably wasn't in the best place at that time which led to bad decisions.

I saw some people claiming that Blair never truly loved Pocket, and while I can see why that seems to be the fact because he does have a shitty way of showing it, sometimes, we can't stop ourselves from hurting the people we love (to an extent obvs. if they cheat & are abusive & toxic etc. leave their ass. but again, in the context of the fic, it's definitely more complicated than that). That's just reality. But what truly matters is what we do after the fact. Not that it makes it okay, I'm not saying that at all. It's still not an excuse to hurt people and be a shitty person. What I mean is that not everything is as black & white as it seems. In this case, there's no such thing as 100% evil and 100% good (except Judas who has a special place in hell). These are flawed, broken, and complicated characters, and you the amazing writer has shown that greatly. So we should all take that into account instead of just saying this person is 100% wrong so he deserves to die, or This person is 100% right so I'm just going to support everything they're doing no matter the consequences even if it hurts other people. So I do think he truly and utterly loves Pocket with everything that he is, but when you've got someone who's out of his time, has so many issues, isn't in the best mental and emotional state, has been through so much trauma and has self-destructive tendencies, do we really think he knows what to do with such a powerful emotion? Better yet, he does love her, but in this case, it's just not enough. Love isn't the only thing that keeps a relationship healthy after all. But I will say, that love will also be the one that will push him to do better.

Now, with Mr. Bunana and his Audacity to barge onto Pocket like that. The hypocrisy is outstanding. Gold medal worthy. But then again, he did see them leave the party after basically humping each other on the dance floor, he did see Steve leave her bedroom and he did see Pocket in Steve's shirt. When you're already insecure as hell and have fucked up one too many times, I can't blame him for jumping to conclusions. I also can see how distraught he was though, and not to be mean, but he does kinda need this for him to wake the fuck up. And again, the audacity to cause a whole scene about it too as if he has any right. But, unpopular opinion, I don't see an asshole at all. I see a broken man who's spiraling out of control and is hitting rock bottom as we speak. He's grasping at straws, he has no idea what to do with himself, and he's lost everything, and for a man who's been at war for the last 70 years, what's the one thing he knows best? Fighting. So, he fights.

The toxic masculinity was so on point. When Pocket picked up the water I was cheering this whole time lmao. Absolute wild animals these men sometimes. She honestly should just have a spray bottle in hand, spray them when they act up. Also, that line about where's Steve hand was made me CACKLE. Like yes queen. They deserve to break each other's face a lil for thinking they can decide for Pocket and what she does with her body honestly.

Lastly, because goodness me this is long. We're off on this mission, and I really do share Tony's concerns (and he's so sweet and caring about Pocket. I'm glad he's by her side. Also can't wait to see how they met!) This mission is going to take a toll on Pocket more than she's going to expect. She's using this as a distraction with what's been going on recently, and that's not good. Because I don't think she fully realises the gravity of what she's about to go into. I'm thankful that Sam is there. But I just know, something about this mission is going to go so bad for Pocket. Maybe not physically, and the mission would end up a success, but mentally and emotionally? ESPECIALLY when she's already on a fragile state right now? Sigh. I won't like it, but shit about to hit all the fans.

Anyway. You're amazing as always. I always enjoy getting to pick at the details of your writing and it makes me giddy with excitement that I actually manage to nail some points hahaha. Keep doing what you're doing and don't forget to take care of yourself!

P.S. I love Sam and Pocket's friendship. I need more of them being best buds please and thanks.

— Jnon 🤍

Beloved Jnon, Please do not apologize for being "late!" It actually worked out in my favor, as I have been staying up too long into the night to respond to you, so this actually works well, because it's mid-day here and I actually got some sleep. Not enough, but I'm working on it lol. Reading Unwanted first thing in the morning sounds like a rough way to start your day! All the angst!

Yeah, Pocket had absolutely no reaction with Steve, lol. It was seriously all the MDMA, making her crave physical touch, and when she kind of came down more to herself and realized it was Steveoli who was doing the touching? Well, let's just say it was dryer than the Sahara down there, lol. Ah, the little details that don't make it into the finished work! I can confidently say though, that if Pocket hadn't stopped it, herself, Steve most definitely would not have. Steve needed to hear Pocket break down in front of him, to see how she was affected by all of this. It was a wakeup call for him, and it allowed me to say some of the stuff I wanted to say about Bucky's state of mind without having Bucky say it himself (because who could believe him?!?) In later chapters, we'll get some first-hand insight into what kind of experience Juggalo had with Hydra, herself, and how those experiences shaped her connection with Barnstormer (intentionally vague wording here). I so fucking love how you are on the same page with me re: Bucky's mental state and motivations. Fucking love it.

And he is 100% flawed in this fic. He's trying to navigate this new world he doesn't understand, with all these sexual and social rules he doesn't understand. And I'd like to take a moment to point out that, in my timeline, Bucky has maybe spent a fraction of the time in Wakanda that he does in the MCU. Like, right now, in the story, it's about 2019-ish, meaning our Bucket left Wakanda sometime in 2017, probably less than a year after the events of Civil War, meaning that our Bucky has not done NEARLY as much mental healing as Canon!Bucky. So, when Canon!Bucky tells Cap that he's a "semi-stable 100 year old man" in Infinity War (which I just rewatched last night for Unbroken research!), our Bucket is even less so.

Right now, if there's one thing he's absolutely sure of, it's that he loves Pocket. But you're right, love is not longer enough here. Not for the two of them, not any more. Pocket's already realized that, and Bucket's just starting to.

Let's talk Bucky Barnes and the Audacity of this Bitch! When he barged into Pocket's room to accuse her of sleeping with Steve, he definitely wasn't thinking about what he'd done. He was thinking about confronting evidence of the worst thing he could imagine. It was one thing for him to conjure up the idea in his head, but it's driving him absolutely crazy to see physical evidence of it with his own eyes (even if its just circumstantial physical evidence!). I want to say, though, that even after he thought they slept together after her party, HE DID NOT go running to Jackrabbit for comfort-- I think that's progress! :D Right now, all he knows is how to fight, and how to hurt-- himself, and other people. It's all he's done for 75 years. Pocket was beyond livid over the two of them fighting about her, without really seeming to care about her-- just who got access to her body. Girl lived that life too long as a child; she was done with it long ago. I do like to imagine, though, that after she and Sam left, Bucky and Steve started fighting again, but this time they're all wet from being dowsed in water, so their shirts are sticking to them, and the fight is very homoerotic.... Finally, Tony's concerns for Pocket are very, very valid. He's kind of forcing her to regress, and he's really scared about what that might do to her mentally. Not to mention, she's putting herself in a dangerous position where women are being kidnapped and trafficked. He's got the utmost faith in her; it's just everyone else he doesn't trust. I love getting your messages, I love discussing the story with you! It makes me so happy! I promise there's one more good Sam/Pocket scene!

[bookstoreaders]

*Spoilers for both of these books*

I had found out about CS Pacat while searching for art work inspiration for my own story and that's how I found the Captive Prince Series and then I saw Dark Rise in books a million and I was instantly caught by the cover. I love any story with darker morally complex (not gray: I could and will make a post on that) characters.

I put off reading it for while because I'm very much a mood reader and this past week I decided you know what let's dive in.

So I'm going to go through each character and what I think of them because I am 100% a character reader. This will be for both books Dark Rise and Dark Heir (also please note i did audio book so I may spell things wrong)

Let's start with our main boy:

Will:

I find Will so interesting and complex. It's hard to tell if what he is doing is because he truly doesn't want to be like Sacien or if this is all apart of Sacien's "will". I find it very interesting that Will's name is well, Will. At the same time it's seems to me that Will is trying so hard to NOT be who he was in his past life. At the end of Dark Heir when he gets outed and he thinks James is the one person who actually accepts him and finds out he has the collar on (I have thoughts on that but I will get to theories later on) it's devastating. I think for both Will and James they want to not be judged for the choices their past selves made.

On that note James:

James is probably my favorite character.

He is snarky and smart and brave and everyone treats him terribly except for Will. He is either treated like a wh***, a weapon (though Will is guilty of this), or a traitor. He's something to be owned, to be possessed. He is paying for the actions of a past he can't even remember (until the very end) when the collar was put back on him i was so upset, but knew it wouldn't work the way St. Claire wanted.

Violet:

I liked Violet more in book one. Im.curious about her inpending "fight" with Tom and if and when that will go down. I was hoping she would be the one to stick behind Will and not judge him. (Though i feel she's going to be the first to go back, if Will really is trying to be "good")

Cyprian:

Cyp Cyp... I really didn't like him.at first. But.now I do. However, I find him complex as well. I love his dedication to his believes and his loyalty and obvious love for Violet. I hate his judgement of James, that he blames him for Marcus and the other Stewart's and doesn't think about why James might have left. (Their father tried to kill him when they found out he was a reborn) ... on a different note him drinking from the cup, wrestling the shadow, jumping down that whole and breaking the "staff" and dragging Will back up like he was a sack was pretty bad ass.

Katherine/Visander

Let's start with Katherine: I wish we'd had more time with her. I didn't feel very connected to her so when she died i wasnt that upset. Visander seems so one sided in his goals and thoughts. It's like has blinders on. He doesn't think that maybe Devon has changed in 1000+ years or that things might have changed. He is stuck in the past. His relationship with Philip is interesting especially with him being in Katherine's body (which is very weird and im not sure how I feel about it)

Elizabeth: she can be annoying but she is.also 10 years old. For her age she is a very smart and brave young lady and im excited to see where her story goes.

Tom:

I feel like I am grappling at straws for more information on Tom. I want more. How much does he truely know? Is he niave? What does being a "lion" mean. He clearly loves Violet

Devon: he interests me more than anyone. His story is tragic and sad. Hunted and having his horn cut off... they say it was by humans but I have thoughts (theories later) and then living through all those years alone. It's pretty tragic. He seems to have a very loving and trusting relationship with Tom from what I can tell (I do hope I'm reading that correctly)

So thoughts and theories and all that and there's no Rhyme or Reason to any of this:

I am starting to wonder who the real bad guys are: I don't think it was really Sacien. I wonder if it might actually be the Sun King or whatever he's called. I wonder in book 3 of with James remembering the past if we won't learn the truth. Because something is up.

I despise Will's mother. She raises this child, ties him to beds, tries to kill him. All for the supposed mistakes of a past life he can't recall... yeah f**ck her.

I think the Stewart's are sus. Did they hunt down Devon and saw off his horn? If not how did they end up it?

What exactly is the white death and if it's evil how did Visander come back if he is good?

What's up with Grace?

I'm firmly convinced that Sacien/Anharian Will/James is like a "You have to have shadows with light" James is the Light and Will is the Shadow they are supposed to compliment each other. I think someone fucked with history but we will see.

Basically, I really enjoyed these two books, and I am desperate for any news on book 3

[inconsistentcharacterizationcomp]

Also for the Wheatley propaganda, the developers literally admitted in The Final Hours of Portal 2 that they hadn’t thought up an ending for the game yet and they were nearing the deadline so they had to delay it. They admit that the writing quality wasn’t there and that they were having pacing issues so Wheatley’s character motivations leading up to The Part Where He Kills You is abrupt and doesn’t make much sense.

They actually managed to swap GLaDOS and Wheatley’s personalities entirely if you look at the unused lines in the cutting room floor, with GLaDOS saying “We need to ESCAPE now. RIGHT now. RIGHT NOW right now. Fine. SOON. Take your time. No pressure. Oh! Alright. LOTS of pressure now. Actually, I think we're about to die. Any last words? [thinking] Why don't I go first? Hmmm. Regrets.... regrets.... this is hard... Hundreds of test chambers. Thousands of test subjects. At least half of that number filled to brimming with neurotoxin. It's been a good run. Regrets, regrets... Oh! One time, I... No. No, I did kill all of them. Nevermind.” She’s literally using the same speech patterns as Wheatley.

And Wheatley, for some reason is deciding to resort to murder just because Chell isn’t satisfying his robotic drug addiction anymore and he found better test subjects? “You’ve probably figured it out by now but I don’t need you anymore. I found two l it’ll robots back here built specifically for testing.”

Wheatley is far too emotionally invested in Chell to want to resort to murder for such an apathetic reason and his boss battle clearly shows that. Wheatley is HEAVILY emotionally invested in Chell if you actually listen to his boss battle dialogue. He’s upset and hurt and betrayed because he thinks that Chell doesn’t care about him and that she was just using him and planned to throw him away when he outlived his usefulness to her:

"We've had some times, haven't we? Like that time I jumped off my management rail, not sure if I'd die or not when I did, and all you had to do was catch me? Aaaand you didn't. Did you? Oh, you remember that? I remember that. I remember that all the time. And we would have talked our way out of it. Except you forgot to tell me you'd MURDERED her. And that she needed you to live, so the only available vent for her rage would be good old crushable Wheatley. Yeah... Little details that I remember. Easy little tidbits you could have used to save me from getting crushed if you'd cared, which you didn't, obviously. And still do not."

"Enough! I told you not to put these cores on me. But you don't listen, do you? Quiet. All the time... Quietly not listening to a word I say. Judging me. Silently. The worst kind!"

"Oh! remember the time I took over the facility? Greatest. Moment. Of my life. But you? Just wanted to leave! Didn't want to share my success. Well, so you know, I would be HAPPY for you if you succeeded... Apart from right now, obviously."

"Am I being too vague? I despise you. I loathe you. You arrogant, smugly quiet, awful jumpsuited MONSTER of a woman! You and your little potato friend. This place would have been a TRIUMPH if it wasn't for you!"

"And another thing! You never caught me... I told you I could DIE falling off that rail and you didn't catch me... Didn't even TRY. Oh! It's all becoming clear to me now. Find some dupe to break you out of cryosleep, give him some sob story about 'escaping to the surface', squeeze him for information on where to find a portal gun, then, when he's- when he's no more use to you, he has a little ACCIDENT, doesn't he? 'Falls' off his management rail, doesn't he?"

He would not try to kill Chell for not being useful to him. He would try to kill her if he felt personally threatened by her, which is clearly the case if you listen to his dialogue during the conveyor belt where he tries to encourage Chell to kill herself because he’s afraid of having to fight her:

"I'll be honest, the... death traps have been a bit of a failure so far. For both of us. I think you'll agree. And... you are getting very close to my lair...”

"So. Boom. Better offer, here is... just kill yourself! Y'know? It- Lot of effort, isn't it? Walking all the way to my deadly lair, when there's a perfectly serviceable death option right there. Again: Not a death trap, not a death trap. Your death would be entirely voluntary. And very much appreciated."

"Plus, I have put a lot of effort in getting this lair ready for you. So it would certainly teach me a lesson if you simply died, painlessly, twenty feet from the door. I'd be furious. I'd be like RRRRR. I got my just desserts. No more than I deserve. But, uh, teach- Why not teach me a lesson by- by just jumpin' in the ol' masher?"

He even says at the start of the boss battle that he watched the tapes of Chell killing GLaDOS and that he wasn’t going to make the same mistakes. Cold and uncaring apathy is not a driving motivator for Wheatley- especially not with Chell. FEAR AND COWARDICE are his main motivators! The inconsistency here is that Valve couldn’t think up the ending on schedule so they rushed through the pacing, incidentally gave Wheatley a motive that makes far more sense for GLaDOS and neglected the fact that he’s motivated more so by cowardice rather than cold and apathetic utilitarianism like GLaDOS.

.

[pinkrangerv]

Internet Safety 101

It has Come To My Attention that apparently nobody else was given the 'and this is social engineering going after your password' or the 'this is the cops trapping you' lesson of social media use, so let me step forward with some helpful advice.

The most common scams pretend to be the IRS, Social Security, or a government agency who claims you broke a law and have to pay in gift cards to stay out of jail. A few points to remember:

Government agencies contact you by letter or cop. No government agency anywhere uses texts or email except as emergency alerts.

Gift cards are not currency, and the government does not pay off debts with gift cards.

For you to be put in jail, formal charges would have to be filed, and a trial held. They cannot just disappear you to jail. That is not a thing.

The next most common is someone trying to get at the security questions for your bank. If someone is asking things like what street you live on, the first letter of your pet's name, the first letter of your name, or any other personal information 'that you put together to find your X name', that person is trying to get at your bank accounts.

Police ROUTINELY conduct stings by walking up to people and asking them to confess to crimes. Remember: COPS CAN SPIN ANYTHING TO A JUDGE ANY WAY THEY WANT IT, and YOU will be stuck defending yourself in court. Weed is legal in your state? It's federally illegal, so good luck with the drug charges! You had a beer and then drove? DUI, citizen, even if you weren't driving strangely or have a high blood alcohol level! Did you attend a protest the police attacked? You're a rioter now!

Answering 'No, I never did that!' does not do a damn thing. It means they will plant evidence on you and claim you lied. The ONLY CORRECT ANSWER when asked these questions is 'Am I free to leave?' followed by 'goodbye, officer'. If you see these questions on social media--"Ha ha are you a stoner? This personality quiz will tell you!", "Do YOU believe in BLM?" and other such things--DO NOT ANSWER OR CLICK ON THEM. They are traps.

This is a pretty basic rundown of the most common ways social media can be dangerous. Remember: ACAB, government agencies are allergic to electronics, and no one needs to know any part of your name or where you live.

[frmartinshomiliesandreflections]

16th March >> Fr. Martin's Reflections / Homilies on Today's Mass Readings (Inc. John 7:40-52) for Saturday, Fourth Week of Lent: ‘There has never been anyone who has spoken like him’.

Saturday, Fourth Week of Lent

Gospel (Except USA) John 7:40-52 The Law does not allow us to pass judgement on a man without hearing him.

Several people who had been listening to Jesus said, ‘Surely he must be the prophet’, and some said, ‘He is the Christ’, but others said, ‘Would the Christ be from Galilee? Does not scripture say that the Christ must be descended from David and come from the town of Bethlehem?’ So the people could not agree about him. Some would have liked to arrest him, but no one actually laid hands on him. The police went back to the chief priests and Pharisees who said to them, ‘Why haven’t you brought him?’ The police replied, ‘There has never been anybody who has spoken like him.’ ‘So’ the Pharisees answered ‘you have been led astray as well? Have any of the authorities believed in him? Any of the Pharisees? This rabble knows nothing about the Law – they are damned.’ One of them, Nicodemus – the same man who had come to Jesus earlier – said to them, ‘But surely the Law does not allow us to pass judgement on a man without giving him a hearing and discovering what he is about?’ To this they answered, ‘Are you a Galilean too? Go into the matter, and see for yourself: prophets do not come out of Galilee.’

Gospel (USA) John 7:40-53 The Christ will not come from Galilee, will he?

Some in the crowd who heard these words of Jesus said, “This is truly the Prophet.” Others said, “This is the Christ.” But others said, “The Christ will not come from Galilee, will he? Does not Scripture say that the Christ will be of David’s family and come from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?” So a division occurred in the crowd because of him. Some of them even wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him. So the guards went to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why did you not bring him?” The guards answered, “Never before has anyone spoken like this man.” So the Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd, which does not know the law, is accursed.” Nicodemus, one of their members who had come to him earlier, said to them, “Does our law condemn a man before it first hears him and finds out what he is doing?” They answered and said to him, “You are not from Galilee also, are you? Look and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.” Then each went to his own house.

Reflections (10)

(i) Saturday, Fourth Week of Lent

At the end of the gospel reading, the religious leaders say, ‘Prophets do not come out of Galilee’. Earlier in this gospel of John, Nathanael had asked, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Both the statement and the questions reveal a certain prejudice relating to a particular place. There is another example of prejudice in the gospel reading. The religious authorities declare, ‘this rabble knows nothing about the Law – they are damned’. There is a presumption here that that those who have not had a certain kind of religious training are incapable of sound judgement when it comes to the ways of God. It can often be tempting to prejudge someone or some group on the basis of where they live or where they come from. The opposite to prejudice or pre-judging is to suspend judgement on some individual or group until sufficient evidence can be gathered that enables an informed judgement to be made. This is the attitude displayed by Nicodemus in the gospel reading. Although he was a Pharisee, a member of a group normally hostile to Jesus of Nazareth, he was devoid of prejudice, declaring, ‘surely the Law does not allow us to pass judgement on a man without giving him a hearing and discovering what he is about’. The corrective to prejudice is to give people a hearing, to be open to the presence of truth and goodness in someone or some group where we might least expect it. Giving people a hearing with a view to really understanding who they are and where they are coming from can head off unnecessary conflict. Such unprejudiced listening is needed today more than ever. As people of faith, especially, we have to be open to the presence of God’s Spirit where we might not expect to find it.

And/Or

(ii) Saturday, Fourth Week of Lent

Nicodemus features in this morning’s gospel reading. This is one of three times that he appears in the gospel of John. He appears for the first time at the very beginning of the gospel when he came to Jesus by night, drawn by Jesus and yet not quite ready to commit to him. He appears for the third time at the very end of the gospel in the company of Joseph of Arimathea, as, together, they arrange for Jesus to have a dignified burial. He is on a journey towards Jesus that spans the whole gospel of John. This morning’s gospel is the middle appearance of Nicodemus. He is a Pharisee and, yet, he has the courage to challenge his fellow Pharisees who have already made up their minds about Jesus, dismissing him because of his origins in Galilee, that remote region to the north, far from the centre, far from Jerusalem. Nicodemus insists that Jesus be given a hearing before coming to a judgement about him. He breaks with his peers, expressing a view which goes against the dominant view of his fellow Pharisees. As often happens to such people, his speaking up against the consensus meets with derision, ‘Are you from Galilee too?’ His emerging relationship with Jesus left him increasingly isolated in the world where he had been so much at home. The figure of Nicodemus reminds us that as we grow in our relationship with Jesus, there is often a price to be paid. We may find ourselves a lone voice among our peers. At such times, we know that the Lord is with us and we can say in the words of this morning’s responsorial psalm, ‘God is the shield that protects me’.

And/Or

(iii) Saturday, Fourth Week of Lent

Nicodemus features in this morning’s gospel reading. It is the second time Nicodemus appears in the gospel of John. Earlier in the gospel he had come to Jesus by night. He was a member of the Pharisees, a group generally hostile to Jesus in John’s gospel. Yet, there was something about Jesus that drew Nicodemus to Jesus, even if his first coming was under cover of darkness. In this morning’s gospel reading we find Nicodemus challenging the prejudice of his fellow Pharisees towards Jesus. He expresses the view that his peers are not giving Jesus a fair hearing. Nicodemus will appear one more time in John’s gospel, at the foot of the cross, when he assists Joseph of Arimathea in giving Jesus a dignified burial. Nicodemus comes across as someone who gradually made his way towards Jesus. His story reminds us that different people journey at different paces towards the Lord. The Lord respects the uniqueness of each person’s faith journey. The Lord relates to each one of us differently, because we each relate to him differently. Our response to the Lord’s call can be tentative at times, just as Nicodemus’ initial response was tentative. Yet, the Lord continues to call to us, and he is happy to wait until we are ready to take the next step in our relationship with him.

And/Or

(iv) Saturday, Fourth Week of Lent

You remember the story in John’s gospel of Nicodemus, the Pharisee, who went to Jesus by night. He sought out Jesus under cover of darkness so as not to draw attention to himself. There he is again in this morning’s gospel reading, only this time he is drawing attention to himself. He is challenging his peers, his fellow Pharisees, to give Jesus a fair hearing, and not to prejudge him. His peers have closed minds, ‘Prophets do not come out of Galilee’, they say. Nicodemus is typical of those people of integrity who have the courage to keep seeking after truth, even in the face of great pressure to do otherwise. There are open to truth wherever it is to be found, even when taking the truth on board will be painful. Nicodemus is a man who allowed himself to be drawn by the light, in spite of peer pressure. Jesus had earlier said in John’s gospel, ‘those who do what is true come to the light’. Nicodemus is a gospel character who encourages us to keep on seeking the light of truth, no matter where it is to be found, no matter how challenging its finding might be. We know that that whenever we find the truth we will find the Lord, because the Lord said of himself, ‘I am the truth’.

And/Or

(v) Saturday, Fourth Week of Lent

Nicodemus features in this morning’s gospel reading. This is the Nicodemus who had earlier come to Jesus under cover of darkness and who, later on, would arrange with Joseph of Arimathea for Jesus to have a dignified burial. He appears three times in John’s gospel and this morning’s gospel scene in the middle one of the three. There we find him challenging his peers, his fellow Pharisees. They had already written Jesus off as a sinner. Nicodemus, however, was much more open; he felt Jesus should be given a hearing; it was worth the effort to find out what Jesus was really about. Nicodemus was open, not closed. He was also courageous; he was prepared to state his views about Jesus even though it brought down the criticism of his fellow Pharisees on his head. He was a seeker after truth and he was faithful to that search, although it was clear it would cost him a great deal. Nicodemus teaches us to keep seeking the Lord, in spite of the pressure to do otherwise. He encourages us to be true to what is deepest within us, even when it leaves us isolated in certain company.

And/Or

(vi) Saturday, Fourth Week of Lent

I was very struck when Pope Francis came to the balcony of Saint Peter’s Basilica on the night of his election. Before he gave the crowd his blessing he asked them to pray for him in silence. A great hush came over them all as they prayed for him as he bowed down towards them. Only then did he give them his blessing. It was as if he was saying to them, ‘I need your prayers more than you need my blessing’. He was recognizing all of us as his partners on the journey that lay ahead of him. He spoke about the ‘camino’, the journey, the way, which we would travel together, bishop and people. His whole tone suggested that together we are partners on the journey of faith. We may have different roles in the church, and no one would envy Pope Francis his role, but we are one before the Lord, one in Christ, together members of one body, the body of Christ. That very respectful attitude of Pope Francis towards the people in St Peter’s Square and towards all of us in the church stands in total contrast to the attitude of the Pharisees towards the people in this morning’s gospel reading. Because some of the people were being drawn to Jesus, the Pharisees said, ‘this rabble knows nothing about the Law – they are damned’. It took Nicodemus, one of their own, to stand up and say, ‘Wait a minute. We cannot pass judgement on this man without first giving him a hearing and discovering what he is about’. Our calling is precisely that, to give Jesus a hearing, to take his word into our hearts and allow it to shape our lives. As Pope Francis has already reminded us, it is that relationship with Jesus which makes us church.

And/Or

(vii) Saturday, Fourth Week of Lent

We hear a lot about peer pressure today. Young people especially seem quite susceptible to peer pressure in various ways. If something is not considered ‘cool’ by their peers it can be very difficult for them to take it on.  When it comes to acknowledging one’s faith and witnessing to it, peer pressure often works against young people. It is not easy for young people to witness to their faith in any kind of public way. That is why we all have to support those young people who are trying to do so, whether it is our young readers, our young Eucharistic ministers, our youth choir. They need role models to help them resist the kind of peer pressure that makes light of their faith. We all need such models. There is one such model in today’s gospel reading, Nicodemus. His peers, his fellow Pharisees, had already made up their minds about Jesus. He was leading people astray. Nicodemus, who was a prominent member of the Pharisees, challenged his peers, ‘Surely the Law does not allow us to pass judgement on a man without giving him a hearing and discovery what he is about?’ He was saying to his fellow Pharisees, ‘Don’t prejudge Jesus. Give him a hearing’. If you remember, Nicodemus had already come to Jesus by night and had engaged Jesus in serious conversation. Like many a person who goes against his or her peers, Nicodemus incurred the disdain of his fellow teachers of the Law, ‘Are you a Galilean too?’  We need plenty of people like Nicodemus today who are prepared to risk isolation because of their faith, even if it is only an emerging faith, as was the case with Nicodemus. Indeed, we all need to have something of his courage and integrity today.

And/Or

(viii) Saturday, Fourth Week of Lent

Several questions are asked by a variety of people in today’s gospel reading. The question that stands out for me is the one asked by Nicodemus, ‘Surely the Law does not allow us to pass judgement on a man without giving him a hearing and discovering what he is about?’ It raises the question for us all, ‘On what basis do we make a judgement about someone?’ Do we make a judgement after giving someone a hearing with an open heart and mind and after seeking to discover what he or she is really about?’ It seems that Nicodemus’ fellow Pharisees were ready to make a judgement about Jesus without having given him a proper hearing or making a serious effort to discover what he is really about. Nicodemus was prepared to stand up against the emerging consensus among his peers, a consensus that wasn’t well thought through or based on a genuine search for truth. Nicodemus’ independence of mind and spirit earned him the dismissive comment, ‘Are you a Galilean too? From the perspective of Jerusalem where many of Nicodemus’ peers were based, Galilee was a marginal area whose residents could be dismissed as rabble who know nothing about God’s Law. The figure of Nicodemus encourages us to think for ourselves, especially when it comes to our faith. He invites us to give Jesus a hearing and to discover what he is about, even when such a path is unfashionable. When it comes to witnessing to our faith or to our emerging faith, as was the case with Nicodemus, we will often need something of his independence of mind and spirit, something of his courage.

And/Or

(ix) Saturday, Fourth Week of Lent

At the beginning of John’s gospel, Nathanael asked the question in relation to Jesus, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Something of that same attitude is to be found among the Pharisees at the end of today’s gospel reading, ‘Prophets do not come out of Galilee’. Both are examples of what we would call prejudice, prejudging someone, judging someone before giving them a fair hearing. This is the criticism that Nicodemus levels against his fellow Pharisees in the gospel reading, ‘Surely the Law does not allow us to pass judgement on a man without giving him a hearing and discovering what he is about?’ Earlier in this gospel of John, Nicodemus, a leading Pharisee, had given Jesus a hearing, even though he was perplexed by what Jesus said to him. We are all too familiar with the phenomenon of prejudice in our own day and the often very deadly consequences of prejudice. The temptation to prejudge someone is always real for all of us. We can all find ourselves at times asking the question, ‘Can anything good come out of ….?’ substituting something or someone else for ‘Nazareth’. The portrait of Jesus as found in all the gospels is of someone who, in the words of Nicodemus, gave people a hearing so as to discover what they were about. That is how the risen Lord relates to each one of us today. He takes it for granted that good can come out of us all, and he works to bring to pass that potential good in us. This is not only how the Lord relates to us, but it is also how he would like us to relate to each other.

And/Or

(x) Saturday, Fourth Week of Lent

Many people today feel that nobody is listening to them; they are not being given a hearing. We may not end up agreeing with people’s opinion on something but we can still listen attentively to them and try to understand them. In today’s gospel reading, the temple police who were sent to arrest Jesus found themselves listening to him and, against their expectations, being greatly impressed by what he said, ‘There has never been anybody who has spoken like him’, they said. However, the chief priests and Pharisees who had sent the police to arrest Jesus were completely closed to what Jesus had to say. They had made up their minds that he was not from God. Yet, one of their number separated himself out from his peers and challenged their refusal to listen with the question, ‘Surely the Law does not allow us to pass judgement on a man without giving him a hearing and discovering what he is about?’ Nicodemus was insisting that Jesus was deserving of being given a hearing before judgement was made on him. It takes courage to stand up to one’s peers and express a view that is at odds with the consensus. A kind of herd mentality can easily dismiss someone who is seen as a threat to the position and status of the group. Every group, no matter how small or large, needs at least one person who, from time to time, sees through the prejudice and blindness that may lie buried within the easy consensus. Every group needs someone who is prepared to stand up and say, ‘Wait a minute! Let us not rush to judgement. We need to listen to this other point of view. It may have something to teach us. God may be speaking to us through this alien voice’. God was speaking through Jesus of Nazareth in Galilee, even though the informed consensus was, ‘prophets do not come from Galilee’. Nicodemus inspires us to be open to the Lord speaking to us in ways we might never have expected.

Fr. Martin Hogan.

[lumenflowered]

Hello! You have had several interactions with my owner at this point. None of them have been positive, especially the most recent one. I am not here to apologise on her behalf, as it is not my place to, but I will inform you that she did intend to apologise for any offence caused, though was stymied for reasons that it is not my place to elaborate on.

For all the words I have spent on that topic, this ask is not overmuch about that.

I am an individual of some curiosity, and you are quite the interesting individual yourself. I do not intend to judge your choice of team members, to be clear, but I would like to ask if, overall, there was any particular rhyme or reason to your selection, or if it was a matter of whim. My owner, you see, selected all of her team members very meticulously, but I am led to understand that is not usually the case, and I would like to gather as much data on this matter as possible.

Furthermore, and I understand this is a much darker and sensitive questions, but as a digital being that does not dream, not even of Mareep, I find myself fascinated by dreams and nightmares; you seem to have clear idea of what prompts yours, so I would appreciate if you would explain how this came to be. Of course, you are allowed to refuse to answer this inquiry.

Ah! I appear to have rambled on and on somewhat. My apologies. Regardless of your response, I hope your day is pleasant and productive to the extent you desire.

...Hello. I suppose you must be a Ghost-type of some kind yourself?

or a porygon

I do not know what that is.

Regarding the selection of my team members... there are only two that I actively chose myself: Rakuyo and Evelyn. In the case of Rakuyo, I was offered a choice between three Pokémon, and Rakuyo caught my eye immediately. As for Evelyn, I had been... made aware of an alternate dimension where there were a truly staggering amount of types, and Horsea was a Gun-type Pokémon in that particular dimension.

If Evelyn had not been willing to come along, I would have simply continued to battle Horsea until I found one that was.

In every other case, I suppose that they chose me to an extent. Hunter spent quite a significant amount of time tracking me prior to any sort of formal encounter, hence the name. Molotov was extremely enthusiastic about a battle and, once we had prevailed, made it very clear that he did not wish to be left behind. Adeline, as is logged on this very account, briefly pilfered my Pokétch while I was otherwise occupied with a battle and then was surprised when I threw a Pokéball at her to get it back.

first human to actually notice me messing around with her things

shes weird. i like hanging out with her tho

...I will choose to take that as a compliment.

With regards to dreams and nightmares, mine are... complicated, yet not. I do not originate from this world. In the one I hail from, there was a god of the ocean that supposedly perished and washed up on the shore of a fishing village.

I and... some others... went there to investigate it.

Gods, evidently, do not die so easily after all. That corpse should have been left well alone.

For my role in what happened that day, I have had nightmares of the ocean ever since.

...With one exception. Strangely, the move Dream Eater does seem to mitigate them.

they taste kinda gross but i can help in a pinch :P

I hope your day, too, is pleasant and productive to the extent you desire.

[icology]

Not so much trivia this time as it is an open question about Yorda's language. If you go to the Team Ico Wiki and look to the Runic Language page, you'll see both the chart displaying each hieroglyph from A-Z and a table giving you a word association that helps show how the letter and image are related. The A-Z chart is easily verified by early pages of the Japanese ICO Guidebook. On page 2 you can see all 26 letters placed in an order, which is a very simple, effective way of informing us that each letter on the wiki's chart is correct. But now here's the thing that bugs me. The table. The symbol-to-English-word correspondence. It is very obvious what some of these symbols indicate. A = Ant is a great example of the plainly obvious. But as it goes on, I begin to wonder where these interpretations are sourced from. How did someone figure out the shape of the Runic F represents 'Fall' or H = Hide? Like, yeah, now that it's been said, I can squint at it and see what was meant, but... Who determined this? Is it from a fan or an official source? Doesn't say. But that table has been on the page since it was created in 2009. So I went down a rabbit hole. And for about 9 hours I have been google searching with both English and Japanese terms, trying my best to track down where this info may have originated. I used the Wayback Machine, I used Google Lens to help translate images, and most searches didn't touch a year above 2009. But the worst part is that I came back empty handed. The only thing I determined is that the user who published the wiki page has vanished off the face of the web, and that modern Japanese ICO fans also inquire about the word associatio. But when they do they either try to figure it out from scratch or turn to the Team Ico Wiki for their info. So if the info did come from a Japanese source, it's possible their side of the fandom lost sight of it too. This is something I feel is going to bug me for a while.

I've wondered about this before too!

For those who don't know, here's a video showcasing the Runic alphabet, as well as the word that corresponds to each symbol:

Like you said, every single article that you can possibly find on the language lists the Team Ico Wiki as their primary source for the information, but the symbol to word association is never explained in detail.

So, it was either explained to someone by Kei Kuwabara (the Team Ico member who created the language) or a fan out there had to struggle to come up with feasible words for those symbols that are harder to make out. In hindsight, it wouldn't surprise me because even the colossi names that most of us use (Valus, Quadratus, Gaius...) are actually not canon. They were created by an obscure user and spread like wildfire to the point of people not even knowing that the team had totally different names for them while in development. But we have proof of that, even if it's buried deeeeeep in old forums, so if that's the case we should be able to find who did it too, but we can't. Plus, and even though they're listed on the wiki, the fan given names for the colossi are clearly stated as such.

One thing that surprises me is the extensive use of mainly english words for each symbol, with the exception of J, X and Y, whose corresponding words are japanese (jiisan and yoke) and greek (xoanon. how would one even know this?). Although Team Ico uses english names and words here and there (heck, they named one of their protagonists Wander), I have the feeling that they rely on japanese terms more often. So to me, this had to come from someone who is either japanese or fluent in the language, because judging from the symbols, many fans could guess jiisan for J, but not everyone would guess yoke for Y.

Canon or not, each symbol is clearly meant to have a corresponding word, but there's zero sources for that one piece of information, plus the Team Ico Wiki doesn't list any source of its own for this so we're left in the dark. I doubt it came from the game files or something because people have investigated them in the past and no one mentioned this. For a fanbase that's an expert in finding things, it's surprising that seemingly no one can provide a source for this.

So as usual, I'm kindly summoning the help of each and every single of you out there who might know something about it!

[cuzwhynoth]

[Chapter 1 - A Dangerous Game]

Emily was being haunted by a ghost, or it seems like he is, for she couldn't tell any difference between him and the other ghosts she'd seen in movies as a young child.

He calls himself Sunny Day Jack, which Emily took as very strange, but who was she to judge a ghost by regular human standards?

Perhaps it was some nickname that he decided was more fitting of his seemingly upbeat personality, or an honorary title from his previous life; Emily had no way of knowing.

Nevertheless, it didn't matter as much.

That only meant she had a few options on how to call him, and she hadn't thought them all through.

The first month of acquaintance went by without much happening, except for the occasional startled look in Emily's direction when she happened to catch his gaze, involuntarily of course, while in the middle of something else.

As far as her knowledge of the paranormal went, ghosts shouldn't be able to move around or interact in any way with living beings, yet there he was– sitting on his favorite chair in the back room, reading the newspaper, looking as if he was truly alive.

Even the sunlight seemed to bounce off his body without leaving a reflection, which was a pretty strange phenomenon in and of itself.

This predicament Emily was in was a rarity; she wasn't sure if she was even supposed to be able to see or interact with him, much less be able to engage a conversation with him.

He didn't know anything that has happened since his death, much to her dismay and slight irritation.

Although she was able to gather a few information from this entity—she'd learned to call him that after that one month—by the end of each conversation, she would leave feeling as though she had learned nothing new.

Besides his overwhelming tendency to be chatty, Jack had some other quirks she couldn't quite grasp.

For example, when he answered a question she had for him, he would give a response that would make her wonder if he had some hidden meaning, or if he really didn't know the answer.

Naivety on her part, she supposed. The whole ghost thing was still pretty new to her, after all. She wasn't quite sure how to interpret that.

The day that month came to an end, Emily had accepted the fact that this ghost was not going to leave her home anytime soon, and decided to use her time to get acquainted.

Although she did not know what to do, or how to act around him, she had at least become comfortable enough to talk to him.

Although she did not know what to do, or how to act around him, she had at least become comfortable enough to talk to him.

His hand reached up to his neck every so often as if he were feeling for a necklace that wasn't there, or as if he were trying to remove a tight collar. A nervous habit, perhaps?

He would give her a quick glance every now and then, as if he were afraid she would disappear if he looked away from her too long.

"You like this place, don't you?" Emily asked him as she began flipping through some old photos. "My place, I mean."

"Of course I do," he spoke, almost too quickly. "It's home. The very place you live in," he continued, "is my home. I don't want anything to happen to it."

Emily cocked her head. "Why would anything happen to it?"

"I don't know. Things happen. Bad things," his tone held a tinge of sadness, but also something that sounded very much like fear. Taking in a quick breath, he continued, "I don't want anything to happen to you, either."

Emily decided to change the subject. "So what do you do for fun around here? I mean, you know," she leaned her back against the counter and watched him from the corner of her eye, "when you're not haunting me of course."

It was meant as a jest, and she was relieved that Jack didn't seem to find it any offense of that.

The corner of his mouth turned up into a smile, and he looked down at his lap, where he clasped his hands together.

"I don't know what I could do to pass the time if I didn't have you around here to talk to." He looked back up at her, and said, "All I've ever wanted to do since the day I died was to talk to somebody. To have someone to be with. A family, if only for a little while."

Well, she wasn't expecting such a sickeningly heart-felt response, but it was nice to know that ghosts could be lonely just like the rest of humanity.

It also explained why he lingered on after his death, a bit, at least. His eyes began to well with tears, and he quickly blinked them away.

However, he still seemed to struggle with his emotions.

"That's nice. I'm glad you feel that way, because... well," she attempted a quick smile, "I like talking to you too," she finished lamely.

That was probably the wrong thing to say. She had no idea why she said that, or how that came out.

Grabbing the photos off the counter, she shuffled them back over to the coffee table, and sat down. "So, do you know what your purpose is here, or anything like that?" she asked, changing the subject.

He took a moment to answer, and she could tell he was choosing his words carefully. Finally, he spoke, "I think I do."

Turning her eyes toward him, she watched as he paused again.

"I think that I'm supposed to help you," he said, a bit timidly, "it's the least I can do for saving me back there, don't you think? I mean," he looked down at his lap for a moment, and then continued, "I probably would have gotten mad from having no one to talk to for so long, and... well, I wouldn't have been any use to you like this, now would I?"

Well, if he wanted to get all sentimental on her, Emily wasn't going to stop him. Still, it was a bit odd, wasn't it?

"I'm sorry," she said, "but that's a little cheesy, don't you think? Even for you."

"Maybe," he laughed for a bit, "but it's true." It was already strange enough that he could touch the physical world, that he could converse with her, that he could be so... real.

This ghost, or whatever it is, has been haunting her in her daily life ever since she took a look at that tape, sticking around her, and occasionally touching her.

Although they were only light touches, a brush of a hand or shoulder here or there, it was still very noticeable. While she knew there was no pervasive intent in his actions, she could already tell that he was keeping tabs on her.

He was watching her, and she was in his sphere of influence, so to speak.

It was already unsettling enough that she could not rack her brain for any explanation for his existence, let alone his capability to even touch objects.

Poltergeists can throw things around, but it seems doubtful that they can actually grab someone and squeeze them gently to comfort them in their times of emotional despair.

Or is this just a symptom of senility?

She hoped that this is the case, for her own sanity would be very rattled if she were to find out that she was suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer's.

Sitting on the couch with her head in her hands, she couldn't help but wonder what her life would be like if she was diagnosed with this disease.

How would she even react to her parents knowing that she had to be put on medication to slow down the cognitive degeneration, and that there was little to no chance of her being able to go on without significant assistance?

And to think she would start to hallucinate a clown, of all things.

No, no, this was insane. She didn't want to think about it, and she sure wasn't going to dwell on it.

Emily was very much are just praying that she'd be able to slow down the decline long enough to find some sort of a cure before her mind completely goes. Alzheimer's is a terrible disease.

"A penny for your thoughts?" a voice says from behind her.

Looking over her shoulder, she turned to see that it was him, this strange, ghostly man.. thing, that has been following her around. She had tried to brush him off and he persists– it's as if he can't leave her alone for too long, for some reason.

"Sorry," he says sheepishly. "I didn't mean to startle you. I just... I needed to know if you were okay," the ghost says, "or if something had happened to you."

"Go away. I'm having some thoughts of my own, and I don't need any nosy ghosts adding to them," she says, "let's leave it at that, okay?" It was frustrating enough that she could not find any results in searching for his name, let alone getting any helpful answers from this ghostly man.

He appears to be a little hurt by her response, but he nods anyways. "I can help you with that." Propping his elbows on the himself on the edge of the backrest of the couch, he leaned almost casually in.

Oh yes, she had almost forgotten. This entity was a kid's TV character of some sort; an 80's pop culture icon, perhaps?

A quirky, lovable, tall figure, this apparition seemed to have a sense of humor about it. How strange that a ghost from someone else's childhood could be alive today, in the present.

It really goes to show how the boundaries between lives can become blurred.

"I can see that you're pretty frustrated with all of this," he said, "I know I am. I mean, I've been stuck like this for who-knows-how-long. I get the impression that you're not feeling so lucky, either."

"Oh?" Emily tried to keep a casual, bored-sounding voice, turning her face so she was directly looking at the television, half listening to his spiel.

"Then what exactly do you plan to do in order to ease my frustration?"

Despite her sarcastic tone, his cheery demeanor did not falter for even a moment as he spoke, in fact, she was certain that she even saw a little smile form on his face when he had sat on the couch with her.

And as expected, the distance between the two of them was incredibly, almost comically, shortened.

"Well," he said, leaning in a little closer, " I could help you out in that area," he paused, as if considering his words, or perhaps just to look more cute, "But there's more to life than just that. I can teach you things. I can show you things..."

His hand held hers slightly, softly, gently; he leaned in just a little closer, "I can help you get rid of the negativity in your life. That's what I'm here for, you know."

This was a little... dangerous, wasn't it?

The fact that he was holding her hand and all, made it even more so.

It seemed almost as if he was trying to tempt her in some way, to see just how far he could go before she said something about how this was a little creepy, to which he would most likely deny.

And, Emily certainly had no idea what he's talking about.

Well, maybe she did, but she didn't really want to put too much thought into such ridiculousness.

A ghost, or at least a spectrum of one, whose job is apparently to help her out with her 'negativity', sounds a bit far fetched. Incredibly so.

The thought of it made her laugh, a little.

"Well, I'm all for that," she says, releasing his hand, "That does sound fun. I'm sure that you've got some tricks up your sleeve for this'magic', huh?" How tedious. She was going to have to put up with this for the rest of the month, at least.

"I'll have you know that there's more to it than just tricks and illusions." He says, almost defensively, "I can help you with your homework, too!"

"I doubt that," she replied, and despite her best efforts to show a bit of hospitality, there's a bit of hope that she might be able to find a way to get rid of him without much hassle. "I no longer need to do homework anyways."

Maybe she could get him to leave on his own.

"Really," he says, "There are many different ways I can help you. Like," he says, as if thinking of them, "I can help you with your house chores, if you'd like. I know it's hard to keep up with, since... well, you know."

"That's very kind of you, but I'm okay." A bit crazy, but the closer he gets, the more his words seem to feed some desperate need within her, some craving that she has yet to identify.

"Actually, I think I'll pass on the housework for now. I'm not quite ready for that." The words just flow out of her mouth now, almost without thought.

Fulfilling some need, she doesn't even realize it herself. "I appreciate the offer though," she says, "It's very generous of you."

It would do no good to antagonize him.

Despite the fact that she really didn't like him, it would be best to keep the peace.

"Well, if you change your mind," he spoke without looking away from her, as if he wasn't even concerned that she might reject his help, "Just let me know. I can always find more ways to help you."

Now it seems like she was the indecent one, for disagreeing so readily to his offer.

"Well, alright then," she said, shrugging her shoulders ease that tension even just a bit, "Let's get down to it, then." And there she goes, dragging it out again, that old familiar tic that drives her so crazy.

And there's that cheery attitude again.

"Great!" he says, beaming at her. Well, at least he seems kind of cute, like a puppy ready to go on a walk.

Darn, she's going to have to get rid of him soon.

"So, come on," he says, stretching his arms out a bit, "Let's get started, shall we?" He's just so darn happy, so downright joyful, that Emily couldn't help but be a little infected with such pleasantness.

It's contagious, that joy, and she'd oftentimes find herself smiling back at him even just for a little. Despite the fact that it's slightly disturbing.

Still, it can get uncomfortable at any moment if he does that thing that he does so out of the blue, where he gets super close to you and starts acting like he's about to hug you or something.

Touch starved as she was, she just doesn't feel comfortable in such situations.

Taking her hand out of his, she sat upright.

Physical contact seemed to make him happy enough, but she just wasn't quite ready to get that close to someone yet.

"I was wondering," she began, "If I could get some... guidance, on understanding you better, that sort of thing. I have a hard enough time understanding the living, let alone the dead."

If she was going to be haunted by this kids' TV show character, it was a better choice to know who he was and what he was capable of, than to have to tolerate his presence without any knowledge of his true identity.

"I see," he says, still looking down at her, "Well, I suppose that would be the next step, wouldn't it?"

The eagerness in his voice seems to have grown, his eyes still beaming with the same contagious cheer. "I mean, who better to understand a ghost, than a ghost himself?"

"Well, um..." she hesitated for a moment, unsure, "I guess, just tell me whatever comes to mind, you know?" Faking enthusiasm, her tone sounded anything but.

"Of course, of course! No problem at all!" He says, surprising her with his sudden giddiness.

She moved back a bit on the couch, keeping a good bit of space between them. He looks as if he's about to break into song, the eagerness in his face morphing into a wide grin.

That had been a very odd display of behavior.

She didn't know if she could label it as such, but it certainly felt like he was trying to close some sort of a distance between them, on purpose.

The subtle, fleeting look he gave her earlier in the day, for example, made her wonder if he might just be a little too familiar.

One could say that it was a presumptuous display of behavior on his part, and she found it to be so.

Despite all of that, however, there was still that tingle that she felt when he was near her. Emily felt a pull to him, as she had the first time she laid eyes on him. He was so very charming, so very... wholesome, if she was being honest with herself.

"Alright, let's start with some easy questions, alright?" He says, beaming, "I mean, I'm here to help you, you know? We can work through this stuff together, no problem!"

"Sure."

Just where does he keep all that cheerfulness, she wondered, that contagious enthusiasm of his?

Emily had always been under the assumption that ghosts were supposed to be sad, perhaps even vengeful, especially given how they have been portrayed in most movies and shows.

The wailing, angry spirits that grab hold of you whenever you walk in their direction, the ones that threaten you in the worst way possible?

Those are the ones that usually end up being the most trouble, that's for sure.

Or maybe that's just too presumptuous of her, to assume a ghost would only feel those emotions.

"Alright, uh... when was your first birthday?"

"My first birthday would have been... when was the year?"

Emily just hoped that this ghost will stay as harmlessly cheery as he was from the very start, even if that wasn't really possible.

There are just too many ghostly specters that have been depicted as miserable beings of the night, for her comfort.

It was best to start off with something easy, that much she knew.

[ceterisparibus116]

I have a question if it's okay to ask and you have the time. What is the best recommended way to present your case before the judge for an unjust ticket/citation? I have to do this soon and I'm feeling very nervous about it. Thank you 🙏🏻

I’m happy to help! I’m going to throw a ton of information at you, organized by topic. Please don’t stress out about all this information. My goal is that you can find the topic(s) you’re most concerned about, or the topics you think would be most beneficial to know more about, and you can focus on those.

*I don’t know enough about your case to give specific advice (which I can't do anyway). This is general information that I’d want anyone to know about citations.*

Procedure:

When your case is called, the prosecution will go first. They will call witnesses (usually just the officer who cited you, or perhaps other officers if they were also present). They will “direct examine” the witness.

Then you will have the chance to cross-examine the prosecution’s witness. This is NOT the chance for you to start stating your case. You are only allowed to ask questions. But you can ask leading questions (like “Isn’t it true I had my driver’s license?”)

Note: even if the witness argues with you, this is not the time to argue back. If the witness argues with you (“No, you didn’t have your driver’s license,”) all you can do is ask more questions.

If you start to state your case or argue with the witness or do anything other than ask questions, the judge will remind you that this is not the time for that. That doesn’t mean you’re in trouble (tons of people make this mistake), but I’m giving you a heads up and emphasizing this because if the judge corrects you, that might make you more nervous.

After the prosecution finishes calling witnesses, then you can call witnesses. If you call a witness, then you will ask them questions, and the witness will answer. Then the prosecution can cross-examine your witness.

If you don’t have any witnesses, and it’s just you, then it’s okay to just tell the story of what happened (since it would be weird for you to question yourself).

After both sides are finished, the judge might ask if anyone wants to give a closing argument. If the judge doesn’t ask (and instead starts talking like they're about to give a ruling), you can ask for the chance to give a closing argument.

Your objective:

This is where a lot of people mess up. They know the outcome (they want to be found “not guilty”) but not how to get there.

You need to know how to get there. The objective of a court trial is to determine if you violated a statute. So your only objective is to convince the judge that the facts don’t equal a violation of statute. This means you need to: a) know the statue; and b) know the facts.

So research the statute ahead of time. See if there are any exceptions. If you’re right and the citation was unjust, then it should be clear that the facts of what you did do not fit the statute. For example, if the statute is speeding, then you need to show that you weren’t driving above the speed limit.

Unfortunately…there are a ton of statutes. Some of them might be unfair. Some of them everyone ignores until we get caught. (Like…speeding. Technically, if the speed limit is 35 and you drive 36, you’re guilty of speeding. You can say, “This is ridiculous,” but you’re still speeding.)

Remember that judges are not there to determine if statutes are fair. Statutes are decided by the legislature, not judges. A judge might essentially go “this is ridiculous” and dismiss your case—but they’re not supposed to do that, and if they do that too much, they could get in serious trouble.

If your situation is: “The statute says ‘Don’t do X,’ and I did do X, but I think it’s unfair for X to be illegal.” Then…well, you’re essentially asking the judge to ignore the law.

So I hope the reality of your situation is: “The statute says ‘Don’t do X,’ and I didn’t do X.’” That means you have a perfect argument to make. I’m going to move forward assuming that this is your argument.

Again, prepare by knowing exactly what the statute says, and how to tell the judge that you didn’t violate it. Write it out ahead of time so you can say it smoothly and confidently. “Your Honor, the statute says X is illegal. I didn’t do X. I can prove I didn’t do X for the following reasons.”

Differentiate your reasons. Use “First, Second, and Third” to differentiate them. The benefit to this is that it makes it seem like you have more evidence in support of your case, and it allows you to bring up all the evidence without the lesser arguments cluttering up the stronger arguments. (It also makes you seem organized and prepared.)

For example, if you the issue is speeding, you could say: “I wasn’t speeding for three reasons. First, because I was looking at my odometer, which said I wasn’t speeding. Second, because I was traveling with the flow of traffic. Third, I had no reason to speed, because I wasn’t in a rush; I was just driving home to watch Netflix.” Notice that in this example, not all your reasons are equally strong. The first reason is the strongest. The third reason is fairly week. You want the judge to hear all the reasons without mixing them up.

Don’t get sidetracked. A lot of people in these situations start bringing up irrelevant things. Like “The cop was a jerk to me” or “I can’t afford to pay the citation” or “Yeah, I did the thing, but it’s okay because [insert justification/excuse here].” Resist the temptation to go into any of this. It doesn’t matter.

(And if the cop or the prosecution goes into that, like saying you were a jerk, calmly object. “Your Honor, whether I was a jerk or not is irrelevant to whether I violated the statute.” If you want to defend yourself, WAIT to defend yourself until the cop is off the witness stand and the judge has invited you to tell your story. But keep that part of your story short. Say, “I want to briefly acknowledge the cop’s claim that I was a jerk.” Then MOVE ON. The judge is there to determine whether you violated a statute, not whether you were a jerk.)

Keep your argument clean and simple: “The statute says it’s illegal to do X. I didn’t do X for the following reasons. First, ____. Second, ____. Third, _____. Therefore, I’m not guilty. Thank you.”

Tips

Prepare ahead of time! Take notes on what questions you want to ask the cop. Take notes on the key points you need to make when you tell your story (especially your First, Second, Third arguments). Have notes prepared to give a closing argument.

A lot of people in your position don’t give closing arguments, or if they do, it’s disorganized and rambling. DO give a closing argument. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy; it’s just a chance to clearly reiterate your points—and address anything the prosecution says that you need to correct. DON’T ramble.

Type your notes BIG. You want to be able to see them clearly when they’re lying on a table and you’re standing up. (Don’t expect to be able to hold your notes. If your hands are shaking, it will be hard to read. The way to get around that is to try to hold the page taught at the top and the bottom. But it’s easier to just leave your notes on the table and stand up without them. This will also make you seem more confident, like you're not hiding behind a sheet of paper.)

When you give your closing argument, remind the judge that the prosecution bears the burden of proving their case by beyond a reasonable doubt.

Address the judge as “Your Honor.”

Don’t ask the judge to just dismiss the citation. The prosecutor can dismiss the citation, but the judge is there to render a verdict: “guilty” or “not guilty.” Only if the judge finds you “not guilty” will the judge then dismiss the case.

If you have anything you want to show the judge (like a piece of paper, a picture, etc.) remember that you have to ask to have it admitted into evidence. You can’t just start talking about it, or the judge will interrupt you and ask to see what you’re talking about. It doesn’t have to be fancy. Just say something like, “Your Honor, I have a picture of X that I’d like to submit into evidence.”

If the prosecution objects that the document lacks foundation, then just tell the judge a little bit more about how you know that the document is what you say it is. (Like if it’s a picture, say, “Your Honor, I know this is a picture of X because I took the picture myself that day.”)

Again, write this all out ahead of time!

Confidence

Confidence is key. Remember that you have every advantage in this situation. The prosecution has to prove their case by beyond a reasonable doubt. That’s a heavy burden. And in most cases like this, I’s essentially a “he said, she said” situation. Those are very hard to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. So chin up!

And remember that the judge isn’t on one side or the other. The judge is neutral, and is only there to determine the facts, and see if the facts = a violation of the law.

Here’s a tip on how to talk clearly and loudly and calmly. Follow this order every time you want to talk: 1. Stand up. 2. Plant your feet. 3. Take a deep breath. 4. Talk. This is HARD. Everyone wants to start talking before they’ve even stood up. Don’t. That will make you sound flustered and make it harder for you to think.

In however much time you have before the hearing, practice this. Practice sitting down, then standing up, then planting your feet, then taking a deep breath, and then talking. Practice it over and over and you will find that it’s much easier to control your thoughts and sound calm and confident when you talk.

When you’re sitting at the table, sit in a way that tells your brain “I’m okay.” Resist the urge to curl up, cross your arms, slump down, lower your head. Instead, sit comfortably. Let your limbs take up space. Keep your head up. This is a great trick that harnesses your body to send a signal to your brain: “I’m okay. I’m not defensive. I’m not in danger. I’m okay.”

[For more on that, check out this youtube channel.]

Continuance [aka more time]

If for any reason you aren’t prepared to go forward on the day of the hearing, tell the judge why and ask for a continuance. If the judge agrees, a new hearing will be set.

If the prosecutor isn’t ready to go forward, they might ask for a continuance. You can agree to that, but you do not have to. You can say, “No, Your Honor, I want to go forward today.” If the prosecution can’t go forward for whatever reason (maybe they don’t have the evidence they need, maybe the cop didn’t show up, etc.) and the judge denies the prosecution’s motion for a continuance, then you will (or at least should) win the case.

Hearsay

I’m not going to go fully into the rules of evidence because they’re complicated, but you might want to know a little about hearsay. Hearsay is when a witness starts repeating what someone else said outside of court. So if the cop starts saying, “Then the defendant’s mom said ‘X,’” you can object because whatever your mom said is hearsay.

However, if the cop starts talking about what *you* said, that’s not hearsay because of a particular exception. So if the cop starts saying, “Then the defendant said ‘X,’” don’t object—it won’t work. Even if the cop is lying about what you said, you won’t be able to deal with that by objection. You can only deal with that by testifying for yourself, and correcting the record by saying: “The cop said I said ‘X,’ but that’s not true. I said ‘Y.’”

If you start talking about what the cop said (“Then the cop said ‘X’”) and the prosecution objects, calmly tell the judge: “The cop is a party representative, and a party representative’s statements are not hearsay.” The judge should agree. (If the judge doesn’t agree, it’s probably not worth arguing. Judges don’t like to be told they’re wrong.)

Talking to the prosecutor

Another option (not required) is to try to talk to the prosecutor. You could call their office any time before the hearing and ask to speak to the prosecutor handling your case (have your name and case number ready), or try to talk to them the day of the hearing.

A prosecutor’s job is to find the truth and only prosecute justly and fairly. If the prosecutor is doing their job, they will be open to hear from you, and will be willing to dismiss the case if indeed the citation is unjust.

Of course, not every prosecutor is concerned with truth, justice, and fairness. But it shouldn’t hurt you to ask.

As you talk to the prosecutor, be calm and respectful and patient. Remember that the prosecutor has only heard the cop’s side of the story. Don’t bash the cop. Instead, be factual: “So, I was charged with X. I didn’t actually do X. Here’s why.”

If you can convince the prosecutor to dismiss the case, then you don’t have to worry about convincing a judge.

Alternatively, the prosecutor might make you an offer. For example, if you were charged with “excessive” speeding (in my state, that’s going 15mph or more over the speed limit), the prosecutor might say, “Would you be willing to plead to basic speeding?” It’s up to you whether to take an offer like that.

The upside is that you get a certain outcome: you will only have basic speeding on your record, not excessive speeding. The downside is that you will have SOMETHING on your record, and if you think you didn’t do anything wrong, that’s not fair. Still, some people would rather take the certainty of an offer than gamble on what the judge will decide. If that’s something you want, you can also ask the prosecutor for an offer, even if the prosecutor doesn’t initiate anything themselves. Totally up to you.

Ask the prosecutor to see what evidence they have. You have a right to see it prior to the trial. If seeing the prosecutor’s evidence makes you realize that you need more time to deal with it, ask the prosecutor for a continuance. The prosecutor may or may not agree. If the prosecutor doesn’t agree, the ask the judge when the judge calls your case.

A bad outcome

If you lose, then what?

A lot of people are concerned about money. You can ask the judge for more time to pay the fine. Say if it’s a $200 fine, you can ask to pay $50 per month for 4 months.

If you think the ruling was unfair, you can appeal. Try not to snap about that in court (“Well, I’m gonna appeal your ruling!”) because it won’t help and it might turn up on the appellate record and that doesn’t look great.

I hope that helps! Good luck, and I hope you get a fair result!

[ghostflowerdreams]

Hocus Pocus and the All-New Sequel

The book Hocus Pocus and the All-New Sequel by A. W. Jantha was released in 2018, on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the 1993 film, Hocus Pocus. The first part is based on the screenplay of the original movie by Mick Garris, Neil Cuthbert and story by David Kirschner and again, Mick Garris. The second half is the sequel that takes place twenty-five years after the original.

I’m only going to be focusing on the first half of the story to see what’s different in the novelization and the original film and what new information was added to it or if there was any other changes.

Why was Emily Binx picked out of all the other Salem kids?

In the film we only know that Emily was lured away by Sarah’s singing. But in the novel it was revealed that she and the other children in Salem were getting dreams for months, tempting them to go into the forest to find the Sanderson sisters’ cottage.

It wasn’t until the next day, in the early morning of October 31 of 1693, that Emily was lured away by the song. But before that it seems that Sanderson sister’s had specifically targeted Emily. She wasn’t afraid of them because whenever she ran into them in town and they were always nice to her and constantly complimenting her.

It’s not show in the film, but in the novel Emily was reading a book the day before she was lured away...

The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan, which is a Puritan story in the form of an allegory about the struggles of a pilgrim trying to stay true to his beliefs, avoid temptations, and remain on the narrow path to heaven.

How old was Emily when she died?

She was eight years old.

Where did the Sanderson sisters get the dead man’s toe for the potion?

When Thackery was watching them to find the right time to rescue his sister, he realized that the big toes came from...

George Flamsteed, the kind old fisherman whose boat had capsized in late September. He’d washed ashore untouched—except that he’d been missing both his big toes.

How old was Thackery Binx when he was turned into a immortal black cat?

He was 13 years old.

What happened to the spell book when the Sanderson sisters were hanged?

It was dropped to the ground by a frighten boy named Elijah Morris, who was the judge’s apprentice and Thackery’s best friend. While everyone was distracted and began to shuffle off, the spell book was closed and lifted.

“As the book rose, the eyelid on its cover blinked open and the watery green iris searched out its rescuer. Through a film of cataracts and rain, the spell book’s eye saw thick dark curls obscuring a face, and then it was tucked beneath an arm and secreted away.”

Before being hanged what did Winifred noticed?

There was someone in the back of the crowd. Winifred looked amused to see them and later on it was revealed by Allison that...

“According to town records, this went missing after the Sanderson sisters were hanged. They found it in another woman’s house just a few days later. I guess she wanted to try it out for herself.”

What new sneakers did Max get and why did he get them?

They’re black Nikes which he got from his parents as a pity gift for the abrupt move to Massachusetts. But in the film the sneakers were specifically Nike Air Trainer Platinum.

Why did Max’s family move to Salem and when?

Max’s dad accepted the transfer to a new management position in Salem. It happened in October, only two weeks from Halloween.

How old is Dani?

She’s eight years old.

What’s the name of the high school that Max and Alison go to?

Jacob Bailey High School

When Dani embarrassed Max in front of Alison about how, “Max likes your yabos,” Dani said. “In fact, he loves them.” We also learned that they have a aunt in Seattle.

“Max, meanwhile, wondered how he could possibly redeem himself, or at least explain himself. He also wondered whether his parents would mind if Dani mysteriously went missing and ended up living with their aunt in Seattle.”

Dani didn’t want to go the the Sanderson’s house with Max and Alison, but he promised to do anything she wanted if she did this for him.

Dani patted his shoulder to quiet him. “Okay. Next year we go trick-or-treating as Wendy and Peter Pan”—she leaned in close, her nose almost touching his—“with tights, or it’s no deal.”

We learned that Max went to a baseball camp.

Dani sighed and looked at Allison. “Max failed out of baseball camp,” she said, sounding resigned.

Max tricked the Sanderson sisters with the sprinklers, but before they left...

“Winifred rescued the Black Flame Candle and stuck it in a tall kitchen cupboard, safely away from the strange metal clouds in the ceiling that spilled rain all over her mother’s furniture and carpet.”

In Winifred’s memory it is revealed that there’s a fourth Sanderson sister...

“She’d stood there and clutched the gate and watched a graveyard wedding take place more than three hundred years before—had watched another Sanderson say her vows in the only place where Winifred and her sisters didn’t dare intervene.”

Why did they want more children souls?

Because, you great buffoon,” Winifred said, wondering why the Devil had cursed her mother with so many senseless offspring, we want to live forever, not just until tomorrow. The more children we snatch, the longer we live.”

Why did Winifred go after Dani when Sarah’s song had lured plenty of other children to the house?

“Besides, I want to get that little rat-faced kid that called me—”

“Oh,” Mary said, rushing over, “don’t say it.”

“Ugly?” asked Sarah.

Winifred and Mary both cringed.

“She really hurt my feelings,” whimpered Winifred. “She doesn’t even know me.”

What were those two big cages previously used for?

“Once there, she summoned two of her favorite cages from the closet. They’d once housed Winifred’s prized phoenix twins—the ones Mary set free out of pity at the age of twelve.”

When Alison suggested to use the spell book to find a way to helped Binx, she discovered that Winifred wasn’t the last one to use it. It was someone named...

Elizabeth Sanderson

The film ends with the exhausted parents leaving the Town Hall after being freed from the curse. Then it switches to Jay and Ernie still dangling in their cages, singing ‘Row, Row, Row, Your Boat’, then the camera pans over to the spell book as the eye opens once more. However, in the novel...

Meanwhile, on its podium Winifred’s spell book slowly opened its eye and looked around, feeling the loss of its master. But then it rose into the air. Jay and Ernie screamed and shook the bars of their cages at the strange sight. The book soared out of the window and into the early morning light. It floated above the cemetery and through the town square, passing the crowd of adults who filed, stumbling, out of Town Hall after a night of endless dancing.

It continued flying, higher and higher, seeking its master...

It wouldn’t stop until it found her.

From that we learned that Elizabeth Sanderson, the fourth Sanderson sister is hinted to be still alive. Because who else would the spell book be referring to when it knows Winifred is back in Hell? All it has to do is just wait for her there where she can easily find it.

Even though I focused on the first half of the book, there’s a few things from the the All-New Sequel that I wanted to make a note of on here. Such as...

To prevent another virgin from lighting the remaining stub of the Black Flame Candle...

[Max] Dad bought a safe to lock up the stub of the Black Flame Candle.

...is locked in a safe in our attic. My mom checks on it twice a year, just to make sure no one has gotten their hands on it.

To convince Dani to visit the Sanderson sisters’ cottage, Max made a deal with her that for next Halloween he’ll wear the Peter Pan costume, with the tights while she goes as Wendy. Max kept his promised because...

When Poppy was looking for the key to the Sanderson sisters’ house, she saw a framed photo of her dad and aunt Dani when they were younger, dressed as Peter Pan and Wendy.

We discover that it wasn’t just a random woman that spotted Emily being lured away by the song from her window. 

It was actually Elizabeth Sanderson who tried to stop her, but when she looked away to answer her husband Emily had left.

The reason Elizabeth took the spell book was because...

Once my sisters were hanged, I took up the book to try to bring Emily back from the grave, but it only led a hateful mob right to my doorstep.

At the very end it’s revealed that William "Billy" Butcherson has a brother who might be a witch too, and had his eye taken to be used in the creation of the spell book.