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fuckyeahjamieandclaire · 7 years ago

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It turns out love can conquer crow’s feet. Executive producer Maril Davis on the period drama’s decision to let love, not age lines, drive Claire and Jamie’s reunion arc despite a 20-year time jump.

There’s always been plenty to envy about Claire and Jamie, the star-crossed couple whose centuries-spanning romance propels the period drama Outlander. They’re capable, brave, and beautiful, blessed by an unbreakable bond, strong convictions, and even stronger sex drives. Since the series’ first season, their ear-pleasing accents, smoldering, soul-searching looks, telegenic love-making, and repeated rescues of each other’s lives have set a high standard, relationship-wise. But recent episodes of Outlander have introduced us to yet another quality we wish we had in common with Claire and Jamie: They’re almost immune to aging.

By their third seasons, many TV series settle into a rut—a familiar and welcome one, in the case of some comfort TV, but less so for hour-long dramas with fantasy elements, which traffic in twists and upheaval. But disrupting the status quo wasn’t a struggle for Outlander, an adaptation of Diana Gabaldon’s book series, which comprises eight novels (with a ninth on the way) and assorted shorter works. Through 37 episodes, the Starz series’ story is still closer to takeoff than landing, working through the third book in the sequence, 1993’s Voyager.

The events of Voyager dictated an unorthodox interlude for a program that’s centered on the interplay (and intercourse) between two charismatic and chemistry-laden leads: an extended separation and a mutual 20-year time jump. At the end of Season 2, the pregnant Claire (a 20th-century English nurse who in the first season accidentally slips into the past through, um, a mystical stone) and Jamie (her 18th-century, red-haired highlander lover) are forced to break up by the impending Battle of Culloden, at which Jamie, a Jacobite rebel, expects to be (and nearly is) killed.

To protect their soon-to-be-born daughter Brianna, Claire (played by Caitriona Balfe) returns to the 1940s. Believing that Jamie (played by Sam Heughan) did die, she does her best to move on, relocating to Boston, raising Brianna, becoming a doctor, and growing apart from her first husband, Frank, who’s caring and attentive but lacks Jamie’s highland lilt, kilt collection, and Men’s Health cover physique. Jamie, meanwhile, survives battle, torture, and imprisonment (nothing new for him), grows and shaves a big beard, fathers a son, pivots to printing and smuggling, and gets married again out of loneliness, all while carrying an eternal torch for Claire. Midway through the third season, after almost five episodes apart, they reunite in the mid-1760s, two decades older but no less in love—and, curiously, looking a lot like they did the last time they were together.

“I wanted to look—well, the same as when you last saw me,” Claire says with some trepidation during their first conversation, admitting that she’s dyed away the single gray streak that had appeared in her hair in earlier, Boston-centric scenes. Mission accomplished, Claire. Neither member of Outlander’s leading duo looks any worse for wear after 20 years of imprisonment, parenthood, and pining for lost love.

For Outlander’s creators, the time jump presented a production dilemma, not because of the story (which Gabaldon had already plotted out) or setting (most viewers aren’t well-versed in the intricacies of 1740s vs. 1760s style), but because of the actors’ appearances. In real life, a two-decade difference isn’t invisible, no matter how much St. Ives Oatmeal and Shea Butter Lotion you lather on because of Balfe.

Heughan, 37, and Balfe, 38, were both 34 when the series premiere aired in 2014, but their characters were considerably younger. “Jamie’s kind of early 20s, Claire is late 20s when it starts,” Outlander executive producer Maril Davis says by phone. Three years passed between Claire’s first time jump back to 1743 and the Battle of Culloden, which, Davis says, would put both of them in their “mid- to later-40s after the [20-year] time jump.” Although the creators talked about shortening the story’s time jump to reduce the need to alter the actors’ appearance, they found that they couldn’t do it without omitting too many plot points from the characters’ time apart.

Aware that the time jump was looming, the producers started doing screen tests last season with Balfe and Heughan, in consultation with head of hair and makeup Annie McEwan, who had worked on Season 4 of Game of Thrones before joining the Outlander crew. After experimenting with various looks, the creative team decided, essentially, that both Balfe and Heughan were too hot to convincingly tamper with by obscuring their actual features. “We have two actors who happen to be incredibly beautiful people,” Davis says. “It is hard to make them look bad, damn them.” Originally, the pair’s first post-reunion sex scene featured a reference to stretch marks, but the writers lost that line from the script, Davis says, when the makeup crew informed them that stretch marks “don't read very well on camera.”

Even apart from the specific challenge of wrinkling, graying, and thickening two age-resistant actors, the transition from 20s to 40s is a particularly tough one. “It's hard to make young people look incrementally older,” Davis says. “It's obviously a little easier—and I put ‘easier’ in quotes—if you're aging someone up from like 30 to 80. … With two actors who look so young anyways in their real life, we realized that we couldn't do major jumps without it looking fake, and also taking a lot of extra time in hair and makeup, as well as using a lot of extra prosthetics.”

For Davis, a veteran of more explicitly sci-fi (and more makeup- and prosthetic-reliant) productions such as Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica, Outlander’s understated approach to the aging process didn’t come intuitively. “There were some times that I said to our hair and makeup team, ‘Can we go farther? Because you can't read some of these lines that you're painting on camera,’” Davis says. “And they were horrified. They were like, ‘Are you kidding? Oh my god, we can't go any farther.’ It's interesting, because you also have to take the advice of people that have been in the business doing the hair and makeup a long time, knowing that they can only go so far until they feel uncomfortable because it doesn't look real anymore.”

In addition to the aging uncanny valley, there’s the time cost to the talent and crew to consider. A heavier hand on the cosmetic side—on top of the prosthetic flogging scars already applied to Heughan’s back in shirtless scenes for much of the series’ run—would mean much more time in makeup chairs, staring blankly into mirrors as fake years and real hours add up. Though according to Davis, Balfe and Heughan, who were frequently consulted, never expressed any reservations about hiding their youth under veneers of age. “They're both very game for whatever we want to do, and so this isn't a vanity thing,” she says. “Neither of them, I don't think, at any point has ever said, ‘I have to look good, so don't make me look too old.’”

This was a weighty decision, because the ramifications for the series could extend far into the future. Unlike some shows or movies that might insert a brief flash-forward in a single scene or episode, Outlander is committed to the time jump for the long term. Whatever aging the crew applied to Balfe and Heughan now would sentence them to the same look for years to come on a series that may still be relatively early in its run (which already has been renewed for a fourth season). That’s not only a nuisance, but potentially an acting inhibitor, as Davis says Heughan discovered while wearing his wild beard in the third season’s second episode. “If you have something on your face like that, sometimes it's a little harder to talk, you're more aware of it, it takes you out,” Davis says. “So all of these things are factors, and same with if we were getting into heavy prosthetics to make actors appear much older than they are.”

The end result of all the discussion and screen tests is a difference so subtle that you have to squint to see it—just like the new, older Jamie has to squint to see small text without wearing his reading glasses. Specs aside, he looks almost unchanged. “With Sam, we've kind of weathered him, adding more shading to his face,” Davis says. “We've got some lines that the hair and makeup department have put in themselves, and then greying at the temples for him, as well as with Caitriona. We realized because her skin is also so young that we'd have to sell a lot of it with the gray in her hair.” Of course, even that gray is gone now, at least temporarily, although Davis says its absence stems from an impulse to portray Claire’s humanizing insecurity, rather than a need to preserve the stars’ romance-novel looks (which she acknowledges are part of the show’s appeal). “So much of our talk about appearance is motivated from a character standpoint,” she says. “I don't think we ever go, ‘Oh my god, they have to look amazing because this show is trying to sell a fantasy element.’” But who’s to say that the mystical stones don’t have anti-aging effects?

In navigating the time jump, the producers’ overriding desire was to avoid distracting the audience by going overboard on aging. “You don't want to be taken out of the moment, sitting back watching at home,” Davis says. At times, though, the lack of aging is its own sort of distraction. My wife and I giggled through one supposed-to-be-tender scene as the script tried to sell us on these nearly identical-looking 30-something specimens as people pushing 50. “I don’t look like an old man?” Jamie asks self-consciously, shortly before exposing his still-chiseled chest. And Claire, after completely disrobing to reveal her youthful frame, tells an admiring Jamie, "You must really be losing your eyesight." Nobody’s buying it, guys.

The aging-related dialogue is less jarring when it alludes to the absurdity of the situation, as when Claire marvels to Jamie, “Most men in their 40s have started to go soft around the middle. You haven't a spare ounce on you,” or when she greets the family lawyer by exclaiming, “You look exactly the same!” (No Battlestar fat suits here.) In other scenes, though, the actors convincingly convey the passage of time through emotion, even though they both remain outwardly radiant. “We had so many discussions with Caitriona and Sam about this internal aging, because some of it, you are trying to sell this gravitas of 20 years of loss through their acting, which I think they do so well,” Davis says.

The best asset Outlander has in hand-waving its characters’ immutability is an audience that’s willing to suspend disbelief. “Let's be honest, we could've kept these two apart for a week and it would've seemed like an eternity,” Davis says. “I think for the fans it probably seemed like 100 years—for us as well. So I don't think we needed to add to that at all.”And if—like a lot of the Outlander faithful—you’re the sentimental type who doesn’t mind some soapiness, you’ll accept that love can conquer crow’s feet. “I think in a weird way, that 20 years just kind of faded away when they saw each other again,” Davis says. “In some ways, it was like so much time had passed, and in other ways it was like no time had passed at all because that love had never died.”

With the reunion episode’s semi-awkward aging exchanges behind it, Outlander soon stops dwelling on appearances: The following week, Jamie fireman’s carries a man from a burning building, and the week after that, not-so-newlyweds Claire and Jamie tear off their clothes and writhe around on the floor. Most Outlander watchers wouldn’t have it any other way.

Judging by the books (spoilers!), there’s still a chance that we’ll see an actually old-looking Claire and Jamie in future seasons. “If we're lucky enough to do all the books, they're in their 60s in the current books,” Davis says. “So we do want to also have somewhere to go, and we do need to use, as a base, our two actors, who are very young, and so we want to be with them on this journey.”

But based on this season, don’t be surprised if the 60-something couple doesn’t look a day over 45. “Time doesn’t matter, Sassenach,” Jamie says in Season 3’s sixth episode, using his pet name for Claire. “You will always be beautiful to me.” And also, most likely, to everyone watching at home.

#outlander #outlander starz #maril davis #caitriona balfe #sam heughan #jamie x claire #tv news #people: caitriona balfe #people: sam heughan #A. MALCOLM #3x06 #tv: s3 #queue

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on-the-wings-of-hope-prose-en · 4 years ago

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Design 2.0

Dear eternal comrade Maker!

A certain representative of a long-suffering planet from the Milky Way galaxy with both simple and unobvious name “Earth” is asking you to conduct a redesign of our mortal receptacles of the eternal spirit and to perform several corrections.

You, as the Son of Man, who passed personally his perilous earthly journey as a member of our civilization, certainly know, what primary design flaws, committed by your Angels, these above-mentioned receptacles along with their spiritualizers still possess. And if the aspect of free human will lies outside the competence of these Angelic Bioengineers, the question of developing and changing bodily forms is under their direct creative control.

Respected Maker! I sincerely want to draw your attention to the following number of shortcomings inherent in the entire product line of these creations:

1. Primates-like behavior. Having physically descended from the apes, humans somehow surprisingly and brazenly preserved their inherent habits such as mischief, shouting, thievery, silliness, and other series of intellectual imperfections, with which they still flaunt to each other! There can be no reasonable explanation for this phenomenon – it’s quite obvious that they put themselves in the category of sapient ones far too early. Perhaps, bird-people would be a more appropriate solution, allowing with one or two strokes to solve a lot of transport problems and more efficiently use space in the lower levels of the planet’s atmosphere? In extreme cases, I hereby ask you to consider the option of cat-people – their innate cleanliness and the presence of fur cover would solve the problem of settling the territories of the far North without the necessary melting of glaciers and flooding of the land.

2. Preservation. The protein base chosen by your engineers is significantly inferior in terms of toughness to some materials used in creating the bodily forms of representatives of different civilizations. Is it any wonder that earthlings are trying to turn themselves into cyborgs, make all sorts of praises to silicon processors, and have already created a whole valley with the same name? You certainly know that they think of immortality only as of the unlimited duration of the existence of their external forms, and that is why they are trying to extend the duration of their existence through cybernetics? And how many exterminations of these bodily forms, including mass ones, have been made over the past centuries, it’s not for me to tell you. Perhaps, silicon-based bodies would be the golden mean between their endless desire for mutual and self-destruction, and their wish for a longer bodily life?

3. Recovery. The questionable toughness of our bodies is supplemented by non-obvious and limited mechanisms of recovery processes. Even lizards can grow themselves a new tail, why are we any way different? The tail is, most certainly, is still a remnant, but the skill of restoring limbs would help many of us to literally “get back on their feet”. All in all, even new teeth can grow in place of former baby ones. Given the cost of dental prosthetics, this opportunity would be truly priceless!

4. Consumption. The huge disparity between the consumption of the rich and the poor risks plunging our world into a new series of social disasters and civil wars. Could you please compensate for the process of hyper-consumption with bio-programs of depression and searching for the meaning of life, while simultaneously activating the processes of self-healing in the bodies of the humiliated and destitute people? All in all, we must finally understand that money doesn’t bring joy and happiness!

5. Secretion. This is truly something inconceivable! I, most certainly, clearly understand that we have already polluted the entire Earth to upper limits with our wastes, but why do you keep constantly provoking us to keep doing this nonsense with our bodily mechanics? And I am not even talking about the sad fact that the most advanced scientific geniuses have still not discovered a way to eat at night and not getting fat! Maybe we should take some interesting ideas from the field of flora – say, photosynthesis? To reach for the light – is it not a commendable aspiration even in its bodily expression? As a last resort, I ask you to reduce the food standards required for life support, because the amount of “balloon people” has already exceeded all the limits allowed by the body’s aesthetics!

6. Reproduction. Despite some pleasant aspect of the physical process itself, which is certainly not as delightful as spiritual enlightenment and ecstasy, the very process of finding suitable couples, carrying children, and subsequent childbirth is by no means short and painless. It is unlikely that you planned to punish the entire female race for the sins of a certain ancient Eve, so I would venture to offer that you reduce the time required for the bearing of children, as well as the pain of the childbirth process while increasing the speed of their self-evolution. And if you desire to change the process of reproduction at least for a while so that unworthy people cannot have children – they will become one of the greatest values of any society, as you wanted to be!

7. Finalization. As the saying goes, all our bodies return “to the ashes as they were”. Unfortunately, the very process of this return is fraught with a lot of trouble and suffering for those close to the ones who are returning to you. In some poor countries and cultural traditions, we are not even talking about ashes – dead bodies can be simply “thrown overboard” to the delight of vultures or fish. I am certain that you will agree that this is, to put it mildly, not the best way to honor the memory of a departed soul. How much more interesting it would be if, on the day of departure, our body began to gradually disappear into thin air, clearly symbolizing the illusory basis of purely materialistic views! Neighbors would always have time to say goodbye to the departing person and would not need to conduct all these enchanting fiery procedures, and the departure itself would leave behind a sweet aftertaste with notes of light sadness and the promise of a second coming. And as an additional free bonus – people would stop being afraid of ghosts! Please, consider this option, all right?

P.S. Due to emerging dangerous trends of degradation of human minds and bodies back to the level of animals, I kindly ask you to protect the intelligent representatives of our world from their rapidly becoming feral neighbors.

Everything is in your hands! Don’t ever give up, please!

29.11.2020

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wellmeaningshutin · 7 years ago

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Short Story #119: Buddy.

Written: 6/7/2017 Nature Week

Remember the outside world, remember how beautiful it was, how great life used to be? No, you probably don’t. I have no idea if you can see any of this, if you can even hear me, you’re just a potted fern, but you’re the only thing to keep me company in this hole, this shelter, so you’ll have to do. Aw, don’t take that the wrong way, I’m not trying to be insulting or anything, you just have to understand that it would be much better for me to be with somebody I could have an actual conversation with. But, hey, if it makes you feel better, when I talk to you I’m giving you gas that you need, and you turn that into gas that I need, and isn’t that give and take better than a normal conversation? Why, if I had another person down here, they would just be consuming all of this precious air, and we’d eventually run out within months, and then what? Would we have to leave and go to the surface? Who knows what the hell is up there, if there even is anything. I know that there are all sorts of fantastic stories about what should be happening, but unless somebody comes pounding on the door, then I’m not going to believe that its anything other than a lot of rubble and radiation, R&R, while down here we have nothing but rest and relaxation, isn’t that right buddy? Aw, cheer up, its not that bad, we’ll have a great time down here. Now, okay, I have to be a little honest with you. I have no idea if you’re even able to feel emotion, and I’m sorry if that’s offensive. I’ve been told that before, my ex used to call me a monster, but in the end I invited her into the shelter, I told her that, well, you know what? Fuck her. She’s dead. Its just you and me, buddy. We have the rest of our lives to spend together, isn’t that special? Its kind of like marriage. Not that I believe in marriage, because I don’t, but let’s just- ah! I’m such a mess right now, don’t look at me, don’t watch me cry. I’m going to turn you around now, or, where the hell am I supposed to turn you? Where’s your front, buddy? Fuck it, I’ll just crawl under the bed. Oh god, why did you make me fall in love? Why are you such a dick? ——————————————————————————————————— Hey buddy, sorry if things got a little weird last night, its just… I don’t know, maybe its this room that we’re stuck in. Its not really the happiest place, is it? But I’m sure that you understand, even if you can’t feel happiness, or sadness, because there’s no sunlight, none at all. Sure, there’s artificial light, but.. Can you tell the difference? Is it like you’re having to eat off brand light, or is it the same feeling that I get when I buy cheap meat, the kind that comes from animals who are trapped in cages, and it all tastes flavorless, not as good compared to the animals that get treated like royalty. Can you taste happiness? Is that what the difference is? Eh, maybe you don’t understand taste either. I’m sorry that I don’t understand you that well, but you have to know that I’m making a genuine effort. I want to know how you work, buddy, and its a shame that I don’t. You know, I wouldn’t be surprised if you hated me, because humans and trees have such a strange relationship, but you have to understand that we have trouble feeling empathy towards our own kind, so trying to understand or even care about plants is an impossible task. Hell, we even have a hard time with insects, and we have more in common with them than we have with plants. But you guys must hate insects too, huh? They’re always trying to tear you guys apart, to consume you, its awful. Even trees aren’t safe from them! And I’m not just talking about termites here, I’m also talking about bees, or hornets, or wasps, really anything that lives in a hive, because they must buzz all the time, making a racket while everyone tries to sleep. I can’t imagine what it would feel like to have a hive attached to me, that just sounds like a nightmare, like a hellish version of acne. With humans, we can just pop them and go on with our lives, and we even have a cream that… Oh, oh no. Oh god why did I say that! I’m so sorry! Shit, yes, okay those creams are largely made from you guys. Yeah, we grind you up and rub your carcasses on our faces, but I’m not proud of that! I’m not like those humans, I’m different! Look at me, look at my face, look at how disgusting it is! I don’t give two shits about taking care of my skin, I’m not like the others! And if its any consolation, I don’t eat salads or anything either. I either eat meat, or food that is so synthetic that you could hardly say that it comes from any plants, well, okay yeah corn, but… how do you feel about corn? I mean, its impossible to eat any corn, but is that upsetting to you? And you’re a fern anyways, do you care about vegetables? Wait, do you care about any species that aren’t ferns? Like, the way that I would feel about a dolphin, is that the way you would feel about a tree? And, do you only like your own kind of fern, can you guys be racist? Do you shun any of your children if they mix with any other kinds of ferns? No, no not you. I know that you’re one of the good ones, isn’t that right, buddy? You would never stoop that low. ——————————————————————————————————— Okay, its been really difficult for me to think of anything that is the same in human cultures, I don’t think there’s any comparisons, so you may have gotten me there, buddy. There is no animal that you can grind up, and get high off of. Its not like I could crush up a couple of spiders and smoke them out of a pipe, that wouldn’t work and would probably be disgusting. And I guess, well, now that I think of it its not just pot either. I mean, we can get drugs from seeds and tree bark, and that must be like we’re taking all of your unborn children, and your guys’ skin, in order to feel pleasure for a while. Oh, and I guess alcohol is just rotted plant corpses. Hm. Yeah, okay, you’re right, humans are worse than you guys are. There’s just nothing that we do that could compare to mold, or poison ivy or anything. No wonder some of you people- Oh, no, no buddy, I didn’t mean it like that! ——————————————————————————————————— Okay, so, four words? Okay. Title of a movie. Hm, you’re stumping me with that one.. Give me another hint, do something different.. Fuck, I hate charades. Uh, Saving Private- no, no that’s only three words. Fuck, you may have stumped me this time- wait- wait no, I have it! Where the Red Fern Grows! Ha ha, I so got you! You’re not going to beat me tonight, you’re win streak will end! ——————————————————————————————————— I really liked these snack cakes before they were all that I had to eat, but now I’m really starting to regret the decision. At least I have all of this dog food, so maybe that will change things up. No, buddy, I didn’t have a dog. If I had one, it would probably have dug you up and I’d be talking to it. Oh, don’t be like that, you know that they’re savage animals! I have to take conversation wherever I can get it, or I’d go nuts, but you’ve been the best case scenario. If I had a dog, oh, that would be the worst, it would have no way to talk to me, I’d feel like an asshole. Oh, why did I get this if I didn’t have a- well, its sort of complicated. Well, it isn’t really complicated, but I just don’t want to talk about that right now… don’t look at me like that! Ugh… fine, you know that I can’t say no to you, buddy. I was preparing for my ex to be in here with me, she had a dog and she probably would have brought it. Now that I think of it, even if she was in here I’d still end up talking to the dog for most of the time anyways! Its not like you can bond with just anyone, if you’re the last two people in the world. Some problems just can’t be fixed, some best friends just can’t be unscrewed. Oh, no, she didn’t cheat, I did. Sure, okay, you’re right, I probably shouldn’t have done that, but she never let it go! I make one little mistake, and she wants a divorce. Some people, some people. She probably just found some guy with more money or something like that, that’s just how women are, that’s how they are, buddy. You and me, we’re better than that, we would never hurt somebody that we love. You know what, I sort of wish… aw, no I don’t want to say it, its too embarrassing! Your leaves sure are smooth today… ——————————————————————————————————— -and then the boat captain says, well, he’s really upset, you can tell. He looks around at those goofballs, and he says “hey, do you have a ticket to board this boat?”, ha ha, and he says it like he’s, well, I’m not good at impersonations, but you get it, you’re laughing. And then the pirates look around each other confused, like they’re holding all sorts of weapons. Guns, machetes, that sort of stuff, and I think one guy had a bundle of tnt, wait, not that comes in later. So, the captain asks the question, they’re confused, so they just shoot the guy while his wife and children are watching, and then they, haha, they dump his body over the side.. And… and what happens next? I know that they beheaded the wife, and the kids were taken to be ransomed off, or raised to be future pirates or something like that, but what happened to the guys body… hm. Oh yeah, ha ha. So, they dump him overboard, but he doesn’t hit the water at all! Through a lot of tumbling, he ends up knocking into a life preserver on the side, and his head gets stuck in the hole, so he’s just sort of hanging at the side of the ha ha.. Hanging at the side of the ship. Oh man, you should have seen it! And then, when they clear out all of the goods from the boat, they tie up the crew members, making sure to tape their wrists together, their ankles together, and then they taped the wrists and ankles together. Then, to finish things off, they put tape over their mouths, so that they couldn’t talk to each other. The one pirate, he goes to the room on the boat that’s the furthest down, and he sets the time on the dynamite, this is where its supposed to go in. The pirates leave, and the crew members struggle to escape, and then BOOM! The bottom goes up, haha, and the whole ship starts filling with water! And the whole time, haha.. The whole time the crew is having to face the water, but they can’t even console each other about the danger, so they just look into each other’s eyes like ,“oh god this is it, this is how we die isn’t it?”, and then they drown, ha ha. So what do you think that dream meant? Do you think we’re going to go out and see the ocean? Oh man, you’d love it, and I know what you’re thinking: salt water is terrible for me! But, no, they have fresh water on the boats, and there are so many babes in the ocean, you don’t even know. Algae, seaweed, um, coral? Is that a plant or an animal or a mineral? I can never tell with that one. But, oh man, and you have to try fish sometime, its delicious, you’d have to try some smoked salmon as your first meat… hm. Is fish considered a meat? I get so confused about that one. ——————————————————————————————————— Buddy? Buddy? Are you awake? I was lying when I was talking about the dream from last night, I just made that story up, I didn’t know what to do. I just didn’t know how to, well, talk about what I actually dreamed about. It was, well, about you… Oh, okay, I’ll go back to sleep then. We can talk about this in the morning. ——————————————————————————————————— What do you mean “forget it”? Forget what?! The feelings I have for you? I don’t care if you’re just a fern, that doesn’t matter to me! What are you talking about?! Whose going to judge you, huh? They’re all dead, everyones dead up there. No, you were just imagining that knocking from the other night, it was all in your mind. Its just you and me in here, and trust me, you can’t do any better. I’m whats best for you, why can’t you just accept that?! You’re being a real stick in the mud, and I’m not saying that in a literal sense. Okay, both literal and- are you going to pick apart everything I say? Why do you have to be so callous right now, can’t you see that I want this so badly? And nobody’s ever going to want you the way that I want you, buddy. I’m your best case scenario, and your not even mine. Yeah, I said it! I could do way better than you! So why are you pushing so hard away from me, huh? Why are you being such an ice queen? Do you know how ugly you are? You’re a dog, there’s nobody else out there, and if there was they wouldn’t take you in. You’re just trash, you didn’t even come from nature, you just came from some shitty gardening store. Who do you think you are to treat me like that? You fucking whore. You fucking bitch. You blew your chance, you could have been with a real great guy but your blew it, you fucking blew it! ——————————————————————————————————— Heeeey, buddy. Look, I’m really sorry about the way I acted earlier, I swear that I’ve never been like that before. I’m just, I’m just a little stressed up for having been cooped up in this room for almost two years now, I’m just tense, you know? This happens, and, please don’t think badly of me because of that one little mistake I made. I’m a good guy, trust me on that. Look, I’ll do anything for you, and, hey, I got you this gift! Its drinking water, its better than the stuff that I’ve been putting in your pot. Isn’t that nice? And, hey, I know that you want your space so I’ll leave you alone for the time being. Just remember that I really am a nice guy, just give me this one chance. Okay, I’ll go away for now. And its not like I was that bad anyhow… ——————————————————————————————————— What do you think life would be like if we met each other before, well, you know.. Do you think we’d still be together? Oh, no, don’t say that, I would never pick any of the other girls over you, buddy. You’re my one and only, you’re the reason that I get up in the morning. We’d probably be married by now, we would probably run a bed and breakfast, we’d be so happy together! I know that we wouldn’t be able to have kids, but we could adopt without any problems, maybe. Yeah, yeah I know that the world wouldn’t understand our kind of love, but maybe this what needed to happen. Maybe god dropped the bombs, just so that we could be together. Isn’t that a sweet thought? Hey, do you think that, well, never mind! No! I’m too embarrassed to say it, don’t make me, ha ha! Okay, fine, I could never lie to you, not to those leaves. Do you think that you would want to live in the woods, in a metal cabin, or would you want to live in the city? You could be a city girl at heart, but I would understand it if you wanted to live with your family or whatever. I would do anything for you, and I would never hurt you, you know that. Oh no, don’t bring that up again, you know that you’re just taking things out of proportion. Why are you trying to hurt me by saying such things? No, don’t worry, its no problem. Its okay, ha ha, seriously! I can’t remember how to do this, I only have a feint idea, but I can try. Okay, so this line on your leaf is your money line, and it makes sense that its weak, given that there is no longer any form of money out there. And this here is your love line, which also turns out to be a part of your stem, so that must mean, wow, it must mean that we’re soul mates, but we already knew that, didn’t we? And this, okay, I don’t even know what this one is supposed to be. Okay, I don’t know what a lot of these are supposed to be, I’ve never done this with a plant before, but I guess I also haven’t done a lot of things with plants before, ha ha. Aww, don’t get embarrassed! ——————————————————————————————————— Yeah, okay, I called you Trish last night, but it was an accident! God, get off my fucking back! I make one mistake, one mistake, and you won’t let me live it down. You’re just like her anyways, so I guess its pretty fitted that I got the two of you confused. Oh man, its just like you plants to act like this! Its no wonder that humans used to treat you like decorations, used to have you grow everywhere just to walk all over, because you’re worthless. You all are synonymous with dirt, and for a good reason too. You feed on shit and water, you know nothing about what its like to really live! And you know what the worst part is? You have more in common with mold than you ever will with me, that’s how disgusted I am by you. I wish that I had some fruit or something, I’d love for you to have to watch me eat it, to watch the juice drip down my chin, down this belly that you’re even lucky to see. Fuck, you don’t know how lucky you are to be with me, and you don’t know how unattractive you are when you, fuck, don’t look at me like that! Shut up, shut the fuck up! ——————————————————————————————————— Why did you provoke me like that, Trish? Why did you make me, you know how I am when I get upset. I was just so passionate about you, and now look what you did. No, I’m not going to pick you up, because there’s nothing to put you in, your pots broken, you’re just going to have to lay there in the dirt and think about what you’ve done. No, I don’t know if you’ll be fine now that you’re roots are exposed, but don’t act like this is my fault. I’m sick and tired of everyone blaming me for their own problems, its like every little thing has to be my fault. And even though you have no right to be upset, I try my hardest to make things up, but it seems like that never makes you happy, it still causes you to have to provoke me in some way, I don’t know why you have to act that way. Maybe you just want me to keep getting you gifts, is that it? When I first hit you, you wouldn’t stop being upset until I got you that fucking ring, and then it kept going until I had to get you a dog, that damn mutt. I’m glad that I didn’t let you bring it in here, that damn thing would have pissed everywhere. Maybe its your mother, maybe she’s filling your head with lies. I don’t know why the woman seems to have it out for me, but she does, she never liked me, not once for the whole time that we’ve been together. You have to understand that though, that’s why I have to keep you away from her, because she’s toxic. She doesn’t want what’s best for you, she just uses you like a pawn to sort out all of her petty grudges. Its ridiculous, its pathetic, and you don’t need to deal with that. I keep you safe from all of that, don’t you understand? And all I ask for is a little respect, all I ask is that you don’t try to piss me off, that you don’t hound me for every little mistake that I make. Nobody’s perfect Trish, and you’re no exception. You know that I don’t hound you for every little accident that you make. ——————————————————————————————————— Sometimes, I don’t know, sometimes I wish that I had brought a hedge in here instead. At least with a hedge I could trim it in different ways, I could change things up, but with you its just the same old thing, day in and day out. The magics gone, and you can’t expect me to pretend like it isn’t. I’m a man, I have needs and its fucking insane to try to tell me that I can’t do what I was biologically programmed to do. Ha, but I guess you wouldn’t know a thing about that, would you? All you’re programmed to do is to sit in one spot for your whole life, while you absorb sunlight and try to suck the life force out of me. Shit, and that’s it, you don’t give anything back to the world, you’re just a parasite, you’re no better than a weed. At least other plants can contribute to society, they can give us fruit, vegetables, wood, highs, or are even just pleasant to look at, but you’re a plant that nobody would care about if they ever saw you in the wild. You’re just like every other fern out there, you’re nothing special, you’re something that animals or humans would think of no more than they think of dirt, you’re just something to be stepped through or on while looking at what nature really has to offer. The best thing that you would ever do would be to collect animal shit, or maybe some desperate rabbit would eat away at you, if you were lucky. So you had to come all the way here, over to the city, where there were less plants, where you could pretend that you were actually special, where you could flaunt your chloroform and hope that people wouldn’t notice that there was nothing special about you, you couldn’t compete so you had to sink as low as you could. But I know what you are, who you are. You’re just some run of the mill fern, you’re no better than a whore, because you have to offer your body to the world since it wants nothing else to do with you. And that one thing that you have going for you isn’t even that much to begin with, and as time goes by I’ve seen it get worse and worse, to the point where you’re currently nothing, you’re just shriveled and brown and dried out. You wouldn’t even make good firewood, you’re just something to put into the green trashcan, because that’s what you are, you’re just something to be thrown out, like an old Christmas tree, but don’t think you’re anywhere near as special as one of those trees. Are you even good enough to have to deal with bugs? I bet you wish that just one bug would try to eat away at you, just so you could feel like all of the other plants, but not even a louse would want to chew away at you. Termites and locust would move right by, and snails would only move over you to get to one of the more beautiful plants. You know why? Because ferns are useless, they’re just a mistake. Every other plant has some purpose, every other plant gets celebrated and loved in some way. Hell, look at the fucking maple tree’s leaves, they get slapped on a flag, they get to be the spokesperson for a whole country! Roses are known for love, bushes get associate with pubic hair, but that’s not a bad thing, and there’s an entire culture based around marijuana, even if it is rooted (another example) in something terrible, in a sort of genocide, at least they have a fucking genocide. Who would care enough about ferns to even fucking hate them? Yeah, okay, I sure as hell hate them, I sure as hell hate you, but that’s only because I was stupid enough to get tricked into being with you. I was, this would have never of happened if I had just got some other plant, you were just lucky that I was so desperate. If only Trish hadn’t run away to that shelter, that fucking cult where they filled her head with lies and nonsense, than I’d at least be here with somebody who was a little better. I should have at least have picked a different plant, but I was stupid, I was so fucking stupid. ——————————————————————————————————— Trish? Trish? Baby, please say something. Please, just say anything! Oh, don’t leave me now, I can’t live without you. I know that we’ve had our struggles, that our relationship has been strained lately, but that’s just normal, that’s just how relationships work. Please don’t give me the silent treatment, just because I offended you, that’s such a petty thing to be upset about. I can’t bear not to hear your voice anymore, I can’t bear to be so distant from you like this. Please, just know that I would do anything, anything, to get you back. I swear that I’ll be nicer, I’ll even go to counseling if that’s what you want. Well, okay, I probably couldn’t do that, but doesn’t that show that I really am a changed man? Your love changed me, I swear it, and I- I… I just don’t know what I’ll do if things have to keep going this way. Please, please just say one word. I love you.

#Free Write #Short Story #Writers on Tumblr #Abusive Relationship #Nature

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thecoroutfitters · 7 years ago

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Great lessons of survival come along with extreme and life changing experiences.

What would a 14 months drift on the ocean mean in terms of survival? Salvador Alvarenga knows it, for sure!

Alvarenga survived 438 days adrift in the Pacific Ocean, drifting 7000 miles from just off Mexico, to the Marshall Islands. His open 24′ fiberglass boat was disabled in a storm and nearly all his gear was swept overboard, disabled or had to be cut loose to keep the boat from sinking.

His story is way beyond ordinary, and now he’s sharing it in this exclusive interview for Survivopedia readers.

When I heard that he was going to be in Salt Lake City for PrepperCon 2017, where I hosted two Q&A sessions on EMP survival, I wanted to meet him and hear his story firsthand.

The Survivor and His Unbelievable Story

At first glance, I must admit that I was somewhat skeptical. In my mind, this feat pushed the boundaries of what I thought was possible. Either way, I wanted to know. As I researched, read, interviewed and analyzed his ordeal at sea, I grew increasingly convinced that his story true. As you can plainly see in the video interview below, it is difficult for him to talk about the experience to this day.

After the interview, I handed him a copy of the English Language version of the book Jonathan Franklin wrote about his experience. He looked at the book and flipped through the photographs, pointing and commenting as if he was seeing an old family album he had not looked at in a long time.

It was clear how deeply traumatizing the ordeal was for him and that he still compartmentalizes many aspects of the experience. This is very understandable given what he went through. That’s why I admire Salvador for being willing to revisit those obviously painful memories in order to help others.

3 Second SEAL Test Will Tell You If You’ll Survive A SHTF Situation

7 Lessons Learned in 483 Days on the Sea

Salvador had some advantages going into his experience. He was a sharking boat captain with 12 years of experience in the open ocean. He was an outdoorsman who fished, hunted, camped and survived his way cross country to Mexico from El Salvador as an illegal immigrant.

His build was ideal, being compact and powerful, winning weight lifting competitions against the other hard working, hard fighting and hard partying fisherman of Costa Azul, which helped retard hypothermia.

So he was no stranger to adversity and problem solving. The man had an iron stomach and a lifetime of conditioning his immune system. He ate raw meats of all kinds, drank raw turtle blood and considered their meat and eggs to be delicacies. He hailed form a culture that considers turtle eggs to be something along the lines of naturopathic Viagra.

Here are the lessons to be learned from his story.

1. “90% of Survival Happens From the Neck Up”

I first heard it put in precisely this way by Adam Kay, the winner of Season 1 of Alone, but the primary lesson taught by Salvador Alvarenga’s experience is the importance of the mental aspects of survival.

Psychology, mental toughness, bravery, adaptability, knowledge and problem solving ability made all the difference in this case. Alvarenga started out the ordeal with a crewman named Cordoba who lacked Salvador’s fundamental optimism.

Religious faith works both ways. In this case, Salvador’s companion was convinced by the vision that a sister from his religious congregation had while fasting. She told him that she foresaw that he would die at sea. His belief that he would die eventually consumed him and became a self-fulfilling prophecy.

After finding a partially digested venomous sea snake in the stomach of a sea bird he had eaten, he became physically ill and stopped eating birds which, since they lacked the gear to fish, where their primary food source. Cordoba eventually starved to death because he refused to eat, which has happened in other cases of survival at sea where survivors were unable to properly cook foods.

2. Catching and Eating Sea Birds Helps

Salvador eventually constructed a roost for sea birds to land on, under which he would lay motionless until birds got comfortable and started preening or dosed off. He would then grab them by the neck and break on of their wings to prevent their escape, eventually keeping a flock of up to thirty of them in the hull like a brood of anorexic broilers and “meat on the hoof.”

He sun-dried meat from the birds on the outboard motor cover, using it as an improvised solar oven of sorts.

3. Turtles, Sea Birds & Raw Fish Eyes Contain Vitamin C

Vitamin C is present in small amounts in raw fish flesh, but occurs in greater amounts in fish eyes. Unlike us mammals, both birds and turtles produce their own Vitamin C, in which their livers are particularly rich.

Salvador ate enough sea turtle liver, bird liver and fish eyes to intake enough Vitamin C to stave off scurvy.

4. Use Floating Trash to Your Advantage

Salvador put floating trash found in or near shipping lanes to good use, occasionally even finding odd scraps of food or a few drops of soda. His haul included 73 half liter bottles which he used to store rainwater and a large piece of Styrofoam which he said helped attract birds.

5. Adaptability Means Disobeying Conventional Training

Had many famous survival instructors swapped places with Salvador, they very likely would not have survived. Part of the problem is theory or book knowledge vs real world knowledge, and part is that is that it is becoming impossible to practice or teach survival in the preservationist, “leave no trace,” overly litigious, fragilista-engineered world we live in.

While certain correct principles of survival apply to all environments and ecosystems, there are far too many ecosystems in this world to write one book that will teach you everything you need to know to survive in all of them, so it is imperative to learn from the locals.

Survival is an inherently dangerous activity and instructors are often compelled to err on the side of safety, which, taken to the extreme, prevents students from learning that which they need to know most of all.

Eating Trigger Fish

How many of you have an SAS Survival Guide in your pack? I have at least a couple of Lofty’s books.

They are a great resource from a world-renowned instructor, but regarding triggerfish, the book advises readers, “Many kinds are poisonous to eat. Avoid them all.” yet virtually every story of long term survival adrift in a boat or life-raft I have researched, whether it took place in the Atlantic or the Pacific, nearly all the survivors ate triggerfish because it is one of the first species begin nibbling at boats adrift, it is noisy when they do, and you may go long periods without access to other species.

While it is true that the flesh of any species of triggerfish could be contaminated with toxins which cause ciguatera, the risk with certain species of triggerfish is lower than others.

Do not get me wrong, ciguatera can be very serious and potentially fatal, especially in a survival situation, but ciguatera occurs in over 400 species of reef fish and the only way to completely avoid is to not eat any reef fish, restricting your diet to deep water species.

Had Salvador had some fishing gear, it would have been advisable to use the triggerfish as bait and chum and fish for deep water species, but he had no such option.

If you are eating fish in restaurants or fishing for recreation it makes sense to exercise a great deal of caution as you choose your meals. Lost at sea, your dining options are likely going to be considerably more restricted.

Avoid species prone to ciguatera like the titan triggerfish, barracuda and red snapper, but gray triggerfish is common table fare in restaurants in many tropical regions. Try to take them away from reef in deep water if possible.

If my choice was between starving to death and running a small risk of ciguatera, I would definitely eat gray triggerfish. Salvador ate more colorful varieties as well and in his situation, I would have done the same. If you ever find yourself there, that is a decision you will have to make.

When you are down to eating powdered fish bones mixed with water, your own hair and fingernails and even wood from the boat, they might start looking pretty tasty.

Eating Shark and Fish Liver

The US Military Multi-service Survival, Evasion & Recovery Field Manual, and therefore survival manuals and courses virtually without end that regurgitate the reference, say not to eat fish liver, period. Some species of fish liver is edible, however, but some is not. Some survivors begin craving liver, eyes and other parts of fish that contain nutrients or vitamins they are lacking.

Fish liver can carry parasites, but all fish body parts can transmit some species of parasites if eaten raw. Avoid eating the stomach of fish large enough to gut, especially raw, as it contains more parasites than any other part of the fish, but it makes great bait to catch other fish.

With reef species, ciguatera can build up in greater concentrations in the liver, so perhaps that is why the field manual blackballs it. Salvador used and even preserved shark liver by drying it for use as a laxative, which was very important due to his high-protein diet full of bird and fish bones. Ouch!

Eating “Raw” Birds and Sea Turtles

Lofty agrees that sea turtles are good eating, which is true, except for the critically endangered hawk’s bill sea turtle which also tends to be contaminated with ciguatera. The hawk’s bill sea turtle can be identified by yellow polka dots on the head and front flippers and can grow to very large size.

Eating raw bird meat can lead to bacterial infections or parasites. I got salmonella once from eating bird meat and it most certainly would have been fatal in a survival situation, but eating the flesh fresh, cutting it into very thin strips and sun drying it as Salvador did, greatly reduces numbers of pathogens.

If you can construct a makeshift solar oven, that would improve your chances. Salvador dried it on the outboard motor housing, but that was the closest thing he had. Keep in mind, though, that Salvador had eaten raw meat all his life, so that would have developed his immune system far beyond that of a typical North American or European.

Drinking Urine

Amongst survival instructors, this is almost as divisive a topic as 1911 vs Glock amongst the tactical pistol crowd. Instructors I respect have weighed in on both sides of the issue.

David Holladay, Cody Lundin, Matt Graham and the guys from Boulder Outdoor Survival School, say not to drink it, while Mykel Hawke, Joe Teti (never thought I would write that those two agree about something) and some of the military crowd saying it’s a go … no pun intended. In Salvador’s case, Cordoba said it would help and they drank it. The question is whether it helped keep him alive or if he survived in spite of drinking it.

While healthy urine is not toxic, it is does contain compounds your body is trying to eliminate and by the time you are in a situation where you are considering drinking your urine, it contains less water and higher concentrations of urea, salts and other waste products. If you store it, bacteria will grow in it and it will start to stink, so I would not save it for later. If you had the gear to distill it, you could distill seawater.

While it used to be taught that urine is microbiologically sterile until it reached the urethra, it is now known that that is not true. It is interesting that military guys would argue for it, because the US Army Survival Field Manual advises against it on the basis that it contains high concentrations of salts which will contribute to further dehydration, but I believe Mykel has a B.S. in biology, so perhaps he based his decision on that.

If you were urinating clear and copious, it would probably do a lot less harm to you, but that would mean you are not even thirsty yet. Did it help him? I doubt it, but the man did survive, so perhaps Mykel has a point. Even David Holladay seemed to reconsider his position for a moment when heard Salvador tell his story. I’m not convinced it changed his mind though. Maybe we should ask him. I am perfectly comfortable sitting inside the question and considering it without rushing to answer it.

6. Ecosystems Form Around Drifting Rafts and Boats

Studying cases of long-term survival adrift at sea shows a certain patterns. The ocean is our planet’s greatest wilderness, with distinct ecosystems created by prevailing weather interacting with the ocean, underwater topography and land masses to produce currents, zones teeming life and rain and oceanic desert regions with little sea life or rainfall.

Fortunately, large sea creatures, drifting boats and rafts and even large floating debris create small, slow-moving ecosystems. The boat or raft creates shade and hiding places for small marine life. Algae and barnacles grow on the hull.

Sea birds find a place to land and leave droppings, which are eaten by small fish, attracting progressively larger fish, which survivors consume, returning offal and waste to the water and so on until the raft or vessel adrift, organisms that it shelters, survivor, predators and prey become a nomadic and slowly snowballing ecosystem. Every one of these organisms is a resource.

Some survivors used barnacles as bait and Salvador ate them for food.

7. Chances of Survival at Sea Are Linked to Location

There is a reason where tales of surviving long periods adrift occur in places like Mexico, the Marshall Islands, North Africa, the Caribbean, Brazil and California. They are all in latitudes relatively near the equator, where it is possible to survive exposure for longer periods of time.

Survival time for fishermen in the Bering Sea is measured in hours, even if they are wearing specialized survival suits. In, relatively speaking, warmer waters, there are portions of the ocean that receive too little rain to survive without a hand-pumped desalinator or some other way to get fresh water.

Did It Ever Happen Before?

Salvador is not the first one drifting away. Here are a few of many previous precedents for survival adrift at sea.

In 1941, Olympian Louis Zamperini and Russell Allen Phillips survived 47 days adrift on two small life rafts after their B-24 crashed into the Pacific due to mechanical problems, eventually drifting into the Marshall Islands.

In 1982, American Steven Callahan of Rhode spent 76 days on a life raft after his sailboat sank, probably after a collision with a while.

In 1973 Maurice and Maralyn Bailey of Britain where sailing to New Zealand when their yacht was struck by a whale and sunk. They survived 117 days adrift in a rubber raft before being rescued.

In 1989, John Glennie, James Nalepka, Rick Hellriegel, and Phil Hoffman survived adrift in the South Pacific off the coast of New Zealand on the wreckage of their overturned Trimaran for 119 days.

In 1942, Poon Lim was the sole survivor when the SS Benlomond was torpedoed by a German U-boat and survived 133 days adrift on an 8′ square wooden raft until he was rescued off the coast of Brazil.

In 2005, Jesus Vidana, Lucio Rendon and Salvador Ordonez, much like what happened to Salvador Alvarenga, were shark fishing of the West coast of Mexico when their 27′ fiberglass boat was disabled and drifted to within 200 miles of the Marshall Islands before being rescued. They lost two companions on the journey including the captain and consumed 103 sea turtles and many species of fish. Unlike Salvador and Cordoba, they had line and more tools which enabled them to fashion hooks from nails and screws.

The longest anyone has ever survived adrift at sea was in the case of a Japanese cargo vessel captained by Oguri Jukichi a crew member named Otokichi in 1813. They drifted almost to California for 484 days before rescue and lost 12 crew members to scurvy. This case is hard to compare as it was a much larger vessel carrying hundreds of bags of beans.

One way or another, Salvador Alvarenga found his way to survival. He was not trained for it. He was a regular guy, like many of us are. His story is the proof that survival means much more than skills and training that one can have in advance. I’d say that what you have inside makes you a survivor.

Are you a survivor? Will you be able to protect your own in a life or death scenario? Click the banner below to find out!

This article have been written by Cache Valley Prepper, based on his interview with Salvador Avarenga for Survivopedia.

from Survivopedia Don't forget to visit the store and pick up some gear at The COR Outfitters. How prepared are you for emergencies? #SurvivalFirestarter #SurvivalBugOutBackpack #PrepperSurvivalPack #SHTFGear #SHTFBag

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nolimitsongrace · 5 years ago

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January 12: Abstain From All Appearance of Evil

Abstain From All Appearance of EvilJanuary 12, 2020

Abstain from all appearance of evil. — 1 Thessalonians 5:22

When I was getting started in the ministry, God blessed me with an opportunity to serve as associate pastor to an older man of God who taught me many important principles for my life and ministry. One of the most important principles he taught me — one that I now require of every leader who works in our ministry — is the necessity of abstaining from all appearance of evil.

When I first heard this pastor’s rules, I thought they were a little overboard. For instance, men on the pastoral staff could not meet alone with members of the opposite sex, counsel a woman alone behind closed doors, or ride alone in a car with a woman other than one’s wife. I thought these types of rules made life very inconvenient. But the pastor was very strong on never doing anything that gave a wrong impression or that opened a door for criticism or accusation.

I’ve been in the ministry many years and know of numerous times when pastors were accused of inappropriate behavior. The behavior was sometimes real and at other times imagined, but the opportunity for accusation was almost always the result of carelessness in keeping certain boundaries. So I now agree wholeheartedly that there is great wisdom in adhering to restrictions like the ones my senior pastor required in my early days of ministry. By taking this cautious approach, men and women of God are able to steer clear of insinuations and accusations. This, however, should apply not only to ministers of the Gospel, but to every believer who cares about the integrity of his or her witness.

*[If you started reading this from your email, begin reading here.]

The verse that my senior pastor used as the basis for his rules, and the verse I use in my own ministry to provide guidance to our team on such issues, was First Thessalonians 5:22. In this verse, the apostle Paul wrote, “Abstain from all appearance of evil.” Today I would like for us to take a deeper look to see what we can learn from this key verse in the Word of God.

Paul began by saying, “Abstain.…” The word “abstain” is from the Greek word apecho. This word means to deliberately withdraw from; to stay away from; to put distance between oneself and something else; or to intentionally abstain. The word apecho is also used in First Peter 2:11, where Peter wrote, “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.” In this case, the word “abstain” — apecho — means to deliberately refrain from something; hence, it could be translated, “…I urge you to refrain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.” The implication is that believers should put distance between themselves and temptations of the flesh and soul.

There are other examples of the word apecho in the New Testament that also demonstrate how this word depicts some type of distance between objects. For example:

In Luke 7:6, the word apecho is used to describe the physical distance between Jesus and the house of the centurion.

In Matthew 15:8 and Mark 7:6, the word apecho is used to describe human hearts that are hardened and therefore distant and far from God.

In Acts 15:20, the word apecho is used when James, the leader of the Jerusalem church, gave instructions that the new Gentile believers should abstain from food offered to idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals, and from the consumption of raw blood. In that verse, the word apecho is so strong that it makes a demand on the new Gentile believers to withdraw from and permanently terminate their contact with these things. It is actually a command to refrain, to desist, to discontinue, and to terminate any further contact with them, and it calls for a permanent halt to the practice of allowing such contact.

Keeping this in mind, we know that when Paul told us, “Abstain from all appearance of evil,” he was strongly urging you and me to put distance between ourselves and any appearance of evil. This Greek word apecho demands that we do not allow even the smallest hint of inappropriate behavior or any act that could be misinterpreted or viewed as being immoral or unethical. There is no doubt about it — the word apecho calls for extreme caution and vigilance.

The word “from” is the Greek word apo, which means away. However, because the word apecho had already been used, meaning to put distance between yourself and some other thing, it means the word apo was really not needed — unless Paul intended to place very strong emphasis on this point. By adding the word apo, it makes the point abundantly clear that believers should not only put distance between themselves and what is obviously evil, but they must also put a great deal of distance between themselves and whatever fits this description, even in appearance.

The word “appearance” is the Greek is eidos, a word that is only used five times in the New Testament, but depicts an outward form, visible appearance, a likeness, or a resemblance of something. Therefore, Paul was telling us, “It doesn’t matter what you think or what you know to be true; what matters is what appears to be true in the eyes of others.” Even if there is a small chance that someone may mistake your actions as evil or if what you do even resembles something evil or wrong, you need to stay as far away from it as you possibly can.

What makes this even more serious is the fact that this word “evil,” the Greek word poneros, is often used in the Greek Septuagint version of the Old Testament to describe actions that are ultimately damaging to a person’s testimony and reputation (see Deuteronomy 22:14). There is no doubt that Paul was telling us that we must do everything in our ability to put a lot of distance between ourselves and anything that would bring harm or injury to our reputation or to our godly witness in front of other people.

Think about it! How many people do you know who did something that they “thought” was all right to do — but other people saw their action and misinterpreted it, and as a result, it stained their reputation? I’m talking about situations like pastors being accused of immoral behavior because they had close contact with a member of the opposite sex who wasn’t their spouse. Maybe nothing wrong occurred, but what people saw resembled something bad, and the pastor was therefore falsely accused. This is why it is a good rule never to counsel a member of the opposite sex alone! By using common sense and refraining from ever being in such a situation where you could be accused, you have put distance between yourself and potential accusations.

Have you ever heard a rumor about a preacher who wrongly used money that was intended for the work of the ministry? The truth may be that the minister never did anything wrong at all with those funds, but because his actions gave a wrong impression to people who were watching, what he did resulted in a damaged testimony. Preachers can avoid these types of accusations by determining never to touch ministry funds personally and by establishing a bookkeeping system that demands accountability. Just by using common sense and choosing to refrain from activities that might give a mistaken impression, those in the ministry can put great distance between themselves and suspicious-looking situations. In so doing, there will never be room for accusation that they misuse ministry funds or participate in any questionable activity or behavior.

As I said, this principle of refraining from every appearance of evil isn’t pertinent only to ministers. It applies to every believer who wants to maintain a godly reputation. The fact is, if your testimony in the eyes of others is important to you, you must make the decision to withdraw from, refrain from, desist from, discontinue, and permanently terminate any action that gives the appearance of evil. Although this may require a new set of rules for your life, you will be taking vital steps toward preserving your testimony and godly reputation.

How much is your reputation — and the reputation of the Holy One you represent — worth to you? If you want to maintain a good name and testimony in front of others, you must refrain from any action, language, or contact that gives the appearance of evil. And this is not just my suggestion — it is the commandment of God found in First Thessalonians 5:22.

By understanding the Greek words in this verse, we can interpret First Thessalonians 5:22 to read:

“You need to terminate contact with any place, action, language, or relationship that gives people the impression that you are doing something wrong. It doesn’t matter what you think is acceptable; what matters is what other people perceive. So put a great deal of distance between yourself and anything you are doing that people could misinterpret and that could thereby stain your reputation.”

So many people have forfeited their testimony because they didn’t use their heads and think about how their actions might be perceived by others! Perception is often reality in the eye of the beholder.

Even if you know that you’re doing nothing wrong at all, the fact remains that people don’t see your heart — they see your actions. If they see you do something that appears immoral or unethical, you will likely be judged by what they perceive.

If you’re like me, your highest desire is to glorify Jesus in this life in all you say and do. That’s why our hearts can agree with what Paul says in this verse — that it’s always best to “abstain from all appearance of evil” because we are His representatives on this earth!

MY PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, I understand that Your Word commands me to break off and desist from doing anything that would give the impression of evil to people who are looking at my life from the outside. Today I have a new and a fuller realization of the great impact my actions can have on my reputation and on other people. Please forgive me for doing things that could be misconstrued, misunderstood, or misinterpreted. I am truly sorry. Help me today to put safeguards in my life that will help me to abstain from all appearances of evil from this point forward.

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

MY CONFESSION FOR TODAY

I confess that I use common sense in the way that I conduct my life. I am thoughtful about my actions; I am careful to remember that people are watching me; and I am led by the Holy Spirit in how I conduct my life. Because I want to maintain a godly reputation, I care about what people think of me. I will not do anything that would cast a shadow on Jesus’ name, my name, or my testimony as a child of God. With God’s help, I will live a life that is free of accusation!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER

Have you ever known someone who stained his testimony because contact with a place, action, language, or relationship gave people the impression that he or she was doing something inappropriate?

As you look back on that particular situation now, what steps could that person have taken to circumvent the accusations and charges that were brought against him or her?

Are there any areas or actions in your life right now that others might perceive to be questionable? Be honest with yourself! What are those areas, and what steps should you begin to take to put distance between yourself and future accusation?

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kuriboo · 5 years ago

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Jurassic Dimension

For @snmermaid

Merry Christmas! Happy birthday!!! These two are a match made in inevitable disaster (someone please contain them) so I wanted to make you...well...this. Need just a hint of mad science for the holidays. Good luck with everything, man. You're cool and talented, and kicking ass is your destiny. I love you.

Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Relationship: Misawa Daichi | Bastion Misawa/Jim Crocodile Cook

⁂

The often-stated hypothesis was as follows: distance makes the heart grow fonder.

According to the research and evidence Bastion had gathered on the subject, however, this was completely false. Much of that evidence, though, was based off Bastion’s own experience. He had to acknowledge that he might be an outlier in the situation. After all, how can the heart grow fonder if it had already exceeded its maximum capacity for fondness?

Distance, Bastion was finding, was not making his heart grow fonder. Instead, it was growing emptier. Not to say that he was falling out of love, that was a false accusation. He just missed them. Tania was still working with him on one of his current projects but that work had taken her to a different dimension, where he barely saw her. Axel was working another case for Industrial Illusions that was taking him all over the place, not just Duel Academy or Domino City. Jim and Shirley were back in Australia. Their work was important, of course it was, and relationships should never get in the way of success or one’s ambitions. Still, Bastion couldn’t help but feel lonely. It wasn't that he loved them more, but he felt their absence like a rock tied around his neck.

He missed them.

Loneliness was nothing new to Bastion. For a long time, he felt as though he were invisible because most people didn’t seem to notice him. Making friends was hard, keeping them didn’t feel much easier. But familiarity didn’t make it easier. It was draining, and he felt hollow. So when he saw the text, it lifted his spirits even more than the recent breakthroughs he was making at work.

The text was from Jim, letting him know that he would be back in Domino City very soon. The two of them immediately made plans. There was no way Bastion wasn't meeting him as soon as he made it to Domino City. There was no way they weren't going to see each other.

Soon, not soon enough but soon, they were reunited. (Of course, Shirley came along with Jim as well, as she always did. All three of them were reunited. Shirley wasn't left out). Jim's luggage was dropped off at their house. Both parties were starving, so after that they went out to eat at a nearby restaurant: Six Samurai Guys and Fries. And they caught up with each other's lives.

"Australia's kept me busy," Jim told Bastion through a large bite of burger. "Lots of fossils to look for, lots of places to look for 'em. Lots of wildlife to look after from people who think they aren't important, too. Shirley and I've had our hands full. In her case, I guess it's more that she's had her mouth full." He laughed. "Some of our fossils are at the museum here for an exhibit. Right now we're here to make sure they're taken care of properly until it's time for them to head back south."

"It does sound like you've had a lot on your plate," Bastion agreed.

"We can handle it, though." Jim grinned. "What's the use of being bored? I love what I do. I wouldn't want to do less."

"And you're good at what you do, too. I'm really glad you're doing well."

"And how about yourself?" Jim asked. "I know you've been up to something big, but you've been skimping out on the details, mate."

Bastion pressed one of his hands into his forehead. "Ah, yes. Sorry about that. I've been busy myself, and while I enjoy what I do as well, it's left me tired most of the time. You're right, it is something big."

"And what sort of big thing would that be?"

"We've been doing more inter-dimensional work. I'm not sure if you remember, but while we were at Duel Academy, we were able to establish a way to communicate between dimensions. That allowed Zane and Jesse to duel to build up duel energy to send Rainbow Dragon to Jesse. But the signal was weak and unstable." Bastion munched on a fry as he went on. "We've improved on that, now. We can communicate between dimensions much more easily. The signal's stronger and more stable. And we can communicate either with or without a video feed. It hasn't been easy, and the improvement doesn't feel like much, but we've had some success."

"Big improvement or not, that's pretty impressive. You've been working hard."

"Oh, that's not all we've been working on, actually. We've been working on traveling between dimensions as well. A more scientific approach at it than Jesse's Rainbow Dragon or Jaden's abilities, anyway. I suppose it was necessary to help us work more on communication, since we needed someone to actually talk with and help us do testing. We haven't gotten much use out of what we've come up with, but it does work."

"It works, and you haven't been getting much use out of traveling between dimensions?" Jim leaned back in his seat. "That's amazing that you've gotten it to work. Think of all the possibilities! Everything we could do now that we're not limited to the world we know!"

"I suppose." Bastion shrugged. "We haven't gotten that far yet, though. I know we've barely scratched the surface, but we haven't given ourselves time to think about what else we could do."

"Mate." Jim looked Bastion in the eye. "Do you think that there's fossils in the desert world or in Dark World? Any signs of times past? Do you think the spirits there have evolved the way species in our own world have? Duel spirits that no longer exist?"

"I'm not sure. But..." Bastion slowly began to smile. "There's entire worlds out there just waiting for us to find the answers to those questions, aren't there?"

Perhaps it was a bit mad. Perhaps it wasn't the best immediate use of the technology. Perhaps it wasn't mad, perhaps it was the best use. Bastion wasn't going to claim he knew definitively either way. But his interests tended to collide with Jim's in the strangest of ways. Once they did, it was very hard for anyone to reign the duo in. It was very easy for the two of them to go overboard. But Bastion loved every second of it. Jim did, too. They cherished the opportunity to work together on anything.

Jim smiled back at him. "Fancy a date in the desert?"

⁂

It wasn't the kind of whim that they could immediately act on, or go through without repercussions. Bastion needed to convince his superiors. They needed Jaden to talk with the residents of the desert world to make sure it was okay. There was preparation involved, but Jim and Bastion did receive the green light. Soon they were happily up to their knees in sand.

With Jaden now involved, they couldn't stop themselves from asking about Jaden's thoughts on the subject.

"Do you think there are any duel spirits that existed in the past that are no longer around today?" Bastion asked him.

Jaden shrugged. "Hard to say. They're all different, you know? Everyone's got different pasts, everyone came to exist in different ways. There's some spirits that're old as shit still around, like us." Yubel. "Or like Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Those guys have been around a long time, too, believe it or not. But there's newer guys around, too. The Neo-Spacians haven't been around quite that long. So if some have been around longer than others, I guess it would make sense that some aren't around anymore, too."

The next question was from Jim. "Do you think there's any fossils around here?"

"Uh...I dunno. If there was anyone around here that isn't here anymore, there's probably some sign they existed somewhere?"

"If there are any fossils, do you think we could bring back the duel spirits that are gone?"

Bastion frowned at Jim's question. "We don't even have the technology to bring back extinct species from our own world. But that doesn't mean it's impossible. Perhaps we could..."

Jaden looked between the two of them. "You guys have seen Jurassic Park, right? I don't need to explain why this is a bad fucking idea?"

"It's a purely hypothetical scenario, but if we reached that point, it wouldn't come to that," Bastion assured him. "We'd make sure of that."

"You guys have seen Jurassic World, right?"

"Honestly, Jay, I'd think you'd be more excited about the possibility. I'm surprised to hear you shoot it down so quickly," Jim commented.

"Normally I would be," Jaden admitted. "But I promised Axel I wouldn't let you guys go overboard, since he's not here to do it himself."

Axel was better at that task than most. He was well aware that Bastion and Jim could be chaotic forces on their own. Combined, they could be even worse. Axel was delegated to keeping the two of them in check more often than three of them had ever first expected. But any of their friends could do the same in a pinch.

Jaden didn't stay with them the whole time they were in the desert world. He did enjoy spending time with his friends, and he enjoyed helping them out. But digging around the desert wasn't exactly his forte, and he had a lot going on himself. Duels to prepare for, people to help. A hero's work was never done. No real discoveries were made before he had to leave.

Bastion couldn't help but wonder if there was anything to find here. After all, they were in the desert. Perhaps the conditions were never right here for preservation of any sign of past life. He'd been hoping that that wasn't the case. Or that, perhaps, the conditions for preservation would be different here than in the world he came from. If there was one thing that was uncertain in life, Bastion found, it was everything. Everything was uncertain, so it was entirely possible there was something here. But maybe he'd been wrong. Maybe there wasn't. Maybe returning to the desert world for this research hadn't been the best idea.

It would've been better to go to a world they were more familiar with, though. And the two dimensions Bastion and Jim were most familiar with, besides their own, were this desert world and Dark World. And for obvious reasons, they both wanted to stay away from Dark World.

Just as Bastion was feeling any optimism he had run completely dry, Jim found something. He called Bastion over to look, and what the two of them saw was unmistakable.

"Is that some sort of fossilized footprint?" Bastion asked.

"That's exactly what we're looking at." Jim beamed at him. "I knew we'd find something if we looked long enough."

"Incredible." Bastion bent down to look closer at it. "Now we just need to figure out if anyone who lives in the desert now has footprints like these. Either way, this will expand on our knowledge of other dimensions quite a bit."

"Do we know what anyone's footprints look like already? Is there any data of that...anywhere?"

Bastion blinked. "I can't say that I'm sure, but I doubt it. Which means we'll have to gather the data ourselves..."

The two of them exchanged a look.

"Desert research just got a whole lot weirder," Jim said.

"Much weirder," Bastion agreed.

⁂

~DELETED SCENE~

“Julia, I need your help.”

“What’s up?” Julia’s face popped up on Bastion’s phone as they answered the call. Bastion was relieved the call went through.

“Do you happen to know if either KaibaCorp or Industrial Illusions keeps any sort of database on duel monsters?”

Julia shrugged. “They probably do, but...what kind of data are you looking for?

Between Bastion and Julia, when it came to computers, that was more Julia’s jurisdiction. If anyone could find what Bastion was looking for, it was them. That didn’t mean it was going to be any easier to ask them, but he was just going to have to force it out.

“I’m looking for data on footprints, actually.”

“Footprints?” Julia stared at him. “Bastion, oh my god. Card crushes are one thing, but...”

“Julia--”

“As a fellow furry, I still need to kinkshame you for your foot fetish. You know that, right?”

“It’s not a foot fetish, I swear, this is for very important science.”

“That’s what someone with a foot fetish would say. A foot fetish, Bastion, really. I’m not going to go ask Kaiba if he has any material for your foot fetish. I’m not.”

“Please don’t tell him I have a foot fetish, which I don’t. Please don’t tell anyone I have a foot fetish.”

“Too late.”

Julia turned the camera around to face away from them. Morgan and Olivia were both now in view, waving at him.

“Soon all of Domino City will kinkshame you.”

“Bastard.”

Jim looked over Bastion’s shoulder. “What’s going on, mate?”

“I’m being roasted by my childhood best friend,” Bastion muttered.

“Ah.” Jim reached into the bag he was holding, pulled out some aloe vera, and handed it to Bastion. “Here you go, then, that should help.”

Laughter burst out on the other end of the line.

“Damn, Jim, that was a good one,” Olivia said.

“Holy shit Jim, have I ever told you how much I love you???” Morgan asked, hearts practically visible in their eyes.

#snmermaid #yugioh gx #tater writes #tater.txt

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archerwindsor · 6 years ago

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Is Diet Coke Bad For You?

Seriously, we have been accused of being sponsored by Coca Cola before by someone who didn’t like it when we said that it’s not that bad for you. There’s the cat out of the bag already.

Why something so insignificant as a can of juice can command such hatred and why it’s the cause of many a hot debate is….well, quite frankly, bizarre.

Anyway, let’s get into it – is diet coke bad for you?

Listen to some and they’ll have you running to the hills with fear. You may have heard:

Diet coke causes cancer

It tricks your body and turns on fat-storing-mode

All diet drinks deplete nutrients and make you hungry

It’s filled with chemicals therefore it’s pretty much poison

Diet coke is the cause of all things evil, should be banned and how dare you, a nutritionist, say that it shouldn’t be outlawed

Now, before anyone gets even more worked-up and accuses us of saying it’s ‘healthy’ let’s get a few things straight.

There are a lot of myths surrounding the drink that are simply just a load of nonsense. This article is going to clear the confusion. What does the evidence say about diet drinks?

Also, just to clarify, before anyone drops the usual “this is sponsored by Diet Coke” no it isn’t. Pepsi Max or Diet Irn Bru are much better anyway…..

Is Diet Coke Bad For Your Health?

Probably not that bad at all.

There are no studies that indicate any long-term health risks from drinking diet soda. Diet Soda….is not harmful to health, well-being, or body composition ~ Examine.com

So far, so good for the coke zero and diet coke fans.

There are no studies that indicate any long-term health risks from drinking diet soda. Click To Tweet

What about the cancer risk?

Back in the 60’s, there was a study that linked aspartame (the sweetener in diet coke) with brain tumours but more recent evidence has proven that this isn’t the case and that there is no link between diet drinks and cancer.

A review paper in the Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology Journal concluded that:

…the studies provide no evidence to support an association between aspartame and cancer in any tissue…..the weight of scientific evidence confirms that, even in amounts many times what people typically consume, aspartame is safe for its intended uses as a sweetener and flavor enhancer…..

What About The Chemicals?

A post shared by Scott Baptie (@scottbaptie) on Aug 14, 2017 at 3:57am PDT

My buddy said aspartame ingestion produces methanol and formaldehyde.”

Yes, that’s formaldehyde as in the stuff used to preserve dead bodies.

Whist it is true that aspartame is broken down into methanol (which is then converted into formaldehyde), as well as two amino acids, phenylalanine and aspartic acid – it is extremely unlikely to be detrimental to health.

Why? Well, the key is in the dosage.

Just because something has chemicals in it does not mean that it is harmful. Whether a chemical is natural or man-made doesn’t tell you anything about how toxic it is.

There are many naturally occurring chemicals in plants that are extremely toxic to humans in small amounts. On the other hand, there are many man-made chemicals that are totally harmless to us, even when consumed in large quantities.

Toxic fruit?

There are fruits and vegetables that everyone agrees would be classed as ‘natural foods’. However, many contain compounds that have been shown to be toxic to humans. The good news is that the dose is so small that you would never be able to eat enough of them for it to be harmful.

Just because something 'contains chemicals' doesn't mean it's automatically unhealthy. Click To Tweet

Semi-skimmed milk, for example, contains 6-9x more phenylalanine and 13x more aspartic acid than a diet coke. Tomato juice also has 4-6x more methanol than a diet coke too.

The air you breathe has chemicals in it, then you use that oxygen and that forms chemicals within you. The water you drink is a chemical and then you use it to form more chemicals; all of the carbs, protein and fat you eat are products of chemical reactions and then you use them in chemical reactions in your body.

Finally, formaldehyde is produced by our bodies every day in amounts thousands of times greater than you would ever get from aspartame. It is actually needed to make essential compounds, including your DNA. Source: Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

Here’s another example of why dosage is key and just because something “contains chemicals” doesn’t mean it’s automatically unhealthy. Apples, cherries and apricots all contain the poison cyanine!

[Related: Toxins, Diet Cokes, Pseudoscience & Fighting The March Of Unreason]

Do you avoid them for this reason? No, because the dosage is insignificant. Ever heard of apple eaters dropping like flies with cyanide poising, no, of course you haven’t.

Anyway, back to diet coke…

Does it get the thumbs up? No so fast, your dentist won`t be a fan.

One thing to mention is that diet drinks, although sugar free, may not be great for your pearly whites.

Studies have shown that carbonated drinks aren’t great for tooth enamel, which is one reason why you may not want to go overboard with the coke zeros.

So far, according to the science, diet cokes aren’t bad for your health. But…

Is Diet Coke Bad If You’re Trying To Lose Fat?

Let’s get something straight, weight gain and weight loss is determined by calorie balance (calories in vs calories out):

A fundamental principle of nutrition and metabolism is that body weight change is associated with an imbalance between the energy content of food eaten and energy expended by the body to maintain life and to perform physical work” ~ Am J Clin Nutr

A drink that contains zero calories cannot cause you to gain weight. It’s physiologically impossible. There is no evidence that shows drinking diet drinks will result in fat gain.

A drink that contains zero calories cannot cause you to gain weight. It’s physiologically impossible. Click To Tweet

Some studies have actually shown that sweeteners may even improve weight loss and long-term control of body weight.

How can this be? Ever had a sweet tooth? Of course you have. Sometimes artificially sweetened foods, although unlikely to serve any nutritional benefit can eliminate sugar cravings.

If a zero calorie diet coke is the “go to” instead of a 300 calorie chocolate bar, it doesn’t require an expert to explain why this is going to make a difference to the waist line.

[Related: 11 Ridiculous Myths About Fat Loss]

Overweight Folks And Diet Drinks

Now some studies have shown that people who are overweight or obese drink more sugar-free drinks than people who are a healthy weight.

But is the diet coke to blame? Unlikely.

These studies have also shown that the overweight people – who were drinking the diet drinks – had a much higher calorie intake than those who didn’t.

What’s more, people who generally have poor diets may also be more likely to drink diet drinks to offset the high amount of calories consumed by making poor food choices.

Although overweight people may drink more diet drinks, the diet cokes are unlikely to be the cause of the problem. This is a classic example of why correlation does not equal causation. Here’s another example:

In America, in summer, people eat more ice cream. More people also get eaten by sharks in America, in summer..

One does not cause the other, ice cream does not cause shark attacks, just like Diet Coke doesn’t cause obesity.

Ice cream does not cause shark attacks, just like Diet Coke doesn’t cause obesity. Click To Tweet

Does Diet Coke Increase Heart Attack And Stroke Risk?

An observational study published in February 2019 reported that people who drank diet drinks were more likely to suffer from heart attacks or a stroke.

However, because the study was observational it just looks at associations or links between the participants, rather than directly showing that diet drinks increase heart attacks or strokes. It also doesn’t actually explain why diet drinks might be linked to an increased risk. Follow?

Just like in the section above about overweight people drinking more diet coke, the folks more at risk of heart attack or stroke, due to other lifestyle factors, could be drinking more diet drinks in a bid to be healthier or manage their weight.

Lastly, the British Heart Foundation are still are happy with the safety of sweeteners and recommend them over a full sugar drinks every time.

Wait, Does Coke Trick Your Brain?

You’ve heard this one before too, haven’t you? That diet coke tricks your brain that it’s actually sugar.

The argument often centres around insulin (a hormone which plays a key role in the regulation of blood glucose levels). You’ll get folks that say that diet coke causes an insulin spike which results in weight gain.

Again, if you look at the evidence, this doesn’t happen in healthy humans or even in diabetic patients.

Diet Coke Can Clean Coins, So It Can`t Be Good!

The logic applied by some, is that if diet coke can clean coins, it can`t be good for your insides, which seems reasonable.

Other cleaning-related uses for diet coke are that it is good to clean rusted battery terminals, clean toilets and polish cars. The old favourite is that traffic police apparently carry two gallons of coke in their car boots to remove blood from the road after a car accident.

Here’s the deal.

Fizzy drinks contain carbonic acid which make them good stain removers.

Guess what? Plain old fizzy water or soda water does exactly the same thing. It isn’t anything mythical or chemical about the diet coke that makes it a good cleaner. It’s simply the carbonic acid.

Folks have been drinking fizzy water for years with no side effects and again. There is zero evidence that shows moderate consumption is detrimental.

Finally, the gastric acid in your stomach is far stronger than any acids found in fizzy juice anyway.

The Round-Up: Is Diet Coke…or Any Diet Drinks Bad For You?

Diet drinks aren’t ‘healthy’ but there isn’t really anything particularly ‘unhealthy’ about moderate consumption of them either.

If weight loss is the goal then swapping from a regular fizzy drink to a diet drink is probably going to be beneficial. If you’re a fizzy juice fiend then switching from three normal cokes to three diet cokes would cut sugar intake by around 90g. This will reduce calories by almost 400, which will likely help your waist line and you can do so knowing that the evidence shows that it’s safe to do so.

Similarly, if you’re often dehydrated and you find you can’t keep your fluids topped-up because you find water a tad dull then a slash of no-added sugar squash may make drinks more palatable and as a result, improve your hydration levels.

On the other hand, if you currently don’t drink diet coke and you’re perfectly happy with water, teas and coffees and so on then there certainly aren’t any health benefits to be had from diet drinks, you’re not missing anything.

It`s up to you what you drink but plain old water is still our favourite!

What do you think? Do you drink diet coke or do you avoid it? Let us know in the comments section below.

The post Is Diet Coke Bad For You? appeared first on Food For Fitness.

Is Diet Coke Bad For You? published first on https://olimpsportnutritionuk.tumblr.com/

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ask-the-phan-site · 6 years ago

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Phan Cam: Horizon Heist: Day: 26 (The Final Days)

WARNING: THIS MAY BE LONG.

>Oscorp Tower. All was quite... Until Norman Osborn left the lab. He was wondering where his son, Harry, could be. Normally, he would come to the lab to find a cure for his father... By testing it on himself. He rolled down the hall on his wheelchair until he came upon Harry’s room. He went inside to find his son fast asleep.

Harry? Are you up, son? Harry?

>There was no response. Harry’s eyes were shut tight. Knowing this, Norman leaves the room.

Norman: ... Now’s my chance.

>Norman goes back to the lab... Where he stands up from his chair.

Norman: Forgive me, Harry... But the Osborn Legacy must be preserved.

>Norman turns.

Norman: Even if it means hurting your best friend.

>Horizon High. A lot of students were outside waiting for the unveiling of Spider-Man’s statue. I look around... I hope Peter and Harry will be here.

I’m sure they’ll be here soon. We even sent them a text.

I know.

It’s just, we have this huge sense of dread... Like something bad is going to happen.

Well, it does seem that way. Everything’s going way too smoothly.

But I’m sure it’s nothing we can’t handle. We just have to stick together.

That’s for sure.

Besides, I don’t think someone like Peter would skip the unveiling of his own statue. Never mind the award ceremony.

I wouldn’t be surprised.

Max’s voice on the intercom: Attention, students! The unveiling will take place after the award ceremony. Please come to the auditorium.

Let’s go. I’m sure Peter will catch up soon.

Right. Let’s go.

>We go inside. Max and Hector were on stage as me, my friends, and the rest of the student body took their seats.

Welcome, everyone, to Horizon High’s End of the Year Award Ceremony. Today, we will be giving awards to students who have excelled at certain activities here at Horizon High.

When your name is called, come forward to receive your reward. ¡Buena suerte a todos!

Ren: (whispering to Anya) I just know you will get the most.

Anya: We’ll just have to wait and see.

She’s just being modest. Just you wait.

>After a while... I saw that we were right. Anya got the most awards. Including one for Best Case Design. I wonder what she’s going to get next.

Max: Our next award is for Best Chemistry. And it goes to... It’s looks like a tie. Anya Corazon and Ann Takamaki!

For real!? What did you do to get that award, Ann chan?

Ann: I know it sounds cliche, but I created a better moisturizer. Left unopened, moisturizer would keep for up to three years. My moisturizer lasts longer and better locks in moisture for up to one month.

Anya: I think Ann should have it. I know I created a cure for the spider virus, but I have to let at least another get an award.

Max: That’s very kind of you, Anya. Ann, come up here.

>Goes up on stage and receive her award. A lot of the boys cheered for her.

(returning to her seat) Wait until my parents see this! They’ll be so proud. Of course, I’ll still want to become an action star.

Makoto: That’s for sure. Well done, Ann chan.

Ann: Thanks.

Max: Alright, our next award is for Best Creative Science. This award goes to... Yusuke Kitagawa!

>Yusuke goes to the stage and gets his award.

I am honored. Thank you very much.

>Yusuke returns to his seat.

Ren: You deserve it, Yusuke. You were right. Science and art are alike and you’re the best artist I know.

Thank you, Ren.

>We look at each other and whisper something to each other. I won’t tell you what they are... We’ll let you decide that. But I’m pretty sure Max and Hector know as they smiled at us and at each other.

Max: Now, our next award is for Best Forensic Science. This award goes to... Makoto Niijima and Goro Akechi! It’s a tie!

Makoto: If you don’t mind, I would like to share it with Akechi kun.

That would be wonderful. Thank you, Makoto san.

You’re welcome, Akechi kun.

Hector: You’ve both done well. Good luck on becoming a police commissioner and a great detective, you two.

Max: Our next award is for Best Computer Science. Let’s see... It’s a tie. Anya Corazon and Futaba Sakura!

Anya: I would like to give my award to Futaba. I already have enough.

Futaba: Actually, I don’t mind sharing the award either.

Anya: Really? Thanks.

Think nothing of it.

Max: Our next award is for Best Agricultural Science. This award goes to... Haru Okumura!

>Haru goes up on stage and accepts her award.

Thank you all so much. I couldn’t have done this without your support. I promise that with this knowledge, I will help rebuild my family company into a better one where our works are treated more fairly.

>Everyone applauded as Haru returned to her seat. I think out of all of us, the one who was most proud of Haru... was Makoto.

Max: Okay, our next award is for... Best Social Science.

Ren: I know Anya’s got this one. She’s already done a lot.

Max: This award goes to... Ren Amamiya!

Ren: ... Yusuke, what’s my name?

Yusuke: Ren, it’s no joke. You just got an award.

...

Miles: (laughing a bit) He can’t even process what just happened!

Hector: Come on, Ren. Your award awaits.

>I go up on stage to accept my award.

Ren: I don’t understand. I would have thought Anya was get this.

Max: True, she’s your runner up. But you did something that would normally take years to accomplish. You did it in just less than one. That is just as impressive. You helped a lot of people in more ways than any one could know. That’s why we believe that you deserve this award most of all.

>Everyone in the auditorium applauded. I guess Max’s is kind of right. I have helped so many people while I was here. I accept the award. When I did, everyone cheered... Especially Yusuke. I return to my seat.

Yusuke: You truly deserve this, Ren.

Thank you, Yusuke.

Ryuji: Just try not to go overboard like Kamoshida.

Ren: I won’t. Don’t worry.

>After a few more awards were given (to Anya), we went out into the hall.

Ann: Jeez, Anya! Anymore awards and we might start thinking you’ll have a Palace.

Anya: Don’t worry, if I do get distorted, Gwen would just beat me to my senses.

Gwen: That’s true. (laughs a bit)

Hey! Look who’s here!

>We were all surprised to see a familiar face at school again.

Hey, guys. Did I miss anything?

Makoto: Well... We had an award ceremony.

>We show Peter our awards.

Peter: Wow! Congrats, guys. I wish I had won something.

Miles: You did.

>Miles shows Peter a handmade award like the one Anya gave me.

Miles: “Most Likely to Miss an Award Ceremony.” I made it myself.

>Miles gives Peter the award.

Peter: Oh. Thanks.

Ryuji: If it makes you feel any better, Pete, I didn’t win anything either. Prolly ‘cause I transferred to Oz Academy.

Peter: I guess so...

>I’m guess bringing up Osborn Academy is making him think of Harry. I better change the subject fast. Fortunately, my Knowledge and Charm found a way.

Ren: I see you’re wearing glasses.

Gwen: Yeah. I thought, since your powers improved your eyesight, you don’t need them.

Peter: I just duplicated the lenses from my mask and put them in the frames.

Akechi: That’s quite clever.

Peter: I know... Kind of reminds me of my life before Spider-Man.

>He was starting to look down again.

Gwen: Is something wrong, Peter?

Peter: It’s just... When me and Harry released the cure on New York, he yelled at me. He said only I saved the city.

Ryuji: But that’s not true. You both saved the city.

Peter: That’s not what he thinks. I know it’s understandable about why he was so upset, but... It really hurt me. I was angry. He hurt me and I wanted to hurt him back. But for the sake of my friends, my family, and the city, I had to hide it.

Ren: Do you still want to hurt him.

Peter: ... Not anymore. I actually thought he was right. Spider-Man ruins everything. I even considered quitting.

Miles: (surprised) You what!?

Peter: Don’t worry. I changed my mind. I know being Spider-Man no more won’t solve anything. I need to solve this not just as a scientist would... But how I would. Whether it would be as Peter Parker or as Spider-Man.

Gwen: That’s... Really good. Admitting how you truly feel is the first step.

Peter: Well, I know I didn’t do this alone... You Phantom Thieves did most of the work.

Ren: We only did this to help Ryuji and Akechi. Whatever you and Harry do effects them as well. They were afraid that if the two of you were no longer together, neither would they.

Peter: But that’s not true either. Ryuji and Akechi are not us. They’re themselves.

Akechi: We know that now. But still, we couldn’t let you and Harry be separated like this. The both of you...

You’re meant to be together.

Peter: ... I know. Me and Harry have been together for so long, most of which we didn’t even know each other. We can't just let it end like this.

Ryuji: Besides, we all know who’s fault really is... *cough* Norman Osborn *cough*

Peter: (now smiling with tears coming down) I know... Thank you, guys.

>I looked around. Ann, Makoto, Haru, Gwen, Anya, and even Morgana were on the verge of tears themselves.

Peter: (drying his tears and has calmed down) Ren, you’ve done so much for me and Harry. I appreciate that. So, I want you to have this. It’s my first mask when I became Spider-Man.

>Peter gives me his Original Spider-Man Mask.

Peter: All I just want to say is... Thank you for everything. For me, for Harry, for Aunt May, and our friends.

You’re welcome... And thank you, too... For believing.

>I can feel our bond become stronger.

I am thou, thou art I… Thou hast turned a vow into a blood oath.

Thy bond shall become the wings of rebellion and break the yoke of thy heart.

Thou has awakened to the ultimate secret of the other Justice, granting thee infinite power…

Rank Up!

Confidant: Spider-Man

Arcana: Justice

Rank: 10 (MAX)

Ability: SM: Conclusion

Spider-Man can now fight along side you as a Persona.

Admin’s Notes

Status of the Persona Spider-Man will be explained in another post.

Miles: Well, I’m glad that worked out... Now if only Harry could do the same.

Ryuji: I’m sure that day will come soon enough. I mean, it’s not like his father will do anything while his heart is changing. It’s too late.

>Suddenly, there was a loud noise outside. We went outside... and were shocked to see who was flying around.

SPIDER-MAN!

Miles: You were saying?

Ren: Hold on! Something’s not right here. I would have thought all the time Harry was finding a cure for his father and his change of heart would have made him avoid doing this.

Peter: (his Spider Sense tingling) I think so, too.

>Peter takes out his mask.

Peter: I haven’t given up being Spider-Man. I’ll keep going. Miles?

Miles: I’m with you all the way!

Gwen: You guys go on ahead. Me and Anya will get everyone to safety.

Ren: In the meantime, we’ll handle Hobgoblin. Our weapons may not do much and our guns only shoot pellets, they will be enough to slow him down long enough.

Gwen: ... Alright. Just be careful.

Peter: We’re counting on you.

>With that, me and the Phantom Thieves go to deal with Hobgoblin while Peter and Miles go and change.

Gwen: Come one, Anya, we know who can do this, too... You know who you need to be.

Anya: ... Fine. Amazing it is.

>With us, me and my friends were firing our guns left and right trying to keep Hobgoblin at bay.

Hobgoblin: Back off! My fright is with Spider-Man! Not you!

In your dreams!

>Ann begins firing her sub machine gun like mad at Hobgoblin.

Hobgoblin: You had your chance.

>Hobgoblin then makes a rush to Ann.

ANN!

>Ryuji quickly runs to Ann and pushes her out of the way as Hobgoblin strikes Ryuji instead.

RYUJI!

>Ann runs to him.

Ann: Are you alright!?

I’m... Not through yet.

Hobgoblin: You’re pathetic. Do you really think you have any chance against a true Osborn? What a waste, you traitor.

Ryuji: That’s right, I’m a traitor. You know why? Because unlike an Osborn, I actually do care about others. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to protect them. To make them happy. Osborns only care about themselves and put others down. I won’t give up on others just because their beneath me. I will keep doing what I can to make sure they live. That they live their hopes and dreams. And that is why... I know you’re not Harry Osborn.

>Hobgoblin doesn’t respond. He just takes two pumpkin bombs and throws them and Ryuji and Ann who hold each other for dear life... Only for the two bombs to be caught by webs. Spider-Man and Spider-Kid throw the bombs high up in the sky where they exploded.

Did you forget about us? Or are you just that stuck up?

Hobgoblin: There’s only room for one of us in this city, Spider-Man. And it’s going to be the Hobgoblin!

Uh, I’m right here!

>Hobgoblin takes another pumpkin bomb and throws it at Spider-Kid... But another web catches it and flings it back at Hobgoblin who dodges it.... We were surprised by who did it.

Is this a private party or can anyone join in?

Spider-Kid: (whisper) A- Anya?

Hobgoblin: More spider people!?

Spider person: Call me Spider-Girl!

Spider-Man: That’s... Actually a good name for you.

Spider-Girl: Thanks. And as for you! (to Hobgoblin) I know you’re angry about everything that’s happened, but if it’s really you under there, Harry, please stop... He’s your best friend!

Hobgoblin: There is no one else! There is only... HOBGOBLIN! All who are protecting the criminal, Spider-Man, is a menace!

>The fight goes on. Ryuji and Ann managed to recover as we continue on. After for what seemed like an hour, we were almost on our last leg... Our Personas are really starting to look good right now.

Hobgoblin: Come to your senses. Join the Hobgoblin and bring him (Spider-Man) down!

Never! All you do is hurt people! We’ll never do that!

Hobgoblin: Fine! Be destroyed along side him!

>Hobgoblin tries to make a go at Haru, but was stopped by Spider-Man in time.

Hobgoblin: I told you I wouldn’t rest until you were destroyed, Spider-Man. You are a blemish on society. I intend to take you out!

>Hobgoblin takes a hold of Spider-Man’s web and flings him to the side.

Spider-Man: Harry, we can work this out together! Just let me help you!

>Spider-Man get’s back up to continue fighting. Hobgoblin takes out his flame sword.

Hobgoblin: You’re wrong. You’re the one who’s going to need help.

>Spider-Man comes at Hobgoblin as he swipes his sword at him.

Hobgoblin: Hogging all the heroism. Taking all the credit for curing Spider Island. Well, all of that will end!

>It’s just no use... Ryuji is right... That’s not Harry... Harry... Where are you?

>Meanwhile, as if on cue... Harry wakes up. He looks around. He gets out of bed and goes out of his room. How long was he out? Then, he heard something a little ways. The janitor was watching something on his phone... Harry was hocked to see what it was. Spider-Man, Spider-Kid, a new spider person, and us frighting Hobgoblin.

Wh- What?

>Harry rushes over to the lab. His father was gone along with the Hobgoblin suit. There was no doubt about it. It’s Norman Osborn who is fighting Spider-Man... Frighting his best friend.

Harry: Dad... You were fully cured all this time... You lied to me... Just like you lied to him about everything... Even Spider-Man... How could Dad... No, Peter was right. He was right about my father all this time... (sighs) This is all my fault. I should have trusted Pete from the start. He knew what was really going on and I pushed him away for it... I can’t let my dad do this to him or our friends... I have to tell Pete I’m sorry... But how? Dad took the only Hobgoblin suit...

>He looked around until...

Harry: Huh? That’s...

>Harry couldn’t believe he noticed it until now, but it was a little far from him to tell.

Harry: ... Here’s hoping it wasn’t a dream.

>Harry motions his arm at the target...

THWIP!

>A web came out and caught it.

Harry: I KNEW IT!

>With this (which will get a quick fix using the machines), Harry knew what he had to do.

Harry: (with determination) Hang on, Pete, I’m coming.

>Back with us, the fight went to the front of Avengers Tower.

Spider-Kid: Hey, you think these guys might help?

Spider-Man: I doubt it. Tony said he and the others are on some inter dimensional trip and won’t be back for a few weeks.

Spider-Kid: THEY’RE GONE!?

Hobgoblin: Good. Last thing we need is Stark and his other imbeciles to interfere. This is between you and me, Spider-Man. No one else!

>Hobgoblin makes a go at Spider-Kid. Thankfully, Spider-Girl sung by carrying Haru who hits him in the side of the head with her ax.

How do you like that, you poor excuse for Hogsqueal!?

Spider-Girl: You tell him, sister!

Hobgoblin: You’ll pay for that one!

>Hobgoblin throws a pumpkin bomb at Spider-Girl’s web. When it hits the web, it explodes and cuts the web causing the two girls to fall. Spider-Girl held on to Haru tight. Thankfully, they landed on their feet... In our moving van.

Hold on, you two!

Haru: Thanks, Makoto!

Gwen: I’m here, too! Thought you could use an extra hand after me and Anya got everyone to safety.

Haru: Right, we could use all the help we can get.

>Me and Yusuke caught up to them in a motorcycle Max and Hector let us borrow. I was driving and Yusuke was in the side car with Morgana.

Yusuke: (his assault rifle ready) Keep it steady, I only have one shot for this.

Ren: Alright, just be careful.

Morgana: Good luck.

>Yusuke aims his gun carefully at Hobgoblin’s flame sword while he has it out and ready to strike Spider-Man.

HERE GOES!

>Yusuke fires and the pellet effortlessly knocks the sword out of his hand.

We’ve done it!

Way to go, Yusuke!

Nice going!

Hobgoblin: Tch! You’ll have to do better than that!

>Hobgoblin was then throwing pumpkin bomb after pumpkin bomb. Thankfully, my level of Proficiency, I manage to dodge them... Eat your heart out, Toretto.

>After for what seemed like the whole day, we finally got Hobgoblin cornered in Central Park.

Spider-Man: There’s nowhere left to run!

Hobgoblin: You underestimate me, Spider-Man... I’m just getting started.

>He snaps his fingers and the trees started flashing... There were pumpkin bombs in them... He wanted us to chase him here.

EVERYONE, GET DOWN!

>We all hit the dirt... Except for Spider-Man.

Ren: Peter, what are you doing!? Get down now!

Spider-Man: No! I can get through to him... Harry, please, stop this. I know a lot has happened, but please, this won’t help at all. Look it in your heart.

Hobgoblin: And be made a fool of? ... Never! You will die here today, Spider-Man!

Spider-Man: And why are you calling me that!? You know who I am... Why aren’t you calling me Pete? Unless... Unless Ryuji is right... You’re not Harry at all, are you?

Hobgoblin: ... Very perceptive of you, Peter Parker. That’s right. I’m not Harry Osborn... But I am an Osborn.

>It was too late. The bombs were about to go off and Spider-Man was still standing up. We all brace ourselves... Peter...

??????? ??????: Yeah, I’ve heard!

Everyone: !

>A web shot and pulled Spider-Man out.

>3... 2... 1... BOOM!

>The explosion came. I held on to Yusuke and Morgana really tight. When it was over, I was glad we had all survived. Hobgoblin was high in the air on his glider... And Spider-Man was nowhere in sight.

Hobgoblin: WHAT!?

Spider-Man’s voice: Up here!

>We turned... Spider-Man was on a nearby gazebo, unharmed.

Who... Who saved him?

Spider-Kid: Don’t look at me. I was down here with you.

Spider-Girl: I didn’t do anything, either.

??????? ??????: No, just someone who was in the same boat as Hobby.

Hobgoblin: Who are you!?

>Suddenly, an invisible force hits Hobgoblin, knocking him off his glider. Then, that force landed in front of him and came into the visible spectrum... Oh my...

Someone you know all too well.

Spider-Man: Stealth Spider!?

Spider-Kid: Again!? Who is it this time? Casey Jones?

Stealth Spider: Oh, please. I’m not that into sports. I’m a new kind of player.

Hobgoblin: It... It can’t be! How...

Stealth Spider: What’s the matter? You look as if you’ve seen a ghost. Guess that would be appropriate... Since the old me is gone. I’m a new person now. I’ve seen who you really are.

Hobgoblin: Then you know I’m only doing this for the greater good.

Stealth Spider: Greater good? Don’t make me laugh. You’re just doing this for your own benefit. I’m just here to see it fall. Especially after everything you did to me.

Hobgoblin: Everything I’ve done, I’ve only done for you. I even spent millions to ensure your future... And this is how you repay me!?

>Hobgoblin tries to make a go at Stealth Spider... However, Spider-Man stops him by firing a web at Hobgoblin’s mask and pulls him down... Pulling his mask off.

Spider-Man: I should have known it was you. There’s only one other Osborn I know... How could you do this to your own son?

Well played, Parker. Now I’m starting to realize why Harry would want something to so with someone so beneath him.

Everyone (save myself, Ryuji, Akechi, and Spider-Man): NORMAN OSBORN!?

I knew it! There’s no way Harry would do something like this, you sonucabitch!

This is a new low you’ve done, Osborn! Making everyone think your son was doing this.

What kind of monster would do this to his own flesh and blood? And you call yourself a parent.

But if Hobgoblin is Norman Osborn, does that mean...

Stealth Spider: Yes, Futaba. It means Harry Osborn...

>Stealth Spider removes his mask...

Is closer than you think.

>Spider-Man removes his own mask. Peter was really surprised.

Harry... You have spider power!? How...

Ren: I think I know. All the times he tested those cure samples on himself. When I last saw him, he was holding his hand in pain... Like he was bitten.

Harry: True. I don’t think that spider was radioactive, but I think the venom got mixed with those chemicals and... Well, this happened.

Norman: I’m impressed. I would have thought that you would have mutated into a spider creature. But you didn’t. I guess you are a true Osborn.

Harry: To you. But me, I’m just myself.

Norman: No matter. Seeing how you now have powers far greater than your friend’s, I am willing to give you another chance. Come, Harry. Join me. Take down Spider-Man and the rest of these fools and help me preserve the Osborn Family Legacy.

Harry: ... Sorry, Dad. But my friends matter more than a legacy built on lies and deception.

Norman: ... Then I was wrong. You are no Osborn.

Harry: And you are no father.

>Norman takes out a pumpkin bomb and throws it at Harry. He catches it with his web and throws it in the air where it exploded. Then, Norman tries to make a go at him, but Harry jumps over him and kicks him in the back. Norman tires to hit back, but Peter shoots a web to stop his fist.

Norman: Stay out of this, Parker! This is between me and my son. I’ll deal with you later.

Peter: No, this ends now!

>Peter puts his mask back on and the two duke it out. Harry jumps back to us.

Ryuji: See you’ve finally going your own path.

Harry: It wasn’t easy. But I guess I have you guys to thank for it. I shouldn’t have gotten so angry with Peter. I thought I could save the city, but I wasn’t looking at the big picture. Being a hero is about more than getting praise and recognition, it’s about doing what you know is right. I was trying so hard to my father’s love and approval that I never saw that he hardly had any for me. All the love and approval I ever wanted... was already from my friends... Especially Pete.

Ren: Admitting it isn’t easy. It’s only the first step. You and Peter are close to each other.

Harry: I know. I need to let Pete know I forgive him and want to know if he’s ready to forgive me.

Ren: You won’t know until you ask him.

Harry: ... I will. Thanks, you guys.

>Me and Harry smile at each other.

Harry: I know this isn’t a good time, but I think you should have this. It was the original blueprints for my glider, my bombs, and my flame sword. I don’t need them anymore since I’ve already got them memorized.

>Harry gives me his (Harry’s) Blueprints.

Harry: I don’t know when I’ll need my inventions again, but I know you will definitely need them. I trust you.

I trust you too, Harry. Thank you.

>I can feel our bond become stronger.

I am thou, thou art I… Thou hast turned a vow into a blood oath.

Thy bond shall become the wings of rebellion and break the yoke of thy heart.

Thou has awakened to the ultimate secret of the other Chariot, granting thee infinite power…

Rank Up!

Confidant: Harry Osborn

Arcana: Chariot

Rank: 10 (MAX)

Ability: A New Legacy

Stealth Spider can now fight along side you as a Persona.

Admin’s Notes

Status of the Persona Stealth Spider will be explained in another post.

Harry: I have a plan. Don’t call it a smart one though... Ryuji?

>Ryuji thought carefully for a while. When he finished, he reaches into his pocket... And gives Harry his phone back.

I think you’ve learned your lesson.

>Harry smiles and puts his mask back on.

Stealth Spider: Meet us at Grand Central Station. Spider-Kid, Spider-Girl, care to help me and Spider-Man?

Spider-Girl: Yeah, it looks like he’ll get clobbered out there.

Spider-Kid: Yeah, and so will us.

Stealth Spider: It’s not over yet. Let’s go!

>The three Web Warriors swing off to help Spider-Man.

Ren: Let’s go, Phantom Thieves!

Gwen: Even me? Cause, I have a feeling I know where this is going.

Why not? You, Miles, even Anya are basically one of us now. Phantom Thieves.

Gwen: ... Okay. Let’s go.

>We arrive at Grand Central Station. Not too long after we arrive, Stealth Spider arrives.

Stealth Spider: They almost here. Are you guys ready?

Makoto: I hope you know what you’re doing.

Gwen: I think they’re here now!

>Just as predicted, Spider-Man came flying in and landed safely.

Spider-Man: That was close.

>Norman came flying in on his glider, Spider-Kid and Spider-Girl following him.

Spider-Girl: We’ve got you surrounded! There’s nowhere else to go!

Norman: Is this your brilliant plan? Chasing me to crowded public area?

Spider-Man: Not for long. Stealth Spider, now!

>Norman quickly turned to Stealth Spider holding his phone... With the Metaverse App open.

Norman: ... Clever.

Meta Nav: Beginning navigation.

>The familiar red wave came over us. When it was over, we were now in a distorted version of Grand Central... This is the entrance to New York’s Mementos.

Spider-Kid: (surprised) Holy-!

Yes! The P Thieves are now at full power!

Spider-Kid: Whoa! Aren’t you...

Mona: Here, I’m known as Mona.

Joker.

Skull!

Panther.

Fox.

Queen.

Oracle. (It used to be Navi, but that was already taken.)

Noir.

And Crow.

Code names, huh? I guess that makes sense.

Spider-Girl: (surprised) Gwen! Why are you dressed like Spider-Gwen again?

Oracle: It’s because of her cognition. Part of her still sees herself as a hero, so the Metaverse made it so.

Spider-Gwen: So, I have powers here?

Oracle: I don’t know. There’s still a lot about this world we’re still learning about.

Norman: Indeed. Even the Cognitive psience has a few things that need... Things even your mother couldn’t have known, Futaba san.

Y- You know!?

Norman: How couldn’t eye? That fact that you’re Wakaba Isshiki’s daughter and there have been a recent change of hearts. Not to mention that your dear leader, Ren, has quite the reputation, especially with that foolish Prime Minister. You see, I’m not some cheap villain that you’re all used to... I actually do my homework. But I have to admit, I am impressed. You’ve managed to hide it this long. I didn’t know it was you until after I told Harry to stand against Spider-Man. Even after all the times we spent together. If things had been just a little different, I would have easily called you the only equal to the Osborns.

That’s because I listen more to my heart... To bad I can’t say the same for you.

Norman: (laughs a bit) True. From your perspective, I might as well be heartless. But I had to for the sake of my family. I will do whatever it takes for them to achieve greatness. That shows just how much I care about my son... I will even move mountains for him.

>This is it. This is the true face of Norman Osborn. As much as I hate to admit it, he’s honest... In a dishonest way. It is at this moment that I finally realize what kind of person Norman Osborn really is.

I am thou, thou art I… Thou hast turned a vow into a blood oath.

Thy bond shall become the wings of rebellion and break the yoke of thy heart.

Thou has awakened to the ultimate secret of the other Devil, granting thee infinite power…

Rank Up!

Confidant: Norman Osborn

Arcana: Devil

Rank: 10 (MAX)

Ability: True Mask

Hobgablin can now fight along side you as a Persona.

Admin’s Notes

Status of the Persona Hobgoblin will be explained in another post.

Norman: But enough of this. I will rid this city of whoever tries to tarnish the Osborn name.

Skull: And how will you do that? We’ve got you surrounded and out-powered.

Norman: On the contrary, I’m about to get all the help I need. I’ve read in the report about something here in Mementos... And I’ve been calling it with my cognition ever since we got here.

Oracle: Wait...

ARE YOU MAD!? YOU DIDN'T!

>Then, we heard something coming from the depths... The sound of rattling chains... He did call it... And it emerges from the depths....

Welcome!

>The Reaper prepares to use Mamudoon .

Oracle: PERSONA!

>Prometheus shields us from the attack.

Norman: Very good catch.

Spider-Kid How do we stop that!?

Queen: Leave it to us! We’ll handle the Reaper. You guys focus on Norman.

Spider-Girl: I’m helping, too!

Spider-Gwen: Me, too! We can’t just let you do this on your own.

Queen: Are you sure? The Reaper is the most powerful Shadow ever.

Spider-Gwen: But when you have more help, even something that powerful doesn’t stand a chance.

Queen: ...

Alright. But be careful.

Joker: Right. Queen, you, Spider-Girl, Spider-Gwen, Panther, and Noir handle the Reaper. Me, Skull, Crow, Mona, Spider-Man, and Stealth Spider will handle Norman. Fox, Spider-Kid, make sure Norman doesn’t try to escape.

Don’t worry, Joker. We’ll handle it.

Spider-Kid: Well, I would rather be fighting Norman. But I don’t want to risk fighting the Reaper, so I’m with Fox.

Fox: PERSONA!

>Kamu Susano-o blocks one exit with a wall of ice while Spider-Kid webs up the other.

Norman: Go right ahead. They won’t hold me for long.

Stealth Spider: But we will.

>The fight begins.

Queen, Panther, and Noir: PERSONA!

>The Reaper uses Elec Break and then Ice Break.

Noir: I almost forgot it can do things twice.

Queen: Then we’ll just have to be stronger.

>Anat uses Marakukaja to raise the party’s defense. Hecate uses Tarunda.

Noir: Right. Let’s do this, Astarte!

>Astarte uses Makarakarn on Spider-Girl and Spider-Gwen.

Spider-Girl: Thanks. Now it’s my turn.

>Spider-Girl attacks in a way similar to Skull Cracker. It may have not caused much damage, it did leave the Reaper Confused. And in that confusion, it does nothing.

Queen: Well done, Spider-Girl!

Spider-Girl: Thanks.

>Anat uses Atomic Flare, Hecate uses Concentrate to ready herself for her next attack, Astarte uses Psiodyne which was stronger because the Reaper was Confused, and Spider-Gwen uses a Psycho Bomb which was also stronger because it was Confused. The Reaper throws a Psycho Bomb to Spider-Gwen.

Spider-Gwen: I don’t see what the problem is. I think this isn’t that hard.

Panther: Wait til it comes back to its senses, then you’ll really have to watch out.

>Anat uses Atomic Flare again. Hecate uses Blazing Hell which was stronger because she used Concentrate. Astarte and Spider-Gwen did what they did last time. Again, the Reaper did nothing.

Oracle: Careful, guys. Just one more turn and the confusion wears off.

Queen: Right. Get ready everyone.

>Anat uses Marakukaja again to keep their defense up. Hecate uses Tarunda again to keep its attack down. Astarte uses Psiodyne and Spider-Girl uses Skull Cracker hoping it would keep the Reaper Confused. It didn’t. Then, the Reaper recovered from the effects.

Reaper: Me not impressed. Me angry now!

>The Reaper uses Riot Gun. Thankfully, Queen and Noir dodged it flawlessly. However, Panther, Spider-Girl, and Spider-Gwen got hit. They lost a lot of health. Fortunately, Anat uses Mediarahan to heal them a lot.

Spider-Gwen: Okay, I see what you mean. So what’s the plan?

Noir: Usually the best way to defeat the Reaper is to have it succumb to Despair. But that’s easier said than done. I don’t think any of our Personas can do that.

Spider-Gwen: I think we can come up with something. But it may take some time. Think you can cover for us?

Queen: We’ll buy you all you need. Let’s do this!

>Hecate uses Concentrate, Asarte uses One-shot Kill, and Spider-Girl and Spider-Gwen wait. The Reaper uses Ziodyne on Spider-Girl and Spider-Gwen. Thankfully, the Makarakarn repelled it back at it. I hope they know what they’re doing. Anat uses Marakukaja to raise their defense, Hecate uses Blazing Hell (which was stronger), and Astarte uses Makarakarn on the two Spider-Girls.

Spider-Girl: Just a little longer.

Reaper: No matter what you do, it won’t work. Me not so easy to get rid of.

>The Reaper uses Concentrate. He was getting ready to use a major attack.

Oracle: Get ready, it’s going to go critical.

>Queen, Panther, Noir, Spider-Girl, and Spider-Gwen defend themselves.

Spider-Gwen: Almost done.

Reaper: Prepare for death!

>The Reaper uses Megidolaon. It took out over half of Queen’s, Panther’s and Noir’s health. Spider-girl and Spider-Gwen, however, were protected by Makarakarn. But the rebound was still not enough to take it down.

Oracle: Hang in there, guys! Here I go! Speed up!

>Prometheus uses Masukukaja to raise the party’s speed.

Spider-Girl: Thanks for that. We’re almost done.

>Anat uses Mediarahan to fully heal the party. Hecate uses Tarunda to lower the Reaper’s attack again. Astarte uses Makarakarn on Spider-Girl and Spider-Gwen again.

Spider-Gwen: It’s done! Whenever you’re ready!

Go right ahead!

>Spider-Gwen throws what looks like a hi-tech bomb at the Reaper. When it hit, it released some purple wave... The Reaper goes into Despair.

It... It worked.

Spider-Girl: We call it the Scramble Bomb. It’s suppose to make the target so mentally stressed that they would fall into Despair.

Spider-Gwen: Unfortunately, because we had to make it on the go, we can’t make another one. This is a one time deal.

Queen: I see. Either way, it is good enough. Now we just need to wait and try to withstand whatever it throws at us.

Reaper: Me must... Destroy...

>The Reaper tries to attack Panther, but she dodges it. Anat uses Atomic Flare, Hecate uses Agidyne, Asarte uses Psiodyne which was stronger because the Reaper was in Despair, and Spider-Gwen uses a Psycho Bomb. The Reaper uses Vorpal Blade which takes a huge amount of health from them. Anat uses Mediarahan, Panther uses Cream Puffs to restore Queen’s energy, Astarte uses One-shot Kill, and Spider-Gwen uses another Psycho Bomb. The Reaper uses Spirit Leech on Panther.

Panther: I don’t think taking my SP is going to help this time. I made plenty of this.

Reaper: Me no care. Me will go down fighting!

>The Reaper uses Hamaon... On Spider-Girl and Spider-Gwen. Their health drops to 1.

Spider-Girl: Wow... So this is what it’s like... Getting hit by one of those things.

>Anat uses Diarahan to fully heal them.

Queen: Just a couple more turns and it will be over. Just hang in there.

>Hecate uses Concentrate. Astarte uses Psiodyne. And Spider-Girl uses a Megaton Raid-like attack.

Reaper: This will not be the end. Me will be back soon enough to hear you scream!

>The Reaper does nothing. This was it. Queen, Panther, Noir, Spider-Girl, and Spider-Gwen just watch as the Reaper succumb to Despair and disappear.

Spider-Gwen: (surprised) Wow. I know being in Despair is bad, but...

Noir: Only in the Metaverse.

I just hope the others are doing fine.

>Meanwhile with us, our fight with Norman is proving a bit hard.

Oracle: I’ll do something about this! Supports’ on the way!

>Prometheus fully restores our health and energy.

Skull: Thanks, Oracle!

Norman: It is going to take more than that to stop me. I know everything there is to know about you. Even things you don’t know.

Crow: You’re wrong. What you know is just data. And unlike data... We change.

Stealth Spider: Something you will never understand.

Mona: But that’s why we’re here. To make you understand.

Spider-Man: I know you just want what’s best for Harry, but this isn’t the way.

Joker: Yes, you may not have a heart for us to steal, but today...

We’ll take everything you have!

Norman: (laughs) I invite you to try.

Skull, Crow, and Mona: PERSONA!

>I change Personas.

Joker: PERSONA!

(Insert song: Rivers in the Desert)

>Seiten Taisei uses Matarukaja to raise our attack, Loki uses Debilitate to lower Norman’s stats, Mona and I just defend ourselves.

Spider-Man: What about us?

Joker: You and Stealth Spider will play your roles soon enough.

Stealth Spider: Right. We’ll be here when you need us.

Norman: Your little bond won’t help you much with me.

>Because of his cognition, Norman uses Agidyne on me. Luckily, I dodge it. Seiten Taise uses Assault Dive, Loki uses Megaton Raid, Mercurius uses Miracle Punch, and Lakshmi uses Bufudyne. Norman proved to be weak to Ice with my attack.

Joker: Everyone, now!

Skull: All right! Time for some pain!

>After the attack, Norman still stands.

Norman: Is that the best that you can do?

>Norman takes out his flame sword and uses Brave Blade on Crow. It was a colossal hit.

Skull: You’ll pay for that, Osborn! Go, Seiten Taisei!

>Seiten Taisei uses Ziodyne, Loki uses Kougaon, Mercurius heals Crow with Diarahan, and Lakshmi uses Bufudyne again, bringing Nomran down. We decide to attack him one at a time. We’ll save the All-Out-Attack for another time. Norman gets back up and uses Maragidyne. The attack left Mona Burned. Seiten Taise uses Ziodyne again, Loki also uses Kougaon, and Mercurius uses Salvation to heal the party of everything.

Spider-Man: This is going to be tougher than I thought. Without a proper defense, a lot of us will go down very shortly.

Joker: I know... That’s where you come in.

>With that... I change Personas.

Spider-Man: This... This power.

>Through me and our bond, Spider-Man uses Marakukaja to raise our defense.

Spider-Man: Wow! I know I could already do this in the Metaverse, but... Wait. Am I a Persona now?

Joker: If that what you want to interpret it.

Spider-Man: Alright. Whatever gets the job done.

Norman: Interesting. You’ve learned a lot... As if.

>Norman uses Evil Smile. Both Skull and Crow are overcome with Fear. Then, he uses Ghastly Wail and both Skull and Crow fall.

Mona: Hold on, you guys!

>Mercurius uses Samarecarm to revive Skull. I change Personas again.

Joker: Okay, Stealth Spider, let’s see what you’re made of.

>Stealth Spider also uses Samarecarm to revive Crow.

Crow: Thanks, Harry.

Stealth Spider: You’re welcome.

>Norman tries another Evil Smile. It didn’t get any of us.

Norman: I had a feeling it wouldn’t work this time. But I’m no through yet.

>Norman looks scornfully at me.

Crow: I think I know how we can take him down. But he has to be knocked down first. Joker, we’ll be counting on you.

Joker: Right.

>Seiten Taisei uses Matarukaja, Loki uses Laevateinn, and Mercurius uses Masukunda. I change Personas back to Lakshmi. She uses Bufudyne which knocks him down.

Crow: This is what I was waiting for!

>After the attack, Norman was still standing.

Now, Skull!

Now or never, right!?

>With their Personas, they use their Fusion Move, Holy Lightning. It definitely took a lot of health from Norman... This actually give me a good idea.

Norman: Interesting. I’ve seen you’ve learned a lot at Osborn Academy.

Skull: No way, man. This is something we learned on our own.

Crow: Yes, with our own hearts. Something you’ll never know... Since you don’t have one.

Norman: (laughs a bit) How simple. But I guess that’s always with you.

>Norman uses Marin Karin on Mona. He got Brainwashed.

Skull: That can’t be good.

>Seiten Taisei uses Megaton Raid, but Norman dodged it. Loki uses Debilitate. Unfortunately, neither of them used Harisen Recovery. While Brainwashed, Mona has Mercurius heal Norman with Diarama.

Norman: (cruelly) So sorry I had your friend do that. But it just proves my point. You can’t win against me. Just as our legacy said.

Joker: Is that all you ever talk about? How someone like Emily Lyman ended up with you is beyond me.

Norman: How would you know? She is gone now. All I have left is Harry. I just want make sure our family legacy is secured.

Stealth Spider: So that’s all you care about? The Osborn Legacy? If Mom were still here, she would be crying her eyes out.

Joker: Don’t worry, he won’t get away with this... Especially if I do this.

>A surge of energy goes through me, Spider-Man, and Stealth Spider.

Spider-Man: This... This power...

Stealth Spider: Are you... Using us at the same time?

Call it... A Fusion... Tangled Web!

>Spider-Man and Stealth Spider swing around to form a translucent glowing spiderweb over Norman. Then, it fell on him with a bang. When the smoke cleared, Norman had lost a lot of health, he was Confused, and was Down.

Joker: Now’s our chance to strike!

Skull: Let’s tear ‘em apart!

Crow: It’ll be a massacre!

>After the attack, Norman was still up, but very weak and very Confused.

Joker: I was inspired by Skull and Crow’s Fusion Move, so I decided to use one of my own. A Fusion Spell.

Skull: Way to go, Joker! ... Now snap outta it, Mona!

>Skull uses Harisen Recovery on Mona. He was back to normal.

Mona: Sorry. I let my guard down.

Crow: It’s okay, Mona. It happens to the best of us.

Skull: But don’t worry, we’ve got him cornered. Let’s go, Seiten Taisei!

>Seiten Taisei uses God’s Hand. Then, Loki uses Brave Blade. And then, Mercurius uses Garudyne.

Norman: So this is how it ends for me.

Joker: It just goes to show you, “Payback’s a bitch.”

>I change Personas back to Lakshmi. She uses Bufudyne. It knocks him down easy.

Joker: The time has come!

>That was it. The battle was over. We won and Norman Osborn was KO. He laid there motionless but alive. Then, Stealth Spider removes his mask and walks furiously to his fallen father.

Peter: (removing his mask) Harry, wait!

He’s right, dude. We won.

>Harry picks his father up by the caller. Norman looks at his son’s furious face.

Norman: ... Go ahead. Finish me. But remember... I was the one who gave you life. And no matter what you do, you will always have the Osborn blood running through your veins.

>Harry then raises his fist at Norman. And then...

THWIP!

>He webs his father’s mouth shut.

Harry: ... Death... Is too much of a mercy. You’re going to atone for your crimes against me an everyone else. I am not the law, but you will be judged by it.

>He wraps up Norman’s arms and legs with webs.

Harry: Get ready to go back.

Mona: Alright. But wait until we’re out of sight. Remember, everyone knows your secret identities, but not ours.

Peter: Right. We’ll see you guys later.

>We go into hiding as Harry turned off the app. After the wave had passed, they were back in the real world. A lot of bystanders were staring in shock.

Bystander 1: It’s Spider-Man! I mean, Peter Parker! The one from the calling card!

Bystander 2: And is that Harry Osborn!? I didn’t know he was spider person, too!

Bystander 3: Who’s that wrapped up in webs? Is that... Norman Osborn!

>Not too long after coming back, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents arrived on the scene and arrested Norman.

Well done. We’ve had trouble trying to find a way to take him in, but thanks to you, I thin that might be possible.

Spider-Kid: Is it just me or does he look different from the last time we saw him?

Agent Coulson: ... That’s classified.

(watching from afar) Classify my ass. He thought he could make himself cooler by making himself in anime to match us.

That’s right. He’s not even a fan of ours. He’s a fan of Captain America.

>A few days later.

... of the Trial of Norman Osborn. After hearing the testimonies of many, including his own son, Harry Osborn, who just recently had his name changed to Lyman, the jury is currently debating on the verdict. Hold on, I’m just getting word the jury reached a verdict.

Judge: Jury, have you reached a verdict?

Jury member: We have, Your Honor. We, the jury, find the defendant, Norman Virgil Osborn... Guilty as charged.

Judge: Very well. Mr. Osborn, for the crimes you have committed, enforced by testimonies, including from your son, I hereby sentence you 20 years to life incarcerated.

Normally, I would haul you off to Rikers Island for crimes as big as yours... However, those crimes are anything but normal. Which is why S.H.I.E.L.D. has asked to hand you over to them... And I said yes.

Norman: ... I know when I’m beaten... And say this is it...

Agent Coulson: Good. Now if you’ll come with us, we have a nice little place for you on the Hudson we like to call The Raft. Hopefully some time there will help you become a better man... And a better father.

Reporter: Well, there you have it. The might have fallen. Back to you, John.

Well... Uh... Shoot! This is normally the part where I blame Spider-Man for something. But after it was discovered that he’s underage, I’ve been ask to hold my tongue. But just you wait, Parker! You’ll be 18 soon enough! Then you’ll have to watch out. This is J. Jonah Jameson, DBC News, signing off.

>Outside the courthouse, me, Yusuke, Morgana, Ryuji, and Akechi were waiting when Peter and Harry finally came out.

Peter: God, it was scary in there!

You should have dress for success, Pete. Everyone knows that.

Peter: (looking down, but smiling) Now you tell me.

Ren: Hey, Harry, what are you looking at there?

Harry: Stuff sent to me and Pete. Take a look.

>Harry shows me his phone.

Peter, Harry, good luck today.

No matter what happens, you’re still our best friends.

We’re with you all the way.

Me, Hector, and the whole school are rooting for you.

We haven’t given up on you guys. We support you all the way.

You two are best friends. Norman’s getting what he deserves.

I learned how to type with my new hands to tell you how much we love you!

I know we haven’t gotten along, but I’m staying strong for you two.

If Ben were still here, the both of us will be there for you until the end. BTW, Peter, don’t forget the eggs. Organic.

You guys better not give up. I’ll burn you if you do.

Norman may be strong, but don’t worry. You guys are stronger.

We love you guys. You’ll make it.

You two are the best! Almost as great as the Phantom Thieves.

>I smile at how everyone is supporting Peter and Harry.

DING!

>A new message appears... I laugh a bit.

Harry: What is it?

>I show them...

PARKSBORN 4 EVER!!! XD

>We just stare. Peter and Harry were blushing. The rest of us were smiling.

Peter: ...

Harry: ...

Wow! Didn’t think she would just right up and say it.

Yusuke: No doubt about it.

Peter: (still blushing) Is... Is that what everyone thinks of us?

Harry: I know Pete’s a good guy, but this?

That depends. Do you want it to be true?

>The two just stare at us. Then, to each other.

Peter and Harry: ... How would a scientist solve this?

Peter: Well, we did observe that we are more happier when we’re together. And our bond is strong, especially if we’ve got good friends to back it up.

Harry: We hypothesis that powers or no powers, we’re strong when we’re together, no matter what.

Peter: We predict that a relationship between us might work out since we know each other so well.

Harry: And experimentation?

Peter: Well, we hugged, bro fisted, and shook hands. I think we even held them once. And we work together wonderfully... But there’s one other things we haven’t tried.

Harry: Right? ...

>They blushed again... We knew why. The two got closer and closer. And then...

Reporter: Mr. Parker! Mr. Lyman! Could you give us a moment of your time?

>The paparazzi showed up... Guess Experimentation will have to wait a bit.

Harry: Uh, sure.

Reporter: So is it true that even though you’ve changed your last name, you’ll still take over Oscorp? You are Norman Osborn’s next of kin, right?

Harry: Well... Not just yet. I still have a lot to learn. I need to know where I stand at this moment. Hopefully, Max will let me back into Horizon.

Peter: I’m sure he will. He said so himself that you’re welcomed back at any time.

Harry: Really? That’s nice of him.

Reporter: Looks like Harry Lyman will be waiting while the board runs things.

>The reporter and the rest of the paparazzi turned their backs.

Peter: (whisper) We better go.

Harry: (whisper) Right.

Reporter: (turning back) So, Mr. Lyman...

>She saw that Peter and Harry had already swung away.

>Back at Horizon, Peter and Harry arrive at the front of the school. We followed the in the van. We saw that a crowd had gathered.

Max: Now that that is out of the way, let’s move on the the main event. We now present the school’s new mascot.

>Max and Hector remove the tarp.

>Everyone was amazed by the statue.

Peter: Well, that’s... Amazing.

Ryuji: So what does feel like being immortalized and being a celebrity?

Akechi: He’s right. Now that everyone knows you’re Spider-Man, aren’t you afraid that villains will come after your loved one? Your Aunt May?

Peter: Well, Agent Coulson said his boss, Director Nick Fury, is willing to make everyone believe that my identity is jut a hoax, but only if I agree to one thing.

Akechi: What’s that?

Peter: He wants me to... Join this S.H.I.E.L.D. Training Program he started.

Ren: What did you say?

Peter: I said... I’ll consider it. But for now, I want to see where I go from here. But I told him that if things get too intense, I’ll take up his offer if it means protecting my loved ones. Including Aunt May.

Harry: That’s good. But know this, no matter your decision, I’ll be there for you when you need me.

Peter: ... Thank you, Harry.

Morgana: Which reminds me. Norman knows who we are as the Phantom Thieves. Do you think he’ll tell?

Harry: I already asked him that... He said the same thing he said in the courtroom. So I don’t think he’ll be saying anything.

Morgana: That’s good, I guess. And even if he did tell, I doubt anyone will believe him and think he’s crazy or S.H.I.E.L.D. will just cover it up.

Peter: That’s good to hear. Thanks, Harry.

Harry: No problem.

>They decided there to continue their ‘experiment’. Their faces were just a few inches away when... They noticed that we and our friends were watching.

Miles: Oh, don’t mind us. Just go right ahead. We won’t disturb you.

Gwen: Actually, I think us watching is disturbing them. We better leave them alone for a moment.

Miles: But I love a romantic ending!

Miles!

Miles: But... Okay.

Anya: Maybe next time.

>We were just leaving when the paparazzi showed up again.

Reporter: Just one one more question. We’ve noticed that you and Parker Spider-Man have been spending a lot of time together. Does that mean you two are a thing now? It looked like the two of you were about to...

>Ryuji, no longer holding his anger in, takes his metal pipe and brandishing it at the crowd.

WHAT THE EFF DOES IT TAKE TO MAKE IT CLEAR TO YOU!? The show’s over! They wanna be alone! Break it up! BREAK IT UP!

>In no time flat, the crowd leaves.

Well, that takes care of the peanut gallery. If you need me, I’m going back to the dorms to finish packing. We return to Japan very soon.

>With that, we leave... But me and Yusuke hide behind the statue.

Peter: I wonder what else is going to happen.

Harry: Pete... Just shut up.

(Picture originally from 3atgat.)

>When they finished, the two smiled at each other.

Peter: I love you.

Harry: And I love you.

Experimentation: Completed. Conclusion: Well... I think they pretty much said it.

Maybe we should do some experimentation of our own. See what our conclusion will be.

>Me and Yusuke embraced each other. We we brought our faces close together... The rest we leave to you.

#phantom thieves cam

0 notes

worldofadvent · 7 years ago

Text

NEO World of Advent Chapter Five

It had been several days since Light had been approved for a position in the Neo Arcadian military. What exactly that position entailed, however, was still being kept from Light. He leaned back into his comfortable reclining chair as he gave his room a quick sweep with his eyes. The shelves, mostly barren save for the few sentimental articles he deemed worth keeping were haphazardly stacked against one side of the wall. A solitary picture of three people, a boy with raven-black hair and a girl with hair the color of rust stood at either side of Light, grinning. He quickly turned away.

There really wasn't much to his room, honestly. After the "Incident" as he kept referring to it in his head, he made a hasty journey to the Big City. It was a big change, the huge spires of steel, raw energy sparking like wildfire at their peaks. It was certainly different than an endless sea of dunes, where the odd cactus was considered a landmark. Light's thoughts strayed to his old home and the flash of a blue helmet. He shook the thoughts away and focused on the gnawing of his belly.

In his storage unit, food consisted of a few main staples - sim sausages, sim chicken, sim ham, sim pork, and, if he was feeling especially fancy, sim turkey. Real food was an expense in the city, where mass production of food they swear tasted "just like" the real thing were made in factories from piles of flavored goop and shaped into something the politicians could label edible. Light hated it.

Sure, the city may have its accommodations like an unlimited source of energy and a lifespan over the age of thirty five, but there was just something wrong about eating sim chicken when he had tasted the real thing. He doubted any of the stuff had ever come from a real animal. Light checked the label - "artificially flavored" - and set the package of sim chicken down gingerly. Sim food wasn't soul food, that's for sure, but it didn't kill the budget. All the same, Light thought sourly, his briefing was scheduled for later that evening. He would rather not go on a stomach filled with lies.

Light made a quick glance at the clock, figuring that it would still be some time before rush hour for the shops ended, wanting a more peaceful atmosphere if he were to murder his account balance for the sake of something lacking "sim" in its name to eat. He amused himself in the meantime by going over random military advertisements, editing them with pictures of cats.

Once he was done with his masterpiece of irreverent redistribution of soldiers and kittens, he made a quick site where prints of a cat wearing a helmet under the large emblazoned word "Hope" could be downloaded for free, making sure it was untraceable in the off chance his supervisors didn't share his refined sense of humor.

Light turned off his computer with a quick jab of the off switch and stretched, arms splayed out as he relinquished the comfort of his armchair. His stomach growled, prompting Light to grab the set of keys that led to his personal sanctuary and open the door. He was met by a fresh ocean breeze and the squawking of sea rats, er seagulls. Light gave the beady-eyed creatures a wide berth, remembering the last time he let his guard down around them. It had taken hours of scrubbing to get the stains out and the smell still lingered to this day.

Having successfully convinced himself that "Mass Tastebud Suicide" did in fact count as an emergency, Light accessed his emergency fund from a nearby ATM and retrieved the last of his credits. He would be receiving his proper job soon, and with it, a better pay than whatever earnings he could get from betting on himself at local fight clubs. Still, the three red '$0.00' displaying his net worth made him a little uneasy. Deciding that the pursuit of finer things in life, namely food that wasn't born on an assembly line was still worth it, Light pocketed the change and made for the direction of a shopping plaza.

Light had always enjoyed browsing the various shops and people that did the shopping in Neo Arcadia. Alongside the colorful assortment of goods and carefully packaged luxuries an equally colorful crowd of customers picked them up and placed them in their cart. Light had found a game on an online forum where it said to make up a story for the person based off of the contents of their cart. So far, the man with seven packs of peanut butter, "protection," and dog biscuits made for the most interesting story. And the most disturbing, Light thought.

He had browsed too, of course. There were some interesting quality-of-life items to be found, like razors that didn't cut too deep or a subscription for premium broadcasting, but Light had never had the funds to spare for unnecessary expenses. Something he had always lingered on was the mall's food court, which held a single shop with tantalizing smells. The fumes alone were enough to guide Light to it. The shop in question wasn't much to look at and as far as "real food" restaurants went, it wasn't the fanciest, but it did the trick. Light found himself eyeing the menu like a drowning man would a life preserver.

"I take it you don't do this often," the cashier, a woman in her mid-thirties said with a smile. "It's a lot better than that sim stuff, isn't it?"

"You can say that again," Light said with fervor. "I think I'll have the fried chicken platter. It's been awhile since I had something smothered in grease."

"Sure thing hon," the woman said. "That's going to be thirty-five credits. Will you be paying with cash or card?"

"Cash I suppose," Light said, forking over the bills, noticing how much thinner his wallet was. Oh well; his wallet's loss was his stomach's gain.

"Thanks so much," the woman said cheerily. "Your order will be ready in just a few minutes."

Light thanked her and took a seat at a booth where a television program broadcasted the news. The reporter was out at sea, talking with an official looking reploid with several gold stars on his coat. Even the sight of the boat's rocking made him uncomfortable, but Light found his eyes gravitated to the screen all the same. Although the rumble of nearby conversations drowned out the sound of the reporter, a helpful series of captions was displayed on the bottom of the screen. Apparently they were on the scene of one of Fairy Leviathan's ships, where her daughter, the Advent named Mist, was in charge.

Sure enough, the scene shifted to where Mist was in full view. Her hair was a light blue color, fitting for an aquatic Advent, Light thought. She had fair skin and an admirable amount of curves even if her uniform did its best to hide them. She was speaking about a recent shortage of recruits for some program due to a strict requirement, but how she would be receiving a promising class soon.

Light snorted softly; no amount of money in the world could convince him to do her kind of jobs out at sea. If flying overboard wouldn't do him in, his chronic seasickness would. Light stuck around, idly wondering who she managed to sucker into the job, lazily fingering his communicator, which now displayed the number 154. Light couldn't help but recognize the number from earlier in the broadcast and felt a cold sinking feeling, like an iceberg being dragged down to the pit of his core. Swallowing nervously, Light convinced himself that it was a large class, he was sure. The number didn't mean anything. It was probably just sent to everyone being appointed to a designated division. That didn't necessarily mean that the division had anything to do with water. Right?

Light's despair was held at bay by the sudden arrival of a plate of steaming food that he could for once inhale more than just the aroma. Light savored the crispy skin and the juice that dribbled down his fork, all thoughts of impending doom abated by the glow of a full stomach. Confident now that the number wasn't 154 at all, Light made a leisurely walk to the recruitment center where he would be placed as a part of an assigned squadron. It was still quite some time before it was scheduled to start and Light spent the walk thinking about all the different numbers that broadcast could have been talking about. Like 153 or 155.

The streets were lined with the bustle of civilians honking cars in aggravation and traffic, a more peaceful set of people strolling along the sidewalks with purpose until they pulled into a certain shop. Reploids could be seen directing the flow of traffic, special vests given to grant them the authority to ease the flow of the many cars clogging the roads. It was a familiar rhythm, one Light had grown used to by now. It was different from the laughter of a bonfire made in the dunes, but had a similar sense of energy. It had taken some time to recognize that.

Light found the recruitment building, the four symbols for the four different branches of Neo Arcadian military held together by one unique emblem proudly displayed upon the front. Inside, the decor was rather austere, with a few benches and chairs found in the waiting room beside a single receptionist. He gave Light a curt nod before shuffling some papers he held in hand.

Light waited before the man set down the stack of papers before approaching the desk. He introduced himself as being told that he should be here at 5. The man made a few calculations on his computer, asking for his name.

"It's Light," he said. "No last name. Unclaimed, I suppose. Advent. Class 154."

"Ah," the man said. "I see you now. Class 154, Advent, blood type A?"

"Yes," Light said, holding out his communicator. "Do you need any further form of identification?"

"Yes," the man said. "Just a prick of blood for verification purposes. It won't hurt. He placed Light's index finger under a slender device that clamped around his finger. A slight prick later, Light rubbed the droplet of blood away and waited for the man to proceed. "Everything seems to be in order, Special Case," the man said. "You know, most people have to do months of training before they get approved for the physical training bit."

"I trained as well," Light said offhandedly. "Just in a different way. And for more than a few months."

The man shrugged. "Well, whatever the reason, they think you're good enough. Show 'em that Advents deserve a spot in the ranks."

Light raised his eyebrows. "Are you an Advent?"

The man shook his head. "No, but my daughter is. She's always talking about 'that Advent with the pretty blue hair.' I suppose she's going to be your captain."

Light held back a very unprofessional groan of dismay. "You aren't talking about Mist, are you? Fairy Leviathan's daughter?"

"Oh yes," the man said. "You've been assigned for a naval squadron. Is that a problem?"

"No, not at all," Light lied. It was too late now to back out, he figured. "Where do I go from here?"

The man pointed him to the end corridor, and wished Light luck. Light was too preoccupied in thoughts of a turbulent sea and unsteady boatcraft to bother responding in turn. He found the appropriate door, opening it and taking a seat nearby a reploid with black and white coloration and the distinct patternation of a killer whale.

The reploid turned to face him, a skepticism apparent. When it is clear that Light was there to stay, he spoke up. "I was told this was an elite group," he said. "Surely no human should be here."

"I'm not a human," Light said patiently, having had to make the correction before. "I'm an Advent."

"You look pretty human to me," the reploid said dismissively.

"I'm pretty sure that's how it works," Light retorted. "Why do you care? Our captain is an Advent as well."

"Our captain is Mist Leviathan," the reploid said. "Any child of Leviathan has my respect. You have yet to earn it. My name is Orca. And yours is?"

"Light," he said simply. The reploid gave him a lingering glance, but said nothing. Soon, more seats were filled as the rest of the squad arrived. A reploid with fins protruding from his limbs fittingly introduced himself as Fin and another reploid with sleek armor introduced herself as Shale. Soon after, an Advent named Rak walked in confidently, ignoring Orca's look of disdain.

The five of them started talking amongst themselves. Apparently they all excelled at physical training, and some were hand picked because of their aquatic abilities, namely Shale, Orca, and Rak. Orca, as it transpired could use a form of sonar as part of his design while Shale's vision was very good in darkness and murky seas. Rak possessed an oversol with the ability to breathe underwater and propel himself through water at rapid speeds. Fin, ironically, did not specialize in swimming, but had experience with many salvage missions out at sea.

"What do you think this squad is for?" Rak asked.

"There was a broadcast about it earlier," Orca said. "We're here to be a part of Mist's new naval rescue division."

Light nodded. "I remember seeing something about it earlier."

Shale's hands made several signs, which Fin translated with an explanation.

"Shale cannot speak," Fin said. "She uses a form of sign language employed by military when verbal signals are inefficient or counterproductive, such as in times of stealth. She says that it is good to meet you."

Shale nodded in affirmation. Her hands made to sign something again, but she instead opted for a communication, typing in a sentence that is projected through it. "Do you know when our captain is supposed to be here?"

Light shrugged. "I don't know. Soon, I suppose."

Shale gave Light a nod. Soon, the five of them had a sense of familiarity, if not camaraderie quite yet. The minutes passed by in idle conversation until the wall opened up on the opposite side, and the Advent Light saw on the television screen, Mist, walked out.

"At ease," she said at the sight of the more experienced members stiffen into a salute. "I hope you aren't here to disappoint me. I chose you all specifically because I thought you could give my program the kickstart it needs. Though wartime efforts have thankfully ceased, distress signals are not a thing of the past. Even though technology advances at a rapid pace, accidents at sea still happen. People get hurt. People die. We're here to prevent that. It took my mother a lot of convincing to approve a division specifically for deep offshore rescue, so if I see that any of you are not pulling your weight I will personally remove you. Are we understood?"

The room gave a curt nod. Light felt slightly intimidated by the force of her personality. Was this what all the Guardians' Advents were like? Despite the severity of her statements, Light could feel a similar sort of nervousness coming from her though; whatever this program was, it was important to her.

"You have all been proven to be exemplary in terms of physical ability by your spreadsheets," Mist continued, "But you have yet to impress me. We will be doing a few small exercises so that I can assess you properly."

Mist led the five of them outside, where a large track field was held. Mist told them to "get running" and started them off with a 'quick and easy five mile run.' They all start running, Mist easily keeping the pace with them, limbs moving gracefully as she outpaced them. Light grinned as she outlapped Orca, a strange feeling overcoming him as he pushed his own feet forward, ignoring the look on the reploid's face as he too passes him. He nearly reaches Mist when Mist slows to a stop upon the completion of the fifth mile, Light mere moments behind. Mist gave him an appreciative glance that he thought he enjoyed more than he should.

Light took a bottle of water given to each of them by their captain appreciatively as she told them that in five minutes they would be sparring. This appeared to be of no surprise to the rest of them, being in a military group even if their objective wasn't specified for combat. Soon, they were grouped in two's save for Light, who was left the odd one out.

"Who am I supposed to be sparring with?" Light asked.

"You will be sparring with me," Mist said simply. "If you want to compete with me on the field, then this should be of no concern to you."

If she thought Light would back down, she was disappointed. Light grinned, taking on a combat pose, ready to spring into action. "What is your oversol?" Mist asked. "The report was uncertain."

"I can disable and steal certain abilities of people I punch," Light said. "It's a useful ability to have."

"We'll see how well it does against a daughter of Neo Arcadia," Mist said imperiously.

"Are there any restrictions to this fight or can I use my full force?" Light asked. Not that he would ever use his full oversol anyhow. To the world, he was merely Light the Unclaimed Advent. Only a handful of people knew him as the Advent who had escaped Umera's labs, the lost child of Ciel and Zero.

Mist gave him a dry look in response, clearly not impressed. "I am a Royal Advent," she said. "You may use whatever force you feel is necessary. Don't worry," she added with an uncharacteristically sadistic grin. "I'll go easy on you." Light felt a thrill of excitement. Mist may put of the facade of the prim and proper commander, but he knew a kindred soul when he saw one. Baring a similar smile, Light let his fists turn black, the clothing beneath hiding the deep red hue the rest of his oversol bore.

The start of the fight was instantaneous, explosive. Light appeared behind Mist faster than the human eye could see, but by the time he was there, Mist had already disappeared, a fist aimed at his shoulder. A quick deflection later, Light swung a fist at her in return, hopping away as she snapped a kick at his thigh. The air became thick with condensation. Light felt more than just sweat pool at the skin not touched by his oversol, clothing becoming damp. Remembering her origins, Light whipped around, a monstrous roundhouse kick unsettling Mist before she could create more water, who recovered almost as quickly as it happened. Mist caught his leg with her own, toppling his balance to the ground, upon which Light spun and landed on his feet gracefully in one fluid motion.

Mist's previously cold nature had given way to a savage joy. She appeared behind Light as Light's fist swung into the space she appeared into. To his surprise, it sunk through her, burying itself on her other side, water replacing physical body mass. She hopped back, a bead of sweat at last showing on her face upon her activation of what Light assumed was part of her oversol. A useful ability, Light thought, to be able to phase physical objects through, but it had to come at the price of a considerable amount of stamina. She couldn't hold that form up for long.

Light focused on using his fists with the intent of sapping the ability from her outright if not exhausting her first. He threw his body into his next punches, weight shifting with each punch. Mist caught the last with a fist tinged with blue, twisting it so that Light's tendons screamed from the unnatural angle, using his loss of momentum to place a palm thrust on his chest, sending him flying to the ground.

Light made to get up, but Mist motioned for him to stop, breath ragged. "Why were you holding back?" she demanded in a voice small enough so that it was meant only for him. "Don't insult me."

"I was doing pretty good if I say so myself," Light defended himself. "I could have recovered from that."

Mist said nothing, just allowed the condensation in his clothes that had accumulated during the fight to freeze, coating him in restrictive icy armor. He was pinned. She snapped her fingers again and the ice melted. "I don't know who you think you are, but you have a lot to learn if you think you can challenge me without using your real strength," she said. She turned to face the rest of the party, who had stopped to watch the match take place.

"Woah,' Rak said. "You two were amazing."

"Practice makes perfect," Mist said promptly, automatically. "There's no reason you cannot attain a similar level of expertise."

There it was again, Light noticed. The facade had come back. He had seen beyond that shell of command, though. Her face, contorted in the frenzy of the fight and something else. Something he recognized, but couldn't quite put a name to it.

The five of them were sent home with instructions to return a few days from then for the rest of their training. Back inside Light's room, he replayed the fight, imagining how things would have been different if he had really gone all out. And that feeling he got from her, that was the face of someone hiding who she was. Light recognized it very well. He saw it every time he faced a mirror. The question was, what was she hiding?

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endofleasecleaningmelbourne2017 · 8 years ago

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End of Lease Cleaning Melbourne Review

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