#The Aggregations

[the-aggregations]

9 Date of Submission: 3/24/2023

Observation Archivist Announcement Connected File Code(s): Announcement, Archivist Observations, World Events and Laws

This is an Announcement straight from the desk of The Archivist, and is of utmost importance that you heed this message. I have translated it below for convenience.

ATTENTION EMPLOYEES. WE WILL SOON BE RECIEVING AN INFLUX OF NEW MATERIALS FROM ANOTHER RAPTURING. WE WILL BE GOING INTO OVERTIME TO CATALOG ALL OF THE NEW INFORMATION, AS WELL AS BUILDING ONTO THE AGGREGATIONS TO MAKE ROOM FOR THE NEXT BATCH OF WORKERS.

THIS, UNFORTUNATELY, MEANS THAT MANY OF YOU WILL NOT SURVIVE THE EXPANSION PROCESS. REST ASSURED HOWEVER, THAT YOUR INFORMATION AND BODIES WILL BE PUT TO GOOD USE. I WILL CONTINUE TO WATCH OVER YOUR FAMILIES FROM ABOVE AND THEY WILL BE COMPENSATED FOR THEIR LOSS.

DO NOT ATTEMPT TO LEAVE THE AGGREGATIONS.

KEEP WORKING.

[originalleftist]

If you're wondering why polling averages are suddenly showing Trump winning despite all the bad news he's gotten lately- it might have something to do with this:

Basically, Republicans are ratfucking the polling averages by churning out huge numbers of partisan polls, and the polling aggregators/analysts like 538 aren't doing due diligence to compensate for it.

Now, what is the purpose of this?

Well, in the immediate-term, it creates a narrative that Trump is winning, boosting morale of his supporters while demoralizing support for Democrats and Harris.

Beyond that, if polling averages show that Trump is winning ahead of election day-which we can pretty much guarantee they will, because see above-then they will use that as "proof" of fraud if Democrats subsequently win.

Basically, they are engineering a pretext for their next coup attempt in front of us.

The only numbers that decide anything are actual votes. So ignore the polls, and VOTE.

[mothcpu]

If you stare directly at reality, you'll end up going blind!

[naggascradle]

Covers for A Game of Thrones, I (Jon Snow) II (Daenerys Targaryen) III (Tyrion Lannister) IV (Catelyn Stark) V (Ned Stark) & A Clash of Kings, I (Arya Stark) II (Theon Greyjoy) III (Sansa Stark) IV (Davos Seaworth) V (Bran Stark), drawn by Ken Sugiwara for the Japanese paperback release of A Song of Ice and Fire.

[deepwaterwritingprompts]

Deep Water Prompt #3390

The city has twelve bells, one for each moon. The distinctive clang of each at twilight let’s us know which of them have risen, and what the prophet thinks they mean.

[spaghettibastard]

WOLVES IN THE TRENCHES

Hessian Stoßtruppen vs The GARM (Anti-Fenrir) Virus

[gay-pippin]

[sweetmapple]

Give your heart and soul to charity,

‘cause the rest of you, the best of you,

honey, belongs to me

[blorbocedes]

https://x.com/judesrivers/status/1709714260706697326?s=46&t=w9R_LaqCkagB6MZHT49ddA the way he always lights up when he talks abt the things he did with nico and says those were the best times in his life 😔

Italy is definitely a core memory for lewis. brocedes used to have pizza eating competitions during karting -- which, curiously enough is featured in lewis' children's book autobiography

lewis has always reiterated karting was the best time of his career, and the most he'd ever laughed. and here's the corroborations of having pizzas and ice cream gelatos and core friendship

[elbiotipo]

The most absurd thing about all this bullshit is that all my data is going towards selling me things I don't want or I can't buy. Tech companies have built the world's most sophisticated and complex surveillance system, effectively trapping billions of people into a panopticon and consuming wasteful amounts of resources, technology and human work and talent, all just to sell ads. It's incredibly absurd.

[thesunisatangerine]

against all odds (to wait for you is all i can do) – part four

alexia putellas x photojournalist!reader

warnings: explicit sexual content

(a/n in the tags) [parts: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve]

word count: 4.3k

It didn’t stop after the first and it sure didn’t stop after the third, either. 

Depending on her schedule, you saw Alexia once or twice at most a week; most of the time it was on the night after a Barcelona match and by the next morning, she’d be gone before you even woke up. But you’d noticed her visits had been increasing in frequency lately, not to mention that sometimes she’d still be in bed when you awakened. The first time you found her still asleep beside you, you were dumbfounded, thinking it was a dream image of her in front of you. And what amazed you even further was that it kept happening.

It wasn’t an unpleasant development. In fact, it was something you gratefully welcomed. And it wasn’t just that, either. Sometimes when Alexia came over, you didn’t even have sex you just… talked: about her training and her health, her teammates’ shenanigans–and hers, of course–her family and bits of her personal life. Meanwhile you told her about places you explored and showed her photos of where you’d been. Then she’d tell you about places you could check out, food to try, and even went ahead and promised to take you to some of the places herself when she had the opportunity.

These times were rare, sure, but you found yourself enjoying her company more and more to the point you noticed yourself craving for it–found yourself missing her presence despite your constant back-and-forth messages. And still you didn’t ask where this was going for fear of ruining whatever the two of you had; you were content and you just simply wanted to watch this unfold as it was. And anyway, it wasn’t like you weren’t used to fleeting relationships, situationships–whatever you’d like to call it–because who was to say this wouldn’t end up like your previous dalliances–ending before it could ever truly begin? Despite you hoping otherwise, a large part of you already convinced yourself that this wouldn’t be anything different: just another highlight to your getaway vacation that you’d look fondly back on a few years down the line.

You had a month left in Barcelona, maybe an additional few weeks depending on the client. What could possibly go wrong?

———

A knock took your attention from your work to the door. You looked at the time–it was early evening on a Saturday and you weren’t expecting anyone. Perhaps you just imagined it? But then it came again not a minute later. You were reluctant to open it seeing as it was already dark but a ping from your phone that signalled a message from Alexia asking if you were home had you flying to the door. 

Upon opening it, you found Alexia there with Nala resting in the crook of her arm, phone in hand, and a paper bag in the other. 

“Took you long enough.” Alexia said playfully, all cool and confident but then her brows quirked upwards almost sheepishly as she said in a more tamed tone, “is this a bad time? I didn’t mean to disturb you.”

You smiled at her consideration before you ushered her in. “No, no! It’s fine, really! Come on in. Sorry, I just wasn’t comfortable opening the door when it’s dark without knowing who it was.”

“Ah, it’s my bad. I should’ve let you know before dropping by.” She bent down and let Nala loose before she untied her shoes and left them by the door. Nala bounded to the living charged with curiosity, nose to the ground, tail wagging as she carefully examined the new space. 

Alexia regarded her dog with an amused expression before she looked back at you. “I meant to bring this over after the game tomorrow but I saw the lights as I drove past so… here I am, I guess.”

You reassured her again as you locked the door behind her and you watched as she made her way to the kitchen. As you passed through the archway to the kitchen room, Alexia already situated herself by the counter taking out glass canisters from the paper bag she brought. When she took the lids off, a delicious aroma instantly filled the air, enticing your senses.

“What do you have there?” You asked as you leaned on the opposite side of the counter.

Alexia smiled at the eagerness in your tone and pride shone in her eyes as she spoke, “only the best fideuà and esqueixada in the world. Made special by my mother, of course.”

You peered into the containers and the sight made your mouth water instantly. As if it remembered that you hadn’t had any food yet, your stomach grumbled obnoxiously. Alexia definitely heard it because she fixed you with an amused smile and at that, your cheeks warmed so you tried to divert her attention. “You know what would put this all together?” 

“What?”

“Wine or champagne. Wait–are you allowed to drink?”

“I’m allowed since I’m still not qualified to play yet.” Her visage became somber for a moment–it fleeted so quickly you almost didn’t catch it–before the light in them returned again. “If you have it, white wine is the best complement for this.”

You hummed and tapped your chin, turning to make your way to the cellar. “I’ll have a look. I’m sure Derek has some wine stored in here somewhere.”

You’d mumbled the last part but it seemed Alexia’d caught it because she asked, “who’s Derek?”

Something odd in her tone stopped you and made you look back at her. Her face was unreadable, almost too neutral. She didn’t think Derek was your boyfriend, did she?

“Oh, Derek’s my brother. He hasn’t been here for a while but he owns this house.”

“Ah, I see,” Alexia cleared her throat, looking away and you could just see a hint of redness in her cheeks. “Well, I’ll lay out the plates. I suppose they’re just in...?”

“The bottom drawer to your right and the utensils are in the upper one.” You instructed as you continued towards the cellar.

“Oh, yeah, I see,” came Alexia’s muffled response. 

When you returned with the bottle of white wine, you found that Alexia managed to locate the glasswares by herself and were drying them with a tea towel. There was only one set of plate and utensils laid out though so you fixed her with a confused look.

“You’re not going to eat?”

Alexia shook her head. “I already had my fill with my family earlier. I’ll take the drink, though.”

“That’s nice that you visited your family today. How are they?” You sat at one of the high chairs by the counter, popped the wine open and poured each of you a glass. You noticed that Alexia’d heated up the fideuà for you from the steam that rose from its container which strengthened its aroma and made it all the more enticing. Alexia remained opposite you but she was close enough with her leaning forward on her elbows, her glass of wine in hand.

She sipped her wine and told you they were well, described little snippets of what’s been happening in her family life. She even told you about a prank she recently played on her sister, one that nearly made you choke on your wine. 

You listened as she talked, liking the way her brows quirked and her shoulders move as she spoke, how each gesture became more pronounced the more passionate or interested she was on a subject. You asked questions and engaged with the conversation every now and again as you savoured the rich taste of the pasta and the freshness of the salad. You’d never had anything like it and you told her as much. In response, she said she’d give the compliment to her mother when she saw her next which made your cheeks warm up again. Once you finished, you tidied up and though you insisted she didn’t have to, Alexia helped you wash up anyway. 

Afterwards, the both of you ended up in the living room with your glasses of wine. She gestured at your laptop on the couch with her glass.

“Work?”

“Yeah. Just double checking if I missed anything important and preparing for the match tomorrow.” You sat on the couch and put the laptop on your lap. Alexia opted to sit on the carpet, legs stretched and crossed, back leaned back against the couch, her head just beside your legs as Nala settled by her side.

She turned her head, looking up at you. “Can I see?”

You turned your laptop so she could see better. You flicked through the photos you were sorting through, explaining to her every now and then the thought process behind each shot. On some photos, Alexia asked you to pause so she could soak them in.

“These are great. You have a great eye.” Alexia complimented with an appraising nod as you got to the end. You thanked her as you pulled back. Then a question came to mind.

“Do you ever get used to it? The cameras, I mean.”

A pause.

“I’m not and I don’t think I ever will. I’m more comfortable with it now but if it’s possible to avoid, I’d do it. I know it’s a part of football and god knows how much more exposure women’s football needs,” Alexia released a heavy sigh, “but sometimes it just gets too much, you know? I mean, I really should be grateful, right? To have gotten to this point? But the media side of it is… not without its own set of miseries.” 

There was an inflection in her tone upon her admittance–guilt. You gently carded your fingers through her hair, Alexia leaned into your touch in response, and you replied just as softly, “it must’ve been difficult. It still is and for you, especially. And I don’t know if anyone’s told you lately but you have to know: you’ve given so much of yourself already. It’s not a sin to want a little peace, Alexia, and it doesn’t make you ungrateful for wanting it, it just makes you human.” 

Alexia took a deep breathe before she rested her temple against your knee. Then you heard her whisper, “thank you.”

A silence fell upon the both of you after that but it wasn’t an uncomfortable one. She remained that way for the majority of the night, head against your knee as she watched a game of football on the TV. 

By the time you finished up your work, it was already late evening and Alexia’d dozed off beside you. You felt bad as you gently woke her up and groggy hazel eyes found yours when you did. The sight made your heart ache from how much Alexia looked younger and more at peace this way, and you told her to wash up so she could stay the night.

And she did.

Now, your cheek felt warm against her chest despite the slight dampness of her borrowed shirt from her hair. Her skin smelt faintly of the soap you were using and with her arm around your waist, you fell asleep content, lulled to a deep slumber by the steady rhythm of her heart.

———

“Hey, please don’t wear that, it’s dirty,” came Alexia’s reprimand from behind you.

You glanced at her reflection in the mirror: Alexia was propped up on the pillows against the headboard, an arm behind her head, nude except for the bundle of sheets that covered one of her thighs, the marks you’d left on her neck and chest last night and this morning generously displayed for you to behold. 

She was nothing short of glorious, you thought, looking relaxed and content like this. 

You turned your attention back to your own reflection: Alexia’s Barcelona jersey draped over your smaller frame and fell just partway down your bare thighs. It felt comfortable against your skin and the fact that it smelt just like Alexia made it feel all the more special.

When you looked at her reflection again, you found her with an affectionate smile, eyes lidded and brows inflected slightly upwards, and suddenly the attention warmed your cheeks.

“But you only wore it for a shoot, right?”

“I mean, yeah, but you know what I mean.”

You hummed, “do you need it?”

“No, I have spares,” she replied before she raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“That means I have time to wash it before I give it back since you insists that it’s dirty.” You said drily as you turned away from the mirror and padded your way to the bed, crawling on the sheets on your knees once you got there.

As soon as you got close enough, Alexia’s hands were immediately on you, guiding you to straddle her lap before she embraced you fully, resting her chin between the valley of your breasts as she looked up at you. You carded your fingers through her hair to see those fair, hazel eyes that never failed to make you shiver.

“I didn’t say you have to hurry. Plus… I kinda like seeing my number on you.” And then she was kissing your neck and you felt one of her hand creeping its way down to cup your ass. You gasped when you felt the heat of her fingers brushing against your core and you buried your own in her hair as she traced a path from your throat to your ear with her tongue, nipping at your lobe when she got there.

“Fuck… Alexia…” You moaned, “you’re insatiable.”

She kissed your shoulder and then she whispered, “only for you.”

———

Something flashed from the corner of your eye followed immediately by a string of whispered curses and a familiar whirring sound. You put your thumb over the line you were just reading so you wouldn’t lose your place before you looked over your bare shoulder to the corner of the room you knew Alexia was who you found, as expected, holding one of your Polaroid cameras. 

She was only wearing a pair of grey sweats which left her torso bare and–like all the time you saw her nude–you couldn’t help but appreciate the soft curves of her breasts and the carved muscles of her stomach. When she met your gaze, she smiled almost sheepishly at you not dissimilar to a child being caught stealing cookies from the jar.

You raised a playful eyebrow at her but instead of answering, she placed her eye over the viewfinder, aimed the camera at you, then pressed the shutter again.

The film came out with a whir and Alexia immediately tucked it into the pocket of her sweats. She then began to make her way towards you and at every other step, she’d stop to take a photo of you, carefully manoeuvring the camera to get the right angle as she did so. It was an endearing sight, really, and it was one that filled your chest full of warmth. 

Eventually, she ended up on you, turning you over on your back as she straddled your waist, leaving you at the mercy of Alexia and her camera. From this position, you couldn’t help but feel extremely vulnerable and exposed not because of your bareness, but because you knew with the way your chest surged with warmth from how Alexia gazed down at you with a satisfied grin, the dimple on her cheek showing as her tongue peeked out between her teeth at the corner of her mouth, seemingly focused on getting the right shot, that this was a woman who had the power to completely and utterly unravel you. 

As a photographer, you were well acquainted with how cameras had the capacity to capture the essence of a moment–to display in raw details the emotions of its subject and freeze them in time, readying them for the dissection and scrutiny of the viewer. You wondered then what Alexia would see written in the shadow, the light, and the colours in the photos she just took of you once she looked at them, and the thought both elated and frightened you. 

Alexia brushed away hair from your temple but as she was about to pull away, you put yours atop of hers and turned your cheek into her palm, looking directly at her behind the camera. You heard her breath catch and then she stuttered out a breath, and the flash barely registered in your mind because you were too focused on the strength and the warmth of Alexia’s hand as you pressed butterfly kisses on the inside of her palm. 

The next thing you knew, the camera was abandoned completely and you couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled out from your throat when you finally felt Alexia’s lips on yours.

———

Alexia sat on one of the high chairs in the kitchen room, hair damp, a game of football on the mounted TV that was left forgotten in place of… something that you couldn’t quite see from this distance. Alexia’s shoulders were hunched over in concentration and you didn’t have the heart to interrupt whatever she was doing so you leaned on the archway, content with just observing her do her work.

“Are you just gonna stand there or would you care to join me?” You rolled your eyes and you didn’t fight the smile that graced your lips. So much for being sneaky–the fact that Alexia was an accomplished footballer who had crazy spatial awareness occasionally slipped your mind.

“Okay, Gwen Stacy, calm down.” Alexia looked over her shoulder then and stuck her tongue out at you, grinning. “How did you even know I was here?”

“Your reflection on the microwave.” She gestured to it with her chin and sure enough from this angle you were instantly visible especially with the white shirt you had on. The dark glossy surface almost made you look like a ghost.

Standing on your toes, you draped yourself over her broad back, arms wrapping loosely around her neck as you peered down. “So, what are we working on?”

“This.” 

A bracelet made of a dark-blue and red string that looped into itself with a singular, small gold diamond-shaped charm right in the middle, a vertical bar at the two corner points of the long edge of the diamond, dangled between Alexia’s fingers. She took your right hand and placed it in your palm so you could look at it: the bracelet was simple but it’s delicate nature made it all the more beautiful and elegant.

“Oh, wow, this is so pretty.” 

“It’s for you.” At that you looked at her, half-afraid that she’d feel the way your heart raced at her words against her back. 

You were so busy trying to find the right thing to say that you didn’t realise that she took the bracelet back until you felt the warmth of her fingers on your palm as she turned your hand over. You watched her as she wrapped it around your wrist, securing the tie. You turned your right wrist over and looked at the delicate bracelet, and something in your heart soared at the small gift. The fact that Alexia made it herself made it all the more special to you.

“Thank you, Alexia. I love it.”

“You’re welcome.”

That night while you were sufficiently warm nestled by Alexia’s side, naked except for the sheets, your head on her chest, a realisation hit you.

“It represents FC Barcelona, isn’t it?”

Alexia hummed in answer, the rumble from the sound a pleasant sensation on your cheek. Then she held your wrist in the space between her thumb and index finger, the width of her palm supporting your hand as she turned your hand just so so the gold of the diamond could catch the light.

“And what else?”

At that, you looked at the bracelet intently. The two bars: one and one–Alexia’s number. So she really was serious when she said she liked seeing her number on you.

You let out a small laugh, then you nuzzled her jaw as you spoke, “you little sneak.”

———

Minding her bad knee, you flipped the both of you over with a strength that even surprised yourself and with how Alexia’s brows raised high, you supposed it took her off guard, too. You settled your weight on her stomach and you bit your lip when you felt her abs tense against your core, and the desire in you blazed into a raging inferno that threatened to burn you inside out.

She grabbed your ass in both hands with a firm grip, making you gasp when her hold made you grind against her stomach, her eyes smouldering as she looked up at you. 

That look was your last straw; you couldn’t stop fighting your desire anymore so you let it swallow you whole. You fell forward, bracing your weight against your elbows as you craned your neck to kiss Alexia, rough and desperate, her lower lip between your teeth. The action rewarded you with a low moan, a delicious sound that shot heat straight down to your core.

“Just what do you think you’re doing?” Alexia gasped out between your relentless kisses.

“I like being on top,” was your simple answer whispered hotly against her ear, nipping gently at the soft skin there–teasing. 

Then it was your turn to gasp. 

Her fingers dug delightfully into your flesh, kneading your ass roughly before easing them apart with equal force. The harsh treatment caught you by surprise and the effect of it even more unexpected as you immediately melted against her, moaning her name helplessly against the crook of her neck. 

She knew just how to make a mess of you.

“Hmm, do you?” She asked coyly and then proceeded in a deliciously low voice that oozed seduction, smugness, and sex. “Too bad I’m still in control.”

“Fuck.” Your body answered for you in a full-body shiver. Her words turned you on to the brink of falling and you found no purchase as you slipped from the ledge.

It should be embarrassing how you could come without Alexia even fucking you, and it should scare you that she had this much power over your body but in this moment, when her hands were everywhere but your pussy and her filthy words were whispered hotly in your ear, you could care less. So you fell apart, shaking and weak, as you sank on top of Alexia’s firm and soft body, her name barely coherent from the sobs that came out of your lips. Euphoria lit every nerve in your body as you came, the fabric of your underwear latched deliciously on your pussy like a second skin and you were sure that you’d made a mess on Alexia’s bare stomach.

You only realised Alexia had stopped her teasing ministrations until you heard her thick voice through the haze of the afterglow which you barely caught.

“You came.”

It wasn’t a question, really, but you let out a small affirmative moan because what else could you do? You were mush–the intensity of your orgasm caught you off guard and left you floundering that no thoughts formed in your mind, just pure bliss and ecstacy. But as the veil of euphoria began to lift, embarrassment bled into the edges of your consciousness and with it the instinct to apologise. The words were poised at the tip of your tongue when Alexia moaned.

“Fuck, that’s so hot,” she breathed out and when you found the strength to lift your head to look at her, her eyes were lidded, pupils blown so wide they were almost all black.

And then she was pulling you in for a kiss, and then the wet heat of her tongue traced the edge of your ear, and she was nipping at your jaw while she dragged her palms from your ass to the side of your ribs. Your skin burnt at her touch and you could do nothing but surrender, to moan and whimper as your heat blazed anew despite having just been swept away.

“But this time, you’re going to come with my fingers in you.”

She didn’t even let the words sink in. Instead she wasted no time to slip her hand between your bodies and to push aside the fabric of your ruined underwear. Usually, Alexia liked to tease you and ease her fingers in you slowly as she sought as much reaction from you as she could, but the slick she found there must had been enough to satisfy her because she pushed two fingers in as soon as she found you. The thickness of her fingers slid in easily and you nearly screamed her name from the pleasure. 

She was relentless in her endeavour to make her words true with the way she gripped your hip steady with her free hand so you didn’t stray too far from her touch when you moved to meet her thrusts, the pace at which she worked her fingers in you left you lightheaded the same way her teeth on your neck worked to drive you insane.

“Alexia, Alexia, Alexia–” You chanted her name like a holy litany, burying your face into her hair that was now slightly damp with sweat and breathed her in: her scent of sun and freshly cut grass, of faint wintergreen, and an essence that was uniquely hers. The moment left you full with something heavy and warm, something that spoke of and hoped for forever, and clarity washed over you: this wasn’t like one of your previous dalliances anymore because you wanted more with her.

The realisation hit you hard, the gravity of it left your mind in a momentary stasis that when you came back to yourself, the shock of your orgasm knocked the breath from your lungs and you felt yourself being pulled by the tide. So strong was it that you could do nothing but pray the flood wouldn’t take you–that Alexia wouldn’t let you drown.

[the-aggregations]

8 Date of Submission: 3/23/2023

Document Entities The Archivist Connected File Code(s): Archivist Observations, The Aggregations, World Events and Laws

The following is an Article of Old World writing documenting the day our Archivist showed us the error of our ways by purging Old Earth and recruiting us here to New Earth and our Employment here at The Aggregations.

I don't have much time to write this, but the world is ending. This is on the off chance that anyone survives, and finds this journal.

This thing… It came here for reasons we don't… can't understand. At first it seemed helpful, beneficial. We thought it was a benevolent thing, meant to guide us into a new age for human kind. And it did, for a time.

It gave us the means to save our planet from the climate crisis that we caused, then taught us how to build long distance transport ships, and helped us colonize another planet, even going so far as to bring it into the habitable zone just so we could begin the process of terraforming it to our needs.

It saved us.

And then it didn't.

After it had gained our trust, it began asking things from us, and we were eager to provide, especially after all it'd done for us.

At first it was small things, a home, a computer… then it was workers, people to help it in its daily… life seems too… wrong a word to describe it. Duties more like. And then it just kept taking people. They started as nobody special, just homeless people and prostitutes but then… then it became librarians, IT workers, scientists, teachers. Pretty soon it started construction on New Earth, the ground started opening more and more frequently and things that fell in would be added onto the creature's project.

Then it demanded everyone work for it, said it was building an "Aggregation of knowledge" and not just human knowledge, but All knowledge.

Riots broke out, people kept trying to burn it's place to the ground but nothing worked and the closer people got, the quicker it began taking people until I suppose, it just got fed up with us.

Everyone in my town is dead… or at least I can't hear screaming anymore. One of those Burrowing hole things opened up beneath the town hall and began sucking things in like some kind of vacuum… The remaining scientists say the planet has almost halved in size, and that any day now it'll crumble into pieces like the other planets… the sun doesn't shine anymore, or if it does, we can't see it.

This is my warning to you, if you get visited by some kind of benevolent… creature, don't trust it. I'm going to try to stick this out, but if I don't, Jane, I love you and the kids, I miss you all and if I don't make it I'll see you soon.

Goodbye.

[61a7ax22]

Been a sec

[fabseg-creator]

My review about Miraculous World: London, At the Edge of Time

I publish my second review about a Miraculous episode. It's Miraculous World: London, At the Edge of Time.

The Paris review here

This post contains spoilers.

And now, time to read:

Plot:

This happens during the ellipse from Re-creation (5.26) between the Gabriel's suicide wish and before the Pool party scene.

It begins in the Lila/Cerise's lair (the Plage in the Catacombs). Cerise, who made an auto-akumatization into Time Stalker, comes back to the place in front of a worried and afraid Nooroo (still captive). She travels to the past (some hours ago) in the moment of the final battle (Bug Noire VS Monarch) for finding out who Ladybug is. She removes her akuma (making her lose her memories from her former akumatization) and reads her book where the Ladybug's identity is written (despite the Noiroo's objection). She reakumatizes herself into a ghost super-vilain named Spectral Looter for steal the Ladybug and Cat miraculouses (+the configured miraculouses) to Marinette. The wish Cerise makes affects the Reality AND the Time itself.

Three Bunnyx (Teen Alix, Adult Alix and Grandma Alix) are playing together a futuristic version of Chess in the Burrow when suddenly the two Future Alix disappear and the portals around Teen Bunnyx disappear too. She discovers someone is making a wish with the Ladybug and Cat Miraculouses (at the Marinette's horrification from this corrupted timeline).

I've learned about new elements in the Miraculous lore by watching the special:

This Special is both the Season 5 real finale and the Season 6 prologue.

The main protagonists are in fact Ladybug and (Teen/Present) Bunnyx (Cat Noir only appears in the ending scene).

Cerise/"Iris" is akumatized herself into Time Stalker. She used her phone for insert her akuma. Her superpowers are: to teleport herself some hours ago in the past and return to the moment when she begun her travel. She has been very silent (nearly no Clara Soares' lines 🇨🇵 under this character until the end part).

Nathalie knows Marinette is Ladybug. Teen Alix already knows Matinette is Ladybug, Adrien is Cat Noir and Gabriel was Hawk Moth/Monarch. Ladybug/Bug Noire is aware Kagami knows her friend's identity (Representation retcon).

Bug Noire (thanks to a revived Nathalie's words) knows Gabriel and Tomoe had planned together the Operation: Perfect Alliance (planned on Representation, launched in Conformation/Re-creation) when nearly everybody in the world was turned into a Miraculized army for track down Ladybug and Cat Noir.

When the wish is finished, the living beings still exist (except Gabriel and Émilie who are definitely dead) and Nathalie is healed (I think Gimmi's reality rewrite power is a bad joke from Thomas Astruc). The wish has revived ex-Mayura but there are two people who disappeared in exchange (there must be another person who is revived).

Marinette is remorseful about Gabriel's self-erasure.

Bug Noire lies to Adrien by telling him: "Gabriel, Nathalie and Tomoe were Monarch's hostages. The Butterfly villain forced them to create Alliance rings, to configurate the stolen Miraculouses and finally to launch the Miraculized worldwide crisis. Bug Noire wasn't able to defeat Monarch but Gabriel had ultimately confronted the villain and made the Wish to heal the superheroin and Nathalie in exchange of his and Monarch's lives"

Kagami knows Tomoe is Monarch's accomplice. But she doesn't denounce her. Bug Noire could expose Tomoe but she doesn't too. It looks like Tomoe is the Kagami's only family link. Kagami must clear the things with her in her own way (I guess the better explanations will come on the next Special: Tokyo)

When Cerise akumatizes herself into Time Stalker (off-screen), it means Cerise has been initially unable to find Ladybug was Marinette when the living chameleon girl took the Butterfly miraculous (which was fallen to the water).

Cerise's second (auto-)akumatization is Spectral Looter. Her superpower is: the intangibility. She can pass through the walls and Chronobug doesn't manage to hit her. Under this form, she is still mute. (If the two akumatized forms spoke, Chronobug could recognizes her voice's enemy as "Lila Rossi"'s)

Both Adult Bunnyx and Grandma Bunnyx (the two future Bunnyx) disappear because of the Cerise's wish from the corrupted timeline. They don't spoil to their mini-her how the Teen Bunnyx will save the Time.

Teen Bunnyx saves Marinette from her erasure because of the evil wish.

Marinette takes the earrings in the moment of Origins (1.22-1.23) and becomes Chronobug.

During the Time crisis, Chronobug, from the Burrow, figures out Time Stalker, Spectral Looter (Cerise's second akumatized form) and the new Butterfly holder are the same person.

In the Burrow, Chronobug thought about take the Butterfly miraculous before her adversary can find it and/or prevent Gabriel to make his wish (for save him and Nathalie in her own way) but Teen Bunnyx reasons her to not do that. Because it can alterate the future (for the worst). If Marinette did that, it's possible we could have a timeline when Gabriel and Nathalie are both dead without the wish and Adrien is definitively an orphan (Amelie and Félix as the last remaining family for him).

When Chronobug and Present/Teen Bunnyx manage to take the supervillain's book, yellow Ladybug erases her name and writes "Gabriel Agreste" instead of the former's. The two superheroines give the book back to the villainess.

The Burrow is restored, due to Cerise evil plan's failure.

Marinette/Chronobug is still uncomfortable about lying to Adrien and everyone about Gabriel's fate. But the Three Bunnyx give advices to her about her choices and her future she must decide.

The Chronobug's Lucky Charm brings back Marinette to the present and the past Tikki and the earrings from Origins back to her initial moment. She has erased the Spectral Looter part.

The Time Stalker time incident is the main reason why Marinette decides to bring all the kwamis and their Miraculouses to their respective holders (and the holders become permanent holders as we see that in the epilogue of Re-creation (5.26)).

Cerise/Iris becomes feral 😡🤬👿 after deakumatizing herself and discovering her book has been falsified (Ladybug = Gabriel Agreste). 🤣 She realizes Ladybug (helped by Bunnyx) has sabotaged her plan across the time. Of course, the crazy girl remembers Gabriel is Monarch (she had already double-crossed him when she was Hoaxer (watch Revelation (5.20)). 🤣

If Gabriel silents Nooroo by the will of seal his kwami's mouth, Cerise, as the actual Butterfly miraculous holder, fully immobilizes him (like a statue) with a finger snap. She doesn't let him to have more time for celebrate her plan's failure in the actual timeline. That means Cerise treats the kwami worst than Gabriel. Cerise is not just an evil girl, she is an egotic master manipulator, she is insane, mentally unstable, impulsive, narcissistic pervert and a psychopath too. 😈 Nooroo moves again only to the moment when Cerise orders him to transform her.

When Ladybug and Cat Noir are reunited together, they talk about the Butterfly miraculous disappearance. Ladybug warns her partner about the new Butterfly supervillain. So they prepare themselves together to stop "him/her".

And despite her (first) defeat (as Chrysalis(?)), Cerise still seeks revenge against Ladybug. So it's a Cat-Mouse fame who begins (Road to Season 6).

It's the last time the SAMG animation is used in this episode.

What I liked:

The moment at the train station when Marinette and Adrien are reunified after the Gabriel's suicide wish. ❤

The Cerise anger crisis due to the fact she failed to discover the Ladybug = Marinette Dupain-Cheng thing.

The moment when the Marinette's name is replaced by "Gabriel Agreste'"s in Cerise's book. Get Trolled.

And Nooroo when he jubilates (before Cerise immobilizes him).

Chronobug's design.

Spectral Looter's design (Cerise's second auto-akumatization from the corrupted timeline).

Cerise's new civilian disguise as a blong girl with blue eye lenses. I guess it's Iris Verdi form.

The moment when Spectral Looter roasts Chronobug in the Miraculous Grand Theft in Marinette's room was so funny.

Placide I.T. (Adrien's bodyguard)'s moment. Sounds badass.

When Adrien repels Bug Noire after the "revelation" about his father's death. We can understand Adrien is saddened and angry toward his own dad.

The fact there are three (3) Bunnyx who simultaneously coexist in the Burrow: Teen Bunnyx, Adult Bunnyx and Grandma Bunnyx (I called the older Alix like that).

Marinette says her adventures happen like 10 years (4th wall). Miraculous has begun in 2015 and we are in 2024. It's 9 years.

The final scene with the new animation.

What I disliked:

The Felix/Argos' absence. He lives in London. He sees Kagami for secret dates. He was normally in London during the Miraculized crisis. I understand he and his mother must be hidden because Monarch and Tomoe knew Felix has the Peacock miraculous. And if he intervened, the boy could lose the Peacock brooch because of the Miraculized people.

The Time Travel explanations (modifying the chronology, time paradoxes) are too complicated for me.

Bug Noire is supposed to search the Butterfly miraculous in the water below the Crypt. She even told to Alya and Su-Han she transformed into Aquabug for that. But it's off-screen.

Cerise transforms with the Butterfly miraculous happens off-screen (We will see her form in Season 6).

The weird fact for me is Cerise doesn't remember what she have done during her auto-akumatization as Time Stalker (even deakumatizing herself). But Alya, Nino, Marinette and Kagami (when they rejected Hawk Moth/Shadow Moth/Monarch's akumas and removed Betterfly's kamikos) had kept her memories. Is it because Cerise is a teenage girl and Gabriel was an adult ?

What I want to know for the future:

How Cerise has managed to take the Butterfly miraculous ? Her future self (as Time Stalker) hasn't done nothing but stalking Bug Noire and write the Marinette's name in her book.

Cerise/Iris Butterfly miraculous full transformation (and her full form)

In this Special, Cerise (who is wearing a new disguise) akumatizes herself into Time Stalker in the evening (just some hours after Gabriel/Monarch's disappearance). Meanwhile, In the Re-Creation last scene, Cerise is surprised by a supernatural light in her lair (it happens AFTER the Time Stalker incident). What is it ?

ML Theory:

It's possible Re-creation Cerise has picked up the brooch when Bug Noire and Nathalie were in the room where the kwamis were imprisoned. She has possibly deactivated the system cameras with Tomoe's laptop for preventing to be caught ans for infiltratring the Crypt (before Bug Noire cataclysms everything). It happened before her first (auto-)akumatization as Time Stalker.

I even think Cerise can transforms into the Butterfly supervillainess (while she keeps her civilian form intact)

My personal aggregation on the London Special:

I think this special episode is good. It's the transition from season 5 to season 6. Meanwhile, it lets some questions without answers: How Cerise has really managed to take the Butterfly miraculous ? When Adrien will be ready to accept the truth if he finds out ?

Let's waiting the Season 6.

Result: 7/10

The salting moment:

The annoying detail I heard about from the fandom is: the fact Marinette/Bug Noire decides to lie to Adrien about "Gabriel is dead as a hero".

Some of you has been pissed off about that. But I think ONE thing: An Adrien who knows his dad was Monarch will be shocked, mentally devastated and outraged. He would hate his dad AND Ladybug. And Butterfly Cerise would have good reasons for use him as her own advantage for destroy Ladybug and take revenge against Marinette.

It's too easy to blame Marinette for this detail but there is this fact:

Nathalie, Tomoe, Kagami, Félix, Marinette, Alix and Cerise know Gabriel is Monarch.

So the all of them can tell to Adrien. But Tomoe (as Monarch's accomplice) should be jailed.

Nathalie should be jailed.

Marinette, Felix and Kagami keep the truth secret from Adrien.

Alix could tell to Adrien, but her older selves adviced her to not do that for the Time's safety.

Cerise is the only perfect candidate to reveal to everyone (and especially to Adrien) the Monarch's real identity. But instead to expose Ladybug's lie, Cerise preferred to make an evil, sneaky and dangerous plan to stalk Ladybug by time travel and directly stealing to her the Miraculouses for make her own wish (just some hours after the final battle).

Adrien will knows the "Monarch = Gabriel Agreste" thing in another time. Thomas Astruc and the writers will continue to surprise us/you.

[hipstafootprint]

The golden 70s · Zurich 2024

[dostoyevsky-official]

Doomscrolling Is Slowly Eroding Your Mental Health June 2020

For years people have questioned the net benefits of platforms like Twitter and Facebook, and while some studies have found social media, when used responsibly, can have positive effects on mental health, it can also lead to anxiety and depression. Or, at the bare minimum, FOMO. And that’s just the result of looking at too many brunch photos or links to celebrity gossip. Add in a global pandemic and civil unrest—and the possibility that social media networks are incentivized to push trending topics into your feeds—and the problem intensifies. [...] The doom and gloom isn’t all the media’s fault, though. Mesfin Bekalu, a research scientist at the Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness at Harvard’s T. H. Chan School of Public Health, notes that while a lot of the news is bad, “as humans we have a ‘natural’ tendency to pay more attention to negative news.” This, along with social media algorithms, makes doomscrolling—and its impacts—almost inevitable. “Since the 1970s, we know of the ‘mean world syndrome’—the belief that the world is a more dangerous place to live in than it actually is—as a result of long-term exposure to violence-related content on television,” Bekalu says. “So, doomscrolling can lead to the same long-term effects on mental health unless we mount interventions that address users’ behaviors and guide the design of social media platforms in ways that improve mental health and well-being.” The effects of doomscrolling also vary depending on who’s doing it. [...] Many activists didn’t participate in doomscrolling simply because, they said, “I can’t see myself being killed over and over again in this tiny square on my phone.”

It’s Time to Log Off Nov 2023

Scrolling through social media can feel like a nightmare these days. You’re reading about the horrors of the Israel-Hamas war, and then you’re reading about the horrors of the war between Ukraine and Russia. You’re learning about the latest devastating climate news. Democracy is under threat in America. It can feel like everything is falling apart. This, of course, can have a significant effect on your mental health. You start to feel overwhelmed. [...] Matthew Price, a professor of psychological science at the University of Vermont, says that stress is cumulative. [...] Price says ingesting a lot of negative news can cause anxiety and depression, at least for some period of time, but it’s especially likely to “exacerbate” anxiety, depression, and PTSD in people who have a history of experiencing those conditions. He says that people often doomscroll because there’s something bad going on and they want to find a way to fix the problem they’re reading about. “When we’re doomscrolling, we’re kind of looking for the resolution to the issue. Read some more posts. Read some more articles. If I get more information, then maybe I’ll understand the problem,” Price says, describing the doomscrolling cycle. [...] “It’s not about ‘this is a bad thing and this is a good thing.’ It’s about how you engage with it and how it fits in with the rest of what’s going on in your life,” Teachman [a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia] says. “How are you living the rest of your life, and what are the impacts on that?” [...] Price says that acting locally on issues you’re concerned about can help you maintain your mental health because otherwise things can feel too far away and too difficult to solve. Maybe you can’t end a war, but perhaps you can help some people in your community or get your community to do something that helps a bigger problem.

i find the defiance that it's not phones (a shorthand for everything they provide access to) eroding our children's attention spans puzzling. bad news isn't new, the press has always veered towards the sensational, people have always overfocused on the negative. but the technology of access and dissemination is brand new. this is a summary of a few research studies on doomscrolling and the emotional, psychological effects it has on adults. surely everyone reading this has experienced some it in some form. you don't think worse things are happening to undeveloped brains?