#the other victims do NOT get this luxury! /j

[portiaelizabethharper]

ophelia isn't really my oc she's actually just one of the other phaethon nominees that i remember

i oc-ified her ophelia janet marie your legacy lives on

[trippibrujx]

Plants of Santa Muerte

A

Agave: Self confidence, Love-Magic.

Aloe Vera: Protection(especially for children & pregnant women), self love, inner beauty.

Apple: Knowledge, wisdom, necromancy, healing psychosomatic ailments.

Apricot: Love-Magick (especially for gender-variant people). Wisdom spells (especially focused on one's own self or your masculine side if you're a woman, or feminine side if you're a man.

Avocado: Love and lust spells(attracting men), erotic beauty, increase male virility.

B

Beans: Friendship-Magick.

Belladonna: Lust(enhancing one's seductiveness), protection(cord-cutter), connect to other dimensions and realms of consciousness.

Berry: Raspberries are used in female fertility spells (Raspberries are used to create). Black berries are used in protection and healing psychological trauma (Blackberries are used to destroy).

Burdock: Protection(keeping harm and danger away), attraction (people, places, things).

C

Cactus: Protection(guard against those who wish to do harm), Chastity spells (ward off unwanted sexual advances/aggression).

Cherry: Love-Magick (lust to love).

Chili Peppers: Chastity spells, Protection(cooling/calming).

Chocolate: Luxury, prosperity, erotic love. Dark chocolate is preferred.

Chrysanthemum: Necromancy, communing with the dead.

Cilantro: Self-acceptance, self-love, stopping/preventing bullying(giving victim courage to stop being victimized), Maintain grace during stress.

Cinnamon: Money-Magick(expand prosperity), Lust-Magick(add sensuality to relationship).

Coca Leaves: Offering to spirits, tool of divination, aid to energize mind during meditation.

Coffee Beans: Break addictions, Breaking self illusions.

D

Dandelion: Self-confidence to be stand out of the crowd, Detoxify negative thinking.

H

Honeysuckle: Expedite spell speed.

Hyacinth: Gay male love-magick(help with coming out of the closet or accepting one's own homosexuality).

J

Jasmine: Dream work(prophetic dreams). magnifies emotions in spell work like love or lust.

L

Lemon: Cleansing, Healing-Magick.

Licorice: Hexes , harmful magick, combat addictions, promote longevity.

Lily: Break love spells, ease transitional pain of loss(friends, breakups, divorce, death).

Lime: Cleansing spiritual ailments, love magick(zest/strengthen relationships).

M

Marijuana: Protection(from law and harm), Money-Magick.

N

Nettle: Protection-Magick(to get a handle on what is causing harm). In Healing-Magick(get a hold on ailments(arthritis)).

O

Orange: Cleansing the mind of harmful thoughts and emotions, and countering sorrow and depression in it's physical association.

P

Palo Santo: Healing-Magick(unknown ailment), Protection-Magick(block all harm spiritual/physical/emotional).

Pau d'Arco: Healing-Magick(critical condition), Undo/abort magick spells that gone wrong.

Peach: Gay male love magick.

Peppermint: Memorization (students/lawyers), quell arguments, spats among friends/lovers/coworkers.

Plum: Healing magick(over-come blockages).

Pomegranate: Healing-Magick(blood and feminine ailments), Increase fertility, prosperity, empowers women.

R

Rose: Red(Erotic Love), Pink(romantic love), White(pure platonic love between friends/family/self-love), Yellow(love of life).

T

Tobacco: Communing with the Divine, empowers men.

V

Vanilla: Lust-Magick(foreplay, oral, fetishes).

W

Wine: Divination, development of psychic abilities.

Y

Yerba Mate: Protection-Magick(standing ground), mental clarity, self-confidence.

[aristocratic-otter]

Thank you all for the tags, @ivelovedhimthroughworse, @fatalfangirl, @artsyunderstudy, @you-remind-me-of-the-babe, @cutestkilla, @ionlydrinkhotwater, @confused-bi-queer, @palimpsessed, @facewithoutheart, and @moodandmist. You guys are so goooood!

My snippets are long this week, so they're under the cut:

Playing with Fire, Treading Thin Ice

I’m brought out of the reverie I’ve fallen into by an odd crinkling sound. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Simon lifting something to his mouth. He’s acting furtive, moving slowly and carefully, like he doesn’t want me to see. Curious, I watch him from beneath my eyelashes for a few minutes. He repeats the motion that attracted my notice two more times and finally I can’t resist confronting him. 

“Simon Snow. Are you eating fucking butter packets?”

He starts, and swings the hand holding his latest victim behind his back. Simon Snow had better never commit an actual crime, because he has no poker face whatsoever. It’s too dark for me to see the colour of his cheeks, but I can smell the blood rushing to them and I’ve been dating him long enough to be able to visualise the way his cheeks are glowing right now, each freckle standing out like dots of inks against the brilliant colour of his skin.

“No?” he says, and I can’t stifle my laugh at what a terrible liar he is. 

“You are!” I accuse, still laughing. “What the fuck, Snow? Did you get them mixed up with the after dinner mints?”

Raising Dragons

Is it wrong to be thirsting over your gorgeous husband when your toddler children are running amuck at your feet?

If so, lock me up, because Simon just emerged from our bungalow wearing the tiniest swim trunks imaginable. I am the author of my own troubles, because I bought them for him. He looks like a god. 

I corral Ebb from dashing into the surf with one foot while I ogle Simon. He’s long and lean, but powerfully muscled. His bronze curls need cutting; they dip into his eyes in the front. His golden red skin shimmers from the sunscreen lotion I bought him, and his red scales sparkle in the light. 

His powerful tail is lifted high like a flag, and the designer sunglasses I bought him for the trip rest neatly in his curls right in front of his curling horns. He looks cool and hot all at once. I’m worried I’m going to get an erection just from looking at him, so I scoop up the triplets and busy myself adjusting their beach rompers.

Simon lopes over to me, a ball of energy as always and grins. “How do I look?” he says. 

I give him a smouldering look. I shouldn’t have to be the only one trying to control my baser urges around my hot husband. “I’ll let you know what I think once the kids are in bed tonight,”

Mystery Project

I drag myself into the basement of Pitch Music and take a forlorn look around. Nothing has changed. The same wood paneled walls, the same windowless gloom. Working down here has always felt like being imprisoned in a wooden box. It’s worse now that I thought I’d escaped it. 

You might think that I, being the only living heir of the Pitch family, would have a luxurious office. And I could, if I wanted. But a luxurious office comes with the trappings of that position; I’d have to give up music for myself and spend all my time handling the minutia and paperwork that goes with producing other people’s music. My father thinks that’s where I should be, but he’s not a Pitch. Fiona’s in charge, and she mostly lets me do what I want. 

Tagging (for Sunday, obvs): @angelsfalling16, @annabellelux, @asocialpessimist, @bazzybelle, @bloodiedpixie, @basiltonbutliketheherb, @bookish-bogwitch, @carryonsimoncarryonbaz, @dragoneggo, @fight-surrender, @foolofabookwyrm-activated, @frjsti, @gekkoinapeartree, @ileadacharmedlife, @johnwgrey, @j-nipper-95, @jbrrring, @krisrix, @kherub, @mrskrementz, @nightimedreamersghost, @prettylightsbigcity, @raenestee, @technetiumai, @tea-brigade, @urban-sith and everyone mentioned above!

[yeonchi]

Sea Princesses: Into the Liamverse Part 17: Teresa Cherrouse

Original post

Name: Teresa Cherrouse

Occupation: Actress (past), receptionist (now)

Race: Salacian

Residence: Marina Central District, Atenesia City

Gender: Female

Date of birth: 3 July 1971 (age 36, Cancer ♋)

Hair colour: Red with blonde bangs (child)/Red with dark brown bangs (adult)

Eye colour: Light blue

Skin colour: Peach

Ethnicity: American

Height: 175 cm

Relationships:

Freddy J. Fox (ex-co-star/ex-boyfriend)

Kenjy Shi-Label (ex-co-star)

Federico do Roseiras (ex-co-star)

Wendy Chammel Naral (ex-co-star)

Ryujitaro Saitan (creator of Combo Rangers)

H.J.R Misser (ex-co-star)

Gusman Pigbad (current boyfriend)

Enemies:

Haters

Media

Wendy Chammel Naral

Gusman Pigbad (formerly)

Status: Alive

First appearance: Drawing (21 November 2023)

Skills: Stunts (past), acting (past)

Likes: Alcohol, being an actress, fashion, annoying Wendy, wanting to be the only pretty girl in the room

Dislikes: Haters, being made fun of, not being famous, Wendy being more beautiful and successful than her, being ignored

Teresa Cherrouse is a former Salacian actress who was well known as the Pink Combo Ranger from Combo Rangers.

History

Teresa was born in 1971 to an upper-middle class family in Atenesia City, so she had quite a few luxuries as a child. She had a dream of being an actress as a child; thanks to her parents helping her get auditions and roles, Teresa made her debut in television commercials in 1978 before landing her most successful role as Tati, the Pink Combo Ranger. Tati was the popular girl of the group and the love interest of Fox, the Red Combo Ranger, in the series, which also spread to real life as Teresa became the girlfriend of Fox’s actor, Freddie.

In public, Teresa seemed pretty and kind-hearted, but in reality, she was a spoiled and selfish girl. She always liked to be at the centre of attention and liked to join her co-stars in teasing and gossiping about Wendy, who played Lisa, the Yellow Combo Ranger; the girl who was supposed to be her best friend in the series was in reality the victim of her and her co-stars’ bullying. Eventually, Wendy’s sexual orientation was discovered and she left the series after harassment from the cast and crew, her place in the team having been replaced by the character of Maya Cooper.

After the series ended in 1987, Teresa and her co-stars continued with their solo careers. In the years that followed, Teresa found herself typecast due to her role and found her opportunities limited in other genres. Throughout the 90’s, she became an alcoholic and neglected her appearance, becoming fat in the process. With Freddy having very little success in his career as well, the two decided to end their relationship.

Teresa went into rehab and eventually went on to become a receptionist at a company run by Gusman Pigbad, one of her biggest critics during her career as an actress. Despite his past mocking of her, Gusman and Teresa would begin a relationship. She would become shocked upon learning what would become of Wendy after her time on Combo Rangers, an ironic punishment for the way Teresa treated her on set.

Appearance

As a child, Teresa was a thin-looking girl. She had light orange hair with light brown highlights tied into a ponytail and two blonde fringes on the sides of her face. She also has light blue eyes, two gold earrings and wears various types of classy and fashionable clothes.

As a teenager, her hair became longer which she tied into two long pigtails and her body became more athletic and slender. As she matured, Teresa became obese due to her alcoholism. Her face became more round, she continues to wear earrings and her hair is red with dark brown strands which she has down.

Relationships

Freddy J. Fox: Teresa and Freddy were co-stars on Combo Rangers and they were also in a relationship in real life. They were similar people in terms of personality and people loved their relationship in the media. Their relationship continued after Combo Rangers ended, but as their careers devolved into failures, Freddy became addicted to eating while Teresa became addicted to alcohol. They separated in the late 90’s, though they still talk from time to time.

Wendy Naral Chammel: Teresa and Wendy’s characters were supposed to be friends on screen, but in reality, Teresa was always very mean and rude to Wendy. Ironically, Teresa’s career would end in failure while Wendy became better off in the end.

Kenjy Shi-Label/Federico do Roseiras/H.J.R Misser: Although Teresa was co-stars with them on Combo Rangers, they did not have much interaction with each other.

Curiosities

- As is typical of child actors in real life, Teresa was a famous child actress known for her main role in Combo Rangers, but as she grew up, her career failed and she ended up turning to vices.

- The reason why Teresa’s career failed and Wendy’s career succeeded is because Wendy managed to adapt her skills outside of show business (as a children’s entertainer and carnival dancer) while Teresa continued to force her success in show business despite her typecast status affecting her potential in auditions and roles.

- Her adult situation is similar to how actress Amanda Bynes is today.

(I don’t know, at least Amanda Bynes has a podcast now)

- The way Teresa ended up being typecast as the Pink Combo Ranger is similar to how the actress of the original Pink Power Ranger, Amy Jo Johnson, ended up being typecast into that role even though she wanted to do something else.

(I wouldn’t necessarily say she was typecast, but she has had quite a number of roles since leaving Power Rangers)

[hallowed-be-thy-username]

Hi! Can i just say that i absolutely love your writing and your vibe as a whole? 🥺💞 If i may, I’d like to request a fic where the reader is a very well known socialite, but she gets very bored of her life and wants something different. She suddenly meets J in some sort of situation and becomes infatuated with him & his lifestyle. You must be busy with other requests & your personal life, so if anything, i just want you to know that i love your writing! 💘

 Sweet anon!!! AKADJSBAJSND 😭💖 I’m SO sorry this has taken me so long to get to and I hope you see it!! This was a really fun one and I had a great time writing it so I really hope you like it 💕

 Self-insert, Ledger Joker x fem reader, first time meeting Joker

Word count: 1,954

Warnings: tension, light violence

Something Different

Another boring party with boring people in a boring place. How many more of these must you endure?

Ah the fabulous life of the daughter of Dr. Thomas Elliot, famous Gotham City surgeon and longtime family friend of the Wayne family. Being born to one of Gotham’s founding families, she lives a life of luxury. Chauffeurs, butlers, ritzy charity events, fashion shows, brand promos, intense boredom. You were certainly grateful for the fact that finances were never something you had to worry about, but at the same time, money imprisoned you. It controlled your every move like a puppet master. Stand like this, wear that, speak this way, don’t forget to smile. And don’t even think about having your own dreams. You had access to all of the means in the world to do whatever you want, right? Wrong. If it’ll tarnish the family reputation on any way, its not gonna happen. Ever. And you’d be surprised at what they consider “tarnishing.” Learning to drive, going to school, coloring your hair, going on dates, having a job, getting ice cream with friends. What friends? You never got to experience these things. Things that were normal. Now you were in your late twenties and the life of the average young adult was completely foreign to you. Its been ten years now. Since you started to hate this life.

You were attending yet another fundraiser at Bruce’s place. What was it for this time? Friends of the Gotham Railway? Society for the Performing Arts? Gotham Heights Country Club’s new golf course? District Attorney Harvey Dent. Didn’t he just get elected? Okay then. It really doesn’t matter anyway. They’re all the same. Gourmet hors d’oeuvres, expensive champagne, some phony inspirational speech, bland conversation, smile through how much your feet hurt in these heels, send a check tomorrow. The predictability you lived your life by was astonishing. When were you finally going to get to do something different?

You lifted another glass of champagne from the tray drifting past you and took a heavy sip. Can’t get to drunk though, what would the media say? You were tempted to do it on purpose, just to mix things up for once. The sound of rough whirring broke you out of your melancholic trance and you turned to see a helicopter landing on the roof top balcony outside. The man himself arriving ever so fashionably late. Linking arms with three women you could only assume to be models, how classy. And here comes the motivational speech. I believe in Harvey Dent, a safer Gotham, optimism, face of our bright future, blah blah blah. Now everybody claps. Just wonderful. Back to our mindless mingling.

The evening continued on like they all do. This time you were stuck trying not to stare at the speck of food stuck in Mr. Kane’s teeth while he droned on about the new hotel, they planned to open it across from the opera house. Would it be uncouth to express to him how little you care about any of that? When you were seconds away from excusing yourself for a bogus trip to the ladies’ room, a loud boom rang out from the entryway. You spun around and your body froze at the sound of his voice.

“Goood evening, ladies and gentle-men.”

It felt like ice was running through your veins when you saw him. Purple suit, shotgun over his shoulder, unkempt green hair, painted face. His face. Covered in white with black swallowing his eyes, bright red over his mouth and crawling up his cheeks in a wicked grin. On the news they called him The Joker.

“We are… tonight’s entertainment! I only have one question… Where. Is. Har-vey Dent?”

He was so tall, walking with a slight slouch but had an air of confidence like you’d never seen. Like he knew just how much attention his presence attracted. No, attention it demanded. Like he knew you couldn’t take your eyes off of him. He made it look effortless. Almost like he was bored by it. He tossed food into his mouth, chewing noisily while he spoke. Then he stopped and turned to walk toward the crowd, pointing his shotgun toward the people in front of him before moving on down the line. Your feet grew cold when you realized he was heading in your direction. He tossed champagne out of a glass before mockingly tossing his head back to let the last drop hit his tongue. You couldn’t move a muscle as he leaned in and muttered questions at the people standing nearby. He kept coming. Your heart pounded, climbing into your throat as he got closer.

Then you could see it. It was scars. The red smile stretching across his face, it was painted over scars. Someone had cut through the corners of his mouth on both sides, leaving behind a twisted, permanent, grin. It made your stomach drop. He said something to Mr. Kane, but you couldn’t hear it, only the blood rushing in your ears. He got so close. You swore you could feel the heat from his body, smell something sharp like acetone.

“You remind me of my father.”

Then he suddenly grabbed Mr. Kane by his collar and growled, “I hated my father.”

“Ok, stop.”

Mr. Kane was shoved into you while Joker turned to face the voice coming from behind him. Rachel Dawes, Bruce’s friend for as long as you could remember.

“Well, hello, beautiful. You must be Harvey’s squeeze-ah. Hm?... and you are beautiful.”

He circled her like a wild dog stalking prey, practically licking his chops. Relishing the feeling of cornering his victim. Waving a knife blade at her.

“You look nervous. Is it the scars?... Wanna know how I got ‘em?”

Then he reached forward and gripped her by the back of her neck and her face. You felt your cheeks abruptly grow warmer. He pulled her closer to him, holding her there, not letting her look away. A thought suddenly cut through you mind like the knife in his hand. You wondered if the leather of his gloves felt warm or cool on her skin. Your heart fluttered and a shiver ran down your back. Why were you thinking about that? He intruded without warning and started threatening people, but here you were wanting to know what it was like to be that close to him. You found yourself wishing you were her, just to know what it was like, him touching you.

You hung on to his every word. He had a wife once, who told him he worried to much, that he should smile more, she gambled, got in deep with the sharks. They carved her face, had no money for surgery, she couldn’t take it, he just wanted to see her smile again, he didn’t care about the scars, he stuck a razor in his mouth and did that to himself. He… he did that to himself?

“And you know what? She can’t stand the sight of me! She leaves. Now I see the funny side... Now I’m always smiling.”

You blinked and the next thing you knew, punches were being thrown and men in clown masks were falling to the floor. Batman. The masked vigilante everyone was talking about. He seemed to appear out of nowhere, coming out of the shadows to beat up the bad guys. Reality struck you in that moment. This was real. This was happening. The word surreal doesn’t quite cover it. You wanted something different. Well, this was different. Instead of fear you started to feel something else rising up from inside of you, tingling up your back. Excitement.

A punch from a clown masked man landed square on Batman’s jaw, sending him to his knee and giving Joker the opportunity to start kicking him in the stomach. All you could do was watch, spellbound by the violence occurring before your eyes, wide with anticipation. It almost happened too fast for you to see. He really had nothing holding him back. He couldn’t care less about what people thought of him. Showing up in face paint and a purple suit with a posse of men disguised as scary clowns, commanding even more attention than Bruce. He basked in it, not caring one bit what they thought, only that he left an impression. He did. Especially on you.

You blinked again and he had Rachel. He stood behind her, his arm wrapped around her chest to keep her from running, his other hand waving a handgun in the air. He wasn’t going to drop the gun, not unless Batman took his mask off, show us all who he really was. Then the window behind him shattered with a shot from the gun and he dangled Rachel by her arm out into the open air. Your chest felt tight, as helpless as everyone else watching and unable to do anything about it. But you still couldn’t shake the thrill you felt buzzing in your arms and legs, fogging your mind.

“Let her go,” Batman’s hoarse voice demanded.

Joker squinted his eyes and grinned with ironic amusement as he answered, “Very poor choice of words.”

He let go. His laugh reached down to your bones and held on, pulling you toward him while Batman dove out the window after Rachel. You didn’t know what you were doing but you couldn’t stop yourself. Your feet kept carrying you closer. People all around you started rushing for the exit, running from the taunting men in clown masks like the crowd at a Halloween fun house. Except this was real.

You kept your eyes forward, getting within a few feet of him when he turned and saw you. A chill washed over you, both icy cold and burning hot at the same time when his eyes traveled up and down your body where you stopped in your tracks. Your skin felt like it was on fire.

“Hello, there,” he purred.

You opened your mouth to speak but no sound came out. You just stared at him. Then he started to saunter toward you, slowly closing the gap that separated you, and you almost couldn’t breathe.

The corner of his mouth twitched into a sideways grin. “Aren’t you a pretty little flower, hm?”

Your heart fluttered and your lungs pulled in a sudden gasp of air, that sharp smell filling up your senses. He was right in front of you now. He was right in front of you and you could undeniably feel the heat radiating off of him. Your heart pumped faster, the adrenaline in your veins saturating every tissue. That tingling in your spine came rushing back as his tongue flashed out of his mouth to run along his lip.

“Can I, uh, help you with something, little flower?”

The last sounds of panicked voices faded, and it was completely silent. You were alone. With him. Fear tried to wrestle for a place in the front of your mind, to pull you away, to make you run back toward the door, but the allure you felt was too pervading. You remained still, trying to steady your breath while the gaze from his black-rimmed eyes seemed to swallow you up. Sirens started to echo in the distance.

Then your voice found its way out of your mouth, “I… I just wanted to… um, to get closer.”

His eyebrows shot up and his grin widened as a low hum rumbled in his chest. Your brittle nerves nearly shattered when he lifted his hand and gently took hold of your chin, lifting it and stepping forward to press his chest against yours. “Mmm, this close enough?”

His gloves, they felt cool on your skin.

Taglist!

@youmaycallmebrian​ @heavymetalnarwhal​ @neverputsaltinyoureyes @jokersqueenofchaos​ @into-crazy​ @killingjokee​ @astheworlddturns​

[classyfoxdestiny]

Inside the Turbulent Origins of the Miami Building Collapse

Inside the Turbulent Origins of the Miami Building Collapse

It was in the middle of summer in 1980 when developers raising a pair of luxury condominium towers in Surfside, Fla., went to town officials with an unusual request: They wanted to add an extra floor to each building.

The application to go higher was almost unheard-of for an ambitious development whose construction was already well underway. The builders had not mentioned the added stories in their original plans. It was not clear how much consideration they had given to how the extra floors would affect the structures overall. And, most galling for town officials, the added penthouses would violate height limits designed to prevent laid-back Surfside from becoming another Miami Beach.

At one point, the town building department issued a terse stop-work order. But records show that in the face of an intense campaign that saw lawyers for the developers threaten lawsuits and argue with officials deep into the night, the opposition folded — and the developers got their way.

Frank Filiberto, who was on the Town Commission at the time, recalled feeling as if the developers regarded him and the other officials as “local yokels.”

“They were bullies,” Mr. Filiberto said. “There was a lot of anger.”

Although there is no indication that the catastrophic collapse of the Champlain Towers South building in June was related to the tacked-on penthouse, the alteration was just one of many contentious parts of a project that was pushed through by aggressive developers at a time when the local government seemed wholly unprepared for a new era of soaring condo projects.

Surfside had only a part-time building inspector, George Desharnais, who worked at the same time for Bal Harbour, Bay Harbor Islands and North Bay Village. Records show that the Surfside building department delegated inspections of the towers back to the Champlain Towers builders, who tapped their own engineer to sign off on construction work. The town manager was unable to resolve the penthouse issue because, just as the issue came before the city, he was arrested on charges — later dismissed — of peeping into the window of a 13-year-old girl and abruptly resigned.

The development team itself had a dubious record. The architect had been disciplined previously for designing a building with a sign structure that later collapsed in a hurricane. The structural engineer had run into trouble on an earlier project, too, when he signed off on a parking garage with steel reinforcement that was later found to be dangerously insufficient.

The early 1980s was a freewheeling period for construction in the Miami area, known at the time for its uneven enforcement of regulations, but the Champlain Towers project stood apart — both for the tumult that occurred on the job site and the brazenness of the developers behind the project.

Investigators with the National Institute of Standards and Technology are still in the early days of examining the building’s collapse, with ongoing examinations of the integrity of the foundations and the strength of the materials used to support the building. The investigation will include a review of how the building was designed and constructed, including the building’s modifications, the agency said on Wednesday.

Troubled pasts

By the late 1970s, Surfside was still a humble corner of South Florida, so popular with Canadian snowbirds looking for a discounted slice of paradise that the town dedicated a week to celebrating the connection. Winners of the festival’s beauty pageant could receive a trip to Canada.

One of the Canadians with an eye on the town was the lead developer of Champlain Towers, Nathan Reiber, who brought a grand vision to reshape Surfside’s waterfront at a time when the town was eager to find new sources of tax revenue to keep taxes low for full-time residents. As Mr. Reiber’s team filed for the first Champlain Towers permits in August 1979 — with no 13th-story penthouses — city officials were struggling with serious inadequacies in the water and sewer systems that had led to a moratorium on new development.

The Champlain Towers developers came up with a plan: They would provide $200,000 toward the needed upgrades — covering half the cost — if they could get to work on construction. The town agreed.

“It was exciting,” said Mitchell Kinzer, who was the mayor at the time. “Here we are, little Surfside, a tiny town getting first-class luxury buildings.”

Mr. Reiber pursued the project even as he was dealing with legal troubles in Canada. A lawyer from Ontario who had ventured into real estate, Mr. Reiber and two partners were accused by Canadian prosecutors of dodging taxes in the 1970s by plundering the proceeds of coin-operated laundry machines in their buildings in a scheme to lessen their taxable income. The prosecutor also accused the group of using the expenses of a fake building project to avoid taxes on some $120,000 in rent payments.

After court proceedings that dragged on for years, Mr. Reiber pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion in 1996. Family members of Mr. Reiber, who died in 2014, did not respond to messages seeking comment.

Mr. Reiber’s lawyer, Stanley J. Levine, also figured prominently in the development of Champlain Towers, handling corporate work for some of the companies involved.

About a decade earlier, Mr. Levine and a member of the Miami Beach City Council had been charged with soliciting an $8,000 bribe from a woman who wanted a zoning variance to build a 47-unit apartment building, according to news coverage from the time. The charge was later dropped. Mr. Levine died in 1999, and a member of his family could not be reached for comment.

Allegations of influence-peddling also dogged the Champlain Towers project. In early 1980, the developers had made campaign contributions that were significant at the time — $100 to one commissioner, $200 to another. Mayor Kinzer objected, and the developers tried to take the money back.

Rick Aiken, the town manager who later had to step down, said the Champlain Towers builders were constantly pressing the town to move faster on permits.

“They’d call me on the phone, want to take me to lunch so that I would push the commission toward giving them a permit,” Mr. Aiken said. He told them that they needed to follow the rules, he said, adding that he could not recall any instances of the developers engaging in improper activity.

On Nov. 13, 1979, the town approved the overall plans for the project.

‘Grossly inadequate’

As the construction got underway at the Champlain Towers sites, both at their North and South properties, turmoil was emerging and plans were changing.

By May, the project’s lead contractor, Jorge Batievsky, had resigned. He soon filed a lawsuit, though records from the case have since been destroyed and Mr. Batievsky has died.

The developers brought in a new contractor, Alfred Weisbrod, but problems continued.

As the first levels of the South building were rising above the ground, a crane on site collapsed so violently that its steel was contorted, according to archived video. A week later, crews discovered that more than $10,000 in wood had been stolen from the site.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did Champlain Towers South collapse?

It could take months for investigators to determine precisely why a significant portion of the Surfside, Fla., building collapsed. But there are already some clues about potential reasons for the disaster, including design or construction flaws. Three years before the collapse, a consultant found evidence of “major structural damage” to the concrete slab below the pool deck and “abundant” cracking and crumbling of the columns, beams and walls of the parking garage. Engineers who have visited the wreckage or viewed photos of it say that damaged columns at the building’s base may have less steel reinforcement than was originally planned.

Were residents previously concerned with the building?

Condo boards and homeowners’ associations often struggle to convince residents to pay for needed repairs, and most of Champlain Towers South’s board members resigned in 2019 because of their frustrations. In April, the new board chair wrote to residents that conditions in the building had “gotten significantly worse” in the past several years and that the construction would now cost $15 million instead of $9 million. There had also been complaints from residents that the construction of a massive, Renzo Piano-designed residential tower next door was shaking Champlain Towers South.

Are other buildings in Florida at risk?

What do we know about those who died?

Entire family units died because the collapse happened in the middle of the night, when people were sleeping. The parents and children killed in Unit 802, for example, were Marcus Joseph Guara, 52, a fan of the rock band Kiss and the University of Miami Hurricanes; Anaely Rodriguez, 42, who embraced tango and salsa dancing; Lucia Guara, 11, who found astronomy and outer space fascinating; and Emma Guara, 4, who loved the world of princesses. A floor-by-floor look at the victims shows the extent of the devastation.

Did anyone survive the collapse?

But public anticipation was building. A newspaper ad for the unfinished buildings claimed that only 27 residences remained available. “Get the best — while they last,” it advised.

By the end of the summer, the developers hired a new permanent contractor, Arnold Neckman, and in August they applied to add the new “penthouse” floor to each property, raising the buildings from 12 stories to 13.

The added weight brought by the penthouse had the potential to exacerbate a failure and contribute to the progressive collapse that killed 98 people this year, said Mehrdad Sasani, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Northeastern University who reviewed the building’s design plans. He also said the decision to add a new floor to the top of a previous design was not an accepted practice.

But the penthouse addition would not explain the cause of the collapse, Dr. Sasani said, since buildings are designed with large safety margins. “The relative weight of the penthouse compared to the weight of the structure is not so significant that it could have been an initial cause,” Dr. Sasani said.

There is no record of an objection from the architect on the project, William Friedman, or the structural engineer, Sergio Breiterman.

Both had come to the project after some criticism of their past work. State regulators suspended Mr. Friedman’s license for six months in 1967 after an investigation determined that he had designed a “grossly inadequate” sign structure that fell over during Hurricane Betsy two years prior, damaging the structure of a Miami commercial building, according to records from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

About five years before the Champlain Towers project, Mr. Breiterman had been responsible for inspections on a $5 million parking garage in Coral Gables, where officials later found that the walls in the building lacked steel reinforcing rods that would prevent cars from crashing through, according to a 1976 article in The Miami Herald.

Mr. Breiterman also got the job of inspecting work at Champlain Towers. He gave his seal of approval to the work in October 1980, before the penthouse dispute began.

‘A violation of the code’

A month later, in November, the town appeared to approve the added-on penthouse permit, although it is unclear who signed off on the idea. Two weeks later, the police chief, serving as the interim town manager, sent a curt memo ordering the contractors to halt work, revoking their penthouse permits.

The memo, sternly warning that the penthouses were in fact a violation of Surfside’s codes, came on town letterhead, with the name of Mr. Aiken, the town manager who by that time had been arrested on the peeping charge, crossed off with a series of X’s. (The case against him was later dismissed, with Mr. Aiken saying he had been looking for his dog behind people’s homes.)

Then, a week later, the Town Commission voted to allow the penthouses after all.

Mr. Filiberto, the former commissioner, said he believed that some of the penthouse construction was already completed by then. He said the town was left with a tough choice: Grant a variance or order the builder to demolish the penthouse work — and face a lawsuit.

Years later, Mr. Filiberto wondered whether the developers played equally loose with other aspects of the building project. “If they are that overt in violating the height orders,” he said, “think about all the little intricacies that go into building the building.”

Adam Playford and Michael Majchrowicz contributed reporting. Jack Begg and Kitty Bennett contributed research.

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[mostlysignssomeportents]

Cadillac perfects the murdermobile

I am not a car person. Until we moved back to LA in 2015, the only time I'd ever been a car owner was 12 months in 2006-7, when I moved to LA for a Fulbright chair at USC and bought a used Hyundai Elantra to get to the university in.

When we moved back here in '15, we bought a used Prius. Both cars were fine - they got us around, took us to the beach, and were good for grocery runs.

But two years ago, I did a consulting gig that came with a one-year lease on a luxury SUV. I admit, I was curious about what life would be like behind the wheel of a land-yacht.

It was terrible.

The car handled like a tank, had multiple, massive bind-spots, and while it boasted a massive touchscreen with seven millions features, they were impossible to access, switched themselves off and on at random, and were a huge distracted-driving risk.

It looks like my lux SUV experience was par for the course. Andrew J Hawkins reviewed the new Cadillac Escalade for The Verge and the thing sounds like a lumbering murdermobile.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/10/19/21522959/cadillac-escalade-2021-first-drive-safety-oversized

It's the largest SUV Cadillac ever made, 18' long, 6.5' high,  with a grille "like a sheer cliffside, obstructing my view several feet out in front of the wheels."

Last year's (smaller) Escalade has a blindspot so huge that "It took 13 children seated in a line in front of the Escalade before the driver could see the tops of their heads."

Here's Hawkins's 3-y-o standing in front of the new Escalade's grille:

https://twitter.com/andyjayhawk/status/1316038292769566723

The Escalade is a true road-hazard: at 6.75' wide, it barely fits in a highway lane (or a driveway).

As bad as it is to be in a car that gets hit by one of these things, pedestrians fare even worse: peds murdered by SUVs have soared 81% in ten years.

Not surprising: these things are so tall that they strike the head or torso, and they have so much clearance that they trap their victims beneath them.

The Escalade tries to make up for this with a cluster of cameras and haptic feedback mechanisms (my SUV had this too).

I found those mechanisms helpful, but agree with Hawkins: "When you need a suite of high-definition cameras and other expensive sensors to safely drive to the grocery store, there might be something inherently wrong with your design."

GM (who make the Cadillac) is phasing out ALL car models EXCEPT SUVs for the US market.

SUVs are the second largest cause of the global rise in carbon dioxide emissions over the past decade.

We barely drove our free SUV - a couple trips to the beach, some grocery runs. When the lease expired last month, we bought an all-electric Kia that we run off our rooftop solar.

The Kia is frankly great. It has fantastic handling, and dashboard controls based on buttons and knobs that you can find without taking your eyes off the road. We still barely drive it, but when we do, it's 1,000 times nicer than the SUV.

My only complaint is that Kia's leasing department insisted on using my home address for correspondence (I only give out a nearby mailbox as a precaution against doxing, SWATing, etc), and now I'm getting TONS of junk mail from people they've sold or given my name to.

Image: Andrew J Hawkins (modified) https://twitter.com/andyjayhawk/status/1316038292769566723/

[rockhopsblog]

Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN-- A New Hip Hop Legend

Whether tall tale, truth, or somewhere in between, 13 time Grammy Award winning rapper/songwriter Kendrick Lamar Duckworth’s rise to immortality is nothing short of a cosmic wonder. To go back to the beginning, let’s first take a look at his most recent solo project, 2017’s Album of the Year nominee and Best Rap Album winner “Damn”. The very last track of the album, “Duckworth”, tells of a saga that took place during the rapper’s infancy. The mythic-like storytelling follows the journey of his father, mother, and what would one day become the owner of the record label that propelled Kendrick into stardom. Kendrick’s father, “Ducky” supposedly worked at a chicken fast food restaurant, which “Top Dawg” Anthony Tiffith, proprietor of Top Dawg Entertainment, frequented. Tiffith was a notorious gangster on the block who aspired to be the first one from his neighborhood to reach the life of luxury. Tiffith went on to plan and subsequently rob the chicken place Ducky worked at, but spared his life because he had always given him an extra biscuit with his meals. Because of this decision, Kendrick grew up with his father around, helping to keep him out of the L.A. gang wars and keeping Tiffith out of prison so he could go on to found a record label. Things obviously could have gone very differently, but they didn’t. As Kendrick himself puts it: “Whoever thought the greatest rapper would be from coincidence? Because if Anthony killed Ducky, Top Dawg could be serving life, While I grew up without a father and die in a gunfight”.

Growing up in Compton, CA and making it out to be a success is no small feat. Throughout the years, one of Kendrick’s closest collaborators has been a rapper/blood gang member, Jay Rock, who too came from the neighborhood that Kendrick grew up in. Also a close friend of theirs- Schoolboy Q, a crip. Kendrick Lamar has been on the forefront of using his voice to unify people involved in gang violence and deterring those who may later fall into it. In 2015, Kendrick designed and released his signature shoe with Nike, aimed at the unification of people divided by the lifestyle that many of his friends and family became victims of during the tribulations of his youth. In 2007, a friend of Lamar’s called “DT” was gunned down by police for reportedly posing a threat, an event which seemed to Kendrick was all too common in his life. The silver lining, however, seems to be that there’s no shortage of the tales in Kendrick Lamar’s rap repertoire to depict the dangers and deeper meanings about the reality of gang activity, giving those steeped in that side of life hope for betterment and success. 

In the early stages of Kendrick’s career, he was selected to be in one of the first XXL freshmen, an annual group of rappers recognized by the hip hop publication as up and coming artists. XXL’s freshman freestyles were new at the time, and Kendrick Lamar’s verse in the cypher was prominently featured online and the cypher itself is often looked back on as a classic among those available on YouTube. Those who initially viewed the freestyle session may have come looking for other, better known rappers, only to find themselves stumbling upon the discovery of a young Kendrick Lamar. Around this same time, he released his first official single, “HiiiPoWeR”, which was produced by the now prolific J. Cole. These two, in their own rights, have become widely regarded as today’s best hip hop lyricists for their hard hitting and meaningful bars. Rubbing elbows too with Kendrick was the now superstar pop sensation and rapper, Drake. Drake, a Toronto rapper, has helped launch several careers through featuring on their music because of his viral popularity. When Drake and Kendrick collaborated on Kendrick Lamar’s “Good Kid M.A.A.D. City”, Drake’s career was still in its early stages, but their song together certainly helped garner a mainstream appeal for the release at the time. All in all, it is clear to anyone doing some digging that not only did Kendrick work hard at refining his craft to become prolific, but that he was also met with great fortune in making the correct moves early on in his career to find the notoriety that he now enjoys. 

Fueled by artists such as Tupac Shakur, Ice Cube, Kurupt and Eminem, Lamar has carried the torch forward from the 90s into the modern age of rap. During the famed “California Love” music video shoot featuring Dr. Dre and Tupac, Kendrick has claimed a small piece of hip hop legend by saying he was present in Compton, on the scene for the shoot. As a child, seeing such an idol and icon propelled his drive to follow in the footsteps of the greats of yesterday. In 2015, Kendrick sat down for an interview with the group N.W.A. who’ve had such classics as “Straight Outta Compton” and “Express Yourself”. In the conversation, Lamar said: “anything that I do, it always comes from what y’all done, I wanna get y’all take on my generation today and what we have as far as music”. In response, DJ Ren retorted “I like a few, I like you”. The metaphorical hand-off is evident, from O.G. approval to the strong impact in waves that Lamar has been able to produce from just four major label solo albums. From Anderson .Paak to Roddy Ricch, Kendrick has set out and proved more than he’d ever dreamed of.

Currently, Lamar has two triple platinum records as well as one platinum record which was maybe the most adventurous and critically acclaimed album, not only of his career, but of that decade. Rolling Stone magazine journalist Greg Tate called “To Pimp a Butterfly” a “masterpiece of fiery outrage, deep jazz and ruthless self-critique”.With songs like “The Blacker the Berry” and “Hood Politics”, the fabric of TPAB was woven to reflect the attitudes of a movement of racial justice and equality in a time of great struggle and oppression. Aside from exposing the brutalities of life as a black man in the United States, Lamar also presented the album as a platform to uplift and celebrate the accomplishments and great artistic devotions of black people from around the world. Many consider this album to be Kendrick Lamar’s magnum opus. He has shown that his work has staying power, and that his albums stand out among the formulaic pop-trap that reigns supreme on the radio. Perhaps TPAB has gone the farthest out of any other thing to help cement him as the king of hip hop and the greatest rapper of the generation. 

With a back catalogue so insanely successful you’d expect Mr. Kendrick Lamar to be universally beloved, right? Well, not so fast. No inspection of Lamar’s career would be complete without the mention of his ground-breaking verse on the song “Control” by Big Sean. Kendrick decided to seize the moment coming off of his first platinum album by going after 11 of the biggest names in rap at the time, including: J. Cole, Meek Mill, Drake, Big KRIT, Wale, Pusha T, ASAP Rocky, Tyler The Creator, and Mac Miller. Many interpreted his lyrics in which he called out these artists to be a diss, but we now know that it was, in fact, Lamar’s intent to light a flame under these artists to create higher art. The people named on the verse were people Kendrick truly believed had the potential to create truly classic works, and his bar “I got love for you all but I'm tryin' to murder you” was aimed at them because of the intention to hype them up to work harder and realize that they weren’t inherently owed the popularity bestowed to them. The so-called “Control verse” made such a splash that even rappers who weren’t even named in the song made counter-disses to the single verse in the form of an entire song. Most notable out of these songs were Joe Budden’s “Lost Control”, Joey B4Da$$’s “Killuminati Pt. 2”, and Lupe Fiasco’s “SLR 2”. Despite the negativity spawned from this verse aimed to do good in the hip hop community, Kendrick Lamar’s twitter saw a 510% increase in followers just days after the dropping of the single. If there even was any “beef” to be had regarding this song, it is clear who the real winner was.

From the president of the United States claiming his favorite song was a Kendrick Lamar song at one point, to winning a Pulitzer Prize for 2017’s “DAMN”, the mile-high accolades of Kendrick seem almost too good to be true. However, of all accomplishments, perhaps his greatest is his influence on music. Not only has he single handedly put on several label-mates to the mainstream, but he has risen the bar of what it means to write a good rap song in this day and age. Not content with people who churn out 30 song albums as a money grab, Kendrick has shown that effort is important, that careful construction of art is important. Lamar has also been credited as reviving the importance of the hip-hop music video. It is clear during a listening session on Spotify or YouTube that so many troves of artists, young and old, are attempting to emanate the same X factor that Kendrick Lamar Duckworth has been so highly praised for, and rightfully so.

[argumentl]

The Freedom of Expression Ep 8 - About Sawajiri Erika's early comeback. (*Treatment of drug addicts*)

K: Hi, This is Dir en grey's Kaoru. Joe san, Tasai san, once again.

J, T: Please. Thank you very much.

Kami: Me too.

J: Oh, kami too, right?

K: Unlike on the radio show, he's always around now, isnt he? There were times when he wasn't around before.

J: I think he descended to us about once a month on the radio show.

T: *laughs*

K: In that show, he just flitted in sometimes, and that was it.

J: Yes, yes, yes.

K: Now he's everywhere.

J: He's a regular commentator now.

K: *laughs*

T: This time we have some news from Tokyo Sports.

J: Ah! From the celebrity world

T: Lets start.... Do you know the Japanese comedy duo 'Nihon Elekitel Rengo', famous for the 'Dameyo, damedame' sketch?

J: I didn't, but I learned about them from Tokyo Sports.

T: What about you, Kaoru?

K: I know them.

T: They are a female duo, but one of them, Nakano san, got married to an older man working at the same agency, but it was a marriage with zero prior social interaction.

J: What does that mean? They got married on the same day they met?

T: Well, she was approched by the man, Matsuo Atom san, but she continuously turned him down. Then she suddenly decided last year to marry him. So, its kinda being debated online whether it is or it isn't *1. I really want to ask them.

J: Ahh, surely it is.

K: You can't say it isn't.

J: You can't.. But if you think its isn't...what isn't?!

T: People who think that it isn't, say that because they've never dated, they don't know each other well, and they might divorce quickly.

K: Oh, thats about afterwards.

T: Some concern was raised about that.

J: But I dated my wife for twenty years before marriage, and ended up getting divorced after two years. So just because you've been together for a while, it doesn't mean you won't get divorced.

T: Ahh, I see.

J: This type of thing can't be helped.

K: But thats normal, dating for a long time, getting married, and then ending up separating. It happens to a lot of people, right?

J: Yes.

T: But this Nakano san says, they've never held hands, they don't know each other's address, they don't live together..

J: But they got married?

T: Yes

K: The possibility of them separating seems high, but...

J: Right?

T: Yeah

K:..but, they can do what they want.

J: Yes, i think so. It sounds weird, but this also works as publicity.

T: Yeah

J: Almost like a risky stunt. Personally, I think its possible. But if one of them had the idea, and the other agreed to it, isnt it something to be thankful for?

T: Yeah, but apparently thier boss was really worried about it, he said they should have told him first. He booked a hotel suit room and shoved the two of them in there, but apparently nothing ended up happening.

J: Nothing happened?! People hearing this will want to know if they love each other.

Kami: I want to meet thier boss.

J: Oh, that? *laughs* A suite room is expensive right?

Kami: Yeh, I want to stay in a suite room.

*everyone laughs*

K: What would you do if you did stay in one?

Kami: If I did? Hmm, use the internet.

*laughing*

J: You can do that anyway! What about something more extravagant?

K: Like ordering room service or something.

Kami: I would order room service.

K: What would you order?

J: What would you eat, Kami?

Kami: Ramen

*laughing*

J: I don't think there are many people who would order ramen in a suite room.

K: It might actually be good though. Eating that kind of common food in that kind of place.

J: Eating something...

K: and just looking at the internet.

J: Just looking at the internet *laughs*

K: Its luxurious, right?

J: Exactly. Isn't it wasting the suite though?

T: Okay, lets look at another story. Its this story, it caused quite a stir. Sawajiri Erika...she was found to be in possession of drugs and had her first court appearance at the end of January. The entertainment world is in uproar concerning her early comeback, should she, shouldn't she?

Kami: She should.

J: I think so too.

T: Why? I'll ask you first, Joe.

J: Well, this is her first crime, so she probably won't get a prison sentence. I think it will be a suspended sentence. So, the idea behind a suspended sentence is to give you preparation time to get back to your normal life. Its important get back to your original life as much as possible.

T: I see

J: So, with a suspended sentence she will lose all of her tv sponsers and stuff, but its important for her to gain a platform back, for example, online or such. Now, if we talk about the situation in America, drug addicts are seen as ill people, not criminals, so they embark on a process of revovery, in order to quickly return to regular life. There's a feeling of, 'you're ill, so lets get you better'. Its felt that the worst thing to do, is to be alone with it. Leaving people in these situations is seen as bad. Getting people re-immersed in the community, and returned to normality as much as possible through social interaction, is how America deals with this. As to why America does this, its mainly cost, it costs money to treat people. They want to get people back out into the world quickly. Unlike the idea of severe punishments in Japan, America generally thinks in that way. My own view is very similar to that... We'll have to wait for the verdict. If she gets prison, theres nothing to be done, but if she gets a suspended sentence, she should try to return to her normal life as much as possible. On the other hand, once you've used drugs, you must be able to continue in a clean state, so you must also have the support around you to be able to stay clean.

T: I see, I see.

J: I think thats important.

T: Kami, what are your thoughts?

Kami: The same as Joe. There were no victims.

J: Yes, thats right. No one else was hurt by this.

T: An opposing opinion might be that, as a tv star, she might have a bad influence on young people. What would you say to that?

J: In that case,..well, i don't watch tv much, so I don't really know, but there are loads of scenes of people injecting stuff on talk shows or such, aren't there? Thats got to be more of a bad influence. I think people need to consider that more. Just because she appears on tv, it doesn't mean people are gonna start doing drugs.

K: Yeh, she isn't gonna do drugs on screen.

J: Yeah, rather, those scenes of syringes and stuff..

K: Yeh, the stuff on talk shows is more of a bad influence.

J: I think so.

T: So, in connection with this, what do you think about stopping the screening of movies etc which the person has starred in, which tends to happen at lot in the entertainment world..Joe san?

J: I can only describe it as nonsense. In the music world, it would be the withdrawal of records..., there is no meaning to it. Its totally separate from what they are expressing. As for music, no one ever talks about The Beatles' or The Rolling Stones' drug use. Thats a totally different issue...In relation to drugs, I think eradicating them is important, so for example, we could have a portion of that artist's sales being donated to organisations like DARC  (Drug Addiction Rehabilitation Center) in Japan, for example, which would be a good way to use them. I can't see any merit in just withdrawing thier works. If an artist returns to thier life, but is unable to be musically active, well, Tashio san is a good example of this *2, the places they can exist disappear gradually, and they become isolated. This is really sad. There's a possibility that leaving people in that isolated state can have a further negative influence, so there is no point in limiting the places people can work, or withdrawing thier works. I think Japan's management of this issue is problematic. In America, they don't arrest people for using drugs, they arrest the buyers and such, and thats what makes the news. But in Japan, you can see who's using drugs just by checking your phone. In particluar, famous people who use drugs are made into targets, to scare people, and to show how much your life will be ruined if you use drugs. It seems like its a kind of boosting of the zero tolerance policy which the Ministry of Health and Welfare introduced in the 1990s. It seems like that to me anyway.

Kami: Couldn't they make some kind of isolated place available, where its ok to do drugs?

T: Thats new.

J: Another novel idea from Kami.

K: Well, but yeah.

Kami: Because people who like drugs, will just like them.

J: I think so.

Kami: Yeh, so if you do that...because there are people who feel happier after taking medicine right?

J, T: Yeh.

Kami: Couldn't those type of people go to some place and be allowed to do it?

K: Without any crime occurring, right?

J: Right

T: Yeh, thats it.

Kami: No crime.

J: Well, i don't know if this is the appropriate way to express this, but in the case of drug dependence, its clear that the number one drug which causes mental and physical dependence is alcohol, rather than 'drugs'. You won't get arrested for alchol dependence, and the reason for that is because alcohol is legal. But incidents or fatal accidents cause by alcohol are ceaseless. There are a few incidents annually where someone murders after using drugs but, for example, as for people at the station falling onto to train lines, sixty percent of those are drunk, and many more people are killed by drunk drivers than drug addicts.

K: Well, its because there are many more people who drink alcohol.

J: Yes, the proportion is bigger. So if you consider these incidents in this way, they are certainly happening. In relation to drugs, there isn't really any logical explanation for them being illegal, but they are still strictly controled. Its a bit strange, but in America...well, it might be strange to always talk only about America, but the ban on cannabis, or medical cannabis has been lifted in America. In Japan, we have a situation where we can't even discuss such a thing, so I feel like it may be a bit of Galapagos syndrome....What do you think, Tasai san, about (Sawajiri's return)?

T: Well, she won't be able to eat, if she can't do tv work. From the viewers perspective, as long as its done appropriately..

K: Don't you need sponsers for tv though? So its not something she can really decide herself. But..on the stage or theater, if there are people who want to see her, I don't think it should be a problem.

T: Yeah

K: If there are people who say they don't want to see her on the airwaves, well, they are going to say that.

J: What do you think about her comeback, Kaoru?

K: Its completey fine to do it. Well, I mean she was doing a bad thing, but she has to carry on living. She could also find a different job, thats fine too.  As for returning to the entertainment world, well, i dont really know, but she should return to some kind of work as soon as she can.

J: Yes, thats it...It might be difficult in the entertainment world.

T: Right..Especially with sponsers.

Kami: Isn't that ok though?

K: Yeah, they'll use who they want.

Kami: Its only whether the sponser will use her or not, right? On tv?

J: On tv, yes.

Kami: If they have a reason to use her, they will.

J: But as Kaoru said, she might have more freedom on the stage or something. There must be something that only she can do, so it seems at waste to just kill off her talent.

Kami: If she herself decides to lay low for a while and self reflect on what she did, thats ok too. No one needs to tell her to. Now, i mention it, its the same with alcohol. If you drink too much and end up being late, you can self reflect and show remorse. If it was me i would deduct it from thier salary though.

J: *laughs* How fresh.

Kami: Its just a problem of whether or not they self reflect on it.

T: I see

K: Well, it depends on the circumstances of the person.

Kami: Yeh, in the end. Of course, drugs, but alcohol and cigarettes etc are all bad too, right? I really want to emphasise that. But at the same time, there are people who like them, who will use them anyway. As a result they will be punished by the law, and that will be enough. I think that should be a salary deduction, and then be finished with it. But your boss or someone might be mad at you *3

T: I see

J: Its like, I've had a deduction, so forget about it already.

T: So, that was Tokyo Sports' news.

J: Ahh, Oh! I wanted to ask you, who is it? Celebrity 'X', who is about to be arrested?

K: *laughs*

T: We'll put the news out to the whole world, so..

J: You'll find this if you search for Tokyo sports news, 'X'.

T: Oh, i can't tell you.

J: You can't? Damn

K: Kami might know.

J: He might.

K: But he's only a god for us three.

J:Yeh

K: Maybe he doesn't know.

J: He's not a worldly god.

Kami: I know who it is.

J: Oh, you know?

Kami: I know.

J: Kami, who is it?

T: Joe, don't ask that!

J, K: *laugh*

T: It'll be announced to the world...my account will be banned.

K: We need people to subscribe, right.

J: Yes yes yes yes.

K: Thank you very much, see you next time. Thank you.

J, T: Thank you

*1 It is or it isn't/they are or they aren't, or that type of thing.

*2 No idea who this is.

*3 Not 100% about what he means here.

[birthdaykeesha]

Big Brother Tumblr Tag Game

Tagged by @vanessacries 😘

About You (feel free to not answer all of these if you aren’t comfortable doing so)

1. Name or nickname? justine

2. Age/Age Group? 24

3. Zodiac Sign? pisces!

4. Favorite Color? yellow

5. Favorite Animal? pug dogs!

6. First Season of BB you remember watching? bb14

7. Would you ever want to go on BB, if so, what type of player would you be? i would be horrible at bb physical comps (following in queen bb12kathy’s footsteps) so i would not want to be on the show to avoid embarrassment 💕 but if i happened to be on the show i would just play up being a bimbo so people wouldn’t think i’m a threat lol

8. Are there other CBS shows you’d want to go on, and if so, why? i don’t watch any other cbs shows, i do want to get into survivor tho!!!

9. What other Reality shows do you watch? project runway, rupaul’s drag race, ummmm i am blanking rn but i am a whore for reality tv

10. All time favorite houseguest? bbcan ika wong!!!

About the Show

1. What is your all time Favorite twist? ika getting to shred the letters from home for a fat check!!!! (basically i like twists that reward the houseguests but do not have a huge effect on the game itself)

2. What is a twist that you like, but kind of flopped? i did not like this twist but i just want to shit talk the teams twist i hate the teams twist so!!!! damn!!!! much!!! 

3. If you were the new Grodner and had to remake the show, what would you keep the same? um the show can keep it’s name ❤️

4. What would you change? i would stop casting the machismo male archetype IMMEDIATELY. i would also make sure the cast was actually diverse, maybe one token straight white person, as a treat 

5. What’s your all time favorite comp? pressure cooker hello!!!!

6. What’s your all time favorite competition? i also like the how bad do you want it comp 

7. All time favorite punishment? getting to watch paulie cry while making pies 

8. If you could bring any houseguest back to be in the house (not to play the game) who would it be and why? omg da’vonne again in the future, she always brings us good tv!!!! she can get a check without having to deal with uglies playing the game

9. If you could bring any houseguest back to play, who would it be? CHIMA WE LOVE YOUUU

10. What is your most memorable episode? omg when josh beat paul that was legendary and so unexpected

11. If you could have any reality star from any other show on BB who would it be? nene leakes!!!

12. What’s your favorite BB series outside of normal BBUS (normal BBUS does not include CBBUS or BBOTT) bbcan5 was immaculate

13. Favorite Julie Chen sign off? when she didn’t say moonves 

14. Is there anything from old BB that you would bring back, why or why not, and if yes, what would it be? omg the luxury comps!!! they forced people who didn’t like each other to work together so they were entertaining 

15. If you were in the BB house and you won HoH what album would be in your HoH basket and who would you want to receive a letter from? beyoncé’s critically acclaimed homecoming: the live album!!!! i would get hate mail from my dogs 💖

16. Favorite Alliance? the coven!!!!

17. Funniest BB moment? keesha’s birthday is going down in history!!!!

18. Favorite first boot? jodi 😔

19. Least favorite houseguest? too many!!! any bigoted white person (unfortunately there are too many to name)

20. Favorite BB couple? me and kaysar!!!😍

This or That

1. Old School BB or New School BB? old school!!!!!

2. Julia or Liz Nolan? fellow austin hater julia

3. Vaness Rousso or Jun Song? jun song

4. Cody Calafiore or Cody Nickson? ugh chuck e cheese is less of an asshole so him i guess

5. Swaggy or Bayleigh? BAYLEIGH WE LOVE YOUUU

6. Janelle or Kaysar? KAYSAR WE LOVE YOUUU

7. Orwell or the rubber duck? orwell 

8. Hacker twist or Pandora’s Box? pandora’s box

9. Nicole A or Nicole F? nicole a if i must

10. Dan or Will? dan

11. Bathroom with Bathroom sand (BB18) or The Fidget Spinner Wall (BB20)? we will never have interior design as iconic as bathroom sand!!!!

12. The Hive or The Spy Grils? the hive were dumb as hell but i love them so much

13. PB&J or Slop? pb&j

14. Nerdy Guy archetype or Quirky Girl archetype? quirky girl 😗

15. The cursed liztin gif or the Maven (BB19) cum rag? jfhbdhf the cursed liztin gif because it’s not a health hazard (except to my eyeballs)

Tag Questions

1. First Season you blogged? bb16 technically but i only liked and reblogged things from my personal blog. this is my first year being active in the tag!!! (horrible timing i know)

2. Favorite season to blog? bbcan5!!!!

3. Favorite Bloggers? omg kind of a copout but everyone i follow i love!!! i always have the goofiest smile when i’m scrolling through my dash cause everyone is so funny 💕

4. Favorite tag cryptid (i.e. djmrod, the confession accounts, the bayler stan account, stella) stella we miss you!!!

5. Build an ideal alliance with people from the tag: @transpokenerd @kaysarsupremacy hey besties 😘

6. Favorite content creator (gifs, videos, posts)? omg i love all the content creators!!!! i am especially impressed when they gif live feed clips cause i know it’s hard to make that shitty quality look nice AND THEY ALWAYS COME THROUGH

7. Person in the tag that you like but are too nervous to talk to? um never nervous to tell @bathroom-sand that she is the queen of the tag!!!

8. Have you played in any tag games (like bbdiscords, orgs, etc.,) if so what was your favorite experience? omg i love bbsims and i’ve been in one (1) discord but it was very fun!!! just a lot of typing fkkffk

9. Favorite gate? petgate is always so cute and wholesome!!!

10. What opinions do you have that you feel would be unpopular in the tag?most times i agree with that tag tbh!! ummmm i don’t really care for the random draw in veto??? i think everyone should play in veto or the hoh and the two players on the block can all have houseguests choice 

11. Have you thirst followed anyone after a selfiesgate? ya 

12. Whose someone in the tag that has stopped blogging bb that you miss? stella bird blog come back!!!

13. Favorite holiday people have called Christmas? national hit and run day 

14. If you could steal any url whose would it be? omg the keesha url

15. Favorite tag meme? (i.e. Paul;s mistake, victim noises, claling chr*stmas anything but her name, etc.,) PAUL’S MISTAKE PT II DESERVES TO GO #1 ON BILLBOARD!!!!!

Tag 3-5 people (or more or less)

I tag @transpokenerd @kaysarsupremacy @yeetusweenus @bathroom-sand @whats-bb22

and anyone else who wants to participate!!!!😊

[nutbanana]

haha whewwwwwww sis slap zimzalabim gays hello laid ease ! name is yuno title is local ghosting legend pronouns r she/her nd we are stuck with nutbanana until i come up w a sexie url <3 this is gna be new for those of u who know me but i’m gna be putting everything into a read more for now instead of slapping 3 links nd calling it a day so hold my hand 😳😳 and for those of u who don’t know me i have two hands for a Reason haha,, nd my disco is @ daddy yankee#7776 ! add me let’s go feral nd if u wna plot send me ur favorite heart emoji here or on disco <3

*   //   𝙻𝙾𝙰𝙳𝙸𝙽𝙶  𝙿𝚁𝙾𝙵𝙸𝙻𝙴 …   /𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙲𝙾𝙽𝙼𝙰𝙽/𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙳𝙸𝚂𝚃𝚁𝙰𝙲𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽 : umeko saito, also known as hermes, is wanted for grand larceny. she is a twenty two year old female who has ties to the mastermind because of a charity event she was the face of.   𝙰𝚂𝚂𝙾𝙲𝙸𝙰𝚃𝙴𝙳 𝚆𝙸𝚃𝙷  : expensive fancy dresses, flirty stares from across the room, signing with red lipstick, a glass of champagne with diamonds in it. 𝙳𝙾 𝙽𝙾𝚃 𝙼𝙸𝚂𝚃𝙰𝙺𝙴 𝙵𝙾𝚁  : minatozaki sana.

01.    background info.

pinterest board ─── umeko saito, twenty two, up-and-coming actress, doesn’t like to label her orientation, would definitely be part of cherry twitter

full list of aesthetics so far ( core to what shaped her ) : eating fruit on a balcony in your silk pyjamas, signing with red lipstick, strap of your dress snapping, flirty stares from across the room, a glass of champagne with diamonds in it, cherries seductively held between lips, expensive fancy dresses

umeko was born and raised into one of the most expensive neighborhoods in manhattan, daughter to a magnate and a socialité nobody thought would get too far together. luxury was the norm from the get go, and the low profile kept by her parents didn’t quite make their name go unnoticed among the elite of new york. summers were spent in the hamptons and on expensive trips, walk-in wardrobe stranger to everything below high-end and glasses of champagne coming in early

stardom was always in the back of her head. she loves being the center of attention, all eyes on her for as long as she can attrack them, and so the hunger only grew bigger the older she got. in her young, twisted mind, there wasn’t anything more eternal than the ineradicable link between character and actor, and she loves playing the role. the first real taste of fame came only a few years ago, and it became insatiable almost insantly. she’s been on the rise ever since and has scored quite a few big roles to be proud of

j came into the picture at a point in umeko’s life where she was having fun, but it wasn’t enough. something more exciting, more thrilling was missing. and so they met at a charity event where rich people feel like they’re contributing something to society by bidding big money for famous paintings where umeko was one of the faces of said event. she did not hesitate to join him. after all, it makes her feel like she’s playing an even bigger, more dangerous role

her code name has a lot to do with her as a person ! as a lil taste before getting to it, initially, it was going to be loki, the most infamous trickster, but she felt it gave too much away too fast, and although she felt it was the perfect code name, she opted for someone whose trickster label got overshadowed by more important duties, and so it came to be hermes, who, in a way, is also perfect for her

02.    personality breakdown.

umeko is........ an experience. she may be fun she may be chaotic

umeko saito’s biggest role is life itself, and she will die a legend or risk becoming a fraud. she was born yearning for attention, and she was born a trickster. she has always been manipulative, loved fooling and playing with people and twisting the narrative of herself, enamouring ( trapping ) others, a strange desire to be the dream girl. and she took it upon herself to make the world her personal stage. and maybe she has played the role for so long she has lost a bit of herself on the way, who knows !

everybody’s sweetheart, looks like a saint ─── yet is the devil holding a halo above their head. she loves to stir shit up, always up to something. won’t hesitate to create a scene if it’s needed, asked of her or solely because she’s bored. a lot of her boils down to being, getting bored. she’s a bit batshit, a bit unhinged <3

umeko is flirty. she likes to flirt, it’s fun, it’s another way to fool people, it’s entertaining, it feeds onto this being the girl of people’s dreams thing. it gets her things and opens ways for her, and she thrives off getting people hooked on her, specially men who think they got a chance with her ( they don’t )

she acts like a bimbo and surely looks like it but may not be one. or maybe she is. she could be a baby bimbo. an oblivious bimbo who plays the role of bimbo in real life. you decide because i can’t JKDGVDS

she’s dramatic to the v bone in more ways than one, loves bringing attention to herself and playing dumb, playing clumsy, an airhead, and she’s a bit of everything ( dumb, clumsy, airhead ), but she knows how to exaggerate it to her gain. u won’t catch her calling herself any of that tho

there really isn’t a big scheme, a big story, a trauma behind umeko’s behavior, some people are simply born certain way and she thrives off being this antagonistic, trickster being just because

03.    headcanons.

she lives by herself in a duplex penthouse located on the top floor somewhere in manhattan, she bought it with her first big paycheck. she also has a smaller ( to...... her standards ) apartment she got for her 18th birthday from her parents, and it’s where she takes flings or people who aren’t that close to her as not to disclose her real home

she’s the type to break the strap of her dress before walking out of a store with paparazzis waiting outside for her and pose like she’s marilyn monroe fighting against a burst of air with her white dress, and she’s like “omg no ! the strap of my snapped ! what to do ! don’t take pics or maybe do aha x”

most definitely checks tabloids and stuff after she pulls one of those numbers to grab attention so she can see the reactions And the pics. also probably has a neat instagram feed

she’s the epitome of “all girls do is 🥺🥺🥺🥺” and “girls always trynna ‘🥺🥺🥺‘ their way out of everything”. that’s her

loves cute two pieces pyjamas. silk ones, velvet ones, lace ones, and especially the see-through robes with fur you pair up with cute lingerie and pieces. when at home she’s usually in those, long robe big fur glass of wine in hand, and if not she’s wearing an expensive baddie dress she has no business wearing for no reason

she enjoys dating on and off, having flings, random sex. usually nothing too serious and without too many strings to get tangled in. would she be able to commit ? yes, probably, she daydreams about it sometimes, but it wouldn’t be so easy

despite umeko’s passion for creating a scene and stirring up the pot, she isn’t mean, nor is she someone who is found in conflicts or fights often, if at all. she tends to get along well with everyone ─── she’s playful, a bit crazy, and fairly outgoing. she’s nice despite all her antics. but there is one person that brings out the worst of her, though: nandy freda richardson, fellow new york city socialité with a shared feud going twenty years strong ! they have known each other since they were little and it has kept escalating ever since 💔 it ranges from petty, insignificant antics to more serious, real shit stuff. the catalyst ? nandy somehow managing to make umeko lose a minor role on a small movie she was really anticipating. umeko’s response ? selling her out to aspen when he came asking for more intel on rich people he could rob: she gave him all the information he needed, carefully crafted a foolproof plan then gifted aspen an all - expenses luxury vacation to a destination of his choice <3 umeko was like yeah ? ok i lose my role and you lose your safety money and that one of a kind dress i wanted aha x

when she was sixteen her then boyfriend cheated on her with some chick. the lad pulled the infamous move of playing single and messing with the girl’s heart, so she was unaware of their relationship and was left as mortified as umeko. umeko, though, felt humiliated and, above everything, disrespected, and she also felt for the other girl who was just as much a victim as herself. so umeko made sure he regretted even thinking of disgracing their worth and set for revenge: over the span of a few years she snatched five consecutive girlfriends, one after the other <3 she also kept a good relationship with the girl he cheated on her with

[pinkrival]

               there was chaos in the tangle.

               something was wrong — bede had figured that much out from the moment he set foot inside the forest. what had normally served as a place of comfort and tranquility suddenly felt like nothing of the sort. he struggled to understand how such a dramatic change had happened seemingly overnight. there was a tension hanging heavy in the air that bede couldn’t quite place.      ( like a veritable miasma of aggression and fear. ) it was almost as if all of glimwood tangle — the location itself had been thrown into intense, emotional turmoil and for the life of him, the gym leader couldn’t figure out why.

               that alone had been concerning enough, but then he heard the sounds. screaming. sobbing. snapping branches. the whistle of something powerful whipping violently through the air.     ( powerful enough to shake the ground beneath his feet whenever it made contact. ) most chillingly, the telltale hiss of an angry hatterene. bede didn’t think — he just started running. heading towards the noise, as opposed to away from it.      ( even if common sense told him to do the opposite. ) someone was in awful danger, and it was his responsibility to put a stop to it. he was the gym leader, after all — he was more than capable.

               however, bede wasn’t prepared for the sight that met him.

               one of the wild hatterene from the depths of glimwood tangle. she stood at nearly eight feet in height      ( abnormally large, even for members of her species ) and bristled with aggression. the fairy type swung her clawed tentacle with reckless abandon, cleaving through huge portions of the trees around her as if they were made of brittle plaster. the hisses and shrieks pouring out of her mouth were a garbled, furious mess. unintelligible. bede caught a flash of blonde hair as someone struggled to get away from the enraged pokemon, her arm bent at an unnatural angle. this was bad.      ( an understatement. ) wild hatterene were dangerous to begin with, but one from deep glimwood was likely both abnormally powerful and unaccustomed to the turbulent emotions of humans. 

               her victim turned, blue eyes meeting violet. bede’s lips parted, as if to question the familiarity in her gaze, only for his attention to snap to the side. ❝ LOOK OUT — ! ❞

               he wasn’t fast enough.

               the hatterene’s claw CRASHED into her head, swatting the blonde to the side like a fly. she slammed against a nearby tree with a sickening crack, and hit the ground. she didn’t move. she didn’t make a sound. it happened in less than a second.

               bede screamed — in shock. in blind panic. it took him a moment to realize his error as the fairy type spun around, cruel gaze fixing on the newest source of strong emotion to invoke her wrath. reflexively, the boy took a step back — only for the hatterene to teleport in front of him, claw raised to silence him permanently. time seemed to slow to a crawl. bede’s mind went blank with fear. he couldn’t move. he couldn’t get out of the way.

               with a sudden burst of red light, his own hatterene shot out of the great ball in his coat pocket, crashing violently into her much larger double. she shrieked — no, she SCREAMED in a way bede had never heard before, throwing the other fairy type back with powerful claws. her opponent flew several feet before she managed to catch herself, fixing the pair with a scowl. her tentacle waved back and forth, talons flexing.      ( the gym leader could practically see the gears turning in her head as she plotted her next move. ) bede’s hatterene didn’t give her the luxury of weighing her options — she immediately closed the distance between them with a teleport of her own, slashing and clawing like her life depended on it.

               bede watched, numbly. the gym leader only snapped out of his stupor when his back hit a tree.      ( had he really been about to run away? like a coward? ) his gaze darted to the blonde, still laying prone on the ground.      ( shit... he couldn’t just leave her. ) sucking in a hissing breath, the gym leader spared the battling pokemon an uncertain look, before making a mad dash to her side. thankfully, they appeared too caught up in their furious brawl to notice.

                ❝ hey — ! get up, quickly! ❞ urgency filled the boy’s tone as he dropped to his knees next to the blonde. no response.      ( oh arceus. please don’t be... he quickly stamped down the thought. ) ❝ there isn’t much time, we need to go — ! ❞ again, bede was left without a reply. with a growl, he reached over, shaking the stranger’s shoulder roughly — by chance, the movement jostling her just enough that the pale locks obscuring her face slipped away.

               laura. bede’s heart sank like a stone. laura. laura. laura. what the hell was laura doing there — ? he shook her again, much gentler this time, but to no avail.

               ❝ laura...? ❞ his breath hitched in his throat. ❝ hey... ❞ panic began to buzz anew in the back of his mind like a hive of furious combee. bede reached for the blonde’s good arm, pressing trembling fingers to the pulse point in her wrist.

               nothing. nothing. he felt nothing, no pulse, NOTHING. bede released her hand, watching through blurry eyes as it hit the ground limply. forgetting where he was      ( forgetting even the fierce battle raging on behind him ) the boy fisted desperate fingers in his hair and harshly pulled, an agonized whine slipping out from between his lips. ❝ no. no. no no no no. NO NO NO NO. ❞ she couldn’t be dead. she couldn’t be dead. she couldn’t be.      ( and just like that, another person had abandoned him. just like rose. just like his parents. again. again. again.  )

               he doubled over, wailing in agony like a wounded pokemon. released his hair in favor of clawing desperate fingers through the dirt. bede was crying. he didn’t care. his hand brushed thoughtlessly against one of the tangle’s many roots. ❝ please. ❞ a delirious whisper escaped him. ❝ please, please, please... somebody help me. ❞

               his plea was answered when a sudden pressure wound around his fingers.

               bede blinked away tears, looking down with equal parts confusion and shock. the tree roots were wrapping around his hand — rapidly snaking their way up his arm. with a startled gasp, the gym leader tried to pull away, only to find that he couldn’t.      ( the roots were strong. abnormally so. ) it took him a moment to realize they were shaking — humming, as if with barely contained energy. what? what was this? distantly, he noted even the hatterene behind him had stopped their fighting, as if captivated by the sight.

               then suddenly, bede’s world exploded into anguish. 

               all of the power — all of glimwood tangle’s magic began pouring into his body. it seared each nerve ending raw, danced across his skin like bolts of lightning. he felt like he was coming apart at the seams, like everything inside of him was being rapidly eroded away by strips of ghostly sandpaper. his eyes flashed, pink and blue and pink again, sclera flooded with unnatural light. the tears dripping down bede’s face evaporated instantly, pastel haze leaking from rapidly flickering hues. all the while, the tree roots continued to wind around him. wrapping tighter. anchoring him to the spot — as if intending to make the boy one with the tangle itself. it hurt. it hurt. it hurt. it hurt. it hurt. the power was too much — he couldn’t contain it all in his fragile human body.

               bede wailed — in pain. in mourning.      ( in both, because it had always been both. ) a burst of powerful energy sent both hatterene flying as though they were made of tissue paper, tearing effortlessly through the woods with no sign of stopping. the tangle went dim and silent as every ounce of magic it could spare flooded into its chosen conduit.

               tree roots curled around the boy’s throat. he couldn’t think. he was losing himself. black spots danced across the edges of bede’s vision, obscuring more and more. in his last moments, the gym leader’s frantic gaze settled on laura.

               fix this. he desperately thought, staring at her lifeless body. i just want to fix this.

               then he thought nothing more.

[thewhumpstuff]

You and I, Me and You [32]

[CW:- References to: Past gunshot trauma leading to loss of limb, human trafficking and trade, amputee oc rescued from captivity. ]  

[Teaser and Master List] [Archives of our Own] - (Lost and Found: Chapter - 7)

[<-- Previous] ~ [Next -->]

Empty by Ritonix

Jared was left feeling incredibly uncomfortable on Ezekiel’s turf. The blonde had just made that house his, left parts of himself in the tasteful debauchery.  From the thoughtfully curated pieces of art and display of exotic ancient instruments, to the carefully minimalistic nature of all the furniture that promised convenience, comfort and luxury. He walked into the study with Tariq. “Zizi… sounds like Vivi. Zizi… Vivi… Zizi… Vivi” Tariq remarked with a dry snigger. He needed some relief from the tense silence which he and Nova adopted, to let Zizi rest by the fire. This felt like a cheap trick to lighten things and it made her name feel strangely familiar. He swallowed his hollow laughter and surrendered to the awkward silence again when the other man emphatically did not react.   They made their way back inside. Jared spotted the tall woman resting on the floor in front of the fireplace. She looked like she was napping, lying on her right side. Only a single leg emerged under the hem of the flimsy gown. Her arm lay draped across her ample hips, the fingers caressing the carpet with every uneven breath. Her head was resting in the crook of the other and her eyes were closed. The stump of her forearm that she had lost would have been imperceptibly hidden in her hair. Not fingers, nor a fist was visible though the strands and that was enough for Jared to know. Much like Tariq, he had seen his share of victims. It was rarer to see them without prosthetics, though. He made it his priority to get her access to those as soon as time permitted after he got a grip on the situation.   Jared noted the swelling and bruises on Tariq’s hands. He jerked his chin towards the pummelled fingers. “Is she dangerous?” Jared did not sound fearful, just a little concerned and rather matter of fact. He was astounded by the resounding quality of Tariq’s answer. “No. She’s a survivor!” Jared narrowed his eyes, there was curiosity but no accusation.   “What happened?” “Things just got a little… hairy when I- we tried to get her out of the room…” Tariq sounded a little brittle; Jared rubbed his temple. There were moments that called for correction and inquiry, this was not one of them. From the looks of it Tariq had done the best he could. He assumed there was an altercation and the Q.B. agent held off without needing to strike or restrain the victim. “Right. You should get that looked at.” Jared said. Tariq’s amber eyes rested on Jared as he replied. “I’m fine.” “Yes, but Zizi is going to need a wheelchair, she can’t possibly stay here.” Jared countered, with an entreating glare. Someone needed to run tests on Zizi and soon. The situation was a little sensitive and the only viable option for a BioHacker was also someone Zizi was probably terrified of. He personally knew what it felt like to be hated by a victim of serum-healing. And Akira had had just one session. From the sounds of it, Zizi had it worse. Regardless, they had to get out of Eze’s house. It was an easy way for Jared to trump Tariq with logic. He had no authority to dismiss Tariq and he could only hope the man would show some faith in him. Tariq did have faith in Jared. Given everything they had endured, the mutual suffering, if nothing else, had created some trust and understanding. He could also see that Jared was really trying to get him to leave, but he did make a good point. He’s got this… and… “I’ll be back…” …Sooner I’m gone, sooner I can be back…

Zizi had not been asleep. Jared should have known better, after all, he had adopted a similar tactic to gain information when he was confined to the hospital bed. She got to her feet with astonishing fleetness, given her state, but she had to, to make a point. “Wait!” A startled Tariq heeded the exclamation but did not turn. “Your hand… I - I’m sorry…” Her apology was crisp and not elegiac. There was an indifference to her regret, but also some deference for Tariq’s chivalry. As sour as she had been about it, he had done her a favour and understood the feral nature of a cornered person. Even if they haul me back to the damn pits, at least valour and gallantry is not all dead. He pointedly let his uninjured hand hang by his side, clenching and unclenching his fist. “I don’t see a problem, do you?” “You’re crazy…” she whispered, like it was a personal afterthought. She shook her head disbelievingly. “Empty, that’s you singing right? I’m a big fan too…” Tariq said having placed the lyrics to the name of the song. He looked over his shoulder and offered a reassuring smile, pretending like nothing ever happened. Tariq wished she had not bothered to stand up. He understood that it was to demonstrate the respect she attached to the apology… It still felt unwarranted “Does this fan have a name?” “Tariq… I best be off though…” His smile faltered when he saw her doddering. He considered reaching out, he did not need to. Jared noticed too from the corner of his eye. The movement helped him snap back to reality. It did not take a genius to know a fall was imminent, he swiftly reached over to break the fall. She is fine. Jared will take care of this… better. Tariq conceded to Jared’s experience. With that last glimpse of Zizi falling into Jared’s arms… He left in a hurry. Once her gaze fell onto the face of the man who caught her, she stiffened in his arms. Jared Knight… Hailed then and hailed now. From the way he handled her, it became apparent that he did not know who she was. How would he? I was in a goddamn mask. And everyone who thought they knew him, were probably wrong.

There he was, composed and detached as usual. Out of personal, illogical vendetta she wanted to strip at that wall, bring to the forefront her own resentment as a victim, as collateral damage in the grand scheme of things. She wanted to and she tried not to, but the bitterness slipped into her tone. “Oh… If it isn’t The Red Knight.” She greeted him in another whisper that was soft and unsettling.   Jared could no longer ignore the feeling that something was off, something that necessitated privacy; luckily, he had some now. Those green eyes pierced his soul, with reserved judgement. There was a sheen of sweat on her skin. “So, where do you stand in all this?” She spoke coolly, pulling herself away when she regained footing. He frowned and was quick to let her go. She lowered herself to the ground with a slightly ungraceful fall towards the end. He sat down too, cross-legged. Like old friends by the fireplace, except it was anything but. They did share a past… And it was not pleasant. “I was told that Ezekiel held you captive against your will and that Novara was made to conduct experiments on you.” She winced; he did not mince his words. “That is correct.”   She did not add any details and studied the man in front of her. Jared could see her unwillingness to really cooperate. She had no reason to trust him, but apart from that, there was more to the simmering, penetrative gaze that pinned him. He switched tactics, it made sense to set her at ease first.   “You must be hungry… I personally like this one...” Jared held both the bottles of BuzzBo in his hands, wiggling the fruity flavour. It reminded him pointedly of Akira and their discussion. He ignored the reminder. She avoided looking at Jared and could not help choosing the other bottle. The one he did not recommend, the savoury flavour that tasted more like soup. It was a pointed decision. Jared ignored the feeling and weighed this logically. He assumed she was emphasizing a lack of trust. It would not make sense for him to tamper with just one of the bottles if he wanted to drug her. He broke open the seal for her. Look at you, helping me… Just because you have both your hands. Zizi really wished she could swallow the bitterness that rose like bile. She tensed and it would have been imperceptible to most, not to Jared. “Thank you.” Her words were too abrasive, to hold the gratitude they were meant to. Jared narrowed his eyes, he was good at reading people, but Zizi was not even trying to make it difficult. What Jared lacked was access and information, to figure out the why. In the spirit of trying to inspire trust yet again, Jared shrugged, opened the option he had recommended and took a swig. The sweet freshness was welcome. It quelled the odd queasiness he had not bothered to recognize until it was gone. “Ezekiel has been arrested on some charges; he will not be returning.” “So, what happens now, am I free?” She asked with an acidic emphasis, like she was challenging him to make a promise he could not possibly keep. He did not. “That depends on where he found you... Zizi.” “Found me? I was… traded… for my own life. If that makes any sense.” It doesn’t. A sharp inhale followed her words. It was difficult to make heads or tails out of that, but it did not sound good. He tried to prompt her for a less vague explanation. “Traded for your life?” Jared repeated, he hoped she would offer more clarity so he had something concrete to proceed with.   The more she looked at his face, the harder it became for her to not blame him for everything. Traded for my life, a life that did not belong to me anymore… because of you! He knew he was not really the enemy, not then and not anymore, but that just made it all the more difficult to handle. He got to be the good guy who was doing his job, she had to live with the damn fallout. She shook her head with an urgency and resorted to disjointedly spewing her lyrics again. Empty returned to her lips again. She rapped softly, like it was a mantra. It was iconic enough to be. “Empty… promises, empty threats…, empty lies and empty beds.” Zizi used lines she had penned a long time ago, like a serenade. The words sent a jolt of disquiet within Jared. Empty, by Ritonix. It was a long time ago that he was ordered to look for that enigmatic artist and his involvement in the chase had not ended well. He did not expect that name or these verses to haunt him today. Jared sat paralyzed. He stared at the floor resolutely focusing the fibre of the carpet, which was red and not green. Which was soft and not abrasive. Letting that solid red colour stand like a wall between the memories that sought to invade. It was a long time ago! I am fine. I’m fine now. And I knew the risks then. Briefly, her eyes snapped open, they held within them accusation that she failed to supress. She waved the stump of her right hand in his face. “That bullet changed everything! That bullet changed EVERYTHING.” Jared leaned away from her on instinct, he was bewildered. His subconscious learned something though, something clicked in the back of his head. - “Do you have a clear shot, Knight?” “Yes sir.” His gun was aimed at the masked artists’ head. “Take it. One dead should kill the spirit of the rest.” The crowd watched the confrontation, there were too many eyes on him. He lowered the gun, just a little. BANG. The victim was soon buried in a thicket of angry people. “I missed, sir. Situation is hostile, we’re outnumbered.” “Damn it, Knight. Get your team the fuck out of there.”   - “Break your mind, break your soul, break your body, to make you whole.” She went on. It felt merciless to Jared, but she had no idea what the lyrics were doing to him. She did not know that he had been brought to his knees for that shot… and worse. Jared resisted the urge to cover his ears and beg her to stop. Instead, he grit his teeth and folded his arms. He sat there, practicing denial as he watched her. She rocked to her own words, like a shattering star. There were so many dissenters who had claimed they were the legendary artist. Many had lost parts of themselves too. This could just be a coincidence. It could not be. It could not actually be her. And even if it was her… I did pay heavily for that bullet too! Indignation had become a recurring theme recently. Perhaps a part of him was finally tired of paying for things he had to do. Jared grappled with the forbidding memories again and tried to focus on keeping his breaths spaced and even. Was this just some cruel ploy? Some last-laugh game that Ezekiel was playing to torment him? Nikolai had buried everything related to that incident the best he could, but Ezekiel did always have special access. Maybe he found out what the Ritonix fans and crew did to Jared as retaliation for that shot…  Now, he wanted to know. He needed to know. And for that he would need his own clearance. He also really needed Zizi to stop whispering the rap… A door opened and closed somewhere in the house. The sound toppled Jared back to reality yet again and it broke the grim tension of the moment. Tariq returned with a wheelchair. Zizi was still in a trance. Her eyes were screwed shut. She rocked and rapped with an insistence, through lips that barely opened. And Jared looked like he had seen a ghost. I thought you had this handled, Jared. “What the fuck happened here?” “We need to get her looked at…” Jared replied, collecting himself quickly as he got to his feet. “Nova is the only option if we want to avoid exposure. Do you think that’ll be okay?” Tariq asked uneasily, they were both out of their depths. It was unlikely that Zizi did not harbour at least some ill-will towards the medic if she was a subject of experimentation with that serum. Jared was rummaging through the canvas pockets of the wheelchair, most of them came equipped with medical supplies, including tranquilizers. He swiftly fixed up the needle. I need… her to stop and we need to get her out of here. He rarely acted in total selfish interest, today was no exception. She looked like she needed to calm down and he knew if the verses continued, they’d rip through him eventually. And that would hamper his ability to remain professional.   Tariq wanted to protest but did not and Jared made a decision. “It’s the safest… fastest option.” Zizi did not open her eyes till she was already being injected with the tranquilizer. Emerald eyes drilled into Jared, with hatred and fear, before her vision blurred. Tariq hoisted Zizi’s limp form into the wheelchair and strapped her in to keep her from wobbling. Jared sent a message to Nova.

To Novara: Where are you?

Jared had made a mental note of Nova’s things in Ezekiel’s house, just because they stuck out and reminded him that she had to live with him. On their way out, he whipped the sleek, black velvet coat off the hanger and threw it over Zizi in a slightly unceremonious manner. His actions were plagued by a hefty weariness. Tariq took a moment to wordlessly correct the folds of the fabric so it covered Zizi evenly. -

To Jared Knight: I’m with Akira… I told her everything. She is okay. I’m okay too. :)

Novara had the tendency to include smileys in her text messages, even when she decidedly was not smiling. Grief and relief had reduced her to sobs. Novara had invited herself into Akira’s room on the pretext of watching a movie. It had not taken her long to simply, spill. Akira now knew more than Jared did. She knew about Zizi and she knew what Vivi-Anna, Tariq and Nova did to Ezekiel to free her. “It’s okay… It’s okay...” Akira’s voice was soft, she cradled Nova’s head against her shoulder. They were both in Aki’s bed and she hoped for the magic of covers to make things better… Even temporarily, like they had last night for her and Jared. She felt the weight of guilt, a lot of things happened because she made the decision to defect. However, things had gotten so unrealistically out of hand, at this point there was no way she, or anyone else could have predicted all these outcomes. So, after having plummeted to what she believed to be rock-bottom, Akira tried to rally. Focus on the silver-linings. Focus on the silver-linings. Shit hit the fan, but Ezekiel was imprisoned, Jared was offered SiC and Zizi had been rescued. Maybe it was time for things to get better. And she needed to pull herself together, so she could be there for Novara, for Tariq and for Jared. “They’d eat a bullet for you.” She was grateful that they did not have to. They had suffered too… And they had been there for her. “Do you think she’ll ever forgive me? Ever… not hate me?” Nova didn’t look up as she spoke. Akira could not make promises for Zizi. She chewed on her lower lip. “Time heals everything, right Nova…? Or you do…” She tried to lighten the mood. Nova half-sobbed and half-giggled against her friend. Akira joined her in the half-hearted chuckle. The sounds faded, the screen in front of them continued to mutter something unintelligibly. Akira spoke over it, “I think I want to meet her.” Nova received a notification on cue.

Jared Knight: Stay there, I am bringing Zizi over.

The CommCube traced Nova’s gesticulating fingers as they danced in the air, typing on a keyboard that her SmartEye lens allowed only her to see. She sniffled and replied to the text with a monosyllabic confirmation.

To Jared Knight: Ok! :)

“You might be in luck… They’re coming here.”  Nova could not help but sound nervous. Akira read her tone with ease.   “It’ll be fine…” She reassured.

[Tags: @quirkykayleetam, @lettuceknighted]

[sonderrow-moved]

SEND ME ლ( ͡° ͟ل͜ ͡°ლ) AND I’LL TELL A PLOT I ALWAYS WANTED TO WRITE WITH MY MUSE! (backup)

There are 36 here j f c.

ARCHER

I want Archer to genuinely cry. Like a broken child. He’d need to be hit where it hurt af and have the knife be twisted, with virtually no way of getting out of it so he’d break.

Traumatized kiddy Archer. Small beans who doesn’t move nor blink, but has his insides eternally convulsing. Post his sister’s sexual abuse or his first suicide attempt. Like fresh af, like the morning after or when he’s in his hospital bed with half his face bandaged.

This man needs more sadistic threads. In the oddest places, or public that is. And the sexual kind.

And be the victim of it.

Take it as you will, but I’d like Archer to be, like, really… gross… with a kid (well, preteen)…  LIKE not sleeping with them, but the whole predatory exchange that makes you go “jfc” when really he’s not gonna lock him up in the basement, but his flirtiness talking, just like how (creepily) flirty he is with males he minimally finds his taste. It probably will never happen since, well, RP community is very US oriented I can live without poking at that line fad;nglkagjkdal. I’m very fine with looking into this through drabbles and flashbacks interactions when Archer was a minor himself. I don’t think a lot of people with the energy to write a young muse created it to be emotionally abused, very understandably so. It’s just me loving ‘em horrific storylines. ಠ_ಠ We ALl FLoAT DOwn HeRE.

Archer babysitting. Listen I love unusual characters in those freaking cliche things :/

Archer getting something real parental-leaning with a child though and getting called Uncle Archer.

As Archer is always mentioned in mainstream medias since his case was so big some years ago, I’d like to come back to this with the network of relationships he’s built. Archer being a public figure like other famous/infamous criminals despite himself. His ego will inflated.

Along those lines I have this plotline where mothers find out Archer’s the sperm donor of their child and hassle him for money.

Archer crying of happiness.

Someone doing the unimaginable of making Archer comfortable enough for him to crack jokes and even if he humoured a bit in the past you guys dunno whats his deep, deep, deep humour is. spoiler alert; u gonna cri

Someone be victim of Archer’s actually nerding about something he’s passionate about, and boy is it disgustingly hard to listen to;  p o l i t i c s. And if you convince him to stop it’s gonna be food.

Someone bring Archer to go luxury clothes shopping… it’s like a kid in a Toys R Us.

Tbh have anyone gets Archer so well as to make a whole day with things he genuinely like; nobody ever guess his very specific tastes. That may just be what’s gonna make him cry.

Delve in to witness how Archer handles the work he does for his sire, as in right in the hands of it. And I don’t mean let’s have sex workers to have hot sex plots, I’m talking about the abusive, gross parts. To push others’ bodies to the limit. And the heartwrenching victims of human trafficking; and what needs to be done to keep order in this kind of things.

Someone (attempt to) teach Archer how to defend himself more properly… because he never planned to fight giant, angry monsters or a rapey sire.

Have Archer kiss in public his significant other… and be a perverted degenerate; very openly hold hands. And turn childishly possessive.

Archer going on one of his violent crisis which he usually does when alone, but someone stops him forcefully, even if he wants to keep breaking things.

Any scenario of Archer embarrassing himself about how in tunes with animals he is when nobody’s looking (and that he’s feeling well).

On that note, give him a pet that means the world to him… more than his SO.

Be trustworthy enough to show someone what he’s got in his wallet.

Talk to someone truthfully about his romantic relationship, past and present… itsprobablynevergonnahappen.

Have someone serenade him.

JAEL

Have Jael meet and befriend (prob’ with benefits) a total bitch (no matter the gender) to be disliked by everyone but the two of them.

Have Jael peak someone’s parental instincts; they want to take care of him, clean his place, but tbh they end up just being taken advantage of inadvertently…

Jael needs gaming, MMOs pal(s). Those you really open to because it’s online and you don’t wanna get involved IRL, but then you meet up. :^)

Comparing our dick size in the showers level of bros.

Jerking off in the showers level of bros. Jock style.

Be called out and kick his butt by a strong spirited gal.

Someone witnessing Jael in the junkyard in his hobo shooting range… and prob’ scaring the fuck out of them.

101 Dalmatians kind of meeting because Jael is the guy who didn’t have his dog’s balls cut.

Someone needs to forcefully give him a bath, and I don’t mean in the sexual way.

A bond with another dumbass, but naturally they’re all too dumbasses to remotely start to understand what a bond is.

Have him get some casual relationship with hitmen because killers be chummy to killers.

Gambling pals… and he’s that guy who never gives you the money he owes.

A medical person he sees every time he gets hurt. Like those cliche superheroeswhocannotgotothehospital plots.

[bountyofbeads]

Jeffrey Epstein Hanged Himself in Jail, Officials Say https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/10/nyregion/jeffrey-epstein-suicide.html

Jeffrey Epstein Dead in Suicide at Manhattan Jail, Officials Say

Mr. Epstein, the financier indicted on sex trafficking charges, was not under suicide watch at the time of his death.

By William K. Rashbaum, Benjamin Weiser and Michael Gold | Published

Aug. 10, 2019 4:28 PM ET | New York Times | Posted August 10, 2019 4:59 PM ET |

Leer en español

Jeffrey Epstein, the financier who was long dogged by accusations of sexual abuse of girls and who was able to cultivate an array of high-profile friends despite his lurid lifestyle, killed himself in his Manhattan jail cell, officials said on Saturday.

Mr. Epstein hanged himself, the officials said. He was found at around 6:30 a.m. Saturday at the Metropolitan Correctional Center and was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the federal Bureau of Prisons said in a statement.

Last month, after being denied bail on federal sex trafficking charges, Mr. Epstein was found unconscious in his jail cell with marks on his neck. Prison officials had been investigating the incident as a possible suicide attempt.

Mr. Epstein, who had been found injured on July 23, was placed on suicide watch and received a daily psychiatric evaluation, according to a person familiar with his detention. He was removed from suicide watch on July 29 and returned to the special housing unit, a segregated area of the prison with extra security, this person said.

The authorities did not immediately explain why he was taken off suicide watch. The F.B.I. said it was investigating, and Attorney General William P. Barr said in a statement that a special inquiry would be opened into what happened.

“I was appalled to learn that Jeffrey Epstein was found dead early this morning from an apparent suicide while in federal custody,” Mr. Barr said. “Mr. Epstein’s death raises serious questions that must be answered.”

In addition to the F.B.I., the Inspector General, the Justice Department’s internal watchdog, will open an investigation into Mr. Epstein’s death, Mr. Barr said.

[Read more: Why wasn’t Mr. Epstein on suicide watch when he died?]

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan last month charged Mr. Epstein, 66, with sex trafficking of girls as young as 14 and sex trafficking conspiracy. The indictment renewed attention on how Mr. Epstein — who had opulent homes, a private jet and access to elite circles — had escaped severe punishment in an earlier investigation of sexual abuse more than a decade ago in Florida.

He had avoided federal criminal charges in 2008 after prosecutors brokered a widely criticized deal that allowed him to plead guilty to state charges of solicitation of prostitution from a minor and serve 13 months in jail. Even while in custody, Mr. Epstein was able to leave the jail for 12 hours a day, six days a week, to work at his office in Florida.

The new federal indictment also focused scrutiny on luminaries in government, politics, business, academia, science and fashion with whom Mr. Epstein had associated over the years, including Donald J. Trump, Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew of Britain and the retail billionaire Leslie H. Wexner.

Mr. Epstein’s defense team — the lawyers Reid Weingarten, Marty Weinberg and Michael Miller — declined to comment on the circumstances of death. “We are enormously sorry to learn of today’s news. No one should die in jail,” they said in a statement.

A fourth member of Mr. Epstein’s legal team, Marc Fernich, blamed a host of actors — from prosecutors to victims’ lawyers to the media — for bearing “some responsibility for this calamity.”

Mr. Epstein’s suicide derailed a prosecution that his accusers had hoped would finally show how he had been allowed to commit what they said was a string of depraved crimes for so many years — and what role his wealth, privilege and connections played.

Jennifer Araoz, who said she had been raped by Mr. Epstein after being recruited into his circle in 2001 outside her Manhattan high school, said she was angry that he would not have to face his accusers in court.

“We have to live with the scars of his actions for the rest of our lives, while he will never face the consequences of the crimes he committed — the pain and trauma he caused so many people,” Ms. Araoz said. She said she hoped investigators would pursue charges against people who had aided and protected Mr. Epstein.

[Epstein’s accusers called for investigators to continue an inquiry into his confidants.]

The United States attorney in Manhattan, Geoffrey S. Berman, said in a statement that the investigation into Mr. Epstein’s misconduct would continue, pointing specifically to the conspiracy charge, which suggested Mr. Epstein was assisted by others who helped facilitate his illegal acts.

“Today’s events are disturbing, and we are deeply aware of their potential to present yet another hurdle to giving Epstein’s many victims their day in court,” Mr. Berman said.

The apparent demise of the new federal prosecution also spurred widespread airing of conspiracy theories online on Saturday, with people questioning who would benefit from Mr. Epstein’s death.

Until last year, it seemed that he had largely been able to avoid further scandal over his dealings with young women and girls.

But then new questions were raised about the earlier plea agreement in an investigative report published by The Miami Herald in November 2018 which quoted four of Mr. Epstein’s victims, who are now adults, on the record for the first time.

In February, the Justice Department said it had opened an investigation into the nonprosecution agreement. The inquiry is reviewing whether prosecutors committed professional misconduct in their handling of the earlier Epstein case.

At the same time, federal prosecutors in Manhattan, apparently spurred by The Miami Herald investigation, opened their own inquiry into accusations of sex trafficking by Mr. Epstein.

The United States attorney in Florida who handled the 2008 case was R. Alexander Acosta, who was President Trump’s labor secretary. After the new charges were announced against Mr. Epstein in July, Mr. Acosta’s work on the earlier case came under intense criticism, and he resigned.

[Read about how Mr. Epstein become a symbol of wealth, privilege and depravity.]

Mr. Epstein was arrested on July 6 at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey after his private plane landed on a flight from Paris.

He was accused of hiring dozens of girls as young as 14 to perform nude massages on him, at which point he would masturbate and touch their genitals with his hands or with sex toys. The abuse was said to have occurred at both his Upper East Side mansion and his palatial waterfront home in Palm Beach, Fla., between 2002 and 2005.

The girls were paid hundreds of dollars in cash for the encounters and, once recruited, were asked to return to his homes several times, where they were abused again, the indictment against him said.

Prosecutors said Mr. Epstein asked some of the girls to recruit other girls, creating a network of vulnerable victims.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges. If convicted, he would have faced up to 45 years in prison.

Mr. Epstein had initially sought home detention at his Upper East Side mansion while he awaited trial. His lawyers had proposed allowing Mr. Epstein to post a substantial bond and stay in his luxurious seven-story townhouse, watched by 24-hour security guards, at his expense.

But a federal judge denied the request, concluding that Mr. Epstein was a flight risk and citing his “vast wealth,” which prosecutors have placed at more than $500 million.

Mr. Epstein’s younger brother, Mark, was his “only living immediate family member,” according to a memo filed in federal court last month by Mr. Epstein’s lawyers. The memo described the pair as close.

Mr. Epstein, a former money manager with Wall Street experience, had long depicted himself as a wealthy financier with stellar investment savvy.

In addition to his homes in Florida and New York, he owned a private island in the United States Virgin Islands, a massive ranch in New Mexico and a residence in Paris. He had numerous luxury vehicles and access to private planes and helicopters.

Even after he served time in a Florida jail and became a registered sex offender, Mr. Epstein successfully  maintained a reputation as a billionaire investor, philanthropist and sophist.

Still, since Mr. Epstein’s arrest last month, evidence has emerged that the former money manager’s business acumen was more myth than fact. His client list was not as extensive as believed, and the services he offered were less remarkable than once portrayed.

Earlier this week, perhaps Mr. Epstein’s most notable client, Mr. Wexner, the retail executive behind Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works, accused Mr. Epstein of misappropriating “vast sums of money” from him and his family.

After Mr. Epstein’s arrest in July, some Wall Street titans found themselves forced to answer questions as to why they had continued to socialize or do business with him after his 2008 conviction. They included the private equity billionaire Leon Black, the longtime banking executive Jes Staley and the hedge fund manager Glenn Dubin.

The executives all said they had no knowledge he had engaged in sex trafficking, and had sought to minimize their contacts with Mr. Epstein in recent years.

Also drawing attention were a number of major universities — including Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology — that had accepted large contributions from foundations established by Mr. Epstein even after his 2008 conviction.

The contributions to the universities and to scientists at those schools were part of a campaign by Mr. Epstein to polish his image and get himself back into the good graces of the academic and corporate elite.

But even as Mr. Epstein was trying to rebrand himself, he continued to peddle dubious ideas.

A number of scientists said he had showed an interest in biogenetic engineering and had discussed a plan to seed the human race with his DNA by having young women impregnated at his Zorro Ranch in New Mexico.

There is no indication that Mr. Epstein ever took steps toward carrying out those plans, but some in the scientific world continued to meet with him and take his money.

Long before he generated the riches that facilitated those interactions, Mr. Epstein came from modest beginnings. He was born in Brooklyn in 1953 and grew up in Coney Island; his father worked for the city Parks Department.

Mr. Epstein was something of a prodigy, playing the piano at 5, skipping two grades in school and graduating from Lafayette High School in Brooklyn when he was 16.

Though Mr. Epstein took college classes, he never received a degree. Instead, he landed a job as a math and physics teacher at the Dalton School, an elite private school in Manhattan in 1974. His time there was brief, but some students recalled that Mr. Epstein was willing to violate norms in his encounters with girls.

An administrator told The Times that he was dismissed from Dalton for poor performance.

But it was through Dalton, a prestigious school with well-heeled parents and alumni, that Mr. Epstein came into closer contact with New York’s rich and powerful. After leaving the school, he eventually took a job at the Wall Street investment bank Bear Stearns.

In 1981, Mr. Epstein left Bear Stearns to start his own advisory firm and in 1988, he formed J. Epstein & Company, the investment firm that would help him build his network of connections to wealthy Wall Street executives.

The exact details of Mr. Epstein’s money management operation were shrouded in secrecy, as was his client list.

Mr. Epstein claimed to be handling finances for a number of billionaires, but his only prominent known investor was Mr. Wexner.

In 1991, Mr. Wexner gave Mr. Epstein unfettered authority to handle his personal fortune for roughly 16 years. That enabled Mr. Epstein to become hugely wealthy himself and supplied him with the Wall Street bona fides he needed to seek business from other executives.

Along the way, Mr. Epstein would acquire a mansion on Manhattan’s Upper East Side that had once belonged to Mr. Wexner, as well as a Boeing 727 jet from Mr. Wexner’s company.

The money he made working for Mr. Wexner enabled Mr. Epstein to buy his own island in the United States Virgin Islands, where he relocated much of his financial advisory business in 1999.

Mr. Wexner, now 81, has said he had severed all ties to Mr. Epstein in late 2007. Just this week, he wrote in a letter to his charitable foundation that he had learned that year that Mr. Epstein had misappropriated vast sums from him.

But Mr. Wexner apparently never notified authorities of the suspected misappropriation — even though Mr. Epstein was, at the time, being investigated in Florida for engaging in sex with underage girls.

Katie Benner, Matthew Goldstein, Sam Roberts and Emily Steel contributed reporting.

[rosetintedgunman]

AU VERSE: De.ad By D.aylig.ht Survivor

Verse Name: Survive to the Morning

-

Name: Colonel William J. B.arnum AKA: The Colonel, the other soldier call William, Not Bill.

-

The Colonel had a good life. Raised in a manor he could never afford thanks to his father’s position as resident handyman, William grew up seeing luxury, but also never forgetting the important details in life. Family, friends, loyalty. These were lessons the young Barnum was taught, and they were key in his friendship with three youths his own age: Damien, Mark, and Celine. Unlike the others, he longed for adventure, and dropped out of high school at 16 to prepare for joining the army in 1913. What he never expected was the outbreak of Wor.ld War One. He earned the rank of Colonel by 20, and used his position to guide his men into battle with swift knowledge of the playing field and an optimism that seemed almost bizarre in such a grim place. Losing two soldiers that had become his right-hand men over the three years in the trenches, along with many young men who were under his care, left him becoming slightly more eccentric to deal with the losses.

The year was 1925. William broke his old friend circle by sleeping with Celine - Mark’s wife - and planning a new life together, one that never came to be. Things had been strained for a year, but now Mark was hosting a poker night to repair torn bonds with childhood friends. William was running late, but he would never make it to the party as he finds himself victim to the Entity.

Now, he sees himself as the protector of the Survivors. The Colonel has been through war. He knows the pains, the struggles, and desperation. His focus is to distract the Killer and be a nuisance while the others focus on getting away safely. He has walked into the pits of hell once before. He can do it again.

PERKS:

Human Shield - Taking a hit when others cannot. The Colonel interrupts a chase by jumping in front of the Killer as they attempt to hit a Survivor. The Survivor gets a temporary speed boost, and any damage from that hit is ignored.

Second Wind - Regaining momentum to carry on when things are lost. A hit that would put the Colonel into the dying state recovers him fully.

Live Bait - Putting years of training to good use. After being chased for a set amount of time, the Colonel can vault obstacles with shorter delays for recovery. He still makes noise to attract the Killer, and the scratch marks he leaves behind are brighter while in this state.