#she leads a navy and a navy is a military branch meaning she has to work for some country

[quibbs126]

I really want Captain Ice to be put in Kingdom

I mean, she already has an easy option for her class, that being Bomber, considering she uses them in her skill

She seems like a summer release to me. Maybe after this update, if they choose to let off on the Super Epics/Legendaries/etc for a bit, we could have her and Pirate join. But I suppose we just have to wait and see

[alys-gay-parade]

Concept Reveal: NatsuChiru

For the last few months, I've been doing a lot of concept work for an original project that I'm extremely passionate about. Taking place in 1970's Tokyo, it's about a mixed-race Tlingit girl connecting to the heritage she was raised outside of while also discovering the deeper truth of the one she's lived in her whole life.

Trigger warning for mentions of police brutality, suicide, loss, grief, war, cancer, past child abuse, and the atomic bombings in the character descriptions under the readmore.

Primary Cast:

Natsuko (her father chose that name because it reminds him of Natsilane, a figure from the Tlingit story of Blackfish, the first orca) is one of the 2 titual characters. Born in Japan, she's never known life in her father's homeland. She's incredibly optimistic despite not really finding community in either the other local kids or the other military brats at the naval base. Even though she doesn't have any friends her own age, she's got the best family in the world to make up for it. She aspires to live the dreams of a career in music that her father and his cousins never got to and inherited her mother's affinity for animals, leading her to become an idol that performs with our other titular character.

Yáxwch (yax-witch), aka Yax (or Yakuza-kun by only his wife), is a young Tlingit singer/songwriter from Sitka, Alaska; he's also Natsuko's father. After the death of a very close friend (crush, but he'll never say that) to a drug related shooting by the police in his teenage years, he and his cousins vowed to get out of town by any means necessary. This eventually leads to them all joining the navy together as engineers, using his father's connections to ensure they're deployed to a relatively safe base under the watch of a family friend. It's here where he meets his future wife and mother of his only child.

Ashika, Natsuko's mother, is a soft-spoken young woman until you really set her off. She volunteers at a local wildlife center, which has led to her developing close bonds with several rescues she has fostered and released. Not much about her past is known to her husband and daughter, primarily due to her having a 3 year gap in her memory from a traumatic childhood event surrounding her family's Yakuza ties, which she intends to keep secret from them for their own protection.

Chilkat, stage name Chiru, is the other titual character and a 6 year old orca that was kidnapped from her pod off the Alaskan coast 2 years prior to the story's events. Being trained to perform, she desperately craves interaction and bonds with Natsuko almost immediately upon them meeting, as if their souls were drawn to one another. Through the bond they share, Natsuko can tell she wishes to return to her mother.

Antagonists:

Ryosuke is Ashika's older brother, and now head of their family's Yakuza branch, which was supposed to be passed to her. Although he loves his little sister, he knows what triggered her memory block and is deeply ashamed of himself for it. The lifetime of lies and secrets to keep himself out of hot water have jaded him to the principle their family was meant to uphold: harm only those that deserve it and use our power to help the disenfranchised to build up the community. He can't see this, however, and thinks he is doing everything he is supposed to be. He helps fund one of his client's marine park, where Chiru performs, and acts as a talent agent to find a captivating group of young performers.

Elizabeth is 1 of a pair of twins, the daughters of Yax's captain at the naval base. She deeply resents Natsuko for her seemingly perfect family and life after her and her sister suffered horrific abuse at the hands of their mother back in the states, only to be shipped to an entirely new country to live on the naval base with their now single father who barely has time for them. Having acted as her sister's protector their entire childhood and now losing her to Natsuko, she's become aggressive and standoffish to an alarming degree, and the adults in her life all fear that she may be too far gone.

Supporting cast:

Jimmy, one of Yax's cousins, is afro-indigenous, his mom being a black woman from New Orleans. He was very much raised to be overly polite and kind, which makes him very sweet, but also a bit gullible and a bit of a pushover in most situations. He isn't naive, however, and very much understands how people can and do sometimes take advantage of his big heart.

Eagle is Jimmy's partner since they were in middle school and cousin to the late member of their group. He's a Tlingit/Haida trans man who is incredibly open and honest about who and what he is, which sometimes gets him into trouble in the climate of the 1970s. He takes it all in stride, however, as he took martial arts in his childhood to defend himself (at his very supportive parents' request so they could be a little less anxious). Fiercly protective of his friends and family, he will not hesitate to call out bullshit where he sees it and give a dose of reality to those that cross him.

Javier, the youngest of the squad, is Yax's other cousin. His father is a Latino immigrant who ended up working at the cannery thanks to a Tlingit woman being willing to translate for him since she took Spanish in school growing up. Javi acts as the glue that holds the group together, being able to mediate arguments thanks to his unrelentingly calm demeanor and general positivity.

Kenji is Eagle's cousin and Ryosuke's partner, being his and Ashika's childhood friend. He was born in Anchorage, but his parents divorced when he and his brother were just kids, leading to their father taking them back to Japan. He ended up getting a law degree back in the States and served 6 years as a defense attourney. He eventually became disillusioned with the justice system in both the US and Japan, prompting him to join the police force in an attempt to force change from the inside out. His policy is to only make an arrest if he can't diffuse a situation civilly, as he sees himself as a civil servant to the community. This led to his conviction rate percentage to be pretty high since he only arrested people he felt would cause problems and allowed him to eventually be promoted to lead detective. His brother was a very stressed and depressed salaryman who ended up taking his own life, sending the entire friend group into a deep depression over a second hard loss that they're only just starting to shake off.

Captain Mortimer Smith was stationed with Yax's father during the bombings and made a promise to him that he would do whatever he could to help the people whose lives were destroyed in those moments. The horrors he saw during restoration deeply saddened him, and he vowed never to become the disgusting types of people he worked alongside. With his youth occupied by humanitarian efforts, he was late to the fatherhood game, having his twins at 40. When he learned how badly his ex-wife failed as a parent in his absence, he took it on himself to give his daughters the best possible life he could despite the circumstances. He was entrusted by Yax's father to keep an eye on the boys so they don't get themselves killed or arrested, and he does so willingly. Although, sometimes, he regrets taking on that burden.

Yuki is Natsuko's older cousin, the adopted daughter of Ryosuke. Her birth parents were clients of his, and both ended up dying young due to radiation induced cancer. Ryosuke and Kenji took her under their wings without question. She's very attuned to life as a Yakuza child and often inserts herself into Ryo's world without his or Kenji's blessing. Due to her turbulent upbringing, she often gets into trouble at school and hangs with questionable crowds, which eventually led to her being expelled from her catholic private school and being put in the same school as Natsuko and the twins. In an attempt to keep her out of trouble, Ryo insisted that she be a member of the idol group he's trying to build to perform with Chiru.

Olivia, though she just prefers Ollie, is the younger of Captain Smith's twins. She's a ball of anxiety but tries her best to stay thinking positive. Her sister sheilded her from the worst of the abuse their mother put them through, and she watches and worries about Elizabeth every step of the way into their new normal. Although she starts off joining her sister in the bullying and torment of Natsuko, Ollie finds that she actually really likes the girl and grows to feel romantic interest for the first time in her life. She joins the idol group and attempts to get her sister in it as well to help her warm up to the others, but unfortunately, Elizabeth wants nothing to do with that.

Other important figures that will be discussed and even spoken to on the phone, but might not be shown in anything other than flashbacks:

Elvira: Yax's indigenous mother, she and her siblings grew up in a residential home. She bonded with a pod of orca that visits every year and likes to swim with them into her older age despite a worsening heart condition. She never names them, though, as she respects them too much to treat them like pets. She opted to give her son a Lingit name, meaning sea otter, as a nod to the culture she was torn from and had to rediscover.

Montgomery: Yax's father, he's legally blind from watching the nukes but is otherwise healthy and makes a living as a financial advisor. Bad at parenting, but he loves his son.

Ai: The name Natsuko gives to Chiru's mother, who is Elvira's favorite of the pod. She misses her baby and is still in a state of grief over losing her.

Shinji: Kenji's younger brother who committed suicide 8 years prior to the events of the story. He developed a crush on Yax but didn't want to overstep and ruin his friendship with Ashika, so he kept it silent and took it to the grave.

Jin: The group's late friend from back in Sitka. His mother is a refugee from North Korea, and the community protects her without question or hesitation. Yáxwch was present to witness the brutal overkill that took him, leading to lifelong trauma and nightmares.

Cheif Natsilane: He has watched over his direct bloodline in the thousands of years since his death. While the stories of him are much grander than the reality, he feels a sense of paternal connection to those who connect with his likeness and ideals. He's been very interested in Natsuko since her birth and has been carefully guiding her from the sidelines.

Blackfish: Natsilane's spirit guide in the afterlife. She's a bit sassy and is fiercely protective. The symbolic form she takes often unintentionally frightens those she meets for the first time.

Sakura: A woman samurai from feudal Japan. Her village had been targeted in an ongoing war, and she was instructed by her mother to take all the children deep into the forest to hide. When they emerged, their home was devoid of life. As the oldest, she took up her father's sword and armor to defend this community of orphans, her children. She watches over her descendants as well, having adopted every child she happened to come across, with a special focus on the branch that has Yakuza ties. She met Natsilane during the bombings, as he had noticed her and instinctively went to comfort her.

Pastor Brown's family: literally an excuse to sprinkle in tidbits of my family history in the gang's discussions of the goings on back home, as my father would have been 16 in 1978 when the story takes place. He's got a lot of really insane stories about his rebellious youth. Anybody who knew our family back then knows exactly who I'm talking about.

I'm super excited to set out on this journey, and I hope the experiences I'll have will be extraordinary. Feel free to ask me any questions about the project, as I'm eager to share and discuss! Stay healthy and happy, everybody!

[achliegh]

Golden

FEEL FREE TO SEND ME ASKS ABOUT HOW YOU LIKED THAT CHAPTER

OR IF YOU DIDN'T LIKE IT PLEASE TELL ME WHY

THANK :)

Yeehaw Leo… it's all because this song came on one day (I don’t even really listen to country anymore so it really is fate). Leo is based off that song, each chapter is going to be based off a yeehaw song too.

Characters belong to @lumosinlove

Beta: @the-most-slyterin-hufflepuff & @punkkkboi

TW/CW: Smut, terrible yeehaw sayings and jokes, injuries, mentions of past death/suicide, minor character death, underage drinking, mentions of past arrests, cringe

Chapter Songs (listening in order is recommended):

Chapter 13:

Anchors Away

Clay was bored, wandering around the mall with nothing to do. Thomas was at practice, Noelle was at work at the aquarium. He was alone again and he really didn’t like it. Leo was busy cleaning the apartment for his mom who is showing up later tonight and Reg was hanging out at the rink.

Clay thought about going to the rink but everytime he goes for longer than 20 minutes he gets a head cold. He was walking past a recently closed store and heard faint music coming from inside. He walked in and noticed a small table set up with two men who were jokingly singing along to the song.

Clay took note of all the posters around the small store.

‘Feeling like you need a purpose in life?’ Yeah, he does. Everyone around him is doing actual things with their lives. Reg has started going to art school for errotic photography and portraits. Leo has been selling horses over video calls with rich clients and helping his mother set up times for the clients to go down and visit the horses at the ranch. Obviously, the hockey boys are playing hockey. Noelle is a year away from graduating and was recently promoted, and Clay just kind of existed…

Leo jokingly called him a houseboy when he mentioned how he just stays at home and cleans, now that's all he is ever called by Leo and Reg and it really makes Clay feel worthless. He knows they don’t mean anything by it but…. It still stings.

He moves on to the next poster. “Want financial benefits, healthcare, and more?”

That would be nice, to make his own money for once instead of his parents randomly filling his account with too much money. Something he knows he shouldn’t complain about but he wants to make a name for himself.

‘Join the U.S Navy.’ He paused, he doesn’t know a lot about his birth family, but he does know they were in the military. He has no clue which branch and he knows if he asked his parents they would help him in a heartbeat. But maybe this was a way to find out on his own.

He left the mall feeling lighter, a pep in his step.

He just enlisted in the navy. He was going to make something of himself and maybe even feel like he isn’t just watching his friends and partners pass him by.

Then it hit him, the one thing Leo and him promised each other they would never do is join the military. Because they both know how it fucks people up. Leo lost his uncle, and Clay’s dad lost his own father to PTSD from not having proper care after. Maybe he just screwed up…. But there was no going back now. He wouldn’t.

Walking in the house, Noelle was looking beautiful. She was wearing a pair of sweats rolled up twice at the waist and one of Clay’s old ratty t-shirts. Her curly hair was in her normal ponytail and she was putting on her sneakers. She looked tired from work.

Earlier in the week when Clay and Leo announced Eloise was coming to visit for a few days Noelle started stressing immediately. She has always worried about meeting parents because they always seem to dislike her when they first lay eyes on her, she blames it on her chronic RBF. Clay reassured her that Eloise would love her and actually already loves her from all the stories Clay has told her on her weekly calls.

Eloise was coming tonight, fuck! It was his birthday today and he forgot to mention it! Oops...

Thomas was sitting next to her, freshly showered in his own sweats and t-shirt looking relaxed, he was wearing some socks with little hamsters on them that Clay found for him a while ago. It made his heart jump and he felt his face stretch into a smile. He was scrolling through his phone and Thomas’ whole face opened up in a bright smile as soon as he saw Clay. He made Clay feel so special in a specific way, a way that is so different from how Noelle does and he loves them both.

He needs to tell them that.

“I have something to tell you guys… honestly, I don’t know how you will react but what's done is done.” He puts his hands in his jean pockets and taps the hell of his boots to the toe of his other boot. He was fidgeting and knew the other two noticed. It made him even more nervous.

“That doesn’t sound like good news.” Thomas looks at him a bit worried. His smile was still there but it fell slightly and Clay just wanted to fix it. He noticed Noelle had paused stomping on her shoes, oddly similar to Logan, it made him want to stop what he was going to say but… communication is important!

“Well, I first need you guys to promise me something, then I will make Finn and Logan promise the same thing when we see them because I know I will have to tell them.” He has to tell them, so they are ready for Leo just, not being okay.

And it was all gonna be Clay’s fault.

“What's the promise?” Noelle finishes putting on her shoe and looks up at him. She is trying her best to keep her face neutral but he could tell the wheels were turning in her brain.

“Do not tell Leo, I need to be the one to tell him… and I know he isn’t going to react well. Same goes for Reg but I will probably tell him a lot sooner than Leo.” He keeps on switching his feet that he is tapping and finally looks at them.

It’s now or never.

“I enlisted in the navy today.”

“Okay, Reg and I are going to pick up Ma and then we will be right back!” Leo has been all smiles all day. Finn knew he was close to his mom but this is just adorable.

“Drive safe!” Leo and Reg wave as they leave the apartment and as soon as the door closes Clay is standing in front of Finn and Logan who are snuggled together on the couch. Logan was wrapped up in Leo’s favorite blanket that his grandpa made for him before he passed away. It was a woven blanket with an image of Peanut on it. That blanket has seen Leo and Clay in their worst moments.

He was surprised Logan wasn’t scared of it given his fear of horses.

“Alright you two, I need to tell you something and it needs to be kept secret from Leo and Reg, if you so much as tell them a peep I will never forgive you. That will make family reunions super awkward.” Finn looks up from his phone where he and Logan were reading the comments on their latest tiktok on their joined account.

“Don’t look at me.” Finn raises his hand on surrender and looks at Logan who rolls his eyes annoyed and snatches Finn’s phone away to keep reading the comments.

“I enlisted in the navy-” Clay didn’t even get the full sentence out before Logan had thrown the phone down on the cushion next to him and Finn covered his mouth with his hand looking shocked.

“YOU DID WHAT?”

“Mama!” Leo hugs Eloise tightly as she drops her bags to hug him back. “How was the flight?” He squeezes her tightly before noticing her new hearing aid is flashing is three blinks then a pause and three more blinks. “I think your hearing aid is dying. Make sure to charge them when we get home.” She either ignores him or doesn’t hear him even though she can normally hear him this close.

“Rick was a great pilot as always, even let me bring y’all some moonshine he made. It's watermelon and raspberry!.” Eloise pulls away after one last squeeze and sees Reg and her smile widens. “Reg! I’m so happy you’re here!” She waits for him to open his arms as an invitation to hug him so she knows he is comfortable with her touching him and she does as soon as he opens his arms. Tighter than she did Leo. “Have you been eating well? How about sleeping? Did you ever enroll in college?”

“Yes, yes and yes.” Reg can’t help but laugh when she picks him up still hugging him and sways him around. He isn’t used to this much affection from a mother figure but… they love it.

“I’m so proud of you for following your dream.” She pulls away and smiles at him with a sincere smile and brushes his hair back. “Your hair looks nice by the way.”

“Thank you.” Reg and Leo help her with her bags and pack them into the truck and drive the short way back to the apartment. Talking about everything and anything. The door man sends a wink Eloise’s way and she holds up her left hand where her wedding ring is. Letting him know she is taken. Walking up to the apartment they smell an odd smell through the door and everyone shares a look.

“I promise it doesn't normally smell this way unless… oh no.”

“What does that mean!?” She leans over to Reg to whisper as Leo fiddles with his key in the lock.

“It means Finn and Logan tried to cook something.” Reg whispers to Eloise as Leo opens the door, Clay was the first to greet them, smiling his million dollar smile he hugs Elosie so tight it surprises her.

“Hello Bluebell! I was surprised I didn’t see you at the airport. How are you doing sweetheart! Twenty years old today! You’re all growing up so fast.” She kisses his forehead and they pull apart. “You look good. Your mother wants you to call her later tonight so she can sing happy birthday.”

“It's your birthday!” Noelle pipes up and looks at Clay offended. “And you didn’t tell us!” He cringes before turning to her.

“Oh, I guess I forgot.” He walks over to her and kisses her cheek while Eloise puts her hand on her chest from just how cute they are.

“Seems like that should have been the first thing you told us this morning instead of, ‘ I feel like a jellyfish’.” Thomas laughs a little and kisses both Noelle and Clay’s cheeks. “So cute.”

“It slipped my mind!”

“Okay, what is that smell?” Leo leads Eloise towards the kitchen after she is done fawning over how cute those three are. Finn and Logan are suspiciously standing in the way of the countertop right next to the stove. “What are you hiding?”

Finn turns bright red and Logan looks anywhere but Leo. Eloise sets her purse on the counter and walks over to them, giving them both kisses on the cheek.

“What did you make us?”

“Well… we tried to make a cake from your cookbook-”

“It didn’t go very well.” They both move to the side to reveal a lopsided cake with some diluted frosting dripping off and random coconut flakes floating around on it. “Can you at least tell what it is?” Logan casually turned the plate so the ‘good side’ was facing Leo and Eloise.

“Umm… not really. Do you mind just telling us?” Eliose was examining the cake, trying to figure out what cinnamon cake she had in her cookbook. None that she can remember.

“Something called,” Finn walks over to the book and notices Clay and Reg standing to the side with their phones up and probably recording. “Divinity Cake.” The room was suddenly really still and quiet. Eloise looked like she was about to cry and Leo was just staring at the cake in shock.

Then Eloise brokedown in laughter, to the point where she was laughing so hard she was on the ground holding her stomach and crying. Finn and Logan were visibly confused and looked to Leo for an explanation, only to find him trying to conceal his laughter in the crooks of his arm.

“Oh my god! What is so funny?” Logan looks at the cookbook and then back at the cake. It looked terrible but they tried their best! They didn’t burn the house down at least.

“Oh my lovely lovely boys.” Leo wraps an arm around both their shoulders and pulls them in close so they are all cheek to cheek for a moment. “Divinity cake is usually cooked for your in-laws in the south.. To prove you are worthy of being a good wife.” explains through his laughing breaks. “This is amazing.”

Eloise eventually stands up and dabs her eyes so she doesn’t smear her makeup. Pulling the two embarrassed boys into a tight hug. “Y’all are so sweet. Thank you for the cake.” She gives them both sloppy kisses on the cheeks and then pats where she just kissed. “Alright I’m going to put my things in the guest room and then we can cook something up for y’all to eat.” She smiles and takes most of her bags to the guest room but forgets her purse. “Finn, would you be a dear and grab my purse for me?” She calls out and Finn being the sweetheart he is, grabs the bag and tries to take it with him as he walks past.

The bag won’t budge, Leo is watching with a smile on his face and his arms crossed. Finn tugs at the bag again and eventually gets it off the counter, it nearly knocks him over with how heavy it is. He scurried to Eloise’s room and gave it to her. She holds it like it’s nothing.

He makes his way back over to Leo and sinks into his chest, his face buried in his neck. Logan is still poking the cake, showing off just how gelatinous it is. Clay and Reg are comparing videos that they took and laughing at how they zoomed in on different faces. Sending them to each other.

“I’m sorry we messed up the cake.” Finn looks up at Leo and sees the sweetest little smile, showing his dimples off. Finn has noticed Leo’s tan from the summer is fading and it is making the small scar across his nose more prominent. It was cute.

“Honestly, it’s better than anything else y’all have made. Plus, now Mama can teach you how to make it the right way for the next time she visits.” Leo kisses his eyebrow and wraps his arms around him as Finn pouts even more. Logan eventually makes his way over and rests his head on Leo’s shoulder.

“Maybe it still tastes good?” He closes his eyes and rubs his cheek on Leo’s soft shirt and tough shoulder, massaging his jaw muscles. His arms are crossed.

“We can try it afte Mama and I make some food, how about y’all pick out what you want so she can put on her mini cooking show.” Leo feels the boys lean off of him and smiles as he watches them pour over each page of the book looking for a meal they want.

“Alright, I’m ready to cook.” Eloise comes back into the room and gathers everyone so they are sitting on the other side of the counter, unless they are Reg or Leo because they are allowed to help cook. Finn and Noelle have taken the two seats while Clay and Thomas are on either side of them watching and Logan is in between them.

They all watch as Eloise explains what she is doing in hopes it helps them understand and make them want to try and make this on their own. Logan gets in trouble for focusing on Leo instead of what she is teaching and she gives him a smirk.

“You remind me a lot of Wyatt, you know that? Around the same height too.” She smiles as she fiddles with her ring after she washed her hands to get the rest of the flour off her hands. Leo is watching the food in the oven as he leans against the counter and nods in agreement with her.

“I do?” Logan looks at her a little confused, he sadly never got the chance to meet Wyatt but he always pictured him as more of the strong and silent type who was also tall, giving Leo his extra few inches of height.

“He was 5’10 and the sweetest man I have ever met, he was goofy and carefree like Finn and always had this hard look in his eyes like you do. Unless he was looking at Leo or I, or in your case Leo. Please don’t look at me like that.” Leo snorts and smiles.

“That would be kinda weird.” He turns his head over his shoulder and smiles at his boys. “Why don’t we tell them some stories about dad? I never really talk about him because… well, it still hurts.” Eloise smiles a little sad at her son and gives his arm a comforting squeeze. Her love language.

“Well, he was in the air force.” She notices Clay looking away, Noelle suddenly looks uncomfortable and Thomas looks a little sad. Something was off. “He and his twin brother Wess joined at the same time, and flew fighter jets together. His brother was shot down and Wyatt made Leo promise to never join. After he came back he vowed to never leave again. He kept his promise.” She smiles at the image of him coming home still fresh in her mind. “He was in love with music, sometimes I think he loved music more than us. He tried to get Leo to learn how to play instruments but the poor boy is so tone deaf he couldn’t figure anything out.” She laughs a little as Leo smiles. “I remember when Leo was being taught the guitar Wyatt would be thrown into laughing fits when Leo would play the wrong chords and smile up at him like he just did something.”

“I thought I did!” Leo laughs a little and turns around to face everyone else. “Look It took me forever to learn rhythm, and now I can dance like there is no tomorrow… still can’t sing though.”

“Ahmen!” Clay pipes up and ducks as Leo throws a spoon at him.

“Shut up!”

“Wyatt did manage to teach Clay how to play fiddle somehow, do you still play?” Eloise checks the food in the oven and determines it's not done.

“I haven’t played since… yeah I haven’t played in a while.”

“He was so proud of you. Wyatt was also a sportsman. He loved sports, especially baseball. So when Leo came home and told Wyatt he joined the team, they went out back and played catch for, I don’t know, hours.”

“My arm was sore the next day.”

“He came to every single game of Leo’s besides one, and was his biggest fan. He made shirts with Leo’s player picture on them and wore them to every game. No matter how many times Leo begged him not to!” The timer goes off and Reg gets the food out of the oven.

“Is this done?” He asks, Eloise comes over to check and nods.

“Looks good! How about we eat?” She smiles and has everyone line up so she can dish it out for them.

Thomas and Noelle are getting ready to leave when Eloise asks Clay to join her outside. He gives them a worried look but follows her. Outside is cold, and there is a bit of snow on the railing of the balcony.

“Talk to me Clayton, something is wrong, I noticed it earlier.” She looks at him and taps her foot as he pulls out a cigarette and lights it. “Clayton.”

“I joined the navy, and I haven’t told Leo, and I ask that you don’t tell him either because he needs to hear this from me.” He is looking out at the traffic below so he doesn’t have to watch her face. He knows she is upset with him.

“Is that what you really want to do?” She walks up next to him and joins him in looking at the traffic. Clay has always admired how strong Eloise is, she has been through a hell of a lot and still has this calm and stable energy.

“Yes.”

“Then you made the right choice.” She turns and looks at him, smiling in a way that he knows is trying to hide her sadness. She ruffles his hair as he finishes his cig and puts it out on the bottom of his boot. “Have you told Noelle and Thomas?”

“Yeah.” He knows his short answers sound hostile but he wants to be away from this conversation.

“They support you?” She always makes sure he has support, it hurts sometimes. Like he can’t just get support himself and he always needs help.

“Yes.” She nods and walks back towards the door.

“Then you better spend as much time with them as you can.” She goes inside, leaving Clay to think about everything by himself.

It was dangerous.

He walks back inside and they leave. Noelle turns around from the passenger seat and smirks at Clay. He was in for a fun night.

“I’m off to bed boys, we have a busy day tomorrow!” Elosie kisses her boy's cheeks and walks to her room.

“I like you mom.” Logan says as he tackles Leo to the ground straddling his back with his scented markets in hand. He tugs at Leo’s shirt, he complies and takes it off. Logan has been dying to do this all day.

“I hope not too much!” Leo crosses his arms under his head until Finn sits down next to him and he pulls his thigh so it's underneath Leo’s head. Leo shivers as the cold marker hits his skin and Logan begins coloring.

“What other stories do you have about Wyatt?” Finn rubs his fingers over Leo’s short hair that has really grown out over the past month, it was starting to curl at the ends making Leo look sweet.

“He used to read to me when I was little, then when I was able to read I would read to him until he fell asleep and started snoring.” Leo smiles and Finn can feel it on his leg. “He was also my coach for little league baseball for a bit and he was great but not everyone liked that he was my dad. Other parents thought I was getting special treatment. Also he would argue with the umpires and get in trouble!” Leo bursts out laughing and Logan gorans.

“Leoooooooooo! Be still!” Leo calms down and lets Logan keep coloring the flowers of his back piece.

“Sorry sorry, I just remembered when he got kicked out of a game because an umpire called Clay out when he was safe. It was hilarious. He called the umpire a muppet.” Smiling Leo yawns and blinks a few times.

“You can fall asleep, we will wake you up and go to bed when Logan finishes.” Finn is scrolling on his phone and is petting Leo’s head as he feels it get heavier with sleep. Finn looks up at Logan after making sure Leo is asleep.

“We need to tell him we love him.”

“Yeah, we do.” They smile at each other and share a peck before going back to what they were doing.

The next morning Finn and Logan wake up with a Leo sized dent in the bed and not Leo. They wander out to the kitchen and get smacked in the face with the smell of blueberry pancakes. They float into the kitchen and smile at the sight. Eloise has her hair in curlers and is in a thick grey robe and Leo’s sweatpants because she doesn’t own a pair. Her face is free of makeup and it shows how well she has taken care of her skin over the years. She is flipping a couple of pancakes while Leo sips on some apple juice. Just chatting away about the plan for today.

“Okay so after family skate is the party at Pascal and Celeste’s.”

“I won’t be at family skate dear, I have some work to do today.” She puts the last pancake on a plate, making sure that each plate has two, she takes two plates over to the table while Leo carries the other two.

“Ma, you promised me you wouldn’t work while you were here.” He sighs and sets the plates down. He sighs and sits down, not noticing the other two people in the room, he starts poking at his pancakes with his cheek on his hand and elbow on the table. Sulking.

“I know sweetheart but these people are someone who your Daddy tried to sell to for years. They plan to get two mares and then I will be at the party. On time. I promise.” She puts the dishes from cooking in the sink and fills the pancake batter bowl with hot water before grabbing her cup of coffee and walking over to sit next to Leo.

Logan and Finn share a look. They shouldn’t be listening to this.

“Okay but, just please be there towards the beginning of the party. I want to introduce you to my-... the team.” Leo furrows his brow not understanding why he about called the lions his team, when he doesn’t even play hockey.

“I will try my best, Merigold.” She pats his hand and Logan and Finn make their entrance, yawning and stretching as they walk over to the table. “Morning boys.”

“Morning!” Finn smacks a kiss on Leo’s temple as he walks past and Logan does the same, taking their seats and chowing down.

Later that day Eloise was putting her hair in a ponytail as she checked to make sure there were no creases in her uniform. Well, it's not a uniform but what she likes her and Leo to wear when they go to sell.

A black tall-neck turtle neck with long sleeves and tight to the body. Some khaki colored riding pants with tall back socks and brown riding boots. Professional yet comfortable. She was selling to the Malfoy family today, the father is buying these mares for his sons wedding coming up. She is still convinced that they only want their mares because Wyatt is gone, making Knut horses more desirable.

They were in contact with Wyatt for years and were not very nice. She knows she needs to make this sale though. Walking out to the living room to grab her purse she sees Leo moping on the couch by himself. She sighs out of her nose, walking over to him and petting the top of his head.

“I promise I will be there tonight, with moonshine.” She smiles as Leo rolls his eyes.

“I trust you.” Then he stood and gave her good luck and a hug before walking back to his bedroom… not the master bedroom. She takes a deep breath and leaves the apartment.

The rink was cold, Leo was bundled up in his new coat, hat and gloves while rocking his normal jeans and boots. His brand new skates were in hand, not broken in so he was wearing two pairs of tall socks just to help against blisters. Clay actually owned a pair of skates and has been skating since he was younger because he has family in Montana that he would visit for the holidays.

Jerk.

Leo was sitting in Finn's stall just trying to stay warm while he watched Noelle tie one of Clay’s skates and Thomas tie the other. Leo had to admit, he was so happy for Clay, seeing him with that sappy smile makes Leo know that he’s okay. He never smiled like that with Ashley.

Logan walks over to him, completely ready to skate and looking good. He was wearing his favorite well worn sweats and Leo’s new thrifted sweater that was dark green, showing off his eyes. He was wearing his normal cap backwards and Leo has always found it funny that Logan will never wear a hat forwards.

“Ready to get laced up?” Leo nods and holds out a skate to Logan. “You’re very quiet right now, are you that cold?” Leo just narrows his eyes and gives a short nod. Logan shows him how to lace up and once his other skate is on he stands up and nearly falls over.

“This is going to be terrible… is there a dentist nearby? I have a tendency to fall teeth first into the ground.” Licking over his chipped tooth absentmindedly he looks around. There were kids running around in skates and jumping into other players arms. He smiles a bit and rests his elbow on Logan’s head who is wear much more worn down skates so Leo is a fucking giant to him. “You’re the perfect height.”

“Yeah yeah, lets watch you try and walk. Then we can find Finn who I’m guessing is talking to Syd.” Logan helps Leo take a few steps knowing Leo has no balance at all. In skates or not. He has witnessed this name trip over nothing.

“Whose Syd?” Leo starts walking on his own and feels like this isn’t so bad.

“My oldest sister. Aubry is here too. They also play professional hockey. So… don’t get on their bad sides.” Leo stops walking.

“You never mentioned your sisters will be here! I thought I was meeting them when we go to visit your parents in a week! Oh boy… Do they know about you and Finn?” Leo continues walking after Logan grabs his hand and leads him out of the tunnel.

“Yes they know about me and Finn, I told my family first because… well my parents love him and my sisters all had a bet so… yeah. But they don’t know about you because I didn’t know if you were ready for that.” Leo stops him before they completely exit the tunnel and presses him up against the wall, kissing him softly.

“Thank you.” Leo smiles when Logan does and they pull apart to see they are the last out of the tunnel. Walking out Leo stops in front of the ice. “Yo, I don’t know if I have enough ego to let me fall face first onto the ice in front of a whole hockey team yet.”

“What, you aren’t up for the challenge?” Clay skates right up to him, not as seamless as everyone else but still pretty well. He has this challenging look in his eyes and Leo knows exactly what is going to happen. “I knew you weren’t good at everything.” Leo launches himself at LCay who skates out of the way just in time for Leo to miss and barely holds himself up as he glides across the ice.

“Clay! When I get my hands on you, I swear!” Then he falls flat on his ass and gorans laying down, staring at the ceiling annoyed. This sucks.

Clay is having an absolute field day, Laughing his ass off as he skates up to Leo and helps him stand. Patting his back for a moment and letting Leo get his balance he then pushes him over and skates away.

“CLAYTON!” Leo falls basically into a middle split and it distracts Finn from his conversation with Logan and his sisters, hitting Logan’s chest until he looks over at Leo who is still being taunted by Clay and now Reg.

“I didn’t know he could do that.” They share a look and both seem to get ideas around the same time because their faces get all reg and they high five.

“Who is that?” Sydney is readjusting her hat as she looks at Leo. “He’s a cutie, I wouldn’t mind getting a piece of that.”

“Agreed. He is really handsome.” Aubry nods in agreement and Logan is suddenly possessive. He glares at them.

“Back off, he’s mine!” He crosses his arms and turns his attention back to Leo who is now talking to Katie who has made herself at home on his leg. Leo looks like he is trying his best not to shake from how cold he is.

“You have Finn, let us have our fun.” Aubrey hits his shoulder and skates over to Leo and Katie. “Need some help?” Katie smiles at her. Leo looks up at her and gives a shy smile because he is embarrassed. Nodding she holds out her hand, Katie grabs his other hand and helps him up. With Katie on one side and Aubry on the other, Leo starts more skating and less falling over.

“Awww they are so cuteeeee.” Sydney smiles at them and hears Logan grumble, looking at them annoyed and Finn is still snorting everytime Leo stumbles. But Finn has this look in his eyes that Sydney has only ever seen him give Logan. She hopes there isn’t anything shady going on between those three.

Eventually, Aubry and Leo stake back over to Finn, Logan and Sydeny who are all still chatting on the ice and sipping their hot chocolate that Celeste brought.

“Can I have a sip?” Logan holds up his cup over his shoulder to Leo’s lips, because Leo is behind him, and holds it as he takes a sip. “Mm, so yummy. I’ve never really had this before. Hot chocolate?” Leo doesn’t really drink warm drinks at all, even the coffee is normally cooled down to where it isn’t hot, sometimes iced.

“You should have Finn make you some, he is really good at it.” Finn kisses Logan's forehead and smiles.

“It’s like the one thing I learned how to make properly. Alex taught me! He is coming to the party later tonight if you want to meet him.”

“I’d love to meet him! Now, I’ve met Aubry. I’m guessing you are Sydney? Logan talks about you guys sometimes but I don’t know a lot.” Leo smiles at her and reaches his hand out to shake hers.

“You have a southern accent…” Aubry and her share a look.

Logan is definitely not keeping him from them.

[imaginepirates]

werewolf au

Alright, my knowledge of werewolf lore is limited, and the organization of this post might be iffy. Also, this is loooooong, because I really liked this idea when I got to thinking about it. Also, I had to combine the idea of werewolf hierarchies with the hierarchies of England at the time. This makes my ideas a bit confusing. Just understand that some werewolf packs in this post defer to others who are more powerful.

Let's say there are 4 main packs: the Pirates, the Navy, the Gentry, and the EITC.

The Pirates

• Every pirate captain leads his own pack.

• Originally, Jack was an Alpha and Barbossa was his Beta.

• Barbossa ended up challenging Jack to a fight for the Alpha position, which Jack unfortunately lost.

• Jack was forced out of the pack afterward and left a lone wolf.

• He was surprisingly good at his new role. Nobody thought he'd make it on his own, but he excelled. Still, he desperately wanted his position as Alpha back for pride's sake.

• Barbossa leads a terrifying pack. They're known as the most brutal pack around, and they're always battling with the Navy for hunting grounds.

• For kicking Jack out of the pack instead of treating him like the Omega, Barbossa and his crew are cursed to shift every night.

• This is obviously the most painful curse a werewolf could experience.

The Navy

• James is Alpha, and he fits the role. Nobody doubts his decisions, and everyone listens to him. He's respected in other packs too, like the Gentry.

• Groves is probably his Beta. They have an okay relationship, but James is still a bit isolated. Even so, Groves is fiercely loyal to his Alpha.

• James is the most protective Alpha of ever. There's a reason he keeps crushing pirate packs. He wants hunting grounds so his pack can thrive, and he's the first to jump into any dangerous situation. He hates seeing members of his pack hurt.

• The Navy is the most disciplined pack ever. James makes sure of it. Pack hierarchy is distinct and well-known.

• Even if James seems standoffish, he's the best Alpha when it comes to pack politics. He judges everything fairly and without prejudice.

The Gentry

• This includes the upper class of Port Royal.

• Governor Swann is the Alpha, though he has to defer to the more powerful pack of Nobles.

• Weatherby is the least intimidating Alpha anyone has ever met. Many consider him too soft for the position.

• Elizabeth is the most desired mate in the West Indies.

• James obviously wants her as his mate, and though many think his purpose is to unite the two packs, he's honestly smitten with her.

• She, on the other hand, has no interest. She's more interested in studying the movements of the Pirate packs.

The EITC

• Beckett is seriously one of the most feared Alphas in the world.

• He may not be physically intimidating, but he's the most manipulative Alpha the world has seen.

• Combined with his ruthless Beta Mercer, the two run a massive pack. It has branches all over the world, but they all defer to Beckett. He makes the decisions for hundreds of werewolves.

• Even Governor Swann has to defer to Beckett. Beckett has the more powerful pack.

• The EITC will do anything to get their way, and they know everything about everyone.

• They hate the pirate packs with a passion. The EITC doesn't have significant military power; their power is based on monopolizing trade.

• This means that the EITC and Navy have to work together because Beckett can't protect his pack with the equipment at his disposal.

• Even though the pack is huge, nobody has ever challenged Beckett for his position. This could be due to the fact that Mercer kills anyone who so much as thinks of the idea.

Other Packs and Lone Wolves

• I don't know what pack Will would be part of, but he doesn't even have a rank.

• Tia Dalma / Calypso is a lone wolf. She's feared and respected, and people go to her for her wisdom. She's a lot older than she looks, possibly being the oldest werewolf in the Caribbean.

• Davy Jones is the Alpha of another cursed pack. He hid his heart as not to be killed by any challengers. Unfortunately, whoever finds his heart also controls him. The idea was unthinkable until Beckett got ahold of it.

• Salazar is also an Alpha of a cursed crew. The release of his pack was a disaster for many others.

In Context

• Pack hierarchies change during the course of the story.

• When Will joins forces with Jack, they form an unofficial pack. When Elizabeth joins them, they officially become the world's smallest pack.

• Jack becomes Alpha again when he takes his pack back from Barbossa. This makes Will and Elizabeth Omegas by society's standards because they willingly chose to join a new pack.

• Though this is technically the case, they're respected within their own pack. The Black Pearl Pack is made up of misfits, so the typical hierarchies don't really matter. The only continuities are the Alpha and Beta positions, with Gibbs being the Beta.

• Though most of the original Black Pearl Pack has died, they get replaced by a misfit crew. Because they have the hunting grounds of the old pack, they're still officially the BP Pack.

• When Will and Elizabeth reenter Port Royal, they're granted clemency on the grounds that they haven't really joined other packs, or so people want to believe.

• Elizabeth is, however, looked down upon for becoming Will's mate. The only exceptions are Weatherby and James, who accept her decision.

• Some packs defer to others or are part of a larger pack that keeps everyone loosely connected.

• This is the case with the Pirate King. The Pirate King can unify all pirate packs under one authority. This only happens in times of dire need, though.

• When Elizabeth is voted King, she suddenly becomes one of the world's most powerful Alphas. She also has the loyalties of many rogues and lone wolves, like Tia Dalma.

• When James learns that Elizabeth has become an Alpha, he's in awe.

• When he dies for her, many criticize him for btraying his own pack. The Naval Pack, however, considers it the most selfless act of love they've ever seen. Nothing can change their high opinion of James.

• Even though she defeats Beckett, Elizabeth doesn't take his pack.

• Will becomes the Alpha of the Dutchman Pack. This means he and Elizabeth will scarcely see each other.

[halorocks1214]

Does anyone want to see the passion project I’ve been working on for the past couple of days? No? Too bad! I’m gonna share it anyways

This is Ellen and Merek in all of their Human Glory! I’ve decided since I’ve been writing more stories with them, I should actually draw what they generally look like/how I picture them. Of course, I couldn’t just do one picture, considering I imagine and have a wide selection of outfits for them

So, I made more than one picture. Below the cut will be explanations of what each outfit is for and why they came to be. Feel free to read it, or just feel free to admire my slowly-getting-better art style! Enjoy~

Posted on DA

Top Left: Casual AKA “Cartoon Outfits”

You know how certain cartoons have their characters wear the same outfit every episode unless specifically changed for plot reasons? Yeah, these are kind of like that. If I can’t be bothered to change it up, I just slap these outfits on them in my mind. Chances are you should just picture this as well when reading one of my stories most of the time

(That is Merek’s favorite jacket, though. Don’t touch it unless you’re Ellen or his team, otherwise, prepare for death)

Bottom Left: Royal Regalia (name courtesy of Ellen)

With the help of a close friend, Ellen came up with outfits for her family and the Guardians. The Royal Family all have the same pattern of the tan swirls and lighter tan filling with the brown outline in them to designate who they are. The Guardians have the same pattern, except their outfits have a color palette that pertains to their typing (Red for Fire, Green for Grass, Yellow for Electric, etc etc)

Merek has a little bit different coloring to his garbs. As you can see, his outline is not that brown color. He technically has the same powers as Ellen, but it’ll take a lot more work for him to get to her level. So, he keeps the tan in the middle to show off his royalty status while having the outline be the color of the typing that he feels is the one he's most in tune with

Ellen is the only one with a dress like that as her outfit. She made hers special for more reason than one (and she just likes how it looks). Her family just has normal robes. Unlesss specifically requested for the opposite, the guys have shirts and pants, and the ladies have, well, one giant long robe

Merek’s wings also never really fully grew. They weren’t weak by any means necessary, but they always kept this sort of “bug-like” behavior instead of becoming more bird-like wings that the rest of his family has

Top Right: Safety Corps Armor

The Safety Corps is a weird military/police force-ish branch I’ve made up. It pays homage to my brother, who had his own little nerd world growing up that I thought was really cool and thus made my own. It’s a mixture of the local police force and a government-funded branch of the military

They handle mundane things in their area like muggers/robbers and missing persons, but if you get to be a high enough rank, you can do Secret Ops and anti-terrorist work as well. I’ve also given it a sort of B99 vibe, where Ellen and Merek’s groups are dumbasses behind the scenes in their offices/rooms

The colors determine your rank. Black is the lowest and Grey is the highest with four other ranks in between; Purple, Silver, Green, and Dark/Navy Blue 

Green (Merek) is two below Grey. Not only do you get your own personal team you lead, but you’re also basically in charge of the building you have been located to. You can’t boss other teams around during missions, but you can make sure they get their damn paperwork done. There tends to only be one or two Greens per building (Merek is the only one for his) 

Purple (Ellen) is one above Black. The majority of members are Black and are pretty much the ones that go out on foot most of the time (most groups consist of Blank Ranks alone, no special leader). The only difference Purple has is that you’re the designated one that, if the plan goes south, you’re expected to take charge and get everyone to safety. Ellen’s team now has a Silver (which she doesn't work with anymore but are all still friends), and Silver ranking means you are the Team Leader, AKA you call the shots instead of higher-ups during missions, including plan-making, so they listen to him

Bottom Right: Fanfic Explanations???

Eh, I needed to fill space. I posted a fic a week or two ago of my characters (that you should check out *wink wonk*) and wanted to clear some stuff up for the five readers I get 

First thing: this is how they look throughout most of the story. That’s Merek’s runaway outfit/cloak, and that’s what Ellen wears while she’s captured. Okay? Okay

Next (and Last) Thing: Literally, all the stories I’ve written of them so far take place at a time before they lose any limbs (Ellen’s hand and leg and Merek’s fingers). Ellen’s fangs haven’t quite come in just yet, plus, Merek’s eyepatch is his old black one and he hasn’t received his mouth scar yet. Not really that important, I know, but other than that, everything in their designs is there in the stories I have written

As a bonus mention, Ellen has this special contact that she wears over her wonky eye to disguise herself. The green eye is a giveaway to who she really is, so she only has it out in public appearances or in private. She also has a way to cover up her prosthetics (again, they’re a dead giveaway) but I didn’t think to draw that :|

Holy shit this got way longer than intended. If you read all the way through, thanks for listening to my mindless rambling!

[theculturedmarxist]

Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck; written by Boden, Fleck and Geneva Robertson-Dworet

The production and release of Captain Marvel, the new science fiction superhero adventure from Marvel and Disney, has a number of remarkable features, but none of them involve the film’s drama, action or characters.

Briefly, Captain Marvel, in convoluted fashion, follows US Air Force pilot Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) who absorbs an awesome energy source, making her potentially “one of the universe’s most powerful heroes ever known,” according to the film’s publicity.

However, six years later, she is suffering from amnesia, doesn’t know who or what she is and has become a member of the repressive Starforce Military under her mentor Yon-Rogg (Jude Law). The shapeshifting Skrulls, the apparent enemy, force Danvers to crash-land in the US in the mid-1990s. But all is not what it appears. Danvers discovers secrets about herself and about a “galactic war” between two alien races.

Not much of this is interesting, although it is noisy and “action-packed.” Captain Marvel, as a film, is predictable, empty and tedious. The more “sensitive” scenes on Earth, focusing on Danvers and her African American friend Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch) and daughter (Akira Akbar), are possibly the most contrived and least convincing.

The first genuinely noteworthy fact about the new film, not surprisingly, concerns money.

Disney, the film’s distributor, is the world’s largest media company, with some $100 billion in assets. With a market value of $152 billion, it ranks as the 53rd largest company of any kind in the world, just behind Total (oil and gas), Merck (pharmaceuticals), the Bank of China (one of the four leading state-owned commercial banks in China), Unilever, DowDuPont and BP.

Media reports place Captain Marvel’s combined net production and global marketing costs at $300 million. To date, the film’s global box office stands at $774 million.

Captain Marvel is truly “corporate entertainment”—i.e., the very process by which it came into being prevents it from being entertaining or enlightening in any meaningful fashion.

This type of large-scale, officially sponsored filmmaking, whose success is avidly promoted and tracked by the media and business publications in particular, inevitably intersects and overlaps with other aspects of American establishment culture. In the case of Captain Marvel, this means militarism and feminism specifically.

The US Air Force was involved in the production of Captain Marvel.

In fact, Task & Purpose reported that Marvel Studios launched the official start of production “with a photo of Larson, and Air Force Brig. Gen. Jeannie M. Leavitt, then-commander of the 57th Wing and the service’s first female fighter pilot, atop an F-15 at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.”

“To prepare for her role, Larson,” according to The Wrap, visited the Air Force base “to join simulated dogfights. The film’s red-carpet premiere included testimonials from Air Force men and women and a flyover by the Air Force’s Nellis-based Thunderbirds.”

Task & Purpose, a website that follows the American military, also cited the emailed comments of Todd Fleming, chief of the Community and Public Outreach Division at Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs: “The Air Force partners on any number of entertainment projects to ensure the depiction of Airmen and the Air Force mission is accurate and authentic. Our partnership with ‘Capt Marvel’ [sic] helped ensure the character’s time in the Air Force and backstory was presented accurately. It also highlighted the importance of the Air Force to our national defense.”

“[Captain Marvel] is not part of a recruiting strategy but we would expect that audiences seeing a strong Air Force heroine, whose story is in line with the story of many of our Airmen, would be positively received,” Fleming said.

The issue of female recruitment is no small matter. American imperialism, recklessly gearing up for war against Russia, China and other rivals, needs vast new supplies of human fodder. Task & Purpose explains, “The spotlight on airmen [in Captain Marvel] comes at a time when the Air Force, like the other services, is hunting for the next generation of pilots. The Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps are all short 25 percent of their pilot billets, according to a GAO [Government Accountability Office] report published this summer; the Air Force in particular has doled out cash incentives like candy in a vain effort to prevent pilots from defecting to the private sector. Indeed, the branch’s plan to increase its number of squadrons by 76 to Cold War levels will require an additional 40,000 personnel, further straining the service’s recruitment capabilities. At the Air Force Academy, female cadets are increasingly encouraged to vie for pilot spots to help bridge that gap.”

Larson, who has made all sorts of useless (or worse) comments about #MeToo, alleged sexual abuse and her own “social activism,” like most of affluent Hollywood, is entirely oblivious to the criminal role of the US military, the greatest source of terror and “abuse” on the planet by an order of magnitude of 100 times or more.

The female heroism in Captain Marvel, of course, has been greeted with plaudits. Entertainment Weekly noted excitedly that the film would “mark the first time a woman will be headlining her own solo superhero movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It also marks the first time a woman will direct a superhero film for Marvel Studios: Anna Boden will co-direct with her Mississippi Grind partner Ryan Fleck.”

The hope is that Captain Marvel will do “for women” what Black Panther did “for African Americans”—which is, of course, nothing whatsoever, except for a small layer of prominent studio executives, writers, performers, etc.

This comment from Deadline is typical: “One film finance source believes that it’s pretty much certain that Captain Marvel will see $1 billion around the world and break the glass ceiling for female-led pics at the global B.O. [box office], dashing past Wonder Woman’s final global of $821.8M.”

As is this Vox headline: “Why Captain Marvel’s milestone status creates so much pressure for it to succeed—Why Captain Marvel represents more than just a superhero movie.” The article proposes to answer these important questions: “What does a woman superhero mean for Marvel Studios and the MCU [Marvel Cinematic Universe]? What are the takeaways from Captain Marvel’s already overwhelming box office success? What does the film have to say about feminism? What might have happened if it had flopped? And who gets to shape the conversation and narrative surrounding it?”

The final and perhaps most remarkable feature of Captain Marvel involves its writer-directors. (And, secondarily, its performers. What are Larson, Jude Law and the talented Australian actor Ben Mendelsohn, whose acting in The Land of Steady Habits we recently praised, doing in this rubbish?)

We have made the point previously on more than one occasion about the objective significance of the “long march” of numerous so-called independent or art filmmakers toward empty-headed, “blockbuster” movie-making. We noted the examples of Steven Soderbergh (Ocean’s Eleven, etc.), Alan Taylor (Terminator Genisys), the Russo brothers (the Captain America and Avengers franchises), Kenneth Branagh (Thor), Christopher Nolan (Batman Begins, etc.), John Singleton (a Fast and Furious installment), Lee Tamahori (Die Another Day, one of the James Bond fantasies), Marc Forster (another of the Bond films, Quantum of Solace), Sam Mendes (yet another Bond film, Skyfall) and Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman).

To that list, one can add the more recent examples of Jon Watts (two Spider-Man films), Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok), Ava DuVernay (A Wrinkle in Time) and Ryan Coogler (Black Panther).

In a number of these cases, the filmmakers had earlier indicated vaguely oppositional political views or a certain concern at least for the fate of broader layers of the population.

The lure of large amounts of money is obviously an issue. But perhaps the more pertinent question is: what are the social and ideological conditions that make writers, directors and performers susceptible to this “lure”? It is not inevitable. Artists, including in the US, have been known to repudiate such offers with contempt. Almost inevitably, however, such resistance has been rooted in political and social conceptions and opposition of a left-wing character, sustained by a confidence in the better instincts of the population and its willingness to struggle. Those conceptions and that confidence are sorely lacking today.

The directors of the dreadful Captain Marvel, Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden, should not be entirely unfamiliar to readers of the WSWS, although the context—big-budget Hollywood—may be unexpected. We have reviewed two of their films in the past, Half Nelson (2006) and Sugar (2008).

The Atlantic notes with surprise that Fleck and Boden “until now have worked in the realm of quiet, sensitive indie films.” More than simply “quiet” and “sensitive,” Half Nelson centers on an obviously left-wing high school teacher working at an inner-city school in Brooklyn.

A 2006 New York Times article about the making of Half Nelson is worth citing. The Fleck-Boden film, wrote Dennis Lim, “is a political allegory, a film about a would-be visionary who wants to change the world but can’t get his act together and is often his own worst enemy. It’s not a stretch to read it as a comment on the sorry state of the American left.”

“‘That was more or less conscious,’ the film’s director, Ryan Fleck, said of the political subtext.” Fleck and Boden “started writing Half Nelson … four years ago, as the Bush administration was preparing to invade Iraq and the antiwar movement was gaining momentum. ‘It felt like we were going to protests every other week,’ Mr. Fleck said recently. ‘But ultimately you don’t have the energy to do it all, and you feel like you’re doing very little. A big part of the frustration was the inability to make meaningful change.’

“The activist spirit comes naturally to Mr. Fleck, who was born to socialist parents on a commune in Berkeley, Calif. As a child he was taken to rallies and protests. As a teenager he read Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn.”

In an interview with Slant magazine, Fleck, asked about religion, replied jokingly “I was raised communist.”

Fleck and Boden’s Sugar, about a Dominican baseball player playing in the minor leagues in the US, the WSWS commented, was “about immigration and acculturation, capitalism and exploitation, hospitality and loneliness.”

Now, a decade later, Captain Marvel.

The same 2006 Times article referred to above contained this passage:

“Mr. Fleck said he hoped that their future projects would remain, however obliquely, rooted in a sense of social justice. ‘Filmmaking is kind of a vain hobby when maybe we should all be taking to the streets,’ he said. ‘But it seems irresponsible not to be informed by politics in some way.’

“Ms. Boden’s idealism is more tempered. ‘I don’t have an inflated sense of what a movie can do,’ she said. ‘But you can at least try not to put something out there that you don’t believe in.’

“Mr. Fleck added: ‘That’s a rule we try to follow, to not put garbage in the world.’”

Unfortunately, they have now.

[kusunogatari-a]

[ Kalon || @sasuhina-renaissance-week ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata ] [ SasuHina ] [ Verse: Healing Waters and Scorching Flames ] [ A beauty that is more than skin deep - beautiful, as an outward sign of inward good, noble, honorable character. ]

If you’d have told him where he’d stand today only a handful of years ago, Sasuke would have laughed...and then scorched your skin for such an insult. Him? A prince of the Fire Nation? In love with a measly waterbender? Please. It’s not only a remark against his heritage of pureblood firebenders, but a personal one as well. As if he’d ever let one of those weak, water-blooded fools anywhere near him unless on their knees, pledging allegiance to the new empire.

...but much can change in such a short amount of time.

His mission had been to capture the Avatar: one he’d accepted gladly for glory in his father’s eyes. Second born behind a sick and frail elder brother, he thought that enough favor from their father would have usurped Itachi’s birthright and granted him the title of Fire Lord. He’d not always been so lustful for power...but time had seen him torn between worry for his brother’s health...and ridicule that a weak man would mean a weak nation. Better he to lead.

But in the end, he’d abandoned that wish for power, and instead helped the Avatar himself master firebending, and overtake Fugaku to bring the war to a close at last. It hadn’t been an easy path - they’d clashed more than once, as well as the rest of his little entourage. The temperamental earthbender, Sakura; a nonbender from the south pole, Kiba, and his polar bear dog; and the little waterbender, Hinata.

The last had been of little consequence at first. Benders were so rare in the south after their raids, she had no one to teach her. But every time they met, she got a little stronger - a little surer. And eventually, Sasuke could no longer ignore her strength - both in bending, and in spirit.

The war’s closing meant slowly beginning to amend the damage done. While Itachi tends to the Fire Nation, Sasuke remains with his new band: touring the lands he helped conquer under his own’s banner.

Things are...stable now. But far from as they were before Madara’s conquest began. Sasuke has every intention of amending what his family has done. And he’s glad he doesn’t have to do so alone.

For the moment, they’re back in his homeland. Naruto has brought leaders from the other nations to address Itachi and begin putting new laws and sanctions into place to assure this never happens again. As always, Sakura remains at his side as an anchor for his...often-lofty ideas. Kiba, ranking in his nation’s navy now, is part of the negotiations and ensuring Fire Nation military downsizing.

And Hinata is among her land’s council as steps toward peace continue.

Sasuke, still a prince to his brother’s title of Fire Lord, mostly lingers in corners. Itachi at times seeks his advice, but Sasuke doesn’t yet trust himself near positions of power. Not after what he nearly did for it. What he nearly sacrificed.

Most don’t seem to notice, too involved in their new roles. But one spares the time to ensure he’s not left alone too long.

It’s evening, the capital dusky as negotiations carry on into the later hours. Elbows leaned against a balcony railing, he turns at the sound of the door behind him, expecting a summons from Itachi.

Instead, he sees Hinata.

Dark brows lift slightly in surprise. “...have they finished for the night?”

“No...but it’s a topic I’m not part of.” She moves herself abreast him, hands daintily mimicking his arms.

Sasuke finds himself shying from her slightly. “...looking for fresh air?”

“Mm...and some less argumentative company.” She gives him a glance, a slightly glint of humor in her gaze. “I know this is all important, but...sometimes I just need a little time away from it all. And most of the talk from my nation comes from those older than me, anyway. I’m really only here because I traveled with the Avatar…”

“It gives you good insight.”

“I suppose...but part of me wishes I wasn’t so sought-after. I’ve not had a quiet day since then, and it’s been...what, five years now? I’m just...tired.”

He considers her for a moment. There’s none of the posture he saw when they first met. No longer is she timid, unsure, or avoidant. She stands with a kind of regality even now, though he’s sure she doesn’t intend it. It’s simply...natural. Her gaze is a thousand miles away, staring out over the city and not noticing his staring.

...it’s then it really hits him how beautiful she is. And not just on the surface. Her strength, so hard-won after her struggles. Her patience at all she’s faced. Her grace inherited from the flow of her element.

The pit of his stomach drops as he realizes...he’s grown quite fond of her over the years. Naruto is a good companion - his liveliness and positivity balance out his own brooding and pessimism. Sakura doesn’t mince her words - he can always expect what he needs to hear from her. Kiba...well, the nonbender is obnoxious, but loyal - he’s taught the prince a lot.

But Hinata…

At first, like the others, she didn’t trust him. Perhaps more so - she’d been quite smitten with Naruto back then, and as the boy’s primary threat, she’d reeled on him with a tenacity he’d not expected. But in the end...they had far more similarities than differences. Though driven, Sasuke has never been brash. The other three are far more outspoken than he.

Not Hinata.

At the base of their natures is a similar quietude. Though he’s been arrogant, and at times scorching like his element, what’s been left in the wake of his new path is...different. His temper has cooled. No longer does he seek attention, or recognition, or power. He merely wishes to make his amends, quietly, without fuss or flare. After so long of feeling torn, and angry, and looked down upon, he wants nothing more than to find peace. For himself, and the world he owes.

...she’s been good company in that regard.

Water can be violent. It can drown what angers it. And true, Hinata has a fierceness to her, but only when necessary. Otherwise, she’s been a quiet pool to calm the rest of her companions. The voice of reason and caution, but just as strong when there are no other options.

He wishes he could be half the person she is. He wishes for her patience, her resilience, her level head and her steadfastness.

She knows who she is. What she wants. Even if part of it has fallen through, she adapts with that same grace, head held high. She’s grown into a woman of beauty, inside and out.

“...Sasuke…?”

A blink. “...yes?”

Her head tilts, looking to him in concern. “...are you feeling well? You were a bit...vacant for a moment.”

Sasuke glances around - how long was he…? “...I was just lost in thought.”

She softens, but only just, in understanding. “...there’s been much to think about lately,” she agrees quietly. “Who knows how long we’ll be here...these talks have potential to last weeks.”

“...I’ll not mind them so long as it means you’ll be here.”

Her gaze widens slightly, and he realizes he’s said too much.

“...you balance out that blond buffoon,” Sasuke attempts to amend, tone rushed in an obvious excuse. “This will all be tedious enough without his volume and...enthusiasm.”

At that, Hinata can’t help a laugh into her sleeve. The sound brings him a small flutter of contentment. “...well, I’ll do my best. It’s good he has the energy, though. Otherwise I fear we’d all be asleep in our seats!”

His lips twitch. “...fair enough.”

Silence falls between them, but it’s neither unwanted nor uncomfortable: amiable, and a pleasant change of pace. Only once some time passes does she murmur, “...I should let you retire for the night. And I’d best do the same - I could be called back for anything at any time.”

Sasuke swallows back a tinge of disappointment. “True...Naruto can only keep you awake through so much.”

She smiles. “...I’ll see you tomorrow, Sasuke.”

“Until then...Hinata.” Watching her go, he only turns back once the door shuts behind her with a soft clack.

Her absence is deafening.

Still leaned along the balcony railing, Sasuke heaves a sigh.

“...what are you getting yourself into, you fool…?”

     This feels a little off, but I haven’t written this verse in quite some time ^^; Apologies if I’m a little rusty lol      I’ve had this verse for a while, though it normally only has one set pairing. But what’s an AU unless you have like ten branching AUs from it? So in this one, we’ve got SasuHina, taking place a few years after what would be the ending of AtLA.      But, I won’t ramble too much - I’ll probably do AUs for all of my entries for this lil ship week (because honestly they’re so much more fun for me to write than canon verses lol), so keep an eye out for them! Some are crossovers, but some are also based on my original novel work. We’ll see what each prompt best fits as the week goes on!      Happy shipping, fellow SasuHina lovers :3 See y’all tomorrow!

[a-40k-dad]

Five fleets!

She has allowed the civilian council the commissioning of five fleets. Each with their own capital ship. Is she out of her mind?

I know that after the Truce of the Great Rift, the creation of a more streamlined, civilian military force had been approved, but this is moving too fast.

The balance of our society rests upon our ancient traditions. Only the Kabal may lead to battle. Only the nobles provide the means to sail the void on quests for doom and glory.

As if five fleet weren’t insulting enough, they will come out of Lonad-Shair’s Ventral Yards. If only the whites created their armada themselves, unsupervised, but no, she had to further undermine my influence by helping them.

Of course, I caved and gave my blessing. I would have lost too much by resisting her. She knew I was upset. She knows I still am. She tried to appease my worries : hunts would continue and the Council’s Navy would be bound to more menial roles.

She said it would actually increase the prestige of our void-faring noble houses. She has plans for the Princes and the Princess. She wants to make them plenipotentiaries. Wielding the full power of the Realm wherever they sail. I wish I could believe it were so simple.

The balance within the Kabal is much too delicate. We need more time. Maybe Rothomir still has some influence over the Lastoneshi Directorate. I need a contingency plan. Stall or at least reduce the scope of their project. If the other powers of the Realm could deem the creation of these fleets unfair, it would certainly buy us some much needed time.

—

Audiolog — Archoness’ quarters — Echor-Fanyare station over Iotesh.

The voice on the recording has been matched to Elasha Vashti Balamaethor, Archoness of The Realm. “She” is presumably, Anariel Veris Morr, Archseer of The Realm

“The Whites” is a derogatory term for civilian powers. White refers to the colours used on the uniforms and ships of their representatives, which also include their own military might. The Civilian branch of power is representing the interests of the Caliranite society at large and is by far the most democratic. 

“Hunts” used to be hunts for sentient cattle, not unlike Dark Eldar raids. Nowadays it is the term that is used by the Noble Fleets to describe any large scale military operation they carry out.

The “Lastoneshi Directorate” is the scientific society stemming from Lastonesh, a colonised Waterworld. They have their own combat-capable forces and have participated in military operations outside the borders for centuries and certainly wouldn’t mind gaining the ability to organise their own operations.

“Rothomir” is presumably Rothomir Paeris, Military Governor of Iotesh, the Archoness’ second in command. He is a Lastoneshi-born Eldar who previously held a position of power within the Directorate.

[e350tb]

Steven Universe: Ruby Stars - Chapter Ten

(Special thanks to @real-fakedoors for proofreading this!)

Sledgehammer

Two jet fighters roared over Wilmingmore.

Clancy frowned as he watched them soar through the dawn sky. Not having slept well, he decided to get some coffee before Bracknell woke up and went out for an early breakfast. He had just driven back into the factory parking lot when he'd seen the jets, silver streaks against the reddish-blue sky. They were headed due south, and he wondered if they were bound for Beach City. Perhaps they had cameras attached, and they'd be taking pictures for Colonel Bradshaw - he wouldn't be surprised if they were.

He was just about to head inside when he heard another growling roar, this one far closer to the ground. He turned to the parking lot entrance - a convoy of olive drab army trucks rumbled through the gate, pulling up in front of the factory. Shouted commands filled the air as soldiers piled out of the backs, assembling in the empty car park - behind them, a jeep rolled in, pulling up in front of the bewildered agent.

Colonel Bradshaw climbed out of the back, joined by Major King. The major handed the colonel a folder, which he promptly handed down to Clancy.

"What the hell is this?" demanded Clancy.

"The situation's changed, Agent Miller," Bradshaw replied, "We have orders from on high."

Clancy looked over the unassuming manila folder, emblazoned by the golden and navy accents of the Presidential Seal. That, he thought, certainly couldn't be good.

"The gem situation has become untenable," continued Bradshaw, "We've had the fire at the rail depot, an attack on a public mall, the worm destroying our chopper, the assault on Captain Clark..."

"Poor man," said Clancy, entirely unsympathetically.

"...not to mention the abductions and the loss of that Barriger kid," finished Bradshaw.

"Barriga, sir," corrected Major King.

"Yes, thank you, Ernest," nodded Bradshaw, "Point is, we need to bring this situation under control."

Clancy let the words sink in, his tongue soured with the bitterness of their meaning. No, this was not good. Not good at all.

That being said, Clancy had been in the game long enough to know when to argue outright and when to… persuade. Men like Bradshaw don’t take well to defiance, he had learned that the hard way. The only realistic option he had was to try to appeal to reason.

He cleared his throat and feigned something that sounded like deferential disagreement. "With all due respect, sir, the situation is under control. As I advised you, the Crystal Gems have it..."

"The Crystal Gems have hell, Agent Miller!" snapped Bradshaw, "How many more people are gonna be dragged into space while they have things under control, huh? How many more government artefacts are they gonna steal?!"

"We have no evidence that they stole that Ruby, Colonel Bradshaw," growled Clancy, struggling to keep the venom from his tone.

"Well then, who did, Agent?" demanded Bradshaw.

Clancy didn't reply.

"No more, Miller," snarled Bradshaw, his eyes narrowing, "I'm taking control of the situation. That folder details Operation Sledgehammer. I have a mandate to bring Beach City and the surrounding area under military law..."

Clancy opened the folder, reading the contents. His face paled - they couldn't seriously be thinking...

"...as well as to either capture the Crystal Gems," finished Bradshaw, "Or terminate them with extreme prejudice."

Steven laid out the rug and put down the picnic basket.

He and Connie were out in the forest, about a mile away from Beach City. It was a lovely morning - there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and the sun shone brilliantly through the canopy of trees. While he continued to set up the picnic, Connie checked the weather on her phone. There didn't seem to be any change in the forecast - the sun would shine all day.

It was a good chance to finally scale things back for a day and focus on themselves.

Connie was just about to close her phone when the news app flashed quickly.

No-fly zone enacted over Southern Delmarva due to hijack threat, POTUS says.

As if on cue, the silence of the forest was broken by the dim roar of a fighter jet. Connie looked up, watching it roar through the deep blue of the sky and off into the distance. If she squinted, Connie could just about make out its shape - it had a pointed nose like a dart, and a pair of wings towards the back of the fuselage. It was long gone before she could make out any more details.

"Huh," she muttered.

"What is it?" asked Steven.

"Nothing," shrugged Connie, "Just saw a plane."

She sat down as Steven handed her a sandwich.

"So, things have been pretty hectic lately, haven't they?" she said.

"Mm-hmm," nodded Steven, taking a bite out of his sandwich.

He swallowed, clearing his mouth.

"I'm just glad Sadie's getting used to everything," he added, "But I hope she talks to her mom soon."

"I don't know," mused Connie, "I'd be pretty mad if it was me. I mean, it'd be like..."

She thought back to Stevonnie's dream on the jungle moon base and smirked.

"...if my mom actually was Yellow Diamond."

Steven chuckled.

"Wow, that'd be weird," he said.

"I know, right?" replied Connie, "Can you imagine my mom as an alien dictator?"

She picked up her phone and held it to her ear.

"No, Doctor West," she said in an impression of her mother, "If that patient isn't ready by the time I arrive I'm gonna have you shattered!" She lowered her phone. "Okay, Connie, I need you to be ready for tennis practice in an Earth hour." She raised the phone again. "Shattered, I tell you! Shattered!"

The two burst into laughter. Steven wiped a tear from his eye.

"Aw, I shouldn't laugh," he admitted, "But hey, funny's funny."

Suddenly, they heard a thump and a rustling from the bushes. Steven glanced over - he saw nothing.

"What was that?" he asked.

"Squirrel?" shrugged Connie.

Steven got up, walking carefully towards the bushes.

"It could be hurt," he said, "I just want to make sure it's okay."

Connie's phone beeped. She picked it up; the news app had flashed again.

Martial law instituted in Beach City and Crossroads areas. Army command advises all citizens to return home immediately.

"Uh... Steven?"

Steven wasn't listening. He leaned down next to a bush, carefully pushing the branches aside.

"It's okay, little fella," he said, "We'll make sure you're feeling better, and we'll give you a name! You can be called San..."

He pushed aside the last branches.

"...dy..."

Connie's eyes widened as she took in the tall, blue figure crouched behind the bush.

"...Lapis?"

Peedee watched warily as a column of army trucks rumbled onto the boardwalk. Each of them found a spot to pull up and deposit their cargoes of heavily armed soldiers. It was surreal - it was like one of those old films about America being invaded, but this time, the occupying force was their own army.

A jeep screeched to a halt outside Fish Stew Pizza. Nanefua and her bodyguards were already stepping out to meet the blue-uniformed officer that jumped out the back.

"Mayor Pizza," he said officiously, "Major Ernest King, U.S. Army Air Force. On behalf of the Gem Task Force, I've been asked to inform you that we are taking over the running of this town, effective immediately."

"Under whose authority?" demanded Nanefua.

"Under the authority of the President of the United States," replied Major King, "Furthermore, Colonel Bradshaw would like to brief you immediately regarding the situation with the Crystal Gems. Please be present in your office in half an hour."

He saluted crisply and climbed back into the jeep. It sped away before Nanefua could reply.

The Mayor shook her head and crossed her arms.

"Rude," she muttered before walking back towards the restaurant.

Peedee furrowed his brow and turned on the radio. Perhaps that would explain what was going on.

"...am Lieutenant-Colonel Bradshaw," a voice said, his voice light and slightly Southern, "Gem Task Force, United States Army. As of this morning, the townships of Beach City, Ocean Town, Charm City and Crossroads are being placed under martial law under the orders of the President. I assure you that this is being done in a humane and professional manner."

An ear-splitting crash filled the air. Peedee jumped and looked up the boardwalk.

A tank had sunk turret-first into the boardwalk, which had splintered under its weight. The commander was standing in the hatch, looking sheepishly from left to right.

"Uh... nothin' to see here, folks," he said.

Greg had just finished washing down a car when they came.

Two armoured vehicles screamed around the corner. Greg stepped back in shock as the lead vehicle rolled on top of the car, crushing it beneath the treads. The commander leaned out the hatch, looking at the wreckage - he grinned mischievously.

"Ha! Nice," he said.

"Nice?! That was somebody's car!" exclaimed Greg.

"Yeah, well, you got bigger problems, Mac," shrugged the commander.

The rear hatches of both vehicles opened and a squad of soldiers emerged. Boots clicking loudly on the pavement, they swiftly took positions around Greg, encircling him on all sides. He swallowed - everywhere he looked, he could see somebody pointing a gun at him.

"Uh... I think you've got the wrong guy?" he said nervously.

"Greg Universe?" replied the commander.

"Uh..."

"Yeah, thought so," nodded the commander, "You're under arrest by order of Colonel Bradshaw and the Gem Task Force."

"But... why?!" exclaimed Greg, "What have I done?!"

"Heck if I know, Mac," grunted the commander, "But I hear the Colonel wants you pretty bad."

He smirked unpleasantly.

"Unless you don't wanna come?"

Slowly, Greg put his hands behind his head.

"Yeah, okay, I-I'll come quietly..."

Sadie watched from the top of the lighthouse as the army vehicles rolled into and around Beach City. She clutched the rail with shaking hands, listening to the radio.

"With your help, we will see the Crystal Gems apprehended safely. Remember, the army is here to help. Thank you."

The radio switched off, replaced by the tones of the Emergency Warning System. Jenny switched it off and joined her next to the rail.

It had supposed to be an easy day. The band had met at the lighthouse to talk about their next song (Sadie was still pretty into the werewolf idea), and while that meant trying not to trip over Ronaldo and ignoring his 'True Werewolf Factoids', the atmosphere in the old building was lovely. The sun was shining high in the sky, and looking over Beach City in the brilliant sunlight was quiet relaxing.

At least it had been, until the tanks rolled in.

Sadie could see them rolling across the beach, cutting off access to the Temple. They seemed to be stopping a few hundred metres away from the Temple itself - Sadie wondered if they were waiting for the Crystal Gems to surrender. Not very likely, she thought.

"Man, this is surreal," muttered Jenny, watching a helicopter land in the town square.

Sadie nodded.

"Why now, though?" asked Jenny, "The Gems have been here since, like, forever. If they'd wanted to start something, they would've done it years ago. Where were they when that big green hand showed up and we had to evacuate? That at least would have made sense."

"Something must've changed," mused Sadie.

She thought back to the wrecked helicopter in the Beta Kindergarten. Surely that couldn't have been it? It had only been one helicopter, and they'd saved the crew, hadn't they?

Distantly, she heard loud boots on the stairwell. She turned to the window, and moments later a few soldiers entered the lantern room. She glanced to Jenny - they nodded and headed back in.

The leader of the soldiers, a man in a blue uniform, was talking politely but firmly to Buck, Sour Cream and Ronaldo.

"...this lighthouse has been appropriated for use by the military as an observation post," he was saying, "You will need to vacate the premises."

"But I live here!" exclaimed Ronaldo.

"We can talk about compensation when the crisis is over," replied the officer, "But you'll need to leave. We need this building for use against the Crystal Gems."

"Use against the Crystal Gems?"

Ronaldo crossed his arms.

"I'll have you know that I used to be a Crystal Gem," he declared.

The officer and his troops exchanged glances.

Five minutes later, the officer shoved a handcuffed Ronaldo into the back of his jeep. He turned and nodded to the other kids.

"Sorry for the disruption, kids," he said.

He climbed into the jeep and drove away.

"Dang," said Buck.

"So," asked Sour Cream, "What do we do now? I mean, we can go to my place, but I kinda don't think I'm up for anymore song-writing..."

"We can go check in with Nana," suggested Jenny, "She's the mayor now, so she'll know what's happening, right?"

"Unless she's been arrested too," said Sadie darkly.

"I still don't get why they're doing this now," said Jenny, scratching her chin, "It just doesn't make any sense..."

Sadie thought back. She remembered the Delmarva Centre and the incident with the corrupted Quartz...

"OSS! Stay back!"

A man stepped through the dust, carrying a crowbar. Sadie's eyes widened.

It was Clancy Miller.

Sadie narrowed her eyes.

"Clancy," she growled.

"This is Captain Wayne Clark of the Gem Task Force!"

Pearl rolled her eyes.

She, Garnet, Amethyst and Peridot watched as the loud, angry captain bellowed into his microphone. He certainly seemed confident, which might have had something to do with the squads of troops that surrounded the Beach House, backed up by a half-dozen tanks. She wondered if they actually intended to attack the Temple.

"We have you surrounded on all sides!" the Captain thundered, "If you do not come out by sundown and surrender yourselves to our custody, we will be forced to assault your base with extreme force. I repeat, you have until sundown to comply!"

"What does he think he is, a cowboy or something?" asked Amethyst.

"He looks nothing like a cow," added Peridot dismissively.

"He's definitely confident." Pearl turned to Garnet, frowning. "Do they have a chance?"

Garnet shook her head.

"Not in a direct battle," she replied, "None of their weapons could penetrate the Temple door. We wouldn't even have to fight them."

"I get the sense there's a 'but' coming up, G," said Amethyst.

Garnet nodded.

"They seem willing to use our allies to get to us," she said flatly. "The humans in town. Greg. Connie..."

Pearl's hands flew to her lips, covering the tiny gasp that escaped her lips.

"Steven," she whispered.

Garnet only nodded, looking particularly severe as she gazed out of the window.

Beside them, Amethyst fidgeted uncomfortably. "I-I mean, they wouldn't actually do anything to the humans, right Garnet? They're supposed to protect them - like Greg and Connie are both humans! They couldn't just attack them, right? And Steven, too..."

"Steven isn't exactly human," Peridot corrected, though her usually poindexter attitude seemed awfully bitter.

Pearl looked about ready to draw swords, so Garnet raised a hand to stay their worries.

"There's a number of possibilities... I can't know for certain how this will play out. But we need to plan."

"There's a gem who wants to escape Homeworld," said Lapis, "I'm trying to help her."

Lapis' return had been met with laughter and hugs from Steven, which was understandable - but Connie had been less ecstatic. It seemed strange to her - Lapis had left because she was afraid of the Diamonds returning. Why, then, would she come back? And why would she recommend another gem come here? It just seemed too good to be true.

That having been said, it'd didn't look like Lapis was lying. Connie had learned the facial tics that people sometimes made when they weren't telling the truth, and Lapis had none of those; and there certainly wasn't any sign that she was brainwashed or anything. Still, something about this made her feel uneasy.

"Lapis, that's so nice of you!" exclaimed Steven, grinning broadly, "I'm sure the Gems would be thrilled to have her!"

Lapis smiled.

"I hope so," she replied, "I mean, they might not be glad to have me, after everything that's happened..."

"Water under the bridge," chuckled Steven, "You get it? Water? Because... because you do water stuff?"

Lapis laughed.

"No," she said.

"Well, I'll explain it to you one day," shrugged Steven. “C’mon, we’ve got to go back to the Temple right now! Peridot is there, and she’ll be so --”

“No!” Lapis flinched away like Steven had hit her. “N-no, I can’t face her. Not… not yet. We should help this gem first. She stole a ship and is just waiting for a signal to come down to the surface… I didn’t know where might be a good place?”

Connie tapped her chin, thoughtful. "Well, away from the army, at any rate."

She winced as she heard another fighter jet scream overhead.

"How about the warehouse?" asked Steven, "They probably won't look there, right? The only things there are Mr. Smiley's stash of old wrestling magazines!"

Connie nodded.

"That might work," she agreed, "Okay, let's go set it up for... Lapis, who was this gem again?"

"Seraphinite," replied Lapis.

Greg winced as the soldiers shoved him roughly to the office floor. He looked to his left, and found himself next to Doug and Priyanka - he swallowed and grinned nervously at them. Thankfully, they seemed more focused on being angry at the military officers than being angry at him.

"Major King's bringing the last one up now," one of the soldiers said.

"Good," nodded Bradshaw.

He was sitting behind the Mayor's desk, Clancy Miller and Philbert Bracknell behind him. The former looked as though his temper was threatening to burst through the dam of self-control - Bracknell, for his part, just looked confused. In front of them, Nanefua paced angrily, giving Bradshaw a piece of her mind.

"You have no right to detain my townsfolk," she snapped, "They haven't done anything wrong!"

"That's for me to decide, madam," replied Bradshaw, "I have orders to neutralise all threats. Other countries would've handled this in a far more violent fashion, and..."

"That doesn't make you right!" growled Nanefua.

The door opened. Major King marched into the room and pushed Ronaldo onto the ground next to Greg - for his part, he seemed to be slightly less forceful than the other soldiers. Slightly.

"Ronaldo?" quizzed Greg.

"I'm a person of interest!" said Ronaldo excitedly.

"Alright," said Bradshaw, standing up, "Douglas and Priyanka Maheswaran, Gregory Universe née DeMayo, and Ronaldo Fryman alias 'Bloodstone...'"

Ronaldo beamed.

"...you are charged with association with treasonous alien elements," he continued, "You will detained until..."

"Warrant," snapped Doug.

"I beg your pardon?" asked Bradshaw.

"Warrant," Doug repeated, "Where is it?"

"My warrant," snapped Bradshaw, "Is the power vested in me by the President of the United States. My warrant is my oath to the people, who I am sworn to protect."

He turned to King.

"Where are their kids, anyway?" he demanded.

"If you touch a hair on Connie's head," thundered Priyanka, leaning forward, "I swear..."

"...you'll go to prison for assaulting an officer," grunted Bradshaw.

"We couldn't find them, sir," replied King, "I've got men looking for them now. I've ordered them to use discretion to prevent..."

"Discretion?" snapped Bradshaw, "Does this look like the time for discretion?"

"...they're kids, sir," said King.

"They're a national security threat," replied Bradshaw, "I understand it's not easy, but I need Steven and Candy..."

"Connie, sir."

"Thank you, Ernest - Steven and Connie in custody."

Major King swallowed.

"Yes sir," he said, "I'll... I'll handle it myself, sir."

"See that you do."

King saluted and left the room.

"Now, we have a conundrum," said Bradshaw, scratching his chin, "We got a couple of Crystal Gems who aren't coming out of their hole. We need to coax them."

He turned to Greg and grinned.

"I think I know just how to do that," he continued, "Bracknell, take the other three to the town square - I'm sending them to Fort Raleigh for detainment, you're gonna make sure they make it intact."

Bracknell turned to Clancy, who nodded.

"Don't rock the boat, Bracknell," he whispered, "I'll sort this out as soon as I can."

Bracknell swallowed. A couple of soldiers barged into the room, pulling Priyanka and Doug to their feet. Greg watched as they were dragged out - as they left, he just about saw Priyanka mouth something to him.

It's not your fault.

He sighed in relief as Bracknell escorted Ronaldo out of the office. Nanefua shot the agent a dirty look as he left.

"And where," she demanded, "Is Fort Raleigh?"

"West," replied Bradshaw, "Clancy, grab Mr. Universe. We're going down to the beach."

Clancy furrowed his brow.

"The beach?" he replied incredulously, "You're not seriously thinking of..."

"If it gets 'em out, Miller, then yes."

"Sir, that breaks just about every protocol in the book!" exclaimed Clancy, "You can't..."

"What the President doesn't know, won't hurt him," replied Bradshaw.

Watching the malicious smirk play at the Colonel’s lips, Greg felt his stomach drop.

Sadie marched up the street, the Cool Kids struggling to keep up as she purposefully made her way to Barb's house. Her face was set into a deep scowl. They encountered Onion going the other way - he gulped when he saw Sadie and quickly crossed the road.

She opened the fence and marched to the front door. She knocked three times, with a lot more force than was probably necessary.

The door opened.

"Sadie?" Barb gasped, "You came back?"

"I need to talk to Clancy," replied Sadie, her fists clenched, "You have his number. I'm calling him... and then I need to go again."

She sighed, calming down slightly.

"I'm sorry, I just... I'm still not ready to talk."

There was a long silence as the Cool Kids caught up.

"Uh... apart from that, though, how's it going, Ms. Miller?" asked Sour Cream.

Clancy sat in his car, waiting for the soldiers to finish bundling a handcuffed Greg into the back of the Colonel's jeep. It wasn't so much that Greg was struggling - they'd blindfolded him, and he couldn't find his way into the car. The soldiers were trying and failing to direct him, and their sergeant's face was starting to look something like a swollen plum as he watched his troops fumble. It'd have been funny if the situation wasn't so serious.

His phone rang. Clancy grit his teeth and turned on the bluetooth speaker - now simply wasn't the time.

"Agent Clancy Miller?"

"What the hell is the army doing here?!"

Clancy winced. That was Sadie's voice.

"Sadie, uh, this-this isn't the time, I-I'm very busy..."

"Yeah, I noticed. Why are they going after the gems? What did you tell them?!"

"I told them to leave it well enough alone!" snapped Clancy, "It's not my fault they can't listen to their own advisors!"

The Colonel jumped into the jeep and it started. Clancy grunted, driving along behind him.

"Look, this is a really bad time," he said, "I'll get them out of here, but I need time..."

"What, you're just gonna give them the Crystal Gems?" demanded Sadie.

"They can't take 'em in a straight fight," replied Clancy, "You know..."

"So you'll just let other people get hurt! Just like you always do!"

Clancy winced.

"I'm working on it," he replied, "I... it's hard, okay! Talking to Bradshaw's like talking to a brick wall, and if I push too hard, he might... he might figure out I'm covering for you."

There was no reply, so he continued.

"They already think I know where the ruby is," he continued, "One step out of line and they could find me out. They could find you out! I-I want to help people, I want to stop them for from getting the Gems, but... but I won't do anything that leads them to you."

He sighed.

"I don't know if I can save everyone," he finished, "But I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I couldn't save you. I've done enough to hurt your family."

He pulled up at the end of the road, just in front of the slope up to the lighthouse.

"Look, I have to go," he said, "Just... lay low until this is finished, okay? I'll work it out."

"Clancy, you... I can't..."

He looked up. Bradshaw had climbed out of the jeep and was walking towards him.

"Sadie, I gotta hang up," he said, "I..."

Bradshaw leaned against the window. He was grinning now, like a shark who had just cornered his prey. Clancy furrowed his brow - what was he so happy about?

He reached into his jacket and pulled out a phone, pressing a button on it and pulling it to his ear.

"You didn't seriously think we wouldn't have bugged your phone, did you Clancy?"

"So, Sadie Miller."

Sadie's shivered as she listened to the voice on the other end of the line. It maintained the facade of military protocol, but there was a hint of grim, sneering satisfaction. She glanced over to her mother on the other side of the kitchen table - her face was set in a frown.

"I imagine you have my ruby," he said.

"It isn't yours," replied Sadie, trying hard not to sound as nervous as she was.

"Oh, but it is, Ms. Miller, and you're gonna deliver it to me," replied Bradshaw, "Or Clancy here is going to be in a bit of trouble..."

Faintly, Sadie could hear a dull thud and a cry of pain.

"And what if I can't?" asked Sadie.

Barb gritted her teeth and mouthed a reply. Don't tell them.

"Oh, I believe you can," said Bradshaw, "In fact, I believe you can take that ruby wherever you want. Ain't that right, 1GK?"

Sadie's blood ran cold.

"How long have you known?"

"I've suspected since the fire at the depot," explained Bradshaw, "But I knew after you drew your weapon in a public mall at Wilmingmore... oh come on, Clancy, you're a secret agent, you wouldn't tell me if you suspected me of something..."

Sadie swallowed.

"So what happens to me?" she asked, "If I give myself up?"

There was a long pause.

"I'm not at liberty to say."

Sadie closed her eyes and nodded.

"If I come," she said, "You leave the Crystal Gems alone. You let Clancy and everyone else you've kidnapped go. You leave Beach City and never come back. Got it?"

"Sadie, no!" exclaimed Barb.

"...deal. Half-an-hour, outside the Temple. Come alone."

The Colonel chuckled.

"I look forward to making your acquaintance."

The line went dead. Sadie collapsed into her chair, rubbing her forehead.

"Sadie!" exclaimed Barb, "You can't give yourself up! I'm not letting you..."

"Mom."

Sadie stood up.

"I've just had dumbest idea in history," she said, "And it's really dangerous, and I'm probably gonna have to wing most of this, because I haven't thought it through..."

She took a deep breath and offered Barb a shaky smile.

"...and I'm gonna need your help."

Barb stared for a just a moment, as if processing what Sadie had said. Then, very slowly, her face broke into a smile.

"That's my girl," she said.

Lapis paced back and forth in the warehouse, occasionally looking up into the afternoon sky. Connie watched her dubiously - she knew Steven trusted her completely, but she couldn't help but feel that something was distinctly off about her behaviour.

Quite suddenly, they heard a rustling outside the warehouse. All eyes fell on the door, which started to groan ominously.

"What's going on?" asked Steven, "Who is that?"

The door flew open with a loud crash. A squad of about six soldiers, led by a man in a blue uniform, burst into the warehouse, weapons drawn. The blue uniformed man advanced on the three, shouting a warning.

"My name is Major Ernest King!" he shouted, "I have orders to take Steven Universe and Connie Maheswaran into custody. Do not resist!"

"What?!" exclaimed Steven, "But we're innocent!"

"Where the heck is your warrant?!" demanded Connie.

Lapis narrowed her eyes.

"No," she said, "You can't be allowed to ruin this."

"This is a military matter, ma'am!" snapped King, "And... wait, you're a gem..."

Lapis raised her arms. The sea by the warehouse began to rise into the air, like a gigantic tsunami in slow motion. The soldiers looked up in horror as the foamy water twisted and formed into a giant fist, ready to smash down upon them; Connie's eyes widened as she realised that she and Steven were also in its shadow.

"Lapis, no, don't hurt them!" shouted Steven, running up to his friend.

Lapis turned to him, her face twisted into a dark scowl. For the briefest moment, Connie swore she saw a speck of white in her pupils.

"I'm sorry, Rose Quartz," she snarled, "But I won't allow anything to stop Seraphinite."

A sonic boom filled the air, shattering windows for about a mile around. Connie would have given it a lot more thought, except for the fact that it was swiftly followed by a much closer boom as the fist of water came down. She heard shouts and scream, a few scattered shots rang out, and then she was consumed by water. For a minute, she struggled desperately for breath, thrashing in the endless blue void.

Then, mercifully, she fell into darkness.

[sachertortes]

OMG PROMPTS YOU ARE AMAZING AND I LOVE YOU. wintershock nobility #1???

@bloomsoftly PROMPTS TIMES YES!! ALL OF THE

Prompt: Nobility themed, #1,  “Your country’s trying to take over/annex my country and you’re making it difficult to hate you because you’re so nice and attractive stop it”

Pairing: Bucky x Darcy

Rating: T

Notes: Nobility/Fantasy AU

“So he’s arrived today at court. At the palace. My palace,” Darcy said, turning to her Advisor.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” he replied.

Darcy frowned. She heard many things of this Prince James Buchanan Barnes and she was mostly certain none of it could be true.

Just the other morning, she’d hid in the corridor to listen to the maids talking about him as they were dusting in the music room.

“I heard he and his brother led their army over the Northern Pass during a blizzard and did not lose one man,” Ingrid said breathlessly.

“I heard he fought off a dozen men with his bare hands and won. And that a wizard gave him an enchanted arm of silver and his brother hair of gold,” Emmaline added in an awed whisper. “…They – they call him the Winter Soldier.” Then in a softer, dreamier voice, “They say he’s as tall and strong as a bear and his eyes are like glaciers.”

“Why, Emmaline! You naughty girl!” teased Ingrid.

“Oh, hush!” giggled Emmaline and Darcy left after that, leaving the girls to the rest of their work.

In the receiving room, Darcy now waited for that fearsome sounding man. He’d probably arrive cloaked in bearskin and covered in dirt or something, the barbarian.

“Well. There’s nothing to be done about that, I suppose.” She stood in a rustle of silk and faille then glided her hands over the front of her gown, over tiny pearls and embroidered roses.

“We’ll just have to throw him in the dungeon,” she continued breezily, flipping her curls over her shoulder. “The dark one. With all the spiders.”

Coulson merely raised one brow and intoned drily, “You know we don’t have dungeons.”

“Then I’ll build one! I’m the Queen! At least for a little while longer. I can definitely build a dungeon where some snivelly little Prince from an invading country can rot forever in the dark! Write that down, Coulson – a dark dungeon!”

“Might I remind you that you signed the Treaty and invited him here? And that the country needs the force of his armies?”

But Darcy was on a roll and elected to ignore Coulson’s logic. She tapped a finger to her chin. “Oooh! The Rack! Let’s bring back the Rack!”

“No, Your Majesty.”

“Not even a little one? Just for his legs or something?”

Coulson let out one long-suffering sigh.

If it was meant to chastise her, Darcy wouldn’t know. She’d heard that sigh for most of her life and was immune to it by now.

It was actually Sigh #21. Not as serious as Sigh #1 (The “You Must Stop That This Instant You Are the Leader of Your Country” Sigh) nor as lighthearted as Sigh #32 (The “You Amuse Me, But I’ll Never Say It” Sigh).

“Please, please, be civil. The welcome dinner is tonight – “

“Seat him between the Baroness Mowbray and the Duke Thornton. Perhaps he’ll flee the country out of sheer boredom.”

“And must I remind you that he has large armies and gold which our country needs at the moment?”

Darcy glared at him, then after realizing that she wasn’t going get any reaction other than his usual placidness, turned to glare at the dour portrait of her great-great-grandmother.

“Yes,” she ground out. “That’s the second time in five minutes you’ve mentioned that. He deserves the spidery dungeons. Who does he think he is?! We’ve always been neutral and we haven’t needed his stupid army or his stinking gold or his dumb – “

“Your Majesty –“

“Stupid face –“

“Your Majesty –“

“Or his so-called magical –“

“DARCY.”

“Yes, Coulson,” Darcy sighed, turning. “Oh!”

Standing there slightly behind Coulson was a man who could not be anyone other than the Prince.

Prince James was tall, but not as tall as a bear. His shoulders were broad under his black coat. His eyes, though – his eyes were a steely grey-blue, seeming even more light due to his dark brown hair that framed his face. He had obviously not had time to groom, but the days of growth on face only served to accent his already angular jawline, the slight dimple in his chin.

And Darcy could only think to herself, oh, if Emmaline only knew.

“If I am to be thrown in the dungeon, might I beg of the Queen that it be one without spiders? I don’t like spiders.”

“I – I am very sorry. You weren’t meant to hear that.”

Prince James’ lips twitched.

“Yes. I figured.”

“Won’t you please sit?” She shakily gestured to one of the two armchairs. The tea and pastries set up by Coulson were already on the table.

In the awkward silence, Darcy chastised her stupid mouth for running away from her yet again, and busied herself by pouring them both tea.

“I want to – I am here because…Thank you,” Prince James said haltingly, so unlike the smooth, pretty words offered to her by her courtiers.

“It seemed that I did not have much choice,” Darcy answered unable to keep the sadness from weighing down her tone. She’d promised herself that she would cede gracefully, but the thought of a foreign power in her land, her home, made her heart ache.

“I know,” he said, in a voice so low and gentle she strained a little to hear him. “I won’t make you regret it just the same. We need all the assistance we can get. Schmidt’s navy is, as we speak, sailing through the Sapphire Sea.”

Darcy gasped. “So soon?” she asked, heart thumping. And so close?

“Yes. And my men have received intelligence that he could be at your western borders within a month.”

Darcy put down her teacup with a shaking hand.

“But I promise you,” the Prince said, “I promise that he won’t be able to set foot here. Schmidt doesn’t fight honorably, but by the gods, we won’t let him take this part of our continent.”

Darcy clasped her hands tightly together in her lap. Prince James placed one large hand over hers. His calloused skin was warm and the weight a comfort.

From across the room, a soft, polite cough sounded. Coulson.

“I’m sorry.” He quickly drew his hand away. “Please forgive me, I’m unused to…well, all of this.”

“I admit I’ve never seen you or your family at our court.”

“The Barnes’ are – were – a smaller cadet branch. Then my father’s cousin died without an heir, and suddenly I’m being pulled out of military school to attend a proper boarding school. Someone hands me a title and so here I am.” He shifted uncomfortably. Then under his breath, “In this damned jacket which my valet tells me is exquisite but is actually extremely uncomfortable.”

Darcy was unable to help her huff of laughter. “It is a very fine jacket,” she reassured him. “And you look very…” she trailed off, any number of words filling her head.

Fantastic. Handsome. Dashing.

“Yes?”

“Nice. Good. You look good in the jacket.”

Prince James had a tease at the corners of his easy smile. “Why thank you, Your Highness.”

“Darcy,” she said, surprising herself a little. “I’ve threatened to imprison you, so I think I should allow you the use of my name.”

“Alright, Darcy. Please call me James.”

“Well, James, I hear much about you. Is any of it true?”

“Much of it is exaggeration.”

“What of your brother? Is he as fierce a fighter as I’ve heard?”

“Well, that part is true. Sometimes I have to pull him out of fights.”

“And other times?”

“And other times I join in,” he admitted with a chuckle and a sideways glance.

“And leading your army through a blizzard?”

“It was…a small blizzard?”

He was downright bashful, and Darcy found herself smiling into her teacup. “Well, wizards don’t exist so that part of your lore cannot be true.”

James laughed. “So we’ve heard the same tales. The only person who gave my brother his golden hair is our mother.”

“And I know you can’t possibly have a silv-“ but then Darcy’s eyes alighted on James’ left hand, covered in a black leather glove. “I – Oh, I mean –“ she stuttered.

James only smiled ruefully and pulled off the glove, revealing his silver hand. Darcy couldn’t help her intake of breath. “The silver arm is real but I’m afraid no wizard was kind enough to gift it to me or enchant it.” He swallowed audibly. “This was from a run-in with Schmidt’s men. You see now what I mean when I say that he won’t fight honorably. They do not believe in such things. All other countries until now have honored the neutrality of yours. He won’t. He doesn’t care. Your land, your people, are a means to an end.”

“What – what end?” Darcy asked even though it was with a sickening feeling that she already knew.

“He wants to conquer the world.” Then he leaned forward and looked at her with those ice blue eyes, solemn and serious again. “This treaty – Please don’t think this won’t mean everything to us - to my country, and to my men. Your promise of safe passage and the resources your lands and your people can provide…It is everything to us.”

The way he was looking at her…Darcy’s heart beat a hard rhythm against her bodice and she felt her face warm.

“Yes. Of course. It’s – it’s why I signed the treaty, James.”

“I am grateful every day for it,” James said softly. “Oh, yes. I’ve brought you something,” he said, almost mischievous. “In thanks for your kindness.” He looked to Coulson, who was standing patiently at the door, and nodded. Coulson then spoke a few words to the guards beyond.

In a moment, two guards were lugging in a smallish chest. It was lacquered onyx and was covered with sterling designs of waves and stars. There were bars at the top and when she glanced at her guards they looked strangely apprehensive.

Still, she knew that nothing inside would be truly dangerous. Not with Coulson and his team double and triple checking everything for her.

James carried in the box the rest of the way and placed it at her feet.

She reached down and unlatched the heavy gold hinge.

She expected gold coins or maybe jewels - necklaces or earrings or tiaras that were usually gifted to Queens. But when she opened the box the little thing that blinked back at her drew the breath from her lungs.

“A – a dragon!” Darcy exclaimed, overjoyed.

The young dragon, sighting Darcy, squirmed out its cage, and flew-hopped up to land itself in her skirts. Satisfied at the softness of her dress, it folded back its leathery wings and stared at her with inquisitive black eyes.

She took in its shimmering grey-white scales and the bright blue tips of its wings with awe.

“Oh, it’s beautiful,” she breathed. Hesitantly, she put out her hand. It sniffed at her for a moment then let her scratch lightly at its neck. “I’ll name it…”

Then the dragon opened its tiny mouth, revealing a series of little white teeth still on their way to being fangs, and attempted a roar. What resulted was a loud, raspy chirp that ended with a small burst of blue, crackling lightening emitted from its mouth, then disappeared just as quickly.

Darcy jolted in response then laughed delightedly. “I’ll name it Taser!”

In response, Taser cooed several times, blinked slowly, and curled up in her lap.

“A strange name, but it seems she likes it.”

“She? How wonderful. I always need more strong women beside me.” Darcy petted Taser along her spine, and Taser arched into her touch. “Thank you, James.”

“You’re very welcome.”

They chatted for a while after that. He told her of allies he’d made on his journey (an archer with impeccable aim, a man who could run so fast he was a mere blur), and she told him of her country – of the endless groves of oranges in the south, of how her cousin Jane’s work in the east made the entire area a center of learning for women and men both.

When word was received that Prince James’ quarters were ready, James took his leave but not before clasping her hand and bowing somewhat stiffly. When he smiled at her, she found herself smiling back.

“Well, Your Majesty? Shall I summon the builders to begin digging a foundation for the dungeons?” Coulson asked, when they alone. “Or does the Prince live another day?”

“He lives another day,” Darcy said, hiding her pinking cheeks behind a fall of hair. She trailed her hand down the smooth scales of the young dragon now perched on her shoulder. It purred loudly in her ear. “And as for the dinner tonight?”

“Yes, Your Majesty?”

“Please sit him next to me.”

[aion-rsa]

Saving Private Ryan: The Real History That Inspired the WW2 Movie

https://ift.tt/3cXjCBF

The events as they’re presented in Saving Private Ryan would never happen that way. This was my grandfather’s terse review of the Steven Spielberg movie back in 1998. He would know. After serving in the Pacific Theater throughout the war—being there from Pearl Harbor to Saipan, and then Okinawa—he carried a quiet lifelong interest in documentaries about the World War II American experience. And he had little time for Hollywood sentimentality.

“Eight guys for one man during D-Day? Never would’ve happened.”

Indeed, the idea of eight men being potentially squandered during the largest seaborne invasion in history is probably a flight of fancy by Spielberg and screenwriter Robert Rodat. Nevertheless, there is a poignant, mostly heartbreaking truth which informs Saving Private Ryan’s fiction. The context can be absurd at times, with Tom Hanks’ Capt. Miller leading a group of U.S. soldiers behind enemy lines to find one paratrooper, Pvt. Ryan (Matt Damon), after his three older brothers died in battles around Europe. However, the idea of the U.S. military wanting to prevent an entire family from being wiped out?

That cuts to the heart of War Department policy near the end of the Second World War. Here are a few of the true stories which inspired Saving Private Ryan’s Hollywood narrative.

The Sullivan Brothers

Near the beginning of America’s entry into World War II, the family of Thomas and Alleta Sullivan from Waterloo, Iowa endured a tragedy so all-encompassing that it made national news. In November 1942, all five of their sons, George, Frank, Joe, Matt, and Al Sullivan, died after the sinking of the light cruiser USS Juneau in the Pacific. The youngest of them, Al, was aged 20, with oldest brother George being one month shy of his 28th birthday.

Before their deaths, the U.S. Navy already made it a policy to separate siblings upon enlistment, but it was never strictly enforced. And as George and Frank had served in the Navy before, they wanted to take the three younger brothers under their wing. All five volunteered to enlist in January 1942, shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. But they did so only upon the written stipulation that they serve on the same ship.

“We will make a team together that can’t be beat,” George Sullivan wrote to the military. “We had 5 buddies killed in Hawaii. Help us.” The Navy granted that wish, putting them on the Juneau, which soon headed to Guadalcanal where an Allied campaign began in August to wrest the island from the Empire of Japan.

The Juneau participated in a series of naval engagements before the ship was struck by a Japanese torpedo on Nov. 13 during a naval battle near the Solomon Islands. The cruiser was forced to withdraw, and later that day it traveled with other damaged U.S. warships toward the Allied rear-area base on Espiritu Santo. The Juneau was the lone vessel not to make it there. Torpedoed again, this time by Japanese submarine I-26, the cruiser’s ammunition magazines were struck by the blast and the ship exploded, sinking immediately.

It would be several days before there was any attempt to search for survivors.

At the time of the sinking, Capt. Gilbert C. Hoover of the USS Helena deemed it unlikely anyone survived the Juneau’s explosion and considered it reckless to look for survivors, thereby exposing more wounded ships to the unseen Japanese submarine. The other ships did not turn back. Instead the Helena signaled a nearby B-17 bomber to tell headquarters to send other aircraft out to search for survivors. However, the bomber could not break radio silence and did not report the sinking until the plane landed.

The bomber’s report went unnoticed for more than 48 hours under paperwork. By the time naval staff realized the clerical error, the more than 100 initial survivors of the Juneau’s sinking had long begun to see their numbers dwindle. This included several of the Sullivan brothers.

Of the 100 or so men who went into the water after the Juneau sank, only 10 were alive when a PBY spotted them eight days later. All five Sullivans were gone. According to those who did survive, Frank, Joe, and Matt died instantly on the second torpedo’s impact. Al drowned the next day. George, meanwhile, survived for four or five days before delirium set in, apparently caused by hypernatremia (a high concentration of sodium in the bloodstream). As a result, he jumped off the raft he was sharing and was never seen again. He was one of many who died from exposure to the sun, starvation, dehydration, and of course shark attacks.

Their parents Tom and Alleta did not know any of this for months. The U.S. Navy deemed it necessary to keep the Juneau’s loss classified, so as to not provide crucial information to the Japanese. But as days became weeks, and then months, parents of all the sailors grew fearful when communication with their children stopped.

After one anxious letter by Alleta was sent to the Bureau of Naval Personnel, inquiring about a rumor that all five Sullivan boys were dead, no less than President Franklin D. Roosevelt responded.

“As Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, I want you to know that the entire nation shares in your sorrow,” Roosevelt wrote. “I offer you the condolences and gratitude of our country. We who remain to carry on the fight must maintain spirit, in knowledge that such sacrifice is not in vain.”

The day before the letter arrived on Jan. 13, 1943, the Navy informed the Sullivans their sons were dead. When Tom Sullivan asked the approaching chief petty officer which son had died, the Navy man responded, “I’m sorry. All five.”

The brothers left behind a younger sister named Genevieve, as well as Al’s widow and son (Al was the only brother married). It became an international story, with Roosevelt sending another letter, and Pope Pius XII sending a silver religious medal and rosary with a message of condolence to the Catholic family. Alleta was there when the Navy launched a new destroyer, USS The Sullivans, in 1943. She and her husband also became regular speakers for the war effort in the following years.

As a result of the Sullivans’ sacrifice, plus another family’s suffering, the newly named Defense Department soon implemented the Sole Survivor Policy. But before that happened there were…

The Borgstrom Brothers

Alben and Gunda Borgstrom of Thatcher, Utah were already touched by tragedy before the Second World War. The parents of 10 children, seven boys and three girls, one of their sons had already died in 1921 from a ruptured appendix at the age of 10. When World War II began, five of the remaining six sons either volunteered or were drafted into the war: LeRoy Elmer, Clyde Eugene, twin brothers Rolon Day and Rulon Day, and Boyd Borgstrom.

Over the span of about five months, four of the brothers died all over the world. The oldest of them, LeRoy, was only 30 while twin brothers Rolon Day and Rulon Day were aged 19 when they died on different sides of the English Channel.

Clyde, 28, was the first to die in March 1944, struck by a falling tree while clearing land for a new airstrip on the Solomon Islands in Guadalcanal. His older brother LeRoy followed three months later when he was killed in action while fighting in Italy. Rolon Day died in August when the bomber he was on experienced engine failure and crashed in Yaxham, England. Rulon Day, meanwhile, was reported as missing in action after an attack on Brest, France, a port city in the Brittany region held by the Germans. He was later found gravely injured, and soon died from combat wounds on Aug. 25, 1944.

Even before a mortally wounded Rulon Day was discovered, his parents had already gathered the support of neighbors and Utah congressional leaders to petition the U.S. military to release their last surviving son, Boyd, from service. The petition was successful, and Boyd was transferred home to the U.S. and thereafter discharged from the Marines with a special order of the Commandant of the Marine Corps., Gen. Alexander Vandegrift. Further the Borgstroms’ youngest son Eldon, who was not yet old enough to serve in the military in 1944, was exempted from the draft and military service.

A funeral service was held when all four deceased brothers’ remains were returned to Utah in 1948. During the service, their parents were presented with three Bronze Star Medals, one Air Medal, and one Good Conduct Medal. The loss of the four Borgstrom Brothers, like the five Sullivans before them, triggered the official adoption of the Sole Survivor Policy.

The Sole Survivor Policy

Implemented in 1948, the Sole Survivor Policy is a Defense Department directive which describes a set of regulations to be observed by the U.S. military in all its branches. The policy is designed to protect the sole survivor of families from combat duty or the draft if the son or daughter in question has siblings who already died in combat.

Read more

Movies

How the Secret of Saving Private Ryan’s Power Lies in its Portrayal of the Enemy

By Mark Allison

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Jaws: Why the USS Indianapolis Speech is Steven Spielberg’s Favorite Scene

By David Crow

However, the policy is entirely voluntary. Which means the designated “sole survivor” of a family in the military must apply to be sent home by commanding officers. Additionally, it only applies during peacetime, and not in times of war or national emergency as declared by the U.S. Congress. But since Congress hasn’t officially declared war since 1942, it’s pretty much been in place in perpetuity, although each branch of the military has its own special provisions for the regulations.

While it would not have been implemented during the events of Saving Private Ryan—in fact, several of the fallen Borgstrom brothers would still be alive during the events of the film—its creation would have already been on the minds of the top brass when something like the Pvt. Ryan situation occurred. However, even if the Sole Survivor Policy had been in place by ‘44, Damon’s James Ryan would still need to apply to return home (which he did not want to do in the film)…. and that paperwork probably would not have been processed during the middle of a massive invasion.

Still, it makes for a great movie.

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[radramblog]

How to open a video game, with System Shock 2

System Shock 2, the spiritual predecessor to the Bioshock series, has a dense but effective opening that effectively teaches the player very quickly how to play the game and the hook of the plot, all while not overusing exposition and tutorial. I think it’s a great example of how to craft the beginning of a video game to engage the player and get them hooked for more.

Upon beginning a game of System Shock 2, the first thing you see is the introduction video.

After an eerie, drone-laden quote from the previous game’s antagonist, SHODAN, and the title dropping amongst the sickly green digital imagery, a brief exposition occurs, summing up the plot of the first System Shock for those that didn’t play it- which to be fair, is most people. System Shock 1’s interface and design is completely alien to modern gameplay standards, and I for one have found it completely unapproachable.

This game’s plot is then setup in the form of an advertisement for the spacecraft in which the game will largely take place- the Von Braun. This is a pretty effective setup for both why the ship is out there and the corporate atmosphere the game delves into, as well as explaining the military presence on board- this will be relevant later. We get a brief introduction to William Diego, a character who will surely be important as the captain of the military ship attached to the Von Braun. Finally, a scratchy distress message from another character, Dr. Delacroix, amid static and electronic fuckery noises, suggesting that things are going very wrong. Well, it wouldn’t be a game like this without shit all going to hell.

 You are then dumped unceremoniously into gameplay. It’s 4 years before the launch of the Von Braun, and your ass is walking into an automated military recruitment facility. The brief glimpse we get of life on Earth further cements the cyberpunk atmosphere, and the grav-shafts that get you from the subway to the street are a gameplay element that comes up later, introduced in a completely safe environment.

The recruitment facility essentially serves as the game’s tutorial, but before we get into that- in about 3 minutes we now know: The plot of the first game including the existence of SHODAN, the tone and style of the game, the purpose and nature of the Von Braun and its associated crew, and that things are going to go bad on there. Gameplaywise we of course know WASD controls but we know that verticality is an element and that elevators do exist. We can also assume that as our character is (going to be) military, we’re going to be approaching the Von Braun from the Rickenbacker’s perspective, since that’s where the military detachment was. Cool.

The game’s tutorials are relatively brief, quickly learning the player on the relatively complex inventory systems, how weapons work and degrade, how computer systems work (and how to hack them, and what that can do for you), and how the game’s magic equivalent, Psy-ops, work. The three Advanced Tutorials correspond to the three “classes” the game has- Army, Navy, and Intelligence, letting the player pick which they want to try out with a basic knowledge of what each will entail.

Each option then leads to a sequence that is essentially setting out your character’s original specs, but the flavour for it is absolutely wonderful. You’re given three options each of three tours of duty, each of which has a description of what the character is going to go through, what stats or skills they’re going to give, and after you choose one and blast off into space, a brief exposition on what that tour actually entailed for your character. A lot of these are pretty messed up, but largely they serve both to worldbuild as to what a military lifestyle looks like in the 22nd century and to demonstrate the kind of person your character ends up as, both flavourfully and in stats.

After the third selection, the game’s second real cutscene starts, with an message directly from Captain Diego to the protagonist- his position on the Rickenbacker has been accepted, and we see him land on the ship. 5 months later, and we see security camera footage aboard the ship- things are broken, there’s weird worms around the decks, our boy is stuck in a cryo-stasis pod. Monsters are hunting people down, and the soldier’s getting woken up- but an error happens and he’s left without his memories of the last while. The game’s main telling-you-what-to-do voice pipes up: Dr. Janice Polito, head scientist, gives you advice as he staggers about. Polito is pretty condescending, but gives you the game’s first main goal: you have to meet her on deck 4. Easy enough.

You’re once again, and for real this time, dumped into gameplay. The cybernetic interface (aka HUD) of the game is now present, as Polito explained, but there isn’t much time to waste, as the game immediately puts you in danger. Sirens and explosions, warnings from Polito and the ship’s AI, XERXES, since damage to the sector you’re in means that shit’s going to depressurize in a hot second. Under the duress of these stressors, you’re forced to learn six more important mechanics- melee weapons and how they can break stuff, passcode doors as one blocks your path, dead bodies and the benefits of looting them, audio logs as a nearby one has the code, crouching to get through smaller spaces, and power cells/recharger stations to power the last door you need to get through. It’s worth noting that there’s no actual timer on you here, but the game goes out of its way to make you feel like it is. The screaming you hear between doors suggests that the disaster is still ongoing, and you can get a peek at the monsters and see the last moments of a dead body you’ll see later. (I believe this is the last time in the game you see another alive person).

Once you’re through the blast doors, Polito rewards you with the game’s effective EXP system in the form of cyber modules, and assures you to use them wisely. A body nearby has more, showing that she’s not the only potential source of them, encouraging the player to scrounge everywhere they can find. There’s places here to spend them, and you can see that the military branch you chose affects prices- it’s a lot more expensive to pick up psionics if you’re not an intelligence officer, for example. The importance of how you specced your character is emphasized in this room, as the pistol you find will be useless if you don’t have Standard Weapons, the Psionic Amplifier won’t do you any good unless you know how to use it, and hacking that door requires a much higher skill level than the tutorials suggested. Thus, how you spend your modules is shown to be incredibly important.

Once you’re through this area, the game truly begins. A banger of a track starts playing, you encounter your first set of hybrids, and the goal you’ve been given gets impeded. The game isn’t done teaching you, and Polito will bark orders at you every so often, but beyond that, you’re on your own. The game teaches you a massive amount of information, but parcels it well enough to make it more than digestible by the player.

System Shock 2 is an excellent example of complex game design and survival horror done well, and the possible upcoming continuations of the franchise are something I am extremely excited for. (Wait, TenCent is involved with SS3? Fucking hell nevermind.)

[wazafam]

Netflix's Shadow & Bone series, based on the bestselling books by Leigh Bardugo, has a rich mythology and vibrant characters; here it all is explained. The gritty, dark fantasy Netflix series was first announced in January 2019 with Eric Heisserer (Arrival) serving as showrunner, creator and executive producer, with Bardugo herself also serving as EP on the series, guaranteeing it will stay faithful to the spirit of the books.

Bardugo's series of novels has earned itself a large and faithful following thanks to their intricate world-building, an interesting system of magic, and unforgettable characters. The scope of the new upcoming Netflix TV show is ambitious; thus far Bardugo's "Grishaverse" consists of six books: the original trilogy, a mostly unrelated duology set in the same universe, and a direct sequel to the original trilogy meant to pick up where the events of it left off. Rather than adapt them all exactly in order or cut the duology out completely, the approach Heisserer is taking is to weave both stories and sets of characters together in an intertwining narrative.

Related: Everything We Know So Far About Netflix's Shadow & Bone

With the crossing A plot, B plot approach of both stories being adapted simultaneously, that means the series will introduce an awful lot of characters into a universe that's brand-new for many viewers. In order to prep for Shadow & Bone's anticipated release in April, here's a handy breakdown of the books and how the series differs from them, the characters, and the world of the Grishaverse.

The original Grishaverse trilogy consists of three books, Shadow and Bone, Storm and Siege, and Ruin and Rising. They tell the story of teenage orphan, Alina Starkov, who grows up in an orphanage in the kingdom of Ravka with her best friend and fellow orphan, Malyen Oretsev, or Mal. Both Alina and Mal are conscripted into the Ravkan army but Alina, who has never been good at anything, doesn't take to it the way Mal does.

They're sent on a mission to cross the Shadow Fold, otherwise known as the Unsea, an unnatural tear of absolute darkness full of monsters that has split the once-great kingdom of Ravka in two. During the dangerous crossing, their regiment is attacked by the monsters, called volcra, and Mal is brutally injured. In her fear and panic, Alina exhibits a rare and to-that-point dormant power that saves his life while changing hers forever, for it's revealed Alina's power may be the key to saving their war-ravaged nation.

Soon, Alina is whisked away to the capital Os Alta, to be trained as a Grisha, the magic users of the world. Her greatest champion, and source of confusion, is General Kirigan, a.k.a. the Darkling, the ultra-powerful leader of the Grisha and head of their magical armed forces. As Alina's power grows, she learns more about it – and that someone may be using her as a pawn for their own ends. Suddenly, Alina has to learn how to carry the burden of being the country's great hope while navigating the pitfalls of royal intrigue and betrayal, all the while fighting her attraction to her mentor, the Darkling, and worrying about Mal and how he fares on the front lines.

Related: How Shadow & Bone Is Avoiding The Witcher's Timeline Confusion

Leigh Bardugo's Grishaverse is a rich tapestry of magical fantasy and gritty, realistic conflict. It's set in a fictional world that mirrors ours, with the various countries in the world being based on real-world countries and cultures. Ravka, where the majority of the action of Shadow & Bone takes place, is modeled after 18th-century Tsarist Russia, with its capital Os Alta, serving as a stand-in for Moscow. But other countries are visited in the book series, including Kerch and its capital, Ketterdam (the Netherlands and Amsterdam), Fjerda (Scandinavia), Shu Han (Mongolia & China), Novyi Zem (American & Australian colonies), and the Wandering Isles (Ireland).

When the story opens, Ravka has been embroiled in a long civil war after the rebellious Darkling's first attempts to depose Ravka's weak-willed king, Alexander III. As a result, the people of Ravka are no strangers to military service, but Ravka's has two separate militaries: those who practice the Small Science - what we'd call magic - known as the Grisha, and who serve in the Second Army, and the non-magical people (referred to as otkazat'sya by the Grisha) who serve in the First Army. The two Ravkan armies sit uneasy with each other, with the First Army fearing the Grisha's magical power and influence, and the Grisha often having a disdainful disregard for non-magical people, fueled in part by the fact magic users used to be persecuted. Understandably, the kingdom of Ravka is tired and impoverished due to its constant state of war with itself and hostile nations that would seek to take advantage of the inner turmoil, with the royal Lantsov family ruling over it all.

The Grisha are separated into three magical groups: Corporalki, Etherealki, and Materialki, each with their own subgroups and uniforms. Of the three, the Corporalki are the highest tier in the Second Army and the most feared magic users, as their magic is the kind that manipulates the body at the smallest molecular level, bringing either death (Heartrenders) or life (Healers). The Corporalki are identified by their crimson red kefta uniforms.

Etherealki are also powerful and an important part of the Second Army as they deal with the elements, manipulating air (Squallers), controlling and creating fire with a flint focus (Inferni), and those who can control water (Tidemakers). Squallers and Tidemakers are especially important to the Navy and a pair are found on every Ravkan ship, their blue keftas denoting them as Etherealki.

Related: Cursed Season 2 Theory: How Nimue Could Be Saved From Death

Lastly, the Materialki may not have skills that are as flashy as the first two branches, but without their magic, the Ravkan armies, and Ravka itself, would fall apart, for Materialkis, also known as Fabrikators, are able to manipulate inorganic material to create incredible weapons and inventions. The Durasts can manipulate any solid object, whether it be glass, metal, stone, wood, and more, while Alkemi deal in more alchemical matters, such as poisons and blasting powders. The Fabrikators are known by their purple kefta.

Then there are the extremely rare kind of Grisha known as Summoners. Though technically Etherealki, they get their own name as their powers are so unique among their kind. In the world of Shadow & Bone, only two known summoners exist: The Darkling, a.k.a. the Shadow Summoner, who can summon the dark, and Alina Starkov, a.k.a. the Sun Summoner, who can summon the light.

There are many characters across the six books published so far, and Netflix's Shadow & Bone series is using characters from both the original Grishaverse trilogy and the Six of Crows duology. Here are the main characters in the Netflix series.

The Darkling, a.k.a. General Kirigan - The Darkling (Ben Barnes) is the leader of the Grisha Second Army. He is mysterious and powerful, the only person on Earth known to be able to summon darkness. Thus, his abilities and the pressures of leading the army have isolated him from the rest of humanity and while he is not to be trusted, he's possibly to be pitied. When he meets Alina Starkov and realizes what she is, it creates an instant connection as he believes he's found someone who can finally understand him.

Related: Why Netflix's Shadow & Bone Is Hiding Ben Barnes Being The Darkling

Alina Starkov - The Sun Summoner, Alina (Jessie Mei Li) is a teenaged orphan who discovers she has a rare and world-changing power during a mission through the Shadow Fold. Suddenly, Alina's life is turned upside-down as she goes from a quiet life in a small village to the center of the capital city of Os Alta as the one who can perhaps destroy the Shadow Fold for good. Alina tries her best to live up to everyone's expectations, but the weight of it is lot to bear and it draws her closer to the Darkling in their shared loneliness.

Malyen "Mal" Oretsev - Mal (Archie Renaux) is Alina's best friend; they grew up together in the same orphanage. Mal gets drafted into the First Army where he proves himself to be an exceptionally gifted tracker and soldier. As their lives head in different directions after the revelation of Alina's powers, the distance and conflicting objectives put a strain on their friendship, even as their connection forged from childhood refuses to break.

Kaz "Dirtyhands" Brekker - Kaz Brekker (Freddy Carter) is the de facto leader of the Dregs, also known as the Crows, one of Ketterdam's street gangs, and one of the most ambitious thanks to Kaz being a criminal mastermind and bolder than the rest. Kaz is only a teenager, but his legend has grown in Ketterdam's back alleys and nighttime shadows. Kaz is known for being willing to do any job, no matter how violent or dangerous, without showing an ounce of fear, thus earning him the nickname Dirtyhands.

Inej "The Wraith" Ghafa - As Kaz Brekker's right-hand woman, Inej (Amita Suman) is as feared as Kaz himself. Of Suli background and raised as an acrobat, Inej uses her catlike reflexes and incredible grace to be the Dregs' spy. She can get into any room, scale any wall, infiltrate any building, thus earning the nickname The Wraith in Ketterdam's criminal circles. Despite this, Inej has a strong moral code, and though she always has at least half a dozen knives somewhere on her body, all named for a saint, there are some lines she won't cross, not even for Kaz.

Related: Cursed: The Original Lady Of The Lake Legend Explained

Jesper Fahey - The Dregs' sharpshooter, at first glance, Jesper (Kit Young) doesn't seem like someone you can trust in a fight: He's a gambler, cocky, and always quick with a joke no matter the situation. But Jesper is a cool head in a fight and has a near-perfect aim no matter what. Unknown to many, Jesper is also a Durast, but won't use his power thanks a childhood trauma. Due to his powers not being released, Jesper is often fidgety and impulsive, the excess magical energy making him constantly restless.

Nina Zenik - Nina (Danielle Galligan) is a Heartrender from Ravka who also works with the Dregs from time to time. She's beautiful and curvaceous, and her boisterous personality and forward manner belies a compassionate person. Nina is a big personality, who feels everything and loves fiercely, whether it's food, people, or laughter. Despite this, Nina is loyal to her country and often puts Ravka's needs above her own.

Matthias Helvar - Matthias (Calahan Skogman) is a Fjerdan Drüskelle soldier who captures Nina when she's on a mission. The Fjerdans are suspicious people with a hatred of witchcraft, immediately viewing all Grisha as devils to be destroyed. Matthias is uptight, bullheaded, and unfriendly, but there's also a softer, more open person struggling to break out from the years of brutal living that have made him so cold.

  The big difference between the books and the new Netflix series is that the series will be weaving together characters from both the original Grishaverse trilogy and the Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom duology at the same time. In order to keep the timeline intact, this means the storyline with the Dregs will be a prequel story to those familiar with the books, with the events involving the Dregs in the series happening before the events in the books. This leaves open the possibility that Six of Crows may be adapted in later seasons. Likewise, there are two major characters already confirmed to not be appearing in Shadow & Bone season 1: Nikolai Lantsov, the prince of Ravka, and Wylan Van Eck, a member of the Dregs. They'll likely appear in a second season provided Netflix orders one.

Shadow & Bone premieres on Netflix on Friday, April 23.

More: Every New Show Releasing On Netflix In 2021

  What Is Shadow & Bone? Books, Characters & Netflix Show Explained from https://ift.tt/308iHHv

[the-daily-tizzy]

Meet your new Vice President!

Here is a timely editorial that exposes the hidden background of Kamala Harris from the Combat Veterans for Congress Political Action Committee that is posted here with permission of the author.

CVFC PAC supports the election of US military combat veterans to the US Senate and House of Representatives.

The editorial begins:

Kamala Harris’ father was an avowed Marxist professor in the Economics Department at Stanford University in Palo Alto, CA. Both of Harris’ parents were active in the Berkeley based Afro- American Association; Fidel Castro and Che Guevara were the heroes of the Afro-American Association.

The group’s leader, Donald Warden (aka Khalid al-Mansour), mentored two young Afro-American Association members, Huey Newton and Bobby Seale; they created the Maoist inspired Black Panther Party which gained strong support from Communist China; the Black Panther Party served as the model for creation of the Black Lives Matter Marxist organization.

Khalid al-Mansour subsequently went on to arrange financing and facilitated for Barack Hussein Obama to be accepted as a student to matriculate at Harvard Law School.

Following her graduation from college, Harris returned to California and subsequently became the mistress of the 60-year-old married Speaker of the California Assembly, Willie Brown, Jr. Brown’s political campaigns were supported and funded by Dr. Carlton Goodlett, the owner of The Sun Reporter and several other pro-Communist newspapers.  Brown was elected as Mayor of San Francisco, and strongly endorsed Harris’ Marxist political philosophy; he guided Harris' political rise in California politics, leading to her election as California’s Attorney General.

Willie Brown, Jr. was a well-known long-time Communist sympathizer.  Willie Brown, Jr. was initially elected to public office with the substantial help of the Communist Party USA. Today, Willie Brown is widely regarded as one of the Chinese Communist Party’s best friends in the San Francisco Bay Area.

While serving as San Francisco District Attorney, Kamala Harris mentored a young San Francisco Radical Maoist activist, Lateefah Simon, who was a member of the STORM Revolutionary Movement; Simon currently chairs the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Board.  Simon has always been close friends with the founder of Black Lives Matter Marxist Domestic Terrorists, Alicia Garza, as well as STORM member and avowed Communist, Van Jones.

Harris has been openly and aggressively supporting Black Lives Matter Marxists; Kamala Harris is still closely associated with Maoist Lateefah Simon and Marxist Alicia Garza.

Kamala Harris’s sister Maya Harris was a student activist at Stanford University.  She was a closely associated with Steve Phillips, one of the leading Marxist-Leninists on campus and a long-time affiliate with the League of Revolutionary Struggle, a pro-Chinese Communist group.

Phillips came out of the Left, and in college he studied Marx, Mao, and Lenin, and maintained close associations with fellow Communists. Phillips married into the multi billion dollar Sandler family of the Golden West Savings and Loan fortune.  He funded many leftist political campaigns, and the voter registration drives in the Southern and South Western states in order to help his friend, Barack Hussein Obama, defeat Hillary Clinton.  Phillips has been a major financial sponsor for Kamala Harris’s political campaigns for various California elective offices.

Harris' husband,  Doug Emhoff works for the law firm DLA Piper, which “boasts nearly 30 years of experience in Communist China with over 140 lawyers dedicated to its ‘Communist China Investment Services’ branch.  He was just appointed to Professor at Yale to school future lawyers in the fine points of Communism.

When she was elected to the US Senate, Kamala Harris appointed a Pro-Communist Senate Chief of Staff, Karine Jean-Pierre.  Jean-Pierre was active with the New York-based Haiti Support Network. The organization worked closely with the pro-Communist China/Communist North Korea Workers World Party and supported Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the far-left Communist former president of Haiti and the radical Lavalas movement.

Fortunately for Harris, but potentially disastrous for the Republic, elected office holders are not subject to the security clearance process.  If the FBI did a Background Investigation on Kamala Harris, she never would have passed, because of her 40-year close ties with Marxists, Communists, Maoists, and Communist China.  Harris would never have been approved for acceptance to any of the 5 Military Service Academies, been appointed to a US Government Sub-Cabinet position, or would have been approved to fill a sensitive position for a high security defense contractor.  Yet, since Joe Biden was elected, Harris could be a heartbeat away from being President.

The US constitutional Republic is being threatened by the People’s Republic of Communist China (PPC) externally, and by of their very active espionage operations within the United States. The People’s Republic of Communist China (PPC), with 1.4 billion people, is governed by the 90 million member Chinese Communist Party (CCP), that has been working with Russia to destroy the US Constitutional Republic for over 70 years.

The CCP operates a massive global intelligence network through its Ministry of State Security. The CCP operates a vast intelligence network in the U.S as well.  It is made up, not merely of intelligence operatives working for the Ministry of State Security, but it is also made up of a myriad of business and industry officials, Chinese scholar associations, and 370,000 Chinese students currently attending American universities.  It also operates the Confucius Institute indoctrination and intelligence gathering centers in the US on 67 University campuses and in seventeen K-12 Public School Districts.  The Confucius Centers are staffed by Communist Chinese intelligence operatives.  Refer to this.

Kamala Harris is now involved with the Biden Family Business, and is supporting Joe Biden, who has worked closely with Communist China for 12 years.  Joe’s son, Hunter Biden, is the point of contact for developing the off-shore Biden Family Businesses in Ukraine, Russia, Communist China, Iraq, Iran, etc. Hunter was provided with a $5 million non-recourse loan for the Biden Family Business to form a partnership with the PPC; that loan was subsequently forgiven by Communist China for one dollar.

Hunter Biden was given $1.5 billion for the Biden Family Business, to strategically purchase interests in companies in the US Military Industrial Complex, whose technologies would enhance and improve Communist China’s defense industry.  Hunter Biden was also instructed to try to take control of US companies involved in sourcing rare earth minerals in the United States. Hunter also received $3.5 Million from the wife of the Mayor of Moscow for some carefully hidden reason.

The Peoples Republic of Communist China has a military of two million men, including the world’s largest Navy. The United States does not have enough ships and munitions to defeat China’s Navy, absent the use of nuclear weapons. There is a famous book, Unrestricted Warfare, written in 1999 by two People’s Liberation Army colonels.  It argues that war between the PRC and the U.S. is inevitable, and that when it occurs China must be prepared to use whatever means are necessary to achieve victory Refer to this.

If the American voters read the background information (in Trevor Loudon’s article) on Kamala Harris, they would never support her election as Vice President of the United States.  Joe Biden is suffering from the early onset of dementia and will continue to decline in cerebral awareness; he will never be able to fill out a four-year term of office.  Since Biden was elected, the Socialists, Marxists, and Communist who control Kamala Harris, are planning to enact provisions of the 25th Amendment, in order to remove Joe Biden from office, so Harris can become the first Communist President of the United States.

Since Biden was elected, because Biden would not be up to it, Kamala Harris would lead the effort to appoint very dangerous anti-American Leftist, Communist, Socialists, and Marxists to fill highly sensitive positions in the Washington Deep State Bureaucracy.  She would fill all appointive positions in the US Intelligence Agencies, in the Department of Homeland Security, in the Department of Defense, in The Justice Department, the Department of State, the FBI, the CIA, most cabinet positions, the National Security Council, and in the White House Staff.

American voters must be alert their fellow Americans that Kamala Harris is a very serious National Security threat to the very survival of the US Constitutional Republic; she has been a fellow traveler of Marxists, Communists, Maoists, Socialists, Progressives, and Chinese Communists for over 35 years.

President Trump had much more background information on Kamala Harris than we presented here, and he was correct, when he accused Kamala Harris of being a Communist subverter.

--

Geoffrey B. Higginbotham Major General, USMC (Ret.)

[sciencespies]

Space challenges for President Biden: Four issues for the next four years

https://sciencespies.com/space/space-challenges-for-president-biden-four-issues-for-the-next-four-years/

Space challenges for President Biden: Four issues for the next four years

As Joe Biden begins the first year of his presidency, there is still much we don’t know about where he and his vice president, Kamala Harris, stand on major issues in civil and national security space. The pandemic and economic recovery are sure to drive Biden’s initial agenda.

There are, nonetheless, several key space issues the new administration will have to address. NASA’s Artemis program is now unlikely to meet its 2024 human landing goal, giving the administration the opportunity to revisit the program while enhancing the agency’s Earth science work. The growing population of satellites and debris may lead the administration to reexamine the Trump administration’s approach to civil space traffic management. The Space Force will continue to mature but faces growing pains. The Pentagon will also finish programs, from new launch vehicles to LEO constellations, started under the Trump administration.

NASA was expected to select a company this spring to proceed into full development of a crewed lunar lander but budget setbacks and a change in administration could alter those plans. Credit: NASA Human Landing System concept

The future of Artemis

Ever since Biden won the presidential election in November, the space industry has speculated what his administration will mean for NASA’s Artemis program to return humans to the moon in 2024. The Democratic Party platform in August endorsed in general terms “NASA’s work to return Americans to the moon,” but made no mention of either retaining or changing the 2024 goal.

That decision may already have been made for him. In December, Congress passed a fiscal year 2021 spending bill that included $850 million for NASA’s Human Landing System (HLS) program, just a quarter of what the agency requested. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine had warned for months that keeping a 2024 human landing on schedule would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, without full funding for HLS.

There was, even before Congress passed the bill, widespread skepticism that a 2024 landing was feasible. “It was a long shot to begin with,” said Gwynne Shotwell, president of SpaceX, shortly after the election. She speculated that the new administration would defer a human lunar landing to “slightly later than 2024.”

A new approach might look something like what NASA was pursuing in the first half of the Trump administration, when it was focused on first building out the lunar Gateway, followed by human lunar landings around 2028. NASA has continued to make agreements with Canada, Europe and Japan on elements of the Gateway, so broader changes to human spaceflight plans that do away with the Gateway could be geopolitically costly for the Biden administration.

NASA may have to make decisions on the future of Artemis soon, perhaps before a new administrator is in place. The three companies that received HLS contracts last year — Blue Origin, Dynetics and SpaceX — are waiting on NASA to select who will proceed into full development. The agency previously said it would make decisions in the spring, but both the limited funding and the change in administrations could alter those plans.

At the same time, the Biden administration is widely expected to put greater resources into Earth science programs at NASA, as part of a broader emphasis on climate change. The party platform called for “strengthening” NASA and NOAA Earth observation missions “to better understand how climate change is impacting our home planet.”

That could create opportunities not just for Earth scientists but developers of spacecraft and related technologies. “With the administration’s planned focus on climate change, we expect growth in spacecraft and information systems related to understanding weather and climate change,” Eileen Drake, president and chief executive of Aerojet Rocketdyne, said at the AIAA SciTech Forum Jan. 11.

Exactly what form that new emphasis on Earth science will take is not yet clear. NASA already has a lengthy list of recommended missions from the previous Earth science decadal survey published in 2018 but has been slow to implement them because of limited budgets. Additional funding could accelerate those missions and feed into a broader climate change initiative.

Some have bolder expectations. “Managing the Earth’s ability to sustain human life and biodiversity will likely, in my view, dominate a civil space agenda for a Biden-Harris administration,” said Lori Garver, NASA deputy administrator during the Obama administration, shortly after the election.

However that climate change initiative develops, it likely means that boots on the moon will have to wait.

While the incoming administration has offered no hints of its views on the subject, there is nothing that would stop it from moving civil space traffic management to the FAA or authorizing the Commerce Department to perform STM, making it easy for the White House to change its mind. Credit: SpaceNews illustration

Space traffic management

At the end of the Obama administration four years ago, the outlines of a civil space traffic management (STM) system were beginning to take shape. The Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation was starting preparations to take on that work from the U.S. Air Force after a consensus by the White House and other government agencies that it was the best agency for the job.

That changed in June 2018, when the Trump administration issued Space Policy Directive 3 on civil STM. The administration directed the Air Force to transition civil STM activities to the Commerce Department, specifically its Office of Space Commerce. It concluded that the office could take on space traffic management, freeing up the FAA to oversee increasing commercial launch activity.

Two and a half years later, the office was finally ready to take on that challenge. Congress provided the office with $10 million in the fiscal year 2021 omnibus spending bill in December — less than the $15 million it requested but the first time it received any funding for STM work. Up until then, the Office of Space Commerce was laying the groundwork for STM, including coordination with the Space Force and meetings with industry, but needed funding to hire staff and develop systems.

“Next year will be largely what I’ll call a ‘building block’ year,” Kevin O’Connell, director of the Office of Space Commerce, predicted in October during a 0SpaceNews webinar. If his office got its requested funding, he projected that by the end of 2021 “we will have an initial architecture that is up and running.”

That assumes the Biden administration continues on that path. While the incoming administration has offered no hints of its views on the subject, there is nothing that would stop it from moving civil STM to the FAA or authorizing the Commerce Department to perform space traffic management, making it easy for the White House to change its mind.

However, there is now a consensus in the public and private sector that Commerce is the best place — or, at least, a good enough place — to handle civil STM. A congressionally mandated report by the National Academy of Public Administration, released in August, concluded Commerce was a better agency for civil STM than the FAA, NASA, or Defense Department.

With the growing amount of debris in orbit, along with emergence of megaconstellations like Starlink, most just want the government to move ahead as fast as it can. “In the end, it doesn’t really matter who does it, just that it gets done,” said Chris Kunstadter, global head of space for insurer AXA XL.

Another question will be how much attention Commerce gives to civil STM. Biden’s nominee for Secretary of Commerce, Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo, hasn’t been involved in space in any way or shown an interest in the subject. However, the same was true for Trump’s nominee, financier Wilbur Ross, who never attended a launch before 2018. Yet he became a vocal advocate for the department’s work on space, including STM.

Credit: U.S. Space Force

Next steps for U.S. Space Force

Among the final acts of the Trump administration was a celebration at the White House of the U.S. Space Force’s first anniversary, where Vice President Mike Pence announced the members of the service would be called guardians. The sixth branch of the armed forces was a darling of President Trump and no detail about the Space Force was too trivial to trumpet.

The Space Force will now enter its formative years with bipartisan support in Congress but under a new commander in chief with a different worldview. Biden is not expected to undo his predecessor’s prized achievement, but the Space Force will be lower on the totem pole.

“I don’t think the Space Force is in any danger of going away, but I don’t think it will be politically favored the way it was under Trump,” said David Burbach, associate professor of national security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College.

Over the next four years, the Space Force will stay busy building the service. In 2020, more than 2,200 former members of Air Force Space Command formally transferred to the Space Force. Another 3,600 are projected to transfer in 2021. The long-term goal is a Space Force of about 6,000 military members and 8,000 civilians. The service will be standing up a Space Systems Command to oversee acquisitions and plans to build a space intelligence center. The Biden administration later this year will have to provide recommendations to Congress on what space units from the Army and the Navy could be realigned under the Space Force.

More broadly, political appointees and military officials will continue to have to address questions on the Space Force’s role and reason for being.

“There is still a lot of confusion about the role of the Space Force,” said Burbach, noting that he does not speak for the government. Even though the space service’s job is to operate and defend U.S. satellites, “they run commercials showing astronauts going to the moon and exploring other planets. That’s not what the Space Force is going to do. They are not fighting laser battles in space.”

“The primary job for the Space Force right now is really focused on Earth,” said Scott Pace, former executive secretary of the National Space Council, during a recent National Security Space Association webinar. He noted the service has its hands full just carrying out its basic responsibilities to provide space-based services to U.S. military forces and allies.

A criticism often lobbed at the Space Force is that it created an expensive new bureaucracy to do the same work that the Air Force Space Command used to do, with the same people. But critics need to move on, said Deborah Lee James, former secretary of the Air Force during the Obama administration. “It’s not worth the bureaucratic churn to put it back the way it was,” she said last month at the Mitchell Institute’s West Coast Aerospace Forum.

Congress has made similar points and directed the Department of the Air Force and the Space Force to propose by May a revamped space acquisition process, a responsibility that will fall on Biden’s appointees. The fiscal year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act asks for specific recommendations for making space acquisitions move faster, in ways that capture innovations from the private sector.

The U.S. Space Force is counting on a smooth transition to ULA’s Vulcan Centaur rocket to help ensure the reliable delivery of national security satellites to orbit. Credit: United Launch Alliance

National security space modernization

During the Trump administration, the Pentagon took important steps to modernize key national security space programs. For now, there is nothing to suggest Biden’s appointees — many of them veterans of the Obama administration — will reverse course on major programs, at least until they have a chance to dig through budgets and submit new proposals.

“We see no reason to think it won’t be full steam ahead,” said Mike Tierney, industry analyst at the defense and space consulting firm Velos. In 2021, “we’re going to get a lot of the same” simply because the incoming leaders are not going to have time to substantially amend Trump’s budgets until their second year in office.

Over the next four years, Biden’s Pentagon will oversee the transition of the National Security Space Launch program to a new phase where SpaceX will have a more prominent role flying military satellites to orbit and longtime incumbent United Launch Alliance will be tested to introduce a new launch vehicle, Vulcan, that the company promised will be ready in 2021. It will fall on the Space Force and the Biden administration to help SpaceX and ULA clear this hurdle and assure Congress the nation has the domestic launch vehicles it needs to reliably deliver critical national security satellites to orbit.

Sometime in 2024, the Space Force will start planning for a new heavy-lift launch competition. Biden’s administration could be in a position to evaluate whether emerging players like Blue Origin, which tried and lost in 2020, can win a spot in Space Force’s stable of launch providers.

Another item on the space agenda is the resiliency — or lack thereof — of U.S. space systems. This has been a much-discussed issue during the Trump administration amid warnings that U.S. satellites are vulnerable to jamming, cyberattacks and threats from anti-satellite weapons.

Former undersecretary of defense for research and engineering Mike Griffin pushed the Pentagon to invest in proliferated low-Earth orbit constellations, like those being built by private companies, to provide resiliency. Under Griffin, the Pentagon stood up the Space Development Agency to take on the design and early development of military systems in LEO. The young agency, which was opposed by the Air Force Association and others, is preparing to launch its first 28 satellites in 2022.

“SDA will get a fresh look,” Tierney said, but there’s no sign that the Biden team will be opposed to it. Once the SDA shows it can deliver on its promise to field a constellation in just two years, he expects it will be seen as the “agile, innovative new arm of the Space Force focused on proliferated LEO.”

The large “exquisite” satellites that have been the bread and butter of Pentagon space programs will not go away even if the SDA’s proliferated systems come to fruition. Under Biden, the Space Force will continue to acquire multibillion-dollar systems for missile warning, secure communications, and navigation. But there will also be parallel efforts to diversify the space architecture and use cheaper, smaller platforms as the private sector continues to drive down the cost of satellites and launch.

How the military leverages commercial space technology for national security will remain an issue over the next four years. A recent Aerospace Corp. space policy paper aimed at the Biden administration noted that the “increasing commercialization of space is presenting new opportunities for national security acquisition.” A trend to watch will be whether U.S. intelligence and defense agencies begin to seriously consider alternatives to the traditional model of hiring contractors to develop bespoke capabilities.

This article originally appeared in the Jan. 18, 2021 issue of SpaceNews magazine.

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