#Got bored and wanted to draw some storyline thing

[1423nam]

Yandere! Xavier.

You’ve managed to gain Xavier’s trust enough to let you leave his home. Now, under a watchful eye, you’ve returned to the base after a sudden ambush by ‘wanderers’. However, it doesn’t take long for your friends to realise something about the situation isn’t right.

When was Xavier and you so… close?

1/?

[yzafre]

who wore it better – 2003 v 2012 episode comparisons

I said I wanted to do this in my 2003 thoughts post, and I’m gonna. I've been picking away at this for a couple weeks now.

I’m focusing on places where they actually recycled a storyline rather than adapted general concepts.  Fugitoid and the space arc is an example of the second method – Robot Scientist with a connection to a Dangerous Machine is a shared concept, but the stories are different.

“Ohhh how did we end up here we’ve GOT to figure out how to get home, our Dad might still be in danger” versus “we HAVE to collect the McGuffins before the enemy or earth is going to EXPLODE. AGAIN.” You know?

Comparing those types of adaptations could be done, but it’s not what I’m interested in here.  I specifically want to look at the places that made me think “oh, 2012 just copied this” while I was watching 2003.

Now, obviously this is extremely subjective.  So take this as me defending my nominations for winner in these categories, rather than some sort of objective truth.  I am presenting my dinky power-point on why you should vote for my favorites.  Ect.  Your preferences may be different!

My ramblings on the episodes got long (should I have split this into parts? maybe! didn't though), so uhhhh...

tl;dr: Scoring got weird at 3.5 to 2003, 3 to 2012, and two draws.

Key takeaways: 2003 better matches my personal tastes, and what makes 2012 good is the stuff specific to its iteration, rather than copying 2003

With all that taken care of, here’s my opinions, in very messy order.

Meet Casey Jones vs The Good, The Bad and the Casey Jones

So, this was the very first episode that made me sit back and go: wait.  This is just.  The same thing? 

Raph loses a fight, loses his temper violently over it.  He then goes out to get some air and runs into Casey, getting into a fight.  Raph goes back and apologizes to his brother, and then they have to deal with the Casey situation.  Eventually they’re friends.

That being said, they do handle things a bit differently inside of those plot points, in a way that makes me very split on which one is better.

So, this episode is doing two things: introducing Casey (at least to the turtles, in 2012’s case), and spotlighting Raph’s anger issues, and the shows handle both of them differently.  So let's look at them:

Raph and his anger

I want to start with the positioning of the episode within the wider series.

This is the 4th episode of 2003.  At this point, they’re still setting up the characters and your understanding of them – so this is really here to say hey, our Raph has a temper, that’s going to be a thing going forward. (I'm watching '87 right now, and while I've heard Raph gets more of his anger late in the series, at the beginning he is... not that. So signaling this for people who might have watched the previous show is valid.)

After this, I don’t remember there being other episodes that are Explicitly About Raph’s anger issues?  That’s not to say there aren’t any – there very well could’ve been some that were just so boring I don’t remember them, which would be a whole other issue – but what I remember of him being, to quote the show, a “hot-head” is integrated into other stories.

For 2012, this is nearly halfway through season 2, and is one of 3 episodes I can think of off the top of my head that at least start out framed as a lesson on Raph’s anger issues.  (The one with the guy that turns into a spider mutant, this one, and…. Okay so I don’t remember the details but I’m Pretty Sure I remember there being another one post-space arc).

Now, in theory this is good – having a sort of long-term journey recurring throughout the series.  In practice… eh. 

This is very subjective, but from the way the topic was constantly put on the shelf until they wanted to use it for an episode, to the way it was all extremely surface level and used mostly for jokes, it didn’t do much for me.

That aside, let’s look at the content of the episode itself:

Raph's anger issues have two different tones here.

2003 Raph’s snapping at Mikey is framed a lot more seriously – and a lot more dangerously – than 2012 Raph going at Leo.  And, accordingly, ‘03 Raph is a lot more horrified at his actions, whereas ‘12 Raph is more petulant, unwilling to fully own up to his mistake.

That carries over to when they’re “getting some air” - ‘03 Raph is blatantly angry with himself, where ‘12 is complaining about his brother’s not getting it.  I do think some of that frustration with himself is buried underneath, but it's interesting to note the difference between how aware of it they are. (Of course, ‘12 also didn’t try to brain his brother over the head with a metal pipe.  So.)

The two different versions also shifted what they chose to have “spelled out” versus implied.  What I mean is.... okay, so ‘03 had Raph explicitly say “What is wrong with me” – that frustration with himself I mentioned earlier – where it’s kind of buried underneath for ‘12.

On the other hand, ‘12 Raph flat out says he wasn’t angry, just “determined to win,” when explaining himself to Splinter, whereas with ‘03 the reasoning comes from Raph’s “You think you’re better than me?” line during the fight (and a bit of Mikey’s taunting, the menace), allowing you to (very easily, let's be real, I don't know that you can really count this as subtext) connect the dots on how it escalated.

So, that leads to their fight with Casey – where they both get carried away, before coming to their senses and questioning what they’re doing (and subsequently getting surprise-attacked).  The difference here is that ‘03, upon calming down, went back to trying to talk some sense into Casey (using the lessons he’s obviously trying to absorb himself), while to me ‘12 Raph just kinda seemed disoriented by it all?

Which. Fair.

Next step: the apology.  VERY different receptions.  The ‘03 brothers greet Raph with worry and care, and take his apology quietly and warmly, whereas for ‘12 they act like this is another Tuesday, a bit dismissive, and tease and taunt him through his apology.  I’m not trying to disparage the ‘12 turtles here – not exactly – more so observing the difference in tone once more.

When people say the ‘03 turtles feel older, I think this is a huge part of it – the ‘12 turtles’ behavior feels very “stupid teenager”.  And I mean that in a genuine, fairly affectionate way.  I remember being that age, I was dumb.  You don’t know how to handle all these strong feelings, you have no impulse control. Also around 2012 I remember being genuine being deeply uncool, so. But ‘03 are demonstrating a higher level of emotional maturity, compared to that, and it does make them feel older.

Anyways, after that you get the reunion with Casey, having very different tones.  ‘03 purposefully tries to reach out and rehabilitate help Casey get himself under control, whereas ‘12 diverges into a surprise attack by the Foot where Raph and Casey bicker their way into teamwork.

Overall, ‘03 takes a more... introspective? Approach to Raph’s anger, where ‘12 flickers between being slightly emotional and using the situation for humor or cool action scenes – it feels like setup for an arc that I never felt we got satisfying payoff for.

For my tastes, I think I prefer ‘03 for the Raph part of the episode, if only because it remains thematically cohesive till the end.  From start to finish, Raph is trying to impart the lesson he wants to learn to Casey.  With 12, it feels like the “Raph’s anger issues” thread got a bit lost/abandoned in building up the Raph-Casey dynamic.

Speaking of...

Casey Jones

I think ‘12 is the better Casey intro episode.  There, I said it.

I know, I know!  It’s not technically where we meet Casey, we already saw him interacting with April (also scenes I like), but... although having finished 2003 I think ‘03 has the better overall Casey (mostly because they give him like. Actual personal connections to the world), ‘12 has the better initial burst of character, in my opinion.

His little intro monologue is so stupid, and I love it.  The skates and the little taser-gloves he obviously put together himself (and the fact that we only got one episode of Donnie and Casey bonding over this kind of engineering is criminal???).

The initiative to follow Raph down, his reactions to Splinter, the entire subway tunnel chase scene, where his and Raph’s rapport is building up... it’s good stuff!  I like it!  Maybe there’s a bit less depth in some places – we don’t get the personal connection with the Purple Dragons, how it ties back to his family – but his character voice, his initiative and impulsivity, and his creativity all come through.

It’s such a shame they didn’t do more to add to his character throughout the series in ‘12, because he had a fantastic early showing.  But then, that series didn’t seem interested in doing that for any of their characters, to me.  Sigh.

But... just looking at the episode itself, I'd give the Casey have to 2012.

So... draw?  Great way to start off, I know.

Shredder Strikes Back vs The Invasion (or: Leo gets thrown through a window)

So, this is a tough competition, we’re gonna have to take this point by point, I mean -

2012.  It’s 2012.  Are you kidding me.

Okay, look.  2012 already has an advantage just on moving this from halfway through season 1 to the season 2 finale, but, I mean... come on.

With 2003, there was barely any build up with the Shredder.  We’d seen him sort of being in charge of the various villains since early on – but the turtles didn’t see that!  For them, he showed up, tricked Leo, Splinter gave some back story, they fought and then Splinter seemingly killed him.  It just... wasn’t that dramatic? To me??

So when you have Leo thrown through the window, whispering “he’s back”, I was just like... I see no reason for this level of dread.  It doesn’t feel that personal, or important, or.... anything, really.  I know 2003 came first, but having watched 2012 beforehand this was kind of a letdown.  Didn’t feel earned.

Now, 2012 on the other hand....

Shredder has been a constant, ever-increasing threat since the moment he showed up in Season 1.  It was already personal with Splinter, yes, but then he also became a subject of looming dread for the turtles themselves.  And it doesn’t come out of nowhere. 

Like, yes, we, the viewers, were aware 2003 Shredder survived, but otherwise he was just hanging out off-screen, doing who knows what.  He wasn’t on the mind.  2012, on the other hand, showed the way Shredder was slowly amassing power, planning for something.

And then you add the Kraang on top of it.

Like, seriously, making this a two-prong threat is. Mwah!  The boys are falling apart, stressed by the time-limit of the upcoming Kraang invasion, disagreeing on how to handle it.  And then the argument gets cut short by their home being discovered – they don’t even get a chance to choose their path together, because they have to run, and everything’s chaos, and they’re still focused on the Kraang.

And that’s when the Shredder comes in.

This is insult on top of injury with everything going wrong that possibly could.  This is an immaculate payoff to the set-up they’ve been doing all season. This is fantastic.

And when Leo is thrown through the window, you feel it – the dread, the horror, the regret.  It really feels like the breaking point of “we can’t take any more” that leads to them retreating.  It has a weight to it that 2003’s version was sorely missing.

When it comes to Leo getting thrown through a window, 2012 takes the win, hands down.  The stakes, the drama, and my investment are all so much higher than they were in ‘03, no contest, it’s my favorite part of ‘12.

What comes after, on the other hand....

Tales of Leo + The Monster Hunter vs Season 3a (or, the Farmhouse Arc)

Maybe it’s unfair to compare 2 episodes to 8 episodes.  And maybe this is diverging from my “only episodes that are directly connected” rule I stated in the beginning, but I need to get this off my chest.  Because I just.  I’m not impressed by 2012’s farmhouse arc. 

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Warning: rant ahead, this is VERY subjective and heavily based in my personal tastes.  Reminder that I do genuinely enjoy 2012, I just think the farmhouse arc is the lowest point in the whole series and is representative of what I find to be the weakest aspect of the series’ writing across the board.  That being said.

I see what 2012 was trying to do, by drawing out Leo’s recovery over all those episodes, giving the characters some space to breathe.  But they didn’t do it well in my opinion, and honestly the whole thing.  Flounders. 

2012’s best feature is its plot writing, how one episode tumbles into the next, Rube Goldberg machine-style, across an entire season.  But at the farmhouse, they’re removed from the greater plot, and that’s not doing the writing any favors.

And it’s not that the episode ideas are bad – I generally think they’re pretty interesting!  It’s just that without the inter-connected plot, they need something else to push them from “okay” to “exceptional”.  Usually, this would be where deeper characterization and relationship building would kick in instead, but uh.  I don’t personally think 2012 is great at that.

They under-cut the message of the episode with Big Foot, the Casey and Donnie friendship doesn’t really go anywhere after this, every other episode where inter-personal issues are only dealt with on a very surface level become even more obvious and a bit annoying without the greater plot to distract from it. Yes I know this is a kids show, but A:tlA had already finished airing at this point, also on Nickelodeon.

I think there’s a consistent issue with character writing in 2012 where they do what looks like set-up with no intent to ever give a meaningful pay-off or significantly change the status-quo, and that’s very much on display here.

And it’s not that there was nothing good in the season – I liked what they were doing with Raph, and how he was trying to help/encourage Leo, while somewhat bungling it in very realistic ways.  It was a fascinating look at what this Raph acting at his best as the Lancer trope could be, and I genuinely wish they leaned into it more later down the line.

Also, I’m always thrilled to see the Leo-April friendship get some focus, so Eyes of the Chimera was a favorite.  But across the board... the season didn’t wow me, and the longer it went on, the more I could see the cracks.

It all tops off with Vision Quest, which was my biggest disappointment in the entire series, the point at which I had to really stop and reset my expectations on what kind of story the writers were interested in telling.  The summary describes them having to go on a spiritual journey to really face themselves and their weaknesses, and I was so excited!  But then it was just.  Really surface level.  And occasionally confusing.

Raph needs to work on his temper, sure – but how is this any different than any of the other episodes about it?  Do we look at all at where his anger comes from?  A deeper way to handle it?  No, of course not.

Mikey needs to focus, stop getting distracted – I mean, yeah sure I guess.  Not a particularly interesting way of handling it, though.  Also, even if he manages it here, I know it's not going to pan out to the rest of the show, they’re not giving up their easy source of humor for the younger demographic.

And Donnie needs to... stand his ground? What?  I was so caught off guard.  It’s not that it’s completely out of touch, we see him coming up with complex paths to his goals, trying to think his way around of problems, ect, but... it was never really highlighted or presented as a real problem other than maybe the episode on instinct over thinking too hard?  It just felt really disconnected from anything else they were doing with him.  A genuinely interesting pay-off scene, with no solid set-up.

And Leo.  Oh jeez.  My friends.  WHAT is up with how they handled Leo’s knee injury?  The pain is just in my mind? It's not real??  Really???  No, thank you.

Like... I think this was supposed to be a riff on what Splinter says about ‘03 Leo’s coma, and him being trapped in his head due to fear – but because in ‘12 they tied it to an actual, specific physical injury, the execution falls apart. 

(Especially when they use the same flash-effect they used on Leo having issues with his knee of Splinter having issues later in the series but I probably shouldn't take that into account here.)

I mean, his quest is the closest to being satisfying, because they had lain interesting groundwork with his struggle with recovery and his insecurities in previous episodes, but then they just completely bungle it at the end! Argh!

I was so excited for Vision Quest, but this didn't tell me anything new about the characters or progress the characters in any meaningful way! It had no effect on how the characters are written going forward. So – other than some admittedly very cool fight choreography – what was the point?  Was there one??  It felt like putting on the trappings of an emotionally deep story without any of the actual, you know.  Depth.

I am clawing at the walls. Look at all the potential you wasted.

And yes, I’m aware this is all very subjective, and again part of a show for kids, but that’s how it hit me.

The 2003 farmhouse arc, on the other hand, was very short, and I think it benefited from that.  It had two episodes, and it knew what it was doing with both of them.  They felt purposeful, in the larger arc of the story.

First episode: they make their way to the farmhouse, Leo’s in a coma (according to Splinter, one driven by his fear), and his family tells stories of when he was brave/strong as a little kid to try and bring him out.

Wonderful, amazing, I love this episode.  So much character work – both in the past and present!  By going back to when they were kids, it helps us contextualize the turtles’ relationships by making them simpler.

In showing early memories that probably started cementing their views of each other, we see the core around which they developed.  By seeing which memory each brother chooses to present, we get some insight into how they each see Leo.  It gives us a point A to our current point B, which allows us to extrapolate the line between the two, how they developed.

And then you also get the little moments of how the brothers are handling this catastrophic event, how they react to the stress, to seeing their brother so hurt – Raph especially!  It’s pure character work and I love it.

After that, we get one episode of shenanigans, which is both representative of that “space to breathe” after Leo woke up, and also gives space for the B-plot (which is the truly arc-important plot) of Leo, now awake, dealing with his own handling of this stressful situation.

Is the A-plot of this episode quite as good as some of the ideas for the 2012 episodes?  Honestly, no, but just the fact that it’s carrying the Leo recovery story pushes it ahead.  We see Leo struggling with his failure, Raph stepping up to herd him back on the right track – the idea of physically remaking his swords to remake himself!  And, though we don’t know it yet, how hard Leo takes this is great foreshadowing to how he reacts going into his season 4 breakdown.

And then, having done the character work they wanted to accomplish, the writers go back to the main story.  The characterization here matters (and also is good) in a way that whatever is going on in the 2012 farmhouse arc just.  Isn’t. 

In my opinion.

Okay, rant over, winner is obvious, moving on.

Triceratons

Again, we’re not comparing most of the space arcs, as that’s apples to oranges, but there are two episodes that caught my attention:

Rogue in the House vs Dinosaur Seen in Sewers!

Here we've got two episodes where the turtles find a Very Confused Triceraton and trick him into helping them.

I like the 2003 one better.

Honestly, it comes down to the context of the episode.  Rogue in the House comes after the turtles have been in space and when they know more about who the Triceratons are.  2012 on the other hand is a sudden introduction to a new arc.

2003 also... questions the ethics of their decision more, by the end.  It’s a bit more empathetic?  And I appreciate that.

I will give 2012 credit that translating “we’ve been dropped into the middle of a war where both sides are bad” over to be attached to the Kraang, which they’ve built up already as a powerful alien threat, was clever.  It doesn’t have the same edge of commentary that “and one of these sides looks just like us humans” has, but it is clever use of their existing world-building, and I like it.

The Arena vs The Arena of Carnage

The most obvious connection in the 2012 space arc – the turtles get thrown into a gladiator arena.

Now, 2003 does have an unfair advantage in this comparison, as The Arena is heavily bolstered by the set-up work done in The Big House, giving you a sense of place, stakes, connection to the other characters...

That last bit is where my bias and personal taste shows: I really love the turtles making any kind of meaningful connection with other characters, and I find this more convincing in the 2003 version than the 2012 one.

But 2012 also weakens itself in its own right by doing some setup here with no long-term pay off.  You’ve got your fellow prisoner, who turns out to be a Triceraton who objected to the leadership's decisions... and after this episode, that means nothing!  Cool, okay.

Like I get that was a part of the episode they’re pulling from, but if they’re not planning on reusing that long-term story, then they really could have cut that aspect all together.  I know they have enough creativity in them to adapt the concept of “stuck in a gladiator arena” to do something more interesting, they’ve proved they have it in them.  They just... didn’t, and the plot point didn’t translate well.  Ah, well.

2003 also wins this one.

City at War vs... City at War?(???)

Look, I am only comparing these because they use the exact same name.  Otherwise, it’s nowhere near a fair comparison.  For 2012, this is actually part of a couple episodes where they talk about there being a power vacuum after the Shredder is out of the picture, but...

Can we be so real?  They don’t even get close to the scale of 2003.  Like with the farmhouse, it’s not that they don’t have any good ideas – I like the Don Visioso episode quite a bit – but it never gets to the depth or scale I want it to. 

Like, 2003 made it visually obvious that the city is falling apart, that things are really out of control, in a way you can feel. Though, honestly, I’m not even sure 2012 could reach the levels of 2003, because they never put as much effort into making their NYC feel... real?  I guess?

Also, the 2003 City at War arc is just.  It’s really good, guys.  It did such great work on Leo and Raph’s characterization, the danger in the city is palpable, the tension is thick, and then you add Karai on top of it all?

You’d think 2012 could push this, given the added dimensions to Karai and her connection to Shredder, but it ends up falling short.  Point again goes to 2003.

What a Croc! Vs It Came From the Depths (Leatherhead)

So. I am painfully biased, because It Came From the Depths is my favorite 2012 Mikey episode, and I thought What a Croc! was... just okay.

I frequently bemoan that 2012 didn’t lean more into long-form character arcs for their story, and this is one of the central episodes that defined my desire for Mikey’s arc.

The instant compassion and understanding he has for Leatherhead – the way he recognizes and is willing to work with his trauma responses, but also is childishly impatient with the process when it gets messy later on, showing he still has some maturing to do – it's great, and I love it.  I didn’t find the same kind of depth in the 2003 episode.

On the other hand, long-term I like Leatherhead better in 2003, just because he’s more present as ally, friend, or even family.  2012 Mikey’s always excited to see Leatherhead, but you don’t exactly see them hanging out.

But this is about the episode, and for that, I’ll give it to 2012.

Renet (Time Travails + Return of the Savanti Vs Turtles in Time + Tale of the Yokai)

I’ll be real with you, 2003 gains points with me just because this is another example of 2012 poorly shoving in romance. I would like to make it clear – I don’t have an objective issue with the turtles being in romantic relationships.  It’s just... don’t put it in there if the writing's going to be so... bad. And boring. And unnecessary.

Additionally, this particular example put me off a bit more because... hm. Okay, the episode starts with Mikey going “I'm never gonna get caught up in all that!" Only for the show to do the writing equivalent of saying "of course you will, as soon as the right person comes along. And here she is!"

And uhm.  Okay, so, I’m asexual with a big ? when it comes to romance.  So that framing is..... nghghghgh I don't like it. Like I get the joke, but it still gave me the ick.

Also it was another infatuation-at-first-sight situation like Donnie which. Is a romantic trope that is So Stupid, you CANNOT tell me that's how it actually works, I don't believe you, and also it makes for stupid, boring writing. So there.

Ahem.

Once you get past that, there’s points to be made for both episodes.  The way the 2003 turtles find Renet just kind of tiring but can’t help going along with her anyways is very funny to me, but 2012 lets them do Tales of the Yokai, and I enjoy the concept of them getting to see what Actually Happened Back Then, rather than just hearing subjective stories of it.  Adds some texture.

I dunno on this one – if it’s Time Travails vs Turtles in Time, 2003 wins, but once you move on to Tale of the Yokai I give it to 2012.  Call it a draw?

Loosely inspired by

Okay. So. These are things where I can’t say “Oh, they were just doing this story again”, but where I think there might have been some heavy inspiration.  Your mileage may very on these, and you could think I’m completely wrong, but I thought they’d be interested to talk about.

Even if they are from Back to the Sewers.

The Engagement Ring to The Power Within Her

April gets magic jewelry that possesses her, goes on a rampage?  Admittedly, the set-up is very different, as is the tone, but... well, you have to wonder.

I thought The Engagement Ring was one of the better episodes of Back to the Sewers, but as entertaining as it was, I’m still going to give this to 2012, I think.  I like things that have more build-up to them, and they did pretty good at setting up this episode ahead of time, building up that dread.  And it just did more with the concept, you know?

Also, it fit well into my interpretation/re-write of April’s character, so.

Identity Crisis to Brain Worms

I mean.  Turtles get brain-washed by the Foot, have to be broken out of it by being reminded of memories/who they were.  Methodology of the brainwashing is very different, admittedly, which is why I put this down here rather than in the main section!  But it’s similar enough for me to connect them.

This is another situation where I think 2012 took a concept and further developed it.  The brain worms are fantastically gruesome, and really treated like the existential horror it should be.  The amount of fics I’ve seen expanding on the brain-worms concept is proof of how it hooks in people’s brains.

Another point to 2012.

Conclusion

So let’s run a tally.

I'm not sure the two Back to the Sewer episodes count, but I also maybe have broken my rule on the farmhouse arc... I guess we could count those as half points?

Casey Intro: Draw

Window: point 2012

Farmhouse: half-point 2003

Lost triceraton: point 2003

Gladiator arena: Point 2003

City at War: point 2003

Leatherhead intro: point 2012

Renet: Draw

Losely inspired: cumulative point 2012

So that's... 3.5 for 2003, 3 for 2012, and two draws? Pretty close.

Realistically, I think these should be the two takeaways from my opinions:

First, 2003 better matches my personal tastes. I'm a character arc girly, and 2003 gave a lot more attention to that aspect of their writing than 2012 did, and that affects my opinions. See: the Vision Quest rant.

Second, what makes 2012 good is the stuff that’s specific to its iteration.

The way they adapted the Hamato Yoshi backstory from 2003 to be about Splinter and Shredder, making Karai Splinter’s stolen daughter, and how that whole plot line plays out.  The way they make the Kraang a whole organization, and their alliance with Shredder.  The full season, Rube-Goldberg machine buildup of plot.  These are all the thing that make it excel.

So... yeah. That's my thoughts. Your opinions might be different, and - if you're nice about it, please - I would love to hear your thoughts on what I've said, which episodes you like better, and why you like them! Shows hit different people, well, differently!

[thekatebridgerton]

A little venting post about the changes made to the show.

Sometimes I miss the era where book adaptations were true to their source material. Lord of the rings, Harry Potter, pride and prejudice, Twilight, The Hunger Games. Books with adaptations that literally had the power to change whole generations. Create such a cultural impact that we'll still be defining facets of our personalities by their influence for years to come.

And I think that those books had so much success as adaptations because the people who made them understood that watching the movie had to be an interactive experience between a person and their book. Not just their screen. People would finish watching the movie, go home, read the book and feel connected to a story where they knew the ending. So giddy and excited to know something they thought other movie goers didn't know. This made the experience exciting! It made it interactive enough to cause an impact.

I recently watched Lord of the Rings (yes the whole 24 hrs of it) and I realized how much I miss that excitement. That same warm blanket of knowing the ending that I experienced when I watched The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

Bridgerton showrunners are so obsessed with delivering something with a 'plot twist' or 'different from the books' that they completely miss the point of how big franchises managed to make their adaptations impactful. So focused on curating the source material to make it more 'original' and new. So focused on driving up buzzfeed articles that read ' 100 ways Bridgerton season 2 was different from the books' that they alienate the interactive experience that exists in a viewer who enjoys reading.

Call me a book purist or maybe I felt sad today because I saw yet another article titled ' 10 reasons why Eloise storyline shouldn't follow the books' but it sucks to have creators spit on the books you love. It sucks to watch an adaptation that looks like fanfiction because it's all the media is currently offering. And you just wanted to see Kate bite Anthony's ankle and laugh. But you have to put up with all the changes of season 2 because complaining is met with an ' oh we wanted to do something different from the book, we wanted to surprise viewers'

Excuse me showrunners, I liked that book, what's wrong with liking that book? What was so offensive about it you had to turn it into something so far away from the source material the Author herself had to come out and say ' the books are the books and the show is the show' basically drawing a line between her creation and the show she authorized to adapt said work.

Netflix If the books I loved were so bad you felt they needed to be changed so much for an adaptation, then why adapt them at all? Why not find some kind nice very much in need of their big break author who has written a story that looks like the narrative you've got in mind.

As a reader I loved all the storylines as they stood. To me it would have been a giddy and exiting experience to be able to follow the show along with the source material. And I'm so sick and tired of show viewers and basically all the sensationalist media like buzzfeed and screenrant implying and outright saying that there is something wrong... with people like me. Who simply liked the books as they were. Because that's how they treat us, and that's what they think and it makes me sad.

And as I wait for season 3 I I sit and wait to see how many ' 100 ways the show is better than Romancing Mr Bridgerton because of how much the showrunners decided to change ' articles start poping up on my feed as soon as it's released. Because it will happen and as a reader you feel so powerless and confused, because all the media kees saying is that you're not allowed to feel angry, because even getting an adaptation is supposed to be a good thing, so don't start being a Debbie downer about the changes made for the screen. The book you loved was outdated anyway, the book you loved was boring anyway, the book you loved needed more excitement anyway.... And the message you keep getting is that The things you loved needed to stop looking like the things you loved, to be worthy of the masses attention

So what does that say about you?

Tomorrow, maybe I'll be back to being my usual positive self. Tomorrow I'll look at the bright side and feel ever so grateful that Julia Quinn's work is on screen. But for today, just for today. I needed to get that off my chest.

[davidthephoneguy]

Welcome to CD's list of Canceled and Unfinished projects! :D

First we got the canceled ones Part 2

These go from oldest to newest

Gameboy Who Cried Wolf

This was an oc story in which I was attempting to making a non fandom oc comic. The storyline involved two main characters named Daniel who had a GameBoy for a head and Julias who was a werewolf but had to try and hide it from Daniel and everyone else due to werewolves in this world were hunted to extinction. There was a bunch of other monster types existed n stuff like that. Only made a few artworks of it. Canceled due to lack of motivation and I felt like I was forcing myself to do something I didn't really want to. Storyline was also non-existent and yet confusing.

Moon Base Freddy's au

Can't say a lot on this one's reason for existing other then it was heavily inspired by the song The Fine Print by Stupendium. I drew a few artworks for it in some privated live streams. Basically the whole au was a space capitalist dystopia in which all the employees were owned by the company, oh yeah also the restaurant was a moon base that they lived in. Canceled due to not really having anything to do with Freddys, it just sorta had a Freddys mask on. Also lack of motivation which tends to kill a lot of my ideas.

Floral Flurry

Not much to say on this one either, didn't have much to it either. Was another attempt at making a non fandom project that died very quickly. Had help from @/systemfailuretpd for the designs. The storyline was pretty basic being about a parasite plant that learns empathy from its new host and has to go back and fix what it did with its past host. Canceled due to just not really wanting to work on it, was kinda boring and felt too cutesy and simple despite one of the characters previously being basically a genocidal dictator.

Dr Surus' Experiments

Another oc story, this one was about a Dr Frankienstien type who would bring people (several of my oc's) back to life as basically zombies for fame. The story was mainly about David, Jannette, Stevm and another oc that I can't remember rn. Their whole deal was going to be talking about the ethics of bringing someone back to life and how they can't give consent. It was planned to be my next big thing that I was gonna reveal in the animation I'm still working on. Honestly given my track record I would not have been able to convey the messaging very well. Canceled due to lack of interest and generally loosing motivation to work on it.

Pet Shoppe Cats

Another oc story comic that was meant to be a non fandom project. It stared two main characters named Felix and Chip, Chip was an immortal parental figure to Felix. Both were half self inserts and sorta didn't do much. They worked at a pet shop together as they were both animal hybrids which was mostly a trans allegory but despite that I didn't really focus on that with the story being a slice of life thing about them just working at the pet store with not much else happening. I made a few panels and character sheets but not much. Canceled for pretty obvious reasons, was boring and lacked focus. Art style was also just not fitting to my style and i was just sorta forcing myself to not draw something cutesy which my style cannot break from without lookin really odd. Basically I was trying to make myself do something I can't do.

Aaaaaand that is the end of Part 2 my fellows!

A lil shorter then the first one due to me removing a few as upon looking at them again they would be rift content.

The final part will be the unfinished ones on the verge of being canceled so their fate is very up in the air.

[ofmermaidstories]

I really want to join the journaling comm but I don't know how to journal... the most I've dabbled in it is keeping a diary for a few months as a kid

eh, join it anyways!!! what’s a better place to get a feel for it than a community dedicated to it, right? 📓✨ there’s no rules to it, and tbh—anything goes!!! like, i also started journalling (keeping a diary) as a kid! but i didn’t get serious with it until i was about twelve—right after i read Anne Frank’s diary. 🥺 i went out, bought a notebook, and because it was plain i got some left over wrapping paper and a birthday card with a rose on it that i liked and recovered it, and then started all my diary entries with “Dear Kitty”, lmao, just like Anne! looking back it was so interesting because like, i was writing like i expected someone to read it—i carefully did a lot of word art, i glued things in, i wrote like i was updating a story. but the entries were so—boring! LOL. they were about, idk. fighting with my friends, or being teased by the boys i had crushes on. or detailing the exact moments in which they were nice to me. 💀 the angst i felt about turning 13, like it was some magical portal. when one boy—whom i’d had a crush on for years before and who knew it, and would tease me viciously for it in front of everyone—moved away, and we said goodbye. 🥺 my diaries got sporadic in highschool, and then afterwards i went through a phase of “creative journalling”, i guess? where like, the point was to make them as pretty as possible. i was posting them online!!! i drew a lot in those ones, painted. one of them even had a little storyline. 🥹 and then i stopped for a few years. at one point i made a project out of writing letters, instead of keeping a journal—like i would make the envelopes and everything! but now i’m back to just writing in a notebook. it’s nothing fancy! kinda big, blank pages. i paint a little in it with watercolours, sometimes, or draw me and bakugou kissing (lmao) but most of the time i’m only working in it when i need it to soak up my tears. 🥹 there are literally no rules with keeping a journal. you can literally—literally!!!—do anything you want with it. people junk journal/scrapbook, they keep notion pages for it, they bullet journal. some people are strict with keeping up with it, some people aren’t. there’s so many systems, so many ways of doing it and hopefully our little community will showcase them all so yes!!! definitely come join lmao. if you wanna. :3

[wutheringmights]

<shakily rolling into your inbox> Would you gift us with chapter commentary, please?

Your wish is my command:

Framing the past section around headlines was not my original plan. I wanted to do a repeating refrain of "This is how the war ended," but when it came time to actually write it, I was bored with it. Yeah, kinda thought about it too hard. So I went back to the drawing board.

I also considered framing the chapter around the passing seasons, but that seemed too boring. I wanted something with a bit more pizazz.

Plus, one of my favorite genres of fan work is in-universe media like newspapers and magazine covers. This is a pretty weak attempt at it, but at least I threw my hat into the ring.

I've been trying for a while now to imply that the original HW storyline is what was spread as propaganda to the people of Hyrule, but this is the first time I made it really, really clear.

So the engineer being assigned to the coast is a reference to how the DLC that features Toon Link is the one where there's suddenly an ocean. Very smooth of me lol

This chapter ended up being a bit of a dumping ground for all of the relationships I was ignoring in favor of writing about the brothers, ironically because I too was too consumed with the engineer and the child to write about anything else, which in turn really drove home how all-consuming their presence was for Link

The fun thing about Midna's scene is that her and Link going on nightly walks together was one of the very first ideas I had for CTB by virtue of it being inherited from when I thought I was going to write a romcom. Incredible that it took half a million words to finally get to it.

My favorite part of the past is the bit where Link writes all of the letters to the engineer. It's just a lot of fun to sit there and figure out what kind of bullshit he would spout to kinda apologize but not really. It was even more fun to punch him back down with Lincoln's brutal response. Just rereading it, I feel like you can tell I was having a blast.

I also had a lot of fun finding ways to show symptoms of Link's alcoholism getting worse without him realizing it. The constant headaches, the nausea, the shakey hands, the sensory sensitivity-- him experiencing all of this and going so deep into denial that he can't understand why his body is reacting that way.

It's been so long since I've managed to give Toto some screen time that I kinda forgot how much I like his character? He's just a guy, but I like that he's just a guy. But I don't think I made it too clear in the chapter that in their friend group, they were the least friends with each other. Link was closer to Anders, and Toto to Uri. They're being driven together by virtue of being the only ones left, moreso than I initially conveyed.

And, of course, I got to talk about Uri again. Again, Uri is always so interesting to handle because he is a character who we will never see in person and Link is too traumatized by the death of to think about in detail. Even now, Uri feels like a mystery. All we know about him is how Link feels about him.

And finally, Zelda. The thing about Zelda is that I feel like her goals are really transparent, but I always get comments from people who want there to be this moment where everything about her is spelled out. And, despite the fact that she monologues about her feelings here, I don't think this is exactly what everyone was hoping for. The more I read it over, I can see how she probably just got more confusing.

Also, I know I need to stop writing monologues. But have you considered that the monologues are sexy?

I feel like I should say something about how Zelda's relationship with Hylia, but it really speaks for itself. I will say that as much as I like how BOTW is so ambiguous with Hylia, I am a little bit more fascinated with the idea that "your god is real and they specifically hate you." Like, how are you supposed to cope with that? We should all be thankful Zelda isn't more fucked up than she is.

I should also say something about her thoughts on the engineer... so first, my goal with that relationship was always for it to be toxic from both ends, with the engineer trying to use her while she uses him-- which gets even more complicated when you consider all the ways Zelda echoes Link. Like Link, she sees parts of herself in the engineer. Unlike him, she wants to save be saved, so she in turn saves him. Link hates himself so much that he has to drag everyone else down with him.

In the era of everyone wanting Zelda to no longer be a damsel in distress, it's kind fun to give her the traditional goal of being saved by someone else, to then twist it around. She is begging to be rescued, but she won't fix anything herself.

This idea really goes against the popular depictions of HW Zelda, which is why I have iterated before that this Zelda is not Artemis. She's her own thing.

There was going to be more about how the war ended, but I decided to keep it for next chapter because (you guessed it) the word count got too long.

On to the present--

Congrats to everyone who said they wanted to see more of Spirit and Warriors talking shop. You really won with this chapter.

That being said, I always think that I never write what people want when they want it. Like I will write a chapter with a lot of action, so everyone says they want more action next. But then I follow it up with a chapter of people just talking, so I get a lot of people requesting more of that. But then, it's back to heavy action.

All that's to say that I feel bad that there wasn't more character drama this chapter

Also, I feel really bad for not including either Hyrule or Wind in this chapter. Those two are the characters people ask me to write more about the most. But unfortunately, the thing about juggling a large cast of characters is that some times you have to sit down and get a few of those characters out of the way for a bit so that we can focus on other things.

I don't want to make it sound like I was targeting those two on purpose. They just had the best excuse for not going on the Nephus mission.

Speaking of which, I feel terrible for constantly finding ways to leave Lana and Linkle out of the action-- and that's after I've talked so much about adding more women into the story to balance out the default nine dudes LU requires me to add. But again, there are so many characters that I have to find ways to leave some of them behind. And again, it was really easy to give them an excuse to not be in the main action. But It's probably a bad thing that they are easily excused. I should work on that.

And I know I can write scenes with a shit ton of characters talking together. I've done it plenty of times in CTB and other ensemble stories before it. But it's a lot of work, and when I need to focus on more important plot points, the last thing I want to juggle is balancing every scene so that everyone has something to do.

Sorry to belabor that point. Sometimes, I get really annoyed with how big the cast it when it's not even my fault.

It is my fault. I just want to complain.

I appreciate everyone who has their own version of Spirit going on more legendary adventures while he is wearing his OSHA mandated work uniform. I know the Heroes of Hyrule are not unionized, but I at least would like to make sure he is properly dressed with an adventure.

That being said, his Castle Guard uniform was partially inspired by the uniform for the Free Planets Alliance in the original Legend of the Galactic Heroes:

That is not a great photo, but I was envisioning something like this-- "this" being a more modern cut with clear nautical influences (cause the Castle Guard was probably originally a navy)

Also the crest on Spirit's uniform is Tetra's pirate emblem. Do not get be started about how I fucked up the crest of the New Hyrulean royal family back in chapter 6 and how I have been looking for some band-aid to place over that mistake so that it would look like I did it on purpose

I didn't expect the scene where Spirit talks to Four to be so polarizing. I didn't even think it was a significant moment when I wrote it. Yet I've seen a huge gambit of reactions, from people calling Spirit cruel or others saying that the moment was sweet. That being said, I am living for this. If there is one thing I want right now, it is for everyone's opinion on Spirit to be split.

Did you guys enjoy me trying to write about how machinery works? Honestly, I could have probably cut all that, but I did so much work establishing the mechanics behind the ganons in previous chapters that I felt like I had to go through with it.

My original plan was for Warriors's plan to involve taking Philo hostage from the start, but I changed it because writing a kidnapping scene would have been too much work. It still really bugs me. The way the chapter is written now feels really cheap, but again. I didn't feel like I had enough space.

I also ran into the fun problem of wanting to show the nuances of Philo and Icarius's relationship when one can't speak and the other would not speak Hylian. Legend saved my ass a bit with this one, but I don't know if all of the little details got through.

Speaking of which, I should talking the House of Nephus

So obviously, I wanted the House of Nephus to reflect the original brothers dynamic. The idea is that they are what Warriors, Spirit, and Time/Mask would turn into if both Spirit and Mask stayed.

Except, in practice, I had to give them their own distinct personalities so that they wouldn't be boring as fuck

Icarius and Philo got away with getting small but really effective changes. They both still feel like reflections of Spirit and Time respectively

But Nephus.... so my original personality for him was someone as jaded and mean as Warriors is at his worst. But he felt too much like Zelda or Impa. So I went back to the drawing board to find some character angle that would be really interesting and effective for how little screen time he will ultimately get.

My inspiration came from the Virginia Woolf seminar I was in when I first started working on CTB. I was thinking a lot about rich, British assholes; very specifically about the kind who are self-prescribed intellectuals who fetishize non-white cultures while maintaining the superiority of Western imperialism.

So with that in hand, I got rid jadedness and turned Nephus into a guy dripping with charisma but is unaware of how terrible of a person he is. And as a reflection of Warriors, he works thematically.

But you can make the argument that this is not the story for this kind of a character, especially when I have already gone through such lengths to clarify that Hyrule is an imperialist nation that echoes America. You can see me poking fun at it in some of the dialogue during this scene, but still.

(And it gets worse when you look at the subtext of how light vs dark magic is treated between Hyrule and Faovaria).

So, yeah. I deserve some criticism for this one. I know it. But I didn't change it because I just liked how immediately interesting Nephus was. I couldn't think of an alternative that would have been as effective as this affable evil. Sorry about that.

Another idea I had was that Nephus was going to be the Faovarian equivalent of the Hero of Hyrule, and he would even have his own dual blades of dark and light magic to prove it. I ended up not doing this because it was too heavy handed.

I originally was going to keep the swords, and I even realized that if I had planned things out a bit better, the dark magic sword could have been Ghirahim. I decided that it would have been too out of left field to have worked, but man. I have regretted since day 1 that I cut Ghirahim from the story. I'm sorry, Ghirahim.

And then I didn't even include the swords. Motherfucker.

That actually was a genuine mistake on my part, because the point of the swords would have been to give Nephus's speech on his religion more credence. We as the audience know that the goddesses exist. And yet... why does there seem to be more to the gods of this universe? Are Hylia and the Golden Three really just oracles? If Nephus has these cool swords, what other powers and weapons does Faovaria have within its borders? You know, just world building stuff.

I came up with too much story for the House of Nephus than what I will ultimately have space to include in CTB. I'll try to strategic so that you won't be annoyed with the lack of answers from some of the questions you probably have.

As important as Nephus is, he's ultimately not the main antagonist of the story. If I was willing to write 20 more chapters, I could do a lot more with him, Philo, and Icarius; but I would like to see the end of CTB someday lol

Originally, only Time, Spirit, and Midna were going to go with Warriors to meet Nephus. There was definitely going to be this bit where Spirit and Warriors were going to be like "oh fuck, he's hot" as Nephus flirted with them. Meanwhile, Time (a married man) would be sitting there like "really??? both of you have horrible taste??"

I am also realizing I forgot to write a moment where Warriors is horrified to realize that Nephus was going to make Philo sit there in pain instead of rushing him to a doctor. Fucking hell.

Also, that Nephus's spirit feels normal to Spirit is important. Not on a plot level, but thematically. Just hang on to that thought next time you think about the whole spirit sensing thing.

I always knew that CTB was going to evolve into a Triforce quest story. There's no way I could write about a guy who's supposed to be this brutal strategist and not let him realize he has an easy solve to everything. But I also didn't want this to be easy or feel cheap. It's why I went through all that effort to establish that getting those pieces would involving going up against the Royal Family and the Knights of Hyrule. It's going to be hard, and it will involve all the fighting and manipulating you expect CTB to have. It'll also involve moral dilemmas.

After all, we've been talking about the moral dilemmas presented by the Triforce since at least chapter 6 (remember when I said that there was so much set-up in that chapter for stuff that was for far later in the story? Hello, pay off!)

All that's to say that I am worried that people don't like this direction. I have gotten a few comments about how excited people are for Warriors's plan, but only time will tell if this ruined the story for some people.

And I know I worry a lot about ruining CTB. That's not a problem that's going to be solved any time soon, so let me have this one.

Finally, the chapter was going to go until Time's talk with Warriors. Decided to move it to next chapter because, you guessed it, space.

[alitgblog]

reunion volume thoughts

first off oh damn goodbye Jin, Claudia, and Bea gonna miss yall so much 🥲😭

second, this was just such an anticlimactic way to say goodbye to all these characters lol

I'm not mad at them bringing in all the characters in groups so not everyone gets introduced all at once, but oh why did we start with Sienna and Hazel and then only at the end did we get Claudia, Theo, and Bea? Like I love a drama filled season, but even this I'm like let me take a victory lap with my friends first pleaseeee

I had enough gems so I was like ehh fuck it I'll listen to Hazel's airport drama but I did notice for more details about the same/related story later on you did still have to pay gems which is ridiculous and also if you didn't pay for at least one, then it's literally just them bickering for most of the reunion and then you get a little bit of free drama between your LI and some other dude. Like I think if you care less about the casa islanders' drama (which I absolutely understand bc I also care less about those islanders' stories), then this was a boring volume pretty much

small odd thing was that no other islanders showed up. like I get that not everyone would show if this was real and for the fiction clearly fusebox just doesnt want to draw the other islanders, but fusebox would only have to draw one dress for the missing islanders and it would make sense for them to show up. like Rachel is an OG where is she?? Felicity had some drama with the guys too how abou her?

Tyler's storyline didn't do much for me bc he gets dumped so fast that it's weird he has all these declarations about missing his connection with MC and wishing he had another chance. And it's sweet and tbh after playing this volume I do like Tyler's character more, but it's still so intense so fast. But also, if this whole storyline was for a reunion in s4 for Hazeem??? would love that. Like he got to know MC for a while but was pursuing Najuma and he realized too late he should've went for MC.

Oakley and Emel not making it on the outside was absolutely expected it went exactly how i thought it would but I do still wish they got 3rd or 4th place at least

Sophie and Jack together but unhappy and unpopular also something I would've predicted.

Sophie and Luna need to stopppp. I don't care for the other guys but I did pick Jack as the potential other man just to potentially piss off Sophie (unfortunately didn't really come into play).

why is Luna still salty though

althoughhhhh I did notice Luna and Tyler look good next to each other is all I'm saying. if both of them got more screen time I wouldn't be mad if they coupled with each other after MC stole Jin.

Claudia and Theo still together 🤦‍♀️

I'm so sorry Claudia I will replay for you 😘

Hazel is such a mess

I want whatever tf the remaining casa boys have. like in my game it's Shawn and Kyle and I'm like are they... together? what's going on there? I know Kyle and Hazel have a thing and Shawn and Sienna are no longer a thing but what's happening there? Also I have challengers on the mind so like.. heyyyy Shawn, Kyle, and Hazel, what's uhh the situation

Bea is barely in this. I know I've already said that but I'm so upset

Ngl the bit where Liam is teasing Claudia about hosting the game is kinda funny I wish all the characters had more fun in-character dialogue like that

I can't be bothered with the Max and Hari drama even though that seemed to be the main focus of the reunion and then you still have to pay gems for the whole story

and Jin's texting airport drama was so small too like it's really nothing and went exactly how I'd expect it to go

ok so general thoughts/fixes

the way almost everyone is single and you get a chance to run away with the og boys (plus liam) one last time doesn't really work for me (except Liam I guess his thing was fine, I do like the realism of him being like I came off as such an asshole I'm sorry but then also still being a little messy bc that's just him). I think maybe if there was an actual gap irl between the reunion getting released and the s8 finale it would feel better.

personally I think it could've just gone like the S1 reunion where it's a two parter, first of all. second, we get the scenery change whether it's Christmas in S1 or in S8's case, make it more autumn since it's been a few months. Again, just adds to the feeling like time has passed bc if it's just in the villa, it doesn't feel like we ever really left? THTH2 does this well too because they're still on an island vacation but they changed the backgrounds at least because it's a different location and I think that helps a lot.

I'd like less casa islanders drama and less dumped OG islanders drama

Literally would be okay if it was just partying and seeing like hey what are you up to? Is Hari's business going well? Is Jin booked and busier than ever as a model? Did MC and her partner move in together? Like we got a little bit from Liam's podcast news, Tyler traveling, and the broken up couples' relationship status, but that's it I think.

I'm trying to remember what made the other reunions so fun and I think fusebox gets close but not quite. So the first two revolve around weddings/proposals and S3 around a potential breakup, but I do like the idea of everyone hearing how one or two of the islanders slandered everyone on a podcast and they're all mad. It just also doesn't work because what if MC doesn't care? So it needs to be that plus something with your LI (for good or for bad), and then cut out most of the other stuff. Like we can include that apparently all the casa people hooked up with each other at one point but let's not let that be the main storyline or let it be less prevalent

you should be able to run away with Claudia or Bea if you're allowed to run away with the OG boys at the end. Like they can have the same storylines as the guys too, Bea being single and ready to move into a real relationship that she realized she wasn't really ready for during the show (like Tyler) and then Claudia yet again having doubts about Theo like the broken record that relationship is (like the guys in an unhappy couple with Emel/Sophie/Luna).

also ending in a big group hug is lame, it's very friend island energy and even s3 doesn't end like that. might as well copy S1 just end with your LI or running away with some other character while the person that was pursuing them earlier yells at you (does this only happen with Tim/Jen? I don't remember lol)

[the-scarecrow-of-aus]

Chapter 3 is finally out.

(Hopefully writers block stops using my head like the log truck in final destination treats the people in the car behind it)

Chapter 3: difficult meeting's

Summary:

Jazz has had a rough time, the justice league are having a rough meeting

Notes:

*shaking myself by the collar* that's it, no more tinkering. post the darn chapter you anxious fool!

sorry about the delay, writers block. At least I got time to plan and plot out the rest of the storyline.

here's the chapter that was meant to go out late august.

Enjoy!

Gotham -the night of the Kansas storm.

In a small apartment in the narrows near crime alley a young woman sat on her bed thumbing a golden amulet with one hand, in the other she gripped a thin folder, a strange hunger in her eyes.

Her gaze snapped to the front door as voices could be heard approaching and she tucked the amulet into her jacket warily, she relaxed as she heard her room mate come in, talking over her shoulder at the neighbour "ha! Jokes on you, I'm into that shit!" She closed the door laughing and turned around freezing at seeing her room-mate sitting unmoving in the dark. "Oh shi... ancients jazz! you look terrible, you eaten lately?"

The thought of eating twisted her stomach for some reason, She shook her head and turned to the clock "he said not to eat until after the league received the files, that the meeting would be more effective if I was a 'little' off..." ember frowned before replying "that sounds creepy, *sigh* I'm sure the old man had a reason but still..." she trailed off before heading over to her room, tossing a book bag in and grabbing her guitar case "well... I have a gig at noonans Bar tonight, Baytor finally got back to me about work there. should help us for when the iceberg lounge is closed for 'urgent' repairs, You sure you don't want a feed before you go?" Jazz shook her head "I need the meeting to go right, I'll do whatever it takes to fix things".

Both their eyes glanced over at a metal thermos sat on top of the fridge, repurposed electrical wires spliced it into the fridges power supply, the outer shell of the thermos and its circuits cut open and cannibalised.

Looking through the mess of wires and circuits down to its inner layer, you could see it generating a low amount of blued mist, constantly emmited out of the shell only to be pulled back into the thermos opening as if there was a draught, in its stead it emitted a low red light from the mouth of the thermos, as if there was something else within.

Ember, eyes closed for a moment shivered, opening her eyes again and rubbing her arms like she was cold, she murmured "guess its gonna be sad songs tonight" before drawing her attention away and headed back out the front door "alright, I want you to call me if anything happens tonight, OK? No arguments!" She called not waiting for an answer as the door closed behind her.

Jazz continued to sit in the dark patiently watching the clock, she didn't get bored nowadays and that was marginally useful if a little annoying at times. She would prefer to be back home in amity with Danny though, not that that could happen anymore.

finally after time in the dark apartment the clock hit 6:15, unfolding herself from the bed she got up giving the thermos a lingering glance before leaving the apartment, it was time.

-

-

Jazz left her apartment and hailed a cab, keeping a weathered eye out for tell-tale signs of a trap, the last thing she needed was to be delayed by joker gas or fear toxin, heck even the Riddler grabbing hostages for some convoluted bomb scenario.

The trip through the dark city of Gotham didn't take long, the city was abnormally quiet tonight, minimal traffic. 'probably Gotham itself is trying to keep things quiet' jazz thought, giving silent thanks to the old spirit of the city who was willing to give her refuge.

All the rogues were supposedly in Arkham right now or laying low, as she travelled she could see the shadow of capes flick around roof corners as the vigilantes started their patrols across the rooftops guarding the city.

The taxi left the city proper climbing up to where Wayne manor resided, as the taxi driver pulled up to the gate possibly hoping to get into the manor grounds and look around jazz stopped them, thanking them for the ride and paying the fare.

As she waited for the taxi to leave disappearing down the road, she stared up at the manor then back down the path, nervously approaching the gates

"OK jazz, you got this. Just like we practiced".

-

-

Alfred pennyworth having bid all his charges good luck as they went out into the night, had just finished cleaning up after dinner and was preparing to settle down when there was a clear sharp knock at the front door, he frowned.

There had been no alert from the front gate and no sensors had gone off (nor his own personal alarms strangely).

For a moment He assumed it was Ms Cassandra forgetting something or possibly master Damien sneaking back with another stray cat he didn't want his father to find out about, but he highly doubted that, Damien would always use the back door and Ms Cassandra wouldn't need to knock.

After pinging the bat clan that something was up he answered the door, one hand holding his shotgun behind the door as it unlocked and opened.

A tall young woman with white streaked red hair, strange burns and cuts around the corners of her mouth and the look of a predator stood slightly back at the entry, hands clasped in front of her politely holding a document folder.

She smiled politely as well, not showing teeth and introduced herself. "Hello, it's Mr Pennyworth correct? My name was Jasmine Fenton, I apologise for disturbing you unscheduled but I have an urgent delivery to 'Agent A and the Batman for the Justice League', it concerns their current meeting".

She somehow spoke the names in a way the words didn't travel beyond him, he didn't know how but Alfred was certain the sound disappeared quickly without any sort of echo after it reached his ears.

Alfred, ever the consummate butler not to mention a senior member of the bat family was observant enough to see the signs of stress and nervousness hidden on her face, he smiled and opened the door wider "it will take a moment to arrange things, would you like to come inside and have a cup of tea while you wait?"

Jazz smiled slightly more, lips parting enough to show sharp teeth slotted together, her canines and the teeth next to them much longer then a normal humans.

"only if you would like me to, I'm just here to deliver the files. I can wait outside for confirmation or leave if you prefer, my contact information is in the folder if need be".

Alfred noted the teeth but chose to look at her with heartfelt concern "nonsense my dear, please come in. Perhaps I can make you something to eat, you do look hungry".

She looked sad as he invited her in and murmured "thank you, but tea is fine, I highly doubt you could feed me what I need".

---

---

The watchtower -primary meeting room, night of the Kansas storm.

It had been a week from hell for most members, everybody not doing intelligence gathering was dealing with hard nosed politicians refusing to admit any wrong doing or shady government officers who were urgently trying to destroy any evidence that they were connected to said wrong doing, sometimes it was the same people.

Attempted tracking of the two spirits who escaped the facility was vexing, originally all sightings pointed to them heading directly towards a small town in Illinois, but the moment league members got close to the town their comms completely shut off and the spirits disappeared from all media and view, this was later tracked back to another GIW facility based in the area that blacked out all outside communications within the town as part of a legal sociological experiment they had 'volunteered' for.

More investigations would have to be done on that as well.

With no way to track them physically or electronically, the league chose to switch to more magical means of tracking. More duties falling on the few JLD members there were, raven was the one currently on duty. She had last reported there was interference for the tracking of the spirits but hadn't checked back in yet.

Examination of data recovered from the facility had been just as difficult, all secure information seemed only viewable on the hardware from the building, of which very few hardware pieces survived the destruction intact. Watchtower technicians were carefully piecing together the functioning pieces into working computers.

The computer parts themselves while definitely low tech had what Constantine called ectoplasm ('heavily filtered, concentrated and refined Lazarus water' he grudgingly accepted as a description) mixed and bonded into their construction. Unfortunately attempts to recreate the pieces using the leagues limited supply of Lazarus water failed to work, simply frying the circuit boards.

As such any attempt to view it on normal or league technology resulted in either the data being unreadable or (unfortunately for the Batcomputer) tore the machine apart trying to comprehend it. Now even cyborg was wary to examine the data.

-

-

[Entry: green lantern-06, Constantine John, wonderwoman-01, superman-01, zatanna-01, flash 02, Question 00, Martian manhunter-01, green arrow-01, Dr Fate 02, captain marvel-01.

Zatanna spoke to the tower A.I "computer, please note Deadman also in attendance" the computer beeped in confirmation with her casting a spell quickly to let them communicate with Boston.

Batman studied the reports as league members involved in the case, both dark and light filed in. "How goes the containment of the facility, there are disturbing reports coming in from people near the site".

Constantine lit a cigarette glaring right back at anyone who tried to stop him. "Bad, but securely contained. I reached out to some of my more 'questionable' contacts for additional resources to help strengthen the barrier but until we find out what exactly did it and how to reverse it, all I can do is speculate on what's happening in there and how to stop it".

Green arrow spoke up "couldn't we ask those agents? What about the survivors from the lab, has there been any update?"

Constantine shook his head "I wouldn't trust a word that came out of that agency's mouths if I were you, that being said the agent that attacked the lanterns is the only lucky one, he must have been on a doughnut run or something when it happened. Either he knows nothing or is too devoted to his cause, he won't speak to us... it's that or he's just plain crazy now, but who am I to judge".

"Usually the first, since you often call me crazy" said the flash cheerily getting a glare from Constantine in return.

"Your entire family can break the sound barrier wearing sand shoes and have a habit of screwing with time, of course I think you're crazy. But for the agent, He's basically enthralled, the perfect employee".

"Care to elaborate?" Asked captain marvel

"Sure, From the medical observation it looks like he had already been systematically driven insane by something, then he latched onto his organisations beliefs to try and keep himself alive, 'probably didn't even question the surgical procedures they did to themselves...' uh, basically doubling down to anchor himself. Otherwise he probably would have had enough self control to avoid recklessly attacking the lanterns".

Batman spoke "what about those still in medical. is there any way to question them?"

Constantine looked weary at this, taking a last drag of his cigarette and stubbing it out. Breathing out the cloud of smoke he finally answered "there's no coming back for them. Their bodies might heal, those that are capable, but they won't truly live anymore"

"Oh dear, Why, what happened to them?" Asked Wonder-woman wondering what was troubling Constantine so badly.

"Mass Soul disruption" said Constantine itching for another cigarette. The answer made Wonder-woman, Zatanna, Doctor fate and even Deadman floating in the room visibly flinch.

"from what I could divine, after months of torture the agents must have broke open their captives core's and abused them. A ghost core is basically their heart, soul and mind. One of the spirits probably decided they had nothing left to lose anymore and let loose. those that were in the room got what was coming to them, for everybody outside, consider their deaths a mercy"

"What is soul disruption exactly?" Asked superman raising a hand, he and most of the non magic leaguers looked confused.

Zatanna uncomfortably gave the answer "soul disruption is a general term to explain damage to or loss of a soul" Zatanna paused and looked to where Boston floated, concern and worry plain on his face "stories say that a person without a soul is bound to become evil, but most of the time they just end up as figurative zombies, maybe over a long time period they could slowly recover. they can still perform tasks but no spark of life, empathy or creativity anymore, they're just on autopilot doing what they're told".

Lantern Simon baz spoke up "could I assume this 'Soul disruption' that caused the explosion is related to the green flames we saw on first arrival? Because I was unable to track any specific damage in the collapsed building short of the hole melted into the roof"

Constantine nodded "yes and no, the original explosion was the only attack that actually happened. In a tight underground space it reverberated around destroying anything it hit until it found a weak point and was funnelled up the elevator shaft, now concentrated, the wall of resonate sound melted through anything close by and shattering anything solid in its way. It forced itself out of the building, dispersing into the atmosphere with all the lab ectoplasm stores and debris which caught fire. more like a volcano erupting, unfortunately normal volcanic explosions don't make screaming skull shaped clouds".

Members that had been within earshot of the blast winced as they remembered the horrid sound

Constantine had finished the cigarette too fast, he definitely needed another but he held off, no sense in antagonising the bat with his habit. "Yeah… from what was recorded and reported, it sounds like a cry or scream, not an explosive blast".

Zatanna froze "scream? from a spirit... like a wail?... as in 'banshee?'... Oh gods damn it!" Hearing her curse and cover her mouth had the rest of the league concerned, Zatanna just stared blankly ahead, deep in thought without responding.

Boston gently poked her trying to snap her out of it "uh, maybe an explanation for those who don't know what a screaming lady has to do with this?"

Sighing Constantine grabbed the second cigarette, lighting up. "Ok, cliff notes on Banshee's.

-Creature's of myth from the olden days back home.

-they have an important job, which is they wail when a person is going to die.

Dramatic? Sometimes, Prophetic? Usually, supernatural? definitely.

-they do it for a very important reason though, it helps souls cross over without lingering, basically a reminder message to pack your bags and turn off the stove".

He shrugged at the assembled leaguers, some still looked confused "look, Without it the entire UK would have been overrun by the undead a millennia ago".

"Isn't England already full of ghosts and undead now anyway? I assume that's the reason we pack Nth metal weapons anytime we go over there" the flash asked, gaining an annoyed look from half the members present, including Constantine, "blame Charlemagne" He dryly replied.

"The species themselves emigrated from this plane along with a few other species like the yeti's when humanity went into their holy war's phase, mostly to avoid eradication. Smart thinking in my opinion, but that's not the issue.

A Banshee by themself isn't strong enough to do this damage, when they left earth, they all had to work together just to pass through the veil. Mostly they're human offspring of something vaguely referred to in historical records as half spirits.

So with the mounting evidence: it's dangerously possible that the GIW agents caught a progenitor of the banshee's... which would be really bad".

Mythology lesson apparently done, Batman gave Constantine a gesture to get him back on track.

"The major issue is, they did something so horrible to a creature related to a banshee, a creature who normally only warns of death.

With the use of a full strength wail, this spirit basically ruptured the fabric of reality in that area when it blasted their souls out, shredded them like a pressure washer on seafoam. The bodies in medical, they're empty vessels".

There was a priority comm beep from Batman and he excused himself to answer it quietly, Zatanna seemed to stir, while still looking deep in thought she spoke quietly "we need to prepare for what comes now".

"Prepare for what?" Asked wonderwoman.

"Prepare for whatever comes looking for the spirit that cried out and hope it's friendly not hostile".

Constantine considering a third cigarette went paler if possible "oh crap, I missed that part. Oh no, ohnonono crap! that's gonna cause problems".

Batman came back to the meeting and perhaps hoping to avoid witty remarks from the flash or arguments among the league members asked the question brewing: "what's the likely scenario, what will happen?"

Again Zatanna spoke "the creature would have left a tear in reality at the site. worse case, something notices the tear and tries to get into our world through it, knowing our enemies probably something infernal and therefore a Hellmouth may form".

Constantine, Boston and captain marvel groaned in different levels of stress "blast it, I'm definitely gonna need more resources, hey bats reckon you can stomach the bile to ask Lex for assistance? Nobody likes having a Hellmouth in their backyard"

"no, nope, I don't do hellmouths. They're uncomfortable to be near and eat at my soul"

"I can probably get some more help from the rock of eternity if needed?..."

The members broke out in various discussions like this till batman interrupted them "this meeting will need to be suspended for the moment, new information has just been brought to my attention down in Gotham and I need to personally verify it, we will pick back up in half an hour in conference room 3".

Green arrow called to batman as he got up to leave the meeting room "what kind of information?"

"An unknown woman appeared unexpectedly at Wayne manor with hard copy files pertaining to this meeting. Constantine, the first page was a letter to you, you're with me".

"Like bloody-hell I do! Most letters addressed to me are either letters of debt or the magical equivalent of letter-bombs, sometimes both. I'm not going near it!" Batman nodded not stopping, instead tapping a button on his gauntlet "the letter mentioned that".

The meeting rooms projector displayed a scanned shot of a slim stack of papers. The first page was a letter directed to Constantine:

John Constantine,

Two matters of urgent importance:

1. please come verify the authenticity of these documents or I will call in 'my' favours to Satan, Beelzebub and azrael regarding your 'shared' contracts.

2. Please summon me using the enclosed sigil for convenience, meeting room 3 will suffice. I have a matter to discuss with the league regarding the topic of your current meeting and to notify you all of destabilising incidents in the realms related.

(Batman, please be advised that Constantine will not trust this letter expecting a trap, show him a photo of this page to get him moving)

Don't keep me waiting John, you know I can't leave the realms easily 'without' consequence.

Yours in time

Clockwork (formerly Kronos)

Ghost of time

-

-

"Oh... bollocks... rutting, friggin bollocks, there's the blasted problems we were worried about" swore Constantine stalking out of the room after batman.

Boston took one look at the letter and shuddered "OK, I changed my mind. The Hellmouth it is, no way am I staying here if he's showing up"

Green arrow didn't get the chance to work with Boston often, the few times he did was through the proxy of possession so he sat and observed Boston's expression, trying to decide if it was fear or disgust... what he saw instead was envy and concern... whoever this clockwork guy was, Boston was worried about been seen by him.

The various JL members talked amongst themselves while they waited, hopefully batman wouldn't hold things up by interrogating the woman...

"Who's Charlemagne?" Captain marvel asked Zatanna quietly.

---

---

Wayne manor

Batman and Constantine zeta'd to the Batcave, immediately taking the main lift up to the manor. Constantine looked confused "uh, bats? We not taking the scenic route through to the front door?"

Batman gritted his teeth as he answered "there was an additional note attached to the letter, it was addressed to 'Bruce Wayne' and Alfred, in mine and Alfred's private security cypher, it was a warning that there was a security leak in the watchtowers systems and how to find it. Oracle is currently investigating, as for the woman, she seems aware and the note identified her as this 'clockworks' granddaughter, I need you to verify who she actually is"

"Verify if she's the grandchild of the mad titan? Are you kidding me, how am i supposed to do that? We already have Diana, and I doubt any of those Olympians could keep it together long enough to create another demigod! Can't you just look her up or did the Batcomputer explode again?"

Batman growled in answer, exiting the elevator into the manor heading straight for the kitchen. Constantine slowly grinned and held in a laugh as he followed "oh, so that's why were taking the direct path, going out the backdoor takes us past the computer! So it blew up again huh?" Batman glared at him "Yes, the same way it blew up when we tried to examine the GIW data. I need to know why it reacted to her like that".

-

Alfred was in the kitchen talking politely with Ms jasmine, she seemed insistent for him not to call her a Fenton. Apparently there was a huge falling out and jasmine was in the process of legally changing her name, a task that seemed to be more difficult then normal.

"So we get back to amity, i find out what they did to my siblings, enter the local justice department and I reach the front desk only to find those asshole agents waiting for me there like they own the place, they tried to charge me as an escaped fugitive and shoot at me again so I broke their noses and slipped back out of Illinois before they could hunt me down. Then I went off grid, planting a trail leading to my aunts place and made my way to Gotham with my friends"

"That seems rather dangerous, will your aunt be OK?"

"Oh yeah, it was her idea. After star city aunt Alicia completely disowned Maddie, she knew it wasn't safe in that house and had been trying to get Maddie to stop and think, but... after what happened to Danny and then me... Maddie's on her own, there's no chance for her anymore".

"No I mean will your aunt be OK from those agents?" Jazz snorted "oh yeah no, she'll be fine! Aunt Alicia said if we are going to come, go through Danny's space camp trail. Everywhere else will be a kill box".

"I see... well, next time you talk to her tell her I said good hunting"

Jazz was interrupted from further talk by the dark knight and a shabby blonde man in a overcoat walking into the kitchen "oh, hello Mr Batman sir. I'd say It's nice to meet you but honestly I hoped to never meet you outside of a university lecture, in fact I was honestly expecting a robin to come get the files... aaand you are that occult guy from a few years back who tried to make my parents stop their research. Mr... continuoustein?" Jazz cocked her head in thought.

"Constantine, and your name lass?"

"Oh I'm just Jazz now, formerly Fenton"

Constantine froze and stared blankly at her "you're little jasmine? 'Jazzy-pants? From amity park's Jack and Madelyn Fenton?"

"I hate that name but Yes, why are you so confused?"

"Sorry, I just wasn't expecting you of all people to be here, weren't you a strict non-believer and studying to be a psychologist?"

Jazz stared at him hard "I was yes, then Danny had his accident and I had to face the reality of the situation, 'no matter how much I protested'" she added "As for my plans, I was still planning to be a psychologist up until a month ago, I found out Danny had been taken by the GIW and my parents took leave of their sanity since they literally sold him to them, they also tried to take me as well, and... well I'm sure the news coverage on that was kept quiet. Anyway, here's the file's 'boobytrap' free for you to examine, my job of courier is now complete!".

Batman silently took in everything she said, a simple glance showed a tired college student, if he looked closer however, things were off like an uncanny valley effect.

Alfred had mentioned her teeth but he hadn't mentioned the angular lines to her face, it was definitely a normal human skull when she turned her head but if you looked directly at her the lines of her face blurred... made it look...off, elongated even. her blue eyes also seemed off, backlit like they glowed, she looked hungry. if you looked at her perfectly normal hands from the corner of your eye they looked a lot sharper while wrapped around the tea cup, like she had hardened claws for nails.

'Not human, or not completely human' batman thought, summarised from what he could see 'definitely signs of being a predator of some sort. Priority is the information though, the threat is secondary'. He decided reigning himself back in before speaking "Jasmine, I'm sorry but i need to ask you a few urgent questions".

"Sure, Jazz is fine but go for it, I can answer a few before I have to leave, although I'm pretty certain clockwork can answer better then me".

"Who is clockwork to you, how can i trust him or you? I ask because from what I was told the infinite realms should hold a sizable grudge against the living."

Jazz stared at him smiling gently as she listed on her fingers: "he's mine and my siblings adoptive grandfather, he doesn't lie but he does like to turn things into lessons to entertain himself and to my knowledge the only ones he has a grudge against is a Doctor fate for some past incident during WWII and time travellers including the flash family for making his job more annoying. As for the realms, excluding me... most just want to be left alone or pursue their obsessions. We police the more dangerous ones like pariah, Anything else?"

He watched her for any flicker of emotion, any sign she was lying... nothing. "Do you know where the leak is or who I am?"

She didn't even blink before replying "page three of the files, they're getting in through cyborg via his star labs uplink, an update installed a blind spot they took advantage of to install spyware marked as necessary firmware. We've added a patch note to allow him to view the GIW files you have, as well as stop computers exploding around ectoplasm. As for you? you are batman, that's all I need to know outside of a psychology examination... unless you want to discuss the theories that 'the butts match' or Wayne industries does a lot more then just help 'fund' the justice league?"

With no answer given Jazz finished her tea and got up, "this has been interesting but I definitely need to head out now, things to do, late for dinner, need to feed. Thanks for the tea Mr pennyworth."

"Are you a metahuman?" Asked batman making her pause as she left the kitchen "hmm, tough question... short answer no, long answer maybe? I'm liminal like my brother, Mr Constantine can probably explain it to you more when he gets past his... apparent brain freeze" Jazz finger gunned past batman causing him to look around.

Constantine, waiting too long to ask his own questions had closed his eyes for a moment to rub at a forming headache of her previous answers, opening his eyes in confusion to batman staring at him, Batman looked back to see jazz had disappeared, the path to the front door was completely empty.

Jazz was gone.

"where did she go?" Batman asked Alfred knowing he hadn't taken his eyes off her. "She left sir, prior engagements and the like. Don't you have a meeting to get back to?"

Outside the Wayne manor The sound of a motorbike revving and driving off echoed into the night.

---

Jazz knew they would begin following her when she reached the streets, she also knew she shouldn't instigated batman by disappearing mysteriously, but her hunger was getting worse! if she stayed a moment longer she would literally dig through the floorboards to get at that faint whiff of what smelled almost like ectoplasm coming from underground... she shook her head and stopped her body from turning back around to hunt the smell, if it had been ectoplasm it would have permeated the air of Wayne manor, not travel up like a bad smell... 'it. Was. Not. Ectoplasm'. She thought hard as she dug her lengthening nails into her palm beds.

It was probably just an experiment or batman stuff, nothing relevant to her.

Jazz exited the manor to find Johnnie waiting out the front on his bike looking idly up at the mansion, he turned to her with a solemn look on his face, no smile, no jokes. she nodded to him and got on his bike, gripping him comfortably as he drove straight through the closed gates, taking her back through the winding upper society roads into Gotham proper.

She tapped him to get his attention and he pulled over to let her off a few blocks away from home, johnnie held her hand for balance as she got off and gave it a gentle squeeze before letting go, still not smiling. He seemed to be about to say something to her but clenched his jaw and looked away, a look of stressed concern or possibly anger flickered across his face before he shook it off and revved the engine.

he drove off without a word leaving her to walk the streets home.

Damn jazz was hungry.

---

---

The batfam were following their targets for the night, there was a suspected metahuman trafficker in Gotham and they were planning to hunt them down before they got a foothold.

The duress warning from Alfred however had made almost everyone try to race back to the mansion before he gave the all clear response.

Now with the city being so quiet and no leads on the traffickers they had idle time, as such they listened in on the woman named jazz's static filled conversation with Alfred in the kitchen (her words sounded like a old tape recorder message, an issue neither oracle or red robin were able to solve on their ends). She was polite and chatted about her life in a town called amity park, how proud she was of her brother for doing his best helping people around town despite their families reputation, the many peculiarities of her town with its fame for being the most haunted... then it got weirder. How Danny had to recruit the entire school to mount a rescue for all the brainwashed adults from a flying ghost ship, The time she almost got blown up by the school councillor who was feeding on the students negative emotions, her brothers creepy godfather who had him cloned resulting in a new little sister who she absolutely adored (once Danny actually thought to tell her she existed), her parents toxic obsession with the ghosts and how it had destroyed her and her siblings lives. "She's making this up, ghosts don't... aren't, capable of all that" grumbled Damien currently staked out on the manors roof, he wasn't risking Alfred being harmed because they dropped their guard.

"I'm glad you said that and not ghosts don't exist because I definitely recall your face when you first learnt about Boston and Greta!"

"That's not relevant nightwing, ghosts can rarely appear in the world let alone orchestrate physical attacks on groups of people, we have no record of these things happening, you would think someone would notify the justice league!"

Steph's giggling voice entered the channel "you know, since nobody was hurt the town probably kept it quiet to help with their most haunted town theme, that... or somebody stopped them reporting it, but that would be crazy-ridiculous and mean something larger".

Jazz's voice came through the com again, this time talking about her recent activities and they sounded even worse.

"So a few months ago I get ready to check out a few college's, waved goodbye to my parents, hugged my brother, the whole shebang. Off I go city to city checking out my preferred places, a few weeks in, hero stuff happens further up the train line and my friends and I get redirected to star city until the lines clear. A day or two in I get the odd feeling someone's stalking me, I stick to public areas and it fades... then the day the lines are clear and we're heading to the station the feelings back again and this time I see them, the freaking GIW are stalking me with their white suits and vans. My friends and I try to bail because we know, anytime they're near, there's gonna be collateral damage and friendly fire all blamed on ghosts. We almost make it before they act, blocking us in the public area and open fire".

Tim is typing away on his wrist computer looking more and more distressed till dick has to put a hand on his shoulder to draw him out "what is it RR?" Tim sends files to his siblings giving each of them chills when they read its contents. "We missed another GIW operation, it didn't turn up in our hunt because the officials who sent us the information were also our contacts with star labs in the city, we didn’t question the information, there's no record of a fire-fight but there is a record of a gas main explosion that caused quite a few casualties in star city a while ago..."

"Many casualties..." murmurs orphan staring at the list "can we confirm?"

Oracle chimed in "I found something while following a lead for 'B', a star labs I.D was used in an attempt to delete star city camera security footage which was flagged by green arrows security logs, the 'explosion' if you want to call it that was caught on a safe house security feed, and shows GIW agents shooting at people trying to cross into a train station. It's hard to be certain but it looks like 'Ms Fenton' was there... it also looks like someone took a shot meant for her!" Oracle enhanced some of the footage, a slightly staticky zoomed in clip showing an agent raise a heavy weapon and fire it at jazz, before it can hit, one of the people with jazz, a woman dived up in front of jazz and the were both blown off screen by the weapon blast.

The sound of B and Constantine entering the kitchen drew their attention, they listened to her answer B's questions when she started to leave. "Getting in position to tai..." Damien was getting up from his position on the roof ready to follow her but found himself frozen in place, unable to move the moment he locked eyes with a man on a motorbike in front of the manor. a man that hadn't been there a minute ago that was now staring directly at him on the roof, The man brought a finger up and wagged it at robin as if to chastise him.

"Robin, can you repeat, you cut out there. come in!" Spoke Grayson in his ear but he couldn't answer. Soon enough the Fenton woman exited straight through the manor door as if it wasn't there and walked up to the biker getting on. The man gave him one last glance before taking off and driving straight through the closed gates to the main road, the moment he left the property Damien could move again, he wasted no time in reporting in to the voices calling him.

"Ugh! Target left the property on a motorbike, driver is a male possibly mid to late 20's extremely pale with white hair, capable of inflicting full paralysis at a distance, may be sight based! Motorbike and riders went through closed gate as if it wasn't there, combined with appearing out of nowhere, may have matter shifting abilities similar to Martian manhunter!"

Unseen, Damien's shadow returned to its normal proportions as a patch of darkness before it flitted away after the motorbike, the woman Jazz had disappeared, gone in the darkness leaving them far behind.

---

---

A quick study of the documents and a quicker check-up of the annoyed but otherwise fine Damien was all Bruce could afford before they needed to return to the watchtower, folder and its documents in hand.

Exiting the zeta tube batman immediately contacted cyborg "cyborg, I'm sending you a file, immediately follow its instructions to remove a data breach to your systems, then head to the star labs branch in star city, bring the listed officials and workers in for questioning".

-

Conference room 3 was one of the older rooms, a sturdy work floor had been installed on top of the standard station floor for this room to allow repeated defacing of the surface without needing to constantly repair the space station section, Fortunately most magic rituals could be done with chalk these days.

Currently members of the JLD (minus Dr fate and Deadman who gave their apologies as not wanting to interact with Kronos) and a few supernatural aware JL members were surrounding a summoning circle drawn on the floor, there Constantine was grumbling under his breath while busy wrapping his hands around concoction soaked rags.

"Alright, here we go folks. Good news, clockwork is a neutral entity and is often quite reserved in his personality, that being said. Remember not to wisecrack the ancient entity of time... uh, that warnings mostly for me. So lets get this over with!" Constantine lit the rags on fire, filling the room with the smell of sulphur, clapped his hands together in prayer and began the summoning".

"venias ad me nunc aeternitatis exactor" the circle lit up before slowly turning down from a burning orange to a glowing green as he continued

"Ad te voco spiritum temporis ut det munus meum. Invoco te spiritus temporis ad dandum meum donum scientiae"

(*Come to me now driver of eternity. I call upon you the spirit of time to give my gift. I call upon you, the spirit of time, to give me the gift of knowledge.)

With barely a ripple, a being with red glowing eyes, one scarred and what looked like a grandfather clock jammed in its torso appeared floating in the circle glaring at Constantine"

"I gave you my summoning circle, yet you have the nerve to summon me like that Constantine? I'm not a damn demon. you didn't even use my name properly! if I hadn't wanted to talk to you I would have sent a hex down the line". The grizzled spirit stared at them unblinking, slowly shifting form between adult, child and elder as the sound of deep ticking echoed from him.

"I didn't think you'd really answer the summons for little old me without some kind of trouble waiting, besides, I don't speak Esperanto well, fortunately Latin works just fine".

Constantine tried to light a new cigarette but was stopped by batman nudging him to continue. "You said you had information for our case so I need to ask. I'm enquiring into two spirits we were tracking who escaped a holding facility last week" the ancient spirit glared at Constantine and replied in a mocking tone "a holding facility you say? I didn't know the justice league knew about such places capable of 'containing' spirits. Tell me John, do they just 'hold' spirits there, is that what they do?"

Constantine had the good sense to feel ashamed as Clockwork chewed him out "we didn't know they had gotten this bad, I had requested they be under more scrutiny bu-" "I don't care for excuses Constantine, the damage is done and still continues. Now! Ask what you wanted to ask so I can get back to dealing with some meddlesome intruders in my domain". "Uh right... the two spirits that escaped, they were wounded. We can't seem to track them anymore, I'd like their names so we can summon them and make sure they're alright and possible answer some questions".

If it was possible, the aura around the spirit became more dangerous.

"The spirits you are searching for no longer exist as they were" said the ancient ghost, anger clear on his face towards Constantine and the league members in the room. "Their cores begun final collapse and destabilisation this afternoon after being on the run from the humans agents called the Ghost investigative ward, those that hurt and hunted them. They didn't even get the comfort of their loved ones with them. The most we could do was shroud the area so they would not be recaptured in their final moments".

"Oh, I'm so sorry. What were their names?" Asked Zatanna "their human names? You might know them as Daniel Fenton of amity Park and his cloned half sister Danielle masters" The glare as he turned back to Constantine increased.

"Hang on! The Fenton boy? 'He was cloned?...' uh no wait, Why would he be a spirit? Aren't his parents working with the bloody GIW!" "Yes, yes they are". came the reply with a sense of finality to it.

Constantine's eyes went wide and his skin paled as he realised the implications of what jazz had said earlier, "Oh... oh no." "Oh yes" glared clockwork "my grandson Danny spent two years protecting Amity Park from both ghost attacks, his parents and the GIW without the league or outside help. He kept the human world safe from the ghosts and then had to switch to protecting the realms from the humans. Only to then get shot in the back by his parents, to have his body and core cut up piece by piece".

He watched them mutter and wince amongst themselves before continuing "it should interest you to note, His human allies and their families were also taken by the GIW and are being held by your government in rather unpleasant detainment facilities. If you would like to earn my favour I would suggest tracking them down and releasing some of them for starters".

The batman approached the circle and examined clockwork before speaking "what are their names? Do you know which facilities they are in or what they're being held for?" Clockwork seemed to contemplate something. A green sheet of parchment fell through the circle at their feet, a list of names, aliases and locations.

"You can start with Samantha Manson, she's currently booked illegally in Arkham under an alias, you should find her having tea with poison ivy since they have a lot in common. By the way, since her parents willingly helped lock her up in that 'tainted curse' of a place to avoid being incarcerated themselves, I would suggest helping her out with emancipation paperwork and bringing charges against the parents.

Next is tucker Foley, he's currently in the Cadmus lab in metropolis as a test subject, luckily he's smarter then them. You can give him a few more days before you collect him, he's having fun sabotaging their more shady work.

Last, You'll find Valerie grey residing in belle reve prison... most of the time. You will need to schedule time with Amanda Waller if you want to get her out".

Batman stared at the list "what are all these other names and locations?"

"The Foley's and the grey family are interred with students from Casper high, amity park. They're being held in detention cells throughout America" clockwork rolled his glowing eyes at that. "The students attempted to get in touch with authorities outside amity park and the GIW'S control, the agents found out about it and had them black bagged, or white bagged if you want to go by their theme, Now they're being held for breach of the anti-ecto acts. The rest of the locations are undocumented GIW facilities where captured ghosts and ecto contaminated subjects are experimented on. I would advise shutting them down soon or the GIW, if successful with their experimentation will gain enough strength to be a major problem for your entire reality".

Batman looked at the list and nodded, "it will be dealt with, how were these anti-ecto acts breached exactly?-"

[Entry: raven 02]

Their conversation was stopped by raven entering the meeting room and coming to a halt. "Oh, uh did I come at a bad time?" Clockwork shifting to a small child ghost, looked up at her and smiled "of course not Ms raven, in fact I was hoping to return something of yours, would you like it now or we can discuss later if you prefer?"

"What are you offering her?" Asked Constantine immediately suspicious, "memories" clockwork replied. Raven looked confused but nodded assuringly to Constantine "whose memories are they?" Clockwork pulled out a small clockwork gear printed in strange symbols on a glowing material and flicked it out of the circle like a coin to her. "I'd say yours, to remember in your own time" Clockwork turned back to batman shifting to an old ghost and continued explaining the anti-ecto acts and the loopholes they had used to get their way.

Diana glanced up at raven, still standing awkwardly by the door holding the cog unsure if she had been dismissed. "Raven, take a seat dear, has something happened?"

Raven sighed as she answered accepting an empty chair "I'm sorry, I was tracking the spirits down with superboy when that weird storm hit. tracking has completely failed and smallville was the last area I could locate the spirits. I've tried breaking through again but the storm is too strong, Not to mention strange reports began just before it appeared".

"Oh, what reports?"

"Public disturbance calls mostly, Magic sites across the globe that deal with spirits are reacting weirdly. shrines, graveyards even haunted houses". Diana caught clockworks grin at her and turned to look at him "what do you know about this?" She asked staring at him intently.

"Oh just the second reason for my visit, none of you would know this yet but the infinite realms is currently in a form of political turmoil" Constantine perked up "turmoil? What happened, did one of your more inane ghosts do something stupid like stealing Pandora's box again?"

"Close, due to the disappearance of phantom, who has being one of the more stabilising presences in the realms. some citizens of the realms (who may have had a hand in his disappearance) took it upon themselves to steal royal artefacts and dispense them to potential candidates for the throne, as such from tonight we are now locked into a war of succession"

"A war of succession... how? Pariah's been your king for well over a millennia!" Exclaimed Constantine. "exactly, pariah in his defeat was still wearing the crown while locked in the coffin of forever sleep. however during an incident two years ago he was temporarily freed by a greedy idiot. After a few days terrorising the realms, he was bested and re-sealed by phantom, this time without the crown. Since having been defeated in what was observed as single combat he lost the rite of control for both the crown of fire and the ring of rage. Both items at the time were stolen by Vlad masters and stored in his vault... they are gone now, and are in the hands of candidates to the throne".

Green arrows face scrunched like he'd eaten something sour, "Vlad masters? That rich, creepy mayor with a ton of shady businesses? How'd he get involved?" "The same way he got those businesses, he caused an issue then swept in taking what he wanted without the original owners being aware. You'll find files on him in those GIW computers you collected, fortunately he's not a candidate for the throne so I can sell the prat out without breaking the rules, by the way, I'd appreciate you hunting him down Constantine, he has many relics you might be interested in as payment".

"What makes a candidate? can we know who the candidates are?" Asked batman trying to bring them back on topic. "I cannot say the selection process was done by the Observants without permission of the ancients, those two relics are crafted in a way that I cannot detect or interact with them, a fail-safe pariah built into them to stop me ever trying to usurp him. They were stolen around the same time but I only discovered they were missing because another one of the stolen relics was guarded by the yeti's. That has itself brought up its own local problems. However, the earliest theft was shortly before phantom disappeared two months ago. all I can say is they are loose in this world and you will begin noticing their effects soon... or you may already have noticed these effects..." Constantine was getting irritated and really wanted another smoke " you're clear as mud clockwork, that doesn't really help things. Do us a favour and tell us what the items do to people, I mean, shouldn't they only affect ghosts?"

Clockwork grinned "how many times have you all died? Even for short periods of time because your heart stopped? Now, how many of you live in area's where there's a high amount of death energy permeating the city around them?" He looked to batman for this one with a raised eye. "The ring and crown influence those affected by death in different ways, fortunately you would need to be an actual denizen of the infinite realms to have full control of all the relics abilities".

Green arrow spoke up "so what can we expect from a non denizen who wields the relics?" A smile this time, "a good question green arrow. The crown will empower any undead that swears fealty to its wearer, the ring however will absorb the willpower from anybody targeted by it and give it to the wielder". Simon, content to just listen glanced up at clockwork who was looking at him intently as he said it.

Green arrow frowned, "so together they would allow you to both gain an obedient army and make them stronger?"

"Seems like it would be quite useful on a battlefield amongst the dead! Good thing they are currently separate".

Diana raised a hand to interrupt simply getting a smile from clockwork "we are not in class granddaughter, please go ahead" Diana hesitated at the title but pressed on "what are the requirements to become the new king? How will the succession war end, do you already know who will be victorious?" Clockwork looked sad and hesitant to answer "unfortunately the wielders for the relics are concealed from my sight and as for who the victor is I cannot say, all possible futures are laid out in front of me, futures where everything ebbs, futures where everything flows but without the present tense to follow the trails, I cannot see which is more likely to happen, all I can do is plan and prepare. For how it starts, claim the ring and crown and be acknowledged by the throne. As for how it ends, it ends when someone is foolish enough to stab the old king".

At the last part Diana saw his glowing eyes flicker to raven still holding the cog wheel "I... assume you have made your plans for the succession... should we be worried?" Clockwork chuckled loudly before answering in a bored manner "I am forbidden by ancient contracts that chain me to my domain, by their command and for the good of the realms. interfering in a war of succession is not permitted unless it risks temporal damage or destruction of the infinite realms". It sounded like he was reading off a contract he'd been forced to read countless times throughout eternity. "Are you really kronos? You are acting far too personable to be the mad titan" "No, I'm Clockwork. The ghost of time. If that doesn't answer your question ask me again next time we meet granddaughter, I will explain things better then, for now, be worried, or don't be worried. I'm sure you have many rogues and villains to confront to keep you busy, farewell".

Clockwork seemed to turn to leave before looking back "Oh and batman, the joker just escaped from Arkham, his cell has a joker gas bomb rigged to the cell door. Good luck!"

And with that he flickered out of view leaving them in the shadowed room.

---

---

It was only a few questions that had been asked, with much information being given in return. Batman had made his apologies as he stormed out of the room calling in the possible escape while the JLD members relocated back to the previous meeting room, there they were busy comparing notes on possible contenders for the throne and looking for signs of strange activity.

They needed to stay in the loop for this, while the infinite realms was definitely out of their jurisdiction, the threat of another pariah dark was enough of a threat to stay involved in the process.

Clark sighed as he looked over the footage of the spirits escape "if we could have just found them sooner, perhaps we could have saved them... or at least helped them pass comfortably" the Question, studiously looking through the green parchment of names and places, comparing them with old physical road maps replied comfortingly.

"Don't beat yourself up Kal-el, this entire situation came from a forgotten agency with no oversite, they've been keeping things off our radar, not to mention using their authority and the general public's disbelief in the supernatural... All we can do is prevent any further tragedies happening".

"Public disbelief? The public should know magic exists, including supernatural entities like ghosts!" "Yes but they're not like our ghosts are they. Deadman can only be seen by use of magic and could never interact with the physical world without possessing someone, Secret? while able to be visible she couldn't interact with the world for more then a few minutes at a time. These ghosts however are capable of feats of strength on par with you, powers that defy physics, rivalling masters of magic and superheros alike".

[Entry: cyborg 01]

They all looked up to cyborg entering the meeting room with an angry look on his face. "Oh what now?" Asked Constantine tiredly. "Three scientists. a visiting professor. 6 security guards with league clearance and the public rep for star labs are in custody, I guess the preference for white outfits should have been a sign to look out for. the security breach for the watchtower and the league in general has been closed" he gritted his teeth before continuing. "There has also been a break in at the holding facility where the GIW personnel were hospitalised. A GIW agent has been arrested but the patients are gone, nobody can find a trace of them". Simon perked up quickly looking into it "when did this happen? There's been no alert put out". "That's because none was issued, the agent rocked up to the facility with all the paperwork ordering their release, paperwork apparently signed off by us. the only reason he was caught was because I cleared the block preventing me from noticing them and ordered him arrested". Cyborgs voice became like acid "I've been running back through the watchtowers files, without the block I can now read all their data including the files from their computers, they've been tampering with us for years. Changing our logs, diverting emergency calls, even stealing equipment, research and funding!"

Diana rubbed her temples and sighed "so the government agency that has caused us so much trouble over a long time period, who has endangered this world with their recent actions just stole subjects of a priority investigation? We'll need to arrest them now, collate the data and we'll organise a priority meeting with the American government, this needs to be stopped. Any other information we should know?

Raven spoke up "I'm concerned with those GIW agents in the white vans, when we caught up with them they were tearing across Kansas after the spirits causing trouble, they destroyed a lot of peoples crops and fences. none of them seem to be magic users but somehow they can track the spirits long distance through some sort of scientific means. Fortunately it seems when the storm started they lost tracking the same time I did, unfortunately they then rounded on us accusing us of sabotaging their gear. Superboy was dealing with them and told me to head back to report, he didn't like the way they kept eyeing me and examining me with their gear".

Superman remembered the threat clockwork had mentioned and spoke looking at Constantine "-you may have already noticed it's effects-, Constantine you said the agent was driven insane previously right? He wouldn't have attacked the lanterns otherwise? Perhaps the GIW are involved in both issues. This is a new risk to watch out for, nobody approach or interact with those people by yourselves, always partner up, especially Dark members, they may decide magic is their contamination and I don't want to risk you guys getting captured by them. Send the warning out to all league members and any community's at risk. This meeting is now adjourned".

The league members quickly headed off to their tasks, there was a lot to be done.

---

---

In a GIW lab

Agent B hurried through the facility towards the high containment area, intent on ignoring the calls for help from the multitude of containment cells. In the far room was his new superior examining test results.

"Sir, the captured agents have been retrieved but agent A was apprehended by those ecto loving hero's! Permission to stage a rescue operation?"

The bald man with a pointed nose looked at the agent with disdain "why would I waste my time with that useless trash, if he got caught he got caught, bring those captured agents down to the containment labs, it's time for the 'live' trials!" He caressed a glass jar full of bright green ectoplasm and smiled. Agent B stared at his superior confused "sir, why would I bring the agents here, they need the medical wing so they can recover and get back at that damn ghos-" "-atututa" said the man shushing the agent "that's not needed, after all, the field reports indicate that the ghost in question is either destroyed or near complete ending, your wounded agents dealt it a killing blow in the lab before it's escape, you can be proud that they caused it to suffer immensely before fading. Well done, now bring them down here". The smile disappeared as the man repeated himself. "Agent B was about to object when the superior held up his hand with a green skull ring on it "I said bring them down here" the agent glowed slightly as something was drained away from him into the ring, he nodded and turned away to complete the task, the superior called to him jovially as he left "also once that's done begin recruitment to replace the fallen agents, we can't have the GIW looking too thin in numbers!" the door closed and the man added quietly "after all, a good scapegoat has to look healthy for people to buy it!"

-

---

Notes:

-that's all for this chapter, next ones back in smallville as Danni starts to find themself again.

-sorry if it got too wordy or is too close together, would you believe me if I said the last month has been me trying to figure out the last half of the JL meeting? I just couldn't put words down that stuck!

-might be a little confusing because I'm playing with time but ravens designation is because she's been reincarnated, the league would have to keep all biometrics of all people using titles in case they were temporally displaced.

-I'm keeping question ambiguous like a dread pirate Roberts because that is on character for question, so you can imagine them as Vic or Renee, it's up to you.

[year2000electronics]

Hi, just being curious, what do you think is the greatest difficulty you’ve faced carrying out the storyline in your ask blogs (aside from potential burnout)?

Is there any time where the asks were not going towards the direction where you’d want them to go, and how did you steer the story back on track?

Do you have any techniques giving out clues or keeping the pace of the ask blog?

[sorry these are a lot. Of questions. It’s just, it’s amazing how you are able to run multiple successful askblogs, and I’m curious how you did it]

OOOH THESE ARE SOME INTERESTING QUESTIONS! really pickin at my old noggin here...

id say probably the most difficult part is like... ok through my tenure ive obviously had some physically taxing moments, moments of people being way too mean, people being way too NICE, people complaining that every single member of a giant ensemble cast doesnt get the exact same amount of screentime etc etc, but id honestly say the hardest part is just. making the medium Work. when i run an ask blog like this, im basically asking people to drive the story forward with no promise of whether their choices even like. Matter. if youre not tethered enough to your asks, it can feel like youre just asking people to put a coin in the slot and letting the story play for another page. you have to play this balancing act of wanting to tell the story you want to tell while also needing peoples' help to get there. thats why an engaging story and endearing characters are so important. i wound up telling people here on my main that y2k would end with a good ending specifically because i got people concerned i genuinely would end it with a Bad End, but still even knowing that people would tune in. so its like. i always have to make sure its Engaging enough. for people to be willing to play this game with me at all. the hardest part of fishing is getting the fish to bite yk.

2. YES ALL THE TIME LOLLLL a lot of the time i will end up either picking an ask from before the topic came up and answer that one, or plant my own decoy ask. basically jingling keys at people HJSSKHASGK. but sometimes even that doesnt work! benrey in y2k has a very touchy complex about his helmet specifically because I DIDNT HAVE SPRITES WITH HIS HAIR. and i thought that his hair was kinda boring compared to what people were probably expecting (its very short and simple i draw his hair like bootleg barney) so i ended up having to answer that little thread by having an explosion and then presenting my own resolution (gordon calm him down :)) i like to think ive gotten better at key jingling though haha. usually the two types of key jingling topics i find work best are either little plot teases or a 'now back to what we were doing' ask, but if you dont want things to advance quite yet, i usually use questions that will elaborate on a character trait or introduce a new character fact

3. dont be me. /j ok actually the thing about this specific medium is like. people will send me asks guessing my twists WAAAAY early on but the thing is i can just. choose not to answer them. hehe. id personally pay attention to how often people are guessing your twists though because like. its BOUND to happen if you lay out clues some people will pick up on them. if theres not a lot of people guessing, then you can lean more into the big sting reveals of like 'NOOOOBODY EXPECTED THIS' but when a lot of people have guessed the twist, i usually make sure to present it in a way that doesnt imply that there was nobody on the right trail or that people got bamboozled. as for the clues themselves. well im about to figure that out myself again! i have some clues i need to lay in bmfe!! dont get discouraged if people pick up on what you thought was really subtle, cos like. literal day 1 of episode 3 someone literally made a powerpoint saying 'LEADING LIGHT IS BACK' and i was like ok i was just on my first crumb DAMN. as for pacing, it doesnt matter if you get the blog done in one month or one year- what does matter is PLANNING. if you know what your goal is, what your landmarks and checkpoints are, youll be able to stagger stuff successfully no matter the length. some of the best-recieved parts of y2kvr were parts i went into the session going 'this is my goal for today' for. the goals dont even have to big, it could even be something as small as like 'get from place a to place b'

SORRY THIS GOT LONG but ty for the question! reflecting on my process is interesting :]

[bisluthq]

I think the whole point is that Taylor’s lyrics create contradictions because they’re song lyrics. It’s art, it’s dramatized, it’s embellished. You can’t take song lyrics and use them to make actual real statements about real people and their very real issues. Because when you do that, you basically have to end up picking and choosing what you want to draw from art since a lot of contradicts things. You say Taylor only popped off about Matty on Question…? and TTPD, but Taylor literally got up onstage and said Cardigan was about Matty. And seemingly tied Maroon to him and implied other songs on Folklore/Evermore were also about him, at least in some way. So that would be more than one album, if you take what she’s saying at face value and then it would be a lot more eyebrow raising. But does that mean she was seriously thinking about him that seriously? No, she was embellishing for art because it’s a good artistic storyline. Just like anything else in her music, she has an artistic license to embellish. Saying “sometimes I think other girls really want Joe because he’s such a gorgeous London boy but also I’m not that worried because he always comes right home to me and it’s not a big deal and also I sometimes think about other guys too but again it’s not a big deal because I still come home to Joe” is kinda like….okay and? Like that’s boring, just typical relationship stuff. Not that interesting in a song. So instead, she dramatizes it. As she has the right to do so. But that artistic, dramatic version of events is just that.

I literally - and I am not trying to be rude - don’t understand what you’re saying.

of course she dramatizes stuff. However, when writing autobiographically, she dramatizes real emotions. She felt jealousy around Joe since Rep songs (possibly because of how they got together and then it just didn’t fully dissipate). Also she was really into Matty lol and clearly had (and imo has, again not in a Maylor way) unfinished business with him.

She dedicated cardigan to him, and as she should have because it fit their story perfectly at that point???? Must’ve felt surreal (same as fallingforyou even existing must’ve felt wacky). But like she’s dedicated a bunch of songs to a bunch of guys. Lover has had, at this point, three whole ass separate daddies lmao. She used OOTW (which she wrote before she met Matty) as an interpolation for a Matty song because she likes that melody, the anxiety theme fit, and also like it was that same period of time idk all her thought processes.

No, she didn’t spend ten years pining for Matty but she did have unresolved things with him (and realistically still does because she’s all hatey hatey now but the opposite of love’s indifference, as The Lumineers so eloquently put it, and idk that she’s indifferent). So yes she exaggerated those unresolved feelings and also she felt a LOT like at that point??? And it all felt destined and shit idk?? And no she didn’t spend six and a half years freaking out every day about Joe cheating but she didn’t completely trust him (evidently)??

I’m so confused as to what we’re even discussing/debating??

[spectralarchers]

Hi there. I found your fic, Exit Wound and it's wondrous. I found it nearing it's end, wondering many a day and nights what the ending would be like at Chapter 29: Sight. Unfortunately, life got a little busy but now that I finally had time, I read the last chapters and I feel nothing short of wonder, joy, anticipation and inspiration.

Your writing was beautiful with a storyline that leaves images flitting through my mind as if I was right there in the story, watching and feeling it all. I cried, sobbed, laughed and smiled with them, feeling fear and relief when they felt it in their moments. The start pulled me in, drawing me to read further, push deeper and understand the lore of this story. The middle of the whole story gave me so many emotions that it gave me whiplash—in a good way. The ending has me burning alight with fear, anticipation, worry and interest.

I only know of a few backstories, gleamed from other fanfictions I've read while going down the GhostSoap tag on Ao3 but the characters were well chosen for their roles, matching up similarly to what I've seen from the bare bits of clips (mostly GhostSoap, I admit without shame) . I admit again, I didn't expect El Sin Nombre to take the role they did or for so many characters to appear and draw me in so effortlessly. I met many new characters in this story, found the old familiar ones and learned more of them along the journey in this story. It appears I'll have some research of my own to do in this fandom before I'm fully invested, seeing as I only know the reboot (my favourite version no less).

I won't say much, as is proper no spoilers etiquette, but I adored your fic all the way through and still do. I'll be revisiting it again and again, but oh, what I wouldn't give to travel through this marvellous story again for the first time. I may or may not have lost a few nights' worth of sleep, but the dreams that followed of the scenes you painted with words were worth every second.

Although I'm not all that invested in the Call of Duty fandom, your story drew me in with the details, the carefully written characters and the plot of the story.

If I ever do decide to write a story in the fandom of CoD, please know that you are my biggest inspiration for it.

Sincerely,

A new Ao3 user too shy to comment.

PS: Sorry for the long ask. And many more apologies for the messy message ":]

Oh my god, Nonnie. I have no words to express how much joy your ask brought me when I opened the app this morning for my morning paper read.

I'm sitting here staring at your ask with a blue to my cheeks and I want to hide my face and kick my feet because I don't know how to respond to such incredibly kind and heartwarming words?

I am so happy that my story managed to make you feel things and that I didn't bore you half to death with all my detours. I am so glad to hear that the wide array of characters I pulled in from other Call of Duty franchises (& comic backstories) felt like they fit in.

I'm sorry I caused sleepless nights, but if the price for those were dreams that you consider worth it, then I'll retract my apology.

I am so immensely honored to have been on the receiving end of such a message, filled with praise that might actually make me cry. So thank you, sweetheart. From the bottom of my heart ♥

If you ever write something, please, send it my way, I would love nothing more than to read it. And if you ever feel comfortable to not be too shy anymore, my DMs are always open and I don't bite - much ;)

I can't wait to take your hand through another Call of Duty adventure. I can't promise it'll be as good as this story was, but I can promise that it'll be an entrancing ride nonetheless ♥

[jadeykitties]

the thing is everyone thinks they have what it takes to reinvent scooby doo but half the time they’re running on half-informed memories of the original series with no attempts to even LOOK into what came after, repeating the same superficial jokes that are regurgitated by pop cultural consciousness based on assumptions - without actually understanding the source material! 

which is FINE when it comes to fanwork like fanart and fanfiction - doesn’t interest me, i don’t like it, but it’s objectively fine. i’m not expecting a casual viewer or artist who is drawing something for fun to have intimate and extensive understanding of scooby doo’s history as a franchise. but it’s not so fine when you’ve got big productions who keep doing the same thing over and over but INSIST theyre REVITALIZING and REIMAGINING the franchise, that they’re BREAKING NEW GROUND and whatever else they want to claim, and yet. falling into the same pitfalls as anyone else who is barely familiar with the source material they’re trying to produce new content for, backed by corporations.

for example people will make jokes about hating scrappy and how he’s the worst but not having ever watched the series where he’s introduced, or any of the ones following that used his character! relying only on the pop cultural impression that he sucked (he literally saved the franchise but whatever) or relying on the live action scooby doo! so you have to ask, how familiar with scrappy are they actually! what do they actually KNOW about scrappy? do they just regurgitate the opinion of another for lack of knowledge, or is the distaste founded on their own perspective following a watch of the series he stars in?

similarly, people will make all kinds of claims about the members of mystery inc without actually knowing a thing about them as introduced in the original series - thinking of fred as the jock when shaggy is actually the jock, and fred is more of a nerd like velma. though granted fred did become kind of jock-adjacent in what’s new scooby doo, so it’s not really inaccurate... but, like. without understanding fred’s character they’ll insist he’s just some boring guy and assume that because he’s not as gangly looking as shaggy, he’s the self-centered stereotypical popular guy jock when that’s not really a true thing in the actual animated series (until, you know.) - really, he’s more like velma than shaggy is. and so they’ll go and they’ll make their pitches based on this preconception of who those characters are, and they’ll insist they did something new! and yet it’ll be the same thing someone has already done, with no unique twist because it was all based on a farce to begin with.

so anyways, while a lot of what scooby doo: mystery incorporated did wrong was a dealbreaker in terms of what i’m willing to put up with in a work of fiction, it also did a lot right and took inspiration from a lot of previous scooby doo works - though i don’t even know why they created barty and nan to be daphne’s parents when ned and elizabeth already existed and franky with how many sisters daphne had it would have made more sense for daphne’s mother to be a thicker woman than nan was but i digress. it was still rather clear that there was a lot of inspiration from previous works incorporated into sdmi, and it did a decent job of setting up both a series-long storyline with mystery AND episode-to-episode mysteries and stakes. and although i don’t like what it did with daphne’s entire character and relationship with fred, or the handling of shaggy and velma’s relationship - it still was able to do something new without claiming they were improving anything or otherwise reinventing the wheel.

so if anyone gets the idea they can reinvent the wheel, they should definitely be forced to do more research into the subject before finalizing their pitches. need more ian flynns and francisco angones...es... and less randos who don’t care that much about the characters they get to play with, getting to helm any kind of big project involving the scooby doo cast. like, watching the original series and sdmi as research, at the very least. ideally a pup named scooby doo and be cool scooby doo also but that one’s personal preferences. that’s not even getting into the hanna-barbera scooby doo sequels following the original series prior to apnsd serving as the catalyst for returning everything back to the basics, or any of the animated movies that i feel are also valuable to the franchise, like zombie island, witch’s ghost, and cyberchase... ect... there’s a lot out there, man, there’s a lot that’s been done with the gang, i don’t see why you’d go out of your way to insist that the characters have all ALWAYS been boring and there’s NEVER been new or different things done with them! you’re not going to be the one who invents the wheel! it’s already invented! just build a cool ass cart and get your ass across the finish line.

and on an unrelated note, for the love of god bring back marcie fleach. i’m tired of this

[kingofdinosaurs]

20 through 25?

done some of these for gear but I'll go through for anything i wanna cover for other things!

20. part of canon you found tedious or boring

uhh... can i say yu narukami's moveset in p4au? idk i just cannot get into him and it's genuinely sad to me because he's my favourite guy but his gameplay makes me so mad. like

idk.

21. part of canon you think is overhyped

i... am well aware that i am often The Overhyper In Chief but even by my standards i think sometimes that people may be a little untruthful about how good p5r third semester actually is, and also just akechi in general. i don't even dislike the guy i just feel like people have put a lot of weight on him and i don't really... get it. like it's cool. 3rd semester is probably my favourite overall part of p5. maybe i just don't like p5 the way i used to. but i still think if you like akechi that much you should play other persona games and see if you feel that same connection there because there's quite a few guys who preceded him and i honestly like them better. this isn't even about sho, honest! this is about ken.

22. your favourite part of canon that everyone else ignores

this is the part where i do the ones ive already done for gear for other things! so obviously i have a lot of these. but i truly do believe that everyone should go like. watch a couple of the p4a story modes, then watch labrys', then go watch the endings then go read the ultimax manga or something (actually please PLEASE read the manga it's so good it's like the most complete package of the ultimax stories my only gripe is that it doesn't really give labrys much spotlight because it follows the p4 path). it's so fucking good i won't even force you to play a fighting game if you don't want to just. actually like experience the story labrys is from and draw some actually relevant art of her pulling from that new understanding! I'm STARVING! it's all just her standing somewhere in a generally cheery way i can't TAKE IT ANYMORE!!! GET TO KNOW HER! SHE IS MORE THAN A PRETTY FACE!!!

23. ship you've unwillingly come around to

... i wouldn't say SHIP, because i tend to view it as totally one-sided and a pipe dream in the story as well as out, but i find hazama/ragna really funny now as like a crush that hazama tries to bring up to him once, chickens out on, tells him something else, and is met with a "oh thank god. i thought you were gonna confess your love to me or something." and that's just the breaking point, hazama kills that part of himself immediately and never brings it up again because he's too embarrassed

24. skipping this one because i already answered it and i got nothing

25. common fandom complaint you're sick of hearing

i... think i also answered this one someplace? well whatever. i get being annoyed that they lean on the protein joke a lot for akihiko, but can you guys give the rest of his characterisation in that game a fucking chance!!! so fucking SICK of people going "wah wah akihiko got worse again after making that promise when shinji died" like wow maybe recovery isn't linear! maybe i think it kind of rocks that he wasn't just fixed and better! he lost yet another person and his response was to throw himself into anything he could to avoid thinking about it, and i think this makes sense for him and is a pretty decent way to handle the fact that he... sort of needs to have a storyline ingame? which needs conflict? anyway everyone leave me and postcanon akihiko alone in a room for a while. you are all scaring him.

[eowynn-bagels]

What I read in September

September was a crazy-ass month. Lizzy kicked the bucket, Don't Worry Darling crashed and burned, and most important, I read a ton of movies.

1. All The Light We Cannot See

All The Light We Cannot see might just be my book of the year. As I already talked about this in a previous post, I'll make this quick. All The Light We Cannot See has been described, and rightfully so, as a modern classic. Its unique presentation of its story and masterful management of story threads that sew together Werner and Marie-Laure through their childhood years and the present have cemented it into its position as one of the best books of the 2010s.

Final Verdict: 9.5/10 - Absolute perfection

2. Never Let Me Go

The second book I read in September was Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro. This is my third Ishiguro book, and I have to say - he is a brilliant author. The way he slowly draws you into the mystery of Hailsham, and how it's drip-fed to the reader what Hailsham's true purpose was for, despite the parallel storyline running in the modern day, it never gives away what they're doing, just that Kathy is a 'carer'.

I also went into the book blind, having no idea what it was about. I didn't read a synopsis, I didn't skim it, I just sat down and finished it in one sitting. Never Let Me Go is a masterclass in exposition and the flow of information to the audience. It treats the reader as if they too exist within the world of Never Let Me Go and it works incredibly well. The way it handles its themes, story and characters could not have come from anyone other than Kazuo Ishiguro.

Final Verdict: 8.5/10 - Read it blind!

3. Grand Hotel Europa

TW: Sexual assault

Then, I read Grand Hotel Europa, and it is a letdown. I bought it because it shares a similar title and seemed to share a similar story to one of my favorite Wes Anderson movies - The Grand Budapest Hotel. What I got instead was one pretty good metaphor about Europe, a useless, filler storyline that takes up 2/3rds of the book's material, and a really weird sex scene in which the author has with a 18 year old girl.

What you need to know about Grand Hotel Europa is that it is written as a true story, the author - Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer (one hell of a name) - presents the story as something that actually happened to him (down to the author's name and background). Sure, it's unique, but what makes it concerning is the aforementioned weird sex scene. The girl, Memphis, grew up in an abusive household where she was sexually assaulted. She was then adopted by rich parents and eventually ends up in the Grand Hotel Europa, the main setting and namesake of the book.

After they have sex, and Pfeijffer describes it in awkwardly high detail, she tells him to 'use her real name'. Even if this is fiction, it reads like some bizarre author self-insert fanfic, written as an excuse to jerk off, and somehow made it past rewriting, editing, publishing and translation. Outside of the Murakami-esque sex scenes, it isn't all that compelling. Like I said, the storyline about Clio and the lost Caravaggio painting is intensely boring. The only positive thing about this book is the book's namesake, the Grand Hotel Europa, which works pretty well as a metaphor for Europe in an ever-evolving world, and singlehandedly keeps this from being a 1/10.

Final Verdict: 4/10 - Murakami-esque, but without the good prose

4. Outline

Outline is the first novel in Rachel Cusk's Outline trilogy. I don't really have any strong feelings about it. Despite rave reviews, I don't feel like it says that much or wants to say that much, for that matter. Outline is an interesting, short-ish story about a woman who comes to Greece to teach a writing class, and in doing so meets several other people, who through conversation, are revealed. In the process, we also learn about the main character.

It is elegant and contains some great prose, but offers not much food for thought or discussion, not anything to write home about. Perhaps I need to read the next two books in the trilogy to understand it.

Final Verdict: 6.5/10 - Boring but not in the 'classical literature' way.

5. The Iliad

I also read The Iliad and it is a slog, but in an interesting way. The Iliad tells the story of the siege of Troy, one of the penultimate events during the Trojan War. It is also one of the oldest pieces of literature in the world that's still widely read, clocking in at around 2700 to 2800 years old. It moves like a giant, slow but immense in its proportions. Every chapter intensifies the stakes and every character is given their own motivations.

It's hard to talk about The Iliad without also talking about the censorship of Achilles and Patroclus' relationship. In my edition of the book, published in the 50s, they are referred to as 'companions', and to drive the point home, both take on trophy women. The translators are so insistent that both are straight that there are even addendums in parts where it's made explicitly clear that Achilles and Patroclus are fruity that say, in a nutshell: 'No homo, they're just the best of friends. Guy pals.' However, in modern depictions, most notably Madeline Miller's The Song of Achilles, where Achilles and Patroclus' relationship is the main focus of the book, the story works remarkably better. Achilles turning to rage and accepting his fate after Patroclus dies works so much better when you know that they loved each other. It becomes even more of a tragedy than it already is.

The Iliad is an epic that has come to define classical literature, and will continue to stand as the quintessential epic. With themes of fate, love, time and hubris, it stands as one of humanity's greatest achievements.

Final Verdict: 9/10 - Achilles and his ''''Friend''''

[tareyoabrumado]

ive been a lot happier making art since i stopped doing character art.

i was focused on making interesting ocs and their stories and drawing them to keep up with what everyone else was doing. i had one oc i focused on most strongly, and everyone else within the story was an afterthought to fill out the backstory. i still really love the character, dont get it wrong, but i realized over the development process that my favorite parts werent designing and drawing the character; it was the worldbuilding behind it:

speculative biology for nonhuman sentient organisms

language with no basis in existing languages (i developed my first conlang solely for this one character!)

environmental influences on a society's culture

linguistic and cultural barriers upon migration to a new world

practicality and structure of clothing and tools (i feel it reasonable to believe that all the clothes i designed would be easily sewn in real life) (also hair!! many of the hairstyles i designed could theoretically be done irl, provided the wearer had horns)

music and instruments and the arts culture within a society

it got to the point where i would look at the character and there would be so much going on, and yet very little in terms of a present-day storyline. ive since realised this character was just a vessel for all my other interests: linguistics, anthropology, biology, music, and physical crafts.

and i didnt even realize those were things i was that interested in! i knew i liked music, and i was on my way to a second language, but the technical linguistics really came out of nowhere (the biology was a huge surprise, given my apathy when learning it in school).

i havent touched the character in a long time. but im happy leaving their story where its at. they live out their life until they get bored, and then move on to something else, and so on. life goes on.

i got a little bit off-topic with this post. anyway. when i joined the art side of the internet, much of it was dedicated to character design and story. everyone was making intricate universes with overarching stories and detailed characters and relationships and developments; and rather than write books, they shared concept art in the form of comics, scene drawings, and character reference pages. i very rarely saw more traditional art: paintings of just. people and things. nothing exists past the piece. its nobody specific. because of this environment, somewhere in my head it was established that this is what art is these days, and to be an artist online youre expected to do character-based pieces.

so i forced myself into it. its what all my friends were doing, after all. social psychology says that you are your friends. they were all making fanart and of course, character-based pieces with extensive stories behind them. and i just couldnt figure it out. i thought there was some kind of social disconnect--wouldnt be the first time, as i seem to be the only one in my group who really doesnt enjoy playing any videogames aside from minecraft. i tried my best, and really enjoyed the process of building up my character and their backstory and homeland and culture and anatomy and dear god ive strayed away from the character themself. it never was about the character. it was about the messages i was trying to convey. everything that overshadowed the character was everything that was more important. i dont care if the design is too busy--look at all the ways a person could wear chains as jewelry!

i see the details in everything, and especially people. human bodies. nonhuman bodies. clothes and jewelry and hair and everything else. this made drawing very difficult. i wanted to detail every part of it. it became a too-realistic cartoon. i drew the seams in the clothes and the twists in the locs. i had to stop myself from drawing lines in the face. there are lines everywhere and once you notice them its impossible to ignore them. the one time i included lines and creases in the face (not nearly as many as i wanted to, but the minimum required to convey the expression and emotion), my friends said it looked weird. unfortunately cartoons and anime and character illustration have simplified designs, and every character is either young and smooth and beautiful or theyre old and wizened and wrinkled and never beautiful and often played for laughs or when the protagonist needs a mentor figure. for a person grappling with their own identity and physical existence, seeing these sentiments expressed so prominently is. difficult. people have a lot to them and its busy and not traditionally beautiful and complex and thats what makes them interesting beings.

character art is almost always digital in its final form. so that was my medium. i got by with the lineart-colorblock-shading-background setup that much of that kind of art shares. i began using a crayon-style brush for my lineart. i was always searching for a way to do a realistic oil paint style with my coloring and shading. i never found the perfect brush, so my art never turned out exactly how i was dreaming.

i thought i hated art classes. i thought i hated art classes. i thought i hated art classes. i was so trapped in the character-art funnel that nothing was to my standards and every project was shit.

i took two art classes this year to fill credits, one focusing on 2d art and the other on ceramics. neither was digital. neither was about characters.

in my pieces, i want to explore abstract ideas. i could just make a candle lantern with a cool design carved into it; or i could explore themes of what it means to be human. there is not a single character aside from vague representations of human beings. im in love.

for my 2d class, we're expected to keep a sketchbook. any art, so long as it's art. too many times ive filled a page with a drawing of a person. nothing exists past the piece. its nobody specific. and their faces are covered in lines. everywhere. eye bags, crow's feet, lines around the mouth and nose and chin, forehead wrinkles. necks.

they are people aging and they are beautiful. they are young people with decades under their belts and they are beautiful. they are people of every age and every life and they have existed physically enough for their bodies to recognize their physical habits. a testament to their living.

they are not smiling. but they have the crow's feet and the lines around the mouth and nose and chin and you know they have laughed many times before. they have lines between their brows and you know theyve felt worried about maybe one too many things. they have wrinkles on their foreheads and you know theyve felt surprise. everything is surprising. and interesting. and awe-inspiring. and beautiful.

we age and we change. this is a story everyone knows. people are often afraid, but then years later, theyre happier than theyve ever been. and they know it will only get better with time.

november 15, 2022

[tehuti88-art]

9/23/22: r/SketchDaily theme, "Moving Water/Free Draw Friday." (I did Free Draw Friday.) Two portraits today.

This week's (second) character from my anthro WWII storyline is a very new fellow, Sturmbannführer (Major) Konstantin Klaus. Regarding his design, his cap looks funny because he wears it with the stiffener removed for a "crushed" look. He also has a nasty scar over his eye, though his eyesight is unaffected. About his facial expression, he isn't sad or depressed, he's just a rather bored apathetic sort. There'll be some info about him later in my art Tumblr and Toyhou.se.

TUMBLR EDIT: Major Klaus (I kind of got attached to the name Klaus from a couple of different sources and wanted to use it, but since my characters are mostly referred to by surname, had to check if that was acceptable--it is--then had to come up with a first name--Konstantin--so yeah, you end up with Kommandant (Commandant) Konstantin Klaus, that's rather...uh...anyway) is a very very new character about whom I don't know much yet, though he did tell me a bit of his story. More will likely surface as he develops. Not that long ago, the only SS who were meant to appear in my story were the Allgemeine-SS, but gradually the SS-Totenkopfverbände and Waffen-SS emerged with their own characters, so there went that intention! And not that long ago the only camp directly referenced in the story was the smallish labor camp belonging to Commandant Dannecker/Commandant Reinhardt, but very recently, the thought of a camp in the rodent half of the story seeped into my mind. Probably because of Dr. Kammler seeking test subjects from there, and getting Wolfstein. I knew Wolfstein had spent time in a camp, but it wasn't intended to be in the story. Well! So much for that. A second camp appeared. This one was much different from the previous camp. It was MUCH bigger, and not just a labor camp, but a death camp, too. Mostly because I don't want it to seem like I figure all camps were just places someone went to to work and that was it, not by a long shot. I take LOTS of liberties with this fictional camp system (like why do my characters ride trains there when the camps are, like, at the other side of the city?--LEAVE ME ALONE) but that's not one of them.

The new camp needed a commandant and that's where Klaus came from. Almost from the start he came across as glum and apathetic, not because he's particularly guilty feeling or anything, but because...well, he just is. He doesn't seem to care too much about anything. This put him in direct contrast with my other two commandants, Ernst Dannecker and Hasso Reinhardt.

Dannecker was the commandant dreaded and feared by everyone he came into contact with, with a reputation for not just violence and malice but for sadistic mind games as well. I hesitate to call his behavior "horrific violence" because he didn't do the sort of stuff you can read about real SS guards doing. But he was nasty enough anyway. For him, terrorizing his prisoners was more satisfying than killing them, so he'd draw that psychological torture out as long as he could. (Though yeah, he'd outright kill them on occasion, too.) He was also just a gigantic skeezebag who broke/neglected numerous SS rules, terrorized his own guards, literally TRADED A HUMAN BEING for the price of a tapestry, had a creepy weird relationship with his stepdaughter, called his devoted wife (the only person to miss him when he was gone) a cow and reviled her behind her back, subjected even his obedient kapo, Isaak Schindel, to a particularly humiliating punishment he didn't even deserve, etc. etc.

Reinhardt, who takes his place, is a reformer. Yes, he's still in the SS, yes, he still runs a labor camp. He focuses, though, on trying to make things a LITTLE more humane as well as productive and less wasteful. He's strict, but technically not cruel or spiteful. Do your job decently and he leaves you alone. The drawback is he constantly has to defend his actions to the rest of the SS, who find this sort of behavior counterproductive. The prisoners do their work well enough under him, however, that his superiors don't question TOO much. He even improves living conditions and tries to sort out the system of execution (something necessary even in a labor camp) to not be so messy anymore, and assigns tasks better suited for particular inmates; one of the recipients of his kindness, Schindel, even stays behind in the camp after Reinhardt opens the gates following the Allied takeover of the city, and remains by the wounded Reinhardt's side until the Americans show up. (They assume he's one of the SS guards in disguise at first since he refuses to leave Reinhardt.) Reinhardt ends up in a prison rather than executed due to these actions. (Oh, right. Dannecker would have definitely ended up executed, if one of his prisoners hadn't murdered him first.)

Klaus is neither a psychopath nor a reformer. He's just...there. Doing his job, because it's what he was told to do. He in fact parrots this line unthinkingly more than once in the story, that he's just doing what he was told to do. (Sound familiar?) It seems like an excuse but Klaus genuinely believes it, because it turns out he's never really thought it through all the way. He's been taught not to question things and just do his job. So, he does.

I believe Klaus starts out in the Waffen-SS, like Major Jäger, and similar to him, is wounded--likely how he got the nasty scar over his eye--and transfers out. (Same thing happens with Lt. Hesse on the canine side, though I don't think Klaus is old enough to have served in the Great War.) Unlike Jäger and Hesse, he doesn't transfer to the Allgemeine-SS but in the direction that actually makes more sense, to the SS-Totenkopfverbände. There was a lot of overlap between these two branches, with members switching between one and the other; Klaus can't stomach the thought of pushing papers in a bureaucracy like Jäger does, so he decides to head for the camps. An opening appears for a commandant and he's placed in charge of the camp in the story--not exactly the position of authority he'd wished for (he's not the most motivated guy), but what can you do. The weird thing is, he's very good at this job. He's s**t with names, not so good with faces, but he remembers numbers, he remembers dates and times and places, and he can pair them up in relation to each other to keep track of lots of information with minimal hassle. And given that running a camp depends so heavily on numbers and dates and times and places, that means he keeps very good track of everything that's going on, down to where prisoners with particular ID numbers were sent off to after leaving his camp, and when. He may be apathetic but he's also very efficient, and keeps the camp running much more smoothly than Dannecker's much smaller camp ever did. (In this respect, he has a lot in common with Lance Corporal Mahogany Rat, who's quite obviously on the spectrum and thinks of people more as numbers than as names/faces, except this particular...skill?--deficit?...is a lot more useful in a place where people give up their names and become numbers.)

One disturbing aspect of this is how Klaus's flat affect manifests itself in relation to his prisoners. He frequently refers to them as his "sticks"--inanimate objects, bundles of wood, often stacked atop each other and placed in the ovens to be burned. Really disgusting and disturbing, but he says it without even thinking, like he's barely ever considered the possibility that he's dealing with actual people. Weirdly, he shows no malice toward the prisoners--it would be like showing malice toward an object, and that makes no sense. So while this contrasts with the usual more sadistic guards, it's perfectly in keeping with his personality. Objects are beneath him but they aren't worth getting mad at, either.

Something Klaus becomes well known for is his business and bargaining savvy. His ability to keep track of his prisoners means he knows which ones are most productive or most talented, and this serves him well in determining who gets assigned to craft duties such as manufacturing SS uniforms, memorabilia such as Julleuchter (kitschy SS holiday lanterns), and various items to sell to provide funding for the SS. (Jeez the SS is tacky.) One such prisoner is Jakob Wolfstein, who catches Klaus's attention when he offers to fix Klaus's coat sleeve after another prisoner accidentally tears it (one of the rare occasions Klaus loses his temper and threatens an inmate); Wolfstein's quick but precise stitching impresses Klaus enough to assign him permanently to craft duties. Just as he bargains and strikes deals with other officials to either save or make money, he's willing to do the same with the prisoners if they have something to offer, and occasionally hands out privileges as incentives for better work. Inmates can even directly approach him when he walks through the camp and plead their case; he listens to all reasonable offers, and at the very least doesn't punish anyone just for having the audacity to ask. He's relatively frugal, though he makes enough money for himself to have a nice comfortable home and staff located on camp property (as required).

An issue arises, however, which bemuses and annoys him: The SS wishes for him to get married. The birth rate in Germany has dropped, and the Third Reich places a great emphasis on its citizens having children, the more the better. SS rules actually stipulate that a good SS man is to marry a decent Aryan woman and father at least four children. Not all officers follow through on this, though, and Klaus has zero interest in starting a family. Even the financial incentives the SS offers aren't enough to convince him otherwise; he's content being on his own. The SS is insistent in this case though, presumably because Klaus is such a public figure, and after some further resistance on his part, they decide to arrange a marriage on his behalf. (Was this sort of thing actually done in the SS? I dunno. It's done for the sake of this story, though.) If Klaus isn't interested in seeking out a suitable bride, they'll just find one for him.

Klaus isn't happy about this at all--"What time have I for a wife?--a family?--when I have my camp to run and my guards to watch and my sticks to keep in line?" he grouses--but has no choice. An acquaintance of his helps facilitate the process and keeps him up to date. It doesn't take long for the SS to locate a suitable mate, but she has to attend an SS bride school first to make sure she's ready for the role. This is all really weird for the asocial Klaus and for the most part he just tries to put it out of his mind until the young woman completes bride school and the time comes for them to marry. Yep--they're to get married without ever having even met each other first. "What if I don't like her?" Klaus asks his acquaintance (unknown to him, his intended bride is asking her own family, "What if he doesn't like me?"); that doesn't matter, what matters is they produce pure Aryan children for the Reich. Love?--romance?--those are unnecessary, a mere side benefit to those who experience them. Just treat her halfway decently, father some children, and he'll be set.

The SS performs its own weird occultish version of wedding ceremonies; I don't know all the details, but Klaus arrives in his dress uniform and his intended bride in her dress, and they meet each other for the first time. It's awkward, but not terribly so; they don't get a chance to talk to each other yet but do kind of timidly peer at each other. Emma, her name is, is a little bit stocky and brunette (she wears her hair in braids coiled on the sides) and somewhat plain but when she peers at him sideways she offers a small smile which makes him blush and look away. (She thinks he's handsome, though rather stiff and standoffish so she wonders if she's offended him or if he's disappointed.) The marriage ceremony goes through without a hitch (nyuk nyuk) and the new husband and wife head back to the camp, where Klaus's home is located. The two of them know exactly nothing about each other (well, she knows he's the commandant of the camp, that's it), so they have some catching up to do. His reasons are obvious, but Klaus wonders why Emma agreed to an arranged marriage sight unseen; she explains she wasn't any good at finding a partner for herself, being so plain and shy, so her aunt and uncle decided to find a husband for her. They'd thought of trying to find one through the Lebensborn program, though this isn't the specific purpose of the program (Major Ludolf Jäger, in the Allgemeine-SS, found his wife through Lebensborn, though she was an unwed mother-to-be at the time and he adopted the child as his own when she was born); her aunt then just happened to run into Klaus's acquaintance at a social gathering, and the two got to talking--when they realized they both had a common goal in mind, they exchanged information and started making plans. Emma fit all the SS's racial hygiene requirements, but didn't know much about housekeeping and women's work, so went to attend the SS bride school. (Just a quick aside to say that yes, SS bride schools WERE a thing, they were apparently called Reich Bride Schools, though I know little about them and have taken lots of liberties as usual.) She's lucky--as camp commandant and such a skilled businessman, Klaus is technically a "catch," though he doesn't feel like one. Klaus doesn't know if he's lucky or not.

They arrive at Klaus's house--"Just a heads-up, I don't have any fancy mountain chateau, if that's what you expected"--and Emma meets his small help staff, who greet her warmly (they figure it's about time he got married). She asks when she's to make him his dinner; confused, he says he has his staff to do that, but she insists it's part of her bridal duties to prepare the food; finally they agree that the staff will show her the ropes first and then they can figure it out amongst themselves. (Again, this is stuff Klaus never bothered thinking about before.) She asks when he gets up to go to work in the morning so she knows when to have his uniform washed and pressed and polished and ready to go; all of this flusters him terribly. (A high point, she makes strudel for dessert, and Klaus LOVES strudel. And Emma makes very good strudel.) The most flustering thing of all is when the time comes for bed; the two of them avoid the obvious for as long as they can, Emma fiddling her fingers nervously, until Klaus finally blurts out, "We don't have to do anything tonight if you don't want." It isn't pure altruism on his part--he's feeling as uncomfortable about their conjugal duties as she is. Emma is obviously relieved (so is he) but says, "Just, let me have until tomorrow night, bitte?--I'll be prepared by then, I promise." He suspects he won't feel any less awkward by then, but for the sake of a decent night's sleep agrees. Not that either of them gets a decent night's sleep though, I'm pretty sure they spend most of the night lying beside each other wide awake and agonizing. Emma seems nice, she has a pretty smile and makes fantastic strudel, but Klaus just wants his solitary bachelor life back.

He goes to work early the next day, comes home late the next evening. (It's a full-time job running a camp.) While he's away Emma keeps herself distracted getting to know the house and staff better. She's puzzled to find a grand piano. Yep, a grand piano. It's kept dusted off and such but looks unused and the staff confirm that this is so, Klaus never plays it, because he doesn't know how. Why does he have a grand piano? Apparently it was a weird gift somebody gave him. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Emma, however, knows how to play the piano, so she fiddles around with it (well...pianos around with it?) a bit to amuse herself--it's a tiny bit out of tune--before going on to other things. She helps prepare dinner this time and makes sure everything is nice and ready for when her new husband comes home. Just as before, the staff all leave them alone when they eat together and Klaus is about as awkward as the previous day, though they do try to make a bit more smalltalk to get to know each other. Emma brings up the piano, and Klaus confirms it was a gift, albeit one he had no use for, thus why it's stashed away in an empty sunroom he never uses, either. When Emma says she knows how to play it, he humors her and they pay the instrument another visit; she plays a tune he finds familiar, and she's surprised when he joins her on a harmonica (which he does know how to play). It's odd, but it breaks the ice. That night, and the next morning, aren't nearly so awkward. Later that day while Klaus is at work, Emma is surprised again when someone shows up to tune the piano.

Well, turns out Emma's family and the SS actually made a good match, and Klaus and Emma get along quite well, calling each other "sweet Em" and "my Konstantin." Emma likes doing her best to be a good traditional wife though Klaus is lenient enough that it's fine if she slips up. Klaus has very few words though the few he does have seem good enough for Emma. She gives him something to look forward to when he gets off work, and he doesn't miss being a bachelor so much anymore. They never do meet the SS goal of at least four children, though they do have two young sons, and although Klaus isn't the most emotionally demonstrative dad in the world he adores them both. It's really not a bad life. (For him, at least; can't really speak for the people in the camp.)

Of course Klaus interacts regularly with his fellow SS members, including those in the other branches. He comes into contact with Capt. Otto Himmel as a result of dealing with requests from his brother-in-law, Dr. Dietmar Kammler. Dr. Kammler is running a medical experiment which requires subjects with a very rare blood type, so he regularly sends out requests to places with large populations of prisoners, disabled persons, and other "undesirables" who might fit the bill; Klaus's camp is a good source of test subjects, even those who don't fit this particular requirement yet can be useful in other experiments. Klaus actually finds these requests annoying; he doesn't see the point of experimentation. If sticks aren't good enough to be on equal standing with Aryans then how can they be any good as test subjects? But obviously the rest of the Third Reich doesn't share his opinion on this, so every time one of Kammler's requests comes through, he has to go over it and accept or deny it. SS regulations stipulate that the vast majority of requests be granted so he isn't actually required to go over every request, but he does so anyway, mostly to annoy Kammler for the hassle, and he makes a point of complaining whenever Kammler pays a visit as well. It's obvious he and Kammler dislike but have to tolerate each other.

This is the likely reason why he gets along with Capt. Himmel, because Himmel also despises but has to get along with Kammler. Himmel is also a rather gloomy, taciturn sort, another thing they have in common. In fact, for a brief time Emma even develops a crush on him, always bringing a strudel when she visits where he works (Himmel also has a fondness for sweets); Himmel is even more awkward around women than Klaus is, yet they keep hitting on him anyway. (He's one of very very few guys doing secretarial-type work in an office full of female SS auxiliaries and let's just say there's a lot of thirst going on.) Himmel is incredibly flustered by the attention, yet the observant Klaus has a theory about the reason: Himmel is a widower, and "Women like to fix broken men." "Like moths to a flame," he adds, making it clear that he knows Emma has a crush on Himmel, because she keeps bringing him strudel--"She must really like you." Himmel, alarmed by this, privately asks Emma to stop bringing him strudel, because that's something she should do for her husband instead. Emma is mortified and ashamed to realize how inappropriately she's been acting, and hurries back to Klaus to beg forgiveness for her unfaithfulness, though really all she's done is express her condolences and bring Himmel lots of dessert pastries. Klaus is infuriated--but not with Emma, because like I said, he already knew about her "impure thoughts." He confronts Himmel to lambaste him for making Emma feel bad--"I told you that in confidence!" he snaps, regarding his comments about women needing to fix broken men. Himmel, even more bewildered by this turn of events, tries to stammer an explanation, but Klaus just clenches his fists, yells, "STOP TALKING TO MY WIFE!!" and departs. Himmel's boss, Maj. Jäger, witnesses part of this exchange and exclaims, "Kamerad! What is this? There are plenty of single women out there, you don't need to target the married ones!" Himmel just hides his face and grumbles.

Anyway...although he dislikes it, Klaus has to put up with Kammler's frequent requests for test subjects. One day after blood samples are taken of everyone currently in the camp, a second such request comes through, though for only one inmate--Jakob Wolfstein, who is so skilled at making kitschy craft items for sale, and once fixed Klaus's torn sleeve. After the second blood sample is processed, Kammler requests Wolfstein to be sent to him as a test subject. This request is an odd one, not like the others; Kammler has never shown interest in a specific prisoner. Klaus is rather sorry to see Wolfstein go (even if he can't remember his name); he was good at what he did, and the commandant feels like sending him away to some experiment is most likely a waste. I don't think he ever learns of Wolfstein's fate, becoming the first success of Project Doomsday; the incident is kept somewhat quiet considering that Wolfstein is Jewish, and Kammler soon after switches his attention to Himmel's son, Kolten, who's mentally disabled but at least he's Aryan. Klaus has no involvement in any of this, and really doesn't care to be involved.

Since he's more of a secondary/tertiary character, I don't know much about Klaus's role in the bulk of the story; he's there kind of at the start, and toward the end. More about him may come to light later, but it's hazy at the moment. He reenters the story when the Third Reich is on its last legs and the Americans are approaching the city from one side, the Red Army from the other. Klaus had rather prided himself on how well he ran his camp, but times have grown tough by now and conditions have significantly deteriorated--the trains aren't running as reliably as before, with more coming than going, and he has significantly more prisoners than the camp was intended to hold. Disease, exposure, and starvation are starting to run rampant. Communication with higher-ups in the SS has become sporadic too, since many of them have bailed out early, so he has no real recourse to get everything sorted out. Not to mention everyone in the city is starting to panic, including his own guards. Most of them end up fleeing, disobeying his direct orders and making off with many of the camp's records to try to cover up any evidence of their crimes. The camp is left with just a skeleton staff...and a bunch of very, very angry inmates.

When word reaches them that the Allies have finally entered the city, and American troops come within sight of the camp's fences and demand the surrender of the remaining SS officers, the prisoners who are in good enough physical shape revolt. One of the kapos strikes Klaus in the leg with his club--smashing his kneecap and crippling him instantly--and a group of inmates knocks him to the ground and starts pummeling him, breaking his nose, blackening his eyes, fracturing a rib; it's only the intervention of the American soldiers who breach the camp that saves his life, and they have to push the prisoners back and drag the badly injured Klaus out of the brawl, ignoring the prisoners' yells to let them take care of him. Klaus was never particularly horrible to his prisoners, but a Nazi is a Nazi at the end of the day, and he was responsible for the selections and the gas chambers. He and the few guards remaining are taken into American custody while the Allies try to figure out what to do about the camp itself, which is freaking huge, and full of sick and dying prisoners. They weren't quite prepared to handle this.

They also aren't really prepared to handle Klaus. They argue a bit over what to do with him--giving him back to the inmates is a popular idea--before deciding to hand him over to the Trench Rats, an American unit which has been active in the area for years already, keeping an eye on the Nazis' medical project; they have a medical ward, surely they can figure out what to do with him. Klaus is handed over with little ceremony, someone mentioning offhandedly that he should be seen by a doctor, but he's shoved into a cell and left there without this happening. He sits there for quite a while, every inch of him throbbing, before receiving his first visitor, a Trench Rat with a sergeant's insignia and a blinded eye. He's been told that Klaus likes to make bargains. As a war criminal, Klaus most likely faces execution after he'll be tried by a military tribunal; but he might just get a prison sentence of his own instead, if he helps. Thinking of Emma and his sons--whom he told to hide in the cellar of his house if everything went to s**t as he was expecting it to--he asks what it is they need to know. They're looking for a particular prisoner, the Trench Rat says, a Zigeuner (Roma) man named Nikolas; his last known location was in Klaus's camp. Klaus replies that he needs more information than that, because he doesn't know the names of his "sticks." A second Trench Rat assisting the sergeant provides an ID number, and Klaus pauses a moment to sort through his mental records before explaining that prisoners in certain groups of ID numbers such as this one went to one of various locations--some left for another camp, while some were assigned to a particular area of his camp. When was the date the ID number was assigned? The two Rats share a perplexed look before the second one looks through his file--Klaus realizes it's one of the partial files his guards left behind--and gives a date. Klaus pauses again before answering that the prisoners in that group were sent to a specific set of barracks, and the Zigeuner prisoners to one building in particular. If Nikolas is still in his camp, that's where he'll be. The Trench Rat sergeant, who gives his name as "Gold," turns to leave, when Klaus warns him he better hurry as most of his Zigeuner prisoners are in bad shape: "Killing 'em off would've been a mercy." Gold gets a disgusted look but says nothing as he departs.

A short time later, a third Trench Rat with a red cross on his helmet arrives and signals the guard to unlock the door and let him in; Klaus jumps back when he touches his face, and only then gets a very brief, dim look at his helmet, because by now his eyes are nearly swollen shut. He gives Klaus an ice pack to press against his face and examines Klaus's knee, determining that he can put it in a splint and cast but do little else, the patella is crushed and it's unlikely he'll be able to walk on it again. Klaus reacts as he always does, with indifferent resignation. When the surgeon asks what happened and learns it was the prisoners who inflicted the injuries, Klaus adds that he can't even blame them, they were just doing what prisoners do. The surgeon asks if he has any other serious injuries and he says no, though a brief examination reveals he has a broken rib as well, and the surgeon orders that he be brought to the medical ward for treatment. Once there, another patient--one of Klaus's "sticks"--sees him, and attempts to attack him, having to be restrained by a couple of Rats; Klaus can't see what's happening, though he hears a woman (Lyndsey Skye) ordering the patient back to his bed, and the patient complaining that someone like Klaus doesn't deserve to take up a bed. The woman starts to tend to him and Klaus says matter-of-factly, "He's right, you know; you shouldn't be wasting beds on people like me (he gestures at his crippled leg) when you have patients who might actually recover." "Yes, well," the woman replies, "unlike your people, we don't make distinctions like 'worthy' or 'unworthy.'" Klaus says nothing, though the comment makes him pause.

By the time Klaus is able to see again and is moved to a different part of the medical ward, Sgt. Gold pays him another visit; they succeeded in locating Nikolas based on the information he gave them. They've realized that Klaus is a mnemonist, with an unusually gifted memory for numbers and data. (Gold's companion, Mahogany, noticed that every time he's asked to recall such a detail, Klaus lifts his head and appears to be "reading" the air, as if scanning an invisible ledger; this is how he visualizes and remembers such things.) Most of the prisoner records from his camp are missing, stolen by the guards who fled and complicating the process of sorting out the remaining prisoners; however, they may not need these records, if Klaus himself remembers the necessary details. "And what's in it for me?" Klaus asks; he's already been promised a prison sentence rather than execution (if possible), so there's little left to bargain with. Gold replies that the Allies found Emma Klaus and their two children hiding in his house and took them into custody.

For the first time, Klaus shows a flicker of concern; obviously anxious, he asks if his family is all right, and insists they had nothing to do with his work. Gold assures him they're safe and will be protected while in Trench Rat custody. Klaus doesn't need any further prompting--"You keep my wife and kids safe, I'll tell you everything you want to know." He does ask if he can see Emma; independently, she's asked if she can see him. His children aren't allowed in, but the Rats do allow Emma in just briefly; she and Klaus embrace, and she frets over his black eyes and injured leg while he insists he's fine, and instructs her to do what the Rats say, and let the boys know he loves them; they share a few endearing words before she's led away again, her eyes full of tears. Klaus wipes his own eyes, takes a breath, and says, "Well, what do you need me to do?"

Even with the threat of a military tribunal hanging over his head--and no absolute guarantee that Gold's promise can be kept--Klaus proves to be one of the Allies' most useful resources. He not only gives what information he remembers from the missing records, but provides information on the most likely locations of the guards who stole them--in effect, selling out the SS-Totenkopfverbände to protect his family. When the time comes for him to stand trial, he claims he was simply following the orders of the SS, but also takes responsibility for his own actions, and testifies truthfully as to everything he and his guards did. He's found guilty of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and belonging to a criminal organization (the SS); the usual punishment for such offenses is execution, but Gold kept his promise of working to get him a prison sentence instead, and knowing that Klaus may be able to provide further information, he's given a ten-year sentence (obviously, not everyone is happy about this--including Camo, the original sergeant of the Trench Rats), and is brought to an old castle which has been converted into a prison to serve his time. (I've toyed with the idea, but am not sure yet, that this castle is the most prominent one in the story, informally known as Castle Schavitz after its former inhabitant. Needless to say, he wasn't the original owner, and there was likely at least one murder involved.)

The American military continues to make good use of Klaus while he's in prison. A particular pair visits him often, a high-ranking man and a woman, the man asking numerous questions while the woman takes notes and sorts through files. Klaus answers whatever they ask to the best of his ability. His interest is piqued when he learns that the female officer is Jewish; it's odd to him that the male officer, while formal, is cold and blunt and obviously dislikes him, yet the female officer is more courteous and seems indifferent. Klaus asks her one day, after the male officer has left and while she's picking up her files, why she doesn't seem to hate him. "What have you done to me?" she asks, to which he says, "Your people. I was certainly not good to them." She replies that while that's true, she can't let it interfere with her work. Realizing that she's a person doing a job makes Klaus stop and think, probably for one of the first times in his life. Although the male officer obviously disapproves, the two start to communicate a little more in between questioning sessions; Klaus had never thought of Jews as being anything other than the "sticks" in his camp, and the closest he'd ever gotten to one was when he briefly regretted having to send Jakob Wolfstein away. It's kind of jarring to him to realize he can hold a decent conversation with one, and not only that, but she seems smarter than he is, as well. She brings him a book to read; Klaus has never been very big on reading--the Nazi party actually advocated against learning TOO much--but he has little else to do while alone in his cell, so he accepts it. He knows enough to recognize that it's a book that was banned by the Nazis yet he reads it anyway. The next time she visits, he gives the book back; she says she'd intended for him to keep it, to which he replies, "They don't allow me to collect books here...I was hoping I could trade it for another one."

Taking the hint, she brings him a different book, and every time they meet he returns the old book and receives a new one. She brings particular books--mostly books banned by the SS--for a reason, and he's aware of what she's doing but goes along with it anyway, not only because he has nothing better to do, but because it's finally occurred to him to think about everything he's just blindly believed up till now. The more he reads, the more uncomfortable he feels, but it doesn't quite hit him until one day after answering questions he casually uses the term "sticks" for the umpteenth time and it suddenly strikes him that he's not talking about sticks, he's talking about people, not much different from the one in front of him. "Not sticks," he says; then, "So many not-sticks." He abruptly loses his voice, can't say anything further; the officers leave, and he's returned to his cell. He has lots of time to think now, and he doesn't like what he's realizing. Basically, he's realizing what a truly awful person he really is.

Emma is allowed to visit him briefly once in a while. The Trench Rats, who've maintained a skeleton force in Germany and repurposed the old Project Doomsday headquarters for their own use in sorting through the records the Allgemeine-SS left behind (Himmel, who faced a military tribunal himself, helps with this), kept their promise to maintain her and the children's safety, and for the time being they've been living in headquarters along with several other former SS members and relatives to protect them from the public. As before, it's not an arrangement everyone likes--Camo Rat, Noah Kirchheimer (a relative of Wolfstein's), Champere (a French partisan leader), and Didrika (a Roma partisan leader) are especially displeased with it--but it has to do for now. Emma expresses some concern one day that Klaus's attitude seems to have changed; he brushes off her observation with a vague excuse. The truth is he's at last starting to question the SS values he's held as long as he can remember, but seeing as she attended the SS bride school and had to meet all their criteria just to marry him, and was required to raise their sons with the same values, he doesn't want her to know this. The Allies are implementing the process of "denazifying" Germany, which means purging Nazis from positions of authority and influence, though in at least a few cases, they're attempting to flip former Nazi officials to their side as well. This isn't for purely idealistic reasons--mainly, they're attempting to counter the Soviet Communists--and it isn't even always required to "convert" the Nazis before bringing them on board--lots of them get off scot-free. But this is what starts happening with Klaus. He can't quite hide his feelings one day when Emma visits, but still refuses to explain why until he asks how the boys are doing with their lessons. Emma confesses that she's gradually stopped trying to instill SS values in them, in hopes of blending in better once they leave the Americans' custody. She expects anger and disappointment; but Klaus just offers a small resigned laugh, and briefly clasps her hands (touching isn't allowed, though they manage it a few times). He allays her worry and confusion by simply saying she's done the right thing.

Klaus's continued assistance to the Allies, combined with his apparent harmlessness--he's permanently lost the use of his leg and needs to get around on crutches or in a wheelchair, and expresses no interest in trying to get back in touch with any of his former SS colleagues still remaining (I mean why would he, when he pretty much sold them all out)--play a large role in authorities determining he can be released from prison early. Several parties, including Camo and the male military official in charge of questioning him, argue vehemently against this, and even Klaus himself makes no case for his early release (he doesn't protest it, but he doesn't plead for it either), but when he agrees to continue providing information, his prison sentence is commuted, and he's released several years early, into the custody of his wife. (The first thing Klaus does after exiting the prison is to embrace Emma and his sons for a few moments; they all leave together without saying a word.) The Allies secure a small cottage for them and they move in, Emma taking a job to support them as Klaus is unable to work; additionally, he decides to rarely leave the house, as the German citizens recognize him and often react with anger and hostility--he doesn't want to bring such treatment down on his family, so determines that keeping himself away out of sight is the one thing he can do to protect them. Emma is saddened by this, but can't persuade him otherwise. It isn't an ideal situation, but, as Klaus reasons, at least they're all together again, that's what counts.

There may be more to Klaus's story--I've toyed with the idea of him moving out to the country similar to Himmel, and living a relatively peaceful life there--BUT I'm uncomfortable with the thought of it looking like I'm letting him off too easily. Yes, I do feel his "conversion" is sincere, and yes, I have plenty of other Nazi characters who meet suitably unpleasant ends, but still, considering the scope of Klaus's crimes, I'm really undecided on this one. Maybe his fate is to remain in a prison of his own making; that seems rather ironically suitable.

I do think that eventually Himmel reaches out to him though, and then Wolfstein--it's kind of awkward, considering:

Emma, answering the door cautiously: "May I help you...?"

Wolfstein, holding a couple of boxes: "I'd like to speak with Herr Klaus, bitte? I was told he lives here...?"

Emma: "Who's calling?"

Wolfstein: "Wolfstein, Jakob Wolfstein."

Emma: "Hold on, bitte." (goes inside)

Klaus: "Who is it?"

Emma: "A man to visit you, he says his name is Jakob Wolfstein?"

Klaus: "I don't know this name."

Emma, returning to the door: "I'm sorry, my husband doesn't remember you."

Wolfstein, a bit confused, then thinking of something: "Oh...wait a moment." (looks around, holds out the boxes) "Could you?" (Emma takes the boxes and Wolfstein unbuttons and rolls up his left sleeve to show his arm; Emma lets out a small gasp)

Emma, reading the number then giving back the boxes: "Hold on a moment, bitte." (goes back inside)

Klaus: "He's still here?"

Emma, anxious: "He...has a tattoo on his arm." (recites the number)

Klaus, looking up in the air a moment, then widening his eyes: "Let him in."

(Emma returns to the door, gestures for Wolfstein to enter; Klaus rolls out to meet him in his wheelchair)

Klaus: "You fixed my sleeve."

Wolfstein: "You remember that?"

Klaus: "I'm sorry, I don't remember your name or your face...what's your name again?"

Wolfstein: "Wolfstein, Jakob Wolfstein."

Klaus, looking up in the air: "Jakob Wolfstein." (looking at Wolfstein again, perplexed) "Why are you here...?"

Turns out Wolfstein is there to check in on him, same as he did with Himmel, as Himmel--who'd run into Klaus not long before while he was briefly hospitalized--expressed concern about his wellbeing. Wolfstein mentions how Klaus was once kind to him, offering him privileges, to which Klaus, always painfully honest, protests, "That wasn't a kindness, was just a quid pro quo." Wolfstein doesn't care. They talk a bit to catch up (Wolfstein mentions he's friends with Himmel, and his sister is involved with the former SS officer--a concept Klaus still finds surprising) before he offers the first box; Klaus gingerly opens it (like Himmel, he feels very uncomfortable receiving gifts), then laughs a little--it's a Julleuchter, which he gives to Emma to put on the mantel, saying, "He always made the best Julleuchter." Wolfstein promises to check on them again though Klaus can't figure out why he wants to, and Wolfstein leaves the second box with them before departing. Once he's gone, the Klauses open the package and curiously peer within. It's a box of Jewish pastries.

[Konstantin Klaus 2022 [‎Friday, ‎September ‎23, ‎2022, ‏‎4:00:14 AM]]