#School Reopening July

[cantarella-s]

What do you mean there’s only 1 day left of pride month

[mxnhoo]

like you! (n. rk) preview

READ HERE NOW!

synopsis your bestfriend that you've always bickered with suddenly.. starts to appear.. more.... attractive? genre frenemies to lovers, romance, fluff, reader sucks at her studies, riki sucks too but he's smarter, reader and riki bickers like.. a lot.., riki and reader is lowkey like risa and otani from lovely complex, they both have soft spots for each other, will update as i progress/more of it will appear on the actual fic itself pairing nishimura riki x f!reader featuring jake, jungwon, sunghoon, sunoo (all are the same age/grade) current word count 5.4k estimated word count 6-10k(?) (im overshotting cos im ambitious and somehow always underestimate how much i write) release date SOON. maybe in like the next week

cly's note my school is reopening soon and i want this to be my last writing before i possibly become inactive again. ngl this has been dusting up in my drafts since june/july BUT i rediscovered it and my spark to continue it has returned. im genuinely enjoying writing this fic, SO hopefully when it's out ya'll enjoy it equally.

lmk if you wanna be in the taglist! (i say this everytime but i'm always so nervous that no one will ask)

[layawayh2o]

Hello my dears! I, Asmaa, are asking you to support my campaign to help me reach my goal.🙏 I am now in desperate need of your support to help me stay alive and safe. Gaza is a very dangerous place, both in terms of living standards and souls. I need your financial support so that I can obtain the basic needs of my family until the Rafah crossing is reopened to transport my family to safety and peace. Please help a family survive through your small donations or through your shares to others. Thank you very much for standing by those in need. The campaign is going very slowly. Campaign link: 🙏🍉💔https://www.gofundme.com/f/8wewmz-help-asmaa-to-continue-school-outside-of-gaza

asma-1s-blog and asmaa2005 fundraiser is vetted by wlwaerith, so To anyone who is able to donate please do, if your not able please at least share\reblog this

$973 / $50,000 as of july 30

[bluesidez]

GymRat!Miguel Part 10

content warning: “vague” descriptions of American colleges (iykyk), Winston [Earth-928/ Earth-TRN590] is here with a cool prosthetic arm (he originally has three! so I thought it would be cool to incorporate his robot arm back somehow), suggestive at parts so MINORS BEWARE (although you shouldn’t be looking at this series at all 😒), Miguel is the baby of his friend group, if the Spanish here is wrong please lmk!

word count: 3.8k, proofread so there should be no mistakes (something short and sweet!)

In case you missed it, you can find GR!Miguel’s full SFW + NSFW Alphabet here!

Prev | Next ✩°｡ ⋆⸜ 🎧✮ Masterlist

GymRat!Miguel who has become one with his room. The bed is comfortable, the AC is just right, and more importantly, he can hide here in solitude.

His parents decided to host Gabriel’s graduation party, Gabriel’s college acceptance party, and a Fourth of July party all at once. It was nonstop trips to Sam’s, Party City, and the grocery store.

Gabriel got a full ride to a prestigious art school up north and his parents were using every second of the summer to make time for him.

They didn’t do nearly as much for him when he graduated and got a full ride. Although, Miguel guesses the shiny Range Rover from Tyler parked outside was enough to soothe the old wounds trying to reopen. Plus, Gabriel really deserved it. The chances of getting in were low, but Miguel helped every step of the way and now a bright future in the Big Apple was calling his name.

Still, if his dad called him to cut the grass or season another pack of meat, he might lose it.

GymRat!Miguel who was glad to see you were still enjoying your summer. He was probably the first to watch your stories, like your pictures, and even comment on your little notes.

He hoped it came off as endearing and dedicated because sometimes he worried it was annoying and clingy. He couldn’t help it, though. You’re always on his mind nowadays.

Today you had posted clips of you and your friends at a Boba shop. He could hear your laughter as you zoomed in one of your friends fighting for their life after sucking up a boba ball.

He smiled to himself as he played the video a few more times just to hear you.

GymRat!Miguel who decides to play a Gacha game on his phone to distract his wandering mind.

There was a character he wanted and he wasn’t stopping until he got her.

GymRat!Miguel who three domains, a farming session, several 10-pulls, and a lucky spot later did not get the character he wanted. He was heartbroken, shattered, and inconsolable.

He groaned and flipped over to the wall, choosing a few colorful words to complain.

GymRat!Miguel who’s half-asleep state is interrupted by Gabriel doing their special knock and poking his head inside.

“Whatdoyouwant,” Miguel pushed his face further in his pillow in hopes that it would make him disappear.

“Broski, your friends are here,” Gabriel sang as if he were a white suburban mom with too much time on her hands. “And they bombarded my TikTok stream so if you could please retrieve them, that would be nice.”

Miguel poked his head up, “Are you rating people’s talents again?”

“Even better. I’m being an NPC and making bank!”

“Why don’t you ever play the saxophone or something?”

“Because that’s not what the people want me to do, Miguel. The people want to see me go ‘Lick a lil sum!’ over and over again. They eat it up.”

Miguel squinted at the bright light coming from the hallway, “In a pickle suit?”

Gabriel looked down as much as he could with his constricted movement, only his appendages sticking out of the holes, and looked back to Miguel with gritted teeth.

“If you would have put your Nightwing costume back on, I could have been Robin and we could have made money together. But it seems that you hate me.”

GymRat!Miguel who watches Tempest push the door open further and shuffle around a seething Gabriel.

“I still don’t know why you’re dressed like a Spongebob character,” she laughs at his green tights.

“I’m not Kevin! Stop saying that. There’s no glasses. There’s no crown. There’s no pants!”

Lyla poked her head around him.

“‘Lewser.’”

Gabriel yelled and turned around, waddling back to his room, “I’m not letting the Geek Squad bully me!”

“You say that like you’re not one of us!” Winston shouted after him, shells and beads in his hair clanking together.

“One of us, one of us, ONE OF US!” the trio started to chant at Miguel’s door.

Gabriel just let out incoherent noses until he was able to shut his door.

GymRat!Miguel who feels like hissing when Tempest opens his blinds.

“Please, no more!” he whined into the pillow.

“What’s with you two today? So snappy,” she mumbles.

Winston stood by the door with his hands on his hips, “Have you been in here all day?”

Miguel sits up, “No.”

“You look like it,” Lyla snickers, kicking a bag out of the way.

“We haven’t seen you in like, forever, and you’re acting like you don’t really care,” Tempest pulls up her long, ruffled skirt to plop on the bed next to Miguel. “Are you sick?”

“No.”

“Did someone die?” Winston pulls out Miguel’s gaming chair to take a seat.

“No.”

“Wait!” Lyla’s voice makes everyone jump. “You failed your class for the first time and now your life is ruined.”

“What? No, never.”

GymRat!Miguel who perks up at the sound of the text tone he picked just for you.

“Look!”

“I just found this picture of us”

“We’re working hard 🫡”

“I’m putting in overtime”

“There’s no PTO”

“Only work”

“We get paid in kisses”

“Only kisses?”

“Everything else is a bonus check for being the perfect employee”

"Aka my girlfriend"

“And what does that bonus check look like?”

“Hmmm”

“She looks divine”

“She tastes really sweet too”

“Inside and out”

“What does your bonus check look like?”

“He’s big and hot 😌”

“He looks really nice when I love on him”

“He feels really good”

“Be very lucky you’re not near me rn”

“What?”

“I’m just describing my elite employee!”

“Aka my bf”

“I feel really good?”

“Yeah!”

“You’re my teddy bear”

“….and you also feel good in other places that I won’t be spelling out”

GymRat!Miguel who doesn’t feel Tempest leaning over his shoulder until her voice snaps him back to reality.

“No fucking way you got a girlfriend and didn’t tell anybody.”

She snatches the phone from his hands.

“Temp, give it back!”

“And you’re getting freaky with her while we’re right here!”

“No, I’m not-”

“It says right here ‘she tastes really sweet, inside and out.’ It’s in 4K!” Tempest shoved the phone in Winston’s face who gets the derpiest smile.

“My man!” he reaches his hand out to Miguel to dap him up, ending it in the handshake that only the two of them know. “You finally got a girl and you putting in that work. Let’s. Fucking. Go.”

“At least someone is on my side.”

“I never said I wasn’t on your side. I’m just stuck on the fact that you didn’t tell anyone. No texts, no socials. Just tumbleweed in that big ass head of yours,” Tempest pushed a duck nail against Miguel’s temple. “Like you could have died, and we would have never known.”

“I’m sorry, Temp, it’s been a hectic year.”

“And now it’s summer. We’ve got nothing but time,” she grabbed a pillow to place in her lap. “So get to talking Migster.”

“Yeah, while I can understand waiting to tell us about your girl, this is like, what, the second strike for you? First, no yacht and now this? Aggy,” Winston shook his head.

“All three of you had plans! I checked!”

“And it’s looking like you’ve been with her for almost a year. Wow,” Lyla said from a bean bag on the floor.

Miguel reaches to snatch it from her, teeth gritted in a way that mimicked his brother.

“I never knew you could get so romantic! Maybe scratch the arcade idea off, though. You get way too competitive.”

Tempest hit Miguel with her pillow, “An entire year?”

“Cold-blooded. I should smack you next,” Winston struck his metal arm back like he was getting ready to swing.

Miguel held his hands up, “I’ll finally let you teach me how to play Halo!”

Winston sat back, “2k too, and all is forgiven.”

“Halo and one round of 2k.”

“Deal,” Winston shook Miguel’s hand. “You’ll be hooked once you get the hang of it.”

“God, I hope not,” Lyla mumbled.

“Says the one who yells at children on Roblox,” Winston bit back.

“You don’t hear what those heathens say, I do!”

GymRat!Miguel who is forced to make a short PowerPoint about his past year while his friends help Miguel’s parents set up even more.

“I want a Final-worthy presentation by the time we get back! I even showed you where to get the cute templates,” Tempest fusses from the door before she closes it.

GymRat!Miguel who calls you while they’re gone.

“I mean, if it were me who just found out that my closest friend told me essentially nothing about their partner for that long, I’d be pretty upset too.”

Miguel groans as he leans back in his chair, “That is pretty fucked, isn’t it?”

“But, because I was with you most of the school year, I know that you were just preoccupied with other things. Figuring out college, checking off a lot of adult firsts, making new friends, dealing with family, totally scrambling your way through getting your first girlfriend.”

“Hey…”

You laugh at his annoyed expression and snap a picture, “I’m sure if you just explain things to them, they’ll understand.”

“I hope so. I already promised Winston a game of 2k.”

You scrunched your nose in the cute way that Miguel adored, “I’ll take a gamer, nerdy boyfriend any day. Might draw the line at 2k, I fear.”

“My face doesn’t cancel out the bad connotation?”

“Depends. Will you cancel on me in place of playing with your friends?”

Miguel’s eyes looked to you on his laptop with a frown on his face, “Never. I don’t think I’d do that for anything that can be rescheduled. Did he do that?”

Miguel didn’t want to say his name because it left a bad taste in his mouth.

“More than I’d like to admit, yes.”

“If I ever see him, I might punch him.”

“Miguel.”

“I’m so serious. There hasn’t been one good quality about him yet.”

Only the fact that he was a good stepping stone to get to Miguel, not that he would ever say that out loud.

“He was…nice when I met him.”

“Just nice?”

“He had a cute face!”

Miguel’s frown deepened, “I don’t want to talk about him anymore, actually.”

GymRat!Miguel who finished his PowerPoint with the help of you.

Honestly, you just had to sit pretty in the corner of his monitor.

GymRat!Miguel who was ready to present once his friends got back, each of them sporting a Fanta in their hands.

“Nobody brought me one?”

Tempest made a noise of satisfaction when she took a sip, “A cold one is waiting for you when you finish, buddy.”

Miguel rolled his eyes and set up the PowerPoint.

GymRat!Miguel whose presentation is dragged even further because everyone keeps asking questions.

Section 1: New Experiences

“Only you would attract sorority girls despite the clear baby boy energy radiating off of you,” Tempest said.

“I mean, look at him,” Lyla gestured to Miguel’s body. “We still see our big baby, but that body? That’s what people notice first. We should have prepared him more.”

Miguel’s face fumed as he went to the next slide.

“And only you would make friends with the cafeteria lady. She saw the baby aura,” Tempest quipped.

“L-let’s just move on,” Miguel mumbled.

“You’re on the robotics team!! There’s our Miggy,” Lyla rounds her words like she was talking to a child.

“Guys, Miguel is going to be a tomato if you don’t stop,” Winston chides.

Section 2: Family

“I’ve been waiting on somebody to get that gremlin Kron and you finally got him,” Lyla shook her head with a chuckle.

“I’m sorry about your mom, though. She didn’t really like us too much either when we first started to hang out,” Tempest pulled her knees up to her chin.

“Mind you, I had a mean set of braces, suspenders, and high water pants when we first met,” Winston said.

“Oh my god. Remember when she thought Tempest was tricking Mig into doing her homework?”

“When all I was doing was comparing answers because Miguel was the only one who could keep up with me in that class,” Tempest snickered. “Glad me and Mrs. O’Hara moved past that because I was definitely looking out for you more than she was.”

“Remember when she thought you two were dating?” Winston asked.

Miguel groaned, “That was so fucking embarrassing.”

“You think now I read as a raging lesbian or what?”

Section 3: My Gorgeous Girlfriend Whom Which I Love

“The same guy who lectured me for 10 minutes over not jumping out of a car to hold the door for my girlfriend left his girl at a party?” Winston snickered.

Lyla played with the end of a braid in her hair, “Chivalry is dead.”

“Get all your jokes out now, because we’re going strong,” Miguel waved everyone off as he flipped to the next slide.

“Is that her?” Lyla sat up as much as she could in her sinking seat.

“Yeah,” Miguel’s smile grew at the picture of you from a coffee date on the screen.

“Look at him,” Winston pointed a finger. “He can’t even speak. He’s gone.”

“She’s hot! Nice job Miguel,” Tempest clapped with a giddy smile on her face. “You’re like, lovestruck over there.”

Miguel continued to flip through the several slides he had of you, face sinking further into his palm as he stared at you like he’s never seen you before.

“Does Xina know you have a girlfriend?”

“Woof,” Tempest and Winston said in a low voice simultaneously.

Miguel tilted his head with a confused expression, “What’s with the ‘woof’? Why are you all looking like that? And where is Xina, anyway?”

“She said her parents wanted her to go visit family, so she’s far, far away right now.”

“Did you know she’s transferring to your school?” Lyla asks.

“Why? I thought she was going to an Ivy League somewhere. It was all she talked about.”

Tempest’s eyebrows raised, “Can’t stay at an Ivy League if you fuck up your scholarship.”

"She told me that she didn't like it there," Winston looked confused.

Lyla and Tempest just stared at each other in disbelief.

“If you worked your ass off from starting a non-profit to being the school valedictorian, just to get into one school, would you just up and leave after one school year without finding better options?” Lyla deadpanned.

“Hey, we don’t know what happened. Maybe she really didn’t like it there, guys,” Miguel said.

Lyla and Tempest both gave Miguel twin looks as if telling him to get serious.

“Well, if she’s going to your school, I’m sure you’ll see her at some point. Maybe she’ll tell you,” Winston suggested.

“Yeah, Miguel. She’ll tell you anything if you ask,” Lyla folded her arms with a smile.

“What does that mean?”

“It just means,” Tempest waved her hands around. “She’s enamored by you.”

“Guys. Stop.”

“She’s not lying. Every time we hang out together, she’s always clinging to you,” Winston said.

“It’s been years and she’s never told me anything,” Miguel reached to exit the PowerPoint. What was about to be a 10 minute yap session about you was now turning into something else. “I doubt that if she felt that way, she still feels that way now.”

“Maybe you’re right,” Lyla shrugged.

Tempest nodded her head, “Good on you for being so optimistic.”

Miguel squinted his eyes, “You two are freaking me out.”

GymRat!Miguel who sat with his friend’s words once they dropped him off back home after an impromptu day of fun.

He really needed to get out of the house to reset, but he couldn’t help but to worry about Xina.

He was there when she worked herself to the bone just to even be considered for the top schools. When she got in, she was over the moon.

What could have possibly made her stop now?

GymRat!Miguel who wakes up to sound of his dad laughing and yelling outside of his window.

He dragged himself to the window to see him running around with his brothers with a nerf gun.

It would be a pretty funny sight if it wasn’t 7 in the morning.

GymRat!Miguel who goes through his morning routine of booting Gabriel up, taking his morning run, and eating a hefty breakfast.

He sends you a picture of himself right after he finished the run, sweat dripping down his neck and his skin glowing from the hot sun.

Knowing you were probably still asleep, he doesn’t expect a response until later. So when you call him immediately, he’s filled with surprise.

“Sending thirst traps at ass o’clock is crazy,” you say as soon as the call connects.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“So you just happened to take the perfect picture in the sun with your skin all wet?”

“Are you saying that I’m photogenic?”

You roll your eyes and Miguel laughs, happy to see you.

“Where are you going?” Miguel asks, noticing the fluffy headband you’re wearing that’s holding your hair back.

“We’re going to my aunts house and she lives about two hours away so I got up early to get ready.”

“Bebe, qué hermosa eres.” (Baby, how beautiful you are.)

You pause what you’re doing to turn and stuff your head into a plushie to scream.

“You can’t tell me that,” you say when look back to the camera, fanning your face. “I won’t stay focused.”

“But it’s true. You’re stunning.”

You groan and slide down your chair, “Miguel, please. I need to focus.”

“Ok, ok. You still look amazing.”

“Thank you,” you say, patting the back of your hands against your heated cheeks.

“I wanna kiss you.”

“I’m hanging up.”

Miguel laughs as you bring the phone to your face.

“I wanna kiss you, too,” you say before ending the call.

GymRat!Miguel who blows your phone up with teases after that.

It all shuts up once he sees your outfit of the day.

“You can’t do this to me”

“Baby????”

“This is agony”

GymRat!Miguel who is the loudest when Gabriel makes his grand entrance to the party, graduation cap snug on top of his curls. His family is popping mini confetti and string cannons while his little cousins blow bubbles.

GymRat!Miguel who catches Gabriel at any chance he was idle, snapping picture after picture like a proud parent.

GymRat!Miguel who stacks his plate high full of food to the shock of no one.

GymRat!Miguel who almost gets knocked down by Gabriel when he opens his gift of specialized sheet music. After years of hearing the songs Gabriel would blast through the house, he compiled together a music book with covers done by different artists.

"I'm going to play every single one of these for you," Gabriel says with a geeked-out smile.

"Oh boy."

GymRat!Miguel who watches Gabriel scream as their neighbor's dog runs towards the fireworks that he set on the ground.

Miguel always thought there was nothing going on behind those little eyes.

GymRat!Miguel who feels Gabriel slide next to him in the corner of their backyard. A place where the two of them used to do everything from hide-and-seek to sharing secrets to pretending to be superheroes.

Gabriel leans his on Miguel’s shoulder, eyes watching the small fireworks their cousins bought.

“Mig?”

“Yeah?”

“Did you ever get scared when you left home?”

Miguel was quiet for a second, “At first, I was. I was leaving what I knew, but once I got used to it, it was like a weight off my chest.”

The two sat for a minute, listening to their family sing and laugh.

“I’m really fucking nervous.”

“About leaving?”

“About everything,” Gabriel took a shaky breath. “I’ll be so far away. I won’t know anyone. And you…”

Miguel’s sleeve was wet.

“You won’t be there if I need you.”

Miguel turned and pull Gabriel into a hug, arms tight as he felt Gabriel cry into his shoulder.

“No tengas miedo, Gabri,” Miguel’s voice cracked as he rubbed his brother’s back. “I’ll be a call away, ok? Right there if you need me. I promise.” (Don’t be scared, Gabri.)

"Te voy a extrañar." (I'm going to miss you.)

"Yo también te voy a extrañar." (I'm going to miss you, too.)

After a while of the two calming down and making promises to continue their weekly calls, Gabriel leans up and covers his eyes with his arm.

“I told myself I’d save my tears for the move-in day, but it’s just now hitting me how much I’m going to miss seeing your stupid face.”

Miguel laughed and thumped him across the head, “And I’m going to miss hearing your stupid laugh across the hall. But what did you do when I left?”

Gabriel turned to avoid Miguel’s face, “Ma thought I was dying or something. She kept bringing random shit that I liked to my room for three weeks because ‘Te pareces a Ígor, mijo!’” (You look like Eeyore, mijo!)

Miguel bit his cheek as he ruffled Gabriel’s hair. He still saw the little baby who followed his every move. The baby that laughed hard when he read books with a funny voice. The baby that stood up for him front of their mom when he couldn’t even stand up for himself on the playground.

The kid who stayed up with him to beat some game because their dad wouldn't buy them memory cards for the PlayStation. The kid who tried food once he saw it on Miguel’s plate. The kid who refused to go to summer camps without him.

Here he was, sitting in front of Miguel, getting ready to start a new chapter.

“Oh god, Miguel don’t start crying again. It’s gonna ruin the tour,” Gabriel groaned and dug his head into his arms.

“I’m not, I’m not, I’m sorry,” Miguel hurriedly wiped his cheeks, hot tears filled with his thoughts escaping. “You’re going to kill it in New York. By the time I get there, you’ll be so used to it that it’ll be like breathing air.”

“I hope so,” he sniffles and looks back up. “I need to impress Dana.”

“And there he is,” Miguel shook his head. “I’m sure she’ll be happy to visit.”

“Yeah. I already have some places planned for dates.”

“Smooth. That’s the Miguel in you.”

“Shaddup.”

GymRat!Miguel who calls you closer to midnight.

"How was the party?"

"It was pretty good," Miguel moved to settle further into his bed. "Gabriel was happy."

Hearing the tone in his voice, you pouted, "Are you ok, though?"

"Yeah, I'm just. I'm feeling a lot."

He felt he might cry again, thinking about his little brother in a place all by himself, thinking of his parents being empty nesters, thinking of his feelings from yesterday.

"You want to talk about it?"

Miguel shook his head, "Tomorrow."

"Whenever you're ready, I'll be there."

"Thank you," Miguel smiled. "That means a lot."

GymRat!Miguel who feels better listening to you chatter until you fall asleep. His head isn't filled with so much noise and your voice is like a calm breeze.

He can't wait to see you again.

divider by: @thecutestgrotto 🩵

a/n: I was thinking of this video when I was writing Lyla talking about Kron + that smoking duck gif. I also doubt there are many nerds alive that play 2k, I just wanted Winston to play it lol. Anywho, I was going for a boho-chic vibe when I imagined Tempest (with red locs), a maximalist + art deco vibe with Lyla, and an elevated streetwear style with Winston. Winston also upgraded his prosthetic arm to mimic Link's from Tears of the Kingdom. As for Xina...we'll see! 😗

As always, like, comment, and reblog. Let me know how you feel! 🩵

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[emilylovescookies]

Hello! I love ur art style soo much. May I ask when commissions open. I'd love to save up for it :3

thank u so much!!!!! I usually open comms around the summer time (and or whenever I'm free from school, not counting now even though I am on winter break atm LOL). It all depends tbh!!!!! I really need to rework my comm page before then!!!!! 🫡💖 When I do reopen, I will be sure to post about it!!!!!!!!

tldr: probably anywhere around may to july ish!!!!!!!!!!!! 💕 school is my top priority first!!

[withacapitalp]

Happy birthday Cass!!! I don't know if you remember this, but this was the first thing I wrote that started our friendship so I wrote a little add on as a birthday present and I hope you like it <3 @henderdads

Eddie noticed everything.

Eddie noticed the exact shade of brown that Steve’s eyes turned when the sunlight hits his face. He noticed that Steve cut Dustin’s sandwiches into triangles, El’s into rectangles, and always took the crusts off of Mike’s. He noticed that Steve stuck money in Wayne’s wallet when he knew that Wayne is dead asleep in his easy chair. Never enough for Wayne to catch on, just enough that Wayne could always afford a new pack of smokes if he wanted.

So of course Eddie noticed Steve's…thing about numbers.

The first time was with the shoes. Steve always seemed like a bit of a neat freak, but he had this especially weird thing about always making sure everyone’s shoes were lined up in perfect order.

The next thing was the steps while they were walking. It was like his boyfriend would purposefully miss the doorway, walk a few steps farther just so he could turn around and walk in on the right number.

But the rings….it’s the thing with the rings that makes Eddie confront him.

When he came home that night and found Steve shaking in a ball on the floor, Eddie had just held him, and then he had done his best to try and let them move past it. Steve would pick his rings in the morning, and Eddie would be content to just let Steve have his quirks. That would work.

But the curiosity continued to grow as the coincidences continued to mount and before too long Eddie couldn’t ignore it any more.

“So what’s special about seven?” Eddie asked as Steve slid the last ring off for the day. It was a thick black one with angel wings on one side and demon wings on the other. It was Steve’s favorite.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Steve said with far too much casualness, keeping his eyes firmly on their joined fingers.

“Baby,” Eddie said softly, leaning in close and touching their foreheads, “You don’t have to tell me, but please don’t lie,”

“Nothing,” Steve finally whispered, pulling back, “There’s nothing.

God, Eddie loved Steve with all his heart, but sometimes it really was just like pulling teeth.

“Stevie-”

“I’m not lying,” Steve said, quickly cutting Eddie off. He was starting to tap again, drumming the fingers of his free hand against his thigh in that oh so familiar pattern, “There’s nothing special about the number seven. Nothing important,”

“But?” Eddie prompted when Steve trailed off. His boyfriend oepneed and closed his mouth a few time

“But I can’t stop counting to it,” Steve blurted out in a rush, turning away from Eddie and burying his face in his hands

“To seven,” Eddie clarified, still unable to understand.

“Seven kids, Seven adults, my birthday is July 7th.” Steve said, muffled but clearly filled with shame, “I can't stop looking for sevens, because if I stop, then someone will get hurt, and it'll be my fault,”

Eddie's breath left his lungs, making the room feel too small. He knew Steve had a thing about sevens but this…this was beyond anything he could have thought of.

He must have been doing a pretty terrible job of hiding the horror on his face, because the second Steve looked up he huffed out a bitter little laugh and wrapped his arms tight around his middle.

“I know that makes me crazy, okay? I know that. I know that I'm crazy, I know that it means nothing. I know, I know, I know,” Steve said, growing more and more frantic with every word. Eddie crawled to the edge of the bed next to him, putting an arm around Steve's shoulder and holding him tight.

“But I can't stop, Eddie. I can't stop, I can't stop,” Steve admitted in a broken whisper, falling into his arms and breaking down in a very uncharacteristic, very terrifying way.

“I can't stop because if I do you'll get jumped at the school, and Robin will get in a car accident, and the gate is gonna reopen, and the kids are gonna die and, and- I can't stop. I can't stop. I can't stop.”

Steve continued to mutter into Eddie's shoulder as he fell apart. Over and over, until he cried himself to sleep.

He couldn't stop. Which meant Steve had tried to.

Which meant Steve wanted to.

The word finally hit him as Eddie tucked the blanket around Steve and pressed a kiss to his boyfriend's forehead, lying down next to him and holding him close. It really was the perfect word for the situation, but the word that created a host of other complications. Still Eddie couldn't make it leave his head as he laid awake the entire night.

Not a habit. Not an addiction.

It was a compulsion.

[conradscrime]

5 Cases of Missing Indigenous Women in Canada

March 03, 2024

CARBON DOE

Carbon Doe was found on April 21, 1995, in a ditch outside the village of Carbon, in Alberta, Canada. She was likely last seen alive between 1980 to 1985, it is estimated that she was there for 10-15 years before her remains were found.

It is believed she is of Indigenous descent.

She was between 5'0-5'4 in height, had multiple dental fillings, and is possible she had children.

The woman had brucellosis, which means she would have suffered from repeated fevers. This disease is not common in Canada. She is estimated to be between 22-35 years old. She had dental work done, including stainless steel crowns.

There was no clothing or personal items found with her body. Some believe Carbon Doe was not from Alberta, but might have just been travelling at the time of her death. It is possible she was never reported as missing.

Her cause of death has never been released, though many suspect she was murdered.

2. Annie Yassie

Annie was born on July 27, 1960. Her family were members of the Sayisi Dene First Nation, located outside Churchill, Manitoba, Canada.

The Dene Village was promised a lot from the government, but did not get any support, never receiving promised hunting and trapping supplies. They had to scavenge for food in the dump. What happened to these people in this village was named one of the worst crimes against Indigenous people in Canada.

Annie was extremely close to her sister, Eva. She loved to sew doll clothes and was a fan of the "hippie" look, often wearing denim outfits. Annie loved Christmas, and her sister Eva said she sometimes would sleepwalk, which Eva would watch her closely.

In 1973, Annie was sent to the Mackay Residential School in Dauphin, Manitoba, far from Dene Village. The Christian Church ran these residential schools, and they were mostly made to abuse and strip Indigenous children away from their culture.

At the time Annie disappeared she had returned from the residential school and was staying with her brother Fred.

On June 22, 1974, Annie was apparently out with a man who was about 10 years older than her. The two were drunk and had been celebrating Treaty Day. The taxi driver said the man had to drag Annie out of the car because she was passing out, and the taxi driver was asked to pick them up later. They were dropped off 3km outside of Churchill.

When the taxi returned, the driver said Annie was not there, only the man. The man was extremely drunk. Fred did not worry immediately when Annie did not return, as he knew she had said she wanted to visit her sister Eva at some point.

Eva showed up to Dene Village on June 26, 1974, discovering that everyone had assumed Annie had been with her the past 4 days, which was not true. Annie was officially reported missing that day.

The man Annie was last seen with was questioned, but he claimed he was too drunk and did not remember much. The case went cold. In 2014, they reopened Annie's file. In June 2016, Eva was asked to give a DNA sample. It took some time for police to get to Eva again, and it is unknown if DNA was actually taken.

Eva believes her sister was murdered by the man she was seen with that night, however that man is no longer alive.

Annie Yassie was 13 years old when she went missing. She was last seen wearing a blue denim jacket, a pair of blue denim jeans, brown shoes with a 3" heel. She was thin build, 5'4, weighing around 104 pounds. She has black hair and brown eyes.

If anyone has info they are to contact the Cold Case Unit of the Winnipeg RCMP at 204-983-5461. If you would like to remain anonymous you can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

3. Caitlin Potts

Caitlin was last heard from on February 22, 2016, through a Facebook message to her sister. She was 27 years old at the time, from the Sampson Cree First Nation. Caitlin was last seen by a witness in Enderby, British Columbia, Canada.

Caitlin was reported missing on March 1, 2016, however an official missing alert on the RCMP's website did not appear until March 21.

In June 2016, Caitlin's mother, Priscilla, contacted Indigenous groups in the province to help conduct a search for her daughter. Caitlin was in foster care until she was 11 years old.

Priscilla describes her daughter has happy as a child and extremely smart. Caitlin was born and raised in Alberta, however was living in B.C. at the time of her disappearance. Caitlin was living in Edmonton, Alberta with her younger sister, Codi, before recently moving to Enderby, B.C. where her boyfriend had moved.

Caitlin did not have the best relationship with her boyfriend and the two were on and off for about 2 months before she had disappeared. Codi claims Caitlin's boyfriend was physically abusive towards her and Caitlin would show up with bruises.

Codi said Caitlin's boyfriend had been arrested before and during that time Caitlin had stayed in a Salmon Arm women's shelter. Caitlin was doing good, going to school and working at Tim Horton's, however a few months later she went back to him.

Codi said Caitlin had texted her boyfriend the day she went missing and was upset over money he owed her. Caitlin also messaged Codi that she had found a ride to Calgary from Kijiji. Caitlin's roommate from the women's shelter had said Caitlin told her she met a stranger the night before.

Caitlin was seen by a witness in Enderby, and she had texted her sister that she was in Kelowna, B.C. before she disappeared.

Caitlin Potts was about 5'3, 150 pounds with brown eyes and long black hair with blonde streaks. Anyone who has info is to contact the Vernon RCMP at 250-545-7171 or anonymously Crime Stoppers at 1-888-222-8477.

4. Betsy Rosa Owens

Betsy was born July 7, 1973. She was a member of the Pauingassi First Nation, in Manitoba, Canada, and was extremely close with her sisters, Caroline Owens and Valerie Leveque. Betsy loved swimming with her sisters in Fishing Lake.

Betsy was described as a nice girl, who would go out of her way to avoid trouble. She loved music, and at the time of her disappearance she loved the song "Manic Monday" by The Bangles.

On October 22, 1988, Betsy was going to attend a dance with her boyfriend. Betsy and her boyfriend left the dance around 11pm. The last time her boyfriend saw her was the next morning, October 23, when she left his house.

Community members searched for Betsy as soon as she was discovered as missing, however no one found anything. Law enforcement conducted searches in 1996 and 1997 and found nothing.

In 2013, Caroline provided samples of DNA in case Betsy's remains were ever found.

Many rumours have been spread throughout the community, with many members believing they know who was involved in Betsy's disappearance. Betsy's family is not happy with police, as they say they rarely visit Pauingassi First Nation, and should have made more of an effort.

The lead investigator believes Betsy was met with foul play, but there's not enough evidence to arrest anyone.

Betsy was 15 years old at the time of her disappearance. She was last seen wearing a white cotton hooded sweater, a blue denim jacket, blue denim jeans and white high top runners. She was slender built, 5'3 in height, and weighed 119 pounds. She has long black hair and brown eyes.

If Betsy was alive today she would be 50 years old, turning 51 in July 2024. If you have any info you can contact the Winnipeg detachment of the RCMP at 204-983-5461.

5. Tamara Lynn Chipman

Tamara was from Moricetown Band, First Nation, now known as Witset, in British Columbia, Canada. She loved going on her dad's fishing boat and being outside. Tamara was described as lively and would not back down from a situation.

Tamara was 22 years old and the mother of a 2 year old son, when she went missing on September 21, 2005, near Prince Rupert, B.C. Being a young mother, it was said that Tamara began to hangout with the wrong crowd.

The people close to Tamara had speculated that she may be getting involved in drugs. In September 2005, Tamara had been in Prince Rupert, where her mother lived, for a few days without a car, as her car had broken down a few weeks earlier. Tamara was hitchhiking east, towards Terrace where her father lived.

In early November 2005, Tamara's father, Tom, realized no one had heard from his daughter and her rent had not been paid. Her bank account had also not been touched. Tom reported Tamara missing to the RCMP.

On November 15, 2005, an official search for her began. There was a claimed sighting of her in Vancouver, but no further evidence was found.

There was no named suspects but RCMP say they are pretty certain they know what happened. Two men and one woman have come forward claiming to have seen Tamara hitchhiking and picked her up. The woman said they were driving towards Terrace, when one of the men began arguing with Tamara and hit her, strangling her to death in the car.

They then pulled over in a remote area along the highway and dumped her body. The man who killed her returned to the area later to move and bury her body in the forest. The police searched this supposed area with the woman but Tamara's body was never home. The witness and two men have since died.

Tamara was last seen on an stretch of Highway 16, between Prince George and Prince Rupert, also known as the Highway of Tears, because many have disappeared from this highway.

Tamara's disappearance remains unsolved and no body has ever been found if the claims of her being murdered are true.

[covid-safer-hotties]

Covid-19 cases in children surge 179% amid back-to-school concerns - Published Aug 14, 2024

A recent spike in Covid-19 cases among children in Korea has sparked worry among health officials and parents alike.

The Korean Children's Hospital Association (KCHA) reported a 179 percent increase in pediatric Covid-19 cases in the first week of August compared to the previous week, with some regions seeing even more dramatic rises.

The KCHA's survey of 42 hospitals nationwide revealed that child Covid-19 cases jumped from 387 in the last week of July to 1,080 in the first week of August.

The Chungcheong Province region saw a staggering 457 percent increase, while the capital area experienced a 213 percent rise.

"This surge suggests we need to learn from past pandemic experiences and take preemptive action to reduce and defend against Covid-19 cases in children," KCHA President Choi Yong-jae said.

Choi warned that many infected children are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms, potentially facilitating easier spread.

“It is important for high-risk groups, such as children with heart disease, diabetes, obesity, or premature infants, should seek immediate medical attention if diagnosed,” he said.

With schools reopening in the third or fourth week of August, there are concerns about a further increase in cases.

The KCHA called on health authorities to provide clearer guidelines to avoid confusion among healthcare providers and patients.

Adding to parents' worries is the simultaneous outbreak of other childhood diseases, including mycoplasma pneumonia, whooping cough, and hand, foot, and mouth disease.

This combination of illnesses has been dubbed a "quadruple whammy" by some parents, evoking memories of the difficulties faced during the height of the pandemic.

One parent, surnamed Lee, who is an office worker working in Seoul, shared his experience of dealing with multiple infections.

"My child caught hand, foot, and mouth disease and then tested positive for Covid-19 shortly after,” he said. “It's incredibly challenging for working parents to manage these recurring illnesses and I wish the government can consider these challenges when it tries to address the country's low birth rate.”

[jtownraindancer]

The Burn Collection

Hello friends! I've been hunting down Burn Gorman's works (film, screen, and radio) over the past few months, and since sharing is caring~

Audiobooks

Arkham County- From within the walls of Arkham’s asylum, reclusive writer Randolph Carter tells the story of orphan Violet Flintock, who arrives in Arkham County in search of her own history only to be instantly greeted by the bloody realities of this small town, whose foundations are built from the lore and mythology of HP Lovecraft. Horror; mature themes. 2020. Ensemble cast. Wilbur. [complete]

Torchwood: Everyone Says Hello- Across Cardiff, ordinary people are behaving in odd ways: saying hello to complete strangers, and going out of their way to greet one another. Torchwood discovers that an alien communications field is gathering strength in the area. The team must find the device responsible and shut it off - before civil unrest engulfs the whole city. 2008. Narrator. Owen Harper. [complete]

Torchwood: Slow Decay- A friend of Gwen's has recently done an impressive bit of slimming, thanks to a new Cardiff weight-loss clinic with an incredibly simple system, and now Rhys wants to give it a try. Elsewhere in the city, an ordinary woman with superhuman strength and a extraordinary hunger is attacking people and eating her victims. 2007. Narrator. Owen Harper. [complete]

Films

Agatha Christie's Marple: Ordeal By Innocence- Old wounds are reopened for the Argyle family when a man suddenly turns up after being abroad and claims that the black sheep of the family could not have murdered its tyrannical matriarch. 2007. Ensemble cast. Antagonist. Jacko Argyle. [complete]

Cemetery Junction- In early 1970s England, three friends spend their days in banter, drinking, fighting and chasing girls. Freddie wants to escape their working class world but cheeky chappy Bruce and kind-hearted slacker Snork are happy with life the way it is. When Freddie gets a job as a door-to-door insurance salesman and bumps into his old school sweetheart Julie, the gang are forced to make choices that will change their lives forever. 2010. Ensemble cast. PC Renwick. [complete]

Color Me Kubrick- The true story of a man who posed as director Stanley Kubrick during the production of Kubrick's last film, Eyes Wide Shut (1999), despite knowing very little about his work and looking nothing like him. 2005. Period typical -isms. Ensemble cast. Willie. [complete]

Crimson Peak- An aspiring young author travels to a remote Gothic mansion in Cumberland, England with her new husband and his sister. There, she must decipher the mystery behind the ghostly visions that haunt her new home. 2015. Ensemble cast. Mr. Holly. [complete]

Dalziel and Pascoe: A Death in The Family- When a transit depot is robbed of £600,000 in used banknotes, the thieves left one thing behind: a dead security guard. The victim is revealed to be the inside man and telephone records lead to Steve Pitt, found dead in his restaurant. 2006. Ensemble cast. Jerry Hart. [complete]

Enola Holmes- Enola is the youngest sibling in the famous Holmes family. She is extremely intelligent, observant, and insightful, defying the social norms for women of the time. Her mother Eudoria has taught her everything she needs to know to be strong-willed and independent. But on her sixteenth birthday, Enola wakes to find that her mother has disappeared. 2020. Ensemble cast. Linthorn. [complete]

Fred Claus- Santa's bitter older brother, Fred, is forced to move to the North Pole to help Santa and the elves prepare for their big night in exchange for cash. But what started out as an easy way to make money soon turns into a desperate attempt to save Christmas. 2007. Cameo. Elf. [complete]

Guernica- "Listen, George. Here's your damn war story. Twenty-six April, 1937. Gernika. Don't give a damn if you use my name or you have someone else sign it. But it's the story I want printed. Ready? A very small town in the north of Spain is about to become very famous, but for all the wrong reasons." 2016. Ensemble cast. Soviet Consul. [complete]

Imperium- A young FBI agent, eager to prove himself in the field, goes undercover as a white supremacist. 2016. Mature content. Ensemble cast. Morgan. [complete]

In A Valley of Violence- A mysterious stranger and a random act of violence drag a town of misfits and nitwits into the bloody crosshairs of revenge. 2016. Ensemble cast. Priest. [complete]

Jimi: All Is By My Side- In 1966, an unknown guitarist named James Hendrix leaves New York for London, changes his name to Jimi and begins to make his mark in the world of rock music. Ensemble cast. Michael Jeffrey. [complete]

Johnny English Reborn- Johnny English is retired in Tibet and in disgrace in MI7 after a washed-up mission in Mozambique. Summoned unexpectedly by MI7 to stop assassins from killing Chinese Premier Xiang Ping. 2011. Ensemble cast. Agent Slater. [complete]

Layer Cake- A successful cocaine dealer gets two tough assignments from his boss on the eve of his planned early retirement. 2004. Ensemble cast. Gazza. [complete]

Lift- A master thief and his Interpol Agent ex-girlfriend team up to steal $500 million in gold bullion being transported on an A380 passenger flight. 2024. Ensemble cast; antagonist. Cormac. [complete]

Love is Not Enough- DV Indie filmmaker due to shoot promo for unsigned Welsh pop group takes the money and uses it to finish the film he's been working on for 5 years. 2001. Mature content. Period typical -isms. Slurs. Ensemble cast. Al Weisberger. [complete]

Pacific Rim- As a war between humankind and monstrous sea creatures wages on, a former pilot and a trainee are paired up to drive a seemingly obsolete special weapon in a desperate effort to save the world from the apocalypse. 2013. Ensemble cast. Dr. Hermann Gottlieb. [complete]

Pacific Rim Uprising- Jake Pentecost, son of Stacker Pentecost, reunites with Mako Mori to lead a new generation of Jaeger pilots against a new Kaiju threat. But this time, the threat comes from somewhere much closer to home. 2018. Ensemble cast. Dr. Hermann Gottlieb. [complete]

Penelope- Penelope Wilhern was born with the snout of a pig due to a curse that was placed on her family by a vengeful witch. The only way to break the curse is for "one of her own kind" to love her. 2006. Ensemble cast. Larry Bunter. [complete]

Ransomed- A young diplomat is assigned the task of carrying the ransom money to rescue an abducted diplomat in Lebanon, and a local taxi driver accidently gets involved in the mission. 2023. Ensemble cast. Richard Carter. [complete]

Red Lights- Psychologist Margaret Matheson and her assistant study paranormal activity, which leads them to investigate a world-renowned psychic who has resurfaced years after his toughest critic mysteriously passed away. 2012. Ensemble cast. Benedict Cohen. [complete]

Sex, The City and Me- Jess, a high-flying banker, is sidelined in her job by her Machiavellian boss when she returns to work after having a baby. She decides to sue the bank and ends up risking everything, including her marriage. The drama is inspired by in-depth interviews with women who have fought major cases in the City. 2007. Ensemble cast. Lawrence. [complete]

The Curse of Steptoe- Aspiring stage actor Harry H. Corbett jumps at the chance to star in a television comedy show 'Steptoe and Son'. The show's success proves to be a poisoned chalice, thwarting his stage ambitions. Wilfrid Brambell, the actor playing his father, is a gay man in an England where homosexuality is still illegal. Both, in their own way, feel that they have invoked the curse of Steptoe. Ray Galton. [complete]

The Inspector Lynley Mysteries: In Divine Proportion- While investigating the murder of an interior decorator, Inspector Lynley and Sergeant Havers quickly learn there is a connection between the victim's murder, and the death of her sister 15 years earlier. Mature themes; references to rape & suicide. 2005. Ensemble cast. Billy Verger. [complete]

The Oxford Murders- At Oxford University, a professor and a grad student work together to try to stop a potential series of murders seemingly linked by mathematical symbols. 2008. Ensemble cast. Yuri Podorov. [complete]

Undergods- A dystopian anthology set in a post-apocalyptic landscape. The breakout film of director Chino Moya, "Undergods" offers a prophetic warning that we will be the instruments of our own undoing if we refuse to address rising authoritarianism alongside growing inequality and scarcity of resources. 2020. Ensemble cast. Tim. [complete]

Up There- Martin (deceased) is stuck in a dead-end job, welcoming the newly departed into the afterlife. All he dreams of is going 'Up There'. But his plans are thrown into disarray when he has to team up with the relentlessly chirpy Rash, and together they lose a new arrival. 2011. Ensemble cast; protagonist. Martin. [complete]

Walking With The Enemy- A young man, separated from his family in World War II, disguises himself as a Nazi S.S. Officer and uncovers more than just his family whereabouts. 2013. Ensemble cast. Lt. Colonel Otto Skorzeny. [complete]

Watcher- As a serial killer stalks the city, Julia -- a young actress who just moved to town with her boyfriend -- notices a mysterious stranger watching her from across the street. 2022. Ensemble cast; antagonist. Watcher; Weber. [complete]

Guest Appearances

A Lark Rise in Candleford: Season 4, Episode 3- Thomas is euphoric when he lands the job of organising the church bazaar. But his joy soon evaporates when the vicar falls ill, and the controversial and free-thinking curate Reverend Marley takes charge. Thomas is convinced that Marley is evil incarnate, and when he comes across a snake on his postal rounds, he sees it as a sign that the devil is indeed amongst them. 2011. Ensemble cast; guest star. Reverend Benedict Marley. [complete]

Casualty: Not Waving But Drowning- Penny's medical skills are tested to the limit during a diving expedition, and Holly is mystified at the collapse of a promising teenage dancer. 1999. Ensemble cast; guest star. Geoff Simpson. [complete]

Coronation Street- 1998. Ensemble cast; guest star. Ben Andrews. [coming soon!]

Forever- Dr. Henry Morgan is a New York City medical examiner who studies the dead for criminal cases, and to solve the mystery of his own immortality. 2014. Ensemble cast; guest star. Lewis Farber/Adam. (Appears only in episodes 11, 14, 18, 21 & 22, but all episodes are here!) [complete]

Game of Thrones- Nine noble families fight for control over the lands of Westeros, while an ancient enemy returns after being dormant for millennia. 2011. Ensemble cast; guest star. Karl Tanner. (only featuring Burn's four appearances) [complete]

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia: Flowers For Charlie- Charlie being used as a test subject for a new intelligence pill that makes him smarter and more aware of his messed-up life, causing him to quit his janitor job. Meanwhile, Dee, Dennis, and Mac try to do Charlie's work but get sidetracked and high on gasoline; and Frank tries to bring Charlie back to his dimwitted self. 2013. Ensemble cast; guest star. The Scientist/Science Bitch. [complete]

Lucky Man- From the mind of comic book legend Stan Lee comes a bold new action crime series about a brilliant but flawed police officer with the power to control luck. 2016. Ensemble cast; guest appearance. Doug. (Featuring only the three episodes in which he starred.) [complete]

Merseybeat: Coming of Age- Sgt. Gentle decides it's time for a change and decides to go out on the beat with PC Traynor, and the pair investigate a burglary at the home of an antiques dealer. Meanwhile, Ch. Insp. Oulton tries to help out an old friend who has found himself on the wrong side of the law. 2001. Ensemble cast; guest appearance. Sean Finnigan. [complete]

The Man in The High Castle- In a dystopian America dominated by Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, a young woman discovers a mysterious film that may hold the key to toppling the totalitarian regimes. 2015. The Marshal. (Featuring only the two episodes in which he starred.) [complete]

Miniseries

And Then There Were None- Ten strangers are invited to Soldier Island, an isolated rock near the Devon coast in southern England. Cut off from the mainland, with their generous hosts mysteriously absent, they are each accused of a terrible crime. As members of the party start to die one by one, the survivors realize that one of them is a killer and start to turn on each other. Mature themes. 2015. Ensemble cast. Sergeant Detective William "Bill" Blore. [complete]

Bleak House- Jarndyce and Jarndyce is an interminable law case in the Court of Chancery, concerning two or more wills and their beneficiaries. Eventually, after several decades, a verdict is finally reached, but not without a surprising number of twists along the way. 2005. Ensemble cast. William Guppy. (Video formatting issues in a couple episodes- i.e. fuzzy and/or black borders on sides in several sections. Full picture still visible, just with weird borders.) [complete]

Cheat- What starts out as what appears to be an open-and-shut case of academic dishonesty, soon spirals out of everyone’s control, proving there’s far more to the story than just a plagiarised essay. What lies behind the shocking events and tragedies that unfurl? Mature themes. 2019. Ensemble cast. Ben Jarvis. [complete]

Spies of Warsaw- A military attaché at the French embassy is drawn into a world of abduction, betrayal and intrigue in the diplomatic salons and back alleys of Warsaw. 2013. Ensemble cast. Jourdain. [complete {with Portuguese subtitles}]

The Hour- 2011. Ensemble cast. Thomas Kish. [coming soon!]

The Offer- A series based on Oscar-winning producer Albert S. Ruddy's extraordinary, never-revealed experiences of making "The Godfather." 2022. Ensemble cast. Charles Bluhdorn. [complete]

The Runaway- Cathy Connor and Eamonn Docherty are childhood sweethearts who are desperate to escape their East End roots. When Cathy murders her Mum's pimp in self-defense it changes their lives forever. Mature themes. 2011. Ensemble cast. Richard Gates. [complete]

Wuthering Heights- Based on the classic novel by Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights is a story of love, obsession, hate and revenge. The protagonists, Cathy and Heathcliff, form a love that is dark and destructive and affects the lives of everyone around them. 2009. Ensemble cast. Hindley Earnshaw. [complete]

Podcasts & Radio Dramas

Curl Up & D.I.- Gemma and Andy are two feckless coppers patrolling the mean streets of Slatby, a faded North Yorkshire seaside town with an unsolved murder problem. With conventional leads exhausted, local hairstylists, gossipmongers and armchair crime-solvers Yacky and Reuben are enlisted, and their salon unwittingly becomes the beating heart of all ongoing detective operations. Welcome to the murky hinterlands of soft perms and slaughter. Mature content. 2022. Chief Steve "Wendy" Concern. [complete]

Doctor Who: Timelord Victorious: Echoes of Extinction- Trapped, a haunted monster waits to consume new victims. It needs help. It needs a doctor. Unfortunately, it also needs to kill whoever it meets. Thrust into immediate danger, and on the back-foot, it will take all of the Doctor’s ingenuity to triumph. Two interlinked adventures. Two Doctors. One foe. 2021. Ensemble cast. The Network. [complete]

Glad To Be Back- Opera-loving Lezzo is on home leave for the weekend. His prison term is due to end in four weeks' time, and he is looking for a little innocent enjoyment. His friends have other plans in mind however, and his mother has some worrying news. 1999. Ensemble cast. Norman; Various. [complete]

He Died With His Eyes Open- A detective in 1980s London investigates a brutal murder, but has little to go on except for the victim's cassette diaries. 2013. Ensemble cast; narrator. The Detective. [complete]

King Trash- Mike Hodges adapts King Lear in a gritty retelling following KT, an 80-year-old criminal despot who owns a landfill site in the outskirts of London, and his daughter Honey, who is anything but sweet. Mature themes. 2007. Ensemble cast. Clint. [complete]

The Babington Plot- During the reign of Elizabeth I, a group of Catholic gentlemen conceived a plan to assassinate the Queen. The story of the failed conspiracy, told in documentary fashion on its one-year anniversary, is revealed via the different perspectives of several participants in the events. 2008. Ensemble cast. Robert Poley. [complete]

The Battersea Poltergeist- A paranormal cold case, re-investigated through a thrilling blend of drama and documentary. The true story of one of Britain's strangest hauntings. 2021. Ensemble cast. Wally Hitchings. (includes original adverts.) [complete]

The Mayor of Casterbridge- Michael Henchard spends his life trying to atone for the terrible action that led to the loss of his wife and child. But his past refuses to be buried, no matter how hard he tries to conceal it. Dark themes. 2008. Ensemble cast. Abel Whittle. [complete]

The Reckoning: The Death of Christopher Marlowe- In London, 1593, playwright Christopher Marlowe, a young writer, is stabbed in a disagreement over the bill, and the authorities find that Marlowe was killed in self-defence. History says it was just a drunken quarrel, nothing more. But Charles Nicholl thinks it was murder, and an unsolved murder never grows old. 2022. Ensemble cast. Robert Poley. [complete]

The Spy- Henry Wharton, a young British soldier, sneaks into No-Man's Land in civilian clothing in order to visit the family he hasn't seen in over a year. But the happy reunion is cut short when he is captured by American soldiers and must stand trial as a spy. 2012. Ensemble cast. Harvey Birch. [complete]

The Taming of The Shrew- Petruchio, after collecting money from both her younger sister's suitors and a dowry from her father, is ready to marry Katherine, even against her will. Have Katherine and Petruchio learned to love each other? Or is the marriage based on terror and deception? 1998. Ensemble cast. Grumio. [complete]

The War Master: Escape From Reality: The Adventure of The Deceased Doctor- When Dr John Watson is informed of his own murder, only the world’s greatest consulting detective can assist. He just happens to come from a different world. 2022. Ensemble cast. Lestrade/Moriarty. [complete] (included the other three parts of Escape From Reality saga; will have Parts 1-4 indicated in titles)

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz- When a tornado strikes her farmhouse in Kansas, young Dorothy is lifted to the magical world of Oz where she embarks upon a perilous journey to find her way back home. 2009. Ensemble cast. Tin Man. [complete]

Unauthorised History: The Killing- Four men have rented an upstairs room in a tavern to have a "meeting". Sometime later, a violent commotion is heard, and only three of the four men come out alive. The coroner rules that Christopher Marlowe, contemporary of William Shakespeare, was killed in self-defense. One man is not so certain, and he's determined to uncover the truth, no matter where the trail leads. 2010. Ensemble cast. Robert Poley. [complete]

Television Series

Halo- Aliens threaten human existence in an epic 26th-century showdown. 2022. Ensemble cast; antagonist. Vishner Grath. [complete]

Jamestown- 1619. Alice, Verity, and Jocelyn are among several women arrived from England, duty-bound to marry the men who have paid for their passage to Jamestown. Also arriving from England are Governor Yeardley and his wife Temperance, who will quickly discover the difficulties in both running the settlement and preventing a Company Secretary from undermining his position. 2017-19. Ensemble cast. Virginia Company Secretary Nicholas Farlow. [complete]

Torchwood- The members of the Torchwood Institute, a secret organization founded by the British Crown, fight to protect the Earth from extraterrestrial and supernatural threats. 2006. Ensemble cast. Dr. Owen Harper. [in progress- Seasons 1 & 2 posted!]

TURN: Washington's Spies- Long Island farmer Abe Woodhull bands together with a group of childhood friends to form an unlikely group of spies, The Culper Ring, who turn the tide in America's fight for independence. 2014-18. Ensemble cast. Major Edmund Hewlett. [complete]

Torchwood Audios

Corpse Day- PC Andy Davidson is very excited. It’s Corpse Day – the day when the local constabulary get help on dead cases from Torchwood. This year, he’s volunteered to act as liaison, and he knows he’s going to have a brilliant time. For Dr. Owen Harper, today’s just like any other. There’ll be bloodshed, screaming and murder. At the end of it all, he doesn’t care. After all, life’s just for the living, and he’s long dead. 2017. Ensemble cast. Owen Harper. [complete]

Gooseberry- Andy has a girlfriend. She's called Caite, and she's utterly lovely. And then she meets Owen. Owen finds out that Caite has a secret. One that he's desperate to understand. But the more he discovers, the more dangerously close to Caite he becomes. What's going to happen when Andy finds out? 2021. Ensemble cast. Owen Harper. [complete]

Iceberg- Dr. Owen Harper gets a call from an old friend in the middle of the night. She's got a ward full of coma patients, all of them checking in with a dead relative as their imaginary friend. Is it mere coincidence, or have they discovered a bridge between the living and the dead? 2020. Ensemble cast. Owen Harper. [complete]

Lease of Life- 3 bed, 1 bath, shared house in a vibrant area with easy access to Cardiff city centre. Has a real lived-in feel. Note to interested parties: There is a small spreading mould issue, and an investigation is being undertaken on site. Those worried are advised to contact the Council's Mould Expert, Dr. Owen Harper. 2021. Ensemble cast. Owen Harper. [complete]

The Hope- Megwyn Jones is one of the most hated women in Britain. She used to run a home for troubled children in an isolated part of Snowdonia called The Hope. For a long time there were rumours about what was happening there, and then one day it was realised that the children had gone missing. The years have been long and hard, but now Megwyn’s dying, and she’s agreed to go back to The Hope, to reveal the horrible secret she’s kept all these years. 2019. Ensemble cast. Owen Harper. [complete]

The Last Beacon- A signal in a Welsh mountain is calling an ancient battlefleet to Earth. Owen Harper and Ianto Jones head up into the Brecons to stop it. The problem is - Ianto really loves camping. Owen? Owen does not. 2018. Ensemble cast. Owen Harper. [complete]

The Three Monkeys- Andy Davidson's been ordered to watch over a local businessman, and he's suprised when Owen decides to tag along on the stakeout. Andy knows it can't just be coincidence- Owen knows something- the businessman's attracted Torchwood’s attention. Tonight, the two of them are going to take him down. But will luck be on their side? 2020. Ensemble cast. Owen Harper. [complete]

Torchwood Special: Believe- The Church of the Outsiders believe that mankind is about to evolve, to reach out into the stars. Owen Harper believes that Torchwood has to do whatever it takes to stop them. Mature content. 2018. Main cast! Ensemble cast. Owen Harper. [complete]

*This post will be updated as I find more content. **Quality may not always be the best due to age and/or limited availability. Will do my best to clean audio/video up, and will hopefully be able to find better quality replacements in time.

[the-al-chemist]

Laugh Again

It’s Day 5 of @thethreebroomsticksfic’s Weasley Week, and today is all about Fred and George.

Warnings: mentions of war, death, and grief. But it’s happy overall, sort of. It’s bittersweet, anyway.

July 1999

At first, George hadn’t wanted to reopen the shop. It had been their thing, his and Fred’s, and going back to it without him had felt wrong. If he hadn’t been so wrapped up in his grief, George probably would have sold the building a year ago. But, as fate would have it, he hadn’t.

What had triggered his change of heart, exactly? He wasn’t sure. But, just a few months ago, it had been his birthday. He had turned a year older. Fred had not. Fred would forever be twenty years old, even when George was grey and wrinkled. Fred would forever be remembered as young and full of mischief, as having even laughed in death, whereas George had thought that he would never laugh again.

Until he had.

It was a stupid joke made by his sister over a slice of leftover birthday cake the following morning. It hadn’t even been that funny, but for some reason, George had found himself giggling like a schoolboy. It had been so long since he had laughed that he had almost forgotten how, but the moment he did it, he couldn’t stop. It felt easy, instinctive, like riding a broomstick after being earthbound. It felt good. Laughter was good. Fred had always known that.

“I dunno, Freddie. Seems like a pretty risky move right now. I mean, who wants to buy jokes when You-Know-Who’s on the front page of the Prophet every day?”

“But that’s the brilliance of it! Right now, everyone just wants to not be so afraid. They will buy jokes, because that’s what they need.”

The memory of his brother’s voice echoed in George’s mind as he looked around the shop. It was filled with people, as many as three summers ago, the first time they opened. Fred had been right back then. Evidently, he was still right, even now.

A boy at the front of the queue for the till approached George. He looked maybe old enough to be at Hogwarts, but too young to have been there during the battle.

“I’d like to buy this one, please,” he said, holding out a box in his pudgy hand. George’s lips twitched slightly.

“An excellent choice. You know, I’ve actually been considering buying one of these for myself,” he told the boy, who stared blankly at him as if he were unable to tell whether or not George was joking. George exhaled. “Tough crowd. Okay, that’ll be seven Sickles for the Extendable Ear.”

As George put the boy’s Sickles into the till, he heard the next person in the queue chuckle softly.

“I guess dark humour isn’t for everyone,” she said, in a voice that was familiar to George’s remaining ear. He looked up.

“Angelina?”

It was Angelina Johnson, unmistakably so. She looked older than he remembered — everyone looked older these days — but her smile was unchanged. It widened as they made eye contact, and she placed a single self-writing quill on the counter in front of him.

“Hello, stranger.”

“Hi,” replied George. For lack of anything better to say, he added, “Long time, no see.”

He regretted the words as soon as he’d said them aloud. The last time he had seen Angelina was at Fred’s funeral. She had offered him her condolences. He hadn’t wanted her condolences. He had only wanted his brother back. He had shrugged off her kindness and spent the rest of the day ignoring her.

They’d had no contact since, even though they had spent almost every single day of their teenage years together. George supposed that it was normal for good friends to drift apart like that when they left school and got jobs and fought in wars and grieved for those they had loved and lost.

“I just mean that it’s good to see you,” he corrected himself. “How are things?”

Angelina was still smiling. Her eyes creased slightly at the corners. “Not too bad. How are you doing?”

That was a question George still hadn’t figured out how to answer.

“Yeah, I’m… Yeah.”

As if she understood what George was trying to say, Angelina nodded and made a low humming noise.

“This place looks great,” she said with a wave of her hand. At the exact same time, George said:

“You’re looking great.” He wasn’t sure if he imagined it, but the colour of Angelina’s cheeks seemed to deepen and darken, ever so slightly. He cleared his throat. “You’re looking well, I mean. Are you playing Quidditch again?”

For the first time, Angelina’s smile slipped from her face. She shook her head.

“Can’t. War wounds, you know?”

Of course George knew. How could he not?

“Well, let me know if there’s any products we can supply to help you,” he said. “I’ve got my Extendable Ears, it only seems fair that you get something to use as well.”

“Thanks, but I’ll pass. I still haven’t forgotten the time you gave Katie that Blood Blister Pod during practice.”

George laughed out loud. “That wasn’t me, that was Fred.” He stopped laughing abruptly. “Anyway, that’ll be five Sickles and three Knuts.”

Wordlessly, Angelina handed over her coins, and took back her quill. George sighed, wishing that he hadn’t cut short their conversation.

“It really is good to see you again,” he told her, hoping that she wouldn’t take his brusqueness too personally.

“You too,” she said gently, before giving him the same stern look he recognised from her year of Quidditch captaincy at school. “Let’s not leave it quite so long next time, yeah?”

She turned as if to leave, but didn’t. Instead, she paused and looked around at the swarm of customers that surrounded them.

“I’m so glad you decided to reopen this place,” she murmured. George wasn’t even certain that she was talking to him, but he decided to answer her anyway.

“It’s what Fred would have wanted.”

“Maybe.” Angelina shrugged and looked back at him over her shoulder. Her eyes looked sad, but her smile was genuine. “I was thinking about everyone else.”

George looked out at the crowd. Witches and wizards, young and old, rich and poor, they had all gathered here. No two faces were the same, and yet, each one was laughing. He couldn’t help but smile at the sight, nor Angelina’s words as she spoke once more:

“I think after everything we’ve been through, we all deserve to laugh again.”

[thehopefuljournalist]

According to a new survey, lawmakers are playing an increasingly important role in holding corporations and governments accountable for failures to tackle the climate crisis.

The research was done by Columbia Law School, and was commissioned by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). It revealed that the number of climate-related court cases has more than doubled since 2017 and is steadily rising around the world.

Their report confirms a trend highlighted in the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2023, which claimed that individuals and environmental organizations were, more and more, turning to the law, as it became clear that the pace of transition to net-zero emissions was too slow.

“Climate litigation is increasing and concerns about emissions under-reporting and greenwashing have triggered calls for new regulatory oversight for the transition to net zero,” the Forum report said.

The UNEP report catalogues a number of high-profile court cases which have succeeded in enforcing climate action. In 2017, when climate case numbers were last counted, 884 legal actions had been brought. Today the total stands at 2,180.

The majority of climate cases to this date (1,522) have been brought in the US, followed by Australia, the UK, and the EU. The report notes that the number of legal actions in developing countries is growing, now at 17% of the total.

Climate litigation is also giving a voice to vulnerable groups who are being hard hit by climate change. The report says that, globally, 34 cases have been brought by children and young people, including two by girls aged seven and nine in Pakistan and India.

Here are five of the climate breakthroughs achieved by legal action so far.

1. Torres Strait Islanders Vs Australia

In September 2022, indigenous people living on islands in the Torres Strait between northern Queensland and Papua New Guinea won a landmark ruling that their human rights were being violated by the failure of the Australian government to take effective climate action.

The UN Human Rights Committee ruling established the principle that a country could be in breach of international human rights law over climate inaction. They ruled that Australia's poor climate record was a violation of the islanders’ right to family life and culture.

2. The Paris Agreement is a human rights treaty

In July 2022, Brazil's supreme court ruled that the Paris climate agreement is legally a human rights treaty which, it said, meant that it automatically overruled any domestic laws which conflicted with the country’s climate obligations.

The ruling ordered the government to reopen its national climate mitigation fund, which had been established under the Paris Agreement.

3. Climate inaction is a breach of human rights

Upholding an earlier court ruling that greenhouse emissions must be cut by 25% by 2020, the Netherlands Supreme Court ruled that failure to curb emissions was a breach of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The December 2019 ruling stated that, although it was up to politicians to decide how to make the emission cuts, failure to do so would be a breach of Articles 2 and 8 of the Convention which affirm the right to life and respect for private and family life.

4. Companies are bound by the Paris accord

Corporations, and not just governments, must abide by the emissions reductions agreed in the Paris climate treaty. This principle was established by a 2021 ruling in the Netherlands brought by environmentalists against energy group Royal Dutch Shell.

The court ordered Shell to cut its CO2 emissions by 45% by 2030 bringing them in line with Paris climate targets. The judge was reported as saying there was "worldwide agreement" that a 45% reduction was needed, adding: "This applies to the entire world, so also to Shell”.

5. Courts overturn state climate plans

Up until now, three European governments have been defeated in the courts over their climate plans.

In March 2021, Germany’s highest court struck down a climate law requiring 55% emissions by 2030 cuts, ruling it did not do enough to protect citizens’ rights to life and health. The same year, the French government was ordered to take “immediate and concrete action” to comply with its climate commitments. And in 2022, the UK’s climate strategy was ruled unlawful for failing to spell out how emissions cuts would be made.

[scotianostra]

9th July 1861 saw the birth of the shipping merchant, philanthropist and art lover William Burrell.

William left school at 13 to join his father and brother in the family business as a shipping merchant. He bought his first painting while still at school, with a few shillings he got from selling a cricket bat. It was the beginning of his 75-year collecting career.

His father and grandfather were involved in shipping. and, on his father's death, William and his brother took over the running of the firm. They developed the technique of ordering modern, advanced ships at rock bottom prices when the shipping market was in a slump, thus trading with brand new ships when the market recovered and then selling, at a large profit, when the market was at a peak. William also had an eye for detail and an astute eye for opportunities.

Having learned that a squadron of Royal Navy ships were on a flag waving exercise in distant ports, he realised they were likely to run out of coal and sent some of his ships to one of the ports of call, selling the cargo at a handsome profit.

The brothers amassed a large fortune and Burrell entered into local politics. He was active in the setting up of the Glasgow International Art Exhibition in 1901. At the age of 40 he married Constance Mitchell, daughter of another ship-owner and the following year, with the birth of a daughter, the family moved to a "Greek" Thomson designed house in Great Western Road.

Having again built up a large fleet of modern vessels, the brothers sold most of them during the First World War - at more than three times the building cost. It was at this stage that Burrell effectively retired and devoted the rest of his life to being an art collector.

He had a wide range of tastes but built up an important collection of Chinese ceramics, tapestries, stained glass, silver, bronzes, Persian and Indian rugs and furniture, travelling widely in the process. In 1916 he bought Hutton Castle in the Borders, although he did not move in to the castle until 1927. The same year he was knighted for his public work and services to art. He always had a good eye for a bargain - a 14th century Chines porcelain ewer was bought for 85 pounds and is now worth over 250,000 pounds.

In 1944, he gave almost his entire collection to the city of Glasgow along with 250,000 to construct a building to house it. However, the terms of the bequest (he thought it should be in a rural setting) posed problems and it was not until the 1970s that a building for the Burrell Collection, in Pollok Country Park, was eventually completed.

Just this year, after a major refurbishment and redisplay the Burrell Collection reopened More of the Collection is on show than ever before and exciting new galleries bring the objects to life, including more than 90 digital displays offering interactive and immersive experiences for visitors of all ages.

The new displays also tell the stories of the man behind the Collection, Sir William Burrell and his family.

The Burrell Collection is open 7 days a week, entry is free but donations welcome.

[choicesprompts]

Catch Up with Choices Prompts!

August is catch-up month for previous @choicesprompts events!

The year is half over. Summer is winding down for many people. If you have kids in school, this is the quiet before the storm, the lull between the carefree days of early summer and the hectic back-to-school rush to come.

For those of us in the South it’s too hot for outdoor activities and fall is still just a distant dream.

So, what to do with yourself?

How about getting back to that fic you were going to write but didn’t?

We get it. Life gets in the way. Maybe you wanted to participate in one of our past events but didn’t have time, missed the deadline, or just didn’t have an idea for it until after the fact. Whatever the reason, here’s a second chance to take a crack at it!

For the entire month of August, we will be accepting submissions for past choices prompts story starter events.

As a bonus, we will also accept submissions for select past 2023 events on our sister blogs, choices holidays, Drake Walker appreciation, or Maxwell Beaumont appreciation. (All past events open for submission are linked below).

Everything will be placed on one master list, sorted by category, and posted at the beginning of September.

The deadline for all events is Thursday, August 31st, 2023, 11:59 p.m. CST.

Events that are reopened for submissions:

Story Starter Prompts

Spring Holidays 2023

Maxwell’s Birthday Extravaganza

World Whiskey Day

July's Rewrite Challenge

[gracelbranch-blog]

Dear Diary🤡🤭🤪😍

I don't even know how to begin to write a blog post, bear with me! I need an outlet! I can't burden my friends with this! For the past few months I have been feeling so indecisive about the decisions I make and even the decisions I want to make; mostly regarding moving. I so badly need to move out of my house. I love my family, I love my three cats, however I feel so behind and like I am exactly where I didn't want to be by still living in my childhood home. A majority of the people I know do NOT live with their parents, and I need to be freed from the shackles of living under someone else's roof. However. Not paying rent is so nice. That is a blessing. Although I need to get out into the real world. But I also keep thinking about whether or not I will actually be happy if I move to where I want to go, which is like a whole other state. And that's a lot. Going to school in Detroit which is only an hour and a half drive was a pain in the ass because I didn't love it until things started reopening after covid and I had money to do things and I was 21 and had friends, but if I didn't have people to hang out with it was boring for me. I spent a lot of weekends coming home to either see my friends or my cats or attend some sort of gathering. I know Chicago is somewhere I love, I have friends there, I have a potential roommate situation, and as far as the job market it is so much more vast there than a little city with vacant shopping centers. And there is so much more to do there, so many third spaces to hang out, which I sometimes crave. I cannot walk around Meijer for an hour like I used to and Target is not in anyone's good graces at the moment. So I know I would love Chicago and also I think in order to have any sort of progression in my life I need to leave. Men are slim pickings around here, covid and a lack of friends in one place gave me a not great finish of my late teens and start of my early twenties, and a career is so much easier to start there than here. And I would much rather do it now when I know there are friends there and more opportunities fresh-ish out of college, and while I am still young and willing! But I also have fomo when it comes to life here. Like my best friend of fifteen years and her entire family who I have grown up with are still here and I have been included in celebrations for a long time...I would feel guilty leaving them and missing out on fun things. One of her sisters just moved out on her own after leaving a garbage relationship and was like "So you'll come over and watch movies right?" and obviously I said yes, these sisters are like my sisters too. But I don't know how long I'll be around to do that. There are little things that have become tradition in my household, like the annual snow sculpting festival 20 minutes away, or the lawn chair film festival Sunday nights in the summer time, or the Fourth of July fireworks we can watch from our driveway with aunts and uncles and cousins. And all the random family gatherings! I am so fortunate to have family I love, including a cousin who has a pregnant wife, and I know I would miss out on seeing this kid grow up with the rest of my family.

So like that's a lot of it I keep thinking about how I need this change and also everything holding my back from pursuing it. And that's besides the fact that I have $200 in my savings account currently and no job prospects despite applying to so so many it's insane. The cycle of being "not local" during the summer time in school and the lack of experience is not doing me any favors now which sucks. I started using my friend's Chicagoland address just for a little more security maybe. Like yes I am local! Aka I have a couch to crash on. Anyways. If you read this far thank you and also sorry. I need to not apologize but I am sure this is a pain in the ass to read and therapy hasn't been as productive post-election as I maybe would like it to be? I love my therapist but she suggested I talk to my mom about lending me money for rent as if my mom didn't help pay for four years of art school and isn't almost as broke as me. I will not be putting that on her at all.

I'll be back! This was nice for me. I am getting so old and confused.

[cursedreverie1945]

So today's fucking bastard is..

Albert Hugo Schuster

Albert should have died a LONG fucking time before he did. At birth or an abortion would have been a good time

Schuster (1912 – 1973) was a Nazi war criminal who was responsible for police units in occupied Poland during World War II.

He was notorious for his brutality, earning the nickname "The Butcher of the Łysogóry".

Why is it always Butcher? I think fuckhead, maybe asshole, hmmm, my favorite is arseheaded wankstain, always seem more fitting. Butcher seems to make them easier to remember. Okay. It is good to remember them but not with a nickname. It legitimizes their sadism, merely my opinion, of course.

Schuster avoided detection after the war. After Polish investigators reopened an active search for Nazi war criminals, they discovered Schuster, who was now living in East Germany. Schuster was arrested and put on trial for his crimes by an East German court. He was found guilty, sentenced to death, and executed in 1973. Honestly, death was too good for this creep. Put on a spit and slow roasted like the pig he was, would have been too good for him.

But I digress, as usual.

In 1941, he graduated from the Ordnungspolizei school in Buchenwald. He was deployed to Belarus with the task of fighting guerrillas, shooting Jews whom he had helped select.

Schuster went on "pacifications" in numerous areas. and many more in surrounding villages. He murdered hundreds of people across multiple villages. On one occasion, he burned two children alive. See? Hog on a spit is sounding better and better. Still slow roasted, tho.

Between March and July 1943, Schuster and his men murdered over 400 people. They killed 35 people combined in the villages of Paprocice, Płucki, and Zamkowa Wola. They also murdered 9 people in Bartoszowiny, 10 in Szklana Huta, 11 in Jeziorko, 4 in Celiny, 3 in Wojciechów, 2 in Hucisko, 8 in Psary Podlesie, 39 in Bodzentyn, 2 in Klucznik, 7 in Szafranki, 21 in Wola Szczygiełkowa, 28 in Dębno, 4 in Dębno Hary, 16 in Klonów, 9 in Kakonin, and 28 in Krajno.

When carrying out a village "pacification", Schuster would have the population chased into one area and then have his men read out a list of names. Those named were then killed. Sometimes, random people were shot. Victims were forced to dig their own graves in advance.Schuster justified his actions as being necessary to combat forest gangs.

In January 1944, Schuster went on a "rally of death" in the Opoczno area. Driving from village to village, he and his men kidnapped, robbed, tortured, and killed people who were unlucky enough to be in his way.

After the war, Schuster was arrested on suspicion of war crimes, but released due to a lack of evidence. Lack of evidence is a joke right? Sadly, no.

Schuster's trial started in January 1973. Schuster attempted to defer blame to the Gestapo for the shootings. At one point during his trial, Wacław Dziuba, a surviving witness, said he had been saved by an unexpected act of mercy by one of Schuster's men. Dziuba had survived the initial massacre when the bullet only grazed his neck. One of Schuster's men noticed he was still alive, but instead of finishing him off, whispered to him "Lay still, everyone's dead."

At this, Schuster suddenly stood up and shouted "The witness is lying, it's impossible. My gendarmes were so disciplined that no one would allow himself to be so disloyal. This is slander. This cannot be true, because my soldiers were exactly following their orders, killing those forest bandits.

My stance on nazis being failures and idiots still stands. You just implicated yourself there moron.

The survivor also recalled a story of a child shot by Schuster in her mother's arms and then the shooting of her mother.

Schuster was shot at Leipzig Prison in 1973. His body was cremated and buried in an unmarked grave. In 1994, an unknown party filed a rehabilitation request on Schuster's behalf. However, the petition only succeeded in having his death sentence posthumously reduced to life in prison. 21 years after he was executed.

Hell is too good for this man.

[kookyburrowing]

okay so i’m starting this post July 13th, 2024 to archive what major historical events have happened during my time in middle/high school.

March, 2020 - 7th grade/13 years old. COVID-19 pandemic begins. my school closes for asynchronous learning.

November, 2020 - 8th grade/14 years old. my school has reopened partially, sending us in masks for half days. Joe Biden is elected president of the United States—Trump accuses him of cheating.

January, 2021 - 8th grade/14 years old. Invasion of US capital building. Joe Biden is sworn in.

Sometime in 2021 I and my entire family are quarantined with COVID-19 for fourteen days.

February 2022 - 9th grade aka Freshman/15years old. Russian invades Ukraine.

June 2022 - 9th grade aka Freshman/15 years old. Roe v. Wade is overturned. At this point I am beginning to take an active interest in politics.

September 2022 - 10th grade aka Sophmore/15 years old. my high school makes all COVID-19 protections optional. The Queen of England dies.

October 2022 - 10th grade aka Sophomore/15-16 years old. I come out as gay to my mother on my 16th birthday. I am increasingly radical in my political views.

March 2023 - 10th grade aka Sophomore/16 years old. Canadian wildfires cause my school to close early and all after school activities to be cancelled for two days.

June 2023 - 10th grade aka Sophomore/16 years old. Affirmative Action is overturned in the Supreme Court. I have just finished being treated for Lyle’s disease.

October, 2023 - 11th grade aka Junior/16 years old. Genocide begins in Gaza.

July 2024 - Rising 12th grader aka Senior/17 years old. Genocide in Palestine and Sudan continue. Donald Trump is shot non-lethally in the head.