#// you might be with joshua but you are by extension dealing with him

[sepublic]

            I guess while we’re on the subject of the Nizziverse, I should eventually acknowledge our human protagonists.

         Firstly, let me get this out of the way: The military’s involvement (and glorification) in the Bayverse is going to be GREATLY rolled back in the Nizziverse. They’ll still play some bit of a role, inevitably, but I definitely want to avoid the propaganda bordering on satire they delivered. I’m keeping Lennox and Epps tho because they’re cool, but otherwise, the less military, the better, is my philosophy.

         I should also confess that. I don’t like Sam Witwicky. I kind of hate him in fact. Yeah, there are times where I can make myself enjoy his character and laugh AT him, probably with more malice than intended by the creators. But in the end, I don’t like a lot of what this dude represents and kinda stands for, if you get what I mean; Particularly, the assumptions that come with him being a mediocre “everyman”.

         But that just gets into who the new human protagonist is, and I might just make it Carly Spencer? If not a deeply-revised Sam. I say this because Carly’s role was so clearly written as the culmination of Mikaela’s arc, the script was written before Megan Fox left the cast, and it makes her scene with Megatron a lot more impactful as someone who’s actually had that history and experience with him. Plus, it just sucks to have her disappear for no reason.

         Likewise, her name is Mikaela Banes, but I’m changing it to Kayla Barnes; Her entire name is a spin on Michael Bay’s, which given his treatment of Megan Fox, gross. So I’ve shortened Mikaela into just Kayla (which will sometimes be Kay), and Banes became Barnes, because I legit misremembered her last name as such, so why not? Still, if Kayla Barnes is taking back the role meant for her in Dark of the Moon, where does that leave Carly?

         Well. She IS a reference to a G1 protagonist, girlfriend of Spike Witwicky, who even became his wife and had a kid with him during the time skip! She’s an OG, a classic concept. So yeah, I might just make a revised Carly the human protagonist of the first three arcs of the Nizziverse.

         I’m keeping Cade Yeager, I like him enough, though I am considering inserting Isaac Sumdac in his role for Age of Extinction, since he’s an inventor, AoE already has a very meta reference to Sumdac’s backstory when it comes to Megatron’s revival via KSI, etc. Also because I just like the dude, but! I do like Cade, so maybe Isaac will be the protagonist of Age of Extinction, and then Cade takes over in The Last Knight. A sort of anthological approach to things, since I love anthology casts, with recurring members. The Bayverse kinda maybe sorta did that, so I might roll with that here. 

        And/or, Isaac will be in Age of Extinction, but as a KSI engineer who has to deal with Joshua Joyce. By extension, Sari HAS to be there, which if Isaac takes Cade’s role, she obviously takes Tessa’s, but if not, then I guess that’s an entirely new role inserted into the story. Either way, I want the Sumdacs in AoE.

         And yeah, I’m totally keeping Seymour Simmons, he was pretty funny, certain problematic bits aside which I’ll of course excise in the Nizziverse. In Revenge of the Fallen, he does his whole spiel about how he was abandoned by his country, and after playing a minor yet decent role in the final battle, decides to himself that maybe he doesn’t need the approval of a country… Just in time for the U.S. to praise Simmons for his heroism, and he immediately turns around and eats it all up, leading into Dark of the Moon.

         Also, Dylan Gould! I dunno why, I just kinda liked this dude when I first saw him, and found sympathetic traits that probably weren’t intended. Granted, some of that sympathy will be taken away since in the Nizziverse, his dad never passed down his dealings with Soundwave down to him (because Soundwave didn’t arrive on Earth until AFTER the Allspark was busted), meaning Dylan mostly chose to work with the Decepticons.

         But then, maybe they forcibly approached Gould and made it clear he had to work to survive, anyhow? He’s an inexplicable fave. Maybe his coerced obedience morphs into some strange, genuine admiration of Cybertronians as superior to humanity, and a real desire to serve his ‘masters’, even going out of the way to alert the Decepticons of the Autobot presence in the Battle of Chicago. Megatron actually takes him seriously and then so does even Soundwave? Huh. Also, no weird ‘love triangle’ or whatever about our protagonist feeling threatened by Gould’s presence in taking the girlfriend away.

         All in all, the human presence will def be rolled back in favor of Transformer screentime. From a Doylist perspective, I understand why humans take up the majority of screentime, as CGI is expensive. However, the Nizziverse isn’t ever going to be actually animated, plus… Well, I have my own ideas I’ll discuss later.

[catncore]

❝      i’d  like  to  remind  everyone  that  if  you  decide  to  date  joshua,  you  WILL  be  dealing  with  me  on  an  active  basis.  i  am  his  non  negotiable.  you  will  not  separate  us,  and  should  you  try  an’  give  him  an  ultimatum  of  ‘it’s  him  or  me’  it  will be  very  embarrassing  for  you.  i  am  written  into  the  contract  you  sign  when  being  his  boytoy.  an’  on  top  of  that  you  will  occasionally  have  to  deal  with  me  walking  in  on  you  both.  sometimes,  he’ll  even  tell  me  to  stay  in  th’  room.  again’  i am  not  negotiable.  i  listen  to  him,  not  you.        ❞

[godlygreta]

royal secrets | s. & j. kiszka

title | royal secrets

summary | after gaining the throne, queen y/n of altea is arranged for marriage to solidify an ally, prince jacob kiszka of greta just so happens to be next in line for the throne. however, the kiszka boys have grown up since you last saw them. while getting close with jacob, you also got close with prince sam as well. what happens when close becomes too close?

warnings | ah sexual scenes (f. receiving), masturbation, mentions of death, slight angst, knives and palm cutting; most of my works are 18+ and that does not change with this two part series.

word count | 14.3k+

author’s note | if u read this before i reworked it.......no u didn't..... i hope you guys enjoy this, i had a hell of a time writing this! this piece in particular was really fun to write. thank you guys for reading and have a wonderful time :) it might take a while for part two, but it'll definitely be worth the wait !! i've got A LOT in store for you guys with this story

DISCLAIMER !!

please keep in mind that this is not historically accurate by any means. this is a work of fiction, i tried to keep it as relatively close as i could to historical accuracy, but i am also a college student with a part time job. i wish i had the time to do extensive research, i really do. some of this is loosely based off of shows that i’ve seen (like the wedding scene from outlander - their vows are beautiful).

part two

Time had begun to move differently for you now. All within the span of a week, you went from a Queen within the comforts of your own castle, to being engaged to be married in someone else’s. You had known your future husband for a while, visiting their kingdom for years. You had become familiarly acquainted with your new husband long before this moment where he stood before you. Jacob Kiszka.

The Kiszka’s were notorious for being kind and gentle rulers. Ever since their father had stepped into rule, the land had been welcomed within a familiar haze of peace and unity. Once their father had gotten sick, he relinquished his throne to his eldest, Joshua. Often Joshua would go to his father for advice, asking him questions on human relations, finding peace within the villagers.

When Greta inevitably got caught up within the war, Joshua was one of the first to offer a helping hand. His pacifism was pushed to the side with the death of a loved one. A soldier from a neighboring kingdom had perished due to the beginning war between Gideon and Balterra. His heart fell when he heard the news. Inexperienced in the dealings of war, Joshua and the small army he sent had perished as well. The funeral they held for their beloved king lasted a week, the country’s mourning lasting a long while after that week had ended.

Karen, Joshua’s mother, had become slightly withdrawn in the days that followed after the news of Joshua’s death. Her days were filled with long walks along the shoreline of the lake behind their castle, in their private garden, and even through the hallways. Her mind fogged with memories of Jacob and Joshua’s adventures, their laughter bouncing off the walls of the castle.

She caught word that you were finally old enough to marry, your parents had put the word out there that you were of age. She instantly sent out a letter, requesting the audience of your parents. They met at once, reliving the memories of their children in their younger years, your parents wishing Karen the best in her path to healing after the death of her eldest.

Karen became distracted with the wedding. You were to stay at the castle in the meantime, the wedding coming with the spring. It was fall now, leaves littering the ground in hues of brown, orange, yellow and red. There was plenty of time until the wedding ceremony for you to be able to catch up with Jacob, seeing how the ages have treated the both of you.

The reality of the war is what pushed your parents to arrange the marriage between you and Jacob. Between your kingdom, Altea, and Greta you would be able to provide sufficient support to your allies if needed.

The memory filled your mind of the last time you had seen Jacob. He and Joshua were barely thirteen, their birthday just around the corner. They had begun to run around the halls, their smiles wide as you attempted to follow in suit. The dress you wore always kept you a step or two behind them. “Jacob! Joshua! Wait for me!”

You grumbled as they beat you to their joined room, sitting at the table in the middle as if they had already been there waiting for you for ages. You grumpily sat next to them, across from Sam’s chair. He was nowhere to be seen, his mother probably stealing him away for lessons.

“Admit it, you’re just mad because you’re not nearly as fast as Jake and I.”

“I am not! My dress weighs me down, you twit. I’d beat your butt in a race any day!” You pouted, your arms crossed over your chest. The subject was left alone when Sam walked in, excited to show you and his siblings what he had just learned in piano lessons.

“Follow me, guys! Leo says I’m getting really good!” The enthusiasm in his voice carried through the hallways. Jacob and Joshua had already made it to the music room while you walked with Sam. “Don’t worry, I won’t leave you behind like my brother’s do.”

“Thank you, Sammy.” You tried your hardest to make it there in a timely manner, watching as Sam rushed over to the keys. He played a beautiful melody, Joshua wanting to learn it as soon as Sam finished playing. All of you giggled as Joshua tried to play the same thing Sam just finished, but faltered.

“Oh, shut up!” Joshua spoke, face glowing a bright red shade, storming out of the music room, leaving you with Jacob and Sam. Your mother and father walked in, your mother extending her hand out towards you.

“Come now, Y/N. We must return home. Say goodbye to Jacob and Sam.” Your face filled with sorrow as you turned towards the boys. You gave both of them a hug before returning to your mother’s side. You gave them one last look before walking out the door.

Now, Jacob was twenty-two, Sam was twenty.

The nerves inside of your stomach were seemingly foreign as you watched the fields pass by. The closer you got to the Kiszka’s Castle, the more butterflies seemed to swarm inside. You had no reason to be nervous, the boys would always just be the boys. You imagined them to look pretty much the same, maybe their faces had become a little more elongated, maybe they had gotten much taller than they were before.

The castle’s exterior hadn’t really changed, however the flowers in the front seemed to be more bright, more of them littered everywhere. You had figured that equated to Joshua’s death, the village leaving flowers at the front of the castle in memoriam to their king. You had shouted to the driver to stop the carriage, having your own bouquet of flowers to leave for Joshua.

When you heard the news, your heart broke. The sweet, innocent, sunshine boy who made the most fun out of nothing was gone. Just like that. Your heart ached for weeks, an emptiness taking its rightful place where your stomach was. Food was not consumed, although your parents protested as well as your trusted advisor. It took you a good two weeks to finally get back to a normal eating schedule.

Once you had gotten past the wall, the colors of the village shined brightly through the window. It seemed as though all of the hues of the summer had decided to stick around into the fall. Normally, the colors would have dulled out, their once vibrant hues turning into deeper tones. Yellows would become muddied, blues would become more somber.

People of their kingdom waved to you, smiles wide as they watched your carriage roll by. Coming back to the Kiszka Castle always felt warm, welcoming. Sunshine.

The familiar Kiszka smile was waiting for you, Karen and Kelly standing outside the castle’s doors. The driver’s hand extended itself to you, taking it as you stepped off from the carriage.  You gave his hand a squeeze, whispering, “Thank you.”

“Pleasure is all mine, Your Highness.”

You walked with your driver towards the castle, the nerves in your stomach growing larger and larger, some of those butterflies escaping towards your throat. You hadn’t seen them in years. They hadn’t seen you in years. “Y/N! How good it is to see you once again. You’re still just as beautiful.”

“Thank you,” you spoke, returning the kisses Karen planted on each cheek. “The castle still looks as vibrant as it always has.”

“Yes, we try to keep the colors lively. Josh always wanted to repaint the castle every year. He enacted that as the first thing he did when he became king.” You could tell her heart was heavy when she talked about Joshua. Your heart fell a little too, a tightness becoming in your chest. “But nevermind such sad reminders of a happy boy. We should get going, the boys should be done with their fencing lessons soon.”

You wanted to snicker, imagining the boys fencing. It seemed like such a funny thing - the two of them actually dueling. They had done so before as children, but somehow them being older made the idea seem more comical. Although, you had still pictured them as kids. Tinier boys, frantically running around, wooden swords in their hands.

That was not the case. The boys had their helmets on, one arm pinned behind their back, the other using their sword as an extension of their own arm. They were agile, fast and light on their feet. They moved like dancers, their bodies twisting and contorting in odd ways to evade the other’s blade. They had gotten taller, though you could still pick out who was who. Sam’s slender, long body moved expertly against Jacob’s shorter stature. Karen called out to them, “Boys!”

Their heads turned towards their mother, Jacob noticing Sam’s attention focused elsewhere. He took the opportunity to touch the blade to Sam’s chest, meaning he had won the round. Sam shouted in protest, saying that since their mother had called to them, that this win was not justified and that they still had to finish their match. “You’re a sore loser, Sam, just say that.”

You watched as they each removed their helmets, Sam’s hair miles longer than you remembered it to be. Jacob’s as well. Your breath caught in your throat, not taking into consideration just how much the boys had grown up since they were around thirteen years old. Their hair each stuck to their face, your eyes catching a strand stuck to Jacob’s lips. “Boys, you remember Y/N. She’ll be staying with us until she and Jacob are to be married in the spring.”

“Nice to see you again, Your Highness.” Jacob bowed slightly, Sam followed in suit.

“Please, Jacob, we are past formalities.” You stepped towards them, picking up your dress as you walked down the stairs. “You can simply call me Y/N. You used to do it all the time, remember?”

“I do,” he smiled, grabbing your hand and kissing it gently. You blushed a light pink color, you had never known Jacob to be sweet. He was still the rambunctious ‘girls have cooties’ little boy in your mind. “I’d hug you, but I’m afraid fencing has left me incredibly sweaty.”

“That’s alright.” You turned towards Sam, studying his facial features and the way his face had changed since childhood. His prominent nose stuck out to you most, eyes almost staring at his for too long. “You have got magnificently taller, Sammy.”

“You haven’t grown at all.” You pushed at his side with your elbow, pushing him over just a bit.

“Alright, you boys get washed up and let Y/N get situated in her room.” Karen gave you a big smile, holding her hand out for you to grab. You did so with warmth in your heart. You were happy Karen had so much adoration for you. You glanced over your shoulder to look at the boys one last time before the doors shut, seeing them shove each other while laughing.

Not much had changed around the castle besides the boys themselves. The way they carried themselves had changed, their way about them. Sam was no longer soft spoken, but more vocal about his wishes and desires - ideas for the future. Jacob was learning how to prepare for Kingship, following in all of the footsteps of Joshua.

You figured it melted his heart to have to take over for his brother. You couldn’t even begin to think about the way Jacob and Sam had taken the news of the death of their brother. You imagine they hide it better than Karen does, although she always holds her composure. The sadness you felt, there was no hiding it, your mind holding the Kiszka’s to a high standard of being able to compartmentalize.

The bedroom you were gifted with was decorated with items from your home. The map laid in a frame was of Altea, your home country. Your hand brushed over it, missing the land already. You missed the smell the most. Altea was mostly filled with forests, hidden rivers and lakes filled the landscape. The most abundant trees were pines, filling the land with the sweet smell of the needles.

One of the items on your desk was a new set of watercolor paints. A note attached to a new sketchbook peaked out from underneath them. You took it between your fingers, smiling at the slightly boyish handwriting.

‘I couldn’t imagine leaving my home to be married to someone. Hopefully this will make you feel even a bit more at home. You have always been welcome in Greta. You have made a beautiful queen in Altea, I can only imagine what you and I will accomplish as we rule together over Greta.

-- Jacob’

You made a mental note to thank him for his kindness. You looked over more of the items in your room, noticing the small bookshelf that hid in the corner. The classics of Shakespeare were there, littered between books of poetry and music. You smiled as your fingers brushed over Romeo and Juliet. When beginning to read it, your mind filled with scenes of you putting yourself in Juliet’s shoes. What would it be like to be in a forbidden love story?

The next week you spent getting to know Jacob all over again. With time came maturation. His childish ways had been concealed by growth, his sentences suddenly sounding grown. His brain had always been magnificent, but now it had seemed to have elevated even more. His vocabulary was more extensive. It was Friday already, the weeks passing by seemingly too fast. “I feel so terrible about missing out on so much.”

“Don’t feel bad, Y/N. How were we supposed to know the way things would go? We were young; we didn’t think about anything but ourselves.”

“I know, but I missed out on seeing you boys grow up. You and Sam are incredible men. I didn’t even get to know Josh.” Your voice was heavy with sorrow. “Was he the same as he was when he was a kid? Bright and bubbly?”

“Terribly so.” Jacob laughed, looking at your eyes as they began to water. “He still talked over me any chance he could get. You should’ve seen him when he fell in love with Silas. He was a mess.”

“Silas?”

“He was a visitor from a neighboring country. Their army was here to plead their case to Josh, he was barely king for ten minutes when they waltzed in. I caught them sneaking in one of the corridors one time. Josh swore that he and Silas weren’t gonna be anything more than what they were that week. Til I caught letters back and forth from them.”

“I knew Joshua was a romantic.” You smiled to yourself, the thought of Joshua being able to love so wholly filling you with warmth.

“Josh loved him very much. When he heard about Silas’ passing, he became very enraged. I’d never seen Josh so angry. He became a totally different person.” You could imagine how hard it was for Jacob to talk about Joshua. “But nevermind that. What was it like for you in Altea? I’ve only been once when I was a kid.”

“It was beautiful as always. I miss home quite a bit since coming to live here. I’m very grateful, don’t get me wrong, but I miss the forests. There’s so much open land and mountains in Greta. I’d love to adventure them, but I know how dangerous it can be.  In Altea, the forests are all protected by the woodland creatures. I always feel so safe walking in and exploring. I found a secret lake, I could show you someday.”

“I’d like that very much.” He smiled towards you, walking you into the painting room.

You looked all around the walls. The paintings that hung on the walls took away your breath. The realism was so well done, it made you feel as though it was a photograph. You refrained from reaching your hand out to touch the painting, studying the brushstrokes carefully. “This entire room is yours.”

You swore you heard him incorrectly.

“If you want it, of course. I know how much you like art.” Jacob smiled warmly. You looked towards him, eyes beaming. You walked back over towards him, throwing your arms around him. Thank you’s fall from your lips in a chant. Your hands grab at his face, placing a ‘thank you’ kiss upon his lips.

Once realizing what you had done, you brought your fingertips up to your lips. “Oh, oh! I-I am so sorry. I didn’t realize-”

He cuts you off, bringing his soft lips to yours. His fingertips brushed your cheeks, his palm settling on it as his finger curled around the back of your neck. His touch was gentle as was his kiss. His tongue brushed across your bottom lip, coaxing your pair open. He tasted like raspberries, the pastries from dessert still lingering on his tongue. Your hands had no idea where to go, instinctively grabbing his elbows, holding his arms stationary in their position.

Your lungs felt as though they were on fire. Your entire body was tingling, shockwaves coursed through every nerve passageway. You swore that with every change in Jacob’s hand placement made goosebumps rise on every inch of your skin. His hands were on your waist, yours on his chest when he finally pulled away from you, leaving his forehead to touch yours. “Was that okay?”

“I, um, yeah. Yes.” You were flustered, your cheeks a bright pink as you kept your eyes closed. You could feel his eyes staring at you. You opened your eyes and noticed his eyes focused only on your lips.

“I know our first kiss is supposed to be after our marriage, but I don’t think I would’ve lasted till the spring.” His hands held yours, eyes focusing on something other than your lips. “I do hope you’re not mad.”

“I’m not mad. Pleasantly surprised, but… not mad.” A small smile rose to the surface of your face, looking at Jacob coyly. You withdraw your hands from his body, separating from him as you look over the multitude of art supplies laid out in front of you. You notice a few pieces within works on a table, fingertips barely brushing over the ink.

“I have a few pieces that I still haven’t finished. I haven’t had time since preparing to become king. I miss art.”

“I’m sure it misses you too, Jacob. You’ve always been very… creative.” You spoke, looking over your shoulder at him. He smiles at you lightly, fighting the urge to press a kiss to your cheek. It takes everything in him not to.

“I’ll let you be, please stay in here as long as you’d like.” He leaves out the door, shutting it behind you. You didn’t even wait for the door to close before dipping your hands into a bucket of paints. You already had an idea of what you wanted to paint. Altea. You missed it with such a fury. Thirty minutes had past, the sketch you had started was finally turning into something you were slightly okay with. You put the supplies back, leaving your canvas out on the table next to Jacob’s.

You walked back to your room. It was comforting to have a charcoal pencil between your fingers again. The music coming from down the hall switched your path from your room to the piano room. You open the door, noticing Sam sitting at the piano. He wore pants, his white shirt was untied, exposing his chest. His feet were bare, which never came as a surprise to you. You watched him play, hands gliding over the keys so angelically. The door opened more, creaking as it did so. He stopped playing, his eyes snapping over to see you. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to spy.”

“You’re alright. Would you like to stay? I’m almost finished with this piece.” You nodded, closing the door behind you. You left your shoes by the door, going to sit next to him on the piano bench. Your arms grazed his as he played, watching his hands. Sam had grown into his piano playing, remembering how proud he was as a child after he learned how to play a full song.

“You’ve gotten better.” You smiled, speaking quietly after he stopped playing.

“You remembered.”

“Yeah. It’s the last time I saw Joshua.” Your voice was slightly hoarse. You could see Sam’s heart fall, and he knew yours did too. “I miss him sometimes.”

“I miss him everyday.” Sam’s voice was delicate china. One wrong touch and he’ll shatter. You could feel the lump in Sam’s throat grow with the silence that cut through the air. You wrapped your arms around his neck, bringing his head closer to your chest. Although his sobs were silent, you could feel the tears fall from his eyes.

“Let it out, Sammy.” The violent uproar of his sobs ripped holes in your heart. The build up of emotions let out as if a dam inside him broke. Tears slipped down your eyes, your heart absolutely broke for Sam. He wrapped his arms around your waist tighter, clinging onto you for dear life.

You swore twenty minutes went by and Sam was still crying. Not a single atom in your body minded. Your hands mindlessly ran through his hair, trailing down his back in an attempt to calm him down. He pulled away first, sniffling as he gathered himself. His eyes flickered to your lips, as yours did to his. His lips were wet with salty tears, his tongue licking them away. You tore your eyes away from his lips as he apologized. “Sorry for crying on you.”

“Don’t apologize, Sam. I’m here for you. I’m going to be your sister-in-law soon enough.” You joked, eliciting a half laugh from Sam.

“Speaking of, how’s that going?”

“Don’t tell anyone, but he kissed me today. Said the painting room is mine.” You gushed, a light pink hue covering your cheeks. A gentle smirk displayed on his face.

“He’s a lucky man.” Confusion pulled your eyebrows together. You were the lucky one, how was Jacob lucky? “He’s lucky because he’s gotten to kiss you, Y/N.”

Heat radiated from your body. It felt like your whole being was on fire. Sam’s eyes never left your face, trying to make out the emotions you were feeling. Shifting from the piano to match Sam’s gaze, you attempted to speak but no words came out.  You heard a laugh come from Sam’s nose, watching your awestruck gaze. Your mouth curves upwards, a nervous laugh exiting your mouth. “To be able to kiss you is like being able to kiss a goddess. One of the marvelous pleasures of the universe.”

“That’s too sweet, Sammy.”

“I’m just telling you the truth, Your Highness.” He stood up from the piano bench, extending his hand out to you. “I do have to cut our time short, I’m tired after all that crying, but I’d love to escort you back to your room to make sure you get back alright.”

“I suppose that would be a good idea.” You took his hand, getting up from the piano bench. He grabbed your shoes by the door and carried them for you as your hand rested on the inside of his elbow.

“Thank you for allowing me to get rid of some of those emotions I kept built up. I appreciate it more than you know.”

“Again, Sammy, you don’t have to thank me. You shouldn’t hide your feelings anyways. Keeping all of that built up over time will not create good outcomes. Eventually you just burst and you hurt the people around you.” You saw the door to your room within view, not really wanting to leave Sam’s side. You brought him into your room, watching him set down your shoes in the corner. “Thank you for walking me back to my room.”

“It’s my pleasure, Your Highness. Anything to keep you safe and sound. Goodnight, Y/N.” He smiled, pressing a delicate kiss to your knuckles.

“Goodnight, Sammy.”

You shut the door once Sam had walked off. Your mind replayed the moment shared between you and Sam. Were you really contemplating kissing Sam too? After kissing his brother only a mere hour or two before. You shivered underneath the covers of your duvet, slightly from the cold air coming from the window and lack of clothing, but also due to the odd feeling you had gotten, slight pleasure from wanting to kiss the both of them.

You tried to pay no mind to the pooling of slick you had, frustrated as your attempts to fall asleep had fallen unsuccessful. You flung the covers off of your body, nipples hard at the sudden change in temperature. You stared up at the ceiling, talking yourself out of the sudden thoughts you had about kissing Sam in the piano room.

♛♛♛

The days following the moment you had shared with Sam weren’t as awkward as you anticipated them to be. You expected a familiar saturation of tension to follow you with every interaction, but no such thing happened. You and Jacob walked around the castle, conversing as normal. Every once in a while Sam would join you, picking up on the conversation coming out of the piano room.

Whenever Sam didn’t accompany the two of you, you and Jacob found secret places within the castle to share kisses. They’d be brought on by one of you staring too long at the other, prompting them to tug the other into a corner, a room unoccupied. The kisses would at times be chaste, gentle and quick never passing the unspoken boundary between the two of you.

Your finger twirled a strand of hair, ducked in the painting room. Nobody went in there besides the two of you. You both had the ultimate privacy, although that was typically very risque given your marital status. “The piece you did two weeks ago -- the Altean forest line, it was beautiful. Your line work is exquisite.”

“So are your lips, Jacob.” You kissed him, a smile upon both of your faces. His hands settled at your waist, never straying although you protested in your mind. “Do you ever worry someone will find us?”

“No, not really. Even if they did, they are sworn to secrecy.” He pulled away from you, traveling over to one of the tables. “We could do practically anything inside this room and the only people who would know about it would be us.”

Images flashed through your mind, a vibrant pink hue came forth on your cheeks. It wasn’t that you hadn’t thought of you and Jacob in that position, but you were almost scared to. The idea of sex didn’t scare you, your parents had opened the conversation about it up when you were younger. You were always well informed, especially since life was so unpredictable. You were scared because of all the alleyways it could lead down. Giving into temptation was sinful. But one could argue that the secret kisses you share with Jacob were sinful, not having been married yet.

“Anything you say?” Your mind went other places, rather than those of a sexual nature. You slipped your two fingers into a small pot of paint, walking quietly behind him. You smeared the gold paint across his cheek, the coolness of the paint making Jacob gasp. “Gold is one of your colors, not shocking.”

“You’re gonna pay for that, Y/N.” His gasp transformed into an open mouthed smirk, dipping his fingers into the burgundy paint, the colors of his kingdom dripped down his fingers. He didn’t have to try too hard to get you close, wiping his fingers down your cheek. “You look good in my colors. You might have to paint me with yours.”

His face was dangerously close to you, you could faintly feel his breath on your lips. “Would it be improper of me to kiss you right now?”

“Normally, I would’ve said yes.” You spoke, voice barely above a whisper. “But considering it wouldn’t be our first time, I think the issue with breaking the courting rules is out the door.”

He didn’t kiss you right away though. He stared at you, taking in your features. His fingers barely brushed over your lips, dragging your bottom lip down slightly. His touch is so delicate against your face, ghosting almost. You bring your hand to the back of his neck, pulling him in. You were tired of the teasing, you couldn’t handle it. You wanted to kiss him. So bad.

His lips were just as soft as the first time, pillowy and enrapturing your own. You happily sigh from the contact, Jacob’s body flush against your own. You were pushed up against the table, a hand grabbing the edge of the table as instinct. He picked you up and placed you on top of it. His hands flew to your waist, holding you in place. He attempted to keep his distance from you, not wanting to make you uncomfortable with how unbelievably hard he was already. His body yearned for you, as much as his heart and soul did.

“What’s on your mind, pretty?” Jacob asks, lips against your neck so lightly you barely feel it. You smile back, hands playing with the hair on the nape of his neck.

“I miss Altea.” You admitted, sighing while Jacob’s attention shifted from your neck to your face. “I love it here in Greta, I do, but I miss home. I miss the vastness of the trees and the forest behind the castle. Plus, there’s a dispute between two villages and they’ve asked me to deal with it. They’ve tried their hardest to settle it without including me, but they haven’t come to a conclusion.”

“Can’t you just send a letter with your decision on the case? Do you really need to go back there? It’s not the best idea, Y/N. We may be courting and having a happy time, but there is still a war going on outside the gates. I can protect you here, but out there, I can’t do anything.” He backs away from you, running a hand through his hair.

“You don’t need to protect me all the time, Jacob. I can take care of myself perfectly fine. I never travel without a few guards anyways. You’re being ridiculous.” You hopped down, heels making noise against the floor. He turned around, facing towards you, his face beginning to contort with anger.

“I’m being ridiculous?” He asks, voice raising a little. “I’m being ridiculous? Y/N, you want to leave the castle and go settle a dispute between two villages who should have already figured out their issues. What if that’s a ruse for kidnapping you and hurting you? What then?”

“My people wouldn’t do that.” You were hurt by his words, accusing your constituents of causing that level of violence. Silence fell between the two of you as you thought of something to say. Part of you wanted to bite back, give him as much attitude back as he gave you. The rest of you wanted to leave it alone. “I’m going, that is final. We may be engaged to be married, Jacob, but I am their Queen. I have a duty to show up. It’s not my fault that you do not have such a title.”

“You watch your fucking words.” His teeth were gritted, finger centimeters away from her nose. It wasn’t fair - what you had said to him. He wasn’t king yet, you two had months away from your engagement party, let alone the wedding and his coronation.

He stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. You attempted to collect yourself, although tears began to stream down your face. You grabbed a small towel from the table and wiped the paint off of your face. You headed out of the room, finding yourself walking towards the garden. Your tears were falling hard and freely now - your ability to see limited to fuzzy shapes and colors. You kick your heels off, feeling the grass beneath your feet. You kept going until you bumped into something.

“Y/N?” Sam asks, hands wrapping around your biceps to stabilize you. “Y/N, what’s wrong?”

“Jacob and I just had a small argument and I said some things I didn’t mean to, I wanted to go home and deal with a village conflict, but Jacob doesn’t want me to go.” You were going to continue, telling him some of the things you had said and he said back to you, but Sam cut you off.

“Hey,” he spoke, wrapping his arms around you, pulling you in for a hug. “Hey, it’s okay. Just take a minute to breathe.”

His hands were warm against your back, the cool breeze of the evening sitting in around you. You grabbed onto his shirt, balling his shirt up with your fists. You wanted to scream. You wanted to keep crying. You wanted to shut the world off and your mind. You wanted to apologize to Jacob immediately. Jacob.

The wedding. Oh no. Oh no. The wedding. Since you had gotten into an argument with Jacob, did that mean that the wedding was off now? The engagement and solidified alliance between your kingdoms wasn’t going to work out. You voiced your anxieties, rambling on about how nervous you were for the future between you two as you had yelled at him. “What have I done? I’ve screwed everything up, I’ve-”

Everything you thought about at that moment stopped. All trains of thought you had - all of them flowing at once - stopped in the middle of their route from your brain to your mouth. Your heart had forgotten how to stop beating, breathing stopped in time with your heart. His hands were warm against your cheeks, holding your face against his, lips on yours.

Sam was kissing you, pausing your thoughts. His lips were soft moving against yours, your hands held his wrists tightly. His tongue slipped into your mouth with ease, coaxing it open for him to explore. You sighed into the kiss, relaxing into his touch. His thumbs brushed against your cheeks, wiping away any remnants of tears that had been left on your cheeks from earlier.

When he pulled away, you gasped slightly, mourning the loss of connection quietly. His forehead rested against yours, your breathing ragged. You swallowed thickly, your mind still void of any collective thought - all of the ones you currently had were bits and pieces of a jumbled mess. You licked your lips, attempting to formulate a single coherent thought. Sam’s voice interrupted you, “Y/N, you have done nothing wrong.”

“You didn’t hear the things I said, Sam.” Your hands were still wrapped around his wrists, almost keeping his hands there. You didn’t want his hands to move, they were keeping your mess of thoughts at bay, keeping you grounded. “I was incredibly rude.”

“I’m sure Jake’ll get over it, he’s a big boy.” Right. Jacob.

Jacob.

You had just fought with Jacob and here you are in the gardens, kissing his little brother. Your mind clouded again, this time overflowing with the thoughts of what just happened. “I think I’m going to go back to my room, sleep on it and see how I feel in the morning.”

“Want me to walk you back?”

“Um, no,” You spoke, removing his hands from your cheeks. “I’ll be fine, but thank you, Sam. I’ll see you in the morning.”

You didn’t exactly run away from him, but you definitely walked a little faster than normal. You made a quick pit stop, collecting your heels before hiking your dress up a bit. You ran as soon as one of your feet was inside the castle, past all of the staff you saw on the way, into the comforts of your own room.

As soon as you shut the door, you stripped off your clothing. Everything felt like too much to you right now. Your clothes were too much, thoughts were too much -- everything was too much. You grabbed one of the pillows off of the bed and shoved it in your face. You let out the most ungodly scream you could, so close to eviscerating your vocal cords.

After that, you felt decently okay. You calmed down. Your heart rate calmed down, slowing to its natural rhythm. You breathed in deeply, letting the air fill your lungs completely before exhaling. You got yourself into bed, throwing the covers up around your shoulders.

You didn’t hate kissing Sam. In fact, you liked it a whole lot. The feeling of Sam’s lips on yours was vastly different than the way Jacob’s felt against yours. Sam’s was gentle, soothing. Teetering on the line between right and wrong. His touch mimicked his kisses, but still steady enough to keep you right where he wanted you to be.

Jacob’s was firm in a sense of belonging. His lips belonged to yours. His body belonged to yours, the way it reacted to your touch was explanation enough.

You were screwed, between a rock and a hard place. While you were meant to be courting Jacob, you’re running around kissing his little brother in secret. The thought should have made you repulsed by your own actions, but it didn’t. It made you warm.

Your cheeks tinted pink and became at least what seemed like fifty degrees hotter than the rest of your body. An unfamiliar pooling sensation began below your waist, moving your hips involuntarily. You experimentally run your hand down your stomach, traveling further until you gasp. You move your fingers through your folds, feeling how wet you were. Your middle finger ran over your sensitive bud, causing a light moan to fall from your lips.

You weren’t even entirely sure what you were doing. All you knew, you felt good. And thinking about Sam and Jacob made you feel even better. Daydreaming about their mouths - the way they kissed you - and continuing to move your finger in a circular motion around your clit made you feel lightheaded. Your hips shifted underneath you, attempting to get more of that feeling.

It was unfamiliar the build that you began to feel in your lower stomach, a knot getting tighter and tighter. The more you moved your fingers against yourself, the closer the knot was to breaking. You let out low moans, keeping your mind’s focus on Jacob’s mouth. It went even farther than just kissing, wondering what his lips would feel like on other parts of your skin. Sam’s lips, too. It slipped between the two, wanting to feel both of their lips on your skin.

The knot snapped, your vision turning a blinding white color as you screwed your eyes shut. You moaned loudly this time, thankful your room was large enough to warrant for space. Hopefully, nobody outside those doors had heard you. You allowed your fingers to work you through your climax, hips moving with your fingers.

Your body finally stilled, a hand just above your hips, just below your navel. Your mouth stayed open, chest rising and falling with your heart returning to its normal rhythm. The thoughts had slowed, but they were still the same content. You soon fell asleep, mind filled with images of Sam’s mouth pressed against your body, Jake’s hands all over your skin.

♛♛♛

The ride to Altea was bumpy, but as soon as you were back inside your home, it felt nothing but peaceful. The familiar hues of the land welcomed you back with open arms, familiar smells of pine and lake water comforted you. It had felt like forever since you had been back home, when in reality it was only a few months.

Nothing in your room had been disturbed. The books you had forgotten left with bookmarks in their place, the never-ending stack of drawings that were half finished laid in the same spot as before. Your fingers danced over the familiar charcoal pencils, forcing them from their spot. You took a deep breath, forcing yourself to savor every last moment here. You were sure that this would be the last time you would be inside these walls for a long time.

A bodyguard of yours called out to you, asking you to join him in going to the villages. It was a simple quarrel, he assured you. “Something simple should have been solved without getting you involved, truly. I’m terribly sorry to have torn you away from your courtship with Prince Jacob.”

“Mason, that’s quite alright. I have duties as Queen, I must perform them no matter the size of the quarrel. Can you tell me what the whole fighting is about? It seems from everyone else’s view it’s a simple matter.”

“They’re having a land dispute over crops. It’s a tiresome quarrel, I really do apologize for needing to request your presence.” You waved his comment off with your hand, you had a duty to your people; you simply couldn’t ignore them. You inquired about land documents, wondering if the village lines had been drawn. He had given you all the documents your parents had left you, looking over them on the ride to the villages.

The two Lords approached your carriage as soon as you got to your destination. A bit outside both of the lands, in a little tavern the two of them had spoken about. You were a bit nervous, not letting it seep through your facial expressions. Mason sat next to you; eyes focused on the two men in front of you. “I understand where the confusion lies.”

The men’s eyebrows lurched forward in confusion, wondering what you were talking about. You looked between the two of them, noticing their bewilderment. “The property line between your lands has been what you two have argued about, yes?”

“Yeah.” One of them responded.

“It was never fully settled between the last two Lords, which you two would’ve already previously known. Your lands were actually once one whole village.” You showed them your father’s map, showing them their region just outside your castle’s walls. “You two can either absolve your differences and choose to work together, or I can dictate a property line for the two of you.”

They looked between themselves, muttering a few words. Mason whispered into your ear, “Well done, Your Highness.”

“Thank you. Can we return through the back of the castle? I’d like to adventure the forests a bit if you don’t mind.” He nodded, regaining his stature. “Have the two of you made a decision?”

“We’ll work together for the time being. If something goes wrong, we’ll try to figure it out. If it doesn’t work, we’ll request for you to determine the property line between our lands. Thank you, Your Highness.” He scratched his beard, mentioning something under his breath. You barely caught what he said, not letting the slight insult he had muttered get to you.

“You will apologize to the Queen,” Mason spoke, standing up and offering a hand out to you. You grabbed it, using it to stand up from where you were sitting. “If not for her, you two twats would’ve ripped each other’s heads off.”

“Sorry, Your Highness.” The two spoke in unison, bowing their heads. You nodded to them, not caring about their simple insults. If you were to fall sad every time someone muttered something bad about you (especially in front of you) you would not be the queen you were today. They bowed, leaving the tavern before you and Mason got back into your carriage.

“That went well.” You laughed a little, smoothing out the fabric of your dress as you sat down. The reigns on the horses slapped against their skin, jolting the carriage slightly. “I tried to hide my laughter when you called them twats, Mason. That was very funny.”

“I’m sorry for the language, Your Highness.”

“Mason, do not apologize. Foul language doesn’t make me uncomfortable. When we are alone, you may use it as often as you’d like. If I’m honest, I curse habitually. It slips out sometimes during meetings with different members of the royal court.” You simpered at him, watching as he chuffs out a laugh.

The ride back was a lot shorter than the ride to the tavern. When you had finally gotten back, Mason helping you get out of the carriage, he left you to your own devices, against his wishes. He wanted to accompany you into the woods, but he knew better than to pester you about it. However, he did ask for your attention very quickly in the kitchen. “What did you need me for there?”

“It’s your first breakfast home in the morning, I just wanted to make sure that we had all of your favorites made the way you liked them when you were a child. Taste the raspberry puff pastry, see if it still tastes the same?”

“Alright,” you grabbed one off the tray, never refusing sweets at any point of the day. As soon as your teeth sunk into it, it felt like you were seven again, roaming around the castle pretending to be a fairy princess, not just a regular one. You moaned, finally able to taste the raspberry on your tongue. “That is absolutely delicious.”

“Aren’t they, though? I made them myself.” Jacob’s voice rang through your ears, sending you into a fit of slight shock. You turned around so quickly you swore you could’ve gotten whiplash. “Hello, Y/N.”

“Jacob! What are you doing here?” You wrapped your arms around his neck, completely forgetting about the fight the two of you had had, leaving you in a crying fit; leading you to kiss Sam in the gardens. “I didn’t think you’d want to see me anymore.”

“It was a silly little fight. I came to apologize; my behavior was incredibly poor. You have made an excellent Queen. It was rude of me. I do hope you’ll accept my apology and show me that forest and that secret lake you were telling me about.” He looked at you, brown eyes making you feel warmth everywhere on your body, especially between your legs.

“Apology accepted, and I’d be more than happy to show you inside the forest. I was just about to go actually.” Jacob’s arm offered itself to you, smiling as you weaved your arm through his. Mason smiled, bowing to the two of you as you walked out of the kitchen.

The walk felt nice, autumn air brushing against your skin. With the contrast of how hot you had already felt, you welcomed the breeze with open arms. Jacob followed behind you, staying close in the case of danger, but you already knew that nothing was lurking in these woods. When the sun had begun to dip below the horizon, Jacob tried to urge you to go back to the castle’s grounds, finding the lake tomorrow. “You’ll miss the best part if we go back now and return in the morning. It’s not in vain, I promise you.”

“I trust you.” He whispered, eyes staring into yours, lips so tantalizingly close. You wanted nothing more than to push yourself against him, kiss him right there. Nobody was around, you could truly get away with it. You grabbed his hand, holding it rather than using it to pull him behind you. He started to see the reflection of the moonlight, waves crashing upon the shores of the lake ahead of you. You looked back at him, noticing a small smile form on his lips.

“The best part is here,” you slipped off your shoes, hiking up your dress, making sure none of it got wet. As soon as your feet touched the water, leaving footprints in the sand in your wake, he noticed it – the glow it gave. He looked between you and the water, touching it with his hands. “The little microorganisms that live in the water cause the glow every time the water is disturbed from its resting state. Every movement is shown with the light they give off.”

“That’s so brilliant. I can’t even – I have no words. This is the most amazing thing I’ve ever laid eyes on.” The light inside his eyes was childlike, you watched how wide his smile got as he moved the water around with his hands. You watched him rush to take his shoes off, rolling up his trousers as best he could. He joined you in the water, laughing as he splashed around. “How in the world did you find this place?”

“I tried running away when I was twelve. We weren’t having blueberry tarts for dinner and I was quite upset about that. I stumbled my way back here and found this lake. Some of the woodland fairies guided me back home.”

“There are fairies in these woods?” You nodded, looking around to see if maybe you could possibly show him.

“They tend to hide around new people. They’re quite shy creatures. As long as you respect the land, none of them will cause you harm.” You looked towards the sky, looking to see if you could spot any of the fairies within the tops of the trees. The forest was silent, nothing stirring besides the two of you in the water.

“You look so beautiful.” His hand grabbed yours, bringing you closer to him. Your hands let go of your dress, not caring if the ends got wet anymore. His thumbs brushed against your cheeks so lightly, you barely felt his touch. His hands left your cheeks, falling to your waist. Your hands placed themselves on his cheeks. “I cannot explain to you how much I have missed you and your touch.”

“I’ve missed you, too, so much.” You breathed out, bringing his head closer to yours. You rested your forehead against his. You tilted your head, capturing his lips in a kiss. He sighed, relaxing into the kiss. You melted into his touch, reveling in the way his hands felt against your body. He walked the two of you out of the water, having the two of you sit on the sand.

He leans the two of you back, kissing him while propped up on one of your elbows. The free hand you had slipped through Jacob’s hair, fixing itself onto the back of his neck. Your tongue moved against his – mind slipping to wonder what exactly he tasted like. It was wine, mixed with another fruit that you couldn’t quite put your finger on.

Your body yearned for more – wanting to feel him, more of him. He climbed on top of you, knees brushing the insides of your thighs. Your legs instinctively wrapped around his waist, pulling him flush against you. He moans into your mouth before pulling your bottom lip with his teeth causing the same reaction from you. He drank in your moans, getting intoxicated off of them.

He lips moved away from your lips, kissing a line from your mouth, to your jaw, to your neck. His first kiss was below your earlobe, sending shockwaves through your body, straight down to your core. He left open mouthed kisses down your neck, licking at your collarbone. You arched into his mouth, slick pooling between your thighs. His mouth didn’t stop there, though.

Your heart raced as Jacob started lifting your dress. His eyes flicked back up to you, asking if this was okay for you. You gave him a little nod, hands resting atop your breasts over your dress. Your dress was bunched up around your hips, legs fully exposed to him. His mouth was tentative, eyes continuously flickering back up to yours always checking to make sure you were okay with everything he was doing.

The low hum you emitted from the back of your throat when Jacob’s lips kissed right next to your cunt let him know you were more than okay with what his mouth was doing. Your hips moved, chasing his mouth. You whine when you no longer feel his mouth on your skin. You gasp, feeling his tongue lick up your cunt. “So sweet.”

His tongue slips around your clit a few times, sending shivers up your spine. He introduced you to a new feeling – his cold fingers against your slit made you jolt, letting out a yelp. He chuckled against your cunt to which you replied with a whine. His mouth went back to you, licking you as his fingers collected slick, experimentally sliding his middle finger inside of you, up to the first knuckle. He paid attention to the way your body responded, the way your back arched and your hips wriggled against his fingers.

He pushed more of his finger inside of you, mouth distracting you from the stretch. His lips wrap around your clit, sucking it into his mouth. You moaned, hands squeezing your breasts, “Holy fuck.”

The feeling in your lower gut mirrored what you had felt that night in your bedroom. Your cheeks flushed, body moving more and more against his hand. You looked down at him, noticing the way he grinded his hips into the sand beneath the two of you. You were going to mutter something to Jacob, asking him to let you help him the way he was helping you, but your mouth failed you letting out only a string of moans falling from your lips.

His fingertip brushed against a spot that made your cunt spasm around him. “M-More.”

He replied by adding another finger, your body reacting accordingly. The feeling of two of his fingers filling you up as his tongue lapped at your clit was delicious. With a free hand, he held your hips stationary, wanting you to completely let yourself submit to him in this moment. You did with no hesitation, a flame almost on the edge of bursting as you fought against bucking your hips in rhythm with his fingers. Your cheeks went hot, mouth beginning to fall open once again.

“So pretty, c’mon. Come for me, Y/N. Please. I wanna see your face when you come, I bet it’s so pretty.” The words that fell from his mouth forced a moan to rise to the surface of your throat – high pitched and whiny. The flame erupted, hand finding its way into Jacob’s hair, holding his mouth against you as your hips moved against his tongue. He let you fuck his face, letting your orgasm course through you.

Your labored breathing had begun to slow, returning to homeostasis. Jacob removed himself from betwixt your legs, putting your dress back down where it was, lying next to you once again. His hand found your waist, eyes looking at you adoringly. “How did that feel, sweet girl?”

“Really good.” He kissed your nose, helping you sit up. “Do you mind if we go back to the castle? I’m slightly tired after that.”

“Anything you wish.” He got off the ground, helping you up. The two of you walked hand in hand, wandering back to the castle. The conversation flowed between the two of you freely once again, finding anything and everything to talk about. Jacob even shared how much he missed your presence within the castle walls itself, telling you how lonely everything felt. “Sam misses you too. He doesn’t say anything, but he’s a tad off. I believe it’s because of you.”

Your cheeks blushed a furious pink; you were happy they couldn’t be seen to well with the moon hidden behind the trees, only coming out in small fractions. You were thankful Jacob left the talk of Sam at that, not asking you if you missed him. You had no idea what your answer would have been anyways; somewhere between a hesitant yes and a ‘no’ that was said way too fast.

You had no idea how much time had passed between when you had left and when you had come back to the castle. You assumed it took no less than two hours, but to your surprise it had been almost five. The two of you were welcomed back into the castle, Mason greeting you almost immediately. “You’re lucky I talked down most of the staff. You two being gone that long caused everyone to have minor heart attacks. They almost started a sign up for a search party for you.”

“I’m glad you assured them I’d be fine. We just got a little... carried away, is all. We’re going to be heading to bed now. Will you show Jacob to his room after he escorts me to mine?” Mason nodded, allowing you and Jacob to lead the way for him. “Thank you for coming with me tonight. I didn’t realize how much you adored nature.”

“I always have. Mother just didn’t let us off the grounds that much. One night Josh and I snuck out and ventured the fields around the castle. We played with our wooden swords for hours. We had to bribe Sam to stay quiet about it. Thank you for bringing me along. It was truly a beautiful sight.”

“The forest has a lot to offer, you just have to be patient enough to find it.” You gave his arm a squeeze.

“Yeah, the forest. Right.” You jabbed your elbow into Jacob’s side, giving him a stern look. Your eyes darted back to Mason, who was too busy suppressing a chuckle. He would never admit it, but Mason figured the two of you had done something. There was still sand lurking in your hair.

When the three of you reached your room, you hugged Jacob goodnight, planting a simple kiss on his cheek, Mason bowing as you looked over at him. You shrugged yourself out of your dress, slipping on your nightgown. You couldn’t stop the smile that was forming at your lips. Your mind flashed back to the way Jacob’s mouth felt on you, a familiar pooling feeling happening once more. You climbed into your bed, allowing a peaceful sleep to overcome you.

♛♛♛

Upon returning to the castle, the sneaking around with Jacob became more intense. Ever since your evening in the forest, you craved his touch more than you craved food or water. Instead of finding nooks and crannies to kiss in, you’d find entire rooms to divulge. Mismatched little rooms around the castle would be used to pleasure either one of you.

You found solace in the library, finding that you were really the only one who went in there. Jacob followed you one time. Finding your fingertips running along the spine of A Midsommer Night’s Dream by Shakespeare, coming up behind you. His lips brushed over the shell of your ear, whispering a line from the play into your ear. “Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind; and therefore, is winged Cupid painted blind.”

“You’ve read Midsommer?” You asked, falling backwards into his chest. His lips brushed your neck, pressing lightly, teeth nibling at the skin. You pulled away from him, turning your body towards him.

“You sound surprised.”

“Reading was never your strong suit, Jacob.” His finger traced lines into the open skin of your back before pinning your body against the bookshelf behind you. He kept his eyes on yours, sinking to his knees. His hands travelled up your legs, pressing harder into your flesh as they fell down from your thighs. You sighed into his touch, letting your head fall back into the books behind you.

“No, it wasn’t,” he spoke, beginning to press kisses from your ankle to your knee. “But I remembered how much you loved Romeo and Juliet when we were kids, I figured I’d read it as best I could. When I finished that, I read Macbeth. Then I read Midsommer.”

Your hand found its way into his hair, second nature to you now – the feeling of his mouth against your skin. Your breath was heavy, the closer Jacob’s mouth got to your core. It dripped down your legs, Jacob catching some of it with his tongue. Your hands tugged at the roots, pulling his mouth where you wanted him the most. He laughed at your eagerness, licking up you as if it was his first time.

“Oh fuck,” you moaned at the introduction of his fingers. With no hesitation, he collected your slick on his fingers and put two of them inside of you. His fingers had always reached the spot yours never could, every brush of the spot causing a whine to leave your lips.

Your breath caught in its throat as soon as you realized that Sam had peered into the library, watching you and Jacob. You kept Jacob’s head against your cunt, not wanting him to look up and see his little brother watching the two of you. Your eyes didn’t leave Sam’s as Jacob continued to eat you out, licking over your clit. You moaned, watching a heat begin to rise to Sam’s cheeks. You allowed yourself to look away, eyes rolling into the back of your head.

You opened your eyes again, Sam still in the doorway – almost as if he was in a trance. He licked his lips, watching you get off. The mixture of Jacob’s fingers and his mouth began to coax an orgasm out of you, your hips moving languid against him. He moaned into your pussy when you tugged at his hair again, causing a high-pitched whine to leave your throat.

You swore that your orgasm would not have been as powerful had Sam not been standing there watching you the whole time. It racked through your body with enough force to make your knees buckle, collapsing almost entirely onto Jacob. You watch as Sam slips out, shutting the door as quietly as it possibly could. Jacob removes his mouth from you, wrapping an arm around your waist, still keeping you against the bookshelf. “You always look so pretty like that. I wish you could see how pretty you look.”

You let Jacob help you back to your room, mind swirling around the thoughts of Sam watching you. They were barely able to pass anywhere in your mind, your body exhausted from the orgasm you had just had.

The days pass so quickly by you, it’s almost forgotten that you were to be married in within months. It blew your mind. The boys didn’t help passing the time either. Each moment you shared with either brother always passed by as if moving at the speed of light. One blink and your alone time with Jacob was gone.

This time, though, today, was passing by too slowly for your liking. Sam had slid a note underneath your door, his scribbled handwriting on the papyrus for you to decipher. You chuckled to yourself, trying to figure it out as best you could. He still wrote like he was twelve.

““It is strange how loud little sounds become when you are in the dark and doing something wrong.” --- Richard Llewellyn.

The gardens. 9pm - Sam”

You waited for nine to roll around since eleven in the morning. Lunch and dinner had gone by so slowly. It pained you to have to wait. You did everything you could to keep yourself busy. You worked on some art, but you got so incredibly frustrated with the way it was turning out, you abandoned that. You tried reading, but your mind was already too preoccupied with the thought of secretly meeting Sam in the gardens.

Your heart was in your throat while you sat waiting for him. Your shoes had been forgotten in your room, your legs crossed underneath your dress. You picked at the skin of your fingers, lip between your teeth. This was stupid. Foolish. Forbidden. You looked up, though, finding Sam walking towards you, smile on his face.

“Thought you weren’t going to show.” You spoke to him, sitting on the edge of the fountain. He sat directly next to you, knees touching your own.

“I’d never stand you up, Y/N.” He spoke, offering a smile to you. His boyish charm completely ruined you. “How was Altea?”

“It was good,” you spoke, noticing Sam’s face grow closer to the skin of your neck. Your breathing hitches in your throat, feeling Sam’s lips graze over your neck. “Um,” you say, trying to focus on what you were trying to say and not that Sam’s tongue was now on your skin. “The debacle that I had to deal with went smooth, it was figured out quite quickly. Jacob surprised me in Altea.”

“He did?” He asked, half paying attention to what you were saying.

“Yeah, he did. And we went on a little date. I showed him a lake in the forest behind the castle.” You held your bottom lip between your teeth, trying to keep a whine at bay. “And we even kissed a little... Did some other things besides kissing.”

“What things did you do, little dove?” The nickname he gave you made you melt in his hands; partnered with the way his tongue felt guiding over your skin didn’t help. You tried to figure out how to say it without it sounding so lewd, so sinful.

“Sam, you know it’s hard to think with you doing that.”

“I’m sorry, Your Highness, but I just can’t get enough of you.” He kissed a spot just below your ear, making a low moan sound from the back of your throat. You try to push him away, moving your face towards him. Sam had other plans, however, keeping your head in place with his hand softly but firmly gripping your chin. “What things did you do with Jake? You never told me.”

“I - oh God. He made me feel really good, with his mouth.” Sam’s attention was piqued, stopping his assault on your neck. He scanned over your face, looking to see if you were lying. “With his hands too.”

“Like this?” He asked, sliding a hand under your dress, fingers ghosting over your core. You suck in a breath, looking towards the look on Sam’s face. There was almost no expression, only the remnants of his cocky, boyish charm. He licked his lips, fingertips pressing against your clit. You try to keep your moans to yourself, making sure they don’t slip past the protective barriers of your lips.

He moves to his knees, the fingertips of his hand still swirling around your clit. His free hand pushes your dress up your thighs, the brisque air hitting you, an audible gasp forming. The Lord’s name was used in vain when Sam’s lips began to press kisses into the insides of your knees, moving up, up, up until he was directly next to your cunt. “Oh, God, Sammy.”

God was not around the two of you. The noises falling from your lips into the open air mixed with the way Sam’s tongue was lapping at you was absolutely sinful. His eyes stared daggers into yours, the intimidation of his stare made you drip into his mouth. You threw your head back, hands steadying yourself as best you could. You gripped the stone from the fountain, your knuckles turning white.

“Did he make you feel good like this, Y/N? Did make you feel as good as I’m making you feel right now?” He asks, but you can’t fathom anything other than a string of moans. And even then, you weren’t even entirely sure who made you feel better. Your head was reeling when his fingers moved at the right pace and his tongue focused hard on the figure eights he was drawing on your clit.

Instinctively you moved one of your hands from the cement to the back of Sam’s head, pushing him closer to you. With one single hum against you, he absolutely unravels you. Your hips rut against his mouth and his fingers, breathing incredibly uneven. You whine, him drinking in the last of your orgasm, “Sammy.”

“So delicious, Your Highness.”

That’s the last thing that’s on your mind when you’re falling asleep. Your comfy within your bed, duvet pulled up to the middle of your stomach, hands underneath your pillows. You didn’t toss and turn literally, but your mind seemed to not want to calm down from the rollercoaster of thoughts it was on.

The thoughts that consumed you were about Jacob and Sam, yet again; their mouths occupied your mind, yet again. This time you had more to dream about, more thoughts to have. You missed the feeling of Jacob between your legs, mouth on your core. You almost craved the feeling every time you were around him.

But you also had a taste of the way Sam’s mouth felt between your legs. You liked the way that your hands felt in his hair. You liked the way he looked into your eyes, never once breaking eye contact. He treated it like it was his job – pleasing you. He ate up the way you reacted to his touch, getting drunk on the way your face contorted.

The forbidden fruit had never tasted so sweet.

Within the next few weeks, winter had begun to settle in. The snow fell onto the ground and laid lightly against the grass. The dresses you wore had begun to have long sleeves, not quite used to the feeling of them made you itch. Jacob had commented on how beautiful your dresses had gotten with sleeves, not that they weren’t before. “I don’t -”

“Jacob, you are perfectly fine. I know what you mean.” You put your hand on his forearm, letting a light pink tint settle onto his cheeks. The two of you were going to be announcing your engagement to the entire kingdom, both of yours. Invitations were sent to the royalty of different surrounding kingdoms, hoping a celebration can be a gentle reminder that the world is not always filled with ugly things.

♛♛♛

Winter had called to a dull roar and the snow had begun to melt away. Between the announcement of your engagement, you kept away from Sam. It hurt you deep within your being for the only interactions the two of you made the entire time was simply just a simple ‘hello’ in passing, or meaningless conversation at dinner. The strings of your heart were being pulled in every direction every time you looked over at Sam and couldn’t talk to him.

With all the commotion in the castle, it was almost impossible to see him at any given point, no matter how hard you tried. You were dragged everywhere; a ball being held later in the Great Hall. The engagement party was mostly meant for the people of your shared kingdoms, getting a feel for each of the new royals.

It made you tired, getting ready and having someone next to your side twenty-four-seven, and only to be putting makeup upon your face. The dress that hung in your room was quite exquisite, the colors of both of your kingdoms within the fabric of your dress. The sleeves of the dress were long and laced, neckline was off the shoulder, and it was the most beautiful gown you had ever seen.

When it was time, the two of you were to be announced together, walking into the Great Hall together. He was taken aback by your dress, your hair, how beautiful you were. “I... I am so lucky to be marrying someone as beautiful as you one day.”

“Oh stop, I don’t look any different than normal.” You sheepishly hid your face from him, or at least you tried to. You couldn’t hide when your cheeks were pulled by Jacob’s hands to look at him.

“I would kiss you right now if I wasn’t afraid that everyone would catch us.” You slid your hands to meet his, pulling them away from your face. You pressed kisses to his knuckles before the doors to the Great Hall opened. Everyone welcomed you with cheers and praise, smiles surrounding the two of you as the musicians begin to play.

Your hand is barely an inch away from Jacob’s, keeping your eyes on his. The tension between the two of you was palpable. The way the two of you danced around – everyone could see it. It wasn’t hard to hide it from anyone. He looked so good, and you couldn’t focus on anything else. Until your eyes landed and caught the eyes of someone in the crowd.

It was Sam. You tried not to hold his gaze for long, but his eyes were so tantalizing. His entire persona begged for all of the attention, but this wasn’t the way he normally begged, no. He was normally cocky about it – knowing he would get all the attention anyways. This was filled with sadness – he wanted your attention, but he knew you would never be able to give it to him.

The dance ended and Jacob gave your hand a squeeze as he led you over to grab a drink with him. He got lost in conversation with a duke from one of his villages, sharing words about archery. You slipped away from the eyes and ears of everyone else, onto the balcony where the music had just become background noise.

Your arms press against the cold stone of the balcony. You looked out to see the grounds before you – the gardens of which you had met Sam so many times. Your mind flooded back to the months before, where Sam absolutely ravished you against the fountain in the southern corners of the garden, hidden behind many mazes of bushes.

You’re brought out of your thoughts when you feel someone’s arm slide next to yours, warm in contrast to your arms. You look over, seeing Sam’s crooked, closed mouth smile. “You alright, Y/N? You booked it out of there quite fast.”

“Yeah... I’m fine, just... got a lot going on in my mind.” You admit, bringing the flute of champagne up to your lips. His eyes never left you, which created a fire in your cheeks. He nodded slowly to your answer; you couldn’t tell if he was pleased with it or just simply letting you get away with lying.

“Can I show you something? Get your mind off of whatever it is you’re thinking about?” You nodded, slipping your hand in his as soon as he extended it out to you. He dipped back into the crowd of people, dodging them left and right. Nobody truly paid attention to the two of you slipping out, keeping your head down away from everyone’s view.

“How’d you get so good at that? Leaving a party.”

“Years of practice. I love the attention, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes you don’t want to dance with the older ladies from various countries again and again.” The two of you laughed, the familiar shape of Sam’s door coming into your eyeline. He opened it a crack, just enough for the two of you to slip right in and shut the door behind the two of you.

His room was different than Jacob’s. Sam’s was more messy – random things thrown everywhere, the desk and tables messy with different documents. You walked over to one where there was a globe atop it, looking at the different maps he had. “It’s a constellation – Cassiopeia. It’s got a wicked tale behind it.”

“Constellations have stories?”

“More like myths, but yeah they do. Cassiopeia in general is a pretty cool story. She was a Queen in Ancient Greece, and she boasted about how she was more beautiful than the sea nymphs. Her claim angered Poseidon so much that he sent a monster to wreck the whole town. The monster was distracted by Cassiopeia’s daughter, Andromeda, who was tied to a rock. Andromeda was saved by Perseus, and they all lived happily ever after. Pleased with their story and changes, the Gods cast them into the Heavens. Cassiopeia was bound to a chair due to her vanity. You can usually see her at any point during the year, but not all the time.”

“That’s actually... really cool. I didn’t know you were into astronomy.”

“There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me, Y/N.” He whispered, drawing closer to where you were by the desk. He trapped you there, your hands gripping the wood. You didn’t want to look up, locking eyes with him after you had avoided him for so long. “You know, I’d name a constellation after you.”

“You would?” You asked, looking up at him. He was so entrancing, once you had locked eyes with him you couldn’t look away.

“Of course. Beautiful things deserved to be immortalized.” With that, he pressed his lips to yours. He tastes like strawberries and champagne, as you imagined you did too. His hands gripped your waist, pulling you into him. Your hands slid up his chest to grab his cheeks, holding him steady as you slipped your tongue into his mouth.

His mouth leaves yours, pressing kisses until he reached the conjunction of your jaw and neck, pressing a kiss just below your jawline. You tilt your head back, sucking in a long breath. The way he kissed you was intoxicating within itself. Drunk on his touch, you whisper his name into his ear, moving your hands through his hair. The grip on your waist tightens even more, hoisting you onto the desk filled with astrological maps.

He presses himself against you, a low moan leaving your lips. You could feel how hard he was against you, hoping to God he couldn’t tell how turned on you were too. He ruts his hips against you, hoping to get some sort of relief. You tried to keep your moans to yourself, not wanting to reveal to Sam that you enjoyed what he was doing. You loved the way he was using you to get himself off, you reveled in all of the noises that left his mouth.

“Fuck, you’re so pretty.” His lips leave sloppy kisses along your neck, body rubbing against your own. You move your hips to meet his, the friction beginning to build within you too. Underneath his breath, you swore you had heard him say something else, and your mind was just hallucinating. He didn’t actually say that, did he? “I love you, fuck me.”

The next two weeks had passed and you hadn’t seen Sam since that night. Since he told you that he loved you. It still rang through your ears, your mind clouded with guilt. You didn’t say it back. What were you truly supposed to say? You were marrying Jacob in less than twenty-four hours now, the wedding rapidly approaching. It hurt being away from Sam, but you couldn’t hurt him any longer.

It hurt being away from Sam so much that you sent him a letter, sliding it underneath his bedroom door like he had done to you on occasion. With the wedding drawing closer, there were things you had to tell him, things you needed to get off your chest. You were thankful that nobody had seen you walk past his room, slipping your little note underneath his door.

““The moon was up, painting the world silver, making things look just a little more alive.”

― N.D. Wilson

Meet me in the gardens. 9pm.

Y/N.”

When he had showed, you were sitting at the fountain where his mouth was once pressed against your core, fueling a fire between your legs. You needed to focus on what you had to do. He sat next to you, a pinky finger slipping between your own. You retracted your hand away from his, noticing the slight tint of hurt on his face. “We can’t keep doing this, Sam.”

“I meant what I said before.” He spoke, his voice not wavering in the slightest. You, however, had a lump growing in your throat. It was as if all of the words you wanted to say had gotten stuck, only letting certain things slip past. “I love you, Y/N.”

“I love you, too, Sam, but we can’t do this anymore. I’m marrying your brother tomorrow. I will not betray him any more than I already have.” You spoke, tears threatening to spill. You looked down, but you were brought back to face Sam, his index finger underneath your chin.

“Tell me to stop.” He speaks, his breath hot against your neck. “Tell me you don't want me.”

“Sam…” You breathed out, his hand squeezing the plush skin of your thigh underneath your dress, the other gripped your waist firmly. That was the problem. You didn’t want him to stop. You wanted to love him the way he loved you, but you couldn’t. His lips were soft against your skin and you made a mental note to remember what they felt like for after tonight, you would no longer feel them anymore.

You bring your lips to his, vowing that this time was the absolute last time. Tears fall down your cheeks, Sam’s thumbs immediately brushing them away with one swipe of the pad of his finger. You pull away, putting your forehead on his. “That was the last time, Sam. We can’t do this.”

“I know... it’s selfish of me to want to ask you to not marry Jake. I will always love you. Always.”

“I’ll love you forever, Sam. Forever.” You wrap your arms around him and pull him close, taking in his scent once more before disappearing back into the castle. You put your index and middle fingers up to your lips, attempting to keep your cries in. As soon as your bedroom door had shut, you let loose. The pillow underneath your head caught all of your tears. The headache you were going to have in the morning was going to be wicked.

The sunlight streamed through the windows of your bedroom, signifying the morning had come. You lifted your head from the pillow, immediately wincing. A few ladies had come into your room, helping you out of bed. They brushed through your hair, throwing it into an updo while they bathed you.

You were pulled in every which direction as they put your dress on you. You tried your hardest to ignore how itchy the dress was on you and admire your figure in the mirror. You looked like a Goddess, you truly did. Your heart soared and leapt into the air like it was a bird itself. You were so excited; at the end of the day, you would be married to Jacob.

The way your knees wobbled as you stood behind the doors was similar to those of a baby deer when it’s learning how to walk. You hoped to God that nobody would let you fall in front of everyone. Your mind filled with millions of thoughts – would be really be at the end of the aisle waiting for you? Do you have time to runaway and be a runaway bride?

All the worries clouding your judgement and fueling your anxiety were subsided as soon as you had seen Jacob at the end of the aisle. He stood, hands steady in front of him. He took one look at you and his eyes begun to water. You tried your hardest not to cry the makeup that your ladies had done. You held your chin high and walked the rest of the way. You met him at the end, eyes watering while staring at his maroon colored tux.

The priest grabbed a dagger from the podium behind him, cutting a small diagonal line in each of your palms. You hissed as he dragged the blade over your palm, watching as the red blood began to rise to the surface. You stared at his palm, watching the blood pull to the surface without so much as a peep from Jacob. The two of you joined hands, arms tied together with a piece of white ribbon. The priest began his sermon, to which he promised would be brief. The two of you couldn’t look away from one another, his soft brown eyes continually boring into yours.

“Repeat the phrases as they are spoken to you...”

“Ye are Blood of my Blood, and Bone of my Bone.

I give ye my Body, that we Two might be One.

I give ye my Spirit, 'til our Life shall be Done.”

The two turned towards the crowd, cheers and clapping ensuing after the priest declares you married. Your heart’s in your throat and you can barely anticipate the party that would soon follow. If the Kiszka’s knew how to do one thing, it was throwing a celebrational party.

The amount of wine that laid out in front of you was absurd, all different kinds from various reds to whites. Sparkling cider was offered as well, filling the glasses of many children and those who didn’t tolerate alcohol. You sat next to Jacob, his hand on your thigh. He looked towards you as you looked at the entire Great Hall filled with the constituents of your kingdoms.

You notice Sam leaning against a wall, head hung and immersed in conversation with one of the princes from a neighboring country. You knew from the strong nose he had, followed by the unruly curls that fell to his shoulders. His shoulders were broad and you could see them perfectly due to the shirt he was wearing being cut off at the shoulders. “You enjoying yourself, love?”

“I am. Much more excited for later, though. When we’re alone.”

“Why’s that?” He asked, lips brushing the shell of your ear.

“You know how you’ve made me feel so good lately?” You ask, your voice barely above a whisper. He nods to your question, watching you lick your lips before speaking again. “I want to do the same to you.”

[ayshaelshamayleh]

What is Divine Will in The Arab Israeli Conflict & why is it essential to the current discourse?

The Arab-Israeli conflict has been ailing me extensively for the past few years. Not exactly for the reasons that are common amongst Muslim-born Arabs. But for reasons pertaining to contemplations about Divine Will. As a scholar of The Holy Bible -one who has studied the Quran, both having grown up in a cultural context rooted in it and having had to study it as a spiritual seeker in the process of finding a faith/creed - I am burdened by uncomfortable questions. As someone who believes in God, solidly, I am broken by my inability to understand God’s hand in this war that lives so close-by. 

Let me explain my point-of-view: I experience the bible as true word of God, on a personal basis. I live with it. I study it. I model it. I am Arab. I live in Jordan. Israel roots its claim to Palestine in a biblical promise made by God, and narrated in The Holy Bible. 

I find it important for there to be Arabs, accustomed with the bible, engaging (and in fact leading) the discourse about the Arab-Israeli conflict. Arabs who are interested in the conflict must know more about the biblical context, no matter what they themselves believe, so that the conversation is more productive than it has been. If your opponent is claiming God is doing this, and it is difficult to understand how it is possible for an entire country to come into existence out of nothing, the question of “is this by God’s will or not?” must be important for every believer or spiritual seeker on both sides. This way you will speak clearer, and more convincingly, using a language all sides understand and relate with. You should not deny religious belief systems are at the core of this conflict, for everyone involved. You can’t care how uncomfortable that process is, it’s uncomfortable for all of us. And if politics, especially in a land heavily documented to be God’s, is a physical manifestation of the design of the energetic realm; it is important for all those who really look for or believe in God, to ask: “what’s up?”, and to consider that a priority question in their outlook, should they be true believers, true thinkers, true citizens. 

Let’s deal with what’s in the bible about this conflict. To summarize, in the bible the Jews are promised to be scattered amongst nations, and God’s subsequent redemption brings them back to a Promised Land. From Abraham to Joseph to Moses to Joshua to David, the journey that is the blue-print for the spiritual-Jew takes him/her from living somewhere, God approaching him/her and wanting a relationship, as part of a chosen people (chosen by random, not because they are better than the rest, but just to use them as a sign, a symbol, for His relationship with all of humanity at a certain point in history). So then, like the rest of us, they dance between committing to Him and wanting worldly desires and comfort, falling in the face of fear to truly trust Him, to follow His voice and wait in the silence, to move in obedience, to humble themselves as to have a sovereign God over them. They didn’t do that. As you and I don’t do that. As we all don’t do that.  

So then, God -having had good things to give them, good things to promise them, good ways to love them (the quintessential Perfect Lover) - in pain scatters them (‘because it’s over’). He scatters them into Egypt through Joseph, where they move and are eventually enslaved. To taking them out of Egypt, through Moses, wandering a scorched land of a desert for 40 years, so that everyone dies but their remnant (a minority out of them that loved God back in action), who are then given their ‘promised land’. And in the historical bible this does indeed correspond to areas in historical Palestine and its surroundings. David becomes the King of Jerusalem. Solomon builds his temple. Then the cycle goes downhill again, by the time of Daniel, famous for surviving a cage of lions, the jews are back to enslavement in Babylon. The downhill cycle continues.  

One important point to mention is that all throughout the Old Testament, the people of God are promised a Messiah, and to define “messiah” in lay terms: it is the someone or something through which we are saved, making life perfect and peaceful (it’s what every human dreams of and is alive in wait of - the perfect peaceful good life; the Messiah is the spiritual linguistic term that corresponds to the tool which brings about that life we dream of; the life-like heaven we pursue, the perfect state of us becoming perfectly ‘corrected’ and at peace with our existence). 

Now the New Testament tells the story of the Messiah, who is named Christ Jesus (consider it a random linguistic term for now that corresponds to this ‘tool’). Just to avoid confusions, because life is such that we are prone to mistaking a new car or a promotion or a new wife for a messiah -I just confirm that if you want to delve into the realm of precise language and the human-Divine story in order to discern whether the life you have is the one promised to you by God (or if you are living in a land way off-track), the ‘Messiah’s’ character is historically embodied by a man who happened to go by the name Jesus, at random (just the case, neutral). The things you like and fall in love with remind you of the character of ‘Jesus’. If we are to use his name just as a name of a character that is uttered by some people on the route through which we get to that life-like heaven, it’s just that. The gospel gives you a full and short enough narrative about that character (philosophically, artistically, literarily, poetically, historically, literally) to be able to use it as a reference for your life in that practical and simple, manual-style way - should you be one interested in answers that come through such a pallet.

So this fella, Jesus, a jew himself, a son of the lineage of David, a Christ of God comes to settle the debt between God and humanity once and for all. This guy comes to give us a tabula rasa, not just that, but a permanent stay in the life-like heaven. In fact, he says he’ll be inviting you and preparing us to live practically and truly as children of God. Like we feel that way, experientially. Now as you can imagine, you turn out to be indebted to the God that you avoided, silenced, maybe cheated on, but who still shows up (from Adam to your name). So this ‘tool’ of a Messiah is necessary. 

We fully understand the feelings of God on that front through the Book of Hosea (in the Old testament). The prophet of the times was called by God to get married to a cheating wife as a sign of the era and the feelings of God about humanity’s relationship with Him. The endless dancing, not settling, confusion, blurred lines, not making a decision about His presence and involvement, confusion, fear-of-commitment; mess. That wife, symbolizing the people of God, keeps running away into the hands of men (and man-made things), until she finds herself in a slave market. That slave market has modern iterations we are familiar with: selling our souls to jobs we hate, making money that is useless to spend on band aid solutions for the void and the endless pain of wanting life-like heaven but losing the way, insisting that is the only way it goes. That was Hosea’s wife; just like us. Wanting to skip investigating God’s design of life in favor of good times, and “busy-ness”.

Now if you’ve ever been cheated on, imagine that happening over and over for centuries with someone - the brokenness and ridiculousness and unfairness pile up, and Him showing up to create a life for you doesn’t mean the wounds went away or that His showing up is sustainable on an energetic level (think “accounting”). So (to be very simplistic in handling Christian philosophy) something needed to wash things over, resolve you, heal you, get a final fix so the two entities -you and God- could be ‘together’, compatible again, somehow -in friendship? In romance? Him, your Perfect Lover (each up to his capacity in His will). And that route that does that, mathematically and mythically and literally and linguistically, was randomly assigned the name Jesus. 

So what would it take God to reconcile us to Him, according to the bible (the new testament)? The answer is counterintuitive and very difficult to accept or agree to believing in. Before I lay it out, there’s this parable in the new testament that Jesus narrates that might help. There was once a man (alternate man with “God”), who owned a vineyard, and worked very hard at it, dug the winepress, built a tower, and lent it out to some farmers (alternate farmers with ���us”) and went to a faraway country (alternate that with “life”). When harvest time came, the man (/God) sent his servants (/friends that walk around in your life constantly annoying you about God or things that remind you of such) to get his share of the fruit as agreed. The farmers (/us) responded by refusing the owner’s end of the bargain, so they beat the servants (/annoying friends) and killed them, so the farmers kept the whole harvest to themselves (/as they wished). The man (/God) sent more servants again. The farmers (/us) killed them again. So then the owner of the vineyard sent his son (alternate that with “Jesus”), thinking the farmers (/us) would respect someone as close and dear and connected to him as an actual son in this ordeal, and that we would give this son the rightful share. When the farmers saw the son, they said to themselves this is the heir, come let us kill him and keep his inheritance to ourselves. And so they did, just that. Killed him to get the land (/life) for themselves with no accountability before its owner. 

The proposition that is difficult to understand or agree to is that God, instead of finding a system that would make us pay for our unwise choices in our relationship with him, knew we couldn’t possibly manage to do that. So, be patient with me here and see it in mythical terms for a second; God paid the price of our wrongs by sending someone of Himself, allowing us to witness ourselves choose to kill him, and in response He showed us He resurrects, and everything not of His dies, to reach out to us for further correction again. The cycle of life keeps moving in that direction. God is here for good. At His own price. This is what makes “God” God, his capacity to love, counterintuitively. This personally moves me. 

The Christian philosophy essentially says God made a truce that is light and easy. If you are drawn to the character of this son, if you love this one who lived loving Him and his neighbor, showing the way, forgiving, sacrificing himself; you are saved and you enter your life-like heaven. The alchemy that happens within you, evolving you, as you pursue your belief in him changes your character into a state able to find and enjoy heaven. Now this life-like heaven isn’t easy. It entails embodying a life like that of God’s son. Loving God. Loving people. Telling the truth, even when it’s difficult. Having people mistrust your goodness. And instead of you choosing to retaliate, choosing to expose your wounds and your pain. Humbling yourself before God and man by asking your Maker for the strength to be good in truthful terms, for the sake of the people’s love for God and God’s perfect love for people. You will be persecuted because of that. You will be whipped. You will struggle. Yet within that life, God Himself works miracles in you and through you. You witness them. You feel Him, real, and strong. You know God. You see Him. Daily. He knows you. Personally. And there’s nothing else you need after that point, apart from enjoying your faith. And thus, heaven is on earth. In that counterintuitive and difficult way. 

Needless to say, what I’m describing above is not the ‘state’ of Israel. Let’s tie this back to the Arab-Israeli conflict. One of the reasons the historical Jesus was not accepted by the historical jews is because they were expecting a political King for a messiah. A man who controls life. Who leads them to physical prosperity; monetary, “real”. Christ was too ethereal for the historical jew. Too intangible. Promising a kingdom of heaven, not earth. So those who are jews in today’s world are an expression of a spiritual state that hasn’t accepted that the ‘messiah’ (the tool to life-like heaven) can come. They find it hard to grasp that after Adam and Eve’s fall from heaven on earth in pursuit of the physicality of life and its desires, the story ends with God coming down to earth to be with us. But that “being with us” is inside of us -I hate to break that, I know it’s an overstated statement. It demands letting go of the world enough to experience Him, rely on Him, see Him, find Him within the eye of the soul. Peace comes out of that silliness, that wherever your geo-coordinates may be in the universe, you are in God, and you work hard at maintaining that (through discernment of what is and is not God) and you suffer in His name. Faith isn’t a hobby. Faith is a full-life ordeal. 

Let’s tie this back to the issue of the Arab-Israeli conflict again. What is going on has to do with another important belief that is so rare. Jews, christians AND muslims all agree on one thing: The world will end with the second coming of Christ (in fact, to Jerusalem). I don’t need to tell you that in today’s post-COVID era and post-Deal-of-the-Century, etc. reality, many feel -as secular as we may be- that the world keeps feeling like it’s ending. Now since all three creeds (i.e. the majority in this region) piously and unanimously agree that earth is destined towards a direction leading to the “arrival” of Christ, then all who are “correct” by their own standards, should be living in pursuit of knowing Christ, regardless of your religion. Your religion stipulates that, should you be a true believer. 

Those who do not know Christ, if they believe in God or are asking questions about God, should learn about him. It is a part of your religion. Social taboos on that front should not concern you, because you claim to believe in God, not people. A life of faith demands a life of your own faith in action, in behavior, in practice - waking up in the morning and working on yourself to find more about your God everyday, about your ‘religion’ everyday. Asking the uncomfortable questions. Anything else is not belief, or creed, it is a facade and a lie. It collapses. If you are unsure there is a God, the most important goal in your life is to go find out whether there is. Don’t wait till a deathbed. 

In my twenties I watched my father die over six years. His real and actual deathbed was fatally propped in our living room. And I watched. I watched him reckon with death. I watched his life be accounted for, both in the human realm and in the other one. I watched him apologize for wrongs he had done people. I watched him pray. I watched him pretend to have beings in the room other than my family. He was asked questions by them (very intelligent, logical and concise). He even gave answers he would turn to me and say were right or wrong or ones he was unsure of. He became so beautiful in his withering, the most loving essence of him palpably fragrant. I saw Christ. He was devotedly Muslim. Not in how he applied laws. But how he practiced, so humbly elegant, real faith is something so dense and real, but unseen, unacknowledged, unaccounted for. That humanity is the only one I wish to see. 

Life takes time. People have different paces and different paths. Intrinsic in the choices they make about how they live life and what they name things (e.g. ‘Israel’), they express what they worship, you express what you believe is the right modem for life. You can’t control your neighbor. You can just worry about your stuff - another overstated statement, I know. 

Here is a political state calling itself “Israel” that believes in doing good for itself and for its people, in hate and at the expense of what’s outside of itself. Is that wrong? They themselves say “no, not when it’s for our best and we are a chosen people”. In my contemplations about Divine Justice, I ache to understand how it is fair that God gives others a choice in how they treat things around them. How is God “God”, if He leaves it all to people? There seems to be no power behind it. Just suffering, and bleeding, and dying on a cross. That’s no God at all - I would imagine the spiritual jew and most Arabs would agree. Not impressive enough to warrant belief. Too passive, many people I’ve crossed paths with have said this. 

As a person of faith, I struggle with those questions as well. I find myself stuck between a rock and a hard place. I experience God as so perfect as to give people choice, even in how they treat Him, and in how they treat others. He is magnanimous as to warrant freedom of speech and behavior. But don’t take that lightly, because you will win. So it’s on you in the smallest of moments. Life and how the people around you experience it depends on you and your choices. There is divine judgement but you are allowed to do whatever you wish, it has consequences, but that’s not the reason you do good. You do good because you believe in the intrinsic value of creating a good world (should you live in a life-like heaven, then that’s imperative for you). Doing good to avoid punishment points to a young state of faith, baby believer, there is much space for development. We work towards becoming adults in God. 

I fail to understand what sort of life to lead to contribute to the resolution of problems that claim people’s lives around me. I feel the situation, it hurts me deeply. Life and God get confusing to the point of total implosion. To be real, since finding faith, the condition of my life is often signaled by whatever is happening in Jerusalem. If you want to know how I am, look up ‘Jerusalem’. Not because Jerusalem causes my pain at all, but my pain coincides with it, like truth. It’s like we’re in the same box of existence. Not by choice, I don’t even share any genetic roots to the place. I’m a random person of God. That state hasn’t been good. 

I feel that an important response (in addition to the other responses out there) to what is happening in Sheikh Jarrah would be to compile resources again and get the people to live in a neighborhood that loves them. Man should not need to negotiate his value amongst the people who live close-by him. In all cases, and despite complexities, man must live amongst the people who are concerned about him, willing to carry him all the way through. I pray that that comes through, and if in any way I am helpful, I’m interested in collaborating.

I’ll end with this good thought by pastor and author Tim Keller:

“Anger is love in motion to deal with a threat toward that which you really love (to disintegrate the threat) – to see what your heart loves the most, you need only ask what you are defending.”

Worth the think. 

[sadienita]

To Date Seventeen

This one is a little different. I think a lot about the kinds of people I think would make good partner’s for Seventeen. Below is a short blurb for each member on what I think would be really important for them in their partner. I tried to think as realistically as possible and obviously I don’t know them this is just a best guess. (Also shout out to @captain-brie for being excited for this idea)

Seungcheol

He likes to take care of people. He does it a lot. I really think he needs someone who sort of strikes a balance. You have to be independent enough that he knows he doesn’t have to worry when he’s away, but he needs to feel needed. He wants you to just be a bit dependent on him. So you’ll have to be okay with him babying you from time to time. You also need to learn when he wants to be taken care of. I think he needs that care turned around on him from time to time and He’s not always aware of it so you have to learn him well enough to know when he needs to be taken care of and handled gently. He’s also a very cuddly person o really if you’re not touchy at all, it would be difficult for him. He wants to show his love through touch.

Jeonghan

Jeonghan is at once very mischievous and very caring. He won’t hesitate to poke fun at you and while I think he’d be very good at reading you, he would appreciate it if you’re straight up with him. I don’t think he wants to guess at things so if you know where your boundaries are, the things that are off limits to make fun of for ne reason or another, tell him. He will learn on his own but he prefers you just tell him and he’ll never joke about those things again. I do think you have to be able to keep up with him and laugh at yourself. He’ll want you to poke fun at him too and joke around with him. Also above all you have to love his members as much as he does. They’re important to him and if they don’t like you? Yikes.

Joshua

I think Joshua’s appreciation is very quiet. He doesn’t say out loud how beautiful or wonderful or amazing you are very much. So if you need to hear those things you’ll have to tell him. And notice it in the way he looks at you and how gentle he is with you and the way he has a bigger soft spot for you than for anyone else and how he’s always on your side. A perceptive partner is a good thing for him because I think he’d have a habit of leaving things unsaid. Also, someone who brings that normalcy into his life. A place he can go to get away from the hectic that doesn’t expect Joshua of Seventeen from him all the time.

Junhui

Jun is a fun loving bean and I think he needs someone who can keep up with his energy. He can be more bouncy and boisterous but I also think he has his quiet moments. A partner who can follow that is important. If he’s at a state of high energy he’ll want you to be too. But I think he can go from that to a state of rest very quickly and if  you can keep up with those changes and match them it’ll be something really special. Being able to switch from silly to serious relatively quickly falls in line with this. I really think a deep conversation with him could be a bit of a roller coaster but if you can keep up a very worthwhile one. This boy also loves his food. You have to be willing to eat with him and cook with him. Not just to learn each other’s favourite recipes for later but truly as a bonding experience.

Soonyoung

Whereas Jun needs an equal, Soonyoung needs an opposite. That man is high energy and while it’s a public persona I think it’s also an extension of who he is as a person and just how he is. I think if you’re relatively calm with him it will help him to come down from those high energy states and relax. When he’s with you he really just wants to be himself and I think even more than his other members, you have to allow him to just be Kwon Soonyoung for a while and not Hoshi. He is also extremely cuddly and that’s how he will show his love so if you’re not, I don’t think it’ll sore out all that well.

Wonwoo

I think if you’re confident he’ll find that pretty attractive. That doesn’t mean you have to love every part of yourself but if you carry yourself with confidence, even when you’re not feeling it, he’ll really admire that. Wonwoo is really a smart man. I think that above a lot of other things he needs to be able to have an intelligent conversation with you. If you’re interested in something or work in a field he knows nothing about he’ll be fascinated and want to learn more about it from you. You don’t have to be on like that all the time and he can appreciate silliness, but if you can’t hold a conversation and show interest in topics bigger than yourself and your immediate world it won’t work.

Jihoon

The man is shy, you’re going to have to make the first move. But like, I highkey think if you’re really intimidating you might actually scare him off. It’s a delicate balance. This is important with all of them but so much so with Jihoon that music and Seventeen are his life. You have to be at peace with the fact that at first you will not be that high on his priority list. Things shift over time but you have to appreciate his work and understand that it’s important to him and it will affect his ability to be with you and pay attention to you. Honestly he’d do really well with a relaxed and low maintenance partner. Also a bonus if you’re interested in music and can talk about it with him, or are at least willing to listen while he tells you about it.

Seokmin

He is very kind and sensitive and trusting so he really does need someone who does not take advantage of that and hurt him. He needs to be handled with care. He will do anything in his power to make you smile and that means two things. Firstly, he needs a partner that can laugh at themselves but even more than Jeonghan he needs you to tell him your boundaries. I think very few things are off limits to him and he deals with humor so if you’re not comfy with that you have to say so or he won’t realize that he’s upsetting you at fsirt. Secondly, he’ll do well with someone who laughs along but if you don’t want to laugh, be honest with him. Some days we don’t but it will be his go to. Honesty and communication are here. I think he really does also need a safe haven in a partner. Someone who reassures and comforts him and reminds him to relax and not be DK for a while.

Mingyu

Do not hurt him part 2. Mingyu is kind and helpful. If he visits you and something is broke nor you’re cooking or cleaning up he will offer to help you out. He really needs someone who won’t take advantage of his kindness and willingness to help. I think the biggest thing for him is someone with a heart as big as his. If you can match him in caring and kindness that’s important. He probably won’t realize right away if you are taking advantage of him but when he did it would hurt him more than anything. Someone with a willingness to listen and let him bring them his issues. He’ll do the same for you but I think he’d really appreciate having your shoulder to lean on.

Minghao

He’ll be blunt. If he really cares about you he will be blunt with you. That’s not to say he would be unkind, but he values your opinion and assumes that if you’re with him you value his as well. He won’t throw lots of unsolicited advice your way, but if you do ask for his opinion he will he honest with you. He won’t sugarcoat hos words for you so if you can’t handle sometimes blunt (or harsh if need be) opinions or advice then it probably won’t work. Also just communication and honesty. Don’t lie to him, tell him what’s on your mind and be honest with him. I don’t think he had much patience for someone who says “I’m fine” and wants him to read their mind and know that something is wrong.

Seungkwan

Listen if his mom doesn’t like you then you might as well give up now. His family is important and this extends to his members but it’s a very big thing with his family. If they hate you then it ain’t gonna work out. He likes to sass and joke around and much like some of the others he may not pick up on it if he crosses a line and jokes about something you don’t want made into a joke. You will have to tell him your boundaries on those sorts of things. I think he’d do really well with a reassuring partner. Someone who is his own personal cheerleader, just knowing that he has you in his corner is going to make him feel ten times more confident and assured than he already is.

Hansol

He needs a relatively easy going partner that’s good at talking things out. He isn’t into arguments and even a debate that gets too heated will have him feeling uncomfortable. He’d be very good at talking things out with you but if you’re argumentative or you get easily heated and turn things into an argument too quickly he’ll shut down. He’ll want to give you space and talk about it when you can be calm so he really needs someone calm who doesn’t get worked up easily. Like Joshua he needs prompting to express his feelings out loud at times. And he’ll take an “I’m fine” at face value, or at least as an “I don’t wanna talk about it.” He’d be very good at giving what you need but you’ll have to be able to tell him what that is.

Chan

The not so baby baby of the group. He needs someone who doesn’t baby him. He wants to be seen as an adult and he needs that in his relationship. I feel for him that a relationship is really a partnership. He’ll be a little slow to lean on you and be vulnerable with you but he does want to and he wants you to do that same with him. He needs to know that you realize he’s an adult and can handle himself and in turn he’ll see you the same way. At the same time, he is still youthful. The best partner is the one that makes him feel secure enough in his place as an adult, that he lets go and let’s himself be silly and childish with them from time to time. He would really appreciate that outlet and someone who knows how to balance out being an adult and being thoughtful with the silliness of childlike wonder would have a wonderful relationship with him.

[fe8meta]

The War’s Legacy

As a volunteer archivist at a local historical site, I’ve worked closely with books and documents largely between 150~250 years old. (If you’re curious, mostly regarding the period between the American Revolution to the Civil War, plus the anti-slavery movement. There’s also more “domestic” stuff like agriculture, science, mathematics, and religion.)

It got me thinking: In Magvel, how will the war, and the people who participated in it, be remembered? Most characters have a good portion of their lives left to live after the war too, but for those who are remembered down the line, their participation in the war will probably be their biggest accomplishment.

To start things off: more likely than not, anyone who wasn’t royalty or an important military figure is probably going to get forgotten, especially if fighting in the war was their only achievement.

(From my experience as an archivist, I’ve noticed that a great deal of people who were seen as the big movers and thinkers during their time have been lowered to one-note and forgettable in some 150-ish years of history. That’s not a lot of time!)

I think the list of characters who are remembered decades after their deaths on a continental scale (some characters may remain important figures in their own communities) would be the royals, the generals (Seth plus the Imperial Generals), and the Demon King (plus his cult).

The Royals

Ephraim: Regarding the war, Ephraim will probably get his war strategies and accomplishments written about. I expect a great deal of historians (particularly Renaian ones) debating his decision to abandon his homeland and bring the fight into Grado, though his later decisions will probably receive praise.

Eirika: Honestly? I think she’ll largely receive praise from future historians. Despite getting tricked at Renvall and the blunder of losing the Sacred Stone (on her route), I think historians would agree that her calculations were solid based on the information she knew at the time. Even if she had Seth advising her, she had no formal training in tactics or the art of war, making her achievements even more impressive.

~ / ~ / ~

Innes: Like Eirika, I think he’d be validated by historians, particularly for being the only one to actually predict and prepare for a wartime scenario. Of course, hindsight is 20/20, but based on what we know of him story-wise, he probably would go down as one of the best leaders of his time.

Tana: She’s gutsy and I think she’ll at least become a popular figure for young women. Some historians may lambast her earlier captures attributable to her inexperience, but hey, if she got out alive than it’s not too bad. I think later in life, being largely free to do whatever she wants (within reason), she’d continue onto a path of public service, which she can probably gather great acclaim for.

~ / ~ / ~

L’Arachel: I think a lot of attention will go towards her theatrics. If you go with the idea that L’Arachel doesn’t actually lead her country (see the Solo Endings JP vs. EN post for details), I think her relationship with the other royals and how she’s involved in continental politics will be the primary focus in biographies. (She also, perhaps not coincidentally, has supports with all the other ruling royals, discounting Tana as she canonically never lands in a leadership position.)

Joshua: Joshua’s reputation will be very, very mixed down the line. He’s still has wanderlust and a gambling addiction, and regardless of his accomplishments as a king and Jehanna’s glorious revival, neither of those traits are a particularly good look. Not to mention that he abandoned his duty as prince for a solid 10 years, and then left Jehanna to its own devices again while going to stop the Demon King.

Even in Joshua’s dialogue after the final battle, he talks about returning to Jehanna in an almost resigned manner; no doubt he knows full well that he might not be received with open arms.

~ / ~ / ~

Lyon: Oh boy, what to say about Lyon. There are a lot of different ways this can go, branching from 3 options: Lyon’s involvement in the war is revealed in full, Lyon’s involvement is revealed but doctored to paint him in a more sympathetic light, or it gets entirely covered up/omitted and he goes down in history as an unfortunate casualty of the war.

No matter how you slice the first two options, Lyon’s legacy would definitely be extremely mixed, leaning towards the negative side. Not only is he on the wrong side of history, he’s also forced basically half the continent into the wrong side of history and ruined their military and did some very amoral things (reviving his father to use as a puppet, and by extension lying to the public, etc). Even the best doctoring can probably only redeem Lyon’s reputation from “the deepest depths of the sewers” to “neck-deep in the sewers.”

In the case where Lyon’s involvement in the war is covered up, it’s still only a matter of time before someone figures out the truth. With enough time, it can be relegated to a highly plausible and hotly-debated theory, but even so, it’s simply a matter of time. For an additional dose of irony, in this scenario, perhaps Grado nationalists down the line twist Lyon’s war into something “assertive” and depict it as the “correct” thing to do, when it was really anything but.

Vigarde: He’s in the same boat as Lyon. It really hinges on how the royals choose to depict Lyon’s situation to the public, because that will directly affect how Vigarde is seen. There’s little doubt that puppet!Vigarde’s actions probably destroyed popular opinion of him during the War. Whether he is redeemed on account of his situation or not is up for debate.

(Because the game doesn’t delve into Fado, Hayden, or Mansel much, I don’t have enough input to say how they’ll be seen by future historians.)

The Generals

Seth: He’s going to go down in history as a badass, let’s be real here. Took an attack from Valter himself to protect Eirika, didn’t let the injury debilitate him from fighting on the frontlines, mentored Eirika in the art of war during life-or-death battles, guided the twins on their journey, and continued helping them after the war’s end. Guy got things done, regardless of his personal sentiment about failing to protect King Fado.

Syrene: Technically a commander and not a general, but close enough that I’ll consider her. She... honestly doesn’t do that much on-screen. Doubtlessly she’ll be best remembered (on the battlefield) for being overpowered by the remnant of Grado’s forces, but at least she lived and (by the player’s discretion) kept all the villagers safe, so that’s something. At the very least, a coward she is not.

Carlyle: He’s going down in infamy. Like, his story can be crudely summed up as “I was loyal to Queen Ismaire partially because I wanted to bang her.” Yeah, that is not a good look. There isn’t even any interesting speculation or interpretations to make of his situation. He probably ruined the reputation of the Jehannan Army while he was at it.

Honestly, the only thing that would salvage his reputation is the fact that everyone who heard his confession is dead by the end of that battle. (Technically the map was a Seize Throne and not a Rout, but let’s be real -- we killed those guards.)

~ / ~ / ~

Duessel: The only Grado general to make it out alive. He’ll probably get a mixed reaction; those who praise him argue that he made the morally correct choice and had the nation’s best interests at heart. Some may criticize him for not acting sooner, while others may very well despise him as a traitor to the nation.

Selena: Another set of mixed reactions, though inverse from Duessel’s. She remained loyal to Vigarde to the very end, but people will debate where a knight’s loyalty should lie. It would also invite much debate over the ethics of Vigarde’s recruitment methods and whether it was a thinly-veiled manipulation tactic that citizens from poorer areas will fall for because it’s the only way to improve their livelihoods.

Glen: He’s like Syrene, except he died without doing much. If someone is interested in finding out more about him before his death, at least they have Cormag to interview. Depending on whether his two adjutants survived against Valter’s goons, if someone tracked them down, they might get a story out of them as well. That said, his history with Valter would probably be of great interest to Valter’s biographers.

~ / ~ / ~ 

Valter: Historians, psychologists, and scholars will have a field day with him and his circumstances. From his upbringing to his descent into madness and subsequent exile, to his reinstatement and brutality during the war before his ultimate death, there is a lot to unpack with him. People tend to have morbid curiosities and oh, will Valter sate that appetite.

Caellach: Caellach will probably be praised for being good at what he did even if he was ultimately on the wrong side of history. Since he started off as a mercenary, I feel like people won’t judge him too harshly. His potential betrayal and murder of Aias will be an interesting chapter to write about, though, since historians may have access to more knowledge on their pre-war relationship that we players don’t have.

Riev: He’s ugly, a Demon King cultist, and directly responsible for Lyon’s (and by extension, Grado’s) downfall. He’s going to be reviled for sure, though he will spark some interesting discussion relating to his history with the Rausten Church. A lot of speculation on how he came to became an adherent of the Demon King... or not, depending how whether that kind of talk is suppressed.

After all, if a former bishop converted, it not only challenges the legitimacy of the Rausten Church, it would also pique the interest of those who want to see what made Riev change his mind. And should someone also adopt his ideology, the continent can’t take another Demon King revival attempt.

Which leads me to...

The Demon King

Now, this will be a little game called “How many generations will it take before the Demon King gets relegated to a legend that no one believes in again.”

It’s also pretty important that the Demon King is not completely destroyed; he just no longer has his huge menacing body to use and will have to make do with those fragile human flesh sacks. But his soul is still intact, and if nothing is done to get rid of it for good, it’s setting up for a Part 3.

Like with Lyon, how information about the Demon King is handled by the characters after the world will probably have a huge impact. Not to mention the many implications the circumstances around his possession of Lyon has. Dark/ancient magic will most certainly face a resurgent wave of discrimination, far more than seen before. (Magvel was, from what we could see, largely apathetic about dark magic before Lyon’s attempts to redeem its name. Ironically, his actions will rekindle hatred towards it.)

As aforementioned, educating people on the Demon King and how dangerous he is may help ensure that nobody tries to mess with him again. On the other hand, it may inspire copycats who for whatever reason want the Demon King to be revived. (The game also never followed up on the implication that there’s a cult that worships the Demon King; we killed Riev and Novala, and destroyed Fomortiis’ body, but there may still be more members lurking in the dark.)

Meanwhile, trying to bury information about Fomortiis can also backfire down the line, especially if people don’t learn what the Sacred Stone is for and one day crack the seal open for one reason or another. (And we saw how well keeping the true Stone hidden behind trinkets while keeping its wearer in the dark of its true purpose went.)

This is making me imagine Demon King apologists down the line that provide an “alternative history” about the war and how it’s all some ancient conspiracy to lock him away and he “isn’t actually bad, just misunderstood”...

Oh hey, isn’t that the direction Dragalia Lost’s main story is going in?

[wikipediaredoengl199fa20]

Brennan’s Wikipedia Redo on Elon Musk page

Edits are in bold. Original Wiki page can be found here.

Early Life, Human Flight and SEC Lawsuit

Early life and family

Elon Reeve Musk was born on June 28, 1971, in Pretoria, Transvaal, South Africa.[15][16] His mother is Maye Musk (née Haldeman), a model and dietitian born in Saskatchewan, Canada,[17][18][19] but raised in South Africa. His father is Errol Musk, a South African electromechanical engineer, pilot, sailor, consultant and property developer.[20] He has a younger brother who was an early business partner of his, Kimbal (born 1972), and a younger sister, Tosca (born 1974), the CEO of the video streaming site Passionflix.[19][21][25] His maternal grandfather, Dr. Joshua Haldeman, was an American-born Canadian.[26] His paternal grandmother had both British and Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry.[27][28]

After his parents divorced in 1980, Musk lived mostly with his father in the suburbs of Pretoria,[27] a choice he made two years after his parents separated but which he subsequently regretted.[29] Musk has become estranged from his father, whom he has described as "a terrible human being... Almost every evil thing you could possibly think of, he has done."[29] He also has a half-sister[30] and a half-brother on his father's side.[31] After his parents divorced in 1980, nine year old Musk and his younger brother primarily lived with his father in the suburbs of Pretoria,[27]. This was a choice he made two years after his parents separated but it was one that he subsequently regretted.[29] Musk has become estranged from his father, describing him as emotionally abusive and tough to his children. [Kosoff 2020] He also has a half-sister[30] and a half-brother on his father's side.[31]

During his childhood, Musk was an avid reader.[32] At the age of 10, he developed an interest in computing while using the Commodore VIC-20.[33] He learned computer programming using a manual and, by the age of 12, sold the code of a BASIC-based video game he created called Blastar to PC and Office Technology magazine for approximately $500.[34][35] His childhood reading included Isaac Asimov's Foundation series, from which he drew the lesson that "you should try to take the set of actions that are likely to prolong civilization, minimize the probability of a dark age and reduce the length of a dark age if there is one".[29]

Musk was severely bullied throughout his childhood and was once hospitalized after a group of boys threw him down a flight of stairs.[29][36][37] He attended Waterkloof House Preparatory School and Bryanston High School[37] before graduating from Pretoria Boys High School.[38]

Although Musk's father insisted that Elon go to college in Pretoria, Musk became determined to move to the United States, saying "I remember thinking and seeing that America is where great things are possible, more than any other country in the world."[39] Musk knew it would be easier to get to the United States from Canada and moved there against his father's wishes in June 1989, just before his 18th birthday,[40][41] after obtaining a Canadian passport through his Canadian-born mother.[42][43]

Human flight

On May 30, 2020, SpaceX launched its first manned flight called Demo-2 becoming the first private company to both place a person into orbit and to eventually dock a crewed space-craft with the ISS.[108] Further, the launch was the first time since the end of the Shuttle Program that an American astronaut has been launched from American soil on an American rocket.[109]

During discourse with his peers when the technology of SpaceX was criticized or had the potential to cause fatalities, Elon Musk has described himself as the company's responsible chief engineer/designer, while giving the entire team at SpaceX credit for its success.[110][111]

On November 16, 2020, Space X successfully launched with NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) four astronauts into their space mission on SpaceX Crew Dragon. They docked with the International Space Station (ISS) approximately 27 hours later. Unlike the test flight in May, 2020, this flight had a full set of scientific experiments planned for the trip, as well as plans for a stay on the ISS for six months. The launch was nearly stopped, as Elon Musk announced that he had symptoms of COVID-19 the day before the launch, but careful contact tracing verified that the astronauts had not been exposed.  This joint project, where the space vehicles are owned by Space X but with NASA buying their use for missions, means that Space X will be able to fly tourists, private scientists and others, with a projected ticket cost of $50 million for the trip. [Wattles 2020]

SEC lawsuit

In September 2018, Musk was sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a tweet claiming that funding had been secured for potentially taking Tesla private[149] (at a price of $420 a share, an alleged reference to marijuana[150]). The lawsuit claimed that verbal discussions Musk held with foreign investors in July 2018 did not confirm key deal terms[151] and thus characterized the tweet as false, misleading, and damaging to investors, and sought to bar Musk from serving as CEO of publicly traded companies.[149][152] Musk called the allegations unjustified and that he had never compromised his integrity.[153] Two days later, Musk settled with the SEC, without admitting or denying the SEC's allegations. As a result, Musk and Tesla were fined $20 million each, and Musk was forced to step down for three years as Tesla chairman, but he was able to remain as Tesla's CEO.[154]

Musk has stated in several interviews since that he does not regret sending the tweet that triggered the SEC investigation. According to Reuters, Musk said the tweet was "Worth It".[155] According to ABC News, "As recently as Oct. 4, 2018, Musk issued a sarcastic tweet, describing the agency [SEC] as the 'Shortseller Enrichment Commission,' despite having agreed to settlement terms a week earlier that his company, Tesla, would monitor his tweets and other communications."[156] In a December 2018 interview with CBS's 60 Minutes, Musk stated, "I want to be clear. I do not respect the SEC."[157] On February 19, 2019, according to Forbes, Musk stated in a tweet that Tesla would build half a million cars in 2019.[158] The SEC reacted to Musk's tweet by filing in court, initially asking the court to hold him in contempt for violating the terms of a settlement agreement with such a tweet, which was disputed by Musk. This was eventually settled by a joint agreement between Musk and the SEC clarifying the previous agreement details.[159] The agreement included a list of topics that Musk would need preclearance before tweeting about.[160] On May 19, 2020, a judge prevented a lawsuit from proceeding that claimed Musk's tweet on May 1 regarding the price of Tesla stock ("too high imo") was in violation of the agreement.[161][162].  Legal experts suggest that some of the legal actions by the SEC against Musk for stating his view, is a violation of First Amendment rights of free speech, and that he should have equal protection of free speech about his viewpoints on how successful his Tesla company will be. These experts argue that this is no different that the free speech protection provided to political figures. [Markham 2019]

Essay -

This essay addresses a review of the Wikipedia page of Elon Musk, an entrepreneur, industrial designer, engineer and also billionaire.  It is a detailed web page covering his extensive business ventures, and when converted to a single-spaced Word document, it was approximately sixteen pages long.  Three sections were addressed in this review, his Early Life, Human Flight, and SEC lawsuit.

There seem to be a number of biases in the Wikipedia page by omission of content. This might be considered implicit, perhaps someone forgot to add the information, perhaps they did not think it was important or necessary.  It also might be considered explicit, such as purposely excluding content that might give someone a different view of the subject, in this case of Elon Musk.   Some of the omissions could be in progress, such as the discussion of the November 16, 2020 successful space launch, which was covered in depth by the United States Press, both on media and print.  On the other hand, Wikipedia pages can be updated in a day, which often seems to happen when someone dies.

In the first part, Early Life and Family, there seems to be an explicit bias against Elon Musk’s father, and includes a quote from Musk, according to Rolling Stone Magazine, saying of his father, that he was "a terrible human being... Almost every evil thing you could possibly think of, he has done."  There is no clarification of what these evil things might have been, but it sounds pretty horrendous. There is no counter argument to provide any context for his father.  I modified it, changing the line above to one used in an article by Kosoff that refers to his father as being emotionally abusive and tough on his children.  This still conveys a difficult home life, but without evidence it doesn’t seem right to describe it as evil.  There did not seem to be any available resources on the father’s perspective of his son.   Also added the detail that Musk was only nine years old when he moved to live with his father.  I removed the line that described some of his ancestors as it seemed to try to provide implicit bias for him, in particular to explain why he might have the right to come to Canada first and then the United States as a citizen, since his ancestors were from there.  This convey that he is entitled because of his ancestors, but it seemed out of context to list one maternal and one paternal grandparent.

The section on Human Flight ended with the May 2020 test launch and did not include the highly publicized and successful mission launched with four astronauts on November 16, 2020.  This seems a dramatic omission, as it was all over the news.  This seems to me to be an explicit omission, perhaps because of the COVID-19 scare, which also meant he could not attend the launch, or if it was because some are jealous of the success of his ventures.

The SEC Lawsuit section presents an implicit suggestion that Musk is rejecting the right of the SEC to regulate company officers, in particular to protect investors. The SEC did have a number of legally defensible points, which led to a large fine and limiting Musk’s participation in the Tesla company.  However, there are some legal experts that also defend the right of Musk to have free speech about his opinion of how the company will do in the future, which is different that suggesting he has arranged for company financing to go private.

The revisions that I made primarily fill in gaps in the Wikipedia page, that indicated potential bias.  While much of the document appears to be very factual, the omissions, although only a few, can lead to bias.

The sources reviewed and then used for this review are included in the Works Cited section below. These included news articles, business stories and biography sites. There are also books available, that would have provided some additional depth and analysis, but they were not used for this particular review.

Works Cited - 

"Elon Musk." Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk. Accessed 8 Dec. 2020.

"Elon Musk Biography." The Biography.com website, A&E Television Networks, 17 Nov. 2020, www.biography.com/business-figure/elon-musk. Accessed 7 Dec. 2020.

"Elon Musk Promoted Coronavirus Misinformation for Months. Then His Own Infection Kept Him out of SpaceX's Astronaut Launch." The Business Insider (Blogs on Demand), 2020. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsgao&AN=edsgcl.642824056&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Kosoff, Maya. "Elon Musk's childhood was 'excruciating' and he got beaten up a lot." Business Insider, www.businessinsider.com/elon-musks-childhood-was-excruciating-2015-5. Accessed 7 Dec. 2020.

Markham, Jerry W. "Securities & Exchange Commission vs. Elon Musk & the First Amendment." Case Western Reserve Law Review, vol. 80, no. 2, 2019, pp. 339-79.

McLean, Rob. "Elon Musk Says He Has Moved to Texas." CNN.com, 9 Dec. 2020, www.cnn.com/2020/12/09/tech/elon-musk-texas/index.html. Accessed 9 Dec. 2020.

Shephard, Alex. "Oligarch of the Month: Elon Musk." New Republic, vol. 251, no. 3, Mar. 2020, p. 5. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=141536506&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Wattles, Jennifer. "SpaceX launch: Four astronauts take off aboard Crew Dragon bound for ISS." CNN, 16 Nov. 2020, www.cnn.com/2020/11/15/tech/spacex-nasa-launch-crew-dragon/index.html.

[samclownchester]

Supernatural Rewatch 01x12

Faith

(Next Episode | Masterlist | Previous Episode)

(Not spoiler free, I have watched up to 15x13)

Alright, this episode is very interesting. I always think it’s the one where we find out that Sam prays every day, but it’s not. It is a Dean-centric episode where we get to see a lot of his self-hatred at play. I couldn’t help but chuckle dryly when the doctor said that Dean’s heart was damaged. Because … has it ever been whole?

His reaction to the news that he’s dying is also quite telling.  

DEAN : Yeah. All right, well, looks like you're gonna leave town without me.

SAM: What are you talking about? I'm not gonna leave you here.

DEAN: (Serious) Hey, you better take care of that car. Or, I swear, I'll haunt your ass.

SAM: I don't think that's funny.

DEAN: Oh, come on, it's a little funny.

There is a long silence, Sam looks down, fighting tears. DEAN sighs.

DEAN: Look, Sammy, what can I say, man, it's a dangerous gig. I drew the short straw. That's it, end of story.

 Dean uses humor to cover up his emotions, especially at this stage in his life. He also uses it to protect Sam, he doesn’t want Sam to know how scared he really is. At the same time, although we know he is masking his real emotions here, we know from later conversations in the episode that he wouldn’t have minded dying. We all know these boys are self-sacrificing idiots, but even in a situation where his death wouldn’t serve any greater purpose, Dean doesn’t seem to want to be saved. All I could think of, watching this episode, is when Castiel first meets Dean and he says “you don’t think you deserve to be saved.” This episode is where we first really see that side of Dean, the side that wouldn’t mind giving up, laying down, being done. The side who thinks he’s not worth the effort. Normally he will stop at nothing to save people but when it comes to saving himself … when Roy does pick him out to be healed he says:

DEAN: maybe you should just pick someone else.

ROY: Oh, no. I didn't pick you, Dean, the Lord did.

Roy’s line here brings up another aspect I wanted to discuss; Chuck. Now, whether or not this was intentional foreshadowing or a happy accident or what, we know that the Angels (and, by extension, Chuck) have a plan for Dean. Dean can’t die at this point, because his story isn’t over. In fact, Roy says exactly that in a later conversation.

DEAN: Can I ask you one last question?

ROY: Of course you can.

DEAN: Why? Why me? Out of all the sick people, why save me?

ROY: Well, like I said before, the Lord guides me. I looked into your heart, and you just stood out from all the rest.

DEAN: What did you see in my heart?

ROY: A young man with an important purpose. A job to do. And it isn't finished.  

This is the first moment in the show where we are introduced to the idea of destiny. Dean has a job to do. He has no idea what it is, but it’s out there. This concept. We’ll learn later about the whole Lucifer and Michael deal, that their entire existences have been leading up to this point. Now, who’s to say what was and what wasn’t a part of Chuck’s plan? But let’s just say, maybe Chuck wasn’t expecting Dean to get electrocuted, that was an accident. What would Chuck do, if one of his star players suddenly had major damage to his heart and only a little while longer left to live? He could just snap his fingers and heal him, but that might be too suspicious. Plus, it would avoid an opportunity for real drama. So, what does Chuck do? Find someone nearby who can heal Dean for him. Make sure Sam finds a number in John’s contacts (maybe, and this is a long shot but maybe, Chuck asked his old friend Joshua to make a quick call, make sure the boys go where he wants them to go ). But whatever he does, he can’t let Dean Winchester die, because he needs him to finish the story.

SAM:One of Dad's friends, Joshua, he called me back. Told me about a guy in Nebraska. A specialist.

We know that Roy didn’t really have any special power, it was all his wife manipulating the reaper, but we don’t know how Roy chose who to save out of the audience, other than what he says about looking into their hearts. It wouldn’t take a lot for Chuck to drop the idea into Roy’s head that Dean was special, had an important purpose, and make sure that Dean got healed so he could keep writing his story the way he likes it.

 This episode is also the first time we see the brothers saving each other through Supernatural means, against the will of the other. When I say that, the first thing that comes to mind are the demon deal that Dean makes when Sam dies and when Dean lets Gadreel possess Sam in order to heal him. It’s interesting to me that the first time they do this, it’s Sam saving Dean, although certainly they don’t know the consequences at first, Dean gets really angry when he finds out  “Some guy is dead now because of me!”

But then, later in the episode, they find out that Roy’s wife did something similar to save Roy

SAM Yeah. You gotta build a black alter with seriously dark stuff. Bones, human blood. To cross a line like that, a preachers wife. Black magic. Murder. Evil

DEAN Desperate. Her husband was dying, she didn't have anything to save him. She was using the binding spell to keep the reaper away from Roy.

SAM Cheating death, literally.

Sam is unnerved by the idea of doing black magic and messing with the natural order of the universe, even to save someone you love. He calls it evil. But Dean immediately understands, it’s not an evil act, it’s a desperate act. She didn’t want to lose someone she loved. It’s something he could probably see himself doing (*cough**cough*). I’ll have to pay closer attention throughout the series on how their views on this shift and change, because Sam certainly moves past the idea that doing this kind of thing is evil, but Dean also gets to a point where he doesn’t approve of it (at least not when it’s in an effort to save his own life).

[siverwrites]

Press Start Letter

AO3: Siver

There are some pretty big groups here, so there’s just a mix of things I like and prompts if you want them. As long as the DNWs are avoided it’s all good. Really can’t go wrong taking anything from my Likes list. A lot of found family vibes happening in this batch so anything in that vein in particular is great.

All requests are for fic or art. Art: Interactions of some sort: emoting at each other, talking, sharing some activity, taking a walk, hugs are always welcome, soft things, whatever suits the pair/group

Likes: fluff, hurt/comfort, comfort, missing scenes, friendships, long-term friendships, close relationships of any sort whether romantic or platonic, familial bonds, found family, sickfic, AUs, fandom crossovers or fusions, angst with a happy end, bonding, cuddling/hugs/holding, banter, mutual care and support, emotional bonding, loyalty, pre-canon, post-canon, reuniting, slice of life

DNW: NSFW, non-con, dub-con, underage relationships, unrequested ships, infidelity, virus things

Thank you!

Ghost Trick

Group: Alma/Cabanela Group: Alma/Jowd Group: Alma/Jowd & Cabanela Group: Alma/Jowd/Cabanela Group: Cabanela/Jowd Group: Cabanela & Pigeon Man Alma Cabanela Jowd Missile Sissel Group: Emma & Pigeon Man: What even happens here? Just such a bizarre and unexpected combo it had to happen.

I love this game, its characters and pretty much everything about it, so whatever you want to do will be great I am sure. New timeline mysteries and dealing with missing memories are always welcome where it makes sense. Alternate timelines and what-ifs are cool to explore. Fluff, comfort, family found or otherwise and friendships are always a go. Sissel and Missile involvements and tricks are always good. Any combination of these characters is more than welcome too! 

I only request that for various configurations of Alma, Jowd and Cabanela there is no infidelity. If it’s Cabanela/Jowd or Cabanela/Alma please let the third party be absent for whatever reason or dead... if a Cabanela/Jowd situation in game or a no reset timeline. But Alma’s absence should still be felt. Otherwise I love the trio so much and always love to see more.

Trails in the Sky

Group: Cassius Bright & Estelle Bright & Joshua Bright & Renne Bright: Family family family! Renne adjusting to a new life with them .

Group: Celeste D. Auslese & Renne Hayworth: What might they discuss in the Hermit’s Garden? What might Renne have to ask her?

Group: Estelle Bright & Kloe Rinz | Klaudia von Auslese & Tita Russell: Sisters and best friend time!

Group: Julia Schwarz & Kloe Rinz | Klaudia von Auslese: Mooore sister times

Group: Kloe Rinz & Celeste D. Auslese: Her ancestor... Kloe must have so many questions...

Group: Kloe Rinz | Klaudia von Auslese & Olivier Lenheim | Olivert Reise Arnor: Royals unite! They have a good allyship now going now it’d be cool to see them interact more

Group: Mayor Maybelle/Lila: they’re just sweet okay. Let Maybelle rest. Lila, also rest. Go on a vacation you two

Group: Olivier Lenheim | Olivert Reise Arnor & Mueller Vander: Exasperated but oh so caring Mueller always...

Group: Olivier Lenheim/Mueller Vander: Same as above but more romantic

Group: Ries Argent/Kevin Graham: Affectionate exasperation

Olivier Lenheim | Olivert Reise Arnor: Just. Olivier. 

Missing scenes, scene extensions, travel along the roads, airship travel times, etc. Post Sky also welcome and at some points necessary. Ample opportunity for anything in the Garden in 3rd. I love these characters, their world, and their relationships.

Trails from Zero/Trails to Azure

Alex Dudley Elie MacDowell KeA Lloyd Bannings Randy Orlando Sergei Lou Tio Plato Zeit Group: Rixia Mao/Ilya Platiere Group: Sonya Baelz & Sergei Lou

These games hit my found family buttons hard. Anything portraying some kind of familial relationship among these characters is awesome. I love our SSS family (Dudley included, you’re an honorary part too, just the way it is). Any combination of these characters is more than welcome!

KeA winning Dudley over because no one can resist her? Always down for KeA and “Uncle” Sergei too. Randy and Tio sibling like times? An outing for our core four, Lloyd, Elie, Tio and Randy, possibly dragging Sergei with for a change? Dudley and Lloyd connecting over something whether the past with Guy or something else entirely? Zeit in any capacity is a very good boy. Sky’s the limit.

Please no shipping aside from the Rixia/Ilya.

Dragon Quest XI

Group: Marutina | Jade & Rou | Rab Group: Sena | Serena & Veronica Group: Sylvia | Sylvando & Dave Group: Sylvia | Sylvando & Graig | Hendrik Marutina | Jade Sylvia | Sylvando

While I wish there were a few more dynamics among the party outside of certain pairs I do love what there is and down for more.

I’d be interested in seeing more Jade and Rab grandfather adopted granddaughter moments. Could be something during the journey or something before they joined the party. Or something after it’s all over. Jade can return to her father in Heliodor but that’s a bond that won’t break.

Any kind of sister time for Serena and Veronica at any time. Can go angsty given Veronica’s situation as well.

I didn’t give Dave a lot of attention until playing the definitive edition and I loved how he was there for Sylv and was able to snap him out of his gloom. More interactions and them supporting each other would be great. Anything during the parade gathering is also great, or Dave’s search for him and Sylv’s recovery.

I love Hendrik and Sylvando’s dynamic. They have that shared history but they’re so different and Hendrik’s reactions are always a joy. But what are some other ways they can support each other?

Game did Jade dirty. Let her shine. Maybe overly ambitious but an AU where she kicks Booga’s ass and liberates Octagonia herself would be cool and she can look after it in a similar fashion to the Last Bastion. But overall anyway, just some attention for Jade.

Just. Sylvando. I love him. Sylv being Sylv can’t go wrong.

Bug Fables

Group: Elizant II & Leif Group: Kabbu & Vi & Leif Group: Prof. Honeycomb & Doctor H.B. Kabbu Leif Vi

My new love and I love the group dynamics! Party fun times while they’re travelling would be good. Really interested in more with Leif’s situation because that is a Lot and open to more introspection and dealing--Kabbu support go? Attempted Vi support go?

There’s also an interesting connection between Elizant II and Leif I’d be interested in seeing more. Leif’s out of time but holds memories of Elizant I. Elizant II is a more direct connection he’s otherwise lacking and it’s nice to see how his opinion of her shifts and grows.

Professor Honeycomb and Doctor H.B.: older cranky lady bees in science! I have no specific ideas, but exploring more of their rivalry would be fun. Hawk and long-suffering Crow involvement are A-okay too.

Final Fantasy VI

Cyan Celes Group: Edgar Roni Figaro & Macías "Mash" Rene Figaro | Sabin Rene Figaro Relm Arrowny

Any combination of any of these tags. Any kind of characters interaction among the party is great. Celes and Relm. Attempted reconciliation between Celes and Cyan. Edgar and Sabin having some sort of interaction with the spunky Relm--she probably trolling them in some way no doubt. Or perhaps something sweeter. Etc

Edgar & Sabin: Moments visiting Figaro during their journey. Or post-game trying to bond again and get to know each other after Sabin’s long absence without doom hanging over their heads. Something to do with or some fallout from the whole Gerad situation?

Celes: Her thoughts on having to sing at the opera? Or what she might be doing post-game. More exploration of her thoughts and feelings after she wakes up on the island? So much room for more expansion on Celes moments. Travelling with Sabin after finding him in the World of Ruin?

Relm: Lean on the magic of her paintings? Or post-game Relm dealing with the loss her powers and/or just trying to live normally again after all that?

Mutazione

Group: Bopek & Jell-A Group: Dennis & Nonno Group: Kai & Karoo Group: Kai & Semenya Group: Miu & Yoké Group: Nonno & Spike Group: Spike/Claire Group: Yoké & Claire Group: Yoké & Karoo Miu Yoké 

I don’t have any specific ideas for Mutazione but all these groups are cool. I enjoyed playing this game so much I’d love to dive back into this world. Leaning hard on its warmth, care and found family is most welcome. And plants! And music! I’m particularly fond of Yoké, but as said these are all great pairs and characters. 

Pyre

Group: Volfred Sandalwood & Ti'zo Group: Volfred Sandalwood/Tariq | The Lone Minstrel Volfred Sandalwood Ti’Zo

Found family joys. Daily activities while they travel? Wagon shenanigans. Post Peaceful revolution activities? Any combo here is great. Soft moments in configurations of Volfred, Tariq and Oralech, pre, post or in-game.   Snakes doing snake things. Imps doing imp things.

Volfred Sandalwood & Ti'zo: Tree and Imp, Tree and Imp! And who knew each other before so something relating to that would be cool. But honestly tree and imp...

Volfred Sandalwood/Tariq | The Lone Minstrel: Something gentle for the tree and the moon who somehow fell for him, any time period

[hsmakingmeblush]

I’m Lost In Your Fire

A Vampire Journalist Harry Fic

*Read Chapter One 

Chapter Two

Harry can’t help but let out a groan as he lets his body sink deep into the warm water filling his pearly white porcelain bathtub. It feels like a relief as the water sinks into his skin and envelops his sore muscles in warmth. He lets the soothing scent of lavender fill his nose and allows calm to overtake him as his bath bomb continues to fizz in the quiet of his bathroom.

Today hasn’t been the worst day he’s ever had, not by a longshot, but it’s been long and stressful. Putting up with pricks like Jimmy at the office all day and not being able to say anything can make the tension in his body skyrocket with holding back any reaction. And believe it or not, working on fluff pieces he could writing his sleep can actually be more draining than the hardest hitting journalism beats. There’s only so many times he can type out the words London Poodle Parade before wanting to break his computer himself.

But now that that piece is over, finally, he’s got to get down to the real business. Mr. Turner’s finally given him a story he can actually sink his teeth into… so to speak. It may not be the hard hitting stuff they write down in the political new section, but a profile feature actually gives him something to work with, real substance that’ll occupy his mind and give him something to research. Which is why he’s decided to take a nice long soothing bath to help ease him into the research process. Admittedly, it’s been awhile since he’s had to do anything this extensive.

So, Zoe Price, who are you?

He clicks his laptop on from where it was sitting asleep on his wooden bathtub tray along with his wine glass that was decidedly not red with wine.

He decides to start his search by typing her name into Google- the best way is oftentimes the simplest. He’s almost surprised when he sees the rest of her name pop up in his suggestions when he’s only typed “Zoe P” so far, but then he remembers that if this woman was truly a nobody he probably wouldn’t be writing a profile on her. He clicks down to her name and hits enter and the first thing his eyes are drawn to on the screen is the photo in the corner of a woman with warm eyes and dark hair. She’s not bad to look at, but he doesn’t let himself linger before he moves on to the rest of the webpage.

The first link up is for something called London Bites. Was she some kind of food blogger or something? Sharing recommendations for London’s hidden dining hotspots for tourists and residents alike can all enjoy the best of what the city had to offer? Hm, didn’t seem likely that he’d be assigned a profile on someone that… mundane.

He clicks the link, mentally reminding himself to go back and look through the twitter that had been listed just below on the search page.

At the top of the page is a a black and white photo of London with London Bites across the top in red cursive. Not exactly the vibe he would expect from a food blogger.

As he scrolls down, he sees yet another photo of who he presumes to be Zoe herself if the caption is to be believed.

Zoe Price.

24.

London, UK.

Political Science, B.A.

But in this one her hair is shorter, lighter, and any warmth Harry fleetingly thought she’d had minutes ago is nowhere to be found. She looks more severe in this photo, it’s to be expected when it’s clearly been professionally posed and shot for business purposes, but Harry can’t say he likes the way she looks in it all the same. Not that it matters what he thinks. He’s writing a piece on her and her work, not on… her looks or how friendly she may or may not be.

To the right of her photo is a little blurb that reads:

It can be hard keeping up with all the goings-on in London politics and current events. There’s politicians galore, people with opinions everywhere you turn, and vampires just around the corner. Join Zoe Price every Monday as she interviews guests, debates hot button issues, and provides you with your weekly dose of social and political insight. Whether you want to be a more educated citizen, you want to impress your friends with being up-to-date in all things politically relevant today, or you just like the sound of Zoe’s voice, this is the podcast for you.

Subscribe and listen to London Bites now on Apple Music, Spotify, or wherever else you like to stream podcasts.

Below that are little Twitter and Instagram icons which presumably link to Zoe’s own social media. A cursory scroll down also reveals the latest episode of London Bites available to listen, but Harry’s still thinking about her podcast description. “Vampires just around the corner.” He’s already getting the feeling that this piece isn’t going to be all that great of an opportunity as Mr. Turner suggested it would be. The churning in the pit of his stomach only worsens when his eyes focus on the title of her latest podcast episode just under the streaming widget.

Vampires: Friends or Foes

Vampires. Society loves to hate them. Are they really the filthy bloodsucking monsters politicians would have us believe? Probably. But join me as I share my own experiences with vamps and the stories my subscribers have shared. Who knows, maybe the results will surprise you.

It seems pretty obvious now, Zoe Price is no mundane food blogger. Instead she’s a… an antisanguinist? A sympathizer? Well, no definitely not a sympathizer if she says that vampires “probably” are all those vile things people say.

At this point Harry’s not altogether sure what to make of Zoe Price. And he’s not so sure he’s looking forward to figuring it out. Figuring her out.

He swallows down a big gulp of lukewarm blood before he clicks play and closes his eyes, allowing his body to sink deeper into the soothing lavender and chamomile oils that have mixed in with the warm water.

Hi everyone, welcome to London Bites! I’m your host Zoe and today we’ll be getting into what seems to be everyone’s favorite topic to discuss: Vampires. If you’ve been a subscriber for awhile you might remember our episode from a few weeks ago, The Londoners guide to dealing with vamps featuring guest Maggie Sinclair. If you’re new to the podcast don’t fret, you can go back and listen to self defense instructor Maggie Sinclair share all her tips and tricks for handling a vampire situation. I’ve received a lot of messages on social media since then letting me know how helpful you listeners found that episode, so as usual feel free to tell me what you want to hear and maybe it’ll make it into the podcast!

Now onto today’s business. I hope you have a snack and something to drink because today’s episode is gonna be a long one. There’s no guests today. Insert “boooo” sounds here (but not really because who has the budget and skill for that? Not me that’s for sure.

Harry’s ears prick up just the slightest bit at the laugh she lets out at her own self-deprecating joke, but otherwise he remains still and faintly tense as he waits to here what else Zoe has to say.

Today’s show is going to run a little differently than usual, but hey it’s always fun to spice things up once in awhile, right? Instead of a guest joining me, I decided to pose a question to my wonderful followers on Twitter and Instagram. What have your experiences with vampires been like? And bleeding heck you lot had many a story to share!

So without further ado I’ll get right into it. And if you’re asking yourself right now “when is Zoe going to share her own story?” well tha’s a good question and I’ll be sharing at the end so I guess you’ve got to listen to the whole episode to get to it. No one likes a podcast fast forwarder! At least I don’t.

Ah, our first story is from Amy right here in London and she said that she once saw a vampire help an old lady cross the street. Hm, well who’s t’say it even was a vampire. It’s London! The weather is absolute shite if the number of jackets I’ve got in my wardrobe is any indication. Who’s t’say it really was a vampire and not just a human whose mark was covered by his coat. I’ll just put that one down as a… maybe vampire experience.

Harry doesn’t know whether he should scoff at how very human it was for Zoe to bring up those damn marks or seethe at the notion that a vampire helping someone was impossible. Nonetheless, he finds himself rubbing the pad of his thumb over his own cross marking on the skin of his left hand, just as dark and inky black as the day he got it.

He must get lost in his thoughts, thinking back to how it felt to get the mark branded on— the excruciating, his tears as he looked over the doctor’s shoulder to find his mother’s eyes, her own solemn expression— because once Zoe’s voice floats back through his ears, she’s already in the middle of sharing someone else’s story.

We could just let the filthy leech stay in our town, Zoe, and living right by a school no less? Not on our watch. Me and a few of the guys got together and drove the bloodsucker right out. The best part was he didn’t even try to fight back! Can you believe how humiliating? If he wasn’t a disgusting monster I might’ve felt bad for the kid really, but ‘ey he got what he deserved.

Well listeners, what a harrowing account by Joshua in Liverpool. It just goes to show the lengths some vamps will go to concealing their identity and how we as citizens must be vigilant. It was great to hear that none of those children got hurt before Joshua and his friends were able to get rid of that vamp.

Harry’s breathing picks up at that, fast and loud in the quiet of his bathroom. His hands find the edges of his tub and his fingers curl over the porcelain in vice grips. That was- humans call them the monsters but when they do things like that… humans are the deluded monsters in this world.

And this, this Zoe Price. She’s just, well, it doesn’t seem like there’s a question about her being an anti now. The way she talks about vampires… pretending like she’s willing to give everyone a fair shake. Ha! Fat chance at that.

It’s then that he hears her say “it’s truly a godsend that those god forsaken leeches can’t procreate or else we’d truly have a mess on our hands trying to get not just adult vamps but their spawn too.”

He can’t slam his laptop closed fast enough. He wants to scream at all the anger bubbling up from inside his chest. These people, they don’t know anything! Harry’s disgusted at how Zoe’s voice curled around those words, how she said them as if she’s said them before. Most of all, Harry’s angry at the fact that hearing that sentiment isn’t new, far from it really. The fact this his whole life, he’s had to listen to human talk about how vamps shouldn’t have kids, how it was a good thing they couldn’t. Well, he only really started hearing the latter when he grew older, when people forgot, when he moved away from Manchester and nobody knew him or where he came from.

All the same, it makes him sick to hear and he doesn’t know what he’s going to do tomorrow when he’s supposed to call this woman and set up a meeting. He doesn’t know how he’ll stand being on the phone with her let alone seeing her in person.

To stop his thoughts from swirling around in his head, he lets his body sink down until he’s submerged in his bathwater. He lets the silence overtake him and feels his tense muscles relax and his limbs grow heavy. He thinks of his mother and how mad she used to get at him when he did this as a child. He thinks about how warm her body felt as she wrapped him up in a towel and held him close to her chest and whispered how much she loved him in his ear. He thinks about how much he misses her. How now there’s no one here to pull him out of the bath and dry him off. So he stays like that, in the dark and the silence until sleep overtakes him.

---

*This fic would definitely not be written if it wasn’t for the amazing Danie @angelinsheer so thanks binch! And if you’re enjoying this fic just know that Danie’s been a huge help at planning and holding my hand through the entire writing process 😂

[the-desolated-quill]

Rosa - Doctor Who blog

(SPOILER WARNING: The following is an in-depth critical analysis. If you haven’t seen this episode yet, you may want to before reading this review)

It comes as a massive relief to say that I really enjoyed this episode. There are a number of ways Rosa could have gone wrong and while Chris Chibnall has managed to crank out two surprisingly good Doctor Who episodes so far, it’s hard to shake off old fears. Oh my God, I thought to myself, a historical episode about Rosa Parks and the Black Civil Rights Movement. Is Chibnall biting off more than he can chew? 

Thankfully Chibnall had the good sense to hire a co-writer that can keep his white privilege in check. Malorie Blackman. Author of the critically acclaimed Noughts and Crosses series of books depicting an alternative reality where Africans developed a technological advantage over Europeans and where white people are segregated under this world’s version of the Jim Crow laws. It’s safe to say that Blackman knows a thing or two about exploring racism and, being a black woman, she’s much more qualified to talk about issues of race and to represent Rosa Parks and the Civil Rights Movement as a whole than Chibnall is. The result is, without a shadow of a doubt, some of the best Doctor Who I’ve seen in years.

One thing I’m glad about is the way Rosa Parks is depicted. Historical stories (particularly New Who historical stories) have an unfortunate tendency to go completely over the top with it. It’s just not enough to have a character who played a significant part in human history. Oh no. They’ve also got to be the specialist, most important person in the whole wide universe. The result is that we’re often left with a wafer thin episode that completely romanticises the period of history the story is trying to depict, waters down all the more complicated and unsavoury parts of the historical setting and turns the famous historical figure into a shallow caricature of themselves (see Agatha Christie in Unicorn And The Wasp, Winston Churchill in Victory Of The Daleks and Vincent Van Gogh in Vincent And The Doctor). Rosa, thankfully, doesn’t fall into the same trap. Rosa Parks isn’t treated as a god among mortals. She’s treated like an ordinary person, thus making her actions that much more powerful.

Vinette Robinson (who appeared in a previous Chibnall penned story 42) does an incredible job playing Rosa Parks. Again, more emphasis is placed on how ordinary she is rather than how historically significant. Nowadays we of course view her as the genesis of the Black Civil Rights Movement and she has rightly been praised and immortalised for that, but it’s easy to forget that she was a real person behind the legacy, which is what the episode really delves into. We get to see her fear, sadness and frustration in this oppressive society. And it really brings home how mundane her actions really are. Sure we can see from hindsight how her actions would influence others and change the course of history, but she wasn’t some heroic freedom fighter taking a stand. She was a woman who just wanted to sit down on a bus after a hard day at work. And the fact that she, Martin Luther King and other black people actually had to fight for the right to do something so trivial is utterly ridiculous.

Some have criticised the episode saying that this is too heavy a subject matter to deal with at 7pm on a Sunday evening. I couldn’t disagree more. For one thing, this isn’t the first time Doctor Who has handled difficult subject matters (Nazism and genocide have frequently cropped up in past stories after all). But I think the criticism mostly stems from people (white people) being left feeling uncomfortable by the story and are trying to avoid having a serious conversation about it NRA style, claiming that this isn’t the right time for it. Well... when is it the right time? Nobody wants to have this conversation, sure, but we’ve still got to have it. And as uncomfortable viewing as it is, it’s important that it is not sugar-coated and that we’re reminded of how difficult things were for non-white people so that shit like this never happens again. So no, I didn’t think the use of violence against black people or racially charged language up to and including the n word were inappropriate. It was an accurate depiction of the environment at the time and if you felt uncomfortable by that, then congratulations, that’s precisely what you’re supposed to feel.

In fact I honestly thought the episode’s depiction of violence against black people was quite restrained, making the acts of discrimination that much more despicable in my eyes. Using gratuitous violence would have been a cheap shot and Chibnall and Blackman mercifully avoid that route. What makes the episode so chilling to watch isn’t the things that white people do, but rather the oppressive atmosphere they create. It’s not the arrogant tosspot slapping Ryan across the face for touching his wife’s glove that had me on edge. It was the scene after that where everyone is just silently staring at the TARDIS crew in the cafe that really made me feel queasy. The threat is implied, yet constant, which is infinitely scarier. After the likes of Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss boasting about how their episodes were going to be ‘the scariest Doctor Who stories ever’ only for them to amount to a hodge-podge of tired horror cliches and a dumb monster going ‘boo’, it’s a relief to see writers take a more subtle ‘less is more’ approach. I’m sorry, but the bus driver glaring angrily at Rosa is much more terrifying than a Weeping Angel. Period.

Which brings me to Krasko, played with smug charm by Joshua Bowman who succeeds at making you want to reach through the screen and punch his racist face repeatedly. Again, some have criticised the episode for its ‘one dimensional villain’ and, again, it only seems to be white people making this criticism. Not to make sweeping generalisations here, but non-white fans seem to be largely happy with how Krasko was written and depicted, probably because they’ve had to deal with pricks like him at least once in their lives. I’m guessing the source of the criticism comes from him not having a backstory or concrete motivation other than he hates black people. But my response to that is... does he really need one? Would Krasko have really been a more interesting character if it was revealed that he was bullied in school or a black kid had stolen his My Little Pony lunchbox? Does there really need to be a reason for why he hates black people and wants to ‘put them in their place’? I would have thought him being a racist white person would have been enough reason to hate him frankly. Let’s not forget what happened when Star Wars and Marvel respectively gave their villains Kylo Ren and Kilgrave tragic backstories to provide context for their despicable actions, at which point the fans proceeded to romanticise the fuck out of them, calling them misunderstood. Maybe (and this is just my opinion) giving Krasko a backstory wouldn’t have made him more interesting, but instead would have been seen as an attempt to justify and excuse his shitty behaviour, and maybe, just maybe, we’re better off without one. Just a thought.

Besides, it’s not as if we don’t learn anything about Krasko. We’re given enough information to work with. He’s a time traveller from the future. He was put in prison for murdering two thousand people (quick side note, did anyone else laugh when the Doctor said the Stormcage was the most secure prison in the universe? Remind me, how many times did River Song break out again?). He’s clearly intelligent, as demonstrated by him coming up with a non-violent plan to ruin the lives of generations of non-white people in order to circumvent his neural inhibitors. While it’s never overtly mentioned, he’s clearly some future version of the alt-right and is there to act as an extension of the true villain of the story. Because that’s the thing the people criticising his character have overlooked. Krasko isn’t the villain. White people are. The society Rosa Parks lives in is the true villain. Krasko is there not just to get to the plot going, but also to subtly demonstrate that while things do get better for non-white citizens, there will always be that racist element within our society. Hell, Ryan and Yasmin even spell it out for you in their conversation whilst hiding from the police. While people like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King made a huge impact and helped change things for the better, racism and prejudice hasn’t just magically gone away. It’s still around. There are still people who cling on to these extremist and bigoted views. Some might argue that racism has become so entrenched in Western society that it will never fully go away. That there will always be some remnant hanging around. That’s what Krasko represents. So if you thought he was a rubbish villain because he had ‘no backstory or motivation’ then I’m afraid you’ve completely missed the point.

I should also applaud Chibnall and Blackman for resisting the urge to shove in some pointless alien like other historicals have. Not only would that have distracted from Rosa’s story, the racist white people are scary enough thank you very much. While there are sci-fi elements in here, the episode quite rightfully focuses on people.

Speaking of people, let’s talk about the TARDIS crew. Yeah! They’re in this episode too! Haven’t really talked about them much, have I? The Doctor largely takes a backseat in this one, which I know some people have a problem with, but I think it was the right thing to do. We don’t want an alien white woman coming in and stealing Rosa Parks’ glory. Jodie Whittaker graciously lets Vinette Robinson take centre stage while she busies herself with other things like confronting and intimidating Krasko and organising fake raffles with Frank Sinatra. I really like the balance they’ve struck between light and dark with this Doctor (something Moffat tried to do with Peter Capaldi’s Doctor and failed at miserably). She’s funny, compassionate and caring, but there’s a little bit of Sylvester McCoy’s devious cunning in there too, which really comes to the forefront here. Did anyone else find it really disconcerting seeing the Doctor try to maintain history? Influencing events so that Rosa Parks had no choice, but to give up (or refuse to give up) her seat. While we know she’s doing it for the right reasons, in order to keep black history in check, she’s still nonetheless actively contributing to Rosa’s misery, which is actually a clever way of exploring how white people all contribute to a racist status quo, directly, indirectly, intentionally and unintentionally. And of course it all culminates in the Doctor and co refusing to give up their seats in order to keep history intact. The look on Thirteen’s face as events unfold says it all. The look of sheer sadness and self loathing, knowing she played a part in this, is haunting. Same goes for Graham’s realisation. The widower of a black woman and step-grandfather to a black teenager being forced to contribute to this racist institution is utterly heartbreaking.

But the standout of the main cast has to be Ryan. Tosin Cole truly shines in this episode, giving an incredibly powerful and moving performance. This in many ways is his episode as he comes face to face with the racist prejudices of the time period and Cole rises to the occasion. My favourite scene has to be when Ryan talks with Rosa, thanking her for everything she will do in the future and promising that things will get better. It’s incredibly emotional and I actually started tearing up with him. I’m also so happy that he was the one that got to beat Krasko at the end rather than the Doctor. I stood up and cheered. And his reaction to seeing Martin Luther King has got to be one of the most charming moments of the series so far.

Rosa is unquestionably one of the strongest episodes in all of Doctor Who. It’s incredibly well written and performed and it’s extremely powerful as well as being very subtle and nuanced. What’s more, I’m now completely sold on Chris Chibnall being the showrunner. Any lingering doubts I’ve may have had are now completely evaporated after this episode. Rosa proves that not only does Chibnall respect and value diversity both in front of and behind the camera, but that he’s also committed to creating something truly special with his tenure, using the Doctor Who format to explore hard hitting and difficult subject matters with care and respect. Truly excellent television.

[thesinglesjukebox]

YUBIN - LADY

[7.22]

Wonder Girl turned City Woman...

Iain Mew: Sometimes you want to carefully pick out a chocolate from your selection, and sometimes you want to take your whole '80s city pop box and eat them a row at a time without even consulting the key. [6]

Jessica Doyle: I did go on a city pop-listening binge after hearing this, and concluded that for all the cosplay there was something just slightly off about Yubin's presentation. It may be as simple as me hearing lower-quality production and mistaking the less forceful sound for wistfulness. It may be that Yubin comes off as too confident to sell the listener-flattering idea of the strong façade being no more than a few millimeters thick. "Lady" might have worked better with a singer whose voice was a little breathier, a little wispier, a little [The Jukebox apologizes for this attempt to pass off Hyelim bias as an actual review.] [5]

Thomas Inskeep: K-Pop goes city pop with this debut solo single from Yubin, formerly of K-pop queens Wonder Girls. This isn't an exact replica -- it's more like a take on the City Pop revival, from SoundCloud artists like Night Tempo (whose 2016 remix of Mariya Takeuchi's City Pop landmark "Plastic Love" sounds like a definite influence on "Lady"). The video even features scenes of Yubin driving along darkened city streets! That said, there's also a bit of Stock Aitken Waterman here, especially in those ultra-'80s handclaps and the drums -- Sinitta calling! And then, then, there's the lyrics and Yubin's sassy deliver thereof: "Stop beating around the bush," she sings, "Be up front about it/I made time especially for you ... There are tons of boys/Who lined up for me." Lay down the law girl, and tell him what time it is! #Summer2018Anthem achieved. [10]

Julian Axelrod: There's "disco" -- the kind of half-hearted pastiche with empty Bee Gees harmonies and limp Chic guitar that's become an escape hatch for boring artists of all stripes in the past few years -- and then there's disco. "Lady" has a million tiny details that prove it's the real deal, from the swooping strings to the sidewinding pre-chorus melody to the programmed drums that wallop in all the right places. But the most important distinction is a palpable joy, and Yubin's powerhouse vocal struts, shimmies, and soars with the liberation of a woman who's truly free. When that guitar solo arrives to carry you up to disco heaven, you know you're dealing with the genuine article. [8]

Leonel Manzanares de la Rosa: Yubin going full city pop is a bit of a surprise; Yes, Wonder Girls were the absolute queens of retro in the K-Pop universe, but Yubin is commonly known as the group's rapper, and a solo single without a single line of rap, rather opting for the disco diva approach, is a bit out of left field. However, it's in the execution of this concept, both sonically and aesthetically, where "Lady" really hits. Yubin simultaneously projects energy and sophistication in every note, and if this is the musical path she will take in her future solo endeavours, we'll be definitely on board. [7]

Will Rivitz: Now that vaporwave has been passé for long enough to appreciate through the more neutral lens afforded by a true retrospective, we're finally in a place where we can appreciate the artists in the scene whose music is good enough to have stood the test of time and still be worthwhile five years after the scene's peak -- namely, Saint Pepsi (or the artist formerly known as Saint Pepsi) and absolutely no one else. Fortunately, Yubin's future funk approximation lifts Pepsi's vibrantly torpid '80s cheese with aplomb, absolutely nailing the lushness that makes his sound still tantalizing. Cheap neon is better when it's not ironic. [8]

Ryo Miyauchi: The glossy '80s revival fueling Wonder Girls's final full-length Reboot lured me into this then-new thing in my life called K-pop, but before I can tune into more from the retro queens, they unfortunately decided to call it quits. So it's very satisfying to have Yubin from the group continue where the group left off with this glamorous city-pop anthem. More than the sound, I'm won by her confident sass. "I ain't got time," she snaps at her foolish prospects in romance, and her off-to-the-next attitude is one I longed to find in other songs by her peers whose claims to "bring the boys out" didn't really resonate beyond pure pop gesture. [8]

Alfred Soto: I played this twice last night while gelling my hair and applying discreet pats of cologne to my neck, moving my shoulders to the beat. It's got a welcome slink, and it does smell of Saturday night, but its recombination of several smooth dance sounds is more rehearsed than felt. So what. It's Saturday night. [7]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: While labels like Matador allowed for Shibuya-kei to gain visibility for otherwise Japanese music-ignorant Westeners, city pop received widespread love from manners far more Internet-dependent: specialized blogs, YouTube algorithms, and freely available mixes (not to mention vaporwave/future funk, numerous reissues, and the rise of Japanese tastemakers and record store owners). While none of this seemed to happen with the help of streaming services, it was a natural extension of the musical trends that gained traction since the turn of the decade. The increasing popularity of new age and soft rock, as well as the general decline of scuzzy lo-fi pop, is well-aligned with city pop's relatively pristine veneer and indulgent ventures into AOR, quiet storm, jazz fusion, disco, and funk. These shifts in prevailing musical tastes are a natural response to what happened musically during the mid-late 2000s, but also feel like a quasi-extension of postmodern sincerity and the (non-conservative) political/social ideologies of the 2010s. While Korea had some music that was analogous to City Pop -- Kim Hyun-chul comes to mind -- "Lady" is specifically aiming for what was happening in Japan during the '80s (even more explainable considering the genre's popularity within various Korean circles). In typical K-pop fashion, this is such a meticulously crafted pastiche that it takes on a new form from that of its source material. There's an excess of riches here, yes, but it comes from a digitally glitzy sheen and not from moments where you can revel in individual instruments; everything here solidifies into a monolithic disco mass. The guitar solo at the end, for example, is horrifically short -- most city pop would allow for such instrumentation to take center stage and unabashedly continue for as long as it felt necessary. So while "Lady" is certainly catchy, the mixing and structure stifle what it wants to accomplish. Which is to say, this isn't memorable in the way city pop is; it's memorable in the way K-pop is. [6]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

[weemsbotts]

The Extraordinary Ordinaries of Colonial Dumfries

The Extraordinary Ordinaries of Colonial Dumfries

By: Emma Tainter

Emma Tainter is a current M.Phil of Public History and Cultural Heritage student at Trinity College Dublin. Emma grew up in the Dumfries area and is thrilled to be able to help share its history and that of the Weems-Botts Museum, which is also the first museum she volunteered at.

When a constructing a town, there are many things one must take into consideration. Where will the main road be? Where will people live? Where will the courthouse be built? And lastly, where will the people eat, drink, and generally be merry?  

The answer to the last question lies within Colonial Dumfries’ many ordinaries – or what today we would refer to as a tavern, bar, or inn. Ordinaries served a multifaceted and vitally important role in the social fabric of a colonial town.

The establishment of ordinaries was a constructed effort on the part of the local government to sow a reputation for hospitality – a crucial ingredient for a reputable town. Before the court would enter into a bond (or an agreement) with a potential ordinary owner, the owner had to prove that they could financially support a welcoming space for locals and travelers alike. Although courts issued a majority of the ordinary licenses in Dumfries in men during the 18th century, it was not uncommon for women to own and operate their own ordinaries.

While ordinaries could be built as standalone buildings, some of them were attached to the owner’s home. It seems the popular choice in Dumfries was to operate an ordinary attached to your home; between 1783 and 1784, Dumfries residents John Chick, William Lynn, William Tyler, Catherine Blancett, John Shute, Susanna Franklin, Joshua Baker, William Skinner were all granted licenses to keep an ordinary or tavern at their house. [1]

Either way, the ordinaries had to follow strict rules in terms of their rates for accommodation, food, and beverages in addition to keeping a tidy and clean space. Ordinary owners took pride in their businesses, as we can see from William Tebbs’ advertisement from April 1785:

Virginia Journal & Alexandria Advertiser 14 Apr 1785

THE SUBSCRIBER begs leave to inform the public that he has opened a Tavern, in the house lately occupied by Miss Susanna Franklin, in the town of Dumfries, where he is accommodated with every thing requisite for the regularly keeping a genteel house. Those gentlemen who [would] please to favor him with their custom may be assured that every exertion in his power shall be used in order to render them the most agreeable satisfaction, and such favors be gratefully acknowledged, by their most humble servant.

The Ordinaries became an extension of a person’s home into the community, and a place of community itself. It was in ordinaries where the townsfolk gathered to exchange business dealings, enjoy a meal, and most importantly, catch up on the gossip.

If you wanted to hear the latest court proceedings, you could head down to an ordinary to chat with your neighbors, or you may even be lucky enough to sit next to a witness who was waiting to be called to the stand – as the ordinaries were often filled with “witnesses waiting to be heard” in hearings in the neighboring courthouse.[2]  If you happened to stop by Mitchell’s Tavern on November 7th, 1796, you would have bumped into a meeting of the Overseers of the Poor, where of Thomas Lee, John McMillion, Alexander Bruce, Philip Dawe, and Thomas Harrison met to discuss various accounts.[3]  

A depiction of a lively American tavern. Krimmel, John Lewis. (1813-1814) Oil on canvas. Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, OH.

The outside of the ordinary was often full of activity as well. It was common for people to hold auctions on the doorstep of ordinaries for the sale of land, property, and enslaved persons. The central locations of the ordinaries, as well as its already established usage as a gathering place, made it a sensible place for those wanting to buy or sell. The Virginia Journal & Alexandria Advertiser is full of advertisements such as the one below posted in February 1785:

TO BE SOLD on Monday the 7th of March next, before Mr. William McDaniel's Door, in the town of Dumfries, TWELVE SLAVES, belonging to the personal estate of the Rev. James Scott, deceased, consisting of Men, Women, and Children; and on Friday in the same week at Westwood, in Prince William County, the remainder of the Household Furniture, belonging to the said estate, consisting of tables, chairs, bedspreads, one bed and furniture, a neat pier glass, and other articles too tedious to enumerate. Credit will be allowed for all sums exceeding Forty Shillings for 12 months, the purchasers giving bond and approved security to bear interest from the date, if not punctually paid.

T. Blackburn, Administrator.[4]

Newspapers of the era, such as the Virginia Journal & Alexandria Advertiser and the Virginia Gazette & Agricultural Repository served as bulletin boards for these auctions and continue to be a great source of information about the inhabitants of 18th century Dumfries. Those newspapers mention the ordinaries of Mr. Tebbs, Mr. Mitchell, Mr. Smock, but the one that current Dumfries’ residents might be most familiar with is Mr. William McDaniel’s ordinary, or the Williams Ordinary. Later owned by George Williams, Williams Ordinary is still standing on Main Street, and today houses the Prince William County Office of Historic Preservation. Williams Ordinary hosted many famous figures during its heyday, including Thomas Jefferson, the Comte de Rochambeau, the Marquis de Lafayette, and George Washington.[5]

The reputation of an ordinary varied: while one could be known as the local meeting house of the Overseers of the Poor, another could be associated with more nefarious dealings. While people filled the ordinaries during the day and evening, the night could draw a very different (and perhaps a much rowdier crowd). Ordinaries that were discovered allowing gambling and overindulging were quickly reprimanded by the courts; a lesson Hugh Guttray learned the hard way. Just two months after opening an ordinary in his home, he was appealing his suspended license in court after he was found to be ‘permitting excessive gaming in his ordinary.’”[6]

The ordinaries all had different personalities and atmospheres. Some were known for their excellent food, such as the case of a woman who owned an ordinary attached to her home near the Bull Run Mountains. Her name is lost to history, but her food became legendary. So legendary, in fact, that George Washington himself is purported to have named a peak of the Bull Run Mountains in her honor. She was known to wear a leather apron and jacket all year round, and so the peak west of the Thoroughfare Gap became Mother Leathercoat Mountain.[7]

There are many things we can know for certain about Dumfries’ ordinaries, but the everyday conversations and meetings will have to be left to our imagination. Perhaps they weren’t so different than our own conversations today – something to ponder as we are able to venture into our modern-day ordinaries more and more.

Note: Thanks to Emma for the excellent research and interesting blog! 

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[1] Prince William County, Virginia Court Orders 1783-1784. http://eservice.pwcgov.org/library/digitalLibrary/PDF/PWC%20Court%20Orders%201783-1784%20Final.pdf

[2] The Early History of Dumfries, Virginia. Carrol E. Morgan. April 21, 1994. 34.

[3] Records of Dettingen Parish.

[4] Prince William County Virginia 1784-1860 Newspaper Transcripts. Ronald Ray Turner. http://pwcvirginia.com/documents/PWC1784-1860NewspaperTranscripts.pdf

[5] Prince William: A Past to Preserve. 30-31.

[6] The Early History of Dumfries, Virginia. Carrol E. Morgan. April 21, 1994. 35.

[7] An Anthology of American Folktales and Legends. Frank Caro. 320.

(Sources: Morgan, Carrol E. 1994. “The Early History of Dumfries, Virginia.”; de Caro, Frank. 2015. An Anthology of American Folktales and Legends. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group; Prince William County Virginia 1784-1860 Newspaper Transcripts. Ronald Ray Turner. http://pwcvirginia.com/documents/PWC1784-1860NewspaperTranscripts.pdfl; Wieder, L. C., ed. 1998. Prince William: a past to preserve. Prince William County Historical Commission.; Prince William County, Virginia Court Orders 1783-1784. RELIC: Prince William County Library System. http://eservice.pwcgov.org/library/digitalLibrary/PDF/PWC%20Court%20Orders%201783-1784%20Final.pdf; HDVI Archives: Records of Dettingen Parish PWC)

[yevonscribbles]

Home for the Holidays Pt.2

In which a pair of foxes spend Christmas with over 300 rabbits.

*****

A rabbit’s home den is a sacred place, reserved for family and very few outsiders. The only way to be admitted is to either be family or accepted as family. Whereas most modern mammals have long abandoned their traditional homes of the past, the rabbits have stayed in the same dens and have created century old dwellings that are constantly expanding to make room for new family lines. Traditionally the bucks of the den move out and move in with the family of their doe. As the times change, either gender can move in or out of the den. Thus when a new pair begins to have children, the current family den is made even larger to accommodate the expanded family. In the modern day some rabbit families have abandoned the den family hierarchy for life in the city or suburbs, but that number is relatively low.

Far from the bustling metropolis of Zootopia exist a quiet farming town of Bunny Burrows where a great number of rabbit dens exist. One of the most well known and largest is the den of the Hopps family. For years, their agricultural knowledge has been considered a cornerstone for the Burrows. With the advancement of technology and modernization of society, the farming community has been able to survive due to the large family. Many of the Hopps children stay in their den throughout their lives  and even bring their wives and husbands to live in the colossal den. This makes the Hopps den its own city that is the size of a huge mall.

Standing in front of a side entrance, Judy Hopps put her paws on her hips and thumped her foot to the ground in annoyance. “Come on you two!! You both act like you have never seen a home before!”

A pair of foxes shuffled toward their friend with their paws interlocked. Nick Wilde kept looking in awe at the size of the door in front of them while Gideon smiled to himself. The larger fox had visited the home of his business partner’s many times over the years and still recalls the feeling of wonder that came with seeing the doors to the den for the first time.

“Hell of a front door Fluff…” Nick managed to say. “I think the entirety of the ZPD could have a volleyball match between them.”

“Oh you haven’t seen anything yet love!” Gideon cracked a smile and pulled his boyfriend in close. “Judy if ye would…”

With a smile of her own, the rabbit began to type in a few numbers near the towering doors. “Open…” And with a final click, the doors open into a garage with an assortment of vehicles and farming equipment. “Sesame!”

The trio made their way into the garage as the doors began to close on their own. Judy took the boys to a side room so they could brush off any lingering snow. Hanging up their jackets, Judy continued to lead the foxes down a hallway with an occasional photograph and lighting fixture.

“Um...Judy where are you taking us?” Nick said with some concern as he tightened his grip on his boyfriends paw.

“Yer gonna want to stay close to us Nick so you don’t get lost. Mah first time here I stuck to Mrs. H like glue. Ah still get lost every once in awhile.” Gideon patted the paw in his hands and kept pace with the rabbit in front of them.

“Wait, you have been here before?  I thought rabbits didn’t like other species in their den?” Nick asked.

“Normally no, rabbits do not want anyone not family in their den.” Judy said over her shoulder. “But Gideon is an honorary Hopps and by extension you are too.” The rabbit stopped at a seemingly random door. “Annnnddd here we go! The main hall!  You two ready!?”

Nick gave his boyfriend a worried look and gulped. Gideon just laughed. “Go for it Judy!”

With a push, the rabbit open the doors into a large hall with a giant Christmas tree at the center. Groups of rabbits were seated and talking amongst themselves all around the enormous room. Some younger kits ran through tables already set for a Christmas dinner. Bows and garland hang from the ceiling and lights decorate every wall imaginable. Nick felt his jaw hang slack as he processed just how massive the room was. His shock was cut short when a shriek echoed through the hall.

“Uncle Gid!!!” Several voices rang out as a group of ten kits ran towards the trio. The baker fox took a knee and flew his arms out wide. Nick looked out into the hall to see even more small kits perk up and start running towards the fox.

“Hey kids!” The fox said as he was tackled to the ground by the small army of bunnies. “Hey Joshua! How are you Millie!? Oh goodness Sarah yer getting huge! Sasha yer lost your tooth!?” Gideon continued to greet the small army as Judy tried to keep herself from falling over laughing. Nick moved behind his rabbit partner for protection.

“Fluff...is it like this every time?” Nick whispered to Judy.

“Oh yeah, every time anyone comes home all the kits come running. It's called ‘The Hopps Welcome’ and Gideon loves it.” Judy said crossing her arms. “How he remembers everyone’s name is beyond me. I tend to forget some of the youngest ones myself.”

“Who’s that?” A young brown rabbit stood up and pointed a paw at the taller fox cowering behind Judy. In an instant every pair of eyes turned to Nick. Judy moved out of the way, leaving her partner defenseless. Instinctively Nick moved back towards the wall.

“Ah!” Gideon got up from the ground and placed the few lingering rabbit kits on his shoulders back on the ground. Walking to his partner, he wrapped his paw around Nick’s and lifted them into the air. “This fox is Nick Wilde, mah boyfriend and Judy’s work parter. He’s a police officer!”

A few kits let out some “ohhhh,” and “aaahhhss,” before they entire group erupted in cheers.

“Yay!!! Uncle Nick!” “Have you ever arrested anyone?” “Do you love Uncle Gideon?” “Do you bake treats too?” “Do you have any babies?” And another five hundred questions came from the rapidly growing number of kits. Nick could feel his face blushing and looked toward his partner. Gideon had an equally red face and goofy smile.

“Alright my loves leave our guests alone!” Bonnie Hopps came from one of the side doors and began to shoo her children and grandchildren away. If you didn’t know the matron of the Hopps household, she would look like any average middle-aged grey rabbit. However Bonnie was pushing her middle 60’s and kept the entire household together. She wore a simple red dress and green apron. Bonnie placed her paws on her hips and gave the pair of foxes a once over. “The sweaters turned out great for guessing your sizes! Come here and give me a hug.”

Gideon took the doe into a warm hug. “We appreciate the sweaters and thank ya so much for including us in yer family this year Mrs. H.” Letting Bonnie go the larger fox put a paw on his partner’s back. “Let me formally introduce mah boyfriend and Judy’s work husband Nick Wilde.”

Nick extended his paw towards the matron. They had met a few times before and had always been civil, but today the fox felt nervous. He obviously underestimated just how important the Hopps was to his boyfriend. “He..hello Mrs. Hopps! Great to see you again!”

“Oh hon please call me Bonnie, one day maybe your boyfriend will finally drop the ‘Mrs. H’ silliness. It’s been a few years and he still won’t call me by my first name.” Bonnie teased a waved away the slender foxes paw. “Come here!! All of us Hopps are huggers.”

“Oh, believe me, I know… Your daughter has a few restraining orders at the ZPD.” Nick said with a sly grin. He gave the doe a quick hug. Judy rolled her eyes at her partner. “Anyway I appreciate the invite, I know its a big deal. The whole ‘fox in the henhouse,’ thing.” The officer said air-quoting.

“Psh everyone got over the whole fox problem shortly after Gideon started coming around. Grandpa might make a fuss, but it’s his loss. Our family is your family Nick!” Bonnie lead the group back to the door she came out of. With a few sniffs, Nick knew that the door lead to the kitchen. “Oh Gid I hate to ask but could you help in the nursery? Some of the ladies down there haven’t gotten their coffee this morning and you know they could use a break.”

 “Sure ma’am, do you need Nick here or should he join me?” Gideon asked. He didn’t want to leave Nick by himself, but Bonnie could be plotting something. Truth be told, the fox had wanted to visit the nursery anyway. His excitement showed from a few quick wags of his bushy tail.

“Nope. You may need the extra paws. Judy do you want to help or…”

“I can help up here. If you have Gideon ‘the Nanny,’ taking care of the little ones you don’t need me getting in the way.” Judy said with a grin. Nick looked at his work partner then to his boyfriend who had a small blush on his cheeks.

“The Nanny?” Nick asked with a raised eyebrow.

Bonnie laughed. “First time Gideon helped out at the nursery, some of the mothers came back to find our fox passed out with about 15 babies sound asleep on him. Since then if we have a fussy little one that fox can get them to sleep without fail. So he is our official fox nanny!” Nick let out a hearty laugh. He knew the baker had a soft spot for kits of any species, but the image of his chubby fox covered in small rabbits was a bit too much.

“And here I thought you came to the Burrows for work. Now I know it’s because you're babysitting!” Nick wrapped his paws around his boyfriend neck and gave him a quick nuzzle.

“Ah don’t know why the little ones like me!” Gideon protested with a smile. “Come on. Let’s go help. See ya Hopps women in a bit.” Gideon waved to the rabbits and lead his boyfriend through another door and down another hallway. After a few minutes, Gideon broke the comfortable silence that had formed around the couple.

“When ah come home- come back to the Burrows ah like to give back to the Hopps so I spend a day or two just lending mah paws. Used to, I would help in the fields or clean. Then one day Bonnie felt ill and asked me to help the mothers. Ah was nervous since ah really haven’t handled kits before; especially babies. Then one thing lead to another and ah ended up passed out on the floor surrounded by sleeping babies! Bonnie has made sure ah will never live that down.” Gideon smiled to himself. He looked like he wanted to say more.

Nick noticed this and decided to take a shot at what his boyfriend was trying to say. “You want kits, don’t you Giddy?” The larger fox stopped and turned to his boyfriend with a few tears welling in his eyes.

“Maybe...sometime...Till then, ah am ok with being the Nanny to a few dozen bunnies.” Nick reached for his partner’s paws and pulled the fox in closer.

 Nick held his boyfriend close and whispered into his ear. “You will be a great father Gideon.” Nick said with a kiss. The larger fox let out a shudder. “Oh don’t tell me your crying? Is everyone from Bunny Burrows this emotional?” The fox teased.

“Ya do well not to tease me Mr. Wilde.” Gideon said brushing away tears. He leaned closer to the taller fox and stole a longer, passionate kiss. “Now let’s get to the nursery before we get too distracted. The wall literally has eyes and ears.” The baker said with a chuckle.

A few more twist and turns and the pair of foxes ended up in a corner of the den with large windows and pastel colors along the walls. Nick peered through the window and saw about eight does of varying ages fussing over several bundles in cribs throughout the room. Several of the ladies looked up and gave a hardy wave to the foxes. Nick was not expecting such a warm welcome from the rabbits. In the city, most mothers kept their kits away from him. Even predator families had kept themselves away from the fox in the past. Since becoming an officer, Nick noticed that people had gradually become more accepting of foxes. Slowly opening the door, Gideon lead his boyfriend down a hall to a line of sinks. Once they cleaned themselves up the men made their way into the nursery proper.

“Hey ladies! How is everyone?” Gideon asked in a whisper as a few of the mother came to give the large fox a hug. A few small squeaks and rustling was all the noises the kits made.

“Gideon, it’s so good to see you!” A heavier set doe with black fur said as she gave the baker a motherly kiss on the cheek. “And who is this handsome fox?”

Across the room, a younger tan rabbit with her ears tied back with a scrunchy perked up. “Gid tell me that is your brother and he’s single!” All the other rabbits giggled at their companion.

“Oh Donna you silly girl!” Another doe with black and white fur teased the youngest.

“Hi everyone. I am Nick Wilde and sorry Donna but I am not Gideon’s brother. I am his boyfriend though.” Nick said with a shrug. “I got volunteered to help give you ladies a break-” Just then, a small bundle in the crib next to the taller fox began to cry out. The fox officer stepped back as Gideon began to fuss over the bundle.

“Oh hey, hey, hey little one ah hear ya.” Gideon said lifting the fussy kit and began to rock the baby in his arms. “Better head out sooner rather than later ladies! Ya know, before they go into full meltdown mode.” He said, laughing.

“You don’t have to tell us twice! Nanny!” The darker doe said as she started ushering the other rabbits out of the nursery. “You boy’s do your best and we will be back in fifteen.” And with a wink, the foxes were left with the sleeping kits.

Nick peered over his partner’s shoulder at the small baby in his hands. He saw a small nose twitch back and forth with soft light grey fur under the blanket. He gingerly placed a paw on the small kit. The soft warmth of the child made the fox smile. Another baby began to make noise a few cribs down.

Gideon giggled. “See, they are not that scary.” The baker turned to his partner a motioned to the now sleeping kit. “Pur yer arms like this, and make a small gap, no too big, there ya go. Ya ready to hold ‘em?” The baker gently put the small child into his boyfriend’s arms. “Hold em while I check on this little guy.”

Nick looked down at the small mammal in his arms. It’s nose was still twitching and it gripped the blanket instinctively. The taller fox began to sway a little, rocking the kit back and forth. He looked up to his boyfriend with a dumb smile on his face.

“Yer a natural.” Gideon said meeting Nick’s eyes. “Ah this one needs a quick diaper change. Changing table is right behind ya.”  Gideon brought the other fussy kit to the table and quickly change the diaper. Nick was impressed with the efficacy of his partner.

“Dang Gideon. If I didn’t know better, I would think you had kits of your own.” Nick teased.

“Yah gotta be quick down here to survive!” Gideon said with a smile.

After a few minutes and a few more diaper changes, rocking, and burping; the pair of gay foxes had gotten all twenty eight of the kits back to sleep. The mothers came back from their break seeming a bit refreshed.

“Well, does the newbie past the test?” The youngest rabbit asked with a smile.

“Aw he did fine enough for his first time! Ah figured we would start off easy with the littlest ones before heading to the Kindergarten.” The baker said with a laugh.

“Hey! I don’t think I have ever held a baby, much less change one Pumpkin.” Nick said with mock frustration. The gathered mothers all gave a polite giggle and started to go back to fussing over the sleeping rabbit kits. With a wave goodbye, the fox boyfriends left the nursery and headed down another hallway.

“One more stop then we can head back up to Judy and the main hall.” Gideon explained as he wrapped his arm around Nick’s waist. “Thank ya for helping me out with the littlest ones, those poor gals don’t get a break that often and it means the world to em.”

Nick smiled down at his chubby boyfriend. While the officer had been looking forward to a quiet holiday, he had to admit that all the family and the warm welcome into the Hopps den had been a change of pace. He might even find himself coming with his boyfriend to the Burrows more to help out this family.

“No problem Gid. And between you and me, I kinda liked playing Nanny.” Nick held up a paw in a playful serious tone. “But you tell Fluff I said that, and I will have to hurt you Pumpkin.” The pair shared a laugh as they continued down the hall.

Up in the main room, Judy and Bonnie were spending some time alone working on a few last minute food items for the Christmas feast. The rabbit officer sat on a counter and swung her legs to and fro. Her ears dropped to one side. Her mother slowly stirred a sauce and gave her daughter a few quick glances. With a sigh, the matron of the Hopps family decided to address the lingering silence in the room.

“Your ears are drooping...what's wrong Judy?” Bonnie said flatly. Even though her daughter was getting close to thirty she was still her stubborn child.

“I really can’t hide anything from you can I?” Judy giggled. With a sigh of her own the officer decide to open up to her mother. “I was just a little surprised by the sweater’s you made Gideon and Nick. Normally you don’t make sweaters until a couple is married. My silly foxes have been dating for a little over a year now. I don’t think they have even talked about marriage yet.”

“Well, after spending more and more time with Gideon, I decided to research foxes a little bit. I even asked some friends from other dens. I found out the most interesting thing! foxes mate for life. They don’t date willy nilly like rabbits can and do. Once they are with someone past...I think six months, I don’t remember exactly, but once it’s been awhile there is about 90% chance they stay together the rest of their lives.” Bonnie said. Judy stared at her mother with her mouth hung open. Bonnie laughed at her child.

“Wow Mom! I am impressed! I didn’t even know that…” Judy said dumbfounded. “But how did you know Gideon was dating Nick? I love them both but they are not exactly open about their relationship. Come to think of it, I don’t think Nick has even told anyone at the ZPD…”

“Oh Judy, how many kids have I seen in love in this den? You know when someone is love-struck. Gideon randomly wagged his tail while looking at his phone and sometimes he would smell a little different.  All it took for me to find out the lucky mammal Gid was dating was some inside help at the bakeries. Did you know, that fox has been hiring some of our kits who want to pursue lives outside of the den? He even comes here and teaches cooking classes to help out.” Bonnie moved the sauce off the stove and turned the device off. “He has done so much good for this family and it’s all thanks to our crazy rebel daughter; all thanks to you Judy.”

Judy felt herself blush. “It was all a happy accident Mom. Besides Nick is the one I was surprised you invited over. You have barely met him before.”

“How bad can he be? He keeps you alive and makes Gideon happy. As far as I am concerned, he belongs here just as much as anyone else.” Bonnie said. “Now I have a questions for you Judy.” The younger rabbit dropped her ears again. Here it comes. “When are you gonna bring home someone?”

“Ugh MOM!” Judy buried her head in her paws. “I am sure you will know when I meet someone. Both Nick and Gid have been trying to set me up on dates. Not to mention all of the ZPD is trying as well! Even my neighbors! It will happen when it happens!” Judy huffed.

“Fine fine dear. Please go collect our fox guest. Dinner will be starting soon and I want to give them a head start before the rest of the family comes down.” Bonnie laughed.

*****

Here we go!  Part 2 posting on Christmas Eve.  I had hoped to post this yesterday and part 3 today but family drama got in the way. So I will be posting the final part tomorrow.  I hope everyone enjoys their holiday!

[weekendwarriorblog]

WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND May 10, 2019  - POKEMON: DETECTIVE PIKACHU, THE HUSTLE, TOLKIEN and More

It’s Mother’s Day weekend and while Avengers: Endgame seems to holding strong, we get four new movies in wide release, two of which I’ve seen, both of which are pretty decent. Unfortunately, due to illness, I’m running a bit late on this column, but I’ll try not to cut too many corners.

The big movie this weekend is POKÉMON: DETECTIVE PIKACHU (Warner Bros.), starring Ryan Reynolds as the voice of Pikachu and Justice Smith from Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, plus the likes of Bill Nighy and Ken Watanabe, the latter who seems to be Legendary Pictures’ go-to Japanese actor. (He’ll be appearing in Godzilla: King of the Monsters later this month.) I’m hoping to still get around to reviewing the movie, but I will say that I generally enjoyed it, even if my connection to the material was the old TV cartoon rather than any of the games. (Look for that review before Friday, if I’m able to get my ass gear. In the meantime, here’s my interview with director Rob Letterman.)

I’ve been interested in the Anne Hathaway-Rebel Wilson comedy THE HUSTLE (U.A. Releasing) since it was called “Nasty Women” and was a straight-up remake of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, but I just haven’t had time to catch the one press screening, so it looks like I’ll have to catch this sometime down the road.

And then there’s POMS (STXfilms), a new Diane Keaton comedy featuring an ensemble of actresses in their prime, including Pam Grier and Jacki Weaver. While this doesn’t look like my kind of movie, I totally would have gone to see it if I could, but I’m less apt to see it than The Hustle.

The other movie opening Friday which I’ve seen and enjoyed is TOLKIEN (Fox Searchlight), directed by Dome Karukoski (Tom of Finland) and starring Nicholas Hoult as J.R.R. Tolkien and Lily Collins as his wife Edith Bratt. I’m hoping this finds an audience, even though it’s obviously competing with much stronger and more high-profile films.

Mini-Review: I began to watch this movie with some trepidation, because at least at first, it seemed to be a typical biopic, much like director Dome Karukoski’s previous film. At least as the film began, it cut between Nicholas Hoult’s Tolkien while on the frontlines during WWII and his early schooldays at King Edwards and then Oxford, where he formed a bond with three other students.

To be honest, I wasn’t sure I necessary needed to see a Dead Poet’s Society type way of getting the viewer to know more about the fantasy author, but that’s just a very small part of the film. Where the film really picks up is when Hoult and Collins take over their respective roles, because this is when the romance between Tolkien and Edith becomes a larger part of the story. It’s a bittersweet tale where Tolkien is forced to pick going to Oxford over continuing this romance by Colm Meany’s pries, who has become Tolkien’s guardian after his mother dies suddenly. The majority of the film bounces between Tolkien in the trenches and dealing with school issues, being a poverty-stricken orphan, but he finds an ally in Derek Jacobi’s headmaster.

I’m constantly impressed by what Hoult has been doing as an actor as he gets older, but Collins really brings more to their scenes together than any of the classmates or acting veterans.

Tolkien is a flawed film for sure, but the last half hour is so abundantly full of feels it’s easy to forgive the earlier problems, as Tolkien seeks out one of his school chums on the battlefield, a part of the movie where Karukoski is allowed to shine as a director. (Honestly, I think Steven Spielberg would be quite proud if he made this movie, and that’s saying something.)

I’m not sure this movie will be for everyone, even those who love Tolkien’s work as much as I do, but as a testament to what an amazing life he had before he started writing The Hobbit, it’s quite an amazing story with a worthy film to tell it.

Rating: 8.5/10

You can find out my thoughts on the weekend box office over at The Beat.

LIMITED RELEASES

There’s actually some decent movies opening this weekend, but the one that I want to give special attention to is John Chester’s doc THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM (NEON), which is all about how he and his wife Molly left their California apartment living behind to try to develop a 200-acre sustainable farm outside L.A.  For months, my favorite doc of the year was NEON’s Apollo 11 about the 1969 moon launch, but this quickly took it over after I saw it, because it’s amazingly educational in terms of what it takes to make a farm work. It also looks absolutely fantastic, and seeing the trailer in IMAX in front of Apollo 11 made me really want to see it. If you want to see a great doc that hopefully will be in theaters over the summer, then definitely look for this one. I’m sure it will open in a few cities Friday but hopefully NEON will do another great job getting out there as they did with Apollo 11 and Three Identical Strangers last year. This movie is a MUST SEE.

Kenneth Branagh directs and plays William Shakespeare in his new historical movie ALL IS TRUE (Sony Pictures Classics) which also costars Dame Judi Dench and Ian McKellen. It follows Shakespeare on his return home to Stratford after the Globe Theater has burned down, as he tries to reconnect with his older wife (Dench) and his two estranged daughters. This is a fine film if you’re a fan of Shakespeare’s works and were interested in knowing more about his last days, because it features a great script by Ben Elton, and fine performances by Branagh and Kathryn Wilder as his younger daughter Judith, who gets caught up in controversy while trying to find a husband. It will open in New York and L.A. this weekend, and you should look out for my interview with Sir Kenneth over at The Beat in the next couple days.

Opening at the Metrograph this week is Abel Ferrara’s PASOLINI (Kino Lorber), an amazing look at the Italian filmmaker as played by Willem Dafoe. I’m not particularly familiar with Pier Paolo Pasolini’s work, although the Metrograph did a pretty extensive retrospective last year. Like with All is True above, the movie covers the last days in the filmmaker’s life, and it proved to me that Dafoe is doing some of the best work of his career these days and like a few others (Woody Harrelson and Ethan Hawke, for instance), you can put Dafoe in your movie, and it will immediately make it better. I haven’t seen much of Ferrara’s recent work but I feel it’s been a while he’s been at the height of his greatness with Bad Lieutenant and King of New York, so it’s nice to see him creating a new movie in that general vein.  Apparently, Ferrara’s movie premiered at Cannes many, many moons ago, but I think it was a smart move by Kino Lorber to save the movie and give it a release. By pure coincidence… or not… MOMA has been having a Ferrara retrospective (see below), so if you haven’t been able to get up there and see the movie, then you now have a chance with Ferrara and Dafoe doing QnAs after a few showings this weekend.

Matt Smith plays cult leader Charles Manson in CHARLIE SAYS (IFC Films), the new movie from American Psycho and The Notorious Bettie Page director Mary Harron along with her frequent collaborator, writer Guinevere Turner. As a huge fan of their previous moviesand with interest in the subject matter, I’m not sure why I never got around to watching the screener I’ve had for months, but much of it has to do with how generally busy I’ve been. Anyway, it will open in around 35 theaters and be on VOD this weekend if you have similar interest.

Opening at the Film Forum Wednesday is Almedea Carracedo and Robert Bahar ‘s doc THE SILENCE OF OTHERS (Argot PIctures). Executive Produced and presented by Pedro Almodovar, this is an amazing film about the horrendous crimes committed under the Franco regime in Spain by people who were able to get away scott-free when it was decided to create an Amnesty Pact of “Forgiving” after Franco’s death. The thing is that there are people who had been tortured or had loved ones killed who are hoping to get justice or just get their bodies back from mass graves, and this doc covers those amazing efforts. Frankly, I found this film to be far more interesting than Joshua Oppenheimer’s similar films about the crimes by the Indonesian government in The Act of Killing and The Look of Silence.

The Quad Cinema will have two new exclusive releases starting Friday, beginning with Christian Carion’s French thriller MY SON (Cohen Media), starring Guillaume Canet as a man whose son has been kidnapped, so he travels across France to where his ex-wife (Melanie Laurent) lives to try to solve the crime.

Also, the Quad will be showing Nicolas Brown’s doc The Serengeti Rules (Abramorama), which looks at five ecologists who broke new ground with scientific concepts we take for granted, and it looks at how the Serengeti might be the place to look for civilizaton’s sustainable future.

Amy Poehler makes her feature directorial debut with the comedy Wine Country (Netflix), which is getting the usual nominal theatrical release in a handful of theaters but mostly will be on the streaming network. It co-stars long-tie Poehler pals Maya Rudoloph, Tina Fey, Ana Gasteyer and Paula Pell, but I’m excited to see it for Maya Erskine from the Hulu show Pen15 and the upcoming rom-com Plus One, which was one of my favorite movies at Tribeca. (Don’t worry.. I’ve started writing something about that festival, too, so stay tuned!)

Opening in New York at the Cinema Village and in L.A. at Arena Cinelounge is Akash Sherman’s Clara (Screen Media), starring Patrick J. Adams as Isaac Bruno, an astronomer looking for life beyond Earth. This becomes more of a reality when he meets Troian Bellisario’s artist Clara, who shares his interest in space.

After years of problems and lawsuits, Farhad Safinia’s The Professor and the Madman (Vertical) is finally seeing the light of day, no thanks to a lawsuit put on it by star and producer Mel Gibson, who plays Professor James Murray, who begins compiling the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, receiving 10,000 entries from Dr. William Minor (Sean Penn), who is a patient at a asylum for the criminally insane. I have no idea how bad this movie must be to be buried as long as it has, but it has a great cast including Eddie Marsan, Natalie Dormer, Stephen Dillane, Jennifer Ehle and Ioan Gruffudd, so how bad can it really be? Good luck finding it in theaters but it will prbobably be on VOD as well.

This week’s major Bollywood release is Student of the Year 2 (FIP), directed by Punit Malhotra. As you might guess, it’s a sequel to the 2012 romantic comedy, this one involving a love triangle between a guy and two girls, and it will be released in about 175 theaters on Friday.

STREAMING AND CABLE

Amy Poehler’s directorial debut WINE COUNTRY will begin streaming Friday, though I haven’t seen it yet, so instead, I’ll recommend Dava Whisenant’s fantastic doc Bathtubs over Broadway, which will premiere on Netflix Thursday. I missed this movie last year but I got to catch-up when it screened at the Oxford Film Festival in February, and it’s fantastic. It follows Letterman writer Steve Young as he follows his passion to find rare records featuring industrial musical numbers presented at corporate events throughout the ‘50s and later to energize employees.

REPERTORY

METROGRAPH (NYC):

I’ve already mentioned how Playtime: Family Matineeshas become this cinematic comfort food that’s helped me relive my childhood, but this weekend, the shit gets real as they screen the 1977 action-adventure Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, featuring the stop-motion animation of the late Ray Harryhausen. I still remember first seeing The Golden Voyage of Sinbad at a drive-through in Framingham, Mass. when it first came out and I loved it so much I picked up the novelization. I wonder if I still have that somewhere. (I’m pretty sure I saw this sequel as well.) Late Nites at Metrographwill screen Lukas Moodysson’s 2002 film Lilya 4-Ever, as well as the not old enough to be repertory film Climaxby Gaspar Noe. (Lots of cool movies coming up in this series, as well.) Another series starting Friday is the first-ever New York retrospective of Japanese filmmaker Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, whose new movie Asako I & II will have its theatrical premiere at the Metrograph starting next week. I’m not too familiar with Hamaguchi’s work – though I’ve seen Asakoand generally liked it -- but I don’t think I’ll have the time to see his 5-hour long 2015 family drama Happy Hourany time soon. The series features seven of his movies, almost all of them shorter than Happy Hour. (2012’s Intimacies, showing a week from Thursday, is four hours long.)

THE NEW BEVERLY (L.A.):

After showing the Judy Garland version of A Star is Born  (1954) today at 2pm, the New Bev has double features of Claudia Weill’s Girlfriends (1978) and It’s My Turn (1980), the latter starring Jill Clayburgh and Michael Douglas, on Weds and Thurs. Kathryn Bigelow’s Strange Days (1995) and Lizzie Borden’s 1983 Born in Flames will screen on Friday and Saturday and then the 1933 film Christopher Strong (starring Katharine Hepburn) and Anybody’s Woman  (1930) will screen Sunday and Monday. The weekend’s KIDDEE MATINEE is the animated The Chipmunk Adventure  (1987) while the 1995 anthology Four Rooms (featuring one room by Tarantino) is the Friday midnight and Anna Biller’s 2016 film The Love Witch will screen midnight on Saturday. On top of that, there’s a special Cartoon Club on Saturday morning at 10AM and Gina Prince-Bythewood’s Love & Basketball  (2000) will screen Monday afternoon.

FILM FORUM (NYC):

It’s the last full weekend of Film Forum’s“Trilogies” series and on Thursday, they’re screening Whit Stillman’s (Is this a real title for the trilogy?) “Doomed. Bourgeois. In Love” trilogy Metropolitan (1990), Barcelona  (1994) and The Last Days of Disco (1998) with Stillman doing select intros and QnAs that day. Friday is Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s “BRD” Trilogy, including The Marriage of Maria Braun (1978), Lola  (1981)and Veronika Voss, and this weekend is a Carol Reed Post-War Noir Trilogy, including The Third Man  (1949). Saturday also sees a Michelangelo Antonioni trilogy including L’Avventura  (1960) and two other films from the Italian master. Sunday and Monday sees a very rare screening of Wim Wenders’ “Road Trilogy” including Kings of the Roadfrom 1976 and Alice in the Cities. Also, on Wednesday and Saturday is a repeat of a John Ford trilogy, including Rio Grande and Fort Apache, plus don’t forget the weekend’s family-friendly Film Forum Jr, which this weekend shows a bunch of cartoons from Bugs, Daffy and Friends. Obviously, there’s a lot going on at this venerable NYC arthouse and I hope to get to some of these now that Tribeca is over.

EGYPTIAN THEATRE (LA):

If you live in L.A., you can spend a good part of your weekend at Maltin Fest 2019, taking place at the Egyptian Theater, which includes a really incredible series of screenings and events with special guests. Friday is Nicole Holefcener’s Please Give with Holefcener and frequent collaborator Catherine Keener on hand, plus a screening of Sing Street! Alexander Payne and Laura Dern will be there Saturday afternoon to screen the filmmaker’s early work Citizen Ruth, plus lots more! I also want to pay special attention to them showing the late Jon Schnepp’s doc The Death of “Superman Lives” on Saturday night.

AERO  (LA):

Thursday is a Christopher Munch double feature of The Hours and Times (1991) and The Sleepy Time Gal (2001) with Munch and the great Jacqueline Biset in person! Then it goes right into Starring Europe: New Films from the EU 2019 i.e. new films, not repertory but still interesting.

IFC CENTER (NYC)

Waverly Midnights: Parental Guidance shows James Cameron’s Aliens (okay, am I crazy or do they show this every other month?), Weekend Classics: Love Mom and Dad  shows Martin Scorsese’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974) and Late Night Favorites: Spring is the Coen Brothers’ Fargo (1996).

BAM CINEMATEK (NYC):

In the midst of Black 90s: A Turning Point in American Cinema, which will include Ice Cube’s Friday (on Friday, of course), as well as Set It Off, New Jack City, Belly, Straight Out of Brooklyn and Menace II Society over the weekend. Also, the late John Singleton’s Boyz n the Hood will screen twice on Sunday as well as on Monday as part of the series.

MOMA (NYC):

Abel Ferrara: Unrated continues this week with repeats of 1998’s New Rose Hotel, 1993’s Body Snatchers and more recent films like 2017’s Piazza Vittorio and 2007’sGo Go Tales, and this series will continue next week. The current Modern Matiness will conclude with Pixar’s Up on Wednesday and Vincente Minnelli’s Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) on Weds and Thurs, respectively.

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (NYC):

Panorama Europe continues through the weekend but that’s all new stuff, not repertory.

LANDMARK THEATRES NUART (LA):

Friday’s midnight screening is Wes Craven’s Shocker (1989) with a QnA… but not with Craven.. unless they plan the creepiest movie tie-in possible!

That’s it for this week but next week, we get John Wick Chapter 3 and more!

[aremenyegybudoskurva-blog]

Best 80s Tv Shows List

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Original Run: 1987 94 Creator: Gene Roddenberry Stars: Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton, Gates McFadden, Michael Dorn, Marina Sirtis Network: Syndicated The original collection was groundbreaking. Deep Space Nine and Voyager had their occasions. But TNG was head-and-shoulders the Star Trek franchise. Jean Luc Picard. Data. Worf. The holodeck. The Borg. Gene Roddenbury mustn't have had a cynical bone in his human anatomy, and as I watched his characters explore unusual new worlds, look for new life and new civilizations, and boldly go where no one h-AS gone before, I didn’t either.

The Cosby Show

Original Run: 1984-1992 Creators: Bill Cosby. Weinberger and Michael Leeson Stars: Bill Cosby, Phylicia Rash? d Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Tempestt Bledsoe, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Sabrina Le Beauf, Geoffrey Owens, Joseph C. Phillips Network: NBC George Jefferson may happen to be moving on up, but The Cosby Present gave the nation a mo-Re relatable glimpse of the expanding middleclass among African-Americans but much mo-Re usually, dealing with all the trials that we all faced. Inspired by Cosby’s own family encounters which had been a staple of his stand-up routine, the show dominated the 2nd half of the ’80s, topping the Neilsen scores from 1985-90 and averaging more than 3-0 million viewers in the ’86-87 period. Cosby’s legacy might currently be in shambles, but the display was bigger compared to the man.

Magnum, P.I.

Original Run: 1980 88 Creator: Donald P. Bellisario, Glen A. Larson Stars: Tom Selleck, John Hillerman. Mosley, Larry Manetti Network: CBS When every other adolescent male of the ’80s and I grew up, we needed the li Fe of Tom Magnum, performed by Tom Selleck and his mustache: dwelling in an opulent Hawaii beachhouse as a guest of a never-current millionaire novelist and driving his Ferrari 308 GTS; wracking up a never-to-be-paid tab a T the country club run by one war-vet buddy and bumming helicopter rides from still another; and periodically solving mysteries using a mixture of smarts, toughness and mostly chutzpah. I never did figure out the way to walk that particular career path, but it was fun to dream.

TV Boxed Sets DVDs

At the Movies

Original Run: 1982-2010 Creator: Gene Siskel Stars: Roget Ebert, Gene Siskel Network: Syndicated Two different exhibits, both titled In The The Films from various production companies, the combination of Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert completely revolutionized the notion of movie criticism. Greatly admired for his or her ability to succinctly sum up the newest films together with their honesty and integrity in sparring with each other when opinions differed, the pair were also criticized by many for degrading the integrity of film criticism by decreasing it to arbitrary “thumbs up“or “thumbs down“gestures. Such was the legacy of Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert and the duality of the show. They were among the only film critics whose thoughts an “average American“could often be expected to respect and did much for legitimizing the idea of film criticism outside of a class-room environment. Some might nonetheless criticize the idea of a two-outcome rating program, but it was the approachable eloquence of the hosts that created the format work.

Taxi

Original Run: 1978 83 Creators: James L. Ed, Brooks, Stan Daniels, David Davis. Weinberger Stars: Carol Kane, Judd Hirsch, Danny DeVito, Marilu Henner, Tony Danza, Andy Kaufman, Christopher Lloyd, Jeff Conway Network: ABC/NBC Let’s just pause for a moment and remember that somebody once confident a community to set Andy Kaufman to the air. I just wish it'd been live TV. Like M*A*S*H, Taxi frequently tackled serious social problems like drug and gambling addiction, but did it with an incredibly unusual cast of characters from the alien-like Latka Graves (Kaufman) to drugged-out hippie Reverend Jim (Christopher Lloyd) to misanthrope Louie De Palma (Danny DeVito).

St. Elsewhere

Original Run: 1982 88 Creator: Joshua Brand, John Falsey Stars: William Daniels, Ed Flanders, Norman Lloyd Network: NBC The seminal hospital drama of the 1980s, St. Elsewhere was never resoundingly productive in the ratings, but it racked in Emmys over the years for its practical, frequently-dark tone and occasions of humor. Its big, ensemble forged carried on several long and had a number of cross overs together with the Hill Street Blues that are related - serialized story-lines, type, leading to fantastic character development within the course of the series. Needless to say, it’s today often remembered for a different cause: For having perhaps the single-most WTF finale moment in TV history. At the conclusion of the final St. Else Where episode, the characters are revealed as having all been the creation of the autistic Tommy Westphall, who owns a snow globe wherein the imaginary St. Eligius hospital exists. Moreoever, because so many other exhibits and characters overlapped with St. Elsewhere, some followers posit this signifies that everything from Hill Avenue Blues and Murder: Life on the Road to The X-Files all take invest the “Tommy Westphall Universe“by extension.

Pee-Wee’s Playhouse

Original Run: 198690 Creator: Paul Reubens Stars: Paul Reubens, Laurence Fishburne, Lynne Marie Stewart Network: CBS There are two types of folks within my life: Those who like Pee Wee Herman and enemies. Years ago, I was gifted the total collection of Pee-Wee’s Playhouse DVDs. Over the years, I’d created a point to watch Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure and Big Top Pee-Wee whenever the feeling was correct. As much as I loved this show as a child, I only expected to get a great kick from an episode here and there, but I found myself inhaling these DVDs. Pee-Wee’s Play-House is joyous morning viewing (over a bowl of Mr. T cereal, of course) or a great way to unwind at evening (I’d recommend taking a drink from a good beer whenever somebody says the “secret word“ only if your day was exceptionally hard). To get a display that had a cast of breakfast plates and genies, cowboys, puppet couches, pterodactyls, clocks, I think Playhouse still makes sense in 2014. It’s a fully realized vision of Pee-Wee’s whimsical, wacky world—puppet strings and all—and the collection is just pithy enough to pull in adults that are ready to go on the ride, too. Paul Reubens is a comedy icon and master of timing, and it’s unusual that a well-placed Peewee gurgle or squeal doesn’t get a chuckle out of me. If you can’t find any joy in all of that, we’ve got to re Consider our friendship.

Wonder Years

#s#The Original Run: 1988-93 Creators: Neal Marlens, Carol Black Stars: Fred Savage, Dan Lauria, Alley Mills, Olivia d’Abo, Jason Hervey, Danica McKellar, Josh Saviano Network: ABC The Wonder Years is a family present, and yes, a few of its episodes inch dangerously shut to after school-unique territory, but make no error: revisiting this late-’80s/early-’90s staple as a grown-up is just as—if perhaps not more—enjoyable than observing it the first time around. It’s unabashedly nostalgic, but it chronicles the ups and downs of Kevin Arnold’s, Winnie Cooper’s and Paul Pfeiffer’s adolescence from the backdrop of the Vietnam era and our nation’s changing social landscape with a maturity most exhibits geared towards kiddies absence. The small childhood moments that stay with us are treated with the respect they deserve. We laugh when Kevin’s brother Wayne gets him in a headlock and calls him “scrote“for the umpteenth time (attempt sneaking that by the Nick a T Nite censors today!) or when Kev squares off along with his mortal enemy Becky Slater, and we cry when Kevin’s periodically distant father struggles to relate solely to his teen-age children. And sorry, but if you don’t hold your breath when Kevin puts that letterman jacket over Winnie’s shoulders, you’re lifeless within. Music geeks will enjoy the amazing sound track as well.

Family Ties

Original Run: 1982-89 Creator: Gary David Goldberg Stars: Meredith Baxter-Birney, Michael Gross. Fox, Justine Bateman and Tina Yothers Network: NBC We were given the Keatons by one of the finest family sit-coms of our time; these were were our family. Liberal working parents Steven (Michael Gross) and Elyse (Meredith Baxter) raised their three children—smart and conservative older brother Alex (Michael J. Fox), flighty and trendy middle kid Mallory (Justine Bateman) and sarcastic younger sister Jennifer (Tina Yothers)—with love, compassion and limits. Fox, whose job was introduced with all the collection, made Alex’s Republicanism humorous yet not cliched. The collection is still remembered for the very special episode, “A my name is Alex,“ where Alex struggled to accept the sudden death of his friend. Today family comedies continue to try to capture the magic that was Family Ties