#The Rift segment which is a year or two old at this point is one of my favorite things I've ever written

[pieofdeath]

HELLO PIE BELOVED PLEASE DO “Worlds Strangely Inhabited” FOR THE ASK GAME, YOU’VE TALKED ABOUT IT A BIT ON DISCORD BUT I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW MORE 👀

HIIII ok ok!!! SO.

For those that have not gotten my discord dm rambles: Worlds Strangely Inhabited is my DSMP x Hermitcraft swap au! It's inspired by the trend of drawing hermitcraft members like they were in a sadist animatic that went around.... god, years ago now.

It takes place during the mayoral race and mycelium resistance in s7, and the election and pogtopia on the dsmp, but it starts in s9, with the Rift. There's a little bit of time travel flavor in here as well.

It's hermitcraft in the style of the dsmp- so, all the events are taken seriously and dramatically. It's dsmp in the style of hermitcraft- so, everyone is having a silly time!

But... something feels. wrong. This isn't the way this is supposed to go, is it? The members of both servers keep getting sick, and tensions flare as the dream smp members remember a worse world and the hermitcraft members remember one that could be better. Grumbot remembers something- someone? important that he can't find, and everyone has been getting sense memories of people they don't know. Something is wrong.

Snippet:

The Rift is not alone.

There are many of it- when worlds seams are too thin, its purple light seeps in and makes a home in the nooks and crannies. 

Pulsing.

Breathing.

The Rift can breathe- The Bird subjected it to hours of experiments on that topic alone. It doesn’t have lungs, but it can breathe.

So, it breathes.

And waits.

It waits, and it thinks, if it could think, that even though it is not alone, it is lonely.

It’s a stretch to say the Rift thinks, and the Bird hasn’t decisively proved if it does. But if it could think, if it could feel, it’d say that it thinks it’s bored. It’d say that it thinks it’s angry, lonely, exhausted, feeling every emotion all at once in the way things as vast as the Rift do, but it’d be feeling lonely the hardest.

[katyatalks]

Animestyle 2019/12 - MP100 Interview Translation

The December 2019 issue of animestyle contains ~50 pages of interviews, and I was lucky enough to be sent every page to read through. Interviewees include Tachikawa Yuzuru (director) & Kameda Yoshimichi (character designer). Contains a bunch of information regarding characters & topics like season 3, so please enjoy!

[Note that this Tumblr compilation misses out quite a few things from the original Twitter thread. If you’re curious, that thread is here.]

TACHIKAWA YUZURU (Director)

Wanted to go for a darker colour scheme for the characters and settings to fit the more dramatic themes in MP100, but Kameda disagreed, wanting to go for something more colourful

Considers S2 more ‘focused on humanity’ than S1

S1 was made without expectation of S2

When cutting bits of the manga from the anime adaptation, a “the viewer will still understand the point of the scene without these lines” approach was used

Considers S2 as having two parts; the character focused part, and claw arc. The decision was made to squeeze claw arc into 4 episodes as Tachikawa hated the idea of sacrificing content from the earlier part for a half-half split

He's well aware of how loved Reigen is; fans tell him so at mob events all the time

Considers the “who exactly am I” question that many of the characters deal with; finds it most impactful with Reigen, as he simply pretends to have powers, whereas Ritsu Mob Teru etc. actually have them

He holds Reigen arc dear to himself, in particular the “be a good person that’s all” conversation that gets put into the anime more than once

He considers Reigen’s growth one of the core themes of S2, alongside Mob’s own

Episode 8 was not in the original plan - S2 was meant to be 12 episodes much like S1.

The omake in which Tsubomi comes to the office was actually drawn for the purpose of giving the team something to put into ep 8 of the anime - team was struggling to find something from the manga to put in (“S&S team doing something for Mob”) so ONE created it

The reason why all the characters in Mob Psycho are so lovely is likely because ONE is a genuinely lovely person so it’s a reflection thing

In response to Reigen’s rant at Mob in ep 6 that causes their rift, Tachikawa says; “we’ve all had moments in which we know saying anything else would be the worst thing to do but we haven’t been able to stop ourselves”. It’s why the scene leaves an impression

In the manga you don’t get to see Reigen’s face after Mob tells him he’s a good person. They added it into the anime, and Tachikawa states that Kameda had a lot of trouble trying to figure out exactly what expression they should give Reigen

Discusses American highschooler Weilin Zhang (of ~17 years old), who drew up around 1800 frames for the purpose of S2E5

Reigen’s website was designed with the brief of it having to look cheap and shoddy

Considers Mob Psycho 100 as having the message “its okay for you to do the things you’d like to” at heart

Mention of not only Japanese fans but international fans increasing with S2

Describes Serizawa as becoming handsome after his haircut in the final episode of S2

On the topic of animating what’s left of the manga, says he’d like to give it a go

KAMEDA YOSHIMICHI (Character Design)

Slightly more time pressure on S2 than S1, which meant there was a bit of detail lost with the drawings for S2

Describes Shinra as a charming character

Goes on to say that he SUPER loves Shinra and really likes drawing him. Discusses how people tend to love attractive characters in anime and as a results there’s not many chubby characters, so he latched onto Shinra

Found the thoughts & feelings of characters a lot easier to read in S2 compared to S1, which made drawing their expressions easier. The more he worked on mob the more he found he understood the characters

Small discussion of Reigen’s behavioural shift from Ep3,4,5 to 6 & complexity of his character. Makes him hard to understand. But he understood Reigen’s feelings of regret in Ep7

Reigen shirt scene segment in Ep6 intended as fanservice

ONE has described Reigen & Mob’s relationship as being similar to that of the main character and the kid from the film “About A Boy” (Will and Marcus)

Compares Reigen to Sakai Masato’s character from “Legal High” (リーガル・ハイ), in that they both do bad things but aren’t ‘bad’

Regarding the choices they made with character shading (blurry on skin, but sharp-edged on hair & clothing), this was inspired by Disney (Aladdin, specifically). Originally they went for blurry-edge on clothes too but decided against it ultimately

Describes how each mob character is pretty distinct and it’s easy to recognise who is who; ie. if they have bobbed hair + no eyebrows, mob; a standoffish countenance, Ritsu; blond hair, Reigen

Describes how in contrast to the simplistic character designs, the atmosphere they’re surrounded by is complex

Amount of young animators working on mob psycho increased from S1

Final manuscripts for S2 were compiled in 2017

States that when he read the manga, Reigen Arc really touched him and it’s the main reason he decided to work on MP100. he was very upset that S1 ended without reaching Reigen arc, and he’s glad they got to tackle it in S2

He considers the growth that Reigen & Mob go through from S2E3 - E8 a principle part of what mp100 is all about

When asked about parts of the manga that haven’t been animated yet, Kameda says there’s a LOT he’d love to bring to the screen. He wants to finish off the anime as “we’ve gotten this far already”

Regarding a potential S3, Kameda is asked if there's really enough material left in the mp100 manga to fit 12 episodes... he agrees that there's probably not, so they could go for 10 episodes much like Attack on Titan S3 Part 2, or a movie. (This is not the first time Kameda has implied S3 could be a film instead.)

If/when they proceed with animating mp100 is dependent on director Tachikawa's schedule, as it's looking a little busy right now

TSUCHIGAMI ITSUKI (S2E11 storyboard, production)

Lead animators for MP100 tended to be young; mostly in their 20s, 2-3 people in their 30s, no one in their 40s

Never felt like he was in an atmosphere where he was under hellish time pressure to get things done

On being asked his thoughts on mp100 S2 as a whole, Tsuchigami says he enjoyed it but felt like it could've been longer. He was happy w the pace of E1-3, but felt dissatisfied with E4-5. Was happy with E6-8, but then with E9 onwards felt a bit dissatisfied

Felt like the story-related elements had to be cut down in order to fit the length of the season they were given; this is where his dissatisfaction stems from. Regardless, he very much enjoyed S2

OGASAWARA SHIN (Animation director, animator)

The staff working on MP100 were allowed a lot of creative freedom

Animation director for S2E3, and animated for E3 (from Reigen repeatedly pressing the doorbell of the stalker to Reigen saying let's go out for soba) and E11 (around the Justifiable Self-Defence Rush)

Reigen's Justifiable Self-Defence Rush was animated with the intention of giving it a manga-panel-like feel

S2 was completed without any huge blunder happening

UCHIDA NAOTO (Animation director, animator)

Originally did work for S1, but felt like nothing but a hindrance and wanted to crawl into a hole. But the workplace atmosphere was great and everyone was very kind, so it ended up being a good experience

Animation director for S2E4, and was split animation director with Nakamura Hayate for S2E10. Did animation for the opening, E1,4,5,10. E1 animation: around when Emi + pals are with Mob at the embankment. E4: from 'Nakamura's flashy explosion' ((Reigen cut by glass scene?)) to when the espers are being kicked around. E5: when Reigen and Dimple are having their back-and-forth. E10: layout of the awakening lab.

Found season 2 very enjoyable. Being an animation director was excellent. Character design? Godlike. Felt incredibly lucky that he got to take part

NAKAMURA HAYATE (Animation director, animator)

As stated above Uchida & Nakamura worked on S2E10 as animation directors. Uchida covered the first part of the episode, and Nakamura the latter half

Nakamura animated for S2E4 + E10. E4: around when Mob attacks Minori attempting to exorcise Mogami from her, E10: Suzuki + co's entrance, when Mob possessed by Dimple & Shibata exit the building, Telepathy Club scene, and from Mob + Body Improvement Club's parting to the final scene

Felt like he could've done a little better for S2. And on a personal level wishes he got to draw more action scenes

ETC.

We've had confirmation from ONE already that REIGEN is complete with a single volume, but we've got that confirmation again here too with the way the sales description is written

Thanks for reading!

[digitaldreams0801]

Adventure Rewrite Idea Dump (Again)

Listen I want to talk about my OCs but I don’t have the energy to actually write right now since I feel like literal ass so it’s random fact time! Warning: random mashing of English and Japanese names for Digimon ahead. 

First off, I’m planning on giving one Armor evolution to all of the kids. Regardless of Adventure or 02 affiliation, all of them are getting one Armor evolution. Only Pegasmon and Nefertimon are staying the same while all the others get reworked/redesigned or new stuff entirely. The 02 kids get Armors first while the Adventure kids are later on. 

Also, there aren’t going to be any D3′s needed to open the gate between the worlds. All of the kids are going to have the same original model Digivice from Adventure. For colors at higher levels of evolution on the others it’ll go as follows: Daisuke - Gold, Miyako - Turquoise, Iori - White, Ken - Black, Meiko - Magenta.

Everyone is going to get to have a Jogress partner, but not in the same way that 02 used them. Instead, it’ll be more like Omnimon: an evolution that takes place after the highest level is obtained. Pairs will go as follows: Taichi/Yamato, Sora/Mimi, Koshiro/Jou, Daisuke/Ken, Miyako/Hikari, Iori/Takeru.

As of now, my plan for evolution is going to have Agumon and Gabumon go Mega in the original Adventure while Omnimon shows up during Our War Game. Veemon and Wormmon will go Mega in 02 and Jogress during Revenge of Diaboromon. All other Megas will appear during the first half Tri (which will be rewritten entirely to include the 02 kids) while the second half has the remaining four Jogress pairs. 

Since Jogress is being handled differently, the 02 partners get to go all the way to Mega on their own. The evolution lines are below: Veemon - ExVeemon - Paildramon - Magnamon Hawkmon - Aquilamon - Silphymon - Valkyrimon Armadillomon - Ankylomon - ??? - ??? Wormmon - Stingmon - JewelBeemon - GrandisKuwagamon

The only Jogress evolution that will remain from canon is Imperialdramon. The others will be redesigned entirely due to either not fitting as much (Shakkoumon) or being used already (Silphymon). As for Armadillomon’s evolutions, I’m going to have to design those myself. No matter how much I search, there’s never anything that properly fits in with the theme of Ankylomon, so I’ll just make up mons myself. Fight me on it. 

For the 02 kids, they have the Crests of Loyalty, Passion, Integrity, and Kindness for Daisuke, Miyako, Iori, and Ken respectively. Meiko will also get a Crest, though Meicoomon is special in the way that she has no Jogress partner and will act on her own. In fact, Meicoomon is being handled completely differently than in canon and is not used as a villain because I said so. Tri is being handled completely differently, so nearly everything about the plot is different now. Again, fight me. 

Hurricane Landing is going to be reworked so that it fits into canon. In it, Willis is not going to be designated specifically as a Chosen Child. Instead, he found Gummymon and Kokomon by pure accident, and they bonded to him on their own. Humans naturally have the power to make Digimon evolve at an advanced speed; a Digivice simply refines that power and makes it less unpredictable. Willis is partnered to them in a unique way since has no Digivice but is still able to make them evolve pretty reliably. 

On a similar note, I’m not using the international Chosen. I was never the biggest fan of them, so I’m just cutting them out. I’ll handle things differently during the World Tour segment (assuming it even remains in the final draft) to compensate. 

Mimi won’t be moving away to America either. I feel like it would be best for the sake of the plot if I kept her in Japan, so she’s sticking around there with the rest of the squad. 

I mentioned before that Tri is getting a complete overhaul, right? The first step is axing King Drasil. Yeah. Oops. Instead, I’m going to create a much more direct rival to Homeostasis. For now, let’s call them Havoc (which is a placeholder in case I wind up coming up with something better).

Havoc existed in the times before Homeostasis was created. In between the birth of the Digital World and the arrival of the Harmonious Ones, Havoc seemed to rule over the Digital World from afar. They created Apocalymon as a way of manifesting their chaotic whims, causing a reign of terror over the Digital World. In an unprecedented course of events, Apocalymon caused a severe distortion in the Digital World that caused time to flow faster than on Earth. Apocalymon’s existence caused a rift between the Digital World and Earth as well, and that portal pulled in the original group of six kids in 1980 (Daigo, Maki, Hiroaki, Haruhiko, Kaya, and Chisane). Their partners eventually evolved to become the Harmonious Ones, and they sealed away Apocalymon in the process, though time remained sped up. Homeostasis was born as a result of the Harmonious Ones coming to existence. 

Havoc was mostly left to linger in the shadows, forced back by the arrival of Homeostasis. The Order led by Homeostasis developed Digivices and Crests for twelve children based on manifestations from the original six. Another distortion caused by an escape attempt from Apocalymon opened a gate to Earth where the Greymon and Parrotmon fight took place in 1995. That selected eight of the twelve children, and when disaster struck and the Order was destroyed, the eight were called upon, prompting the events of Adventure to play out. 

During the attack by Myotismon in 1999, Daisuke, Iori, and Ken all witnessed events related to the Digital World. While they were not the only witnesses of these events, they caught Homeostasis’ eye for fitting three of the four traits. This left only Passion lacking in a host, though it found one when Miyako watched the fight between Omnimon and Diaboromon the following year, making her the final child of the group to be Chosen. 

Meiko was not a Chosen under Homeostasis. Instead, Havoc was the one who selected her. After the fall of Apocalymon, Havoc tried to concoct a further plan to usurp Homeostasis and take over the Digital World, and they created Meicoomon. By imitating the power of the Digivices seen up to that point (which was only known to evolve Digimon up to Mega), Havoc created another Digivice, the one that would later come to be used by Meiko. Since Armor and Jogress capabilities hadn’t been seen yet, her echo of a Digivice lacked both of those powers. She was given the Crest of Darkness, and Havoc planned for Meicoomon to evolve into another world-breaking monster on par with Apocalymon. During the events of this AU’s version of Tri, Meiko purifies the Crest into the Crest of Balance, and Meicoomon doesn’t slip into her destructive ways, instead finding a place as Rasielmon. 

As for the original Chosen, they split up after their original adventure. Hiroaki and Haruhiko grew distant from the rest of the group while Daigo and Maki went on to attend school together. Kaya and Chisane (both of whom are my OCs; fight me if that’s a problem okay) became romantic partners. All of them went on to live regular lives, most of them in the Odaiba area. Kaya and Chisane moved out to Tottori while the others stayed in Odaiba. When Digimon started to rise to prominence after the 1999 war with Myotismon, Daigo, Maki, and Haruhiko came to work together as Digimon researchers. Hiroaki remained on his own since he had other work at the TV station. 

As for Kaya and Chisane, they established a small restaurant in Tottori. They left Odaiba without a word once they were old enough, tying the knot and living alone while owning and running their cafe. Chisane couldn’t stand the city life due to the noise and crowds, and Kaya wanted to follow her. They avoided much of busy life, staying away from any incidents involving Digimon despite wishing to see their partners once again. 

All Crest bearers are sensitive to influence from Homeostasis, but their connection is on the lower side. Hope and Light are easily most connected due to their angelic links, though Light’s link is the strongest. Keepers of the Crest of Light can communicate with Homeostasis easily while bearers of Hope can still do it but are harder to contact. All of them are also sensitive to the balance of other worlds, but again, Hope and Light are most affected. 

Since Chisane was the original bearer of Hope and Light (all the original six kids had two Crests), her connection is so heavy that it borders on being dangerous. Being near so many Digital Gates in Odaiba can cause sickness for her at times since she has a lacking constitution and immune system. When the worlds are unbalanced, it has a horrible impact on her. To avoid any unnecessary sickness, Kaya moved with her out to Tottori where there were fewer gates. They moved not long after the Parrotmon/Greymon duel in 1995 since the sudden outburst by Apocalymon’s escape attempt sickened Chisane immediately. The destabilization of the worlds always harmed her, but that was the most prominent example of imbalance at the time, causing terrible harm. 

While the two mostly kept to themselves, Chisane was still vulnerable to being contacted by Homeostasis. She seems to speak to herself somewhat often, though this is more often than not Homeostasis asking for permission to borrow her body and mind. It was through her that Homeostasis learned more about how things were on Earth from the Digital World. 

When the Mochizuki family moved in near them, Chisane and Kaya took to avoiding them. Chisane was fine with Meiko at first, but when Havoc placed the Crest of Darkness inside her, being around Meiko for too long began to make her feel nauseous after prolonged contact. Kaya grows incredibly protective of Chisane when Meiko is nearby, coming off as hostile due to her blunt nature. 

The Digital World was created as a mix of three things: digital networks on Earth, the world of dreams shown at the end of 02 (one where everything is possible), and the Dark Ocean. The second of these two worlds is called the Dream Light. When all three of these lands came together, they spawned the Digital World. From there, lifeforms from all three lands were combined to create Digimon. Havoc emerged naturally, starting off as a virus program from Earth before mutating into something much larger and worse. 

Okay. I think I’m done. Also, I have a tag for my bullshit ranting now! You can find my AU junk under ‘Digital’s Adventure Rewrite BS’. It matches my Frontier tag, in other words. Now, I’m going to bed. It’s 3 AM, and I need to sleep. I hope you enjoyed tonight’s Tumblr tangent from Digital!

[theliberaltony]

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

A central message of President Trump’s insurgent candidacy in 2016 boiled down to this: Millions of Americans are losers — economically, culturally and even demographically. Perhaps no group needed less convincing of this proposition than white evangelical Christians, who have long felt embattled. “Make America Great Again” was the perfect slogan for Americans who had already embraced the notion that the country’s culture and way of life had been deteriorating since the 1950s. Indeed, white evangelical Christians voted for Trump over Hillary Clinton in large numbers, and Trump has maintained their support to an impressive degree.

But there are increasing signs of a generational rift: Younger white evangelicals have not fully bought into Trump’s politics and are less receptive to Trump’s message of cultural decline. The age gap among white evangelicals in some ways just mirrors the age gap among the public overall with regards to Trump, but in conversations with a number of younger white evangelical Christians, many said they are reexamining the way their faith informs their politics and whether the two have become too tightly intertwined.

If you drill to the center of Trump’s political base, a big chunk of those voters are white evangelical Christians. Evangelical leaders are among the first to defend him from criticism and the most ready to forgive his personal behavior. Roughly seven in 10 white evangelical Christians approve of the job Trump is doing as president, and many have been delighted by Trump’s first term.

Younger white evangelical Christians, however, express far less enthusiasm for Trump, even if they haven’t completely abandoned him. According to the 2019 Voter Study Group survey, only six in 10 younger white evangelical Christians (between the ages of 18 and 44) view Trump favorably, whereas 80 percent of those age 45 or older have a favorable opinion of the president. The intensity gap is even more pronounced. Only one-quarter (25 percent) of younger white evangelical Christians report having a “very favorable” opinion of Trump, compared to a majority (55 percent) of older white evangelicals.

No issue exemplifies Trump’s influence among white evangelical Christians — and highlights the emerging generational divide — more than immigration. From the start, Trump has made opposition to immigration a central part of his political identity. And white evangelical Christians rallied around Trump in the 2016 election and were quick to embrace his hard-line immigration agenda. During the campaign, white evangelical Christians expressed support for preventing Syrian refugees from entering the U.S. and temporarily banning Muslims from coming to the country. After the election, they coaleseced in support of building a wall along the southern border and blocking immigration from majority Muslim countries.

Indeed, Trump has managed to push the issue of immigration to the center of the evangelical agenda. Seventy-two percent of white evangelical Christians believe immigration should be a top priority, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey.1 Five years ago, in 2014, that number was 49 percent.

But, again, the broad policy support masks a growing generational divide in views on immigrants. Two-thirds (66 percent) of young white evangelical Christians (age 18 to 34) say that immigrants coming to the U.S. strengthen the country because of their hard work and talents, a view shared by only 32 percent of white evangelical seniors (age 65+). A majority (54 percent) of older white evangelical Christians believe that immigrants are a burden on American society.

So why has Trump found younger white evangelicals harder to win over? Age has a lot to do with it. The president is profoundly unpopular among all young adults. A 2019 Harvard Institute of Politics survey finds that 70 percent of young adults (age 18 to 24) disapprove of the job Trump is doing as president.

But immigration in particular points to another reason young white evangelicals have been less receptive to Trump: Their lives have been dramatically different than their parents’.

Most white evangelical Christians say that the U.S. becoming a majority nonwhite country is a negative development. However, the younger white evangelical Christians I spoke to said the immigration debate is complicated. “Immigration is not as black-and-white as abortion,” said Lauren Burns, an evangelical student enrolled at Biola University.

First, the young evangelicals told me that demographic change doesn’t register as a “threat” to them. Like young Americans more generally, racial, ethnic and religious diversity is a normal part of their everyday life. In the U.S., only half of all evangelical Christians under 30 are white according to a 2016 study. On Christian college campuses, which have seen enrollment gains in recent years, young white evangelical Christians are part of an increasingly diverse student body. White students account for 62 percent of the student body on the roughly 140 campuses affiliated with the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, down from 82 percent in 1999.

And there are other reasons to think younger evangelicals would be less receptive to a message of America in decline. Anecdotally, at least, it seems young white evangelical Christians are less apt to believe their faith is in imminent danger from the broader culture.

In a recent interview with Newsweek, Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, argued that the “Make America Great Again” slogan never really resonated with younger white evangelicals. “Young evangelicals do not feel as if they are losing anything in terms of American culture,” he wrote. “They came of age at a time when following Christ seemed countercultural to them anyway. They never expected a nominally Christian culture in which being a church member would be the equivalent of being a good American.”

Indeed, young adults are upending many of the religious conventions and cultural assumptions that defined American public life in the past. Young people don’t feel particularly negatively toward atheists, nor do they view Islam as incompatible with American values. They don’t feel especially confident in religious leaders and they don’t see religious commitment as synonymous with virtue. The 2018 General Social Survey found that the majority of young adults say that people with strong religious beliefs are often intolerant of others. Even back in 2015, the overwhelming majority of young adults said they do not believe America is a Christian nation — one in five said it never was — and being Christian is not an important part of being American. The Christian consensus of previous generations, such as there was, is gone.

But critically, for young white evangelical Christians, this is the way it has always been. Numerically, they are already in the minority. Only 8 percent of adults under 30 are white evangelical Protestants. The segment of that age group that’s unaffiliated with any religion is nearly five times as large. Among Americans age 65 and older, white evangelicals account for more than one quarter of the population. Not surprisingly, young adults today are actually more likely to say they know an atheist than an evangelical. Growing up in Portland, Oregon, Burns’s group of friends in high school included people of color, gay and lesbian people, and atheists. “If I limited myself to only conservative white Christians, it would be pretty lonely,” she said.

Rather than yearning for the past, many young white evangelical Christians I spoke with have learned to navigate between an increasingly secular culture and their own deeply held religious commitments. Perhaps nothing defines the experience of young white evangelical Christians more than the conflict between their peers and their faith. Aaryn Marsters, who at the time of the interview was a 33-year-old evangelical Christian living in Charlotte, North Carolina, described the experience to The New York Times: “As evangelical young people become more liberal, older evangelicals think we’ve been brainwashed by the world. And as we continue to hold onto our faith and some more conservative or traditional values, many non-Christians believe we are still brainwashed from our upbringing.”

For many older white evangelical Christians, Trump’s vigorous public defense of conservative Christians remains the most compelling reason to support his reelection. At the Road to Majority Conference, an evangelical grassroots summit, for example, Faith and Freedom Coalition chairman Ralph Reed affirmed evangelicals’ unwavering commitment to President Trump. “There has never been anyone who has defended us and fought for us, who we have loved more than Donald J. Trump.” Jerry Fallwell Jr., head of Liberty University and a staunch Trump supporter, recently suggested that Christians needed to stop electing “nice guys” in favor of “street fighters” like Trump. Facing what they see as an increasingly hostile cultural climate, many older white evangelical Christians view Trump as their last and only option.

But this sentiment makes many younger evangelical Christians profoundly uncomfortable and strikes them as practically unnecessary. Aryana Petrosky, an evangelical and recent graduate from a nondenominational Christian school in California, worries about Christians aligning themselves with those in power. She also challenges the notion that conservative Christians need politicians to defend their beliefs in the public square. “We shouldn’t be looking to political leaders to defend our faith,” she said. It’s a view that is entirely consistent with the way younger white evangelicals understand politics. A 2017 Voter Study Group survey found that while nearly three-quarters of older white evangelical Christians agree that “politics is ultimately a struggle between good and evil,” younger white evangelicals are far more evenly divided on this issue.

So what about 2020? Few young white evangelical Christians who I’ve spoken with express enthusiasm about the coming election. For most, Trump is not their preferred candidate, but an increasingly secular and liberal Democratic Party does not present an attractive alternative. Given evangelicals’ strong pro-life commitment, the Democrats’ vocal support for abortion access makes the possibility of defection even less likely.

At this stage, a couple of predictions are easy. White evangelical Christians will strongly back Trump’s reelection bid, following a decades-old pattern, while young adults will rally to the Democratic nominee, as they have done in every presidential election since 2004. In a two-way contest, Trump is still likely to make off with the majority of young white evangelical votes. A tepid vote counts just as much as an enthusiastic one. Yet Trump is redefining the relationship young evangelical Christians have with the Republican Party. The long-term implications for our politics and evangelical Christianity could be profound.

Kate Stewart was raised in a very civically minded family and had been excited about the prospect of voting in the 2016 election long before her 18th birthday. But she became dismayed and disillusioned by her options. “Having to choose between these lesser of two evils was really disheartening,” she said. Looking ahead to 2020, Stewart for the first time in her voting life has started to look at candidates outside the Republican Party. “I’m cautiously optimistic that the evangelical vote, or at least my evangelical vote, might find a home outside the party of Donald Trump.”

[elizabethrobertajones]

13x21 watching notes

Not. Enough. Hugs.

Expectations: Bobo is gonna write his last episode which will make every other writer heading to the door trying to churn out some swan song fare thee well nonsense taste like ash.

I will probably cry because this mofo makes me cry all the time and I hate it because I never cry at Supernatural and the last couple of years Bobo has me leaking everywhere

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Recap!

Lucifer saying they'll find Jack and remake the world in his image. Gross. No thanks.

Sam and Rowena bonding over seeing Lucifer's true face and it being awful

Gabriel complaining they took all his grace

Michael, Mary and Jack's adventures

Gabriel and Rowena being the most powerful allies. What a world. Like 10 episodes ago it wasn't even like this at all :P

A last glimpse of Sam's stupid parting shot about them dying together. Whee. Sarcasm font.

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Um.

Okay so this is either a dream or the future (yes.) or my next fic, and I'm only 1 second in, but all I know is that Jack, dressed all in white because he's Jesus, is watching Dean eat his 7th bit of pizza with pure horror, while Cas lovingly, smilingly, chides him for it.

Oh yeah there's Mary, laughing in the background. And she's wearing a different but still white and blue (Mother Mary) plaid.

This dialogue is literally bunker fluff banter about Jack counting Dean eating his pizza slices and Dean calling him a narc for saying so.

"John and me, we used to call him our little piglet" I am so happy. Pre-tragedy Winchester family fluff. My heart.

Sam offering to help Mary do the dishes

Dean getting Cas to punt him another pizza once Mom is no longer watching. Dear lord. The silent "gimme pizza" moment of our dreams.

Sam checking in on Mary!! How are you since... Being over there

Sam's wearing the same shirt from the end of 12x22

"I always knew you and Dean would come and save us. And you did."

-

Yep that was Sam's dream, which of all the available options was the absolute worst because he's the one who wasn't talking at the table, but has been missing a family the most, missing out on Mary, missing out on having Cas and Jack around, having Dean being normal. Wanting the relationship with Mary, and all the fun nuggets like "my little piglet" which makes her tease Dean and make Sam laugh... Oh god my heart. I'm a minute in and I can't take it.

-

And Mary starting to act like an alarm clock, Sam Sam Sam Sam, to wake him up. Oh no. Oh noooo it's awful. The alarm clock corrupted her in the dream: his image of her is so dependant on what's around him, so easy for her to be snatched away, when he thinks he's having a good moment with her at long freaking last

-

Last season I staked my entire house on the Sam and Mary dynamic being key and it felt like very few others cared, certainly not in the wider fandom, and along with that there was a whole lot of not understanding either of them. I'm so glad that Sam and Mary's dynamic has been more centrally placed this season and signposted because I'm so fed up that I spent all that energy on it last season and ended up feeling like I was shouting into a void :P

-

"He needed to extract his grace *finger quotes* in private" *Sam looks up like uuuuuh* "So I left him alone in Dean's room" *Dean looks up like EXCUSE ME DEAR DID YOU JUST SAY -

"What? No!"

Sam smirks, Dean looks pleadingly at Cas.

I was just joking in 13x20 about how Dean n Gabriel have a weird vibe about them, but I think at this point Dean is just thinking you left the skankiest archangel alone in my room???

I don't think there's a subtextual whatnow between them about this, he just doesn't want to know what angel grace looks like under a blacklight

-

Awww Rowena is wearing orange... With a turtleneck.....

#Samwitch forever #Jinkies!

-

making jokes about Gabriel's essence last episode and now the left him alone in the room to do it, and showing off Zerbe's merch and they're all just peering at that lil dot of glowiness... Gabriel is getting a lot of impotency jokes here.

-

"That is the jet fuel of divine emissions!"

*Dean pulls another face re: emissions*

-

Jesus CHRIST the rift is literally SAGGING FLACCIDLY

Bobo I hate you

-

of the 5 of them, Rowena's face remains, as ever, a total gem.

-

holy shit and then Gabriel lowers his blade as well

who DIRECTED THIS SHIT?

-

They all sigh and Gabriel lets his blade flop entirely to his side

-

Rowena looks completely unimpressed.

-

"Well that was fast" "One could say premature." "I thought it would be enough!"

Jesus christ what is happening in the latter part of the episode that we're getting this scene now?

-

Oh my god that was just the COLD OPEN

-

As always though, Cas being the one who has to say the really horrible thing, like, they will all just wait for him to proclaim the bad news. Maybe he just likes people to say things out loud even when they're obvious *clears throat* but also he always has that streak where he will suggest the awful plan and be first to realise some horrible path that they must take.

-

TFW retires to the kitchen to talk. Sam sits on the steps, now the exile, while Cas leans on the family dinner table. It's the place he goes in his head which has the best service. The connection to his family. Dean leans as well, Cas and Dean mirroring each other, providing more of a united front, as the two of them have the emotional headspace to root for this plan, however Sam feels, while Sam is caught by his trauma, isolated, hunched up and small on the floor, less of their party.

-

Every time it ends the same way - with the Devil on the loose again.

Hey at least this time he's already on the loose so even the worst case is that nothing changes :P

-

Well no the worst case is that he somehow possesses Rowena and takes the most powerful witch ever for a joyride.

Actually no he's locked in his vessel

-

the worst case scenario is they kill him before they get the grace, so they have to wait for Gabriel to charge up and *oh no* Lucifer is dead

-

God, Cas saying "the worst possible violation" re: being possessed by Lucifer is so ridiculously validating. He understands what Sam went through and he's showing he understands, feels the same way. The two of them have this connection of knowing what it's like, and Sam hears from Rowena that she knows what it's like to be tortured by him, hears from Cas what it's like to be possessed by him... His support group is here

-

I still love the camera angle of Cas standing in front of Dean and Dean behind him and the camera is flattening them together.

After the directing on the soggy rift, and Mittens telling me Phil is responsible I'm just like... no surprises here mate.

-

Plus. Cas had a shoulder!Dean there

-

Gabriel yoinks a book out of the shelf. It's Laying Pipe. A beginner's guide to plumbing and pipe fitting.

The cover is suitably phallic.

Gabriel is standing by the katana - the pointy one that the BMoL kept sharp. Ya know, sword sharpening.

Something he was having issues with just now despite all his sharp wooden swords last week.

-

Penis.

-

"It's not always like that!!""Gabriel, please."

She was waiting for him to break that tension.

*manly virile page turning*

*more angry defences*/"I don't need to hear excuses!"

... Rowena being left alone in the library to tease their other guests is the best part of the show and they should start a regular segment which is talkshow style of Rowena plus whatever poor sucker of the week is hanging out in the bunker

"It doesn't make me any less of an archangel!" "mright."

-

Oh now you're blaming Rowena for your perfomance, huh, buddy?

-

Rowena saying a drunk six year old could operate the spell is probably not commentary on the fact that Dean is the last person to do it, huh?

-

Rowena saying "the three amigos with their bro hugs, pep talks and melodrama" changes the fundamental dynamic - the stereotype of their nonsense is the three of them hugging it out, instead of in 10x05, the last time they were meta textually mocked for it, Sam n Dean getting the BM scenes, and Cas and Dean's in-show dynamic not being explictly referenced except for the fact that Dean clearly thought the personal space jokes were being taken too far before he had the explanation. This makes it clear the BM moments are about TFW, uses the fact that the 3 of them are all together right now to put them all in one room and have them talking out the latest issue together away from the others, in order to establish that Cas is firmly a part of what was once the bro dynamic.

Of course he's had moments where he hangs with them in what otherwise would be the BM scene of the episode right the way through, but THIS is a metatextual statement about the dynamic, one that is more than just Rowena's snark, but writer commentary on another level, pulling on our pre-existing understanding of the show mocking the BM moments to make it expressly clear that Cas is involved too.

If Bobo is on the way out to nurture the Wayward Sisters, then this is one of those closing statements on his way. That he wants us to understad that Cas is intrinsically a part of this dynamic, and that the FUNDAMENTAL CORE of the show, the BM Scene, is a TFW inclusive incident no matter whether all 3 of them are involved in it or not, it is a thing they do TOGETHER and is NOT a justthebros meta joke. The BM thing is not just the concept of Sam and Dean looking weepy at each other over the car. It's their FAMILY, together, just as Bobo shows Sam dreaming of their FAMILY being TFW, mom and Cas's weird son who counts how much pizza you eat.

-

Jesus christ I was going to make a joke that Rowena and Gabriel would probably bang as my next point to break the mood of that rant but I hit play and she's checking out his tush and inner monologuing it.

Never mind.

they gonna bang

-

"She's so tiny. and angry."

I stan 1 heterosexual couple.

-

Ahahahaha he noticed her dancer's body and wondered how flexible she is. Oh dear. I'm gonna back off because I may or may not have written this exact thing in my notes in her last episode

-

They're adorable.

-

"So, we've a little time."

Oh dean's room is not going to get out of this unscathed

-

She raises up the wooden pestle.

"to fill what?"

-

*red flashing sign which says 'PENIS' is glaring uncontrollably in the corner of the screen*

-

Listen, because these two are the skankiest archangel and rowena, who is, well, rowena, we are getting to enjoy subtext for the sake of immediate pay off that they're openly attracted to each other and we're literally getting their checking each other out and staring into each other's eyes montage.

Sure does help with the show doing this more subtly in other places.

-

SHE'S

i

Phil -

BOBO

-

yeah and abruptly to give them some privacy, back to TFW who are gonna come to whatever conclusion, go looking for Gabriel and Rowena, and end up knocking on Dean's door, open it, there they are in a heap in his bed.

-

Bobo "invented the fan fiction gap" Berens writing like it's going out of style

-

Oh no Sam's sitting next to the coffee maker that was briefly haunted by Kevin, in a Bobo episode.

-

"I don't like it, but it's our only choice. Our fun, great choice."

Bobo I forgot how much I love your Sam. Your Sam makes me laugh and cry. And here is sarcastic Sam, briefly returning from hiatus, and of course you are writing my favourite and the best version of Sam.

He gets to call out how they make these choices all the time where they have to go do horrible things, even against their own trauma. When he'd rather be anywhere else.

-

Dean points out they only have 24 hours as a complaint, but Sam has a "wait a second" which maaay or may not be resolving that. But first, they go find their archangel and witch -

Dean looks a little perturbed

-

Awwww they were only making out among the books, not defiling Dean's room.

Shame.

-

Cas's head immediately tilts.

Fan fic aside, this is the most action the Bunker has EVER seen.

Unless Sam and Eileen hooked up in 12x17, that is.

The most confirmed action. No one has ever brought a date back here.

Dean still has not hooked up with Cas. That we know of.

-

"Reading books... here in the library... Which is the room we are in now." Well okay sure

Sam is utterly horrified. Take your shipping pick on which one or both of them he's most affronted by.

Gabriel is 100% that guy you can NOT introduce to your attractive friends.

-

What is Cas even doing

he's like... I can't even look at you, Gabriel

-

Oh, bartender in the shirt Gabriel will be in very shortly. *pretends not to be surprised*

I guess we're not hearing the plan yet :P

-

The bartender sounds awfully concerned about how much Lucifer is drinking - if it's Gabriel, he's needling him about how much he's drinking, maybe just to hear how he justifies it.

-

"I had Heaven... Hell... in the palm of my hand. You know what I learned?" Me, internally: "Nothing."

Lucifer grumbling about how they don't matter, though. They don't matter to HIM, but they matter for the world running smoothly. The natural order, the cogs whirring as they should, would all do so much better without you around. Wherever you go, you don't fit in and you suck.

- He moves on to grumbling about Jack and how he can't find him, how it doesn't matter because "his bitch of a mother poisoned him against me, probably forever" - humanity is a poison to him. Love and compassion literally toxic.

-

"I'm sure things will work out in the end. Jack will come around!"

I know Gabriel is just trying to troll Lucifer, but it does read as ominous, because all season the low key threat has been there that Jack might end up going at least a little darkside. More darkside than being reckless and accidentally hurting people. Going over a darkside where he doesn't immediately feel dreadful about the people who get hurt around him.

-

Hahaha he's so drunk. Rowena can magically roofie him. Wonderful.

And of course at the reveal, Gabriel has Kingdom Beer signs on top of him. The sign of the Kingdom of Heaven.

(I continue kinda wondering/hoping about the prodigal son return for Gabriel)

The thing is, how did they know Lucifer would be here or receptive to being roofied? Honestly, if this episode keeps up the quality, I won't question it beyond this note :P

-

Oh I love this confrontation.

"Surprise"

He runs out of a bright white door and right through the other side.  This feels a LOT like Chuck's bar in 11x20, which calls back to Robbie's fare thee well episode, and reminds us that Gabriel really is the most like his father of all his sons, but also is the trap in the fairy tent with Charlie in 8x11.

There's a stag on the door, and that's more virile imagery.

-

If Gabriel is low on grace, I'd imagine this is Rowena's work, for the most part, and Gabriel just has to be intimidating enough to make this work.

-

Oh look here's someone else "back from the dead" ... It's not Lucifer's day

and even if she's not on the fullest full power, she's ready to meet Lucifer, because Sam's the one who kills her.

-

He must think he's hallucinating some people he killed, until it all get too real.

-

"Put me out of my misery! Go ahead!"

this is what I like to hear.

Sadly, I doubt they will. But it's still music to my ears.

Lucifer reaching the nadir of this arc, wherever it's supposed to go... I hope to his death, and it would be nice if he did die at the end of the season and the show was brave enough to move on to a world without Lucifer. With the apparent draw of Mark P to some parts of the audience I'm scared they won't, but at the very least it's seeming somewhat plausible right now, as he's brought down again and again and shown to have no moral fibre, no redeeming qualities, no drive to do better. Through and through, vile and useless, the story tells us, agreeing with how he comes across, how Mark P as Lucifer makes us feel in a way that the energy of Casifer did not convey at all because that all seemed to be at least for a purpose and Casifer was fun, and it didn't seem to be implying Lucifer trailing on and on and unendingly on as it ended up being >.>

-

take 2 of the spell! Lucifer trussed up in the Bunker library, Dean perching on a table. Get your muddy boots off that chair.

-

I love watching him kneeling there leaking grace. I'm petty like that... I feel like everyone in the room is too. It has a feeling like when they stole Metatron's grace, but instead no one cares to heal him and they're not even really aiming to make him human, they're just kinda. Ew. Lucifer. Who cares.

-

Rowena's trousers are INCREDIBLE.

-

I swear they used "stuck pig" in the last couple of episodes, or I'm imagining that?

Anyway Sam's plan is the least they could do to Lucifer

hehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe

-

This is what happens when you suck: eventually a bunch of guys (gender neutral term) pin you down, leave you frozen in place dripping grace in a gross way, and all laugh at you before they leave

-

"When we get back, then we'll kill you."

Nice plan. Sadly, nice as it is, it gives Lucifer wiggle room to not be here or not be dead >.>

Rowena staying behind with him is unconcerning when Sam goes through the rift in the sense of character death (and she's a lot more confident around Lucifer all of a sudden :P) but I still don't want anything too bad to happen to her :( Still, it seems like a half-assurance that she will be okay.

-

"Save your mum," Rowena says.

The main problem, of course, being that Lucifer knows Mary is there, doesn't know Jack is there, but while they played it very cool, it's worryingly likely he's starting to guess that Jack is in there, whether he can sense him through the rift or he just has a feeling that this might be it...

-

Ahahahaha it's on a hill

Sam and Cas roll down it, Gabriel kinda cartwheels, and Dean comes out running and does a cool skid down the hill.

Oh gross, Gabriel ended up face first in Cas's crotch :P Dean is like FIRST YOU DEFILE ROWENA AND NOW CAS? HOW DARE -

-

IS THIS ENTIRE EPISODE ABOUT PENISES?

-

Dean is just... wow

-

You guys, sometimes it's easy to meta an episode and sometimes it is very very hard and sometimes you don't even wanna type the words very very hard

-

"Kentucky. North East Kentucky" are we here entirely because of Asmodeus or is this to put us kinda halfway between Michael and Jack's last known location? Not that they know Michael's current location.

-

Rowena has no time for concern trolling about being "left behind in the kitchen" when she knows the only reason Lucifer would care is because he wants out.

She also reminds him he's being emasculated, because yes, this episode is all about penises.

-

Lucifer switches to being annoying, singing the same song as the password to Billie's pad in 11x10 - the episode where he first killed Rowena.

-

Gabriel walking along holding his blade at a 90 dergee angle to his body

-

Cas drops by to casually check how Gabriel is feeling about running Heaven maybe perhaps pretty please?

Gabriel points out all the things which could kill them first before they ever need to worry about that

Oh gosh he did have sex with Rowena. At some point. Maybe not right then in the library unless he magically dressed her again. But some point between then and now. Pfft.

-

Poor Dean's room I guess.

-

Cas is remarkably good at steering this conversation, when he has a point to get to. He has learned a considerable amount of tact before getting to "Heaven's dying, Gabriel," because for one thing he hasn't hauled him aside and said all this sooner. I'm always pleased when Cas's people skills are apparent.

-

"They wouldn't want me back, Castiel. As far as they're concerned, I'm a screw up. Hell, as far as *I'm* concerned I'm a screw up."

Oh, no. Please don't make me like you any more than I already do. This is the opposite conversation to 9x18 in the car with meta!Gabriel, Cas having to bring up the subject of Gabriel leading Heaven. It has to be him because they need an archangel, so there's no double bluff to pull where Cas could do it instead. There were 9x18 vibes all over last episode right down to Dean having a soft moment over the phone from a motel with Cas while they worked 2 ends of a case, and now we have this. 9x18 is steering a little bit from the background.

I LIKE the idea of Gabriel as the leader of a mostly stable but much more chill Heaven. And this seems tentatively positive, that it's maaaaybe just a self-esteem/compatibility thing. This is what is immediately being offered as the first obstacle to mind. Gabriel left, because of his brothers, but they're all dead or bound in the main world. They daren't haul Michael out of the pit, even just to imprison him in Heaven to keep the lights on, apparently, which just leaves him. And his major reasons for leaving are all gone now. No more archangels. Just him.

Which means that I was right after Naomi asked Cas to see about getting him back, that this comes down to how Gabriel feels, that after all this isolation, it's about does he feel he can return home, and how will home feel about him returning.

-

"Well, heaven's been run into the ground by upstanding angels. Perhaps a screw up is what we need."

ILY babe

-

*Cas looks hopefully at Gabriel*

*Conversation ends with a long shot of their walk in the woods*

-

Well that was a veeeery interesting note to leave that. As I was saying a few hours ago about 13x20, it may be that Gabriel doesn't need to find something to stand for to die for, but to LIVE for, which is a much more positive thing. I really actually kinda like the way this dovetails with Heaven's problems as a reason to compel him to go back, because Gabriel approaching it like a screw up who doesn't want to break anything sure is better than an egomaniac having a go.

-

Sam is feeling bouncier just to be in the same universe as mom and Jack

he wants the pizza party

let him have the fucking pizza party

it was just his birthday!

-

He's wearing his dumb backpack he's had season season 1 and it makes me unhappy in a "oh god he was so tiny" way

-

He's also being unnervingly optimistic about how close they are to winning, to getting Mary and Jack back, and he's finally got optimism. His mood is basically defined by this to such a horrible degree.

... Which is totally not a parallel to the beginning of the season where Dean was miserable until they got Cas back at which point he was so happy that Sam called him out on it

-

*distant screams of campers being menaced by a wendigo in the woods*

-

"Not our world, not our problem."

Dude, they're hunters wherever

-

Interesting how everyone here knows about the supernatural, so random hikers keeping low off the grid will know what was attacking them. And some basic lore about how vampires were affected by the lower population and starvation

-

TBH the comparison to the wendigo in looks isn't too wildly far off; they're both humans who have become completely monstrous in a way where they go off the deep end

-

The rebels Jack and Mary set up a colony there ... that could be anyone

-

Oh, great, tunnel of terrifying vampires. This is a distraction/time waste that will probably eat up the rest of the episode for them and cause nothing but pain >.>

-

Oh, we're only halfway through...

-

Gah how are we only halfway through??

-

Oh no, Rowena. Being left alone with Lucifer being annoying is one thing. Being left alone with him talking about how he murdered her is not a thing where she can play up the vindictiveness of the situation... trauma is trauma and just because she has him bound and knows he can't kill her isn't something that makes her entirely immune to facing that :(

-

Oh Rowena

-

Oh no

-

... Although within that Rowena casually calls them "his three fathers" which is hilarious and also particularly awful for Lucifer to  hear because it was bad enough knowing that Jack liked Cas more than him when he didn't know that

-

Yeeeep she didn't know that winding him up makes him stronger because anger is where his power comes from because he's so fuckin awful

-

Also ew he has something to fight for.

At least until Jack smushes him like a bug /wishful thinking

-

Oh for - he didn't even jump into the portal, she threw him off of her and he went in it by accident.

I mean, just for accountability stakes, adding it all up, could that have been any more her fault? Bleh :P

-

I assume the portal will still stay open a lil while, but

-

Oh, she's packing the Black Grimoire.

Good.

Now, is she actually going into the rift to save them, while putting on her fancy coat and scarf and all?

Or is she leaving?

-

"Not my problem!"

-

Those guys are your friends.

"BOLLOCKS!"

How DARE I have feelings. FEELINGS.

-

I guess Gabriel is also on the other side of the rift.

They're soulmates :P

-

Omg it's not the old mine from 1x02 and 11x19

I'm actually disappointed

-

Heheh everyone has glowsticks

party!Cas

-

THIS PLACE IS SCARY AND I DON'T LIKE IT

-

WHERE IS THE RAVE?

-

Wonder how much speculation we'll get about Dean looking up at that one bright light and being in a spotlight under it... Like, Michael-wise.

It is interesting to single him out with the spotlight.

-

*Cas and Gabriel just casually moving rocks*

Look, Cas could blast those all away but they're trying to play it cool for the campers

-

Who may or may not get picked off by vampires

-

No, Sam is wandering

he will be picked off by vampires

-

Bobo you need to stop killing Sam

-

I mean theoretically you just murdered Sam and are ditching the show to go write Wayward like hah hahahaha no consequences here I am the showrunner, now I will make Claire and Kaia kiss

-

Think of how Jody will feel, my guy

-

...

Okay that's enough of the "Sam is permanently dead lol" joking.

-

"Saaaam!" Cas yells and disappears down the tunnel

-

Cas comes back Sam-less and makes Dean leave too. I'm gonna be ship neutral on account of how Sam just got eaten by vampires. But it was intense and sad.

-

Yet, somehow, less sad than that time Cas died in front of Dean, when it comes to OTT melodrama. I mean there was a lot of shouting, but Dean's still moving.

-

Dean looks great

-

Hey, I guess 11x17 was good practice for this.

-

Cas ought to be walking with him holding his hand. It's criminal to make him do this alone

-

Wow, Sam you look terrible.

-

Guys, are you really going to destroy the angel warding on the camp? That's SUPER DANGEROUS

-

MARY

HUGS

YAY

(Why are you not hugging Cas?)

-

So yeah, you gotta tell mom that Sam's dead now

-

Just to get you

-

You can have one (1) family member at a time

-

Aw no don't cry!!!

-

Look, your brother was just taking a snooze because the rave got too real! He and his glowstick are fine!

...

Somehow

-

Is he a vampire?

-

Mittens tells me he's not a vampire, which just makes this all the more confusing

-

Aw

shit

-

Sam's like, can we go back to when I was dead?

-

Okay now he's heard Lucifer's story he's like can I REALLY go back to being dead?

-

This is like when someone wakes you up in the morning and you just don't wanna get out of bed. In that moment, no matter how much you love that person, they are to you metaphorically what Lucifer is to Sam right now.

Fitting, that it started with him vs his alarm clock as a loved one

Now we see the even darker side to mornings

-

Look, I'm kinda... horrified here so I'm just...

Can you kill this fucker and get back to your family already?

-

HONESTLY if I was Sam I'd take my chance with the wall of angry vampires rather than stick around for this conversation

-

"You need me"

... no shade on that concept though or anything, when it's a wall of angry vampires vs pretending to like Lucifer so he can hang out with Jack

-

I mean seriously I love Sam to bits but I'd be genuinely happy to see him torn apart by vampires again just to spite Lucifer.

-

Oh JACK no sweetie

We didn't even see them getting to hug each other, it's just straight to Gabriel sitting quietly, Jack pacing miserably, demanding why they didn't bring Sam back

-

Oh, he's fine

all that stress for nothing

-

"Please don't judge this friend I made at the rave, it was a really really bad night."

-

Do you ever find yourself staring into space thinking, "I would genuinely have been happier if the last shot of the episode was Sam being torn apart by vampires for the second time in 15 minutes?"

-

This is gonna go over swimmingly in a Buckleming episode for all the character dynamics. They are the only writers left who seem to actually like Lucifer.

-

Why does everything build up to stuff that needs to be handled by not-Buckleming right before a Buckleming episode anyway?

[sagarbiswas]

#MAR #MAKAUT #lockdownactivities #MandatoryAdditionalRequirements Name of Activity: Review a Movie Name of the Movie: Interstellar

My Review: To infinity and beyond goes “Interstellar,” an exhilarating slalom through the wormholes of Christopher Nolan’s vast imagination that is at once a science-geek fever dream and a formidable consideration of what makes us human. As visually and conceptually audacious as anything Nolan has yet done, the director’s ninth feature also proves more emotionally accessible than his coolly cerebral thrillers and Batman movies, touching on such eternal themes as the sacrifices parents make for their children (and vice versa) and the world we will leave for the next generation to inherit. An enormous undertaking that, like all the director’s best work, manages to feel handcrafted and intensely personal, “Interstellar” reaffirms Nolan as the premier big-canvas storyteller of his generation, more than earning its place alongside “The Wizard of Oz,” “2001,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “Gravity” in the canon of Hollywood’s visionary sci-fi head trips. Global box office returns should prove suitably rocket-powered.

We begin somewhere in the American farm belt, which Nolan evokes for its full mythic grandeur — blazing sunlight, towering corn stalks, whirring combines. But it soon becomes clear that this would-be field of dreams is something closer to a nightmare. The date is an unspecified point shortly, close enough to look and feel like tomorrow, yet far enough for several radical changes to have taken hold in society. A decade on from a period of widespread famine, the world’s armies have been disbanded and the cutting-edge technocracies of the early 21st century have regressed into more utilitarian, farm-based economies.

“We’re a caretaker generation,” notes one such homesteader (John Lithgow) to his widower son-in-law, Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), a former NASA test pilot who hasn’t stopped dreaming of flight, for himself and for his children: 15-year-old son Tom (Timothee Chalamet) and 10-year-old daughter Murphy (Mackenzie Foy), the latter a precocious tot was first seen getting suspended from school for daring to suggest that the Apollo space missions actually happened. “We used to look up in the sky and wonder about our place in the stars,” Cooper muses. “Now we just look down and wonder about our place in the dirt.”

And oh, what dirt! As “Interstellar” opens, the world — or at least Cooper’s Steinbeckian corner of it — sits on the cusp of a second Dust Bowl, ravaged by an epidemic of crop blight, a silt-like haze hanging permanently in the air. (Some of this scene-setting is accomplished via pseudo-documentary interviews with the elderly residents of some more distant future reflecting on their hardscrabble childhoods, which Nolan films like the “witness” segments from Warren Beatty’s “Reds.”) And as the crops die, so the Earth’s atmosphere becomes richer in nitrogen and poorer in oxygen, until the time when global starvation will give way to global asphyxiation.

But all hope is not lost. NASA (whose massive real-life budget cuts lend the movie added immediacy) still exists in this agrarian dystopia, but it’s gone off the grid, far from the microscope of public opinion. There, the brilliant physicist Professor Brand (Michael Caine, forever the face of avuncular wisdom in Nolan’s films) and his dedicated team have devised two scenarios for saving mankind. Both plans involve abandoning Earth and starting over on a new, life-sustaining planet, but only one includes taking Earth’s current 6-billion-plus population along for the ride. Doing the latter, it seems, depends on Brand’s ability to solve an epic math problem that would explain how such a large-capacity vessel could surmount Earth’s gravitational forces. (Never discussed in this egalitarian society: a scenario in which only the privileged few could escape, a la the decadent bourgeoisie of Neill Blomkamp’s “Elysium.”)

Many years earlier, Brand informs, a mysterious space-time rift (or wormhole) appeared in the vicinity of Saturn, seemingly placed there, like the monoliths of “2001,” by some higher intelligence. On the other side: another galaxy containing a dozen planets that might be fit for human habitation. In the wake of the food wars, a team of intrepid NASA scientists traveled there in search of solutions. Now, a decade later (in Earth years, that is), Brand has organized another mission to check up on the three planets that seem the most promising for human settlement. And to pilot the ship, he needs Cooper, an instinctive flight jockey in the Chuck Yeager mode, much as McConaughey’s laconic, effortlessly self-assured performance recalls Sam Shepards as Yeager in “The Right Stuff” (another obvious “Interstellar” touchstone).

Already by this point — and we have not yet left the Earth’s surface — “Interstellar” (which Nolan co-wrote with his brother and frequent collaborator, Jonathan) has hurled a fair amount of theoretical physics at the audience, including discussions of black holes, gravitational singularities and the possibility of extra-dimensional space. And, as with the twisty chronologies and unreliable narrators of his earlier films, Nolan trusts in the audience’s ability to get the gist and follow along, even if it doesn’t glean every last nuance on first viewing. It’s hard to think of a mainstream Hollywood film that has so successfully translated complex mathematical and scientific ideas to a lay audience (though Shane Carruth’s ingenious 2004 Sundance winner “Primer” — another movie concerned with overcoming the problem of gravity — tried something similar on a micro-budget indie scale), or done so in more vivid, immediate human terms. (Some credit for this is doubtless owed to the veteran CalTech physicist Kip Thorne, who consulted with the Nolans on the script and receives an executive producer credit.)

The mission itself is a relatively intimate affair, comprised of Cooper, Brand’s own scientist daughter (Anne Hathaway), two other researchers (Wes Bentley and the excellent David Gyasi), and a chatty, sarcastic, ex-military security robot called TARS (brilliantly voiced by Bill Irwin in a sly nod to Douglas Rain’s iconic HAL 9000), which looks like a walking easel but proves surprisingly agile when the going gets tough. And from there, “Interstellar” has so many wonderful surprises in store — from casting choices to narrative twists and reversals — that the less said about it the better. (Indeed, if you really don’t want to know anything more, read no further.)

It gives nothing away, however, to say that Nolan maps his infinite celestial landscape as majestically as he did the continent-hopping earthbound ones of “The Prestige” and “Batman Begins,” or the multi-tiered memory maze of “Inception.” The imagery, modeled by Nolan and cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema on Imax documentaries like “Space Station” and “Hubble 3D,” suggests a boundless inky blackness punctuated by ravishing bursts of light, the tiny spaceship Endurance gleaming like a diamond against Saturn’s great, gaseous rings, then ricocheting like a pinball through the wormhole’s shimmering plasmic vortex.

With each stop the Endurance makes, Nolan envisions yet another new world: one planet a watery expanse with waves that make Waimea Bay look like a giant bathtub; another an ice climber’s playground of frozen tundra and sheer-faced descents. Moreover, outer space allows Nolan to bend and twist his favorite subject — time — into remarkable new permutations. Where most prior Nolan protagonists were forever grasping at an irretrievable past, the crew of the Endurance races against a ticking clock that happens to tick differently depending on your particular vantage. New worlds mean new gravitational forces, so that for every hour spent on a given planet’s surface, years or even entire decades may be passing back on Earth. (Time as a flat circle, indeed.)

This leads to an extraordinary mid-film emotional climax in which Cooper and Brand return from one such expedition to discover that 23 earth years have passed in the blink of an eye, represented by two decades’ worth of stockpiled video messages from loved ones, including the now-adult Tom (a bearded, brooding Casey Affleck) and Murphy (Jessica Chastain in dogged, persistent “Zero Dark Thirty” mode). It’s a scene Nolan stages mostly in closeup on McConaughey, and the actor plays it beautifully, his face a quicksilver mask of joy, regret, and unbearable grief.

That moment signals a shift in “Interstellar” itself from the relatively euphoric, adventurous tone of the first half toward darker, more ambiguous terrain — the human shadow areas, if you will, that are as difficult to fully glimpse as the inside of a black hole. Nolan, who has always excelled at the slow reveal, catches even the attentive viewer off guard more than once here, but never in a way that feels cheap or compromises the complex motivations of the characters.

On the one hand, the movie marvels at the brave men and women throughout history who have dedicated themselves, often at great peril, to the greater good of mankind. On the other, because Nolan is a psychological realist, he’s acutely aware of the toil such lives may take on those who choose to lead them, and that even “the best of us” (as one character is repeatedly described) might not be immune from cowardice and moral compromise. Some people lie to themselves and to their closest confidants in “Interstellar,” and Nolan understands that everyone has his reasons. Others compensate by making the most selfless of sacrifices. Perhaps the only thing trickier than quantum physics, the movie argues, is the nature of human emotion.

Nolan stages one thrilling set piece after another, including several hairsbreadth escapes and a dazzling space-docking sequence in which the entire theater seems to become one large centrifuge; the nearly three-hour running time passes unnoticed. Even more thrilling is the movie’s ultimate vision of a universe in which the face of extraterrestrial life bears a surprisingly familiar countenance. “Do not go gentle into that good night/Rage, rage against the dying of the light,” harks the good Professor Brand at the start of the Endurance’s journey, quoting the melancholic Welshman Dylan Thomas. And yet “Interstellar” is finally a film suffused with light and boundless possibilities — those of the universe itself, of the wonder in a child’s twinkling eyes, and of movies to translate all that into spectacular picture shows like this one.

It’s hardly surprising that “Interstellar” reps the very best big-budget Hollywood craftsmanship at every level, from veteran Nolan collaborators like production designer Nathan Crowley (who built the film’s lyrical vision of the big-sky American heartland on location in Alberta) and sound designer/editor Richard King, who makes wonderfully dissonant contrasts between the movie’s interior spaces and the airless silence of space itself. VFX supervisor Paul Franklin (an Oscar winner for his work on “Inception”) again brings a vivid tactility to all of the film’s effects, especially the robotic TARS, who seamlessly inhabits the same physical spaces as the human actors. Hans Zimmer contributes one of his most richly imagined and inventive scores, which ranges from a gentle electronic keyboard melody to brassy, Strauss-ian crescendos. Shot and post-produced by Nolan entirely on celluloid (in a mix of 35mm and 70mm stocks), “Interstellar” begs to be seen on the large-format Imax screen, where its dense, inimitably filmic textures and multiple aspect ratios can be experienced to their fullest effect.

[combatsports]

Games LIke World Of WarCraft

Conveyed in 2004 by Blizzard Entertainment, World of Warcraft (WOW) is the most celebrated incredibly multiplayer web based imagining game to date.

Set in a fantasy space where players can make their own characters and investigate unlimited possibilities on the most ideal approach to capitalize on their gaming experience, World of Warcraft is going strong for practically 15 years with its player base of more than 100 million WOW fans.

There are, in any case, various near games accessible for you, whether or not you are a readied WOW veteran looking for new experiences in this sort, or just someone who might not want to be restricted by the game's month to month enrollment charge based game plan.

We ought to research 10 games like World of Warcraft that you can play as decisions.

1. ArcheAge

games like universe of warcraft on pc

ArcheAge is a privateer based dream MMORPG made and conveyed in 2014 by a South Korean PC game association XLGAMES. The game is ideal for the people who like to explore the setting, as the player is empowered to plunge into the dark of both the land and the sea.

Five Things To Do In Akihabara (Attractions)

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This game offers mounts to the people who need to move snappier around the open world, similarly as vessels for sea wayfarers. The fight structure is intriguing, as the player can make novel structures by passing on their level up centers into aptitude trees alloted for each class.

This infers the player is given the choice to investigate various roads viewing developing the character rather than using the ordinary, destroyed default produce. There are PvP segments through dueling and field fights, similarly as the PvE content through developing, trading, getting pets and examining the atmosphere.

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2. Heredity II

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Another game made in South Korea, Lineage II is a permitted to-play MMORPG which examines the world set 150 years before the events of the principle game. The game stays reliable with its permitted to-play portrayal, as the players are given the permission to everything legitimately from the earliest starting point.

There are in excess of thirty particular classes to investigate and each can be updated a couple of times as you level up. At the point when you show up at a particular level, you can add a subclass to your character. The players can course their inclination centers into the class tree, dependent upon which race they pick.

The game has a huge amount of PvP and PvE content as fields, assaulting, assault battling and group systems. The game is kept awake with the most recent through various patches, revives and new substance incorporated the standard reason.

3. TERA

best games like wow on steam

TERA is a permitted to-play dream MMORPG game made by Bluehole Studios, a PC game association that conveyed the incredibly celebrated battle royale game PlayerUnknown's Battleground (PUBG).

TERA is an inside and out made game that offers a lot to a submitted player. Set in a world tortured by wars, TERA has in excess of 80 zones open to be researched. The experience is moreover improved through amazing plans of both the open world and the nuances of the characters themselves.

The game has a genuine fight structure which doesn't rely upon the basic point and snap methodologies, yet rather incorporates momentous mechanics where the player needs to use squares and sidesteps to avoid hurt. A large number of missions and a huge amount of PvP and PvE content make TERA a game worth playing.

4. Senior Scrolls Online

other mmorpg like universe of warcraft

Rather than the past segments on our once-over, Elder Scrolls Online is definitely not a completely permitted to-play game, as you need to get it to play it. It is decidedly worth the money contributed as it is conveyed by Bethesda Softworks, a PC game making goliath with respect to RPG sort.

The player can pick between three unmistakable gatherings, and as you level up you gain permission to better aptitudes and loot. The game is compensating both for nice and tough as nails players. It's up to you whether you have to play solo and explore the universe of Tamriel without any other individual, or whether you like to work together with your colleagues and strike the jails.

The game is ordinarily revived, and the players have the choices to buy extra downloadable substance. In any case, beside the hidden get, you are permitted to play the game with no cutoff focuses.

5. Time of Conan

games like wow

Time of Conan is another permitted to-play MMORPG like WOW. In any case, as opposed to WOW, which is set in a lala land, Age of Conan zeros in extra on the possible and sensible pieces of the world.

The game offers 12 classes to peruse and you can have various positions depending upon the class you pick. You can venture up your character truly speedy and there are lots of excursions to keep you involved.

The game is idolized for its soundtrack and voice acting, which again demonstrate its pragmatic touch. On the contrary side, not everything is free for you all things being equal, as a bit of the substance is catapulted and you need enrollment to open it. In case you are a fan of Conan the Barbarian you will completely welcome this game.

6. Crack

universe of warcraft alternatives

Named as the WOW killer when it came out, Rift is a free MMORPG made by Trion Worlds. The story of this game occurs on the landmass of Telara, and the player has four particular classes and two gatherings to peruse.

As you level up you open new gear and gain skill centers that would then have the option to be flowed into relegated capacity trees. The guideline point of convergence of the game is hindering interruptions and closing cracks, which are doors to various estimations from which monsters assault Telara.

Warfronts, assaulting, making, completing storage room sets, gathering old rarities are a couple of bits of the PvE and PvP content that this game offers. Tear's inside and out arranged open world and heavenly plans is a fascinating point while picking if to play it.

7. Society Wars 2

wow decisions

Set 250 years after the events of the central Guild Wars, Guild Wars 2 is a fantasy MMORPG made by ArenaNet. The story of this game occurs on the landmass of Tyria, where the player needs to peruse a summary of five open races.

All of the races has novel limits, appearance and legend, and makes this game fascinating that the storyline depends upon the character's race, rather than there being a general storyline that is the proportionate for all characters.

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Considering, there are 26 zones and 6 metropolitan networks out and out. The game moreover has a phenomenal PvP perspective, anyway you can have your PvP battles just in explicit spots called fields. Tremendous character customization and sensational representations are a segment of the things that settle on Guild Wars 2 a shocking decision to WOW.

8. Leader of The Rings Online

best games like universe of warcraft

Leader of The Rings Online is a free MMORPG subject to the novel of a comparable name by J.R.R. Tolkien. In like manner, it is rich in legend and there are an immense number of missions and a gigantic world to discover.

There are various classes you can peruse, and the difficulty of the game will depend upon your choice. The game can be played execution, yet there is furthermore a get-together finder for the people who need to focus in extra on social coordinated efforts and get-together substance.

As the game relies upon the novel, the missions are generally composed and overflowing with accounts, which makes this game ideal for work players and admirers of Tolkien's fiction.

9. Sharp edge and Soul

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Sharp edge and Soul is a game like WOW in each sentiment of the word, both to the extent intelligence and visual look. Hailed as the Korean World of Warcraft, Blade and Soul is a MMORPG with aggressive methods fighting.

The game has two gatherings and you can pick between 4 races and 10 particular classes before doing missions and researching the world. You can gather resources by making and amassing, and there are regardless, making and collecting social orders in the game.

There are various missions, penitentiaries and strikes to be done, and the PvE experience is improved by the imperative outlines of the atmosphere. The PvP part exists in the field matches, even thought you won't have all of your capacities available until you've opened them to this point.

Note:Also read here more about Wow classic.

10. Skyforge

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To wrap things up, Skyforge is one more permitted to-play MMORPG game like WOW. The captivating aspect of this game is that you play as an endless character while overseeing enemies.

There are 15 classes out and out, anyway the player isn't bound to a particular class. The classes can be changed at whatever point, regardless, during one of your jail runs, for example. There is no traditional advance up structure, yet rather there is an "eminence" level that processes your progress reliant on your subtleties and development.

As the player's greatness grows, more substance is opened. The story occurs on the planet of Aelion, and there are a lot of regions to be visited and missions to be

[cecilspeaks]

112 - Citizen Spotlight

If you see something crawling across your floor in the dark, don’t worry. It’s probably just a tarantula. Welcome to Night Vale.

Listeners, in this fast-paced world of community radio and local news, I think we’ve lost sight of the truly important thing: the individuals who make up our diverse community.

So today, I want to try out a new segment I've put together called Citizen Spotlight, in which we will profile a randomly selected citizen, diving deep into who they are, and maybe discovering some things about ourselves along the way.

Oh, here’s an intro I’m working on for it.

[very deep, menacing voice] Spotlights, roving in the night. Hunting. Closing in. But everything is backwards. The night is hot and bright. The spotlights are deep and black. Everything they touch turns to darkness. They are searching for the light. They consume it.

[chipper voice] That’s a rough draft. I’m open to notes. Anyway, today’s inaugural spotlight was curated by closing my eyes and pointing in the phone book. And so today, we will talk about Sigrid Borg. She’s a brand new citizen who has just arrived in Night Vale. I have hear this classified dossier, we had a team of heist experts – thanks, Janice – steal from the Hall of Public Records. The dossier says that Sigrid was relocated to Night Vale as part of a witness protection program, and that Sigrid is not her real name. Nor is she of the Scandinavian origin her name might suggest. Thus all of the information we managed to obtain on Sigrid for this segment is fictional, created by a government software program to ensure her total anonymity, and in no way represents who she really is as a person. In all probability, it is in most ways the opposite of her true identity, but for safety, it’s important that we all believe this made-up biography is absolute fact. It is extremely, extremely important. She would be in great danger if anyone from the outside world started to doubt who she claimed to be.

We’ll get to our Citizen Spotlight momentarily, but first, as a way to make Sigrid feel more at home, I’ve asked other Night Vale citizens to reveal a dark secret that they’ve never shared. I will be reading those throughout today’s broadcast. The first comes from Susan Escobar, second grade teacher at Night Vale elementary school. She writes: “One night, I was at school late grading homework, and I heard strange sounds coming from the cafeteria. When I looked inside, I saw a giant mandala on the floor made entirely of frozen fish sticks. It seemed to be undulating and alive. When I blinked, it vanished. But every night I dream of flying toward a cloudless sky, and in the center of that sky is that fish stick mandala. And I wake before I reach it, but each dream a little closer. And the night that I reach that mandala in my dream is the night I will die.” Thanks Susan! Sounds fun.

Now let’s talk about Sigrid. Though new to town, Sigrid Borg was born in Night Vale and has lived here her entire life. Her parents were immigrants from the picturesque Swedish port city of Halmstad. She tries to go back at least once a year to visit her grandparents, a retired grade school teacher and a retired timber farmer, who have a lovely cottage overlooking at the mouth of the Nissan river, where it meets the North Sea. Sigrid has always been close with her grandparents, though in recent visits, has become distressed at her grandmother’s increased mental confusion and grandfather’s drinking habits. She doesn’t call them as often she used to and feels guilty about that. She’s torn between the desire to take more responsibility for their health and well being and the desire to block the situation out of her mind completely, as it has become a signifier of the irrevocable loss of her own childhood, and a direct confrontation with morality itself.  

Sigrid’s favorite food is smorgåstårta, a Scandinavian layer cake that is made of sandwiches and fish paste. Ask her to make it for your next big event. She’s been carefully drilled by her witness protection handlers on the foods of her childhood, and has almost got the hang of making them, although she has failed to acquire a taste for fish paste.

Some fun facts that you may not know about Sigrid, despite having lived in the same town with her all your lives. She has a degree in marine hauntology from an online university. She has a disorder that makes it impossible for her to sweat or cry. She has served on the board of the Sand Wastes Conservation Fund for six and a half years. She is deeply embedded into our community and way of life.

And now, another confession from a local resident about a dark secret. This one from my dear friend Earl Harlan. It reads: “On a Boy Scout training maneuver near the old dirt road, I witnessed the apparition of my 10-year-old self wearing the scout uniform of my youth. He trained with us all afternoon, and I tried not to give him any preferential treatment. As the afternoon passed, new memories appeared in my mind of training at 10 years old with a group of strangers, one of whom seemed familiar and stared at me constantly in horror.” That’s adorable! Thanks, Earl!

Back to Citizen Spotlight. Sigrid spent her childhood in the Hefty Sycamore Trailer Park near downtown. She didn’t have many friends; she was shy in school. One year, she tried out for a solo in the school holiday pageant. For the audition, she sang a Flakey-O’s jingle that was very popular at the time, but no one took her seriously. They all thought she was making a joke. She apologized and faded back into the bleachers. She truly loved that jingle. It spoke to her soul, it made her feel something. She recorded it off the radio and listened to it often, rewinding and replaying it out at the picnic table on summer nights, when the rest of her family was asleep. But she never listened to it again after the solo tryouts, because it only brought back the sound of the other kids laughing, of her teacher’s scolding voice lecturing the class to take themselves seriously, or no one else would. And it made her feel ashamed. She eventually recorded over the tape with audio from a TV special about orphaned lion cubs. But sometimes, under the hungry sucking sounds of giant kittens drinking from baby bottles, she thought she could still hear the song.

In 7th grade, she finally made some friends during the unknown creature dissection unit in science class. She wasn’t squeamish, and her ability to identify and extract misshapen internal organs without flinching made her an attractive lab partner. Everyone thought she was new in town because they had never noticed her before. She still has that effect on people. In the spring of that year, someone asked her to to the junior high dance. The team was “heat death of the universe”. The boys spent a lot of time licking the crepe paper decorations to dye their tongues bright colors and impress the girls. The girls were not impressed, but laughed anyway. Sigrid’s date tried to lick her hand to see if the dye would come off on her skin. This caused Sigrid to feel a surge of strange tingling panic, and she fled to the bathroom for 30 minutes. Her friends eventually found her and dragged her back into the gym. She danced with them for the rest of the night, hiding from the boys with the blue tongues.

There were bountiful crops that year. Some say this was not a coincidence. Some say the junior high dance is a secret crop fertility ritual outlined in the town charter, but kept secret from the children who participate. When the dance was cancelled in the following years, due to the crepe paper dye related poisoning incident, Night Vale experienced extreme drought and locust plagues. Some say this, too, was not a coincidence.

A quick bulletin board reminder: the reinstated junior high dance is coming up! May all you young citizen make lush and plentiful memories, and have a cornucopia of fun.

More Citizen Spotlight soon, but first, The weather. 

["Try Try Try" by Rachael Sage]

Another secret confession. Ah, what a treat! This one comes from iconic local celebrity and recent donut food truck entrepreneur, Lee Marvin. It says: “There is a void. Within that void a light. Within that light, a hand. Within that hand, a movement. Within that movement, a potential. Within that potential, everything that ever was.” Thank you Lee, and of course, a happy 30th birthday to you today!

Citizen Spotlight time. In high school, Sigrid’s left hand started to itch below the pinky finger. A small lump appeared which grew slowly over time. She became self-conscious about this and wore bulky sweatshirts with long sleeves pulled over her hands, which was luckily a fashionable look then. The nurse at the health clinic assured her that it was nothing to be concerned about, but it kept growing. Eventually, it took the shape of what appeared to be a second, smaller pinky finger. She was even able to wiggle it if she concentrated very hard. As you may know, the Hefty Sycamore Trailer Park was built on the dried-up shores of the old pesticide waste river, and Sigrid’s father felt there might be some connection between this and the extra finger. They decided to relocate.

They moved into a two-story house by the train tracks, a fixer-upper that shook on its foundation twice a day when the train came through, and once or twice erratically every night when the secret night trains passed, with their nameless and unspeakable cargos. Sigrid’s parents began to fight often, never having the money to fix up the fixer-upper, and they both spent as much time as possible away from home. Sigrid had a complicated relationship with her extra finger at this point, partially blaming it for the rift in her parents’ relationship. Once, when Sigrid was alone in the house, she heard something creeping up the stairs. She hummed the Flakey-O’s jingle til she couldn’t hear it anymore, and then she started spending a lot more time away from home also.

There was a small group of kids who hung out around the train tracks at night, so she started hanging out with them to avoid going home. They liked to smoke cigarettes and light off fireworks and dare each other to look at the secret night trains, although none of them ever did, as they all knew that to look at one of those trains meant an instant and painful death. They would talk and gossip about kids and teachers she’d never heard of before, and she began to wonder if they even went to her school. When she was hanging out with them, she would often glance up at the dark windows of her own empty house just down the tracks and see movement behind the glass. Or soft white eyes staring out.

During one of these movements, while she looked at the house, all her friends disappeared and she found herself alone on the tracks. No sign of the teenagers that had been there mere seconds before. She never saw those kids again, but she often heard their voices in portable radios on the wind, and she spent her evenings wandering up and down the tracks, looking for them.

At the end of senior year, the high school yearbook featured fun awards for each student, voted on by the class. Smartest girl and tallest boy and most likely to survive a mass extinction event, and best smile. Every single student received a commemorative award, except for Sigrid. It wasn’t intentional or out of spite. Everyone forgot that she existed. She was inexplicably absent during every school picture day throughout the years. Never participated in any extracurricular activities, didn’t speak up in class, got average grades, and ate lunch alone. Which some say contributed to her lack of memorability. But she was there, and is here, and always has been. She belongs here. It’s totally normal to forget someone you know, but you do in fact know her. Some of you know her very well.

One time you went thrift store shopping together, and she picked out a jacket for you that was too big, but she said it looked great on you. It was fuzzy and resembled furniture upholstery. Royal blue with gold stripes. The lining was ripped. She bought it for you. You found that old jacket recently, royal blue with gold stripes, you put it on. It almost fits now. You felt something that you hadn’t felt before, sticking against your ribs, tucked into the ripped lining. You reached inside and you pulled out a piece of notebook paper, folded into a hard little square. It was from Sigrid. It described a thing that she shouldn’t have seen, and couldn’t speak about. It instructed you to burn the note immediately, and you did. It instructed you to never acknowledge to her that you even received it. You can never tell anyone what the note said.

If you do run into Sigrid, remember that she is a real person filled with blood and misshapen internal organs, just like you and me. Everything I have told you about her is completely true. Well, none of it is technically true, but it was crafted by state of the art technology to evoke a range of 1-4 feelings in the listener. And as we all know, feelings are real, and truth is in the mind of the beholder. And the beholder lives out in the scorched orchard under the floorboards of the old cherry-picking stack.

Stay tuned next for a mysterious distress signal that requires urgent action, but is impossible to locate.

On behalf of everyone here at Night Vale Community Radio, welcome to your new town, Sigrid – the town where you have lived your entire life.

And to everyone else: Good night, Night Vale, Good night.

Today’s proverb: Be yourself. As if you had any choice in the matter.

[indiefic]

Snowpiercer Fic: The More Things Change (1/1)

Oh man, so it’s not quite complete, but I hope this is an acceptable birthday present for @blackbatpurplecat

TITLE: The More Things Change AUTHOR: indiefic   CHARACTERS: Curtis Everett, Edgar, Anna Gilliam, Gilliam, Grey, Andrew, Tanya, Andrew PAIRINGS: Curtis Everett/Anna Gilliam FANDOMS: Snowpiercer RATING: Mature TIMELINE:  Set about two years after the time of the original movie Snowpiercer, though in an alternate timeline where they weren’t all stuck on the train for 17 years.  The year is 2033. SUMMARY:  This is one potential sequel to Eternal Order.  Curtis and Anna were together in the back of the train from the beginning. AUTHOR’S NOTE:  This isn't quite done.  It still needs some edits and a wrap up before I post it on AO3, but here's a preview.

Eighteen Years Later

“Could you move any fuckin’ slower, Ma?”

Anna spun around.  “I swear to God, Edgar - “

He gave her an impish smile and darted around the corner.  Anna sighed, dragging her hand through her hair, looking at the bag.  Packing.  The eternal struggle.  It felt ridiculous.  The apocalypse happened, and here she was trying to figure out what to pack.  

She turned toward the door, yelling out into the common areas.  “Edgar, make sure Michael has everything ready!”

They were supposed to have left already, but at this time of year, the days were warmer, so Anna wasn’t particularly bothered.  They’d be off soon.  They probably didn’t have to worry about being caught in a storm and freezing to death.  Probably.  Edgar and Michael had saddled the horses, hardy little beasts with thick coats and nimble feet who were at home in this weather.  The horses, not her sons - though they were fairly at home in this weather as well.  Anna and her sons were headed to The Gathering.  It was exactly what it sounded like.  People, congregating.  

Anna, and the rest of the people on the train, spent two years having Wilford’s propaganda shoved down their throats.  All the while their humanity was stripped away.  Wilford told them that his marvelous engine was humanity’s only salvation.  Anna never saw salvation on that damn train.  She watched so many people die, at the hands of each other, and mindless tragedy.  

She wondered how long it could have gone on.  Forever?  She knew that was Wilford’s plan.  As she learned later, it had also been Father’s plan.  But something changed in Father when he learned that Anna and Curtis were expecting their first biological child.  For some reason, the idea of Anna giving birth, raising her child, in Wilford’s hell, was too much for Father.  He confessed his compliance with Wilford’s plans, and then he helped architect The Grand Revolution.

Wilford’s engine derailed in what had once been Angola.  Father planned it that way, trying to make sure they were as close to the equator as possible.  It wasn’t temperate.  It only got above freezing for a month or two a year, but compared to the polar regions, it was tropical, especially as the nanites began to degrade.  The planet was a bit more habitable with each passing year.

The derailment took so many lives.  But after all the carnage, more than two thousand people, from the tail and the front, walked away from the wreckage.  Those first years were bleak.  Scores more people were lost in the days and weeks immediately after the derailment, victims of the elements.  But eventually they made it to the mines.  

Angola had a lot of mines before the big freeze.  Locals had burrowed deep into the tunnels for shelter.  It worked.  Below ground, away from the nanites, it was warm.  There were thousands of people living there.  They didn’t exactly welcome the train survivors with open arms.  But eventually, Father and McGregor were able to negotiate for admittance.  It hadn’t been easy.  Trying to absorb so many new people nearly led to the starvation of the entire settlement.  There was so much infighting.  The train survivors splintered into multiple factions.  There was violent bloodshed.

Over time, humanity found a sort of equilibrium.  It took years, but they built long-term, sustainable communities.  They had vast hydroponic farms, and some livestock and domesticated animals, dogs and horses.  They built an infrastructure that allowed humans to live, rather than simply surviving.  With scavenged technology, they had further confirmation that Wilford was wrong.  Aside from the mines, there were other human enclaves.  Scattered around the world, pockets of humanity existed below ground, waiting for the thaw.  Outside, there were many animals and plants that not only survived, but thrived in the new landscape.

But humanity, as a species, was still teetering on the edge.  Father estimated there were maybe twenty thousand people alive on the planet.  Humanity tended to segment itself into groups.  Sometimes colonies were a dozen people strong.  Sometimes they numbered near a thousand.  But regardless of a colony’s size or history, once a year, for The Gathering, everyone called a truce.  It was a chance for the groups to co-mingle, for people to find companionship and mates, to barter and trade.  It was how Edgar had met his wife, Nykhor, two years earlier.  

Anna knew that Michael, her younger son, planned to propose to Yona this year.  Yona already lived at Homestead camp, with Michael, and the rest of the family.  But it was traditional to make such overtures at the Gathering.  Anna knew that Michael had already spoken to both Yona and Nam about the engagement.  Michael and Yona were both seventeen.  So damn young.  The same age that Curtis and Anna had been when they got together.  But Michael and Yona were adamant they wanted to be together.  They had spent months scavenging enough metal to cast their own rings.

At the thought, Anna looked at her own finger, now bare.  She hadn’t taken the ring when she left.  Sighing, she picked up the red dress and looked at it.  It had seen better days, but it was still salvageable.  How long had it been since she danced at The Gathering?  Years, at least.  Maybe a decade.  She threw the dress in the bag, having no real idea what she was going to do once she arrived at Horizon Camp.  They were hosting this year.  Curtis and Father had been there for weeks, helping set up, convening councils to negotiate any number of relationships between the two dozen camps that would attend.  

Curtis and Anna were ... estranged, for lack of a better word.  Or as estranged as it was possible to be when you were still forced to interact with each other on a daily basis.  They still helped lead the camp.  They were still both respected elders.  They had each other’s backs publicly.  

But they didn’t share a life.  

And they didn’t share a bed.  Not for more than a year.  

Curtis was very angry about this fact, Anna well knew.  She’d tried several times to kick him out before they separated.  He’d flatly refused to go.  He wouldn’t even fight with her about it.  She was finally the one who left.  

Their children were nearly grown, self-sufficient.  Their fifteen year old daughter, Grace, was the youngest.  She was with Curtis, at Horizon Camp, now.  When Anna walked out it left a deep rift in her relationship with her daughter.  She prayed that over time, they could mend the hurt.

None of the kids were happy with the state of affairs between their parents.  It definitely didn’t help that Curtis made it clear to everyone that the breakup was not something he wanted.  So far Anna hadn’t given Curtis, or anyone else, an official reason for why she left.  Truth was, she didn’t have one.  All she knew was that she couldn’t bear the way things were between them, and she couldn’t pretend.

Edgar poked his head in again.  “You ready yet?”

“I’m ready,” she said.  “Let’s go.”

***

It was a three day trek to Horizon Camp, even with the horses.  Their group was several dozen strong and included Anna’s sons, Edgar and Michael, along with Edgar’s wife, Nykhor, and, Yona and Nam.  Anna’s friend, Tanya, was along as well.  

This was Tanya’s first gathering in years.  Her partner had died two winters ago, leaving Tanya a single parent.  Tanya said she finally felt like she was at a point that she could think about finding someone new.  Anna knew that Tanya felt mercenary about it.  But the truth was, with so few humans, it was survival of the species.  Tanya had a young son, Timmy, and they were barely scraping by.  Anna knew Tanya was hoping that she could find another partner with small children who needed a helpmate.  Not exactly wild romance, but in these situations, people tended to go with anything that worked.  

It made Anna realize how unique her own situation was.  Anna hadn’t been forced to find another person to share the burden.  Curtis worked with her.  Even separated, they shared their duties and responsibilities.  (Though she knew that wasn’t a completely altruistic move on Curtis’s part.)  Anna didn’t need to find a new mate, which she suspected was a huge part of why Curtis was as accommodating as he was.  He had no desire to push her into someone else’s arms.

But Anna was curious as to what was out there.  

She wasn’t ready to become one of the old women who read futures in animal bones at the Gathering, respected and feared, but forever alone.

***

“Oh my God,” Tanya said, pulling her scarf down as she looked at the sea of people and animals spread out before them.  

“Welcome to The Gathering,” Anna said, giving her shaggy horse a sharp kick to start him on the winding path down into the valley.  Horizon camp was nestled between two enormous bluffs.  The camp itself was a warren of tunnels and caves, hollowed out of the bluff’s solid rock.  But as was custom, the Gathering wouldn’t take place inside the host camp itself.  Instead, it was erected in the valley, a short distance from the camp.  

There was a vast sea of tents, mostly made of layer upon layer of heavy canvas and durable waterproof material.  The larger tents bore the insignia of the various camps they housed.  The camp tents were at the north end.  They were big enough to accommodate the dozens upon dozens of people who attended.  Predictably, the closer the camps were geographically, to the Gathering site, the more people they brought, and the bigger their tents were.  Homestead camp, Anna and Curtis’s camp, had one of the larger tents.  

South of the camp tents was the enormous Gathering tent.  It was cobbled together with supplies from all of the attending camps and it was large enough to accommodate everyone in attendance.  It was where the feasts and festivities would be held as the Gathering progressed.

Ringing the outside of the Gathering tent was the market.  There were multitudes of little stalls with people trading their wares.  You could find everything from spices to precious metals to domesticated animals to craftspeople.  Anna could hardly wait to look around.

And then finally, on the south end of the camp, were scores of small tents.  They were there for the sole purpose of allowing people the privacy and opportunity to get to know one another, intimately.  Many matches were made at the Gathering.  And even if it wasn’t a match, there was a lot of temporary companionship to be found.  Anna had never visited one of the small tents, she’d never had reason to.  Established couples laid together in the big tents, same as they did back home.  But Anna was open to the possibility of visiting one of the little tents this year.

Forcing her attention back to the task at hand, Anna made her way toward the Homestead tent.   There was a rough corral set up near the tent.  Anna dismounted and handed her horse’s reins to Andrew, who greeted her with a nod.  She waited as the rest of the group did the same.  Then, she took her bags and walked into the Homestead tent.  

She was still looking around, trying to get her bearings when she saw Judith, one of the women from camp.  Anna hugged her tightly.  “Come along,” Judith said, smiling.  “I’ll show you where your family is staying.”

Anna frowned, knowing Judith was leading her to the area of the tent where Curtis was staying.  That’s just how it was.  In the mind of Homestead camp, she and Curtis were family, and would probably always be that way.  Truthfully, Anna didn’t have any compelling reason for avoiding Curtis, especially here.  Even inside the Homestead tent, there was safety in numbers.  And, as always, there was safety to be found at Curtis’s side.

Judith led them to a small area, segmented off with sheets of canvas.  There were a dozen pallets.  Anna recognized Father’s, Curtis’s and Grace’s bags on sight.  She took the pallet between Curtis and Grace, knowing that Michael wasn’t going to take it.  He was well aware that his father snored.  And Anna wouldn’t wish that on anyone, especially Tanya, who would be too polite to complain.  Anna threw down her pack and resolved to get along with Curtis as best she could.  

Nykhor and Edgar took pallets next to each other, consolidating them into one big pallet as was customary for bonded couples.  Then Anna watched as Nam pointedly took the pallet between Michael and Yona, which led to a lot of yearning looks between the lovebirds.  Anna forced herself not to roll her eyes.  It took considerable effort.  Tanya was the last to choose a spot, near the edge of the group.  It would afford her the most privacy.

***

Anna was walking around outside, trying to get the lay of the land when she spotted Curtis.  She recognized the scarf wrapped around his head.  She’d knitted it for him years ago.  It needed to be burned, but he refused to part with it.  Between the scarf, the dark goggles he wore, and his ridiculous beard, very little of him was visible.  He was standing across the open area, between the camp tents and the market.  The space was dotted with fires.  There were dozens of people warming themselves, sharing meals, talking, negotiating.  

Curtis saw her too.  She watched as he extricated himself from the conversation he was having, walking to her.  He looked down at her, his chapped lips pursed tightly together.  “How was the trip?”

“Good,” she said, hating how awkward it was talking to him.  “Quick.  No problems.”

He nodded.

“How have the negotiations gone?”

He shrugged, frowning.  “Franco tried to short us on the seeds, but we finally reached an agreement.”

Anna didn’t say anything.  But she wondered if the negotiations had involved knives.  She knew Curtis hated Franco, the leader of the Velt camp.  He’d been one of Wilford’s biggest cronies at the head of the train.  She knew Curtis was still looking for an excuse to shank him when no one was looking.

Anna stamped her feet, trying to get the blood moving.  “Where’s Father?”

“He’s in the Juke tent,” Curtis said, nodding to the tent next to the Homestead tent.  ”Shooting the shit with Harris.”

Anna suppressed a sigh.  When Father and Harris got together, they could talk for days.  She looked up at Curtis and nodded to the Homestead tent.  He followed.  As they entered the tent, they unwound their various scarves.  Anna removed her gloves.  There was a large fire at the very center of the tent, with a hole overhead for venting.  There weren’t many people in the tent.  Most were outside visiting and bartering, like Tanya and the rest had done.  Anna took a seat on one of the logs near the fire.  Curtis did as well, sitting close, but not too close.

She looked at him.  His hair was absurdly too long.  It had been for quite a while.  But now, sections of it were braided.  Anna assumed that Grace was probably responsible for that.  Anna managed to prevent herself from sighing in irritation.  His hair, braids and all, was tied back in a messy knot.  His beard needed to be trimmed.  He looked like a grizzly.  Curtis had grown significantly since their first meeting, so many years ago on the train. He probably wasn’t any taller, but he was definitely heavier.  She knew his body was thickly muscled, his chest covered with dark hair.  Not that she’d seen it recently.  But she knew his body like she knew her own.  

She thought back to when she’d first met him, that horrible day when she tore Edgar out of his arms. It had been the worst possible situation.  She saw the horrors Curtis was capable of.  But, afterward, she saw his sacrifice.  His remorse.  She was attracted to him, then, emotionally as well as physically.  He had a good heart.  He was cute.  He’d been fit, but lanky.  He still had spots, a boy in so many ways.  

It was hard to look at Curtis now and see that boy in the man before her.  She remembered what he looked liked, mostly because Michael resembled him so closely.  She hadn’t seen Curtis without a beard for years.  His hair was graying at the temples, and the corners of his eyes and his forehead were starting to crease with lines.  If anything, he was more attractive now than he’d been when they first met.  Damn him.

She looked away.  “How has Grace been?”

“Okay,” he said tightly.  “One of Hopper’s boys, from Camp Three, has been spending a lot of time with her.”

Anna arched an eyebrow.  “Courting?”

Curtis grunted noncommittally, frowning.  She knew he thought Grace was too young.  And he had a point.  Anna knew very well what could happen when people got involved so very young.

He shifted uneasily on the log and said, “I was surprised to see Tanya.”

Nodding, Anna said, “She’s looking for a new partner.  She needs help raising Timmy.  I don’t know how determined she is.”

“Is she wanting to leave Homestead?” he asked.  When young couples joined households for the first time, there were complex negotiations and social rituals.  In the case of people who lost their mates and found new ones, it was significantly more relaxed.  It could be arranged however was most convenient.  If a couple simply broke up, the half of the couple who wanted to find a new mate typically had to go.  The camps were too small to bring in a new person and potentially create a triangle.  No one had the time for that kind of distraction.

“I don’t think she wants to leave camp,” Anna said.  “It will all depend on whether or not she can find someone.  There’s no way of knowing what situation might work best.”

They were both silent for a long time.  Curtis threaded his fingers together, leaning forward, staring into the flames.  “And you?” he asked tightly.  “Are you looking for a new partner?”  He turned his head and met her gaze, his eyes narrowed, lips pursed into a thin line.

She held his gaze evenly.  “I don’t know,” she said, being completely honest.  “I’m looking for ... something.  I’m not sure what it is.”

She could see the muscles in his jaw stand out.  He was angry.  He didn’t like her answer.  But that wasn’t her problem.

***

Anna was lonely.  Not that she was ever really alone.  Even with so few humans in the world, they tended to congregate together so closely that she was almost never actually alone.

But she was lonely.  She had been for a very long time.

Anna missed intimacy, both emotional and physical. She’d trade two laying hens for a decent orgasm that wasn’t complements of her own fingers.  She and Curtis had been separated for a long time, and during that time, she’d been alone.  She hadn’t sought out physical companionship back at Homestead camp.  She’d known everyone there for years, which was its own kind of deterrent.  And even if she was physically attracted to someone, she just couldn’t.  It would be an unmitigated disaster to start something right under Curtis’s nose.  In theory, Anna was free to do whatever she wanted.  In practice, she’d rather not start a war in confined quarters.  Not that she thought Curtis would do anything violent.  But he would be angry.  And hurt.  Fuck.  He looked like a beaten dog enough as it was.  Even she wasn’t cruel enough to have an affair, with someone else, in view of Curtis.  She knew how he still felt.  He made that very clear.

But now she was at the Gathering, and that led to opportunities that otherwise would not exist.  Anna wasn’t exactly on the prowl, but she paid a lot of attention.  She, Yona, Nykhor, and Tanya were working their way around the market.  Some of the handicrafts were divine.  There was jewelry of gold, silver, and precious stones.  She found a stall with different types of yarn and knitted items.  There were tattoo artists, and people who specialized in intricate hair braiding.  (Anna assumed that’s where Grace must have gotten the idea to do that to Curtis’s hair.)  There was every type of food Anna could imagine, and several that left her baffled.  There were three different blacksmiths, all with their wares and skills on display.  She looked at the sets of tools, thinking how useful they would be to Curtis.

She had to remind herself that she wasn’t shopping for Curtis.

“Anna?”

Anna turned, looking at the stall, heaped with heavy leather gloves and coats.  She smiled broadly at the vendor.  “Landon.”

She walked over to him and they grasped hands briefly.  She’d known Landon Quinn for years.  He lived at Horizon camp and they had often bartered in the past.  Landon was a good man, kind and fair.  Anna knew he had lost his wife three years ago.  He’d forgone the Gathering for several years and she was glad to see him participating.  He looked well.  He was incredibly tall, and lean, with close cropped reddish blond hair.  His eyes were the lightest blue she had ever seen, and they sparkled with mirth and crinkled at the corners.  

Anna and Landon had been chatting for a long time when someone grabbed Anna’s arm and yanked.  Anna twisted, looking at her daughter.  “What?”

“I need to talk to you,” Grace said sullenly.

Anna made her apologies to Landon and followed Grace into the large Gathering tent.  There were people milling around, sharing food and ale, but it was far from crowded.  “Yes?” Anna said, unwinding her scarf.

Grace sighed dramatically, pulling off her hat.  Anna took note of the fact that Grace had obviously visited one of the artists who specialized in hair since she arrived at the Gathering.  Her hair couldn’t have been more than a couple of inches long, sticking up in uneven spikes.  Anna frowned, thinking how much Grace looked like Curtis.

“You have to talk to Dad.”

Anna crossed her arms over her chest.  “Is this about Hopper’s boy?”

Grace’s cheeks colored with a blush and she said, “Devon.  Yes.”

“Grace,” Anna said quietly, “you’re so young.”

Anger flared in Grace’s eyes.  “You were young too when you and Dad got together.”

“Yes, well,” Anna conceded, “we weren’t quite as young as you.”

Growling, Grace stalked away.

***

It was dark when Anna and Tanya made their way to the Gathering tent.  Yona and Nykhor had left earlier, to find their respective mates.  There was an enormous feast in progress.  Anna and Tanya took a seat with other people from the Homestead camp, but Anna was relieved to see that the groups intermingled freely.  Edgar and Nykhor were talking with a group of people from the Horizon camp.  Anna saw that Grace was curled up against some boy, presumably Hopper’s son, Devon.  He was a cute kid, but he looked so young.  Anna made a mental note to find Hopper later and talk to him.

Juke camp specialized in producing alcohol of various kinds and they’d gone all out for the Gathering.  Anna had a mug of absolutely divine ale, and Tanya had a small cup of brandy, which she shared with Anna and Yona.

By the time Anna was full, she was fairly tipsy as well.  Tanya was too, and Anna was relieved to see her laughing and smiling.  Yona was busy talking to Michael, so Anna pulled Tanya along with her as they made their way around the room, stopping to talk to people Anna knew.  Having been a camp leader for so long, Anna knew a lot of people.  Tanya’s life had been much more insular, so Anna figured that making a number of introductions would not be amiss.

They ran into Landon again who ended up following them back to their seats and chatting with the group for several hours.  Anna was aware of Curtis moving along the periphery of the group.  Like her, he knew almost everyone present as well.  

Anna noticed Fisher, a stunning redhead from the Serrin camp, paying quite a bit of attention to Curtis.  Anna hated that it bothered her, but it did.  Somehow in all her contemplation of finding a new partner for herself, she’d never considered that Curtis might find someone new.  She supposed it was only fair.  Even if she did hate it.

The night wore on, and Anna made to leave.  After so many years, she knew that the Gathering was a test of endurance.  And staying up all night the opening night wouldn’t do her any favors.  As she left, Yona and Tanya came with her.  Edgar and Nykhor followed closely.  Anna looped one of her arms through Father’s and made his farewells for him, dragging him toward the exit.  Left to his own devices, he’d talk all night.  His health was somewhat precarious and Anna knew he needed rest.  As they started to the Homestead tent, she was aware of Curtis, Nam, Michael, and Grey trailing at the back of their little group.

It took a while to get everyone settled.  Anna looked pointedly at Grace’s empty pallet and then over to Curtis.  He nodded and left without a word.  Everyone was mostly settled when Curtis returned with a sullen Grace in tow.

Finally, everyone was settled.  There was still raucous noise outside, though it seemed to be tapering off as the night got colder.  Anna could hear other Homesteaders returning to the tent and bedding down for the nights.  Anna lay there in the dark, mere inches from Curtis.  She hadn’t been this close to him in more than a year.  It was strange, but she had little choice.

***

Hopper frowned as he looked up and saw Anna, but he didn’t seem shocked.  Without a word, he pulled open the flap of the Camp Three tent and held it for her.  She entered.  The inside was configured slightly differently from the Homestead tent, but not much.  

Hopper led the way to the fire at the center of the tent.  Anna followed.  Hopper was a big guy, taller and broader than Curtis, but older and softer too.  His dark hair was receding and his beard was mostly gray.  As far as Anna knew, Hopper’d had two wives.  He and his first wife had been on the train with four or five kids.  Anna had vague memories of them, crammed in the Tail with everyone else.  His wife left him and the kids, about the same time that the train survivors started splintering into factions.  Hopper found a new partner, with kids of her own, and then they had several more together.  Anna had no idea how many children he actually had, but a lot.  He could probably field his own baseball team.  If you included his grandchildren, he could probably field three teams.

There were women and small children milling around the interior of the tent.  Anna recognized some of them as the wives of Hopper’s elder sons.  Anna took a deep breath and reminded herself that humanity was spinning on the brink of extinction.  People did whatever they had to do in order to survive.  Hopper was a good man, by current standards.  He made sure his family was protected and provided for.  But she knew that he had a bias toward his sons.  They were more highly valued than his daughters.  And the wives of his sons seemed like little more than maids, nannies, and broodmares.  

Hopper provided safety.  No one starved.  Everyone was looked after.  But some people were certainly more equal than others.

Anna took a seat on a stump.  Hopper took a pouch out of his pocket and rolled a cigarette for himself.  Anna had no idea if it was tobacco or something else, but she watched as he lit it and took a drag.  

He looked over at her.  “Curtis already came to talk to me.”

Anna nodded.  “Did he say anything, or just threaten?”

Hopper laughed.  “Mostly he threatened.  Not that I blame him. I have two girls that age.  You have to look out for them.  But Devon is a good boy.”

“Yes, well,” Anna said pointedly, “Grace has more courage than sense, and a mind of her own.”

Hopper narrowed his eyes and nodded.  Anna could almost feel him weighing whether he thought Grace was going to birth enough grandsons to be worth the headache she would doubtless be.  Not to mention her pushy parents, and mouthy mother.  “I talked to Devon, but I’ll talk to him again.”

“I appreciate it,” Anna said.  She stood and made her way to the entrance.  She carefully wound her scarves around her face and pulled her hood down over her head.  She pulled on her gloves.  As she slipped outside, she could still feel the biting cold.

She walked around the market again.  It seemed like the wares in the booths were forever changing.  She took time to marvel at the goods.  She stopped near the edge of the bonfires, searching for Father, hoping she didn’t see him.  She hoped he had the sense to be inside one of the tents, out of the weather.

Anna didn’t see Father.  But she did find a familiar face.  She saw Curtis at one of the fires.  He was with several of the leaders from Serrin camp.  Nam and Andrew were with him, along with Andrew’s son, Andy.  And Fisher was there.  She was sitting next to Curtis, turned toward him, watching him intently as he spoke.  Anna could feel herself frowning behind her scarves.  She forced herself to turn away.

***

“Here you are,” Tanya said, taking a seat on the bench.  Anna was sitting with Father, and had been for hours.  He’d been holding court, and she’d kept him company, along with Grey, who was often at Father’s side.

Anna smiled and patted Tanya’s arm.

Tanya gave her a look.  “Oh, I see.  You’ve been in the spirits again.”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” Anna said.

Tanya didn’t look convinced, but rather than argue, she merely went and got bowls of soup for everyone.  As the evening wore on, more people joined them.  Yona and Michael took seats on the opposite side of the circle and Landon sat on the ground between Anna and Tanya.  They all talked.  Anna and Landon flirted.  There was more touching than was strictly necessary, and a lot of laughing.

Anna knew she was playing with fire.  She was lonely and longing.  She wanted to get laid.  She was still fuming about Fisher hanging on Curtis earlier, even though she knew it was ridiculous.  Anna was done with Curtis.  At least that’s what she told herself.  She wanted someone new, something new.

Fuck.  That’s all she wanted.  A decent fuck.

Anna knew that Landon was taken with her.  She had no idea what his intentions were, but she could guess.  He was a solid guy, who had been without a partner for several seasons.  It didn’t take a genius to figure out what he why he spent so much time at their fire.  Odds were that it wasn’t for a quickie in one of the little tents.

As she started to sober up, it all began to feel like too much.

“I need some air,” she said, mostly to Tanya.

Tanya caught her hand, but Anna shrugged her off, heading for the entrance to the tent.

People were coming and going in droves.  It was a novelty for there to be a crowd large enough to get lost in, for there to be actual strangers.  Most faces were familiar, even if Anna didn’t know their names.  She pulled her scarf around her face and stumbled out into the market.

The air was bracing and biting and cleared her head a bit.  There were lots of people out here as well.  The pathways were lit with torches, and vendors were still out, though most of the open stalls had food and drink, and more adult items.

Anna was standing in front of a stall, looking at a pair of honest to god satin pants, when she became aware of someone standing at her side.  She looked up at him and he smiled down at her.  She didn’t know his name, but she’d seen him around.  He was from one of the small camps.  He was young, but probably a good five years older than Edgar.  He was tall and thin, with a smattering of facial hair and eyes so dark they looked black in the torchlight.

“Hi,” he said.

“Hi.”

***

It’s had been a while since she was last intimate, but it was decades since she had a new partner.  And honestly, this clandestine encounter wasn’t what Anna expected.  Not that she really knew what to expect.  But this overeager boy trying to ram his tongue down her throat was far from enjoyable.  She pushed at his chest with increasing force until he finally got the hint and pulled back.  He was breathing hard, bright spots of color on his cheeks and he looked very pleased.  She honestly had no idea why.

He leaned in again and she resigned herself to it.  She tried to gentle him, to coax some technique out of his enthusiasm, but it was a lost cause.  When his hands started roaming, pawing her through her coat, she pushed him away again.  He seemed to think it was some game and pressed in harder.

She shoved him.  He took a stumbling half step backwards, blinking at her, his brow furrowed.  

“Stop,” she said in a tone usually reserved for Council meetings.

He blinked at her and then frowned, shaking his head in disappointment, pride stung.  Cursing under his breath, he turned away.  

Anna stood there for a moment, trying to take stock of herself.  She righted her coat and unwound her scarf with the intention of fixing it.  Something caught her eye and she stopped, looking at Curtis, standing on the far side of the path.

Anna groaned inwardly.  Of all the people who could have possibly witnessed that, Curtis was the absolute worst choice.  He walked over to her, shaking his head.  She was standing between two of the stalls, out of the wind, and mostly in shadow.  It wasn’t the best hiding place, but at least they weren’t completely on display.

“So that’s what you’re into now?” he asked, staring down at her.

She ignored him, concentrating on her scarf.  “And how is Fisher this evening?  She seems quite taken with you.”

“At least Fisher’s my age.”

She glared up at him.

He didn’t back down.  His pride had been stung, grievously so.  “That’s what you left me for?  Back alley quickies with little boys?” he asked, leaning in toward her, bracing his hands on the rough wooden planks on either side of her head, looming over her.  

He was so close she could clearly see the muscles in his jaw standing out.  His words were angry, skirting along the edge of insulting, but she knew it was jealousy, insecurity.  He looked down at her, flinching like he was bracing himself to get hit.  

She understood.  Her normal reaction to being baited in this manner would be to sock him in the mouth as hard as she could.  She’d done it before.

But right then, hitting him wasn’t at the top of her list.  

She ... yearned.  Whatever spark of longing prompted to give that boy a try, it burned ever brighter with Curtis’s proximity.

He seemed to read the change in her expression and he reacted quickly.  His stance became both more predatory and more protective.  He twisted slightly, so his body blocked the view of anyone who might walk by.  Swearing under his breath (she wasn’t sure if it was a curse or a prayer) he ducked his head, kissing her hard, pressing her back against the side of the stall.  

She was overwhelmed, shaken ... relieved.  This is what she wanted.  This is what she was looking for.  To be kissed by someone who knew what the hell they were doing, who knew what she liked.  She pulled at him, and he growled, pressing into her harder.

Her hands found their way to the closures of his coat, but, unexpectedly, he pulled away.  For a moment, she was bewildered, bereft.  Then he was dragging her along behind him, pulling her down the path toward the sea of little tents.  There was absolutely no mistaking what his intentions were and she could have wept with relief.  She could feel the beat of her pulse thrumming through her entire body with each step.

He found an empty tent and pulled her inside.  As he secured the tent closed, she was stripping out of her coat and pants, kicking away her boots.  It was very dim in the tent.  The torches burning outside gave barely enough light to see the vague shape of his outline.  But she could see him struggling to get free of his own coat.  

She reached for him and he lunged toward her, kissing her again, biting at her lips, like he was trying to seal the deal before she could reconsider.  As if she was going to do that.  She tugged at his shirts, pulling them over his head, fighting to get at his skin.  He was finally bare and she pulled him close, scratching her nails down his back.  Fuck.  She loved the smell of him, the feel of him against her.  His hands on her were rough, insistent, and it was exactly what she wanted.

He urged her onto her back, and she dragged him over her for a moment.  He was trying to pull away, and she bit his shoulder, hard.  He cursed.  She wondered if he would stop her.  It had never been like this between them, never so raw.  But he seemed to want it as much as her.  

He growled, grabbing her hands, pinning them to the ground on either side of her hips.  He managed to shove her long shirt up until she was bare and then he worked his way down her body.  Finally, his mouth was there, hot and wet between her legs.  She shivered, her back arching as she pulled her knees up and apart, giving him more room.  He released her hands, instead grabbing her hips, his fingers biting deeply into her as he licked and sucked at her.

She was already on edge, so keyed up, and Curtis had always been good at this.  In no time, she was gasping, coming, tugging his hair.  

“Jesus Christ, Anna. Horny?”  He sounded ridiculously pleased with himself.

“Shut up and fuck me,” she snapped.

He laughed, but ducked his head, licking her again.  “Like this?”

She groaned, rolling her hips.

He didn’t tease.  As obvious as her own sexual frustration was, his wasn’t any better.  Anna bit down on her bottom lip, screwing her eyes shut as he worried her clit with his tongue, using two fingers to stroke inside her.  Her breath caught and she braced one of her feet on his shoulder, arching her hips against his mouth.  He gave her exactly what she wanted, bring her to another hot, shuddering peak.

She was boneless, lying in the pile of furs, listening to Curtis stripping out of his clothes.  As soon as he was bare, she reached for him, stroking her fingers lightly over his rigid length.  She heard his breath catch and his muscles corded.  She pushed herself up into a sitting position, nipping at his jaw.

“Seems like I’m not the only one who wants this.”

She could hear him swallow thickly.  “Yeah, well - “

She ducked her head, taking him into her mouth and whatever he had been planning to say died with a gasp.  She worked him over with her hand and mouth, stroking, sucking, licking.  She could hear his ragged breathing, feel his fingers tangled in her hair.  She knew he was close, but with a sudden movement, he pulled away.

“No.”

Before she could protest or question, he was grabbing her hips, turning her so she was on all fours, facing away from him.  

“I want to come inside you.”

He moved behind her, shoving at her knees with his own, forcing her stance wider.  And then he was pushing into her, making her gasp.  

He went still for a moment.  “Fucking hell.”

She tightened around him, rolling her hips and pushing back against him, taking him deeper.  His breath caught sharply and he leaned forward, blanketing her back with his body.  He nipped along her shoulder as one of his hand reached around and rubbed her in time with his thrusts.  Helpless, she whimpered, pushing back against him.  

“Yes, Anna, yes, fuck,” he said and then grunted, driving into her before going still.  

Several long moments later, he took a deep shuddering breath and pressed a hard kiss to the side of her neck.  He was too heavy and her arms were shaking.  She slowly slid to the ground, dislodging him in the process.  

She moved to roll away from him, but he immediately dragged her close again, sucking at her neck.  He used his fingers, whispering the filthiest words to her, making her shiver.  He told her every dirty thing he’d imagined during the time they’d been apart.  She always knew he was creative, but jesus.  She clawed at his arm, keening as her release washed over her.

They lay there in the dark for a long time, not really moving.  They weren’t situated particularly close together, but the tent was small and his arm was thrown around her waist.   Anna knew she was going to have love bites on her neck, and an actual bite on her shoulder, which stung like hell.  She felt shaky, exhausted, in the best possible way.  Mostly, she just wanted to go to sleep, but that wasn’t really an option.  Anna wasn’t entirely certain what just happened between her and Curtis, but she had no desire to make it public.  And if they spent the night in the tent, everyone would know.

In the dark, she searched for her clothes, pulling them on.  She was surprised he wasn’t already asleep.  Usually he was out like a light when he got off.  She knew he was awake from the sound of his breathing.  Anna knew all of Curtis’s idiosyncrasies and that was not what he sounded like when he was asleep.  He was lying there in the dark, watching her as much as he could.  

She pulled on her boots and pushed through the tent flap without another backward glance.  She wondered if he would stay there, or if he would go back to the Gathering tent and search out Fisher.  The thought of that made her blood boil.

Anna headed for Homestead tent, entering as quietly as she could manage.  Last night’s festivities must have been too much for a lot of people.  Despite the fact that it wasn’t terribly late, a lot of the pallets were full.  People had called it an early night.  Edgar and Nykhor were curled together.  Anna could make out Tanya’s shape, and Grace’s.  In the dark, Anna searched for her small bag and then walked back out to the center of camp, to the women’s bathhouse.  The wind had picked up and it was biting cold.

There were a couple of women in the bathhouse.  Anna didn’t recognize either of them.  She glanced in the lone mirror.  She was a mess.  Her hair was askew, her color high, lips swollen.  She pulled down the edge of her scarf and frowned at the lovebites.  They would be worse tomorrow.

Carefully, she stripped off and washed herself, thankful that at least she doesn’t have to worry about birth control.  She’d been pregnant, not long after Grace was born.  But she lost the baby late in the pregnancy.  She assumed there must have been too much damage.  She and Curtis tried for years afterward, to no avail.  Anna couldn’t have more children.  She never thought she’d see that as a blessing, but tonight she certainly did.

By the time she made her way back to Homestead tent, Curtis was lying in his own pallet, next to hers.  It was dark and they didn’t speak, but she had the sense he was pleased when she sank down onto her pallet next to him.

***

Anna woke up slowly, shivering with delight, pressing closer to him in search of more warmth.  It took her a moment to realize that she should have been alone.  She knew, without opening her eyes, that she was pressed against Curtis, his arm wrapped around her waist.  Sighing, she opened her eyes and pushed herself up on her elbow.  It was cold.  She could easily see her breath.  She had no doubt that during the night, she’d scooted closer to Curtis for warmth.  A lifetime of habits were hard to break, especially when she was still sore from their enthusiastic coupling.

Anna made sure to be gone before Curtis roused.  She really didn’t want to think about what last night might possibly mean for future awkwardness between them.  He hadn’t said anything at all last night, and she was grateful.  

The sex had been different.  It wasn’t that they’d never been enthusiastic before, but it had certainly been a while.  And it had never been quite that raw, as if all their jealousy, anger, and hurt had finally been given an outlet.

Anna knew that sleeping with her ex, especially at the Gathering, wasn’t a great idea.  But Curtis was good in bed.  And for as much baggage as he brought to things, there was so much less negotiation necessary.  He already knew where to touch her and how.  And, as much as it galled her to admit, she trusted Curtis in a way she could never trust some random stranger.  Anna was all for sexual freedom and assertiveness.  But she knew that feeling some measure of safety was necessary for her to really enjoy sex.  Curtis was a shortcut.  He was easy.  And he knew how to get her off.

Anna knew that she could eventually find companionship with someone else.  But it would take time and effort.  Truth told, Anna had no idea how to even begin to find a new partner.

Anna and Curtis had never courted, never flirted.  They’d been thrown into the rattling hell together.  They’d barely said a civil word to each other when Anna decided she wanted Curtis, and took him.  To this day, she still didn’t know why she chose him, especially after everything that happened with Edgar.

But she chose Curtis.  And, even now, after everything that had happened between them, she didn’t regret that decision.  Curtis never complained, never balked.  She led and he followed without question.  They became parents to Edgar.  And then Anna fell pregnant.  They’d still been trying to eek out an existence in the Homestead mines when Michael was born.  A couple of years later they had Grace.  And then the baby they lost.  Ten years of Anna’s life was gone in the blink of an eye.  She and Curtis had mouths to feed, people to care for.  Their own children, as well as the camp itself.  

But one day it had all been too much for Anna.  She’d been drowning.  She couldn’t do it.  She couldn’t keep living the strange half life she’d found herself trapped in.  So she left.  Not that she went far.  In physical terms, she slept around the corner from Curtis every night.

The space seemed like a relief at first, despite how it wounded Curtis and the children (and Father too, though he tactfully refrained from saying much.)  The separation gave Anna the time she’d never had to figure out who she was - figure out what she wanted.  It also hurt.  And she thought maybe that was part of the appeal.  The sadness, the guilt.  All of that followed her when she left Curtis.  It wasn’t him.  It was her.  She knew that.

Curtis knew it too.  That was the kicker.  He understood the darkness inside her, and he’d never turned away from it.  He’d never blamed her for the sadness and anger she couldn’t control.  But she blamed him.  She knew that was fucked up, but it was how it was.

Ann knew that rekindling a relationship, even a purely physical one, with Curtis was loaded.  She understood that it could never be casual between them.  They knew each other too well.

Then and there, Anna made a promise to herself that it wouldn’t happen again.  

She would not sleep with Curtis again.

***

“Fuck, Curtis,” she hissed, scratching her nails down his chest as she rode him through her orgasm.  His fingertips dug into her hips, keeping her moving.  They were both covered in sweat.  It was the middle of the goddamn day and they were screwing in one of the little tents like a couple of horny teenagers.

Both of them had places to be, things to do.  And here they were, banging each other’s brains out.  And now it, was light, they could see each other, watch each other’s reactions.

His teeth were bared in a grimace, his brow furrowed in concentration.  If she didn’t know better, she would think he was in pain.  But she knew that wasn’t the case.

She raked her hair back from her face, looking down at him as she bit down on her bottom lip.  “Come for me, Curtis,” she said as she moved on him.  His throat moved as he swallowed, watching her closely.  “Come inside me.”

He groaned, hissing through his teeth, slamming her hips down against him.

She sat there for a moment, catching her breath and then slumped over to the side, coming to rest on her back next to him.  They both stared at the top of the tent.  He turned and she knew he was looking at her, but she refused to look at him.  

She heard him open his mouth.  “Don’t say anything,” she snapped.  She looked at him.  He closed his mouth, but then leaned over and kissed her, hard.  She kissed him back, biting at his lips.  

She finally pulled away.  She couldn’t look at him.  Cursing under her breath, she grabbed her clothes and started pulling them on.

***

She stopped by the bathhouse again, to clean up.  She took some care to arrange her scarf to cover the lovebites, both old and new.  Luckily everyone wore thick scarves, inside and out.  

She headed for the Gathering tent and quickly found Tanya.  The eternal pot of stew, as Father called it, was warming over the fire, as usual, and Anna scooped herself a bowl.  She was starving.  She took a seat at a table next to Tanya, who narrowed her eyes at her, but didn’t say anything.

Anna blew on her spoon of stew.  “How are you liking the Gathering?”

“Oh, I’m liking it just fine,” Tanya said, giving Anna a sidelong look.  “How are you liking it?”

Anna didn’t miss the censure in Tanya’s tone.  She pursed her lips together.

Tanya leaned in closer.  “I thought you were supposed to be looking for a new partner,” she whispered, “not screwing the hell out of your ex in those dirty little sex tents out there.”

Anna groaned and took a bite of stew, to spare herself having to respond.

“Do you have any idea how unhygienic those tents are?” Tanya demanded.  “You’re going to end up catching crabs.”

“Do you even remember the train?” Anna asked around a bite of food.  She rolled her eyes.  “Crabs are the least of my worries.”

Tanya crossed her arms over her chest and frowned.  “You should be worried about Curtis,” she said flatly.  “You may be blowing off steam, but that boy doesn’t have a clue how to have casual sex with you.  He can’t play whatever game it is you’re trying to play.”

Anna set her bowl down on the table with a clang.  She’d spent nearly two decades with Curtis.  They had three children together.  She sure as hell didn’t need anybody trying to tell her about him.  “He’s not a child,” she snapped.  “He knows what he’s getting into.”

Tanya, undaunted, leaned in close. “He loves you,” she said tautly.  She frowned.  “And you’re still as confused as you’ve ever been.  Like a dog in a manger.”

“I’ve never understood what that damn saying means,” Anna swore petulantly.

“It means you don’t want him, but you don’t want anybody else to have him either.  You were fine minding your own business until Fisher started sniffing around him.  You’re worse than a goddamn tomcat marking territory.”

Anna picked up her bowl and started shoveling down the contents.  She wasn’t about to sit there for a lecture.  As soon as the bowl was empty, she stood up and walked over, handing it to the young boys who were washing up.  She wrapped the scarf around her head again and stormed out of the tent.

Part of her understood that Tanya had a point.  But most of her was seriously pissed at Tanya for butting into her business.  It was absolutely no concern of anyone’s whether or not she and Curtis were having sex.  They were adults.  They could do whatever they damn well pleased without having to ask anyone.

Anna was charging around, mostly without a purpose.  She had vague notions about finding Fisher, but realized she was mostly just walking in really fast circles around the outside of the gathering tent.  Feeling ridiculous, she slowed to a much more sedate pace.  Her initial seething rage was receding, but she was still angry.  And embarrassed.  And more than a little shamed.

“Anna!”

Anna turned and saw Landon.  She forced a smile.  He waved her over and she shook her head.  He didn’t take the hint.  He left his stall and hurried over to her.  He took her hands in his.  “You look lost.”

“Not lost,” she assured him.

“Come,” he said, “have a drink with me.”

“I - “ she started, looking around, trying to get away.

“Come on,” he cajoled.

She relented, letting him lead her back to his stall.  He situated her under a mound of blankets and furs, and then he went to procure drinks.  The sun was setting and it was getting considerably colder.  But the stall cut the wind and the blankets were warm.  

Landon returned in short order and pressed one of the mugs into her hand.  It was warm.  She could feel it even through her gloves.  She put her face over the mug and inhaled the steam.  There was honey and some kind of citrus, probably from dried fruit.  She took a sip.  There was quite a bit of alcohol, none too smooth.  But it was warm and spiced and exactly what she wanted.

She and Landon talked for a long time, about everything and nothing.  He was a widower.  He and his wife hadn’t been blessed with children, but he asked after Anna’s.  She was probably a bit liberal in sharing her frustrations with Grace.

The customers were tapering off and Landon was packing up his wares.  Anna helped, and then they carried the crates back to the caves that Horizon camp used for shelter.  It wasn’t Landon’s home, but it was where he stored the items for his stall.  

There weren’t many people in the Horizon caves.  Most of them had gone to the Gathering tent for the nightly feast.  Landon led her over to the fire that burned in a vented alcove.

“So,” he said, bobbing his head, looking at her shyly.  

“So?” she prompted.

He gave her an uneasy smile and pulled his hat back on his head, so a lock of reddish blond hair was visible.  “You and Curtis,” he said.

She sighed and he winced.

Landon took a deep breath.  “Time is short, Anna,” he said bluntly.  “The Gathering will be over before we know it.  I don’t want to waste either of our time by trespassing where I’m not welcome.”

She gave him a serious look.  “We’re friends, Landon.  You’re always welcome at my side.”

“Aye,” he agreed.  “Friends.  But that’s not what I’m talking about.  I like you, Anna.  A lot.  I want to see you, a lot.  But if you’re still involved with Curtis, then I don’t want to disrespect that commitment.”

Anna looked down at the ground.  “Curtis and I separated a year ago.”

“That’s what I hear,” he agreed.

She looked up at him.

He gave her a thin lipped smile.  “I’m not a young man, Anna.  I know how life works.  I have at least a rudimentary understanding of how the heart works.  He’s been your partner for the better part of your life.  You have children.  You run a camp together.  So I don’t have any naive expectation that he wouldn’t be a part of your life.”

She straightened the lacing on the end of her coat sleeve.

“But,” Landon said carefully, “I’ve seen how you look at him.”  He took a deep breath.  “I’d like to court you.  But not if your heart is still his.”

“I - “ she started to speak and then fell silent.  She bowed her head.  “I value your friendship a great deal,” she said quietly.  

He waited, silent.

She cleared her throat.  “Truthfully, I’m not sure what’s going on with Curtis right now.  I value you.  But I won’t ask you to wait for me.  And I won’t ask Curtis to wait for me.  I have a lot to figure out.  By myself.”

Landon nodded.  He looked disappointed, but resigned to her decision.  Together, they walked back to the Gathering tent.  Anna was relieved when she didn’t immediately see Tanya.  She did, however, immediately see Curtis.  He didn’t look pleased, but he didn’t make a scene.

***

Anna spent most of the evening in typical fashion.  She sat at Father’s side and listened to him spin yarns and hatch plans.  Tanya took a seat at her side and they declared a truce after several cups of mead.  Anna understood that while Tanya’s delivery left quite a bit to be desired, her heart was in the right place.  And Anna couldn’t deny the truth in Tanya’s words.  Anna did need to figure out what the hell she wanted and what the hell she was doing, before she damaged everyone irreparably.

In an interesting turn of events, a man from Serris camp introduced himself.  His name was Ronon and he seemed particularly interested in Tanya.  Anna enjoyed watching her friend’s obvious unease with the attention.  But it was also clear that Tanya, at the very least, found Ronon charming.  It was difficult not to.  He was slightly younger than Tanya, though that didn’t appear to be an impediment to Ronon.  He was tall, a good half head taller than Curtis, with shoulders like barn doors and a roguish smile.  His dark hair was braided and fell nearly to the middle of his back.  He had a heavy beard that was somewhat unkempt, and there was a scar that bisected his left eyebrow.  It should have made him less attractive.  It did not.

As the night wore on, they learned that Ronon’s partner had died two springs ago, leaving him with four young children.  Ronon was a blacksmith by trade, though he was handy and strong.  He claimed to be able to do just about anything.  Anna believed him.  There was a definite competence about him.

Eventually Tanya and Ronon took a walk across the tent to get a drink.  It was all very proper.  They didn’t so much as lay a finger on one another.  Anna expected no less from Tanya.  But they were talking a lot, and laughing.  Anna couldn’t remember the last time she saw Tanya laugh like that.  Ronon seemed to take pride in making her smile.

Anna was watching them when Curtis slid into the seat Tanya had vacated.  He leaned over, settling his arm along the back of her chair.  She sighed, and turned to look at him.  He met her gaze.  He looked bad.  His features were pinched and she could see his jaw muscles standing out, like he was grinding his teeth together.

The room was loud.  Father was bellowing to be heard, gesturing wildly with his good arm, occasionally splashing Anna with mead.  Curtis leaned in close and simply looked at her.  She started to say something and caught sight of his arm, resting along the back of her chair.  It was heavily bandaged.  

“What the hell did you do?” she demanded.

He sat back, frowning.  “It’s nothing.”

There was blood marring the bandages around his hand.  “It’s not nothing, Curtis.  What happened.”

He sighed and then leaned in close so she could hear him.  “There were a bunch of us working on one of the skids for Camp Three.  Some of the blocking came loose.”  He shook his head.  “It could have been a lot worse.”

Anna knew him well enough to have a good idea at what he wasn’t saying.  There was an accident.  That maybe wasn’t an accident.  And he narrowly escaped being seriously injured.  She stood up.  “Come on.”

He didn’t even try to argue, he just followed her outside.  She stopped by the Homestead tent to grab her pack, and then went to the mixed gender bathhouse on the edge of camp.  It was steamy inside.  Unlike the women only bathhouse, this one was segregated into a dozen little stalls, each containing a tub.  There were sounds of laughing, conversation, and splashing.  Anna ignored it, shrugging out of her coat and hanging it on a peg by the door, and then removing her boots and socks.  She helped Curtis out of his coat, and boots as well.

They found an unoccupied stall and Anna pulled Curtis inside.  The tub was empty and she did not fill it with water.   Instead, she set a board across the tub and had Curtis sit down.  Carefully, she unwrapped the bandage, frowning.  “Who did this?” she asked him.

“Nam.”

Anna gave him a look, which he ignored.  Nam was great with engineering.  Not so much with medicine.

After some inspection, it was clear that the bandage wasn’t going to come off.  It was dried against the wound.  “We need to soak this.”  She stepped out of the stall and found a deep basin.  She also grabbed one of the heavy kettles of water heating on one of the many pellet stoves.  She washed her hands with some of the caustic soap near the kettles.  When she returned to the stall, she filled the basin with the water from the kettle and added salt and several of her antiseptic medicinal oils.  She set the basin on the floorboards and it didn’t take long for it to cool enough for Curtis to soak his hand.

While the bandage soaked, they talked.  “How did this happen?” she asked quietly.  She was more than a little worried that it had been sabotage.

Curtis rolled his eyes.  “It was my fault,” he said.  “I was distracted.”

That didn’t sound like him.  “By what?”

He snorted.  “You,” he said, giving her a meaningful look.  

She waited.

He sighed.  “I was thinking about the way you looked earlier when you were on top of me.”  His eyes seemed to darken and he didn’t look away.

Anna felt uncomfortably warm.  She wasn’t sure it had anything to do with the heat of the bathhouse.  Reaching out, he twined his good hand in the material of her shirt and pulled her close.  She rested against him, ignoring the way her heart was hammering in her chest.

Slowly, his good hand moved to the buttons of her shirt, slowly releasing them until her shirt was completely open.  The vest she wore beneath was threadbare and transparent.  Curtis tugged the shirt back, so her left shoulder was bare.  He looked at her skin in the flickering candle light.  She knew what he was looking at.  The bruises, the teeth marks he’d left on her skin.  They were still achy.  Gently, he traced them with the edge of his index finger.  Then he trailed his hand down her chest, around the edge of her breast, circling her nipple through the thin material.  She shivered, but then stepped back abruptly.  

Shaking her head, she tugged her shirt closed.  “We’re not doing this right here, right now.”

He frowned, but didn’t argue.

Shaking her head again, she looked at his injured hand.  The bandage had soaked enough that she could gently work it away from the wound.  Once the bandage was off, she washed the wound clean and then pulled a candle close, inspecting it.  She winced.  It looked like his left hand had been smashed.  She supposed it was somewhat of a blessing, since he already had limited mobility in that hand from the time he’d tried to cut his damn arm off on the train.  But it looked awful.  She palpated the wound as best she could, without causing him too much pain.  As far as she could tell, no bones had been crushed.  That was a minor miracle.  But the flesh between his thumb and forefinger was torn all to hell.  It would never heal correctly on its own.  She suspected there had to be ligament and tendon damage.  His hand was a swollen mess.  “This is bad, Curtis.”  

He was tight lipped with pain, all flirtation gone, as she unpacked the rest of her supplies, including the needle and thread, several vials, and a syringe.  She took out a small tin of oily balm and smeared it around his ring finger before prying his ring off as gently as she could.

“Hey,” he said, trying to stop her.

“Quit,” she said, sharply.

He stopped.

She sighed.  “Your hand is swelling.  You need to take this ring off before it becomes part of the problem.”

He was distressed, she knew.  His brow was furrowed.  “Yeah, okay.  Just don’t - “

Frowning at him, she finally worked the ring free and then jammed it on her own thumb.  It didn’t fit. His fingers were much larger than hers.  But she’d damaged her knuckle on her right thumb quite badly a number of years ago and it was eternally swollen.  It would prevent the ring from falling off.

Placated, Curtis seemed to relax.  At least for a moment.  When he saw her reaching for the syringe, he turned his head.  She gave him numerous injections to numb his hand.  She knew they burned like hell, but he’d appreciate it in short order.

It didn’t take long before he was numb.  Anna was thankful she’d been able to barter for the medical supplies on the first day they arrived.  Camp Three had somehow come into possession of large stores of pharmaceutical supplies.  Anna didn’t even know what half of them were for.  But things she had taken for granted in her youth could absolutely mean the difference between life and death in the frozen world.

Curtis held the candle, though he didn’t watch as Anna did her best to clean the wound.  There was dirt and grime embedded in it.  She once again checked for broken bones, but didn’t find any.  Then she began to stitch him up.  She offered to go get one of the leather workers, but Curtis paled at the idea and told her to do it.  It wasn’t particularly neat work, but at least it was no longer a gaping wound.  She gave Curtis a shot of antibiotics and rewrapped the wound with sterile bandages.  She gave him something for the pain and handed him a flask of water, with instructions to drink all of it.

By the time she had cleaned up the mess in the stall, repacked all of her supplies, and helped Curtis on with his coat and shoes, before doing the same with her own, Anna was absolutely exhausted.  She and Curtis walked back to the Homestead tent in silence.  Snow was falling softly.  The noise from the Gathering tent was still considerable, but they both ignored it, instead, heading for their pallets.

Once again, Anna helped Curtis with his coat.  He didn’t bother to undress.  He just fell back on his pallet with a groan.  She gave him a dry laugh as she pulled his blanket up over him.  She looked down at him for a long moment.  In the darkness, he watched her.  Slowly, she pressed a gentle kiss against his cheek.

***

By the time Anna roused in the morning, nearly everyone was gone but Curtis.  She helped him up.  His hand was swollen and sore and truthfully still looked terrible.  He said it wasn’t too bad, that he thought he actually felt a little better than he had the previous night.  She gave him some anti inflammatories and another dose of antibiotics.  She changed the dressings on the wound and helped him pull on his boots and coat.  She told him to take it easy, though she knew him well enough to know he wouldn’t listen.

Anna didn’t have time to play nursemaid for Curtis.  She had promised to help Tanya with negotiating trades for goats and sheep they brought.  The animals were strong and healthy.  Several would make good breeding stock.  They should bring a fair price.  When Anna arrived at the livestock tent, she wasn’t surprised to see Ronon with Tanya.  They had all of their children with them as well, Tanya’s son, Timmy, and Ronon’s four children, his daughters, Mai, Akela, and Lani, and his son, Kai.  Ronon’s kids were all little hellions.  But they seemed to actually listen to Tanya.  That was a minor miracle.

The negotiations went well.  Anna and Tanya were both pleased.  Ronon looked impressed.  The kids were bored, but managed not to burn the tent down, so that was good.  Ronon and Tanya were going to take the kids over to the games, and they invited her along.  There were races and contests of strength.  So far Anna had avoided it.  It was meant for the young.

Anna declined the invitation and went back to the Homestead tent.  She couldn’t find one of her gloves.  And she also wanted to see if Curtis was there.  He wasn’t.  She hadn’t seen him as she’d been walking around camp either.  She had no idea where he was.  

She checked her pack and her pallet for her missing glove.  She couldn’t find it anywhere.  She’d already checked the Gathering tent and the mixed gender bathhouse.  That really only left one other place to check and she groaned.  Anna pulled her scarf tightly around her face and headed for the sea of little tents.  She and Curtis had used the same tent both times.  Luckily, it was unoccupied.  She sorted through the furs and found the glove.  She quickly put it on and ducked out of the tent.  She was hurrying back to the Gathering tent when she was nearly run into by a couple leaving one of the tents.

“Grace,” she said, staring at her daughter in shock.

Grace blinked at her.

Anna looked from her daughter to Devon, Hopper’s son.  Both of their cheeks were flushed.  And they looked guilty as hell.  Anna grabbed Grace’s arm and pulled her toward the Gathering tent.  Grace didn’t say anything.

Once they got to the tent, Anna pointed to an empty seat near Father.  Grace dutifully sat down.  Anna glanced at the entrance to the tent and saw Devon hovering.  When their eyes met, he immediately retreated.  Anna scanned the room for Curtis, she didn’t see him.

Anna finally took a seat next to Grace.  Anna tried to measure her words, but she was still fuming.  “Did you at least take precautions?”

Grace just stared straight ahead at the far wall.

“Jesus Christ,” Anna swore.  The absolute last thing Grace needed right now was a baby.  Anna stood up again.  “Stay here,” she snapped.  She turned and looked at Grey, who was sitting with Father as usual.  “Make sure she stays here and Hopper’s boy keeps his distance.”

Grey gave Grace a hard look and nodded to Anna.  Anna knew Grey would make sure her wishes were followed to the letter.  As she turned to leave, she saw Father look at Grace with a furrowed brow, drawing her into the circle of his arms.

***

It took Anna longer than she had expected, but it was done.  She made her way back to the Gathering tent.  Grace was still sitting there, next to Father, looking more sullen than ever.  Father was holding her hand.  Anna had no doubt that he’d given Grace all sorts of platitudes.  She knew he meant well, but Father was absolute shite at providing any sort of actual guidance in this sort of thing.  He’d left Anna completely on her own to muddle her way through her relationship with Curtis when she wasn’t much older than Grace.  Anna knew he wouldn’t be any help to Grace now.

As Anna approached, Grey met her eyes and gave her a nod of acknowledgement.

“Come on,” she snapped to Grace.

Grace stood up.  Anna didn’t wait, she simply turned and headed out of the tent.

Grace followed, lagging behind.  Anna would have prefered to have the conversation quietly, but since Grace insisted on conducting herself like a child, trailing a good twenty feet behind, she shouted, “You’re going back to camp tomorrow, with Miko and Sam.”

“What?” Grace shouted.  She ran to catch up with Anna.  “No,” she said.  “I’m not going.”

“You are,” Anna said flatly, pushing her way past the flaps to the entrance of the Homestead tent.  “They leave at dawn.  You better be packed.”

“I am not going,” Grace yelled.

Anna ignored her, and made her way through the tent toward her pallet.  “You are,” she said.  “Or you can find a new camp.”

“Maybe I will,” Grace bellowed.  “Maybe I’ll leave Homestead and find a new camp.”

Anna was nearly at her pallet, but she spun and faced Grace.  Luckily it was only late afternoon and the tent was largely deserted.  The few people milling around were doing their best to be invisible.  “Try it,” Anna challenged.  “I know you think you’re grown, but try it.  Leave Homestead.  Leave everything and everyone you’ve ever known and move in with Hopper’s clan.  You can have a babe in your belly by fall.  And then you can birth and raise it while you raise all of Devon’s younger brothers and sisters, and all of his nieces and nephews.  You can fetch and carry and wait on other people in a family where you will always be an outsider, and you will always be less.”

Grace’s eyes were shiny and her chin wobbled.  “You don’t know Devon.”

“I might not know Devon, but I know Hopper.  He keeps his camp afloat, but don’t you dare try and tell me that he doesn’t prefer his sons to his daughters.  I’ve seen how his camp is run.  The men lead, and the women clean.  And the women, who are not his daughters, are less than second class citizens.  They’re chattel.”

A tear threaded down Grace’s cheek.

Anna sighed, feeling deflated.  God, how could she possibly explain this to Grace in a way that she could understand.  Grace was so intent on doing things to spite Anna that she would throw away her own future in the process.

“You are loved, Grace,” Anna said vehemently.  “Your entire life, you have been surrounded by people who value your heart and mind.  You have been raised to think, to lead - not to give birth to a litter of little Hoppers.”

Grace sniffled loudly.  “You don’t know Devon,” she said again, like she was clinging to that one idea.

There was a groan and both Anna and Grace turned.  They saw Curtis, lying on his back on his pallet.  Anna knew at a glance that something was very wrong.  They both hurried over, crouching down next to him.  Anna tore off her gloves and touched his face.  “He’s burning up.”

Grace didn’t wait to be told, she immediately went to fetch Anna’s pack and a lantern.  Together they got Curtis out of his coat and shirt.  He was insensible, covered in sweat, mumbling.  Anna removed the binding from the wound and looked at his hand.  Oh my god, the smell.  Grace arched back, covering her nose and mouth with her hand.  “Do you want your oils?”

Anna shook her head.  “No,” she said.  She looked at Grace.  “Wait here.  Do not leave him for a minute.”

***

It had taken what felt like hours, though Anna knew it probably had been accomplished quickly.  There was a woman, Ruth, in Horizon camp.  She was a doctor - an actual, honest to god, trained medical professional, from before the world froze.  Under Ruth’s direction, they moved Curtis, on a stretcher, into Ruth’s surgery, deep in the warren of tunnels that constituted Horizon camp.  Anna hadn’t been into the camp proper in years.  The Gathering was focused entirely in the valley, away from the camp itself.

Ruth’s surgery was impressive.  Stainless steel surfaces, electricity to run the lights.  She had a lot of real medical supplies and it was clear she knew what she was doing.  Ruth was serious about sanitation.  Father, Grey, Grace, and Edgar were forced to wait outside.  Ruth had two assistants, and she allowed Anna to assist as well.  

Curtis was given fluids and stronger drugs.  Ruth re-opened the wound, cleaned it, and packed it.

When Ruth was finished, she took Anna aside.  “He’ll need to stay here for a few days.  Once he’s on the mend, we’ll close it.”  She looked at Curtis, frowning.  “Even if it does heal, I don’t know how much use he’s going to get out of that hand.”

Anna nodded.  She’d feared as much.  Curtis had too.  She cleared her throat, looking at Curtis, still on the table.  “Is he going to make it?“

“I gave him something to help him rest,” Ruth said.  “His fever is under control, but he’ll need intravenous medications at least through tomorrow.  How he makes it through the night will tell us a lot more about his recovery.”

Anna nodded, finding herself suddenly blinking back tears.  She clearly heard what Ruth wasn’t saying.  If Curtis lived through the night, he had a chance.  “Thank you.”

***

There was a room, just off Ruth’s surgery.  Ruth and her assistants moved Curtis.  He still had IVs.  Once they had him settled, Anna asked for a basin of water and a cloth.  She wiped Curtis down.  She startled at first, seeing the dark bruise on his neck.  Then she realized it was a lovebite, and she was the one who put it there.  She rolled her eyes, blinking back tears again.

As she continued her task, she finally looked at the little pouch Curtis wore on a cord around his neck.  She’d noticed it when they’d had sex, but she didn’t know what it was.  He hadn’t worn it before they’d broken up.  Curious, she pulled the little drawstrings and worked the pouch open.  She dumped the contents out into her palm.  It was a ring, and four little locks of hair.

Anna took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling.  She wiped impatiently at the tears on her cheeks.  “You sentimental idiot,” she swore.

Sniffling, she shoved the ring onto her own ring finger.  It fit perfectly, as it should have.  It was hers.  She looked at the locks of hair in turn.  Edgar, Michael, Grace.  There was even one lock from their boy who had been stillborn, Nicholas.  They hadn’t ever told anybody his name.

She was still crying silent tears as she put the little locks of hair back into the pouch and cinched it shut.  She looked at Curtis, oblivious to everything, fighting for his life because of some ridiculous accident.

“You had better not leave me,” she snapped.  “Not now.”

Curtis, predictably, did not respond.  With a sigh, Anna resumed the sponge bath.  Luckily her inspection didn’t turn up any more injuries.  Maybe it was just her imagination, but she felt like Curtis rested better after he was clean and cool.

Once she had Curtis settled, Anna spoke with Father, Edgar and Michael.  They were all very concerned about Curtis, but there was nothing any of them could do.  Anna was staying the night, and she was keeping Grace with her.  If Grace was happy she’d been given a reprieve from being sent home, she had the sense not to show it.  Grey informed everyone he was going to keep watch outside Curtis’s room.  No one argued.  It would be futile.

Anna and Grace made up pallets on the floor of Curtis’s room.  It was late when they finally doused the lights.  They had been lying there in the dark for a while when Anna heard Grace start to cry.  Taking a deep breath, she reached out and pulled Grace close.  Anna didn’t know precisely what the problem was, and she suspected Grace didn’t either.  The fear over Curtis’s health was more than enough all by itself.  But Anna suspected there was more to it than that.  Grace thought she was so grown up.  And today she may have learned that it wasn’t quite true.  

Also, Anna assumed that sex with a fifteen year old boy had to be disappointing.  How could it not be?

***

Anna woke to the sound of Curtis and Grace talking.  She rolled over and looked at them in the dim light.  Grace was curled up with Curtis in his bed, like she used to do when she was a little girl.  Anna waited, listening, making sure she wasn’t interrupting something sensitive.  But as far as she could tell, it was Grace complaining about an ongoing feud she had with Nykhor about where they needed to set traps, occasionally punctuated with grunts of acknowledgement from Curtis.

Anna pushed herself into a sitting position, and dragged her hand through her hair.  She got up, checked on Curtis’s fever - it was gone - and got him a glass of water.  She found one of Ruth’s assistants and they were able to disconnect Curtis from the IV line so he could take care of some pressing business.  The limited activity wiped him out, and Anna helped him get settled in bed again.

 Once he was good, she excused herself.  Horizon camp had some truly impressive bathing facilities.  Anna took notes.  Homestead camp needed some upgrades.  She took a long, leisurely soak, allowing herself to relax for the first time in days.  

As she sat in the tub, she started crying, silently, with her hands pressed over her face.  She didn’t even know why she was crying.  For herself, for Curtis, for the way things were with Grace, for the fact that they’d all lived through the apocalypse and nothing would ever be okay again.

Anna wiped at her tears and splashed her face with water.  She’d been so miserable for so long.  And she’d taken it out on Curtis for so long.  Because she could.  Because he’d take it.  Because he took everything.  Fuck.

Anna dressed.  She ran into Ruth in the hallway, who had just seen Curtis and repacked his wound.  She said he was improving.  She still wanted him to stay another night, and she wanted him on the IV through the end of the day.  Ruth showed Anna to the cookfires, where Anna got hot water to make medicinal teas, one for Curtis, and one for Grace.  She took the mugs back to the room.

While she was gone, Michael and Edgar had arrived, and Grey had left.  Anna pressed the mug of tea into Grace’s hand and she took it without question.  Anna knew that Grace understood what it was for.  Anna directed Michael and Edgar to prop Curtis up so he could drink some of his tea.  He looked exhausted.  Anna shooed everyone out.  She made sure that Grace, Edgar and Michael all understood that Grace was supposed to stay with her brothers all day, or there would be hell to pay for all of them.

As soon as the room was empty, Curtis was asleep.  Anna check again to make sure he wasn’t feverish, and then she tried to find ways to make herself useful.  She helped Ruth with several patients, all from the Gathering.

In one of the rare moments when Ruth had no patients, she said to Anna, “I saw the tea you made your girl.”

Anna nodded.

“Does she have a problem?”

Anna sighed.  “Not yet.  Hopefully not at all, if the tea does its job.  It’s not her time.  But she’s young.”

“How many babes took for you?”

“Three,” Anna said.  “Michael, Grace, and then one that I lost late.  No others took after that.”

Ruth nodded.  “If the time does come, and she needs help.  You know where I am.”

“I appreciate that.”

***

It was evening when Ruth and Anna checked on Curtis again.  He didn’t have a fever and he woke easily.  Ruth removed the IV and told them she’d close the wound the next day as long as it continued to heal.  Even without it being closed, it looked so much better than it had.  The skin had a good color and the swelling had gone down a lot.

The kids came back to check on Curtis, and they brought food.  Curtis had an appetite and ate a decent amount.  While he was talking to Michael and Edgar, Anna took Grace to the cookfires.  She made another cup of tea for her and they sat for a while.

“How are you?” Anna asked.

Grace nodded, tight lipped.

“Grace, I don’t want you to leave Homestead.”

“I don’t want to leave either,” Grace said, looking up at Anna.  She sighed, wrapping her hands around the mug.  “It wasn’t like I thought it would be.”

Anna nodded.  “It rarely is, especially at your age.”

Grace huffed out a sharp breath and pursed her lips together.  “Devon isn’t like you say.  He isn’t like his dad.”

“But you’re upset,” Anna said.

“It's not that.  It’s just ...”  Grace frowned into her tea.  “Nevermind.  Forget I said anything.”

Anna didn’t push for more conversation.  It wasn’t going to lead anywhere positive.  When Grace was finished with her tea, they went back to Curtis’s room.  He was in good spirits, and his color looked much better.  But he needed rest.   She shooed her children out for the night.

“You’re staying with Da again?” Edgar asked.

“Yes,” Anna said, in a tone that did not invite him to ask questions.  “And you’re to keep an eye on Grace.  Keep her with you.”  Edgar started to sigh and Anna poked him hard in the ribs.  “You heard me, Edgar.”

He winced, rubbing his side.  “Yes, ma’am.”

When the kids were gone, Anna sat on the edge of Curtis’s bed.  He immediately wrapped his good arm around her waist.

“What’s going on with Grace?” he asked.

“She had sex with Hopper’s boy.”

Curtis groaned.

“I think she regrets it,” Anna said dryly.  “That’s something at least.  Hopefully that’s all she gets out of the encounter.”

Curtis was quiet for a long time.  “Do you regret it?”

Anna looked at him in question.

“Sleeping with me.  When we were kids.”

Anna rolled her eyes.  “We weren’t as young as Grace.”

“We weren’t much older,” Curtis pointed out.  He took a deep breath.  “And then Michael happened.”

She looked at him, studying his features.  “I don’t regret our life together if that’s what you’re asking,” she said.  “It wasn’t a thirty second flier in one of the sex tents.”

Curtis snorted.  “As much as I like to give myself credit, I doubt it was much more than that.”

Anna gave him a half-hearted shove.  “That’s not what I mean and you know it.”

She looked at him, but he just seemed confused, his brow furrowed and a frown on his lips.  “I really don’t,” he said quietly.  “I’ve never known what you mean, or what you want.  All I’ve ever known is that I love you, and I want you to be as happy as you can be.”

She watched him carefully.  She’d always known she was the one who set the terms of their relationship in the beginning.  And she knew that he was overstating things, at least somewhat.  He may not have known her intentions precisely.  But he hadn’t been left completely in the dark.  At least, she hoped not.  “I loved you,” she said, hating that he might have doubted that.  “I always loved you.”

His good hand rested on her hip, rubbing small circles.  “And now?”

She looked away.

“You left me, Anna.  It’s been a year.  And I still don’t know why.”

She looked up at the ceiling, blinking quickly, trying to ward off tears.  “Because it seemed better than dying.”

“Those were your choices?” he asked.  “Stay with me, or die?”  He looked so hurt, so gutted.  

“It wasn’t staying with you that was killing me, Curtis.  It was staying in my life, pretending everything was okay.”  She shook her head.  “I didn’t know what else to do.  I had to change something.  Our relationship had to give.  You were the one who got screwed.  I’m sorry.”

He took a deep breath and waited.  “And now?”

She shrugged.  “I’m in a different place.”

“You want someone again,” he said.  It wasn’t a question.  

“Not just someone.”

“You’ve been talking to Landon a lot.  I know he wants you.”

“Landon wants a partner.  But yes,” she said, “I’ve been talking to him.  And I’ve been fucking you.  I know you say I don’t explain things, but I don’t feel like the math is particularly difficult here.”

“You kissed that boy.”

“And you probably kissed Fisher.”  He didn’t deny it.  She narrowed her eyes at him.  “You better not have done anything else with - “

“I didn’t,” he said, cutting across her.  His arm around her waist tightened.  “Not for lack of invitation,” he muttered.

She pinched his nipple through his shirt and he yelped.  He caught her wrist and pulled her close.  They looked at each other, nearly nose to nose, both of them breathing hard.  Then he tilted his head and gave her a soft kiss.  She waited several heartbeats before returning it, but finally melted into it.  When she finally sat back, she was breathing too fast.

“I had a hell of a lot of fun with the sex tents,” he said seriously, “but a hot quickie here and there isn’t enough.  I want you to come home, Anna.”

She took a deep breath and nodded.  “Okay.”

He looked stunned.  “Okay?”

She held up her left hand, showing him that she was wearing both her ring, and his ring.  “Yeah,” she said.  “All right.  I’ll come home.  What else do you want me to say?”

He opened his mouth and then shut it again.  He seemed unable to believe she’d acquiesced so easily.  He tugged at her, urging to lay against him in the bed.   She lay on her side, one of her legs across his, her arm across his chest.  She closed her eyes and just enjoyed the feel of him against her.  She had missed him so much.  And while the time in the sex tents had been good, it hadn’t been this.  It hadn’t been the intimacy of just being with him.

The candle flickered out from the draft and they kept talking.  Anna got up long enough to consolidate both their blankets on Curtis’s bed.  She wasn’t going to sleep on a pallet on the floor, not when there was a perfectly good bed available.  They talked for a long time.  They had quite the backlog of conversation topics, considering they hadn’t been exactly civil for the last year.  It was a relief to share all the hurts and joys that she’d kept to herself for so long, and to hear his in return.  She wondered if it was weak, going back to him.  Was she simply not strong enough to figure out who she was without him?  She honestly didn’t know.  And at this point, she didn’t care.  Curtis had been a part of her life longer than not.  She felt home and whole with him.

As they talked, Curtis ducked his head and stole a kiss here and there.  The longer they talked, the more frequent his kisses, until the only sounds they were making were the kisses.  Curtis’s good hand wandered and it was clear what he wanted.

“You were on an IV an hour ago,” she admonished, trying to push his hand away.

His tone was dismissive and his hand settled on her ass.  “I’m feeling better.”

“Jesus Christ,” she cursed, frustrated, but also turned on.

“A year, Anna,” he said meaningfully, squeezing her ass.  “You were gone a year.”

“We had sex the day before yesterday,” she reminded him.

He stopped trying to argue and just hoisted her up across his chest with his good arm.  She wanted to chide him about how he needed to rest, but truthfully, she wanted to get laid as much as he did.  She scrambled out of her trousers and kicked them away.  Then she unbuttoned his trousers and shoved them down his hips with one hand, while stroking him gently with the other.  He groaned her name, his hand kneading her thigh.

Slowly, she sank down onto him, her breath hissing through her teeth.  His hand slipped under her shirt, finding her breast, cupping it, his thumb flicking over her nipple.  She rode him slowly, sliding her finger along either side of her clit, in time with her movements.  Normally Curtis would see to that, but normally he had two hands.  As it was, his one hand was trying to make up for the fact that he couldn’t see.  He was running it over her body.  When he realized that she was touching herself, his breath caught and then he cursed to himself.  His hand found her hip, his fingers digging into the muscle there as he urged her to move faster.

She planted one hand in the middle of his chest for balance and then moved on him more quickly.  Her thighs were shaking and she was so close.  Her hips faltered as she concentrated on her fingers against her clit.  She slammed herself down against him, rubbing herself harder, faster.  She wanted him inside her when she came.   She bit back a cry as her released washed over her.

She stayed as she was for a moment, braced against Curtis, catching her breath.  

“Holy fucking shit, Anna,” he cursed.

She let out a sharp chuckle and started to move on him again.  He didn’t say anything more.  She knew he was close and it didn’t take long until his breath was hissing through his teeth as his body corded beneath her.

She slumped forward on him, pressing her nose against his neck.  He made a contented noise and his hand was under her shirt, tracing up and down her back.

Anna reached up and pulled the tie out of his hair, sending it cascading into his face.  

He sputtered and had to extract his hand in order to wipe his hair out of the way.  “What was that for?”

“I hate your man bun.”

“I know,” he said, sounding smug.  “That’s why I grew it.”

She pinched him in the side.

After a few minutes, the novelty of post-coital cuddling waned.  Anna got up and found a towel and a basin of water.  She cleaned herself up, and Curtis, and then rearranged all the bedcovers, before finally curling up with him again.

She sighed.  “I forgot how hot you are.”

“It’s a burden,” he said meaningfully.  “I’ve been working out a lot.”

She groaned.  “Scoot over.  You’re hot.  I’m sweating.”

Curtis finally moved over and after some negotiating elbow and knee placement, they settled.  Anna wasn’t sure if it was comforting or disturbing how easy it was to sleep next to him after so long apart.  She didn’t have long to question it before she drifted off to sleep.

***

When Anna opened her eyes, Curtis was already awake.  She was curled against him, her head resting on his shoulder and he was watching her, his expression unreadable.  She pushed herself up on her elbow and looked at him.  “Good morning.”

He nodded, and then tugged her toward him.  He kissed her softly, but possessively.  

Anna finally pulled back.  She tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear.  “You’re worried I changed my mind.”

He frowned, but didn’t say anything.

“I didn’t,” she said.  “I want to come home.  If that’s what you still want.”

“It is,” he said seriously.

She nodded.  “Then it’s settled.”

***

“How did you manage to fuck up your hand?” Edgar asked.

“Mind your own goddamn business,” Curtis snapped.

Edgar grinned.  “You were doing something stupid weren’t you?”

Anna smacked Edgar in the back of the head.  “Yes, he was.  You take after your father in that respect.  Now go get me that hide like I asked.”

Edgar groused, rubbing the back of his head.  They were all finally back at the Homestead tent.  Ruth had closed Curtis’s wound that morning, and sent a bottle of stronger antibiotics than the ones Anna had.  Curtis still needed a decent sling, which was why Anna needed the animal hide.  

Anna was sorting through thread and needles when Edgar returned with the hide.  Behind him was Doyle, one of the leatherworkers.  And behind Doyle, was Devon, Hopper’s son.  Doyle motioned toward Devon.  “My apprentice.”

Anna arched an eyebrow and looked at Grace, who did not appear to be surprised.  She knew about this.  If Devon was Doyle’s new apprentice, it meant that when the Gathering was over, Devon would be going to Homestead camp with them, rather than returning to his father’s camp.  This was an interesting development.  As far as Anna knew, none of Hopper’s sons had ever left his camp.

“Thought maybe you could use some help,” Doyle said.

“You doubt my skill?” Anna asked wryly.

“We all have gifts,” Doyle said carefully.

“Indeed,” Anna replied.  “And this is not one of mine.  By all means, please.”

Anna moved out of the way, to make room for Doyle and Devon.  She started toward the entrance of the tent, but Curtis reached out with his good hand and caught her.  He urged her to take a seat with him and she did.  

She knew that Michael and Edgar were watching her and Curtis, but neither of them said anything.  They did look at Grace though, who looked somewhat vindicated.  Anna half expected her to yell, “I told you so,” at her brothers.

Doyle was an expert craftsman, and accustomed to working on short timelines.  He had Curtis in a sling in fairly short order.  Still, it took longer than Michael and Edgar were willing to wait.  The novelty of seeing their parents being civil, and possibly flirty, wasn’t enough to hold their attention.  They both left.  Grace stayed, though Anna knew that was because of Devon, rather than any solidarity with her parents.

Anna tried to compensate Doyle for the work, but he wouldn’t take it.  She thanked him.  He set off and Devon followed, though it was clear he would have rather stayed with Grace.  Choosing to ignore her daughter’s sullen mood, Anna helped Curtis into his coat and they all headed to the Gathering tent.

***

The day was thankfully uneventful.  The bartering was going well.  Matches were being made.  Tanya and Ronon appeared to be getting along very well.  Grey said that Ronon had asked about accommodations in Homestead camp for him and his children.  Apparently Ronon was a blacksmith by trade.  That was always a useful skill.  And he was a strong guy.  Provided Tanya wasn’t opposed, he would make a good addition to Homestead.

Anna stayed close to Curtis, making sure he was resting.  Left to his own devices, she knew he would push himself too hard.  As long as she was at his side, he seemed content to sit near one of the fires and tell stories with the other old farts.  Anna knew that the fact that Curtis kept his good arm wrapped around her had been noticed.  

It was finally Edgar who asked.  He’d obviously been sampling Juke’s wares.  He nodded his head toward Curtis and Anna.  “So you two back together, eh?  I’m no longer from a broken home?”

“Yes,” Curtis replied, tightening his grip on Anna.

Edgar’s expression pinched.  “Yeah?  That’s all?  More than a year apart and that’s all you’ve got to say?”

“That’s all you need to know,” Curtis said with finality.

Edgar nodded and didn’t push.  Between Curtis and Anna, Curtis was the far more lenient parent.  But it was also clear when a line couldn’t be pushed with him.  And this was one of those times.

Shrugging, Edgar got to his feet and wandered back to where Nykhor and her sister Ajak were packing the items they’d traded for that day into crates.  Edgar would haul them back to the camp tent.

Anna caught sight of Fisher.  She felt Curtis stiffen next to her and knew he had as well.  He turned to look at her.  “I have to talk to her.”

Anna nodded, but couldn’t prevent the frown.

She didn’t watch as he approached Fisher.  It wasn’t like she would make a scene.  While people knew that Curtis and Fisher had shared a flirtation, Anna also knew that in most people’s minds, Curtis was still her mate.  Fisher had no claim on him, and she wouldn’t dare embarrass herself in public by pretending that she did.

It was at least half an hour before Curtis returned.  Anna looked him over.  His eyes were shiny and what was visible of his left cheek was red with more than the cold.  “How’d she take it?”

He reached out and took a drink of ale.  “About as well as you’d expect.”

Anna could still make out some of the handprint on his cheek.  She sighed.  It wasn’t that she didn’t understand the impetus.  She’d punched Curtis in the face a few times herself over the years.  But she leaned over and kissed him.

“Thanks,” he said, frowning.

***

It was late, as usual, when they finally made it back to the Homestead tent.  Ruth had stopped by their fire at the Gathering tent to check Curtis’s hand.  She said it was healing better than she expected.  Anna was relieved.  Typically, if anything could go wrong for them, it did.  She would be happy to skip that curse this one time.

As everyone bedded down in the Homestead tent, Anna pushed her pallet and Curtis’s together, spreading the blankets over both.  Curtis was tired, she knew, and in a good deal of pain.  She gave him something to help him sleep and he lay down without so much as a word.  When Anna finally had everything settled and climbed under the covers, Curtis immediately wrapped his arm around her waist and buried his face at the nape of her neck.  He was asleep in moments.

***

The next couple of days were spent finalizing agreements of every possible type; bartering, marriages, and truces.  Homestead camp was in good shape.  They had seeds for next season, as well as most of the livestock they needed.  

Devon, much to both Anna and Curtis’s surprise, was still apprenticed to Doyle, and still planning on moving to Homestead camp.  Anna heard the gossip that Hopper’s rage, when he learned of Devon’s plan, had been incandescent.  None of his boys had ever left.  But Devon seemed committed.  Anna hated to admit it, but she was starting to like the kid.

Curtis’s hand was improving, quicker than Anna would have expected.  It was still very sore, but it seemed to be healing well.  It was still too early to tell how much range of motion he might get back, but Anna was hopeful.

The morning of the final feast dawned bright and bitterly cold.  Anna’s nose was numb and she could see how her breath had frosted the blankets.  But beneath the layers, she was toasty warm, curled against Curtis, and she shivered with delight.  She had forgotten this, the simple pleasure of physical companionship.  She was calmer at Curtis’s side, more settled.  He was as well.  She understood it was simple pair bonding.  But having been so long without it, it seemed rather magical.

It wasn’t long before everyone started stirring.  Curtis groaned, burrowing under the covers.  Anna rolled over, and he pulled her close, wrapping his arm around her.

“What time will we head out tomorrow?” she asked.

He sighed.  “Not too early.  Everyone will be hung over from the final feast.  And it’ll be slow going, with everything we’re taking back. Best to take our time and be careful about it.”

“Will you be sad to go?”

“Fuck no,” he said, chuckling darkly.  “I mean, it’s been fun.  Well, the sex tents were fun.  Nearly losing my hand wasn’t.  I’m ready to go home.”

“Me too,” she said meaningfully.

He looked at her, studying her features, as if looking for any hint of reluctance.  She met his gaze evenly, watching as he frowned, his brows puckering together.

“I always loved you, Curtis,” she said quietly.  “Even when I didn’t want to live with you.”

She rolled over and pushed herself up into a sitting position.  She pulled on two shirts and a sweater, and then pulled on another pair of pants.  She knew Curtis was still laying there, watching her.  

He was still under the blankets when she left.  It wasn’t the time or the place for a more in depth discussion anyway.  And it turned out that the day conspired to keep her and Curtis apart.  Anna did nothing but run from one metaphorical fire to the next, trying to negotiate last minute agreements of every possible configuration.  By the time she finally headed back to the Homestead camp tent, the final feast was already well under way.  She had just enough time to wash her face and brush her hair before she went to join her family.

The gathering tent was at absolute capacity.  It was the fullest it had been for the entire Gathering.  Everyone was in attendance, save for the unlucky few left back at the tents guarding supplies.  It took Anna nearly half an hour to find Curtis and Father.  Luckily, they had Grace with them - apparently Devon was spending a final evening with his father, but he would be off with Homestead camp tomorrow.

Anna quickly discovered that none of her family had eaten, so she took Grace and they went and got food for the four of them.  As Anna sat down to share a chair with Curtis, he looked over at her and frowned.  

“What?” she said, around a bit of stew.  She was starving.

He shrugged.  “I saw you brought your red dress,” he said quietly.  “I thought you might wear it.”

She arched an eyebrow at him.  “You’re not exactly in dancing shape.”

“Well ... no,” he admitted.  “But you could dance.”

She leaned in close and looked at him seriously.  “Curtis, the point of that dress is to be danced with by a man who is going to take me back to the tent and fuck me like his life depends on it.”

He blinked slowly.  “Oh.”  

She pursed her lips together and turned away.

In her peripheral vision, she could see him take a bite of stew, staring off into the middle distance, chewing slowly.  He swallowed, and then looked at her. “I mean, I could  - “

She held up a hand, cutting him off.  “Eat your stew.  We’re not putting on a show tonight for anyone.  We will have plenty of opportunities once we get home.”

He frowned, but she knew she’d won the argument.  For the next while, there was no conversation as they all ate.  

When the gnawing hunger in Anna’s gut was finally gone, she paused and glanced sidelong at Curtis.  Frowning, she pulled back and looked at him.  “Did you trim your beard?”

He smiled.  “Yeah.”  He reached up and pulled his stocking hat off his head and her jaw actually dropped.  He had trimmed his beard.  But he’d cut his hair as well.  Short.  It was buzzed nearly to the skull.  It accentuated his impressive bone structure, and made his eyes seem even more intensely blue.

It was a very, very good look on him.

Anna stood up, and then grabbed the front of Curtis’s coat and pulled him to his feet.  “On second thought.”  She looked at Grace.  “Stay with your grandfather,” she warned, but she didn’t look back as she dragged Curtis toward the tent entrance.

Homestead camp was deserted, with the exception of three young men who had been left behind to keep an eye on things.  And they were all outside, walking the tent perimeter and keeping an eye on the corrals.  Inside the tent, no one was there, except Curtis and Anna.

Their kisses were frantic as they fought to get out of the multitudes of layers.  Curtis got his sling off and all of his shirts and sweaters, leaving him in only a pair of heavy jeans.  Anna had managed to kick away her boots, pants, and long johns, but she was still wearing several shirts and a sweater.

Anna bit down on Curtis’s bottom lip, at the same time, undoing the fly of his pants and reaching inside, stroking him roughly.  He shivered, his hips arching up against her, following the contact.  Together, and somewhat carefully, because of Curtis’s hand, they finally made it to their pallet.  Curtis was on his back, pulling Anna over him with his good hand.

She didn’t waste any time, sinking down on him, groaning.  She leaned over him, kissing him hard, scraping her nails through the short stubble on his head.

He smiled against her lips.  “Guess you like the haircut.”

She braced her hands against his chest and pushed herself into a sitting position.  Slowly, she lifted herself off him, and then lowered herself back down.  His breath hissed through his teeth.  There was no more playful banter, both of them were focused on mutual satisfaction.  With his good hand, Curtis used the pad of his thumb to rub her as she rose and fell on him.

“Fuck, Anna, yes,” he said, digging his heels into the pallet, using the leverage to move his hips up against her.  She whimpered, riding him faster.  And then she was crying out, shivering over him.

Curtis rolled them over, covering her body with his own.  His mouth was hot and wet against her neck as his hips rocked languidly against her.  She tightened around him, and dug her fingernails into the small of his back.  His breath caught and his body went taut.

They managed to sort out the covers, and they were laying on their sides, chest to chest, drowsing.

“We need to go back to the feast,” Anna said.

Curtis grunted noncommittally.

***

It was morning when Anna woke again.  She was relieved to look over and see Grace asleep on her own pallet.  Dragging a hand through her hair and scraping it back out of her face, Anna nudged Curtis.  “Come on,” she said.  “We need to head home.”

***

TO BE CONTINUED ... and then posted to AO3

[nyrator]

IT BE DONE...

a perfect ending screen with music that I just sat to and listened to for a few minutes (also I loved how my broken computer clock messed with the screenshot naming so the last ones are before the ones in the castle)

also got a sweet hat for all my trouble (I’d be fan of a solid hat+bow+rose honestly, torn between plain-with-bow and stripe-with-bow-and-rose)

but yeah that final chapter was fun

(she even has a mustache’d throne)

Nice bits of Mustache Girl fanart.

Not gonna lie, was hoping for a time rift to explore what happened to Mustache Girl’s past and her mustache- unless that’s what happened when you gave her the time piece, I did the Hat Kid thing which was keep it for myself

BLEHHH

(this was the hardest decision in the game but of course I said no I’m Hat Kid and also I love the Mafia)

(it’s funny because I never do those kind of decisions, I’m always the morally right help everyone type but this game made me morally gray and I like it)

also right before I went into the castle I decided “y’know what’s a hint for that Why achievement” and it was saying a bad word to a crow and I was like “ohhh don’t make me swear come on” and after many butts and other Ny profanity eventually I had to resort to normal profanity (not even Peck would work...)

The final fight was fun, I felt bad because the first time I died in the fight was when the scene transitioned to the Mafia punching the other Mafia, dying a lot in the cherry phase, and then getting to that point again and being invincible was like “awww come on I was right there”

but surprisingly no crashing, but I loved how this band of misfits got together to fight the law-abiding(?) Mustache Girl

also you know I had to equip the Projectile Badge, I never used it in the entire game from how awkward and vulnerable you are when using it, but it felt just right to use it in that fight (also thinking when she kept dodging that I had to have a beam war with her until Mafia and Conductor came). Also went with default colors and Hat for the fight, no hat tricks or anything, classic Hat Kid (with badges).

SO YEAH OVERALL THOUGHTS

game was fantastic, most fun I’ve had with a game in years

Music was absolutely 200/10, it set the tone so well and every song knocked it out of the park (though I didn’t listen to too many remixes, mostly the original score).

Mafia, Conductor, Snatcher, were all fantastic, and every boss fight in this game was great. I was skeptical after the Beta’s Mafia fight, were they all going to be that basic-ish and just reskins, but nope, they knocked it out of the park.

Mafia Town >= Subcon > Birds > Alpine, I feel. I loved every world though. Mafia Town I’ve loved since the Alpha, I could wander around there for hours just exploring and collecting things and reading all the signs and graffiti and whatnot. 

Subcon blew me away, this one I had no idea what to expect since I only saw Vanessa’s manor, had no idea how they’d build on that and still capture the Mafia Town feel of exploration but boy did they. A giant forest that unlocks in segments, and each section distinct and crammed with things to do and explore and look at. I was scared I’d get lost and miss a lot of things in the forest, but it leads you along so well and you realize “ohh that’s where I am I’m right next to x”, and unlocking them segment by segment really helps get the most out of each one. I also generally love the spooky atmosphere, and that plot twist in the time rift really caught me off guard. I think the Snatcher was my favorite boss fight in the game, I loved how he played with the mechanics of the game and your expectations, and also Hat Kid smells. He was the boss I got the One Punch achievement with, he’s so easily accessible that I couldn’t help but wanting to fight him again and again. If I had to find a flaw in the stage, it’s the voices of those minions, but that’s a small opinion.

Battle of Birds also caught me off guard, though I saw most of the broad strokes from trailers at least. Very stealth oriented, I enjoyed myself, though I did have a few issues (mostly with the platforming- tight ropes are pain). Loved the Conductor way more than DJ Grooves (though he had a likable personality I have to admit that), the Conductor was my first and his stages were so much better- The murder mystery was great (I replayed it a ton of times trying not to get caught for an achievement, only to realize it was for the first act, whoops), lots of fun uses with your answers (poor Hat Kid’s butt doesn’t deserve this shaming). The race I remember from the Beta, and I was wondering how they’d build it into a full world, but I like how they did it. Not much to say about the race, but it was fun.

Grooves’ stages were okay. The first one had me interested in what they could do with the set, since it was a decent sized city. But really, only saying hi to penguins and getting photos taken. Second one was probably my least favorite in the game, it’s just a “keep moving and pressing buttons” one, with annoying tight ropes no less. Once I found a place to just walk in circles, I did that for the no-fall achievement, pressed buttons, then went back to my safe spot. Really lackluster compared to the rest of the game, but I can’t say it was bad.

Of course I tilted the lead in favor of the Conductor, but from what I heard apparently you can’t fight Grooves at all, so I’ll have to watch scenes and see what’s different.

Not sure how to feel about Alpine. That one I knew the least about since I started going radio silent around the time it was announced, but yeah. The maps themselves are very interesting, they give me a very Zelda feel- The Volcano, Twilight zone, really Zelda-esque setting with Zelda-esque puzzles. Of course, personally I wasn’t a fan of the aesthetic (though that’s solely opinion based, I like the more modern things compared to rustic-nomads-in-mountains thing, same with me and most RPGs in general), but I do admit the maps are very well designed. It didn’t have a lot of character personality though- No Mafia, Conductor, Snatcher, no witty dialogue, mostly “go this way!” and silent big guys. I admit, of all the minor NPCs (Owls, Penguins, etc), I was okay with these accented mountain goat people things the most (at least in voice acting), the accent helped. But yeah, really lacked that character charm the other worlds had unfortunately.

Of course, like I said, the puzzle design was good, and the final “go through every area” thing was neat, but yeah it just needed a little more character life to it I suppose. Did like the crows in the Birdhouse though

Did find it a bit odd that some characters were voiced in the final act and some weren’t, I just chalked it up to not being able to get a hold of them for that scene. Mostly the minor NPCs I noticed, so not too big a deal.

Also need to find a list of all the diary entries somewhere, to be honest I wasn’t the biggest fan of them since I like my silent protagonist and having an interpretatable avatar, but they were still neat and I would love to see all of them- OH WAIT I NEVER CHECKED AFTER BEATING THE GAME

also I do miss the islands and the sharks and the rockets and old man from the Alpha/Beta, as well as that second Vanessa stage (the one involving wires I believe). I tried as hard as I could to get up to this ledge, but sadly I kept failing. It feeeels doable though.

My only regret was my computer constantly crashing and losing progress (like I said the Freedom color was my first color but I lost it to a crash and it was sad and now I’m like two roulette spins behind). I have a decent-ish computer (GTX 770 graphics card, the Seasonic 750W PSU is dying I think) I had to run the game at a 1280x720 resolution with graphics set to the notch right before High Performance.

So yeah, only real complaints- Hat Kid’s face being too pointy instead of round and squishy (especially noticeable in the final cutscene), some questionable voice acting decisions with minor NPCS (nothing to do with whatever scandal people like bringing up since I still heard that Jon guy’s voice and saw his name in the credits so yeah, people keep bringing him up for some reason) and the tight rope platforming. And even then, those are just minor complaints.

and last here’s all the stuff I got by the end of the game (along with  five music remixes, two of them were a Mafia remix (orchestral battle and cyber normal I think), one was a train, one was Subcon (the first area with the foxes I believe), and one was time rift. Might have unlocked one more afterwards, not sure. 

So yeah, one more thank you to the entire team for making this game a reality. Huuuge shout out to the musician Pascal, absolutely fantastic work from start to finish. Shout out to all artists who worked on this project, I know Shane Frost(?) and Jenna Brown were two of them, Jenna was art director, and her art in the title screens was fantastic, and I think Shane did some of the Subcon/Bird designs and probably more. Huge shout out to Jonas, for making this entire thing happen, and for making such a wonderful project happen. And everyone else who worked on the game who I didn’t name, know that you did a fantastic job.

I discovered this game randomly, one month after the Kickstarter ended, I browsed a guy named JoshJepson’s channel (I’m a big fan of ProtonJon, and decided to check out Josh’s channel on a whim) and he had just done a playthrough of the Alpha, and I was like, “whoa I need to get this game”. So I became a slacker backer, got Alpha and Beta access, and couldn’t be more satisfied.

I also prooobably should’ve participated in the speed run event, but I wanted to go into the game completely blind but sadly missed out on a hat in the process, oh welll.

This is a game I really want to learn how to mod, and make levels with. I feel that it has the groundworks for some really great fangames, even. I hope this game continues to get the praise it deserves.

this game is

fun

[clarencenicholsonata]

Top 10 Changes to Facebook You Need to Know About in 2019

Over 1.49 Billion active users are on Facebook and over 78% of them use Facebook to find products to buy. Now more than ever, you have an even wider audience to show your brand to.

But just having a Facebook page isn't enough...

If you're curious to learn how you can use Facebook to grow your business this year, we've compiled the top 10 changes to Facebook you need to know about in 2019.

Let's get started...

1. Facebook 2019 Update: Stories Ads

Facebook now owns Instagram, so it's only natural that Facebook would shamelessly bring over stories and ad stories on its own platform.

You can also share your Instagram stories straight to your Facebook account so your content gets shared easily across both Facebook and Instagram for your followers to see.

And the more this feature is used, you can be sure to see features added along the way.

Instagram has mastered showing ads to its audience without allowing them to feel like...well ads. With Facebook stories, you can do just the same. Just ensure that your Facebook Story ads are visually appealing and straight to the point.

The same rules of running old fashion Facebook ads apply, except you only have a few seconds to capture the audience's attention.

Take a look at Spotify’s Facebook Story Ads for a better look.

As you can see Facebook Story Ads have a look and feel similar to Instagram Story ads. This means you’ll need to have eye-catching images are important if you’re not sure how to pick an image for your Facebook stores you can look at these 6 Facebook Ad image practices that will help boost your ads click-through-rate.

2. Facebook 2019 Update: Augmented Reality Ads

This was a Facebook update for 2019 that most marketers have been waiting for since they started testing in July 2018.

But what's so great about Augmented Reality Ads?

Two words: Customer Interaction.

Augmented Reality (AR) Ads are ads that viewers can use to interact directly with outside of Facebook.

When you create an Augmented Reality ad it’ll look like a regular in-feed ad, only there'll be a call-to-action like “Tap to try it on," that customers will see. Once they tap on it the ads AR capabilities will begin.

Augmented Reality Ads will help you connect easier to your audience by allowing your viewers to actually see themselves wear or experience your product on a personal level. You can now add Augmented Reality Ads to your pro list of Facebook post to promote your products.

Take a look at Micheal Kor's Augmented Ads, which became one of the first brands allowed to test this feature.

3. Facebook 2019 Update: Playable Ads

Facebook will allow gaming apps to make their ads "Playable." Giving customers the chance to sample the game before buying. We all know when we try something for free, once we love it, we'll want it, perfect example Netflix.

Your Playable ads can be seen on News Feed, Instagram Feed, Facebook, and Instagram Stories so you have a broader audience to interact with your game.

What makes this type of ad so special is that it gives users like you a retention optimization solution. Retention optimization rate is the percentage of people who return to a game after a particular time, like a day, week or even month.

Facebook placed features so you can track and improve your retention optimization rate to increase downloads at a faster rate. Which is a real problem for game developers when they create apps. So now you can get the most out of your ad.

When viewers click on the option to play, you can customize how long or which level they can play on for free until letting them know if they want to continue playing they can download or buy your game or playable app.

4. Facebook 2019 Update: Page Recommendations

Facebook has replaced Page Reviews with Recommendations.

But why?

To make reviews for customers and businesses easier, rather than a yes or no or star rating from customers; your customer can now explain with tags, text, and photos with their feedback.

It's almost like having a little Yelp on your Facebook page.

I think this is a great feature for business owners because now you get more authentic recommendations from customers who love your brand right on your Facebook page for potential customers to see.

This feature isn't an automatic update so you'll have to add the "Recommendation Box" to your Facebook Page.

5. Facebook 2019 Update: Video Metrics Updates

If you've used Facebook metrics, you'll know they constantly change as soon as you get comfortable with them. So it's no surprise that Facebook's video metric would follow suit.

But I have to admit it... these updates are good.

They've removed all the redundant metrics and replaced them with straight to the point metrics that help you understand your video views, video play percentage, and ads better. You'll be able to get simple reports that give you information on your video like the image below.

6. Facebook 2019 Update: Test and Learn Guide with Brand Lift

What is Brand Lift exactly?

Brand Lift is a Facebook feature that helps you understand your brand's ad campaign impact and brand perception on your audience through a paid test.

Since this is a new feature, it's only available in the US and Canada. You can only see test results after you've gotten at least 250 poll responses so if you have less than 100 followers on Facebook you might not be able to use it.

Once you’ve gotten the results you can move forward and create a Facebook Marketing Campaign to boost sales and grow followers.

7. Facebook 2019 Update: Video Creation Kit

Video content continues to rise as the best way to market your brand.

That's why 78% of people watch online videos every week, and 55% view online videos every day.

But for whatever reason, what if you're not able to make videos for your brand?

With new Facebook Video Creation Kit you can create videos with existing photo assets into mobile-friendly videos. If you're not sure how to create your video you can use customizable templates with text options and more so you put it all together.

8. Facebook 2019 Update: Spark AR

We spoke earlier about Augmented ads, well Facebook decided that it should be a regular feature for everyone, not just ads.

Facebook new camera effect platform Spark AR, Facebook and Instagram users will now be able to make augmented posts right on their phone.

Let’s be honest Snapchat did this first but Facebook took the idea and made it their own with virtual experiences that track and follow your movement along. Spark AR gives you features like:

Build AR effects with or without code

Import objects and sounds

Connect effects with objects and places

Use background segmentation to separate people from their background

and more...

9. Facebook 2019 Update: Facebook Spaces

Facebook created a platform that allows you to interact with friends as avatars in a virtual reality. You can share images, do activities and talk with each other in your own virtual world, all you need is your headset by Oculus Rift or HTC VIVE.

Click and take a look at this amazing promotional video for Facebook Spaces to see how it works.

10. Facebook 2019 Update: Press and Hold Videos

Facebook is stepping up its game when it comes to ads.

With Press and Hold Ads, you'll see an image in your feed with a call to action to "press and hold", once you do that you'll be taken to a video or image slide show. When you lift finger off the screen your the video turns back into an image.

Press and Hold videos and ads allow the customer to get a better experience and increase brand engagement. Check out Culture Trip's Press and Hold Video post with your mobile to see how this feature works.

Because this feature is relatively new, you can surprise your audience with interesting content until it becomes another same old same old in the marketing world, so use it as much as you can.

The Rundown

Hopefully, this article has given you a better understanding of top 10 changes to Facebook you need to know about in 2019 so you can use them to promote your products and drive sales.

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Video Creation Kit

Facebook Spark AR

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If you've tried any of new Facebook Updates reach out in the comment section below I'd love to know what you think!

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[myupostsheadcanons]

Dissecting Predictions I made in S4 (Dec/January 2018).... Or: How I guessed most of what was going to happen

Vrepit Sa: Waking up the Past.

The salute likely started off as a “cry for help” from what ever fragment left of Zarkon’s old self that is rattling around the back of his brain screaming at the brick wall at what had been going on. The Salute is a language nod by the writers of the show, it means “Wake Up” in Romanian. (Was he trying to tell Honerva to wake up?)

This turned out not the case. Even if the meaning of the salute in our language means one thing. The Salute in the Galra Empire meant “killing thrust” and a homage to a great battle that was won in the distant past.

Their abrupt personality change after waking from death and their total focus on gaining power and more quintessence brought forth the popular theory that the original personalities of Zarkon and Honerva are not in control. There are aspects of their original personalizes that are active, but with several of their negative traits amplified in intensity.

This is confirmed. As it is shown the dark creatures did in fact infect their bodies and change their wants/desires. We see this when Pre-Rift Ghost Zarkon is revived in the Spirit Realm, and grief over learning what had transpired between his death and being revived. His memories were frozen since his death resurrection as he was aware of what he had done up until that point.

What would cause them to and/or how would they wake up? That is up in the air.

The Zarkon that was possessed died and was basically reset with a backup from the spirit realm. Haggar went to Oriande....

“Why should they wake up?” is another question entirely. We’ve seen the “bigger bad” the creature that is part of or is the thing controlling their actions. With the introduction of their past, their previous personalities, and the creature from the rift: Zarkon and Haggar went from being straight-up the villains of the show to “antagonists only because we have no choice but to be.” This sticks them on a path that means they could be redeemed. Zarkon as the “fallen hero” and Haggar is the “atoner.”

While we have seen the rift creature return, it was in its smaller pieces. it was being used by Honerva to control the other Alteans rather than be the end-game villain.

And to go back on parallels in the story, because it was Honerva’s actions that caused Zarkon to risk their lives and the lives of billions to save her. It is likely going to mean that Haggar is going to be the one to “wake up” as Honerva first and save Zarkon from the path that he was set upon.

Kind of true. Zarkon died, so was stopped that way. Honerva did manage to “save him” in a sense that she had his uncorrupted spirit on back up in the mind-scape that did come back and help put an end to HER path of destruction.

Another thing is ‘What is going to happen after they wake up?”  Which can be broken down onto several paths and some paths can overlap:

1) They die closing the rift, destroying the rift-creatures, and saving not just their universe but the multiverse. Correcting their mistakes of the past.

The most straightforward ending, tbh. With the fewest loose ends.*** (more below)

This.... is basically what happened. yay me.

2) Allura and Keith, they are going to need help.

Allura has nobody that can help her with her powers. Alfor already stated that Honerva was the better alchemist than he was. Allura has the raw power, but not as fine control; Honerva has control, but not as much power. Honerva is also the only adult female Altean left from her era that has any knowledge about Quintessence. Allura  has to go to another universe to find any more Alteans.

And Keith is still having problems accepting command and if Shiro finally does “leave”… who else would there be to help Keith with the Black Lion?  Keith, in the end, is meant to be the better Black pilot than Shiro, and Shiro is flatly overwhelmed sometimes by how many powers Black still can unlock. Just think about how far advanced Shiro would have gotten if Zarkon wasn’t sabotaging him the entire time. Then of Keith being helped rather than hindered by that same force.

This was basically addressed in seasons 5-7. As we are introduced to Oriande and Keith spends over two-years with his mother Krolia. I basically forgot Krolia was going to be a thing when i wrote this post.

In the end all the old paladins returned to help the team. And, Shiro’s experience in the spirit realm helped them greatly when it came to connecting with Voltron and later with Haggar’s Mind.

3) Lotor kills them.

This can happen in a few ways:

-Lotor becomes corrupted by the Rift Monster around the same time Zarkon and Haggar become un-corrupted. They all go down together.

ALMOST. But rather than stop the rift creatures, it was to restore the multiverse that Honerva destroyed just because she couldn’t get her way. 

-Lotor has plans to destroy Voltron, the Rift Monster, and His Parents: taking out everybody in his way to sitting on the top of the shit pile.  If Zarkon and Honerva wake up and switch sides to help Voltron in their fight against the Rift Monster: that is only causing more of a problem for him… He pretends to be playing along only to stab them in the back, literally.

Didn’t happen. But Lotor’s goal of destroying the Galra and reviving Altea was later taken up by Haggar. So his motivations were rather clear. And he did become corrupted and died in the rift.

-Lotor can’t handle the abrupt change. He only remembered them being good and loving, but because he had spent so much time in the darkness becoming a snake-in-the-grass to just survive, their personality change creates a different conflict of interests. They don’t agree with how he does things underhandedly, which is brings him back to square one (they didn’t agree with him when they were evil, now they don’t agree with him now that they are better).

This can be exacerbated by if Zarkon and Honerva have to help out Keith and Allura. It would be plain jealousy on his part. That his redeemed parents are acting more parent-like to total strangers and inadvertently pushing him aside in the process.

Most of this is garbage. I meant to say “he never remembered them being good and loving”... but this was a very long post and i don’t have a proof reader.

Allura turned out to be quite the Knight Templar. And while her “holier than thou” attitude burned bridges with Lotor: she was able to convince Honerva to sacrifice themselves to hit the cosmic reset button.

I was making wild guesses as to what could happen at this point ... which explains the next segment:

4)  They stick around to fix the Galra Empire from the top down.

AKA: The Rainbows and Sunshine ending, or The Galra Christmas Carol. A complete subversion of what happened in GoLion and DOTU to the characters (they all died like the assholes they where). I mean, if you go by Voltron 3D Zarkon was pretending to be good for a while to save his skin. If he actually did become good, stay good, and survived that would be a slight nod to that plot line. I mean, they did borrow the Quintessence thing from the “haggarium” plot line that Voltron Force’s Lotor had.

It would’ve been nice... but wishful thinking.

“Classic Story Conventions” dictate that the First option must happen to end their story. And at the same time, it is kind of boring, over used, and everybody sees it coming from a mile away.

Yep. 

And the problem with taking out Zarkon, Honerva, and Lotor out of the story all at the same time would leave the Galra leaderless. They have spent the past 10K years at war, everybody with any claim to a piece of the Empire is Militaristic and thus would create a great Civil War with the massive power vacuum. It is why Haggar stuck Lotor on the throne in the first place, he had the most legitimate claim as Zarkon never disowned him even if they didn’t like each other and Lotor got kicked out.

This is exactly what happened. Before we even knew what a Kral Zera was. This was what was going to happen.

***Now at the same time, Lotor’s kind of a dick. He’s going to have a lot of problems if he has to fix the empire by himself, or with too much non-Galra outside help. The closest he could get is if the Blade of Mamora step up and get inserted into key command positions. Between the Blade and if he can win back his General Squad, he could have a solid power base and a buffer between him and all the zealots that exist in the current Galra chain of command. His reputation would need to be carefully maintained. As in he can’t pull off something he did with Throk… he can’t just send every Commander, General, and Captain that he disagrees with out to the asshole of the universe, and he definitely can’t just kill them: That would be worse when you are trying to keep an Empire from falling apart. He needs to be seen as merciful and fair, and not just pretend to be. He will chafe and squirm if he has to play the goodly but stern ruler for the rest of his days.

Lotor was pretending to care. And look at what that got him. But if he did everything the way he should have, we wouldn’t have had conflict in the first place.

Do you know who wouldn’t chafe and squirm under the reins and actually want to act as the goodly but stern ruler? An un-corrupted Zarkon desperate to fix what he created within the Galra Empire. Zarkon also has a lot of clout he doesn’t have to work for to get. “Just because I say so,” works much easier with him than if Lotor was in charge. He’s already got the reputation of being a hard-ass, if he wanted to replace his entire command staff on a whim few people will argue about it, nor challenge him on the issue. 

If only.

Also think about what kind of chaos would happen when all the quintessence-powered machinery suddenly stopped working? It would be a massive scaling back of military might in seconds and riots will erupt everywhere. Without some kind of centralized command center rogue factions will quickly overrun the Galra bases and what is going to stop these people from just murdering their captors? The Galra command will have to work in tandem with Voltron and Alliance in order to prevent/stop these insurgent forces from causing mass panic and spilling Galra blood in the streets.

This is what was going on. The Voltron Coalition’s plan before Honerva derailed it was to stop the Galra from fighting and conquering among themselves. But because Voltron and Lotor vanished for 3 years, they were not around to prevent it from happening.

Part of the current arc of the series is to get others (and the audience) to see the Galra as people and to show that there are Galra willing to fight against the corruption in their government. But, prejudices and the idea of “privilege” still persist and most Galra in command are still asshats that need a someone to grab them by the bootstraps and make them fall in line. Lotor isn’t going to be able to do that.

It also helps that the Galra Command basically killed themselves. Not withstanding that Haggar gathered them all together at a Kral Zera and murdered them.

The ultimate goal is to dissolve the Empire into a Republic or Democracy and scale back their territory so the local residents will be in control of their own systems. The process will have to involve finding the Galra a new home planet and a territory to call their own. They are currently spread out all over the universe, living on other people’s planets, in other people’s territories, or on base-ships in massive flotillas out in the middle of space. A lot of what spurred the Galra to rise up and fight the war was because they lost their home, they could have stopped after Altea was destroyed if they were just out after revenge, but they didn’t. Revenge didn’t fix the fact that they were now migratory and most of their society was now living on warships or on other planets as refugees. It even took the Blade of Mamora a while to go “Oh, hey, this is stupid and pointless.” before they broke off to do their own thing.

A Few THINGS:

The Empire was dissolved into a Republic/Democracy. After the command offered to give it to Keith first and he refused it.

With the cosmic reset button Daibazaal and Altea were restored. So the Galra have a home again.

Kolivan and Krolia, leaders of the Blade, are basically their President and VP now.

Food for thought.

< / meta >

GO ME. I could’ve practically wrote this show.

[breegullbeakreviews]

Summary: When Hat Kid’s collection of magical time pieces ends up strewn across a planet full of deplorable begins, she’ll set out of a quest to take back these powerful pieces before they fall into the wrong hands in a 3D platforming adventure.

Overall: A Hat in Time is a fantastic love letter to the 3D Platformers of old. It’s full of fresh ideas and unlike many other attempts to bring back the genre this year, it knows what worked and what didn’t about the genre and accounted for it. At $30 it’s the best 3D platformer on the PS4 and Xbox One(Banjo Kazooie excluded) and is totally worth the price tag.

*Like with Yooka Laylee, I was a Kick Starter backer of the project backing at the $70 tier and spending an extra $20 to get a PS4 code. 

Controls: While inspired by classics like Banjo Kazooie and Super Mario 64, Hat Kid’s moveset is not particular inspired by either. Hat Kid has no triple jump, but she can do a second jump while in the air as well as a dive. Unlike either the bear, the bird, or the former plumber, Hat Kid will run up a wall when she hits one while not diving and in the air. This allows for some interesting platforming. Instead of always jumping straight across platforms occasionally you’ll need to drop under a barricade, dive and then run up the wall instead.

Hat kid can dive at foes while airborne with a homing attack, but she’ll also get a melee attack early on. Hat kid’s main quirk is her collection of unlockable hats. I don’t want to spoil them all as they’re a lot of fun, but her starting hat will show you your objective when you press L2 or its equivalent on your platform of choice. The first two hats you’ll unlock all for faster movement and a throw able explosive. Switching between hats is rather funny as a gimmick in a world post Odyssey, but this gimmick was planned well in advance of Mario’s return to open world adventures.

Hub: Hat Kid’s ship is a nice hub. It feels like a functional place and it’s just large enough to hold the games 4 chapters and the final showdown. The biggest issue for me is a nitpick, but its shape from the outside is pretty ugly. It isn’t seen from the outside outside of cut scenes, but when it is it’s not a particularly flattering design. Inside is what counts though and while not massive and as memorable as the classics, small and simple works a lot better than Mario’s lack thereof and Yooka Laylee’s mess.

Time Rifts/Customization/Relics: These next three things all are pretty linked. Time Rifts are A Hat in Time’s equivalent to Super Mario Sunshine’s Bonus stages. Hell they even have similar rotating blocks with pegs coming out. You are never stripped of powers when entering these, but four of these are extra special. Before I touch on those we need to cover the Relics. Hidden throughout the game are presents holding Relics and after all of those are collected they hold Rift coins, but we’ll get back to those. These Relics can be combined on platforms in the proper order to not only decorate the Hub, but they’ll also unlock an extra Rift for each chapter.

These Rifts are based around the chapters theme and are much longer. In these as opposed to just reaching the end of the rift, you’ll need to collect special tickets in each area and enough special pons to open the next area as you make your way to the end. These help break up the game as they are the few moments where the game can ignore how a challenge fits into the chapter’s world design and go nuts.

Back to those coins. When you complete a rift or spend three of those coins you get new to spin for new color schemes for Hat kid’s outfit or different appearances for the game’s hats. You get 3 spins each time but you can only take one things. Basically you spin, take what you got or spin again and give up that item unless you roll it again. I have no idea if you can get every customization option in the game, but you can’t spend money to get more coins so I’m fine with this system. I wish it was just the different hats though. I preferred those to the color scheme changes.

Mafia Town: Way back in the day A Hat in Time was sold to me on just this chapter and the promise of a return of 3D Platforming. Mafia Town is the first of four chapters in the game, and it’s incredible how it feels lived in and is still fun to explore. As part of the games narrative you are locked to this chapter for its first four acts before you can head out and explore the other chapters. The fourth act here really set’s the story in motion and is home to the game’s first real boss fight. Despite the game being a 3D platformer, this boss is fought in 2D and I’m not sure what to think about it. It’s a strange fight fitting of the Mafia’s strange vibe, but I’m not a fan of being locked to a 2D plane for just this segment. Maybe if it was used prior it would work better, but as is it’s an okay fight.

The chapter itself is a seas side town built around a volcano shaped geyser that keeps the Mafia bosses club floating high in the sky. Due to the slope of the geyser’s sides, the town has multiple levels of height you’ll be running between as you explore. Oh and the town is run and lived in solely by the Mafia who outside their leader all look the same. The chapter is super sparse on foes. The Mafia won’t attack unless provoked or tied into the act itself. Outside that you’re pretty safe outside fall damage and the strange sleepy raccoons. If this chapter has one issue it’s that due to the vertical nature of the town I never really got a lay of the land. This is an issue for most of the chapters, but unlike others, this one has a single distinct theme throughout so I can’t say I’m in this part of the map and over there is that part of the map very easily.

Dead Bird Studios: Somehow the chapter that feels the least inspired by classic 3D Platformers is my favorite. Dead Bird Studios is home to stealth segments, timed segments, and a conga line of enemies that forces you to keep moving and not double back too quickly. Pretty much all of these are aspects of Super Mario Galaxy which makes this whole thing even funnier since this chapter is set on the moon, despite never being seen. What makes this chapter so great is that every one of these elements is one and done all leading up to what is now one of my favorite boss fights ever. It is perfectly built to and I absolutely refuse to spoil, but it’s safe to say the developers of A Hat in Time are super cynical of the Cinematic Studio System.

Dead Bird Studios starts with Hat kids trying to steal back her Time pieces from the competing directors who plan to use them as props for their upcoming motion pictures. When she is caught she is instead offered to star in the films of two competing directors. From there each act is a movie with its own gimmick. All of these are super linear, but what makes it work is that none of them play the same and none of these gimmicks leave this chapter. All of these fun things are one and done so they never get old.

Subcon Forest: Of all of the chapters, Subcon Forest is the most generic, but how it handles the basic theme of spooky level is done really well. As the first act begins you are quickly forced to make a deal with the Snatcher, a spooky spirit. In exchange for your soul he’ll let you explore his woods as long as you complete tasks for him. While most spooky levels dance around the morbid nature of things, this chapter doesn’t shy away from the darker concepts at play. Magical nooses hang in the woods. The spirts in the woods want to die. It’s a strange setting.

The design of the forest itself is split into distinct areas. Each is key for at least one of the acts, but all of them can be reached from anyone act, except for the boss fight area which is only reachable when needed. This allows for each act to feel distinct. The most annoying part of the chapter is trying to find your way around. While everything is distinct I still never got a sense of which area was next to what other area outside a super select few. Luckily the game will start you facing the right direction and from there the path is pretty obvious. Good luck finding those rifts through.

The star of the show here is the Snatcher. He’s you pretty basic deal making devil but he’s played for laughs in such a way that while he would be terrifying to actually meet in reality, in this games setting he’s silly. He’s always smiling and he’s built like an inflatable tube man. Sadly his boss fight sucks. Because of how it’s built when you die it takes a long time to get back to the point in which you can actually damage him. It also doesn’t help that his attacks are all pretty random and similar enough that knowing how to dodge them doesn’t help much since where things will land is hard to pin down. Also no health was dispensed the whole fight. Snatcher takes the least hits of all the bosses, but he’s the least balanced of these bosses regardless. I’d rather have a lengthy but forgiving fight than a short and insane one.

Alpine Skyline: You know who up until now each chapter was divided into acts? Throw that out the window. This last level is entirely free roam. Hold your goats, it’s not a giant open mountain. The map is made up of various mountain peaks that you’ll zip line between. It’s pretty linear in nature, but you’ll get to choose which of the four acts you’ll tackle first. The Finale sadly can’t be redone due to how it twists the map, but it’s not particularly strong so no huge loss. The acts here are super fun. Twilight Bell and The Windmill are awesome platforming challenges that put your use of hats and platforming to the test. It’s puzzle platforming at its finest.

I’m honestly not sure what else I can say about the penultimate chapter. There is no boss fight and it’s where you obtain the game’s final and arguably game breaking hat. The setting itself is pretty underused and is pretty much just fluff to connect the four harder acts together but those acts are so good it all works out in the end.

Time’s End: The game ends with a final Bowser Castle style level leading into a final boss battle against Mustache girl who after learning that you wouldn’t use the Time Pieces to stop the bad guys decided to use the time pieces to become the judge of who is and isn’t bad. The final battle has Hat kid getting aided by all of the games baddies who just want things to go back to the way they were. It’s a fun final battle that was made super easy by the inclusion of the game’s final hat. I appreciate the interstitial cut scenes that occur throughout that remind me of the good old Paper Mario games.

The course itself is pretty challenging. I’d be lying if I said I got through it unscathed. The whole evil castle above lava is pretty generic, but as a love letter to the 3D platformers of old it’s fine. I think creating some sort of crazy place outside of time would have fit the theme of the game more, but what matters in the end is what’s inside, and what is inside the castle is good.

Story: I mean I pretty much covered the story back there. Hat kid’s time pieces get scattered on this planet. She lands in Mafia town and Mustache girl helps her out until she learns about the power of the pieces and that Hat kid doesn’t want to use the power to stop bad guys. From here you just sort of play the game until you get enough time pieces and Mustache girl comes and steals them triggering the unlocking of the final battle where the above events transpire. It’s a sappy story about power corrupting and that messing with time is bad. It’s a lot more effort than I expected out of this and it left me with a smile on my face.

[atrayo]

Jewels of Truth Statements and Favorite Quotes of the Month

Hello All, This segment I've missed in the last couple of months as many of you now realize my posting schedule has taken a hit with consistency. Being a caregiver to my mother experiencing dementia is no walk in the park and wears one down with emotional exhaustion. Although I have plenty of time it is Will Power I am struggling with at present. However, beyond this gloom, I have all of you and my faith in God with the Angels. My calling as a simple herald doing clairvoyant automatic writing now for 22 years time. With predominantly inclusive universal compassionate wisdom and my other love of channeling futuristic solutions based conceptual designs. As inventions and business models mostly for generating goodwill through commerce. The past few entries in this segment I've introduced my very recent channeled material versus my older never published content of angelic wisdom. Today's trio of "Jewels of Truth" statements are on the topics of Heaven on Earth, Covenants, and 72 Virgins. The latter two get dicey in tone the not so uplifting but more like a reprimand for those who mistreat a faith as deceivers and wrongdoers. The Angels I channel do not mince words for the Abrahamic Family of Faiths. So without a further adieu may you find them intriguing as well as reflective of your spiritual tradition whatever it may be in blessed origin. Heaven on Earth: 2542) Each time we declare Heaven on Earth a pause of eternity occurs. A remembrance of greatness overcomes the faithful to remain silent in the Face of God the Creator Almighty beaming upon them. Since Heaven on Earth isn't a place at all but the embraced experience of God's Perfection upon the Earth. The sublime elegantly expressed in so many words called to enter into the Supreme Union of Grace with those loving God deepest with compassion for all. Here we find ourselves in the stillness between breaths always allowing for wonder to take hold of us magically. What was once forbidden soon becomes engaged by consent to overtake the world for all but a silent few present eternally in the moment. Such moments pause time which stirs eternity into sheer brilliant stillness. Much like a time machine causing a rift into deep space where all moments of the eternal "Now" freeze up. A stasis field of immense perfected Glory erupts out in praise to God Almighty! These are the hallmarks of Heaven on Earth in the beginning of such a miraculous event. Angelic Heralds of great renown carry the Word of God with revelations for all its recipients on Earth. A throng of Angels almost Immediately like an entourage soon follow to represent the totality of Heaven. In its beautiful array like a groom and bride on their beloved wedding day. Here we stand on the firmament of the Earth in awe of such a display before our simple hearts and minds. And yet our faith has understood all along that the Glory of God behaves greatly without restrictions. However, to witness it in such personal grandeur allows for deep reflection in time to be had. Where one reality of purity overtakes another of a mundane nature in nanoseconds is all we need in holy truth. To sweep away the tragedies of the world like if it were mere dust bunnies in cleansing a home. Such simplicity and immense power are available to all who are righteous by faith in the Lord God. In our thanksgiving to the Creator, we unleash potential miracles to be felt instantly. Until one day we become a verifiable miracle ourselves as Heaven on Earth. Amen.   ---Ivan Pozo-Illas / Atrayo. Covenants:

2544) Alas there must come a delicate understanding that the faithful of Islam must not be toyed with by charlatans! Jihadists have sullied their spirits by spilling the blood not of infidels but of their brothers and sisters as Children of God. Their spirits once tame have become tormented by filth using deception to the point of mangling the Holy Quran against grace. Slaughtering the innocent for the power of the world they shall lose both the world and their very souls in this mired transaction. A great vile evil sacrifice that reveals not the truth but a warped demonic nature yet again upon the world. Lip service shall condemn thee, dear brothers and sisters, as once zealots now belittled and dismissed as charlatans instead. You have sacrificed the Word of Allah and have become undone by consequence of your combined actions. Anywho shall thwart the Perfect Will of God by their lust for dominion over the Earth will be consumed like the ashes of the hellish pits. None is untouchable lest they believe they can atone by fierce combat alone only to devolve into not just animals but daemons reborn. Lo the patience of the Lord God may be Great and Life-Affirming but it must be respected! Your moment under the sun as Jihadists as the heretics of Islam will come to an end shortly. You will be usurped and caught up by the fierce great wind of the Arch Angel Michael plunging his spear into your resolve to fight. All who remain will be turned into table scraps for the dogs of hell to be consumed like chickens. Your promises have failed you for you have defiled the divinity of the Will of God and replaced it with the rotting Will of Mankind instead. Turn away from the shame you have wrought and inflicted upon the world! Destroyers of the Faith of Islam for the Great Prophet Mohammad is enraged at your reckless perversion he fought to heal and vindicate so long ago! Now to the Children of Judea all the Patriarchs as our forefathers are beside themselves in heartache. For the nation is prospered indeed however at the cost of its borders creating enemies from governing like imbeciles. To dash the hope of fellow Semites for Freedom and Dignity leaves you perpetually their prisoner by happenstance. Yield from fear to the point of victimizing the Arabs. For the Great Land of Israel does not cower behind walls for Jericho will come once more. Lastly, to the children of children of the beloved Prophet and Savior for countless more of Jesus the Christ. As he lay on the Cross at Calvary only by the Mercy of God's Immaculate nature was his prayer of forgiveness was granted to all regardless of faith in the world. In the good name of your Shepard in Heaven that Christ in you be preserved for all time. Do not use the Will of God as a doctrine of exceptionalism only to badger the innocent and the foreigner into submission. You are no better as the heathen that has forsaken their calling only to turn around and spit in the Face of God. The winds of change shall take your mantle and deliver it to another sovereign as better suitors indeed. The fields of plenty will dry up and leave many with empty bellies until the rulers cover not their asses but save the dignity of the commoner instead. The covenants of the Abrahamic Family of Faiths isn't Immune from pestilence. For they have sowed the seeds of misery versus sowing the best God has offered them abundantly. Take note the religions to take their place in the world repeat not their folly for their time is nigh as yours will be upon another dozen epochs of humanity. Amen.   ---Ivan Pozo-Illas / Atrayo. 72 Virgins:

2545) To come so far in a remarkable faith only to be set aback by self-serving deceivers is an injustice upon the innocent. For those in Islam that profess one thing with their lips and yet do the direct opposite with their actions. Reveals not the Glory of God but the hypocrites of men instead. When the inducement of the 72 Virgins perverts the course of young men and woman of Islam by the devils of Jihad. The faith is raped by the wrongdoing of a few in the Name of Allah the Greatest. None shall be the wiser so they think but God's patience is sublime but it isn't stupid! To deceive the young with lust reveals your hatred for the world instead. Your pain comes from power struggles from within the faith making an enemy of your brother's brother from across the globe. It is by far easier to slaughter one's kinfolk than the foreigner thousands of miles away. So you have also slaughtered the innocent not by accident but on purpose and the faithful of Islam as well for small gains in power indeed. All Jihadists that say they speak the Will of God but yet trample it under their feet have lied to each other in the guise of conquerors. Your destruction shall be your inheritance upon the afterlife there will not be a fanfare of your arrival much less with 72 Angelic Virgins. The 72 Virgins is that of a retinue as a choir of Angels that teach, heal, and nurture each soul further still into Paradise as attendants. To be seated at the right hand of God as Holy Ghosts upon the endless feast of the Immaculate Graces of God Almighty Forever! There was never any sort of orgy as lustful desires of eroticism as hedonistic practices to be found. That is a deception as bold-faced liars to seduce the young so as to sacrifice their destiny by the fates of reincarnated criminals. These tricksters are the daemons of old reborn with fresh faces acting as Jihadists of ill repute. To circumvent the Glory of God through the Covenant of Islam anointed by Mohammad Peace Is Upon Him by the Grace of Allah. These charlatans are undoing the ages past of prosperity of this faith in mere decades. Feeble as it may be the efforts of Jihadists have awoken the ire of God upon the Earth and Judgment will be swift as to their punishment. The rest of humanity as the Earth will heal and restore their dignity by the enlightenment of God in a generations time henceforth. A Golden Era of Peace and Prosperity will be cultivated in the fields of plenty once more. Hallejuhah! ---Ivan Pozo-Illas / Atrayo. =======================================

Patience is not just the ability to wait, It's how we behave while we're waiting. ---Joyce Meyer.

Success is the ability to go from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm. ---Winston Churchill.

Love is not a feeling; it is a great power an intelligence to which we are all heir and have been forever called. ---Anne Hillman. Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier. ---U.S. General Colin Powell. The mystic is not a special human being, every human being is a special kind of mystic.  ---Brother David Steindl-Rast. We lose touch with our wingspan when we hunch. ---Dr. Martin Shaw. In a world that lives like a fist, mercy is no more than walking with your hands open. ---Mark Nepo. Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.  ---John Wooden. Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established. ---Proverbs 16:3 The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don't wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope. ---Barack Obama U.S. President. You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith, and hope.  ---Thomas Merton. A harmonized mind produces harmony in this world of seeming discord. ---Paramahansa Yogananda. I swear I will not dishonour my soul with hatred, but offer myself humbly as a guardian of nature, as a healer of misery, as a messenger of wonder, as an architect of peace. ---Diane Ackerman.

Ivan "Atrayo" Pozo-Illas, has devoted 22 years of his life to the pursuit of clairvoyant automatic writing channeling the Angelic host. Ivan is the author of the spiritual wisdom series of "Jewels of Truth" consisting of 3 volumes published to date. He also channels inspired conceptual designs that are multifaceted for the next society to come that are solutions based as a form of dharmic service. Numerous examples of his work are available at "Atrayo's Oracle" blog site of 12 years plus online. Your welcome to visit his website "Jewelsoftruth.us" for further information or to contact Atrayo directly.

[artsyramblingroses]

The Greengage Summer: Review (and Movie Rant)

The Greengage Summer by Rumer Godden was a book that I first read way back in late 2013, and has easily become one of my favorites.

The Synopsis:

 The book is about Cecil, second oldest child of her family and her siblings, Joss, the eldest, Hester, the third child, Will, (or Willmouse as he is called) and Vicky, the two youngest. When their mom falls ill in France, the five siblings are stranded at a hotel and the book details all the strange and wonderful events that happen, their interactions with the staff and a gentleman who assumes guardianship of them while their mother is recovering. (There will be minor spoilers, particularly in the movie section, but nothing is here that will spoil major plot points)

However

 If you aren’t an avid French speaker and don’t have this on a device that can translate, here’s a heads up: There are some segments purely in french that sometimes are or aren’t translated by Cecil. Mostly dialogue between French characters, which I get since Cecil begins with a minor knowledge of the language, but I know it can be annoying to some after a while. So if that sounds like it would bother you but you are interested in the story synopsis, maybe pick up a digital version so you can have a translator easily available. 

The Book ( and Characters): 

The story is very easy to read, although there are a lot of plot points carefully woven into the prose, which can easily fly over your head and surprise you later if you aren’t paying too much attention. But I love the prose, the writing feels authentic, and has the mindset of a preteen girl in a much simpler (but no less dramatic) era.

Cecil is a likable protagonist. A 13 year old girl who is initially struggling with Joss’ transition into adulthood, and her own subsequent abandonment with her younger siblings. She spent so long being Joss’ shadow that she never started developing her own personality until after the summer. I honestly wish that this book had a sequel, I’d like to know what an older Cecil had gotten up to and how different she became.

Joss is a doozy. She starts off selfish, and is rude to anyone she pleases, including her mom. She and Cecil, who starts off by shadowing Joss, insults their mother and their things, harasses Hester and is rude to their younger siblings and genuinely gives me reason to hate Joss. Cecil at least has the excuse that she’s trying to be on par with Joss again, as she feels abandoned now that Joss has hit the later stages of puberty, and she does make up for her bad behavior later in the book, but Joss is the oldest and has to set an example for the others and should know better. She’s the reason why everything happens. But she does have her moments of awesome, like when she took charge of her siblings well being when they were getting the hotel stuff sorted out, and crashed a party in a way that would prevent her from getting kicked out, which shows that she’s very perceptive and clever. But her dickish moments outweigh her good ones and turn me off from Joss overall.

Hester was both very wise and fairly childish too. She shadows Cecil, like she did with Joss, but Cecil’s a better role model to Hester and the two had some good moments together without one having to sacrifice her individuality. Hester was the one who, along with Cecil would start to know when things weren’t right. Will acts like a grown up at times, doing his work ( he likes fashion and works on designs for two dolls to model ) outdoors and taking walks at night, and just generally being independent for such a small child. He was pretty cute to read about. Vicky is a cheerful little girl who pretty much follows the cook around for most of the story and gets to sample everything. 

The characters really do make the story and are by far the strongest parts. The story is a pretty good one too, sort of a surprise mystery novel that starts off as a childhood adventure story. As the revelation about one of the characters and their true nature is pretty shocking the first time around. We get a good amount of hints sprinkled in, but not too many that one could easily guess what the end is too soon. Although, I will say that one of the things the book has against it is that the ending is rather abrupt. An epilogue would have made it perfect even if it was just a page long. But all it did was leave an aching void in my heart for a sequel that I know will never come...

Regardless, I’d check it out. Its a good summer read.

The Movie:

As a heads up, I have done my research on imdb and www.criticsatlarge.ca, which summarized the movie rather well and have found that Rumer Godden herself wrote the screenplay, however my feelings still are unchanged. Again, there will be minor spoilers for the book.

The primary difference is that JOSS the main character and CECIL has been removed entirely, the second is that they turn this into a whirlwind romance story between Joss and the aforementioned gentleman, Eliot.

Lets start with the first change.

By removing Cecil and her perspective, you lose a TON of meat that the story and the character has. This is a coming of age story centered around Cecil, written by Cecil when she most likely is older and is reminiscing about the past. Removing her is like making the first Harry Potter movie revolve around Hedwig and her backstory. Not that J.K Rowling couldn’t make a story about an owl good, its not what the focus should be on.

 I’m also a bit sore because, we don’t often get characters like Cecil, who are uncomfortably wedged in that cocoon-like stage of adolescence where you’re not cute anymore, but not post pubescent attractive either, and who feel like they are less attractive compared to their siblings. There’s one great line that comes from Eliot which completely changed my perspective on my looks (as I am the Cecil in my family) and it was a powerful moment for me. If you feel like the odd one out in your family, I think Cecil will resonate with you and would have resonated with a theatrical audience.

And now for the second change and why I dislike it. In the book, Eliot is attracted to Joss, and Joss is portrayed as being dismissive and uncomfortable by his attempts to flirt with her. Even when she warms up to him for a while, she still has a rift between them, and it only widens as the book goes along. The ending of the movie (Spoilers)

 plays out with Eliot winsomely rescuing Joss from an attacker which makes her confess her love. It plays out very differently in the book, but the point is, this really isn’t a love story and should never have been made into one.

Regardless, if my summary, character discussion and ranting amused you, then maybe I’ll do more reviews of things I’ve watched or read in addition to my art, as it was nice to talk about this. I even found another book of Ms. Godden’s in my library, and while the lack of first person was awkward at first, its not bad.