#no clue what this is; a moment of closure in the nights of the war maybe? one last conversation of lovers before they rot?

[loserboyfriendrjl]

cigarette conversations

Remus had been lying in bed for a while. Outside was dark, and the moon lit up his features; a bitter ode to what he was. A single candle was lit up, the only source of warmth in the apartment. Remus blew it, and he chased the smoke the same way he chased Sirius; whenever he walked back home, there was no one there.

He and Sirius were playing a game in which both of them would lose; a waltz of death, and grief, and anger.

The door clicked, and Remus almost wanted to go and kiss Sirius, to welcome him in what used to be their nest of love. Almost. Instead, he focused on Sirius; the thud of his boots when they hit the floor, his sigh, the sound the hanger made when Sirius put his heavy coat on it, his steps against the sticky floors. He focused on those moments; on the few moments that the two of them had together.

"What's the moment I remember when I conjure a Patronus?" Sirius asked; the questions were a routine. Both of them thought of the other as the traitor; or so, at least Remus did, and that made questioning pointless. However, there was something holding him back from going to Dumbledore and spilling his secrets, blood and poison, something holding him back from telling Sirius to leave; because Remus was still hopelessly, irrevocably in love with him.

"Regulus' first word. It was your name," He added, and there's a weird feeling in his stomach when he said that. He knew so much about Sirius; and he didn't only know the beautiful, what Sirius showed the world, what he wanted them to see; he knew the rotten, too, words whispered in the dead of the night over nicotine-stained fingers and alcohol-imbued lips. "What was a part of your wedding speech at James' wedding?"

"Puns. And a lot of crying, especially from James, that emotional prick," Sirius said, letting out a breathy laugh, and Remus basked in it; it was so rare, nowadays, a smile or a laugh, and Sirius' was so enticing.

Sirius sat down next to him, the bed squeaking and creaking under the weight of both of them, and pulled out a pack of cigarettes; he held it out to Remus, who pulled one out, lacking the elegance that he had when he did that. Sirius brought their foreheads together, and there was a certain intimacy in that; it had been a while ever since they had loved each other that close, and Remus' eyes flicked between his lover, who snapped his fingers and lit up their cigarettes, and his arms, folded in his lap.

He wanted to punch Sirius, hurt him, love him, and kiss him; his feelings were overwhelming, and Remus' heart thrummed in his chest. He wanted to chase the smoke of the last cigarette they shared, maybe then, he'd still love Sirius. He wanted to think he hadn't sold his soul, he wanted to think that they were still in love, that they would be fine. They would be. They had to be, right? Would their nights of love dissipate, slipping through their fingers? Would their hatred for each other burn in their veins, rotten and disgusting?

Were they still in love? Or were they a temporary ailment to each other? They used to be in love, a love that burned both of them; passionate, a fire that consumed them, reduced them to ashes. Was that what they were? The ashes of boyish souls, ghosts of the past, remains of their love?

"Do we still love each other?" Remus asked, and he didn't know the answer; their bedroom was drowning in the night, the only light being their cigarettes and the moon. The room was filled with smoke, and he could only see, through the haze, Sirius' eyes shining.

"I don't know," Sirius answered, and there was a vulnerable sincerity in his words. "I wish I could give you an actual answer." He let out a laugh, and that was the moment when, even if he was over him, even if the war was eating them apart, blood and flesh and howls of pain, Remus realized he was still in love with Sirius.

[mayhemscorner]

The Butterfly and The Bee-tle

Shino Aburame x Reader

(I apologize this is probably long and drawn out but Shino needs a bit of love)

(First attempt at writing a reader insert fic and posting it so I apologize in advance)🥺

The air clings thickly to my skin as I peel my eyes open, the hot morning sun no longer shielded by the roof of my apartment. Rolling over to my side, the embers of last nights fire blinks lazily back to me. Surveying the rest of the clearing I take in to account the rest of my team is nowhere in sight, leaving not a trace behind. My worst fear grips at the back of my throat, my own squad has abandoned me and moved on. Lost in my own worries, I barely notice tree branches to the east creaking under soft footsteps, giving off the location of a stranger.

“As a shinobi, you should be light on your feet.” I call out stretching the sleep from my body as I roughly stand up.

“As a shinobi you should learn to rise with the sun and set with it as well.” They reply.

Shino Aburame, of course. He would be the one to abandon a teammate over a simple gesture of sleeping too long.

“What? decide to come back after leaving me behind?” I spit, turning up to look at the tree he’s perched gracefully on. His gentle, expressionless face gives off no clues to how this conversation will go. Feeling my stomach flip I know it couldn’t be good.

“We were supposed to be on watch. Together. Your disagreement with my leadership skills lead you here of your own accord.” He pauses for a moment to pounce to the ground. The earthy scent of the Aburame overwhelms me as he comes inches within my face, looking down as he towers above me.

“The only person to blame, is the one who went on their own.” He exhales cooly as I find myself shrinking with regret as the memories flood back to my sleep riddled brain. Last night, I could’ve rivaled Naruto with the complaints that flew from my unfiltered mouth. I was the one who questioned Shino’s abilities as a leader and walked off to sleep away from the group. But he knew exactly where I was at. Looking up in to the dark reflection of his glasses, I feel small, unworthy to be on this mission with him.

“You came back for me?” I question, already knowing the answer as it was right in front of me. The awkward silence followed by the blank stare is an answer enough for Shino as he turns in the opposite direction and walks calmly with his hands in his pockets. He stops a few feet ahead, not even bothering to look back.

“I don’t give second chances Y/N, and neither should you.” He huffs. The retort smacks me coldly in the face. He’s talking about my previous leader no doubt. He abandoned my previous team on a mission during the war, leaving the rest of us wounded. Leaving me with scars physically and mentally. A leader and a lover, leaving us battered and broken on the field. What was worse, my heart hurt more that day than my critical wounds, left to cry in my own blood and shivering on the beaten earth. I had passed out long before rescue units came, but if it hadn’t been for Hinata and Shino finding us we would have been good as gone. Even after the fact only one other teammate made it out alive, and she retired immediately from injuries and trauma.

“Don’t you dare bring up my past, I know it doesn’t justify my actions Shino, but the wounds are still fresh.” I spit, following his receding frame regardless.

“If they’re still fresh then there was no need for you to volunteer for this mission knowing what it entails. We’ll return to the hidden leaf tomorrow and I’ll continue the mission with the remaining team.” He states as I realize we’re headed back in the direction we came from. The mission itself was a tracking mission for the same man who had abandoned me and our team. Maybe I shouldn’t have taken it on so soon, but with Hinata focusing on the wedding it left an opportunity to come along for closure in my own love life.

“Even if we do manage to find him, we have been told to make no contact and send in someone to dispose of him.” He continues as I walk straight in to his back lost in thought.

“We’re not turning back, who do you think volunteered to dispose of him?” I admit, the emotions finally cracking down.

…………………………………..

2 days earlier

“Are you sure Y/N? I feel this may just be the worst idea you’ve had. Even with your genjutsu, I fear your emotions may get in the way.” Kakashi sighs from behind his desk.

“It’s the least I can do to settle the score for my teammates. This isn’t my first disposal mission Lord sixth.” I huff back. He makes a noise of disapproval before standing and coming around to face me.

“Listen, I don’t question your abilities, but this isn’t a test of strength. But maybe you should stay back and finish recovering, you still need to heal. And please, just use Kakashi.” He lectures. I shake my head, knowing I have to be the one to do it or live my life in regret. He rolls his eyes lazily before grabbing my shoulder.

“If I can’t change your mind so be it. But if at any point you wish to return I’ll have a replacement on stand by.” He whispers, giving off the energy that he’s not enthused in the slightest.

………………………………….

Present

Shino stops dead in his tracks on the branch closest to us, halting Kiba and I.

“He’s here.” He states quietly before nodding in my direction.

“You know your mission.” He reminds me, subtly hinting at me to hurry up and get it over with. Getting closer, I sign my genjutsu in to existence immediately blinding him.

“Well, I wasn’t expecting them to send you of all people. Tell me, what hurts more Y/N… losing the person you shared everything with, or knowing you still love me too much to kill me?” He spits jerking his head around in an attempt to find my hiding position despite being blinded. I bite my tongue back as I approach him, also trying to hold the tears back. He was no longer the same. Once a lively shinobi who would pick me wild flowers during missions, turned to a rogue who had been rough and weathered by the elements now spitting curses in my direction. The hold on my genjutsu is strong but his twisted smile makes me falter and question everything, down to why I even thought this was a good idea.

“While you were unconscious I’ve been picking up a few tricks myself, I think you’ll enjoy this one.” He laughs as he breaks my genjutsu. My eyes widen before reaching for a kunai. All attempts are failed as he takes hold of my neck and slams my back roughly in to a nearby tree. I cough all the air from my lungs and struggle to breathe while grasping at his hands. The thought of death has crossed my mind multiple times since I’ve come close to it, and in this moment I have almost given in as the world fuzzes around the edge of my vision. Making direct eye contact I dig the kunai in to my palm and laugh slightly as the blood trickles down. Before he can react I slam my hand in to the tree behind me, releasing a summoning jutsu as he drops me to the ground.

“I’ve picked up a few tricks myself. Figured I’d learn to summon a better teammate that won’t abandon me or the rest of my team.” I cough as the bear behind him charges. Still hard to breathe, I tumble out of the way before passing out from the rush of oxygen, content with hearing his scream even if it is the last thing I hear.

“Hey Y/N wake up.” I can hear Kibas gruff voice in a fuzzy distant world as I keep my eyes shut. As he shakes me to life, the searing pain creeps slowly up my throat as I try to swallow. Sitting up, I try to talk but all that releases is a croak.

“Don’t try to talk dummy. You were being strangled harder than you realized. Kakashi knew better and a secondary unit came in shortly after you passed out to dispose of that worthless guy. Figured you would ask about it.” Kiba huffs as he pushes me back down to my bedroll, mumbling away how he was hurt I didn’t tell him I could now summon bears. Akamaru curls behind my head as I turn away from Kiba, clutching tighter to the blanket. Scanning for Shino, I find him at the base of a nearby tree staring off in to the night. He briefly looks over and shakes his head before looking off again. Akamaru let’s out a slight groan of protest before swishing his tail in front of my eyes and curling around so Kiba can lay down as well.

“You did what you could. I wouldn’t be able to bring myself to come on a mission like this if I were in the position you were in.” Kiba says while accidentally patting my head instead of Akamarus.

Two days later we reach the gates and I’m whisked straight to the hospital. Ino quickly gets me in and out, fussing the whole time on how I should’ve never went and instead should’ve been preparing for Hinata and Naruto’s wedding. I can only nod my head in agreement before lazily walking back to my apartment, daydreaming in my own little world. Alert sets in when I see a tall figure leaning on the doorpost unmoving. Getting closer I see it’s just Shino. I take my time making it up the stairs and to the door, and soon we just stand in awkward silence staring at each other for a few moments before I gesture to the door.

“You know where the key is.” I croak out, throat still numb. Honestly I should just leave my door unlocked with how many people know where the key is. Multiple times I’ve had to sleep on the couch because Kiba and Akamaru had claimed the bed after fighting with his mom or sister. Or having to make market trips when Choji and Ino would let themselves in to raid my fridge and closet simultaneously.

“And invade your privacy after a botched mission?” He asks bringing me out of a daze. The anger slowly bubbles under my skin realizing what he just said.

“Well if you’re here to chew me out then just leave.” I mutter while pushing past him in to the apartment. He stands in the door way kneading his hands together.

“I wanted to, apologize. Didn’t want to be on bad terms before the wedding.” He sheepishly whispers.

“I guess I’m sorry too. I let my ego put your team in danger over my own emotions… Come in for some tea?” I ask trying to make this any less awkward. He nods before sliding the door closed and leaving his worn out shoes on the mat. We sit once again in silence on the couch, both taking turns quietly sipping our tea.

“So, who do you have as a date?” I question. He turns to me raising an eyebrow over his glasses.

“Date? I’m just going so I can give them a gift and then leaving.” He breathes out softly.

“I honestly was just going to give Hinata her gift tonight and not go.” I admit pouring another cup for both of us.

“You should at least stop and give your regards.” He shoots back. I think back to talking with Hinata before leaving, telling her I was happy for her as well as wondering if I’d even be back from the mission by the time their wedding came along. Maybe I should, but just like anything else I let my emotions get the best of me. Still having sour feelings towards my own love life. However, Hinata being the sweet woman she’s always been understood full heartedly and even gave me a hug on my way out.

“It would be too hard for me and I should stay back and heal anyways.” I dismiss the remark leaning my head on the back of the couch, accidentally bumping Shino’s draped arm in the process. He doesn’t pull back, only tenses slightly before curling his hand over my shoulder. Growing up, gestures like this never felt weird, cuddling with Kiba while using Akamaru as a pillow, laying on Shikamaru’s stomach while watching the clouds, even falling asleep cuddled up to Choji in the restaurant booths after barbecue. But this, coming from Shino felt different. He was never as affectionate as the rest of us, save Shikamarus’s grumbles of protest even though we all know he truly enjoyed it. I subconsciously lean in to his shoulder, resting my head in the crook of his neck and threading my fingers into his lazily draped hand. I can feel he’s about to pull away before I place my free hand on his stomach to halt his movements.

“Just stay for a second and listen to me, then you can leave if I make you that uncomfortable. I never apologized fully for my actions and being an ass to you, you don’t deserve that. You’re a great shinobi and leader. You’ve always been a great friend and teammate even though we haven’t seen eye to eye lately. You deserve the world Shino, and no one has given it to you. Thank you for being a good friend even when I don’t realize it. I don’t think you’ve ever been praised enough and I shouldn’t have had an attitude with you when you were just looking out for me.” I ramble on, letting the regret well up behind my eyes, threatening to push out a few tears. He turns away, obviously hiding whatever emotion he’s feeling for a brief moment before turning back. Within a second his other arm flings around me, slamming me in to his chest tightly and laying us both down on the couch. Trying not to put all of his weight on me, he rests his knee on the padded rug next to us. He says nothing as his face is buried in my hair, but I can feel the tears slowly drip on to my head. I pull away to look at his face, tears spilling from under his glasses crashing in to the slight blush on his cheeks. I place my hands on his glasses and wait for a second to see if he’ll pull away, not wanting to invade his privacy. He nods his head slightly before I gingerly slide them off. I half expect beetles to fly out towards me, instead, his mysterious eyes glisten before another tear rolls down that I quickly swipe away with the pad of my thumb. Staring into his eyes was like staring into the night sky. Beautiful, yet it feels intimate and almost illegal. He looks away before his cheeks redden even more. Seeing the embarrassment, I try to place his glasses back on, but he quickly sets them on the coffee table. Now being able to see his eyes, I see his face is nothing but emotions. This whole time i just haven’t been able to read it because of those damn glasses. The tears finally trickle down my own face, realizing all along he’s been hiding his emotions and none of us realized it. Now being being able to see him in full light, it truly breaks my heart I even had the gull to be mean to him on more than one occasion. Now it was his turn to wipe away my own tears. My hand finds his shoulder length hair under his hood as my fingers thread through the silkiness, slowly pulling apart the light knots while getting lost in the trapped galaxies he calls his eyes.

“You have no idea how bad I feel Shino. This whole time I’ve always assumed you emotionless. If I’d taken the time to see your face instead of focusing on myself I would’ve known.” I whisper, not being able to take my eyes off of him. He quirks a small smile before fully crashing down on to me, giving in to the lulling motion of my hands in his hair.

…

I crack open my eyes to find my apartment dark and the weight of Shino no longer on me. I sigh, almost missing the feeling of the gentle giants weight that was releasing my anxiety. Panicking I may have said something to scare him off I try to jump off the couch and rush to the door, fully intent on sprinting to the Aburame compound to once again apologize. But before I can manage to pull myself up, an arm pulls me back down, spinning me around to a sleepy Shino.

“Stay.” Is all that his deep sleepy voice manages as his arms curl around me. Stay. I like that word, and I think I like it even more hearing it from Shino.

“I do have a bed that’s quite a bit comfier than this old couch.” I suggest. He chuckles slightly, his skin lowly vibrating with him. I raise an eyebrow before he speaks,” you also have a dog and a man who smells like a dog sleeping there.”

“God damnit Kiba! How long have you been here?” I shout out. The only answer is Akamaru’s nails scraping on the floor as he lazily makes his way over to us and plopping down right at the base of the couch.

…………………………..,

The wedding

Seeing us three show up at the same time to give our gifts makes Hinata giggle slightly before patting Akamarus head.

“I see the mission went well.” She states looking between us. I manage a small nod before hugging her.

“I also see Shino smiling, did something happen?” She whispers in my ear bashfully. The woman we always picked on about Naruto is finally getting her jabs in on someone else and it just happens to be Shino. I laugh and make a note to even the score with her later. We try to say our goodbyes before she finally convinces us to stay for a few dances. I sit at a table near the dance floor, watching as Hinata gracefully moves in line with Naruto as he twirls her around. Ino and Sai soon make their way to the floor joining in. I take a sip of sake and relax in to the back of my seat, marveling at the fact we’re all adults now. Looking at Kiba dancing with Akamaru makes me realize I should’ve never thought the previous statement.

“Is this seat taken?” A familiar voice questions behind me.

“This one’s about to be open as well I was just getting ready to leave, Kakashi.” I answer back having to stop myself from saying lord sixth. He tuts a little before slamming down in the chair, his barely visible cheeks flushed with alcohol.

“I think you should get out there too. Everyone you went to the academy with is out there and here you are still sulking in a corner.” He hiccups slightly.

“Yeah, why aren’t you out there?” I ask.

“Listen, if I could stand right now I’d drag you out there myself. You need to accept your past, not try to forget it or avenge it. Stop letting it hold you back and have fun for a night. It’s everyone’s night off Y/N, enjoy it.” He slurs slightly, obviously taking his own advice. I scan the empty tables seeing everyone really was out on the floor. As everyone jostles each other around, i push a path through the sea of bodies looking for someone to talk to, trying to make this a little less embarrassing for myself. As soon as the energetic music dies down, a slow melody takes its place. That was my queue to head to the bar and then get the hell out of here. As I meet the threshold of the dance floor, a hand grasps mine and spins me around, leaving me face to face with Kiba, who bears his teeth in a smile. We sway awkwardly for a bit, both knowing the other isn’t the best at slow dancing. He soon pipes up,

“Honestly, you could try to make it look like you’re having a good time.” He chuckles as he twirls me around once more in to another’s arms. The gentle hold stabilizes me and I look up to a smirking Shino.

“May I…. Have this dance?” He mumbles, pink slowly creeping up his cheeks as he stretches out his hand. I take it as we fall in a smooth rhythm with each other, swaying to the music. The exhaustion sets in and I find myself fully sinking in to his warm embrace, the earthy scent lulling me to a calm state. It feels as though he’s humming, but it’s the beetles vibrating softly to the music. Noticing my tiredness, Shino carefully hoists me on to his feet as he steps and sways gracefully for the both of us.

“I never took you for a dancer.” I remark, stifling a yawn in to his chest.

“You never asked.” He shrugs, cradling the back of my head so my eyes meet his glasses, radiating the light from around the dance floor. He slowly leans down and tucks a piece of hair behind my ear. I find myself mindlessly leaning in as our lips connect at the center. In that moment the noise and chatter die down around us and for just a second, it’s only the two of us, and the fireworks behind my closed eyes. Then the wolf whistles break out behind us. I break the kiss and turn, seeing who was the culprit drunkenly cheering and laughing. Kiba smirks before tucking his hands in his pockets and walking to the bar nonchalantly. I just know he’ll be expecting a thank you later. Kakashi only nods before raising his glass and walking off as well. As the song comes to a soft end, Shino lowers me to the ground gently and motions over to the bar. Following him hand in hand I’m whisked off once again.

“Y/N the night is just beginning we must dance!” Lee shouts in my ear. I look to Shino for help, but he only smirks, and continues on his way to the bar. After minutes of trying to escape Lee’s energetic steps, my savior finally arrives.

“Alright Lee, give the poor girl a break.” Choji shouts over Lee’s loudness. Choji offers his bent arm out to me and leads me away as I hook my arm in to his.

“Got someone looking for you. Pretty popular tonight huh?” He laughs. I shake my head and laugh with him before he stops in front of the bar.

“Barbecue next Saturday don’t forget!” He calls out before walking off to his table.

“I could never forget!” I shout back before turning to Shino with a smile.

“Couldn’t come save me?” I question him jokingly.

“Felt like you needed some quality time with the leaf’s number one bachelor.” He jokes back.

“Now I thought that was you.” I fire back before he places a drink in front of me and asking to take a walk with him. We slowly make our way to a bridge connecting two gardens and a soft flowing river running through the middle. Lanterns ignite the water with a soft glow beneath us as the music faintly plays in the distance. I find myself once again leaning in to him as he wraps his arms around from behind. He sways us both gently, following the faint music.

“Shino?” I pipe up looking to him as he looks down to connect our eyes. He lowers his glasses and places them in his pocket, “yes?” He questions back quietly. For a moment my words jumble in my mouth, knowing this is probably the moment I’ll get inevitably rejected. I still bring myself to turn in his embrace and hug him loosely, continuing to sway.

“Is it wrong to fall in love with someone you’ve treated…horribly?” I ask, the tears already preparing to flush down my face. One manages to escape and trickle down my rosy cheeks before Shino wipes it away.

“Horrible isn’t the word I’d use. You were hurt, scared, and confused. Even if you didn’t notice, I was there for you. I was the one who carried you to the hospital and waited until they knew if you were going to live or not. You didn’t seem to like me at the time, so I asked Kiba to crash at your house and keep an eye on you more. I admired from afar as someone admires a butterfly. You were my butterfly.” He states. Thinking this was the most I heard him speak at once, being able to gaze in to his eyes, I knew then and there.

“Shino?”

“Hm?”

“I think I love you”

“I love you too, my butterfly”

And just like that, a night to celebrate love has kindled something between us. Not caring where anything goes we’re both content on being together in this moment.

[easily-infatuated23]

The Parent and the Professor

a/n: i love the idea of reader being a professor! let me know if you want a part two :) letters are in italics

pairing: Draco Malfoy x Professor!Reader

word count: 4k

warning: mentions of war and not feeling worthy

summary: Will a broken friendship be rekindled when Scorpius’s favorite teacher writes a letter to his father?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have always had a passion for teaching and inspiring young minds. So, it wasn’t surprising that I was ecstatic to start my fourth year teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts at my alma mater, Hogwarts. When I first started working there, I was haunted by the memories of the war. Everywhere I looked I could remember a different face of a friend or teacher laying dead. Seeing the students happy faces made the memories easier to bear. Just the knowledge that they could safely live out their childhoods in such a magical and special place softened the lingering pain.

One of my favorite parts of teaching at Hogwarts was teaching the children of the people I had grown up with. For some, I knew so much about their parents from those early silly childhood days that simply seeing their faces made me laugh and reminisce. Of all the children of friends I had taught thus far, the most gifted was Scorpius Malfoy. It wasn’t such a shock that he was so clever, his father had been a very gifted student when he applied himself. I had been apprehensive when I first read Scoripus’s name on the attendance sheet. His father Draco and I had actually been very close friends for the first 6 years of schooling. We were both in Slytherin and he was one of the few people who didn’t tease or berate me for not being a typical Slytherin. Yes he would get annoyed when I stood up for Hermione when he called her a ‘mudblood’ or when I would challenge his pure-blood views but he always was kind to me.

That all changed in the beginning of our sixth year. He started pushing everyone away and yelling at me almost any time he saw me. I tried to continue to be kind to him but my attempts were swatted away like flies. Once the war began, I understood why he had become distant. He was given an impossible task with no choice as to whether or not to complete it. The worst moment came when he walked to the side of the Death Eaters and The Dark Lord. I was one of the few people that knew he did this for the sake of his parents and not for the Dark Lord. He redeemed this action when Harry Potter was revealed to be alive. He threw him his wand and ran back to the side of good. We locked eyes for a moment before he ran through the castle to safety. I haven’t seen or spoken to him since. He did make a sort of “apology and amends” tour going to almost every individual in the Wizarding World and showing he was a changed man and that he no longer held his past ideals. The one person he left out on that tour was me.

I never understood why. I figured he either thought our friendship was beyond fixing or maybe because he knew I would forgive him and understand. More likely, I guessed he couldn’t stand to face me. But none of that mattered now. It was all just a slight pain in my heart whenever I saw Scorpius. As the school year began, Scorpius Malfoy excelled in my class. He was always the first to raise his hand to ask or answer a question, always the most engaged and eager to learn. One day after class I noticed he was lingering by the door. “Can I help you Mr. Malfoy?” I asked. He nodded and approached my desk. “I was wondering if you could assign me as Athena’s tutor. I know she asked you for one and I want to volunteer”. He looked down at his shoes, trying to hide a blush I figured stemmed from a small crush on the student called Athena. “I was going to assign it to you any way but because you asked I will also add ten points to Slytherin for taking the initiative”. He looked up and smiled. “Thank you Professor!”. He ran out of the room so giddy, calling to his best friend Albus to tell him the news. “What a sweet kid” I thought. Later that night I took a break from grading tests and thought about my old friend Draco Malfoy. Perhaps I should write him. But just to tell him what a gifted student his son was. His wife had passed away four years ago and I figured it must be lonely being all alone in the large estate he occupied known as Malfoy Manor. Maybe this would re-open a line of communication between the two of us. It had been a long time since I had seen him and frankly, I missed him. He probably didn’t think of me though. Sighing, I picked up my quill and penned a formal letter to my former friend.

Dear Mr. Malfoy,

-I couldn’t bring myself to write Draco-

I hope this letter finds you in good health. I wanted to inform you that your son has done exceedingly well in my Defense Against the Dark Arts class and has quickly become my prized pupil. He has even volunteered to take on extra tutoring responsibilities. He is a sweet young man and it is a privilege to have him in my class.

Sincerely, Professor Y/L/N

I examined the letter for a long time, constantly frowning at it and wondering if I should just ball it up and forget about it. At last I found the nerve to seal the letter and before I could stop myself Harvey, my owl, was flying away from my cottage. “Too late now” I murmured. My letter went unanswered for nearly two weeks. I spent the entire first week feeling anxious and most of the second week resigned to the idea that Draco had truly decided I was unworthy of a response. After all, it had been many years. On the Friday of the second week, I stayed up late grading some last minute essay submissions when I heard a tapping at my window. I turned to find an unfamiliar owl outside. I opened the window and took the letter. After a sufficient amount of pats and snacks were given to the owl, I settled in to see if the letter was what I had been waiting for. It was the first thing I saw, the green snake seal on the back confirmed it. Draco had responded to my letter. I flipped it over to see my name scrawled on the front in handwriting I used to be more familiar with. I stared at the letter for a long time before finally opening it. I gently removed the seal and unfolded the letter, my heart pounding so hard I thought it would leave my chest.

Dear Professor Y/L/N,

I appreciate your kind words about my son. He has spoken fondly of you and of your class, he says it is his favorite. Congratulations on being the longest serving Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher in twenty years. It is quite a feat. I hope you are well.

Sincerely, Draco Malfoy

My heart skipped a beat. He matched my formality but he still slipped in something to make me blush. I sighed. I hadn’t been expecting some long rambling dramatic letter explaining why he never came back to me, despite my efforts, but a small clue or hint would have been something. I thought writing the letter might give me more closure but I was horribly mistaken. Now, all I wanted to do was write him back and find some way to see him. I had done my best after the war but he pushed me away more. That night was a sleepless night for me. I felt like a sixteen year old again, debating if I should write him back or not. If I did decide to write him back, how long should I wait? Ultimately, I decided it was best to leave it there.

Two months later, Quidditch season was in full swing as Slytherin was playing Hufflepuff in a match leading up to the finals. I was never one thrilled by the idea of Quidditch, but Scorpius had begged me to come so I attended. He had followed in his father’s foot steps and was the Seeker for the Slytherin team. When I got to the parent and faculty section I was stunned to see none other than Draco Malfoy. I quickly looked away and tried to pretend I hadn’t seen him. I jogged up the bleacher stairs and sat next to the Divinations teacher. For most of the game I pretended to be watching the match but in reality, I kept glancing at Draco’s platinum blonde hair, half hoping he would turn and see me and half hoping he would leave without knowing I was there. Eventually, I was able to relax and enjoy the game. Scorpius lead the team to a win and the Slytherin student section went wild. I could have sworn I saw Athena blow him a kiss. I guess those tutoring sessions had helped him as much as they had helped her grades! I couldn’t help but look down and chuckle to myself, this little bit of childhood romance warmed my heart. When I looked back up my gaze was meant by the piercing blue eyes of Draco Malfoy. I couldn’t tell if the look on his face was that of shock or fear but before I could give a slight smile he looked away. Now this truly felt like we were sixteen again.

Everyone started to rise and leave the section talking and making merry. I rose from my seat and before I could begin to descend, Draco rose suddenly and turned to me, walking in my direction. I froze. “Hello Professor Y/L/N” he said, not meeting my gaze for long. “Mr. Malfoy” was all I could manage to croak. “I was so pleased to receive your letter about Scorpius, he doesn’t always tell me what’s going on when he’s here”. “Yes,” I smiled “he is a wonderful student. You must be very proud of him”. Draco gave a small but sincere smile. “I must admit, I didn’t expect to see you here” I said. “I was able to get a few weeks off from work so I decided to come down and watch the match. It has been nice to see the place so..” he paused. “Free” I finished for him. He smiled and met my gaze again. “Yes thats exactly what I was thinking.” There was a few moments of silence. It wasn’t as awkward or terrifying as I had anticipated. “I should go find my son” he said finally. “Yes of course it was good to see you again”. I meant this whole heartedly. “Perhaps I can see you again soon and we can talk while there is less noise” he said. A little surprised but happy I replied yes. Before turning to leave he squeezed my hand and gave me his signature smirk before turning and descending down the bleachers. Was my friendship with Draco Malfoy finally going to be rekindled? I hoped so. Before turning and walking out of sight he called back to me, “I’ll write you”. I nodded. I would never have expected this to happen and I had no idea what to expect next.

Another week went by before I heard from him. His owl found me in the middle of a lesson, I opened the window and thanked the owl. I tucked the letter into my robe pocket. As I shifted my attention back to the class I saw Scorpius’s face twist with confusion then look at Albus Potter. Shit. He clearly recognized the owl. I decided I would talk to him after class. Once the lesson was over I called Scorpius to my desk. “I saw you looked confused when your father’s owl delivered me a letter so I thought I owed you an explanation”. He said nothing but simply looked at the floor and shifted uncomfortably. “Your father and I actually used to be very close friends in the early years at Hogwarts,” I began. He looked up at me puzzled. It was clear his father had never mentioned that detail to him. “I wrote to your father telling him what an exceptional student you were and then we ran into each other at the last Quidditch match, congratulations by the way, and we discussed possibly meeting to catch up. I didn’t want you to simply see the owl and then have your brain spin in circles thinking of possible reasons for the letter”. He nodded and finally spoke. “Yeah I was really confused at first. I must admit I am a bit more confused now though. He has never spoken about you before. When I told him you were my favorite professor he seemed to not know who you were”. Ouch. “Well we were going through a hard time back then, I don’t blame him for forgetting” I managed, trying to keep my composure. “You may go” I finished. He jogged out of the room glancing back one more time before finally leaving. Maybe he thought I died. Rationalizing wasn’t helping. I climbed the small staircase in my classroom and entered my office, locking the door behind me. I opened the letter and read its contents.

Dear Professor Y/L/N,

It was pleasant running into you at the Quidditch match last week. If you are able, perhaps you would be kind enough to meet at Malfoy Manor for lunch on Saturday at 11:30. I fear we have much to discuss and would prefer to do so in private.

Sincerely, Draco Malfoy

Saturday, at the Manor. It would be a difficult place to be. Although I was a Slytherin, I had befriended Harry Potter and the rest of his trouble-making trio. I enjoyed their company. It provided a break from the constant berating from the rest of my house. However, due to this friendship I had been taken and held hostage along with Luna Lovegood in Malfoy Manor for a few weeks before the final battle. I had been hit with every curse short of killing me. Draco had been forced to witness but did nothing to help me. I understood why he couldn’t but just once it would have been nice to see him stand up for me. But, alas, I figured I wasn’t worthy of any help. Returning to the Manor was something I never thought I would do but his letter let on to a promise of answers to questions I had been harboring for so long now.

Dear Mr. Malfoy,

I accept.

Sincerely, Professor Y/L/N

Short and sweet. Now came the long wait for Saturday. Once the day arrived I was more nervous than I had previously anticipated. I pulled on a pair of black slacks and a fitted white long sleeve shirt. Over the top I chose to wear my brown striped blazer. I put on my favorite silver earrings and necklace with an ’S’ charm. When we had been young, Draco gave me a silver ring for my birthday that was shaped like a snake. I had worn it everyday since then without thought. When I went to reach for it today, I paused. Wearing it had become part of my daily routine but he didn’t know that. Would he think I wore it just for him? I shook the thought out of my head and wore it anyway. If I didn’t wear it I was worried I wouldn’t feel complete which would make me more nervous than I already was. I pulled my light brown hair into a half-up-half-down look and applied some light mascara. I was never one to wear makeup but I hadn’t slept much on Friday night so adding some definition to my face and leading the attention to my green eyes became a necessity to attract attention away from my dark circles.

At 11:29 I gathered all the courage I could and apparated to Malfoy Manor. I knocked timidly on the front door. Even the frigid fall wind couldn’t cool my skin as I blushed in anticipation of the meeting. When he opened the door I was overwhelmed by the scent of apples and cologne that had once held a permanent residence in my nose. “Professor, please come in” he said cordially. I nodded and entered into the place that had housed my nightmares for so long. But somehow it was different. The decor wasn’t as sterile as it once was. It actually looked more lived in and closer to a home than a prison. He noticed my slight surprise. “We’ve redone the place a bit so it probably looks much different compared to……last time” he mumbled. I put on my bravest smile and turned to him. “Yes it is quite lovely Mr. Malfoy”. “Please, you can call me Draco. ‘Mr. Malfoy’ is awfully formal don’t you think?”. I looked at him, a slight smirk waved across his face. “Alright, as long as you call me Y/N” I replied. He led me to the kitchen where a small round table was set and had sandwiches on the plates. “I figured since it was just the two of us there was no need to use the dinning room. Can I take your jacket?” he asked. I nodded and unbuttoned my blazer, handing it to him. As he took it from me, I saw him glance at my right hand and saw the serpent ring coiled around my middle finger. He quickly took the blazer from me and said nothing.

As we sat down to eat there was a few minutes of uncomfortable silence before I finally broke and turned to him. “I am sorry but I have a lot of questions and I won’t leave without answers”. He sighed. Nodding, he turned toward me and I began. “Why didn’t you find me after the war? I wrote to you and tried to reach out but you ignored me. When I told Scorpius we had been old friends he looked at me as if I was lying. Why? Did you completely erase me from your life? If thats the case its your decision but I would like to know why.” I paused, waiting for him to speak. “After the war, I was so ashamed that I never stood up for you and how badly I had hurt you when I shut you out, I didn’t feel worthy of your forgiveness. I ignored your letters because I thought you would be better off not ever having to be reminded of the pain that I caused you.” He couldn’t meet my eyes. I exhaled sharply and buried my face in my hands before I finally replied. “Then I guess you never knew me at all”. He looked up, a stunned expression on his face. “Of all the people in the world you should’ve known that I would be the one to forgive you the most. I understood why you did what you did and why you couldn’t help me. You as much as the rest of us were fighting for the lives of us and our families. Had it really been your choice, I don’t think you would have complied.” He stood up and walked away from the table. “I know” he finally said. “I realized all of that a few years ago but at that point I thought it was too late.” He leaned on the kitchen counter with his back to me. His head was dropped and his shoulders were shaking softly. “Its one of my biggest regrets.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

“Well, we’re here now. If you have anything else you want to say, nows the time.” He turned back to me. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I never helped you, I’m sorry I didn’t find you after the fighting was over, I’m sorry I didn’t defend you better at school, I’m sorry for all of it.” His words sounded desperate but genuine. It was like he couldn’t find the breath to properly support his list of apologies. “Stop” I said suddenly. I walked in front of him and grabbed his shoulders, lowering my head until he was forced to meet my gaze. “I forgive you. Completely and totally. I just want my friend back.” He chuckled through a cry before pulling me into a tight hug. His hands were around my waist and mine around his neck. I moved my right hand to the back of his neck and stroked his hair, like I had when we were kids whenever he was upset. He chuckled again softly and held me tighter. “Ok as nice as this is I think you are gonna squeeze all the life out of me!” I joked. “Oh I’m sorry” he breathed as he let me go and pushed me away slightly.

After this first meeting, I saw him almost every weekend. We would meet and reminisce and catch up on our lives. At our third meeting he asked me about the ring. “I see you still wear the ring I gave you. I thought you would have gotten rid of it”. He held my right hand and looked at the ring. “Draco, truthfully, I was worn this ring every single day of my life since you gave it to me. It’s a part of me”. This seemed to please him as his cheeks flushed a light pink. By our sixth meeting me we were sharing a bottle of wine after dinner when he decided to play an old record of songs played at the Yule Ball. “Oh my goodness I can’t believe you actually have this!” I laughed as he purposefully did his worst dance moves. “This was one of my favorite nights at school, how could I not!” Before I knew it, he scooped me up and we were dancing the awful and silly choreographed dance we all had to learn. He spun me around in his living room as the music played. Our shadows were dancing on the walls from the light of the fire. “I don’t think I have laughed this hard in years!” I remarked. “Me too” he replied with a chuckle. Just then all of the sudden the laughter stopped and I realized this was the closest I had been to him since we were in school. This only lasted a few moments before Scorpius appeared at the door. We quickly broke apart and Draco took a step froward. “Yes son?”. “Uh, I just wanted to let you know I was going to Albus’s house to spend the night..” he stared at me with a look of confusion on his face. “Oh yes thats fine, have fun and be safe”. He quickly left the room and hurried out the front door before either of us could offer an explanation. “Oh gosh that was so embarrassing” I said, sitting on the couch and hiding my face in my hands. “He probably thinks that we kissed or were about to” I said, the sound muffled through my hands. Draco sat down next to me. “Weren’t we?” he asked timidly. I sat up and looked at him. “I don’t know, my mind kinda went blank” I chuckled. “Mine too” he smiled. “Can I kiss you?” he asked finally. I smiled and nodded. He smiled back and reached his hand out until he touched my face. He brushed his thumb over my cheek as it made its way to brush over my lips. With his other fingers positioned under my chin, he gently pulled my face closer to his, tilting it slightly upwards and to the right. He kissed me gently moving his hand back to my cheek. I hadn’t expected him to be so gentle but I was so happy I sunk into it easily. Scorpius would get an explanation later, right now, I just wanted to live in the moment I never realized I wanted.

[ariainstars]

Congratulations, We Fell for Another Love Bombing or Thank You, Disney, You Did It Again

Sigh. Luke Skywalker is back. And Din Djarin and his child had to say goodbye. I never thought I would curse and say “Oh no!” when Luke appeared in that fateful corridor. 

I wonder why the Disney studios are doing this - trying to "make up” for the oh-so criticized sequels, I suppose?

The Jedi have made their time. It was shown and proven over and over again that their attitude is wrong and needs to change, and Luke was the last of the old school Jedi. Again, a Force-sensitive child is all but kidnapped by a Jedi: he obviously did not like to go. Mando is no longer the hero of the story, he was stripped of his agency and all of his personal choices were questioned and valued for null and void. But the Dark Saber is in his hands now, so he’s the heir to the throne of Mandalore I guess. Like he ever wanted that.

This show, which grew to be so well-beloved in only a few episodes, now is not “The Mandalorian” any more. Its new title is “Luke’s Skywalker’s Comeback”. Hardcore fans may be out of their minds with joy, but for us, who admired Mando both as a badass hero and as a father figure and loved the dynamics between him and Grogu, the whole purpose of the show is destroyed. And here I naively had thought The Rise of Skywalker was bad enough to teach the studios not to repeat its mistakes.

~~~ more under the cut ~~~

Star Wars ought to be a fairy tale. It is and always was one. I can understand that the prequels had to end in a tragedy, we all knew that from the start, but why the sequels? And now, why must this generally acclaimed and beloved tv show again appease hardcore fans of old with Luke coming to save the day, cancelling in a matter of minutes what the story had built up within two entire seasons - the relationship of the two protagonists, heart and core of the narrative, as it had been with Rey and Ben Solo? And when both of them had their relationship just getting started - Rey and Ben kissing, Din calling Grogu by his name and the latter seeing him and touching his face? Why make Rey a queen without her king, and Din a father without a son? 

Again, a Force-user is denied having a home: „Jedi training” matters more. By Luke of all people, the guy who never was trained in the first place (only very briefly), who except for a few lessons with Obi-Wan and Yoda was self-taught in the Force, and never understood that his strength lay with his compassion and his connection with other people, not with his alleged „superpowers”.

Think back to how Anakin, Luke and Rey were before they met the Jedi: unaware of their powers, compassionate, idealistic, brave. The Jedi mindset tainted their characters and lives, making them believing that they are (or have to be) untouchable and invincible, compelling them to live for duty instead of love, condemning them to a lifetime of loneliness. Will the Jedi never learn?

Though I practically grew up with the classic movies, I loved The Last Jedi; I can accept that Luke failed, and also that Han and Leia did. Nobody is perfect, and the Jedi mindset as well as the universally accepted idea that „Jedi” is a synonym for infallible saint-like hero was wrong in the first place, else the Empire never would have risen. Making Luke not the cavalry who came to save the day - until the battle on Crait, that is - but a man who failed and picked himself up again was much more meaningful, and I know not a few fans who felt inspired by this. Luke had saved his father choosing love over power, not the contrary. Some fans just never get it. To appease them, why not simply give him a new storyline of his own, instead of making him intrude in other Star Wars related shows? Why stop the new stories in their tracks just to bring him back?

Instead of seeing Luke as the grand kickass hero in a tv show that never had anything to do with him until now, it would have been more to the purpose to finally shed light on the thirty years between his father’s and his nephew’s death, to explain us where the Jedi and the Skywalker-Organa-Solo family failed to make such an outcome possible - the granddaughter of Palpatine taking over with their own blessing. There must have been a huge build-up between the end of the original saga and the fateful night at the temple when Luke briefly panicked looking into his nephew’s mind. Many fans still are convinced that „Kylo Ren just chose to be bad” because we hardly know how the relationship between these two was in the first place. (A very easy plot twist would e.g. have been Snoke warning Ben that his uncle sooner or later would turn on him, frightened by his power. The fulfilment of that prophecy would have made the night at the temple much more impactful.) 

I understand that the studios want to tease us, to make us watch the other shows, too. But honestly, I’m getting tired of feeling duped. Tired of getting attached to new heroes to have their purpose smashed just so the Star Wars dudebro fans can sleep quietly at night because „some Jedi will take care of it”. First the characters from the sequels, now the ones from The Mandalorian. You get to love the new characters, you root for them to find happiness or at least some closure, and then, at the last moment, poof!, the hero of old comes back and the story development stops right there. 

It is not right and it never was for the Jedi to take Force-sensitive children away from home, to enforce „you have to become a Jedi, like it or not” on them, to teach them not to have attachments, to make them focus on the Light Side thereby bringing the Force out of its much-needed balance. While Ahsoka saw that Grogu has formed a strong attachment to Din Djarin, Luke obviously did not, or he did not care. The irony is that he always wanted a father, and knows the pain of losing a father you’ve just found.

The Mandalorian felt like a consolation after Episode IX, a blessing for the fans for whom heart and soul are more interesting than nostalgia and „Jedi superheroes”. Now it’s just another kick in the guts. It’s painful and embarrassing to get to love characters so much, to get invested in their story so deeply, and then to realize again that they seem to mean nothing in the shade of the heroes of old. Ben Solo died young and miserable and Din Djarin and Grogu can now, I suppose, be miserable too. Can someone please explain to me why after the classics, no Star Wars film or show had an uplifting ending any more? With the possible exception of Solo, which was a nice filler but not a really important storyline. (I do not count Episodes I and II, they officially had a happy ending but it was tainted by the knowledge of what was to come.) 

Fans are not blind. We saw the parallels between Darth Vader and Din Djarin as well as the differences - both being cool and tough but the latter not disdaining to be a caring father at the same time. The entire show lived from the dynamics between the gruff but kind bounty hunter and the innocent-looking powerful child, ever from the first episode. Two years of build-up for nothing, as it was with the four years of the sequels. Mando has to relinquish Grogu, Rey loses Ben. What was all that for? Both Mando and Rey are fighters, they have done nothing else their entire lives. What is to become of them now that they have nothing to fight for any more, nor anyone to live for? Except staying on a planet that is foreign to them and, for all they know, inhabitable or at least inhospitable? 

With Rey and Ben Solo, the situation was different: she had proven good intentions but bad attitude (arrogance, violence, judgement) over and over, unable to deny her heritage, and even impaled her „antagonist” once while he was only defending himself. He had been the head of a criminal organization for years, and had committed patricide. Of course there are nuances to these characters and I still believe that they would have deserved another chance; I understand however that would have been unfitting to let the sequels end giving them a happy ending.

But in the case of Din Djarin, a man of honor, who has made friends and brought peace wherever he went throughout the galaxy? Grogu, the last surviving padawan of the old Jedi temple, who saved both his and Greef Karga’s life despite the danger for himself? What did they do to deserve being ripped apart like that? 

So, all I can say: thank you, you did it again. And, once more, just before Christmas. I wish at least these depressing endings would be released at some other time. 

I would dearly want to see a galaxy that finally learned from its faults, where family and attachments and Balance and free choice are not contrary to being a Jedi. I am in my late forties and I’m beginning to give up hope that I will live to see it. By now I am wondering whether George Lucas himself will live to see it. 

I always loved Luke. He is one of my favorite heroes. But now he’s become an insensitive know-it-all who suffered from his own daddy issues to the point that he almost died crying out to his father for help, yet did not learn not to separate fathers from children and vice versa and, on the contrary, is doing it over and over again. He did not even tell Mando his name, or where he could reach him. We don’t have a clue as to if, when and how the Clan of Two will meet again. 

I get it that since this show is set five years Return of the Jedi, it would have been difficult to ignore Luke’s existence altogether. And of course, we can rest assured that Luke will do his best for Grogu. But still: he has made his time. I wanted to see the new heroes going their own way, not hanging on the sleeves of the former generation. Mando is a man of honor, he had promised to bring Grogu to his own kind and he relinquished him despite his own wishes. (Not to mention that technically, since he identifies as a Mandalorian, by being a Jedi Luke is his enemy.) Why did Luke have to take the child away? His greatest strength always was that he was first and foremost himself and only in the second place a Jedi. What became of his trademark compassion? 

Before The Mandalorian, we have never seen a healthy and working father-son relationship in the saga. It was incredibly refreshing and heart-warming to see these two traveling through the galaxy and living through adventures together; also, contrarily to Yoda, Grogu saw a lot of the bad things happening in the galaxy with his own eyes, which certainly was good for his character development.

But in the end, both he and his „father” did not go anywhere. Like Rey in Episode IX, they found a) power and b) a surrogate place, but neither got what was actually his heart’s wish - a home. I can’t understand why. Deliberate cruelty? We never knew whether Han and Leia and Ben felt how painful it was to break up their little family for the sake of „Jedi training”. You bet Din and Grogu did feel that pain and loss.

Both as a person with a heart and a brain and an almost lifelong Star Wars fan I am sickened by the readiness of the studios to end all that this well-made show had built up, for the appeasement of Jedi worshippers who just don’t want to see that the Jedi mindset needs urgently to change. It can’t be that difficult to renew them for the better; there is no necessity to erase the Jedi completely and there is nothing bad with making them grow wiser and stronger by finally understanding and accepting the importance of attachments and family ties. Yes, I realize that being a father also means learning how to let go; but here we are speaking of a literal child, not of a young adult who chose his own way in life.

I thought that George Lucas knew why he sold his franchise to the Disney studios, given their tradition in telling stories about family and friendship. This development is not a triumph, it is unworthy both of the studios and of the entire Star Wars saga. I’m tired of producers bowing down before fans who see every shred of the saga through „Jedi are always right”-tinted glasses respectively who value coolness over compassion even though it always was the saga’s central message. 

Whatever happens in Season 3, countless fans will only be watching it asking, „Where’s Luke?” If Grogu should choose to join Mando again, everybody will be like, „But how can he want to leave Luke Skywalker of all people?” Some already see Grogu die prematurely, killed by the oh-so-bad guy Kylo Ren, for no other reason than to just to further prove how evil he is. In which case both Ben Solo and Grogu will have lived and died for nothing except for leaving a lot of heartbreak behind. 

There must be another and better way to honor the legacy of both Luke Skywalker and the original trilogy than to think up new heroes and then destroy their purpose for the sake of old times’ glory. Lucas himself had said that Star Wars is basically for twelve-year-olds. It seems not: it’s for the fans who were twelve years old forty years ago, when the first movies hit theatres. 

There are enough voices crying out for the sequels to be erased from canon. Who knows? This may be the next step into the past instead of the future. The sequels were hinting at a better future (Balance), Grogu was, too (family). But the grand past is so reassuring. The sequels tried to tell the audience to grow up and learn to do without their heroes, to see that even they were flawed and that the new heroes could grow beyond them. Fie on them, said the hardcore fans. Now it’s the turn of the younger generation, who got to know and love the saga with the sequels or The Mandalorian, to be like „WTF”. 

Rogue One also had been a huge disappointment to me. Not that I found it badly made, but I went into a depressive mood for three days for the same reason: I did not like that I had grown so attached to all of these characters only to see all of them die. The infamous Darth Vader scenes and the design with the huge hints at the classic movies were no consolation. Nostalgia does not make me happy. Heart does. Rogue One, the sequels and The Mandalorian were all, in the end, deprived of all human feeling except loss and regret and many, many thoughts about what might have been. 

The Mandalorian was an excellent story on its own. It did not need Luke Skywalker. It is and ought to be Din Djarin’s story, who lost or gave up everything because he was afraid to lose the child: and now he did. It’s not comforting that he lost him to the alleged Good Guy. Luke of course won’t turn a hair on Grogu’s head, but he can’t offer him a home, we already know that. Ahsoka saw the attachment between the two and she knows the dangers of it; Luke does not know what drove his father to his terrible fate. If the sequels remain canon, then we already know that Luke will not allow his pupils having and keeping healthy attachments. And that does not promise well for the child’s future.

Unless the studios commit the madness of officially erasing the sequels and starting the saga anew, we can only hope that the child will not stay with Luke for long since it’s a good five years before he will start his own Jedi temple. Maybe he will die of a broken heart, poor little guy. And Din Djarin might become the new ruler of Mandalore, though sad and alone. But who cares: Luke is back. Please: I did not subscribe to Disney+ wanting to see Schwarzenegger movies. The lonesome hero can ride into the sunset for all I care, out of sight and of mind. Star Wars’ greatest strength always was its heart. 

My own take was that Grogu is meant to be a healer, and since Luke is not, there is no way he can teach him this particular skill in the Force. Anakin was a pilot and a mechanic, Luke and Ben also were pilots. None of them were Jedi by choice. Grogu is older than Luke and he was already trained at the old Jedi temple: he’s more likely to be a teacher to Luke than the other way around. Grogu as the first Force-user who values attachment and family over power and Jedi training, that would indeed have been a new hope. This backpedaling is shallow and useless. Even if Luke sends Grogu back to Din Djarin, this won’t teach him not to take a child away from its home, since only a few years later he will do the same thing to his nephew. (Although it would admittedly be an interesting plot point to see a small Ben Solo interacting with Grogu for a while.) 

Please give us back The Mandalorian the way it was, with its characters and dynamics. The themes and messages of The Last Jedi already were almost all aborted in The Rise of Skywalker; we didn’t sign up on Disney+ to see the exact same thing happen with The Mandalorian. I for my part am fed up with this kind of love bombing followed by a quick and coldblooded let-down. Star Wars may be a cult, but it need not be the kind of cult where you get hooked and then unwittingly follow a carrot hanging before your eyes. I thought the exaggerated Jedi cult was mostly made by the fans: the studios did not need to jump on this ship. This is not the Way. 

Now everything I feared is flaring up again - fans jubilating because “the Jedi are taking matters in hand” instead of accepting the failure of the Jedi mindset at last; and even insisting that since things are going so well, all Disney needs to do is to cancel the sequels from canon and everybody can be happy again. 

Please, please, give this tormented galaxy a chance to heal at last. We don’t need Luke Skywalker to save the day by killing all the bad guys. We don’t need the oh-so-powerful and perfect Jedi. We need faith in the Force. We need a home. Don’t take it away from us again. Thank you.

 P.S. If we see Luke again in Season 3, at least give the role to a live actor. That digital “rejuvenation” made him look wooden. Luke’s best trait, apart from his compassion, always was his smile.

P.P.S. What’s with Boba Fett claiming Jabba’s throne? I thought Jabba had a son. What in the galaxy happened to him?

P.P.P.S. I don’t mind kickass women, but honestly, I’m getting somehow tired of them. What became of the ladies of Star Wars, the diplomats, the good queens, the loving mothers, the accurate librarians, who contribute to the galaxy without killing (or hurting) anyone? I’m feeling kind of underrepresented here...

[jeawrites]

ONE MORE,, HERE WE GO,, techno talks to Tubbo after the festival and apologizes to him for shooting the crossbow. He's not great with words, and he's never liked having to talk about his anxiety- but Tubbo was hurt, and it was his fault. Tubbo forgives him.

(This one particularly stung to write! I hope I did it justice, haha)

Warnings: Mentions of Tubbo’s execution, Scar, vague violence, mentions of fighting.

Techno hated feeling guilty. It was a nagging feeling and it drove him down a hole to his own self loathing and wouldn't let go until he fixed it. However, fixing it wasn’t exactly an easy task- though maybe that was because he was never in a position to talk about it.

He had no clue how to even address Tubbo and what he did to him. Tommy was a big factor in that as well because he had no idea how to get around the blonde in order to talk to him. Of course, he knew that it was fair, one of the many consequences that had come from the festival. Which would have been fine if he didn’t zone out for the last half.

He stared at the water and finally sighed in defeat, falling back into the grass. Maybe spending time alone wasn't a good idea. His thoughts were clouding his head and he was finding it harder than usual to focus on any of them. He could still hear the fireworks and the yelling if he was in silence, like he never truly left the scene. His eyes had barely closed as he tried to ground himself within the area. Then he heard footsteps and his shoulders tensed.

He looked up as a figure stood above him and fell silent as he recognized who was there. The scars covering the boy made him flinch- he hadn’t been close enough to really see the damage that was dealt but it was noticeable. And the guilt was beginning to crawl back over him but paused as he saw a soft smile fill the other's face.

"Evening, Techno," he greeted, moving around him and slipping off his shoes as he put his feet into the lake, sighing softly and sitting down by the edge of the water. "It's a beautiful night tonight, yeah?" he asked, though his head was tilted down.

Techno had just watched in subtle surprise as the scene played out. It… Didn't feel real but he was slowly regrounding himself, touching the grass and pulling gently. Breathing out as he pushed himself back up to sit, he took in the surrounding area for a moment. It was calming and he was there. That was relaxing enough. "Where's Tommy?" he asked softly.

Tubbo shrugged, looking up towards the sky for a moment, smiling softly as he examined the stars. "He's off with Wil, trying to figure out some stuff... I snuck off on my own," he answered, glancing over towards Techno again. "What brings you out here? Noticed you haven't been around much," he noted, tilting his head back some more to curve over and peer at him.

"Just… thinking," he answered, bringing his knees up to his chest awkwardly. He was technically thinking- if his anxiety had anything to say about it.

“About what?” Tubbo pried, but his voice held a genuine curiosity.

“Life,” Techno answered simply, forcing his voice to stay plain. Life involved incidents, so this was another truth in technicality. He spent most of his time trying to piece together the festival and what happened at its fullest. It was hard to remember now, when he thought back to it, just how the execution played out. He was overwhelmed throughout most of the event, even at the point when he ran away after shooting into the crowd. Even at the point where he fought Tommy… but that was all also fuzzy. So much of it was fuzzy.

"Gripping the grass awfully hard there, Techno," Tubbo mentioned and Techno quickly flinched his hand back, instead wrapping his arms around his knees.

"Tubbo, hey," he went to speak but stopped, furrowing his brows and then shaking his head. “I uhm- I,” he trailed off and made a face. What was he supposed to do here? This wasn’t a simple accident- it’s not like he was trying to apologize for breaking a glass. He swallowed thickly. “People… bother me,” he said slowly, finding his thoughts slowly.

Tubbo raised a brow. “Well, I figured that. You’re nearly never in a group,” he noted, making a face as he fixed his position, turning around fully in his spot to face Techno. His feet made the grass a bit damp but he didn’t seem to mind.

Techno nodded slightly. “I know,” he replied. “But I’m not good in large groups of people. Especially when they’re- when they’re watching me,” he gestured lightly with his head. “They uh- it gets worse if people are yelling at me,” he trailed off. "I'm so sorry. For- for the festival," he said, gripping at his pants leg.

Tubbo jumped lightly at the sudden apology opening his mouth to speak but he couldn't get a word in as the man continued.

"It shouldn't have played out the way it did- I just," he didn't know how to phrase it, his mind fought for words and he sputtered around excuses and the truth. "I- I got overwhelmed and there were so many people," he looked down, "it was- if I knew that they were going to make me do that I wouldn't have gone- if I was better maybe I wouldn't have caved-- I don't know."

His chest felt a bit tight. God- he hurt a kid, and such an innocent one at that Was the realization just fully dawning on him? He gave him scars and he hadn’t bothered to fully feel affected until now? "It's my fault and it's- it's my head's fault and I- You got hurt because of me! I wasn't supposed to let you get hurt but you did and-" his breath hitched as he felt arms wrap around him.

Techno felt dizzy and he felt sick but he couldn’t bring himself to move back, though an underlying fear of making everything worse is what prevented him from doing that.

"… It's alright," Tubbo mumbled after the silence, a smile in his voice that mixed with a gentleness that most kids would never be able to hold onto in a situation of war. "I forgive you, y'know? Tommy doesn't speak for me,” despite the joke, neither of them laughed. “I… I know it was scary up there--" he trailed off for a moment, breathing out softly and then shaking his head, "But hey! We're both safe now, right?"

He pulled away and grinned brightly. "We're all one big family now! It's a given that I'd forgive you," he laughed. "The scars are a little ugly but… I can bear them. And, if I can do that then I can definitely forgive you."

Techno felt overwhelmed again, but a small sense of closure fell over his shoulders and relieved some of the guilt that flooded him. He breathed out shakily and closed his eyes, nodding a bit. "Right… you’re right. Thank you, Tubbo," he fell back again, laying in the grass with a sigh. "God, when did you and Tommy grow up this much?" he peered his eyes open, gazing at the stars.

"War requires growth," Tubbo said with a shrug. "Tommy and I… we're both still dumb and immature but," he paused for a moment before he chuckled, "We're both trying to grow up faster than we should cause we want to help support our beliefs with all of you guys beside us."

Techno smiled a bit.

"You're a good kid, Tubbo."

"And you're a good friend, Techno."

[aion-rsa]

How Psych Evolved Through the Character of Carlton Lassiter

https://ift.tt/2ZONt8A

Early on in the Psych pilot, Shawn Spencer’s (James Roday Rodriguez) ludicrous plot to impersonate a psychic in order to solve crime suddenly takes on grave stakes: Chief Vick (Kirsten Nelson) informs him that if he’s lying, he’ll be prosecuted for hindering a police investigation. Just like that, he’s locked into his lie, and has no choice but to let it snowball—into a private eye business with his best friend Burton Guster (Dulé Hill), but also into a lucrative consultancy gig for the Santa Barbara Police Department that, psychic antics be damned, legitimately saves lives.

But while it’s the Chief who put the fear of God into Shawn, the true threat to his secret was always one Carlton Jebediah Lassiter (Timothy Omundson). In the early seasons, Lassiter was the perfect foil: a by-the-book detective obsessed with proper procedure and with hypermasculinity, who had patience for neither Gus’ high-pitched squeals nor Shawn’s supernatural “hunches.” The fake psychic’s obnoxious theatrics were nothing without an exasperated reaction from Carlton… especially as those hunches kept paying off and making this old dog all the more self-conscious about his own inability to learn new tricks.

Even moreso than their eventual tango duet in Psych: The Musical, Shawn and Lassie’s song has always been the Psych theme:

I know, you know, that I’m not telling the truth

I know, you know, they just don’t have any proof

Embrace the deception, learn how to bend

Your worst inhibitions tend to psych you out in the end

Yet even as Lassiter delighted in watching Shawn get shown up by other fake psychics and even threatened to be the one to someday catch him in the act, over the course of the series this seeming antagonist shifted into a comic relief role and eventually a truly sympathetic figure. As Carlton became Lassie, so too did Psych grow beyond its cheeky premise, from a potentially one-note episodic show to a serialized dramedy about a found family solving crimes in all manner of unconventional ways—a connection that was cemented in Psych: The Movie and now in Psych 2: Lassie Come Home.

It started with Shawn noticing that Lassie needed help, even if he would never say so outright—when he encountered the detective, drunk and loose-lipped and off his game, in “From the Earth to Starbucks.” Not only was he confounded by Shawn’s skills, Lassiter confessed, but it made him feel worse about the fact that he couldn’t solve what he believed was the murder of a local astronomer who seemingly died of natural causes. Shawn, Gus, and Juliet (Maggie Lawson) spent the rest of that episode surreptitiously helping Lassiter solve what was indeed a murder, all while throwing him clues without him realizing. There was a noticeable absence of Shawn’s psychic shtick in that season 1 episode, since the point was to give Lassiter all the credit, which meant making it look like Lassiter’s way of working. Shawn didn’t have to perform, aside from moments of conspiring with Jules, because it was very much a case of What Would Lassie Do?

Read more

Movies

Psych 2: Lassie Come Home Easter Egg and Reference Guide

By Natalie Zutter

Movies

Psych 2: Lassie Come Home Review

By Natalie Zutter

By the time “Lassie Did a Bad, Bad Thing” in season 3 and was the prime suspect in a criminal’s death, he knew he had no choice but to bring Psych in where the SBPD wouldn’t investigate. And in the case of “Last Night Gus” in season 6—well, it was in everyone’s best interests to solve the mystery of that Hangover-esque night. Over the years, viewers discovered along with Shawn, Gus, and Jules various Lassie quirks: He works out his daddy issues by dressing up as his Civil War ancestor and an archetypal cowboy. He enjoys tap dancing with Gus because it helps him sort through his thoughts. He falls in love with Marlowe (Kristy Swanson) despite her criminal record. He shares more and more of himself with these colleagues who become friends and then family. In turn, he comes to, if not actually believe in, then at least accept the idiosyncrasies of Psych—because like it or not, it makes his professional and personal lives better. At the same time, Shawn’s lie quietly explodes his relationship with Juliet, as it makes her doubt that he was telling her the truth about anything. Even after they reconcile, the ramifications of almost losing her cause Shawn to pull back from automatically playing the psychic card.

And then Lassiter winds up shot and recovering in a hospital bed, helpless in the most Hitchcockian fashion at the start of Psych 2, and there’s no question about who he’ll call.

Clearly creator Steve Franks and the other writers made the decision that if they were to have Lassiter as a presence in Psych’s present, they had no choice but to draw from Omundson’s personal experience recovering from a debilitating stroke. Yet it’s eerie how well this dramatic arc fits Lassiter’s character—Lassie, who may have become a big teddy bear by the end of the series, but who is still obsessed with (heterosexual, able-bodied) notions of supposed manliness. Carlton “Danger” Lassiter, who once said he would go out “in a hailstorm of bullets” if it meant catching a criminal. Now he has to face the knowledge that he may never walk again.

Interestingly, Juliet is not the one whose help Lassiter specifically requests, despite their history as partners. In fact, it’s likely their shared experience that makes him reluctant to put her in that position; if there’s someone that Carlton would be afraid to be exposed in front of, it’s his former mentee. How can he reconcile asking the one-time junior detective whom he showed the ropes to adapt to a situation where he’s still getting his bearings? To wit, he puts her off with a to-do list of errands—a throwback to their early days together, when he frequently invited her to “shut it” or otherwise stay in her lane.

Thankfully, one of the many lessons Juliet took from their time together in the field was to not obey orders when she knows she’s on to something. And so she returns to the scene of the crime where Lassiter was shot, follows up on ballistics, and locates the missing puzzle piece of the second bullet. Shawn and Gus get the ghosts, but Jules gets the shooter. Between being confined to his hospital room, and in the face of Jules’ own stubborn tenacity, Lassiter couldn’t have stopped her if he tried. In many ways, accepting help not asked for demands even more vulnerability from him.

What’s most fascinating about Shawn and Gus’ investigation in Lassie Come Home is that not for a moment do they bullshit Lassiter. This isn’t a case for Psych, it’s an act of love from two close friends—absolutely no psychic spectacle necessary. Now, one could argue that Shawn wouldn’t have even thought to make up a vision because, as far as he knows, Lassiter watched his goodbye video (in the series finale) all the way to the end, where he confessed the truth behind how he manages to solve so many crimes.

Instead, right before Shawn could give Lassiter the answer he’d dreamed of hearing for eight seasons, the detective popped out the DVD and broke it in half. At the time, this moment in the Psych canon, arguably more than his relationship with Marlowe or his identity as a father, was when Lassiter experienced his greatest character growth: He would rather pause time, to focus on all the good that Shawn had accomplished through his lie, than be right.

But time can’t stay paused forever; and if Lassiter is being clear-eyed about how Shawn solves his baffling hospital sightings in Lassie Come Home, then he also has no illusions about his inability to solve his own mystery alone. He can contribute his observations—credible and not—and draw his own conclusions, but he has to trust Shawn, Gus, and Juliet to be his eyes, ears, and legs outside of the prison of his room. He also has to accept that he’s not always present in the crime-solving; there’s a recurring theme in which Lassiter, drifting on his meds, opens his eyes to Shawn and Gus, or Juliet, waiting expectantly for him to wake up and catch up. In one scene where Shawn goes to ask his advice about fatherhood, Lassie is completely asleep, an incredible display of vulnerability from both Lassiter and Omundson.

Yet as we learn in his final showdown with the murderous nurse Dolores (Sarah Chalke), just because Lassiter closes his eyes doesn’t mean he’s out for the count. The way he outwits her is Lassiter to a tee: Even while slipping away from the fatal morphine drip, he has enough wherewithal to grab one of three (three!) guns he had stashed in his hospital room—just like in “Lassie Did a Bad, Bad Thing.”

But this time, instead of being all cool and flipping the bullet into his hand, this Lassiter is babbling to the morphine-induced hallucination of his dead father (Joel McHale) about how much it hurt to lose him, about how he’s afraid he’ll leave his daughter to grow up without a father just like he did.

The moment is played for laughs, with Dolores’ face screwing up into incredulity—this guy has a gun pulled on her, and he’s still mumbling closure to his ghost dad? But for fans, it’s tantamount to the DVD moment: Lassiter has finally found the way to be unguarded, to embrace the ridiculousness of the present moment without self-consciousness, without losing sight of the perp. Even though he has the upper hand, he’s still scared about what he’s going to do when he gets out of this room. He can put away a killer, but he can’t predict his own future beyond the hospital.

Which makes his reunion with Marlowe—witnessed only by Jules and Henry (Corbin Bernsen)—all the more moving. Another character in another narrative wouldn’t have cared if he returned to his wife in a wheelchair, wouldn’t have agonized over mustering enough strength to stand face-to-face with her. But it’s Lassiter, with specific ideas about what it means to be a man, and for him that means looking Marlowe in the eye so they can press their hands together—this time not glass between them, nor either of their pasts, but this new challenge—in solidarity.

Lassiter’s not perfect: He has a lot of toxic masculinity left to unlearn, and he owns an appalling number of guns. He’s still more conservative than not. Because he’s a cop who becomes more sympathetic, his narrative contributes to the larger cultural trend of “copaganda” on television. It’s the same problematic issue that faces the characters on Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Even if he’s lovable, and especially because of this fact, his identity as a police officer complicates the conversation around his character growth.

But within the world of Psych, he’s a character with a worthwhile arc. Like Lassiter, the series started out following a strict formula, and only after it had relaxed into something stronger than its premise—its talented ensemble, ‘80s riffs, and library of delightful in-jokes and callbacks—could it grow beyond its initial form.

Speaking of in-jokes… For the 100-plus teases, hints, and outright cameos the series gave us of its signature symbol, we all failed to spot Psych’s most important pineapple appearance. Lassiter is the pineapple! Prickly on the outside, sweet (but still tart) on the inside. Often difficult to spot, but so rewarding to find. Case closed.

The post How Psych Evolved Through the Character of Carlton Lassiter appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/30EtLMm

[ofthemuses]

Area 11 Sentence Meme; from all their released albums

All the Lights In The Sky (2013)

i. vectors

One day I will find you  I saw that you were lonely too  You reached out and you took me I repressed that time Everything that I forgot, I see it clearly  can’t you see that you’re losing your mind A shot to the head leaves it all behind I’ll tear you apart Reach out your hands to catch me reach out your hands and you tear me apart But we are simply killing time I wish I’d see inside your mind I wish I’d seen inside you Almost the same, but not enough Never forgiven, but still in love

ii. euhpemia

Memories of fallen dreams and all those that have died. Demons are possessing me. I feel my hate take flight. I'm choking on my own words and I'm scared of backing down the hope within us all is up in flames Twisted by my warring conscience. The situation's pushing onwards. This can't be, was this me? I think I've lost control. I caused this, I forced this, Can I continue on? I caused this, I forced this, I caused this! Betrayed by trust, forever left to scream. Oh hold me closely and die in my arms, then take this secret with you. I became your puppet master This could fuel The Revolution! This could be my last solution! And all good victories come with a price. Just take my secret with you.

iii. knightmare / frame

What is life but a burden for me? All this anger, burning inside but buried deep One step forward and two to the side, every single time I fall asleep and I feel I'm falling Nightmare comes without warning I can't seem to sleep  In my dreams I feel I'm running towards her/his shining light She/he shines for me Just like glass I saw right through Something I couldn't see until I changed my point of view I cannot let you go inside of me, the will to change the world Can a mask be the face of reason? You will answer, to the pieces left behind Well I watched her/him die in your arms Freed but they'll never understand

iv. tokyo house party

I know that this will never work out So it shouldn't even start Cause I'm just a kid at heart And you know that it's such a waste Cause I hate that bitter taste and your bittersweet embrace I feel this has gone to my head I'll never drink again But fuck it, I don't care I don't know what you came here for This is where we are from (The town where nothing goes on) Waiting for our own special moment to die I got lost to find myself I wanna be with you tonight Cause everything's gone; it's been wiped out I feel a change in the pace I know I should run and I should fight But the look in your eyes: I could die here tonight Fear of failure, we're moving so slow

v. shi no barado

I saw your face in the LED's It's something that I can never repay, but I will try anyway. I sent a message I know you'd see Now fate led you down a path to me You're all I ever wanted you can use me, you can kill me My body will be a fortress I will keep you safe from pain My losses are your gains Together we can burn this to the ground, rebuild it into something right I'm not afraid and I'm not alone because you're with me in my dreams I won't give up on this perfect love

vi. cassandra pt. 2

Although it doesn't really matter now You use me, and I use you I'm your savior, you're my muse The best friend that you been to me but I wanna be your enemy You want a reaction You wear a red dress when you're in a bullfight You're drawing attention to your double life In dreams, I'm coming to find you and when I wake I want anyone else. 'Cause I don't love you, It's what I'm telling myself I’m hiding from you, ‘cause we are the same Wait, just wait for me and I'll come around My best friend that I've never seen That's turned you into my enemy No, it's all in my mind I feel I should save myself before this gets too real

vii. the strays

I'd still cheer for you ten years down the line Time stepped away from me Stray from this boring dream What must it be like with your world alight? How could I stay here and rust when I'm set to explode? You can outrun everything but the debts that you owe I'm numb from the distance If it's just the bored asking this kind of thing, where do we fit in? Take what you want from it We're the last ones left Get the others and cut to the next Scene To be truly free Freedom comes not from, but through me Do you remember when the stars were much higher? You would try to count them all But you grew tired - tired - tired

viii. dreams & reality

Dreams... are realities. You mean so much to me I can't forget the way, the choice that we made that day. Is it worth the risk that we take? Waiting and hoping from the side-lines But this is our moment, it's our chance to shine. 'Cause this feels better than the best thing 'Cause we are stronger than anything We've grown from all the things we've been through, And they couldn't break us if they wanted to. Your smile is brighter than the lights in the skies wont you tell me what is real? Lets write our names in history, Let's make these dreams reality,

ix. heaven-piercing giga drill

you came and dug me up into a world full of violence. So many faces, so many trials. They won't stop our evolution. Who do you think we are? Fight against your execution. Trust me and we'll fly, not fall. Tip the balance to risk it all. Together we can go so far. All the lights in the sky are stars. It follows everywhere I go. It carries the hope of humanity, and everything we know. Believe in me, who believes in you.

x. bōsōzoku symphonic

There's three parts to love, or so I believe. There's a part of you you lose, and another you receive. Here I break with the concept, though it's central to the piece. Leave my mark on the canvas, that only you can see. I deferred my happiness, for loneliness and time. But once I'm where I wanna be, you'll be far behind. And the chains that pull me down, slacken off when you're around. And it's comforting to know I'll rip out all the hooks from my skin so I can grow. Sometimes I disagreed, just to hear you scream. You were right, but I needed you to give emotion back to me. I'm not leaving you, I'm not leaving you!

Underline (2014)

i. are you listening?

All aboard this sinking ship No business here it's just relationships Should this mean more to me? Just join the tribe and feel accepted But cool don't come for free The rope that pulled me from the pit now hangs around my neck Is this the clue you wanted? Too cryptic for the rest Play the part of the victim if it puts your mind at ease Put all the blame on me So what you feel, is it nostalgia or love? Tell me now, are you really listening? When everybody tells you to stop, and that you’re never good enough; tell me now, are you really listening? Reach out for help, and she lets you down So gild your pockets, we'll watch you drown  Cause this means more to me It's hard when all I see Now we take control We fade into hindsight  Can this be realized?

ii. in the blind

I redesign, I realign. I redefine, and yet resign. My only hope: to feel. And when I phased out the "privileged" and the "purpose" I realized that art can never true be separated That should define who I will never be. Sorry. Cause this is the new way Still spinning cycles in my mind Hold me back and keep me down! Drop the weights, accept my fate, and trigger the explosion. Now keep the faith as illusions break and we'll show you something real. And when I reach out into event horizons will there be light and sound, or will it be just me?

iii. override (a)

Willing and wishing to break This won't be over so soon You'll claw yourself out of the womb Are you willing to die? To be born in the spotlight? I won't let you drown Are you willing to die? To be something? We patiently wait your return Rejecting your pitiful life You'll crawl on your hands and your knees You'll feast on the fear you receive And here in the alter you'll give your life for a reason to live Are you ready to die? Are you ready to die? To be more than they say you are? You'll be a mistake The child of the void and the ghost in the tape Can the ego you've sculpted endure the escape? I am willing tonight. I am willing to die to be something; trigger the override

Modern Synthesis (2016)

i. override [C]

Lay the new foundations; reprise Strange are the things that will come around Return to the question, I'm willing to die If this is real and this is anticipation Know it in your mind, hear it once and now you bear the load Are you ready for life? Make a stand in afterglow

ii. the contract

You’ve spent a lifetime locked in the same mindset You break the contract, and smile away your debt I play for closure, through the fear and the thrill of the fight Move a little bit closer, ‘cause you’re in for a jagged night I close my eyes; a toxic calling Just let it resonate, we call it suffering We know just who to trust this time I want you to give me what I need Lay waste to your beliefs, rebuild yourself for me I want you to come alive again I feign obsession, and abbreviate my views You're my possession, until I'm done with you I want you to feel as I feel I want you; submit yourself to me Your body and your mind; give it willingly Just sign the contract

iii. watchmaker

Serve or break the patterns that would be Middle child of eternity The creeping vines of anomie I never wanted to believe I never asked if I could stay Switch the pressures you relieve Sketching parallels to understand why I can't share your love I’m only building what I meant to do so many lives ago

iv. versus

I dream of it; am I a psycho? Watching you burn nothing else feels this perfect to me “Hands in the air”; salute or surrender? We adapt, mutilate, replicate and survive But choose a side The truth, the war; the rise, the fall The virus in our heads that infects us all Do you need it once more?  Can you remember what it is we’re dying for? (Fighting for?) Little soldier, little girl/boy who used to love this fucking world To love, to despise: such a fine line The hardest strikes always land when hands are tied The virus in our heads infects, manipulates our thoughts

v. processor

I took a chance to fly I want no role in your altercation I feel panic arise as rhetoric voices are feeding back again Blocking out vitriolic accusations: Was I listening? Because I want to be better on the inside I want to be better on the outside I fall asleep in the vestige I once called my home I pray for you, abide with the hopeless Regretting the choice but I can't turn away The modern synthesis compels me to start again I will have my way, I told you, I told you, I told you As I dispersonalise I taste a real life far from the pacifist you believe I exemplify I am the fury, I am hypocrisy The day I take control. The day you'll believe in me The path back home, the path I'll show you The path back home, where you'll wait for me, wait for me

vi. red queen

I said I don't mind, but you've touched a nerve The way you frame it, well, I got all I deserved Breathe deep and comfort the disturbed In the cave you fear what would you find? We played our hands together You lose me in your blood chemistry So we'd better try to match her/his speed Toast to the red queen/king and all she has seen Is it time to drink at your table? We can only wait and watch for so long Where you fall is not where you belong Unify behind false enemies Down other lines we would have been the same Beauty fades but still my charm deceives This night is shared and so we use each other ‘cause misery loves company And so it goes again A wasted day to vie for my affection Soon you'll come undone Can't fake a smile so they draw it on

vii. angel lust

how far did you deviate? The bridge collapsed but you took the stone From the ash an altar raised, you rebuilt your home And cynics they will try to tempt and change our minds We'll keep our faith alive, we'll raise our voices And scream it from our hearts: God loves her/his children we wait to receive a sign and the scraps of truth of what we believe The passion, the pain, our bodies ache, we cry your name

viii. the life of a ghost

Living the life of a ghost, there is no comfort for the mind Some sights we've tried to leave behind Always looking backwards down the road I will retain composure Lost in thoughts of where I am Stay 'til dawn, begin anew? With all honesty I want to be selfless To be human, but I'm beat and I'm worn-though I'm lost tonight I'm an ember, will you take my story? Pull back the curtain and walk towards the truth There is no comfort for the mind

ix. after the flags

Come on son do your country proud! Lead us down to the ocean and wash our hands of campaigns for the self-assured now Fading white in surrender and weary from the beating sun that blinds you Take a hit for catharsis Take a hit for them all After the flags they're selling off the wall I wanna die for a reason I wanna kill for a cause The fall won't kill but it's gonna hurt do you watch just to wince at this? we have been misled Straighten out your fiction As means to ends and ends to meaning guide you After the flags I'm nobody at all If I could reach you with reason You set us up for a fall After the flags you're nobody at all

x. nebula

This is my suffering, stuttering the words As all I can see is you Hey there you lost boy/girl, just look at what they've done to you They've poisoned the well of your mind but you'll make it through I'm falling to the call of you To love just an action, we overplay and overdo But now, there's no one beside me They've fallen behind

xi. panacea and the prelogue

Wait inside we'll talk a while I didn't mean to let the years go by Have we come to terms with the lesson that our fathers learned? Everything goes away I'd follow you, but not this time I'm sorry that I let you down, let you down, a lifetime ago I wanna say to all I leave behind, and to those I'll never find. That I need you to understand, understand, you're not on your own. What you value, is it worth the time? The only melodies that I could ever call mine were friendship and lust Will I feel absolved at the moment when we have it solved? Still it's never enough Lines fade out, but you illuminate the path back home, the path you've shown me

all your friends / new magiks / everybody gets a piece (2018)

i. all your friends

Habits tend to crystallize Did you waste it in the dark? Why were you sure it was real? you let all your friends tell you how to feel The archetypes; the ideal will soon embrace you when you let yourself heal Who are we to cauterise bleeding hearts that synchronise? Did he/she waste you in the dark? Choose your friends just to canonize you, as you let them fantasize

ii. new magiks

I'm watching the mirror crack to face my addiction This all feels a little strange, (A life fearing fiction) I better step outside It's all fine, from the shoreline The weight crushing down my heart, you don't want it, you don't wanna know A head full of dying stars, the shoulders that bear the load The wave crashes down on my heart You don't wanna know My mind's a rogue nation Just look how we weaponise carnal accusation It's all fine, a drop in the skyline Make it hurt Percolate emotion Boys/Girls lost to the ocean drown You were the bright newcomer I fucked you up that summer I didn't know, you let me know my mind is loaded

iii. everybody gets a piece

In time you'll grow, I fucking hope I'm outside looking in at all the time we're putting in Think I know what it means I won't say the right things just to open doors Don't waste your time in the studio I've been told to beg, steal and borrow I'm told it's not the way to go Nobody listens to the radio Everybody gets a piece Did you honestly say it might have been me? But all this while did you think of me, you know All this while, we were pure potential energy, dreaming Don't ask, you'll never get You never asked so you never got nothing Did you get all you wanted from me? You don't ask so you'll never receive Can't lose when you're playing for free

[zenith-is-a-titan]

Collector

((Posting here from long time ago cuz sad boy hours. Set after Red War.))

Summary: After the Red War, guardians stepped up to go search for MIA people and guardians. Most of the time all they find is remaining bits of torn marks, cloaks, or bonds. Still, they return them to the fireteam dutifully. Zenith, a titan, chooses to help out and become a "Collector." 

“Titan! Hold up!”

Zenith froze mid step. There was only one reason why someone would come up to him with such urgency not even knowing his name. Still, he turned slowly and looked at the rushing Warlock coming to him. She was two heads shorter than him and her hair was pulled back into a messy bun. The bags under her eyes told him she hadn’t slept in a while which was scarily common nowadays.

“What can I do for you?” He asked already knowing the answer.

“You’re one of them right? A Collector?”

He hated that word. Collector. It made his job seem so much more pleasant. Still, he didn’t correct her. “Yes. What would you like me to search for?” Straight to the point. It was easier that way.

“M-My friend...She...We were separated during the evacuation. She’s a hunter. My height. Light brown eyes. W-White...white hair…” The Warlock teared up at the memory and covered her mouth. “I’m sorry.”

Zenith nodded and placed a calming hand on her shoulder. “Take your time.”

“Her...Her cloak had her name sewn in it. She always lost it...Please...Find her for me. Or...Something. Please.” The Warlock was nearly in hysterics and Zenith nodded once more.

“I will do my best.”

“Thank you! Thank you! I don’t have much but if you find anything I’ll-” Zenith stopped her with a shake of his head. “That is not necessary. I do not require any payment.”

The Warlock looked like she wanted to argue, but nodded instead. “Okay...Thank you…”

The looking was the hardest part. Zenith looked from sun up to sun down most days. From evacuation routes to dirt trails. Hell, even animal tracks. All for the chance to find something. Anything to give closure to those who wait. Some days he goes home with new for 3 fireteams or more. Sometimes with nothing at all. Through the quiet moments where he trudges through muddy terfs, he thinks.

Zenith was lucky. He came out of the Red War with all of his fireteam. Even if Gid...Even if He wasn’t with the fireteam anymore. That was a lot more than he could say for a lot of people. And those nights at the farm where there were just too many wounded and not enough parts to go around...Zenith shivered at the thought and continued looking. As he looked, he searched for spare parts he could take back to the tower for the wounded. He also might find a usable voice box for River. While she took to sign language like a duck to water, Zenith knew she’d appreciate one less reminder of what happened.

It was when he happened upon a fallen tree that his search gained traction. Stuck to the bark war a knife. And to that knife was a ripped piece of a cloak. Removing the knife, he examined the cloth. It was small, but he could see threads making out a word. Abigail. The Warlock had told him the hunter’s name and that it was sewn into the cloak. He was close. This was left here on purpose.

He continued walking, staying close to the rock wall until it broke off into a large cavern. If a hunter was leaving clues, they wouldn’t stray far from them. So, Zenith headed inside. Kyo lit the way for him as he walked. Water dripped from the ceiling and echoed across the cavern.

“Abigail? Abigail!” Zenith called out.

Suddenly, Kyo gasped. “I can feel something! Another Ghost! There’s someone here!” Up Ahead!”

Zenith doubled his efforts and quickened his pace. Just as his ghost said, there was someone there. A human. A hunter. Laying with their cloak wrapped tightly around themselves. Shivering. Suffering. Just then, a light shot up and blinded the Titan momentarily.

“Ah! Get away from her! Get away!” The ghost said floating in front of her guardian.

“Wait! We’re here to rescue you! Is she Abigail?” Kyo asked worriedly.

The other ghost gave a sceptical look before turning to her guardian. “I felt the light returning...but by then it was too late. She’s been rationing her food and making it stretch the best she can, but...I can’t even reach any frequencies to send an SOS. She ran out of rations two days ago. Please...Help her.”

Zenith nodded and put away his weapon. He walked over to the shivering girl and easily picked her up. The way she curled closer to his body heat reminded him of how he did the same to Aiona when he was first revived. “How far is a clearing?”

“A 5 minute jog at most. I’m sending a report now to have medics ready to take her at the tower.” Kyo said.

Zenith turned a 5 minute job into a 3 minute one quickly but made sure not to jar Abigail too much. The ride to the Tower was deadly silent.

As promised, there were three medics waiting at the hangar with a gurney ready for their return. A crowd of guardians had gathered to see who would be returning. Right at the front was the Warlock.

Zenith walked down the boarding ramp of his ship with Abigail held tightly to his chest. Ever so gently he laid her down on the gurney and helped the medics spread a shock blanket over her.

“Abby!” The Warlock cried out as she ran over. But the medics were already speeding away. She watched as Abigail was wheeled away before pulling Zenith into a hug. For someone so small she sure had a strong grip. “You saved my Abby! Thank you!”

“No thanks needed.” Zenith assured giving her a firm squeeze in return.

“If you need anything please just-”

“No. Thank you...But no. You should go to her. She’ll need you. But here,” Zenith took out the knife and the strip of cloak and handed them to her. “She will need this back.”

The Warlock looked ready to burst into tears but nodded as she held the cloth close. “Traveler bless you, Collector.” Were her parting words as she took off after her friend.

Those are the good days. But they are very few and very far between.

Most days Zenith doesn’t even have a body to return. Sometimes it’s a gun or a ripped piece of cloth with a name. Rarely he gets a hug. Mostly he gets lucky to get a second glance. But every single one of them call him by that name Collector.

Every morning he wakes up with a heavy heart. Forces himself to eat breakfast. And tells himself he’s lucky. He has everyone. Everyone lived. Gid...HE was okay out there.

Aiona catches him one day with his legs dangling from the tower’s edge.

“Aren’t gonna jump are ya?” It’s supposed to be joking but it burns Zenith to know there’s actual suspicion in those words.

“No…”

“You don’t have to do this you know.” Zenith doesn’t even need to ask for clarification on what she means.

“I do.”

“Why...Why must you hurt yourself?”

“I am lucky, Aiona. Everyone turned out okay. Even Gid-...Him. The least I can do is give others closure.” He said looking down at the long long drop. “Even if it hurts.”

“You’ve helped enough. You can quit…”

“You know I cannot. We are stretched thin as it is. I can do this.”

“You don’t need to punish yourself.”

Zenith didn’t answer that time. Aiona sighed. “At least...at least take a break tonight. We can relax and sleep in for once. Just one day. For me?”

He couldn’t say no. Because in another universe she wouldn’t be here to even ask. “Okay. But I have to make a delivery first.”

That night, he delivers a Mark stored in a glass case to two guardians...and a child. Two guardians who now have to explain to a little boy why Daddy isn’t coming home. Zenith hates himself for giving it to them. But he knows that’s what they need. Closure.

One of them sobs on the spot as soon as they see him walking towards them. Probably hoping he’ll turn away. Or realize it’s a mistake. The Titan takes the case from him without a word. She hugs it to her chest with a force that makes Zenith think it might shatter. It doesn’t. And the Titan turns to the little boy. He doesn’t know what it is. Only that it makes people sad. But as he looks down through the glass, Zenith can see a bit of recognition in his eyes. “Daddy…”

Zenith turns away and forces himself to walk home. He doesn’t eat dinner that night. Barely sleeps either. But he lets Aiona rest her head in his lap anyway. Because she needs closure too.

There were so many people she must have known before Zenith. How many of them didn’t come back after the war? He forces himself not to think about it.

Zenith awoke later on to something small colliding with his chest and the sound of River screaming. He bolted up right to see her tiny ghost staring at him, chittering franticly as she zoomed out of the room and back in. She couldn't calm the exo was the only thing the awoken could think of. He charged out of his room, Aiona's door opening the same time as he shot past it.

"Zee whats happening?" Aiona asked, eyes wide with confusion. Earning no response from the Titan she quickly followed Zenith into River’s room. It was bad one this time. No that they weren’t all bad, but this time River was thrashing in her sheets as if in a desperate attempt to fight off an unseen enemy. The Exo’s claws ripping long gashes into the cloth.

Aiona and Zenith watched in utter horror they realized River was still asleep, her screaming starting to fill up with distortion and static. Zenith lept into action, managing to grab one of the exo's flailing arms. What he didn't expect was the still free one to slash him across the face. Small droplets of blood landed on River as Zenith nearly shouted as pain blossomed on his cheek. River's eyes blinked on. Her screaming was replaced with a startled gasp and frantic breathing. Confusion seemed to fill her facial plates as she proceeded what had just happened. It was the four small but jugged lines that made River realise what she'd done.

Zenith didn’t hold it against her though. She was young and traumatized. She didn’t know any better. And if he refused to let Kyo heal the scratches right after then that was his business. He couldn’t help it. Part of him hated the fact that he couldn’t give her closure.

Still though, tomorrow is another day. Another day of tears. Another day of forcing himself to eat breakfast. Another day of being a Collector...

[sparda3g]

Kingdom Chapter 600 Review

Kingdom has hit the milestone and what better way to celebrate than a massacre, brought to you by Houken. Remember, when you are losing, you call for Houken. More like Broken. It was bound to happen, but not like this. This chapter may not be as eventful and extravaganza as the previous chapters with intense action, but it is a reminder that the end to the great war is near.

We do have a cool recollection of every characters from the chapter or volume’s covers. It’s crazy to see how many characters can be squeezed within a single page. Anyone who has a hard time remembering a character in other series, try this one for a challenge. After feeling good about the achievement, it’s slaughtering time.

Houken’s invasion is practically a bloodbath. It’s bloody, gory, and downright horrifying. One guy didn’t even get to finish the line; got his upper head cut off. The double page spread is all kind of terror, even if you can’t stand the guy. The way how Kozen sees it reminds me of D-Day from World War II, where a man gets stunned to the ground, watches men brutally die. It’s a morbid sensation; feel bad for the old man.

The flashback scene is charming but saddening, mainly because I know what’s coming. There are times where a flashback doesn’t lead to death, but this one greatly leans towards it. Kozen was really like a second grandfather to him, or at least like a father since Moubu was like, “You look after him.” A page can tell you everything about their bond, including when Mouten began dating, which was funny how he “handles” it. It’s relatable in some regards, but charming as a whole. It hits me with emotions when Mouten shows his love like a grandson. He even go far as saying that Kozen will be the first to hold his child. It could have been heartwarming full circle story, but it wasn’t meant to be.

I said this many times before, but Hara really knows how to give a character a great sendoff. As sad it is for Kozen to go out, at least he ends on a high note. Rather running away, he stands and goes for one move to drive Houken away. That sounds like a wishful thinking, but shockingly, he actually stabs him. It’s stunning and perhaps a clue that Houken may not have a good sense, like he has no defense awareness. I don’t know if this was mentioned before, but that’s the takeaway I got from this “shocking” moment.  That or maybe he can’t sense weak presence.

With all that said, Kozen does die and thankfully, Hara spared us without showing the end result. We know for a fact he was killed in a brutal fashion, but only enemies and fodders get the worst display; mostly. Regardless, it sucked that he had to die and the flashback made me sympathetic. At least he did it for Mouten; respect for eternally. I’m not going to like the reaction from Mouten, knowing he is planning to return now. I low-key want him to kill Houken, but we’ll see. Rest in Peace, Kozen. Blood or not, you were family.

After the killing spree, the chapter embarks a chain of build-up for the next day or so. I recall everyone, myself included, calling Riboku a hack for calling Houken out, just because he was losing. Hell, even Kaine thought so as well. Believe it or not, he didn’t call for Houken; he went out on his accord. I’m going to give Riboku a break, since he’s actually playing fairly, even if Houken is part of the Three Great Heavens. With that said, it’s interesting because Houken is searching for closure. That highly suggest this arc will be the last of him, let alone Zhao. We’re close to the endgame. Amazing how long-term enemy no longer means the final boss; hell, even Endgame movie itself for that matter.

To hype up the next day, Gyou’un is set to re-enter the battle tomorrow. Although it is crucial for Zhao to win, I believe Chougaryuu’s last words motivated him to return, even in a damaged condition. You got to respect their honor and pride as Rinshoujo’s apprentices. I assume we will learn about the second matter when Gyou’un fights. I’m really curious about it; that’s how much I’m invested.

It’s pretty amusing to watch Hi Shin Unit spend the night out. Shin didn’t want to miss it, so he literally crawl his way to the campsite. The imagery looks funny, especially Bihei thought they’re under attack. Ten also joins the fun. It’s a good feel moment that you rarely see everyone in one night hanging around for amusement. Shousa must be so proud from the sky. Speaking of rarity, Ousen finally send a message to them. We’re in the endgame now!

The next day’s hype has increased further with the latest strategy. It’s their job to bypass Zhao Left Wing and hit Riboku’s Centre Army directly from the side. It’s expected to happen the moment day breaks. It’s a bit hard to believe that we have been in this arc for over two years, and now, it feels like the end is near. It’s about to go beyond incredible very soon. The ending is assuring though curious about the direction. By that, I mean Ouhon has risen from his slumber. Good work, Kyou Kai. Part of me wants him to finish the job and kill Gyou’un. Shin has two kills under his belt, so why not give one to Ouhon. Either way, I can’t wait for the next day.

Overall, it was an interesting chapter. It started off with a downer with the loss of Kozen and others, but it left with a possible key to defeat Houken. There were many hints that the end is near with all the pieces (Houken) are assembled for the perfect storm. There were interesting build-ups for the next day, a nice relaxation with Hi Shin Unit, and an intriguing strategy to pave a way for the endgame. Ouhon is back up; not sure what Hara has in store. Congrats on the milestone; let’s go for another hundred more.

[theroseandthebeast]

Yuletide 2018, Batch 2

15 Recs for Castlevania, Clue, Crimson Peak, DCU + Justice League, Dead Poets Society, Die Hard, Dirk Gently’s Wholistic Detective Agency, Dragonriders of Pern, Judge Dredd, The Princess Bride

A better night’s sleep, Castlevania

"Does it really feel right to you, being here without him?"

Trevor didn't have to ask who she meant. "I doubt he'd really want to be here when he has all of the Belmont Hold and all of his father's castle to sulk around in."

"He's all alone," Sypha said. "I can't stop thinking of how lonely he must be."

"He's probably just about to settle in for a nice decade-long nap," Trevor said, but his heart wasn't in it. "You're going to say... we need to go back," he said, as Sypha matched his last five words perfectly.

Miss Scarlet Rolls the Dice First, Clue

"The 1950s were good for business. The war in Korea had segued nicely into a cold war, which was her preferred kind."

Ms. Scarlet, after.

‘til Death, Crimson Peak

Years after the events at Crimson Peak, Edith returns. Closure is not always a simple thing, for the living or the dead.

Don’t Let Me Get Away, Crimson Peak

"I love you," Thomas whispered, gathering her up into his arms. She was limp like a rag doll, and he cradled her in his arms, rocking her slightly. "I love you," he repeated over and over, a mantra that he probably hoped would protect her from Lucille. "I can't let you go, I can't let you get away. I'll do what I must to keep you safe."

God help her, Edith was willing to do the same.

Ghosts of the Past, Crimson Peak

"Thomas," Edith said, kindly but firm, "believe me, I understand feeling...reverence for one's departed." She felt a pang of loss, which she suppressed for the moment. "But I am the mistress of this house now. The sooner your sister realizes that, the better for us all."

Thomas smiled sadly. "You're right, of course, my dear."

Edith Cushing Sharpe is no one's fool. Young she might be, and newly orphaned, but her observational skills and her imagination were in no way impaired. Or, Edith figures shit out.

Society Pages, Justice League

Bruce watched Barry snatch hors d'oeuvres from three passing trays and immediately stuff them into his mouth, then try a sip of the champagne offered to him by an over-attentive waiter, sneeze, and hand back the half-empty flute. "At least you had the sense to put him in the McQueen," he said, resigned, and made his way over to rescue him before the society matrons could smell blood in the water.

i do not care for the winter sun, DCU

M disappears from Apollo’s life so quickly, he can’t help but wonder how long he’s been planning it.

close your mouth (open up your heart), Justice League

Post-JL, Clark isn't sure what to make of Bruce Wayne, or that he's ever going to be able to figure it out. But maybe all he needs is a little help.

Or: five times Clark had conversations with other people about Bruce, plus the time he managed to actually talk to Bruce.

Petrichor, Dead Poets Society

On the night of the play at Henley Hall, after Puck turned back into Neil Perry, Todd Anderson felt an odd sense of foreboding as the car rolled away...and made a choice.

From the Wreckage, Die Hard

It's five in the afternoon on a Tuesday when Matt shows up at John's doorstep, backpack flung over his shoulder and a duffle bag in his hand.

Arrested Development, Dirk Gently

At night he would give himself pep talks, telling himself that tomorrow for sure he would just ask Dirk out, and every day he would continue not to do that, because: they worked together, and it could (would) get weird if things didn't work out, and they were friends, and Todd couldn't bring himself to ruin that, literally could not make the words come out.

He was, possibly, the most pathetic person on the planet.

Unexpected, Dragonriders of Pern

A Hatching is always a momentous occasion, one that changes forever the lives of the participants. And sometimes, of all Pern.

Trial and Error, Judge Dredd

The Hall of Justice believe sex will enhance Anderson's abilities. The judge the choose to test this with her is a strange choice to say the least. 

Radioactive, Judge Dredd

She goes through ten partners her first year.

5 Songs Sung on the Slaked Vengeance, The Princess Bride

Through the years, Fezzik and Inigo carry a variety of passengers on their ship, the Slaked Vengeance.

[dismuch47]

Roswell Sequel Series Outline

@anheiressofasoldier Hooooo boy, are you gonna regret saying that you would be willing to read my pitch. Mwhahahahaaaa! (but seriously, thanks. I’ve been meaning to write this out since it has been so vivid in my head, down to the song that they play at the end, leading to the credits of tasteful, retro animated graphics of tabasco sauce bottles, waitress uniforms, and flying saucers...)

So let’s see if I can keep this down, somewhat...

EDIT: HAH. So long. Forgive the typos. So late and I don’t want to read through all of this when I spent so much time writing it! Not done yet...

So we open in Roswell, shots of some of the old spots that bring nostalgic feels, but years have passed: the old highway/gas station, a football practice at Roswell high, the diner (and they’re still wearing the old uniform style), UFO center, through some neighborhoods until we get to a house. We vaguely recognize it, but it focuses on an older man at a few computers, and some gentle panning reveals law enforcement memorabilia until we close in on the man’s glasses and those pale blue, worn eyes. Why it’s our beloved Jim Valenti! And he’s typing away on some conspiracy message board with wacky avatars that convey that he’s probably conversing with younger persons. There is a message for him and someone wants to meet him, to get the answers he promised. He contemplates, is reluctant, but then responds to meet him in the place that they originally agreed upon, in two weeks. He sends the message, exhaling, maybe this is a mistake... but then he looks at a picture of Kyle, grinning that Valenti smile, winning ball in his hands. Jim nods to himself, it’s decided, and he gets up to get coffee...

That’s when men in black suits bust in through the door, armed. Jim drops his cup, hands up. He’s too far from his guns, says something smart-ass to distract them... while his hands charge and a blinding flash of light comes from them.

That’s right. Jim Valenti has mother effing powers!

The men stumble about, whilst Jim dashes to the computer screens, holding a hand over them to blast out the hard-drive with energy pulses. He picks up a handgun that was strapped beneath the desk and takes out two men before he is thrown against the wall. One of the MIB has his hand raised, a supernatural opponent. None of the other MIB look phased. Jim looks up, wincing in confusion. One of the MIB asks the attacker if they should relocate Jim to “the compound” with the “others.” But the leader decides that Jim is too old to withstand any of the rigorous testing... he’d only be dead weight. He raises his hand to finish Jim Valenti off...

And we see Jim’s gaze wander back to the picture of his son, as his assailant’s hand glows...

And cut to black with a flair of cliff-hanger: Cue Roswell theme song and Roswell graphics...as it morphs from Roswell to more recognizable location of midwest city, the coast, New York, China, India, London...all tainted with something extraterrestrial/galactic... promising more of the unknown at a broader scale. 

And then we start up in Cleveland, Ohio, of all effing places. 

(And now I’m going to get less detailed; just thought it was important to establish the mood and intrigue first ;) Oh, and I also have like NO final name decisions for a lot of these characters, so forgive the half-assedness with these names.)

The character that we will ride on the back of to get to the characters we know and love is a hispanic youth (mid teens), who is clearly living in poverty and trying to keep his nose clean. Let’s call him...Alex. (: I had too; to honor the original). Alex is special, because he has powers, And he is a co-mod on a message board that reaches out to others with abilities. The main mod, who has been very encouraging and helpful in avoiding attention while still developing the abilities, has finally okayed meeting up for the first time with Alex (It is... was... Jim ): The halfway point that they agree upon is Nashville in two weeks. Alex has no money, but he has to find out why he has these abilities. He was dying from a shoot-out when he was young, caught in the crossfire, he was healed... it’s too hazy a memory, and ever since then, powers.  and he’s not the only one.

In real life, Alex has 1 friend who moved from New York, (let’s call him Nicky) who also has abilities and shares a similar origin story... only it was a terminal illness while living on the streets. In his dreams, however, he knows Yen...a Vietnamese-American girl who can dream walk into anyone’s dreams. They’ve never met face to face, but they have bonded. Online, however, Alex is aware of 37 users who claim to have similar experiences with “the healer”, whether they remember it or not. Descriptions vary, so they can’t nail who he/she is. Alex, Nicky, and Yen (in dreams), decide to go on an epic road trip to meet the board mod, who Alex is CONVINCED is the healer.

So we have couple episodes of teen-powered shennanigans, meeting Yen in person, meeting up with some of the other “healed” (they have their own hand signal and everything); some awesome... some fake. So they reach Nashville, in the spot... and mod never comes. Alex knows something is up; the mod never would have pulled this (father complex issues). They do some investigating, looking for clues and they find something left behind. A floppy disk... which none of them know what the eff to do with. And then, someone seeks them out. Let’s call him...Greg. Late teens, maybe early 20′s...knows everything about Alex and is able to convince Nicky and Yen that he’s legit. (but he’s totally not legit). And Alex is wary, because he always got the vibe that mod was... older? With a full grown kid. Some simple questioning, and he’s able to trip up Greg, who also doesn’t have powers.

Outted, Greg shows his true colors and summons the MIB and takes the three youths after a brief skirmish (they put up a good fight, but the MIB are so experienced with their powers), they are taken to “the Compound.” (dun dun dun). The Compound is basically a hold and experimentation facility for HUMANS with extraordinary abilities; the “healed.” Alex and crew think it’s the dark government... but it’s actually aliens; Antarians, cleaning up human anomalies left over from their failed hybrid units. And, get this: they call “Greg”...ZAN. Oh yes. Very “human” Greg is Max’s estranged son, who bounced around in the foster system, has nice shiny baby memories of being the son of a king and queen and loved... only to face a very cruel world that recognized him as nothing. He’s mostly an icon, being the son of two hybrids, but he’s though of being less by the Antarians because of his powerless genetics. He’s out to prove himself to the elitist species. 

Alex, Nicky, and Yen are able to escape from the compound with some clever thinking, and rallying beaten down inmates...on of the eldest being a man who was experimented on for 3 years. Despite his once peaceful ways and dry humor, he’s now a mind-warper with mad-skillz: Kyle Valenti (oh yeah. He HATES that that is his ability; self-loathing galore). The gang picks up another female, let’s call her Roxie (cause she got no-where to go!) and Kyle decides, after seeing what’s on the floppy disk (his dad, explaining why he started the website; because it was for the terminal kids who would grow up to have abilities, just like everyone else Max healed... but more people from the outside, all over, were getting abilities as Max and pod squad were on the run. Kyle is moved, and he decides that if the 4 want to meet the one who changed them to gain closure, he would be their guide. He explains the events of Roswell and the pod squad: the teens are floored that they are wrapped up in Alien stuff.

The plan is to go connect with Isabelle Evans, but on the way, Kyle diverts the trip when he sees an advertisement...for the singer Maria Deluca touring nearby (yeah, bear with me, I promise it will pay off). Nicky and Roxie are just rabid fans for Deluca so they are totes okay with this distraction. Touching reunion between Maria and Kyle. And Maria fills him in on the three years he’s been gone: 

War is coming to Earth. Kivar diverted political tensions to Earth with a very brutal and militant species. Like this specious tears through planets like a plague. Upset with Kivar, Antar sent emissaries to find one of the royal 4, from either set of hybrids, but only found Zan... who was eager to be found. With the promise of giving him powers, Zan was enlisted to track a hybrid down. He had a lead on Micheal Guerin, who seemed to be around the corner, during certain times in his life... but he was able to use Micheal to get to Max. Max thought that a reunion was to occur arranged by Brody...but he was thrown into a portal and beamed to an Antarian vessel. That was a year ago. 

Deluca declines going with the group to their next stop, unable to see LIz in the state she is in, getting pulled back into it all, and on top of it all...Maria is now a single mom of an adopted toddler: a boy. He’s her whole world and there was no room for anything else. Kyle and gang bids her farewell and continue  on.

I don’t know where Isabel is, but they arrive and she has a pretty nice house, job: picture of normalcy. But she’s a wreck... and she nearly falls to pieces when she sees Kyle after three years. Yes. They were a thing at one point; she she spent every night trying to connect to his mind and dream walk with him. She has a daughter, Cassie, who looks just like her mother and fully embraces her her alien heritage as a princess; she the worst. She gets to know Alex, Nikki, Yen and Roxie, and they are floored by her abilities... that she flaunts. (no, Kyle is not the father... and neither is Jesse: DUN DUN DUUUUUN)

After Kyle and Isabel have their well deserved moment, they decide that the kiddies can’t come along, because it’s WAR, so they are to stay at Isabel’s house. And not only that... but the Parker-Evans chldren (all 3 of them) are dropped off by SERENA, Liz’s work budy from the University Lab Research Team (WHO THE EFF IS SERENA???) Turns out Serena be cool, but she’s a human who doesn’t know about any of the alien stuff (but she’s like mad smart with theoretical science). So the adults leave to go on patrol, and the teens think this sucks, though the little Parker-Evans kids are happy to have new playmates. Cassie pipes up that she’s not going to stick around, since the eldest kiddo is 13 and can handle her younger siblings so she gonna go abuse her powers to go clubing. She coaxes Alex to go with her, Roxie is down... but Yen and Nicky decide to stay at the house to protect the kids. Yen isn’t so happy that Cassie appears to be sinking her claws into Alex.

Club shenanigans, but then Alex Guilts Cassie to give a crap about what is going on outside of her comfy life and she tags along with him and Roxie as they go to shadow after the adults. And what they find is is a Michael Guerin, Isabel Evans, and Liz Parker-Evans kicking some serious alien ass. They are trying to steal aboard a vessel to get access to the Antarian ship hovering over earth. Then this armored opponent appears and nearly smears Liz across the gravel, but Micheal and Isabel are able to hold him briefly, giving Liz and chance to get a clean shot... but she hesitates. She can’t do it... and the armored figure is about to break free. Things look dire for the three, so Alex and Roxie spring to action, getting in a good shot or two, but the figure retreats back to the ship in a beam of light. Liz, instead of thanking the teens, yells at them.

It had been Max. Stripped of his consciousness and replaced with the collective consciousness (see how I’m including some book stuffs???) of Antar: their memories of King Zan poured into the hybrid vessel, Max Evans. The idea was to have their reclaimed King challenge Kivar for the throne. But King Zan, a distorted version, as memories aren’t a replacement for a SOUL... and with the temperament of a human...straight up just kills Kivar. And leads Antar into a dark age. Wah-waaaaaah.

But there’s a problem: remember how Dupe Isabel made the comment that Max’s pod set are the defectives? Too human? Well, it’s true... and Max’s body, being too human, can’t handle the energies and massive power from the crystals that he’s wielding. (it’s all about the crystals, for Antarians: they bring people back from the the dead, serve as text messages, it’s great... oh, and some probably become huge ass weapons) So basically, Max’s body is dying from being too over-extended. It’s like a rubber band that can’t snap back into shape, but just get’s looser, and looser until it just TEARS.

Then of course we have to have an episode about how the main gang got to their current states: Liz and Max of course married right away, had their first kid a few years after Isabel had Cassie. Liz got an online education and worked her way up to a position at a research Lab, where she met Serena (WHO DAH EFF IS SERENA???) Meanwhile Max works a late third shift at a hospital, or rotates around, and heals the really desperate cases. Micheal is ever vigilant to protecting Isabel and Max/Liz’s families, being a hard as nails yet doting uncle.. but he’s kind of a bar fly, even though he can’t drink (he likes the ambience), but gets squirrelly whenever a Deluca Classic comes on the jukebox. He has regrets... many regrets. He wears down Max to give the kids a normal life, get a mortgage, enroll them in public school... cause they deserve the best life experience. Isabel had Cassie pretty early on...after Jessie...Isabel hit a low, especially when she facebook stalked him to find out he had moved on. So she goes out, grabs the nearest stranger, and... well...(but it’s kinda important WHO that person was... It was human-meat-puppet Kivar. Who’s never too far from his Valondra; he’s THE WORST) Meanwhile, Kyle bonds with Isabel during her pregnancy, provides for her, has a fling with her, but it is never fully realized because Isabel freaks and needs to have control over her life and her daughters, so he becomes a cool uncle to Cassie. He opens his own garage. Maintains highly secretive correspondence with his father, when he’s lured to meet up with his dad... which was never arranged by Jim. He was taken to “The Compound”. Max does get a house with a fence for his family, and just when they settled in, they get a visit from a mysterious boy: Ethan. And Ethan says “You’re my dad.”

But the thing is, Ethan doesn’t look anything like Max: it’s all Tess. The young man has a clear memory of his mother, that fits Tess’ description, and that she loved Zan. He’s a nice guy, sweet, but has had a slew of misfortune with abusive families. He grows on Micheal... in an annoying way. After a DNA test, at the insistence of Liz, they find that Ethan shares no DNA, and is certainly not human. And a simple alien connection reveals that this isn’t Tess’ son... but Ava’s...and Rath (WHA? EW! NO! But yusss. I’m not saying it’s a good match, but it happened) And Ava did love Zan, and wanted Ethan to find Max...because she wasn’t in a good situation and had to give up her son for his best chance (OUAT ALL OVER AGAIN) since Rath would probs chuck that full-blooded alien babe at Antar for brownie points. So Ethan is disappointed but willing to depart but Micheal is all “Stay with me, twerp. But get a job and help pay rent.” Ethan makes breakfast for his grumpy new big brother/dad everyday.

Feeling awful for her unwillingness to let Ethan in right away, Liz supports Max in tracking down his biological son. He’s afraid that the same fate fell on Zan Jr. Which, fyi, Zan lived a very average life... but he could REMEMBER the alien stuff, and his mother, and another world... so basically, he loathed his family and situation. So Micheal agrees to help track down Zan, because he’s become pretty good at that kind of thing, and reunites the two, with the help of Brody... and then... well... you know how that goes.

Okay. I have to stop for the night. UGH I’m almost thru. No, but this is GREAT, writing it down. Maybe finally this idea will be exercised from my brain permanently!

[bymaribel]

Was there a song in your lifetime that no matter where you were as soon as it played it triggered a response of joy or better yet, the need to dance? What song was that for you? Has a song ever changed your life or the trajectory of it? This one did for me.

I grew up in the era of Rock-en-Español. There were many great bands and songs we danced and enjoyed back in the late 90s early 2000's. I still listen to Rock-En-Español from time to time but this morning as I was heading out to buy coffee my bluetooth connected my phone to the car music outlet and out of what felt no where the sound of drums began to thunder literally waking me into a state of joy. Up until that moment it was a very quiet beautiful morning with the birds chirping and early enough that most were still asleep or in bed as I drove down the road. Although my eyes could see the road ahead of me with with the shopping center in sight the sound of those drums pulled me out of that car and I found myself in the dark surrounded by strangers. It was January of the year 2000. I was shot back in time as if I was really there. The music was loud and echoing through my body as I found myself tapping the back shoulder of a stranger with the intention to dance. At that moment I didn't care who it was. It could've been my grandfather or a troll or the devil himself. I didn't care. I needed to go and dance to this song. The stranger turned around and I don't remember his face all I remember was asking boldly if he wanted to dance with me. I don't remember what he said and I don't know if I could've heard him as the music was so loud. All I know is that moment changed everything. I just didn't know it yet. I was standing in the lively Night club situated in the heart of Bogotá Colombia. I'm not Colombian. But I was insane. It was 1999 and there I was again my heart thumping following the beat of the drums to MATADOR, by the band Los Fabulosos Cadillacs. The drum beat hits a ryrhem that is a call to war. It's mixed with the unique sound and lyric, gypsy octaves and melodic rap. Very unique. I love it still.

I had gone to this night club in Bogotá that night almost by force. I didn't want to go. I had traveled to Colombia when the world was supposed to end due to 1999 turning into 2000. Apparently all the computers of the world were supposed to crash. I was on a plane flying out to Colombia the night those computers were supposed to end it all for humanity. I figured if it's all going to end anyway why not travel alone to one most dangerous cities in the world? What could go wrong? I jest of course. I was really headed out there to be with my ex who I was still very much in love with. It was a very hard break up. He hadn't seen his family in over five years or so. A couple of his family members called me and convinced me I should go out there. Although his family was very sweet and accommodating I should not have gone. Toward the end of my short visit he had taken off with his friends for days and I never saw him again for the remainder of my stay.

He hadn't seen his friends in years so I can understand that now. In retrospect I don't think he really invited me but was more pressured into it by his family to have them meet me. His sister in law was insistent that I go out and checkout the night scene. Reluctantly I fixed myself up and went out with his sister-in-law and some of his family members to a local night club. I don't drink so I was not sitting with their group long as they got their drinking party going. Instead I stood by the side of the dance floor and watched. Colombians are amazing dancers. That night something amazing happened. I didn't know it then, but I was about to get swept away. I was about to finally have closure on a long painful relationship. Ironically it would be in the presence of the very people rallying for my ex and I to mend things out.

Matador! Matador! The brave stranger and I started to dance and that's when I finally remember seeing his face. Dear heavenly god. He was gorgeous. In fact had I seen his face first I don't believe I would have had the guts to ask. But as fate would have it, I had a false sense of security until I saw him face to face. Afterwards we kept chatting and the family started to notice I had made a new friend. I was approached by my ex's brother-in-law and told it was time to go. My new friend had asked me for my phone number but I explained to him that I was not from the country but I would happily take his. I don't think he believed me. Regardless he took a napkin wrote his name and some numbers on the back. I also learned that Colombia doesn't have seven digits for their phone numbers. Instead it's a strange combination of some sort so I too thought I was being punked. Bogotá is also famous for kidnappings and cons. I had just revealed that I am an American and basically put a target on my head according to the siblings out there.

Upon returning to my ex family's home most of his siblings were pretty quiet. The sister-in-law came to my room and excitedly asked me what was his name. Jose Ruiz read the napkin. "Are you gonna call him?!"

"I don't have a phone."

"Use mine."

My heart was racing. I felt conflicted. What am I doing? I'm here trying to mend things and get back with my womanizing ex. He was not around. But I declined. I waited for the ex to show up but it was going on day three and still nothing. My plane tickets were set and I would be leaving in 2 days. I felt an urgency to call Jose. What was the point? I'm leaving in 2 days? Then again, I'm leaving in 2 days, I had nothing to lose. A day later,

"can I borrow your phone?"

"Omg, yes!"

He could not believe I called. He told me he thought I was using a creative line to make him go away. Who says I don't have a phone number in this day and age?! We laughed and I told him tomorrow was my last day in Bogota flying out to Los Angeles. I was still in school and classes started at UCLA in a matter of days. So we agreed to meet at a little hole in the wall which was lots of them out there with mom and pop restaurants for lunch. This would be the first time we would actually see each other in daylight. Now for those of you who are unaware of what a club scene is compared to a day scene well to put it lightly you could be two totally different people especially if you had been drinking ( I had not but I think he had). He asked where I was staying, what area in Bogota? I had no clue! I felt so ignorant. I honestly don't remember how I got there because I didn't know the area and I certainly didn't have transportation. Someone took me. I just can't remember now.

There he was. Just as gorgeous if not more than the night we met. We chatted for a bit. We drank a soda. It's all a blur. We exchanged information. All I know is that shortly after I was on a plane on an 11 hour flight home holding a picture of this young man in my hands. Thin built, Full lips, black short but slightly wavy hair. Thick black eye brows. Long eyelashes that decorated the softest frosty light mint green eyes you would ever see. I stared at that photo all throughout my 11 hour flight. I had turned a page. I was not upset that my ex had once again abondend me. In fact I was grateful. I knew deep inside that nothing would really come from this beautiful new encounter. But a new sense of hope where a heartbroken obsession once dominated had softly lifted and I felt free. I felt hope. I felt alive again.

we wrote to eachother for a year or so. We would chat by phone from time to time. I traveled back to Bogota alone twice and met Jose's beautiful family. It was an amazing time. One time he called me at midnight and sang to me with live music in the background as he was so very drunk. We both knew this too would end. But we tried to keep it going until we just could do so no longer.

As far as my ex goes, he was hurt about the situation but it was more of a realization that I was finally over him. He hated and loved my obsession and heartbreak over him. But it was finally really over.

Matador! Matador! That song was the trigger that night. The irony of it all.

[nightwingxy]

Update To the Update to the Update

Over the past couple of days I’ve been kinda bummed out. Long story short(not really) it started with someone posting an Infinity War Fading Away Meme in a GC, but it was of Steve From Blues clues, with the line “Thanks for all your help”. I saw it and got kinda sad because it was a thing from my childhood fading away. Out of Curiosity I decided to see the comments for that post, and one of them was just the clip of Steve leaving, with the added in markiplier reaction. That was potentially the first time seeing that moment, and I got really emotional, and immediately stepped out of class and cried in the bathroom for like 10 minutes. Because it was a rush of nostalgia, from seeing that show for the first time in almost 2 decades, and and just extreme sadness, as it felt like saying goodbye to and old friend, and saying goodbye to my childhood. I then made that first post about all this, followed by reading an episode summary for context. As the day went on I just couldn’t cheer myself up, and I was just sad and down for pretty much the rest of the day as I couldn’t get it off my mind. Later on that night I watched the full episdoe and I just broke down into tears, and was probably the most sad and emotional i’ve ever felt in years. It was Like saying goodbye to my childhood as I left to college, expect unlike steve, who had his brother joe to take care of everyone and everything he cared about while He was gone, I didn’t Have a joe to pat me on the back when I left for college, to watch over everything I loved and care about. It also Made me realize How not ready I am for being and adult, how much I kinda suck at it, and Really How Much I miss being a kid, who slept in a blue race car bed and watched blues clues without a care in the world, not having to worry about Life stuff and all the other BS that just happens. So after bringing it up in a GC on twitter to some friends, I made that 2nd post where I go a little more in depth and open up a little more about How I was feeling, balling my eyes out. I posted it in that GC, and apologized incase I brought the mood down. One of My friends said No I didn’t and that they’re all here for me if I wanna talk, which made me feel a little better. That was followed up having a DM conversation with a close friend of mine named chris, and how he understood what I was feeling, that just made me feel a lot better, and made me realize how awesome my friends are, how they’re there for me when Things get rough like with this, how they got my back, and how they all appreciate me for who I am and what I like, and started feeling the same towards my family. Hence why I made that Thank you post to all my friends and posted it everywhere. After all of that and having a “Beautiful Cry” as butters from south park puts it (My friend Chris sent me that clip during our DM Conversation and it was pretty much what I was kinda feeling by the end of all that), I went to bed, still kinda sad and still a little teary eyed. I woke up the next morning for my doctors appointment feeling a little better about myself, though by lunch time It was all back on my mind again, so I just took a nap for a few hours, and was feeling better until, again, It came back to mind, and after an hour of feeling down, and managing to cheer myself up a bit with some Super Best Friends Videos on YouTube, I made that 3rd post, which was untitled and untagged, took a shower, then went to bed. For most of today it’s been on an off again kinda feeling sad,, whenever I was not doing something and My mind had a chance to wander off I started thinking about it and would feel kinda sad again, though over all feeling much much better than Monday and Tuesday. I mentioned again in another GC without going too much into it and another friend of mine DM’d me to make sure everything was ok. I told her yeah I was feeling a bit better and thanked her. All of this led me to making one more post to talk about it to try to give myself some closure and to let everyone know i’m feeling better about everything, but tumblr mobile had a whops and the post was gone, so i’m here now typing this up. What I came to the conclusion to was that I shouldn’t let this old kids show clip break me down into tears over the past. I should just accept That was then, this is now, nothing is gonna change that, and while at first didn’t think I had a Joe, I realized I did, in all my amazing wonderful friends I have everywhere, Twitter, Facebook, Here, PSN, All my awesome IRL friends, Everyone, and of course my family. They Care for me, appreciate me for me, Like what I like, and they got my back when Life gets rough, and are there for me no matter what. So Thank you, all of you, for just being there for me, and for being fantastic friends, You guys are the fucking best.

[newstfionline]

Sunday, October 18, 2020

U.S. budget deficit breached $3.1 trillion in 2020 as pandemic slammed economy (Washington Post) The U.S. budget deficit eclipsed $3.1 trillion in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, according to government data released Friday, by far the biggest one-year gap in U.S. history. The data are a stark reflection of the staggering blow that the coronavirus pandemic has dealt to the U.S. economy. The deficit—the gap between government spending and tax revenue—shows the dramatic surge in spending the U.S. government approved to contain the pandemic’s fallout earlier this year. The deficit last year was about $1 trillion, which represented an elevated level but pales in comparison with this year’s tally.

US divisions (AP) The overwhelming majority of voters believe the nation is deeply divided over its most important values, and many have doubts about the health of the democracy itself. And supporters of President Donald Trump and Joe Biden alike think the opposing candidate will make things even worse if elected, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Overall, 85% of registered voters describe Americans as being greatly divided in their values, and only 15% say that democracy in the United States is working extremely or very well. The poll shows voters overall are especially pessimistic about the impact of Trump’s reelection: 65% say divisions would worsen if the Republican president were reelected, a number that includes a quarter of his supporters.

Scammers seize on US election, but it’s not votes they want (AP) The email from a political action committee seemed harmless: if you support Joe Biden, it urged, click here to make sure you’re registered to vote. But Harvard University graduate student Maya James did not click. Instead, she Googled the name of the soliciting PAC. It didn’t exist—a clue the email was a phishing scam from swindlers trying to exploit the U.S. presidential election as a way to steal peoples’ personal information. American voters face an especially pivotal, polarized election this year, and scammers here and abroad are taking notice—posing as fundraisers and pollsters, impersonating candidates and campaigns, and launching fake voter registration drives. It’s not votes they’re after, but to win a voter’s trust, personal information and maybe a bank routing number. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Better Business Bureau and cybersecurity experts have recently warned of new and increasingly sophisticated online fraud schemes that use the election as an entry, reflecting both the proliferation of political misinformation and intense interest in this year’s presidential and Senate races. Online scams have flourished as so many of life’s routines move online during the pandemic. The FBI reported that complaints to its cybercrime reporting site jumped from 1,000 a day to 3,000-4,000 a day since the pandemic began.

Forecasters: Drought more likely than blizzards this winter (AP) Don’t expect much of a winter wallop this year, except for the pain of worsening drought, U.S. government forecasters said Thursday. Two-thirds of the United States should get a warmer than normal winter, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted. Only Washington, northern Idaho, Montana, the Dakotas and northwestern Minnesota, will get a colder than normal winter, forecasters said. The forecast for winter rain and snow splits the nation in three stripes. NOAA sees the entire south from southern California to North Carolina getting a dry winter. Forecasters see wetter weather for the northernmost states: Oregon and Washington to Michigan and dipping down to Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and other parts of the Ohio Valley. The rest of the nation will likely be closer to normal, NOAA said. For the already dry Southwest and areas across the South, this could be a “big punch,” said NOAA drought expert David Miskus. About 45% of the nation is in drought, the highest level in more than seven years.

Who Was ‘El Padrino,’ Godfather to Drug Cartel? Mexico’s Defense Chief, U.S. Says (NYT) American law enforcement agents were listening in as Mexican cartel members chattered on a wiretap, talking about a powerful, shadowy figure known as El Padrino, or The Godfather. Agents had been closing in on him for months, suspecting that this central figure in the drug trade was a high-ranking official in the Mexican military. All of a sudden, one of the people under surveillance told his fellow cartel members that El Padrino happened to be on television at that very moment. The agents quickly checked to see who it was—and found it was the Mexican secretary of defense, Gen. Salvador Cienfuegos, according to four American officials involved in the investigation. In that moment, the authorities say, they finally confirmed that the mystery patron of one of the nation’s most violent drug cartels was actually the leader in charge of waging Mexico’s war against organized crime. It was a stunning display of how deep the tendrils of organized crime run in Mexico, and on Thursday night General Cienfuegos was taken into custody by the American authorities at the Los Angeles airport while traveling with his family. Even for Mexico, a country often inured to the unrelenting violence and corruption that have gripped it for years, the arrest was nothing less than extraordinary, piercing the veil of invincibility that the nation’s armed forces have long enjoyed.

Remote learning is deepening the divide between rich and poor (Washington Post) LIMA, Peru—Hunched over a rickety table in his family’s three-room shanty, Missael Soayne wrote diligently on a sheet of graph paper. It was Friday morning, time for reading comprehension. His father, out of work, had warned him not to waste paper, so the baby-faced 14-year-old carefully drew small, tight letters on the page. Peru, the nation with the world’s highest coronavirus mortality rate, is also one of dozens of countries where schools nationwide remain closed on account of the pandemic, with no reopening date in sight. The quarantine here is particularly severe; children 14 and under are permitted out of their homes only one hour per day. Some families can afford workarounds. Students from families wealthy enough to pay for private schools have kept their educations going with private tutors and interactive classes on home computers. Public schoolchildren with Internet at home can access extended lessons online. Missael has none of that. The son of a single father of four who lost his job during the pandemic, Missael has seen his education reduced to a 30-minute lesson broadcast on state TV and phone texts containing brief instructions for the next day’s self-study. He submits assignments to be graded through his family’s one cellphone. From the Andes to Africa to the United States, this is what falling through the cracks looks like: A pandemic generation of poor children shut out of schools and learning. Already disadvantaged by poverty and inequity, they are now in danger of falling further behind. Globally, roughly a third of the world’s schoolchildren, or nearly 600 million, remain affected by pandemic-related school closures, according to UNICEF, the United Nations agency responsible for aid to children. Some 463 million schoolchildren worldwide, UNICEF estimates, lacking Internet, television or radio, have been left with almost no access to education.

Former French president Sarkozy charged with criminal association in probe of Libya ties (Washington Post) French prosecutors charged former president Nicolas Sarkozy with “criminal association” as part of an investigation into the financing of his 2007 presidential campaign, particularly its alleged ties to the government of then-Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafi. Although Sarkozy was charged in 2018 with corruption and embezzling funds from Libya, the new charges are a dramatic escalation—the most serious indictment a former head of state has faced in the history of France’s Fifth Republic, the governing system established in 1958. Sarkozy denied any wrongdoing. The specter of alleged Libyan ties clouded Sarkozy’s tenure in the Élysée Palace and has haunted him since he left the presidency after one term in 2012. Friday’s “criminal association” charge breathes new life into the allegations that Sarkozy illegally secured millions of dollars in cash from the Gaddafi regime to fund his 2007 presidential bid. The charges also raise new questions about Sarkozy’s motives in orchestrating the 2011 NATO operation against the Gaddafi government. Gaddafi’s regime was overthrown that year and he was captured and killed by opposition fighters.

China passes amendments outlawing insulting national flag (AP) The Standing Committee of China’s congress on Saturday passed amendments to a law that will criminalize the intentional insulting of the national flag and emblem, after anti-government protesters in Hong Kong last year desecrated the Chinese flag. According to the newly amended National Flag and National Emblem Law, which will take effect on Jan. 1, those who intentionally burn, mutilate, paint, deface or trample the flag and emblem in public will be investigated for criminal responsibility. The law also states that that national flag must not be discarded, displayed upside down or used in any manner that impairs the dignity of the flag. The revised law will also apply to offices in Hong Kong and Macao that are set up by the central government.

Could Japan finally leave the fax behind? (Washington Post) At the height of the coronavirus outbreak in Japan, one doctor couldn’t take it any longer. It wasn’t the patients. It was Japan’s bureaucracy. Every new infection, he complained, involved medical professionals compiling lengthy reports by hand and then faxing them to the public health office. “Come on, let’s stop this already,” he wrote in a widely shared tweet. Japan’s government, which sometimes seems hopelessly addicted to paper and faxes, also began to realize the system wasn’t working. Doctors were overwhelmed with paperwork, public health offices were drowning in faxes, which were a marvel of data exchange in the 1980s and are now more of a curiosity from another age. The reporting system “made it difficult to grasp the spread of infection in real time nationwide, and exhausted health center staff,” an independent expert panel concluded in a new report on Japan’s coronavirus response. “The new coronavirus crisis was also Japan’s ‘digital defeat.’ ” Japan often feels like a country that rushed to embrace an exciting high-tech future decades ago, and then abruptly stopped when boom turned to bust in the 1990s, leaving islands of older technologies like stranded relics. There is the Japan of bullet trains and humanoid robots. And there is the Japan of printed documents, humming faxes and an economy still largely dependent on cash. Its bureaucracy lives with at least one foot in the past, with a deeply ingrained desire to do things as they have always been done. Japan’s new prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, wants all this to change. He has set the digitalization of the bureaucracy and ultimately of Japan’s entire society as a key priority of his new administration. Yet the scale of the task should not be underestimated. A survey by the Japan Research Institute found that of 55,000 administrative procedures involving the central government, only around 4,000, or 7.5 percent, could be completed entirely online.

Hundreds of Thai protesters defy warnings in Bangkok (Reuters) Hundreds of Thais chanted at protests that popped up across Bangkok on Saturday in defiance of a crackdown on three months of demonstrations aimed at the government and the powerful monarchy. After police used water cannon for the first time against a protest by thousands of people in central Bangkok on Friday, protesters agreed to assemble at different points across the city on Saturday. Protesters demand the removal of Prayuth, who first took power in a 2014 coup. He rejects protesters’ accusations that he engineered last year’s election to keep power. Breaking a longstanding taboo, protesters have also called for curbs on the power of the monarchy.

New Zealand’s Ardern headed for landslide win and 2nd term (AP) Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was headed for a landslide win and a second term in office Saturday in New Zealand’s general election. With more than half the votes counted, Ardern’s liberal Labour Party had nearly double the support of its main challenger, the conservative National Party. Labour was on the cusp of winning an outright majority in Parliament, something that hasn’t happened since New Zealand implemented a proportional voting system 24 years ago. Typically, parties must form alliances to govern, but this time Ardern and Labour may be able to go it alone.

After Lebanese revolt’s fury, waning protests face long road (AP) A year ago, hundreds of thousands of Lebanese took to the streets protesting taxes and a rapidly deteriorating economic crisis. A spontaneous and hopeful nationwide movement was born, denouncing an entire political establishment that had for decades pushed Lebanon toward collapse. Today, as crises multiply and the country dives deeper into uncertainty and poverty, protests seem to have petered out. Even widespread anger over a devastating explosion at Beirut’s port on Aug. 4, blamed on government negligence, failed to re-ignite the movement. Some argue the protests lost momentum because of the political elite’s moves to hijack and weaken the movement. Protesters have been met with violence, arrest and intimidation. Others say Lebanese have become numb to incompetence and corruption among the political class. But Lebanon’s confessional-based power-sharing system also proved difficult to bring down. A revolt against the status quo means breaking a sectarian patronage network cultivated by the ruling elite that many in the divided population benefit from. Even if dissatisfied, some blame other factions for the country’s problems or fear change will give another sect power over them—a fear politicians eagerly stoke. “We don’t have one head of state, it’s a group of men, they have agreed to divide the spoils of the state at every level. It’s a system that you can hardly topple,” said Carmen Geha, associate professor in public administration and an activist.

[survivor-mesopotamia]

Ep. #2 - “Shit ain’t over till the fat lady sings and I didn’t warm my pipes.” (Cameron)

Day 4: Well. I survived my first tribal council of the season, and even though it went exactly according to plan, while I slept my entire day away, I'm still really hesitant to tell myself that I'm doing well on my tribe. I'm really nervous that my tribe mates are playing me, and that I'm really boo boo tha fool here. I called Megan post-tribal, and I was finally able to get some closure on something that happened between us in our personal lives, which felt really good. After that, she asked me about the idol, to which I had responded "Wait, Julian didn't tell you?", which hopefully sows some seeds of doubt in Megan about Julian. Ideally, if the Enlil tribe has to go back to tribal council, the four of us can bear witness to a Megan vs. Julian war. Because unfortunately, the connections I have outside Enlil, are shared with either Julian or Megan. If Megan and Julian are going after each other pre-merge, or during a swap scenario, I don't have to share those connections anymore. After that, Megan and I just talked about the nudes we received during quarantine ~ I then promptly ran to Will to tell him about the potential crack I just formed between Julian and Megan, which was met with genuine excitement. I think I'm really gaining Will's trust, and I think we vibe so well together. Love that guy! Overall, it wasn't a very productive day because I woke up at 4:30p PST. Love that for me, thanks for shading me @ Tribal Bodhi.

going into this scavenger hunt as the tribe that went to tribal last is worrysome. It's a challenge that's fully dependent on our activity, so we are at a serious disadvantage against the other two tribes that get to choose someone less active to sit out. We don't have that luxury. The point/life system eases the blow, however, since we can get less active players 1 life while more active players can get 3. In case we lose, I'm trying to connect with everyone on the tribe. I really don't want to vote anyone out though. I have an alliance with Julian and JJ, and one with Will on the side. Chrissa wants to work with Julian, JJ and myself, and I think Megan and JJ have something on the side. I'm nervous for who would be the target in the vote, and any vote would hurt all of our games collectively. Hopefully we win because the next vote will not be easy AT ALL.

Done w typing this sheet

jj and zachary are so fucking annoying to this challenge and if i vote for you first at the swap, its probably because youre typing too much during this challenge sorry not sorry xoxo - sincerely johnny a month from now

let me be clear with andrew I was not calling his hosting unfair i was calling the fact that a majority green item giving him a point unfair not the hosting but lack of yellow, also i have a headache i don't feel that good. and I just don't think zach should have had a point for it nothing against hosting obviously i watch a movie trivia thing where literally they have a challenge to challenge any questions that are unfair, that doesn't mean they are calling the question writers or the answer writers unfair. 

Zach just won the tribal challenge for us which is fantastic. We can maintain the illusion of a unified tribe longer, which keeps us together in a swap situation, and Zach has clearly painted a challenge target on himself over the last two challenges which will make him go before me if our Triforce ever becomes the minority. I'm really happy with my position in the game right now

me and monty trying to find the idol and decode this annoying ass video https://imgur.com/a/lu7sbMu

Forgive me father for I have sinned it's been approximately three days since my last confession so far can't complain really we be winning they hating we be riding pretty damn clean I've got a majoritu alliance I didn't start so odds of it falling around me and being the first voted out slim to none thank the sweet baby jesis and all that good shit. Oh well that's all for now

JULIAN’S HOST CHAT GUEST, ZEE:

I am filling in a confessional because you told me to. I am in front of my fan because it's hot. I'm thinking that it seems pretty stupid to ask me for a confessional. Julian's prod chat isn't very interesting because he's distracted.

also just threw out madison's name to johnny. if this shit backfires on me ill be ):

https://youtu.be/Pqck1gayfJU

https://youtu.be/FMay7NycsPw

yo yo yo homies!!! fuck the scavenger hunt and the mobile Skype app !! Lowkey scared but I think I’m close with everyone on the tribe except madi soooooooooo that’s probably who will go tonight. I’ve connected a lot with Monty and am hoping we can work together closely moving forward 💕not sure how useful my relationship with Zach is going to be come swap/merge bc it seems like he’s ALREADY making himself a target like the big doof he is. More later 💋

https://youtu.be/Qg47yupj1bQ

https://youtu.be/vUK8A1qWVoA

Hello tumblr survivor world! Sorry I didnt confess for episode 1, I was going to but i accidentally exited out of the page when i almost finished writing it. Anyways, it was just a cast assessment for my tribe so tl;dr everyone on my tribe is great and its really sad that we have to vote someone out now. So this whole weekend I was away so I was REALLY worried that I would be voted out since I sat out of the challenge. But after talking to Johnny and Isabelle, it seems like Madison will be voted out tonight. Which is so bad bc this her first game in a year, but hey it's our first vote and it's not me so it's not really the time to make a stand. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Okay I took a break from writing this confessional and there's moreeeeeeeee so part 2 I guess. So I had a call with Johnny and we came up with an alliance of me, him, Isabelle, and Benji. What an iconic alliance, right? But also while Johnny and I talked we got onto the topic of idols and why it is that there hasn't been an idol post yet. I brought up that wayyyyyy back when in Malaysia and some other games around that time, some of the idol hunts were less clear cut. We ended up looking at the blog and clicking the "idol system" tab and it brought us to some weird crab video with audio that sounds like a pokemon cry? Idk part of me thinks its just a joke but I also have to consider that it might be SOMETHING. It said remember to like and subscribe so I sent a screenshot of me liking and subscribing to see if that would do anything but nope. Johnny said he'd do some thinking about it and get back to me later if he figures something out. Also tribal seems super clear cut so I'm a bit less worried now but y'know how it is I can't not worry about tribal.

i just spent $8 on a spectogram and STILL cant find this fucking idol im gonna kms... monty im sorry im steam rolling ahead looking for this thing without telling you, but thank you for the first clue xoxo... if i get stumped in the future ill reach out for SURE (but idt you trust me that much so this seems kinda valid to me) ((FOUR HOURS LATER: i told monty lololol)) ALSO FOR FUCKS SAKE I think madison is gonna go, and truthfully, im fine with it because it's the easiest thing to do due to her poor performance in the past few challenges and just being the least AROUND the tribe, but i know that it'd probably be better for me long term to get rid of abby because i just dont see her as a long term ally for me. i think she's close to JJ and Megan on the other tribe, and she's becoming much more acclimated to the tumblr survivor community that i just BET that she maybe has an additional connection on the rookie tribe. If I can attempt to break that up before we get to a swap, I think that's what im going to have to do figure out if we lose another challenge before a swap... i dont really want to see ANYBODY else go besides abby if im thinking about a second boot. i bet it wont be easy to take her out tho also, if madison goes, this is like...... lowkey vindication for game changers???? last night i talked about this with monty and i was like hmmmm "is it ugly to bring up past game history?" and his response was "not if it's within the same series" .... so. vindication

---

omg i just told madison how to find the idol system thing i hope she doesnt tell anyone i told her about it LMAO........ this almost seems too easy.i got added to two alliances today. why do i not feel safe? is it me going? WTF IS GOING ON

excited to be first boot because no one will TALK TO ME! 

Things haven’t changed much since my last confessional! As far as I know the tribe hasn’t started into alliances and we’re all riding some excitement at having so far avoided tribal. I think the rest of the tribe and I are all feeling good and just focusing on making the tribe switch without losing any members.

from round 2 https://youtu.be/fk002uG2HoI

Hi sorry I forgot to do a confessional this round so this will be short imma just say a few things 1. I don’t trust julian one bit he can stop being shady to me 2. I can’t believe we aren’t going to tribal I’m so fkn happy i was able to pull out the win for our tribe because I didn’t want to lose anybody else 3. I love and adore will with all of my being and he’s my number 1 ally right now 4. I find it highly doubtful that there’s only one idol in this game and that you can’t find it until merge but that’s as far as I can get in the idol search for now so I guess there’s nothing I can do about it 5. I’m still having fun can’t wait to fuck up another flash game yay!!!

My Purple edit is amazing right now. But having played more games than most of these newbies, I have decided to take on the role of teacher and becoming more of a "role model" for these newbies. I feel like I have the closest bond with Zach, and I need to get a little closer with Collin. I have Grace from past games, and then there are the others who I do not really have any strong bonds with at the moment. I guess I need to start going to them more and show that I want to work with them.

https://youtu.be/yhwXzqrTcsA Confessional 2 for round 2

https://youtu.be/TVnpwqc8XLY

Madison voted out 6-1

[hysterialevi]

In the Smoke pt. 28 (Cobblebats)

From Bruce’s POV

THE NEXT MORNING

Muffled screaming, sirens shrieking, guns blazing, fire crackling--my head was filled with these monstrous noises, and it caused me to twist and turn in my sleep, despite Oz’s comforting presence next to me. My eyes were still closed, and my mind hadn’t quite woken up just yet, but even then, I could tell something was wrong.

Forcing my eyes open, I took a good look at my surroundings and made sure my suspicions weren’t correct. So far, nothing appeared out of the ordinary. The bedroom was the same as it had been last night, there was no obvious sign of any threat, and Oz remained pressed against my side, sleeping peacefully. Though, regardless of the content atmosphere, the sounds creeping in from outside were still able to break the disguise.

Dragging a hand down my face, I thought back to what occurred between me and Oz the previous night, still unable to fully believe that it actually happened. It was probably foolish, considering my current state, but something about him was just irresistible at that moment, and I went along with it. For the first time in...forever...everything seemed to fall into place. 

Besides, with everything going on in Gotham recently, there was no guarantee that I’d have another chance. Oz and I were both in precarious positions of this war, and with Lady Arkham still on the loose, things were more dangerous than ever.

Slipping out of bed, I groggily searched the floor for my clothes, shuffling through sloppy piles of fabric before lazily pulling them on and heading downstairs, leaving Oz alone. My dad wasn’t home at the moment--as usual--and Alfred was nowhere to be seen either. Perhaps he had driven off somewhere with Dad, or was down in the Batcave, looking after all the “Bat” gear. Well, whatever the case was, the solitude only added to the unsettling vibe that just wouldn’t leave me alone.

Wandering into the living room, chills began crawling over my skin due to a sudden drop in the temperature, and once I found the source of the cold wind, I only realized that the front door was slightly ajar, barely swaying in the weak breeze. Who the hell had opened the door? I didn’t hear anyone come in.

Someone was inside the house. Someone I didn’t know.

Carefully approaching the suspicious scene, I grabbed a nearby letter opener and braced myself as I inched closer, ready for anything. Besides the open door, there weren’t any other clues suggesting a break-in, and as far as I could tell, no one was around.

“...Dad?” I called out,”... are you home?” No answer, just as I expected.

For a while, everything seemed to be normal, and nothing appeared to be too out of place, but that only raised my alarm level even further. Whoever broke in obviously didn’t want to be detected, and there was no doubt they were still here, but they left enough of a hint to make me aware of their presence. They wanted me to find them.

Finally reaching the door, I took a good look around the foyer, double-checking to see if anyone was going to jump at me. For a second, there wasn’t a single sign of movement, and I actually felt myself calming down a little, until, out of nowhere, a bullet suddenly bolted from behind me and past my head, carving directly through the edge of my ear.

Reeling over in pain, I briefly stumbled around for a moment before whirling around with my letter opener held in front of me, prepared to face my attacker.

Having been discovered, the madman revealed himself at last and charged at me like an angry bull, his knife raised in the air as he threw himself onto me, attempting to drive the weapon into my chest.

Judging by the symbol that had been painted on his mask, he was clearly one of the Children of Arkham, and I had a pretty good idea as to why Vicki would’ve wanted me dead. After all, not only had I pretty much betrayed the organization, I had also stolen her right-hand man from out her grasp, and nearly gotten her best sniper killed. If I were Lady Arkham, I would’ve wanted me dead too.

Struggling to shove the slightly larger man off me, I did everything I could to keep the knife’s blade from reaching my skin, and held his arms in place with an iron, but quivering grip. As much as I hated to admit it, Gideon had wounded me worse than I thought, and with every passing second, the pain in my abdomen only grew more intense, causing my strength to weaken.

“Not so tough now, are ya, Bruce Wayne...?” He taunted. “But I guess you were never tough in the first place. Just some spoiled, insane brat...I dunno what Lady Arkham ever saw in you.”

Just then, with a sudden hit to the head, the man came to an abrupt halt and his entire body went limp, his jaw falling open as blood started to spray down his forehead and he fell off, revealing Oz behind him. There was a...battle-axe...in the man’s head?

“You all right, love?” He questioned, rushing over to me. I nodded.

“I’m fine, but...where the hell did you find a goddamn battle-axe?”

Oz chuckled. “I know it’s a strange choice, but I didn’t really have many options. I was just on my way downstairs when I heard a gunshot. Ripped this bad boy from one of the armor suits decorated ‘round your fancy house. Always wanted to kill someone the old-fashioned way.”

I let out an exhausted sigh. “Well, I’m glad that at least one of us is having fun. I’ll have to buy more of those suits.”

Helping me onto a nearby couch, Oz grabbed a TV remote from the coffee table.

“Not before we deal with Lady Arkham.” He turned on the news. There were images of cars on fire, police officers scurrying around everywhere, civilians hiding inside the closest buildings they could find, and blood staining the streets. It looked like a battlefield.

“She’s been tearing the city apart left and right with her bare hands, just searching for the two of us,” Oz said. “Your father’s been out there all morning, fighting her men, but not even Batman’s enough to stop this chaos, I’m afraid. She’s settled down at Wayne Enterprises and collected a decent amount of hostages--Regina included; says she’ll kill ‘em all if we don’t show up.”

I glanced over at the man who attacked me mere minutes ago, biting my lip in thought. The darkly-colored, ornate battle-axe was still engraved in his head--and attached to his belt, I could see a functional walkie-talkie just waiting to be used. Sauntering over to him, I stood right next to his body, and with one strong pull, hoisted the weapon out of his skull before resting it on my shoulder.

“Then let’s give her an audience, shall we?”

Oz didn’t look so sure. “No offence, Bruce, but you’ve been shot twice now. Look at your ear! D’you really think you can--”

“--Oh, Bruce isn’t going to greet Lady Arkham,” I corrected. Oz quirked a brow in confusion.

“It’s time that the Unknown got some closure with his boss. After all, he’s the one who started all this chaos. It seems only fitting that he’d be the one to end it.” 

Axe still in hand, I reached down and took the walkie-talkie from the man’s belt. “I’ll let my dad know about everything that’s going on--try to come up with some sort of plan. Meanwhile, you should get ready. Lady Arkham isn’t going to put herself in jail, and I certainly can’t bring her there alone. I’m gonna need your help, Oz.”

At first, Oz seemed a bit hesitant, but complied in the end nonetheless, sighing in defeat.

“As much as I hate sendin’ you into battle like this, Bruce, this shit has to stop. Gotham won’t stand much longer with Lady Arkham in charge, and I’ll be damned if I let you fight her on your own. I’m in.”

I smiled. “Thank you, Oz.” 

Pressing the button on the walkie-talkie, I held the device up to my lips as my smile turned into a smirk. 

“You hear that, Lady Arkham? The Penguin and the Unknown are gonna give you the audience you want, and you’re gonna wish to-hell-and-back you had never invited us to your damn doorstep. Gideon couldn’t kill me, your little assassin here couldn’t either, and you sure as hell won’t be the one to finish the job. I’m coming for you.”

A low laugh came from the other side. It was Lady Arkham. 

“Is that the sound of confidence I hear?” she hissed, “...or arrogance? ...The two are often easily confused.”

I gave her one last response before making my way to the Batcave.

“It’s the sound of someone who’s no longer afraid.” I replied. “You can hit me with all you want, Vicki. I may be able to handle it, I may not...But I’m Gotham born-and-raised, and if there’s anything you should know about people like me, it’s that we don’t take kindly to terrorists fucking with our city. The moment you declared war on Gotham, you made both the biggest, and last mistake of your life. The best you can do now is go down with a fight, and I’m more than happy to give you that chance.”

I could see Oz grinning at me, his face full of pride. I put the walkie-talkie down.

“Bruce...out.”