#AEON CRUZ

[fullaccessdetroit]

MIND INCISION Releases Moving New Single, "The Awakening"!

Official Music Video for “The Awakening” to Release October 2023! New Bassist, JOEL KARSCHNER (THE CRIMSON RED) Announced! MIND INCISION has released their newest single, “The Awakening.” Continuing their socially responsible themes, “The Awakening” addresses the often ignored and misunderstood landscape of teen and adolescent mental health and suicide risk, and will be accompanied by a new…

[rockrevoltmagazine]

JASON NEIL (ARCANIUM) Set to Redefine Modern Metal with New Project, MIND INCISION!

Denver, CO based metal musician and front-man JASON NEIL, formerly of Arcanium, has brought together a new cast of some of the most creative characters with his newest heavy rock band, MIND INCISION! Formed in September 2022, MIND INCISION also includes lead guitarist JON MAGGARD, bassist AEON CRUZ (MOTOGRATER), rhythm guitarist KYLE LOUCKS, and drummer KELLY MORSE, making them a “super group” of…

[emptymasks]

After months of saying I'll finish these, they're finally done. Castlevania chibi stickers and badges are up on Etsy. There's three listings, one for the video game characters, one for the cartoon, and one for the cartoon sequel Nocturne. Making these stickers were a reward unlocked in mine and Julia_boo's donothon back in April.

Castlevania video game characters available: Aeon, Albus, Adrian 'Alucard' Tepes, Genya Arikado, Carmilla, Charlotte Aulin, Christopher Belmont, Cornell, Death, Vlad 'Dracula' Tepes, Elisabetha Cronqvist, Elizabeth Bartley, Eric Lecarde, Grant Danasty, Hector, Isaac Laforeze, Joachim Armster, John Morris, Jonathan Morris, Julia Laforeze, Julius Belmont, Juste Belmont, Leon Belmont, Lisa Tepes, Loretta Lecarde, Lucy Westenra, Maria Renard, Mathias Cronqvist, Maxim Kischine, Mina Hakuba, Nathan Graves, Reinhardt Schneider, Richter Belmont, Sara Trantoul, Shanoa, Simon Belmont, Soleil Belmont, Soma Cruz, Sonia Belmont, Stella Lecarde, Trevor Belmont, Walter Bernhard, Yoko Belnades.

Castlevania cartoon characters available: Abel, Adrian 'Alucard' Tepes, Carmilla, Death, Vlad 'Dracula' Tepes, Godbrand, Greta, Hector, Isaac, Lenore, Lisa, Morana, Striga, Sypha Belnades, Trevor Belmont, Varney.

Castlevania Nocturne characters available: Adrian 'Alucard' Tepes, Anette, Drolta Tzuentes, Edouard, Erzsebet Báthory, Julia Belmont, Juste Belmont, Maria Renard, Mizrak, Olrox, Richter Belmont, Tera.

I can’t link to my Etsy without risking Tumblr hiding the post from tag search results, but the link is in my pinned post, my carrd, I’m emptymasks on Etsy. Reblogs help support artists more than likes ❤️

[ID: Individual pixel art chibi drawings of 86 characters from various European musicals (listed above) that are available as stickers. These drawings are also available as badges where they are placed inside circles to show what they will look like as physical button badges, some of them with plain colour backgrounds and some with 1-3 different pride flags as examples of how you can customise the backgrounds.]

[msweebyness]

CLASS OF HEROES AU: CAST LIST

This is a list of all the characters currently assigned in my AU, it will be updated as I go along. As always, credit to @imsparky2002 and @artzychic27 for their support and help with this AU!

Marinette Dupain-Cheng- Fa Mulan

Adrien Agreste- Rapunzel

Alya Cesaire- Tiana

Nino Lahiffe- Fairy Godmother(brother)

Rose Lavillant- Belle

Juleka Couffaine- Beast/Prince Adam

Max Kante- Hiro Hamada

Le Chien Kim- Hercules

Alix Kubdel- Aladdin

Ivan Bruel- Quasimodo

Mylene Haprele- Snow White

Chloé Bourgeois- Anastasia Tremaine

Zoe Lee- Cinderella

Sabrina Raincomprix- Pinocchio

Nathaniel Kurtzberg- Aurora/Sleeping Beauty

Marc Anciel- Elsa

Ondine- Ariel

Kagami Tsurugi- Merida

Aurore Beaureal- The Blue Fairy

Mireille Caquet- Simba

Jean Duparc- Kuzco

Cosette Bellamy- Robaire

Denise Cabello- Wreck-It Ralph

Simon O’Connor- Peter Pan

Ismael Prisk- Genie

Reshma Leghari- Isabela Madrigal

Lacey Greene- Tinker Bell

Austin Tomassian- Jasmine

Lila Rossi- Ernesto de la Cruz

Felix Fathom- Cassandra Gothel

Markov- Baymax

Caline Bustier- Flora

Ms. Mendeliev- Yen Sid

Principal Damocles- Prince John

Sabine Cheng- Fa Zhou

Tom Dupain- Fa Li

Gina Dupain- Grandmother Fa

Gabriel Agreste- Mother Gothel

Nathalie Sancoeur & Emilie Agreste- Rulers of Corona

Marlena Cesaire- Eudora

Otis Cesaire- James (Tiana’s father)

Luka Couffaine- Julebeast’s brother, a Grand Piano due to the curse

Anarka Couffaine- Mrs. Potts/Julebeast’s Mother

Penny Rolling- Cogsworth/Julebeast’s stepmom

Jagged Stone- Lumiere/Julebeast’s father

Roger Raincomprix- Gepetto

Aya Kurtzberg- Queen Leah

Kiran Anciel- Anna

Penny & Alyssa Anciel- Rulers of Arendelle

Tomoe Tsurugi- King Fergus/Queen Eleanor of Dunbroch

Jessica Keynes- Pocahontas

Aeon Hill- WALL-E/EVE (Composite Character)

Austin Armbruster- Charlotte LaBeuff

Austin Quinlan- Moana

Austin Boulet- Winston Deavor

Audrey Bourgeois- Lady Tremaine

Sarah(Fred’s Producer)- Evil Queen

Manon Chamack- Vanellope Von Schweetz

Bob Roth- Hades

Alec Cataldi- Timon

Theo Barbot- Pumbaa

Jalil Kubdel- Abu

Clara Nightingale- Lead Muse

Amelie Graham De Vanily- Ursula

Grand Master Su Han- Arendelle Royal Advisor

Mr. XY- Gaston

Chung, Kang, and Jiao- Yao, Ling and Chien-Po

Fei Wu- Li Shang

Plagg- Mushu

Tikki- Cri Kee

Kaalki- Khan

Sass- Pascal

Xuppu- Pegasus

Nooroo- Jiminy Cricket

Duusu- Scuttle

Stompp- Hugo

Pollen- Victor

Wayzz- Laverne

Mullo- Jaq

Fluff- Gus

Longg- Angus

Roaar- Rajah

[victorianvivisection]

Top 5 Castlevania characters?

Soma Cruz

Mathias Cronqvist [and Dracula himself but yk]

Leon Belmont

Julis Belmont

Walter Bernhard

Honorable mentions [Characters I don’t know enough about/haven’t played the games of] in no specific order

Hector + Isaac

Cornell

Aeon

Shanoa

Trevor Belmont

[djarinova]

thank you so much for the tag @milky-aeons !!

people I would like to get to know better! <3

last song: technically champagne problems lo-fi version, im listening to it rn on yt

fav colour: green

last movie: sahara, w penelope cruz, matthew mcconaughey + steve zahn

currently watching: so many things oh my god, mostly my hero academia + criminal minds atm but I'm also part way through rewatching aot + jjk, and also watching gossip girl for the first time (but the last three have kinda been on the back burner recently haha)

sweet/spicy/savoury: savoury!! spicy is a near second though! + i love sweet stuff sm but I have weirdly sensitive teeth so I have trouble eating it regularly:((

relationship status: taken!! for 2.5 years hehe(love my boyf so much:(( he's my guy forever)

current obsession: trying to stick to the fitness health challenge I've set myself! + making my selfship posts + basically just anything to do with smaus or tumblr themes haha

last thing I googled: exercising in line with your menstrual cycle

this kind of game is so fun so I hope my moots don't mind he tagging them hehe!! @jlinns @tempe-brennans @thephantomtheory @nasa-parker @kurooscopy @gojoath @stevebabey

[castlephantom]

Day 9 Soma Cruz, Day 10 Shanoa, Day 11 Carmilla, Day 12 Eric Lecarde and Day 13 Aeon chapters are posted.

[passionthatmoves]

How is awe evoked? [Abraham Joshua] Heschel argued that Jewish rituals are conducive to awe: there are blessings that orthodox Jews utter at particular occasions, for example, when you see a rainbow, or notice the first tenuous blossoms on fruit trees, or meet a wise person, or hear good news. [...] The repetition of ritual practices trains our minds and bodies to respond with awe and wonder to the world around us. By uttering a blessing, you become more attuned to how precious and fleeting these things are. For Heschel, rituals are not a form of adjusting yourself to the world. They are the opposite: they are about maladjustment: ‘Wonder or radical amazement, the state of maladjustment to words and notions, is therefore a prerequisite for an authentic awareness of that which is.’ Conceived this way, Jewish rituals are an antidote to falling into ruts. They drive us out of our dull complacency, and help us to see the world in a new light.

Helen De Cruz, ‘The Necessity of Awe’ (July, 2020) Aeon Magazine

[the-kings-tail-fin]

Hello! If you don’t mind, can u do a Jackson and Cruz fic where Jackson was tricked into drinking a truth potion and he doesn’t realize it until he blurts out that Cruz isn’t that bad of a racer?

Truth potion - A.K.A. booze.

Talladega sees the best of times, and it also sees the worst of times. Sometimes, it’s hard to tell which category a certain event falls in.

“I’m not pillow-fighting Cruz in front of hundreds of fans. That’s not professional.”

Ray blinked. “Do you think this is a place to be ‘professional’? Storm, this is ‘Dega - this is the exception. You know this. Besides, aren’t you always looking for a new way to one-up her?”

Jackson sighed in aggravation, the exhalation of air echoing in the half-empty glass before him.

“Yes, but - “

“No ‘buts’, Storm. Just go have fun. It doesn’t mean anything.”

“But she’ll stomp me!”

“What?”

“Have you seen her, Gus? She coaches fitness routines for fun. Who does that? Who enjoys fitness? Why do you think she’s so good on the track? That’s why. She’s gonna beat me to a pulp.”

Ray’s mouth formed a hard line. Shouldn’t have ordered that second round. 

Behind Storm, a couple hundred yards off, a flash of yellow passed through the infield gates.

“Here. You’re already scheduled. I cleared it with race officials. Check Twitter - your fans are expecting you.”

Ray threw a heavy down pillow at Storm as Cruz approached.

“Hey there, Jackson!” she chirped as she snuck up behind him. “Ready to get beat?”

Don’t let her see you scared.

Jackson took his drink, chugged what was left, and turned to Cruz. She seemed surprised at the sudden ingestion of mild poison.

“You’re goin’ down, sunshine.”

Cruz just smiled.

[pressuremadediamonds]

Magical spells and incantations don’t change the physical environment, but they change our world, by shifting our desires and hopes. Similarly, emotions change our outlook and how we engage with the world.  [...] Applying this idea to scientific practice, Van Fraassen argues that scientists draw on their emotions when dealing with new, bewildering ideas, especially those that sprout up during scientific revolutions. If the paradigm is faltering, scientists need to change the way they view the world – and this requires that they change themselves. Scientists need to transform both who they are and what they know. [...]  Imagine a scientist who knows the latest research techniques, and who is intelligent and analytical. If she lacks curiosity, awe and other epistemic emotions, she won’t have the drive to become a good scientist, who can change her mind on the basis of evidence, explore new hypotheses or pay attention to unexpected results.

Helen De Cruz, ‘The Necessity of Awe’ (July, 2020) Aeon Magazine

[fullaccessdetroit]

MIND INCISION Releases Official Music Video for "Zero230"!

Colorado based metal band MIND INCISION has released the official music video for their single, “Zero230”! Directed by Luke Ostermiller at Loste Films Studios, the video was produced by Loste Films Studios and Mind Incision, and stars Derek Peters (active duty US Army). War film featured in the video was provided by Derek Peters, Dean Schafer, and Anthony Notaro. Produced by DAVE…

[rockrevoltmagazine]

MIND INCISION Unveils New Single, "Zero Two Thirty"!

Denver, CO based, metal band MIND INCISION has released their new single, “Zero230”! Produced by DAVE OTERO at Flatline Audio, “Zero230” is off of the band’s upcoming, debut EP, The First Cut. “‘Zero230’ is inspired by soldiers who are suffering from PTSD or anyone that knows someone who is or has suffered in the past. In this song we talk about how a soldier wakes up in the middle of the night…

[luthienne]

hello! I hope you are having a good day :) you’re one of my favorite poetry blogs!

I have a bit of an odd request: collection of poetry about moths? the bugs? serious, silly, doesn’t matter. thank you so much! the stuff you collect is so beautiful <3

lisel mueller, second language: poems; “after whistler”

I am moonlight and moth flight, owl wing and wonder. I am flutter and flicker, last glimmer of twilight, first shimmer of starlight. I will take wing and dance in the shadow of moonbeams, for you my beloved, for you.

brian froud, faeries’ tales

nikki giovanni, from “poem (for ema)”

stig dagerman, a moth to a flame (burnt child) (trans. benjamin mier-cruz)

Your face shone / the first safe beacon I had ever seen. / I held on to that light / as a moth that knows night is coming / chooses to burn.

natalie wee, from ‘close encounters (for braidon schaufert), our bodies & other fine machines (x) 

rebecca lindenberg, excerpt of “love, an index”, from love, an index

Clouds are not only vapor, but shape, mobility, silky sacks of nourishing rain. The pear orchard is not only profit, but a paradise of light. The luna moth, who lives but a few days, sometimes only a few hours, has a pale green wing whose rim is like a musical notation. Have you noticed?

mary oliver, excerpt of “musical notation: 1”, in thirst

I could not ask her, she could not tell me why something had once made her weep. Had made her cover up her mouth and eyes in the slow work of the moth fed on white mulberry leaves. Had made her say: from now on daylight be black- and-white and menial in-betweens and let the distances be made of silk. My distances were made of grit and the light rain throws away in the hour between planets. And rush-hour traffic. My keys were ready.  

What she knew was gone and what I wanted to know she had never known: the moment her sorrow entered marble -   the exact angle of the cut at which the sculptor made the medium remember its own ordeal in the earth, the aeons crushing and instructing it until it wept itself into inches, atoms of change. Above all, whether she flinched as the chisel found that region her tears inferred, where grief and its emblems are inseparable.

eavan boland, in a time of violence; "the art of grief”

Goodnight now. I am so sleepy — I feel like a moth, with heavy scarlet eyes and a soft cape of down — a moth about to settle in a sweet bush . . . Would it were — ah, but that’s improper.

virginia woolf, in a letter to vita sackville-west [6 march 1928]

[riylcast]

On 500 Episodes

Happy New Year. In 2013, I felt something missing. It was a longing for the hours spent DJing on Santa Cruz radio. Long music marathons – six-hour shows on Saturdays, filling in over the summer and on holidays, popping into the station overnight for something a touch more experimental. I reached out to a few friends in radio, attempting to gauge how difficult it might be to find my way back onto the public airwaves. There was no satisfying answer that didn’t involve me leaving New York City, so I went back to podcasting. I’d already cohosted maybe 10 shows (I’ve genuinely lost count), but nothing stuck for too long. iTunes is littered with my abandon podcasting projects – at least in the case of those where the hosting server is still active. RiYL was my first podcasting project with real longevity, eight-plus years and 500 episodes later. The name has been a mixed blessing – I still find myself having to explain it to anyone I meet who didn’t also do college radio. The idea for the show was simple: long form interviews with as few of the podcast trappings as possible. All the complaints from people who fast-forward through self-indulgent intro monologues made me wonder if we couldn’t just cut the intro altogether. Turns out you can pretty much do whatever you want in podcast. I would only record an outro – and even that would fall by the wayside, after a bout with Bell’s Palsy last year (not fully healed, but getting there) that put the show on its first-ever extended hiatus. RiYL started with a series of remote interviews: Peter Stampfel and Mary Roach – two guests who have recently returned to show as we approached episode 500 (though Mary, to be fair, returned a few other times in the interim). I eventually jury-rigged a portable recording system small enough to live in a laptop sleeve, packed away in a backpack or a suitcase for work travel. For years, I refused to do any interviews that weren’t in-person, though Covid would put a stop to that. It continues to amaze me who we’ve been able to get for the show over the past six years. Congressman John Lewis, Bruce Hornsby, Marc Maron, Matt Groening, Rivers Cuomo, Daniel Clowes, Art Spiegelman, Alison Bechdel, Eric Bogosian, Peter Frampton, Suzanne Vega, Errol Morris and Ralph Nader. And recently, people like Shirley Manson, Danny Elfman, Merry Clayton and Dar Williams. We’ve had people at the top of their game and up-and-coming artists, like Phoebe Bridgers who was just on the verge of releasing her first album. For each hundredth episode, I’ve tried to get someone whose work has meant a lot to me. For episode 100, it was They Might Be Giants, Al Jaffee for 200, Michael McDonald on 300. Episode 400 with Colin Newman of Wire was recorded backstage at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on March 11, 2020. It turned out to be one of the final in-person episodes I’ve recorded to-date. Friend of the show and past guest Dan Kennedy recorded an intro for it, due to the aforementioned facial paralysis. (Incidentally, I recently did my first in-person interview in nearly two years with Kevin Whelan of the Wrens and Aeon Station. It’s a good one, just went up.) Over the years, I’ve recorded in bars, offices, coffee shops, storage rooms and maintenance closets (atop a box of vodka bottles for Shannon Shaw). I recorded an interview with John Leguizamo standing up in an unfurnished warehouse space at the Javits Center during New York Comic Con. I interviewed Ben Harper and his mother, Ellen, in the lobby of the Ritz Carlton, a few weeks before Mother’s Day. Hannibal Buress knocked on my hotel door in Lagos, Nigeria after a long, late night to record a conversation with microphones mounted on an upside-down suitcase. Keith Morris was vertical for most of our interview because he’d just injured his back. A Dick Gregory (RIP) interview was recorded in the back of a jostling taxi ride on the way to Penn Station, as I grew increasingly car sick. I ran with his suitcase and got him to his train just in the nick of time, shook his hand, made my way above ground and proceeded to puke my guts out on the sidewalk outside of Madison Square Garden. If you follow me on social media, you know how much I’ve been stressing out about episode 500. It was important that I find someone amazing – and I’m happy to report that I did just that with Nick Lowe. I’ve been transfixed by the man and his music for decades now, ever since I first encountered “So It Goes” on some power-pop compilation. It’s a good interview with someone I admire greatly, and I think I show a lot of restraint by not shouting “they were on the show!” when he mentions forgotten pub rock pioneers Eggs Over Easy. And while, during hard times, I have considered packing it in after some round number, I have so many upcoming interviews, I won’t be able to quit any time soon. The list includes Naomi Yang, Buzz Osborne, David Christian/Feck, Rutu Modan, David Thomas, Oliver Ackermann, Mark Oliver Everett, Josh Caterer, Buffalo Nichols, Melanie Charles, Kurt Heasley, and Lester Chambers. And there are still so many people I’d love to interview (only two of five Kids in the Hall?!) – or interview again. Thanks to everyone who’s listened, subscribed, rated and shared the show. Thanks to anyone who’s ever helped me book or promote an episode. Thanks to Brian and Geneva for editing help early on and thanks to Mark and Boing Boing crew for asking me to join the network after a few shows. Taken as a whole, RiYL is the thing I’m proudest of in my career. These have been some of the best conversations I’ve had in my life, and I’m happy I get to share them with you each week. Here’s episode 500 with Nick Lowe. I hope you like it. 

[luxurylives]

Missing Pieces Part 6

Pairing: No pairing  

Book(s): Ride or Die: A Bad Boy Romance               

Word Count: 2,363

Rating: T (Mild language)

Summary: Ellie and Toby find Colt; Logan and Vanessa come to an agreement. 

Author’s Note: Part Six! I’ll wait to post the rest on the last day 😊 Pixelberry Studios owns the characters. The De la Cruz family is from High School Story (I chose first names for Bartholomew's parents). Thank you so much to those who read!

 Tagging: @liam-rhys @desireepow-1986 @mfackenthal @rodappreciationweek @brightpinkpeppercorn @leelee10898 @choicesarehard @client-327

A lot was riding on tonight, Logan was in trouble, Colt was up to something, and someone was after the Mercy Park Crew. The only thing Ellie felt was fear and uncertainty, lately, she had begun to wonder what her life would have been like if she never got involved with the Mercy Park Crew. However, the answer to that has remained a mystery. 

“Ximena sent me a text, she just arrived at Lilac Palm”.

Ellie snapped out of her thoughts and turned to Toby who fell into step beside her. “Good, where is this club anyway?”

“Just up ahead,” Toby said. 

Soon they arrived at a building in an alley with a few people standing around. As Toby approached the door, a man from the nearby group approached Ellie.  

“You look familiar”.

Ellie swallowed as she turned to face him, he looked identical to Detective Wallace. “I— “. 

“Did you used to bartend at the Ostrich Garage?” 

“Oh...no sorry” Ellie answered calmly. 

“My bad” the man backed away to join the group he was with earlier. 

“Ellie,” Toby said. 

Ellie turned to see Toby standing in the doorway of the club and quickly walked over to join him. As they crossed the threshold, thick, smoky air greeted them along with the sounds of upbeat Latin music. Many patrons flocked to the dance floor while others sat at their tables smoking and drinking. 

“Full house,” Ellie said as she took in the vibrant atmosphere. 

“If you think this is full, then you should see this place when Matt Rodriguez shows up, it is packed”. 

Ellie gripped Toby’s arm and motioned her head towards the bar. “Look”.

Toby averted his eyes and his eyes widened. “There’s no way…but why?”  

Both of them watched in complete shock as Vicente approached Colt. After a moment of speaking, they retreated to a back room.

“What the hell is doing?” Toby asked worriedly. 

Before Ellie could respond, she watched two burly men take their place on both sides of the door. “We’re about to find out”. 

“You can’t be serious, running off to Detroit? Especially now?”

“I know someone that I can stay with until things cool down”. 

“Just you?”

Logan sighed and shook his head. “Look, we have to split up”.

“Well, I think that is the worst thing we could do right now”.

“Vanessa, Javier knows we are in Massachusetts and for all we know, he could be in Birchport too”. 

“Logan, you cannot keep running! And I’ll be damned if I get sucked further into this black hole you and your friends created! My parents have a summer house in Nantucket, we can go there and hideout. I’ll call my Dad and tell him what is going on, we can get you a lawyer— “.

Logan shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. “No”.

“Logan!”

“Vanessa, too many people are involved in this already. I can take you to Nantucket but after that, I am going to Detroit…alone”.

Vanessa stared at him, only this time, really seeing him. 

“We need to split up”.

“Aren’t you supposed to meet Ellie?”

“I’ll just have to postpone that until the dust settles”.

“And if it doesn’t?”

Logan shrugged and gazed out the window. “I’ll figure it out”.

Vanessa shook her head, there was no point in arguing with him and deep down she knew Logan was right. Javier was after him, not her so it was best if they split up now. “So when do you want to leave?”

“We’ll sneak out during the barbeque”.

“You’re going to need transportation to Detroit so keep the car, I’ll come up with something to tell my grandparents,” Vanessa said. 

Logan stared at her quizzically. “They won’t suspect anything?”

“You’re looking at the girl who went streaking on a public beach while intoxicated, they’ll draw their conclusions first and ask questions later”. 

“Alright, with that said…are you ready?”

“Now or never”.

Logan walked over to his bag and began packing while Vanessa entered the bedroom to do the same.

 “How are we going to get close to them?” 

Ellie’s eyes swept over the crowded club and towards the guarded door. “Well, there’s only two of us...maybe one of us could distract the guards?”

“Eh...” Toby’s voice trailed off as he looked at the burly men near the door. “Got any other ideas?”

Ellie turned to see the man who approached her earlier, enter the club and head towards the bar. After exchanging a few words with the bartender, he began walking in their direction. 

“Toby, forgive me”.

“What?”

Ellie mustered up all of her strength and shoved Toby, who lost his balance and collided with the man she met earlier who stumbled into a nearby group of people. 

“What the hell is the matter with you? Watch where you’re going!”

Toby stared at the man for a second but then saw the altercation caught the attention of the men guarding the door. 

“How about you watch where you’re going!”

The man stepped up to Toby and shoved him, who shoved back. Suddenly, both men guarding the door left their post to intervene. 

Ellie maneuvered around a few people and slipped through the door, only to find herself in a small hallway. 

Bzzzz bzzzzzzz

Ellie quickly answered her phone as she neared a room with the door cracked. “Hello?”

“It’s Ximena, look I’m at Lilac Palm but it's dead…that Vicente guy isn’t here…”.

“He’s at the club, whatever is going on he is in on it too”.

Ximena sighed and shook her head. “Okay, I’ll head over, it’s close by, right?”.

“Yea but hurry, I had to think fast, and I may have complicated things”.

“Got it,” Ximena said and hung up. 

Ellie crouched behind some crates and boxes nearby as she leaned towards the door. 

 Colt Kaneko casually took a sip of his beer as Vicente narrowed his eyes at him. Ever since the Mercy Park Crew had split up, he was hellbent on continuing the legacy his father created. However, doing so from scratch was no small feat. 

Luckily, he was able to track down Mona, and together they decided to infiltrate and conquer. He figured, what better way to do this than to go after the people his father had unfinished business with? He’d be making an even bigger name for himself and continue his father’s legacy. 

“I just got word from David that Logan is in Boston”.

“Good, you can thank me for tracking down Zoe and Rita and passing that information to him anytime,” Colt said. 

“Hm, we’ll see about that” Vicente took a sip of his beer and slid his phone back into his pocket. 

“Look, I want to know if we have a deal? You know where Logan is, and I gave you all the information that I have on Mona”. 

Vicente stroked his chin and gave Colt a dubious once-over. “What about Toby, Ximena, and Ellie?” 

Colt slid a folder towards them. “Still working on tracking down Ellie but here’s where I last saw both of them”.

Vicente opened the folder and began sifting through Colt’s notes. 

“Well?”

“I’m suspicious Kaneko, you aren’t like your father, not sure what to expect with you. I will wait until Ace gets here”. 

Before Colt could respond a man, a few years older than him, sauntered into the room. Colt looked up from his seat and instantly recognized him, Bartholomew “Ace” de la Cruz from the Crimson Santos. 

“Sorry got held up, Vicente your guys told me there was a fight out there”.

“I’ll check it out once we’re done here”.

Bartholomew turned his attention to Colt and gave him a quick once-over. “Teppei Kaneko’s son, in the flesh. So what do you have for us?”

“I have notes on Toby and Ximena and Vicente was just telling me Logan is in Boston”.

Vicente passed the notes to Bartholomew who began skimming the pages and eyeing the photographs. 

“Nothing on Mona?” Batholomew asked as he looked up at Colt.

“No,” Colt said. “Besides, she was working with the Brotherhood, do you want to deal with someone like that?”

Bartholomew exchanged a look with Vicente before turning his attention back to Colt. “Are you familiar with ‘Walang Wa’?”

“So you’re schooling me now?”

“I don’t think you’re in the position to be a smart-ass,” Vicente said. 

“No I want to hear this, have you heard the phrase or no?”

“No” Colt answered sharply. 

“It means no mercy,” Bartholomew said. “It is also the motto of the Crimson Santos”.

With a stoic expression, Colt simply nodded his head. “Alright”.

“And what we will show you if you are playing a game here”.

Colt shrugged and shook his head. “I just want us to work together”. 

“I think we need to recap since your memory is shit, Kaneko. Teppei stole two cars from my father years ago, which caused a lot of problems— “. 

“Couldn’t have done too much damage, I hear, Cesar and Althea are doing fine with the B&B”.

Bartholomew took a deep breath and silently counted back from ten. “As I said, your father stole the 67 Komoda and the 54 Aeon SX from us, but he didn’t stop there, he tipped off a P.I. and we ended up having a mole problem”.

Colt stared back and squared his shoulders. 

“My father was only able to do so much with that…hence why he is in Massachusetts and now I oversee things here. Now, the Mente Kings...Vicente, do you care to elaborate?”

“Sure, I guess Teppei never told you about a drifting competition in Tokyo?”

“Pop mentioned it was against some guy from Las Mente” Colt answered coolly. 

“Hm, well that guy was Felix Curbelo, my brother” Vicente said. “Your father cheated and stole fifteen thousand from us. Once Felix got back to the states, interestingly enough, we also began to have a mole problem”.

Colt’s jaw worked as he eyed both men sitting across from him. 

“Javier and Ace played soccer at Terman U. Imagine my surprise when he came home to visit and told me the Mente Kings and Crimson Santos had something in common—Teppei Kaneko and the Mercy Park Crew”. 

“I get it, you’re pissed which is why I want to resolve this. I can find Ellie and easily bring her to you and believe or not, what’s in that folder should be enough for each of your guys to find Ximena and Toby”. 

An eerie silence swept through the room as Vicente, Bartholomew, and Colt engaged in an intense stare-down. 

“And you want cars and some money to get started?”

“Yeah, do what you want with them and all three of us can work together. Run this city, who knows? Maybe takeover”. 

“Hm, as nice as it would be to inflict pain on the LAPD, I’m no longer interested,” Vicente said.

Colt bit his lip, usually, he was more confident, but now he felt backed into a corner. 

Bzzzz bzzzzzzz

“That would be me” Bartholomew pulled out his phone and immediately a smiled appeared on his face. 

“Good news?” Vicente asked.  

“My old man just confirmed Logan is at their B&B. David and Javier are heading over there now”.

“Alright, so you have Logan”.

Bartholomew bit his lip and shook his head. “Alright, Kaneko here’s what we’re going to do. I’ll have my guys follow up on Ximena and Toby”.

“And I’ll tell David, Javier, and the new girl to bring Logan in,” Vicente said. 

“But we still don’t have Mona and Ellie,” Bartholomew said as he tapped his fingers on the table. 

“As I said, I will bring Ellie to you and trust me, you do not need Mona” Colt replied. 

“I’m holding you to it” Bartholomew answered sternly. 

Colt shook his hands with both men and exited the room. As soon as he was in the main area of the club, he pulled out his phone and texted Mona.

I just spoke with Ace and Vicente. David and Javier are taking you to a B&B owned by Ace’s parents. That’s where Logan is. You know what to do. 

Within minutes Mona replied to his text. 

Got it. I hope you’re right about this. Not comfortable infiltrating the Mente Kings and screwing with that Filipino gang in the process. One of my ex-girlfriends did some work for them, they are not to be played with.

As Colt passed by the crates and boxes, he typed out a reply. 

Look it's easy, you bring Logan in. Once all of us are together we overthrow and take what is rightfully ours. I know what I am doing. 

Back in the room, an eerie silence swept through the air as Bartholomew and Vicente sat drinking their beers, both deep in thought. 

“Were you buying any of his crap?” Vicente turned to Bartholomew. “I mean this is Teppei Kaneko’s kid we’re talking about”.

Bartholomew set his bottle down and shook his head. “My thoughts exactly, I trust him about as far as I can throw him”.

Vicente took another sip and set his bottle down. “You know a few weeks ago, this chick joined the Mente Kings, goes by the name ‘Gwen’, good driver, fast and reliable…but something about her doesn’t sit right with me”.

“What does she look like?”

Vicente pulled out his phone and passed it to Bartholomew who started laughing. 

“What’s so funny?”

“That’s the chick from the Mercy Park Crew. Shaw told me about her while we were playing cards one night. I bet she and Kaneko are up to something”.

Vicente tossed his phone on the table. “Maldita sea”.

“Let me guess, you sent her to Massachusetts with Javier and David”.

Vicente silently tapped his fingers on the side of his bottle and shook his head. “Kaneko is up to something…what should we do?”

Bartholomew set his bottle and turned towards Vicente. “We kill them”. 

As soon as Ellie heard the words, she crawled out of her hiding place and scurried towards the exit, she had to find Ximena and Toby and fast. 

[typhlonectes]

What wrapping a rope around the Earth reveals about the limits of human intuition

If you tied a rope tight around the Earth’s equator and then added a single yard of slack, would the extra material make any noticeable difference to someone standing on the ground? Yes, actually.

The answer comes as a surprise to most people, but the additional bit of rope raises it high enough off the ground for our eyes to easily discern it, and our feet to easily trip over. That fact might seem trivial, but the early 20th-century philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein believed that this chasm between human intuition and physical reality revealed something important about the fallibility of our thinking.

After all, if something that seems obvious to almost everyone can be totally false, what else might we be wrong about?

This video from the Center for Public Philosophy at the University of California, Santa Cruz breaks down the mathematics behind Wittgenstein’s knotty example, and asks whether it should make us all feel a bit less certain about even our most deeply held beliefs.

via: Aeon Videos