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bamon4bamily · 3 years

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TVD 9x18 - My Winter Song (part 1) Enjoy! =)

Cut to - Munich, Germany. Sage is at the University lab, late at night. She seems to be transferring information from one of the main computers into a USB device. From the look on her face, she’s probably not supposed to be doing that.

A few minutes later, Pietro sneak vamps behind her and starts kissing her neck.

PIETRO: (Peeking at the computer screen) What is my head of project doing here at this time of night, instead of in my bed?

SAGE: (Trying to hide her true intentions the best that she can) Sorry, I couldn’t sleep… I think we missed something when we did the isolation process…

PIETRO: And what would that be?

SAGE: Look at the DNA structure (points to an image on the screen)…

PIETRO: Darling, you forget I’m a businessman. I have no idea what I’m looking at...

SAGE: There are some structural changes; barely visible… but it seems there were errors in the genetic coding.

PIETRO: Still not understanding a word you are saying. What does that mean?

SAGE: It means it mutated…

PIETRO: (Gets a call, looks at his cellphone screen) I have to take this. I’ll be back in a moment (leaves the room to take the call).

SAGE: (As soon as he walks out the door, she checks to see how the download process is going) Come on, come on… (on another window, which looks to be some kind of GPS tracking map, she anxiously waits for a result… seconds later, she seems to have found what she had been looking for) Got you! (Looking at the result) What the hell is that place? Well, at least we know where it is now… pinpoint location, copy, paste… (she transfers the information into the drive and manages to take out the device just in time. She quickly puts it in one of her lab robe pockets. Just as she is about to text someone, Pietro vamps back, starts kissing her neck again).

PIETRO: (As he kisses her, he whispers) You know that saying, “It's lonely at the top”… ( Violently snaps her neck). It is…

Cut to – Damon, Stefan, Bonnie, and Caroline, having a drink in the living room.

DAMON: So, ladies, what is this about? You are freaking me out.

STEFAN: That makes two of us…

CAROLINE: Well, we thought it would be best if we told you together.

DAMON: Not helping, Barbie. What’s going on?

BONNIE: It’s about your family…

CAROLINE: You know how your dad had another kid…

STEFAN: Only good thing to come out of that, were Sarah and Uncle Zach. (Sarcastic) But then, of course, Damon had to kill them.

DAMON: Oh, come on, bro! I said I was sorry!

STEFAN: I know. Just saying, you were a dick.

BONNIE: Guys, you are going off topic; that’s not the point.

DAMON: (Smirks) Thank you, Bon!

CAROLINE: We wanted to ease you into this, but I’m just going to say it. Your half-brother’s name is Pietro Salvatore, and he is very much alive. Well, sort of…

DAMON: (He and Stefan crack-up) Good one, Goldilocks, but that’s impossible.

STEFAN: Is this some kind of retaliation for Vegas? Did someone snitch? I bet it was Kai! (Turns to Damon) I told you!

DAMON: That little…

BONNIE: Guys, we are serious. Turns out he is the head of Elena’s medical program in Munich. And, it is possible in the same way it’s possible for you to be more than 200 years old…

DAMON: Even from his grave Giuseppe still finds a way to mess with us…

STEFAN: I can’t believe this… How are we finding out about him now? He seems to have been around for a long time… you’d figure we would have found out about him over the years.

DAMON: Well, it’s not like there’s a vampire club.

BONNIE: You should probably also know that the “mystery woman”, was a Petrova.

DAMON: You have got to be kidding me! Have we secretly fallen into an episode of the Twilight Zone?!

CAROLINE: Also, from what Elena told us, he’s up to no good.

DAMON: Given the Salvatore track record, wouldn’t expect him to be “vampire of the year”.

STEFAN: I think I need some time to process this…

BONNIE: Elena gave us some research on his background (hands them a folder). She got it from one of her university friends who got close to him. None of us have seen it; figured you should be the ones to look at it first. We’ll give you guys some space… (she and Care leave).

Cut to - Munich, Germany. Elena, Sam, and Alex, in one of their Cadaveric Anatomy practices.

ALEX: Where is Sage? She’s never late…

SAM: Didn’t she tell you? She went home for the holidays; sent me a text earlier. Spur of the moment type thing.

ALEX: That’s strange, she didn’t tell me anything… And, she hates her family. Why would she go see them?

SAM: I stopped trying to understand what goes through Sage’s head a long time ago.

ELENA: In her defense, no matter how crazy it may be, there is no place like home…

SAM: Feeling home sick?

ELENA: A little… (he kisses her). I know I was just there, but it’s always hard to spend the holidays away from home.

SAM: It sure is. Was the info Sage got on Pietro any useful to them?

ELENA: Not sure, I didn’t read it. Gave it to Bonnie and Caroline to do what they thought was best (someone walks in).

PROFESSOR: Students, may I have your attention. I have a couple of announcements. First, we have a new temporary program director, Mr. Salvatore had to go out of the country to attend other matters. Until further notice, Mr. Veritas Dracul will be taking his place. You will have a chance to meet him later on, once he is settled in. Second, and I ask you not to be alarmed, this is only a precaution. We have been informed that one of our main lab computers has been breached. Special Agents will be investigating, and they will need your full collaboration. Until they find everyone involved, the main lab will be inaccessible to students without Faculty supervision. Last, but not least, for all of those who will be staying here for the holidays, we have planned some wonderful festivities; we look forward to seeing you there! That’s all for now, have a productive day (walks out).

ELENA: It sounds serious… You don’t think Sage had anything to do with that, do you?

SAM: Not sure, but she probably knows more about it.

ALEX: And now I’m sure Sage didn’t just “go home for the holidays”. We need to find out what’s going on… (takes his phone out and calls Sage) Straight to voice mail…

SAM: Maybe we should check out her room, see if we find anything off.

ALEX: It feels all sorts of stalker wrong; but I agree.

ELENA: You guys really think she was the one that broke into the computer? The main computers are off limits to students. Even if she is on the inside, I highly doubt Pietro would give her access to classified information.

SAM: Ever heard of the term honey trap?

ALEX: I fucking hate that guy! And if he hurt Sage in any way, I’m going to kill him.

SAM: Let’s not jump to any conclusions. Sage is as tough as they come, if anyone knows how to defend themselves, it’s her. I’m sure she’s fine.

ALEX: Still, this is a vampire we are talking about, not your average Joe. If Sage got caught phishing around, I don’t think he would just let her off with a hand slap.

ELENA: I’ve seen the worst side of both his brothers; yet he scares me more than they ever did…

SAM: Okay, one step at a time. Alex, send her a text. Maybe she ran out of battery or she’s flying. If you don’t get a reply by the end of the day, we’ll check out her room and take it from there.

Cut to – Edward’s mansion. He’s sleeping in his room, wakes up suddenly, shaking and sweating.

He gets out of bed, and makes his way to the study. Finds the Madame having a glass of wine.

EDWARD: Figured you would still be here. Do you ever sleep?

THE MADAME: Do you?

EDWARD: I was, until another nightmare woke me up.

THE MADAME: How come you hadn’t told me you have been having nightmares?

EDWARD: I was hoping they would go away eventually, but they are not. I need your help.

THE MADAME: Of course, love, whatever you need.

EDWARD: I want you to read my mind.

THE MADAME: Edward… we agreed it was best I never do that.

EDWARD: I know. But these nightmares feel different. I really need to know what they are about.

THE MADAME: There are other ways to do that. We can find you one of those dream interpreters.

EDWARD: You know better than anyone those people are charlatans. This is the only way.

THE MADAME: A very dangerous one…

EDWARD: If it helps me get rid of the nightmares, I’m willing to take the risk.

THE MADAME: They are that bad?

EDWARD: They are.

THE MADAME: You know there are no guarantees.

EDWARD: Like I said, I’m willing to risk it.

THE MADAME: Are you positive, dear? Once it’s done, there is no going back…

EDWARD: I know…

THE MADAME: Fine… I will do it. But you must promise me you will not skip a single dose of your medication. Your mind is fragile, and this is not going to help with that.

EDWARD: I won’t. And my mind is not that fragile.

THE MADAME: You know what I am talking about. I’m only trying to protect you.

EDWARD: And I thank you. But I promise, I will be fine; I can handle it. Now, how does this work?

THE MADAME: I need you to sit down, relax, and close your eyes (he does). Now, take deep breaths, try to leave your mind at a blank. Just focus on your respiration…

(She places her hands on his head, and closes her eyes…).

Cut to – The Lockwood mansion. Matt is in his bathroom, staring at the mirror. He looks frustrated and scared. Khuyana walks in.

KHUYANA: Matt, what is going on? Are you okay?

MATT: I thought it would go away, but its been some time now, and still no change… I’m losing eyesight on my left eye. All I see are shadows and bright lights…

KHUYANA: What!? How come you didn’t tell me?! We need to have a Doctor check you out immediately.

MATT: They have… I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want you to get upset. When I was taken by those “sketchy” military guys, they messed me up so bad that I actually lost an eye. Sick bastards put this weird bionic eye in its place. I don’t remember anything, I found out when I went to get it checked. Sorry I didn’t tell you; I was scared and really hoping this thing would work. The Doctors told me that it is the highest tech they had ever seen, and that I could actually regain my full eyesight. But… I haven’t. There is no way I can remain a Sheriff like this…

KHUYANA: Oh my god, Matt… I…I… I don’t know what to say (hugs him)…

MATT: Guess I’ll have to find a job that doesn’t require 20/20 vision.

KHUYANA: But you love your job! I’m sure there is a way around this.

MATT: K, I shot Penny with perfect sight, imagine what I could do now… I can’t put anyone at risk.

KHUYANA: I’m going to stop you right there! You are the best Sheriff this town has ever had!

MATT: Second best…

KHUYANA: Regardless, you are not giving up your life’s dream because you feel you might not be fit for it! What happened to Penny was a tragedy, and it had nothing to do with your skills! I’ve seen you practice shooting blindfolded, so don’t you dare tell me you aren’t good for the job! Plus, have you ever heard of Daredevil? If he can, you sure as hell can!

MATT: (Smirks) I knew I should have told you before, you always find a way to make everything better.

KHUYANA: Yes, you should have told me! We are a team; we deal with things together (kisses him). Everything will be fine…

MATT: (Caresses her tummy) It sure will…

KHUYANA: I know you’ve been dying to tell your friends. Tell you what, we’ll do it after New Year’s.

MATT: I love you, K…

KHUYANA: I love you, M… (they kiss).

TVD 9x18 (part 2) coming next! Hope you stop by, read, and enjoy! =)

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twentiethcenturymoviesandtv · 3 years

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The Goonies: Facets of Film

A film isn’t ready for shooting the minute the script has been written and the parts have been cast.

This is pretty obvious: there’s a lot of steps to go through before a project can fully become a film: cameras, lighting, music, sets, special effects, costumes, and tons more that have to go into piecing together a coherent narrative in a way that makes sense using editing and other filmmaking tricks, turning filmed sequences into scenes that tell a story. This is a usage of the production design of the film: using the elements at the filmmaker’s disposal in order to build the ‘film world’ and make it realistic enough that the audience buys it for a while.

This is where the production team comes in.

The job of the behind-the-scenes crew, everyone from the director to the production assistants, is to create this ‘film world’, in any way they can, using cinematography, costuming, special effects, lighting, and everything else at their disposal to convince the audience for a brief period that what they’re seeing is real. These elements, when used well, can capture the attention of an audience and turn a ‘good’ film with a solid story and characters and turn it into a cinematic classic, all through the clever use of movie magic.

And, of course, aside from looking good and being believable, these ‘facets of film’ are also used to tell the story.

These elements, cinematography, sets, etc., are used to highlight the plot and characters to the audience in the most efficient way possible. Although it’s true that some films accomplish this better than others, the best films use these ‘facets of film’ wisely, conveying information to the viewers in ways that make sense, making a film more understandable and enjoyable.

In other words: today, we’re going to talk about what makes The Goonies a movie instead of just a story, and asking ourselves one simple question:

Does The Goonies use its ‘movie magic’ well, or not?

Let’s take a look, starting with something that can seem kind of simple: cinematography.

The Goonies isn’t exactly an ‘arthouse’ film. By that, I mean that to the average movie-goer, there’s not much in artistic shots: the movie is focused on getting to the point. But that doesn’t mean it can’t look good while doing it.

Cinematography is a hugely important feature of film, one that is often overlooked. Audiences tend to underestimate the value that a camera, the ‘eyes’ into the film world, actually has: how the camera ‘looks’, and therefore allows us to look at a scene can be hugely impactful. Such is the case for The Goonies.

There are a few shots within The Goonies that everyone just remembers. The first time the kids lay eyes on the pirate ship, their final goal, is a hugely memorable moment, when the camera switches from the open-mouthed, awed expressions of the Goonies to the hugely impressive pirate ship, entirely built as a set for the film. Other shots, like the reveal of the bone-organ, or the first shot of Sloth from behind, his chained hands held up against the light, stick in people’s minds: or the simple but effective shot moving to focus on Mikey leaning over his porch railing.

These shots are certainly strong and memorable, but they also convey a lot of interesting information to the audience all at once, which is very important. In one split second, the viewers understand the magnitude of the discovery of One-Eyed Willy’s pirate ship, the terror of the dead body in the freezer, the miraculous recovery of the jewels to save the Goondocks, the relief of Mr. Walsh tearing up the contract and throwing it into the air.

These shots are designed to evoke emotions in their audience, giving us a perfect viewing point into the film’s world, allowing us to ride alongside these characters and experience what they’re experiencing: the fear, the joy, the laughter and the excitement, and the camerawork more than achieves its goal. The cinematography is effective without being showy, showing off when it needs to, and being simple and small when it fits the tone better.

A big portion of the film’s appearance is for sure in the cinematography, but honestly, there’s not much point to good camerawork if there’s nothing to shoot. Thankfully, the production design of The Goonies doesn’t disappoint.

Every setting in this film feels solid and lived in, from Mikey’s house to the beat-up old restaurant, to the caves, and, of course, the pirate ship. Richard Donner and Steven Spielberg (Director and producer of The Goonies, respectively) had, at this point, a bit of experience with the special effects department, and it shows in the film’s final look. Spielberg’s iconic Indiana Jones style sets and effects are echoed here in the cave sequences, with booby traps, skeletons, and the claustrophobic, dirty caverns convincing the audience effortlessly of their authenticity.

The entire film is a visual delight, with the production design clearly putting forth a lot of effort into making the movie look good, from the pirate ship to the prosthetics on John Matuszak to bring Sloth to life.

Despite the magnificent sets, there isn’t actually much in ‘visual effects’ in the film itself (especially once the octopus scene was cut), besides the prosthetic effects used for Sloth (very impressive in their own right). There are a few notable scenes: the floor dropping out from underneath Mouth (achieved by attaching a cable to Corey Feldman’s belt and collapsing the set floor underneath) being one of the more impressive of the various Rube Goldberg booby-trap setups throughout the entire film, and the cave collapsing prove to be a few of the most visually impressive effects in the entire film, furthering the story along and making it look believable.

There are other important visual things too: the costumes on the characters (Brand’s exercise wear, Data’s big, baggy trench coat with his inventions underneath, Mikey’s jean-jacket, Mouth’s Purple Rain t-shirt and Chunk’s Hawaiian shirt) all serve as legitimately distinct clues to tell kids apart in clumped together shots, but also works well as character building, coding in different outfits that match personalities, and even the props that kids have with them are hugely telling. These include Mikey’s inhaler, Mouth’s comb, and, of course, Data’s inventions, all elements that immediately tell the audience something about their personality without having to come out and say it in words.

In short, the visual storytelling of The Goonies is pretty darn competent.

But the visuals can only do so much.

The score of The Goonies (by Dave Grusin) works perfectly to form the backbone of every scene, from the merry tune that plays over Data’s inventions to the thrilling soundtrack that plays over the Fratellis’ escape at the beginning of the film. Every scene hits its mark thanks in no small part to the music in the background: reflecting character emotions and putting the audience right in with them, emphasizing huge moments like One-Eyed Willy’s pirate ship and playing up to smaller scenes, like the wishing well.

It also serves perfectly to underline what’s really important: the performances.

There’s more to a great movie production than sets, special effects and music. In the end, no matter how impressive, the production of a film doesn’t really amount to anything if the characters aren’t believable. The movie really rests on the shoulders of the performers: it’s on the actors to try to sell not only their surroundings and story, but the characters themselves, making an audience buy into the fact that they are real, and going through these experiences.

In The Goonies?

The entire cast steps up to the plate.

Sean Astin’s performance as Mikey is 100% wholehearted and earnest, genuine and inspiring. He is believable as the leader, and as a child with big dreams and big ideas, without being so wide-eyed as to be unrealistic, with a realistic way of talking that siblings around the world recognize. Jeff Cohen as Chunk is larger than life, over-the-top for every moment of screen time, constantly energetic in both terror and excitement, convincingly portraying a kid who’s scared out of his mind, but sticks it through for the sake of his friends. Ke Huy Quan easily persuades an audience of Data’s intelligence and charm, quirky behavior lining up with a ‘boy genius gadgeteer’ personality that is tempered with moments of irritation and frustration, as well as a gutsy streak that gets a little overshadowed by the antics of the others around him. Corey Feldman as Mouth is similarly believable as a snarky kid with too much attitude. Despite every character’s flaws, each actor manages to make each performance overall likeable and charming. Thankfully, this doesn’t stop with the kids.

Josh Brolin is believably exhausted and somewhere between childish and grown-up as Mikey’s older brother, Brand, pulling off an even mix that makes him believably grounded, but still able to be swept up in the adventure. Kerri Green as Andy isn’t given a lot to do, but she’s still entertaining and charming with the material given to her, much like Martha Plimpton as Stef, who delivers her snarky, sarcastic dialogue extremely well.

The heroes aren’t the only ones turning in great performances. Anne Ramsey is incredibly, and memorably, threatening as Mama Fratelli, and Robert Davi and Joe Pantoliano are entertainingly intimidating as Jake and Francis Fratelli, bickering amongst each other and getting smacked around with utmost believability, despite the ridiculousness of the situation. John Matuszak is wonderful underneath the prosthetics as Sloth, who, while never a villain, doesn’t officially become a hero until further into the film. Aside from these, the movie is full of little performances from other players, and everyone fills their part remarkably well.

Every character in The Goonies comes across exactly as they should: as characters in a kid’s adventure story. Each performance is perfectly suited to each character: not at all subtle, but energetic and entertaining. They are kids on a mission, with complete sincerity and consistency in their performances that help the audience to pretend that this is all real.

These performances are the cincher, the final step, the part that people remember and the element that solidifies this film as a family classic, continuing to entertain people over thirty years later.

In short? With people like Richard Donner and Steven Spieberg working behind the scenes, it’s not much of a surprise that The Goonies was an example of efficient filmmaking and visual storytelling. It’s a fast paced adventure story, a roller-coaster on film designed to take the audience along for the ride without asking any questions, and in that, it greatly succeeds.

The Goonies seemed destined for greatness from the moment it first released, with all of its ‘facets of filmmaking’ falling into place to create the perfect family adventure film, but, of course, that wasn’t an accident. Every movie is the result of a lot of hard work from a lot of different people, and The Goonies is no exception.

Thank you guys so much for reading! Join us next time where we’re going to be discussing the behind-the-scenes story of The Goonies in ‘Facets of Filmmaking’. I hope to see you there!

#The Goonies #The Goonies 1985 #1985 #80s #Film #Movies #PG #Adventure #Comedy #Family #Sean Astin #Josh Brolin #Jeff Cohen #Corey Feldman #Kerri Green #Martha Plimpton #Ke Huy Quan #Richard Donner

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ninjakitty15 · 3 years

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Cold As Death (Loki)

Chapter One: Looks That Could Kill

By all accounts, today should've been like the countless other days before it. Just another day stuck in a glass cell with the occasional "scientist" trying to figure out how to harness something no regular schmuck or mortal could hope to grasp by poking, prodding, and bleeding me. But this was Hydra for you, try to change one idiots mind, and several more idiots tell you you're wrong. German, American, or other, there are evil idiots in every corner of every world, that's for damn sure. At this point I couldn't figure out why they still kept me here, locked away from everything when they couldn't what they wanted from me. They already tried torturing it out of me like pain would make me crumble, I just ended up wincing or laughing depending on what they did as there were times I actually wasn't sure I felt anything, not because they did it often enough or it was that bad, I was just sorta dead inside so some nerve endings didn't always work.

The only thing remotely unusual about today though was it wasn't as busy where they stashed me, hands locked in power dampening shackles and a metal muzzle to boot. At some point earlier they attempted to keep me sedated and unconscious but I woke myself back up once they left me alone thinking I was no longer a problem. Amateurs. As I sat in the middle of the cell, eyes closed but fully alert and coherent, I felt before I ever heard a presence that felt otherworldly to me. They were silent, seeming to observe with caution as I felt it get closer and start to circle the container then pause right where I knew the controls of the cage to be. There was a fifty fifty chance this presence would let me out, the other half being they come in and another round of human pinata would start but instead of candy it would just be blood and a lot of bad puns and jokes falling out of me, maybe drop a few s/m mentions. Serious folks tend to get real uncomfortable when you get sexual on them. If you can't laugh about sex, you don't have a sense of humor. A button was pressed on the panel and a door formed in front of me where the glass was and I got a stronger feel of who or what was in front of me on the other side. They were definitely not your average Joe, probably not even human and flowing with a lifeforce not even mutants could possibly obtain. An immortal for sure. They took one step toward me and because this wasn't something I'd encountered since my containment, I instinctively tensed which made them pause again.

"You're awake?" A smooth almost british accented voice, noted softly yet curiously.

I opened my eyes then just to confirm that as the muzzle was holding back my usual smartass responses. They was actually one tall man clad in leather and gold metal, watching me carefully with piercing blue/green eyes. Maybe it was seeing the same ugly mugs every day for gods know how long I've been down here and finally seeing a new face, maybe it was the fact he was wearing my two favorite colors and pulled it off better than anyone else I've seen try that. But damn did he look good. It might also be the killer jawline and physique too. His eyes fixated on the muzzle for a moment and a hardened scowl formed for some reason, surprisingly not twisting the dashing look like it does most angry men. And then suddenly I could speak again but opted to gasp like a dying beached fish because damn did it feel good to not have airways being blocked anymore. Vaguely I wondered if my lips were chapped from the damned thing before smiling maniacally.

"Finally, oral freedom!" I cried overdramatically. "I don't usually offer though unless its returned, all's fair in love and fun stuff."

The man cracked a small smile and ventured a step closer to me. "What are you? And why are you in here?"

"Could ask you the same thing, hun," i quipped. "And seeing as I was here first, you should answer first."

He chuckled and took a more confident step toward me though his lifeforce strengthened like a guard around him. Before he could answer himself though, a booming and somehow familiar voice called out. "Loki, have you found anything down there?!" Which caused the dude now named Loki to cringe at the interruption and sigh.

"No one here but us ghouls," I told him in answer.

"They have a prisoner down here, brother!" replied Loki though his eyes never left me.

"Prisoner's such a harsh word, I prefer forced resident or illegal obtained house guest," I informed him. "You answer his questions, but not mine. It's because I'm black, isn't it?" I was actually what one would describe in terms of skin color as not recently dead pale white.

"I thought he was answer enough, I'm sure you know of Thor, he likes to play the hero of this realm," Loki replied to me, an eyebrow arched.

"The Norse God of shitty weather? Y'all aren't busy with cooler realms?" I asked.

"This wasn't my choice," was his dry response, making me smile more.

I snickered. "Spoken like a true sibling. So you came down here, an alien immortal, because your big brother told you so. My heart bleeds for you really."

He glared at my unabashed sarcasm and crossed his arms over his chest. "Now answer mine before he comes in and makes a great mess of this place."

"More than the people that came with this building already have? That's gotta take talent. But I'll bite. They hunted me down gods know how long ago and attempted to extract something from me that makes me awesome, didn't work obviously or they'd make a mess not even your brother could trump and we wouldn't be here talking. Too valuable to be killed, though they couldn't if they tried, too stubborn to be experimented on. Where'd they go anyway? Are you guys the reason I didn't get my daily prodding?"

"My brothers...friends dealt with the ones they could find, if they're anything like their namesake, I'm sure there's more in hiding waiting for reinforcements or something like that."

Another man leaped down out of nowhere that definitely wasn't Thor as he didn't have long golden locks or a beard, his head and half his face were actually covered by a mask and instead of a hammer was a shield in one arm.

"Thor failed to mention it was a woman," the new dude noted.

"And my gender matters because...?" I wasn't actually offended by this, just messing with him to get a reaction which worked as he genuinely looked bashful, making me cackle. "For all the armor you people wear, it's still surprisingly easy to get under your skin. Maybe I've just been here so long, they're just fashion statements now, if everyone's wearing leather armor count me in!"

"Sorry to disappoint, but it's just us," Loki told me.

"She tell you why they're holding her?" the new man asked him.

"They're trying to steal her powers though I'm not sure what they are yet."

"Only the best kind of course," I told them. "It's all the rage these days, all the Hydra agents gotta have it."

"Well they can find it somewhere else as you're free from them but you can tell us all about the what and why, if you don't mind," the new man said.

"You say that so politely but I'm getting the sense you weren't asking. I'll comply if you give me a hand here, mine are a bit tied up at the moment." I raised my shackled hands as high as able since they were chained to the metal floor beneath me.

The new man was quick to break the chains connecting me to the floor before Loki waved a hand like Jedi Knight and the shackled sprang open, dropping to the floor with a loud clang. I flexed my hands and shook them a bit to get feeling back with them being cramped and slowly got to my feet, staggering a bit as my leg bones cracked from the sudden use and weight. I sighed in sweet relief and relaxed with a slight grin. "Alrighty then!" With my hands free, so was my powers just a bit more and I could collect and stretch it out, testing the waters. That seemed to be enough for Loki to notice being a power person as well and both eyebrows shot up as he probably felt what I was doing. I winked at him before turning to the other guy. "Onward and upward!"

With the new guy leading me out of the building and Loki being my tail, I was on my way to freedom for good before being nearly blinded by that god awful ball of fire in the sky, everyone else calls the sun. I recoiled and refrained from hissing like an angry vampire, stumbling back into Loki in the process who steadied me and smirked at my reaction to daylight. The new guy looked back hearing me cursing at it and raised an eyebrow in question but didn't actually ask anything.

"What? I'm not a morning person," I responded before straightening up but subtly elbowing Loki in the stomach, causing a soft grunt from behind while accidentally hitting my funny bone which wasn't that funny at all as my entire arm went numb and tingly at the same time. "Stupid toned god with your stupid abs of granite."

The new guy stopped walking and pressed a hand against his ear. "We're out, all the agents we could flush out are dealt with. A ride would be nice." Ah he was talking on a com of some kind it seems. How high tech yet old school. Within a few moments, an even more hightech fighter plane of some kind hovered low enough for him to climb in first then offer his hand to pull me up as I was unfortunately not remotely as tall or long legged as either man near me. I looked around the plane curiously to see another man and a redhaired woman at the front as pilots, the woman looking back and landing her eyes on me as well.

"Are you the prisoner Thor spoke of?" she asked.

"I'm the illegally obtained house guest, yes." Loki snickered behind me and I reminded myself not to elbow him again as my arm still hadn't gotten proper feeling back.

The woman smiled as well and nodded. "Buckle up then, we're heading back to base, could get bumpy. All good back there, Steve?" she called after the first new guy who was now Steve.

"Ready when you are," he answered, sitting at the tail end of the machine.

The plane rose up and shot forward at an illegally unsafe speed above the city. Loki had settled across from me, eyes ever studying me but unlike the agents that actually did and more, they weren't malicious or power hungry, just cautious and curious. I decided to test his resolve then and locked my eyes on his in an unwavering staring contest. "First one to blink loses."

"Is that why they muzzled you? Because if you're not under their skin, you're cracking jokes?" he asked.

"If you don't have a sense of humor you don't have much to live for and that's how they win. Also no, it's not how I talked, but who I talked to or when it wasn't them."

"To contain your powers, like they did your hands then. And they didn't get anything from you?"

"What I have can't be drained or pulled out or copied, it's not specifically found in something like DNA or an organ or something physical even. Those guys claim to be scientists but real scientists accept facts as they are when proof is found and I'm living proof they're all frauds with no results. I bet they don't even have a Ph.D."

"They're Hydra, they're funded by power and money, not degrees and universities," Steve spoke up.

"So you're telling me they just pulled a few crazy people with crazyass theories on things from a hat and told them they're scientists now? I should've gone to college there, I wanna have money and be told I have a job with more money. All I got from mine a piece of paper saying I know some things and then years of disappointment from being unemployed. I probably look good in a lab coat too."

"A stark difference from your current attire of all black and hooded," Loki pointed out.

I snorted. "All they let me wear after ruining the one I was caught in from their experimentation, they thought the attire should fit the power, how unimaginative is that? Let's just advertise exactly what I can do to everyone around me, that'll throw them off for sure."

"And what can you do?" he challenged.

"Uh-uh, spoilers sweety. A preview of which will cost you extra."

"But we just gave you a free ride," chipped the male pilot.

"Hey, you're not part of this conversation, and I don't even know where we're going, this could be a free ride to something worse. Like Shield or the dentist."

"Bad experience? Ate too much candy as a kid, didn't you?" the pilot guessed.

"If you think there's such thing as too much candy, then your childhood sucked and I pity your past."

"Tony's gonna love this one," mused the female pilot. "What's your name?"

"I've been out of custody for like 15 minutes and finally someone asks! It's Noelle, Nell for short. And you pilots are...?"

"About to land for starters," the man said. "I'm Clint, she's Nat, and we're at base so everyone out of my plane."

"That's Tony's plane actually," quipped Loki as the plane landed and everyone unbuckled. "Come along, meet the rest of my brother's friends."

#cold as death #immortal peril #lokifanfiction #lokifanfic #loki x oc #loki x original female character #lokixNell #nellthenecromancer

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cruelintentionsrp · 3 years

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earlier today we posted a moodboard challenge encouraging you all to introduce us to your characters! to help you on your journey and assist you in solidifying your ideas, here’s our first species reveal! below, you’ll find our site lore for witches, vampires, and reapers !

reapers.

overview death is obscure, but depending on where you are on the planet, the subject can be contentious. reapers don’t care either way, they’ve existed since the beginning of time, and have been the catalysts in maintaining the balance between life and death. reapers are neither good nor bad - their existence itself is the embodiment of all that is neutral and grey in the world, administering death and escorting the recently deceased to their afterlife. whether they fear death or celebrate it, reapers are for the most part flippant, as they’re aware of the fact that they’ll be here on earth, long after the extinction of mankind. they stay out of human affairs, only interfering when there is a strong imbalance. otherwise, they sit and wait idly by in the shadows. those brave enough to go mainstream occasionally assist police investigations, or work as morticians - however, many reapers are still cloaked. in spite of once being human, they have intense distrust towards mankind. physiology near death experiences are common in humans, but there are those with unfinished business that return to earth moments after their heart has stopped - a little less human than before. they do not age past the moment of their death, but they bleed and have bodily functions, despite their ability to turn incorporeal. a reaper must do their job, and despite not knowing exactly who they’re working for, there’s an inexplicable sense of duty in each and every reaper. they’re the gate keepers of death, door ways to the other side. whenever a soul must cross over, they must step through the nearest reaper, which causes the reaper to experience the pain of their death. reapers also must either prevent, or advance death - this intuition causes intense migraines until the task is completed. abilities reapers are not superior in strength or reflexes, but harness a strong form of telekinesis. most of their powers are mental and spiritual in nature, including the ability to absorb ones life force with a single touch if they’re not careful. they can also phase through walls and buildings, controlling their physical state – however, controlling their corporal and incorporeal forms is extremely difficult. being gateways of the dead, they must also correct wrongful deaths, possessing the ability to breathe life into any living being that has died before their time. weaknesses a reaper can’t be killed by normal means, but can be trapped through necromancy. also, if too many souls pass through one reaper at any given time, it can also be killed. being the gate keepers of death is exhaustive, and sometimes painful. reapers often appear weak - they're not the powerful of creatures on the planet, as stated above most of their strength lies in their spiritual capabilities. if a reaper expends their energy, they can be sent into a demented state of mind which can only be cured with time. they have the choice to end their lives at any moment in spite of their immortality, and given the depressing circumstances, most reapers don’t live past a few hundred years. however, reapers do not pass onto the afterlife - no one knows exactly where they go.

witches.

overview since the beginning of time and as long as stories have been told there have always been whispered words of magic and those who use it, and perhaps the most classic and longest lasting of these stories have been about witches. The mere word is bound to conjure vivid images in one's mind of all of the things one might imagine a witch to be. Truthfully, there is no one accurate or true portrait one could paint of what a witch is; the range is as diverse as any other. However, one thing rings true for all witchkind; power runs through their veins as surely as blood, magic is rooted deep within them and there is virtually no limit to the strength that inborn gift can have. magic flows all around us and exists as surely as the concept of energy. magic is in everything Even humans are able to tap into magic in small amounts, but it is witches who excel in it and bleed magic. There are multiple avenues of energy strong enough to create a source of power that witches can tap into; infernal magic, natural magic, and celestial magic - all different in their natures and uses. The most powerful - and most dangerous - of the three is infernal magic, only performed by witches who have chosen to make sacrifices or deals to obtain such power. Such a sacrifice may seem a small asking price for a witch who tires of exhausting other sources or wishes to gain immortality. abilities depending on the type of energy a witch taps into, there is essentially nothing they are incapable of in the end. They can make a poor man rich, summon the dead, peer into the minds of others or bend their wills - possibly even live forever. With the right amount of power a witch can do just about anything they set their sights on but remember, there is always a price. weaknesses In the supernatural world magic is well known for the ability to drive many witches to the brink of madness. As magic and its use can be just as dangerous and addictive as any drug, balance cannot be stressed enough to a witch. No matter what path they choose to follow, if magic is done too frequently or too carelessly a witch can be drained of their energy or ultimately die. It should be noted that not all witches are capable of harnessing or handling the immense power that certain types of magic or rituals involve. With infernal magic there is always a risk, whether that risk be a loss of sanity, the splintering of one's psyche or spirit, or even death. lifespan Although some witches may be able to heal themselves, as a species they are still as vulnerable as any other mortal. Sickness and disease can still plague even the most powerful of witches, but some have conspired enough to extend their youth, and even their own mortality.

vampires.

Overview The original night stalker, if you will, vampires are some of the oldest and most revered creatures in existence; Mostly out of fear, but also out of common sense. However, the species do not always receive the respect they deserve due to their ubiquity – even if there is no other creature just like them. Pop culture has toyed with their reputations, from depicting them as terrifying beasts to angst ridden teens that glint golden in the summer sun. The reality is that there is no one trope to encompass the diverse species. Creation All creating a vampire takes is a glorified blood pact of sorts. Drink from your creator as you lay dying and be reborn as a creature of the night. Its painfully simple. There are other things to note, though, such as the bond between sire and progeny. It does not take much to turn, but the amount is key in a progeny’s independence. There is no real set benchmark per se, but too much and an inseparable bond is formed between creator and the newly immortal. The perks include the ability to communicate telepathically as well as generally having an indescribable connection. To others, this may not be as appealing. With such a bond means that the progeny also can have difficulty denying their creator. The bond is breakable, but only by the sire’s choice. This is not very common. Physiology One of the most humanoid creatures, the only differences between a modern Nosferatu and your average Joe lay in how well they take care of themselves. Vampires will always carry a Burton-esque demeanor, but their blood consumption levels assist greatly in passing with humans. Enough and you can harness and strengthen your abilities, but too much and you may become a victim to your inner beast. Naturally, too little and you’re nothing more than a mildly dexterous human. Either way, food and other human goods are consumable but nothing more than treats for your pallet. Abilities They only get better with age. vampires are generally physically superior to humans, with heightened senses, super strength, and agility as well as healing rather quickly from minor wounds. Although major wounds may require more time, they will heal eventually. Psychologically, they’re known for what’s referred to as “glamouring.” The most common versions of this ability are hypnosis and erasing memories. If consumed, vampire blood has the ability to heal other mortal creatures including humans of anything from minor injury to alleviating (but not completely curing) major or terminal illness. However, most vampires are too proud to willingly hand over such a powerful cure to those they may feel are beneath them - and as such the healing properties of their blood are often seen as nothing more than a mere myth. Weaknesses Many of their alleged shortcomings were created by vampires to mislead those who may want to harm them, but there are several ways to maim and/or destroy a vampire. There’s the classic stake to the heart, direct sunlight, and decapitation along with silver and the blood of the dead. Some magics may serve well to incapacitate a vampire, but typically only those skilled the art of necromancy are able to harness this type of magic.

#cruelrp #species #preview

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jeremys-blogs · 4 years

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Men Like You: One Marvellous Scene

Well, I said I was going to do this at some point, and I think it's high time I made good on that promise. For those who don't know, last year there was a collaboration between a number of Youtubers to discuss their various favourite scenes from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and why they felt they should be held as the best scenes in the franchise. It was really great and you should totally check the videos out. But, this did leave me with a bit of a pickle when it came to doing my own thoughts on the matter. You see, I wanted to talk about a scene I loved, but I also didn't want it to be a scene that had already been covered by the others. This was tricky since they'd already talked about most of my personal choices. After a while though, I found it. One moment I utterly adored in the MCU that, to my knowledge, hasn't been mentioned by anyone else. And that's what we're going to talk about here. A moment brought to us courtesy of the original 2012 Avengers movie, my personal favourite of the big crossover films, that shows what is, quite possibly, the most under-appreciated moment of heroism in a franchise built on acts of heroism.

So, our scene takes place just prior to all our heroes meeting up for the first time. Loki, Thor's brother and the big bad of the movie, has just made a big show of himself in an art museum in Germany. And when his business there is finished, he waltzes out onto the street, causing havoc and terrifying all of the ordinary citizens around him. With his illusions he herds a whole crowd of them together and demand that they kneel, which they soon do out of fear. Loki, going full dictator mode, lords over them with this big speech about how he's above them and that they're all just natural servants to him, "meant to be ruled". Confidently, he declares how ordinary people will always kneel. In response, one old man among the crowd slowly gets up, looks Loki in the eye and states firmly that they will not kneel to men like him. When Loki counters by saying there aren't any men like him, the old man rebuffs him, "there are ALWAYS men like you", before Loki readies his scepter to kill the defiant human. And just when it looks like the old man is about to die at the hands of the film's villain, Steve Rogers, Captain America, jumps in to save him, ready to bring Loki down a peg.

Now, there's a lot going on here in this scene that I want to talk about, but to start off let's cover the basic surface-level stuff. Because this moment, which is only about a minute long, is pretty much a microcosm of the entirety of the superhero genre, and not just those of Marvel. We have a hammy villain coming along and declaring himself the best thing ever, towering over frightened people and threatening them, ready to even kill one who steps out of line. And then, at the last moment, a superhero comes in from out of nowhere to take the hit and save the day, bringing hope to a hopeless situation. This right here is superhero stories in a nutshell, so on that basic level, it works really well, even if Marvel does eventually develop a reputation for undermining or subverting a lot of classic superhero tropes further down the line. And of course, there's the acting needed to pull off a moment like this, Tom Hiddleston is clearly having a blast as this wonderfully evil baddie, Chris Evans fits the role of a classic hero like he just stepped out of the pages of a comic book, and as for the unnamed old man, for that we give thanks to veteran actor Kenneth Tigar.

And it's really the old man here that I wanted to talk about. What he did in this scene is very possibly the bravest and most noble act I've seen among any of the regular people in this franchise. Oh sure, we've got heroes aplenty putting their lives on the line to fight the good fight, but this guy isn't those guys. He hasn't got a fancy suit of armour, or an indestructible shield or the power of the gods on his side. He's just a man, and an elderly one at that. He knows full well that Loki could end his life in a heartbeat if he wanted, yet here he is, standing up among the crowd, staring down this invader, and telling him that he's not going to submit. Standing up to someone more powerful than you is an incredibly courageous thing to do, especially when it's someone you know has malicious intent. But that doesn't stop him. He still there, still standing, refusing to kneel to this self-styled king of the world. He's an ordinary person, but he nevertheless a hero in this scenario. A hero whose name we don't even know. We only ever see him this one time, and no other film even mentions him, yet what he does here has remained in my mind ever since I first saw this movie back in 2012.

Special mention also has to go to just how important a moment like this is in a superhero movie, as it helps to remind the audience of exactly what, or specifically for who, the superheroes in question are supposed to be doing, protecting ordinary people. It can be hard sometimes in films and comics and what have you, when heroes and villains are duking it out over the fate of the world, to remember that, at the end of the day, it's the everyday people in the street that are in danger and need help. When you have big and apocalyptic events, the average Jane and Joe can get lost in the mix, made to feel like they aren't as important in the grand scheme of things. So a scene like this is vital for keeping the audience rooted in what truly matters. The often-nameless (literally in this case) men and women who get caught in the big fights. They're the ones the heroes are supposedly there to champion, so a character like this old man is really needed to put a face to that overall concept. Right now, this man represents all those that Loki would seek to dominate, hurt and kill. The people that Steve and the other Avengers need to fight for.

But as much as I wish I could have nothing but praise for this scene, there is one sticking point that needs to be addressed, and that's the reasons for its inclusion in the film. You see, Joss Whedon, the director, added this scene apparently because there were fears and worries about how it might come across if they simply had a scene of German civilians kneeling down to a dictator without question. Now, on the one hand, I sort of agree with where they're coming from, since that would likely send the wrong message, even if it was unintentional. But on the other, it's not as if they're going along with Loki by choice here. He's shown his violent tendencies and has already killed a man in full view of everyone. This isn't people bowing down to him because of force of personality, it's a hostage situation. They kneel because their lives are in danger, not because they actually want to follow Loki's lead. So while I give a lot of credit to this scene, I'm afraid I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with the idea that not having it in would put the citizens in it in a bad light. Though it does at least make the nameless old man all the more courageous as a result.

Despite that small bump in the road, this scene still has a lot going for it. In a franchise where it's easy to think you need to go bigger, more epic, more extravagant, you can forget that it's sometimes the smaller moments that truly stick with you. This scene, with two characters whom everyone in the audience will know and remember, shines all the brighter because of the inclusion of the one character whom they wouldn't. A single act of bravery in the face of certain death that makes this tired-looking old man look like a giant, even among the other heroes. Ordinary people standing up for what's right is always a powerful symbol, no matter what context it's happening in, and while shots like Steve marching to his doom against the full might of Thanos' army will always be heroic and epic, there's something to be said for bringing the scale down a bit. To show that heroes can emerge when you least expect it, among those not typically thought of as heroes in a genre like this. This is a scene that's likely to get lost among all those other moments that have been discussed by the aforementioned Youtubers, but for me, this will well and truly be the true Marvelous Scene in this astonishing franchise

#essay #writing #my stuff #marvel #marvel cinematic universe #mcu #avengers #loki

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newstfionline · 3 years

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Friday, January 8, 2021

Spending the pandemic talking to yourself? If you live alone, you’re not alone (Washington Post) One bleak pandemic day in November, Aisha Tyler caught herself vacuuming the inside of her freezer. Then she scolded herself. Yes, out loud. Sometimes the Los Angeles-based actress will tell herself to “snap out of it.” On brighter days, she’ll congratulate herself on what a good job she’s doing and call for a celebration. Humans leave little unspoken, and this past year, as many of us have avoided social events and worked from home alone, we’ve been forced to talk out loud to the only person still around to listen: ourselves. Sure, it may take the form of bantering with our pets, scolding the politicians on TV or cajoling our malfunctioning printers, but that’s really just another way of hearing our own voice, helping us discern what exactly is going on inside that head of ours. What’s going on here? Charles Fernyhough, a psychology professor at Durham University and author of “The Voices Within: The History and Science of How We Talk to Ourselves,” says research shows people talk out loud more when under stress or facing cognitive challenges. It was praying aloud that kept 44-year-old April Harris going during her 32 days in quarantine with a deep cough at the California Institution for Women in Chino, Calif.—not just self-encouragements like “I can do this” and “You got this, April,” but repeated declarations like “by His stripes, I am healed.” “I would pray for our country and for a cure to this virus,” she says in an email from the prison, where she has spent 24 years but had never previously talked out loud to herself. “Now I pray that I am covered by His blood, not wanting to endure that again. I pray for the women who are in isolation now.”

Here’s Why Car Thefts Are Soaring (Hint: Check Your Cup Holder) (NYT) After years of declines, car thefts appear to be surging in cities and suburbs all over the country. The spree, which has been exacerbated by the pandemic, does not appear to be the work of sophisticated crime rings, the police say. Instead, this new wave of car thefts seems to stem from a combination of simple carelessness and the same technological advancement that once made stealing cars nearly impossible: the key fob. The broad adoption of keyless ignitions that began in the late 1990s ushered in a dark era for car thieves. New cars had engine immobilizers that only a microchip in the key fob could unlock, and vehicle thefts quickly plummeted. Technology, it seemed, had largely solved the problem of stolen vehicles. Until people started leaving their fobs sitting in their cup holders. Now, the police say forgotten fobs and keyless technology have contributed to soaring stolen car cases. In Hartford, the police have traced the surge to teenagers joyriding in from the suburbs. In Los Angeles, stolen cars reappear so frequently that the police believe thieves are using them like Ubers. And in New York City, a related but different problem has emerged as more drivers leave their cars running to make pit stops and deliveries during the pandemic, making their cars easy targets for thieves who can simply drive away, even without a fob.

Canadian compensation (CBC) Based on companies that trade on the TSX, in 2019 the average total compensation for the 100 best-paid CEOs of Canadian corporations was $10.8 million, while the average annual salary for a worker in Canada was $53,482 the same year. That means top CEO pay is about 202 times that of the average Canadian worker, which is actually down from the 227 observed the previous year. It also means that at 11:17 a.m. on Monday, the average CEO had already made the annual salary of a typical worker.

An unimaginable moment in America (AP) To see it unspool—to watch the jumbled images ricochet, live, across the world’s endless screens—was, as an American, a struggle to believe your eyes. But there it was, in the capital city of the United States in early January 2021: a real-time breaking and entering the likes of which the republic has never seen. The U.S. Capitol was overrun by violent supporters of Donald Trump, who exhorted them to march on the domed building as lawmakers inside carried out their constitutional duty by certifying his electoral defeat. The proceedings were quickly abandoned as the selfie-snapping mob smashed windows, marched through hallways and rummaged through lawmakers’ desks. Fourteen days before Joe Biden is set to be inaugurated on the very same site, elected officials sheltered in place in their own building. Agents barricaded themselves inside congressional chambers, guns drawn. The stars and stripes—soaring over public property—was lowered, then replaced as a blue Trump flag ascended. In one of the day’s most indelible images, a hoodie-clad trespasser sat in a chair overlooking the Senate floor—minutes after it had been vacated by Trump’s own vice president, Mike Pence—waving his fist in front of a thick, ornate curtain designed to summon the trappings of democracy. The United States on Wednesday seemed at risk of becoming the very kind of country it has so often insisted it was helping: a fragile democracy.

World reacts to US mob (AP) Amid the global outrage at the storming of the U.S. Capitol building by angry supporters of President Donald Trump was a persistent strain of glee from those who have long resented the perceived American tendency to chastise other countries for less-than-perfect adherence to democratic ideals. In China, which has had constant friction with the Trump administration over trade, military and political issues, people were scathing in their criticism of Trump and his supporters, citing both his failure to control the coronavirus pandemic and the mob action in Washington. The Communist Youth League ran a photo montage of the violence at the Capitol on its Twitter-like Weibo microblog with the caption: “On the sixth, the U.S. Congress, a most beautiful site to behold.” That appeared to mock House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her June 2019 comments in praise of sometimes violent antigovernment protests in Hong Kong. Iran, another country that faces routine U.S. criticism over violations of human rights and democratic values, jumped on the insurrection as proof of American hypocrisy. The semiofficial Fars news agency called the United States a “fragmented democracy,” while Iran’s pro-government Twitter accounts gloated, circulating photos of the mobs with hashtags that included #DownfalloftheUS. “The beauty of democracy?” with a shrug emoji was the reaction tweeted by Bashir Ahmad, a personal assistant to the president of Nigeria, which has seen several coups since independence—including one led decades ago by President Muhammadu Buhari, who most recently entered the office via a vote. Venezuela, which is under U.S. sanctions, said the events in Washington show that the U.S. “is suffering what it has generated in other countries with its politics of aggression.” Several countries, both allies and antagonists of America, issued travel warnings to their citizens.

America the exceptional? (Foreign Policy) It’s not easy to say how much the storming of the Capitol will contribute to the decline in the reputation of the United States abroad. That’s because that decline has already been so steep: A Gallup poll of 29 countries in 2020 found that 20 already had approval ratings of U.S. leadership that are at new lows or that tie the previous record lows.

‘The power of life and death is in the tongue,’ Senate chaplain says (NYT) “We deplore the desecration of the United States Capitol building, the shedding of innocent blood, the loss of life, and the quagmire of dysfunction that threaten our democracy.” Those words, spoken by Barry C. Black, the Senate chaplain, resounded through the government chamber in the early hours of Thursday, as he declaratively closed a joint session of Congress marred by violence with a prayer. A Seventh-day Adventist minister and former Navy rear admiral known for his penchant for brightly colored bow ties, Mr. Black has been the Senate’s official clergyman for nearly two decades. His prayers in the chambers have long been laced with rebukes for the infighting of the lawmakers surrounding him, and his words have often served as a conscience check for those on both sides of the aisle. That was never more true than on Thursday morning, as he warned lawmakers that their words could have great consequences. “These tragedies have reminded us that words matter, and that the power of life and death is in the tongue,” he said. “We have been warned that eternal vigilance continues to be freedom’s price.” His prayer also urged new unity in the face of the deep divisions among lawmakers and within the country, driving home a need to “see in each other a common humanity.”

Twitter, Facebook muzzle Trump amid Capitol violence (AP) In an unprecedented step, Facebook and Twitter suspended President Donald Trump from posting to their platforms Wednesday following the storming of the U.S. Capitol by his supporters. Twitter locked Trump out of his account for 12 hours and said that future violations by Trump could result in a permanent suspension. The company required the removal of three of Trump’s tweets. Facebook and Instagram, which Facebook owns, followed up in the evening, announcing that Trump wouldn’t be able to post for 24 hours following two violations of its policies. Facebook later said that Trump would be banned indefinitely.

Indian farmers take to their tractors (Quartz) On the other side of the world, a protest of a different kind is taking place in Delhi, as farmers who oppose India’s newly passed agricultural laws plan to march into the city with 2,500 tractor trolleys today. It’s the latest action in nearly two months of demonstrations that have grabbed headlines globally for their scale, but also for their inventiveness—some of the tractors have previously doubled as screens for movie viewing as protesters dug in for the long haul. The latest round of talks between the government and farmers is scheduled for tomorrow. If the two sides can’t agree on a path forward, farmers’ union leaders say a tractor rally and nationwide protests will start on Jan. 26, when the country celebrates Republic Day.

With Mass Arrests, Beijing Exerts an Increasingly Heavy Hand in Hong Kong (NYT) They descended before dawn, 1,000 police officers fanning out across Hong Kong to the homes and offices of opposition lawmakers, activists and lawyers. They whisked many off in police cars, often without telling relatives or friends where they were being taken. Within a few hours on Wednesday, the Hong Kong police had arrested 53 people, searched 76 places and frozen $200,000 of assets in connection with an informal primary for the pro-democracy camp—all under the auspices of Beijing’s new national security law. In one swoop, the authorities rounded up not only some of the most aggressive critics of the Hong Kong government but also little-known figures who had campaigned on far less political issues, in one of the most forceful shows of power in the Chinese Communist Party’s continuing crackdown on the city. The message was clear: Beijing is in charge. The mass arrests signaled that the central Chinese government, which once wielded its power over Hong Kong with a degree of discretion, is increasingly determined to openly impose its will on the city. In the months since the law took effect, Beijing and the Beijing-backed Hong Kong leadership have moved quickly to stamp out even the smallest hint of opposition in the Chinese territory, where the streets once surged with huge anti-government protests. And they have shattered any pretense of democracy in Hong Kong’s political system.

Japan declares emergency for Tokyo area as cases spike (AP) Japan declared a state of emergency in Tokyo and three nearby areas on Thursday as coronavirus cases continue to surge, hitting a daily record of 2,447 in the capital. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga issued the declaration at the government task force for the coronavirus. It lasts from Friday until Feb. 7, and centers around asking restaurants and bars to close at 8 p.m. and people to stay home and not mingle in crowds.

The next catastrophe has already been predicted (Les Echos via Worldcrunch) The epidemic surprised us, but it was predictable. In the risk report regularly published by the World Economic Forum (WEF) for its annual Davos summit, infectious diseases were listed every year as one of the 10 biggest threats. The report’s description of a virus spreading uncontrolled around the world was exactly what played out in 2020. There were frequent discussions at Davos about this type of danger. For example, in 2016, after the damage caused by Ebola, the general director of the World Health Organization, Margaret Chan, sounded the alarm about the next pandemic. Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank, drew a parallel with the Spanish Flu, evoking the risk of an illness that killed 30 million people. Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft-cum-health philanthropist, insisted on the necessity of training teams in public health management and logistics. If this health crisis is causing so much suffering, it’s because we refused to seriously prepare for it. We didn’t follow the advice of the philosopher and engineer Jean-Pierre Dupuy, who pushes us to think about catastrophe to prevent it from happening. The time has therefore come to think about the next global catastrophes—the less predictable ones.

#headlines #news

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hallelujah-lockandload · 4 years

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Sweet Venom

Its starting! Here is a link to the Wattpad one in case you want to read it there. I also added the 2nd chapter there too!

https://www.wattpad.com/story/243936475-sweet-venom?utm_source=web&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share_mywork

Fic: Vampire Gerard Way x Reader

Setting: High School

Warnings: Language

Chapter 1

“Just think happy thoughts” I mumbled as I held my hand to my bleeding neck.

“Happy thoughts aren’t going to stop me” the voice rang out around me “neither is your little boyfriend” Boyfriend? I pull a face thinking of Gerard as my boyfriend. If only but also… what an interesting time that would be considering he currently hates me. Let’s go back a bit and figure out why exactly I’m stuck in my favorite abandoned building being hunted by an asshole vampire, who if I had the opportunity I would love to shove a stake up their ass.

2 months ago~

I’m just your average high school senior living a relatively chill life. I’ve got semi absent parents which makes my life near fanfiction worthy, ya know. I’ve got enough freedom living in the town of Belleview that I don’t need to let my parents know everything about everything like who I’m with and where I am, as long as it sounds safe or I just lie. Being an only child makes it so easy to lie, well at least I learned to lie very well.

Anyway! It's senior year right! Gonna be the best time of my high school career right? I mean my best friend Mikey is in a few of my classes despite him being a grade below me, he’s smart okay. I’m not dumb, he’s just smart. We hang out a ton which is the best! We also work on dumb lyrics together and I’m trying to get him to sing but he refuses and says its not his thing. Which is crazy cause his voice isn’t even bad. But he always says that his brother is way better at it. Mikey likes to think his brother and I would get along great because we’ve got tons of common interests but… he hates me?

I have zero clue as to why, it’s just been like that the last few years. Gerard’s never really talked to me anyway but we at least used to hang out together when I was over and like in class. Now even when we have classes together he doesn’t even try to talk to me. I have no idea what happened! But freshman year rolled around and suddenly Gerard isn’t talking to me as much and we just lose our friendship? It's shitty. Not only cause I’m best friends with his brother and at his house a lot but… yeah actually that's it. It makes things awkward but like I guess I gotta live with that. And knowing I will never know why he stopped talking to me. Maybe it’s cause Mikey had a crush on me at some point but that went away when we realized we are way too much like siblings to each other.

I’m not really friends with Gerard’s friends. Like Frankie is cool and I mean Ray and I are friends because Ray usually has classes with me. But our friendship got better once he and Mikey became friends too, so we all hang out. I don’t really talk to Bert or the others Gerard sometimes talks to. Gerard usually just sticks to Frank, Ray and Mikey anyways.

If I’m not hanging with Mikey I usually hang out with my friends Patrick, Pete, and my other best friend Kristin that Mikey has a huge crush on. They would be so cute if they got together! But Mikey is shy and Kristin just out right refuses to make the first move, the tension is so thick you need a chainsaw to cut that. It's so frustrating.

Well that’s my friends and my situation so far but now it's time to actually start senior year and honestly this recap of my life so far as I lay in bed waiting for my alarm to go off was really nice. I hate waking up before my alarm, it's like bitch I could’ve slept in more but noooooo my body just had to betray me. I looked to the clock, honestly five minutes before my alarm is whatever so I guess it's time to get ready. Glad I took those last 10 minutes to think about my life and my friends.

Getting up for school is such a hassle, I wish summer didn’t end but like, I guess I’m excited for school too. Mostly my friends and my electives, and the fact that seniors only have to take english, gov/econ, and math. The rest are all mine.

I went through my closet and picked something cute and punk. I consider myself a punk just because I don’t care too much what people think of me and I’m going to be true to myself even if that offends people. But also my music and style choices make me look pretty punk. I picked out my fav blue plaid bottoms (skirt or pants or shorts it's your look) and a plain baseball tee that I tucked into them. Then went and put some makeup on just like I like. Once that was done it was time for hair which I decided could wait cause food is more important so I head downstairs in search for the food.

The kitchen is usually empty but my mom was there today making eggs.

“Any for me?” I asked as I went to the fridge for juice.

“Yup,” she said nodding, “Figured you should get breakfast on your last first day of high school.”

“How sentimental,” I said, giving her a side hug and mumbling a good morning. I then set the table for two seeing as Dad was already gone. We ate in peace and chatted about what I felt like school was going to be this year. If I’m being honest, it will probably be the same as always. Me and the boys (and Kristin) being nerds and having a grand ole time ignoring everyone else.

7:40 rolled around and I said bye to my mom so that I could jump in the Way’s car for a ride to school just like we have done for the past 6 years. Since they only live around the street from me, carpooling is always something we’ve done.

“You ready for the first day of the end?” I asked Mikey as I hopped into the back seat. Mikey was always shotgun since Gerard was now the driver. He got his license two years ago, so no more fun convos with Mrs. Way. Now it is just awkward looks and minimal words from the driver.

“That’s such a shitty way to say that this is your last year in highschool.” He said back, turning in his seat trying to smack me but not reaching me in the slightest.

I chuckled, “That's how it feels Mikes.”

“Yeah, well shut up.” He said. Mikey and I had a nice talk last Saturday at the Last Summer Sleepover Before School. He’s obviously feeling weird and kind of left out now that his brother and his best friends are graduating this year. Mikey is going to be without me next year, and without Gerard, for the first time in a decade. It’s honestly kind of scary. I don’t blame him for being snappy at the subject.

We rode to the school in comfortable silence with Gerard’s music playing over the speakers, it was some chill summer music. Which is a nice-ish way to start the day. Arriving at the school parking lot it really does feel different this time. Last time the three of us start together. We get out of the car and start heading towards the school when I’m suddenly grabbed from behind.

“What is up nerds?!” Patrick’s voice rings out next to my ear. We all laugh.

“Just going to hell for another year, what’s up with you?” Mikey says. Patrick moves so his arm is thrown over my shoulder instead.

“Waiting for Pete and whoever else I can find before walking into Hell.” Patrick says and I nod in agreement.

“Sounds reasonable. No one wants to go to hell alone,” I say.

“Did someone say my name earlier?” Pete says walking up to us. Gerard is just hanging with us looking around for Frank and Ray.

“Ayy! What's up dick face?” Patrick says pointing at Pete.

“Nothin much ‘Trick.” Pete responds. “Who else we waiting for before heading in?” He says looking around.

“Other than Kristin, Joe and Andy?” I ask, raising my eyebrow at him.

“Uhh yeah.” He says before starting to talk to Mikey about his summer and what classes he has. I chat with Patrick as we wait a few minutes for Ray and Frank to join us all.

“Who’s ready for another year of the fuckin’ shit show that is called school?” Frank says walking up to us with Ray and Kristin. They have been carpooling for school together since last year because they all live pretty close together. We all laugh and joke about school sucking but I know we are all excited for our electives. Since we are seniors and juniors we all have more electives now, us seniors get three while the juniors get two. It's so nice that the school actually lets us pick some fun classes to do.

After a while we realize it's 10 minutes before the bell rings and we should probably head into the building now.

“Who’s going to step in first?” Patrick asks. I’m sure people look at each other but everything feels different today. It’s time to just get this year started.

I step away from them not realizing that Gerard has too and we walk up the few steps together wordlessly before pausing in front of the doors for a moment. I breathe in deeply and make my way into the building through the giant double doors with Gerard by my side and our friends right behind us. This year is going to be a good one.

#gerard x reader #gerard way #mcr gerard #mcr fanfiction #mcr fanfic #my chemical romance #fanfic updates #Sweet vemon #vampires will never hurt you #gerard way x reader

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cthibault21hasgov · 4 years

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Media Assessment of Issue

https://abcnews.go.com/US/fact-check-trump-incomplete-border-wall-update-misstates/story?id=72673037

Subject The source is fact checking Trumps statements on boarder wall progress and on Biden's immigration policies that he made at the Republican National Convention.

Author Quinn Owen is a reporter and producer for ABC who writes on politics and policy. Owen lives and reports from Washington D.C. and tends to be neutral but leans a little left.

Context Published August 28th 2020 in D.C. during the Republican National Convention. This means the criticism and fact checks were done immediately after Trump said these things and a week after Biden spoke at the DNC.

Audience The source was published by ABC a neutral news source. The intended audience however, is most likely those who oppose Trump because the article is fact checking him and correcting his lies. The article also correctly outlines policies on Biden campaign to show Trumps false statements.

Perspective The article is pretty objective. While it does correct Trump and fix his errors it does not bash on him or praise Biden. The article writes on the truthful sides of Trumps statements and corrects him when needed. It also makes sure to fully explain Biden’s side of the subjects to ensure there is no confusion.

Significance The article quotes homeland security, the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Customs and Boarder Protection. there is also quoted material from Jim Crumpacker, a DHS official. This quoted information and perspectives shows the reliability of this article.

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jul/8/joe-biden-immigration-plan-grants-citizenship-11-m/

Subject The source explains and analyzes Joe Biden's promise to grant citizenship to the 11 million immigrants working and living in the U.S. already. It also critiques Biden’s plan to make it easier for immigrants to become citizens. Joe plans to undo all of Trumps ‘get tough’ boarder policies.

Author The author Stephan Dinan, CEO of The Shift Network; a website focusing on transnational education, media and current events. Dinan is also the author of Sacred America, Sacred World a manifesto of our countries spiritual and political evolution.

Context This article was produced Wednesday July 8th. Being a current article it is influenced by the pandemic and the soon to come election. Being written during the pandemic the article makes immigrants seam like a threat by saying they may take what few jobs are available during this time.

Audience The source was published by The Washington Times, a fairly right leaning news source. This means the intended audience is most likely republican or those who oppose immigration. This has lead the source to mud sling towards Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, who are both quoted throughout the article.

Perspective The article is from a republican perspective. This leads it to see illegal immigrants as criminal and as a threat. The article also makes Joe Biden sound threatening because he is supposedly letting all these so called criminals into our country. I would say I disagree with the authors message. I don’t see immigrants or Joe Biden as a threat because I agree with Biden’s polices more than I agree with Trumps. I also see immigrants as a necessary part of our economy during these times because they are out risking their lives to feed and protect America.

Significance The source does not have much explicit evidence however, it quotes Bernie Sanders on his opinions on Biden and his policies. The source also outlines Joe Biden’s “road map to citizenship” and his other ideas and how the contrast with Trumps.

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trump-claims-he-can-suspend-immigration-through-executive-order-n1188561

Subject Benen writes about Trumps most recent tweet regarding banning immigration to protect american jobs and stop the spread of the corona virus. Benen analyzes this tweet and answers some questions over whether or not Trump can and will follow through with this spontaneous claim.

Author The Author is Steve Benen a political writer, blogger and Emmy award winning producer. He also very recently published a book called The Impostors: How Republicans Quit Governing and Seized American Politics. Benen is a Democrat and even was the communications director of an unsuccessful democratic congressional campaign in 1996.

Context Published April 21st 2020, not only is this article recent it was also published in the heart of quarantine when supplies were scarce and people weren't leaving their houses. The article analyzes a tweet Trump posted at 10 pm the previous night.

Audience The source was created for those who do not support Trump and favor critiques of him. The article is written in an almost sarcastic satirical manor making the republican party sound ill prepared. Its also written with the intent of making Trump sound like he does what he wants when he wants and everyone else has to scramble to keep up with him.

Perspective The article is subjective claiming that immigrants are vital part of our healthcare system and stating that since cases have passed 700,000 stopping immigration would not do anything. The article also claims this tweet contradicts Trumps previous statement that the U.S. had passed a corner and was improving. If that was true than why the sudden need to ban immigration Benen asks. I agree with Benen, that not only are immigrants an integral part of our healthcare system but also cases in the U.S. are so high banning immigrants would not stop anything.

Significance The article directly quotes Trumps tweet, additionally NBC interviews a white house official about the tweet and how they plan to execute it. The article also quotes a New York Times article that discusses the possibility of such an executive order. Additionally taking quotes from the Washington Post who interviewed Alex Nowrasteh, director of immigration studies at the libertarian Cato Institute. Lastly the article has a link to another article mapping out the number of cases compared to fatalities.

The ABC and the MSNBC article are similar in the way they both fact check and correct Trumps false accusations and errors. However the MSNBC article is much more critical of him and writes in a more satirical way by mudslinging at the republican party. The Washington Times post does the same thing at Biden making him out to be a threat to America. Both biased articles make the other parties candidate out to be something their not. The MSNBC article makes Trump sound uncontrollable and idiotic. The Washington Times article makes Biden sound like a radical socialist who wants immigrants to have more rights than average Americans. Neither of these statements are true, they are just a political tool. I would say I identify with the MSNBC article the most because I do support immigration. I believe immigrants are a vital part of our healthcare system and our economy. If we were to ban immigration and deport all the illegal immigrants we wouldn't have food on our tables. I agree immigrants that threat American security should be controlled but those just trying to get a job and provide for their family should be able to easily become citizens.

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willel · 5 years

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So, the official writing team is going to post movies they’ve discussed for season 4 once a week. For the funsies, I guess I’ll look at each movie and see what it’s about.

So let’s get started. I’m sorry if this looks bad on tumblr mobile, but it;s their fault for messing up the indented paragraphs

The Peanut Butter Solution

Ghosts restore a boy's (Mathew Mackay) hair when it falls out from fright, but then it won't stop growing.

Michael Baskin is an average 11-year-old boy. His father, Billy Baskin, is a struggling artist and temporary sole caregiver of the children while his wife attends to the needs of her recently deceased father in Australia. Upon hearing the news that an abandoned mansion has recently burned down, Michael and his friend Connie decide to explore the remains. Outside the mansion, Connie dares Michael to take a look inside, leading to a frightening encounter with the ghosts of its homeless inhabitants who had died in the fire. Michael does not know this yet, but his fearsome run in with the ghosts has given him a mysterious illness simply known as "The Fright". Michael wakes up the next morning to find out that "The Fright" has made him lose all of his hair. After a failed attempt with a wig (his wig was pulled off by an older boy during a fight in a soccer game), the ghosts visit Michael in his sleep and give him the recipe of a magical formula for hair growth, the main ingredient of which is peanut butter. Michael's first attempt to make the formula is thwarted when his father and sister think he is making something to ingest (rather than use topically) and dispose of it.

A short summary of this movie. It goes on to explain that Michael successfully makes the formula and grows his hair back, but an evil teacher fired from his school discovers his hair growing ability, kidnaps him, uses his hair to make magical paint brushes before he’s finally caught and everyone gets a happy ending.

.... Gonna be honest. NO idea how this is gonna work in. lol. Will’s bowl cut??? The beginning part there had me thinking about Joyce. The exploring the hunted house with a friend had me thinking of Will and El. But everything else? Pfff.

The Fisher King

After shock jock Jack Lucas (Jeff Bridges) inadvertently provokes a caller into murdering a group of innocent people in a Manhattan bar, he grows depressed and turns to booze. As he's about to hit rock bottom, Lucas meets a homeless man named Parry (Robin Williams), whose wife was killed by the caller Lucas pushed to the brink. Mentally scarred by his loss, Parry spends his days searching for the Holy Grail. Lucas, feeling culpable for the poor man's plight, pledges to help him in his quest.

Nope, no idea. I really got nothing except.... maybe Kali?????? Ok wait, I read a bit more, mostly the ending bits. The homeless man, Parry, is beat senseless and is in a coma/catatonic state. The hero of the movie must steal a Holy Grail to wake him up, which he does.

Another part, the hero had previously broken up with his lover (out of guilt I guess???) reunites with her. She slaps him and then they kiss and make up. Or something.

Kinda... Hopper and Joyce like I guess.

Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey

Amiable slackers Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves) are once again roped into a fantastical adventure when De Nomolos (Joss Ackland), a villain from the future, sends evil robot duplicates of the two lads to terminate and replace them. The robot doubles actually succeed in killing Bill and Ted, but the two are determined to escape the afterlife, challenging the Grim Reaper (William Sadler) to a series of games in order to return to the land of the living.

As much as I love Keanu, this does not make me happy. The only beneficial thing I can think of is two best friends doing stuff together to solve a mystery (Will and El). Maybe Will will get Keanu’s hair

You’ve Got Mail

Struggling boutique bookseller Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) hates Joe Fox (Tom Hanks), the owner of a corporate Foxbooks chain store that just moved in across the street. When they meet online, however, they begin an intense and anonymous Internet romance, oblivious of each other's true identity. Eventually Joe learns that the enchanting woman he's involved with is actually his business rival. He must now struggle to reconcile his real-life dislike for her with the cyber love he's come to feel.

.... What? No idea how this is going to happen.... maybe Joyce gets a mysterious pen pal and it’s secretly Hopper. Or, maybe Joyce will become a librarian/book seller

Ordinary People

Tormented by guilt following the death of his older brother, Buck, in a sailing accident, alienated teenager Conrad Jarrett (Timothy Hutton) attempts suicide. Returning home following an extended stay in a psychiatric hospital, Conrad tries to deal with his mental anguish and also reconnect with his mother, Beth (Mary Tyler Moore), who has grown cold and angry, and his emotionally wounded father, Calvin (Donald Sutherland), with the help of his psychiatrist, Dr. Berger (Judd Hirsch).

Ok THIS IS MORE LIKE IT. YES. I probably haven’t seen the movie, but this summary gets me hyped. Let me check out the plot....

“The Jarretts are an upper-middle-class family in suburban Chicago trying to return to normal life after the accidental death of their older teenage son, Buck, and the attempted suicide of their younger and surviving son, Conrad. “

Chicago huh? Hmmmmmm

“ Conrad, who has recently returned home from a four-month stay in a psychiatric hospital, feels alienated from his friends and family and begins seeing a psychiatrist, Dr. Berger. Berger learns that Conrad was involved in the sailing accident that took the life of Buck, whom everyone idolized. Conrad now deals with post-traumatic stress disorder and survivor's guilt. “

This screams Will to me because of the whole alienation of friends and family (plus Will was going to doctors and psychiatrists for a while). BUT, the survivor's guilt thing could be El too. She told him she could fight (she didn’t know she couldn’t at the time she said that) and let him and Joyce go into the danger all alone. But Joyce would never send off her kids to a psychiatrist or ward. And she might not take them to counselors either, she’s been there done that.

“Mother and son often argue while Calvin tries to referee, generally taking Conrad's side for fear of pushing him over the edge again. Things come to a climax near Christmas, when Conrad becomes furious at Beth for not wanting to take a photo with him, swearing at her in front of his grandparents. “

Ooof, well. This movie does not have a particularly happy ending. Basically, Conrad is struggling with guilt and alienation most of the time. He even starts dating someone but it only helps a little. His mother is basically steely faced and refuses to express emotion. She totally blames her younger child for her older child’s death. She’s confronted by her husband who asks her “If she’s capable of loving anyone” and she leaves the family, only leaving father and son to heal together.

The Byers don’t have that kind of stuff going on, not exactly. But.... yes. I can see some good material in here. Let’s hope there’s more of this and less of Bill and Ted’s adventures yeah?

#stranger things

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relationshipsandpolitics · 4 years

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Part 3

Since I last posted, we’ve gotten word that a certain rich asshole is going to enter the race. Now, I could do 500 words on why this guy is awful, but it would sort of go against my belief that just because someone is really rich does not mean we need to pay extra attention to them and their thoughts. This guy is not winning the nomination, won’t even poll about 3% in most states, and overall is not worth the amount ink that will surely be spilled on his campaign. Next.

Joe Biden. Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders

So we are down to the final 3. One of those 3 objectively should have been culled much earlier. If I was doing this purely based on the level of support for each candidate, this guy would have been cut about 8 candidates ago. But Joe Biden is still the front runner, consistently leading national polls and absolutely killing it in several early primary states like South Carolina. Biden remains popular among black voters, who serve as the lifeblood of the Democratic party. Even though his policies and personality suck, he is unique from all the other shitty centrist candidates. So he gets his own takedown.

Joe Biden is a very old man hoping to blind the voters with his connection to President Obama. And for the most part, it’s working like a charm. Forget the fact that he is a rambling, incoherent mess during campaign stops. Forget his abysmal views on race, including his support for segregated busing and racist colleagues. Forget the fact this guy railroaded Anita Hill and still can’t sufficiently apologize to her. Forget all the bad parts of Joe Biden. That’s what he is banking on. Biden is trying to win not based on policy or his strategy for improving the lives of everyday Americans. No, he is trying to win by painting a false image of who he is and how electable he would be. Biden is basing his entire campaign on appealing to low-key racist white suburbanites who don’t want to pay more taxes. That’s his base. And it’s not an awful strategy. But it highlights something terrible about the Democratic voter.

The average Democratic primary voter appears to support progressive causes. They want to see Social Security expanded. They support a $15 minimum wage and gun control. They support paid family leave and some form of universal health care. But the average Democratic voter of a certain age, race and class level doesn’t want to fight for those things. Because while they agree with those policies in principle, they won’t be that affected by them, and more importantly, would have to pay more in taxes. So they say they support these goals yet refuse to put any skin into the game to achieve them. The other possibility is that they would support enacting these policies and paying a bit more, but they don’t think anyone else would and thus think we need to support the least-controversial candidate. No one really likes Joe Biden, or if they do, no one can really identify what exactly he is running for. Even though health care remains a joke in this country, Biden isn’t arguing to make it better. He isn’t supporting a wealth tax. What is this man running on except a vague idea about returning dignity to the American worker. Yet voters still support him, either because they know he actually won’t change anything (except make it ok to be gay again) or because they think not changing anything is the only way for a Democrat to win.

The American voter (not just Democratic voters) collectively is a stupid person. They personally want a politician to enact massive change to better their lives, yet believe the ideal candidate is a moderate who won’t do anything major, and still someone in doing nothing substantial, will improve their lives. Then, just to double down on that stupidity, they will vote the opposition party into power in Congress to ensure nothing happens, all because they love compromise. Of course, the last thirty years of politics have shown that bipartisanship is a myth.

The American voter is both very ignorant and very naïve. We accept that. But it’s tougher to accept that from our politicians. At a recent fundraiser for millionaires, Biden touted his sincere belief that when Trump goes, Republicans will have an epiphany and start working with him to make our country better. Folks, this is disqualifying. The sheer insanity of that belief needs to be a deal breaker. Biden, in the very same speech to the very same contingent of rich assholes, said that he personally called dozens of Republicans to get Merrick Garland on the Supreme Court. The Republicans said no and pulled a move so disgusting and unprecedented that we will never see something worse in our lifetimes. And this was all before Trump was even nominated.

Joe Biden is an idiot. He also is in the bag of the rich. He regularly attends fundraisers hosted by lobbyists for some of the most nefarious industries. His campaign is mostly funded by Wall Street and Health Insurance. And how do you think he’ll govern once in office? Will he go after these bad actors? Or will he appoint them to his Cabinet? Remember, this is the guy who worked in an administration that wanted Larry Summers as Fed Chief. He appointed Timothy Geithner as Secretary of the Treasury.

Joe Biden would continue the worst aspects of Obama’s administration without all the good stuff. He’d be in his late 80’s by the time his second term ended, too. For the love of all that we hold holy, we cannot nominate Biden.

It is now time for the top two candidates. I would happily vote for either of these candidates, so my choice for one is not a slight on the other. Each candidate has issues, but they are minor compared to what they bring to the table. So I urge you to vote early and often for either of them.

Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders

A presidential candidate should make you excited to vote for them. It can’t just be “I can’t vote for the other guy so I guess you’ll do.” It’s a recipe for disaster. People need a reason to take a couple hours of their day, find parking, wait in a long line, deal with eighty-year old volunteers who yell at you to close the curtain more, and then go into work and deal with their daily amount of shit. People need a reason to see the process of voting as exciting.

I think Bernie and Elizabeth are the only two candidates one can reasonably get excited about. I’m not saying everyone will be excited by them because a lot of people don’t support their policies. I call these people assholes. But can anyone honestly say they are excited to vote for Amy Klobuchar or Joe Biden? Even if you support their bland policy proposals which consist of “we need better jobs but fuck if I know how to do that.”

But which one to choose?

I’m going to start with Bernie. The negatives against him are one of perception rather than reality, but in politics its not the truth that wins out but what you can convince people the truth is. And Bernie will definitely be portrayed as an out-of-touch Socialist. While the youngins like the word “socialism” the majority of the electorate is still scared to death of the term because they equate social democratic government as the Soviet Union and bread lines. In other words, most people are stupid. Sanders best hope would be to hammer home how amazing European countries are, the benefits they enjoy without all the negatives that Republicans conjure up in places like Venezuela. Unfortunately, Republican messaging still rules the day. Even if you could strap a person in a chair and explain point by point why Sweden and Denmark work as social democracies, they still wouldn’t get it.

Trump will absolutely attack Bernie for being a socialist, and the problem compared to the other candidates he would attack for being a socialist is that the suburban Democratic voters would actually believe him. Bernie absolutely will upend the system, and a lot of people are still benefiting from that system. People like my parents. They have a good amount of money but are not rich. Taxes going up on them will impact their daily lives, and most of the benefits Bernie is advocating for would not benefit them. There is a lot of good research out there that suggests the key for Democrats to win across the board is to get the suburban moderate vote. And there is a legitimate argument that Bernie will not get that vote. Now, one can say that those voters would never vote for Trump. But you must remember a very important thing about politics: white people can get pretty racist when they think you’ll take money away from them.

But here’s what I love about Bernie. He is entirely genuine in his advocacy for the poor and working class. Most politicians say they care, of course. They give a speech supporting raising the minimum wage or not cutting Medicaid. But they also tie themselves with rich donors and businesses whenever they can. They support the poor until there is a good reason not to. Not Bernie. He’s been singing the same tune since the sixties. He doesn’t care if it isn’t popular. He’ll make it become popular. Bernie almost single handedly shifted the conversation on universal health care. We are talking about paid family leave and free college because of him. And the man deserves credit for that.

Bernie has been hit a lot from the Democratic establishment. People are still sore that he had the audacity to challenge Hillary Clinton. Even though he endorsed and campaigned heavily for her after dropping out in 2016, there is still a narrative that he sabotaged her campaign. Let’s be clear, though. The reason why the establishment Democratic contingency dislikes Bernie is because he thinks they are just as corrupt as the Republicans. Which is true. Democrats work out of the same bubble as Republicans. They rub shoulders with the same Wall Street donors. Try calling up your Democratic Senator to get an in-person meeting. Now look at who does get those meetings. I support Bernie because he actually is trying to change our corrupt political system. A politician can’t work within the given system without being corrupted by it. The system is a cancer that needs to be destroyed.

Bernie has said some dumb things and has held some dumb positions. This can’t be denied. He’s been accused of being a racist, sexist and homophobe. Some of this is absolute bullshit and some of it is based on dumb things he’s said. But judging by the policies the man has supported, the votes he has taken, and what he has said during the 2016 and 2020 campaigns, does anyone honestly believe him to be a racist, sexist or homophobe?

If you are having a tough time getting behind Bernie, I’d ask yourself the following questions:

Do you honestly believe he would pursue anti-women and anti-reproductive rights policies?

Do you think a more robust paid family leave policy, along with a policy promoting affordable childcare, would significantly benefit women?

Do you think Bernie would restrict LGBTQ rights or would he expand protections for this group?

Do you genuinely believe Bernie would support or champion policies that would discriminate against black people?

Do you think health care is a crisis in this country and everyone should have access to it? If so, do you think Bernie makes the situation better or worse?

Do you think a president should fill his administration with people from the financial and insurance industries? Do you think Bernie would do this?

Do you think millionaires and billionaires should be taxed more and more money should go into programs that help the poor and middle class?

Should college be free or at least much more affordable?

Ask yourself these questions. Don’t worry about whether he can get them passed. Truth is it will be tough for any Democrat to get anything passed. I’d be looking at which candidates are most willing to use executive orders (hint: it’s Bernie).

We can’t keep hedging our votes on what’s practical because the truth is everything is doable with enough willpower. Think about how insane Social Security is as a legislative success. We taxed everyone, rich and poor, to provide money to senior citizens for the rest of their lives. That’s insane, and we did it. Same with Medicare. If you think are country needs massive changes to secure our future, vote for the candidate who is advocating for massive changes. That candidate is Bernie Sanders and…..

Elizabeth Warren. Everything good about Bernie can also be said about Elizabeth Warren. This is a person who literally created an agency designed to help consumers go against corporations. Warren has correctly diagnosed the problem for wealth and income inequality and a lot of the bad shit that’s been happening to the American worker. Corporations suck. Rich people suck. They both need to be taxed way more and we need to use those funds to give benefits to the poor and working class. Warren has a plan for pretty much everything, and that is a great thing. She doesn’t talk in platitudes about restoring dignity to the working class. She identifies the problem and comes up with an actual solution.

And for her efforts she gets skewered by her opponents and the media. When Pete Buttigieg says we should invest more in affordable housing, no one pushes back on exactly what that means. But when Warren releases a comprehensive plan to pay for Medicare for All, she is eviscerated. Her plans should be critiqued, but they should also come with the acknowledgement that she has put in the work and is way more open with the American people than the other candidates. The media and voters need to start making candidates pay a price for not articulating actual plans for their policy goals.

Warren is fucking smart and driven. She has the brain and energy to do the job. She’s not a crackpot; she’s an advocate for the little guy. Honestly, there isn’t much to criticize Warren on outside of how she will pay for her policy proposals. But the media will attack what little they have while giving Trump and the more moderate Democrats a pass. When Trump or Biden talk about strengthening the military, no one will ask what that means and how much it will cost. But when Warren comes up with a tax plan to pay for free childcare, every single pundit will pounce the second some study comes out that her funding is off by a few million.

Of course, the dumbest part is the idea Warren needs to fully fund any proposal. Right now, the economy has been doing great for about five years. And in that whole time, we’ve been running huge deficits. Maybe government spending without offsets isn’t such a big deal. Warren can’t say that because the media won’t allow her to. It would be great if Warren could just say “things are going great now despite a trillion-dollar deficit, so why not get free healthcare for a $2 trillion-dollar deficit?”

That’s what I love most about Warren. The lines of attack against her are so shitty. Bernie has legitimate concerns that the Republicans will easily exploit. The best they can do with Warren is attack her policies, which are broadly popular. And with Warren, you get a bunch of different contingencies that will come out for her. You have women and those who want to see our first female president. You get progressives excited about finally having a candidate who advocates for them with a fighting chance. And because she is being so careful not to raise middle class taxes, I think you get a lot of the suburban vote.

I think Warren can win this thing. She articulates the message well, she lacks genuine baggage and when compared to Trump, she comes off even better.

So who is my final pick? I’m going with Elizabeth Warren. Not only does she hold most of the same policy positions as Sanders, but she also is fundamentally opposed to the corporate interests that got us to this point. And I think she can better cajole moderate Democrats to support her agenda. Finally, I think she comes with less baggage.

What I would love to see, based on the polling, is for Warren to either win or come in second by a close margin to Biden or Buttigieg. Sanders would drastically underperform, at which point if New Hampshire was also going poorly, he could drop out and swing all his support to Warren. That would make her the clear front runner. Let’s see what happens.

Elizabeth Warren

#elizabeth warren #bernie sanders #joe biden

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projectfaust · 4 years

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Satanic Lockpicking

Locks are fascinating contraptions. They date back further than ancient Assyria and have provided the means to keep untold amounts of secrets, delights, and horrors hidden throughout history. Despite how far our technology has evolved, by and large we still employ the same basic principles from thousands of years ago to protect some of our most valuable and guarded assets. For those who know the mechanics, the exploits of these systems are glaring and are the perfect illustration of the illusion of security. They provide a sense of protection when, in reality, they are so easily manipulated against the owner’s intent that their benefit is largely psychological. This benefit is protected by the ignorance of most who have never stopped to take an even rudimentary look at how a lock functions – if they did, their shortcomings would be too obvious for even Joe Average to miss. Locks also take a prominent position in one of Anton LaVey’s most insightful treatises on magic, which happens to be one of his most overlooked.

The Combination Lock Principle appears on page 35 of The Devil’s Notebook and explores a comparison of the mechanics of magical process with the functions of a lock. Despite its humble length of 2 pages, LaVey does this in a way that provides us insight into a novel model of magical operation. He paints the magical process as being similar to the processes that cause a lock to open, namely the falling into place of pins that allows a lock to turn. The combination, he insists, changes depending on the magician and their intent. As LaVey points out, it is not possible to know precisely what the combination is – but the falling of each pin does reside within 3D space. Examples of pins falling into place are reading the right book at the right time, happening upon an old friend and remembering something you need, finding that particularly elusive trinket at an antiques shop, and the list could go on. These phenomena seem to be rooted magically in time and, as LaVey theorizes, this fourth dimension is the locale of all magical phenomena. If you have the three-dimensional actions performed correctly, this fourth pin falls into place. If you are an even somewhat competent magician, you will be familiar with the peculiar coincidences that fall into place to provide you with the opportunity for your working to succeed. They are opportunities because, as LaVey continues, one must be open to recognize these pins as they are made available to us – something far easier said than done. Why? When one looks for the combination they need, it is impossible to see in the midst of it. As is true with the rainbow, there can be no sight of it while standing inside of it. Beyond the rainbow is where we need to cast our eyes.

I have always been drawn to information that one is not supposed the have, information that has the potential to turn upstanding corporate citizens into pesky, independent ones. Lockpicking is one of the troves of PG-rated forbidden material available and it doesn’t take much time to learn to pick some of the most widely used locks on the market today. The ability to see past the surface of things and learn how to make them work to your advantage is an inherently Satanic concept and, similar to how we act as magicians, we are trying to open locks without knowing the combination and without having a key. It’s more apt to look at the magical process through the lens of picking a lock as opposed to merely opening it, and more accurate to consider the function of a pin tumbler lock than a combination lock. Before we can do this, it will help to briefly explore how locks function in a bit more detail.

While locks vary in their size and less so in their base mechanism, when we conjure an image of a lock in our minds what we are likely thinking of is the cylinder. This is the outer casing that houses the plug, the part of the lock that turns with the correct key when inserted into the keyway. Inside the plug there are 2 sets of pins – driver pins and lower pins. Driver pins have springs above them that push them down onto the set of bottom pins. When the correct key is inserted, the combination of grooves on the key raise each lower pin to the correct height that aligns the driver pins above them. When aligned, the driver pins are just above the plug and no longer prevent the plug from turning. This line formed just above the plug by the driver pins is called the sheer line. When picking a lock, you use tools to move the lower pins into place so is that the driver pins rest on the sheer line. Raise the lower pins any further however and they themselves prevent the plug from turning. While I’m sure you’re grateful for this short tutorial, you must be wondering how this can help us expand on LaVey’s theory.

Unlike with a key, the lockpicker cannot simultaneously raise each lower pin to the correct height. The first tool inserted to pick a lock is a tension wrench, this usually ‘L’ shaped tool applies torque to the plug to keep pins from being pushed back down after they are correctly set at the sheer line. Most magic materializes outside of the ritual chamber, at least most magic worth doing anyway. As the magician enters her ritual chamber to perform her work, if the appropriate ingredients for magic are present (see The Book of Belial), the working acts as a tension wrench of sorts. The working provides magical torque that allows the pins to be manipulated and is the first step towards having the world change in accordance with your will. This torque resonates with and allows the entry of fourth-dimensional elements, setting the stage for pins to begin to be picked. The importance of ensuring the magical ingredients are in place with the correct measurements cannot be understated, as without torque applied no pins will move and no lock will turn.

A combination lock metaphor suggests that the spinning of numbers into place by chance or process of elimination is equatable to magic. I disagree. Here again the pin-tumbler lock gives us better insight. With torque applied, our would-be lockpicker uses a myriad of tools at their disposal to push up on the lower pins. Consider these tools similar to the opportunities LaVey talks about, they come in different forms and you have to be able to recognize them when they appear to make the most use out of them – but not all lead to the pin being picked into place. We’ve already established the correct combinations cannot be seen when looking for them, so what do we do? Well, we don’t look for them – we look at them in retrospect after they’ve come into being. They say hindsight is 20/20 and as magicians this is one of our most useful tools. An important component of lockpicking is understanding The Binding Principle. In short, the binding principle states that one must manipulate the pins in a particular order. That order is specific to the combination of pins for that specific lock. As magicians, we are effectively trying to pick our own locks. The combination of pins is unique to each witch or warlock and is unique to the goal they are trying to accomplish. Part of being a successful magician is understanding your lock’s special nuances, the patterns in combinations you find as you go about your magical work. Depending on what you are trying to accomplish, be it destruction, compassion, or lust, patterns will emerge that will be visible after the fact. Examine the order of magical coincidences that set into place and what factors they involve after your chamber work is complete. Is the first pin usually an encounter with a person when desiring compassion, or is it a piece of literature? Do unexpected travel opportunities appear when seeking lust, and what appears before and after? Once established, look into the deeper significance of each correct tool and investigate the undercurrent running through it. Deciphering the recurring order of magical phenomena after successfully accomplishing your goal will open your eyes for future magic, allowing you to see the rainbow from memory while inside of it. There will of course always be differences as no magical attempt is the same as the last, but there will be similarities. This will help you to notice the tools and discern which ones are needed depending on your goal.

It is not necessarily the events or phenomena themselves that make the magic, but when they occur that does. LaVey got it right when he said timing is everything. Understanding your own binding order will help you direct your attention to the right opportunities at the right time, leaving you to use them and push the pins as appropriate and find your combination with greater ease than groping around aimlessly. This is not an excuse to shut yourself off from opportunities that fall outside of your newly formed paradigm, instead it provides you with a workable rubric to guide your attention and efforts. Always remember that patience, a gentle touch, and a sensitive ear will help you crack even the most daunting of safes.

- Hook

#satanism #antonlavey #churchofsatan #templeofset #magic #blackmagic #witchcraft #devil #magick #lavey #666 #satan

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allisondraste · 5 years

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Let’s Talk About Cole

Hi! It’s me again with another segment of “Allison Can’t Stop Analyzing Dragon Age Characters.” This time, I am going to be talking about fan favorite Cole. I think it’s relatively universal for people to like Cole and to enjoy his character. People like to draw him, write about him, and just talk about our Fade Friend all the time. It’s great!

However, the nuance of Cole is a little harder to understand, and as with most characters, he often gets reduced down to basic qualities and then those basic qualities are changed ever so slightly that the character starts to not even feel the same anymore. I love Cole, and I have done some research about him in order to write a handful of scenes involving him, so I am just here to share some of the things that helped me out while I was learning about what makes him tick!

Step 1. If you have not read Asunder, I cannot more highly recommend it. It has so much information about Cole’s back story. Also, if you haven’t read Asunder and you don’t want spoilers for Asunder, you should probably go read it and then come back to my post later.

Step 2. The Cole section of this post right here is literally magic. The whole post is magic, but since this is a Cole meta, I’m specifically referring to the Cole piece.

Step 3. Things about Cole that are essential to understanding him:

Cole is Neurodivergent ( and no, it’s not up for debate)

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, “Neurodivergent” is simply a word that describes a person whose mind works and processes information in a way that is considered different from an average joe neurotypical person. Often times neurodivergent is used to describe autism, ADHD, and other conditions that affect neurological development.

Because Cole is a spirit, he processes the world around him differently from non-spirit characters in the Dragon Age Universe. He perceives different things and understands things differently from how other characters might. Cole also has some misunderstandings and misperceptions about human social norms and boundaries, that he becomes more acquainted with over time. It is important to note that this development happens *regardless* of the path chosen for him with regard to Varric V. Solas (I am not a fan of this particular part of his character arc, but I am going to go into that later). The fact that Cole is neurodivergent means that someone who is neurotypical is likely going to have a hard time understanding him and may perceive him as “childish,” “naive,” or “helpless.” They might also have difficulty understanding his speech patterns and especially recreating them if they seek to write him!

Neurodiversity is so important, and Cole is excellent representation, so it’s equally important that we strive to do our research and make sure that we are not removing that representation or presenting neurodiversity in a way that its harmful to others. Different is different, not bad, and certainly not less.

Cole is Not a Child

I mentioned above that there is a tendency to interpret Cole’s neurodiversity as childishness or naivete, and even when it is unintentional, it is an ableistic view point that can be harmful to entire communities of people. There is a pattern (not just in DA fandom, but also in DA fandom) whereby neurodiverse folks are often viewed as children. They’re infantilized and treated as if they are helpless and/or cannot make good decisions on their own. Cole suffers from this as does Merrill (sometimes Sera, too).

For Cole, this situation is not helped by the fact that the game portrays him as helpless and in need of a “father” figure to help him choose his path. Hence we see Solas and Varric arguing on whether Cole should increase is affinity for spirtdom or for humanity. I understand that everyone has their own opinion for what the “better” path for Cole is, and I’m not here to argue that; however, I do think that his arc would have had so much more meaning and been so much less invalidating for neurodivergent people if Cole had the autonomy to make his own decisions. In Asunder, we see Cole being very independent and making his own choices, figuring out who and what he is. At the very end, his very last line in the entire book is, “I’m not helpless anymore.” I don’t think that sounds like a character who cannot make his own decisions.

Fun fact: Cole is designed to be approximately 20 years old, which is the exact same age that Alistair was in Dragon Age: Origins. (While Alistair is also the victim of infantilization… it still puts things into perspective a little bit). In order to avoid the “kid”/child dilemma, it is best to conceptualize some of the things in Cole commonly interpreted as childlike or immature as “newness.” In Inquisition, Cole has only been in the mortal realm for a few years, and he has only been cognizant of the fact that he is not a human, but a spirit of Compassion for even less time. Rather than treating him as a “baby” it is best to treat him as someone who is just learning a new culture, a new world.

Cole is a Spirit of Compassion, Not a Spirit of Matchmaking and/or Meddling in your Personal Affairs.

A trend I see often is Cole as matchmaker, or Cole as interested in every detail of everyone’s sex life or Cole being a filterless vent for whatever the people near him are thinking. It’s easy to assume that about him, as he does comment on a few relationships (Cullenmance, Solavellan, and Bullmance) in particular; however, there is an interesting tidbit of how Cole’s thought reading works located in his banter with Dorian.

Dorian: That little trick, Cole, when you dip into someone's mind and take a drink?

Dorian: Do you choose what you're looking for, or is it random?

Cole: It has to be hurt, or a way to help the hurt. That's what calls me.

Cole: Rilienus, skin tan like fine whiskey, cheekbones shaded, lips curl when he smiles.

Cole: He would have said yes.

Dorian: I'll... thank you not to do that again, please.

Essentially, Cole can only tap into thoughts that are 1.) Painful or 2.) Can help lessen the pain in some way, shape, or form. So, when he accesses thoughts about an LI or something else very personal, he does so to HELP. It is not random. It is not filterless. It is a very pragmatic way to be compassionate. When I was thinking of ways to explain this, the first thing that came to mind was the work that I do as a mental health professional. We are actual practitioners of compassion. It is our job to listen to our clients and help them to solve the problems that are causing them to suffer. We ask a lot of deep questions and probe about a lot of personal things, but it is very targeted. We do not ask intimate questions just out of curiosity or just for the heck of it. It is geared toward the issue at hand. That is exactly what Cole does.

Unless prodding your OC about the details of their sex life is going to make them feel better, he will not bother.

Cole is Not an Innocent, Precious, Little Cinnamon Roll

First of all, that goes along with the infantilization of his character, so it’s just a really ill-considered choice of language to describe him. Second of all, it is simply not true.

I understand that for people who have not read Asunder or played the Champions of the Just questline (and especially people who have done neither) there is very little information about him to judge his character on, and what we do see is a person whose only mission, his sole purpose, is to help the hurt. That does seem very wholesome.

In Asunder, we see a much different side of him. Believing himself to be Cole, a young mage who died of starvation after being forgotten by Templars, Compassion roams about the White Spire in a confused and lonely daze, unaware that he is actually a very powerful spirit. He is called the Ghost of the White Spire, a legend that is terrifying to those that inhabit the tower. Why? Because he murders mages.

If you are thinking “oh, he probably killed them because he felt them suffering and he thought it was the only way to end their misery,” you are thinking exactly as I did, and you would be wrong. While he did target individuals who were despairing, it was not altruistic. He killed them because it felt good when they died, because that was the only time anyone could see him. The way the book describes it, it was almost an “addiction” or a physiological need for him to kill. He was distressed by his actions, but was not able to stop without Rhys’ help.

Over the course of the book, Cole learns more about his past and figures out what he is. He also, through the help of his relationship with Rhys and Evangeline, comes to understand that he does not have to murder people to be seen and remembered. When he is sent to the Fade using the Litany of Adralla, it all finally clicks and he returns to haunt Lord Seeker Lucius, for all the pain and suffering he caused his friends and loved ones. It is such a brilliant character arc and I so wish that we got to see more of it in the game.

Cole is a Person the Entire Time (Human vs. Spirit/Varric vs. Solas be damned)

Regardless of your opinion of Solas, one thing he gets right is in arguing that Cole is already a whole and complete person when he joins the Inquisition. He actually argues for the personhood of all spirits in general, and I think that any reasonable person can look at the spirits (and demons) with whom we have interacted so far and, putting aside feelings about Solas, draw the same conclusions.

Let’s take a look at all of the Spirits/Demons we have had actual interactions with thus far:

Valor

Justice

Compassion

Command

Wisdom

Choice

Desire

Pride

Sloth

Rage

Fear

Envy

While some of these interactions were minimal, each of these entities show qualities that one would associate with personhood. Qualities such as motivation, goals, higher order thought processes, emotions, etc. When we meet Justice in DA:A, he is a thinking, feeling being who longs to right wrongs and comes to care for mortals a great deal. He comes to this conclusion on his own after interacting with his companions in the events of the game. Choice, or Imshael, who we see in The Masked Empire, and in DAI, has such an identity of his own that he does not like to be referred to as a demon. I could go on. These are not mindless, thoughtless creatures, and so viewing them as people just makes sense. This is part of the reason I do not like the Solas vs. Varric questline (aside from the fact that Cole should be able to choose or not choose as he wishes). Cole is already a person, and Varric’s line of thought is not “making him more human,” it is only serving to make him “less compassionate,” and that’s all. He becomes more selfish which is why he is able to have more of his own personal goals (it’s not because he did not have them before; rather, it is because they were drowned out by everyone else’s).

This is not to say that I think Cole should have to forgive his abuser. He shouldn’t. Not unless he wants to, and that choice should be his to make, not Varric’s, not Solas’, and not the Inquisitor’s. I have an opinion as to which path is better, but I’m not going to discuss that here because it will detract from the actual point which is that the language of “human” versus “not human” is just bad and here’s why.

It implies that forgiveness is not a human quality.

It implies that in order to be considered a person, one has to “think” and “do” as everyone else does.

Because of Cole’s romantic/sexual interest in Maryden when Varric’s path is chosen, it implies that lack of romantic/sexual attraction is not “human,” which is aphobic.

Because of his Maryden interest in the “human” path, and because he has “become more human” in his thought processes, it implies that neurodivergent people cannot or are not interested in relationships, which is ableist.

TL;DR: I’m not a fan of that questline. Your mileage may vary.

Finally, and Probably the Reason You Sat Through the Rest of It: Cole’s Speech Pattern!

Cole’s speech is really difficult to capture in a way that is both enough and not too much. It is not as simple as just seeing how much alliteration can fit into a chapter. Sure, Cole uses a lot of alliteration, and it is incredibly fun to play with while writing him; however, his communication is not as simple as that. If you check out the link I shared in Step 2, it will take you to a Character Files reference where there is some information about Cole’s speech pattern that is much more in depth than I am going to go so definitely check it out. When I am writing Cole, I categorize his speech into three different types:

Synesthesia

- the alliteration, the purpley flowery descriptions, the metaphors, the in the moment, no regard for grammar, run on sentence speech he is known for. This comprises most of his dialogue.

Direct thought reading

- when he is actually quoting characters’ thoughts or stating their feelings out right. He might speak as them or he might speak as himself observing them.

Cole’s own thoughts

- Yes, he has them, and he has a lot of them. Many of these show up as his interpretations of and suggestions for others regarding their hurt. However, he also shows a lot of agency of thought. He wants to know if Dorian thinks he’s handsome, he talks about wanting there to be more rabbits in stories because Bunny was Cole’s sister’s name and it reminds him of her. Cole expresses a lot of his own thoughts and feelings if you just take time to listen.

Writing Cole effectively involves a good balance of all three types and I recommend just playing around with it!

To Sum It All Up

Cole is amazing, but he’s also often misunderstood and mischaracterized, and Allison has a lot of feelings about it that you could spare yourself from reading if you do Steps 1 and 2 and skip the middleman. The end!

#dragon age #dragon age inquisition #cole meta #understanding cole #writing reference #my ramblings

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ceciliadickson · 4 years

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P2D2

Cecilia Dickson

Halbert Barton

SOC 3-001

27 February 2020

How One Musical is Changing the Future

“For one thing, it is—by cold critical standards—the worst of the lot, with a repetitive score, painfully forced rhymes, cartoonish acting and a general approach that mistakes decibel level (literally and metaphorically) for emotional intensity” is what New York Times critic Ben Brantley wrote about the cult musical Be More Chill after it’s opening on Broadway on March 10th, 2019. Be More Chill is a musical by Joe Iconis with a book by Joe Tracz, based on the young adult sci-fi novel of the same name by Ned Vizzini. It follows high school loser Jeremy Heere on his quest to become popular by taking a pill called a with a microcomputer inside of it called a SQUIP, which implants itself into Jeremy’s brain and helps him to be more chill. Many shenanigans follow. Sound weird? It is, but that is the point.

The bad reviews did not stop at the Times. Mashable called it “a disappointment” and The Hollywood Reporter stated it “contains serious problems.” So, does it come as any surprise that the show closed five months after opening?

From the outside looking in, no. A bad Times review is a bad Times review, and a bad Times review will close a production. But a step into the Lyceum Theatre’s doors while Be More Chill played on it’s stage would suggest an entirely different story.

Excited teenagers dressed in full cosplay, standing ovations after the show’s hit “Michael in the Bathroom” belted out by George Salazar (who plays Jeremy’s best friend, Michael), a screaming stagedoor crowd that caused passersby to stop and see what celebrities where coming out (they often left disappointed), fans crying as they got to meet their favorite actors—The two pictures put together do not make much sense. What made this musical connect with this young crowd in ways that theatre critics missed, causing the show to close despite its enthusiastic audience?

Fourteen-year-old Luna discusses the wide expanse of diversity the show contains. “I especially saw this in George Salazar's performance,” she says, “with someone who's half Filipino, like me, playing such a major role in the show!” Similarly, another fan, Jenn, describes how “as a fellow Filipino who is also part of the LGBTQIA+ community, it honestly made me feel so seen for the first time” to see Salazar, a gay half-Filipino, half-Ecuadorian man, perform on a Broadway stage in a lead role. “It made me tear-up.”

The representation does not stop at race. Another fan, Skylar, says that “the fact that a character actually says ‘Oh my God, I am totally bi’ literally makes me want to sob” in reference to a bisexual character, Rich Goranski. Salazar’s character wears a rainbow pride patch on his hoodie and has the famous line, “My mothers would be thrilled!” that caused fans in the audience to scream and cheer nightly.

Beyond representation, many people love the show because of it’s message. Twenty-five year old Erika states “It gives a voice to all the weirdos and people with anxiety/depression but in a way that's also comedic and colorful and fun and people really need that!” Similarly, twenty-eight year old Kayleigh describes her experience connecting to the show. “Then, when we got to [the song] “Upgrade” and [the lyric] ‘I'm tired of being the person that everyone thinks that I am’ was sung, and I immediately began to cry in my seat because, for the entirety of my life, I've worn a facade, quieting my interests and my desires in order to make other people happy . . . I felt seen as a person.”

If representation, from race to sexuality to mental illness, is what drew people to Be More Chill, the community is where people stayed, finding their home in it’s fandom. Through being mutual fans of the show, Luna met her girlfriend, Taylor, who happily explains “also because of [Be More Chill] I have a girlfriend! She is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me.” Kayleigh and Erika have found friendship in a Twitter group chat called the “Vintage Cassettes,” a play on a lyric in the show, while Luna and Taylor have true, close friends in their Twitter group chats, all formed because of their members’ mutual love for Be More Chill.

The community of Be More Chill fans—often called ‘stans’—is unlike your average fandom scene. Kayleigh describes how “being a stan of Be More Chill means being accepting of people's identities and being there for each other,” and Luna says, “in my experience, Be More Chill stans have been a lot more welcoming than stans I've interacted with in other fandoms.” Be More Chill stans are “loud and passionate” and unashamedly so.

Returning to the question at hand of what made this show connect to its audience, it was how the show was so open and welcoming, with it’s diverse cast of whacky, fun, weird characters, it allowed people to see themselves onstage. It shows people that there is a place where they belong. Luna remarks: “As someone who has stanned theatre for more than three years, it took my discovery of George and Be More Chill just over a year ago to get me to understand that I, a mixed race LGBT+ person, do have a place in this world and in this community.” Be More Chill gave so many people one thing that every person needs, a place to belong, and people to share that place with.

And while the show is not every person’s cup of tea, especially theatre critics, the stans know that. “The show isn't perfect and doesn't try to be,” Taylor says. “Be More Chill is one of the most loved and hated Broadway musicals, which makes the fandom very different. We are all very close and very protective of the show as a whole.” But, speaking on the show’s importance, Taylor states that “Be More Chill gives people a voice that they didn't know they had.” Jenn describes how “that kind of impact is something not to be undermined.”

And it is true. Influences such as Be More Chill are important in society. The fandom behind Be More Chill has given people a family, a found family. It has inspired young people of color, young LGBT+ people, like Luna and Jenn, showing them that they have a place in this world. The show’s message and how it handles topics such as mental illness has connected to millions across the globe. The societal influence of Be More Chill is far greater than any Times review or single opinion. It’s influence has inspired young people, connecting them to friends on the other side of the world, providing them with support they often do not find at home. It is showing young people that they do belong in this world, and in doing so, it is shaping the young people— the future—of this world.

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Glossary Terms:

Cosplay: The practice/art of dressing up as a fictional character

Stagedoor: Where actors enter and exit the theatre - often, this is where fans traditionally meet the actors. Stagedooring is the act of waiting at the stagedoor after a show to meet the actors and have their programs sign, a loved tradition by many theatregoers

LGBTQIA+: An acronym referring to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, etc., community

Stan: A shortened version of the term stalker-fan, which started out with negative connotations, but in recent years has come to be a positive term meaning super-fan. It can also be used as a verb to describe the act of becoming a stan. For example: “After hearing her new album, I totally stan Taylor Swift.”

Fandom: an umbrella/unifying group term for people who are avid fans of a piece of work

Found family: A group of people not related by blood who consider themselves to be a family in every other sense of the word

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Works Cited

Brantley, Ben. “Review: Anxious Teenagers Learn to 'Be More Chill' on a Big Stage.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 11 Mar. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/03/10/theater/review-be-more-chill-joe-iconis.html.

Scheck, Frank. “'Be More Chill': Theater Review.” The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Mar. 2019, www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/be-more-chill-theater-review-1193609.

Strecker, Erin. “'Be More Chill' Will Probably Be a Broadway Hit. Too Bad It's Also a Disappointment.” Mashable, Mashable, 10 Mar. 2019, mashable.com/article/be-more-chill-review-broadway/.

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