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The Great Ace Attorney Final Trial Commentary: Day 3, Part 4

This is an mini-commentary covering the final trial of The Great Ace Attorney (Resolve) in line-by-line detail. It’s written from a perspective of already knowing the full truth of things, so there will be spoilers for facts that only get revealed later on in the trial. This is not a commentary to read along with one’s first playthrough!

(This is the final part of the commentary. Check this blog to find the rest of the parts that came before this!)

Now that we’re below the readmore, I can add that this isn’t quite a commentary for everything going on in the final trial. It’s focused specifically on Kazuma and what’s going on in his head, only covering things which are relevant to him in some way (for the most part). I already had a lot to say about him in a big analysis post over on my main blog – but I have even more to say about him during the trial in even more detail, so here we are!

Last time, with the help of his best friend, Kazuma finally, finally got his head on straight about van Zieks and stopped being driven by his emotions. His emotional arc of twisted tunnel visioning and mental gymnastics that was most of the reason I wanted to do this commentary is basically over now, but there’s still some more of the trial left to go with some tasty Kazuma moments, so it would be remiss of me not to cover the rest of it anyway.

Kazuma: “The reason you’ve been summoned here to court today… is to testify about the jailbreak of the so-called ‘Professor’ ten years ago.”

Heh. “So-called”. Of course Kazuma would phrase it like that, because his father wasn’t really the Professor at all, damn it.

Kazuma: “If it turns out that you were involved in the plot to break Mr Asogi out of your prison, then of course… the consequences will be very serious. In all likelihood, a capital punishment.” Caidin: “Gads! Hold on there, laddie! All I did was—”

Kazuma really does like to threaten witnesses with capital punishment to get them to talk, whenever he can have it make sense. It almost works here, too! Alas, Stronghart jumps in to very sternly tell Caidin to think before he speaks.

Stronghart: “And Prosecutor Asogi… if you threaten the witness again, you will be held in contempt of court.” Kazuma: “…! My apologies, My Lord.”

And then he tells Kazuma off for doing this. To be fair, Stronghart’s obvious desire to hide the truth aside, threatening witnesses with capital punishment probably isn’t considered good courtroom etiquette.

(This isn’t just a sign of Kazuma’s more ruthless and desperate prosecutor behaviour – he actually does something similar from the defence bench at one point in 1-1.)

--- Testimony 5 ---

(As a reminder, I am using different testimony-numbering to the game’s chapter select, because the chapter select bizarrely treats it as if day 2 and day 3 are one continuous day, when they are not. Add two to these numbers to match those in the chapter select.)

Susato: “I really don’t think that Kazuma-sama’s father would have engaged in such negotiations.”

Aww! Susato never knew Genshin herself, but even then, she believes that Kazuma’s father wouldn’t have been the kind of person to do something like that, just like Kazuma does!

Vigil: “In order to hide his identity, he was forced to wear an iron mask over his head.” Kazuma: “Hideous treatment.”

Aww, Kazuma. Genshin being forced to wear that mask for so long really must have been pretty horrible and uncomfortable and dehumanising, and of course Kazuma has Opinions about that that he feels the need to briefly express here.

Caidin: “The witness stand is no place for tellin’ what ya don’t know for sure. I ken that much, I do.” Kazuma: “Then I presume you also know this. Not telling what you do know is a criminal offence.”

Kazuma is, again, low-key threatening the witness, less harshly this time so that Stronghart won’t object to it.

I also can’t help but wonder: is it actually a criminal offence, to hide the truth on the witness stand without outright lying? Kazuma should know that all too well himself, since he’s so very skilled at doing that. But then, he’d say anything here to try and convince the witness to talk.

Kazuma: “So you were just following orders, is that it? I’m afraid that won’t absolve you of guilt here.”

Kazuma definitely has opinions about this, too. So many of the people involved in his father’s death did it because they were “just following orders” (hi, Gregson) – that doesn’t make them any less responsible for their part in killing an innocent man. If you’re in a position where you’re given orders to kill a man, the morally correct thing to do is refuse to follow the orders, obviously.

(Something else Kazuma also knows about all too well.)

Ryunosuke: “You may very well be found complicit in murder, Governor!” Caidin: “………” Kazuma: “So that’s what it’s to be, is it? Even with the threat of conviction, you won’t break your silence.”

Kazuma must be getting so frustrated with all these people who simply refuse to give him the truth, even under threat of death. Stronghart really does (somehow) spur that much dogged loyalty in his minions, geez.

Kazuma: “As you know, Genshin Asogi was shot dead in Lowgate Cemetery after the escape. Tell me… was that part of the plan, too?!” Caidin: […] “Personally, I believe his death was the last part of the plan.” Kazuma: “WHAT?!”

Despite having got a decent hold of himself earlier, Kazuma’s getting emotional again. He can’t stand the idea that his father being shot dead in the cemetery was something as vile as a deliberate, premeditated betrayal.

Kazuma: “Who was it? Who shot my father in the cemetery that night?!” Caidin: “…I’ve no answer to that question.” Stronghart: […] “This court will not pursue the identity of the individual who carried out the order.” Kazuma: “Grrr…”

And of course he desperately wants to know this. Now that he’s finally escaped his tunnel-visioning on van Zieks, and especially now that they’re discussing the prison break in which his father would have hypothetically survived if not for someone shooting him, of course Kazuma wants to learn just who it was who took away that chance of him seeing his father again after all.

(You get this and the previous reaction by ignoring Vigil’s interruption that you’re supposed to pursue in order to progress. Sometimes there can be fun dialogue in these bits that’s easy to miss, because most first-time players would go straight to pursuing the other witness as the obvious way forward.)

Vigil: “I was betrayed by my superiors… in the name of my country.” […] Kazuma: “Just as my father was betrayed, it seems.”

Kazuma’s still low-key having Feelings about this. I wonder if he feels a certain amount of empathy towards Vigil, because he was also just a victim in this huge conspiracy (not to mention the whole PTSD-amnesia thing).

Kazuma: “…It all happened in that vast chamber of secrets that is Barclay, behind the high prison walls. I suppose nobody knows what really went on in the execution room now… Yes, it’s an unsettling mystery, certainly.”

This little speech seems really weird for Kazuma. It’s so unlike him to just be going “welp, it’s a mystery, guess we’ll never know”, as if he’s just accepting that. (Also, there literally is somebody who knows what happened – Dr Sithe sure does, even though she’s been forbidden from testifying because Stronghart Says So.) Where’s his determination to find the truth no matter what?

So I wonder if this is instead Kazuma deliberately trying to manipulate the witnesses – probably Caidin in particular – into letting something slip by presenting it this way. I just can’t wrap my head around Kazuma inexplicably acting like this otherwise. And hey, this does spur Caidin into offering up another opinion that then gives Ryunosuke an opening in his testimony.

With that, they get talking about how Genshin’s will was apparently a “weapon” that he used to bargain for the escape plot.

Ryunosuke: “You see, there’s an undeniable inconsistency here.” Kazuma: “What?! What inconsistency?” Ryunosuke: “Mr Asogi described this document as the only weapon he had left. And yet this will contains nothing of significance at all.”

Kazuma’s getting notably worked up, apparently one step behind again. Which makes sense, since he doesn’t seem to have been privy to any of the information Ryunosuke gathered about the Asogi Papers and the will being a weapon, so he’s frantically fumbling to piece this new story together in his head.

(Also, he just hasn’t had the chance to read his father’s will, while Ryunosuke’s been carrying it around this whole time, so maybe there’s some emotions about that bubbling forth here.)

--- Testimony 6 ---

Stronghart: “We complied with Asogi’s will as far as was possible. All of his personal effects were delivered to his family home in Japan. …As a courtesy to the homeland of the most notorious killer our country has ever seen.” Kazuma: “……… And we were much obliged. I can confirm that all of my father’s belongings arrived safely.”

Oof, Kazuma’s pointed silence before speaking says a lot here. No doubt he’s masking the contempt he must be feeling at the sheer backhandedness of Stronghart’s pleasantry there, because, well, he is glad they did at least return his father’s belongings. (Imagine if they hadn’t, and he’d never been able to inherit Karuma! Unthinkable.)

Kazuma: “…Yes, there’s no mistaking that it’s my father’s brushwork.”

It’s pretty adorable that Kazuma can be so sure of this even after ten years. But of course he would have read and reread every one of the letters his father sent to him during his time in Britain, especially after he was gone and it was one of the only remnants of his “voice” Kazuma had left.

Stronghart: “And this last will and testament was the man’s last ‘weapon’, was it? I think we can safely assume that the convict was merely prattling… knowing that his end was nigh.” Kazuma: “………”

Another pointed silence from Kazuma. He’s certain that his father was not the kind of man who would “prattle” like that, claiming he had something out of empty desperation without having the substance to back it up. But that thought is based entirely in his emotions, and he knows better than to try and use those to argue with now.

Ryunosuke: “So that would mean that you conversed with Mr Asogi?” Vigil: “Yes, certainly. Though there was precious little time before his execution was due.” Kazuma: “………”

Again, the game makes a point of showing us Kazuma’s silence. No doubt he’s having some Feelings about the thought of his father having so little time left alive. I enjoy that the narrative wanted to highlight that.

Vigil: “I can still recall his reply: ‘I’m guilty of the unforgivable crime of ending another human’s life, yes.’” Kazuma: “…!”

Of course Kazuma reacts to this. This is a totally different situation than the false confession in court done on the promise of an escape plan – this is privately, in confidence, between two men as equals. And it’s clearly not a confession to the five Professor murders, either. His father wouldn’t have been lying about this. But then, that means… he really did kill someone after all…?

(Vigil already told this to Ryunosuke and Susato when they visited him in the hospital a couple of days ago, but evidently he did not mention this part to Kazuma when he also visited that day.)

Ryunosuke: “His sword?!” Kazuma: “Karuma, the famous sword of the Asogi clan. …It bears the soul of my family.” Ryunosuke: “I, I don’t doubt it, but I wasn’t really getting at that…” (Forget it being the soul of the clan! Could the man have had a more obvious ‘weapon’?) Kazuma: “Have some respect, Ryunosuke.”

Aww, Kazuma still being so stern about the importance of Karuma. And of course Ryunosuke understands that and genuinely believes it contains the Asogi clan’s soul – after all, he carried it for months while thinking of it as Kazuma’s soul! He’s just capable of taking a step back and acknowledging that it’s a still bit much that a death-row convict was allowed to carry a sword.

(This is, of course, also important setup to remind players that Genshin had Karuma on him, so that they can figure out where he hid the will.)

There’s some more fun missable bits if you ignore pursuing Vigil here like you’re supposed to…

Kazuma: “My father had a passion for calligraphy. He found the profound black colour of sumi ink to be very soothing.”

A neat little tidbit about Genshin, which also explains everything we need to know about Kazuma’s calligraphy scroll in his cabin on the Burya. Evidently he took up calligraphy himself, knowing his father was passionate about it, as a way to feel closer to him.

Stronghart: “Despite the seriousness of his crimes, he was treated in a gentlemanly fashion until the end.” Kazuma: “When he was callously betrayed and shot dead in a dark cemetery in the middle of the night. …Yes, the gentlemanliness of it is overwhelming.”

Some very understandable savagery from Kazuma! He isn’t even able to make it quite as barbed as he’d like, because in that last sentence, he turns his head away, suggesting his emotions are getting a little too much and he’s trying to make them a bit less visible.

Kazuma: “So the document had disappeared… Are you suggesting… that the document my father had in his hand that night in his cell was…?” Ryunosuke: “The same document that Lord Klint van Zieks was writing moments before his death.”

Kazuma leans over his bench for the second half of that line, meaning he’s having some amount of emotional reaction. Probably at the realisation that his father was in possession of the last thing Klint wrote before his death, meaning he was very likely present when Klint was killed, and that confession of his to having killed one person might actually mean…

Vigil: “But what’s on that paper?” Asogi: “…A last will and testament.”

Naturally, Genshin was also extremely good at concealing the truth without actually lying, implying it’s his own will without explicitly saying so in his words so that they aren’t a lie. Like father, like son.

Ryunosuke: “It was the last will and testament of Lord Klint van Zieks!” Van Zieks: “No…” Kazuma: “WHAAAT?!”

Van Zieks reacts to this, of course – but Kazuma also has a strong reaction. It must be starting to sink in just how likely it is that his father really did kill Klint after all.

Stronghart: “Pursuing this notion of a phantom will nobody can attest to having seen serves absolutely no purpose.” Kazuma: “Objection! No, My Lord, that’s unacceptable.” Stronghart: “What did you say, Counsel?” Kazuma: “The last will and testament that Genshin Asogi had in his possession was that of Lord Klint van Zieks. All the testimony and evidence presented to the court has logically led us to that as a possibility. We have a duty… to pursue the line of reasoning to its conclusion!”

Look at Kazuma having his head on straight! Stronghart is trying to shut this down, and instead of getting emotional, Kazuma’s able to calmly argue for the objective reason why they ought to continue this. I’m not sure he would have been capable of that not so long ago.

Stronghart goes on to point out that they can’t pursue anything without any knowledge of what the document contained, which makes Kazuma falter somewhat. Meanwhile, Ryunosuke has figured it out, and with some encouragement from Susato to help him overcome his nerves, begins to make a speech.

Ryunosuke: “In all probability, the details in the will were related to the Professor case.” Stronghart: “The defence’s last statement is mere conjecture.” Van Zieks: “What are you getting at, man?” Kazuma: “Ryunosuke?!”

I love Kazuma’s reaction here. He has no clue what the will contained himself, but he can see from the look in his friend’s eyes that Ryunosuke’s definitely onto something big here that’ll give them exactly what they need to keep this going.

It’s very obvious from his inner monologue that Ryunosuke’s figured out the actual answer here, but if you mess around and pick something wrong, you get more fun dialogue:

Kazuma: “Come on, Ryunosuke! I know you! You’ve seen to the heart of all of this, haven’t you?”

Kazuma believes in his best friend so much and is desperately relying on him to be able to continue the trial where he can’t, hnnnngh these friends. I love the way that really, Kazuma’s the one who idolises and depends on Ryunosuke, despite that things seem on the surface to be more the other way around.

Kazuma: “A, a confession…?” Ryunosuke: “Regarding the mass murderer known as the Professor… and his true identity!” Van Zieks: “Objection!”

This isn’t supposed to be a van Zieks commentary, but guh. Ryunosuke hasn’t even explicitly said in as many words that Klint was the Professor, but Barok knows exactly what he is getting at right away. His body language looks so hurt and defensive, protectively clutching at Klint’s badge like that.

I will restrain myself from commenting on all of van Zieks’s reaction to this – again, this commentary is here to analyse Kazuma, not him – but fff, it’s so good. One thing I want to highlight is the way that, while almost all character animations end on a still frame, most of the ones used for van Zieks’s breakdown here don’t, lingering on a constant loop of heavy breathing, which gives a real sense of extra intensity to the emotion he’s feeling. This poor man needs so many hugs (that he would never accept).

Ryunosuke: “The killer that terrorised London a decade ago and became known as the Professor… The man believed to have murdered five members of the aristocracy… wasn’t Genshin Asogi at all.” Kazuma: “…! No… you can’t be suggesting…?”

Meanwhile, Kazuma’s still one step behind his friend. His shocked reaction here is obviously not at the fact that the Professor was not his father – instead, this is him only just figuring out who it really was.

(Something relevant to note about Kazuma is that, although he’s been so fervently determined this whole time to prove that his father was not the Professor and punish those who framed him, he’s never been shown to have any particular investment in the question of who the real Professor was. That part’s basically just irrelevant to him, unrelated to the people who decided to condemn his father to death. He probably never spent much time during his investigations thinking about the real Professor and trying to figure out his identity, to the point that it comes as a complete shock to him here.)

Kazuma: “I don’t believe this…”

A little later, after Barok’s scream of agony at the explicit reveal and him reluctantly informing us that Klint did indeed own a large dog, Kazuma can still barely believe it. He’s staring down at his bench, as if half lost in his own private world. I wonder if he’s starting to see the irony of this, that van Zieks has also spent the past ten years wracked with desperate denial over the possibility of his loved one being this terrible mass murderer, and that’s why he was so viciously determined to convict Kazuma’s father rather than face the truth. You and he really aren’t so different after all, Kazuma!

Kazuma: “My father knew that, and was using it to negotiate his way out of the unjust charges brought against him. But at the very last hour, those he’d bargained with betrayed him… slaying him mercilessly on foreign soil.”

Kazuma still has some Strong Words about his father being betrayed and murdered. (I wonder if he’d word things quite this way if he realised that the person who shot Genshin was in fact not a foreigner he’d bargained with but his compatriot and friend.)

Stronghart: “It’s ironic, really – and somewhat surprising – that the truth has once again been unearthed… by a Japanese.” Kazuma: “Once again? What do you mean?!”

Kazuma’s asking a question, but based on his emotional reaction here, he seems to have already realised it was probably his father who figured Klint out. (After all, his father was the greatest detective ever, right? Of course he’d be the one to find the truth!)

Susato: “So, in actual fact… Kazuma-sama’s father did…?” Ryunosuke: “He made the late Lord van Zieks meet the same fate…”

Unsurprisingly, it is not Kazuma who voices this realisation that his father really did go and kill Klint, even though he’s no doubt also figured this out.

Stronghart: “As soon as I heard, I hurried to the mansion. When I arrived, it was easy to grasp what had happened.” Kazuma: “And? What about the will?”

And Kazuma is immediately moving on from the murder part and focusing on something else, nope no need to think too hard about the fact that his father really did kill someone, gonna file that away to deal with later

Stronghart: “I was the only person who knew the true identity of the Professor. So… I resolved to keep it a secret and guard the secret to the bitter end.” […] Kazuma: “It was you, then, who pinned the crimes on my father!”

Kazuma has finally, finally found the right person to blame! Of course, it’s been pretty clearly Stronghart and not van Zieks for a while now, but there must be some satisfaction in hearing him clearly willing to just admit it at last.

(Even then, there’s an urgency to Kazuma here but not as much of the vicious hatred that there was with van Zieks. It really does hit different when it’s not the man he’s spent the better part of ten years desperately clinging to hating in order to cope with his grief. Which is to say, he’s able to be more rational about this!)

Kazuma: “But I just don’t believe that part. As far as I knew the man, my father despised such underhand dealings.”

Of course Kazuma saw his father that way! We’ve seen just how carefully he avoids ever telling a direct lie, which I strongly believe is because his father impressed upon him that one must always tell the truth. And even then, there’s so many underhand things Kazuma himself had to agree to in order to make it to Britain – he must have been torn apart with guilt at the thought that this is exactly the kind of thing his father would have hated him doing.

Still, Kazuma is only bringing up this argument – an emotional argument – about his father’s actions now, now that there’s no more deductions to be done and Stronghart’s basically just telling them everything. Kazuma was able to keep his emotions in check in order to follow the logic and find the truth, just like Ryunosuke encouraged him to do!

Stronghart: “…It was extremely easy to make him comply. You see, he had one crippling weakness.” Kazuma: “W-What weakness?”

What is Stronghart talking about? Kazuma’s father was invincible, the greatest man ever; of course he couldn’t possibly have had any kind of weakness, that’s nonsense…! Oh, Kazuma.

Stronghart: “Isn’t it obvious? You… Kazuma Asogi.” Kazuma: “M-Me?!”

It’s so heartbreaking that this never even occurred to Kazuma. On his end, he adored his father so much that he unthinkingly chose to shape his entire life around finding justice for him, sacrificing anything and everything necessary – including his moral integrity – to achieve that. But it never once crossed his mind that his father felt just as strongly about him, and would have obviously chosen to make a similar kind of sacrifice for his sake.

(Maybe some of this comes from the fact that his father left him to go and study on the other side of the world for six years, so Kazuma has this unspoken sense that his father can’t have loved him that much, that obviously he must have cared about truth and justice and integrity more than his own son. I don’t believe Kazuma holds any conscious resentment towards his father for leaving him to study abroad, because he idolised him too much to feel like any of his decisions could have been wrong in any way. But still, it could have easily left him underestimating – and simply accepting, because he was just a kid – just how important he always was to his father.)

Stronghart: “…Perhaps you have no desire to return to your homeland, Asogi.” Asogi: “What?” Stronghart: “Though I hear you have a fourteen-year-old son.”

Stronghart’s no doubt bringing up Kazuma’s exact age in order to better emotionally manipulate Genshin here – but it is notable that he knows exactly how old Kazuma is in the first place. Evidently Genshin talked about his son a lot, to the point of mentioning things such as his exact age and when his birthday was! Gregson was abundantly aware that his colleague had a “young lad” back home in Japan, and it seems even Stronghart was able to piece this together from things Genshin had mentioned. Genshin really did love his son so much that he never stopped thinking and talking about him, even as he was living on the other side of the world! It really is possible to be so far away while still loving your son more than anything.

(Incidentally, this narrows down the possible range for Kazuma’s birthday. He was listed as twenty-three before his disappearance in January, and twenty-four since he reappeared in October. But for him to have been fourteen ten years ago before any of this stuff with Klint went down, his birthday has to be May at the latest. So it’s sometime between January and May, apparently.)

Asogi: “You… you scoundrel!”

I like that Genshin feels the need to curse at Stronghart for this. He knows that Stronghart’s bringing up his son in order to emotionally manipulate him, and he hates it. …But even as knows that, it’s still going to work on him.

Stronghart: “I only want to protect this country’s law and order, you understand.”

Very rich that Stronghart makes this Suspiciously Specific Insistence of his even to Genshin, who has read the will and is the one person who knows exactly what Stronghart is really trying to protect.

Stronghart: “So… what’s it to be, Asogi?” Asogi: “……… …Ka……… Kazuma… ………”

Hnggggh, my heart. Genshin really did want to stick to his principles and risk getting executed in order to make sure the truth came out, but as soon as Stronghart reminds him of how much he loves his son, and that he’ll in all likelihood never see him again if he goes through with this… suddenly Genshin can’t do it. He really did love his son more than anything, to be willing to sacrifice his honour and integrity, something he valued so much, for Kazuma’s sake.

(So that Kazuma wouldn’t have to grow up fatherless and grieving. Genshin was willing to make this sacrifice to save him from that… and yet, it still happened anyway.)

Kazuma: “He… he did it for me…”

Kazumaaaaa. Guhhh, his face here. He’s only just realising that, even though he was half a world away for six whole years, his father really did still love him so, so much. Just as much as Kazuma’s always loved him, to make such awful sacrifices for his sake.

So Stronghart confesses to being the Reaper as well, entreating the judiciary to keep it under wraps, and is about to end the trial when Kazuma interrupts to ask something to van Zieks.

Kazuma: “Of course, I know that you’re a highly accomplished prosecutor. So I find it hard to believe… that you didn’t have any doubts at all. That you never suspected your older brother.” Van Zieks: “…” Ryunosuke: “Yes, the same thought occurred to me.”

This had indeed occurred to Ryunosuke a little while ago – and it’s very remarkable that Kazuma has thought about it too! Look at him thoroughly being able to see van Zieks as a person, acknowledging his skill as a prosecutor and the humanity of the fact that surely, being so close to his brother, he would have noticed something off. Ryunosuke knows van Zieks well enough to see this after everything that’s happened – and, it turns out, so does Kazuma! He has spent months working as the man’s apprentice, and with the irrational hatred finally pushed aside, Kazuma is actually quite able to acknowledge van Zieks as the human person that he is.

After van Zieks and Stronghart both say some things in response to this, Stronghart is about to adjourn the trial again.

Ryunosuke: “Objection! Thank you… Kazuma.” Kazuma: “Me…?” Ryunosuke: “If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have made this eleventh-hour discovery.” Kazuma: “What discovery?” […] Kazuma: “But… all I did was ask the accused one simple question!”

I love how Kazuma is totally bewildered as to how he was helpful – it really was just a coincidence that his question led to Stronghart letting slip something useful – but Ryunosuke felt the need to thank him for it anyway. Did you know, they are friends. Maybe this is a sign of Ryunosuke’s idolisation of Kazuma, in that he assumes Kazuma got this to happen on purpose, when no, he really didn’t!

And, of course, Kazuma has no idea what was said that was relevant, while Ryunosuke managed to pick up on that tiny detail (Stronghart mentioning that Genshin’s will had three pages and not two), because Ryunosuke really is a talented lawyer whose eye for detail is even sharper than Kazuma’s.

Caidin: “If I mind correctly, the third… was a message to his lad back in Japan.” Stronghart: “For legal purposes, we required only his will.” Caidin: “And we would’nae have wanted any… uncomfortable words aboot Britain to get back to Japan, eh. So it was decided that the third page ought’nae to be sent.” Kazuma: “Objection! How dare you make that decision?! I had a right to know what it said! To hear my father’s final words to me!”

Aww, Kazuma. He doesn’t even expect that third page to have contained anything important; he just feels like he deserved to hear what his father wanted to say to him before he died! (Especially after having only just realised how much his father loved him and was thinking of him even at a time like that.)

Man, if only that page had been sent, though. No doubt Kazuma would have figured out the riddle at some point, and found Klint’s will… and then this would have been a very different story indeed.

It appears that the third page not being sent was just a case of the concerns mentioned here and not any more sinister machinations trying to prevent Kazuma from learning the truth. I can only assume that the English people involved only knew the third page was a message to Kazuma and couldn’t actually read it. If Stronghart could read Japanese and read that third page himself, he would certainly have been likely to figure out where the will was hidden. So it seems that wasn’t the case.

(I was going to say here that it was presumably Genshin who told them that the final page was a message to his son, thus unintentionally causing his plan to fail, but on second thought, maybe that’s not it. Someone would have needed to translate at least the first page to the English people in order for them to comply with Genshin’s wishes to leave everything to Kazuma – and this probably happened after his death, perhaps with Mikotoba as the translator. So maybe Mikotoba was reading out the will in English, only he stopped at the third page when he saw it was a private message to Kazuma… and he mentioned that fact, and that’s why it didn’t get sent. It may not have been Genshin’s fault.)

Ryunosuke: “A haiku poem? Twist thy head…?”

Shout-outs to Mikotoba for translating Genshin’s haiku on the spot here and managing to get the syllables to match in English too.

Kazuma: “Father…”

Kazuma finally hears his father’s final words to him… and they’re not something sentimental like he might have been imagining after the recent revelation about his father’s reason for taking the deal. It’s just a few vague cryptic lines, which Kazuma must realise was his father trying to tell him something, only he can’t figure out what it is…!

(Valuing truth and integrity and never telling direct lies, and yet very cryptic and evasive. Yep, like father, like son.)

Ryunosuke: “It’s the ‘katana’ sword that was submitted as evidence earlier in these proceedings. The one worn by the prosecution counsel when he… confronted Inspector Gregson.”

I note your awkward pause there, Ryunosuke. Someone still doesn’t want to think too hard about the fact that Kazuma threatened someone at sword-point and actually swung at him.

There’s some missable dialogue if you examine the head of Karuma again after finding the will. (You even get an achievement for doing this.)

Ryunosuke: “Kazuma’s father certainly had a way with words.” Susato: “And he certainly thought up an ingenious hiding place, too. It seems almost playful at first, but I do wonder if over the years perhaps… the duties of the Asogi clan have actually called for such inventiveness.” Ryunosuke: “Protecting great secrets, you mean? Those sorts of duties?” (Well, I could believe that. Kazuma conducts himself like someone with the weight of his clan’s long and noble history on his shoulders.)

His clan’s long and noble history of hiding secrets while maintaining an outward appearance of truthfulness and integrity, indeed. It is some interesting musing that the existence of this hidden compartment inside Karuma suggests that this secretiveness might be a part of the Asogi clan’s legacy.

Ryunosuke: “What about Inspector Gregson then?” Stronghart: “…!” Kazuma: “And Dr Wilson. They were no criminals. You used them to achieve your ends… and then you had them killed!”

Interesting that Kazuma’s putting in a word in defence of Gregson and Wilson, the two men who framed his father. That was them committing a crime, and Kazuma of all people has certainly had some Opinions about that! It seems that here he’s approaching this from the perspective of: they wouldn’t ever have become criminals, if it hadn’t been for Stronghart using them as pawns.

Van Zieks: “This gentleman has an uncanny habit… of producing evidence at the final hour that had escaped everyone else’s attention!” Stronghart: “Nonsense…” Kazuma: “What is it, Ryunosuke?! What do you have?!”

Aww, Kazuma. He doesn’t even realise what the evidence could be (despite the one very obvious answer at this point), but he’s so sure that his friend has found something to miraculously turn things around!

Ryunosuke: “It was rolled up inside this.” Kazuma: “I-Inside Karuma?!”

Must be a pretty big shock for Kazuma to realise he’s been carrying the key piece of evidence that his father left for him by his side for all these years, and he had no idea.

Stronghart: “As I’ve explained countless times already, it was all done for the furtherance of law and order in London!” Kazuma: “Objection! Are you going to legitimise the murder of my father now, too?”

I’m sure Kazuma hates hearing anyone talk as if his father’s death was “for the greater good”. As if that would make it okay even if it were true and not just Stronghart bullshitting to save face.

It feels to me like Kazuma coming out with this doesn’t necessarily need to be about Genshin being shot – he ought to be just as angry at the idea of him being framed and falsely executed for these reasons. But they do go on to talk about specifically the part where Genshin should have survived but didn’t.

Stronghart: “Well, that was unfortunate. I had fully intended to send him back to Japan as we’d agreed.” Kazuma: “I don’t believe you! It was you, wasn’t it? You killed him!”

Ugh, Kazuma really wants to believe this. He finally knows who was truly behind everything, who was truly deserving of all of his hatred – he so wants it to be true that Stronghart was the one who shot his father dead on top of everything else, so that he can keep piling all of his hatred onto this one person and things don’t have to be any more complicated than that.

But in his desperation, Kazuma isn’t able to see just how unlikely that is to be the case. Stronghart has shown himself to be very notorious for never actually pulling the trigger himself. Of course he’d have got someone else to do it here, too.

Not that that makes him any less guilty of Genshin’s murder, nor any less deserving of Kazuma’s hatred for it, though. But on top of that, Kazuma’s also got to come to terms with the fact that it was his formerly-trusted family friend Jigoku who actually did the deed. Ouch.

It’s kind of a shame we don’t have Jigoku himself here for this reveal to see how he feels about it, because I imagine there’s a lot of genuine guilt and regret there. Based on the flashback, it very much comes across like Jigoku did not want to kill Genshin at all and was just pressured into it in the panic of the moment by Stronghart.

Stronghart: “He claimed to be the man’s friend, but when push came to shove, he pulled the trigger.”

Says the push who came to shove! Geez, what a hypocrite. None of this is at all Stronghart’s fault, you guys, it’s all Jigoku’s for being a backstabbing fake-friend. Totally.

Kazuma: “………”

We also don’t really see much of Kazuma’s reaction to learning this. There’s just this silence, as he leans urgently over the bench. I imagine that in true Kazuma style, he’s suppressing however he feels about this to deal with and process later, maybe, if at all. Oh, Kazuma. I wonder if he ever visits Jigoku in prison at some point in the future to confront him over this.

Kazuma: “So you coerced him, too? Using what happened in the graveyard!”

Based on this, it also seems that for now at least, he’s kind of framing Jigoku in his head as another of Stronghart’s victims, a bit like he was for Gregson and Wilson earlier. Which is not untrue.

Stronghart: “He would have lost everything. …I merely reminded him of that.” Kazuma: “How do you sleep at night…?”

Some of Kazuma’s personal feelings shining through here. Of course he finds Stronghart’s manipulative nature and skirting of his own responsibility to be completely despicable. This is the very opposite of the principles of integrity and honour that his father would have taught him to uphold! All of that got a bit, uh, skewed here and there throughout the events of this case, but here at the end we finally have Kazuma with his moral compass right back where it always should have been.

Stronghart: “I saved Klint van Zieks from dishonour in his death!” Kazuma: “Objection! Whilst behind the scenes you systematically buried anyone who stood in your way. And then you made my father take the blame!”

Damn right – it’s hardly noble of Stronghart to “save Klint from dishonour” when he did so by thoroughly dishonouring somebody else who didn’t actually deserve it.

Kazuma: “Let’s not forget the others you had killed as well. Setting the defendant up as the Reaper to cover up the truth behind the murders of countless more!”

Look at him standing up for van Zieks being unfairly persecuted! It really didn’t take him that long to change his tune there, once Ryunosuke talked some sense into him.

(It’s also interesting to note that he’s calling van Zieks the “defendant” here, not the “accused” – the defence lawyer perspective! He did actually call him the “accused” just a little earlier when asking him that question about if he suspected his brother, but perhaps that was because that was a more Formal Courtroom kind of moment, so he stuck to the Correct Prosecutor Language. Here, though, speaking less as the prosecutor and more just as himself – van Zieks is the “defendant”, because he’s innocent and Kazuma knows that!)

Kazuma: “Objection! You’ve done nothing! It’s Lord van Zieks here who worked tirelessly and justly in court, whilst enduring the disgrace of the Reaper name!” Van Zieks: “…!”

Look at Kazuma not only standing up for van Zieks but sympathising with the burden he’s been carrying! He’s seeing van Zieks as a human person who’s suffered undeservedly! Just like he was always capable of doing all this time, if only he could have put his hatred aside for long enough to see it.

I love that van Zieks reacts to this, too, realising that his erstwhile “enemy” actually understands and cares about what he’s been through, more than he was probably ever expecting Kazuma to. These two are gonna be friends one day, dammit.

Ryunosuke: (Lord Stronghart really is a master of manipulation.) Susato: “You’ve conclusively proven his guilt. Yet he still manages to evade justice. I, I just don’t know what we can do…” Kazuma: “Ryunosuke…”

As Stronghart (somehow) manipulates the judiciary into cheering his name despite his explicit and reprehensible guilt, and Ryunosuke is pretty much just standing there thinking, not showing any obvious signs of having a plan yet… Kazuma still believes, or at least hopes, that his friend might just be able to pull out some miracle to save this. Aww.

(Which, he’s about to. But that’s a lot more down to Sholmes than anything to do with Ryunosuke’s talents this time.)

Ryunosuke: “The truth can also cause great pain. Sometimes even leave people on the brink of despair.” Kazuma: “And for that reason, there are those who feel the need to hide the truth. Who do it instinctively, even.”

Here’s one more line that looks like Kazuma might be vaguely alluding to his own PTSD-amnesia again, just a tiny bit.

There’s some interesting interactions between Kazuma and van Zieks in the defendant’s antechamber scene at the end, but I’ve already covered what I’d want to say about them in my big analysis post on Kazuma’s character, so I’ll refrain from repeating myself here.

One other notable thing in this scene is that Kazuma is the one who brings up the question of Klint’s second request that he didn’t mention in the will (that turns out to be about Iris). I imagine Kazuma’s the one to ask this because he’s thinking about the fact that his father agreed to honour this request, and wondering whether or not he managed to do so before his death.

As Kazuma leaves the antechamber with van Zieks – after encouraging him to not give up prosecuting now that he’s finally rid of the burden of the Reaper name – Ryunosuke has a little musing that seems like a good note to end this commentary on.

Ryunosuke: “Kazuma Asogi… It seems as though he’s really matured suddenly.”

Aww. This might have seemed a bit much from Ryunosuke at the beginning of the game, in which Kazuma gave the impression of being by far the more mature one of the two of them. But now, having seen the irrational mess that Kazuma was in court not so long ago… yeah, he has matured quite a bit, and quite suddenly too, now that he’s cast that part of himself away! Good on him. And good on Ryunosuke for noticing that about his friend.

#ace attorney #great ace attorney #the great ace attorney #the great ace attorney chronicles #tgaa #dgs #dai gyakuten saiban #the great ace attorney resolve #the resolve of ryunosuke naruhodo

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aitavoting · 1 year

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AITA for pulling the cancer card to shame someone and drawing attention to myself in a party?

Seven years ago I had cervical cancer, which wreaked havoc on my life in a lot of ways. Perhaps stupidly but I was more upset about losing my hair than I was my fertility, at least at first. I used to have long hair, rarely ever cut it, but shaved it during the course of chemo. Even after treatment, after remission, I found that I felt empowered by my new hairstyle (mostly what it meant to me) and kept it short. Recently I’ve been diagnosed with vaginal cancer. Thankfully we caught it early so hopes are high, but I won’t lie that I’m not upset that this is happening to me again. This upset has led me to be tetchy.

My brother and his new girlfriend and newborn flew in for a visit, for the first time since the baby was born. This is the first time in years we’ve seen him, except for video calls, because they’re out of country now. She’s a sweetheart but kind of blunt. Over the course of the party: She pointed out that my haircut made my face look round - but that’s the chemo causing fluid build up. She asked me multiple times if I was sure I didn’t want a drink, mostly because she was also getting herself one. She also said I was very confident to avoid wearing jewelry with such short hair; again she is a little lacking in social mores but still she’s very genuine in what she says.

I just got sick of answering questions about my lack of alcohol, about my haircut, about my face, so I snapped, admittedly. After she commented about my hair again I said, “I have cancer” very bluntly and too loudly. Many people overheard, which caused many eyes to turn onto us, during a party that was meant for my brother and his girlfriend.

My brother took me aside after everyone else had left the house and his GF was in the car. He said I made a scene. He expressed his sympathy that I was dealing with cancer again, but he said that he wished I chose a better time to reveal it, because it took away from his and his family’s announcements.

[view this story on reddit]

Feel free to make your opinion be heard in the comments/reblogs but keep it respectful. For detailed information please read the guidelines for commenting. Violations will lead to your comment being deleted and you potentially being blocked.

#aita #am i the asshole #reddit #polls #poll

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sylvies-chen · 1 year

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The Return of the Flying Graysons

Day 4 Prompt: Baby’s First Christmas

Summary: Dick ropes in the team to help execute his plans to surprise Kory and Mar’i with an elaborate early Christmas present for their first ever Christmas as a family.

Words: 4K

A/N: A very merry Naughty or Nice event to you all! This was definitely on the cute side and it’s not super long (compared to other stuff I’ve written lol) but there will be some content on the Naughty side of things coming very soon! Enjoy xxx

(AO3 link)

There are a lot of things Kory loves about Earth.

Dick has seen it over the years, the way Kory’s eyes sharpen with curiosity upon discovering new bits and pieces of humanity. The 70s rock music she loves so much, the breakfast foods, the clothes worn for leisure instead of the armour Tamaraneans were expected to wear more frequently than not. Most of the time, Dick’s only job is to sit back and watch with a smile on his face as she processes it all, occasionally offering bits of explanation and context to some things (such as explaining to her what pinky promises were). But the holidays have always been the times where it’s about more than just sitting back and observing for Dick. Kory’s always taken a liking to them more than usual. It’s partly because she feels most like a part of Earth and the home she’s found here when she’s celebrating something. He doesn’t blame her; he’s always liked holidays, and has secretly loved those chances to show someone how much you care. It’s why, though Bruce was always much quieter and pensive during the holidays, he was also more lenient and affectionate. It was only a little, and in ways only noticeable to Dick himself and maybe Jason, but it was there. So over the years, Dick has made a point of consciously trying to make the holidays special— for the whole team, but for his wife first and foremost.

So yeah, he’s been good at holidays and knows what it means to Kory. But now, as the snow hits the ground bearing joyful omens to a rapidly approaching Christmas Day, Dick knows Kory only has one person on her mind this Christmas: their daughter.

It’s Mar’i’s first Christmas. Their first Christmas, together, as a real family of three. That means something, and so it’s Dick’s duty to make that special, right? He’d be remiss if he didn’t try, at the very least. Because even though she can’t speak in full sentences yet and will most likely forget everything by the next morning, Dick knows the memory of their first Christmas is going to stick with him and Kory forever. So sue him, he wants to go all out.

Which is why he comes up with an idea. One that involves the whole team, and which— yes— might be a little insane or risky. But he thinks of his daughter, and those big round cheeks that get all flush when she smiles really big, and he thinks he would do just about anything to make this Christmas special. So, slowly but surely, he ropes the team into helping him with this Christmas endeavour. It’s a challenge, given what he’s asking them to do, but they come around eventually.

He does it on Christmas Eve. They’re sitting on the floor with Mar’i by the Christmas tree and showing her all the ornaments on the tree. The kids had gone off to prepare for his surprise present, under the guise of getting some last minute shopping done as they told Kory, and so things feel calm and quiet. The fireplace and Christmas tree lights are their only source of light as the night falls over them and the stars speckle the night sky. It’s just the three of them, happy and peaceful, and for a minute that’s all he needs. Dick soaks in the feeling of it, and all the happiness it brings him. He very rarely gets a minute to appreciate such good and right and beautiful things in their line of work. He knows he needs this now more than ever, and only once he’s done basking in this time spent together, not a second before, does he get back to the plan of his gift. He doesn’t quite know how to bring it up, but he clears his throat and tries.

“So I was thinking this year I might give one of my presents tonight, instead of in the morning.”

“Oh yeah? Ok, you can pull it out,” Kory tells him with a smile, letting Mar’i wrap her hand around Kory’s finger.

“It’s actually outside. Sort of.”

Her eyes narrow. “Sort of?”

“It’s a long story. C’mon, let’s go for a drive. I’ll get Mar’i in her snowsuit.”

“Okay.” Kory seems hesitant, but he can see the curiosity in her eyes— and, most importantly, the trust. So he knows to keep going.

He gets Mar’i buttoned up in her ridiculously and adorably tiny winter suit, even straps her into her carseat as Kory gets in the passenger seat.

“You never said we’d be driving somewhere,” she said. “What do you have up your sleeve, Grayson?”

“Hopefully, something good,” he replies cryptically.

He starts the engine and drives.

It’s a bit of a ways away. He’d scouted for a place like this for weeks, looking for bits of forest with wide and open clearings. And when he finally found a metalworker who made what he was looking for, he hauled it around town (which, he might add, was a total pain in the ass) to all those clearings and made sure it would fit.

When he pulls up to the forest in which he found his perfect clearing, though, Kory is understandably confused.

“If your gift to me is a family hike then, no offence, Dick, but I’m going to drive back home. I do not hike.”

“Relax, it’s not hiking,” he assures her, smiling. “But you might be at high altitudes.”

“Baby, I fly. Me and high altitudes are well acquainted by now,” she teases.

He chuckles, then gets out of the car and opens her door for her. “M’lady.”

“Thank you,” she laughs.

When they open the backseat door to grab Mar’i, she’s already smiling in her seat, adorned in her candy cane onesie. Kory picks her up and presses a kiss to her cheek as Dick closes the door behind them.

“Alright,” Kory declares. “Lead the way, Grayson.”

He laces their fingers together, pressing a kiss of his own to Mar’i’s cheek before guiding them through the snowy midnight forest. Thankfully, the snow isn’t too deep, so they’re not trudging through the forest for as long as he had been when he’d found this place two weeks prior, the day after a big snowfall before it had melted.

He’d left little markers on trees in the shape of his Nightwing crest to make sure he didn’t get lost. But, as he realizes they’re starting to get close. He turns to Kory. “Alright, close your eyes.”

She looks at him deadpan. “In this dark and creepy forest? Nuh-uh, no way.”

“Please? I’ll be guiding you the entire time.”

She sighs. “Fine. This better be good, Grayson.”

He covers her eyes from behind for her, smiling, and then kisses the base of her neck in appreciation. The rest of the way there, he’s a little slower. He makes sure to steer her and Mar’i away from any bumps in the ground or patches of ice. And eventually, once he passes three more of his markers, they make it to the clearing.

Only it’s not an empty clearing anymore. He uncovers Kory’s eyes and lets her and Mar’i see it clear as day: a slick, shining red sleigh, sitting on top of the old and glistening snow.

“Surprise,” he exclaims gently.

Kory smiles amusedly and turns to him. “You got me… a sleigh?”

“It’s for Mar’i.”

She laughs to herself. “I hate to break it to you, baby, but I think this kind of sleigh might be a little too big for her use on the snow hills right now. She’s barely a year old.”

“Well, it’s not just for her, exactly,” he explains. “It can fit the three of us.”

“Oh, so you want all of us to go sledding together?”

“Well, us and--” He turns just as he hears Tim stomping his way through the woods to their left and shuffling his way into the clearing, right on time for his cue. He’d heard Tim’s footsteps coming from a mile away which, truth be told, wouldn’t be possible due to Tim’s unusually quiet gait if not for the thick black boots Tim has on. Paired with a red jacket, red pants, and a red hat all adorned with white, fluffy trimming that matches his fake beard, it has all of the good fixings of a Santa suit. Even the extra padding underneath.

“Why hello there!” Tim tries to drop his voice three octaves in true Santa fashion and, though it doesn’t sound natural, Dick can look past it. Mar’i is too young to remember the small details like that.

“--him.” Dick finishes his sentence and turns to Kory, who’s glancing over Tim’s dorky face under all that padding and beard with an amused “oh this is too good to be true’” face.

“Wow,” she exclaims, looking down at Mar’i in her arms and angling her to be able to see Tim. “You see that, baby girl? Your pal Santa is going to come riding down some slopes with us!”

Ah, right. Now for the main bit.

He awkwardly scratches the back of his neck. “Uhhh yeah, about that…” he starts. “I was thinking more like going up.”

Kory stops her toying with Mari’i’s little fingers and draws her focus back up to Dick. “What do you mean?”

Dick turns to Tim and nods. Reacting to the signal given, Tim turns around and calls out, “You can come out guys!”

The first to come is Conner, smiling widely and adorned with a pair of plastic elf ears as Rachel and Gar follow slowly behind. The jingling coming from the thick black harness in Rachel’s hand lets Dick know that they’re ready and have all they need.

“Ok, I’m officially confused,” Kory stammers. “What sort of weird plan have you guys cooked up?”

“We just want to take Mar’i on her first sleigh ride,” Rachel shrugs with a smile. Then, she playfully flourishes her hand. “Her first magic sleigh ride.”

Slowly, the pieces start to come together in Kory’s mind. “Oh my god,” she exhales. “You… you guys want to make this sleigh fly?”

“Yep!” Gar nods excitedly. “Courtesy of Kris Kringle and his helper over there.”

He points to Tim, who smiles and rumbles his round belly padding. “Why, of course! Nothing but the best for our best little girl, Mar’i Grayson.”

“Well, it was Dick’s idea,” Rachel adds. “Of course it was.” Kory beams at her husband.

“It was a group effort,” he nods humbly, acknowledging all the little touches the team went to in order to make this a fun experience for a girl young enough to forget this by the time she woke up the next morning. He appreciates it more than anything. Although, he does lean in and whisper, “I did have to bribe them by promising they could drive the Porsche in the spring though. It was not my finest hour.”

She lets out a big, wide, beautiful burst of laughter. “I’ll bet. My husband, the negotiator.”

And there’s a minute where Dick lets himself look at his team and the love that’s there. It’s sweet, really, in ways that supersede the cheesiness of it all. Tim’s leaning over and letting Mar’i fidget with his fake beard (and even yank at it which undoubtedly causes him pain), and Gar and Rachel are jumping at the chance to have their turn with her, Kory letting them and extending her arms to get Mar’i closer to them. To her family. It’s exactly what Dick was hoping for: nothing fancy, nothing expensive, but simply a Christmas memory that they would never forget. It was what made Kory love the holiday so much, after all. The time spent together. If nothing experienced by Kory Anders was successful, to be together on a night full of stars and snow would make it so. Together was what she cherished. And so Dick would give it to her, continue to give it to her, for as long as they live.

“Wait a second,” Kory realizes as they all fawn over Mar’i. “How is this even going to work?”

“Easy,” Conner begins to explain. “You guys will hop on with Tim, and I’ll pick the sleigh up and fly you guys around.”

“Are you sure it won’t be too heavy? I can always help if you don’t want to fly solo,” Kory offers.

“Don’t sweat it,” Conner dismisses kindly. “A couple of people and a sleigh is nothing to me. Besides, you should be focusing on having this nice moment with your daughter.” “And I’ll be staying firmly on the ground,” Rachel assures her. “So if anything does happen, I’ll have eyes on it and will be able to help. Plus, I’m already on Gar duty, so my powers will be close by.” “Uh, and what exactly do you mean by Gar duty?”

“Right, that,” Gar sighs. “It’s better to just show you rather than try to explain it.” “I had to give him twice the amount of Porsche privileges just to get him to do this,” Dick mutters, half amused and half exasperated.

“Alright, showtime,” Gar declares, but not without leaning over to kiss Mar’i on the forehead afterwards and whisper, “This one’s for you, lil’ superstar.”

Then, he backs up about ten feet and lets Dick, Kory, and the others watch. Dick knows Gar’s powers have evolved over the years, his abilities expanding, but Gar hasn’t transformed into something like this before and, frankly, the risk of it makes Dick hold his breath if only for a moment. But lo and behold, Gar’s skin turns his usual vibrant green and he begins to shift. His muscles wobble and shrink and stretch, his hands turn into small hooves, and he sprouts antlers from his head of increasingly wild fur. Dick would be lying if he said this part didn’t always worry him just a little bit, as a parent of sorts to Gar, but the result is almost instantaneous and then, all worry fades.

The transformation finishes, and there is nothing but silence. Dick can see everyone’s breath, white and frothy in the air. He thinks, too, that he can pinpoint the exact moment Kory realizes what Rachel means by “Gar duty” and why she has a harness in her hand with jingle bells. It clicks in the magnificent sight before them.

Noble, steadfast, kicking snow backwards and hoisting his chin up into the air, the green reindeer they see standing before them stands tall and proud. And Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, all those assholes-- hell, even Rudolph himself-- never stood a chance against their guy right there. Their Gar.

“Holy shit,” Kory awes, lifting Mar’i up against her to show her. “Look, baby girl! You’ve got your very own reindeer.”

“The best of them all,” Rachel tells Mar’i. “It’s Gar Deer.”

"Gar deer!" Mar'i shouts.

“Rachel, make sure you get the harness on him,” Dick reminds her (because yes, he’ll admit it, he doesn’t love the thought of approaching Gar in a completely new life form).

“Right. On it.” She heads over to Gar and sticks a lowered open palm outwards. A gesture of respect, Gar takes it immediately and nuzzles his nose into her hand. “There we go,” she whispers in victory, smiling as her hand slides up to pet the length of his nose, then behind his ear, then down on his furry shoulder, “You did good, Gar. Real good. Let me just get you hooked up here…”

Kory bounces Mar’i while Rachel snugly fastens the harness onto Gar and Tim hops in the sleigh. Dick doesn’t leave her side the entire time. He doesn’t want to. His arm, though covered by the thick fabric of a winter coat, is planted firmly on her back and his other hand is reached out to brush his finger in circles against his daughter’s cheek. The three of them watch as everything is put into place and, when Rachel eventually figures out how to tie the harness to the sleigh, Dick looks to Kory with hopeful and expectant eyes.

“What do you think? Ready to give it a go?” She smiles, leaning forward to kiss him soundly on the lips. “As ready as I’ll ever be, Grayson.”

And, hand in hand, they step into the sleigh. Kory props Mar’i up on her lap to let her see the full view of Santa Tim hopping into the sleigh with them. Conner positions himself behind the sleigh, hands planted firmly on the bottom of it and readying to push off the ground and pick it up. And Rachel, as Conner begins to lift the sleigh without breaking a sweat, starts levitating Gar. His beady reindeer eyes look surprised as he observes his own morphed body beginning to float in the air. Soon he gets the hang of it and starts paddling in the air as if trying to run. And only then does Rachel levitate Gar even further up as Conner blasts off into the sky with the sleigh resting comfortably in his hands.

For Dick, Kory, Mar’i, and Tim, it’s a shaky liftoff. The sleigh rattles a little and it takes a second for Gar’s movements to sync up with the way the sleigh wants to move through the air. But then things come together in a moment of what Dick can only see as the result of the teamwork they’ve built throughout their oh-so-many years together, and suddenly, Mar’i’s eyes are going wide with glee as her attention turns from Tim’s fake beard to the thirty or so feet in the air they seem to find themselves in. She coos and giggles and points, able only to say a few words. “Mommy! Daddy! Look!”

Kory’s jaw drops for a second before erupting into laughter. “I know, baby! You’re in Santa’s sleigh!”

“You like it, Mar’i? You want to fly around a little?”

Mar’i nods vigorously, arms outstretched trying to hug her dad. Kory lets go of her for a second, and Dick pulls her close to him to let her arms wrap around him. Rachel’s powers stay strong at work, giving little landing pads for Conner to be able to jump off of when he needs to push off from something again, and lifting Gar up so that he’s able to keep prancing through the air on a cloud of purple. He’s even able to sprout a big, red nose in the process, which Dick thinks he’ll need to give him brownie points for.

They’re just above the forest top, soaring through the air as Dick holds Mar’i up so she can see the view below them, all while gripping her tightly (because yes, this was his idea, but he’s still worried as hell and will be overly cautious with her for her whole life, probably). The jingle bells on Gar’s harness ring throughout the air, and Tim gives an excited shake of Gar’s reins as he bellows, “Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas!”

It feels surreal but, in a sense, very familiar. He remembers what it was like, swinging from bars and ropes with his parents in their circus days. It’s that fun, youthful rush of excitement as your whole body swings and swoops and soars. Dick sometimes feels bad for not reminiscing more on those days, when things were good and his troubles seemed so small. But now here he is, decades later, and The Flying Graysons are flying again. The happiness he once felt has returned to him, full circle. And he’s given it to her. To them. To his family.

Mar’i flails her arms excitedly, and Dick can feel the joy radiating off of her, is holding her in his hands and can feel it coursing through her bones, through the happy little squirming. This tiny, beautiful little daughter of theirs who is so excited it manifests in half a dozen ways, who is everything good in this world, who’s his and Kory’s whole world. Then of course he was going to do everything he could to give her a magical Christmas. What kind of father would he be if he didn’t?

“This is incredible,” Kory tells him. “You’re incredible. Do you know that?”

“I just… wanted her to have a special first Christmas.”

“It’s more than that,” she insists kindly. “The holidays are so important. They’re the only times we can all be guaranteed to be together. We set all the bad guys and darkness aside for one night and we just let ourselves be a family. That matters to me, more than anything. If we don’t take a pause for Christmas then we wouldn’t take a pause for anything, right?”

He nods, getting quiet as they keep soaring over the forest, edging onto the outskirts.

“And I don’t know, I guess I’ve always wanted her to be able to be high up in the sky. To be able to see the world the way Mommy sees it when she’s off helping people. To know that this is what it feels like, and this is why I did it. And you just gave her both of those things: you gave our daughter the most special Christmas with her family, and you let her fly.”

Dick blushes. (He wishes he could muster up some sort of embarrassment at the fact that Kory is still able to make him blush after all these years but he feels too good to ever be ashamed of it.) “It’s Rachel, really. And Conner. They’re doing all the hard work.”

Kory shakes her head. “But it was your idea, your planning, your gift. You did it, babe. You did.”

He swears his heart is 20 feet higher than he is now. It skyrockets up into the stars, shimmering with pride and pulling his lips into a smile. And Kory leaning in to press a bruising kiss to those very lips only calms the smile for a second before she pulls away and it returns, wide as ever.

“Merry Christmas, Kory,” he whispers.

“Merry Christmas,” Kory responds, cupping his cheek with one of her hands and using the other to reach out and cup Mar’i’s cheek too. “And Merry Christmas, baby girl. Your first of many.”

“Merr Chrissus!” She coos, sending Dick and Kory into a fit of laughter

Mar’i giggles along with them, but turns her head quickly back to the scenery below them. They keep going, flying in large, swooping circles for the next twenty minutes, until Mar’i gets tired and starts yawning, at which point Dick signals to Rachel and calls on Conner, and they slowly bring the sleigh back down to the clearing. Rachel’s a little drained and tired from using so much of her powers, and Gar slowly shifts back into human form as he begins to ramble to Rachel the little intricacies of the experience of being a reindeer, and Conner seems as energized as ever, as though he’d been relaxing the entire time. He even chases Tim around trying to yank his glued-on Santa beard off of his face, which Tim understandably tries to avoid. And he and Kory, in a blissful state of calm, carry a now sleeping Mar’i back to the car as the kids walk with them. It’s pitch black as midnight strikes and snow begins to fall, and everyone’s getting drowsy. But there’s a buzz to the stillness of the night, and the peace the team feels, at the pride of having done something good for Mar’i and their family. It’s a stillness that follows them in the car all the way back to that fireplace at home, host to the whole gang curled up on various couches and blankets on the floor. Dick dozes off with Kory by his side, arm around her shoulders, and Mar’i sprawled flat on his chest. He dreams of flying, and Christmas nights in the circus, and even of Santa and his sleigh. And he feels it, then, in his bones, how exciting it was for Mar’i. How they gave her all the magic and belief and faith in the world. Kory was right, he now knows. Faith and family. That’s all the holidays are about. Nothing else is needed.

For a first Christmas, it’s pretty damn special.

#dc titans naughty or nice 2022 #abby writes #titans #dc titans #dickkory #dick grayson #kory anders #koriand'r

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officialyourdailyinspiration · 2 years

Photo

Christ's Perfect Sacrifice

1 For the law, having the shadow of good things to come and not the very image of the things, can never - with those sacrifices which they offer year by year continually - sanctify those who come to it.

2 For would they not, then, have ceased to have been offered, because those who offer (once purged) would have had no more consciousness of sins?

3 But in those sacrifices, there is a remembrance of sins again every year.

4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

5 Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, “Sacrifice and offering You do not desire, but a body have You prepared for Me.

6 “In burnt offerings and sin offerings You have had no pleasure.

7 “Then I said, ‘Lo, I come. In the beginning of the book it is written of Me, that I should do Your will, O God’.”

8 Previously, when He said, “Sacrifice and offering, and burnt offerings, and sin offerings, You do not desire, nor had pleasure therein (which are offered by the Law).”

9 Then He said, “Lo, I come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first, so that He may establish the second.

10 By which will we are sanctified; by the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

11 And every priest stands daily, ministering, frequently offering the same sacrifice (which can never take away sins).

12 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins, sits forever at the right hand of God.

13 And since that time, He waits for His enemies to be made His footstool.

14 For with one offering, He has forever consecrated those who are sanctified.

15 For the Holy Ghost also bears us witness. For after He had said before,

16 “This is the Testament that I will make to them after those days, says the Lord, ‘I will put my Laws in their heart, and I will write them in their minds.’”

17 And, “Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.”

18 Now where there is remission of these things, there is no more offering for sin.

19 Seeing therefore, brothers, that by the blood of Jesus we may be bold to enter into the Holy Place,

20 By the new and living way through the veil, which He has prepared for us (that is, His flesh).

21 And seeing we have a High Priest over the house of God,

22 let us draw near with a true heart, in assurance of faith; our hearts being sprinkled clean from an evil conscience

23 and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us keep the profession of our hope without wavering. For He Who promised is faithful.

24 And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and to good works,

25 not forsaking the fellowship that we have among ourselves (as is the manner of some). But let us exhort one another, and so much more so because you see that the Day draws near.

26 For if we sin willingly after we have received and acknowledged the Truth, sacrifice for sins no longer remains;

27 but rather a fearful expectation of judgment and violent fire, which shall devour the adversaries.

28 Anyone who ignores Moses’ Law dies without mercy upon two or three witnesses.

29 Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, shall he be worthy who treads the Son of God under foot, and counts the blood of the Testament (with which he was sanctified) as an unholy thing, insulting the Spirit of grace?

30 For we know Him Who has said, “Vengeance belongs to Me. I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The Lord shall judge His people.”

31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

32 Now call to remembrance the days that are passed in which - after you had received light - you endured a great fight in afflictions;

33 partly while you were made a spectacle by both reproaches and afflictions and partly while you became companions of those who were so tossed to and fro.

34 For you sorrowed with me for my bonds; and also joyfully suffered the plundering of your goods, knowing in yourselves that you have a better and an enduring substance in Heaven.

35 Therefore, do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward.

36 For you need patience, so that after you have done the will of God you might receive the promise.

37 For yet a very little while and He Who shall come, will come, and will not wait.

38 For “The just shall live by faith. But if anyone withdraws himself, My soul shall have no pleasure in him.”

39 However, we are not those who withdraw into destruction, but those who follow faith to the preservation of the soul. — Hebrews 10 | Revised Geneva Translation (RGT) The Revised Geneva Translation of the Holy Bible; © 2019 by Five Talents Audio Cross References: Exodus 24:8; Exodus 29:36; Leviticus 16:4; Leviticus 19:18; Numbers 15:30; Deuteronomy 17:2; 1 Samuel 2:25; 1 Samuel 15:22; Ezra 6:2; Psalm 26:1; Psalm 40:6-8; Psalm 110:1; Jeremiah 31:31; Ezekiel 33:13; Habakkuk 2:3-4; Zechariah 9:11; Matthew 10:15; Mark 3:35; Mark 12:33; John 1:15; John 2:17; John 6:51; Acts 13:11; Romans 5:2; Romans 8:3; Romans 12:12; Ephesians 5:26; Titus 3:8; Hebrews 1:13; Hebrews 8:12; Hebrews 9:8; Hebrews 9:12-13; Hebrews 11:1; Hebrews 11:16; Hebrews 12:4; 1 Timothy 3:15; 2 John 1:8

#living by faith #Christ's perfect sacrifice #a call to persevere #Hebrews 10 #Book of Hebrews #New Testament #RGT #The Revised Geneva Translation of the Holy Bible #Five Talents Audio

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teafiend · 1 year

Text

I posted 891 times in 2022

That's 392 more posts than 2021!

133 posts created (15%)

758 posts reblogged (85%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@mike-el

@draegaa

@dreamsofdramione

@dxncingwithastrxnger

@rain-hat

I tagged 640 of my posts in 2022

Only 28% of my posts had no tags

#mileven - 201 posts

#jung eun chae - 122 posts

#the guest - 108 posts

#ocn the guest - 95 posts

#kang gil young - 92 posts

#mike wheeler - 78 posts

#el hopper - 72 posts

#stranger things - 61 posts

#choi yoon - 61 posts

#eleven - 61 posts

Longest Tag: 137 characters

#bc choosing to stay with your lover and fight through the rough patches instead of breaking it off bc it isn’t “working” is true maturity

(No idea if the tag is mine or borrowed from the OP)

My Top Posts in 2022:

See the full post

64 notes - Posted May 14, 2022

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66 notes - Posted April 28, 2022

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81 notes - Posted February 16, 2022

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94 notes - Posted March 26, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

See the full post

124 notes - Posted May 10, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

A short mention of the amazing shows I managed to complete in 2022, Nirvana in Fire (琅琊榜), Stranger Things, Derry Girls, Glitch and The Other Side: Missing. All were wonderful and thought/emotion-provoking in their own ways. I hope the remaining few weeks and 2023 would also afford some lovely, memorable shows. (And perhaps some other fandoms to lurk in).

I found a new ship in Mileven from ST and that has made my experience on Tumblr less lonely. I became more active here from 2021 due to my love for Kang Gil Young and The Guest, but that has mostly been a relatively lonely - even if still cathartic - endeavour of posting into the void. (It would be remiss of me to not acknowledge the few people who often liked the TG posts, especially those related to KGY; and JEC’s. Thank you very much. ❤️‍🔥🥹 I see you and thank you for making my time here worthwhile as I fangirl over KGY/JEC and the rare ships/pairs which have my whole heart 🥹😉).

(Sorry that I will not be tagging anyone here but I also want to thank fellow Milevens for the fun, intelligent analysis and laughter all of you provided. It is a great pleasure making all of your acquaintance. Thank you).

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #thank you fellow TG fans #Thank you fellow Milevens #Thank you everyone who even just passed by this insignificant blog #still fixated on Kang Gil Young #The story of my 2021-2022 life

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randomingoftherandomness · 1 year

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I posted 16,054 times in 2022

172 posts created (1%)

15,882 posts reblogged (99%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@rongzhi

@themostbastard

@blujayonthewing

@stephstiel

@sarah-yyy

I tagged 7,288 of my posts in 2022

#stray kids - 1,448 posts

#word of honor - 374 posts

#bang chan - 297 posts

#yuzuru hanyu - 244 posts

#lee know - 237 posts

#love between fairy and devil - 213 posts

#the sandman - 202 posts

#hyunjin - 200 posts

#love like the galaxy - 194 posts

#changbin - 193 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#i am talking about this shit because i know this person likes to save face and will never own up to this bullshit she fucking put me through

My Top Posts in 2022:

Hold me. I’m thinking of Dongfang Qingcang crying and grieving his father’s death alone in his father’s chambers until Xiao Lan Hua comes to his side.

I’m thinking of the way he shies away away from her, shaking, pained, but she does not let him hide away. And when she touches him, he curls into her like a flower seeking the sun.

There is only healing now.

52 notes - Posted September 13, 2022

Okay okay okay okay so I’m watching Mortal Kombat (2021) and legit Liu Kang called Kung Lao ‘Shixiong’ but the subtitles were like, ‘cousin’? Errr…

Unless all of my years watching Wuxia and Xianxia has been for naught, I am 110% and a lot of change sure that ‘Shixiong’ is NOT cousin and is more in line with ‘Elder Martial Brother’ which is what you call a fellow elder male student under the same martial arts teacher.

So :)

55 notes - Posted February 18, 2022

for the requests, maybe 7, 10, 11(with ghostvalley!wkx n tianchuang!zzs maybe), 13, 15, 34? any of them work and the pairing is up to you,, thanks !!

A/N: I am so, so sorry for the lateness of this reply! Hope you like this fic, despite the lateness of it? I opted for no.7 with ghost valley!wkx and tian chuang!zzs :)

7. fake relationship au

Zishu ignores the menace he married loitering on the bed as best he can. It goes as well as snow holding up against the heat of the summer sun, so it isn't long until Zishu gives up the ghost and viciously lobs a balled up wad of cloth in the direction of their wedding bed.

"Ah Xu, you wound me!" Comes the laughing drawl from the red tinged shadows. Zishu frowns, flicking out his sleeves before turning around to regard Wen Kexing, the Lord of the Ghost Valley himself, with a sharp-edged word ready on his tongue.

Only to find the annoyance in him clinging on to desperate embers at the sight of his new husband lazily throwing back his hair over a naked shoulder. Zishu's throat runs more than a little dry at the way Wen Kexing angles his body, showing off the way the gauzy fabric of his robe drapes over the pale swaths of skin illuminated a hazy red.

"What's wrong, my lord husband? Cat got your tongue? Or would you rather talk about last night instead?"

That brings whatever warmth coiling in his belly to cool and settle.

"Last night," Zishu says with a thick swallow. "Was a fluke and will not happen again."

This marriage is nothing but a sham - something to fool the other Ghosts that their mad leader is doing something insane again, therefore whoever was running an attempt to betray the Valley will attempt to strike again while Wen Kexing was on his 9-day honeymoon.

And therefore, Zishu was enlisted for this little mission.

The Window of Heaven was the only one with the connections to bridge the need between the Valley and the interests of the world at large. A delicate diplomatic balance was needed for a task like this. Letting anyone else but himself as Leader of the Window of Heaven handle a task as big as this would be gravely remiss of him.

It was only meant to be a farce, yet somehow, some where in between them making the deal with each other, it had turned into a true mile of wedding red instead.

"Oh?" Wen Kexing purrs. Soft laughter floats up in the silence and Zishu turns to him again, watching as his husband pulls himself upright, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "Was the fluke when you kissed me or when you had your cock down my throat?"

The teasing in his voice is clear. Zishu huffs impatiently, standing up when Wen Kexing speaks again, this time the words coming slowly as he closes the distance between them.

"Or was it when you had mine down yours?"

"That..."

Wen Kexing slides his hand into his own, pulling him back towards the bed. "How about we find out all the other different flukes we can get into, hm?"

Zishu coughs.

And only stops once to pull the curtains over their bed close as he goes.

57 notes - Posted January 3, 2022

gab!! will we get pictures of you in hanfu 🤗🤗

Here you go🤭 gonna finalise hair and makeup and accessories next month, so look forward to the full look in January!

61 notes - Posted November 12, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

See the full post

86 notes - Posted March 16, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

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goodcat888 · 2 years

Text

Lungs and Legs Cycling (Part One)

Alleycat Super Series. ASS. Incorporating CLASS. Central London Alleycat Super Series.

The series comprises Dassh 4 Cassh races and multi-checkpoint races and will encompass a total of 10 races. The series is based on accumulative points garnered over the races. All proceeds from the races will go towards charitable causes, such as the courier fund for injured pushbike couriers or dedicated reasons and projects. A non profit endeavour.

The top 3 will win cash prize's for each race and merchandise will be presented for other places. Further bonuses will be won for points leaders at the finale comprising Grand Prizes.

Series Champion £700

Series Runner up £350

2nd Runner up £175

4th Goody Bag

5th Goody bag

Subject to updates.

The point's breakdown will be; 1st-10 pts. 2nd-7pts. 3rd-4pts. 4th-2pts and 5th-1point.

Each race will have a standard breakdown of prizes, typically: 1st; £100. 2nd; £50. 3rd; £25. 4th; Hoody. 5th; T-shirt. 6th; Cap. Although this maybe subject to updates before the start of the race.

ASSDASSH-1 (CLASSRACE-1) 18/11/2022.

Dassh 4 Cassh 1. Leather Lane to Alexandra Palace and back again.

Race Report.

The turnout for the race wasn't stellar in numbers, but definitely in quality. The best in city were present and that was all that mattered. Quality over quantity is always good. 11 racers all told with some new faces. The enthusiasm and nervous energy for the race was present and it being a straight dash to Alexandra Palace and back again, due north/south meant that it would be a quick one. All estimates seemed to think it would be a 40 minute time for the winner, that was obliterated with Gabberz coming in at 32:54, which was extra special. This came as no surprise because he has dominated for most of the year in tandem with another. Meeting JHood who was responsible for the images was another high note. The inaugral Alleycat Super Series Dassh4Cassh race was a success and was enjoyed by all. Roll on the next one.

Race 1 Results.11 Racers

1st.Gabberz 10pts £120

2nd.Josh 7pts £60

3rd.Overkill 4pts £30

4th.Gra 2pts Hoody

5th.VgnKndrck 1pt T

6th.Joe Cap

7th.ThaiRob

8th.Goodcat McDank

9th.Chris

10th.Dillon

11th.Lam

ASSCAT-1 Point to Point Revealed (CLASSRACE-2) 16/12/2022.

ThrowawayCat. Celebrating the birthday. @Throwaway_London.

Checkpoints. Start/Finish LL. EC1

Great James St WC1.

Robert St NW1

Markham Sq SW3

St James SQ SW1

Lower Robert St WC2

Old James St SE15

Race Report.

This was the first multi checkpoint race in the series which celebrated the birthday of Chuck D who is the creator of Throwaway designs. He has contributed so much to racing et al over the years that it would be remiss not to dedicate this race to him. Hence all of the checkpoints were a nod to him. The race itself couldn't have been any closer between the two dominant racers over the last year, namely Gabberz and VgnKndrck. Both have dominated most races over the past year and the challenge for the rest is to try and break the hegemony that these two have created. A nod to Josh who has 2 2nd places and a 5th in his last 3 starts and to Gra who has 2 3rd's and 4th place in his last 3 races. Nods to all participants in the harsh weather which measured -3 degrees apparently. Another quality turnout with passable numbers. Nods to Timekeeper Tiger and design guru Lippo.

Race 2 Results. 9 Racers.

1st.VgnKndrck 10Pts £120

2nd.Gabberz 7Pts £60

3rd.Gra 4Pts £30

4th.IncompetentJ 2Pts Hoody

5th.Josh 1Pt T

6th.Joe/Pip Cap

7th.Goodcat McDank (Dfl)

8th Overkill (DQ)

Standings after 2 Races.

1. Gabberz. 17Pts 2Races

2. VgnKndrck. 11Pts 2

3. Josh. 8Pts 2

4. Gra. 6Pts 2

5. Overkill 4Pts 2

6. IncompetentJ 2Pts 1

Gabberz & VgnKndrck having a BLASST.

ASSDASSH-2 (CLASSRACE-3) 13/01/2023

Dassh 4 Cassh 2. Leather Lane to Crystal Palace and back again.

Race Report.

The turnout for ASS3 was good. Quantity coupled with quality and all told there were 21 racing. The batch of 24 spoke cards all sold which contributed towards the bench fund started by Chico Bandito for lost brother Robski. £160 was raised to go towards the fund. Much appreciated to all. There were some new faces again this time around. Some very fast boys from Cafeteros showed up on their road bikes which added to the excitement and some of the absent racers from the first 2 ASS events raced in this one which bolstered the numbers. there was more anticipation for this one than the other 2 which was understandable as momentum had been gathered. The kick off was 830pm and we all scrambled for the bikes as soon as Tiger called the start. VGnKndrck had chain trouble which hampered his progress for a win and Darien, a very fast lad also had chain trouble, Valentina who came 3rd in the Great Alleycat last year also raced even though she was feeling under the weather. We hammered it towards Blackfriars bridge heading to Crystal Palace at the base of the Antenna where Chico was holding checkpoint for the return and finish. The leaders hit blistering pace which was frightful on the busy roads of South London. Once again Gabberz dominated and came in first with an insane time of sub 40 minutes, CAB also hit a very fast time with Cafeteros Sanchez homing in on them with a great 3rd place. Rspct to Overkill who came in 4th to go with a win he attained the week before in a non ASS event which runs in tandem with the 3rd he gained at ASS1, great results for him. Gra hit 5th as he always does well. VgnKndrck would have undoubtedly done better if it wasn't for his chain issue's, but nevertheless came in 6th. Rspct to all participant's. Because it was Friday the 13th it was stipulated that if any racers turned up in a Hockey Mask in mimicry of Jason Voorhees from the film that they would gain 4 bonus points for going to the effort and also to carry the mask while racing. 5 did. Gabberz, VgnKndrck, Ronin, Overkill and Joachim. A great bit of fun. A great event and turnout. Roll on ASS4 slated for February the 24th. The first 3 races have been comparitively easy with reveals on destination et al. Onwards the series will become a touch more difficult.

Race 3 Results. 21 Racers.

1. Gabberz 10pts £130

2. CAB 7pts £65

3. Sanchez 4pts £30

4. Overkill 2pts Hoody&bits

5. Gra 1pt T&bits

6. VgnKndrck T&bits

7. Said

8. Darien

9. Ronin.

10.Joe.

4 bonus points to Gabberz, VgnKndrck, Overkill, Ronin & Incompetent Jo for Jason Mask while Racing on Friday the 13th.

Points Standing/races after ASS3.

Gabberz 31p/3r

VgnKndrck 15/3

Overkill 10/3

Josh 8/2

CAB 7/1

Gra 7/3

Incomp' Jo 6/2

Sanchez 4/1

Ronin 4/1

*****RACEFLASH BONUS*****

Part of the bonus points scheme is the introduction of the ClASSical theme Menage a Trois. The IlluminatiCat which will take place on the 11th of Febuary, the AthenaCat and the PaxRomanaCat which will be announced later in the year. Each race will have a similar prize allocation as ASS main races. If a rider participates in the 3 Classical races 5 bonus points will be gained and if someone wins all 3 races then 10 points will be gained.

Race Report

The Illuminaticat had a good turnout with 15 racers. The weather was quite warm if not sunny and the location on Dalston Lane outside the premises of About the Bike shop was sound. Across the road from The 3 Compasses pub which fit nicely with the theme of the race. Thanks to Dan and Stu from ATB for letting us start the race outside the shop. The race was attended by consistent participants with a few new faces. The start was quite muted as the participants got their bearings via navigation, but that didn't last long and pretty soon they were off. Altogether it wasn't such a long one, perhaps 23km which the winner achieved in about 45 minutes, as I predicted pre race. Some of the racer's also experienced some snags such as the Inner Temple being closed off on the Fleet St. entrance and therefore had to be accessed by the Temple lane entrance. This caused quite a stir during the post race discusssion as certain racer's didn't manage to get to the Inner Temple but still captured the church tower which which was allowed although still a technicality according to other's. Provision's were made to appease the two who had managed to get to the church proper, namely Gabberz and VgnKndrck. Bonus point's were allocated. Error's were made by some and lesson's were learnt by other's. Gabberz earned a few injuries by adorning the bonnet of a cab on the Strand and yet managed to win, rspct. Jordan who witnessed the event managed to roll in at fourth on his Omnium Cargo. The first 3 rolled in within 15 seconds of each other and 5 plus minutes ahead of the rest of the field. A great race apparently and a Historical education for most relating to the Freemasonic history of London. Roll on to the next one. To conclude it was great catching up with old and new faces as a good crowd of Non Racer's and Racer's attended the event.

15 racers.

1st Gabberz 100£

2nd Sanchez 50£

3rd VgnKndrck 30£

4th Jordan Hoody

5th Tim/Pip Hoody/Skulled T

6th Graham/Raphael Socks/Race Entry

7th Dolan Joe

8th Joe

9 Spartak

10 Overkill

Checkpoints

Start 124B Dalston Lane.E8

Corinthians Lodge, 337 Wick Road.E9

Masons Avenue.EC2

Supreme Council,10 Duke St.SW1

Benjamin Franklin's Hse, 32 Craven St.WC2

Andaz 40 Liverpool St.EC2

Freemasons Hall, 33 Great Queen.WC2

Templar Church, Temple EC4

Mazzini Blue plaque, 183 N. Gower St.NW1

Finish 124B Dalston Lane.E8

ASSCAT-2 Manifest Checkpoint (CLASSRACE-4) 24/02/2023

https://instagram.com/stories/frank_mcdank/3024367759870256614?utm_source=ig_story_item_share&igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=

Race Report

The turnout was again quite impressive given the rather cold evening, personally I didn't think it would be as good as it turned out to be. There were some regular racers not present either which bodes really well for summer events. There were 21 at the start. The format was a checkpoint race which had been compiled by Filippo. The timekeeper was Tiger.

Altogether there were 7 checkpoints, 3 of which were manned by Chico Bandito/Ronin, James and Stu and Sandro, on 2 of the checkpoints a piece of paper was handed to the racer with an additional checkpoint pointing to Brixton prison. The race had a good flow in the a loop and the most logical start was to head for Emerald Court from Leather Lane which was less than 5 minutes away and then onto 5 Newman Passage and then down to Pickering Place on St James' st and so on. At the finish Joe P came in first followed by incompetent Jo and the Pip with Overkill, Gabberz and VgnKndrck in tow but that wasn't the end of it by far. As it turns out the first 4 racers who came in; certainly had good speed, but missed out with technicalities. Namely, on the manifest it stated Emerald Court and 2 of the first 3 had Emerald Street. Also stated on the Manifest, which was almost the size of a large postage stamp had number 5 Newman Passage on it rather than just Newman Passage which confounded the first 4 racers, therefore it transpired that Gabberz and Joseph who rode in at 5th and 6th were the only racers in the top 6 who had the technical data from the manifest done correctly. So, rather than disqualifying the first 4 I opted for a leapfrogging system instead. The same rules applied to all the others who came in thereafter. In the end the right result came through due to the technical data. Sympathies to JoeP, IncompetentJo, Pip and Overkill though as they had good speed but lost out on technicalities. In the end the results stood at:

Top 10/21Racers:

1. Gabberz 120£

2. VgnKndrck 70£

3. Benji 40£

4. Levi 25£

5. IncompetentJo Hoody

6. Spartak T

7. Overkill

8. Jack

9. Chris

10.JoeP

The return times are representative of speed within the race but the placings garnered reflect the technicsl data which is paramount as per the manifest. Return times vs New positioning.

Checkpoints.

S. Leather Lane EC1

1. Emerald Court WC1

2. No.5 Newman Passage W1

3. Pickering Place SW1

4. Brixton Prison SW2

5. Wapping Stairs East E1

6. Gibbons Rent SE1

7. Austin Friars EC2

F. Leather Lane EC1

Placings after ASS4

1. Gabberz 41P/4R

2. VgnKndrck 22/4

3. Overkill 10/4

4. Josh 8/2

5. CAB 7/2

Incomp'Jo 7/3

Gra 7/4

6. Benji 4/1

Sanchez 4/1

7. Ronin 4/1

8. Levi 2/2

Updated link

ASSDASSH 3 (CLASSRACE-5) 24/03/2023

Race Report

The wet weather took its toll on the race and the turnout could have been better although the quality of the racers was hard to top. Having has a Dassh north and south already the theme of this one was west. The destination was chosen by Tiger who opted for the Musical Museum just past Kew bridge on Brentford high street. 9.9 Miles from Leather Lane, therefore practically 20 miles there and back again, almost as the crow flies. The start was as normal, a flurry of excited racers who usually feel the effects of the nervous energy in the first 5 minutes of the race until they get into there stride. I was in a group with Kungfu Bob and Cemetery Tom as we hammered into the West end straight through a busy Friday night Shaftesbury Avenue, jammed packed with traffic and pedestrians which led the way into Piccadilly and then into the straights of Kensington Gore and the High Street and Olympia through to Hammersmith and Chiswick. Charles flew past us at the first part of Kensington which raised a comment or two, he overtook us at the beginning of the race so it was some consolation that we were in front of him since then. We past the Chis flyover/Roundabout heading towards our destination and saw Graham and Pip heading the other way, obviously Gra being a west London boy he knew exactly where he was going, Pip being a regular racer and the only brakeless was also flying. We caught up on Joe P. and all headed towards our goal. So heading back in a group was Me, Kungfu Bob, Cemetery Tom and Joe P. Taking advantage of the tailwind which was a headwind on the way there. We were flying back through Hammersmith onto Kensington when Kungfu Bob started to attack and took the lead of the group followed by Tom, I lost sight of Joe. This folllowed suit most of the way back until we got to Shaftesbury Avenue triangle where Tom and I managed to retake the postion from Kungfu Bob which set up a sprint from Theobald's Road into Leather Lane. In the end Bob came in 2 seconds ahead of me and Tom. Charles was the winner with blinding flat speed. Unfortunately Gabberz who was also contender sustained a puncture and had to get the Circle line back to Leather Lane. Overkill, Gra and VgnKndrck came in 2nd, 3rd and 4th with Pip 5th followed by Bob, Tom and Me with Joe as the tail. A great race at the end of the day with a top quality field. 10 raced. All racers apart from Joe, who stopped for a drink on the way back managed to get there and back again under 1 hour. In stark contrast to the last ASS race where he came in first and only lost on a technicality, you have to love the variation.

Result/10Racers

1. Charles/C.A.B £120&ASS.T

2. Overkill £60

3. Gra £30

4. VgnKndrck Hoody

5. Pip ASS. T

6. Thai[KFB]Rob LCEF Tea towel

7. McDank

8. Cemetery Tom

9. Joe P.

DNF. Gabberz.

Placings after ASS5 (Accommodating bonus points adjustments)

1. Gabberz 42pts/5races

2. VgnKndrck 25/5

3. Overkill 17/5

C.A.B 17/3

4. Gra 11/5

5. Josh 8/2

6. Incomp'tJo 7/3

7. Ronin 4/1

Sanchez 4/1

Benji 4/1

8. Levi 2/2

9. Pip 1/4

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lupinepublishers · 2 years

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Lupine Publishers | Oral Agents in the Treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Remarkable Progress

Abstract

Despite remarkable progress for management of moderate-to-severe IBD patients, there are significant rates of primary nonresponse, loss of response, and/or adverse events thereby necessitating additional treatment options. Additionally, the burden of intravenous administration or subcutaneous injection of biologics accompanied by associated high cost necessitate the development of alternative treatments. In recent years, remarkable research has focused on the development of oral small molecule agents. Fortunately, the rapidly growing number of targeted therapies with oral small molecule agents offer the advantage of ease of administration with the durable effectiveness and no downside of immunogenicity with relatively more safety profile compared to the FDA approved biologic agents with relatively lower cost in the management of patients with moderate-to-severe IBD. The purpose of this review article is to summarize available novel oral small molecule agents in treatment of patients with IBD. Two of the oral small molecule agents, tofacitinib and ozanimod were already approved by the FDA for patients with moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis. We will not include other emerging therapeutic modalities such as microbiome targeted or stem cell therapies in this review.

Introduction

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) including ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease are chronic relapsing disorders of intestinal inflammation which leads to decreased quality of life, disability, and bowel damage resulting in hospitalizations and surgeries [1]. Several genetic models have been developed for the inflammatory cascade that leads to the chronic inflammation seen in IBD, but none of these models have been able to account for all the observed pathophysiologic features. This complexity is probably secondary to the intricate nature of IBD and an incomplete understanding of the interactions between the mucosal immune system and the intestinal microbiota [2]. The current goal of treatment is to achieve clinical, endoscopic and histologic remission of disease activity. Management of IBD is generally divided into induction and maintenance phases. These phases involve achieving remission of inflammation quickly usually over a 2-3 month period and then maintenance of that clinical and histologic remission beyond that point Table 1.

5-ASA acts as a topical anti-inflammatory agent that has efficacy within the lumen of the intestine [3]. Although its use is well established in ulcerative colitis, its efficacy in its effect in Crohn’s disease is not better than placebo. Mild-to-moderate ulcerative colitis can be managed with oral 5-ASA treatments, but is not effective for moderate-to-severe disease. Older treatments for moderate-to-severe IBD include steroids and thiopurines including azathioprine, mercaptopurine, and methotrexate Table 2. Despite the efficacy of prednisone in improving acute symptoms of IBD patients, they have not consistently demonstrated effectiveness in controlling histologic inflammation. In addition, side effects related to long term use of steroids can be debilitating including but not limited to insomnia, personality changes, acne, fatigue, and weight gain. Alternative agents such as the oral controlled ileal release budesonide have been developed. Budesonide is efficacious in the management of inflammation in the terminal ileum and right colon. This makes budesonide effective for short-term relief of symptoms for mild-to-moderate IBD but not a good long-term option. The efficacy of thiopurines to maintain medically induced remission as well as to prevent post-operative recurrence in IBD has been well established. In the SONIC trial, the mucosal healing rate in patients in clinical remission was not significantly different between the azathioprine and anti-TNF monotherapy arms (36% vs. 43%) [4]. Despite their effectiveness many patients elect to stop thiopurine therapy. Up to 40 percent of patients discontinued thiopurine therapy in the first 4 months of treatment due to intolerance or ineffectiveness [5]. In addition, there is no doubt that thiopurines safety profile is inferior as there is a significant risk of developing lymphoma and non-melanoma skin cancer [6]. No satisfactory management of IBD was achieved prior to the development of infliximab. Current recommendations for the management of IBD with biologics include the use of early therapy with a treat-to target strategy to achieve clinical remission, mucosal and histologic healing which ultimately decrease the risk of corticosteroid use, surgeries, hospitalizations and increases quality of life [7]. Available biologic agents include anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-a) agents including infliximab, adalimumab, certolizumab, and golimumab; anti-integrin agents including vedolizumab and natalizumab; and anti-interleukin (IL) 12-23 agents such as ustekinumab. Unfortunately, despite remarkable progress in the management of moderate-to-severe IBD patients, there are significant rates of primary non-response, loss of response, and adverse events, thereby necessitating additional treatment options. Additionally, the burden of intravenous administration or subcutaneous injection accompanied by associated high cost necessitate the development of alternative treatments. In recent years, remarkable research has focused on the development of oral small molecule agents Table 3. Unlike antibodies that can develop with biologic agents, oral small molecule formulations do not carry the same risk of immunogenicity. Their molecular characteristics and size allow for a more convenient oral administration and avoids the potential development of anti-drug antibodies. The purpose of this review article is to summarize available novel oral small molecule agents in treatment of patients with IBD. Two of the oral small molecule agents, tofacitinib and ozanimod were already approved by the FDA for patients with moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis. This review will not include other novel and emerging therapeutic modalities such as microbiome targeted or stem cell therapies.

JAK Inhibitors

One of the new treatment strategies that has been developed is the targeting of the Janus kinase (JAK) family of tyrosine kinases [8]. The functions of this family of tyrosine kinases is broad, but evidence suggests that innate and adaptive immune responses require JAK-STAT signaling to mediate several pathways of cytokine function. These agents inhibit cytokines in the inflammatory cascade such as IL-9, IL-12, IL-23 and interferon-gamma. Several studies have supported this hypothesis by demonstrating significant upregulation of JAK transcripts in intestinal mucosa of patients with active ulcerative colitis [9]. These facts make targeting the JAK-STAT an appealing therapeutic modality in IBD. This has led to the development and regulatory approval by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of therapies targeting the JAK pathway for the treatment of IBD [10]. One of those therapies is a non-specific pan-JAK inhibitor tofacitinib, which was approved by the FDA in 2018 for the treatment of patients with moderateto- severe ulcerative colitis. The Octave trial which included the phase 3 clinical trial that led to the regulatory approval of tofacitinib for the treatment of ulcerative colitis included patients randomly assigned to 10 mg of tofacitinib twice daily or placebo for 8 weeks. Clinical remission (determined to be a Mayo Clinic score of less than 2 and a rectal bleeding score of 0) at 8 weeks occurred in 18.5% of patients assigned to tofacitinib versus 8.2% of patients assigned to placebo (P = 0.007) [11]. The Octave sustain maintenance study re-randomized week 8 responders to receive 10 mg or 5 mg of maintenance tofacitinib twice daily or placebo for 52 weeks. Remission at 52 weeks was significantly higher in patients treated with 5 mg (34.3%) and 10 mg (40.6%) of tofacitinib than with placebo (11.1%; p<0.001 for both comparisons with placebo). Notably, tofacitinib has a rapid onset of induction and has shown to be effective in refractory anti-TNF exposed ulcerative colitis patients compared to placebo [12]. Similar studies in patients with Crohn’s disease failed to achieve primary and secondary endpoints though there were modest improvements in inflammatory markers; this was probably due to the study design and unusually high placebo response rate seen in the study [13]. Clearly more research in the use of tofacitinib is needed to elucidate its efficacy in patients with Crohn’s disease. This data makes tofacitinib an attractive treatment option for patients with moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis. However, tofacitinib can inhibit the immune system to a degree that increases the risk of herpes zoster, serious bacterial infections, tuberculosis, and upper respiratory tract infections [14]. The safety committee of the European Medicines Agency performed a review of tofacitinib due to the concern for an increased risk of developing pulmonary embolisms [15]. Subsequently, the FDA released warnings about the risk of blood clots leading to a boxed warning. All patients irrespective of their risk factors for developing thromboembolism should be monitored for signs and symptoms of pulmonary emboli. Sudden death in patients using high doses of tofacitinib was seen in patients primarily with rheumatoid arthritis and not with inflammatory bowel disease [16,17]. Another important concern related to the use of tofacitinib is the increased risk of lymphoma and nonmelanoma skin malignancies [18]. In a recent study, 1455 patients receiving tofacitinib at a dose of 5 mg twice daily and 1456 patients receiving tofacitinib at a dose of 10 mg twice daily were compared to 1451 patients receiving a TNF inhibitor. Over a 4 year follow up period, incidences of cancer and major cardiovascular events were higher in patients receiving the combined tofacitinib doses (4.2% and 3.4%, respectively) than with a TNF-alpha inhibitor (2.9% and 2.5%) [19]. The hazard ratios were 1.33 for major cardiovascular events and 1.48 for cancer (particularly non-melanoma skin cancer); the non-inferiority of tofacitinib was not demonstrated. Rarely, gastrointestinal perforations can occur during tofacitinib therapy with data demonstrating and incidence of 0.2% [20]. It is important to remember that patients should be advised to reduce their dose of tofacitinib in half when combining treatment with cytochrome P450 inhibitors such as fluconazole and ketoconazole.

Selective JAK inhibitors have also been recently studied for the treatment of patients with IBD, including Crohn’s disease. Filgotinib, is a selective JAK inhibitor that was approved by the FDA for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Filgotinib selectively targets the JAK1 cytokine at a 30-fold selectivity over JAK2. JAK2 inhibition is thought to lead to higher rates of anemia and thrombocytopenia through the interfering of erythropoietin and thrombopoietin and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor which would make selective JAK1 inhibition an attractive option [21,22]. The phase II Fitzroy study demonstrated early clinical benefit of filgotinib in patients with Crohn’s disease. Fitzroy included patients with a disease activity score (CDAI) of 220-450 and confirmed endoscopically active Crohn’s disease. A total of 174 patient with moderate-to-severe active Crohn’s disease were randomly assigned to receive 200 mg of filgotinib daily or placebo for 10 weeks. Clinical remission (indicated as a CDAI score of <150) at 10 weeks was achieved in 47% of patients treated with filgotinib and 23% of patients who were given placebo (P = 0.0077). Endoscopic improvement at 10 weeks was not significantly different [23]. The phase II study, Divergence 2, examined the effect of filgotinib in patients with perianal fistulizing Crohn’s disease. Patients with a documented history or perianal fistulizing Crohn’s disease with at least one to two external openings with drainage previously treated with immunomodulators or anti-TNFs were randomly assigned to receive filgotinib 200 mg, 100 mg or placebo once daily for 24 weeks. The primary endpoint was fistula response with a reduction of greater than 1 from baseline in the number of fistulas and no fluid collections seen on MRI at week 24. Unfortunately, the study was not well powered as there was low recruitment rates due to the COVID-19 pandemic leading to a total of 57 participants. Results did demonstrate a numerically higher proportion of patients in the filgotinib 200 mg group (47%) versus the placebo group (25%) who achieved the primary endpoint [24]. Further studies with a large patient population will be required to further elucidate the efficacy of filgotinib in patients with fistulizing Crohn’s disease.

The Selection trial included two induction studies, a maintenance study, and a long- term extension study examining the efficacy of filgotinib in the treatment of moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis. Adults with moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis were randomized to filgotinib 200 mg, 100 mg or placebo once daily for 11 weeks. Patients who responded to selected treatment at week 10 were re-randomized to continue filgotinib or placebo for an additional 47 weeks. Clinical remission was evaluated at week 10 and 58. Filgotinib demonstrated clinical remission rates significantly improved over placebo (47% vs 23%) at 10 weeks. Secondary endpoints such as endoscopic remission, mucosal healing, and deep remission did achieve numerical improvement but failed to achieve statistical significance. At week 58 remission was achieved at a rate of 58% in the filgotinib group compared to placebo at 29.5%. These findings suggest that filgotinib is efficacious at inducing and maintaining remission in patients with ulcerative colitis. Due to the efficacy demonstrated by filgotinib regulatory approval for use in moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis as well as Crohn’s disease is expected soon. The common side effects reported in patients taking filgotinib are quite similar to tofacitinib including but not limited to serious infections, herpes zoster, venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism and gastrointestinal perforations [25,26]. It is of note that filgotinib was rejected for approval by the FDA in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis on concerns of toxicity and reduced sperm count [27,28]. Two ongoing trials (MANTA and MANTA-Ray) are pending and will provide additional safety data on the matter in patients with IBD.

Another highly selective JAK inhibitor that was approved by the FDA for use in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and atopic dermatitis and also has been studied for its potential benefit in IBD patients is upadacitinib. This molecule is even more selective for JAK1 then filgotinib and has been investigated in the Celest phase 2 trial [29,30]. Patients with ulcerative colitis who had been previously exposed to anti-TNFs were evaluated after 16 weeks for primary endpoints of clinical remission, which included a patient reported outcome of stool frequency and abdominal pain score. In the induction phase of the study, although a numerical benefit in clinical remission could be observed in the group on twice daily 6 mg upadacitinib, it did not demonstrate a statistical response over placebo. The phase II study showed that the clinical remission and endoscopic improvement were achieved better than placebo as well as reduction in inflammatory markers. Phase III clinical trials of upadacitinib are ongoing and will hopefully shed more light on its efficacy and risk profile. Upadacitinib has similar adverse events as seen with tofacitinib including major adverse cardiovascular events and serious infections [31]. Due to the concerns of significant adverse events with tofacitinib, filgotinib, and upadacitinib, the development of a more gut selective pan-JAK inhibitor has been investigated. TD-1473 is a pan-JAK inhibitor that has demonstrated such a gut selective effect on mice with in-vitro studies [32]. A Phase 2b/3 set of clinical trials is currently ongoing to assess the efficacy and safety of induction and maintenance therapy with TD-1473 in subjects with moderate-to-severe active ulcerative colitis. Preliminary results were promising in endoscopic improvement along with reduction in fecal calprotectin and CRP levels with TD-1473 compared to placebo. If its further effectiveness can be demonstrated with this pending trial it has the potential to limit severe systemic side-effects caused by other non-GI selective JAK inhibitors. TYK2 is one of the JAK-STAT family proteins that is involved in intracellular cytokine signaling and inhibition of which blocks IL-12, IL-23 and IFN [33]. The oral TYK2/JAK1 inhibitor is well tolerated and more selective than other JAK inhibitors potentially limiting toxicity. Two oral TYK2/JAK1 inhibitors, deucravacitinib and brepocitinib, are currently recruiting in phase II clinical trials for the treatment of moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis and also, Crohn’s disease.

Sphingosine-1-Phosphate Receptor Modulators

Sphingosine 1- phosphate (S1P) receptors are G protein coupled receptors (S1P1-S1P5) that regulate the response and function of various cellular and organ systems including cell migration, proliferation, immune response, and trafficking of T and B lymphocytes from lymphoid organs [34,35]. Their role in the ability of immune cells to migrate to inflamed tissues has made them a potential new target of inhibition for the management of IBD. Ozanimod is a new oral small molecule agent that binds with high affinity to several S1P receptor subtypes leading to internalization of the receptor in targeted lymphocytes and prevention of lymphocyte trafficking [36]. Ozanimod was approved for the treatment of the patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis in 2020 and then for patients with moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis in 2021 by the FDA. Sandborn et al performed a phase III double blind and placebo-controlled trial of ozanimod as induction and maintenance therapy in patients with moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis [37]. Patients were assigned to receive oral ozanimod 1 mg or placebo once daily and patients in a second cohort received open label ozanimod. They found that clinical remission was significantly higher in patients who received ozanimod than those who were on placebo (37% vs 18.5%, P<0.001). Clinical response was also significantly higher in the ozanimod group (60% vs 41%, P<0.001). The investigators found that rates of serious infection were equal in both groups. A few patients on ozanimod had higher rates of elevated liver transaminases. Adverse events have been reported with ozanimod treatment including herpes zoster, bradycardia, and elevation of liver enzymes, atrioventricular conduction delays and macula edema. Ozanimod is also being studied for the treatment of Crohn’s disease. In the phase II Stepstone study involving 69 patients with Crohn’s disease, 39.1% of patients who received ozinamod had clinical remission at week 12. There was no incidence of bradycardia or arrhythmias in these patients [38]. Phase III, placebo-controlled induction and maintenance studies of ozanimod are currently recruiting for moderate-to-severe Crohn’s disease. Etrasimod is another oral S1P receptor subtype 1 modulator which has demonstrated potential efficacy in the treatment of patients with IBD. In the phase II Elevate trial involving 156 patients with ulcerative colitis, those patients receiving a 2 mg dose of etrasimod demonstrated endoscopic improvement over placebo (41.8% vs 17.8%, P=0.003). Also, compared to placebo, the etrasimod 2 mg group had a higher rates histologic remission (19.5% vs 6.1%; p=0.03). Etrasimod adverse events were reported as minimal with a small group of patients developing a transient, asymptomatic, low grade atrioventricular block that resolved spontaneously. Amiselimod is an oral S1P receptor modulator with higher selectivity for S1PR1 than other S1P receptor modulators [39]. A phase II trial with this agent is pending in patients with active Crohn’s disease.

Anti-Adhesion Molecules

Migration of proinflammatory T cells into the gut facilitates inflammation that is characteristic of IBD [40]. Anti-adhesion agents that block lymphocyte trafficking to the gut are being investigated in patients with IBD. A variety of oral small molecules including alfa-4 integrin antagonists have been studied. AJM300 is an oral small molecule agent that targets alfa-4 integrin. A phase II study in 102 patients with moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis showed higher rates of clinical response (62.7% vs 25.5%, p=0.0002), clinical remission (23.5% vs 3.9%, p= 0.0099) and mucosal healing (58.8% vs 29.4%) [41]. No major adverse events were reported. A phase III trial is ongoing with AJM300 in patients with ulcerative colitis. There is extensive research of other anti-adhesion agents in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease.

Phosphodiesterase 4 Inhibitors

Phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) is part of a group of enzymes that catalyze the breakdown of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP). In inflammatory cells, PDE4 is the dominant enzyme responsible for this reaction and the resulting decrease in cAMP levels leads to an increase expression of proinflammatory factors. Thus, it has been postulated that if PDE4 were inhibited the resulting increase in cAMP levels would lead to the decreased expression of a number of proinflammatory factors including TNF-alfa, IL- 17, IL-23, and up-regulates anti-inflammatory IL-10 [42]. This makes PDE4 a potential target for the treatment of inflammatory disorders. Apremilast is an oral small molecule PDE4 inhibitor which has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of adults with psoriatic arthritis, plaque psoriasis, and Behcet’s disease. A recent phase II clinical trial demonstrated the clinical effectiveness of apremilast in the treatment of moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis. The investigators performed a double-blind, placebocontrolled trial in patients with active ulcerative colitis who were either biologic naïve or had failed conventional therapies. Patients were randomly assigned to apremilast 30 mg twice daily, 40 mg twice daily, or placebo for 12 weeks. After which patients were then randomly assigned to receive apremilast 30 mg or 40 mg twice daily for an additional 40 weeks. Endoscopies were performed and biopsies were obtained at the initial encounter, week 12, and week 52 after initiation of the study. The primary endpoint for the study was clinical remission at week 12 (a Mayo score of 2 or less). The investigators found that clinical remission was achieved in the 30 mg apremilast group at a rate of 31.6% versus 12.1% of patients in the placebo group (P = 0.01) [43]. Both apremilast groups (the 30 mg and 40 mg groups) had similar improvement from baseline in Mayo score components. At week 52 clinical remission was achieved by 40.4% of patients. Endoscopic healing was achieved in 41.4% of patients in placebo compared to 73.7% in the 30 mg group (p< 0.0001). Moreover, both the 30 mg and 40 mg apremilast groups showed greater reduction in serum C-reactive protein and fecal calprotectin compared to placebo. In terms of safety, headache and nausea were found to be the most common side effect. One patient had an episode of acute pancreatitis but this was no attributed to the study drug. Currently, a phase III trial has not been registered for patients of ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease.

Anti-Tumor Necrosis Factor Agents

Anti-TNF agents were the first class of biologic medications approved for the treatment of patients with inflammatory bowel disease [44]. Limitations of this class of medications includes the intravenous or subcutaneous administration, infusion reactions, systemic side effects related to immunosuppression, and high cost [45]. An oral agent with a mechanism of action restricted to the gastrointestinal tract would be helpful to overcome some of these challenges of parenterally administered anti-TNF agents. AVX- 470 is an oral polyclonal immunoglobulin that inhibits TNF-alpha locally in the gastrointestinal tract, minimizing systemic exposure [46]. In a double blind, placebo-controlled trial, 37 patients with active ulcerative colitis received AVX-470 (0.2, 1.6, or 3.5 grams per day) or placebo for 4 weeks. Endoscopic activity was assessed pre and post treatment exposure.46 At all AVX-470 doses, 25.9% of patients achieved clinical response compared with 11.1% of those in the placebo group. Both groups were found to have similar adverse event rates without significant infectious reported.46 Further clinical trials evaluating the efficacy of AVX-470 are ongoing [47,48]. OPRX-106 is another oral anti-TNF agent which is currently undergoing evaluation for its efficacy in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease [49]. In a phase II randomized open label clinical trial, 25 patients with ulcerative colitis who were administered OPRX-106 demonstrated clinical remission and mucosal healing with no major adverse events including immunogenicity. Initial studies with oral anti-TNF agents have shown promising results with the potential for enhanced safety and decreased immunogenicity. However, larger trials are needed to evaluate efficacy, safety and cost effectiveness.

Conclusion

Despite tremendous advancements in the field of treatments for IBD, there are significant rates of primary non-response, loss of response, adverse events and high cost thereby necessitating additional treatment options. Fortunately, the rapidly growing number of oral small molecule targeted therapies offers ease of administration with durable effectiveness, and an improved safety profile compared to the currently approved therapeutic agents.

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if-you-fan-a-fire · 1 year

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"Riley Found Guilty of Manslaughter," Hamilton Spectator. April 4, 1913. Page 8. ---- Justice Middleton Says It Was a Righteous Judgment ---- Seven Years' Imprisonment Is Sentence of Court ---- The next seven years of Thomas Riley's life will be spent in the Kingston penitentiary, in atonement for the crime of killing his wife, Mabel Yeates, on the night of January 30 last. This was the sentence of the court passed last evening by Justice Middleton, following the verdict of manslaughter, with a strong recommendation for mercy, presented after an all day and evening session.

There were plenty of surprises in the case which developed as the trial progressed, and toward the end, it was observed that the court would favor a verdict of manslaughter rather than one of wilful murder, as contained in the charge. The question of insanity played a leading part in the case, and the evidence introduced along that line by C. W. Bizell, the brilliant counsel for the defense, was largely responsible for the jury's action.

That his lordship should take the stand he did in addressing the jury at the close, Was clearly Indicated when he laid particular emphasis on the point as to whether Riley capable of was distinguishing between right and wrong, at the time he committed the act. The testimony of the medical experts that Riley was temporarily insane at the time evidently carried weight with the jury. His lordship's satisfaction with the verdict was apparent, when in discharging the jury he said he considered, the finding a righteous judgment, and well founded on the evidence heard during the course of the trial.

SENTENCE PRONOUNCED In passing sentence upon Riley, Justice Middleton had the following to say:

"I don't think I can add much to what has already been said by the counsel for the defense and the crown counsel. The case has been most carefully presented. The sentence which I am about to pass upon you, Riley, errs if anything on the side of leniency. I fear there are those who will think I have not considered the value of human life high enough. When I consider, however, what you have had to endure in the years that have passed, and you have endured what few men could have withstood, I think the sentence will be long enough for you to earn the full degree of remission. The sentence will be long enough to deter- mine the question of your sanity. I sentence you, therefore, to serve seven years in the penitentiary."

Riley, when asked by his lordship it he had anything to say why sentence should not be passed upon him, said. "I have nothing to say."

The jury was out forty-five minutes in consideration of the verdict, and when it returned, the courtroom, which was packed almost to suffocation, hung on the words of Clerk of the Court Thomas, when he read that the jury had found the prisoner guilty of manslaughter, with a strong recommendation for mercy. No sooner had the words been uttered when the buss of conversation rose to such an extent that the constables in various parts of the room were kept busy restoring order.

Mr. Bell, counsel for Riley, was warmly congratulated by many friends, for his excellent handling of the case. Due to the care he exercised in fighting for every point, and the evident preparation he had given to the case, he was eminently successful in making the most of a hard battle.

Col. Gwyn, the crown prosecutor, conducted the case for the crown in an able manner.

Justice Middleton has been hailed, on all sides as one of the most capable jurists who has presided over a court in Hamilton. His evident desire to see that justice attended the presentation of the case for both the crown and the defense made the task of the jury considerably lighter. His charge to the jury gave every reasonable point in favor of the prisoner, and his comprehensive grasp of the case and his pertinent comments at different points were exceedingly well taken.

Following the noon adjournment, Mr. Bell announced to the court that he had been instructed to introduce evidence as to Riley's sanity. And it was on that point that Mr. Bell was content to rest his case, with the above result.

The following evidence was submitted yesterday afternoon and last evening:

FRANK HALL Frank Hall contractor, said Riley had worked for him. He mentioned one instance when Riley had said. he wished for a wife with whom he could have a quiet, peaceful life. He remembered that Riley had seen has wife walking with another woman on Barton street while he was driving witness team. He came back to the barn, started to unharness his team, taking the harness off one horse and putting it on the other. He seemed demented, and was muttering to himself.

FRANK HOLTHAN Frank Holthan, laborer, a former neighbor of Riley, said he saw the latter leave his home in search of his wife on one occasion. He had heard Riley muttering to different times. Riley was good to his children, with his wife, although he quarreled with his wife.

CALVIN GOODALE Calvin Goodale. contractor, had known Riley for seventeen years. He worked with him in June of last year. Riley had complained of pains in his head to to the witness, and had used his team rather hard, which was not like the Riley he knew. He was suffering at that time from loss of memory. He became so bad in that respect witness had to let him go.

ANGUS PRICE Angus Price, teamster, was his to take the witness-box, and had to be assisted to a chair in front of the jury. He said Riley had boarded with him up to the time of the shooting.

"Riley's actions around the house were most peculiar at times," he said. "I heard aim on different occasions call the name of Mabel, his wife, when he was in bed."

"How many times do you remember having heard Riley muttering?" asked Col. Gwyn.

"Fifteen times," was the reply.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, sir

Before the crown finished witness had given evidence as to twenty-two times.

QUESTION OF SANITY Justice Middleton at this juncture in the trial, called the attention of the jury to the fact that as evidence was being introduced as to the question of Riley's sanity it was necessary to call a halt in the proceedings.

"It is impossible to try a man for the guilt of crime who is now insane." said his lordship. "Under the statutes the question of insanity must be tried first. You will therefore be sworn again, to decide whether the prisoner is insane. If he is adjudged sane the trial will be proceeded with. If he is insane he will be taken to the asylum and, there cared for by the government."

The jury was then re-sworn.

DR. LANNIN Dr. Lannin was next called, and said that he would conclude the man was insane, judging from the evidence disclosed. "I would judge that Riley was insane at the time of the shooting," said the witness.

"What is Riley suffering from?"

"Paranoia."

"What is that?"

"A form of progressive insanity. characterized by fixed delusions. Brooding over troubles is generally the beginning of paranoia."

"What would you say of Riley's ability, in one of those stages of insanity, to distinguish between right and wrong, at the time he killed his wife?"

"I don't think he could properly distinguish between right and wrong. He could not be held accountable for his acts."

"Do those suffering with paranoia ever recover?"

"Very seldom, if ever."

The defense closed with the evidence of the doctor, and Col. Gwyn said he had Drs. Russell and Wallace to give evidence in rebuttal, but they did not care to express an opinion. without a medical examination. His lordship, with the consent of Mr. Bell, ordered an examination, at the same time allowing a recess for half an hour.

COURT RESUMED The court resumed its sittings, and Col. Gwyn called Dr. Russell to the stand. The doctor said he was superintendent of the local asylum for twenty years.

"You heard the evidence of Dr. Lanpin. What have you to say?"

"I think Dr. Lannin conceived an imaginary case. He should have held medical examination before making his deductions."

"You examined Riley to-day. What is your opinion now?"

"I consider that the man is sane," replied the doctor. "I believe that every man who deliberately commits murder is for the moment temporarily insane."

"Do you think he was capable of understanding the difference between right and wrong at the time of the shooting?"

"Yes."

"What is his condition to-day?"

"I consider the man is sane."

Dr. Russell said Riley told him he Intended shooting Sanford Durfey when he drew the revolver.

Under cross-examination. Dr. Russell said he had seen several cases of paranoia. There were no two cases alike.

Patients suffering from this disease might appear to be and would be rational for months at a time. "During these rational spells would be extremely difficult for It a medical man to determine the sanity of the person?"

"Yes."

DR. WALLACE Dr. Wallace said he had examined Riley along with Dr. Russel and could not find any evidences of insanity.

"Did he understand the nature of the act he had committed?"

"Yes. I think he knew the difference between right and wrong. His memory was particularly keen."

"Then, Dr. Wallace, you agree with Dr. Russell in what he has said?"

"I don't agree with Dr. Russell on the question of temporary Insanity." His lordship then directed the counsel to address the jury on the question of Riley's sanity. Mr. Bell began his address to the jury at 6.30. He said there was no doubt that Riley's mind had been affected for years.

"Dr. Lannin has gone into the box and given you salient reasons why he considered that Riley was insane. He is opposed to Drs. Russell and Wallace, yet they did not advance one reason for saying Riley was sane."

"Evidence was introduced to show that Riley muttered incoherently at night and battered his head against the ladder. You live the opinion of the medical men, honestly given. Dr. Lannin has told you why Riley is afflicted with paranoia. The alienists for the crown take the man downstairs, examine him, and then come up here to this courtroom and say e Riley is sane, without giving reason. I insist that Riley was insane years sago, was temporarily, insane at the e time of the shooting, and is insane to-day. Dr. Russell said Riley was insane when he shot his wife. Dr. Wallace disagrees.

"Could a mar in his right senses kill that which he loved heat and still retain his reason? I think not."

Col. Gwyn, for the crown, did rot hesitate to declare that Riley was sane at the time of the shooting, and was sane to-day.

His lordship said it depended on the fury whether the case would be continued or not. It had to decide whether Riley was sufficiently sane to stand his trial for the murder of his wife. Whether Riley understood the difference between right and wrong, would be decided later, if the fury came to the conclusion that Riley was sane at the present time.

The jury returned from supper shortly before 8 o'clock, and brought a veredict 'stating that Riley was fit and ready to stand his trial.

MR. BELL'S ADDRESS. This was followed by Mr. Bell's address to the jury on the whole case. Mr. Bell said in part:

"The evidence goes to show that the poor woman is dead by the hand of her husband. We are not aware of how much guilt can be laid at the door of Riley. The crown will ask you to return a verdict of guilty of wilful murder, which is punishable with death on the scaffold. On two grounds the defense asks you to return a verdict for manslaughter, first that premeditation has not beer shown and secondly that he had acted before his passion had an opportunity of cooling. If there was evidence of premeditation it should have been put in. The evidence of Maud Durfey was that Riley had said he would get his wife and get her right. At the inquest and preliminary trial, she did not mention me the latter portion of that statement. Do you imagine if Riley had ever made that statement, his wife would not have taken steps to protect herself? Detective Cameron told you that Riley had never made the statement that he would get her."

"The essence of the wilful murder is gone, because the crown has not proven premeditation.

Coming down to the affair at the Durfey home, as Sanford Durfey told you he didn't see the revolver until the struggle between them had started. That revolver was discharged under the fiercest provocation. He did not aim at his wife.

"The conditions at the Durfey home were such as to make for adultery."

Mr. Bell reviewed the married life of Riley and his wife, showing how the man had married the woman of his choice. Children were born to them, and Riley had reason to feel happy. When trouble came to his home he fought it bitterly, but without avail. Evidence was produced to show that during last summer, Riley had severe lapses of memory. He saw his home wrecked, and yet he worked hard. in an effort to retain the affections of his wife. Even in the face of all the evidence which went to show that Mrs. Riley had been living a life of adultery, Riley had been willing to take her back.

"Can you really believe that Riley was sane? Can you not believe this man saw nothing but red, when he was in that death struggle with Durfey? I ask you, gentlemen, to solemnly think. think, think, before you consign this man's body to a grave of quick-lime."

In conclusion, Mr. Bell made a dramatic and eloquent appeal for a verdict of manslaughter at the hands of the jurors.

"We are only here for a few years more, and then we must go before our Creator, who will pass the verdict on our lives. I hope on judgment day you will be able to say, 'I only ask for justice, Lord, as I gave it to poor grief-stricken, demented Tom Riley."

CROWN COUNSEL Col. Gwyn said the crown was not in the case to persecute Riley. It was simply acting in the interests of the citizens in carrying out the administration of justice, If the jury chose to bring in a verdict of manslaughter, the crown had nothing to do but bow before the verdict of the Jury.

With reference to the evidence of Maud Durfey, Col Gwyn said there was no doubt that Riley had intended to "get her" in the manner he did. Of course, Detective Cameron said that Riley had never made the statement to him.

Coming to the question of the revolver, the fact remained that the trig- ger had been pulled twice, and the second time the shot caused the death of his wife.

"Do your duty," said Col. Gwyn, in conclusion: "don't be led away by any feeling in the matter. Every man has a right to British justice and if you have a reasonable doubt give it to the prisoner." THE CHARGE TO THE JURY His lordship said in part: "It is a sad thing to be called upon to pass in judgment on such a case. Yet we each have a responsible duty, which must be fearlessly discharged.

"I want you to realize the task you have entered upon. The tragedy that has come to the home of Thomas Riley revolves around the fact whether Riley was fully capable of distinguishing the difference between right and wrong. Can this man, who professed such passionate love for his wife, after knowing she had been living a life of adultery, not be possessed of some weakness of mind? What must have been the conditions that existed in the Durfey home, where the son was evidently living with Mrs. Riley, with the full knowledge of the son's mother? And Riley, knowing all this, added to the fact that his daughter was also living in this, house, what must have been his condition of mind?

"Did you not detect a certain unevenness in the evidence of the Durfeys? Did it not appear to you that they put their side as badly as possible? Certainly their evidence was twisted beyond that given at the inquest. No love was lost between the prisoner and the Durfeys, "It would be unsafe to attach any importance to the statements of Riley at the preliminary trial, because he bad been saying that he had killed his wife to everyone at that time.

"The supreme duty devolves upon you to decide whether this is wilful murder or manslaughter, within the meaning of the net."

VERDICT RENDERED The jury retired at 9.03 p.m., and returned at 9.50 with a verdict of manslaughter. with a recommendation of mercy.

JURY COMMENDED His lordship thanked the jury for the care and patience exhibited in this trial. He felt it was a righteous verdict.

THE PRISONER SENTENCED Col. Gwyn then moved for the sentence of the court upon Thomas Riley.

C. W. Bell quoted the case of Queen v. Rothwell. in which a husband had struck his wife, after discovering her in adultery. A sentence of ten years was imposed.

On behalf of the prisoner. Mr. Bell said in view of the circumstances surrounding the case, he asked his lordship to take as lenient a view would be consistent with the verdict reached by the jury.

His Lordship was willing to pass sentence, hut before doing so, he called Col. Gwyn and Mr. Bell into his private room for a conference.

The sentence was imposed a few minutes Iater.

[Riley was 46, from Seaforth, Ontario, 6 feet tall, and a teamster. He was convict #F-578 at Kingston Penitentiary, and worked in the stables. He was reported once in May 1915 for vulgar language to an officer and was placed in solitary confinement for a week. Riley was paroled in mid-1915.]

#hamilton #jury trial #murder #murder trial #manslaughter #estranged wife #shitty ex-husband #wife murder #shooting with intent #fatal shooting #crime and punishment in canada #history of crime and punishment in canada #sentenced to the penitentiary #kingston penitentiary #psychiatric examination #temporary insanity

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