#which in turn also channels will graham

[willgrahamsbecoming]

channelling will graham to stay in my house and Not go trick or treating on this night

[acertifiedmoron]

jonelias is incredibly funny and thematically compelling to me because of their character trajectories. like it starts out as twisted nbc hannibal season 1 psychological horror "you wouldn't put a guy in situations" wherein elias runs his lab rat i mean jon through the archivist trauma punch card machine ("wind him up and watch him go") and every day is tortured gothic horror protagonist day for him but he doesn't quite get it yet. and then season 3 happens and jon's a little further in the beholding's grasp and he's experiencing physiological changes which only elias understands and now we're in vampirism metaphor territory, he turned you into a monster but he's the only one who will offer you the absolution you seek! ("elias, am i still human?") murderer mentor maker!!! and you hate him you HATE him but *will graham voice* where else would i go?

and then season 4 happens and audio recording by jonathan sims, the Archivist. point of no return. he's extracting statements. he's feeding. he's unwittingly channelling elias ("you just need... a break.") he's scaring everyone at the institute, but doesn't it feel a tiny bit good after having been powerless and at the mercy of all these other avatars for so long? and even then the only person in the whole world he can turn to for advise is elias because they're alike. they're mirrors. they were similar even before the beholding had its hold on jon, because to be avatars of the eye is to hold a shared, unabating curiosity for knowledge and both of them sought it out to protect themselves from the fears. why else would jon end up at the magnus institute if not for a guest for mr spider.

then there's the panopticon reveal and turns out jon was trapped in a bluebeard narrative all along! but bluebeard's just won. jon took the key and opened the door and found his secret but he's not simply another victim, being bluebeard's final wife means narratively distinguishing yourself from the ones that came before and he does. he's the special one, he's the archive. and jonah/elias says he did everything to free himself from pain and death forever, to free them both from it all forever. and he says "don't worry, jon. you'll get used to it here. in the world that we have made."

and then. power dynamic reversal‼️now season 5 fumbled this badly but listen. the monster you created is coming down to hunt you for sport. the thing you created to escape annihilation is also the very thing that can end you at any given moment. "behold a god more powerful than i who comes to rule over me." and then it's "suffer for me, as i suffered for you." and eventually they play out some equivalent of tackling each other off a cliff hannigram style. or dead ringers 1988. because they're doubles they're mirrors they're shadow selves they're the watcher and the archivist. conjoined. and one cannot exist without the other :)

[jrob64]

Ghosted

Chapter 1 - Hauntings

Here is the first chapter of my contribution for this year's Captain Swan Supernatural Summer. I have many people to thank for helping me get this written and posted by my assigned date.

Thank you to my fellow mods of CSSNS24 - @winterbaby89 @stahlop @ultraluckycatnd and @kmomof4. I'm so glad we've had such a great response to this last event!

More thanks to Krystal for creating the absolutely amazing pic set for this story. It turned out great, didn't it? Making Neal and Liam appear ghostly was the handiwork of @motherkatereloyshipper, so she also deserves my appreciation.

Rounding out my list of thank yous is my ever-loyal beta, @hookedmom. I've been writing CS stories for nearly six years and she's been with me for the vast majority of them!

I anticipate this story being 3-4 chapters long in total. It isn't completely written yet, so unfortunately I can't provide a posting schedule, but I assure you it WILL be finished. If you're not on my tag list and would like to be informed when future chapters post, please let me know.

DISCLAIMER: All I know about ghost hunting is what I've watched on Ghost Adventures (which is worth watching simply for the entertainment factor.) I also know next to nothing about how YouTube works beyond being a viewer. Please excuse all errors and keep in mind that this is fanfic and isn't meant to be completely accurate!

SUMMARY: When Emma Swan’s ex-boyfriend dies, she’s haunted by his ghost. Her neighbor, Killian Jones, a ghost hunter who has a YouTube channel, realizes what’s happening and offers to help. However, there’s more at stake than simply helping the apparition move on. There’s also the matter of Killian telling Emma he’s in love with her.

Rating: T (subject to change)

Words (Chapter 1): 4700

Also posted to ffn and Ao3

Juggling a large Americano and a blueberry scone, Emma Swan made a beeline across the coffee shop for the small table in the corner. Whenever she stopped in, she tried to sit there because it was beside the window and was only big enough for one chair. Even when the shop was crowded, no one could join her or bother her by asking if ‘this seat is taken’. She could be left alone, which was the way she preferred it in the mornings.

Taking a sip of the near-scalding beverage, she tilted her head back and closed her eyes, savoring the aromatic flavor on her tongue. She tried not to make a habit of coming to this shop, but her coffee maker died over the weekend and she needed her shot of caffeine.

She was nibbling on the corner of her scone when she felt her phone vibrate with an incoming text. Pulling it out of the back pocket of her jeans, she saw that it was from her friend Ruby. The partial message on the lock screen said I’ve got huge news. Are you sitting down?

Emma huffed out a sound of amusement as she unlocked her phone. Ruby’s ‘huge’ news was probably that Graham Humbert, who worked at the police station where Ruby was the dispatcher, had switched to a different scent of cologne. Instead, her eyes widened as she read the rest of the message:

They found Neal Cassidy dead in his cell this morning. Apparent suicide. Guess you won’t have to worry about him stalking you again when he gets out.

It took her a few moments to digest the information. For nearly two years, thoughts of that man had never been far from the forefront of her mind. The memories of their blossoming romantic relationship, which were replaced by her suspicions and ultimate confirmation of his criminal activities, raced through her brain as she stared at the message for an inordinate amount of time.

When she finally started typing a response to Ruby, a shadow fell across the table, blocking the late morning sun. It didn’t move for several moments, so she glanced up, meaning to find the source of it on the other side of the window.

And looked directly into the eyes of Neal Cassidy.

Shocked beyond words, she squeezed her eyes closed, then blinked repeatedly before she looked up again, her heart hammering in her chest.

He was gone.

*********

Emma met Neal at a car dealership where he worked as a salesman. She was looking to trade in her yellow VW bug for something more reliable and he was eager to help. He was charming and funny, so when he asked her out on a date after the sale was made, she didn’t hesitate to accept.

They dated for six months before she started getting the feeling that he was selling more than cars. Hearing him have secretive one-sided conversations on the phone and seeing him meet shady looking characters in neighborhoods known to be frequented by crime lords made her suspicious, but the day she found a small bag of crack cocaine in his apartment was the day she was officially done with him.

When she broke it off, Neal begged her to stay, bragging about how he was in line to become very important and wealthy someday soon, and would provide her with everything her heart desired. Emma assured him she did not desire to be in the company of drug dealers and walked away, determined to put that chapter of her life behind her.

Having witnessed his sales techniques, she was well aware that he was persistent, but his persistence rapidly turned into obsession. She received dozens of texts from him every day, along with numerous calls she refused to answer. After listening to a few voicemails he left declaring his love for her, she deleted the rest and blocked his number.

That didn’t deter him, though. He continued showing up at her apartment, the gym where she worked out, and her place of employment - the swanky hotel where she tended bar. It was annoying, but she didn’t feel threatened and didn’t think a restraining order against him was necessary.

After several months of rebuffing or simply ignoring him, she was relieved when two days in a row went by without any contact from him. Then Ruby called to tell her he had been busted for drug trafficking and was awaiting a hearing. A trial followed, he was sentenced to five years in prison, and Emma hoped she had seen the last of Neal Cassidy.

*********

Emma dragged herself up the two flights of stairs to her apartment on wobbly legs. She was still trembling from the encounter at the coffee shop, unable to shake the image of her deceased ex-boyfriend from her mind.

She had finally managed to send Ruby a text, asking her if she had proof Neal was actually dead. Ruby replied that her friend Dorothy, who worked at the prison where Neal was serving his time, saw his body on the gurney as he was taken out, and talked to the guard who found him hanging by a bed sheet. He was definitely dead.

The only explanation Emma could come up with for seeing Neal outside the window was that the shock of reading Ruby’s text caused her to conjure an image of him. But that didn’t explain the feeling she had of being watched or followed all the way home, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

When she reached the third floor, she wasn’t surprised to see her friend and neighbor, Killian Jones, in the hallway between their two doors, fiddling with a metal box which was emitting a strange humming sound. As a paranormal investigator and the host of a popular YouTube channel called “Killian Jones - Ghost Hunter”, he was always trying out various pieces of equipment.

He glanced up, his striking blue eyes fastening on her before his face split into a grin. “Hey, Swan. How are you today?”

She answered vaguely as she stopped in front of her door. Suddenly, the humming sound increased in volume and pitch and Killian’s smile faded into a look of confusion. Picking up what looked like a radar gun laying beside him on the floor, he stood and held it between himself and Emma.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

He didn’t answer, too intent on circling her slowly and studying the numbers on the gadget. When he finally looked up several seconds later, he hesitantly commented, “Swan…it appears you have a…a ghost following you.”

Emma felt the blood drain from her face and her knees buckle, which was the last thing she remembered before everything went black.

Killian barely caught Emma in time to keep her from hitting the floor as she fainted. Hoisting her up into his arms, he carried her inside his apartment. This was not how he expected her to end up in his arms, but he would take what he could get.

*********

The two of them had lived beside each other ever since Killian moved into the apartment next to hers when he arrived in Boston five years ago. At first, they just exchanged pleasantries when they passed in the hall. After a few months, they began to have short conversations about the weather and their frustration with the landlord. That led to them doing favors for one another, such as taking in packages, bringing the other’s clothes upstairs from the laundry room, and picking up items one of them forgot to buy at the grocery store. Eventually, they built up enough trust in each other that they traded apartment keys to make it more convenient to drop things off.

Every once in a while, they would share a pizza while watching TV in one of their apartments. Seeing Emma so relaxed in her own home, laughing and bantering with him, started Killian down the road of developing deeper feelings toward her. He was enamored with her wit and intelligence and thought she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever met.

At times, he witnessed men coming to her door to pick her up for a date, something that always left him feeling bereft. Fortunately, most of them never came around more than once. He enjoyed listening to her humorous assessments of each man’s shortcomings afterwards.

Then she started dating Neal Cassidy, and during those months, Killian hardly saw her. When he did bump into the couple, Neal treated him with disdain, looking down his nose at him and scoffing at everything Killian said. It was made worse by the fact that Emma didn’t even seem to notice. Killian was sure he had missed his chance of acting on his feelings for her.

He almost felt guilty for being ecstatic upon finding out she’d broken up with Neal. His happiness turned to concern and then anger when Emma told him Neal wouldn’t leave her alone. The two men had words several times when Killian found him hanging around in the hall outside her apartment. Then Emma told him Neal had been arrested and sent to prison, and he was beyond relieved that the idiot wouldn’t be bothering her anymore.

Still, Killian didn’t ask her out, reasoning that she’d just gotten out of a bad relationship. He continued to fall for her more and more, while she remained completely unaware of his burgeoning feelings toward her. Feelings that, by now, felt a lot like love.

*********

After laying her on his couch, Killian tapped Emma’s cheeks, urging, “Swan! Swan! Wake up! You have to wake up, Love.” When she didn’t respond, he scrubbed a hand down his face. “Bloody hell, Lass. I didn’t mean to frighten you that badly.”

He glanced around the living room, trying to figure out what to do to help Emma regain consciousness. Going into his kitchen, he took a clean dish towel out of the drawer, placed some ice cubes inside and while there, grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.

She was still out cold when he emerged a minute later. Concern etched his face. In all the years he lived next door to Emma Swan, he never knew her to be anything but tough and strong. Seeing her lying there so ashen and unmoving unnerved him. He lifted her head slightly to place the ice under her neck.

Convinced there was nothing more he could do at the moment, he went back out to the hallway and collected his EMF meter, noticing that it was back to a steady hum. Picking up the infrared thermometer he had dropped, he saw the temperature had returned to normal. No more cold spots. Apparently whatever spirit that had entered the hallway with Emma was gone.

Reentering his apartment, he sat on the coffee table in front of the sofa to keep vigil over his neighbor, continuing to pat her cheeks and call her name from time to time. After several more long minutes, her eyelids began to flutter, then slowly opened. Her eyes darted around, obviously trying to figure out where she was. He could tell the moment she figured it out, because she groaned and covered her face with her hands.

“Please tell me I didn’t faint,” she pleaded.

“I wish I could, but that would be untrue,” he responded, tilting his head to offer her a small, reassuring smile when she uncovered her eyes.

She started to sit up, but he put a hand to her shoulder to stop her. “Easy, Swan. Better lie still a bit longer.”

With a huff of annoyance, she laid back down, adjusting the ice pack behind her neck. “Thank you for taking care of me.”

“You’re welcome.”

She lay quietly for a while, nibbling on her bottom lip. “May I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“Why, uh…why did you say that I had a ghost with me?”

She was obviously trying to pass off the question as being simply one of curiosity, but the look in her eyes told him she was quite serious about it.

“The infrared thermometer showed a definite cold spot and the EMF detector…”

“EMF detector?” she questioned. “What’s that?”

He sighed in frustration. “Don’t you ever watch my videos, Swan?” No matter how many times he talked to her about his show, he could never get her to commit to watching his YouTube channel.

“You know I don’t believe in ghosts,” she said.

He rolled his eyes before explaining. “An EMF detector measures electromagnetic fields. A high reading indicates the presence of a spirit.” He paused, making sure he worded his next statement carefully. “And perhaps you had better rethink your position on ghosts, because my instruments strongly suggested paranormal activity around you.”

She closed her eyes and cursed. Killian picked up the bottle of water and held it out to her. She sat up and accepted it, taking a long drink as she propped her feet on the table beside him.

“Care to enlighten me as to why you fainted when I told you my findings?” he inquired.

Capping the bottle, she held it against her forehead for a minute or two - long enough for Killian to wonder if she was going to give him an answer. Finally, she looked up at him and murmured, “Do you remember Neal Cassidy?”

“The wanker who hung around outside your apartment for months after you broke up with him?”

“That’s the one. Did I tell you that he was sentenced to prison for drug trafficking?”

“Aye, you did.”

“Well, apparently he hung himself in his cell. They found his body this morning.”

Killian let out a low whistle. “You think it could be his spirit that was causing my instruments to spike?”

She looked down again, fiddling with the label on the water bottle. “Possibly…because…” She drew in a deep breath. “Because I saw him outside the coffee shop this morning,” she said on an exhale.

Trying not to overreact and make Emma even more uncomfortable, he swallowed hard. “Now, when you say you saw him…”

“I mean I saw him,” she emphasized. “My friend Ruby texted to tell me about Neal’s death and as I was in the process of answering her, I noticed this shadow that didn’t move outside the window where I was sitting. When I looked up, Neal was standing there, staring right at me. I blinked, then he was gone.”

Killian’s ‘ghost hunter’ mind was getting excited about the prospect of being able to investigate a spirit practically under his own nose, but his heart went out to her. Being haunted was something he was more or less used to, but he wouldn’t wish it on anyone.

“Did you see him again after that?” he asked.

“No, but I had this…feeling while I was walking home; like someone was watching me. It really freaked me out.”

“So when I told you there was a ghost following you…”

“It was lights out for me.” She buried her face in her hands. “I’m so embarrassed. I’ve never fainted before.”

Killian reached over and squeezed her shoulder. “There’s no reason for embarrassment, Love. I’ve met many people who’ve had the exact same reaction when faced with the possibility of being in the presence of a ghost.”

“Seriously?”

He rubbed his thumb against the bridge of his nose, trying to contain his impatience. “If you watched my YouTube channel, you would be aware of that.”

“No offense, but the last thing I want to do right now is watch people being haunted.”

“That’s quite understandable, considering what you’ve been through today.”

She took another swig of water, then looked up at him. “Do you think he’s gone? Moved on, or whatever?”

Killian blew out a breath. “Probably not. My guess is he has unfinished business or he would have already moved on.”

“That’s just great,” Emma muttered sarcastically. “How long can I expect him to hang around?”

“Until he accomplishes what he needs to do.”

“So what am I supposed to do until then?” she moaned.

“Just go about your daily routine. If you see him or sense he’s there, gently tell him that he has died and needs to move on.”

 “So saying ‘go to hell’ wouldn’t be a wise choice?”

He bark laughed. “I’m not sure that would be very effective.”

She drained the rest of the water, set the empty bottle on the table and stood up. Killian stood too, placing his hand on the small of her back. “Alright there, Swan?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m gonna go get something to eat and take it easy this afternoon until I have to go to work.”

“That sounds like a good plan.” As she started toward the door, he added, “Uh, Emma? Could I ask a favor of you?”

She turned to look at him. “A favor for the guy who carried me into his apartment and took care of me when I fainted like a prissy debutante? Sure.”

“If, um, if Neal’s spirit does reappear, would you be opposed to letting me document it?”

Crossing her arms over her chest, she tilted her head in contemplation. “What would you do exactly?”

“Use equipment to detect paranormal activity and post it to my YouTube channel.”

“You mean that ESPN detector and stuff like that?”

He sighed in exasperation. “It’s EMF, Swan. Yes, that and voice recorders to conduct EVP sessions…”

She raised an eyebrow at him. “Stop saying letters. You know I don’t know what that shit means.”

“Electronic voice phenomena sessions record sounds or voices from ghosts. If he’s trying to communicate with you, we might be able to pick it up on a voice recorder.”

Shrugging, she replied, “That’s fine. I’m sure it would get lots of hits for your channel.”

He stepped into her personal space, sincerity shining in his eyes. “I hope you know that’s not why I want to do this, Emma. My goal is to help you encourage him to move on so you will no longer have to deal with him. It’s bad enough he stalked you while he was alive; doing it after he’s dead is even worse.”

She gave a slight nod. “You’re right about that.” Pushing up to her toes, she brushed a kiss to his cheek. “Thanks again for everything, Killian. If I get the feeling he’s back, I’ll call you right away.”

“Day or night, Swan. I’m at your beck and call.”

“Good to know,” she smirked. “I’ll see you later.”

He watched her walk out the door, reaching up to rub his cheek where she kissed him. He was going to have to do his best to remain professional around her, but potentially having Emma as his next subject was going to be quite the challenge.

*********

Emma entered her apartment, quickly flipped on the light switch, and glanced around nervously. Not seeing or sensing anything out of the ordinary, she moved into the kitchen.

After heating up leftovers and eating lunch, she climbed into her worn, comfy recliner to scroll through Hulu. She tried to concentrate on her selected show, but her eyes kept darting around the room. “Fuck you, Neal,” she muttered. “Making me paranoid in my own home.”

Finally giving up on watching TV, she went into her bedroom to select her clothes for work that evening. Then she decided to take a long, relaxing bath. The longer she soaked in the tub without any sign of Neal’s ghostly image, the more she relaxed.

By the time she left for work three hours later, she was nearly back to her normal self and very hopeful that he had indeed moved on.

*********

After Emma left his apartment, Killian tidied up - dumping the melting ice cubes into the sink, hanging the towel to dry, and throwing the empty water bottle into his recycling bin. Then he checked all of his ghost hunting equipment, setting the batteries to charge if they were a little low.

Plopping down on the couch, he pulled up the message app on his phone and clicked on the group text with his technical director, Belle French, and his assistant, Will Scarlett.

K: We may have a new gig right here in my apartment building.

As expected, he got an immediate response from Will. The man’s eyes were practically glued to his phone screen most of the time.

W: Got a haunter right under your nose, do ya?

Belle’s answer several minutes later was a little more refined.

B: Can you provide us with any details?

K: My neighbor’s ex-boyfriend committed suicide in prison and she’s experiencing some paranormal activity. She says she saw his ghost outside a coffee shop and when she got home, I was in the hall with the EMF meter and thermo. Both of them spiked.

B: Oh, wow! That’s incredible! Sad for the guy and your neighbor, but what an opportunity!

W: Is this neighbor the hot blonde you’ve been crushin’ on for years?

Killian dropped his head back and groaned. He should have known better than to have confessed his unrequited feelings to his assistant during a boring all-nighter in an old warehouse in Portland, Maine last year.

K: That’s a very crass way to put it, but yes, it’s Emma.

W: You mean we might actually get to meet her?

K: Not if you’re going to be an ass about it.

W: I’ll be on me best behavior, I promise.

K: Why doesn’t that reassure me?

B: What are your plans, Killian?

Leave it to Belle to be the peacemaker of the conversation, Killian thought. If he was feeling vengeful toward Will, he could mention the crush his friend had on the auburn-haired beauty. How she never realized it, Killian would never know. Will was the very definition of heart eyes whenever he was around her.

K: I’ve got my equipment ready to go. If she senses anything, she’s going to call me. If it’s a recurring thing, we’ll set up an EVP session. I’ll let you know if anything happens. Just wanted to put you on alert.

B: Sounds good. I’ll be editing tomorrow. The new episode should be ready to post by Thursday.

K: Thanks, Belle. You’re the best!

W: He’s right, ya know. You really are bloody brilliant.

Seriously - how could she not see it when Will was always falling all over himself to proclaim her perfection?

Once Killian ended the conversation, he wandered into the room he used as his office.

“Hello, little brother.”

*********

From a very early age, Killian had been able to sense paranormal activity. He was confused by it for many years, but as he grew and began to read about ghosts, he realized he had a gift, albeit an unwanted one.

When he was twelve, his mother passed and he was there to witness her soul departing her body. She only stayed long enough to declare her never-ending love for her boys and bid him goodbye, before she moved on to her eternal reward.

Eight years later, when Liam died in a naval training exercise, Killian expected him to join their mother. However, his brother’s apparition began appearing to him from time to time. At first, his appearance was simply a mist, barely recognizable, but as Killian did more research into the paranormal and practiced tapping into his abilities, it became more discernible. Still, he was frustrated that he could see his brother, but was unable to speak to him.

He purchased several pieces of equipment used by paranormal investigators, hoping to enhance his encounters with Liam. They turned out to be very helpful, but Liam soon learned to communicate with his brother well enough that the tools weren’t necessary.

On a whim, Killian posted videos of himself explaining the use of equipment to make contact with ghosts on YouTube, and soon he was in demand as a paranormal investigator. People were willing to pay large sums of money to be able to make contact with their departed loved ones, or to encourage ghosts to move on. He quit his job as a dock worker and began traveling, taking his friend Will along with him, and when the technical aspects of editing and posting to YouTube proved too daunting, he hired Belle.

Even his closest friends were unaware that Killian’s deceased brother appeared and spoke with him on a regular basis; he wanted to keep that part of his life to himself.

*********

It still startled Killian whenever the apparition of his brother appeared, but it wasn’t ever an unwelcome intrusion. His visits never lasted long, but there was always enough time for a nice chat.

“Perhaps you’ve forgotten I’m a grown man and therefore your younger brother,” Killian reminded Liam, for at least the fiftieth time.

“I’m not sure that’s technically true any more, since you’ve now lived past the age I was when I died.”

Killian hated it when Liam talked about his own death. “You were born before me, so you’ll always be older.”

“Hmm…” Liam responded, giving his brother the maddening little nod that meant he was right and Killian was wrong. “So, the lovely lass you’re pining for was here today, aye?”

“How did you know that?” Killian asked unnecessarily. Obviously Liam had popped in and, being a tad preoccupied taking care of Emma, he hadn’t noticed.

“I’m not doing the job of watching over my little brother very well if I don’t know what’s going on in his life.”

Killian had never come right out and asked Liam about the unfinished business that kept him from moving on, but having been his guardian for years before his death, he was sure it was to continue taking care of him. Not that he needed it, but he wasn’t complaining, as long as he had a chance to have his older brother with him in some shape or form.

“She, uh…she fainted so I brought her in to lay her on my sofa. I couldn’t very well let her lay on the floor in the hallway.”

“What caused her to faint?” Liam asked, his playful tone giving way to concern.

“Seems she was visited by the ghost of her departed ex-boyfriend. You didn’t see him hanging around, did you?”

“You know spirits seldom bump into one another, unless they were associated with each other while they were living.”

“I just thought I would ask. It spooked her badly - no pun intended.”

“Have you agreed to help her?”

“Aye, if I can. The guy made her life miserable when he was alive. She shouldn’t have to put up with him after his death.”

Liam studied his brother for several moments. “Perhaps this will give you a chance to get closer to her. Maybe you’ll even work up the nerve to finally ask her out.”

Killian sighed. “I’m not going to do that when she’s so vulnerable, Liam. I simply want to get the tosser to move on.”

“And after that?”

“I don’t know,” Killian conceded.

“You’ve had feelings for that lass for ages, Killy. When are you going to act on them?”

“I’m afraid she’s only ever going to think of me as a friend. If I ask her out and she turns me down, I might lose her friendship, and I don’t want that to happen.”

“You’ll never know unless you try.”

Killian didn’t answer. He’d had this conversation with his brother before and Liam always pushed him to ask Emma out. He didn’t understand why his love life was so important to his brother, but whenever he asked him, Liam was evasive and refused to answer.

“Just think about it, Killian. I have to go. I love you, Brother.”

“Love you, too, Liam.”

He watched his brother’s translucent form dissolve, leaving him sad and lonely, as always. He didn’t know when Liam would complete his unfinished business, but he did know that when he finally did, Killian would be left alone once again.

Unbeknownst to him, Liam’s unfinished business was to see his brother happily married to the love of his life, but it was up to Killian to take the first step.

*********

Thanks very much for reading. Be sure to check out the other great stories in the CSSNS24 collection!

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[nerdragenewvegas]

I have so, so many thoughts about the kind of world shifting impact that a female Courier backing the Legion would have. I saw a discussion about this on tiktok and everyone in the comments was saying shit about the Courier's influence leading the Legion to change their policies on women, or her influence leading them to allow women of her choosing into battle or whatever. But I really, really believe that's idealistic and wishful thinking.

Now, I'm not saying that they'd throw a collar on the Courier. Assuming Caesar's alive and well, I don't think that'd even cross his mind. Caesar is a brilliant PR man, he understands how to control people and he's designed the Legion to operate on belief, and that belief isn't religion or even a shared political belief -- it's myth, because Caesar can control myths. He gets to write the history. He gets to tell the stories and decide which ones are important.

We see examples of how myth works in the Legion. Despite being an otherwise pragmatic and practical faction, the Legion uses myth to plug holes, to erase doubts. It's used sparingly and effectively.

Caesar himself is mythologized - he's the 'son of mars,' his founding of the Legion is legend in itself. He's raised up by those in the Legion as an expert strategist, a genius, an expert at warfare. But once you start digging into the Legion a little from the inside, you learn he's about as smart as anyone else. Sure, he's book smart to a point, but he's arguably about as smart as anyone with a foundational education could be if given access to the right literature. We learn that while he has a foundational understanding of warfare and strategy, he's far from an expert; in fact, he left most of that up to Joshua Graham, which cost them the First Battle of Hoover Dam. In matters of strategy, it's extremely clear that Vulpes is the real genius. The Legion is running rings around the NCR using guerilla tactics and espionage headed by Vulpes, victories like Searchlight and Nipton, and if the Courier sides with the Legion, Operation: Racket nearly cripples the NCR stationed on and around the Strip during the Second Battle of Hoover Dam. Caesar's strength is his people skills, his ability to manipulate, to understand how to effectively assemble people and control a mob until it's a well-trained army. Speaking of Vulpes, the furry fox femmeboy has mythology of his own. Caesar is eager to tell you the story of how Vulpes rose above his station, breaking rank and showing exceptional talent and tenacity (and a willingness to secure a victory for Caesar at any cost, including a certain execution for breaking ranks and disobeying his superior.) The Desert Fox, hand picked by the Son of Mars, who spared him from an execution and instead saw fit to declare him his frumentarii. (okay this turned into an essay so there's a cut here I'm sorry)

The greatest and most notorious example of Caesar creating myth, though, is in Lanius. We hear so much about him before we ever lay eyes on him -- I'd actually argue that we spend more time hearing about Lanius than we ever do speaking to him or even occupying the same space as him. If Vulpes is the knife, Lanius is the hammer, brutal and violent and frightening and loud, and Caesar wants everyone to know that. Lanius is feared all over the Mojave; few who lay eyes on him survive, but the stories are so prolific in how they impact those who hear them that it's accepted that an encounter with Lanius is most likely an encounter with death (or something worse, in some cases.) Once again, hand-picked by Caesar, chosen specifically by the son of Mars for his martial superiority but also for his brutality, his well controlled and channelled rage. To be full of rage is one thing, but to be able to effectively harness and direct it? That is something rare, and something Caesar noticed immediately. He is large, visually frightening, a dominating presence with a voice to match -- and, to the surprise of most players on their first run, he's far more intelligent than anyone gives him credit for. In fact, Caesar seems to leave this out when discussing him, almost deliberately. Lanius can be cruel, vengeful, terrifying, a 6'11" nightmare of a man, but intelligence? Intelligence implies there may be reasoning with him, that he may show mercy, that he is not controlled by a blood lust -- and that doesn't fit in with Caesar's myth.

And that's what's most notable about the myth of Lanius -- that it's weaponised. Where Vulpes and Caesar's mythology is to elevate them within the Legion and command respect and loyalty, Lanius' myth also serves to frighten the enemy. The tribes surely hear about Lanius long before the Legion arrive to assimilate them, and you'd be a fool to resist when you know that the Legion meets resistance with Lanius. The NCR soldiers on the field may think Caesar is just an old man who's full of shit and that Vulpes is just another twink who chose murder instead of therapy, but Lanius? They've all heard about Lanius. They've seen the reports. They've heard the stories about how he crushed a trooper's head in his fist like it was a mutfruit, how a First Recon sniper saw it from miles away and didn't even need her scope to know it was him because he's so fucking huge that he's almost as big as someone in power armor. Caesar was faced with a humiliating defeat, one so monumental that it threatened the foundation that his Legion's army was built on, and he needed to not only ensure his men would hold none of the doubts that Graham may have sewn with them, but he needed the NCR to know that as fierce as Graham was, he was hardly a loss to the Legion because his alternative is far, far worse. (And this is without going into how Caesar used myth adversely to defame Joshua Graham and ensure that the loss of the first battle was the fault of an individual and nothing else that could shake the loyalty of the men.)

So when it comes to The Courier, what is her use once Hoover Dam is won? Caesar has an interesting situation on his hands -- to simply treat the Courier as he would any other amicus or ally would raise questions. The women would get ideas of their own, and some of the men may start to ask questions about what else women may bring to combat; and they may just be questions, but questions are extremely dangerous when you're running an operation like the Legion. Questions quickly become discussions, which turn into arguments, which turns into infighting and dissent.

Caesar could always assimilate the Courier, offer her a good position as an officer's wife (maybe even his own) simply as a political arrangement. She would have her freedoms without conflicting with the Legion. She could act as a good example for other women living in Legion territory, 'be a good woman and demonstrate your loyalty and you, too, can find a good match who'll treat you far better than the women who resist. If you're as lucky as me, your husband might even allow you your freedoms and lavish you in gifts and luxury.' Simultaneously, the Courier could act as a promise to the men, 'be loyal in your service to Caesar and your victories will be rewarded with a wife as honorable and exalted as the Courier, a strong woman who will bear strong children and bring honour to your bloodline, not to be shared with other men like a slave, but reserved for you and you alone.' But the burning question here is if the Courier would want that, if she'd even consider agreeing to it. It's such a loaded proposal that even asking it is a gamble. Caesar has learned what this woman is capable of and while he wouldn't say that he fears her, offending the woman who all but secured victory in his campaign for the Mojave is not a good idea. She may not be able to burn the Legion down herself, but the men know she exists and have fought beside her and can and will bear witness to her works -- and this is not someone Caesar wants talking shit about him, because that word will eventually travel back to his men, which, again, results in questions.

As for allowing women to participate in battle in her honor? The problem there is that women being barred from combat isn't because Caesar takes issue with it -- it's purely practical concern, part of his commitment to minmax, the practice of ensuring maximum efficiency, of securing maximum payoff, of wasting nothing, including a womb. Anyone can stand on a frontline and try to stick some dipshit from California with the point end of a spear, but bearing children? That is only something that women can do, and it's a biological limitation that Caesar cannot change. You put a man in combat with the understanding that he's likely to die -- if he doesn't? That's a bonus. To put a woman in that position is not to just waste a combat unit, it's to waste a uterus, it's to waste potential children, future legionaries that are needed to replace the ones you're losing in combat. The Legion has just gone through a major war campaign and they need to replenish their numbers desperately. Will women be ruled out of combat forever? Maybe one day, when birth-rates are stabilized and the population is sustainable -- Caesar isn't a fucking idiot, he's probably more than aware that by excluding women from combat, the Legion is missing out on women who are potentially just as capable as Vulpes or Lanius. But until then? It's unlikely to be something he thinks he can afford.

So what option does that leave? Throw a collar on her and have her dragged to an auction block if she won't assimilate willingly and without complaint? He knows better than that -- she'd either radicalise and organize the women into a violent rebellion (or suicide pact) before she even got out of the holding pen, or murder whoever won her the second he gets his dick out. And that's without going into the question of how the men would react to seeing The Courier, The Courier who chose the Legion and did all that for them, in a slave collar like any regular fucking woman from some deadshit tribe. To sacrifice so much, to fight to hard and be so loyal and not be rewarded but enslaved? What kind of message does that send, even if the Courier's does have ripe ovaries?

The Courier would need to be an exception to the rule -- the same way that Vulpes was an exception to the rule when Caesar chose to spare him from execution, the same way that Lanius was an exception to the rule when Caesar chose to reward an exceptional warrior rather than make an example of a disobedient tribal conquest. When Vulpes became an exception, he became a myth. When Lanius became an exception, he became a myth. To make The Courier a myth is to elevate her above the other women as an exceptional creature, something so very above them that she is the one case where keeping her off the field would be far more of a waste than not putting a child in her. It would send a clear message to his men that this woman is unlike the others, hand picked by the son of mars, and you are to listen to her as you would Lanius or Vulpes. The Courier is not to be disrespected, disobeyed or touched. If even a woman can rise above her station and become a hero of the Legion with a coin minted in her honor, what excuse do you have? The Courier chose to be exceptional, and your own position or failure to thrive is born of your own choice to not excel as she or Vulpes or Lanius has. To be exceptional is a choice, and that is why Caesar hand picked the chosen he did -- because they understood that.

The Courier becomes myth, an both an example of potential and an example of the unattainable at once. Something so exalted that for the other women to think they could achieve the same to rebel would be unrealistic, that the men would dare not assume themselves worthy enough to be entitled to her the way they may be any other woman in their midsts, be it as a conquest or a concubine or even a wife.

So, no, I don't think Caesar would change the rules for the Courier. I think Caesar would do as he did for Vulpes and Lanius and use exceptionalism to simultaneously keep the status quo while also making it perfectly clear that while those rules apply to everyone else, they don't apply to the Courier.

I think about this a lot.

I know this is unhinged I'm sorry I'm just sitting here rambling like a nutjob while I wait for this thing to download.

[remembertheplunge]

Only Dancing With It Will See Us Through

“There is no satisfaction. A blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive.”

Martha Graham to Agnes de Mille. From “Creating a life worth living, fly page 2/4/2020 Tuesday 5:46am

The above quote was written in a journal that I began on October 17, 2019. The last entry I made before I misplaced the journal was on February 5, 2020. The Covid 19 pandemic had not yet begun in California where I lived.  The following entry is the first in this journal after I relocated it and after the pandemic had roared into our lives:

“This journal was lost under a pile  of books until now. It emerges into a different world. The world of the last entry, 2/5/2020 is gone. Done. Shut. Over. The second geography ended 3/15/2020. The Corona Virus pilgrimage began the third geography. The second geography set was struck during the week of March 16-20, 2020. It’s now Sunday, April 26, 2020. It’s 6:11am. Everything now is radio active. Poisonous. To touch or to talk to closely with another is potentially fatal. We have become a party of one. The virus is invisible, silent. Relentless. It seeks donor bodies like a mosquito seeks blood. Second geography denial is music to the virus’s ears. To group is to die. Group oriented capitalism is a potentially fatal endeavor. The world has shrunk away to your house, your car , the store. Money and machines hold no sway in the virus’s relentless march. Orders and control also are useless in its path.

Only dancing with it will see us through.

End of entry

Notes:

Agnes de Mille was an American dancer and choreographer Martha Graham was an American dancer and choreographer. 

I call the time after I quit drinking on February 21, 2011 the second geography. It was a land of working out in gyms, personal trainers, writing in coffee houses, seeing movies and plays.  All of this done alcohol free.  But, the advent of Covid 19 in March 2020 led to the third geography which to some extent still exists. I now, in 2024,  almost never go to coffee houses, movies or plays. I write and blog instead, which are solitary pursuits. The fear of the virus still pervades, but in a subdued form.

When a play's run is over, the play set is taken down. This is called "striking the set".

I actually love the quote by Martha Graham that begins this entry. I agree, there is no satisfaction. Even now as I write this, I feel anxious. But, the anxiousness propels the pen, or the fingers dancing on the computer keys. The pursuit of happiness is like chasing a ghost. Instead, turn dissatisfaction into gold via channeling it into a creative endeavor.

[darkmaga-retard]

UOTUW LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/TheUnionOfTheUnwanted

In this episode of Union of the Unwanted, the hosts engage in a wide-ranging discussion covering several topics, including conspiracy theories, politics, and the influence of the deep state. They start by talking about their expanding streaming platforms and giving shoutouts to fans, with a humorous tone as they banter about their personal appearances.

The conversation takes a more serious turn when the group delves into the alleged assassination attempt on Donald Trump, with various theories ranging from incompetence within the Secret Service to a staged event for political gain. Some believe it could have been a psychological operation (psy-op) to further elevate Trump's status as a "God Emperor" or strongman figure. There’s skepticism, with some panelists suggesting Trump might have been in on it, while others insist it was an attempt by the deep state to create chaos or even initiate a civil war.

The episode also touches on broader themes of misinformation, political manipulation, and the ways in which governments, especially in the U.S., might manufacture events to control the population. There's a lot of speculation about civil war, societal breakdown, and how elites might be planning long-term chaos for their benefit.

▀▄▀▄▀ THE UNWANTED: HOSTS ▀▄▀▄▀

Ricky Varandas: The Ripple Effect Podcast Website: www.TheRippleEffectPodcast.com Youtube Clips: https://youtube.com/channel/UCVfy9MXhb5EIciYRIO9cKUw Rokfin: www.Rokfin.com/RippleEffect Twitter: https://twitter.com/RvTheory6

Charlie Robinson: Macroaggresions Website: http://theoctopusofglobalcontrol.com/ Rokfin: https://www.rokfin.com/Macroaggressions Twitter: @macroaggressio3

Sam Tripoli: Tin Foil Hat Podcast Website: www.SamTripoli.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/fatdragonpro

Midnight Mike: The OBDM Podcast Website: http://obdmpod.com/ Twitter: @obdmpod

▀▄▀▄▀ GUEST HOSTS for 93 ▀▄▀▄▀ MONICA PEREZ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MonicaPerezShow Website: www.MonicasDeepDives.com Website: https://www.thepropreport.com/

Graham, Grimerica: https://grimerica.ca/ | https://grimericaoutlawed.ca/ https://adultbrain.ca/the-fallacy-of-vaccination-by-alexander-wilder/

Scott Armstrong: https://libertylinks.io/Rebunked

Alex Tsakiris: https://skeptiko.com/

Maryam Henein : https://www.honeycolony.com/ : https://simplytransformative.com/

Dave Alcott: Nauti By Nature | Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-5527827

Chris Yanak : https://rainedoutrantcast.com/

Steve Poikonen: slownewsdayshow.com | "AM Wake Up" on Rokfin

Teasce Snyder : https://www.teace.ca/   

Kristi Leigh: https://www.kristileightv.com/

Tony Arterburn : https://linktr.ee/wisewolfgold

Mel K - The Mel K Show Website: https://themelkshow.com/show/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/TheMelKShow

Pasta Jardula: https://t.co/NkUibm3KU3 @yopasta

[docrotten]

SHIVERS (1975) – Episode 198 – Decades Of Horror 1970s

“So what he came up with … was a parasite that’s a combination of aphrodisiac and venereal disease that will hopefully turn the world into one beautiful, mindless orgy.” Wait a minute. Hopefully? Join your faithful Grue Crew – Doc Rotten, Bill Mulligan, Chad Hunt, and Jeff Mohr – as they check out David Cronenberg’s first “official” movie, Shivers (1975). Do you feel the frisson?

Decades of Horror 1970s Episode 198 – Shivers (1975)

Join the Crew on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel! Subscribe today! And click the alert to get notified of new content! https://youtube.com/gruesomemagazine

Decades of Horror 1970s is partnering with the WICKED HORROR TV CHANNEL (https://wickedhorrortv.com/) which now includes video episodes of the podcast and is available on Roku, AppleTV, Amazon FireTV, AndroidTV, and its online website across all OTT platforms, as well as mobile, tablet, and desktop.

The residents of a suburban high-rise apartment building are being infected by a strain of parasites that turn them into mindless, sex-crazed fiends out to infect others with the slightest sexual contact.

  Writer/Director: David Cronenberg

Producer: Ivan Reitman

Executive Producers: John Dunning, André Link

Creatures Creator / Special Makeup Artist: Joe Blasco

Selected Cast:

Paul Hampton as Roger St. Luc

Joe Silver as Rollo Linsky

Lynn Lowry as Nurse Forsythe

Allan Kolman as Nicholas Tudor (as Alan Migicovsky)

Susan Petrie as Janine Tudor

Barbara Steele as Betts

Ronald Mlodzik as Merrick

Barry Baldaro as Detective Heller (as Barry Boldero)

Camil Ducharme as Mr. Guilbault (as Camille Ducharme)

Hanna Poznanska as Mrs. Guilbault (as Hanka Posnanska)

Fred Doederlein as Emil Hobbes

Cathy Graham as Annabelle

David Cronenberg as  Infected Crowd Member / Stabbed Shoulder (uncredited)

Whether you remember it as The Parasite Murders or They Came from Within, David Cronenberg’s early horror film from 1975, Shivers, is one of cinematic curiosity, taboo/body-horror, and skin-crawling terror. Produced by Ivan Reitman, the film features the beautiful Lynn Lowry and the stunning Barbara Steele along with character actor supreme Joe Silver with the calm, cool, and collected Paul Hampton in the lead. Oh, yeah, and dozens – if not hundreds – of sleazy, slimy, fat, worm-like mind-altering monsters. Cronenberg made a career of pushing the celluloid limits and Shivers is a perfect example of what is to come from Canada’s top master of horror. 

At the time of this writing, Shivers is available to stream from Wicked Horror TV, Tubi, and multiple PPV sources. The film is also available on physical media as a Blu-ray in the Vestron Video Collector’s Series from Lionsgate.

Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror 1970s is part of the Decades of Horror two-week rotation with The Classic Era and the 1980s. In two weeks, the next episode, chosen by Chad, will be Black Magic (1975). Abracadabra, Shaw Brothers please, and thank you!

We want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans: comment on the site or email the Decades of Horror 1970s podcast hosts at feedback@gruesomemagazine.com. 

Check out this episode!

[warningsine]

In 2010, Time magazine made Mark Zuckerberg its person of the year. It described Facebook’s mission as being to “tame the howling mob and turn the lonely, antisocial world of random chance into a friendly world”. During the first decade of mass internet use, this was a popular theory: the more that people were able to communicate with others, the more friendly and understanding they would become, the result being a more peaceable and harmonious world.

In 2021, that vision seems painfully naive. Howling online mobs clash day and night, and some of them commit real-world violence. The internet is connecting people, but it isn’t necessarily creating fellow feeling. At its worst, it can resemble a vast machine for the production of mutual antipathy.

Technology is at least partially responsible for a world in which toxic disagreement is ubiquitous; in which offence seems to be constantly given and taken; in which we do ever more talking and ever less listening. The Silicon Valley entrepreneur Paul Graham has observed that the internet is a medium that engenders disagreement by design. Digital media platforms are inherently interactive and, well, people are disputatious.

As Graham puts it, “agreeing tends to motivate people less than disagreeing”. Readers are more likely to comment on an article or post when they disagree with it, and in disagreement they have more to say (there are only so many ways you can say “I agree”). People also tend to get more animated when they disagree, which usually means getting angry.

But while it is tempting to blame Facebook and Twitter for making us this way, that would be to miss the significance of a wider and more profound shift in human behaviour – one that has been decades, even centuries, in the making. Socially, as well as electronically, there are fewer one-way channels than ever. Everyone is starting to talk back to everyone else. If we are becoming more disagreeable, it’s because the modern world demands we speak our minds.

The American anthropologist Edward T Hall introduced a distinction between two types of communication culture: high context and low context. In a low-context culture, communication is explicit and direct. What people say is taken to be an expression of their thoughts and feelings. You don’t need to understand the context – who is speaking, in what situation – to understand the message. A high-context culture is one in which little is said explicitly, and most of the message is implied. The meaning of each message resides not so much in the words themselves, as in the context. Communication is oblique, subtle, ambiguous.

Most of us, wherever we are in the world, are living increasingly low-context lives, as more and more of us flock to cities, do business with strangers and converse over smartphones. Different countries still have different communication cultures, but nearly all of them are subject to the same global vectors of commerce, urbanisation and technology – forces that dissolve tradition, flatten hierarchy and increase the scope for confrontation. It’s not at all clear that we are prepared for this.

For most of our existence as a species, humans have operated in high-context mode. Our ancestors lived in settlements and tribes with shared traditions and settled chains of command. Now, we frequently encounter others with values and customs different to our own. At the same time, we are more temperamentally egalitarian than ever. Everywhere you look, there are interactions in which all parties have or demand an equal voice. Everyone expects their opinion to be heard and, increasingly, it can be. In this raucous, irreverent, gloriously diverse world, previously implicit rules about what can and cannot be said are looser and more fluid, sometimes even disappearing. With less context to guide our decisions, the number of things on which “we all agree” is shrinking fast.

Think about what defines low-context culture, at least in its extreme form: endless chatter, frequent argument; everyone telling you what they think, all the time. Remind you of anything? As Ian Macduff, an expert in conflict resolution, puts it, “the world of the internet looks predominantly like a low-context world”.

If humans were purely rational entities, we would listen politely to an opposing view before offering a considered response. In reality, disagreement floods our brain with chemical signals that make it hard to focus on the issue at hand. The signals tell us that this is an attack on me. “I disagree with you” becomes “I don’t like you”. Instead of opening our minds to the other’s point of view, we focus on defending ourselves.

Animals respond to threat with two basic tactics, first identified by the Harvard biologist Walter Bradford Cannon in 1915: fight or flight. Humans are no different. A disagreement can tempt us to become aggressive and lash out, or it can induce us to back off and swallow our opinions out of a desire to avoid conflict. These atavistic responses still influence our behaviour in today’s low-context environments: we either get into hostile and mostly pointless arguments, or do everything we can to avoid arguing at all. Both responses are dysfunctional.

You don’t have to look far to see the fight response to disagreement: just open your social media feeds or read the comments section on your favourite website. The internet is reputed to create “echo chambers”, in which people only encounter views they already agree with, but the evidence points in precisely the opposite direction. Research tells us that social media users have more diverse news diets than non-users. You are almost bound to encounter opinions that upset you on Twitter; much more so than if your only information source is a daily newspaper. Instead of creating bubbles, the internet is bursting them, generating hostility, fear and anger.

One reason online discourse is so often so furious is because it has been designed to be this way. Studies have shown that content that outrages is more likely to be shared. Users who post angry messages get the status boost of likes and retweets, and the platforms on which those messages are posted gain the attention and engagement that they sell to advertisers. Online platforms therefore have an incentive to push forward the most extreme versions of every argument. Nuance, reflection and mutual understanding are not just casualties of the crossfire, but necessary victims.

But it would be a profound mistake to conclude from all this that we are arguing too much. The hollow outrage we see online is actually evidence of the absence of real, reflective disagreements: fight as a smokescreen for flight.

It’s often said that if humanity is to rise to the existential threats it faces, we must put our differences aside. But when we all agree – or pretend to – it becomes harder to make progress. Disagreement is a way of thinking, perhaps the best one we have, critical to the health of any shared enterprise, from marriage to business to democracy. We can use it to turn vague notions into actionable ideas, blind spots into insights, distrust into empathy. Instead of putting our differences aside, we need to put them to work.

To do so, we will have to overcome a widespread discomfort with disagreement. Disagreeing well is hard, and for most of us, stressful. But perhaps if we learn to see it as a skill in its own right, rather than as something that comes naturally, we might become more at ease with it. I believe we have a lot to learn from those who manage adversarial, conflict-ridden situations for a living; people whose job it is to wring information, insight and human connection out of even the most hostile encounter.

At the 1972 Olympic Games in West Germany, a group of Palestinian terrorists seized 11 Israeli athletes. The terrorists made their demands, the authorities refused them. The Munich police resorted to firepower. Twenty-two people were killed, including all the hostages. In the wake of what became known as the Munich Massacre, law-enforcement agencies around the world realised they had an urgent problem. Officers communicating with hostage-takers in order to avoid or minimise violence had no protocol to follow. Police departments realised that they needed to learn negotiation skills.

Hostage negotiators, who may be specialists or trained officers with other responsibilities, are now deployed in a wide range of situations. The best ones are not just expert in tactics; they understand the importance of what the sociologist Erving Goffman called “face-work”. In Goffman’s terms, “face” is the public image a person wants to establish in a social interaction. We put effort into establishing the appropriate face for each encounter: the face you want to show a potential boss will be different to the face you want to show someone on a date. This effort is face-work.

With people we trust and know well, we don’t worry so much about face, but with those we don’t know – especially when those people have some power over us – we put in the face-work. When someone puts in face-work and yet doesn’t achieve the face they want, they feel bad. If you strive to be seen as authoritative and someone treats you with minimal respect, you feel embarrassed and even humiliated. In some circumstances you might try to sabotage the encounter to feel better.

People skilled in the art of disagreement don’t just think about their own face; they’re highly attuned to the other’s face. One of the most powerful social skills is the ability to give face; to confirm the public image that the other person wishes to project. In any conversation, when the other person feels their desired face is being accepted and confirmed, they’re going to be a lot easier to deal with, and more likely to listen to what you have to say.

No one knows this better than hostage negotiators. Hostage crises can be divided into two types. In “instrumental” crises, the interaction tends to be relatively rational in character. The hostage-taker sets out clear demands, and a bargaining process ensues. In “expressive” crises, the hostage-takers want to say something – to people at home, to the world. They are usually people who have acted impulsively: a father who has kidnapped his daughter after losing custody, a man who has tied up his girlfriend and is threatening to kill her. Most often, negotiators are dealing with individuals who have taken themselves hostage: people who have climbed to the top of a tall building and are threatening to jump. The hostage-taker in an expressive scenario is usually on edge, emotionally – angry, desperate, deeply insecure, and liable to act in unpredictable ways.

Negotiators are taught to soothe and reassure the hostage-taker before getting to the negotiation. William Donohue, a professor of communication at the University of Michigan, has spent decades studying conflict-ridden conversations – some successful, some failed – involving terrorists, pirates, and people on the brink of suicide. He talked to me about a key component of face: how powerful a person feels. Hostage-takers in expressive situations want their importance to be recognised in some way – to have their status acknowledged.

Donohue and his collaborator Paul Taylor, of Lancaster University, coined the term “one-down” to describe the party, in any kind of negotiation, who feels most insecure about their relative status. One-down parties are more likely to act aggressively and competitively, at the expense of finding common ground or coming up with solutions. In 1974, Spain and the US opened negotiations over the status of certain US military bases on Spanish soil. The political scientist Daniel Druckman looked at when American and Spanish negotiators adopted “hard tactics” or “soft tactics”. He found that the Spanish team used threats and accusations three times as often as the American team. The Spanish, one-down, were aggressively asserting their autonomy.

When a hostage-taker feels dominated, he is more likely to resort to violence. “That’s when words fail,” Donohue told me. “In effect, the hostage-taker says: ‘You haven’t acknowledged respect for me, so I have to gain it by controlling you physically.’” People will go to great, even self-destructive lengths to avoid the perception that they are being walked over. One-down parties often play dirty, attacking their adversary from unexpected, hard-to-defend angles. Instead of looking for solutions that might work for everyone, they treat every negotiation as a zero-sum game in which someone must win and the other must lose. Instead of engaging with the content, they attack the person as a way of asserting their status.

By contrast, there are those who enter a negotiation expecting to succeed because they are, or perceive themselves to be, in the stronger position. They may well therefore adopt a more relaxed and expansive approach, focusing on the substance of the disagreement and looking for win-win solutions. They may also take more risks with their face, making moves that might otherwise be seen as weak, offering a more friendly and conciliatory dialogue. Since they don’t fear losing face, they can reach out a hand.

This is why giving face is so important. It is in a negotiator’s interest for their counterpart to feel as secure as possible. Skilled negotiators are always trying to create the adversary they want. They know that when they’re one-up, the smart thing to do is to narrow the gap.

In any conversation where there is an unequal power balance, the more powerful party is more likely to be focused on the top line – on the content or matter at hand – while the one-down party focuses on the relationship. Here are a few examples:

A parent says: “Why did you come home so late?” The teenage daughter thinks: “You’re treating me like a little kid.”

A doctor says: “We can’t find anything wrong with you.” The patient thinks: “You don’t care about me.”

A politician says: “The economy is growing more strongly than ever.” A voter thinks: “Stop talking to me like I’m an idiot.”

When a debate becomes volatile and dysfunctional, it’s often because someone in the conversation feels they are not getting the face they deserve. This helps to explain the pervasiveness of bad temper on social media, which can sometimes feel like a status competition in which the currency is attention. On Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, anyone can get likes, retweets or new followers – in theory. But although there are exceptions, it is actually very hard for people who are not already celebrities to build a following. Gulled by the promise of high status, users then get angry when status is denied. Social media appears to give everyone an equal chance of being heard. In reality, it is geared to reward a tiny minority with massive amounts of attention, while the majority has very little. The system is rigged.

So far, we’ve been talking about one aspect of face-work: status. However, there is another, closely related yet distinct component of a person’s face, which is not so much about how high or low they feel, as who they feel they are.

Elisa Sobo, a professor of anthropology at San Diego State University, has interviewed parents who refuse vaccines. Why were these people, many of them smart and highly educated, ignoring mainstream medical advice that was based on sound science? Sobo concluded that for these individuals opposition to vaccines is not just a belief, but an “act of identification” – that is, it’s more about opting in to a group than opting out of a treatment, like “getting a gang tattoo, slipping on a wedding ring, or binge-watching a popular streamed TV show”. The refusal is “more about who one is and with whom one identifies than who one isn’t or whom one opposes”. Sobo points out that this is also true of those who opt in to vaccines: our desire to be associated with mainstream views on medicine is also a way of signalling who we are. That’s why arguments between the two sides quickly become clashes of identity.

According to William Donohue, what drags participants into destructive conflict is usually a struggle over who they are. “I’ve seen it in hostage situations, in politics, in marital arguments,” he said. “You don’t know anything, you have problems, you’re insensitive. One person feels like the other is attacking who they are, so they defend themselves, or hit back. It escalates.”

That our opinions come tangled up with our sense of ourselves is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is something we need to be aware of when trying to get someone to do something they do not want to do, whether that’s stop smoking, adapt to a new working practice, or vote for our candidate. Our goal should be to prise the disputed opinion or action away from the person’s sense of self – to lower the identity stakes. The skilful disagreer finds a way of helping their adversary conclude that they can say or do something different, and still be themselves.

One way to do that is to have the disagreement away from an audience. In Boston in 1994, in the wake of a shooting at an abortion clinic, the philanthropist Laura Chasin reached out to six abortion activists, three of them pro-life, three pro-choice, and asked them to meet in secret to see if they could build some kind of understanding. Hard and even painful as it was, the six women met, clandestinely, over a period of years. At first, they found their positions hardening, and none of them ever changed their minds on the fundamental points. But over time, as they got to know each other, they felt able to think, communicate and negotiate in more unconstrained, less simplistic ways. The less that people feel compelled to maintain their face in front of allies, the more flexible they feel able to be.

The same principle applies to workplace conflicts. In front of an audience of colleagues, people are more likely to focus on how they want to be seen, rather than on the right way to solve the problem. If it is important to me to be seen as competent, I might react angrily to any challenge to my work. If I want to be seen as nice and cooperative, I might refrain from expressing my strongly felt opposition to a proposal in terms strong enough for anyone to notice. That’s why, when a difficult work conversation arises, the participants often propose to “take it offline”. The phrase used to mean simply an in-person discussion, but it has gained an additional nuance: “Let’s take this potentially tough conversation to a place where there is less at stake for our faces.”

Taking a disagreement offline can work, but it should only ever be seen as a second-best option. It means the problem at hand is exposed to the scrutiny of fewer minds, losing the benefits of open disagreements. The best way to lower the identity stakes is to create a workplace culture in which people do not feel much need to protect their face; a culture in which different opinions are explicitly encouraged, mistakes are expected, rules of conduct are understood, and everyone trusts that everyone else cares about the collective goal. Then you can really have it out.

Still, in most disagreements, face is at stake in some way, and while getting out of sight of an audience is one way of lowering the identity stakes, another way is to give face – to affirm your adversary’s ideal sense of themselves. When you show me that you believe in who I am and want to be seen as, you make it easier for me to reconsider my position. By being personally gracious, you can depersonalise the disagreement.

Sometimes that can be as simple as offering a compliment at the very moment your adversary feels most vulnerable. Jonathan Wender, a former cop who co-founded an organisation called Polis that trains US police officers in de-escalation, has written a book about policing in which he notes that the act of arrest is a moment of potential humiliation for the suspect. Wender argues that when police officers are making an arrest, they should do what they can to make the person being arrested feel better about themselves.

He gives the example of arresting a man he calls Calvin, suspected of violent assault: “The officer and I each took hold of one of Calvin’s arms and told him he was under arrest. He began to struggle and was clearly ready to fight. Given his large stature and history of violence, we wanted to avoid fighting with Calvin, which would inevitably leave him and officers injured. I told Calvin, ‘Look, you’re just too big for us to fight with.’”

Wender writes: “Officers can de-escalate a potential fight by … affirming his dignity, especially in public.” It is in a cop’s interest to make the person they have arrested feel good, or at least less bad, about themselves. This is common sense – or at least it ought to be. It is amazing how often people commit what you might call the overdog’s mistake: when, having achieved a dominant position, they brutally ram their advantage home, wounding the other party’s sense of self. By doing so, they might gain some fleeting satisfaction, but they also create the adversary they do not want.

Wounded people are dangerous. In Memphis, when I visited a Polis training session, I watched as the instructor told the class that when he was a cop, he had seen officers hit suspects after they had been cuffed, sometimes in front of the suspect’s friends or family. Not only was that wrong, he said, it was dumb: the act of humiliating someone in an arrest “can kill your colleagues”. There was a grave murmur of assent in the room. Suspects who have been humiliated do not forget it, and some extract terrible revenge on a cop – any cop – years down the line. Humiliation hurts the humiliators and those associated with them. In a study of 10 international diplomatic crises, the political scientists William Zartman and Johannes Aurik described how, when stronger countries exert power over weaker countries, the weaker ones accede in the short term but look for ways to retaliate later on.

The US politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has described how to have a conversation with someone with whom you strongly disagree. You don’t have to share her politics to see that it is good advice:

“I have this mentor. And one of the best pieces of advice that he gave me is ‘always give someone the golden gate of retreat’, which is: give someone enough compassion, enough opportunity in a conversation for them to look good changing their mind. And it’s a really important thing to be able to do, because if you’re just like, ‘Oh you said this thing! You’re racist!’, you’re forcing that person to say, ‘No I’m not’. Et cetera. There’s no golden gate of retreat there. The only retreat there is to just barrel right through the opposing opinion.”

When we’re in an argument with someone, we should be thinking about how they can change their mind and look good – maintain or even enhance their face – at the same time. Often this is very hard to do in the moment of the dispute itself, when opinion and face are bound even more tightly together than they are before or after (the writer Rachel Cusk defines an argument as “an emergency of self-definition”). However, by showing that we have listened to and respected our interlocutor’s point of view, we make it more likely that they will come around at some later point. If and when they do, we should avoid scolding them for not agreeing with us all along. It’s amazing quite how often people in polarised debates do this; it hardly makes it more tempting to switch sides. Instead, we should remember that they have achieved something we have not: a change of mind.

[jaynedolluk]

BEST TV OF 2022 PART 3

I watched quite a few films on Netflix. My favourites were: The White Tiger, Do Revenge, Werewolves Within, Wendell + Wild, Glass Onion, The School for Good & Evil, The Curse of Bridge Hollow, The Bubble, Don’t Look Up, Metal Lords (altho’ Skullflower never fails to make me laugh), Manc, Enola Holmes 2 and The Trial of the Chicago Seven. I really didn’t like Blonde tho’ – I thought it did a huge disservice to Marilyn Monroe by only showing her victimhood.

  I watch a lot of detective/crime dramas. 2022 saw the return of some of my favourites – McDonald & Dodds, Van Der Valk, Shetland, Death in Paradise, The Alienist, Vienna Blood, Traces, Grantchester, Top Boy, Bloodlands, The Capture (I thought the 2nd series was stronger than the 1st) Professor T., Gangs of London, and Strike. Also, We Hunt Together (which I think is incredibly under-rated and I can’t understand why the dark femininity crew aren’t all over it). Another couple of shows I think are really under-rated are Babylon Berlin + Snowfall – really don’t understand why they don’t get more love.

New crime dramas/thrillers included Inside Man (would love a spin-off series w/Stanley Tucci’s character), Nine Perfect Strangers, The House Across the Street, Tokyo Vice (personally, I thought it was over-rated), Wreck (pleased to see it’s already getting a second series), Sherwood, Rules of the Game and Four Lives (about the victims of the serial killer Stephen Port). A couple of BBC dramas I really liked were Red Rose, Chloe and The Responder and Channel 4 did a good prison drama, Screw which I hope gets recommissioned.

ITV also did a reasonably good adaptation of The Ipcress File as well as a drama about that man who faked his own death then turned up in South America as part of an insurance fraud – The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe – and The Walk-In w/Stephen Graham, based on the true life case of someone giving evidence against a fascist group. Channel 4 did a quick turnaround to do a show based on the Vardy vs. Rooney court case. BBC also did one called Floodlights which was the true story of child abuse in football.

I did watch Dahmer + thought it was excellent but really hard to watch. Plus, I actually loved The Watcher (despite it getting slated by the critics).

  I was glad to see the return of Chucky which was as mad as ever plus The Terror (which this time was set in World War 2 in a Japanese internment camp), Inside No. 9, the final series of Noughts & Crosses and Dr Who (seeing the end of Jodie Whittaker’s turn as the Doctor). Also returning for second series on Netflix were two favourites of my mine, Russian Doll and Umbrella Academy and I finally watched S1 of Squid Game (which I loved). There were also new shows such as Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities, The Sandman and Wednesday (which was one of my favourites of the year) plus I finally got round to watching The Irregulars (sad to see it got cancelled after only one series). Sky did an adaptation of The Midwich Cuckoos (which I quite liked) plus a great time travel show called The Lazarus Project (which I really hope gets another season). Harley Quinn returned + I love the relationship between Harley & Ivy.

[stopeatingwhales]

"you're still blushing," x damon albarn

I haven't written something for damon in ages so here you all go <333

Pairing: 90s damon albarn x reader

Warnings: nothing :)

Word count: 2.214

༉‧₊˚✧

Having a roommate was always helpful for when you needed to cut the cost of rent, and to have company with someone that you got along with since you either were not far into relationships to be able to move in with a significant other, or you weren’t in a one - in which by having a roommate, made things less lonely. Me and Damon had known each other for quite some time now as Graham introduced us since Damon was looking for a flatmate at a time where, for some reason everybody seemed as though they were already occupied with people they were living with and sharing rent. Perhaps he was a little too late looking into it, but when Damon and I met, it was practically a match made in heaven. Though he wasn’t the first person I’d want to share a flat with, as I had no idea who he even was, just that he was best friends with somebody I was also friends with, he was perhaps, as oddly as it sounds, the best choice for a stranger to share a flat with. We had been living together since his band was working on their debut album, Leisure, and since then we had developed a very close relationship with one another. We both shared love for the same music, read the same books, and he had a personality which formed out of pure ardor and benevolence, which made it very easy to be able to form a strong bond together. It was very enjoyable living with him, as we wouldn’t avoid each other at all. Whenever both of us were present, there was nothing we would rather do than just spend time with one another. When nothing was going for us on weekends, we tended to just sit there on the couch in the living room, drinking warm, hot mugs of tea made by Damon at his advance, simply chatting about anything and everything. We would talk until the sun had gone down, until one of us had practically fallen asleep on the other, which was usually me, giving Damon the chore of putting me into bed, which I would constantly be thanking him for the following morning. At certain points in our friendship it was hard to distinguish whether we had feelings for each other, or if it was just a strong platonic relationship; other people had consistently pointed out our relationship together, and how we supposedly acted as if we were the happiest couple in the world.

After being asked whether me and him were together or not countless times, I had begun thinking about our relationship from an outsider's perspective, and over time I had realised that I was gaining feelings for Damon as I started to take notice of the little things that he would do. The warm smiles that he would give me; his plump, soft lips curving in a philanthropic manner, almost child-like, filled with pure love and adoration for you that you would instantly urge yourself to reciprocate. The unneeded care that would ensue once he realised that I was sick and needed a day off, bringing me a warm cup of tea in the morning, also mentioning that he wasn’t attending his band session later on in the day because I was his main priority, and that music could wait. The way he would rush into my room whilst I was organising my laundry, his lyric book gripped in his hand with a pen in the other, practically begging me to hear the new verse he had surprisingly conjured up in a couple of seconds - my opinion meaning so much to him that he would force me to read his finished songs, changing whatever I thought didn’t suit. And not to mention his features. His angelic, ocean-like orbs, where your eyes would get lost in them instantaneously; causing you to wonder what sort of resplendent alchemy went forth in creating such adoring pools of blue; his foolproof nose, sculpted in everlasting beauty, locked in the middle of his face, showing there was no flaw in his features, that he was the definition of true excellence, and though not a part of his face, the hair from his fringe that would coat over his forehead ever so softly, so elegantly, the strands, though roughly brushed through, looked as if they had been done professionally by his hairdresser. You were unable to pinpoint a flaw on him - he was the embodiment of elegance. You’d simply wonder whether this kind of beauty exists, and to have it living with me, was unequivocally something my heart was unable to handle.

Stepping into the flat that we both shared, I quickly took my shoes off before locking the door. As I wandered around the apartment, the aroma of smoke was easily identifiable, implying that Damon was inside, and smoking. Once I reached the living space, I saw Damon was sitting on the couch, flicking through the channels on the TV. “You alright?” I asked him, leaving the shopping bags on the countertops of the kitchen. He turned to look at me, a sweet smile painted on his lips before he took another drag from his cigarette. Oh, to be that cancer stick.

“I’m alright.” He replied, putting out his cigarette on the glass ashtray in front of him, then getting up to help me with the groceries. “How are you, love?”

“I’m okay. I managed to get everything we needed before we both died from starvation.” I laughed, folding up the now-empty bags that were once brimmed to the full of things we needed.

My gaze was fixed on him as he shut the fridge door as I leaned my tired body on the counter, him making his way after shutting the door to stand as close to me as he could. There was practically no empty space between us as he held me in an embrace, his face hidden into my neck as he played with strands of my hair gently. “I missed you,” He uttered, my heart now swelled in adoration for the man that was holding me, unaware if my body was able to handle more of his tauntings. Once he pulled out of the embrace, he clung onto my hands whilst staring deeply into my eyes. I couldn’t help but blush deeply as I looked into his eyes, getting lost in the essence of his handsomeness. I noticed his warm smile form into a cheeky grin as I realised that he knew I was going red. “You’re blushing.”

Slightly embarrassed, I scrunched my face together and looked down to the ground. There was no way out of it, one day he was going to find out just how much I had grown a liking for him. Instead of responding, I moved away from the situation and headed to sit on the couch, knowing that he would follow suit. Once we sat together, I grabbed the cigar pack that was left open on the table and put a cigarette between my lips, looking at Damon as a form of asking where the lighter was. He immediately grabbed the lighter from his pocket and pressed it, causing a flame to come out. I leaned closer to him to allow him to light the roll of tobacco, my eyes not daring to move away from the sight of the flame. I felt his eyes staring intently at my features, the tension in the air being more prominent than it had ever been before. When it was lit, I instantly inhaled, exhaling sharply to expose the smoke that had quickly built up in my throat.

“What did you do today, Dames?” I asked him, attempting to instigate a conversation. His eyes were still lingering on me whilst my eyes tried everything they could to avoid embarrassing myself again, with another blush.

“Well I went in to do some recording, today was mainly for Graham’s guitar solo so we finished up early,” he answered, walking to the fridge to grab himself a beer, then coming back to sit right next to me. “Graham tells me you’ve got a crush on someone.”

After almost choking on the smoke created in my lungs, I felt the blood rush to my cheeks yet again, the action moving so fast I could feel my cheeks begin to sting. “Ehm- He told you that?”

“So it’s true…” Damon began, placing his drink on the coffee table, a smirk evident on his features. “I thought he was lying, since we usually tell each other everything, but your face says otherwise.” He added, my heart panging slightly as I felt bad that he thought that I didn’t want to tell him. Oh if only he knew it was about him. If only he knew that what I haven’t been able to keep my mind off for weeks on end was him. If only he knew that he’s all that engulfs my mind.

“Who’s the guy?” He asked, as I felt his body shift ever so slightly closer to mine, wrapping an arm around my shoulder as he noticed my stiffness.

“You don’t know him.” I mumbled, staring down at my feet as I felt his breath fan my face slightly, the redness of my cheeks still prominent though I tried to ignore the heat radiating out of them.

“Describe him to me then.” He said, in a teasing manner. Part of me felt that Graham told Damon that it was him, and knowing Graham he probably would’ve done that since he was one of the many who believed that we would’ve been good together since we acted like it. But I wasn’t planning on jumping to any conclusions just yet.

“Uhh well…” I felt my cheeks heat up a bright red again as I looked in Damon’s direction, quickly snatching his beer off the coffee table and taking a sip of it to calm my nerves. “He’s got blond hair, blue eyes…” At this point I was staring deeply into Damon’s eyes, full-well knowing I was redder than ever, hell, I was a tomato. However, as I stared at him, I thought of all the possibilities and chances I would be able to mention to him that I developed feelings for him, and chances that would be handed to me easily. At most, I would probably be forced to go up to him and tell him myself that I liked him, which I had no courage in doing so in fear of absolute rejection. Though the fear of rejection still resonated in my mind deeply, there was definitely no way out of Damon and his questioning - he wanted to know everything, and he wanted to know it all now.

“Hmm… Sounds familiar,” he began, the smirk on his face not leaving any second. “Don’t suppose this crush has a name, does he?”

The next few seconds felt as if they had been stilled. Every single thought that I could have ever mustered in my mind joined themselves together, making my mind and body feel as if the moment we were living in was not real, at all. I felt breathless, ironic to the fact that I had been exhaling large clouds of smoke in the room, but I suppose even when breathing, you can still have your breath taken away from the sight before you. It felt as if I was in a haze, a drunken stupor, a lucid dream that felt far too realistic, but I had never thought that this moment would ever occur in mine and Damon’s time living together, or even in a child-like fantasy, or ever. Our faces were inches apart, my eyes constantly flicking through his bountiful orbs and smooth lips, his eyes fixated on mine, as if he was searching for something. Something to tell him that his suspicions were correct.

“It’s you for god’s sake.” I mumbled before eagerly conjoining my lips with his. I felt as if I rushed myself into it, the feeling enrapturing my mind, my body, and especially my heart. There was no other moment I had felt equated to this as our bodies embraced one another’s, the pair of us slowly allowing what was happening to melt into our minds. My heart was pounding as if my life had depended on it, my mind raced with thoughts so anxious but elated as both our bodies allowed our mouths to brush past one another’s until we were at a loss for breath. Love had never felt so strong, love had never carried this much emotion, this much integrity. I felt as if there was nothing else I had needed other than this moment to characterise its virtue, the intimacy shared overstimulated my emotions, for I felt like balling into tears at this juncture - not out of sadness, but out of pure admiration and alleviation that all this tension over the past couple months was real, that the love we had for each other was real, and not some fantasy that I invoked in my mind. Parting away from him, my eyes were fixated on his features - there was nobody else on this planet that could make me feel such emotion than him.

“You’re still blushing, love.”

[scotianostra]

Happy 57th Birthday the super sexy Julie Graham!

Are we still allowed to call people sexy? Ach who cares, you must agree she is, and the bonnie lass has just caught up with me, we were both born in 1965, probably the only thing we have in common! 

At home, Julie is an instantly recognisable face on our screens, Graham’s early years were spent with her mum Betty, who raised her alone in Irvine, Ayrshire, after her husband left when Julie was little. When Julie was eight Betty married again, to writer and broadcaster David Webster, but  Betty succumbed to lung cancer when her daughter was in her late teens.

Her mother’s death, Julie says, spurred her to try and make the most of her life and she moved to London determined to become an actress. Before getting into acting, however, she worked in a law office and as a receptionist at a strip club - something she describes as “my first acting job”.

Her extensive TV credits include Taggart, Bonekickers, Survivors and The Bill. She’s also appeared in comedy movie Nuns On The Run, Some Voices, opposite Daniel Craig, and the romantic drama With Or Without You. While working on William And Mary she fell for her London-born co-star Joseph Bennet. The pair, who were married in 2002 and lived in Brighton in a formerly derelict Victorian house they renovated together from scratch. Sadly her husband took his own life in 2015.

In 2016 Julie joined the cast of Benidorm as the mother of new family, the Dawsons. She has also starred in the very successful Shetland, as Procurator Fiscal Rhona Kelly

Julie appeared in 2017 in brilliant, One of Us, set in the Highlands in the remote fictional village of Braeston. It was released internationally as a Netflix Original titled Retribution. The series received the highest number of nominations for any television production at the 2017 Scottish Royal Television Society Awards.

Since then she has turned up in Dr Who, the mini series  Dun Breedin' about the taboo subject that is the menopause. The  comedy-drama Queens of Mystery, all three scoring over 7/10  on my go to Movie and TV site Imdb.  We last saw Julie in an episode of the popular sitcom, Two Doors down.

No doubt Julie will pop up in the upcoming 7th instalment of Shetland, which is by the way the last time we will see Douglas Henshall as  DI Jimmy Perez, the BBC are expected to continue with the series into series 8, no news of that as yet. She is also lined up to star in a sci-fi film called  The Dark Channel.

[chickawah23]

Baby anon I hear you. I don’t know. I feel like this is going to open up a can of worms but it’s okay. I’m going to share my thoughts on the baby and leave it at that because i know for a fact that so many of you are going to turn this into a long Karlie bashing thing.

I maintain a healthy amount of skepticism I’m not really the pie in the sky, believe everything, type of person so I spend many a day squinting and keeping thoughts to myself and keeping things funny and fresh lol.

But I chose at a very specific point to share posts of the baby to an extent. (See bold below).

Reasons for my skepticism early on: I know Karlie wore a fake baby belly in November 2019 with Ashley Graham and 9 months or so later the news broke that she was preggers. So early on I was like was okay was KK showing us the long game in that video? Idk. Then the news “leak” from “sources” about her pregnancy. Everything felt like competing teams trying to structure the story. We still see some of that today. And I just was like idk what cluster fudge this is. Also the nightmare of the hullabaloo posting during Taylor’s performance was like what kind of sick twisted game is this? Additionally, I’m very much aware of her using the baby only to promote brands (the Ralph Lauren outfits, the strollers, the Louis V diaper bag, adidas kids, etc.).

Things that assuaged my skepticism a bit: during that zoom appearance with those high school students (where she talked about knowing a bit about the music business) while she was very pregnant. To me she looked physically uncomfortable like pregnancy discomfort. Her face puffed up and her skin looked a bit glossy and her nose spread a bit (but I guess all that can be faked with makeup). Additionally I remember noticing during that time her boobs looked bigger (i know that can be faked too). Also Ashley Graham had KK on her channel in December 2020 for that pregnant workout routine that promoted KK’s new adidas line. And I was like eh Idk if this is the long game. If it is that’s a strong prosthetic. All that stuff led me to think she was actually pregnant.

Then after the baby arrived: Karlie popping up to say the baby wasn’t actually born on the date her hullabaloo posted. Plus there was an outfit she wore while in Miami that made me think she had on post natal undergarments. Then KK posting the video of her mom feeding the baby while kk ate a snack off screen and pumped did it’s job selling the baby for me. Plus her continuing to use her mom for posts with the baby through Halloween. It honesty was the use of her mom that sold to me that KK had a baby. The disney trip with her family also kinda counts but I know she was just there promoting her new coding Mickey Mouse ears.

As an aside: things i keep note of include the fact that her sisters have all basically disappeared from social media after the baby was born (which is totally fine as they are free to do). But that hard stop... i found it interesting.

Conclusion

This is where I stand on the issue: I think Karlie had a real baby I don’t think it was with her hullabaloo.

I’m not telling anyone else how to feel about the baby. Honestly none of our opinions really matter in the grand scheme of things. It’s all just strangers chattering on the interweb about rich and famous strangers who need strangers on the interweb to talk about them. But I’m just coming along for the ride. I don’t mind posting a cute chunga munga pic when it comes. And moseying on with my day.

I still think Karlie has a good heart that translates into her being a good mama, but who knows I could be wrong (see strangers discussion above).

Lastly, I do not in the slightest mind being wrong about any of this. I hope my statements about Karlie looking pregnant are not taken as an insult if she was not pregnant lol. And if that is the case I would not be above joking about her baby pulling a Houdini or tuxedo mask Lolol

P.S I am also well aware the parts of the things I said here will be used to strengthen or weaken arguments regarding the baby legitimacy for other people (if it hasn’t already been pointed out by others) because that’s how this all works. It is what it is.

[lqtraintracks]

I love your works so much!! I have a complicated relationship with writing and whenever I feel down in a slump and can't find any inspiration, I always find myself going back to my favourite pieces of yours, along with your news pieces. Your works are always so intuitive and the characters are so relatable but also totally their own people. If there is anyone in the fanfic community (over my 3 fandoms) that I look up to, it is you. I'm very shy to comment on your fics (and always slightly overwhelmed as to what I could possibly say about your masterpieces) but I just want you to know that you're a great influence on me. Thank you <33

Wow, Anon. I'm so touched by this! I wanted to answer it yesterday, but I had a long workday, and once I got home I was too tired to think, much less type anything. I want you to know that any comment from you would be marvelous, which is not to say that I'm pressuring you to comment more. I just want to take the worry out of it. What you said here is brilliant and made my day! I can't even tell you! But a row of hearts or a keyboard smash when you can't find the words... I've never known a writer to feel anything but grateful and happy with a comment like that. You are enough, just as you are. I understand having a complicated relationship with writing. I'm currently eyeing my original novel like it's a python curled up in the corner ready to kill me. I recently reread that bit of advice that comes around from time to time, the one from Martha Graham. I'll copy it here, because maybe it will help you too: “There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique, and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium; and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, not how it compares with other expression. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.” -Martha Graham I think about this from time to time, but it really should be in the forefront of my mind. When I go to pick up my novel next, and I start to feel like I have no business writing it, that it will be mediocre, that it will upset someone or not be enough for someone, etc., I want to remember this quote and know that every day I spend too afraid to write it is another day I'm withholding something I have no business withholding. It's not mine to judge it, only to write it. And if I don't, no one else will. I hope you make friends with your own writing, Anon. You deserve to feel good about it and to enjoy it, even revel in it. No one has to see it if it turns out you don't like it; it can be like dancing in the dark. But I hope you let it out into the light so that it can breathe, take on a life of its own, and draw your people to you. Take care. And thank you so much for this. <3

[the-necessary-unnecessary]

A list of all the films, series and web series that have been recommended as hidden must sees during isolation and beyond. 

Note: I have divided them into films with happy endings or not, series that haven’t finished so the exact ending is unknown I have put an asterisk (*) next to

Note 2: the descriptions are a mixture of my own and of the reviews I was sent by anons

She gets the girl

A Date For Mad Mary, 2016 (needs a date for a wedding, more about her complicated reconnecting with friends after prison but romance is cute)

Almost Adults, 2016 (centers around the broader themes of growing up and friendship but one of them is a giant gay. There is a happy ending for both the gay one and the straight one, gotta give the straights some food because they so rarely get fed)

Anne+, 2018* (Dutch webseries with fresh and new vibes with a great mid-twenties actress about mid-twenties gay lives. Everyone in it is LGBTQ+ yet nothing about it is LGBTQ+, it’s all just treated as natural and normal)

Bound, 1996 (you can't beat the lesbian noir classic which should one day be inducted into the lesbian hall of fame)

But I’m A Cheerleader, 1999 (camp and a lot of fun despite the very serious themes, starring Natasha Lyonne- one of the gayest straights out there)

Carmilla, 2014-16 (webseries based on the groundbreaking 19th century book. Some great chemistry and a lot of breaking of the fourth wall)

Carol, 2015 (Cate Blanchett movie based on the book The Price of Salt which caused issue when it was realised in 1952 because it gave its lovers a open ended happy ending)

Couple-Ish, 2015-16 (cute Canadian web series, bit on the nose but important gay, bi and enby rep)

Desert Hearts, 1985 (the looks, the emotions, the gorgeousness of them both, the chemistry, oh god it was so good. Vivian Bell deserves all the orgasms)

Elisa Y Marcela, 2019 (A Spanish film based on the true story of two women who got married with one of them pretending to be a man in 1901. A tearjerker but ultimately their love is stronger than the adversaries they face)

Entre Nous, 1983 (a French 1983 film which has Jews & Nazi's but doesn't end in complete horror. There are straights who think it’s a friendship but we know better)

Fingersmith, 2005 (BBC drama based on a book by Sarah Waters)

Fried Green Tomatoes, 1991 (based on a more obvious book, they’re sold as best friends but if you know you know)

Fucking Åmål, 1998 (one of the first films aimed at teenagers about two girls falling in love and getting together.)

Getrieben, 2018 (they're ex's and share a dog and then maybe they're not so ex anymore)

I Can't Think Straight, 2008 (cute romantic comedy adapted from a novel about a London-based Jordanian of Palestinian descent preparing for a wedding before events take a gay turn)

If These Walls Could Talk 2, 2000 (some happy and some sad endings in this film which portrays three generations of lesbian storylines from the same house)

Imagine Me and You, 2004 (not my fav but a classic and has Queen Cersei playing a wlw)

Kyss Mig, 2011 (heart eyes, a lovely film, does have maybe a bit too much man in it but he's gone when we get to the nitty gritty)

Our Love Story, 2016 (Korean, subtle nuanced relationship story)

Rosebud, 1996 (a channel 4 short with Julie Graham and questionable fashion choices. Who needs words when you can have such tantalising and vivid visuals? Teeny bit of man but it's fitting in the particular setting and its very fleeting, although admittedly nude)

Saving Face, 2004 (romantic comedy which had less of an impact that Imagine Me and You due to lesser known actors and probably partly to do with race- the main characters are Chinese-American. But it's a gorgeous movie that has a lot more than just rom com elements. The Half Of It is by the same director.

Sjukt Oklar, 2018* (very Swedish, very lesbian, very very funny)

Supervoksen, 2006 (Danish teenage coming of age type thing)

The Carmilla Movie, 2017 (based on the webseries but still accessible to those that haven’t watched it. Quite sweet and the actresses seem very comfortable with each other. Plus there is a great sex scene in it where the muscles on one of the girl’s back are especially sexy)

The World Unseen, 2007 (period film during South Africa's apartheid era with great chemistry)

The Handmaiden, 2016 (extremely nsfw but its got some incredibly powerful meaning to it especially the final sex scene with the bells. It's also incredibly shot and the sex scenes were done very sensitively on set with only women around and the director even in another room.)

Thelma, 2017 (a supernatural thriller about a girl starting college who suddenly starts getting seizures but they don’t know why and she has a female love interest)

Tipping The Velvet, 2002 (BBC series, also has a Victorian era strap on in it and Keeley Hawes, what's not to love?)

When Night is Falling, 1995 (An uptight and conservative woman, working as a literacy professor, finds herself attracted to a free-spirited, liberal woman who works at a local carnival. It’s got quite a lot of a boyfriend in it so its not for everyone.)

Yes or No, 2010 (literally a ‘and they were roommates’ movie as well as an enemies to lovers plot)

Zwischen Sommer Und Herbst, 2018 (coming of age elements, does have a man involved especially at the beginning, who happened to be the brother of one of the girls, but overall it was okay, no lesbians die and it doesn't end in abject misery)

She doesn’t get the girl but neither does the trope

Aimée and Jaguar, 1999 (based on a true story. Beautiful but painful, it’s a Jew falling for a German housewife in Nazi Germany, hence its sad as hell ending)

Bloomington, 2010 (coming of age, teacher student thing which walks that line relatively well without being too icky)

Freeheld, 2015 (an extremely powerful and important story to tell)

Gia, 1998 (Angelina Jolie gets it on with Elizabeth Mitchell in a moving film about model and lesbian Gia Carangi)

Kontrola, 2019* (a masterpiece of a mini web series with a great soundtrack, aesthetic and storyline. Season 2 may present a better future for them)

Mädchen in Uniform, 1931 (German cult classic almost entirely produced by women. Sexual awakening/teenage coming out of her shell stuff, there is also a 1958 redo which is okay. She doesn’t get the girl but it’s still a positive portrayal of sexuality where the object of desire isn't disgusted or weirded out by it)

My Summer of Love, 2004 (At first glance a coming of age movie, but has a lot of phycological elements too. Emily Blunt with a girl, not happy but no lesbians die)

Portrait of a Lady on Fire, 2019 (spell-bounding french film with amazing rawness and visuals. One of my best cinematographic experiences ever)

Reaching for the Moon, 2017 (the love story of the poet Elizabeth Bishop and the architect Soares in the 60s)

Snapshots, 2018 (sad ending but great chemistry with no closed mouthed straight girl kisses)

Summertime, 2015 (French lesbian movie- dare I say more? Sad but no deaths)

The Hunger, 1983 (a gothic cult classic, vampires, its got David Bowie, Susan Sarandon and Catherine Deneuve in it)

The Miseducation of Cameron Post, 2018 (she doesn’t get the girl because there is no girl, but she does begin to find and accept herself. Based on a highly recommendable book by the same name)

Viola di Mare, 2009 (depressing as hell but beautiful to look and the couple have some good chemistry)

[iamdunn]

Miraculous Flash Forward Part 14: Tempest

A Miraculous Fan-Fic

Written By

AJ Dunn

Water began to pour into the sky like heavy rain falling upwards. This caused storm clouds to cover the sun casting ominous shadows over the whole of Paris. Wind began to whip through the team as they stood on the edge of the hotel searching for signs of the villains. Still unsure of what their powers consisted of, Ladybug was sure the source of which was the Graham De Vanily ring the mermaids wore on opposite hands. In the video they had pressed their webbed and scaly palms together before invoking the water to rise. 

“We have to focus on getting those rings from them.” Purple Emperor said standing back from the team. A beep came over Ladybug’s yo-yo as she opened it she found another video coming from the aquarium. The news station was still functioning enough to broadcast the transmission. 

“We are Tempest and we demand Paris hands over their saviors for punishment.” The echoing tone came from both of them speaking in unison. “We will use their miraculous’ to fix our mistakes and the world can go on as if nothing ever happened.” 

“What are they talking about? what mistakes?” Viperion asked. 

“Anastasia and Annalyse.” Cat and Emperor said together. 

“Wow, you two really are twins.” Pigella offered. 

“Pegasus, teleport us here.” Cat held up his tracker map indicating the location of the ice trapped girls. Pegasus drew on his power and tossed a ring into the water. 

“Pegasus, go recharge your power, Emperor, we are going to need back up, find someone to akumatized give them the power to fight back.” Ladybug asking for someone to be akumatized sent a chill through the entire team's body as they remembered the terror wrought by Hawk Moth. 

“What kind of power do you think we’ll need that we don’t already have?” Emperor asked. Ladybug thought for a second. She shook her head.

“We’ll figure it out. Stay put.” Ladybug, Cat Noir, Viperion, Purple Tigress, and the rest of the team jumped through the portal into the waters of the English Channel. The water level was very low as they swam up to the iced twins.

“Minotaurax, can you move it?” “Ladybug asked, looking around for a place to take it. He called on his power causing his body to enlarge then swam to the iceberg and began heaving. The rest of the team encircled it, lifting it with all of their strength. The ice lifted as the team swam upwards.  They moved onto the shelf of the sea floor making their way towards the beach. Ladybug pulled out her bug phone to contact pegasus.

“We need a portal to return to the rooftop. And stand clear.” She said as he answered. Suddenly a large blue circle appeared in the water and they swam through taking the ice with them. 

“Is this going to work Ladybug?” Cat asked worried about his sisters. “Bringing them this might set them off even more.” 

“Recovering your lost siblings, with a chance of saving them.” Ladybug offered. They landed on the rooftop, setting the block of ice down. “Now, we just have to figure out how to call them over here.” Ladybug said. 

“Let’s slip up and search for them.” King Monkey offered. 

“Right, but don’t engage them, lead them back here.” Ladybug stopped and looked around the rooftop. “Pegasus, where is the Emperor?” 

“I didn't know he was gone when I got back up here.” Pegasus shrugged. 

“LADYBUG!” a voice came from another rooftop. Ladybug swung her yo-yo encircling the woman with it and hoiting her back to the hotel roof. 

“Kagami.” Cat said in surprise. “Are you ready to join us?” He smiled happy to see his old friend.

“Ladybug?” she held out her hand as Ladybug pulled out the Dragon miraculous.

“Welcome back Ryuko.” She said as Kagami called on Long to transform her. “We’re going to need to do something about this ice.” Ryuko nodded and called on the fire dragon to heat it up as it began to shrink. “The rest of us split up, don’t engage them, but try to separate them. I have a feeling their powers only work when they are together.” Ladybug dove into the water followed by the rest. Pegasus hung back in case his teleport was needed. But also to look for Purple Emperor. He searched through the hotel.

Cat swam straight to the aquarium knowing it was one of his mothers favorite places to be. He was sure that Tempest was his mothers. It was odd to think of both of them being his mother, but it was true. He was right, he saw them swimming in the aquarium among the various ocean creatures. Their bodies blend into the kelp and anemones. 

“I hear you are looking for me.” He called out. “Well I have a surprise for you.” they turned on him and began swimming fast. He darted off back towards the hotel. They caught up to him faster than he could maneuver. Grasping his feet they began encircling him like eels entrapping their meal. They each grabbed an arm pulling him apart as he kicked about in the water. He couldn’t break free of their grasp so he fought them enough that they wouldn't be able to gain the edge on him and take his ring. 

He rolled his body forcing the mermaids to spin around with him crashing into each other. Rotating his arms through the water he managed to break their grip on him as he shot through the water again knowing he wasn’t fast enough to get away from them. He had to keep up this slow battle. He had to think of another way to throw them off guard. 

“You know I am friends with Adrien.” He said spinning his body again to slip through their grip. “He told me everything.” 

“What are you talking about, you foolish feline?” the voices spoke in unison. 

“About how you left your daughters to die on that yacht.” Cat wanted to enrage them, so that their emotions would betray them. “How you let them die. How they drowned in fear.” 

“You lie!” the voices shrieked. “We saved them.” 

“Oh, did you now?” he swam in circles slipping through their hands again and again. “Where are they then?” 

“They rest.” 

“That’s not an answer.” Cat toyed with them before shooting faster through the water. “Are they dead or not?”

“Preserved.” the voices shrieked behind him as they once again closed in.

“Oh, see, that's funny because I found them,” he chanted. 

“What!” their anger began to betray them as they began making mistakes. Cat grasped one of each of their hands as they tried to grab him, he somersaulted in the water twisting their hands sending them spinning out of control. He swam after them, grabbing their hair behind their heads and throwing them back through the water towards the hotel.

“How do you plan to resurrect them?” Cat asked. 

“By wishing it undone.” they voiced. 

“Nah, that’s not going to work, because then you two will die in their stead.” He wasn’t sure that was how it worked but it sounded to at the time. 

“You know nothing.” they shrieked again.

“Really now, and who holds one half of your vengeance?” he smirked. “It would be Cat a strophic for you both.” He laughed to himself. “You two are Paw itivily insane.” 

“Enough.” the swam after him again. 

“Look at me I’m a CAT fish.'' He made a fish face at them then swam up to the surface as fast as he could leaping into the air then diving back in, landing right behind them. “Wow, that was CLAW some.” he teased more. He could sense their aggregation as they focused all of their anger on him. Suddenly a yo-yo string encircled the arm of one closest to grabbing him. A stringed melody began to play behind them as they averted their gaze to look upon viperion. They seemed almost transfixed by it. 

Minotaurax capture them both in a tight hug trapping their arms to their sides. Ladybug whipped her yoyo string around the three as the group swam up a portal appearing just in front of them. They all landed on the rooftop with Ryuko who was nearly finished thawing the chunk of ice. 

“NO!” Tempest shrieked. “You’re going to kill them.” 

“You did that 25 years ago!’ Cat hisses. 

“We saved them.” the mermaids sulked together. They reached their hands up to each other but Ladybug and Cat stepped on their wrists then removed the two rings from their scaly hands. Their bodies began to dry out as their scales were replaced with white gowns. Their hair returned from the bluish hue back to a pale blond. Emelie and Amelie held each other as they sobbed. “You fools. We were only trying to protect our family.” 

“What are you talking about?” Cat asked

“They were going to expose us for what we were.” Amalie announced. 

“Shut up Amalie.” Emelie hissed. “You insultant beings, you think you get to decide who get to hold powers, look at you all smug.” 

“We’re not trying to hurt others, we’re here to save them from people like you.” Ladybug said standing over her. 

“Why are they in ICE.” Cat demanded his heart throttling in his chest with anger. 

“We only wanted to scare them, but we lost control of the storm and instead of letting them drown, we…” Amalie tried to be forthcoming. Emelie grabbed her face trying to hold her mouth shut. Minotaurax and Pegasus grabbed them, separating them. 

“Talk.” Cat said, pointing a finger at Emelie. She tried to bite him and kick him but was too far away. 

“If I melt this anymore, we are either going to find two dead girls or…” Ryuko said. “Did this keep them alive?”

“We don’t know, but we didn’t want to risk it.” Amalie sulked to the ground. 

“You seduced my husband and carried his children, knowing that I lost mine.” Emelie sulked. “You tried to take my family.” 

“I tried to give you back a family.” Amalie responded with tears. “When my husband found out what I had done, he swore he would never touch me again, and so…’ she cried. “I couldn’t give them both to you,” 

“Speaking of which, where is…” Cat looked around. To no luck, the Purple Emperor was gone. Pegasus pulled up a portal to the jail as the water was receding. They dropped Amalie and Emilie into separate cells. 

“They won’t work for you.” Emelie called after them. “They only work for twins.” the portal closed leaving them screaming. 

“Guys you need to see this.” Ryuko called everyone’s attention to the now partially exposed girls. Their hair hung forward as the ice continued to melt away. “I’m losing steam here.” 

“Release your transformation.” Ladybug said, calling on her lucky charm. A large spotlight dropped into her arms as she almost fell backward. Cat caught her then they set about setting it up. Kagami gave Long a snack as they took a break. The spotlight cast heat over the twins as the ice continued to melt. 

After a few minutes Kagami called on Long again and resumed the fire on the ice. It wasn’t too much longer after that the ice melted enough to expose the girls from the waist up. Pigella and Polymouse caught them holding their icy bodies. They began to cry as the ice melted from their legs and feet, the girls were now free. Laying the twins bodies across their laps, Pigella and Polymouse sobbed. Followed by the rest of the team as Cat stood back. His heart stalled in his chest. Ladybug looked up at him. Her heart felt the pain in his.

LAdybug jumped up from where she kneeled by the twins, rushing to hold Cat before she tripped over the spotlight. She stood up looking from it to the twins. 

“Minataurax, give me a hand.” he helped her toss the spotlight into the air as she called out “Miraculous Ladybug.” the air lit up with ladybugs flying through the sky encircling everything that Tempest had damaged, repairing all of the damage they caused. The water now gone, buildings restored, the ladybugs then encircled the twins filling the air around the team with ladybugs as their wings beat softly against their cheeks then were gone as suddenly as they came leaving the group in awe frozen for a moment. 

Suddenly the twins began to cough and choke. Cat’s mouth dropped open as the group separated so he could see them sitting up and looking around. 

“Who… Who are you people.” Cat dropped on his knees in front of them. Tears began to pour from his eyes as he took them both into his arms holding them tight to his chest.

“I’ll tell you everything but just let me hold you first.” He whispered into their ears. 

“We don’t have time, we have…”

“All you have to do is let me take care of you.” Ladybug stepped up behind him as she rang her fingers through his hair. With all the bad that has happened in the past, he needed something positive, he never knew that the Ladybugs could fix a mistake this old, or that his older sisters would be just mere children. They would need him and He would be there for them. 

“We should get them into some dry clothes.” Ladybug said, breaking him from his hold on them. 

“You’re right. He stood up taking their hands. They tried to stand but their legs were too weak. He reached down, scooping them both up in his arms holding them to his sides as he walked towards the door. Sirens and news media began to fill the streets below the hotel. 

“We can’t just walk out of here.” Ladybug said to him. “How will we explain this to them?”

“The truth.” Cat said. He released his transformation as the girls rested their heads on his shoulders. They looked up at him in shock. Though they never knew him, they could recognize his eyes. 

“Do we know you?” one asked. 

“Not, yet, but you will, and I know you.” Adrien said. “I will explain everything once I get you two home.” After returning all of the miraculous’ to Ladybug, the group followed Adrien to the front entrance. Paramedics took the girls to check them over as Adrien stood in front of the camera’s. 

“Why is your mother and her sister in a prison cell?” 

“The superhero Pegasus put them where they belong.” Adrien said. “They caused a storm resulting in the disappearance of my elder twin sisters Anastasia and Annalyse. Entombing them in ice for 25 years. Thanks to Ladybug’s team of heroes and her miraculous ladybugs for restoring them to me, and capturing yet another set of villain Paris is safe yet again.” 

“Is this the same Tempest that caused dozens of boating accidents 25 years ago, stealing millions of dollars worth of jewels, antiques and other fortunes?”

“I do not know the answer to that, I wasn’t even alive 25 years ago.” Adrien said. Marinette stood with the twins at the paramedics. 

“I have one more thing to say then I need to escort my sisters to the hospital.” Adrien said smiling at Marinette. “If anyone knows where my brother Felix Graham De Vanily is, please let me know.” He marched away from the crowd stepping into one of the two ambulances containing one of the girls. 

“It was them.” the girl said as the Ambulance began to pull away. “We tried to stop them, to take the rings away. “Aunt Amalie wasn’t happy that Mom wanted to use them as wedding rings, so she would pretend to be Mom and sneak into dad's room and take his ring when he was in bed or in the shower. So Mom and her started attacking boaters and making it look like a storm.” 

“Which one are you?” He asked.

“Anastasia, but people call me Stasia and Annalyse is just Anna.” 

“I am Adrien, I am your little brother.” he said. She narrowed her eyebrows. “I know, I am older than you, but you have been in that ice for 25 years.” 

“You’re 25?”

“24 actually.” Adrien smiled. “Amalie’s attempt to reconcile your loss to Emelie.” 

“Do you have a twin too?” She asked, confused. “All Graham De Vanily have a twin.” 

“Felix, though I am not sure where he is right now.” he said, “And about what happened today…”

“I know how to keep secrets.” She whispered

Adrien was happy to finally be home. What was meant to be a weekend trip to London, turned into a week in Paris. Luckily the Dupain-Chengs had kept most of Marinette’s high school clothes. Though a locked room in the Agreste Mansion was finally opened to reveal the girl's belongings. They shied away from it in remembrance of their father. They couldn’t believe what he had done until Adrien showed them his lair. 

Adrien had Marinette order the girls' furniture to be delivered and set up in their room. She was ecstatic about the prospect of indulging the girls in fashion. Dressing them, up decorating the spare bedroom for them. It warmed Adrien’s heart to see the three of them get along so well. Though he still found it difficult to tell the two apart. 

“Welcome home.” He said to them 

[blackcloverdatabase]

English Translation of Novel 3: Chapter 2 – The Man Known as Julius (Part 1 of 2)

Here’s the first half of the last untranslated chapter from Book of Yuno! This one features Julius, Yuno, and Bell taking care of an orphaned baby boar. It’s adorable and also a little heartbreaking! Charlotte and Jack also get to meet the lil’ guy!

Also, aside from a few tweaks at the beginning, this translation is appended to the translation of the first few pages that the Black Clover discord was kind enough to supply to me. I didn’t see any translation errors when I scanned through it and I liked the writing style of whoever did those first few pages, so a part of this translation also comes from the generous soul who had started this translation before me. 

--- The Man Known as Julius (Part 1) ---

Julius Novachrono.

He is a man who needs no introduction, reigning over the Order of Magic Knights as the Wizard King. The entire Order moves at his command, protecting the peace of Clover Kingdom both day and night.

He himself possesses no small degree of combat ability, stationed at the top of the Order as he is, and he has led his troops to victory through countless battles. Even after ascending to his current position as the Wizard King, he continues to find his way to the battlefield, demonstrating impressive skills in all areas.

He is the hero of the Clover Kingdom, a source of inspiration for all Magic Knights – No, for all the Kingdom’s citizens.

That's just the sort of person Julius is.

And yet, despite all of that......

"All right, all right!! Sorry I'm late~ I brought plenty of feed for you!"

At this very moment, that inspirational figurehead to all the Kingdom was – Julius was…..

"C'mon, you gotta eat up! I got lotsa food for you! A ha ha! Now now, no shoving! Take your time!"

......grinning from ear to ear and speaking in baby-talk with a soft, sweet tone......

"Oh gosh, you're TOO cute! Seriously, you're way too cute, Graham! I feel like when I'm talking to you, my manner of speaking just becomes shamefully bad...... Well, whatever! Not like there's anyone else around to hear, huh?"

…….to a baby boar as he delivered its feed.

Staying hidden as he watched, Yuno managed to keep a straight face on the outside, but internally, he was shaking. Bell, clearly shaken as well, was thinking exactly the same thing as him: They weren’t quite sure what they were looking at, but they knew they had just witnessed something pretty damn crazy.

How did they stumble across such a crazy sight? Fret not, it won't take long to explain.

 That day, Yuno and Bell had been on patrol near the outskirts of Tonan, a town in the Common Realm. A group of bandits had been staging raids in the area as of late, and it was rumored that one of the bandits possessed an "Original Sin" grimoire. Thus, Magic Knights were being sent out in pairs to patrol the area in shifts.

Yuno and Bell found themselves on duty that day, and after finishing up their patrol with a Knight from another squad, they traded off with the pair who had come to relieve them and slipped away into a forest just a short walk from the town's borders.

They were here to train in preparation for the Royal Knights Selection Exam, which would be held a few days from now.

After the "hot springs training camp" put on by Mereoleona Vermillion (which was one heck of a euphemism for forced mountain climbing and attempted murder), Yuno had mastered "Mana Skin", the technique wherein the user continuously channels a fixed amount of magical energy and uses it to protect their body or increase their physical ability.

However, if he wanted to pass the Selection Exam, if he wanted to demonstrate his skill over Asta, he needed to take his abilities up another notch... no, another two notches if he could manage it.

And so, at every opportunity he could find between missions, Yuno slipped away in search of a secluded little enclave to train.

On this particular day, while on the hunt for a bit of privacy, he came across a hut standing beside a small pond. From the outside, it looked like a long-abandoned cabin, but the footprints he found near the entrance were fresh. Was this the bandits' hideout......? Only one way to find out. Taking care not to be noticed, Yuno silently approached the cabin.

However, it was then that he noticed a young boar with its body and legs wrapped in gauze. This, he found quite suspicious, but before he could move any closer to inspect, he caught sight of someone heading straight for the cabin using Flight Magic.

Panicking, Yuno dove into the bushes to hide, peeking out to see just who had arrived…...

"Gra~~~ham~~~ Were you a good little boy? Were you? Were you??"

Speaking in the most babyish voice Yuno had ever heard, it was none other than Julius Novachrono who came descending from the heavens. Upon landing, he approached the cabin, bearing feed for the boar, and removed his dirty bandages while stroking him gently......

 Which brings us back to the present.

 "Theeeeere there there! Now, let's get your bandages changed!"

Tearing their gazes from the sight of Julius letting loose with even more heinous baby talk, Yuno and Bell glanced at one another. Evidently, Julius was out here taking care of this boar. That much was obvious, but......

Bell dropped her voice, whispering softly to Yuno,

"…...Wh-what do we do, Yuno?"

"There's nothing for us to do," he returned shortly. "Because we didn't see anything, got it? Let's just head back."

That was best for all parties involved. Yuno had absolutely no desire to see Julius acting like that, and Julius probably wouldn't have wanted anyone to spot him out here either. Thankfully, Julius didn't seem to have noticed he was being watched, probably as much to do with the fact that Yuno had disguised their presence as the fact that Julius was absolutely enthralled with playing with the little boar and was paying little attention to his surroundings.

If he was going to make a break for it, it needed to be now. However, Bell leered with squinted eyes,

"...But, you know, that poor little thing really doesn't seem like he's enjoying the attention..."

This much Yuno could see. Actually, it was impossible not to notice. The little boar was squirming and squealing up a storm as Julius attempted to change his bandages, desperately attempting to flee. There was no mistaking that attitude as one of a fond pet.

"…...Neither one of us knows what's going on here. It's not our place to say anything."

"Yeah, I guess you're right…..."

"Plus......"

Yuno glanced back to Julius, who, despite the boar's fierce attempts to escape, was doing his best to see to its needs, and even looked happy doing so. Julius looked like he was having the time of his life, eyes bright with elation - just as he seemed to when he was talking about magic or chatting with the squad Captains he trusted so much. It was true that Yuno didn't want to get involved in whatever was going on here, but he also didn’t want to interrupt Julius when he was so utterly enthralled.

"Plus what?"

"Forget it. Let's go." With that, Yuno was about to stand up, but then......

"SQUEEEEEEAAAAAL!!"

The boar let out a particularly shrill scream, and Julius instantly drew back just as the boar released a huge burst of flame.

"W-what the heck is THAT?!"

"That boar...it must be a Flame Boar! They're a special breed that can use Fire Magic!"

A normal boar was one thing, but keeping an animal of this nature as a pet was forbidden…… though, that hardly mattered right now.

Yuno leapt from the bush, rushing to Julius's side. "Your Majesty! Are you all right?"

In retrospect, that had been rather stupid of him. After all, what could a Flame Boar possibly do that could in any way harm the Wizard King? It was patently clear he didn’t have a single scratch on him, no burns of any sort, and even the cabin itself remained safe from any flying sparks.

"......Yu-Yuno-kun........!?"

Julius's face was so red, he could have started spitting fire himself.

"H-h-how...how long--how long h-h-have you...been w-watching...me...?"

"I didn't see anything I didn't hear anything PLEASE EXCUSE ME, SIR!"

Yuno sputtered before promptly turning on his heel and darting off. It was a rather forcible retreat, admittedly, but he was convinced it was the best course of action. What had just transpired would only reflect badly on the both of them, so pretending it had never happened at all was for the best.

“W-wait! P-please hear me out!”

However, Julius chased after him, his expression desperate.

"W-wait! Please wait! There's something I'd like your help with!"

……And when the Wizard King said that to you...well, you really had to stop, didn't you?

 “……So, this little one’s parents died, which is why you decided to take care of it here for the time being?”

After all that, Yuno and Bell were invited to sit on the bench in front of the cabin as Julius served them some tea and snacks. Both the tea and snacks looked rather extravagant, so Yuno couldn’t help but wonder if they were meant to bribe him to keep quiet. At the same time, Julius explained his circumstances to them.

“Yes. Well, in short, that is correct.”

As he watched Graham run around chasing butterflies, Julius continued,

“Not too long ago, I was passing by this area when I found two flame boars being attacked by bandits. Those were Graham’s parents.”

Bell grabbed a macaroon with both hands and stuffed it into her mouth as she asked Julius,

“Why did those bandits attack them? Were they hungry or something?”

“Flame boar fur has excellent heat resistance, so it’s sometimes used to make magic tools and the like. Because of that, it can be sold for a high price. Of course, that doesn’t make it right to kill them indiscriminately, so I rushed in to save them. I managed to capture the bandits, but…… it was already too late for Graham’s parents.”

On the outside, Yuno was expressionless as he nodded in agreement, but on the inside, he felt bitter. This was not an uncommon occurrence in areas that have been plagued by bandits. They indiscriminately kill, eat, and sell any animals unfortunate enough to live in their territory.

“Although he was injured, I at least managed to save Graham. However, I couldn’t just leave him, so I was going to drop him off at an animal shelter…... but no matter which shelter I tried, they all refused to take him.”

“Because it’s forbidden to keep a dangerous animal like a flame boar as a pet.”

Technically, if he made full use of his authority as the Wizard King, he would be able to force any facility to keep Graham. However, that would surely cause trouble for the breeders and the other animals they kept at the facility. As Yuno knew, Julius was not the sort of man who would do that. Julius shrugged lightly before replying,

“Right. That’s why I started taking care of him in secret. I’d like to keep him until he recovers from his injuries, at least.”  

Julius replied as if to substantiate the explanation that Yuno reached.

“I see…...”

Yuno said as he nodded. Although Yuno came to agree with him, Julius felt a small pang of guilt. His story wasn’t a lie, but it was not the whole truth, either. That’s because if Julius had used his time magic, he could have cured Graham’s injuries in an instant. However, if he did that, then Graham would grow up with the mistaken assumption that injuries can be cured easily. Julius wanted to avoid clouding Graham’s worldview for the convenience of humans any more than it already has.

Coming back from that tangent, Julius continued,

“That’s why I was wondering if you could keep this a secret for me? If it became known that the leader of the Magic Knights broke the rules, there would be a lot of trouble.”

Particularly from Marx. If Marx found out, there was no telling what Marx might say to him. It was easy to imagine what awaited in his future……

“You were raising an unusual pet, huh……? That’s the kind of thing an extravagant bachelor with too much time and money on his hands would do! Stop playing around and get back to work!”

……And he would continue on and on like that.

Yuno lightly tilted his head, completely unaware of Julius’s troubles.

“Of course. It was never my intention to tell anyone, but…… wouldn’t it be better to take care of Graham somewhere else? Bandits might go after him again, and Magic Knights take turns coming here almost every day, so you might get spotted again.”

“……That’s true, but……”

Julius pointed to a large rock a short distance from the cabin. Placed in front of that rock were two bouquets of flowers. Sometimes, Graham would sit at that rock and squeal in a very particular way. Yuno has heard these squeals before. It was the sound flame boars make when they are trying to get their parents’ attention. In other words, that was where……

Julius saw that Yuno understood and nodded.

“That was where Graham’s parents were killed. I think that’s why…... Graham refuses to leave this place.”

For the second time that day, Yuno felt a bitterness in his heart.

“…...I was raised in a village, so I’ve seen animals like that before. Some baby animals won’t leave their parents’ side, even after their parents have died. That’s probably happening here, too.”

Even if you pull that baby animal away from its parents’ bodies by force, it will likely return. In the end, it will probably die, either from being targeted by other animals or from illness caused by being near a corpse. If Julius wasn’t protecting him, that’s probably what would have happened to Graham.

“I thought about using magic to move his parents’ corpses, but…… it would be a problem if Graham thought I was playing with them. In the end, I decided to bury them here.”

“……I see.”

Bell said, looking sorrowfully at Graham. She then clenched her hand into a little fist and said,

“Wizard King! You’re really something! It’s really cool that you’re willing to go so far for a single wild boar!”

“……Hey, Bell. You’re being rude.”

“Ha ha, I don’t mind, Yuno-kun. Miss Wind Spirit, I’m happy to hear you say that. By the way, can I try mixing your magic with mine? Just for a bit?”

“I’m Yuno’s, so no way! However, I kinda like you, so you’re allowed to call me Bell!”

Bell was being incredibly impertinent as she said this, but Julius’s response was simply to smile gently and say,

“That’s too bad. Well, I’m happy that I can call you by your name!”

He possesses great power, he shows tolerance toward anyone, and he holds compassion even for animals. That’s the kind of person Julius is. The kind of person Yuno - and Asta - were aiming to become was as grand as ever. Moreover, Yuno was only looking at a small part of the Wizard King. Despite this, he understood that the Wizard King was a grand existence. If he could see everything, just how grand would he be……? Even trying to imagine it made him feel overwhelmed.

‘Even so, someday I’ll…..!’

As such thoughts reignited in Yuno’s chest, Julius cleared his throat as if to move on to a new subject.

“This brings me to what I wanted to ask you…… Just as you said, this is not a good place to be raising an animal, and I’m also too busy to take care of Graham by myself……”

He appeared rather uncomfortable as he looked at Yuno and Bell.

“That is…… I know this is a selfish request, but you seem like you wouldn’t spill a secret, so…… could you maybe…… help me take care of Graham?”

‘I knew this was coming……,’ Yuno thought as he weighed his options. For Julius, it would make things quicker and easier if Yuno and Bell cooperate now that they’ve seen this place. However, keeping it a secret from the Order of Magic Knights was definitely going to be troublesome.

“Of course, I’m not asking you this as the Wizard King. I’m asking you as a person, so there’s nothing wrong with saying no. You’ll end up breaking the rules, too…… it would be troublesome for you if you get discovered, and you could run into trouble here, too.”

That’s right. If something were to happen here, he wouldn’t be able to get here in time to help Yuno. This was not a task one should carelessly take on.

“Of course. If you’re alright with us helping you, we would love to.”

“Right, of course you’d say no…… the Royal Knights Selection Exam is coming up and you have your own duties to…... WAIT, REALLY!?”

Julius had crestfallenly lowered his head, but then he raised his head back up in surprise and sputtered,

“Huh, a-are you sure!? You’re going to take on this task, just like that……?”

“Yes. I can do my duties as a Magic Knight here…... Plus, if I let a thought like “something bad might happen” stop me, then I’d never get anything done.”

The second half of what he said came from his own experiences as a child. In life, if you don’t do anything, then nothing will happen. He didn’t want that. If you find yourself unable to move because of all your negative thoughts, it’s sometimes necessary to just try doing whatever you want before thinking about what you should do. This was something he learned from watching that guy live his life. He wasn’t sure if this was one of those times, but, at the very least…...

“Also, you said that I would be breaking the rules, but I’m just helping you because I think that’s the right thing to do. I think that for most people, doing what they think is right would be the correct thing to do.”

……Yuno knew that he liked what Julius was doing. That’s why he was going to help him without worrying about problems that may or may not happen later. Wanting to support that idea, Bell whirled around Julius and said,

“That’s right! That’s absolutely right! Actually, it’s weird that you’re doing something so cool so sneakily by yourself! At the very least, you should let us help you!”

“You guys……”

Julius appeared a little surprised as he said this, but then,

“……I see. William truly is blessed with some good kids.”

He nodded as if he came to understand something before calmly smiling once more.

“Thank you, really! Well then, I’ll be counting on you two!”

Yuno bowed his head with a smile before looking around at his surroundings.

“Even so, it really is dangerous to be raising an animal here. If we don’t take measures soon, then……”

“Y-yeah…… You really are a good kid. You’re able to look at things pragmatically so quickly……”

Julius wanted to bask in the warm, snug atmosphere they just created for a little longer, but…… now wasn’t really the time for that. Julius grabbed a large sack that was left at a corner of the cabin and brought it to Yuno and Bell.

“I’ve already done something about that. I bought all sorts of magic tools for dealing with bandits or other Magic Knights.”

Julius pulled out one expensive-looking magic tool after another from the bag.

“Umm, this one is a jewel that keeps evil away. I’m pretty sure this one is a collar that seals away magical power. And this one is a magic tool that keeps others from being able to sense your mana, even if they use mana perception. Also, this one is…...”

As he pulled each tool out, he explained in detail what each one of them did with a huge grin on his face. Yuno and Bell, who felt nothing but respect for Julius just moments ago, started to think ‘This guy is kind of scary…….’. Just how much money and effort is he sinking into one wild boar? Bell whispered into Yuno’s ear,

“……Hey, Yuno. Is he one of those? He gave us all those reasons earlier, but…... maybe he’s just an old guy who wants to secretly raise a pet……?”

“Please don’t say that……. Just don’t.”

He may have sounded a little unconfident in his reply, but that’s not because he was starting to think the same thing Bell was thinking. Absolutely not.

“I read this in a book once, but unmarried bachelors in their 40’s tend to have a lot of money, and they want something to spend their money on, so they buy a pet. Then, that causes their paternal instincts to explode forth, so they end up spending even more money on it.”

“You’re talking about a normal unmarried bachelor in his 40’s. This man is the Wizard King. Don’t lump them together.”

“Hm? Yuno-kun, did you say something?”

“Nothing.”

And so, despite all his doubts and unease, his days taking care of Graham with Julius began.

 ----- The following morning -----

“Oh, Yuno-kun! Bell-kun! Thank you for taking care of him so early in the morning~”

Julius swooped down from the sky toward Yuno and Bell, who were training near the lake.

“Good morning. You’re up early too, your highness.”

“Yeah, I have a meeting to attend just before noon today, so I figured I’d stay here until then. What about you?”

“We have the day off today, so I’ve been training my magic by reinforcing the cabin and changing Graham’s bedding. Also, I think he’s still fine for now, but I was thinking that we should make a fence in preparation for when Graham becomes independent from his parents. It would be troublesome if he accidently wandered into one of the villages.

“……Y-yeah. You sure work fast. Adaptable, too.”

Julius said in surprise. From the start, Yuno was meticulous and diligent. He wanted to do as much as he could while he was here.

“Look, Graham! Your Daddy’s here!”

Bell said as she flew toward Graham, who was eating his feed in front of the hut. Julius had a questioning, but also happy expression on his face as he asked,

“……D-daddy?”

“Bell. Don’t call him weird names. It’s rude.”

“It’s fine, right? He’s practically acting like a surrogate dad!”

“Even so, calling him ‘Daddy’ is a little…...”

As Yuno and Bell continued, Julius’s face steadily became redder until he cleared his throat and interrupted,

“W-well, it’s fine, isn’t it? It feels a little uncomfortable to be called that, but it might be good for Graham. I’m not sure how I feel about it, though…..”

“Oh, well then I won’t call you that. I’m not going to force you to-

“Ah, no! Never mind! Let’s go with that!”

Julius interrupted before crouching down in front of Graham.

“Even so, you two are amazing for being able to feed Graham already. It took a lot of struggling on my part to get him to trust me enough to do that……”

Julius sounded a bit woeful as he said this. Yuno responded as he walked toward the hut,

“I’m not sure why, but animals have always liked me. Also, Bell is a wind spirit, so it might be easier for Graham to trust her over a human being. Actually……”

Yuno glanced at the tombstone for Graham’s parents as he continued,

“You began taking care of Graham right after his parents were killed. That would be the time when Graham would hate humans the most. The fact you managed to feed him and tend to his wounds despite that makes you even more amazing.”

It looked like Graham was putting up a lot of resistance yesterday when the Wizard King was changing his bandages, but that was probably just because his wounds still hurt. It’s not like Graham hasn’t opened his heart to him.

“The reason we’re able to get along with Graham right now is because of you, your highness. Isn’t the fact that Graham knows that not all humans are bad because you poured so much love into him?”

“Y-you think so? That would make me very happy, but……”

Julius sounded embarrassed as he replied before extending his hand toward Graham’s head.

“Graham~ It’s……. It’s Daddy. Daddy’s he-

“SQEEEA, SQEAAAL!”

CRUNCH

With full force, Graham chomped down on Julius’s fingers.

“……………”

A terribly awkward atmosphere arose between Julius and Yuno. In the meantime, Bell, who is incabable of reading the mood, tried her best to open Graham’s mouth as she reprimanded him.

“Hey, Graham! Stop that! You wouldn’t do that to me or Yuno, right!? It’s almost as if you don’t trust the Wizard King after all!”

Yuno went pale when he heard Bell utter the worst thing she could have possibly said, but Julius chided Bell with a stiff smile on his face.

“Ah, Ah ha ha! It’s fine, Bell-kun! I’m sure Graham’s just hungry!”

“What are you talking about!? Graham literally just ate!”

“Then, he’s probably just trying to play! Yeah! I’m sure he just wants to play with me!”

“Even so, he looks serious! It’s like he’s trying to bite your fingers off!”

“Bell! BELL! Just stop talking! Just stop!”

Unusually for him, Yuno raised his voice as he interrupted Bell, stopping her from uttering another word and gently pulling Julius’s fingers away from Graham. After that, Graham trotted away toward the lake to drink some water. Those hellish couple of seconds were finally over, but tears started to pool in Julius’s eyes.

‘Should I say something…..?’ Yuno thought, maybe about how Bell has a tendency to air-headedly stab people in the heart…… No, it was too late to say anything about that now, so he decided to change the subject as quickly as he could.  

“……Could you explain to me what all the magic tools you bought do again?”

Yuno truly did want to hear his explanation again. Julius explained everything so quickly yesterday that he didn’t get all the details.

“S-sure…… There’s a lot of them, but I think this one’s the most important one.”

Julius said, returning back to his usual self as he led Yuno inside the cabin. There, a sparkling red jewel was hidden under Graham’s bedding.

“This is a high-grade magic tool that wards away evil. It creates a barrier with this jewel at the center, and people with evil souls can’t cross through its barrier. That’s the only thing I bought the first day I decided to raise Graham, and I’ve kept this tool active this whole time.”

Bell, who returned to Yuno’s shoulder, gasped in admiration as she looked at the jewel and said,

“That’s a high-grade magic tool for ya! It would be great if every household…… or at least every village had one of these!”

“Ha ha, if we could do that, it would make our jobs as Magic Knights a lot easier. However, this jewel’s range is not very large, and this isn’t widely distributed. Moreover, one strong attack is enough to break this jewel’s barrier, so it’s not so omnipotent as one might think.”

“However, it’s more than enough to protect Graham from those bandits, right?”

Julius nodded at Yuno’s words and turned toward Graham, who was currently bathing in the lake. Around Graham’s neck was a collar with a nameplate attached.

“The next important tool is the collar I bought yesterday. That collar seals away magic. As long as he wears that, Graham won’t be able to use magic, so even if another Magic Knight finds us, they would think that he’s just an ordinary boar.”

Julius’s expression stiffened a bit before continuing.

“Well, not being found at all would be the best outcome, and hardly anyone would have any reason to come here, but…... just like you did, it’s possible that somebody could wander here by chance.”

After the three of them reflected on the “major accident” that happened yesterday, Yuno swiftly returned to the main subject and asked,

“……I see. What about the other tools?”

Following Yuno’s train of thought, Julius quickly began to explain the other tools.

“The other ones are magic tools which conceal our presence, make our mana less perceptible, and other things of that nature. Well, I’ll go ahead and explain what they all do in detail, and…… hm?”

Before he could finish talking, his expression suddenly became grim, and his gaze sharpened as he looked toward the direction of the village. Yuno looked in the same direction.

“……Somebody’s coming.”

“Yeah. I feel two sources of mana heading towards us. For now, let’s hide in the cabin.”

The two swiftly moved toward the cabin, but Bell looked at Graham and exclaimed,

“Wait! Is it alright to leave Graham like this!? We should all hide together!”

“No. We wouldn’t be able to make it in time. For the time being, let’s observe the situation. If something happens, we’ll all leave.”

Julius countered as they slipped into the cabin. Before long, two figures emerged from the forest……

“Kah kah! Look~ There’s nothing here. There’s nobody!”

The Captain of the Green Mantis, Jack the Ripper……

“How strange. I definitely felt powerful mana coming from here earlier……”

……And the Captain of the Blue Roses, Charlotte Roselei.

Two Magic Knights…... two Magic Knight Captains, no less, set foot on the lake shore. Judging by what they were saying, they must have sensed either Yuno’s or Julius’s presence. They probably noticed Julius’s mana when he flew here.

‘To think two bigshots like these would show up,’ Yuno thought, cold sweat dripping from his forehead.

“Why are Captains doing a mundane task like patrolling……?”

“…….Because the Royal Knights Selection Exam will be held soon. Even if it only helps a bit, Captains and Vice-Captains have been handling some of the routine tasks so that their squad members can focus on training for it.”

Julius explained calmly, but internally, his heart was pounding. It would be bad if they were found out by ordinary Magic Knights, but there was no mistaking that being found out by a Captain would be even worse. They nervously held their breaths in the cabin as they heard Charlotte say in a commanding tone of voice,

“Just in case, let’s split up and search the area.”

“Are you kidding me~ Damn, I was planning to get wasted at a bar until our shift ended.”

After that brief exchange, Charlotte began to trace the perimeter of the lake while Jack began investigating inside the forest, appearing very bored as he did so. Seeing this, Yuno frowned as he turned toward Julius.

“……What should we do? At this rate, we’ll be found any moment now.”

“We’re okay. Like I was saying earlier, I have a magic tool running that dulls other people’s mana perception abilities, so they won’t be able to sense our mana. I also have another tool running right now that inhibits other people’s ability to notice our presence. In other words, right now, they won’t be able to sense our presence nor our mana.”

‘If you have that much money to spend on magic tools, maybe you should put some of that money toward the Magic Knights,’ Yuno thought. In any case, if that’s all true, then their presence probably won’t be discovered. The problem was……

“……Hm? What’s this? A baby boar? What is it doing in a place like this……?”

Just as Yuno feared, Charlotte spotted Graham, and began to slowly make her way toward him. Surprised by her presence, Graham froze stiff. While he remained frozen, Charlotte crouched down to meet Graham at eye level.

“……So, you’re getting your wounds treated? You have a collar, too. Is someone feeding you here…..?”

She said as she extended her hand toward Graham’s collar.

‘Please don’t take his collar off…….!’ all three of them prayed as they watched her from inside the cabin.

“……..Graham? That’s what is carved here…… I see. So, your name is Graham?”

She muttered before looking around at her surroundings. It looked like she made particular note of whether Jack was still deep in the forest. After confirming that nobody else was around, she turned toward Graham once more, and……

“……Graham, come here. I won’t hurt you, so go ahead and sit on my lap~”

With great difficulty, but also great tenderness, she raised Graham up and placed him on her lap. Then with an innocent smile, much like the smile of a young girl, she hugged Graham’s body.

“Wow…… this is amazing. I though boar fur would be rough and scratchy, but it’s actually really fluffy. I wonder if it’s because you’re a baby. Tee hee, this feels nice. You’re so cute……”

“…………”

“You’re so small. Are you eating properly? I know, I’ll find something good for you to eat! What would you like to eat? Hm? I’ll buy anything you want~”

“…………”

The three inside the cabin continued to watch Charlotte dote on Graham, stiffly turning their heads toward each other. It was a different outcome then what they were expecting, but it was a crazy sight indeed.

“H-hey…… Yuno-kun……?”

This wasn’t the time to be asking this, but Julius couldn’t help but ask.

“……D-did I…… look like that when you found me……?”

“Quiet, your highness. It looks like Captain Jack has returned.”

Yuno brushed off Julius’s question and turned his gaze toward the forest. There, Jack was lumbering his way back. Charlotte noticed his presence, putting Graham down and standing back up on her feet. Her face was a bit red, so she tried to hide this with her hand as she asked him,

“……H-how was it, Jack? Did you find anyone?”

“Nope~ Not a single soul. Kah kah. It must’ve been your imagination.”

“……Maybe. It’s possible that Grah……. No, it’s possible that this injured boar’s owner came to check on him, and then headed home soon after.”

Charlotte left it at that and promptly started back toward the village.

“Anyway, we now know that no one else is here. Let’s return to the village and buy some feed…… no, let’s just go back to the village.”

“Huh? Ah, hey!”

She didn’t respond to Jack’s voice, opting instead to hurry into the forest as if she had some great mission to fulfill.

“Damn, what’s with her……? Anyway, I feel tired just being here. I feel like my physical strength and magical power is withering away. I wonder if some weird magic was cast here.”

Hearing Jack talk to himself, Yuno tilted his head in confusion.

‘What is he talking about? At the very least, I don’t feel any symptoms like that…...”

He turned toward Julius, searching for an answer from him. Julius’s reply was a little awkward as he explained,

“It’s probably the jewel that repels people with evil souls. Maybe that’s what happens when it only affects you halfway……?”

‘……I see. That Magic Knights Captain is recognized as a “halfway evil soul” by the jewel.’

Not knowing that this was the cause, Jack looked around as he muttered,

“Come to think of it, she mentioned there was a boar, but I don’t see it…… Ah, there it is.”

His eyes sharpened with a glint as they lowered toward Graham. Graham jumped in surprise as the three in the cabin watched the situation closely, feeling very different from when they were watching Charlotte. They were pretty sure that Jack wouldn’t get violent with Graham, but he might treat him roughly. That would be unpardonable. If it came to that, they would have no choice but to come out of hiding and stop him. They tensely watched over the situation to see which way it would go, but…...

“……What is he doing? Neither of them have moved an inch……”

Just as Yuno said, Jack was looking Graham in the eye with what seemed like no intention to move whatsoever. Because he was afraid, Graham also didn’t move, so it looked as if time had stopped for them both.

Bell hummed as she pretended to push up imaginary glasses,

“…...It’s just like when a bad wolf happens upon an abandoned puppy and the two come to a mutual understanding. Like, “So, you’re on your own, too…..?”, or something.”

“But he’s not on his own. He has a collar and bandages, so that much should be obvious.”

Yuno’s rebuttal was immediate, but Bell continued to dub over the other two with a hushed voice.

“I could save you, take you in as my henchman, but that would be too easy. If I do that, you’re gonna think that life is easy for as long as you live. It ain’t easy. Life is…… never easy.”

“That’s the kind of conversation two human beings would have. Also, don’t you think your image of Captain Jack is a little off?”

Yuno shot Bell down again, but then Jack headed toward the shoals of the lake and caught a fish using his Slash Magic. After that, he threw it next to Graham. Without skipping a beat, Bell continued,

“Whoops, my mistake…… I accidentally caught too many fish. Throwing them away would surely anger the gods, so I’ll give some to you. Now, young lad…… live, and grow up to be strong…….”

“Okay, that whole “gods” thing is really out of character for him. Just stop……”

“Well, I don’t know if he’d say it quite like that, but it looks like she more or less got it right…... At the very least, it appears that he won’t get rough with Graham.”

While the three of them were talking, Jack left the vicinity. After watching Jack’s figure disappear into the forest, Julius let out a huge sigh of relief.

“Whew, that scared me….. From now on, we should use magic tools that hide our magic power when we come here.”

“……You’re right. Actually, if you could find a magic tool that makes us invisible, that would be great.”

‘If we had that, we would’ve been able to escape before seeing all that,’ Yuno thought to himself as he came out of the hut with Julius.

“Are you okay, Graham? You must’ve been so scared!”

Bell said as he flew toward Graham. Graham squealed happily and started skipping about. Watching Graham behave so cheerfully, Julius had a wry smile on his face.

“Ah ha ha. I thought he’d be afraid, but he’s surprisingly okay. Have you gotten used to being around humans?”

“He might be able to relax around people who seem to hold good intentions.”

……Of course, those two seemed a little too interested in Graham, so there was another problem they had to worry about – the possibility that they may return. However, there was nothing for them to do about that other than take appropriate measures when the time comes. As Yuno came to this conclusion, Julius squatted in front of Graham and extended his hand toward the fish Jack caught.

“Isn’t this great, Graham? You have a fish! Daddy will cut it into pieces to make it easier for you to-

“SQUEAL! SQUEAAAL!”

CRUNCH!

At that moment, Graham chomped down on Julius’s fingers with all his might.

“………….”

 — To be continued in Part 2 —

Julius is such a softie and I love every minute of it. Spoil that baby boar!

Charlotte’s reaction was expected (and perfectly understandable as I would love to hug Graham too), but I can’t say I saw Jack’s coming. It was…... interesting. It’s funny that his soul is considered half-evil, though.

I’m glad to be back to translating Book of Yuno again. The Black Bulls are fun, but there’s something refreshing about having the focus on a character outside of their group. Maybe it’s because he’s so introverted, but Yuno feels very natural as a book protagonist. It’s also funny to see how often the novel essentially says “he had a neutral expression on the outside, but inside he felt *insert intense emotion here*”.