#i wish we had more info about annie though

[moon-mirage]

A day at the beach

(Annie and her son post-Mockingjay)

[oskarwing]

I really wanna talk about the parent child relationships in Midnight Mass

I’m not sure if I’m good at writing this sorta Meta but here goes nothing. Very many spoilers follow.

Let’s start with the adults: 

First we have Erin who suffered so much at the hands of her mother and later because of her mother’s abuse. We don’t get much detailed info on Peggy Greene but from what we can gather she was a lot like Beverly Keane, who seemed to idolize her (though that probably got easier for her after Peggy was gone), in her self-righteous over-pious manner. She just happened to be Beverly with an alcohol problem and a daughter who she could take all her anger at life for not working out her way for God loving her just the same as everybody else out. The dove scene is really such a good scene. But Erin was stronger than her mother, stronger than the abuse that was about to repeat itself and when she found out that she would have a child of her own she left and tried her best to give her kid a better life than the one she had. And she found the strength I think with the help of the same God her mother most likely used as legitimation for her abuse (don’t get me wrong I believe it was Erin’s own strength but she also clearly found something in religion that helped her gather it) and it helped her to carve out a path for herself and her unborn child.  

Sarah’s relationship to her parents is such an interesting one because we get to see the end of it. The man who she believed to be her father has been dead for a long while and her mother is suffering through the late stages of dementia. And Sarah showed up for it. As a doctor she most likely knew what would be happening as soon as Mildred started to show the first symptombs but she wasn’t going to leave her mother. That kind of care for an elderly parent shows something that is proven in Mildred’s character time and time again: She is a very devoted parent and the love between mother and daughter flows both ways in every scene they are in together, after the birth of her daughter her world turned around Sarah and she loved her with all she had. There are a few scenes that show that Mildred’s understanding of the duty she felt towards her family came from the old values of her time. She wouldn’t have taken off with John and their child not for a lack of love but because in those times, in catholism still at least where I’m from, you can’t just marry a priest. You can’t just have a child with a priest eventhough you’re married and then fuck off with him. As a woman, as a wife and mother you have to stand with your husband, stand with your child and you have to stop running after fantasies I’m sure Mildred had. I’m saying this all from her perspective btw, I don’t necessarily think running away with John, in the way he wished to, would have been good for Sarah but honesty might have been and her old fashioned values were also what kept her from being truly honest with her daughter.  To John on the other hand Sarah is a fantasy, a dream he couldn’t reach. His daughter, his baby, so close and yet so far away getting to watch her grow into an adult but never being able to really be her father as in her Dad instead of her priest. And it’s painful to him, he clearly loved Mildred, loved Sarah but he was also kinda selfish in his love that in the end took Sarah away. At first he isolated his child by starring at her giving her the creeps and the feeling that she had done something wrong that he knew she was gay and dissaproved and then he took it upon himself to ‘cure’ Mildred in the same way he was. Sarah wanted to take care of her mother wanted to be there for her in those final months and John decided it was up to him to give Mildred a youth potion to make it so she’d never die. And with that he took away from Sarah what is without doubt a hard but for many people a very important last part of the relationship between child and parent. John was a complicated man and would maybe have been a great Dad he certainly showed a lot of fatherly love for his altar boys but he couldn’t have the family in the way he fantasized about and in the end it was that fantasy that made him act the way he did.   

Riley Flynn causes his parents a lot of pain. Him killing that girl in the beginning, his alcoholism, him simply not liking the place, the home they build for themselves through hard work causes the Annie and Ed so much pain and financial loss and you can see how tired they are, how much guilt they feel for failing their son. Ed calls out his own guilt and says that he doesn’t belive it could be Annie’s fault because ‘your mother’s a saint’ but what I truly love about Annie and Ed Flynn is that they both aren’t saints. As a mother Annie is very much overprotective and suffocating, wanting to keep her children on crocket island and hating the notion that they might leave her, even though she is kind and sweet and loving. And while Ed seems rather checked out as a father but he is the more honest parent, never talking down to Riley and telling him as it is, telling him about the pain he caused him while also admitting to the guilt he feels. The Flynns are flawed people even in their religious practice (I think the way Annie speaks about Ali showing up at church when Hassan seemed to be nothing but nice to her spoke very loudly to the fact that Annie is rather misguided sometimes) but they are good people at the core of it and their parenting might have been part of Riley’s way into alcoholism but it wasn’t only them. There were things they couldn’t change and things they had no influence over like his heart being broken by Erin running away, the sort of people he went out on parties with and so many other things...  Yes, they may have shaped their son in a way that made him vulnerable to addiction and the party scene of the stock and tech market and brought him to the point where he killed a child but it doesn’t happen through parenting alone and they also shaped him in the good ways. Him not losing himself when Pruitt changes him, him being brave enough to warn Erin, him standing up for what he believes in those things were also shaped by Ed and Annie. They are one of the best example of flawed but good hearted Christians I have seen in recent media and their portrayal was one of the most heartbreaking ones. 

Now the kids: 

Let’s start with Leeza. Little Leeza Scarborough who before it comes to her wonder gets treated with pity and overprotectiveness from her parents and the island community at large. Leeza was injured by Joe Collie transforming him into the island’s villain and her into the ever present victim.  What happened to her is without a doubt horrible and I understand why Wade and Dolly started to become these overprotective parents, why they were so easily sucked in to John’s and Bev’s scheme. Their little girl was almost taken from them eventhough Wade is the mayor, one of the most powerful people on the island he had no influence over what happened to Leeza even was the one who took her out that day and what followed the accident was as we can gather from their conversation with Sarah a lot of pain and financial burden though they say they would have done it all over for Leeza. In fact a lot of places in crockett island are wheelchair accesible and I am sure that Wade as mayor made it so (I can’t really imagine that a small place like the island was very inclusive though I may be wrong).  After Leeza is healed they don’t want to question in don’t want to think about what might have been the cause for it. In fact they stop questioning anything after that point, after Leeza walks again they are completely vulnerable to Bev’s manipulation and them letting that happen, them just going along with everything, Wade protecting John after he kills Joe long after Leeza forgave him and with her forgiveness send Joe on a better path is what in the end makes them lose her. Because Leeza isn’t that little victim who needs pity and help, she is a strong minded, strong willed young woman with a lot of wit who similar to Erin finds strength in her faith but in a way that isn’t devotion without question and when the Easter vigil is held she doesn’t follow her parents eventhough she loves them deeply. She forgives them I think, because that’s what Leeza’s character is about in it’s core but her parents were two of the instigators behind what happened on the island, without Wade’s protection John and Bev couldn’t have come as far as they did and they put their trust in them because they loved their daughter so much they didn’t stop to question if maybe what made Leeza walk again was also a bad thing. 

Ali and Hassan don’t have it easy and I as a white person really can’t speak much on the racism and religious discrimination they face.  I can say this I think: The first line spoken about Ali before we even really get to look at him is “You didn’t invite Aladin” and already sets us up for what both of them know: They are the outsiders. Not only because they just moved to the island but also because in their faith they are different from their peers and religion can often be a community building event for people before it is anything else. Ali starts balming his father a little for that, for not trying to fit in more with the community, for moving after his mother’s death and then not trying to be closer to the people around them and for the pain all the pain the two of them went through before Crockett island. It isn’t oly peer pressure though of course that brings Ali to St Patrick’s. Sure, Ali wanted to be part of the community but also desperately wanted to believe that there was a devine power who could if he just did it (it meaning faith) the right way he might find a way to avoid the pain of his parents. Hassan knew that and he warned him that that wasn’t how it worked. Hassan was a protective Dad and maybe he overdid it from time to time but his worries were never without reason, his need to keep his son safe from a world that hated him for a crime that happened when he wasn’t even born yet never unfounded and him wanting to make sure his kid kept the memory of his mother alive never anything but the wish of a griefing man and loving father. In the end when they pray together there is peace in them. They face their ends with the dignity Ali’s mother would have wished for and they face it as father and son. While Beverly the true religious terrorist of the story burns away without it. 

Warren is the youngest Flynn and it is never directly stated yet omnipresent that his coming of age happens in the shadow of his older brother’s mistake.  Annie warns him away from drinking when he goes out he in fact doesn’t drink. He never drinks because of what his brother did.  Warren would have been 12 when Riley killed that girl and so he would have seen and felt what his brother’s actions did to his parents fully without being yet old enough to maybe see the nuance.  Annie and Ed probably try to right the wrong they believe to have done in parenting Riley with Warren and that’s a lot for a kid. I do think it’s pretty usual that parents of multiple children especially when there’s a larger age gap try to do better with the younger children, but that isn’t fair is it?  Warren is his own person not a second chance to do it over.  And yet seemingly he does what is asked of him. He’s alter boy, he’s charming and helpful and sweet, he doesn’t drink (even when he does smoke pot) and he helps his father where he can with his work.  But in the end he feels guilty because he thinks he wasn’t enough and says at that last dinner he would have been different if he had known he wouldn’t see his family again. But Leeza is right they know and they love him and Warren deserved to not be perfect all the time. 

Littlefoot saved Erin and Erin payed her back with all the love she had. She was never born but she gave her mother the strength and willpower to leave.  In her speech to Joe Leeza said he reached through time and took things from her she didn’t even know she had yet.When Erin left her husband she reached through time and saved Littlefoot from a childhood like hers and when John gave Erin the angel’s vampire’s blood he reached through time and took away her child, a child who would have been loved and cared for. A child with an amazing mother and probably a great step-dad.  Littlefoot’s story is tragic because she never got one. 

[padawanlost]

Did Shmi ever really love Cliegg Lars? Their relationship always seemed odd to me because.... well, he bought her. And he freed her, but was that on the condition of marriage? Would she have even been able to leave after being freed?

Yes. She did love him.

After a few minutes of travel, Leia seemed to decide that Han was right about the detour and resumed viewing her grandmother’s journal. Focusing on the terrain scanner, Han listened with half an ear as Shmi described her hurried move to the Lars moisture farm. She took only her clothes, her journal, and a droid Anakin had started building years before. The next six months of entries were more sporadic and filled with data skips. But Han caught enough of the story to know that while Shmi loved both Cliegg and Owen deeply, she missed Anakin more every day.  [Troy Denning. Tatooine Ghost]

I won’t deny their relationship had issues with her being a slave and all that but unfortunelly that aspect of their relationship mostly overlooked by the narrative. We don’t have a lot info on their romance but we do have Shmi’s diary where she described her time with Cliegg with her own words:

The settler came back today! He was looking for fifty vaporator condensers. Watto was still so angry about the booster coils that he wouldn’t offer a reasonable price, so the settler left. But when Watto sent me for his nectarot, I found the settler waiting outside. He walked with me to Naduarr’s. I was a little nervous, but he has a jolly manner that makes him easy to talk to. He asked if I had been punished for helping him, then apologized when I told him about the extra work I had to do cleaning the navicomputer’s memory chip—even though it was really nothing. Then he asked me why I had helped him. I laughed and started to say I just wanted to get even with Watto for yelling at me, but there is something about this man that wouldn’t let me make light. There is something about his eyes that makes you want to speak your heart—they’re blue, Annie, not quite as blue as yours, and so sincere and kind and warm. Before I knew it, I had admitted the truth: that I had done it because I found him so handsome. He actually blushed! Then he smiled and held his hand out to me. He is a good man, Annie, and it’s wonderful to have a new friend. His name is Cliegg … Cliegg Lars. [Troy Denning. Tatooine Ghost]

Today, I came home to find Cliegg Lars waiting on my stairs with a huge carton of produce from his farm—pallies, a hubba gourd, bloddles, podpoppers, even a bristlemelon. He said prices were down in Mos Eisley so he decided to try his luck up here, but I think he had another reason for coming … at least I hope so. He showed me how to burn the spines off the bristlemelon, and we shared it for dinner. I don’t know if I have ever tasted anything so sweet before. [Troy Denning. Tatooine Ghost]

Annie, today your mother is a married woman. Cliegg waited until last month to ask me—I guess he wanted to be certain it was him I loved and not just freedom. It was a simple ceremony in Anchorhead. Owen came, of course, and a few of Cliegg and Owen’s friends. Kitster, Wald, and Amee were there, and they asked about you. I wish you could have been there, but I know the Jedi wouldn’t have allowed it, even if the message we sent had been accepted. And I understand, I truly do. . [Troy Denning. Tatooine Ghost]

To answer your other questions, no, their marriage wasn’t ‘forced’. They fell in love when she was still a slave but, as shown above, apparently Cliegg decided to wait to ask her to marry him until he was sure it was what she wanted. That tells me that if she had refused to marry him he would have let her go and keep her freedom so… no strings attached.

[kyojuuros]

I'm the one who wrote you the anon message regarding my feelings with the manga feeling like a 'rush job' despite being fine with the conclusion. Thanks for your response. I'm going to be brutally honest and say everything after chapter 106 (the War for Paradis arc), IMHO, should've gone differently in certain ways. For starters, it was WAY too long (33 chapters) and could've used more breathing room by splitting it into two and then start with a completely NEW arc that would've been DEVOTED....

to addressing ALL the plot points and possibly leading to a more satisfactory conclusion. Eren's character arc was fine but, IMHO, needed better build up, a long with a better conclusion with more focus on him in the REAL world, his REAL persona, and not the hard-ass act and Path shenanigans. The manga has a dark setting and it's suppose to be sad/tragic/depressing/heart wrenching but I don't like a terrible terms he left with friends, Hange and Levi. I'm sorry but there's really no excuse.

I bolded the part that really stood out to me because I feel exactly the same way. I don’t think making his thoughts and feelings a total mystery while completely turning him into someone who feels totally different from the pre-basement portion of the series was a good move, like, AT ALL. It’d be like if Star Wars was presented in chronological order (and let’s say you don’t know who Darth Vader is when you start) and saw Anakin and Padme get married, and then ~time skip~ to him attacking Padme and Obi-wan and becoming Darth Vader... and only seeing his descent to the dark side just before he sacrifices himself for Luke.

People who’ve followed me for a long time know I used to be a lot more involved in the meta community and I was always theorizing and making long-ass posts about character arcs and relationships and predictions on what I think is going to happen. It was a lot of fun and even if I wasn’t always correct, I was never so far off that it actually made me upset (or if I was, it was warranted and even comical... I used to think the Beast Titan wasn’t a shifter and that there was an underground tunnel that lead outside the walls lol). I think the last extensive meta/prediction I had written was after chapter 112 had published, and once I realized that I apparently had no fundamental understanding of Eren at all anymore I completely stopped trying. It wasn’t fun anymore. I didn’t appreciate that I could no longer understand my favorite character (of all time, at the time). 

But then I think back and I’m like, no... I did understand Eren. I understood him just fine before the time skip and that’s why everything after Marley frustrated me to no end because it was like he’d been ripped away from me and replaced with a fraud. I couldn’t even cry about his death because I’d become so emotionally removed from him by that point that it didn’t even matter to me anymore (and this is coming from someone who would cry about him a lot just listening to song lyrics or getting lost in thought or rambling with friends). It continues to frustrate me because I still love him as a character, and I don’t need to defend him (there is nothing defendable) but I wish I could feel confident in at least explaining his actions properly. I don’t mind that he became the antagonist, I just hate that I continue to feel like I can’t understand why.

I think that, had Isayama just told his story chronologically, and kept us privy to Eren’s POV, that we would have understood better. Seeing him descend into the darker side of himself would have made much more sense if we had actually witnessed it in real time. Giving us a random flashback here and there, barely getting his thoughts at all, and having the most underwhelming info dump in the final chapter (that STILL didn’t even clear things up properly, it just added MORE damn questions) was terrible for his character and the overall narrative. A character that used to give me so much hope (and I was in a very dark headspace when I stumbled upon snk) became a character that just made me feel disappointed.

Rambling over Eren aside, I also agree that the final arc should have been chopped up into 2 or more arcs (I generally treat the rumbling as its own arc at this point anyway). We should have gotten more from Historia. Levi should have interacted more with the 104th. We should have been able to see Hange blossom into their own as a confident commander (and not get killed just to make Armin commander for 5 minutes???). Armin and Annie’s feelings toward each other should have been explored more. Eren developing romantic feelings for Mikasa should have been explored more. Mikasa and the entire Azumabito/Hizuru subplot should have actually amounted to... literally anything. Ymir having a connection to Mikasa should have been explored much more (especially with the revelation that this was the most likely cause of the headache’s Mikasa has had since the 2nd chapter). I’m sure there’s plenty of other things I could think about that needed addressing, tbh. 

The story feels concluded but incomplete, if that makes sense. The themes were wrapped up and are easy to pinpoint and that’s good and all, but for a story that’s very character driven to not have properly built up/wrapped up certain arcs, relationships and character-centric plot points just makes it feel hollow. So I understand why a lot of people are very frustrated and upset and ready to put the story on the shelf never to be touched again.

I’m trying to give Isayama some grace since he admitted the scope of the story was beyond his ability as an author. I just wish that instead of barreling forward with a narrative that he knew he couldn’t execute properly, he would have reconsidered the trajectory of the plot altogether and written something that he knew he could feel confident in. I can think of many ways the story could have gone post-basement that would have been both more interesting and probably more satisfying, regardless if the ending was dark, bittersweet or happy.

It’s a story I’ll read and watch again, many times, I’m sure. I’m still looking forward to part 2 of the final season. I still want to make content for it. I still want to buy and display merchandise of it. I still love these characters and the world Isayama created. I appreciate and treasure all of the joy SnK has brought me over the years. I just... disagree heavily with his narrative choices in the final arc. I’d like to think that MAPPA will somehow execute it a little better (there are things WIT did that I liked better, though they did I things I also liked less, lol), but I’m not going to get high hopes just to get let down again. 

.... It appears I have pent up my frustrations a bit in an effort to maintain a positive presence. LOL

[reddrobins]

damians happiness [d.wayne]

Older! Damian Wayne x Reader

Summary: The batboys begin to notice a shift in Damians behavior. Being the detectives they are, they decide to find out what could possibly could be bringing the demon child happiness.

“I’m worried.” was all Dick said when he made his way into the large kitchen.

Tim picked his head up from his computer, a look of confusion plastered on his face, “About?” The teen asked.

Dick leaned against the far countertop, looking at his younger brother. “Damian.”

Though Tim and Damians relationship had never been peachy, some part of him still cared for Damian, so he continued, “Is he okay?”

“Yes.” Dick said, waving his hands, “That's why I’m worried! He’s not his angsty self anymore, Tim!” Then he dropped his voice to a whisper, “I saw him smiling yesterday.”

Tim spit out his coffee. Damian? Smiling? “What? How? When? Does Bruce know?”

Dick passed his brother a paper towel and then shrugged, “I don’t know why or how or whatever, All I know is that somethings up.”

While wiping the spill, Tim bit his lip in contemplation, “Should we ask him? Like just in case he’s being mind controlled or under some toxin or something?”

The older son nodded, “Look, normally I wouldn’t spy on any of you, but this is worrying. I'm just thinking, maybe tomorrow we hang out with him. Forge it as some brotherly time and just see how he acts. A little recon mission.”

“Should we get Jason in on this?”

Dick shook his head, “No can do. Said he was on a mission with Roy and the gang.”

“Bruce?” Tim then suggested.

“Not yet. We’ll tell him if things get bad, don't want to bring too much attention to operation Annie.”

Tim quirked an eyebrow, “Operation Annie?”

Dick shrugged, “Yeah, you know, like orphan Annie. She's like always singing about how tomorrow will be happy and stuff.” At the look on Tims face, Dick rolled his eyes, “Whatever, I don't normally come up with mission names… Leave me alone idiot.”

Tim grinned and having nothing better to do the next day, agreed to his brother's plot.

-

“I’m telling you, beloved, that a single bad mark isn't going to stop you from getting into Metropolis University.” Damian said into the phone, “Plus, if it just so happens to halt your admission, tell them you're dating Bruce Wayne's son.”

You laughed on the other side of the phone, “Dames, I am not using you as a way to get into college. That's just wrong.”

The teen vigilante shrugged, “They would be imbeciles to not let you admit anyway. It would be their loss.” Then, “And my love, why do you even want to go to Metropolis? Its so far away…”

“Aw,” You teased, “Will a certain boy miss me?”

Damian scoffed, “Obviously. The days are long and boring without my beloved.”

Blushing, you asked him, “Enough about me. What are your plans after this semester?”

Damian thought about what graduation meant for him. Full time as Robin. Was the only thing to come to his head. Of course though, he couldn't just say that to you. He hadn't mentioned that part of his life yet.

“Most likely boring business meetings.” The wayne teen said glumly, “Of course if you were to come work for my father…” He trailed off.

“Damian, I told you. I would love to but I already have my heart set on the Daily Planet.”

The stupid Daily Planet. That had been your dream since your eleventh grade journalism class. Damian didn't know why you had settled on somewhere as far as Metropolis, He thought the Gotham Gazette was just as commendable.

“I know, I will just miss you my love.”

You laughed at his neediness, “Dami, I will still talk to you daily. We have phones you know.”

“I know, it's just not-” A knock sounded at his door, “One minute (Y/N), someone is calling for me.”

Damian got off his bed and walked towards his grand door. Opening it, there stood Dick and Tim, suspicious smiles on their faces.

“Dames!” Dick said, grinning at his brother.

This caused Damians suspicion to grow, “Grayson.” He said formally, “What's the occasion?”

“Nothing special,” The man spoke, “Can’t a brother just want to spend time with his own?”

No, Damian wanted to say.

“What about you Drake, is it brother time as well?”

Tim shrugged, “I mean if Dick says so.”

“Damian, should I go?” Your voice rang out in a quiet whisper from the phone.

The addressed teen put a finger up, signalling his brothers to silence and then brought the phone up to his ear. “I’m sorry bel- (Y/N), our conversation will have to be continued later.”

Nodding in understanding, you said, “Of course, no worries Damian. Love you, have a good day.”

He hung up before he said it back, not wanting to clue his brothers in on his new secret lover. Before he could stop himself, a small lovestruck smile made its way to his face.

Too late.

“Who was that?” Dick asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

The youngest child rolled his eyes, smile dropping, “No one of your concern. Just a schoolmate needing help with work. Now,” Damian acknowledged the two at the door, “Can we get this brothers day over with please.”

-

The day started off just as Damian had suspected, boring.

Dick had suggested the three of them go get ice cream and take a walk around Gotham Park.

Damian had already yawned a multitude of times, wanting nothing more than to go back to the manor and talk to you.

“So,” Tim spoke, “This is nice, I feel like we never do this.”

Dick nodded in agreement. Though, Damian not so much.

“Yes Drake, I love being dragged from my room to walk around a people infested grounds area. Certainly this is how I wished to spend my day.”

At that, Tim looked over at Dick, scrunching his nose. So much for Damian being happy, His eyes seemed to say. Dick just shrugged in response, maybe he did just imagine his brother's happiness.

Just about as he was going to speak, Damian's phone rang and the youngest teen excused himself.

“(Y/N)? Is something wrong?”

As your conversation continued, Tim and Dick had one of their own.

“It's that girl again.” Tim said. Dick nodded, “Look at him, he's smiling.”

The two turned to watch Damian, who was now smiling into his phone, kicking the dirt beneath him absentmindedly.

“She's the one that’s doing it to him. She's making him happy.” Tim deduced.

The eldest son rubbed his chin, pondering, then, “Tim. I have an idea.”

“Oh no,” The teen mentioned, moaned, he knew that look. It was the classic, ‘Grayson is up to something stupid’ look.

“You’re a genius with computers.” He spoke, Tim nodded along, “Tonight, we get a hold of Damians phone. You trace the call back to whomever (Y/N) is and tomorrow, we invite her to the manor!”

Dick, being the optimist he was, thought his plan was foolproof, Tim couldn't help but disagree.

“Two things, Dickie-bird, First, how the hell are we going to get his phone?” Tim asked, And secondly, this sounds like a horrible idea. I can't help but see this fall apart in like a million ways.”

Before Dick could disagree with his brother, Damian returned. “I apologize for that. What have I missed?”

Tim was going to fill him in, but Dick interrupted, “Who was that Damian?”

The teen mentioned glared at his older brother, “None of your business, Grayson…” Then, “But if you have to know, it was my classmate again. They had another question on the homework.”

Tim passed him a smug look, “You two seem to be awfully close or just classmates” He teased.

“Tt.” Damian gave, “At least I have game, Drake. Why don't you go back and talk with your minecraft girlfriend?” Dick laughed as Damian smirked while Tims face brightened to a cherry red colour.

-

That night, you had received an odd text before heading to bed.

Hi, is this (Y/N)?

Was all it read. With hesitance, you responded:

Yes, and this is?

The next text was much more cheerful.

hi! My name is Dick. I’m Damian's older brother. The little man's phone broke so he’s asking me to message you. Tomorrow, he was asking, if you’d like to come over for Lunch? Here's the address: 1007 Mountain Drive, Gotham

You stared at your phone. Damian was inviting you to his house? Though this invite didn't really seem like a Damian move, you accepted.

Sure. Is 12 a good time to swing by?

Dick responded with a quick ‘perfect’ before saying goodnight.

Turning off your phone, you rolled over and went to bed. All the while dreaming about what tomorrow would bring.

-

“Done.”

Tim looked up from his computer, making eye contact with Dick. “Done with what?” He questioned.

“I texted the mysterious (Y/N) and invited her to lunch.”

The younger brother's eyes went wide. “How,” He questioned, “How did you get Damians phone?”

Dick smirked, waving his own phone, “I didn't! It was genius, I just did a quick search on the batcomputer and her info popped up. So I texted her.”

“If Bruce finds out, you're dead.” Tim then shrugged, “I have to hand it to you DIck, that was pretty smart.”

Flashing a glimmering smile he spoke, “What can I say? I’m not all looks, Timothy. I have some brains in here.” He tapped his head.

-

Twelve o’clock had arrived much sooner than expected.

After being dropped off by a taxi, you stared up at the big house. You had always imagined Damians house to be large, but this?

Shaking your thoughts away, you gingerly made your way up the stairs and to the front door.

Do you knock? Ring the doorbell maybe? Your thoughts were rampant, not wanting to make a bad impression.

Before you could even lay a finger upon the button, the wide doors swung open, revealing a tall man with sparking blue eyes and a disarming smile.

Dick Grayson. You knew from the tabloids.

“Um, Hello?” Your greeting came out more like a question, leaving Dick to chuckle.

“Hi!” He said excitedly, “I’m so happy you could make it… I mean Damians happy you could make it. He planned this after all!”

You eyed the older man, suspicious at his wavering tone of voice, but dismissed the distrust. “Yeah… me too.”

Silence took over the conversation as you stood waiting to come inside. Dick finally caught on, “Oh, my bad. Want to come in?”

Nodding, he led you inside. You almost fainted while looking at the sheer greatness of the manor.

“Welcome to Wayne Manor!” Dick said, proudly,”I know its a lot to take in at first, but you'll get used to it.”

No I will not. You thought.

“This way to the dining room, if you'd like to take a seat. Alfreds just finishing up lunch.”

So many questions swarmed in your head, Who’s Alfred, Why is their house so big, Where is Damian?

You nodded along, following Dick into the grand dining hall. You didn't know they made tables this long.

Before Dick went to check on lunch, he said, “You can sit anywhere… I'd suggest the last seat on the right, that way you'll be next to Dames.” His tone suggested teasing and you had to restrain yourself from rolling your eyes.

Be polite, you scolded yourself.

Taking a seat, you patiently waited for someone else to come into the room. When the door opened your heart picked up, hoping it was your loving boyfriend.

Alas, it seemed to be another raven haired and ocean eyed man. He seemed to pause when he saw you, confusion masked on his face. “Um, Hello?” He said, gripping his mug tighter towards him.

“Uh, hi?” You said, questioning tone once again.

You watched as the gears turned in his head until a lightbulb went off and he nodded to himself, “You must be (Y/N), right?”

“Yup.” Then, “You are?”

“Tim Drake. Damian's older brother.” How many brothers did Damian have? “The midget will be down soon. I’ll let him know you’re here.”

Midget? Damian was like what? 5’11? Taller than you that is.

Tim left and you were left by your lonesome again. That was until Dick bursts back into the room, a tray of sandwiches in his hand. “It's fine Alfred,” He called into the kitchen, “Don't worry, I got it.”

He then turned to you, “Butlers am I right?”

Not knowing how to respond because you never had one, you nodded along.

“Does PB and J work for you? I know it's Damians favourite and I assumed it would just be yours too, seeing how close you are.”

Your cheeks flared at his words, did they all know you were dating? You thought it was a secret?

“Yes, works with me.” You said with a shaky laugh.

While you and Dick awkwardly made small talk, a bigger commotion was going on upstairs.

-

“Drake!” Damian pounded on his brother's door. “Drake open this up right now!”

Following Damians commands, Tim walked to his bedroom door, cracking it open, “Yes, Damian?”

The taller though younger brother pushed the door open all the way, stomping into the room. “Why is (Y/N) here?” He hissed.

Tim quirked a brow, folding his arms, “How do you know?”

“Tt,” Damian gave, “I’m not deaf, you imbecile. I heard the car pull up. Who invited her?”

Now, don't get it wrong, Damian was totally ecstatic to see you somewhere other than school, but he was not okay with his whole family being here.

“Me and Dick.” Tim said bluntly.

Damian's glare hardened, “When? Why did you think it was a good idea, you backstabbing al'abalah!”

Tim put his hands up in defence, “Listen. We saw how happy she made you and we just thought it'd be a nice treat to see her in person.”

Damian agreed, it was a nice sentiment, however, why here? “That doesn't excuse you both for betraying my trust. I wanted to keep my relationship private for a reason, Drake.”

His older brother smirked, “Relationship, huh? Thought she was just a classmate.” He teased.

The youngest Wayned groaned and stormed out of the room, racing down the steps.

-

Your laugh echoed throughout the dining hall. Damian stood in front of the door, smiling with butterflies in his stomach and palms sweaty. He couldn’t believe you were actually at his house.

Opening the door, he heard Dick say something stupid causing your laugh to erupt once more.

Upon opening your eyes, you caught Damians, the two of you staring at each other. Dick smirked and pushed his chair out from under him, “Well,” he started, “Guess this is my cue, have fun you two.”

At that, the man walked out of the dining room, not before giving Damian a wink.

The youngest Wayne rolled his eyes at his brother, then turned back to you.

“(Y/N).” was all he could muster.

“Damian.” You replied.

The teen raced over towards you, immediately grasping your hands and pulling you up from your seat, engrossing you into a hug. “You’re really here.” he whispered into the embrace.

You pulled away, smiling, “I am, my love.” You whispered back.

Damian let go of your hands and took the seat across from you, “I apologize for the odd circumstances of course, this was not how I wished to introduce you to my family.”

Nodding in understanding, you dismissed his apology with a wave, “Damian, it doesn't bother me at all. I quite like your brothers.”

Groaning, Damian spoke, “Can't say the same, beloved. They did plot against me, after all.”

Smirking, you reached across the table, playing with his fingertips, “If they hadn’t, we wouldn't have seen each other today. Maybe you should be thanking them.”

Damian soothed the back of your hand with his thumb, “I would’ve found a way to see you. I can’t stand to live a day without seeing you.”

At his flirtatious words you blushed, “Damian Wayne, you are the only one for me.”

It was his turn to blush, “Same for you beloved.”

You pulled your hand away, lifting the silver cover from your lunch tray, “Good. Now, time for sandwiches or?”

Damian pondered for a moment then, “I have a better idea.”

-

The two of you sat on a big red blanket, settled down in the front yard of the Manor. While you munched on your freshly made pb and j, Damian sat with Titus in his lap, stroking his fur.

You couldn't help but admire the view, he looked like a prince. Strong jawline, bright green eyes and soft well kept hair, and it was all yours.

You sighed lovingly causing Damian to look over, “Enjoying the view?,” He teased.

Playfully, you rolled your eyes, bringing your arm up to ‘hit’ him.

He caught it, turning your play punch into a handhold.

Brining your grip towards his mouth, he kissed your palm, leaning against the warmth of your hand.

Enjoying the calm and serene moment, the both of you stayed in this position for quite some time, too in love to notice the car pull up.

-

Inside the Manor, Dick and Tim stood by the large front window, looking out at the scene on the lawn.

“Something wrong boys?”

The two brothers jumped at the voice behind them. There stood Bruce, dressed in business attire, briefcase still in hand as he had just got home from WE.

Tim was the first to speak up, “Yeah actually. Damians smiling.”

Bruce gave his signature bat-smirk at his son, “And that's a problem?” Yes, though it was odd, Bruce found comfort knowing that something in this word could make his angsty teen of a son happy.

Tim looked up at Dick for help, He quickly jumped in, “Of course not Bruce, it's just… odd? We’ve spent years trying to get him to laugh, to smile, anything and then suddenly, he's enjoying himself?”

Bruce could've sworn for the kids he considered intelligent, they sure had no grasp on relationships, platonic or otherwise. The tall man made his way in front of the two, looking out on the lawn.

A smile crept onto his stoic face as he saw Damian, curled up against you, laughing at something you had said. “He’s in love.” Was all Bruce said.

He walked away from the windows, only stopping when he realised his sons were still spying on the couple. “That's enough,” He said, waving them away from the window, “I’m sure you’ve both intervened already, leave the boy be.”

Though Tim and Dick still yearned to watch their little brother fall further and further for you, they listened to their father and backed away from the tall window, closing the curtains.

-

“They’re gone.” Was all Damian said to you.

Picking your head up from his lap, you furrowed your brows, “Huh?”

“My Brothers,” He explained, “They were spying on us. Though, they are gone now.”

“Oh.” You responded, laying back down.

Damian went to play with your hair, “It is just us now, beloved.”

You hummed in response, loving the feeling of his head massage. Comfortable silence took over the conversation until you felt Damians hand stop.

You looked up at him, confusion on your face, “Something wrong, Dami?”

The teen shook his head, “No, I was just thinking.”

“About?” You pushed.

“Kissing you.” He said bluntly.

Face turning red, you gave out another ‘Oh.’ You sat up once more, turning your body to face him.

“Can I?”

Instead of using your words this time, you lightly placed your hand on the back of his neck and pulled him close, sealing your lips together.

Little did the two of you know, up in the second story study stood Bruce, smiling down at his son from the window.

[callmegremlin]

Accidental Kiss

I got really sick right after I first started working on this, but I couldn’t let it sit in my folder ignored, especially when @ladyblargh herself went and said she wants to read it? I can’t disappoint her? She created these cute characters that I love so much. So I finished it. Here it is. 

Disclaimer: This is just my fiction, not official Chouette cannon.

For more info about @ladyblargh’s original story, Chouette check out her starter pack.

After so many missions pretending to be a couple, Eerie and Connor had grown used to sharing kisses. It wasn’t uncommon for their undercover roles to be couples that would only share one or two kisses. This next one would be different than their previous roles though. It was their longest undercover mission yet. A whole month of pretending to be a newlywed couple hopelessly in love on a cruise. To pull off the innocent couldn’t-possibly-be-an-undercover-cop cover they wanted, they needed to use corny nicknames, love-sick gazes, and a lot of PDA. As used to sharing kisses as they were, they weren’t used to the subtle romantic behavior this mission had them using.

~~~

“Baby, can you grab me a drink?” Eerie said sweetly, looking over her shoulder at Connor. Her hair was pulled up into a high ponytail, a pair of large sunglasses covering her eyes as she smiled at him. He could feel his heartbeat in his fingertips at her words and the sight of her. Hearing her call him that was very new to him and he liked it more than he would like to admit.

“Of course, honey.” He cooed back, looking up at her with a dumb smile. To anyone who saw the look on his face, he was a hopelessly in love husband as he made his way to a bartender for a drink. Little did they know he was a hopelessly in love coworker. Meanwhile, Eerie continued her conversation with the wife of their main suspect. Once Connor had the glass of lemonade for her, he made his way back to Eerie. Spinning the wedding band on his left hand awkwardly with his thumb, that too was new. He slipped a hand around her waist, pulling her back to his chest as he kissed the tip of her ear. “Here you go beautiful.” He said softly, holding the glass in front of her. He hoped she couldn’t feel his heart thudding in his chest at how close she was. Her soft giggle made his breath catch, she turned her head and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips before taking the drink in her left hand. Her own wedding ring clinking against the glass as she grabbed it. She slid her right hand down over Connor’s arm on her waist, keeping him close to her as she leaned against him and properly introduced her ‘husband’ to the woman she’d been speaking with.

Speaking with the woman helped Eerie’s stomach settle, the close contact with Connor made her heart weak. They were so close to uncovering it all, she didn’t need the feelings she’d been burying for months to spring up just because Connor was calling her beautiful and looking at her like she hung the moon. It was for the job. Strictly business. Still, she was grateful that his hand was fiddling with the chiffon ribbon on her dress and not touching her - she didn’t need him to read this mix of emotions from her.

The woman they were speaking with gushed over the ring on Eerie’s finger as she held out her hand. The two laughing softly with each other as Connor rested his head on Eerie’s shoulder and told the fake story of how they’d met. Looking up at her with eyes full of love as she blushed when he kissed her cheek sweetly.

“Oh, you two are just the cutest. You remind me of my old man and me when we were younger.” The woman cooed, placing her hand over her heart. “He used to give me that sweet look you’re giving Annie, so young and full of love.” She continued to gush, calling Eerie by her fake name. The two detectives both blushed at the woman’s words, “I bet you’ll make some beautiful babies too.” She added with a giggle and a wink, making Eerie’s face flush more. She shook her head lightly and chuckled awkwardly,

“We-We’re not quite ready for babies.” She said softly, swallowing a nervous lump in her throat as she tried to stop those thoughts from flooding her mind. Thought’s she worked hard to avoid most days. Little babies with Connor’s golden blonde hair and her eyes. One of them would have freckles like he used to before he was cursed. The other would have her nose shape and his smile.

“She thinks we should wait a while. I’m trying to convince her for sooner.” Connor butted in playfully, sliding his hands up over her hips before sliding one onto her stomach gently as he kissed the top of her head. He could feel her heartbeat but ignored the emotions he felt in the distance from the touch. He didn’t want to invade her privacy. Meanwhile his hand on her stomach managed to break Eerie from her daydreaming. The woman laughed heartily at the couple in front of her,

“Oh goodness, you two must join my husband and me for dinner. You’re just like us.” She said with a grin, “I insist.” Connor squeezed Eerie’s side with his hand, looking down at her with a kind smile, the two detectives knowing this was the way in they’d been hoping for.

“I think that’d be lovely. Right, darling?” he said softly, Eerie looked up at his sweet gaze and nodded, her mind was a mixed mess of her serious detective thoughts and her feelings for Connor. His sweet smile and hand on her side had her heart melting in a way she wish it didn’t.

“Yeah. We should go get ready then.” She said with a quick glance back at the woman, “It was wonderful meeting you.” She said, holding her hand out to shake it. Connor released Eerie from his arms before he stepped around her and pulled the woman in for a hug, giving her his usual excuse that he was a hugger.

The woman only laughed more at his behavior, bidding them goodbye and that she’d see them later for dinner before the three parted ways.

~~~

The rest of the month undercover was filled with Eerie and Connor sharing gentle touches, soft kisses, and romantic gazes. It’d become second nature to share goodbye-kisses, call out ‘I love you’s’, and to flirt with one another. As routine as it felt though, not once did either of their pounding hearts stop reacting to the closeness of it all.

Eerie sighed softly as she got out of the cab with a stretch. It was nice being on land again. And she was so close to her own bed finally. She couldn’t wait to sleep in her own bed again. She turned around to grab her bag inside the cab,

“Goodnight. See you tomorrow.” She said, leaning on her hand to press a gentle kiss to his lips before standing up and closing the door and making her way into her dorm. It didn’t register in her mind what she’d done until she flopped onto her bed. Her face blossoming with a blush as she realized she’d kissed him. She screamed into her pillow as she finally let the wave of emotions roll over her from the past month. The memory of Connor’s arms constantly being around her, his lips kissing her neck, forehead, hand, and her own lips. It all was too much for her to keep denying her feelings. At least now she could feel them in the privacy of her own room.

Connor meanwhile sat in shock in the cab the whole ride home, his heart racing. He had barely held himself together the whole month of Eerie calling him sweet names and kissing him; but having her do it when she was just Eerie, not supposed to be acting like they were together, was too much for him. He knew it was just a habit for her to kiss him goodbye after the month of undercover work. That didn’t make his love-sick heart long for another kiss from her any less.

The next day Eerie walked into work, her eyes flicking to Connor’s desk nervously, relief flooding her to see he wasn’t there yet. She hoped that he wouldn’t say anything about the kiss. She nervously shuffled the papers on her desk before going through them. She hated how her heart skipped a beat at the sound of Connor’s voice calling out a ‘good morning’ to Dennis in the hall as he walked into their division. When his eyes landed on Eerie he smiled gently, his insides turning to mush at the memory of their accidental kiss. He made his way to his desk,

“Morning, Boss.” He said with a playful grin, she rolled her eyes and smiled softly as the tension left her shoulders,

“Good morning.” the nervous butterflies in her stomach finally began settling through the morning as the kiss wasn’t brought up.

~~~

When lunch came around, she could hear Connor reaching over his desk to the trashcan for what she assumed was the wrapper from her breakfast muffin.

“Instead of snacking on trash, how about we get some lunch, Boss?” she called over her shoulder, freezing the racoon man in place as his hand was pulling out the wrapper from the trashcan. He grinned and dropped the wrapper,

“What were you thinking?” he asked, tilting his head as she turned in her chair to look back at him. She chuckled softly at the sight of Connor, laid across his desk and his had hovering over the trash.

“Burrito’s from that taco truck down the road. You could even find yourself some garbage to munch on while you wait. And that way you won’t be judged by me for being a trash-eater.” She teased, reaching down to her purse to pull out some cash. Connor stood up at the idea, nodding eagerly,

“Don’t worry. It’s on me, I am boss after all.” He said, grabbing his coat, “Text me your order. I love you.” He said, making his way to the door. The moment the words left his mouth his stomach dropped. It had become natural to say that during the cruise. But this was work. They were professional, strictly platonic, work-friends. Eerie’s face was pink and her feathers had ruffled up her hair at the shock. She hadn’t expected to hear Connor say that and judging by how he’d stopped she’d figured he hadn’t expected himself to say it.

“I’ll text you. Enjoy your trash appetizer.” She joked, giving his back an awkward smile. He hadn’t acknowledged her kiss, she wouldn’t acknowledge this. Her playful words ignoring his slip up melted away Connor’s nerves, and he nodded with a small chuckle. Quickly leaving with a pink face. The moment the two were alone, they both sighed heavily. Eerie rubbing at her temples as Connor dragged his gloved hand across his face, both muttering to themselves about the ridiculousness of it all.

[tyk-tyk-tyk]

🍁 Achievements + Analysis

I thought about making separate posts, but then I realized I could multitask and mash all of these into one. Lists all of the achievements in English and translated from Russian + some commentary. Behold, the Knock Knock Achievement Master Post. As always, long post under the cut.

“How’s Annie” was a fun tidbit that had a shallow rabbit hole to follow. Some of these are interesting, some of these are not. I used Yandex to help translate these, so take it with a grain of salt. 

This was taken from a website that archives Steam achievements. I’ll be going through them all, just to tie up any loose ends.

🍁Fear of a blank page

English: Fear of a blank page - Found a diary page Russian: Unclean leaf - Found the diary page

The Russian translation is interesting because it references something that you don’t really figure out until you find the whole diary in one piece. 

🍁Busy with paperwork

English: Busy with paperwork - Found five diary pages Russian: Paperwork - I found five pages of my diary

Not much to commentate on. Though it should be noted that in the Russian translations, typically it either refers to Lodger as a “he” or uses first person. Could be a translation issue, or it could have been used on purpose. 

🍁Weaving the story

English: Weaving the story - Remembered the story of the Lost Child Russian: The fabric of the story - I learned the story of the invisible child

I also like this one for referencing the diary more specifically. I wish we had gotten more black and white info on when this happened, where they were and what happened to the other children.

🍁Something in the way

English: Something in the way - Entered a haunter Russian: I do not believe - Entered the pop-up window

Pretty sure the Russian description is a mistranslation. But I’m glad that The Lodger retained his key character trait through translation. 

🍁They are legion

English: They are legion - Entered ten haunters Russian: Their name is Legion - Entered at ten o’clock

I’m ALMOST CERTAIN this is another wrong translation on Yandex’s part. I’m assuming the Russian description is the same as the English description. If it also isn’t a wrong translation, I like the title for the achievement in Russian. It sounds spookier.

🍁Open your mind

English: Open your mind - Saw a fragment of reality Russian: Window to the courtyard - I saw a fragment of reality

This could tie in to some theories that The Lodger was one of the children lost to The Program. ‘Courtyard’ is vague, but it could mean a school (like it’s referenced in the dream written in the diary) or some kind of asylum. Those are my best guesses. Cool nonetheless, could just be imagery of ‘looking outside’ that they were going for.

🍁Good things come in threes

English: Good things come in threes - Saw three fragments of reality Russian: In three pines - I saw three fragments of reality

Now I don’t know any symbolism with three pines, so I had to look it up. And according to this website post, this was based on a novel. Maybe. Some people claim that it may have been based off of real life events, someone planted pine trees to signify that refugees fleeing The Revolutionary War were safe in Quebec. Who knows though, another legend to throw on to the pile of growing mysteries.

🍁Knowing the flip side

English: Knowing the flip side - Saw all fragments of reality Russian: The flipside of being - I saw all the fragments of reality

Again, the translations are similar. Flipside could mean something like an alternate dimension, or if we’re being literal and are taking the textbook definition, could be a complicated roundabout way of saying “tomorrow.” So this is either a poke at seeing ghosts or seeing the future.

🍁I was ready

English: I was ready - Managed to hide successfully Russian: It’s not my fault - Hid and didn’t get caught

Woah, can we talk about this one for a second? “It’s not my fault.” This is definitely a reference to the diary, whether it’s The Lodger or his father or etc. 

🍁I’m not there

English: I’m not there - Managed to hide successfully five times Russian: I’m not here - I hid five times and didn’t get caught

Unlike the previous achievement, uneventful here. 

🍁Nobody home

English: Nobody home - Managed to hide successfully ten times Russian: No one’s home - Ten times I hid and didn’t get caught

Also uneventful. I will mention the perspective changes between languages again though. (I will also mention that this could be translated wrong... again)

🍁The enlightened

English: The enlightened - Turned the light on in every room Russian: Education - Lit up the whole house

I like the English title better, but I like the Russian description better. Feels more ominous and spooky.

🍁My name is Nobody

English: My name is Nobody - Turned the light on in a room before a breach opened Russian: My name is Nobody - Turned on the light in the room before opening the gap

Standard, similar translations, not really a theory to go off of. The breaches are weird on their own and could have many meanings, attachments or symbolism behind them, but who knows.

🍁Babysitter

English: Babysitter - Touched the weeping one Russian: Now don’t look - Touched the lost one

Not a lot to comment on this one. The translations are pretty similar, and the Russian version is a reference to gameplay (and maybe an in game line? My memory is hazy. Just like The Lodger’s har har)

🍁How’s Annie?

English: How’s Annie? - Turned into a doppelganger Russian: How’s Annie? - Changed into a double

If you’re new and/or haven’t checked out one of my earliest theories, you can check it out here. It goes over this particular achievement in whole. 

🍁Through the looking glass

English: Through the looking glass - Entered a breach Russian: Sight unseen - Entered the breach

The English version of this achievement is actually extremely interesting. A “looking glass” can either mean a mirror, or according to Lewis Carroll, something opposite of what we expect. Kind of gives me doppelganger vibes. Please imagine The Lodger in an Alice in Wonderland dress

🍁Breaking the circle

English: Breaking the circle - Chose to go into the woods Russian: Don’t go in circles - Preferred to go into the woods

I liked the wording of this better in Russian. Otherwise, no comment. 

🍁Pagurian 

English: Pagurian - Chose to lock The Lodger inside the cabin and remain hidden Russian: Hermit - He chose to lock himself in the house

A final commentary and then farewell. In English, the game makes it sound like we chose to torture The Lodger. In Russian, it makes it sound like he chose to torture himself. Ominous, I like it.

If you made it to the bottom of this post, you deserve two brownie points. I feel bad for taking so long to put this out, but I figure it’s done and out of the way. I do this because I enjoy it, and I hope you guys are enjoying it too. Next up I’m going to be reblogging some things from @eyesofflora, offering my own commentary, and doing more research on fae and folklore.

[elixir448]

All the wishes I’ve made during the countdown.

Hialriously, I made the same wish twice, which I’ve pointed out. I started wishing for stuff about halfway through the countdown. Gosh, hiatus was rough. I’m planning on crossing stuff out if they ever happen. Lol, as if. Here’s to a fab season everyone!

0 days – Can we all just be cool please?

1 day – Beth, Annie, Ruby and Rio all together at some point this season. Like in the same scene. I think this is one of the main reasons I miss the drops in season 1.

2 days – More Judith and Beth scenes (totally inspired by what Christina dropped in her interview) where they have thinly veiled yet profound conversations about how much men suck.

3 days – Getaway car scene. I don’t care if it’s the girls or Beth and Rio speeding away from a scene. Or Beth speeding away along. I just think it would be cool.

4 days – Rio playing Turner. I think we all have a feeling that Rio’s going to use Turner to clear the board and it would make a lot of sense.

5 days – Beth not being able to hold a gun. Until the moment where she can.  

6 days – Beth and Rio openly yelling at each other, like in 2x07, and getting all in their feels for each other.

7 days – More flashbacks to Beth, Ruby and Annie’s lives. Doesn’t even need to be to when they were kids. I would love to see a flashback to Annie finding out she was pregnancy or Beth going through post-partum depression.

8 days – Beth touching Rio’s tattoo(s). I don’t think this will ever happen but I can dream. Like can you imagine her touching or kissing his neck? Or any of his other tattoos WHEN they have sex again?

9 days – Can I get Beth recklessly driving her car? We saw that chaotic energy in 1x01 but then she just point blank refuses to get tickets haha.

10 days - Beth and Rio in each other’s cars. We had it in 1x05, 2x02 and 2x12 but I want it again! And look, I’m not saying that they need to have sex in each other’s cars. I mean, I wouldn’t say no...it would be nice. It definitely doesn’t need to happen though.

11 days - I seriously doubt this will happen but Beth and Agent Turner having a drink together. I don’t care that they’re antagonists, I feel like they genuinely get such a kick out of each other. I want to see this even if it’s just Beth drinking and Agent Turner crashing her alone time and then he orders a drink too. Give me all the snarky banter!

12 days - Beth and Rio panting against each other’s mouths again. Rio furrowing his brow. Can you believe that they were so overcome that this is what they did in 2x09?

13 days - Protect Stan and Ruby. Manny saying that he’s super excited for Stan’s storyline has stressed me the hell out. Please just let the Hills be okay! I want Stan to have an awesome storyline but I’m not sure I’m ready to see my bbs in pain.

14 days (REPEATED WISH) - Rio pushing Beth’s hair out of her face (haha, he’s not even pushing it away, he just wants to touch her). You know what would kill me? If he reaches towards her and starts to push her hair away and catches himself. And then gets annoyed with her and with himself.

15 days - I really, really, really want there to be a moment where Beth and Rio team up against a common enemy. And we know that’s going to happen in some way from what Manny has said about them being forced to worked together this season. What I mean is, I want there to be a scene where they come together (and it’s not quite forced) and turn on someone and then that person realises they’ve fucked it.

16 days - I kind of wonder what would happen if one of the kids started to clock on to the shady stuff their parents are involved with. Sara had that last year and Sadie kind of had it when she called Annie out for always lying. I kind of wonder if Sadie will question how Annie gets the money to pay for her hormone blocker medication? I guess I want a scene where Sadie realises that something’s not right.

17 days - A scene between Rio and Dean. Oooooffft. Imagine how loaded it would be. Rio resisted spilling the beans in front of Dean at the end of 2x04 because Beth asked him not to. There’s nothing much stopping him now, aside from the fact that he potentially regards Dean as inconsequential and he may want to keep certain aspects of his relationship with Beth to himself. Hmmmm…i’m not really sure. Regardless, I want a scene!

18 days - Oh god. A significant moment where Beth sees the scars on Rio’s chest, from the gunshot wounds she inflicted. I don’t know if this will happen but I can picture it as either:

1. A taunt from Rio to Beth. Him wanting to see the guilt on her face, to drag up the trauma she’s been trying to suppress, to show her that there’s no way she can run away from what she did because he himself is a constant reminder and that he carries the scars that represent what she is capable of, something she spent a huge chunk of their relationship denying.

2. A fragile moment of tenderness, guilt and longing. Omg. Give me Beth kissing Rio’s scars.

19 days - Beth and Rio eating together. Not Rio eating and Beth refusing to eat or them drinking together, although I need more of both of those things too. Both of them eating at the same time in one another’s company. Even if they are angrily eating together haha. I’ll take it.

20 days - (again, inspired by the shooting in the hotel, specifically in the bathroom) Repeat bathroom sex. That’s it. This show loves it’s parallels so give it to me!!!!

21 days - Beth and Rio pushing each other out of harm’s way. Oh my god. There isn’t much I wouldn’t do to make that happen. Imagine they’re being shot at and they start scrambling to push the other person behind some cover.

22 days – (totally inspired by the new info about shooting for 3x09 taking place at the Millenium Biltmore hotel) Beth and Rio somewhere fancy or semi-fancy. Even if it’s just work related, which it definitely would be lol. And then it’ll probably all go to shit.

23 days - I am sooooo excited for the show to dip its toes into “the adult world”. I feel like that sounds patronising but I absolutely don’t mean for it to sound that way. The show deals with a lot of adult concepts, such as misogyny, disillusionment, boredom with the life you’re living etc. And it’s amazing in that it does so in such a dynamic, fun way that doesn’t detract from how serious the issues are but just highlights that a lot of us have these problems but just kind of continue to bumble along living our lives.

What I mean by “the adult world” is related to the strip club that has been theorised to be Stan’s place of employment in season 3. I didn’t really think we would see something like this in GG and it makes me happy that doors seem to be opening into parts of the world we haven’t seen before in the show. I dunno, I just really want to see how it’s included in the wider storyline. Like, will the girls wash cash through it? Haha, I kind of just want to see all 3 of the girls in the strip club and how they act in there.

24 days - Will we ever find out what happened to Beth and Annie’s parents? I really want to know! Are they alive, dead, divorced, together?

25 days - Beth playing piano. I seriously doubt it will ever happen other than in fanfic but I want to see it. And Beth singing. So basically, Beth playing piano and singing.

26 days - A really heartfelt scene where Beth looks at Marcus and thinks of Rio. Maybe sees some of Rio’s traits in him and she just looks and OMG THE PAIN.

Seriously though, who thinks:

(1) Marcus is going to recognise Beth and she will explain to Rhea that she met Rio and Marcus in the park.

(2) The writers ignore the fact that Marcus should recognise Beth and Rhea thinks that this is literally Beth’s first time meeting Marcus.

27 days - Ruby and Annie realising who Rhea is and what Beth is doing. Even though it looks like a great storyline and I’m excited to see it unfold, it’s super unhealthy and deceitful behaviour. I wonder if Rhea will ever find out who Beth really is?

28 days - You know what? Screw it! I want to wake up to the trailer. Bye.

29 days - Ruby and Annie becoming aware of the nature of Beth and Rio’s relationship. Pretty sure I’ve done a wish like this before (wanting Annie and Ruby to call Beth out for feeling relieved that Rio is alive). But I’d really like to see them realise that Beth and Rio’s relationship was far more complex than just sex and eye fucking.

30 days - Beth feeling sad about Rio. Sitting on the couch thinking about him. Lying in bed thinking about him. Going to the park and thinking about him. Standing in front of the fridge and thinking about him. Looking at the picnic bench and thinking about him.

31 days - Rio’s boys knowing what’s up between him and Beth. I loooove it whenever people realise or know what’s going on between the two of them and are either confused, horrified or amused by it.

32 days - Can we meet another crime boss or kingpin? I wonder if that would make the season too crowded since there already seem to be quite a few new characters and a lot going on because of the fallout from season 2. I just really want to meet someone else who is actually dangerous to the girls. I think Rio can be dangerous to the girls, especially now, but he and Beth have a lot of history and that affects how he interacts with her.

33 days - More Gretchen! She was under utilised in season 2. I’m not sure why but maybe they filmed scenes and decided to cut them out after. With everything going on with Rio and Jimmy, it only makes sense that she’ll be in the picture.

34 days - Flashback to Rio teaching Beth how to use a gun. “Just like we practiced.”

35 days - Sadie with Dakota. Annie with Dakota. Nancy with Dakota. Beth with Dakota. Greg with Dakota. I want a baby on the show other than Mary Pat’s!!

36 days - I really, really want a moment where Beth and Rio are standing or sitting next to each other. We had it in 2x03 in the park but they were sitting on different benches haha. We also had it when they were sitting in eachothers’ cars. And again in 2x08 with the picnic bench scene (I could ugly cry just thinking about it). They are so often depicted standing opposite one another (even in 2x04 and 2x09), positioned as though they are semi-antagonists sometimes and as equals at others.

I just want something where either:

1. They are standing next to one another against a common enemy. Like, on the same side. I can picture them joining forces, even if it’s just temporarily, against a common enemy. Maybe even permanently if it’s at the end of the season? (Or season 4?)

Or

2. They are sitting next to one another watching something in front of them. Maybe they’re sitting talking about business and then it shifts into something quiet and content, like watching Jane and Marcus play in the park. And then just turning to look at each other with something on their faces.

37 days - At some point in the season, Rio pushing Beth’s hair off of her face (bahaha, he’s never actually pushing her hair off her face, he just wants to touch her). Maybe it’ll be towards the end of the season when their has been some kind of resolution or tentative healing between them. Or maybe it’ll be because he can’t quite help himself. Or maybe he’ll be in the middle of doing it before he even realises.

38 days - Backstory for how Rhea and Rio met and got together. How much she knows about his life and why they split up. Maybe some info about his family and his real name (I do actually like Christopher now).

39 days - Annie, Ruby and Rio scenes. We were robbed I tell you!!!! I would have killed to see more of them in 2x10 and I’m holding out hope for season 3. It’ll be so interesting, as neither Annie or Ruby shot Rio. And I think they’re going to be really curious as to why Beth and Rio are still undoubtedly going to be orbiting around one another. I just need some scenes where Annie and Ruby are scared but then it shifts into them hesitating to ask him questions and then just borderline interrogating him.

40 days - A major Beth and Dean confrontation. Like, something that absolutely drags all of his wrongdoings out and lays them on the table. If he tries to make excuses, I want her to call him out and absolutely wreck him. If he tries to flip it around and blame her, I hope she completely obliterates him. Fuck that guy.

41 days - Sadie and Sara in scenes together. And like basically parenting the other kids. These two have such strong presences on screen, I need them in a scene together. You know they would kill it. Also, Beth and Ruby are besties and Annie is Beth’s sister but we never really see their kids interact with one another.

42 days - Beth in a dress at least 4 times OR those t-shirts that she wears when she’s in the house chilling (I specifically remember the grey one in 2x07 and the pink one in 2x10). And Rio seeing her all of those times. More up and down looks regardless of what she’s wearing. Can you imagine though? Given the weight of their history, it almost being a habit, can’t quite help himself, doesn’t actually care because he likes looking and it sets her off kilter.

43 days - Dean moving out at some point and a divorce. I mean, all that stuff costs money but please don’t drag it out. At the very least, I need this to happen before the end of season 3. Like, if this doesn’t happen, the chat that Beth and Dean had with the kids in season 2 would have meant nothing.

44 days - An indication at some point that Beth is relieved that Rio’s alive, rather than just scared. Like maybe she says it to him towards the end of the season or Annie or Ruby call her out for looking at him a certain way or for her conflicted feelings, given that he’s probably going to be spending this season terrorising them.

45 days - More Nancy and Annie scenes. Maybe with Annie helping out with Dakota or giving advice. And then Nancy helping Annie navigate stuff with Sadie.

46 days- Beth doing something to protect or help Rio, maybe even save his life. Not because she wants anything in return but because she doesn’t want to see him hurt or in trouble anymore. I low-key think that towards the end of the season she might do something to help him and, as a result, it’s pretty clear that what’s going on between them is more than how fucked up their relationship is inevitably going to be throughout most of the season. Haha, I’m probs wrong though.

47 days- Beth and Rio have angry sex. On a table. Or anywhere really.

48 days - Can Dean just get what’s coming? I’m sorry but it wasn’t enough that he was shot, especially with all the shit he did in season 2. And please bring up the cancer lie. I just need retribution. Anything. PLEASE.

49 days - Actual mental health consequences for Beth after being kidnapped and shooting Rio. There’s no way anyone could walk away from that unscathed, especially since she cared about him. The show’s touched on issues like binge eating and post-partum depression and I’m curious to see if and how they can incorporate anxiety disorders, like PTSD. I need at least one scene where Beth experiences a physiological fight or flight reaction or wakes up from a nightmare or has a flashback or hypervigilance. Just something to acknowledge that it’s normal to walk away from trauma and not be okay afterwards.

50 days - No more paying people off unless it actually makes sense or will work.

51 days – (POTENTIAL SPOILER) An extremely satisfying scene where Boomer dies. From the spoilers, it looks like Rio’s gonna be shooting someone in front of the girls. Please God, let it be Boomer. It would be amazing if he shot Boomer and Annie just had a total non-reaction or wasn’t frightened.

52 days - Please god, Rio interacting with Beth’s kids again and Beth interacting with Marcus. I especially need to see him interacting with Jane since it looks like Marcus is her bestie.

53 days - More scenes with Beth and Turner. For me at least, their scenes were some of my favourites in season 2. The way that Turner’s always chasing after Beth, trying to pin her for something and how she’s always getting away and sassing him. And, oh my god, I really want their reunion in season 3 to be good.

54 days - More context for Rio’s actions. Now that Rio is presumably going to be working with Turner, I feel like we need more scenes of Rio, out with Beth and the girls, for plot progression. It’s fun theorising on Tumblr and reading explanations in fic but I need the show to help him make sense. The show is about the girls and should always be but I need some things to make more sense.

55 days - With Beth becoming her own boss, I really want some doors to open into the dark underbelly of Detroit. I want to meet new characters who are criminals and who the girls have to be really weary of when they’re navigating their new business.

56 days - I really wanna see Annie, Ruby and Beth interact more with each other’s kids but, more than that, I want to see Stan with Sadie and with Beth’s kids because talk about wholesome.

57 days - The return of Beth’s pearls. I don’t even care what the context is at this point but I would die if we had either:

1. Rio using the pearls as a way of fucking with Beth when she thinks he’s still dead / using them to announce that he’s not dead

2. A Rio POV scene where we see him take out the pearls from wherever he keeps them and like touch or hold them and then the show cuts to a scene with Beth (this will never happen in a million years but I can dream)

58 days - A scene where Turner tells Rio about Beth’s lie in 1x05. I kind of picture a scene where Turner is being snarky about it but also failing to hide his curiosity as to whether or not anything ever happened between them. The other scenario I picture this happening in is Turner slowly realising over a few episodes that Rio and Beth had more than just a “work” relationship and he tells the story just to see Rio’s reaction.

[novarasalas]

Second Look Review: The Feud

*This post is very graphics heavy. Use caution. Sorry*

Nnnnggggg…..

…..I hate game shows.

And you know what I hate more than game shows?

1970s game shows.

…..yay, this episode.

But I’m gonna power through it, because there’s a lot of throw backs and references here that you may not have noticed the first time around. There’s also some good plot happenings, too.

But really….

Pictured: my two moods watching this episode.

So the first reference people got almost immediately is in the Garfle Warfle Snick logo.

It’s a classic 70s design. While the asterisks and colors of the GWS logo aren't present in the original Dating game logo, they do feature in the set.

That’s Farah Fawcett, by the way.

The first game is called Pictation. It’s obviously a play on Pictionary, which had it’s own game show in 1997. The original drawing game show, however, was “Win, Lose or Draw”.

This is an episode from 1987, featuring Burt Reynolds, Annie Potts, Dom Deluise, and…

Betty White!

And now Keith is lucky enough to play.

The hair tie is to keep his emo bangs out of his face while the pacifier is to bite down on in frustration.

I know this from experience, as I was in art school starting in 2005, which was a prime year for emo kids, and they made us play Pictionary one afternoon.

Everyone’s pretty much already said it, but yes, I can confirm, Keith is a good artist.

None of us were that day, though.

Several instructors pulled all of their students into one room and broke the news that we’d be playing a game. As socially awkward and socially anxious weirdos, the news also broke us. Half the students didn’t even participate, the other half were doing what Lance is doing here: yelling random stuff that doesn’t even come close to making sense.

And we were terrible at this game. All of us.

After the 3rd round, a cry came from the back of the room:

“hOW Are wE SO BAD aT ThiS???!!!”

I wish I knew, random art kid.

What I do know is that Keith is doing far better than I did. I mean, he didn’t start crying, not even a little bit.

In the end, Team Voltron loses, giving Team Galra a chance to steal. That’s a game mechanic from The Family Feud, and it’s the only one, even though the episode is titled “The Feud”.

It’s more in the overall design of the set, really.

….

I’ve never liked “The Family Feud”. I claim legacy on that: back in the day before remote controls were standard, my sickly grandpa would drag himself out of his chair to turn the t.v. off because he hated Richard Dawkins so much.

Richard Dawkins was the original host of the show, and he was one in a line of 70s game hosts that always made me feel like I was about to be sexually assaulted.

...can’t imagine why I’d ever feel that way.

To be fair, he’s not kissing those women without consent. They asked them before the taping if they were ok with it. But still….ick. And Richard Dawkins wasn’t even close to being the worst in terms of smarmy game show hosts.

Back to the episode at hand though.

(This is a great loop, btw. I suck at gif making myself, so thanks op.)

Everything about Team Galra is delightful. I just wish there was more of it.

With a steal and a win, Zarkon chooses Lance to play.

Zarkon is so thrilled to call Lance dumb. It’s hilarious. Also, Lance fans, please enjoy this endless loop of that moment.

I kid, I kid. I like Lance. We’ll talk more later.

I don’t know what Faces from the Past is referencing, but that isolation shield seems awful lot like The Cone of Silence from “Get Smart”.

What is The Cone of Silence? It’s a class A security procedure, used to transfer top secret intel between two agents.

Demonstrated here:

The next game is more familiar.

It’s the Garflator, or otherwise known as...Password!

...wait….is that…?

Yes! It’s Betty White again. Also seen here in an episode from 1963.

Doing this research, I found out that Betty’s done a lot of game shows in her time. That’s news to me, because I still don’t like game shows.

After the dumb one is the smart one.

And everyone knows it.

Pidge plays miniature golf here.I don’t think it’s in reference to anything else, though maybe you could see a game from The Price is Right if you squint.

And then Pidge gets things done about, by calculating a shot that takes out the camera and the crazy, demi god like creature known as Bob, tackling him to the ground.

The ambition, drive and self assurance that Pidge has is amazing and no one talks about it nearly enough. I want to be her when I grow up.

So now it’s down to a vote: who ever gets voted for the most gets to leave while the rest stay for eternity. It’s kind of like a reverse “Survivor” situation, really.

And now everything gets very heartwarming as they vote for each other, but one stood out to me: Lance, voting for Keith.

Lance: He’s our leader, plus he’s half Galra, so I think he’s, like, the future.

That….was so sweet. I mean it. That face, those words. I didn’t expect Lance to say that. He’s come so far since those first episodes where he was just an unmitigated asshat to Keith. It’s growth. It’s good.

Keith, what say you?

Keith: I just don’t wanna be stuck here for eternity with Lance.

Oh no! Keith...hahah...Lance gives you something so heartfelt and that’s what you go with? Aw man…

Really, though, his ire’s not directed at Lance, not really. It’s more like he’s just done with everything that’s happening, he’s frustrated, and Lance is the only one he’d take anything like this out on.

But buck up, kiddos, your love and friendship won the day!

And lastly, one more reference, this time directly from The Price is Right:

At the end of each show, host Bob Barker would turn to the camera and say “Help control the pet population: have your pet spayed or neutered.”

Bob Barker has fought for animals rights for decades, and while I don’t necessarily agree with everything he’s done, good things have come from his work. I’d link some info on it here, but...I can’t. Channel you’re inner essay writer and go find those sources.

So, that episode was a trip. In all, it more reminded me of “Let’s Make a Deal”, where costumed contestants would be chosen from the audience to play games for cash and prizes.

Bob himself is most like Bob Eubanks, as played by Q from Star Trek. I believe the showrunners even mentioned Q while talking about Bob in this episode

That’s Bob Eubanks up there. He was the host of “The Newlywed Game” and “Hollywood Squares”.

Q, on the other hand, is:

“He is an extra-dimensional being of unknown origin who possesses immeasurable power over normal human notions of time, space, the laws of physics, and reality itself, being capable of violating or altering them in unpredictable ways with a casual thought or hand gesture. Despite his vast knowledge and experience spanning untold eons (and much to the exasperation of the object(s) of his obsession), he is not above practical jokes for his own personal amusement, for a Machiavellian and manipulative purpose, or to prove a point. He is said to be nigh-omnipotent, and he is continually evasive regarding his true motivations.”

This is him:

So...I still don’t like 70s game shows. But, I gotta say, not everything is terrible about them.

Gene Gene the Dancing Machine is fun. This is from “The Gong Show”.

Fun, if your definition includes “pure chaos”. 

The uh….energetic...host there is Chuck Barris. He’s the creator of “The Dating Game”, “The Newlywed Game” and “The Gong Show”. His shows seem to have pioneered the whole look and feel of most of these 70s game shows, and thus is my sworn enemy.

…

Don’t even think of talking to me about “The Match Game”.

In summary:

I actually had fun with this episode, as much as I don’t like the aesthetic.

And apparently Josh Keaton said that this episode foreshadows something and I DON’T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS AND I’M SCARED SO VERY SCARED.

Next up: Wow! What a call back! -and- Kolivan’s been having a bad time.

[marveloverthinker]

Shadowrun San Antonio: The Burrito Run

Angels wept as Ryan walked the soaked streets of San Antonio.

His eyes flicked to them as he strode, the odd statues that had been built during the Aztlan war, part protest, part memorial, part fortification. The older folks swore that, in times of need, the Angels would strike to defend their turf, or some rot like that. But for now, rain gathered in their wings and flowed down their faces, like tears from a forgotten time. The scene was only slightly ruined by street vendors who shouted, for all to hear, about how their tamales were better than anything you could get on the other side of town.

Ryan took a seat at one such cart, balancing precariously on the rickety stool as a Tejana Ork woman, her deaths mask exquisitely painted, swayed over to him to take his order. “The regular, gringo?”

He grinned. “Double, if you'd be so kind, Marta. I won't be alone for long.”

The eyes narrowed, crinkling the paint around her eyes. “You know I don't like you doing business here. This is a clean establishment.”

“So Pablo over there assures me,” Ryan said with a touch of sarcasm, giving a nod to a cat that sprawled just within the shelter of the cart's canopy, gorging itself on a freshly caught rat.

Marta tsked through her tusks, a sound Ryan found fascinating. “From the Sewers, of course. Pablo does well with vermin. Like you.”

“Peace, Senora. No haggling or rough talk, I promise. Just a little food before heading elsewhere.”

Marta considered this, then the E-pesos Ryan offered her, which she finally took. “Fine, but if your bendejo friend makes a move on my Maria like the last guy…”

Guys were always making moves on Maria. Her bright eyes and sweet laugh caught attention, her grace held it, and her goblinoid heritage had taken the latina tradition of curves to a whole new level of enticing. Ryan chuckled. “She can handle herself, Marta…”

“That will be Senora Diaz to you, and any bendejo you bring by here, so long as you are on the job. It's passed time you gave up running shadows, anyway. We mourn enough dead boys as it is.”

Ryan simply sighed and waited as Marta started rolling the burritos, smiling a bit as she stuffed a little extra into his. Brusque though she could be, she had always complained that he was too skinny, elf or no.

There was a scraping noise as the stool next to him was pulled up, and he glanced over with a bit of a grin as a Stetson was placed on the Countertop, still dripping rain. “Nash,” he said in greeting.

“Ryan,” came the reply, heavy with classic Texan drawl. “Sorry I'm late. Took forever to find a dry place to tie up Annie.”

“It happens,” Ryan answered. “I already ordered. Hope you like burritos. And if you don't, keep it to yourself, because Marta's in a special mood.”

“Mierda.” Marta swore as she approached. “You never said who was coming.”

“Miss me, Marta?” Nash drawled, knuckling his forehead. “It's been awhile.”

“I should kick you both out now,” Marta said as she put the plates in front of them. “Two elves at a Ork cart. People will talk, and it will make trouble. You two can just disappear, but Maria's a good girl, deep down, and…”

“And yet, people talk anyway. Easy, mama. Nash. Ryan.” Ryan turned on his stool to see Maria swaying towards them, her usual skirts traded for faux-leather jeans and and a subtly armored jacket. “Don't eat too much, now. You know it makes you sleepy.”

“Pura Mierda,” Marta retorted. “They're both of them too skinny. How they do what they do without any more meat is…”

“A trade secret, ma'am,” Nash said, putting his stetson on as he stood. “We'd better roll, don't you think?”

Ryan sighed, swallowed down a few bites of the burrito (they really were among the best in town, and that was saying something) and then stood with a resigned nod. The three turned as one and walked back into the rain, ignoring Marta's muttering as it faded into the noise of the droplets all around them.

They made quite a scene, the three of them. Maria, graceful as a flamenco dancer with just enough deadly to keep people from staring too long. Nash, his boots, belt buckle, duster and stetson making him look like something of the Tri-D, and Ryan himself, looking just like he had when he got off the train from Seattle, complete with piercings, tattoos, and hair that stayed spiked despite the best efforts of the rain.

As odd a group as any Ryan had ever run with, but after three years of successful(ish) running, practically family, including the overbearing, mildly abusive aunt.

“So what is it tonight?” Maria asked as they turned a corner. “Hovercar, refitted aerial drone, or are you finally gonna let me take Annie for a ride?”

“Never,” Nash said, simply, and then blinked as his eyes went out of focus. Ryan hated that. Most riggers closed their eyes, but this… even though it mattered not at all to how Nash worked, it sure looked creepy. “Annie's mine. Today we go old school.” Even as he spoke, a rickety old van pulled up alongside them, tires splashing water from the street in every direction. Ryan climbed right in, but Maria sighed.

“Just once,” she complained as she followed, “I'd like to go to a job with some style…”

——

The red and blue lights sparkled in the rain droplets that clung stubbornly to the van's rearview window. Maria snapped the gum in her mouth as she rolled down her window, flashing a smile at the Troll who shined a light into the van's interior. “What seems to be the problem, officer?”

The Troll frowned, and opened its mouth hesitantly. “Vehicle not… not authorized. Old plates. No… wireless? Identification.” The words were slow and plodded, even for a Troll. Not an English speaker then… a recent recruit, from the capitol by his accent. Maria grinned at him. “What? Oh, sweetie, I been driving this heap for years now. I'm sure it can't be a problem.”

“Problem…” the Troll retorted, likely in way of disagreement. He pulled up a retinal scanner. “Will need SIN, and…”

Suddenly the lights on the patrol car went dark, and the sudden change gave the brief appearance of near perfect blackness inside the van before normal eyes could recover. The Troll barely had a moment to look to his vehicle before he froze at the sensation of a shotgun stuck in his back.

“You're new, huh? Well here's the deal, tusky…”

“Watch your mouth…” Maria called from the passenger seat, but Ryan refused to be distracted. “You can live a good long life in your line of work, or in this town, but never both, you got me? Or should I have the girl inside translate for you?”

The Troll glanced back to the van, where Maria had an SMG aimed up into his nostril. “I'll make sure he does.” She said sweetly, before a stream of Spanish talked the Troll gently through the process of climbing into the back of the Van with his hands behind his back.

Seeing she had the situation under control, Ryan rushed over to the squad car, where Nash was sitting, apparently all blank, in the front seat. “Any response?”

“His personal comms are run through the car. Our Sergeant… Martinez… has just reported some drugged out hippies, and run their data. They'll report back SINless and he'll be ordered to bring them in.”

“How long?”

“Ten minutes. The bottleneck on the info line to the computers at the Capitol makes their response time trash out here. You'd almost think Aztlan wasn't planning on staying.”

“I wish,” Ryan muttered, receiving an answering nod from Nash as he went to collect Maria. Ten minutes bought them time, widened the window a fraction. Popping open the van's rear doors, he awkwardly started changing into an Aztlan military uniform. —-

“Ten seconds and counting.”

Ryan rushed down the hallway, ignoring the shouts coming from behind him, all of them in the clipped Spanish of the Aztlani Capitol. The occupation government sent in more of them every day, it seemed, and yet San Antonio remained beautifully, gloriously, Tejano. Remembering the cultural mongrel that was the Seattle Metroplex, Ryan could only count that a victory, so long as he could keep breathing.

“Five seconds.” his earpiece chirped. Ryan grimaced. He didn't need the countdown, but wasted no breath informing Maria of that. No word from Nash, either, but Ryan didn't let that bother him. The car was either there, or not. Outside, he heard the squeal of tires on wet pavement, and grinned.

The doors burst open as Ryan hurled himself through them, gun already out and firing at the Van that tore away from the building. “Vamanos!” He shouted at the gate guards, who were staring at both him and the van, startled. “Saboteador!” From one of the windows of the van, a startled troll looked at him, then roared, firing with a sidearm. Ryan winced as one shot ricocheted dangerously near to him, then dove to a nearby military car, which picked him up and took of after the van, in hot pursuit.

Nash sat at the wheel, staring blankly ahead as Maria grinned at him from her hiding place in the back. Her lips mouthed the words, “dos… uno…”

And an explosion ripped the checkpoint apart behind them.

The radio burst to life, howling for all units to pursue the saboteur. Ryan took some shots from his open window, causing the Troll to duck his head again.

“Can I look, yet?” Maria asked from the backseat. Ryan growled.

“We've still got our friends all around us. Nash, how long?”

“Now. Hold on, Maria.”

The squib went off, and the car spun out as the other pursuit vehicles carefully wheeled around it, not even bothering to look back as they traded shots with the enraged Troll in the backseat. Ryan took a moment before moving… with the explosion, response to a single blown car would be slow.

Maria finally looked up and laughed at the pillar of fire and smoke that now rose in a bright pillar over southern San Antonio. Already, the Aztlan military was arriving, being informed of the situation by the cars now in high speed pursuit. Suddenly Nash blinked, then glanced over at him. They all got out of the car as one, easing their way down into the floodway that would lead them all the way back to the barrio.

“How'd it go inside?” Nash asked. Ryan just smiled, then held up the heavy cartridge. It would be a payday, after all. —-

The talking head blinked through the rain that fell through her tri-d image as she gave the report, her lips oddly out of sync due to the automated translation.

“Aztlani authorities have blamed the explosion on faulty gas lines running through the city, while local utilities workers have claimed no knowledge of any such faults. Investigations go apace, but given the usual reticence of the Occupation force to give details on such issues, it is possible that…”

Marta brought over three plates of tacos to place on the counter. “I heard two cops say that it was sabotage. Some rogue Troll, based on the reports over the band.”

Maria shrugged, taking one of the tacos and eating it voraciously. Nash shrugged as he shot his tequila back. “I heard that the troll was a captured occupation soldier himself, claims to have been kidnapped by an elf and a ork.”

“I've heard…” Ryan said, mouth full of taco, “that one of the cars in pursuit got taken out in the chase. The car was found, but with no sign of the two elves inside it. They might be insiders, but no one knows. All in car video feeds looped old footage… of the troll.”

“You are all too clever by half…” Marta said through her glower. “Eventually, those imbecil will learn who has been jerking them around, and when they do…”

Ryan sighed, and keyed up a credstick, which he slotted at the counter. The tip indicator gave a little ring, and Marta gasped as quite a lot of e-pesos flooded into her account.

“For the service, senora,” Ryan said as he took his leave. “Hasta la vista.”

[survivormagictreehouse]

Episode #7 “#Zachexposed Party” -Jess

-VI was voted out and now I’m forever sad. I wish you the best VI and hope you feel better soon! Goal #1 can never be accomplished now so that’s a bummer. But at least my alliance member RACHAEL wasn’t voted out! And now we’re doing Touchy Subjects with 95% negative answers. Drama here we come! 

-We won another Challenge! Annie Tribe curse has been officially broken! Touchy Subjects was the name, and me winning was the game. I don’t ducking know. But I scored the highest on my tribe and won a ~mysterious package~ which turned out to be an idol clue. “Find the idol will no longer be a walk on the shore. In order to succeed, two items you will need.” So at least three searches in the idol search I suppose. I might share the clue with JESS and BIRCH and have them help me find the idol. Though I might just tell them part of the clue or something so they don’t have the whole picture. I’m undecided. I’m really hoping the other tribe votes off ALI, COLLIN or RUTHIE, since I think I’m the least likely to work with any of those three. RACHAEL must stay, BODHI I could work with and TIMMY I’m neutral on. CINDI is a bit of a wildcard but I think I could manage to work with her as well. JESS is speculating there’s a merge after the vote and I’m inclined to agree with that. A new idol search and we’ll be at 13 players which is a typical merge. I did not come into this game expecting to win, or even make the merge. But now I think I have a real shot at going far. Imagine me getting to FTC twice in a row in Atomic. How cool would that be? 

Death by Skittle

-(this is for last round i am a bit late) Last round in the video challenge, which I ended up somehow becomming the editor for. First of all, I asked for the video clips to be in by sunday night so that I could do the video and be done with it, but Chips put it off and ended up making us wait till Monday morning which really set us back. Then Keegan submitted videos with almost no sound and little feeling so it was hard to use any of his clips. Then Jess decided to edit the video I made, and when she did that the lyrics didnt match the song anymore and it almost cost us the challenge. We also found out Birch has a +10 advantage, so need to be aware of that.Birch and Chips are my biggest targets on this tribe, and i am still ina  really good spot with Zach and Jess, and close allies with Gavin and Keegan

-This round was touchy subjects. The tribe thought that I was the mvp of the tribe which makes me a possible target with the merge coming up. It was also revealed birch is not in a great place on my tribe and they also said they believe the majority of the tribe thinks I am next to go. I am concerned about my placement with them. Overall this round made me a bit nervous, but excited to hope for a merge in the future.

-There's a Mesopotamia/Svalbard alliance with Bodhi, Rachael, Collin, and me which I love cause I love all those people except Rachael sometimes but she hasn't had to do schoolwork once this game so that's nice. I'm just kidding I love Rachael as long as she doesn't have homework. Cause when she has homework that means she's voting me out. I swear the moment she has to do schoolwork its' done. And then Ali and Bodhi are on weird ground because of how Bodhi got rid of Ali in Lover BUT I REALLY WANT US TO HAVE AN ALLIANCE CALLED THE LOVERS CAUSE 1) Ali is very loyal so, like, I want to work with him 2) THAT NAME IS GREAT AND I DEMAND IT IN MY LIFE Then there's Timmy who has only spoken to me on call or in tribe chat. Nothing beyond that. So, like, bye Timmy. Bodhi also has an issue with Timmy but Rachael swears he's okay. But I don't want to have two Timmys anyway. What even are their last initials? Don't care enough to learn them. BYE TIMMY! Then there's Ruthie who is very sweet and I don't think super strategic? At least not at this point. She just seems like a nice mom. I don't even know if she is a mom. But she would be a nice one to, like, a 3? year old. Idk. Mom vibes. So I'd like to keep her in and I'm assuming that touchy subjects leads to a swap or merge (but this is a very early merge) so, like, hopefully she doesn't have to go after Timmy. It's absolutely insane to me that all of the tribals I've been to have been easy votes? Something spicy needs to happen sometime. Other tribe has had interesting votes. Not us. Couldn't be us.

-So Timmy thinks Collin, Rachael, him, and I are voting Bodhi out and possibly Ruthie as well. Yet he has still not messaged me once. Sir, why would I vote out Bodhi, whom I love dearly, to save your sorry ass when you have not even spoke to me? This dude either has an idol or is just crazy cause, like, that is not how you play Survivor. Do you actually want to stay? Then talk.

-okay! so we have quite a bit to catch up on... but on the bright side. WE WON IMMUNITY FOR ONCE! HALLELUJAH! i got sent to the treehouse which was EXCITING and i found the idol clue... which was literally to the idol i had so that was DISAPPOINTING to say the least. however, i also found the location of the other idol but someone else has it, which is good info to have at least. i posted a lot of my important information in my confessional, so i am just going to repost it here. basically, jess and i had a really good call about how we are not on the bottom, but are not in a good spot come merge. it's clear who is in power over here (zach, keegan, timmy)--because birch is with keegan, so we can't make a move against zach. so, if we lose again chips will leave (who is arguably a number for us because jess has him wrapped around his finger). on the other hand, i kind of have an in with zach and keegan--so i want to be able to milk that for as long as possible to get information on others in the game. but i am really not liking the closeness of timmy and zach especially (kind of keegan, but he has been a bit more lowkey the past few rounds, which is smart on his part). i just have a lot of adjusting to do, and i need to start planting seeds to turn people against each other (especially if we are merging soon). i feel good with rachael obviously, but i don't know how close she is with keegan/zach--but i do think she would turn on them eventually (just not anytime soon). im hoping the apparent alliance of 6 (now 4) and keegan/timmy/zach kind of battle one another and take each other out and i can just play the middle and watch them crumble.

-ARE WE SURPRISED MY CONFESSIONAL IS LATE AGAIN? I AM NOT... BUT I AM SORRY. anyways, this round the challenge was touchy subjects which was LOVELY for me because i am fucking AMAZING at knowing what other people are thinking so i basically knew i had it in the bag from the get-go. When we won, and I got that secret advantage which was an idol clue... that literally made no sense to me. however, i think i need to find two keys in order to get the idol... so, the first step for me is to hunt down these goddamn keys i guess. anyways, back to the tribe stuff... so, following the challenge and the post-winning glee emerged, jess and i went on call and discussed everything we were thinking. we were both very worried about crackhead zach's connections, and basically knew that we were merging, and he would be kind of untouchable as a result. however, if we were to have thrown the challenge, it would have been the perfect opportunity to take him out. however, it was too late to consider that, and we just had to continue our discussion about the game further down the line. so, on the topic of zach, jess mentions the "alliance" made between her, timmy, and zach. we both knew zach and timmy were very close, but this just confirmed it even more. basically, zach brought up the idea of making a 9 person alliance excluding ali, birch, chips, and i believe cindi. which, from that point, they could side with either me/keegan, or side with the other four (i don't know why i am being paired with keegan but go off i guess). i obviously didn't like hearing that, and it made it even more clear to me that he is playing not only a messy game, but an extremely wishy-washy game too. his loyalties seem to be all over the place, and i never see myself being one of his top priorities with collin, timmy, and rachael (and others) in the game. so, when the time is right... i am going to be the one to send his ass to ponderosa. i just hope i can keep my idol in the process for protection further down the line.

https://youtu.be/UolbDzsPoho (round 6)

https://youtu.be/wLA8Pt4bXlQ

https://youtu.be/jn8XxFsmPQU

So it’ll probably be between myself and Bodhi at tribal tonight because I don’t really want him gone. He’s talking to me about a plan but he’s not giving an concrete answers and with that then I can’t help both of us. I already told him ruthie but he didn’t want to and I said that’s fine I only said her bc she seemed the easiest option, tbh I don’t really want her gone either since she’s not a threat. But when asking who he wants after that bc he said we could have our og tribe and ruthie vote together he didn’t give a name. The concern is, Rachel and Cindi are friends and I don’t think will vote each other. The biggest threat is Rachel because of her outside connections with Cindi, Zach, and I think Timmy Z, so concern is there. 

https://youtu.be/cX7Ieh2o3QU

https://youtu.be/HGm7ukcUEcU

Ladies, gentlemen, or whatever you identify as.... welcome to Phase 1 of the.... #Zachexposed party... hosted by me, Jess! I've decided I've been tame for too long and there needs to be a shake up. I haven't decided how quickly I want to do this BUT if I win first immunity I'm going for it. Zach is arguably the most dangerous player in the game right now. He's literally playing the game I typically play and I see right through it. No "large groups", working with small groups only, making people feel like they are his "true number ones" and attempting to align their interests with all the other groups. In his mind right now he sees himself covered by 8 people. 

The 8 people: 1. Jess 2. Timmy Z 3. Gavin 4. Cindi 5. Rachael 6. Collin 7. Collin 8. Either Timmy L or Bodhi How does this all work exactly? 

Let me break it all down for you: He has an alliance with: - Me & Timmy - Keegan & Gavin & (Rachael) - Me & Gavin & Timmy & Keegan - Connections with: --> Collin/Rachael/Cindi on the other tribe. I don't think it is a coincidence that the other tribe wants him on their team... ANYWAYS. 

What is phase 1 exactly? - Planting the seeds, laying down the blue print, and rallying the misfits. How: Rallying the troops: - I told Chips about the old tree house idol clue and the whole next round we are merging message I recieved. --> Obviously that builds a continued line of communication and hopefully trust. He feels pretty alone and I really think he's CRUCIAL to my game. - I also told Birch about my findings because those two (Chips and Birch) would never compare notes on me I don't think? --> Birch also feels a bit alone and they are CRUCIAL to my game. Lastly, I have an "alliance" with everyone else and they will tell Gavin everything before me so I'll be in the know. 

The ammo: - I can use the fact that the other tribe wants ZACH with them as another counter point - Confessionals of proof that Zach/Collin have been close recently which might not even mean anything to people but it counts when you got NOTHING. - The knowledge of him having an alliance with me/Timmy - The knowledge of him having an alliance with Keegan/Gavin - The knowledge of him having an alliance with Keegan/Gavin/Rachael - The knowledge of him being extra close with Rachael so whatever connections she made.. he has a head start on. - I also know he's close with Collin so they could essentially do the whole "control one side and you control the other" 

HOWEVER THE MOST IMPORTANT PIECE OF EVIDENCE/ AMMO IS: - Zach has basically given me the key to the palace today where he told me we could flip on Gavin/Keegan at 9 and "go with the other four" meaning.. Cindi/Bodhi/Collin/Rachael. Meaning.... he exposed who is he close with and people might wonder how they fit into his plans. Can't go to final 2 with 8 other people... 7 people will get cut and that's on mathematics. I'm not entirely sure how to go about this all... this is probably going to either tank my game or change the game. If Zach is as well connected as I think he is... this is going to be hard. I'll need to flip the people not in on that plan such as Ali, Chips, Birch, myself, Gavin, Ruthie... but there is NO WAY Ali just votes with us like that.. he has his allegiances. So I have to be subtle about this or I go gun blazing and be crackedt. I know we are merging tonight and it will be a new game and I'm excited. 

-this tribal is about to be messy af. timmy threw my name out to ali, bodhi and ruthie with the logic that "itd be entertaining" and that im well connected which is fair. but im also well connected so like...ali and bodhi both told me about it which is cute. so if everything goes the way timmy wants it to go, its gonna be ali, bodhi ruthie on me and me, cindi and collin on bodhi leaving timmy as the swing vote. HOWEVER the tribe wants timmy out unan. bodhi and i might throw votes on ruthie just to protect me in case of an idol but yeah. its gonna be a fun one.

-there has been talk of a 2-1-1-1-1-1 split for this vote. i really wanna do it but cindi said no :'(

-also if i find out through this whole mess that Bodhi was playing me, i think i will cry for the rest of my life

hello so confessional time. I've been really deflated and second guessing myself but I'm turning it around. timmy is going home tonight and love him but he is donezo. in other news: - cindi, collin and bodhi...? defo a group. - had a kill bill sirens moment thinking cindi was blindsiding me earlier because of a miscommunication related to the fact that there are two timmys in the cast - am now in an alliance with cindi collin and ruthie co loves of my life - I think I made rachael mad today NNN my bad but im prepared and READY for 13th

So... I guess I am not very well liked on my tribe based on touchy subjects. I kind of got that impression anyway since I have been borderline inactive with the move. Anyway Jess told me that there is a merge coming up according to the tree house or whatever so... I hope I dont fizzle out and get booted right at merge. Not sure who to connect with but!!! I am ready to swing if the other side needs me .

.

.

.

Click HERE to watch the Round 7 Cast Assessment!

[isakthedragon]

Super Sonic Thieves Chapter 3

Chapter 3- The Case of Thieves and ‘Killers’

Intro Cutscene:

Sly: “Another look into the Thievius Raccoonus led us to visit England during the Victorian Era. Our family had an ancestor during that time, Thaddeus WInslow Cooper III, that was known as one of the richest families at the time. Besides being known as a wondrous mechanic, building one of the earliest flying machines, he was also a well-known detective from Scotland Yard as well.  There was something very worrisome about it though; not only is that information missing, but it seems he was arrested for committing attempted murder he was investigating! Looks like we’ll have to put on our thinking caps and grab the magnifying glasses to solve what has happened to my ancestor.”

Sly Cooper and the Gang in…

*An old timey book opens up to an empty page and a raccoon hand comes in with a red-inked quill and writes: ‘ The Case Of Thieves and ‘Killers’ ’. The ink slides down off the letters a bit, looking like blood.*

-----

Hub Layout:

The gang has their hideout just outside of London to the West in an abandoned farm (so they can hide the van since they don’t exist yet) during the winter, so not many people are outside as well, along with a covering of snow everywhere. The police department, and the jail as well, are in the center of the city, just West of the River Thames. Nearby is Big Ben, chiming on the hours. Since this is the 1800s, the city is much smaller, and is more filled with houses. The map ends on the River Thames though, so you can’t go any farther. The north side of London is the home of a huge manor and in the air is one of Eggman’s airships floating about, creating all the badniks.

Enemies

Crows: Black crows that flutter about the roofs in search of thieves, or anyone breaking the law for that matter. They will caw for other guards if provoked. Carries/drops 5-7 coins to pickpocket has 10% chance of treasure.

‘Werewolves’: Wolves that walk around, patrolling the streets with their heightened sense of smell for blood (Wolves in Sly’s world are anthropomorphic already, but they are ‘werewolves’ for being more fluffy and having longer claws, seemingly being transformed by the London moon.) They will counterattack with their claws with a nasty claw swipe that is almost unavoidable. Carries/drops 7-9 coins to pickpocket has 25% chance of treasure.

Horses: Brown-colored stallions that search the streets with their flashlights for anyone where they aren’t. Attacking these guys will make them retaliate with a hoof kick, but it does take them a bit to charge up. Despite what you’d think, it’s best to stay real close in front of their face if there is no alert about as they can’t see in front of their own head for a few feet. Carries/drops 7-12 coins to pickpocket has 50% chance of treasure.

Bobbie Pawns: Egg Pawns acting as the actual police force of London, but will club at anyone with their oversized clubs and will whistle for other enemies if left alone. Don’t attack their head as their have a spike on their cap that is NOT for show and WILL hurt. Drops 6 rings when smashed.

Egg Fighter Knights: Also wearing a police uniform, these guys opt for a sword and shield instead (But forgot their spike caps). Either hit them from the top or from the back to destroy them. Drops 8 rings when smashed.

Egg Gunners: Eggman’s blatant disregard for time has had him send his futuristic (And humanoid looking) badniks to fight Sonic and co. They can float in the air and fire at you with their vulcan cannons. Sonic and the others can handle them, but the Sly characters may need to get creative to smash these things. Drops 10 rings when smashed.

Nebula: Helicopter like badniks that drop spike balls on you if you pass underneath them. Better destroy them before that happens. Drops 4 rings.

Balkiry: Fast bird baniks that jet towards you. Better smash them when you see them. Drops 5 rings.

Turtloid: A small turtle badnik that controls a bigger turtle badnik that fires small missiles at you. Destroy the smaller one to make the bigger one useless. Drops 6 rings.

Treasures:

From Guards:

Bronze Quill: Worth 40 coins and 20 rings.

Silver Quill: Worth 60 coins and 30 rings.

Gold Quill: Worth 80 coins and 40 rings.

From Pedestals:

Pearl Necklace: No bobby trap. Worth 400 coins and 200 rings. Found around Annis Fox's home. 

Gold Crown: Bomb booby trap, with 2:00 timer. Worth 450 coins and 225 rings. Found near the courthouse.

Silver Clock Hands: Bomb bobby trap, with 1:00 timer. Worth 500 coins and 250 rings. Found on Big Ben’s roof.

Golden Magnifying Glass: Fall Damage Sensor booby trap. Worth 600 coins and 300 rings. Found near Thaddeus’s home

The coins here have an old Victorian England Coat of Arms on them.

Secret Sighting of Clockwerk: Acting as a gargoyle statue in a park. Maybe he’s a Weeping Angel? :P

-----Jobs-----

Another London ‘Murder’ Mystery

Find a disguise for Sly

Go talk to Thaddeus

Steal the case info

Head off to the manor and take recon.

Sly: “It feels weird that I am going to a police station voluntary again.”

Carmelita, through the radio: “Giving you bad memories? Preferably in shocks!” *She chuckles.*

Sly: “Huh, so that’s why my tail has a tingling sensation near you.” *He chuckles back.*

Bentley: “GUYS! PAY ATTENTION!!”

Sly: “Buzzkill.”

Carmelita: “Indeed.”

Bentley: “We don’t got time! We need to hurry in and find Thaddeus! His trial is tomorrow, and we need to figure out to save him before then, but first we need to talk to him!”

Sly: “Alright, Bentley, don’t get your shell cracked. We’ll talk to him, although I wonder if they might arrest me for looking like him…”

Espio: “Don’t worry, I’ll distract them, but perhaps you might need a disguise…”

Bentley: “I would guess the evidence locker for clothes might have something you can use. Now come on!”

*Sly and Espio head into the Police Station. The player has them sneak around, avoiding and distracting police officers with various things to get their attention as they make their way to the evidence locker where they store clothes. There are waypoints in the room for things to collect.*

Sly: “Alright.” *He puts them on.* “Heh, should fool them enough. Now to find Thaddeus.”

*The player continues sneaking on, making their way to Thaddeus’ cell. Once there…*

Thaddeus was sitting, looking away from the bars. “Huh? Who goes there? Another annoying bobby making fun of a ‘lost’ detective?”

Sly: “Quite the opposite really. I want to help restore your reputation.”

It peaked Thaddeus’s interest, with his ears twitching and tilting his head a bit. “Oh, really? And who might you be?”

Sly: “Well, it’s a long story, but I am an ancestor of yours. My name is Sly Cooper.”

Thaddeus turns and walks up to the bars to look at Sly. “Hmmm… it appears you are a Cooper alright. But what are you doing here?”

Sly: “Well, it seems obvious you aren’t meant to be in prison. I know you are a great detective, but someone has altered history to put you in here.

Thaddeus: “Is that so? How? And why? You didn’t have something to do with this, did you?”

Sly: No! ...Well, I hope. Anyway, I’m afraid I can’t explain right now. Can’t risk overstaying my welcome here. But what can you tell about what’s going on. How’d you get arrested?

Thaddeus: “Ah, it is the most infuriating thing! I was framed for attempting to murder Lady Fox, a fox of extraordinary wealth.”

Sly: “WHAT?!”

Thaddeus: “Yes! Even though I’ve never been nor had any reason to ever visit her place, the law found my items in her living room where she laid comatose, and her own valuables were missing! Being from a family of master thieves, I was of course accused of the crime despite none of those valuables being in my possession.”

Sly: Blamed for a thieving you didn’t even commit. Unbelievable…

Thaddeus: Oh, I shudder to think of how tarnished my legacy has become with this unfortunate event...

Sly: Hey, don’t worry! Me and my gang are going to do everything we can to clear your name! I’m not going to let one of my favorite ancestors go down like this!

Thaddeus: A thousand thank yous, my dear descendant. I bet if you want to know anymore of the case, they probably have the information handy, since my trial, which is gonna be more of a death sentence than anything, is soon.”

Sly: “We’ll figure out some way-”

Espio interjects quickly. “Someone’s coming! And we can’t hide you!”

Sly: “Don’t worry, I got this.”

Police Officer: “Hey?! Who are you? What are you doing here?”

Sly (In his favorite accent, Italian :P ): “Oh? A-me? I’m-a the defense lawyer sent to defend Thaddeus. It’s-a my first case.”

Police Officer: “Hah! I see they found a sucker to defend Thaddeus! No one wants to touch that! Good luck, buddy, his case is a lock! Better be prepared to lose!” *The thought was apparently funny enough that the officer leaves.*

Espio: “That was close.”

Sly: “Guess I’m gonna defend you then, Thaddeus.”

Thaddeus: “Knowing you’re doing it, I feel relieved. I wish you luck.”

Sly: “Thanks.”

*The player now makes their way back out, taking the case info someone left out along the way.*

*Outside…*

Bentley: “So you had to tangle yourself with the case huh?”

Sly: “Well, someone has to defend Thaddeus! Besides, it might help with whatever plan we come up with later.”

Bentley: “True. Well, I guess you should make your way to the manor then. See what the crime scene suggests.”

*The player heads off to the manor and in disguise, enters it. They make their way to the master bedroom, where the crime occurred.*

Sly: “Hmmm… quite a mess in here…”

*The player takes recon photos of the broken window, hole in the wall, the neat bed, and the trail of loot leading out of the open empty safe.*

Bentley, on the broken window. “It seems to be where the criminal entered, considering the glass on the inside floor.”

Bentley, on the hole in the wall. “That shape seems quite odd. Maybe we need to ask Sonic and his friends on that.”

Bentley, on the neat bed. “Hmmm, for the mess in the room, the bed looks oddly neat. This Ms. Fox must have been put to sleep before she could even react.”

Bentley, on the trail of loot. “Whoever did this seems to have dropped a money trail, literally. I think we should check where it goes.”

Sly: “That seems to be everything interesting we can find here.”

Bentley: “Alright, come back to the hideout so we can read the case info and we’ll go on from there.”

JOB COMPLETE

-----

Bentley: “Alright. Here seems to be their case for the prosecution: Yesterday morning, nearby neighbors awoke to the sound of glass breaking from the manor. Worried for Ms. Fox, they immediately went to get the police. They came quick and found her comatose on the bed and her safe open and completely empty of money and valuables. Finding what was a calling card for Thaddeus, they immediately arrested him and took his cane along with them. Oddly, the cane is missing from the evidence log, so it can be assumed it was lost on the way to the station. They threw him in jail, and now it’s just waiting for the case to finish to kill him.”

Vector: “Seems like they have a really good case against him, especially with the calling card.”

Charmy: ♪ “Heh, maybe we should take it back so they have no case!” ♫

Bentley: “That’s what we were thinking. We need to steal it so they will have a harder time prosecuting him. And it might also free Thaddeus for the time being.”

Charmy: ♪ “Sweet! So who gets to go?” ♫

Bentley: “We’re gonna have Espio and Carmelita go in to find the evidence. It’s too dangerous for anyone else.”

Charmy: ♪ “AW! I wanted a mission!” ♫

Bentley: “Don’t worry, you got a mission with Vector. You guys will follow the money trail to see where it ends.”

Charmy: ♪ “YAY!” ♫

Vector: “We won’t let you down!”

-----

Follow the Green

Follow the trail of money to its end

Vector: “Alright, we’re under the broken window that the trail of cash leads to, but it seems the snow is covering more it.”

Bentley: “Darn, I see the snowfall has been heavy recently. How are we going to find it?”

Charmy: ♪ “OH! Oh! Vector can find it! He can find the trail, no problem!” ♫

Bentley: “Really? How?”

Vector: “Heh, well, I have somewhat of a sense of money. I can smell it from a distance.”

Bentley: “Great! Go on, then! Follow the trail!”

Vector: “Got it.”

*The player has to hold down a certain button to make Vector sniff the ground, which makes green clouds float above the ground, showing the money trail. The player has Vector and Charmy follow it among the streets, alleys, and roofs throughout town, until they reach Big Ben.*

Charmy notices them stop. “What is it?”

Vector: “For some reason, the trail stops here in front of Big Ben. It might continue, but we can’t get up there.”

Bentley: “It’s alright, guys. Come back to the safehouse. We’ll find a way up there.”

JOB COMPLETE

-----

Freeing the Innocent

Enter the evidence locker and steal back the evidence leading to Thaddeus

Save Carmelita from the police officers.

Carmelita, wearing a period accurate police uniform stolen earlier by Sly. “I wonder if they will believe me in this get-up.”

Espio: “Well, I just need you to convince them long enough so I can get through the evidence locker for Thaddeus’ stuff.”

Carmelita: “Hmmm, if they are like present day evidence holding rooms, it should be alphabetized. So look under ‘C’ .”

Espio: “Got it.”

*The player enters and takes control of Espio as Carmelita grabs the attention of the police around. The player makes their way to the evidence locker and enters it.*

Espio: “Oh my!”

Bentley: “What is it?”

Espio: “For being the 1800s, the place sure has modern-day lasers.”

Bentley: “Hmmm… I wonder if Eggman has messed around in here?”

Espio: “Well, it’s not going to stop me. I got this.”

*The player makes their way through the evidence locker, avoiding the lasers and other modern-day traps to reach Thaddeus’ evidence, which Espio grabs.*

Espio: “Alright. Time to get out of here.”

Bentley: “You better hurry. Carmelita seems to be having trouble keeping up out there. She sounds mad.”

Espio: “Got it.”

*The player now has to make their way out, noticing Carmelita is overwhelmed. The player has Espio make some noises and distractions to help Carmelita escape. Once it works, they leave to finish the mission.*

JOB COMPLETE

-----

Bentley: “Alright. I got good news and bad news.”

Sly: “I’m guessing the good news is Thaddeus is now free from jail?”

Bentley: “Yes.”

Sonic: “That seemed too easy.”

Bentley: “Well, that’s the bad news.”

Thaddeus: “Apparently, someone claims they saw me putting Ms. Fox to sleep and stealing her money, and they are testifying in court tomorrow. I’m free to move around the city, but I can’t leave.”

Charmy: ♪ “Darn! All that for nothing!” ♫

Thaddeus: “Well, I’m here now, and I want to help you find the real criminal!”

Sly: “So what are our plans on doing that?”

Bentley: “Well, Silver and I will be entering Big Ben to continue on the trail of the money. I have a feeling it will lead us to who did all this. Also during this time, Murray and Vector will check on Ms. Fox.”

Vector: “I think what has made her comatose is an Egg Flapper badnik. The hole in the wall matches up to one.”

Bentley: “Besides, she could be useful in solving the case. Finally, Thaddeus, Sly, and Sonic are going to take Thaddeus’ plane into the air. I think that airship is producing all the badniks down here and it might make our plan harder if we don’t take it down.”

Sonic: “Sweet! Some air time!”

Sly: “Huh, flying with my ancestor. Never thought I’d see the day.”

-----

Going Cuckoo

Make your way through Big Ben

Steal the cane back from Bark the Polar Bear

Tails: “I can see you guys are at Big Ben. Now how to help you guys get up on the roofs.”

Bentley: “Hmmm… nothing seems obvious…”

Silver: “Can I try something?”

*The player has Silver telekinetically grab Bentley…*

Bentley: “WHOA!”

*... And place him on the roof nearby before telekinetically floating Silver there too.*

Tails: “Well, that worked.”

Bentley: “I flew! But please warn me next time you do that!”

Silver: “Heh, sorry, and alright.”

*The player makes their way across the roofs of Big Ben tower, following the money trail as it takes them into the belfry's. It’s a bit of a dangerous trek, avoiding various swinging parts and for some reason, lasers again and being spun around on gears and destroying junk and walls with Bentley’s bombs. The money trail ends at an ajar door that they enter. Inside they find the vault contents and something more…*

Silver: “Look! The money!”

Bentley: “Shhh… that’s not all.”

*We pan to see Bark the Polar Bear sitting in a lounge chair, talking to Eggman.*

Bark: “Well, it’s a bit unconventional, but I’m going to be testifying to get Thaddeus executed.”

Eggman: “I can only guess that pesky hedgehog is the reason why you have to.”

Bark: “Sorry.”

Eggman:”It’s fine. I’m used to failure. Just make sure your case is solid!”

Bark: “It is, I promise! It can’t be disproven otherwise!”

Eggman: “You better hope so!”

Bark: “Well, if it’s any consolation, I have the info for Thaddeus’ cane and moves and stuff.”

Eggman: “Good. Send it over.”

Silver: “I think I can grab the cane, but we need to distract Bark first.”

Bentley: “I think if I hit the various bells and stuff above him, it should annoy him enough! I’ll use my darts to work them.”

*The player has Bentley shoot darts at various gears and bells, making them work to make a big cacophony that makes Bark cover his ears.*

Bark: “AH!!! The noise! So deafening!”

*The player has Silver take the distraction and telekinetically get the cane over to Silver.*

SIlver grabs them once they are close. “YES! I got them!”

Bentley: “Let’s get out of here before he notices.”

JOB COMPLETE

-----

Grey’s Robo-Anatomy

Defeat the enemies in the hospital

Save Carmelita’s ancestor from the Egg Flapper

Vector: “Alright, Tails. We have made it to the hospital… although it looks quiet.”

Murray: “Too quiet. The hospital looks dark.”

Tails: “That doesn’t sound good. You guys better check it out and find out what’s happening.”

*They enter and find the place swarming with badniks and guards chasing the hospital staff.*

Tails: “Oh my! They seems to be attacking the staff and patients! You guys better stop them before anyone gets hurt!”

*The player goes on a protection mission, finding hospital staff and protecting them from the badniks and guards.*

*Once everyone is saved:*

Vector “Alrighty, we saved everyone.”

Murray: “But still no sign of Ms Fox.”

Tails: “Hmmm… I’m seeing a strange mechanical reading from one of the rooms that’s covering up someone’s signature. I’ll put a waypoint. See what’s in there.”

*The player goes to find the waypoint and enters the room to find…*

Murray: “ *GASP* Sly’s not going to believe this, but it appears Ms. Fox is actually Carmelita’s ancestor!”

Vector points out the badnik next to her. “Looks like she’s being held asleep by that Egg Flapper!”

*The robot wises up and flies out of the room.*

Vector: “After that badnik!”

*The player know has to chase after the Egg Flapper, throwing things at it to make it crash onto the ground so it can be attacked. Once destroyed, the player returns to Ms. Fox’s room to find her slowly awaking.*

Ms. Fox: “Oooh… what happened… feels like I’m drunk…”

Vector: “Hello, Ms. Fox. You were in a comatose state, but we found a way to wake you again.”

Annis Fox: “Mmm… please, call me Annis. And thanks. But why was I in one, and why am I in a hospital.”

Murray: “We can explain, but it might be safer to do it someplace else.”

Vector: “Is that alright, Ms?”

Annis: “Mmm, anything better than this hospital seems good at the moment.”

JOB COMPLETE

-----

Robots in the Sky with Coopers

Survive the flying badniks

Take down the airship

Thaddeus: “Ah, home sweet home. I was worried I wouldn’t make it back.”

Sonic: “Why have you taken us here again?”

Thaddeus: “I’m your way of getting into the sky!” *The doors to the shed open, revealing a plane belonging to Thaddeus.*

Sly: “Wow! I saw it in the Cooper Vault, but seeing it here makes it look that much more awesome!”

Thaddeus: “It should work, but this will be my first time flying it, so I’d like apologize if things go south.”

Sonic: “Heh, it wouldn’t be my first crash landing.”

Sly: “Mine neither.”

Thaddeus: “Good. Your friend Bentley seemed adamant on taking out those robots flying up there. I guess you guys can balance on the wings to attack them. I’ll do my best to keep steady.”

*The trio get on the plane and Thaddeus takes off. The camera goes to 2D as a level like Sky Chase Zone starts.*

*The player is zoomed on forward, attacking badniks as they pass by. Sly is useful for close combat while Sonic can hit the more distant (floaty) badniks more safely.*

*Once that is all done, the airship closes in on them and cannon shells whiz by.*

Sly: “WHOA! What was that?”

Sonic: “Cannon shells. Eggman always outfits his airships with cannons. We better get off and destroy that airship as we are still close.”

Thaddeus: “I’ll distract them, but please hurry and destroy them first! I can’t save you guys otherwise!”

*Sly and Sonic jump off. The player now has them destroy the cannons on top of the ship then go into the interior and destroy the computers and other guidance systems to force the airship to crash. The player must then get out and get onto Thaddeus’ plane.*

*Getting on will let a cutscene play of the airship crashing into the River Thames.*

Sonic: “You keep building them and we keep knocking them down, Eggman!”

Sly: “Guess I can check that off on things our gang has destroyed. Let’s go return to Bentley with the news.”

JOB COMPLETE

-----

Bentley: “Alright, Thaddeus’ trial is today and we need to get him found innocent. I got… no plan.” *He sounded sad.*

Sly: “Well, I am acting as Thaddeus’ defense attorney. (In his Italian accent.) “I shall-a find-a my client not-a guilty!”

Bentley can be heard slapping his face. “We’re doomed.”

Sly: “The only thing I need to do is just convince the judge Thaddeus didn’t do it by countering Bark’s testimony. Is there evidence I can use?”

Charmy: ♪ “Well, we do have the money trail leading out of the manor and to Bark and the valuables!” ♫

Sly: “That’s a good start, but I worry they might think I planted it then.”

Vector: “Well then, how about Ms. Fox’s testimony.”

Sly: “Sure, that would- wait, what?!” *He notices Annis.* “Carmelita?!”

Annis: “No, I’m Annis. I was told already and she knows about me being her ancestor around this time.”

Sly: “I… I see.”

Carmelita: “Don’t get any ideas, Cooper!”

Sly: “I’m not! I’m still surprised to see an ancestor of yours.”

Bentley: “I’ve made some calculations. Using her will most certainly free Thaddeus and implicate Bark! But we have to make sure she can survive a trip to the courthouse.”

Carmelita: “Blaze and I will do it. We’ll get her there safe. Just don’t mess it up Sly.”

Sly: “Heh, knowing I’m at the end of that barrel will keep me from messing up.”

-----

Operation Turnabout

Get Sly and Thaddeus to the courtroom

Protect Annis Fox

Stall the Courtroom

Defeat Bark

*The player controls Sly and Thaddeus, helping them make their way to the courthouse. But thanks to a heavy guard presence along the ground since the airship crashed, the duo have to stay among the rooftops to avoid being shot at.*

Sly: “We need to make it to the courthouse in one piece.”

Thaddeus: “Being eviscerated is for court.”

*Once they get there, the camera returns to the safehouse, everyone leaving ahead save for Carmelita, Annis, and Blaze*

Bentley: “We’ll scout ahead to make a path, but you guys will have to deal with any stragglers.”

Carmelita: “I’ll make sure they don’t lay a hand on my ancestor at all.”

Blaze: “I’ll make sure of that.”

*The player now has to escort Annis to the courtroom, taking down any guards and badniks along the way. Annis is not much of a fighter, but can dodge somewhat. Just make sure to not let any enemy get close to her and you’ll be fine. Once at the courthouse, they immediately enter...*

*The Judge snaps his gavel to quiet the gallery.*

Judge (He’s an owl): “Order, people! The attempted murder trial of Ms. Annis Fox is to begin now. Is the defense ready?”

Sly: “As-a ready as we can-a be, ‘Udgy!”

Judge: “And the prosecution, Mr ‘Wolf?”

Prosecutor Edge-Were-Wolf: “Despite some setbacks, yes.”

Judge: “Setbacks?”

Prosecution: “Someone… stole some evidence…”

Judge: “But that means there’s no case from what I read.”

Sly: “Then-a my client should-a go free!”

Prosecution: “HOLD IT! We may not have evidence, but we have the next best thing! Testimony from someone who witnessed the crime and certainly put Thaddeus as the killer!”

*The gallery murmurs.*

Judge: “Then bring him out! We got executions and cases to get to!”

Prosecution: “The prosecution calls Bark the Polar Bear to the stand.”

Sly whispers to Thaddeus: “Alright, you ready?”

Thaddeus: “I am used to this, but are you?”

Sly: “Yeah, if it means I save you.”

--

*Bark takes the stand*

Judge: “Please state your name and occupation for the court. Not that it matters.”

Bark (Having a British accent): “My name’s Bark and I’m Annis’ butler. I know what I saw when I walked in! Thaddeus was there!”

-WItness Testimony-

Bark: “I had finished my work for the day and left, but I forgot something and went back in. There, I saw Annis’ bedroom in ruin and Lady Fox on the bed motionless. And I saw Thaddeus, that very raccoon, pilfering her most treasured items with an evil grin!”

--

Judge: “Well, that seems to wrap this case up quite nicely! Be the quickest conviction ever! I find Thaddeus-”

Sly interrupted: “OB-JECTION, ‘Udgy, but did-a you forget I’m here to counter?!”

Judge: “Why should you?! Seems pretty open and shut, honestly.”

Sly: “I can find some-a holes, trust-a me.”

Judge: “Fine, but don’t waste our time.”

-Counter Argument (The player decides if Sly presses, objects, moves on, or moves back a statement with dialogue trees from Sly 3. Wrong objections empty the penalty bar, doing it twice gets a guilty verdict and must start over from the beginning.)-

Bark: “I had finished my work for the day and left, but I forgot something and went back in.”

Sly- Do I press him for more info, object to the statement with evidence, or move on to a new statement?

-*If Press is chosen: (CORRECT OPTION)*

Sly: “HOLD IT! What is it you forgot-a to do that required returning back to the manor bedroom?”

Prosecutor: “OBJECTION! Does it really matter?”

Sly: “I-a think so! It might be-a important!”

Judge: “I’ll allow it. Witness?”

Bark laughs nervously: “I… uh… forgot to lock the safe.”

Prosecutor: “WHAT?! You didn’t tell me that?!”

Bark: “It didn’t seem relevant… you’d have to be a part of her staff to even know if the safe was locked.”

Sly: “See! I-a told you it was important!”

Prosecutor: “Ob… Objection! As he said, it’s not relevant totally”

Sly: “Is it? The crime occurred-a when the safe was-a unlocked! Smells of an inside job if you ask-a me!””

Judge: “I have to side with the Defense. Witness, amend your testimony.”

Bark: “I had stupidly forgotten to lock the safe.”

Sly: “Do I press him for more info, object to the statement with evidence, move on, or go back a statement?

*If Sly presses*

Sly: “Hold it! Why did you forget to lock the safe?”

Bark: “I was… busy… Annis had pushed me around a lot that day. It slipped my mind.”

Prosecutor: “I don’t see a problem here, honestly.”

Sly: *Is there?*

YES (Incorrect)-

Sly: “I… I think?”

Judge: “Allow me to decide: No!”

Sly: “D’oh!”

NO (Correct)-

Sly: *Mmm, he is right… if I was busy, I could forget something important.* “Fine, move on.”

Bark: “There, I saw Annis’ bedroom in ruin and Lady Fox on the bed motionless”

*If pressed*

Sly: “Hold it! How did you know the bedroom was in ruin?!”

Bark: “Well, the safe was ajar and the bed was a mess, like with a struggle!”

Prosecutor: “Is there a point?”

YES (Correct)

Sly: “Yes! I took a photo of the scene and found the bed to be neat and tidy, as though she never got out of bed in the first place!” *Shows a period accurate picture of the bedroom for the court.*

Bark: “Oh… darn...”

Prosecution: “Damn it…”

Judge: “The witness will refrain from lying on the stand.”

Bark: “Sorry… I just forgot…”

NO (Incorrect, but just does nothing, as it requires a revisit)

Sly: “No… not that I can see…”

Judge: “Please continue.”

Bark: “And I saw Thaddeus, that very raccoon, pilfering her most treasured items with an evil grin!””

*If pressed.*

Sly: “Hold it! How do you know it was Thaddeus?”

Bark: “It was him for sure! I saw his cane!”

*The prosecutor slaps his face.* “Damn it!”

Judge: “HUH?! Why the outburst, Prosecution?”

The prosecution seethes. “That… was the missing evidence.”

Sly: “Perhaps we can-a help?”

Prosecutor and Judge: “What?!”

Sly: “We found the cane.” *He shows it to the court.*

Judge accepts it as evidence. “Where was it?”

Sly: “Well, it might-a not help the prosecution. But we found it in Bark’s possession. He-a dropped it.”

Bark starts to look worried.

Sly: “And while we are-a on the subject, I think the police should-a visit Big Ben! We did some detective work and found a money trail leading for Annis’ home to his secret hideout in Big Ben. And we found the lost valuables!”

Bark now looks angry.

The judge is surprised. “You found the money and valuables?!”

Sly: “Yeah, and Bark’s testimony seems to neglect the hole in the manor wall and the glass on the inside of the window on top of the hole!”

Judge: “How about you tell us your theory, Defense.”

Sly: “I-a think Bark doesn’t work-a for Annis, and was actually planning on-a robbing her! He-a knocked her out beforehand with one of-a those weird things flying around outside, creating the hole and making her comatose!”

Judge: “So weird things outside belong to him?”

Sly: “Yes! Then he crashed in-a through the window and then robbed her of-a her stuff, leaving a trail to-a his place! Thaddeus is wrongly implicated here!”

The prosecutor smiles: “And can you prove this?”

*A voice can be heard in Sly’s ear at this time.*

Bentley: “Sly! We’re here! We can hear you! Finish it off!”

Sly: “Yes!”

The prosecutor loses his smile fast. “Wait, what?”

Sly: “Why-a don’t you ask Annis Fox yourself?!”

Judge: “But she’s comatose!”

Sly: “We-a found a way to revive her! Just ask her! I call Annis Fox to the stand!”

*The court doors open and Annis walks in.*

The prosecutor: “A-a-a-a ANNIS FOX?!”

Bark: “Damn it…”

Annis: “I heard the defense, and he is right! I believe I saw a bear outside a few times beforehand, and Bark looks just like him! I feel confident that he robbed me!”

The prosecution is speechless.

Judge: “I guess that wraps this up nicely. I find Thaddeus -”

Bark: “NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!”

-*If Object is chosen at a wrong time.*

Sly: “I-a Ob-ject!”

Prosecutor: “On what grounds? Even a fool could tell nothing is wrong there!”

Judge: “Sorry, but I’m with the prosecution. Penalty for the defence”

Sly: “D’oh!”

-*If penalty bar is empty*

Judge: “I’m sorry, but I must stop the defense from making a fool of himself. I find Thaddeus: G U I L T Y.”

Sly: “Sorry Thaddeus…”

--

*In a fit of anger from losing, Bark pulls out a button switch*

Sly: “What’s that?”

Bark: “I WILL NOT LOSE TO YOU FOOLS!!! DIE!!!!”

*He presses the button, and sounds can be heard outside…*

Sly: “Everyone! Get out now!”

*One of the crashed airship’s last cannons, still operational apparently, aims itself at the courthouse and fires a powerful shot. Everyone scrambles to get out of the courtroom before the shot collides. Once the shot hits, the roof collapses and the debris wreck the courtroom with only Carmelita and Knuckles remaining inside, the rest of the team unable to get back in due to the debris blocking them.*

Knuckles: “Ugh… Oh thank the heavens, we’re alive.”

Carmelita: “Urk, yeah… Unfortunately, we’re alone with him now.”

Bark: “Dammit! How did that not kill anyone?! No matter! I’ll take you both down and then kill that brood like I was supposed to!”

Carmelita: “HA! Good luck with that! I’ll have you know I’m Interpol’s top detective and I’ve taken down criminals far stronger than you! And if you think I’ll let you kill my ancestor this easily, you’re very mistaken!”

Knuckles: “Yeah! And my strength easily outmatches yours! You have no chance, Polar Bear!”

Bark: “We’ll see about that, you echidna lastling!”

*Carmelita fires an electric blast from her Shock Pistol at Bark. Right when the shot was about to hit Bark, it disappears and the polar bear is not affected*

Carmelita: “What the-?!”

Bark: “Hehehe, my boss prepared for your arrival and gave me a device to activate an Electric Shield! It protects me from electricity and gives me a shocking punch!”

*Carmelita growls and jumps at Bark, intending to deliver a powerful kick to his head, but he catches her foot and tosses her into one of the rubble*

*And so the boss fight against Bark begins. Thanks to his Electric Shield, Bark is completely invulnerable to Carmelita’s shots. Thankfully the Electric Shield will disappear should Bark suffer a powerful enough hit but he is tough as bricks, so only Knuckles can do anything about this. The first part of the fight has Knuckles and Bark duking it out like boxers. In other words, this part of the fight plays like a simplified fighting game; the controls have you punch, block, dodge, and move, with the objective being to deplete the Electric Shield’s “HP” to zero. Once it’s gone, you can switch to Carmelita and start unloading her Shock Pistol at Bark and whittle away at his health. Once his health goes down 25%, Bark will bring up another Electric Shield and the process begins again. While fighting against Knuckles, he’ll start off with just punching, then jabbing quickly (75%), throwing uppercuts (50%), and finally fake-outs (25%). And while fighting against Carmelita, he hide more often and throw stuff at you the more health he loses.

*Once Bark is defeated*

Bark: “I may have lost… but Eggman is still winning…”

-----

Outro Cutscene:

Sly: “After knocking out Bark, the court deemed Thaddeus as not guilty for the crime and arrested that polar bear on the spot. For both the crime and destroying the courthouse, Bark was to be sentenced to death! But we couldn’t let that happen, both to keep the timestream stable and because we can’t allow anyone from Sonic’s universe to die in our world, so we managed to convince the law to let us apprehend Bark and then toss him back into Sonic’s world. After having to solve that whole mystery, we all decided to stick around with Thaddeus for a bit and get some downtime. With the way Eggman and his goons operated so far, we need all the energy we can get. Besides, with time travel, it’s never too late to do anything.

Sly: “Heh, Thaddius sure is spending quite a bit of time with Annis, talking about cases and the like. Guess he must of convinced the Fox family to go into law enforcement.”

Next Time: Sly and Sonic batten down the hatches in the 17th Century Caribbean.

[kyojuuros]

SnK Chapter 94 Poll Results

Hey everyone! I’m helping @momtaku out this month with her poll and she asked me to make the final results post this month while she is away! The poll has closed with 1,212 responses! As expected, a long post is incoming.

Rate the Chapter (1,181 responses)

Not as loved as last month’s chapter. But this month’s chapter still overall seemed to be favorable among the majority with few people actually disliking it.

Pretty good chapter with great backstory. Only gripe is there should've been some bigger hint of future conflict or teasing at the Walldians invading Marley.

Since the Warriors are my favorite group in this manga, this chapter was a gift sent down from heaven. It gave further enlightenment on the outside world and FINALLY some backstory for my favs. If we switched back to Paradis at this point, I'd be okay with it.

We've had an entire volume focused on Marley. Rate your approval. (1,181 responses)   

Despite many of us being thrown off at the beginning of this volume, it turns out that it grew on us after all!

It provides good insight on the "villain" point of view, making the story more interesting as you sympathize with what you thought were the "bad guys"

I know it's bit controversial but I'm really pleased with this arc. Ive always had I bias for the warriors in general but finally knowing their motivations has just cemented how complex and tragic their characters are.

Overall a slow volume, with a much appreciated info-dump in chapter 93. Mixed feelings on it. Loved chapters 92 and 93, but not sold on 91 and 94. I hope the story picks up pace soon and the Liberio/Rebellio-Eldians soon come face to face with the Walldians.

What was your favorite moment of the chapter? (1,175 responses)

There were many different replies to this, but the top two were at an almost tie! Seeing Reiner, Bertolt and Annie as kids only barely outweighed Reiner’s account of the 104th Trainee Squad as the most loved part of the chapter.

You know I always loved Warriors. I waited for years to get their flashback and I am really happy and also broken to get it. I get why we didn't get it earlier but still I do wish we'd get it in one of those earlier chapters. It would make much difference in fandom. Other than that, SOMEONE JUST FIND MY CHILDREN. GIVE THEM HUGS AND BLANKETS AND SOME ACTUAL LOVE. THANK YOU.

Although I thought it should have all been referred to sooner in the story, I'm glad that it at least exists. Many have brought up the parallel between Eren and Reiner, I think this chapter properly illustrates just that. I wish we had morr flashbacks like this sprinkled throughout the entire series but I'm overall content that it was relevant to the volume. Also BITTY CHAPTERS ARE PRECIOUS!

Best reveal of the chapter? (1,172 responses)

People really seemed to enjoy the parallels between Reiner and Eren. Second comes the reveal that Reiner is half Marleyan.

Do you think Reiner truly believes the people on Paradis are cruel and barbarous devils? (1,172 responses)

The overwhelming majority agree that Reiner doesn’t really believe anything he’s saying.

dear Reiner, you're not fooling anyone, is that really all the bad things you could say about the 104th squad?! You made them sound like toddlers that need the naughty step rather than evil devils, ha!

Did Annie deliberately squish the bug? (1,170 responses)

Most people agree that Annie wanted that bug smashed into the dirt!

Annie killing the bug looks like when she killed humans (like Petra). I think it shows some things never changes and maybe it means something ? Like about her pov before ? How determined she was (as Mikasa) and seeing the people of Paradis as nothing else than bugs and maybe seeing everybody as bugs ? And then showing how it changed with this two and with Armin ?

I'm a little spooked by the bug squishing scene. I'm a little spooked with how she handled it and how Reiner and Bertholt reacted as well.

Prior to this chapter, did you view the warriors favorably? (1,165 responses)

Before this chapter, it was nearly a 50/50 split. Some of you loved them already, others did not, and a fair chunk of people were pretty neutral or uncaring either way. 

im not a big fan of the warriors tbh

I've always felt sympathetic towards the warriors, and this chapter just reinforced that. And I feel like I have a much better understanding of Reiner's character now.

Has this chapter changed your feelings towards the Warriors? (1,163 responses)

Most people’s opinions did not change although there are some that have come to sympathize with them more as well as those just happy to see their side of the story.

It did a really good job of further humanizing the warriors

Now I mostly feel sorry for them.

After seeing how extreme the Marley brainwashing has been and how BRA never seemed consider going against it after seeing how blatantly wrong all of it was, despite acknowledging how wrong it all is, has made me hate them even more

I feel really bad for not liking the Warriors because I know they were doing what they thought was right and it's really not their fault for what happened on Paradis so even seeing their backstory hasn't totally made me love them

Rate each warrior in terms of how this chapter affected your perceptions of them:

Reiner, Bertolt and Falco all shot up in favorability while Annie and Zeke gained small boosts or had no changing perceptions. Gabi, however, had either no change, or has started to be viewed less favorably. 

It was great to see Reiner struggle so much in warrior training, compared to how the soldiers of the 104th looked up to his strength. This chapter really solidified my love for his character.

Gabi is veeeeery overrated.

I love bertholdt so much with my entire heart and soul 

Look at Pieck! She is dying from those laps. More sweaty than Bertolt. I love her. Best girl.

Which of the Warriors would you most like to see switch sides? (1,164 responses)

With only a slight percentage above Annie, Reiner is now the most favorable candidate for side-switching. 

The way things have been set up, I don't see anyone switching sides, but with Zeke and Reiner's hidden agendas and that undercurrent of dissent in the kid warriors, I could see some kind of kindred goal appearing between the Warriors and the Walldians. After all, Zeke seems to want the Coordinate and Eren needs someone of royal blood to work it. Tenuous cooperation might ensue, though how longboard they can last without turning on each other is anyone' and guess.

Mystery man is back! Any thoughts about his identity? (1,171 responses)

By a landslide, the majority believe that Eren is amputee-kun.

If the mystery-man isn't Eren, I'll be shocked! But kind of excited, too, to see who might have been brave enough to infiltrate Marley and actually go through the war with them to keep their cover... Not to mention losing a leg. I still find Eren a more likely choice, of course, because he could keep his leg from regenerating and blend in pretty well, but if it's someone else, that opens up a lot of possibilities too.

It'd be interesting if Eren is this mystery soldier. I wonder what it was like to have to cut his leg off! If it is Eren I really worry for him!!

Will Eren meet his grandparents? (1,166 responses)

With the revelation that the Jaeger grandparents are still alive and kicking, most of you believe Eren will get the chance to meet them.

I wonder if the reveal of Zeke's grandparents still being alive is a deliberate set up for Eren to perhaps meet them?

Will Reiner meet his father? (1,165 responses)

Even though all he wanted was to be able to meet and be with his father, the larger percentage of readers don’t believe he will achieve this wish.

Is Reiner's dad gonna be important at all? To me the whole scene of Karina talking to little itsy bitsy Reiner seemed to saying, "Pay attention, take notes." Some theories have been floating around that Reiner's an Ackerman? Some say Annie and Reiner are siblings (it would explain why we didn't see Annie's fathers face if he looked like his son?

How badly do you want to return to the original cast on Paradis? (1,175 responses)

While plenty of responses indicate a continued interest in the Warriors and Marley, most are eager to see some familiar faces again.

I feel like the Warrior side of the story isn't done yet and that's fine, but Yams give us something of the Walldians!

I've been fine with the diversion on Paradis because it was good, so to me the switch to that side didn't make me frustrated, so I'm not super frustrated and demanding to go back there immidiately, but I'm still really eager.

Give me Paradis right now and no one will die.

On a scale of 1-5, how pinchable are Bertolt's cheeks?  (1,159 responses)

39.6% of you think Bert’s cheeks are too cute. But 19.2% are not impressed.

Ask Armin about how "pinchable" Bertolt's cheeks are... yeah.. cheeks

His cheeks are so squishy, you can use them as a trampoline.

Which characters do you generally like the most? (1,169 responses)

The 104th squad are still the big winner, with the vets and warriors in an almost-tie for second place.

Where do you primarily discuss the series? (1,158 responses)

Final Thoughts?

Would've liked to see more about Marcel

Bertolt is such a caring person. I think it helps the fact that the second season of the anime concentrates on them. Reiner must be feeling many contrasig seniments, he seems broke inside. Annie.. it's always so misterious, but I like her way of behaving, so distant from everything.

Really good chapter. It did it's job in showing how truly messed in the head all these children because after living in fear and propaganda for the majority of their lives.

I wonder if the reveal of Zeke's grandparents still being alive is a deliberate set up for Eren to perhaps meet them? I also wonder if Falco will be the first of the Warriors to change his mind about Paradis being the enemy. And dear Reiner, you're not fooling anyone, is that really all the bad things you could say about the 104th squad?! You made them sound like toddlers that need the naughty step rather than evil devils, ha!

Why did Marley only pick six warrior if they are supposed to have seven? Where is the ninth titan? Is Falco a restorationist at heart? Eren, wtf are you doing?

[annieoftheshitposts]

this post used to be a link to the old canons page but i’m turning it into a text dump of the revised one for people on mobile [or who have bad wifi/computers that the fancy schmancy script on the canons page wouldn’t play well with.] theres a lot sorry not sorry. here we go.

Canon Info

 Much more is said about Annie in external sources than the game itself, here's copypastes of all I know of and go by.

From the 3rd DLC Character Voting page:

As popular figures in nationwide folktales, a children’s television adaptation of Annie and Sagan’s adventures was inevitable. The show’s success lies in its pair of live action hosts, who are as convincing as their cartoon counterparts. Though what the public learns about the real Annie might surprise them. Annie is a seasoned fighter who has been around for a long time, acquiring many skills and powers along the way. Her sword is forged from a meteorite and can channel the power of the stars in its sweeping cleaves. Her right eye bonds her to her Remote Parasite and partner, Sagan, who grants her powers of a galactic motif. While some of her abilities carry more of a sparkly magical girl motif, Annie tries to execute them with the same sternness.

From "The canon info thread" on Skullheart Encore forums:

-Annie is several-century-old. Her immortality was gained when her parents wished on the Skull Heart so that Annie would never have to experience the hardship of adulthood, thereby making her forever a child. -She has had many different weapons and abilities throughout her life. - Sagan, her remote parasite. keeps her right eye in his mouth. - She’s physically not able to swear due to her condition - She is familiar with Double due to her experience fighting Skullgirls - Annie has encountered a lot of Skullgirls and has killed a lot, but not the same a lot. She’s seen the cycle multiple times and seen how they become stronger each time and is looking for the underlying source now. - The Annie of the Stars show is very similar to the Super Mario Bros. Super Show with live action segments with cartoons and PSAs and commercials in between. - Sagan can talk. Somehow. - Annie hides her immortality by getting a new hairstyle every few years. The show tells the audience that they have simply changed the actress. Eliza also pulls a similar trick

and finally some other misc. scraps that weren't covered above:

-annie has some kind of "super" or "powered up" form, in which she seems to fuse with sagan. it can be seen on her

move concept sheet, in the end of robo-fortune's story mode, and as a very tiny feature on one of robo-fortune's merch posters, but to my knowlege it's never really been talked about.

-she's been depicted with an "incognito outfit", presumably for going out in public and not being recognized by fans.

-sagan is named after renowned astrophysicist carl sagan. this isnt really relevant to anything but it's not on the wiki so i figured i'd share :b

-and this random pic of annie in the past with a different look, plus gun and minus eyepatch, apparently official art from the "digital art compendium". i haven't seen the source for this one myself though, and count this one more as speculative canon since that ingame image up there with her eye uncovered doesn't show a scar or any kind of damage from this.

-another canon fact about annie is she is strong and brave and i love her.

Headcanon (Annie)

this is pretty disorganized bc i come up with and revise random shit on a fairly regular basis, but the very least it should be all here and up-to-date. [though on this text post version i may forget to keep it updated oops.

she can still only normally see from the one eye in her head [and likewise probably has terrible depth perception lmao], but she can “project” her vision into the one sagan has if need be, during which time both he and her main eye are blind.

even though sagan’s vision is his own and she doesn’t actively “see” through that eye most of the time, the stuff he sees still becomes part of her memory and she can recall it if need be, though it’s far less tangible and kind of a surreal experience trying to do so.

the space where her other eye was is now just...space. like empty starry void stuff. yes, TECHNICALLY, you could put stuff in it but why would you. sagan can feel when something interacts with it and it’s really just weird and uncomfortable for both of them.as sagan is the source of their powers, the strength of her abilities is slightly dependent on her distance from him. something like long sustained flight is really only capable if they’re touching, but she still has ample firepower and ability to zip around for a pretty good range otherwise.

Not interested in anime

absolutely hates being called her full name; hasn't gone by anything other than "Annie" for longer than anyone that should be alive today should know.

part of her curse of eternal youth is remembering everything up until the point it kicked in and she stopped aging [i.e. when she was Actually a kid] exactly as well as if she hadn’t aged.

from that point however, a lot of it is hazy as shit aside from more recent times [as you’d expect from someone who’s been around hundreds of years]. this one's gonna be angsty as shit when i address it and you can thank @sandstriker for that. fucker.

also hates being restrained. by the concept sheet and beo's story, her fighting style is very kinetic and relies heavily on mobility; take that away and you get one very uncomfortable and very angry starchild. [this one's 'cause of y'all with the handcuffs asks. this is part of why she's so agitated rn.]

what's in the pouch? whatever is alternatively convenient. is it snacks? is it a quick incognito disguise? is it her whole entire sword? who knows. i think it might be infinite hammerspace in there.

i haven't put much though into this side of her story yet, but i've decided part of the mythos of the "annie of the stars" character as a figure of legend is that she literally lives, among the stars.

if there's enough folktales about her to base an entire show off of, i'm willing to bet she used to be less elusive when she was just about fighting skullgirls before dedicating herself to the whole "looking for the underlying source" thing.

Headcanon (Sagan)

tl;dr: as far as things go here, he's essentially a cat and/or younger sibling.

Sagan's canon information and characterization is basically nonexistant, so i got to do pretty much whatever i wanted with him lmao.

simply put, he's a little gremlin of a partner, but he is genuinely good-natured and a happy-go-luckly little dude. mischevious, loves to get up to Shenanigans, go off and hide/disappear to fuck knows where for several hours, climb and sit on tall things[or failing that, annie's head], etc. @sawkinator has described him, regrettably accurately, as "the Token Disney Animal Sidekick". he has a lot of mannerisms like an animal, but is still very much a being of at least average human intelligence. he's also surprisingly indestructible. far from invincible of course, but in canon he's been shown to be quite stretchy and...possibly have minor shapeshifting capabilities?? he's pretty much immune to being squashed and feels very little [if any] pain from most things. really, as far as i can tell he's pretty much a weird sentient plushie. like, if it's not going to damage a plushie, it's not going to hurt him; examples being: getting knocked back really hard or falling a long way? not a problem. fire? problem.

Sagan tends to be somewhat nonverbal and generally only uses a few words or short phrase at a time when he does speak, which sounds something like the voice clip below. that being how it is, he can be kind of inscrutable and more than a bit jarring to most people--though at this point annie's been with him more than long enough to be completely desensitized to it and doesnt quite get why anyone would be perturbed. fortunately, with that familiarity also comes understanding, and she can easily "translate" and articulate more from his expressions. this understanding is a two-way street, and on its other side is sagan's sensitivity to her moods. annie's not particularly...communicative of her emotions, but sagan can always tell when she's having an off day or something's bothering her, and is far better than anyone at helping her feel better. all things said and quirky antics aside, he and annie are exceptionally close and fiercely protective of eachother the moment it comes to it. they don't make a big deal of showing it outwardly, but they know they've always got eachother's backs.

he's taken quite a liking to beowulf as well, and beo defintiely shamelessly enables sagan's shenanigans.

as i see it, annie may be the passion and power of their operation, but sagan is the heart and soul. beowulf is like....comic releif and emotional support. not entirely necessary, but certainly welcomed to have around. yeah. listen im a big sap i just want them all to be good friends ok. i love them.

also sagan does like and watch a lot of anime.

Blog Canon

miscellaneous happenings that either have continued relevance/significance, or y'all just won't let die. there's not a overarching plot to this thing at all, but geez we’ve kinda gathered some history here huh?

taught sagan to say fuck [and other swears, in her stead]. he used to have to do it on command but he's gotten really good at filling in for her.has a

stoat fursona that beo helped her make. she thinks it's neat/cute but has no real attachment to it.

attempted to sue the crystal gems for ripping off her entire shtick [it didn't go well]

beowulf also taught her how to dab.

@sparkeletran is a nuisance and must be stopped

the 70$ pile of high school musical merch. sagan and beo both wear the t-shirts sometimes. she hates it. don't let her attitude fool you though this is actually the best and most important ongoing joke in this whole damn thing.

the first handcuffs stint. they’re gone now but they had a good ~30-post run, and she did take to learning lockpicking because of it.

this.

hey. guess fucking what lads. handcuffs ROUND TWO 'cause y'all just don't fuckin' quit. the first mini story arc sorta thing, in which she visits the cirque des cartes and has an aggravting encounter with taliesin. [currently ongoing][hopefully soon ending]

[[redacted for ""spoilers""]] due to said encounter with taliesin

sparkeletran is a nuisance,

"the official annie of the stars instagram is just cat memes but with sagan" it's canon but i haven't decided whether it's something she would have had already or a recent thing. [either way, hasn't been touched on yet due to the arc taking so long]

badart annie is sorta like her own thing at this point but nothing that happens with her is canon; she p much just shows up for exceptionally dumb posts. we did give her noclip though which is terrifying. on that note i may as well include the things that are Not canon but y'all won't let me forget

beo's animated belt thing. look. it doesnt talk.

spray-on boots.

the lawnmower weapon

uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh homestuck

[momtaku]

SnK Chapter 91 Poll

I’ll be closing the chapter 91 poll tomorrow, so this is your last chance if you’d like to chime in.

Take the Poll

I’ve gotten 350+ responses thus far and tbh these results are the most interesting I’ve seen in terms of lack of consensus. 134 people have left their chapter thoughts, I’ll share a bunch of those below the read more. My favorite is listed first :)

*patrick star voice* WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE

If Levi is taking down the beast titan and he finds out that not only is Zeke already dead, but his replacement is a weak-brows version of Erwin, I really hope it gives him pause.  That could be such a heartbreaking, earth shattering moment for him and I hope Yams handles it right.

GABI! Just Gabi. She's perfect

Timeskips should be illegal

Seeing the extent of Marleyan brainwashing was exceedingly well done.

Imagine how the poor kid that inherited "Cartman" felt like upon learning that that thing was their award for winning the marleyan hunger games.

Very unexpected change of character view from our beloved heroes to their"enemy"'s point of view. But I also think it's come at a good time in the overall SnK storyline...let's not forget that the walled society probably has no records on how to build ships or sail on the sea.

Can someone just tell Isayama‚ preferably someone close to him so the message gets across‚ that this isnt how trench warfare fucking worked? WW1 didn't have pre-teen, half-naked Genki girls hopping over trenches, tossing dynamite sticks at armored trains. This chapter destroyed my suspension of disbelief beyond repair.

I liked we got more info about Marley, but the fact that Isayama isn't willing to confirm Ymir and Annie's fate is getting a bit annoying

I thought this chapter was actually pretty cool. I've fallen hopelessly in love with Gabi! Fingers crossed that Annie gets the f*** outta that crystal soon though!

The time skip was needed for story progression but a lot of important questions and interactions were skipped in terms of character development. I just hope we get some of them in flashbacks and not have them completely disregarded don't care about the new characters, but I'm okay as long as they don't take so much screen time and we can go back to our main cast soon enough

I honestly dislike how Isayama uses these new characters to show us what Marley and being a warrior is like, instead of showing us RBA and Zeke's past :(

I think the after-chapter freakout was a big overreaction. I mean we could kinda forsee the direction the manga was going to take after we learnt about the whole Marley/Eldia thing.

After reading the full chapter and talking to someone else about it, I feel better about the timeskip. This chapter made me feel for RBA more, because they must've started out like Gabi and the rest. I only hope that those kids don't have the same fate (but considering that it is snk, it's likely that they are going to suffer lbs). I'm just worried about the 104th and what's been going on with them. They've all grown, and Eren and Armin are closer to their death now :( I don't think I would've had a problem with the time skip if it wasn't for the 13 year thing. But overall, I'm pretty optimistic with where the story is going. I trust Isayama with his story telling. I just have to prepare myself in case of the worst.

Warriors were cool. That's what I consider to be AoT. But without actual Titans, it's just not as interesting. Neither are the WW1 vibes. I just want titans back.

I thought this was a pretty good world building chapter (despite the jarring time skip), especially since we've been waiting many chapters to see this place.  I don't ADORE these new characters, I'm more intrigued, which is better then hating them.  This is also a good set up chapter.  I'm interested to see if Reiner will interact with these new characters.  Since they look so similar to the 104th (design and personality), will he constantly be reminded of his past relationships with them?  Plus, will he see some of himself in them (specifically Gabi) and through them reminding of himself we'll see his backstory?  And is he going to just except his fate and get eaten, or be like "Screw this, nope, not dealing with it."

"WHAT" was legitimately the keyword for this chapter but I trust Isayama with the story and with our heroes+ I hope we'll get to see the Jaegers reunion before anything bad happens to Zeke...

Gabi is such a badass, omg, do you see it Eren? This is how you gettting out of horrible situations!

This chapter has really grown on the more times I read it.

Really enjoyed the way the characters were presented. It gives the reader the chance to see Marley's side of things without being forced to have a story-generated opinion on them (aka screaming at us to hate them) because quite frankly, I was rooting for those Warrior kids to succeed with their plan!

I think it is a very unusual way to tell a story,  however I also feel this could work for the best.... I think this time skip can actually go a long way towards making the coming conflict realistic. Rather than our protagonists taking them on with nothing but grit, hope and friendship, we have the possibility of them having actual time to prepare. I think this might lead to a battle between Marley and the people of Paradis that will be more evenly matched, and most importantly, realistic in how that happened.

i like the much needed change in perspective

While this chapter was certainly not a bad one, I only wished that more of the spotlight was on the original characters, seeing that there's only a few more arcs before the end of the series.

Dammit you Gabi! Fresh Face, Fresh Outlook in Life and Cute! I want to cosplay as her!

Next chapter : Gabi's underwear vs Survey Corps hundred of casualties.

UGH. This is no longer the story I used to enjoy. It's deliberately shifted from inspiring, against-all-odds heroism to a pile of absurdist, everything-is-relative garbage determined to prove that our 'heroes' are no more heroic than their opposition. If I wanted to be slapped in the face with a message of humanity's grayscale depravity, I'd read the news, thanks. :( I'm probably done with new chapters at this point, this isn't what I signed up for :P

I understand why the story is going in this direction and why it makes sense to skip three years...but I feel like we're moving further from our emotional center of the series, like the characters we love and their reactions to recent events.  I'm also concerned about the dwindling lifespans of Armin, Eren, and Reiner.  So I'm excited but scared for the changes our kids have gone through in three years...wish we could've seen it but I get why it's not feasible.  The world is cruel....:'(

if i pretend that this is a new manga i just started, it's interesting I guess. Wish we could have seen the warriors story from the Titan Trio's Pov. The fact that we get these new kids instead tells me that they will be sticking around. Not sure whether my investment in the story will ever go back beyond mjpopcorn.gif if that's the case.

I will like this chapter, but only if Isayama concludes this story with a good twist, that is. If not, chapter 91 will in my opinion be the beginning of the end (end in a bad way).

In the four year time skip, it could have been possible for the sc to build a ship (or multiple ships) which is good enough to cross the ocean with. Which leads me to think that the main characters will cross the ocean in some of the next chapters.

This chapter shows the bigger picture. what to come & what was in plan for years. This is the real thing now.

This was obviously a set-up chapter for things to come, but unfortunately I found it to be dull except for the part where they talk about the mission in the wall. That's all I care about, and this chapter did nothing to make me care for the plight of Marley and whatever stupid war they have to deal with.

Part of me wants to say that some key characteristics about Gabi not only resemble Eren or a younger version of him, but may also express some of the characteristics Isayama originally wanted to use for Eren when he considered making him female (I mean, Gabi even has nearly the exact same hair style as fem!Eren). But although they both are quite similar in a sense and could have had potential of being even more similar, until you reach a certain degree, they split in very different directions. Gabi tends to appear significantly more childish and carefree in the sense that everything is a game, while Eren has always been quite serious and often characterized as "angry". She and Eren both make similar reckless decisions and both speak similar dialogue, but they're quite different at the core based on assumable experiences and the environments they grew up in.

There are so much new good elements, I hope Isayama will do well 'cause the story is really interesting. Aside from that, the fact that Eldians (Gabi&Co) seem to enjoy fighting with their oppressor is disturbing, it's like a Stockholm syndrome...so different from Grisha and the revolutionist but to me they're all too radicals. Can't wait to knoe more about other nations

While there were definitely aspects that deserve creation (for instance we all know the amnesia thing was lazy writing) but overall I don't think the chapter was bad. I think the kids' unrealistic attitudes in battle was purposeful juxtaposition to the way our main cast has experienced war--it shows the extent of the brainwashing (I don't think it's that Isa is unable to consistently portray war's effects on people in a realistic way, like some claim). I'm wary but I think the story could be taken in some interesting directions. It would be really interesting to be reintroduced to our main characters through the eyes of the new ones, especially if our heroes come storming in like enemies--really playing into the moral grayness.

Time skip means we will see older version of the main characters and that's both exciting and terrifying af

One can only hope that Isayama graces us with Levi wearing a ponytail after this.

I was waiting for the story to explain what's going on the other side of the ocean. But not from these "copy and pasted" brats. Reiner is seen in just one panel and Zeke is barely mentionned. That's a shame.

I'm not buying the racial war yet. Grisha's sisters death was a stand out moment where I actually felt the horror of the war/racial conflict. So I have faith Isayama still has some gut punches left. But the clunky worldbuilding and shallow new characters are just not doing it for me. Isayama needs to invest in character moments because the human war narrative he has going right now doesn't have enough nuance or intrigue to stand on its own as of right now. This new outside of the walls world isn't immersive enough yet. Thanks momtaku for having these polls! They are always fun. :-)

I personally don't like Gabi that much. She put herself in danger, and I'm sure Marley would prefer to have someone much more tactical, or at least someone who doesn't put their whole life/operation in danger by pulling some silly stunt in hopes of getting noticed. I thought it was a very risky thing to do. But that's just my opinion.

meh

[andrewdburton]

The £200 Millionaire: An early retirement story from 1932

J.D.'s Introduction While reading an obscure book about retiring early to a life at sea — Voyaging on a Small Income by Annie Hill (1993) — I discovered a short story from a man named Joseph Weston-Martyr.

First published in 1932, The £200 Millionaire reads like “Mr. Money Mustache at Sea”. It's fascinating. Because today I start a ten-day Mediterranean cruise, I thought it'd be fun to share this story at Get Rich Slowly.

This is a long story. It contains 8001 words, which is 32 printed pages. I've formatted it for web-based reading (I don't think you want to read a 500-word paragraph on your phone!), plus added images and hyperlinks. Please enjoy it as weekend reading!

Some images are obviously meant to illustrate the text. Others are from Michelle at Making Sense of Cents, who graciously agreed to let me use her photos here. She's been living on a sailboat since July 2018.

The £200 Millionaire

My wife and I were sailing a hireling yacht through the waterways of Zeeland last summer, when one day a westerly gale drove us into the harbour of Dintelsas for shelter.

A little green sloop, flying the Red Ensign, followed us into port. She was manned solely by one elderly gentleman, but we noted that he handled the boat with ease and skill.

It was blowing hard, and the little yacht ran down the harbour at speed, but when abreast of us she luffed head to wind, her violently flapping sails were lowered with a run, and she brought up alongside us so gently that she would not have crushed an egg.

We took her lines and made them fast, while her owner hung cork fenders over the side and proceeded to stow his sails. Urged by a look from my wife which said, “He is old and all alone. Help him,” I offered to lend the lone mariner a hand. But he refused to be helped.

Said he, “Thank you, but please don't trouble. I like to do everything myself; it's part of the fun. But do come aboard if you will, and look round. You'll see there's nothing here that one man can't tackle easily.”

We went aboard and found the green sloop to be one of the cleverest little ships imaginable.

Aboard the Green Sloop

It is difficult to describe her gear on deck and aloft without being technical; suffice it to say, therefore, that everything was very efficient and simple, and so designed that all sail could be set or lowered by the man at the helm without leaving the cockpit.

The boat was 30 feet long by 9 feet wide, and my short wife, at any rate, could stand upright in her cabin.

Her fore end was a storeroom, full of convenient lockers, shelves and a small but adequate water-closet. Abaft this came the cabin, an apartment 12 feet long, with a broad bunk along one side of it and a comfortable settee along the other. A table with hinged flaps stood in the middle, while in the four corners were a wardrobe, a desk, a pantry and a galley.

Abaft all this was a motor, hidden beneath the cockpit floor. A clock ticked on one bulkhead, a rack full of books ran along the other, a tray of pipes lay on the table, and a copper kettle sang softly to itself on the little stove.

“What do you think of her?” said our host, descending the companion.

“Before you tell me, though, I must warn you I'm very house-proud. I've owned this boat for ten years, and I've been doing little things to her all the time. Improving her, I call it. It's great fun.

“For instance, I made this matchbox-holder for the galley last week. It sounds a trivial thing; but I wish I'd thought of it ten years ago, because during all that time I've had to use both hands whenever I struck a match.

“Now I have only to use one hand, and you know all that implies in a small boat, especially if she's dancing about and you're trying to hold on and cook and light the Primus at one and the same moment. Then there was the fun of carving the holder out of a bit of wood I picked up, to say nothing of the pleasure it gives me to look at a useful thing I've made with my own hands. The carving brought out the grain of the wood nicely, don't you think?

“Now I'm going to make tea, and you must stay and have some with me.”

Thought-Provoking Discourse

We did stay to tea. And we are glad we did.

For one thing, it was a remarkably fine tea, and, for another, we listened to the most entertaining and thought-provoking discourse we have ever heard in our lives.

That discourse, in fact, was so provocative of thought that it looks as if it were going to change the whole course of our lives for my wife and me.

Said our host, “I hope you will like this tea. It's brick tea, caravan tea. I got hold of it in Odessa, where it was really absurdly cheap. That's one of the advantages of this kind of life, I find. Cruising about all over Europe in my own boat, I can buy luxuries at the source, so to speak, at practically cost prices.

“There are four bottles of Burgundy, for example, stowed in the bilges under your feet, the remains of a dozen I bought at Cadaujac while cruising along the Garonne canal. I bought the lot for less than twenty shillings, and it's the sort of wine you pay a pound a bottle for in London.”

J.D.'s note: I always have to remind myself of British monetary conversions when reading stories like this. To refresh your memory and mine: Twelve pennies (or twelve pence or 12 d.) equals one shilling (1 s.). Twenty shillings (20 s.) equals one pound (£1). So, there are 240 pennies (240 d. per pound. There's more money talk to come, so this info is helpful to know.

“When I come across bargains like that it makes me wish this boat was a bit bigger. It's surprising what a lot of stuff I can stow away in her, but I really need more storage space. If I had room I would buy enough cigars, for instance, in this country where they are good and cheap, to last me over the winter.

“You see, I like the sun, and in two months I shall be going down the Rhone to spend the winter in the south of France, and the tobacco there is horrible and expensive.”

Bread and Tea

“Do you live aboard here all alone always?” exclaimed my wife, making her eyes very round.

“Most certainly,” replied our host.

“Now do try some of this Macassar redfish paste on your toast. I got it in Rotterdam from the purser of the Java Mail that arrived last week, so it's as fresh as it's possible to get it.

“It's really a shame to toast this bread, though. It's just the ordinary bread the bargees buy, but I find Dutch bread is the best in all Europe. Some French bread is good, but it won't keep as long as this stuff will.

“Sailing down the Danube a year or so ago I got some really excellent bread in Vienna, but it was a little sweet and not so good for a steady diet as this Dutch stuff.

“The worst bread I ever got was in Poland. I was cruising through the East German canals and I thought I would sail up the Vistula via Cracow, with the intention of putting the boat on the railway when I got to the head of the Vistula navigation at Myslowitz, shipping her across the few miles to the Klodnitz canal, and then cruising through Silesia and Brandenburg via Breslau down the Oder.

“It was a good and perfectly feasible plan, and I fancy it would have been interesting. But that horrible Polish bread defeated me completely. It was about all I could get to eat, and it seemed to consist entirely of straw and potatoes. So I turned back after passing Warsaw, and fled down the Vistula and the Bromberg canal and on by the Netze to Frankfurt.

“Do have some more tea.”

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

We had some more tea. It was a marvellous brew, as stimulating as good wine, and while we drank it our curiosity concerning our host and his extraordinary mode of life welled up within us, to drown at last our manners and overflow in a stream of questions.

“Do you really mean,” said we, “that you live aboard here always? All the year round? And quite alone? And cruise to Odessa? And Warsaw? And how did you get to the Danube? And the Black Sea? And—? And —?”

Thus we went on, while our host smiled at us – the kind of smile that told us we had made a new friend.

“I'll tell you,” he said, when we stopped at last for breath. “You understand boats and this sort of life, I think, so you'll understand me.

“I've been living aboard this boat for ten years now, and I hope I shall never have to live anywhere else as long as I'm alive. It's a good life. It's the best kind of life a man can lead — or a woman either. It really is life, you see. Yes. And I think I ought to know.

“I shan't see sixty again, and I've seen a good deal of life — of different kinds. I'm a doctor, or was once. And I've worked very hard all my life trying to be a good doctor, but failing, I fear, on the whole.

“I married and we had five children, and it meant hard work bringing them up properly and educating them. But I worked and did it. Then I moved to London to try to make some money. That was the hardest work of all.

“Then the war came, and more hard work in a base hospital. The war killed two of my sons — and my wife. And when it was all over I looked around, and I didn't like the look of the life I saw ahead of me. To go on working hard seemed the only thing left to do, but I found there was no zest left in my work any more.

“My daughters were married and my remaining son was doing well in a practice of his own. I found my children could get on very well without me. So there was no one left to work for, and I found I was very tired.

“I sold my practice and retired to Harwich, where I was born. And there I soon found out that having nothing to do at all is even worse that working hard at something you've lost interest in.

“I did nothing for six months, and I think another six months of that would have been the death of me. By then I feel I should have been glad to die.

“But this little boat saved me. I began by hiring her from a local boatman for one weekend. We sailed up the Orwell to Ipswich and back again. The weather was fine, the Orwell is a lovely river, and I enjoyed my little sail. I enjoyed it so much, in fact, that I hired the boat again. I hired her for a week, and this time I left the boatman behind and sailed alone.

“Of course, I had sailed boats before.

“As a boy I got myself afloat in something or other whenever I had a chance, and my holidays as a young man were nearly all spent aboard yachts. So I found I could still handle a boat especially this little thing in those sheltered waters, and I remembered enough seamanship to keep myself out of trouble.

“I sailed to Pin Mill, and then up the Stour to Manningtree and Mistley. After that I grew bolder, and one fine day with a fair wind for the passage, I coasted along the Essex shore to Brightlingsea. I explored the Colne and its creeks, and the end of my week found me at West Mersea, so I had to write to the boatman and extend the time of hire. While I was about it I chartered the boat for a month.

“You see, I discovered I was happy, and I could not remember being happy for a very long while.”

Freemasonry Amongst Sailors

“The exercise and the fresh air and the plain food were all doing me good, too. I'd been getting flabby and running to fat, but the work on the boat very soon altered all that. I would turn into my bunk every night physically tired, knowing I would fall fast asleep at once, and looking forward to waking up again to another day of seeing after myself and the boat, and pottering about and enioying my little adventures.

“The life, in fact, was making me young again — and I knew it.

“I would get up in the morning as soon as the light woke me and wash and shave and cook my breakfast. I used to stick pretty faithfully to coffee, bacon and eggs, and bread and marmalade in those first days, I remember. I was not much of a cook then, and I had yet to learn the pleasure one can get out of cooking a really good meal, not to mention eating it.

“Then I washed the breakfast things, cleaned up the cabin and washed down the deck. Housemaids' work, but there's not much of it needed to keep this small boat clean and tidy. And what little work there is soon became a labour of love.

“When I had made the boat all ship-shape I would sit in the cockpit and smoke, and look at her with great pride and contentment. I still do that. It gives me pleasure to see my home in perfect order and to feel that I've done it all myself. And I know, now, that if I paid someone else to do the work for me I should be depriving myself of a deal of the charm of life.

“When my morning chores were done, and if the weather was fine and I felt like moving on, I would heave up my anchor and make sail.

“During that first month I think I must have explored nearly all the rivers and creeks that run into the Thames Estuary. Most of them, as you probably know, are charming.

“If I wanted company I would bring up in the evening in one of the anchorages frequented by yachts, or alongside some Thames barges. There's a delightful freemasonry amongst sailors, whether yachtsman or bargees, and I'd generally find myself yarning and smoking with some congenial souls in my own or someone else's cabin until it was time to turn in.”

J.D.'s note: A similar camaraderie exists among RVers. During our 15-month RV trip across the U.S., Kim and I enjoyed many nights in the company of our fellow travelers. Remember: RVs are simply boats on land.

“At other times I would let go my anchor for the night in some quiet creek, with never a human being within miles. I liked that best. I needed peace and quietness and I found them, to perfection, in those little lost Essex creeks.

“When the weather was bad, or the wind and tide did not serve, I would have a major clean-up, perhaps, or merely potter about, doing the little jobs of work a boat can always provide for you.

“Or I'd put my watertank and a big basket in the dinghy and row to the nearest village to replenish my stores.

“One thing is certain, I never for a moment found time hanging heavily on my hands. There was always something to occupy me and always something interesting to see or to do. The life suited me and I throve on it, body and mind. And the way I threw off the years and turned into a boy again was perfectly amazing.”

The Question of Finance

“My month was up almost before I knew it, and when it did get time to go back to Harwich and all that meant, I simply could not bear the thought of it. To think of returning to the sort of life I'd been leading on shore was as dreadful as the prospect of having to serve a life sentence in prison. I did not like the thought of it but there did not seem to be anything else I could do.

“You see, I've not got very much money. I had just enough to allow me to live, very simply, and even the expense of hiring this boat was really more than I could afford. What I wanted to do, of course, was to go on living aboard here, but, to my sorrow, that seemed quite impossible.

“Then, one night, I sat down in this cabin and thought the thing out — right out, in all its bearings.

“First I considered the question of finance. I don't want to bore you with my private affairs, but the figures are, I think, instructive and valuable, as they show what a lot can be done with very little.

“My capital amounted to a little over £4000, and my yearly income just touched £200. The problem I set out to solve was: Can I buy the boat out of my capital and still have sufficient income to live aboard her all the year around, and to maintain the boat and myself adequately?”

J.D.'s note: Early retirement folks will note that the old sailor is using a five-percent withdrawal rate. Interesting, right? Nowadays, we tend to talk about a four-percent safe withdrawal rate when planning for retirement. This isn't far off.

“The price of the boat I knew already; she was for sale for £200. If I bought her my income would be reduced to £190, or less than £16 a month. Was this enough? It did not look like it, by any means. It meant only £3 17s a week to cover food, clothing, light and heat, and upkeep and repairs to the boat, to say nothing of depreciation and insurance.

“The figure seemed so ridiculous that I nearly gave up my idea in despair.

“However, I am, thank goodness, a methodical sort of man, and I'd kept a list of my expenses during the time I'd been living aboard the boat.

“I analysed that list, and found that my food and oil for the lamps and stove had cost me only £7 15s for the month. I had also spent 30s on gear for the boat, such as paint, ropes, shackles and such things, while my bill for petrol and lubricating oil came to 15s only, as I had sailed as much as possible and used the motor as little as I could.

“Not counting the cost of hiring the boat, my total expenditure had, therefore, been only £10 for the month, or £120 a year. This left £70 over for repairs, accidents, depreciation and insurance.

“As far as the finance was concerned, the thing began to look possible after all.”

Worried About Winters

“I was very cheered by this discovery, and I then asked myself: ‘Can I continue to live aboard this little boat from year's end to year's end in health and comfort of body and mind?'

“As far as the summers were concerned I knew I could answer that with a whole-hearted ‘Yes.' But what about the winters? Could I endure being shut up in a small confined space while the gales blew and it was cold and wet, and the nights were long and dark? I wondered.

“And I had to admit to myseif, very much against the grain, that I probably would not be able to endure these things.

“I remember I went to bed after that, feeling very miserable. But when I woke up next morning the first thing I said to myself was ‘but why stay in England in the winter: Why be cold and wet when all you have to do is to follow the sun and sail your boat (your Home) south?'

“To cut all this short, I sailed back to Harwich and sent to London for a map of the French canals. And when it came I found my idea of following the sun south was entirely feasible. All I had to do was to choose a fine day in early autumn and sail across the Channel from Dover to Calais.

“From Calais the map showed me a network of canals and navigable rivers spreading over the whole face of France, and I discovered that a boat of this size and draught could proceed through those inland waterways right through the heart of France to the Mediterranean.

“I bought this boat that same day. I had a few small alterations made to her, and the following week I sailed from Harvvich, bound south—for Ramsgate, Dover, Calais, Paris, Lyons, and the Riviera.”

“Well done!” I cried.

And my wife said, “Hush! And then? Then?”

Our new friend smiled at us again. “Yes,” he said. “You're right. It was a bit of a rash proceeding — at my age. But I've never regretted it.”

A Regular Christopher Columbus

“That first cruise was perfectly delightful and, on the whole, a very simple affair. I had my troubles, of course. I got to Dover easily enough by coasting all round the Thames Estuary and putting in somewhere snug every night. But I stayed in Dover for ten days before I judged the weather was fine enough for me to sail to Calais.

“The truth is, I was rather scared. The passage is only twenty-one miles, but I felt a regular Christopher Columbus when I ventured across the Channel at last. It was a fine day, with a light north-east wind, and under sail and motor I got across in four hours. But I assure you Columbus was nothing to me when I sailed into Calais harbour!”

“I felt I had triumphantly accomplished a most tremendous adventure, and I was immensely pleased and proud. And I can assure you it's rather remarkable for anything to make a cynical and disillusioned old man of my age feel like that.

“From Calais onward it was all canal and river work. It took me two months to get to Marseilles, because I went a round-about way and took my time over it. I had no need to hurry, of course, but I don't think anything could have made me hurry through the lovely country in which I found myself.

“I wandered down the Oise to Paris, where I stayed a week, moored in the Seine almost in the Shadow of the Champs-Elysees' tree. It was amusing and comfortable, too, living in the middle of Paris like that. I could dine ashore if I wanted to and go to a theatre, and then walk back and go to bed in my own floating hotel without any fuss or bother. And when I got tired of the city I just moved on, hotel and all.

“I went up the Marne to Chalons, along the canals to Bar-le-Duc and Epinal, and down through the Haute-Saone and Cote d'Or country to Macon and Lyons. I mention these towns to show you the route I took, but it was all the little out-of-the-world places between them that I used to stop at and which I found so interesting.

“I met all sorts of people and everyone was very helpful and kind, and by the time I got to Lyons I could speak about four different brands of French quite well.”

“Well Within My Income”

“The passage down the Rhone to Arles was rather strenuous. The current is very strong and I had to take a pilot, which spoilt my fun; but it was soon over, and I got to Marseilles without any more bother.

“I had got as far south then as I could get, so I spent the rest of the winter in most of those delightful little harbours which sprinkle the coast between Marseilles and Frejus. I found practically no winter along that stretch of coast, which is much better, I think, than the Riviera proper. I can recommend Porquerolles if ever you find yourselves down that way, while Port Cros must be one of the loveliest places there are on this earth.

“I enjoyed every minute of that first winter, and by the time the spring came round I knew I had discovered the perfect life. I was happier than I ever hoped to be, and healthier than I had ever been. I found myself looking forward to each day, and every day had some new interest.

“Life was, without exaggeration, nearly perfect.

“If I found myself anywhere or amongst people I did not care for, all I had to do was to heave up my anchor and go somewhere else. That's one of the many advantages of living aboard a boat. When you want to go away there's no packing, no taxis, no tips, no trains and no bother. And you haven't got to find a place to lay your head when you get to your journey's end.

“In a boat you just move on, and your sitting-room, your kitchen, your bedroom and all your little personal comforts and conveniences move on with you. And when you get to your destination there you are, at Home.

“It added to my peace of mind, too, to find I was living well within my income, in spite of the fact that I was living very well and doing myself a great deal better than I had, for instance, in my Harwich lodgings.

“Of course I had to be careful and not go in for too many luxuries, but I lived as I wanted to live, and it surprised me to find how little it cost me to do it. I'll show you my account book, if it will interest you, but first I'll show you where I've been during these last ten years.”

Sailing Through Europe

“Look at this! It's the offcial French canal map, showing all the canals and navigable rivers in the country. You'll notice there's very little of France you can't get at by water. It's almost unbelievable where you can go; everywhere, practically, except to the tops of the mountains.

It's the same in Belgium and Holland, and in Germany, too, and until I got these canal maps I had no idea of the extraordinary manner the inland waterways of Europe have been developed. The ordinary maps don't give the details, so perhaps it's not surprising that people in England don't realise they can travel in a yacht from Calais through every country in Europe, except Spain and Italy, entirely by river and canal.

“It sounds incredible, doesn't it? But I've done it myself, in this boat. Including Switzerland!”

“Switzerland!” cried my wife. “How did you?”

“There are two ways of getting there,” said our extraordinary friend. “Up the Rhine Lateral canal, or the way I went — up the Rhine-Rhone canal from Strassburg to Mulhause and along the Huningue canal to Basle.

“That was as far as I could conveniently get then, but I believe the new canal is open now, running right through to Lake Constance and Bregenz. But I'm ahead of my yarn.

“When the spring came round that first year I went from Marseilles by canal all the way to Bordeaux. I spent that summer cruising up the coast to L'Orient and from there along the canals, right through Central Brittany from Brest to Nantes.

“Then I came south again, away from the cold, and spent the winter exploring South-West France, along the Dordogne and the Garrone and its tributaries. I saw most of that lovely country between Perigueux and Bordeaux in the north, Floirac and Albi in the east, and from Carcassonne in the south to Lacave, which is pretty well on the Spanish border.

“The whole country down there flows with milk and honey, to say nothing of the wine and the scenery. I had a good time.

“Then I went up north via the Midi canal and the Rhone, got into the Rhine at Strassburg, sailed all down that river to Rotterdam, and spent the summer in Holland. I liked this country and the people so much that I stayed here all that winter. Then I branched out. I was beginning to see the possibilities of this game by then, and I had gained confidence in myself and the boat.

“I won't bore you with all the details of my travels, but I went through North Germany to the Mecklenburg lakes. You ought to go there. More lakes than you could explore in two years, set in a park-like country. Perfect. But take a mosquito net.”

“Then I sailed south to Dresden and Prague, then north to the Danish archipelago and the Swedish islands. I wintered in the Moselle valley, explored Central France and tried to go through the Loire country, but found a difficulty there owing to the shallowness of those particular rivers.

“After that I pottered about in Belgium and up the Rhine to Mainz, and from there up the Main and through the Ludwigs canal into the headwaters of the Danube. I can recommend Bavaria and all the lost country around there. It's the Middle Ages.

“And, of course, once I got on the Danube I had to go down it. And I am glad I did, because it's a wonderful river and the scenery is magnificent. I drifted down it, taking my time and meaning to go as far as Vienna, or maybe Budapesth. But you know how it is. There was the river, going on and on all across Europe, so I went on too—to Belgrade, the Iron Gates, Rustchuck and Galatz, until I came to Sulina and the Black Sea.

Interesting Adventures

“I turned back that time, because I did not like the idea of venturing into Russian waters, the political situation being what it was. So I went up the Danube again.

“It took me two years to get to Passau on the German border. The Danube runs very swiftly, so progress was slow, and at times I had to take a tow, but the real reason I took so long was the number of side trips I felt I simply had to take up the various tributaries.

“I could write a book about it all, and some day I think I must, but so far I've been so busy moving about and enjoying life that I never have time for writing. And I wonder if my book would be readable if I wrote it? You see, I've had few ‘interesting adventures' or things like that.

“I got thoroughly lost once on the willow swamps on the lower Tisza, and went down with a bad go of fever in the middle of it. But I got out all right.

“And some Bulgarians above Sistove fired at me one day, but it turned out they were Customs guards and thought I was a smuggler, and we finished up the best of friends.

“Beyond that, and a little unpleasantness with a Ruthenian gentleman who tried to steal my dinghy, nothing much out of the ordinary happened. But I met a lot of very strange and interesting people.

“I had a wonderfully good time. In fact the country and the people along the Danube fascinated me; so much so that, after sailing about over Eastern Germany and a little of Poland, I went down the Danube again. This time I went as far as Odessa. I wanted to go on, either up the Dnieper, or through the Sea of Azoff, up the Don, through the Katchalinskay canal, and then either up the Volga to Nijni Novgorod, or down river to Astrakhan and the Caspian.

“Unfortunately I could not get permission from the Russians to make either of those trips. Perhaps it is just as well, as the country was rather disturbed and I might have got into trouble. But one of these days, when things have settled down, I intend to make that trip yet, because, bar politics, there's absolutely nothing to prevent it.”

A Millionaire's Life

I remember it was at this point in our friend's discourse that I interrupted him by crying out in a loud voice, “By God!” and hitting the cabin table hard with my fist.

My wife said nothing, but there was a look in her eyes and a light in them that showed me she understood and approved the wild and fascinating thought that had flashed into my mind.

And our friend, it appeared, understood me also, for said he, “Yes. Why not? All you need is a boat drawing less than four feet, with a motor in her for choice and her mast in a tabernacle. That and the — well, let's call it courage; the courage to step out of your rut. It looks hard; but a mere step does it — as I found out.

“Of course, it costs money. Following the seasons all over Europe in your own home is a millionaire's life; but I've managed to live it at an average cost, over the last ten years, of less than £150 per annum. Look at this!”

He put an open book before us on the table. It was his account book, and it contained, in full detail, his daily expenditures during all the years he had been living aboard his boat. It was, I can assure you, a most engrossing work, and was full of items such as these, which I found on a single page and copied there and then.

And I shall regret it till I die that I had no time to copy any more:

Sept. 5. Capdenac. 8 duck eggs and I duck (cooked), 3s. ld.

7th. 10 lb. grapes in fine willow basket, gratis. 6 boxes matches, 2s.! Sulphur at that! Note: Smuggle in big stock of matches when next I come to France.

8th. Very hard cheese, 1 ft. in dia., 1 basket peaches, 1 jeroboam peach brandy, 1 kiss on both cheeks, gratis, or perhaps fee for removing flint from farmer's eye.

9th. Mule hire, lOd. Alms to leper, ls., interesting case.

Castets, 15th. 6 feet of bread, ls., 1 pint turps, 1/2 d.

16th. 2 gallons turps, 8d. Castelsarrasin.

Oct. 2nd Bribe to gendarme, 5d.

I should dearly love to publish that account book, just as it stands, without any comment or explanation. It would, I think, make fascinating and suggestive reading.

Twelve Months of Expenses

“Look here,” said our friend, turning over the unique pages and exposing the following figures to our devouring eyes. “This is a summary of my first twelve months' income and outgoings.”

Income: £190 0s. 0d.

Upkeep of boat (at 9s. per week): £23 8s. 0d.

Petrol and oil: £10 4s. 0d. (distance covered under motor 1220 miles)

Charts, canal dues: £13 8s. 0d.

Food, drink, clothes, light, and heat: £100 0s. 0d. (at just under £2 a week)

Total expenditure: £147 0s. 0d.

Balance remaining: £43 0s. 0d.

“I managed to save £43, you see, that first year, enough to buy a new boat like this one, every five years, if I continued to save at the same rate.

“I was extra careful that year. I didn't spend much on myself, but I bought the boat all she needed and kept her up in first-class shape. I painted her inside once and three times outside, doing it all myself, and I had her sails tanned to preserve them.

“The tanning was done by a fisherman I made friends with in Toulon. He did a good job. In the end he wouldnt let me pay for anything except the cost of the materials, because he said we were amis and he liked English sailors.

“And one day I came across a broken-down motor-boat, drifting off Cape Camaret, and towed her into port. Her owner was scared to death, and very grateful accordingly. He was no sailor, but he was a mighty good mechanic, and he insisted on giving my little engine a first-class overhaul, just to show his gratitude.

“My fuel bill was very small, because I never use the motor if I can sail. The £13 odd for dues, etc., was mostly spent on maps and charts, not that many charts are necessary, but I simply can't resist buying the things. I spend hours poring over them, and planning more voyages than I shall ever have time to make.

“As for the canal and harbour dues — they're ridiculous; generally some fraction of a penny per ton. And this boat's registered tonnage is only two ton. The only expensive piece of water to travel over in Europe is the Rhone. It's got a terrific current, pilotage is compulsory, and to get up it you have to be towed.

“But everywhere else the only trouble about the charges is to find change small enough to pay them with. £2 a week for food and so on sounds very little, but all I can say is I live well on that sum.”

“My Expenses Are Very Small”

“You see, if I want, say vegetables I don't go to a shop in a city for them. No. Perhaps I see a good-looking garden on the river bank. I stop and have a yarn with the owner, and when I depart I'm richer by a basket full of fresh vegetables, and maybe a chicken and some eggs and fruit as well, while the gardener is left with a fair price for his produce and something to talk about for weeks.

“He's pleased and I'm pleased.

“I've paid less than I would if I bought from a shop, and he's received more than he would if he sold to a dealer. And when I say I've got fresh vegetables I mean fresh — which is something you can't get from a shop.

“Clothes don't bother me much. It's not essential to dress in the latest style, living this life. I keep my go-ashore clothes in that tin uniform case, and when I get to a city and want to see the sights I put on a civilised suit. Otherwise I use soft shirts, jerseys and flannel trousers.

“I do my washing myself; half an hour a fortnight does it, which is nothing to grumble about.

“I use paraffin oil for light and cooking in the summer, and in the winter I keep that little stove going on coal and wood. I find I burn wood mostly, because I've got a passion, apparently, for collecting any odd pieces I find drifting about. There must be a strain of longshoreman blood in me somewhere, I think, for I can't resist picking up bits of driftwood, even though I have to throw most of them overboard again, and I generally have a bigger collection of the stuff on deck than I can ever hope to burn.

“So you see, one way and another, my expenses are very small. The £30 or £40 I save every year I put by for accidents, major repairs, depreciation and a sort of insurance fund.

“I've bought a new suit of sails and had the whole boat surveyed and recaulked and the engine practically renewed, all out of the fund, and I've still got enough left to buy a new boat if I want one.

“I'm getting so rich, in fact, that I don't know what to do with all my money. I tried to get rid of some of it by buying extra fine gear for the boat, but I found that scheme merely saved me more money in the long-run.

“For instance, I scrapped my Manilla running rigging and replaced it with best hemp at twice the cost, but I'll be bothered if the hemp hasn't lasted four times as long as the Manilla already!

“And to make it worse, people will persist in giving me things, bless 'em.

“I've made a lot of friends in pretty well every corner of Europe. Can't help it, living this sort of life, it seems. And most of them have an idea that, living as I do, I am to be regarded with compassion. A poor old man, living all alone aboard a little boat — that's how they seem to feel about me, I fear.

“So, whenever I turn up, my compassionate friends appear, bearing gifts! It's quite embarrassing sometimes. And sometimes it's a real nuisance.

“The Middelburg canal is barred to me, for instance, because the keeper of one of the swing bridges refuses to let me through until he's been aboard to greet me and give me a box of cigars or a jar of schnapps; which things he really can't afford, as he's a poor man with a very large family.

“He does it, it seems, because I'm leading just the kind of life he'd like to lead if he hadn't been blessed with a wife, his mother-in-law and nine children.

“The result is I have to go round now by Terneuzen, instead of through Middelburg, whenever I want to pass from Holland into Belgium. And I always have to go through Strassburg by night to dodge a dear old gentleman, who invariably presses on me about a stone of the smelliest cheese on earth whenever he catches sight of me. He calls me his brave ancient ami so lonely.

“Lonely! Why, I should think I must have a larger and more varied assortment of friends than any man in Europe. And I keep on making more all the time. For instance, I hope I've made two today.”

He had; and we are glad to say he dined with them that evening, entrancing them with his talk until far into the night.

J.D.'s note: The paragraph that starts the next section is one long sentence. I can't see a way to break it up sensibly. And in the original edition, that is only half of the entire paragraph. The whole story is made up of long paragraphs like this. You can imagine how much work it was to edit things to make them readable on the web!

Do Everything You Can Yourself

He talked of gentle rivers wandering through valleys of everlasting peace; of a quiet canal, lost amongst scented reeds and covered with a pink-and white carpet of water-lilies; of a string of tiny lakes, their blue waters ringed with the green of forest pines; of a narrow canal, built by old Romans, but navigable still, that climbs up through clouds into the high mountains; of aqueducts spanning bottomless ravines and a view from the yacht's deck of half Southern Germany; of a Red Ensign flying at the peak and a Black Forest eagle's screamings at that sight; of the Croatian mayor who had never heard of a certain country called England; of a thousand square miles of bloodred swamp, studded with giant willows; of Wallachian water-gipsies and their cats who catch fish; of the mile-long log raft commanded by a Russian ex-admiral; of a spiked helmet dredged from out the Meuse by the yacht's anchor; of the warm-hearted kindliness of Bulgarian brigands and the barbarous fines of Frs. 25,000 extorted (unsuccessfully) by “the most civilised country in Europe”; of pack-ice and ice-breakers in the heart of old Amsterdam; of the 1000 ton motor-barge that trades each year between Groningen and Sulina; of the 300-ton barge proceeding from Bruges to Dunkerque in tow of a jolly old lady of seventy; of a spilliken-like traffic jam in the old moat at Furnes and the Fordson tractor that extricated twenty-eight barges; of the Flemish barge named No. 27 Park Lane, because the wounds of her skipper had been succoured at that address in 1914; of pig-manure, chemical fumes and rotting flax on the Lys, and the barge with a deckload of potted hyacinths that outdid all those scents; of the ten-knot currents on the Rhone and the silent waters of the Oude Ryn that ebb and flow no more; of the charm of this old earth and the fun of living on it, if only you understand the proper way to live.

Said our friend, “I've found one good way to live and be happy. There must be other ways, too, but I don't know 'em, so I mean to stick to my way — till I come to the end of it.

“The secret seems to be, to do everything you can yourself.

“It's difficult to explain, but take an example. Take travel. Allow yourself to be carried about the world in Wagon-Lits and cabins-deluxe, and what do you get out of it? You get bored to death. Everything is done for you and you don't even have to think. All you have to do is to pay.

“You're carried about with the greatest care and wrapped up and fed and insulated from—from everything. You see about as much of life as a suckling in the arms of its nurse. No wonder you get bored!

“But get yourself about the world, on your own feet, or in your own boat, and you're bound, you're bound to fill your life with interest and charm and fun — and beauty.

“You'll have your disagreeable and uncomfortable times, of course, but they merely serve to make the good times taste better. ‘Sleep after toyle, port after stormie seas.' Old Spenser knew. He'd been through it.

“Sail all day in the wet and cold, then bring up in some quiet harbour and go below and toast your feet before the galley fire and you'll realise what bliss means.

“Travel in a steam-heated Pullman and then put up at the Ritz and see if you find any bliss there! You see what I mean? Stewart Edward White put it all much better than I can. He wrote, ‘I've often noted two things about trees: the stunted little twisted fellows have had a hard time, what with wind and snow and poor soil; and they grow farthest up on the big peaks.'”

Fair Winds and Following Seas

Next morning our friend must have risen with the sun, and we were still beneath our blankets when the incense of his coffee and bacon drifted down our cabin hatch. Presently the sound of ropes falling on deck warned us he was getting under weigh, and we arose to say goodbye to him.

“Good morning,” said he. “I'm sorry to disturb you so early, but I want to catch the first of the flood. With luck it'll carry me into the Rhine and I'll be in Germany by evening. Now I'll cast off and go — and see what this good day's got in store for me.”

“A fair tide and a fair wind is a fine beginning, anyway. Good-bye, you two. We'll meet again somewhere, for certain, if only you follow that impulse you had last night. I don't want to influence you unduly; but, remember — one step does it and you're out of the rut for good. Good-bye. God bless you both.”

He set his jib and the little green yacht fell off before the wind and headed for the harbour entrance.

She sailed away with the sun shining bright upon her, and upon the white head of the man at her helm. Presently she entered the broad river, and we saw our friend look back and wave his hand in farewell. Then the boat was hidden by a bank of golden sand, and the last we saw of her was her little Red Ensign, a tiny flame outlined against the sky.

The Beginning

This seems to be the end of the story, but I do not know. I am not sure.

I am not sure, because the words of that elderly adventurer seem to have set us thinking. I notice we do not say very much, but I know we think a lot. For, at intervals during the cold and fogs of this last winter, there have passed between my wife and me some detached but significant utterances — such as:

“I don't see why I couldn't get on with my writing aboard a boat just as well as I can inside this flat.”

“Only £200 a year! Hang it! We ought to be able to earn that much between us, you'd think?”

“I think, my dear, one of those steam-cookers would be a splendid thing to have if we, for anyone living aboard a small boat.”

“What a foul fog! It hurts to think of the sun shining, now, in the south of France.”

“May the Devil run away with that damned loudspeaker next door. You know, if this flat was a boat, we could move it out of hearing.”

“If I get bronchitis again next winter. My dear, I don't think I could stand another winter here.”

Also we have purchased a monumental work entitled, Guide Officiel de la Navigation Interieure, published by the Ministere des Travaux Publiques. This is a fascinating work, heartily to be recommended. It has a lovely map.

Also we have just heard of a little boat.

In fact, we have been to look at her. She is sound and very strong. She has two good berths and a galley and lots of stowage space. Also she has a little auxiliary motor. And her mast is in a tabernacle. And she is for sale. And we have fallen in love with her.

So perhaps this is not the end of this story. In fact, we hope and we pray this story has only just begun.

I'm unclear on whether this story is in the Public Domain. Many folks claim that it is, although I have my doubts. You can find it all over the web, so I've shared it too. If you are the rights holder and would like me to remove it, please contact me.

The post The £200 Millionaire: An early retirement story from 1932 appeared first on Get Rich Slowly.

from Finance https://www.getrichslowly.org/200-pound-millionaire/ via http://www.rssmix.com/