#he still makes a lot but the prior estimates were So Much it was awful

[prorevenge]

Boyfriend cheats on me with my step sibling so I get him kicked out and destroy his relationship with his parents

When I was around 17 I started dating a guy (19), I'll call him "Jake" for the sake of this post. Also age of consent where I live is 16 so nothing illegal happening here. We got on well, spent a lot of time together and cared for each other a lot. We even started talking about living together once we both moved out. We were a perfectly happy couple.

Or so I thought.

You see, after we'd been dating for a few months, something in Jake changed. He was getting a lot more distant. Whenever he was with me he'd be checking his phone constantly. we stopped spending as much time together and he started to get really funny about public affection, regarding things like hand holding and stuff. He also seemed to start caring less and less about my feelings. I used to have a bit of a thing for humiliation in the bedroom, nothing too far and we'd spoken about what Jake should and shouldn't say, but he started to get more and more degrading. He'd tell me how no one would ever love me and would pick on my insecurities, I actually broke down crying a few times when this happened. To give him a bit of credit, the first few times he did stop everything he was doing and apologise/cuddle with me until I felt better but eventually that stopped too and he just began rolling his eyes and telling me to grow up. He was like a completely different person.

The insults started to seep into our everyday life. He'd pick on my appearance a lot, bring up my family (I was dealing with a lot of family issues at the time), bring up the fact that I slept around before we started dating (a sort of rebellion caused by the family issues) etc. If got upset by it he'd just leave the room and let me cry by myself. I started to feel like it was my fault our relationship was falling apart, maybe I just wasn't good enough for him.

I knew deep down that he was cheating on me and that was confirmed when I got a message from a guy, "David", on Facebook telling me that he'd been sleeping with Jake. He apologised profusely and told me that he broke things off with Jake as soon as he found out he had a boyfriend. I couldn't be mad at David, it wasn't his fault. We spoke for hours and I reassured David that it wasn't his fault and that he'd done nothing wrong. David also helped me to stop making excuses for Jake's attitude and the way he'd been acting. He was a godsend.

The thing that truly broke me happened not too long after the cheating was discovered. We'd been arguing a hell of a lot more. Then he decided to do something absolutely unforgivable. You see, I had a stained relationship with my father for years. He'd cheat on my mother constantly and eventually, he settled down and had kids with a girl he'd been seeing behind her back. He did try to have some sort of relationship with me till I was about 13/14 ish and then decided that he didn't love me as much as his other kids and we stopped any and all contact. It broke me and it still hurts to think about to this day. Anyway, Jake went out of his way to find on of my step siblings online and slept with them. He bragged about it the next day and my step sibling actually posted online about what had happened and I received a bunch of messages from their friends telling me how I had deserved it. This was probably the lowest point in my life and I hated myself, partly for allowing it to happen and partly because I had started to believe what they were saying.

My only solace during this time was David (I didn't want to burden my friends with my problems and David was one of the only people who knew, first hand what Jake was like). We spoke for a few weeks and eventually talk turned to revenge. I had tried calling things off a couple of months prior due to Jake's awful behaviour but he started with the apologies and telling me he didn't mean it, he'd never do it again. He even spoke to some of my family members who, unknowingly, pressured me to get back together with him as we were "such a sweet couple". I hadn't wanted to tell them the real reason that we'd broken up so I kept the details pretty vague,though I'm pretty sure some of them had seen my step siblings post and knew why I didn't want to be with him.

After weeks of talking and planning, I had finally had enough and decided to do something about it.

My father wasn't exactly a rich man but he worked a pretty well paying job and earned enough money to live fairly comfortably. He had begun spreading rumours around when I was younger (during a custody battle with my mother) that he had set up a trust fund for me and that there was enough money there to get me set up in my own place when I was 18, plus a bit extra. I knew that this was absolute bullshit, he tried to get out of paying child support all the time, of course he'd never set up a trust fund for me. However, Jake didn't.

We'd never spoken about it a lot but he'd heard the rumours and I'd just always say what I told you folks, my father was an appalling parent who grudged paying my mother child support so why the hell would he set up a trust fund. But Jake wouldn't listen, he even did his own research into the type of job my father worked and came up with an estimate of how much he thought my father was earning. Though, to his credit, he did drop the subject whenever I asked him to, for a while anyways.

I decided to use this to my advantage. Jake and I were still dating though I avoided him at any chance I got. Until one night where I sat him down and told him that since I'd be turning eighteen in a couple of weeks, I'd started thinking about us getting our own place. With the trust fund my father had set up for me. He immediately cheered up at this and honestly I think that night was the first time in months that he'd said anything nice to me when we weren't in public or with friends/family. This very nearly made me want to call the whole thing off but I spoke with David later that night and he reminded me that Jake would go back to his usual degrading attitude in no time.

We started looking at flats, though Jake was "kind enough" to let me have the final say and handle the paperwork (because how could he possibly go out and cheat on me if he had to sort out the paperwork for a flat). I was a little surprised by this to be very honest as I'd always thought that he'd want his name on the paperwork and everything so I couldn't kick him out. But by this point he'd slept with my step sibling, degraded me, smashed my self confidence to pieces and cheated on me regularly, I think by now he thought that I wouldn't kick him out no matter what he did.

Anyways, I started taking up extra shifts at work to try and save enough money to actually move out. Not with Jake though, oh no. I was moving in with my friend, Emma. We had both been thinking about moving out for a while anyways and though, why not just be roommates. We found a cute little one bedroom flat that was close to our college and work and started getting stuff sorted to move in. I also didn't want to bring any trouble to my mothers door if Jake started kicking up a fuss, Emma had no issues with clawing the face off him if need be and told me not to worry about him coming to our front door.

Then came the next part of the plan. I waited till a week or so before Jake and I were supposedly moving into our own flat and stole his phone for a few minutes. He'd stopped caring about leaving his phone unattended and would sometimes flat out brag about how lucky he was to be able to sleep with whoever he wanted and come home to "a little bitch" who'd make him dinner. So that day when he went for a shower, he wasn't all too bothered about taking his phone with him. Perfect.

I went onto his phone, deleted my number from his contacts and changed the name of his mm's contact as mine.

Pleased, I went to the kitchen, smashed one of the plates (it was my mother's but it was a cheap one from a local shop and I did replace it as soon as possible). I just needed a reason for him to get pissed off. An, oh boy, did he get pissed off.

His first reaction was to text me, calling me all the disgusting names under the sun. Except it wasn't me he'd texted, it was his mum. I'd texted her in advance and told her that I hoped she'd forgive me but she had to see what her son was really like. She'd never tried to defend him as much as she just hadn't known quite how bad his behaviour was. She'd actually called him out a couple of times where he'd slipped up and been harsh with me when she was there.

She. Went. Apeshit.

I never found out exactly how their argument went as she phoned him to scream at him and call him out for his shitty behaviour, finally seeing how horrible her son was. It didn't help that she'd been sent screenshots of some of the times where he'd admitted to cheating. She was absolutely disgusted by her sons behaviour and phoned me to apologise on Jake's behalf. It wasn't her fault though, he's old enough to know how to act like a damn adult. He wound up telling his mum essentially that her opinion didn't matter as he'd be moving in with me anyways.

Needless to say when he called me on Facebook (after I deleted my number from his phone) I took some satisfaction in telling him that we weren't moving in together, that the trust fund wasn't real (I'd already told him that in the past, he just refused to listen) and that I'd moved in with Emma. I was called all the sluts and whores under the sun, his voice sort of turned into white noise after a while. I told him we were over and hung up. Blocked him on everything.

He had to run back to his mum and dad, his tail between his legs, and they took him back for a little while. Though after a bit, the arguments became too much and his parents kicked him out, he stayed with a couple of friends for a few months before he managed to get his own place. His parents, especially his mother, have not been the same with him since. I still talk to his mum on occasion.

Lastly, David and I took the liberty of sending screenshots of Jake's abuse to as many of the people he'd been hooking up with as possible. A couple of sleepless nights were spent trying to track people down on Facebook. Part of it was to get back at Jake but most of it was just to make sure that none of them got roped into a full on relationship with him and had to deal with all the crap I'd gone through.

So there it is, my little story of pro revenge. I know this is really long so there's a tldr below. I wasn't ever planning on posting my story but I was scrolling through Facebook the other day and one of Jake's new accounts popped up on the People You May Now section. After talking with Emma about it, she suggested posting it here, I hope it fits in this subreddit. Bye :)

TLDR

Boyfriend turns into a cheating asshole and winds up sleeping with one of my step siblings to hurt me, knowing that I do not have contact with my father. I play up to the rumour that my dad has set up a trust fund (he hadn't) trick him into thinking we can move in together and into ruining his relationship with his parents. He winds up getting kicked out, I move in with a friend. Also send screenshots of his abusive texts to all of his partners to ensure they don't make the mistake of dating him.

(source) story by (/u/Mikey_Audrey_Myers)

[knickynoo]

Doc & Marty Friendship Mega-Post

As anyone who sees my posts knows, one of my favorite things to explore in regards to Back to the Future is Doc & Marty's friendship. There are plenty of examples of great dynamic duos in TV and movies, but these two are by far my #1. I know I’ve said it (many) times before, but I’ll say it again: their friendship is beautiful for so many reasons. So, I decided to put together a huge list compiling my absolute favorite things and moments about these two time-traveling best buds. 

(Absolutely gonna need to put this under a cut. Going full-ramble, people.)

THE BED & THE AMP. Listen, I can’t even estimate how many times I’ve seen the first movie, and I never knew that there were two beds in the lab until like, 3 months ago? But it is such a good detail, and definitely one of my favorites. It makes sense too, because obviously there are probably nights Marty is helping out with a project & it gets super late so he just crashes there. But I can also imagine that Doc fully realizes that with Marty’s dysfunctional home life, his friend is gonna need a break from it all every so often. And the amp? Look, I don’t care how it came about. Maybe Marty asked Doc if they could build one. Maybe Doc decided completely on his own to just spend weeks putting the thing together. Either way, it is wonderful. Without any dialogue or backstory needed, these things tell us that Doc’s lab is a safe-haven for Marty. There’s a key right under the mat so he can come and go as he pleases, a bed for him, and a gigantic amp that he can play his music on without fear of being told he’s too loud. 

The whole “If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything,” line. I made a whole post about it, so I won’t go into my thoughts again, but yeah, it gives me feelings. (see post here)

How absolutely thrilled Doc and Marty are to see each other in the twin pines mall scene. (It is honestly one of my favorite moments in the entire trilogy, even though it’s almost a blink and you’ll miss it kind of situation.) In like 5 seconds, there are several things happening in rapid succession that wonderfully establishes their relationship. The warmth in the way Doc says, “Marty!”. The fact that they both immediately reach out to the other for physical contact. The smiles on their faces. This is not just a scientist and his assistant, people. These two need each other and bring genuine joy to the other’s life. I mean, look at them.

     And this whole little scene is even more significant when you take into account the McFly dinner scene that we got directly prior to this. (See my breakdown of that scene here-it was one of my favorites to write) You see Marty go from this still, quiet, solemn shell of himself at dinner to smiling and asking questions and moving all around in excitement and it is FANTASTIC. 

This line:

     There’s just something kind of warm and familiar about it? The way that Doc says it almost as soon as Marty starts to ask a question & the way he reaches out to briefly grab Marty’s vest in order to further get his attention just seems to convey that this is something Doc is really used to. Like he knows that when Marty is curious about something and excited that a barrage of questions is soon to follow, so Doc’s in the habit of quickly reeling his friend’s focus back in when they have a specific task to accomplish. I don’t know, I just like it a lot.

The fact that Doc doesn’t “dumb” anything down. He rattles off all his scientific jargon, knowing that Marty has the capacity to follow along as best he can and ask questions if he needs clarification (in which case Doc will completely break it down with models or drawings because he’s all about helping Marty to understand). Unlike Strickland, Doc does not see a slacker. He knows Marty just needs to be engaged and that once he is, he’s totally into all this science stuff.

Marty & ‘55 Doc being so comfortable with each other after only a few days. Because Marty of course has to adjust to this younger version of his friend and Doc obviously just met Marty when he showed up at his house, yet there they are...already totally in tune to each other and being the best of buddies. 

THE GOODBYE SCENES. See my ramblings here & here. For real though, Marty pulling Doc into that hug & looking absolutely broken with grief is probably one of my favorite movie scenes. Like, of all the movies I’ve seen. Yeah. 

Doc traveling back and forth through time to try to pinpoint what went wrong with Marty’s kids so that he can stop it all from happening. 

The scene on the roof of Biff’s hotel when Doc is there with the DeLorean as Marty steps off the ledge? And “Nice shot, Doc!” A+

The whole letter-reading scene in part iii. The way that Marty is wandering all over the lab in the background, touching everything and clearly trying to distract himself from the reality that he’s never going to see Doc again once he gets back to 1985. And when Doc is hyped out of his mind to end up as a blacksmith & Marty goes, “Pretty heavy, huh?” trying to smile but it vanishes instantly & there’s that look on his face that so clearly says he is miserable about this whole situation. And then. AND THEN.

THE ENDING OF DOC’S LETTER from part III. “You’ve been a good, kind, and loyal friend to me, and you made a real difference in my life. I will always treasure our relationship and think on you with fond memories, warm feelings, and a special place in my heart.” !!!!!! Honestly, sometimes I just think about the impact Marty must have had on Doc. Really though. Here’s this guy who’s spent most of his life in solitude. He’s super into science & shunned by the community for being a “nutcase” just because he’s a little different and quirky. So he throws himself into his projects, has only his dogs for companionship, and talks to pictures. Then here comes this kid one day who actually takes the time to SEE DOC and appreciate who he is. Who not only accepts him completely, but thinks he’s cool and totally best friend material. Imagine what it was like for Doc to connect with someone after so many years spent alone and looked down on. 

The look of awe on Marty’s face during the scene with the telescope, as he realizes how smitten Doc is with Clara. He gives this great expression with his head sort of tilted and there’s this disbelief and wonder in his eyes as he takes in the fact that he’s seeing his best friend in love for the first time. 

Just...all the times they risk everything to save the other’s life. 

The ease with which they show affection to each other. It’s so natural and refreshing to see. They’re open and honest about their feelings, allow themselves to get emotional, and are totally comfortable with physical closeness in the form of a supportive hand on the arm or a hug. 

** I of course have to acknowledge the completely baffling lack of a hug in the parking lot scene at the end of the first movie because...honestly, who was responsible for that? I would like a word with them. You’re telling me that after running all the way to the mall, scared out of his mind at the thought of Doc dying all over again, then the way that Marty just collapses and starts sobbing that he wouldn’t immediately grab Doc after seeing that he’s alive??? I tell myself that when the scene cuts after Doc delivers his line about the letter that there was a hug there**

So, um....yeah. I could go on I’m sure, but these are the main things that came to me when I started thinking about why it is that I enjoy these guys so much. It all goes back to the same theme I’ve mentioned in several posts. There is so much heart to these films, and a lot of it comes from the friendship between Doc and Marty. They’re both misfits in their own way. Doc is isolated from the community and Marty is living in a house devoid of support and healthy role models. They fill in gaps and are a source of safety and love in the other’s life. And I appreciate so much how these funny & exciting time travel movies are able to include such a complex, beautiful friendship between a 17 year old kid and an old scientist.

[theparanormalperiodical]

11 Weird Events that Happened on Halloween

It’s that time of year again:

Your local Tesco’s has officially begun stocking christmas-related food items, cheap cat ears have completed their invasion of every female-directed fashion shop, and thanks to global warming the temperature has barely dropped since mid-summer.

That’s right - it’s nearly Halloween!

And we all know what Halloween means: striking moments of political change!

Oh, wait, is that one just me?

Yep, thanks to British politics, the most wonderful day of the year could potentially be tarnished by Brexit.

But it got me thinking: what other major events have happened on Halloween?

And has anything spook-tastic ever coincided with All Hallow’s Eve?

Clearly the 31st of October has an aura of frightful goings-on.

In basic terms, Halloween is believed to be the only day of the year when spirits can cross over from the afterlife and wander with the living once more.

So, could these events be a coincidence, or sparked by the spirits crossing back over into this world?

Today’s edition of the Paranormal Periodical is going to be all about every event - from the political to the paranormal - that has happened on the 31st October.

Let’s get spooky!

We start with the political side of things.

And let me tell you, there’s like, a lot of things.

So, no, Brexit will not stand alone as a political memory on the best day of the year.

In fact, it honestly seems like a large chunk of American history just decided to, like, happen, on this one day of the year.

But we start with something less spooky, more sad.

It’s the Wreck of the Monmouth.

Take yourself back to 1837. 

It’s - yes, you guessed it, you understand the basic premise of this post - Halloween night. It’s also the moment from which the forced deportation of Creek Native Americans from their homeland begins, shortly following a war in 1836. 

This deportation used a number of boats, including the one that titles this tale: The Monmouth.

The story goes that it crashed into another steamship, and that the sheer force of the collision sent it to the depths of the Mississippi river. 

It is estimated that 400 Native Americans drowned in this collision. It has even been regarded as the worst American Steamboat accident to date.

But there seems to be more discussion surrounding this tale than simply its occurrence on All Hallows’ Eve:

It ignited a wider discussion of the portrayal of Native Americans among the population and in the press. As it was in a remote area and ceased to include white people, it was simply ignored by the press.

As I said before, American politics does seem to dabble on doing things in late October, but it really specifies a niche for itself by having yet another disaster with a ship.

Only this was to have much more global consequences. 

The USS Reuben James - created to protect supply shipments during WW2 - was sunk during conflict on Halloween.

It lost two thirds of its crew, and even earnt the honour of being the first ship sunk during the conflict.

Indeed, this occurred only a month before Pearl Harbour, cementing itself as part of one of the most iconic moments in modern American history.

Happy Halloween?

But before we get tangled up in American history, how about we move to the next crazy event that coincided with the spookiest day of the year?

Well, I’m afraid that’s going to involve getting knotted up in another country’s political history to do so… 

It was 1922 when Mussolini - the first European dictator to start the mid-20th century political trend - marched on Rome. 

Having created a coalition government, he decided to consolidate his power by (you guessed it) this infamous march on Rome. 

Bolstered by a sea of Blackshirts, his fascist supporters, his control symbolically began.

Keep your horror films, and hold onto your ghost stories: this scares the living shit out of me.

Our final event takes us back only 4 years before this march, and back across the borders to American history.

However, this does shed a more positive light on the darker moments already detailed.

It was October 1918 when the affectionately named ‘Death Spike’ of the Spanish Influenza hit the USA.

And with a death toll topping 50 million around the globe, it certainly seems to stick to the darker themes so far discussed in this episode.

(Look, I’m sorry history happened, I can’t control fascists or stop people dying.)

In October, 200,000 Americans from the Influenza died. This accounted for nearly a third of the total death toll in America for the Influenza.

The positive side to this story? It was Halloween that actually ended this month.

Yep, Halloween ended the Death Spike.

Well, phew, that’s over.

Can we finally get onto some cool, spooky yet awesome stories now?

What about some stories with less death and hatred and pure evil?

Maybe a handful of quirky coincidences to liven up the depressing stories already listed?

Nope, the next ones are just as awful.

Now we turn to the spooky shit that coincided with Halloween.

We start with possibly the most ironic death… ever.

Harry Houdini is the most famous magician - okay, fine, you can keep Merlin, whatever - that’s ever existed.

Yet it’s not actually his life that features on this list - it’s his death.

It was October 1926 when Houdini gave a lecture to McGill University students about fraudulent spiritualism.

Hahaha well this is awkward hahaha.

Basically, he invited some students to his dressing room at one of the theatres in Montreal. For some reason, one of these students decided to score several hard blows at his stomach.

One abdominal infection later, and he was dead. 

And so the death train continues.

Our next stop is still as deathy, but a smidgen more spooky. And a splash more serial killer.

In 1981, a couple was murdered. 

They were beaten, shot, and the house was left ransacked. The police even claimed it had the looks of an execution.

Initially it was believed to be related to drugs, but the tone of the case quickly shifted when it was discovered the murder was predicted by an prisoner.

Serial killer David Berkowitz gave an eerily accurate description of the murders mere weeks before it occurred.

Clearly, this would make him a give-away suspect in this case, but as he was in prison during the murder, this removed him from the list.

We now turn to a similarly ghastly murder.

In 1977, a baby girl went missing. She was snatched from her own cradle.

And the first terrifying detail of this case starts with her abduction - which okay, fine, that definitely counts as creepy enough but somehow it gets worse: as the doors and windows were found to be locked, it is believed the abductor was hiding in the closet.

Oh, and it only gets worse and weirder - her body was found in a fridge.

I suppose you could assume that the murderer, I don't know, panicked and hid the body in a pretty ordinary un-suspicious object. 

But this is when things get interesting. Prior to this, two young girls were also abducted and lured into a fridge, confirming that a fridge is somehow a prominent prop for a serial killer who may still be lurking among us.

One of these girls died during the abduction, and it was the surviving child that claimed it was the babysitter who attempted to abduct them. 

The babysitter was found to be innocent, especially considering the surviving child was so young.

We now move from deaths to a disappearance:

Even now, no less than 18 years later, information regarding Hyon Jong Song is scarce.

Following a Halloween party in 2001, Song made it home at 4am, still decked out in a traditional Halloween bunny costume, after a lift from a friend.

The last evidence we have of her is her belongings which were dropped off in her house - she had even managed to remove her eyelashes!

But this was to be the final trace of this grad student.

Our penultimate tragedy takes us to Indiana, and brings us swinging into the sixties.

During the Indiana State Fair, an ice skating exhibition was on display for hundreds of visitors. 

But it was during the finale that disaster struck.

Unknown to the managers of the event, propane gas was leaking from a tank in a room nearby. You don’t need a chemistry degree to tell you this wouldn’t end well.

The fire utilised in the finale’s effects set it alight, causing an explosion that killed 74 and injured over 400. 

We now turn to an occurrence that seems uncomfortably common for Halloween.

I take that back - I suppose it suits the time of year well...

In fact, I’d like to call this section: 

when Halloween decorations were not Halloween decorations but were actually dead bodies. 

Brace positions, everyone. 

The most famous case only take us back 5 years.

In 2014, a man dragged a fake corpse out of his apartment on Halloween in front of a crowd of unsuspecting onlookers, and kicked the head across the street in a jest.

Only it wasn't a jest.

And it wasn't a fake corpse.

It was his decapitated mother. He had killed her shortly before this.

A similarly tragic event - which doesn’t sound dissimilar to any old urban legend is the death of William Anthony Odem.

The 15 year old was hoping to embellish the theme of his haunted house by staging a Gallows scene in the basement.

Unfortunately, he hung himself in the process.

In fact, hangings in particular - accidental, or not - often have ended up as decorations.

Suicide victims has often gone unnoticed during All Hallow’s Eve, disguised as the ghosts and ghoulish figures hanging on trees across streets and suburbs.

And so we arrive at our conclusion.

Depressed and scarred for life.

So much for a horror film binge and thought out costumes - these real events should scare you enough for Halloween! 

[taule]

This began as a reply to @catalina-infanta‘s questions - whether Ben was good all along and whether he forced himself to align with the dark side - and then took on a life of its own. In short my answers would be yes and no. I’ve been holding on to this idea like Gollum to the Ring, but to me his being “good” all along isn’t about him serving as some sort of a double agent. That, I find very unlikely. I do believe though that he never really wanted to belong to the dark side in the first place.

The audience has been presented with an intentionally fragmented POV. What fun would the storytelling be if there were no ups and downs, twists and turns. And I believe that the true message of the story would be lost on a lot of people if all the facts were laid out and they weren’t made to go on this emotional journey themselves, to question what they believe and why. But making it more challenging and taking the risk of doing something divisive may force people to engage with these thoughts in a way that they otherwise would never have. And hopefully when the story is finally brought to conclusion the impact will be far greater for it.

A lot of ST’s storytelling rests on the assumptions people have and were meant to make about Ben. We know all sorts of things that have happened, but like I said after TLJ came out, we can’t put a whole story together from these fragments, because we’re lacking one of the key ingredients - Ben’s POV. We have ideas and speculations, but what we don’t have is a linear, observed and objectively recounted or consistent narrative. (I’ve also always believed that’s where the KOR fit in.)

Ben’s falling to the dark side was a self-fulfilling phrophecy. He was already as a child viewed as a kind of a ticking time bomb by his own parents, and then Luke. He became aware of their fears at a very early age and realized that he couldn’t count on there being a neutral and safe third party willing to be there for him, and believe him. And Luke managed to prove all of his fears true.

Instead of help he received condemnation, so it’s unsurprising he wouldn’t have believed that there was any place for him to return to. I mean... Luke did’t seem too stressed about the truth of those events until the end, so Ben probably wasn’t too far off in his estimation? There’s a lot more that needs redeeming besides Ben and in that regard we often come back to deeds that have been inspired by fear, not ill will. We live on the ruins of our good intentions...

There is of course the question what and how much is now changed by the revelation that Palps has been alive (in one form or another) this whole time. Was it instead a part of a much greater plan? Was it Palpatine that was manipulating Ben while he was still unborn? And did that set off a course of events he had foreseen, such as the rise of Snoke and the First Order. Knowing that if he would be able to ensure that Ben becomes a Knigt of the dark side even when he himself wasn’t (yet) able to become his master, that way submitting the Skywalker line to his will and also getting revenge for his downfall in one go. (Perhaps also knowing that Ben would eventually kill Snoke himself?)

The same thing also got me thinking about Ben’s conversations with Vader’s mask: “Forgive me. I feel it again. The pull to the light. Supreme Leader senses it. Show me again, the power of the darkness. And I will let nothing stand in our way. Show me, grandfather.”

The way he talks tells me that this is a continuation from a prior conversation. Him saying again by itself refers to a previous time. But also the way it’s very specific in both the lack of clarification and any introduction and also the request to show him something, again. What and how was he shown before? Also, ‘our way’? I don’t know about you, but for me ‘our way’ can only exist in relation to things that have been agreed about. That generally requires communication.

Anakin died redeemed. But does Ben know that? And if Anakin had appeared to him in some form, then would he be telling these things to Ben, making him cling to the dark side even more? Out of all people, knowing what he had lost... it just doesn’t feel right.

With the revelation that “nobody is ever really gone” really does also apply to Palpatine I am inclined to believe that it was in fact Sidious he was (unknowingly) talking to. The fact that I can’t quite decide whether to call him Sidious or Palpatine should say sometihng about his willingness to pretend to be someone else to further his cause. So this could be like a Force-ouija session gone really badly wrong. And Ben obviously believes to be talking to Anakin.

Coming back to the orginal questions... I don’t believe that Ben was ever really bad out of a desire to follow the dark side, but his fall was more like being pushed down the stairs. And he no longer believed there was any place else where he would be welcome or accepted. He had struggled his whole life and that’s where it got him. So to me he is just terribly lost and misguided and has made a lot of awful choices, but I have never believed him to be bad. At the same time I don’t think he ever had to force himself to align with the dark side, because he was accepted by it. (And because I can hear some people thinking it: No, it wouldn’t have been realistic for him to remain undetected in the Force and just live a peaceful life somewhere...say like Shmi or Luke...)

Although a lot of the antis have been “concerned” with how innocent and vulnerable Rey appears in relation to him, then the more that I think about it, this has a very obvious function, a reason for the contrast (and I also think that the age difference plays a part here) to be considerable. On one hand we need Rey to be young, innocent, earnest, open and perhaps a tiny bit naive because that has an effect on how the audience perceives what she is telling them. And she says that Ben Solo WILL TURN. And when she does we believe her, because she believes it.

On the other hand, that same openness is also extended to Ben and because of that she reaches out to him in a way nobody else had or would. She showed him that she was willing to listen to him, that she would believe him. And she will show him that there is a place for him outside of that darkness and that he can return which he didn’t believe to be true. Ben Solo will turn, because he wants to when he realizes there is a place for him, and that he’s not alone.

[omfgtrump]

The Don’s Very, Very, Very Amazing Day

Remember The Don’s unwanted visit to Pittsburgh after the tragic shooting at the synagogue?

If you recall, the mayor asked him not to come.

Bend the Arc Pittsburgh, a progressive group, wrote an open letter to the president, saying, “President Trump, you are not welcome in Pittsburgh until you fully denounce white nationalism.”

Protestors lined the streets in opposition to him.

Presidents are supposed to be Consolers-in-Chief, The Don is our great Divider-in Chief; his racist and divisive language was quoted by the synagogue shooter.

“This is an invasion of our Country and our Military is waiting for you!” Mr. Trump tweeted, referring to the migrants. The suspect in Pittsburgh posted a message on social media about the caravan shortly before the massacre, accusing Jews of bringing in “invaders” who were killing his people.

And let’s face it, the last place The Don wanted to be was in a place where he was unloved. Would it be surprising to find out that when he was told it would be a good idea to show up in Pittsburgh he might have said: “Do I really have to? Those people don’t vote for me.”

Feigning empathy and pretending to unite was such a depleting and blood sucking experience, that in short order, he was at a rally with his MAGA people where he could fill his vacant soul with adulation.

When asked if after visiting Pittsburgh, a city in mourning, he should have toned down his rhetoric he said:

“Rallies are meant to be fun, rallies are meant to be everything, and I said tone it down, and then you saw the group saying, ‘No, don’t tone it down! Don’t tone it down!’ So we had a great rally.”

More like tone-deaf. “Rallies are meant to be fun,” even if what you say has the impact of motivating someone to go in to a synagogue and shoot people and terrorize a community? Should I laugh now?

So in a scene out of Ground Hog’s Day, The Don, despite protestations, decided to make a visit a place he referred to as “Toledo,” (it was Dayton), Ohio and El Paso, Texas, sites of the most recent tragic shootings. (Come on Don, how pathetic are you that you can’t even get the name of the city of this awful tragedy right?)

The mayor asked him not to come.

The streets were lined with protestors who found his presence disturbing.

Trump and the first lady visited University Medical Center of El Paso, where eight patients were still being treated, some of whom were in critical condition. All of them declined to meet with the president.

In fairness, Trump did speak with hospital staff, as well as two victims who had recently been discharged.

Then there was the photo-op, where The Don flashed is patented “thumbs up” at the cameras, while his Handmaid’s Tale wife, Melania, held the 2 month- old, Paul Achondo, whose parents were killed in the atrocity.

Rumor has it that when the crass, dehumanizing photo was being set up that they asked The Don to hold the baby. “I don’t do babies,” The Don said. “Especially, well, you know, those kinds. What would my base think of that?”

What’s the thumbs-up for? What are we celebrating here? Where is the look of devastation, the look of horror and the tears for the fact that 2 month old Paul will never see his parents again? It’s not just cruel and tone deaf to make a photo-op out of this tragedy, it’s worse than that. It is the total like of capacity for empathy. But don’t feel so bad Paul, The Don would probably have no human reaction to the loss of his own grandchild, so don’t take it personally.

And that is what so scary: The transactional nature of it all. Two-month-old Paul as promotion: Infant Paul as nothing more than a symbol of the imagined greatness of a man, who, because of his inhumanity, dehumanizes others without a thought.

And just like in the aftermath of the tragedy in Pittsburgh- the moment of the photo-op faded- The Don returned to his antics by attacking presidential candidate, Beto O’Rourke (former congressman representing El Paso area and much loved.)

Prior to arriving in El Paso, The Don attacked Beto for calling out his White Supremacy.

“O’Rourke, who is embarrassed by my last visit to the Great State of Texas, where I trounced him, and is now even more embarrassed polling at 1% in the Democratic Primary, should respect the victims & law enforcement — & be quiet!”

He continued to disparage Beto while at the hospital.

“I was here three months ago, we made a speech. What was the name of the arena? That place was packed,” The Don trumpeted to the hospital staff.

“Then you had this crazy Beto,” Trump said. “Beto had like 400 people in a parking lot.” (Actually, estimates are that The Don had 6,500 in the arena and a few thousand outside, while Beto had approximately 7,000.)

No matter what the man is doing, The Don has to talk about the size of his penis! Will someone just give him a penis extension so he can finally have the biggest one!

The great divider and spreader of hate made a complete mockery of himself, but of course, in his delusional world, managed to come away feeling pretty good.

Here was his disturbing take away:

“The President was treated like a Rock Star inside the hospital, which was all caught on video. They all loved seeing their great President!”

“Fake News” media “worked overtime trying to disparage me and the two trips, but it just didn’t work. The love, respect & enthusiasm were there for all to see.”

“We had an amazing day,” he told reporters in El Paso. Of his earlier stop in Dayton, he said, “The love, the respect for the office of the presidency — I wish you could have been in there to see it.”

And like the scene in the Godfather where Michael and the family are at church baptizing their child, while the slaughter of the Corleone family enemies is carried out, The Don gave the “thumbs up” to baby Paul, while nearly 700 undocumented immigrants in Mississippi were rounded up separating young children from the parents.

Yes, Don you had a very, very, very amazing day!

Years from now, when Baby Paul sees the picture and understands what happened to his parents and how he was exploited for a photo-op by you, don’t blame him if he fantasizes about breaking that thumb off.

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[unlucky-watcher]

Run Away, Turn Away, Run Away, Turn Away

‘Pushed around and kicked around, always a lonely boy You were the one that they'd talk about around town as they put you down‘ - Smalltown Boy - Bronski Beat, 1984

(for @billyandsteve and @billysprettyboy)

The beating was bad, it left Steve pretty badly bruised. He'd refer it to the "bad time", but Billy apologized for it. This beating was done with malicious intent. 

"Queer" 

"Faggot" 

 He tried to touch the bruise on his face, but winced. It was so fresh, only minuted prior he was able to wipe away the blood from his nose and mouth. He was still in the holding cell, the one Hop put him in after it took him and three other officers to pull the other young men away from Steve.

 "Kid." He heard from the cell door, he looked up to find Hop with the keys in hand, "Let's get you home."

 The car ride was silent. The tension could've been cut with a knife, it was thick and hung there. It was only a few weeks ago that the whole town of Hawkins learned that Steve Harrington was a queer and with Billy Hargrove nonetheless. No one fucked with Billy, they didn't believe that he was, he didn't look like one, unlike Steve. Plus, Billy could hold his own in the fight while Steve was getting there.

 "Of all the guys, you had to pick the one who beat you up." Hop was the first to speak, his eyes remained on the road in front of him.

 "He isn't like that... He's never laid a hand on me."

 "There's not a whole lot I can do." He admitted, "I'm sorry about that." 

 Steve shrugged his shoulders, pulling his jacket close to his bruised body, "I don't expect you too, you might get sick too." 

 Hop sighed, "You're not sick. No part of you is sick, you've got more strength in you than all of those assholes." He pulled into the drive way of the Harrington home, "I'm just glad you weren't killed. You could've, you got pretty lucky."

Steve got out of the car and slammed the door, "Well, there's always next time." He trudged to the front door and unlocked it. His parents were gone, they were often gone. Ever since the town found out, it felt like they were gone more and more, as if they were avoiding him. 

He managed to keep it together long enough to kick off his shoes that were now caked in his own  blood thanks to a large gash on his leg, and make it upstairs. He shut the door quietly behind him and pulled his jacket off. He could see himself in the reflection of the window. It was faint and slightly distorted, but there was nothing faint about the bruise that marked a large portion of his face.

He sat down on the edge of his bed, he was only able to cover the unbruised side of his face with one hand as he began to sob into it. He felt pain all over his body as he wept. He couldn't hold it in anymore, it hurt so badly.

 He couldn't go to school, he had to drop out of the team due to the threats, he couldn't even go and grab groceries without be terrorized. 

Everyone knew, everyone in that town knew the secret Steve bit back for years. That he was gay, he wanted to be with men or rather one man in particular. Billy.  

He curled into himself an gingerly laid onto the bed, letting the unbruised side of his face rest against the pillows. He kept his arm wrapped around his middle, still sticky with blood and sweat from when he tried to outrun them. "Why." He mumbled to himself. 

There was nothing that could be done, no one could protect him. He was left paranoid about when the next time was going to happen, there was always a next time for people like him. It could be tomorrow, it could be next month. It created a choked feeling in his throat as another sob ripped through him.

"Why me. Why, why, why!" He shouted into the empty room. His eyes squeezed shut as another sob ripped from his mouth, hot tears streaked down his face now flushed red from the sobbing. 

 "You sick or something, Harrington?"

 "people like you are disgusting."

 "Aw fuck, and you saw us in the change room too, were you jerking off while we changed. Fucking pervert" 

 The people who left him bloodied and bruised were the same people who he used to laugh with, party with and play basketball with. The one who punched him in the gut first, Steve remembered sharing his water bottle with. The one who stomped on his leg first was the one Steve drove home a handful of times. The one who spat slurs at him was the first boy he ever kissed.

 "I should be lucky." He thought to himself as he slowly rolled onto his back, gazing up at the ceiling. 

 "I bet you have that gay cancer from all the loads in your ass!" 

 "You disgusting faggot, scum of the fucking earth. Fucking die already." 

 "Am I lucky?" He second guessed himself. He worried when the cancer was going to get him, the one spreading throughout the country. The one who was killing people like him.

He wondered if he was sick too, just from admitted he was like this. He remembered the first time him and Billy made love, on this exact bed, he whispered about being clean. Steve didn't pay much mind to it, it was a time he thought he was straight, immune to the cancer. Immune to whatever was probably going to kill him if the entire town didn't do it first. 

 By the time the sun had began to set, casting a orange light across the bedroom Steve had run out of tears to shed. His head ached along with the rest of his body.  

The doctor they brought in to patch up Steve told him to take Naproxen when he got home. By his estimate that about four hours ago, four hours spent crying and swearing to himself. He forced himself to sit up. He heard the phone ring, but ignored it and sat in bed until it stopped ringing. 

The shrill sound the echoed through the empty house from the kitchen made his head hurt even more. He as deep of a breath as he could due to his bruised side before he slowly got out of bed, softly swearing to himself. He looked to the window once more, noticing that he could no longer see his reflection. 

He made his way out of his bedroom and slowly down the stairs, he tried to softly wipe away the tears on his cheeks, but kept hissing in pain from the bruises.

He grabbed the medicine from the cabinet from the kitchen. He looked at the sleeping pills that were behind it, his gazed lingered on them for a moment as he picked at the label on the bottle in his hand. The label read, "Moira Harrington, take 1 tablet at bed time, Benzodiazepine".

He sighed, remembering the side effects, it was possible, but didn't result in death or coma. He slammed the cabinet door shut and opened the bottle of the pain relievers. He popped two in his mouth and downed it with milk straight from the carton.

He sat down at the dining table, wrapping his arms around himself. He couldn't numb the emotional pain, no amount of drugs or overdosage could fix it. 

The town hated him, his school hated him, his friends hated him, hell the whole country hated him. 

 It was only a few nights ago that he was making dinner with Billy when he heard the new bulletin. 7,699 AIDS cases and 3,665 AIDS deaths, that's what they were calling it now, AIDS. They said it wasn't a cancer, but news like that doesn't spread as quickly in a town like Hawkins. Almost 4,000 dead. That was more than the population of the school, probably even the population of the town, all dead. And not dead from what Steve went through, but from this disease.

He carefully touched his bruised face, he wondered how many died from beatings.

The phone rang again and Steve ignored it, favouring instead to try and reheat some food. He had been left hungry after a hard kick to the stomach made him throw up his breakfast and light lunch. He could still taste the remains of bile in his mouth, but it was nothing compared to the bruises that seemed to have begun to make their way into his bones. 

 The phone rang a third time while he was reheating some pasta he made a few days ago, the pasta he made with Billy. It went around in the microwave while Steve bit back the urge to tell the telephone to just shut up already. He pulled one of the chairs from the dining room and sat it in front of the microwave and waited until it finished cooking. He sighed sadly, nestling the unbruised side of his face into his arms that rested on top of the chair. 

 When he pulled the hot bowl out of the microwave the phone rang a fourth time which prompted him to yell, "Shut up!" as he passed by it, dragging the chair behind him. He sat at the table and gazed down at the bowl. Everything felt so quiet, no television on, no music playing, not even cars on the road outside. It was silent.He stuck his fork into the pasta and began to eat, still in complete silence.

"Why?" he asked himself again, he found it hard to chew due to the hard blows to his jaw. The doctor said he was lucky it didn't break. He didn't feel so lucky, he felt rather unlucky like he'd been handed a bad hand of cards that was going to result in him being killed. 

 He got through two painful mouthfuls before there was a banging on the door, rapid almost desperate bangs against the wood. He slowly got up, wincing a bit. He walked to the door, the banging persisting. He opened the door wide and asked, "What do you want?" until he looked up to see who it was.

"Oh my god." He heard, seeing Billy in front of him. 

 Billy looked for lack of anything else, distraught. His hair was a mess, he looked like he'd been crying and his knuckles were red and cracked, "What did they do to you?" 

  "Billy."

 The blonde stepped inside and looked at Steve once more, "What did they do to you?" 

 Steve felt sheepish in that moment, he wrapped his arms around himself, "They beat me up. Why are you here?" 

  "Hop called, said you got into a bit of a situation and drove you home. You weren't answering." He leaned over to close the door behind Steve before he looked at him again, "I got worried that something happened."

 "Why did you even come here, I'm just a fucking queer." Steve looked away from him. If he could cry anymore he would, but no tears would fall.

Billy wrapped his arms carefully around Steve and kissed the top of his head, "Well, you're a fucking queer. I'm a fucking queer."

"It's going to happen again and again until I'm dead." Steve mumbled against Billy's shirt. He embraced Billy as tightly as he could, he craved the warmth that Billy brought. His personal California sunshine as he called it. He craved it more than ever, he needed Billy, his love and devotion. The one thing he still had.  "No." Billy responded.  

"Yes!" Steve tilted his head up and shouted. The sound echoed through the empty house, "Yes it will. I'm not safe here, we're not safe. It's either going to be them or fucking AIDS."

 "It doesn't have to be like that." Billy shook his head slightly, "I'm here, you're here. They can't get us if we run." 

 Steve looked at him confused, "What? What the fuck are you talking about?" Billy petted the other boy's hair, pushing it back slightly, "We leave, go to California, San Francisco, Los Angeles, hell even Sacramento. We leave if only for a while, just you and me." 

 Steve asked, "Won't get get sick?" 

 Billy sighed, "Well unless you're thinking about sleeping with many other guys while we're there. The answer is no, I'm clean, you're clean. We're safe, just like we'll be safe away from here." He leaned in and kissed Steve ever so softly, "So I can do that without worrying if you're going to come back to me alive."

Steve let go of his shirt, he nodded his head. He paused for a moment before doing it again, "Can I get some of my things?" 

 Billy smiled, "Of course, I know you need your dumb hairspray." 

 Steve gave a weak laugh, "Shut up, it's good stuff. Work wonders on your hair." He leaned up and kissed Billy, being mindful of the bruises on his body. He kissed him a few more times before he simply looked at him. It was his personal sunshine, Billy Hargrove. 

The one who made him honest to himself, he'd give up Hawkins for Billy. He thought he was going to live and die in this small town, have a wife and kids, work a nine-to-five job and eventually die. But that wasn't the case because he loved Billy, the blonde Californian. 

 He guess he was in a way lucky, despite everything. Despite having nothing, despite being hated by what felt like everyone. He still had Billy. 

And with that, they ran.

[damnitaddie]

Minutes To Memories

(This is a piece I wrote for my ENG 101 class. I thought I might share it here.)

Minutes To Memories

When I was a small child, my father and I were as close as close could be. While we didn’t spend much time together, as he only had custody of me every other weekend, the time that we did spend together was great. In a lot of ways, during those years, he was a better parent to me than I am to my own children. While not the most eloquent, he would often tell me, “Suck it up, tough it out, and be the best you can.”

It was my father who took me to my first real concert. Sure, we had been to concerts in the park, usually with whatever woman he was dating at the time. But this was different. This was a major concert in what I considered to be a huge venue. Freedom Hall. At five years old, just the name alone inspired awe in my mind.

We saw John Cougar Mellencamp, as he was known at the time. Mr. Mellencamp had completed three fourths of his journey from his humble beginnings as Johnny Cougar to John Mellencamp. His 1986 tour found him and his bandmates playing in support of his latest LP, Scarecrow. It was an oft played album in our house, with verses telling tales of love, rock-n-roll, and the downtrodden times of farmers struggling to make ends meet in middle America. It was from one of the songs that my dad co-opted that line to he’d frequently share with me, and even going so far as to write it in letters and postcards. Dad would tell me, “You are young, and you are the future, so suck it up and tough it out, and be the best you can.”

Some thirty plus years have passed since that concert on a cold night in February of 1986. I still remember that concert but not as much for the music, not so much for the venue, but more for the memory of my father. Our seats were on the upper level, but my dad convinced the security guard to allow us down on to the lower level. Sometimes the memories when no one speaks, and everyone listens paint the best memories, decades later.

Most of the memories of my father in years since were not of the warm and fuzzy variety. We often found ourselves at each other’s throats, metaphorically speaking. We both knew which of our respective buttons to push and rarely was there a holiday or family event that didn’t end with one of us mad. I recall wondering if I was just that much of a disappointment to him or that he just couldn’t derive joy from anything other than someone else’s misery. 

Yet for all the vitriol that we spat, I still think about the good times. He’s been gone for over five years now and I often find myself lamenting our relationship and how things could have been different. More than that, I consider how he might feel about the woman I’ve become. In many ways, I’m a person he never knew. But that’s another story altogether.

My father was a complicated person. For the life of me, I have never been able to figure out what brought him joy in life. Born in 1954, he was the middle child of Leroy and Deloris Newton. He started dating my mother when they were both teenagers. Of five pregnancies, I was the only child that they would have together and although he would go one to have another daughter with his second wife, my mother never had any other children.

It seems that the vast span of years that my parents were together were punctuated by his alcoholism. While he was at the bottom of a bottle, my mother was often left to deal with the aftermath. This included his inability to maintain gainful employment, the numerous wrecked cars, and other things she’ll never tell. All of this while caring for an infant child. Having finally had her fill of that life, she filed for divorce when I was just two years old.

Three more years would pass before he would embrace sobriety and I can still remember the fights they had prior to him putting down the drink. One such incident would be permanently singed into my memory, with him caving in the door of my mother’s Volkswagen as I sat in the back seat. The metal of the poor car groaned and creaked as he dispatched the kind of savage punishment most people only see in a gang movie. This was in the driveway of my grandmother’s house on a cold, wintery Sunday night. This was a place I considered to be my safe haven. And while he spent the next 27 years of his life sober, those memories never real fade away.

My father owned his sobriety. Through A.A., he sponsored numerous other people who like him were struggling to get clean. Professionally, he worked hard trying to make up for the lost time in his career. In 1992, he started a home repair business and made an honest living for himself and my sister. He dealt with a fair share of setbacks, including another bitter divorce, but he seemed to live by those words that he’d said to me so often. “Suck it up, tough it out, and be the best you can.” He saw us as the young and the future.

I don’t feel as young as I once did, yet I know I am still young in comparison to my parents. Personally, I’ve have weathered some very rough seas in my life and they’ve become more tumultuous in recent years. Most days, I fear that I have still not seen the worst of what life has in store for me. Nevertheless, even when I’ve wanted to quite literally give up on life, I’ve somehow managed to suck it up and tough it out. Every day, I try to be the best I can. However, by my own estimation, I come up short most days.

Throughout it all, we persevere. I know that no matter the complicated circumstances that surrounded our relationship, he wanted nothing but the best for his children. I do my best to bestow that mindset upon my own children, as they are the young and they are the future and I want them to be the best that they can. Passing that idea on from generation to generation is the narrative of the song from which that line is borrowed. I hope that when I’m gone, their memories are less littered with pain and hurt feelings that the one my father left me. In the end, memories are all we leave behind.

“Days turn to minutes and minutes to memories.”

Minutes To Memories was originally published on TransVentures

[davidanderson7162]

Importance of Temporary Door, Jamb, and also Threshold Protection During Building And Construction as well as Remodeling

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JAMB/UTME ENGLISH - Review your questions initially before addressing.

Three: Learn to experiment past inquiries as the examiners, regardless of how innovative or crafty, would certainly still bring out comparable inquiries to the previous questions.

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[writingsformuse]

Calm, Perhaps

SUMMARY: To her, Dean Winchester is nothing short of art, and she loves to watch over him. But as a mission goes wrong as she becomes captured, the hunter finally realizes the importance of her eyes that trace his skin.

WORD COUNT: 1,814 words

AUTHOR: Lydia

NOTES: ngl, this is one of my favourites. have fun!

She loved to look at him. His eyes, they were usually vibrant, but she loved when they turned dark in the face of death and how they seemed foggy when he woke from slumber. How Dean Winchester smiled, and what a special occasion it was when he truly laughed. When he would lock his jaw, or cross his arms, or stare at someone as they told a tale. (Y/n) loved his face, his arms, his legs (no matter how bowlegged they were).

Her favourite times to watch the him was when he just wakes up, or when he’s deep in work. When he stumbles into the kitchen with that grey robe loose around his body, his eyes traced with sleep and his mouth yearning for coffee. When he sits in the library, sifting through books and cracking through databases, he often bites his lip from, or furrow his eyebrows as he reads a new article. And when he was really stressed, he’d run a hand through his hair.

Art, she would think, this man is a piece of art.

He would catch her a lot. How could he not? He was trained to know when eyes were upon him, eyes of the dead or of the ones he lived for. Often he would watch her back, and they would wait until one of them smiled or walked away, or until Sam came in and they had to look away. That was torture, having to cower, but neither could admit what they felt to anyone on earth.

They had their questionings about each other. When Dean would catch her staring, he wondered if it was from curiosity, fear, lust, anger. And when he would stare back, (y/n) would try to figure out of it was aggression, assertiveness, interest, or maybe calmness.

She always scratched out that last one. Calmness didn't exist for hunters.

But he made her feel calm. For those seconds where she could breathe, and where her eyes could rest on him, she felt such ease with the ruined world.

She wasn’t foolish, and neither was he. They both knew calm doesn't last. Nothing lasts.

~~

She was keeping up with the days. Somehow, past the pain of the lashes and the constant draining, she remembered the number of days she had been held by these vampires. She’s at 67 now, and she thinks it’s a Wednesday. Maybe it’s noon, but it feels like midnight. She doesn’t know that; it’s been 52 days since she last saw sunlight.

“Mission gone wrong.” That’s what someone would call it, someone who would be comforting Dean and Sam and trying to tell (y/n) she would make it out alive. But this mission had been going so right, so perfect and to the point of what they set on the table. (Y/n) as bait, Sam and Dean with machetes to take the small pack out. But when their numbers turned out larger than they had estimated, the mission had gone too well, and she was taken.

(Y/n) was tired. The constant feeding the pack of twelve did was exhausting. Their last girl, a young teen by the name of Maddy, died of blood loss on her third round with the vamps. (Y/n) was past the hundredth, and she wonders how she still manages to breathe.

They let her sleep six hours, and she had to guess the time off of those moments. She would eat a small meal in the morning, hook up to an IV and maybe a blood bag if the prior day was heavy during lunch, and she would get another meal in the afternoon. They let her shower once a week, but she hasn’t seen her own face in a mirror in over two months.

She’s tried to figure out where she is. She knows it’s close to Kansas City, but that’s only a feeling in her gut. She’s tried to escape, the last attempt just a week back, but that resulted in lashings and a cut down on meals. She had given up on day 58, and wanted to die on 64.

She knew she would never be found. Sam and Dean had probably pronounced her dead by now; what would be the use of searching for a lost cause? It’s lost for a reason. She had accepted her fate: bleed, eat, sleep, repeat, until maybe death had managed to catch her.

She had found an anchor. A thought, a memory, a distant stretch of her heart and soul to the image of Dean Winchester. His eyes, his walk, his demeanor. She longed for that little tranquility she got by watching him. But by now, she was having a hard time remembering the layout of the hunter’s face and body, or even how that grey robe draped across him in the early mornings.

She could recall his arms, how scratched and scarred they were. She remembers his eyes, but only that they’re green (the last look she got at them was when they were filled to the brim with fear and anger as she was dragged into a car). She holds onto the memory of his smile, and the sound of his laugh, but she’s starting to think she made those up by now.

Oh, what she’d give to watch Dean Winchester one last time before she left for beyond.

~~

The door opens and (y/n) closes her eyes, her hands shaking as someone stands in the doorway. She slowly looks up, sitting still on the edge of her cot when she sees a familiar figure. The tall girl, the alpha’s lover, the one who retrieved her and sent her back every day. She looked normal, (y/n) was sure of it, but to her she was as awful as Lucifer.

“Come on, (Y/N/N), don’t make this hard,” the lady calls out.

“Please, just another hour of rest, Aba,” she pleads.

The woman, Aba, laughs with amusement. “I don’t think so.” She walks to her and (y/n) gasps as Aba pulls her by the arm. She feels so fragile, her bones frail and her blood thin. She’s lost weight, she knows this, and she feels like if Aba pulls any harder that she might fall apart.

As she’s pulled though the basement, her feet seem to stick to the cement. It’s cold, always so cold, and dank in the air with the windows boarded up. Aba tightens the grip on her arm and yanks her around a corner, and (y/n) lets a whimper echo her chest.

She dreaded the room she was now in. “The fill-up” was what they called it. It was a small room with a few cots, IV stands all around with blood bags and needles on carts. But the one thing different today was that it was empty.

“W-Where’s Liam?” (y/n) asks quietly as she sits on a cot.

“Finally ran dry,” Aba says coolly as she grabs a needle. (Y/n) blinks back tears; Liam was her last straw, the one person she trusted here, a small boy of seven years old. She had tried to protect him, she tried to have him seem weaker so she could bleed more instead of him. But she must not have tried hard enough.

As Aba walks to her with a needle, (y/n) shifts.

“Aba, please,” she whispers.

“You’re the last one, (y/n), you know that,” Aba says in a monotone voice. “The longest lasting we’ve seen, too.” She grins, kneeling in front of her as (y/n) tries to scoot away. “I wanna see just how long I can drain you for-”

“I’m not weak,” she manages to say despite the fear. “I’ll get out.”

Aba laughs, looking up at her. “I will drain you of blood and soul, girl,” she hisses, and (y/n) sits up straight. And as Aba looks down at the needle, an impulse runs through (y/n). She raises her hand and hits Aba hard, making her fall onto her butt as a crashing sound is heard overhead.

(Y/n) looks up with wide eyes as she backs out of the room. Aba rises quickly, and (y/n) flips a cot in front of her to make her trip. It buys her a second to turn and run down the long hall. She can hear the harsh steps behind her as she turns a corner, but she doesn’t turn around.

“(Y/n)!” a strong voice calls, and she stops in her tracks. It’s a voice she held onto for over two months, one so deep and full of pain and strength that it made her knees shake. It was the voice of Dean Winchester, and it was just too far.

Before she can recover, she gets tackled to the ground. She rolls over to see Aba with her fangs out, and (y/n)’s eyes go wide. She shouts through barred teeth, pressing up against the vamp’s neck to keep her teeth as far away as possible from her flesh.

A door opens across the room, and hard steps trample down the stairs. (Y/n) keeps her eyes on the vamp, yelling out as she pushes her face away.

But suddenly, arms reach out and pull the vampire off of her, and a machete ends all the commotion in the room as (y/n) scoots back to sit up. She takes quick breaths, shaking with fear and exhaustion from such a simple action.

Soft hands touch her shoulders and she cries out in panic as she spins around. But it’s familiar hands, the touch of Dean with Sam coming down the stairs. And as she looks into his eyes, she’s engulfed once again.

“Dean,” she whispers, tears in her eyes. “Oh my god.” He drops the machete and falls to his knees, grabbing her and pulling him into his arms. She sobs, gripping his jacket and wetting his shirt with tears. His hands are strong on her weak back, and his fingers wrap around her sides to keep her body against his.

“I’m so sorry,” he says into her ear, kissing her forehead and her hair. “(Y/n), I am so sorry.”

She shakes her head, crying as he pulls her to his lap so he can sit. Sam just smiles, leaning against the wall as Dean buries his face deep into (y/n)’s hair.

“68 days,” (y/n) whispers, and Dean pulls her back. He marvels at how much weight she's lost, how small she seems in his arms and how her skin hugs at her bones.

“What?”

“It’s been 68 days, and you never gave up,” she asks, looking up at him. “Why?”

“I don’t think I could make it a lifetime without having someone watch over me,” he says, and she laughs once with tears in her eyes. He kisses her forehead and her laugh turns back into a cry as she grips his shirt for dear life.

And for the first time in months, she feels calm.

[hallietrot-blog]

About

edited 08/05/18

Hallie trot is 19 years old, but looks to be about 16. She has a twin brother who looks at least 21, but ironically she is the older twin. In the original universe they come from, after a (radioactive? toxic waste? I don't quite recall) disaster, many of the residents of this town gained powers THROUGH DANCE. Hallie and Horatio were born after this disaster, but received the powers of ~*time*~. Hallies works similarly to Quicksilver, in that it looks like she has super speed, but she actually is slowing time around her (she can speed it up too but how useful is that besides for long, boring conversations?) After an horrific accident trying to protect her brother, she had been outcasted and joined the towns group of bandit(o)s. Incredibly sweet and kind, constantly pulling out whatever you need from her seemingly magical bag (how does it all fit in there? Ramona Flowers, is that you?). Her specialty, like many Banditos, is to make deliveries no matter who they’re from/for, or what they are. 

BORDERLANDS AU:

            Time frame: has no knowledge about any events occurring after she left, such as Jack’s death, or the fall of Hyperion.

            Hallie’s parents met on Artemis, her mother’s home planet, and whether they fell in love or it was out of them both being from high standing, they got together and moved to Demophon, her father’s home planet and had twins. He worked closely with Hyperion, having a sort of high position there that Hallie never understood, and so Hallie and her twin Horatio were sent to Opportunity. Hallie quickly grew to hate it there, hate everything about Hyperion and Handsome Jack, seeing through the bullshit, and in a grand heist, stole nearly 12 million smack-a-roon-ees (exact amount unknown, though a quick estimate gives $10 million in cash and $1.5 million in tech and weaponry), along with some guns and Hyperion technology. She is obviously a wanted criminal, traveling across Pandora dodging the Hyperion goons they send after her. She carries a Lady First pistol, Interfacer shotgun, and Fremington’s Edge sniper rifle, (as of 08/03/18 enhanced accuracy and elementals added tobedecidedlaterwheniweightheprosandconsshhhhhh) though she mainly uses the pistol, keeping the Interfacer as an intimidation factor mostly, and Fremington to scope (GET IT) out what’s ahead of her. She rides around on a motorbike. She’s dedicated to helping Pandorans in need, often doing work for free and actually giving money away. It’s a mystery how much of the money she actually has left, but it seems that after her recent surfacing after hiding for so long she’s doing her best to just get rid of it. She has no interest in the cash she stole, besides improving life on Pandora for everyone. She’s happy living in a broken down shack, so long as she can make others happy.

FC: Emily Bador (but like, younger?)

Pinterest Board

Tropes:

These go for Hallie in general but I typed them out as Borderlands specific just because that’s the only RP-verse I’ve been in with her so far so why not elaborate in detail?

Big Eater: Self-explanatory, I don’t even feel the need to put a TV Trope quote here. Hallie can eat A LOT. It makes a lot more sense in her original verse but she does do a a lot of physical labor for a 19-year-old girl. She clearly manages to work it off at 5′7″ and 122 lbs.

Cute and Psycho: I feel like psycho is a little extreme but Hallie can go from adorable and sweet to vaguely threatening if the situation takes a turn. Her kindness is no act, and she is still fairly naive, but she’s not nearly as stupid as she sometimes acts, and is willing to defend herself if need be.

Deliberately Cute Child: “This is a kid who has all the stereotypically adorable childlike mannerisms: ..Puppy-Dog Eyes, and so on. Really, though, they're just faking it all; they've figured out it's a good way to get what they want. Sometimes characters like this are Really 700 Years Old... [Hallie is 19!!!] On the other hand, they might just be kids who've figured out their elders' emotional cheat codes.” -TV Tropes. I mean, Hallie is still pretty young and child-like, so it can go both ways.

False Innocence Trick: I probably am not using this completely right, but Hallie’s go-to. While good-hearted, she often pretends to be much more innocent than she actually is in hopes others underestimate her, and to gain sympathy. Even Hallie herself has a bit of a hard time knowing the line between the act and her true self sometimes. Will rework this one later

Killer Rabbit: As young and cute as she looks, if you try attacking her, she WILL fight back as mentioned above. She tells everyone she knows nothing about guns but the year she spent hidden she sure learned an awful lot. May or may not have prior knowledge/training in pistols on Helios, unclear. She’s no sharpshooter but I wouldn’t recommend taking your chances, she had to have taken out the Hyperion goons sent after her somehow, am I right? Will also rework this one later

Little Miss Con Artist: Played straight, see the above tropes (besides Big Eater lol). She’ll bump into you with an “Oops, sorry, I’m such a klutz!” and when you check for your wallet later, it’s gone. “Aww, look at sweet little Sally. So adorable, so innocent......wait, where's my wallet? This is when a little girl takes advantage of the perception that Children Are Innocent to play a bunch of adults for suckers. Sometimes this character will work in partnership with an adult, usually her father, but as often as not she's the real brains of the outfit.” - TV Tropes

Manic Pixie Dream Girl: “She's stunningly attractive, Energetic, high on life, full of wacky quirks and idiosyncrasies (generally including childlike playfulness)” -TV Tropes. I understand how complicated this term is so I’m going to do my best job to explain this simply: I would not necessarily call Hallie a Manic Pixie Dream Girl. but she has the personality, traits, and quirks of one. Her goal in life is to simply enjoy it, and allow others to enjoy it with her. She is not and has not been in a relationship, but is open to one. I’m even okay if it starts as a typical MPDG relationship SO LONG as it develops into something more/deeper.

Mysterious Past: “Often a Former Teen Rebel's old rebellion will be part of their mysterious past. Any dark deeds done in this period are part of a Dark and Troubled Past.” -TV Tropes. Just read the above About please don’t make me type the same stuff over and over again. Born on Helios, hated what Hyperion stood for so she left but not before taking some of their shit. 

Older Than They Look: “Sometimes characters don't look their age. Whether it was a deliberate artistic choice on the behalf of the creator (usually to make the character more attractive or to legally fulfill a fetish) or something much deeper and linked to their characterization and the plot, this character will be older than they look.”  -TV Tropes. Looks about 16, is 19.

Sweet Tooth: About as self-explanatory as Big Eater. Hallie’s favorite foods include suckers, which she always carries on her, and breakfast foods.

The Fake Cutie: Not really though. Not necessarily totally fake, but she plays it ‘Up to 11′ if we’re gonna keep using Trope Terms. Plays up her youthful appearance, through you typically won’t find her in childish clothing. “This cutie act is actually camouflage to hide her intelligence, [or] her true self... Sometimes she knows full well how shaken up her behavior makes her foes, and takes great joy in seeing them squirm. She tends to be very manipulative...” -TV Tropes. Will rework this later

[meklarian]

2017 Eclipse Story & Postmortem Kickoff: 2400 Days until the April 8th, 2024 Eclipse

A lot of words on my eclipse experience behind the cut (sorry mobile users).

Over 30 years ago as a little boy, I recall seeing a documentary about some past eclipse, possibly the previous one in the US in 1979, but possibly even older. This documentary featured a number of scientists and photographers trying to capture images of the eclipse. One of the fascinating things was the sheer anticipation of everyone captured in the video as totality approached, and of course the awe of seeing totality. I can’t be certain that some of the excitement wasn’t staged for the purpose of the documentary (now that I’ve seen totality, it’s weird that everyone’s backs were so lit in the film- it’s totally dark out during the real thing). After seeing that documentary, I made up my mind that I was going to see an eclipse someday.

About five years ago, I started doing some eclipse planning, mostly research. Some of the things I researched: Weather Conditions, Path of Eclipse, and Lodging. Originally I was hoping to see the 2015 eclipse in the Faroe Islands, but I knew I likely couldn’t make it happen. I set my aim on the 2017 eclipse in the US.

Three years ago, looking over my budget and projections, I felt I could probably try to photograph the eclipse, but there were some complications due to my employer being in dire straits (they eventually folded). I sat on the decision for a year, waiting to see if conditions would change, as I was trying to also prioritize making a move from the east coast (Massachusetts) to the west coast (California). At this time I thought maybe I could just snap a few shots on film, not having to worry about solar filters as I would only shoot totality, and really just attending as a casual observer.

Two years ago, I landed a new job and also negotiated terms that would put me in California by the time the eclipse would roll around. Most significantly, being in California would mean driving to the best viewing spots would only be three days of driving away at most, versus three to six days from the east coast. After landing this job, I started working on finding out what gear I would need to actually shoot an eclipse.

A year and a half ago, after completing my move to California, I bought a DSLR again (the Nikon D500). Other cameras I considered were the Nikon D5, Nikon D4S, Nikon Df, and Nikon D810. From prior experience of having taken shots of the moon at 200mm on a crop sensor, I figured I would probably need the option of getting more reach, but I felt ISO performance would also be necessary. This turned out to be a rather prescient decision (see below note #3 on bracketing). Last, frame rate is rather important to be able to have the option to make use of lucky imaging. Only the D500 could meet all these criteria.

About a year ago, I drove out to Wyoming to scout the city of Riverton and the surrounding area for sites to view the eclipse. I made sure to also note the position of the sun at about 11:00am (during July) to get an idea of where I might be setup and where I’d be pointing during the eclipse. I visited a Raspberry farm in the area that had a location where I could maximize time spent in totality. The owner seemed nice enough and was already well informed about the eclipse- another person had shown up six years prior, scouting locations, and one other person had shown up a year prior to my visit, also looking for locations. He mentioned that he had also been contacted by travel agents seeking to find a location for a large group of scientists. He assured me that we could keep in touch and when I left Riverton later that day, I felt satisfied that I had secured a spot to view the eclipse.

Eleven months ago, I bought a 300mm f/2.8 lens and set of teleconverters (1.4x and 2x), and started learning how to shoot with that lens. My intent was to use this lens as my backup, just in case something happened to my main lens (which I hadn’t bought yet). I don’t use this lens very much anymore, but it was good to get this experience, and it also taught me a lot in what to expect in super-telephoto lenses. The first lesson learned from this period was that supports and straps for a large lens are a huge deal. I looked at a number of rigs and harnesses before settling on a strap made by Vulture Equipment Works. I highly recommend them- they’re the only strap maker that has an offering that can easily handle such large lenses; and incidentally make straps that can also resist being cut by knives (theft was something I considered, seeing as the gear I would be carrying would be worth about $18,000 new- I didn’t pay nearly that much though, whew).

Almost ten months ago, I went birding with @hiimles and some of his friends and really started getting used to handling large lenses and also learning how people shoot birds. I owe everything I’ve learned about birding to him and his friends and to @fatchance‘s astute observations and commentary on birding over the time I’ve known him on tumblr.

Eight months ago, I was still agonizing over whether to go with 400mm f/2.8 versus a 600mm f/4 for the eclipse. While the 600mm is 1/3rd closer in reach, the one stop advantage of the 400mm is hard to ignore for all shooting situations, not just the eclipse. I found a 600mm at a very good price from a trustworthy seller on ebay and went for it. When the lens arrived it was much bigger than expected in person. I decided to buy a dedicated strap just for it and started hunting for a gimbal and tripod for it.

Six months ago, I found a gimbal and tripod at reasonable prices for my supertelephoto lens. I started making a point of going out every other week or so to get used to handling and transporting the lens.

Three months ago, I bought solar filter film and started looking for ways to put it to use with my lenses.

Two months ago I made a filter from the solar filter sheet and a HVAC reducer pipe and I posted my first sun image here on tumblr.

A little more than a month ago I started looking for solar viewers for friends. It was nearly too late. Fortunately I found a local dealer (Agena Astroproducts) who was able to hook me up.

Less than four weeks ago, I started buying all the other non-photography stuff I would need for the eclipse. Cloth to use as dark-cloths and also as dust covers for my gear, folding chairs, and some snacks.

Three weeks and four days ago, I embarked on my trip.

Three weeks and a day ago, I saw the eclipse with my own eyes and also took pictures. I couldn’t believe I had done it all- I nearly cried.

First, some things that could have gone better in my experience at the 2017 eclipse:

Bring a better timer - I used my iPhone to alert me to take a round of pictures about every 5 minutes, slowly decreasing that interval down to 3 minutes or so. However, because I had to unlock my phone to reset the timer and change the interval, my intervals were not quite 5 minutes on the dot and this also cost me some time near the start of totality.

Study the totality exposure table more - I missed out on shots of bailey’s beads and the diamond ring because I didn’t realize the solar filter had to be off during the very last seconds of totality, and because I was afraid of getting zapped in the eye.

Bracket wider - I did brackets at ISO 200 between 1/1000 - 1/8000s, at f/4.5; this was on the short end and while I did get a little bit of the corona, I could have captured so much more. I had enough time to try and go as deep as 1/60s, which would give me 4.5 more stops of reach, potentially enough to get 50% more corona. In addition, I could have also bracketed the other way, going to f/16 and 1/8000s and working my way back to isolate the chromosphere and solar flares at the edge of totality.

Don’t turn the lens during totality! - If I had bracketed wide enough, turning the lens would have increased the difficulty of post-process stacking by an order of magnitude. I did turn it back after realizing this was likely going to be problematic, and yet I didn’t do any HDR, but next time I will be sure to tighten my gear so I don’t inadvertently do this. I’ve noted that a number of people rotate their images so the widest flares are extended more horizontally, but I’m unsure this is wise because the view sun will also rotate a little bit during incidence. I think it is best to have a fixed point of reference at the start, and also to shoot an image that reflects what people on the ground see.

Use the center column for my tripod - Close to totality, I was no longer able to tilt my lens up far enough to keep tracking the sun due to its high position in the sky. A year prior during my scouting trip I estimated the sun would be up at about 60 degrees of elevation (which turned out to be correct for post-eclipse), but didn’t account that my setup wouldn’t let me look up higher than about +55 degrees due to interference with my tripod legs. With use of the center column, I could go higher and also raise the center of gravity on my gimbal to match. To remedy this at the time, I reoriented the tripod and lowered one rear leg to get additional inclination, with the additional risk that my tripod might fall over.

Here are some things that went great, whether purposefully or inadvertently:

Have a backup location handy - The original site where I was going to see the eclipse was a raspberry farm about 20 miles east-northeast of where I ended up; the guy stopped answering his phone sometime between last contact and the day of the eclipse. Thankfully I managed to find another site with reasonable viewing conditions the night before as the region had setup a website to promote a number of local ranchers who had setup campgrounds. It only took me 30 minutes to secure another location.

Have another person look out for changes in the sun - Thanks again to @fromtheplains for keeping an eye on everything while I was busy attending to gear and setting up.

Weather - It was cloudy at the start of the eclipse, but the location was favorable for clouds burning off by the time totality would start, which they did. This was the thing I researched the most. Wyoming and Idaho were the only two candidate states that met my weather criteria (and also personal experience driving through the area vs the midwest and southern states).

Lodging - I called one hotel that said to call a year in advance exactly 372 days ahead (365 days + 1 week) and continued calling every day until bookings opened so I could secure a room. On a lark, looking for backup locations to make additional reservations, I did another sweep 358 days prior (365 days - 1 week) and couldn’t find anyone willing to accept reservations as everyone was booked.

Gear - I managed to get nearly 300 frames in during totality, for a sustained frame rate of 2.25 fps over 2:05 mm:ss, including time spent adjusting exposure settings, removing my Solar Filter, gawking at the eclipse for about 15 seconds, and time at the end replacing my Solar Filter. I estimate my max fps peaked at Camera limits (~10fps), and that my actual sustained rate was close to 5fps. During my shooting I noticed that I hit the buffer limit at least 7 times. During these slowdowns I tried to hold back a little on shooting by using these moments to adjust my bracketing while the Camera spooled off portions of the buffer. There are very few cameras and configurations that can perform in such conditions- I’m glad I went with the gear that I did. Overall, 16gb of RAWs (778 frames) were captured during the three and a half hour session observing the Eclipse.

Looking forward to 2024, here are my notes on observations and priorities for the next Eclipse:

Texas - Texas is basically the only worthwhile place to view the eclipse if you intend to take pictures. All other states along the path from Texas through Michigan through Maine have worse weather patterns during April, and even Texas is less than ideal (80% sunny days in April vs 91% for Riverton, WY in August).

Terrain - Looking at a topo map for Texas, there is a ridge that zig-zags with the path of the eclipse in the southern portions of the state. While good totality is possible over much of the state, the best spots are going to be high-elevation (over the ridge) no further east than Kerrville, TX, away from any major bodies of water. This should provide the best viewing conditions possible, hopefully minimizing heat and atmospheric distortion. Lower lying areas east of Kerrville and the ridge / eclipse lines will have at least 1600 ft of additional atmosphere to manage. In addition, the eclipse will be occurring in the west-southwest skies, ending only a half hour from sunset. I expect there to be fewer potential obstructions at higher elevations, and the elevation climb is much lower west of Kerrville than east (1200ft over a horizon of 150-200mi vs 1600ft over 80mi in the eclipse path).

Lodging - Lodging is going to be extremely tough to secure for this area of the state as any other eclipse chaser is going to notice the same details I have, and there are not enough rooms for every photographer and party out of state. As an out-of-state visitor, it is important to book a room and not rely on a campground as campground arrangements might disappear or overbook before the eclipse (see note above about the Raspberry farm guy).

No Contingency - Because the meridian for the eclipse starts at Mexican border on the south end and passes close to San Antonio, Austin, Dallas-Ft.Worth, and Texarkana on the north end of Texas (basically all major population centers in TX), there is little hope of traveling to another location if the weather forecast is bad the day of the eclipse. Might as well setup and hope for the best once in the area.

Rain - Given the season (Spring) and historic precip/cloud averages (2.5″+ / 20%) for that area of Texas, it is possible there may be rain during the day of the eclipse. You can be assured I will be carrying tarps for this event.

There’s 2400 days to go until the next eclipse. If you missed out on totality in 2017, now is as good a time as any to start thinking about whether you want to try and catch it in 2024 and where you will attend. I hope that you get to see it and that your planning is as successful as can be.

[fastrecoverydublinqioq832-blog]

How to Explain towing service dublin to a Five-Year-Old

6 Tips for Controlling as well as Discussing Tractor-Trailer Towing Recovery Charges

When a tractor-trailer transferring payload is associated with a collision, the insurance claim managing method may become quite challenging and also taxing. If the trailer topple, we are actually managing damaged freight, clean-up of the spill (it makes matters even worse if the freight is actually a contaminated materials), as well as towing of the tractor and also the trailer.

When these incidents perform happen, the absolute most essential part of the case dealing with process is getting the tractor mended, and also the chauffeur back when traveling promptly and also cost-efficiently. The challenge along with successfully achieving this is getting through the obstacles that can easily arise, a number of which are very easy to discuss, while others can be incredibly complicated to maneuver all around.

The Relocating Business

A moving provider's truck was actually delivering household things when it was associated with an accident. The trailer toppled, creating damages to the tractor, the trailer and several of the components. The items that splashed out of the trailer called for cleanup and extraction.

The towing business removed the tractor and also trailer and also tidied up the items that spilled out. The invoice overall appeared a little on the high edge upon the initial customer review. There were charges for several doubtful line opportunities as well as work expenses. Bargaining the towing, clean up and also storage space prices took a significant amount of time and also initiative prior to repair services can start on the company's moving truck.

Like any other business, insurers excel in a lot of places of the case taking care of procedure but could use help along with certain elements, including haggling towing charges and also maintaining all of them controlled. An insurer experienced in towing and negotiating will certainly have the capacity to review the business's fees and recognize any sort of red-flag things.

Ways to control filled with air costs when evaluating the expense

This seems to be relatively straightforward, but the expense needs to be very carefully reviewed. It takes a keen eye to find out if the fees are actually pumped up, as well as a professional insurance adjuster to arrange these expenses down. Regularly evaluate the costs to calculate if the fees are actually decent.

# 1 Is actually every line thing appointed?

The statement from the towing firm seemed extreme. Upon evaluating the expense, every little charge was actually a line-item. This is a warning. They thorough every cost, consisting of a $200 cost for the orange cones positioned around the mishap site. When the firm starts specifying every collection item, it's a secret information that they are actually trying to acquire the expense as higher as achievable.

# 2 What type of tow truck was made use of?

If a 50-ton rotator tow truck was actually used to tow a small city truck, that should be actually challenged. Performed they truly need that sort of tow truck? There may certainly not have been actually some other truck on call, however should our company be responsible for that higher fee when a smaller tow truck would possess sufficed?

# 3 How many employees were actually needed for the towing and cleanup?

If it appears like there were actually a ton of employees associated with the cleanup, inquiry it. Occasionally it is actually a protection problem. Our company had a claim where the tractor-trailer jackknifed, and the trailer was actually looming a bridge. This was undoubtedly a protection issue-- the trailer needed to have to be taken out ASAP. There are actually various other cases where there is little to no cleaning, however twenty employees were onsite. Inquiry if that was needed and arrange if you feel it was actually over-kill.

Whenever achievable, it is to the motorist's benefit to take images of the mishap website. This will definitely aid when definition is needed, particularly if the costs appear extreme.

# 4 Arrange the costs

As said over, the principal objective is actually to get the driver back to work in his truck. If the motorist is individual, he doesn't get back to work till his truck is launched coming from the tow lawn and fixed. The truck, trailer, as well as materials are going to probably be covered independently. Most tow companies won't discharge the tractor up until all expenses are paid out-- which might include towing the trailer as well as tidy up and/or removal of the payload. Although the driver's insurance policy deals with only his tractor, it won't be released to him up until all charges are actually paid for. A TPA can easily help in the agreements, as well as various other places.

# 5 Get the chauffeur back while driving

Rate is the trick when wrapping up the expenses for towing, and also obtaining the tractor, trailer, as well as freight released. This receives the driver back while driving getting a wage. A private vehicle driver may certainly not operate without his tractor. If the chauffeur works for a transit company, they are going to likely give him yet another tractor to drive, yet it still means there is actually one much less truck hauling packages for the company. Some transit companies mend their vehicles as well as deliver the costs to the carrier. This puts the adjuster at a downside due to the fact that you don't have very much information on the repair service details. A TPA may team up with the transport provider to know the particulars of the charges and possibly bargain a lower charge.

# 6 Verify the costs

An adjuster possesses knowledge in managing tow providers. He can evaluate the expense as well as calculate if the charges are actually fair or even filled with air.

Conclusion

There are actually many pieces in the process of obtaining the truck, driver, and trailer back when traveling. It's important to have an adjuster experienced in taking care of towing as well as capable to spot the red flags when assessing the costs. If towing is actually needed after a collision, the motorist possesses little to no command over that performs the towing, especially if it is actually non-consent and also the police get in touch with the tow firm. Every condition possesses its personal set of rules and also requirements on max towing charges when the tow is actually non-consent. The insurance adjuster needs to have to become aware of these policies and just how they put on each case.

It is actually insufficient for the insurer to be able to recognize the warnings. They likewise need to have to become capable to act on these red flags as well as have the negotiating skill-sets demanded to handle the tow provider.

Some insurance companies do not possess the moment to take care of the details of towing. Outsourcing towing lead to one a lot less hassle. Some insurance carriers need to breakdown assistance dublin have help with specific elements of the case handling procedure. They might be actually great at bargaining service center estimates for the tractor but require assistance in other locations-- like bargaining towing costs. Contracting out towing offers the insurance firm additional time to cope with and also concentrate on tractor repairs.

Towing a Car Tips

Towing a car recommendations: crucial analysis for all vehicle drivers, whether they find themselves needing to have a tow or even involving the saving of an individual whose car has malfunctioned.

Many motorists break at one aspect or an additional. If you break, you ought to phone your FastRecovery.ie breakdown cover carrier who will manage to assist-- specifically as FastRecovery.ie Patrols deal with 4 out of 5 vehicles at the roadside. But if you have not yet purchased your breakdown cover, you could need to have to call a friend to provide you a tow. Conversely, you may receive a ring car towing coming from a friend in need. In either case, it is actually a great tip to understand how to tow a car safely and securely and lawfully only in the event that the most awful need to occur.

Towing Rules

Both parties associated with the towing objective needs to remember the following:

An 'On Tow' indicator should be actually placed at the rear of the automobile being dragged

When the cars are actually connected entirely through a rope or chain, the max span permitted in between the motor vehicles is 4.5 metres

If the range between the 2 lorries goes over 1.5 metres, the rope or even chain must be accurately apparent within an affordable span coming from either side to other street consumers, through tying a coloured flapping towel in the center, for example

The person in the broken down automobile needs to be a qualified driver

If it's black, the malfunctioned automobile must have its lightings on as it will under typical conditions.

Tips for the Towing Vehicle driver

You need to have to take every thing slow and stable-- never go beyond 15 mph. Make use of the clutch to pull away delicately to avoid tugging on the rope unexpectedly, which can easily result in the tow rope to break, as well as stay away from any abrupt braking due to the fact that the towed vehicle driver may not be able to react quickly good enough to cease-- faucet gently rather to alert all of them. Similarly, indicate in lots of opportunity and prevent any sort of sudden changes of direction or even too much maneuvers, as the motorist being actually towed will definitely locate it hard to guide and brake along with you.

While you're towing, check your mirrors often to make certain every thing appears fine. Likewise keep an eye on your automobile's assesses, specifically temperature level and also oil pressure-- if they modify quickly there might be an issue so pull over as soon as possible.

Tips for the Chauffeur Being Actually Towed

Prior to you set off, are sure the ignition switch resides in the 'on' setting to loosen the steering lock as well as make it less complicated for you to guide the broken car. Actively steer as well as brake your automobile in synchronization along with the towing automobile as well as always keep some stress in the towrope or towing post whatsoever opportunities by using lightweight braking pressure to minimize any sort of jolting. Remain as alert as you would certainly if you were actually driving, paying for particular focus to the towing car's brake illuminations and also indicators thus you have as a lot observe as achievable of what is actually arising.

Our Car Towing Provider Dublin

Although car breakdown recovery as well as motor vehicle towing are our principal companies we similarly give a wide variety of alternative auto services including car retrieval, motor vehicle transit, accident salvage, battery jumpstart, flat tire substitute, car lockout services or cross nation car transportation. Whether you're in the need of car recovery or simply dream to possess one or various lorries supplied we can easily offer you with the very best service at a budget-friendly fee. Prompt Recovery team is made up of experienced mechanics, designers, as well as licensed specialists. If you are actually experiencing technical difficulties with your car you can contact our company quickly and also our experts will definitely send off a group of professionals to supply the effective roadside help and also car recovery companies. If your motor vehicle can easily certainly not be taken care of by the kerbside our experts will certainly retrieve it as well as hold it our garage where it will certainly receive the appropriate treatment. Our repair team is swift as well as cautious as well as are going to make certain that you are actually back on the roadway immediately.

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International car transportation

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[junker-town]

Which team could steal the No. 1 pick from the Dolphins?

Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

Miami is clearly in tank mode, but it may have some competition in the race to the bottom. We debate the chances of another team finishing worse than the Dolphins.

The Dolphins’ plans for 2019 have been clear since the offseason; this team had no interest in contending.

Miami has been selling off valuable parts and accumulating young players and draft assets throughout the year. Out went players like Ryan Tannehill, Ja’Wuan James, Cameron Wake, Danny Amendola, Frank Gore, Laremy Tunsil, Kenny Stills, and Minkah Fitzpatrick. In came cap space — an estimated $117 million and counting — and draft picks, six of which are currently slated to fall in the top 65 next spring.

This has all but guaranteed the Dolphins a spot near the top of the 2020 NFL Draft, but they still have competition if they want to snag their quarterback of the future at No. 1 overall. The 2019 season has provided fertile ground for bad teams. Six remain winless through four weeks of the season. Miami will play three of those teams — including two dates against the 0-3 Jets — before their race to the bottom is finished.

Who could usurp the Dolphins’ claim for the top pick of next year’s draft? There are a handful of candidates, but maybe none as sad as ...

Which is the saddest non-Dolphins team through four weeks of 2019?

Christian D’Andrea: The Bengals, who are a cauldron of regret. Cincinnati was supposed to change its culture after firing Marvin Lewis after 16 years and zero playoff wins. Then the franchise set new coach Zac Taylor up for success by ... re-signing shaky Lewis holdovers like Bobby Hart, C.J. Uzomah, and the oft-injured Tyler Eifert. The Bengals have few positives along an offense that’s been torturous to watch in 2019. Joe Mixon has run for a mere 3.2 yards per carry, Cincinnati has turned only three of its 11 trips to the red zone into touchdowns, and Andy Dalton currently has his lowest quarterback rating since his 2011 rookie campaign.

Three of the team’s 10 drives in a Monday Night Football showcase against the Steelers ended in negative yardage. Dalton was sacked eight times for -69 yards that night, leaving him with an average net gain of 2.26 yards per dropback. Dalton is not that bad, but his offensive line, hoooo boy, certainly is.

The defense isn’t appreciably better. In the past two weeks. the Bengals have given up 48 total points to teams quarterbacked by Josh Allen and Mason Rudolph.

Morgan Moriarty: The Arizona Cardinals, who we were hoping would be more fun than this. The Kliff Kingsbury experiment is, well, not off to a great start. Despite showing promise in an opening-week tie against the Detroit Lions, Arizona has lost its last three games by a combined 41 points.

The defense ranks 29th in the league, and the Cardinals are giving up a whopping 418 yards per game. Even the veterans are underperforming, as Revenge of the Birds pointed out after last week’s loss vs Seattle:

The defensive line has been pushed around all season: Corey Peters and Rodney Gunter have been as absent from the stat sheet as the highlight reels, and Andy Isabella has the same number of tackles as Brooks Reed (2). At linebacker, Jordan Hicks actually leads the leads the league in tackles with 48, but too many of them have been downfield and he’s been absolutely useless in pass coverage. Tramaine Brock has been another disappointment in the secondary, especially with his ridiculous penalty last week. Finally, two younger veterans—Budda Baker and Haason Reddick—haven’t made the leaps we need them to.

Sure, having a first-year head coach and franchise quarterback means there will be some growing pains, but there hasn’t been much to feel good about, especially now that the Cardinals have gone winless in September for the second year in a row.

Adam Stites: Washington, which is a mess. The quarterback disaster for the team was summed up by coach Jay Gruden when he answered a question about the plan for Week 5.

Jay Gruden on the Redskins QB plan for Sunday: “We don’t have one right now.”

— Nora Princiotti (@NoraPrinciotti) October 2, 2019

There’s Case Keenum, who had 37 whole passing yards and an interception when he was yanked in the middle of the second quarter in Week 4. He also threw three interceptions in the week prior and is dealing with a foot injury.

Rookie Dwayne Haskins replaced Keenum when he left, but threw three interceptions and looked lost.

The third option is Colt McCoy, a longtime backup who was 0-2 when thrust into starting duty last year. McCoy, who missed the first part of the season with an injury, will get the call in Week 5 — against, gulp, the Patriots and their No. 1 defense.

It’s a bad situation no matter what, because no quarterback fixes this. It averages 2.9 yards per rushing attempts, it’s still without left tackle Trent Williams, and the defense has allowed the second-most points in the NFL.

Washington is getting worse and could easily lose to the Dolphins in Week 6.

Sarah Hardy: Somehow, Washington’s quarterback situation could be even worse behind the scenes. The latest report is that Jay Gruden never even wanted to draft Haskins, something that’s not lost on the rookies.

In the early part of the season, there’s a lot of bleakness to go around. Sam Darnold is a walking Zoloft blob — he has mono! he hope he doesn’t die! — but once his spleen is good to go, the Jets should at least be able to compete again.

The Broncos could easily be 2-2 if not for blowing two games (with the help of some questionable roughing the passer calls) — and that was before they lost their promising young pass rusher, Bradley Chubb, for the season.

At the moment, though, it’s hard to beat the clown show that is the Washington franchise, though.

Is there any hope these teams could be just average bad instead of catastrophically awful?

Hardy: On the other hand, just because Washington has been ... let’s just say, the football equivalent of the political center of our country ... doesn’t mean the team is completely hopeless. Rookie wideout Terry McLaurin was out there setting records until a hamstring injury kept him out of Week 4 (which also cost his former Ohio State teammate, Haskins, a safety blanket to throw to).

Even if Haskins doesn’t play another snap this season, it’s too early to give up on a talented, but raw, quarterback after one half of football — especially when Gruden is likely out the door soon.

Maybe McCoy will give them a spark, or at least give them a little more competent play at quarterback. Keenum wasn’t even that bad through the first two weeks. Washington took early leads against the Eagles and Cowboys before losing by five and 10 points, respectively.

That gives them a sliiiiiightly better scoring differential than the Bengals.

D’Andrea: There have been some bright spots for the Bengals, but they’re only flash bulbs in a darkened arena. Cincinnati’s ability to find useful wideouts has only been rivaled by its ability to lose them. A.J. Green has yet to play this season due to an ankle injury and will likely take his time before returning for the tail end of his contract year. John Ross, who finally showed signs of life after two unproductive seasons in Cincinnati, is now on injured reserve with a shoulder injury. Auden Tate has emerged as a useful option, which means he’s got about two weeks before his teeth explode or something similarly depressing happens.

The defense hasn’t provided much more room for optimism. Any progress Sam Hubbard, Carlos Dunlap, and Geno Atkins have made on the defensive line have been wiped out by an ineffective linebacking corps and secondary. The Bengals have given up 6.7 yards per play since their season opener against the Seahawks, a mark only bested by the suddenly porous Ravens’ 7.8. Opposing quarterbacks — half of which, again, were Allen and Rudolph — have averaged a 116.0 passer rating against them, or the rough equivalent of Dak Prescott so far this fall.

If there’s any hope for the Bengals the rest of the season, it’ll probably have to come from his offense, which as been surprisingly lackluster under Taylor.

Moriarty: Kyler Murray and the Cards’ offense hasn’t been abysmal, (putting up 27 on Detroit seemed like a decent start), but it’s clear that there is some work to be done. Murray leads the league in sacks (20), but he’s been able to throw for 300 yards passing twice this season, and is on pace for 4,200-yard season.

Perhaps the most concerning fact about the Cardinals’ offense is how it’s been struggling to score late in games. In the last three weeks, Arizona has trailed in the first half and come out averaging just 10 points in the second half. You can’t expect to win many games like that.

D’Andrea: I’m not on the Kliff Kingsbury bandwagon by any means, but I think there’s more fight to the Cardinals than they’ve shown the past three weeks. That Week 1 tie against the Lions looks a little better each week, and it was a display of what Murray’s capable of as an NFL passer. If he can up his red zone efficiency — his team has just five touchdowns to show for 13 trips inside the 20 — he can provide enough to outshoot foes en route to a slight improvement over 2018’s lost season.

The bigger question is whether a defense that ranks 31st in the league in yards allowed can deliver Kingsbury the chance to turn his air raid approach into wins. Those opportunities will be limited, but still more plentiful that what we’ll see in Miami or Cincinnati.

James Brady: Dalton has has some high highs in his career, and we know he can make the big throws. Is he on his way out as the franchise quarterback? I honestly am not sure, but the Bengals have faced some tough teams.

While the 27-3 loss to the Steelers likely confirmed a lot of Bengals fans’ fears that the team won’t be good this year, they still lost to both the Bills (who are good??) and Seahawks by a single score, and played close against the undefeated 49ers early until things got out of hand in the second half. There are still pieces of a good team here, certainly not one that should lose every game remaining on its schedule.

Speaking of its schedule, Cincinnati will play the Cardinals next. The Arizona roster is just a mess and the offense feels like it needs an entire season of tweaking before it approaches viability on a weekly basis.

That said, the Bengals don’t have the easiest schedule. If “average team” means 8-8 or close to it, then maybe they can’t get there. But they’re better than 0-4, and could be the source of an upset or two down the line.

Which games are winnable on their schedule?

D’Andrea: Like the Dolphins, the Bengals have a handful of games remaining against currently winless teams. They were the Steelers’ first win of the season in Week 4, and now they can be the Cardinals’ first win in Week 5. If Monday night’s Sylvia Plath poem come to football life is any indication, they’ll throw a detour in the Cardinals’ road to the top of next year’s draft with another nigh-unwatchable performance.

Moriarty: Looking ahead at the schedule, there really isn’t a clear game the Cardinals should definitely win. But their upcoming game against winless (and banged up) Cincinnati is their best opportunity yet.

D’Andrea: Arizona has to fight through a very tough NFC West, but the rest of its schedule will provide plenty of soft defenses for Murray and Kingsbury to exploit. In their next three weeks, they’ll face teams that rank 27th (Giants) and 28th (Bengals) in yards allowed per play, along with a Falcons team that’s been unable to get out of its own way to start the season.

Brady: Washington already played pretty close to Philadelphia and Dallas, and an upset against any team in their divisional rematches wouldn’t be that surprising.

The Dolphins are coming up in Week 6 and that should be as trash as it sounds. There’s also the 49ers (we’re still not quite sure how good they are), and Minnesota (who can’t seem to find an offense).

Washington still faces some poor passing defenses on their schedule, including the Dolphins, Jets, and Giants. Finally, the running game, which has been among the worst in the league, could see boosts against the Dolphins, Packers, and Panthers, all of whom have lacking run defenses.

So what are your odds on the recipient of 2020’s first overall pick?

D’Andrea: Miami remains awful, but the 2019 season leaves no wont for bad teams. While Washington and Arizona can improve around young quarterbacks and provide some semblance of optimism, Cincinnati looks entirely screwed. Even the brief flash of excitement created by Andy Dalton throwing for 300+ yards per game appears to be snuffed out with few hopes of being reignited.

The Bengals are a bad, bad team. Bad enough to challenge a Miami squad that isn’t even trying in 2019.

The No. 1 pick is still the Dolphins’ to lose, though:

55 percent Dolphins 20 percent Bengals 15 percent Washington 5 percent Cardinals 4 percent Broncos (until they take Adam Stites’ suggestion and start selling) 1 percent Jets

Brady: The Dolphins are bad, and are clearly tanking, but they’re likely going to accidentally win some games on the back of having some young playmakers and extremely low expectations. Washington went from Alex Smith to Case Keenum to Dwayne Haskins to Colt McCoy, which should be enough of an argument for an 0-16 season. The Cardinals are in somewhat of a similar situation to the Dolphins in that there’s enough potential for big plays and upset wins. But not for Washington. I just don’t see it.

Let’s go with ...

65 percent Washington 30 percent Dolphins 3 percent Cardinals 1 percent Bengals 1 percent Broncos 0 percent Jets

[scripttorture]

To Force Confessions

Attempting to force a confession may be one of the most common uses of torture today. Several countries, both autocratic and democratic, have police forces that do this fairly regularly.

 First a little background on how torture in a judicial setting works.

 Torture can be used to force confessions, but it might well surprise you how often it doesn’t work. Anecdotal accounts tend to suggest or assume that sooner or later everyone confesses because of physical torture. However statistical analysis of the little data we have suggests that is no where near true.

 The main piece of data comes from France between 1500 and the mid 1700s, concerning 785 people who were put to torture, in accordance with French law at the time, to make them confess. Only between 3 and 14% of them did.

 Similarly of the 3,573 German prisoners in the infamous ‘London Cage’ around 1,000 confessed, and it is worth noting that bribery, incentives for double agents and threats were as much a part of the London Cage as torture.

 Forced confessions have been used to get rid of politically inconvenient people but it’s also regularly used to disguise failings in particular police forces. When judges and juries prize confessions, police are underfunded, poorly trained and under pressure to produce results now coercion and torture can very quickly become common practice.

 The Wickersham Commission in the United States identified police brutality and torture across the country, often for the purpose of extracting confessions. In particular a pattern of practices known as ‘sweating’ was widespread.

 Bright lights were kept aimed at the suspects eyes, they were prevented from sleeping, kept uncomfortably hot by the lights and interrogated constantly by relays of people over several days. If that sounds familiar it’s because it’s practically identical to Soviet ‘Conveyer’ techniques.

 The Communist ‘brainwashing’ that Americans were told to fear was the same thing that had been going on in American prisons for decades.

 Police in Chicago have a history of torture stretching back to at least the 1920s when the Wickersham Commission said they used sleep deprivation, beatings (famously with the Chicago telephone book), exhaustion exercises, stress positions, tear gas, suffocation and something that sounds an awful lot like waterboarding.

 By the 70s they’d moved on to electrical torture though beating (with phone books and rubber hoses) was still common as was suffocation (now using plastic bags).

 And in the 80s Chicago’s area 2 was under the jurisdiction of Commander Jon Burge a man who is estimated to have tortured at least 200 people. They were variously sweated, beaten, suffocated and tortured using the electric charge of telephone magnetos to extract confessions.

 Burge’s police career started in 1972 and the first accusations of torture came soon afterwards. Burge’s actions, over a two decade career, have led to a review of the police force costing $17 million, a settlement costing almost $20 million, a compensation fund for victims of police torture of over $62 million and a further $50 million for ‘defence of officers’.

 The overall estimate for the monetary cost to Chicago’s police force is almost $400 million.

 At least 17 innocent people were put on death row based on confessions obtained by torture.

 With the cost, monetary, moral and human, so high the obvious question is how did this go on for so long?

 Burge was a veteran who’d received three medals in Vietnam. He received multiple commendations as a police officer and by the time he was suspended in 1991 (before being fired in 1993) he was an Area commander, outranking the vast majority of police in the city.

 Burge was seen as upstanding and believable.

 One of the most important victims in the cases against him was a young black man named Andrew Wilson. Wilson had spent most of his life in institutions and a significant period of time homeless. He was described as impulsive and emotional and ‘his ability to function in the community [was] severely limited’. (via Rejali, pg 241)

 The police accused him of murdering two of their fellow officers.

 Wilson described a pattern of electrical torture via magneto, suffocation and beatings that matched the testimony of other complaints. He was admitted to hospital with second degree burns and multiple lacerations.

 Juries did not believe him. In fact they returned the bizarre verdict that police had used excessive force but not torture, a contradiction in terms.

 It took years of concerted effort from journalists, activists and victims to finally bring Burge to justice. He was finally arrested in 2008 and convicted in 2011.

 His sentence was just four and a half years. Burge was released in 2014. Many of his victims died in prison.

 Several of the officers he trained have been promoted to high positions. At the time of writing the city of Chicago can not consider an officer’s prior record of complaints when investigating allegations of brutality.

 Convictions for torture rely on establishing patterns of behaviour over time and multiple victims. It’s pretty safe to say that with a rule like that in place Burge would never have been convicted. It’s a simple pattern, sleep deprivation, beatings, suffocation, electricity.

 And I’m told that those who don’t remember history are doomed to repeat it.

 [Sources: ‘Torture and Democracy’, Princeton, D Rejali (Glorious 850 page, kill them with data, monster of a book)

Wickersham Commission

‘Unspeakable Acts, Ordinary People’, J Conroy]

[theparaminds]

Evident with every passing day, much of our daily purpose exists within the pursuit of a purpose itself, seeking answers to universal misunderstandings. While Neil MacLeod is in pursuit of such truths, he realizes it is just as important to seek the beauty which exists between the confusions. In that sense, he attains to brighten our existences through creation and through developing ideologies. He is seeking to fill the gaps with positivity instead of stagnation and fear.

Residing in New Zealand and born in the UK, MacLeod is no stranger to the whimsy an inspiration can have upon an artist. He grasps the hauntingly gorgeous emotions of daily beauty, the ever overwhelming success in daily life’s ability to stun us all. And through that understanding, he creates a mirror of what he experiences. He shares the feeling in forms consumable and resonating, free to share and to grow a life of their own.

In truth, Neil’s pursuit is one of an even balance between selflessness and personal fulfillment. It’s a precarious tightrope of knowing how much to give and how much to take from the artistic world. But as he stands high above, balancing and creating, he’s able to stand sure he won’t fall. He won’t fall as there is balance and beauty. He is able to stand tall because he contributes to the beauty he loves daily, leaving it stronger for the next walker of that precarious tightrope.

Our first question as always, how’s your days going and how are you as of late?

My day has gone really well, my girlfriend’s sisters, and parents were here over the last couple of days so I actually took a little time off from making music for once. It was actually quite nice to spend some time being sociable with people who aren’t concerned with music. Today’s my day of getting back into things. Lately, things have really just been generally positive, a lot of exciting things getting planned.

To really begin by taking it back to start, how did your environment look growing up and how did it put you upon the path of being an artist and did early experiences in that time help with that?

It’s interesting because I’ve tried to analyze that before. I’ve read a lot of biographies and listened to a lot of podcasts about musicians. It seems like a lot of musicians grew up fully immersed in music since day one. And truthfully that wasn’t my experience. Neither of my parents are particularly musical, instrumentally, but they love music endlessly and exposed it to me as a kid. It was never a focus in my early life though. My parents just pushed me to be expressive and creative, allowing me to go down any lane I wanted to. They encouraged my artistic lifestyle. I think the reason I dared to chase a musical career was due to their open-mindedness. A lot of young people are told that being an artist isn’t a job, and I was fortunate enough to grow up believing that it could be. That probably pushed me more than anything. It was just by chance I chose music, I loved painting just as much and right up to leaving home, I thought I’d be a painter. But in the end, I never found a medium that quite connected me to other people or myself more than music, so I pursued that.

When you first got into the musical space, what were the early influences, not just in music, and how do you compare them to your current inspirations?

They’re really different. My very first love was choral music. I was in a choir as a young boy. I remember how inspiring the sound of a group of voices traveling across a church was. I liked the social aspect of it and the spiritual aspect of it, too. That was how I developed a voice I suppose. And from there it was folk music. I really connected with the idea of storytelling through music. It stimulated me, those stories formed great pictures in my head when I listened to them. As time passed I started getting exposed to electronic music coming from the UK and it took over. Eventually, I found a happy space between the two worlds.

In your eyes, what was the vision of that early artist you used to be and what was the purpose of pursing of the project?

Well, I never really thought anyone was ever gonna give a damn about what I did. I never put out music expecting people to listen to it, so it was really surprising to me when people started responding positively. My early intentions were personal; to tell my stories to those who’d listen and to self-heal in the process. It’s not like that anymore, but that was how it started.

Through that process of growing and coming into your own, what were some of your best memories that stick from it?

I have two I think that really stick. I was born in England and I have family there and in Scotland. My Grandma has this beautiful 100 plus year-old house. I remember visiting this property when I was about 7 and walking around the destroyed outskirts of the place. That was beautiful, I felt as if I’d entered another world. Secondly, I grew up in a place called Christchurch in New Zealand and we experienced some pretty awful earthquakes when I was younger that took a lot of lives. That wasn’t beautiful, but in the aftermath, many buildings became what’s called ‘red zoned’ which meant they were unsafe to enter. Of course, my friends and I went exploring them straight away. There’s a river that runs across Christchurch called the Avon, so we got on a kayak visit these run-down places. It was really spooky but also exciting, it felt kind of like that movie Stand By Me. That thrill of being young and on an adventure. That sensation was beautiful.

To move into that idea of exploring yourself, with this new project it’s all about unfolding, and you’ve just unfolded childhood, but how have you taken up that process and what does it mean to you to unfold as a whole?

One thing I’d like to make clear is that I’d gone through this ‘unfolding’ process before finishing the record. For me, making the record was a way to solidify my understanding of things that had happened during that time. The ‘unfolding process’ itself allowed me to grow as a person. I was facing internal and external issues at the time, which required serious personal development in order to get through them. I let old parts of myself die, and made room for new, brighter ones. It felt like I unfolding myself, hence the title of the EP, ‘To Unfold’. My music had been very dark prior to this record and I was getting tired of that. I didn’t want to be defined by negativity. To be emotionally vulnerable on the record was still important to me, but I’d learned new ways of doing that, without only indulging in the dark moments. I decided to make an emotional record, but one that left listeners with a feeling of hope, not of sorrow.

And on top of yourself what changes did you make to your process in production and writing the actual songs differently in your approach?

I used to be so private and would never show anyone my music until it was finished. I was very guarded and secretive until I met this amazing guy named Devin Abrams, a prolific New Zealand producer. We just clicked with one another. He sacrificed his time to help me make this project, and working with him was a learning process in itself. Before recording this EP, I’d never really sung in front of somebody, just one on one. After we finished the project, I felt like a better artist and human. I felt this new confidence in myself and as a writer, singer, and collaborator. In New Zealand, there’s a slightly unhealthy romanticism attached to the DIY attitude. I think I’d absorbed some of that because up until making this record, I felt that I was a cheat if I asked for help. Devin really helped me break that down and recognize the beauty in collaboration in order to make something better.

Would you say that this process to you as an artist has been a realization of who you are and has it been a complete shift in your artistic ideals?

I’ve realized a lot of things, and some of my ideas have shifted. Life is complex and I struggle to completely sum up any of my experiences fully. This ‘unfolding process’ has meant growth as a human being and as an artist, both of which I could talk about forever. Catharsis is a good word for what I went through - and I’m still going through it, especially when performing the songs live. It’s one thing for two people to work on some songs in private. It’s another thing entirely, to be in front of a live audience, it requires an intense amount of vulnerability. It’s often quite hard to revisit those darker songs, but there’s power in it, and new things are revealed to me each time I do so.

In your process of creating music, do you feel a need to make your own wave and shift the norms of today’s sounds or are you happy joining in on ongoing ideas?

I don’t want to make ‘my own wave’ as such. I know that I’m standing on the shoulders of giants at all times. I’ve been informed by so many incredible artists. I hope to make music that’s unique but I’m never upset by comparisons as it’s just an honor that anyone gives my music the time of day. I’m grateful for any categorization. If there’s any ‘wave’ I’m trying to form, it’s concerned with getting everyday people into music that challenges them - both in terms of emotion but also production and songwriting. I want people to see that conventions can break in a good way.

So then, what do you feel is the next building block for you as an artist and what avenues are necessary to go down in the coming future?

I have to think of that all the time because it’s hard to get by as an artist, it’s not the easiest route in terms of making a living so I’m always thinking about how I’m going to build on where I’m at. My current estimation is that I need to go traveling. I want to take this music and present it to other cultures and meet more people and experiment more with my sound through collaboration. On the business side of things I’m still trying things out, It’d be great to capture label attention, but that comes with time. My main priority is to make fresh and beautiful music, so as long as I can do that, I’m on the right track.

In terms of that live experience you mentioned earlier, what does it look like to you and what does it truly mean to share your vulnerability in that space?

I think there are two sides to that coin, there’s the personal and the shared experience. I think live music is one of the most powerful forces we’ve got. Being surrounded by strangers all engaged in one moment is very special and I think right now people need nothing more than connection to one another. Performance has an important social function and I try to consider that. On the personal side of things, I need to live up to my own standards. It’s possible to over-rehearse. I’m cautious of that because I don’t want to be on stage singing about something intimate and not feel intimately connected with it. I work really hard on staying well rehearsed, whilst remaining emotionally connected with the music.

If one is to go to your show, what feelings and experience do you want them to be able to go home with? Is it simply the ringing in their ears or is there more to it?

I never want to limit anyone's experience by outlining what they should feel. That said, I think there’s a lot of darkness floating around in the world and that it is worthwhile to contrast that with beauty. I want the audience to feel they’ve experienced something beautiful.

Then what is beauty to you in a live setting and how does it feel to an individual?

I use the word beauty loosely. In my eyes, it’s anything that has a positive effect on people. Beautiful experiences, inspire and connect people. I’d like my live show to do the same.

What’s the most beautiful thing you’ve ever experienced?

I remember being on a plane at some young age, going back to the UK and I was traveling by myself. There was this small child, just old enough that they could walk. They came over to me and began sharing toys, playing, and trying to talk with me. Most people just ignored the child, but I embraced that moment. It left me with this tingling feeling of connection. The beauty of that moment was due to how rare it was. It’s not often you interact with someone who has no ulterior motive and just aims to share a moment in time with you, no strings attached, consumed by the joy of your company.

To you, is part of vulnerability also being youthful or are you trying to be mature and put that aside?

I think that there’s something to be said to that point, I think vulnerability can look like a youthful return. As you’ll see with any really small child they are not insecure like us ‘adults’ and they do not come with an agenda, they’re just themselves. There is something to be learned from that. I think being mature and going through adolescence is important… we all need to ‘grow up’ - but there are moments where we could all embrace that inner child.

Do you feel as of right now you’re happy with how vulnerable you are and how you present yourself even though you’re still looking for the last pieces of yourself?

I don’t think I’ll know who I am until I’m about to leave. I think that the fun of life is to go through the process of figuring it out. I want remain open to constant changes. I’m happy with how open I am. I think the best interviews are when artists are straight up and honest about how they feel. I think it’s a good way to be, for all people.

And as a final thought, and maybe the most vulnerable of all, what do you want when you leave the mark to be and what do you want the remembrance of you to be?

It’s a hard question. Legacy doesn’t matter much to me. It’s not what I’m working towards. I care more about how people feel about me now. My hope is that I do no harm, make beautiful things and make people’s lives better. I try to be there for my family and friends and the wider community. I would love to be a teacher at some point. I just want to go down as someone who worked really hard and did it for the sake of good.

Is there anyone you want to shoutout or anything you want to know you’ve said?

I have a tour coming up which I am proud of and excited for, (more info on my socials). In terms of people to shout out, there are just too many names to count. So to anyone who has helped me get here, I can’t thank you enough. And to all those who’ve yet to enter my life, I look forward to meeting you.

Follow Neil on Instagram and Facebook

Check out the ‘To Unfold’ Tour 

Listen on Spotify and Soundcloud

Words and Interview by Guy Mizrahi

[hailey-halstead]

Bee

thanks anon for the boost of motivation! 🤗 here's my fic! it's a fluffy one:) i don't own anything but irene! hope you all enjoy! —————— "Mouch. Mouch. Mouch!" Mouch was articulating slowly, emphasizing on the letter M each time he repeated his name to the intuitive, yet confused, Irene. His head kept on shortening the distance between him and the one year old. Sylvie couldn't help but intervene when the two were practically touching noses. She knew that Mouch meant no harm, and Irene didn't seemed bothered, but it made her feel better when her daughter was back into her lap. "Aw, Brett." The firefighter complained as he got up off of his knees. "She was beginning to get the hang of it! So close!" "She wasn't saying anything." She corrected him, grabbing a toy off of the table behind her. She handed it to Irene, who let out a shriek of joy at the sight of one of her favorite toys, a small activity ball with various contraptions all over. "All of you guys are pushing her too hard. The fact of the matter is that she will say one of your names when she is ready." Irene has been saying words for about a month now. But other than Diego and Eva, which sounded like "Eg-o" and "Va", she hasn't said anyone's actual names. And even though Sylvie had verbally voiced that she expected Gabby to be the next name to come out of her daughter's mouth, they still held onto their stubborn beliefs that each of their names were going to be it. "But if she says my name first I'll get free drinks at Molly's for a whole weekend!" Mouch looked at her with wide eyes, like he wanted her to be on his side. Probably, Sylvie thought. He would then try to get her to repeat his name all the time. "Free drinks?" She was skeptical at that piece of information. Herrmann thought offering half priced drinks was generous—him giving away free drinks was uncharted territory. At least from what she could remember. "The stakes are high, Brett." He had a very serious look on his face, uncharacteristic of his usual personality. "If Hermann wins we all have to help him do an annual cleaning of Molly's." He shuddered at the thought, like washing tables and sweeping floors was the equivalent of getting shot by a bullet. "And we can't let that happen." He had the audacity to point to Irene, as if a one year old could really contribute to this. Irene followed his finger, so enthralled with the new distraction that she dropped her toy on the ground. Obviously, she didn't understand that she was just a source of gambling entertainment to her mother's coworkers. Wanting to avoid a potential temper tantrum if she kept her daughter from approaching Mouch, she placed her on the ground. A new walker, a week and a half ago was the first time she took her first steps, Irene waddled over to Mouch with only one small stumble. "I think I have to tell Antonio that we need to find new babysitters." Sylvie grumbled, watching as the scene from minutes prior was replaying in front of her again: Mouch, in front of Irene, saying his name over and over again. "Do you really want to get on Trudy's bad side?" He gave her a look, before releasing a toothy grin back at Irene. The toddler giggled, reaching forward to tug on his nose. "I think you should be asking yourself that question, Mouch." She said back, as the grin on his face turned into a grimace. He knew she was right. Despite the squabbling between them, Sylvie appreciated the company. They were in the kitchen before with the rest of 51, but she had taken a fussy Irene into the next room to calm her down. A few minutes later, Mouch had followed. Yes, his main intention was winning the bet, but she couldn't remember the last time she spent one-on-one time in the firehouse with someone other than Gabby. It was nice. Of course a little annoying as well. "When's Antonio coming back anyways? You know you've gotten lucky that we haven't gotten a call this past hour...." Squad 3 had gotten one, but Truck 81 and Ambulance 61 have been both enjoying their extended break. Sylvie had been thanking her lucky stars, as Antonio had dropped by unexpectedly with Irene an hour ago, saying there was an emergency at the state's attorneys office. Marley eagerly offered to watch her if Sylvie had to go out on a call. Since she didn't know Marley too well, even though she seemed to be very kind, Sylvie was relieved that her baby didn't have to leave her side. "Don't jinx it, Mouch!" Sylvie warned, leaning down to grab Irene's discarded toy. They were quickly approaching the estimated time of arrival Antonio had given her, and she would feel rather uncomfortable not physically seeing Irene leaving with her father. "He should be here soon, anyways." She added, answering his question. Herrmann, Otis, and Stella burst into the room. Well, so much for peace and quiet. "What the hell—" Herrmann's signature loud, raspy voice boomed through the room at the sight of Mouch. "Language!" "—What are you doing in here?" Herrmann was unfazed by Sylvie's scolding, only giving her a shrug as an acknowledgement. "You're always the last one to leave the table when we all eat!" "Free drinks, Herrmann. Free drinks. They're on the line." "Or how about 'I wanted to spend time with the cutest one year old in the world'?" Sylvie got up out of the chair to pull Irene into her arms. Her daughter squirmed for a few seconds, not expecting to be picked up, but soon was content again, gripping onto Sylvie's collar as she watched the new entertainment, babbling away quietly to herself. "Pretty sure precious, human life trumps alcohol." Otis, Stella, Mouch, and Herrmann didn't answer her. But that was enough of a response for Sylvie to know what their response was. "Whatever." She sighed, deciding not to want to get so wrapped up in their game. She had more important things to worry about. Like if Irene just let out a fart or shit her pants. Since the smell wafted away a few seconds later, she was relieved that it was the former. "If it helps you sleep at night." "It does." Otis piped up with a grin. "I sleep like a baby imagining Mouch scrubbing toilets this weekend...." "I thought that was if Herrmann would win?" Sylvie voiced her curiosity aloud. "Well, since I work at Molly's too, I thought it was a brilliant idea." Otis explained, lopping a friendly arm around Stella's shoulder. "Luckily Kidd here agreed too." "You see why this is so terrible?" Mouch moaned from the ground, who still hasn't moved even though Irene was back in Sylvie's arms. "They are arming up together!" "How did this ridiculous thing start anyways?" It's been happening for weeks now, but she couldn't really remember how it came about. "You can thank your lovely sister-in-law, Gabby, for that. It started between her and Casey." Stella revealed. "We all overheard while eating and wanted in." "Where was I?" Sylvie asked, trying to rack her brain around this new piece of information. "I'm pretty sure it was the day Irene had a fever...." Stella guessed, finger tapping on her chin. "Because Trout was there, and you can't really miss his big mouth." "Oh." That would make sense. She had to call off of work that day to stay home with Irene. Which would mean this all started about two and a half weeks ago. She shouldn't have expected anything less from Gabby. Competitive was her middle name. After the explanation, Stella turned her attention to Irene. "How's my Reney doing?" She cooed, waving her fingers. Irene, always a fan of the attention being on her, let out a big giggle. Ugh. 'Reney' was the terrible nickname Stella had taken to saying. Ever since Sylvie had slipped out the nickname 'Chunks' around Stella and Gabby, they both decided that she needed a better one. It had just been a name between her and Antonio, because of Irene's chubby baby rolls. Sometimes it varied from chunk, chunky, and chunky monkey. Really, she was mostly defensive of it because it was her little family's 'thing' and it was being made fun of. And then was attempted to be replaced by a name that sounded like a 1980's porn star. So despite for her usually being pretty laid back with things, this was certainly a sore subject. But since her daughter was in her arms and she really has been a sour puss this whole time, Sylvie decided to bite her tongue. She'd save her talk with Stella for later. "She's been doing really well despite the curveball thrown at her usual routine." She complimented her child, gently brushing a side of her hair to the side. Irene had inherited her father's hair, thick and black. But then, unfortunately, got her mother's curls. "Since Antonio never works weekends, she's always with him normally." Sylvie explained. "Reney is just the best of the best." Stella pressed a loud, smacking kiss on the top of Irene's curls, making her let out another laugh. "Don't you love Stella? Stel-la." To no surprise, the firefighter began slowly articulating her name to Irene. "Are you guys still doing that ridiculous bet?" A familiar voice called out from behind Otis and Herrmann. The two parted, revealing Antonio. He clapped both of the firemen on the shoulders in greeting, but his full attention was on Sylvie and Irene. Irene let out a squeal of excitement at the sight of her father. "Dada!" She said, pointing a stubby finger at him. Sylvie couldn't help but smile too. Out of relief and pleasure. It really was a miracle that she didn't have to leave the firehouse during the timespan of having Irene here. She thanked her lucky stars. "That's all they've been doing since Irene arrived." She informed him with an eye roll, pressing her lips against his briefly. Despite Irene leaving with him in a couple minutes, she wanted to go to her father immediately. She squirmed in Sylvie's arms, not stopping until she was handed over to Antonio. "You couldn't handle a few more minutes with me?" Sylvie pouted at her daughter. Irene, finding her mother's facial expression to be humorous, began to laugh. "You're a lot to deal with, Brett." Otis piped up. Sylvie knew he was joking, but she couldn't help but bring up something he told her months prior. The look on his face would be worth it. "I remember you telling me how great of a roommate I was." She pretended to think about this, tapping her finger against her chin. His face fell at that comment, not knowing how to respond. Even if he had a response he was fishing for, the arrival of Gabby brought on an entire new subject. "Bee!" Irene's face lit up with recognition, thrusting one of her hands out wildly towards her aunt. "Bee!" Gabby's face, which was already looking excited at the sight of her niece, lit up even more at the word that came out of her mouth. She threw a victorious smile at the four shocked firefighters before looking back at Irene to pull her into her arms. "You got to be kidding me." Mouth groaned, shoulders slumping in defeat. "You had an unfair advantage! Shouldn't count!" "This was between me and Matt at first," Gabby reminded him, "Which was one hundred percent fair. Then you all wanted in, and didn't give up even when I told you that we already had an advantage." "I....I don't remember that." Mouth lamely responded, scrambling for excuses. He wasn't going to get anything past Gabby, though. "I'm sure everyone else does." She said, eyes going across the rest of the dismayed crowd. "I look forward to seeing you guys bright and early Saturday morning to do yard work." She cheerfully said, the most upbeat Sylvie has ever seen her during work. It wasn't surprising considering how much she hates anything to do with yard work and gardening. Forget having not a green thumb, Gabby didn't have a single drop of anything green in her whole body. "Jesus Christ." Herrmann swore under his breath, before sending Gabby a look. "Hey! Why didn't you pick cleaning up Molly's!?" He asked incredulously. "Really, Herrmann? Cleaning a bar versus my back and front yard?" Personally, Sylvie would rather do the second option. She actually enjoys gardening and yard work. Gabby however, said her obvious answer. "I would choose cleaning a bar a thousands times over getting down on my hands and knees in the dirt just once." "The short answer is that she is just really scared of worms." Antonio butted in, a teasing smile on his face. Whether he was telling the truth or bothering his sister, Gabby didn't seem happy either way. "You should be careful what you say, Tonio. I have your baby in my arms." She threatened. "Oh? What are you going to do with your precious niece?" He was not affected by Gabby's words, knowing that's what they were, just words. "Oh, who knows." Gabby pretended to think. "Could teach her some bad words, my tricks from my own childhood. And teen years, when she gets old enough." Antonio looked freaked out. Sylvie, who didn't know too much about how Gabby was when she was younger, was clueless. But when it comes to Irene, she was feeling very cautious. She inched closer to Gabby, suddenly wanting her baby back in her arms. "That's not funny." Antonio said, a frown on his face. "You know he wouldn't be the only one that would suffer from your cruelty." Sylvie brought herself to Gabby's attention. But Gabby had no mercy. "Sorry, Sylvie. That's the price you have to pay for marrying my brother." Sylvie was done with this sibling squabble nonsense. She normally found it amusing, but with her daughter being the pawn she did not enjoy any of this. She had scooted closer and closer to Gabby throughout the conversation, and her shoulder was brushing her sister-in-law's by the time she began to grab Irene out of her arms. "Don't you want to go tell Casey the good news?" Sylvie questioned before Gabby could continue talking about her diabolical plan. "I should go tell Matt." She repeated Sylvie's words, thinking about it thoughtfully. Her face then brightened even more, another thought popping in her mind. "I can go rub it in his face that I beat him!" Gabby was then gone, fast walking away with determination. She was so set on her course that she forgot to even say goodbye to Antonio and Irene. Everyone else followed along, probably eager to see their lieutenant's face when he found out that he lost the bet. "Well, I think we should go, too." He said, turning towards Sylvie as his sister was out of eyesight. She gave him a look, to which he rolled his eyes and sighed to. "It's almost time for her nap. Unless you want her sleeping schedule to be completely whacked—" Point taken. "Fine, fine." She interrupted him, shoving Irene into his arms. "Send me a picture when she does go to sleep though, you know how much I love that. Extra motivation." She explained, running a hand through Irene's black curls. The soothing motion made her begin to close her eyes, showing her tiredness. Her trip to the firehouse must have worn her out. "It's a plan." He watched Sylvie and Irene's interaction for a moment, then leaned in to press his lips against Sylvie's forehead to say goodbye. "We'll see you later." Sylvie nodded, stepping back from them, knowing if she didn't they would end up staying longer. Which would mean keeping Irene from her nap. "I think she's our good luck charm," She couldn't help but add, watching as the one year old let out a small yawn. "Gabby and I haven't had a call this whole time." "Better get ready then." The two of them began walking through the firehouse. Sylvie began to slow down once she spotted Gabby and Matt, along with an audience of Otis, Herrmann, and Stella. They had just caught them in time to witness Gabby's reveal to Matt. Her paramedic partner's back was to them, so they were unable to see her facial expressions, but the others probably masked what hers was: excited anticipation. She ignored the urge to stop completely, knowing Antonio had to get Irene home. Before they completely left the kitchen, they were able to hear Matt's dismayed "no!". "You better get back there fast if you want to catch the rest of that." Antonio gestured with his head at the ruckus forming in the room they departed. When Sylvie tried to deny wanting to, he shook his head with a laugh. "Go. You know you want to. If you don't leave us now I think you'll end up following us home." After what her coworkers have put her through these past few weeks with the bet, her annoyance mostly because of them using Irene as a source of gambling entertainment, she did want to be able to relish in the fact that this ridiculousness was finally over. "Okay, I'll leave you two here." She reluctantly decided, leaning up to briefly lock lips with Antonio and then directing her attention to Irene. "I'll see you later, my chunky monkey." She cooed, resisting the urge to take her into her arms to make the goodbye longer. A simple caress of her cheek and kiss on her forehead would suffice. Before they were out of sight, Sylvie wanted to remind him again of her request. "Picture!" She called after him, redirecting herself back to the room she had just left. Antonio's response was a laugh, but it was a good enough answer for Sylvie. He would follow through. "So, Casey. I hear that you are very excited to spend your weekend doing yard work while Gabby and I drink mimosas on the deck." She inserted herself smoothly into the conversation, giddy by the dismayed sigh by her brother-in-law. She could tell that he had been doing a lot of them since Gabby had revealed the results. Casey's response had to be put on hold, as the intercom began to call for Ambulance 61. Sylvie locked eyes with Gabby, and without an exchange of words, they began their trek to their vehicle. Pushing the afternoon's events to the side, they both immediately entered work mode and began to drive off to save lives.