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stellaseverides · 4 years ago

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welcome to my masterlist! here, you can find all the fanfiction’s i have written! just click the links (:

ao3 / rating / tumblr post

ongoing:

hold me close (tiny dancer) formally “little one” / rated T / tumblr

teen pregnancy au

“how did this happen? god, i’m gonna be a dad? fuck. kie? kie are you crying-”

“it’s not your baby!” she yells, frustration filling her whole body. she wishes the baby, and pope, and fucking jj and just everybody would fuck off and leave her alone. “please get out.”

pope doesn’t move. “then who’s is it? we were on the island like a week after we slept together.” jj appears in the door and the way she looks at the tanned blonde boy is enough for pope to know.

“it’s jj’s.”

jj maybank doesn’t date / rated T / tumblr

a collection of drabbles in which kie and jj are dating post-island and jj messes up a lot (and sometime kie does too)

jj maybank doesn’t date. he fucks. he fucks and then he leaves.

but ever since coming back from the island, after holding his limp body in her arms, trying to stop him from being eaten up by the ocean, things have been different.

jealousy, jealousy / rated M / tumblr

kiara’s ex (aka the dude she lost her virginity to) comes into town and jj isn’t happy about it.

“landry johnson is in town.” jj deadpans as kie walks up the stairs of the chateau’s porch.

“it’s nice to see you too, JJ.” kie replies, rolling her eyes at him.

jiara + overstimulation / rated E

jiara + family fic / rated T

kie running her hands through jj’s hair to comfort him / rated T

jj and kie cuddling for warmth on a cold night / rated T

ongoing:

red velvet with black lace / rated T / tumblr

the AU where Archie runs a bakery and Veronica uses it as a way to escape her life.

when she moves back to New York after some time away, Veronica is hit with more than one surprise.

love could be labelled as poison and i’d still drink it for you / rated E / tumblr

A smut collection for Veronica and Archie after the time jump.

teenage dreams / rated M / tumblr

A collection of short and (mostly) sexy varchie drabbles based on their teenage years.

(canon-compliant and alternative universe)

the sun in the sky (you know how i feel) / rated E / tumblr

friends with benefits au

Archie Andrews breaks up with his perfect girlfriend to save himself from having the worst senior year. He has a plan to win his girl back once he has the experience he needs, but his sister’s best friend makes the seventeen-year-old question everything.

where life begins (and love never ends) / rated T / tumblr

A collection of fluffy, family drabbles nobody asked.

to riverdale and back again / rated T / tumblr

missing varchie scenes from riverdale season 1 & 2

the twelve days of christmas with archie and veronica / rated T / tumblr

12 prompts for 12 days leading up to/after christmas!

completed:

say you’ll remember me / rated M / tumblr

archie and veronica get into an accident and their lives change rapidly.

It’s rare to get a sad ending in a movie, she has learned this through her entire life. So why doesn’t it happen in real life? Why does love hurt like this? Why can’t she be in the movies?

it’s just sex / rated T / tumblr

they’re friends and it’s just sex. right?

all but a dream / not rated / tumblr

just a short piece from 1x10

it feels good (to be up above the clouds) / rated E / tumblr

(theme 3 for kink week 2020)

archie and veronica take some bad jingle jangle that leads them to having sex to stop their hearts from giving out...

lacy state of mind / rated E / tumblr

(theme 6 for kink week 2020)

archie has a day to himself, so he uses his time to get off to his girl... with her panties.

love is like water / rated E / tumblr

a drabble for @andsmile

based on the incredible lake michigan, archie and veronica can’t keep their hands to themselves at cheryl’s pool party.

what we do is secret / rated M / tumblr

a drabble for @lostinlodge

archie and veronica haven't been dating for long when they get caught out hiding their relationship from their friends.

fire lies within every kiss / rated E / tumblr

a drabble for @jiaaraa

just some varchie smut based on the amazing fic fire meets gasoline written by the beautiful katiekins

bath sex occurs

lover / rated T / tumblr

a drabble for @theeternalblue

a few times veronica calls archie “lover” and he gets flustered and embarrassed.

now (and forever) / rated M / tumblr

a drabble for @inejz-ghafa

missing scenes from 4x04, halloween. Smut ahead.

uno dos tres / rated E / tumblr

birthday gift for @tuesdayschildd

munroe moore has seen archie andrews do a lot of things, but this? this changes everything. in a bad way? he doesn’t think so.

don’t leave me again / rated T / tumblr

archie and veronica through-out the years before coming to a disagreement about their baby's life.

but i need you / rated T / tumblr

1x04 rewrite. after grundy is forced out of town, archie feels like he has nobody.

it’s not christmas without you / rated T / tumblr

archie and veronica decorating their christmas tree

intricate + varchie / rated M

beggie + spin / rated T

no regrets / rated T

distract me / rated T

truth or dare / rated T

naked / rated T

dance with me / rated T

teach me / rated M

you look so sexy / rated M

i’m not drunk, you are / rated T

he’s not into you, move on / rated T

hot cocoa accident / rated T

varchie x eloping au / rated T

drunk veronica / rated T

#jiara #varchie #outer banks #riverdale #iz’s masterlist #fic masterlist #iz’s writing #jiara fanfic #varchie fanfiction

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suburbanbeatnik · 4 years ago

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The short and very miserable life of Napoleon II, aka the Eaglet, aka Franz, Duke of Reichstadt: PART ONE

Napoleon’s son with Marie Louise, his second wife, the daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor Habsburg Emperor Francis II, is known by a variety of names: Napoleon II, the Eaglet, l’Aiglon, King of Rome, or Franz, Duke of Reichstadt. It seems to me this kid barely gets mentioned as a footnote in most popular biographies of Napoleon. Of course Napoleon loved kids, and was over the moon that he finally had his own legitimate child, his own son and heir. He doted on this adorable and spirited blond moppet, being super affectionate with him, playing with him, spending lots of time with him, bringing him into his study to cuddle with him as he read dispatches, or tossing him up into the air when the toddler pulled on his coat-tails.

It’s very sweet and heart-warming to read all these adorable father-son moments, but honestly it’s depressing as hell to realize the best years of the Eaglet’s life was up to the age of four.

When he parted from his father after his defeat in Russia, it was all horribly and sickeningly downhill from there.

So I was reading Octave Aubry’s biography The King of Rome: Napoleon II. It’s not a new bio by any means— it’s from 1932. But it is thoroughly researched and very well written, with lots of cites from various Viennese archives, and Jesus Christ, it is depressing. The Eaglet was physically and emotionally abused by the Habsburg side of his family and by their minions for most of his very short life, and it makes for a harrowing read.

What did his mother do to stop it, you may ask? Unfortunately, the answer is absolutely nothing.

TW: CHILD ABUSE

So, the best that could be said about his mother, Marie Louise, was that she was a weak character. If I wanted to be more blunt, I’d say she was spineless enough to the point I wonder if she was even a vertebrate.

She was, of course, raised to hate Napoleon as a child. But then she met him and fell in love with him. She was very eager to be loved and do everything he asked her to do, even if (as Andrew Roberts points out in his own mammoth biography of Napoleon) she wasn’t the brightest bulb. But perhaps she was a perfectly cromulent empress when war wasn’t on her doorstep and she wasn’t asked to make decisions: but once the war WAS on her doorstep and decision-making was called of her, she fell apart like wet tissue. As Aubry explains:

That it would be a capital mistake for Marie Louise and her son to leave Paris was painfully evident to everyone, even to the Empress herself. But no initiative could have been expected of her. Willing, always of the best intentions, she was a passive creature both by temperament and education. She could never be more than an instrument in the hands of others. But Hortense, who had a resolute spirit behind that bleat of hers, showed both intelligence and heart in the circumstances. She was waiting for Marie Louise when the council was over, and said to her:

‘Sister dear, you must realize that in leaving Paris you will be neutralizing the defense and so lose your crown. I observe that you are making the sacrifice with great resignation.’

The Empress replied gently, almost humbly:

‘You are right. It is not my fault— the Council has decided that way.’

She was hoping vaguely for a letter from the Emperor, a counter-order that would permit her to remain. [Aubry pg 54]

At this point Louise, after fleeing Paris, wanted to be reunited with Napoleon, but she just cried and wrung her hands, as her lady-in-waiting Mme Lannes, in cahoots with Talleyrand, poured poison into her ear about how Napoleon never loved her. Then Talleyrand conspired to have all of Louise’s stuff stolen. The soon-to-be-ex-empress continued to cry and do nothing, only to go “to her room to collapse on her knees at her bedside.”

Anyway, her father swooped in and picked her up, and Metternich arranged to have Neipperg, a dashing, managing middle-aged man in uniform (Louise definitely had a type), seduce her. Within the space of weeks, she immediately changed her tune with regards to her husband, and wanted to have nothing more to do with him. As for the Eaglet, though he ended up in Vienna, he was in the care of his beloved governess, Mme de Montesquiou, aka “Maman ‘Quiou.” He was in good hands while Maman ‘Quiou was allowed to stay with him, but she was deathly afraid of being sent away, since she knew Louise was indifferent to her child and would never do the right thing, now that she was the puppet of her father and of Metternich.

With her son whom she had not seen for three months and who was enraptured at her return, she [Marie Louise] concerned herself less and less. In spite of the caresses and the gifts that were showered upon her, Mme. de Montesquiou saw things clearly and passed her judgment. Writing to her husband who was urging her to leave Vienna she said:

“My dear, do not call it my duty to return to France. As I have already advised you, you would be putting me in the greatest embarrassment, and my conscience would trouble me all my life long… If that child has a mother, very well, I could place him in her hands and be satisfied. But she is nothing less than that: she is more indifferent to his fate than the veriest stranger in his service.”

And to an intimate she confided in disgust at what she suspected and intuited:

“I have seen painful things, and I keep seeing them every day.” [Aubry pg 81]

Unfortunately, in 1815, Maman ‘Quiou was sent away. The Eaglet wept for two days straight, and was put into the care of a certain Countess Mitrovsky, “a creature of the Empress Maria-Ludovica and an intimate of Neipperg.” The loyal Meneval, who was also to be sent away, said good-bye to the little boy, and the change in the child’s demeanor was striking.

He was struck by the child’s earnest and melancholy air. He did not run to meet Meneval with his usual lively gestures and gay exclamations. He watched him, as he entered, with the utmost indifference. Countess Mitrovsky was with him. Every few seconds he would look at her as though in fear of a reprimand. After a few conventional phrases, Meneval took his hand and asked him if he had anything to say to his papa, for he was going soon to see him. The child looked at him sadly and went away, still silent, towards the embrasure of a distant window. Meneval bade good-bye to the Countess and Mme. Soufflot [one of the few remaining French waiting women], then, as he was leaving, stepped over to the little boy who stood watching him from the window. He bent low to bid him good-bye. And at that moment, he felt a tug at his coat and heard a trembling little voice say:

“Monsieur Meva, you will tell him that I still love him dearly.”

He was only four years old and for fourteen months he had not seen his father…

When he reached the antechamber, Meneval burst into tears. [Aubry, pgs 89-90]

Not long after this, the young King was delivered into the care of a tutor named Count Dietrichstein. The Eaglet, who was “dragged” by Countess Mitrovsky to meet Dietrichstein, refused to have anything to do with him, and Dietrichstein, while weeping, dramatically claimed to a friend “he cannot love me” as long as the last French women, even the aged nurse, were in Franz’s service. So Mme Soufflot, her daughter Fanny, and the others were banished, leaving Franz completely alone.

No more warmth about him, no more deep interest, no more deep interest, no soft hands to stroke his curls, no arms to clasp him too tight when he returned weary from a drive, no knees to spread him to let him rest, no more smiling reproofs for his shortcomings, no more love in short— real love, that is disinterested, unselfish love, love for himself and love for what he was. His mother was soon to leave him, to ascend to her throne in Parma. HIs grandfather Franz treated him kindly; but he had always sacrificed him for the interests of State and would sacrifice him again, if the Chancellor [Metternich] so ordered. As for his uncles, aunts, and cousins of Austria, however well they might treat him, however generous they might be, as certain of them were, they could not— and this was natural— help seeing in him, first of all, the son of Napoleon.

He was born with an affectionate disposition. He had loved his father infinitely. With his mother he had been tender and gentle. He had adored Mme de Montesquiou and Fanny Soufflot. Now he was compelled to close his heart. Brought up by men, raised only by men, but still too much of a child to become a man, he turned inward, escaped into the little universe he had made for himself with his memories of former days. For as young as he was, he had no hope, and he did not know there was a future. He was going to grow up that way, not unhappy if one only looks at the material content of life, but if one thinks of the needs of the heart, certainly not happy. [Aubry pgs 97-98]

Count Dietrichstein decided that he was going to stamp all the Frenchness out of the Eaglet’s mind, for he must become 100% a Habsburg. Nothing but German would be spoken to him, and when he clung to speaking French, crying that he didn’t want to be a German, that he wished to be a Frenchman, he was chastised, deprived of play and outings, and then, with the Emperor Franz’s approval, actually whipped. Yes— he was whipped. When he was only five years old, because he wouldn’t speak German.

But when even that wouldn’t work, Marie Louise sat him on her knee and told him solemnly that he must speak German to please his grandfather, which finally did the trick. Not long after this, she went to the little court in Parma. She requested for her son to go with her, but when Metternich refused, she acquiesced meekly.

Once so light-hearted and gay, the child became timid and mistrustful, and after the departure of his friends, the French women, and would lie to protect himself. In such cases he would be punished, not harshly, but not gently either. He shrank more and more into himself, accordingly, and since the world had grown hostile, he now began to offer it only a surface of indifference. [Aubry, pg 100]

He began to act out, destroying his copy books and mutilating his toys, but would also become sensitive to injustice or cruelty, like a dog being whipped or a bird eating a worm. He was told he would no longer be called Napoleon: he was to be called Franz. When he objected, he was “promptly silenced.” He became used to the name, and from here on out he was usually called Franz.

Franz still fought with Dietrichstein, who commented on his “laziness” and “ill will,” and his many quarrels with the prince, although he was happy to note in his letters to Marie Louise that it ended with “my victories.” Metternich had the boy closely followed, reports sent regularly and classified into a “ponderous file.” Meanwhile, his mother, off in Parma, when she wasn’t writing letters to her son exhorting him to pious obedience, made the feeblest attempt to defend the interests of the newly christened Franz— Franz was cut off from the succession of Parma after Metternich decided that this was in the best interests of the monarchy in Italy, Marie Louise was “readily brought into line by Neipperg, who owned her now body and soul.”

…She expressed herself as satisfied in a private letter of October, 1817:

“My son’s future has been determined. You know that I was never ambitious for thrones or States for him, but hoped he would be the richest and most charming gentleman in Austria.” [Aubry pg 110]

Meanwhile, Napoleon was kept on the island of St Helena, waiting for news from his son, but he heard not a word from his wife or a line from his son for six years. When he died, he was looking at Franz’s portrait, and left him many legacies, such as his books, engravings, papers, coffee service and the family house in Ajaccio, but Franz saw none of it. His mother, who was pregnant at the time with Neipperg’s son, didn’t even tell her son of his father’s death. She refused to accept Napoleon’s heart, which his will bequeathed her, because, as Aubry says, “she was more interested in the inheritance: she filed objection to the transfer of the six millions on deposit with Laffitte out of which the bequests of the Emperor were to be paid. She would not permit Marchand [Napoleon’s valet] to deliver to her at Parma Napoleon’s laces and the bracelet made of his hair.” Napoleon even begged her to take his last physician, Dr Antommarchi, into her service: she refused to even meet with him, palming the doctor off on Neipperg, who glad-handed Antommachi and pushed him out the door when he started asking too many questions about Franz.

Louise did moan about Napoleon’s suffering on St Helena while she was giving birth to Neipperg’s child, but she promptly forgot it. “She was a weak and frivolous soul. She would have grieved longer over her pet parrot, Marguerite. She even expressed astonishment that Madame Mere should have asked the British government for Napoleon’s body.” [Aubry pg 120]

One of the junior tutors named Foresti was given the task to tell the ten year old Franz that his father was dead.

The child began to weep and he wept a long time, doubtless calling up in his memory the pale face which had softened to such tenderness whenever it drew near his own. He sat down near the window, his cheeks, and his hands that covered them, wet with tears. Foresti himself was deeply moved and tried to comfort him. But the child did not hear him. [Aubry pg 122]

As Prokesch, his best friend of his short adult life, put it later:

“The prince wept for a whole day, almost without stopping. Then, suddenly, he mastered his emotions, dried his eyes, rose and paced the floor up and down. Not a word came from his lips. And several weeks passed before he alluded to his father’s death. He felt he must keep his grief to himself.”

Meanwhile, Franz was now thinking in German, but he still rebelled against his teachers, who, for years, beat him with the ferule (a type of paddle that resembled a long and large wooden spoon, the circular head often pierced with holes, and sometimes as large as a child’s head)— his grandfather the Emperor authorized “great severity” against him when he was being “stubborn”— but this stopped when it was clear beatings no longer had any affect. Except for brief months of pleasure during summer vacations at the castle of Persenbeug where Marie Louise deigned to leave Parma, Franz, who was completely without friends, was kept in solitude. He responded by withdrawing into himself and going into a fantasy world.

He dreamed, and gained freedom by dreaming. As a small boy he loved to play: now that he was growing up, it was still what he liked to do best. Never did child love to dream more than he: that escape from time, from responsibilities, from disappointments, that journey without end, where ideas, colors and forms mingled according to one’s fantasy! As soon as he could flee the watchful care of Foresti or of Collin, instead of working at his translations, his themes, or his arithmetic exercises, he would open the huge gilt-edged volumes given to him on his birthdays by his grandfather or the Archdukes and leaning his head on his hand, began to dream with his eyes upon the awkward, rather ridiculous illustrations of those days, in which one could see beplumed generals prancing besides their armies with spent cannonballs lying at their horses’ feet, while down in one corner an aide-de-camp would be reading an order and in the other an almoner kneeling besides a stretcher to confess a dying soldier.

Sometimes, bending low over an atlas, he would travel in spirit far out over the blue seas to the continents bordered in loud colors. One day, Matthias Collin came into the room and found him, with his cheek resting on a map. The little prince did not get up at his approach. His teacher thought he was asleep. But on going towards him, he saw the child’s eyes were wide open. The boy gave a start of surprise and blushed. He had been dreaming. Collin was more indulgent than Foresti. He did not punish him. [Aubry pg 132]

* * *

More to come in part two!

#napoleon II #franz duke of reichstadt #l'aiglon #eaglet #reichstadt #marie louise #napoleon #napoleon bonaparte #octave aubry #king of rome #depressing shit #I'm sorry guys

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gvbejvmesmichaels · 4 years ago

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Task 14: Genderbent

Legal Name: Gabriella Antonia James-Michaels Usually Goes By: Ella Michaels Why: She only kept the James-Michaels because she didn’t want the James name to end with her. She’s never felt as though she was a James or a Conrad. Michaels is the only last name that’s ever felt like hers. Former Names: Gabriella Antonia James (maiden), Gabriella Antonia Conrad (first marriage) Nicknames: Ella (everyone), Briella (Jocelyn) Relationship Status: Married to Jocelyn James-Michaels Past Relationships: Nathan Conrad (ex-husband) Children: Andrew Conrad, Constance Conrad, Arabella James-Michaels (by adoption) Occupation: Professional Tattoo Artist and amateur sculptor. She co-owns a tattoo shop called The Collective with Kaia Johnson where they specialize in Skin Artistry. Higher Education: B.A. in Art History from California State University Los Angeles (prisoner education program), the required certifications to become a professional tattoo artist Tattoos: She honestly doesn’t know how many tattoos she has. She can tell you that all of her tattoos have been done by herself, by Kaia, or by one of the apprentices at The Collective. Her two prized tattoos are 1) her first tattoo she ever did: a crude rendering of her brother’s name on her inner left arm done by stick and poke, 2) the tattoo on her ring finger she talked Joss into giving her. Her wife had been uncomfortable with the idea, and she definitely went too deep in places, but Ella is beyond proud of the shaky Joss printed on her finger. Quirks: Growing up Ella wasn’t allowed to wear pants, which of course means that now she lives in pants and shorts. Ella refuses to wear dresses or skirts. She even wore a fitted pantsuit to her wedding.

Ella James was born and raised in Roswell, New Mexico to extremely conservative parents. Her father was incredibly religious and forced his religious beliefs on his family. He had very strict rules about how Ella was to dress and behave. Her mother was one of those women that wanted nothing more than to be a homemaker. She was more than happy to go along with all her husband’s strict rules because she liked the idea of rules and structure. That was also probably why Ella’s parents only had two children: Ella and her younger brother, George. On the outside, the family appeared to be the American ideal: Husband, wife, and a pair of kids. On the inside, it was hell.

Life in the James household for Ella meant that she was supposed to dress modestly, speak only when spoken to, and only engage in activities that were becoming of women. If her father had it his way, Ella wouldn’t have even gone to school. The only places she was able to go to were school, the family antique shop, and church. So, she took advantage of every opportunity to get out of the house. She signed up for extra art classes, extra home economic classes, and even multiple bible study classes -- anything to get out of the house. Her only saving grace was her little brother, George.

George and Ella were attached at the hip. While Ella’s world outside of the house was art, her brother’s world was aliens. He lived in his own extraterrestrial world, which often brought bullies his way. The worst of the bullies was a boy in Ella’s grade: Nathan Conrad. As much as Nathan harassed George, all it took was a smile from Ella for Nathan to completely forget any bad feelings towards George. It didn’t take long for Ella to figure out that if she dated Nathan, George wouldn’t get picked on any more. As an added perk, her father loved Nathan, which meant Ella was allowed out of the house if she was out on a date with Nathan. So she went with it.

For as long as she could remember, she knew she was a lesbian. She has a very distinct memory of watching Smokey and the Bandit, seeing Sally Fields changing out of her wedding dress in the car and being very jealous of Burt Reynolds. She knew right then and there that she liked girls. The problem was that her family would never accept her sexuality, and she knew it. She’d sat through enough bible study classes to know that her parents believed homosexuality was a sin. So, she knew she needed to play straight until George was out of high school, and they could get out of town. Of course, life had different plans.

When Ella got pregnant her senior year of high school, she knew she was screwed. Lesbian or not, she knew the only option that didn’t end with her losing custody of her child to her parents would be to marry Nathan. Having a kid at 18 and marrying her high school sweetheart, wasn’t the life she wanted for herself, but it was the life she’d been given. Nathan was very similar to her father so she knew what was expected of her. She was supposed to stay at home and raise their son. It was a miserable life, but it gave her the opportunity to build sculptures as much as she wanted. Besides, as soon as she realized that she was pregnant, she knew there wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do for her son. She’d never loved anyone as much as she loved George, until she gave birth to Drew.

As much as she hated being a housewife, she absolutely adored being Drew’s mom. She took to motherhood like a duck to water. Being a mom was the only thing that made life worth living. So when she gave birth to her daughter, Connie, her whole life revolved around her kids. Motherhood gave her purpose, but there was still something missing in her life. So, she started going to parties that the women in the neighborhood used to host: Tupperware, Mary Kay, Avon - housewife parties. Or at least, that was the cover. In reality, they were hook-ups for women needing more attention than what they were getting from their husbands. They would mess around with each other, and go back home to their husbands like nothing happened.

Ella’s life went on like that until 2002. It was just any other normal Thursday. She’d been at a party, and wound up falling asleep. It was two in the morning by the time she stumbled home to a horror show. Her ten year old son, Drew, was sitting in the corner, covered in blood. She followed the trail outside where her brother, George, lay in a pool of his own blood. Immediately, she dropped to her knees and checked for a pulse, but he was long gone. By the time she looked around to see what had happened, it was too late. Nathan had called the police, and Ella was sitting there covered in her brother’s blood. No matter what she said, the police refused to believe her, and she was arrested for her brother’s murder.

The truth was that George was helping her get enough money together to leave Nathan. Her husband was just as terrible as her father had been. All Ella wanted was to escape with her children and start over somewhere she could be herself: like San Francisco or New York. Somehow Nathan had found out, and well… staged George’s murder to frame Ella for a crime she didn’t commit. He could have given a shit about the kids; it was controlling Ella’s life that he wanted, and he got his way and then some.

Her trial ended just as quickly as it started. All the evidence pointed to her, and no matter what she said or what her public defender tried to sell, the jury was primarily made up of men -- and all they saw when they looked at her was a killer. She never had a chance.

Once she was in prison, life got worse -- Nathan filed for divorce and full custody of the kids. As soon as it hit her that she was never going to see her kids again, she sort of gave up. She let herself slip away in prison. She took classes to get a degree in art history, and did tattoos on the girls for cigarettes and juicy romance novels. Ella didn’t exactly take life seriously. As far as she was concerned, she was a lost cause that had nothing to live for once she got out of prison. So, she fucked around where she could and lived in her own world.

Then her stupid cousin, Annie, had to get involved. Annie didn’t believe for one second that Ella would have killed her brother. So she did what she did best: she meddled and needled until 1) Ella was transferred from New Mexico to a prison in Los Angeles County closer to Annie, and 2) she found a lawyer who was willing to reopen Ella’s case -- and that was how Ella met Jocelyn Michaels.

Meeting Jocelyn was the last thing Ella had wanted to do, but hell, was she glad that she’d taken the meeting. Jocelyn was hot as hell, the smartest person she’d ever met, and stubborn as all fuck. Once she heard Ella’s story, she was invested and Ella found herself invested in Joss.

Somewhere between working on the case, they fell in love. If Ella was honest with herself, she never stood a chance with Joss; she’d fallen for her that first time they met. Ella was handling her feelings well enough. It wasn’t like she was acting on her feelings towards the other woman. She’d never actually been in love with anyone before; it was all new for her. And then… she managed to piss someone off in prison. She wasn’t sure what she did, but she’d always been real good at running her mouth, especially back then. One minute she was fine, and the next minute, there was a sharpened spoon sticking out of her side.

There’s not much she remembers about getting stabbed, but when she woke up in the hospital, Jocelyn was there. She knew right then and there that she was going to marry that woman one day. In fact, she must have said that part out loud because then Joss was kissing her, and not even two weeks later, they were married.

The new trial was probably the most terrifying month of Ella’s life. If they lost the trial, if she lost Joss… She didn’t know what she’d do with herself. But by some miracle, Jocelyn was able to win the case and after serving 8 years for a crime she didn’t commit, she was found innocent, and for the first time in her life, she was free.

Once she was out of prison, there were still a lot of things that needed to be handled and taken care of. As far as she was concerned, the most important thing was getting back custody of her kids. Drew was 18 by the time she was out of prison, but he was a senior in high school -- it didn’t make sense to have him leave New Mexico when he was so close to graduating. And Connie… She was 14 and wanted nothing to do with her mother. Even if Ella had tried for custody, Connie wouldn’t have gone with her. So, she gave both her kids her number and moved to New York with her wife.

Life in New York took getting used to. It was the first time that Ella had the freedom to figure out who she was, and what she wanted to do with her life. The first thing she knew for sure was that she didn’t want to be a housewife again -- that had been awful. So, while her wife settled back into New York like she had never left, Ella took it upon herself to figure out what she wanted to do. At first she was so overwhelmed that everything seemed like it was too much. So, she started taking long walks around Central Park, just enjoying naturing and exploring. That was how she met Zak.

Zak was going to Central Park for the same reasons as Ella - he was trying to figure out his life. The difference between them, however, was that Zak had recently transitioned from having HIV to AIDS. He was dying, and he was trying to figure out a way to ensure his partner, Kaia, wouldn’t lose their self in his death. Throughout their short friendship, they figured out a solution. Kaia was a tattoo artist who loved creating pieces of artwork that took over their client’s backs. With Ella’s self-taught tattoo skills from prison, it made sense for the two of them to open a tattoo shop together. Sure, Ella still needed certification and training in styles other than stick and poke, but it gave both herself and Kaia a purpose and something to focus on.

Once Ella and Kaia officially opened the Collective, it was like the second half of her life had begun. For the first time, Ella was making friends she wasn’t related to or sharing a cell with. It had taken her a long time, but she’d found herself. She had a career, she had her wife, and she had multiple dogs. Her life was finally coming together, but there was something missing -- something that had been missing from the beginning: her kids.

When he was twenty, Drew moved to New York. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do in terms of school, but he wanted to be near his mom. Ella was, of course, thrilled. Jocelyn was a little standoffish about the whole thing, but having Drew staying in the guestroom made Ella happy so Joss warmed up to the idea of having at least one of Ella’s kids around. Or so she thought.

It was around 2013 when Ella’s biological clock started ticking out of control. She wanted a baby, and more importantly, she wanted to have a baby with Joss. If they wanted to have kids with their DNA (in Ella’s head she wanted Drew’s sperm and Joss’s egg), they needed to have a baby now. As much as she begged, and begged, Joss was in the middle of running for DA so it wasn’t a good time to add a baby to their life, but they were 39 so… after many discussions, they froze Ella’s eggs at least. It helped soothe Ella’s ticking clock, but the desire never fully went away.

Instead of a baby, Ella put all her effort into her career and her marriage, but Joss’s career had taken off and her wife typically was swamped with work. Her wife must have realized how unhappy Ella was becoming because when Ella brought up having a baby again in 2017, her wife said they could make an appointment to potentially begin the process of surrogacy. Except… the meeting never happened; not really. Sure, they went, but Joss was so busy with work that nothing ever came of the appointment. So, Ella stewed and flashed back to her first marriage and then, after a particularly bad fight about Joss never being home, Ella left her wife and moved in with Kaia.

As much as she still loved her wife, she’d been unhappy, and if she was honest, she’d jumped from one marriage right into the next, so she did some soul searching. It was during their separation, that Ella refound her first love: clay. There had been a time where she thought she was going to be a world famous artist instead of a tattoo artist that people booked appointments for 6 months in advance. And she’d loved working with clay. So, now that she had free time, she found a local studio and began sculpting again.

After filing for divorce in 2018, Ella got a surprise. Her daughter, Connie, had been living in New York for about a year and had been convicted on a distribution charge. As her daughter’s closest relative and blood relation, she was given custody of her granddaughter, Arabella. Once Bella was put in her arms, Ella knew she was meant to raise Bella -- this was the baby she’d been yearning for. Much like the first time, she took quickly to motherhood, even though it had been decades between children. Unlike the first time, she was a single parent, which was a totally different experience.

By late 2019/early 2020, Ella more or less had her life together. She knew who she was, the shop was flourishing, she had an insane amount of YouTube followers who liked to watch her sculpt, and she finally had the single (grand)mom thing down. It was then that she realized that the one thing that was missing from her life was her ex-wife. The problem was that it looked like Joss had moved on, and yet, Ella still found herself trying to reconnect with her ex-wife.

Falling back into a relationship with the other woman had almost been too easy. It was like going home again. Working on their relationship and getting back together had been great and fine until they were quarantined together with a two year old, and Ella found out they were still technically married. Joss had never filed the signed petition for divorce. If there was anything that could have fouled up their reunion - it was that. But somehow (and with the help of an annoying marriage counselor via Zoom), they were able to reclaim their marriage.

October 13, 2021 will mark one year of being remarried (okay, vow renewal). Ella has no idea where the time has gone, but she knows two things for absolute certain: one - she’s the person she was always meant to be, and two - she’s married to the absolute love of her life. Things in her life may have been rough, but those things led her to where she was meant to be, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. She hadn’t suffered through the bad, she never would have been able to appreciate the good.

#ES Tasks

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sagehaleyofficial · 5 years ago

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HERE’S WHAT YOU MISSED THIS WEEK (8.5-8.11.20):

NEW MUSIC:

Palaye Royale released a new cover of Tears for Fears' hit track “Mad World.” The cover follows the release of their latest album The Bastards back in May, with the first press of the publication The Bastard Times Newspaper recently selling out.

I Don't Know How but They Found Me announced the details for their long-awaited debut album Razzmatazz. The album will be released on October 16 via Fearless Records.

To prepare for the release of their second full-length Pink Elephant, which arrived last Friday, Stand Atlantic dropped a music video for their song “Blurry.” The band are currently the cover stars for Rock Sound magazine.

The Menzingers announced the details of From Exile, a reworked version of their album Hello Exile, which they recorded in quarantine. The album is set for release digitally on September 25 and physically November 13 via Epitaph Records.

After being teased for months by drummer Travis Barker, Blink-182 released a new song titled “Quarantine.” Recently, the pop punk outfit has kept busy by collaborating with the likes of Oliver Tree and Powfu.

Eastwood, fronted by Knocked Loose’s Cole Crutchfield, announced the details of their new album It Never Gets Easy. The album is scheduled for release on September 18 through Pure Noise Records.

I Prevail released an acoustic version of the song “Every Time You Leave,” off their latest album Trauma. The new rendition features vocals from Canadian singer Delaney Jane.

Motionless in White released two tracks from a new project titled the Motion Picture Collection. The songs include reimagined versions of “Another Life,” featuring Kerli, and “Eternally Yours,” featuring Crystal Joilena.

Machine Gun Kelly released a collaboration with Blackbear called “My Ex’s Best Friend,” which comes off his upcoming album Tickets to My Downfall. Previously, in 2012, the duo worked together on the song “End of the Road.”

TOUR ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump played the Summer Shake-Up, sponsored by One Tail at a Time Dog Rescue in Chicago. The event took place this past Saturday on the foundation’s YouTube and Facebook pages.

To celebrate breaking into the Top 10 on the Billboard Alternative Airplay Chart, All Time Low performed an acoustic rendition of their single “Monsters.” The original song features the rapping talents of Blackbear.

The Maine announced the details for “Flowers on the Grave,” a livestreamed concert to commemorate the end of the You Are OK era. The event will take place on August 29 with tickets selling for $10.

Heavy metal talk show Two Minutes to Late Night covered the Misfits‘ song “Earth A.D.” Frank Iero, Hatebreed‘s Jamey Jasta, the Dillinger Escape Plan‘s Ben Weinman, Max Weinberg and Jordan Olds performed the cover.

Andrew McMahon will be performing two drive-in shows later this month at Monmouth Park in New Jersey on August 24 and 25. The shows are a continuation of the 15-year anniversary of the Jack’s Mannequin album Everything in Transit.

OTHER NEWS:

Jimmy Eat World's Jim Adkins announced Pass-Through Frequencies, a new podcast series sponsored by Fender Guitars. The podcast will focus on the art of songwriting and his creative process.

Creeper's latest album Sex, Death & the Infinite Void reached No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart. It became the band's highest charting release to date, with their last full-length Eternity, In Your Arms peaking at No. 18.

Fall Out Boy's hit song “Dance, Dance” became certified platinum in the United Kingdom. The song, originally off of From Under the Cork Tree, was previously certified platinum in the United States in 2007.

Corey Taylor announced that his band Stone Sour are going on an “indefinite hiatus.” The musician mentioned the members are focusing on their own thing during a recent interview on The Green Room with Neil Griffiths podcast.

New York Comic Con announced it is hosting a panel titled “Can Blink-182‘s Tom DeLonge Uncover U.S. Government UFO Secrets?” during its virtual event. DeLonge will be joined by former intelligence officer and UFO hunter Luis Elizondo.

___

Check in next Tuesday for more “Posi Talk with Sage Haley,” only at @sagehaleyofficial!

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the-minyard-twins · 5 years ago

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Andreil Fic Rec

I’ve always wanted to do a fic rec so here we are! I’ve read a lot of Andreil recently and these are my top 28 favorite Andreil and AFTG fics

1. Trust Fall (And Welcoming Arms) by SpangleBangle

85k | Explicit

Life goes on after the Foxes win the championship, and for Andrew and Neil it’s uncharted territory with only each other for guides. Maybe it’s time to put away some of those hard edges, and learn how to touch more softly, and speak more honestly. And if they falter, they have their family to help them get back on their feet.

2. Learning To Feel (When You’ve Forgotten How) by thegirlwiththeprettybrowneyes

43k | Teen | No Proust AU

On the night before his first day of therapy at Easthaven, Andrew blows out his legs and decides he isn’t going to bury his feelings anymore, consequences be damned. In return, he gets a schedule change, and a very strange new therapist. /////// “Doesn’t mean I wouldn’t blow you,” Andrew finished, looking anywhere but at Neil’s face. Neil looked like he had just realized the sky was blue. “You like me,” Andrew sighed. “Yeah,” he said, resigned “Yeah, Neil, I like you,” /////// No Proust AU

3. Broken by Jeni182

34k | Explicit

Andrew attempts suicide and he and Neil try to navigate his recovery and healing together.

4. Waves by Jeni182 (sequel to Broken)

94k | Explicit

Broken Part II - Neil and Andrew try to navigate life post Andrew’s suicide attempt now that he’s in Denver and Neil’s in his last year at PSU.

5. Funky Happenings with the Fox Family by dobbypussypopper

29k | Teen | text!fic

naughtygayweedcrime: did I rlly just see neil say woke

naughtygayweedcrime: what a surreal timeline we live in

dumbfool: allison is trying to teach me how to meme so I can get hip

naughtygayweedcrime: bless your poor soul

davidwymack: sometimes I regret living

davidwymack has muted exyllent, damnwilds, + 7 others for 30 minutes

6. Something in Return by reaching _my_summit

31k | Mature

“Andrew Minyard, how will you celebrate winning your final college Exy championship?”

“I’m going to Disney World,” Andrew deadpans.

- - -

Andrew’s final year at Palmetto State comes to a close. His future is upon him and there are plans to be made. Years ago, Neil asked Andrew to stop smoking in exchange for something. Andrew finally knows what he wants in return.

7. The Unloved Kids by AlrightDarlin

35k | Not Rated

“I intend to treat them the same. I need strong athletes, not toddlers,” Wymack starts, but sits back with a sigh, running a hand over his face. “But hypothetically, if I had to look after a bunch of toddlers on the weekends…”

Betsy’s eyes crinkle with her smile. “Are you asking advice?”

“They’re screwed up enough,” Wymack says, “I’m not trying to make it worse.”

(David Wymack takes his little nightmares and does his best to corral them and love them within an inch of their lives. He can’t change what happened to them, but he can be there for them now.)

8. Turn it Off by elawless

10k | Mature

“It hurts…so much…too…much” He choked out between breaths. “I want to let go so…bad. I am so close”. He lifted his head to look at Andrew and saw no blue in his eyes and believed Andrew was real, but the rest of the pain was. It was just enough for him to trust Andrew with what he would say next.

“Stay. Give me Neil back. Don’t leave.” Andrew could no longer cover all of his desperation, his voice seemed to crack on the last word.

“Just let me turn it off. Just for today. Neil will come back. Bring him back, for the both of you.”

9. VW Actually Means “Very Weird” by exyjunkies

15k | Gen

If it was just going to be the two of us, then why bring the Volkswagen?

So that if I end up murdering you on this road trip, I’ll have enough space for clean-up.

Neil and Andrew take on the Pacific Coast Highway over the span of two and a half weeks, with a surprise for one of them at the very end.

10. Puzzle Pieces by Nikotheamazingspoonklepto

59k | Explicit | Series

Neil’s life is a puzzle, the people in it are the pieces that give everything meaning. Together they make a picture of happiness.

11. diet mountain dew by reaching_my_summit

2k | Teen

neil thinks andrew is very pretty. he tells andrew exactly that.

12. For Science by ClockworkDragon, DeyaAmaya

8k | Explicit

“Here’s what I propose: we’ll play a game, and I’ll even let you pick which one, but we’re going to set some stakes. I’m not going to let you talk big and walk away free of punishment if you lose.” Without hesitating, Kevin asked, “Fine, I choose Trivial Pursuit. What are the stakes?” Allison put a finger to her lips and tilted her head, as if she was actually thinking of a response and didn’t plan this whole thing days ago. “Hmm, did you know the spirit store recently added fox themed thigh-high socks to their stock? They’ve become quite popular amongst cheerleaders.” This statement seemed to throw Kevin off because he just stared blankly at Allison until she continued. Andrew was not, however, an idiot. He could see where this was going. “How about whoever loses has to wear the socks for an entire school day; including morning and evening practices?” “Holy shit,” Nicky whispered. “You are one devious bitch.” Allison winked.

13. ain’t no rest for the wicked by dearhappy

8k | Teen | Lucifer!AU

“You really expect me to believe that?“ Neil asks, "Especially when his girlfriend said that he’d always been worried about what you’d ask for in return, and that he called you the Devil.”

“I don’t lie,” Andrew says simply. “You can think whatever you want.”

“Why was he so worried if that was all it was?”

“He made a deal with the Devil,” Andrew says, “Tell me you wouldn’t be worried about that.”

14. Not Damsels, not Knights by my_unlikely_hero

93k | Mature

Neil is not a damsel, Andrew is not a knight, Riko is not a dragon. Nobody gets saved. Not really.

Or: Riko goes too far, and Neil is left in pieces.

15. The Continuing Adventures of the Nine-Nine by gluupor

48k | Gen | Series | Brooklyn 99!AU

A series of short, ridiculous, mostly plotless stories featuring the Foxes as the cops of the Ninety-Ninth Precinct.

16. Not Only You and Me by orphan_account (part of a series)

18k | Explicit | Porn!AU

Andrew, Neil and Kevin film Foxy’s first gay threesome porn scene.

Cue the feelings.

17. High School Science by fuzzballsheltipants

30k | Teen/Explicit (parts 1-3 are Teen and part 4 is Explicit) | Series

High School!AU

18. False Equivalence by sunrise_and_death

22k | Teen

Some part of her had known it would come back to Neil. He was the one who had cracked the twins the first time. Of anyone, he was the most likely to have a solution for this as well.

Although the events of the previous year resolved a lot of issues, Katelyn quickly discovers that not every problem has been addressed. As she attempts to map a future in which Aaron has both her and his family, she finds herself once again working with Neil Josten—to unexpected results.

19. trans andrew by aceaaronminyard, autisitcandrewminyard

30k | Explicit | trans!Andrew

a fanfic series for a tfc au where andrew minyard wasn’t registered into the system as andrew doe but as erin doe.

mostly set post-tkm. mostly porn.

20. Advice and Amusement by Autumnalhogwarts

11k | Teen

After a series of failed attempts to woo Renee, Allison turns to Andrew for help. As Renee’s best guy friend he’s in a unique position to offer advice. However, that doesn’t mean he’ll be willing to.

21. Kidnapped by Shell_Writes

21k | Explicit

Neil and Aaron get kidnapped by four deranged men while the team is on a camping trip. shit happens and they have to escape this horror house. together.

22. Return of Dad!Mack by SensationalSunburst

14k | Gen | Series

Dad!Wymack & Mom!Abby

23. For He’s A Jolly Good Felon by gluupor

4k | Teen | Felon!Neil

What’s a guy to do when he’s forced to go to his conservative, homophobic aunt and uncle’s for Thanksgiving dinner?

Why, invite along his ex-con, tattooed, argumentative roommate as his fake boyfriend, of course.

24. make my heart shake (bend and break) by WaifsandStrays

4k | Explicit

Aaron develops a fascination with Kevin’s dick, has a sexuality crisis and feelings and fails to process any of it.

25. Across the Water by transandrewminyard

13k | Teen | trans!Andreil

Perhaps several years too late, or maybe right on time, Neil Josten runs away from home and tries to dream a new life for himself. How poetic that his first night out on his own would deliver him to a stranger who seems to understand everything he’s been through, and then some?

26. Prompt: Andrew and Neil get to babysit Sophie by orphan_account

14k | Mature | part of a series

What it says on the tin, basically.

Aaron and Matt leave for a few days and ask Andrew and Neil to babysit Sophie. Baby-sized exy is involved. Also lots and lots of angst. But there is a happy ending!

27. Salt Bros and Roller Derby Vixens by moonix

14k | Teen | Series

Roller Derby!AU

28. Absinthe Makes the Heart Grow Fonder by priorwalter

12k | Teen | Felon!Neil, Author!Andrew

“So,” Neil asks as he washes his paint-covered hands in the kitchen sink, “Christmas.”

Andrew glares and says nothing. This year, Neil and Andrew are spending Christmas with Andrew’s brother, Aaron Minyard. Aaron Minyard, Andrew’s twin whose existence was unknown to him until two months previous. Aaron Minyard, an orthopedic surgeon with a wife (an oncologist, naturally) and two daughters. Aaron Minyard, who grew up with a mother that chose him.

Andrew Doe has survived until age twenty-nine without any biological family, and his life turned out pretty good, considering all of the reasons it shouldn’t have. At age twenty-nine, Andrew’s book becomes a bestseller and leads his long-lost twin brother to him. Familial drama ensues.

#aftg #all for the game #tfc #the foxhole court #andreil #aftg fic rec #fic rec

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dukereviewsmovies · 5 years ago

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Duke Reviews: Doctor Strange

Hello, I'm Andrew Leduc And Welcome To Duke Reviews Where We Continue Our Look At The Marvel Cinematic Universe...

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By Talking About Marvel's First Dive Into The Realm Of Magic, With Doctor Strange...

This Film Introduces The Talented Neurosurgeon Doctor Stephen Strange, Who After A Tragic Car Accident Must Put His Ego Aside To Learn The Secrets Of A Hidden World Of Mysticism And Alternate Dimensions. Once Learned Strange Realizes He Must Use His New Powers To Protect The World From A Deadly Enemy Who Is Out To Destroy It...

Will Strange Stop This New Enemy With The Help Of His New Allies?

Let's Find Out As We Watch Doctor Strange...

The Film Starts In Kathmandu As The Sorcerer Kaecilius (Played By Not My Hannibal Lecter) Enter The Secret Compound Of Kamar Taj And Behead It's Librarian So They Can Steal A Few Pages From An Ancient Mythical Text That Belongs To The Ancient One (Played By Tilda Swinton)...

Who Finds Kaecilius Inside Of The Library And Warns Him That The Ritual He Carries Will Only Bring Him Sorrow But Trying To Escape It Leads To A Short Fight With Kaecilius And His Followers Against The Ancient One...

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(Start At 2:12, End At 3:44)

We Then Meet Doctor Stephen Strange (Played By Benedict Cumberbatch) Who Is An Arrogant, Wealthy And Acclaimed Neurosurgeon. However, After A Car Accident Severely Injures His Hands To The Point That He Can't Operate Anymore, Fellow Surgeon And Possible Ex-Girlfriend, Christine Palmer (Played By Rachel McAdams) Tries To Help Strange Move On With His Life As He Does Physical Therapy...

But Unable To Accept His New Reality, Strange Pursues Experimental Surgeries To Try To Heal His Hands And Nearly Bankrupts Himself In The Process. However, When He Hears About A Man Named Jonathan Pangborn (Played By Benjamin Bratt)...

Who's Probably Glad He's Not In A Comic Book Movie Involving Cats...

Anyway, Pangborn Is A Paraplegic Who Mysteriously Regained The Use Of His Legs And Despite Hating Strange For Not Helping Him When He Came To Him For Help, He Decides To Help Him By Telling Him About Kamar Taj, But Warns Him That The Price For What He Seeks Is High...

Travelling To Kathmandu To Find Kamar Taj, Strange Eventually Meets Mordo (Played By Scar From The Remake Of The Lion King)

And Yes, I Know I Forgot To Mention In My Civil War Review That Rafiki Is Black Panther's Father But I'll Probably Mention It Again In My Eventual Review Of Black Panther That Will Happen Sooner Than I Think It Will Be...

Anyway, Strange Meets Mordo Who Takes Him To Kamar Taj To Meet The Ancient One Who (After A Bit Of Riddicule From Strange) Demonstrates Her Power Before Him Which In Itself Is One Big Acid Trip...

Though She Refuses At First To Train Strange Because She's Worried That He Is Too Much Like Kaecilius, The Ancient One Eventually Decides To Train Him At Mordo's Insistence That Kamar Taj Could Use A Man Like Strange...

And So The Training Begins...Cue Training Montage!

After Months Of Training With The Ancient One And Mordo And Borrowing Books From The Library That's Guarded By Master Wong (Played By Benedict Wong) Strange Reaches An Advanced Level, So Advanced That He Secretly Reads From The Text That Kaecilius Stole Pages From And Learning To Bend Time With The Eye Of Agamotto...

Caught By Wong And Mordo, They Warn Strange Against Breaking The Laws Of Nature, Asking How He Did That, Strange Tells Them That He Has A Photographic Memory Which Allowed Him To Get His M.D. And Ph.D At The Same Time...

Realizing That Strange Was Born For The Mystic Arts, They Decide To Tell Him The Truth, That While Heroes Like The Avengers Protect The World From Physical Dangers, They Protect Earth From More Magical Threats...

Well, If That's True Where Were You Guys During The Avengers Battle Of New York? Is Loki Not Magical?

Strange Also Learns That The Ancient One Is The Latest In A Long Line Of Sorcerer Supremes That Take Care Of 3 Buildings That Are Called Sanctums That Are In New York, London And Hong Kong Which Are All Accessible Through Kamar Taj That Act As A Shield To Protect Earth From Other Dimensional Threats...

And They In Turn Protect The Sanctums, However As They Talk The Door To The London Sanctum Opens As The Protector Enters For Them To See Him Be Killed By Kaecilius, Who During Strange's Training Has Enacted The Spell And Gained The Powers From The Dark Dimension, The Home Of Dormammu...

Ok, I Realize That Some Of This Sounds Confusing But Dormammu Is The Ruler Of The Dark Dimension, A Being Of Infinite Power And Endless Hunger Who Is On A Quest To Invade Every Universe And Bring Them To The Dark Dimension...

Seeing Kaecilius, Strange, Mordo And Wong Are Unable To Stop Him From Destroying The London Sanctum But The Explosion Is So Powerful It Knocks Strange Into The New York Sanctum, While There He Looks Around Only To Eventually See Kaecilius And His Minions Enter The New York Sanctum To Kill It's Protector...

Fighting Them With The Help of His New Powers And The Help Of An Artifact There Known As The Cloak Of Levitation, Strange Manages To Capture Galen Erso For A Second So He Can Ask Him Some Questions And He Does Discover Kaecilius' Plan Which Is To Send The Earth To The Dark Dimension To Save It From The Greatest Enemy In The World, Time...

But As He Discovers This, Strange Also Learns A That The Ancient One Uses The More Powerful Magics For Herself To Keep Herself Young But As Kaecilius Continues Talking One Of His Henchmen, Stabs Strange In The Gut To The Point That He Has To Transport Himself To The Hospital To Ask Christine To Save Him...

But While She's Operating On Strange, He Passes Out But Defibrillating Him Gets Strange Out Of His Body And Into The Astral Plane So He Can Help Christine Save Him. But Followed By The Same Henchmen Who Stabbed Him In His Astral Form Leads To An Astral Battle Between Strange And The Henchmen...

Eventually Defeating The Henchmen With Christine's Help, Strange Goes Back Into His Body So Christine Can Finish Healing Him As He Explains Everything To Her. But Eventually Returning To The New York Sanctum, Strange Reunites With Mordo And The Ancient One Where Strange Reveals Everything That Kaecilius Told Him About The Ancient One...

Despite The Ancient One Denying This And Mordo Knowing The Responsibility That Rests Upon The Ancient One's Shoulders, Kaecilius And His Minions Return To Try To Destroy The New York Sanctum..

But When Strange Sends Them All To The Mirror Dimension, It Leads To A Scene With Great Inception Level Effects As A Fight Scene With Strange, Mordo And The Ancient One Against Kaecilius And His Minions Happens While Also Throwing In Our Stan Lee Cameo For This Movie...

Stan Lee Cameo!

As Mordo Discovers That The Ancient One Does Draw Power From The Dark Dimension, Kaecilius Stabs Her During Their Fight Which Forces Strange To Take Her Into The Hospital But As She Is Being Operated On, Strange Goes Into The Astral Plane To See The Ancient One Leaving Her Body And Headed Outside Of The Hospital...

There, The Ancient One Talks With Strange Telling Him That He Has A Great Capacity For Goodness But His Arrogance And Fear Of Failure Prevent Him From Learning The One Lesson He Needs To Learn: That It's Not About Him...

Then Why Is The Movie Called Doctor Strange?

Telling Him About How About How Pangborn Uses His Magic, She Tells Strange Before She Dies That He Will Need To Break The Rules In Order To Stop Kaecilius Even If Mordo Doesn't Like It...

Saying Goodbye To Christine, Strange Travels Back To Kamar Taj To Get Mordo, Who Blames This Entire Incident On The Ancient One, Stating That Because She Drew Energy From The Dark Dimension It Lead To The Creation Of Kaecilius And His Minions Saying That The Bill Comes Due Or In Other Words...

Least That's The Way I Like To Put It...

Asking Mordo To Help Him Fight Them, They Arrive In Hong Kong Too Late, Finding Wong Dead, The Sanctum Destroyed And The Dark Dimension Starting To Engulf Earth, Using The Eye Of Agamotto To Reverse Time And Save Wong, But Realizing He Can't Stop The Inevitable, Strange Decides To Enter The Dark Dimension To Take His Case To Dormammu (Voiced By Oh, What A Surprise, Benedict Cumberbatch)...

Seriously, Benedict Just Starting In This Film Wasn't Enough You Had To Lend Your Smaug Voice To The Bad Guy?

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Keeping To His Promise, Dormammu Sends Kaecilius And His Followers To The Dark Dimension As Strange Breaks The Time Loop, But Comparing Strange To The Ancient One, Mordo Renounces His Sorcerer Ways And Leaves....

Returning The Eye Of Agamotto To Kamar Taj, Strange Decides To Take Residence In The New York Sanctum To Continue His Studies With Wong As Our Movie Ends...

We Get A Mid Credits Scene Where Strange Is Visited By Thor (Played By Chris Hemsworth) Who Strange Questions Why He Is On Earth With His Brother Loki? Which Is When Thor Explains That They Are Looking For Their Father, Odin...

Asking If They Will Leave Earth After, Thor Tells Strange Yes, Which Leads Strange To Offer To Help Them...

We Also Get An End Scene, Where Mordo Confronts Pangborn And Steals The Mystic Energy He Uses To Walk As He Claims That Earth Has Too Many Sorcerers Before He Walks Off...

And That's Doctor Strange And...It's Okay...

The Story Is Confusing At Times But The Effects Are Awesome And The Cast Is Great In Their Roles Especially Cumberbatch And Edjiofor So, I Guess I Say See It...

Till Next Time, This Is Duke, Signing Off...

#doctor strange #benidict cumberbatch #rachel mcadams #chiwetel ejiofor #benjamin bratt #mads mikkelsen #Benidict Wong #Marvel #marvel cinematic universe #tilda swinton

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saleintothe90s · 5 years ago

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406. Stalking

I’m always fascinated about how a stalker works — what drives them to never forget a person. To think about them every day, all day. The money spent on following the person around, the postage spent.

One of the most infamous celebrity stalkers of the 1980s and 1990s was Margaret Ray, who stalked David Letterman. Ray, who was schizophrenic, constantly broke into Letterman’s home in Connecticut, often sleeping on the tennis court. In 1988, she convinced housepainters that she was his housekeeper and she drove off with his Porsche—when she was arrested on the New Jersey side of the Lincoln Tunnel, she told cops she was David Letterman’s wife and her child (who was in the car with her) was the son she had with Letterman.

In October of 1998, Ray committed suicide by kneeling in front of a train. Before her death, she turned her obsessions to astronaut Story Musgrave. 1 Letterman didn’t escape his stalkers however, in 2005 a former painter at his ranch in Montana plotted to take Letterman’s son, Harry for ransom. 2

The young actress Rebecca Schaffer was murdered by a deranged fan while her career was on the rise. Robert Jean Bardo tried to come on the set of her short lived sitcom My Sister Sam several times (including bringing a knife one time), but was turned away each time. Bardo’s decision to kill Schaffer came when he saw her in the movie Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills in which there was a scene in which she was in bed with a character. 3 He accessed Schaffer’s address through a personal detective who attained the address through DMV records. 4. On July 18, 1989 he arrived at her doorstep. He spoke with her briefly, she signed an autograph, and told him to leave. Bardo arrived back at the apartment shortly after. Schaffer opened the door thinking it was the script to Godfather III in which she was going to audition for later that day. Bardo shot her in the chest, killing her almost immediately.

One of the earliest cases of internet stalking came in 1994 when Andrew C. Archambeau wouldn’t stop emailing and leaving voicemails to a woman he met through a video dating service. In one of his emails he said:

"I've been trying to court you, not stalk you," Mr. Archambeau wrote her electronically on April 15. "If you let me, I would be the best man, friend, lover you ever could have."

Unfortunately, he lived in Michigan which was one of the earliest states to extend stalking laws to cyber space. 5 It was hard to find information, but I believe he was charged with a misdemeanor. 6

(source)

Former White House intern Tangela Burkhart stalked George Stephanopoulos (then President Clinton’s communications adviser) while at the White House and in the years following. When he moved to New York City, so did she. 8 In late 1999, Burkhart was spotted three days in a row at a coffeehouse Stephanopoulos frequented. In 1998, she was arrested twice for stalking him. 9 In early 2000, she was ordered to stay away from parts of New York City. 8

After their daughter went missing in 1974, the family of Amy Billig received consent phone calls for nearly 20 years from a man who claimed that he knew where Amy was, or he knew what was being done to Amy:

Throughout the ordeal, the one constant in their lives was the caller -- Mrs. Billig describes his voice as "low, threatening" -- from whom they began hearing within weeks of the disappearance. In one call, according to court documents filed in the case against Mr. Blair, the man told Mrs. Billig that "she would be abducted like her daughter and sold into a slave trade." In another, he told her she only had two weeks to live. 10.

In October of 1995, the police finally caught up with him. By tracing his calls to a cell phone they discovered that the caller was Henry J. Blair, a 47 year old veteran of the United States Customs Service. A married guy with two kids. He was found guilty of misdemeanor stalking in March of 1996. Blair claimed:

In his confession, Blair blamed his calls on obsessive-compulsive behavior arising, he said, from the stress of his job. He claimed he never sought psychiatric counseling because it might have wrecked his career. “Just a bunch of crank calls” is how he described his vicious campaign, insisting that he “would never act out on anything…. The pressures would mount. I would call, and then it would subside.” 11

Finally, this article:

What 9 year old pre-internet says that?! I guess he got it from a song?

1. Bruni, Frank. “Behind the Jokes, a Life Of Pain and Delusion; For Letterman Stalker, Mental Illness Was Family Curse and Scarring Legacy.” The New York Times, November 22, 1998, sec. New York. https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/22/nyregion/behind-jokes-life-pain-delusion-for-letterman-stalker-mental-illness-was-family.html

2. “Letterman Tot Kidnap Plot Foiled.” Accessed February 13, 2020. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/letterman-tot-kidnap-plot-foiled/.

3. Moffatt, Gregory K. Blind-Sided: Homicide Where It Is Least Expected. Westport, Conn: Praeger, 2000. 94-95.

4. EW.com. “Six Years Ago Rebecca Schaeffer Was Fatally Shot.” Accessed February 13, 2020. https://ew.com/article/1995/07/14/six-years-ago-rebecca-schaeffer-was-fatally-shot/

5. Lewis, Peter H. “Persistent E-Mail: Electronic Stalking or Innocent Courtship?” The New York Times, September 16, 1994, sec. U.S. https://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/16/us/persistent-e-mail-electronic-stalking-or-innocent-courtship.html.

6. Casey, Eoghan. Digital Evidence and Computer Crime: Forensic Science, Computers and the Internet. 2nd ed. London ; San Diego, Calif: Academic Press, 2004. 160.

7. Stephanopoulos, George. All Too Human: A Political Education. Boston: Back Bay Books, 1999. 298.

8. The Buffalo News. “EX-BUFFALONIAN IS ORDERED TO AVOID STEPHANOPOULOS,” January 13, 2000. https://buffalonews.com/2000/01/13/ex-buffalonian-is-ordered-to-avoid-stephanopoulos/.

9. Barron, James. “Public Lives.” The New York Times, September 21, 1999, sec. New York. https://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/21/nyregion/public-lives.html.

10. Navarro, Mireya. “The Night Caller: 21 Years of Unspeakable Grief.” The New York Times, December 3, 1995, sec. U.S. https://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/03/us/the-night-caller-21-years-of-unspeakable-grief.html.

11. PEOPLE.com. “The Night Caller.” Accessed February 14, 2020. https://people.com/archive/the-night-caller-vol-45-no-8/.

#stalkers #1990s #1980s #rebecca schaeffer #george stephanopoulos #stalking #david letterman

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gadgetgirl71 · 5 years ago

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Amazon First Reads for April 2020

Here we are again, it’s time to choose one of eight books that Amazon First Reads lets Amazon Prime Members download for free. At the moment I seem to be downloading more free books than ever. I wonder if it’s my mind trying to get off what is happening around the world, lets just hope that I start to read more quickly.

This months book choices are:

Psychological Suspense

What we Forget to Bury by Martin Montgomery, Pages: 439, Publication Date: 1 May 2020

synopsis: Truth and deceit blur as one woman’s desperation twists into another’s desire for revenge in this mind-bending psychological novel.

Charlotte Coburn has a tragically dark past. But she’s safe now. She lives in a gated community, protected from danger. When teenager Elle knocks at her door looking for shelter during a particularly severe storm, the woman can’t help but think how lucky Elle’s been to have found someone as friendly as her. Except Elle chose her door on purpose…

She knows all about Charlotte’s secrets because they ruined her family and her life. And it is time that everyone else knew. But Charlotte’s past has left a dark void in her life, so she is concocting her own vicious plan, convinced that Elle can help fill that void.

As events unfold, the truth unravels and pulls both women into a dangerous game that will leave you wondering, Who’s the villain?

Contemporary Fiction

Little White Secrets by Carol Mason, Pages 33, Publication Date: 1 May 2020

Synopsis: A daughter pushing the limits. A marriage ready to crack. A secret that can break them.

For Emily Rossi, life may not be perfect, but it’s pretty close. She has a great career, a house in the country, a solid marriage to Eric and two wonderful children—tennis superstar Daniel and quiet, sensitive Zara. But when her fourteen-year-old daughter brings home a toxic new best friend, Emily’s seemingly perfect family starts to spiral out of control.

Suddenly Zara is staying out late, taking drugs and keeping bad company. And just when Emily needs Eric to be an involved father, he seems too wrapped up with his job in London to care. What’s more, he’s started drinking again.

When a dark secret from the past emerges, Emily’s life is turned upside down. Struggling to protect the people she loves, can she save her damaged family? Doing so may mean keeping a secret of her own…

Thriller

The Girl Beneath the Sea by Andrew Mayner, Pages: 328, Publication Date: 1 May 2020

Synopsis: For a Florida police diver, danger rises to the surface in an adventurous thriller by the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Naturalist.

Coming from scandalous Florida treasure hunters and drug smugglers, Sloan McPherson is forging her own path, for herself and for her daughter, out from under her family’s shadow. An auxiliary officer for Lauderdale Shores PD, she’s the go-to diver for evidence recovery. Then Sloan finds a fresh kill floating in a canal—a woman whose murky history collides with Sloan’s. Their troubling ties are making Sloan less a potential witness than a suspect. And her colleagues aren’t the only ones following every move she makes. So is the killer.

Stalked by an assassin, pitted against a ruthless cartel searching for a lost fortune, and under watch within her ranks, Sloan has only one ally: the legendary DEA agent who put Sloan’s uncle behind bars. He knows just how deep corruption runs—and the kind of danger Sloan is in. To stay alive, Sloan must stay one step ahead of her enemies—both known and unknown—and a growing conspiracy designed to pull her under.

Science Fiction

A Girl from Nowhere by James Maxwell, Pages: 442, Publication Date: 1 May 2020

Synopsis: Surrounded by fire, a girl with mysterious powers and a young warrior search for safety.

Life in the wasteland is a constant struggle. No one knows it better than Taimin. Crippled, and with only his indomitable aunt to protect him, Taimin must learn to survive in a world scorched by two suns and frequented by raiders.

But when Taimin discovers his homestead ransacked and his aunt killed, he sets off with one mission: to seek revenge against those who stole everything. With nowhere to call home, his hunt soon takes a turn when he meets a mystic, Selena, who convinces him to join her search for the fabled white city. Taimin and Selena both need refuge, and the white city is a place where Taimin may find someone to heal his childhood injury.

As they avoid relentless danger, Taimin and Selena attempt to reach the one place that promises salvation. And they can only hope that the city is the haven they need it to be…

Romance

Love on Beach Avenue by Jennifer Probst, Pages: 310, Publication Date: 1 May 2020

Synopsis: True love is in the details for the Jersey shore’s premier wedding planner in this heart-swooning series about big dreams and happy endings from New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Probst.

Avery Sunshine might not have a soul mate of her own, but she still believes in happily ever after—for her clients. Making dreams come true is her business at Sunshine Bridal, which she runs with her two sisters. When her best friend announces her engagement, Avery is thrilled to take charge of the giddy bride-to-be’s big day. Less thrilling? Her best friend’s arrogant and demanding brother, who just so happens to be the man of honour.

Carter Ross’s first instinct: call 911. He promised to always take care of his impulsive little sister, and he honors that vow. Even if it means taking over her wedding, where he is sure Avery will fail. At best, Avery is unpredictable. At worst, if she’s anything like the spitfire of a college girl he remembers, the main event could run wild.

With Avery and Carter wrestling for control, tempers heat up. So does the spark of attraction they’re fighting with every kiss. As the wedding draws near, it’s time to reconcile a rocky past and make a decision that could change everyone’s lives. Because what they’re rebelling against looks a lot like love.

Contemporary Fiction

Stories We Never Told by Sonja Yoerg, Pages: 328, Publication Date: 1 May 2020

Synopsis: From the Amazon Charts and Washington Post bestselling author of True Places comes a suspenseful novel of love, secrets, and obsession.

Psychology professor Jackie Strelitz thinks she’s over Harlan Crispin, her ex-lover and colleague. Why should she care if Harlan springs a new “friend” on her? After all, Jackie has everything she ever wanted: a loving husband and a thriving career. Still, she can’t help but be curious about Harlan’s latest.

Nasira Amari is graceful, smart, and appallingly young. Worse, she’s the newest member of Jackie’s research team. For five years, Harlan enforced rules limiting his relationship with Jackie. With Nasira, he’s breaking every single one. Why her?

Fixated by the couple, Jackie’s curiosity becomes obsession. But she soon learns that nothing is quite what it seems and that to her surprise—and peril—she may not be the only one who can’t let go.

Literary Fiction

Meadowlark by Melanie Abrams, Pages: 238, Publication Date: 1 May 2020

Synopsis: A haunting novel about the lasting effects of childhood trauma and the resulting choices we make for our children.

After growing up in an austere spiritual compound, two teenagers, Simrin and Arjun, escape and go their separate ways. Years later, Simrin receives an email from Arjun. As they reconnect, Simrin learns that he has become the charismatic leader of Meadowlark, a commune in the Nevada desert that allows children to discover their “gifts.”

In spite of their fractured relationship, Simrin, a photojournalist, agrees to visit Meadowlark to document its story. She arrives at the commune with her five-year-old daughter in tow and soon realizes there is something disturbing about Arjun’s beliefs concerning children and their unusual abilities. When she discovers that the commune is in the midst of a criminal investigation, her unease grows deeper still.

As tensions with police heighten, Arjun’s wife begins to make plans of her own, fearing the exposure the investigation might bring for her and her children. Both mothers find themselves caught in a desperate situation, and as the conflict escalates, everyone involved must make painful—and potentially tragic—choices that could change their worlds forever.

Gripping and beautifully crafted, Meadowlark explores the power and danger of being extraordinary and what it means to see and be seen.

Children’s Picture Book

Bear & Fred (A World War II Story) by Iris Argaman, Pages: 47, Publication Date: 1 May 2020

Synopsis: Based on true events and beautifully illustrated, this is the story of a friendship that will last forever—told by Fred’s best friend, his beloved teddy bear.

During World War II, Fred must leave his home and live in hiding, apart from the rest of his family, but he always keeps Bear by his side. Bear knows it’s his job to take care of Fred and make sure he doesn’t feel alone.

After the war, Fred and his family are reunited and leave Holland for the United States. And still Bear is with him. When Fred grows up, he and Bear part for the first time when Bear is sent to Yad Vashem—the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Israel, where this book was first published—to show the power of hope, friendship, and love.

I felt Fred’s small hand grab me. He patted me and whispered, “Bear, I won’t leave you here all by yourself. You are my best friend.”

*** Which book will you choose? I decided to go for Love on Beach Avenue. ***

#amazonkindle #amazon prime members #amazonprimemembers #amazonfirstreads #Kindle #Kindlebooks #books #childrens #childrenspicturebooks #contemporary fiction #goodreads #literary fiction #PsychologicalSuspence #romance #thriller #science fiction

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undonesarc · 5 years ago

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CW FOR KIDNAPPING, EXPERIMENTATION, CHILD DEATH, VIOLENCE, TORTURE & ABUSE.

PT. I : THE FOUNDING OF EXPANSION.

The doctor credited as the “discoverer” of the H-42 gene was named Edward Holmes.

A man of wealth and fortune from birth, Holmes was not a man who pursued a career in medicine for the wealth, but strictly because of an interest in the human body, and the desire to understand it. When finally he earned his degree, using his family’s connections and money, he established a medical research company based out of NYC known as Expansion – a business whose goal was to wok towards cures for everything, from cancers and dementia to the common cold, and for the first twelve years, this was their focus.

In the dead of winter in 1972, however, a fascination was birthed in an alleyway in Brooklyn, where, on a walk through the city, the doctor stumbled upon a man able to produce flames at will: able to engulf himself in the glow of an inferno without burning an inch of skin. this man, Harrison, was far from the first to harbor such a power; he was just the one unfortunate enough to cross Holmes’ path. Homeless, lacking family and in much need of food, he agreed to come with Holmes to the lab so that he may be studied in return for meals and shelter. It was a simple arrangement in the beginning: in the early 70s, genetic testing was in its infancy, and so Holmes was limited to the basic vital testings and questions regarding family history — a profile that would later be perfected, with family trees and records a primary source of tracking down test subjects.

Three months was the initial, agreed-upon deal: three months of poking and prodding, three months of Harrison sleeping in a warm bed and eating three square meals a day. This timeline, however, slowly became steadily increased; with his status as a loner, jobless, Harrison was easy enough to manipulate into staying in Expansion, the money pilling up in exchange for more and more of his life, DNA, access to his power. While he was free to roam in the first few months, to leave as he wished, after a full year of Holmes’ experiments, Harrison found himself trapped – locked away in a cell in a sub-level of the lab, where he resided for years, slowly reduced to a shell of his former self.

From Harrison, an obsession was wrought, though cut short after an escape attempt led to Harrison’s death. Holmes, desperate to continue and expand upon his research, mourned Harrison’s death, though solely because of the loss of potential - not seeing him as a life wasted, but as a lost subject. Holmes isolated himself during this period of “mourning,” pouring over his data in his private studies in Expansion’s headquarters, and it was during this time that he began to devise a plan to further his studies.

Holmes was not alone in his endeavors; though he was the only person in contact with Harrison for the first year, in 1974, Holmes recruited Martin Brock and Kevin Wilson, two ex-classmates who he believed possessed the same qualities as himself, the same “drive” (and the same disregard for human life).

In 1981, a year after Harrison’s death, Holmes approached Brock and Wilson, and told them of his plans for a new research project he had dubbed “The Enlightenment Project.”

Though there was a plan on paper, it took years to acquire the equipment and outfit the basements of Expansion to be able to actually carry it out; it was during this prep time that Raymond Black was recruited to Expansion, specifically to head Enlightenment - he was a controversial figure in scientific circles, believing in the ‘supernatural’ and other phenomena deemed nonsense - but it was this conviction that attracted Holmes to him, that ensured him he would be a good fit for their team, because it was the so-called implausible they were chasing.

Raymond was the newest member, but had quickly become like a son to Holmes. With funds and ambitions as widespread as Holmes, he was the perfect candidate to inherit Expansion when Holmes fell ill in 1985. With no children to contest his will, Holmes modified the terms and left everything to Black, “just in case” - a precaution that was warranted. Edward Holmes died in 1989, just weeks before Enlightenment was set to actually begin.

The plan for Enlightenment was simple: seek out subjects, acquire them by any means necessary, and contain them within the lab for study. The profile provided by the tests on Harrison was bare-bones, but served as the building block for their search, and in the winter of 1989, Wilson called a meeting of the Enlightenment board and informed them of a child that was being cared for at a hospital in Baltimore. Wilson was friends with a doctor who worked there, and the two had met at a conference, where Wilson had been told about the child, being treated for cancer - and the strange marker in his DNA.

The kidnapping took place two weeks later, with Black himself stealing into the child’s home and taking him, killing his parents for extra measure - but posing the scene as an accident. All three were presumably killed in a house fire.

Dylan Carver became subject A1 in the Enlightenment Project.

He was four, and yes, incredibly sick, but resilient, and every test conducted came back positive that he possessed the H-42 gene - but merely as a carrier. There was contention between the three scientists on the benefits of keeping a sick child that could “offer little,” as his gene was passive, but eventually, it was unanimously decided that Dylan could still be of use as a test subject; more children would just have to be acquired for further study, to actually find results.

With the new plan to find more children, Black and the remaining team voted on tightening their security – to ensure no one escaped and to ensure that the other divisions of Expansion never stumbled across the children. this was when Black and Theodore de Luca met – a powerful man in his own right, son of an Italian mafia boss (that Theo himself killed, though staged it to look like a dispute with a rival family). de Luca’s family owned a security company, private military, a band of mercenaries, men with scarred faces and blood on their hands and bloodlust in their hearts. A handful of these men (those who lack remorse, who would not hesitate to hurt a child) were selected and employed by Black as security, and thus began the relationship between Expansion and Frontier, de Luca’s company.

(it is important to note that not every employee of Expansion has had a hand in the abduction and torture of children; only around fifty are involved in Enlightenment. most are consumed with legal, world-changing ventures, which earn the company more than enough revenue to cover the expenses of Enlightenment).

Black and his team believe that they are a necessary evil: that they can better this world by discovering these powers and documenting them. They believe that this is the next, natural step in human evolution, and that by unlocking these secrets of the human body and possibly finding a way to offer this advancement to everyone and not just a select few, they can better the human race.

(de Luca, on the other hand, has selfish reasons for associating himself with Enlightenment; his interest is purely to fuel his own interests, and has offered his own soldiers and even his own child to be the first to test forcing mutations in humans; his goal is to turn Enlightment’s interests towards his own and utilize their research to create super soldiers).

PT. II : THE RISE & FALL OF WING A / THE BIRTH OF REYES.

Dylan Carver was merely the beginning. His adoption in 1989 was a catalyst for things to come; while, initially, the Enlightenment team had decided on minimalizing risk and acquiring only one child, the transition of power from Holmes to de Luca & Black not only allowed researchers more funding and resources, but added a personal agenda to the mix (though this was not pubic knowledge; de Luca kept his intentions to himself, but was adamant on pushing for a quicker breakthrough regardless). The second and third child were taken from their homes in 1994, under circumstances similar to Dylan Carver’s 1989 “death.”

Over the next 5 years, men of de Luca’s organization who were easily influenced by money and trusted to be discreet and ruthless were sent across the united states to obtain children as they were identified, each kidnapping carried out differently and varied so that they seemed random and without pattern: children were taken from parks, their homes at nights, public events; their parents were murdered, their parents were injured, valuables were stolen – each crime scene presented differently. By 2000, A Wing consisted of 12 subjects, who were as follows:

Dylan Carver / subject A1, taken from Baltimore, Maryland, in 1989 (age 3).

Elle Andrews / subject A2, taken from Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1994 (age 5).

George Perlman / subject A3, taken from Detroit, Michigan, in 1994 (age 2).

Ray Coleman / subject A4, taken from Tallahassee, Florida, in 1995 (age 6 months).

Marcus Carmichael / subject A5, taken from Daring, Tennessee, in 1995 (age 4).

Alexandra Cantrell / subject A6, taken from Reno, Nevada, in 1996 (age 5).

Sarah Michaels / subject A7, taken from Ontario, Canada, in 1997 (age 5).

Mary Kim / subject A8, taken from San Diego, California, in 1998 (age 3).

Bethany Holloway / subject A9, taken from Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1998 (age 4).

Marius Hernández / subject A10, taken from Boston, Massachusetts, in 1999 (age 3).

Alexander McCormick / subject A11, taken from Hutchinson, Kansas, in 1999 (age 2).

These children were discovered by Expansion because Expansion had begun establishing free clinics across the country, offering multiple forms of healthcare - screening for cancers and paternity tests, etc, anything involving DNA made available, all results logged into Expansion’s computers, that then run through a program that produced names based on varying factors.

The story of subject A12 is different from every other subject in Enlightenment’s history.

Subject A12, given the name MATEO REYES, is the biological son of Theodore de Luca, via a surrogate, who believed de Luca to be a small-town doctor wanting to start a family with his ‘partner’ (a part played by one of the Expansion scientists). A ‘suitable’ surrogate was discovered who carried the correct markers. Immediately following Reyes’ birth, he was forced into the lab, labeled as subject A12 (he would not receive the name Mateo Reyes until the age of 16; until this point, he is referred to solely as 12).

12 was ‘raised’ by the scientists of Enlightenment, his ‘upbringing’ overseen by de Luca. His origins were not known, nor were they questioned. The primary point of study of 12′s birth and upbringing was to gauge if the gene and the powers that come with it could be forced - de Luca had secretly been receiving treatment, attempts to warp his DNA and change him into a carrier, and it was believed that these changes to him would carry through to a child.

This life is obviously very little of a ‘life’, and 12′s personality reflected that.

He was not subjected to the punishing torture of the scientists until the age of 7, but was raised in a cage nonetheless. It was also interesting to the Board to study the effect that being confined from such a small age would have on someone, and de Luca wanted him close and contained.

By the age of 7, however, with no indication of abilities (which was not uncommon - out of the 12 subjects, only 3 had shown abilities prior to the age of 10, but this did not benefit the experiment, and so it was seen as a disappointment), various methods were employed to attempt to force the mutation into maturation; it had been accidentally discovered that extreme stress to the system could throw the process into overdrive, and with de Luca’s insistence, 12 was subjected to various tortures - further isolation in darkness, then a sudden switch to constant light; confined in a smaller, blacked-out box; submerged in water for ten minute intervals at a time. it took a year of these ‘sessions’ for anything to happen - and when it did, it was an explosion.

The lights had cycled to pitch black, and a scientist observing 12′s brain activity suddenly screamed. There was an attempt to turn the lights back on, but the darkness persisted, to a stifling, suffocating point; this episode lasted for nearly an hour before finally the darkness dissipated, and the bodies of three scientists were discovered in the observation room. But the security tapes caught the incident, and what was discovered stunned the Board: the darkness had morphed into 12, had taken over the room, had killed the men. But these are the results that de Luca craved, knowing that there was the capacity of violence existing alongside these abilities, and so the unease of the scientists who reviewed the footage was ignored.

Instead, 12 was encouraged to test the limits of his abilities. Over the next few years, he discovered that shadows seemed to be alive in his presence; he could manipulate them, disappear into it, utilize it as a shield, transform it into a weapon and use it to kill (by smothering, by robbing people of their senses by stuffing them with it - it was never actively encouraged that he use this ability, but de Luca obviously enjoyed it. By the age of 13, 12 had murdered five security guards and five scientists, though the scientists were always accidental).

He was considered the biggest success of Phase I / A Wing. Most of the other children were monumental failures; out of the 12, only six actually developed abilities, two of whom escaped (subjects A4 and A5, and remain the only two ever to do so; will be talked about in a later post). In 2006, plans had begun to expand Enlightenment for a B Wing / Phase II / “second try”, because Black and Wilson and Brock were determined, despite the setback that Phase I felt like.

In 2013, when 12 was 13, the Purge of A Wing began, with the remaining subjects “disposed of” (procurement of B Wing had begun in 2009, and was finalized in 2013, shortly before The Purge).

12 was spared because of his success, and shifted over to a side project called “ARES”, the blueprint for de Luca’s super-soldiers. de Luca could commit time and effort to this because he was now a majority shareholder in Expansion, a move that Black encouraged, eager to have more of de Luca’s money in their experiments and their projects.

PT. III : PHASE II / B WING & THE AFTERMATH OF THE PURGE OF A WING.

In the years since Holmes had created Enlightenment, the profile and techniques used to scout children had greatly improved, partially due to Expansion’s establishments of medical care centers and their greatly improved medical care being made available for anyone, free of charge. Every ‘patient’ who received any sort of care beneath Expansion’s banner had their DNA logged, and as a result, a vivid picture was painted of who would be better candidates - who would actually produce results. Expansion had long-since become a global brand, ingratiating themselves not only across America, but slowly inching into Europe, and aiming to move beyond. They provided medical care and relief to countries in need; they painted themselves as heroes (which, for the most part, they really are. Like said, Enlightenment is NOT the primary goal of Expansion, and it is only a small percentage of workers who are actually aware of it. The rest is doing really good work, and has actually advanced medical care quite a bit).

But it wasn’t just only the method of finding subjects that had changed, but the care of the subjects that would be handled differently; while A Wing subjects had minimal contact with one another and little education, B Wing children would be treated less like prisoners and ‘conditioned’ to better function, because after a certain amount of years, they would be allowed back into the world - conditionally, of course. B Wing was also smaller, consisting of only six children, but the Board was confident that there would be better results despite such a small number.

The children are as follows:

Armand Kenner / subject B13, taken from Brussels, Belgium, in March 2010 (age 3).

Adriana Gomez / subject B14, taken from New York City, New York, in September 2010 (age 3).

Jade Williams / subject B15, taken from Somerset, England, in March 2011 (age 4).

Jakub Kowalczyk / subject B16, taken from Zakopane, Poland, in July 2012 (age 2).

Thomas Rivera / subject B17, taken from Charleston, West Virgina, in January 2013 (age 5).

Alexis Chernov / subject B18, taken from Moscow, Russia, in October 2013 (age 2).

While the new children of B Wing were treated more compassion, 12 was not. As the progenitor of ARES, the blueprint for a super-soldier, he was subjected to more torture; it was not enough to de Luca that he could control shadows, and so more experimental and dangerous alterations were made to him to enhance his strength and senses, to truly make him super. As a result, he possesses strengthened sight and hearing, but lacks the ability to taste; he is stronger and faster, but cannot smell. He is hulking, 6′7″ by the age of 16, growth enhanced, but his feeling is greatly reduced (primarily when it comes to pain), each ‘improvement’ robbing him of something in turn.

At the age of 16, 12 and de Luca finally met face-to-face; though de Luca had been monitoring him since birth, they had yet to actually have contact, and he felt it was finally time, to see firsthand what his DNA and money had created for him. It was during this meeting that de Luca named him Mateo Reyes - the first name ‘honoring’ a childhood friend, the surname after a character in a movie that de Luca enjoyed.

de Luca expressed his approval for Reyes, for his name and his abilities and what he will be, and Reyes tried to kill him. (He survived only because they had ‘collared’ Reyes, implanting a chip into his neck that received pulses that would render him immobile; after killing another security guard, it was deemed a necessary measure, one that even de Luca agreed to).

He was then thrown into solitary, with the Board insisting on his death - arguing that he was too unstable, not exactly the vision of the project, but de Luca held firm, despite the inability to speak because of the bruising on his throat. de Luca was thrilled with the turn of events, and dismissed their concerns - primarily because, due to the experimentation he had been subjecting himself to, death would not come so easily to him. de Luca insisted instead that they begin training Reyes to rejoin the world, as they would be doing for the B Wing children.

“He’s collared. What could go wrong?”

So his education began - but it was a difficult process. Reyes had only the most rudimentary grasp on language, and found other subjects difficult; he didn’t care for math or science, and was quick to anger when it was forced onto him, so the bulk of his education rested in filling in the gaps in his speech (which still isn’t good, but he doesn’t care) and educating him on the outside world. These lessons continued until the age of 19, when a small, contained test-run was carried out: Reyes would be accompanying de Luca to a “business meeting.”

A ‘meeting’ that turned out to be an assassination.

de Luca pressed Reyes to kill the man - a man who had attempted to steal from him, so it wasn’t random, and, to de Luca, was entirely justified. But Reyes ‘behaved’, did not attempt to hurt anyone outside the target, and since it was seen as a success, Reyes was allowed outside - only a few hours at a time, primarily at night, in the beginning, but by the age of 23, he was given an apartment near Expansion’s headquarters, and allowed to live there instead of in the lab.

The years between 19 and 23 were not easy-going, however; de Luca was more eager than ever to see how Reyes could operate in environments less-and-less contained, and pushed and pushed and pushed for him to use his abilities, always on targets personally selected by de Luca, rivals in his illegal dealings or people he’d felt had crossed him.

PT. IV : CURRENT TIMELINE, THE RESISTANCE & REYES AS A PROTAGONIST.

Despite how careful Expansion is and how clean their public image is, their activities are not entirely unknown. The public is not aware of the kidnappings and torture carried out in Expansion’s basement, but an ex-employee unaffiliated with Enlightenment absolutely is. She uncovered it purely by accident, and after a series of events, the Board became aware she knew - which led to her faking her death, with the help of a vigilante group that targets big corporations and exposes their dirty laundry - who were obviously incredibly interested in what she had to say, even with so little proof (there were copies of files stolen from Enlightenment’s databases, but it wasn’t enough to take down Expansion). This group, known as FR33DOM, switched their focus entirely to exposing Expansion.

And after three years, they found an opening.

in 2024, FR33DOM’s vigilantes, following de Luca, searching for any loose thread to pull, find that de Luca frequently visits a 24 year old man named Mateo Reyes, listed as the owner of an apartment only three streets from Expansion. Curious, FR33DOM begin to dig into Reyes’ past, and while in a cursory sweep, nothing appears out of order - it is a group of ghosts, and ghosts can recognize their own kind. It is quickly discovered that most of Reyes’ past is fabricated, and after years of searching, FR33DOM believes they finally have an opening.

What exactly Reyes’ connection is with Expansion and de Luca, they don’t know, but they’re intent on finding out.

By 2024, Raymond Black and de Luca are the only remaining original members of the Board. de Luca’s power over Enlightenment has greatly increased, and with it, so has his arrogance; he believes they should be pushing more, demanding more of the subjects. With this increase in power, more and more of the workers of the Project have aligned themselves with him over Black, and are quick to agree with him - there is guaranteed money in it for them, after all, so why wouldn’t they agree? de Luca demands that they pay more attention to ARES, of which Reyes continues to be the only subject, and Black, feeling cornered, agrees.

Some of de Luca’s mercenaries are then taken in and put through the same torture as Reyes.

de Luca informs Reyes of this development in person, but Reyes does not react well. Despite his conditioning and the years of torture and knowing only the lab, he has a hatred for Enlightenment, Expansion, and de Luca; he has a hatred for the world, for forcing him into this position and allowing him to experience what he has, and so Reyes does not react well to knowing that it will happen again. A fight occurs between the two, and Reyes throws de Luca from a window.

The vigilantes from FR33DOM watch this unfold. They watch Reyes leave, and they follow him.

But Reyes’ heightened senses alert him to this, and, reacting badly because he does not know how to react any other way, he ends up nearly killing one of them - but de Luca has awoken by this point, and he has activated Reyes’ collar, and Reyes is brought down and his GPS activated so that he can be collected and returned to Enlightenment to ‘cool down’ - but FR33DOM took him instead for questioning.

It was easy enough for them to disable the chip, to wake him up, to interrogate him - but as he slowly grew conscious again and the shadows began to react to his panic, he was slowly embraced by them, drawing towards him protectively. This led to the FR33DOM vigilantes to re-enable his chip and leave him on the side of the road, where Enlightenment security found him, and brought him back for questioning.

de Luca was disappointed, but not to a level that would agree to Reyes being ‘disposed of.’ His punishment was a month in solitary, and Reyes took it, but did not feel bad for what he did to de Luca - his only regret was that he didn’t kill him.

When Reyes’ confinement was finished, and he was able to go back to his apartment, he found a man sitting on his bed, wearing a plague doctor’s mask. Despite Reyes’ recent ‘episode’ and his upbringing, Reyes’ apartment was not under surveillance; FR33DOM had discovered this, and had deemed it a good enough risk to send in one of their own to talk to Reyes and discover who he was and his connection to de Luca. They had been waiting for the month, and had begun to lose hope, when finally they discovered that Reyes was no longer in Expansion (they had hijacked the connection to his chip, and could see his location and the other details provided by it, just as Enlightenment can.)

Reyes told the truth, because he was never taught to lie.

CURRENTLY: FR33DOM is attempting to recruit Reyes into their ranks and use him to take down Expansion from the inside, but he continues to resist their advances, despite his hatred for de Luca. He does not trust anyone easily, and they’re no exception. Reyes continues to practice his abilities, and is slowly coming to the realization that he wants out from underneath de Luca’s thumb completely. The freedom offered to him currently just isn’t enough.

#REYES.#REYES: META.

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abundantchewtoys · 6 years ago

Text

HS Epi: Meat p16 reaction

Reaction under the cut!

Still in the process of, well, processing the defeat of Lord English and all those deaths.

I wonder if, through some esoteric means, Jade's body would be used by Caliborn to try and escape his fate. She's an ex-First Guardian, so he might have a connection to her body. Plus, if that would happen, that would be the final time the wolf head could be connected to LE - since Jade's half dog.

Blaperile thought also of the server representing LE's DNA, running somewhere in the Furthest Ring. Maybe that fell into the Black Hole too, though?

I wonder what is even going to happen to John now. I mean, he still has the Ring of Life, someone could find him and put it on his finger. Someone like Terezi. It could be Meenah as well, in an ultimate sacrifice - she once said she'd run him through again to steal his ring, but maybe she'll sacrifice her chance at life for him. Some form of ultimate redemption for the Condesce, in a way.

If Terezi finds him, odds are she'll have found out about Vriska somehow. :/ I doubt any ghosts are left in the Furthest Ring on the one hand. On the other hand, we haven't seen any mention of any of the other trolls mentioned in the character list. Nor of GO Vriska & Terezi, though they might have double died through the cracks that encroached on them.

A third option to find John is Aradia - since she was so intent on witnessing the end of Paradox Space and seeing what'd happen if the place came falling apart.

Or maybe John will have some sort of vision, like a special afterlife, with his Dad there, before he wakes up / revives? I can only hope.

I doubt the Ring is multi-use, but if it were, it would sure be something if Meenah could be revived as well as John! And for Aradia and Terezi (and Meenah?) to come back with him to Earth C, now there's nothing left in the Furthest Ring for them. If Meenah came to Earth C, the Crocker run for president would have some serious competition! :P Not that I'd really root for Meenah to win, though, since she's quite clearly unfit to lead a country, only a strike force.

I've also got to wonder how long Andrew has been planning to have Davesprite be the one to kill Lord English? I'm sure much of what Davepeta became grew organically, as well as the other components of Lord English, but it seems to me the Davesprite part was always planned. But he sure is a master of tying in later details into the evolving story.

Like, for instance, LE biting Dave's head off reminds me of Hearts Boxcars doing the same for Eggs. Dave and eggs...

So, it was all doomed and retconned selves that were instrumental in bringing down Lord English, you know. John is pre-retcon, the other B2 kids came from a temporary offshoot. Tavros was also pre-retcon. Meenah came from a scratched session. Davesprite was doomed. All those troll ghosts were doomed. Alternate Calliope was doomed. The only exception is the Nepeta part of Davepeta, and she was so irrelevant to the timeline's major events before her prototyping as to almost not count. These were the glitches in spacetime that could kill Lord English. It's fitting, since Lord English was so focused on the main timeline and being the 'alpha', that he couldn't see where his 'doom' would come from.

Anyway. The page ended with a command to John, so I'm rather convinced the next page will continue from John's perspective.

---

"ROSE: When I was a child, I wrote a novel." Well, never mind!

Well, okay, I guess that, even though John's perspective has just ended in what could have been the ending of Homestuck, I would very much like to learn more about Complacency of the Learned and its potential ramifications as to the rest of the plot! Guess now's the moment to find out why the story isn't ending just yet.

"She has both hands resting on the chassis of his recent project, Sawtooth 3.1." Soooo... Was Sawhoo supposed to be Sawtooth 2.0? :P I wonder what improvements Dirk could be implementing. Also, whether he ever intends to use the rapbot on his show. I get a feeling most of the robots there never leave novice mode, actually.

"DIRK: Another one of those Lalonde childhood wizard fics, I presume?" Yeah, now I'm reminded of Wizardy Herbert, Roxy's supposed work. I never did get through that draft of it Andrew wrote all those years prior, I got to admit.

I'm guessing Rose has found a way to connect her old fic to the grander context of canon, realizing some of the stuff she put into the story came from her aspect?

"With the sunset behind her she’s a shadow ringed in yellow light that turns white at the tips of her hair." Pfff, circumstantial simultaneity strikes again! That's just like how Reload Rose looked. Alternatively, she has a bit of a halo right now.

"ROSE: It’s more raw. It betrays considerably more sincerity than my young self was surely ever aware of stitching into the prose." Hah, guess Rose was not as good at hiding her own feelings as she tried back then, hiding behind that passive-aggressiveness.

I wonder if this is Andrew talking about how some of his early work, maybe even early Homestuck, was a lot closer to his heart than the epic story it grew into, despite said level of epicness.

"ROSE: It meant something." Maybe adult Rose's work was too polished, too betraying of her literacy and a bit removed from the essence of what she was trying to say. That could be due to its nature as anti-propaganda aimed against Condesce.

"DIRK: Hmm." There Dirk goes again, with the autoresponder-enabling short responses.

"ROSE: For all its plainly evident amateurism as the literary product of a child, I’ve come to believe it’s a much stronger work standing alone as a single volume, its meaning and symbolism potently compressed, and its message shining through more nakedly, undisguised by the cleverness of a more seasoned writer." Again, Andrew comparing Team Special Olympics and such things to his later work?

"The plot concerns the machinations of twelve wizard children." Oh, I thought it was focused on twelve adult wizards, including Zazzerpan?

"ROSE: It isn’t their intent to commit atrocities, or within their nature to do so originally. They become corrupted by an overabundance of knowledge. The kind never meant for the mortal mind to grasp." They went grimdark. :P Also, I suppose this leads into Rose's misgivings regarding the ultimate self.

"ROSE: It certainly wasn’t the most fucked up thing I’ve ever written." ... Oh right, the MEOW code. Yeah, that must take 1st place.

"as if I were pulling inspiration from beyond myself—channeling the story, rather than writing it." Almost as if she got it from the Void more even than her then-latent aspect!

"spiderwebs of gold that dissolve into dust" ... Really, sure, go ahead, keep rubbing salt into that wound. :P

"ROSE: You could almost call the process... [...] She’s smirking now, just a little." Brace for pun-pact!

"ROSE: ...enlightened." Eyyyyy!

DIRK: It also sounds like it’s the opposite of what was going on?" Dirk also thinks it sounds more like a Void thing?

"DIRK: Sounds more like you were trapped in a sort of dire creative fugue state causing you to chart your own mental profile using metaphor revolving around murderous, omniscient children." ... So that's where the locquacious genes came from. Also in-deep-analysis.

"ROSE: Well, consider the playful pun rescinded.

ROSE: Apologies for diminishing your presence with my suboptimal health and the toll it has taken on my wordplay.

DIRK: Thanks. It’s been very difficult for me.

ROSE: You’ve been a real trouper." These two, are the best.

"ROSE: Anyway, my point is that I’ve long suspected my story was a pre-manifestation of my Seer of Light powers. I was seeing beyond my universe into another." Yyyeah, but, the analogy with the trolls doesn't hold up after the first glance, and she (or her adult self) also incorporated things from other timelines and universes. The genderqueer Cal... I forgot what the full name was..., for instance.

Meanwhile, Dave has been well aware his subconcsiousness is influencing him, and he has been looking and found the "least psychologically revealing" SBaHJ comic, as a result.

"ROSE: My original thesis was that the children represented the twelve trolls who created our universe." Ooh, so she noticed it too. Guess she might now be thinking the twelve are representations of the B2 kids, Karkat, Kanaya, Calliope and... someone else?

"DIRK: Twelve. That’s how many players went through the door at the end of our game." Riiiight, Terezi went through as well!

"When she finds herself leaning against him—probably without thinking about it, Dirk imagines, because neither of them really “do” that—he doesn’t pull away. If it’s her, it’s all right." That just shows the difference in how he and Rose behave versus he and Dave, where the distance or proximity is always a tangible thing.

"DIRK: You describe this as a fact of numerological significance.

DIRK: Which makes it seem you suspect these correlations are something less than utterly providential. As if there is a part of you holding on to the belief that certain figures are coincidental. That their significance and repetition smacks of bullshit." Heheh, there are a LOT of repeating numbers in the story though, bullshit or not. Twelve is just one of them: 4 6 10 11 12 13 25 ... Seems like Dirk holds them in higher esteem than Rose, though. If he's sincere.

"It’s unclear exactly which things are smacking, just as it’s unclear that when it comes to bullshit, whether or not smacking accurately describes what is being done per se." This metaphor has gone off track again.

"DIRK: I’m just saying it’s all evidence of a grand design. An immortal, metatextual apparatus beyond our ken that we can only catch glimpses of when we’re proverbially shitting our brains out through our nose." They can almost see Andrew. :P In-canon, the closest to such a reveal were John and Jade, but they let the moment of epiphany pass them by as they started their 3-year-long journey. :P

"ROSE: They were filled with the light of knowledge and one by one they succumbed to it, turning insane or evil or, most often, both." Ah, right, like the guy that filled that tome with knowledge and was crushed by it, that Roxy named Jaspers after.

"ROSE: If this is the effect unchecked powers have on players living in a post-canon victory state, then why isn’t it affecting any of our other friends?" Let the theories about evil power-hungry Jane commence! Though, what other effects could we even see right now, not much. Plus, Kanaya, Karkat, Terezi and Calliope won't feel the effects of an ultimate self ascension, at least.

"DIRK: Well." Don't say "now you mention it", Dirk. Please.

"some of us have stopped using our powers completely." Oh, he thinks that it's not so much power that corrupts, but the continued use of it?

"emergency resurrections" But he also doesn't seem to think then that what Jane is planning reeks of her getting slowly corrupted, huh.

"sportsball riot" I wouldn't be surprised if sportsball is an actual thing on this planet, courtesy of Dave's influence in shaping society.

"ROSE: In that case...

Rose sways suddenly." Eesh, she's starting to get woozy.

"ROSE: Maybe I was a fool for imagining I could settle down here." :/ It would be shitty for Paradox Space to do this to the players for no good reason, though. Then again, Sburb.

"occasional banter about adoption with her wife" Ooh, cool. Well, yeah, it would stand to reason Maryams like to become mothers. :)

"ROSE: I assumed it was just that feigned Strider Stoicism, but you seem to be taking this...

DIRK: In stride?" Awww-yeah. Sorry Rose, you have nothing to top Strider Dad jokes.

DIRK: But I’ve got more practice at this than you do. I spent most of my life before the game multitasking my entire fucking subconscious. I’ve had several times my age on paper to contemplate these mysteries.

DIRK: Years of prying open can after can of worms filled with answers I don’t like.

DIRK: Cut yourself on the edge more than once and you stop getting surprised by all the blood.

ROSE: I see." So it's as if, due to Dirk already having such an extensive memory from juggling dream and awake selves, he's handling all the input better. Maybe, relatively speaking, it's less that's coming in for him, too. I mean, his dream selves mustn't have gone through many different things. Plus, maybe merging with Lil' Hal does something for you to be able to handle big data. :O

"ROSE: In fact, I don’t think it’s the expansion of my powers that is causing the headaches, but rather my own resistance to it.

ROSE: Sometimes I get this feeling that I could, if I really wanted to, just let go." I think Rose might prefer to keep to her current self, if she could. Like the narration said, she's basically still a solitary creature. The expansion of experiences is proving too jarring.

"ROSE: I’m forcing myself to stumble through my life as a sleepwalker. All this pain and sorrow could go away if I would just allow myself to wake up." Between this and "letting go", it seems like an ultimate self ascension is perhaps even going to go further than the psychologically, maybe even physically. If that's so, Dirk might be further ahead but not there yet. But once they'd ascend, there wouldn't be coming back from it, I would think, and they'd leave their old lives and Earth C behind, to go to another plane of existence, maybe?

"ROSE: Because I’m not sure that the person opening her eyes will be me." ... Now I'm thinking about how the last command aimed at John was for him to close his eyes. :/ Could that mean he's about to go through a sped-up ascension?

Rose has the unfortunate occasion to compare her ascension to Jasprosesprite^2, so I very much understand she has very grave misgivings about "expanding her mental horizons", so to speak.

"Then, in a deliberate motion, he pulls off his shades." ... Say, would his eyes have changed if he merged with Lil' Hal, even just psychologically? I know the autoresponder was a pair of shades without eyes, but the Hal monitor had that red buzzing light which represented his eyeballs on at least one occasion.

"DIRK: I know I sound pretty nonchalant most of the time, but actually I’m scared shitless of myself.

DIRK: I’ve always had this uncanny ability to chart a course from A to Z and not give a fuck about any of the letters in between.

DIRK: I’m not sure anyone should be allowed to have that much foresight. Especially a guy like me." Well, that's a healthy self-assessment and fear. Though, foresight? It would be more akin to intuition, right, knowing how people responded in different situations? ... Which sounds like Mind powers, actually, come to think of it.

"ROSE: The farther above the board you fly, the harder it gets to care about the pieces." Is that part of the reason Terezi left, if she forced an ultimate self ascension on her with her Remem8er act?

"DIRK: And yes, I may be a shitty human being, but,

DIRK: As a mechanic, I’m off the fucking charts." Well, that certainly are points to Dirk being at least marginally better as an adult than Bro, if only out of self-awareness. Speaking of, does he have access to Bro's memories now, too? Also, the mechanic part is leading into the Soulbot I theorized about? Wait, mechanic... Dirk and Darkleer should have a build-off.

"Rose’s eyes have grown distant, almost mirrorlike. Dirk can see himself reflected in her vacant stare.

ROSE: All the pieces in their place.

ROSE: The mechanisms all running smoothly." Has Dirk... hypnotized her?

"She says this in a hollow tone. It’s the disarming voice a puppeteer ventriloquizes for a marionette. Her head falls toward her shoulder slowly. Dirk catches her cheek as she slides into sleep. It’s difficult for the untrained ear to spot the exact moment in their conversation when the words she was saying stopped being hers and started being his." ... What did I just watch. ... How. Why? ... Did Dirk use any Heart powers here? I can't...

"Does it really matter? In many respects, they’re basically the same person, aren’t they?" Kind of creepy to say that about your hypnotized daughter, though.

"Kindred spirits in blood and perspective, the puppet masters of the respective games they like to believe they’re playing." ... Puppets. Puppets and games. ... This is building up into a Saw reference and I don't like it one bit. "I want to play a game." ... I do hope Dirk's ascension hasn't seen him get influenced by Lord English.

... You know, though, maybe Dirk was able to influence Rose because of their strong connection, since she's so close to his self she's almost like another shard of him, more so than other people that contain shards of his essence, like Brain Ghost Dirk for Jake.

"But you already knew that, right?" Aaaaaaah, he took over the narration! ... He took over Andrew??? Is that a power for ultimate selves, to get access to the narrative prompt?? If so, then Caliborn was not an exception, just the primary example.

... He's pulled a Doc Scratch on us.

Dear god.

What to make of this. I think Dirk might be the hidden antagonist of Earth C. His Heart powers might be able to influence and even control people.

I just hope he isn't going to absorb them all.

... Man, this started baring on innocuous and look at how chilling the ending of the page is.

I think through his influence, people might start behaving exactly as he predicted, enforcing him being right and securing influence at the same time. I mean, if he merged with memories from Lil Hal, Doc Scratch and perhaps even LE... He's become a master manipulator.

... This is basically "shh, only dreams now" D:

#homestuck #upd8 #homestuck epilogues #homestuck liveblog #dirk strider #rose lalonde #spoiler alert #reaction

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movingcrimejournalist · 6 years ago

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🌸🌸. YOU KNOW WHAT’S SEXY ? YOUR CAR.

She may not have been born on the Southside of Riverdale, but she wasn’t much of a Northsider either. In fact, she didn’t know where she belonged ? Once, raised for a while in the Northside of Riverdale, until hitting the age of 6. Parents Hal Cooper & Alice Cooper marriage fails when Hal discovers that his wife is very much still in contact with the Southside Serpents. Alice not being able to let go of who she is, her past and never did. It’s part of her. And she’s proud of it. She had made up excuses how she was working late-nights at the Register when really, her mom drove over to the Southside, Serpent Jacket clinging to her body where it belonged. Doing her duty as a South Side Serpent. Hal had enough of Alice’s double life and had her choose. It was either her father or the Serpents, and her mother chose the Serpents.

They settled on a divorce, Joint Custody of the kids. Alice moving to the Southside of Riverdale, and Hal staying in The Northside. Soon enough, the children become more involved in the Southside life. Following in their mothers’ footsteps. Coopers had a falling out, Chic and Polly don’t get along with Hal since when visiting, they would proudly show off their Serpent jackets. He didn’t accept them becoming part of that life. Won’t accept it. Polly & Chic favor their mother over their father and don’t make time to visit him. Unlike Betty, who finds herself in the middle of it all. Though she prefers living with her mother, and once refused to visit her father and would once meet him at Pop’s. Eventually, as she grew up, the guilt of leaving her father alone, coursed through her veins. And by the age of 16, made a decision to start staying at her fathers home, from time to time. ( soon enough she begins to visit him a little too often. ) Betty becomes part of the Serpents at the age of 16, wanting to be more committed and to make her mother proud. She wants to become part of something. Having to go through the Serpents initiation, just like every Serpent had. Going through the four stages just like those before her. Her mother, brother, and sister, and now her. Taking care of Hot Dog, Memorizing the Serpent Law, Retrieve the knife from the Rattlesnake cage,&lastly, the Gauntlet. Chic is the one to hand Betty her Serpent Jacket since it was his idea in the first place to have Betty involved. Saying ‘family stick together!’ Reminding her if she isn’t a Serpent, she’s just like their father. An outsider. On the side, when on her own. Betty is mostly seen fixing cars, as a hobby of hers ! She likes to drown herself into. Not only is it a hobby, but she fixes her car for big races that are to come. Racing, being free. It keeps Betty from thinking too much of her family issues and keeps her from spiraling out of control. It’s her escape from the Southside, the Northside, and her family when things are getting too much for her to handle. It also helps her from harming herself [ TW: SELF-HARM ] — Betty has the tendency to dig her nails into her palms. Hurting herself when everyone decides to take it out on her, or tug-a-war at her. Deciding her life for her, making her promise she won’t ever betray them. She’s living a double life, just as her mom had once upon a time. But unlike her mother, she can’t handle it. Pretending to be what everyone wants you to be. The southside princess, or the girl next door.

That’s not her only problem. Her father drinks often. He’ll curse the names of her mother and sister & brother, for abandonment. Blaming her in his drunken state. Insulting the Southside with deep hatred. Letting the world know just how much he loathed the Serpents. And how no son or daughter of his, is going to be part of such a thug-life. Already disowning his sister and brother. ( Which is the reason why she hides her jacket from him. afraid her father will disown her if he found out. ) The thought of displeasing her mother or her sister also send Betty off the charts, increasing the anxiety in her chest. She doesn’t know where she belongs at this point ? or what to do. She’s stuck in the middle of her own family war. Being torn apart. And with racing, it takes her mind off of that, with fixing her car, it takes her to her own little world. Where she can just be Betty Cooper, and no one else.

NAME : Elizebeth Jane Cooper [ GOES BY BETTY ] FACE CLAIM : Lili Reinhart AGE : 18 - 20s ( 30s even if we develop a life ) GENDER : Female HAIR : Blonde EYE COLOR : Green OCCUPATION : Southside Serpent DATE OF BIRTH : Sep 6th HIGH SCHOOL ATTENDED : Southside High ACQUAINTANCES [ RELATIONSHIPS ] : Alice Cooper, Hal Cooper, Polly Cooper, Chic Cooper [ SMITH W/E ] // Kevin Keller ( depends ). Archie Andrews ( depends ) , Jughead Jones ( depends ) , Veronica Lodge ( depends ) . Toni Topaz ( depends ) , Sweet Pea ( depends ) , Cheryl Blossom ( depends ) . FP ( depends ) . Penny Peabody.[TBH IT DEPENDS ON PLOTTING WISE ] & [ ANYONE ELSE WHO IS A SERPENT / NORTHSIDERS + OC CHARACTERS ]

🌸🌸. YOU DON’T OWN ME.

NOTE .

Born on the Northside or Riverdale up until the age of 6.

Raised on the South Side her entire life.

Attended Southside High.Graduated Highschool

Relationship with her parents : complicated. ( though it can depend )

Has two older siblings. : Chic & Polly.

Relationship with her brother : Hate between the two. ( awful sibling relationship )

Joins the Serpents because Chic forced her into this life.

Loves building cars / and street racing.

Flirtatious.

Pulls herself away from emotions such as ( romance – she tries )

Hopeless Romantic.

Believes in spirits and of the unknown.

Owns tarot card. Into Wcca.

Has Blossom blood.

Several tattoos.

Lives two lives.

One is a South Side Serpent.

The other is the perfect girl next door.

Thrills for freedom and the darkness.

Loyalty to a T.

Wicked.

A little out there. ( Coopers/ Blossoms. What can you do ? )

Soft.

Sharp nails,

revealing clothing.

Works as a waitress at the age of 16 - up until she’s 18

COOPERS have a charter at GREENDALE ( Chic/ or Alice would be the one to lead it. ) It’s some club looking place. Coopers are known to be wild, and it’s always insane.

Has she killed ? ( Yes. She. Has. )

A FEW DETAILS ON THIS VERSE:

Age: 16-20s

Betty visits her dad on the weekends. She mostly lives with her mother. But when getting into a fight with her mother or sister, she’ll head over to her fathers’ place.

Believes what the others tell her, that Northsiders are bad news. Least what her sister tells her. [ Polly being an ex of Jason. Using that as the excuse as to why Betty shouldn’t trust them. That they’ll just hurt you and have no care. And will mock her life. treat her like trash ]

NOTE : if Betty does get involved with a northsider, she won’t want her sister Polly to know. or any of her southside friends. in fact, she might try to push it aside, and forget about it. She doesn’t want to look like a betrayer to her Southside family. Hal Cooper is neighbors to the Andrew’s.

She didn’t start coming back to the Northside until after she became a Serpent. Around until 16. [ trying to form a proper relationship with her father ]

illegal street racing. It’s part of her escape. Not something she tends to share with anyone. Not even her own family knows.

Fixes cars at her dads’ place as a hobby of hers.

Keeps to herself.

Comes off rude at first, though she does have a soft spot, even for certain Northsiders if it comes to that point.

Friends with Sabrina // love the whole dark aesthetic of witchcraft. Voodoo / perhaps things that make people question who insanity.

She’s honestly more in touch with her darkness.

#verse bio.#TBN.

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btlamp22 · 3 years ago

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Now I know we have all heard this very controversial name that has been going around social media like crazy and viewership of this person has been rising and doesn't plan on stopping.. That's right Andrew Tate and the Tate brothers. Now I know what you all are probably saying, “ I hate him” “he's a misogynist “ hes a,b,c i've heard all the same story, However i'm here to bring out the context that other people don't see. First thing first is let's talk about who is andrew tate? Andrew tate is a big time internet personality and four time world kickboxing champion from England who has been known for his kickboxing career as well as being on big brother and being known as a “misogynist” and recent videos and comments he has made. In this blog i want to provide the background story and bring out the truth about andrew tate and show how i plan on rebranding andrew tate

So let's first talk about rebranding him. First thing first i want to talk about his overall plan about how there are 3 phases “ phases one was hustlers university.. Allowing people to trust me and make the finances to get out of the matrix..”. So we see that phase 1 was the start, it was him building a name for himself and building his base. Between hustlers university and the war room that was the start. Then he got canceled which was exactly what Andrew Tate wanted. So now Andrew Tate is entering phase 2 which is him becoming one of the top influencers and one of the top men in the world has phase 2 plan spreads out. Stuff included in phase 2 would be Hustler University 2.0, the Tate foundations which is separated into two parts one rasing awareness and money for women who have been assaulted and raped and the other being for men mental health, and educating and inspring young men to escape the matrix and help men become better versions of themselves. Phase 3 hasnt been started but if I had a say in it to help Andrew Tate, I would expand all of his foundations as well as continue his philanthropy in other areas and expand his horizon and platform on educating young men and destroying the matrix.

One of the First and big controversial things that was a huge surprise when the video was released of him hitting a girlfriend of his at the time which got a lot of attention and brought him a lot of controversy. Now before you all start going on calling him a woman beater he has come out through multiple interviews explaining the situation of him and his girlfriend just playing around . Also the biggest piece of evidence proving how he didn't really do anything wrong is his Ex girlfriend who was the girlfriend getting hit came out and specifically said quote “ it was consensual foreplay that we like doing that I was into that I wanted it was not abuse there was no physical domestic violence happening..”(virility). Keep in mind as well this is not the first time Andrew's ex-girlfriend has made this same claim. She's made this claim numerous times and no matter what interview you hear it's the same story. I would also like to talk about how Andrew tate has been accused of human trafficking and keeping women hostage which for the record is false. Now this could be a very very controversial argument simply because every argument that will be stated is “ well he doesn’t care of women and he doesn't treat women right and he ran a web cam business” however it is true he ran a webcam business it was all through consent those who wanted to do it and make some money stayed while the ones who didn't left. Now yes there was and ongoing investigation on his human trafficking situation however recent eviedence has been shown that the women who said they were being held hostage had multiple chances of leaving but chose not to leave.( video will be link). So this shows that all he has done has been consensual and also that the case slowly faded away because there was not enough evidence to prove the state brothers guilty.

So the second controversial thing being brought up about the tate brothers is that he is teaching “toxic masculinity” however before we can go on and talk about masculinity first we must talk about the definition of masculinity. According to the order of man, “masculinity is to hone in the traits that make you a strong, powerful, and effective natural man. Now this is a very broad term of what masculinity is however no matter where you look it all becomes the similar answer to which masculinity is the traits that create strong men. Now when we sit here and talk about strong powerful men it's not much as physically, it's more of in the sense someone who is physically mentaly and emotionally strong and powerful which is what Andrew Tate is trying to teach young men. Now a lot of people will think that when i say strong mentally, physically and emotionally people will think that i'm telling men to hide their emotions or will think that's what Andrew Tate is doing however Andrew Tate is a strong advocate for men's mental health. In this blog i will post a video of Andrew Tate explaining a story of where he saved a man's life from sucided and also later on in this blog i will talk more about hisnfoundation which he plans on starting. Even Andrew Tate has said it himself “ if you are depressed go to the gym a strong body is a strong mind” which is very true. I've been going to the gym for 3 years and gym not only has given me great confidence and strength but has been an outlet for my anger, depression, anxiety, whatever the case may be. Whether your outlet is the gym or something else what Andrew Tate is trying to say is to take care of your well being but also find an outlet for yourself to better yourself as a human being. But yet the funny thing is when we do go to the gym, get in shape, fight, take care of ourselves we tend to get talked down on and we get called toxic and that's where the problem is.

And also a fun fact because i know people will say this but people will say oh well what about what Andrew Tate believes about the lgtbq community? Well according to Andrew Tate “ I actually had a friend in high school who was gay.. He would make fun of me for being American and I would make fun of him for being gayback then… and yet I stuck up for him and prevented anyone else picking on him all of the time.. And I heard from him after this ban and he said you should mention the fact that the things I said about you are completely not true” (). So here we have someone who is apart of the lgtbq community saying that he was good friends with andrew tate and defend him.

Personally I feel that Andrew Tate is a great influence for men like me and can be a bigger influence and help a lot more people out if people would just see through the garbage they think and actually look at the real content and themes he talks about and oversee the bullshit drama. Now I'd like to finish off with a quote from Andrew Tate, ``my unmatched perspicacity coupled with sheer indefinability makes me a feared opponent in any realm of human endeavor”.

youtube

#Youtube

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brookstonalmanac · 3 years ago

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Events 9.11

9 – The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends: The Roman Empire suffers the greatest defeat of its history and the Rhine is established as the border between the Empire and the so-called barbarians for the next four hundred years. 1185 – Isaac II Angelos kills Stephen Hagiochristophorites and then appeals to the people, resulting in the revolt that deposes Andronikos I Komnenos and places Isaac on the throne of the Byzantine Empire. 1297 – Battle of Stirling Bridge: Scots jointly led by William Wallace and Andrew Moray defeat the English. 1390 – Lithuanian Civil War (1389–92): The Teutonic Knights begin a five-week siege of Vilnius. 1541 – Santiago, Chile, is attacked by indigenous warriors, led by Michimalonco, to free eight indigenous chiefs held captive by the Spaniards. 1565 – Ottoman forces retreat from Malta ending the Great Siege of Malta. 1609 – Henry Hudson arrives on Manhattan Island and meets the indigenous people living there. 1649 – Siege of Drogheda ends: Oliver Cromwell's Parliamentarian troops take the town and execute its garrison. 1683 – Battle of Vienna: Coalition forces, including the famous winged Hussars, led by Polish King John III Sobieski lift the siege laid by Ottoman forces. 1697 – Battle of Zenta: a major engagement in the Great Turkish War (1683–1699) and one of the most decisive defeats in Ottoman history. 1708 – Charles XII of Sweden stops his march to conquer Moscow outside Smolensk, marking the turning point in the Great Northern War. The army is defeated nine months later in the Battle of Poltava, and the Swedish Empire ceases to be a major power. 1709 – Battle of Malplaquet: Great Britain, Netherlands, and Austria fight against France. 1714 – Siege of Barcelona: Barcelona, capital city of Catalonia, surrenders to Spanish and French Bourbon armies in the War of the Spanish Succession. 1758 – Battle of Saint Cast: France repels British invasion during the Seven Years' War. 1775 – Benedict Arnold's expedition to Quebec leaves Cambridge, Massachusetts. 1776 – British–American peace conference on Staten Island fails to stop nascent American Revolutionary War. 1777 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Brandywine: The British celebrate a major victory in Chester County, Pennsylvania. 1780 – American Revolutionary War: Sugarloaf massacre: A small detachment of militia from Northampton County, Pennsylvania, are attacked by Native Americans and Loyalists near Little Nescopeck Creek. 1786 – The beginning of the Annapolis Convention. 1789 – Alexander Hamilton is appointed the first United States Secretary of the Treasury. 1792 – The Hope Diamond is stolen along with other French crown jewels when six men break into the house where they are stored. 1800 – The Maltese National Congress Battalions are disbanded by British Civil Commissioner Alexander Ball. 1802 – France annexes the Kingdom of Piedmont. 1803 – Battle of Delhi, during the Second Anglo-Maratha War, between British troops under General Lake, and Marathas of Scindia's army under General Louis Bourquin. 1813 – War of 1812: British troops arrive in Mount Vernon and prepare to march to and invade Washington, D.C. 1814 – War of 1812: The climax of the Battle of Plattsburgh, a major United States victory in the war. 1826 – Captain William Morgan, an ex-freemason is arrested in Batavia, New York for debt after declaring that he would publish The Mysteries of Free Masonry, a book against Freemasonry. This sets into motion the events that led to his mysterious disappearance. 1829 – An expedition led by Isidro Barradas at Tampico, sent by the Spanish crown to retake Mexico, surrenders at the Battle of Tampico, marking the effective end of Mexico's campaign for independence. 1830 – Anti-Masonic Party convention; one of the first American political party conventions. 1836 – The Riograndense Republic is proclaimed by rebels after defeating Empire of Brazil's troops in the Battle of Seival, during the Ragamuffin War. 1851 – Christiana Resistance: Escaped slaves led by William Parker fight off and kill a slave owner who, with a federal marshal and an armed party, sought to seize three of his former slaves in Christiana, Pennsylvania, thereby creating a cause célèbre between slavery proponents and abolitionists. 1852 – Outbreak of Revolution of September 11 resulting in the State of Buenos Aires declaring independence as a Republic. 1857 – The Mountain Meadows massacre: Mormon settlers and Paiutes massacre 120 pioneers at Mountain Meadows, Utah. 1881 – In the Swiss state of Glarus, a rockslide buries parts of the village of Elm, destroying 83 buildings and killing 115 people. 1897 – After months of pursuit, generals of Menelik II of Ethiopia capture Gaki Sherocho, the last king of the Kaffa. 1903 – The first race at the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin is held. It is the oldest major speedway in the world. 1905 – The Ninth Avenue derailment occurs in New York City, killing 13. 1914 – World War I: Australia invades German New Guinea, defeating a German contingent at the Battle of Bita Paka. 1914 – The Second Period of Russification: The teaching of the Russian language and Russian history in Finnish schools is ordered to be considerably increased as part of the forced Russification program in Finland run by Tsar Nicholas II. 1916 – The Quebec Bridge's central span collapses, killing 11 men. The bridge previously collapsed completely on August 29, 1907. 1919 – United States Marine Corps invades Honduras. 1921 – Nahalal, the first moshav in Palestine, is settled as part of a Zionist plan of creating a Jewish state, later to be Israel. 1922 – The Treaty of Kars is ratified in Yerevan, Armenia. 1941 – Construction begins on The Pentagon. 1941 – Charles Lindbergh's Des Moines Speech accusing the British, Jews and FDR's administration of pressing for war with Germany. 1943 – World War II: German troops occupy Corsica and Kosovo-Metohija ending the Italian occupation of Corsica. 1944 – World War II: The Western Allied invasion of Germany begins near the city of Aachen. 1944 – World War II: RAF bombing raid on Darmstadt and the following firestorm kill 11,500. 1945 – World War II: Australian 9th Division forces liberate the Japanese-run Batu Lintang camp, a POW and civilian internment camp on the island of Borneo. 1954 – Hurricane Edna hits New England (United States) as a Category 2 hurricane, causing significant damage and 29 deaths. 1961 – Hurricane Carla strikes the Texas coast as a Category 4 hurricane, the second strongest storm ever to hit the state. 1965 – Indo-Pakistani War: The Indian Army captures the town of Burki, just southeast of Lahore. 1967 – China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) launched an attack on Indian posts at Nathu La, Sikkim, India, which resulted in military clashes. 1968 – Air France Flight 1611 crashes off Nice, France, killing 89 passengers and six crew. 1970 – The Dawson's Field hijackers release 88 of their hostages. The remaining hostages, mostly Jews and Israeli citizens, are held until September 25. 1971 – The Egyptian Constitution becomes official. 1972 – The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit system begins passenger service. 1973 – A coup in Chile, headed by General Augusto Pinochet, topples the democratically elected president Salvador Allende. Pinochet exercises dictatorial power until ousted in a referendum in 1988, staying in power until 1990. 1973 – JAT Airways Flight 769 crashes into the Maganik mountain range while on approach to Titograd Airport, killing 35 passengers and six crew. 1974 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 crashes in Charlotte, North Carolina, killing 69 passengers and two crew. 1976 – A bomb planted by a Croatian terrorist, Zvonko Bušić, is found at New York's Grand Central Terminal; one NYPD officer is killed trying to defuse it. 1980 – A new constitution of Chile is established under the influence of then Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, which is subject to controversy in Chile today. 1982 – The international forces that were guaranteeing the safety of Palestinian refugees following Israel's 1982 Invasion of Lebanon leave Beirut. Five days later, several thousand refugees are massacred in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps by Phalange forces. 1989 – Hungary announces that the East German refugees who had been housed in temporary camps were free to leave for West Germany. 1990 – A Faucett Boeing 727 disappears in the Atlantic Ocean while being flown from Malta to Peru. 1991 – Continental Express Flight 2574 crashes in Colorado County, Texas, near Eagle Lake, killing 11 passengers and three crew. 1992 – Hurricane Iniki, one of the most damaging hurricanes in United States history, devastates the Hawaiian Islands of Kauai and Oahu. 1997 – NASA's Mars Global Surveyor reaches Mars. 1997 – Kurkse tragedy: Fourteen Estonian soldiers of the Baltic Battalion are drowned or die of hypothermia during a training exercise in the Kurkse Strait. 1997 – After a nationwide referendum, Scotland votes to establish a devolved parliament within the United Kingdom. 2001 – The September 11 attacks, a series of coordinated terrorist attacks killing 2,996 people using four aircraft hijacked by 19 members of al-Qaeda. Two aircraft crash into the World Trade Center in New York City, a third crashes into The Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia, and a fourth into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. 2007 – Russia tests the largest conventional weapon ever, the Father of All Bombs. 2008 – A major Channel Tunnel fire breaks out on a freight train, resulting in the closure of part of the tunnel for six months. 2011 – A dedication ceremony is held at the United States National September 11 Memorial on the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks in New York City, and the memorial opens to family members. 2012 – A total of 315 people are killed in two garment factory fires in Pakistan. 2012 – The U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya is attacked, resulting in four deaths. 2015 – A crane collapses onto the Masjid al-Haram mosque in Saudi Arabia, killing 111 people and injuring 394 others.

#Events

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