#it was a transactional relationship that went south

[thegetdownrebooter]

i actually feel so vindicated by tom admitting to being a gold digger because i've been saying that since day one!

[apollosgiftofprophecy]

I saw a couple of posts here and on ao3 where you talked about how TOA Apollo has a stilted view of romantic relationships. Would you be comfortable explaining that, it got me really interested!

OKAY

SO

gonna be putting this under a cut for length

Apollo and relationships. Specifically, ToA Apollo and relationships.

let's see if I can formulate the thoughts into words.

Right off the bat, Apollo does have a hard time avoiding those red flags (hello, Commodus), so much so that he can see them...he just ignores them.

This already tells us that he doesn't have the healthiest view on relationships, or what specifically a healthy partner would be like.

In RRverse canon, these are all of his confirmed, canon relationships/love interests;

Hyacinthus

Commodus

Naomi

Darren

Latricia

Cyrene

Daphne

Sibyl

(I probably missed some asdfhjk)

Anyway, I've noticed that in canon, Apollo's relationships tend to fall into two categories; Sweet or Sour, we'll call them.

Now the majority on the list are Sweet! They are fulfilling relationships with no indication of any bitter feelings- Apollo is not shy about telling us about his love life, and certainly doesn't keep it from us when a relationship went south.

What I find interesting is that all three of the Sours can help pinpoint Apollo's more jaded/stilted view on romance.

Let's kick off with Daphne.

First things first, Apollo is quite literally forced to fall in love with her. Like. That has GOT to screw with a guy. What's more, is that when Apollo explains to us how Eros's arrows work;

What people do not understand: Eros’s arrows can’t summon emotion from nothing. They can only cultivate potential that is already there. Daphne and I could have been a perfect pair. She was my true love. She could have loved me back. Yet thanks to Eros, my love-o-meter was cranked to one hundred percent, while Daphne’s feelings turned to pure hate (which is, of course, only the flip side of love). Nothing is more tragic than loving someone to the depths of your soul and knowing they cannot and will not ever love you back. The stories say I chased her on a whim, that she was just another pretty dress. The stories are wrong. - The Hidden Oracle

There's an implication that he and Daphne may have actually been...friends. Or at the very least acquaintances.

It's never stated in canon when Daphne happened, and the mythology itself is weird about the timeline, but it certainly happened earlier in Apollo's life.

Imagine being forced to fall madly in love with someone you know and they are made to despise you.

The self-confidence definitely took a blow here.

What's more...

When she begged Gaea to turn her into a laurel tree in order to escape me, part of my heart hardened into bark as well.

Apollo tells us plainly that what happened with Daphne shook his views on romantic endeavors. Though, it didn't keep him from engaging in romance, either.

Now, back to Commodus real quick. We already covered the No Red Flag Bell with him, and honestly, I won't spend too much time here because I got a whole meta list waiting to dissect these two XD

But Sibyl reveals something else about Apollo and romance- sometimes, he sees it as transactional.

The story of Apollo and Sibyl does differ from the mythology of them- in mythology, Sibyl tricks Apollo into granting her a long life, and he kinda just shrugs and says 'okay, but you didn't ask for eternal youth either so...whoops?'

In ToA, Rick switches it up a bit by having Apollo grant Sibyl a long life after she jokes about it, and when she further rebuffs him, he curses her with no eternal youth.

Alas, I knew what I’d been thinking—that she was a pretty young woman I wanted to get with, despite the fact that she was my Sibyl. Then she’d outsmarted me, and being the bad loser that I was, I had cursed her. - The Tyrant's Tomb

I promised you life, not youth. You can have your centuries of existence. You will remain my Sibyl. I cannot take those things away, once given. But you will grow old. You will wither. You will not be able to die.

Yeah, it sounds like Apollo more or less curses her with no eternal youth here.

(Daily disclaimer that mythology Apollo's love life is actually very good and you should read up on it :3)

Back to the transactional thing-

"You cannot refuse payment." “Payment?” She balled her hands into fists. “You dare think of me as a transaction?” “I didn’t mean—Obviously, I wasn’t—”

Now, do I think Apollo sees all relationships as transactional? No. But let's consider the Olympian influence for a moment here.

Olympus in the RRverse is rather fucked, no doubt about it. The gods do not help without first being given something, and that permeates through their whole lifestyles.

Apollo's not being transactional because ✨misogyny✨. He's being transactional because that's what he's been raised to believe. If he gives something, he gets something back. That goes for all the gods, male and female and everything in between.

Bacchus helps the demigods in Mark of Athena because they paid tribute to him. Whenever a god extends aid, burnt offerings are made in thanks- which is probably part of the reason why Hera got angry with Annabeth when she refused to give her burnt offerings in The Battle of the Labyrinth after she helped her on her quest.

Apollo doesn't seem to be as picky as some (ie, The Titan's Curse, where he helps out to help out. You can argue he got his sister back in exchange but that's not really typical godly exchange lol), but it's clear that mindset has somewhat transferred over into relationships.

Now, I also want to talk about how Hyacinthus affected him- because let's be real, he was the one that affected him the most without outside interference (looking at you, Eros).

Apollo has told us time and again that Hyacinthus was one of, if not his greatest, love. His death really left a mark on him, and I am of the firm belief that it's that mark that made him wary of forming too close of a relationship with others- even when he tries to convince them and himself they are his One True Love™️, it falls flat inside his own head.

Because let's face it- that spot is occupied by Hyacinthus, and the hole he left in Apollo's heart.

This isn't to say Apollo loves his other lovers less- heck no! Love is one of his defining qualities. He has much love in him!

It's just that Hyacinthus had a particular impact on him, and how he views relationships.

*vibrates in Hyapollo multific* I have...my own personal ideas...on what that entails...

And we see how touch-and-go Apollo is with other lovers! As soon as Commodus becomes emperor, he's gone. And only comes back in disguise, never revealing himself until he kills him.

Naomi, Darren, and Latricia are all obviously loving relationships from what we can gather, but it's clear it was never long-term.

Cyrene, really, is where I'd argue he got the closest to a long-term relationship with a mortal-ish person, but even so, they aren't in a permanent long-term relationship either.

Hyacinthus, however? I can see he and Apollo maintaining an everlasting romance.

...Also because that is exactly what happens according to the Spartans and who are we to deny what the Spartans declared about their national hero?

The only other exceptions to this I can see are his relationships with the Muses and (hello, fellow Apricity shippers) Boreas.

But even so...the Muses give off like, 'married co-workers' vibes, if that makes sense, and Boreas is more or less a winter fling (fandom forgive me, you know I am a shipper🫡)

Anyway. Hope this rambling makes sense or at least provides a platform for someone to put coherent thoughts together lmao

In conclusion: sometimes Apollo is transactional in relationships because of the culture he was raised in, and he has commit issues because of just how hard Hyacinthus's death hit him :)

have fun pondering :3

[llitchilitchi]

so I have a theory on how c!Dream's prison stay was supposed to go

(I am dropping the c! because I'm lazy but again. all DSMP)

after the Staged Finale, Dream was thrown into Pandora's Vault - the prison was at hand, the timing absolutely perfect for him to be just locked up in the deepest pits of hell and rot. this severed him from Punz, who was his closest ally, rendering their relationship to a transaction rather than actual friendship and close collaboration.

such severance was not necessary with Ranboo - mostly because Ranboo, as his amnesiac self, never sided with Dream, all while Enderboo kept their friendship secret. he was then to serve as Dream's messenger: get him news of the happenings on the server while also, possibly, delivering Dream's messages out to the world.

we know that Dream had a favour to cash in with Techno - a favour he was 'keeping for later' (by which point we can guess that Dream was working on the Staged Finale around that time already)

this is where we get to speculative territory: it is then possible that, with Enderboo serving as messenger, after a sufficient enough time has passed Dream would have asked him to deliver a message to Techno. he'd ask to cash in his favour while passing along a message that contained the coordinates of their first meeting where Dream had hidden the chest with all Techno needs to break him out of prison.

this did not happen, however, since Ranboo asked not to be allowed in anymore and also that whole thing with torture happened along with it. we're left to guess how much of what we did see was actually part of the plan. Dream sent a message to Ranboo through Sapnap - was it to wake him up? a call for information, for help? a sign to move the plan along? was the TNT on the roof an unfortunate 'I hear you, I hear you but I cannot reach you, but I hear you' or was it an act of disobedience, a moment of 'enough is enough, and if I cannot come in through the front door I will make my own'? or was the TNT part of the plan all along? did Dream ask Enderboo to keep an eye out on the server so that when someone on their last life comes to prison he sets off the TNT, trapping the person in with Dream so that Dream may prove he has the book to the server? or was it an unfortunate accident?

(on a slightly related note, we saw Ranboo at the Red Banquet in strange clothes: was that him, in disguise, spying as Enderboo so that he may tell Dream what happened? (or if we go a bit more further with this: was Enderboo tasked with keeping an eye on particular people Dream holds dear? was Enderboo there to watch over George or someone else?))

just how Much of the plan went south, and how much of it are we still unaware of?

[theblackdragon-studios]

Helluva Boss S2 E7 Reaction Notes

I finally watched the latest episode of Helluva Boss, and I wrote down my thoughts and reactions during. Here they are.

Warning: Contains spoilers to the episode

Thoughts as I watch:

-I wondered what Mammon’s voice would be…Cockney was NOT on my list of expectations. Wow. XD (Edit after rewatch: I think it’s actually Australian…thickly Australian. I could be wrong but it sounds either Cockney or Australian now I rewatched it.)

-Huh, Fizz and Blitz were fans of him when they were young…

-Only in Hell does anyone actually WANT to be a clown. XD

-Weird how Blitzo is so weirded out by Mammon’s pitch about working with him…though actually Blitzo really wanted to run his own circus, so maybe that’s why.

-I love how obvious this guy is. XD The jabs being made at corporate bosses here through this asshole’s whole character so far…they’re terrible at lying, yet people believe it anyway

Blitzo is all of us that caught onto the bullshit. XD This episode is so great already.

-Going for the jugular with that “women just aren’t funny” line. XD 1.) the show is by a woman. And 2.) …yeah. Most of them really aren’t funny to me. XD I know that probably wasn’t the joke (women comedians aren’t funny…), and we obviously aren’t supposed to like him, but yeah.

But also the “written by Vivienne Medrano” credit, AKA Vivziepop herself I think. That was great. XD

-“it’s not weird. You’re weird!” “It’s not exploitation” Exactly what Hollywood says now to anyone being critical of their stuff. Seriously, first South Park and now this…bravo adult comedy people. Just bravo.

Also playing an electric guitar version of “Carmen” I think it is. XD Even more clever, as that song was about how shady and manipulative that woman was if I remember right.

-…weird to hear adult Blitzø’s voice on his teenage self. Though I guess he went through puberty already. lol And I think Fizz’s adult voice is partially because of the fire accident.

-And now taking a jab at the entitled fans out there that aren’t giving constructive criticism and are demanding things then being all butthurt when they’re rejected. Finally an episode I fully get the social commentary on. lol

-$69.99 Subtle. Very subtle. XD (and “no refunds: if you don’t like it, it’s your fault”)

-I LOVE Ozzie here. You go man! Yeah he has his flaws too, even as a demon…but he is so sweet and so honest with Fizz it’s great. I also love the message here about both being a perfectionist…and being a people-pleaser. Destroying yourself to especially please someone that doesn’t give a fuck about you…because you think that gives you your worth. Especially after his accident… I have a lot of thoughts on this, but I’ll see where things go.

-Asmodeus calling Blitzø…somehow the most bizarre thing on the show yet. XD And how Blitzø is perfectly chill about it. Well I know for one, Blitzø knows about Fizz and Ozzie’s relationship and is happy his friend is happy…but I think this is also more evidence Blitzø wasn’t that upset at being picked on by Oz, and instead by being called out by his ex-friend, ex-girlfriend, and Stolas acting ashamed of their own relationship (which is transactional only he thinks…)

But he is at least a little polite when talking to Ozzie. lol So that’s nice.

-…the horse thing. He is STILL on the horse thing. Oh my gosh.

-Vivzie and her team are treating us to so much great stuff lately! First Stolas and Ozzie working together, and now Blitzø and Ozzie. This is comedy gold! Also Ozzie’s happy smile at the end of that scene when Blitzø said yes. Why are all these bird demons so cute? XD

-First, I still love Ozzie’s theme music (it’s the song from his debut episode) and second, cool to see his less flashy, public appearance in other parts of hell look from that first episode he’s in too. It looks really good on him.

And it’s cool seeing a Deadly Sin icon being more subtle outside of his ring. Makes me wonder what Bee looks like when she’s trying not to steal the show.

-Eh spoke too soon on Blitzø and Ozzie teaming up. Ozzie left, but I understand why.

-More jabs at Hollywood and their harmful treatment of their stars through Mammon calling an already incredibly thin Fizz fat

-Huh that rock music…I know I’ve heard it in the show before. I think this IS the Greed ring’s music…but I can’t remember.

-I figured one rescue and hug wouldn’t fix everything…but Fizz clearly no longer hates Blitzø and vice versa, and they are friends again it looks like. But I wonder if Fizz still has anxiety about Blitzø being at a performance of his…or maybe he’s just suspicious because Blitzø has always been openly critical of Mammon and these shows.

-“Smile inside and out”…I’m surprised Fizz doesn’t have depression like Stolas…

-Interesting how the background demons in this scene are just silhouettes. I don’t know if that’s to emphasize how he’s this colorful entertainment prop and toy for them and they represent real world fans…or if it was to save on work load

-Ooh these girls (the twin performers) look like they’re from the Envy ring (Leviathan’s ring) by the fish-like look of them

-I used to find Fizz annoying…but seeing him in the last episode and this one, he’s more like Moxxie. Too nice for this world when it comes to one-on-one conversation with the way he was so polite to those contest participants

-Oh yeah! Mammon said women aren’t funny. XD Ha! I thought that was just a joke for the opening, but he actually called back to it

To be honest I didn’t think any of their acts were funny though. Just cool acrobatics and talented crafting

-More “clearly the money-greedy corporate bosses don’t care about you, their stars, or anything but what sells”.

-I know people will still find reasons to hate this episode, but I find it hard to think of anything they could hate without really reaching for something

Actually…they’ll probably complain that Mammon-who is fat-is an asshole and they made him fat because of it…when really, I think it represents the greed thing. He’s supposed to be the stereotype of those fat business men in old cartoons and movies. But as a jester. (Edit: And because spiders have big abdomens)

(Edit after looking through the Helluva Boss tag seeing the nitpicks and complaints: Called it. And a few other things they really zeroed in on just to find something to hate about this. 🙄)

-Giant hellhound background character…was not expecting that. XD

-Fuck…they didn’t have to include that moment with the sign language. But they did…that’s so sweet

Though seeing that kid’s horns…I wonder if their horns also act as their ears? Because his are broken… or maybe he’s mute, not deaf, but Fizz still signed back (despite being exhausted, miserable, and wanting to win this and go home I bet) to show that kid deaf or not, that he took the time to learn for demons like that kid. (Edit: I rewatched it and the kid only had one broken horn in the later scene he’s in. …and I forgot Fizz’s horns are also broken but he can hear just fine…so ignore this theory from when I was watching…)

-…oh my gosh. The entitled fan is back now. This is absolutely commentary on both Hollywood and the Twitter freaks. So good.

-Entitled Fan remembers Blitzø too? Huh.

-Mammon’s 8 eyes…NOW all the webs around the place make sense. And all I can say is YES. Perfect design for the demon of GREED to have spider themes to him. It makes me think of Slughorn from Harry Potter, who was envisioned as a spider spinning his web representing his habit of collecting and exploiting the success of graduating students.

-Fizz making excuses for a shitty boss…also way too real...

-Again…seeing the twins’ performance, clowns must mean something else in this world. That wasn’t funny. It was cool though.

-Ozzie’s back! Yes! He’s so sweet to Fizz…and getting stuck in the door. XD

-Fizz is every famous person that is losing popularity to new things…the ones that cling onto it desperately instead of bowing out with dignity and what they have left…

-I know how Fizz feels here too…feeling he only has all the good things he does because of his fame...he thinks because he doesn’t look as great without it, that he’ll lose his relationship with Ozzie…

But man this couple is so healthy with each other. They try to be very private and secretive (and fail) which is straining, but they communicate with each other and they don’t allow for room for any misunderstandings…I hope we see more Bee and Tex too in the future (Bee might need a new VA if Ke$ha is still dealing with things or too expensive to hire) but these two couples will I hope play a part in Blitzø and Stolas’s drama with how they’ve shown they are in love with low-class demons as well…

Though Goetia are very different from the Deadly Sins…they isolate themselves from the lower class, while the Sins thrive on their company since they feed off their energy or it helps business and stuff.

-Oh my gosh, another Fizzmodeus song! Yes! And the adorable dance…man…I love these two! 💜

-Thank you, Blitzø! The entitled fan guy has been asking for it! And yes. You tell Fizzmodeus off for being hypocrites. XD He has every right to be mad after they bullied his friends. XD

-Oh man I see why the broadway version on Beetlejuice is Fizz now! That was an amazing song! Also Ozzie helping him. XD And getting…a bit more excited than he should. Hilarious. And Blitzø’s part helping too! This trio was awesome!

-The way the cheering kids track plays when Mammon appears in front of Fizz. XD I didn’t notice that until now.

-Yes! Get him Ozzie! Fight! Fight! Fight! Two Deadly Sins in their full power forms! Yes!

-Oh my gosh, the con artist Imp saying ‘I say I say’ again. XD He keeps showing up!

-Ozzie’s animal sound effects…so cool! And the twisting, lashing tails…I love how all-out they go with him being a mix of three animals! Cause Asmodeus apparently is described as having three heads (hence the two shadow heads in his mane) and this design shows that so well! I love it!

-Yeah I think Fizzmodeus being open will help a lot in several things. Including upper class demons getting their heads out of their asses about this stuff.

-This final frame is perfect! XD

Basically I loved this episode. It was so fun and I loved the worldbuilding seeing the leader of the Greed ring, and of course Fizzmodeus being adorable as always! 💜

I do think clown has a different meaning in Hell…but we did only see some of what they did. Most of the humor for me was definitely in the social commentary stuff. And as this is a show for adults…that is what you expect. Jokes about adult problems and mature themes. I got exactly what I was expecting from it.

[momentsbeforemass]

How you start

(a homily for New Year’s Day)

How you start determines how you finish.

I know that’s a bit of a cliché thing to say on New Year’s Day. And yet, it’s completely true. How you start determines how you finish.

It’s true for anything you and I want to do.

Pick any trade or profession you like. Whether you want to be an emergency medical technician or a nurse, a welder or an engineer. It’s just as true.

If you don’t start off with the right training, the right preparation, you probably won’t be able to do it all. If somehow you do, you certainly won’t be able to do it well.

How you start determines how you finish.

The thing is, it’s not just true for our careers. It’s true for every area of our lives.

From business transactions to relationships, how you start determines how you finish.

Okay, so that makes sense for something that has a clear, obvious beginning.

But what if it’s not all that clear? What if it’s something that has doesn’t have an obvious beginning? Something that you sort of find yourself in, maybe kind of drifted into?

For most of us, these are not hypothetical questions. The reason that you and I ask questions like these? It’s because something has gone wrong.

And you and I are trying to figure out how we could have seen it coming, what we could have done differently. Maybe we’re even trying to salvage it.

When things have gone wrong, it’s easy to go negative.

When we do, we can hear something bad in the words “How you start determines how you finish.” We can hear “since it’s going badly, I must have done something wrong.” We can hear blame.

Let’s be clear, there’s nothing wrong with an honest appraisal of what we’ve done. Indeed, finding our mistakes is the first step to remedying them.

But there’s a big difference between figuring out where things went south, so you and I can do something about it. And figuring out where things went south, so you and I can dwell on them. Maybe even assign blame.

The first is essential to a healthy life and to healthy relationships. Especially our relationship with God. The second is just toxic. It’s one of the Enemy’s favorite weapons.

There are two keys to this. Here’s the first. When you figure out where things went south, figure out what to do about it. Then do it. But don’t dwell on it.

As St. Francis de Sales puts it, “Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections, but instantly set about remedying them – every day begin the task anew.”

The other key is the simple truth behind what St. Francis is saying, that we can begin anew.

It’s true that how you start does determine how you finish. But starting is not a one-time thing. You and I are not stuck with yesterday’s start.

You can make a new start.

Sometimes that new start will be a lot more work than a good start would have been the first time. Sometimes that new start will involve cleaning up some messes from our last start.

But it sure beats the alternative. The downward spiral of blaming and dwelling on what went wrong.

This approach is great when things go wrong. But you don’t have to wait until things go wrong to do this.

Here’s what I mean – this process, of figuring out what’s going on and then responding intentionally by beginning anew, applies just as well to life when we’re not sure how things are going. And even when things are going well.

You don’t have to wait until things go wrong to respond intentionally.

What does that look like? It’s exactly what we see in today’s Gospel.

At the end of all of the amazing things surrounding the birth of Jesus. There’s this odd line, “and Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.”

Mary has done everything right. There are no imperfections here that she needs to remedy. She doesn’t need to start things over to clean up a mess. So what’s she doing here?

Mary is stopping. Just for a moment. Instead of reacting to an avalanche of events that had to be both amazing and overwhelming, Mary is reflecting.

She’s taking a moment to figure out what’s going on. She’s taking a break from the busyness of the flow of events.

Instead of simply reacting, she’s taking a moment to just be with God. So that she can be in God’s will. Before responding intentionally.

Mary is giving us a lived example of what it means to start well. Not as a response to crisis or a mistake. But starting well as a normal part of daily life. Hour by hour. Moment by moment.

Mary is giving us a lived example, by interrupting the busyness of the flow of events. By quietly taking a moment to just be with God. Showing us how to be in God’s will. Before responding intentionally.

If you’ve ever wondered where her peace comes from, this is big part of it.

May God grant us the grace to be like Mary in this New Year. To take all the moments to be with God. Not just in times of crisis, but every day.

So that we can start anew in God’s will. Not just for today as we start the New Year. But every day. Hour by hour. Moment by moment.

Because how you start determines how you finish.

Sunday’s Readings

[24business-news]

Pawan Hans Sale: Cayman Islands company in winning bid allegedly fronted for notorious businessman from Zimbabwe

On 16 May, these reporters published in The Wire and NewsClick an article investigating the antecedents of a consortium of three companies that came together to set up Star9 Mobility Solutions Private Limited, which was announced as the winner of the auction to acquire Pawan Hans Limited, the public-sector helicopter service provider. The article pointed out that little information was available in the public domain about the Cayman Islands registered Almas Global Opportunity Fund (AGOF), the largest stakeholder in Star9 Mobility.

Described as Zimbabwe’s “Queen Bee,” Tagwirei is an adviser to Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa and is said to be close to the ruling ZANU-PF (Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front). In a report in the Daily Maverick, a South African newspaper, former Zimbabwean Finance Minister Tendai Bitihas described Tagwirei as a person who controls that country’s food industry, 60% of its gold mines, two of its largest banks, and its sole gold refinery. Announcing the imposition of sanctions on Tagwirei in August 2020, the then US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo described him as a “notoriously corrupt businessman” who had assisted “senior Zimbabwean government officials involved in public corruption.”

How Almas Global acted for Tagwirei

From 2019 onwards, Sotic International Ltd, a Mauritius-registered trading company, went on a “mine-buying spree” in Zimbabwe, reported the Financial Times. Sotic was Tagwirei’s holding company where his accumulated wealth was allegedly hidden. In July 2021, The Sentry, a US-based anti-corruption not-for-profit organisation, released a report on Tagwirei’s alleged illegal activities (including money laundering), in which AGOF’s role has been elaborated on. According to The Sentry and various reports published by Bloomberg and the Financial Times in 2021, AGOF holds the majority stake in Sotic on behalf of Tagwirei.

The Sentry reported that Capital Horizons, a Mauritius based financial advisory firm with Magalingam Reddy and Shaan Kundomal at its helm, advised and helped Tagwirei create a complicated corporate structure to avoid scrutiny by banks and regulators. On the advice of Shaan, in October 2019, Sotic issued 9,000 convertible debentures to AGOF. Capital Horizons then arranged a subscription agreement and an assignment deed between Tagwirei and AGOF, which then sent $8.4 million to Sotic to acquire a 65 per cent stake in the company.

The chart above has been extracted from the report by The Sentry. It describes AGOF’s links with Sotic International.

AGOF’s representative refused to comment on the transaction to Bloomberg and stated: “As per the legal obligations which the fund has to abide, it cannot comment on any of its relationships in any manner whatsoever. We can confirm that the fund is committed to being responsible in all its legal and compliance obligations as a financial entity and adheres to all local and international laws.”

Interestingly, this is the same stand that AGOF took in the National Company Law Tribunal while refusing to disclose its source of funds and its subscribers or actual beneficiaries, which was elaborated on in our earlier article. In a subsequent email response to Bloomberg, AGOF said it has investors from the Persian Gulf, Latin America and India but refused to disclose their identities citing legal restrictions.

Amardeep Sharma, the managing director of AGOF, responded to the Financial Times, stating: “There is no relationship between the subscriber and the investee company in fund investments, and the fund cannot assign assets to individuals. To the best of my knowledge, does not control Sotic.”

AGOF supported Tagwirei even after US sanctions

On 5 August 2020, the US government sanctioned Tagwirei for utilising “his relationships with high-level Zimbabwean officials to gain state contracts and receive favoured access to hard currency, including US dollars.” In turn, Tagwirei allegedly “provided expensive cars to senior government officials.” An audit report prompted a parliamentary inquiry in 2019, which revealed that the Zimbabwean government had failed to account for about $3 billion disbursed under agriculture programmes championed by President Mnangagwa and largely financed by Sakunda Holdings. Soon after the US sanctions, the government of the United Kingdom also imposed sanctions on Tagwirei.

After sanctions were imposed by the US government, Tagwirei and the Zimbabwe government made various moves. The Sentry has disclosed a letter sent by Sotic in August 2020 to the directors of AGOF and another entity called Pfimbi Limited (that holds Sotic’s 35% of shares) to consider a proposal to set up a Zimbabwe-based subsidiary that would hold Sotic’s mining assets. The letter added that this was on account of the “negative press” received and because of the “increased international scrutiny” on Sotic.

In December 2020, the Zimbabwean government announced the formation of a public-private partnership company, Kuvimba Mining House Limited, that would hold some of Zimbabwe’s most valuable gold, platinum, chrome and nickel mines. The revenue generated by this firm was to be used to revive the country’s moribund economy and create a “safer platform” that would avoid the effects of the US sanctions.

Shareholding Pattern of Ziva Resources, Published by the Sentry

The Zimbabwean government-owned Herald quoted the country’s Finance Minister saying that the government holds 65% of Kuvimba through various government funds and other entities, while 35% is with Ziwa Investments, the Zimbabwean subsidiary of a Mauritius-registered company named Quorus. The government in Harare vehemently denied that Tagwirei had any involvement with Kuvimba.

The Sentry report noted that, surprisingly, the name of Kuvimba did not appear in the company registry of the government of Zimbabwe. Ziwa Investments, too, did not appear in the company records of the Mauritius government. However, an entity named Ziwa Resources did appear in the Mauritius government’s records. Interestingly, 65% of Ziwa Resources was owned by Almas Global Opportunity Fund, and the rest was in the hands of the Zimbabwe-registered Pfimbi Resources, whose directors were Tagwirei and his wife. It also turned out that Quorus and Ziwa Resources had the same directors, and they were closely associated with Tagwirei.

Infographic published in The Sentry’s report explains AGOF’s connection with the US sanctioned businessman in 2021.

In October 2021, the Financial Times quoted AGOF’s representative saying that Tagwirei doesn’t own shares in the fund anymore and that Almas was trying to get out of its investments in Zimbabwe. In a detailed recorded interview to this reporters on 27 May, Amardeep Sharma said that AGOF is still trying to exit its investments in Zimbabwe.

How much did the Indian government know?

On 16 May, the day we published our investigation into the antecedents of the buyers of Pawan Hans, various publications and websites reported that the privatisation of Pawan Hans had been “put on hold” by the Indian government. The reports added that the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) in the Ministry of Finance was conducting a legal examination of an adverse order against AGOF by the NCLT (National Company Law Tribunal) that our previous report covered in detail and that the “letter of award” to the winning bidder, Star9 Mobility, would be issued only after the examination was concluded.

On 18 May, it was reported that AGOF would challenge the NCLT order in the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), saying that the NCLT order was “abrupt and a bit premature.” The Economic Times quoted the fund’s spokesperson as saying, “AGOF is a fund with a pristine reputation.”

Almas Global’s reputation, however, may not be as pristine as it claims

This is not the first time a disinvestment exercise of the Government of India has come under scrutiny after completion of the process because of allegations against the reputation of the winning bidder. In January this year, the government had pulled the brakes on the privatisation of Central Electronics Limited (CEL) after its employees’ union moved court against the sale of the company to a little-known firm.

Did the government violate its own norms?

There are two government documents that suggest that allowing the sale of Pawan Hans to Star9 Mobility would constitute a violation of government rules.

The first is in an Office Memorandum issued by the Government’s Ministry of Disinvestment in 2001 (the ministry was shut down and merged into the Finance Ministry in 2004 as an independent department, which is now named the Department of Investments and Public Asset Management or DIPAM). The memorandum, which is included as a part of a DIPAM document titled “Guidelines for Qualifications of Bidders” applies generally to all disinvestments of government owned enterprises.

The memorandum (No. 6/4/2001-DD-II dated 13 July 2001) states that “any conviction by a Court of Law or indictment/adverse order by a regulatory authority that casts doubt on the ability of the bidder to manage the public sector unit when it is disinvested, or which relates to a grave offence” would disqualify a bidder in the disinvestment of a public sector enterprise. The memorandum adds that an appeal against such an adverse order would not overturn the disqualification as long as the appeal is pending.

On this ground alone, the order by the NCLT appears to fit the criteria of being an adverse order by a regulatory body that casts doubt on the ability of Almas Global to manage Pawan Hans. That Almas Global has announced that it will appeal the order before the NCLAT should not affect its potential disqualification. According to the procedure laid out in the memorandum, the government has to send a show-cause notice to Almas Global asking why it should not be disqualified from bidding for Pawan Hans.

Then comes the issue of financial eligibility. The government has not yet clarified whether Star9 Mobility was an eligible bidder before it was declared the winning bidder. The preliminary information memorandum for inviting expressions of interest in the “strategic disinvestment” of shares of the government of India in Pawan Hans stated that “Alternative Investment Funds (AIF) registered with (the Securities and Exchange Board of India) SEBI as per SEBI (Alternative Investment Funds) Regulations, 2012 are eligible to participate in the bid provided the concerned AIF has obtained “all statutory approvals” from the relevant ministry in the government of India, the Foreign Investment Promotion Board, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the Reserve Bank of India and so on.

An excerpt from the Preliminary Information Memorandum of Pawan Hans Limited. The document lists the eligibility criteria for the IBs

An additional criteria for AIFs is the definition of its net worth. While the bid conditions demanded that the collective net worth of the winning bidder be more than Rs. 300 crore, in the case of the Star9 Mobility Consortium, the net worth requirement had to be entirely covered by Almas Global’s net worth, as we detailed in our previous article. In clarifications that have appeared in the media quoting anonymous government officials, it has been reported that Almas Global provided documentation of its net worth being Rs. 691 crore.

However, the eligibility criteria state that in the case of an AIF, “net worth shall be substituted by maximum permissible investment limit for that particular AIF in a single investee entity.” This limit would be “considered as per independent chartered accountant/statutory auditor’s certificate not older than 3 months” from the date of the issue of the preliminary information memorandum.

Almas Global Opportunity Fund claims to be an Alternative Investment Fund (AIF). However, as of the night of 26 May, Almas Global’s name cannot be found in SEBI’s list of registered AIFs. How then did the government allow a non-registered AIF to participate in the bid? How did the government arrive at a figure for Almas Global’s maximum permissible investment limit? Who was the independent chartered accountant/statutory auditor that issued a certificate of this investment limit for Almas Global? Was the “statutory auditor” determined based on the statutes of the Cayman Islands (where Almas Global is registered), or as per India’s statutes?

As of 26 May 2022, Almas Global Opportunity Fund is not among the registered AIFs on the SEBI’s website

We sent ten questionnaires by email at noon on 25 May to the following individuals for a response:

Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia

Secretary, Civil Aviation, Pradeep Singh Kharola

Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman

Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Pankaj Choudhary

Finance Secretary Dr TV Somanathan

Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari (who, along with Sitharaman and Scindia is a member of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs that approved Star9 Mobility’s bid for Pawan Hans)

Secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management, Ministry of Finance, Tuhin Kanta Pandey

Captain Sanjay Mandavia of Big Charter

Sumit Sawhney of Maharaja Aviation

Amardeep Sharma of Almas Global Opportunity Fund

Response from Amardeep Sharma

At around 4 pm on the same day, Amardeep Sharma, who is based in Dubai, responded by contacting one of the authors over the phone. Sharma said that Almas Global Opportunity Fund has received the necessary regulatory clearances for the Pawan Hans deal, and that the fund has nothing to do with Tagwirei of Zimbabwe. Sharma added that he is confident of acquiring a controlling interest in Pawan Hans Limited, and that he would make it into a better company and employ many more people. Sharma said being from a small town in India (Korba, Chhattisgarh), he is a patriot, and wants India to receive foreign investments.

In a subsequent written response Sharma added the following statements :

“Almas Capital Limited is the 100% management shareholder and the Fund Manager of Almas Global Opportunity Fund. Almas Global Opportunity Fund has around USD 550 million worth of assets under management, and it has invested across the globe including exposure in the Indian markets. It has a substantial amount of liquid assets (market securities). I would disagree ,..Almas Global opportunity fund is more than 4 years old, a broad-based, well-diversified fund, and has invested across the globe in multiple asset classes, which has huge exposure in India.

I am not part of Almas Capital Limited or Almas Global Opportunity Fund anymore. Almas Global Opportunity Fund has two directors as required by the Cayman Islands. Almas Capital Limited manages the Fund. Vishal Rana is the director of Almas Capital Limited. AGOF has no relationship with Mr Kudakwashe Tagwirei, as he is not a subscriber of the Fund. The Fund has stringent compliance and code of conduct policies for its subscribers. We are in the process of exiting from Ziwa resources. We have not and cannot disclose the subscribers’ names as such information is confidential. We are a private fund. We are not a Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) company or fund, so we don’t have to be registered with SEBI. The Foreign Portfolio Investment Companies get registered with SEBI.”

After his written response, Sharma consented for an interview via video-conferencing. The full edited transcript of our interview with Sharma will be published shortly in The Probe.

Ministry of Civil Aviation seeks response from DIPAM

While we did not receive any answers to the questions we sent to government officials and ministers, at around 10:20 am on May 27, one of the authors was CC-ed on an email sent by an official in the Ministry of Civil Aviation to officials in the DIPAM and to employees of SBI Capital Markets. (SBI Capital Markets has been appointed as the transaction adviser for the entire process of disinvestment of Pawan Hans) The email forwarded to the DIPAM and SBI Capital Markets officials has the questionnaire sent by one of us to the secretary of the ministry of civil aviation and read:

“Reference trailing email, it is requested to furnish requisite information on the questionnaire…urgently”

No information was furnished by DIPAM or by SBI Capital Markets until publication. This article will be updated as soon as we receive further responses.

[diariio-blogg]

Starting 2023

I have been thinking long enough about this decision. I tried even tell apart the stitches he sewed in the fabric of all our conflicts from the ones I contributed with, but I couldn't. It was somehow challenging trying to see what parts of me had caused things to go south, or what parts of how we interacted with each other were the ones accounting for our inability to understand each other.

If I look back I feel grateful for the time we shared. We met in September 2021, he met my family in December of the same year and moved in with me two months afterwards. I think we were just very excited and in love with the idea of finding the "one". He is almost 40, I am almost 30, so it can be logical that one falls in love with the ideal of a relationship that can work. Especially when most of your friends have already found their significant others, or at least they make it look like the have.

All in all, things went too fast. But If I remember correctly also did the discussions and the bickering. We travelled together to Israel in 2022 during Easter holidays. I remember already having fights during this trip. I don't remember precisely the reason. There was a fire in me, a destructive one, that was ignited every time something like this would happen:

he would make a joke at my expense, a not very funny one.

he would interrupt me when I am talking, or use things I confided in him against me

he would confirm that he has no interest in cooking and will never have it, although he can do cleaning. Which I guess was fine for some time.

he would refuse to go out the two of us to a club to dance because it was too weird...

at the end sex was pretty much the same thing, I would say even transactional. Like we both new what our roles were and where goes what, and in what order.

I have to recognize at the end he did show some initiative, but I couldn't shake the feeling off that it was forced. Like when you try to show your mom you finally learned some manners on the table, or try to show your partner that you are doing the thing they have been nagging in the last months.

Was there any other way out besides breaking up? I don't think so. I was resenting the relationship because I felt I lost my freedom, my space, my mental peace. Or maybe as my dad said, I decided to "give it away". Expecting, of course, something in return. But it was not enough.

We could have had a conversation on Thursday about how we are going to continue with some agreements to make the relationship work, like spending time together, and doing plans with friends. But I am convinced that the feeling of betraying myself by staying in a situation that makes me sad, became louder and louder, demanding of me to protect my own happiness, to reclaim my journey to self awareness and love. To stop lying to myself convincing me I am in love with him.

I can't say I was perfect during the relationship, nobody is. But I do realize I should have waited a bit longer for the spark to appear. For the fuel tank to be 100% before we started the long and bumpy journey of a fully committed relationship.

What is the learning from this?

This year is not about the next relationship. This year is about me. My mental health, my self-esteem, my social circle, my family friends, people who love me. My goals, my career. My dreams, my deepest ambitions. My learning, my mistakes, my wins.

There is some work to be done, and I want to start it as soon as possible. It is time. I owe it to myself and to the wonderful person who I am going to meet along the way.

I can wait a bit longer before making big decisions with a person I know just from 4 months. Not because they will turn out to be crazy, but rather because it gives time to let the spark flourish so whenever a strong wind approaches, there would be strong and long branches to hold from.

I want this year to be the one where I dared, where I said yes to the things I wanted to, where I dreamed big and reached even more than I expected.

Thanks for 2023 already.

[mmm-amba]

songs of 2022

a song reminding me of my first love

the person who showed me this song was the first person i truly, truly liked. i liked how he was carefree and utterly irresponsible. up until then, i thought that i only loved people for how they treated me (ie giving me attention, being nice. it was more transactional before). but i loved his happy go luckyness.

the song of the summer

this song came at a crucial time when my anxious attachment was flaring up like cali wildfires. i was across the atlantic and shattered from a mistake i made -- i think i hurt someone who matters a lot to me. and this song was like hey -- the good and the bad times are all the same. it's never as good or as bad as they say sometimes / we're just a little splash of paint on the canvas, and it all dry

a song for autumn

i love this song dearly -- it's warm and comforting, but honest. ari shares these moments that are small and painful and part of everyday adulthood. her ex (presumably) has been traveling having a blast: you've been everywhere / i wish... wish i did care. she's not really prioritizing herself: online shopping / robbing / my chance of surviving ... i'll go to the gym / squat real low for a man ... how i'm aging / degrading, when i / give it like this.

this autumn i felt disappointed with myself on a few fronts. and i don't mean disappointment in a scolding or condescending or like crisis mode way. i felt gently disappointed myself because i knew i could do better. and this song captures that feeling; this song normalized it. all these little mistakes (i was, late on rent / what was, i thinkin?), they happen, and that's okay.

and last but not least...

the song of the winter

everyone stay calm!!! berhana's making music again!!! kind of similar to nick hakim's M1, this song is understated and kind of meditative. i like how the drums and bells are peppery. berhana did screenplay writing before music, and i really appreciate how he writes -- like of this relationship that went south: hell n back with my bitch now we're done / swear to god even god couldn't save us. like the hell / god thing. i love how he creates these little continuities within just a few lines, like put it all on a visa / flight to ibiza / just for the day // hey girl i need you / just for the day. and there's the repetition of back it up throughout the song: talkin' my shit but i back it up / ain't got no man in this town... can tell by the way that she back it up / she think i'm the man in this town. do you see what i mean by continuities? repetition? the set up / pay off is very poetic. like a key and lock.

my favorite line is i found someone who makes me feel anxious / pray to god in his grace you're the one. he's a loverboy, a wounded loverboy... i related a lot when i listened to that line. it's all very heartfelt and open, yet still subtle.

[opedguy]

Biden Says Musk Should Be Investigated

LOS ANGELES (OnlineColumnist.com), Nov. 9, 2022.--Giddy over Democrats holding the Senate in the 2022 Miderm elections, 79-year-old President Joe Biden showed why he’s a hazard to U.S. democracy, saying Musk should be investigated for his relations to America’s adversaries.  Reports last week that the Justice Department was considering investigating Musk were dismissed by the White House.  Today, Biden was asked whether Musk should be investigated for collaborating with a Saudi Arabia conglomerate to acquire Twitter.  “I think Elon Musk’s cooperation and/or technical relationship with other countries is worthy of being looked at,” Biden said, essentially saying multinational corporations should be scrutinized by the Justice.  Department.  Biden’s outrageous call to investigate Musk should tell elected officials that he’s not fit for public office.  Biden should be investigated for his Ukraine proxy war that tanked the U.S. and world economy.

Biden’s got cosmic nerve taking about wasting Atty. Gen. Merrick Garland’s time on another witch hunt, when the real investigation should be on why Biden has mismanaged the U.S. economy and driven foreign relations with U.S. adversaries into a state-of-war.  When it comes to Saudi Arabia, Biden went July 15 of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia with cup-in-hand to beg 38-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to produce more oil before the Midterm elections.  Biden was acutely aware of how the inflated fuel prices were tanking his approval ratings, but, more importantly, dragging down the entire Democrat Party.  Republicans, poised to take over the House, could easily look into Biden’s relations with Ukraine and China, where billions of dollars have changed hands. Biden’s family made millions in China and Ukraine before the Feb. 24 Ukraine War.

Yet can you imagine Biden saying that Musk, the world’s richest man, should be investigated for arranging financing with a foreign power?  What multinational corporations doesn’t do business overseas?  “Whether he [Musk] did anything inappropriate, I not suggesting that.  I suggesting they’re worth being looked at,” Biden told a press conference today.  What multinational corporation answers to the Justice Department unless a crime has been committed?  Does Biden really think the Justice or Treasury Departments should be snooping into the inner working of multinational corporations?  White House denied last month that they were looking into Musk’s Twitter purchase.  Now Biden says he thinks Musk’s business transactions should be looked at.  Musk has strong relations with Russia and China, largely because they’re potential markets for his many businesses.

Biden can’t get along with any foreign adversary, having wrecked U.S.-Russian and U.S.-Chinese relations. Why should Biden say Musk should be look at when his decisions on Russia and China have damaged U.S. national security to the point the U.S. is on the verge of WW III?  Since taking office Biden has done everything to destroy decades of cooperative relations with China and Russia.  Now the White House cannot work with Moscow or Beijing to solve threats to civilization, like 38-year-old North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.  Kim has been test firing ballistic missiles with the intent of hitting the U.S. mainland with an ICBM or hitting South Korea with intermediate or short-range nuclear missiles.  Where’s Biden supposed to go now to protect the Pacific Rim, when Russia and China are no longer cooperative partners trying to contain a growing nuclear threat?

Biden wants to shut Musk up because he just bought the most powerful communication platform on the planet, catering to countries around the world.  Biden has painted U.S. foreign policy into a corner, leaving U.S. national security in shambles.  Musk has few friends in the liberal press because of his conservative views.  When he proposed a settlement to the Ukraine War, the White didn’t say a word.  Only Ukraine told Musk to “F-Off.”  Musk has tried to make suggestions about the abysmal relations with the U.S. and Beijing.  Musk urged the White House to consider letting Taiwan partially join Communist China, to avert a possible war.  After all, Biden said Sept. 23 that the U.S. would commit troops to defend Taiwan in the event of a Communist Chinese invasion.  No other U.S. president has committed military defense to Taiwan since the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act.

Biden is the last person suggesting someone be investigated for whatever reason.  Musk does plenty of business with foreign governmentswith the SpaceX and Tesla Motors businesses.  Musk uses China as a primary market and manufacturing hub for Tesla Motors.  What’s Musk supposed to do, apologize to Biden? Biden continues to make inexcusable gaffes jeopardizing U.S national security. Can you imagine Biden saying in Warsaw Poland March 26 that Russian President Vladimir Putin should be removed from power?  How many times can Biden’s spokesmen and women bail him out?  Musk isn’t t the one that deserves to be audited.  Biden’s actions in Ukraine, starting a proxy war with the Russian Federation pushing the world to the brink of WW III and nuclear war should be examined by U.S. elected officials.  Maybe now that the House turns GOP Biden will face some tough questiond.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

[adenei]

Summer of Jily - Week 7

Yahoo! I'm all caught up for @efkgirldetective's summer of Jily Challenge!

This week's prompts: Ice cream and "I don't want anyone touching you like I do"

*********

Two days passed since their impromptu first date in the coziness of the cabin, and things could not be better. At least, that’s what James thought. The only snafu in the plan was that neither he nor Lily had discussed telling their friends about the relationship. Stolen moments alone were spent enjoying each other’s company while keeping an ear out for anyone who might intrude on their private time together.

They were no closer to coming up with a way of revealing their relationship, and if James was being honest, he quite liked the thrill of keeping his girlfriend, Lily, a secret from the Marauders. Sirius would probably hex him into tomorrow if he found out James was hiding something, but he would deal with that when the time came.

After two days of rain, the weather had finally cleared up, and the boys found themselves roaming up and down the main street of town while the girls were off shopping.

“Honestly, how much shopping can they possibly do?” Peter asked as he plopped down on a bench.

“With Mary and Marlene at the helm? It’s safer not to ask,” Remus thought out loud.

“It’s been two hours, and they’ve still got another half hour before they’re due to meet us for that picture show Mary’s been droning on about,” Sirius pointed out.

In an effort to avoid his friends’ complaints, James looked around the area for something to pass their time. His eyes settled on an ice cream shop across the street.

“Well, we could either sit here or go get some ice cream over there at that shop,” James suggested.

Peter perked up at the mention of ice cream while Remus gave a noncommittal shrug. Sirius was the only one to verbalize his agreement as he stood and led their way to the shop, his mood much brighter than moments ago.

“I could go for some ice cream! I prefer Muggle cotton candy ice cream to Fortescue’s strawberry peanut butter any day.”

The rest of the Marauders followed and approached the queue. They stood behind an older couple and waited. James continued to observe their surroundings, hoping that the girls might appear. He already missed Lily despite only being separated for a couple hours. As he was scanning the area, a group of girls who looked to be around their age joined the queue behind them, which Sirius was quick to point out.

“Look how hot that lot is, mate.”

James nodded, though he didn’t take the time to check them out. He was about to change the subject when one of the girls took notice of them and giggled. The sound caught his attention and distracted his attention. One of the girls was eyeing him; she was blonde with bright blue eyes and a petite frame, certainly attractive, but no longer his type. His type was Lily Evans, plain and simple.

He flashed a polite smile, then averted his gaze as the queue moved up. The boys were called up to the next window to order, and he was happy to put some distance between them and the group behind. Knowing it was easier for them all to order and have one person pay, James placed his order first and then turned to have the others follow suit. He dug out his muggle money to handle the transaction while the rest of the Marauders moved over to the pick-up window to wait for their treats.

“This is so different from Fortescue’s. Why can’t we watch them prepare it?” Peter whined.

“You mean scoop ice cream into cones and dishes and hand it to you? Beats me,” Sirius chided.

“He has a point, Pads. It’s interesting to watch sometimes,” Remus defended Peter’s observation as James chuckled.

“Yeah, beats waiting around having to make small talk with you,” he joked.

“Large cotton candy?” called the attendant from the window.

Sirius leaped up to claim his ice cream, looking like a kid in a candy store upon his return.

“Care to share a lick?” James teased as he leaned in to try and swipe a bite before Sirius had a chance to dig in.

“Not a chance!” Sirius guarded his cone as the attendant called out again.

“Crazy vanilla!”

“Ooh, that’s me!” Peter clapped his hands and went to collect his order.

Remus looked at James and Sirius. “Does he realize that that flavor is just vanilla ice cream but dyed different colors?”

“Shh, don’t ruin it for him, Moony!” Sirius waved him off. As Peter returned to the group, Sirius waved him along. “C’mon Wormtail, let’s go snag that table over there while these two wait for their more complicated orders.”

They took off while James and Remus continued to wait.

“Hot fudge sundae!”

“That’s me!” James jumped forward, approaching the window at the same time as the blonde who was checking him out earlier, and both reached for the same dish.

“Oh! Sorry,” she said, pulling her hand back and tucking a strand of hair behind her ears.

“No, no, go ahead,” James took the dish and handed it to her. “You’ve got good taste,” he added with a polite smile.

“So do you,” she smiled back. “Are you on holiday with your mates?”

Her inquiry takes James by surprise, but he supposes a bit of small talk can’t hurt. “Er, yeah. We’re staying in a cabin on the lake.”

“Oh, us too! On the north or south side?”

“Er, north, I think?”

James wasn’t sure if he was being honest, but it wasn’t like they were going to run into the girl again, so a little white lie couldn’t hurt.

“Same for us! I’m Elaine, by the way.” She held out her hand with the introduction.

“James,” he responded, reaching out to give her hand a quick shake.

“Say, what are you doing tonight? We could get together for a fire or something?”

Unfortunately, it looked like his willing response gave the wrong impression as the girl to the opportunity to ask him out. Her smile had turned seductive and James realized a moment too late that she was flirting. Had he really lost his game so quickly since making a go of things with Lily?

Another hot fudge sundae order was called along with Remus’s chocolate milkshake. James was about to excuse himself to grab his ice cream when Remus appeared out of nowhere.

“I’ve got this, mate.”

“Oh, er, thanks.” James grimaced.

Because Remus didn’t know about Lily, he didn’t know that James needed the ice cream as an excuse to get out of this.

Of all the times Remus decided to urge me on.

“It’ll be a fun time, I promise,” Elaine winked. “Come with me to our table and I can write down our address for you to meet us later. It won’t take long.”

The blonde reached out her free hand to graze James’s forearm and lead him to the table her friends had occupied. He followed since he couldn’t think of a way out of it. At least the solution after this point was easy. He’d thank her, make a false promise to show up, and then never follow through.

He wasn’t expecting Elaine to keep hold of his arm, and the feeling sent prickles of discomfort through the rest of his body. James wasn’t even aware that the girl was still chattering away as he was still thinking of a way to get back to his friends, and hoping Lily was still on the opposite side of town so they wouldn’t get in a row over this.

And that’s when he felt another hand grasp his opposite arm.

The feeling of the second touch was much warmer, searing his bicep as it pulled him away from the blonde with a force he wasn’t used to. As his body spun around he caught a flash of red hair before the second person’s lips were on his, the kiss deep and searing, taking him by surprise.

He was familiar with the feel of Lily’s lips by now, and forgetting that they were in public, James’s body melted into the embrace even though it was far from romantic and comforting. As Lily’s arms snaked around his neck to pull him closer, James realized she was staking her claim and it was hot. He felt the immediate arousal strain against his trousers as the thought of Lily’s jealousy sent a course of desire through his body.

It barely phased him that they were in a very public place, no doubt in front of all their friends. Yet, when the thought finally registered in his lust-filled brain, clarity sobered his body, replacing the desire with a nervous excitement.

So much for keeping things quiet.

When Lily pulled away, her gaze was fierce as she narrowed her eyes and squeezed his arms a bit harder while whispering in his ear, “I don’t want anyone else touching you like I do.”

Bloody hell, would it be improper to disapparate us back to the cabin to have my way with her right now?

Yes, yes it would. Stupid statute of secrecy.

The battle to act on his instincts versus do the right thing warred in his mind.

“And you,” Lily peered over his shoulder to the blonde who was standing behind them, mouth gaping open in surprise, “keep your hands off my boyfriend.”

“Your WHAT?!”

A chorus of shouts and shrieks escaped the mouths of their friends at Lily’s over-zealous warning.

“Looks like it’s not a secret anymore,” Lily shrugged as she pulled James back to their friends.

“Hmm, I was hoping that maybe they didn’t notice the public snog assault you just attacked me with,” James laughed. “You know I wasn’t going to do anything with her, right? She cornered me and Remus of all people helped her along. I couldn’t get away.”

“Yes, yes, I trust you. I just let my temper get the best of me, I suppose,” Lily admitted, though she didn’t seem ashamed in the slightest.

“Don’t worry, I like Aggressive Lily. Maybe I’ll let other girls try and whisk me away more—”

“Don’t you dare,” she warned, though the glint in her eye reassured him that she knew he was kidding.

“I suppose it’s time to face the onslaught of our friends, don’t you think?”

Lily sighed, “You’re sure we can’t just disapparate away instead?”

“I wish, but I’ve got a hot fudge sundae over there with my name on it. If you answer all the questions, though, I might be inclined to share.”

A devilish smirk crossed her lips as she dropped his hand and made a beeline for the table. “Not if I get there first!”

“Hey!”

James followed after her, knowing full well he’d share the ice cream with her regardless as they took turns answering their friends’ questions. Maybe it wasn’t the way James and Lily intended for the group to find out, but it certainly made for a good memory to look back on someday.

[literaryfic]

Chapters: 1/?
 Fandom: 빈센조 | Vincenzo (TV) 
Rating: Explicit
 Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Relationships: Vincenzo Cassano | Park Joo Hyeong/Hong Cha Young
Characters: Hong Cha Young, Vincenzo Cassano | Park Joo Hyeong
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Italian Mafia, (i know nothing about the mafia so this will be very inaccurate!!!), basically vincenzo & cha-young being mafia bosses in italy


Summary: When Vincenzo Cassano came back to Italy, no one expected to see someone by his side. Or how Cha-young and Vincenzo became the head of the Cassano family. a mafia couple au inspired by a discussion with @ourgalaxybangtan @ghostrights & @whovie-reloaded

  Vincenzo had been handling most of the family business since their adoptive father’s health had started to decline. As the consigliere of the Cassano family, he was Fabio’s most trusted man, his advisor, his lawyer but also his second-in-command.

It hadn’t been easy, all these years, to climb the ladder. He wasn’t a native, he wasn’t blood, and so not many people had welcomed him at first. That’s why he had to become ruthless, so that no one could deny his authority or even dare to try. He had killed and tortured many men, broken their minds and their bones, burned their flesh and cut off their limbs, ashes and screams trailing behind him. If he wasn’t proud of the blood on his hands, he was at least proud of his work. All the hours he’d spent training, fighting, preparing, scheming, studying, all his efforts to erase Park Joo-hyung from the face of earth had paid off. The scared, weak little kid was gone, buried with all his other victims. ‘An eye for an eye, and then some’, Vincenzo lived by that, and he would stop at nothing except killing the innocent. There was no doubt he was the best at what he did and anyone who did not respect him feared him enough to not threaten him. His success was the Cassano family’s success, yet he knew that members of his own clan would not hesitate to have him killed if they could. Two clear factions had formed in the past five years, those who supported Vincenzo as the next head of the family, and those who supported Paolo, his brother. Paolo and Vincenzo had never gotten along, and Paolo’s inferiority complex and jealousy grew deeper every time his older brother had to clean up after one of his rushed job. Paolo had a particular taste for violence. Whereas Vincenzo killed and tortured because he had to, Paolo got a kick out of hurting others, be it children, women or elders. He loved to assert his dominance, to feel almighty. Vincenzo didn’t think himself much better than him, (regardless of the reasons behind his murders, he’d probably killed way more than him), but he wanted Paolo to be punished for his sins. It was only a matter of time before some influential family members whispered plans of assassination and of ‘restoring the rightful heir’ into his ear. Paolo was an angry, frustrated man who wasn’t particularly good at his job, an easy puppet to control. He’d been watching them carefully but he knew that as long as his father was alive, no one would dare to touch him. Back then he had thought he would take care of them when it came to it, become the head of his family, and continue to rule the underworld. Then, the incident happened and everything changed. He hadn’t been able to sleep for weeks, his victims’ screams haunting his dreams. He started avoiding mirrors, his reflection taunting him. He barely ate anymore, and Fabio had reminded him to get a grip. So he had done just that. He drank himself to sleep or took sleeping pills, and he went on. He knew, however, that he could not go on like this much longer. He had to get out before he buried himself next to Park Joo-hyung and all the others whose lives he’d taken. He’d started to plan his escape secretly. He would wait until his father died, staying loyal to him as long as he was alive. When the time came, he knew Paolo would try to kill him. The power struggle between them would start as soon as the head of the family would die, but instead of destroying his opponents, Vincenzo would seize the opportunity to leave. He would go back to South Korea, get the gold and leave to an island, where he would spend the rest of his days. The death of his previous Chinese client was perfect timing. As expected, Fabio, his boss and adoptive father, had named him the next head of the family in his will. It came to no surprise to most members, but murmurs spread quickly, “Can you imagine? A foreigner, as the head of our family? What has the world become?”. After wrapping things up in Italy, Vincenzo promised himself to never return, throwing away the key to the graveyard of his sins. …. There’s no going back from this, he thinks. Vincenzo is still holding Cha-young’s face, unable to look away from her lips, still wet from the kiss. Her pink cheeks, her smeared lipstick, the freckles under her fondation. Her. Hong Cha-young. His heart is soaring in his chest, all the emotions he had desperately tried to silence erupting all at once. There was no point in denying it, he had fallen in love with her. All he could do now was break his own heart, hoping it would heal. …. He realises he can’t live without her after she gets injured. They’re trying to get more information on Jang Han-seok’s paper company, and this time they’re trying to prove that some of the transactions made to European bank accounts were bribes. They’re breaking into none other than the Minister of Economy and Finance, Cha Do-won’s house. Miri had made sure to deactivate the security system and cameras, and Vincenzo was in charge of securing the place while Cha-young searched for the secret ledger the Minister kept hidden in his office. Cha Do-won was making a speech right now, and they had assumed most of his personal security would be with him. Vincenzo had quickly incapacitated the few men around the house and Cha-young looked for the ledger. After a few minutes, she found a hidden drawer in his desk. There it was, a thick documents labelled 'Accounts’. Subtlety wasn’t one of his strong points, apparently. They were about to leave when suddenly, a dozen men started to raid the place. Vincenzo fought them off as best as he could, and he was grateful that Mr. Lee barged in to help. They thought they had them all beat, and so Vincenzo made a mistake. He turned his back to the door to look for Cha-young, who he thought was behind him. “Vincenzo!”, he heard her shout his name. He sees her across the room, about to get struck by a man. He rushes to her and knocks him out quick enough. “Oh my God”, she says, “Did you see that? I almost died! He had a knife as well, and I dodged it, and then I ran—”. She keeps rambling while they get out of the house and into their car, clearly in shock. She’s getting paler as time passes, and he only notices the blood that pooled on the seat when she tries to get out of the car. She was stabbed, but the shock and adrenaline had prevented her from feeling any pain. “Oh”, she says, looking down at her wound. Vincenzo jumps out of his seat and rips the bottom half of the T-Shirt he’s wearing. “I don’t think now’s the time for that, Darling.” Even in a life-threatening situation, Cha-young is joking around. Vincenzo’s mind stops, he feels paralysed by fear, the fear of losing her, of her dying in his car, because of him. He pushes those thoughts away as he holds the fabric to her wound. “Hold this, as hard as you can.” The rest of the car ride to the hospital is a blur of running red lights, speeding in between traffic and repeating “Hong Cha-young, stay with me.” Vincenzo had faced death everyday for the last 20 years. He had killed, had seen people kill and had almost died countless of time. “There’s no limit to fear”, he’d once said to Jang Han-seok’s informant. Only now, waiting for Cha-young’s surgery to be over, does he understand what those words truly mean. During 6 hours, Vincenzo pleads and begs God, the devil, anyone willing to listen (Don’t take her. Everyone but her). He makes empty promises (I’ll do anything. I’ll stop hurting others, I’ll disappear from her life) and meaningless threats (Don’t you dare take her. I’ll kill you, too). In the end he doesn’t know who answers his prayers, and what promises seals the deal, but Cha-young wakes up and he doesn’t care. He holds her hand, stays by her side, and vows to never leave her. He starts to plan for an escape route shortly after that. In case they can’t stay in South Korea and need to take off. First, he thinks of Malta, or another island. But they would need to go somewhere they have allies, somewhere with an easy access to emergency money and resources. Italy. He contacts Luca and sets everything up, a two bed-room apartment, two bank accounts, and everything they could ever need like cash, some guns, and a car. “Consigliere, will there be another person with you?”, Luca asks. “Hopefully it won’t come to that”, he avoids the question. He knows he promised not to come back, but some promises need to be broken out of necessity. He needed to make Cha-young was safe, at all cost. His brother’s betrayal had made it easier. He’d been caught in the crossfire of their fight against Babel, killed by Choi Myung-hee in order to frame Vincenzo. But they had proved his innocence, and sent back his corpse in Milan. After Fabio’s death, Paolo hadn’t been the best replacement, and after he was killed in South Korea, they’d put in charge one of their cousins who had neither Fabio’s experience, nor Vincenzo’s mastermind. The family was in a crisis, which didn’t go unnoticed by their rivals. Soon, business started to slow down, their clients stolen by the competition and their allies started to switch teams. Money ran low. For that reason, Vincenzo didn’t run into much opposition when he came back. Most members and people in their business thought he had killed Paolo after he’d unreasonably followed him to South Korea and tried to finish him. Paolo only left disappointment and resentment behind him, and so no one missed him much. What they had not expected, however, was for Vincenzo Cassano to come back with someone.

[purple-fireflies]

Lets talk about my personal favorite Soy Luna character, Matteo Balsano

So, to start off, we'll go through his character development.

Season 1 Matteo, simply described, was a playboy. He was in a relationship with a person he had no feelings for and viewed it purely as transactional.

In my opinion, season one Matteo, while he was not the best person to look up to for advice, he was really the best part of the episodes. The chemistry he had with Luna, the scenes with Gastón, and his humor and dry wit - he was a great character.

Going into his relationship with Luna, Matteo at first saw it as the thrill of the chase (she gave him no attention, this was extremely weird for someone like Matteo, ergo, he has to prove them wrong) but he slowly began to have real feelings for Luna, versus what he has with Ámbar. Luna was someone he was genuinely drawn to and her influence showed him how to grow beyond his faults.

Luna also sees through Matteo's mask of perfection, which I think is something he hasn't ever had anyone do before. She understands his past and lets him let down his guard and grow attached to someone.

What I like about Matteo's character arc in season one is that he's essentially still the same guy - he's funny, he's sarcastic, he's flirty, etc, only now he's a little more sensitive to others feelings.

Matteo's friendship with Gastón (throughout the show) is absolutely incredible. They both have really good chemistry on-screen and know each other extremely well. They bounce off of each other's strengths (I'm just sad we never got to see a double date of Lutteo and Gastina).

So that's all well and good.

Here's where I may have somewhat of an unpopular opinion in the fandom.

Part of my opinion, I do agree with everyone:

Season 2 Matteo was nuts and the writers didn't do him justice.

Some of the things he said to Luna were COMPLETELY OOC.

This is the guy who trusts Luna more than ever, who understands her past, who is so irrevocably in love with her.

Why would he be so horrible to her?

Why would he say such horrible things to her?

HE WOULDNT.

The writers really screwed his character up in the second season, and I would like to formally request that we just not pay attention to a lot of the incredibly OOC things Matteo did in season 2 and chalk it up to the author's error. Please and Thank you. :)

But in addition to that:

I understand some of the things Matteo did at the beginning of Season 2 (i.e, not telling Luna about going to Oxford).

Matteo's been under constant pressure with his father his entire life. He has also moved from place to place, his entire life. In Season 1, it's shown that Matteo purposefully tries not to get attached to anyone, but he tries and fails with Luna.

So, this guy knows he's going to end up leaving this girl he loves on top of going to a college he doesn't want to. He also knows that Luna will try to make the most of their time together if he tells her. (Let's also keep in mind that he's only 17/18 right now so it's not like he's supposed to be making world-class decisions).

With all of that, I can excuse him not telling Luna about Oxford.

The whole thing with Fer though? That was THE most OOC and incredibly stupid thing I have ever seen done and I don't think Matteo would ever do that to Luna but alas, his character was dealt with so badly.

Then the second part of season two (after Lutteo got together and was just SO ADORABLE), Matteo gets a record deal, and here's where things go so south it's just-

Firstly, with Bruno's manipulation, I have three points.

1) Matteo is an incredibly smart and perceptive human being, and he knows when he is being manipulated, why is it different with Bruno? It shouldn't have been. Matteo would've known.

2) Matteo's obsession with his record deal is somewhat understandable. He was essentially disowned by his father for his passion, and now he has a chance to prove to him that he can do it, and do it by himself. When this goes south, it's like the universe is telling him "Oh, your dad was right" so, to me, him freaking out and getting sad was a little understandable.

3) While him hating that the deal went south and becoming sad about it was understandable, THERE WAS NO REASON for him to say such horrible things to Luna (I believe it was something along the lines of "Now I'm going to only pay attention to myself"). I'm sorry - WHAT? Where did all of his character development go?

In season three, Matteo undoes all of what he did (and while Soy Luna loves itself the miscommunication trope, I do think Lutteo could've communicated better) and basically reverts to end of season one Matteo.

SO CONCLUSION (thanks to the poor souls who read through the entire thing) - Matteo Balsano is an amazing character with a lot of depth and some of the choices he made in Season 2 were simply the author's error and he should get more love.

I am so sorry I didn't realize it would be this long.

[bluerose5]

The Ghost of Paradise (Exile AU)

Chapter 2: By the Minute

Rating: M

Word Count: 3,796

Tags: Mass Effect: Andromeda, Scott Ryder, Reyes Vidal, Reyder, Pre-Relationship, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Exile, Flirting, Secrets, Complicated Relationships, Eventual Romance, Rivalry, Engineer/Mechanic Scott Ryder, Jealousy

[Read it here as well on ao3.]

“Our agents say that you were speaking with Reyes Vidal at Kralla’s,” Nola said. She didn’t even give Scott a chance to breathe. The second he was through their gates —which were still a work in progress— Scott was ambushed. “Do I even want to know what you have planned?”

Scott grinned at her.

“Why must I always have something planned?” Scott asked. “Reyes is a good friend. For all you know, we could have been catching up over drinks.”

“‘Could have’ doesn’t mean that you were.”

“Fair enough.”

As she fell into step at his side, Nola led him around while they spoke, appraising their growing community with pride.

“Scott, as governor of Paradise, should I not be made aware of any transactions that might affect us?”

“Well, yes, but—”

“Tell me what I need to know then. Nothing more, nothing less.”

As if he could refuse her insistent prodding. Every time he left, he always forgot how relentless she could be upon his return, but only when it pertained to matters that could have both predictable and unforeseen effects in their future.

In a way, Scott was grateful to have someone with that type of dedication on their side. They’re going to need it.

“I swear, it wasn’t anything particularly groundbreaking,” Scott promised. “I gave him some seeds from our latest project in exchange for a long-ranged scanner modification. That’s it.”

“Hmm… A decent enough trade.”

“Glad to have your approval.”

Of course, it was too much to hope that she would leave it at that.

“What is it for?” Nola asked.

Scott knew from experience not to lie to her face.

He sighed. “I’m going to scout out some of the Remnant ruins nearby. See if I can get a read on their bots, or a turret if I’m lucky.”

She cocked her head to the side and considered that for a moment, lips pursed.

“Promise to be careful then. I know you would gladly give your life to protect any of these people, but we don’t need you to throw it away because of pure recklessness,” she reminded him. “If it comes down to an altercation, we would rather have you here than some lousy turret schematics. Besides—” She shrugged. “You would probably be the only one who could make sense of them anyways. You and that stupidly genius brain of yours.”

Scott scoffed, suddenly uncomfortable as he shifted in place.

“Got it from my parents, or so they say.”

Ellen and Alec Ryder. The woman who literally gave her life to perfect biotic implants and the man who created a whole new type of AI. Quite the legacy to live up to.

Good thing Scott wasn’t living his life based on their achievements. Andromeda was a whole different playing field compared to the Milky Way. The work he was doing with Paradise was incredible in its own right. At least, he liked to think so.

If he could change at least one person’s life for the better in Andromeda, then he considered that a success.

Based on the feedback he was receiving from the residents, he was doing a damn good job, and that was enough for him.

But Nola had a point.

People relied on Scott now. As much as he was willing to dive headfirst into danger, he needed to refrain from doing so.

“I’ll be careful,” he promised her. “If things start to go south, I’ll ping you and Nakamoto.”

“Thank you,” she said, breathing a sigh of relief.

Scott hated to worry her so, but there was that one other matter.

“If it’s any consolation to you,” Scott said, trying for a lighter tone yet failing, “Reyes offered to accompany me on the trip.”

Nola stopped short, and Scott skidded to a halt. She narrowed her eyes at him with a sneer curling at her lip.

“No, that is not of any consolation to me. Scott Ryder, you know how he is.”

“Charming and witty?” Scott tried for his best smile, but Nola wasn’t buying into that bullshit, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Flighty and untrustworthy, especially once his back is against the wall.” Then, she amended her statement, taking on a slightly accusatory tone. “That’s assuming you didn’t pay any of his ridiculous service fees.”

“Puh-lease.” Scott chuckled. “If anyone should be spending their credits, Reyes should be the one paying me for my company. I’m a treasure not many can afford.”

“You’re ridiculous,” Nola snorted, “but at least you know your worth.”

“They say that time is money, after all. I’ll make sure to charge him by the minute while we’re together.”

“Please do, and make sure to get a picture of his face once you show him that bill.”

Scott was only happy to see her smile again.

“Will do,” he said.

“While you’re at it, drop a few hints here and there that Paradise might be looking to contract out some exclusive deals with top-rate smugglers. Leave out the ‘top-rate’ part, of course. Can’t have that going to the poor man's head.”

“His ego is already insufferable enough without the compliments,” Scott agreed, “but isn’t the whole point of secrecy for you and I not to draw attention to our connections here?”

“A woman can dream though, can’t she?” Nola sighed.

“So much for Reyes being ‘untrustworthy.’”

Nola didn’t even hesitate, brushing off his attempt to use her words against her.

“Skill is skill, and we don’t exactly have the people or resources to be picky right now. Everything is a commodity on Kadara, even integrity. If he betrays us, we’ll deal with him, simple as that.”

Right.

Still, it was laughable to think that the Charlatan would take on a contract with some of his direct competitors.

Although, that sounds like exactly the type of stunt that Reyes would pull. More than likely, he’d have an ulterior motive for doing so, but Scott could see it happening.

Did he support the idea, though? Definitely not. 

“I don’t know,” Scott muttered. “I couldn’t see Reyes limiting his business to one group, especially if we’re only starting to get our feet wet.”

“You would know how he operates better than I, but I suppose that attitude is understandable. Disappointing, but understandable.” Nola grumbled. “Well, if nothing else, tell him the least he could do is give you a discount.”

“Trust me, I’ve been working that angle for a while. No such luck.”

“Greedy bastard.”

As they finished up their routine patrol, they soon switched direction, heading towards Nakamoto's clinic to conclude their meeting. There, Paradise’s leaders convened. They reviewed the requests that their colonists posted on the message boards around the settlement. Together, they decided on what matters they could approve for certain and which ones would be placed on the docket for a community vote. After that, they moved on to logistics, including topics such as requisitions and inventory.

To draw the meeting to a close, Nola relayed their latest numbers for colonial development. Water production was steady. However, food stores would be struggling soon to keep up with the recent influx of residents, so security personnel and all of those who knew their way around a gun were strongly encouraged to increase hunting and foraging activities while out on patrols or while performing their daily tasks. A roster will be posted on the local message boards to look for volunteers who would like to fill a full-time hunter-gatherer role.

Hopefully, what few angaran scientists they had amongst their people would be able to process their first batch of nutrient paste after their next harvest. It wasn’t exactly the tastiest solution available, but it was a necessary one if they were to survive.

In terms of population, there was a rapid spike in enrollment when word spread that Paradise actually got shit done and held true to their promises, but they expected the effect to eventually plateau once people settled in. Angara enrollment was up at the moment, especially after Scott appointed Nola as governor, and they have even seen a few Initiative members join up, having made the journey all the way from the Nexus to be reunited with friends, family, and loved ones.

Scott asked that they spread word for people to be warm and welcoming. The request probably wasn’t necessary, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Their community would make no friends by tearing people apart, and they prided themselves on being close and tight-knit.

It was important that they not only claimed to be but that they acted like it as well, backing up their words with actions.

Security assignments were then posted. Patrols would have to be upped to make up for an increase that they were seeing with gang-related attacks. Once automated security measures were in place, they would revisit the matter in order to assess which sectors needed heightened security. Emergency drills would be held at the end of the week.

With all of their needs addressed, Nola called the meeting to a close.

Once the meeting was adjourned, Scott approached Nola and their Head of Security, requesting a full census to be done within a day's time. Scott needed names, numbers, faces. Each citizen’s profile needed to be updated within their database.

If Scott was going to make an effective defense matrix for the colony, then he would prefer to program an IFF system that only a select few could remotely activate. For the system to work as intended, all of the colonists' photo IDs and biometric profiles would need to be kept current and constantly updated in real-time.

Nola promised to see to it that Scott got what he needed, shooing him off.

Apparently, he was hovering, but Scott could take a hint. He could tell when he was no longer needed, and he knew that Nola worked best when he wasn’t constantly worrying after her like a mother hen.

Departing from the settlement, Scott cloaked himself the second he went beyond the boundaries of their walls.

He was almost halfway back to Port when he received a message from Reyes. Figuring that he was in the clear, Scott made sure that the coast was clear before deactivating his cloak.

Pulling up his omni-tool’s interface, Scott opened the message. Along with it, there was a set of coordinates, sent from Reyes’s location.

R: Think I’m ready to cash in on those shuttle repairs. Wouldn’t mind the company right about now.

Scott’s fingers hovered above the holographic keys, contemplating his next move before deciding to hell with it.

S: Miss me that much?

R: Am I that obvious?

He didn’t even give Scott a chance to reply before he sent another message.

R: If it’s still in question though, let me put it bluntly.

R: I want to see you.

Scott pursed his lips, cursing his stupid heart for racing in response.

S: Give me a few. I’ll be there.

R: I’ll be looking forward to it.

Before he could embarrass himself, Scott closed out his messages. He quickly made his way to Port, grabbing his bag of tools and gear before venturing back out into the badlands.

From there, Scott followed the coordinates to a cliff, overlooking a nearby valley. The sun was slowly but surely sinking down over the horizon, lightning up the sky in array of pinks and oranges and reds.

Reyes was already waiting for him by the time he arrived, the shuttle powered down for the moment.

However, the second Scott noticed that Reyes was facing away from him, he instantly slowed his walk to a crawl. He bent his knees into a slight crouch and shifted his weight with each step, toe to heel as he snuck his way up behind him.

“You look like you’re waiting for someone.”

Scott delighted in watching him him jump in shock, only to have a blade at his throat in the blink of an eye.

As soon as Reyes realized who it was, all the blood drained from his face.

“S–Scott!”

Hands raised in surrender, Scott raised an eyebrow at him incredulously.

“You know, I was kind of expecting a warmer welcome,” he admitted, careful of the firaan's sharp edge. Keema must have given it to him. “Have to say, though, would it be weird if I was a little turned on right now?”

Reyes scoffed.

Trailing the blade along the outline of his throat, Scott swallowed thickly when he eventually felt its pointed tip press underneath his chin. Reyes tilted it up, and Scott followed, lest he risk being cut.

Their eyes met, and Reyes smirked.

Bastard was toying with him.

Retracting his knife, Reyes sheathed the firaan while Scott tried to catch his breath. The goosebumps left behind in the dagger's wake soon receded, yet a warm heat lingered.

“Tsk.” Reyes huffed at him. “Ryder—”

Uh-oh, back to last name basis. From experience, that meant trouble.

“You know better than to sneak up on me!” Reyes scolded.

“I do,” Scott said, not even afraid to acknowledge it, “but I love getting a rise out of you.”

“What if I would have hurt you?”

“But you didn’t.”

Scowling, Reyes placed his hands on his hips. Shaking his head, he pinched at the bridge of his nose.

“Scott, what the hell am I going to do with you?” he asked, releasing his nose, half-fond and half-frustrated.

“I’m sure we could think of something.”

Reyes hummed in agreement, watching Scott approach the shuttle with his bag tossed over his shoulder. He dropped it to the ground, then immediately got to work.

Watching him closely, Reyes leaned against the side of his shuttle with a thoughtful look.

“Maybe I could take you on a date?”

While Reyes tried to sound confident, his attempt ultimately failed. Instead of forming the words into a bold offer, they fell flat, sounding more like an uncertain question.

Scott stopped what he was doing. He spared Reyes a brief glance, only to return his attention to the task at hand, hiding his flushed face.

“Wouldn’t Zia disapprove?” Scott asked, being rougher than necessary as he practically took apart the control panel.

Envy curled inside him, spreading like an infection through his bloodstream. There was a sharp squeeze around his heart as it was encased in the feeling.

Reyes called him out on it, way too perceptive for his own good.

“Ryder, are you jealous?” Reyes chuckled.

Scott glared, causing him to throw his hands up in surrender.

“Just asking.”

“And if I am?” Scott retorted.

“Then I’d have to put your mind at ease.”

“It’s really none of my busin—”

Reyes closed the distance between them. Reaching out, he cupped Scott’s cheek, brushing his thumb along his bottom lip. Weak as he was, Scott leaned into his touch for a split second. His eyes threatened to flutter closed, but he had to remain firm about this one matter, if nothing else.

As he started to pull away, Reyes said, “There is nothing going on between Zia and I.” Scott froze into place. “We went out for drinks a few times, nothing more.”

“You swear?” Scott asked, narrowing his eyes.

“I swear.” His voice grew heated, impassioned. “I might be a bad man when it comes to many things, but I wouldn’t ever lie about that to you.”

Scott considered that before replying, “Well, like I said—” He cleared his throat, eyes averted. “ It’s not really any of my business, so I don’t know. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pried.”

He trailed off, uncertain why he was acting that way.

Reyes furrowed his brow.

“No need to be sorry. If you had crossed a line, then I would have said so.”

“Even then, you’re not mine. Your relationships are your own.”

“I could be.”

Scott regarded him skeptically.

“Could be what?”

“Yours,” Reyes answered instantly, staring intently at Scott. “Just say the word.”

If only they weren’t both keeping secrets from each other at the moment, then Scott might take him up on that.

Turns out, being with the Charlatan would be a huge conflict of interests. Who could’ve guessed?

Silence settled between them. It was as if the whole world was awaiting Scott’s answer with bated breath. Time itself seemed to stand still in anticipation.

“I—” He struggled to find the right words. “Give me time.”

That’s all he could ask.

Reyes’s hopeful expression fell, and that alone felt like a stab to the chest. Scott's breathing trembled a little, as if it was becoming difficult to continue drawing in one breath after another.

God, he didn’t want to hurt him, but neither of them could really afford to rush into things half-cocked.

Scott copied his earlier gesture, reaching out to cup Reyes’s cheek. The change was almost instantaneous, how the tension drained away, only for Reyes to melt into Scott’s touch. He leaned into his hand, starved for affection.

Scott swallowed thickly, unable to pull away, let alone take his eyes off of him for even a second.

“All I ask is that you give me time,” Scott repeated. “That’s not a ‘no.’ I just need to think a few things over, iron out a few details.”

Reyes listened, then agreed.

“Alright.” He pulled away with a small, private smile. “As if I could deny anyone such a reasonable request, especially you.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Returning his attention to the shuttle, Scott got back to work. After all, he didn’t want to neglect the poor bird, and it appeared that the shuttle was in desperate need of a little TLC.

His diagnostics only confirmed his suspicions.

When a couple of sparks resulted from his prodding, Scott chastised Reyes for mistreating their baby. Reyes grew defensive, both of them falling back to old habits as they bickered.

This was the type of work that Scott did on the Nexus after he got sidelined and shafted. Systems repairs, shuttle repairs, routine maintenance… That sorta thing.

It was how he met Reyes to begin with. Few pilots had the energy to hang around and talk shop with Scott while he worked, especially since a lot of them had only recently returned from failed colonization efforts. Understandably, most people didn’t want to entertain idle conversation after watching their friends die out in the field.

That was fine by Scott, but Reyes had always gone out of his way —even then— to make sure that Scott had anything and everything that he needed.

They might have taken his shuttle out on a few joyrides together, gotten in trouble for wasting fuel, but Scott wouldn’t trade that time they spent together for anything in the galaxy.

Even now, it felt natural to settle back into their old routine. While Scott worked, Reyes watched, and they talked about anything and everything.

Time passed, and Scott only got deeper into the repairs and modifications. Despite the setting sun, he still broke a sweat, a light sheen glistening upon his skin.

Eventually, he had to take off his shirt, leaving him in a plain tank top that quickly got dirty along with his hands.

Swiping at the perspiration beading at his hairline, Scott grunted as he came to a stopping point for now. He reached for his bag, but what he was seeking wasn’t there.

“Shit.”

Turning towards Reyes, Scott huffed at him.

The bastard wasn’t even trying to hide his staring. Face flushed, he was biting teasingly at his bottom lip, brown eyes dark as he watched Scott through a hooded gaze.

Getting to his feet, Scott crossed his arms over his chest.

“See something you like?”

“Definitely.”

“You’re shameless.” Scott shook his head in disbelief, tsking under his breath. “You’re just as bad as that one time when Gil Brodie asked for a ‘second opinion’ on some fix he made. Turns out, I ended up doing almost all of the work while he sat back and watched.”

“Smart man,” Reyes noted, giving Scott a thorough once-over. “This Gil must have great tastes.”

Scott snorted.

“Flattery will get you nowhere. If you really want to make me happy, then you would grab your water bottle for me.”

“Did you forget yours?” Reyes asked, slightly concerned. After all, being caught out in the badlands without water was just asking for dehydration or heat stroke.

Nevertheless, he got the bottle for him. Scott placed his hands over Reyes’s, shrugging with a flustered blush.

“Yeah,” Scott sighed. “I thought I had packed it! I don’t know where it could’ve wandered off to.”

“Perhaps you were in a bit of a rush to get here,” Reyes said, trailing off suggestively.

Scott figured that he would allow that.

“Perhaps,” he agreed, “but what else do I keep you around for, if not the water? You wouldn’t want the guy repairing your shuttle to get dehydrated, right?” Scott smirked. “I could get delirious, and it would be very unfortunate if I just so happened to forget to install an essential component.”

Reyes gasped dramatically, relinquishing the water to Scott, who was quick to take a swig.

“You always have to watch out for the pretty ones,” Reyes grumbled. “Always causing trouble, keeping secrets…”

There it was again. That sense of knowing , that sense that both of them were holding something back. It was left unsaid. Neither confronted the other about it, but they knew that the secrets were there.

Before the sudden lag in conversation could get too awkward, Scott took another swig of water and asked, “So, you think I’m pretty?”

Reyes chuckled, glad for the change of subject.

“Kian seems to think so,” he muttered. Leave it to him to avoid the question. “He keeps asking when you’re going to start working for him at Tartarus.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

“As a dancer?” He had to make sure he was hearing right.

“Yep.”

“Could you imagine?” Scott scoffed. “Me, shaking my ass for money? A tempting offer. It would probably be more profitable than the odd jobs I take on here and there, but I think I’m fine where I’m at.”

“Damn,” Reyes sighed, “what a shame.”

Scott raised an eyebrow in his direction.

“You saying you would have come to watch me?”

“Not only that, but I would have paid to watch you,” Reyes said, “especially if I could have gotten a private show out of it.”

Scott tried to imagine it, grinning in spite of himself.

“What’s so funny?” Reyes wondered.

“Nothing, nothing,” Scott said, brushing off his concern. “That just made me remember a thought that I had earlier.”

“What about?”

“Oh, you know.” Scott gestured vaguely. “Just that I should start charging you a fee for when we spend time together.”

Reyes winked at him.

“It would be worth every credit.”

[saharamae21]

I Think About You (Drew Starkey Imagine) - Disney Day Four

Hey guys! Day Four of my 30 Day Disney Challenge is here! This challenge is going to be 30 days of imagines inspired by Disney songs. I’m really excited to be doing this and I promise I will try to stay more on top of it than I did with my last challenge.

These are not song fics, but imagines inspired by songs.

I thought this was queued, but it didn’t post...

Day Four (October 31st) - I Think About You (Austin and Ally) - Drew Starkey Imagine

Word Count : 1202 Words

I kinda want to make a Part 2?

________________________________________________________

When you first met Drew, you were getting out of a long term relationship. You had no interest in dating someone who was only here to film and then move on. You had no intention of falling in love again so quickly. Drew had felt the same way, knowing that he would only be here for a few months. Yet, something kept bringing him back to the coffee shop you worked out.

At first it was harmless flirting. He would order coffee from you and compliment you from across the counter. He would always ask you for a recommendation and prolong the transaction, but you didn’t mind. He was cute and charming, a breath of fresh air. When he asked you to come watch filming, Austin encouraged you to take the offer. The boys were always acting as Drew’s wingmen and eventually you took the offer. On your day off you went and saw Drew in his natural habitat. He was stunning. Even though he was playing the villain, you still saw all the depth in his character that made him so likeable.

You spent more and more time with Drew throughout the summer. Even though you cherished the friend you had made, Drew made you anxious. You could feel yourself catching feelings for him and you were scared of falling for him and getting broken again. You were finally feeling like yourself again and didn’t know if you could pick up the pieces again.

The summer passed and you remained friends with Drew, just friends. However, as soon as the crisp autumn air rolled in, your relationship changed for the better. Both of you had finally given into the mutual attraction and starting dating. It was like a daydream. You went through the motions without a care in the world. He did everything perfectly, it was like magic. After two months together, you were sure that you had found the man you were going to marry. Even after filming finished, he balanced his time between South Carolina and LA, not wanting to be away from you for too long.

Balancing his time was hard though. He was a busy person and when he was visiting you, it was taking time away from what mattered most to him, his career. He didn’t tell you that though, because he didn’t want to make you feel bad. However, it wasn’t hard for you to notice. After a while, he was checked out when he visited you. You noticed his absentmindedness and his snappy behavior. At first you thought that you had done something wrong. You tried to pay more attention to him and be by his side, but nothing helped.

You stood in front of him one day, trying to ask what you had done wrong. You just wanted to know how you could fix it. The day was supposed to be special. You were celebrating his birthday and wanted to surprise him with something amazing. You were finally ready for him to meet your family and had bought tickets to bring him home with you for the holidays, but he had other plans. As you asked him what you could do better, he realized that he wasn’t being far to you. He realized that you deserved more than what he was giving you. You deserved to be given all the attention in the world, which was the one thing he couldn’t give you right now. He looked you in the eyes and told you that it wasn’t working out. He told you that he was exhausted from jumping back and forth from his career and you. He told you that acting was more important.

You just clutched the envelope in your hands behind your back. You slipped it into the waistband of your pants and nodded. He looked down at you, but you could look at him. Instead, you stared at your shoes, tears streaming down your face and dripping slowly onto the pavement below. It killed him to see you make yourself so little, but letting you go was the only thing he could do. He thought it would be the best for you.

A couple months passed and things were dismal for the both of you. You tried to ignore the heartbreak you felt by spending some time at home. Being around your parents and little siblings made you feel a little better. As for Drew, he spent most of his time in LA with Austin. He tried to get you off of his mind, but everyday he thought about the way you shrunk down and asked him what you were doing wrong. He loved you so much, but the split second decision to let you go ruined it all.

What you didn’t know was that every day Drew thought about you. When he woke up in the morning, he thought about what it was like when you were fast asleep next to him. Every night when he went to bed, he thought about you giggling next to him as the two of you watched Netflix. Every moment of every day, you were in the back of his mind.

Austin told him to message you. He told Drew to reach out and maybe you would understand. Austin knew that you would understand, but Drew was scared. Plus, every day that passed made it that much harder to reopen his heart to you. How could he walk back into your life after breaking up with you like that?

When April came around, you flipped through Netflix and saw that his show was there. You were back in South Carolina and had nothing better to do, so you flipped it on. You watched him and remembered how he embodied his character. You watched as he was fully in his element and began to see things from his eyes. This was what he was born to do. Still it made you cry that you never stood a chance. You wished you could forget him completely, but there were so many reasons why you couldn’t.

When OBX was renewed for a second season, Drew’s anxiety spiked. He didn’t know what he would do if he saw you. He was dying to see you, but he was ashamed. He wondered if you crumble when you saw him or if you would stand tall. He hoped you would be the bubbly girl that he loved. He prayed that you were okay.

When the crew got back to South Carolina, Austin told Drew that he was going to get coffee. Drew looked at him with worry, knowing that Austin would try to talk to you if he went there alone. He didn’t want you to know that he was drowning without you. The two of them walked in together, not even knowing if you still worked there. However, there you were. When he walked in, your eyes locked. You stared for a second thinking that this was all a dream, but he was there. You averted your gaze and bit your lip, trying to hold back some tears. You wanted to pretend you were fine, but you just couldn’t because you still thought about him all the time...

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[wtf-triassic]

Trematosaurus

By Scott Reid

Etymology: Hole Reptile

First Described By: Burmeister, 1849 

Classification: Biota, Archaea, Proteoarchaeota, Asgardarchaeota, Eukaryota, Neokaryota, Scotokaryota Opimoda, Podiata, Amorphea, Obazoa, Opisthokonta, Holozoa, Filozoa, Choanozoa, Animalia, Eumetazoa, Parahoxozoa, Bilateria, Nephrozoa, Deuterostomia, Chordata, Olfactores, Vertebrata, Craniata, Gnathostomata, Eugnathostomata, Osteichthyes, Sarcopterygii, Rhipidistia, Tetrapodomorpha, Eotetrapodiformes, Elpistostegalia, Stegocephalia, Tetrapoda, Temnospondyli, Eutemnospondyli, Rhachitomi, Erypoiformes, Stereospondylomorpha, Stereospondyli, Trematosauria, Trematosauroidea, Trematosauridae, Trematosaurinae 

Referred Species: T. brauni, T. galae, T. thuringiensis?  

Status: Extinct 

Time and Place: Between 251 and 247 million years ago, in the Olenekian of the Early Triassic

Trematosaurus is found in the Buntsandstein Member of the Solling Formation of Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany; as well as the Lipovskaya Formation in Volgograd, the Yarenskian Formation in Komi, the Gostevskaya Formation in Orenburg, and the Petropavlovskaya Formation in Orenburg, all in Russia.

Physical Description: Trematosaurus was a large, long-headed amphibian that, in general, greatly resembled living crocodilians - but, again, it was an amphibian, and an ocean going one at that. Because the Triassic is always - always - extra. The skull was triangular and fairly long, greatly resembling that of the modern gavial. It had a long, wedge-shaped tail, very short and stubby limbs, and a long and streamlined body. Its feet were probably used as flippers, aiding it in swimming, and the wedge tail would have been extremely useful in propelling the animal forward. As an amphibian, it would have been covered in slippery, slimy skin, rather than scales - which was fine, since it spent all of its time in the water. It had small, sharp teeth, in a skull that was even somewhat hooked - increasing its general crocodile-like appearance. It also had its eyes, very clearly, on the top of its head; its nostrils were at the front of its snout, once again at the top, so it could surface and breathe easily. The skulls of these animals ranged between twenty and forty centimeters long; though the body size is unknown, we could guess somewhere between 2 and 3 meters in length. 

Diet: Trematosaurus was decidedly carnivorous, feeding on a variety of fish and other animals in its aquatic habitat. 

Behavior: This amphibian would have been extremely mobile and active, swimming around in its environment, hunting food, and searching for new places for feeding. The tail would have been useful in helping Trematosaurus to propel itself forward, while the limbs may have been helpful in steering. It probably wouldn’t have gone to land very much - honestly, those legs were small enough to be useless, so if it went on land it was to rest and maybe to mate. It would have laid its eggs in the water, probably close to the shore in secluded and hidden habitats like in flotsam and other murkey areas, as there were many animals that would have enjoyed some tasty squishy amphibian eggs. Whether or not it was social is difficult to tell; it was certainly common, in fact, one of the most common animals of its area, and it may have hunted or traveled in small groups, much like how frogs are usually found in congregations today - as are crocodilians - though they probably would have been loosely formed ones. 

Ecosystem: Trematosaurus lived, in general, in the ocean and near sandy beaches, though it would also venture into aquatic habitats that were more of a mixture of salt and freshwater (ie, brackish water) in river channels and sandy deltas along the sea. This makes sense, as such habitats would have been safer locations for it to lay its eggs. That said, it lived alongside a very wide variety of animals in its norther ocean habitat right after life finally began to recover from the extinction. It lived with the Mastodonsaurid Amphibian Parotosuchus and the giant Lycophyte tree Pleuromeia in the sandy shorelines of Germany. In the oceans of Russia, however, Trematosaurus was surrounded with other animals - sharks such as Hybodus and Lissodus; other fish such as Saurichthys, Watsonulus, Ptychoceratodus, Holophagus, and the lungfish Ceratodus and Arganodus; Parotosuchus again as well as other amphibians like Batrachosuchoides and Dromotectum (a survivor from the Permian); the mystery Synapsid Putillosaurus; and a fun variety of early reptiles. There were tons of Allokotosaurs such as Doniceps, Vitalia, Kapes, Coelodontognathus; the also very crocodile-like but not a crocodile Chasmatosuchus; a Parareptile, Orenburgia; the potential tuataras Scarschangia (which would be one of the oldest tuataras known); a Sauropterygian Tanaisosaurus; the Tanystropheid Augustaburiania; and even ridiculously early Suchians such as Vytshegdosuchus, the Poposaur Bystrowisuchus, and the Rauisuchian Scythosuchus. There were mystery reptiles too, such as the Archosauriform Tsylmosuchus, making the northern oceans of Pangea a fascinating location for the study of the early radiation of Triassic life. Also, indicating that Trematosaurus sure did have a lot to eat - and a lot of competition! 

Other: Trematosaurus is one of the Trematosaurids, a group of amphibians that evolved right after the end-Permian extinction for a high level of adaptation for aquatic life. They honestly look very similar to modern gavials, but were completely marine - living in oceans and seas across the Triassic. Trematosaurus itself actually had a shortner snout than some of its cousins like Wantzosaurus and Cosgriffus, though it still was a very crocodilian-like lad despite being an Amphibian. One could really call the Triassic the Age of Crocodiles - if you weren’t a relative of modern ones (ie, a Pseudosuchian), you were either weird - or trying to be one. And Trematosaurus definitely was trying to be an ocean crocodile. 

~ By Meig Dickson 

Sources Under the Cut

Burmeister, H. 1859. Die Labyrinthodonten aus dem bunten Sandstein bei Bernburg. I. Abtheilung Trematosaurus. Berlin (Reimer). 

Damani, R. 2004. Cranial anatomy and relationships of Microposaurus casei, a temnospondyl from the MiddleTriassic of South Africa. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 24 (3): 533 - 541. 

Ivakhnenko, M. F. 1973. New Cisuralian cotylosaurs. Paleontological Journal 7(2):247-249. 

Maisch, M. W., A. T. Matzke, G. Sun. 2004. A relict trematosauroid (Amphibia: Temnospondyli) from the Middle Jurassic of the Junggar Basin (NW China). Naturwissenschaften 91 (12): 589 - 593. 

Noviov, I. V. 2010. New data on trematosauroid labyrinthodonts of Eastern Europe: 2. Trematosaurus galae sp. nov.: Cranial morphology. Paleontological Journal 44 (4): 457 - 467. 

Schoch, R., and A. R. Milner. 2000. Stereospondyli. Handbuch der Paläoherpetologie - Encyclopedia of Paleoherpetology 3B:1-203. 

Schoch, R. R., A. R. Milner, H. Hellrung. 2002. The last trematosaurid amphibian Hyperokynodon keuperinus revisited. Stuttgarter Beitrage zur Naturkunde B: 321. 

Schoch, R. R. 2011. A trematosauroid temnospondyl from the Middle Triassic of Jordan. The Fossil Record 14 (2): 119 - 127. 

Schoch, R. R. ( 2013): The major clades of temnospondyls: an inclusive phylogenetic analysis. – Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, 11: 673–705. 

Schoch, R. R. 2018. The temnospondyl Parotosuchus nasutus (v. Meyer, 1858) from the Early Triassic Middle Buntsandstein of Germany. Palaeodiversity 11:107-126. 

Schoch, R. R. 2019. Osteology of the temnospondyl Trematosaurus brauni Burmeister, 1849 from the Middle Buntsandstein of Bernburg, Germany. Palaeodiversity 12: 41 - 63. 

Spencer, P. S., and G. W. Storrs. 2002. A re-evaluation of small tetrapods from the Middle Triassic Otter Sandstone Formation of Devon, England. Palaeontology 45(3):447-467. 

Steyer, S. J. 2002. The First Articulated Trematosaur 'amphibian' from the Lower Triassic of Madagascar: Implications for the Phylogeny of the Group. Palaeontology 14 (4): 771 - 793. 

Tverdokhlebov, V. P., G. I. Tverdokhlebova, M. V. Surkov and M. J. Benton. 2003. Tetrapod localities from the Triassic of the SE of European Russia. Earth-Science Reviews 60(1-2):1-66. 

Watson, D. M. S. 1919. The structure, evolution and origin of the Amphibia.—The "orders" Rachitomi and Stereospondyli. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B 209:1-73. 

Werneburg, R. 1993. Trematosaurus (Amphibia) aus dem Mittleren Buntsandstein (Untertrias) von Thüringen. Veröffentlichungen des Naturhistorischen Museums Schleusingen 7/8:17-29. 

[suchalilyofthevalley]

What kind of path do you see Camila’s career taking, outside of her connection with Shawn Mendes? How do you feel about her publicity/marketing teams? Are they doing too much or too small, based off of your own experiences?

Full disclosure – I am not a fan. Wasn’t into of 5H (which I mentioned herein the Normani ask earlier today) and really wasn’t a fan of her once she went solo. I’m approaching this solely from PR professional/music industry perspective here.  

Her team first and foremost needs to understand what I call separation of churchand state. Right now, ALL you see is her and Shawn. There’s little to no separate entity of it. They played it all through from the drop of Senorita to album press to tour press to second single push. It’s all her talking points seemed to be about during anything on press. Little on the album, heavy on the relationship and the Shawn of it. They’ve had a loud social buzz from her fan base through it all, but it has not translated into transactions, sales, traction with general mass pop or anything of the like. And let’s be honest the approach they’ve been taking - it ain’t working. That’s not opinion (which of mine it is) it’s fact. 

Let’s break it down for proof’s/facts sake:

Album sales were lackluster stateside for a sophomore release with the amount Sony was throwing at it. It may have somewhat ok overseas, but the US - it didn’t move the units. Yes, it was a top 5 debut on the charts coming in at 3 with 86K in equivalent units, but it only moved 50k in pure sales, 30,000 stream-equivalent sales resulting from 40.6 million on-demand streams (which I would love to know how many are Seniorita pre-album drop), and 2,000 track-equivalent sales. Sourcing/thanks to Billboard and the charting master Keith for this. It maxed out at a top 2 position before sliding off the top of the chart. 

Singles really didn’t get high up (not taking into consideration Seniorita because that success came before the album dropped as much as it’s on her album) nor get a ton of spin on the radio. Streaming numbers can be shifted the same way due to the single “non-single” being included. The secondary push of My Oh My was a valiant effort, but considering it dropped so soon after the album push/press, other than Fallon, you didn’t see a lot of major outlets doubling up on the press ops or support. 

Let’s not forget the tour that they couldn’t sell and fill. Scaling for it was high meaning ticket prices weren’t too forgiving I think at ON SALE the cheapest ticket was 99 upwards of 899 for platinum/VIP (give or take a few bucks on either side on both of these). It was a new promoter for this tour (went from smaller scaled/smaller venue Live Nation produced tour playing theatersand smaller GA venues to AEG/Messina Touring production in a massive haul across the globe). The first headlining tour kicked off in Spring 2018 so not too far in the distant past, something like 16 US/Canada dates but again,smaller venues. This new tour also jumped from places like Terminal 5 in NYC where she played on the first tour straight into a venue like MSG. T5′s max cap is 3,000. MSG depending on the concert setup is almost 21,000. That’s a MASSIVE JUMP in a short period of time. This new tour routing was 28 across US/Canada/Mexico in venues that are 3-5-7 times the size she was playing last. I did see they added some dynamic pricing models for some buildings, doing me + 3 ticket packs with TM and dropping some price points through their scaling. It also was super telling when Ticketmaster went from the dot map matrix for some venues that they’ve been loving to tout to fans so you can see exactly down to the minutia where you’re sitting, to the greyscale here’s the map and this is what we’re pulling for ‘best available’ for you. Last I had seen, venues were looking somewhere between a 20-45ish% capacity. Even with as far out as some of the dates were, from a building/promoter perspective, that raises some red flags.

PERSONAL OPINION ON TOURING (given I’ve worked touring and venues before): They never should have transitioned her into venues like that just yet. This should have been a summer/fall/winter outing starting in sheds/amps outside here in North America where max caps can range from 9k to 15k depending on the market and are probably more forgiving when ticket sales aren’t there - ex: PNC Bank Arts Center in NJ, their set up is seated amp then a whole back lawn for GA seating. Then, transition over to closed buildings in Europe/South America/wherever else they had her routed where you’ve got some more flex over closed building size.

She was everywhere and anywhere pimped out to the max. We all saw it. Anywhere she could have been on, she was and then some. Like it got to be well-oversaturated overkill. The partnerships they did like The 1-800-Flowers Valentine’s day promo with buy roses and here’s a pair of tickets, the CD bundles, concert ticket bundles they were throwing at it, the sheer amount of PAID radio, digital and streaming ad promo. There were entire FULL WEEK LONG takeovers of ticket giveaways for this well after the on-sale date. Like one Adult Contemporary station in New York, Fresh 102.7, it was anytime ANYONE calls in, even if it’s not a call in to win, we’ll give you tickets. There were long blocks of giveaways like that on Z100 here in NYC too, like 6 times a day we give away for a long weekend Fri-Mon. Like Sony threw everything and the damn kitchen sink at this and now we can look back and see the results.

PERSONAL OPINION: I don’t think they’ve done a good job, I think they need to work smarter and definitely more strategic. It shouldn’t be about volume and quantity and mass overload spray and pray - it should be about quality and making moves that matter. It should be about the music, and her as an artist, not who she’s seeing and sleeping with now. They need to brush up on the media prep and media training for sure before any ops or big press tour undertakings. They took a massive jump and risk this go on a sophomore release/campaign and they lost a bit. It’s in the numbers. You can’t dispute that. Coming off COVID pandemic, it’s going to be interesting to see how the industry shakes out, let alone how labels shift perspectives here. They had to have dropped massive bank on this album and tour support, and there’s not a lot of real returns. In talks of touring/rescheduling - building avails are going to be few and far between with everyone wanting to reschedule PLUS need to take into consideration there are already tours that have booked out dates for the next two years or have dates on hold with buildings that we don’t even know about yet. It’ll become do you tour even at all at this point, do you do abbreviated swings meaning fewer cities/more compact routing based off avails, do you push to 2021/2022 where there may be better avails but risk the fact it’s so far out from album release that is it even worth it/relevant at this point, do you shift from arenas to sheds/amps/outdoor spaces and you need to factor in the economic impacts of it all.